A Very Proud Mama

See that boy right there?  I love him.  He makes me SO proud.  That boy right there is my baby boy, the first of my children to venture out into the world beyond our home by himself.  That first day of kindergarten, I bawled....a lot.  I watched him walk up to school, a bit nervous, pause a moment and then take those steps into the big brick building where he would be spending his days, and my heart went with him.  He looked so little next to all the other kids, but I was SO proud of that little boy.

Then, I started volunteering in his classroom.  I help out with "centers" on Wednesday mornings....basically I help out with learning activities and the kids rotate centers and I get to help them out and spend some time with Peder.  I watch him and listen to him when he doesn't realize that anyone else is paying attention, and the things I hear him say make me even more proud of him.  He will walk past someone in his class and say something like, "I really like how you colored your monster." or "Your letter M looks really good."  He reaches out to his classmates and is extremely kind to them, and the fact that he does that when no one is watching, with no expectations, makes me SO proud.  It melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes because I can see the person he is becoming, and I love who he is becoming.

Yes, I'm bragging.  I'm proud.  SO PROUD!  And let's just add another thing on there to be proud.  Today when I picked him up from school he had a sucker in his hand.  I asked him why he got the sucker and he told me that he got it for counting to 100 with the principal.  The principal, Mr. Bretoi, goes to the classrooms and sits with the kids and does things with them to track progress and see where kids are in their skills.  Today Peder was one of only 2 students in his class that was able to count to 100.  Another thing to make this Mama proud.

I am SO happy and excited about the boy Peder is turning into.  I just had to share this with all of you....I'm just so proud of him.

Busy-ness, Inspiration and The End is NEAR!

As most of you know, life is chaotic in the Early household.  We are busy, busy people.  Last week all 3 kids started preschool.  (Pictures soon, I promise.)  Peder has pre-k every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Emmy and Mari have 3-school every Tuesday and Thursday.  It was an exciting week in our house.  All 3 kids were ready for school to start and this mommy was ready to be in a routine again.  I have to admit, Tuesday and Thursday mornings are oddly quiet with just Peder to hang out with.  I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do next year with all the kids in school several days a week.

Jake and Peder are leaving for a fishing trip on Wednesday night, right after Peder gets done with his first swim lessons class.  They are heading up to Canada with my dad, my grandpa (mom's dad) and my brother-in-law Randy.  I'm sure they are going to have a fantastic adventure and I know Peder is looking forward to hanging out with the guys.  He seems to feel like a very grown up boy with this privilege to go along.  It's cute.

I spent the weekend hanging out with my Mommy.  We went to ScrapFest over at the Mall of America.  I went to a crop by myself on Thursday night and then met my mom for another one on Friday night.  On Saturday we did make n' takes, took 3 classe and did a bunch of shopping.  Sunday we spent the day doing make n' takes.  This is something we try to do every year.  We have so much fun, make a ton of cute projects and get all kinds of inspiration.  I had so much fun hanging out with my mom....I look forward to this weekend every year!

And....THE END IS NEAR!  At least of my quarter at school.  I have a final and a final project due tonight, a final tomorrow and then D-O-N-E!  WA-HOO!  I get a week off in between quarters and the only thing that we have planned is swim lessons, Jake's football game and our annual trip to the corn maze.  I'll finally be able to get the rest that my physical therapist keeps telling me to take.

We have a lot to look forward to in the next couple of weeks!

My Day...

So today was a day.  A REALLY bad day.  I started my third week of classes today.

Here is a summation of my day:

1.  All 3 kids battled me tooth and nail to get Peder to school.

2.  I had to trick the girls into thinking I was leaving the house so they would get ready to go pick up Peder from school.

3.  Nap time was a nightmare.  The girls fought, screamed, cried, learned how to open their bedroom door and in general fought with me every moment of naps.  Peder goofed off, played and got upset when limitations were set.

4.  All 3 kids fell asleep at 3:45p, 15 minutes before we wake them so they go to bed on time.  Imagine how they all were when it was time to get up.

5.  I printed off my assignment for class tonight and then left it at home.  Luckily I had sent the assignment to myself via email and could print it off at the school computer lab.

6.  I forgot my cell phone in the car, which lead to a moment of panic until I realized I still had that email in my account.  I didn't have time to run back to my car, call Jake to email me the paper, go back and print it off and make it to class on time.

7.  I ate Arby's for dinner and it made me REALLY sick about 40 minutes into class and had to leave for about 10 minutes because my stomach was feeling so gross.

8.  On my way home from school the car started to make a weird whirring noise.  I thought it was a belt and told Jake to take it out for a spin.

9.  I was happily eating the cookie dough Jake made for me when he got home from his drive.  He walked in and told me that it was probably the transmission needing to be replaced.  WHOOP-DEE-DOO!

Time for bed and to start tomorrow fresh.

BIG News and More Christmas

Well, yesterday I went to Minnesota School of Business and talked to them about their Interactive Media and Graphic Design program and have decided to go back to school.  I'm REALLY excited about this.  I hope to fill out the application in the next day or two and then start in January.  With the number of credits I will be taking, I should be able to finish an Associate's Degree in 18 months.  There is free continuing ed, you just pay for books or supplies and life time career placement services.

So that's my BIG news right now.  Our life is going to change quite a bit for the next 18 months.

Now...on to Christmas.  I L-O-V-E Christmas scents and candles.  This year I found a new favorite.  Bath and Body Works Fresh Balsam candle is a little slice of heaven for me.  Before I decorated for Christmas I would just go to my candle shelf in the closet and smell this candle.  It lifted my mood and brought back memories of getting Christmas trees when I was a kid.  This candle makes me smile and puts me into the holiday spirit.

A BIG Day

Today was a big day in the Early household. Peder started preschool today. I was SO excited for him, because I knew how much he was going to love it. Then, we got to school, he met his teacher and he was off. I made it out to the van before I burst into tears. All the sudden it hit me, my baby boy was going to his first day of "school." It was such a bittersweet moment. I've been a bit of an emotional mess today since then.

Today's Smileys:

1. Peder's excitement over going to school. I couldn't even get a good picture of him. This is the best I got. This is in front of the school.

Walking into the school holding his backpack.

2. Talking to Peder about his first day of school and all the fun he had.

3. Lunch out, just Peder and I

4. Tears of joy and sadness about my little boy growing up.

5. Emmy singing to me at the top of her lungs and then clapping when she is all done.

6. The whole family dancing to the songs in the movie Alvin and The Chipmunks.

7. My parents coming to visit and checking out Peder's new bedroom.

8. Playing ball with all the kids.

9. Peder's giggles when I try to lift his arms over his head. He anticipates me tickling him, so even though I don't do it, he giggles uncontrollably thinking I'm going to.

10. Mari's curly hair. She's starting to get ringlets.

11. Thunder. It was nice to hear it today.

12. Jake's tears of joy at Fred Claus.

13. The best compliment in the world from Jake: "You are one of those moms you read about in books. You know, a really great mom."

14. Hugs and kisses before bedtime.