Double Digit Diva

Big Sis is celebrating a big day today. She's TEN!!

 

 

 

Actually, we celebrated all weekend with her. We started with bowling with friends on Friday night and ended with a Kidz Bop concert on Sunday evening. And tonight she will get to play ball on her birthday. Sounds like a pretty perfect 10 to me.

 

 

 

 

This kid is wrapping up 4th grade, where she managed to surprise me around every turn. I can vividly remember that 4th grade was my most difficult and worst year of my younger years; I was hoping to avoid a repeat with my own child. Thankfully, we did. She had a great teacher and super friends by her side this year. She makes us proud every day.

 

I want her to know that she's (mostly) a good big sister, she's an above-average student and more than anything, she has a stubborn determination that I hope never quits. This year she improved in gymnastics, she ran TWO 5K races and she finally tried softball, which she is enjoying. Quite a year for this one!

 

We are ready for a fun summer before her last year of elementary school. She's come a long way from that shy, tearful baby I left in kindergarten not too long ago. I can't wait to see what she does next year.

This Mama's Heart

 

 

Last Thursday, sitting in Big Sister's gymnastics class, I almost lost my mind. I had an overwhelming, uncontrollable urge to just ball up and cry. Yes, right there in the gym.

 

I'm not sure when exactly this nine-year-old grew up on me, but I just noticed it. Right then and there. BAM! It hit me as I watched her nail round offs, one after the other. My clumsy, awkward little girl suddenly is graceful and growing legs for days. 

 

This kid. She is so smart, strong, beautiful and confident; and she doesn't even know it. I watched in awe of her with tears in my eyes. She has the world at her fingertips, and she doesn't even know it yet. Every decision she makes from today forward will shape her heart and her life ahead, and she doesn't even know it. The sky's the limit with this girl, and I've got to figure out how to help her understand that.

 

This kid. For years, I've urged her to try new things, speak up and not shy away from talking to new people. I can't really blame her because I was just like her as a kid. But now I know how much I missed out on because of my shyness; I don't want that for her. She shocked us when she told us last week that she'd auditioned for a part in the school program next month. Not just that--a speaking part AND a singing part! Hello? What? Since I didn't have the courage to do that until I hit my senior year in high school, it seems that she is already many miles ahead of me at that age.

 

This kid. Maybe it's all in the approach. I stopped putting my expectations on her, and just let her be in charge of herself. She's doing great in school, makes friends easily, looks after her siblings and knows what she wants to do. I guess I'll just shut up and hold on tight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hitting the milestones

Look what Big Sis learned how to do over the weekend! She practiced for two days straight until she finally got it. She even made her daddy go to the store and pick up a giant bag of bubble gum for her.

It's so exciting to learn to blow bubbles! I remember when I was about her age, I participated in a "biggest bubble" blowing contest at some sort of event or festival in downtown Wynne. I won the contest and took home a plastic bag with a goldfish inside! It's funny how bad my memory is, but I can remember this like it was yesterday. However, I don't remember what happened to the goldfish....but I can guess.

Next mountain to climb? Teaching the twins how to tie shoelaces...stay tuned.

School Is Cool

This week marks the 4th week of school for my kids, so I thought it would be a good time for a quick update on how it's been going.

 

For me: It's going surprisingly well. This mama shed no tears at all when the littlest ones went off for their first day in the big, scary school. This was a relief, after spending all summer in a tizzy about the "to separate, or not to separate" internal tug-of-war concerning the twins. I discussed it so much with them, that when drop off day finally came, I hardly even  got a wave from either of them. I comforted myself knowing that they could play together at recess every day to soothe their lonely, broken, separated hearts. HA! That lasted all of ONE DAY. For real, I've asked them every single day if they play together at recess--and every single day the answer is "No." So, what shall I worry about now?

