The night before school when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, got rid of the mouse. The lunches were made by mother with care, in hopes that morning would soon be there. The children were nestled all snug in there beds, while visions of the school yard danced in their head. CPA was catching up on the days' news and I had just settled down with a hot cup of decaf {and a brownie or two}...
Ahhh.... first day of school for Big Girl {2nd Grade} and Little Man. Who, is not that little. Tomorrow is his first day of kindergarten. Tomorrow is my last, first day as a kindergartner's mom. This makes me full of emotion. Soooo happy for him! He could not be more excited! Sad a little, because I have no more preschoolers in the house. Happy a little, because I have no more preschoolers in the house. You get that, right?
Well, I'm back starting tomorrow. To doing lots of things with my new found 8 hr/5 day/week freedom. Back to blogging. But really, back to work. I've been working on my newest baby.... no not number three. Lawd. My website. It's been a long spring/summer. Full of mayhem. Of course. But she finally should arrive just in time to celebrate Simply Stitched Monograms' 5 year anniversary in the next month or so. I am so excited to share her with you when she arrives. Until then, I'll be getting back to routine, getting our lives {and house} back in order.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Silly Putty, really?
Big Girl and friends are getting hustled at school by a girl with silly putty. Really. I pick Big Girl and the BFF up at school the other day. They get in the car and excitedly show me their silly putty. They each have in their tiny hands what amounts to the size of a nickle. Really.
Me: Where did y'all get the silly putty?
Girls: Grace! Isn't it cool? (In unison).
Me: Sure. Cool.
Big Girl: We traded for it.
Me: Traded what?
BFF: Tic Tacs!
Me: Okay.
Big Girl: A bracelet!
Me: Heart sinking, thinking its the silver charm bracelet given to us from Nana, you know the one filled with memorable charms. WHAT bracelet?!!
Big Girl: The one I made at BFF's house.
Me: (Whew, that one's plastic) Okay. But, girls I don't think you should be trading stuff at school with your friends.
Girls: But, its silly putty!
Me: Yes, yes, I know, but really. Let's not trade our things, k.
Fast forward to the weekend. At the bookstore with Big Girl shopping for a birthday present. She brings her tooth fairy money. She wants to buy a new book for her. Great! We get in the car, Big Girl excited about her new book....
Big Girl: I'm so glad I got this book. I was going to give grace my $10 for silly putty!
Put car back in park. Turn around for a discussion about Grace a.k.a. the Hustler and silly putty.
Me: We are absolutely NOT trading $10 for silly putty. Why would you do that? You seem to be getting a bad deal, if Grace is getting money, bracelets and what not and you're getting a dime size of silly putty.
Big Girl: But everything is worth points and the more you give her, the more putty she'll give you.
REALLY? Am I having this conversation?
Me: What else have you given her?
Big Girl: A watch. My purple purse. Other stuff.
Back up....REALLY? The purple purse she is referring to is the purple HOBO wrislet I bought her last Christmas. Mind you, it came from Gift Market, I did not pay retail, but REALLY! Now I'm going to loose it that some 1st grade chick has my Big Girl's HOBO. That's where I draw the line.
No more trading, I tell her. I continue to explain to her why its not right for friends to ask for your things in return for silly putty. NO TRADING. (Also known as hustling - no, I didn't tell her that about her friend.) I told her to go back to school on Monday and tell Grace she needed her purse back and she would not be trading for silly putty anymore. BFF's mom and I both agreed, and told the girls to not trade with Grace or any other friends. There's strength in numbers, right?
What did Big Girl do this week. Came home Monday with her purple HOBO. She told Grace she wanted her stuff back and she wasn't trading with her anymore. That's my girl. Strong, confident, and unwavering. Really!
Big Girl: Mama, will you get me some silly putty? Please?
Me: Yes, but no trading. K.
Me: Where did y'all get the silly putty?
Girls: Grace! Isn't it cool? (In unison).
Me: Sure. Cool.
Big Girl: We traded for it.
Me: Traded what?
BFF: Tic Tacs!
