Goodbye Kindergarten!

Friday, we celebrated Luke's kindergarten year with an awards picnic.  Parents were invited to come to school to look through Memory Books the kids made about their year, watch a video, and enjoy a picnic lunch with them.  I'm so thankful to my administrators for letting me take off in the middle of the day for awhile so I didn't have to miss it!  It was amazing to see the progress Luke has made in his learning over the past year.  Brandon and I look at each other in startled surprise everytime he reads things to us off billboards and signs, etc. and go, "Oh yeah, he's a reader now!"  It was fun to read the letters his friends in his class wrote him.  Watching the video of pictures from the year was really emotional - of course, all the songs were about kids being kids and starting school, growing, and all that sappy stuff that I usually roll my eyes at, but it hit home as I sat there in realization that not only has Luke started school, he's already got a year under his belt.  When his teacher got up to say a few words after the video, I was crying, Luke was crying, and Brandon even teared up a little.  She talked about how much she loved each one of her students and you knew she meant it.  Mrs. Borsella has been such an amazing teacher and I am beyond grateful for her guidance and patience for all the children in her class, including Luke.  As a teacher myself, it is always my goal to love every student - especially the unloveable ones, because I don't always know if there is anyone else to do it.  I admit, though, that there are days I fall short and struggle to treat those really difficult kids with the love and respect that they deserve, but don't always know how to receive.  I am so thankful that Luke had a teacher who is able to do that with her students.

Luke and Mrs. Borsella

Luke & his classmates performed a little song for us.

Brandon & Luke enjoying our indoor "picnic".  Darned rainy weather!

He's getting big, but he's still my little buddy.

And I do have to throw in a couple of better pictures from Luke's 2nd baseball game.  We did manage to show up on time and discovered that all we really missed last week was the practice portion of the game.  Maybe that wasn't so bad after all...

Up to bat - he was able to hit both in practice & the game.  We're so proud!

He made it home!

{not that there was any chance he wouldn't, because there are no strikes, no outs, no score. (: }

Go team

There was no doubt what this Royals fan was going to wear on Sports Day.  Thanks to Aunt Krissy & Uncle Dusty for the awesome jersey!

And there was no doubt this girl was going as a "West-side Soc" for Outsiders Day.  I was rocking the 60's hair today.

My whole team looked awesome!

Tomorrow, we celebrate (nearly) completing kindergarten with an awards picnic.  What a bonus - I get to leave work for awhile to attend.  I can't wait to enjoy a little part of my day with Luke and Brandon celebrating a great year!

More than Meets the Eye

If you grew up in the 80's like me, you might remember that theme song for a popular kids' toy.  Today was character day and Luke wanted to be Optimus Prime, the ultimate good Transformer leader of the Autobots.  Hey, he got use out of his Halloween costume (without the mask, of course, there is some learning taking place still) so it's all good.  He decided to go for a serious and tough look today since he's a machine super-hero setting out to save the world.

What he couldn't save anyone from today was the hour-long "tornado drill" (his words).  It sounds like they had fun in his class - reading stories & playing games.  In my class, not so much.  Sixty seventh graders who are forced to sit on the floor for an hour get bored with tornado warnings a lot faster than one might think.  It was exhausting...I actually came home and took a semi-nap after school and I never do that!

Tomorrow - Sports Day for Luke & Outsiders Day for me!  Will I be a Greaser or a Soc?  Will I have a picture of me?  We'll see tomorrow!

Dude, just relax. You're going to blow out your squeaker!

Truly, I have no idea what that means, but I decided to look up surfer lingo and that one made me laugh.  Hopefully, it doesn't mean something bad! 

Who wants to go catch a wave with this guy?  He's all geared up and ready for the beach (or most likely, pool, in his case).  Summer vacation is only 5 & 1/2 days away and he's ready!

Cowboy Up!

Well, by golly, it's Kindergarten Spirit Week!  Who's the cutest little rascal this side of the Mississippi on Western Day?

Luke is!  At least I think so.  I love spirit week!



Batter Up!

This spring Luke has been obsessed with baseball.  He wants to stay up late every night the Royals play so he can watch the outcome.  He gives us updates after nearly every pitch if we're not in the room watching with him.  One night, when the game wasn't on TV, he sat in Brandon's office and "watched" the game on the internet.  It just showed the ball count and who was on base, etc, but it was just as enthralling to Luke. 

