TWO Superstars

Last week both girls came home with a note from their teachers stating they had been chosen to be the class Star of the Week. I can't even describe the excitement level in our house that day!

Gia's school does a one day 'make the kid feel super special' thing. The star student has to bring in a poster about themselves, and an item for show and tell. Oh, and lest I forget, they get to be the line leader for the day. Now that's pretty darn important when you're 4!

Here she is with her poster...

She chose which pictures to use and what to write, and even wrote most of the words herself. Did I mention she's only 4?!

Tia's school makes the entire week a big deal.
On Monday she got to bring in a sharing bag full of things from home to tell the class about.
Tuesday she had to bring in her favorite book from home and the teacher read it to the class during circle time.
Wednesday the teacher read a letter from Mom to the class. I hand wrote the letter so I don't have a copy of it but will ask the teacher to send it back home so we can save it!
Thursday I got to go have lunch with her at school. She was so proud. When she was shoving her lunch in her face, I told her she could slow down and that she had plenty of time. Her response was "I have to leave time for kissing!". She's a kisser, my little 6 year old, and she doesn't care who's watching!

Here she is on day one of her week of being a star...

I'm the proud Mama of not one, but TWO superstars at school.
Great childhood memories in the making.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We do Valentine's Day in a big way around here. It's turned into a gift giving holiday. Not quite as big a deal as Christmas, but it's pretty big!

Since D.R. would be at work for the holiday, he gave me flowers, and the girls earrings on Sunday. It's sweet that he can make them feel so special, like every little lady should. They've been showing everyone their new earrings, and announcing that they're from Daddy.

Last night after they went to bed I got to work getting the table ready. Here's what it looked like...

I know it looks like a lot of presents, but it's really all in the presentation.
The shiny pink bags had little things like hair bows, a craft, a monogrammed box of tissues, and a book. The big bag had a t-shirt and pair of sweats. The small brown bag was a bathing suit from Nonna in New York. She brought them on her last trip and asked me to give them to the girls for V-Day.

The funny thing is that when Tia woke up this morning, BEFORE the crack of dawn, she climbed in bed with me and asked if I would decorate the kitchen for Valentine's Day while she was at school. I played dumb and told her I'd see what I could do. You should have seen her face when she went downstairs and saw the table! Priceless.

Here they are digging into the goodies...

Oh yes, chocolate!

Then after school I ran to the grocery store to cash in a coupon I had for a free bakery item and got this...

You can't really tell from the picture but it was a mini cake. Just enough for the 3 of us to have a chocolate fix, and there's one piece left over. The girls loved it, and were so excited (OK, I was too!).

This was the first year I've had to celebrate this holiday without my #1 Valentine, and the girls first time without Daddy. I think I did a pretty good job of making the day special on my own, but we sure did miss him!

We hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love, happiness, and a few surprises!

The Neglectful Blogger

I've really been slacking on this blogging business. I remember the days when I would post almost every day, or at least several times a week. Well, sometimes life just gets in the way of such things!

I decided in an attempt to catch up on all of life's happenings, I could go through all my blog "labels" (those things on the right that organize and categorize my posts) and try to write something about each one of them. So here goes...

Challenge of the Week:

This weeks challenge is the same as last week. Getting the house in order and keeping it that way in preparation of trying to sell. I'm not sure I've mentioned it at all but we're moving to Wisconsin in a few months. We've been packing, cleaning, organizing, getting rid of stuff, etc. which seems to be a full time job!

Health and Fitness:

I've been able to make it to the gym about 4-5 times a week. That number used to be 6 but since the hubby is working up in Wisconsin for part of the week, the schedule has had a few changes. I'm no longer running outside because I'm a big baby about the weather (and my lungs do NOT like cold air) but I've fallen in love with cardio kick boxing! It's my latest addiction. I've been able to maintain my weight loss, and for me that's a big deal.

Just For Me:

I'm going to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks! It's yet another 40th birthday celebration (talk about milking it!). I'm meeting my sister and BFF for a girls weekend. I'm excited but nervous about leaving the kids all at the same time. I may have to consume some alcohol to drown my sorrows.

Kids Say the Darndest Things:

Yesterday I told Gia that my exercise class starts at 1:00. Her response was "When I was a baby that used to be my nap time. Remember?".
Yeah. I remember, but how the heck does a 4 year old remember that stuff?

While hugging Tia I said "Oh, how did I get so lucky to get you as my daughter?". Her response was "Mom, I'm really so lucky that I got you as my Mom".
Melt my heart!

Our Many Blessings:

OH, where to start! We are blessed in so many ways.
The whole family is healthy. We're all happy and doing well. The kids are both excelling at school and love going every day! D.R. has a job that he loves, and where they appreciate his hard work.
We're buying a beautiful home in Wisconsin on more than an acre of land!
The list could go on and on. We are blessed.

Pictures of My Angels:

Random Thoughts:

There was a 7 year old boy at the bus stop, eating Oreo Cakesters for breakfast this morning. That just makes me unbelievably sad on so many levels. The bright spot of my morning was when my daughter said to him "That has no protein, so it's not such a great breakfast". She then proudly announced that she had "An egg with cheese, a piece of toast, and a glass of milk" for breakfast. Proud mommy moment!

Special Projects:

The only special project I'll be working on for the foreseeable future is trying to sell this house.

The Clearance Rack:

My shopping has been put on hiatus lately since we're planning a big move but I did manage to snag these cute little  jeans for my 6 year old (school clothes for next year). Of course they were on the 70% off rack at Target...where else?!

$4.48

That's my kind of deal!

Well, those are all my labels so I think I'm successfully caught up. Forgive me for being such a slacker lately.
Have a great day everyone!