Me: Okay.
Big Girl: A bracelet!
Me: Heart sinking, thinking its the silver charm bracelet given to us from Nana, you know the one filled with memorable charms. WHAT bracelet?!!
Big Girl: The one I made at BFF's house.
Me: (Whew, that one's plastic) Okay. But, girls I don't think you should be trading stuff at school with your friends.
Girls: But, its silly putty!
Me: Yes, yes, I know, but really. Let's not trade our things, k.
Fast forward to the weekend. At the bookstore with Big Girl shopping for a birthday present. She brings her tooth fairy money. She wants to buy a new book for her. Great! We get in the car, Big Girl excited about her new book....
Big Girl: I'm so glad I got this book. I was going to give grace my $10 for silly putty!
Put car back in park. Turn around for a discussion about Grace a.k.a. the Hustler and silly putty.
Me: We are absolutely NOT trading $10 for silly putty. Why would you do that? You seem to be getting a bad deal, if Grace is getting money, bracelets and what not and you're getting a dime size of silly putty.
Big Girl: But everything is worth points and the more you give her, the more putty she'll give you.
REALLY? Am I having this conversation?
Me: What else have you given her?
Big Girl: A watch. My purple purse. Other stuff.
Back up....REALLY? The purple purse she is referring to is the purple HOBO wrislet I bought her last Christmas. Mind you, it came from Gift Market, I did not pay retail, but REALLY! Now I'm going to loose it that some 1st grade chick has my Big Girl's HOBO. That's where I draw the line.
No more trading, I tell her. I continue to explain to her why its not right for friends to ask for your things in return for silly putty. NO TRADING. (Also known as hustling - no, I didn't tell her that about her friend.) I told her to go back to school on Monday and tell Grace she needed her purse back and she would not be trading for silly putty anymore. BFF's mom and I both agreed, and told the girls to not trade with Grace or any other friends. There's strength in numbers, right?
What did Big Girl do this week. Came home Monday with her purple HOBO. She told Grace she wanted her stuff back and she wasn't trading with her anymore. That's my girl. Strong, confident, and unwavering. Really!
Big Girl: Mama, will you get me some silly putty? Please?
Me: Yes, but no trading. K.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thepast28daysofmylife
Highlights from the past 28 days of our life... When I last left all twelve of my readers I was headed to Disney. The following is in no way exaggerated.
Oct. 1: Packing. No, throwing stuff into the basement and POD before we leave for Disney. The hardwood floors in the whole house are getting sanded and stained while we are gone.
Oct. 2: Morning: Still throwing stuff in the basement. My sweet builder and crew are going to move all furniture in the POD for us, as he can see we are in no way going to be able to leave for our trip if its up to us to get it all out of the house. We love him.
Oct. 2: 4:30p.m.: Little Man falls down the stairs. Backwards, I'm being told by the 6 year old, who swears she had nothing to do with it. My builder was present. Little Man was bleeding, we think he needs stitches. We are leaving in about 3 hours to go out of town. My electrician shows up, while I'm on the phone telling the nurse we need to come in immediately. I'm on hold and ask him to get the chandelier out of my car. I'm calm and able to multi-task.
5:00 p.m. Little Man gets a staple in his head. He proceeds to call its his "stapler". The doctor's office is a whole other post in and of itself.
Oct. 3: We successfully leave from the farm with Aunt, Uncle, cousin, friend and our children in their mini van. CPA and I drive ourselves to Disney in peace and quiet. We arrive at the Disney resort. The kids think, and I quote, "this is the best vacation EVER!". We haven't even been to the park yet. They are going to have a heart attack.
Oct.4: Disney Day 1: It's hot as hell in Orlando. Like record breaking hot. We start in Animal Kingdom. The kids think this place is awesome. It is. Its Disney. The kids rode all the roller coasters. Like twice. I rode Mt. Everest once and threw up 3 times after. I had to go back to the hotel. Motion sickness.
