And God Said, "Slow down!"

 Once upon a time, I was in the school counselor's office trying to figure out how to graduate from community college by May 2015. It was decided that I would take 17 credits Fall '14 and 15 credits Spring '15 so that I'd be ready to graduate and transfer to ASU.

I chanted the, "I can do hard things" quote in my head over and over again as I signed up for 6 classes and tried to figure out a schedule that worked for my life.

Sigh...

It took most of the summer. I kept leaving the task for another day because it was stressing me out.

Sometimes being a single mom sucks. It was so dang hard to find a schedule that would fit the classes I need and keep us in a mostly normal routine.

I finally did it and signed up for all Tuesday/Thursday classes, all during the day---except for one stupid class that I could only find on Thursday nights.

I figured the sacrifice would be something I could handle for four months. And the thing is, it was possible.

But right when school started, I decided to go back to work. And right when I decided to go back to work, Spidey started preschool.

And right when all of this happened, Spidey started crying a lot when he would get dropped off to babysitters.

And my mom guilt became a huge burden because all I wanted to do was quit everything and stay home with him all day, every day.

So let's recap:
A week into my new job and school starting, I was ready to throw it all away.
A week.

 Well, God knows me. He knows I won't just quit, even when things are really frickin hard. He knows I'll kill myself until I get everything fit into our crazy schedule.

I'm the least perfect perfectionist in the entire world. Our house is crazy, our schedule is crazy, and my kids are sticky-faced and wearing mismatched shoes.

But I'm really hard on myself and I try to fit it all in and get it all done.

 Well, due to some unforseen circumstances, I was dropped from my Thursday night class. When I found this news out, I had a moment of panic and I just wanted to crawl in a hole. But following my panic, I felt an incredible amount of peace come over me and I felt like God was saying, "Slow down!"

He knows how busy we are. He knows that it's hard for Spidey to get used to having a working mom. And I feel like he found a way to teach me that it's ok to slow down a little bit.

I can't be a super mom. I can be the mom that my kids need but I really can't be much more.

Most days, I'm just hanging on by a thread. I've been struggling a lot lately and I just can't seem to find my bravery that everyone else seems to believe I have within me. I'm not giving myself breaks. In fact, I've been pushing myself harder than ever before.

So God said, "Slow down." and all I could do was nod my head and realize that He is right.

I have my whole life ahead of me. I'm only 26 years old and my kids are still young. We can slow things down a tiny bit sometimes. As much as I want to rush through school and be able to provide a better life for my kids RIGHT NOW, I feel a whole lot of peace tonight as I think about how rushed we already are.

I can do hard things...but I don't have to push myself farther than I need to right now.

It's ok that I need to slow down. It doesn't make me weak. It just makes me human.

Back To Work!

 Four years ago, I was faced with a really hard decision.

Keep working or quit my job.

At the time, Petey was 2.5 and Spidey was 9 months old. It had been really difficult for me to continue working since Spidey had been born but I knew that is what our family needed me to do at that time.

But 9 months into his life, the possibility of staying home became more of a reality. I prayed about it and decided to put in my two weeks at Gilbert Pediatrics.

And for the past four years, I have been a stay at home mom.

I have loved so many things about these past four years. I have loved being with my children and taking them places and having more freedom to make our own decisions of what our day would look like. I have loved watching them grow up from babies into school-age children and being their main influence during these times. I realize just how lucky I am to have had these past four years.

Then a year ago happened. And when a year ago happened, I was faced with another heavy decision---keep staying home or go back to work. And again, I found myself on my knees, pleading with my Heavenly Father to find a way for me to continue to be with my children. With all of the issues they have had, they needed me this year. I don't doubt the decisions I made.

But now I am in a different situation. A year has gone by and I have a child in school full time.

Then my baby decided to go and start preschool...

Really? Is he really old enough for this?

And last week, my sister asked if I would be willing to help her catch up on some billing things down at Gilbert Ped's and I told her that would definitely be a possibility for a few weeks.

And I can't even describe to you how everything has fallen into place. From the preschool schedule to the babysitting to the timing of this job, it has all kind of worked out.

