Kindergarten

So today begins a week long gradual entrance into Kindergarten for Emma. Today, however Mommy and Daddy go to Kindergarten. We have a conference with the teacher of what to expect for the year and how things will go. I am excited and sad at the same time. I'm so excited for all the wonderful things Emma is about to experience and learn. She will meet new friends and maybe one or two will be life long friends. I met Missy in Kindergarten and we remained inseparable through high school. I hope she finds a friend like this as well. I hope she loves her teacher, loves school and comes home everyday with a smile.
On the other hand I am sad. The past 5 1/2 years have flown by. She is venturing into the big world. Even though she has been a in daycare/preschool setting since she was 3 months, this is still a big step.
I will keep you posted as the week goes on.
So off to Kindergarten Daddy and I go!!!!

Growing UP!!!

This coming week is a BIG one for Emma. She will start kindergarten. She seems excited, hopefully she will LOVE it. More on kindergarten this weekend and next week.

The crazy thing is that all of a sudden over the past two weeks Emma seems older, more mature and smarter. She has been using some BIG words lately:

EXHAUSTED, ACTUALLY, AMAZING, DELICIOUS....it's almost like she tries to find a "big girl" synonym for what she wants to say. She is so aware of the BIG words.

Another BIG milestone happened this week. I have been telling Emma we needed to practice tying her shoes and she would always blow me off. Then this week I mentioned it again. On Monday morning while Sean was putting on his shoes he showed her how to do it. Emma then grabbed my tennis shoe and DID IT....I figured it was definitely beginners luck. Well she has done it many times since then and nails it every time. She does get frustrated with herself because she doesn't tie it tight enough. She even did a double knot on her own shoes.

I was so proud of her.....I remember struggling with learning to tie.

So not only will she be starting school and tying shoes, she will probably lose her first tooth within the next year.

This is ALL happening to fast. I'm afraid to keep blinking....she might be in college when I open my eyes again.

Lists and Calendars

I LOVE LISTS. I love to make a list, complete the task and then scratch it off the list. I have TO DO lists, HONEY DO lists, SUMMER PROJECT lists, WEEKLY MENU lists, GROCERY lists, WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT lists, SCRAPBOOK PAGES TO DO lists, HOME REPAIR lists not to mention all the lists and notes I scribble down on post-it-notes. When I am at work sitting at my desk I often write myself reminder notes or make a list of things I need at a certain store or a lists of area yard sales I find on CraigsList. Sometimes I look at my desk and it is covered in yellow....post-it-notes or paper from my small yellow tablet. Then when you look in my pocketbook there are more lists for things to buy or things to do. (I'm not even considering all the notes and lists I have for work related things). What is very frustrating is when I need a list and I don't have....example at the store.

Do you get the picture.....my lists ARE EVERYWHERE. Sometimes this is overwhelming.

This is not to mention the calendar situation. I have a date book I carry with me. There is a monthly calendar on our bulletin board in the kitchen, then Abby will get a monthly calendar from school and I am sure Emma will as well.

I consider my self an organized person but the lists and calendars make my head spin. I need more organization in this part of my life. Now that the girls will be going to different schools and doing more activities I feel like there needs to be a BETTER SYSTEM.

Currently in our we use this:

This is in our kitchen over the counter. It has worked in the past but I am feeling that it is no longer adequate for our busy life. I have found several ideas I like but they are either toooo expensive or won't work in our house.

The first one is an old door with chalk board paint...this is really cool. The next are chalkboard wall decals....I do like this idea but they are expensive you can find all kinds here.

As you know I like to read BLOGs and have read what other people do. This is a popular topic this time of year with school starting. Some people have BINDERS that they keep all their lists. That is great but I am certainly not lugging a binder everywhere with me. This is a good idea for a stay-at-home mom. Check out the Organizing Junkie...there are great ideas here for tons of stuff .

So I am looking for ideas or inspiration. I hoping I figure something out soon, as school starts next week and there will be much more to keep track of. Wish me luck.

Good Bye Blue

Today we said "Good Bye" to our Land Rover. We have had it for 6 years and it has been really good to us. Unfortunatley it had 110k miles, the sunroof leaked, there was some other leak that made the passenger carpet wet (all the time), sounded like a tank, drank up gas like a tank (only about 11 mpg city, 14 mpg highway) and it was on the verge of some expensive maintenance. Funny to think you get attached to a car but we did. Abby was actually a little upset we were getting rid of it. We traded it in on the "cash for clunkers" government incentive....much more than we would of gotten otherwise.

So "GOOD BYE" ole Blue we will miss you!!!

So you want to know what we got??????? Well I definitley wanted something much more fuel efficient (hence the purpose of the "cash for clunkers"). I was also interested in something that would give me the room to take a friend for the girls.... that would require 3rd row seating. I'm over the desire for a mini van and glad that passed and I didn't act on it previously. Trying to find something small with 3rd row seating was a challenge. There were 2 "wagons" I came up with (Kia Rondo and Mazda 5). Now when I say wagon it is not the "station wagons" of the past. I did lots of research and decided the Kia Rondo was what we wanted.

We got black exterior with dark grey interior and 3rd row seating. It is really nice. Sits further off the ground than a sedan and it is not as big as a SUV.

Hoping for many happy years with our new car.

Small Town Life

Does anyone else ever dream about this??? I do all the time. Often I think I would love to trade the hustle and bustle of Baltimore for a much more calm and simple life in "smalltownville". I'm not sure where this is and I wouldn't want to pick up and leave my family.

My idea "smalltownville" would be a one stop light town. The kind of place with a Main Street with a few cafes (and NOT Starbucks), ma and pa grocery store, some specialty stores, a bakery, gas station/auto shop where "Joe" doesn't charge an arm a leg just to change the oil, library....get the idea? Can you just picture it????? Tree lined streets that branch off from Main Street with old Victorian houses that all have shutters and wrap-around-porches. A place you can let your children play and roam and know they are safe. I don't mind a place where everyone knows you and you know everyone.

A place were the schools don't use trailers for classrooms and your kids actually learn. I want to hang my laundry (not the personables) out in the fresh air, grow my own veggies (ones the squirrels don't eat) have town meetings, go to town fairs and festivals (not on the large scale we have here), walk everywhere or ride a bike....etc. A place without all the commercial temptations.

Of course with living in a small town the hope would be that the cost of living would be more affordable and I wouldn't have to work so that I could enjoy the "smalltownville" life.

Maybe something like this:

Then reality sinks in, you know that little voice in your head...which is usually Sean's voice of reason: Where would he/we work? We would just pick up and leave our family and friends? Could I survive without a Walmart? Where is this "smalltownville" anyway?

So then I open my eyes and I am back in Baltimore. Don't get me wrong I love my house, love were I live, love that my friends and family are really close and love my family.....but a girl can DREAM right????