How I feel about school!

Lexi and Dillan have been at school all day, I have been extra productive, working, cleaning, taking care of my to-do list. I will be leaving in a while to get Dillan, and then go meet Lexi at her bus. The day is of course bitter-sweet. My sentiments of last year have not changed much. I am so excited for my kids to get to have the excitement and enjoyment of learning. I wish they could just be kids who play and have no cares a while longer. Yet, I love the break I get with them out of the house all day. I want Lexi to go to all day kindergarten because I think it will be better for her. I want Dillan to have challenges and just LOVE school. I am excited for them.

Then of course I have my worries...I worry about them socially, will they be liked? Will other kids be nice to them? I worry about their behavior. Will they be good in class? Will they be the kids other parents hate because they teach their children crude language or encourage inappropriate behavior? I worry about them emotionally. Will they be able to manage such a long day away from home? Will they know how to cope with the pressures of peers and academics? I am a mom, I worry. I want my kids to have high esteem, to get along with everyone, and be a good example. I want them to be smart, and always behave in the classroom. Of course, I know my hopes are not entirely realistic, but that doesn't change them.

I loved school growing up, and I want my children to love learning, knowledge, and expanding their minds as much as I did. I hope that their teachers will recognize how precious they are to me, and how important they are to me. I pray that they will take care of them, be their advocates, and support them. I know I am being emotional, but it is so hard to watch them grow up and yet I am so eager for them to as well. I feel like a vortex of conflicting emotion.

That is what the first day of school is for me...just wait until Derrick starts, then you will see emotional Rach! haha

Hope all of you have great back-to-school and first day of school as well!

And It Begins Again!

 

It is the first day of school again, and wow, I have a lot to say, but for now, just pictures, later you can get a whole fix of my feelings and emotions as I send my children out, and entrust someone else to take care of them, and hopefully love them!

 Isn't she cute in her little uniform?

 My big girl riding the bus!

 Her bus partner Alana, also in her class! Yay!

 Silly faces!

 Dillan getting ready to head out!

Dillan Soccer

I realized I wrote a ton about Lex, and did not even talk about Dillan's soccer game today. He also played really well today. He has a great coach and a fun team. They are really working on spreading out and playing defense. He scored 2 goals today as well! His team was great, I think every kid (on his team) got a chance to score a goal. His grandparents and Aunt Wendi came to watch him play, and they got to see him do really well. I feel bad because I did not take any pictures! I had been snapping photos all day (literally), and by the time his game came around I was not in the mood. But he of course looked so cute, and played his little heart out. I am so glad my kids are enjoying a sport and having fun on a team!

Some more senior pics, look familiar?

So when I took Sara's pictures the other day, her friend Brea came with her. She had fun, and her mom asked me if I would do her pictures as well. I said yes! I am having a lot of fun with this, trying to figure out a few things, and learning a lot about light, angles, and editing...haha or pretending to edit. Anyway, she pretty much wanted the same stuff as Sara, so we went to all the same places, and did many of the same poses. These are just a few of the pics. There are a lot more! haha Too much fun!
 

Isn't she a gorgeous girl?

 

So see how her arm is going off to the side? She is holding the bush out of her face, lol!

 

There was this cute little baby geting her pics done next to us, and she was in a big tutu, no top, and all these pearls. Everyone was trying to get her to do stuff and she was just cheesing it up! Brea thought it was pretty funny, and I thought her laughing made a great picture.

 This is my favorite picture because I think she totally looks like a flower child, hippie, or something, so pretty! And the colors are just so bright and fun!

 On this one I blurred the edges and faded the color for effect. What do you guys think? I love it!

 Oh man, she is such a cute girl! I had a lot of fun taking these pictures!

Proud Mama

Today was a proud mom day for me. This messy face little girl just made me smile, and smile, and smile. Remember last soccer season how Lexi would twirl, chase butterflies, ask about snacks, run off the field mid-play to pet a dog, etc.? Well, can I just say that sometimes they grow up pretty fast? What a difference a few months can make. This season she is my little dominator. She played so well today! The girl was on fire.

