Friday, September 28, 2012

fun facts Friday: 25 things about me

While browsing other blogs today, I noticed that I never talk about myself. Here goes!

1. I hate surprises. I don't generally filter thoughts and my expressions are usually direct results of emotions. My husband loves to surprise me. I have often disappointed him with my reactions...I'm just a planner I guess.
2. I am terrified of failure.
3. I don't care for TV.
4. I detest being late.
5. I hate crowds. I get anxious in crowds.
6. Repetitive sounds annoy me greatly.
7. I am the youngest of three girls & I am most definitely the most independent.
8. earthquakes terrify me.
9. I'm outspoken but hate confrontation.
10. I love sports & I have a very competitive nature.
11. I love family game nights.
12. I believe the worst thing someone can be is a bad parent.
13. I dislike public speaking whether it be a speech, reading aloud, praying etc. I stumble over my words.
14. I don't like talking on the phone. I'm a texter, for sure.
15. I constantly correct spoken grammar.
16. I love watching children interact.
17. I love to read. I actually read shampoo bottles every time I wash my hair.
18. I'm a counter. When running or something, I count my steps.
19. I adore fall.
20. My favorite colors are grey, blue, and green.
21. I love dates, even if it's a simple movie and popcorn st home.
22. I believe that everything happens for a reason.
23. I second guess myself, a lot.
24, I hate shopping unless it's for my kids.
25. I am generally optimistic about others but pessimistic about myself.

Whew! Now you know a little more about me.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Better Late than Never ;)


My boy. I still can't believe he's three! I really can't believe he's been three for a whole month! EEK!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Hard to Settle

We're finding it difficult to settle in to our new routine lately. LIFE keeps getting in the way. We have had a lot going on with family lately. Whew, other people stress me out. THEN, Cohen got sick. Poor buddy got hit by some crazy virus that Chyenne probably brought home from school. He's finally on the mend. Daddy got sick just a day later and his sickness is still lingering. I was sick (sick as a DOG) Friday. Oh I never want to be that sick again. I spent all day yesterday (OUR FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY) trying to build up strength and watching movies with the kids. Luckily I am feeling better. Now to get the house back in order. It sure is tough to settle in to a new routine.
 
We've been quite busy. I'm coaching two soccer teams, Chyenne's and Cohen's. Chyenne is still a drama queen but she's a good little player when she pays attention. Cohen? He's FANTASTIC. He is going to be my little star. Everyone comments on how great he is. This is his first season playing. His first game is tomorrow. Having soccer every night makes it a little exhausting for Chyenne with school. It's always a rush to make sure she's in bed at a decent time.
 
Little Miss Priss is still nervous about school. She counts down the days until her favorite day of the week, Friday. Every Friday morning since school has been in session, she has commented how excited she is to come home from school and spend TWO AND A HALF days with mommy {daddy and brother too}. She doesn't like the whole Monday-Friday commitment to school. I can't really blame her. I long for the entirely too short weekend too. Just last night, Chyenne and I were cuddling before bed and she whispered some of the sweetest, saddest words to me. "Mommy, why do I have to grow up? I just want to be little again. Little like a toddler so I can do things and have fun, but I can stay home with you and do homeschool. I just want to spend every day with you. I don't like getting bigger. I want to be little forever. I want to stay little so I can fit in your arms forever. I want to be your little baby always. I don't want to go to school and miss you. I just want to be little. Why do I have to keep growing? I will quit eating healthy foods so I won't grow! Just hold me forever!" Oh honey. Me too. I want to hold you forever too. I don't want you to grow up quite so fast. I don't want you to spend time away from me (even though it's good for the both of us).
She is quite good at ripping my heart out. Bless her.
 
