First Day of Preschool

I'm getting better at this, I really am. Although Drue looks like me, I sometimes see more of David's personality in her. She just waltzed right on into her little classroom ready for a new adventure. I had to chase her down to give her a good-bye kiss.

Her little memory still amazes me. As we were walking into her preschool building she said, "Remember that time Tate's hat kept flying off?". That was when Reese went there...two years ago! Drue had just barely turned 3 when that incident occurred.



At Parent's Night a couple of weeks ago I had to fill out an information sheet about Drue. The last question was Is there anything else you would like us to know about your child?

I almost thought I was going to have to ask for an additional sheet of paper to fit all the info I wanted to put on there. I started off with, "Drue is VERY sensitive to the way her clothing feels on her....". I went on to explain her aversion to tags, seams, and all things kooky. I told them how she wears her socks inside out and heaven help them if they have to take her shoes off during class. Because they may never get them back on to her satisfaction!

I tried to envision Drue in her day to day activities and predict how she may react just so they would have a little forewarning. They do have a rest time after lunch so I added that if her beach towel doesn't get laid exactly so on her mat she may go ballistic. (I didn't actually use the word ballistic on her form, I think I just said there may be tears).

I didn't tell them all this to imply they should BEWARE OF DRUE. I honestly want to protect that sweet little hazel eyed girl and can't stand the thought of her being upset about something when I'm not there to help her or protect her. So I wanted to try and give them a little insight into what makes her tick so that they, in turn, will be extra sensitive with her during those times.

Tate and I made a quick stop at the grocery store on our way home from dropping her off. I had to get two items, just two. I tossed him into the cart and we were in and out in about 5 minutes. Gone are the days when I had to coral three of them around town ages 3 and under. I RARELY ventured into the store with all of them for just two items! When we did go to the store, I would balance Tate's infant seat on one hip, while desperately trying to hold Drue's little toddler hand and would make sure Reese either held onto the infant carrier, or my back pocket, or Drue's other hand. I'd then hoist Tate's seat up and balance it precariously onto the back of the cart sideways and pick up both Reese and Drue and buckle them into the front which left hardly any room for my groceries. Those days were long and seemingly endless at times.

But there's actually a part of me that misses them...

The Whole Tooth and Nothing but the Tooth

Reese's two front teeth have been a teensy bit wiggly for some time now. Her top two teeth, I should clarify. She lost her bottom two earlier this year.

I get a kick out of how much these little white enamel covered structures define our child's development. When they're infants, we are so excited to see them start popping through the surface in their little gumless mouths. And we proudly show them off to anyone and everyone who will pay attention. "Reese cut her first tooth!" I remember sharing happily.

And I would keep everyone informed from then on as to how many teeth she had. "Reese has 7 teeth now!" I'd report.

And now, as she begins to lose them, it is once again a topic of discussion amongst my mommy friends and I. "Reese has lost 2 teeth and has some loose ones on the top. How much does the tooth fairy pay at your house?".

Losing these precious little things I so eagerly awaited to come in.

 

So this one had been wiggly for awhile. Then last week or so when she was talking to me one morning, there was a noticeable gap between her loose tooth and the one beside it. I asked her about it and she said nonchalantly, "Oh yeah, my loose tooth got looser last night when I hit it on the bedpost while Daddy was putting us to bed."

Yes, rough housing is one of David's way of "settling them down" right before bed.

Try as we might, that darned thing wouldn't come out though. It finally got more loose over the weekend. So much so, that it looked as if it were just barely hanging on. But David and I both tried with no avail to pull that sucker out. I have yet to witness Reese pulling her tooth out. The first one fell out as she was running to my room to show me how loose it was one morning.

The second one came out while I was in the shower.

And this third one finally decided to come out Sunday morning...during the church service...while we were praying! We were getting ready to walk to the front of the church during the invitation time because Reese was ready to make public her profession of faith and be baptised. So as she urgently patted my leg while our heads were bowed, I thought it had to do with that. I peeked my eyes open and there was her little tooth in her hand!

But the tooth drama doesn't end there. The tooth fairy leaves golden dollars at our house, but the only person I know of who has these lying around is...Reese! So I snuck into her money bucket and pulled one out just to have on hand.

Then she threw us a curve ball and decided not to put her tooth under her pillow that night. She wanted to keep it to show her children someday. Of course, we have her other two teeth safely hidden away but I couldn't very well tell her that. I assured her that was fine and had her place it on top of her dresser in the little plastic container she was keeping it in.

"Don't keep it too near your pillow or the Tooth Fairy might get confused and take it," I warned her. I was just afraid she may wake up in the middle of the night and change her mind and place it under there after all. In which case, I wouldn't be prepared.

The next night she was torn between keeping her tooth and finding that golden dollar. She kept saying, "I wish there was a way I could keep my tooth and get the golden dollar.".

