Welcome to Kindergarten!

Today was the day.

The First day of Kindergarten!

We were very excited.


Yesterday we had our Meet and Greet with Jack's Teacher.

She was very nice.

We tested the facilities

inside and out.

We were READY!

So you can imagine my surprise when I had to bribe him out of bed this morning.....

He reluctantly got in the shower when we told him he was going to have a "special" breakfast with Daddy before his big day.

And....

He was excited to put on his new Back to School outfit.

*side note* As you grow up, you never really know what traditions from your upbringing will stick and what won't.  Sometimes you think your Mom is crazy, and then you find yourself doing the same things she did.
One of those things that has stuck is that my Mom always had us lay our clothes out the night before.  It's quite the time saver!  I still do it to this day....(I  have even rubbed off on Clay..)  So of course...we laid out our brand new "Back to School" outfit.  

Which brings me to another tradition.

Back to School shopping.
Growing up I LOVED Back to School shopping.  So when we were emailed the Kindergarten supply list I couldn't WAIT to get to Target and buy those supplies.
AND
New clothes for School.
  I always looked forward to August and the purchase of socks, and underwear and new Jeans and shoes....and...well you get the idea...

And Jack believe it or not, is more Heidi than Clay in this area.  Jack is a fan of new clothes.  And the occasional "Look at what we bought at the store today" fashion show. ( I knew I was in there somewhere..)

Jack requested his favorite turkey and cheese lunch be put in his new sandwich holder.

Off we went!
*tradition #3*  Annual school photo on front lawn.
(I secretly loved this tradition growing up....i'd groan and moan, but they are some of my favorite photos to look back on)

We wanted Jack's first day to be like all of his days to come, so he started in Daycare.

He lined up immediately and got right into the routine.
I was SO proud.

Clay and I probably stayed longer than we should have.  We were talking to his new daycare provider.....and when he noticed we were still there, he ran over and asked if he could go home with us.

I had been so strong until that moment.  I started to think about how much change he is about to go through.  New people, New places, New schedules.  I felt terrible.

I explained that this is just were he had to stay until he would go to his fun new classroom and see his new teacher.

He looked up at me with his huge tear filled eyes and asked "How many minutes until I see my new teacher?"

I looked at the clock and said "50 minutes"

He put his head down and said "Okay...." and then quickly looked back up and said "and how long until you come and get me?"

My eyes immediately filled with tears.  I couldn't speak. I felt awful.

Clay quickly said "Well be here at 3 buddy! You are going to have the best time!"

Jack thankfully had not noticed my tears.  He seemed pleased we would be coming back for him, and satisfied that only 50 minutes stood between him and Kindergarten. He turned and got back in line.

I knew it would be hard to see him off to Kindergarten, but I didn't realize it would be as tough as it was.  He seemed so grown up today.  Ready for anything.  I felt like he no longer needed me.

He was a now a Big Kid.

and then for one quick minute, there he was....my baby...needing my reassurance for just a moment.

3 o'clock couldn't get here fast enough today.  I was so eager to hear how his day went.

When we walked up, we were greeted by this face

and this:
"Mom!  It was AWESOME! You don't have to take a Nap in Kindergarten!"

And that was that.

Jack loves school.

Since today was Jack's big day we told him we would take him where ever he wanted for dinner.

I guess the First day of School really does call for the Golden Arches.

Congrats Jack Man!

And it begins....

Today was our first All In One.

For those of you who don't have a child in school...

This means...

Teacher assignments, Schedule Assignments, Cub scouts, PTA, Parent Participation sign-ups, etc. etc. etc......

Which means....

We officially have a Kindergartner!

He starts Tuesday and I can't believe it.

Today we rushed to make it to our specified time slot.  Clay and I both took the day off.

As we walked up a Woman with a name tag that read Natalia or Nazi....I'm not sure...stopped us and asked, "Are you here for All in One?"

"Yes!" And I started to pull out our paperwork to prove how prepared we were...

She immediately stopped me.  "Oh...well...we just started Lunch soooo.... Lunch should be about an hour, but you can wait....Is this your first time?"

