Parents Open House

We had a parents "only" open house last night at the school. Since this is our second year I was prepared somewhat to what was going to be discussed. I am always amazed at what they teach the kids in one year and I seem to always think that the children are too young to be learning what they are. Last night we learned that Cole will be reading by the end of the school year and also taking spelling tests starting in the 2nd quarter. He will have homework almost every night... We have already had it the last 3 nights... WOW what an adjustment (not only for Cole, but Todd and I also)! It is just unbelievable to think that my child will be reading in the next few months. We did introduce ourselves to Mrs. Meador and the first thing she said was... "I thought that you were Cole's parents because he sure does look a lot like this guy standing behind you."

Cole is loving school! He has explained the stop light to us several times and we have seen green every day this week... if he gets green all week, he will get a special prize at school. It is always great to give a reward for this wonderful behavior. He has also explained the grading system (which was also explained to us last night) and that is great to have a star or smiley face, but it is not a good thing to have nothing written from the teacher as it means you made a lot of mistakes and have to do it again.

It will feel a little strange next week when I will be putting both of my children on the bus... They are growing up so fast!

Zoe's Home Visit

Well Zoe had her home visit with Mrs. Freedlund this morning at 10:20... thank goodness they were early because I was tired of answering the same ole question, "What time is my teacher going to be here?". She woke up at 4:45 this morning due to the storm rolling through and even asked me then... All I thought was go back to bed, it is still dark outside!!! She had a wonderful time as she got to color and talk... which she loves to do anyway. Zoe can't wait to ride the bus next week... I am still unsure how that day will go.

Our Busy Weekend

I just thought I would add an entry about our weekend. We stayed home Friday night and enjoyed having nothing to do... Or I should say that Todd, Cole and Zoe enjoyed the night as I was cleaning my house so that I could relax the rest of the weekend (that is right... no purse party this Friday night! Yeah!).

Saturday morning started the routine of swimming and tumbling lessons again. Zoe couldn't wait for tumbling to start again and she loved that she could go swimming even though it was raining outside (it has not been a wonderful season of owning a pool as almost every time we went to go swimming... it would storm... lightning, thunder and a down pour of rain). Cole was also very excited to get back to swimming lessons. He is doing awesome and we can't believe how he just catches on to those techniques. We also had our other 2 butterflies emerge before we awoke. The kids just loved seeing all 5 of them flying around the butterfly garden. We decided that we would let them go in the afternoon as we didn't want to worry about trying to feed them. Cole wasn't really sure that he wanted to let them go, but we persuaded him that it was best. They thought it was neat how they flew out of the garden and some of them stayed close by for a little while. The instructions say that they will return to the "home" (where they were released) several times in their life span (2-3 wks) so the kids are constantly looking for them when we are outside. Saturday night we had a new sitter come to watch the kids... they love her and want her to come back again! We went out for supper to Beach's and then headed over the benefit for Madyson Jacobs. We are always looking at getting some pretty cool things in the silent and live auctions that they hold... and it is even cooler that with us getting something fun and cool for our family that we are helping another family in return! When you attend one of these benefits you really take a look at your life and appreciate what wonderful things you have. We ended up purchasing many cool ticket deals and 2 girl bikes. Yes I said 2 girl bikes... I know what you are thinking... they only have Zoe... Well we were looking at getting the kids bikes for Christmas... We purchased a barbie bike to give Zoe this year and then also a Hannah Montana bike for later... Zoe is just Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus crazy!!!

