Sanity restored!

i.e. Hannah is back in preschool.

I won't lie to you. It's been a looooooong 5 weeks and 1 day.

Since we were out of town for most of summer and I wasn't sure what our plans for fall were, I made the mistake of not re-enrolling Hannah in her Pre-K class from last year over the summer. We never had a problem getting in at the last minute before with Sammy and I guess I kind of just took it for granted that somehow it would work out that way again.

BIG MISTAKE.

When I finally went to enroll her the week before school started, we were #7 on the waiting list.

Uh oh. Not a good sign.

I gave it a few weeks figuring people would drop out like they do every year, so I would occasionally call to get a status, but it was never good news.

Meanwhile, I began to panic.

What if she didn't get in?

Where else am I going to send her at this late in game?

Most importantly, how am I going to not go absolutely insane having her around all day with the endless amounts of energy and need for structure (so not my thing, as you know) and socializing.

She was so disappointed that Sammy got to go to school and she didn't. We tried to fill in the time doing fun things and hanging out with friends, but she really missed school.

I will spare you all the details of the bureaucratic crap...I mean red tape...that I had to deal with to get her back in. Especially considering the open spot she finally got had been available since the first day of school! But long story short--she started on Wednesday.

And everyone is thrilled.

(Picture is blurry because she wouldn't stand still.)
Her teachers were so happy to have her back in class and her friends from last year who are also in the class were jumping with joy. It was really really sweet.

Hannah and her friend Jasmine, who was in class with her last year
I'm just happy to (finally) have three hours of peace and quiet...and a little one-on-one time with Helene.

It's always hot in October (and other musings)

Why do I always seem to forget this fact? Maybe because we were spoiled last week with cool temps and some rain--a definite rarity in SoCal in October. It was 110(!) just two weeks ago, last week was rain and temps in the low 60s, and then back up to the 90s this week. Ugh.

I took the kids to the park on Saturday forgetting how hot Hamilton Park is and that there is no shade--and so we only lasted about an hour. Long enough to tire out Helene for a nice nap when we got home.

Yep. She's officially a toddler.
Ummmm....can you believe he is going to be SEVEN in 4 months?
How is that even possible?!

Her middle name should have been Sassy...and that's all I'm going to say.

Ok. No, it's not. Quick story (if you're on my FB, you've already heard it, sorry). So, the other day she points at my stomach and asks me "who's in your tummy?" I quickly replied "no one", but was truthfully was so speechless (i.e. offended) I wasn't quick enough to retort that it was her fault it looks that way since she was my biggest baby, coming in at 8lbs 9oz and 22 inches (no how clue how she even fit when I'm only 5' 3 3/4" and come on...like I'd really tell her that!) So anyway, looks like I will now be saving up for this.
Yes. That's my Diet Coke.
And yes, it's empty.

Can't you tell by the look of disappointment?
Speaking of Diet Coke.
Can I just say again how much I love the Arcadia In-N-Out? I stopped by for my daily Diet Coke before we went to the park, and got caught in the Saturday lunch rush. I was seventh in line, and the customer placing his order must have been ordering food for an entire soccer team. Ugh! It was going to take FOREVER. And then I get the sign from one of the workers at the "pick-up window" (its one of those old walk-up only In-N-Outs, for those who don't know) who is holding up my extra large diet coke and smiling.
Oh yeah.
Thank you very much.
So, I go the window, get my drink, quickly give them my money and walk away happy.
Totally made my day.

And while I'm making random convo here, I am so loving Mad Men this season. And if this picture posted on Facebook by my friend Farrah doesn't convince me to get back into the entertainment industry--nothing will.

Ummmm.....Yum. E.
(oops...did I just say that out loud?)
Seriously. She is one lucky lady.

School update, a brief grammar lesson, and some fun

Has anyone else noticed that the days of me updating the blog three times a week are gone?

So, what am I doing with my time now that I don't document every moment of our lives on the blog?

Being a mom?

Updating my FB?

Oh, who knows.

Well, I guess some people know if they chat with me often enough, but really, the poor blog has had some serious neglect. Time for an update.

Let's start with Sammy's school situation.
His permanent teacher started this week, just in time for Back to School Night. Literally.
And if you were keeping track, that's 3 weeks after school started.
Nice.

She's seems...fine.

I know, I know...have a little more enthusiasm. Show that positive attitude you've been working on, right? What happened to "no more complaining"?

It's just hard to have a good first impression of someone who sends home a letter to the parents introducing herself--and it has a glaring grammatical error on it.

Yes, I will admit that I have a tendency to judge people when they use poor grammar. And I'm certainly no grammar queen myself, just look at all my run-on sentences and all the "--" and "....." I use. (Although I do have very strong feelings about the Oxford Comma. Yeah, I'm a big fan.) But, I'm not a teacher, so I can run-on all I want...right? Anyway, I digress.

IMO, when you are a teacher. And your job is to educate on such things as grammar and spelling and the like, I would expect you to know the difference between plural and possessive.

And clearly that is asking too much.

I'm just saying. There is a big difference between coaching "lady's basketball" and "ladies basketball".

Guess which one she used to coach? (HINT: she wrote lady's basketball)

See my problem?

Ummm, yeah..."oh my" would be the correct reaction to that. sigh.

It really is not that hard people. Use an apostrophe to show possession. Use an "es" or "s" to indicate plural. And yet, that's too much to ask of a 1st grade teacher apparently.

(Aaannnndd.....rant...OVER. Thanks for listening.)

So, yeah, he has a permanent teacher. Yay.

Moving on.
Here are a few random pictures of what the girls and I did recently while Sammy was at school.

One day I had to go to Nordstrom (yes, had to...I was almost out of lipstick!!), so after shopping I decided to let the girls ride the train. Hannah loved it. Helene cried the entire time. In fact, they had to stop the train so I could take her off it, she was that upset. Mom of the year, I know.

Another day we met up with my friend Laura for lunch, where Helene proceeded to eat two cups of ketchup. I don't know where she gets it from. I don't eat the stuff.

Friday we made Halloween cookies at Krista's house. The girls were really excited about the entire process.

But I think frosting was their favorite part.

Look at that concentration.

There were A LOT of sprinkles on those cookies!

I'm not sure which I love more in this picture: Hannah's close up face with the big smile or Ally's black teeth from all the sprinkles.
When the little ones got up from their naps, they had a few cookies too. Despite their looks of disdain--I think they enjoyed them.
So that's my update.
I know it doesn't totally make up for all the blog neglect (and there's been a lot the past few months), but I'm trying to get back into my blogging groove--because I need more chips and salsa too. :)