All is Groovy!

We had a great first day of kindergarten! I say we because it's harder on the Mom's! Thomas was very excited to go. I was so proud of him!

I only got a little emotional. Once when we started to drive up to the school parking lot, but I pulled it together. The other time was when he walked into the classroom. I didn't full on ugly-cry, but I did get a little misty. (Here is where I should insert that I came home and had a cinnamon roll and a chocolate cupcake. Guess who is an emotional eater? Guess who was trying to stuff the feelings in!!!)

Clara wanted to go with him so bad! She kept telling me she wanted to go sit on the little chairs.

Thomas wanted to ride the bus home, so I met him at the school and made sure he got on and knew what to do. (Yes, I know I am overprotective, so sue me!) He gave me such a disappointed look when he saw me waiting for him after class. He thought I was going to make him come with me.

After we got home I tried to get information out of him on how his day went. He told me that he "didn't have time for that, and that it would take too long!" Little by little information is coming out. I think he may be a little bored, but I keep telling him that it will get better once all the rules and procedures are taught.

He wanted to go back this morning, so I am assuming all is groovy.

First of many starting school blog posts.

Tonight was it. It's almost official. Thomas is a kindergartner.

It was back to school night at his elementary school. We went to see his classroom and meet his teacher. He was so excited and a little nervous. I asked him how he felt and he answered, "I'm just afraid I won't have friends." It about broke my heart. Of course he will have friends, he has plenty of kids from our ward in his class. But then the panic set in. What if...? What if my kid is socially awkward? What if I haven't prepared him for the real world? What if he talks too much in class? What am I going to do if I ever get a call from a the teacher saying that he took someones lunch money? What if he empties all the paper towels in the bathroom and leaves them in a messy pile on the floor? All these scenarios went through my mind as I stood in the classroom and pretended to be okay with everything. I thought it would help that I had a former teaching career that lasted 6 years. I know what happens in classrooms. It didn't help.

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Now I need to suck it up. He'll be fantastic. I'll be fine. We'll all be okay.

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I guess I should mention that he had a great time. He loved his classroom. He had a huge smile on his face when he met his teacher. When he saw the computers I think he did the dance of joy - especially since they had headphones! She also had a pet frog, a fish, and a big fake tooth cut in half that Thomas held up to his mouth several times. What more can you ask for?

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Before the event, I took him to Fresh and Easy and let him pick out flowers for his teacher. I was surprised that he picked red roses, but what can you do? It probably looked like we were teaching him to be a suck-up, but that was not the case. I have been in those teacher shoes! I know what it's like to work tons of hours getting the classroom set up. The money they spend out of their own pocket to provide the extras that are necessary. I know how their feet are aching and how they are counting down the hours until they can get home and climb into bed. They all deserve a special Thank You for the hard work they have endured this past week.

(I'll climb off my soapbox. But seriously - buy your kids' teachers some flowers or pick some from your garden and wrap them in wet paper towel and tinfoil. Teach your kids to tell them Thank you! Now, I'll really climb off.)

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After the meet-and-greet Thomas requested we go out for Pizza. We had a little party and celebrated his (and lets face it, my) milestone.

Just because I love them.

This picture is shows his personality. Calm and thoughtful.

And this would be hers. Wild and crazy.

I'm so glad our family is well rounded.

You are what you watch.

This little girl....

is currently obsessed with this girl....

Unfortunately, she has taught my little girl to say, "I oughta slug you."

This guy is also on her short list. He has taught her to say, "Not again!" every time she falls.

When this part comes on, she likes to dance like girl in purple.

Classic.

Eggplant Sandwiches

About a month ago I started to participate in the Bountiful Baskets Co-op. I'm loving it. Every Saturday I go down to the park and pick up my huge basket of fruits and veggies. I make it a point to consume everything before the following week, even if I am scared of something that is unfamiliar. The first week I had 3 mangos in my basket. I thought I didn't like mangos. I started searching the Internet to find recipes and found one for mango bread. It was the most delicious bread I have ever made. It had mangos and coconut, it was so good that I ate one piece and sent the rest with Steve to the clinic. I knew if I didn't give it away I would eat both loaves by the time Steve got home from work. I have no self control.

This last week the bonus prize in the basket was eggplant. I've had it once or twice. I think I liked it, but it didn't leave any lasting impression on me. Once again I scoured the Internet trying to find a recipe. I struck gold! I made these sandwiches for dinner tonight and both Steve and I were blown away. I'm sure you could un-fat it a bit by using lite-mayo, but come on - why? I am only concerned with my sugar intake right now so bring on the full fat mayo!

Eggplant Sandwiches
1 eggplant, halved and sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup mayo
2 cloves garlic (I used 2 large cloves and it was pretty strong. If garlic offends you, use less)
French sandwich rolls
Roma Tomato
Feta Cheese
Fresh Basil

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Brush eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cookie sheet with eggplant about 6 inches from the heat source. Cook under the broiler for 10 minutes, or until tender and toasted. They will look a little dry, but they are perfectly fine.

2. Split French rolls and toast. (I put a little butter on each side and stuck it under the broiler)In a small bowl stir together the mayo and garlic. Spread the mayo mixture on the toasted bread and top with eggplant, tomato, basil, and a little bit of feta cheese.

