(pre)School’s out. For. Summer.

Taylor’s last day of preschool came with a mix of excitement and sadness. We were thrilled to celebrate the event with all her classmates and teachers at her school playground, and even feasted on pizza and strawberry shortcake. She has become good, good friends with each and everyone of those little people she saw in class each week. And I have a feeling we will have many summer park and pool playdates with most of them.

We were super sad to have to say goodbye to her teachers. As a token of my appreciation, I made each of them a scrapbook of all the photos I had taken of them and their little students during the year. Kim and Kay are two of the most patient, creative people I know. And I think I might miss the both of them more than Taylor does when we go to a different classroom this Fall.

The ceremony itself was pretty cute. Ms Kim gave a little speech about each kid and then had them slide down to get their certificate. Here’s the Princess:

Oh, and I was a total emotional mess during all of it. Ugh. Just think... Next year she’ll be graduating to KINDERGARTEN. Wow. That gives me heartburn just thinking about it. But for now... Bring on the summer fun!

Live together in perfect harmony

Yep. It was just one of those days. And instead of policing for the 23^rd-hour of that day,  I just sat back and grabbed my phone and recorded it. And then I forwarded it to my friend, Paige, mother to Miss Elliot and six-month Delilah, and just titled it, What you can look forward to in six months. Welcome to life with siblings.

Playing me like a fiddle

This morning I stopped Luke from digging in the vanity drawers by kneeling down and holding them shut. He pulled and tugged and squealed to no avail, and then reached his hands up to my face and planted a tender smooch on my mouth. And then he flashed his charming megawatt smile. And then he tried to pull open the drawer again.

Oh boy... I am in trouble.

The Funny Flower Circus

Last Friday Taylor and her preschool class put on a circus performance for all the parents to come and watch. I can’t express enough how impressed I am with our first year of preschool, and I know all of that praise lies with her teacher, Miss Kim. She is creative, loving and oh-so-patient with the gaggle of three and four year olds she cares for everyday, and I feel very lucky that she and Taylor were paired together for my daughter’s first schooling experience. She has set the bar very, very high. And I would be super sad to say goodbye to her at the end of this month when Taylor graduates from her class, but I am looking forward to three years down the road when Luke will be old enough to enjoy all of her imaginative teachings.

But back to the circus. At the beginning of the week, Taylor and all her classmates chose different acts to put on for the big performance. And when I picked her up that Monday, Miss Kim expressed to me that she really wanted Taylor to have more than one part in the circus, but that my daughter had her mind set on just being a Prancing Pony.

Yep. That’s my stubborn four year old. She gets that from her father. And after reading through the note and then talking with Taylor and remembering the few times we had been to the circus together, I got her interested in also being both an Acrobat and a Tightrope Walker. Mostly because both of those roles also required sparkly costumes. And after letting Miss Kim know that she wanted to expand her role in Funny Flower Circus, she spent the rest of the week practicing all her acts. We even got into the circus spirit at home, and Chris set up a practice tightrope for her to perfect her skills.

And when Friday morning came, she sprang out of bed and announced in her excited-voice, TODAY! Today is CIRCUS DAY! And we packed a plethora of costumes and other shiny clothes in a bag and I dropped my little star off at school. And after spending the morning with my little man, Luke and I headed back to NAP to watch the performance. And, as expected, it was the cutest thing you’d ever seen.

It was so creative, and the kids were having so much fun and were so proud of themselves. And I was so proud of them too, and especially of Taylor. After each performance she would give a big, dramatic bow, and then look up for me and give me a giant, face-splitting smile that showed me how happy she was. And I’m pretty sure my face mirrored hers. It truly was the Greatest Show on Earth.

Girls gone wilderness

A few weeks ago my friend Jen called with a camping proposition. You see, Jen’s friend had secured an amazing campground for a weekend and had invited a bunch of families to join them in some outdoor fun. But it just so happened that our country club’s men’s season opener was that same weekend, and since Jen’s husband and Chris were on the same team, and because sleeping in the woods isn’t the best pregame, Jen planned to leave her son and Jason home and just bring her daughter, Marin. And being that they have enough camping gear for four people, Jen was generous enough to ask me if Taylor and I would join them. She had everything we needed, and she even scored a babysitter to watch Isaac and Luke the next morning while the guys golfed in the tourney. How could I say No?

It was a perfect opportunity for Taylor’s first camping experience. And a good refresher for me. I mean, other than when I was under the age of two, the only real camping trip I ever took was with my hometown bestie, Steph, and her family to the Black Hills when I was in junior high. So you can call me a bit of a camping novice. But, Hey! who’s up for an adventure?

And after overpacking the back of Chris’s car – We needed to cross two rivers to get into the campsite, so four-wheel drive was a necessity, I dropped Luke off at my hubba’s office and Taylor and I went and picked up Jen, Marin and a TON of gear for our 18-hour escapade, and made our way an hour south to our destination.

