This is a preschool graduate friends.

(but he will be going again next year for "pre-K"...so a little anti-climatic :)

(hence his laid back attitude about it all.. )

My teaching partner :)

BRING IT ON SUMMER!

Mimi's Zoo Field Trip

Last week Mimi went on her first BIG field trip to the zoo. 

I couldn't chaperone because we had our preschool picnic, but I knew she'd be in good hands :) I was thankful for other moms in the class who took pictures for me.

She is ALMOST a Second Grader!!! 

These Silly Kids

 Sometimes our house looks like this:

 (why does Bode look like ET?)

I'm thankful for these goofballs who made me a mom...my greatest dream of my life, come true. 

***

And I'm thankful for a quiet moment to remember how much I really do love being a mom. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm operating out of a "fight or flight" mentality...rush here, rush there, tend to this need and this fight, etc. I can get lost in the details that feel stressful. 

Our bodies/minds don't like pain. And when we experience pain our mind starts to panic...and parenting is painful: sometimes physcially, sometimes mentally and emotionally.

But sometimes I just need to breathe and tell my "fight or flight" that this particular scenario that parenting has brought me (buying donuts for a school coffee, managing my daughter's need for a playdate every day, prying the Wii out of Bode's hands) Isn't, in fact, a life or death emergency, (even though my blood pressure would testify otherwise). And I need to just be. Be present. Be grateful. And realize that it's these details that fill my life with purpose and love as a mom. 

Happy Mother's Day. xo

(picture by Bode; my budding photographer)

Take Your Mimi to Work Day

This little miss is almost EIGHT years old! Holy moly.

She would rather watch Disney Channel tween sitcoms than cartoons. 

She would rather listen to Meghan Trainor than Veggietales.

She has friends and a whole life at school all day that I just hear parts of.

She is big.

Instead of being concerned with her physical needs, my focus has switched to her emotional needs. I worry about being too involved and then not enough. How much do I tell her what to wear or how to do her hair? How much do I push my agenda to continue reading Harry Potter with her every night (when she'd rather not). These are the worries of a mom of an eight year old girl.

But worry is dispelled when you get an email from her teacher that reads like this:

Being kind and looking out for others is really all I could wish for her, and getting this email made me tear up. I know I'm bragging, but kindness is something that should be bragged upon more often I think. 

***

On "Take Your Child To Work Day" we got to bring Mimi to preschool with us. It was a family affair :) And considering that she'd been begging me all spring to come, I knew she'd have fun. 

The kids had a Veterinarian center set up already...she was in charge of overseeing that. She even brought some stuffed animals and her own vet costume for them to play with. At home, she plays school with Bode...now she had a real life class!!! I was surprised however, to see her so quiet and reserved (with a mature air about her). It's not always that way at our "home school" with her brother (as you can imagine).

(that's Bode)

All of the littler girls followed her around..

She even read them all a book...they were spellbound.

Then I opened it up for questions for her. The "questions" went as followed.

-"good job."

-"my shoes hurt"

-"I have a bunny"

(note to self, work on what "question" means).

But then this really cute blonde boy asked a real question:

"Um, how do you read?"

(heart=melt)

These kiddos. xo

Good job teacher Mimi!!!