Burgundy Lane: August 2011

Monday, August 29, 2011

Kindergarten comes to Burgundy Lane

About five years ago I used to make jokes with my friends like, "I don't know what I'll do when she goes to Kindergarten" and "well, she won't be wearing diapers to Kindergarten" and "How weird will it be when I have a child in Kindergarten?".

Well...

Now I have a child in Kindergarten. Poof! Just.like.that.

And the time came to meet her teacher...

We love Mrs. Barrett! She is so caring and sweet. A very strong young teacher. I am already so impressed with her excellent parent communication!

We started on a Wednesday, and in the days before I kept thinking, "What can we do? What fun places can we go?".

But then it dawned on me, we don't need to go anywhere, we just need to be at home and play together.
So we did.

My kids love to have {redneck} "pool parties" in the backyard. So we headed out there in our finest and "pooled" till we dropped.
Love using the timer on my camera...

And made "jigglers"! (Thanks for reminding us of those, Emily!) :)

And that night after we layed out her first day outfit, and packed her first day lunch, and got her backpack ready, we crawled into bed to read The Kissing Hand. The perfect book for the first day of school. Dusted it off from my old teaching days! The mommy raccoon gives the baby raccoon a kiss on the palm of his hand so that he can hold it near his cheek and remember Mommy is always with him. (sniff! sniff!)

Our morning was calm thanks to getting everything done the night before (*TIP for all you Kinder mommies coming up!) :).
The only thing I hadn't planned for was how slowly my kids eat breakfast! Poor Miss AnnMarie had to gobble down her grits and bacon (her request!) in a jiffy!
Had to allow time for photos!

Had to get one with Clarky. :) Poor little guy, he had no idea how much he'd miss her!

So proud of our Kindergartener!!!

We drove as a family to the school, parked, and got out. I hadn't cracked all morning until I saw this. They roll out the red carpet for the Kindergarteners. :) Lost it. Luckily I had my sunglasses on so I don't think she noticed. It was so cute! They were all welcomed by the teachers so cheerfully!

Meeting Mr. Pena. SUCH a nice, caring new principal for our school. Can't wait to see what he brings!

We found her room

And gave Mrs. Barrett some new sharpies for her first day gift.

Little Missy was so confident and happy. She knew just what to do.

And then she quietly approached her table and started coloring.

And as I was encouraging her and (thinking I was) making her feel assured and not scared, she said to me, "Mommy, this is fun". :) Like, don't worry about me. I'm good! (Made me feel so much better!) And, so, with that, I quickly left because I knew it was a matter of time before the tears began flowing!

One last glance before we left...just chatting with girls at the table. :)

Goodbye, school! Until 3:10! It felt like forever waiting to pick her up that day!

And after I dried my tears, I looked in the backseat to find this little guy. I was SO thankful I had him there to make me laugh and bring a little joy to my uneasy morning. (and year) :)

I am really looking forward to our one on one time with the Clarkster!

And now that we're 4 days in, I can say each day gets better, easier, and a more comfortable part of our routine. Sister is LoViNg it, and I'm loving knowing that her little brain is being stimulated the way it needs to be, Clark is getting time with just Mommy, and Mommy is getting a nice little break after five years of devoting every minute to this precious little peanut. I must say, it is a nice reward for all the blood, sweat, and tears you put in!

Here's to Kindergarten 2011-2012!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Baby #3 is coming!

It's true. The Svobodas, as one of my friends put it, are entering into the realm of the 3 ring circus. :) And I can't wait! I am nearly 13 weeks, due on leap year day, no less---February 29th, 2012. We are so thankful and excited! I have been on the couch (with strong nausea and fatigue) for 7 weeks now so that's why the blog has been so terribly neglected! Well, and my house, and the dishes, and the laundry, and the projects, and..........

I finally got back on the blogging horse when I realized how much was building up. Hopefully I'll feel back to normal soon, and my house will return to a semi-normal state!

I am, on one hand, glad to have a little break during this pregnancy with one going to Kindergarten, but, on the other hand, a little nervous about how I am going to wrangle the Clarkster as he and I both get bigger. :)

Thank you so much for your prayers!
Sean, Katy, AnnMarie, Clark, and mystery baby #3

Double Trouble party

The weekend after we got home from Memphis, we had Clark's two year old party. We had it together with Clark's little buddy, Griffin. Those two are two peas in a pod. Cut from the same mold! And now, looking back, if it wasn't for my dear sweet friend, Kimberly, his party would NOT have happened! She is a saint!

She took care of EVERY detail...

I mean everything...

And of course it was the cutest party ever thanks to her! We kept it really simple because both of us had so much going on (sorry, 2nd kid!) :).

The older siblings had a great time swimming in the big pool.

While the littles played in pool tables and kiddie pools in the yard. Here are our favorite 2 year old wondertwins--Liam and Cullen!

I think Ainsley and Clark are a good match. She stood her ground with him! :)

The birthday boys being sung to. They are double trouble mEsSeS. :)

Oops, sorry, Clarky, no cake. Forgot you're not a big fan of ice cream!

We had a sundae bar!

Attempt #74 at a family pic. I promise AM had a good time!

Kimberly and I with our littlest loves. As much as they drive us mad, we cannot get enough of them. :)

Love the Polnicks

Take a favor!

I can't forget to mention the generous Hillman family. We had a last minute party location change, and they graciously offered their house. Really, what giving people! I cannot thank them enough.
A happy happy day to celebrate our little man. Here's to year 3!

Cathleen's wedding

My sweet cousin, Cathleen, got married mid-July, and we were so happy to be there to help celebrate! Our four-pack arrived in the great city of Memphis on Thursday night, and the girls headed out Friday morning to the Bridesmaids luncheon.

Cathleen with some of her cousins...

Pretty maids all in a row...

"Look what I did, Mommy"
sigh. Clark found Sissy's markers in the hotel room. Thank GOODNESS they were washable.

That night we headed to the church for the rehearsal. Father of the bride and bride practicing!

Flower girl practicing!

On the way to the rehearsal dinner, my cousin, Carrie, and I stopped by Mimi and Gramps' house in Germantown. This was the house all of us cousins ran around in and made all our little memories in. I love it! (Luckily the homeowners were not there or I probably would have had the cops called on me for all the snooping around I was doing!)

Carrie and I shed many tears as we got out of our cars! Many many happy memories of childhood.

Mailbox looked just the same as it always did! I had that address memorized for as long as I could write.

Gramps always had roses growing here.

Mimi's deck---she always used to put bread crumbs out on those wooden rails for the birds. And there used to be beautiful wind chimes hanging out there that Gramps gave to her.

And this Willow tree in the front used to be much bigger. We used to swing on those long branches.

Then it was time for the rehearsal dinner. Miss Priss was old enough to come.

Love when we get one of the two of us. :)

Saturday we decided to spend our day strolling down memory lane in downtown Memphis. This house "on Great Oaks" as Mimi always said, was where my Dad lived when he was in high school. I think Mimi always loved this house.

Then we ventured to the Peabody Hotel to see the famous ducks. Here we are in position to see them. This was right before Clark had a major meltdown! boo!