Five Things

September 30, 2014

to Read (

Words)

When I sent my girl off to kindergarten for the first time, it was hard. I miss her when she is gone and I anxiously wait for the school day to be over. As soon as I see her I ask her about her day and want her to tell me everything, but she doesn't. After talking with a friend over the weekend I learned this is a pretty common kindergarten thing. They don't share much about their day. Amelia says "I forget" whenever I ask her a question. I don't think it's because she doesn't want to share, I just think she is exhausted after a full day at school and isn't in the mood to chat. In an effort to get her talking I came up with a little game we play at night. Five Things. We take turns telling each other five things about our day. Since I am usually at home I start off by telling her something cute or silly that her cat did that day. She usually giggles which makes the whole "game" fun. I'm excited that she now gets home from school and asks to play the 5 things game. I also ask a lot of questions for each thing she tells me... which allows me to get even more information about her day.

sorry for the blurry photo. we leave for school when it's still kind of dark out and my phone doesn't always take good photos at that time of day.

Other moms, have you experienced this as well?

Ashley Elizabeth

1 Comments

Another milestone hit

September 25, 2014

to Read (

Words)

Amelia lost her first tooth last night. We noticed it was loose before she started school and we have been wiggling it for days. Every morning and night she would bring me a piece of gauze to try and pull it out. Last night I finally pulled hard enough. It bled a lot and she cried a ton. The tooth fairy came and brought her a gold dollar coin. She grinned from ear to ear, and I teared up looking at my little girl. She's growing up too fast.

Ashley Elizabeth

3 Comments

A recap of our busy week

September 19, 2014

to Read (

Words)

I swear one of these weeks I will blog more than one day. Lately I just don't know where the time goes. We are constantly on the go. This week was no different in the busy department.

Saturday we went and got bridesmaid dresses. After we went with Grace to get her nose pierced.

Sunday Grace, Amelia and I went to Oktoberfest. Mark and Chris were both working and unable to go with us. I love OFest! It's so much fun.

Monday my mom picked Amelia up from school, took her to ballet and then kept her overnight. Mark and I went on a day date. We saw "Let's Be Cops" and went to happy hour. It was nice to spend some time together.

Tuesday there was a new family breakfast at Amelia's school. Since Mark had to work my mom went with me. After we went shopping and to lunch. We ate at La Petite Provence in SE Portland. It is so delicious. I had a blt with egg on a fresh baked croissant. For dessert mom and I split marionberry cheesecake and a chocolate lemon thing. Both were delicious.

Wednesday was my first day volunteering at the school. I signed up to help with picture day and it was so much fun. I loved seeing all of the little kids dress up. It was also nice to be able to remind my child to give her "real smile" instead of the usual fake smile I get. I didn't take a picture before school so you guys just get a goofy one of her after school.

Thursday was back to school night. I can't say enough how much I love her school. It was such a wonderful place. The school itself makes up the greatest community and everyone is so friendly and willing to help everyone. Amelia loves it also.

Thursday's attire

At back to school night we had to pick out which Picasso inspired self portrait was Amelia's... and I knew right away. The side bangs and glasses were a dead giveaway. I just love the art they have done so far.

Today I took Amelia to school and then spent the rest of the day at home. I took a long nap... and could have probably slept the day away. I've been exhausted lately, definitely having a hard time adjusting to my 5am alarm.

There are some awesome new items available at Cinnamon Creek Boutique. Head on over and check them out.

Happy Weekend

Ashley Elizabeth

3 Comments

High Five for Friday

September 12, 2014

to Read (

Words)

Today we are celebrating my sister Erica's birthday! She's the best older sister a girl could ask for.

We had a busy week and I am pretty sure I'm having a harder time thank Amelia adjusting to this whole waking up early thing. It's hard. I am exhausted and just want to jump in bed and sleep for a day.

I'm doing a giveaway on my Cinnamon Creek Boutique's Facebook page that ends today! Run on over and check it out. There is a store credit giveaway, accessories and a percentage off all purchases for 6 months. I have some cute items up and will be posting a lot more in the coming weeks. Oh and I'm now offering girls and boys clothing!

