A day in the life...

Today has been a WILD one! It's the day I ship signs out, and I am a little bit behind this week. I have spent all morning packing up signs, and basically leaving the kids to their own devices.

Here's what we've dealt with this morning (so far):

Spilled cereal on the living room carpet (dry, thank goodness)
A burp cloth sucked up the vacuum
Cereal down the heating vent
Spilled pink milk in the entryway
Matthew fell and bonked his head
Nathan got a bug bite of some sort just under his eye

I'm going a little bit crazy, and hate that I'm so busy and have to get this stuff done, rather than sitting down and giving the kids the attention they need. Matthew and Naters are both down for naps now, and I'm listening to Matthew sing and talk himself to sleep. Just now, I sneezed a couple of times, and he heard me from his room next door. So, in his adorable voice, pacifier still in his mouth, I hear "Bless you, Mommy" from behind his closed door. I immediately start to laugh, and feel some of that stress melt away. I call back, "Thank you, Matthew." And of course, ever the polite little guy...back comes, "You're welcome, Mommy." He just reminded me why I do this "Mom" thing....the little moments. Thanks little man!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Happy, happy Birthday our sweet little Matthew! It's CRAZY how fast the last two years have gone. We had a fun little party with the usuals....Nana and Papa, Trev and Missi and the kids, Brad and Katie and the kids, and John and Stacy and the girls. You weren't nearly as interested in your cake this year, but definitely had the present thing down!! We love you so much....bring on the terrible two's! : )

A bit of bragging...sorry!

This post is dedicated to our sweet Emma. School is out now (yay!) but several weeks before school ended, she brought home some information on the 2nd grade spelling bee, along with a list of over 200 words to study. Well, the spelling bee brought back so many fun memories from when I was little, so we set about studying! We went through the list once, and then just focused on the ones that were a little challenging for her. She really seemed to get into it, and was ready (but a little nervous) when the day of the Bee came around.

The first day, they just did some practice Bees in their classroom. She was so exited to come home and tell us that she won both of them! The next day was the real deal in her class. Again, she won both times, for a total of four wins in her classroom. The top four students in each class would compete the next couple of days against the rest of the top second graders. She came home the first day still in the running, and she was feeling good. Well, the final day, I'm not sure who was more nervous....me or her! I showed up at the school to watch her talent show, knowing that the Bee had been decided already. My sneaky little girl tried to tell me that she wasn't going to tell me how it went until she got home from school......THAT definitely didn't fly! Well, she goes over to her backpack, and pulls out the FIRST PLACE medal!! I was blown away!! Not that I doubted her for a second, but there are lots of smart second graders! Words can't even express how thrilled we are for Emma.....she learned an amazing lesson about how hard work pays off!

Just a bit more bragging, and then I'll stop. Along with her final report card came a report on her reading tests from the end of the year. Em has always been an amazing reader, and we're used to her testing above her grade level. But we weren't quite prepared for THIS report! Lil Miss Thing is reading at over a 7th grade level!!! That's in the 98-99th percentile for second graders NATIONALLY! Such an incredible little girl.....all academics aside!! We love you sweet girl!