The Post Where I've Said It All Before

Photo strike ended. This was what I got when I asked him to give me the cheesiest smile he could muster.

It really feels to me like she's growing in the past week or so. I don't know if it's the rice cereal or just that I've had her in my arms for a week, but I can see changes in her since I've been home.

Cupcakes......baked. And can I just say that I will never again spread icing from a can on cupcakes. We just discovered the icing in a can (a la whipped cream or Easy Cheese). Normally I like to make my own icing, but in the case of needing one cupcake, I wasn't about to whip up a batch of icing. So we used the stuff from the can. Pretty slick if I do say so myself.

I was so proud of Joshua yesterday. When we were in the kitchen working on his cupcakes, he sat down in front of the refrigerator and rattled off these letters in perfect order from top to bottom. He wasn't really taking much time to think about it, as he has in the past. He just read them down. The funny part was that when I made a big deal about it and started clapping for him, he took a bow. Add to this the fact that he has just about learned the Pledge of Allegiance (after only four real days of nursery school) and learned to sing the song, "I Am A Promise" and I'm beyond thrilled about our choice to start him in school now and not wait until the fall. It's obviously helping him. And the fact that his face lights up when he wakes up and knows it's a school day just makes me so happy. I know I'll need to remember these days when he's grumbling and groaning about getting ready to go to 8th grade.

Besides the pictures, I'm really searching for something new to say here. Grandma is still sick. Snow was expected to be far worse than it ended up being. But we made the decision last night just to round out the week here at home. Laundry is just about caught up. House is cleaned (minus the bathrooms, but I hope to kick their butts today). It appears that nursery school is ON for this afternoon since the school only has a 2 hr delay, so it looks like our cupcake baking was not in vain. I also got the bright idea to attempt freezing half the batch of cupcakes to see if that's an option for these quick "I need a cupcake for a birthday party/school treat/whatever might come up" kind of things. I put them in about 8 layers of freezer burn protection, so we'll see what kind of shape they're in when I get them out.

I can hear Lauren waking, so I'd better get to her before she wakes up her brother. I might still be able to get another half hour out of him this morning if I'm lucky.

Happy weekend everyone!

And now it snows...of course.

Is there anything cuter than a baby in pajamas? I think not!

I called her Baby Red Bird all day yesterday. If you don't get the reference you've clearly not watched as much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as I have.

Home again. This time due to the snow that, up until now has been a big fat lie. It was supposed to be a blizzard, so we decided I'd stay home. But at 3:22 I can officially report nothing more than a wet driveway. How much do you want to bet that TOMORROW is going to be the nightmare day and I'll have to stay home then too.

I'm going to let go of my guilt for not being at work and enjoy the job of soaking up some good time with the kids.

Joshua and I have a big job to do later. It actually has me in a bit of a quandary. Yesterday when I picked him up from school (of course, AFTER I had braved the grocery store on the day before the predicted end-of-the-world snowstorm) I was advised that Friday is Donnie's birthday and he's bringing cupcakes. So I would need to bake a cupcake for Joshua to bring along so that he can partake in the birthday celebration. I was so pleased that his teachers thought to let me know ahead of time so that Josh wasn't left out. The bad news was that there is not a cake mix in the house, and it would require another trip to the grocery store with the crazies looking for bread and milk. But, for my favorite little man, we went again. Trust me...it was just as nuts as I feared it would be. Now the question is whether or not to actually make the cupcakes. I figure if I make them, school will be cancelled tomorrow and we'll have a dozen cupcakes to eat that will do nothing but sabbotage every single effort I've made to lower my pants size. If I don't make them, I'm sure there will be afternoon nursery school tomorrow. So we're off to begin baking some chocolate cupcakes. If ever anyone figures out how to make just one cupcake from a cake mix, they'll forever be my hero.

