First day of school 2014

We survived the first day of school!!! It went about as I expected at drop off, but the day was great for both kids!

On Monday, we went to drop off their school supplies, which I think makes the first morning so much easier! It also let the kids see their classroom, and Reed got to meet his teacher because she is new to the school this year!

I was off Monday and Tuesday with the kids. Ava had been asking for a while if we could go get frozen yogurt because we hadn’t been in forever (like 2 years forever – ha!) so I decided that would be a fun thing to do their last day of summer vacation.

Reed had been saying most of the summer he didn’t want to go to preschool, that he wanted to just stay in his old classroom. On the night before school started, I was SO nervous for him. I really thought it would be a rough drop off because I know how Reed is. He seems to struggle with change and it takes him a while to feel comfortable. I was just so worried about how he would do in a new class with a teacher he wasn’t familiar with (he knows a lot of the teachers there but since his was new to the school, he had no idea who she was).

We did our traditional first day of school photos and then headed off to school! I can’t believe how big my babies have gotten.

It was also Zach’s first day of school for the year!

When we got to school, we stopped at Reed’s room first. He was very hesitant and unsure. I knew he would feel a little scared but I hoped he would get through it okay.

He didn’t want to get a toy out to use at his seat until school started. He started crying and I walked out so I wouldn’t have to hear the screams. He tried chasing Zach across his room and I don’t know if his teacher grabbed him after that or what.

We then headed to Ava’s room to get her all settled. She was an excited little kindergartner!  I’m so proud of my big girl! After we took Ava to her room, I saw a mom that had just dropped off her daughter in Reed’s room. She said he wasn’t crying any more and that he was doing a puzzle. That definitely helped! I had tears in my eyes before Zach had to leave to go to school, but I held them back.

Mid-morning, I saw a text pop up from Ava’s teacher and, oh y’all, my heart SWELLED when I saw what she had sent me! It was a picture of my babies that said “They had some time outside together. His teacher said he was doing great, and was super happy!” MADE. MY. DAY.

Then I got a text later from Ava’s teacher from last year of Reed sitting in the cafeteria at lunch. My baby! How is he so big??

I am SO SO grateful tot he wonderful teachers at our school who look out for ALL the kids and parents, not just their own students. It meant so much to me to see pictures of my sweet boy having a good day when I was so worried about him.

I also got a photo of Ava at nap time – girl was sacked out! She was also exhausted last night!! 

She had fun learning, too!

All in all, they both had a great day! They came home happy. Reed told me he got a sticker for staying in line which I’m sure is hard for an almost three year old! ha! I’m so glad we have the first (and scariest!) day behind us! Thank you to all who called and texted to see how the kids did (and if I was okay!!!)! Y’all are the best!

On the eve of kindergarten..

Ava starts kindergarten tomorrow. I’ve had extra time to prepare since her birthday made her just miss the cutoff last year. She will be six next months, and I can honestly say that I feel like the last six years have passed in the blink of an eye. With such a milestone, as it has approached, I’ve become less sad and just excited. I KNOW this girl is going to go on to do big things and I truly can’t wait to sit back and watch!

So, in honor of tomorrow’s first day:

Ava,

You start kindergarten tomorrow. I know that you will have the best time and you are going to learn SO much! I’m excited for you, but I also know this is going to be a BIG change. This is when the work starts getting real and the life lessons will, too. As you grow up and pass through grades, you’re going to face so many things that they don’t teach you in school. As your momma, it’s my job to teach you these things, and I want you to always remember these.

