School begins

The first day of school for Bailey came and went. It was nearly as uneventful as any regular day of school last year, which I welcomed with open arms. :) She immediately found her seat, greeted a few of her friends from last year, and began working on her morning work. Her teacher, Mrs. B, is super sweet and super tough, both very good things for our talkative and sometimes attention-deprived (haha) daughter.

Much like any normal day of school last year, we also had homework. Mrs. B wastes no time. And, as much as I would love to complain because it is SO much work, I would never breathe a negative word about it. Bailey really enjoys homework and learning... and she didn't really miss a beat in getting back into our after school routine. I was happy to hear that Bailey had Mrs. B when we found out it was her, because she is supposedly an awesome teacher. I also heard that she might be one of the toughest at our school... and tough really means work. If tough and homework equals Bailey excelling in school, well, I am happy to sit and work with her through homework from the very first day. :) I have a feeling Bailey is going to grow exponentially this year.


In other school news, Bailey is enjoying meeting new friends (of course) and was over the moon excited about her classroom having a new student today, who she has claimed as her "newest friend." I translate that into "Mom, I am going to show this girl how to do everything at our new school and introduce her to every person I know." Having moved from school to school more times that I would want to count, I am so happy to know that my daughter is the little girl who is running to make her feel welcome.


Bailey also is all about the clothes this year. I don't mind that too much, since I love to get her dressed up, but she is a little bit more obsessed than I expected. She doesn't want to wear anything that she has worn before. Fortunately, I convinced her that she really can't do that, otherwise, she's going to run out of clothes soon. I held my breath in fear that she was going to suggest that we just go buy more. Luckily, she laughed sheepishly and said something to the effect of how silly she was being for thinking that way. Shew. A close one for sure. lol.


Six school days in and we are feeling good (aside from a sniffle and cough here and there after the first two days - eek).


One child down...


... and the other to go. Tomorrow will be Jake's Open House at his new school (which he thought I said Haunted House and kind of freaked out a little - haha). We are very eager to see what he thinks. I am sure that he's going to be nervous and I'm quite honestly dreading next week because of it. I'm sure he will do great, but I know that he's going to have that sweet little nervous face when I get ready to leave. He's going to wring his hands and force a smile after he hugs and kisses me about 5 times. Then, I'm going to get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, give him my best forced smile, tell him how much fun he's going to have, and then pray as I walk out the door that he doesn't shed a tear. This will happen for the entire first week, but I'm very hopeful that after that it will go away. Hoping and praying. So, if you are feeling prayerful and want to whisper a quick one for us for next week, I'd really appreciate it!


Pics of Jake's first day, coming soon. :)

Better Late than Never...

It's better late than never. I have yet to post my photo of Jake on his first day of preschool. It was taken with my phone and I ran across it tonight when I was taking this photo of my pumpkin pie (yes, fall IS here, finally). :) 

And, it was delicious, I have to say. I will have to run extra this week to make sure I don't add 10 pounds, since I plan on eating almost all of it by myself. I'm a quarter of the way there already. :) 

But, I digress. 

Back to Jake... 

He was so excited on his first day of preschool. Then, there were days of tears. He misses his mommy... and he doesn't like nap time. But, he does love lunch time and finds it fascinating that we always have his favorite foods in his lunch box. He also really seems to enjoy the other kids and telling me about how they get in trouble for not sharing. I wonder how much of that is because he isn't sharing, but I've not heard any reports... yet. And, now, the morning drop-off is getting easier. We have a routine about it now. We get ready, we get his breakfast (a morning pop tart and OJ to go, I know it isn't healthy, but that's what he loves and I'm not going to start off the morning with that battle), we drop off Bailey, and we make our way across town to his school. We listen to Three Doors Down's Kryptonite as many times as we can before we get there. We don't discuss much of anything, because we like to have our peace and quiet (if that's what you call the blaring radio and Jake's singing "yaaaaaaaahhhhhhh."). And when we get there, he is happy to get out of the car and go in. Well, most of the time. This morning, he wasn't so happy about going in. And he gave me the most pitiful pouty, puckered-up face ever. I literally had to turn my back and not look at him for a second because I knew he'd be able to see how much it hurt to see him so sad. I put on my best smile and gave him a little tickle, promised a fun day that would go by quickly, and a lot of fun with Spiderman and Batman when we got home. He sucked it up and fought back the tears. I was dreading actually leaving him. But, when we got in the room, we put his things away and he pulled his own chair up beside his friend at the computer. I snuck away unnoticed. 

