And so, it begins...

Sibling rivalry. I am surprised it is coming on so soon.

The story? Read on...

I am proud to say that Kyla Mae is now a full-fledged reader! Randy and I could not be more proud of her. Her, and the fact that her PreK teacher is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! She is a fabulous teacher and we could not be more pleased with how Kyla has progressed this year, much in part to the efforts of her teacher Mrs. Fleming.

She is reading so well, that I brought out Elisan's kindergarten (Abeka) books to give to Kyla to begin reading. She is doing well with them. So, I got out Elisan's first grade (Abeka) books for Kyla. She is able to sound out a lot of the words and is doing really well, considering the amount of time that she has been reading.

Well, Elisan is NOT happy at all. She is upset that Kyla is reading her first grade books because according to Elisan, "Kyla hasn't learned all of the phonic's rules yet!" I can't help but giggle just writing that sentence!

And to add injury to insult, Randy and I began teasing Elisan by saying that we thought Kyla Mae should skip kindergarten all together head straight into first grade! Elisan about had a cow! Seriously! And because we are cruel parents, we began teasing her even more telling her that we thought she should begin sharing her current collection of Junie B. Jones books with Kyla. Elisan said, "Mom, there are words in there like 'appropriate'! She can't read the word 'appropriate!'".

Randy and I backed off. Seeing how much it upset her. But, it was just too good to pass up.

See? The deal with Elisan is that she is a rule follower. To the 'nth' degree! She can't even play a made up game with bouncy balls unless she incorporates so many rules and regulations that it isn't even fun anymore. We have to tell her, "Okay, no more rules, let's just play the game" more often than we care to. She is a black and white thinker. No gray area allowed. (She is soooo like her daddy it is just wrong, wrong, wrong!)

Anyway, back to the reading... Elisan began reading in kindergarten. When she entered kindergarten, she had just turned five in August. Kyla turned five in October, a month into PreK. So, you see? They both learned to read at the same exact time in their lives... The difference is that Kyla was in Prek and Elisan was in kindergarten.

Of course, you can't tell that to Elisan. It makes no difference to her. She only knows that Kyla will soon be encroaching on her territory. -sigh-

(At least Elisan hasn't figured out that Kyla is better than her at soccer!)

Red Poppy - more pictures!

Here are our super cool motorcycle riders! I love this!

Red Poppy Festival!

This past weekend was the 10th Annual Georgetown Red Poppy Festival! Our church had a booth set up at the festival giving away candy, nylon backpacks, and of course balloons!

We had such a great time!


Here's our booth at the beginning of the festival! I love the balloon arch! Which, by the way, I learned how to do a balloon arch, if anyone is needing one!

Here's Kyla Mae ready for the parade!

Still waiting for the festivities to begin...

Here's our group! The Celebration Church Motorcyle Connect Group!

Because I'm so cute...

Last Friday, I picked up Kyla Mae from school and I needed to go into work to finish up some last minute stuff before the weekend.

She was greeted by all those who she came into contact with and everyone was very nice and excited to meet her.

As we were gathering our things to leave, she said, "Mommy, everyone is very nice to me at your work." And I said, "They sure are nice to you, aren't they?"

And she said, "It's because I'm so cute."

I kid you not.

So, I am going mobile all the way! Now blogging on the go. How cool is that? As long as I don't text/type while driving, i am good to go. Right?

So...

So... I'm sitting here thinking, 'I really need to blog' but really... what is there to say?

I have A LOT to complain about... and that would be taking the 'low-road', so I'll stick to the high road and not complain.

I mean, why would I complain that I can't seem to budge the scale? That my clothes are not fitting properly. That I have been nearly starving myself to lose weight, only to be mocked when I step on the scale. Okay, okay... that is a little drastic, I'm not starving myself, but I am keeping my caloric intake to 1500 calories a day, which 'feels' like I'm starving myself. That is not anything you really care about, now is it?

