First Day: Take Two!

So after last week's rocky start, it felt like we had a do-over after not returning to school for 4 days! Yesterday I got Grace to school in plenty of time, and on the way there I asked her if she wanted me to walk her to her class or if I should drop her off in the carpool lane.

"You can just drop me off!"

I tried to take a picture without her looking as she went inside, but some of the volunteers spotted me and started shouting, "Camera! camera!" (mamarazzi!), so Grace gave me one of her beautiful smiles and a wave, and off she went! Yes, it tugged at my heart, but no, I didn't cry. We might have to save the tears for next year when Grace starts kindergarten and Rachael starts preschool.

I didn't have any big plans or errands to run, so Rachael and I had our first morning alone together in a while.

Looks innocent enough, doesn't she? Casually checking out a book?

Don't be fooled!
Rachael's effort to play with every single thing that she could get her hands on:

One of my good friends sent me a picture she'd taken at the zoo a couple of weeks ago. It was right after Rachael fed the giraffe -- she's giving the little "rock on" hand gesture, notice.

The scene looked familiar to me, and I found this from 2005 (please disregard the bad hair):

Notice: 1) The girls are about the same age in these pictures! They were both right around 18 months old -- look how different they are! I don't know, it's just fascinating to me, because at the same time I see some similarities. And 2) I have the same exact expression on my face each time.

So much for no tears from Mommy though! This morning Rachael and I did run some errands -- to the church, to vote, and then to the library. As I was talking to the librarian about renewing Grace's treasured Peep DVD, Rachael made a beeline for the sliding doors. I darted after her, but the door was sliding open, and she kept her hand on the glass. Before I could grab her, she was stuck between the doors up to her elbow. :-( She cried a more scared cry than a hurt cry, but I couldn't budge her and I didn't want to tug at her, so I just held her until two of the librarians came to hold open the doors so she could slip out.

She bounced back quickly though, barely a scratch on her, and used the water they gave her to dip her hand in rather to drink. It definitely took me longer to recover, and it was all I could do to not break down right in front of the check-in desk!

All is well now though! Just a little more excitement than we're used to!

A Mom of Many Talents!

I've raved about Liz's Lovely Little Lovelies, but hair clips are just the beginning for this SuperMom -- this is a woman of MANY talents! If you have a daughter, granddaughter, niece or know someone who does, and would like the chance to win an adorable dress with matching hair clips, head to her blog and leave her a comment!

This is how we roll...

Or bowl.

After five days of being stuck indoors, we were ready to be anywhere other than the apartment!! We were able to find some fine family fun going bowling with Nana, Grandpa Ken and Aunt Ashley! It was Grace's first time, and she has already asked us at least 1,547 times when we can go again!

Grace was ready -- gotta love bowling shoes!

Rachael selecting the perfect ball.

One of Grace's turns -- what form!

She's pleased with her score!

Rachael didn't want to leave Ashley's side all night!

This is her reaction when Ashley had to bowl!

She could be cheering, but really what she's doing is tensing up and going, "EEEEEE!!!"

I know you probably have to be there to understand, but trust me, it's hilarious!

And if you ask her to do it, she does it over and over. Such a ham!

We went to Friendly's afterwards, where Grace concentrated on a word search.

I still can't get over this girl's eyelashes...

Rachael tried on my lipstick.

(Don't worry, she hasn't learned how to twist it up... YET!)

Grace and Aunt Ashley, so sweet!

More rolling...

We went for the first walk/ride with Grace's new helmet.

FABULOUS!

The helmet already went through its first performance test... Grace headed right on her bike and we were going left, so she tried to swivel back around. One of the training wheels went up too high and she toppled over. It was actually a pretty bad fall, but she came out of it with a very, very small scrape on her knee (that you couldn't see after her shower, but she wanted a Band-Aid nonetheless!), and we knew she bumped her chin but there wasn't anything there. BUT, the helmet's visor part was scratched up, meaning it hit the pavement. If there was ever any doubt about the necessity of a helmet for a child on a bike with training wheels, it was erased in that moment!

I had to come back to edit this post, I forgot to mention that after crying in pain, getting hugs from Mommy, Daddy and Rachael, Grace got right back up on her bike and rode the rest of the way home!

Ride safe!

Free From Fay?

Remember the scene on Wednesday?

This was yesterday, already a huge difference.

And now this morning.

But this isn't the norm! Friends in the area having been wading out in knee-deep flood water, catfish are swimming across their sidewalks, cars have been submerged -- sometimes even big ol' trucks.

I'm hoping to venture out with the girls sometime today, but I'm really not sure what the roads are like. Chris did go to work today (the businesses had their employees report), so maybe he can give me an idea what it's like and where it's safe to travel!

Keep those who were severely affected in your thoughts and prayers, as well as those who are getting a taste of Fay in the northwest area of Florida!

Fay, Fay, Go Away!

FAY WATCH: DAY TWO!

This is the worst of it for us. We have some standing water on our porch, but there's no real threat of it seeping in. We've had two calls with recorded messages from the police department telling us that residents are to stay indoors, roads are unsafe for travel -- even for emergency vehicles. We lost power for maybe 20 minutes earlier today (the longest 20 minutes of Grace's life, I believe), and our internet connection was a little touch-and-go.

I have seen pictures from other friends in this area and other parts of Florida, even the type they show on the news with canoes being paddled on a residential street. What we're seeing in our little neck of the wood is NOTHING compared to what they're seeing.

Apparently school has been cancelled again tomorrow, so we'll likely have another day indoors.

All in all, though, what we're experiencing is nothing. Call us blessed (that's what we say), call us lucky -- we're thankful!