Walking to the Bus Stop

Today is the first day that I haven't walked Abby to the bus stop. It's okay, I volunteered. Matt is home for an office day and I asked her if she'd like him to, so instead of joining them as usual, I stayed home.

I ran up to grab a book I'm reading (more on that in a later post) and I decided to glance out the window of our bedroom. And then I had to run and grab the camera.

It was so cute. Both Matt and our neighbor across the street walking their girls to the bus stop (without their wives), holding their babies (literally-Matt had Lily and our neighbor has a newborn). Does it get any better than that? No moms in sight. Just daddies walking their girls to the bus.

Emmy Recaps

It seems that Emmy recaps are everywhere in the media that I frequent today. I usually am a little more aware of them than I am this year. All of that junk is a fun guilty pleasure of mine. No shocker there, really. The best part this year is that a lot of the winners are shows that I LOVE.

So, being that I have been lacking in blogging topics, I thought I'd share some of my favorite shows and if you want, you can share yours.

How cool is it that Modern Family, Glee, Top Chef all won awards? LOVE them. Matt and I also watched Season 1 of Nurse Jackie when we had Free Showtime and loved it. While a little edgy, it was still really good, so I'm glad that Edie Falco won for that also.

If I LOVE Top Chef, then it would be fair to say that I LOVE, LOVE Project Runway. It is one of my favorites. They changed it up a little this season and made it 30 minutes longer (90 minutes), which I thought would be way too long, but I actually like it and you get to see more.

As far as obscure shows I also really like HawthoRNe (on TNT) and Being Erica (on SoapNet). I have yet to find anyone who watches Being Erica, but it is really good, so if you do, please tell me. I have also been watching Huge on ABC Family, but I can't decide if I like it or not. Jury is still out on that one.

There are more, because I'm a total TV junkie, but those are some of my favorites. What about you?

(Oh my gosh, how could I forget Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice?!?!?! ...and Brothers & Sisters?! Geesh! They are right up there on my list with Project Runway! What else am I forgetting?!?!?!)

Worn out

I'm essentially on Day 6 of doing this parenting thing all by myself and I'm cooked. Done. Worn out. Spent. Ready for reinforcements. Tonight SHOULD be it. Phew.

Recovering

For the most part, this was the extent of my diet yesterday. Fun times. It's looking to have been a 24 hour bug that I am now on the mend from. I am praying that my children do not catch it, particularly Abby. I would hate to have her get sick at school. No fun. The good news is that I'm down like 4 pounds in 24 hours! The bad news? I bet it will be back as soon as I eat a few meals in a row of solid food. Bummer.

I owe a huge thanks to our Jaimie. Yup, that's what we call her, "My Jaimie", "Our Jaimie", you get the idea. She hung out all day with me and helped out until the girls went to bed. I'm not sure what I would have done without her. Plus, we had fun and watched The Last Song during nap time. Fun. Thanks Jaim.

Adventures with Freezer Paper

I found a new project to try. Hard to believe, I'm sure. :)

I've read on some blogs about doing some thing with designs on clothing and freezer paper, but never paid much attention. Then, on Friday, Abby and I received our latest edition of Disney's Family Fun magazine, whose cover art was a "Homemade Glitter Tee." Hel.lo. Very cool.

So, here is how it works...

First find a stencil (design) you want to use for your project. The Family Fun site is supposed to have the ones from the magazine up, but they haven't updated for their latest edition yet (grrrr). I googled until I found something I liked. The sample below is a bird.

For supplies, you need Freezer Paper (I had to go to two stores before I found it), fabric paint of your choice (I got mine at Jo-Anns-glittery, of course), a craft knife, and whatever you plan on decorating. I decided to practice on a bunch of Lily's plain white onesies that she just sleeps in. Makes for fun practice, because there are lots of them and she never wears them out (and if she did, they'd be undershirts).

With your craft knife, cut out a stencil of your shape. I taped the printer paper to the freezer paper to cut, and then peeled it off. Then, position it on your garment and press (don't rub) it with a warm iron. I used a medium heat with no steam (worked fine, but that was a total guess).

Then, paint away. The Freezer Paper held awesome, so don't be nervous. Blotting works best, I think.

Let it dry, and do another coat if necessary. Some of my colors needed it, some didn't.

(Can you tell it got addictive? I even played around with a heart on the butt. I bet it turns out cute.)

Very carefully.... peel off the Freezer Paper. I was impatient and didn't wait as long as I probably should have, but they still turned out awesome. I'm going to wash them before I put them on Lil, as the paint feels a little stiff. I'm hoping it will soften up a bit. But, it's all an experiment, so we shall see. How fun! Next on our list is an owl shirt for Abby, but we have to wait on the template from the magazine because that is what she wants.

Seriously, this was so easy.

...and turned out so cute.

Up and Down

It's been a while since I've blogged, particularly anything about life. Partly because we're still trying to figure out how that looks now that Abby is in school all day and partly because I've been feeling like, well, crap.

Those of you that know me well, know that I have struggled with migraine headaches for many, many years (a couple decades really). I have finally decided to try a daily preventative migraine medication. I started it last Wednesday. I am very hopeful. Right now, I am easing up to a full dose and dealing with side effects. The biggest side effect is numbness and tingling, usually in your arms and legs. ...and, get this, carbonated beverages taste bad (which is, I think, because my tongue feels numb and tingly too). Not. Cool. I love my Diet Coke. So, I'm adjusting. I'm starting to feel a little better as of this weekend. I had a rough week last week. I am just tired of living in constant fear of a migraine, so I'm really hoping this medication helps more than what I've used in the past.

So, moving on to trying to figure out daily life now that Abby is in school....

