A Week In The Life: Sunday

6:30 - John in our bed.

7:00 - I crawl out of bed with him and we start some biscuits.

7:30 - Matthew wakes up and we all play downstairs for a bit while the biscuits are in the oven.

7:45 - Carl up (John went in to ask how 3D movies work). We all have some breakfast and then get ready for Church.

8:50 - Out the door for 9:15 service. Love the series called "re-engage" right now about marriage .The kiddos have a good time and get their ritual donut as we walk out.

10:30 - Home to drop Daddy off and get a drink then out the door to get a birthday present and a few essentials for the lunch tomorrow.

11:30 - Home watching TV while Daddy is packing up and I am unpacking groceries and throwing together a quick lunch before they go fill up on popcorn and candy.

12:20 - Out the door for a movie theater birthday party (Daddy leaves for the airport). It is for Savannah (the girl from earlier in the week). All the neighborhood crew is there so it is all smiles. We watched The Wizard of Oz in 3D. John got bored in the middle of the movie and Matthew got restless, but they both behaved beautifully. :)

3:15 - cake and coloring in the food court of the mall (where the movie theater is) with the birthday party.

4:00 - Home. Boys watching Paw Patrol while I clean the kitchen. Then we play and tickle and roughhouse a bit in the living room.

5:30 - I put together something for dinner and John sees a picture of "Cloudy With a Chance For Meatballs" on the guide. He watches it, but Matthew has no interest. He rides his plane around and plays a kazoo and says "Mama, you watching me?" 1001 times. John decides he does not like the movie and proceeds to play around too. We goof around and eat and the boys want to play volleyball, so we practice serving.

Matthew and I go upstairs to put away clothes, but he ends up taking each ball out of a bucket one by one and rolling them down the stairs. fun.

John begs to take a bath with Matthew so I let them and it ends up without a fight (which was the reason they stopped in the first place.

7:15 - We got downstairs and I set the timer for 5 minutes and told them they could do whatever they wanted. Then I set it for 2 minutes and we have a racing clean up party of the living room. It worked so nicely... going to try again tonight.

7:30 - We all three go up and read "Good Night Wonder Pets" and put Matthew to bed. John and I go downstairs and pack his snacks for the week. We have to put 5 snacks in separate Ziploc baggies and send it on Monday for the rest of the week. We put together a mix of granola bars, and home made snack mixes. We normally mix a raisin, craisin, yogurt raisin or some other dried fruit with something salty (pretzels, cheese-its, goldfish, chips, etc) or some type of cereal or graham crackers. I wish it could be a fresh snack, but oh well.

8:00 - John has some trouble getting to sleep, he says that he can't control his brain and it keeps thinking about bad dreams. I think this could be a combo of school in the morning, Daddy being out of town, and the Wizard of Oz viewing today. I lay with him for a bit and then I say I will be back in 5 minutes. 6 minutes later I go up there and he is snoring like a log.

I do my bible study homework and then watch some TV while counting box top and labels for education.

A Week In The Life: Saturday

1:00am - John crawls in bed with us and I let him and cuddle all night. :)

6:30 - John tries to wake me up, but I whisper we have 30 more minutes. He stirs and sneezes and sits up and pulls covers for the next 30 minutes.

7:00 - John and I get up and read our Whale book and have some coffee. (Since Wednesday he has lost his ipad until he can show more respect to adults, I told him he can practice and show me he knows how today at the soccer game and tomorrow at the birthday party and he MAY get it back. But of course after I cut that cord he doesnt seem to want it anymore anyway.)

7:30 - I get MJ up and we play around the living room a bit and finally eat some oatmeal around 8:00. I watch the news and the boys run up and downstairs.

8:30 - Carl gets up.  The boys are doing a dinosaur puzzle on the floor in the hallway. After a little bit of gameday and playing around downstairs the boys and I go up and play on the xbox and with the bean bags and goof around a bit. Daddy heads to home depot.

11:00 - the three boys go out side and ride scooters and tricycles around the block while I clean the kitchen up. Then I get lunch ready while they play around downstairs. They eat an early lunch around 11:30. 

12:00 - nap for Matthew, I shower, John's playing with hex bugs and Carl watches football. 

12:30 - we find out the soccer game in cancelled due to wet field and ants. So I fall asleep on the couch and John and Daddy play a bit and then John asks to play by himself. 