Little man ADORES the extra time with mommy. He soaks it all in. He's always excited to see his sister when she returns from school, but he thoroughly enjoys the alone time. I thoroughly enjoy it too. It's so nice to have him to myself and to give him the attention he deserves. He's such a good boy. I may lose it when HE has to go to BIG SCHOOL. I don't even want to think about it. My little tough man who doesn't cry when he gets a black eye is the most cuddly little mama's boy. Lately, every sentence he says is followed with a "right, mama?" Oh it's precious. "Chyenne, that's not the way we do it! Right, mama?!" Melts my heart that he ALWAYS wants my approval. When riding in the car, "Green means go, red means stop, and yellow means slow down OR go fast! Right, mama?!" Right little buddy.
 
It's funny to watch. Chyenne is my Sensitive Sally who is always in charge. She loves to please me, but she also is quite insistent on doing everything her way. She thinks she's the boss. Cohen, he's my rough and tough little man but he is a rule-follower and aims to please. I love seeing their personalities shine.
Despite our hectic schedules and trying to settle in to our new routine of having a kid in school amongst everything else, we're doing well. These sweet smiles keep us going.
When we're ALL well, we will hopefully celebrate our anniversary, since 5 years IS a big deal. ;)

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Harnessed

We're fully intent on keeping these two cuties harnessed until they outgrow their seats...Thanks Britax for setting high standards.
 

He is Super!


Little man has been ALL about super heroes lately. He loves them all from Batman to Superman to Green Lantern and the Hulk. His absolute favorites are (in order): Captain America (because he is a soldier and Cohen hopes to be a solider one day), Iron Man (because personally I think he's a badass...I'm sure my 3 year old shares the same views. HA), and Spiderman. I snapped this photo of him while he was playing in the car waiting to pick Chyenne up from school. We always get there almost an hour early so she is one of the first ones picked up. :)

Chyenne's First Day

My baby girl started Pre-K last week. WOW! I cannot believe she is IN SCHOOL. My heart aches missing her.

She was pretty excited about going to school. She picked out her outfit that she intended to wear mid summer. My little planner.
 She was SOOOO EXCITED. I was anxious but excited for her.
 Braided hair, cute romper, matching headband and necklace, comfortable shoes, denim jacket, yummy mommy-packed lunch, cute backback, we're READY!
 Here she is sitting outside the school with her "boyfriend". She's lucky to have him and a few other friends in her class. I hope she makes tons more.

She was thrilled UNTIL we got into the classroom and she realized that she would be WITHOUT mommy. Oh boy. She totally broke my heart. She showed many mixed emotions on her first day of school. She started crying on the ride to school because she didn't want me to leave her. My heart aches. In the classroom, I helped her get her things ready. She was anxious, then scared. I didn't think it would be so hard.


When I left, she had cried and dried it up 3 separate times. My arms were already aching without her in them. This is going to be a LONG year.
 
We're now on her 8th day of school and she has cried 5 days out of the 8. :'( I have shed just about as many tears. School isn't what she thought it would be quite yet.
 
She was expecting to be having spelling tests, math tests, and lots of writing and reading (which I'm sure she would ace). Hopefully once they get the routine down, they'll do more work. She has asked to do homeschool 6 days so far. My little learner. If she doesn't start learning, we may push to have her moved up, moved into the gifted class, OR pull her out and homeschool all day. I would prefer not to have to do the later because we worked SO hard to get her in. Sheesh.
 
Lucky for me, I can't stay too said for too long because I get to spend all of my time with this sweet guy! He's loving the one-on-one mommy time and doing homeschool at HIS pace. He's one bright boy.

Her Number One Advocate: Pre-K Open House

After much thought, prayer, consideration, etc, Colt and I decided that we would put Chyenne in pre-K at our local public school. WHY when she is doing SO great homeschooling and she is OBVIOUSLY way too advanced for pre-K?!
Well I don't have a good answer except that I agreed with Colt that IF she got a slot at the desired school with the lottery that I would agree to let her go and continue to supplement her education at home.
WELL, back in May we got a phone call stating that Chyenne's name was the number one name drawn at the lottery for the school. Hooray, right?! Ugh, I was already having second thoughts. My princess has never been away from mommy. Hmmm...but it would allow for more one-on-one time with Cohen. Also Chyenne was beyond excited to get to go to "BIG SCHOOL" like her big cousin Malaki. Great.
 
