Out of the mouth of E

I posted this on Facebook the other day, but my blog needs a bit of love so here it is:

Elizabeth is 5 years old. A conversation between Elizabeth and me.


1. What is something mommy always says to you?
"I love you!"

2. What makes mommy happy?
"When you know I'm caring about you and when I help you clean. Oh! And when I tell you I love you too much to let go, and when I tell funny jokes."

3. What makes mommy sad?
"That one time you were sad when Caroline and me were making a mess when we already cleaned up the basement."

4. How does mommy make you laugh?
"By saying funny jokes and by tickling me, and by trying to tickle me in the belly button. And, by scaring me. It's funny!" LOL!

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"You were like me!"

6. How old is your mom?
"I have no clue!"

7. How tall is your mom?
"4,000 feet!"

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"Play with me!"

9. What does mommy do when you're not around?
"Go on the computer and go to the store and buy stuff, like our favorite things like ravioli!"

10. If mommy were to become famous, what will it be for?
"To be a good mommy!"

11. What is your mom really good at?
"Handstands!"

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"Uh... you're not really good at doing a run cartwheel like me."

13. What does your mom do for a job?
"Your job is to keep us safe!" (I always tell her "It's my job to keep you safe!" LOL!)

14.What is mommy's favorite food?
"Ravioli!"

15.What makes you proud of mommy?
"Love me!"

16. If mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"A baby monkey!

17. What do you and mommy do together?
"We color, write, play, and go to the park together. Play in the snow!"

18. How are you and mommy the same?
"We both love sprinkles and we both have freckles and we both have the same color skin, and we both have sunglasses and we both go to the dentist."

19. How are you and mommy different?
I have blue eyes, and you have brown eyes. You have more freckles than me. You have real glasses and I have pretend glasses. And your hands are bigger than mine. And you work more than me. That's it."

20. How do you know mommy loves you?
"Because you hug me and kiss me and get me food."

21. What does mommy like most about daddy?
"He loves you.... And ravioli!"

22. Where is mommy's favorite place to go
"That place with the big slide, and the place in New York City with all the tall buildings." (Times Square)

Election Day!

Today is Election Day! Early this morning the girls jumped into bed with us. We began talking about Election Day and what it's all about and who's running and who we are voting for today and why. We decided we were going to bring the kids with us if we pulled up and there wasn't a line. We were at the church by 7:05am. No line!

Wrong. Instead of having us line up outside like we always have, they had us feeding down the halls of the church. We were numbers 171 and 172. We decided to stay and hope for the best. The girls were awesome. They were respectful of people's personal space. They played quietly, didn't whine. I was so proud. All in all, it only took us an hour and 20 minutes. We told the girls all about our American right to vote, and how it's a private decision and we shouldn't talk about it in the voting room. They were awesome. Right when we got in the voting room a lady walked over with three coloring books and a box of crayons. They sat in a corner on the floor and colored quietly while Charles and I went to our booths. We got our stickers, had someone take our picture and then we went out to breakfast. It's always nice to get compliments on my kids. Several people commented on how cute and pretty they are, and how sweet and well behaved/mannered they are. Way to go, girls!

*please take note to the pose Caroline is doing for the camera. This is the hand-on-the-hip/eyes-closed/sway-back-and-forth pose she pulls when she doesn't want to do something, like say... smile for the camera. She had just proudly proclaimed "I am NOT smiling for the camera!" Ha-ha! She cracks me up!

Everyone, meet Rosie!

Welcome to the family!

Upstate, NY October 2008

Pictures from our time Upstate.

New York, October 2008

Pappy's Memorial.

We traveled up to New York/New Jersey last week for Pappy's Memorial. Pappy passed away in July. They held a memorial for him on what would have been his 98th birthday. He lead a long and very full life. Happy Birthday, Pappy!

We arrived Tuesday evening. Wednesday we were lucky enough to meet up with Laura and Ed. We met under the clock at Grand Central Station. We all hopped the train to Central Park. We spent a few hours at the Central Park Zoo. It was so much fun. It was SO nice to see Laura again. Even if it was for just a few hours, it was such a treat. She looks fantastic and Ed is so handsome and nice. They make such a cute couple and look adorable together.

