Catching up!

Here is Paige blowing out her candles right before the Jo Bros concert. We had to HURRY, so the celebration was held in my bedroom while I was getting ready :) ***Note, on my door are some leftover Christmas cards! Paige dared me that I wouldn't keep them up all year long. Many have fallen and taken place in my card holders, but these are what are left. I think I am going to win the bet :)***

Here is Olivia and Paige before the concert. We really had to hurry so we just went to Chili's for dinner. These two ordered "Beer"...root, that is! We are going to have to watch these two. They are FULL of themselves!

Cuties!

This is Paige and her sweet little friend ( more like a little sister ), Avery. These two are taking a hip hop class downtown. Their instructor has worked with so many talented dancers. Yesterday, he had them doing spins and break dancing. Should be fun :)

Sweethearts! LOVE them!

Man, oh man, has God ever blessed me with this sweet child!!! Through the good times and the bad, I am BLESSED beyond measure to have her! I am so glad we never give up on each other.

Have a GREAT week!!!

Before I forget

No pics tonight, but I had to write some things that happened last night that I never want to forget. We went to see the Jonas Brothers. It was Paige's first concert and she had no idea what to expect. Once they came out, she and her bestie kept screaming, "We love you, Nick". Too cute. Then one of the Jo Bros (not sure which) played a song about having type 1 diabetes...it was fairly quiet and no one was screaming...all of the sudden Paige and Olivia scream out, in unison, "Stay Strong, Nick!!!" Olivia's mom is my dear friend and went with us and nudged me and we had to turn our heads so we wouldn't laugh. OH.THE.DRAMA! :)

During the performance, the Jo Bros played "Brown Eyed Girl". That was my dad and Paige's song. When she was little, he would pick her up and dance with her and sing that song. That song was played during his funeral in honor of their special relationship. Once the song started playing, Olivia said, "Oh, Paige your dad is wishing you a Happy Birthday". Paige's face dropped into her hands and she began sobbing uncontrollably. I grabbed her and put her on my lap and hugged and loved on her. She put her head on my shoulder and as tears streamed down her face she said that she missed her dada. It was such an emotional moment. While it was tough for her she later said, "Dada shows up in the most crazy places. He is so silly" and had the biggest smile on her face. I agree, he shows up all the time, when we are least expecting it.

Happy Birthday, Paige!!!

Today you turn 11 years old! I can hardly believe it! I hope you have a super, special day and you are loved on and spoiled in every single way possible. I am proud of what a sweet little girl you are. I cannot wait to take you to your first concert tonight!!! We are going to have a blast. I know you are a big girl now, but please, if no one is looking, will you still let me hold your hand when we walk across a parking lot???!!? I love you to the moon and back, Sporty Spice! Here's hoping your 11th year is your best one yet!
XOXO,

Sissy

Randomness!!!

Paige has had some exciting things happen to her this week:

• She was chosen as one of 10 kids in the 5th grade to be safety patrol for her school. This is what all the fifth graders strive for, as they get to be "the boss" and tell the "little kids" to stay behind the yellow line and help them to their car in the car rider line. The principal called them down to the cafeteria and told them that they were "The Best of the Best" and this was a huge honor. I would be tickled "pink", however, she is tickled "blue".
• She was FINALLY moved up to the intermediate hip hop dance class. This was a HUGE deal to her. She has really stepped it up and is so excited. She was also told that she would be in the Hip Hop Company for her studio this year. WAA HOOOOO!
• Every Saturday, we will be heading downtown Nashville to a Hip Hop class taught by one of THE most amazing choreographers. He is absolutely.amazing.and.POSITIVE! He choreographed numbers for NSYNC and Backstreet Boys just to name a few.

Paige is also going to begin basketball this winter and is soooo excited. She has a lot on her little plate, but she asks to do it all. If her grades ever started slipping or she seemed overwhelmed, we'd cut way back. I truly believe in letting kids be kids, however, I think idle time (at least for our little Asian Love, is not productive). We like to stay busy and ON.THE.GO!!!

As for me, I've had a very busy back to school week. I have a classroom FULL of first graders. We are over maximum capacity and are waiting to see if we will be getting a new teacher. I had several parent requests and when those were filled, it put me over the limit, while the other teachers don't have as many. I am really not complaining on my end, I just don't think it is fair for the students. With that many little ones in a very small classroom, they won't get as much of my undivided attention as usual. As always, we'll make due and have a good time doing it.

I wish I were a stay-at-home sissy/mom. I know that SAHM's work SOOOO hard and am not saying that it would be just lazy days of sitting around eating bonbons and watching TV, but I miss so much by working. I don't get to be there in the a.m. when Paige gets up. I can't go and have lunch with her or do much volunteering in her classroom. I NEVER get to pick her up from school and feed her an afternoon snack. I don't get to run carpool for dance. Sometimes, I feel so disconnected with her during the school year. She's our one and only and I don't ever, EVER want her to say that I didn't spend enough quality time with her...particularly during these formative years.

My photography business is really starting to take off and I could easily quit teaching in the Metropolitan school district and move to our little suburban area and teach. I would make up the loss of income through my photography business. I am really going to spend this year in prayer and self reflection and see what exactly I need to do for me and my little family who mean the WORLD to me.

Sorry for being so scattered and all over the place, but I love my little blog. It's my diary and my weekly "therapy session".

Tuesday is a special day and I'll post about it this week!

