first day of preschool, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Ethan is at his first day of preschool right now. We had been trying to decide whether we should enroll him this year and he made the decision for us. Sort of. I signed him up for VBS a few weeks back and the lady at the office asked him how old he was. He told her and she told him that he was old enough for preschool. And he told everyone that. Again and again. He loved VBS and really wanted to go to preschool. After much praying and thinking, it all kind of fell into place…there was one spot left, the money, all of it. So, today was the day. He was excited and I was a little nervous and sentimental. He gave me a huge hug and then was off. He waved to us from the play area and that was it.

Then came the exciting part. We got back in the car (Shane was with Tegan and I). The car this time was the Jetta. I try to start it. Not starting. Try again. Nope. We trade spots. Shane tries. Nope again. After a bit, “Mary” helps us try to jump start it. Not working. She leaves and we decide to bump start the car. We push the car out of the parking spot. Shane is steering and instructing me to push the car from the back as hard as I can. So, there I am, running and pushing the car as hard as I can. I start laughing. The car starts, I start laughing more. I can’t stop because I feel kind of silly and happy and then Shane and Tegan are gone. And I am still laughing and there are these two moms over to the side that have watched the whole thing. I feel a little embarrassed, but very glad the car started. And then they did come back and get me. So, we had a little adventure…it turned out to be fun, at least when I look back on it and not a frustrating or super inconvenient thing. I am just glad Shane was there.

Two more things…

Tegan while sitting in the car says, “Bruddie go?” Precious.

Last night, I showed Ethan one star in the sky (I think it was really a planet) and he wants to make a wish.

I ask him,”What are you going to wish for?”

He says, “A lot of adventures.” Precious.

I am trying to figure out what to get as a replacement. I am thinking I want a Dyson and all the reviews I read are good, but it is pricey. It doesn’t seem like it needs to much maintenance and just sounds like it does a great job. If you have any input one way or another, I would appreciate it! Anyone have any Dyson experience? Or other vacuum types?

petting zoo, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Tegan LOVED the petting zoo at the Children’s Zoo. Mostly just sheep and goats to pet, but they do have shetland ponies and bunnies there too. She just kept shrieking with joy and the biggest smile on her face. I am sure the animals appreciated it.

caterpillar and butterfly, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Last week, Ethan, Tegan, Grammie, Grandpa and I went to the Zoo and Balboa Park. We took the kids to the Children’s Zoo for the first time. I didn’t really even know it was there, but it was great. The kids had a good time and it was just the right size/amount of time for us to spend there. They had quite a few of these little photo op spots. It was incredibly hard to get a picture of the two of them in one. This was one of the best shots. It was a long, fun day!

“Mommy, I have been thinking of all the places you haven’t taken me.”

“Where haven’t I taken you?”

“Disneyland, Legoland, and Engaland.”

I am such a mean mommy!

Engaland…the home of churches with the steeples and bells! Steeples with bells that he has watched so many times on youtube. I explained that it was expensive to go to England, so now he is saving his money for the trip. I hope he takes me with him!

What is your favorite quotable line from a movie?

All I can think of right now is, “The first rule of fight club is that you do not talk about fight club.”

I have no idea why, but that is stuck in my head. I do like that movie. A few of my favorite movies are Amelie (love it) and Some Like it Hot (lots and lots of great lines in that one, but can’t think of them right now). Both are worth giving a try if you haven’t seen them.

Who is the most famous person you’ve talked to?

I guess David Schwimmer from Friends. We ran into him at LAX on the way to New Zealand. And on the way home from NZ, we were standing about 20 feet from Marilyn Manson and his entourage…didn’t talk to him, though. And Zena the Warrior Princess was on our plane on the way home.

When I was little, I was obsessed with LHOP (Little House on the Prairie…still kind of am, but not as much). Harriet Oleson used to live around here and when I was 7 or so we saw her driving in a convertible in Vista. Here long black hair was loose and flying in the wind from what I remember. I thought she looked kind of pretty.

How many bags/boxes of potato chips are consumed at your house per month?

Shane probably consumes 3 or 4 bags a month. He will give the kids a chip or two if they beg. Occasionally I buy tortilla chips, but never potato chips. Shane likes cool ranch doritos. I don’t, so it works out well for us!

What foreign food dish do you prepare from scratch and serve?

Hmm. Enchiladas I guess. Or curry rice (my favorite…yes, it’s Japanese). Neither are really from scratch though. I mean, I follow a recipe, but I can’t say I make much from scratch.

What is your favorite section of the supermarket?

Produce. It is so colorful! I like walking through there even if I am not buying anything.

What was your high school team’s mascot and what were the school colors?

Vista High, Panthers, and red, black, and white. College was the Aztecs, red black and white.

Her response was, “Frog.”

It cracked me up. Now, it is her response every time. And she gets a little look on her face like, I am telling the funniest joke. It is really cute. And sometimes afterwards, she will even say “ribbit.”

I am thinking this cute little joke isn’t going to last too much longer so I need to try to get it on video. If I do, I will try to post it. If you get a chance and haven’t heard it already, you should try asking her.

I bought Ethan and Tegan new tooth brushes recently and Ethan ended up with this Thomas toothbrush that sings for two minutes while you brush. Brushing has become a very popular time in our house. Tegan will yell “Thomas!” and run into the bathroom and shriek and dances for the entire two minutes with the biggest smile on her face. It makes us laugh every time. She is just so cute!

georgia peach, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Here is another one of my recent creations for my dear Georgia’s birthday. I like it and she did too. Sweet and simple.

skyler reese, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Here is a baby quilt I made and gave to my dear friend Kacy and her sweet little baby Skyler. I love the colors and fabrics in this so much! I want to cuddle up on it!!

serious, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Check out Ethan’s stache.

letters, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

And in addition to the reading, he is writing his letter like crazy. I got this dry erase placemat for a dollar at Target and we have already got our money’s worth. He will sit there for a half an hour, writing letters, erasing them and then writing them again. He doesn’t get the direction for writing them exactly right and he doesn’t always hold the pen right either, but he is so enthralled by it all and it is a great time filling activity. And he does a really good job!

We recently bought a few of the Leapfrog movies (We have 4 of them now) and he just can’t get enough of them. I am 100% sure that they are the reason he knows the sounds and the actual letters themselves. We would go over and over them, but it wasn’t until the movies that he actually was interested enough to actually get it. We still need some work on the lower case letters, but I am impressed and just so glad he wants to learn. Man, he is getting big!

hop on pop, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Ethan has had a crazy week. A little over a week ago, I got home from work and I was informed that Ethan was reading. Yep, reading. He picked Hop on Pop for his bedtime book and proceeded to start sounding out words and read about all of the three letter words in the book. I was shocked. The next morning, he spent about 15 minutes reading words to me. It is so precious, watching his little mind work as he sounds out the words. Then he got sick and he really hasn’t been too into reading since then. I am not pushing it. He has been very into letters and sounds though, and I am just so surprised and proud of him!