Joshua is on another photo strike, so all I have is a few pictures of Lauren from yesterday. I hope you don't mind.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

Day three of being home with the kids is about to begin. I have to say that although I feel incredibly guilty for having missed some of the things I've missed this week, I haven't regretted a moment of being home with Josh and Lauren and sharing some time with them that is unhurried, unscheduled, and uncomplicated. Perhaps this has all been an incredible gift and I'm making a conscious effort to look at it that way. God may be smiling on us again tomrorow if the weather hits the way it is predicted to. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Here's Miss Lauren last night while eating her cereal. Cute as ever, this little girl steals my heart more and more every single day. She's happy, giggly and super cuddly and I'm loving having a couple of days to spend with her in my arms (since that's where she insists upon being when I'm around). Although holding her while playing with Joshua and getting things done around the house can get complicated, I know she'll only be little for what seems like a blink of an eye, so I'm not too hard on myself for "holding her too much", "not making her self-soothe" or any other number of things that would likely be criticized about the way we do things. I have a feeling I'll look back in 4 or 5 years when she's too big to hold and won't regret a single second of toting her around with me and talking to her, just like I did her big brother. I just love her to pieces and am so thankful she's ours.

The other thing I noticed about Lauren yesterday is that she has apparently been watching too much figure skating on the Olympics because she has taken to holding her toes above her head while she's nursing. I just keep thinking that if I tried to do something like that, I'd be in traction for sure. She's fascinated by her feet and constantly has wet socks from chewing on them. Absolutely everything is going straight to her mouth these days, but we still don't have the appearance of any little white teeth yet.

And this one literally cracks me up. I won't be attempting to print this photo because we all know what happens when you ask the ladies at Walmart's 1 Hour Photo to print a picture of a butt......


As always, there's a story to go with this one. Josh was using the potty and heard a truck out front. There's not a single truck that goes by that he doesn't inspect and ask 86 questions about (where is it going, what's in the back, who's driving it, where does it sleep when it's not working, and on and on and on). So, with pants around his ankles, he ran (pretty fast given the circumstances) and made it to the front window to see the truck. The camera was close by enough that I didn't miss it.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today is Joshua's second school day this week...a feat we've yet to accomplish, but it's looking good for today. Can't wait to see what he learns today.

All out of whack.

You know you're a bad blogger when you receive more than one (and more than 2) emails from people wondering if you're OK. The good news is that I now know that people do read the blog and were concerned about my absence. 12 days does seem like quite a long break in between posts, but we've been out of whack big time.

An illness sent us spinning over the last couple of weeks. One day of nursery school and Joshua managed to get sick. I only wish I would have formalized the bet that I talked about with my staff after dropping him off at school the first day. I had said that I figured he'd be sick by Friday...and he was. His first few weeks of school were a bit strange. His first day was a Monday. It went great. Wednesday was a snow day. When I took him back on Friday he was starting to show signs of a cold, but it must have hit him full force when I left because I no sooner got to the office again when my cell phone rang and it was the school telling me that he was fevered and that I needed to come and get him. The next Monday was President's Day and he was still hacking around on Wednesday, so I kept him home. Friday was a teacher inservice day so there was no school. He did return yesterday and had a blast. We're hoping for a three-peat this week so that he can get into some kind of a rhythm with school.

Last weekend, despite our illnesses, we decided to make our planned trip to Nana and Pap's house. At that point, it seemed just like a head cold, and no one seemed too concerned. Libby had been sick that week as well, so we figured Brooke had already been exposed. I can't believe it, but the camera only came out one time to snap a picture of a pitifully sleeping Joshua on the chair with Nana. The rest of the time we were just playing and visiting. But you know I'm not feeling well when I don't take pictures of the kids playing together.



Last week marked Lauren's first cold since Joshua was kind enough to infect the whole household. She bounced back pretty quickly, but had a pretty rough day last Wednesday. It could have been a whole lot worse than it was, so I'm grateful.

This past weekend, we decided to give some rice cereal a shot. We got out the high chair and set it up on Friday evening. I had her all strapped in because she has a tendency to try to fold herself in half to chew on everything (toes, trays, etc.). You can see for yourself, but she seemed to like her new seat at the big people table. This was a Christmas gift from Nana and Pap, so thanks to them! I have to say that I really like this attached-to-a-regular-chair high chair compared to the one that I wheeled out of my way for two years with Joshua. We just don't have the extra space for a separate high chair. And since no one ever comes here to eat dinner, I'm not too concerned about taking up one of our regular dining room table chairs. Yet another good improvement from Fisher Price in the past three years.



So, on Saturday morning we tried Lauren's first bites of cereal. She was so pleasant about it, but honestly had no clue what to do with a spoon or the soupy stuff I was giving to her. She'd take the bite and then let it all run right back out of her mouth. And then she'd flash me the sweetest smile. See?