A week or so before school was scheduled to start, I started emailing the teacher (the one pre-k teacher at the school) about curriculum and Chyenne. Everything seemed like it would pan out quite well. The teacher IS willing to work up with Chyenne.
Well, we emailed a few times and then the teacher sent me a crazy email saying "I just received my final roster and Chyenne's name is not on it!"
UM WHAT?!?! We have been planning for MONTHS for Chyenne to go to school. We bought a new backpack with matching lunch box (and got them personalized), we bought school clothes and school shoes, we arranged a schedule with a friend for me to take her son/pick him up from the same class. We planned a "new to school" party in honor of our little princess who was preparing to head to school for the first time. I even made a "school supplies cake" with supplies that a friend and I bought for the class. We were well prepared (not really emotionally, but we'll get to that).
So I called the school. The "records clerk" was less than helpful. SHE is the one who called me IN MAY saying Chyenne was the first on the list! REALLY?! She said that "sorry we couldn't get in touch with you to finish registration". HMMM. I did finish registration and YOU confirmed that MY girl would be attending THIS SCHOOL! Furious. So I asked to speak to the principal. She was even more discourteous. Colt (wonderful Army man that he is) got on the phone and into a heated conversation with the principal who proceeded to tell him that she was "unaware of the policies and principles of the pre-k enrollement at the school"... HER SCHOOL! Isn't that HER JOB to KNOW everything about her school?! Yeah, I thought so.
 
We then took it to the Board of Education. They gave us the runaround, at first. STRESSFUL! Here is was FOUR days before my princess was to start school and they had apparently UNRIGHTFULLY given away HER SLOT! We were quite angry. The local board of education was surprised (to say the least) to see Colt and myself SHOW UP at the county board meeting. It's open to the public but WE were the only public. We made it known that we were very unhappy about how things went about. We were displeased with Chyenne's slot being given away without any word to us. Especially when she was the first name drawn at the lottery AND this school (title I) was in OUR home district. We HAD to get her in. Simply because we could not disappoint our sweet girl who had said nothing short of amazing things about her new elementary school. They all seemed concerned. A few board memebers even guarenteed that they would do their absolute best to ensure Chyenne got into HER class. Great.
 
Colt had to go out of town early the next morning for an Army school (that he is still gone to). This was Friday before school started on Tuesday, the 21st of August. I called a thousand numbers the next day, did research of the policies and principles, and emailed tons of people. I even spoke with the State Superintendent of Georgia. I was determined to be Chyenne's NUMBER ONE ADVOCATE. I would fight for her, even if nobody else seemed to care. Finally around 5pm on Friday, I was told that they would FINALLY send up a waiver to override the numbers in pre-K...to basically add her a slot since the SCHOOL officials specifically went AGAINST policy to remove her name from the list (which could have been a simple mistake but the school didn't own up to it). I would know by 5PM on Monday **open house was at 6pm that same day**.
The weekend was stressful waiting. Especially with Chyenne asking tons of questions like "who took my spot? Did they take my desk?" Poor baby.
 
Monday morning rolled around and I called and called and called. I have never used my phone so much. I kept getting "we're still waiting". Around 3PM on Monday, I got a call saying that Chyenne had been given a NEW SLOT! The waiver was approved. My baby was going to Pre-K! YAY! WE did it! We were persistent enough to stand up for our girl. Awesome.
 
I got the little Miss ready for Open House. I made her scrap tutu skirt and her headband. She was excited and boy did she look cute! She was thrilled to be going to big school.
Of course she posed for pictures. Adorable.
 