• Be YOU. There is no one else like you in the world and don’t ever change yourself to be anyone else. Just. Be. You.
• Try new things. Mommy was a ‘fraidy cat in school and I skipped out on a lot of things because I was embarrassed to try them or just plain scared. I don’t want you to do that and miss out on finding something new you may love.
• Always do your best. You are so smart, Ava. But you can be lazy. You like to rush through things just to get it done. Slow down and take your time. You’ll waste more time having to re-do things than if you try your best the first time.
• You can do hard things. Sometimes it will seem like you can’t tackle the obstacle in front of you, but know this, baby girl. You can do it. Whether it be school work or some situation that you find yourself in, you’ve got it. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Don’t give up on yourself or sell yourself short.
• Families are forever and family is first. Your family is the best support group you have. No one in this world will love you quite like we do. No matter what happens in your life and where life takes you, we will ALWAYS be there for you. Come to us. Talk to us. Let us walk through life with you. There will come a day when you find yourself wanting to be with your friends and boys more than us, and that’s a normal part of life, but just remember we will always be there. Make time for us because friendships fade and boyfriends will break your heart and people come in and out of your life, but not us. You’ll always have a place with us.
• Always use your manners. An aide at your school stopped me last night to tell me how polite you always are and that made me so proud. It tells me you ARE listening and watching, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Thank you for making us so proud.
• You will have hard times. You just will. That’s an inevitable part of life. Just remember when you’re faced with a challenging situation, Jesus is there for you and hears you. Pray. Ask Him to be your guide. You may find yourself on a road you shouldn’t have taken, but with Jesus in your heart you’ll always get right back to where you need to be.
• Remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Ava, you will encounter mean girls. It’s inevitable. Even as an adult you’ll have to deal with mean girls. You will get hurt and you won’t understand, but please, please don’t be a mean girl in return. Be kind hearted and treat people like you would like to be treated, but still stand up for yourself. You may not always be able to salvage a relationship and that’s okay. Pray for those who hurt you and know when enough is enough and when to walk away.
• Don’t be afraid to go your own way. You’re a follower, Ava. You like to jump in a group and just join in the fun. There will be times that you need to stray from the group and make the hard decision to NOT follow along. Trust me on this. I’ve been there. Make good choices.
• You are SO loved. Even when it feels like you have no one, just know that we love you more than the world.

Spread your wings, baby girl. We can’t wait to see you fly and all that you’ll accomplish.

Love you forever,

Momma

Fun, fun, and more fun!

We have been having a lot of fun the last week! I took a few days off work to stay with the kids while all the care was closed down for cleaning and professional development. The first day of school is Wednesday and when it starts, Ava will be starting KINDERGARTEN and Reed will be be starting PRESCHOOL! Say WHAT?!!

I’m also going to attempt to catch up on some stuff we’ve done since we’ve been back from the beach!

The week after we got home, I went to drop Reed off at school on Thursday morning. It had stormed the day before, and when we got there, there was no electricity! So, I took Reed down the street with me to work for a bit while we waited on our summer sitter to come get him. He had fun “working” for me.

Reed has also decided over the summer that while at home, he no longer wants to nap. We make him lay down but no sleep follows. So the scene at 7:00 or before on those days looks a lot like this.

Alot of Friday evenings, Ava comes and lays down in my bed with me. Zach likes to stay up and catch up on some of his shows, so Ava and I lay down and we either watch a movie or she goes to sleep while I read. One Friday evening we let Reed join us and I think all parties were pretty content.  

Ava had to spend a couple of mornings at school with Zach and he sent me some pictures of her playing the flute one morning. She looks pretty natural! 

Ava spent the summer with my 16 year old cousin and Ava absolutely loved it!!!!! She said it was like having a big sister! She did Ava’s hair one day and I loved how cute it looked!!!!

I love how kids can find so much joy in such simple pleasures such as an umbrella! I need to take a lesson from this!!

Reed started at the early childhood center at our school when he was 3 months old. August 1st was his last day there. The love he received while he was there was more than a mom could ever have prayed for. He LOVED it and when we talk about preschool, he says he is not going and just wants to stay in his old class. I think Wednesday will be a shock. :(

 

Last week on our days off, we spent one day in NWA with one of my best friends. Her talented hubby had built this amazing plane swing and Reed LOVED it! Getting to spend several uninterrupted hours with my wonderful friend (the longest we’ve seen each other since she moved almost a year ago), was soooooooooooooooooo good for my soul. It was a great day!

On Tuesday, we all got hair cuts and then met friends at Chick-fil-a for lunch and play.

Last week was slightly rough though, for Zach certainly, because he was leaving for work before 8:00 and coming home well after 8:00. Tuesday night the kids tried to wait up for him but both fell asleep in the living room before he got home.

Wednesday Reed was soooooo tired and I just couldn’t console him and he finally just said “I just miss my daddy”. So sad.  

So Thursday night I drove them up to Zach’s school to see him for a few minutes before his evening rehearsal. Talk about a happy boy!!!!

Friday, Ava went to an almost slumber party! She wore her pjs and got to do all the slumber party things but came home to sleep! It was such a fun and cute party!!!!

Saturday night I found her in bed with her sleep mask resting on her head! :)

Yesterday we got up and headed to church and then after that went to spend the day with Zach’s sister and her family. Oh Reed, and his faces!

We attempted to take a picture of the cousins together, but that WASN’T easy. We did pretty good, but I wish I knew why the one wasn’t looking was the oldest?!?!

We’ve definitely had some busy but fun last couple of weeks. We are going to squeeze in as much fun as we can the next two days before we are back to it full time!!!!

Daily Planner – 2014 Edition

Last year, I wrote about the new planner I had found and how excited I was for it. A year later, I loved it even more after using it all year and knew I’d be using the same one for the next year!