After saying our good byes, we spent a bit more time in the Childrens' Zoo. It is such a cute facility. I'm really glad we went. The 4 of us wandered out of the zoo and in to Central Park itself. It was such a beautiful, picture perfect day. It was sunny with partial clouds, mid 70's with a very slight breeze. Just gorgeous. We spent the next little bit sitting on a park bench under some trees. We listened to a three piece band playing and singing while we ate hot dogs and fed the birds. It was just one of those awesome family moments I wish I could capture and put in to a snow globe to keep forever.

We had heard there was a place in Times Square called M&M World. Um... Hello? Have you met my kids? M&Ms are currency in this house. It is amazing what two M&Ms will buy me. So we walked all the way from Central Park to Times Square in search of the great big candy coated chocolate circle. The only place on earth where 2.1 lbs will cost you $27. That's right. $27. Yay consumerism!

Here are some various pictures from the city part of our trip. Upstate comes next...

KIT Breck-Away, 2008

What really does happen on those "Girl Weekends" you always hear about anyway?

A few weeks ago I got together with 15 of the best friends anyone could ever ask for. We try and get together every year or so. This year it was Breckenridge, CO. We rented a really nice house just outside of town for 3 nights/4 days. It was so nice to see everyone again. These women are amazing and I just love them all. So what do 15 women do when they're away from their spouses/kids for a weekend? Let's see... four of them got tattos, one got her brow pierced. A handfull of them went to the spa for a day. Not me. I went ziplining instead. 6 jumps in all. This run was 200 feet in the air, 1,000 feet down a canyon just outside of Vail, Colorado. They estimate I was going about 35 miles an hour. :)





Our next trip is already being planned for September 2010 in New Hampshire. I can't wait!

Elizabeth last night at dinner:

"Mommy, how do they make honey mustard? Do they put bees in it?"

Who's The Boss?

In the middle of Office Max yesterday I received a random (and very loud) announcement from Elizabeth. Out of nowhere she yelled "You're not the boss of me. God is! He's the boss of everyone. So you can't tell me I can't have that Dora book I asked for earlier!"

How the hell do I compete with that?

It's official! I'm a mom to a Kindergartener!

Whew... I did it. I just sent my first born child off to Kindergarten.

She did really well. When they got to daycare she was surprised to see she had her own cubby with her name on it. A place of her own to put her backpack, lunch etc... while she's there. She decided the French Toast looked good so she had some breakfast. DH said she was happy and pleased to give out Hi-5's and hugs/kisses. Good bye went really well.

As for my Caroline - she clamped on to Charles with a grip so hard, screaming and crying. He didn't even attempt to bring her to the new classroom. He just brought her to Ms. Kathy's class like he always does. We'll leave the 'transition' to them.

And as for 1st Day of School picture - I don't know how you guys do it. After not getting any great pics last year I was committed to making sure we had enough time to get good ones this year. Well... not so much. We were running late. My 2 year old wanted none of it. And Elizabeth didn't feel like smiling. So all of these pictures were taken in the evening.

Meet-and-greet

We had our Meet-and-Greet yesterday. I took the day off. After we dropped Caroline off at daycare, we had Mommy and Minky day, a.k.a, "Operation: Get Elizabeth Interested In Kindergarten". We went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast (I know, nutritional, right?) Afterwards, we headed to Tarjay with our school supply list. I figured if she helped me pick out the supplies she'd be more excited about it. It worked great. I explained to her the list we had and she walked around and picked everything out and placed it in the cart. Then she placed it all on the check-out and later placed the bags in the car. When we got to the checkout the lady asked her if she was going to school and she proudly announced "YES! I'm going to KINDERGARTEN!" Whoo Hoo! The first EVER positive comment about the whole ordeal. Finally!

