Graduation Girl

Now that I've finally dried up the tears {temporarily that is} I can finally share Maggie's Pre-School graduation.

I truly feel like I just walked in the pre-school doors with this little one. Maggie started at MBCPS when she was a wee 20 month old.  And here she is at graduation preparing for elementary school.  I know all too well how much I'm going to miss these days of innocence, coming home for lunch with Mommy, fun Fridays, 8:00 wake ups, smocked dresses, handmade artwork, and classroom drop off and pick up.

As much as I love watching Maggie grow and mature I equally can't stand letting go.  If you know my Maggie, you know why.  She is my love, my sugar, my precious angel.  I can't imagine my days without her sweet little self coloring in the kitchen, making lunches with me, and spending what can seem an eternity getting dressed and fixing her hair just so.

This little one stole my heart the day she was born and she has yet to let go.  I vow to memorize and embrace every precious moment with her this summer.

As you can imagine, Graduation night brought on a flood of tears and an empty tissue box.  I dropped Maggie off in her pre-school classroom for the very last time while our family headed to the sanctuary to grab seats.

As always, I know she is in loving hands with her teachers.

When I saw this little thing walk across the stage with her graduation cap I couldn't contain my smile.    She just looked so grown up and yet, way too little to be leaving pre-school.

I most definitely held my breathe as her name was called to receive her diploma.  Maggie has serious performance anxiety and although this wasn't performing, she had a lot of eyes on her.

She made it all the way through the ceremony with an ever so slight grin.  I was so proud because I know what a huge accomplishment that is for her.  Once the children returned to the choir loft her dear teacher made sure to sit right next to Maggie and hold her hand throughout the performance.

And although Maggie didn't sing one note, she made it through the entire show without a tear and facing the audience the entire time.  Again, another enormous accomplishment for her!

We returned to her classroom for cookies and hugs.  Maggie was all smiles and back in her comfort zone.  Ms. Meredith has held a special place in our hearts.  She was actually Maggie's teacher on her very first day of pre-school in the toddler's room and now Maggie's teacher on her very last day of pre-school in Pre-K.  It has been an incredible experience to share both special days with the same teacher.

And as much as Maggie loved the cookies in her classroom, her graduation gifts exceeded all her expectations.  Daddy showered her with a bouquet of flowers.  Flowers are most definitely the way to this girl's heart.

Lucy insisted on carrying the graduation gift from her and Jack.  I couldn't get over the cuteness of it being nearly as big as she was.  And if you want to know what Maggie has been wishing for...a Hide Away pet.  I had no idea what this was until I google searched it.  Let's just say it came with an "as seen on TV" tag on it.  She was mighty happy with it though.

My dearest Maggie, we are so proud of you!  I can hardly wait to see where you go and what you become.  But, no need to hurry...we love you just as you are!  Congratulations my precious princess.  What a special gift you are. xoxo

Pre-School Parties

We celebrated the close to a Pre-school year {the last for one of my girls} this Thursday.  I'm sure I say this every year, but wow, has this one flown by.  The bitter sweetness of it me hard this morning.  On the one hand I can't wait have to my kiddos home for the summer.  And on the other, how are we already finished with one girl's last year of pre-school and one girl's first year of pre-school?

With the end of the year comes all the hustle and, most importantly, the celebrating.  I was thrilled to put together gift's for the kid's teachers.  We have truly been graced with FABULOUS teachers this year.  I couldn't wait to show them how much they were appreciated.

I gave each teacher one of these...

With five teachers to buy for, I was mighty impressed with my ability to keep each gift at $16.  I found the platters and acrylic cups at Target in the clearance section.  I have no idea why.  But the cups were a mere $1.29 and the platters $1.49.  I snatched them up in a New York minute.

I grabbed the buckets from the Dollar Store and the napkins from Tuesday Morning.  I split one package of straws among all five teachers and tied them up with a ribbon.  And as for the vinyl monogram...I have a wonderful local lady who made them for nearly nothing since I was getting so many.  I'm hoping the teacher's can enjoy a relaxing summer with their drink of choice.

The celebrating continued with Maggie and Lucy's end of year parties.  With this being Maggie's last year of pre-school {what?!?!} I knew I had to be her party mom.  I had the absolute pleasure of planning with Eliza Kate's mommy.  A dear friend and past co-worker too.  I absolutely love party planning with her.

