Today was a big day around here. Someone went to her first day of preschool today.
I made/embellished a cute first day of school outfit for her to wear. I think the pants came out adorable! The shirt... well, not my best work. One yo-yo fell off at school and Gigi proceeded to peel off the other two at home. Nice. Heat-n-bond Ultra: you are not my best friend today. Oh well, she looked cute in it this morning at least!
Drop off was pretty painless. She was super excited and already loves her teacher, Ms. Molly. No separation anxiety for this little one. She is, after all, an experienced Sunday School and CBS-goer.
Instead? Yep, I was the mom with the first-timer crying at pick-up. You guessed it, she was wondering why I hadn't packed her a lunch to eat there, because she wanted to stay longer.
And what about me? My first baby, gone from me for six hours a week... the first thought that comes to mind is... phew. I get a break. {Of course, visions of blogging and writing and reading and sewing were immediately squashed by the reality of laundry, dishes, baby-feeding, yogurt-straining and bread-making, but hey, productive day it was. Hopefully once we get into a routine, I will get a little bit of me-time squeezed in there.}
But to be honest, I did feel a bit emotional on the drive home.
If you think about it, that little 3-year old is currently the person I spend most of my waking hours with (especially since she rarely naps). So for as much discipline, consequences, and the word "no" I deal with on a regular basis, she's still my buddy. At three, she can carry on an impressive amount of conversation, so it was sure quiet with just Brody and me in the house.
The emotional moment didn't last long though. I'm so excited for this opportunity for her. Her school is amazing. Let me just say that her teacher came to our house last week and brought a craft to do with Gigi, and she sends us a note and photos through a website each day so we can see what they actually did at school, including dialogue snippets, which I love.
This school is pretty much everything I could imagine and more. Even the design of the classrooms is beautiful and exactly how I would love to decorate a playroom if we ever have one.
My prayer is that preschool helps to bring out more of who my sweet daughter is on the inside, and teach her more about God's love for her.
So yeah, it was a big day.
In other news, I wanted to tell you about something cool I've joined up with (for those of you not following along on facebook). I've linked up with Michelle at So, I married a Mennonite to get some accountability for the mornings. She's having us all go through Kat from Inspired to Action's (free) eBook Maximize Your Mornings, which is a great, practical tool for getting inspired and practically sticking to it.
I am totally a morning person. I thrive in the early hours when I'm up by myself, and love to feel prepared before the kids awake.
But this venture will hopefully help me to be more disciplined, motivated and productive in that time. I tend to be a bit of a time waster, and I would really love to grow in this area.
She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27
Also {I know, this is getting long!}...
My hubby and I are in the middle of a no/low spend month! It's going pretty well so far. Basically, we are shaving off of our budget wherever we can and avoiding any frivolous or unnecessary purchases. It's challenging but hopefully we'll come out of with a few hundred in our emergency fund (since we just had to get new tires- ouch) and a bit more disciplined.
We still have $9000 to come up with for our adoption fees, and to be honest, I have no idea where it's coming from. I'm hoping that as we aim to be as disciplined as possible with our money, we'll be able to recognize God blessing us with His provision.
Here are a few of our tactics and goals:
- We stocked up on a few things at Costco in July, which helps.
- I'm cooking much more from scratch these days.
- I'm menu-planning, about 2 weeks at a time.
- Hubby is ElliptiGO-ing to work more often (that is the bike his company makes).
- We are only dining out with family or friends if it comes up (no last-minute, there's-nothing-for-dinner restaurant trips).
- Absolutely no buying personal care products, kitchen/household items, or anything else unnecessary.
Thanks for putting up with what should have been three posts all in one. :) And thanks for reading, period!