3:00 - Matthew is up, this is the first time in as long as I can remember that I have not had to wake him for something. Poor kid. The boys are playing and eating snacks and generally doing whatever they feel like for a couple of hours. They really can be the best of friends when they feel like it. 

They play in this truck all the time pretending they are going to the store or hunting. Matthew is mid-sentence "No picture me". 

5:00 - I make an early dinner. 

6:00 - I am out the door for the Neon Splash Dash. It was a great time. To see the thousands and thousands of people out there engaging in a healthy activity for charity (or whatever their personal motivation) was awe inspiring. The weather was fantastic and knowing that I had not run in quite a while, Emily and I did pretty good. 

All I got from Carl was that the boys had fun and they built a fort and played in the bounce house. I got this little picture too. 

11:30 - We are both in bed and asleep within a minute. 

A Week in the Life: Friday

6:30 - Up, make lunch and one cup of coffee.

7:00 - Get John out of bed, today is wear a jersey day and all of his soccer team wore their jerseys.

7:20 - It is raining, but Carl is still home so I just walk John to school with umbrellas.

7:35 - Back home, wake up Matthew, eat breakfast, say goodbye to Daddy. Matthew plays on the ipad and then we jump in the car to get the dry cleaning there by 9.

9:15 - home and play in the living room a bit, then we have to head almost downtown to pick up my race packet for the neon fun run thing I am doing tomorrow night. I went to the wrong location and it ended up taking a lot longer than I thought. But I had a chance to chat on the phone with Stephanie, so it was a great trip. We just grabbed an early lunch on the way home.

12:00 - we played in the living room a bit more and started to watch Paw Patrol, but he was much more interested in riding the scooter all over the house.

12:30 - nap time and I wiped down the counters and swept real quick.

1:00 - 5 fantastic ladies from the PTA came over to help count and sort box tops and labels. We are now up to 16 man hours and are still not done with last Spring's collection. Whew....

2:40 - we all walk down to pick up our kiddos from school. On the way home, the boys devise a plan to play for a short while. So John and Andy go over to Garrett's for about an hour. I shower and Matthew plays in my bathroom and wants to "smell" everything and try to do his own hair.

4:00 - we drive the buggy over to get John and head back home quickly before it starts raining again. The boys and I play upstairs for a bit on these building things. I finish getting ready and mill around a bit.

5:30 - I get the boys dinner and Carl gets home. Then the boys get shower and baths and Carl and I finish getting ready to go out to dinner with the Waters.

6:20 - Peyton gets here and the boys are not thrilled, but they turn it around pretty quickly after we leave. I think Matthew felt John's anxiety because normally John loves when Peyton comes over. Kindergarten has him all in a muck. They play and read and go to bed without a problem.

We go to a farm-to-table restaurant in the arts district called FT33. It was a really fun experience.

11:00 - we get home and I take Peyton home and then we all crash to bed.

A Week In The Life: Thursday

6:00 - WAHOO, I am working my way back up to my 5:30 wake up time. I get up and do my bible study and feel refreshed and invigorated to start the day. Love me some Jesus! :)

6:30 - Start lunch and breakfast for both boys.

6:55 - Finally have to go wake up John. He gets downstairs and checks his calendar to see what "Special" he has today (PE). Then starts eating his bisquits. I run and try to at least get out of PJ's. I head up to get Matthew and John gets dressed. Pack backpack, shoes and hair.

7:20 - out the door. Notice that this is 10 minutes earlier than the other days. This was John's request to just "be earlier" so he does not miss the line ever!

Ms. Corrigan did email me back and she declined my services in the classroom very sweetly, by saying that she felt like John needed at least a semester without me in the room to make sure he is adjusted. Stung a bit, but I understand. She also said that yesterday by the time he got to her he was smiling and ready. He was the only one who got a bead that morning because she said he is so good at getting unpacked and focused on work right away. She said the other kiddos still struggle with that part of the day. Here is the picture of this "line" nonsense that I keep talking about (he is waving in the very back)

7:33 - Already back home and eating breakfast and watching Paw Patrol with Matthew. I do a little of this blog, make a grocery list for the Matilda Jane party that I am hosting this afternoon and start the routine pick up process.

8:30 - I strive to have one morning activity with Matthew every morning before we start any part of our day. Today it was blocks upstairs again. He loves those things.

