Tag Archives: school

mommyhood

First Day Feels.

Leave a comment

The main thing I need to say is this: Man, we got here fast.

My second little minion started kindergarten today. He was quiet and reserved at drop-off, but didn’t cling to me or shed any tears. My second grader, true to form, flounced off into her class with a quick hug and kiss from me, and nary a backward glance. What a darling, she is, to not need a single thing from me anymore… right?

Parents often talk about how time flies, and you shouldn’t blink, and you’ll miss whatever that frustrating thing is. And truth be told, I have a four-year-old who still sometimes poops his pants and NO, KAREN, I WILL NOT MISS THAT. But I really do get it.

So when today at pick-up, I had been anxiously awaiting the news from my 5 and 7 year olds, thinking that like normal they’d be bursting with news and stories and “Oh, Mom, this was hilarious!” and my daughter was full of that. But my son seemed shell-shocked, saying he had been at school for, like, an hour (the longest imaginable time), and had gotten lost and separated from his class at dismissal, and dissolved into tears. I was in no way prepared for that. So I did what any unselfish and loving mother would do: cried right along with him, in front of all the other parents picking up their darling ones, including two of my friends (parents of my kids’ friends, too) who hugged and rubbed backs (his and mine) and checked in on us later. What would I have done if he was my oldest, that was our first day of kindergarten, and we didn’t know anyone?

So to all my mamas out there, the ones who had an amazing first day, and the ones who pried sad kiddos off their legs just to get out of the classroom this morning, be friends. Be friends with each other. Everyone needed a hug today, whether it be for congratulatory purposes (YES AND AMEN) or for the tears you are or aren’t willing to shed until your head hits your pillow tonight. I’ve got hugs to go around, and encouragement for either situation. Mamas, we are doing this together. Let’s share the love.

home, mommyhood, women

Fall Things

Leave a comment

Y’all. I have fallen straight off the blogging train. I haven’t written anything for any place in a good little while, and to be honest, the break has felt nice. So here I am, telling you’ve what I’ve been up to  since I haven’t been writing.

School is under way, schedules are in place, and I am pretty darn happy. For me, each day is different, and that’s just how I like it. I love to know that my Monday is different than my Tuesday, because I HATE being bored. For instance, Tuesday mornings I usually work at the church during the boys’ preschool hours. Thursday is my beloved women’s Bible study. The other three days a week sometimes are full of laundry and dishes, or special hang-outs with friends, or breakfast dates with my hubby, or a nice, long run (especially if the weekend was too crazy to squeeze it in). I’m race training right now for a half marathon on October 13th, and another on December 1st. I’m SO EXCITED that the weather has cooled down – at least for the moment. Today I ran ten miles (like I said, it happens if the weekend is busy!) in the sub-70-degree weather and I was about 45 seconds faster each mile than the last few long runs I’ve done. Why, you ask? I wasn’t as hot or dehydrated. Take that, summer running!

But along with the scarves and boots to come, I love the change of season that happens now, too. Things just feel different. I am bored of hot weather and swimming pools. The summer garden is almost defunct (except you, okra!) and the AC unit is ready for a break, though that’ll be a couple more weeks yet. But I’m excited for new things, new people, new experiences, including running those fall half marathons, the trip to Colorado I just returned from (I’ll try to write about it soon, also!) and my new podcast with three of my favorite women (Check us out wherever you listen to your podcasts! It’s called You’re Invited, @youreinvitedpodcast on all the socials.) The inspiration for new content is here, along with my favorite type of weather and flavor profile. I mean, y’all know about the love I have for warm apple cider and bourbon, right?

So latch on to this fall feeling. Break out the flannel, find an Oktoberfest beer you love (comment for suggestions!), and embrace the change of seasons around here. It’s not so bad, really. Even if you don’t like being cold, you’ve got a little while yet. Enjoy the feeling of in between… because that’s what fall is, isn’t it? In between the summer swelter and the winter snow. Between the 4th of July and Christmas is this perfect little window of fall. We’re here, y’all. We’re here.

food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently: September!

