Thursday's events

Chelsea has been begging me for a long time to get her ears pierced. Every time I wore nice earrings, she would play with them and ask again and again. We had lots of discussions about how getting your ears pierced hurts and whether or not she would be ready. She promised up and down that she was ready.

So, we made the big appointment for Thursday morning. I had been debating whether or not I wanted to get my nose pierced, but I figured it would be a great reward for me for losing 30 pounds. Okay, so I'm only at 28, but I figured I was close enough. :)

We went to McKenna in Morden. I had a long talk with the piercer about the gun vs needle debate and we decided for Chelsea's earlobes, it would be best to use the gun. The problem is, at McKenna, there is only one piercer, so they have to be done one at at time.

Well, my brave girl sat there all by herself, still as a statue when the first earring went in. Four seconds later, the crying/screaming started. Chelsea was done. I tried showing her a mirror, talking about how pretty it looked and how we needed to do the other one, but she said she was quite happy with just one. All she wanted was just one earring.

This went on for about 5 minutes, until I told her that the piercer has to pierce two ears; that's her job. If she doesn't do her job, she'll get into trouble. So, Chelsea climbed on my lap and sat really still, all while crying. But, the second earring went in and she hopped off my lap, declared she was done with me and wanted daddy. Good thing he was just outside. She was as happy as can be, once her tears were wiped away and she was munching on mini eggs, that is.

Then, I got my nose pierced. No crying or mini eggs needed.

The best part is that when I was leaving the salon, Chelsea asked me if the piercer was going to get into trouble because I only got one earring done. :)

This is her "before" shot.

And after. It's hard to get a picture of little studs!

It's been so good healing together. She gently touches my nose and asks if it hurts and if it's healing and we get to clean our piercings together. I love having a daughter!!

I think matching tattoos are next. But no worries, she has to be at least 8 before I'll agree to that.

The princess and the frog

- We went home to my parents' house this weekend. Saturday night we went to a Halloween dance for kids. Chelsea was VERY excited to have a new Snow White dress from Aunty Jen with new shiny black shoes.
- I should have gone to school today to plan my week, but I didn't. I was so tired after our 3.5 hour drive home took close to 5 hours that I decided to skip it. This is the first weekend since school started that I haven't been there for 4-5 hours on the weekend.

- I just got an email from someone asking me why I'm not as smiley as I used to be. That made me really sad. I need to get a handle on why this job is making me so stressful. I'm constantly worrying about work and how to do it better and how to become a better teacher - so much so that it's stressing me out all the time and that's gotta go!

- Hey, in case you were wondering, having a puppy loses it's excitement really fast. The training is coming along, but it's busy with 2 kids. I'm a little tired of the accidents, the jumping up, the nipping.... but at the same time, she's well loved and is great with the kids.

- Friendships are hard for me. I'm a home-body and I like being at home. On those rare nights when I don't have school work to do, cakes to make and decorate, or housework, I like staying home. Friendships take a lot of work and time and sometimes that is hard. But the rewards are definitely worth it. I have such great friends right now and I just want to say thank you ladies. Thank you for loving me for who I am and loving me for where I am right now. I appreciate you.

- And on that note, good night all!

A whole lotta nothin'.

- Quiet blog again, I know, I know. I miss blogging, but I'm not feeling very inspired lately. Thanks for checking to make sure I'm still around!

- I'm settling into a routine with work and kids and cakes and whatnot. I am REALLY trying to make an effort to be there for my kids and not be busy with stuff in the mornings.

- I'm not going to get into it, but work is not the highlight of my day. I'm really struggling with the split grade. I have really high expectations for myself and I don't feel like I'm meeting them, and that is constantly weighing on me, stressing me out.

- I recently was invited out with a new group of girls. It was a lot of fun and it was reassuring to hear after that they thought I was halarious and that we should all hang out again. For some reason in the friendship area I've been so hesitant and unsure of myself. I needed a good boost.

- Chris and I went to a wedding today. Aren't we cute?

P.S. - Isn't that nose just begging to be re-pierced?? I'm really tempted...

My Biff.

I used to hate the phrase "best friend" because I never felt like anyone's best friend. I would cringe when I would read Facebook statuses that said "bff", but now, I can say that this lady is my BFF.

And when my BFF turns 29 for the 4th time, we celebrate!
Pretty pretty toes.We had a lovely relaxing evening at the spa, getting our feet pampered and then spent the rest of the night laughing at peopleofwalmart.com. I know, we're horrible, but best of all, we're good for each other.

MUAH, lady. Happy birthday!!

Family Photo Shoot

My friend Maggie took some family photos for us the other day. They turned out great, considering that it was super windy! Here are some of my favourites!

Pick your battles.

This girl and I seem to be in a struggle every morning. She's very independent and is all about doing things herself.

Right now, we battle over clothes and hair. She wants to choose what she wears and how her hair is done.

Most days, I let her pick her clothes. Most days, she's mismatched or wearing something backwards. I'm okay with this. We've struck a deal. On Wednesdays (preschool) and Sundays (church) I get to choose her outfits.

So, today, being Sunday, I chose her outfit - a cute new sweater (thanks Amanda!), tights and a skirt (because she HATES pants at the moment).