What is most significant to me about all of this is not that drop-offs are getting easier, but that I see my little baby becoming more independent. He isn't as insecure as he was the first few days. He gets his backpack and lunchbox everyday when I pick him up. He pulls his own chair up to the computer. He cleans up his train set before his morning work begins. He's doing all the things that preschoolers do, without argument (which is really what I was worried about - he's a lot like his daddy, always finding a way to get out of things!). And, the most exciting development... he draws and colors every day when we get home. Before, I had to beg Jake to color or draw. He would beg me to hold my hand over his so that the drawing would be perfect. He would cry and claim he couldn't do it. He would flat out refuse to try. It was a struggle. Now, he is trying. And, he's getting better, too. He drew a Spiderman (of course) today that actually had a head and body. Now, it's a blob of red and blue, but as he drew, I could see the form of a person. Bailey and I celebrated every stroke and every color, telling him how wonderful it is that he is drawing. All good things... very good things. 

And, the reason for this post... this is my little boy on his first day of preschool two weeks ago. Of course, he had to wear his Superman shirt. My little superhero... just seeing his smile melts my heart. :)

Status: Updated

I feel the need to blog. I want to write. I want to tell you all about everything. But, in all honesty, I feel like a broken record. 


We've been busy. 


We are tired. 


I have run (a lot). 


The kids are growing like crazy and doing every activity imaginable.


My husband rocks. 


I love my friends. 


I love my family. 


I am healthy.


I am blessed.

The end. :) 


Just kidding. Although, it does kind of feel that way sometimes. I guess a lot of times when I sit down to write, I think about all that we are doing and I write from that perspective. So, sometimes, I feel like my posts end up feeling like status updates (really long ones) instead of emotional posts. There's not anything wrong with these status updates, but sometimes I even get bored writing them, so I feel like someone out there just HAS to be bored reading it. lol. 


However, I am going to keep posting. :)


In thinking about where we left off, Jake did better at preschool on Thursday. He didn't cry when I left him, because he was busy playing with a train set. However, he assured me later that he did cry to Mrs. M once I was gone. :) He wants me to feel like crap... I am certain. 


Friday was wonderful for him... he spent the entire day in his pajamas, playing with his toys. I cleaned the house and we picked up Bailey from school. Then, Joseph and Paul came over while Rebecca and I ran. And, I ran 5 miles (nothing in comparison to Rebecca's 10 miles). It was the farthest I have run, so I was pretty excited. And exhausted. 


Saturday, we had our first soccer practice for Jake and Joseph's team. They were great. Brad and Paul are the coaches, and in comparison to the spring, all four of the boys were much more prepared. :) The kids really did well (all of them). Jake whispered to me after it was over, "Can we please play again?" Apparently, he loves it. And, then it was off to tailgate for the day. The kids had a great time hanging out with some other kids where we tailgated. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and relaxed. It was a beautiful day and the kids really enjoyed it as much as we did. When the game was about to start, we packed everything up. Bailey and I headed home, and Brad and Jake headed to the ballgame. Now, I am going to do an emotional post about this one... :) It means so much to have that male bonding time. And, I can totally tell you what a sap I am when I see a dad with his little boy going to a football game. :) More about that in a bit. :) 


And, then there was Sunday. Late on Saturday night, I decided that I was going to get up and run the 10K with Rebecca, despite my aversion and nervousness. It's 6.2 miles. I ran 5 on Friday. Surely, I could run 6.2, even if I had to walk a little. Well... Sunday morning, I decided not to. My legs had hurt all night long and I wasn't feeling up to it. I did, however, go and run that morning and was able to run 4 miles. I was reassured that I made the right choice by not going. My legs were too tired and I totally would not have been able to push through and run 6.2. So, that was the early part of Sunday. 


