Ashlyn is Ready, but is Mommy????

Kindergarten registration is on Thursday but I had to fill out some online paperwork the other day.  Ashlyn will be five in a week and PreK is almost over.  This led me to reflect on Ashlyn and all she has accomplished in her short life.  I can remember yesterday being worried about her speech and getting her tested.  Now she is reading.  A year ago, I had to go on the field with her during Tball games, run the bases with her, etc.  This year she is so independent.  I stayed home with her the first four years of her life and worried she would be clingy.  When people ask her if she is going to go to school with Mommy, she says, "No I am going to take the bus and meet her there."

I was fortunate enough to get a position at the school where Ashlyn will be next year.  Does that make it any easier?  Noooo.  As a matter of fact, I have not even seen a kindergartener in the year I've worked there.  My classroom is on the second floor in the tower and Kindergarten is on the first floor on the opposite side of the building.  I will be the one crying next year as she runs to the bus stop with Daddy and I drive to "our" school alone.  I will be counting the minutes with anticipation to see how her first day went.  In a few short months, this will be a reality.

Where did the last five years go?  My mom said time goes by so much faster when they hit elementary school.  I sure hope not.  I'm not ready for my babies to grow up.

Stone Mountain Mishap

So it is 'bring a friend' week  at Stone Mountain so all of my friends with passes brought friends.  We decided to have lunch on the lawn and then off to the bathroom.  Before we could get to the bathroom, I hear Ashlyn screaming bloody murder.  I look and her leg is twisted in a 'hole'.  I use 'hole' lightly because it was not really a hole.  Basically they took these short poles out of the ground so the maintenance truck could get through.  THey never put the poles back in.  Ashlyn was walking and then her foot went down in the hole and twisted. It is about 6-8 inches deep.  So let's just say that it was a scene.  Ashlyn screaming, police coming, medic coming with lights flashing, and all.  I thought for sure i was making my first ER visit.  The medic asked her to move her toes and she said she couldn't.  She just kept begging to go home.  She finally let him look at her ankle and he suggested that I go for the X-ray.  Oh great!  To make a long story shorter, we refused an ambulance ride to the hospital.  I put in the stroller and we left.  She had ice and was still crying.  On the way out, we pass a kid in Ashlyn's class.  We stop and talk for a minute--my hope being that she will get out and try to put weight on it so I can see how serious it is even though I am convinced already that it is broken.  She won't even get out for Bradley!  So we head for the car.  Once we get to the car Ashlyn says, "Where are we going?  I don't want to leave."  Then she gets out of the stroller and starts walking.  WHAT?  SERIOUSLY?  We just made a huge scene and now you are okay?  She limps for a little bit and then she is fine.  We end up staying and spending the rest of the day.  Her shin is bruised and scraped up but I guess the ankle is fine.

The good news?  The guy from Stone Mountain is giving everyone in my group passes until the end of the year.  :)  I guess that is better than me suing him:).

Chloe "Reading"

When we go to the library, Chloe picks out her books, goes to the table, and takes a picture walk.  She loves to make up the story as she goes.  It's usually quite humorous.  This one isn't as funny as most but here is an example of Chloe "reading"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vpG_lGbASo

I'm Old and Not Going To Be the Cool Mom!!

So over the past couple of months, a few things have happened that made me feel old......

1.  As students were filing in to math class, a boy told me he 'got burned' in PE.  I asked what they were doing that was so hot in PE.  The class started laughing.  They then told me what 'burned' means. I had to ask them to repeat it again because I didn't quite get it.....

2.  It was pajama day at school.  I have duty on the fifth grade stairs.  All of these girls kept going up the stairs with what I thought said ID on their pjs.  I finally asked the safety patrol what ID was.  He said that is One Direction.  I then had to ask who One Direction was.  He asked if I was serious!  OK, in the car, I am either listening to nursery rhymes, bible songs, or a Disney DVD.

3.  I see fifth graders wearing high heels all of the time.  High heeled boots especially.  I've made the comment that they shouldn't be wearing that.

4.  I've seen kids wearing stone wash denim and I wonder if it's coming back in style.

5.  A 3rd grader made cookies for my birthday.  When she gave them to me, I told her how sweet she was and then asked if her "mommy" made them.  She said, "Yeah my MOM made them."  I guess I'm too used to saying mommy around my own kids.