Oct. 5-8: Remained hot at Disney. Kids did great! They asked for snacks and juice between all the rides and drove me crazy doing so. Although Disney could be the happiest place on earth. It doesn't make whining for juice and snack less annoying than when at home. Btw Disney, your Nescafe coffee sucks. You know about Starbucks, right?
Oct. 9: We headed back to the farm for the weekend because we knew the floors needed extra drying time. That is until my builder called and said it rained all week in Greenville. Which set back the drying time on my new dark floors. Which set back the day they put the first of three coats of poly on the floors... which was today. We can't stay at home until at least Thursday. Frick. Frick. Frick.
Oct. 11: We check into another hotel in Greenville. They call it a two bedroom with kitchenette. I called it "gross". This was not the Ritz. And I am pretty much over sleeping in confined spaces with my kids.
Oct. 12-14: I'm working from the new basement studio, trying not get high off the coats of poly. This totally sucks.
Oct. 15: Kids have no school today or tomorrow, so are off to the farm again, so CPA and I can get us moved back in.
Oct. 16: My AWE.SOME builder and crew move us back in from the POD. We spend the weekend trying to reassemble our lives.
Oct.17: My birthday is Tuesday, so today is Saturday and CPA says we'll go out for a nice dinner since the kids are away. We end up spending the day in Charlotte at IKEA getting more furniture for my new studio... we are there until about 7. We ate dinner at IKEA. We were those people. And I was okay with that. We were alone ;) And just to be clear, this was not CPA's original plan for my birthday dinner. He's not that frugal.
Oct. 19: One of my sweet friends took me on an early bday lunch. She is super cool and a load of laughs to hang out with ;)
Oct. 20: I'm 36 today. I was okay with my age up to 35. Suddenly my ob-gyn is telling me I need a mammogram and I'm that much closer to 40. The carpet came for the rec room. Finally! CPA tells me that my birthday present. Funny. I don't recall my birthday present being in the itemized budget from my builder. grrrr.
Oct. 24 & Fun Facts: Today is my niece's bday! She is exactly 4 weeks older than Big Girl. On a side note, my nephew (her brother) is 4 weeks older than Little Man. My sister (their mom) is 4 years younger than me and we got married the same year, just 4 months apart. Crazy, right?! CPA took me and the kids out for a late birthday dinner. I do like to celebrate my birthday for at least a week... He also got me the Keurig coffee maker I've been dying to have. This thing makes a cup of great coffee in less than a minute. Its AWE.SOME.
Oct. 26: Today. I'm starting to breath a little. Get caught up a little. Enjoying the space ALOT. It was worth the wait. Thanks CPA ;)
Sunday, Nov. 1: My littlest sister is getting married. My sister and I will be standing beside her. Big Girl, Little Man and cousins will be her flower girls and "ring buriers" (as Little Man keeps calling it).
Oct. 1: Packing. No, throwing stuff into the basement and POD before we leave for Disney. The hardwood floors in the whole house are getting sanded and stained while we are gone.
Oct. 2: Morning: Still throwing stuff in the basement. My sweet builder and crew are going to move all furniture in the POD for us, as he can see we are in no way going to be able to leave for our trip if its up to us to get it all out of the house. We love him.
Oct. 2: 4:30p.m.: Little Man falls down the stairs. Backwards, I'm being told by the 6 year old, who swears she had nothing to do with it. My builder was present. Little Man was bleeding, we think he needs stitches. We are leaving in about 3 hours to go out of town. My electrician shows up, while I'm on the phone telling the nurse we need to come in immediately. I'm on hold and ask him to get the chandelier out of my car. I'm calm and able to multi-task.
5:00 p.m. Little Man gets a staple in his head. He proceeds to call its his "stapler". The doctor's office is a whole other post in and of itself.
Oct. 3: We successfully leave from the farm with Aunt, Uncle, cousin, friend and our children in their mini van. CPA and I drive ourselves to Disney in peace and quiet. We arrive at the Disney resort. The kids think, and I quote, "this is the best vacation EVER!". We haven't even been to the park yet. They are going to have a heart attack.