 

For Boy Twin: After the 3rd day of school, he retreated to the couch to cry every morning because he didn't want to go to school. His complaint: "School is too long. Why do we have to go EVERY day?" That pity party didn't last long when I told him that's the rules and I don't make the rules. Why else would I go to work every day? For fun?  By the 3rd week of school he was excited to tell us about all the new words that he'd learned to spell in kindergarten; words like "P.E." and "D.J." (his new friend in class). 'Atta boy!  Also, not to brag or anything, but he's been blowing me kisses every morning as he walks up the sidewalk to school. I'm sure the other moms understand and are not mad at all that we hold up the drop off line every day.

 

For Girl Twin: This girl is like a steel vault; she won't give us any information about what she's doing or learning in class. Either she's really bored, or she is running the show and doesn't want us to know it. (I think I know which.)  Either way, we are thrilled that she has the same teacher that Big Sis had in Kindergarten! It's a little different, though, because she is teaching a K/1st split class this year due to enrollment being high in both grades. Yes, the class is half kindergarten and half first grade. Girl Twin is doing great in there and we're excited to see her learning. I guess hanging out with the first graders is really advancing her skills because last week she told me: "2 + y = 30" in a very factual manner. I had no idea they were learning algebra already! She also instructed me to stop putting "love notes" in her lunch box, which nearly broke my heart.

 

Big Sis:  This girl is loving 3rd grade. She's in the class with some of her favorite kids, and seems to be doing great. This year, they have to read five chapter books per quarter and be tested on each one for a reading grade. Challenge accepted! The kid just finished her 3rd book last night. Now, if we can get her that fired up about math...

 

We are in a great place right now. We love our school, love all of our teachers and love learning all the new things. There is a strange peaceful feeling in our home that I haven't felt before. Is this what it feels like to not have babies anymore? Big kids rock!

 

 

 

Mirror, Mirror

Lately it seems like we can't go anywhere without someone commenting on how much my girls look like me. It happens all the time. It's true, they do look like me; I can't deny it. But it does seem to really impact those people who've known me my whole life when they see Big Sis, particularly.

 

We are also seeing this a lot in my sister and her daughter, too. I suppose our genes are strong. (I'm just hoping they didn't inherit our slow metabolisms, too!) Grammy got to digging around in old photos and sent me a couple of myself at Big Sis's age. I know she looks like me now, but seeing photos of myself at her age was almost eerie. We both got a good giggle out of it.

 

 

Here are a couple of comparisons of us at the same age.

 

 

 

Anybody disagree?

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Bike Riders, Batman!

I just need to take a minute to brag on my kids. Over the past few months, they have all upgraded a size on their bikes and really gotten good at handling them.

Back in the fall, when we knew Boy Twin was ready, I found a used 12" bike at the Goodwill store for $5.00. This was his first move to a real bike with pedals and he mastered it in no time at all...at just over age 4. That little red bike was the best five bucks I've spent ever. Girl Twin was still using her balance bike but didn't like it at all that brother had one-upped her. It didn't take her long to catch up, when he would give her a chance to practice on his bike.

Also in the fall, Big Sis decided she wanted to move up a size. I found a used 20" bike for $15 at the Rhea Lana sale and she was all set! By spring time, Boy Twin was ready to move up to Big Sister's old 16" princess bike and Girl Twin was riding the Goodwill bike.

I'm so proud of the little ones riding big bikes before age 5; it took Big Sis until almost age seven to ride without her training wheels. With the little ones, we skipped training wheels altogether. And I'm so glad we did!

At Lee's insistence, we bought both little kids a Strider balance bike when they turned two. He did a lot of research that led us to the purchase. The bikes have no pedals--kids just push with their feet. The concept is that they learn to balance quicker and not rely on training wheels. Thus, we were able to skip training wheels and just go to a big kid bike. Now, I'm not getting anything from Strider for this post. I just want my friends to know that the price tag of a balance bike is WELL WORTH IT! I was hesitant mostly because of the cost (of course, we were buying two), but we found a great closeout sale on them and saved a few bucks. The bikes are durable and they rode them for over two years. Overall, it was a great investment for our family and a great learning tool for the kids. I never dreamed they would be riding bikes in preschool with such ease!

