No More Pencils, No More Books...

also, no more coffee on the run...


no more hot car naps (unless of course we're coming home from somewhere super fun like the zoo!)

No more frantic mornings with extra meetings and babysitter jams. No more days where Mimi has to go to TWO different places in one day because of school commitments. No more time at home answering emails and planning while Mimi sits in front of the T.V. No more greasy meals in the car. No more waking up my baby in her p.j.s to drive her to Superior (no more 35 minute drive to SUPERIOR!). But on the flip side, also no more:

sweet literacy ladies to chat and laugh with

no more fun friend to work and "mommy talk" with

(also, no more polka-dotted office...as cramped as it was)

No more walking down the hall, peeking into little classrooms to see kindergarteners acting out "The Three Little Pigs" or playing make believe...

no more access to the book room where I could get lost looking at an ENDLESS supply of books...

or our lit closet where numerous baked goods were stashed away on any given day...

No more being called "Mrs. Turrill" or getting hugs from kids and parents I've built relationships with. No more seeing my name label on my mailbox in the main office. No more unlimited access to great pens, sticky notes, markers, construction paper, lamination and the glorious copy machine (that I love more than life)

...

But most of all...no more of this:

and this:

and this:

(which will be sad! Mimi LOVES Finn and Aidan...I once witnessed Mimi wrap her arms around Finn and voluntarily kiss him goodbye and it was the sweetest thing in the world. She looks up to them, and they couldn't have been better models for her. Of course we will still see them, just not with the same amount of frequency)


but most greatly missed of all...

this:

I can't really even put it into words without tearing up. Kristina has been the most wonderful part of the whole year. There was NEVER a day where I didn't want to leave Mimi in her hands. She's been a shoulder to cry on when life was overwhelming. She's taught Mimi about "please" and "thank you" and triangles. She's caught butterflies and spotted bunnies with her. She's introduced her to Curious George and Alphatots. She knows Mimi's likes and dislikes and has watched her grow from a baby to a toddler with me. But most importantly, she has loved Mimi like her own little girl. Every day she remembered stories about what Mimi did and told them to me with the same kind of pride and love that I would have. She is without question the sweetest, most kind-hearted, gentle, loving person that I have had the privilege to be around, and is our gift from God for this crazy year.

There will be a huge void for quite sometime where our morning "Tina visits" used to be...

Henry Update!

Henry is home and well and back to resting on his pink princess chair where he belongs.
Literally, right after I blogged at 11:00 pm, I went downstairs to call him one more time. And, lo and behold, he scurried in the door. I was so happy! (This was also after I spent 20 minutes creating a flier to post up in the neighborhood). Let's just say I appreciate my love for my furry children more now ;)

Adventures In Vegetables

I don't believe that there is anything more "post-worthy" than pictures of your toddler voluntarily eating strange vegetables... (Because of the how rare this truly is!) Mimi felt adventurous one night and munched on some kale (and then decided Henry needed to help too!). Also, because of our horse/carrot feeding adventures lately, she has taken to chomping down whole carrots (I think that they also feel good to her teeth). And, I also have a very incriminating video in the grocery store (yes, I am a mom who takes video in a grocery store produce aisle) of Mimi chewing on some broccoli (this is BEFORE we hit the free cookie aisle).... It is wonderful :)


BUT, also as I write this, our poor kitty Henry is outside in the great big world somewhere and we can't find him. For all of the complaining I do about our cats, I really do love him. He is the sweetest and best kitty. Lately, I've been loving him even more, because I see him through Mimi's eyes; she just ADORES him, and he puts up with so much from her. I am so so sad. It's getting late, and I can't go to bed. We've scoured the whole neighborhood for hours and there's no sign of him. I hope he is safe and comes home soon.

Adventures...

We had a very eventful Mother's Day weekend. Saturday night I just wanted to do something out of the ordinary. We decided to go have dinner up in Estes. We live so close to so many fun places, and it felt good to be adventurous and do something that we don't normally do. So, we drove up Saturday evening and enjoyed the crisp mountain air before "tourist season" hit. We even had a close-up encounter with some elk on the way to downtown Estes.

We ate at Bob and Tony's. It was so what I was envisioning... a pizzeria joint with dark wood and an arcade in the back! Mimi had fun "driving."

After our fun pizza/arcade run, we walked down the streets in search of what Estes is known for...SWEETS!!!! (okay, I'm sure Estes is known for many more things, but to me, growing up I knew we hit Estes' main street when I could smell the warm caramel corn and see the taffy being pulled). Mimi picked a HUGE pink frosted cookie....

...and Ben and I shared caramel corn. (We stuffed our faces too, but the pictures are not as cute..)

Then it was on to Mother's Day! We visited Augustana where Ben's mom is. It's the most beautiful, serene small garden, overlooking Denver and Cherry Creek. It was the first time Mimi was there. She left a picture that she colored.