We spent the day at home, relaxing, doing laundry, and playing in the yard, until that evening. Bailey and Jake had a t-ball game, so we were off to the ballpark, again. :) They did well. Bailey played first base. I don't really understand what the coach was thinking. She can't really catch that well. At all. She ducked twice when the ball was thrown to her. lol. Fortunately, it only lasted an inning. Brad really tried to help her and she really tried to listen. She's just not ready for first base. lol. Jake did well hitting and running, but the outfield was another story. For example, I have cleat mark bruises on my shins from picking him up off the ground a few times and him kicking me. Needless to say, he sat in the dugout in "timeout" a couple of times. It was a very long ballgame.I was ready to kill my son by the end of the game. We are on the countdown now. I know that sounds terrible, but we only have 4 more games. Fall ball has not been nearly as fun as spring. It has been great for Jake, in that he has had an opportunity to learn without being in a competitive environment. It has been good for Bailey, because she's had opportunities to play in the in-field a lot. By the same token though, had we practiced more, I think she would have learned more. And, I have to think that if they gave her one position to focus on instead of moving her to each position on the field, she would learn how to play that one position well. Oh well...  Brad and I are both ready to get back to the spring season, where we have regular practices and games that actually keep score. But before that, we are ready for a break from t-ball. :) 


And, that catches you up on our lives. :) 


Status: Updated. 

Little man goes to school. :(

This week has been... a huge cycle of fun, hectic, stressful, exciting, and 100 different various adjectives. :) And, it's only Wednesday night. 


Shew... what will it be like when I blog this weekend?! 


The week started out great with a fun girls' night with Rebecca, Dawn, and Cilla. How I love these girls. I can't even begin to tell you right here, mainly because I have a whole other post that I've been working on about them since Monday night. Obviously, time has been a little bit of an issue. Otherwise, that post would precede this one. But, well, I don't always do things that make sense, even if it drives me crazy not to have things in chronological order. Oh, I know you guys know that I like things to be in order... haven't you noticed how all of my posts start out where we left off last? :) 


Or do they? What was my last post? Oh... yep... it does start off where I left off. And we accuse Brad for being responsible for Jake's OCD behaviors. 


Anyway, back to this week... 


We had a great Monday night, closing down Pazzo's downtown. Yep, we are party animals (don't tell anyone that Pazzo's closes at 10 p.m., ok?!). It was great. It was even more fabulous that when I arrived home, my babies were bathed and in bed. I was certain that I would come home to an overturned house and two children, unbathed, running around hopped up on orange juice and popcorn. They weren't. And I love my husband for that. Sometimes... most of the time... it really is the little things that make me love him. 


I was originally supposed to start my new job on Tuesday, but because of my background check coming back with that felony.... just kidding. Because my background check didn't come back in time, I had to postpone it until Wednesday (today). After much contemplation, we decided we'd go ahead and take Jake to his first day of preschool on Tuesday and I could spend the day eating bon-bons on the couch. However, instead of my bon-bon eating party (I don't even like bon-bons... where the hell did that phrase originate?), I ended up cleaning up from the night before, because, while my hubby is a wonderful man and got the kids in the bath and the bed, he is not a saint. The house was a mess. :) But no one really cares what I did (except me). I was really, really happy to get to run 4 miles, the most I have ever run without dying. Yes, I had to get something in about running... it was killing me not to blog it, but I'm trying to refrain from making this my running blog, since Bailey asked me one day if I was working on my blog about running. That kid kills me. :) 


So, I'm totally having issues with ADD tonight... I forgot about the boiled eggs I was cooking and boiled them for over an hour. :)  FOCUS.... what were we talking about? Oh yes... Jake and his first day of preschool. (Funny, this is how all of my conversations with my mom and/or Cilla go). 


OK... so he was psyched... pumped... couldn't wait to go. He got up at like 6:15, even though he wouldn't really need to be up until 7. He was just so excited. I was thrilled. My little man was going to do fine. Well... it wasn't horrible. Yep... it was horrible. He did so good the whole way there, but when we go there, he was so nervous. He kept biting his little nails and clinging to me. He was excited to be there, but he didn't want me to leave. He kept whispering to me, "Mommy, just stay. I'll miss you." Talk about fighting back some serious tears. So, I gave him a pep talk, even though he's so insightful with people and their emotions that I'm quite certain it made things worse. I showed him toys and activities and paint and everything he loves (except superheroes, since they aren't there). His teacher talked to him and tried to get him to sit with her at the table and color a scarecrow. Yep... he wasn't interested. I am just glad he didn't tell her to do something very bad with the scarecrow, because he totally wanted to. I could tell he did. I choked back the tears, gave him a hug, and a huge smile and rushed out the door while he sat there with the saddest face I've ever seen, held to the chair by his teacher's arm. It was horrible. HORRIBLE. Like, I totally want to cry just thinking about it. 


