Oh Tuesday...what a day!

Mercy percy, it was been a day!  Our morning schedule has changed a little bit over the last week.  We are helping get Jay and Ansley to school each day.  We have a pretty strict routine to make it work in order for me to get everyone to school on time and get to work on time.  This morning, we were late leaving the house.  Ok, no biggy, that is why I leave when I do normally to allow for 5 or 10 minutes 'safety zone.'  Dropped Mags off at school, no worries.  Then we get stopped by the train...a long, slow train...that took 10 minutes to cross.  Ok, now I'm starting to panic a little.  We picked Jay and AK up.  We were almost 20 minutes late at this point.  At the stop light, I realized I never put on make up today...gracious!  This terrific Tuesday just keeps getting better and better!!

Instead of freaking like I normally do, I thought "Rita, there is NOTHING you can do about it...so what if you have so sign the kids in late, it is what it is."  I dropped them off with plenty of time.  NO worries about them being late...Caroline was another story.  I knew we would be cutting it close but oh well.  I am PROUD to say I dropped her off with 2 minutes to get to class before the tardy bell rang!   

This afternoon, poors Mags was exhausted...we all are actually.  But she was the only one who got the luxury of taking a nap after school! :-)

 

Trusting

 We are in a bit of a family crisis right now...our worlds have been turned upside down. We have a family member currently in ICU on a ventilator.  We have so many unanswered questions...and yet all we can do is trust.  I saw this today and it was just what my heart needed.  So thankful to know the one who knows all the answers.  

Dinner with Friends

A few weeks ago, our fiends invited us over to their house to celebrate my birthday.  It's been a crazy week and we are absolutely exhausted BUT we were so excited to spend time with our friends.  It was an awesome evening.  The weather was amazing.  The food was delicious.  The company was just what our hearts needed. Thanks Tim and Kristen for hosting us!

 

Emma's game

Tonight we got to see my niece Emma play softball  It was a gorgeous evening.  The girls played hard but in the end it wasn't enough to pull off a win.  No matter the outcome, I LOVED watching her play!!

 

Picking Strawberries

Earlier this week we were discussing fresh strawberries on the way to school.  Ansley said the last time she picked strawberries, she stepped in an ant pile and hasn't been back.  I told her we needed to redeem that memory and try again!  Today after school we loaded everybody up to pick strawberries.  With 4 helpers, it didn't take us long to accomplish the task!  We all enjoyed a few fresh berries in the patch.  While Andy thought we had enough, he allowed us to continue to load...the kids quickly realized why my family made fun of me loading up the bucket!

 

You can't out give GOD!

 So many times we would have discussions with Andy's Mema about how the Lord blesses us.  She would always say "You can't out give GOD!"

Today while I was out running errands, a person in front of me needed 1 penny.  No problem, I had the change.  I gave it to them and they said 'thank you.'  They were so appreciative. 

Later this evening, Andy and I took Charlie for a walk.  I noticed a penny.  I picked it up and thought this is my lucky penny.  A little further on our walk, I found another penny.  I immediately thought of Mema...you can't out give God.  He not only returned what I gave away, he double it!!  Such a sweet reminder that HE see's us...and He cares about even the smallest of details in our life!!

Middle School Interview

Caroline is applying to a middle school arts program.  Due to COVID, the interview was through Google Meet.  She is applying for photography and creative writing.  She created a portfolio of 3 pictures for the photography interview.  She create 3 different pieces of writing for the creative writing interview.  About 30 minutes before the interview, I told her to get ready.  Having already changed out of her school clothes into lounging clothes, she said "I am dressed."  First life lesson...here it comes.  "Caroline this is an interview.  You are trying to convince these people that they want you, can't live without you, in their program.  You want them to see that you take this serious and you care about yourself...that this is important to you too!"  So gets herself together and sets everything up.  Once I heard them get started, I came in to sneak a picture...it took my breath away!  She looked put together and absolutely gorgeous!  My stars, she really is growing up!

She was nervous at first.  Stumbling over her words.  However as they began to ask her about her pictures, I could hear her relax.  She did great!  Now to wait and see what's next.  I told her I was so proud of her and I thought she looked nice.  I told her I appreciate her taking the time to change...she laughed, stood up from the table and said " It wasn't too hard, I just put the dress over my pj's!"  Bless it!

 

Monday's with Maggie

The 20 minutes or so that we spend in carline waiting for Caroline is always an interesting time.  I never know what this kid is going to do.  Today, she found my lipstick from the weekend and put it on.  She's a mess!

Less than 30 minutes later, she was out like a light on the trip home!

She has a project due at the end of this week.  So we decided to work on it now so that I didn't forget about it.  I thought she had a great vision for her recycle robot!!

 

Happy Birthday Momma

Today we got to celebrate my sweet Momma's birthday.  Last year we missed celebrating her big 7-0 because of Rona.  This year we met at Daniel and Claire's.  Claire sent a message during church that said "if y'all are going home first, bring the girls bathing suit."  Gotta love weather here!  After a delicious lunch, the kids were itching to get in the water.  SO we headed down to the dock.  The water was ice cold.  Caroline said the first jump was the hardest...after that your body is numb and it doesn't matter. :-)  Wilson treated us to a boat ride that was absolutely amazing!  I told him he made his old aunt happy!  I saw parts of the river that I had never seen...it was wonderful!  Wilson was an awesome guide and knows the river well.  He is very cautious and wise.  I was so impressed with his skills!  On the way back that asked to jump off Mr. Ben's dock.  I wasn't too sure about it but they said they were allowed.  I told them if we got in trouble, I was taking them down with me!!  See Claire, I'm not always a fun sponge!! :-)

After our hour long ride, we made it back to enjoy Momma's favorite, Strawberry Pie and presents. I've been making momma a strawberry pie for years now for her birthday.  It's her favorite.  I remember one year she took my girl scout troop to Charleston for a play.  While there, she ordered her birthday pie from Shoney's.  It's the only time in my childhood I remember my momma having a special cake/pie for her birthday.  It's been fun to continue to celebrate her through the years.  My momma is one of the most selfless people I know....always giving to everyone else.  It's a blessing to celebrate her!!