9 Comments

Y’all! Is that fall I smell in the air?! I am beside myself for a this magical weather. Even if it just lasts until 10:30am, I am so excited for a cool down. It’s a glimpse of what’s to come, surely! Now if the rain would just calm down… but I know that I cannot complain, since those towards the coast are in for much worse pretty soon. 

This month, I’m linking up with Anne in Residence, and Lowanda of Sunshine and Elephants for our monthly Currently link party. Leave a comment, or link up and join us! Thanks for stopping by… and here’s what’s going on in my neck of the woods currently…

img_0358

Celebrating || the start of school! We’ve really amped up this year with our first true school experience (my oldest is off to kindergarten!) and the fact that the baby (age 2) began preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It’s blowing my mind that all three of my kids are in some sort of school! And that they’re even old enough for that to be happening at all… time flies when you’re having fun busy with small children!

Watching || Our TV shows that are starting back up soon! We are excited to continue New Girl and I’ll be glad to get going on This Is Us. We also flew through that new installment of the Netflix Wet Hot American Summer Series (Ronnie Reagan, yikes) while we were on vacation last month, and recently began our trusted favorite show for the hundredth time: Arrested Development (the original, though I’m sure we’ll watch the Netflix add-on of that as well). We’ve also recently watched all the Star Wars movies, and several of them with the kids. They looooooove them. #nerdalert

Welcoming || a little tease of cooler weather! All last week the high was in the mid-70s and I was not sad. I have a new pair of suede booties that are BEGGING to be worn (thanks, Target!) and my scarves have been forlorn in my closet for months. I know that it won’t truly be cold enough for scarves here in NC for at LEAST another six weeks but I am READY!

Preparing || lunches for my kinder-girl and breakfasts for all. I’ve been trying to get some semi-meal planning done, which for me isn’t necessarily preparing a week’s worth of a meal schedule, but more like baking (healthy) muffins for breakfasts (or lunch!) and making twice the amount of (again, healthy) waffles I need in one morning to cover another morning’s breakfast. I pack most of EK’s lunch the night before, since she mostly just snacks for lunch (raw carrot, pretzels, cheese, fruit, maybe a PBJ or a turkey wrap). If I’ve got leftovers I know for sure she’ll eat (here’s looking at you, mac and cheese) I’ll send those along as well.

Photographing || the first day of school, as well as getting a fall photo session booked. I want something updated for Christmas, even if it’s a hot mess like it sorta was last year. It’s still tough to get a nice photo with all five of us in it, and so I usually end up with a collage on our Christmas card. But I’d really like to have something approaching a nice family photo this year. SO – bribery it is! (Jelly beans and M&Ms work best for my brood.) Here are our first day of school photos:

So now, tell me: what’s going on in your world currently?

mommyhood, things toddlers say

Things Toddlers Say

Leave a comment

Happy Tuesday! Thanks for all the love on my poem about kindergarten. Y’all are really too sweet… it was easier to get my feelings out in poetry than prose (and add that to the list of things I never thought I’d say). I must say, this week was a slow one for the funnies, but it was a lot of preparing for school and really soaking up time with all five of us. I hope your kids have had a great first couple of days at school – and that all the parents had a nice first couple of days without them! Here are the quotations of the week!

Overheard at the breakfast table…
J: I’m Mr. Boil, the popcorn chef!
(We then kept the Mr. Boil ruse going for another two hours that day.)

EK: Can we catch fireflies sometime? We’re gonna do it like this: I’m gonna flick the lights, and the real fireflies will think it’s their family, and you guys will catch them!

Hubby: Come on, let’s get in the car!
J: Nooooo!
Hubby: But we need to take EK to school on her first day!
J: I don’t wanna go to school!
Hubby: We’re just walking EK in and then coming back home.
J: *relieved giggle* Ooohhh…

At bedtime, EK’s prayer song: I pray that I would one day be an adult and I’d find a man to dance with who is also an adult (still singing, mind you). I’ll say “truth” and you say “Jesus”. Now stomp your feet for hooray!
*almost literally 20 minutes later*
EK: How did you like my song?
Me: It was great!
EK: It was called “My Bright King Lord”.
Me: ……..
Y’all.