Driving by the zoo, we also took advantage of our new Denver Zoo membership and made a spontaneous zoo trip. It was so special and fun (and we ran into Aunt Karen and her family having a "zoo brunch"). I was thankful to Ben for being up for it and I was thankful for Mother's Day and the license to suggest crazy things for us to do on a whim ;)

We got home just in time to shower and head BACK out for a decadent brunch at the Greenbriar. It was a very special and memorable day.

(keeping along with the theme of "spontaneity" on Mother's Day, this was our spontaneous backyard water fight:)

It doesn't get much better than this :)

Country Livin'

Last weekend Mimi, Ben and I went to visit some horses that are in a vacant field near our house. Most of the time B and I don't LOVE our area (what I didn't include were the pictures of the junk yard just before the horses or the empty lot where I'm convinced all illicit activities in Longmont go down) but walking to the horses was so fun and "country." We loved it.

Big Girl Stuff...

Mimi is changing so fast. She holds conversations now, sings the words to songs she loves ("Row Row Row Your Boat" "Twinkle Twinkle" and some songs from the Curious George sdtrk) and just seems like such a "big girl." It's hard to remember everything she's doing, but I'm trying my best to jot it all down. She totally counts to ten now, which is amazing to me. (She's started trying to count my freckles...good luck with that Mims!) I think that she has a serious crush on the Man with the Yellow Hat, from Curious George. She gets a goofy grin on her face when we talk about him and looks for him in the books we read (and loves when he comes on during her movie). Fortunately, Mimi gets to be around a lot of great kids. It just so happens that most of those kids are older boys. She LOVES playing with them. I think it helps because she picks up a lot of good things from them and seems to be able to hold her own.

I just have THREE more weeks of school until I'm off for the summer and for next year!!!! Knowing that my time at school is limited, it's been a lot easier to see what I love about my job.

For example:

a) When my first graders feel like I am safe enough for each of them to share their embarrassing moments with by whispering in my ear that they: still pee their pants, their sister pulled down their underwear in front of people (little sister), and sometimes they fart during story time in the library, etc...seriously, I was giggling on the inside, but holding back tears on the outside. It was actually pretty sweet.

b) When my hard to crack third grade boys come looking for me so they can help me pull my literacy cart over to their table, AND when they all do their homework...and do an AWESOME job!

c) When I get hugs from my past kindergarteners who are now second and third graders. Also when one third grader in particular who was having a hard time in kindergarten with family drama came up to me out of the blue and told me that she still uses the kitten bookmark I gave to her when she was having a hard day in kindergarten

d) OR, just when anybody calls me "Mrs. Turrill." I love being Mrs. Turrill. Kristina's boys, where Mimi goes for daycare, call me Mrs. Turrill because I'm actually still Aidan's reading teacher. It's funny, because when they are around Mimi will call me "Mrs. Turrill" too..:)

I still don't love that Mimi usually eats lunch in the car, or takes most of her weekday naps in her carseat, but knowing that those days are almost over helps me keep my perspective.

Here are some of our "pre-summer" pics:

(Gayla, I spray painted the star red!!! I love it!!! )

Yesterday I rearranged Mimi's room. It feels so much more like a kid's room with more space to play. I felt like it was a transition time from baby nursery to kid room.

(I bought that old window with my mom at a barn sale on Saturday. I have thoughts about putting the lyrics to a song I listened to when I was pregnant in it someday...we will see. For now, it's just going to perch precariously on the bookshelf...)



One morning when I rhetorically asked Mimi what she wanted to wear, she actually answered me and pulled this Princess and the Frog, two sizes too big nightgown out of her closet. She wouldn't rest until it was on her body! But, let's face it. I didn't mind! Who doesn't love a princess-clad little girl in p.j.s? Tutus and cowboy boots here we come!

(her "smile" face)

Then Lyvie came to play with us one afternoon. Mimi rarely gets to play with girls. We had so much fun having a tea party, coloring, making play food and watching "Princess and the Frog"

Mimi got a new play kitchen! It is so fun!

Mimi continues to love Henry. He actually purrs with her nearby now, so I think it's mutual. I think it may be time for a sibling though, because today Mimi tattle-taled on Henry for getting in my garden. Actually, I asked her to get out of the garden, and she replied, "Henry!?" Because he was in too. Last night she was bringing the poor cat a steady stream of her home-cooked creations from her kitchen. He is so patient....

P.S....why such a long post you may ask? (or maybe not). Well, I am officially off of facebook! Expect more posts from me now, since I will need an outlet. I partially feel like I'm dropping out of the human race or something, but I think it's good. I started to hate that the whole world knew my every move (and that I just couldn't control not posting about my every move all of the time!) So, here's to my best and first outlet...my blog! :)