Leftovers

I thought that I would serve you some leftovers today. Not from my fridge…from my camera(s).

You see, I have three cameras. One I keep in my purse, one I keep in my outing backpack, and one is a big professional  looking thing that I am woefully inept at using so only it comes out on occasion.

Between the three cameras, pictures get lost from time to time. I just kinda forget that I have them sitting on the memory card of a particular camera until they have reached their expiration date. Then you either serve them up on the blog a little bit cold or ban them to the deep freeze.

Since it’s a slow news week, I decided on the former. So here are some end of summer leftovers. I hope you agree that they are almost as tasty as the fresh ones!

At the beginning of the month, Mia and her siblings had a sleepover at our house. Not a whole lot of sleeping during the SLEEPover, but they did have fun!

Here are the girls relaxing after a long night of playing.

We took a little trip to Noodles for some Mac n’ Cheese because, quiet simply, it ROCKS!

Molly tells me she should move to Wisconsin because she is a cheese head. I sure would miss her because I just couldn’t make the move. I need some place warmer not colder. And I am not a big fan of cheese. Wisconsin is not in my future. Just sayin’.

Song Time with Molly’s buddies Mattie Gail and Mia.

A few days later we went to the zoo with Mattie Gail . This is the only picture I took the entire day. I must have been running a temperature or something.

Molly’s last day of gymnastics with Miss Amy. She now attends a competitive class. At four. What’s up with that? I’m not sure I was even out of diapers at four. The world is moving way.too.fast!

Play date with Mia at the park.

Then back to our house for some princess time.

Remember me and my attitude about farms? Well, my friend Tressa is doing her best to make a redneck out of me. When she suggested the farm I responded, “Sure, that sounds like fun!”

Mattie Gail and Molly play with the bunnies.

These girls L-O-V-E each other. So sweet to see their friendship blossom and grow.

Glad that I am not the only one Molly cops an attitude with. Here she is giving the chickens “what for.”

More sweetness….can never get enough of these two enjoying each other!

We even remembered to get in a few pictures with our kids this time. Tressa, Mattie and a pony whose name I don’t remember.

Me, Molly and Buttercup…How ‘bout them apples--road apples that is. My new redneck status allows me to tip toe through the horse poo with ease.

Enough farm for now….moving on to coloring. Molly displays her princess artwork. Notice the hearts and stars she added in the background. She was so proud. And yes, the ginormous picture is displayed on my refrigerator.

Back at the zoo with Mattie Gail. Must have been feeling better because the camera was out to capture every moment. When we arrived, the girls emerged from their respective vans donning coordinating outfits. Unplanned, I swear, but pretty darn cute!    

See, leftovers aren’t all that bad, are they?

I Love a Parade

Every September, our quaint little Midwestern town hosts the county fair. As far as county fairs go, its a pretty big deal. The kids even get a day off of school just so that they can attend.

We have lived in this quaint little Midwestern town for about 11 years and sadly, have never attended the fair. Not even on event. Pathetic, I know. But just like I am not a camping person or a farm person, I am not really a fair person either.

The kick off to the fair is the All Horse Parade. As the name implies it is a parade of horses. Lots of horses. Gobs and bunches and oodles of horses. And then they throw in a few more horses for good measure.

We have considered attending the parade the past few years because we knew that Molly would love it. But it was always during nap time and you just don’t mess with nap time.

Molly stopped napping months ago (boo hoo) and we had an invitation to a Horse Parade/Gotcha Day Party, so we finally took the plunge and headed off to the parade. And just like most other things I have avoided because it wasn’t my thing, I ended up really enjoying the day--more for the party than the parade, but the parade was pretty fun too. In a smelly horse kind of way.

So….on with the parade!

The first thing up was the All Horse Parade sign just in case you were unsure of what parade you were attending. “A parade?  I love a parade!”“So, where are all of the horses?” Ummm, no shortage of those, I promise you Molly!

There were great big horses.And itty-bitty horses. “Is that the best ya got?”How about horse driven carriages?  “Hey, what’s that noise?”“What’s that marching band doing in the All HORSE Parade?”  Now, back to the action…

There were horses with knights and horses with maidens. And even a horse with a gypsy balancing a sword on her head while playing those little finger symbol thingies.But this is where it started getting good. Yes, it was the princesses on horse back. There was Jasmine…     “And could it really be? Is that really who I think it is?”  Snow White!! “Ooooh, this is a good parade!”Mattie, Tressa, Me and Molly enjoying the parade. Molly and Mattie were much more interested in finding more princesses than having their picture taken.

