Tuesday, September 4, 2012

first day of school

I am finally blogging about our first day of school!

i packed our bags the night before and had them laid out and ready to go!  
for a mom who hasn't been to "work" in 4 years i thought this was very necessary!
i will also say we were ready by 7:38am and i didn't need to leave for work until 8:15!!

Natalie's first day of Pre-K!  
she was beyond excited and has been enjoying every single day!!  
on saturday while we were just lounging around she suddenly said 
"mom we gotta get a move on, we don't want to miss school!"

little brother need a picture to!
especially since this was going to be his first day at daycare!
he didn't even notice the first day when i walked out the door!
since then he has cried and screamed but always stopped within minutes of me walking out the door!

it was a big day for me as well!  so as much as i don't enjoy being in the photos i had to document my first day of school as well!
it was a good first day and a successful first week!  
i am fully enjoying the job and slowly learning how to manage my time!
i am also 21 weeks in the picture! this pregnancy is flying by!


and of course i forced daddy to be in the picture as well! :)



Sunday, August 26, 2012

1st day of school...

the outfits are picked out
the bags are packed
lunches are made

tomorrow is my first day as a preschool teacher 
my daughter's first day of Pre-K
my son's first day of daycare

i am full of all sorts of emotions
excitement
scared 
nervous
happy

being preggers doesn't help
i am an emotional mess!!! 

now its time to go to bed because i will actually set an alarm for the first time in 4 years!
i will get up, shower, do my hair, and even put make-up on...
trust me those things didnt usually happen in these past 4 years! :)



Thursday, August 23, 2012

an ending, a beginning

where to begin...
last week was sad
i mean i dreaded the end of each day 
because each day was the official last day of a child
it was heart breaking!
all day long i would convince myself that i wouldn't cry
and then that time would come and the tears came 
and when the family walked out my door i couldn't stop myself
it was a sad week! 
i can't thank my families enough for loving me, my children, my home, and my daycare
i loved them all!!  
they will all hold a special place in my heart forever!
they have all played a special part in my life and for that i will never forget them

this week has been a bit crazy, new, exciting, and scary!
i have restless sleep after dreaming all night of old co-workers 
telling me i can't do it, im not good enough
even in a dream it makes you question yourself!
can i do this, am i cut out for this, will i be good enough?
ugh!
i feel like my list of things to get done before monday is never ending
everytime i turn around there is something else i missed
i get a little stressed and a little tired
and then i take a few minutes to just cry and get it out!
 and then i feel better!
i am working with some amazing women
with amazing rooms and ideas
and im excited to see what God has planned for me
in this new position
and even though i am stressed, tried, and a little emotional 
i know that great things are going to happen!

I will hopefully take some pictures this weekend of the room
to share with all of my readers...
i haven't disappeared yet :)

and i am leaving you with this little "thing" one of my parents wrote me
and im trying to remember it daily when i am struggling...

 Wonderful Christian mom!
 Educational activities 
'
 Loving on our kids
aLways genuine and honest

 Meals that are kid friendly and fun
gIfted! God has blessed you with an amazing talent
 Structured and firm
 Special projects :)

 You get what you get and you don't throw a fit
 Organized
 Understanding and flexible

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Sometimes and Always

linking up with the adorable preggers
on her sometimes and always link up!

Sometimes: i lay in bed until the last second possible
Always: i wish i could lay in bed for a few minutes longer, this baby makes me tired!

Sometimes: i worry about getting out the door on time when i start my new job
Always: i hate being late, so i know i will get to work on time!

Sometimes: my Eli hugs the daycare families when they drop off and pick up
Always: i think my daycare families are really going to miss his hugs, even when he leaves drool and boogers behind!