For now, she has decided to go ahead and keep it and put the next one under her pillow. I think I will casually bring it up each night for awhile just to be on the safe side that she doesn't put it under her pillow without telling us. Who knew playing the Tooth Fairy could be so stressful?

I leave you with one more cute shot of her new smile.

 

Leisurely Bike Ride in the Woods--Not Exactly

 

I'm not a very outdoorsy person. I want to be, I really do, but I'm just not. But even I couldn't ignore this beautiful 70 degree morning so I psyched myself up to take Drue and Tate bike riding.

I do not enjoy bike riding. I really want to, but I don't. We have a bike trail just down the street from our house as well as another paved loop that encircles the playground at Reese's school.

We always start out with good intentions of taking the kids up to one of these bike trails to ride their little hearts out. But it never ends happily. Getting them there is half the battle. In one direction there is a hill that none of them can get up. The other direction is pretty flat but is on a sidewalk right next to the street and I freak if they get too far ahead or lag behind and they freak if their sibling gets too far ahead and they can't keep up.

One, or all three of them, usually ends up crying or tossing their bike aside and walking the rest of the way which leaves me and/or David to lug the abandoned forms of transportation alongside us. And since both trails are next to parks, they quickly lose interest in pedaling and choose, instead, to play on the playground equipment.

All of the aformentioned reasons are probably why Reese just now got her training wheels off.

Today, while she was at school, I decided that I could probably handle taking the other 2 out for a ride. So our mission wouldn't begin on a sour note, I tossed their bikes in the back of the van and drove them up to the bike trail 2 blocks from our house.

 

Drue needed a little encouragement. Tate was ready to go. I got their little helmets on (which almost ended our trip right then and there because Drue's helmet felt "kooky" on her) and they climbed up on their bikes.

Drue has grown five inches since her last checkup at the doctor. Her bike is less than a year old. She has outgrown her bike. Her long skinny legs were all over the place as she tried to pedal.

She was in the lead but kept stopping every 2 feet to look back at us. I encouraged her to keep going and to pick up some speed. The bike trail goes through a little patch of woods and no one else was around so it was ok if she got a little bit ahead. But she feels she has to be right next to one of us so that wasn't going to work. I put Tate in the lead instead, and off he went. I had to walk briskly to keep an eye on him which took me away from Drue's side, which she didn't care for too much but finally became ok with.

We had gone about 20 feet when one of Tate's training wheels flipped upside down and wasn't touching the ground anymore. I was able to unscrew it with my hand, which wasn't a good sign of its' sturdiness. It was either end our journey right there and head home, or screw it back on with my hand and take our chances. We took our chances.

We made it a little further down the path when Tate stopped abruptly, hopped off his bike, and came running back to me with something in his hand. That "something" was one of his pedals that had fallen off. I screwed that back on as well.

We did stop to play at the little park for a bit and then went riding a little longer. I was on the phone with a friend of mine when I realized Tate's little red helmet was getting farther and farther ahead in the direction of the street. I hollered out to him but he kept going. I hollered again, then had to abruptly end our conversation as I took off in a sprint to catch him.

Drue didn't approve of me running that far ahead without her and she began to protest loudly. Tate finally chose to heed my warnings and came heading back in our direction. I turned around to find Drue running towards me with her pedal in her hand.

Who bought them these piece of junk bikes?!

As I was screwing her pedal back on she decided to stick her duct taped warty finger in one of the holes on the top of her helmet where, of course, it got stuck.

After stopping 3 more times to screw their pedals back on, we made it back to the van and drove the two blocks back home. These two may just keep their training wheels on until they can drive....

 

I WON!

As I was flipping stations during my commute home from work I heard, "Call NOW to win!".

So I called.

And I won.

It happened to be a radio station that I unsuccessfully tried to win something on the day before, so the number was still in my phone memory.

I am by no means a spur of the moment kind of girl but thought, "What the heck?".

When the phone started ringing on the other end, I started to get a little nervous.

It occurred to me at this point that I had no idea what I was trying to win.

And after about the 5th ring, when the DJ answered and said, "Star 102 you're our 12th caller!" I began to panic slightly. But I didn't want to give away my secret yet, so I mustered up some fake enthusiasm and said, "YAY!".

I was about to sound like a complete idiot on the airwaves being broadcast throughout the entire KC metro area.

He took down all my information: name, number, address, etc. There was no backing out now.

All the while I was praying he didn't ask me any incriminating questions such as, "What are you going to do with your prize?" or "Who are you going to take with you?" or "Have you thought about what kind of tattoo you are going to get with your certificate?".

I had my answer all planned out. (Well, not to the tattoo question, but I was pretty sure that wasn't the prize they were giving out). I was just going to tell the truth.

Now there's a novel approach.