Wait!  What?  I read all the instructions, I was so prepared!  Wait??!!!  I'm ON TIME. This is CRAP.

(All of that was on the inside of course.  Clay and I looked at each other and made the Husband-Wife eye contact agreement, and got in line.

Wait.
 For One Hour.
 Perfect.

We stood talking for about 3 minutes before our Savior came.

My wonderful neighbor Claudia ran up.  She was a Veteran and was running late.  She looked at the two of us like we were fresh off the boat.  "What are you guys doing out here???  It's in there!  Come on!"

"Claudia- Natalia told us to wait here.....It's Lunch..."

"Lunch!  No way. Hold on..."  And she ran past us.

Natalia quickly resurfaced.  "Are you guys with Claudia?"

Clay and I both nodded-"Why yes!  Yes we are!"

"You can come in...."

And In we did- straight to the front of the line.  Hooray!  We had an IN!  And it's only Day ONE!

We were in and out in 20 minutes.

We must have been asked 47 times if this was our first time...

Clearly we were Newbies....

Here is Mr. Kirbyface patiently waiting for our Teacher assignment...
(Who we met by the way, and I'm pretty sure she has been teaching since I went to Kindergarten, and possibly since my Mother went to Kindergarten.......but that's a story for another time...)

We may or may not have gone a little overboard at the School Spirit table....

Have I mentioned we're new......


After our Adventure in Elementary

 We "treated" ourselves to Lunch.
(I use the word treated loosely since I'm still trying to get my Skinny On....*grumble-grumble*DAMN WEDDING*grumble-grumble*)

And since we had the day off together...

.....and Groupon had a special....

Pedicures!
2 Pedi's for $18.
Sea Salt and Foot Massage included!
I love GROUPON!


We were very excited about our new attire.

When I tried on my vest (that's right...I bought the vest..shut up) Clay turned to me and said "You look old."  I gave him the -I'm gonna kill you look- to which he replied- "You know what I mean!  You look like a Mom!"

Awesome.

He quickly followed that with....

"I can't wait for your Den Mother outfit."

OMG.

Den Mother.

I AM old.

I'm so not ready for this!

But wanna know who is???

Jack-Man!

Stay Tuned.....

Our First, First day of School is just around the corner!

Go to sleep!

There was a time when I would rock this sweet face to sleep..

and she would go right to bed with no problem.

Not. A. Peep.

Them days are over.

It's a struggle every night.  We have to rock this way, then that way, read this book, then that book, 1 baby,  2 babies, 1 stuffed bear, 3 blankets...

Climbing out of bed....

Sneaking into her brothers room to hang out...

Climbing back in bed....

back out of bed.....

empty all drawers in her room...

back in bed...

throw everything out of bed....

climb back out of bed....

And now...

We can add...

Take off our clothes...

and fall asleep.

Here's how I found her this morning....

Yes...that's her diaper next to her baby in bed....

I'm thinking someone is ready for two things:

1) A Big Girl Bed

and

2) Big Girl Panties

I'll let you know how it goes...

It's Shower Time!

Today we celebrated everything Tegan

The Bride to Be

The theme of the day was Honeymoon

(which is somewhere hot...you know..Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, whatever....Hot, Humid and Hot.)

Bo did an amazing job planning the entire day. 

 The decor was awesome, the music was awesome......

The Food was AWESOME.

Jaime had everything in little containers.  

Easy to eat, Easy to Clean up.

(There's a reason Bo's a Teacher.  She's so smart.)

Perfect refreshments to wash down the best sandwich I have ever consumed.

Sentimental....

Thoughtful....

And Practical....

Gifts were opened.

(Naughty and Fun gifts were opened as well....but I didn't grab my camera fast enough!  My Guess is Laura did though!)

Red Velvet cake and Teal Cream Cheese icing Push Pops were enjoyed

Yum!

20  Days and counting!!!

Can't wait for your special day Teegs!

Get your Skinny On!

With someone's wedding just around the corner....

It's time to get my skinny on.

Clayton and I are back at Weight Watchers.

Tonight I made this:

It tasted as fattening as it looks.

