The above picture is Miranda on the first day of school with her teacher, below is the last day. Time flies and she is growing up. Miranda has been very fortunate to have such excellent teachers. We are grateful for all that these ladies have done for our kids. Miranda still is a great reader, she loves it and is good at it. At the beginning of the year I worried about math, but she really stepped up and did excellent. She ended the year with all 4's which means she has mastered end of year standards.
Here is Logan getting ready for his very first day of school.
He had no problem waving good-bye as he entered the wonderful world of learning.
Below is Logan's first teacher, who also taught Miranda when she was in Kindergarten. So she falls under the category of excellent teachers as well. Logan also ended the year with all 4's just like Miranda. He is tying his own shoes and is reading pretty good. His strength is math which I think encouraged Miranda to do better, she was not going to be out done by him. Healthy competition. Logan's teacher got a pink slip at the end of this year. We were all hoping that a miracle would happen and she would get her job back as well as the other 5 teachers who will also be sadly leaving their school. It is such a bummer. I can't explain how sad it makes me. All the fifth grade teachers also got pink slips so that will make it interesting for those going into fifth grade. I hope to see these faces back here soon.
I am so proud of both my little smarty pants. I am also excited to have a busy summer of fun plans. Then for next year, only having to make two trips to the school, since Miranda and Logan will be on the same schedule!
Miranda had a cross bite. Also she had an abscessed tooth that was pulled and all her teeth started filling in the gap. The next picture was taken after two weeks of using the expander:
It is amazing to see how fast things can move. The gap in her front teeth got really big and then it slowly started getting smaller. It will be amazing how much will change in 8 weeks at her next appointment. The next picture is of her today:
About two years ago my friend introduced me to the idea of recovering dining room chairs with light fabric and then putting plastic over it. It has taken me a while, but on Thursday while Jeremy was at Yosemite I decided I would bite the bullet and get it done before he got home. So I took all the kids to JoAnn's, bought the necessary fabric, borrowed a staple gun. I should have taken some before pictures of the dining room chairs, they were in pretty bad shape, at least the ones the kids sat in.
It was really easy. They are not perfect but I am pretty happy with them. I also got fabric for the snack bar chairs.
Yesterday after lunch the kids got a chocolate covered ice cream bar. As I was cleaning up and realized that Hannah had spilled some of her chocolate on the chair, then it smeared. It was so exciting to be able to wipe it up! The dining room table needs to last about 2.5 more years. We figure at three the kids are no longer banging the prong end of the forks into the table while throwing a fit when we we insist they eat their veggies, or they didn't get the right spoon, or they wanted water instead of milk, well you get the idea. So way to go me, not only did I start a new project I completed it and even fixed a few lost screws!
So I made them get in the car. We dropped off the older two and headed out to the doctor appointment. We got their early enough that I styled their hair in the car so when I arrived to visit our fabulous pediatrician, on time mind you, we looked like a pretty together family. I had 4 of the 6 kiddos, and I still got the "Wow, you have your hands full!" Haylie and Hannah are growing well. Then they got shots. It was a little tricky holding the human pin cushion and making sure the other didn't watch her counterpart get poked with a needle, while keeping Lauren out of the refrigerator that contains all the vaccinations. Jackson was a peach staring at the boring white wall, not complaining a bit. Phew that was over. Now I had the chance to feed Jackson in the car (not while driving like some crazy lady). We stopped by Jeremy's work so he could give the girls a hug for receiving four shots, they were pretty tough little cookies. Then I headed home and whipped up 24 miniature chocolate cream pies so we could surprise Grandma Bev and her class with a birthday treat. Then I picked up Jeremy and headed off to deliver said goodies. It was fun to be in her classroom. I think all kids involved enjoyed it. I then returned Jeremy to work. I like borrowing him when I can, haha! Off to the park, even though most people are already gone from our scheduled playdate. Luckily I caught two friends still there for a little bit. When they left I called my mom. It is a rare occurance. I figured I would make use of the quiet while the kids were playing and Jackson was eating. The conversation ended abruptly when Lauren started getting too adventurous and meandering towards the busy road across the park from me. Time to go get Miranda. So I headed home to pick up Jeremy's suit coat, he is heading to the temple tonight with the youth and wouldn't have a chance to stop by the house before meeting up with them. We pick up Miranda and head to Jeremy's work AGAIN to deliver the coat and have all the potty trained kids go potty before I head to Costco. Off to Costco where we shop and hit a few sample tables. I should probably be way embarrased when I take 5 samples but I am only slightly embarrased, who doesn't like free food? For dinner I splurged $6 to feed us. We ate our hot dogs and drank at least half our drinks before Haylie was doing the pee-pee dance. Most days I would be near tears at this point. Things were working out today. Miranda took Haylie and Hannah to the bathroom while I hopped in a...can you believe it...super short line, and ordered some soft serve frozen yogurt for all of us. Then I met the girls at the bathroom. As I was leaving the bathroom (this is the beginning of the good part) a gentleman complimented me on my "beautiful family". He chatted while walking us over to the food court to pick up our treat. We sat down and I divied up the ice cream and the kids ate up. We cleaned up and were heading out the door. As we got our smiley face on our receipt, the same gentleman came up to me and said he was watching me my kids and said "There's not a C.E.O. that could handle a company as well as I handled my kids." While I know that is not true I am still on cloud nine! My kids have been raised in a loving environment, I take a third of the credit for that. But each of our kids gets to make the choice to be good and make things easier for me. They make me look like a great mom.