We went to Jim Bob's Chicken Fingers for lunch. We had a really great time. We played games (I-spy), talked about our favorite color, our favorite animal, etc... we just talked and laughed all day. I really needed that and I'm sure she did too. Then we headed off to the school. The big scary school. She did great. I talked to her in bits and pieces all day.... Every now and then I'd toss out a comment like "When we go to the school, you're not going to cry. You're going to be brave and polite, and use your good manners." "When your teacher talks to you, you're not going to hide behind me and be rude. You're going to look at her in the face and be polite." "When she asks you your name you're going to say it loudly. Let's practice." So by the time we got there she was pretty set on what I expected of her, and how things were going to go. I swear, with this kid - you've got to S.P.E.L.L it out for her.

It was a very casual meet-and-greet. I thought we'd all pile in there and there would be some sort of presentation or whatever. But it was more like a rotating door kind of thing. We walked in. Her teacher greeted us. She seems very nice. She gave Elizabeth a hug right away and for someone who is usually shy about that stuff, Elizabeth did a great job at accepting her hug and giving one back. She told us to find her name on the desks, and there we'd find our folder, etc... and encouraged us to look around. So we did. I even took her outside to the playground and had her play on it for a few minutes so she'd know what to expect on Monday (insert over-prep opportunity number 865). I had an opportunity to quietly tell the teacher how apprehensive E is about all of this, but explained once she's used to it, she'll be just fine. The teacher looked at Elizabeth and said "I'm going to need a helper on Monday. Will you be my helper?" Elizabeth's eyes lit up. If there's one thing she's good at, it's being a Helper. So I feel good about the teacher, and her ability to address issues/concerns like that.

Then we went to the cafeteria where they had all kinds of booths, PTA, etc... I have to get her lunch squared away since we'll be buying lunch - at least at first. They have this crazy computerized/debit card thing where I have to teach Elizabeth a 6 digit code for her account (is every school like this, or just our crazy ass big school?). When I saw the Girl Scout booth I was able to walk over and introduce myself as a new Leader. You'd think I said "Hi, I am Evita. Please. drop to your knees and worship me!" Apparently, they're thrilled I'm here. I'm not sure whether I should be excited or scared.

This is one huge ass school. The latest enrollment number I saw was 1303 students, K-4. I could go on and on about small schools vs. large schools, but I'm not. This is where we live. This is what we've got. It's a great school and we're just going to make it work. I wanted to show her where the bus is going to drop her off and show her where she needs to go to get to her class. It's a long ass walk. As we were walking down the long ass hallway, she began crying "What's wrong, Elizabeth?" "I'm scared. We're lost. We're not going to find our way out of here." .... . We stepped outside the door where the buses will drop off/pick up. No one was out there.... so I sat down on the concrete and had her come sit on top of me. I just held her and hugged her and we sat in silence for a minute. She was done. She was ready to go home. I told her we weren't going to leave before I showed her how to get to her class. After a few minutes she calmed down. I told her all about what was going to go on out there Monday, and how she was going to look for the big blue door. And then "Look at that! That is one long hallway, isn't it." It's not scary. It's just long. "Let's step on the squares". So the two of us proceed down the long ass hallway only stepping on certain squares. It was cute... but it got us to the end with no tears. Half way I stopped and had her turn around and see how far we'd come... and showed her ahead. The wall was RED and GREEN and she needed to go left which was RED. That brought us to the cafeteria. She'll have to walk all the way across the cafeteria and go though the GREEN door. Down that hallway is her classroom. We walked the whole way. Then I showed her where the girl's restroom was. We went in there so she'd know where it was and what it was like. And then we left.

Between you and me - I'm not all that excited about her class. She only knows one person in there, Braden. The few kids I did see seemed SO MUCH taller than Elizabeth. Poor girl only just turned 5 last week. You've got some Kindergartners who will be 6 in a few weeks. Also, I peaked in other rooms and they seemed "cooler" than E's. But the teacher seemed nice and there were a few things I saw in there that I liked. So I'm hopeful. Really really hopeful. Plus, it looks as if she'll be able to play with her friends at recess, so that's nice. I can't tell you how much I want this to be a good experience for her. Poor kid spent the whole entire summer with not many friends in Summer Camp. We had this whole issue where she was only wanting to play with the teacher and not her friends. Or, she kept standing over at the fence wanting to hold her sister's hand, who was in the toddler playground ( so cute, yet... you know, so sad too. ) . Ugh! Stress.