9:00 - drop Matthew off and he did great! It was red day at his school so he got to wear his new OU shirt.

9:30 - Went to the gym and took a new "step" class that I will NOT be going back too. But I did get in an hour of cardio.

10:30 - Ran to the store for a few last minute things for the after school snacks that were promised to the kiddos that came to the clothes party. I served cheese sticks, gogurts, fruit cookies and pigs in a blanket.

11:00 - Talked to Twyla and my mom while cleaning house and setting up the table for snacks and baking cookies and cutting fruit and showering and all sorts of random other "running around crazy" things. All while listening to music loud in the house, love this part, it made it so fun.

1:50 - Pick up Matthew. He did awesome and kept his shoes on all day long! WAHOO!

2:00 - Paw Patrol while making the pigs in an blanket snacks.

2:40 - Shannon gets here and starts setting up while we go get bubba from school and rush home.

3:00 - there are like 7 scooters and a lot of kids on the porch and in the house and moms looking at clothes and all of the 8 kids have a playdate for about an hour upstairs and only one little hiccup with a friend threw a bucket at John's head. A few more moms trickled in and Matthew's little best buddy Cage and his mom came by so Matthew had a buddy too. Most everyone left, but we kept the precious Waters kids a bit longer and they played in the bounce house and then outside in the back for a little while.

5:30 - Shannon leaves and me and the boys play out front on scooters and tricycles. then in to watch Paw Patrol while I scramble them some eggs and cheese with oranges and crackers for dinner. They eat great.

6:15 - bath and shower time.

6:40 - We are all three on the couch cuddling and I asked Matthew what God makes (assuming he would say "me") and he said "babies". Then John says "who was Adam and Eve's baby?" and then followed with "Maybe it was Mary and Joesph and then they had Jesus and then Jesus made all the other babies". My response.... "That is a very interesting idea" and he moved on. :)

7:00 - John tells me out of the blue he wants to learn to play volleyball. So we set up the tonka truck to be our volleyball net and I taught the boys serving, setting, bumping and spiking. They are D.O.N.E. with me taking pictures this week for this blog, so I only got one of their correct form for bumping. :) Then we are all off to brush teeth together tonight.

7:30 - John comes up to read stories with us which makes Matthew very happy! We read "Sooner Born, Sooner Bred". Thanks to Aunt Abbey signing the boys up for the legacy program, which gave us this book! Only fitting because it is college week at John's school.

7:40 - After Matthew is in bed, John and I come down and read "Whales, the Gentle Giants" and then off to bed.

8:00 - I talk to my parents for over an hour. I love you guys! It is finally raining in Texas, but our dish network keeps going out. ARG!!!!

10:00 - I get in bed and realize I can watch stuff we have recorded even though the dish is not working .So I stay up too late catching up on TV. Carl rolls in sometime before midnight I think after dinner and drinks with some home office people.

A Week in the Life: Wednesday

6:30 - John is down and in our bed, Carl gets up and John and I cuddle until about 6:45. Then it is time to bust it! John eats cereal again and I make his lunch. We both get dressed and he seems to be in a great mood.

7:25 - I snatch Matthew up and run downstairs, out the door by 7:30.

7:38 - at school.... THE LINE LEFT AGAIN! Tears and lots of tears. I try to get him to wait for Garrett to walk to class with him but he says no that he does not want to miss instructions, so he goes to school bawling his eyes out. AHHHHHH.

7:50 - I am still feeling pretty crummy, so Matthew and I eat some breakfast and then cuddle on the couch for a little Paw Patrol. Then I jump in the shower and he rides his airplane around in and out of the bathroom bringing me "pretend" things.

9:00 - Get dressed for our first swim school. He is so excited. We get there about 9:15 and have to fill out paper work, just enough time for him to get a bit nervous. 9:30 Coach Sam calls him in the room. He is hesitant, but goes on like a brave little boy. After just a few minutes of warming up, he is all over it. He blew the teacher away and the other two little kids out of the water. He did everything the first time and he did it awesome. So proud of himself!

10:05 - Home and riding his airplane and eating a snack and playing with his binoculars and doctor equipment that I never picked up from yesterday. I have another cup of coffee, send an email and clean up the kitchen for my PTA company in a bit.

