First day of Kindergarten

Today I took my sweet little girl to her first day of Kindergarten, OMG!!! Maisie has been so excited and this morning was no exception. She couldn't wait to see her teacher Miss Nancy, her classmates and she was also looking forward to seeing her gymnastics friend Kaity. Kaity is in first grade but Kindergarten, first & second graders have a combined gym class which meets first thing Monday & Wednesday mornings and Maisie is looking forward to it so that she can be with Kaity and Kaity's Mom Joyce, who's the phys. ed. instructor.

When I dropped Maisie off this morning I carried in all the required school supplies and Maisie found the desk with her name on it and sat down ready to start her day. I asked her for a snug & a hug and she jumped into my arms, gave me a big hug & kiss, told me that Mummy always comes back and then basically pushed me away. I put her down and she sat right down at her desk waiting for Miss Nancy to give her some paper & crayons. With a few tears in my eyes I left my little girl at big girl school!!

Maisie looked so tiny compared to all the "big" kids in her class. A few of the children are just on the brink of turning five, most are already five and there's at least one girl who will turn six before Maisie even turns four in October. Maisie does so well with older children and I know that she's going to thrive this year.

I've added Maisie's pictures from her first days at Wee School back in 2008 & 2007. I can't get over how much my little baby has grown, look how tall she's become!! I'm so excited for Maisie and just can't wait to pick her up this afternoon and hear all about her first day.

Here's Maisie with her friend Kaity, ready to start their first day of school!

Maisie one year ago on her first day of Wee School.

Maisie two years ago on her first day of Wee School.

Leapster Loving Lass

It's three word Sunday again!*

Maisie has now had her Leapster for 19 nights. Overall my plan to use it as incentive to have her sleep in her own bed, all night long so that next day she gets to play with it seems to be working. Since she got the Leapster, all but the second night and two nights this past week when she's awoken with nightmares, she's slept all night in her own bed, woohoo!! After we do her nighttime routine and say our goodnight we allow her to play her games in bed for a while and she's been good when we tell her that it's time to turn it off and go to sleep. In addition the game that she has helps her with her writing and math skills and she doesn't even realize that it's educational. Overall the Leapster is a hit in our house.

* Sum up your week in three little words. You can sing it, you can say it, you can write it, you can draw it. It can be funny or sad or poignant as long as it’s honest. Check out Pug Mama's blog later in the week to see her video of all the participant's pictures.

Social Saturday

Maisie's social calendar was full today and she had a great day. This morning Maisie and Eammon attended Claire's 3rd birthday party which was held at PLAY and from what they both told me, she had a great time. Give Maisie a trampoline, foam pit, friends and cake and what's not to love. She hasn't been to PLAY since May so she had great fun being back there again. While Maisie and Eammon played and partied I got to straighten up the house, go to the grocery, prepare some food for dinner, run and empty the dishwasher and get the laundry for the week finished, the party would have been a lot more fun but I just wasn't prepared for our guests who were coming for dinner.

After the party Eammon was quite tired from all the jumping and playing but little energizer Maisie was still going strong. After quite a struggle she did finally nap but it was brief especially compared to Eammon's. After nap our dinner guests Ilene, Michael & April arrived and would you believe that Maisie and April were wearing identical outfits! Maisie and April looked so cute together and immediately started playing with the hula hoops, on the trampoline, balance beam and bar. Next thing we knew they had gone off together to Maisie's bedroom where they were reading books, giggling and having a great time. For me it was like a glimpse into the future when she's a teen, hanging in her room with friends.

Next stop for the girls was the pool where Eammon and Michael sat outside watching and playing with them while Ilene and I enjoyed staying in the air conditioning as I got dinner assembled. Grilled pizza, broccoli salad and watermelon & honeydew salad comprised our menu and everyone enjoyed. Ilene and Michael brought dessert of cherries and and ice cream cake and though I'm the only cherry eater in this house, the ice cream cake was a huge hit with everyone.

After dinner we all played a little Wii and before we knew it, it was after 8:30 so our evening had to come to an end. Ilene and I changed the girls into their pajamas and then it was hugs and silliness before April and family headed home. A very fun afternoon and evening with friends which will hopefully be repeated again soon.

Bathing beauties

Life with Maisie since my last post has been basically good but very trying. All of a sudden Maisie's total attitude, drama, naughtiness, demanding, pushing limits and boundaries and out to drive both Eammon and I crazy. Her sleep has been poor, waking up multiple
times during the night screaming and then she's unable to fall back to sleep quickly and totally not wanting to be alone in her own bed. For about the past two weeks she had been doing well sleeping in her own bed but two out of the past three nights she's ended up sleeping with me so needless to say, we're both exhausted. Thankfully it hasn't all been naughtiness and drama and we've had some good fun too.

