Kindergarten Registration!

Today we registered our first baby for kindergarten!

I couldn't muster a single tear - we are all too excited about this big step for Noah.  The teachers, staff, and principal all provided such a welcoming reception.  They were so eager and friendly and interested in saying hello and meeting my boy, who so very clearly introduced himself as "Noah (pause) Bwown" to everyone who asked.   

Registration went by so smoothly and quickly however, that we just weren't ready to go home so soon. So we stopped off at Chick-Fil-A for a celebratory breakfast.  

We are headed out tomorrow for a week at the beach, taking in Noah's birthday while we're there, and also spending time with Josh's oldest brother and family.  What fun! We'll see you on the flip side!

After the Rain

After the rain has gone away,
it's time to don our rain boots and PLAY!

As 4 Turns into 5

Oh, Noah.  My sweet baby and my big boy.  Next week you have another birthday.  But before we get there, here are some of my notes about you as your 4-year-old status turns to 5.

• The first three words that pop into my head to describe you are:  Active! Eager. Good.  Oh, so good.
• Just about all the adults in your life comment on what a sweet boy you are.  You are so obedient and well behaved.  You are so kind and considerate.  You are so gentle when needed and just so good. You never get in trouble at school.  I can't even imagine what that would be like actually - for a teacher to have to talk to me about you misbehaving.
• Growing up, my dad used to say to my sister and me while harassing us, "I'm the big brother you never had!" Well, Anna won't ever have to hear that from Daddy, because you fill those shoes well.  Your biggest vice and everyday cause of your being sent to you room is your messing with her. Irritating, antagonizing, teasing, aggravating - any and ALL of these things, you do.  Stinker.  You hear me say this a lot "If you can't be nice to be around, you will not be around.  Go to your room."
• Your favorite toys (today) are your action figures:  Batman, Robin, and Joker, Star Wars characters, Army men, Knights, Spiderman and his corresponding bad guy, Venom, and your firemen.  I love to hear how you role play with your figures when you play all by yourself.  You invite me to play with you by offering to teach my how.  You have begun teaching Anna to play them with you.  It is a hoot to hear.  If you aren't having your men speak, you are humming the Star Wars theme music or the Darth Vader march music. 
• Your favorite thing to do each day is play video games. On days when you don't get to play it is a source of real consternation and stress. Pretty much all you want to play anymore is Lego Star Wars.  You and your daddy have beat the game twice already.
• This year you started becoming very aware of wanting privacy when you are changing clothes, going potty, etc.  You also, for some reason unbeknownst to your daddy and me, are suddenly very squeamish about germs and eating or drinking after someone - even us!  Your daddy and I just look at each other as if to say, "Who is this boy!?" and who taught him to care about that!?
• You still need a pull up at night and probably will for awhile.  We recently got you an alarm that wakes you up in the night when it gets wet and you like the help it provides but the fact that it is not eliminating the nighttime wetting says that your body is just not ready yet.  And that's ok. 
• You sleep all wrapped up tight in your bedspread covered head to toe and you never, ever use the sheet.  It is always kicked down to the bottom and the floor.  That drives me crazy.
• You take your cereal with milk, now.  And you finally will eat macaroni and cheese.  Your favorite place to eat is "Chick Away."
• You are SUCH a problem solver, hunter, astute observer.  I think you try even harder because of how impressed I always am with the solutions you come up with.  One of the main things I think of when I speak of this is how you figure out how to reach little things for me that I can't get to because they have rolled or fallen out of reach under and behind furniture. 
• You make me giggle every time you trap me with a round of copycat and when you chase/stomp my shadow and vice versa.  You just giggle and thrill at the match up we are when we compete and outsmart each other in these games.
• Today you said with all the innocent energy and sincerity possible, "Wissen (listen)!  I can sing with my mouth closed!   Hmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmmm. etc., etc." (to the tune of the Imperial March).
• After a question I don't answer fast enough you try to hurry me up by asking, "Yes or no?" I think it's your inner salesman,  pushing me to decide before I am ready to commit one way or the other.
•  You are the preschool version of Weird Al with the way you will make up your own words for songs - usually inserting Anna's name and funny body parts for the words.  
•  It's still a struggle to get you to finish any amount of milk or liquid each day.  But you are a good eater usually as long as there is the promise of dessert right away.
•  The other day you impressed me with something I can't remember now.  But I remember saying, "Noah, when did you get so smart?"  And you guffawed at my silliness and said,  "From Go-o-d!"  Last night at bedtime you told Daddy that you wanted to get sick and die and go to heaven so you could be with Jesus because you love him...and you want to see his blood.  Oh, my.
• You have mastered some new skills this year and you are SO PROUD of yourself, as am I:  buttoning your shirts and pants, pumping your legs successfully on swings, sometimes getting through the night dry all by yourself, getting your own ice and water to drink, climbing up to unlock the back porch door, using the remote for the play and pause buttons, opening the car door and buckling yourself in, feeding Chewie, writing, and reading.
• Your bad habits include still biting your fingernails down to the tiniest nubs I ever saw, exaggerated outbursts and crying when you are hurt or upset, and leaving your clothes and shoes all over the house.
• And though you get older, quicker, abler, and smarter by the day, I still get to hear remnants of my baby boy every time you say any of the following words:

funder (thunder)
wissen (listen)
usgusting (disgusting)
A-weewins (aliens) 
fweepin' (sleeping)
toeteeya (tortilla)
camee-yope (canteloupe)
wuke and wucy (Luke and Lucy)
distresserating (frustrating)
stummy ache (stomach/tummy ache)
pokeypine (purcupine)

Buyer's Remorse?

Noah got a birthday card and some birthday money today in the mail.  And he proudly carried his new $10 bill around all day - showing it to nurses, cashiers, passersby in the store.  He held it in his hands, his mouth, his pockets, and even trusted me enough to hold in my purse for 5 minutes before he took it back.  And to his credit he has kept up with it through multiple hours, errands, and stops today.

Finally, at Wal-mart, he found a toy worthy of spending his treasured $10 on.  A big ugly blue villain from the Spiderman series named Venom.  Truly, he is one scary looking character.  And truly, my boy is so pleased with his purchase; it's something he's been talking about for days.  But truly, only moments after handing his money over at the check-out counter, Noah walked behind me in the parking lot, new toy in hand, and said softly, "Mommy, I already miss my money."  

I know you do, Baby. 
We all do.

$pring Cleaning

We've been doing a good bit of spring cleaning around here ... although honestly it's not so much about cleaning as it is about cleaning out.  A list, if you will, of all the goodies we have cleaned out, aka - sold!, this spring (not counting all of Josh's ebay sales on legos/lionel trains/fisher price electronics).

$180 - clothes, toys, gear @ SAHM consignment sale
$75 - bike trailer to friend
$25 - PB Anywhere Chair to a friend of a friend
$60 - train table via Craigslist
$135 - Graco Sport Pack n Play via Ebay
$345 - clothes, toys, gear @ Encores n More North consignment
$75 - clothes, toys, gear @ MOPS consignment Sale
$135 - leftover clothes, toys, shoes @ Secret Garden Consignment Store
$125 - Little Tikes playset to friend
$403 - housewares, toys, furniture, tools @ our yard sale

Grand Total for Spring Cleaning Sales = $1358

(Btw - for anyone wondering how our Goodwill project fared - we profited $310 from it this past month! We originally spent $125 on 109 items that all sold for a total for $435.  That's a nice start!  We have easily 4 times that amount of stuff for the fall/winter sales already, so I am really pumped to see the returns on a full year's Goodwill project spending. :)

What a Weekend!

It started on Friday with a day full of friends and play dates, and then I bolted off to see a movie that night by myself - Water for Elephants...though it ended up just being ok for me.

First thing Saturday morning, Noah and Anna had a birthday party to go to for one of Noah's friends.  This was an exciting outing for them as neither of them have ever been to Chuck-E-Cheese before.  What a thrill!  There was a moment of terror for Noah when Chuck the mouse came out after the pizza, but Noah was overcome with adrenaline and some encouragement and crawled out a new boy.  He got right down to business with "the giant puppet" and gave high fives, hugs, waves, greetings, and even a dance before the day was over.  If you didn't know better, you'd have thought HE was the birthday boy based on the group shots. :)  Too funny.