It was so good. AND it took me almost no time to whip up.  My friend Laura is always telling me that my recipes are too complicated.  But this one, is a no brainer, it tastes delicious and is SUPER easy to make.

So here ya go!

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

-1 can of Chili Beans ( I used S&W Chili Beans- pinto beans, chili peppers, onion, garlic in a tomato sauce.)

-1- can of Diced Tomatoes ( I used S&W Diced Tomatoes with Green Chile's added)

-1- 12 ounce package of Veggie Protein Crumbles ( I used Lightlife Smart Ground Mexican Style)

-1-tsp olive oil

-1/2- onion Diced

-5- Bell Peppers- 4 with the tops sliced off like hats, 1 diced

-1- clove of garlic chopped

-3/4- cup mushroom diced

-1/2- Cup Shredded Reduced fat cheese ( I used Sargento Mexican Style Shredded)

-1/2- Cup Low Fat or Fat Free Sour Cream

-1/4- Cup Green onion (for garnish)

Saute the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and mushroom in olive oil until onion is translucent and bell pepper is soft.  8 to 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes and Veggie Protein crumbles- heat for 1 to 2 minutes and remove from heat.  Take mixture and fill the remaining 4 Bell Peppers.  Place tops that you sliced off the bell peppers back onto the filled pepper.  Place in baking dish.  Pour the can of chili beans over the peppers and fill the bottom of the baking dish.  Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes @ 375.  

Remove from oven when Bell Pepper is golden and soft to the touch.  Top with Cheese, Sour Cream, Green Onion- Whatever you like!  I had mine with Cilantro and Salsa!  

That's it. 

Easy Peasy.

And here is the best part.

Without Added Toppings one Serving has....

5 grams of fat

255 Calories

17 grams of protein

and for your fellow Weight Watchers out there.....

5 points.

Not bad...

And I'm STUFFED.

Ingredients make a big difference...

These items are what made this dish delicious.

Try this soon!

And don't be afraid of the Veggie Crumbles.  I GUARANTEE whoever you serve this dish to, will not know this is Tofu. 

And....

For those of you who don't like mushrooms, substitute squash, or zucchini!

And for those that are REALLY crazy and don't like onion....  :)  Substitute with canned green chiles. 

Happy Cooking!

If you have a recipe to help me get my Skinny On.....I'm all ears!!

Happy Blog-a-versary to Me!

HAPPY BLOG-A-VERSARY! 

Here it is! 

I made it a whole YEAR of Blogging!  I can't believe it!

What I really can't believe is how much resistance I gave to blogging...and how much crow I have eaten because I love it so much.

I love keeping in touch with my friends.  I love reading their comments. I love knowing what's going on in their lives.  I love peeking into other people's lives that I have no idea who they are, but I love what they are decorating, or cooking, or planning.

So....

In honor of my one year of blogging....here are some of the highlights from the year, including my header photos.


Let's start with my profile pic.

I love feet.  I think it all started with me being overweight, and the only thing on my body that pretty much stayed the same was my feet, and it's pretty much my only body part I have absolutely no complaints about.  I love my feet.  Even my non existent baby toe nail.  Love them.  I think that may be where my obsession with shoes started.  That is when I decided that my header will always have something to do with feet.

Now, My profile name....is a different story.

Mrs. Kirbyface started with one very specific piece of mail.

This was the first piece of mail I received as a married woman.
From Roseanne and Kim in college.
please look at the back

The top of the letter reads-"Everyone I live with is Drunk.  I love College"

I love that I still have this letter.   In fact...I have most letters from my girl friends, because they are HILARIOUS.  And these were some of the only items Casey did not make me throw out in our recent purge.

Also this weekend in the big purge, I found my very tattered copy of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, which was my favorite play in High School.  

I couldn't think of a better name for my Blog.

Most commented on Blog post:  The Aftermath

Speaking of comments....

I LOVE when my friends comment.  Tegan has informed me that I don't do this for the comments.  And she's right.  But I like to know when you guys have caught up on my life.  That's why I do my best to comment on every one of my friends blogs.