Matthew then explains to me all the cookies that John made for his cookie shop and proceeds to have me taste each of them (chocolate white cookie peanut butter cream was my favorite). I tired to get Matthew to practice cutting lines on paper but he draws a "castle that a queen lives in and draws two potties, one for girls and one for boys" and then "an airplane and a boat for bubba and daddy and me and you"and then "two towers" and then a "helicopter". All pictured below... you tell me if you can pick those things out... only a mama could!

11:00 - upstairs to play for a bit while water boiling for mac and cheese lunch. Built a tower from teh jumbo blocks. I highly recommend these things to anyone with young kids. Hard to store, but so fun for so many reasons.

11:30 - eating mac and cheese, crackers and mangoes. Then he jumps on the ipad to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates (Abbey, if you are reading this, if you get Disney Jr. app, Maggie can watch episodes of Sophia). I send an email to John's teacher about helping out in the classroom (guided reading, cutting, bulletin boards, sight word testing, etc.) and also ask her about this whole "missing morning instruction" fear that John had. Reassurance from her is the only kind that he is going to take to heart, so hopefully she can ease that for him.

12:30 - lay down for nap while I get all the Box Tops and Labels For Education supplies out to start counting and sorting and submitting. Ashlea and her sister in law are coming over at 12:45. On the dot, the door bell rings and the three of us work for 2 hours separating and counting all of these tiny little scraps of paper. In all we have spent 10 man hours and are not even half way through the Spring collection that was just left over and forgotten about last year....

2:30 - Matthew is up and we change diaper and head to get John. John is all smiles and we head home.

3:15 - Head over to Garrett's for a short play date and Matthew and I come back home to try on his ninja costume which is WAY to big. I get on the phone and order another one. Matthew has some yogurt and apple juice while I unpack and wash John's lunch box.

4:15 - When we get to Garrett's they (John, the Waters kids and the Books kids) had set up a lemonade and bracelet stand. So by the time we hung around a little bit everyone was having such a good time in the street that we stayed and skipped the haircut plan. They rode all sorts of vehicles and ran around and played with the Brooks little dog. It was a good time. 

6:00 - home to try on John's black ninja costume and then the pizza arrives. (yeah, no time to cook a meal tonight). We eat and then Daddy comes home. The boys play around in the living room on the ipad and making forts with the pillows. 

7:00 - shower and bath time. Once Matthew is done with bath he likes to run back and forth between John in our shower and us in the living room and deliver messages. It is pretty cute. 

7:30 - bedtime for Matthew. Bed and nap have become a struggle for him these days. Not too bad, but defiantly not a pleasant moment. Read a book and sang "itsy bitsy spider" it is his one and only request every night. 

8:00 - bedtime for John, Carl goes up and gets to chat about his day at school and then I came in and he read me "Whales, the Gentle Giants" for 10 minutes. It is slow going, but he can read. I am so thankful that he will talk to Carl about school because he will not talk to me about it. In fact, today when I said I had a question for him, he said "is it about school, because I do not want to answer it". :( Clearly I approach it the wrong way or am overdoing it. Have I mentioned that Kindergarten seems to spot light every parenting flaw that I have. :( 

A Week In The Life: Tuesday

Today has been "one of those days" which happens at least weekly, so it is only fitting.

5:30 - Carl is up and getting ready for a meeting downtown and leaves before anyone is awake.

6:30 - I finally roll out of bed. blah. I wish I could start getting up early again! I fix John and Matthew's lunch and then go get him at 6:45 and carry him downstairs, plop him in the tower and we eat a bowl of cereal together, half asleep.

7:00 - start getting dressed and playing and getting ready for school. Today is "put your thinking caps on" for college week so they got to wear a college hat.

7:20 - I get Matthew out of bed and dressed and plop him in the tricycle. Out the door by 7:30. hugs and kisses and no tears at drop off! WAHOO! I am almost back home and realize I hooked the garage door opener on John's backpack. ARG. Somehow I did not have time to get dressed this morning, so I am still in PJ's and sunglasses even though it is cloudy, but I convince myself that as long as I don't take them off, I don't need to wash the mascara from under my eyes from the day before..... well.... to get back into the building you have to sign in at the front office and make nice then, walk all the way down the Kindergarten pod to the VERY LAST CLASS and pass every teacher along the way. A.W.E.S.OM.E. Fortunately John was already in his class and did not see me sneak in his backpack.

