Last week was an eventful one around here. A couple of days before our fun little TV appearance, the girls got new haircuts!
A quick “before.” Their hair was getting so long!
We were able to donate what we cut for cancer patients are were so excited about that.
And after! Nothing like a new do!
Quick pics I snapped with my Iphone on Easter Sunday. This was the dress Ad wore on TV and a few of you asked me where I bought it. The dresses are from Children’s Place. LOVE them! They came with a darling yellow belt but the belt sits too low on my girls right now because I bought them a little big so they can wear them next spring/summer too. So next year they will be rockin’ the belt. :)
The little dude got a haircut too! This is the only way we pull it off. We sit him on Kenny’s lap with a game or movie on the ipad. And even this set up only last a few minutes before he is ready to bolt! Luckily our hair dresser is FAST. :)
Last week was also monumental for us because Kole started pre-school! It is an amazing little school and I know it will be so good for him. Just a few hours in the morning, a great program plus he will receive additional speech therapy in school. I’m thrilled about that. But can I just say that I had a really emotional week because of it. The first day of school he was so excited to be there (we had visited the school together a few times so it was familiar) right up until it was time to say good-bye to mom. He cried. I was brave. I blew kisses and waved good-bye and told him I’d be right back. I held it together and drove away. I went to the grocery store and started wandering down the first isle in the store thinking of how for so many years I have thought about what it would be like to get groceries without dealing with a baby or chasing a busy toddler throughout the store. Nine years to be exact. I thought about how so many times I had dreamt of this very moment. How wonderful it would be. By isle 2 I had tears streaming down my cheeks and by isle 5 I was full on bawling. I just left the store. Didn’t even buy groceries. I went to my car and called to check on Kole. Of course he had only cried for a minute and was fine and having a ball. I on the other hand, cried on and off throughout the entire week. It is the end of an era for me and I guess I’m having a harder time with it than I thought I would. Even though it’s time and I’m ready for it. Even though I wouldn’t change it. It is still hard. Moms understand. :)
This week is our Spring Break and I am so happy to have all three of my kiddos home with me all day. I need that right now. If for nothing else but to remind me that I need them to all head right back to school the following week! ;)
Kole needs a little backpack for pre-school (how cute is that!?). They use it to send home notes about what he did each morning. I have narrowed it down to three and I’d love to hear your vote! Aside from haircuts, being on the news, and Kole starting pre-school we also had a stressful week with the new house and I am so OVER making decisions! So will you make this one for me? :)
I found these darling shark backpacks from Pottery Barn Kids that I can personalize with his name (so cool you can test it out on-line!).
Navy and Red
Green and Navy
OR…
This adorable monkey backpack I found on sale at Joss and Main. Too cute! I’m kind of leaning towards this one because Kole is a little monkey himself. :) What is your favorite? Anyone else have a crying jag last week?
:)
xoxo, Erin
monkey!!!!
My daughter starts Kindergarten in the fall and I am so not ready! :( Although she has gone to daycare in the past, Kindergarten is such a big step. I definitely know what you mean. Sigh!
Monkey….before he outgrows it (but you don’t want to think about that this week!!). I hear you Erin, it was a huge step waving my girls off and the last one was definitely the hardest – big hugs xx
Let Kole choose?
I would go w/ Monkey, so cute :) !
I’d go with the green and white- weren’t they his nursery colors? All preschool backpacks are adorable though when the little guys are running around with them on so you can’t go wrong. I had a rough week also, lots going on with my kids and 2 of them are having a stressful time and we’re all over extended, so yes lots of tears coming from out of nowhere. Good luck to you. Youre not alone!
Oh Erin I completely understand, My son starts Kindergarten in the fall and I am so not ready for it (and hes my oldest!) But he was my lil NICU baby, and also gets speech and Ot and I just cant imagine him going off to Kindergarten all day. Here in NYC the age vut off is Dec 31, so He will still only be 4 when he starts since he has a late birthday =( Im crying just thinking about it, lol!!
I like the green and white one! I was looking at pottery barn too for my kids school bags for next year (on sale now!) and I couldnt decide between small or large for kindergarten. Anyways I think you should let him pick! Good luck and the girls look adorable and such a nice thing you did donating it!
Monkey! :)
Greetings from Germany
OH the Monkey…Hang in there Erin soon you will be organizing and decorating your new House…Donna
Your post made me cry. My fifth and final kiddo will go to preschool this fall. I have been thinking about that day I can run errands without kids, too; but, can only imagine my response will be the same.
Oh no question about it! The monkey backpack :) He can have the other styles as he gets older but the monkey backpack is just too cute for this age!
I really like the first backpack but perhaps in this day and age it is not so smart to have their names so visible? (and isn’t that a sad commentary on our society?!?!)
