sweet nothings

Spring Break Day 1

We had breakfast at Ronnie Mac's (Nora's choice). Maddie's 3rd breakdown of the morning by not wanting to share her sausage biscuit with Nora. 

After a quick rinse at the carwash...

We then went to Joann's where we picked up a treat for the girls (craft for nora. plastic dogs for maddie). We also bought two pieces of Star Wars fabric that Miss Mads picked out.

(not pictured are the small dog toys she got at jo's. instead she has an empty clinique makeup case)

 

A quick stop into Garden Ridge...was looking for a pretty outdoor rug bug instead found the makings for funnel cakes. yes please!

A stop at a few thrift stores with no finds. A stop at the quilt shop and Hancock fabrics (another piece of star wars fabric)...then it was time for lunch at Chili's (girls picked it because they wanted a chocolate shake). Home for a nap...then back out again for Hobby Lobby (craft supplies) and World Market (rug for front porch). A little time on the swingset, bathtime...then we had spaghetti for dinner and then a little tv time. 

We were all asleep by midnight.

The girls and I have big plans for crafting tomorrow! Can't wait!

until next time...

S

 

Pregnancy book.

I found one of these on pinterest. Then later found the blog where it came from and after I had already started working on mine...she started selling the template. But I figured instead of restarting I'd just continue on my way. If you are interested you can go HERE and purchase the template. It's really adorable!

I started mine on week 5.5...I'm up to week 16. I'll post the lastest weeks as we go along! But for now enjoy! After the pregnancy is complete I'll have it printed in a tidy little book! 

So that's it for now.

until next time...S

 

It's Wednesday...

Around here we are stuffed up or as Mads says...stopped out. We are sneezy and snotty and just don't feel well. It's mainly maddie and I...the stuff blowing around is not on Nora's allergy radar so she's doing great! Rain is in the forecast so I'm praying that the rain will wash away some of the yuck in the air and on the cars and in the trees!

We made a stop at the pharmacy today and I was so limited on what I could buy to take...got to be careful of the peanut! I'm hoping I get a good night's sleep tonight! Something in this arsonal has to work!

We are right around 16 weeks...Took a little belly shot yesterday and thought I'd share. I'm a little late starting this tradition, but the first trimester seemed a little unsure so I didn't do any pics! So here it is...

And yes I'm sporting my favorite pregnancy shirt from my pregnancy with Mads...

Anyway...oh yes. The blog looks a bit different right now. The format is from our old family blog. There will be lots more changes to come within the next couple of weeks. This is post number 497...post 500 will have a special announcement and no it won't be the announcement of what gender peanut is! Although we will hopefully find out next Wednesday.

Until next time...S

 

 

The Michals family is growing...by a peanut!

It's official...Baby #3 aka Peanut is due to arrive in August!

In mid December I found out I was pregnant. The week of Christmas I had blood drawn and the numbers were very low. For some reason they asked me to come back the next day to repeat the blood draw which was only about 24 hours later. (HCG levels should double every 48-72 hours) Anyway, the results weren't much better and had only increased by a few. I was told by the nurse/midwife who I was seeing at the time that I should prepare for a miscarriage and then went on to give me details of what to expect. She then said that if nothing happened over Christmas (we were leaving town for about a week) to call after we got back to town.

I kept this all to myself. I didn't want to upset Tim or to have hushed conversations in front of the girls and honestly I didn't want to upset everybody at Christmas. Probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had but it made sense at the time. Over Christmas I prepared myself for what was to come...a miscarriage. I've had a tubal/ectopic pregnancy before but not a miscarriage and that ectopic was horrific. The anticipation was not fun. Knowing what was to come...very sad. I enjoyed Christmas with my family. The knowledge of how blessed I am kept me sane! And in my mind/heart I knew that my sweet unborn baby would go to Heaven to be with my mom...which gave me peace. 

Over the week leading up to Christmas and the week following I continued to expect to start bleeding or cramping...but nothing happened and quite the opposite did...I began to feel more and more pregnant. We came back home on Thursday after Christmas so I went in on Friday for another blood draw. I wanted to know what was going on. I told Tim over the weekend and so we waited for the Tuesday after New Year's to hear the results. He and I laughed and cried. I think he was literally in shock. I'm thinking it was probably a good idea he didn't know over Christmas because all weekend he was in an odd state of shock. The call was funny and the phone nurse said "you are Definitely pregnant and we need to schedule your first appointment" wow...after that i was pretty much in shock. how do you go from "you will probably miscarry" to "let's schedule your first appt" it's not easy to adjust to that.

