I won't be posting much over the next week or so. The packers come today to box up all our stuff and the movers come tomorrow. We'll spend one last night here tomorrow night and then will head to Denver on Saturday afternoon, arriving sometime on Sunday. We close on the house on Wednesday. We'll be staying in the city for the first few days and then head out to the suburbs and our new house by the end of the week.
It's kind of crazy how we got here. We've been talking about this forever, trying to figure out exactly what we were going to do and how it was going to work, and now it's really here. The last few weeks have flown by on a week by week basis but we still really seemed so far from the move, and now it's here.
In so many ways I'm sad to go. Our friends have truly become our family - the family you get to pick yourself. I have so many people I can count on that I would trust with my kids, our home, myself. I'm going to miss them so much. I also can't imagine finding schools that are as good as the ones here. We've been at Amanda's school for five years now. They are so wonderful and she is so comfortable there, plus her Spanish was really just getting started. Andy's elementary school is wonderful. We have only good things to say and the principal is amazing. I'm not sure how you top her. Then there's just the comfort of knowing where you are going, the best way to get around, the grocery store where they know who you are, so many little insignificant things that all roll up into one.
But there is excitement as well. So many new things to see and do, an amazing house and neighborhood waiting for us, good schools. Plus it's about 25 degrees cooler in the summer. We just won't mention the winter right now. Everybody loves Denver, I'm sure we won't be disappointed.
It's all good, just wish I could take it all with me.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Picture of the Day
Andy was over the moon tonight that Amanda wanted to sleep with him. Well, she really wanted to sleep with me and when I said no she wanted to sleep with Sarah and when Sarah said no she agreed to sleep with Andy. Little girl is just looking for any power that we will give her. Andy is just looking to get a side snuggle from Amanda. Win-win for both of them.
Kid Quote of the Day
"I am evil, you are mean, Sarah is nice, Andy is evil and Daddy is a bad guy."
-Amanda. Seriously, I don't know where she gets this stuff but she does have quite an imagination.
-Amanda. Seriously, I don't know where she gets this stuff but she does have quite an imagination.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Picture of the Day
This was Sarah at her first school show. She doesn't look much happier than Amanda, does she? Lol.
End of the Year Show
On Monday I picked up the DVD of the girls' end of the year show. They have them twice a year, one right before the holidays and one a few weeks before school ends. The kids wear costumes, they dance, they sing, it's really cute to watch.
Sarah and Amanda watched the entire DVD. They sang along to several of the songs, even if they weren't the ones their classes performed, and even did the dances for me. They work on this show at school for months so by the time they perform it they not only know their songs but also the songs of all the other classes.
It was amazing to watch them do this in our living room a month after the show ended, especially since Amanda carried on the family tradition of crying and standing perfectly still during her part of the performance. Her teachers promised me that she knew her part after the total debacle on show night, but I wasn't surprised. Sarah did the exact same thing at Amanda's age. Stood on stage with an enormous frown and didn't move. In fact with both girls the little girls next to them danced their asses off, making the complete lack of movement at their side even more humorous.
Since this was Sarah's eight show, she was finally over the nervousness and was fantastic. She did a mean tango with one of my favorite kids in her class. She had a blast and I think this will be one thing she definitely remembers from this school.
Here's a couple of pictures to show you the difference in the girls' performances.
One of the things I'm really going to miss is their school and these shows. Unfortunately I'll never get to find out if Amanda could turn it around and just have fun by her Kindergarten year. Hopefully we'll be able to find a school like this where we're moving, it would make the transition that much easier.
Sarah and Amanda watched the entire DVD. They sang along to several of the songs, even if they weren't the ones their classes performed, and even did the dances for me. They work on this show at school for months so by the time they perform it they not only know their songs but also the songs of all the other classes.
It was amazing to watch them do this in our living room a month after the show ended, especially since Amanda carried on the family tradition of crying and standing perfectly still during her part of the performance. Her teachers promised me that she knew her part after the total debacle on show night, but I wasn't surprised. Sarah did the exact same thing at Amanda's age. Stood on stage with an enormous frown and didn't move. In fact with both girls the little girls next to them danced their asses off, making the complete lack of movement at their side even more humorous.
