Elaina counted down the days to her first day of pre-K summer school. We put her to bed earlier than usual at 7 o’ clock. She fell asleep quickly. At 8 o’ clock James and I were sitting in bed when Elaina excitedly came into our room dressed in her first-day-of-kindergarten outfit. It took me a minute to figure out that she thought it was morning as she woke up to daylight. Bless her heart. She was so confused when I told her it wasn’t morning yet.

Morning finally came and she slowly and carefully climbed into the big bus. Elaina has a personality that lives life to it’s fullest. She has so much joy and excitement over nearly everything. Something as big as the first day of kindergarten is such a momentous and joyful occasion to her that it’s easy to feel her joy as if it were my own. I guess that’s what moms do. She had a wonderful time and can’t wait to go back tomorrow with snacks in hand.

I was so thrilled to have found this dining set at a garage sale for fifty bucks! My dining room can finally be used. I know many people don’t want formal dining rooms because they feel it’s wasted space. I, on the other hand, am quite thrilled. I really enjoy formal dining rooms and am very thankful that our new home has one.

I want this room to be my office and craft room. I am not sure how I want to decorate or whether or not I need a cabinet for my things. Target has some wall hangings that I love. Unfortunately they are pricey. They are paintings of cafes and coffee shops in rich red tones.

We will also be using the dining room to eat in, but not daily. It’s carpeted so I don’t really want the kids using it except for special occasions. Children with food and drink aren’t allowed anywhere with carpeting. Six months ago I laid the law down on that one. Wow! What a difference that rule makes. My furniture and carpeting are actually staying clean. I told them when they are adults they can take food out of the kitchen when they come to visit, but their kids won’t be allowed to!

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Elaina’s Mother’s Day Out program had a pre-school graduation ceremony for Elaina’s class. At the end of the program they sang the song, “Bye, bye teachers we’re going to kindergarten”. It was very sweet.

Each child walked slowly down the aisle one by one to receive their diploma. They played graduation music, too. It was sooooo cute. After each child received their diploma, they were asked what they want to be when they grow up. Elaina’s response was hilarious! She answered. . . “A monkey”!!!

Jessica played in her first softball game! Her team, Pink Panthers, did very well considering they had very few practices due to rain. It was soooooo fun to watch.

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I love this yummy quiche recipe. Aunt Marilyn asked for the recipe so I thought I’d share it here.

Ingredients:

Pastry for 9-inch one crust pie (I use the Pillsbury pie crusts in the refrigerated section)
12 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded natural Swiss cheese (4 ounces)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 eggs
2 cups whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion in pastry-lined pie plate. Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie plate. Bake uncovered 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Do-ahead Tip:

After sprinkling pastry with bacon, cheese and onion, cover and refrigerate. Beat remaining ingredients; cover and refrigerate. Store no longer than 24 hours. Stir egg mixture before pouring into pie plate. Continue as directed except–increase second bake time to about 45 minutes.

Today the blind guy came to my home and installed our new blinds. I am so excited to have some privacy. I’m also hoping the kids will stop getting up at 6 AM with the sun.

He was so kind to the girls. They were so curious and excited about what he was doing. He put them to work sorting the small parts into boxes. They did a perfect job for him. They followed him around while he worked chattering away. Bless his heart he listened and engaged them in conversation. People that are patient and kind to my kiddos score big in my book!

My bedroom is so dark and cozy now. I daydreamed all day about taking a relaxing, long nap.

My mind is at ease now knowing the girls have privacy in the family room. It feels creepy not having window coverings at ground level.

The blinds were installed just in time for my first house guests. I am so excited to now have a home big enough for overnight company. My Aunts Punkie and Tootsie and my Mom are spending Friday night. We’ll be up at the crack of dawn getting ready for garage sales. I am glad they will have proper privacy!

I read an article this morning that gave my fatigue confirmation. The average stay-at-home mom puts in a 92 hour work week! CHECK IT OUT! I’d like a piece of that 138,000 salary. Maybe James needs to buy a little more life insurance on me!

I LOVE being a stay-at-home Mom! It’s my passion and my heart. The Lord really encouraged me this morning with this article. It feels good to know that I’m doing exactly what I’ve been called to do and I don’t need to feel guilty about it. Thank you Lord!

I took my two older girls to our church’s Mother / Daughter banquet. We had a fun time. Next year Elaina will get to join us! I love being a Mom to my girls. They are my joy!

My mom and my cousin Kandis called me at 6:12 AM Saturday morning. They were headed to my house to do some shopping at my community garage sales. We had a BLAST. My very favorite activity is garage saling. The Lord always blesses me with good deals. I am so thankful. My home needed rugs and now I have all I need. I barely spent anything on them and they are sooooooo lovely! As you can see, we were very pleased with our finds! The prices were right!

Mom just called to tell me that my Aunties, Punky and Tootsie, are headed our way Saturday to do it again. I am soooooo stinkin’ excited. I can’t wait!!!!!! I wish Kandis could come back down, too.

I am soooooo thankful to have a family that’s so fun loving and not at all afraid to be dorky. Life is too difficult to be too serious all the time. I am glad I have people in my life that I can be a complete dork around. Life would lack color for me if I had to be serious all the time. So. . . here’s a big thanks to my family and friends! You know who you are!

Did anyone see American Idol last night? Oh my goodness!!!!! That was TV viewing at it’s best!!!!! My heart was doing flip flops! I am so proud of Phil! WOW!!!!! And Blake. . .he was AWESOME. James and I called in and voted for Blake. That was such a creative performance! I think I need to watch it just one more time. . . I can’t wait to see Bon Jovi tonight on the results show. Last night was rockin!!!!!