I could do it for two weeks. I knew I could. Even though I wouldn't be there to pick up Spidey from his first day of preschool, we would get through this and he probably wouldn't even care.

But after working most of the day on Friday, I started thinking about how much I love working for my dad's office and being in that environment and I started budgeting and looking at the financial difference it would make.

And so I made a proposal to my sister and my boss and asked for a part time job.

So now I work.

I am a working, single mother of two and a FULL TIME STUDENT with 17 credits.

I might lose all of my hair by the end of the semester but I know that this is what needs to happen right now.

My mom guilt has set in and I made a phone call to Spidey when he got to the babysitter's house after school today to see how preschool went. Of course, he talked for about 5 seconds before handing the phone back.

 It is REALLY hard for me to think about the fact that I am leaving him 5 days a week between work and school and then I have to give him up every other weekend. I am going to miss our leisure mornings together, snuggling up on the couch and talking about life. This kid has been my life for the past four years. My identity has been mother and I have loved it. I still love it. But now I have other identities.

 Just as it was hard to let my big girl go to school ALL DAY, it is going to be an adjustment to get used to being away from my boy.

I feel so incredibly lucky to have the opportunities that I do and there may be a day where I am a stay at home mom again.

But for now, I will make the most of the afternoons I have with my kids and the weekends we get to spend together.

My Goodness

I feel like Suzanne today.

Even among the depression and the heartache and the painful memories, there are days where I feel like me. The real me.

The girl who loves to make others happy and doesn't tell herself she is selfish. The girl who reads books to her children and gives them extra snuggles at night. The girl who exercises because she loves her body, not to punish herself.

This is me.

School started yesterday.

School started and my anxiety kicked in full swing. Ok, fine, the anxiety kicked in the night before.

I went to my math class and was welcomed by a bubbly, tiny young woman who made us decide what shape we identified with most and then showed us a Ted talk on having grit. I really hope her personality, as cheesy as class felt, will be helpful to get me through this math class. Have I mentioned I hate Alegbra?

Then I headed to the class I was nervous to start---Philosophy of Sexuality. I know it's going to help me become a better therapist. I know I need to take this class. I am just not excited about the sometimes explicit material and the open discussions about SEX. Part of the reason is because it's intimidating to talk about sex with people I don't know and trust but a bigger part of the reason is in regards to the trauma from my failed marriage.

But I did it. I focused, I read through the required material today, and I finished my first assignment. And if you're waiting for me to stop tooting my own horn, it might not happen yet.

I have spent my morning doing things Suzanne does. Spidey and I jogged the neighborhood at 7:15am. We played with our bunnies and fed them breakfast. And I finished my work out while my boy watched PBS.

I even cleaned the family room.

I'm figuring life out. I hate it some days. I love it other days. But at least I seem to be figuring it out.

There are two parts of me and today I am Suzanne.

TODAY I AM SUZANNE.

That is such a victory, friends.

Because depression and anxiety have taken so much from me. When I feel like me, I NEED TO CELEBRATE THAT!

So today I celebrate who I am. I celebrate the brave things I conquer and the good things that I do. There is good within me---a lot of good. And it doesn't counteract the bad, it isn't a replacement for the bad...it is it's own thing. I am good because I am compassionate and funny and loving.

I am a good person.

This is me.

First Grade

I've never really been an overprotective mother. At least not overly protective.

I let them figure some of their sticky situations out on their own. Germs don't bother me. Kindergarten wasn't too hard for me to accept.

But there was just something about sending my six year old to school all day long that I wasn't dealing with very well. I assumed my anxiety would get better once I dropped her off that first day but we were late for school on the first day and I didn't even give her a kiss goodbye.

And for the six remaining hours before I'd see her again, I worried about what she was feeling, what she was doing, whether she was eating her lunch and making friends and liking her new teacher. It was a mess.

Of course, she came home all smiles and telling me all of the cool things about full day school and my worries were immediately eased. I even had tears in my eyes listening to how well the first day had been for her.

The second day was another story. My girl came home in tears because she had gotten a stop sign for something she didn't even do and that was a hard lesson for her to learn.

 Because sometimes even when we are telling the truth, life doesn't end up treating us fairly.

