Kindergarten 2014

First few days of kindergarten have been an adjustment to all!  Kids had a great first two days despite the early waking hours. We haven't set an alarm in 6 years so 6:15am is early for the Green household! The mornings are very hectic trying to get the kids out of bed and ready before the bus comes.  Very strange to come hope to an empty, quite house at 7 am. The evenings are just as hectic as it is stressful to get them into bed by 7:30 since they are so hard to get out of bed so early.

Kiley loves her teacher and her class, and very glad that she has a good friend with her in class and on the bus. We are so blessed that she seems to have a perfect match for a teacher with her personality. She comes home everyday with stories about her classmates and new friends, along with endless stories about the class guinea pig Pepper. She rarely talks about the work they did, but loves to share the songs they sing and what her friends are up to. Her favorite part of the day is recess and riding the bus! She does not like P.E.- her nana will be sad! She loves eating at the school and says the food is much better than the lunches I pack. She had a major meltdown Monday am after I got upset that she wouldn't wear her new tennis shoes. She cried for 30 min and Paul had to carry her to the bus stop crying "I don't want to go to school."
So hard on me I started crying after the bus pulled away. Lesson learned- if the clothes and shoes are almost right in the am, don't make a big deal about it not being perfect!!

Cason likes his teacher but is still saying on day 5 of school that "is class is terrible."  He is such a rule follower, doesn't like change and kids that don't obey so it has been a bit of a struggle for him. He tells me everyday that his teacher has to keep the lights off almost all day b/c the class is too loud and misbehaving. He says he has made a few friends, Anderson, Audrey, and Spencer but all of the other kids "are bad."  He also says riding the bus and recess are his favorites. He has a cough and some congestion, and told us he got it from the girl "Finley" that sits next to him and coughs on him all day long. Kiley backed him up by saying "yes mommy even in the hallway I saw her coughing on him and told her thanks for getting my brother sick."  He informs me everyday of the traffic back-ups in the am and how long they had to ride the bus for. He also said one day the bus driver turned down "Genary Gap" road then turned around and that he was pretty sure she was lost. He is so funny. He asked me on the way to the bus today if he could just go to school some of the days:(

Praying for adjustments for the whole family as we manage new schedules, routines, and activities.  I realized yesterday on my first day off that these teachers are getting much more time with my babies now that I will not have with them. Made me sad!

On a funnier note, Cason informed us at the dinner table a few nights ago that he didn't believe in Santa anymore b/c there is no way reindeer's can fly. He then said well maybe he did believe in Santa, just not the flying reindeer, then said that maybe Santa really takes a plane. He thought for a minute, then said "are you sure that it isn't you and daddy that put the presents under the tree, mommy?" Of course this is all in front of Kiley. I tried to avoid answering the questions so I wasn't lying, but he is too young to stop believing!!!!

Summer 2014

Lots of travel and memories this summer:

- Memorial Day with the Mizerany's at their lake- kids learned to kayak with mini kayaks and loved it. Chill weekend of grilling out, swimming, hanging out with friends and kicking the summer off to fun start.
- Left next week for Pensacola with Paul, it rained the whole time but kids and I still had fun shopping, playing games, and swimming some. Came home that weekend and took kids to Baran's game with my work. Had a good time and Cason enjoyed watching the game with Paul while Kiley played in the jumpies.
-Next weekend we enjoyed our anniversary by going to dinner with friends then Sister Hazel concert. Drove home in hurricane like weather!
-Next weekend Kiley and I left for Tampa leaving the boys at home to enjoy some daddy-son time. Kiley got upset on plane crying that she wanted Cason to come. Had fun hanging out with Holly, stayed at her parents house on water, enjoyed some beach time, girl time, playing with the baby, eating out on beach, swimming, and boating.  Cason and Paul had a busy weekend going to the Baran's game, playing 9 holes of golf for the first time, and going to long bike ride in Ross Bridge.