Oh, and on another note - Caroline got her graduation note yesterday. She's transitioning from the toddler room to Pre-2! Caroline is so funny. "I go Pre-2, Mommy!" After Pre-2 is Pre-3 and then Pre-K! Wow! So BOTH of my girls will have their First Day of School on Monday!

Lee Walshe Arrives!

Uncle Lee arrived in the US this week. He's here on his own for the first time. Jan and Paul are back home. He's visiting with my parents for a few days before Laura arrives. He's going to surprise her at the airport. I don't think she has any idea he's here. It should be fun.

Friday night we went up to my parents camp site for dinner and a nice visit. The girls LOVE playing on the playground.





After dinner, Lee took the girls down to the water front where they spent time throwing pine cones in the water. They had so much fun. It was worth the picture, even if it didn't come out very clearly.

My very first yardsale - A bust!

My long anticipated yard sale. Ugh! What a bust. I only made $125 the first day and $50 the second day. The HOA came up short with their advertising and signs. I'm probably going to give it a go one more time on my own and then I'll just end up donating everything after that.


Here are some pictures of my sale. Unfortunately, I still have most of this crap.





Would you believe my biggest money maker was the stupid cooler full of ice cold drinks. I sold more of those than anything! LOL!

A Moment with Baba

Eat More Chicken!

For those of you who don't live in a Chick-Fil-A region, you won't appreciate this as much as we did.

Last night at the dinner table we were talking about how Elizabeth needed to eat a little more chicken before she could have a popsicle after dinner. Next thing I know, Caroline is standing up in her chair and she ASL signs and says "Eat. More. Chicken."

We've barely spent any time at all with her and ASL. So when she came out with that, Charles and I just busted out laughing. She must have learned the signs at school. It was so funny. And once she saw she got a laugh out of it she just kept doing it over and over again. It was a riot.

Club Libby Lu

Elizabeth attended a birthday party at Club Libby Lu. Here she is transforming in to a rock star!

Kindergarten Registration!

It's official! Elizabeth is registered for Kindergarten. She's excited about it, but equally timid and nervous - a trait I'm afraid she may have inherited from her mom.

While filling out paperwork a woman approached us and asked for Elizabeth to go with her. She wanted nothing of it. "Not with out my mommy!" she said. I ended up going back with her. They walked us down the hall past all of the Kindergarten classrooms to a little desk with two chairs. I stood nearby - Elizabeth was sure to let me know I wasn't allowed to move any further away. The teacher conducted a skills assessment to see where Elizabeth was in her development. Elizabeth knew all of her colors, shapes, lower case letters, and capital letters. The teacher then asked her to count as high as she could. Elizabeth proudly counted from 1 - 100 with no mistakes. Way to go, Elizabeth! Then the teacher gave her a box of crayons and a blank piece of paper and asked her to draw a picture of herself. Elizabeth quickly asked "Can I draw a picture of my whole family?" The teacher said "Sure you can." So, she did. The teacher kept the picture as Elizabeth's first piece of work in her school file. We have a parent orientation on Monday, and a Teacher Meet-and-Greet in July. The first day of school is August 4th!

Here we are arriving for registration:





Elizabeth walking in to her school for the first time:


My proud little Kindergartener!

Spring, 2008 Update

Elizabeth is great. She is so beautiful. I often find myself staring at her just admiring how beautiful she is. She's really growing up, changing into a little lady right before my eyes. Just the other day, in her Easter dress, she looked so tall and slender. Like such a big girl. She asked me to straighten her hair that morning. "No curls, Mommy. Just straight, okay?" "Ok, baby. I get it. Just straight." She only has 6 weeks left of Pre-K and then she's off to Kindergarten. I'm not sure when I'll cry more, when she begins Kindergarten or when she gets married. It's going to be a close call, I know it. (tearing up now at just the thought of the first day of K).

Caroline is great too. She's SUCH a cute, funny, adorable, little kid. She is embracing all that is two. She seems to have gone from zero-60 with her words in no time at all. She surprises me all the time.... like a few weeks ago she just belted out the words (and hand signs) to that song "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee. Won't my mommy be so proud of me..." She doesn't say the words perfectly, but you totally know what she's saying even in her jibberish. She's too cute. Her sister is her best friend and there is a big part of her who thinks she's 4.

