Mommy got a new hair do!

This morning, I finally got a much needed and much anticipated haircut at Zender's Salon and Spa downtown. I knew I wanted something shorter with a little style. I looked online for styles that would fit my rounder face and came up with "the Jenny" (as in Jenny McCarthy). Basically, it's a medium straight hair bob cut.

So, here's what I went in with:

(Yes, sadly, this is what I look like every day.

It's the best I can do when kids start to wake up at 6 am or earlier.)

An hour later, here's what I left with:

I love love love the length and it feels so good. We'll see how well I'm able to keep up with styling it every day, although it seems pretty easy, which is good.

I'm no Jenny McCarthy, but Sam and my kids think I look great...that's all that counts!

Preschool art

In the first weeks of being in preschool, Peter already brought home two art projects. The first one is very cute. If you can see, it has his thumb print (maybe a couple prints) in the doorway of the school house above where it says "I'm thumbody special". To the right, it says "I had fun playing with the trucks today." Peter tells me that he got to put the boy and school bus figure on the picture. :) He seemed very excited about that.

Week two's Art project: "Me Flag" has a picture of him from last week, and the lyrics to the song he just learned "I am special". On the back, he got to glue foam shapes which he was very proud of. When I picked him up on Thursday, I was a little early and thankfully so. I saw the preschoolers get lined up in front of the school, waving these flags and parading around singing
(to the tune of "Are you sleeping")
"I am special, I am special,
if you look, you will see,
someone very special,
someone very special,
that is me, that is me."

Peter was still singing the song in the car and at home. He really loves learning these new songs and dances (like the Hoppy Boppy Freeze"); I just wish I was there to hear and see what they're doing because I don't always get the full song or picture of what he learned. It's a little sad that now there's someone else in his life - his teachers. I feel like I have to let go of him a little in this experience called school. It's not easy after 3.75 years of being the one with him all the time. *sniff sniff*

Peter is a growing little boy, who likes to say hello to his shadow every now and then...

...but he's still my little boy!

What has Natalie been up to?

While Peter was off to his first day of preschool, Natalie showed me some of her new talents while eating a mid-morning snack with me.

Then she had some more cup fun!

Today, I had an opportunity to have good one-on-one time with Natalie. Peter was in school, Elaine was deep into a nap. I sat with Natalie and asked what she wanted to do. I named off a list of things we typically do together with Peter, like puzzles, reading books, or play chase...all to which Natalie quietly said 'No'. Then, I realized I needed to think like a little girl again. I asked if she wanted to play dolls. She immediately said "yes!" and got off the couch in search for our dolls.

We ended up playing about an hour with Barbie Ballerina, Blue, Woody and My Little Pony. It was so fun to watch Natalie come up with interactions among the dolls. Barbie ended up needing to take a nap while the rest went for a snack in the play kitchen. The trip to the play kitchen wasn't without drama as Woody and My Little Pony had to save Blue from falling off the table! Natalie was so cute as she held Blue at the edge of the table and said in a soft high voice 'help! help! I about to fall!' Woody and Pony's response, 'oh, ok! We will save you!'

I think I have some ideas for Christmas presents! :)

The nasal aspirator

Meet the nasal aspirator

We have had many terrible moments using the nasal aspirator with Peter and Natalie. Like most babies (I think), they HATED it. Most times, it would take both Sam and I working together to effectively clear out our babies' noses. Whenever they got a cold, it was the most dreaded thing we had to do.

Well, little Miss Elaine got her first cold this past week. She's been handling it very well and has the stuffy nose. "Ugh!" we thought...nasal aspirator time. When Elaine started to snort like a little piggy, I knew it was time for her to get a dose of the aspirator. To my GREAT surprise, she didn't mind it at all. At times, she actually gave me huge smiles immediately after I used it! It's been two or three days now, and I'm still getting smiles from her. I'm so surprised!

My only conclusion is that every child is different!

Regina Fun Fall Festival 2008

We decided to go to the fall festival at Regina school this past labor day weekend. It felt natural to go since we are joining the "Regina family". We had lots of fun and probably will go again! Who knows, next time we might be the parent volunteers working the food tent! :)

After some hot dogs, walking tacos, burgers and lemonade, we headed over to the childrens games where Peter and Natalie played a few easy games to win prizes. They got a couple of jump ropes (which they ended up using as a way to pull each other around the house), stickers, and a bead necklace (that Natalie promptly lost somewhere amongst the rides).