But, when I went to pick him up, as predicted, he was thrilled. He'd had a great day and was so impressed by lunch. Little does he realize that the reason he had all of his favorites for lunch is because I pack it for him. He still has yet to realize that... even though he picked his lunchbox out and he carries it in every morning. He still just seems so impressed by the "red soup" (Spaghetti O's), the eggs, strawberries and grapes. I can't help but find that hilarious. The only real story he told us was that one of his friends wouldn't share and he was put in the timeout chair. He is apparently really bad... at least that's what Jake says. :) 


So, this morning rolls around. I'm wondering how he is going to react... because we all know Jake is NOT a morning person. He is just like me. I was praying he'd wake up on his own. Fat chance. I had to wake him up. I spent nearly 5 minutes chasing him around the house as he screamed and cried and screamed some more, "I NOT GOING TO PWESKOOL. I NOT WIKE IT. I STAY HOME AND WATCH BATMAN." Of course, I was trying to be understanding and remind him about how wonderful his day would be. He was not going to be convinced. After trying to dress him (and being completely unsuccessful at it), I told him I was going to work and taking Bailey to school and he could stay home alone. Bailey and I made our way downstairs. About 2 seconds later, he was letting me dress him, but was still yelling that he wasn't going. Whatever. 


Poor Bailey... she was trying so hard to help. She kept telling him, "Jake, preschool is so fun. You have toys to play with and everything. Kindergarten doesn't have toys, so you should be really happy to go." It was really funny to hear her repeat to him all of the things that I have said to her over the years. Adorable, but kind of odd. :) 


We made it out of the house (and for those of you wondering, Brad left to go out of town on Tuesday, conveniently, for work). :) We dropped Bailey off at school and then headed to preschool. Jake was pissed every time I mentioned it. Finally, I decided to leave him alone and see if it helped. I turned on his favorite song, "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down (anyone have any idea why that might be his favorite song?). He said, "Is this the Suterman song (that's how he says Superman)?" I told him it was. And then, I got really creative. I told him all about how Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and Ironman went to school. How they all just LOVED school. And I pulled it all out with, "If you want to grow up and be a superhero, you are going to have to go to school like they did." He sat there for a minute, taking it all in. He looked at me and said, "I just so sweepy mom." I laughed and told him I was, too. Then, he said, "Hang on a minute." I looked back in the rearview (yes, while driving) to see him closing his eyes like he's asleep. He sat there for a second. Then, he said, "OK... I'm all weady (ready)." I thought I would crack up. So, off we went into the school. He did great and was so excited. And then, he got nervous when I got ready to leave. I reminded him about his superhero friends and how they love school. He smiled at me and agreed. He did so good... until the last goodbye. And I basically just walked out after our last hug because I just knew he was about to cry. His teacher said he had a tough time for a few minutes, but calmed down pretty quickly. Still... why does this have to be so hard?! 


When I picked him up, he was doing great. He said he had a great day. But at bedtime tonight, he told me, "I stay at home wif you, Mommy. I miss you at nap time." Seriously... the kid freaking breaks my heart. 


Roller coaster? :) Yes. Oh... and we had McDonald's for dinner, too. It was all part of the bribing process we went through this morning. I guarantee he's negotiating for it tomorrow morning. lol. 


And, so I am exhausted and ready for bed... but I have to boil more eggs before I go, because I'm "pretty" sure that boiling them for over an hour doesn't leave them tasting all that great. :) 


Please hurry home, babe. You get to take him next Tuesday and experience the torture. lol. :) 


Or at least, you get to help me hold him down while I try to dress him and then force him to go. :) 

Change... you gotta love it

Before my gallbladder surgery and earlier in the summer, I talked to a former employer of mine about coming back to work for her part-time. It looked like a very good possibility, but we had to wait for some funding things and approvals to work themselves out. I haven't mentioned it on my blog, mainly because I was worried to death that I would jinx it. Things like that have a way of happening. 

I'm still nervous that I'm blogging about it before actually working. Isn't that funny? I guess I'm gun-shy?