We drove through the woods and over the two rivers and got to our sweet site, which was a giant field surrounded by a beautiful stream in the middle of the Pisgah National Forest. It was perfect. And it had a bathroom. And a water pump and picnic tables and a grill. And our car was parked right next to where our tent went up, so it was great for the beginning camper. Because apparently you can’t bring food into your tent because the bears will try to get it. Um... THE BEARS WILL TRY TO GET IT. And why do people like camping so much?

But I digress. Our new home away from home was lovely and smelled like the woods, in a really good Yankee-candle kind of way. And after exploring the river with the girls, we went back to our site and watched Jen assemble the tent with just a smidge of our help.

After we got everything unpacked and settled, we then went on a mini-hike on the trail surrounding our campsite. And this is how my daughter walked through the woods:

Yep. Is she not the cutest diva hiker ever seen? She is my daughter. And even though we both prefer the beach over the wilderness, we’re always up for an exciting new journey.

And then it was time to join the other two families that were staying there that night by the fire for some dinner and s’mores.

Oh, how my daughter LOVES s’mores. As do I. And anyone else who has ever had them. Three simple ingredients that transform into the most delectable treat ever. Hooray for s’mores!

And then night fell and the adults watched as the kids chased each other in the field with headlamps and flashlights until they were all slow and cranky with one another. Which meant it was bedtime. Which meant it was time for lots and lots of glowsticks.

And after tucking in Taylor and Marin, Jen and I left the tent to return to the campfire for a while more, hearing Marin excitingly ask Taylor, Hey... Do you wanna talk about stuff? It was adorable. And I predict many future sleepovers between these two in the years to come. But, as with most little-kid slumber parties, there was very little sleep actually involved. In fact, I’m pretty sure the two girls didn’t close their eyes until around 11, and then we were up bright and early at 6. Which meant we had two tired, manic little misses on our hands.

So we enjoyed our breakfast and campfire coffee, and then packed up our gear and headed to a waterfall a few minutes away. We had originally planned on doing a hike before driving back to Asheville, but the girls were exhausted. So we made the short trek down some stairs at Looking Glass Falls and basked in all its beauty.

And then we made our hour long journey back home. We were all groggy, smelled like campfire and still had bits of marshmallow stuck in our hair. But it was unanimous that it was an awesome time. And after waking from our two hour nap that afternoon, I immediately started researching tents for our next camping trip. Who knew sleeping on the ground could be THAT fun? And a big thanks to Jen and Marin for inviting us to go with them... It was an adventure we will never forget.

Taking care of business

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times:  I LOVE my job. I feel very fortunate to be able to stay home and be a mom all day everyday. But it is HARD work, y’all. Being a SAHM is a nonstop job – No sick-days, or paid vacation. No clocking in at eight and out at five. My shift NEVER ends.

But I’ve learned a couple tricks in my four year tenure that are surefire ways to entertain the kids, no matter how exhausted I am:  Turn on some dance music and let them boogie, and/or Lay on the floor and let them crawl all over me. Both require minimal effort on my part, and both seem to keep them happy and content for at least two minutes and eight seconds.

Yep. I LOVE my job. 

That’s my baby(doll lunch)

Yesterday our country club hosted it’s annual Baby Doll luncheon, which Taylor and a very-pregnant me attended last year. It was cute. All her little friends were there and everyone brought their favorite doll and ate cake and played games. It was like a little girl’s dream come true. So when this year’s fete came up on the calendar, I called and reserved us a spot in the doll-focused, tea-party-like, fancy fun. And then we realized that it coincided with Chris’s annual golf trip, so if Taylor and I wanted to go, Mr Big Man Luke would have to come with us to the girly function. Hmmm... So of course Luke was coming, right? And just to over-masculate him so he couldn’t come back at some point and hold it against me, I dressed him in a studly tie and had him carry a stuffed football in place of a baby doll.

Oh, come on! He was having a blast. What better stimulant overload than a gaggle of preschool girls showing off their dolls and dresses? And there were CUPCAKES. And chicken fingers. And balloons and party bags. I’d take that over a t-ball game any day of the week.

And while at first it was a joke, by the end he was practically the party mascot. Seriously. The kid’s a mini-Prince Charming.

And, once again, Taylor had an absolute blast with all her friends. This year she brought her Bitty Baby, Stella, who she dressed up in a mini-debutant gown. She was pretty proud of her.

And I love how comfortable Taylor is with this group of friends, and I just love watching all of these itty-bitty misses interact and have conversations. They are all growing out of toddler-dom and becoming small real people now, and they are so observant and always listening and absorbing EVERYTHING. And it has been fun to watch these little ladies grow up next to Taylor, and I have a feeling we’ll be getting annual pictures at this event in years to come. With or without my little stud.