It was another glorious day yesterday as well with the wind and the sun and Daddy home, to boot.  So we took off to a nearby church yard to fly the kite again and show Josh our stuff.  We also got our 4 wheeler back this weekend, but somehow I didn't manage to get any pictures of Josh and the kids putting around the back yard.  The sound of the motor sure was welcome though.  The last we used that ride was in AL when Noah was so much younger.  It was a daily practice that he and Josh loved.

After dinner last night, we got our stuff together and made our first ever "Easter Story Cookies" to talk about the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.  The kids pounded pecans like Jesus' body got beaten, smelled vinegar like He was given to drink on the cross, tasted salt like the tears of the people weeping at Jesus' death, added in egg to symbolize the life Jesus gave so we could have life, and enjoyed the sugar that stands for the sweet news of his love.  The mounds of batter stood for the tomb, and Noah enjoyed taping the oven shut like the guards who guarded the door.  The best part came in the morning when we discovered our cookies were hollow, empty like Jesus' tomb.

A nearby church hosted an Egg Drop last night so we hurried out the door to be a part of the mob scene that ensued.  There were not near enough eggs for all the kids and families that showed up, but Anna was pleased with her one and Noah found enough to go around and share with a number of different kids.  That boy is such a sweetie.  Mostly, we just enjoyed taking in the view of the aircraft dropping eggs and getting to enjoy that with a bunch of friends who were there as well.

After the kids were bathed and in bed, I got to work pulling together all the stuff for their basket.  With the beach, kindergarten registration, family visits, and traveling on this coming week's agenda, it felt good to finally knock out another big to-do item on the list - the Easter basket stuff.

We started a sort of tradition awhile back of leaving an Easter egg trail for the kids to gather on the way to finding their treats in the morning.  The sweets and surprises were received well - the kids have been busy enjoying them all day.  Today was my morning to sleep in, but Josh did a good job capturing the basket's undoing in pictures and videos for me.  By the time I came downstairs, Noah held up one of the empty Easter eggs and said, "Mommy!  Da eggs are empty just wike da tomb was empty!"  

With the wild weather we've had today (and our running record of skipping out on Easter morning church) we kept that tradition alive and enjoyed a quiet, calm, family Easter at home.  A lunch of ham, brown rice casserole, deviled eggs, green beans, and tomatoes and we were ready for water gun play and naps, but not before we watched the storms roll in again complete with hail and tornado scares. 

 Which brings us to now.  I think I'll join the kids and go have a holiday nap of my own.  We have a busy, busy couple of weeks breathing down our necks. I'm gonna need my rest and an extra dose of sanity to not ruin it. :)

Happy Easter, friends!

Easter's Faithful One

I wish I was techie enough to know how to prevent this video from being cut off on the right side.  So sorry about that!  I went with it anyway, because the song (Faithful One by Selah) is so great and you can hear ALL of that. :)

I love you, Lord!  I will lift my hands in praise for all you've done - And I will worship you, my faithful one.  Happy eve of Easter, all!



I find no hope within to call my own
For I am frail of heart, my strength is gone
But deep within my soul is rising up a song
Here in the comfort of the faithful one

I walk a narrow road through valleys deep
In search of higher ground, on mountains steep
And though with feet unsure, I still keep pressing on.
For I am guided by the faithful one.

Faithful, faithful to the end,
My true and precious friend,
You have been faithful,
Faithful, so faithful to me

I see your wounded hands, I touch your side
With thorns upon your brow you bled and died
But there's an empty tomb, a love for all who come
And give their hearts to you, the faithful one.

Faithful, faithful to the end,
My true and precious friend,
You have been faithful,
Faithful, so faithful to me

And when the day is dawned and when the race is run
I will bow down before God's only Son
And I will lift my hands in praise for all you've done
And I will worship you, my faithful one.

Taa Daa: Birthday Bunting

It's nothing fancy, but I love it.  Getting ready for Noah's birthday party early since we have Easter, kindergarten registration, and a week-long beach trip happening between now and then...

Kids+Kimmie+Kite

We tried a kite today for the first time ever.  Anna turned out to be a natural working the string and steering the kite. I was really impressed actually.  And surprised! This was on just her first or second try...

Noah was not so natural at it.  He was awkward with his hands and unsure of how hard to pull and move the string. He started shying away after several failed attempts, especially after accidentally letting go of the string and losing the kite over the fence.  But I insisted he keep at it and I kept coaching as best I could.