Oct.4: Disney Day 1: It's hot as hell in Orlando. Like record breaking hot. We start in Animal Kingdom. The kids think this place is awesome. It is. Its Disney. The kids rode all the roller coasters. Like twice. I rode Mt. Everest once and threw up 3 times after. I had to go back to the hotel. Motion sickness.
Oct. 5-8: Remained hot at Disney. Kids did great! They asked for snacks and juice between all the rides and drove me crazy doing so. Although Disney could be the happiest place on earth. It doesn't make whining for juice and snack less annoying than when at home. Btw Disney, your Nescafe coffee sucks. You know about Starbucks, right?
Oct. 9: We headed back to the farm for the weekend because we knew the floors needed extra drying time. That is until my builder called and said it rained all week in Greenville. Which set back the drying time on my new dark floors. Which set back the day they put the first of three coats of poly on the floors... which was today. We can't stay at home until at least Thursday. Frick. Frick. Frick.
Oct. 11: We check into another hotel in Greenville. They call it a two bedroom with kitchenette. I called it "gross". This was not the Ritz. And I am pretty much over sleeping in confined spaces with my kids.
Oct. 12-14: I'm working from the new basement studio, trying not get high off the coats of poly. This totally sucks.
Oct. 15: Kids have no school today or tomorrow, so are off to the farm again, so CPA and I can get us moved back in.
Oct. 16: My AWE.SOME builder and crew move us back in from the POD. We spend the weekend trying to reassemble our lives.
Oct.17: My birthday is Tuesday, so today is Saturday and CPA says we'll go out for a nice dinner since the kids are away. We end up spending the day in Charlotte at IKEA getting more furniture for my new studio... we are there until about 7. We ate dinner at IKEA. We were those people. And I was okay with that. We were alone ;) And just to be clear, this was not CPA's original plan for my birthday dinner. He's not that frugal.
Oct. 19: One of my sweet friends took me on an early bday lunch. She is super cool and a load of laughs to hang out with ;)
Oct. 20: I'm 36 today. I was okay with my age up to 35. Suddenly my ob-gyn is telling me I need a mammogram and I'm that much closer to 40. The carpet came for the rec room. Finally! CPA tells me that my birthday present. Funny. I don't recall my birthday present being in the itemized budget from my builder. grrrr.
Oct. 24 & Fun Facts: Today is my niece's bday! She is exactly 4 weeks older than Big Girl. On a side note, my nephew (her brother) is 4 weeks older than Little Man. My sister (their mom) is 4 years younger than me and we got married the same year, just 4 months apart. Crazy, right?! CPA took me and the kids out for a late birthday dinner. I do like to celebrate my birthday for at least a week... He also got me the Keurig coffee maker I've been dying to have. This thing makes a cup of great coffee in less than a minute. Its AWE.SOME.
Oct. 26: Today. I'm starting to breath a little. Get caught up a little. Enjoying the space ALOT. It was worth the wait. Thanks CPA ;)
Sunday, Nov. 1: My littlest sister is getting married. My sister and I will be standing beside her. Big Girl, Little Man and cousins will be her flower girls and "ring buriers" (as Little Man keeps calling it).
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sick & Tired
Evidently you can't stay up until 2 in the morning (monogramming, cleaning up, doing laundry, just catching up) and get up with the kids at 6:45 everyday for school for a month and stay well.... I am sick, run down, just bleh! Not flu sick, just cold, snuffy, cough, sore throat sick. Oh, and we're leaving for Disney World (our first trip) on Saturday....
Not to worry. I'm totally resting. While I cram in last minute monogramming, do laundry, pack for trip, and move my house into the POD sitting in our driveway. Moving everything out because the hardwood floors are getting done while we're gone. And yes, its quite like moving. I have to pack EVERY.THING.
I did have one of my sweet friends take little man to the park with her boys the other day to help me out while not in school. And I'm on the ball and have another play date lined up for him tomorrow. I'm just taking one day at a time and trying not to drown before we leave.
Not to worry. I'm totally resting. While I cram in last minute monogramming, do laundry, pack for trip, and move my house into the POD sitting in our driveway. Moving everything out because the hardwood floors are getting done while we're gone. And yes, its quite like moving. I have to pack EVERY.THING.