And, because I believe in compromise, she did her own hair.

Just in case you weren't in church today, this is what you missed.

Thank you to all of those in church who encouraged her. She kept telling me, "See mom? Everyone thinks I'm beautiful!"

You are always beautiful, baby girl!

...

Dear Blogger,

I miss you. I have no idea what to write though.

Good night.

A.

1st Day of Preschool

She was slightly excited. She loves going out to different programs. She's been in nursery and Sunday School for a few years now and is used to being away from me because I work. Leaving me wasn't a big deal for her.

When we got to the classroom, her teacher was showing her where her knapsack would go. My daughter replied, "Actually, it's a back pack and that hook is for my sweater." Thankfully the teacher just laughed. That's my girl!

Quick one.

I have so much to blog, but so little time. I'm just so exhausted with school starting and returning to work. I can't wait until all the dust settles.

But for now, I'll leave you with a little taste of our trick-or-treating in September. It is simply the best idea ever. The kids get to wear real costumes without parkas and toques, and the campers all give out a ton of candy. It's on for an hour and a half or so and then it's done. We had so much fun!!

We tried to get a quick group photo, but that didn't work out too well.

Chelsea was a princess, as usual, and her cousin was Tinkerbell.

Gavin was a frog. So stinkin' cute!

And of course, a picture of our goodies! Not bad for an hour's work!

Sweet C

This girl definitely keeps me hopping.

I had told her a few days ago that we are going to a campground this weekend and we're going to wear costumes and go trick or treating. She's so excited. This morning she asked if we were going to the campground today.

I said "Nope. Two more sleeps. Not until Saturday."

So the day went on, she woke up from her nap and then about an hour later, I couldn't find her.

I went up to her room and she was curled up in bed, trying to sleep more.

"Mommy - this is my second sleep. We can go to the campground now."

Orange ya glad you came over?

We had some friends over on Sunday.

Things got a little silly.

We sure are going to miss these monkeys when they move to FarFarAway.

Plus, because I'm such a cool mom, we decorated cupcakes. Those things were loaded with sprinkles and sugar!!

So much fun!

My week.

In addition to tons of cakes last week, Baby Boy (like that Shelly?) broke out in chicken pox. He really didn't get as many as Chelsea, but his seemed to be bigger and more painful looking.

Now, this next photo may be used as an ad for vaccinating. :( This was Gavin's worst morning for sure. He was miserable and it took a while for the Benadryl to kick in. Not even the magic sippy cup of juice could soothe him.

We survived with lots of cuddles. This picture shows a few of his worst ones, by his eyebrow and right under his eye.

But alas, we survived.

Obviously, by choosing not to vaccinate, I made the choice for my kids to get the chicken pox. There were moments when it was horrible and I cried because they were crying and itchy and I felt guilty for allowing my children's perfect, soft, pudgy skin to get all scabby, but in the end, we survived and it's all over with. It really was a good time for them to get chicken pox, if there ever is a good time.

Quick post

Things I adore.

#1 - chubby, dimple cheeks.
#2 - beautiful girls enjoying a heart sprinkle cupcake before bed.

That's all.

Always in the back of my mind

I don't think I've ever been so nervous.

This comes close to the time that I was a grade 1 teacher for 6 weeks, but when I was doing that, I had so much support that I knew I could do it. (Although I did cry about 3 times in the principal's office during those first few weeks!)

I am not ready. I haven't done anything to prepare except sort through my boxes. I have so many boxes still in my garage because they are full of grade 6 stuff that won't be used this year. It made me really sad to see all that time, hard work and effort be packed away.

I know that teaching grade 3 and 4 will be a growing experience for me. It's good to get out of the box we put ourselves in. But right now, it just looks so overwhelming. I like feeling proficient and confident. But right now, I don't know how to teach grade 3, grade 4 or a split grade. I don't know how to effectively manage the time between the two grades and not to mention it's needing to learn seven new curriculums - Gr 3 math, science and social studies, Gr 4 math, science and social studies, oh and Gr 4 French too! If I was teaching a new grade, I probably wouldn't be so overwhelmed. Grade 3? Sure. Grade 4? Sure. But together? Sigh.

Sigh.

Anyone out there want a grade 6 teacher? Please? I'm really good at grade 6.

Harvest for Kids

Yesterday, Winkler set the record for having the most combines harvesting one field at the same time. It was to happen just on the field to the south of us, so we packed up the kids and went walking. It was really well set up, with displays and activities for kids happening in the centre of the field. There was even a shuttle service/hayride to get into the centre.

That was Chelsea's favourite part I think.

There were 100 combines on one side of the field and 100 on the other side, so when they harvested, they were heading towards each other.

There were a lot of combines.

(Thanks AD for the picture!)

The petting zoo is always a hit with the kids.

With Gavin walking, it is much easier for him to enjoy the animals.

The true Gavin face - lips pursed, loudly saying "ooooo" over and over.

And, of course, the kiddie train.

Finally, at 12:00, they were off! We had thought ahead, and made sure to watch the harvesting from the dike right close to our house. This way, we avoided the dust and the crowds when it was time to come home.