School Days & Segways

Today was a long, long day.
Today was also an absolutely amazing day :).

First things first: Sydni's first day of 3rd grade. I am not an emotional wreck. *Rinse & repeat*
---------In my defense, I was entirely fine with the entire thing until she said to me,

"Mommy. I am walking fast because I am excited. Not like, because I'm trying to leave you behind or anything. I really wish you could come in here with me." 

... I swear. That kid can ruin me... haha.

my 3rd grader!

my ♥.

♥♥♥♥

We joke that Sydni has an entourage everywhere she goes; it's the truth.  

sisters! 

aw :) 

Parents & teachers everywhere: I'm praying for you. I'm praying that every. single. one of our kiddos finds joy and progress while they're at school. I pray that they find classmates that will encourage them, accept them and challenge them in the way that helps them realize their best self. I pray that they'll be safe. That they'll feel welcomed and protected. That we as parents can do our parts to encourage them and reinforce what they've learned at school. That we'll be involved. I pray for Syd's and all the other teachers - that you'll be able to stay healthy these first couple weeks especially [germs, x infinity ;)], and that your classrooms will be safe, cultivating environments for your students but also for you, too. I pray that you continue to have the passion and patience that I. [most often, if I'm being honest] Do. Not.. for the swarms of our kiddos that you'll see every day over this next year. That we as parents will help you when you need it, and in ways that set positive examples for our kids. I pray for all the kids going back, from preschool to grad school: You've got this, and you'll move mountains! Amen! 

That brought us to the second half of today: work, of course, but immediately followed by a group outing to Cincinnati Segway! Nobody on my team has ever done this before, so we went into it a little apprehensive of our own balancing abilities.

You guys.. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. We were so close to a couple serious spills, but fortunately they didn't happen. 

.. and it began.

We did the welcome video, met our guides and donned the standard and quite flattering tour attire:

stef modeling the getup

we've got this :)

practice makes perfect... or something close enough to it ;) 

and we're off .. haha

Some footage to go along with it..

express takes on segway

eden park lookout

team! 

i really think i've got it now? 

your cinci east staffing consultants! ♥

rami :) 

And last but certainly not least.. this hilarious Hawaiian tour guide.. 

aloha lilly! 

I'm wiped. I couldn't have imagined a funnier night to end a great day. Hopefully nobody's too sore in the morning ;). 

Good night! 

xo | cms

Meet the Teacher!

I found this little guy off Chibird, and had to share it, because ya'll...

June and July were literally 5 seconds long, I'm sure of it. What happened?!

*Le sigh... No sense obviously in wondering where it all went, although I'm not really complaining because that just stands to reason that the summer was packed full enough to make time seem fleeting. We were fortunate to travel most of this summer, catch up with the regular faces, reconnect with some old familiar ones, and even meet some new ones. Birthdays, weddings, baby showers, bridal showers and following Sydni around for whatever it is she's doing = my summer.

Speaking of Sydni.. and speaking of Summer..

The latter is coming to a close, and the former just went to check out her third grade classroom tonight. And guys, lemme tell you what.. unless her teacher turns out to be some heinously bipolar train wreck, I can tell you right now that I already love her. I've heard nothing but positive things from other parent friends whose kids went through her class, and meeting her tonight was pretty much all the confirmation I needed to feel confident that Sydni's going to have a great year.

I walked into a room filled with THESE CHAIRS.

gaiams!!!!

Literally, I geeked. I guessed Sydni's reaction before she came through the door, and I wasn't wrong. She's on cloud 9 right now - she got the homeroom teacher she wanted, and she gets to be just like mom while she's "working."

like mama like mini! 

I don't know who's more excited about her 3rd grade experience - me, or her. Whew..

Seriously though. This kid hit the jackpot.

And I did, too! I came home to find this waiting on the front porch for me:

botm! 

The August Book of the Month is HERE! I had a friend randomly pick this out of the August lineup, and read the overview later. It looks legit, so once I find the spare time [hahahahhhahahahahahaha] to read it, maybe I'll post a book review. We'll see. Don't hold your breath ;).

Monday.. check.
This week is stacked already.. time for some rest!

xo | cms

Ladies & Gentlemen, She's a SECOND Grader!

