S.C.A.M. group picture update

Last week Friday I got together with my SCAM group. I just love these girls! They totally "get" me and understand what being a mommy is all about. We always have a great time and the kids get along famously. This time we were at Kim's house and after a delicious meal of lasagna, we topped it off with cupcakes outside. These four bandits loved eating the cupcakes although I'm not sure if there was more cupcake frosting on their clothes, in their mouths or on the deck stairs. :)

Before dinner the kids all played games, everything from memory to sticker books.

This is our A-M-A-Z-I-N-G SCAM group!! I just love these girls!

Saturday Happenings

So, I've come down with a nasty head cold and I've been tied to the kleenex most of the day. I can't wait to go take my NyQuil and have a good night's sleep.
With the NyQuil last night I slept great and we didn't wake up until 7:15! This is almost two hours later that I usually get up and it felt great. Then we picked up my parents and went out for breakfast. Abby ordered pancakes and she ate 2 whole pancakes!! For those of you who know Abby, she doesn't eat much at all. I was stunned to see both pancakes go into her little body! I'm usually happy if she can get 3/4 of one in. I, on the other hand, opted for a smoothie instead of a cup of coffee...I probably should have stuck to the coffee. It wakes you up so much better.
After breakfast we ran a few errands and then it was home to do the Saturday chores. Mountains of laundry and disgusting bathrooms were waiting. I did manage to get all the laundry done and conquered the bathrooms, but the vacuuming will have to wait until tomorrow.
Since the weather is finally turning cooler, I thought it might be time to clean up a few things outside. I moved the garden hose to the garage and put away a few wilting flower pots. It's so fun to be outside, especially since Abby can run and play and I can chat with neighbors.
Our favorite neighbor, Christina, invited Abby and I over for some delicious chicken alfredo dinner .
She had her nephew, Jake, over and the two of them get along so well. Abby just loves playing with him. But, they definitely need to be watched carefully....they were rolling around in the grass together and watching movies in the dark right next to each other. They're both only 4 years old!! And, Abby was the instigator!!! UGH! What do I have in store for me?
After a quick (and very satisfying) trip to Starbucks, a quick shower, and 2 books, Abby's finally in bed and I'm getting ready for some NyQuil. Have a great night!

My princess loving America

Don't you have a four year old princess singing about America and marching around the island while you're making dinner?

You should always listen to the teacher...

This conversation happened yesterday morning:

Abby: Can I play with my Groovy Girls?

Me: Yes, but first you have to clean up your other toys (which were ALL over the floor). If you clean up those toys, I'll get out the Groovy Girls.

Abby: ALL the toys?

Me: Yes. (so I went to take a shower, then Abby came to find me) Did you clean up the toys?

Abby: You have to help me!

Me: No, these are your toys. You need to clean them up because you were the one playing with them.

Abby: B-U-T (with BIG emphasis!!) M-O-M!!! Mrs. P (preschool teacher) says that you have to help clean up even if you didn't play with the toys...so you HAVE to help me!! Mrs. P says so!!

What does a mother say to that?!??! At least she was listening to her teacher. So I helped (but she did the majority).

Later in the afternoon we headed to the Hope football game. It was such an exciting game!! Double over time...but Hope lost. This picture was taken at the game. Lately Abby's been loving her Papa and this picture just proves it.

My baby is in PRESCHOOL!

Today my baby went to school. I can't believe it! I am the mother of a preschooler! I can't believe that she's grown up this much. She woke up totally and completely excited for school at 5:42am! We got dressed, and she put on her backpack right away. I dropped her off at my parents house with strict instructions to take a lot of pictures. I was sad that I couldn't bring her to school myself, but I had to work and I'm blessed with amazing parents who are willing to step in and help. Both my mom and dad brought her to school and yes they did take quite a few pictures so I decided that since I'm the proud mama and the only one who contributes on this blog, I reserve the right to post all her pictures!! I posted them in order from the first one that I took at home to the last one in the preschool line up. So enjoy! :)

Can you see the excitement in her face? She's utterly and completely filled with joy.

Giggle, giggle, giggle....I just L-O-V-E school!

A princess backpact completes the outfit.

She even gets her own locker. Her symbol was a butterfly.

She even has her neighbor friend, Jake, in her class. What fun!

Time to go home! I called home during my lunch break and she talked constantly about her day. When I got home she continued talking. She can't wait to go back on Friday. :)

Fall Football

I know. I've been ignoring the blog. But honestly, this week has been SO busy! School started up again so we had to adjust our schedule. So far I think my class will be great, but I'm withholding judgment until after September. There's always a honeymoon period...but things do look good.
This week we also went to Abby's Meet the Teacher night. It was almost surreal. I actually have my daughter in school is mindblowing. Her teacher looks great and Abby's super excited because she gets her own locker (and it has a butterfly on it!!). I've also volunteered to help teach the 3 and 4 year olds at church this year so I had curriculum meeting for that too.
So with such a busy week we decided to head to Hope's 1st football game today! We had so much fun even though Hope lost in the last 50 sec. We got to see our awesome Hannah, my Aunt Eva, Uncle Cal and our amazing cousin Matt!

Here's our Hannah!! We're so excited to have her at Hope this year. We've been waiting and waiting for her to come. We can't wait to have her over on Tuesday nights to do her laundry and to entertain us! We love you Hannah!

Isn't this just the most precious picture!! We LOVE our Matt! He's at Hope this year too, and I'm sure we'll get to see him at all the sport games and of course the O-SO FUN family parties!

Catch up news

It's finally turned into some summer weather here. For the beginning of the week I was wearing long pants, but today we pulled out the pool and baked in the sun. I figured with school starting on Tuesday, today was the last day for using the pool. Abby was happy to splash in it so outside we went. After a few hours in it we decided to wash it, fold it and put it away for the season. There's just something so sad and final about putting the pool in the garage. My summer is over. O.V.E.R. so over. It's not that I'm not excited about the upcoming school year, it just that I adore time with my daughter and I just love just being her mom 24/7. But God has called us to work so off to work I will go on Tuesday....
We didn't spend the entire day outside. I did clean my ENTIRE house. It just feels so much better when the toys aren't just picked up, but the house is clean. I tend to be a neat freak and I get giddy in a clean house. While I was cleaning I also tackled the laundry and came to the realization that I am definitely the mother of a girl. Most people do several loads of laundry, loads like whites and darks. I, however, do loads of white, darks and PINKS! I'm not even kidding. I started throwing a few pinks into the washer and then just kept going. The whole washer was filled with pink clothes. Pink shirts, pink pants, pink socks, even pink panties. Ahhh.. she's definitely my daughter. I love pink too!
I haven't taken very many new pictures but here are a few from the last few days. I hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend. Abby just loves music. It seems to pour out of every pore of her body. She moves to it. She sings to it. She plays it. Music is everything to her. Here she is making up some song on her piano. She likes to sing and will often make up a new song for me. :)

While out shopping this morning I came across this adorable sleeping bag. It's a Disney princess sleeping bag with an airbed inside. It's really kinda cool. The sleeping bag is attached to the air mattress and it's a shorter size that's just perfect for Abby. It can all fold up and be put into a bag. As you can see Abby likes it. I think she managed to put every single doll and stuffed animal to bed in the sleeping bag. I bought it because she's getting too big for the pac and play. With all our trips down to see my sister and with our camping, I thought it might be a good buy. Besides, my newest daughter will need the pac and play so it only makes sense to get Abby excited over this one.