I've Been There a Million Times and Didn't Know.....

I've been to Tribble Mill a whole bunch of times over the past 8 years.  We've done the walking trail, biked the bike trails, playground, picnic areas, etc.  I had no idea they had this gem.....  Back in May Chloe's class went on a nature hike and picnic to the 'waterfall.'  I asked what kind of waterfall is there and they told me there is a trail in the woods.  Well we ventured there yesterday with our neighbors.  Sure enough, not far from the parking lot we came to a place where the water flows over the rocks.  It kind of reminded me of Stone Mountain.  The kids had a blast.  Ashlyn, Jalen, and Aja had a blast sliding down the rocks.  We only let them stay in one area due to the speed of the water on the far side because of all of the rain we have had.  However Jalen and Aja somehow made it over there, started down the rocks, and had to be helped out by the two ten year olds that were tubing.  They did get a few scrapes.  Chloe, on the other hand, just watched and played in the little craters of water.  There were tadpoles in there and she enjoyed watching them and playing with sticks.  All in all we had a great time.

Falling Into Place....

As I sit here and reflect on the past year, I realize things have really fallen into place.  Beginning with my job.....  I wasn't sure I was ready to go back full time but did so Oct 7, 2012.  I love my position and work with a great group of teachers.  Every teacher on my floor(except 1) are around the same age and have around the same age children.  They support each other and I couldn't ask for a better group to work with.  At the faculty meeting, I found out that I would be on the leadership team.  This is one week after I found out I would be coming back full time.  A little surprised?  Yes.  This also means that I can't be displaced which may be why they put me in that position.

Ashlyn will be going to Kindergarten at the same school that I work at and it happens to be the same school that we are zoned for.  Considering there are over 100 schools in our county, I'm pretty fortunate to be able to state that.  This means that I get to pick her teacher.  Well, I get three choices.  This is also a big deal.  Although she claims she is riding the bus, I hope that she will go with me.  If not, I do have morning bus duty.

I had planned on keeping Chloe at CBA where she has been since she was one.  We loved it there but it just wasn't going to work in my favor.  Last year I paid a friend to take them to school, paid tuition, and then paid aftercare.  I had to get them by 4:00 because aftercare doubled after 4.  Frankly, it added up and we were probably paying more than daycare.  Then there were the days that they didn't have aftercare and I had to ask a friend to pick them up....

All of the teacher kids at Cooper go to Kids Harbor and 15 of them would be doing Georgia PreK there.  I felt like this was the natural fit but there was one problem.  There was a waiting list and Chloe's name was way down the list.  That's when my co-workers pitched in and started talking to the director.  Chloe got in and will be going there this year.  I met her teacher and she is very sweet.  Her daughter was in third grade last year and was also very sweet.  Chloe will be doing aftercare there but this time I won't feel rushed to get her.

A year ago today, I didn't picture any of this happening.  I was simply a stay at home mom.  What a difference a year has made.

A Jumping Good Time

Sky Zone was so much fun.  I didn't know what to expect or what my four and five year old could do.  I knew Ashlyn would do most anything but Chloe is hit or miss when it comes to things like this.  Well they had a blast.  Chloe had a few 'moments' but all in all it was a good time.  We bought a groupon for (2) one hour jump passes for $15.  It also came with two sodas.  **My kids don't drink soda.  Anyways when I got there and looked at the regular price of $10 for 30 minutes, I realized I got a good deal.

The kids had a blast.  They had to jump in a square.  There could only be one person per square.  You can jump from square to square as long as it is empty.  There is a dodgeball court for older kids which we didn't do.  there is a basketball slam dunk area which we didn't do either.  I tried to get Ashlyn to do it but she wasn't interested.  She loved the area where you jumped into a bunch of foam blocks.  Chloe did that too.  An hour was enough time.  They wanted to take a breather after 30 min and I told them they couldn't because they only had an hour to jump and then we would be done.  Next time I would do it too.  It is something that I could do with them.

Here are some videos:

On a Brighter Note.....

I am constantly painting the girls' fingernails and toenails.  I made a comment a few weeks ago about going to get it done at a salon.  Big Mistake!  They've been asking me nonstop when they could go.  Soooooo, today was the day.  I had done my research to find out which salon had kid chairs.  They were thrilled.  They picked out their colors and sat in their cool chairs.  One of the ladies asked if I wanted to get mine done.  I said no.  Then she went on about how I should get mine done too and I need to pamper myself, blah, blah, blah.  That's when I realized---yes I do everything for my kids but nothing for me.  That's what my mom did too.  You know what??  I'm ok with that.  I like to see the looks on their faces when they do something new and exciting.  Do I need a pedicure?  Heck yeah.  You should see my feet.  Did I get one today?  No.  I happily sat with the kids while they got their nails done.  I paid and left.  Was the lady just trying to get my business?  Probably but I saved a few dollars....

Prayers Needed......

A friend from high school is in need of prayers.  She got married shortly after high school (more than 15 years ago).  Over the past three years, they have been trying to adopt.  They had three failed adoptions two of which they traveled to Texas for the delivery of the baby only for the birthmother to change her mind.  I can't even imagine.  They then changed their mind and were both willing to adopt a toddler.  They got the wonderful news that there was a one year old up for adoption bc the mom had several kids and could not take care of him.  They flew to Texas(again) and the little boy walked over to them and gave them hugs.  He wouldn't let go of them.  She described it as perfect and that the previous adoption failures were now a distant past for the pure joy they just received.  They have had him for three months and life was great---or so they thought.  They got a phone call from the adoption agency saying that the birthmother lied about the birthfather and that he wanted custody of the baby all along.  A few days later, the birthfather and grandparents flew to PA and took the little boy back to Texas.  Can you imagine the pain they must feel?  I surely can't and my eyes well with tears just thinking about it.  I'm praying for them that they find the strength to keep going through with adoption. There are many kids out there that need loving families that they can provide.  I feel like God has bigger plans for them.  Please add them to your prayer list.