  

Now we are at another crossroads. We are shopping for Boy Twin his own 16" bike so Girl Twin can have the princess bike. We have to get something "for boys" he says. 

I got my first bike for Mother's Day and I'm ready to hit the trails with my family this summer!

#ad Big Birthday Fun {sponsored post}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

Well, Big Sis has now officially been an 8-year-old for a whole week. It's hard for me to believe that my first tiny baby is now such a big kid.

 

As her birthday approached, we started discussing ideas for a birthday party. We looked at options and cost for several different locations. Finally, she settled on just inviting the girls from her class and a few other family friends. Girls Only! (I guess we are at that age now).  Poor brother and dad...

 

One of our favorite places in town is The Jones Center, so I got online to check out their birthday party options. Immediately, I thought she would choose an ice skating party since she'd just finished a session of ice skating lessons there this winter.  I thought it was a very fun, affordable choice--you can have a party room, a skate lesson with a teacher and skate passes for 15 kids included in the package. But, Big Sis said she wanted something different.

 

 

 

The Jones Center also has a huge indoor pool and pool party packages--either during public swim time or private rental--that are also easy on the budget. Since we've had our membership at The Jones Center, we've spent A LOT of time in this pool. The kids absolutely love the giant slide and I love that we can keep them entertained and busy all year long in the pool. As for a party, Big Sis decided that she swims there so much that she wanted to try the other choice we looked at.

 

 

 

She chose a birthday party in the Gymnastics Studio, and it was perfect for us. We were able to rent the room for 1.5 hours and have access to tumbling mats, balls, ramps and other tumbling "tools." We had about 12 kids at the party and they had a blast! It was non-stomp romping, with only a small break for the Frozen-themed cupcakes that left everyone with bright blue tongues. Instead of birthday gifts, our friends helped us collect more than 10 pair of children's pajamas to donate to the local women's shelter.

 

 

Here are some photos of the kids enjoying the Gymnastics Studio party. I totally recommend this for a party space for my local friends.

  

 

  

To see all of the birthday party options offered by The Jones Center, click the link here. Make sure you tell them I sent you!

It's Great to be 8!

Today is a special day for Big Sis...she's 8!

 

Happy Birthday to our funny, smart and pretty big girl. Every day I notice something about her that I didn't notice the day before. She never sits still, she's all legs and she has blossomed this year socially. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe she's the same little girl I left crying in kindergarten just a few years ago.

 

She loves to read, rides her bike like a pro and will climb on anything that's nailed down. She's a great combination of Disney princess sweetness, Wonder Woman toughness and American Girl coolness.

 

I'm so proud of this kid.

Fun With Big Sis

Big Sis came home last week with a couple of Mother's Day goodies for me. I love it when the teachers let them do creative things that also make great keepsakes.

 

This year, the kids filled out a questionnaire titled, "All About Mom." I was completely surprised by how much Big Sis really does know about me, and how much she pays attention around the house. I also got a kick out of some of the totally random things that she answered.

 

Here are some of her questions/answers--

 

Mom and I like to:  Read together

 

Mom likes to say: "Clean my room!"

 

My mom really loves:  My family

 

She likes to eat:  Fish (what?)

 

The best thing she cooks is:  Fish (again, what?)

 

If I could go anywhere with my mom, it would be:  Disney World

 

If she had time, she would like to:  Relax

 

Mom is really good at:  Working

 

Her favorite thing to do to relax is:  Lay down

 

I love my mom because:  She loves me back. (AWWWW!)

 

 

 

Here's our photo of Lunch with Moms today at her school. I love this kid. I just cannot believe she's going to be EIGHT next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Sis Brag: Smart, Pretty and Almost Grown!