 Mommy and Chy. :)
 
At Open House, we filled out paper work, met the teachers, met the school officials (even those who weren't so helpful). We toured the school. Saw the classroom.
Chyenne is in the PINK PIGS class. How fitting for our little Piggy Princess. It was meant to be for her to be in that class.
It was meant to be from the time I went to register her in April (we got her piggy lunch box in the mail the very same day). She was the first name called on lottery day (coincidence, I think not). She was meant to be in the PINK PIGS class with many of her friends.
 
I promise you little piggy princess, mommy will ALWAYS be your number one advocate. Mommy and Daddy will ALWAYS do what is in YOUR best interest. We will ALWAYS fight for you. You deserve that and so much more. We love you!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

A Visit to the Fire Station

 To end our {slightly boring} summer, I took the kids (along with Chyenne's "boyfriend") to visit the Fire Station and learn more about fire safety. A real good, long time friend works at our local fire department and told me to bring the kids by whenever. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They got a tour of the fire engine, the ladder truck, the fire station, all of the gear, and even got to get stickers and hugs. :)

Cohen was trying to decide if he wants to be a fire fighter or an Army man (like daddy) when he grows up. After spraying the water hose, he asked the fire fighters if they get to shoot guns. HA! He then proudly announced, "I think I'm going to be a big strong Army man when I grow up...because I want to shoot guns!!!" Gosh.


He's 3! Cohen's Shark Birthday Party

We celebrated Cohen turning THREE with a shark-themed pool party at our house.  Despite our unfinished basement by the pool, I think the party set up was pretty cute. Cohen loved it.
 
We even dyed the pool RED for a shark attack. It was SO fun to see all of the kids' (and parents) reactions.

There were loads of kids enjoying the party. :)
I painted a shark (idea courtesy of pinterest) photo op that turned out super cute... even cuter if daddy would have zoomed in while taking mine and Cohen's picture to hide the unfinished basement mess. ;)

Overall Cohen had an awesome birthday. He didn't care to eat the cake that I baked and decorated for him but he LOVED the chocolate lollipops and cake decorations that I made.

He was such a sweet boy while we sang Happy Birthday to him.

So far though, his favorite part about being THREE is finally being able to play soccer on a team. Gosh he's waited for SO long.
Little man got a ton of awesome BOY presents...but his favorite had to be his real BB gun from his Pops. He squealed (in a very manly boy voice) with delight "A REAL GUN! FOR ME?!!!" Pure joy for this little boy.
 
I cannot believe that my sweet little man is already three years old. He has definitely grown up far too fast for my liking, but boy he is SO much fun these days. He has the best sense of humor and still LOVES to cuddle and snuggle with his mama. He's also mighty tough and all boy. I don't know what I would do without my little Cohen. Happy Birthday Little Man. Mommy loves you more than words can express.



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Sleepovers are Overrated

This summer has brought a new fun for Chyenne. She is now "old enough" to spend the night OFF without mommy. She is now on her THIRD sleepover EVER. I'm slightly freaking out. First, she got to stay with her MeMe and Pops when I had to take SIL to the hospital in the middle of the night when she went into labor with my newest niece Cassidy. She loved it! I was a nervous wreck the entire time, but I knew she was in good hands.
Then about 2 weeks ago, she got to spend the night with her cousins which she thoroughly enjoyed, even though she called me at nearly midnight saying "i'm okay mommy, you don't need to come get me"... she was anxious and missing me but she "wanted to be a big girl and stay all night" so she stayed up until 2:30AM with her "Aunt Gay".

Now, she is spending a lovely evening with her MeMe and Pops again, along with her Aunt Savannah (12), Aunt Taylor (14), and Uncle Chantz (11). They went out to dinner and a movie. She's enjoying being spoiled. Cohen is enjoying spending one-on-one time with mommy. I LOVE it too, even though I miss my little sassy pants.

Cohen and I went to Chickfila for dinner and he played on the play structure while I chatted with my old 1st grade teacher (who remembered me BY NAME)... so it was nice. We're about to cuddle up for a late movie and popcorn before bed.