Fast forward 2 more weeks...first appointment and sonogram. I saw that precious little "thing" and heard a beautiful heartbeat going 169 beats a minute. Estimated due date August 24th. That night I prepared a note "from baby" to big sisters and put it in a box with the sono picture and a pair of little white baby booties.

We shared the good news with Nora and Madelynn...Nora was really excited and Mads had no clue! It was funny! 

Fast forward two more weeks and I started having light pink spotting with awful cramps. Saw a doctor in the practice...she did a sono and said everything looked fine. If it got worse we'd go from there. That was a Wednesday.

On Saturday Feb 4th I was walking into Hobby Lobby with Nora to purchase a child's art kit for a birthday party Nora was attending that afternoon. As we walked in I felt a gush that just didn't feel normal at all. We went to the restroom and I was bleeding A LOT. I had Nora grab an art kit, we checked out and headed for the car. I explained to Nora that something was wrong and I wanted her to understand because I was going to call the doctor and I didn't want her to be scared by what was said. The on-call doctor called within a minute of me leaving my voicemail. She suggested I head to the ER.

I took Nora home and changed clothes. I told Tim to take the girls to the party (instead of going to the ER) and I'd be fine going to the ER on my own. The on-call dr had called ahead so they took me back very quickly. I had a pelvic exam, blood work and a sonogram. As the sonographer was leaving my room, Tim got there to sit with me. Our friends Emily and Nathan had picked up our girls and taken the girls home with them. It was nice to have Tim with me! Although I will say this...everyone at the ER was awesome and super friendly and attentive...but I was reading the first Hunger Games book and it was honestly quite nice to have some quiet time to read! :D 

The results...threatened miscarriage. In other words a possible tear between the sac and uterus. Go home and rest. Call your dr on Monday.

To be perfectly honest with you...at this point I really didn't know what to think about my pregnancy anymore. I had gone from shock to hopeful to miscarriage preparation to joy and shock of pregnancy excitement to pure fear ...an absolute emotional roller coaster. I was beginning to not know how to feel or what to expect. But after three sonograms I had seen a precious baby jumping around with an amazingly strong heartbeat. But that day leaving the ER I realized that I could only be cautiously optimistic and truly I just wanted to be excited!

I rested all weekend. Tim was wonderful. The girls were excellent! On Monday I called the doctor...I requested an appointment with the doctor that had been on call. I mentioned in this POST about my OB/GYN dying. I saw the nurse/midwife after him because we didn't think we'd have anymore babies. But after the messed up "you are going to miscarry" situation with the nurse/midwife then having the next doctor that had no softness and was too brisk for me...I felt like I needed something more from the person who I'll be spending time with over the next 6 months and who would deliver my baby. I liked the way the on-call doctor spoke to me. I decided to take a chance with her and it was a great chance! She was wonderful.

She did a pelvic and said the cervix is all closed up. She listened to the heartbeat and it was beautiful! I'm seeing her again on the 28th. Dr. Auers and I will be in the delivery room together once again only this time I won't be photographing a birth but giving birth!

For Valentine's day today I went to see a perinatologist. It would seem that when you are over 35 (I'm 37) they think you are high risk for all sorts of things! So I had an NTS or nuchal translucency screening. It's a detailed sono in which they measure the baby's neck for a pad or thickness. Those results, in correlation with bloodwork, allow you to know the risk of a chomosonal problem. (i probably didn't explain that well but if you click on NTS it will take you to a website with a real explanation.) 

I loved the perinatologist. She is great. I will be seeing her over the next few months. We will do a full body scan of the baby at 17 weeks, a heart sono at 23 weeks and then a few more throughout to monitor my placenta due to placenta accreta when I had Madelynn. We want to keep track and hopefully that won't happen again or at least be prepared if it does.

Dr. Abbassi asked me if we had seen a twin in the other sonos that I have had...um no. There on the screen today was an obvious empy sac with what she called "old placenta". Without seeing my prior scans, she truly feels that I didn't have a tear when all that bleeding was going on but that I instead lost a twin. Holy crap...can you imagine us having twins? Yeesh. That actually made me feel a bit better about the bleed I had and it really made more sense than the explanations of "threatened miscarriage or tear in the uterus) Although it did make me sad to think we lost a baby.

Dr. Abbassi said the baby looks good and she even gave me an 80% guess as to the sex of the baby...but my lips are sealed. I'm taking the girls over spring break to find out what the baby is and they can share the news at that time. 

