We are registered for Kindergarten!

It is official, the paperwork is in, the testing is done, the tour complete and we have two VERY excited five year old children who are ready for Kindergarten and will enter school on August 1, 2013 as the class of 2026! Well at least high school graduation seems like a long way off but then again that is what I thought 6 years ago, almost to the day, that we went to do our embryo transfer. 

It really is a bittersweet moment the whole thing.  On one hand I am so proud they are doing so well and that they are learning to fly in the real world.  On another, I want my little 4lb babies back who changed our lives forever.  Some days I just miss those late night feedings when all was quiet and it was just me and my babies - I know it may sound crazy but it has just gone way too fast.  The truth is they are ready to go, they are SUPER excited, they have so many questions, a little bit of nerves and are just growing up so I need to let them go.

Right now in their minds they are gearing up for the Pre K prom - yes PROM - and cannot wait until Friday.  Just this morning as I was explaining to Maggie that I was going to pick her up early to take her to register for Kindergarten she said, "but will I still get to go to prom on Friday?" while she was excited about the idea of kindergarten she did not want to miss this prom.  I am so excited I am going to be able to go with them, it is still up in the air on what I will wear but Miss Maggie has chosen her dress already and Caden has his tuxedo t-shirt ready to go!

After prom we begin the Pre K graduation countdown.  That will be here and while it is exciting that they are graduating it will be sad as that means we are leaving Ms. Lauren who has been the kids teacher for the last 2 years and who they love dearly.  In the same conversation about prom this morning Maggie was talking about how she will go to Ms. Lauren's room in the morning, the go to kindergarten then come back to Ms. Lauren's class for more fun and some days Ms. Lauren will go to kindergarten with her!

Caden had not really said whether he was excited or not about kindergarten however, as we left school he showed me just how excited he was about going and his one question was "where will I play baseball with my friends?" 

Just as we arrived it was pick up time and the buses were coming, which was a great thing for them to see.  They had a million questions and Maggie was worried that she was going to miss her bus - she thought she was riding it today - but just seeing that there were other kids there that would be getting on the bus made them happy.  In we went to register, they took the kids to "play some games" to see where they are in skills, Matt and I filled out a million pieces of paper and then we waited for them to come out.  They did great, Caden said he counted to 60 and Maggie said she counted to 70.  We did not ask them anymore but we did go off to find Mrs. Albright so she could give them a personal tour of the playground.  I am so grateful that we know the teachers at the school and that the kids had the chance to look around.  I know they feel better and I definitely feel better about them being there.

It is bittersweet, fun, exciting to be starting a new chapter in their lives, but sad - my babies are growing up!

Maggie and Caden, we love you and are proud of you and the people you are becoming. 

You amaze us everyday with what you know and where you want to go. 

To the class of 2026 may all of your years be wonderful, may they not fly by too fast and may you cherish each event - good and bad - and know that  you will go far in life and can do whatever it is you want to do - the world is yours!

Bring a friend to class week

Each year at dance Maggie gets the chance to bring a friend to a class to join in the fun.  She has taken her cousin Natalie the last two year and she wanted her to go again this year but we could not get the schedules to work so guess who got to go?  Miss Mallory, that is right big sister took her little sister and I do not know who was more excited, Mallory, Memaw Donna or me! 

We got ready on Sunday evening and made sure that Mallory could wear a leotard and tights just like sissy.  We found a pair of Maggie's old tap shoes and packed her back pack. 
Needless to say they had a GREAT time at dance.  Maggie was very proud of Mallory following along and doing everything she needed to, Mallory was very proud of herself for being a big girl in dance. 

My girls at dance all ready to go!

Mallory was so excited that she would not change her outfit until Mommy came home that evening and she could show me how she looked and tell me about her night at dance.  She even showed me some of the dance moves she learned.  I think come August I am going to have to figure out how to spend 2 hours at the dance studio a week! Oh boy!

