She's In=)

Prayers have been answered! This upcoming '10-'11 school year is the first official year for Makenzie to get credit towards her education. She did a semester of preschool at a really nice place.

Makenzie will attend Kaylie's elementary school in the Fall. This year, the school board decided on a lottery system... With only 18 seats available, we prayed HARD that she was "picked from the hat" to enjoy the public school system. It paid off!!! I received the call Friday morning saying Makenzie will be a part of a great education team. She will attend school five full days a week. Both Kaylie and Makenzie can eat breakfast together at school (Kaylie's favorite morning fun!) and get picked up at the same time at the end of the day.

She's super excited to go to "the big" school! We're already beginning summertime education at home. Makenzie is like a sponge, totally soaking up everything she can:)

It's somewhat sad at the same time... these last few weeks before August mean my time teaching solely at home is coming to an end. Having Makenzie "at home" for an extra year has been great. The whole birthday after the cut-off time line was annoying, but I see now how rewarding it will be for her when she does so well with her schooling:) YAY, MAKENZIE!!!

Allergic Reaction!

OH MY! Kaylie has an official allergy. Since last week, she's been on Amoxicillin for her Strep Throat. She was diagnosed the second to last day, of course missing the end of first grade:( Kaylie woke up yesterday morning with what looked like two small bug bites on her ankle. Within 2 hours, her entire body was covered with red dots. Talk about itchy and scary!
We quickly drove to the pediatrician. Right away, they said it was a reaction to her medication. She's been prescribed another type of antibiotic and not allowed to be in the sun for a week... that's hilarious seeing as this is THE SUNSHINE STATE!?!?! Seriously, not fun for a little kid:(
Here's a pictures of her when we got home from the pediatrician
This was right before bedtime... really getting swollen and red!
The sides and tops of her back and knees have little white welts
This morning her knees looked pretty bad:(
She's being such a trooper through all of this. Benedryl only works for so long...
The hardest thing hearing from her is how sad she feels about "looking ugly":( Breaks my heart... she doesn't like seeing herself or the reactions of us checking out her spots. It's very hard not to scrunch up our nose or make a sad face, knowing how uncomfortable she is feeling.
Praying the medicine begins to work, and she starts to feel better. =(

Dresser Project

Our good friends gave us their dresser and bunk bed set last summer... talk about a GREAT deal for our girls! They absolutely love them. Makenzie and I decided to have a special project together and give the dresser drawer fronts a face lift. I kept promising her "our time", so this seemed to be the perfect idea.
We changed the pink to a cantaloupe color. Really calming and goes well with their room. Makenzie LOVED playing with the paint.
After a few coats, it was pretty evident we needed more paint! They day we painted more coats was when Makenzie asked Kaylie to help. I was so proud of her for being so polite!
Time to dry! Pretty pleased with the outcome. Makenzie had a blast being creative, making little designs in the paint as she went along.
Makenzie picked out little wooden figures that we glued to the fronts. Their room is in Princesses and Tinker Bell. We didn't want an overload of Disney going on, so she picked cute butterflies, dragonflies, and flowers to tie everything together. This way the dresser can grow with them until the next time we decide to get creative:)
The finished product... Great job Makenzie!

Ready for VPK!

With her first few months of preschool done, Makenzie is super excited about beginning the VPK Program in the Fall. Since her birthday falls after the September 1st deadline, her school days have been pushed back a year. I love the idea of having "an extra" year to teach her at home. She'll go into VPK with more knowledge and social skills:) At her preschool, she did tons of artwork each week. She picked her favorite pieces, and we hung them on her wall to enjoy every day!
I was super excited to attend her class party... Makenzie smiled that morning saying, "Mommy, it's my special time with you!!!" Totally made my heart melt:)
Makenzie loved going to school at Sunshine Learning Center. Her teacher was amazing! When it comes to schooling in the Fall, we're up in the air as to where she's actually going... The elementary school Kaylie attends is holding a "lottery" for the 18 positions available for upcoming VPK students. We should find out by the end of the month whether or not her named was picked. If so, she will attend the same school as Kaylie, five FULL days a week. If not picked, she will continue her schooling at SLC, three FULL days a week.

Either way, we are so very proud of Makenzie and her love for learning. She has SO much energy and joy to share with everyone:) Good job sweetie... can't wait for the Fall!!!

Goodbye 1st Grade, Hello 2nd!

Kaylie's days as a first grader as slowly diminishing. With only one week left, she's getting super excited about becoming a second grader! The other day, she came home with TONS of artwork. So proud of her creativity:)
At the 1st Grade Award Ceremony, Kaylie was presented with two achievements: The Principals Award and 2nd Place in the Accelerated Readers Program. Kaylie goes everywhere with a book! Her hard work definitely shows. Also, she went the entire school year with having missed only TWO spelling words... awesome:)
Congratulations Kaylie... we're so very proud of you!!!

Beach Bound

Once again, we headed to the beach. Even with all the complaining of how hot Florida gets, being this close to the beach really is awesome:)

Here's a little clip of Dannen getting brave enough to go near the water on his own...

Cooking is a Passion

French Toast Casserole

So besides my LOVE for photography, cooking ranks right up there as my number 2 favorite thing to do and learn about! I can honestly say, I'm skilled at cooking around our crazy schedule. Nap time, school, snack break, you name it, it can be done LOL. I really like that my kids enjoy cooking with me. Each of our girls have their own aprons, with Dannen getting his very soon.

Not only do I enjoy sharing my creations with people, but I really enjoy cooking with my husband:) It turns into a time to be husband and wife, not worrying about kiddo or work duties... just fun. Picking on each other, making a mess, helping to make the recipes one step better- totally makes for time well spent. It's like when we first became a couple and were engaged. Goofing around while cooking with your husband is a must try! :)

With William and I having past experiences as bakers at a popular restaurant, we also bake, A LOT! Not sure who enjoys cooking/baking over the other. All I do know is that if our pantry was always stocked, watch out world- we'd be running a restaurant! (Oh and it would have a movie theatre, photography studio and preschool, too! LOL)

Our most recent "fun" with cooking was making French Toast Casserole and Seafood Lasagna. Wow.... I only wish with every bite, pounds came off instead of staying around. William kicked butt with his special touches on both dishes. I made a Chili Cheese Dog Casserole that William took to work. Unfortunately, it went out the door too fast to photograph and in the bellies of William's coworkers before they even chewed. Needless to say, that's one to be made again!!!

Seafood Lasagna

Happy Mother's Day

~*~Happy Mother's Day~*~
Three of the most important days in my life as a Mother: July 7, 2003/September 27, 2005/February 11, 2009... The days my children were born!
I'm so thankful for God's gift of
motherhood.

They're Growing!

The kids' Earth Day plants are beginning to grow. These things are silly little plants! I keep having to rotate them, as they love the sun. Because I can't sit them in the window sill (hmmmmm I wonder why with three touchy little kids LOL) they're up high on a shelf by the window. Every once in a while I'll see Kaylie and Makenzie take them down to check on the progress.