her first year

Grace only has 2 weeks left in her first year of school. A year ago, when I signed her up, I was worried that the 3 mornings a weeks may be too much for her. She just seemed so little. I know now that it was perfect. She's had so much fun going to school this year, that I know she has much disappointment ahead of her this summer. She's really going to miss it and I will too. I love picking her up after 3 hours and hearing her adventures from the day... what she had for snack (usually cookies, cheese puffs, or something equally nutritious!), what she made for me (she's always so proud and excited!), and whether or not she got a turn on the scooter at recess. I also get a full attendance report with explanations for why anyone was absent.
She's also learned so much! She can write her own name with no assistance, and can write anything else if you just tell her how to spell it! She's learned numbers, shapes, seasons and much more! She's such a smart little girl!
Grace will be switching to a different school next year and it was such a tough decision. She'll be going to a preschool that has a schedule that will allow me to take Marion to her Mommy and Me class. I hope Grace loves her new school as much as she's loved Temple!

Mrs.Paula and Mrs.Ginny's 2 year old class

we have a cocoon!

We awoke this morning to our first cocoon! Three more caterpillars are in the hanging "J" position and will be making their cocoons very soon! We have one straggler still crawling around. Grace was so excited this morning! Soon we'll have butterflies!!!

The first three are the ones in "J" position, then the cocoon, then the straggler :)

growing butterflies

This is Grace looking at her five new pet caterpillars. She's had them for about a week and a half and they've already grown from about the size of a grain of rice to what you see now...


We did this last year and while she did like it, she didn't really "get it" the way she does this year. She's so excited!!! I'll post updates and tag them all "growing butterflies," so once we're done, you can pull them all up and see the transformation... so cool!

week in review

not this week, last week. I'm so far behind! playing Realtor last week didn't slow us down, we kept too busy as always!

We visited the firestation with a local playgroup.

these two were apparently the only ones who got the memo that it was "princess day" at the firehouse!

Grace and Daddy

Grace went cruising with Noah... does he have a license to drive that truck?? he sure looks confident enough!

The highlight of the trip for Grace... she asked where Sparky was from the time we got there. Grace LOVES mascots!
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We spent Friday night and Saturday morning at Sacred Heart's Rock and Roux Festival. It had an old school carnival with plenty of teetery rides and carnies asking you to play a game for a buck.

The pink teacup... probably her favorite ride!

Thank God there were TWO pink ponies! There could have been some major drama for these two 3 year olds!

Look at Grace on the scrambler! I was so proud of her... I was never one for wild rides, she takes after her Daddy!

easter round 2

The Easter Bunny kept his promise and returned to fill the girls' big baskets when Daddy got home last week...

Grace was thrilled with the treats in her basket and those in Marion's that May May was happy to "share" with her!

from the pantry door...

I cleared off the pantry door last week to make my house more show-able, but here's some of what I took down...

my head is spinning... and we're just getting started

It's been a week since I blogged. A long week, a short week, I don't know, depends on how you look at it.

I have a bad habit of house hunting, always searching for the bigger better roof to raise my family under. After all, we spend a lot of time in our house! Do you ever wonder why Realtors make such a ridiculously huge bankroll when they close a deal? I suspect it's because of women like myself, who want to tour and critique every house for sale in the greater Hattiesburg area, searching for the perfect one for their family. My perfect home would have 4+ bedrooms, 3+ baths, a big hangout room for the girls as they get older, and be MUCH closer to Sacred Heart than our current home, which clocks in at a whopping 35 minutes!

While Jeremy was in Singapore, I had been busy touring homes and sending him links to virtual tours of ones I liked. His response was always the same, "It's a nice house, but why don't you worry about selling our house first, before you get your heart set on something that we may be gone by the time our house sells. Truth is, the housing market is in bad shape, and the average property will sit on the market for 120 days.

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On Tuesday I fell in love with a house that met and surpassed my criteria for the perfect home for us. I could go on and gush about the details, but I'll spare you and wait until it's final. I immediately ran home and stuck my "for sale by owner" sign in the yard. With the down market, I decided to also invest $400 in a flat fee broker service that listed my home in the MLS and on www.realtor.com. In less than 24 hours I had a showing. 24 more hours and 4 counter offers later, we had a contract. Mandi, if you're reading this, I'm very sorry for rubbing it in, truly.

We now have a contract for the sale of our current home and a contract for the purchase of our soon to be new home. We are scheduled to close on both only 2 weeks from tomorrow and I am scared to death. I need 2 good inspections and a good interest rate. Full service movers would be nice, but I'll be doing the packing myself. My head is spinning and it's not from the Rock and Roux Fair we were at all weekend. I planned to take the girls to Baltimore next week and I cancelled the plane tickets this morning. Please pray for a smooth 2 weeks for us!

*** a quick edit in case my husband reads this... I plan to stay in the new house a very very long time... I really think that this time we might be getting it right! ;)

easter... round 1

Today we had Easter... round 1. The big bunny stopped here last night but only filled the girls' small baskets. He'll be back when Daddy comes home in a couple days to fill their big baskets.

If you've ever wondered why I insist Grace bathe in the morning and not at night... check out this morning hair!

little may-may makes a cute bunny!

Getting both girls to look at the camera at once... impossible!

HAPPY EASTER and love to all!!!

field day

Grace had her first Field Day at school and Marion and I went to cheer her on!

after a good golf swing, hitting a wooden egg with a wooden spoon!

Grace and Natalie

doing the bunny hop!

walking like a duck

playing "tag," I don't think the kids quite got it... just running around wild :)

hunting eggs

a good friday story...

as understood by a 3 year old!

"Mrs.Paula told me a Bible story. Jesus was playing with His friends, and then the soldiers came to get Him. And they brought Jesus to the man, and the man said, 'Jesus has to DIVE!'"

"Jesus has to dive? What does dive mean?"

"Dive! Dive in the water!"

"Oh, cool, Jesus had to dive in the water, I get it."

"No mom! It's not cool! It's VERY mean and WILD!"

This conversation was from the beginning of the week, and I asked Grace to tell me the story again today. She recanted it as shown above, but then explained that it...

"was dive, the second dive, not dive in the water. The second dive is dive in the icky sticky mud, because that's what Jesus had to do!"

more pictures...

Grace in her tap costume for the recital...

She thinks she looks like Minnie Mouse!

Marion is 10 and a half weeks old!

around the house

It has seemed we've been extra busy this week and I'm not sure why. Grace was sick on Monday, but we surely haven't done more than normal. Keeping the house clean, running my errands, and getting Grace to school on time has just seemed harder this week. Luckily, tomorrow is Friday, our "off day," no activities!

Grace got her tap outfit this week for her ballet recital in May. The song is "I Like to Ride the Pony on the Merry-Go-Round," and Grace was sure she would be dressing up as a pony... after the initial disappointment, she decided that she'll happily settle for pink princess! Here she is trying it on and striking a few poses...



Little Marion is just growing and growing...