A Message from Breck

Breck asked if she could write on my blog. I told her she could. She typed it all by herself!

My name is Breck. School is going great. I am on words in cursive. Cursive is very, very fun. I know the letters, P, A ,R, S, W, U in cursive. I have new friends. I also like walking on the walking path. There are baby birds.

Babysitting and Volunteering

I know, I know. Only three posts in and I am already falling behind. So, this one is for all my loyal fans (ok, maybe it is just one fan, Tom) out there that have been patiently waiting! Ha! Ha!
On Saturday, my sister and brother-in-law, Jenny and Andrew, had their 10 year class reunion. So, I got to watch my three nieces. For those of you that don't know, Mckenna is 3, Kaedyn is 2, and Brea is 9 months. As you can imagine, it can be a bit chaotic and I am a little out of practice when it comes to toddlers and babies. Josh, Breck, and Braydon went to a birthday party, so I was on my own. McKenna and Kaedyn kept themselves entertained most of the night playing with Breck's Littlest Pet Shop pets. Brea entertained herself by crawling EVERYWHERE very quickly and keeping me on my toes. I had to keep her away from outlets, stairs, and the precious TV. Apparently I did not do a good job of protecting the TV, because Josh discovered numerous handprints (I saw two, he saw hundreds) and he had to get out the lint free cloth and screen cleaner when he got home. Later, McKenna found some grapes on the counter. She asked me, "What about those grapes?" I took that as a hint and gave them both a bowl of grapes. Overall, the night went well. Then it was bedtime. It took me about an half an hour to put up the pack n play, while poor Brea was following me around crying because she was tired and hungry. That goes back to the out of practice thing I mentioned before. Breck, Braydon, McKenna, and Kaedyn all slept in Braydon's room. Braydon let them both borrow stuffed animals to sleep with. Kaedyn got a crab. She attacked me with the crab and in her best demonic voice, she yelled, "Crab! Crab! Crab!" They all went to sleep within 10 minutes after a minor incident. McKenna had snuck some of Braydon's cars into her sleeping bag and was playing. Braydon told her to put them away and she started crying. We compromised. I told her she could have Lightning McQueen. Brea decided to wake up at 10:30. She slept all night for my mom the night before! I told Josh she likes me more and just wanted to see me. She talked and played and I got her to sleep again around 12:30, right before mom and dad got home to take over! As Jenny was rolling up McKenna'a sleeping bag, I told her to check the little pocket on the outside. They told us they usually have to pat McKenna down before they leave someone's house, because she tries to take toys home that she likes. The pets she was playing with before would fit perfectly in that little pocket. She opened it. There were not pets, but a little flashing diamond. I told her it was not Breck's. She said it wasn't McKenna's. McKenna had stuffed it in there the night before at my mom's house, so my sister Jacey is short a little light up diamond! Like Josh said last night, McKenna may clepto, Kaedyn may talk in scary voices, and Brea will not sleep for us but we love them all! It is so fun when they come over!
Yesterday, I got to go volunteer in Braydon's kindergarten class. I just did some cutting and hanging of pictures. If you ever get the chance to spend some time in a kindergarten classroom, I suggest you do it. You will have new respect for teachers and paras. It is amazing that they can keep 22 five and six year olds all moving in the same direction. And they all know the routine so early in the schoool year. My baby looks so grown-up sitting at his table working on his schoolwork and lining up for lunch. The kids say funny things too. When I was in Breck's kindergarten classroom once, a kid raised his hand during storytime. The teacher called on him and he told her, "My mom had to get a job because we ran out of money!" She just said, "That's nice." and kept on reading. I cracked up, quietly of course. But she just went on reading. I guess that sort-of thing happens all the time in kindergarten. Mrs. Kvasnicka (Braydon's teacher) did tell me that he is doing really well and he is a good leader. I see those leadership qualities at home when he is screaming at his sister that she is not playing the Wii right! Breck also has some very good leadership skills :)!
Now I have done my duty! Hope I got you all caught up!