J, randomly this morning: Hey! Listen to this! Davy the baby and Katie the lady!
Hubby: Um, good rhyming.

Well there it is, short and sweet. What things have your kids said recently?

mommyhood, random thoughts

‘Twas the First Day of Kindergarten

Leave a comment

‘Twas the First Day of Kindergarten: An Ode to Parents’ Feelings

‘Twas the first day of kindergarten,
And all through the town
The fathers and mothers were
Not at all sitting down.
They were packing the lunches
And setting out clothes,
Filling the water bottles
And wiping their nose.
For, you see, they were trying
To keep themselves busy
So it’d be easier to hide
All the crying and wishing
For just one more day
With their sweet little dears.
So they washed some more dishes
To hide the falling tears.

But then they remembered
The tantrums and tears
Over small things and large things
Like scratches or fears.
They’d make mountains of molehills
And things inconsequential.
They kept saying, “MOM!”
Till there was potential
For a nervous breakdown!
Or at least an explosion
Of some stressful shouting
That would cause a commotion.
They remembered those times
That they’d almost forgotten,
Of cleaning up messes
And wiping all the bottoms.

But between feelings of love,
And feelings of relief,
The parents would still know
That the school day is brief.
Their children would return,
Tired but happy.
They’d want to chat, have a snuggle,
And maybe take a nappy.
Then it’s dinner, and a bath,
And send them off to their beds,
The moms and dads needing
To rest their own heads.

It takes energy to love
All those little ones well,
And to worry and fret
Over healthy food or weird smells.
We’re entrusted these kids
For the shortest of seasons.
How can we not also
Give hundreds of reasons
To be protective and kind,
Giving all the hugs and kisses?
One day they’ll be grown,
And we’ll be the ones who miss them.

mommyhood

Kindergarten, Here She Comes

Leave a comment

Yesterday, I did something I’d been putting off. I finally registered EK for kindergarten. Originally, I put it off because we were still thinking about schools, but it quickly moved on to the fact that I was just a little down, thinking about how big she is, and how little time I’ll get with her once we start full-day school in the fall. I mean, she’s excited, she’s ready, and she’s not going to have a problem with that transition. It was my heart that wasn’t ready.

I’m not ready to let my baby be somewhere else for six hours a day. I’m not ready to let her loose into the world, when she might be very impressionable. I’m not ready to feel like I have to share the work of raising her with someone else. I’m not ready.

But she is ready.

She is ready to spread her wings a bit. She is ready to make new friends, learn new things, be pushed and stretched. She is ready have a new teacher, new rules, new environment, and new people surrounding her. She is ready to read, to add and subtract, to play new games and sing new songs.

I know there will be hard days. She will have kids at school who aren’t nice, or days she doesn’t feel like going to school at all. But that’s where I come in: the encourager, the snuggler, the preparation expert, the “you can do it!” chanter. Her home is a safe place, one that will prepare her for her day, and one that will envelop her in comfort upon her return. Her family loves her – even her brothers will help cheer her on.

So kindergarten, by the time you get here, we will be ready for you. I’m glad that day isn’t today, but in a couple of months, my heart will be prepared. Be good to my little girl, kindergarten. She’s excited for you.

fashion, home, mommyhood, music, random thoughts, women

6 Reasons I’m Excited for Fall

2 Comments

Last night, Hubby and I sat outside on the deck and played cards with friends. It was ever so pleasant outside, with the lights strung around us, the cicadas chirping and a slight breeze. I might’ve even had a chill by the time we went inside, hours after the sun had gone down. It just made me even more excited for the start of fall. It’s always been my favorite season, so I decided to share with you a few reasons why I’m so excited for it to get here.

School. This one is big, maybe even the biggest, for me. I’ve spent my entire life either as a student, a teacher, or now the parent of a student, and so my goal-making, fresh starting, and excitement of all things new happens in the fall. We begin a school year excited for new opportunities, anticipating fall and winter holidays, trips, and weather, throwing ourselves gladly into rigorous schedules, and making short- and long-term goals for ourselves and our families. As a worship leader, it’s the time that several more ministries and church-related things start back up. As the mom of young kids, it’s the time that I get a couple of mornings a week of free time (thanks, preschool!) to write, to read, and to be “me” instead of “mom”. Those things excite me almost more than anything else!

