Let's Roll

Yard Work

One-on-One

Day number 2 of preschool and only one of us seems to being having a hard time adjusting; poor Cruzie. He does NOT like seeing his brother go off to school without him one bit. I didn't realize just how much Coop truly does entertain his lil bro so it has been an adjustment for me as well.

Today Cruz and I went on a hike to Old Man Mountain. I took full advantage of only having one kiddo (that is still willing to ride on my back). It's a rather steep hike so it was win-win. We got some Mommy-Cruz time and a workout.

I think Cruz prefers his Coopertime but I'm hoping he'll learn to love his Mommytime just as much. Cooper had the pleasure of having me to himself during the day for over 2 yrs (that is not meant to sound as conceited as it does). Hopefully Cruz will learn to appreciate it as well. I know I sure do.

Cruz, I really am fun. I promise!

The Letter "f"

It could stand for so many things. "F"irst day back. "F"ire, "f"rench "f"ries.....

Today it stands for "f"irst day of preschool as it was Coop's first day at the "Y" Preschool. A little later than the rest of the kids but we had a little delay getting him registered. I'll spare you the boring details but it involved scrambling to find a back up school. Coop was put on a waitlist at the "Y" and after deciding that perhaps it wasn't going to clear, we picked a plan "b". Two days before he was supposed to start at the other school, we got a call that the "Y" had space.

All I can say is that I stressed out quite a bit for nothing. I came to the conclusion that I would look back at this entire decision making process and laugh that I made such a big deal about it. I really did feel like I was going on a campus tour but for preschools instead of college. With everything in life, us mamas make a big deal about the "firsts". In the end it all worked out.

The teacher said Coop did great. He was a little shy at first but then warmed up. It helped that the fire incident base for the fire that is in the park is directly next to the school. His teacher said that he was explaining all that he knew about fire. They were even drawing fire trucks when Coop first arrived.

I haven't gotten much out of Coop about what they did today but I quickly learned that it involved the letter "f". He said they went on a hike outside gathering "f's". He was all smiles when I picked him up and we decided to stop by Mark's office on our way home. And then the tears started.......he discovered that he lost some of his "f's" that he had collected in his pocket.

You can imagine the lines that started flying........when Marks's boss saw Coop and asked how his first day was, we had to explain to him that he was upset because he lost his letter "f's". He immediately replied without missing a beat 'don't worry buddy, I'm sure your Dad can help you find more. He drops "f's" all the time.'

I told him not to worry 'he'll get lots more f's" at school.' I really was referring to the letter as reassurance but had to laugh the minute it came out. Probably not the best thing to say to your child on his first day as we begin to start setting the tone for his future.

For what it's worth, Coop is no longer upset about his lost "f's". He had a "f"abulous "f"irst day.

Here I sit

I'm sitting at a the Newark airport during a 5 hour layover after a 7.5 hour flight........(wait for it). What does one do during such a long layover???? People watch and whip up a quick blog post of course.

Since my last post, Mark's fire season has winded down (kind of), we went on our first Colorado overnight date (without kids!!!!) and we've been getting back into a family-of-four groove. Grandma Mickey came for a visit and I took a trip to Ireland (my travel gig job).

Apparently a fire broke out in the Park while I was gone so I imagine Mark will be somewhat busy with that upon my return. Who would have thunk that a fire would be near to us in October? It seems crazy to me.

As I scroll through everything I just typed, I see that I am clearly tired and jet lagged as I throw my scattered thoughts out to the blogosphere. What I should have just said is that we're happy to have Mark home, we've been busy and I took a quick jaunt to a little country called Ireland (how fun was that to say!?).

I was here less than 8hrs ago.......


















And now I'm anxious to get back home to this......





But first I must people watch a find a Cinnabon.

Montage Time.....(Over A Month Late)

Grab some popcorn folks!  It's time for a belated two-year-old-photo-montage.  Motherly guilt got the best of me.  I realized that I made a 1yr and 2yr montage for Coop but have been slacking for poor Cruz. Have no fear, little buddy.  I whipped up a little somethin' somethin' in your honor so you won't come back 20 years from now and want to know why I loved Coop more than you when you both turned two :).

Kidding of course.  I'm sure it will be me wanting to look back on these 20 years from now.  The boys will probably care less.

This is for you Cruz..........................

Cruz turns Two from A Mendonca on Vimeo.

Soccer

I'm a Soccer Mom (for now). Coop started soccer today. Which translates into 3 & 4 year olds running around like little ants at a picnic looking cute as all get out. Coop loved it and wanted to wear his shirt all day. It was a beautiful fall morning and the fields were packed with kiddos of all ages. Coop was diggin' being part of the mix.

It looks like this will be our Saturday morning activity for the next 6 weeks. Goooooo Lightning!!! (the team name was decided by the kids during the end of practice huddle). Boy was that name brainstorming session fun to listen to.