I resolved the issue with her teacher and after a ton of worrying about the future on my part, I felt at ease late that Thursday night. Holy rollercoaster day!

Day 3 was it's own kind of mess because Petey came home saying she had received two stop signs (both for legitimate reasons...talking!) which meant she had to sit out for 5 minutes of recess. She said, "I cried for a minute but then I realized it's fun to sit on the wall." Hmm...
So then I became the mother that worried my kid was going to start getting into trouble on purpose.

Gah!

 But my goodness, I am happy to report that although she tried to convince herself that sitting on the wall was indeed fun, she has done really well at following directions and listening to her teacher since then.

 Luckily for my anxiety, she has come home every day since then, all smiles and ready to tell me about each day.

 She excitedly talks about the new friends she's making and the old ones she gets to play with again.

 She tells me about how first grade is so cool because you get to study science and social studies

 and how eating lunch at school is quite possibly the coolest thing in the world.

 She likes to report which kids weren't listening and which ones were on their best behavior that day.

 This week, she came home to tell me she is the hall monitor all week. And boy, is she excited about that one! We had a talk about the responsibility that is in her hands as the hall monitor and how she should always be honest when reporting incidents to her teacher.

It has been an incredible whirlwind of two weeks for us!

And this is just the beginning!

There will be more tears, more fights, more smiles, more frustrations, and more learning opportunities.

I am so proud to be the mother of this kid. She is one of a kind. She is kind, loving, and sensitive and first grade is teaching her so much already.


PS: I took a picture of her every day for the first two weeks, to hold the same tradition as kindergarten. Here is the flashback to last year's collage. She has grown up so much!

School Is Hard, Prayer Is Real

School was so much fun the very first semester. Not only was I blowing through my classes with awesome grades (and seriously, I had just become a single mom a week after school started so this was HUGE), I was making new friends and loving my new life outside of "mom life". It was a great time.

So I signed up for my next semester, ready to tackle the new challenges I'd face---but really, I wasn't ready. I was struggling with my worth, my testimony, single parenting, filing the final divorce papers, trying to figure out my schedule, getting my kids to school/babysitter on time, and my math class started to kick my butt a week into school.

I remember signing in to my online math class and just staring at the page crying for ten minutes. I was only a week into the class but I already felt like I wouldn't be able to make it through this class. I worried about what dropping the class or getting a bad grade would mean for my financial aid since that is a huge part of why I'm able to go to school right now. I went to the tutoring center and tried to bring my grade up. It would dip lower and lower with every bad grade I would receive on homework and quizzes. My amazing friend tried to help and spent many hours on the phone with me {she lives in Utah} trying to help me understand everything better.

But I ended up failing the class. And by failing, I mean I seriously got a LOW failing grade. I was really discouraged. I planned to sign up for summer classes but I just couldn't do it. I also usually sign up for the next semester of classes right after I finish finals but I put it off for over a month because I was so bummed about that one stupid grade.

I started doubting whether I could really do this. If my second semester in community college is so hard, am I really going to be able to get a masters degree at a university someday? Everything just seemed so far out of reach and many times, I've considered dropping out and just finding a full time job that pays well enough to support my kids.

But every time I think about getting a job and dropping out of school, I think about our future and my dreams and the reasons I am in school right now. A lot of times in my life, I have found that really hard challenges teach me the most and I'm hoping school will do the same for me. I've never felt like I was a very smart person and school is a really scary choice for me but I am trying to push forward.

I have been praying for two months that my failing grade would not take my financial aid away. I promised Heavenly Father I would do better and I prayed that He would make this possible for me to continue in school. When I signed in to my Maricopa student center today, one of the first things I noticed was my grades and under it, the words "In Good Standing".

I believe in answered prayers. I believe that God knows me and my heart and that He will help me in this journey I've decided to take on. This isn't the easy way but I believe it'll be worth it.

I never did sign up for summer classes because I needed to break to remind myself why I am doing what I'm doing. This is all for our family, not just for me. I still have two months before my next semester starts up and I am so thankful for this time with my kids before life gets undeniably crazy again. Also, I'm thankful to my mom and sisters and friends who are always willing to help me with kids when I'm in class or needing time for homework. I have such incredible support in my life and I really am grateful for that.

