I'm one proud Mommy!

Who do I mean? Well, Alysa of course. And those are the words her teacher's assistant used Monday when J picked her up from school.

Last Friday, when I was picking Kayla up I ran into Alysa's teacher. She stopped me to tell me that she had to tell me how Alysa had her and everyone in the classroom cracking up that day. That morning, a few minutes before it was time for Alysa to go home she told her teacher she wanted to sing a song. So Alysa stood up in the middle of the circle in front of all her classmates (she so doesn't get this from me) and proceeded to sing my Dad's version of Old McDonald. What is his version you ask?

"Old McDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. And on this farm there was a gal, Alysa was her name. With an Alysa here and an Alysa there. Here Alysa, there Alysa, everywhere Alysa Alysa...Old McDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o."

Her teacher told me she has a great sense of humor. :)

I have feeling there will be a lot "I need to tell you how Alysa made us laugh" stories in my future.

But on the way home Alysa told me, "Mommy but I don't know the real words."

Last Wednesday was Kayla’s first day of Kindergarten and Alysa’s first day of preschool. Both of them were very excited to be starting back to school. Kayla missed her teacher and has been chomping at the bit to be a Kindergartener ever since mid-way last year.

Alysa, well just forget it. She was begging to go to school all last year. So this was a huge deal for her. And since she is already acquainted with the school through Kayla and is not shy in the slightest (most of the time) she had no trepidation on her first day.

She groaned a bit at first when I woke her up in the morning but when she realized it was a school day she was all bounce and smiles. Kayla, although wanted to go to school, was your typical adolescent child who didn’t want to be yanked gently guided from her slumber.

At school Kayla was very proud to be there with her Sister and show her the ropes. Alysa was quick to give her teacher a hug on her very first day.

When I picked Alysa up she was all smiles and very proud of her first day. She is very vocal about her day and tells me what work she does and is even more proud to tell me when she does not need anyone’s help.

Kayla has been having lunch at school and I am happy to report…well…nothing. No issues, no problems, all seems to be well. I am packing her lunch in containers she can open and close on her own with no help. My goal is to make her as independent as possible which will limit her need for assistance and therefore limit the chance of mistakes while also taking some pressure off her teachers. The easier it is on them the safer it is for Kayla. She has been happy eating there and is eating well. She is a child who does not eat well at all outside of her normal routine of home. But so far that has not been an issue at school. I have prepared her as much as I can and it seems to be working.

After Kayla’s first day when we asked her what her favorite part of the day was she answered, “Seeing Alysa on the playground.”

I tried taking Alysa out to lunch her first day and that did not go too well – she was just way too tired. And her not being used to eating out didn’t help either.

Here are some pics of their first day.


Last Thursday I took Alysa for her first in a small series of dance classes at the library. I’ve been kicking around trying them out with dance but sometimes one class is not enough. So this was perfect. The classes are a half hour and there are 6 of them and they are no additional charge which makes them affordable. Alysa absolutely LOVED it and was such a cutie. I apologize for the picture quality – I had to take them through a window.

Wow! The DC trip was seriously more than I could imagine. With an estimated 1-1.5 million people in attendance I am happy to report is was an amazing success!

My parents and I got up bright and early at 4am and met up with the bus-goers at 5:30am. There were three buses all completely full heading down to DC (and that is just one part of the state – there were other bus trips from NJ as well). Although we got off to a bit of a late start we made it to DC by 10am. The march itself was initially supposed to start at Freedom Plaza at 11:30. But when we arrived on Pennsylvania Avenue at 10am the march was already in full swing. I believe there was a bigger turnout than expected which prompted the march to begin early since everyone would never have fit at Freedom Plaza!

We joined the march at PA Avenue from where our bus dropped us off. I was absolutely blown away at the number of people we marched with. Once we arrived at the Capital building we were able to settle close enough to hear the speakers throughout the day. There were a ton of great signs and I was able to get pics of many of them. Although with 1-1.5 million people I know I only got to see a fraction of them.

We also had a couple amusing happenings.

I was told on the bus that I looked 17. I tested that theory last night by stopping off to get J some beer. I wasn’t carded. So either I do NOT look 17 or the employee at the liquor store was not doing her job.

I went with my Mom to the bathrooms and wanted to forget it when I saw the lines. She insisted we stick it out. 1 hour and 40 minutes later we ended up taking our picture with 2 newfound friends we bonded with on line. It was running joke that we were practicing for our future healthcare lines.

We met a lot of great people and it was a very peaceful and respectful event. It was an awesome experience and I am very proud to have been apart of it.

The March:


We arrived at the Capital:


Us getting settled at the Capital:


The crowd around us:


Looking over the crowd and down Pennsylvania Avenue:


Some of my favorite signs (and yes, I had a lot of favorites): :)































Tomorrow will bring us back to our regular scheduled programming and photos and an update on their first day of school last week. And yes, I know I'm behind on my visiting too. So catch-up will get underway on Wednesday.

Tomorrow, September 12, 2009 I will be traveling with my parents down to Washington DC for the March on Washington. As I’ve gotten exceedingly frustrated with the path this country is on I have become more vocal and wanted to attend a local tea party rally on July 4th. But with no one to watch my girls I was unable to. But this was how the seed was planted for the DC trip. My Dad knew about the Sep 12th rally and suggested it. Luckily I was able to coerce convince my good friend June to watch the girls for me.

