Greetings from Fay!

I love it when the weather is so newsworthy! After 2004, you'd think that the media would treat a Tropical Storm with as much interest as they would a politician being honest (get it? they never report that! ha!), but from what I see, Fay is getting a lot of press. So far it's been a lot of wind and rain, but nothing really exciting.

But look up at the top of the blog, where the girls are standing. I'll wait... That's our little pond or whatever on a good day, after several weeks of pretty consistent rain in the afternoons. Here it is today. Notice our lamp has been blown over.

I went downstairs and took a direct look at it. The light was bobbing up and down as the wind blew, and there were some huge fish swimming around in that shallow part.I don't know what to think about that light still working...

Look what I found! Even in my mad rush to get Grace to school yesterday, I did manage to take ONE picture -- I'd forgotten! And even in our mad rush, she managed to totally WORK IT! Seriously, when I saw the picture I remembered saying, "Grace, smile!" on my way to the car with Rachael on my arm and her bag over my shoulder, and in a split second Grace turned and posed. (Where the heck did she learn that?!) She is still using the same Dora backpack she had from her first day of preschool -- that thing has been through some serious spills in the past couple of years, but it's kept up well!

Reminder: They don't stop growing!

Today began a transition for us, as Grace had her first day of VPK and Rachael and I spent some time together in the morning. Miss Rachael isn't taking morning naps anymore, so my challenge will be to keep her entertained. Thankfully she manages to entertain herself most of the time! Sometimes she uses my empty purses, hoisting them over her shoulder and saying, "Bye!" as she walks to the front door. She's started getting into playing with Grace's baby doll, and it might be time for her to have her own. (The dilemma: give her Grace's and get Grace a new one? Or get Rachael a new one? Or avoid all frustration and get them both new baby dolls??) And while Rachael and I get to know each other better (because this girl's personality is developing faster than I can keep up), Grace will be spending 5 days a week in Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten.

Here's Rachael playing peek-a-boo with a basket that usually holds various little toys. She always enjoys being comic relief for us! If she gets a laugh or a cheer from people, she'll keep doing her "act" over and over!

It would be my pleasure to show you a picture of Miss Grace on her first day of school... But I don't have one. I must've turned off my alarm clock in my sleep (I do that), and I woke up at about the time we would've needed to leave in order to get there. I rushed to throw some clothes on, pull my hair into a ponytail and decided to wear my glasses since my contacts were giving me problems, and thankfully Grace was so excited that she was happy to get herself ready for her big day without any assistance! Rachael also was very helpful when I got her ready, and didn't squirm around and try to give herself big, sloppy kisses on the mirror the whole time I was putting her clothes on.

Can you believe she's going to be FIVE next month?!? FIVE! This girl!

So instead of showing up looking like a mommy who had her act together, instead of letting Grace get a feel for the room and possibly meeting some of the mommies and their kids, I fumbled in late, and made my dear, sweet Grace even later by parking on the wrong side of the building. When we finally got to her class, everyone was already in the middle of the room counting to 20. Grace loves counting to 20! The teacher's assistant came back and welcomed us, and I had to ask a few questions about where to pick her up, and I feared looking like I had no idea what I was doing, where I was going -- basically that I was a complete mess!

By the time Rachael and I returned to pick Grace up, though, it was a different story. I had a productive morning -- I managed to take some books and a DVD back to the library, pick up a trial pair of contacts until I could get in for an appointment, go home and get Rachael a snack, take a shower (with her awake, a feat in and of itself), and then make myself presentable.

I know I had to look much different than I did when I dropped Grace off, because the teacher's assistant brought her out and honestly did a double-take. Maybe I'll just tell her the girl who dropped Grace off the first day was the nanny, who I promptly fired. Anyway, Grace had a fun day and already told me about another little girl that she played with on the playground, so she managed to make a friend on her first day. :-) This month she gets to learn about what makes her special -- they're going to need more than a month!!

Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo last Friday, our last hoorah before school got started!

I think the giraffes are the best part! At the bottom you can see the baby, Stephanie!

Grace always gets skittish around those big ol' nasty giraffe tongues! Can't say I blame her!

I don't have a picture because I was holding her, but Rachael fed the giraffe, showing no fear whatsoever!! Here she's just checking them out!

The girls were given some pellets to feed the deer in one part of the zoo, and Rachael was once again very brave. Somehow she kept being given more pellets, and she decided that she'd had enough so she kept giving hers to Grace. Awww, sharing!

Grace's turn! She had no problem feeding the deer!

This weekend we stopped for a bite to eat with the girls at a restaurant, and a mom who was there with her older daughters (both older elementary age, I would guess) said to me, "They only get more fun!" I thanked her for saying that! So often people tell you, "Oh, I miss that age," or "Just gets harder from here!" Obviously I love the girls through every age and stage, but I also love thinking about them as two little ladies! It's nice to think fondly on the times that have passed, but there's so much to look forward to also!!