Big Sister's school hosted its annual Daddy-Daughter Dance at the end of February. Although she's had the chance to go for the previous two years, she had not been the least bit interested until this year. Much to our surprise, Big Sis came home one day and said she wanted to go to the dance!

 

The theme this year was Hollywood Red Carpet, so she and I set out to find the perfect dress for the night. After a brief glimpse of what her teenage years will be like --GOD HELP US-- we finally settled (and agreed on) the most beautiful dress for my little Hollywood lady.

 

I rushed home from work on that Friday night to get her prettied up for the big date with daddy. (He cleans up nicely, too.) They left home in the middle of a beautiful snowfall, both smiling and giggling. After dancing the night away with her second grade buddies, daddy even took her out for a post-dance taco dinner.

 

I'm so proud of my sweet baby girl and how much she's changed in the last few years. She's happy, friendly and has such a kind heart for others. And she's quite a pretty girl, too!

While I'm bragging, I'll just add something that her teacher told us at school conferences last month. They have been taking reading and math tests periodically to check their progress and make sure they are on track with the proper grade levels.

 

On the last test period, Big Sis increased her reading score by 27 points (from the end of first grade). The teacher said this is the largest point gain that she'd ever seen on a test!!  She's now reading on level with the middle of third grade. As you can imagine, this makes me so happy. We love reading together.  But now we need to spend as much energy on improving math, where she is riding the line at barely average. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Frozen Fun {#sponsored}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

 

 

 

 

Because we are such excellent parents, we surprised Big Sis for Christmas by enrolling her in Ice Skating School at The Jones Center. She has just finished her third lesson, and is loving every minute of it. Her lessons are every Saturday morning for six weeks; she gets half an hour with her class and another half hour of free skating.

 

I love that she's making new friends and that her confidence grows with each week on the ice. I am particularly proud that she is enjoying this because we've tried a couple of other extra-curricular activities that have not held her interest at all. She's already told us that she wants to continue on to the next level of lessons after this!

 

The instructors are doing a great job with the kids; they split them up by age first, then by ability. Big Sis is in a small group of about 15 kids. It's fun to watch how they can split the ice rink into about 10 different groups and give the kids such great individual attention.

 

If you live in the area, I highly recommend the Skate School at The Jones Center in Springdale. We were able to score a fantastic deal during their Black Friday sale, but the regular price on enrollment is a very affordable $50 per session. Lessons are for all ages, even for adults! Make sure you check it out!

 

 

 

Blogging With Big Sis

I wanted to do something fun for this post, so I decided to interview Big Sis. She's a smart kid, and usually very entertaining, so I knew this would be a fun task. She's seven years old, and in second grade.

Me:  What is mom's job?
BS:  You work on the computer. (partially true)
Me:  What is dad's job?
BS:  To sell houses.


Me:  What does mom do for fun?
BS:  Blog!
Me:  What about dad?
BS:  Play video games!


Me:  What do you like to do for fun?
BS:  Lots of things...color.

Me:  What do you want to be when you grow up?
BS:  I don't know, maybe a teacher.

Me:  What is your favorite part of school?
BS:  Recess!!  (obviously the best part for teachers, too)

Me:  What is your favorite food?
BS:  Chips & dip.

Me:  What is your favorite vacation we've had?
BS:  Disney!  (not Oklahoma)

Me:  Where would you like to go for our next vacation?
BS:  Disney!  (again, not Oklahoma)

Second Day Sweetness

I am the mom who doesn't have any pictures of the first day of school. Let's take a look back to understand why.

In 2012--Kindergarten--I had to nearly drag Big Sister into her school, where I left her in tears and scared to death. I may have also left in tears and exhausted from the whole ordeal. There were not any great photo opps, so we chose to wait for a "second day" pic that year, when I got plenty of smiles.