We went for the Ice Cream theme.  I was able to pull out my old stash from Lucy's 1st birthday party. It was a huge hit with the kids and it was fun to plan.

I found these great baskets at the Dollar Store in the perfect colors.  Maggie and I added a little ribbon and filled them with "ice cream" novelties.  We had ice cream punches, ice cream bubbles, and ice cream shaped lollipops.

Our table was filled with sweet and tasty toppings as we did the best to fight the wind.  The decor was scattering as we fervently tried to batten down the hatches.

Clearly the graduates didn't mind a bit.  They were literally screaming for ice cream and filling their bowls to the top.

We had a few fun games and activities around for the kids.  This was Maggie's face when she heard about the Ice Cream Relay Race.  Needless to say, she did not participate.

But, she did love the ice cream bubbles...

...the ice cream poppers...

...and attacking her teacher with them!

Eliza Kate and Maggie were nearly glued together the entire party.  We were so blessed to have such a dear friend in class this year.  I only hope we can get these little gals together once they head off to big kid school.

Lucy even joined us for the tail end of the party.  She immediately headed to the topping table and grabbed an entire bowl of strawberries.

Before that she could be found at her very own End Of The Year Party.  Because I was hosting Maggie's party, Daddy attended Lucy's.  She was more than thrilled and I don't even think she noticed my absence.  As for me, I was just dying to know what she was doing and who she was playing with.

Luckily I was able to grab a couple photos from a classmate's Mommy.  It looks to me that Lu had a beach-tastic time.  I promise I will be there next year baby girl...and every year after that!

So with the celebrating behind us, we prepared for Pre-School Graduation.  Boo hoo...bring on the tissues...

Mother's Day Love

I had the honor and privilege of spending my Mother's Day with my three beautiful children and my very own Mother.  I certainly felt the love.

All I ever hoped for in my life was to be a wife and mother.  And look at me now.  I couldn't ask for more.

To my sugar and spice {I'll let you figure out which is which}, thank you for the joys of being a girl Mommy.  You have both taught me that you can never have too much pink, glitter, and princesses.  I love you girls!

To my handsome intellect, you made me a Mommy for the first time.  Every day you do something to make me proud.  Keep up the great work.  I love you!

And to my very own Mom.  Thank you for being you.  We couldn't imagine our lives without you.  What a blessing to have Grandma in town.

Our day was spent celebrating with brunch on the river.  We showered Grandma with gifts and love and then strolled around the grounds.  The weather was glorious and the day was truly wonderful.

Maggie and Lucy even gave the face paint artist a try.  Now wasn't that a brilliant idea on the restaurant's part?

We also grabbed a couple balloon animals that popped within minutes.  I can't say that I didn't expect that.

And just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, my little ones showered me with homemade gifts.  And if you want to know why Jack loves me, it's because "I had Maggie and Lucy so he wouldn't get bored".  Now tell me that wouldn't bring an everlasting smile to your face.

{and sweet Mags hasn't been back to school since our Disney trip so my Mother's Day gift is coming home today- honestly, no need, she's a gift in herself}

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful ladies out there!  The best job in the world!

Disney Day #4

Day four was our departure day.  We most definitely took our time getting out of there.  We packed up, sauntered around the hotel a bit, and then headed over to the Contemporary for a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

We tossed around the idea of making a quick trip to Magic Kingdom one last time, but quickly dismissed that crazy thought.

Although you would think the kids might be charactered out by this point, that was hardly the case.  It was a great way to say farewell to our fabulous vacation.

We dined on the buffet style breakfast while a slew of Disney pals came by to see us.  We finally got to see Donald and get his autograph.

This go round Lucy gave Goofy another chance.  Once he squatted by the table she was willing to enjoy his company.  She even mentioned he was "so funny".

Per usual the girls were most enamored with Mickey and Minnie.  They both just loved the fact that the characters had actually cooked up our breakfast.

And once again Pluto stole the show with his book signing on his nose.

We waved goodbye to the characters, Disney World, and even got a glimpse of Cinderella's Castle and Space Mountain as we drove away.

We left with many magical memories, lots of souvenirs, and nearly 300 pictures.

As they say...See ya real soon! {or in our case a couple of years}