8:00 - Home and fix oatmeal for Matthew and he watches Paw Patrol while I shower and get ready. By the time I get ready and him ready, there is no time for any play, so I am feeling out of whack with priorities (although showering was a must). I still have had no coffee.

8:50 - Out the door feeling unglued, rushed, tired and sad because I did not play with either boy this morning. Matthew's drop off is a little more hectic than usual for several reasons that I won't list here, just one thing after another. He gets in and blows me a kiss good bye which makes it all better. He is a dolphin. I am not sure I ever posted his first day of school picture so here it is.

9:15 - Head to bible study and make a phone call that turns into tears and I quickly realize I am emotional and should probably not talk much at bible study today of fear of gushing. But who am I to follow my own advice, I ended up crying in front of the whole group about my inadequate feelings as a parent. I love my bible study and am so thankful to be able to do it every Tuesday. It always stirs my heart and leaves me feeling hopeful and blessed. This particular one is "Gideon, Your weakness, God's Strength". I feel convicted.

11:30 - RUSH out of bible study (the days without the boys always seem to be this rushed way) to meet Summer for lunch. So thankful for that too, I love her and miss her and wish we lived in closer proximity. However, I know that we are both in a season of life with small kiddos and a lot of scheduling that is out of our control. I know that we are life long friends and in another season of life I will see her more than once a month. Love you Summer!

1:00 - Go to Target, because what day is not complete without going there. I picked up some stuff for dinner and then a new water bottle for John, one of those collapsible ones. He does not take his water bottle to lunch with him because he is afraid he will lose it and it wont fit in his lunch box. I solved that problem. He was coming home everyday with headaches and I know it is because he goes all day without drinking one drop.

1:30 - Another phone call to discuss logistics of PTA and a few other events while picking up the house and going to get Matthew.

2:00 - Pick up Matthew to find out he is still taking his shoes off multiple times a day and not napping at all! Teachers want to ring his neck and cuddle him all at the same time. We come home and play for just a short while and then head to get bubba.

3:15 - We get home and I start to feel really down and out physically, it hit me like a ton of bricks. We settle on the couch together and all watch Paw Patrol and I may have dosed off a bit. I told the boys I was not feeling well and they got their doctor kit and took care of me and brought me water and ice packs, etc. LOVE THEM! We play or at least they do while I am being lazy.

4:30 - I am picking up the house and the boys are playing dinosaurs together. I start an early dinner because we have soccer practice. Chicken, carrots, avocado, kiwi and crackers for the boys, and a chicken salad with veggies for us.

5:30 - get ready for soccer and then drive the buggy down the street to practice, love the convenience of it! Carl meets us there. During practice Matthew plays with Elyse and his soccer ball. The last couple of times, Elyse has lowered her scooter and kind of taught Matthew how to ride and sure enough, today is totally did it on his own! He is good (notice in the video he says "I did it guys" at the end, he is so proud). John practiced pretty good I thought, but Carl said he was not paying attention and being disrespectful. Carl made him run to a tree and back one time and I really like that idea.

7:00 - we fit as many kids on the buggy as we safely can and drive them to their respective homes, it seems to be a highlight. :)

7:15 - home, bath, shower, read books, everyone in bed by 8. John's nugget for the night (to his Daddy and I am not supposed to know), is that he smashed Garret and Parker's head together at recess and it is a game called "good time guys". hmmmm......

8:00 - this blog and then nothing... really want to go to sleep early, will it happen?

A Week In The Life: Monday

Our routine has changed yet once again, so time for another chapter of "A Week In The Life".

5:30-6:15 - both our alarms go off and neither of us can get out of bed, but finally crawl about about 6:15. I start making John's lunch and have a cup of coffee.

6:40 - John is up, says hi to each of us and then sits on the red chair with his ipad. He currently is playing Hay Day (which I love too.). He plays for a bit while I get dressed and ready.

7:00 - John eats Cherrios and we talk about what "special" he has today. He gets to go to PE today. He seems fine with that. He gets dressed (I bring his clothes down to him, he says he wants to start picking his own cloths "the week after next"). It is college week at school, so he gets to wear his OU shirt to school today. He goes potty and I do his hair.

