Toast 2 Mom

Star Struck

A little story I want to share about Cheekers that I don't want to forget....   One thing about this girl that I hope she never loses is her confidence in herself. Whether it's school work or sports or dancing or especially singing - Cheekers believes in her skills, owns it and thinks others have much to learn from her. :) 

Natty just loves to sing. While working around the house or tinkering in her room, she's often in song mode - creating her originals. She's bounced around with her favorite singing idols - Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Katie Perry. 

Well her latest idol comes from her new favorite show, The Voice.  Natty is a big fan of Gwen Stefani! I think it's Gwen's singing, style, dance moves AND red lipstick that seals the deal.

So the other night, Miss Cheeks comes to me out of the blue with a story to share. Many of the things this girl shares, I think, where did that come from? This was definitely no exception.

Natty says to me, "you know Mommy - you know how people wish on falling stars sometimes about things they dream about?"  I said, "sure, Honey."  She said, "well Mommy, more than anything I want to wish on a falling star that someday Gwen Stefani will come to my house to sing with me."

Oh my goodness....I mean, come on?!!  Can this girl get any cuter?? 

Precious Sleepers

I think it's been a busy first week of school.  I will treasure this photo. 

Invitationals

What a great day for Miss Cheekers at her swim invitationals. She was so grown up and competitive - and yet still so sweet and nervous and innocent. She ended up finishing in the middle of the pack today. It was a great experience for this girl's first trip to the big meet. We are so proud of her and her great swimming season! Way to Go!

Since A Long Time Ago….

So many events have happened since my last post. It's been bonkers-ville. We had company, lots of cookie orders, teacher appreciation week, my blog 6 year anniversary, girls in a play, wedding anniversary, mother's day and fun, warm weather social events with friends. It's just been hard to keep up with all types of tasks. But I never want to not have these memories. So here is my much-abbreviated version of the past couple weeks. 

Grammy, Papa and Grandma Iva came for a visit. We went to a fun burger place downtown and to view the bats. This photo of Sydney was taken at Guadalajara for breakfast - one of our fav spots.

Cinco de Mayo weekend. Miss Cheeks got her face painted at a festival we went to downtown.

The girls were in a play - Peter Pan. Sydney played the role of Peter Pan and Natalie was Wendy. It was FANTASTIC!

 

 

 

Happy 12th Anniversary celebration dinner with the Hubby. 

 

The girls had Field Day at school - lots of fun activities. So glad I could be a part of it. 

 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day (and anniversary too) to me. The girls brought my presents in this morning by wearing them when they woke me up. I got a cute new shirt and a pair of earrings (Tiffany's nonetheless). I went for a nice long run today. The girls and I went to lunch and then to a movie. A perfect way to spend a day. Cheers!

A Goal

Truth be told, I'm just not sure what to say anymore. I miss my girls while they are at school all day greatly. I hate it that they are growing so fast. I want my little baby girl side-kicks to hang with during the day at home and at Target and the grocery store. But this is life - and I've been writing about it for years. 

Now my big girls go to school every day. They learn. They play hard. They make new friends. They experience life. I get to hear their stories at the end of every day. 

I'm not bored while they're away. Not even close. Now I'm figuring out "me" time again. "Me" time happens to involve a whole lot of time working on my business. I also have begun substitute teaching - just one job so far. I am a home room parent and school volunteer. And if all those jobs and the house and our animal friends weren't enough, just trying to catch up on the pile of projects that have added up over the years is what I do to fill in any remaining gaps of time. 

So with all that, it's left very limited time and priority in my day to capture one more soccer picture. Or one more sob story about my growing girls. But I still don't want to miss any documentation either. So with that, I'm going to try and set a goal for October. I'm going to do a photo month. My words might be brief, but hopefully I'll find some ways, maybe creatively, each day to capture our world - the girls, mine, ours, all together. 

When a goal is set, it helps. 

My Babies are Grown

Today was the first day of Kindergarten for my baby girl - my baby, baby girl. So much anxiety lead up to this day. Like I thought my emotions surfaced as soon as I buckled my seatbelt to take them to the drop-off. I didn't want my tears to be get in the way of the happiness for her. So I swallowed and showed my big girl face. It was such a sweet moment, seeing my girls walk into school together hand-in-hand. It's a memory that will be in my mind forever. 

The day was a huge success. They were both so full of smiles and stories from the day at pick up this afternoon. Happy day.

My Final Graduate - Preschool Anyway...

We said goodbye to preschool today - though we will be back for camp. It was a very bittersweet goodbye (more bitter than sweet for this Mommy). We have loved every minute of the last four years at the girls' preschool. I'm extremely overwhelmed at the idea that four years has already come and gone. It really leaves me a bit speechless. 

I surprised our graduate today by pulling her big sister out of school to watch the program. Nice move on this mom's part - the graduate was elated to share the moment with her sister. 

Here are some moments from the program. The songs they sang and the final photos will forever be cherished!