And so it begins....

Cole has been looking forward to starting Kindergarten for so long... and now that the day has finally arrived he couldn't be happier... If I had one thing to say to him today it would be this: Be true to you, love life, always be a friend, be respectful, and learn, learn, learn... Knowledge is power and will take you far... My heart...

Lining up to enter his class...

Following directions.... Like a pro.

We're ready for this chapter.

Lime Popsicle Heaven

Could life get any sweeter?

Kids say the darndest things...

My kids make me laugh DAILY... Especially when they say out of the blue crazy things... Like...

Me: "Cole, why don't you use your brain?"

Cole: "Mom, I can't my brain hurts"

WOW!

Carson: "I can't go outside to play, It's too COLD!"

Ummm.... It's 100 plus outside

Camryn: "Yeah BUDDY!"

I know, old pictures... but I love them..

I think if I wrote down everyday the things that the kids do that make me laugh, giggle, cry and sigh, I would never get off the computer.

I LOVE MY KIDS!

Two Peas in a Pod...

Tom and Cole are inseparable... If you need to find Cole just look for Tom. So I guess it's fitting that there birthday are two days apart... This weekend (and why must it always be Mothers Day weekend that their birthdays land on? I ALWAYS forget about Mothers Day) we celebrated these boys and had a great time doing it... There's nothing better than family and friends for two days straight, except for the mess left over...

Why do I love thee?

~You have a laugh that makes everything better

~You love to learn and explore and question

~You love soccer, karate, and basketball

~You ALWAYS make funny faces for pictures

I can't believe you're 5.... I can't wait for what this year has in store for you...

Why do I love thee?

~You make me laugh every day

~You are the most generous, hard working man that I know

~You know how to play with our children, that makes them the luckiest children ever

~You put up with me. Every day.

Welcome to your 30's. It's a great place.

I never said she was smart...

...just cute

Just add water....

I usually don't get much done along the lines of housework when Camryn is awake. Dishes don't get put away, laundry doesn't get folded mostly because my "little helper" does more hindering than helping. This morning though she entertained herself with water and play-doh. (notice that our play-doh is grayish black? Yeah, that's what happens to play-doh at my house. I don't care if the colors get all mushed together.) It was heaven for us both.

Water Water Everywhere...

See the PILE of laundry screaming my name?

How can you argue with this? Pure Bliss.

Like how I'm spending my "Camry-actually-being-entertained-time" blogging?

Way to go Mom.

Now I need to mop.

What I've learned about me.

I just realized that last week it's been a year since I have quit my job, and oddly enough I have started back working again. Just subbing here and there but I realized that it has been a year since I have actually earned a real honest to goodness paycheck. I wasn't sure how I would do as a stay-at-home mom after I have always had some sort of job, babysitting and whatnot, since I was 12. Would I get bored? Would I get cabin fever? And I actually found out that this is the hardest most rewarding job I have ever done. And I found that I actually have grown as a person and I have learned a few things about myself.
Like...
~I really love to cook. I always knew I liked to cook but now that I have the time to do it I have enjoyed it even more. I still rely on others to supply me with the "what" to cook though, I have no imagination when it comes to that.

~I SEVERELY DISLIKE when people say to me "How do you do it?" I feel like I want to scream when they say it to me, (and here I go breaking my own rule) but I don't know how single parents do it, I have such great respect for those who truly raise children alone. Sure I have done this in some capacity for the last 10 months (going on 11, but who's counting?) but I KNOW that Tom will be home soon. So to all you single parents out there, I salute you. I know you do the best you can with what you have.

~I have learned how to prioritize. I guess you have to do that with less money and more time. And I have learned the joy of saving and working towards a goal.

~I learned that I missed stuff in the boys childhood and I'll be darned if I do that to another child. I just hope my kids appreciate this one day...

~I have gained a new respect for people that work, have kids, and go to school. I had to quit one thing to finish the other, there was only so much of me to go around.

I'm sure there are many more things for me to learn and to realize about this sort-of new adventure in life. Even though it's only been a year, I still feel like every day there is something new I get to experience and explore. And even though some months I really miss the paycheck, I don't miss the stress, the frustration, or the sadness of leaving my children.
AND I am sure there are more things I have learned this year, but I have a severe case of Mommy-brain. Anyone else suffer from that?