Sometimes she looked puzzled, like "I don't get it, Mommy." See?

But mostly she had a great time trying something new. As the days have gone on and she's gotten more practice things have gone much more smoothly. Last night she downed the first little bit that I made for her, so I got her some more and she wolfed that down too. I kept telling her that if she was enjoying this, which clearly must taste like wallpaper paste, she'll really like it when she gets to try vegetables and fruits. I'm not in a huge hurry there, and we'll work our way through the cereals first, but I'm encouraged that her eating repertoire is starting to widen a bit.

And then, the schedule changed again. Joshua's cold has infected Grandma and seems to have hit her the hardest of all of us. She had to go to the doctor yesterday and is in rough shape, so I find myself homebound with the kids yesterday and today. A whole bunch of plans had to be rearranged (like me getting installed as United Way Presidend yesterday morning....it was pretty poor form to miss that, but there was nothing I could do), but there's nothing more important than being with the kids. We're here together again today and may be so again tomorrow depending on how super the antibiotics are that Grandma started taking yesterday. My laundry is caught up, but work and other community stuff is in complete shambles. I guess we can't have it all, can we?

Lauren and I had a little bit of alone time yesterday afternoon while Joshua was at school. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that. It wasn't that I enjoyed being without Josh, but the contrast of the noise of two kids compared to the peacefulness of one sleeping baby/eating baby without the commotion of a three year old just about blew me away. I sat quietly feeding Lauren while watching the Young and the Restless. Amazing. It actually flashed me back to what it was like to have ONE child. I really didn't think it was that different until I experienced an hour and a half without the louder of the two small Dugans.

And finally, here's a picture I snapped of Lauren yesterday snoozing away in her seat. She loves that doll....too cute.

Here's to hoping that I can get back to a more regular blogging schedule. I forget so much of the little precious stuff if I don't write it down quickly. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Nothing much...

Happy Lauren this morning before I left for the office.

And here's a future business-man (or grocery store clerk) if ever I've seen one. Don't you love the set up he came up with? Not one, but TWO step stools in use. Rolling tool box to hold his money that wouldn't fit into the cash register. Money being put neatly into its proper slot. Cracked me up!

It was a pretty low key snow day for us at home yesterday. Joshua was disappointed that a) he didn't get to go to school and b) he didn't get to go outside and play in the snow. When I told him that I wished we could, but that there was no one to watch Lauren since Daddy was working, he suggested that we should just let her inside. Add that to the list of reasons that Joshua's not old enough to babysit his little sister.

I spent the day in the kitchen. I made some baked spaghetti for supper last night (and evidently for supper until the middle of June based on how much I made). Then I got to work on BBQ pork and cheesy potatoes to deliver to a family from our church this evening for supper. I then made an apple pie type of dessert. I might have been able to accomplish more than just this little bit of cooking if it weren't for the horror that is teething. Lauren would not allow me to put her down all day....and I wish I was exaggerating. So, I pulled 4 pounds of pork and peeled a 5 lb bag of apples while holding Lauren. When it came time for putting things into and taking things out of the oven, I sat her down in her chair THIRTEEN INCHES FROM ME and listened to her scream as though I had disappeared forever. It bordered on ridiculous. By the time Jason got home I vowed I would not cook again until the children were gone from the house for good. It amazes me that some days it's so easy to get simple things done around the house and some days it's just about impossible. You can guess which yesterday was. And I might add into evidence a basket of the kids' laundry that remains parked at the bottom on the steps because I simply could not get it folded yesterday.

Joshua played like such a big boy all day. He was a scuba diver for a while (backpack on his back as his oxygen tank, construction goggles over his eyes to keep the water out, goose neck light from his toolbench bent like a snorkel). He also set up a Lego village to rival none I've seen in a while. We read stories while Lauren nursed. We watched a little TV (Young and the Restless for me, Wow Wow Wubbzy and Team Umizoomi for him). He fixed a wall in our house that was evidently in ruins based on the number of tools he needed to fix it. And he played me a song on his saxophone (his toy jackhammer turned upside down with the hammer part in his mouth as the mouthpiece). It's all imagination all the time for him!

We're gearing up for day #2 of school tomorrow and then a trip to Lewistown on Saturday through Monday. I'm betting there will be pictures....

I want to remember this.