Except I would tweak it just a tad. Instead of admitting that I was surfing channels, thus exposing that I wasn't an exclusive and loyal listener to their station, I was going to say that I had just hopped in the car and turned on the radio when I heard them say, "Call now to win" and knowing this radio station always gives away cool prizes I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Surely some folks would get a chuckle out of that. Except the ones who desperately wanted the prize and had been waiting all day for the giveaway. They would probably hate me.

At the end of our conversation, he said, "You'll have to pick these up before 5:30 tomorrow night." I was still in the dark as to what, exactly, I was picking up.

Thankfully, before we hung up, he informed me that I had just won 4 tickets to the Chiefs/Seattle Seahawks game this weekend.

And, of course, after all that, we have a wedding to go to and won't even be able to use the tickets!

The Truth Comes Out

Ahhhhhh....sibling rivalry.

I know, I know, it's only just begun. We have 12 more years left with all 3 kids living under one roof. There are bound to be some scuffles (is that the word I wanted?) along the way.

And I've probably mentioned before how their rowdiest time of the day coincides nicely with the time of day my energy level and patience are at their lowest.

Tonight after I got home from work they were being their usual pick nickity (I know that's not a word but am not caring at the moment) selves.

Loud cry. "Tate took the motorcycle I was playing with!!!".

"You mean the one you were playing with last Monday?? Because I haven't seen you playing with it at all the entire time I've been home!".

Reese taught us a new game she learned in Music class and both she and Drue ended up in tears because they both wanted to be my partner.

Quite frankly, I am running out of clever lines to encourage them to treat each other nicer.

When your friends desert you...your sister will always be there.

Think how sad you'd be if you didn't have (insert offending siblings names here) around.

Some children don't have any brothers or sisters around to fight with. (Ok, this one doesn't even make sense to me, but I still throw it out there from time to time).

Anyway, this evening I'd had enough. I plopped down on the couch and tried to savor at least a few moments of sweet togetherness. Drue sat on one side of me and Tate on the other.

Reese flung herself down over my lap on her stomach.

I patted her little back lovingly.

"OUCH!", she hollered out alarmingly.

Then as she peeked behind her said, "Oh, nevermind. I thought Drue hit my back."

I was starting to piece things together here when she continued, "I always yell 'ouch' when Drue hits my back."

So Much for that Plan

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Just writing the words makes my mouth salivate.

I treated myself to a bag last night while at the grocery store. I instantly made up my mind that it wasn't to be a "community bag" if you know what I mean. It would just be for lil' ol' me.

To the top of the fridge they went. I forgot about them until this morning when I spied the distinct orange bag peering down at me. I popped in 2 or 3 before 9am.

I popped in a few more while the kids were upstairs playing late this afternoon. Tate wandered in to the kitchen and he must have smelled them on my breath because his eyes immediately went to the top of the fridge and he said, "What's up dere?".

I figured I could sacrifice one tiny piece of candy. (They were the miniatures by the way, not the big cups...don't know if I could part with the big ones).

Off he went with his chocolate treasure in his mouth.

3 seconds later, in ran Drue. "Where did Tate get....?". She stopped mid question as she saw me go over to the fridge and grab the bag.

2 pieces gone. No problem.

And, finally, Reese made her appearance.

"Can I have a piece of candy like Drue?".

"No hablas English", I cleverly avoided her plea.

Ignoring my craziness she once again asked for a piece of candy.

"No hablas English. Only speaka Espanol", I responded.

Not to be outsmarted she replied, "Por favor".

1st Grade

 

First day of first grade...it's these doggone "firsts" that get me everytime.

 

David went in late to work this morning so he could walk her to school with us. (And so he could make corny jokes to keep my mind off the fact that our little girl is growing up).

 

I actually did really well.

I didn't tear up when she came to show me how she looked in her new outfit.

I didn't tear up when I helped her shrug into her backpack.

I didn't tear up when I had to take her backpack off and adjust the straps as small as they could go.

In fact, we were almost to the school when I realized there was nary a lump in my throat and the bridge of my nose wasn't beginning to burn which would be a telltale sign that tears were on their way.

I walked her to her little desk, snapped one last picture, kissed her and told her I loved her, then headed out the classroom door. Almost home free.

But who should be waiting at the classroom door? The mother of a little girl who was in Reese's Kindergarten class last year.

We smiled and greeted each other. And that was when Operation: Drop Off with Dry Eyes began it's downward spiral.

She said sweetly, "Well, this is going much better than last year...isn't it?". Her uncertain tone gave away the fact that she was trying to convince herself, as well as me. And that's when I noticed the red rims of her eyes.

And that's when my tears began to fall.

We scooted quickly out of the school. Passing a few other parents we knew along the way. Whom I wasn't even able to greet properly and whom all said, "Awwwwwww..." which never helps a crying person pull themselves together...in fact, it has the opposite effect.

The good thing is that today was only a half day. So I was able to go get her at 11:30.

Tomorrow is her first full day. And I know the afternoon is going to feel strangely quiet without her.