Baby No More....

It feels like I'm saying goodbye to my baby as this little boy emerges marching forward through the grades... first, second, third... *sighs*  I'm just not ready to close the door on coloring and finger painting for math, science and history.  But no matter how much I protest, my kid keeps growing up so I got with the program and went to celebrate the end of kindergarten:

For today's party they offered lots of fun activities and games for the students to enjoy.  Oh, and cotton candy.

Max had to deal with a lot of changes in his life this year.  I'm super proud of how sensitive, thoughtful and loving he remained through it all.  His sweet demeanor was all he needed to win over his teachers with whom he forged a very strong bond after a challenging start.

Third Grade... Buh-Bye....

I don't know who is more relieved to FINALLY say goodbye to the third grade but it may be a tie, thanks to the CRCT mandatory testing. Today was Mimi's end of the school year party which I was honored to attend.

 

Mimi obviously has no trouble making friends.  She was like a social butterfly the entire afternoon. 

I am immensely proud of Mimi.  She has overcome many hurdles during the most challenging year of school for her yet.  Now with fourth grade is on the horizon I have no doubt that she will survive the many late nights working through homework assignments as I try to foster in her my love of reading while she, in turn, tries to encourage me to attempt long hand multiplication. 

We always find ways to help each other, though I still use a calculator for simple math and she still hates to read.

Mother's Day Baking Class

This afternoon the kids and I went to a cake baking class for Mother's Day and we all worked together to create a beautiful (and delicious) cake.

 

 

Max made good use of the extras:

 



Little ball of fur....

The kids and I felt Ollie needed a playmate and there was a litter of kitties who were born to a friend's cat on St. Patrick's Day.  One of the babies was saved for us under the strict condition he have a proper Irish name.  Therefore the kids have bestowed the newest member of our family with the name "Lucky McFluffy." 

Lunch Date with Mimi

This afternoon I drove in to have lunch with Mimi and her friends at school.  I was declared by the girls to be the best mom to ever visit them for lunch.  They also said I was fun and pretty.  I choose to believe they don't say this to ALL the moms.

It was nice to see that Mimi does not have her mother's wallflower tendencies.  She is definitely well-liked and very popular with her classmates:

Lunch Date with Max

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Max and his kindergarten class for lunch and story time.  It was a real treat to be able to spend this time with these adorable children and Max was beaming from ear to ear:

The space between...

 

I was awoken abruptly in the middle of the night to the sounds of Max calling out "Mama...! Mama...!"

 

My response?  "Uhhhhhhhhhh."

 

Undeterred I next heard him say, "MOMMY! Can I open the light? I need to SHOW you something...!"

 

My response? "Uhhhhhhhhh."

 

*light flicks on and I crack open my eyes to see a $5.00 bill waving in my face by the most excited little 6 year old bearing the widest toothless smile on the planet*

 

"SHE CAME MOMMY...! SHE CAME!"

 

I quickly went from groaning to trying to stop my tears of joy at the sight of my sweet and innocent child.  In that moment I did what any loving mother would do:

 

I pulled him into my bed, kissing the top of his head and telling him with utmost sincerity that I am very excited for him followed by, "Now let's shush and go back to sleep..."

 

*snores*