First Day of Kindergarten for the First Born, Check!

Okay, so today was a terribly emotional day full of me fighting back tears and trying not to look at the clock every two seconds, BUT, that was my day. Mikayla's day was pretty much the same as mine. Morgan, however, said she had a great day! So far, I got out of her that she made new friends, but couldn't remember any of their names. They watched a cat cartoon in the morning while the other kids ate breakfast. They read a book all together. She mentioned something about being excited to see what color the monster was tomorrow? They sang twinkle little star and the ABC song, but Ms. Yano sings it differently. She went on the slide a bunch of times. She got to play outside, TWICE!!! She saw her friend Stephie from dance, but I'm still not sure if she actually played with her or not. She ate one of her apple slices and threw the rest away. She spilled all her fruit snacks at snack time, and because it was the only snack she had outside with her, she picked them all up and ate them anyway. (EWWW, yet, I'm glad she didn't go hungry....I guess?) She said that the teacher told her to raise her hand when she was trying to tell her something but then didn't call on her. I asked what it was and she said she wanted to tell Ms. Yano that her "pretty school" teacher, Mrs. Terri, said criss-cross applesauce just like she did. Oh, and she went potty at school and buttoned her skirt all by herself. And that is what I got out of my big girl Kindergartner about her first day of elementary school. I figured it was better to hear about her day from her. ;)

All ready to go with her new backpack, lunchbox,  outfit and haircut! 

The newest little panda!

My sweet girl, so excited for kindergarten!

This is the last sight I saw of my baby before leaving her  for the day.  Happily watching her cartoon while the other kids ate breakfast. 

Morgan and Ms. Yano. 

Some sister love before school. 

And yes, the lack of make-up was intentional.

Kindergarten already?

Okay, so I've been a terrible blogger this summer, and I will get back on that asap, but first, I need to vent. My baby, the one I gave birth to just over 5 years ago, is going to kindergarten tomorrow. I am so excited for her to take this next step in life and to hit such a big milestone. I know she will have a great time and learn so many new things, but I can't help but feel a little left behind. I have been the one practicing her writing and reading and everything else she has learned up until now with her. Now, she will be taking those educational cues from someone else. I feel like in a way, my job is over. I know this is not true and that she will still need me, but my baby is growing up. I don't like it. Can't I just freeze time? I love that she comes out of my closet dressed in my clothes and high heels (which she officially wears more than I do!) I think it is adorable that her favorite game to play is "puppies" and that she pretends to be a puppy from that pet shop that I bring home. It is even better that she includes her sister in her game as well. She and her sister argue like mad, but they love each other so much and leaving her at school tomorrow is not only going to tear a small piece of my heart out, but it will take out a chunk of Mikayla's as well. I know that she will be learning so many new things and that soon I won't cry everytime I drop her off anymore and that I'll soon see how great this is for her by all the progress she'll make. I can even see some positives like I can take Mikayla to playgroups during school so she can hang out with kids her own age. I can also get some great one on one time with her that I have been looking forward to for quite sometime. When the baby comes, I will get to spend some time with her as well without having to split my attention 3 ways. Maybe the house will even, dare I say it, be clean and organized? There are so many wonderful things to look forward to, and I genuinely am excited for all of it. I will still miss my first born terribly and watch the clock until I can go and pick her up. I hope she has a wonderful first day tomorrow because that will make it so much easier knowing that she is having fun. Is it terrible that I wish that she still misses me....just a little?

My baby on our family trip to the zoo the day before Kindergarten!

Morgan, sleeping her last sleep before Kindergarten tomorrow. Sweet dreams, beautiful girl!

July Trip #1: Ashland, Oregon

Michael, the girls, my parents, my sister and I all took a road trip up to Ashland, Oregon last Thursday. 