Anyway, it has taken a while... and it has been in perfect timing. I was worried that it would all come together when I was in the process of having surgery or recovering and I'd miss out on the opportunity. Or that I would try to push myself and wouldn't be ready. 

But, it looks as if it is working itself out. That means that I will be going back to work a few days a week, but will still be able to pick up Bailey from school, help her with her homework and get dinner ready before Brad gets home. I'll be able to make it to all the ball games on time and will have time to serve as the Girl Scouts troop leader (reluctantly, but willingly, I suppose). It seems like the absolute most perfect scenario. I'll be able to make some money, stay in the workforce, and still be the mom that I want to be. Jake will go to preschool, which makes us all a little nervous, but will be something really good for him and something that I think he will really enjoy. He won't enjoy the early mornings where he has to actually function instead of sitting on the couch and playing with his toys quietly, but at least he'll get into a routine and will get to use that backpack that he's dragged around everywhere for the past month or so.

It's a new development for us, but something that I feel really good about. I think it will be a great opportunity for us all. And, the best thing about it, I don't have the nervous, new job feel with it. I know enough about it to get in and get my hands dirty pretty quickly. I know my boss and my co-workers, for the most part, and have stayed in touch with them over the past few years. I think it will all just come together quite nicely. 


We looked at a preschool that I've heard good things about today. I wasn't sure how Jake would handle it. He was a little shy, at first, but quickly found that he loved the toys, the kids, the teacher, everything. I had to literally drag him out of there. There are only 6 kids in his class, mostly all boys, so it seems like the perfect place for him. I think he's totally going to love it. You can only imagine how happy I am to see that he's going to enjoy it. I hope it is this easy when we actually get started. We shall see. :)

Month of Waiting = Over

I am ready to celebrate. I feel alive. I am not waiting on things right now (at least not entirely). I am just happy. Content. Not waiting... impatiently on much. :)


And, even better, I just ate wonderful asian zing wings and potato wedges for lunch. I actually don't feel hungry for at least the first time in a month. And... I'm not sick. At all. I feel great. 


I'm not perfectly over the surgery. I'm still having some trouble with my side, but the doctor told me today that it is probably just a little inflammation on my diaphragm (for those of you who don't know anatomy - that's the band of muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen). It just hurts when I take a deep breath. But, with some ibuprofen, I'm OK. It should heal quickly. 


The doctor gave me some other great news... I can run again! I didn't expect it to come for a couple more weeks, but he says I'm good to go. I can't lift anything heavy for a while longer, but running is fine. He also told me that my gallbladder pathology revealed that my gallbladder was diseased, which means that once I get over these little humps, I should be fine. It feels so good to hear that! 


And, more good news... Jake's Early Start evaluation was today. Basically, to qualify for the program his score had to be 75 or lower. He scored a 76. They would have let him come into the program two days a week for two hours, but the speech therapist and I talked about it for a long time. He has made so much progress in the last month. It seems like since Bailey has gone to school and he has had some significant one-on-one time with us and his grandparents while I was out sick last week, he has improved so much. So, I kind of expected him to do better at this evaluation than he did at the last one. And, I was right. The therapist gave me a bunch of information and activities to help work with him at home. She recommended that we work with him over the next four weeks at home and see if he improves. She gave us specific things to focus on and if he isn't progressing, we can re-evaluate and put him into the program at any time in the near future. 


This is a great relief to me. I feel like I was right to get him some assistance, but I am also not sitting here worrying that he's going to have to struggle to catch up and be where he needs to be. It's a good place to be... to feel like we caught it early enough to make an easy adjustment, but we aren't having to make a huge lifestyle change for him either. 


So, yes... I'm ready to celebrate. The month of waiting for results and of me being entirely impatient... is OVER. :) I have one more doctor's appointment to go to for a physical. This one will be to re-evaluate everything without my gallbladder and see if I am still showing signs of Sjogren's Syndrome. If I am, then I'll have to go down that road. But, I'm not worrying about it. And, I'm not feeling impatient about it. It's there, in the back of my mind, but I am so prepared for it that I'm just feeling good. If I have that, or something similar, I can deal with it. I can live with it. It just leaves me with a loose end... but not one that is controlling my life like this stupid gallbladder seems to have done. :) 


Finally... I feel like a normal person again. I'm celebrating... :) 

I'm a big kid now...

No word from the doc yet... I will keep you posted. 

But, in the meantime... 

