First Day of School

Well Summer is officially over as of today. The girls started back to school today. I can't believe I have a First and Second grader! This year, Claire is attending the Gateway Academy at a different school, so this morning brought the struggle of who is dropping off who. It came down to Brandon taking Hannah and I taking Claire. I felt bad I wasn't there for Hannah, but I would have felt bad either way. Hard! We are swapping for pick up so I can be a part of both of their first day! It was a bittersweet morning for all of us. We had such a good summer and my goal of being cohesive was definitely accomplished. I am happy for our normal routine to return though. It is hard going 10 weeks with no real routine for each day!

The girls are getting so big and it is days like these that I wish I could freeze time and cherish these milestones. I can't believe my babies are so big- where has the time gone! I look back and see so many mistakes that I have made. I try not to dwell on these, but if I had a "do over" card I would use it! All I can do is keep pressing forward; learning from my mistakes. Each day is a new one! Can't wait to see what this next school year brings!

Lot's to update!

Well Summer is in full swing! I have to say that we have had SO MUCH FUN as a family this summer! We have definitely been busy!

Summer started with a two week visit from Aunt Charlotte and all the cousins. We had our church summer camp the first week- lots of fun and exhaustion! The next week was filled with swimming, drive-in movie, Jelly Belly factory tour, Six Flags, and lots of fun playing in the yard. It was sad when they had to leave; our house felt so empty!

The following week, we got our Taiwanese exchange student, Joanna! She is such a joy to have and we are lucky to still have 2 1/2 weeks left with her. We have enjoyed getting to know her and have taken her Monster Mini Golfing. We plan on going to San Fransisco and Lake Tahoe while she is here.

This week has been eventful in of itself. The girls are going to another Church summer camp this week. Unfortunately Tuesday Hannah broke her right elbow at gymnastics. After 2 resets, were are finally able to breathe easy. She is so bummed out!

We only have a month of summer left. It has gone by quickly so far and I hope to continue to savor time with my family!

Creating Cohesiveness

As the end of the school year is approaching, I am beginning to look at ideas for this summer. I have already planned several things, but there are 10 weeks to fill! I really want to take this time to establish cohesiveness in my family unit. In the craziness of our routine; work, school, extracurricular activities, we have lost the simplicity of just spending time with one another. Quality time. I want to be intentional about regaining this precious gift of time with my husband and daughters. I want to enjoy my family this summer. I don't want to over-schedule our time off, but I do want to create the opportunities to spend quality time together. My hope is that we can find local activities that will pique all of our interests. My mind is swirling with ideas and I can't wait to start brainstorming with Brandon and the girls!

A bit of a better day

Today was better. Easier. I am sure a lot of this has to do with the fact that the girls had school today. I still missed the mark though. I lost patience. I yelled. I recoiled and reminded myself to value the character of the girls more than the misbehavior. It is so hard to change bad habits. I never thought that I would sit here today and reflect on the fact that I yell at my kids. I vowed growing up that I was going to be different. I would be calm. And yet, here I am. Struggling.

It is amazing how much perspective brings to the table. I appreciate my childhood so much more now that I am a mom. I can understand why things happened; why responses seemed harsh. I am living and breathing the challenge of parenting and I am making many of the same mistakes. One thing is for sure, God has softened my heart and brought me compassion I never dreamed I would have.

Tomorrow is a new day. I am so thankful for fresh beginnings. Maybe, just maybe, I can find a little bit more of the patience and calmness I desire...

Not fun being a mommy!

Being a mom sucks sometimes. I never know if I am totally screwing up the girls or if they will turn out okay. I hate discipline and second guessing myself. Am I being to harsh? Should I have handled that differently? Do they need less consequences and more love? UGH! I don't know what to do about Claire's back talk and sassy-ness. She is constantly trying to steer the conversation, get the final word in, and cause me to second guess myself. On more than one occasion she has expressed that she feels like I love Hannah more than I love her. I really believe that she believes this and that she isn't just trying to get a reaction out of me. I don't know how to change her view on this, other than to just love on her. However she is definitely the more hard headed out of the two, and she needs more discipline than Hannah. Hannah cracks easier and seems to learn her lessons after a time out. Claire on the other hand just loves to continue to push the envelope and that brings about more discipline. Why couldn't kiddos come with instructions? I really hope that I can show Claire just how much I love her and that she doesn't grow up needing years of therapy!

Catching Up

Wow! October already! I can't believe it is Fall! I love this time of year; it is so busy but also so good! We have a full schedule and life is filled with ups and downs.

Time for updates!

Hannah banana broke her right arm on September 21st. It was so scary for both Brandon and I. We both lost it! She was getting ready to go down the slide and somehow slipped. She rolled down on her arm and it was visibly broken. It makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it! She was a trooper through the whole event and is now the proud owner of a bright pink cast. It has been challenging with this change though; she can't do gymnastics right now, bathing is a pain, and she has to have help dressing. Oh well, it is short lived. The cast comes off on November 4th.

Being that her right arm is broken, school has been a bit of a challenge too. She is right handed. I am blown away by her perseverance- Hannah has learned to write and color with her LEFT hand! It is sometimes a bit sloppy (or sloppier than her regular writing-Ha!) but it is usually quite impressive! She is doing great in school and adjusting well!

On to my Claire bear! Claire is fantastic! She is doing great academically! I can't believe how smart she is! She loves to learn and is constantly asking questions (which can drive me batty at times). She is continuing Ballet and is doing well. She is so athletic and constantly on the move. At home, she is teaching herself how to do cartwheels and handstands. I hope this doesn't lead to injury! LOL! She is attending a God and Me class to earn a patch for Girl Scouts. This year she is a 2nd year Daisy (it is a 2 year program) in Girl Scouts. She is just so adorable! I am so proud of my girl and how well she is doing in life!

Brandon is busy with work. He recently moved departments and is now the supervisor in the Deli. This change has been filled with it's challenges. His schedule has changed completely, and the responsibilities are so different from his previous position. The change has been good though, and we are hoping that it will prepare him for a promotion in the future.

I am good. Busy as always. I love to volunteer- at church, the girl's school- and it keeps me quite busy. I am also working part time at church and this has been fun and a huge blessing financially! I am so grateful for where I am at right now.

Well that's it for now. I will have to post a funny story about the girl's later! :-)

School Days

Last week the girls began school. I now am a mom of a Kindergartner and a 1st grader. I can't believe it! The week started off great- lots of excitement from both girls. They were too cute on the first day of school. We took LOTS of pictures and both girls left us smiling and happy. Tuesday and Wednesday held the same eagerness and I was thinking that this was an easy transition. Then came pick up on Wednesday afternoon. They had hit a wall. More accurately Hannah had hit a wall! She was exhausted and grumpy! She begged me to let her stay home on Thursday so that she could have a "day off". I reminded her that her days off were now Saturday and Sunday. Tear flowed. Daddy dropped her off that morning and it was a sad goodbye. School had lost it's charm. Friday brought the same. Now it is Sunday night and tomorrow begins a new week of school. I wonder what kind of week it will be?