So...here we are at 12 weeks and we are beginning to finally accept this pregnancy and enjoying everything about it...you know - bloating, nausea, peeing a lot, fatigue...no those are silly things...Honestly after seeing that sweet baby today I feel absolute joy. I'm truly excited about this baby. God has surprised us and he is blessing us yet again. We are most thankful!!

It's the final installment. The final addition to our family. We don't care whether it is a boy or a girl as long as it is healthy. The girls are calling the baby "peanut". Nora loves when I find the heartbeat with the doppler. Maddie prays for "peanut butter" when she says her prayers each night.

A slight downfall is that the due date is the Friday before Nora returns to school. So I'm pretty certain we'll have the baby a week in advance...so mid to late August.

We've had a rocky start and a scary start to this pregnancy. We are praying for a healthy mama and a healthy baby. I hope you will add us to your prayers! I look forward to sharing our journey over the next 6 months with you!

until next time...
S 

 

 

 

December Daily 1 - 5

I started doing this in 2008. I blanked out last year and didn't finish but I'm back on this year! 

Taylor Swift with my Nora

A few months ago when the tickets went on sale, I bought Nora and I tickets to see Taylor Swift. I didn't tell Nora at the time because I figured it'd be better mentally not to have her ask about it every other day and plus I thought it'd be a fun surprise.

The week of Nora's birthday (september) we were listening to the Speak Now cd in the car and Nora said "can we please listen to something else?" I was a little surprised because she loves TS. Well, I asked her why she wanted it turned off and she said it was just she wanted to listen to something else. I asked if she could go see TS in concert would she want to do that and she said...No.

oh. wow. well. alrighty then.

Total heartbreak for me and disappointment.

So I told her that I had tickets for us to go see TS in October and would she want to go...she said "um no find somebody else. maybe you could take miss emily"

awww. ok...sniff sniff.

I said that was fine and ok no problem i'd find somebody else to take with me.

As the weeks have passed we have talked about the concert and who I might take. Two weeks before the concert Nora started listening to her TS cds a lot. Like daily. That's when I decided to go ahead and ask one more time if she wanted to go...this time she said YES!

The day of the concert we went to Justice and bought Nora a new outfit. Picked up take out to eat with Tim and Maddie and then off we went to the concert. 

IT WAS AMAZING! Taylor Swift is awesome. Her band is awesome. Her dancers are great too! The opening bands/singers were good too. It was just a great show!!

We left home at 5:30. We were at Cowboys Stadium and in our seats by 6:40.  Her face was so cute when Taylor came on stage!

Towards the end of the show Nora's excitement started to slip.

She leaned her head against me and dozed off for a couple of songs. 

She woke up for another couple of songs and then she said her tummy was hurting. Might have something to do with her eating like 2 bags of skittles.

I gave her half of an immodium and her tummy was still hurting...so by the next to last song she was flat out crying so we left. I wanted to stay for the final song Love Story but oh well. :D

We did miss all the traffic by leaving a bit early. Nora was sound asleep within two minutes of buckling into her seat.

I look forward to many more concerts! Nora and I have gone to some great shows like Cirque de Soleil OVO and Mary Poppins (totally amazing!) and the Wiggles (with my mom) and Disney on Ice...but this was the most exciting so far...I think...

anyway, I can't wait until we go to another one! Wicked (tim and i must go see that) and the Lion King are coming next year for the Dallas Summer Musicals and I'm for sure taking Nora to the Lion King. Maybe even Maddie. We'll see.

until next time...Stacey

**Don't forget to vote for me in the kitchen contest...you can vote daily! GO HERE***

 

A new kitchen...PLEASE!!! (i need your votes)

Yeah that would be totally awesome! (i'll explain shortly why i need your votes and where you can go to vote!)

See, when we bought this house a few months after we got married we didn't think we'd still be here 8 years later. We bought this 1969 house to fix it up and move on...have I ever mentioned that we moved in here in Sept '03 and had Nora Sept '04? 

Well, see this is how it went...we bought the house and since then we've gutted bathrooms, replaced the a/c, furnace, roof, windows and doors, new flooring, pool repairs, plumbing problems, tree removals, enclosing the sunporch...but we've always left the kitchen at the bottom of the list. We replaced the dishwasher and we bought a new fridge when we moved in but otherwise our microwave, oven and cook top are all original. (they are even that faded mustard yellow)

I've always kept photos of the kitchen cropped and limited when I posted because it is the most wretched little room. It still has the original linoleum floors. The original owners(we are third owners) had it wallpapered from floor to ceiling in brown paper with hummingbirds.(i might be able to wrangle a picture of those dandy hummingbirds) It was hideous! Why would you wallpaper the ceiling and into the skylight????