Thursday was a very exciting day for Maisie as we went to her new school's open house where she met her teacher Miss. Nancy as well as her classmates. Her class will have eight students, six girls and two boys and one of the little girls whom she took to immediately was also adopted from China. During the orientation Maisie also saw Kaity whom she knows from gymnastics and is very excited that she'll have phys.ed with Kaity and that Kaity's Mom Joyce (whom she also knows) will be her instructor. Having someone there that she knew made the experience so much easier and Maisie's excited to start on Monday. Thursday afternoon was of course gymnastics practice again and no matter how good or bad Maisie's day is going, when she's at the gym she's focused, happy and just always has a great time. I'm excited as Maisie and her teammates were all measured for their team leotard. Last years leo was so adorable, I can't wait to see what they'll be wearing this year.

Today Lisa & Briana came over for a fun little play date. The girls played inside with all the toys for a while but the siren call of the pool soon had us all outside. Even though we have a nice big pool in our subdivision it's so easy with the little ones to just have the blow-up pool on the deck so that Lisa and I could sit comfortably and chat while the girls played. The girls had fun in the play house, the pool, playing with the hose and on the spinning rocket. Originally when we planned the play date I had mentioned that I'd have a pizza delivered for lunch but instead I decided to make some grilled pizzas and Lisa & Bri both seemed to enjoy them. Maisie's playtime ended abruptly when she became very naughty and wouldn't listen so she was put to bed for an early nap and she did end up sleeping well. Bri was so good and happy playing with Maisie's toys which she said "were cool" that even while Maisie napped, Lisa and Bri stayed and it was nice being able to visit for a while longer.

We have a busy Saturday but a quiet Sunday and then Monday is the first day of school and ballet & tap class resumes!! Overall it's been a very fun two weeks of Mummy & Maisie time and I will miss being able to spend so much time together with such a relaxed schedule but I think we both thrive when our schedule and days are full. Makes it so special when we do get extended down time together and allows us to appreciate our time together that much more.

You knew that daily blog posting couldn't last

I know that there are a few people who would love daily Maisie posts but those people know me all too well and know that I'd never be able to keep up posting at that pace but hey, eight days in a row of posting, not too shabby!

We really enjoyed our weekend, party on Saturday and a fun play day on Sunday. Neighbors K & A had been away for a week and it seems that they had major Maisie withdrawal and trust me Maisie missed them something fierce. K & A arrived home Saturday night after Maisie was already in bed but as soon as they were up Sunday morning they were knocking at the door, giving hugs to one another and ready to play. Maisie was so excited to see her friends again. K, A & Maisie played in the back yard & pool until it was nap time for Miss M (a.k.a. cranky pants that morning) and trust me, she needed that nap.

After nap time Maisie raced over to K & A's house to play some more. Eammon was heading out to see a movie with some friends so I invited K, A & parents over for a dinner of grilled pizzas. Figured that since I had picked so many figs off their tree while they were away, I should at least make some of the roasted garlic onion jam, fig & goat cheese pizzas for them. I made the pizzas and we all brought other items to the mix and had a great dinner and a nice evening.

Monday was a slow day for Maisie and I. Puzzles & books, tea parties and playing with the Wii, cleaning out a couple of kitchen cabinets and just a few afternoon errands, just a nice Mummy & Maisie day.

This morning we headed down to Ikea as I was looking for a shelving unit to hold all the television equipment, DVD's, the Wii and its games. I found and bought a unit that I think will work but we'll see how long it takes until I get it put together. While at the store Maisie said she was hungry so I was a big spender and bought her the $1.99 full breakfast which she really enjoyed and surprisingly finished almost all of it. Maisie was desperate to sleep on the drive home but I wanted her to stay awake hoping that she would nap once home. I was able to keep her awake in the car but the girl would not sleep once home...OY! After the no-nap time we headed out to gymnastics where she had a great practice. I'm really enjoying spending full and almost full days with Maisie and next week when her schedule gets crazy busy again I'm going to miss my girl.

It's three word Sunday* with Maisie

I'm so proud of Maisie for overcoming her fear of inflatables. On every other occasion that we've been near them she has either seized up in terror as soon as the door to the facility was opened and she heard the noise or, if I did get her inside she would cling to me and melt down if I dared to go near or take her anywhere close to an inflatable. I love that she's not only no longer afraid of the inflatables but that she had a great time playing on them and will do it again.