Kindergarten Graduation

 It was touch and go there for a minute but she did it!!! She graduated from Kindergarten!
(I hope you sense my sarcasm...it was never actually touch and go...she did amazing this year!)

Kindergarten graduation was adorable and I am so grateful for Petey's teacher! She has really been helpful when I've not been able to be the best mom to my little girl.
Going through a divorce the year your oldest kiddo starts kindergarten was tough on all of us and Mrs. Maynard was incredibly patient when we've missed homework or other things. She really has been such a blessing for our family this year.

I cannot believe this means my girl is on her way to FIRST GRADE!!!
***The medal she is wearing in those pictures is because she got Principal's Pride or Honor Roll on every report card (Never got lower than a B and some of the report cards, she got all A's).

I love you, Petey!!!!!

Monday FUNday and a Weekend of CrAzY

 Here we are, Monday. The start to a new week, a new week that I am very much looking forward to.

I spent the first day of my weekend doing a lot of this---yes, I really did take a picture of you, Tc. Next time I'll warn you...or maybe I won't. I painted and untaped and laughed and layed down in the grass and was tackled by a 6 year old approximately eight times and listened to beautiful singing and SOMEBODY even touched me with their feet. Gasp! {I hate feet}

So that was Friday. Imaginably the best day I've had in a while.

As you read on Saturday, things started to get rocky for a bit. I had a hard morning and I layed around watching tv and/or dramatically crying about how life just isn't fair.

But then I decided that I was NOT about to spend an entire day feeling sorry for myself so I picked my butt up off the couch, cranked my music up, and started cleaning and de-cluttering and getting rid of 90% of Petey's toys and 60% of Spidey's toys. Booyah. Then I organized the family room and planned to add wallpaper to one of the walls but it was 2am so I decided it could wait for another day.

Sunday morning came and I realized I had forgotten another plan I was going to accomplish on Saturday---changing my hot pink hair streak to teal blue. I had 2 hours until church and since I suck at math, I calculated that I had plenty of time.

Ha!

I had to bleach it all first and that took over an hour and there was still some pink left. No biggie, right?

By the time I added the teal, I had 30 minutes before church which meant I had 10 minutes to leave the color in, 10 minutes to wash it all out, and 10 minutes to dry my hair enough to get to church. Hmm...

It didn't quite work out how I had expected and I went to church looking like a freaking Easter egg. Good thing it was actually Easter, right?!!

 

I came home from church and dyed it again. This time it took all the pink out but was left looking purple, blue, and green.

 

So after dinner, I tried ONE MORE TIME, and it is as good as it's gonna get right now. It's blue and greenish blue. Oh-freaking-well.

 

Maybe I should leave that crap to the professionals! Knowing me, I probably won't have learned my lesson and you'll probably hear about me doing this all over again in a few months.

 

At least I was the world's cleanest person yesterday after THREE showers.

 

So today, stuff got real. I was bound and determined to make today productive!

{Ha! Its 9am and I'm on the computer blogging.}

Petey had crazy hair day at school and I was so excited!

We sprayed it hot pink and put gold sparkles in it. I ratted 3 crazy buns and added a few ostrich feather bows. She loved it and we were both happy that this meant it was also a "dress down day" meaning no uniform!

I love uniforms but once in a while, it's fun to dress her up.

 

Then stuff got really real when I decided to sweep the floor in the kitchen...

 Yes, that's the pile I was left with. Why am I showing you? Oh, I don't know, BECAUSE I'VE LOST MY MIND!
I even did the dishes---because I'm such an overachiever.

It's 9am and I think I deserve the rest of the day off. Oh wait, I'm just kidding. Maybe I'll put that wallpaper on today. Or maybe I'll get some laundry done. Or maybe I'll just sit on the couch.


We shall see...

What Today Taught Me

I'm tired, I so badly need a shower, and my inner beast is surfacing so yes, it's time to start getting ready for bed.
But I couldn't NOT post tonight.
I just couldn't!
There is no excuse that is good enough right now for me to not tell you how I feel.

