Kindergarten Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

All of the kiddos in Gage's grade got to go on a school field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. They all wore matching jack-o-lantern shirts.

So, naturally the morning-of, I needed to snap a picture of my baby who just won't stop.growing.up!
But, what happened?
He posed, and posed, and posed.
"Take another one, Mommy."
Yes---on occasion, he wants to model for me.
And, I eat it up!






Sadly to report, Gage fell at the pumpkin patch & scraped up his face. Luckily, a classmate's Mommy there is a nurse and she took care of him. He said that she was so nice to him.
:)

Already?

This little boy starts kindergarten tomorrow.
I can't believe it.
Wish us all luck.

Gage's School Musical Program

Gage went to a faith based pre-school program. They go up through Kindergarten. Well, they had an end-of-the-year musical program & Kindergarten graduation. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have a pre-school graduation, as he won't be going there next year for Kindergarten---but they didn't really ask my opinion, now did they?

...in related news, I was also disappointed in our seats. The church sanctuary was SO full! We actually got to the church early, found Gage's class meeting room & we were the first to arrive. So, when some other parents got there, they just kind of dropped their kids off & ran to get great seats. We looked up, and we were in charge of 5 kids who were literally bouncing off the walls! Needless to say, when the teachers arrived, we split. Sadly, it was too late, and little 5 foot me was sitting near the back of the sanctuary. BOOOOOO!

Oh well...
Still, my child stood on a stage, and smiled, and sang, and they even sang & signed a song. Turns out, my kiddo loves sign language...and that's something I was so surprised by. He never once mentioned signing, learning sign language...nothing! Ugh! Boys!!! I tell ya---there were some days (okay, most days) when he'd come home from school... "Gage, what did you guys do today?"... "I don't know...stuff." or "I can't remember." "Gage, who did you sit by at lunch?" "I can't remember."
It's amazing he's learning, given the fact that he can't remember squat about his school day. I'm just sayin'...
From what I hear, it's a boy thing.

Anyhow---pics from the night....

Gage & Daddy before the program:


Gage & Mommy before the program {please, disregard the peppermint in his mouth}:


Singing his little heart out:




Afterward, they had a little reception for the Kindergarten grads, and all the little ones. Gage's teacher had some special little journals that the children kept all year long, and they made a photo album for each student. It was so great! He had such thoughtful teachers. I loved it!






Gage, & his buddy, W. Fast friends in PreK 3, then they were together in PreK 4, and now they'll go to separate schools next year. And once W breaks out of his shell {and by now, when he's around us, he's outta that shell!}, anyway---once he breaks out of that shell, he's got a personality that's larger than life. He's soooo cute!




It was a great night.
:)

But I can't believe that it's Summer-time...I can't believe that he'll be going to Kindergarten in the Fall!
{*sigh*}

Pastries with Parents...

Early in May, Gage's school had a "Pastries with Parents" morning event. I was luckey enough to get to go!

We arrived to the school earlier than expected, and Gage seized the opportunity to play on the playground all by himself! {Note to my parents: THIS was what we fund-raised for. No copiers. Just a newer playground. Wooohoooo!}






We ventured inside...still before the event would begin, and I got to see some of Gage's school work. Oh, it's sooooo cute!
{The bird is happy.}



Pics of Gage & his classmates....






It was a lot of fun, and I'm VERY glad that I go to go!

Gage's School Egg Hunt

Gage had an egg hunt at school. Each of the kids was assigned a number, and they hunted for eggs only with that number. Gage had a blast.

I had to work & so did Daddy, so we didn't get to go with him. Memaw came to the rescue & attended the big egg hunt, and Gage's buddy, W, well, his mom took pics for us. {Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to Memaw & Toni!!!}

Play-Date with M

.................................
Gage & M have been together for about 2 years now.
That's BF/GF if you write it down.
Uhhh....for Boyfriend/Girlfriend.
I wasn't so much "in the know," but I've been schooled.

M's mom & I arranged a little weekend morning play-date for the two of them at a playground near M's house. These two won't be going to the same school once kindergarten starts (sniff*sniff)...

Pics from the play-date...




Random things about M:
~ Her favorite store is Justice
~ She likes shiny & sparkly things
~ She likes things with ruffles
~ She loves Taylor Swift

I adore her!!!

Valentine's Day 2011

So, yes, clearly, I have some blogging to catch up on.

And, as an aside, I can't figure out how to crop photos, or edit them on this new computer. My old photo program that I used isn't on this new computer yet, so you'll all just have to bear with me....

Gage & his Valentines....
He did all the writing himself. He makes the letters so large, so if there's an extra letter that needs to go on there---he just puts in somewhere else on the card. So cute.
Here are Valentines for Lilee & Piper (two girls from his class).



He worked so hard on those little cards. It was precious!

At the intersection of this, that, & the other....

Okay.... On the job front: I've given my notice. I've informed my peers within my department. I've informed those that I coordinate. I've now informed those within the department that I serve.
My last day will be Friday, 2/4....

