Rockin' It

It's not always easy to think of a title, or to think of how to organize a bunch of random stuff into a post, but I think I finally found a way to sum up the last week...we are really rockin' it. By rockin it, I mean a couple of things--we are either really rockin' some fun new stuff, or we are really NOT rockin' it. I appreciate sarcasm so I think it flies here.

First, Jillian is in the final countdown days of school and they are doing some fun stuff with the word 'kindergarten'. They have a special activity (one per day) that corresponds with each letter of that word. The first day for letter K was 'kids in motion'. Jillian took this very seriously and asked to borrow one of my headbands that I wear to workout. I obliged, of course, and I think she was really rockin' this fit look.

So of course baby sister needed a headband, too. We were all really rockin' the look that morning.

And someone kept rockin' it long into the night......

Adrienne was so excited to be invited to her friend Annabelle's tea party on Thursday. She borrowed Jillian's dress/sweater, and insisted I make her hair "smoov". She really rocked the fancy pants look and had a lovely time with some lovely little ladies at the tea party.

Adrienne and Lakin were a couple of clowns....rockin' the sense of humor, these two.

Adrienne has also become master of the spontaneous deck picnic. She gets a towel and literally hits the deck for some lunch and relaxation. Here is she  rockin' her new shades and enjoying the ring pop she got from the tea party (I forgot to mention that this child ate FOUR cookies at the tea party--50% of those were secretly swiped, and her friend Evin ratted her out)

Jillian loves having a desk in her room. She does not, however, enjoy keeping it neat and organized. She is really rockin' the clean room look. NOT.

Jillian has fully developed a love of reading. And now she's reading chapter books--this magical animal series she got from the school book orders is gripping, I'm sure. This girl is rockin' at reading!!

This is how we rock gardening. In sun hats, gloves....and an unidentified (at this point) case of strep throat.

Rockin' what we call a "sick bed" in our house. Poor Jillian...high fever of 103 for two days, and then vomiting. The vomiting distracted me, so it took almost 36 hours to discover she had a horribly sore throat that was classic strep. Thank goodness for weekend express care.

Annnnnd.....24 hours later, this is how Adrienne rocks waiting at the St Marys pharmacy on a holiday for HER prescription. We rocked express care for two days straight with throat cultures.

And so, we were really rockin' our holiday weekend party style.....NOT

Yesterday, I kept Adrienne with me all day--I didn't really want to risk exposing her almost 81 year old swimming instructor to strep since we were just shy of 24 hrs on drugs. So we went to Target for groceries (and coffee/hot chocolate) after dropping J off at school. Adrienne did her own hair. She is rockin' the messy head look.

I got in "trouble" on Monday night as Matt was raiding the pantry for a late night sweet bite. I got in trouble because the pantry is full of dark chocolate bites (my love) and completely void of milk chocolate (the only kind of chocolate he likes. I'd argue that milk chocolate isn't real chocolate, but that's not the point)....so I remedied my mistake yesterday. I totally rocked the milk chocolate re-stock for my love.

On Saturday, the girls were playing outside in the back. They've started getting friendly with our next door neighbor, Nancy, when she's out in her garden. Nancy is a lovely woman who has raised two girls of her own, so I know she doesn't mind their chatter, but still, I try to keep them out of her hair a bit. I can see them when they are talking to Nancy since her garden is close to the playset, so all is well there. After some time of outdoor play, Jillian came in. I looked and saw that A was still out there, so I went about my business. Then I realized I hadn't checked on her in awhile and couldn't find her. She wasn't out back, she wasn't out front, she wasn't in the house. I went back out the front and walked farther into the yard, turned my head, and saw my little baby down at the end of the cul-de-sac (two houses down) just walking around another neighbor's house. Yikes! Thank goodness the traffic is low 'round these parts, because I'm pretty sure her street smarts are poor. Her excuse for going down there? "I just wanted to say hi, Mom". No one was outside there, so I guess she just felt confident in her neighborly ways and wanted to knock on the door. At any rate, I am NOT rockin' parental supervision for outdoor play! Oops!

Jillian, however, IS rockin' Adrienne supervision because as the girls were playing upstairs after school yesterday she came racing down the stairs and into the kitchen--"Mom! Hurry! Adrienne is going to cut her hair!" Ahhh! This is a rite of passage I'd like to skip. I started shouting from where I was "STOP, ADRIENNE!!! DO NOT CUT YOUR HAIR!" as I ran up the stairs. I found her in a heap of tears, holding scissors in her room (contraband she stole from Jillian), "I'm sorry mommy! I didn't do it! I'm sorry!" Whew.