 

His spirit was so defeated after he struggled with something that Anna did without any help.  Thankfully, he got a few good gusts of wind that kept him afloat and his confidence soared right along with his kite.

I'm a little proud of myself as well.  This is the sort of activity I usually leave to Josh to do with the kids. The day I got the kite, however, ended up being less windy than we'd hoped a couple weeks ago.  So we've been waiting for a suitably windy day since.  And wouldn't you know Josh left for a trip today when it finally got good and windy.  So I sucked it up and tackled the project myself.  With a camera in tow as well - Go me! Now look whose confidence is soaring. Ha!

It was really easy and fun and satisfying.  I can tell it'll be something we get into living in this area with the kind of weather we seem to keep having.  I can't wait to see Noah show Josh what he can do with a kite next chance we get.  :)

Odds and Ends

Don't think me mean or cold, but one of our next-door neighbors just put their house on the market and I am so excited!  It's not that I am excited that they are leaving; I am just excited at the prospect of someone possibly moving in that will actually be ... neighborly.  And if they have kids our kids' age, all the better!

It cost me $70 just to fill the Acadia today!  One. Tank. of Gas.  :(

BUT, I did a Walgreens run to use some stacked coupons in conjunction with sales and FINALLY came away having saved more than I spent.  Spent $20, Saved $32 on all of this (and if it's not really a good value for the money, don't tell me!) :

Did you know we are finally throwing Noah his first birthday party?  We are!  And I am getting so excited for him.  He is, too. :)  Here's what the invite looks like and on the inside it says, Toot the Horn! Bang the Drum!  It's a Party!  Can you Come? 

How sweet are my babies here looking at Noah's book?  Noah would tell Anna what question to ask ("Anna, say, "What's dat?"), she would ask it, he'd tell her the answer, he'd tell her how to respond ("Anna, say, "Omigosh!"), and she would respond that way.  It was too funny. 

Noah is beginning to read now and it is music to my ears.  Oh my word, I love that this is one milestone that is coming so, so easily and naturally for him.  He may be small for his age, he may not be nighttime potty trained, he may not pronounce words correctly, but that boy is decoding and comprehending!  Those two things are a bigger (and better) deal, if you ask me!  I have a better video of him reading, but it was too long to upload.  :(

Some shots of the kids Easter egg hunting in the backyard today - in the sunshine for a change!

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

It was an unfortunately cold, wet, windy day yesterday for the two egg hunts we were taking the kids to.  Knowing I'd have them both bundled up in ugly jackets, I made them strip down to colorful shirts on the front porch to snap a quick picture.  Doesn't Anna look uncomfortable?  It's either the cold or the fact that Noah is touching her.

The egg hunt at church ended up being moved indoors - which works, yes - but it was sort of depressing.  Narrow beige hallways with eggs dropped openly in the dirty gray carpet floor.  :(  The only upside of indoor egg hunts is that a lot of people don't show up because of the weather so that leaves like a MILLION for the few who do show up.  Noah and Anna gathered until there was just no room left in their baskets.

The petting zoo set up under an awning was what really redeemed the morning hunt.  There was this sweet lamb, a cute pig, tiny bunnies, fancy chickens, lizards, snakes, and ducks.

It's just not an Easter celebration til you have worn a snake!

We headed back inside after the hunt to open up eggs, hang with friends, and enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers. Noah and Porter (whom he calls Quarter).  These two cracked me up with all their play fighting and exaggerated impact faces.

When we got home, we sorted candy from peanut candy and rested up for the next hunt of the day.

We also got our tattoos on.

The second hunt we went to took place outdoors in our neighborhood.  But it was COLD.  Once Noah's buddy, James, showed up, though, Noah stopped caring.

This is the third year in a row I have taken this same starting line egg-hunt shot.  :)

Look at him go!

Anna, like last year, moved much slower.  And couldn't have cared less.  She ended up quitting hunting because her hands were so cold.  That was just about the time I quit taking pictures because mine were freezing, too.  Anna kept complaining, "I fweeeeeezing, Mommy.  I fweeezing."

So we gathered up our babies and hurried home to candy, hot chocolate, and naps.

 

It's ok, Tennessee.
We still love you - cold weather in mid-April and all. 