I find when Elizabeth reaches milestones, I cry. With Caroline, I cheer. I get overwhelmed with pride with both of them. They're just such neat kids. I'm so blessed to be their mom. We took the girls to Birmingham, AL to see Playhouse Disney Live last week. They LOVED it! They both got a stuffed June (from Little Einsteins) whom they equally cherish. We are planning a trip to Disney World next year with my family.

Charles and are really good. We celebrate 9 years (of dating) next month. We still laugh, still find time to hug, still joke, and still find joy in doing things for each other. And yes, I still want to ring his neck on occasion. Lucky for him - I think he's cute so up until now I've let him live. :)

Easter, 2008

2008 is just rolling along. Easter has officially come and gone and spring is here!

In an effort to dust off this blog a bit, I'll post some pictures from Easter, along with an update.

Happy Easter!



We ended up skipping out on Easter Sunday service because Charles was sick. He was struck with a stomach bug that weekend and so kindly shared it with me just in time for Monday morning. Thanks, Charles. :)
Easter dinner was at Mike and Wendi's for the second year in a row. It works out nicely. The kids really enjoy playing together and the Easter Bunny must have known because he hid a bunch of eggs for the kids while we were eating dinner. What fun.

A few pictures from the day:

Elizabeth's Uncanny Knack for all that is X-rated!

My daughter has always had an uncanny knack for coming up with x-rated words for things. (Everyone should remember the Q R S T U V, Animal Sex, Y and Z, right? ) Or when she was hungry she'd say "Mommy, I'm horny!" Or like today when I asked Charles what time it was, and Elizabeth shouted out "Mommy, it's 69! It's 69!" Charles looked at me and just said "Why? Why does she always do that?"

So - we have these little eye hooks on the doors to the bedrooms. They're at doorknob height. They're set to where the the door can be open, but closed enough to keep the cats out. Or in the case of our room, the door can stay closed over, but open enough to let the cats in. Anyway - Elizabeth was trying to explain to Caroline how to hook the door to their bedroom this morning when I hear her yelling "The slut! The slut! Put the hooker in the slut!"

I think she meant put the hook in the slot.

Words To Live By

E: Mommy, we don't say "What the hell is that?"
Me: No, no we don't. Where did you hear that?
E: Nowhere
Me: Who said that?
E: No one, mommy. I'm growing up. I just know these things.
Me: Ok, then.

Signs your kids have been left to play alone for too long..

Sign number 42: When you walk into your living room to see it's getting dark outside and the blinds are wide open. Your lights are on so the whole house is on display for all to see. Your 2 year old is naked from the waist down. Your 4 year old has a rotten banana peel that she found behind the sofa, and is running round slapping her 2 year old sister on the butt as she exclaims while both girls giggling uncontrolably: "Look Mommy! We're playing the banana slapping game!"




*dys*

What's worse is I made a bee line for the blinds (aka: DFCS covers), closed them and then went back up stairs... leaving everything else exactly as it were. As I was walking away I heard more giggling, laughing, and playing.

Signs your kids have been left to play alone for too long..

Signs your kids have been left to play alone for too long..

Sign number 42:
When you walk into your living room to see it's getting dark outside and the blinds are wide open. Your lights are on so the whole house is on display for all to see. Your 2 year old is now naked from the waist down. Your 4 year old has a rotten banana peel that she found behind the sofa, and is running round slapping her 2 year old sister on the butt. As both girls are giggling uncontrollably, the 4 year old exclaims: "Look Mommy! We're playing the banana slapping game!"


What's worse is I made a bee line for the blinds (aka: DFCS covers), closed them and then went back up stairs... leaving everything else exactly as it were. As I was walking away I heard more giggling, laughing, and playing.

It happened. They stunned me into silence.