Mullet, be gone!

Okay, so maybe it isn't every mother's worst nightmare, but as Rachael's hair grew, I noticed the top wasn't growing as fast as the back, and the back was getting a little wild. So there she sat -- business in the front, party in the back. Grace's hair was so easy -- I was even able to cut it myself! I made the rookie mistake of cutting her bangs too far back, but otherwise it was pretty simple. Then Chris' barber took the task of keeping it trimmed, and now we've moved to my stylist for her hair. With Rachael's, though, I didn't want to make any mistakes! I also didn't want to be the one responsible if all her little curls disappeared!

I asked a friend if she knew of any places that specifically did kids' hair, and she answered, "Snip-Its." It was GREAT! It was $16.95 for the haircut, a certificate, and a little lock of her hair in a delicate little bag tied with a ribbon. That's a little steep, but in the end I think Chris and I both agreed it was worth it! The stylist was patient and was able to stay with Rachael no matter how she moved, and her hair looks so good!

The Before Shot! Rachael was remarkably happy! She had only taken a quick snooze in the car on the way up to the shop and we were afraid she'd be out of sorts. Nope! She was amazing the whole time, no fussing at all!

Here's the stylist at work, with Rachael gripping one of the two lollipops she was given while she was there, and holding a mirror she'd been given. You can also see bubbles -- there was a little girl who was there, I believe she was someone's granddaughter, and she was blowing bubbles to entertain Grace! They had a small cushioned sitting area in front of the chair, as well as a monitor that they showed their own little cartoons on. It was the same in each of their stations.

Before I could say "Billy Ray Cyrus," the cut was over, and the stylist had managed to put two little piggy tails in Rachael's hair, complete with ribbons! I think you can see the improvement! When her hair dries, there's still so much bounce!

This is Rachael giggling after the stylist dusted to get any stray hairs off of her. :-) I don't know if you can see it, but she also swiped Rachael's hair with PINK coloring! She offered to put some in Grace's hair, but Grace declined. Grace was more focused on taking the little cards that they'd given her and Rachael and putting it into the machine in front of the register that spit a toy out at them!

All day Monday I tried to get a picture of the girls together, wearing t-shirts that said "I Am Adorable!" The best laid plans... Here are the girls out in the (finally) green grass -- the only picture of them together I could snag!

Sisterly Love

I almost forgot about this picture! This was when we went to dinner before The Backyardigans -- Grace asked for a hug, and Rachael happily obliged! This is something that's been happening more often lately, especially if one of them gets upset. If Grace starts to whimper or cry (which happens mostly when she doesn't get her way), Rachael will come over and hug her and give her a big kiss complete with sound effect! MMMM-WAH! When Rachael is upset, Grace will say, "Come here, Rachael," and Rachael will walk over with her arms outstretched. Grace is currently trying to teach Rachael how to give and receive Eskimo kisses, the same way our Daddy did with my sister and I. Grace even keeps the "mugga, mugga" sound effect we had with that. :-) These are the best days!!

The theater, darling!

It was an overcast Wednesday night. Chris and I loaded the girls in the car and headed out to meet his mom for some fine dining (Panera) and a show at our center for performing arts. The show we were taking in (all thanks to Grandma)?

As you can see, the actors' faces were shown instead of replicas of the cartoons, I read that's so the kids can see their expressions. That's all well and good, but if you have a particular preschooler who notices things like "those are just adults dressed in costumes" (as one sitting behind us did) or cares that the voices don't sound a great deal like the actual cartoon (as mine did), you may have a slight challenge ahead of you. The show was really cute and fun, and Grace's favorite, Uniqua, maintained her cheery smile throughout the whole show, and there was definitely enough music and comedy for kids to keep her entertained! Rachael enjoyed it too! She watched all of it, only taking her eyes off the stage when she changed laps! :-) She clapped and cheered, had a ball!

Grace with her shield!

"Mommy, it's not a hat!"
Rachael thinks it works as an accessory too!

Today was another big day! While we were in California, Chris' mom took the girls to the library one day and said they really enjoyed it, so I took them to ours today and...

Grace got her first library card!

I think she was supposed to get a cute, colorful one with a turtle or something on it because she's not 5 yet (less than 2 months!!), so I'm going to have to call about that.

Rachael had fun too!
(This is what you get when you ask her to smile now! PRECIOUS!)

Grace is getting ready to go to KinderPraise next week, and then before we know it we'll be getting a home visit from her teacher at her new school, and then it's going to be time for school to start! And then she's going to turn 5! ACK!!!