children

This morning I had my first parent-teacher conference.  I was eager to hear what she said since Emma had such a hard time at the beginning of the year.  One of her first comments was that I have a social butterfly on my hands.  Almost the same words her preschool teacher told me.  Which seeing all the problems we had at the beginning was a little surprising.  I figured it’d be one extreme or the other.  Either she comes out of her shell when she gets in class or she clams up the entire time.

She said she was worried at first but she has adjusted well.  Apparently she is the leader of her clique.  And yes, apparently, there are cliques even in Kindergarten.  She did say that even though she is very social when she is in the comfort zone of her friends, when the teacher corrects her she gets VERY nervous and shakes badly.  Also this week she volunteered to read a book to the class and was excited but shook the whole way through.  Hmm, sounds familiar.

As for her academics, she is doing well.  She didn’t rave and say she was bored and didn’t say she was behind…she is doing “adequately well”.  She encouraged her to color at home and label things…even writing stories and making them into booklets.  Emma is always coloring or drawing all the time so it won’t be hard to add writing to that.

With Lexi’s 4th birthday coming up quickly, I’m realizing how quickly she is getting out of the baby stage.  I find that I’m trying to savor all the baby stuff where Emma I couldn’t wait until she learned that next thing.  One last thing Lexi has left is her speech.   While she is a non-stop talker like her sister, there are a few sounds/words she hasn’t mastered and I’m going to miss them…

• Sank you (Thank you)
• Nahkin (Napkin)
• I luzz you (I love you)
• Fwee (Three)

The movies highlighted were Cars, Little Mermaid, Lion King and Tinkerbell.  I’m not a huge fan of Tinkerbell and haven’t seen that movie.  I already saw the Little Mermaid when we saw the princesses on ice.  And the kids aren’t huge Cars fans.  So honestly I don’t think I appreciated much of what we saw.   BUT the kids did.  They had a wonderful time.  I don’t think Lexi quit clapping except for the small scary parts of Lion King.  Everyone did a great job and it was done with true Disney quality.

Not much to say except while waiting for Emma I thought I might have nightmares tonight..in a school, with a bunch of strangers, not sure where to go or how this whole lunch thing was going to work.  No wonder Emma cried for two weeks.  Lunch food is nasty.

(Emma was scowling, trying to tell me there was NO talking while the red cups were out)

Emma and I had a good time. But she cried when I left.  She hasn’t cried at school in over two weeks and I thought she would be ok.  It wasn’t overly dramatic crying and the teacher walked with her back to class.  Unless Emma makes a big deal of me coming back, I’ll probably wait awhile for a second visit.

It got messy around here tonight.  As the girls have gotten older we haven’t had QUITE the number of messes we have had in the past but tonight was an exception!

I was quickly trying to make my shake before going to church.  I had the water and ice in the blender and dropped a bunch of the chocolate powder from the scoop on its way to the blender all over the counter and blender.  I dumped the rest of the powder in the blender and thought I should clean it up since that stuff is like glue if you let it sit there.  Well, smart me decides I’ll multi-task and let the blender run while I clean it up.  Yeah, well, I didn’t have the lid on and when I turned it on, the now wet powder flew everywhere.  Another mess to clean up.

Tonight as we walk in the door from church, I was carrying two book bags, a lunchbox, my bible, phone, keys and cup with said milkshake cup.  It had a small amount left in it and I accidentally leaned over and poured the leftover shake all over the lunchbox, Lexi’s book bag and the floor.  I cleaned the floor up and threw her book bag in the washing machine.

Then.  Lexi apparently didn’t wipe very well after going potty over at MIL’s house so I had her go to the potty to clean and change her.  I got the dirty panties off and while I was putting those up, Lexi starts taking the rest of her clothes off and flings her sock behind her which lands in the DIRTY toilet water.  I had to fish that out and throw it in the sink.

THEN.  We walk out to the kitchen and I make the girls chocolate milk and Lexi goes to turn her cup up and spills some of it on the floor.  OMG!  The messes!

I was needing but some blog fodder but really.  I could have done without all that.

Lexi has a really bad habit of getting things and putting them in very “special” places.  I think it may be something all kids go through because I remember Emma doing this but it seems worse with Lexi.  Like recently I couldn’t find her shoes and after making laps around the house, I finally asked her and found them in this closed jewelry box.  If you follow me on twitter, you may remember that little tweet.

Well, today I come home from taking the kids to school and get all ready to sign on to work and can’t find my key fob thingie that is attached to a necklace thing from work to sign on.  I knew one of the kids had it.  Ironically someone seriously asked me yesterday at work what to do if you lose your key fob and I said jokingly,  “Well me?  I go in the playroom and usually find it.”  Lexi loves to put the necklace on and play with it.  So I go around the house looking in weird places for the necklace.  I can not find it.  I’m late getting on to work and I get desperate.

I call the preschool and have to ask the head of the preschool to go ask Lexi where “Mommy’s red necklace for work.”  She kind of laughed and said sure.  She comes back and says “Lexi says it’s in the curtain.”  OK.  I make her hang on and check all my curtains.  No necklace.  She asks if she should go get Lexi and put her on the phone.  It’s work so I say yes.  Lexi comes on the phone.  She sounds very serious and I’m hoping she doesn’t think she’s in trouble.  I say “Lexi.  What room is Mommy’s work necklace in?”  She says, “The office.”  Great.  Especially since I don’t HAVE curtains in there.  But lo and behold, I walk in and find it on the moulding under the blinds.  Whew.  “Thanks Lexi!”

But then it looks like this without the cap.  And that always irritates me when I don’t have the cap.  But I don’t see it anywhere near my desk.  It doesn’t warrant a call to the preschool though.

This afternoon I ask Lexi where the top is.  She laughs and says, “In here, silly.”

Of course!  In the DVD case.

So we’re driving home from my dermatologist appointment today and I have to go by the pharmacy on the way home.  Lexi is chatting up a storm and then…

Lexi: Mommy, after you get home from the barn can I color?

Me (very confused): The barn? I’m not going to a barn. (Trust me, I don’t go to barns)

Lexi: But, Mommy, you said you were going to the FARM!

*what? I don’t go to barns OR farms*

Me (laughing): No, honey, I said the pharmacy.