I did have one of my sweet friends take little man to the park with her boys the other day to help me out while not in school. And I'm on the ball and have another play date lined up for him tomorrow. I'm just taking one day at a time and trying not to drown before we leave.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Pure Madness
I have been:
1. Dying for my builder (whom I adore) to finish up the house, like yesterday. Not until the end of September I'm being told.
2. Cleaning up a vicious cycle of sheet rock dust, saw dust, sanding dust, tile man dust, and the regular dust. All over the house! I told my builder if he witnessed me losing "it" sometime soon, not to be alarmed.
3. Moving into the one space I asked nicely (read: told immediately) to finish, which was my new studio, so I could move in. It would make life a little nicer upstairs on the main floor. He did. And I'm 75 % moved in. 90% of new items from IKEA are bought for organization of the new studio. Zero are put together yet.
4. Learning 1st grade homework sucks for me and Big Girl. She spent 30 minutes (I'm not kidding) redrawing a star (which was part of a math pattern) that was not perfect enough (for her) to turn in. Many tears were shed. I kept trying to tell her its the concept that's important, not how the star is drawn. She got the concept, it was the star she was not accepting. Can we say OCD?
5. Cleaning out the basement for a last minute yard sale this past weekend. Because I don't have enough to do.
6. Trying to entertainment Little Man (and keep out of trouble) until he goes back to school. Next Week.
7. Working on getting CPA's birthday present framed in time. Birthday is Tuesday. Picked up framed picture Friday. Check.
8. Asked to get TV hung back up before Thursday.... Stupid ESPN thursday night games. It's his birthday week. And because of that, I will beg my sweet electrician to squeeze finishing that before Thursday.
9. Trying to remember how fabulously calm my life will be, when this house returns to normal.
1. Dying for my builder (whom I adore) to finish up the house, like yesterday. Not until the end of September I'm being told.
2. Cleaning up a vicious cycle of sheet rock dust, saw dust, sanding dust, tile man dust, and the regular dust. All over the house! I told my builder if he witnessed me losing "it" sometime soon, not to be alarmed.
3. Moving into the one space I asked nicely (read: told immediately) to finish, which was my new studio, so I could move in. It would make life a little nicer upstairs on the main floor. He did. And I'm 75 % moved in. 90% of new items from IKEA are bought for organization of the new studio. Zero are put together yet.
4. Learning 1st grade homework sucks for me and Big Girl. She spent 30 minutes (I'm not kidding) redrawing a star (which was part of a math pattern) that was not perfect enough (for her) to turn in. Many tears were shed. I kept trying to tell her its the concept that's important, not how the star is drawn. She got the concept, it was the star she was not accepting. Can we say OCD?
5. Cleaning out the basement for a last minute yard sale this past weekend. Because I don't have enough to do.
6. Trying to entertainment Little Man (and keep out of trouble) until he goes back to school. Next Week.
7. Working on getting CPA's birthday present framed in time. Birthday is Tuesday. Picked up framed picture Friday. Check.
8. Asked to get TV hung back up before Thursday.... Stupid ESPN thursday night games. It's his birthday week. And because of that, I will beg my sweet electrician to squeeze finishing that before Thursday.
9. Trying to remember how fabulously calm my life will be, when this house returns to normal.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Back to School
I love the first week of school. Everyone loves going to bed early to get up early for school. Big Girl is thrilled one of her best friends (my friend's daughter) is in her class this year. However, all the sunshine and rainbows stop during week two, when the novelty of the new monogrammed backpack and lunch box has worn off already. Little Man's 4K doesn't start until AFTER labor day. I do love the time alone with him. He is just too sweet, I could eat him up. Although, I did catch him wandering around the house with the work crew today... looking for trouble to get into.
My new studio digs are almost done. The house is almost done really. The painter just got here this week, so we asked him to finish up my studio first before anything else. I've GOT to get my stuff out of my current office, the dining room and what is creeping into the living room. The work crew was literally hanging crown molding around me and one of my customers in the dining room this morning....
