Her First Ballet Lesson

I was as nervous as Laine.

Because this was my first lesson, too.  As a child, I never took Dance.  This will be detailed in a long list of grievances regarding my childhood.......coming soon in memoir form.  OK, probably not that soon.  I've got a few things on my plate at the moment.

Anyway, I always wanted to.  I think every little girl should.

Except for Shiloh Jolie Pitt.  That wouldn't work.

The crew.

Lainey Caroline, Rylee and Cailyn.

"Give us a ballet pose, girls!"

(((said the paparrazi Allison and me)))

They obviously have some work to do.

Better.

Allison will have fantastic pictures b/c she's even more aggressive than I am when it comes to getting a good shot.  Unfortunately, we won't see those pictures for several months. 

Love ya, Allison!

You can check out her blog here, btw.

Today was a trial run.

Lainey glowed the entire time.  I'm pretty sure her little 3 year old mind was about to burst with happiness. 

After researching options in our area, Allison and I settled on a very laid back option.....a dance instructor who just left her former studio is doing lessons at home......perfect.

Can you hear her squealing?

I honestly believe this might have been the happiest I have ever seen our sweet daughter. 

 I cried.  Real tears, people!  It was very emotional for me.

Jack didn't cry.

In case you were wondering.

Can you see me there in the background?  I am giddy.  Had a blast watching my girl.

But, don't worry.  Our dainty little ballerina shredded her tights at the Davidge house later in the evening trying to keep up with the boys.

 She's not all "girl".

Keepin' it real, folks.

Those Punks Are Finally Paying Off!

I'm a semi-finalist in the SITS Girls Summer Photo Contest.

I'd love to have your vote!!!!!!

Please click here to find the link......scroll to the very bottom.....and vote "FUN" if you think I should win.  The other photos are fantastic, so take a look!

(((Voting closes at midnight.....Thursday.....September 1st)))

I Survived The Week. Barely.

Me, plus 6 kids just about all week long.  It was crazy and fun at the same time.

I kept them busy to keep my sanity.

California Surf Museum.......in downtown Oceanside.

Are the waves ready for these 3?

The museum was not totally kid appropriate.  Too many things to touch and too many surfboards to knock over. We didn't stay long.

We did see, however, Bethany Hamilton's surfboard that was bitten by the shark during her injury.  From Soul Surfer.  Someone from the museum knows the family, so it's currently on display.  Pretty cool.

Walked over to the library.

Which was my second brilliant idea for the day.

Too loud.

So, we just walked.  And, tried to stay out of the fountains. 

That, in itself, was challenging enough.

I love being downtown.......where you can smell a bit of the ocean at times.

Zoo trip.  Sans Rylee and Cailyn, but plus the Davidge 4.

This time I had Holly, though!



Carter is just like his Daddy.  LOVES babies.

He carried her the entire day.

What 10 year old boy does this?



He also led a game of Simon Says to keep kids busy during potty breaks.

Train!



7 kids at the zoo is no easy task.

Holly pointed out that we only saw one exhibit.  In 3 hours.

But, we rode the train!



Rylee and Lainey crammed our precious (and obviously dumb) Batman into this stuffed animal carrier.

Why would he allow this to happen?

Why didn't he run?

Why didn't he bite someone's hand off?

They took turns dragging him through the house, occasionally dropping him and often banging into walls.

I will never understand why he leaves the garage.

Beach day!  Love those rainbow suits. 

We rounded out the week with a birthday party with good friends, the Davidges.  They live on Camp Pendleton. 

Who knew a Marine base would be so nice? 

I'm glad it is.  They deserve it.

Austin turned 5 (far left).

And, Mike, his dad, got a major workout hauling kids through the pool.  I asked him if he wanted me to peal the superlative children (2 of mine) off of him, but he declined.

Definitely a glutton for punishment.

Like Batman.

Baby hog.

I might just get my 4th after all.

Davidges handed out $2 bills as party favors.  Isn't that a cute idea?  The kids were thrilled!

Kindergarten antics:

1. 

Jack somehow emerged from the courtyard with a "bus" sticker on him, directing him to ride the bus.  Thank goodness I was 3rd in the carpool lane, otherwise, he would have ended up in someone else's neighborhood. 

Yes, I'm concerned as to how this happened.  And, I'm not ruling out that Jack somehow convinced those in charge that he does, in fact, ride the bus.  He's desperate to.

I know this because I found him slugging Carter with his backpack in front of the school (with all eyes watching, of course).  Big brother was trying to direct him to my car.  Jack was sure he was to get on the bus.

Little guy's heart was broken. 