Most exciting comment:
When Chinese Laundry commented on my blog

When I felt like I had made it as a blogger:

When Super Blogger Mel Larson commented on my blog for the first time!
(Mel was my first follower that I had never met.  I was so excited to have a "real" follower.  I now have had the pleasure of meeting her in person, and getting to know her a little better than just secretly peeking into her life-Love that!)

Most loyal Follower:
Rose.

I always know as soon as I post something she will be my first comment.  Now, granted....she lives in a time zone 2 hours ahead...but still...she's always first.
Wanna know how I know???  SHE. COMMENTS.
(see how that works people!)
:)

My favorite post:

Don't Judge me

Followed closely by

It happened one night

Best idea I've had as a Blogger:

My Birthday Posts to you.
( I love telling you guys how much I love you!)

What I can most improve on as a Blogger:

To Blog more.

I get all these Ideas, I take pictures,  I will even lay in bed at night and mentally write a blog....I need to follow through on my thoughts.  Upload more.  I could definitely be better. I love to look back and see all that has happened in this last year.   And even more happened...I was just too tired to keep it up.  I have realized that once I get in front of this computer, it doesn't take that long to whip one up. Sooooo...I promise to get better...

That....

and remember to do 10 on 10 every Month!
(Man! Why is that so hard to remember???)

There you have it.  A year in review.

Thank you for reading...and for commenting..

I hope that I keep this up for a long, long time.

Now....

As a blog-a-versary present....

COMMENT

and tell me YOUR favorite post!

Out with the old....

We had quite the productive weekend!

It all started with this *little* project....

That's right!

A NEW deck!  Woot! Woot!

Thanks to Justin for working his BUTT off this weekend.  We ALREADY have the new framework completed, and we will soon have a completely re-done deck!  A project that should have been done YEARS ago!

We can't WAIT!

(photos of our complete project very VERY soon!)

Also...

We (and when I say We, I mean, Me and my BIL's GF Casey) tackled this:

Here it is.  In all it's glory.

My Closet.

It's my dirty little secret.  I'm sure my Grandmother is appalled I'm even sharing this photo.  But...if you know me....and most of you do....you have probably at one point or another seen this before....all of you except for my In Laws...but after 14 years...it's time they know.  I keep horrible care of my closet.  I'm constantly cleaning it out, re-working it.  I have had many a woman help me.  My Mother, My Grandmother, Jaime, Tegan, Brit...... But it always seems to end in the same state.  And I usually can talk the party helping me into keeping lots of items I have no use for.  Prom dresses, Pants 2, 3, 4 sizes to big (just in case), shoes I haven't worn in years (because you never know when you are going to need a Black satin platform 4 inch heel with pink bows....)  But Casey.....Casey would not accept any of my what if's or I might, or but I've had it for 10 years..... So here is the out come...

It's a miracle.

Here is the scary truth:

I had 3 Garbage bags of trash in my closet.  Clothes with stains or holes, Plastic bags and wire hangers from the dry cleaners, old shoe boxes, worn out shoes, broken hangers......tons and tons of CRAP.....

Terrible.....

but on the Upside......

Two HUGE bags of clothes to donate.

And for the record....

Clayton's side had just as much junk and clothes to donate as my side!

This project took us most of the day, and it pretty much kicked our butt!  But I'm so glad it's done. 

Thank you Casey for all your hard work!

And all of that was just Saturday!

Today...

We went to the Alameda Antique fair!

My MIL is always finding these amazing items at this place, and I have always wanted to go.  Today was my first time!  And Casey came too!

Our Morning started bright and early and we were on the road by 6:20am.  And it was SO worth it.  There are some AWESOME things out there people.  Here are my two favorite purchases:

A soft pink chalkboard to go under my Pink EAT sign my good friend Tegan made me, and an old fashion Glass Milk Bottle carrier complete with Vintage Milk Glass Bottles.  (I'm going to put it in my garden window above my kitchen sink and fill it with flowers)  Love it!  I also got Clay  a new Metal Baseball advertisement poster, and vintage football cleats from the 30's for his ManCave.  

We had the Best time!

Speaking of the ManCave....that is our NEXT project.....

Any Volunteers on the Kirbyface Out with the Old....

In with the New!

C'mon.....

You KNOW you want to!