The Magic of Pre-School

We had our first Parent Teacher Conferences ever. Shudder. Panic. Shakes. Nervousness.

"What will they say? Will they tell  us how unruly she is, and how she has an attitude that could move a mountain? How she doesn't share the toys, and refuses to clean up? The way she talks incessantly and refuses to sit and pay attention?"

Our little table cleaner! (New chore at home too!) 

"I'm sure those are all of the things MY parents experienced throughout my schooling days, so why wouldn't it happen to me too? Maybe we should just skip it." My husband rolls his eyes at me as we load the kids into the car to go to their Bobbi & Pawpaw's house (Grandma & Grandpa). Drop off kids. Head for school.

We're 5 minutes late! Panic again. Everyone knows you're not supposed to be late when dealing with teachers. "They're probably running late anyhow." Jared tells me.

I'm not sure if it's my own schooling experiences that have led me to have such anxiety when it comes to my child at school, but whatever it is I think it's getting out of control. They were running just a few minutes behind, which worked out well, and we weren't scolded by her teacher. In fact, she might be one of the nicest people we've ever met - and surprisingly, she told us only good things about McKinley. I didn't see that coming at all. She gave us pictures of M doing some of the activities that they have done, and filled in a few of the missing pieces from the stories M had shared with me. She reassured me that all of the kids M had told me about were actually real people too. Relief. She even told us that M likes to have a chore, and chooses table-washer as her chore most days. She's such a creature of habit, my little one.

Somebody loves art. We have no idea where she got that.
 *Sarcasm*

Okay, so maybe my fears of Parent Teacher Conferences were a tad bit unnecessary, and maybe they were a little unwarranted. I'm guessing that I'm not alone in this though, and that there are other crazy mothers out there who get a little anxious when it comes time to talk about how their children are acting when we aren't around to snap our fingers and make the "mom look". If I am, don't tell me. I don't want to know.

There really is something magical about pre-school. I'm not sure who's growing more, she or I.

The Earth! 

Okay, so now I'm going to brag on my child a little, so if that will make you nauseous you may want to look away. Her teachers are angels, and they took some pictures for us which I am now going to share...

Clean-up! 

Playing with Blocks

The Pledge of Allegiance

Science is fun!

Show 'n Tell. She loves music. You can tell who dressed her before school that day. It wasn't me. 

Soccer!

Spelling her name. 

Writing Center 

I'm so grateful for a good first experience with school. We're pretty blessed. Now, on to holding our breath that next year is as smooth as this one!

Two Years.

It's been two years. Two years, since I bothered to update our family blog. That's like the entire length of an Elder's Mission. Oh who are we kidding, no one ever reads these things anyway. I always seem to drop the ball on the things that I should be doing... you know, like blogging.

A lot has happened in the last two years. Berkley joined our family (5/1/12), and we're expecting our third in just a few months. Life moves to fast for me anymore. It just escapes me in a way that it never did before I had kids. You know, back when I could eat, sleep, use the restroom, and do whatever I wanted in my own time. (And sometimes behind a closed door, remember back then?) I wouldn't trade my messy life for anything in the world though. Even if it meant an eternity of privacy in the bathroom.

Jared is still working with Huse... he actually just hit his one year anniversary with them this week. It's a strange feeling to be excited about a one year anniversary after his 15 years with Donatos. That's okay though, I'll take the one year anniversary as a huge win (and an even larger blessing). Especially since his store is doing so well. (Thank you Heavenly Father!)

I'm still living the dream, and helping families find theirs. We're knocking it out of the park this year, and have been blessed with a lot of great clients. (And the wisdom to know when to get out, before we take one that may not be a great client!) We really have been putting in a lot more effort, and reaping what we sew, but we're also not under any delusions that we've got a lot of help. Thank goodness that the Big Man Upstairs hears and answers our prayers. We're on a roll for our best year yet, which is fantastic, and have some really major five year goals that we're on track to meet. Oh, and we got our entire team iPads... if that doesn't show our commitment to this career, I don't know what does. Did I mention that with more technology comes even more work?

McKinley is in Pre-School now (when did that happen?), and she's loving every second of it. Of course, I'm having to read even more than ever just to keep up with her pre-school education. "Choco-latte mom, is spanish for Chocolate." Ummm, is she pulling my leg?

We definitely have a fun life, and occasionally we make some messes. It's okay though, I'll take the mess with the fun any day. It feels good to be back. Maybe I'll write again.... before 2015. (I did update the blog, photos and all, so that should count for something.)