Yesterday was one of those days that I always want to remember, when all of my prayers and hopes for Joshua's first day of nursery school came true and the "worst case scenario" I had prepared myself for seemed like such a waste of energy.

I always want to remember how excited Joshua was when I came home to pick him up. I had been fully prepared for him to be nervous or apprehensive. But instead, he greeted me, hopping up and down like a kangaroo, saying, "Mommy! I'm so glad you're home! Do I get to go to school now?" When I told him "Yes" he said, "This is SO great!" I almost couldn't tie his shoes fast enough. He was on his way to the car, smiling ear to ear.

I want to remember the conversation we had in the car when I pulled into the parking lot. I was sure this is where it would all fall apart. He'd see the school and decide that he'd be better off at home playing with Grandma. But instead, he asked me how many days a week he was going to get to go to school. When I told him 3 days, he started to negotiate for 4. I assured him that more days each week would happen soon enough and then chuckled to myself that I'm sure he'll be attempting to negotiate the reverse in a few short years.


I want to remember him walking tall and proud into his classroom and giving each of his new teachers a hug. I was fully expecting a meltdown at any moment, but he listened carefully as Mrs. Mabus and Mrs. Shaffer explained to him where his cubby was located and that he had arrived just in time to paint with Q-Tips (right up his alley!). This was an answer to prayer as well, since he had in his mind that going to school = painting. I'm so glad he wasn't disappointed.

I want to remember the care that everyone is taking to protect him and know how to care for his allergy situation. He got to meet the school nurse and we dropped off his epi-pen to keep there. I'm still working with them on appropriate documents and treatment plans for the event that he gets into something that causes him trouble, but I have been very pleased with how it has been handled. This is especially important since his blood work came back yesterday and he has become MORE allergic to nuts since last January. He was a 5 on the 0-6 scale last year. He's still a 5, but has moved to the high 5 category needing "relentless vigilance" as it was explained to me by the doctor when they called yesterday. I find it ironic that the first paper Joshua brought home in his red folder yesterday was a number 12 worksheet that had him counting 12 peanuts and coloring them brown. Doesn't that just figure.

I want to remember the scene in his classroom upon my return. When I came to the doorway (again, fully expecting to find him in a puddle of tears over a realization that I had left), I saw a smiling bunch of 3 year olds sitting quietly at their table wearing feathers on their heads. He had his coat on, his backpack on his back and came bounding to the doorway to greet me. Mrs. Mabus said that when she told him to get his coat from his cubby he said, "Is school over already? Can't I stay longer?" By their reports he had done fantastically. He had listened, participated and wasn't upset by being there. My heart was doing cartwheels.

It appears that, after only one day at school, he'll enjoy his first snow day tomorrow. Hopefully the excitement won't wear off between now and Friday when he goes back for his Valentine's Day party. (Snacks have been cleared with me- so Rice Krispie treats and Jello it will be).

By all accounts the first day at school was a raving success. I feel guilty for not giving Joshua enough credit, but certainly his past performance gave us plenty of reason to be fearful. I'm just so glad that it went well for him and was a good experience. I was beyond proud of him and continue to be for the sweet little boy he's turning into.

I sure am lucky to be your Mommy, Joshua.

This picture wasn't from school, but I am so impressed with how he's learning how to write his name. I have no idea at what point a little person is supposed to start writing, but he's starting to get it. This was the first attempt that I've witnessed of him writing freehand. A pretty good start, I think!

And we can't forget Lauren in this post. Here she is, happy and cute as a button this morning, dressed in fuzzy fleece to keep warm as the winter weather moves our way.

I'm fully prepared for a snow day tomorrow. I'll be working on some cooking for a dinner delivery I agreed to make to a family at our church who just had a new baby. So I'll cook tomorrow to deliver it to them on Thursday. Otherwise we'll be doing laundry and some cleaning and just enjoying a good old fashioned snow day together. I can't wait!

Winter Weekend Fun & A Prayer for Mrs. Mabus

It was a fun winter weekend....fun mostly because we didn't get the dumping of snow that so many are dealing with. The 6 or so inches that fell in our yard were perfect for playing in but didn't create much problem otherwise. Just how we like it. Joshua had a blast! After Jason finished with the snowblower, we got him all bundled up and sent him out with Daddy. If you ask him his favorite part he'll tell you that he had fun digging for dinosaur bones....and evidently they found one. Who knew we had dinosaurs in our yard at one time long long ago.