- Boys met us in Gainesville on Tuesday and we left for Disney World Wed-Sat. Was hot and crowded but had a blast. Kids rode roller coasters for the first time, Cason was a not a big fan and Kiley loved it. Both had melt downs when we were by ourselves on Thursday on new Snowhite ride after waiting in line for 65 minutes. Cason didn't want to ride and Kiley didn't want to ride w a stranger. Disney worker came to the rescue and sat with Cason while Kiley and I rode. 2 minute ride for 65 min wait!  Kids made it until almost midnight that second night, fireworks, electric parade, and movie on the castle were amazing. Watching kids faces and hearing the excitement in their voices, especially Kiley, was priceless. Water park at Gaylord Psalms hotel entertained us for the last 2 days. Biking ride around UF for last night in Gaineville completed the trip. Great times!

-Came back to VBS at Mt Top the next week, best VBS in town for sure. We carpooled with Drennan, Ashley, and Sheena's kids and hit movies or pool in the afternoon.

- Went to Smith Lake the week of the 4th to Drennan's lake place. Kids tubed by themselves for the first time, Cason didn't like it but Kiley it. She is definitely more adventurous than Cason! Enjoyed golf cart rides, swimming, boat rides, tons of great food, fireworks to Katy Perry's firework song, and a big crowd!  Left Sat for Atlanta- stayed with Sean and Erin and got to catch up with them. More swimming and pizza. Downtown Atl on Sunday- Kiley and I rode the huge Farris wheel, which stopped on the top and rocked, glad the boys were not on!  Met Pam and and Frank Sunday afternoon at Sally's, got to met Lillie Grace for the first time and the twins got to play for a few days with their cousin. Brought them back on Wednesday and think the grandparents were ready!

-Went skating for the first time the next week, have walkers on wheels to help kids learn now. Cason caught on quicker than Kiley, she was very cautious and worried about falling!  Cason fell at least 30 times, we got a good laugh!

- Last week of July we headed back to Fl for Paul's 20th reunion, highlights included riding bikes around campus, eating out, long bike ride Sat am, Sean's lake place with own beach- kayaks, paddle boats, jet ski, pontoon- lots of fun! Fri and Sat night reunion activities included Dragon Fly, the donkey dance, meeting Daniel twins, Paul wining aging most gracefully. Sunday spent the day on St. Augustine beach catching up with Melanie, Cammy, Beth, and Andy and their families. Ate Barnical Bills on way back! Monday ate lunch with Paul's grandma and Tuesday left for Pensacola. Had great rest of week on beach, swimming, eating out, and enjoying lazy river.

- Came home on Sunday and spent our last few days with Hadden and Spencer!  AL splash adventure, movies, park, and Ross Bridge to wrap up the summer.  It went by so fast but we did so much and had a blast!!

Easter Weekend 2014

We had a great Easter weekend, 2014!

The weekend started out Friday afternoon with Greg, Carrie, Hadden, Spencer and little Nash arriving from Nashville.  We enjoyed catching up over glasses of wine and a few cocktails while cooking dinner at Linden and Gene's.  Gene once again delivered juicy steaks and chicken hot off the grill, along with roasted potatoes, hash brown and green bean casseroles, as well as multiple fruit salads.  We enjoyed chocolate pudding for dessert.

Saturday morning dawned with the sun shining and a high of 73 degrees - perfect spring weather.  I dropped off Jena's Acura MDX at Firestone, and Greg picked me up shortly afterwards and we went on our traditional Saturday morning jog.  It's a great time to catch up one-on-one, and distraction free with my bro-in-law.

Afterwards, we finished a few To Do items around the house and watched some of the Alabama and Auburn spring games.  Bama looks stout on D, while AU's offense will be one of the best in the nation.

Cason showed good effort in his Tee Ball game, playing Center Field, First Base and Pitcher.  He performed the best while playing first base, hitting, and showing hustle running the bases.  He even made a triple play by fielding a grounder, then running to home and tagging out 3 runners in a row.  I have a great time coaching not only Cason, but many of the other boys on the team as well.  We have a wide range of talent and effort, so it keeps me on my toes. Cason enjoyed having his cousins there to watch.

We came back to Linden and Gene's for another great dinner Saturday night with a Honey Ham, plenty of laughs, and too many sides to count. The kids racked up with overloaded Easter baskets from Linden and Gene, along with the yearly Easter Egg Hunt. 