Anyway, my mom and I removed the wallpaper and textured the walls and ceiling. I painted the room a buttery yellow. Mom and I removed the cabinet doors and started painting the brown cabinets. Let's see...mom has been gone for 3 years and we probably started that project a year before that. The cabinet doors are still in the garage unfinished. so no cabinet doors and unfinished cabinets for 4+ years...nice.

*sigh*

I finally started working on the kitchen again and I ended up pregnant with Maddie. So once again that project went on hold. Recently after doing the floors in the living room and dining room we started discussing the kitchen. Once again refinish cabinets, new appliances, new floor, coutertops and sink...

again we just tossed ideas. and then the usual "ok we'll talk about it after the holidays."

Flipping channels on the radio station the other day, Mix 102.9 was promoting a $16,000 Viking kitchen contest. hmmm...I need a new kitchen! The deadline to enter was Sunday at midnight.

I tossed the idea around and decided that I would enter...then no I wouldn't because I didn't want everybody to see my kitchen (not that it really matters because the people closest to us have seen our kitchen and it didn't much make a difference since good times were had by all - ugly kitchen or not!).

About 9pm Sunday I set it up...made some cookie dough, stuck rollers in my hair, girls got themselves dressed (maddie wanted a roller in her hair too) and set to work to get a picture...The funny thing is that while I was trying to do a "creative" picture...I really captured what it's like when we are trying to cook dinner and back cookies. The girls are always at the kitchen table. The dog under my feet (you can't see her in the pic) a sink full of dishes, etc. It's usually very chaotic in my kitchen.

I got the girls to bed and climbed in our bed with the laptop. I kept trying to describe why I'm a real housewife in 102 words or less. I kept reading what I'd write to Tim and he'd make suggestions or laugh. I deleted it all. Finally I shut the laptop off and decided to just forget it.

Around 10:30 or 11 I opened the laptop back up and submitted my entry writing the first thing that came to mind and submitting so i couldn't change my mind.

So now the entries (there are 29) are posted on the website and it's up the listeners to vote. The top 10 will be put before a panel of staff members and the winner chosen. 

Here is where you come in...I need your votes! I do. I want those pretty shiny new appliances. I want an oven that works and isn't the size of a postage stamp. I want that stove top that has 4 working burners. 

Here is my entry...go vote! This is the direct link to me  http://www.mix1029.com/cc-common/gallery/photos.html?album_id=297140&p=18011080#/23/18011080

Copy that, paste it in an email to all your friends and ask them to vote for this crazy woman in Dallas whose blog you read! She needs a new stove! Her kids need a pretty new oven to bake their cookies and cupcakes! :D

Thank you! The winner will be announced on the 23rd. My birthday is the 25th...now wouldn't that be a super wonderful birthday gift? See, all the more reason for you to go vote! please! :D

until next time...

Stacey

 

 

 

 

Dear Mom...

1095 days or 36 months or 3 years...any way you call it...it's been a long time since I've seen you,

answered the phone to hear your voice,

called you for advice,

sat at the table and scrap booked with you,

laughed together over things nora said,

argued with you,

sang along with a cheesy song in the car,

bought craft supplies together we didn't need,

sat on the back porch having a coke and talking,

watched beaches or pretty woman,

hugged you

...so many things that I miss.

The olympics will be back around next year and you aren't here to watch with us. Seems silly that when I think of the olympics I get sad but it's not the same without you. So many things aren't the same without you.

Birthdays and holidays and first days of school, the loss of a tooth, or first words or any silly achievements... it's not the same without you.

Sometimes days or weeks can pass and I don't cry or get sad or let myself think about you because I don't want to feel that ache that absolutely painful feeling of knowing you aren't here of knowing I can't pick up the phone and hear your voice or your laugh or your stern words when I've done something wrong...

and so I block it out and just try to not think about you.

It's probably wrong to do that...but it makes it not hurt. I don't go long without thinking about you because your sweet Nora talks about you still. She picks things that are green because "that was Memee's favorite color" or she'll tell Maddie something that Memee did or said. There is a picture of you hanging in the hall next to their bathroom...Sometimes Maddie will notice it when we pass and she'll say "look it's Memee" and my heart breaks...Because I with you were here to hold her and laugh with her and read to her and teach her silly things...you'd love her so much and she would feel just like nora...you hung the moon!

