First Day, Picture Day, Birthday!

The kids as we were getting ready to go. There's always time for a photo op!

I dropped Austyn off at preschool less than an hour ago, and I already miss the little guy! I was a mess this morning and to tell you the truth, I still am! I'm excited for us, but I'm also sad. Most of all, I am nervous. I know what its like when you are in a new place and you have to meet all of these new people. It can be intimidating for me, even at 26 years old, so I can't even begin to imagine what its like for him. Its just Ryleigh and I here at the house for the next few hours. It is SOOOO quiet. She's playing with her see and say toy and the only thing I hear is "Old MacDonald" playing. lol. This will be great for the two of us to have some one on one time, and I think she will enjoy it. I will volunteer in Austyn's class every other week, and on the off weeks, I'll volunteer in Taylor's class. I can't wait to pick him up and see how wonderful his day went. It stinks that we have no family around to experience such a big day with us. I would love for my mom to be able to see off the kids on their first days of school...with me, of course. But sadly, all we will ever be able to share with any of our family members is just a bunch of pictures and stories. I'll admit that I'm a little envious when someone's grandma shows up with their mom at school, just to see how their day went. Oh well. Enough about what I wish I had, its not about that...its about what I DO have. And what I do have is three totally awesome, wonderful kids that I love more than anything in this entire universe.
Austyn picked out his clothes that he would wear today. I loved it. Taylor also picked out what he would wear today because its picture day for him! I can't wait to see his school pictures in a few weeks. I absolutely loved his picture last year. At school this morning, Austyn seemed a little overwhelmed. I think it was just the big rush, all of the kids and all of the emotions he was feeling. He closed up a little and became a little more reserved which is so not like him. I think he's about warmed up by now though! We found his cubby and hung his bag up, and then he found his name tag necklace which was a huge score for him. He put it on and was just cheesing away. He didn't want to sit at the circle at first, but after telling him that's what his teacher wanted them to do, he settled near the edge. I gave him a final hug and kiss and told him to have a good day and that I would be back to get him in a little bit. He was okay with that, so Ryleigh and I left. I'll admit, I'm not one of those moms who cries over milestones or first days of school. Its not that they aren't important or meaningful, I just never saw the need to cry. Well, 'not seeing the need to cry' doesn't really matter anymore. I didn't cry, but I did get all teary-eyed, and we had to walk away fast before the storm came. Its a little daunting to realize that 2 out of my 3 children are now in school. Time flies.

Austyn was so excited that he had to run ahead! He couldn't wait to get to class!

Name tag heaven!

Sitting at the circle!

Austyn and I this morning! He loves me!

Taylor and I this morning! He loves me too, he just is too cool to REALLY show it! lol

The BIG preschooler, ready to get going!

The BIG 2nd grader, practicing his smile for picture day!

Ryleigh, at home with Mom for a couple more years!
Happy Birthday to Me!

Last, but not least, yesterday, I turned 26! Scary, I know. lol. I want to say thank you to everyone that called, sent emails, left messages and sent cards. I appreciate all of the birthday wishes and thank you for thinking of me on the day that I officially turn a year older. lol.Aside from a pounding headache that refused to go away, I had a wonderful day! Mark cooked up a delicious breakfast of french toast (YUM), eggs, hash browns and bacon (double yum). After breakfast he had Ryleigh bring out my gift. It was tiny little golden package with a bow. I opened it up, and again with the crying. Does it come with age or what? I swear. lol. What I saw, took my breath away, blew me away and made me cry. Gosh Mark, way to go! =0) my gift was a new wedding ring set. The ring I currently have is just a solitaire ring with no band, and we never did get around to buying a band for Mark. So, when I say I was happy to see that he bought HIMSELF a ring for my birthday, it may sound funny, but its what I've wanted for a long time now. I'm not a materialistic person by any means, or name brands for that matter. I'm happy buying clothing at Target and shoes at Payless. I would be okay with a cubic zirconia. Seriously. Things like that are not important to me, so for myself it is 100% true that money does not buy happiness. So, when I get a gift such as my gift yesterday, I was extremely thankful. We now officially have a set of rings that match and are our very own. I was given a solitaire for my birthday and a band for our 5 year anniversary and Mark's band matches the one he bought for me. We took them in to have them sized, so we'll have them back in about a week or so. After we did that, we went out to dinner. We hit the drive-thru at Jack in the Box. Don't laugh. It's not funny. No, Mark wasn't being a jerk. It's actually what I really wanted. Just two monster tacos and a soda. I told you, I'm simple. Is that proof enough? LOL. Oh yeah, and we had ice cream cake for dessert....the night before my birthday! lol. It was yummy and we will be having lots more because there's still a whole cake to eat. We completely forgot to eat cake last night! OOPS! Anyway, here is a picture of our rings.