the letter P

Painting a Purple stem on a Pumpkin

 Painting a Princess on a Pumpkin.

Painted Pumpkins, homemade Pumpking cookies, customizable iron-on Princess monsters.

Picture Perfect.

first days of ballet

Th girls started ballet this week. Different days at different locations. At least the time is the same ;o)

 Zoe was especially excited as it was her first time to experience ballet for herself.



Fun little Zoe story... She was playing with the water table at school and apparently didn't think it through before soaking herself with water. Good thing she had a change of clothes as her dress and leggings were as wet as if she had went swimming. Her change of clothes consisted of shorts and a t-shirt. Poor thing itched herself until she bled. Her teachers were so worried about her skin. I hope she grows out of this skin thing soon!

an update

Whoa! It's been a while. Sorry, sister!

Let's see... September has been crazy. On the 2nd, we found out that Dave's younger cousins were in a car accident. They had been drinking and a brother killed a brother. Completely sad. My heart goes out to Dave's Aunt and Uncle and the 2 surviving brothers.

With that being said, please don't ever forget how fortunate you are every day and hug your loved ones extra tight!

We celebrated Dave's birthday with Dinner (to his favorite spot, Kona Grill) and a homemade lemon cheesecake. (I keep trying to get him to take it to work so it's not in the house. ugh!)

Zoe ordered Sushi (!) and Kayleigh a hamburger. They ended up splitting the fries and K eating the sushi and Z eating the burger. HAHA! And Zoe finally got to go to preschool! She was so excited. We ended up switching preschools a week before it started. I think we made the right choice. So far so good!

Zoe was really really excited. We talked about what we would pack in her lunch for about 2 days prior. She told me that she would suprise me by eating all her lunch and cleaning up her toys. She was happy to report that she did in fact to both. You can see that she was a little nervous at first... Today when I dropped her off a nice mom said that Zoe and her daughter made quick friends. And guess what? Her name is Kate! :)

Kayleigh has been doing awesome at school. She was having a bit of trouble with math at first, but she works at it everyday and actually wants to do math now! I'm very proud of her for working hard at it. She also started Chorus one day a week before school.

As for me, all my free time has been spent on "stumbleupon," (OMG addicting!) homework, and working out. I saved up my $$ to work with a trainer and it was the best money I've spent on myself. It was strength training... I would feel so strong and awesome after I was done, but would be so sore the next day I couldn't imagine doing cardio so I have to figure out how to balance it all.

Classes are awesome! Way better than Chemistry. Every time I open a textbook I get excited. I know with all my heart I am on the right path. I live and breathe for this stuff! In one class I am learning HTL to make a website. Here is the link http://www.public.asu.edu/~eacorn/ it's just in the beginning stages so check back later for more updates.

summer update

These silly girls play the cutest things. Here is Kayleigh in the "birthday chair."

They loooove going out for frozen yogurt. I love they buy one get one free coupon that comes in the mail once a month!
ZoBug's (or ZoBuggie as she likes to be called) hair is getting so long. She looks as sweet as pie here. But man can she be a little stinker!

In other news....Kayleigh starts first grade in two weeks!! My fall classes start in 3 weeks. Zoe starts preschool in about 6 weeks.

As I was finishing Intro to Chemistry (worst class ever) I was also starting Nutrition 101 (best class ever). I am so happy to have finally figured out what I want to do when I grow-up.

This summer has been a whirl-wind of activity. I wish I would have more time/energy to blog about it!

Kayleigh the Animal Lover

This child of mine never ceases to amaze me. She is the most caring, kind-hearted kid I know (not that I know many). She is very sensitive to the needs of animals. Our betta, Indigo, is dying. We explained to her that fish don't live very long and she cried so hard for so long. Last night we started to watch Disney's Ocean movie and she knew what each fish and mammal was and did. She knew more than me! It was really amazing. Dave and I kept exchanging looks with smiles on our faces. When the shark made an apperance she got so mad at it. And it looked as if she was going to cry. Her love of creatures that swim makes eating fish at our house pretty interesting. At school, she got to play with snails. Separately, she told Dave and I about it. When she told us we each said, "Eww!" and she replied with: Mom/Dad! How dare you. They are not gross they are life!"

Can I do it by myself?

Can I do it by myself and I can do it! Are phrases that we hear quite often around our house. Usually they come from Zj and usually the requests refer to scissors and glue. Tonight it was K's turn to "Can I do it by myself?"
By the way Z was watching K make her lunch I'm sure Z will want to make her own lunch tomorrow. And yes, given the choice, Kayleigh would wear spaghetti straps and skirts 24/7. Boy, I can't wait until the Summer. Everyday it's: Can I wear short sleeves, are those capris, where's my skirt, can we go swimming? She is in so many ways her father's daughter.

She was pretty proud of herself and so were we!