Just Another Day

It was just another day here. It was a Saturday. One of the first nice weather days of the year. The neighbor was getting ready to take her baby for a walk and asked Elizabeth if she wished to join her. Elizabeth of course said yes, and she rushed to get ready. I happened to look out my back window where I saw her ready and waiting. She had grabbed her teddy bear, a doll carrier, and her firefighter hat for the occasion. It was one of those moments where I looked at her and in an instant, I was 4 again. It just seemed like something I would have done. I felt as if I was looking at myself, 31 years ago. That happens often with Elizabeth. She is so much like me. I often feel like I'm raising myself. I just happened to catch this moment on camera.

Dora Princess Wake Up Call

I woke up this morning to Caroline putting her hands on my cheeks and her face so close to mine her eyes were crossed and she said:

C: "Dora Princess!"
pause
C: "Dora Princess, Mommy!"
pause
C: "Mommy! DORA PRINCESS!"
Me: (one eye open), "What?"
C: "DORA PRINCESS!"
Me: "Yes, Dora Princess."
C: "Good job Mommy!" and she gave me a kiss.

NO MORE DIAPERS!

That's right! NO MORE DIAPERS! The Scheck family is officially a Diaper Free Zone! Caroline turned 2 on January 4th. We had her birthday party on January 6th. That day she announced she was going to wear big girl panties and we haven't looked back since.

A few weeks later, Elizabeth and I ran out to BJs. When we hit the diaper isle it occurred to me I DON'T EVER HAVE TO BUY DIAPERS AGAIN! What better way to celebrate than with a spontaneous self-portrait shot in the diaper isle.

The Falling Down Game!

The other day the girls were playing in the living room. Charles and I were in the kitchen when I hear Caroline start to cry. Caroline comes out to the kitchen wailing, with her hand on her head. Her sister is close behind. I said "What happened?!" Elizabeth said "We were playing the Falling Down game and Caroline hit her head."

Sponge Bob Who?

We were in WalMart yesterday when Elizabeth saw something w/ SpongeBob on it. So she starts saying Sponge Bob Square Pants. Although, I hear it, and there's something not right about it. So I listen and watch her mouth as she says it. She's saying Sponge Bob Squirt Pants! I immediately realized I have to tell her it's square pants. I can't let her friends hear her say squirt pants! So I told her "It's Sponge Bob Square Pants! You know, because his pants are in the shape of a square?! (and I drew a little air square to show her). And then I said "But - YOUR version of Squirt Pants is so much funnier! We both laughed so hard. The people near us began looking at us as I wipe tears from my eyes, I was laughing so much. Sponge Bob Squirt Pants.

I know! I know!

It's not fall, it's winter. But technically, I'm only a few days late for that. LOL!

We've had a wonderful holiday season. Despite my busy work schedule, we managed to give the girls a fun filled season with lots of holiday cheer. From parades, to light displays. Baking cookies, holiday performances, and parties. Decorating the house and daily advent calendars. We even managed Elizabeth's first over night stay at a friend's house, and hosted our very first sleep over as well. We did it all. I feel really good about their experience. This is one of the few pure magical years that I get with them being so little so I really tried to stop and smell the roses so to speak. My efforts paid off. They've been home with me for a week, and despite this awful crud I have, the girls have been angels. Amazingly, I've managed to keep up my 365 blog as well. It's a quick little peek in to our every day life here in the Scheck residence. There's a link located in the top right hand page of this blog.

I'm due for a big update on both the girls. I'll do that in the next few days. It will be a nice way to close out the year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

If something is breakable, or fragile, Elizabeth calls it "glassable".

They're currently doing a one week unit on Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales at school.

E: "Mommy, Muffet and Tuffet rhyme!"
Me: "Yes, they do!"
E: "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey."
Me: "Along came a spider.... (pause)"
E: (shouted) "AND SAT DOWN RIGHT NEXT TO HER!"

It's FALL!

It's fall, and you know what that means - time for the annual pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch. We had lunch at the Right Wing Tavern before heading to get our pumpkin. Here are a few pictures from our outing:

The hayride out to the pumpkin patch.


Caroline making her sweet funny face for the camera.


Elizabeth with her face covered in ketchup from lunch.



The family picture


Caroline on the slide at the pumpkin patch playground.