Lunch with Mae-Mae

Monday, October 3, Hagen had lunch with Mae-Mae. The school she teaches at was out of school for fair day that day, so she promised Hagen she would come have lunch with him. He was so excited, he started counting down the days the week before. Of course, we had to pick him up Mcdonalds for lunch.

Aunt Mae-Mae, Hagen, Cooper, and Hagen's friend Austin. He needed to be in the picture too.

During lunch, Cooper spotted his "girlfriend" Presley having lunch. She waved him over and they felt the need to hug. He imformed me later, he was going to marry her.

Hagen and Austin.

Harper enjoying her fruit during lunch.

Spirit Week

Spirit week 2011. My first experience as a PTO mom,,,,Yeah. I can honestly say I have been so excited about this moment for many years. Each year Mabank holds what they call "spirit week". This week coincides with homecoming week. Each year the district chooses a charity to raise money for through various activities throughout the week at different campuses. The charities chosen this year were The American Red Cross and The Mabank Education Foundation. The Red Cross was chosen in honor of the ten year anniversery of 9/11. The Education Foundation was formed to provide teachers in the district with grants to support their needs. This week was soo hectic and I have very few pictures and those I do were taken with my phone. So sad, but life I guess.

We started around a week and a half before spirit week started with a trip to The Sale Place, to buy 'mum making" supplies. My friend Michelle, and I and 3 of our poor children, Trace, Cooper and Harper headed out Friday morning for supplies. Let me just say they were troopers in a crowded craft store buying flowers. Not much fun for little boys. And, at one point Harper went rolling down the aisle in the cart buy herself, (I beleive their floors were a little uneven). But we all survived, hit the McDonalds drive through on the way home and got hard at work on the mums. My house looked like Mabank exploded in it for about a week. Three or four nights that week my house was mum making central for moms and teachers, trying to get these ready to sell for spirit week. We made over 100 mums, 50 garders, and numerous bows and hair clips. Did I mention that I developed shingles in the middle of all this. Yes, I am serious, I thought originally they were just bad bug bites, until I developed sharp pains shooting around my sides.

One of the many mums I made.

Monday, started with the opening of the spirit store before school. The spirit store sales "Mabank" themed items to raise money for the cause. After the spirit store we prepared for Grandparent's Day. Central Elementary holds Grandparent's Day to coincide with spirit week. Tons of grandparents came. My dad "Pops" and Erik's mom "KK" was able to come eat lunch with Hagen, he was so excited. I am so thankful that he had grandparents available to come eat with him. During the lunch periods the spirit store was open and the PTO took grandparent pictures.

Harper and Cooper after the spirit store.

That evening we attended the spirit rally at the High School. There was lots of food, games and fun raising. One of the big hits was the "Central Jail". Which consisted of a cattle trailer with a poster board as a jail sign...I Love East Texas. It was a huge hit, you could make a donation to lock up someone of your choice.

Hagen with his friends, Chole and Caden behind him. He won that sweatband in a game earlier that night.

Tuesday consisted of more mum sales, and eating dinner at Bean and Burger where the Central Elementary teachers were waitressing for tips. It was also hippee day and pictures with the panther.

Wednesday, Crazy hair and sock day.

Thursday, the PTO provided lunch that the teachers could purchase for $5. All money of course went to fund raising. We had so much food, soup, salads and desserts. The teachers were able to eat for two days on the food that was brought.

I had to include this. This is Cooper's little friend Presley and the necklace he made her out of the leftover mum supplies.

Spirit week ended with Mabank raising over $63,000.00, and central elementary raising over $20,000 of it. What a great week.

And one last picture...

Harper at her first football game.

Monday Moments

Monday, started out with breakfast and more "hunting" practice by the boys. They seriously are entertaining. After lunch we made our way to swimming lessons. Monday started our second week of lessons and the boys did very well. Hagen has actually started jumping in the pool and swimming across it on his own. It is such a relief when you see your child actually swimming.

Talking about pool rules.

Hagen and his swim across the pool.

Cooper practicing his gliding across the pool.

Cooper laying on the sun deck with his friend Presley.

After swimming lessons we headed home for a nap for Harper and more play time for the boys. It seems like everyday they dress up as something, ther imaginations are so big.

For a while they were cowboys.

And then....

rescue workers, hard at work saving the sock monkey :)

What a great Monday!

Cooper starts pre-school..... and gets a kiss??

After much debate, I finally made the decission that it would be a good idea for both of us if Cooper started pre-school. So I called the director of the Methodist pre-school in our town, and she said that she had a spot and Cooper could start the next day. Sign us up!!! That had to be a sign. So, on Tuesday morning after dropping Hagen off at his school, Cooper, Harper and I ventured over to the church for Cooper's first day. As you may guess Cooper was objecting the whole car ride. So after meeting in the gym and Cooper seeing a few friends he already knew, and meeting Mrs. Terri, Cindy and Linda it was time for mommy to leave. Oh my, what a dramatic child I have, Mrs. Terri had to physically drag Cooper down the hall! And I know this sounds awful, but no I was not upset, I have listed the following reasons why....
1) Cooper already knew three other children there, one being his treasured friend Presley, and another our neighbor.
2) I have known for many years all three of the ladies teaching the school. My mother actually taught two of them in high school, and one of the ladies teaching, I was childhood friends with her daughter and spent many nights at her house.
3) He only attends school Tues, Wed, and Thurs. from 8:15-11:15. Yes, you read that correctly only three hours in the morning.
4) Cooper is a master manipulator, (one of the reasons I love him) and his fit was all part of his plan.

As you may guess when I picked Cooper up that day, he absolutely loved it and now can not wait to go in the mornings.

On Wednesday, I picked Cooper up and I asked him what he liked best about school today? He answered, "I got to hug Presley."

Presley is a little girl Cooper met at swimming lessons this summer. Let's just say they hit it off and became instant frieds. Even though Presley is a little older than him, she will actually start kindegarden with Hagen next year. Cooper loves to talk about Presley. Above, is a picture of them at Halloween this year.

I text Presley's mom later that day to tell her what Cooper had said. She text me back and informed me that when Presley got in the car that day she said, "Mom, don't be mad but Cooper kissed me! But it was only on the cheek." Wow, apparently my three year old is doing more than just hugging. Presley's mom laughed because earlier that week she had told her not to get in someone's face because of it being flu season and the spread of germs. So Presley was not concerned that her mom would be mad over the kiss but the possibility of the spread of germs. Of course, I talked to Cooper about not kissing on the face and not spreading germs that afternoon. So the next day when I picked him up, he said, " Mom, I just kissed Presley on the hand today!" All I can say is, he makes me laugh.