Pre-School Meet and Greet

Friday was meet and greet at the new preschool.  Harper was really excited and couldn't wait to see her class and meet her new teachers.  They went through their morning routine and got to practice hanging up their bags on the correct hook, answering the morning question, and having a mini-circle time.  She was beaming the whole time and kept raising her hand to answer the teacher's questions.  Her teachers seem really great and her main teacher has been doing this forever and was cracking us all up.  She's a hoot and I'm so happy knowing Harper will have a great year.

While we were in Harper's class Hudson kept asking about "Hudson's teachers" because I have been talking it up like crazy with him. I really have no clue how he will do or how he will adjust.  I think he will have fun and enjoy playing at school with his friends and teachers, but I am prepared for the transition to be rough (for both of us).  When it was finally time to go see his class he was super excited. We had little gifts for each of them and he walked right into the class, gave his teachers the gifts, and then made a bee-line for the cars and racetracks that they had out for the kids to play with. He played with that almost the entire time and when he did venture out and check out some of the other toys, he held tight to the "race cars" as he likes to call them.

His teachers seem very sweet so I just hope he will do OK with them.  I can't believe my baby is going to school!  He has started doing this funny thing when he tries to smile ( see below ) but was happy to pose for a picture with each of his teachers.

When it was time to leave he gave each of his teachers a hug and was excited to get his very own school bag.  Don't you just love his new "cheese" face he likes to make.  :-)

After lunch and picking up Handley (who has had a great first week of school) we came home to get ready to see Ryaln, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Heather who are in town visiting for the weekend!  The kids picked right up where they left off and had so much fun playing and swimming together.

First day of 1st Grade

Today was the day!  Handley was so excited about starting first grade today and I surprisingly did really well.  When I woke her up she quickly got dressed and was ready for breakfast.  She could NOT stop smiling - she was just so happy.

Robby took her today on his way to work and I got the text from him around 7:30 that she was there and on her way.  I thought about her ALL day and couldn't wait to go pick her up and hear about her day.  Harper kept asking when it would be time to get her and I know she missed her, too.

We stayed busy with a play date today and then after lunch made our way to the school to get in the long carpool line.  Because we were in line early and because the first day took extra long we ended up waiting for close to an hour.  They let all the buses go first before they begin dismissing car riders.  BUT, the great news was that as soon as the line started moving it went quickly and when we saw Handley walking to our car she was all smiles!  She could not stop talking about how much fun she had and how wonderful first grade was.  I was so happy to know she had a great day and loved hearing about all the details of her day.  She met several new sweet friends and said her teachers were really nice.  I'm so happy for her and so thankful that her first day was a wonderful experience!

Meet and Greet - 1st Grade

Today I took Handley for her Meet and Greet at her new school.  She was incredibly excited to meet her new teacher and see her classroom.  We swung by Target on the way to pick up a cute little gift to take her teacher, grabbed lunch, and then it was time for all of the first graders to arrive.  As we walked up to see the class lists posted out front, I got a huge lump in my throat and it didn't go away until after we left. I did not expect to be so emotional about her going to a big elementary school.  I really had to fight back tears the whole time and don't know how I'm going to do on her first day.  I think I'm just nervous for her.  It's a big change and a lot different than the school she is used to.  I worry about her not being able to find her class on the first day (even though we practiced walking there twice today and she has a name tag so that teachers can direct kids on the first day) and I just want her to make friends easily and feel comfortable there.  It's such a different feeling for she and I both to walk into a school and not know a single soul.

The good news is that Handley is ready and I know she will do fine.  Today she was thrilled and her teacher seems really great.  She was very sweet and has been teaching for a really long time, so she must be really great at what she does. I got on her website tonight and read her posts from the last school year and hearing about all the fun things they will do in her class and as a school, I am feeling a little bit better. I know Handley will have a great year and I can't wait for her to become a part of this excellent school.  On the way home she proudly told me that her teacher said she was so happy Handley was in her class.  That just made her day!

While we were at the school Handely found her desk and put her school supplies away.  We looked around her classroom, I learned how carpool works and got my carpool number, and we also got Handley's first spirit wear shirt.

I was such a wreck that I completely forgot to take her picture while we were there today, but I did get one at home.

She spent this evening working on a few assignments for the first day of school and also got her backpack all ready.  I'm happy we have one more day of summer, but she is wishing she could go to school tomorrow!

Closing a chapter

We closed on our house on Wednesday and then Robby and I came back to the house to finish packing last minute things, take apart the kids' beds, and make a run with the trailer over to the new house.  The kids spent the night with Gigi and Papa so we could get all of these last minute things done.

Our movers were at the house yesterday.  Because we had moved so much ourselves, we didn't think it would take them that long.  We were wrong though.  Moving just takes a lot of time. While they moved, I cleaned, and Robby and I loaded down our cars with all of our clothes and belongings that we were taking to Gigi and Papa's house.  When the moving truck was getting ready to pull out of our driveway I felt so anxious.  Robby led them to our storage unit and I was left to lock up.  I took a look around at all the empty rooms and became very overwhelmed with sadness.  I was a wreck and just couldn't stop thinking about how this house is the one that our kids were babies in.  It's the house they are comfortable in and the one they called home.  There were so many wonderful memories there and it makes me really sad to know that chapter in our lives is now closed.

I am so excited about our new house and getting to really make it ours. I know that the kids are young enough that this new house is the one they will remember as "home" and the one that the majority of their childhood memories will be made.  The next chapter will be just as happy as the last.  It think this in between period that we are in just makes it easier to dwell on the past though.  That and the fact that I haven't really had time to let it all process yet.