So, you can imagine his excitement at playing on his own team for the first time.  His first game was last Thursday and the build up in excitement as the days passed was almost unbearable as he waited for the big night.  Rain was in the forecast for Thursday, so Luke worried all night Wednesday that it would rain too much and he'd be unable to play.  Little did we know that rain was the least of our worries.  On game night, Brandon and I experienced a huge parent-fail (we I seem to be having a lot of these lately between the Easter Bunny & the Tooth Fairy), but this one was the worst by far.  We headed over to the ball park around 5:45 for his 6:00 game, thinking that this would give us plenty of time to find his team in the big ballpark complex nearby.  We arrived there to see people all over the place - I couldn't believe all the people of all ages there to watch.  The only problem was, we didn't see any kids who looked like they were Luke's age anywhere.  So, we walk over to field 1 where Luke is supposed to be playing, and which also happens to be the farthest field away.  Hmmm...those kids are way too old to be on a 6 & under machine pitch team, we thought.  Well, maybe we got the field wrong and it's on field 5 (his games are all at either field 1 or 5 - we DO know that much).  Hmmm...no, those kids are definitely too old too.  By now, it is almost game time and we are starting to freak out.  Brandon decided that he should run home and check his e-mail and the messages that he'd received and make sure the game hadn't been canceled or something.  I thought about asking at the concession stand, but there were just kids in there, and I thought there was no way they'd know every schedule for every league.  So - in hopes that we'd run into someone from the team who could clue us in on what field we were supposed to be at, Brandon left us there.  About 2 minutes after he left, I run into a guy who is with his grandson; we start talking and sure enough, his grandson is on Luke's team!  He can't figure out what is going on either, and he decides he will ask at the concession stand.  Then he tells me the worst news I could possibly hear - we are at the WRONG baseball park!  We are at Tiffany Hills park - Luke's game is at Tiffany Springs Park.  Gosh, I guess we just assumed that they were the same place being as Tiffany Hills is right next to Tiffany Springs Road & The Springs Aquatic Center.  BIG. MONUMENTAL. FAIL.  You know what they say about when you assume, right?  Well, it's true.  So - it is after game time, Brandon has left us and I have no way to contact him and tell him to get back here right away as fast as he can.  Those of you who know me well, know I don't have a cell phone and I have never, ever been in a circumstance where I felt I needed one until that instant.  (I still don't really think I need one - this was an unusual circumstance).  So...we wait.  As we're waiting, I run into a guy I used to work with who apparently now works at the ball park. He asks what we're doing just standing in the parking lot, so I tell him the sad and sordid tale.  He shares that, "Oh yeah, we have people here every night who make the same mistake."  And I'm thinking, seriously, EVERY night?  If this is such a common mistake, then why, why, why, doesn't someone - either the coach or the ball association or SOMEONE - make it clear to people that there are TWO ballparks and who plays where?  Sooooooo frustrating...Luke is beyond devastated at this point - it's close to 6:15 and his dream of playing his first game is falling apart before his very eyes.  And I am SO mad I can hardly see straight.  Finally, a little after 6:20, Brandon comes rolling in, and we run to the car and explain what happened.  We fly to the other ballpark and get there a little after 6:30.  I had already prepared Luke that he might not get to play at all, but he could at least meet his coach and the other kids on his team.  However, once we got there, everyone was very nice (you can imagine my horrified embarrassment at being THOSE parents) and Luke did get to play.  It's funny - because in his mind, it was like he didn't even miss anything.  He got to go out on the field (where he jumped and hopped around  because he couldn't contain his excitement).  He even got a chance to bat - and he had an amazing (if I do say so myself - and not just because he's my kid) hit!  Brandon overheard him say to a kid on the bench, "This is the best baseball game ever!"  And there you go, what should have been a completely ruined night, turned out for good and I'm mostly over my anger now.  :)

On the field (in the dark gray pants & blue hat)

At 1st base after his big hit

What a night - I know I won't soon forget it.  If you hung in through that horrendously long story - thanks for reading!



Better Late

For whatever reason, I have been incredibly lackadaisical about blogging the last couple of weeks.  Mainly because there is nothing interesting going on in my world, I guess.  I don't want my posts to completely bore those who actually read them to tears.  I think the excitement may pick up around here soon, though...summer break is only 11 & 1/2 days away (but who's counting?), Luke is going to start playing baseball this week, and Brandon & I are getting ready to take our yearly adults-only vacation.  But in the meantime, the only semi-interesting thing I have to post is a couple pictures from my Mother's Day.  I woke to find multiple flowers at my spot on the table.