Since this was Sarah's eight show, she was finally over the nervousness and was fantastic. She did a mean tango with one of my favorite kids in her class. She had a blast and I think this will be one thing she definitely remembers from this school.
Here's a couple of pictures to show you the difference in the girls' performances.
One of the things I'm really going to miss is their school and these shows. Unfortunately I'll never get to find out if Amanda could turn it around and just have fun by her Kindergarten year. Hopefully we'll be able to find a school like this where we're moving, it would make the transition that much easier.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Picture of the Day
We didn't actually know it was Flag Day when we took this picture this morning, but it works. Happy Flag Day everybody!
Kid Quote of the Day
"You are evil. I want to go to my room."
-Amanda, after I told her if she called me evil she would go to her room.
-Amanda, after I told her if she called me evil she would go to her room.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Kindergarten Graduation
Sarah officially graduated from Kindergarten four weeks ago today. It was quite an occasion. When Andy graduated from the same school three years ago they had felt hats and gave them a blank piece of paper rolled up to look like a diploma. The year before that, for pre-K graduation, they got hats made from poster board and crepe paper. Well, they've come a long way. This year the kids had real caps and gowns and they even got a little yellow tassel with 2012 on it. They were even miniature tassels, much shorter than a high school or college graduate would have gotten.
The ceremony itself wasn't anything that special. They had the kids sit in rows in front of the parents and then called them up one by one to give them their fancy diploma. Then they had the kids say, in Spanish, what they wanted to be when they grow up (just in case you don't know, my kids go to a Spanish Immersion pre-school/Kindergarten so it's not so strange that they were doing the ceremony in Spanish). Most of the kids had realistic career goals except the two kids in a row that said they wanted to work at Sea World (which I guess isn't a totally unrealistic goal, just not likely). Sarah said she wanted to be an artist, which doesn't surprise me at all because we talk about that a lot. In fact, I would have been surprised if she had said anything else.
After the graduation they had a little party in their classroom with pizza and juice and a cake with the class picture on it. Overall, a very sweet little celebration. We took pictures with her teachers and they even gave her a little Spanish doll as a gift.
There were definitely parents there who were all choked up and sad that their kids were graduating. The woman behind me was even crying. I probably would have been that way had I been watching it on tv or in a movie, because that's just the sap I am, but in person it was no big deal. Maybe because she's going to do Kindergarten again next year or because I still have one more kid to go, but I don't think that's it. So far I just haven't been that sad when my kids pass their milestones. I guess I'm just more excited about what is coming next than what we are leaving behind.
There's so many things to be excited about, why dwell on what's in the past? Easy to say now, let's see if I can stick to those words in the weeks moving forward.
The ceremony itself wasn't anything that special. They had the kids sit in rows in front of the parents and then called them up one by one to give them their fancy diploma. Then they had the kids say, in Spanish, what they wanted to be when they grow up (just in case you don't know, my kids go to a Spanish Immersion pre-school/Kindergarten so it's not so strange that they were doing the ceremony in Spanish). Most of the kids had realistic career goals except the two kids in a row that said they wanted to work at Sea World (which I guess isn't a totally unrealistic goal, just not likely). Sarah said she wanted to be an artist, which doesn't surprise me at all because we talk about that a lot. In fact, I would have been surprised if she had said anything else.
After the graduation they had a little party in their classroom with pizza and juice and a cake with the class picture on it. Overall, a very sweet little celebration. We took pictures with her teachers and they even gave her a little Spanish doll as a gift.
There were definitely parents there who were all choked up and sad that their kids were graduating. The woman behind me was even crying. I probably would have been that way had I been watching it on tv or in a movie, because that's just the sap I am, but in person it was no big deal. Maybe because she's going to do Kindergarten again next year or because I still have one more kid to go, but I don't think that's it. So far I just haven't been that sad when my kids pass their milestones. I guess I'm just more excited about what is coming next than what we are leaving behind.