Kayleigh Michelle

My little Kayleigh Bear. She truly is amazing. I'm just in love with her. I love how she cares about people and animals and how everything she learns at school is so cool and important. She likes words and she often uses big ones. Aside from people and animals, she also shows interest in the Earth, eating healthy, and being a teenager :/ I also admire how patient she is with her sister and how she tries to teach Zoe the things she learns. When in a good mood, she'll praise her sister's coloring or when Z uses a new word she gets excited. SOMETIMES she'll even pretend to run slow and tell Zoe how fast she is and that she could never catch up.

She is also fortunate to get Dave's sense of humor and his artistic abilities. She says the craziest things. One day, K was trying to pin Dave down to tickle him but Dave prevailed. She responded by saying, "Well played Daddy."

At the end of the day, while Dave is reading Zoe her book, Kayleigh comes to the living room to tell me how much she loves me. She'll say things like: Mommy, I love you. I just think about you all day when I'm at school and wonder what you are doing. You are just so beautiful and I love you.

It only seems fitting that I end this post with this: Kayleigh, I love you. You are beautiful on the inside and out. You are smart and caring. You have the best smile. I love everything about you from your head to your toes. I'm proud to be your Mommy.

my colorful kids

I know, I know. Pictures of the kids are a lot more fun, but I'm proud of their creativity so I want to document it. Kayleigh and Zoe have a "Go Club" and they asked us all if we would join. Of course we couldn't say no! "There are no meetings and it doesn't cost a thing."

"Zoe was the first to join. Now we have hundreds of people in our club." I asked Kayleigh what they did in her club and from what I gather it's pretty much everything from helping families in need to coloring pictures of My Little Pony.

We had a bit of the stomach flu going around our house for about a week so we were comming up with lots of things to do. These signs seemed to be a hit.

Kayleigh does have a love of animlas and Zoe loves her sweets. I wonder what they will really be when they grow-up?

Zoe does love to eat, but at all the wrong times. I guess she likes to graze... Anyways... Tonight, when I went to do my last check on the girls before I go to bed, I kind of woke Zoe. In her sleep she put out her hand and said, "I won't eat it!" Geesh! I thought I was eating dinner with her all over again.

I just love those little girls so much!!!

Kayleigh is 6!

That's my SIX YEAR OLD girl. Loves wearing hats, dresses, short sleeves, pink, tight pants or leggings, and sparkles.

I guess her Dora backpack wasn't that cool anymore... Hello Kitty, Bratz dolls, and playing "teenager" is the new cool. Thank goodness she still likes to play silly with her parents, school with her sister, and animal doctor with her stuffed animals.
She has the best smile and vocabulary, which is starting to include more spanish. Other cool things about Kayleigh that I am proud of is how empathetic she is and all the different and healthy food she eats. She is very conscious of what is a healthy choice and usually chooses regular milk at school ;0)I love this little/big girl so very much!

Kayleigh does her hair

Kayleigh took it upon herself to fix her hair this past weekend. We got a good laugh out of all the clips. A few minutes later she came out looking like a bouquet of daisies- we were ROFL!

First Fieldtrip and Bus Ride

I've been feeling what mother's have been saying for years: Enjoy it because it goes by fast. I think it's because once school starts there is so much to look forward to. And not just for kids, but the parents too.

I was lucky enough to escort Kayleigh and 75 other kindergarteners on their first fieldtrip. A BIG thank you to my mom for spending a few days with us so I could go. Myself and another parent had a group of 7 boys and girls. We had a really great group.This is how it was the entire day... At a 10 (for the kids). Always moving. Always excited. Always happy.

The kids had a full day of picking their own vegetables to take home, learning about the farm, a corn maze, lunch AND ice cream, animals to pet, things to climb, and picking out that perfect pumpkin.

Kayleigh was on cloud nine at the farm and talked about riding the bus for days. She even asked me if I could find someone else to sit by so she could sit by a friend. Whomp. Whomp.

She has been saying for a long time that she wants to be a vet when she grows up. I really hope she does!

It's like riding a bike

This weekend my little girl grew up so much. She learned how to ride her bike! We went to our neighborhood park so she would have lots of flat trails to ride one and grass to ride into. The park was packed and everyone was so encouraging to Kayleigh. I think that helped her be so successful. As you can see in the above picture (taken later at home) that she is pretty proud of herself :)
Later in the day she was riding around the courtyard when suddenly the sprinklers came on. It was hysterical. I'm so glad Dave was there to help her out.

We promised Kayleigh a new and bigger bike when she learned to ride her current one. When I say new, I mean new to us. Craigslist here I come :)

Dentist

I don't remember when we went without looking at the calendar, but the girls went to the dentist. And had a blast! It was a really fun pediatric dentist. The kids were happy that they got toys and a new toothbrush and I was happy they didn't have any cavities! I had to get them to tare their eyes away from the movie that was playing for this shot.This was Zoe's first visit. She was a good little patient!

Kindergarten. It's finally sinking in.

Truth be told on Kayleigh's first day of school I didn't cry because I was a ball of stress. I hadn't slept the night before, Dave was sick in bed, my mom stayed over and she woke up with a migrane, so basically there was a lot going on and I couldn't fully embrace what was going on.

