Tough Morning (for Mommy)

I was up before the alarm this morning – go figure! I was probably a ‘little’ anxious about Zoe’s first day of school. I kept looking at the clock waiting for the perfect time to wake Zoe up. Finally, about 7:20, I went into her room and sat on her bed and said, “Baby, today is your BIG day!” She got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs. She didn’t have too much to say and I could tell all the excitement from the past couple days wasn’t there. I think she was nervous, but didn’t want to own up to it.

We all went for bagels before the big drop off. Zoe thought having chocolate milk would be just the perfect thing to settle her nerves, although she barley ate and couldn’t even get the chocolate milk down. Next, stop school. We parked the car and all of a sudden, my heart started beating 100 miles a second. I couldn’t breathe, and I felt sick to my stomach.

Zoe still not with too much to say grabs my hand and we walk up what felt like the shortest sidewalk to the front door of the school. We immediately spot, SAM! Yes, SAM! How happy were we to see Sam, Ms Amanda, and Benjamin? I threw my arms around Amanda and said, “Amandaaaaaa, Do you remember our kids playing in the front yard in their diapers?” Sam now in 1st grade and Zoe in Kindergarten! She said, “Yep!” It’s surreal. It really, really is.

Zoe got into her class room and noticed our neighbor who lives a few houses down sitting quietly at a table, so they sat next to one another right away. Shelli and I spoke to the teacher and kind of went over the whole bus schedule (a million times) so, I could be assured Zoe got on the right bus and got to where she was going. I kept glancing over at Zoe sitting in her little chair, in this big school, with new friends, and she seemed okay. I went over to get one (ok several) more kisses and she said, “I love you Mommy!” That was it, I was a mess! Game over, put a fork in me. I couldn’t get out of the school without my sunglasses on and tears rolling down my face. Meet the principle? Nope, not today! I was in no shape to chat with him this morning. That’s for sure!

All in all, Zoe did very well and I’m extremely proud of her. It’s hard being back at work full time and not being the first person she will see after school. We are super tight and letting go is so very hard.

Ready or Not?!?!

Tomorrow Zoe starts kindergarten! I’m no where near ready to walk her to class, hang up her book bag, and then hope and pray she gets on the right bus that will take her to her daycare. Kindergarten here is everyday but, it’s only a few hours a day, but nonetheless, Zoe is very excited. She has been talking about it non-stop. I on the other hand, cannot believe my baby is starting elementary school.

I’ve stayed home with Zoe for the past 4 years so, trying to get adjusted to going back to work full-time and now her starting school just seems so overwhelming. I can’t help but to want to hold on to ‘those days’. I don’t regret going back to work in the least. I enjoy my job and I was ready to go back. It’s just not having all the time I want with Zoe that makes it so hard to digest.

This afternoon, we got her book bag all ready for school, picked out the outfit she was going to wear, and of course we talked about how she thinks her 1st day is going to go. As she was packing up her bag with all her new school supplies, I couldn’t help but to choke up. Where is the baby I was feeding and rocking in the hospital? The baby I couldn’t take my eyes off of through the glass window on the labor and delivery floor? The only mom not in a robe and slippers, but, just as in love and proud as the other new mom’s standing next to me looking at their newborns through the glass window.

Tomorrow will be harder on me than Zoe but, I’m so joyful that she is so excited and ready to start this new journey. She has been so wound up all day knowing she is going to school tomorrow. I’m not sure she will even be able to relax enough to fall asleep tonight. Heck, if she can’t sleep she can stay up with me because let’s face it, I won’t be sleeping either.

Land of FUN

Zoe is home safe and sound from her summer tour and I couldn’t wait to spend some time with her. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with her this weekend, UNTIL I found this place on the web called, “The Land of Make Believe”. http://www.lomb.com/

I wasn’t 100% convinced Zoe would ride all the rides but, I wanted to give it a try and this place was just for kids! So, Dana, J, Zoe, and I hit the road in search of, “The land of Make Believe”.
Not only did they have the cutest rides, they also had a water park with water slides. The girls who are pretty close already, got even closer while riding ride after ride together. They were non-stop and had a blast.