Maisie and I have one more week off together before life gets crazy busy again. Her new schedule will have her at school Monday - Thursday, Monday afternoon will be ballet & tap class, Tuesday & Thursday afternoon will include gymnastics practice and Friday will be her swimming lesson. Maisie would love to take violin lessons and Eammon would love for her to take a martial arts class but her schedule is full and maybe down the road she'll have the opportunity to do one or both of those activities. Right now though, I'm looking forward to this coming week and our time together.

* Sum up your week in three little words. You can sing it, you can say it, you can write it, you can draw it. It can be funny or sad or poignant as long as it’s honest. Check out Pug Mama's blog later in the week to see her video of all the participant's pictures.

Maisie's Saturday

This morning was all about celebrating Briana's 3rd birthday. Since we were heading to an inflatable jumping place I asked Maisie to get a pair of pink Hello Kitty socks from her drawer but instead she decided to go for a layered pink and purple look and thought she looked fabu so we went with her selection.

Maisie, who's always been petrified of inflatables because of the noise, conquered her fears today and had a great time at Bri's party. In the end she was up, down and all over just having a blast. All the children (and I use the term loosely, just check out the "big kid" piccies toward the end of this post) had lots of fun with Briana having the best time of all, the girl never stopped and the smile on her face was ear to ear.
It was fun to meet a new family, Liene, Emilija & Lane as well as see so many old friends.
Randi with her new daughter Emma.
John & Katie.
Matt & Chani.
Emily Grace, Briana, Laney & friends playing ring-a-rosie.
Trixie & Danielle.
WaWa & Andrew.
Katie on the slide.
Maisie on the slide...finally enjoying inflatables, woohoo!!
Birthday girl Bri celebrates with cake & friends.
Then the "big kids" tried to do what the little ones found so easy.

Doug giving Eammon a "little" help up the ladder.
Once Eammon made the big climb, he and John helped Doug to the top.

Thanks for a great time and Happy 3rd Birthday Bri!!
After the party we stopped for a quick lunch of sushi and then once home we tried to have Maisie take a nap but she wasn't having any part of it.

The afternoon was spent in the back yard pool where Maisie had a blast. I picked more figs from our neighbor's tree and tonight I'm making grilled pizza again for dinner as it's a favorite with all of us and so easy to make. We're in for a quiet evening, maybe a family night of Wii.

Ta till tomorrow when it's three-word-Sunday!

Friday with...

You guessed it, my girl Maisie! Just a quick post tonight and only one sad cell phone piccie today. I was up way too late last night as Eammon didn't arrive home from work until just after 11:30PM and we didn't get to bed until around 1am. Maisie of course awoke at the stroke of 6am and ran full tilt all day long.

Maisie's day started with a bath and then we headed out to get her haircut. We arrived at the salon five minutes after it opened and there were already 9 people ahead of her!! I guess not the best day to go for a haircut being that public schools in our county start on Monday so a lot of parents had the same idea of a back-to-school haircut today. The wait wasn't too bad though as most people wanted and waited for their favorite hairdresser so in the end there was only one cut and one baby bang trim before Maisie. Maisie really loves going to Miss Tina to have her hair cut and I'm sure it has nothing to do with the never ending supply of animal crackers and dum dum lollies.

From the hairdresser we headed out to do a little shopping which ended up lasting a lot longer than first planned. Maisie was so good while I was looking at things so we went with it. Maisie loved that she had absolute junk for lunch in the form of cinnamon sugar pretzel bites and after that and all the treats at the hairdresser, she was too full to eat anything nutritious. We didn't actually get home until mid-afternoon and I was going to take Maisie to the pool but Eammon called to let me know that he would be home shortly so Maisie and I played together and once Eammon got home the three of us headed out for dinner. All of us are really tired tonight so it's going to be an early night. In fact, Eammon put Maisie to bed a short while ago and he fell asleep before she did so in a few minutes when I head to bed I'll have to wake him so that he can move to our bed. I'm hoping that Maisie sleeps until at least 7am tomorrow. It's been a great week together with my girl but I'm knackered and off to lala land...night, night.

Thursdays Moments with Maisie

First off, can you believe that I've now posted five days running!! Amazing what can happen when you slow down, breathe and not run around with a crazy schedule of activities. In addition my house is also cleaner, I'm almost completely up to date on laundry and so many items are being sorted, sold, donated or thrown out...sort of liberating.

