One Very Merry Christmas

We had a very Merry Christmas at our house if I do say so myself.  I'm still wondering why all these years Texans have been wishing for a white Christmas.  I sure hope it's another 80 years before we see one again.  What a mess!  It derailed a few holiday traditions for many.  So once every 80 years is enough for me. 

Christmas was SUPER fun at our house this year.  Sydney finally told us what was on her list for Santa.  When asked her response was, "You'll see...".  She finally let me know that they mailed a letter to Santa at school.  Numero uno on the list:  an iphone.  Luckily, she was okay with Santa having a strict rule about how old you have to be to get a cell phone.  And it is way older than 5 (and a half).  Sam just wanted presents.  What kind?  Toys.  Easy.  Done.

Making reindeer food

View from our front door.  Yucky mess!

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL holiday!!

Hello...Anyone There?

I have fallen off the face of the blogger world.  I know, I suck!  But I'm considering starting this bad boy up again.  But I really need to know that someone other than my mother might read this (no offense Mom, but I talk to you everyday).  I could probably sum up the last few months in less than 10 words:
school, work, loose teeth, bonked heads, busy... you get it.  GOOD, now we are all caught up.

Another side to this sad tale is that not only have I not been blogging, but I haven't been reading blogs either. But over the last 2 days I've popped in and out seeing what's new with my blogger buds. 

I'm back!  Not by popular demand, but yes back.

Day 3 - Falling Down on the Job

Okay, so day 3 of kindergarten I forget to pack Sydney a drink for lunch. She seemed fine about it and let me know that she just walked right up and charged herself a drink in the cafeteria. She gave me the whole conversation about getting a milk from the lunch lady. She told them her name and teacher's name and even had to spell her Nayfa (not unusual). She said, "Mom, I can buy my lunch right there at school. But I have to pay. With money."

Let's face it, it's time to stop faking this "with-it, lunch-making" mom thing. Sydney is super pumped about eating the school lunch. I just hope she still feels that way after actually eating it.

First Day of Kindergarten

We made through day 1 of kindergarten. Whew! Sydney had a fantastic day. I know because we had long and involved mother/daughter chat about her day:

Mom: How was kindergarten?
Sydney: Fine.
Mom: What did you do?
Sydney: Lots of stuff.
Mom: What was the best part?
Sydney: Recess

I asked her about the rules. They are as follows:
1. No punching.
2. No pushing.
3. No biting.
4. No pushing people off the slide.

I guess this quiet, suburban school nestled in a master planned community is rougher than it looks. I asked if there were any criers. Just a kid named Ryan and he cried A LOT. Poor Ryan. He must ran into one of those punchers, pushers, or biters on the playground.

And no, I didn't cry like a big baby. I did have to wear my sunglasses inside for a few minutes to hide the small amount of tears that were welling up. But I wasn't the only one.

Sydney and her teacher, Ms. Scott

Home of the Noble Knights


These girls all started kindergarten today. We were all outside taking pictures this morning. They live next door and across the street. I had to remember if we were starting kindergarten or middle school. Sydney's main concerns about kindergarten so far have been who's in what class. Especially Drew... Sydney has talked non-stop about a boy in her old class named Drew. Apparently he is the "most handsome man in the world". Not sure who this Drew is but he sounds dreamy.

Big girl

Sam's First Haircut

We finally took Sam for his first haircut. I have taken the scissors to few wild strands in the comforts of our my bathroom, but this was the real deal. Kyle was going for a haircut so we tagged along. Kyle is not the kinda guy who goes to a salon. He's a barber shop guy. This was my first experience in a barber shop. My take - just like a salon. The gossip's just different. Anyhoo...I was not expecting Sam to be very happy about this. So was not the case. My little guy jumped into the seat, proudly wore the batman smock, and took it like a man. He looks so cute if I do say so myself.

Before Picture

All Done!

After Picture

How Many Days till Kindergarten?

Yes folks, I'm the one who might just shed a tear on the first day of kindergarten. Don't worry, I'll do it in the privacy of my own car as I drive away, but I'm pretty sure the tears will be flowing the morning of August 25th. I won't dare be that momma crying in the "Cheers and Tears" room for kindergarten parents. I never really understood why people were crying and might just have made a little fun of those moms at one time or another. Well, karma's a bitch because here I am tearing up in the school supply aisle at Wal-Mart. Let's face it, she's been in school for awhile now. This is not her first time leaving the nest. I can hardly believe it's time for her to start school. Speaking of starting school, the first step is to register - which I just did on Friday. Let's just say it's very weird to be in a school that you aren't in charge of. I do this everyday and still I acted like I hadn't been in an elementary school since I was in elementary school. I wanted so badly to shout really loudly "I'm a principal so I know what goes on around here and you better do it right or else"! I thought that might be coming on a wee bit strong. So I took the more passive aggressive approach and wrote a letter using all my big school words like "thrives on consistency" and "structured yet nuturing environment". Don't worry, I didn't request a teacher or make any threats, just gave the school peeps the low down on little Miss Syd. I would appreciate that as a principal so I'm hoping her principal feels the same way. Luckily I also sent her email with an electronic copy of the letter in case she didn't get the hard copy. And did I mention I sent it from my school email that has my automatic signature on it that just happens to say my name and title? Surely it can't hurt, right?

