Let the Battle Begin

May the odds forever be in Mommy’s favor!!!

The Last Day for the Kids

I had to work on Thursday during the day.  It was my last day of working during the day (I’ll be working in the late afternoons now when Jesse gets home at my Oregon job twice a week.  I’m a worker bee – I need to have a job “outside the home”).  I had to shut down a lot of things for the business and had to run the last of the payroll.  Which also meant it was the last day the kids would be with Mrs. Carolyn and Katherine. 

Mrs. Carolyn asked if they could come to her house that day and I had no objections with that.  The kids love going there.  New environment.  New toys.  And Katherine has a pet turtle which fascinates the kids! 

I didn’t realize I was going to have such a hard time with this being their last day with Mrs. Carolyn.  I clearly remember “interviewing” Mrs. Carolyn – full on pregnant with Max… and my eyes filling up with tears telling her that I have never left Mallory with anyone like this before and I was probably going to have a hard time with it.  And here I was having a hard time leaving Mrs. Carolyn!!  : ) 

What would really get me going was when I would think that Mrs. Carolyn has been with Max since he was three weeks old!!  And now she wasn’t going to see him everyday.  He was clearly her special little boy!!  And when I look back at pictures of Mallory when she first started what a baby/toddler Mallory was!!  Tears! 

So when I dropped the kids off I warned Mrs. Carolyn that I would be back with a camera and I was going to take pictures… and I was most likely going to cry! 

I dropped the kids off.  Went to work and then before I went to get the kids I went to the store and picked out cards for each of the girls, Mrs. Carolyn, Katherine and Casey… thank you cards for helping us out.  We could not have got to where we were with out them and their help.  As I’m in the store picking out Mrs. Carolyn’s card I find one that is amazingly perfect and I start getting teary eyed right there in the store.  I go out to the truck and fill out the cards and put their gifts with the card and wow!  My emotions!  I’m now crying in the parking lot!  I’m thinking I have to get it together before I get there or my kids are not going to want to come home with me!  ; )

I couldn’t hold it together!  Mrs. Carolyn kept telling me – we are not going anywhere.  We will still see each other.  She has to come to town for Katherine’s schooling and they will stop in and see us! 

I could not tell the kids this was their last day with them.  They are probably too little and wouldn’t fully understand it.  So I just didn’t say anything.

I’m not sure if I was so emotional because it really happened.  We dreamed of it happening – selling the business and me staying home full time – and it was truly going to happen.  We did it!

But oh man!  I still get teary eyed when I think about it!

What’s Mrs. Carolyn going to do?  She homeschools two of her girls (the oldest in is college going for culinary) so as of right now she plans on just staying home and focusing on her girls and their schooling.  She said she may get a temp job – but she isn’t in a hurry.

Heart Day!

For some reason I really get into Valentine’s Morning.  I plot and plan out a fun breakfast with little presents. 

Mallory is really into Doc McStuffin.  Like really into it!  So when I found “the big book of boo boos” I freaked and thought OMG!  She is going to love this!

Max was with me when I was looking for my little treasures and he saw this Minney & Mickey car set and he wanted it… bad!

I also found these gigantic sticker books – my kids LOVE stickers!  And then I found a lalaloopsy tent on clearance and got it for Mally for her birthday – however she found it and has been asking to play with that lalaloopsy thing we haven’t played with yet.  : )  She had no idea what it was, but she thought it was game.  I included it as well.

I had Jesse pick them up balloons while we were gone at Awanas.  So I tied balloons to their chair too.

Want to know what the favorite item was?!  The balloons! 

That big book of boo boos notebook I thought Mallory was going to freak over – she looked at it for like 6.9 seconds and then she was onto Max’s gift and wanted to drive the Minney car.  He did not want to share his present with her.  So then I thought I will put up the tent for her.  Um… she crawled in it – and then out it- and then got her balloon and played with her balloon the rest of the morning!!!

Seriously!!  I was so bummed.  I work so hard at finding the perfect gifts for them and they enjoy the blasted balloons!! 

Oh and the fun placemats I found in the dollar section at Target – thinking they would love to color, do the maze, tic tac toe… while I made them breakfast… yeah not so much! 

Speaking of my breakfast!  I never set my alarm – so I didn’t get up in time to prep and get organized.  My heart pancakes – were sticking to my heart cookie cutter that I scraped that after the first one.  My strawberries – MOLDED!  Breakfast was a bust!  : )

Mallory did say thank you for all her items she received (without prompting) and it was “the best valentines day ever!” in her eyes!  Which is all that matters, right!?!