The sleeping in thing for Maisie was short lived and unfortunately seems to be a thing of the past as the past two mornings she's back to her usual schedule, up and full speed ahead before 7am. We had a good morning again today. We checked out the fruits & veggies growing in our garden and then we watered. We went for a long walk before it really got hot and then we ran out to the store to pick up some items for dinner. Once home again we prepared dough as we were going to make grilled pizza for dinner. We colored, had a little tea party, ate some lunch and then it was nap time and for a third day in-a-row my little girl napped, woohoo! I think she looks like a little angel sleeping and I love how she pulls all the pillows under and around her, I love my girl!

While Maisie slept I got her scheduled for private swim lessons starting in two weeks. She did take a swim class back in April & May and even though so many people I know raved about the place and the instructors, I was thoroughly unimpressed and quickly realized that a group class didn't provide her with enough time or attention and it was paced for the class not her, so private was the way to go. We had such a busy summer though, I just couldn't fit it into the schedule. Now it's on the schedule again and even though in the past Maisie didn't really love swim lessons, I'm hoping that this will work better for her and she'll really start to love it because swim lessons are not an option, she has to learn to swim. I also realized that summer is over for us and I had yet to sign her up for ballet. Her teacher Miss Lisa wanted Maisie to go into the 5 yr. old kindergarten class so I gave her a call to see if there was still a spot available. Lisa's so sweet and told me that of course there was a spot for Maisie and that even if the class had been full, she'd have a spot for Maisie, just precious.

After nap we headed out to gymnastics practice where Maisie totally rocked, she had a fabu practice and didn't want to leave the gym. She's definitely having gymnastics camp withdrawal as each day she asks to go to camp and is not happy when I tell her she has to wait until next summer. Three hours per week now, compared to 23 hours per week this summer just leaves Maisie wanting more. I'm glad that she loves it so much and hopefully that love for the sport will always be there for her. We then came home and made five different grilled pizzas as we each have our favorites.

Maisie has simple tastes and goes for the basics, sauce and cheese.

I think this may be my all time favorite pizza...Ever! Roasted Garlic Onion Jam, figs picked fresh off my neighbor's tree (with their permission of course) and goat cheese. I had considered doing this and think that next time I may add a drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar and maybe some toasted pine nuts for added depth of flavor and a little crunch but honestly it was so perfect as it was, I may not make any changes.

This is one of my longtime favorite pizzas, pesto, caramelized onions, goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Always delicious and easy.

Eammon generally likes more "stuff" on his pizzas and I'm always mixing it up for him. I usually put on more ingredients so this pizza is pretty tame. Tomato sauce, olive tapenade, caramelized onions, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes and cheese.

Even though Eammon mostly likes lots of ingredients he always asks for this simple pizza, Roasted Garlic Onion Jam, prosciutto, caramelized onion and cheese.

Eammon's still at work as I write this post (and hopes to be heading home sometime before 11PM!) and hopefully he'll enjoy his pizzas when he gets here and of course leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Maisie and I on the other hand enjoyed our pizzas alfresco right after returning from the gym as it was a beautiful evening to be outside with my girl. Another great day, how lucky am I to have such wonderful days with Miss Maisie.

It's Wednesday with Maisie

I'm really soaking up and enjoying my time and days with Maisie. We're usually so busy running around and with a schedule filled with activities or we're traveling or visiting with friends, to have whole days back-to-back where it's just us, and us being healthy, it's really wonderful.

Today we had to be home for the satellite company to come and switch out and change around our equipment so we had a planned morning at home. Since we had to move most of Maisie's toys in the family room so the guy could get to our television and connections, we took on a major clean-up and sorted and packed away all the items that Maisie's out grown or which no longer hold her interest. All her toys are so organized now, let's see how long it lasts!

Maisie was truly a help this morning but at the same time, a real character, as evidenced by her choice of fashion accessories. The knee and elbow pads were hidden by numerous other toys so she hadn't seen them in a while and as soon as she spotted them she was all over them. In addition, I finally put new batteries in her camera and she just had a blast taking piccies of anything and everything and was thoroughly delighted with every picture she took. The only unfortunate thing about Maisie and her camera is that she loves the delete button as much as the shutter button and is wicked fast so no picture lasts for more than a few seconds!

Maisie again spent time practicing with her hula hoop and what she could do yesterday pales in comparison to her ability today. Time after time today she was able to keep the hula hoop going for multiple minutes at a go! I've said it many times before but she amazes me with her strength and coordination and really once she figures out how to coordinate her muscles in the proper order and way, she's so physical and just rocks at whatever she sets her mind to do.

My big score for the day, I listed Maisie's play set on Craigslist and within 14 minutes had responses and it was sold! The guy came tonight, paid and picked it up and the greatest part of it all...I sold it for exactly what I paid for it back in July 2007 so in the end, it was a great, fun and free piece of play equipment that Maisie loved, out grew and we made our money back...Gotta love it!