The next morning we woke up early on my favorite Sunday of the year.
"He is risen, He is risen, indeed!"  It was another beautiful morning with plenty of sunshine, flowers blooming and a spring-like morning temperature.  We made it to the 8:00 AM service, heard a great message from Pastor Chris, and left uplifted.  We stopped by Kelsey's grave next and reflected on how much we miss our sister, aunt, and friend.  Hard to believe it's been over 5 years since we lost her.

Next we enjoyed brunch at Cracker Barrel, and made a quick stop by Home Depot.  You just can't have enough mulch, can you?  The rest of the day was filled up with a trip to the grocery for the week's supplies, mowing the yard, and other odds and ends.  We enjoyed a dinner of leftovers and thanked our lucky stars we live in the USA, for our family and friends, and our faith in Jesus Christ.  It was a great Easter weekend.

Kiley's Class

I got to help with Kiley's class the next week,  and her teacher had the day set up very similar. First, they started off in circle time and did the calender, said a bible verse and discussed it, sang a bunch of adorable songs, then prayed. I loved circle time, what a great way to start out the day. So happy we are able to send them to a great Christian school their first year.

Next was the similar stations, with 2 have to works and 3 centers to be completed by Thursday, Ms. Jen with the reading group and Ms. Susan coming to get groups for math.  Kiley was very well behaved and did all her centers in the first day as well. She did great on the reading and separating the words, I was so proud of her. 

Her teacher seemed more laid back, and the class was very well behaved. I didn't feel so overwhelmed, probably because I knew what to expect, and also her class wasn't so loud. For 14 kids, they are a very quite class!  Did laugh (or shake my head) at some of the girl drama I already saw, how does this already start happening in kindergarten?!

Love that I am able to volunteer in the classrooms, so fun and love being with my kids. Miss them being gone everyday. Did experience the trouble with having the kids in separate classrooms this year, want to be at both of their special activities and parties, but only one mommy trying to sign up for two rooms at the same time!  Also at the pumpkin patch the kids did the activities with their class and I had to pick which one to go with...auugg!!  Once again I need to clone myself.

Mommy helper

Today was my first Tuesay to volunteer in classrooms, rotating classrooms every other Tues from 9-11. Today's was Cason's and they have 2 daily works and 3 centers to complete for me to check each kid off. They are divided into 4 different groups based on ability. I work with 2 groups, Ms Lynne takes 1 for reading and Ms Susan ( good teacher from last yr) takes 1 out of room for math.

Cason is in the most advanced group and was first to finish everything and did so with ease. Centers don't have to be finished until Thursday and he was done with all in an hour on the first day. He is gonna need some challenges so he won't get bored!

Very impressed with teacher, you can tell she has been doing it a long time. She was working on vowels and constants and sounds, not just what is this word, and had neat ways to help the  kids remember.

Me on the other hand a little stressed with everyone wanting me to check them at once, all different abilities. At one point a girl tripped over my shoe while one boy dumped the whole glue bottle out all over him ( top fell off). Kids not allowed to interrupted Lynne at reading center no matter what so I had lots of little ones wanting help! Had fun though and neat to see how kids are doing, really enjoyed it.

Not much social time but little they had Cason mostly interacted with Ethan, his friend from last year. Another advanced girl name Clair seems to have a crush on him, was cute. Who wouldn't!":)

First Day of K-5

I was a little teary all week, just thinking about them starting school 5 days a week and beginning a new phase of life. I kept reminding myself it wasn't "big" school or real all day kindergarten, just a K-5 program which made me feel better. We picked out everything the night before, knowing the morning would be rushed. I made them a big french toast breakfast, and took a bunch of pictures. They wanted me to talk them in, and the new building is so nice.  We were greeted at the door by Ms. Leslie who said "welcome to kindergarten!"  OK that wasn't necessary, it's just K-5, right?!  Across both classroom doors were the same signs and the teachers said the same greeting. OK guess I was fooling myself!  We dropped off Kiley first, she went right in and started unpacking with me kneeling down saying "have a great day honey, come give me a hug bye" and no movement from her. Ms. Jen finally said "go give your mommy a hug bye. "  Cason was next and was so excited to see his teacher Ms. Lynne and tell her about everything in his bag.  He, also, didn't look back.