From Luke:

Every time I look at this, I think - when did his hands get that big?

 From Brandon & Ginger:

These iris are from our flower garden...from my mom's flower garden...and some that we have go back to my grandma's flower garden.  My grandma has been gone for nearly 11 years, but every time I see an iris, I see my grandma.  I see my grandma and my mom digging them up and splitting them.  They are one of my favorite flowers because of the memories they stir up and because they're gorgeous.  Thank goodness for Brandon's green thumb and love of gardening that continues the legacy of iris passed down from my mom & grandma.  I can't think of a more perfect flower to commemorate my Mother's Day than that!

Oh & the only other noteworthy thing - another mother fail...somehow Luke ended up on my blog & saw my face on the tooth fairy (my attempt at a little goofy humor) in the post below and wanted to know how come the tooth fairy has my face?  Hmmm...for the same reason the Easter Bunny delivered your basket to my closet, I guess.  I don't know, maybe he bought my story that I was just being silly...



Weekend in Review

Brandon and I got to enjoy a weekend on our own, thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Jackson taking on Luke for Friday and Saturday nights.  Friday evening was pretty quiet, but we did enjoy the Chili's 2 for $20 menu (chicken fajitas - yum!). 

Saturday we went to see Water for Elephants.  Now, I absolutely loved the book when I read it a few months ago and was thrilled when I heard it was being made into a movie.  However, I always have that fear that I will be disappointed by the movie when the book is so good.  Obviously, they can't use every detail from the book in the movie, but I thought it was very well done and I enjoyed it almost as much as the book.  Brandon was a  little worried when there was only one other man (who happened to resemble Santa Claus) in the theater.  Then when every preview seemed to be a "chick flick" he was starting to get a little annoyed that I'd dragged him out to see this movie. :) (On an aside - there was a preview for The Help - didn't know that was being made into a movie - def want to see it too!).  However, Brandon really liked the movie.  He likes movies that "have a story" and this one definitely met the criteria.  If you haven't read the book - I recommend reading it first, then seeing the movie.  Unless, of course, you don't like to read.

Saturday night, we tried out the new Brazilian grill at the shops at Boardwalk - Fazenda.  It's a more casual type of Brazilian grill.  Brandon had bought a Groupon for it and it was delicious!  I highly recommend it - it's not nearly as expensive as your normal Brazilian grill & it was YUMMY!

Today, we met the grandparents to pick up Luke at the Smithville Pizza Hut.  It's a nice halfway point to make the exchange & get a little lunch too.  As we were eating, we were all startled when Luke shouted out, "MOM, DAD - my other tooth just fell out while I was eating this cucumber!" (we had the buffet - salad bar included - not on the pizza).  It didn't even bleed.  Looks like this lady will be paying another visit tonight.

My final task for the weekend, if I so choose to try to figure it out, is to find an audiobook or two for Brandon & I to listen to when we travel to Arizona next month.  It's a long drive and it breaks up the hours to listen to a story as we go.  What's hard is I read all the time, so I am always reading the books I want to read...and I know what I like, but it's hard to find something that Brandon will enjoy too.  I spent hours Friday night, skimming lists and reading about different popular titles.  It made my brain hurt and I haven't been able to get back to it.  Any great recommendations out there??? 

Easter Fun/Fail

We had a great Easter weekend.  We dyed a dozen eggs on Saturday and Luke is looking forward to eating most of them.  Such fun!

Pretty good-looking eggs, huh?

 Thank goodness for the shrinky things for the eggs I cracked when boiling!  They got to look cool too. :)

Ginger took part in the egg-dying festivities as a spectator.