I wish one day we'd all wake up and you'd be here and cancer would never have happened to our family. Because it did happen to all of us. It stole you from us and I hate it. Nora asked me the other day how old you are now...I told her that you would be 59. So young. You should be here with us.

But you're not. So we will keep on and we will talk about you and miss you and point out character traits that our kids have that they got from you and we'll tell stories and always always keep you with us...even if only in spirit.

You are so loved and so missed. j'taime encour!

 

Week of being bachelorettes...

Tim had to fly to Japan for a week so the girls and I are on our own! It's kind of exciting. Tim and I took the girls for breakfast and then headed for the airport Sunday morning.We figured it'd be easier to drop and run...Nora cried when we left. Maddie asked for quite awhile "where daddy at?"

The girls and I came home and crawled into our bed and watched Rango. Maddie took a nap and well, I did too. Yesterday afternoon I took the top off of the jeep and we hopped in...It was Maddie's first time in the jeep ever and she was pretty unsure about the wind and being so unprotected. Nora held her hand. By the time we went home yesterday evening, Maddie was singing and giggling...might have had something to do with the fact that it was dark but at least she was a bit more relaxed.

We went to see Captain America...it was good but a bit long. We had dinner at Rockfish. Got home put the girls to bed and snuggled up in my big bed with the nook and at some point completely crashed. We made it to school Monday morning...right on time. 

Monday (day 2) went pretty well. Maddie stuck to me like glue. Maddie rocked it at dance! So proud of her. She is really doing awesome especially being the youngest in the class! After school we enjoyed a nice trip to the dentist to have them check out the tooth I broke half off while eating popcorn at the movies Sunday. Super. i'll be going in on the 12th for a crown. stupid kernel.

I had to take the girls with me to orientation at Maddie's school. I was really worried they'd be a disturbance but luckily Maddie's teacher's little girl was there to help keep them occupied. We didn't get home until almost 9. Well after bedtime. It was not easy to get the girls to settle down. It was a rough night. Maddie kept waking up crying. Finally I picked her up and was bringing her to bed with me because I was afraid her crying owuld wake Nora. As soon as I picked Maddie up to bring her with me, Nora popped up and said I'm going too! They wiggled and giggled for awhile. I finally dozed off and woke to the sound of Maddie getting ice from the fridge. Seriously? It was pitch dark in the house...she's a nut. anyway. it was a miserable night of sleep with them. 

Tuesday (day 3) We managed to get out of bed after our crappy night of sleep (or no sleep). Made it to school on time. It's really weird dropping Nora off at school at 7:40. No stores are open except grocery stores, walmart or target. What are you supposed to do with that wasted time? Luckily I got online and was able to chat with Tim for a bit. He's doing good. He's tired and misses his girls. (me included :D ) probably wina too. There is a hurricane headed for Tokyo they are keeping a close eye on. Prayers would be good. 

I took Maddie to Meet the Teacher (she had the same teacher this summer at camp) but she enjoed playing with the other kids in her class. I think she's going to have a great year at pre-school. After meet the teacher I took her to adventure kids so that I could get a mani/pedi with my friend Emily...it was a much needed relaxing hour. She's good people and it was nice to visit! I picked up Maddie and she fell asleep on the way home. It was after one so I just drove around. Took a little drive down to one of the lake parks. Had the windows down and it was really nice. I was suprised there was a breeze. The lake is so low and we need rain so bad!

Maddie woke up while we were sitting in the carpool line...she cried and screamed the entire time and until we got home. I put her to bed and she sleep until after 5! Nora and I crawled on my bed while Maddie napped and watched tv. I fell asleep. Needless to say, Nora missed dance tonight. Sheesh. After Maddie woke up we went to interskate to put the deposit down on Nora's birthday party! She's so excited. A rainbow skating party and the best part...it's a private party meaning for two hours she and her friends will have the place to themselves! I better get busy with invitations and all that good stuff. The girls wanted Macaroni Grill for supper...um...they've changed their menu and not for the better. Horrible service and we usually enjoy going there. By the time we got home it was bedtime. Nora cried. Maddie just laughed and laughed. She's a nut. I read them a book but Nora went to bed mad because she was just not tired...she was alseep within 20 min. Now it's my turn...off to bed. 

I'll leave you with this...It's for Tim. They wanted me to send this to daddy for them! Little Monkeys.

until next time...S

 

A day of firsts...