It was a VERY quick trip as we headed back Saturday morning, but it was important that we went because it was my cousin (my mom's brother's daughter) Melissa's wedding. Events of the weekend: as expected, Michael fell in love with Oregon and immediately began looking for jobs there. (This basically happens with any place but California.) We went to the wedding on Friday at the Paschal Winery and shared a beautiful day with family that we don't often get to see. We stopped in a historic little town, Jacksonville, on our way home. It was pretty cool, we took a trolley ride around and learned a bunch of cool things...which I remember very little of at the moment, but maybe it'll come back to me! In other events that weekend, Thursday night was the worst night ever! We stayed at the econolodge (trying to do this trip on the cheap since we aren't made of money) and they didn't have a crib or playpen for Mikayla to sleep in so we had to try to get her to sleep in a bed....yeah right. That girl would have happily stayed awake jumping on the bed all night! I eventually had to hold all of her limbs down by hugging her and eventually pissing her off so much that when I let go she stopped crying and passed out. Man, it was insane! AND I had to sleep with her since Michael and Morgan had already passed out on the other bed. She kept punching me ALL night! I think we had about 4 hours of severely interrupted sleep that night. I guess Michael didn't have much better luck with Morgan as she tossed and turned all night. The next night, after the wedding, we got back to the hotel after the wedding and we put Morgan and Mikayla in one bed and played Tangled for them on the portable dvd player...about an hour in, they were passed out. Now why didn't we think of that the night before when we were up until 1! Here is a pictorial summary of our trip. Enjoy!

Mount Shasta...as seen from a view point off the 5.

Had to get my girlies in the picture!

My girls and I at Pasta Piatti in Ashland, Oregon. 

Morgan (about 5) and her cousin Everest (6)..love the converse he is wearing! 

My baby showing off the ring daddy made her...it's bigger than mine! ;)

The hubby and I at the wedding in a picture that didn't actually turn out half bad.

Auntie Madison (Shay-shay/shen) and Mikayla goofing around while waiting for cake.  The girls love their auntie!

The fam bam at the wedding at the Paschal Winery. 

Love this picture of Mimi and Mikayla. 

My parents looking cute, as usual. 

My beautiful sister.

Not exactly sure how I managed to get this picture but I think it is my favorite picture of him! Certainly the best one I've ever taken of him. He NEVER lets me take his picture, pigs must have been flying somewhere that day!

Before we left Oregon, we stopped in Jacksonville, a cute little old town.  They had a really creepy cemetery, too. Kinda cool b/c it is historic and all....but creepy. 

President Bush and his wife ate here on the patio at the Jacksonville Inn....so of course, we had to as well! 

The building with the red awning is the front of the Jacksonville Inn.

THE END

Stay tuned for pictures from July Trip #2

June Updates!

***BEWARE: This is a long one***

Hello my loverly followers. Summer is here and, yes, you guessed it, I am still in school. Funny thing is that I was supposed to be taking the summer off. Michael was the one who was supposed to be in school this summer, however, he decided that school wasn't in the cards for him this summer and dropped all his classes. Only this was after he convinced me that I should take my class because "it is only six weeks, and we'll both study together." Yeah. It is still a little bit of a sore subject around here. So I'm studying medical terminology for the next 5 weeks, but I'm actually really enjoying it so far.

In other news, Mikayla got her first official hair cut two days ago. She has had her bangs trimmed before, but I don't count bangs! Her hair was just all sorts of uneven in the back, so, before her second birthday party, I decided that it was time for a trim just to even it out a bit. I honestly don't think it looks too different, and that is just the way I like it. My pretty girl.

Yesterday, we had Mikayla's 2nd birthday party. It wasn't a huge party, just a few friends, but I really wanted to keep it small for her sake. She is a much happier person with small groups. Also, I had the party at the park, too, so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed with a ton of people all in one confined space. All in all, it was really cute. It was a bubble party so we had a bubble machine, a little ball pit, and all of Mikayla's favorite snacks....except for bananas (nans) which would not have lasted outside that long!

Looking backward a bit, we made a surprise trip to Irvine for Easter and just showed up on my parent's doorstep on friday evening. Well, we actually showed up in their kitchen because their garage door was open and we just walked right in. We sent the kids in first and when my dad saw them running up the stairs he thought he was loosing his mind. I felt kinda bad because I think we gave him quite a scare. We won't be surprising them again anytime soon, but it was pretty fun to do it once. :) On this trip we went to see the Easter bunny at South Coast Plaza. It is a moving and talking mechanical (audioanimatronic, if you will) bunny and Mikayla was so interested. When Morgan saw it as a baby, she cried. Mikayla started trying to pull his whiskers out. :) Oh how I love that girl! It really was a great trip down to Irvine, though. There were no plans because nobody knew we were coming! So for once it was just a very laid back weekend.

Nothing like reese's on Easter morning!