The movers were able to skillfully place everything into the storage unit except our 2 refrigerators and our washing machine, which we put in the basement of the new house.  I had to laugh yesterday as it was all going in because the reason we chose to do a storage unit over the pods that are delivered to your house is because we liked the option of being able to get to our things with a storage unit.  Well that is just a joke because anything I might possibly need is buried about 25 feet deep in this sea of stuff.

Today the kids and I went back over to the house for the last time to get a few things we couldn't fit in our cars yesterday and so I could finish cleaning.  I wasn't sure how the kids would do seeing the house empty, but I don't know why I worried.  The first thing the did was run up to their rooms and see how it looked without their furniture.  Then, while I worked, they had a blast running around in all that open space.  When it was time to go they were excited to hit up the bakery for lunch and then were super excited to get back to Gigi and Papa's house.  I'm so thankful that this transition seems to have been a really easy one for them. Because I had them with me today, I was forced to hold it together.

Before leaving the house I just wanted to snap a few more pictures of the kids there...mostly for me to have as a memory, but also for them to be able to look back on, years from now.

Squeezing it all in

I felt like today we were just trying to squeeze it all in.  I needed to pack our closets..I needed to take a load to Gigi and Papa's...and my kids needed to see their friends before we moved.  Somehow we managed to get it all done.  I loaded down the car with all my pantry and freezer foods and most of the girls clothes this morning.  We did a pit-stop at Chick-fil-a with some of Harper's school friends (Henry and Parker) for lunch and a play-date, and then were on to drop off the load at Gigi and Papa's. I got the girls closet mostly organized and got the food put away.  Next up it was back home to do a few things and then to dinner with Handley's best friend from school, Grace. Handley had a special "friends forever" necklace she had gotten for her birthday and wanted to give the other half to Grace.  These two girls have such a sweet friendship and although they will be in different schools next year we will definitely keep them in touch and plan special play-dates so they can keep their friendship.

If you are wondering why we are eating all of our meals out, it's because we have very little food at our house and our fridge was disconnected this evening to prepare for the move/storage. 

Our big move with furniture is later this week, but I'm trying to get all of the kids' stuff set up and ready for them.  It's just crazy though because every time I turn around there is MORE stuff that needs to be taken. Tomorrow will be the rest of the girls' clothes, their jewelry boxes, bows and hair accessories, purses they insisted on having, shoes, bathroom stuff for all the kids, Hudson's clothes and all my refrigerator food.  It's never ending.  I think the hardest thing about this move is that our things are going to so many different places...some to Gigi and Papa's, some to storage and some to the new house. I know that this is all going to be worth it in the end though and I am so excited about the potential of our new house, but I will be happy if we never, ever, ever move again!

12 hours and still going strong...

Today was day 2 of moving.  We used the trailer and our cars to move boxes and some of the smaller things to storage.  We got started early and finished up late.  The kids we pretty good all day and kept busy playing with what toys were left and "helping" as much as they could.  After three trips over there we were all exhausted.  The most fun the kids had was playing with one of the carts at the storage place. We only had one little mishap with it running away downhill with Handley on it.   This picture is of them, 12 hours into our moving day, and still going strong.

Last night our next door neighbors had us over for dinner to say goodbye.  The kids had a blast and Hudson was most impressed with Calvin's "choo-choo" collection.  He just about turned down a cupcake for playing with the trains.  They have been fantastic neighbors and their kids and ours have shared many, many memories together. Harper and Calvin were born on the same day, so they will always have a special friendship.  There won't be anymore last minute bike parties or hunting for worms in their flower beds after dinner like they have grown used to doing, but we will definitely still keep in touch and be back to visit.

Later that night and just before the kids' bedtimes they all hopped on Robby's back for a horse ride.  They are so lucky to have such a fun daddy!

And, I just have to say a huge THANK YOU to my best friend.  Not only did she come bring me more boxes yesterday that she had been collecting, but she also stayed and helped me pack! THANK YOU JEN!!! :-)

First Grade Official

This morning we took a break from packing so I could register Handley at her new school!  She was so excited about seeing the school and I was so excited to finally have this marked off the to-do list.  A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and a big worry of mine resolved.  The whole reason we are moving is because of schools so having this be official made my day!

We took Harper and Hudson to Gigi's house to stay so Handley and I could have some one-on-one time.  After registration we went out to lunch and then by the storage place to reserve our unit.  It was a fun afternoon together and I'm happy I got to hang out with just my oldest girl.  It doesn't happen often enough.

This evening we went to a farewell dinner with a few of my sweet, sweet friends who are also my neighbors.  These girls are what make me love my neighborhood so much.  Their kids are some of my kids' best friends and they have all grown up together.   It makes me so sad to think that we won't be able to make our last minute plans to play outside together or meet at the neighborhood playground at a moments notice.  However, we are going to still make plenty of plans to see each other and let the kids play...it will just have to be done with a little more advance notice.  The good news is I made it from our current neighborhood to our new house yesterday in Atlanta rush hour traffic in only 30 minutes, so on a good day with little or no traffic it's only about 20 minutes away.

We went to a local pizza place that was having a kids night complete with face painting and an interactive musician.  It was so much fun!

We finished up the night with frozen yogurt.  The kids all laughed, played and enjoyed their candy toppings while the moms made plans to get us all back together soon.

Love all of these sweet kiddos! 

Cute boys! 

My poor kids have been bored out of their mind this week.  We are usually on the go, go, go so being stuck at home while I pack is driving them a little bit stir crazy.  They did find some funny dress-up things though and one day I came across a bunch of coins stuck in one of our closets.  I called for them all to bring their piggy banks and they spent at least 1/2 an hour filling them up with the coins.  That let me get the master bathroom packed with no interruptions! Ever since then Hudson has been asking for "more money" because he had so much fun.

The good news is, I've only got a few more rooms to go and then we will be all packed up.