Kinder-goodbye

After 8 years of Kindergarten and Kindergarten anticipation, I turned the page on another chapter of my novel of Motherhood. Anna is officially a big girl, moving on to those grades that have numbers instead of names.

All 4 of my Kindergartners were the "afternoon kind" to quote Junie B. Jones. I confess, I won't miss the multiple drop-off and pick-up schedule next year, but I am mourning mornings spent with children come Fall.

Anna had a wonderful year with some of the most darling little girls in her class. Her favorite friend is Annie...of course. They have more in common than just a similar name. It has been such a change to get to know little girls this time around...to go to little girl parties, to hear little girl woes and worries, to see how little girls play. It's definitely quieter when Anna's friends come over than it was with her brothers. And nothing has ever been accidentally broken.

Anna had two fantastic teachers...Mrs. Tyler and Mrs. Sandgren. I loved going to help in her class every week to hear how well her teachers communicate with 5-year-olds and how effectively they open up their little minds and fill them to overflowing. Anna can read just about anything now and she knows all of her addition and subtraction math facts. It has been so exciting to see the light go on in her this last year.

She is so excited for 1st grade and misses her little friends already, but I'm willing to let this summer crawl by more slowly. It's sad to let go of this special Kindergarten world; there were more tears on the last day of school than the first for me.

What Rhymes with Smitten?

We have a new member in the family! Born March 13th, we adopted her in May.

She is furry, funny, and feisty...we named her Oreo. We figure if we keep giving our cats the names of snack foods, eventually Nabisco will get wind of it and offer us some kind of endorsement deal.

And although, she doesn't really replace the kitty we lost, it didn't take long for us to think of her as just another Talbot. Even when she is naughty. Like when she won't let us take her picture.

A place to Start

You know how when you start putting something off how it just gets easier and easier to keep putting it off? That's how I have felt about my blog lately. I know I need to write. I want to write. But somehow, I just can't make the time to write.

It could be because...

The last few weeks of school bludgeoned me with their last-minute projects, class parties, concerts, fundraisers, programs, awards, recitals, lacrosse games, field days, and graduations.

Or it might have something to do with...

planning and executing a massive fundraiser for the Young Men and Young Women in our ward. Success comes at the price of more hours of preparation than I care to confess.

And then there was...

the genesis of an honest-to-goodness teenager in my home...shortly followed by my baby's graduation from Kindergarten. A mother's heart can only stand so many milestones at once!

Oh and did I mention...

the 4 weeks straight of family coming to stay with us for the weekend. Visitors are always cheerfully welcome here, but they do cut in to my blogging minutes.

So when school ended...

I loaded up the fearsome foursome and made the trek west to visit my family and hometown roots. We looked for golf balls...we played pool...and we ate lemonade porkchops. All in all a successful outing, with the added bonus of Daddy flying out later in the week to surprise us. How many times does a husband get to pull off something like that?

So in the end...

the problem is I have too much to write about and I don't know where to begin.

But enough excuses! Summer is here and the perfect time for a fresh start. Oh, but time's up..I've got to get the boys to their track meet. I'll try again tomorrow.