I feel grateful. Today was an amazing day. Shall we just relive it a little bit? Yes, let's do that!

This morning, after dropping P off at school, Spidey and I headed to my mom's because she was going to watch him while I went to math tutoring---bleh. Math and I have been enemies this semester. A few weeks ago, I was ready to call it quits. I couldn't handle the pressure and I couldn't handle seeing my grade (63.7%) get lower and lower. I emailed my teacher and told her I'd be dropping the online class and that I'd take it this summer at the school.
Her response caught me off guard. It went something like this: "Suzanne, I'm happy to withdraw you if that's what you really want but I would love to work with you to bring that grade back up. Don't give up yet! I'm going to open chapter 3 quiz for you and I want you to try it again. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you need to and utilize the math tutoring center."
I was very hesitant. I didn't think I could do it but that email gave me hope. I knew I needed to try.
I re-took the quiz and brought my quiz grade from an F to a B. I re-did some homework and brought those grades from D's to B's. Today I went to math tutoring and got 100% on all of my homework assignments! This is huge, people! My grade is still a D but there is now a cute little + in front of it.

So I was feeling good when I went to pick up my Lil Mr from grandma's house. We came home, I signed on to Facebook before we were going to head out to the gym and I saw that my cyber-friend was having a crazy morning.
Let's back up a bit with the story of my new friend. I'd like to start by pointing out that I have 100% utilized this year's word, brave, when it comes to making this new friend. I read a blog post last month that TC had written about National Eating Disorder Awareness, which inspired me to write this post on my blog. I wanted so badly to write her a message on Facebook but hesitated because that isn't just a thing you do to people you don't know. Anyway, a few weeks later, I saw TC post on my daughter's school Facebook page and realized our kids go to school together! For some reason that made it seem less creepy so I messaged TC and gave her my life story. Just kidding---kind of.
So we became cyber bff's and planned to meet someday soon.
Flashforward to "someday soon".
Last night, TC and I were texting because I realized we are in the same stake! Is the world seeming smaller yet? I thought it was so funny that we were a teeny bit more connected than we were before.
So...today. Today TC was having a crazy day and I knew exactly what I was going to do. I FB messaged her and asked for her address and favorite snack.
She didn't respond.
I texted her and asked her for her address and favorite snack.
She didn't respond.
I threatened to look up her address if she didn't respond.
She didn't respond.
I texted her to tell her I was on my way.
She didn't respond.
(Would it be important to tell you she was painting her house so the lack of response wasn't because she thinks I'm as crazy as I actually am?)
So I got brave and showed up at her house with a bag full of different snacks.
You guys, I was so afraid she'd think I was crazy but since I felt insta-connected to TC, I hoped she wouldn't call the cops.
Don't worry, she didn't. And my bravery won me a new friend today. A real new friend.

So I left, feeling happier than happy. And it wasn't even the "service" kind of happy, it felt like a real happy. I felt like this day could be the first day of the rest of my life. Cheesy, right?
I digress...I went to the gym and kicked the crap outta my mile run. I shaved 30 whole seconds off of my run. Booyah.

This afternoon, we needed to clean the house. Really badly, we did. But the kids were oh so whiney and cranky so we started with a bike ride. I even mustered up a little bit of patience and jogged next to Spidey so I could help him with the two-wheeler he's known how to ride for 6 months but thinks is scary. He mastered it beautifully and by the end, was riding almost as well as his pro-bike-riding sister. Another booyah.
We got a little bit of cleaning done before the whining and crankiness started up again so we stopped for a dance party, including but not limited to shaking our booties, jumping on my bed, wrestling, and a crud-load of laughing. It was perfect for a minute---a minute is accurate.

So today was great and the cherry on top was posting on our neighborhood page to see if someone could grab me some conditioner if they were at the store tonight {because this girl is in serious need of a shower right now} and having a wonderful friend send her daughters to the store just to get me conditioner.

People are so freaking amazing.

Tonight I decided something that was probably already decided but was reiterated a thousand times over today.

 

This girl is going to be just fine.