I have a little girl who has been ready for her Kindergarten orientation for two hours. She insisted that we not be late. It starts at 5. She was bathed and dressed by 3. She's ready... and telling me every time that the clock turns another minute later. We had to pick out an outfit that would be beautiful, in her words, because she might meet a cute boy. Yes... it has begun and I'm not looking forward to hearing about that. lol. She actually met a boy in her class when we went for the Kindergarten testing about a week ago. I asked her if she thought he was nice. Her response was that he was OK, but he wasn't cute, so he could not be her boyfriend. Poor kid. I hope she didn't tell him that. She probably did, though. It's something we are working on with Bailey (among other things)... learning when to shut up. She must be a lot like her dad (right, Brad?). She typically has good taste, though... I have to give her credit. She usually does pick out the cutest kid in the class. lol. 

I'm excited that she's excited. Tonight should be a fun night for her... she'll get to see her classroom, meet some of her classmates, and take in all of her school supplies (I'm bringing in muscle-man Brad to carry it all)... :) Jake will be with us, so that could be really interesting... but good for him to see what's going on, too.  

It will be fun for me, too. I have to admit that, while I'm kind of sad that she's growing up, I am also really excited about this phase of her life. It will be a lot of fun to participate in school activities and watch her learn all of the fun stuff kids learn (with the exception of the attitude that I am certain will happen very quickly with Bailey). I am looking forward to signing up for fun things, like hopefully the 5K they have each spring and the Walk your Child to School Day. I am not looking forward too much to the 4 day minimum of homework policy that the school has, but I suppose that all comes with the territory. 

Jake is pretty excited about it all, too. I'm not sure that he's going to be OK when we take her on Wednesday. He thinks he is going, too. He has a backpack and a lunchbox, because you simply can't buy one for Bailey and not buy one for Jake. What a little heartbreaker he can be... He has told at least a half dozen people that he is going to a new school with his backpack. I can see us taking her now, with Jake and his backpack and lunchbox, too. Except, I'm not sure he'll be completely devastated when he gets to come home with his mommy. You just never know with him. But, most of the time, he still loves me and our home more than anything. Well, really, it's his home and his toys (especially when he has it all to himself). Who could blame him? The kid has it made. 

So, our little journey begins... a new phase in our life... let's hope she loves it as much as she is planning to love it. :)

Bailey's Last Day of Preschool

So, first things first... 


Today was my baby girl's last day of preschool.... ever. It does. not. seem. real. I cannot believe that she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. It seems like only yesterday when we were looking for a home in Lexington and talking about how we didn't have to worry about schools or anything for a while because she was just an infant. My how it flies by. 

Bailey enjoying the Musikgarten portion of her last day

She had a great year in preschool this year... I have no regrets about moving her in August to the Christian school. She learned so much. She made great friends. She just grew up. So, it was definitely bittersweet at her little end of the year party today. We still aren't positive about which school Bailey will go to next year, but many of her friends are definitely not returning to the Christian school. I would say there's a good chance that Bailey won't either... which means that many of the little friendships she's formed will not go anywhere from here, except the occasional hello or hug when we run into them at the mall, at ball games, etc. For a child that is so social, that's a pretty big deal. Good thing she doesn't really seem to "get" that just yet. :) 

Bailey and her friend at school... 

I am really excited about Bailey starting school, after summer (of course). I think she will love it and will do well with it. She loves preschool and loves to learn. And, I honestly, love each age and stage that the kids go through. So, I try not to get to emotional about her growing up and moving on. Yet, I have to recognize that it is going by so fast... and I wish I had a pause button every now and then. Just for a little while. :) 


I also have to admit that I am so excited that summer is here. The pool opens on Saturday, we go on vacation in 22 days, and we are getting the boat on the water next weekend. These are the months I have been looking forward to the most since I started staying at home with my kids in February. I love the summer... spending all day in the sun, eating great grilled food, staying out on the back porch until late at night and not even needing a jacket to stay warm, spending days on the boat without a care in the world (a complete escape from any reality)... I just LOVE summer. And, with this being the beginning summer breaks for Bailey, I think I appreciate it that much more. No more getting lunches ready early in the morning. No more going through her folder to make sure I didn't forget to sign something. And, my favorite thing, no more getting up early on a consistent basis. :) 


Summer is here and I couldn't be happier.