Camp

I failed to talk about the kids going to the Country Camp last week.  I was a little reluctant sending Chloe.  I wasn't sure how she would do bc she would not be in Ashlyn's age group and she didn't know anyone going.  Ashlyn, on the other hand, would be with her best buds at school, Carter and Colbie, along with a few kids from the mom's club.  Well Chloe ended up knowing several kids in her group and some classmates from school were there.  Because Colbie has a late birthday, she ended up in Chloe's group.  This made Chloe very happy and Ashlyn not so much.  Ashlyn knew several kids too.

All in all they had a great time.  They loved telling me about all of the things they did--many of which I grew up doing in PA but they don't really have that opportunity where we live.  Some of the things they did were:  fishing, archery, swimming in a lake, mud pit, riding the bull, guest speakers about nature, slip and slides, rope course, and more.  When I picked them up each day, they couldn't stop talking about the fun things they did.

They also begged to go next week which isn't happening.  They will be going next year.

A Tale of Two (Very Different) Sisters

I scored some great deals last year after Halloween as I hit up every Target in the area for 90% off costumes.  Needless to say, the kids have a lot of dress up costumes ranging from Princess to Super Hero.  Well that is exactly what my kids like to be---one a super hero and the other a princess.  Here is how the night of imaginative play went.

Overheard from the next room while I was folding clothes:

CHLOE:  (dressed in a Cinderella dress and glass slippers)  Hey Ashlyn let's play Cinderella. I'm going to walk up the stairs and drop my shoe.  You know the Fairy Godmother has already come and it's almost midnight.  You be the prince and pick it up and see which girl it fits, okay????

ASHLYN:  No I don't want to be a prince.  I'm Superman.

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ASHLYN:  Mommy can you go downstairs.  I have more room to practice my flying there.

ME: What???

ASHLYN:  I have on my Superman costume.  I can fly if I get a running start.  Let's go.

ME:  OKay........

While downstairs, I took this video after several attempts at flying.  After each one, she would yell, "Why can't I fly??"  Of course, when I started the video she did not say that.  Anyways, you will also notice that she is not wearing a Superman costume but she thinks it is.  

This Week at the Pemberton's

Today we went to Everland Play by the Mall of Georgia.  It is kind of like Catch Air and the kids had fun.  I met a teacher friend and her daughter.  Then tonight Brandon and I took the kids to see Monster University.  It was a good movie.  Chloe still doesn't sit through movies.  She is good the first hour and then she is done.  This is their third movie at the theater---well four counting the one my parents took them to in PA.  So after the movie, I needed to stop at the grocery store for camp lunches.  When I pulled in the parking lot I parked next to my neighbor Jason.  He was in the car with the kids and his wife was inside.  Well I see her walking and talking on her phone down the aisle and I jump in front of her.  She screams a very loud scream!!  The kids now think I could make it on Monsters.  :)

The next three days the kids will be at a country day camp.  I wasn't so sure when I signed them up but I think they are really going to like it.  It also helps that they will be reunited with some friends!  I have some house/yard plans to work on.  I never thought in a million years that I would be excited to do that.  Wow times have changed.

On Thursday evening we are going to a fiesta at a friend's pool.  Friday is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A and we can't miss that.  Then Friday night, some friends are passing through from Texas to North Carolina and will be stopping by.  Saturday we have a birthday party at Everland Play.

So no----things have not slowed down at our place.  I'm glad that the kids are busy and having fun this summer.  The TV is not on--we are out and about and enjoying the last few moments before my kids are in Kindergarten and PreK(sniff sniff).

Busy Schedule Slowing Down???

We had a great time at the beach even though my kids had moments of not-so-stellar behavior.  You can't expect them to sit through a Captain George's all you can eat crab legs for that long.  I tried to offer another ice cream cone but that didn't work.  Ashlyn loved the beach, ocean, swimming pool and is quite the fish.  She swam the whole way across the length of the pool, did cannonballs, etc.  Chloe played in the sand but then got mad because there was sand on her.  She swam in the pool but didn't like water on her face.  You get the picture?  It was a nice week but we were ready to be back home since we spent the majority of June somewhere else.

So I thought things were slowing down.  I guess not.  We took the kids to Medieval Times Sunday night.  The cleaning lady was to come on Monday so I decided to use our Stone Mountain passes and have some fun.  Today went to see Cat in the Hat at the Center for the Puppetry Arts.  I get a good deal because I book a group through the mom's club.  So that was in the plans for awhile now.  Then we ate lunch at the Varsity with friends and visited a bakery in Buckhead owned by one of Katie's friends who loaded us down with cookies, cakes, pimento cheese, and chicken salad for free:).  Tomorrow is Chloe's four year check up which Ashlyn keeps telling her she's getting lots of shots.  We shall see how that goes.

Then the fourth of July---We are going to a cookout at a guy's house who Brandon used to work with.  They have a pool and everyone chipped in for big fireworks. Brandon bought some for at home and we set a few off tonight.  I thought they would be excited but begged for sparklers.  That would have been cheaper:).  They did like them and we will be buying sparklers tomorrow.

So my at-home projects are on the back burner.  I had summer plans of painting, redoing Chloe's bedroom, cleaning out the garage, working in the yard, etc, etc.....  Did I mention I go back to work July 31?????