While Daddy and Joshua were outside enjoying the white stuff, the girls were staying warm inside. I made it as far as the front porch to take some pictures. Then, this is how I found Lauren when I went up to her bed to check on her. She had blessed me with an "in the crib" nap that lasted longer than the time it took me to walk out of the room. I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened. I managed to clean a bathroom while she slept--- a huge bonus!

The rest of the weekend was more of the same. Lauren was about as pleasant as she could be on Saturday. She's spending more and more time smiling and laughing, and has really enjoyed standing quite a bit lately. If we hold onto her hands, she likes to be standing up on your legs looking around.

Joshua got to have a piece of Daddy's birthday cake after eating a good supper on Saturday night. Till he was done, he was chocolate covered from eyeballs to chin. If only he would dig into his real food the way that he does chocolate cake...

And finally, we all need to be in prayer for Mrs. Mabus, Joshua's nursery school teacher. I've been praying for her for years without knowing who she would be. But I hope that God has strengthened her for her introduction to Joshua at this afternoon's nursery school class. At this point, Joshua is still really excited about going to school. His backpack is labeled with all of his necessary supplies tucked neatly inside. He's talking about school and what he'll do there with great joy. I just wonder if the enthusiasm will last when it's time for me to leave him there. I'll know very soon, as I'm leaving now to pick up my favorite little man and take him to school.

Maybe you should pray for me too.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It's birthday celebration day at our house for Daddy. Luckily there's no sign of a swine flu attack that is going to plague our family for THIS birthday celebration. I had half a notion to recreate Joshua's tractor cake again so that Daddy and Joshua could share the festivities this evening, but then thought better of that idea when I remembered the agony of decorating that silly cake and mixing up vivid yellow, green and black icing. Joshua and I baked up a very standard, 9 x 13 rectangle chocolate cake for Daddy this morning and will ice it and jazz it up a bit with some sprinkles when I get home from the office today. Surely Daddy won't feel slighted that he's not getting a John Deere tractor, right?

Josh couldn't wait a second longer to tell Daddy "Happy Birthday" this morning upon waking up. Daddy was in his "office" at the house, and Joshua barged right in and shared his birthday sentiments with Jason without delay. Something tells me that Jason will long remember his birthday greeting on the throne for quite some time.

Joshua has created a special birthday card for Daddy and we'll give him his present tonight after supper. It's so fun to watch Joshua get excited to give things to other people. I really hope that somehow he'll remain a cheerful giver as well as a gracious receiver throughout his lifetime.

We love you Daddy! Have a very special birthday!

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Hang on, because this is a disjointed topic switch...

Yesterday was Joshua's turn for doctor's appointments, so I took him to the allergist for a follow up from our initial visit with them last January immediately following Joshua's peanut attack. Everything seems fine, but the office staff had things a little backwards when they told me we should see the doctor FIRST and have Joshua's labs done SECOND this time. Turns out our time would have been a lot more efficiently used if we had the lab results to discuss with the doctor. (I tried to tell them that when we scheduled the appointment, but then felt like I was being too pushy! Darn conscience.)

So, after our appointment with Dr. Sutton, Joshua and I headed to the lab. He was such a big boy and I must have told him a hundred times how proud I was of how he acted. He remembered having his blood test from the year prior, but put on a brave face the whole time. Sure, he hated having his blood drawn, but the tears quickly stopped when he was offered a sticker and he never shed another tear about it after that. I hate hate hate that he has to go through this stuff, but I know we're blessed to only be dealing with a food allergy and not something much more serious.

We're praying for a decrease in how allergic Joshua is to peanuts. Dr. Sutton explained that there is a 10-20% chance that he might get less allergic over time although he's skeptical about that in terms of Joshua's case based on how severe his reaction was. But we know the Great Physician...and if it's meant to be that Joshua's allergy will resolve itself, He certainly can make that happen if it's His will. If not, we'll ask for grace and wisdom to deal with it the best way we can for Josh.

For now, enjoy a few pictures of my favorite kiddos. I sure am missing them today.

I love these sweet little moments between the kids. Joshua was showing Lauren her reflection in the mirror. She adores her brother and loves to watch him play.

And here's the little lady swinging away happily last night while we were eating dinner. That doll is one of her favorite things to play with, but goodness is it full of slobber already. I think all babies are part St. Bernard at this stage, but I had kind of forgotten the specific details.