2014: Day 20 and 21

 Day 20: This month.
Day 21: A moment
Don't ya think we could just take "a moment" from "this month" and count that? Since I've been so busy with homework, that is what we are doing for this post.
I found my camera a few weeks ago when school started {It was in my backpack} and I wanted to update you on some happenings from this month. It's been a good month so far.

The day I started school, Spidey was pretty bummed that he was the only one not going to school during the day now so I packed him a backpack to take with him to Grandma's house. Doesn't he just look so happy? He thought it was pretty cool that all 3 of us had backpacks on that day.
School has been good so far. I am taking 2 classes at the college and 3 classes online---because I'm crazy. So far, only some minor hiccups in my math class. I'm getting the hang of the schedule and learning how to balance my time, which really just means getting on the computer to do homework every free second I have.

 Petey has been busy busy busy with dance! They have started basketball season and she is going to have performances every couple of weeks now. Her schedule has been killing us all because it's 6-8pm instead of the normal 4-6pm so that they can be combined with the older girls. Coming home at 8:30pm on school nights messes up our nighttime routine. But it's ok because she's happy and we are happy to support her.

 One of the nights she was at dance, some other dance moms and I went to get pedicures. We all have a little boy with us and Spidey loves hanging out with his best buddy. They played so quietly on the iPad. I'm so glad they have each other to stay entertained while we are busy doing dance things with their big sisters.

 Last Friday, Petey came running in crying, saying her finger was cut. Then Spidey comes in, puts his hands on his hips and says, "I told her not to play with the box cutter." What?! It was bleeding like crazy and I drove her to our favorite pediatrician {Grandpa}. Luckily, she didn't need stitches because of how it cut her finger but it had to be wrapped in gause for a few days.

 We celebrated Ellie's birthday! How is this girl 2 already? And yet, how is she not 3? She is the smartest 2 year old I know. And the silliest. You'll see more of that later.

The weekends I have without my kids are usually spent like this...

 This would be about 2:30 in the morning.

 Seriously. My friends are awesome. And last weekend was so much fun, even though I only got 2 hours of sleep and didn't even take a nap the next day. It was a miracle that I was functioning!

Then yesterday, we all went to our favorite pizza place, H&H City Pizza in Chandler because my sister is visiting from Virginia.

 My cousin owns this restaurant and I'd eat there every day if I could. It is always so delicious!

 I love these girlies together. Petey really loves Ellie.

 Isn't this newest addition just precious?! I love holding him.

This last series of pictures is Ellie with her MANY "silly" faces. She is such a ham!

 This one is a true scowl---she did not appreciate that Petey was trying to get in on the pictures too. ha!

It's been a whirlwind of a month. I'm grateful I have the opportunity to go to school, be a mom, participate in church activities, hang out with friends and family, and so many other things! My life i hectic and busy but I feel like I've done pretty well with this 30 day challenge, all things considered. :)

I Believe in Me

Tonight must be emotional, for some reason. I turned on the computer and this image smacked me in the face with it's imperfect perfection.

I cried.
I love that it's the background of our computer. What I love even more is that they are mine for eternity.

After turning the computer on, I signed in to my school account to check on my grades. My English teacher had sent me back an essay that I thought I was struggling with and her words were so positive and encouraging. I started to cry again. She corrected two words and that was it. The rest was great in her eyes.

The thing is, school scares me. I'm a semester in and I feel like I've rocked this semester but there are 11 more semesters before I get to have my career. And I can assume that they will not all be this easy.

The thought of my classes getting harder scares me.
But the thought of dropping out of school terrifies me.
I'm where I need to be.
I need to believe in me.

I'm staring my fears down daily. The fear of failure weighs on my mind but it's a battle I have to endure so I can reach my end goal.

My goals might seem farther out there than a single mom of two can reach but I'm just going to have to show the world that it can be mastered. I'm not picking the easy way out. A bachelors and a masters degree are not the easy way out. Building up my own clients so I can have flexible work hours is not going to be the easy way out. It's going to be challenging most of the time for a long time but it will be so worth it.

I'm determined not to fail. I don't want to be that story. I don't want to lose my ambition. I want to succeed.

