This morning I not only had to get one kindergartner ready, but also had to outfit one 3 and a half year-old preschooler!
Holden has taken the torch and will now attend the same sweet preschool that Elliott loved for the past 2 years.
He eagerly donned his new linen cargo shorts and big boy button-up “school shirt”, filled his Buzz & Woody backpack with his spaceship Transformer and his back-up clothes for his cubby and we were on our way.
We went and picked up a special breakfast…
Just what every preschool teacher loves….sugar in the mornings!
Then a quick little side trip for the preschooler’s mama:
He knew just what to do. The obligatory snapshot in front of the sign:
Explaining what preschool is all about:
And……he’s off!
A few more shots and then I promised to leave him alone in the playground! 😉
His teacher, Miss Cathi:
*****
It’s such a treat to watch Elliott complete these milestones and then pass the torch along to Holden so he can experience it all, too.
I LOVED my Tuesday and Thursday mornings with my Bubba, but now it’s HIS turn to craft and sing. Dance and play. Snack and pour. Create and imagine. Build and put away. Listen and learn. Make new friends and say hello to the old. Come home with loads of sand in his shoes.
He couldn’t wait for me to leave this morning.
That feeling was better than any tears that could’ve run down my face.
Watching his confidence and security hit all of a sudden and a sense of calm came over me….no tears, just a huge smile and a yearning to hear all about his morning in 3 hours time.
He couldn’t wait for me to leave and I couldn’t wait to walk through the doors of TJ Maxx!
Unfortunately there’s no winning Lotto numbers, I didn’t lose 50 pounds in my sleep last night and my outfit du jour was still a colored wife beater, yoga pants and my Havs.
Nothing new or fancy to report on this “milestone” post.
I take that back…something NEW that happened today was that Elliott CRIED at kinder drop off.
The day started out flawlessly…
She woke up before 7:00, had breakfast, took less than 10 minutes to find a different outfit that suited her mood, brushed teeth and hair and we were out the door for another leisurely stroll to school. We were at the gate where we drop them off and…
The waterworks started.
Out of nowhere.
I was taken aback.
She was the only one crying.
“I don’t want to go to school.”
I am not a Mom that sugar coats stuff like this. School is not an option. It is something that she will be going to every weekday for many, many years and there are no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. Yes, she’s in kindergarten, but I believe in setting expectations early in life. It’s never too early, as far as I’m concerned, to let your child {my child in this case} know what is right and wrong. No, it’s not wrong that she cried. I was expecting a transition from her going 2 half days to 5 full days, but coddling isn’t going to help in the long run.
I got down to her level and told her that she will have fun and all her friends will miss her if she’s not there. Her teacher came out and looked surprised that my Elliott was in tears, but took her hand and whisked her off “kicking and screaming”. I waved and said “I love you! Have fun!”
And that was that.
I am OK with that.
Mama said there’d be days like this.
But it turned out that she stopped crying the minute they got into class.
And she took off her dress and was wearing the tank and her biker shorts {that were under the dress} when I picked her up, but all’s well that ends well, I guess.
Something tells me that Daisy Duke-esque biker shorts aren’t part of the dress code.
*****
Speaking of dress codes, we’re still having FUN with the kinder wardrobe.
Now, either I have too high of expectations when it comes to dressing her or I have a very head strong, fashion conscious five-year old.
Probably a little of both.
Remember “Fashion Plates”?
My younger sister got these for one of her birthdays back in the day and I’d get all Project Runway on them once in awhile.
{retroland.com}
Each night when we lay out her outfit, I feel like I am taking out ALL possibilities, arranging them and waiting for her to find the combination that she wants to place a piece of paper over and make come to life with colored pencils!
Only to find out that by morning’s light, she wants to crumple it up, toss it in the trash and start laying the components out in the little contraption again until she finds another ensemble to bring to life.
Maybe I just need to give her free reign and step in when things get too Punky Brewster or otherwise inappropriate.
Good thing I kept all the receipts for the new school clothes.
For example, tomorrow she is wearing the tank top that she wore last year on the first day of preschool.
I guess familiar clothes are comforting in this new, unfamiliar time of her life.
And I can certainly see and understand that.
Tonight we read “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss.
“I cannot go to school today,”
Said little Peggy Ann McKay,
“I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I’m going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox
And there’s one more–that’s seventeen,
And don’t you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue–
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I’m sure that my left leg is broke–
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button’s caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained,
My ‘pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow’s bent, my spine ain’t straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is–what?