When in the world did my baby girl become a young lady?????

 

Celebrating birthdays with Jill

 Last year 'Rona hit smack dab in the middle of our birthdays.  We said "once this junk passes, we will celebrate our birthdays together."  Well we had no clue we would have to wait an entire year before we got to celebrate.  This morning we met a local coffee shop that serves brunch on Saturday's.  (The same one my friend Charissa took me for my birthday.)  It was a beautiful morning.  We sat outside and caught up on life.  Really the first time in over a year that we sat and chatted.  It was wonderful!  So very thankful for my sweet friend!!

Fresh strawberries!!!

We picked our first bucket of fresh strawberries for the year today!!  Today is my sweet Momma's birthday.  Her favorite dessert is Strawberry Pie.  Who makes strawberry pie without using fresh, in season strawberries when available?????  Last year, this was one of our favorite "safe, COVID free" activities.  We picked strawberries every single week.  It was our "safe" place to get out of the house!  The girls may or may not have eaten a few berries in the field.  Andy said "I think we are about done" as the strawberries approached the top.  The girls and I reminded him, we still had plenty of room!  You pill them in until they fall over the sides.  He laughed and thought we were crazy.  We were serious!  We get our $15 worth of fresh strawberries!!!! :-)

Don't worry, this picture was taken on the way back to the front of the patch.  We still added lots more strawberries to our bucket!
 

Director's Training

 Today I had the privilege of attending the WeekDay Director's training for our state.  Director's from all over the state attended and it was AMAZING!  This was the table setting when I arrived.  At my table we had two full time child care facility directors and two half day program directors.  It was good to hear how others operate, some of their daily changes and overall how they have managed the last year.  At events like this, I am reminded of how absolutely blessed I am to work with amazing ladies AND an amazing church who supports us!!  The speaker made the 5 hours fly by!  She reminded us as leaders/directors, we set the tone for our facility!  We should abide by and set the example...we should be the rule book.  If our folks never read the handbook (which we discuss every year at our back to school meeting) they should see everything addressed in the book by the way I carry myself!  

My favorite quote of the day while discussing nurturing "Growing their strengths without judging their weakness!"  LOVED that!  I left feeling extremely encouraged and energized to finish this year strong!!  

A sweet treat for our teachers...

 We absolutely LOVE Maggie's school and teachers.  They work with her and encourage her SO much.  I feel as though we hit the jackpot with them!  The assistant principal is a sweet friend of ours and she too has been instrumental in making sure Maggie was ok this year.  The principal is amazing and goes above and beyond for the school.  SO I used 2 loaves of bread dough to make 4 pans of cinnamon rolls for them to say thank you for all they have done and will continue to do this year.  I will say they smelled amazing and LOOKED delicious!!  My family wanted to know why we didn't have a pan for our house! :-)

The last two baby teeth...

Well folks, we have made it!  The last 2 baby teeth have been removed!  Shew!  This kids teeth do NOT want to let go.  These two teeth were "wedged" between her permanent teeth.  The roots were completely GONE but the teeth wouldn't budge!  So Caroline got to smell the strawberry air one more time...next step braces consult #3 in just two weeks.

 

Back to school 5 days!!

It's a big day in our household!  The girls are heading back to school full time, in person, 5 days a week!  We are so excited and so very thankful!  I am looking forward to a routine!  I think for me that has been one of the hardest things.  Every day is different so we never got into a routine of what needed to happen each day.  I LOVED the extra time with the girls but HATED having to fight Maggie to complete her work.  So it's a little bittersweet that it's coming to an end BUT I'm excited to be back to 'normal.' 

COVID has taught me so much...more than I wanted to know on some things and more than I ever thought I could learn about others.  COVID has made me realize that my girls are capable of more than I thought.  When our family chose the A/B cohort option, we knew that both girls would have to 'step up' their daily responsibility!  Caroline would be in charge during the mornings when I worked.  We told Maggie that it was her responsibility to listen and obey Caroline.  We told Caroline it was her responsibility to keep them safe (turn on the house alarm before I pulled out of the drive way, never open the door unless they someone called and said they were coming and NO cooking unless using the microwave) and be fair to Maggie while we were gone.  Yes there were hard days and I am sure that I don't want to know what happened while I was gone BUT they were always safe at home when I returned.  I only received one phone call at work...Caroline left me a voice message "Maggie is loosing her mind because her work isn't perfect...call me when you can.  Ok GOODBYE!"  I think that is pretty impressive!  I am so thankful that Andy's cousin lives next door and works from home.  So the girls always had cousin Neil if there was an emergency.  

While I won't miss the online school work, I will miss my daily helpers.  Each day I left a list for the girls to complete while I was gone.  For the most part, they were rock stars!  I will miss having the laundry folded, floors swept, breakfast dishes cleaned up, etc.  Now we just have to figure out how to get these things done before or after school.

This time hasn't been easy but it's been good!  I'm thankful to return to 5 days of in person instruction but I'm also thankful for this season with my girls!  I couldn't be more proud of how they have handled themselves as students and as my kids!!