And, now, he's petitioning we move houses so that he can ride.

Stay tuned.

2. 

Me: "Jack, how was school today?"

Jack: "We learned about Honkey Donkey."

Me: ((((?????)))) "Hokey Pokey? The song and dance?"

Jack: "No, Mom! I told you. Honkey Donkey!"

.........blank stares......Carter starts snickering and brainstorming insults......

Me: "Hun, I'm not familiar with that one."

Jack: "Mom!!!!!!!!! You know, 'Honkey Donkey sat on a wall. Honkey Donkey had a great.....'"

Right.

That's all for today, folks.  I'm exhausted just reading all of this.

Time for a nap.

Kind Of Freaking Out Here

Yall.

This is weird.

My super sweet fantastic gorgeous skinny perfect idol of a boss, Melissa (she made me say that) just introduced me to a song today.

Half Moon Bay by Train.

The lyrics are:

This ain't a threat but I think I better warn ya

Gonna fall in love if you go to California

I did and this is how I know..

By the beach north of San Jose

Met the right girl and it sounds cliche

but we decided not to take it slow

I said why wait your my soulmate

Took her by the hand in the golden state

Now that your mine things are gonna be fine...

First came love and a baby carriage

Hardly knew the people at my own damn marriage

where an open bar can open your mind

[Chorus]

You save my life with every word you say

You shine your light for me to find the way

Just hold me tight and cross your heart to stay

Here with me born to be

Every part of you in Half Moon Bay...

Up in Tiburon where the girls are warm

We stay inside while the rain clouds form

And thank god for rainy days like these

Just when the time has come to retire

Baby starts cryin so we dance by the fire

Always does the trick you better believe

[Chorus]

You save my life with every word you say

You shine your light for me to find the way

Just hold me tight and cross your heart to stay

Here with me born to be

Every part of you in Half Moon Bay...

Why go slow if it's nice and steady

We all know its in the stars already

oh ohh oh ohhhh

Why say no if yes feels right

You just go to go where it feels like home

This ain't a threat but I think I better warn ya

Gonna fall in love if you go to California

I did and this is how I know..

[Repeat Chorus]

You save my life with every word you say

You shine your light for me to find the way

Just hold me tight and cross your heart to stay

Here with me born to be

Every part of you in Half Moon Bay...

Blake and me on the beach in Half Moon Bay....May 25, 2000.

It could not be any closer to how our lives played out over 11 years ago.

What are the odds?!

I have chills, peeps.

Love!!!!!!

Bookmark These. Trust Me.

1.  Suri's Burn Book.

Her description:

Just because you don't have a Ferragamo handbag doesn't mean you can behave like a child. (I'm looking at you, Shiloh.)

Link here.

It is nothing short of brilliant.

2.  MODG

Super snarky self proclaimed party girl turned Mom writing about all sorts of fun stuff.  She does not disappoint.  Promise.

Link here.

3.  Flash sale sites. 

If you have never heard of these (think Groupon), put your kid in front of the TV with a pop tart and listen up.  There are fantastic deals to be bought.

Zulily.

My favorite for kid gear, baby gifts and for those of you into cute stuff for yourself.....that, too.  (It's no secret I buy most of mine from the 75% off Target rack.  I love a $6 sundress!)

Totsy.

Similar to Zulily.  Bought plenty from here, too.

Living Social.

Deals tailored to where you live.  Use this link and earn an automatic $5 to spend.  Love this one.

Plum District.

Similar to Living Social.  More "mom" focused.  Lots of spa stuff.

Juice in the City.

Like the two above.  I met these girls at Mama Fest in La Jolla.  They're totally devoted to finding great stuff in your city.

Groupon.

If you don't know what Groupon is, I can't help you.

Woot.

Caroline loves this one.

There are 4 Woots:

kids.woot
shirt.woot
sellout.woot
wine.woot

Sometimes the deals have free shipping.  (Love that.)

Check out the Melissa and Doug deal in the link I provided.  Awesome!

Rue La La.

Coco loves this one.  She's into materialistic things like make up, perfume, clothes and jewelry.  I kid, I kid.  But, she is.  And, I'm not.  But, she likes it and always looks fantastic.  So, I believe that's as good as endorsement as you're gonna get.

Deal of the Day at Target.

Because you don't spend enough already when you go in.

Roozt.

Socially conscious products at great prices.  You may not want the coasters they're selling today.  Check back for other promotions for stuff like FreeWaters, who provides clean drinking water to those in need throughout the world.

Have I missed any?


Other tips:

1.  "Like" your favorite deal sites on Facebook to find easy access to deals.