What’s that? What’s that you say?
You say today is—Saturday?
G’bye, I’m going out to play!”
*****
Remember this hilarious poem “Sick” by the super talented Shel Silverstein?
Well, it pretty much describes what I felt like yesterday.
Although, unlike little Peggy Ann McKay, I DID NOT want to go out and play.
I wanted to SLEEP.
Jay can confirm this….I think I literally slept over 20 hours.
The other 3 hours and change were spent driving Jay to pick up his car at the oil change place, chewing on some Tums, taking an Aleve, giving Holden a bath after he slipped in the dog vomit and landed on his back and watching about 20 minutes of Barbie ~ Mermaid Tale.
That was enough to make me want to go back to sleep.
That was my Saturday, folks.
Today is MUCH better. I think my body was telling me that I needed a rest.
I would say that I got it.
Ready for a FULL week of kindergarten goodness and getting Holden off to his first day of preschool on Thursday!
Grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream for dessert!
*****
Jay cheated and used McCormick Grill Mates Baja Citrus to marinate the fish.
I just flaked the fish, added some honey-cumin & chipotle slaw and a little salsa:
Almost like Rubio’s!
{Next time we’re going to try small flour tortillas}
For the salad, I just cut a romaine heart lengthwise, sprayed with a little olive oil cooking spray and grilled for 2 minutes on each side. I added some grilled red pepper, onion and sweet white corn and topped with TJ’s cilantro dressing. {Have you tried this dressing? It’s in the refrigerated section and it’s remarkable. Thanks, Mom!}
This was our first “grilled salad” experience and it was delish. The lettuce still had plenty of crunch in case you were wondering about super soggy salad! Will definitely be grilling our rabbit food more often.
For dessert, I had some over-ripe peaches that we needed to eat up. I just added a tiny bit of water to a little brown sugar and glazed the halved, seeded peaches before Jay grilled them for a few minutes on each side. {No oil}
They paired perfectly with the vanilla ice cream I whipped up:
The grill still had some of the cedar plank smell on it so the dessert had a nice sweet, tart, smokey mix of flavors.
Grilled fruit rocks!
And so do cedar planks!
Check them out if you haven’t done so already. Perfect for poultry, shrimp and even lobster.
*****
I’ll leave you with a few other moments from our Sunday…
{Superchargerboy!}
Hopefully a sign of things to come this season…the Chargers being our superheroes IN the Superbowl!
***
There was a 40-acre brush fire about 4-5 miles from us yesterday.
We were on our way to the pool and were stopped in our tracks by a couple Sheriffs and this helicopter taking water out of the pond at our clubhouse!
Craziness to watch!
There were two ‘copters that would take turns running water to the fire.
Those heli pilots are amazing….how they just put it down in the tightest of spots, grab the water and run!
The lyrics to this Neil Diamond song seemed fitting for today:
Hey, Sunday Sun
Let’s go walkin’
And we’ll talk about some things
Kick my shoes off,
And we’ll dream about some dreams
Got to get away when the world
Gets on me
Kids in the park
Don’t take long before
I’m laughing along with them
Almost makes me think
Those times can come again
Gets me feelin’ good and yet sad
At the same time
Sunday Sun, when you’re round
Get to feelin’ like I wanna smile
Weekday strings, tie me down
But this one day, baby, I can fly
I can fly
Time on my mind,
Make the most of it,
Just me and a Sunday Sun
Liable to forget that Monday ever comes
Gonna sit around
Watchin’ bees chasin’ honey
Sunday Sun, when you’re ’round
Get to feelin’ like I wanna smile
Weekday strings, tie me down
But this one day, baby, I can fly
I said I can fly
Hey Sunday Sun
Let’s go walkin’
And we’ll talk about some things
I kick my shoes off
And we’ll dream about some dreams
Come on Sunday Sun,
We got some plans to make
We go walking…..
{lyricstime.com}
*****
Just a leisurely Sunday.
The kids flew their kites with Daddy while I ran to Albertson’s.
Elliott painted a plate at Color Me Mine ~ a birthday treat from sweet Noah…..Thanks again! {#10 on our list}
Successful family shopping spree at Old Navy. {9 items for under $40!}
Star Dance Student Appreciation Day at the park.
Our favorite pizzas on the grill.
Root beer floats with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