I love these little girls and their sisterly bond is coming along nicely.  Just seeing this photo today, one week later than the actual day makes me cry because I am proud to be their mom and proud that we can give them these opportunities in life, our village is strong.  They make me smile and I love their little smiles.  Oh girls, you have so much to give this world and I am so grateful that I get to be your mommy!  Keep on dancing my little ladies, keep on dancing. 

Daily Plans versus Reality and what really happens

Each day I climb out of bed before anyone else in the family, well usually anyone but sometimes you never know who is up, and as I prepare for my day I try to get my head around what they day will hold for the 6 of us.

In theory it is a good idea, get a plan for the day but in reality those plans seldom work out and I find myself getting to very little of what was actually planned.  Before the kids, I was a list maker, still am but just don't often have time to make the list anyone.  I find JOY in crossing things off the list and getting the projects done.  I liked when a day went as planned, now we hope for the best and cherish the laughter along the way.

So here is last Tuesday's plan and what really happened in our world:

• Plan: Get to work early to get something accomplished
• Reality: Made it at my normal start time of 7:30 so not too bad
• Plan: Have a productive day at work, get through emails and get some projects done (checked off the list) and to update the blog at lunch
• Reality: Sat in meetings all day, not really sure what I accomplished other than got more emails to answer and still need to do my projects.  Blog is FAR behind what I want it to be to capture our lives
• Plan: Pick the kids up at a decent time (hoping for a few minutes early) so that the evening would be smooth
• Reality: Was LATE by about 30 minutes more than normal thanks to the above said meetings
• Plan: Cook dinner, sit down the with kids to eat, hang out with them and then bathes
• Reality: Got home to the boys outside and ready to play, quickly ran in to use the restroom and off to the park the 5 of us went.  We were a sight!  One Gator, one pedal bike and two in a wagon being pulled trekked the 1/2 mile to the park, played and then came home all without injury.  Quickly heated up some dinner in the microwave and then threw them in the tub
• Plan: Get the kids in bed on time
• Reality: LATE on this - see above we were busy playing and getting bathes!
• Plan: Finish up some laundry that needs to be done
• Reality: had some work I had to do since the day wasn't quite as productive as I had planned
• Plan: Exercise in some fashion of at least a walk on the treadmill
• Reality: finished off a Tri Kappa Easter egg while I was finishing up work

All in all - besides running late it turned into a good day but I had to remember to not let the pressure of things not going as I planned weigh me down.  My kids had a ball at the park, they each rode or drove what they wanted, no one got hurt, we made smiles and had laughs and thankfully daddy came home early to help out with the bathes we were running late on which meant we could get done faster.  We got the kids in bed, watched a little of the Reds game and then got to bed ourselves without any extra little people sharing our bed - which is a chore in itself right now (don't worry it only lasted 5 minutes before someone was there!) at least we had a little adult conversation about what was going on that week to just check in with each other.

I don't know what made me write this all down the other day, maybe because it was a swing in the plan vs. reality that impacted me that day. 
Maybe I just needed to be reminded of what is truly important after a long few days at work that stretched until the weekend. 
Maybe looking at my babies I realize just how much they are growing up and that I cannot stop them as hard as I may try. 
Maybe I just realized that God has a funny sense of humor each morning by allowing me to think I can layout a plan for the day and then testing me each day to do more than I thought I could. 
Maybe I just want to feel in control for a few hours (sometimes minutes) as I lay out this plan.  Whatever the case, I know that the plan may not always happen, I have had to learn how to be flexible in what I expect and what is reality (this is a WIP - still need to be reminded of this at times) and that whatever comes our way in a day if my kids made me laugh, if we snuggled a bit and if Matt and I actually got to talk to each other that day then that is what matters the most.

Having two sets of twins has changed my mindset from "get the list accomplished" to "survive the day and hope to get something done" all the while trying to enjoy the kids as they grow up too fast.  I think any number of children will do this for you and somewhere there is a meaning for it. 
I just know it so enjoy the reality today because if you get mad about not hitting the plan for the day there is a chanced you missed out on something wonderful!