In 2013--First Grade--She was much more excited about the school year, but still very timid and clingy. She looked at me with tears welling in her eyes and said, "Mama, can you stay a little while?"  Again, no first day photo. But I did get a mid-day message from her dear kindergarten teacher letting me know that she had personally checked on my baby and found her smiley, happy and doing A-OK.

In 2014--Second Grade--This year, she was only a tiny bit nervous, which she told me as we walked up the sidewalk to school. I begged for a first day picture, and Miss Can't Be Bothered sighed a big sigh and said, "ugggghhhh."  As I walked away from her classroom (with absolutely no tears--hers or mine), I made her promise me one picture of second day. And I got it!  I also got a sweet text from her first grade teacher (who now lives out of state) letting me know that she had checked on Big Sis the night before and got an excellent report from her new teacher after the first day.

How lucky we are to have such amazing teachers in her life that love her like we do! I know you both read the blog, and I am serious about the lasting impact you've made in her life. Thank you for that.

Happy Birthday Big Sis!

Y'all. This girl is SEVEN today. And today, her biggest worry is having her birthday announced over the intercom at school (how embarrassing!). My honest prayer is that this will be the worst that she has fret about for a long, long time. I love this kid and I can't wait to see what special things she's gonna do in the world.

Big Sis Bragging

Let me take a minute to brag on Big Sis.  Well, this could take a while. Report cards came home last week and we were blown away by her progress, again. Now, I know it's just first grade, but my heart is swelling with pride for this little girl.

She did great in every subject, but she is excelling in reading. As you can imagine, this makes me very happy. We are currently reading Little House on the Prairie together (it's like 20 chapters!) and I'm enjoying it as much as she is. The only semi-negative comment on her report card was that she still needs to stop talking in class and during times when she shouldn't. We have discussed it, but secretly, I'm really OK with it. Considering that the first day I dropped her off at school I wasn't sure she'd even open her mouth, this is improvement to me.

We've seen so many accomplishments by this girl, just in the past few month. She has her first pair of shoes with laces and can now tie them by herself. She can read chapter books. And, just this past weekend, she learned to ride her bike without the training wheels! This kid is growing up fast and I'm not sure I like it. But I know that her dad and I are both super proud of her, nonetheless.

 



Big Sis Bragging

We had parent-teacher conferences earlier this week at Big Sis's school.  We are so happy with how she has excelled this year!  Her teacher let us know that she works well by herself and in groups, and that she is respectful of others in the classroom.  She has improved on just about every subject since last semester.  She is reading at grade level (and probably above) and doing fine in math.  We just need to work on the talking in the hallways and when it's quiet time....but, secretly, I'm OK with that.

 

 

 

 

 We are so happy with her first grade teacher.  I'll admit, after having such a great kindergarten experience, I was doubtful that we'd get lucky twice.  But we did!  Big Sis just adores her teacher!  Here is a picture she texted me on "mustache day."  Of course, Big Sis doesn't want any part of dress up or silly days at school.  Only on PJ day!  I can't deny that she's my kid for sure.

 

 

 

 I also love getting random texts from her teacher to show me that Big Sis is having fun or doing her work at school.  It just makes me feel very connected to the classroom.  It also makes me a tiny bit sad that Big Sis is growing up.  My heart is full and Lee and I are so very proud of our little bookworm.

 

 

 

Big Sis = Trouble

Yesterday Big Sis came home from school with a doozy of a story. Lee called me at work to see if I had heard anything about "this crazy story" she was telling him.

She was very matter-of-fact in her rendition of the details that her teacher said she didn't have to come to school today.  In fact, she swore that her teacher told her to stay home.  Now, I had heard nothing of this.  Big Sis explained that all of the kids in her class had been assigned a classroom "job," and that hers was to be on vacation and take the next day off. Now, that's some clever homework! I want that assignment!