Jen, the master mind behind The Polka Dot Posie Printables, has once again created a functional, yet cute and stylish planner! You can check out my post I did last year here. Last year I printed the full size planner and this year i decided I wanted to try the smaller pages planner.

The smaller planner pages have the same fun colors and designs, just on smaller pages! {photo credit: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotPosiePrint}

 

Since my post last year focused on the normal size pages, you can see that post if you want to purchase the regular size pages. Here, I’m going to focus on the smaller pages.

Once you have purchased your pages, Jen has a complete step by step guide on how to print your pages here: http://www.thepolkadotposie.com/p/planner-pages.html Even after printing last year, I needed a refresher, especially since it was a little different printing the smaller pages.

Once I knew I wanted the smaller pages, I knew I needed to get a new notebook to keep my pages in. I headed off to Staples since I knew they carried the Martha Stewart notebooks that I could fit these pages in. This year, I decide to try the Staples Arc brand notebook. I got the one I did because it had interchangeable covers! They also had this for the large size notebook! {photo credit: http://www.staples.com}

Here is a better shot at the various covers:

 

I also picked up some packages of Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Discbound Notebook Dividers. (photo credit: http://www.staples.com)

I also picked up some fun blue Arc System Notebook Expansion Discs. They had several colors to choose from and I liked that they had bright colors! (photo credit: http://www.staples.com) I got the 1” expansion discs and they work perfectly!

This year I didn’t even check into printing this elsewhere like i did last year. Last year I was outraged at the price it would’ve cost to have it printed somewhere else. I was really intimidated last year but was so surprised at how easy it really was to print it. So this year I just got some heaver paper (24lb) and got my ink and I had this printed so quickly. I used about half a cartridge of ink to print it. After printing, I did have to cut the pages which you don’t have to do with the large pages. This wasn’t a big deal. Zach brought home the paper cutter from his school for me to use and I had this done in less than 10 minutes.

Once everything was printed and cut, it was time to punch the holes! In order to punch the holes in my paper, I bought a punch last year. I didn’t take a picture again this year, but this is what it looks like. You can purchase here: http://www.levenger.com/Circa-Notebooks-326/Circa-Punches-328/Circa-1-2-3-Portable-Punch-8704.aspx

I LOVE how cute this is all put together! I also have a big turquoise monogram coming to slap on this baby!

Here are some shots of the inside of the planner and these are the things I love about this particular planner!

Personalized Cover Page When you purchase your planner, it comes with a standard cover page and you can write in your own name. For a (small!) additional fee, you can get one like I have above, or pick from various designs. You can also pick customize with certain colors if you wanted it to match your planner! You can find those here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/164388768/custom-planner-cover-page-printable-pdf?ref=shop_home_active_18

2014-15 Overview

Monthly Calendar for every month

A section each month for notes, goals, to-dos, and home stuff   

Weekly view with gorgeous colors throughout! LOVE!

Notes pages!!!! (print as many as you want!)   

If you visit Jen’s blog, The Polka Dot Posie, you will find that she has additional printables for FREE! Her current blog post even has FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PRINTABLES!!!! These are CUTE, y’all!!!! I’ve got mine printed and am heading to Hobby Lobby today to frames. This mama isn’t waiting until the day before school this year. She also has other printables that are FREE that you can include in your planner. I’m talking special dates, holidays, weekly and monthly menus and so much more! She also has these free printable lists that I LOVE! It’s so nice to be able to jot down a book I want to read, or a recipe to try and have it all in one spot where I KNOW I will be able to find it!! She literally thinks of EVERYTHING! Go look around her blog and you will be amazed at what you find!

Ad here are some other things which I think are awesome:

• Pages pop in and out SO easily! I can add stuff or take it out, or rearrange it VERY easily! LOVE this.
• I can use this notebook and system year after year. Even the tabs are re-usable. They wipe clean so I can use them for different things if I want.
• It’s cute, bright, personalized and I just love it.
• I can add absolutely anything I want just by punching the holes in it! Last year I took things I got from Zach’s school or the kids’ school that I need to keep with me, punched holes in them, and stuck them in my planner.
• There are all kinds of accessories available for this system!

If you are looking for a new planner, I cannot encourage you enough to try this planner. Working with Jen is a pleasure and she provides amazing customer service. She not only has life planners, but a direct sales planner, teacher planners, student planners and on and on and on! Check her out! You will NOT be disappointed! Jen truly has a passion to provide high quality printable products and I absolutely believe you will not find someone better to work with than her!

Thanks again, Jen, for a wonderful product! You help me stay much more organized!!!

{I was provided the printable file in exchange for this blog review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}