I Know It's Wrong...

Ok, so I know this is wrong... but it's funny and it will no longer be funny when my child is 15.

Yesterday, I gave Em an orange Powerade.

Yesterday, I was the only one in our house that knew that it was Powerade.  After drinking it, all Em knew was that it wasn't kool-aid or juice.

Yesterday, Tom asked Em what she was drinking and when she didn't know the answer, she came into the kitchen to ask me what she was drinking.

Is it wrong that I told her it was vodka?  (maybe just a little?)

Em confidently walked back to the living room to tell her daddy that she was drinking vodka (but she wasn't!).

Tom rolled with it and she clarified for him that it was orange vodka.

Turn the page to this morning...

Emily is drinking the rest of her "vodka" and asked me if she could have more vodka later today... but this time she wants to try yellow vodka.

Yes.  It's wrong.  But I find I funny... for now.

Friday was a BIG day!

On Monday, Em got to be the Star Student at school.  We're still not exactly sure what all that meant, but oh boy, was it exciting!  Emily couldn't wait to get to school on Monday morning.  She had her backpack on a full half hour before it was time to leave the house.

The rest of the week was pretty exciting, but again, she couldn't wait for Friday to come around because she got to bring something in for Show-and-Tell.  She chose to bring in her Valentine's Dog -- a black stuffed dog with red heart-shaped "spots".  She wanted to bring that to show-and-tell, because -- well, because 2 of her girlfriends at school also seem to have the same dog.  It was exciting nonetheless.

Friday night was Em's school's tailgate party prior to the high school football game.  She received a temporary tattoo that she was allowed to wear to school that day.  She couldn't wait!

She was worried the rain on Friday morning would ruin her tattoo so she covered her cheek all the way to the car. 

School was great and at the end of the day, we met her at school and joined in on the tailgate party.  Em was so excited to show us her friends and teachers and all the games and tricks she could do in the gym.  After the tailgate party, we drove over to the high school football game where the kids from her school were supposed to form a tunnel with the band for the football players to run through.

Emily and Daddy joined the tunnel while I stood back a little because it was a bit crowded.  After it was over, I walked up to see how it went and what she thought.  Apparently all the other kids had their hands out to give high-fives to the players, but not this one.  She had her nose plugged!

I'm sort of hoping she keeps that opinion of boys for a while...

You Can't Hear Me!

Shouted from the dining room table this afternoon....

MO-OM!?! 

(Yeah?) 

YOU CAN'T HEAR ME! 

(I can't?) 

YEAH, YOU CAN'T HEAR ME 'CUZ I'M PLUGGING MY EARS!!!!

A Visit to Leeds Farm

It's been 3 years since we've visited here...

The last time we were here, Sparkles looked like this...

And today, she looks like this...

Now that we have a few years and more skills under our belts we were able to try some new things!  Like this...

and the giant jumpy pumpkin thingie, 
(note, not one kid's foot is touching it!)

and the giant mountain with giant slides,

the mini zipline,

 

the hayride,

concrete  pig riding,

more giant slides,

and fun with Daddy in the straw barn!

Thanks Leeds Family for sharing your farm and fun with us again this year!

4 Weeks Under Our Belts

So we have completed 4 weeks of school so far.  Only 13+ years to go!

Em's first few days of school went very well and she was exhausted by the end of the week.  She's used to taking naps after lunch and adjusting to her new schedule took a bit of effort.  (Her mommy wasn't smart enough to start working ahead of time to get her used to no naps.)

Emily's favorite parts of school so far are recess (of course) and gym.  After a couple of gym classes she randomly declared her love for her gym teacher while we were running errands.

It went a little something like this...

E: Mommy, I just love Mrs. H.

Me: Really?  What do you love about her?

E:  She just really knows how to wexercise!

She loves her teacher and she comes home almost every day with a new song that she's learned.  We also have a list that we add to every day with the names of new friends that she's met that day.

Even though we're only 4 weeks in, Em's been initiated into the world of public school fundraising.  With grandma's help, she sold 18 "mumkins" for the PTO fundraiser.  (Grandpa G - we're going to have to borrow your truck to pick up and deliver all these flowers!)

Enough chit chat, here's Em having an after school recap with her daddy!

Week 2 and part of week 3 were a little bumpier.  She still really liked school, her teacher, etc. but as with preschool, I think she thought kindergarten was just a 1 week gig and then she could be done.  She kept telling me that kindergarten was just too long for her and that she really missed me when she was at school.  There were tears and everything.  We ended up having a talk.  Who am I kidding?  We had several talks... but things have worked themselves out and this week, she determined that she loved school again.  And - someday, I will study up on emotional roller coasters a.k.a. 5-year old girls.