Water Works

Today was the big day. I thought I was all good with The Belle starting school. Apparently, I wasn't. I started crying last night at parent orientation, continued throughout the night, and into the morning. The tears finally stopped at snack time. Yes, I stayed the majority of the morning with her (I wasn't the only mom who stayed; I however was the only mom who cried). I finally composed myself to leave campus and go to lunch with 2 other moms. The Belle told me at lunch that I should go eat with my friends. Seriously, she kept asking when I was going to leave. When I returned from lunch the class was napping. The Belle has not taken a nap since she was 2 1/2! I asked her if she fell asleep and she said "no mam, I just rested". There are not enough words to describe how sweet her school is. For example, the boy's pull out the girl's chairs for them! It is just the sweetest environment I have ever been in. Today's hours were 9:00 - 1:30. Thankfully, Grandmama and Pappy kept The May and The Lynn for me so I could stay with The Belle. The May was so sweet in the van on the way to their house. She said "Grandmama is going to think The Belle looks beeeuuuuteeful"! Monday will be quite a challenge since we will have to leave our house at 7:00 and I will have all 3 girls in tow. So, life as I once knew it has changed and I am pretty sure reality is about to hit me in the face!

I am becoming a grown-up

The time has arrived! The Belle goes to kindergarten tomorrow! I have very mixed emotions about this. I am mostly overwhelmed with excitement for her. She is going to an amazing school and is going to learn so much more than I ever did. And well, she is so excited about starting (so that helps). But, this teeny tiny part of me wants to break down in tears and scream NOOOO! Because, this all just happened so quickly. I mean didn't I just bring this child home from the hospital?!? The realization of The Belle starting school hit The May yesterday. As we were packing all of her school supplies The May looked up at me with the most pitiful face and said "I want to go to school too". I told her we were going to have school at our house for her and it took her mind off of it. This is going to be a huge adjustment for all of us. All prayers are very appreciated! Pictures will follow soon :)

The White Flag Is In My Hand

We started potty training The Lynn on Monday and here it is Friday and I am ready to quit; and in all honesty I think she is also ready. I thought she would pick up on it really quickly because she has 2 older sisters. But, I think they are more of a distraction for her. I have to watch her like a hawk for her potty cues and then run her to the potty. She doesn't take any initiative to go towards the potty at all. I don't have the time or the energy to do that ALL.DAY.LONG. She needs me to be consistent and its just not happening right now. Every time I turn my back she has already peed all over the floor. So, we will attempt this again in a couple of months.

One of the main reasons I haven't been consistent with The Lynn is because I have started SEWING!!! For those of you who know me you know that I am not domesticated at all. So when my parents bought me a sewing machine for my birthday I knew the time had arrived for me to start sewing. I am not kidding when I say "I have never sewn anything a day in my life"! Somehow I managed getting through high school without sewing the first thing. Sadly enough, my husband knows more about sewing than I do. He has been so supportive and helpful the past couple of days. I bought the easiest pattern I could find and the cheapest fabric and started sewing. I have successfully sewed a minature pillowcase and 2 dresses together (they aren't finished just yet). I really didn't think I would enjoy sewing but it is so much fun! I can't wait to make the girls matching dresses. It looks like a better learn how to make a diaper cover also!

29 and holding......in the bathrooom

Well, today I entered into the last year of my 20's! Shockingly, enough it just felt like another typical day in my crazy life with 3 giggling girls. My sweet husband got me this cute dress.

I loved it so much that when I tried it on it made all my other clothes feel boring. The girls made me some really sweet cards. I heard them "secretly" making the cards for me this morning in their closet. At one point The Belle said to The May: "make sure you color Momma's hair brown". Birthday's are so much more fun with kids! My parents gave me a sewing machine. Which I have to admit I have no idea how to use. Seriously, I have never sewn a thing in my life. I am however ready to learn. My parents also took me out to dinner (Chinese)! But, the best gift of all was from my sweet little Lynn! She successfully pottied 4 times today! This is a huge accomplishment since yesterday she went through 13 pairs of panties and never made it once to the potty. I will have to say we spent the entire day in the bathroom (for the exception of nap time and dinner). I had not seen the sun in the past 2 days until we went to dinner. Potty training is mentally exhausting for all of us. It seemed alot easier with the other 2 girls. I feel like I have said "pee pee goes in the potty" 10 gazillion times. I am determined to have her trained within the next 2 weeks (or at least before my 30th birthday)! So, if you should need me I will be in the confinement of my bathroom.

Summer Summary

I can not believe the lack of posting I have done this summer. I pinky swear I will post more often (even though I have probably lost all 3 of my readers). In my defense it has been a very busy summer. Instead of trying to catch up by posting about each event I will give you the cliff notes version of our summer.

We kicked the summer off by me having an abdominoplasty. Which I have to say I do not regret at all. The pain was terrible but it was so worth it. My husband was a wonderful nurse and took really good care of me and the girls. The recovery time was for 6 weeks. But as you read on you will see it didn't slow me down too much.

The girls were super excited to give their daddy an ipod shuffle for Father's Day. I was super excited that we (all Skaggs children) gave my father-in-law a membership to geocaching. If you have never heard of this it is basically a huge tresaure hunt. It is so much fun!