There's so many things to be excited about, why dwell on what's in the past? Easy to say now, let's see if I can stick to those words in the weeks moving forward.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
"Poopy, poopy, poopy, poopy, poopy, poopy...everybody say poopy!"
-Amanda, who is fixated on the word 'poopy' right now. The more I ask her to stop saying it, the more she says it. Luckily most people have no idea what she is saying and she's so cute they would probably think it was funny anyway.
-Amanda, who is fixated on the word 'poopy' right now. The more I ask her to stop saying it, the more she says it. Luckily most people have no idea what she is saying and she's so cute they would probably think it was funny anyway.
Picture of the Day
I took Sarah and Amanda and Sarah's friend, Finley, to the Gap today to pick up some day-of-the-week underwear for Sarah. Anyway, the rack of sunglasses was right next to the checkout lane so while we waited the girls tried on glasses. Then somebody found the hats. For once they were more than happy to pose for a picture.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
"You must not have heared [rhymes with feared] me correctly. You have a hearing infection."
-Sarah to Amanda, after Sarah claimed that she was going to do something first and then Amanda said "me first" as if Sarah had never said it.
-Sarah to Amanda, after Sarah claimed that she was going to do something first and then Amanda said "me first" as if Sarah had never said it.
Picture of the Day
The happy mischief maker. Funny story about the lollipop. While we were at Baby Gap she asked me repeatedly for a lollipop. I kept telling her that I didn't have any and they didn't have any at the store. It's not like the bank. After Baby Gap we stopped by my old hair salon to pick up some conditioner and styling stuff (yep, that's as specific as I can get, I don't really know what it is). They had some candy hair product line and were doing a promotion and had these huge lollipops there. I told the kids I thought they were soap or some kind of product, but they weren't really lollipops. As we were getting ready to leave, the guy behind the counter said they could have then, they were free and they were real. Major score for some very naughty girls!
Also note that she is sitting in Andy's booster seat, which she was over the moon about, because her car seat had an enormous wet spot on it.
Hot Mess
I don't know if it's because school is out and we've been inside a lot or because we are on no schedule whatsoever or because she is two months away from turning three, but Amanda has been out of control lately. Not difficult, not hard to handle, just into EVERYTHING. Yes, I probably should be watching her a little more carefully, but again she is almost three and shouldn't have to be watched that much. She is coming into the age of independent play and imaginative play and playing well with others. Too bad she is not.
In the past 48 hours she:
1. Covered her arm in smiley face stamps (see yesterday's Picture of the Day)
2. Was found with her accomplice, Max, next to a sink running full blast, foamy soap and water all over the counter and floor and rather wet herself.
3. Drank almost all of a 12oz bottle of Gatorade on the way to taking Andy to Camp Thurman, fell asleep and then peed in her car seat (this is the first time she has ever had an accident in her car seat).
4. Took advantage of the fact that I left the room to answer the phone for five minutes and poured her juice box into a cup and then dipped a non-washable green marker in the juice and then wrote all over the kitchen table cloth. Of course Sarah was sitting right there watching and supposedly told her to stop, but obviously nothing came of that.
5. Covered her entire hand in much darker smiley face stamps (the smiley face stamper has now been relocated to the garbage can).
6. Wrote on the piece of paper that I was using to take notes on all the utilities that I was cancelling for the old house and signing up for with the new house. She then proceeded to go off the paper completely and write all over the desk. She is one of the reasons the desk is not moving with us.
7. Almost got me kicked out of Baby Gap today for playing in the display windows. I'll just say the saleswoman was not happy.
Andy never did any of these things because I was always watching him and there weren't really any distractions, and Sarah didn't really do any of this stuff. She also didn't have access to as much stuff as Amanda has, because most of the things that Amanda gets into are things Sarah should have put away.
Somebody thought I was up for this challenge, but right now I'm really not. I know I should appreciate her inquisitive and creative mind, but it really just gives me tired head. I really hope by the time we pack everything up and move out that she hasn't done any permanent damage to the house.