We were only there through Easter morning, then we left and went to Disneyland for a scheduled 2 hour stop on the way home. Unfortunately, nobody told the weather that we had plans that day and it was raining. Not pouring, but enough to warrant us buying some superly overpriced Disneyland ponchos for the kiddos! They were hilariously huge on both of them, even though they were kids size. Disney, if you read my blog, MAKE TODDLER PONCHOS!!! Thank you. All that being said, I love Disneyland in the rain. It is the least crowded you will ever see the park, even on a usually busy day like Easter Sunday. We actually got to the park and put on the girls' ponchos just in time for the rain to die down. Although Michael and his wallet didn't agree, it was perfect timing. All the rides were open, including the outdoor ones that will usually close in rain. We went on 5 rides (the carousel twice) got a couple of Mickey cookies and left...all within our scheduled 2 hours. It was a wonderful trip home.

In May, I participated in Relay for Life here in Tracy. Sadly, it was the same weekend as Bay to Breakers, so unfortunately, I was unable to go streaking with the rest of the world around the bay area. ;) Anywho, back to my serious face. It was an amazing event that I was so happy to have been a part of. Next year, I really look forward to being more involved as it was so different than I imagined it would be. Our city, Tracy, is not so big. I mean really, who all out there has heard of Tracy (hands down people who live here!) Yeah, nobody. I didn't think it would be nearly as big as it was, and I didn't think our team would raise half as much as they did. Let me tell you, our team captain and her posse put the pedal to the metal and  really did a great job. The name of our team was MargaRelayVille. While we sound like a bunch of alcoholics, and we very well may be on select weekend evenings (when not pregnant.....oh yeah, and I'll get to that!) we are a group of moms. That is it. We came in 3rd place overall, and the top two teams had company backing. If any of you have a Relay for Life near you, which odds are, you do, you should definitely make it a point to go to the luminaria ceremony in the evening. It really hits home when you walk around looking at these luminarias made for children who were lost to cancer and parents who are battling cancer. You really have to be heartless not to be affected by it. I'll give you a few pictures and wrap this long paragraph up by saying that I really hope you all have the chance to participate in Relay for Life or at least go and attend the festivities, and if you don't, consider donating to someone who does.

Morgan's dance class performed at the event, and they were adorable!

She knows this routine inside and out! I love that she is the little leader! :)

My big girl, Morgan, also graduated preschool this year! I can't believe she is headed to Kindergarten next year! I know that time passes quickly, but nobody said anything about it going this quick! She had an end of the year concert, a party at the park, and a carnival at school to celebrate. She was only in school TTh 8-12 this year and next year she will be going full time M-F! I can't believe that I have to start packing lunches for her in a few months! I have big plans of making adorable lunches with cookie cutter sandwiches and fruit made into smiley faces and such....but I know that won't last long, so I'll try to take pictures while it does! ;) Here are a few pictures of her end of the year festivities. 

Along with graduating preschool, she graduated  cubbies at  Awana (church) as well. She will be in Sparks next year!

At her end of the year party at the park. 

Morgan and her teacher, Mrs. Terri.

Yes, between my previous post and now, I found out I was expecting! Baby #3 will be joining us around December 10th. I am about 15 weeks and huge....well I'm not really any bigger than I was before, but my belly has taken on a mind of its own. Apparently, when having a third baby your belly just kinda pops right out there. So far they tell me there is only one baby in there, but I'm not too sure I believe them. Anywho, for all of those saying "I hope its a boy," or "don't worry, it won't be another girl," really, I would be 100% happy either way. I love girls, I have two of them. Girls don't scare me in the least because lets face it, I went through all those teenage crazy times, and as crazy as I'm sure they'd be with 3, at least I have an idea as to what to expect. PS hand me downs are fabulous things that I would have plenty of with three girls...at least until they get old enough to tell me that they won't wear clothes that are 5 years old or something. If it is a boy, it would be great because we don't have one of those yet, and while he claims to be happy with whatever pops out, I know he'd like to have a son. I'd like to have a son and be a football mom in high school. I'm a little scared of a teenage boy, though, but I'm sure that we will navigate those waters when we get to them. Anyway, we're excited to find out what the baby is in a few weeks so that we can start planning!

12 weeks (this is about 3 weeks ago) Yikes! 

Looking ahead, we should be starting Junior Giants baseball soon with Morgan, we have Morgan's second recital this weekend, my cousin Melissa's wedding the next weekend, then two trips to socal courtesy of Michael's work. The next month or so is going to be crazy busy, but hopefully it'll bring lots of good blog posts and pictures for me to share....oh, and some great memories, too. :)