St. George

Last weekend we planned on going to a funeral in Littlefield, AZ. If anyone is familiar with the area, this is the church that seems to be in the middle of nowhere on the way to Utah. We figured that since we would only be 20 minutes from St. George we would take the kids along and make a weekend getaway out of it.

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The funeral was very nice. The music was beautiful. The kids were fantastic. What more could you ask for. They did so well sitting through the service. Clara only spilled ALL her fruitloops twice and Thomas only asked if "this was the last talker" every 4 minutes instead of every 2.

After the service was over we reconnected with old friends while the kids tried to pull us out the door. They were so excited to go to a hotel.

The whole purpose of the trip to St. George was to be together as a family, swim and eat hotel Belgian Waffles. Nothing else. We got into town around 2, had lunch, and then made our way over to the luxurious Comfort Inn (really, it is nice. It's one of the new hotels in town.)

We were all in our suits within minutes and ready to hit the pool.

I don't know how many times Steve threw the kids. He was a machine. They kept asking me to throw them, but when I throw them it's more like a push. Pretty lame. They are so lucky to have him as their Dad.

I have been trying ALL summer long to get Thomas to take off his life jacket. He never wanted to. Steve taught him a few tricks and he was swimming within 10 minutes. I was so proud of him!

We swam all afternoon and then took the kids over to Pizza Factory to introduce them to the famous bread twists. We figured we should probably call it a night when Clara made me scoot over on the bench so she could take a nap. After waking them up early so we could drive to the funeral, playing in the pool and a late dinner, I think we had officially worn the kids out.

The next morning we went and ate our waffles and then went swimming. Clara only lasted about 20 minutes. I think it may have had something to do with me rubbing sunblock in her eyes. She kept asking to go to the "office" and go to sleep. I have no idea why she called our room the office, but I knew what she meant. We're tight like that.

While the boys swam, Clara and I played with Foofa. I taught her the skill of using her dress as a baby blanket.

After we checked out of our hotel, we made our way over to the antique fire truck in Ancestor Square. The kids were in heaven. Something like this would last 2 minutes in Las Vegas!

See, I was there.

Did I tell you the kids were loving it?

That is until I made Clara get off so I could take her picture.

After the firetruck we went to the temple. We quickly walked the grounds (it was SO HOT) and made our way into the visitors center. Steve and I found a soft spot to sit and cool off while the kids had a blast watching videos and using the touch screens.

We all had a great time. The kids didn't want to come home and neither did I.

(Courtesy of Thomas)

What a $5 pool gets you.

Nothing but joy.

Rainbow hunt

The heavens FINALLY opened up this evening. After about 3 weeks of clouds creeping in every afternoon only to tease us and then evaporate, they delivered a fabulous thunder storm.

We forced the kids out to to porch to watch the rain, umbrellas in hand.

After about 10 minutes, the clouds started to part and the sun began to peak through a few spots. We knew that it was the perfect condition for rainbows, so we tossed the kids in the van and started to hunt. I was really hoping for a double rainbow , but we only found a single one.

And guess who the first one to spot it was....

She kept shouting from her car seat, "I tee wainbow!" Sure enough, she was right.

We pulled the car over into a parking lot and started to shoot some pictures.

What? Is there something wrong with my child? Yes, he is only wearing his boxers. Yes, he is wearing my shoes. We didn't have time for minor details like clothing.

Thomas is becoming quite the photographer. I gave him an old camera and he loves it. He actually can work it pretty well.

Love. This. Picture.

No mom, Steve was not driving here. We were pulled over.

So intense!

Children can pick up on your feelings.

See. Proof! Told ya.

This is how I've been feeling lately.

Thomas starts kindergarten in a matter of weeks. He is thrilled. He can't wait. How am I? When I start thinking about it I feel my heart starts to beat a little faster and my head goes fuzzy. I know there are about a billion kids who have started kindergarten before him, but they weren't mine.

I need to grow up. I need to let him go and be a big kid. Ready or not, it's coming and I need to put my big girl panties on and deal.

Perks

I always knew that having children would be great. They love you unconditionally, they give great hugs, and you can train them to do some pretty neat tricks.

I would like to thank my husband for teaching our children this trick...

A couple months ago Steve taught the kids the proper techniques to a great foot rub and back massage. (He also taught them how to walk on his back, but thats not my bag.) I never really got in on the action, I figured it was daddy time. However, the past week or so Clara has become obsessed with rubbing my feet. Everytime I get out of the shower she comes running up to me and asks me to lay on the bed with my feet hanging off so she can give them good rub. Being the fantastic mother that I am, I let her do her thing.

Afterall, how can I say no to this face?

So I reluctantly lay on the bed with my feet hanging over the side and let her do her magic. She is actually quite good. She has great thumb placement and really works the toes.

Today I had just done my family room floors and sat down. She took off my shoes and asked me to "wait a second." I had a feeling she was going to get her foot lotion, so I grabbed my camera. Sure enough she came down ready to give me a nice foot rub.

As you can see, she is very thorough.

I really like my kids.