Catching Up: Ethan's First Day of Pre-K

I figure since I am sitting here, waiting for Simon's 10:30 feeding that I could start to catch up on some of the posts I missed the last couple months of my pregnancy. 

 

Ethan started Pre-K the last week of August.  This year was so different for me than last year was.  Last year I cried for days.  I cried some because my little Ethan was growing up.  I cried mostly for who we were missing.  The fact that I was home alone 3 days a week when I shouldn't have been tore me up every day when I dropped off Ethan.  I was sooo not ready for that season.  This year, Simon was on his way.

 

Ethan's first day this year was exciting.  Pre-K is such a HUGE deal to him.  He still doesn't seem big enough to be 5, let alone less than a year away from Kindergarten.  He's still my goofy little guy, with that zest for laugh and crazy laugh.  I really hope he enjoys this year.

 



This sign does say he wants to be a cowboy.  He wears a too small cowboy hat all the time, so who knows.

Flipping his backpack

Showing off his awesome backpack.

 

He wanted to do a fun picture, and this is as creative as he was feeling.

I really, truly love this little-big boy. He just melts my heart, as he does with anyone who meets him.

The Week in Review

Wow! I am so glad Tuesday is gone in the past and that the days have gradually become easier. It's been a pretty busy week, so here's the catch-up. Also if you haven't read the details about the give-a-way, check them out here. I encourage everyone to enter as I have three (or maybe more) pieces of jewelry to give away.

On Monday my good friend, Maritza, and her daughter, Sofi, came by to visit for the afternoon. It's been over a year since we've seen them and it was so nice to spend some time together. Maritza and I have remained close even though there is hundreds of miles between us. I often wish they were still here, but at least we can talk on the phone.

Colton was showing Sofi all of his Transformers and how they go together and pop apart.

Tuesday, well we know how Tuesday was. The Hart boys did come over in the afternoon for some pool and bike fun. Plus a picnic outside for dinner. This summer will be full of afternoons like that!

On Wednesday my grandma rolled through town on her way to Branson. Her and Bob decided to spend a few days down there before she went home to start chemo. They wanted to see some shows, and she wanted to do some shopping.

They stopped here so we could have lunch at Lambert's. We LOVE to eat there, but don't very often due to the crowds and the possibility of walking out of there 10 pounds heavier. I felt a little anxious going back. We hadn't eaten there since Willy's 30th birthday, when I was pregnant with Lucas and Caleb. Here's the post where I talked about the crazy amount of food I put down.

Grandma and Colton playing tic-tac-toe. He has some serious skill with this game already.

Grandma, Colton, Ethan, and I. I really wanted a picture of us together. I love her so much and pray daily that chemo will go well. We had a really good visit, but it wasn't nearly long enough.

On Thursday, Ethan and I did some shopping after dropping Colton at school and then heading to the gym. Shopping was okay, but this certain lady at Michaels was cranky and she kind of put a damper on my mood. But then we spent some time at the Hart's before picking up Colton and that seemed to help a little.

And today was our MOPS spa day and our last meeting for the school year. I am so sad to see so many moms go, including our coordinator, Sarah. It's been a good year, and I know we'll get together a lot over the summer. I also had some anxiety about today, since it was this meeting last year that was the last I went to with Lucas and Caleb. But I held up surprisingly well.

Kristan and I enjoying some chocolate covered goodness.

All-in-all I am happy with how well I am holding up. I really thought I would be having a tougher time of it. And maybe that's why I'm not. I know I still have some really tough days ahead of me. But some of the projects I am working on this month have really helped me to see through the clouds a little, mostly.

Thank you to everyone keeping me/us in your prayers and thoughts as we approach Lucas and Caleb's birthday. I know everyone of your efforts help me get through each day.

Friday's Catch-up, Mustard...

First, the title. When I was a kid/teen, and someone would say something "dumb" or obvious, we would slap them on the forehead and say "Catch-up, mustard." And for some reason, I still think it's funny to say. I don't do the slapping part anymore, but have been known to look at Willy and say it. Anyway, even though dumb nor obvious don't apply to this blog, the phrase is catchy and I've been gone for most the week, so I thought I would use it as the title and will probably use it when I've been MIA and need to catch ya'll up.

Secondly, if you are a BLM reader and haven't signed up for the Holiday Angel Exchange, you can go HERE to do it! We are at almost 150 mommies right now, which is crazy spectacular!! My original goal was 100, now I'm shooting for the stars with a goal of 250! How very awesome that would be. Feel free to share the link on your blogs and facebook pages. This is a fabulous project that is going to help so many through a tough time of year.

So my reason for not writing all week....I have been having really painful abdominal cramping this week. Not really sure of the cause, but they have SUCKED! I am talking pain relatively close to labor pains every 10-15 minutes 24 hours a day in my upper abdomen. They have been short, like 15-20 seconds, but it does get old and exhausting. I was thankful that they slowed down at night to about 45 minutes apart, but the really sucked. So I didn't sit at the computer for longer than 5 minutes or so at a time. But I am feeling much better today. So far, no cramping, only some tenderness. YAY!!

Other parts of our week...

I had to take Ethan to Urgent Care on Wednesday night. The boy was having some boy problems and was in some pain. He is fine, just an infection. But it is really hard to talk about your son's boy parts to a nurse and use adult terms. Just feels a little dirty.

Yesterday we took meals to Michelle and Kristan. Michelle had boy #2, Lincoln, three weeks ago and Kristan had her kidney surgery almost 2 weeks ago. Both families had tacos last night for dinner, along with mine. Colton and Ethan requested to bring friends along for the drive. This is Colton with his Anna.

And Ethan with Baby Bear. Ethan has started having full-on conversations with Baby Bear and it is so very adorable!

We woke up this morning and decided it would be fun to have donuts for breakfast. And mommy thought it would be more fun to go out for donuts.

This boy is in complete heaven!

And so is this one...

I didn't think about the sugar rush that would come after 3 Krispy Kreme donuts and chocolate milk. As I was dropping off Colton at school, I made sure to apologize to Mrs. Michelle.

Something else came up at Krispy Kreme that I want to share. I ran into a friend/old manager of mine. We run into each other probably once or twice a year. I don't think I've seen her since last January or so. She always asks how I am doing and how things are going.

Today when she asked, I said we're doing pretty good and tried to leave it at that. I don't feel the need to spill out about Lucas and Caleb as much anymore. And it's a tough mental battle when I run into someone that didn't know I was pregnant with them. Well, when I went back up to get my coffee, she started asking details about how things were going. You know, like pretty good wasn't good enough. So I spilled, with caution.

And you know, she had this horrified look on her face that I was standing there, telling her that I delivered and lost twins at 24 weeks and there wasn't a tear in my eyes. That I was able to tell her that it's been tough, but I'm doing pretty well most the time. That I could smile and talk about my twin boys that are no longer here. This look tends to frustrate me. But I realize now that unless you have lost a baby(ies) that you can't understand how free it feels to be able to do this. I mean, the fact that I can get out of bed and enjoy a morning, day, and evening means the world to me. I appreciate that so much! I used to take that for granted, I didn't know any better. And I don't feel angry at her for giving such a look. I felt that pang of guilt, at first. But then I felt happy. Happy that I can feel like this after everything we have been through.