Summertime! - Part 1

Catie Caterpillar

Last Tuesday Raeleigh made a caterpillar at school. We decided we would name her Catie Caterpillar. She came home with us on a styrofoam plate with a note that read:

Dear Parents,
We made caterpillars today. They are filled with potting soil and grass seed. If you will help your child water them daily the grass will grow through the panty hose. When the grass gets long enough you can even give them a haircut.

I meant to take a picture of Catie Caterpillar before she started growing grass but she is growing too darn fast!

This picture was taken on Saturday afternoon.


And this is what Catie looked like when we went outside this morning.


I think it's about time for that haircut!

Raeleigh's last day of school

Today was Raeleigh's last day of school. Walking out of the school with her was a bittersweet moment for me. My baby girl is growing up. Next year she will be one of the "big kids" in her class. She was walking beside me and waving to everyone we passed and saying, "bye!" She has changed so much over the past 8 months.

When she started school in August she was saying very few words and didn't understand much of what was said to her. She had only been walking for 2 months. There was no way she could have walked from her classroom to the car by herself. She simply did not have the endurance. When her speech therapist asked, "Do you want to go home with me?" she wouldn't have said anything. Probably wouldn't have even looked at her, but today she firmly said, "NO!" and told her "bye!"

She came home today with a scrapbook from this year. Raeleigh has been sitting in a high chair at lunch since the beginning of the year but today they told me that this week she has been doing this...



Obviously I took a picture of what's in the scrapbook so I apologize for the glare!

Congratulations on this milestone baby girl! I can't wait to see how much you continue to grow over the summer!

Stupid Kelly's Kids!

I am a shopaholic. There, I said it.

I pride myself on the way my kids look and I love buying matching outfits. Kelly's Kids is a company that sells quality children's clothing in classic styles. In March I decided to host a party so I could earn some free clothes. I bought 3 oh so cute matching outfits for Raeleigh and Rudy and could hardly wait the 4-6 weeks for them to come in. Little did I know their customer service STINKS!!

It has been 2 months today since I placed my order. I just called customer service to check the status of my order. Guess what!? They have shipped PART of my order!! AHHHH! When I called customer service 2 weeks ago they gave me a $20 credit code...how sweet...I can buy half a pair of pants! Rudy is going to outgrow these clothes before I ever get them in! I am SO MAD!

Well, here it is...

..Jillian Michaels 30 day shred



I read about this on Angela's blog and decided I had to have it since I have procrastinated for 3 months and I am not down to 21 days until vacation. Ugh.

So yesterday was day one. It's intense. At first I was thinking jumping jacks and crunches? Seriously?! I thought it was going to be a piece of cake. Umm...no. But it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated after reading this and this. I will be honest and say that I forgot to buy weights and I am going to bet that will make a huge difference in day 2! My abs were very sore last night and Brandon said his legs hurt from all the squats. I felt much more "burn" from this that from my hip hop abs workout that I do everyday once a week. Now we move on to day 2. Surely it will get easier as the days go by...and it will all be worth it I actually feel comfortable in a swim suit this summer! So who is with me???

There's still time..

...to order your PINK products and Help Whip Cancer! These products will be on sale through May 31st! Click here to see the limited edition pink products. Then, click here to place your order! Remember, $1 from each pink product goes to the American Cancer Society. As an extra incentive, you will receive a FREE Spring/Summer '09 Season's Best cookbook from me if you buy all 5 products!

Put a link to this post on your blog and leave a comment to let me know you did and you will be entered to win a FREE Pink Microfiber Dots Towel! Raeleigh will choose the winner on June 1st! You can be entered even if you don't place an order!

Field Trip

Yesterday we all went with Raeleigh to the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo for her class field trip. We had so much fun and were exhausted by the time we got home! I can't believe her first year of school will be over in a week! Here are some pictures from our day!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

YAY!!!!!!

Holy Cow! Raeleigh just went in the bathroom, lifted the lid, put her potty seat on the toilet and was trying to get her pants down when I got in there. I sat her on the potty and she went!!! She got down, helped me get her pull-up and pants back on, flushed, and rubbed germ-x on her hands!! YES YES YES!!!

Raeleigh's IEP Meeting

Last week was Raeleigh's IEP meeting. She has come so far this year! When she was tested in August she was between an 11-18 month level in all areas. After being tested last week she has increased to a 36 month level in every area except speech. Her speech has gone from 11 months to 28 months which is still awesome to me! She will be in the same preschool class next year and then the plan is to move to regular PreK-5.

She is growing up so much! She no longer "looks" like a baby or toddler but like a little girl. We have a busy summer ahead of us with all of the appointments. She will be going to the dentist for the first time, seeing a nutritionist, getting screened for AAI, and hopefully seeing the ENT and having tubes put in her ears. She will also be taking her first plane ride when we go to Sesame Place in a few weeks!

Wordless Wednesday