Firsts and Lasts

Once again I can't believe the school year has already come to an end. This year was so much more emotional because it was also my babies first year of school which definitely brought the ugly cry out even more yesterday. So after lots of hugging, lots of pictures taken, and maybe a little wine I put together a few pictures from Mckinley's first school year.

Mckinley on her first day of school and last day of school.

 

 

I didn't get a chance to get very good pictures on her first day because A. I was super emotional and B. My students started arriving at my own classroom.

Graduation Day!

Mrs. Barbara and Mrs. Joy made Mckinley's  first year of school so amazing! I will never be able to thank them enough for making this year so wonderful!

Mommy and Mckinley first day and last day.

So here's to an amazing first year of school and we are already looking forward to next year!

Dance, Dance , Dance

When I signed Mckinley up for dance class this year I wasn't really sure what to expect. Would she be the kid rolling on the floor and hanging upside down on the bar or would she be the one crying in the corner the entire time. Thankfully it was not a waste of time or money because she absolutely loved it. We also had a pretty kick ass ballet teacher who has the patience of a saint so that definitely made the entire experience amazing!

Every Thursday Mckinley would wake up asking if it was dance day and skip into school carrying her dance bag with her tiny leotard, tights, and leg warmers (you better believe we rock some leg warmers). At first she was a little shy, but it wasn't long before she warmed up and started acting like her ole crazy self! After months of practice and I am sure a lot of blood sweat and tears from Mrs. Miller the big day arrived.

We had already practiced our stage makeup (she wants lipstick everyday now), but the dance hair was a whole other story. Sadly my poor girl has my hair and there isn't an ounce of curl in either of us. We basically ended up with a half up barely wavy style job with a ton of hairspray!

We had a LOOOOOOOOOONG talk when she woke up that morning about acting like a normal person because mommy wanted to take pretty pictures today and as you can see she really took that conversation to heart.

Keeping busy in between dances.

It is really sad that no one loves this wild child. Sadly Yaya and Papa had a cruise planned for the same week as the recital, but we made sure to take lots of video so they could watch when they got back.

 Dance Buddies.

I am so happy we gave dance a try and I hope she wants to dance again next year.

I am so very proud of my tiny little ballerina!

Oh Happy Day

Did you know that Mother's Day was created as a way to celebrate mothers who had or were in danger of losing their sons to war? That kind of gives the day a new meaning doesn't it. Instead of only honoring those ladies who are mothers I choose to celebrate all of the amazing women in my life wherever they are in their journey.  

I celebrate you ladies who spend their days wiping snot with your hands and putting things back for themselves at Target so you can get those cute shoes for your little, you are loved. To those who are waiting for their precious bundles to arrive whether it be by delivery, adoption, or other form of arrival, you are loved. To those hopeful ladies who are searching for answers, you are loved. To those women who have lost children before they got to meet them or met them and lost them, you are loved. And to those ladies who want  to be nurturers and caregivers in other ways, you are loved.

To all the moms out there who doubt themselves everyday (hello) or compare themselves to other moms (stop that). Your house may be a wreck (like mine), your may have to check if your kid is wearing underwear before leaving the house (yikes), and you may wipe your kid down with baby wipes every now and then because you don't have enough time to bathe them after school because their bodies are covered in mulch before going to the grocery store.

You are all honored, loved, and prayed for each and everyday.

Life Lately

11 more days people! 11 more days!! Not that I am counting or anything! About right about now I am thankful that I have killed myself to get all of my lesson plans done for the rest of the year, assessments are done, and I am starting to prep a few things for next year. All of this work means I have gotten to enjoy myself and relax a little bit this past week. We have been so thankful for the beautiful weather we have had recently and we have taken full advantage of it which means every night is a bath night these days. 

As we get closer to the end of the year it is getting harder and harder to wake up every morning and my morning girl has turned into this ray of sunshine. 

She is obsessed with dresses and only wants to wear the one uniform dress we have. Between that discussion and begging me for milk and candy our mornings are quite interesting. 

Our first fair of the season. 

Definitely a bath night. 

Mckinley's class have been working on putting together a lemonade stand all year and all of their hard work payed off! I am so proud of all of these cuties for raising so much money. 

Dance dress rehearsal yesterday and and dance recital this weekend! I never thought I would be a dance mom, but here I am. I definitely needed a glass of wine after this craziness!

Just a girl and her electric toothbrush. She is a tad bit obsessed. 

Trying to talk her way into staying up just a few more minutes.

And one of me and this lady. I don't typically post too many pictures of myself  so I had to share. Not sure if I would have made it through the last few years without this hot mess!! 4k is definitely a fun place to be!!