Succeed, I can and succeed, I will.

iPad Collages

 Well, here I am again! Since I kicked my math homework's butt and the baby is sleeping and Spidey earned games on the Kindle, I think I'll do another blog post. It has been a great week. I cannot imagine what life would be like without my children and some of the greatest friends and family in the entire world. I am seriously lucky and blessed. God knew what he was doing when he sent me to my family. He also knew what He was doing when He paved the pathway for my friend, Lacey's, family to move into our ward.

The collages I am posting are my favorites that I've taken in the past week on my iPad. Enjoy!

Last Friday, we were supposed to have a movie night in our neighborhood park. The kids had been excited all day and I was excited too until I saw a storm coming in. I looked on Facebook and sure enough, the movie night had been cancelled. The kids were so bummed so I asked if they wanted to order pizza and have our own movie night at home. They reluctantly obliged but it ended up being so much fun!

They layed blankets and pillows in the wagon and made it a fun movie night. Petey actually fell asleep around 8pm and I fell asleep around 9pm. I woke up at MIDNIGHT to a happy, wide awake little boy who had been watching shows on Netflix for 3 hours while I slept next to him on the couch. Weirdo! Petey was asleep on the family room floor so I just took Spidey into my bed.

The next morning, I signed on to Facebook and the first thing I saw was that Bashas was having some free bounce houses and rock climbing things in their parking lot. I called Lacey and we took the kiddos to have a fun Saturday morning.

 My kids loved this huge blow up slip'n'slide. I didn't pack any towels but luckily, they dry pretty fast under the Arizona sun. We had invited the kids' cousin, George, to come with us too and I'm so glad we did. He plays so well with my kids and is a great helper.

 All of the kids tried out the rock climbing wall. Lacey's older girls got the highest, George got pretty high, Petey was about 1/3 up, Spidey and Lacey's youngest barely weighed enough so they weren't allowed to climb up high, just in case they couldn't slide back down. :) It was a super fun morning.

The last of the iPad collage pictures is a collage from yesterday morning. Petey had school picture day and she wasn't required to wear her uniform. We got up early and curled her hair and she looked so adorable!!!

I'm hoping her pictures turned out well. She is such a gorgeous little girl and I'm so very proud to call her mine.

Loud and Proud

 Not only has it been a month since I've blogged, am I really going to post two blog posts within 15 minutes of each other? Well, since my online math homework is on the fritz, I think I'll just get a blog post out of the way before bed. As I said in the last post, sleep really is overrated, right?

I'm proud of my Petey. Can you tell? She is working soooo hard on her dance moves and continues to amaze me with her achievements. She loves dance and is a completely different kid in there this year. She focuses and remembers what she learns and she's always excited to practice for me at home. She can't wait to get her pom poms and do her first parade in October. Honestly, I can't wait either. :)

Also, she is loving school. She has learned so much in her first 6 weeks and even though she doesn't necessarily love homework, she does it with a good attitude {usually} and can do most of it on her own now. I took a picture of her every day for her first 2 weeks of school...

 Also, I wanted to show off some of my hair skillz. I have been trying to get creative and practicing my french braiding because Petey loves her hair braided.

 I've done two braids back a couple of times.

 I love the dutch braid around into a side pony tail.

And sometimes, I just do a french twist when we don't have enough time but she requests a braid. She is happy either way.

School has been amazing for Petey. She had to get up in front of the class this week and recite an entire poem, which wasn't actually a poem but the school's mission statement, and even though she normally wouldn't do something like that, she was brave and said every single word and got 100%! Here is the mission statement if you're wondering what she recited:
"Legacy Traditional Schools' mission is to provide motivated students with the opportunity to achieve academic excellence in an accelerated, back to basics, safe learning environment, taught by caring, knowledgable, and highly effective educators in cooperation with supportive, involved parents."

I was beaming when she recited the whole thing perfectly. There were some pretty big words in there and she did it all by herself without skipping a beat! I'm not allowed to put the video online since other kids in her class are pictured sitting at their desks but take my word for it...she was amazing!

Hopefully, I can find a balance of school work, mommy life, and blogging but if I can't, I guess I'll see ya next month! ;)