A week from tomorrow ...

I can't believe that Lucy is heading into her last week as a 4-year-old. Seriously can any of your believe this??? 
Here's the sleeping 4 year old tonight

and then we have her last year at this time when she was 3 years old and recovering from her surgery

and here at 2 years old

and 1 year (almost 2)

and almost 1 (in the stripes) with her friend Bennett ...

they were room mates in Ethiopia and now go to preschool together!

Nothing like going through old photos to help take my mind and heart off of the sad endings that will begin to take place tomorrow at work.  We go in to work and open an envelop in our mailbox, we'll either get a note with the agenda for an afternoon meeting to go over our agency plans for surviving the budget cuts or we'll get a note with a mornign meeting time to talk about our full or partial lay off.  We also find out how many families and children will loose services at our agency, and this kills me the most.  Uggghhh.

Why?

Does Lucy keep calling me Mama Odie?   This morning ... over the monitor:  "Mama Odie ... Mama OOOOODDDDIEEEEE I am awake!"  

Whoa! Dat der's a boatload of kids!

nothing like being put in charge of a pack of young, active, sassy kids to take your mind off of such stressfull thinks as job security, the downfall of humanity, a backload of paperwork and other issues.  I can pretty much say that from 5pm - 8pm thoughts of non immediate stressors did not enter my brain.  I'd like to say it was a nice relaxing break but ...

for a while they all congregated on this one patch of concrete patio.

a little crowded with a high potential for catfights and injury

you see here we have Nathan blocking Morgan's path (it was HIS turn after all)

and Jacob blocking Lucy's path (for that is his job, he's a blocker)

Jacob insisted on getting involved with activities that were over his head

you know, to help keep my mind off of job insecurity and the sad state

of the world.  Thanks Jakers!

thankfully, just as things were taking a serious turn for the worse

the neighbor kids came out and agreed to a rousing game of kick ball.

I lost 4 out of 5 kids to the neighbors yard, which I think is a wonderful

way to babysit.

so cute

the giant popsicles kept them sitting and quiet for 4 minutes

I wonder what has managed to capture and captivate the kids attention???

ahhh it's the neighbor kid with his big ole machine (um nerf) gun!

the forbidden fruit ... we all want it. these kiddos are very

attracted to the GUN.

Peace out! 

Weekend ...

I started my weekend last night went to the new Twins stadium with my cousin Jen while my mom babysat Lucy.  The new stadium is soooooo amazing, I LOVE it, and the Twins won too!   Today with the help of my parents and my cousins Tyler and Luke I built this:

this was an area rendered perma-mud by our ginormous swimming pool.  So now in the off-pool season (about 10 months of the year) we can enjoy a nice clean pation

instead of constantly wiping very very muddy doggy paw prints off the floor

Lucy will miss her worm/bug hunting grounds.  I will not.

ahhhh Lucy

Lucy has mere months until she becomes a KINDERGARTENER and this momma is scared.  For one thing, how dare kids grow up this fast, how dare they.  Seriously. How is it that come 6:30 pm it seems like the minutes painfully and tantrumfully tick tock away until bedtime but at the same time the years whizz by flying maniaclly laughing at you "na na nanana"???  

a letter to Lucy (for the world to see):

Dear Lucy,

Momma is scared for you. You are about to enter the big ol' mean world of public education.  Dont' get me wrong, it's a lot of fun too.  You'll get to learn things and do things that momma couldn't teach you.  For now though I am nervous for you.  I am nervous that you are going to spend a lot of time getting into trouble for being you.  Your inability to NOT attend to every thing around you might not serve you well in a class of 28. Your need for socialization and vocalization might get you in trouble. You are such an individual, so very unique and artistic and all of these are really really awesome traits unless your teacher (and your mother at times ) just wants you to put the eyes and mouth INSIDE of the drawing of the head.  I get scared every night when I can't get you to listen to even one short book, or one chapter of a book. I know you know when grownups are unhappy with you and I know it just makes you act up even worse (you get so nervous about that) and it's breaking my heart to think of you going through hell over the next several years. 

Part of me really really hopes that you continue to prove me wrong.  That you excel at traditional learning, that you are an appropriate (not so bossy and tattle taley) peer to your fellow classmates.  I know I just have to let go and we will face these challenges together.

For now, lets enjoy this last spring and summer of your "little kidness" and be thankful for every painfully slow witching hour we have together. 

I love you,
Mom

helping plant our (now dead) tomato seedlings.  Mother Nature Gardens here we come

zep is a little OCD about these little tennis balls.

chatting with the neighbor dudes

my sleeping preschooler

Easter and then out

Easter Sunday was our last hurrah before reentering the mean ole world of work.  Please know that I'll tone down the working mother whining come September when Lucy is in kindergarden (except for class field trip days, class volunteer opportunities, and every stinking summer).  Anyways back to the joy right?   Let's tell the story of Sunday and Monday in photos shall we ...

Lucy and Great Grandma before easter dinner

sweet kisses for Jen

on the hunt

cousin tyler's haul

watching Tyler work

tossing the cauliflower in balsamic vinegar and olive oil for tonights dinner

Lucy was in charge of washing the chard*

*Carrie (MP and HG's mom) has convinced us that chard is da bomb.  Sort of bombed tonight but that was likely the fault of the cook and we are committed to trying again once it's in season here!

ahhhh Saturday

We had a perfect perfect day.  One of those days where there are no regrets.  Lovely.   After a stop at Cabela's to use mama's birthday gift card (hiking shoes!) we got lost for a long while and ended up at a nice (yet unplanned) hiking spot.  We had planned on going hiking but our original destination was lost to us.  We hiked for a good hour ...

Lucy was looking cute and ready to hike!

she got a bear whistle (she has a new "fear" of making bears mad)

a lot of our hike was spent like this ... looking for bugs and stuff

she liked the freedom of being able to run ahead

had her face painted first

she thought the moss was gross and was trying to scrape it off the path

Lucy collected acorns and hid them under leaves for the squirrels to find

rolled down the hills

thought the sun behind the clouds was so pretty

We came home from our hike, and lucy slept for an hour.  I cooked some Facebook Black Bean Stone Soup (that would be soup I started making, and then after Facebook friend advice, I continued to add ingrediants until it was done).  While the soup stewed in it's own juices Lucy and I went for another hike.  We returned and ate a bowl, it was so yummy and Lucy ate the whole bowl!  Our New Year's resolution is really paying off. 

she's a dancing queen

On Wednesday morning I turned on some Gypsy Kings, sat down at the computer and when I looked up I saw a beautiful sight.  Lucy was being moved by the music.  It was like she was in a trance.  I was so glad my camera was right there.  She's so intense in everything she does. 

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spring Fever (or reason 996 to get a dog)

Poor Lucy has been suffering (sort of) with a fever and a cough for 2 days now.  Not how I planned on spending our time off together.  She'll have her first sick kid dr visit since last year.  Anyways if you don't have a dog and you are  on the fence about it let me present reason 996 ...

when your kid is sick

and mama needs a snuggle break

the dog has your back