Today was the first day of school for Nora. First Grade. A new school. Yikes! Up until a few days ago Nora was not excited. Truthfully you could say she was downright negative and ugly about starting school. But after the principal took her for a little tour, meet the teacher and finding out some old friends were in her class...she seemed to change her mind and attitude. You might say she got a little excited about starting school. I have tried to remain calm and upbeat about school. I've talked positive about the new school, her old friends that will be there, yada yada. Nothing I did seemed to help. But I guess Mrs Mattingly said something right.

Nora walked right into school, gave Ms Hood some flowers (yeah i'm a brown noser...thanks David :D ) put her stuff in her locker and got right to business. She pushed me to the side and whispered "you can go now" I snapped a few more pictures and left. I really just wanted to hug my baby and tell her how much I love her and that if she hates it or if somebody is mean then she can just call me to come get her...but I walked out of the room and down the hall. The pledge of allegiance was being said. At that moment it hit we were really in big school. I started to cry. Luckily our friend and neighbor (a police officer) was at the door as I was leaving. He gave me a hug and let me cry for a minute. Standing in the hall in front of the office with people looking on probably thinking I am a total whacko. I don't care. My baby started first grade today and tomorrow she'll be going to her first prom and getting her driver's license and graduating from high school and I'll still just be looking on and crying because my baby is just not a baby any more. 

I had a breakdown the other day...it just hit me really hard that Nora was starting first grade. She's turning 7 in just a few weeks. Life is changing. She's growing and changing. Exploring who she is and the world around her. It's a good thing...a wonderful thing but it ain't easy for mama!

I think mostly my breakdown had to do with my mom. She would be so absolutely proud of Nora. Nora was mom's lifeline. Her "mini me". Another kindred spirit. They were two peas in a pod. Throughout the meetings with the teacher, school nurse and principal...I just kept thinking about my mom. How she would handle the situation with Nora's peanut allergy and how the school handles it. I wish she were here to give me words of wisdom or comfort or something...it's not easy dealing with a life threatening food allergy and letting your child walk into a school for 7 hours a day in somebody else's care. It freakin' sucks.

When the principal took Nora around the school last week, I walked into the school library and had an overwelming desire to just pull a stack of books off the shelf, sit in the middle of the room, read the books, and cry. Mom would probably have called Nora the night before school and asked if she was ready...give her a pep talk and tell her what an amazing little person she is and that she would do great. Luckily my sister took on that job and gave Nora a great pep talk! 

While I know this day was hard for me because I was letting my baby go to first grade...it was even harder because I would've given anything to have dialed my mom's number and hear her voice comfort me after leaving Nora at school. I needed my mama today. Most days I'm ok. Today I needed my mama. I know there are always going to be days like this. It doesn't make it any easier. Today I needed the reminder my friend Leah gave me this morning when I told her that I missed my mom and that I wished mom was here to see Nora...she is here. She's with us in spirit. There is a little bit of her in me and for sure in my nora. My mom is with us and I know she is so proud of our sweet girl.

Maddie and I met our friends Leah and Evelyn for breakfast. The girls had a good time being silly while Leah and drowned our first day of school boo hoos in pancakes and syrup. It was a great distraction! :D

As for another first...Maddie started dance today. She has been so excited. We bought new tap and ballet shoes for her and a special new tutu that Maddie picked out at the dance store. She has been non-stop telling everybody about dance.

She did awesome! My biggest fear was the Maddie might turn shy and be a bit timid in a new environment with new friends. But she got right in there and participated with the other girls. She is the youngest of the group but other than the paci in her mouth you couldn't tell. She even showed Nora tonight what she learned at dance. She also proudly told Tim when asked what she did today " i went to dance"

I did try to take the paci away before class started...but as you can see that didn't go over real well. she came out of the class dug in my purse and said i need my paci. she got it and went right back into class. super.

So that's it...a great day. We met some friends for ice cream and barnes and noble after school. That was so fun! I asked Nora about her day when she got in the car this afternoon. She seemed excited and had a lot to tell. She said that lunch was just ok. She doesn't like having to sit at a special peanut free table. She thinks it is stupid to go outside for recess when it is this hot because she sweats and it messes up her hair. PE is the dumbest thing she's ever had to do. She said that first grade is just ok. I asked her to describe her day in one word. She said "Fine Fantastic...well sort of". Hopefully tomorrow will be a great fantastic day!  She goes back to dance tomorrow night and here's hoping musical theater is exactly what she hopes it'll be!

until next time...S