Tuesday with Maisie

Maisie and I had another wonderful day together today with nothing other than an afternoon gymnastics practice on the schedule. Once again Maisie slept in a little later than normal but considering that she went to bed at close to 10 last night, I'm not surprised. Our morning started with a super long bath for Maisie while I showered. For a girl who once hated baths she now asks for them and wants to play in the tub for hours. Once we were both clean and dressed we started our day

It was a little steamy outside today and I had no where that I wanted, or needed to go and I just really wanted a play day with my girl so we played inside. We had fun as we turned on some music and Maisie dressed in one of her Princess outfits and we danced to Vivaldi and some Strauss waltzes. Oh yeah and check out one of her recent favorite fashion accessories, strands of beads hanging from her hair. What's up with that?? Not sure where she picked up that one but she does it all the time and thinks she's hot stuff so we go with it. We played some board games, dressed magnetic Princesses in gowns and bling, read a few books and also did a little computer time, both checking our email. For brunch we feasted on leftover quiche and I again enjoyed more fresh figs.

Maisie loves using our Wii Fit and one of her favorites is the hula hoop game. Her old hula hoop was no longer even close to round so yesterday we bought a new one and she's getting pretty good at it especially considering she has no bum or hips to help keep it up. She just lurves her hula hoop and practiced it over and over all day long!

This picture was taken after nap (woohoo two days in a row of naps...even if it was for a mere 35 minutes) just before we left for gymnastics practice and I'm not sure what she was doing but she said she was comfortable. Silly little girl!

Maisie had a great gymnastics practice and then we stopped at the store to pick up some items for dinner. Ribeye steaks on the grill, saffron rice, Aegean Edamame Salad and marinated veggies for dinner, a nice way to end a really good day.

Monday with my gal

With camp being over and no plans to speak of, Maisie and I had a fun day together. This morning Maisie actually slept in a little later than normal, a wonderful way to start the day! After a nice leisurely start we headed out and did a little shopping before going over to the county school office where I registered Maisie for school. We then headed home and enjoyed leftover homemade grilled pizza for lunch. After a nap (yeah she napped!) we played outside for a while as it was a gorgeous day. Around 3:30PM I realized that I hadn't planned anything for dinner but one look over at the garden and a quick think on what I had on hand and I had an idea. So Maisie and I picked some long beans, white & Japanese eggplant and then headed over to our neighbor's yard to pluck some figs from their tree. Maisie and I then roasted the veggies and made a wonderful crustless quiche. I used the same custard recipe as I did here but this quiche was just green onion, roasted eggplant, roasted beans and roasted garlic, totally delicious and everyone gobbled it up.

Dessert was pure gastronomic bliss in a bowl...at least for me. Perfectly ripe just picked figs with some goat cheese and a drizzle of some top of the line aged balsamic vinegar. Oh my gosh I was in heaven and I may be having this over and over during fig season, total yum!

Maisie loves picking veggies from our garden and she had a blast helping to make the quiche. Nothing over the top super special that we did but a fun day with my girl.

Three word Sunday resumes!

After about a year hiatus, Pug Mama has resumed her Three Word Sunday*. It was always fun to participate in this and Pug Mama put together some wonderful videos of all the participants submissions. It's been fun to go back and see some of the videos again and for me, remembering so many wonderful times as well as seeing my submissions and just the things that were happening in our life and how Maisie has changed. I never totally got my act together (what else is new) to participate each week but I did participate in just over half the weeks and here are my prior submissions if anyone is interested in a trip down three word memory lane: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11 & #12.

We've enjoyed a wonderful summer including three fabulous trips but really everything revolved around eight weeks of gymnastics camp, six hours per day in Maisie's happiest place to be! Much to Maisie's chagrin camp ended on Friday but while she was there she had a blast and what made camp even more special was that our next door neighbors K & A attended almost every week with her. The three of them all enjoyed camp and had so much fun together. It was cute when watching them as no matter how many children were at camp Maisie, K & A were an inseparable trio, best of friends, thus my first three word Sunday submission.

K & A were always interested in and eager to experience Maisie's bentos so for the final day of camp I packed bento for the three amigos, so my second three word Sunday submission.

Maisie and I now have two weeks off until school starts up again and the only thing on our agenda besides twice weekly gymnastics practice is having fun together and playtime with friends, a perfect way to end the summer!

* Sum up your week in three little words. You can sing it, you can say it, you can write it, you can draw it. It can be funny or sad or poignant as long as it’s honest.