It was pretty dang hot out there, but she still managed to score 2 goals! Her first 2 I might add. She also had 4 assists. She had some great stops, blocks, etc. She was amazing! See how she is smiling? Not so much on the field...it was hilarious! She had on this little scowl as she glared down the other team (some of the girls were on her team last year, which was really funny). She got physical, was aggressive, and played so well! Can you tell I am proud?

 Her team is just so cute. Her jersey hadn't come in yet, which is why she is wearing a different one. After the game all the parents formed a human tunnel for the girls to run through, and gave them high fives at the end of it. The kids got such a kick out of it that all the teams ran through it! haha

 

I am really excited for this seasons because she finally cares, and it shows!

Sara's Senior Pics

Sara wanted some senior portraits done before she went back to school, but since she has no money (jobless senior) she asked me to do them. Of course I am no pro, but I sure had fun! I am going to do some of her friend tomorrow, which is also exciting! The picture color is not the same on the blog as it is on my screen, but I promise they turned out great! haha Let me know what you guys think!

(I need a reflector to help with the shadows, ordered one, but not here yet! Boo)

Becca's Baby!

Okay, so we all know I do not want another baby (sorry, I lack the desire to deprive myself of anymore sleep, or add any more stretch marks), but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a cute baby when I see one. Here are a few fun pictures I took of Becca's cute, tiny little girl. She is sweet. I do like her!

Freezer Meals- My first attempt

Ok, so I got this bug the other day to make some meals to stick in my freezer. After a long day of kids and work, the last thing I want to do is make a meal for the family, so more often than not, we scrounge, or go out. Going out is getting too expensive, and frankly, I am tired of it, because when all is said and done, going out takes just as long as preparing something would, and my kids are starting to get entitled. Last week I decided to make up some easy freezer meals that I already knew how to do, and see if I actually used them or not. I spent about 2 hours, and made 5 lasagnas (3 meat, 2 veggie), 4 casseroles (chicken broccoli and rice), and froze taco meat for tacos, taco soup, taco salad, etc.

We have been loving it! Sunday, I had stuff after church I had to do for my calling, so Brett broke out a Lasagna, and threw together a quick salad. Perfect, dinner was so fast and easy! Then, all week, when I have needed to get dinner on, but had deadlines, I have been walking out to the freezer and grabbing something, an hour in the oven, and presto, change-o dinner!

So, I decided I should make a few more things, so we would have options. I tried making a big crock pot full of BBQ pork roast for salads, quesadillas, tacos, etc. but Derrick got to it right as it got finished, and a bottle of dish soap later, it went in the trash. (Same with the baked beans I made, only it was a whole container of salt). So I gave up for a few days. Today I was feeling overwhelmed at coming up with a meal for the kids, who are home all day and bored, so I printed off my list of yummy looking freezer meals I had searched the internet for, and went shopping. 

This is my counter full of ingredients, seasonings, and foil containers for freezing the food in.

 

This is my sink full of chicken defrosting to use in the various meals I wanted to prepare (remember I had beef meals already prepared).

Another closer view of some of the ingredients...

 And this is the lovely, and oh so satisfying result of 7 hours in the kitchen.

 

Here's what I ended up with:

6 chicken pot pies

4 lasagnas

4 broccoli chicken casseroles

3 beef enchiladas (making chicken ones tomorrow)

40 individual sized pockets (some ham, cheese, and broccoli, some mexican)

Lots of bags of BBQ pulled pork

3 bags of marinating chicken strips for the grill

1 big bag of marinating chicken legs for the grill

7 cheesy ham and potatoe casseroles

3 big bags of homemade precooked breaded chicken strips

5 containers of taco meat 

Basically I have over 50 lunch and dinner meals prepared and frozen and in my freezer. I am really excited about this because I do Bountiful Baskets on Saturdays and so I always have fresh produce, which can be added to these frozen dinners for fast and easy. Tomorrow I am going to make banana bread, muffins, brownies, and cookies, as well as some quiche and other breakfast fare to add to it. Wish me luck!