Settling In

Well, we are starting to get settled into the school year routine. Each day, since the first, has gotten a little easier. Breck has learned three letters in cursive already. She loves Mrs. Hartman and says she is really nice. She felt like a big kid yesterday because Mrs. Kvasnicka (Braydon's teacher) had her lead some kindergarteners to Reading Club before school. Breck also decided this weekend to redecorate her room. The walls are now covered in Camp Rock posters and pictures. Braydon says school is "awesome." On the first day of school, he learned to spell red. He really loves seeing his best friend Treyce everyday and has made a new friend, Brianna. And apparently, he has fully recovered from the "terrifying" (his words) bus ride on the first day, because that is now his favorite part of the school day. Braydon asked me yesterday morning when he can go to the bus stop by himself and told me this morning that I did not need to wait for the bus this afternoon. I guess he has grown up quite a bit since he has started kindergarten!
I, too, have accomplished a few things in the last couple days. The refrigrator is clean and stocked, the dining room floor is sparkling, and the kitchen is spotless. Now I just need to decide what I want to do when I grow up!

First Day of (sniff) School

Well, after eating a roll of chocolate chip cookies (Hello, my name is Jaime and I am an emotional eater) and staying up all night watching the Olympics, I came to the conclusion that I had no other choice but to send my babies to school. Breck started third grade today and Braydon started kindergarten. Most of you know Braydon and how much he likes to be at home with mommy, so it was kind-of a big day for us, as it is for any other kindergartener. As I did with Breck, I have been worrying for months! The kids and I have been celebrating the end of summer together for the last couple days. Tuesday, we went extreme bowling (black lights, glowing balls, disco lights, and loud music). We had alot of fun and the kids bowled pretty well. Breck squealed each time she got a split or a spare. Braydon was mad at me though. I tried to give him some bowling advice (my sparkly pro bowl in Wii bowling qualifies me to do that) and I told him he needed to worry more about throwing the bowl straight instead really hard. He would try to throw it hard and it would pinball all the way down the lane off of the bumpers. Well, after a couple of times trying it my way, he stomped up to me and said, "I get the splits when I try to throw it straight!" I let him bowl his way and he put up much better scores! Yesterday we went to the Lincoln Children's Museum. The kids love everything about it, but their favorite is the Prairie Dog Town. The tunnels are so fun to crawl around in. So, we gave the summer a proper send off. We picked out our first day of school outfits and talked about what to expect. Breck was very excited about learning cursive this year. That is something she has been looking forward to since she started writing. Braydon prepared by learning his lunch number (the four digit number they need to punch in to access their lunch account) and mom giving him a lecture about not googling stuff on the school computers. They were both excited about today. Braydon must have sensed that I was not quite as excited as they were because he offered to make me breakfast. He suggested cereal because, "I know how to pour cereal and I know how to pour milk." We put them both to bed and talked about the upcoming day. Breck was excited about wearing her new clothes and outfit and was calm, cool, and collected, because Breck is calm, cool and collected. Braydon was worried about, as he put it, "I might get all sweaty and my underwear will stick to me!" because Braydon, well, he just worries. So we got up, and he made me breakfast. He was giggling and shaking while he was eating because he was so excited. They both brushed their teeth and got ready without me having to tell them to or hurry them along. We got to the bus stop fiifteen minutes early. They are the second to last stop, so the bus was pretty full. I gave him a hug and he told me he would miss me. We watched them get on and look for seats. Unfortunately, there was not two seats left together, so they had to sit in different seats. I got inside and was feeling pretty good about the morning and how well I was holding it together. Then, I heard it. My phone played the tone that meant I had a text message. You see my little sister Jacey also rides their bus and had her cell phone with her. Josh picked up the phone and I could tell by his face. The message said Braydon was crying because he could not sit by Jacey or Breck. That was it! I lost it and all at once I realized that as of this morning, I had two kids in school and none left at home with me! Jacey texted me again and said Braydon got off the bus with Breck. Breck will be a great big sister and show him to his room and he will find his friend Treyce and he will have a great time and be fine. I, on the other hand, am not so sure about me!

Why not?!

Well, I have decided to start a blog! My mother-in-law introduced me to the world of blogging and said I should give it a try. Since I will have a little more free time on my hands, I decided it sounded like something constructive I could do. I used to enjoy writing and considering I won a writing contest in fifth grade I must be good at it, so why not make an attempt. As a bonus, all those people out there that say I don't call them enough will at least be able to keep tabs on us :)! I am sure it will be nothing too exciting, but it gives me something to do besides trying to master Guitar Hero, which my husband says I am not allowed to do.