In the past 48 hours she:
1. Covered her arm in smiley face stamps (see yesterday's Picture of the Day)
2. Was found with her accomplice, Max, next to a sink running full blast, foamy soap and water all over the counter and floor and rather wet herself.
3. Drank almost all of a 12oz bottle of Gatorade on the way to taking Andy to Camp Thurman, fell asleep and then peed in her car seat (this is the first time she has ever had an accident in her car seat).
4. Took advantage of the fact that I left the room to answer the phone for five minutes and poured her juice box into a cup and then dipped a non-washable green marker in the juice and then wrote all over the kitchen table cloth. Of course Sarah was sitting right there watching and supposedly told her to stop, but obviously nothing came of that.
5. Covered her entire hand in much darker smiley face stamps (the smiley face stamper has now been relocated to the garbage can).
6. Wrote on the piece of paper that I was using to take notes on all the utilities that I was cancelling for the old house and signing up for with the new house. She then proceeded to go off the paper completely and write all over the desk. She is one of the reasons the desk is not moving with us.
7. Almost got me kicked out of Baby Gap today for playing in the display windows. I'll just say the saleswoman was not happy.
Andy never did any of these things because I was always watching him and there weren't really any distractions, and Sarah didn't really do any of this stuff. She also didn't have access to as much stuff as Amanda has, because most of the things that Amanda gets into are things Sarah should have put away.
Somebody thought I was up for this challenge, but right now I'm really not. I know I should appreciate her inquisitive and creative mind, but it really just gives me tired head. I really hope by the time we pack everything up and move out that she hasn't done any permanent damage to the house.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Picture of the Day
It's kind of hard to see, but it looks like a smiley face stamp jumped out and attacked Amanda this afternoon. I know that's the case because when I asked her and Sarah who did that to her arm they both answered "I don't know, not me." You seriously cannot leave any pencils, pens, markers, crayons, chalk and add to the list stamps around this girl without her making a mess. She is really having a difficult time understanding what "only on paper" means.
Kid Quote of the Day
Andy: Pax [the assistant counselor at camp] said the right side of his body is bionic.
Me: Do you believe him?
Andy: No. I know all about half-truths from Uncle David.
Me: Do you believe him?
Andy: No. I know all about half-truths from Uncle David.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Picture of the Day
Apparently this is where the stickers go after she peels them off her arms. No wonder it was so quite. I just hope we can leave the house the way they bought it when the new owners move in in a couple of weeks.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Picture of the Day
Not the most flattering photo, but I can't talk about getting dressed up for an 80s party and not show you the final product.
Saying Goodbye
When Andy was in kindergarten, I ran into a friend who told me how she participated in a Mom's Night Out with all the mom's from her daughter's grade. Not just the class, the entire grade. There was only about twenty or so people who showed up, out of somewhere between 60-80, but it gave these women a chance to get to know each other so that as their kids moved up to a new grade every year, the moms would know at least a few of the other moms in the class. The class lists were always changing, but the moms kept this going and were able to keep up with what was happening in all the classes, among all the students, and knew what to look out for in years to come.
At the time Andy was in private kindergarten, but I thought it was a brilliant idea and a great way to meet the other moms. We were lucky that we had a lot of parent participation that year, so a lot of the moms would show up for things but I didn't really know them. So I started a monthly Mom's Night Out. There were only 13 kids in the class that year, so we never had more than 6-7 people show up, but it was still a lot of fun and we all knew each other pretty well by the end of the year.
The kids scattered to several different elementary schools the next year, but we kept having Mom's Night Out. Now, three years later, there are still about six of us that show up from the original group and there are several others that have joined us through the years, mostly from that same school. It really has been a great group of woman and a support network I never would have believed existed. Surprisingly I haven't made that many friends with parents at the elementary school because they've all come from the preschool/kindergarten.