 Luke clearly loves his Easter loot, despite the fact that he may or may not now know that there is no Easter Bunny.  Being the organized sort that I am, of course, I thought how efficient it would be to go ahead and get Luke's Easter basket ready Friday night after he had gone to bed.  Well, sometime Saturday, Luke mentioned something to me about how we should get his Easter basket out of the closet so it was out and ready for the Easter Bunny.  I put him off with something about how I would just get it out later after he had gone to bed and that he shouldn't worry about it.  I should have known better than to think that would work, because when I was tucking him in Saturday night, he mentions that he went to get his Easter basket out of my closet, but "there was stuff in it!"  Oops...I tried to probe gently to see if he had figured out that the Easter Bunny was none other than me, but he said he didn't really see anything, but he knew there was stuff in his basket.  I played it off with some lame line like, "Yeah - that's why I told you I'd get it out later, because I put some stuff in it and I piled a bunch of other stuff on it since it's in my closet."  Good save, I know!  Ha.  Anyway, Sunday morning before he went to see what was in his Easter basket, he came over and gave me a hug that seemed a lot like a "thank you" type of hug, like he knew that everything in that basket was really from me.  Did he ever say anything or tip his hand that he knew?  No...do I think he's smart enough to put 2 + 2 together?  I know he is...however, he does still seem to believe in the tooth fairy based on conversations we've had about her in the last 2 days, so who really knows?  Regardless, I am thankful that he knows that the real reason we celebrate Easter is not because of the Easter Bunny and the eggs and all the candy he gets, but because of Jesus and what he did for us on the cross.  I couldn't make up something that amazing!

Wasn't it awesome that the day turned out so nice - nice enough for some baseball in the yard!

Kindergarten is Cool!

I tried to post this a couple weeks ago when we received it, but my computer has not been working the best, so after a friend worked on it (Thanks again, Ryan! - Charla pass that on) & some new RAM (thanks to my hubby for ordering & installing it tonight!) I am up & running full-steam ahead once again.  Anyway, Luke's teacher sent this to us - it is a little photo story video they made as a class.  The kids each made their own avatar on the computers at school and then put together this video.  Not only that, they recorded the kids introducing their character and added it to the video!  I'm just amazed at what even kindergarten-aged kids can do with technology...maybe I'm just too easily impressed, I don't know, but I think Kindergarten is cool!  (Luke's is toward the end around the 2 min, 10 sec mark if you don't want to watch the whole class - they are in order alphabetically by 1st name. :) )

Kindergarten Lullabies

Not only did we have a tooth-pulling extravaganza at our house last night, afterwards, we got to enjoy the Kindergarten Lullaby Program at Luke's school.  Let me just say that I wasn't expecting a whole lot, and I walked away incredibly amazed by the cute little show they put on.  His music teacher did an amazine job getting around 80 kindergarteners to sing with actions and move around on the risers to play instruments and share little speaking parts they'd memorized.  They were amazing!  I was shocked when during the first song, Luke came down from the top riser to play the xylophone with a few others.  He also got to play the bongo drum later too.  I had no idea!  Enjoy (probably not as much as me, I know!) the short video & pics below.  Luke is in the yellow PJ (yes - they wore PJ's & had their teddy bears for the performance - so cute!) shirt playing the xylophone on the front right-side.

Finishing up the first song.

Singing along...

He's looking pleased after playing his part during this song.  His friend Vincent is right behind him & kept trying to get Luke's attention with his instrument.  It was pretty funny to watch.

In Luke's words, his program was "impressible", which I'm pretty sure means impressive!

One Down, One to Go!

Can you see the hole where the tooth used to be?  After weeks of struggling with Luke being too scared to pull it out, he prevailed last night!  Woohoo!  Now to get him wiggling the other one!  And a side note - look at those gorgeous blue eyes!

And there it is in all its glory.  The tooth fairy let him keep this one.  Isn't she sweet?

 

Spring Picture

So proud of my big kindergarten boy!  I can't believe there are less than 2 months left before we start thinking about 1st grade...

Birthday Favorites

He's such a huge Royals fan - we definitely need to get to a game soon!

I'm not sure what this pose is about, but it makes me laugh every time I look at it!

Six years old!  Unbelievable!

Love my family so much!

Still loving on the soccer ball with Grandma Kay & Grandpa Ron

Ginger decides to join in on this one with Grandpa Fred & Grandma Patti

What a great birthday weekend!