Amelia is still loving school. She doesn't grumble too much when I wake her up and she has plenty to tell us when we pick her up in the afternoon. This week they took a walk as a class to go play at the nearby splash pad. I love private school! She had music a couple of days this week and was excited to tell me all about playing the drum (she's asked me to take drum lessons for over a year... we might have to do that soon). I'm thrilled this experience has been wonderful for our family so far.

Amelia started back to ballet this week. She had the summer off, with the exception of two dance camps she did, so she was happy to start again.

I've been swamped with invoicing and ordering for my children's boutique. I love it!

I had a family photo shoot this week. I love this family so much and had fun doing it.

Speaking of photography... I have been getting quite a bit more interest from people wanting photos taken. It is exciting. I have always wanted to do this, but didn't have the confidence to jump in and start a business. I love capturing smiles and special moments for people. It really is a wonderful thing. I took some time the other day to create some photography packaging. I like the idea of packaging each session up a little differently to suit the photos.

Mark works all weekend so I plan on sleeping in! What are your weekend plans? We are going to a birthday dinner tomorrow night for my brother in-law. It will be fun to see them and catch up. We have all been so busy that we don't get together often anymore.

Ashley Elizabeth

0 Comments

Wordless Thursday... Is that a thing?

September 11, 2014

to Read (

Words)

Ashley Elizabeth

1 Comments

Lately

September 09, 2014

to Read (

Words)

Wow, I really haven't blogged much at all lately. Partially because we've been so busy getting into the groove of this whole school thing, and partially because I'm exhausted. Amelia has had a wonderful time in school thus far. She absolutely loves it. Everything about it. I thought the adjustment into a set schedule would be tough, but she's handled it like a champ. She's never had a set bedtime so I often find myself wondering what to do once she's asleep. I've never been one to need "me time" and would rather just hang out with her, and I'm a little sad that she's gone all of the time. I'm sure once the excitement of this change has settled down a bit I will be able to accomplish more of the things I want to do during the day. Here are a few photos of what we've been up to lately. While looking through my phone pics to find some to share I only found one of Mark... wearing a woman's tank top as a wife beater, and I'm pretty sure he'd hate my sharing it. So, you get Amelia and I instead.

We had a garage sale this past weekend... which was a total bust. Amelia made more money at her lemonade stand than we did selling our old crap. She's the cutest though!

Amelia groans a lot when I ask to take her picture... but not in her uniform. She loves plaid and asks me to take her picture before school.

Our friends had a baby in June and we celebrated her this weekend at a potluck. She is such a sweet little thing. This is a photo we snapped on our way there.

This is Amelia on the way home from school. All day kindergarten just wipes a little girl out.

Let me just tell you... making lunch for an incredibly picky vegetarian in a nut-free classroom is really difficult. This definitely warrants it's own future post.

I tried out some new makeup this week and fell in love.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. My agenda consists of driving Amelia to and from school (30 minutes away), invoicing and ordering for my children's boutique, editing photo sessions, donating/selling the rest of our stuff and making decor/planning/preparing for my sister's bridal shower that I'm hosting. I can't believe how busy life is at this moment. I think I need a drink!

Ashley Elizabeth

2 Comments

Kindergarten

September 02, 2014

to Read (

Words)

Well, it's happened. Last night Amelia took her shower, packed her backpack, set out her clothes, brushed her teeth and I put curlers in her hair. I hopped in her bed with her to snuggle for a little bit and she talked a million miles a minute. I told her she needed to be brave and talk to her teachers and classmates. She is an incredibly shy girl and talking to people she's not entirely comfortable with is a big challenge for her. We talked about how important it is to raise her hand, to not talk when others are talking, to listen to her teacher and to be kind to all of the kids in her class. This morning she woke up with no complaint, even though it was hours before her normal wake up time. She ate a good breakfast, brushed her teeth and got her uniform on. She talked the entire drive to school (we live about 30 minutes away from her school with morning traffic). I snapped a few photos of her in her classroom, she found her seat and then said "bye mommy, I love you. See you in a little bit". and that was it. I might have teared up a bit. I'm excited for her. She loves learning. I just can't believe how fast it all goes. How quickly they grow up.

Photos (a mix of camera and phone pics)... I got a lot of fake smiles from her. That girl...