A couple of weeks ago, my wonderfully thoughtful friend, Jenny, took charge of Mom's Night Out (which sadly has been far from monthly this school year) and put together a good-bye/happy birthday evening for me. She enlisted the help of my other wonderful friend, Melanie, and a few others and we had a fantastic evening. At the time it seemed a little premature. We didn't even know when we were moving and we had barely received an offer on our house, but with the end of school approaching it was the perfect time for everybody. As it gets closer to the end of the school year moms get a little frantic with the lack of time to accomplish everything as well as all the added end of the year activities. We picked two weeks before school ended, after the baseball season was over and before school was out and everyone scattered for the summer. Seriously, there are some friends I barely see over the summer because either they are travelling or I am or our kids are in a bajillion camps.
Anyway, it was an amazing evening and the best turnout we ever had. Nothing outrageous or over the top, just a bunch of ladies sitting around having a fun relaxing evening. Perfect.
Spring forward a couple of weeks to this past weekend for Jenny's 40th birthday party. Of course Jenny can't have any old party, it had to be an 80s themed costume party. When April in New Jersey had her decades 40th birthday party in February I was kind of a slacker and did the late 80s early 90s grunge look that Charlie and I sadly still have in our closet (now you see why moving is so difficult for us). I knew I could get away with it because I flew hundreds of miles to go to that party and April was just happy to see me, plus she knows me and knows I don't do costume parties. However I knew Jenny would be seriously disappointed in me if I didn't play along so I did neon 80s to the nth degree on Saturday night.
I had absolutely no expectations, which is probably why I had such a fabulous time. Everybody was dressed in outrageous costumes, the band was fabulous, and a bunch of my friends were there. What more could you ask for? Charlie and I never dance, but when you are dancing in crazy 80s clothes people don't know if you are pretending to dance horribly or that you actually do dance horribly so it totally took the pressure off. It really was one of the best parties I have been to in a long time.
At Andy's end of the year awards ceremony last week they had all the third graders get up and say the thing they will remember most from third grade. Kids talked about field trips, meeting friends, winning events at field day, mastering their times tables, all sorts of things that really having meaning when you are in third grade. When Andy got up he said that what he would remember most from third grade was the last few months in it's entirety (my words, not his) because a) it was what had happened more recently and b) because he wasn't going to be around next year. When he said that, I got a lump in my throat. But I totally know what he meant.
These last few weeks have been amazing. We've spent so much time with our friends, trying to get as many moments in as possible, and it's all been fantastic. This weekend we went over the see the Butler's new house on Saturday during the day, we went to Jenny's party on Saturday night and shared a babysitter with the Povedas so Andy and Sarah and Amanda all got to have sleepovers with their best friends, had Sunday breakfast with the Povedas and O'Donnells and then on Sunday afternoon we went over to the Hashimoto's for our annual swim party with our AA friends. Last night I was so content I did not want the weekend to end. I just wanted everything to freeze in time.
That's the funny thing about time, it just keeps going...and so do we. So in a couple of weeks the movers will come and put all our things into a big truck and take it to our new house, or so that's how I tell it to the kids. But I will have the best memories of these last few weeks and all that we've done and know that the people that we are choosing to spend our time with now are the ones that we will always keep in touch with and visit and hopefully they will come visit us. Because they are not only our friends, but our family, and they are the best thing about being here.
At the time Andy was in private kindergarten, but I thought it was a brilliant idea and a great way to meet the other moms. We were lucky that we had a lot of parent participation that year, so a lot of the moms would show up for things but I didn't really know them. So I started a monthly Mom's Night Out. There were only 13 kids in the class that year, so we never had more than 6-7 people show up, but it was still a lot of fun and we all knew each other pretty well by the end of the year.
The kids scattered to several different elementary schools the next year, but we kept having Mom's Night Out. Now, three years later, there are still about six of us that show up from the original group and there are several others that have joined us through the years, mostly from that same school. It really has been a great group of woman and a support network I never would have believed existed. Surprisingly I haven't made that many friends with parents at the elementary school because they've all come from the preschool/kindergarten.