Boots. These are treasured items in my wardrobe, and yet something I just DO NOT wear when it’s warm outside. They’re the first thing I lose in the springtime, because I sweat just thinking about wearing them in the hot. But I sure do love pairing them with dresses, leggings, and skinny jeans. They are almost my only footwear during the cooler months.

Scarves. Just like boots, I’m not great at wearing them in the warm weather. I get a little claustrophobic with something around my neck if it’s hot. But I love scarves for their pops of color, multiple uses, and the way they can replace a statement necklace for outfit completion.

Candles. I love scented candles! I also love candlelight, and so when fall is here with the yummy cinnamon smells and even on to Advent for the Christmas tree scents, there’s usually a candle lit somewhere in my home.

Fires. Whether from a candle, a hearth, or a roaring bonfire outdoors, I love to be near a fire! I like bundling up, cuddling, drinking and dancing near a big fire. Hubby’s friends used to pick up discard trees from around their neighborhood after Christmas was over, and have a huge bonfire in early January. I think that’s a brilliant idea and will be reinstating it this year.

Leggings. I’ve recently started loving leggings even more than I did a few years ago, maybe because they’re so comfortable and practical to wear while pregnant. I have several funky patterns, bright colors, and tunics with which to pair them. And THEN, I toss on a pair of boots for the fall-style win.

Well, now you know what I’m looking forward to. What are your favorite things about fall?

home, mommyhood

Preschool Has Started With a Bang!

4 Comments

This morning, I dropped EK and J off at preschool. Much to my surprise, and chagrin, they were so excited that I didn’t even get a goodbye hug! They just walked right in, threw their stuff down, and got started. I expected that to happen with EK, but I expected some trepidation from J. Well, no way. He waltzed right in there, dropped his bag on the ground (I had to hang it for him) and started playing. The kid knew where he was and what he wanted to do. And even though I’m a little sad he didn’t even want to hug me or anything, I am thrilled we won’t have any sadness. It makes a mama SO happy to know her kids are having fun and not crying.

The only thing that was a little crazy was getting out the door on time. To get to school on time, we should leave around 8:45. I think we pulled out of the driveway at 8:56. While it’s okay to be late the first day, that just isn’t going to fly every single time we go. Especially because I work at church on Thursday mornings, and I need to be getting things ready for the women’s service every Thursday around 8:30. Do the math on that one, folks. That’s leaving the house at 8:15. Can we handle it? Time will tell. 

 Our morning routine went a little like this…

7:15 – I hear J waking up a little on the monitor.
7:20 – My alarm goes off. (Snoozed. Big time.)
7:30 – I get up, because my other alarm (the baby) had gone off.
7:45 – My mom comes up the stairs (she’s leaving this am) and Hubby gets out of the shower, and D is done nursing. Pass the baby to Hubby, my mom starts making breakfast, I go down to get the kids. (An unrealistic view of what will happen most of the time… because Mom won’t be here.)
8:00 – Kids and I are in the shower (we skipped baths last night)
8:30 – Kids and I are clean, dressed, and having breakfast.
8:40 – I start my rush to grab things I didn’t prepare last night (not many, thankfully).
8:50 – Packing the kids in the car. J poops (duh), so he gets back out for a change.
8:56 – Pull out of the driveway.

Not too bad, Hsus. Not too bad. We were only a couple of minutes late; 15 minutes travel time allows for some traffic, which we blessedly didn’t have this morning. Usually, we don’t do showers in the morning, so that’ll take some time out. Also, I’m thinking about packing breakfasts or picking up smoothies on the way on Thursdays, since the kids will have 30 minutes of hanging out while I work before their school starts. That’s plenty of time to have a breakfast smoothie, right? Maybe we can handle it. 

This guy had the most peaceful morning nap he’s ever had.
 Any tips on making school mornings go more smoothly? That don’t happen to include getting up earlier? I’ve got a family of fairly late sleepers (for toddlers, anyway), and I don’t want to have to break that habit just yet.