Good Genes

Savannah and I were looking at pictures of her black eye from today and from yesterday comparing the progress when the following conversation occurred.
Savannah- I'm so pretty!
Me- How did you get so pretty?
Savannah- I got pretty from you.
Lincoln- No, I pretty!
Savannah- Lincoln, you get some things from mom and some from dad. That's just how it works. Like I got my pretty green eyes from mom.
Me- What did you get from Daddy?
Savannah- Umm.... big feet.

I guess we know where the good genes come from.

The Facts of Dog Life

My kids want a baby. Obviously they are not getting one, but as a result we've had a lot of "facts of life" type conversations lately. I thought tonight's random conversation was a real winner. We were driving along in silence when the following transpired:
Savannah- Do dogs lay eggs?
Me- No, dogs have babies in their tummies like humans.
Savannah- So dogs are Mammoths, right?
Me- Mammals, yes.
Lincoln- Dogs have dog babies?
Me- yes, but baby dogs are called puppies?
Lincoln- Why you call puppies names?
Savannah- But then how do dogs cut the umbilical cord off the planeta?
Me- I'm not really sure... So what do you guys want to do tomorrow (abrupt subject change)

Preschool Graduation

Today was Lincoln's preschool graduation. It was really cute. First they gave out certificates in the classroom.

They also gave the kids bags with a book, coloring book, notebook and crayons.

Then they had a program outside. Lincoln's class sang a song about rainbows, and an Afghanistan dance.
I'm not really sure what was up with their costumes, but it was really cute!

Teacher Gifts

Lincoln has 4 teachers plus 2 at school therapists this year so I really struggled to come up with something to do for end of year teacher gifts. My friend Heather suggested these:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/04/tin-can-treats-for-mothers-day/

I thought they were super cute, looked easy, and would be much cheaper than my usual gift cards. Boy was I wrong.

First I went to buy cans. The only fruit that Target had in pop top cans was tropical mixed fruit for $1.34 per can. I figured that would be OK because my kids would eat the fruit. I opened the first can, and they both refused to eat it. Savannah tried 1 of each kind and didn't like any of them, Lincoln wouldn't even try it. So the second can I tried pureeing the fruit and making it into popsicles. They both got really excited when they saw them, took one taste and put them into the garbage. So the other 4 cans I opened up and put the fruit straight into the garbage. And wouldn't you know it, I wasn't paying attention and opened the pop top side on one. Oops, back to buy another can. Only I went to a different Target where they didn't have the tropical fruit. The only pop top can they had was peaches. In a different shaped can. I was not going to be picky at this point, so I just bought it knowing that both of my kids hate peaches. Total cost of 7 empty cans... $9.38.

Then I went to buy the stuff to make it cute. Apparently scrapbooking paper has either gone up in price, or I have a horrible memory. I didn't remember it being $1.50 per sheet. I bought 3. Ribbon was $1 each for 3 of them, and $2 for the 4th. Double sided tape was $3.29... for store brand. I spent $9.50 on M&Ms then ran out half way through and had to go get more for $6. You get the point... I ended up spending $37.67 for 6 cans, not counting hot glue sticks (one stick per can), printer paper, ink (It took 6 tries to get them the right size) Not to mention that it took me 2 hours to make them tonight. I maybe should have gone with the gift cards. At least they turned out SUPER cute!

Happy

This might be long. I feel like the blogging flood gates have been opened.

You know what has really surprised me? The hardest thing for me about all of this has been time management. I have a fantastic job that I know the Lord gave me. It came about in the most random way, and exactly when I needed it. I get to work at home, which is a HUGE blessing because I'm not paying for childcare, but at the same time it is a huge challenge. I somehow have to figure out how to fit 8 hours of work into each day around driving kids to school, and having Lincoln home most of the day, and his therapy appointments, and my appointments, and field trips, and feeding the kids, and letting the dog out every 15 minutes, and everything else that goes along with being a stay-at-home mom. Basically I have to figure out how to be a stay-at-home-mom and do my job. I'm not complaining, because I really do feel blessed but I feel like I no longer have time for anything.

I've managed to get into a pretty good routine, but there are plenty of other things that I can't seem to fit in. Like going to the grocery store. I'm lucky if I get 1 good grocery trip in per month. Cleaning is another. Every day I swear I'm going to clean up once the kids are in bed. Then I usually haven't finished my job work for the day and end up doing that after the go to bed, or I'm just flat out too tired. Or its 10 PM and I'll realize that I haven't showered in 2 days and suddenly that's more important that the pile of dishes sitting in the sink.

The other day the Military Relations Missionary Couple came by. That's another thing that I never seem to have time for. They've been trying to make an appointment with me for a few months, and I keep telling them, "Maybe next week," or "once things calm down," but then I realized things aren't going to calm down anytime soon. We scheduled a time, and I worked around it. Anyhow, they were sitting in my living room, and I was trying to not be embarrassed about the dirty floors, or the grass that seriously needs to be mowed, or the dog that looks like he hasn't been bathed in months (that one isn't true) when the husband looked at me and said, "You look so happy lately." I seriously almost started to cry. It was one of the best compliments I've ever received. Because the truth is, I feel happy. I'm overwhelmed, tired, scared, and I still have bad days, but I'm pretty happy too.