A couple of weeks ago, my wonderfully thoughtful friend, Jenny, took charge of Mom's Night Out (which sadly has been far from monthly this school year) and put together a good-bye/happy birthday evening for me. She enlisted the help of my other wonderful friend, Melanie, and a few others and we had a fantastic evening. At the time it seemed a little premature. We didn't even know when we were moving and we had barely received an offer on our house, but with the end of school approaching it was the perfect time for everybody. As it gets closer to the end of the school year moms get a little frantic with the lack of time to accomplish everything as well as all the added end of the year activities. We picked two weeks before school ended, after the baseball season was over and before school was out and everyone scattered for the summer. Seriously, there are some friends I barely see over the summer because either they are travelling or I am or our kids are in a bajillion camps.
Anyway, it was an amazing evening and the best turnout we ever had. Nothing outrageous or over the top, just a bunch of ladies sitting around having a fun relaxing evening. Perfect.
Spring forward a couple of weeks to this past weekend for Jenny's 40th birthday party. Of course Jenny can't have any old party, it had to be an 80s themed costume party. When April in New Jersey had her decades 40th birthday party in February I was kind of a slacker and did the late 80s early 90s grunge look that Charlie and I sadly still have in our closet (now you see why moving is so difficult for us). I knew I could get away with it because I flew hundreds of miles to go to that party and April was just happy to see me, plus she knows me and knows I don't do costume parties. However I knew Jenny would be seriously disappointed in me if I didn't play along so I did neon 80s to the nth degree on Saturday night.
I had absolutely no expectations, which is probably why I had such a fabulous time. Everybody was dressed in outrageous costumes, the band was fabulous, and a bunch of my friends were there. What more could you ask for? Charlie and I never dance, but when you are dancing in crazy 80s clothes people don't know if you are pretending to dance horribly or that you actually do dance horribly so it totally took the pressure off. It really was one of the best parties I have been to in a long time.
At Andy's end of the year awards ceremony last week they had all the third graders get up and say the thing they will remember most from third grade. Kids talked about field trips, meeting friends, winning events at field day, mastering their times tables, all sorts of things that really having meaning when you are in third grade. When Andy got up he said that what he would remember most from third grade was the last few months in it's entirety (my words, not his) because a) it was what had happened more recently and b) because he wasn't going to be around next year. When he said that, I got a lump in my throat. But I totally know what he meant.
These last few weeks have been amazing. We've spent so much time with our friends, trying to get as many moments in as possible, and it's all been fantastic. This weekend we went over the see the Butler's new house on Saturday during the day, we went to Jenny's party on Saturday night and shared a babysitter with the Povedas so Andy and Sarah and Amanda all got to have sleepovers with their best friends, had Sunday breakfast with the Povedas and O'Donnells and then on Sunday afternoon we went over to the Hashimoto's for our annual swim party with our AA friends. Last night I was so content I did not want the weekend to end. I just wanted everything to freeze in time.
That's the funny thing about time, it just keeps going...and so do we. So in a couple of weeks the movers will come and put all our things into a big truck and take it to our new house, or so that's how I tell it to the kids. But I will have the best memories of these last few weeks and all that we've done and know that the people that we are choosing to spend our time with now are the ones that we will always keep in touch with and visit and hopefully they will come visit us. Because they are not only our friends, but our family, and they are the best thing about being here.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Little Bed
Last night Amanda did not want to go to sleep. She said her bed was too big, she wanted to sleep in a "yittle bed". Fortunately, my bed is far from little, so that gave me an excuse as to why she couldn't sleep with me. Unfortunately, she has the littlest bed in the house, so there wasn't much I could do for her. Finally I asked if she wanted to sleep on her school mat. The mat has been as school all year, it doesn't come home, but since yesterday just happened to be the last day of school we had it.
That sounded perfectly fine to her so I brought it up and put it next to her bed. When I asked her what pillow she wanted she said she didn't use a pillow with her mat, which technically is correct because we don't take a pillow to school. I wasn't going to push it, so I just asked her what blanket she wanted and tucked her in. I didn't hear another sound out of her for the rest of the evening.
If she wants to sleep on her mat I'm cool with it. As long as she's not crying or wining or keeping Sarah awake she can sleep however she wants.
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