And here's our sweet boy playing so nicely by himself last evening. He had a whole city set up with his blocks, including a gas station to fill up the trucks. Have I mentioned how I love him?

Life in fast forward.

Do you ever get the feeling that life is going at warp speed? I have that feeling today. And the best therapy I can think of is to write about it.

First of all, I should report that Lauren got a great report at her 4 month doctor's appointment yesterday. She has grown since her 2 month appointment, but is still quite the runt. She weighed 11 lb 4.5 oz (10th percentile) and was 24 inches long (40th percentile). For the sake of comparison, which I know is useless, yet I do it anyway...Joshua was 13 lb 12 oz at his 4 month checkup. I was concerned about her weight, but the doctors aren't and assured me that our feeding routine appears to be just fine. The doctor said we're safe to start the rotation of cereals and then introduce fruits and veggies any time we want to. I'm not in a huge hurry on that, but have purchased a container of rice cereal to have on hand for the day that we decide to give it a shot. But I have to tell you that the idea of my BABY being ready to start thinking about solid foods just about knocks me over. Didn't I JUST bring her home from the hospital?

OK Life.....slow it down a little bit.

And just as I was starting to mentally deal with that, this morning hit.

Jason and I have been starting to think about preschool programs for Joshua for the fall. I recently set an appointment for us to visit one of the programs that we've had in mind for him at the local Christian school. The reputation of the preschool program there is super, and it's always been in the back of my mind as a great option to consider when the time came. We took it as a sign that one of the people from our church is the nursery school teacher there. Anyway, in our minds, he would start school there in September when he's just about 4.

This morning, we met with the school for a tour and to ask some questions. They have nursery school (meant for 3 year olds), K4 (meant mostly for 4 year olds) and K5 (regular kindergarten). The difference is that their birthday cutoff is October 31st which puts Joshua right on the fence next year of whether he would start in nursery school or in K4. Part of our visit there was to get a sense about which was appropriate for him. They do screenings to help you make that decision, but you know me....I had to have it straight in my own mind to have an idea where we're headed here.


Nursery school was exactly as I remembered nursery school. There were water colors on the table for the morning's craft. The kids filed in, put their coats and backpacks in their cubbies and got ready to play. They're learning letters and sounds, numbers recognition and counting. Mostly it's meant as a learning experience to get accustomed to being in a group of children, being away from home and learning some independence. As soon as I walked in the door, I just knew that it was exactly what Joshua needs. He knows most of what they're learning....letters, numbers, sounds, etc. But he needs the practice of being on his own and learning how to get along with other kids.

We then visited the K4 classroom. Oh the difference. The children (4 years old!) were sitting at desks working on a worksheet and recognizing sight words. They had pencils with the little grippy jiggers on the bottom to help them hold it right. They were sounding out words on the chalkboard with the help of their teacher. It was school. For small people. Just like what I remember kindergarten being like. Right away I knew that Joshua isn't ready to do that without some transition time in nursery school, and Jason had the same impression.

K5 blew us away even more. We were really impressed. And thus begins the dilemma, which really didn't turn into much of one at all. They offered us a place for Joshua in the afternoon class of nursery school starting right away. The class is small, only 5 children currently. So he would have some one on one attention to help him get adjusted. Immediately I started feeling anxiety coming on. Already? I thought I had until September to wrap my mind around this? Slow the train down a minute....you're telling me Joshua starts nursery school on Monday? He needs a big boy back pack and everything? Really? Didn't I just bring HIM home from the hospital?

But as that's starting to settle I realize that there are a lot of positives to starting him sooner rather than later. He's getting seriously bored at home and is definitely ready for a new challenge. Maybe he'll be ready to move to K4 next year. And maybe he won't be. Time will tell. But it appears that our baby will start nursery school on Monday afternoon. He'll go Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:15 to 2:15.

I'm really excited for Joshua to have some new experiences. I love that I'm feeling great about the program, the teacher, their ability to handle his allergy issues, etc. I love that we live in an area with so many great choices and options for preschool. Of course, I dread the moment that they have to pry him away from me, and am praying already for leaving him there to be far less dramatic than it is in my mind.

But really.....Life, just slow it down a little bit. This is almost too much for this Mommy to process all at once.