6.  While filling out something online the other day, I had to put it in my birthday.  It felt like I scrolled forever before getting to my birth year.

7.  Several of my student's parents are younger than me.........

Odds and Ends

The kids start T ball next week.  They will be on the same team.  They are excited about it.  Ashlyn had a little bit of a rough time last year playing.  She wanted me with her on the field at all times.  That was a little shocking and difficult with a traveling husband and a 2 year old.  Fortunately a good friend would keep an eye on her while I HAD to be on the field.  This year the tables will be turned as that good friend now has twin babies and a 2 year old herself while the other one plays ball.  Unfortunately, our kids are not on the same team.  Ashlyn doesn't seem to understand this.  While trying to explain to her tonight that he is on a different team, she said she would just move teams.  I don't think there is any trading in Tball so hopefully having her sister on her team will suffice.  Here's to hoping I don't have to play the field this year:)>

Tonight we painted Easter sun catchers.  When I told the kids I couldn't wait until tomorrow to hold up the suncatcher to the light, Chloe started crying.  I asked what was wrong and she said that she didn't want the sun to come get hers.  :)

The weekend dilemma is whether or not to go to the Easter egg hunt at the park down the road or the one at a nearby church.  The nearby church egg hunt is dropping 20,000 eggs from a plane.  Interesting and probably very crowded.  I remember my childhood in a small town where there was one Easter egg hunt in the county.  Now living outside of Atlanta, I could go to a bunch within a short radius of our house.

Kite day was today at school for Chloe.  I couldn't go since I am a working woman:).  Brandon switched his schedule around so he could go to kite day and eat lunch with the kids.  They were so excited this morning, they could hardly contain themselves.  Then after work when I picked them up, they couldn't stop talking about daddy coming to school.  It was sweet.

My birthday was a few days ago.  I got lots of love from my students.  You want to know the difference between a 2nd and 3rd grader(both of which I teach)?  2nd graders all made me cards saying how much they loved me, loved my class, how sweet I was, and I got a lot of cute pictures of me (and they made me skinny).  3rd graders made signs for me and put them on my door.  They consisted of "happy 29th bday ha ha," "happy 29th bday wink wink," and "happy 29th bday yeah right."  Maybe I should request that I teach 2nd grade all day:).

Brandon was out of town on my birthday but got me a nice edible arrangement.  Anyways, he called Monday night and was on speaker phone with the kids.  He said, "Guess who has a birthday tomorrow."  Ashlyn said, "Daniel and Joseph!!"  Those are the twins in her class and yes we share the same birthday.  Apparently theirs was more important to her than mine.

Oops She Did It Again!

I think it will be a long time before I look back at this and think it's funny.  For those that don't know, less than a year ago, Ashlyn and Chloe wrote all over my car with lava rocks.  While I was yelling at Ashlyn, Chloe had snuck around and was writing on the other side.  It was horrible.  We didn't get it fixed right away.  Then when we were in PA, we got hit by a hail storm and it left marks all over my car.  So that's when we got it fixed.  The insurance agent called me to tell me that it would be written up as vandals damaging my car.  So my kids, ages 3 and 4, would be the vandals.  When I picked up the car, the man asked what I would do if they did it again.  I said I'd kill them.  Well let's just say that was a strong word.  Recently while outside talking to the neighbor, Chloe wrote on my car.  It's not as deep as before but noticeable and deep enough that it can't be fixed by us.  I calmly told her to go to her room (partly because I thought I was going to kill her).  So I will be driving this car until it dies.  I am not ready for anything new for my little vandals to damage:)

Don't Let Your Kids Grocery Shop.....

So I was at WalMart for a few things.  I usually don't get groceries there but needed milk and a few other things while I was there.  So we go over to the milk section and I tell them to 'get the one with the pink lid.'  I'm the only one at the house who drinks milk so I told them to get a small one.  The next day I pour myself a small glass of milk while cooking dinner. I take one drink, run to the sink, spit it all, and proceed to throw up whatever was in my stomach.  They picked out Buttermilk!!!  OMG it was the worst thing I've ever tasted and even thinking about it now makes me gag.

Note to self:  Inspect what they put in the cart......