The monkey one is adorable and would suit his personality well :)
Adorable haircuts. Love the blue and red backpack and the monkey one too!
Oh what mom can’t relate! Oh so true. I find myself … still when the kids (now adults!) leave going out on the porch with Steve waving and feeling a little tinge of oh don’t go even though of course!
He will be adorable in any of the backpacks and how very wonderful to have your girls be able to donate their hair. Such a beautiful family.
I was going to say Navy and Red, which would hide more dirt, but after seeing a lot of people say Monkey, I would agree. It will hide dirt well, too, and it is cute before he gets too old for it.
I too had a little break down. :-) I went to visit my friend that is receiving radiation treatments and taking Chemo at the Cleveland Clinic. I had a day planned to go visit him and every day closer to the day it made me so sad. I also donated blood the day before the visit which always kicks my butt so bad with exhaustion. So, the evening after the visit I BROKE down. Must have been the week for tears. I want you to know that I am thinking of you this week especially. Happy to have you here with all of us.
i love the little Monkey one! my kids have the animal backpacks for mother’s day out; Sienna has an owl and Luka has a puppy dog. That is very hard. Like you said, even though you are ready, something inside still hurts. I’ve had an emotional time the past couple of days. We are ready to not have kids anymore, so my hubby had a “procedure” to make it permanant. Even though I know, logically, I don’t want another child, my heart has been hurting. thinking of you!
I’d definitely go Monkey while it defines him. So cute! And I agree for a boy, the white will definitely show lots of dirt and wear early on. My boys love their Pottery Barn backpacks though, they ~really~ hold up and you gotta love the personalization too. But of course, I let them pick theirs and they both have the sharks now.
I vote for the monkey! So cute! I remember when my youngest started school. I had waited 10 l-o-n-g years for that to happen. It was definitely bittersweet, but it sure was nice to shop without all the distractions of kids. :)I was amazed at how fast I could breeze through the store too. :)
This is a message for Jill. I just read that in NYC, parents can request a waiver to hold back their child. I am suprised that the general rule is that 4 year olds are entering into kindergarten. I live in Washington state and the child must be 5 years old by the end of August for the start of the school year in Sept. So all of the Sept, Nov, Dec kids actually end up being the older ones in their class. Parents can request a special placement test for early entry, but I chose not too. I felt my child was not ready at 4 to enter kindergarten. So Washington state and NYC have opposite rules.
Thank you so much, could you possibly show me the link to where you saw this? You made my day!
That growing up thing? They do it all the time! I can’t beleive my babies, my little ones would do this – grow up! I’m weepy all the time :( But they are still amazing to me :)
I’d go monkey – because at this age momma makes the choice and soon enough he will be big and argumentative and want something ‘cool’. Go for ‘cute’ as much as you can!!
Monkey!!! It’s fun, it’s adorable and before you know it he’ll be out of this stage.
I say the monkey one too :)
I was leaning toward the Green and Navy …but the more I think about it, go for the Monkey! Growing up is hard, not only for the kiddos but for us Mommas too!
Hugs, Theresa
Jill, glad I was able to help! I looked up the guidelines out of curiousity since Washington is so different. Anyway google is my search engine, and I typed in NYC kindergarten cutoff and alot of articles popped up. The one I read was this:
http://www.examiner.com/article/changes-for-nyc-kindergarten-2013-what-will-it-mean-to-you
Im guessing its as easy as calling your school district and asking them about waiver. I also looked up California and they are transitioning into the same guidelines as Washington. I also checked out your blog Jill, and I’m going to take advantage of the kindergarten readiness advice and suggestions you gave, so thank you because getting my child ready has been weighing heavily on my mind. Oh and your family is adorable!
I love the green & navy one. I am a sucker for personalized backpacks. You may get more years out of that one then a “character” one.
I would get him the cute little monkey back pack. So cute!
Yay for donating the girls hair. That organization is near and dear to my heart. They look so cute. Such pretty girls.
I have to agree with Stephanie. We watched a show that talked about this. Putting initials on their, shirts, back packs is great but they said that names are not a good idea. They said that it is to easy to lure a child that way. I know that you, like me, would never have Kole out of your sight. But, we live in a crazy world.
Hang in there Erin. I think Kole is going to love pre school.
xoxo
I say buy 2….the green and white is my favorite. But I love the Monkey also. Get them both, then you will have a backup if he looses one. The green and blue one makes a cute beach backpack too. Love you!
Definitely get the monkey. It’s so cute!
I’m hearing MONKEY so far! :) Thanks for your opinions everyone! And for all of the sweet comments. I feel like I relate to so many of you! Sorry to those of you who are also having difficult weeks. Glad to know I’m not the only one in tears half of the time! :)
xoxo
I love navy and green, BUT a backpack with white doesn’t seem like the best choice for a preschooler. It will be a dirt magnet. The monkey backpack is adorable!