Gooooood ole' Cincinnati, Ohio: Rain, sunshine and reaaaally strong breezes within the hour. If we'd gotten the full experience, it would've snowed for an hour right in between the tornado and the flood.

rainy day... womp womp.. 

Fortunately, the dampness of the day couldn't weather a chance against the clear landmark not just for today, but one of the biggest of this year:

2nd grade! 

We officially have a 2nd grader!
I won't launch off into a novel about how I can't believe how fast time is flying - even though it is, and I'll try to keep the 'I remember when...' cutaways to a minimum... but seriously?!

Mini, you'll never know just how proud of you we are!

One more day, and then we're outta here to go see Nana, Pappy & the rest of the MV family. Jonathan graduates high school this weekend, too [another reminder that time can just slow down wheneeeeever it would like to...any time now!] - I can't wait to see everyone!

One. More. Day.

xo | cmd

H-A-Double L-O....

I FOUND IT!!!


I am an alumni of my hometown's elementary school system, and at our school, we learned [or reviewed] this song literally every. single. year. I know I'm not the only one who remembers this number. This was part of my childhood playlist for the Halloween season, and it clearly made enough of an impression that I remembered the bulk of the chorus as I near the end of my twenties.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all you blogbots out there!!
[backdated stuff staaaaaaaaaarts...... now ;)]

Tonight was definitely a production; it started when I got home and took the plunge into Halloween makeup mode. In 30 minutes, I'd transformed myself from recognizable me to a masked super-villain.

Rob arrived home, changed into his getup, and out the door we were to Jessica's, where I had the task ahead of painting the rest of my entourage into their villainous characters. Jessica's friend Sarah was having a birthday party, and had chosen the villain.

We arrived at Molly Malone's in Covington to find the Sanderson Sisters [probably my favorite costumed trio of the night]:

perfect!!!!

[Oh, how I LOVE watching Hocus Pocus over... & over again during the Halloween season!!]

My entourage didn't look too shabby, either!

the boys: penguin & jigsaw

the girls: harley quinn & poison ivy

all 4 (:

couples ... villainous couples! 

It has been a long time since I went full-out on a Halloween costume for any sort of party, let alone with a group of people [unless the Run Like Hell 5k counts... which for this example, I'm gonna just say it doesn't... it doesn't ;) .. ]. Needless to say, despite the small fortune invested into each of our getups, Rob and I had a blast and the wish I made back in August of dolling up for a Halloween party somewhere came true. I'm not the girl that gets flushed when I see a few other renditions of the character I chose to be; I think it's kind of fun to see what other people thought to do for it, too. [That doesn't mean I don't think ours still totally rocked! ;)]

batman's detention squad

^ At one point or another, I counted nearly all of the villainous Batman cast in the same room at the same time; I was bummed that we weren't able to hunt down the Joker & Harvey Dent we'd seen roving the place for that shot, but 5 outta 7 isn't too bad! We even found another familiar villain:

chad! [the burglar from home alone.. yenno,
marco belinelli... post-iron-in-the-face?]

Not a bad way to have a little fun with friends.

I hope you've all been SAFE and ENJOYABLE Halloween! Here's to the start of winding down 2014. Live, love, laugh and get dressed up with your friends. (:

See you again once I've got my real face back!

xo | cmd

FIRST. DAY. OF. SCHOOL!!!

I'm not ashamed to brag on myself today: I did not cry.
That doesn't sound like a huge feat to most people, but this mama fully expected to shed some tears watching her baby board the school bus for the very. first. time today.

& i love you to the moon & back! ♥♥

Nope. :D I held it together. Barely. But I did it.

Bottom line: This little girl is a kindergartener. My heart.. is happy. I am so proud of the beautiful soul she is becoming.

So here they are: DAY 1 - KINDERGARTEN!

first day! 

my beautiful girl ♥

and this is my world. 

hangin' at the bus stop with mallory

The time finally came.. 

it's here! 

It was time for hugs from Mindi. This was special for me, since Sydni has been in Mindi's daytime care since she was 6 months old. Aside from the time we lived out of state, Mindi has always been there for Sydni, and for me as well. What a sweet moment! 

thank you, miss mindi! 

sweet mallory [mindi's daughter] being a watchful friend for day 1! 

