Lucky Number Seven!

Hard to imagine that seven years ago, PC and I were only starting out on a journey that has already provided us with so much.  As we celebrate seven years of marriage today, I am just in awe of everything we have accomplished together - and its ONLY been seven years.

I get excited at this time every year because its like playing Monopoly and going past GO... only instead of collecting $200, we are collecting another year of 'happily ever after'.We might purchase somethings along the way, or sell-off a few others, but were buying and selling together, and as along as we're avoiding going to jail - I'd say were doing okay!

This past year has been about achieving a balance.  With two busy boys in our lives, we rarely find time to for the two of us but I think the point is that we still enjoy those outings when we do get to be together as just a couple - sans kids.  Our boys have provided us with so many laughs this past year... and its made us both see that raising a family, although tough at times, can be equally rewarding and then some.

PC, still the keeper of many titles: friend, lover, and partner for life! Thank you for putting up with my crap, and your welcome for putting up with yours!

I love you.
Happy Anniversary.

A little too early for this one!

So it's Friday morning, and I've over slept by fifteen minutes... which is not the end of the world but its the fifteen minutes of the morning that I have to myself before the rest of the house wakes, where I organize my thoughts, my day, and figure out what's for dinner.  I'm am just wiping the sleep out my eyes when in bounces E to the bathroom, wide awake and chatting away (like most mornings).

As I say good morning to him, he stripes out of his pajama bottoms and goes for a pee. I haven't even processed what day of the week it is, when he poses the following question:

Mommy, do girls have penis' too?

Me: (still wondering what day of the week it is)... Ahh no.
E: (not about to drop it) How come?

Me: (man I could use a coffee right now)... Because boys and girls are made differently.
E: So girls don't have penis'? (looking at me dead serious).

Me: No.
E: Really? So girls can't ever have penis'?

Me: (not even debating the long answer on this one)... No.
E: You mean its im-paw-sa-ble?

Me: (given that's its 6:15 am) Yes, its impossible.
E: Okay... can I get dressed now?

Me: (laughing) Yes.

I debated pulling out the Varsity Blues line of 'penis penis penis, vagina vagina vagina'... the one that rings through my head every time anyone says penis; but since it was a school day, and we are only a few weeks into school, I gasped at the thought of E sharing with the teacher or his friends something along the lines of '...like my Mom always says: penis penis penis'!! 

After my brains kicked in about thirty minutes later, I was thankful that the discussion ended with a simply yes and no answer. I have feeling the next time this subject comes up, I'm not going to get off so easy!

 

Just a sandwich!

Having a little boy in full-time kindergarten means having to pack a little boy's lunch every. single. day. for the next fifteen plus years. This is the one (and probably not the only) thing that I am not looking forward to, but its something that I accept and will try to do my best at.

Last week was our first week on lunches.

The first day, I made a signature ham and cheese wrap, with some grapes, a cheese stick, yogurt, mini muffins, and some fruit snacks.

The second day, I went with crackers, cheese, pickles, and ham in a little container, plus carrots and dip, a few other snacks thrown in.

The third day, I tried the bagel with cream cheese & jam, a yogurt drink, mini muffins, some pickles, and the standard snacks on the side.

On the evening of day three, the conversation I had with E at the supper table went like this:

Me: So how was lunch today?
E: It was good. But how come you put butter on my bagel?

Me: I didn't, it was cream cheese & jam.
E: But it wasn't toasted, you are suppose to toast bagels.

Me: So you want a toasted bagel another time?
E: Ya, toasted, no butter.

Me: What do the other kids in your class bring for lunch?
E: Just sandwiches.

E: So, can I just get a sandwich tomorrow?
Me: (surprised) Okay.

E: Not a wrap, not a bagel, just plain bread and stuff, nothing fancy.

Perhaps, I was trying to hard?

Friday, he got just a sandwich. Plain bread, some ham, cheese, and mustard.

Nothing fancy.
 
 

E's First Day of School

And he's off... to school - junior kindergarten, just like that!

What a sweet morning it was for our big boy. He grabbed his lunch, saddled up his over-sized backpack and boarded the bus like he's been doing it for years.  He didn't waiver at all... saw the bus, gave a kiss goodbye, and marched up the steps like it was his job!

PC and I arrived at the school to greet the bus and to get E to the proper room to get settled and meet his teacher.  He really didn't look back from the moment he jumped out of bed, proudly announcing, 'I'm going to school today'.  I am sure the excitement and the day's activities will exhaust him by supper time, but I can't wait to see what he has to say about his day.

I really could not be prouder of this little man. He did it, he really did it (and we did it too)! I got a little teary eyed driving to the school but I held it together on outside, even though I was sobbing on the inside.

What an exciting morning... our big boy is now a school boy!

Yay!

 

T'was the night before kindergarten!

So here we are... the night before E's first day of school, first day of junior kindergarten.

I am filled with so many emotions tonight... a bit of excitement, a bit of nerves, and the urge to cry just a little.

How can it be, that the little baby boy who stole my heart almost four years ago has now grown into an independent little man who is now able to hop on a school bus and start kindergarten. Every day for the last four years, I have been amazed at this little boy - and I am sure tomorrow will be no different.

I hugged him just a little tighter tonight, and told him I loved him about a dozen extra times above normal. His excitement is contagious, and I am hoping that my nervousness for him is not. I am excited for what is to come for him, all of the new opportunities, and a different way of exploring the world around us, but I am also nervous for the many encounters he may experience, where PC or I won't be there to help him or give him that extra nudge of encouragement that I know he sometimes needs.

This going to school thing is turning out to be harder on me than it is on him. I wish I could bottle up his enthusiasm for riding the bus (and then shoot it back to him when he's 16 and hating the bus). I wish I could somehow protect his innocent view of the world and head off any cruelty that may come his way during his school years. These are little things that keep me up at night lately. The unknown world of what the school years will hold for him. Will he be kind, will he be smart, will he be sporty... there are so many paths this first day of kindergarten can take... and yet all I want for him is to enjoy learning and have friends that like him for who he is.

As much as I am dreading the negative things that come along with going to school, I am too looking forward to the personal accomplishments he will experience by being a member of a classroom, and all of the wonderful things he will bring home, telling us all about what he has learned, or what he got to do at school.

Of course, there will be moments where I am sure I will less than impressed by something he may be involved with, but I hope that in some small way PC and I can be there to keep him on the right track and guide him down the path that allows him to make good decisions in difficult situations.

Ahh, the pressure that is going to kindergarten!

Tomorrow will be a big day all around. Big for E, and definitely big for Mommy & Daddy.

Emery, I want you to know how very special you are to both Daddy and I. We can't wait to see you take the bus in the morning, and meet your teacher, and unpack your school bag in your new classroom. It's going to be a great day all around (even if there will be a few tears).

Good luck tomorrow on your first day of school... and as always, lots of love.

xoxo