Weekly ramblings

Somehow I can't believe it is already Wednesday. How does time move so fast and I accomplish so little! Today I went into town to go to a Zumba exercise class and let me tell you I have the rhythm of a white girl! The teacher is this beautiful woman who makes it look so easy and she moves very well! I can barely follow the steps with out tripping over my own feet! Afterwards the girls and I went to Music Makers and then to McDonald's to play with our friends. We had to run a few errands (we were out of Milk, dish washer soap & Laundry soap - really I am not organized these days). Then off to the pet store and fabric store for some dog chewies and fabric for another project.

Tomorrow is picture day so we need to go cut Charlie's hair after homework and before Taekwondo. (Plus we need to bath the dog - he got into the mud at the park -really by letting Annie have his lease this dog baths every 2 days it seems!)

One of these days I am going to have to post a copy of my weekly calendar. A girl friend with her first asked me about my daily routine and I have to say that as the kids get older it is not so much the same routine every day any more but a weekly routine with a different thing each day, but for the most part it is the same each week.

Birthday Party Mayham

Tonight we took Charlie to a birthday party for his friend Zachary at a place called John's Incredible Pizza. My camera died before I got too many pictures. The kids all had a great time but the one word for it was overwhelming. There were so many kids and loud noises that Audrey melted down and John had to take her out to the car. I was never so glad to see a party end when the time came. Not to mention I was so thankful that John went with me. I don't think I could have done it alone.

As much as I love my kids and would do almost anything for them, sometimes it is easy to get really overwhelmed and want to say no more!

My baby is a baby no more!

Today after I got Audrey dressed I realized she is definetly no longer a baby! She is a little girl and she is too cute for words. So is her big sister. It is amazing to me how fast they are growing up.

Future Olympian?

Annie had her first Gymnastic class today and she LOVED it! She is taking the class in Folsom at Tricks. Her little friend Josh (the boy in the picture next to her with their chins on the bar) is taking the class with her and they had a great time. She has been asking me since we left if she is going to get to do this forever? Watch out maybe in 2020 you will get to see her compete - but let's be honest, she may be too tall for gymnastics by the time she is 6.

The Circle of Life

My Grandpa passed away today. For those of you who have heard about my Grandpa you knew he was quite sick and in the last few months his health had declined very rapidly and he had been in a lot of pain. It wasn't a shock that his time had come, he was 80 and like I mentioned quite ill. Hospice had been called in and so we had been told it was just a matter of time, weeks really.

Yesterday, the girls and I were driving back from Music Makers about 10:30 and Annie said to me, "mommy, old grandpa, is in heaven now." I came home and told John that it was a little strange that she brought it up because she hasn't seen him in a while and I haven't brought up to the kids how sick he has been. I just made a mental note of it her comment and went about my day. Well today my dad call and told my brother and John that Grandpa had passed this morning.

When I told Annie about it this sweet little girl sobbed and said "I know Mommy, I told you all ready". She was devastated. I tried to explain to her that Old Grandpa was in Heaven now and that his body worked again, that he could walk and talk just fine now and that he was with my Grandma. Annie has always had a sweet spot for my grandpa. He always had treats on the table by his bed (in his last few years that is all he wanted) and you could often find Annie sitting on his hospital bed eating them. Grandpa was always so nice to her and let her climb all over him and eat his treats whenever she wanted. My Grandfather had made me a wooden jewelry case when I was a teenager and Annie has it in her room and calls it her treasure chest.

I know we all have different memories but I do have good ones about my Grandpa. He always called me babe, really he called all women and girls babe. "love ya babe" was always signed in birthday card with a check. I remember being so excited to have a gift like that, especially as I got older and started buying my own school clothes.

I remember also that my whenever my grandparents visited they would take us to the toy store and let us pick out whatever we wanted. It was always so fun to walk through toys r us and pick out something special. Also KFC, I don't know why but when ever they came to Sac or we went to Riverside we had KFC with them. I also remember my grandfather always had a work shop, he loved to work with wood and was a construction worker for his career. He always had a project - or maybe he just liked being out there so he could smoke and my grandma wouldn't know it.

My grandparents were also very nice to John. I remember the first time John met him he was wearing a thick wool sweater and with his deep voice John thought he sounded and looked like an old fisher man. He always loved to ask John about Florida and his family there.

My grandparents also gave all of us a bunch of savings bonds. John and I were expecting Charlie and my dad called me into his office one day and told us he had found one that he hadn't realized he had, it helped out with me getting to stay home longer on my maternity leave. I truly appreciate how hard my Grandpa worked and that they thought enough of my siblings and I to give us these gifts. I am sure when they started them they had no clue what they would mean to us in the future.

I truly am happy for my grandfather that he is no longer in pain and in a better place. What joy for him that his body and mental state aren't causing him pain and he is free of his physical limitations. I pray that he is somewhere where he can work with wood and make everyone some more key chains or walking sticks out of the worm eaten wood he loved. We love you Old Grandpa ~ Til we meet again.