Or, why would I complain that I began a new stage in my weight lifting program that has my fanny on fire right now? I mean, why in the world would you want to know that?

Or, why would I complain that I'm so dogged tired all of the time. That going to bed at 9:00ish just isn't early enough for my delicate sensibilities. That would be ridiculous because everyone knows that 7 hours of sleep is plenty for the average normal person.

Or really... why would you care that I'm behind in my reading homework for my small group at church? Or that I have just been getting by in the laundry department. Or that my house just isn't as clean as it used to be. Or, that my kids don't have toothpaste. I mean, really... that's not any of your business!

So, now that I've decided to take the high-road, I'll tell you about the cool stuff that is happening in my life! My girls are happy and healthy! My husband is happy and healthy! And me? I'm happy and healthy too... tired, but happy and healthy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Easter Fun!

Hallelujah!

The Thrill of the Grill

I fired up the grill last night for dinner, but that is not the only thing that got fired up!

Unfortunately, Randy was running late from work so we were waiting on him to get home so I could grill the chicken. About 40 minutes after I had lit the grill, Elisan hollered at me and said, "Mommy, something is crazy with the grill!" and when I looked outside, there was a big column of smoke and fire coming from the grill. I ran outside to rescue our (gross, but functional) green plastic chair and this is what was left of it.

The top? Completely melted in the fire.

The wind had blown it over into the side of the grill, which is a charcoal grill (luckily). I can't imagine if it was a electric or gas grill. I don't think Randy would have been too happy with me ruining a nice grill with melted green chair.

For Sale: Cheap Green Chair!

Springtime!

Who am I?

Last night I had an epiphany. Easter is this weekend! And, while Easter weekend has not escaped me this year... I mean, I DO work at a church and Easter is on everyone's mind... the idea of Easter baskets HAS escaped me. Who am I? I honestly don't know anymore!

I guess in the back of my mind, I kept thinking I'll have my day off this week to take care of their Easter basket goodies this year, but lo and behold... they have Friday off too... And, why wouldn't they? It's Good Friday, for goodness sakes!

So, here I am, wondering when I'll get a chance to gather up Easter basket stuff. I guess I will have to do it tonight after the girls go to bed. Not ideal, but I'm desperate here.

In other news, work is going well. I really enjoy the work and the hours are great. But, I'm still struggling with balancing everything. Even working 20 hours a week, I find that I am having great difficulty getting everything done. And, then there is the guilt that kicks in when I realize I can't participate in the girls' class parties and school events, especially as the last six weeks of school are the busiest for end of school activities and trips. -Sigh- But, I try to remember all of the times I was able to devote to their school stuff and I can't let guilt get the best of me.

I've adjusted my work schedule so that I have time to get to the gym in the a.m. So, from 8:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m., I am at the gym. 30 minutes of cardio and 45 mins of weight lifting. Admittedly, I've only taken off two pounds from the five I gained last month, which makes me sad, because I'm working really hard and I'm not seeing the weight loss results I am accustomed to seeing. Oh well, it's not a race, it's a marathon... blah, blah, blah... I know!

And finally, I'm sooo tired. I am most assuredly not getting enough sleep. We are in bed at 9:00 - 9:30 p.m. and I wake up at 5:15 a.m. (give or take 5-10 minutes). But, honestly, I have been known to fall asleep on the sofa at 7 p.m. Seriously, I could go to bed at 8:30 p.m. and have no regrets about it, other than the fact that it shows I'm old and soooo not cool for staying up in the wee hours futzing around on Facebook or watching mindless TV, because that is what I'd be doing if I were up past 10:00 p.m. So, the question is... what time do you go to bed; what time do you wake up; and on average how much sleep do you need to feel human? Do you use the weekends to 'catch-up' on sleep? I need some sleep help!

Headache

This week, Kyla came to me with her hand on her forehead saying her head hurt.

Then she said, "Mommy, my brain has stopped thinking."

I just love my little five year old!