7:20 - I go get Matthew out of bed, throw on his clothes and shoes and we are out the door at 7:30. John rides his scooter and has gotten so much better at it since school started and he rides it everyday. I push Matthew in his tricycle (a MUST HAVE for anyone walking to school with a smaller kiddo).

7:37 - We kiss John goodbye at the outside cafeteria doors and then he wants us to go to the side windows and wave to him. As I am looking through the window, his water works start. crying so hard. he just waves at us though, he doesn't try to escape or anything. Breaks my heart....

7:45 - Matthew and I are home and he eats oatmeal and watches Paw Patrol while I pick up the kitchen and make ready the playdate later this morning.

8:30 - We head to the store for fruit and a few things to serve as snacks.

9:30 - About 6 kiddos come to play with their moms and it all went well. Matthew is a little cautious with that many people, but when he settles down he is fine. Everyone leaves about 11, but we keep Corbin here to eat lunch with us. He is our buddy from the down the street. Him and Matthew got along so great and it was easiest playdate ever. They talked and shared and played and laughed, so cute!

12:00 - Set the two cuties up with some lunch (PB&J, veggie chips, cheese stick and fruit) and they ate so politely at the table. I was so impressed.

12:20 - Walk Corbin home and play with their dog Pringles for a bit and then head home for nap.

12:40 - book and nap time. I do my bible study, call direct tv (with no resolution, arg), send a few emails and do this blog, clean the kitchen, fold laundry.

2:00 - I eat lunch

2:35 - Snatch MJ out of bed and plop him in his tricycle to go get bubba. We head to school to pick up bubba. Get there just in time to see his smiley face! BEST PART OF MY DAY!


He immediately asks about a playdate. We are working on NOT talking about this at school because it is a bit awkward when all the boys come out asking different things.

John hands me his backpack and off he runs to get his scooter. There is a group of 7 kiddos on the street behind us that he rides scooters home with. it is pretty cute (this picture is from last week, but I love it).

I have to tell a side note about the little girl on the far front left. Her name is Savannah, she is in kindergarten too; she could not be cuter. Last week he gave her some dirty looks and he told me that she is mean to him at recess and hits and pushes him. He says his only choices are to walk away or go tell the teacher (parenting triumph that he knows not to hit her back!), but that she blocks him from walking away. Now, they give each other the funniest looks and John said they do not want to be with each other every again. HA!

3:15 - home and eating some yogurt. Matthew plays with a remote control car and takes all the dinosaurs for rides and John makes Brook (a little girl in his class) a birthday card for tomorrow. He jumps on the ipad and anxiously awaits Andy's arrival....

4:00 - Andy gets here and they all three run up to find shields and swords and what not. Matthew has no idea that they are 6 and he is 2.... "here I come guys", "wait for me guys", "Andy, we watch Paw Patrol, do you watch Paw Patrol at your house?", "Andy, bubba, are you watching me?". They run around and then decide they want to play x-box.

5:15 - Sharon comes to get Andy and we all hang in the driveway and chat for a bit.

6:00 - Carl comes home and we make spaghetti for dinner while the boys watch Sophia the first with Daddy. We clean up and then the boys play "toy store" and Matthew spends his umpteen hour on his Mickey mouse airplane. It is his main mode of transportation these days. And then little cuddle time with mommy on the red chair (which really is just their way of delaying bath, but how do I say no to "I want to cuddle for a few minutes")

7:00 - Bath for Matthew and shower for John.
7:30 - Matthew and I cuddle for a few minutes and John cuts out cookies for a cookie shop. Then Matthew and I go up to bed. John is supposed to be brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed, but results in a little hissy fit. We are working on self control right now, so he did have a bit of punishment and then love time to talk about it.

8:00 - Daddy and John head up to bed. When I come up to say prayers and kiss goodnight, John had just revealed a nugget to Carl that I had not heard yet. Apparently he got 10 beads at school which means you get to pick a prize (bring a stuffed animal with you to school, show and tell, eat lunch with a friend from another class, extra computer time, use the teachers tools, etc.). You get beads for being "caught" doing something really good. He had chosen a show and tell and is going to bring the pirate treasure they found during our Seabird Key vacation. SO PROUD!

I did ask him if he was going to chose to eat with Garrett next time at lunch but he said no because he was not sure how it would work. He is so scared of getting lost or doing the wrong thing. That part breaks my heart so much. SO MUCH! I know that is torture in his little head.