I got in the car thinking OK, that was easy. Turned it on and the country song "your gonna miss these days" was playing and I burst into tears, crying the whole way to the Y. Remembering when they were first born, that summer when the song was popular dad used to always say that to us.  Not sure I do miss those exact days, but do miss them being babies! After getting to the Y, I seriously considered the idea of running into the nursery and stealing a baby!

Their first day was a success, and they were all smiles when I picked them up. Kiley was much more informative than Cason, and wanted to tell me about all her new friends, and how Addison got jealous because she was playing with her new friend Olivia and they were both fighting over her to sit by her at lunch.  I asked her what she learned and she said she didn't know. Shocker!  Cason told me about getting to play with Ethan and Tommy and learning to spell the word "yes." He told Paul more about his day on the phone and heard him saying "I wish you could have come to my class today so all my friends could see how you make B talk, they would have loved that."  B is his bear he got to bring to class today for show and tell. Kiley took Winter after much debate on which stuffed animal was her favorite, after going through 25 of hers she told me I should just buy her a new one to take. Thank goodness I talked her into Winter. I also heard Cason telling Paul on the phone he wishes he had a car and could drive so he could drive to see him. Think he is missing his daddy, 5 days gone is a lot!!

I am so thankful for being able to send them to a small Christian school this year, where they learn bible verses everyday, and can still say the blessing before lunch. Both them and me will have a year to adjust before sending them to "big" school!  I am still a bit sad, since having another baby will never happen, and my baby/toddler/ preschool days are over.  But it is hard to stay sad when they are so excited. I have already signed up to volunteer every Tuesday in one of their classrooms, for all the field trips, and to be the room mom. Can you say I might be having a hard time letting go?!

 Last week before school activities included McWane Science Center, the new dino exhibit at the zoo, the movies, and swimming at pool with water slides, lots of fun!

Other Summer Trips

We also went to Lake Martin a couple of times, always a good time bringing nothing but swimsuits and pjs!  Our days there begin with me making a big breakfast, usually being the first one up.  Followed by packing lunches and loading coolers for the day and getting the kids ready. Paul and Benson usually have at least one project to do, fixing something on the boat, dock, going to get gas, ect... we usually end up swimming in the am then out on the boat around lunchtime until dusk.  Island hoping is our favorite, but has been harder this year with all the rain, most of the islands are under water. This is one of the first years we let the kids try tubing in the cul da sac, and they didn't like going above "sinking" speed. Paul had to ride on the back of the tube just to keep them afloat!  Kiley fell off at one point due to the slow speed and sinking, that was it for her and me, since I panicked not seeing her for a second.  Days end with late dinners, lasagna, grilled ck or hamburgers are usually the stables. Night finished off with smores by the campfire, can life get any better?!

Paul had a convention at the beach the end of July, and as usual it was a great trip with great friends. Started the first night in Mobile, and the kids and I swam in the pool while Paul had some business meetings. We had a nice family dinner on the bay, 3 hours but the kids did great. Luckily there was a sandy area for them to play in while we waited. Headed to Pensacola Beach the next am and enjoyed 4 times splitting our days between the pool and beach. The kids still prefer the pools, not big fans of getting all sandy or the seaweed in the ocean.  The weather was nice, and not near as crowded as Sandestin. We had nice dinners out while the kids rotated babysitters of friends kids that are now early teens. Time flies!

Other highlights of summer include VBS at two different churches, Cason cutting his hair and now has a spiky haircut, me learning to french braid, our first time alone in our house without kids for more than one night, kids spending several days in Atlanta with Nana and Pops, Roswell Live in Atlanta with SP, many trips to the zoo, a rainy but still fun forth of July (watching fireworks from the car with windshield wipers on), several family movies, a fun weekend at Ross Bridge with cousins, and becoming great swimmers!

  Only 15 days until school starts and new phase of life for all of us, with them in school 5 days and different classrooms. We will enjoy these next few weeks at a slower pace.