I still think sleepovers are overrated and I probably won't sleep tonight without my girl. Especially since daddy is still out of town with the Army.


Friday, July 27, 2012

Almost 3

The Countdown is on. My sweet guy is almost THREE. He woke up this morning saying, "just 8 days until I am free (3), right mama?!" Oh goodness. I absolutely love the way he holds his fingers for his number 3.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Summer's Almost Gone

Whew! It's tough to believe the summer break is almost over. Even harder to believe that our sweet son will be THREE in just 10 days. Harder still to believe our daughter will be starting "BIG SCHOOL" in less than a month.
We haven't done much this summer. It's been quite low-key and probably exactly what we have needed after a busy year. Daddy has started a "yard sale store" where he is buying/selling/trading tons of crap, even more than before. I try to stay as far away as I can. It makes me nervous to see him taking chances with money. Ha. He has also been away a lot with different Army schools.
Our summer has consisted of swimming in our pool, VBS, Cheer Camp for Chy, random projects, homeschool work, trips to the park, reading, playing with cousins, playdates, general playing, and not much of anything else.
At {10 days shy of} 3 years old, Cohen is simply amazing. He is hilarious with the best sense of humor. He his extremely bright and inquisitive. He knows his alphabet (and can identify all of the letters of the alphabet), knows his numbers (can identify 1-10), can count to 20 or more, can spell his first name and is doing very well writing it, he signs songs and has a very vivid imagination. His favorite things are super heroes (you know, Iron Man, Spiderman, The Hulk, Captain America, Green Lantern, etc), pirates, sharks, dinosaurs, trucks, bikes and motorcycles, animals, blocks, and arts and crafts. He speaks as if he's a grown man (meaning with a deep voice and loads of enthusiasm and confidence). He has been insistent for months that he is not two, he is "about to be free (3)". Adorable. He's very excited about his upcoming SHARK THEMED BIRTHDAY to celebrate him finally turning three. I'm excited for him too. He's such fun and I cannot wait to see him have a great time. He now also rides his bike (with training wheels or his tricycles) without assistence besides a "big push to get started". He's independent yet still cuddly and loving. Slow down growing up sweet boy.
I think we will welcome being "back on schedule" when Chy starts school. Chyenne has mixed feelings about starting school. She's anxious, nervous, and excited to say the least. The only problem is that she is a planner. She is so apprehensive about school because she meets her teacher (open house) the day before school starts. She doesn't know what the school looks like inside, what her class looks like, what her teacher looks like, where the bathroom is, etc. She wants to know everything about "big school". We're a bit worried about her going to PRESCHOOL because she far surpasses Georgia Pre-K standards (well she also far surpasses kindergarten standards). She is just too bright and we do not want her to get bored. IF she does get bored and they're not willing to teach up, we'll take her out and follow through with MY plan of homeschooling. (Daddy insisted that we sign her up for big school for her to be around her friends and to give mommy and Cohen quality time together). We'll see. Her school has a great gifted program, we'll have to make sure they test her for gifted in pre-k, despite the "kindergarten rule". SIGH.

I mentioned that our summer has been filled with READING. Chy's reading! HOORAY! She is doing excellent. She gets discouraged at times when she tries for big words but she's really reading! YAY! She is still working on comprehension since she's sounding most words out still. 

My sister and I threw our daddy a surprise 50th Birthday Party. LOVE HIM!



I also have a new niece (born July 2nd) who has been keeping us quite busy too since they live in our attached apartment. :)


Well, I hope to update more often... we'll see how much life gets in the way.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Preschool Graduation

Last month we finished our preschool year with a great graduation. I was quite impressed that Cohen received all of the awards the 3 year old class gets (even though he graduated from the 2 year old class) and Chyenne receieved awards that even some of the 4 year olds didn't receieve! I'm so proud of my smart babies!