Oh Erin I can so completely relate to your tears! My kids are 16, 14, 11, and 7. I am so thankful for my sweet little seven-year-old! Just this morning he came into my bedroom at 6am (I was up getting the 16yo off to early-morning seminary–incidentally it is very snowy here this morning and he put his car in the ditch for the first time). Anyway–my little boy had his three favorite stuffed animals with him and he wanted to cuddle. So adorable. I totally don’t want him to grow up. I guess I appreciate it most with him because he is our youngest and last. :( We tried for another but it didn’t work out. I completely understand your emotions!
PS–Monkey!
Good point Kimberly!
Sheila – you get it! I know I will feel the same way with Kole. It’s so hard when your baby starts growing up! And so sorry about the car in the ditch! Oh my word – that made me smile because I did the SAME thing when I was 16 on my way to drill team practice! Ha ha… Teenagers! :)
I love the haircuts! They look so cute! As for the backpacks – love them all, but you can only get away with monkeys and other characters like that for a few years – go with the fun one now and he’ll still be up for the other ones when he’s a little older =)
The monkey one is so so cute! It has my vote!
Love the monkey backpack!
The story about Kole brought tears to my eyes…I tear up every single year on the first day of school…and my daughter is in 5th grade! Nobody ever told me that being a mom would turn me into such a mush!!!
Crying Jag??!! I hear ya Erin! I cried on and off for a week straight, the week before I went back to work from Mat Leave (12 months off with my little one…it was HARD). I would love to know how you managed to cut your little man’s hair when he was younger. I am really struggling with hair cuts right now on my 19 month old little man. Little boys are Monkeys!! Speaking of…the Monkey backpack is cute! ;)
Get the Monkey! Besides, you can get them at Target for under $16 I think and they have matching lunch boxes. If that’s the Skip Hop brand there is also a blue puppy.
Pretty sure I am the only mom on earth who was NOT sad about her last child starting preschool. You know how crazy my life was and you know how relieved I was when it happened and I cherished every minute of it.
My sadness was a few years delayed because I’m only just now starting to feel sad about her growing up.
And I say MONKEY!!!
Erin, my 12 year old was looking over my shoulder and said…”NOT the monkey, cuz he’ll get made fun of.” I told him Kole is only three so it’s probably safe but DEFINITELY NOT for middle school:)
If all he’s bringing home is little things, I would go with the monkey backpack. Second would be the green shark backpack. They’re all so cute! I got a dog backpack just like the monkey one for my son when he was two. He used it to haul around his diapers and snacks. He loved it and still uses it two years later.
Also, my son goes to preschool for speech therapy too. He’s been going for a year now and it’s amazing the progress he’s made and how much he loves it. Kole will be great!
I like the monkey one. So cute. Keep sharing with us!
Your girls are adorable. I love those dressed. I am definitely going to buy those for my girls. :)
My oldest daughter starts preschool in the fall and I am already dreading it. I can’t imagine her being as school without me. I feel for you. I can’t even fathom not having a baby or a toddler around at this point in my life. I know it will come someday, but hopefully not too soon. Hugs coming your way. :)
Hey- totally relate to the grocery store incident…I can’t do anything but “wander aimlessly” until I hear how the first day of school went every year…then I am ok :)…as far as backpacks, did you let Kole look at them? I wondered if he had a favorite…as far as being practical,the longer backpack will hold notes, papers, artwork,etc. better without it getting crumpled,etc…both are cute!
My four-year-old son says…blue/red sharks and that he “loves sharks”….it would probably hold items better too….
I like the monkey one! So cute! What does Kole like best? Maybe he can choose?
Thanks for the feedback everyone!
Kathleen – got it. Monkey now, not later. :) I’ll need your “boy” advice every step of the way!
I love the girls’ new haircuts (and their outfits!!) but I especially love that their hair was donated to cancer patients :) Your drop-off/grocery store story had me in tears!!! Mommas do understand. I like all of the backpack choices, I’m no help!
Green and blue. And love the new haircuts! Ellie looks super cute with shorter hair!
I love those backpacks! I say monkey- there are only so many years for a monkey backpack.
My little guy is 21 months and I cry just thinking about him going to school!
Tried to get the dresses but they are gone from the website
:(
Erin! I just got to see your cute TV appearance! It was so great! Your all looked so cute! What a fun thing!
ps. I love the monkey! :)
Oh thanks you guys! I will tell the girls you all like the haircuts. :)
Caitlin – BUMMER! I’m so sorry! Those must have sold fast!
Girls look perfect after haircut. They look beautiful.
Monkey! I’ve been eyeballing one like that at Target for my little monkey :)