Reminiscing

***warning - this is a really long post!***

Since Sunday, the events of 6 years ago have been rolling through my head.  Six years ago Sunday, was March 27, just like this year.  It was actually Easter Sunday that year & I remember the indigestion I got from my Easter dinner that I just couldn't shake.  I remember still puzzling over my indigestion on Monday, March 28 and starting to feel occasional cramping.  I remember talking to my friend Traci at work on Tuesday, March 29 and telling her about my occasional cramping feelings and the fact that my back was hurting (more than usual).  I remember her saying something to me like, "That sounds an awful lot like the beginnings of labor."  I remember going to my school nurse after that and talking to her about it and her telling me that unless the cramping began to regulate itself and came at regular intervals that could be timed that I shouldn't worry.  I remember sitting with our small group friends that Tuesday evening & realizing as the evening went on that the cramping feelings were starting to come at regular intervals.  I remember telling Brandon on the way home that I was starting to get a little worried, and talking myself out of being worried.  I remember waking up at 1:00 in the morning because these "cramps" just weren't going away and getting the book I'd been given at my first OB appointment and finding the chart that compared false labor to real labor.  I remember waking Brandon up after looking at that chart and telling him I was 99% sure that this was the real thing.  I remember going to the hospital and then getting sent home when my cramps contractions backed off to less than 6 in an hour (5 in an hour, b/c that's so much better!).  I remember heading back to the hospital at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 30 not knowing that I would not eat, take a shower, or sleep, among other things for the next couple of days.  I remember Brandon calming me down when they told me I was dilated and I freaked out because I knew that meant there was likely no stopping what had already begun.  I remember my amazing nurse, Karen, sitting with me for an hour during the afternoon when Brandon went home to take care of a few things, because she didn't want me to have to be alone.  I remember my mom & dad coming to visit me for a few minutes that evening even though we told them not to worry and make the trip down because they were worried about me.  I remember my doctor telling me that they were going to have to move me to St. Luke's downtown because they couldn't deliver babies earlier than 34 weeks and I was only at 32.  I remember the horrendously jarring ambulance ride to my "new" hospital home and the paramedic marveling at the fact I wasn't screaming like a maniac when I had contractions.  I remember thinking in my head how weird it was when my new doctor (a male - which I never would have felt comfortable choosing for myself) and a whole team of people came in to check me, and I didn't even care that a whole slew of people I'd never seen in my life were checking out my nether-regions.  I remember laying awake all night, wishing for sleep, but it never happening.  I remember Thursday, March 31 as a really long day...I'd had nothing to eat or drink since I'd been in the hospital and knowing that I wasn't going to get anything for the time being.  I remember the nurse offering me a drug (which turned out to be some type of narcotic) that would help me rest since I hadn't slept.  It did help me rest for about an hour, but at least it was something.  I remember an ultrasound tech coming in, so they could make sure the baby was ready when the time came to deliver.  I remember finally getting a Sprite and believing that I had never tasted anything so good.  I remember asking for more narcotics that night & then a conversation with Brandon where I told him that all our words "sounded like they were on springs, because everytime we said something I could hear...Boooiiiinnnnggg at the end of each word" & Brandon told me that he had an idea - "we should just stop talking". :)  Then I had some kind of crazy, psychadelic dream...not nearly as restful as my first experience, but after I came out of my drugged stupor at midnight, the nurse gave me a cherry popsicle, which was the best thing I felt I'd ever eaten in my life.  At 5:00 a.m. on Friday, April 1, I told the doctor who came to check me that I felt like I was having trouble breathing.  The medication I was on to slow my labor was a muscle relaxant, and it was just making me feel like an elephant was sitting on my chest.  The plan had been to take me off the medication later that day anyway, so the doctor moved it ahead of schedule by a few hours.  I remember things really kicking into gear after that.  I remember Brandon leaving to go buy a newspaper to keep for our baby as a record of the day he/she was born & coming back and telling me that he ate not one, but two, McDonald's breakfasts, because he didn't know when he'd eat again (to the person who has not had anything but a Sprite & a cherry popsicle in the last 2+ days!).  I remember my amazing nurse, Denise, telling me that all things happen the way they're supposed to happen right before she broke the news to me that the (one???) anestheisiologist had an emergency c-section & I wasn't going to get the epidural that I'd requested.  I remember being wheeled to the delivery room thinking that even though I knew this was going to happen, I really wasn't ready.  I remember Brandon whispering in my ear, constantly encouraging me and praising me, supporting me even though I think he was probably more scared than I was.  I remember the doctor joking (maybe not totally joking) with me about how I had to hurry up because he had a plane to catch at noon.  I remember him telling me in his East coast accent about all the "platinum blond" hair he was seeing and wondering why if he was seeing all this platinum blond hair, that the baby was taking so long to actually get out!  I remember hearing the team of doctors and nurses who took the baby once he was born saying, "The baby's breathing on his own!" and feeling so relieved and then having to ask..."Is it a boy or a girl???"  I thought that was always the first thing the parents were told when they didn't know already!  Guess not.  I remember holding my sweet Luke for the first time and being so amazed at this perfect gift I'd been given.  I look at him today and know that I didn't even know the half of it then.  Happy 6th birthday, Luke!