Now to the part Mom liked best: The party!

Miss Mattie Gail was celebrating her Gotcha. For those not in the adoption world, Gotcha Day is the day that our children were first placed in our arms. A very big deal! Molly and Mattie Gail…two peas in a pod. One of Mattie’s China travel mates, Maria, was also able to attend the party. We celebrated her Gotcha Day, as well. Mmmmm, cake! The post-sugar meltdown.

It really was a fun-filled day. Even my I’m-not-really-a-party-kind- of-guy husband had a good time.

Tressa, Alan and Mattie Gail: Thanks for including us in the fun!

First Day of Preschool 4

Last year I was the rookie mom. I dressed Molly in a pair of shorts and a shirt that she had worn all summer, buckled her into her car seat and arrived at preschool.

Yes, I did.

No new first-day-of-school outfit. No new sparkly backpack. No comfort item to make her feel better if she got scared. Nothin’. Paint a big “L” for LOSER on my forehead. My lack of foresight was obvious as soon as I pulled in the parking lot. Rookie mom mistake.This year I was prepared:

• New outfit. Check.
• New sparkly back pack. Check.
• Comfort item from home. Check.

What a difference a year makes.

Here’s Molly all ready to start the first day of Preschool 4.

A quick photo-op before heading down to her classroom.

Ready to start her first day in Red Room. Besides the obvious similarity to “Redrum” in the Jack Nicholson movie The Shining, which is disturbing enough, Molly’s preschool classroom (Red Room) is painted and tiled in red. As a former teacher let me say what a huge mistake someone made doing this. Do you have any idea how much the color red over stimulates kids? And this room is REALLY, REALLY red. Glad I’m not teaching in there!

Molly arrives and immediately shows her Snow White doll to just about anyone who will look in her direction.

She poses for a quick picture with her teacher (for the second year in a row), Mrs. Sivak. We love Mrs. Sivak!

Having the same teacher for a second year gives Molly a leg up. She knows all of the daily routines, like tracing her name on her name card each morning.

  Even though things are very familiar—same room, same teacher—Molly still looks a bit stressed. First day jitters, I guess.

Despite a little anxiety, she kisses me goodbye before I leave. It’s a little easier today because school only lasts an hour and mommies are right across the hall.Tomorrow she will go for the full time and I will be out shopping all alone!!!! of the building. We shall see how that goes!

Every once in a while I would sneak a peak through the classroom window to see what Molly was doing. Excuse the grainy, washed out pictures that were taken through glass while trying to avoid detection by my wee one who would probably come unglued if she saw me.

Molly checks out the dress up clothes…

and plays with pirate ship….

Before deciding to paint a masterpiece.

She worked on this diligently for quite a while. I ended up liking it so well that we framed it a put it on the end table of the family room!

After a bit, it was time for clean up--something my oh-so-anal daughter is very good at.

And then it was circle time. Last year she was sucking on her fingers by this point, so I guess she is feeling a bit more relaxed this year.

Finally, it is time to say goodbye and get one last hug from Mrs. S. What a great first day!

But wait. Mom drags her back inside for one last photo with both of her teachers.

I feel extremely blessed to have found this school. They love Molly and Molly loves them. They show so much compassion and understanding with Molly’s struggles and cheer her successes. The school’s environment is  due in large part to the director. Molly adores Mrs. Riley, and so do I. I just didn’t get my picture taken with her. But I still adore her, just the same.

Time to Celebrate!

Molly’s choice: An ice cream cone. Before lunch. Hey, it’s her day.

Molly always requests her ice cream to be in a cup. She eats like a turtle and knows it. On a typical day there is no way she can eat fast enough to get an entire cone done before it melts.

Giddy with first-day-of-school excitement, she decides to go for the cone. Yep, 4 1/2 years old and she is finally eating her first cone.

So far so good, but I see a few drips…

A little wipe with a napkin, and she is all good.

Note the circular licking technique. She is a fast learner.

This stuff makes tasty lipstick.

Just a little more to go…

All that is left is to finish up the cone …

And she’s done! Not even a drop on her dress, either. Told you she was anal!

A final hug for mom and it’s home for the post-school meltdown. I guess that’s what you get when you let your kid eat ice cream for lunch! 

Have a great year at preschool, my baby girl!