Today the kids, mom and myself headed to Rockford to go school clothes shopping. Everyone knows that when Kohl's is having a sale... I am there! We spent way too much time there, but all the clothes are bought and put away. My brother, Mike, met us there and I found out that I am not the cool mom because I don't buy the cool clothes... I didn't buy the right faded out jeans (I told him that Cole gets holes in them after a few months anyway... why get the faded ones that will probably get holes in a month?). But I did let him know that if he wanted to buy him jeans every couple of months that I would let him. I also found out that I am the cheap mom. Mike informed me that he would buy the Bears jersey for Cole that I would not because it cost too much. Then he proceeded to take Zoe to pick a jersey out also. Cole and Zoe were very thankful to Uncle Mike because otherwise they would come home with no jerseys... We went to Red Robin for lunch... we have never been there, so the kids loved the neverending french fries! We then headed over to Toys R Us for their big sale! I had to check out what good deals they had on bikes for Cole. Well it was 30%-50% off everything in the store... I did find a bike for Cole for Christmas, but they would not hold it until tomorrow... So we did what everyone would do... Mom took the kids off to look at other things and I purchased the bike (it was already assembled). I had to figure out a way to get it in the back of the vehicle and hide it so that Cole or Zoe wouldn't see it. I hid most of it with our large Kohl's purchases (thank goodness we bought so much!) and just prayed that the kids didn't look in the back. Everything went as planned... all 3 bikes are hidden and no one knows a thing! Cole was however a little upset when we didn't purchase a bike, but is waiting patiently for Santa to bring one.

New Addition to Our Family

Before anyone gets any ideas... No I am not pregnant!! We have 3 new butterflies and 2 more on the way. Todd and I love to have the kids see these natural transitions... A year ago we bought tadpoles and waited for them to turn into frogs... And now for the last 2 wks we have had 5 caterpillars living in a jar. Earlier this week we transfered the chrysalides to their butterfly garden home and have been waiting patiently for them emerge. When I awoke this morning there was one flying around in the garden. It is now the afternoon and we have seen 2 more emerge before our eyes. Zoe, Jordan and Grace have all found this to be very entertaining today. I have found that it will entertain all the kids of all ages for hours (okay maybe not for hours, but will for a good 15-30 minutes)... they love to watch them fly around... and watch how the wings just magically appear, get bigger and then the color starts to show. This has really been an interesting one to view... maybe more than the frogs. We will be letting the butterflies go later this weekend so that they can be free (it feels strange to let them go after such a short period of time)... Can I do that with my kids? Although I think I kept them too long to let them go now...

1st Day of 1st Grade

Well today is the day... Cole's 1st day of first grade. He was all ready to go this morning and couldn't wait to get back to school to see all of his friends. This year was a little different as most of his class are classmates that he has never had before... Todd and I feel that this could be a good thing because then maybe he won't be so into his friends and pay more attention to his teacher. Don't get me wrong that he doesn't pay attention... he just gets a little distracted with all of his friends around. And yes he does have issues with talking a little too much (but I did too all through school and I turned out just fine). He did get Mrs. Meador this year and we are happy as we have heard many good things about her. He did come home and say that he had a good time and his teacher is really nice. He also told me about the stoplight and how it works (this is used for behavior issues and letting the parents know how their childrens' days are). We are all looking forward to this year as Cole will learn how to read... No matter how scary it is for us because the reality is there that we are getting older, it is wonderful to see Cole grow up and become his own little man.

Night at the Fair

We only visit the Stephenson County Fair once while it is here because the Lena Fall Festival will soon be upon us. We decided Tuesday night was the best time to go and we headed off. We did have a wonderful time and the kids had a blast! We ate the awesome carnival food and consumed many calories in one meal. Todd didn't miss out on the elephant ear booth! We did catch some of the tractor pulls from behind the fence at the end of the track (we are just too cheap to pay to watch and we had about 25 other spectators that felt the same way). Cole loved it and Todd will be taking him back next year to watch the whole thing. We then ventured over to see the Big Cat Adventure show. This was great and the kids loved it! Zoe actually got up the courage to pet the baby cat and she was so proud of herself. Cole talked Todd into letting them have the picture taken, but Zoe didn't want to go alone with the big brother... So mom was convinced to be in the picture also... And dad was no where to be found at the time. We then walked around to see the animals... we walked through many buildings to see the sheep, rabbits and cows. Cole and Zoe explained to us how chocolate milk was made... Very simple... from the brown cows. A woman sitting in one of the stalls by the cows just chuckled and said they were exactly right. The things kids say... and the things the adults agree with! We all had a great time and said goodbye to the fair for one more year.