The kids are headed to the farm this weekend with the in-laws. CPA and I are doing some painting. The painter is painting all the trim, moldings, ceiling, doors inside and out. We opted to save a little bit by painting the walls. We are down to nickles and dimes here people, and if painting the walls means I get to spend that money getting the whole house sanded and stained espresso the way I want... this chick is painting. I'm also tackling the kitchen cabinets. I consider myself a jack of all trades.... so I'm pretty excited to take this on. I'll be sure to take before and after shots. By the way, did I mention CPA and I do AND do not work well together on team projects. This should be a ball....
Let the mayhem begin...
My new studio digs are almost done. The house is almost done really. The painter just got here this week, so we asked him to finish up my studio first before anything else. I've GOT to get my stuff out of my current office, the dining room and what is creeping into the living room. The work crew was literally hanging crown molding around me and one of my customers in the dining room this morning....
The kids are headed to the farm this weekend with the in-laws. CPA and I are doing some painting. The painter is painting all the trim, moldings, ceiling, doors inside and out. We opted to save a little bit by painting the walls. We are down to nickles and dimes here people, and if painting the walls means I get to spend that money getting the whole house sanded and stained espresso the way I want... this chick is painting. I'm also tackling the kitchen cabinets. I consider myself a jack of all trades.... so I'm pretty excited to take this on. I'll be sure to take before and after shots. By the way, did I mention CPA and I do AND do not work well together on team projects. This should be a ball....
Let the mayhem begin...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
My Big (Little) Girl
School starts Wednesday for Big Girl. First Grade. Sniff. Sniff. She's getting older, which means I'm getting older. She started Kindergarten last year at a wonderful public, neighborhood elementary school.
I was a little nervous, only because we've spent the last 5 years at our private, church preschool. Very sheltered, and very much a controlled environment. Controlled, meaning, I got to handpick her teacher and pair her with her playmates. I knew the director well, all the teachers, all the parents, am friends with most of them from town. All that halted when we entered the elementary school with 800+ students. So, did any sense of cute (age appropriate) attire.
After the first day of public kindergarten, gone were the days of wearing anything smocked to school. No Ragsland. No Kelly's Kids. Not because she couldn't wear them, Big Girl wasn't having any of it when her new friends were wearing jeans. Every.Day. AND anything that sparkled. Bleh. I wasn't giving into that much crap. I settled for two pairs of jeans with cute tops. She also agreed to wear the Ragsland embroidered pants. Shoes were a whole other issue. Nike running shoes, bleh. Every. Day. Nike's just don't go with skirts or a-line dresses. More Bleh.
So, this year.... I almost cried with delight when we went to Stride Right and Big Girl bypassed all the crap running shoes for these....
I was a little nervous, only because we've spent the last 5 years at our private, church preschool. Very sheltered, and very much a controlled environment. Controlled, meaning, I got to handpick her teacher and pair her with her playmates. I knew the director well, all the teachers, all the parents, am friends with most of them from town. All that halted when we entered the elementary school with 800+ students. So, did any sense of cute (age appropriate) attire.
After the first day of public kindergarten, gone were the days of wearing anything smocked to school. No Ragsland. No Kelly's Kids. Not because she couldn't wear them, Big Girl wasn't having any of it when her new friends were wearing jeans. Every.Day. AND anything that sparkled. Bleh. I wasn't giving into that much crap. I settled for two pairs of jeans with cute tops. She also agreed to wear the Ragsland embroidered pants. Shoes were a whole other issue. Nike running shoes, bleh. Every. Day. Nike's just don't go with skirts or a-line dresses. More Bleh.
So, this year.... I almost cried with delight when we went to Stride Right and Big Girl bypassed all the crap running shoes for these....
I have been buying these Keds for her since she was 18 months old!!!! I love them! They are sweet, white shoes that go with everything! And she WANTED them! Let's just pray that some little girl in her class with pink, sparkly Sketchers doesn't tell her that her shoes are ugly....
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