2.  Seek out "home town" sites that are relevant to where you live.  Some are blogs.  Some are high powered websites.

San Diego favorites:

Around the Town

San Diego Deals and Steals

Google "coupons, deals, etc" in your city to find yours.  There are plenty of free resources.


I think that's enough for today.

  Let me know if you have a favorite site not mentioned here!



You Knew It Would Be Good

And, we're only on day 4!

Jack, Jack, Jack. 

I could write books on this child.  Someone might one day, actually.

Some funny anecdotes from Kindergarten thus far:

1.  Upon leaving the courtyard, each child must give the teacher a high-five.  This way, she knows each child gets to where he needs to be - picked up, in an after school program or on the bus. 

On day 3, Jack fell down while high-fiving and had to go to the nurse because he was bleeding.

That's a rather large band aid, don't you think?

2.  Each day, I pick up the boys and ask them how their days went.  Jack's trademark answer is, "Not good."  (in his best Eeyore voice possible)

I inquire why......his usual response is, "The teachers were being bad."

I know from preschool and from babysitters that if I hear this, it means JACK was 'being bad' and therefore had some disciplinary action taken against him.

This doesn't mean that he had to necessarily visit the "Think About It" chair.  It can be as simple as someone redirecting him.  Jack reports all indiscretions.

It's going to be a long year, folks.

3.  He LOVES to buy lunch.  He's taken his lunch twice and he's bought lunch twice.  If you know Jack, you know he's a picky eater.  I'm confident he ate on Friday because it was pizza day.  I encouraged him to buy yesterday because I thought it was chicken nugget day.....and this is one of the few lunches Jack might eat.  I must have misread the calendar because when I asked what he ate, he told me "Oh, just chips and a cookie.  And, chocowate milk!"

Fantastic.

4.  When asked if he made new friends, he always replies, "Yes, Mom.  Ricardo is my friend.  I told you dat."

Ricardo is the only child so far to sit in the "Think About It" chair.

I think this friendship has success written all over it.

When I inquire as to why he likes Ricardo, he tells me, "Because of his shiny shirt on day one!"

My sweet Jackie.  He makes life interesting.

The good news is that all of this excitement has put him in bed each night before 6:00pm.  Lainey, too.

I can handle that.

Gives me time to regroup after all of this Kindergarten excitement.

Some Colorful Scoop

I've been a creative mess lately.  I think Pinterest is seeping into my blood.

Our latest project.....crayon molds.

I honestly can't believe that I've been a mother for 10+ years and have never done this.

*Take old crayons.

*Peel the paper off.  (This will keep kids busy for more time than you'd think.)

*Place crayons in a greased muffin tin.

*Heat in the oven at 225 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until the wax melts.  (Bigger crayons take more time.)

*Pop them out.

Recycled crayons!  Our kids went nuts over these.

Aren't they pretty?  They make me happy.

Now, I will proceed to obsess over finding interesting muffin tins or baking molds to create different shapes.  I love a new project.

Moving on.

Coco recently sent Jack 2 New Yorker cartoon shirts. 

Isn't this one fitting? 

"I feel there's a lot of pressure to be good."

Love.

And, don't worry.  I wasn't at all offended that Coco immediately thought of one of my kids when she saw this.

She also bought one for John Robert, Sara's newby.  It has a drawing of bebes in the hospital nursery with a bubble over one's head saying, "OMG.  I just got born."

Awesome.

I braved Legoland on Saturday (of all days) with 5 kids and 2 double strollers.  Surprisingly, we did not get kicked out of the park.

BFF.

Punkin Cailyn.  Carter and I argue over who gets to hold her.  She is so cuddly and sweet and perfect. 

(Her parents laugh when I say that.  I have no idea why.)

The crew.  Thank God for Carter.  He is such an amazing help.

Upon arriving home, Blake took over and I snuck off to a movie. 

He hosted his own movie showing in the back yard.  Hung a sheet from the patio and used the projector for Gnomeo and Juliet.

How cool is that?! 

The kids had their own little outdoor theater.

We did this in Colorado years ago, but inside.  Still fun.

There were snacks.

So much fun.

Busy week ahead.

Our friends are packing this week for a move across town, so I'm watching Rylee and Cailyn just about every day.  It should be crazy, but entertaining for sure.

Planning a Disney getaway for next week with an overnight stay and 2 days of fun.  Been missing our favorite parks!  Anxious to see what California Adventure has added since we were there in June.  Our passes have been blocked out for the summer. 

I can't wait to go again.

Loving all the back-to-school posts.  Best of luck to all the kids and teachers, too!