8:15 and beyond - this blog and some TV. :)

Dear Ms. Corrigan

As part of being a family at Ashley Elementary, we are too write a letter every year to our teachers about our child. It is a chance to brag, or share valuable information, hobbies, interests, talants, concerns, etc. I am going to write these in the blog for a keepsake. I have rewritten this letter umptine times, but I am just stopping now. Writing has never been and still is not one of my strengths.... frustrating at times like this when I want to tell the teacher effectively and efficiently how incredible John is, I JUST CAN'T DO IT!

Dear Ms. Corrigan, 

John is a God given blessing to our family and I know he will be to your classroom too! 

John is our oldest child, he has one younger brother named Matthew (2.5 years old).  He has lived in the same house (down the street) his whole life. My husband and I are originally from Oklahoma (Go Sooners!). 

John travels to Oklahoma quite a bit, he has also been to Florida and Colorado on vacation and will tell you all about his travels. He loves to be outside and fishing is a passion he shares with his Daddy. Since he was an infant he has loved animals of any sort or kind; that is a love that has never phased out. He has a wealth of knowledge on animals.

He did go to preschool 3 days a week at Stonebridge Untied Methodist Church for 2 years and enjoyed that very much. Extra activities include soccer and Tae Kwon Do. He has shown some interest in baseball, so we may try that out in the spring. Although, he sometimes complains about going anywhere because he is very much a homebody and loves to just hang out. We may be giving up Tae Kwon Do if the load is too heavy for him this Fall. He loves to swim too and he is a a great swimmer. 

At home, he consistently plays with legos or with some grouping of animals. He loves for all of us to play something together, but he plays really well by himself and has an incredible imagination. He also enjoys drawing a lot. He plays games on the ipad and watches a bit of TV, but he much prefers to play something and self regulates the electronics (a blessing for me). Pretty much everything he does involves some sort of sound effect (crashing, shooting, banging, screaming, rolling, squealing, etc.). He is ALL BOY! 

Although he NEEDS time alone to play (and he will tell us when he wants to be alone), he loves to play with Matthew. They run all over and play imaginary games, dress up in costumes, pretend, act out scenerios, etc. We really try to encourage them to know they are permanent playmates. 

He does not really show a lot of interest in reading himself. I have encouraged it, but not put any pressure on him. I think through school he will jump all over it and learn right on pace. 

He is very much a rule follower 90% of the time. If the rules are coming from someone other than us, it is more like 98%. He will ask if I am speeding while I drive, he will ask before he eats a snack, or before watching a new TV show, he will not get down without being excused from the table, etc. I have heard from parents and teachers that he is very literal, and follows the letter of the law. He likes structure. 

He is a quiet and cautious child until he gets comfortable, then he opens up a bit. He truly is one of the sweetest kids I know and has such a gentle heart; I wish I could capture it in a jar and keep him innocent always! 

John is very sensitive. As he gets older he has found better ways to cope, but it still shows through once you know his personality and mannerisms. He does not have the best self-confidence in new situations. He does not like to do something wrong or not be able to do something (drawing, writing, legos). He can get a bit of a temper at home, but not all the time. He is very hot or cold, on or off, one way or the other, there is not often a middle with him. However, I say this with the knowledge of his past teachers looking at me like I was crazy when I mention his temper. I do think he holds it together in public and unleashes his emotions at home. I am very curious to see if that changes in Kindergarten and as he goes through school. 

You will love him and I pray that he will be a bright spot in your day and in your classroom. We are excited to start our journey with you as our teacher. 

Carl and Jamie Jones

Kindergarten, the rest of the week

As not to leave the suspense from the last post, the remaining days of the week went like this....

End of day #3 - He came out of school all smiles and was in a great mood. We had Tae Kwon Do that afternoon so we rushed home, changed for class and off we went.

Day #4 - Another rough morning, lots of tears and still did not want to go. Scared of getting lost.

At the end of the day I stayed after school, checked into the office and let John take me on a tour. He was so excited and he walked me around the whole school and to and from each "special". He realized he knew WAY more than he thought he knew. It was the best thing for him. 

Day #5 - Carl stays home and walks him to school. John decides to ride his scooter (NEVER DOES THIS!) and he is all smiles. It was the best morning. Carl thinks I was making it all up. :) Whew!