On the other leg of the job front: went to have my new-employee physical. In the future, if anyone challenges you to come up with a type of test that you can't study for, a possible answer is: a urine drug test.
I've got to get my 2nd TB test read tomorrow. Good times.
(TB, YUM!)

Orientation for the new job is coming up soon.

I officially start there on Monday, 2/7. Good times.

Challenges during this time: saying goodbye to coworkers...being the 1st in my position for this place, and kind of helping to shape the job that it is....being here for over 8 years! I can't believe I've been here for that long. Let's see---I worked for my previous employer from '99 to '05, and then here from '02 to '11. Yes, there was some overlap because from '02 to '05 I was PRN with employer #1...
Another challenge: I still have to clean out my desk. I may need to spend a bit of time over the weekend doing this...or one day next week....We'll just have to wait & see how my week pans out...

Bonus to the new job: 40 minutes travel time, as opposed to my current commute of 1.5 hours. Yes, I commute an hour & a half one way. Not for long, though!
Another bonus to the new job: I'll be closer to my grandmother at her assisted living.
Yet another bonus to the new job: I'll be working with one of my friends...Well, kind of. She'll be in the ER at the new place, and many of you are not going to believe this but---I WONT BE IN THE ER. {Can you believe it? I'm so an ER person. I can hardly believe it. But, hey----this time is a time for change & new challenges. Bring it.}

In other news: Mom Update time!
Well, she woke up Wednesday morning just feeling a bit---better. {Dare I type that word???}
So----to recap: Chemo Day one was on a Wednesday. We'll call that Day 1. Day 2 & 3: tired. N/V: present Night of day 3 through to Day 7. Will that be the norm? I dunno. I can tell you for sure though---if there is a single unscented product on the face of the Earth, she's sent someone to the grocery store to buy it. Unscented detergent, soaps, cleaners, and yes, even unscented toilet paper. The smell of just about anything can induce vomiting. Her gag reflex is even sensitive to the sound of the word "cancer" and the thought of the 2 day chemo pump. {Not that I in ANY way know what chemo is like, I have to say that I can relate to the non-smells making you nauseated, mom. Remember when my hair first started falling out & the whole alopecia areata thing was new to me? Well, just seeing a bald spot on my head made me sick to my stomach. That's the closest thing I've got. I know, I know---it pales in comparison.}

If I haven't posted it yet----we've been searching high & low for the silver lining to this cancer cloud. The best we've come up with: a handicap parking placard. No, she hasn't gotten one yet....but we're really hoping to score one so that we can get front-row-joe parking. There's got to be SOMETHING that resembles a benefit here. Who's with us, people???

Moving on.... Gage is officially riding his bike with no training wheels. Yes, I have pictures. No, I haven't uploaded them yet. Just like I haven't posted about our Girls Night Out on 1/15, or pics from mom's first chemo when she was really looking quite energetic & optimistic....and had no idea how bad the nausea was going to be...and the wig shopping. Oh! Mom's picked out a cute wig.
Anyway----back to Gage. He's riding with NO TRAINING WHEELS. What a big boy. He's still not flawless at it just yet, but he's more confident than he was. It's so cute.

What else? Well....his little girlfriend, M.... My goodness she's rather 'fast' these days. Three days this week Gage got a kiss from M. It started with a kiss on the hand on the playground. Next---she went in for the lips in music class. Yes, she was successful. Wednesday---kiss on the cheek on the playground. My goodness...... I barely know what to say! I asked Gage if he kissed her back, or if she just kissed him. He said that she was the one who did it. I said, "Well, what did you say?" {this was after day #1's kiss.} He said, "I didn't say anything. I just went back to playing." Great, kid. She's probably been crying in her bed because she kissed you, you said nothing, and then you ran off to be with the boys! You're beaming about the kiss & she's probably analyzing & re-analyzing every detail... ok, or maybe it's just me who's obsessing! Anyway...he's gotten his first girl kiss & he's only 5.
I don't even know what to say about all that. On the one hand it's cute. On the other hand.....he' FIVE!
I want him to just stay little.

That's about all I know for now....
:)

Gage's 2010 Christmas Program

Okay, I have some serious blogging to catch up on.

What have I neglected to blog about?
How about my baby's STELLAR performance at his school's Christmas Program???

These pics are from the evening in early December. Pre-program pics:




The ACTUAL program pics are not stellar, thanks in part to the woman in front of me, who thought her child was the only one on stage & repeatedly stood up so that SHE could get the winning shots. I can't tell you how many pictures of her rear-end were deleted from my camera. She almost got 'PANTS'd' by me. I'm just sayin'....

So, other pics from that evening...
Gage & his buddy, W.


Gage & his girlfriend, M.


After that, we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese. Why? Because this child of mine actually got up on a stage, in front of an audience, and he sang his little heart out. Last year, he cried for 1/2 of the performance & gave me the death-stare for the other half. This year---he wasn't the most animated in the bunch, and he didn't sing the whole time....but he got up there. And THAT deserves a reward!






Oh, it was a great night.
And though PawPaw is going to make fun of my closing, I have to type it... And a great time was had by all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!