Husband interviewed for his previous position at Tate and got the job! We are both very excited for him to be returning to our alma matter. He also cut grass as a side job this summer. He has become quite the landscaper in this horrendous heat!

The Belle got her shots to start school! She really has come a long way with the Dr. office. From a screaming toddler who almost passed out a couple of times to a big girl who did not shed one tear when she got her shots. My baby isn't so much a baby anymore.

Husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! God bless Aunt Sarah for babysitting our 3 children (along with her 2) so we could enjoy a lunch date to Olive Garden. 7 years......wow! Somedays it feels like we just got married and then other days it seems so long ago. Either way God has blessed me with such an amazing husband and daddy for our girls.

My good friend Carla and I went to the Michael Buble concert......for FREE! A co-worker of hers gave her the tickets and she invited me....yay! It was so much fun (even the drunk lady who sat behind us and claimed that Michael Buble looked like Willie Nelson.....she obviously had way too much to drink)!

We (the Skaggs family) had a beach house booked for a week in July. Unfortunately, BP ruined that for us. We instead went to Charleston South Carolina. Uncle John got us an amazing deal on a house (that we all fit in). It was extremely hot but we had a great time. The girls especiallly loved the water park and the cupcake bakery we went to.

This past Saturday we celebrated Uncle John's departure from the Navy. It was at a beatiful location! The girls especially enjoyed dancing and playing in the sand. We are excited to see what God has planned for this new chapter of Uncle John and Aunt Emily's life.

We celebrated husbands grandparents 60th wedding anniversary yesterday afternoon at the beach. Although we didn't find the $60 gift card treasure and it rained quite a bit; it was still a good time.

We started potty training The Lynn today! Can you believe it my life is about to be rid of diapers........WOO-HOO! She hasn't successfully made it to the potty but we are committed to training all week. The Belle and The May have been very good helpers. Both have successfully made it to the potty about 5 times each (to show The Lynn how to do it). They are also very good at retrieving clean panties for her. I am really hoping that she picks up on potty training as quickly as her sisters did.

I will turn 29 tomorrow! Do you understand that is just one more year until I am 30!?! Worse than that.....................................

The Belle starts school on August 27th! She is extremely excited about starting school. I on the other hand am very anxious about it. I know she will love it; which makes it easier for me but seriously, she is starting school! This is an entirely new journey for us. It is going to be a major adjustment for everyone.

So, that about sums up our summer. I will get some pictures up soon! I am really excited to see what the fall will bring. One thing I know it will bring is another trip to Disney World! Let me just say I.Can.Not.Wait!!!!

To Infinity And Beyond!

We watched Toy Story for the first time last night. The girls were so cute while we were watching it. The May was so excited that her and Andy's baby sister share names. So, throughout the entire movie she kept asking where she was. The Belle was so into the storyline and asked a million questions. She also hid her face behind the pillow during any dramatic part (especially when Sid was mean to his toys). The Lynn went to bed about a third of the way thru the movie. She did however lay very still while she was on the couch with all of us. Both girls were very upset when it went off but I quickly saved the day by announcing "we can watch Toy Story 2 tomorrow night". The Belle was so excited and said "then after Toy Story 2 we can watch Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 and Toy Story 5". Then I had to explain to her that Toy Story 3 had not come out yet but that it was coming to the movie theater very soon. So, she said we could go watch it there.......I was kinda hoping we could wait until it came out on dvd (then we could buy the whole combo 1, 2, and 3) but we will see.

Today was my first day back to normal life after surgery (I'm still not able to lift anything or bend over). We went to church, ate lunch at Grandmama's, and went back to church. I'm pretty tired but I'm so glad to have gotten out of the house for the day. I go back to the Dr. tomorrow for a check-up. I'm really hoping that I don't have to have my belly drained with a needle (to release any fluid build up). Well, I have 2 girls sitting beside me begging to watch Toy Story 2. I hope Andy's sister makes more appearances in this one!

Recovering

I promise I am still alive. I had my tummy tuck surgery on Tuesday June 1st and so far so good! I went to the Dr. yesterday and thankfully I got the drains out (YAY!). Husband has been really amaznig.....really. He has changed bandages, dumped drains (yuck), adjusted my pillows a million times, cooked meals, cleaned, you name it he has done it. He told me yesterday he was expecting a really nice Father's Day gift (I better get on that). My mom has also been wonderful. Her church has VBS all this week and she has picked up and dropped off the girls each night. It has given husband and I some down time (well, mostly him since I spend the majority of my time laying down). I will be glad when things get back to normal for me. I can't lift anything for 6 weeks. I really miss holding the girls and little things like getting into bed by myself. But I know it will come soon enough. The sad thing is that by the time I heal, the oil will probably have hit our beaches (its already beginning to come on shore). It really is depressng when you see our beautiful beaches and then when you see that nasty oil quickly approaching. Unfortunately, we have cancelled our beach house that we get with husband's family. We are now looking at an alternative vacation plans but really, what can top a week at the world's most beautiful beach?!?!? So, it looks like we will be spending our summer poolside this year. I know I have been terrible at blogging. Seriously, I am trying to get better :)