After the extensive 8 minute journey to school... ;) 

:D 

day 1 in class.. meeting new friends & finding a rhythm.. 

There ya have it. My baby girl is a school kid, as she calls it.
I am one.. proud.. mama. ♥♥♥

The day must go on, of course. Off to work it was, to finish out the Tuesday. As a reward for holding my composure for the day, Rob and I took advantage of the evening and made a second attempt to see the new TMNT. Fortunately, bad luck didn't strike twice, and we made it through the entire movie with no theater power outages. (:

tmnt!

P.S. - Tuesdays -- at least this Tuesday -- are discount days at the theater in Oakley. NOTED.

*Whew! That's a wrap, kids.

xo | cmd

All Things Pre-Kindergarten.....

My daughter goes to kindergarten tomorrow.

TOMORROW.

I think I'm ok. Actually, yes, I know I am; what I think the issue is is my believing that she's old enough to be going. Elementary school is the easy part; I'm excited for her and can't wait to see her off on first day. 

For today, that meant the big 5-year doctor visit, wellness check, etc.
This chick's a trooper. 

hearing test

blood pressure

lots of waiting around ... ;) 

And when it was all said & done: 

"it's a school kid giraffe!" - syd

You're killin' me, mini. 

Back at work, I made it a point to have an extra healthy day myself, which made me happy just based on the colors alone! 

and yes, i'm apparently learning my containers today, too ;)
booowlllll... 

After work, I found myself back in Milford at Sydni's school for the orientation night. We toted her school supplies and did everything from meeting her teacher, seeing her classroom and gathering all that first-timer parent info in preparation for her big day tomorrow. 

Now it's only a matter of hours before we're up and at it to see her off on her first day. 

Yay, kindergarten! 

xo | cmd 

SCHOOL SHOPPING [STAAAAHP...]

So uhh ...

this is happening.

It's everywhere. Yeahyeahyeah, I know: This happens every year. Kids get out in May/June, and by the first of July, the [at that point] premature signs of all things BTS [Back To School] can already be sighted from the big retailers down to the mom & pop shops. This used to incite unbelievable frustration when I was in high school, trying to breathe in the freedom of summer without the driving reminder that I was headed back in like, 90ish days.

Fast forward to that thing we always talked about in high school: "Someday, when I'm a mom....."
When I was 17 and joking about this with my friends, we overlooked the details of mommyhood, including but certainly far from limited to: school supply shopping.

It sounds mundane to the childless folk out there, and like a mastered science to the seasoned parents, but if for a second I thought this would be a boring affair, well... nope & nope.

kindergarteners need earbuds ;)

First, Sydni's kindergarten check list includes the standard staple items that I would've expected:

Backpack, lunchbox, markers, highlighters, pencils, box of tissues, hand sanitizer, box of bandaids, etc. On the list also: One set of ear buds, which made me simultaneously laugh and feel ancient, because obviously that wasn't a thing in 1990 when I hit the halls of elementary school.

And then there were glue sticks. Not inherently a crazy request, but I'm still trying to lend a plausible guess as to what they plan to do with 18 glue sticks per child. I mean, in our house, as crafty as we are, I could easily rationalize maybe... 18 glue sticks per a period of 12 months, if even that many [glue sticks]. That's 360 glue sticks per class of 20 kids, and this isn't just for the AM goers. Guesstimating at 20 kids for each session, that's a mere 720 tiny tubes of stickiness. Haha. Yay, adhesive kids!

Anyway, Sydni was beside herself as we entered the glorious, glowing [literally, due to the neon signage.... everywhere] archway of the seasonal school supply section of the store. We knocked everything off the list with little to no fuss, save for a washable stamp pad and sticky-back velcro dots. Kindergarten supply scavenger hunt? Challenge accepted. We finally tracked down the velcro dots, and eventually left sans only the stamp pad, since the store didn't carry them. I think that's fair, and not a job badly done for first-timers.

*Whew!
Sydni exhausted herself into a celebratory nap, which we occupied with some catch-up on laundry and cleaning [trade ya, Syd?] before she was back in action and ready for the park. 

"the blur" - she's on the move!

Off to the park we were, with bike in tow. We squeezed the last bit of daylight out of the sky before we loaded back up and circled on home.

Happy Saturday, to you & yours!

xo | cmd