Then, our last stop was the rides. Their first time riding amusement/carnival rides was at the Mall of America back in May, but this would be their first time by themselves. We pondered on a dragon roller coaster that caught Peter's eye, but we decided it was too big for them - especially riding alone! So, we settled on the smaller boat one. They had so much fun!

This picture was taken before the ride even started. I think they thought that was all there was to the ride.
Now, watch for Natalie's reaction as it starts to move!
Attention: Priceless video!

As the ride kept going around and around, you can tell centrifugal force (aha! I still know my physics) was in play as Peter slid closer and closer to Natalie. Doesn't look like Natalie minds so much!


We'll definitely have to do this again next year!

Peter goes to preschool!!!

Today was the big day!

Peter started preschool!!!

He'd been counting down the days (or number of sleeps) to this day. All of us were excited for this day to arrive and it finally came. Even I had the "new school year" butterflies last night and had a hard time falling asleep. I guess that feeling never goes away, even when it's not you starting a new school year!

I made a note for Peter on the front of his Trapper keeper folder that was in his bookbag - just a little something from home:

We started early at a 7am wake up call (Mommy had been up since 5:30am, which is very rare for me). This morning call was not a difficult one, but it gave me a glimpse of some of those early mornings when it'll be hard to get the kids out of bed in time for school.

It took no time for Peter to be dressed and ready for school, bookbag and all! It seems as though Sydney even took notice of this brand new big boy!

Then I had made the kids a breakfast for champions, which was quickly consumed.

As I remember my mom taking a similar picture of me in front of the driveway next to our car on my first day of school, I had posed Peter in our driveway to get the same picture. Maybe some day I'll be able to dig up that photo of me. Unfortunately, the rising sun made it difficult for him to really look at the camera, but I got the result I was looking for.

Finally, it was off to school! The drive to the school was only 2.5 miles, but it gave me such flashbacks to when I was in school. The feelings of the new school year was all over with school buses, streets busy with traffic, and school kids with their new bookbags waiting at the corner to cross the streets. As I told Sam with that first drive to school, we've entered a new phase in our lives...parents with kids in school!

It was a sweet moment for Natalie to walk with Peter towards his new school.

There were no tears (surprisingly for me) when we left him in the "Bear" room. He was excited and happy to be there. We had practiced with him learning his teachers' names (Mr. Nick and Ms. Connie) and he seemed happy to finally remember their faces and names. He had met them at the open house, but who knows if he really remembered them. Before I left, I just made sure Peter knew where their bathroom was (to my relief, it's in the same room and not down the hall) and that he knew I was leaving but would be back to pick him up. I was afraid by telling him this, he'd get upset. On the contrary, he just said "Ok!" and went back to his blocks! Does it make me a terrible mother that I wanted him to miss me just a little?

Well, I was heavily rewarded when I picked him up. They were reading a book in what looked like circle time. It took a while for Peter to turn around and realize I arrived. When he did, oh boy, he yelled "MOMMY!", ran to me with open arms in the air, and gave me the best hug ever! He then informed me of this "I went potty!" :)

Peter was so excited about school. He talked about how he played in the sandbox, painted, heard a story about frogs on a log, and ate a cupcake for someone's birthday! He also showed me a bee sticker he got at some point of the day. He said everyone got one too. :)

And so it goes...our Peter started pre-school and grew up in my eyes!

Peter's haircut and first lunch with kids

I took Peter, Natalie, and Elaine out on Wednesday to get Peter's hair cut for the new school year. We went to Sycamore Mall's Style America where there were two "eager" women waiting for business. It helped that they had toys for Natalie to play with although she seemed more interested in what Peter was doing and running around me in crazy circles. It was all good because she gave the hair cutting ladies a chance to get a good look at her hair color - apparently a rarity.

After a successful haircut, we went down to Panera where I had only hoped to grab lunch to take home. But with Elaine asleep from my rocking her during Peter's haircut and the kids behaving so well so far, I decided to take a chance and enjoy lunch there. It turned out to be fine as Peter and Natalie enjoyed the bagels they chose (blueberry and asiago cheese respectively) and I got to eat my whole lunch. Well, except for the berries Natalie swiped from my salad (as caught in the one photo I managed to take), I had my whole lunch!



What ended my first solo lunch out with the kids even better was that after putting his trash in the garbage can, Peter stopped me from heading out and said he had to go first. Another success in a public bathroom and another success for mom on her own with the 3 kids!!