We’ve decided to join a bus trip down instead of driving and having to deal with the nightmare of parking, etc. The rally will start off at Freedom Plaza where there will be speakers. From there we will march 1.1 miles to the Capitol Building for a continuance of the rally and many more speakers.

And instead of just going to join in we will be armed with a 4’ x 6’ banner as well as flyers and postcards. Our goal is to not just oppose the ever-increasingly heavy tax burdens or the never-ending slide towards socialized medicine, but to bring back to the forefront of everyone’s mind what this country was founded on. Our individual rights have been eroding further away under each administration. So much so that many don’t think first of individual rights. And I for one want to make sure my children grow up knowing this country was founded as a Republic with a government whose sole purpose was (and still is) to protect our rights as individuals.

Here is everything we’ll be bringing with us. My Dad was the brains and behind the content and I designed them in Photoshop. We had them printed at Vista Print.

Banner:


Front of the Postcard: (click to enlarge and you can read it)


Back of the Postcard:


We’re expecting a strong media presence so keep an eye out for me on the news!

p.s. Sunday I will finally post about their first day of school. It's been a busy week here.

We had a VERY rare day on Labor Day. J and I were both home and we had nothing but time as a family. We decided to take the girls to Ringing Rock Park in Pennsylvania. It's a place we both grew up going to as kids and knew it would be a hit with the girls. It's a very large "field of boulders" on top of a mountain. And the rocks, when hit with a hammer ring like a bell.



You can see by the last part how precarious it is to navigate. Quite a few times I was holding my breath. Thankfully no falls or injuries. The worst part was when the girls decided (both separately) it would be a good idea to jump from rock to rock. A mother's heart can only take so much.

After ringing rocks, we went to a park for some playground fun. It was a totally awesome and relaxing day. I so wish we could have more of these...



Tomorrow is a big day in our house. Kayla starts Kindergarten and Alysa starts preschool. They both will be attending the Montessori school. Kayla's biggest change will be that she will be there all day from 9-3 which means lunch! It's a huge step for all of us but one I'm comfortable with since she's staying one more year at the Montessori school. They have been wonderful and I know will continue to be. I've gone over all the details with her teachers and there will be a lot of hand washing. Her teacher will be strategically guiding the kids to sit appropriately so no kids with open milk will be near Kayla - same for pizza day. She will also guide them according to what they have for lunch that day. I have grilled proper lunchtime etiquette into Kayla's probably-overloaded 5 year old brain and she appears to be very confident. I have packed her lunch in containers she can open and close herself. I figure the more independent she is the less the teachers need to help her which minimizes the risk to her and the stress on them.

I'm nervous because it's new, but relatively minimally so. I'm also excited for her. And Alysa couldn't be more excited. And she's not just excited for school, but she's excited to be able to eat the dairy snacks the school provides. But she's so cute too when she tells me she'll keep the dairy away from Kayla. She's such a good little sister. But what I'm most excited about is the fact that after Alysa is done in school at 11:30 I will be taking her out to lunch. Yes, a lunch with dairy infestation. A lunch solely for her where she can eat whatever her little heart desires. Don't worry - I'll bring my camera.

Yesterday I had $170 to deposit into my checking account. While we were out running errands we stopped at the bank. I sent in my deposit and when I got my deposit slip back I looked at it and saw it said $1,700.00! Boy oh boy - what I could do with that extra money she put into my account. But of course I did what any honest person would and sent it back and notified the teller of her mistake. When the girls questioned why we weren't leaving I used it as an opportunity to teach them about the right thing to do.

But on my way to my next stop I couldn't help but daydream about what I could have spent that money on and feel a little disappointed that I had to give it back.

I can't say I'm 100% ready to give up summer yet.

I wasn't done with swimming or shorts and tank tops.

Although I'm excited for the kids to head back to school because they are excited, I am not ready for school.

I'm not ready to watch Kayla head off to Kindergarten and be gone from the house all day long.

I'm not ready to watch Alysa, my baby, head off to preschool.

And I'm most certainly not ready for the chaotic mornings which entails waking two kids up who don't want to get up before 9 am and rush them through breakfast and out the door.

I'm not ready for short days or cold weather.

I'm not ready for bare trees.

I'm not ready for heating bills.

I'm not ready to give up watching the girls play outside for hours each day and eating meals with them outside.

But as much as I'm not ready to give up the long days of summer, I am finding myself looking forward to all Fall has to offer.

I am enjoying this week full of cooler days.

I'm enjoying shutting the air conditioning off for a bit.

I'm enjoying watching the girls put their hoodies on as the sun goes down and they're still outside.



I'm looking forward to corn mazes, apple picking and pumpkin picking at the local farm.

I'm looking forward to colored and falling leaves and the leaf piles that come with them.

I'm looking forward to watching my girls grow and develop under another year (Kayla) and her first year (Alysa) of Montessori.

I'm looking forward to cool crisp mornings when all you need is a light jacket.

I'm going to miss Summer but I am also looking forward to enjoying Fall!