This weekend we did a little school shopping for shoes and such. Sydney picked out a back pack and lunch box. We were in such a hurry, I forgot to cry. We were headed to a hair appointment for Sydney. Her hair is DARLING if I do say so myself. Take a peek at my big girl.

Where's Sydney?

Kyle went to wake Sydney this morning, but he didn't find her sleeping peacefully in her own bed. He proceeded next door to Sam's room to find this:

MEXICO

Mexico was a BLAST! I had too many pictures to post so I just created a slideshow for your viewing pleasure.

The resort was FABULOUS! Great food (and drinks) and wonderful service. Very family-friendly...they had great activities for kids in their Kids Club. Sydney couldn't stay away. She loved it. The beach wasn't so great where we were, but other than that it was AWESOME! Click on the link below to see some pics:

http://s562.photobucket.com/albums/ss67/anayfa/?albumview=slideshow

Nurse Jackie

If you aren't watching Nurse Jackie on Showtime, you are missing out. I just discovered this little gem of a show while wasting the day away on my summer vacation. Don't judge me... remember, I only have 3 weeks off work during the summer. A girl needs a day or 4 of laziness to recoup from 178 days with 525 children. Don't worry if you think you can't catch up - there have only been 4 episodes and if you have Verizon On Demand, you can watch them all (plus #5 before it airs Monday). If you are looking for a guilty pleasure, do indulge. Mom, you will NOT like this show so don't even try to watch. They do drop the occasional f-bomb and she does have this pesky pill-popping habit. Oh, she's also having an affair. But nevermind her bad habits... Go watch now!

Here and There

Let me start by saying I'm officially on summer break. WOO-HOO! I've been off for a week and have 2 more weeks to go. Let me tell you, it is just what the doctor ordered. We have spent the last 2 weekends out of town - Horseshoe Bay for Kyle's summer regional meeting then Sweetwater for Kyle's grandmother's 90 birthday celebration. But we are gearing up for our trip to Mexico next week. We are taking the entire crew (minus the dog) to Riviera Maya for a week long vacation in the sun. I am super excited yet a little worried at the same time as this is our first real vacation with children. I'm not sure how this all-inclusive paradise will ruin my Sydney - she already can walk right up to the bar at a swimming pool and order a lemonade and say charge it to my room. Yes, that's what she did at Horseshoe Bay. And yes, they did charge it to the room. I have a few pictures from our last few weekends. Enjoy!

Sydney has so much fun playing with Claire.

Sydney and Baby Jack. We were so excited to meet Jack for the first time on this trip to Sweetwater.

Check out his shirt! This is how Sam looks most of the time. Drenched in his own drool. When will this stop? Seriously!

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Horseshoe Bay

Sam was very content walking around with his cars. If it has wheels, he LOVES it.

Sydney had a great time on this inflatable game - race to the top, grab your bean bags, and race down.

There was also a boxing ring with oversized gloves. TKO!

My pretty girl

Third Night's a Charm?

We are on night 3 without the PACI. Whoo-hoo! No big drama here. He's cool like that. But here's a few pics with the paci to remind us of good times.

Happy Graduation Day, Seniors!

Part of my job is to attend the graduation ceremony for my feeder high school. So today I put on my gown and hood and watched as about 700 kids crossed the stage to get their diplomas. Funny part is I taught a few of the kids when they were in 3rd grade. WOW! Now that'll make you feel old.

The next best part was the shoes. The other principals and I sat on the floor on the side where the graduates came off the stage. I started to notice the shoes - lots of sparkles, glitter, and very high heels. I wondered how many mother/daughter throw downs went on before the ceremony over choice of shoes. Here are the notes I made regarding shoe choice at graduation: taller does not necessarily mean better, not many colors look that great with the crimson red gown, and if you are going to wear 4 inch heels try a practice run through the house before you make the long trek across stage.

WARNING: Lots of pictures

YEA! I finally back in business with posting pics and blogging. We've been busy at Casa Nayfa, but that's nothing new. Here are several pics from our latest happenings.

We have a graduate in the Nayfa family. Sydney graduated from pre-k on Thursday.

My future's so bright...

They had a cute zoo program, too. I wouldn't know because I couldn't attend thanks to the swine flu rescheduling a mandatory training. But hubs did a good job of documenting the big day.

Sydney and Ian were the flag holders for the pledge. I'm pretty sure in pre-k that's the equivalent to Valedictorian.

Pool Time

This was our first trip to the pool this year. Syd and Sam both loved the water.

Sam loves putting his face on the floatie to see the water. I was a little disturbed by this weird behavior, but he seems to love it so whatever.

I was worried Sam wouldn't go near the pool, but he had no trouble getting in and splashing around.

Lake Time

Sam is still a drooling fool! I had to put a bib on him in the car so his shirt would be dry when we arrived at the lake. When I say drool, I mean shoulder to shoulder down to his belly button is wet. It is really out of control. Now the paci... that's just a bad habit that I will definitely regret at some point. But he usually only has it at night.

Sydney and Katelyn on the tube!

FASTER!

This picture is so sweet!

Sam is the assistant to the captain - don't worry, we hadn't left the dock yet. He absolutely wears a life jacket. We made a last minute life jacket switch so another tiny one could go with us.

CHEESE!