It’s definitely a place we will go back to in the future!

Zoe's Summer Vacation

The summer is coming to an end, but Zoe had one last adventure in store. We packed up the car and dogs and headed to see Nana, Granddad, Grammy, and Aunt Pam and Uncle Eddie. Wow what a trip!

The first stop was at Nana’s where we spent a week canning tomatoes, corn, beans, and just about anything else Nana could find. We even had time for a kayak trip down the Yadkin River.
At the end of the week, we packed up and headed down to see Aunt Pam and Uncle Eddie. Boy was Zoe surprised to see what Uncle Eddie had in store for her. A personal tour of Uncle Eddie’s firehouse! First up was a little fire safety training from Uncle Eddie, then on to the good stuff…Zoe got to get in all the trucks, dress in turnout gear, and best of all, got a big bag of goodies with stickers, pencils, erasers, and all kinds of other stuff. I just about had to fight Zoe to get her in the car to leave Aunt Pam’s, but while we were at the farm, I promised Zoe she could take some of the stuff she found out in the yard in the car with us. Zoe’s prize finds included a few blue jay feathers, a snake skin, some pinecones, a magnolia bloom, and various other ‘treasures’.

We finally got to Granddad and Grammy’s on Friday afternoon, where Zoe was whisked off by Granddad to ‘help’ Grammy at work. After the girls got home, Grammy fixed a wonderful dinner and we spent the rest of the night catching up and visiting. We even got to see Uncle Rusty.

The rest of the weekend was over before we knew it and we were on our way back home. It’s taken both Zoe all week to catch up from all the action. I’m sure it was a summer trip Zoe will not soon forget, even with the upcoming excitement of starting school!

Pop Pop

Zoe is out of town spending the last few weeks before school starts with her grandparents so, I thought I would take the opportunity to clean her room and get it a little organized.

Every since Zoe got her desk in her room she is always 'writing letters', making pictures, or doing ‘homework’. She had lots of cute stationary, pens, stickers, etc. Her desk is always a mess because she does several projects at one time, however this time her desk was cleaned off and the only thing on it was a letter; sealed. For her "Popop"!

I couldn’t help to post this because it was the cutesiest thing ever.

School Shopping

With school starting very very soon, Zoe was in need of a new book bag. She wanted something ‘special’ and I can’t think of any book bag more special than one from LLBean.

Tonight, after work we went to LLBean to check out all the book bags. Zoe looked at them all, touched them all, and tried them all on. Out of the gazillion bags they had, she picked a cute pink one. Once we picked the color, we had to then pick the lettering that was going to be embroidered on the back of her backpack. “ZRP”. This was very serious business. Zoe looked at all the different fonts (several times) before picking the one that she liked best. I mean it’s not everyday you start a BIG kid school!

Once we left LLBean, we had worked up quite an appetite. We stumbled across this place called Pandinis, it was so good. Zoe and I shared a Vegetable Sandwich -
Market fresh spring greens with mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, red onions and shredded mozzarella with balsamic dressing, with a side of amazing Parmesan garlic fries.

After dinner, we walked over to Barnes & Noble where we came across the most perfect book (staying in theme for the night) “Look out Kindergarten, here I come!” Zoe and I sat down on the little chairs in the kid section and read this book, page by page, discussing how her first day is going to be just like the book talked about. She seemed really excited. Not only did she get the book bag she wanted but also, we just read the coolest story about starting kindergarten. How’s that for a Friday night? We sure know how to have fun!

I cannot believe Zoe is going to be in kindergarten AND taking a bus. Wow! It’s so much to digest. I know one thing for sure, she is very excited and tells me all the time that I have to let her ‘grow-up’. Be that as it may, you can’t blame me for wanting to hold on to each and every moment. She is growing up so fast but I love the person she is growing up to be. I’m one lucky Mommy!