Do you have a good internal clock?

I felt like the mother of the year this morning. Caden's bus comes at 7:30. I awoke from a dead sleep to hear a horn honking in my driveway. Looked at the clock and it was 7:33. CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No one was out of bed yet. I called the bus barn and told them to radio the driver and tell her to move on.

Worst part? This is not the first time this has happened. At. All.

Caden loves buttons and dials and the like. So he turned down my radio all the way. Oh the alarm was still set, but when it "went off" the radio turned on which was turned...all the way down. You'd think by now I would know to check that before bed. I checked to make sure the alarm was on, and that was all. (I know you're going to suggest turning the beeper on the alarm, but I cannot wake up to that. I will crap the bed. Serious.)

My DH James and BFF Heather can't believe that I don't wake up earlier without the help of an alarm. They use alarms, but only as panics if they don't get up with their internal clocks. I don't seem to have an internal clock. I have a hard time falling asleep, but once I do it takes darn-near an act of God to wake me in the mornings. Or a radio. But still, I have to have an external force to rouse me!

What about you?

First day of school 2010 - 1st grade (Caden) and K (Avery)

Here's a few pictures I snapped the morning of the first day of school. I have one from last year of all the kids sitting on the front porch and it would be fun to see the changes this year, but it's on the upstairs computer (we have GOT to figure out how to link the 2 computers):

My big kids!!! I should've put the twins there but in usual Tena-fashion I was running late because it was morning.

If I'm being honest I struggle with this picture because I see that Caden looks different. But you know, it is what it is - I think this is an absolutely PRECIOUS one!!!!

Caden is signing "bus" here - he was SO ready to see Diana!

She's here!!! Look at that adorable admiration!! I love this picture!!!


Strapped in and ready to GO!

First one off bus #6 at




Some of her older cousin Tressa's 5th grade friends walk with Avery to her classroom since they ride the same bus.

Welcome to Miss Amber's Kindergarten classroom!

Miss Amber helped Avery get her name tag on.



And then she had to color a picture to look just like her!

I was so proud of both of my kids - this day and always! So hard to believe they're growing up. They have done very well this week and we can't wait for more!

We survived!

The first day of school, that is. Caden did wonderfully. He has the same bus driver again this year and we.love.Diana. He spent a lot of time with his special ed class as the first few days are always so hectic and they didn't want to overwhelm him. He got to make mac n cheese at kitchen time and had to clean up afterwards. He told me it was fun and when grandma called to talk to him he told her LOADS of stories about it as well. I guess we had first grade success!

Avery did beautifully. I put her on the bus and then drove into town to meet her at school off the bus. She found her classroom and did the work she was supposed to do - coloring a picture of a little girl to look just like her. I got a few pictures and then headed back home. She only had a half day so was home around 12:45 or so. Some good news is that the bus is going to pull all the way up our driveway now and turn around close to the house, which means we don't have to run down the driveway to meet up with the bus down at the road. Bonus!

Pictures to follow. Anyone care to guess how long that actually takes me??

A first - with a 2nd

Think it doesn't make sense? I'd have to agree with you. I'm struggling with something...I'm struggling with sending my 2nd-born to Kindergarten. It's sort of like she's my first to go. I'm having a very hard time letting her go.

I remember it was difficult to send Caden, but Caden had been attending some sort of schooling since he was 2. I knew school would be good for Caden. I knew he would make great strides there and learn things that I didn't have the skills (or the patience, if I'm being perfectly honest) to teach him. I was ok with sending him off....yes, even though he wasn't speaking and couldn't come home and tell me all about his day, I felt confident that he was "ready". As ready as he could be at his developmental level. (And today we met his 1st grade *sniffle* teacher - she is fabulous and he is going to have a great year!!)

And then there's Avery. Maybe it's the girl thing. Maybe it's the fact that she's my little mini-me. She's my sidekick, my big helper, my incessant chatterbox. Avery is so excited about Kindergarten. She got the teacher she wanted (and she'll tell you this). We went tonight and had a whole scavenger hunt to find the different things in her classroom, to meet her teacher and to bring her classroom supplies. She LOVED it. (I was even a suck-up and had her bring a decorated apple cookie for her teacher. I know, throw rotten tomatoes.) But the whole time I could not be excited for her. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the idea that she is going to be gone from home 3 days a week, moving to 5 full days a week by the end of the school year. I could cry about it so easily and if you know me you know I am NOT a cry-er. Avery is going to ride the big yellow bus to and from school. I have set up a set of identical twin 5th graders on her bus route to help her get to class, so she's covered there. I just can't help it - I feel like she is not ready and won't be able to handle it and cannot possibly be apart from her momma.

Perhaps this is one of the greatest downfalls of being a stay at home mom. Perhaps it's just me. Either way, I think Monday is going to be harder on Tena than on Avery. Yes, I am looking forward to having "just" 3 kids here at home during the day, but no one can talk to me or argue with me (efficiently, that is - Declan sure tries but his vocabulary consists of "noo!" "mine!") or otherwise bug the tar out of me at every turn. Honestly, I don't even know what to say. I'm positive it's going to be ok but my heart feels heavy at the same time. I'll miss her! She's growing up...right before my very eyes and quite literally without my permission. Bittersweet.

I have nothing interesting to say...

but one of my goals in life is to become a famous blogger, and I'm not going to do that by not posting anything for weeks on end, right? Thought so.

Right now it's thundering outside and we're preparing for about the millionth inch of rain this summer. We have been so blessed with no water in our basement, but many of our family and friends haven't been that lucky. It's really a mess for some people and it's so frustrating! I'm ready for next week - they're calling for temps in the low 80s with low humidity and no rain almost all week! Which is really great news considering it's been in the upper 90s with mega humidity. It's also great because...

Next week we are going camping all week! It's our little staycation. We're camping locally as James has to work at The Scooter Store in Des Moines on Monday and Tuesday, but then he has work off until Saturday, so that will be a fun family time after that. The first night camping is always hellish, but then the kids get used to sleeping somewhere else and bedtimes go much better. They don't sleep in at all, but we can handle that. After that week is done...

School starts!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can't wait, I really can't. Caden and Avery are driving each other nuts. Caden needs the structure of school in a bad way. The only hard part is that Caden's 1:1 associate took a different job for next year and won't be with us again. I cried buckets over that one, but I know Caden will be just fine and God is working out the details so that we'll have someone else special to work with our little man. He's going into 1st grade and he has an awesome teacher (we've heard) so we're happy. Avery will be starting Kindergarten, but she is going to the Christian school instead of the public school where Caden attends. Avery could not possibly be more excited! She gets to ride the big yellow bus and she got the teacher she wanted (this teacher student taught when Avery was in preschool and now is starting her teaching career in K!). She is absolutely certain that she is ready, but I have a feeling that she is going to be more homesick than she realizes. She will be going full days, 3 days a week - MWF. The worst part is that Avery's personalized backpack hasn't arrived yet, and it says it won't arrive until Sept 4. I'm praying it'll be early, but hope is waning with each day. We'll see!

Ready for some cuteness overload?

A sweet gal from our church offered to take some pictures of Macey and Madelyn as a "survival gift" - we all made it through the first year! Here are the pictures she took. Megan did an AMAZING job and I just can't believe how adorable my girls are!!! I know, that sounds totally braggy but I really don't care - they ARE adorable!!

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/store.aspx?p=235481

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