Sometimes: i get horrible headaches
Always: drinking soda pop makes it better! hello, my name is jill and i am addicted to caffeine 

Sometimes: i get really overwhelmed by taking on a new job
Always: God comforts me, and reminds me this was a good decision!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

bitter sweet

8 days
until i am done with this part of my life!

i have been an emotional rollercoaster 
(being preggers doesn't help)

one day im thinking, oh it can't come soon enough!
the next day im bawling because im not one for change!

im sad to see "my babies" go 
but im excited to start something new

but it feels weird and not normal
and soon i know the weird will turn into normal
and normal will turn into great memories!

but im also excited to share that an amazing woman will be taking over a majority of my kids
and if you enjoyed following me you will LOVE to follow her (and the kids)
and all the fun they will be having at Pepper Ridge Daycare
you can check her out HERE!!!

i am sooooo excited to be able to follow her daycare journey, 
and keep an eye on those amazing, naughty, funny, food throwing, silly, back talking, cute kids!!
i know i have truly enjoyed everyone of them 
(trust me we have all had our days as well!)

still don't know what will happen to this here blog but the wheels are spinning
and hopefully i can continue on with blogging about 
babies, toddlers, and preschoolers!!  

finally i leave you with 2 photos
my natalie and her favorite daycare baby (and only baby) wearing matching outfits!!  
you will see LOTS of this baby at Pepper Ridge Daycare Blog since this is the daycare providers baby!!

and a pile of cicada shells!  
the kids will spend all morning looking for these things, collect them in a bucket, and then count them!
YUCKO!
but at least they are enjoying themselves!
--there were abou a dozen that blew away before i took this picture, my kids are expert cicada shell finders!--



Tuesday, July 31, 2012

fish

we did something crafty today!!
it just doesn't happen very often anymore :(
but the kids were being weird and driving each other nuts
which means i was going a little nuts
and since i had everything ready to go...
we got busy.

have i mentioned before that i am OBSESSED with colored glue!  
now don't go out and try find and then buy colored glue just add a little paint to your white glue bottles
or a little food coloring..both work!  i add paint!  and it just makes gluing that much more fun! 
especially if you don't care if you can see the glue because it won't dry clear! 

i have also discovered my love for paint chips!
hello its FREE!!!!  
and i just had my neighbor girl bunch 100s of holes for me and tada...
you get beautiful colored paper!! 
we have done this before with crosses and eggs and made an easter wreath HERE

i am also obsessed with this little man!  
he is really starting to LOVE his art! 
although he freaked out when his hands were full of glue and dots were stuck to that!
i laughed!

oh and i am also obsessed with this dude!  
he don't like a mess 
so once his hands are dirty he is DONE!
-- i am NOT obsessed with the diaster on the counter! who lives like that...ugh!! --

i have also started this bad habit that i make the kdis say weird and probably inappropriate things when they take a picture!
like this picture they are "boogers" 
really jill...somedays!

and in this picture they are saying "fish guts!" because that would be even more appropriate! 
but thats how i roll i guess! :)
i also can NOT spell the word appropriate if i get interrupted so i have had to use spell check a lot!

lots of creative children at this house!
here we have the rainbow fish!

here is the blue gill, and since he really didn't want to be finished gluing blues and greens on, he said
"well i have seen blue gills with colored spots so i think i will add some colorful dots!"
kids are their silly ways!

and lots of other creative, fun fishes!!

what have you made with paint chips and glue?!?

Thursday, July 26, 2012

special guest...

today it wasn't 100 degrees by 9am!
so we actually walked to the park
and enjoyed the cooler weather!

then my phone rang and i instantly felt HORRIBLE!
i totally forgot that we were going to have a special
friend come visit at 10am and it was 10:13...
thankfully there were running late, 
so we quickly headed home,
i didn't want the kids to miss out on our special guest!

when we arrived i sent the kids to the back yard
laid the sweet baby down for her morning nap!

and headed outdoors
all photos but 2 are taken by my 21month old, Eli!
the kid LOVES the camera and thankfully he actually took some good pictures
he may have taken a pic of the same thing 37 times but 
lets cut him some slack he is only 21 months old! :)

our special guest was actually a "grandma" one of my daycare moms, her 3 beautiful children
AND....
COCO!!  the bunny (not the dirty child/photographer)

"grandma" (not our grandma but the grandma of some of my daycare kiddos)
taught us soooo much about bunnies!!!  

we learned that bunnies ears are not only for hearing but for staying cool!
that a bunnies nose is always twitching, which is ADORABLE!!

we also learned that bunny teeth never stop growing!  isn't that crazy!!

we learned that when a bunny is in danger he thumps his feet
so we all made big thumping sounds with our hands!
"grandma" was AMAZING with the kids!!

