P-O-T

K read the word pot today. That's the first word she's ever read. :)
In honor, here's a 2006 picture of wee K:

Apple Holler

We drove up to Sturtevant, Wisconsin today to go to Apple Holler. No story necessary, the pictures are good enough. :) We also went to the outlet malls in Pleasant Prairie, and the Mars Cheese Castle. :)
**YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO VIEW THEM LARGER**

Life as a mom

My girls are watching a movie right now with popcorn and juice (a rare event in this house), and they are content and happy. They're sitting in a pile of blankets on a comfy couch. This is what makes me happy now: my girls being happy. I'm just sitting upstairs, doing nothing, but I'm happy because they've got popcorn and a movie. I never realized how much a mom's state-of-mind depends on her children.

My girls are my life. Literally. My life revolves around kindergarten, gymnastics, dance, story times, and tickle-fests in the living room. It may sound pathetic (and it is), but I have no life outside of being a mommy.

I love just being with my girls. I love planning activities that revolve around their interests. I've been told that I need to get out without my kids more often, but I so rarely want to. It's funny because as a teenager, I hated little kids. I hated babysitting. I never thought I'd be a good mom at all. But strangely enough, this "career" has been my best fit yet. I'm good at what I do. And I love it.

There are times, though, that I think about the future and I get so overwhelmed. What will I do after they start going to school full time? I've never had a job I've loved as much as raising my girls. Yet I don't want more children. Will I always look back on these precious few years and miss them? Will I always regret not appreciating it more? Will I have a third child just to make it last longer (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T LET ME DO THAT!!!).

I used to think that my life was put on hold for the time I'm raising my girls. I always pictured it as an interruption, only to continue on once the girls get to school. Now I'm afraid that this is the only real part of my life, that it's the other part that's an interruption (other than glorious wealthy retirement.....if at all possible). I've defined myself as a mom and can't seem to figure out anymore what else I am. I'm happy as a mom, but what does that mean for me three years down the road when K's in first grade?

What do you go on to do, once those sweet early years are over? The thing I was best at is nearing an end...I know I'll always be a mom, but it is different when they're gone from 8-4.

For now, my girls are happily watching The Jungle Book with their juice and popcorn. They've got their whole life ahead of them. And they're happy. So I am, too....for now.

The bathroom

Okay, so here's our bathroom re-do. :) It was a nightmare at first. The guy doing the work (we'll call him "M") did a great job, but he worked SLOWLY. And the guy who owned the company ("S") kept pulling him off for other jobs. Our bathroom was demolished by Monday and he never showed up on Tuesday. After multiple attempts to reach him, D finally did. He found out he had been at another work site all day. ?????
So Wednesday comes around and it's close to noon (when he was supposed to be here by 8 a.m.). I had called both M and S about ten times each and neither was answering. So I left two voicemails that I will always be proud of. I was so angry and let them know it, ending the messages by saying that if I didn't hear back within two hours, their tools would be on our front step and we would find someone else to finish the job. Now, most contractors wouldn't have cared that much, but we had only paid them a fraction of the price and there was NO way they would have gotten any more money. So within an hour of the phone call, M was at our house working. And from that moment, he did an awesome job. He showed up at our house around 8:30 every morning and even stayed until 8 p.m. M never took breaks or lunch times, either. He was actually a really nice guy, and he did a great job on the bathroom. He literally ran up and down the steps every time he had to cut tile outside. No joke. I actually saw him trip once because he tried to take 3 steps at a time. Needless to say, I laughed. So, the bathroom is done, and we love it. Here are some pictures of before/during/after.

The original problem: water damage, exposed because D pushed straight through the wall while cleaning the shower.




D's demo job, which revealed a satellite nest of well fed carpenter ants. The dark spots are the spray that led to their demise.




Before the wall was pushed back:




Starting to take shape:




The seat:




Done!!! It's a foot longer and 3-4 inches wider. With a cute little shelf and seat, too! :)











And the floor was redone as well to match:




And for good measure, my sweet E on gym day at school.

Our bathroom

I'm so ready to put a before and after picture of our bathroom. It should be done by this afternoon.....
But we'll see.

For Lauren

Since Lauren likes pictures. :)
The many faces of K. These pictures were taken three seconds apart. Please note the puffy eye from a bug bite. :)





K says "Hi Lauren. Bye Lauren. Thank you."

Picnic

We had a picnic in the front yard. I wanted to take a picture, but K is in the middle of that well known I'm-three-and-refuse-to-take-a-decent-picture phase.

This is how it went (and what I said):

"Smile girls!"




"K, take your fingers away from your face."




"K, can you please lower your head?"




I didn't dare try another one or K would have thrown that peanut butter and jelly sandwich at me. She may look mad in the picture, but that look on her face is one of pure concentration. She's trying really hard to get this picture right.

And just for good measure, here's Scout in a basket:

It makes you wonder...

So I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. What was I reading? The school's parent/student handbook.
They have, written out, consequences for smoking. For the kindergarten.
Granted, this handbook is sent out to the whole district (up to 8th grade), but they distinguish the consequences between grade levels. For example, the first warning for smoking (in kindergarten) is restitution/apology and teacher redirection.
"Johnny, would you please not light up in class? Let's sing the ABC song instead!"
The second warning is loss of privileges and parent conference.
"Johnny, you're going to miss carpet time if you take another drag."

I can't help but laugh when I picture it. I just might cut it out and put it in E's baby book.

Yale, here we come!!

The first two pictures are from the morning before school. The last is her getting off the bus after school. E could have exploded with excitement today. She LOVED EVERY SECOND OF KINDERGARTEN!!!!!
She saw one of her friends from preschool in the hall and gave her a big hug.
We're very happy today. :)









Edited to Add: These pictures were almost impossible to get. E bolted on the bus as soon as the doors opened this morning. I had to call her back off to get a picture. And this afternoon, getting off the bus, she was so excited to tell me everything that she didn't stop for a picture. So no pretty pose on the first step. She moved too fast. :)