Our week

We've had a busy, but nice first week back to school. I feel like I am on a rollercoaster and won't be able to get off until Christmas break. Lots of great things going on in our lives. I hope to be able to keep up with the blog...I am going to try hard to keep documenting our lives for Paige.
Paige had her first scare at school last week. She brought home the wrong workbook for homework and had a meltdown once she discovered it wasn't the right book. Her teacher is very big on students being independent (I am, too). Fortunately, my mom was able to get her to school early the next day and she completed the page before school. I keep telling Paige that it is alright to make mistakes. She can be so tough on herself. I often say we don't ever really have to punish her, because she is so hard on herself. I hope that she will be able to breathe a little and not take things so seriously in the future. This is something we have to work on. I hope everyone has a great week!

Luncheon for Laurie

We had a luncheon last Sat. for my future sister-in-law, Laurie. It was a lovely day, albeit HOT! It was held at the most quaint bed and breakfast. The mimosas were flowing, along with lots of laughter. Pictured below are: Melissa (Laurie's sister), Laurie (the bride-to-be), me and Paige.

The menu was a great mix of fresh salads...chicken, waldorf and pasta. Yummo!!!!!


This pic is one of my favs. The beautiful ladies pictured below are my brother's high school girlfriends and his future bride. These girls were like part of the family and we love them dearly. I am so glad that they were able to come and meet Laurie. I think they all hit it off. All three are such great girls! My lil' bro has good taste :) Pictured below are: Stephanie, Laurie and Andrea.

My mom and Laurie...sweet!

The beautiful hostess after the party was over. She makes me smile... (she has mints stored in both cheeks in this pic)




The wedding is Sept. 12th and it is going to be a grand event. The rehearsal dinner has 130 guests in attendance. The wedding itself is running close to 500 people. It will be SO MUCH FUN!

Highlights from the week...

Our week has turned out to be wonderful...Praise GOD!!! Paige loves her teacher, adores her friends and is excited to begin this big year :)
I start back to school next Monday. I was offered another position last year, but have ultimately decided to stay in the classroom. I just don't want to be without the kids. I can't believe it is alreay here. I have inservice Monday-Thursday and then have a 1/2 day with the babies on Friday. This time of year brings so much excitement. I can't wait to see the kids with their bookbags and their school supplies...awww!

Tomorrow we are hosting a tea for my soon to be sister-in-law at this adorable little bed and breakfast. There is going to be a fairly large turn out, so we will be busy.

I am doing two photoshoots on Sunday! I will be busy, but it should be lots of fun. I am loving having a little photog business. I get to enjoy my creative side and make a little money on the side. It's perfect :)

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying what's rest of the summer!

Next week, I'll upload some pics of my big 5th grader! She looks so big to me now!

A successful first day!

I am happy to report that Paige had a great first day back to school. What a relief it is to know that this first, last day, of elementary is behind us (did that make any sense?) :)

It is so bittersweet to think that Paige, our baby, is really not so much a baby anymore. I took her school shopping yesterday and naturally reached over to grab her hand as we walked to the store. For a brief moment, she held onto my hand, like old times. Quickly, she realized it wasn't "cool" and dropped my hand. My heart sank, not because I don't think she secretly would still love to hold my hand, but because she is at the age where it isn't the cool thing to do. Sigh...

I would be lying if I said I am not having a hard time with this transition... My mom is taking it in stride...keeps saying, "It's part of life, Missy!" I know it's a part of life, but it makes me sad. So tonight, as she is sleeping soundly in her room, I am writing this post with crocodile tears streaming down my face.

Proud, doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about my little sister.

Another chapter is about to begin and I need to pull my sappy self together and enjoy this new beginning...

Highs and lows...taking it in stride!

Well, I officially have a FIFTH GRADER in our home! I cannot believe it.

Today, Paige woke up before any of our alarms. She was soooo cute. She had picked out her hiphop cargo shorts, a cute purple Gap Tshirt, put her own hair up in a ponytail and picked out matching ribbon and brushed her teeth without me having to ask~!

She was so excited to see who her teacher was. We prayed last night that she would get whoever she was meant to have (however, she secretly wanted a particular teacher). To our excitement, she got the teacher that she desired AND her class is stacked with SUPER SMART, outgoing, well rounded kids from excellent families! YAY! She WAS so happy...was, being the key word.

After she got home, we decided to spend one of our last summer days together at the pool. Upon arriving, she saw so many of her "besties" and they all did their group hug and giggled and took off to play.

I perched on a lounge chair, opened my book and proceeded to read and get some sun.

Within five minutes of my arrival, two mamas sought me out. They walked up and with a "oh I feel so sorry for you" face, said, "Paige is a great kid and is smart and will get through this year and it'll be ok". Ummmm, yes to all of the above statements, I thought. I proceed to tell these moms how excited P was to have a very structured teacher and loves a challenge and thrives in that kind of environment.

One of the moms, who is really a great friend (this is why I am so baffled), kept on and on. "Oh, the homework, oh the projects, oh the torture of this fifth grade year, blah blah blah" ... now sounding very much like Charlie Brown's teacher.

Finally, I just said, "Paige is happy! Until this teacher gives us a reason to be unhappy, we are going to continue to be excited". End of story.

I have a hard time with preconceived notions and why people want to discuss the doom and gloom. It is the one thing about being an educator that bothers me. It is a proven that children learn in different ways. Just because my friend's son had this teacher and didn't do well, doesn't mean that is going to be the case with Paige.

Am I so naive to think that this year isn't going to be academically challenging? Absolutely not. Am I happy that my girl is excited? You betcha.

I am on a positivity kick and I kept finding myself all day long saying, "It will be JUST FINE". The phrase caught on and as I was leaving the pool, many of the moms were saying "It will be JUST FINE".

I am proud of my girl and how positive she is about having a "tough" teacher. I am proud that she is not going to listen to people to decide who she is going to like and not going to like. I know that this year is going to be JUST FINE! I mean, seriously, it IS just fifth grade!

How was your day? :)