Eli the photographer knew he had to take a photo or 27 of a toilet paper tube
because its one of the toys COCO plays with!!! 
how crazy is that!

here are the kids trying to get COCO to play with the toilet paper tube
but i think COCO was a tad afraid of these wild and crazy kiddos!

we have one patch of green grass in our backyard so COCO was
very excited about that since most yards are brown and yellow right now!
which is what we also learned, bunnies LOVE to eat grass, carrots, lettuce, 
and apples! 

the kids waited patiently threw a thousand different food 
items at poor COCO hoping she would eat
but she didn't care to eat today, she was maybe a little overwhelmed with all the kids!

we also learned mommy rabbits have LOTS of babies that have no fur when they are born
and that a baby rabbit is called a kitten, the kids thought that was kind of silly!

we took 49 pictures of our feet and legs during the visit of our special guest COCO!

the kids all wanted to hold and pet COCO but she was a very curious little bunny 
(which bunnies are) and she wanted to find a cool place to hang out
so we learned that she liked the cool rocks in the shade, and she liked to dig in the dirt to also stay cool!

--i took this photo not Eli, but don't worry he was screaming and crying because i took the camera away from him--
i know i didn't hear all the fun things about COCO the bunny 
but we all LOVED that she came to visit and we each got a turn to hold her!  
she was a special friend to have come visit and thank-you to COCO's "mom" 
for sharing her with us!  COCO knows who her "mom" is by smelling her! 
im not a huge animal fan but i might have to convince the hubby that we now need a pet rabbit!!!

after COCO left, the kids came inside and played rabbits and were hoping, eating, and thumping away!!

now i need to come up with a rabbit craft! :)

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Rain, rain, come and stay!

when you have not had rain in days
and the temps have been in the 90-100s
this is what you do when it does
you open the door and tell the kids to run!

they all looked at me like i was crazy/your lying and if we do run you will get mad!

and then i smiled and said "GO!!!"

and they went, screaming, and laughing, and saying "best day EVER!!"

soaked to the bone!

thinking we really aren't allowed past the sidewalk but Jill is off her rocker so LETS DO IT!!

jumping in puddles

PURE JOY on this boys face!

and on this boys face!
although he said
"i don't really like this!"
i think he really did!

we are now sitting in swim suits with large t shirts watching a movie
enjoying the sound of rain
waiting for our clothes to dry!

best day ever!!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

the 411...a little about me!

i am joining up with a blogger that
i have been reading for awhile!

since im looking at changing up the way i do my blog
i thought i would introduce myself a little better on this here blog!

so i got a list of questions and i plan on answering them
so heres to linking up and be sure to check out the mama, who came up with the link!

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
i started blogging about my daycare so that my daycare families could get a sneek peek at what was going on while they were away, now that i am taking on a job change i still want to blog but not sure what i plan on blogging but my goal is to try keep it up! 2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
i went to SDSU and got my degree in Early Childhood Education...which is why i have a daycare and will now be moving on to a preschool teacher.
3. Where have you traveled?
no where to exciting, we stay local! :)
4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
i wouldn't win the lottery because i would never play the lottery!  :)
5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?
dirty dishes on the counter, tooth paste in the sink, kids saying "mom, mom, mom!" when im trying to have an adult conversation (my kid is the worse)
6. What is your favorite movie?
i don't really have one, but i love me a good lifetime movie!
7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
anyone who knows me knows i LOVE LOVE LOVE pop!  and really it doesn't even matter what kind of pop i just LOVE pop!  but i prefer, dt. pepsi, dt. coke, and dt. dew but will drink any of that bubbly goodness!!
8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
i love to go out to eat without my kids, shop, and watch reality junk!
9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
Target or Hobby Lobby...it would be a toss up!
10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
i honestly can't think of any right now, although i know i have LOTS im kinda odd and i do embarrassing things all the time!11. What day would you love to relive again?
as i read other bloggers answer on this, they are all saying the birth of their child, or their wedding day, and as much as i loved those days i wouldn't want to relieve them!  up until the actual wedding it was pictures, and decorating, and trying to put everything together, having a baby i would rather not re live the day, i like just having memories, so i think i would rather do a day in our honeymoon over or when we went to Miami in October i would like to do that again!
12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?
i would totally play myself! ;) or maybe i would let Paris Hilton do it! JK
13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
i babysat a LOT in highschool, worked at the local Pizza Ranch, a daycare worker at about 3 different locations throughout college, Head Start Teacher, and now Daycare Provider14. Show us a picture from high school or college.
i don't have one that i would be able to put on here since that was before the day of digital cameras!
and i don't have a scanner to scan one it!
just picture slightly chubby girl, wearing one size to big of clothes with straight dirty blonde hair!
15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
Disney World!!  its a dream of myself and my daughter
16. Show us the most current picture of you , or your family, or anything of meaning to you. 
Photos taken Easter 2012
my hubby and Eli 
-he looks so different-