Today I am fully aware of that my little girl is so grown-up. For the first week and a half of school Zoe and I would walk her to her class. Now, we pull up to the drop-off lane and she walks down the side walk, across the parking lot, and to the playground to wait for the doors to her class to open- ALL BY HERSELF! I watch her walk up the sidewalk as long as I can, but there is always a car in a rush behind me to drop their child off.

More times than I can count I look at the clock and wonder what she is doing at that moment. I hope that she's having fun and that the other kids are being nice to her. I hope she is being nice to the other kids too. We have the same talk every morning: Be nice. Compliment someone. Drink lots of water. We'll miss you. We love you. Have a great day. Can't wait for you to come home!

K also is setup with a lunch money account so she can buy a school lunch once a week. When I went to school everyone ate the same school lunch... It seemed like a much easier process for a Kindergartener.... Kay has 3 options for a main course, 3 options for a drink, and 2 options for a side. YIKES! She has so much to be responsible for. But I'm happy to say she says, "Don't worry mom, I eat the healthy stuff first." I believe her too. She is very aware of what is healthy and what isn't. However, she needs to work on finishing her lunch instead of visiting ;o)

It's 10:13.. They are getting ready for recess. Recess will be held indoors today because it's HOT. The temp is to reach 112 today with high humidity, so it should feel like a mere 125 by the time Zoe and I wait outside to pick Kayleigh up :)

adjusting

Kayleigh isn't the only one learning new things and adjusting to this new school schedule. Zoe has had a bit of difficulty watching her sister go off to school every day. Tuesday and Wednesday she screamed and screamed when we left. And she screamed some more. Good lord she screamed. So, today I was determined to make it a good day for her.

We packed a lunch bag for her and busted out the stroller. The stroller worked, but she wanted to put her lunch bag away and sit in a chair and wait for school to start. Crisis diverted though and we made it to the car in a civilized manner. I opted not to go to the gym this morning so we could spend some QT together. It was a small sacrafice that paid off big time! I'll get to the gym every morning, just not this week :)

Speaking of adjusting... Kayleigh is doing just fine. As expected she is super tired at the end of the day and cries a lot... We were warned this would be expected... She is always open to talking about her day... She knows that when she gets home it's snack, homework, then playtime. Tuesday I walked in on her teaching Zoe her colors in Spanish. She was, naturally, a good teacher.

And as for me, I'm adjusting :) The hardest part is getting out of bed with an alarm, but I'm excited to be at home with Zoe. I love seeing her get excited about simple things.

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Kayleigh's first day of Kindergarten. She was very excited. For lunch she ate a pb&j, grapes, grape tomatoes, fruit snacks, and a juice box. She is enrolled in a Spanish immersion program thru Scottsdale public schools. Math and science will be taught in Spanish and the rest of the day will be in English. She as two teachers: Mrs. Christee and Sra Fredrick.

I'm proud of her for being so brave- new school, new people... She had lots of stories to tell us when she got home. Of how she felt bad for a girl that was crying, a boy that said a bad word, how she thought a girl had a pretty name, how even though she could eat her dessert first she didn't, and how pueblo (the name of her school) means little city in spanish.

Zoe was very sad that Kayleigh was leaving her. Hopefully we can fill our days enough that she won't always feel that way.

keeping busy

We have been keeping ourselves busy these past few weeks. Which has been nice, but it's also nice to play too.
painting feet and letting them run on a expanse of paper seemed to be a big hit.

ha- it rained... for like 90 seconds. Very exciting for people here in the Valley of the Sun.

We hooked Kayleigh up with a computer and games. She's a quick learner. We have never really let Kayleigh play on the computer. She's 5 for goodness sakes! She's supposed to be using that thing us grown-ups forget about... Imagination! Touchy subject I guess.... Anyways. She has computer lab in school so we didn't want her to be left behind.

I promised the girls if they learned to swim we would take them to the aquarium. Kayleigh was so excited to be there. She is such an animal lover. She kept picking out a fish in each tank and saying it was her friend.

video of K & Z swimming

My little swimmers did so well at their lessons. I wish we could afford to keep going! Zoe will be in the same class next time where Kayleigh will advance to the next group. Kayleigh did awesome concidering she would never even swim with floaties on before this. And Zoe, what can I say... there's nothing to it with her.

Kayleigh's 2nd & Final Dance Recital

Here is our little group of friends (minus one) that have danced and played together for 2 years. We had a Pizza Hut dinner on the last day of dance class. The kids had a blast!
I had to drop Kayleigh off backstage- no parents were allowed back during the recital. They performed twice. One a tap number and the other a ballet. The girls were so adorable. Both Dave and I were really proud of our little dancer. She was the happiest little girl after. I'm not sure if its because she felt the energy from being on stage, excited never to go to dance again, or happy to be having our traditional dessert before dinner. Either way, it was fun to experience.