Goodbye

As many of you may know, my niece, Kili, was helping me over the summer and on Aug 8th we had to say goodbye. She has moved in with my brother, Mike, in Roscoe so that she may attend Rock Valley College. I know that this is her dream to go to college, but did she really have to leave us? I don't want to be selfish, but does she really have to grow up?... It just makes me feel that much older. It was an adjustment being alone with all of the kids after Kili left... I lost my person to person interaction (at least with someone that is older than 7 years of age)... help when I was about to lose it... and the ability to run an errand around town during the day if needed. It was also nice to get to know Kili a little more... I would like to think that I knew her pretty well and that we are close, but you never know a teenager any better than spending every day with them. She sure can be a goof at times... worrying about friends and boys and then turning around dancing and not having a care in the world. It seems strange with her so far away (if Roscoe is that far away?)... I am not able to call her on a whim and see if she wants to babysit. We do text back and forth, but it just isn't the same. I won't say how old I was when she was born because that would give away my age, but time sure does fly!!

Mudding

Zoe and I decided one day to crash the boys' party... By that I mean go 4-wheeling with them. Zoe has really found an interest in the 4-wheeler that last month... she has a need for speed! She has starting driving it around the yard, but has a hard time looking at where she is going... she is too preoccupied with who is watching. She is getting better, but needs a lot more practice. Todd and Cole usually ride up in Wisconsin on the trails or they go to one of his customers' land. I had fun, but the mudding is not for me. Todd and Zoe took off behind Cole and they went on a trail in this land that they knew would be muddy... I heard Zoe do a fun scream and then the motors turned off... they returned about 10 min later covered in mud! Cole got stuck and Todd had to pull him out. Cole loves going through the mud and being covered from head to toe. Everyone had a blast and now... Todd wants to buy me one and Cole a bigger one so that we can all ride together on the trails. We will see...

The Dentist Visit

Zoe had to visit the dentist a couple weeks ago. I was very hesitant in making this appointment because the appointment a year and a half ago (to check a chipped tooth) did not go as well as expected. Zoe was very good this time... I think it is just the excitement that she gets to go to school! She colored pictures for Dr. Petras and Dawn all day and took them with to give to them. They said they were going to try to put them on their website. Zoe loved the cool sunglasses and being able to use Mr. Thirsty Straw. She let Dawn clean her teeth and was such a good patient! She did good... that is until the guy showed up.... that is Dr. Petras. She didn't want him to look in her mouth... let alone look at her at all... it felt like deja vu all over again! We did finally get her to let him look and then everything was fine. She did have 1 small cavity, but they said it is because her mouth is so small (another gift from her father). So I was not very excited when I heard that she would also need some corrective action on her teeth when she is older... just like Cole... I guess I am just meant to have expensive kids. Zoe ended the appointment by picking out a sticker and a pretty cool flashlight that changes colors when on. We are all set now for Preschool... at least Zoe is... for me I am unsure until that day comes.

I'll Give It a Try

Okay so I am almost always willing to try something at least once. One of my good friends, Elizabeth, has got me hooked on this blogging thing and I thought I would give it a try. I love to check hers every couple of days to see what they are doing since our families are just so busy these days and can't seem to get together. I came to the conclusion last week that this blogging is pretty cool and that I wanted to try it out also. I am not sure that I will have a lot of entries as my life really doesn't get any more interesting than the dirty diapers I change during the day, but I thought I would give it try... Plus what else have I got to do during nap time now that school is back in session? I thought I would put a few entries in for the last couple of weeks to bring everyone up to speed... Enjoy!