hubby and Natalie

me (the blogger) and my kiddos...
i don't think i have ever posted a pic of myself :)
just picture me a little chubbier with a big ol prego belly!
and the boy is NOT a happy camper!
17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
Working as a preschool teacher, mother of 3 (baby dues Christmas Day), happily married to the hubs...i don't see a whole lot changing, other than just growing together as a family.  My hubs would say 4 kids but i think 3 is PLENTY for this lady!!

well thats me in a nut shell! :)
now go link up or just check it out and all the other bloggers!


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

under the sea...

part 1

we will be doing a variety of crafts on under the sea/things in the water/beach

today we made textured, smelly, 
starfish

first we started off by smashing, mashing, and crunching our cereal
(i used freaky fruits...what kind of name is that, i don't know but its an off brand)

i had pre-cut some starfish
they are really fancy!  don't be jealous of my craftiness!

and then the kiddos decorated them with colored glue
(i just squeeze a little paint into a bottle of glue!)


next we sprinkled the glue with our crushed cereal
and some of the kids licked the table clean
thats gross but i didn't stop them because in my head 
i was thinking less work for me! 
i didn't get any pictures of this fun because i was to busy doing other things
like cleaning up lunch, and feeding a baby, and getting kids to lay down when they were finished!
(note to self do crafts before lunch not after lunch!)

and finally our finished products!


of course fun was had by all when its project time!




Tuesday, July 3, 2012

life news...

there is so much going on in my little world!
i don't even know where to begin!

it has been an emotional few weeks!
and right now the emotions are under control i know come August 
they will ALL be back!!

I have been blessed with this AMAZING job for 4 years!
i have amazing kids (we all have our days)
their amazing parents (who spoiled me often)
and the luxury of staying home with my own kids!

one of the first daycare photos i took
(my daughter's hair is a MESS)

i have had many little munchkins in my life

we have gone through a lot of different seasons together!

we have made endless messes
(i still find rice all over this house)

we have had lots of laughter and smiles

i have made thousands of meals

we have dressed up
(i may have dressed down ALOT!!)

we even cried, and fought!  

but overall it has been an AWESOME 4 years!!
i have sooo many faces that i will miss DEARLY!!
sweet, awesome loving little girls...i will even miss their sassy attitudes!
wild crazy boys...yes i will even miss this face!

and i will miss soooo much seeing all the little friendships blossom between kids and parents

i have pictures galore that i would love to continue to share and i would have stories about each and every child, but that would take DAYS!  
and I don't have days!

so if you haven't figured out yet what this post is trying to say
its the dreaded post of 
DAYCARE IS CLOSING
and a 
NEW CHAPTER 
is starting!

i have decided to take on a new job at an amazing preschool
and 
this was a HARD decision to make
and lots of prayers were said
and tears were shed!

but come August I will no longer be doing daycare
and not sure what will happen to this little blog yet...

the good news...well GREAT news 
is that all my families have found an AWESOME daycare!! --together!
yes my families get to stay together!!  how cool is that!?!
(maybe she will take over my blog...hint, hint!!)

you will continue to see a post here and there throughout the summer, 
but come end of summer not sure what will happen :(