Homework!

Well after Charlie's first spelling test it has seemed to all go down hill. He is having a hard time with his spelling words each week. He does fine with the words you can sound out but the words you just have to know like what, from, was, where, were, they - those types of words he struggles. Tonight John must have spent 2 hours with him practicing hopefully it pays off. We have been working really hard with him and his reading is really getting good!

On a positive note - he is great at Math! California has changed it's education requirements and now you are required to take Algebra and pass it by 8th grade so they have started hard core teaching basic algebra concepts as early as first grade. Charlie really seems to get it and loves to to do his math homework. He can answer questions like 8-_=2 and tell you what the answer is.

It's a really live dolly

This morning Audrey and I went to visit my friend Jackie and her son Carter who is 2 weeks old. Audrey was in love with Carter and wanted to hold him and pick him up the whole visit. At one point she was playing with some baby toys that we were passing on to Carter and had a bunch of rings in her hand and was trying to pick him up out of his bouncy seat and couldn't do it (mom wasn't letting her little did she know) and she was trying to figure out how to lift him when she dropped to toys and tried again, like maybe if she didn't have anything else in her hands it would work.

She was very sweet with him and loved to hold him and kiss him. We are so excited for the Koenig family! Congrats.

Crafty Momma

Well I would love to take all the credit but I found this pattern on line and have been making these little skirts for the girls that are too cute. I will have to take pictures of them wearing some of the matching ones I have made for them but here is one I made for Annie. We were at Walmart getting some ribbon and Annie asked if I could make her a skirt out of this Ariel fabric. It turned out really cute and I even made a little one for her doll that matches.

Oreo's first bath

Well today after school the kids and I went to the park and took Oreo with us. Oreo somehow (Annie & Charlie) managed to run into the creek bed and got all muddy so we had to give him a bath when we got home. He did great in the bath part- he is just so little and mangy looking when he is all wet. Afterwards he went crazy running around and rolling on the carpet. He didn't like the blow drying very much but when it was all said and done he was adorable!

5 Mile Club

Charlie's school has a program where kids can walk a measured lap at recess and once they get to five miles they get a little foot to put on their shoe lace. Well every day Charlie comes home and tells us how many laps he has done and today he made it to 5 Miles. Now he says he is going to try to join the 10 mile club!

Introducing the newest member of the Garrison Family!

Meet Oreo!

Yesterday we adopted Oreo from some friends of ours. The kids were so excited to be getting their own dog! We had dog sat Oreo a few weeks ago and he fit in to our family wonderfully. Annie adores him and carries him around like a baby. When he went to go home she sobbed and sobbed. Our friends have a little girl that was frightened of him and it wasn't getting any easier for her or for Oreo.

Oreo is almost 5 months old and is a Havanese. Right now he is about 5 or 6 pounds and is just the friendliest dog you could imagine. He loves to play with the kids and will curl up where ever they are. It is adorable when Audrey says his name, it comes out like Orrdio. She tries to pick him up and play with him. They have a love hate relationship though, as soon as she takes her binky out of her mouth and drops it or has it in her hand Oreo grabs it and runs off, then she is running after it yelling for her binky which he thinks is a big game. All in all it is really cute.

We are all excited to have Oreo here and are looking forward to having him as part of our family. Do I have to change our title from the Garrison five to the Garrison six for a dog?

Another Day Another Thing

Last night at bed time Charlie yawned then told John that his ear was hurting. We both told him it would be okay and that it would feel better after he got some sleep. Little did we know! I went on a walk around 9:00 and when I got home at 10:00 he was sitting on the couch sobbing holding his ear. He cried off and on all night and didn't sleep much. At one point in the middle of the night he asked if we could just go to the hospital - the earliest I could get him in to his Dr's was at 2:00 today. We thought he might have an ear infection so we gave him some Tylenol and some benadryl to help him sleep.

He finally stopped crying and fell in to a deep sleep around 5:00 and woke up around 9:30. He stayed home from school and while he looked tired and a little under the weather he was up playing and running around. Right before we went to the Dr's though I looked in his ear and it looked like there was ear wax everywhere. It was pretty gross!

Dr. Isakson took one look in Charlie's ear and said that both ears were infected pretty badly and that one of the ear drums had actually ruptured - hence why he was in such pain. He said once it finally ruptures that it relieves all the pressure and doesn't hurt that much anymore which is why he probably was able to fall asleep.

We got him on antibiotics and antibiotic ear drops and he seems fine. He has been playing all night and seems totally fine! We are so glad he is okay!!!!

Corn filled adventure!

After school today I took the kids with some neighbor friends to the corn maze at the local produce stand Davis Ranch. They have a huge set up for Halloween with pumpkins, hay rides and corn maze that just opened this week.

My kids had a blast! They loved the adventure of trying to find their way out and loved running around with all their friends.

Fruit loops anyone?