I made special treats for the kids to pass out to their school mates. (It is a private christian preschool, so the classes are very small and they all know each other).


Me with my 4 year old class. <3 them! (we had several more students that didn't finish the year out with us)


My crazies. :)


Preschool Graduation



Photo Op



Cool Cohen

First Trip to Six Flags Over Georgia


Last month, we had the opportunity to take the kids to Six Flags Over Georgia for free! YAY! They had SO much fun and they both did so well. Chyenne walked the entire time and Cohen walked most of the time and rode on Daddy's shoulders for the rest. The both LOVED all of the rides in the kid part and Chyenne rode quite a few large roller coasters with me. Such fun!



When Life Gets in the Way

We have been extremely busy lately. Summer is here and we're taking a {much-needed} break from preschool. We're still doing homeschooling activities but only with MY kids which is so much less stressful. We're enjoying swimming, play dates, yard sales (well we have started a yard sale store, my hubby and I), and everything else GA summer has to offer.

Chyenne has been having health issues... issues that mimic many of the symptoms/signs of leukemia... so we were quite freaked out to say the least. After numerous blood panels and scans, we now know that our sweet girl has a vitamin/mineral deficiency & that her body has a difficult time absorbing vitamin D/calcium, potassium and iron despite how well she eats. Her doctors were stumped for a while because she has always had a great appetite, great weight, and seemingly healthy. Her dentist is the one who mentioned deficiencies first. OH BOY! She has been going to the dentist since she was a year old. She has never had any issues until recently. She currently has EIGHT cavities even though just FOUR months ago she was completely cavity-free. We're hoping with the EXTRA vitamins she is now taking that we can get her headaches, fatigue, weakness, bruising, and fevers under control (plus gain some strength in her teeth that we have always brushed/mouth washed at least twice a day and flossed every night). I pray it will be a battle that we win easily and quickly.

"Daddy" is also having medical issues and we hopefully will find out by this coming Monday what is going on with him. His doctor is testing him for everything from deficiencies, liver disease, LUPUS, arthritis to cancers. It's quite scary but we're keeping our faith in God.

Good news is that COHEN is completely healthy. He is such a great boy. So loving and friendly. He cleans up after himself very well (much better than his older sister). He is always happy and thoughtful. He's still a thinker who loves to analyze everything and state his opinion on all he sees. He is writing his name really well and he loves to count. I adore everything about my sweet boy. It's crazy hard to believe that he will be THREE years old on August 4th. It's a good thing he is still insistent on being "mommy's baby" forever. I'm perfectly content with that. :)

I have a new niece coming SOON! She's due on July 7th. Hooray! I'll finally get to hold & spoil an itty baby again! :) Also, my sister and one of my best friends are both expecting & both due in December.

I hope to keep this blog updated. :) Until next time....

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Meet Our New Pet, Fancy

For as long as I she can remember, Chyenne has wanted a PIG, "a real live pet pink pet piggy".

Since Daddy insists on getting the piggy princess (and the dinosaur dude) everything most of what she wants...

Meet Fancy.







We bought her from some fantastic minature (teacup) vietnamese pig breeders in Savannah, GA. What a drive! She was 4 weeks old and completely potty trained when we got her. She's not ALL pink (in fact, she's mostly grey) but she sure made (and makes) our family happy. She doesn't shed and she will not get fleas. She gets a bath every week and we lather her up with lotion every other day. She is a snuggle baby who loves to sleep in the bed with us. She is very playful and extremely smart. We LOVE her.


Chyenne was SHOCKED when daddy brought Fancy home. I video taped her reaction and she seemed very nervous and anxious. Silly girl. She quickly warmed up and now Fancy is her new best friend (well second to her brother of course). Fancy was Chyenne's early birthday present (and the most expensive gift to date) for her 4th birthday.

I am excited to watch Fancy grow up with our family. Now, little Cohen wants either a COW or a DOG for his birthday. We'll see. ;)