For the next few hours, she kept insisting that she was correct in her understanding of the assignment.  So, being the high-tech and connected mom that I am, I sent her teacher a text to get the scoop.  She replied to my text immediately with several "LOLs and HAHAHA's."  Apparently, Big Sis got some of the info correct, but not all of it.  With 20 kids in her class, there were only jobs for half of them (line leader, pencil sharpener, door holder, etc). Big Sis didn't get assigned a job this week; therefore, she was on "vacation," and would get her turn at a job next week.  

So, we figure that my kid is either very literal in her comprehension of things, or worse, she's got a little Bueller in her.  If she's already trying to skip school in the first grade, at least we'll know to watch her close in high school!  I'm sure she takes after her dad. Bueller?  Bueller?  

Big Sis Bragging

It's time for some more bragging on our big girl.  The first report card of the year came home last week, and we couldn't be more proud of her.  She got an E (the best) in Reading and all S's in the other subjects.  She does need to work on her handwriting a little bit (S-) and work on keeping her desk area cleaner.  If we were grading her cleanliness at home, she would get an S- or worse.

 

She's not had any behavior problems this year and she's doing great socially.  The teacher had nothing but great things to say about her progress!

 

I'm really the most excited about her reading. Like me, she loves to read! Yay!  I love that she really tries hard and sounds out the words that stump her. She is determined and very interested in learning.

 

Here is a photo of her reading to me a couple of weeks ago before bed.  I am so super proud of Big Sis.  She's kicking 1st grade's butt.

Throwback Thursday

I decided to participate in Throwback Thursday on the blog this week.  I'm taking you back to a post from November 2008.  I have *this* pegged as the start of what we are dealing with today---slamming doors, talking back and generally acting like we are stupid.  And she's only SIX!  (and yes, she still makes this face)

Buckle up, baby.

 

 

Sunday, November 16, 2008

The transformation has begun...

 

This is our sweet little Becca dressed in her jammies. This is the good girl who minds us and reads books all day long. This is her sweet face.


This is Miss Independent Becca. Miss "how-dare-you-tell-me-no." If she doesn't get her way, this is Miss Mean Face. Just try to look at her and not laugh. I dare you.


Oh, dear. It is true. We have somewhat of a drama queen on our hands. She is wanting to do everything by herself already, including use the spoon, which does not have a great outcome--especially with oatmeal and applesauce. The good news is that Becca keeps us laughing most of the time. And, her vocabulary is moving right along. New words: "good girl" (which actually sounds a bit like "doo doo" but who cares), "bath," "meat" and "apple."
I also got the potty out a couple of weeks ago for her to look at. The first few times we sat her on it (clothed even), she had a hissy. But now she will sit on it and smile. Still no potty action, but at least she's not afraid of it.
Sorry it has been so long since we blogged. Had a rough couple of weeks. We'll do better, though. Enjoy the new festive look of the blog. Until next time...

Welcome to First Grade!

It's back to school time here.  Big Sis is now officially a first grader!  How did this happen?  Not too long ago, we were nervously awaiting the start of kindergarten.

Our little Nervous Nelly was not exactly looking forward to another "first day."  She told me more than once that she was nervous, and had a little trouble getting settled down for bed the night before.  At Open House night, she cried the whole time so we didn't stay long.  That only made me dread the first day more.

I left her sitting at her little desk as tears welled in her eyes the first day. But by noon, I received a message from her kindergarten teacher (aka my spy) who said she was all smiley and happy.  I only had to walk her in for the first three days, at her request.  After that she went willingly on her own.

Just so we can compare--we don't take photos on the first day because of tears--

Kindergarten Second Day:

And, 1st Grade Second Day:

We are now on our second week of school and she's doing great.  Of course, I knew she would.  The funny thing is that today she got in a little bit of trouble for TALKING!  This is totally ironic to me since she didn't even open her mouth to speak to her teacher while I was there!  This is just another sign that she's going to be A-OK.