This kid. She is rockin' at ornery behavior and confident self expression in swimwear.  The end.

Last Day for A

My big baby girl had her last day of 3 year old preschool today! She is very proud that she will now be in the 4 & 5 year old class (after a lengthy summer break of course).

Here was sweet Adrienne almost 9 months ago heading off to her first day....

And here she was this morning. All smiles for her last day, and very excited for the fun celebration they would have at game day.

I had one hour after drop off (which I spent at Hobby Lobby of all places--stockpiling my secret summer craft supply for these crafty, busy girls) and then I joined Adrienne for family game day. Mrs Leif does a very fun last day of school for the kids--ice cream sandwiches, 12 outdoor games to be played in teams, and then a craft. What more could a kid want? Warmer temps would have been nice....it was 40 degrees!! Blech!

Scarfing down an ice cream sandwich before heading out to play.

An A and Mom selfie

Gunny sack races

Shoe box races

Water carrying game

Beanbag balancing game was a big hit

Pasta races--carefully carrying dried pasta that is inside the cup and attached to her shoe with a rubber band.

Ball and Spoon Race

Adrienne and Parker did their best to hop on one foot. Adrienne added a little Michael Jordan flair

The Hoppy Balls were much anticipated, and our team's last station!

Lovin' life and soaking up the sunshine (despite the temp--she is a hardy MN girl)

She wanted to take a picture with Rowan. I hope she always stands this far away from boys she likes.

A precious bunch of 3 year olds and two great teachers! For the memory book.....back row: Mrs Leif, Brecken, Parker, Mileigh, Isla, Claire, Emily, Adrienne, Rowan, Mrs Digmann. Front row: Isaac, Vance, Kensley, Nora, Jaxon, Gavin.

The final activity--making visors

We love you, Mrs Leif!

Celebrating her last day of school with lunch at Pi Pizza. This kid is something else. She had such a fantastic experience her first year of preschool. So thankful.

Oxbow Fieldtrip

I had the pleasure of accompanying Adrienne's class to their end of year fieldtrip to Oxbow Park/Zoo.  The only bummer of the day is that it was COLD and rainy the whole time. When we got home, Adrienne and I both had to take a long shower/bath to warm up. Felt like October, not May! I love this sweet class and have enjoyed spending a lot of time in the classroom this year.

Before we left, the kids had a quick snack. I am always amazed at how quiet and well-behaved Mrs Leif's classes are. Fourteen 3-4 year olds....and not a peep as they ate! Wish our dinner table was so peaceful at home.

Obligatory bus selfie.

Cute kids ready to go check out the zoo.

And a shot with silly faces. Adrienne is really good at this!

We had a good laugh that the goats were the only animals smart enough to take cover from the rain. They looked like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Thankfully, I saw no troll!

The bear is the most anticipated attraction at this little zoo that contains only animals you'd find in MN. When we got up to her cage she was  nowhere to be found. She must have heard the disappointed kids, because she quickly came out to meet us and even walked right up to the front of the cage!

We paused to get a quick picture of the kids and Mrs Leif (far right) and Mrs Digmann (far left) before getting back on the bus. Love this class!!

There's A Story Here

I took a few pictures of the girls just after story time as they were headed to bed tonight. This was because they were excited about these new Costco jammies (really Costco, thanks for making princess costumes in pajama form for ten bucks!).

Now when I look at these pictures, however, I have a sweet memory to reflect on and take comfort in. You see, sibling spats abound these days, and our evenings have not been so pleasant. But sometimes the heart reveals itself when given the chance, and Jillian revealed hers tonight. True to form, Adrienne "had snakes" after I put her to bed. She came downstairs to go (because, yes, their bathroom is still locked and off limits post tuck-in), and when I went to wipe her I discovered that the beloved Elsa pajamas had gotten a bit of poo on them in the cross fires. I informed my princess that she was slightly soiled and would have to find herself a different pair of pajamas to wear on this night. There were tears. Oh, there were big crocodile tears and heavy sobs. I empathized with her and did my best to help her calm down and then sent her little naked self upstairs to get dressed and to bed. About 10 minutes later, I heard the pitter patter of more little feet coming down the stairs. I silently prepared myself for another battle, feeling angry that someone needed something else. AGAIN. Long after bedtime was supposed to be done. Jillian appeared in my room, and began to speak before I could reprimand her--"Mom, I need to tell you something really important right now. Adrienne was so sad about her nightgown getting dirty, that I just wanted to let her wear mine. I tried it on her and it fit perfectly, so I let her wear it and I changed into a regular nightgown. Tomorrow is another chance. Will you wash the nightgowns so we can both wear them tomorrow?" Absolutely. I absolutely will.