I finally called Gymboree for a free Preview class for Lily. I have always wanted to try it, even with Abby (and missed the boat on that one). It is expensive, but Lily could use the socialization and gross motor skill development. Not to mention, it is something fun for us to do during the day. As you can tell, she absolutely hated it.

Oh, and I signed her up. :)

She's wasn't too sure at first.

... and then, she was ready!

The theme today was "Up and Down". She loved climbing.

"Hi, Mommy!"

Catching bubbles after parachute play.

Also, new craft post coming. I'm working on it right now so I can tell you-all all about it tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday

Stepping Stones

A few weeks ago I was watching Raising Sextuplets on WeTV, and they made hand and footprint stepping stones. You know me, I see an idea and I want to try it! Off to the craft store we went to find kits.

First, we mixed up the cement (or is it concrete?) in a bucket.

Then, we did handprints, mosaic glass, and wrote in the names and dates. It was really wet (Abby's, in particular), and in hindsight, I'm wondering if we should have waited longer to do the writing.

But, despite being really wet, they set up really nicely. The instructions said that the longer (up to 2 weeks) they were in a cool, dry place the better they would cure, so we kept them in for a long time. Here they are...

Abby wanted lots of colors of glass like a rainbow, so we made Lily's all sunshine-y colors.

They are now sitting out by the sandbox, but will be taking up a permanent residence (we think) in a couple months. We are planning on adding a new tree to our backyard in the fall and we think they will be perfect at its base.

Sharing

At one time, this would have grossed me out, but now I love it.

Our new normal

Ready for another day of school...

As Lily and I adjust to our new normal of Abby being away at school, I am trying to find some new things to do during the morning hours. After a trip to the hospital for x-rays on day 1, I was hoping for some fun on day 2. We decided to try the Children's Museum. Now that Lily is walking, she can play in the Playscape area.

We tried out the sand and water tables. She wasn't too sure about the water. A little boy chucked a toy into it and splashed her pretty good and she did NOT like that. She seemed to be done, but then when we tried to leave that area, she threw a little fit (yup, looks like she is going to be THAT child), so we went in for more. Probably her favorite area was the housekeeping. Unfortunately I was too busy eating plastic food to take pictures. :)

And, pretty much the rest of the time was me chasing ADD-Lily around. She walked and walked and walked some more. As you can see, I pretty much followed...

...and followed...

...and followed...

...and followed...

...and followed.

Day 2

Day 2. Another day. She is officially a bus riding kindergartner. I'm learning that one of the hardest parts of all this is that I am putting my baby on a bus and praying that they don't lose her and take her where they are supposed to. That's a lot of blind trust, and it's hard.

By all accounts she had a great day yesterday.

The ride home on the bus was a little bumpy. We had a Heat Advisory with heat indexes in the 100's and her bus isn't air conditioned, so she was bright red when she came off the bus. Add to that a pop up shower downpour that started literally 3 minutes before she arrived, and her fear that she wasn't going to get dropped off at home and they were going to have to take her back to school, and you have a slightly freaked out little girl.

The bus stops at the stop sign near our house, but that means the bus passes our house before it stops. She saw it pass our house and thought it wasn't going to stop. Poor thing. She had Matt and I freaked out when she was so weird coming off the bus. We thought she'd be excited, and instead she was recovering from heat, rain, and panic. The good news is that 5-10 minutes later, she was fine.

But oh, Friends, let me tell you about the rest of my Wednesday morning, also.

So, Lily and I started out our morning, which let me tell you, was weird. Just having her. But, I was just starting to have fun with it and get over my weepy self, when Lily fell on the stairs (maybe 5-6 stairs). She has been getting more and more confident on them, and we've been working on going up and down them with her. So, of course, the one time I'm not right behind her, she slips, turns around, and falls. I saw the whole thing. She cried and cried, and kept holding her left arm funny. I gave it some time thinking that she just bumped it really good, but it kept not getting better. She would stop crying and then as soon as she'd try to do something with her left hand (self feed, put her paci in her mouth), the screams and crying came back. I finally called the doctor and he faxed in an order for an x-ray. It didn't take too long and we got the results back in less than an hour. No break, no sprain. Phfew! She is completely fine now, she just must have knocked it really good.

So, not only did I put Abby on the bus for her first day of kindergarten yesterday, but I also had to take my baby to the hospital for x-rays (a first for me). Not the best day ever. I was an emotional mess.

BUT, today is a new day! No tears for me at the bus stop and Lily and I are headed to do some playing at the Children's Museum this morning. No more drama for me (Please, God!).

The Lord says, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you."
-Isaiah 43:2

First Day of School

We did it. Abby is officially at school as a kindergartener. ...and I'm still a bit of a mess this morning, but I'm trying.

She did great and was so focused on watching for the bus at the bus stop that she would not turn around and talk to me. She was all business. :)

Yesterday we went to Kindergarten Orientation. In a way, it was like a first day because it was the day that we got to go in and see her room, teacher, seat, etc. Here she is in front of her room and at her seat.

And, here is today... I don't know why the picture is blurry. I took 3 like this and they all turned out that way. I'm pretty frustrated about it. Anyway... She's wearing a nametag with her name, teacher, and school on it for safety on the bus. That way, we are sure she gets where she is supposed to.

Matt and Abby, walking ahead of me (and Lily) to the bus stop. We ended up switching corners because of the direction the bus came (which I guess was different from last year). We have a busy stop, lots of kids.

Waiting patiently for the bus... don't distract her!

And the moment of truth... and to be honest I still get a little teary looking at this picture.

She was so big and confident.

The bus driver is asking her if she is a kindergartner, and then tells her to sit close to the front.

(and then I quickly walked home with Matt because talking to neighbors was too hard.)

Tomorrow will be easier, right?