So the part that I want to remember most is that even though I feel I am not doing my best on some days, it is the marathon that counts not the sprint. Overall I am doing great even if some days are hard. I love being a mom, even with the hard days!
So I am the geek next door that loves Twilight. I know the writing is not the best, the dream guy can be considered some what controling or abusive to some, but I still love it and will read it again and again. I do not have cable and from the news stories I am reading Twilight took home about 5 awards from the MTV awards tonight. Pretty amazing for a cheesey movie I must say. So I was extremely thrilled when I read that the "New Moon" Trailer was aired tonight. So I went to the MTV website and found the trailer. In case you haven't seen it:
Last month Logan was sharing how the boys at school made fun of him because he coldn't kick well. So the next weekend we went and bought a kids size soccer ball and headed to the park. Jeremy tried to teach them how to kick the ball. Turns out Logan does pretty good and he was probably being a little sensitive. We had a really good time at the park messing around. I love these two pictures, Like Father:
a few days later it looked like this:
For her second birthday it looked like this:
Barely visible but still there. We are not exactly sure what happened. When it was discovered I called the girls in and asked what happened. Miranda's response was "Hannah punched Lauren in the face!" This was said with conviction. I decided I wanted more detail since it seemed odd, hair pulling, wrestling, biting are possibilities but I have never seen any hint of boxing amongst the kiddos. It turns out Hannah and Lauren were playing and the bonked heads.
Of all the adjectives I have used to describe her this one has never been used. The other day we were at the dinner table. As always we were trying to get her to eat her vegetables. She will not even eat one green bean for any amount of tasty dessert. She must get that from some distant relative. You could probably get me and Jer to eat about anything for dessert. It is sad though when a little one thinks feet taste better than vegetables.
Gotta love this girl she is priceless.
We were young, I was mean, but we maintained a friendship. He was extremely busy playing the field. ; ) When we both had lived a little and matured he called me out of the blue. At least it was for me, turns out he had been trying to call for two months. We started dating for real in December of 98. In April we took a fabulous trip to Disneyland (where else of course!) and to San Diego, and a short trip over the border. It was then that I knew it was not just a fling, and he was serious. It was the first time that we seriously talked marriage.
We have been blessed with lots of tired nights and extremely happy moments.
(This was the last photo we have as a couple. I am not liking my picture taken too much.)
Happy Anniversary!
Now she is still beautiful and takes my breath away, now it is by force while I count to 10, count my blessings and find the humor in her personality.
She knows what she wants and I hope that never changes. Her confidence does not compare with her siblings. She loves to give kisses and will give hugs to say sorry. Those who know us really well appreciate her as well. By no means do I think we have perfect kids and I know no body would trade theirs for ours, but our kids behave well in public, then Lauren came. While she does behave pretty well she is by far louder than the other kids. She is at the point when shopping that she sees clothes racks and takes off giggling the whole way. She loves to get into no-no's and then have you chase her. This little twerp is fast. Who would have thought that would be the case for such a late walker?
Lauren was a pretty good eater but hasn't eaten vegetables in I don't know how long. She was too young to reason with so we just let her eat what she wanted. Now it is time for hard core training. We give her dinner and if she doesn't eat her vegetables she does not get dessert. We also are now cutting back on the milk. Yesterday after dinner I was of course at the computer, and the kids come and inform (not tattle that would be annoying) me that Lauren has a cookie. So I follow them to find her hiding by the end of the bed eating her cookie in a corner. From the door you can not see her but as I kept walking she was busted. Here's a little video.
Happy 2nd Birthday to our fifth child, the one who will not let us loose her in the mix and makes herself known and demands independence. Lauren, I love you!
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