Taa Daa: Kids' Nest Crafts

The supply list and directions were simple:  Scrunch brown paper bags down.  Glue twigs/sticks on and around the sides to fashion a sort of nest.  Fill with Easter eggs.

We only managed to get glue to work for us on the tops.  Not so much on the sides.  And by the time the hot glue solution came to me, I was over it altogether.  Today, we put these two chickie Easter eggs full of Robin's Eggs whopper treats inside each.  And now will they adorn our mantle until Easter morning. 

Next Easter activities: Easter Egg Hunts and  Easter Story Cookies!

Easter, Essentially

Can't help sharing more music that makes me happy and speaks especially to Easter's meaning.  Love this one. (I bolded my favorite line.)

I will Sing of my Redeemer by Selah

Verse 1
I will sing of my Redeemer
He who took the nails for me
I've been purchased, I've been pardoned 

Bound to Him I'm truly free
 

Verse 2
I will sing of my Redeemer
How He sought me while a slave
Loosed me from the curse of sin and
From the power of the grave

Chorus
I will sing of my Redeemer
Lift my voice to praise my Lord
Ransomed by His blood and mercy
I am His forevermore

Verse 3
I will sing of my Redeemer
He who bore my cross, my curse
Came a servant, chose to suffer
Lifted up and cast from earth

Verse 4
I will sing of my Redeemer
Tell about the grace I've known
Here on earth with those forgiven
And one day around His throne

Girlie's First Gown

Our sleeping beauty in her first ever nightgown last night.  

Nevermind that it's a little worn and only cost $2 at the consignment sale the other night.  She is enamored with the thrill of a new sort of pj.  And I'm enamored at her enamorement. Why has it never occurred to us before to try out sweet nightgowns on our girl?  I swear, sometimes we can be such boneheads.  Clearly, little girls were meant to sleep in darling nightgowns.  Someone point me to the nearest children's clothing store!

Lego Carnage

There's a reason Noah's Lego men end up dismembered all over the house.  In a word:  Anna.  The poor guys just don't stand a chance. She much prefers plucking their every appendage and accessory and then categorizing those pieces by size and color and/or playing finger puppets with them.   Two shots from this morning's carnage as happened as soon as Noah walked out the door for school.  She's ruthless.  See the cold look in her eye?

More for my Word-Hoard

It took me awhile to finish these last two books.  Rather, it took me awhile to finish The Weird Sisters.  My word, but that book just dragged on with little-to-no action in the plot!  Luckily, it dropped me a cool new or beautiful word along the way to keep me moving.  The Paris Wife, for the record, was better.  Not great, but better.

The Paris Wife
grog, treatise, speakeasies, slunk, riotous, nocturnes, footfalls, unquiet, unlovely, bumptious, ineluctable, pasturage, lout, egads, tonicy, picadors, buckram, marcelled

The Weird Sisters
incautious, malfeasance, circuitous, artifice, bucolic, pottered, ethos, yokel, simian, sojourn, frotteurs, gobsmacked, financerati, yogic, appellation, usurious, venturesome, assiduously, nattering, parsimonious, sylph, stopgap, patois, semaphores, percussive, wanderlust, dispiriting, immemorial, accretion, ululations, erudite, supine

Book Fair Find

Noah took in his first Scholastic Book Fair at school yesterday.  Josh and I got taken in, too.  We spent $20+ on that giant Lego Star Wars book Noah fell in love-at-first-sight with.  It's possible we weren't thinking clearly.  Shortage of air maybe - probably from all of Noah's elated gasping at the sight of any and every thing Star Wars.

Luckily, it has turned out to be $20 well spent.  That boy has looked at his "magazine" about a hundred times in 24 hours.  As soon as he gets to the last page, he flips back to the first and starts over again.  He enjoys having company to look at his treasure with as well.  Right now, Noah is at the allergist getting his bi-weekly shots.  Guess what he took along to show his favorite nurse, Mrs. Millie?  Yep, his new book.

If we'd been thinking clearly, we'd have gotten it and saved it for a killer birthday present.  Then again, we like to do early birthday gift teasers in this family anyway.  Anyhoo, we keep getting paid back in exclamations, shrieks, grins, finger points, comments, and thanks.  Happy Early Birthday, Noah.

Lego Star Wars - my boy's year in a nutshell.  I can't wait to see his face when he opens his new Wii and matching Star Wars game.  :)