While I was making dinner tonight Audrey was playing in the pantry. I turned around and this is what I found!

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the mess so I got my camera!

He's a Superstar!

Charlie really seems to be liking first grade. We went to Back to School night last night and first grade sure has changed from what I remember. His teachers seem really nice and on the ball. They were very organized and his main teacher seemed so calm and patient. I hope Charlie has a great year!

Charlie has homework every night and has a behavior chart he brings home to us each day. He is very funny, he really doesn't like doing his home work (surprise, surprise). Every afternoon when I ask him about his chart he has this little game he plays. If it was green (good) it is a thumbs up, yellow (1 warning) it is a flat hand and if it it was orange (loose 1 recess) or red (loose 2 recesses and a call home) it is a thumbs down! He is so funny when he does because he tries to be all dramatic about it and then always ends up showing us his thumbs up.

Charlie got 100% on his first spelling test today! We really are proud of him!

Preschool Princess

Annie ended up having a great time at preschool. Unlike Charlie she came home and told us all about the girls in her class and what she did. She had no problems going today but there was still a little drama!

I am carpooling and my friend Carrie brought her home and told me she was poked in the eye. It turns out Annie and another little girl were twirling and when they stopped the other little girl accidentally poked her. You could actually see the scratch on her pupil. She is fine but we did take her to the opthomalogist just to be on the safe side. The doctor said she has a corneal abrasion and gave us some antibiotic drops for her eyes and said she will be fine tomorrow. The Dr. was really nice and gave her a full eye exam while we were there. It was nice to know Annie's eye sight is perfect! (we have been a little worried because she is slightly clumsy).

"Chicken, I AM EATING CHICKEN!"

We laughed so hard at dinner tonight. We where eating chicken and Charlie asked us what Chicken was. So when we explained to him that we were eating the meat from chicken he was shocked. He kept asking all sorts of things like:

"This is from a Chicken that was alive?"

"This is from a Chicken that was walking around?"

"We are eating an animal?"

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe I am eating Chicken!"

And my favorite "Chicken, I am eating a CHICKEN!"

Who wouldn't love this girl!

Audrey is turning from a baby to a little girl right before our eyes. Really, it seemed to happen overnight.

She is such a sweet little girl who loves her family & friends so much. I love watching her hug her daddy. She runs up to him and grabs his legs and squeezes. She and Annie have also started to be very loving towards each other, they hug and kiss when they are leaving the room from each other. She doesn't talk a ton but one of my favorite words she says is "larlar" for Charlie.

She has started to make this scowling face that is adorable. She folds her arms then scrunches up her neck and furrows her brows. (she isn't scowling really hard in this picture but you get the idea.) You can't help but smile when you see it!

High Ho, High Ho it's off to Preschool She Goes!

Today Annie started preschool!

She was so cute getting ready for school, she helped pick out a new dress this weekend for her big day today and was so excited to get ready for school. Going to school was a whole other thing.

Annie is my shy child. You wouldn't guess if you see her around our family that she is shy but she has a hard time warming up to other little kids by herself. She was quite nervous driving over to school and when I left her she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. It almost broke my heart to leave her but I know she will have a great day. She loves her teachers, Mrs. Nikki & Mrs. Patti, and there are lots of kids in her class from last year. She was excited to see her friend Gracie, and I have tried the last few weeks to make sure we had some play dates with Gracie - we went to the park and the lake with her in the last 2 weeks, so she would be comfortable having her there today.

It is amazing how as a parent how your child's fears and worries hurt you. I just want all of them to have great experiences and to enjoy being a child! I want them to look back and remember lots of great things and that they were loved.

1 Week down

This week flew by! Charlie really seemed to love first grade. He says his teachers are really nice and he has fun at recess (both of them), but the best thing about first grade according to Charlie is you get to buy lunch! He bought lunch 2 days this week and loved it. I think he enjoys getting to pick out what he wants himself and buying it!





Annie and Audrey had a good week at home. Annie has been so happy because we have been dog sitting for a friend and she has had the dog in her arms most of the time. The dog, Oreo, is a cute little 5 lb. Havanesse puppy. I have a feeling when Oreo goes home we are going to have one heartbroken little girl. Never would I have imagined we would like a little dog but Oreo is a great dog, he is crate trained at night, doesn't bark too loud, likes to run and play like a puppy but loves to be around the kids and has put up with being held really well. Even John has liked having Oreo around. I will come down at night after checking on the kids and John will be sitting on the couch with Oreo right next to him watching TV. Watch out, I am sure we will be adding a four legged friend to our family rather soon!

This week was also the start of College Football! The Gators won! It was so fun to watch the kids get excited about football with their dad. On Friday the kids and I made cupcakes for lunch on Saturday. The kids call it the football party and love helping me get lunch ready for the game. Charlie even watched a bunch of the game with John this weekend. He has been playing the football game on PS3 with John so it is cute to hear them talk about the teams.