McGrath Moments

Last night all of my family had a BBQ at WYCO lake and hung out at our aunts' and uncles' (the Myer's and the Cook's) boat dock. It was such a beautiful night and we always have so much fun together. We ate, drank, talked, and relaxed. Later in the evening, some of the family decided to take a boat ride.

Braeden was "driving" the boat and had so much fun! I stayed behind, but Ed went with the kids on the boat. When they all got back, some people were getting on the boat for the second ride, while others were getting off . Ed had gotten off and Braeden was still sitting in the driver's seat. Out of nowhere, Braeden puts the boat in neutral, turns it on, and RAMS the boat full throttle into the dock!! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED??

All of the women were screaming! My cousin, Miranda, ran up the dock and about had a heart attack. She was shaking. I sat there with my mouth opened and my eyes bugging out of my head. My sister was freaking out because she was on the boat with her infant son. It was such a shocking moment!

Then there are the men...cool as cucumbers. One of my uncles said, "wow, he knew to put the boat in neutral before starting it." The incident was no big deal to them and kind of funny. They were all pretty much laughing. Ed obviously had to yell at Braeden because he needed to know that what he had done was not okay and if any damage had occurred, it was on us.

The whole situation just really got me to thinking about the different reactions of men and women. I don't think one way was right or wrong, just different. It seems like we balance each other out. We can't help the way react in a split second. We just do what we know to do. For women, I guess we tend to do the screaming thing...or at least us Poole women. :)

How do you know when you use your debit card too much?

When your daughter brings you a Dave and Buster's game card and screams, "Look mama, I found some money!!"

Last week was Brenna's first week of part-time preschool. She goes to Tots and Tales, Monday-Wednesday. I thought she would enjoy staying home with me, but when we woke up on Thursday morning and she realized she wasn't going to school the tears started rolling down her cheeks. Of course that made me feel like a million bucks, but I will have to say that the day did get better. We attended out first Mommy and Me dance/gymnastics class at Byrd's that morning and she decided that it was okay to stay home. She had fun!

Last Thursday was Brenna's first dance class with other 2-3 year olds. We didn't even make in the door and the screaming and crying started. The director decided it might be best if we started coming to the Mommy and Me class to get her acclimated. The Hello Kitty earrings I bought her as a bribe to behave at dance class didn't even work! So now here I am on Thursday mornings participating in dance/gymnastics class. We are in the class with 2 other Moms and their 18 month olds. After class all I heard was, "That was fun!" She asks everyday if we can go back to dance class, so I am hoping she will get brave and go to her original class with girls her own age.

This is a picture of Brenna and I making cupcakes together. I am excited to be doing more of these kind of activities with her.


Another change for Miss Brenna was her first haircut. She has never had her hair cut and it was just getting way too long and was such a headache to wash. As you can see in the picture, nothing is ever easy with Brenna and she did NOT want to cut her hair. Once again, a bribe was in order and she got some chocolate!

She had 5 inches cut off and once it was all over...a smile appeared!

Love you sis!

Braeden's first day of Kindergarten was Tuesday, August 17, 2010. He attends Delaware Ridge Elementary School and he is in Mrs. Munford's Kindergarten class. He was very excited to start school and enjoyed his first week very much. He likes to take his lunch to school(in his new Iron Man lunch bag), but also likes to eat the school lunches. We read the menu each night and he decides which he would like to do. He feels like such a big boy when he gets to make his own decisions!


I, on the other hand, did not find his first day as exciting. I was quite emotional all day. My boss's wife asked me about it and I burst into tears. After the first day, I was fine. I think that I just needed to see that Braeden was going to adjust okay and that was comforting to me.

I love walking him to school. It is so convenient to have school so close to us. Wednesday evening I got home as Ed and the kids were getting out of the car. I noticed that Braeden didn't have his backpack and I asked him and Ed where it was. Braeden said he didn't know. I asked Ed if he got it from school and he told me that he didn't get it when he picked up Braeden. We have to sign Braeden in and out of after school care, so we actually have to go inside the school to get Braeden. Ed just left his backpack there. Ed then proceeds to tell me that Braeden was talking about some sort of homework that he had, but didn't know where that was either. Probably in the backpack??? Ed said, "Oh well, we can just get it tomorrow." I DON'T THINK SO! Our child is not going to already miss a homework assignment on the 2nd day of school. I immediately jumped in my car and went up to the school to track down his backpack. His after-school teacher told me that she would try to make sure that he went home with it from now on. I told her that was not her responsibility and that his father needed to pay attention to that. All she said to me was, "Good luck with that!"



Brenna was very excited for Braeden's first day!


Braeden wasted no time jumping right in and playing with the other kids!

Wow! August has brought about so much change and it is making me emotional, stressed, excited for the future, and thankful for all we have.

First of all, I can't believe that tomorrow morning I will be walking my little boy to elementary school for his first day of Kindergarten. Where did the last 5 years go? I have had a lump in my throat all day just anticipating tomorrow. I am excited for him to be meeting new friends, learning new things, and beginning this stage in his life, but I just want him to stay a little boy.

I don't want him to have to experience all of the negative things that go along with school. I won't be able to be there to protect him from teasing, or heaven forbid bullying. I am nervous for him. I want him to continue to have his innocence.

To sum up this Kindergarten stuff...I am a mess. I have a thousand different emotions, thoughts, and concerns flowing through my head. I hope Braeden handles his first day better than I will!

Brenna is now at Tots and Tales by herself and we are going to try just sending her 3 days a week instead of Monday-Friday, which is what she has been doing for the past year. I am cutting down to three days a week at work, so Brenna and I will be hanging out together on Thursdays and Friday. Hopefully we will enjoy our mother-daughter time together. I am looking forward to it. I will have to say, when I asked Brenna if she would like to spend a few more days at home with me or continue to go to school everyday, she said, "I want to stay home with Daddy." She always knows just the right words to stick it to Mommy!

Brenna will also start dance class at Carol Byrds this week. She was a crying, screaming mess when we took her to enroll. She wanted nothing to do with it, so I am very stressed about how she will behave at her first class on Thursday. I know this is not a very "ideal" parenting thing to do, but I took her to pick out and buy new earrings and if she behaves on Thursday, she can have them. Yep, a bribe! Whatever it takes!

Along with a lot of change, comes a lot of expense. Enrollment fees at Delaware Ridge Elementary, a technology fee, lunch fees, school supplies(my child needs 12 glue sticks, seriously?), enrollment fee at Tots and Tales, enrollment fee at Byrds Dance, new school clothes, shoes, tap shoes, ballet shoes, leotards, presents for bribery...it just goes on and on. Oh, and our last name starts with "M", so our car tags are due as well.

Enough. This blog has been all over the place, but I guess you can just say that is how I feel. My mind is everywhere. I am ready for August to be over.

Brenna and Braeden spent the night with my parents last Saturday night. They were getting ready for church on Sunday morning and this is what Brenna said to my mom...

First, I must say that my mom always gets ready in the morning just wearing her bra and underwear(sorry mom :), but it is necessary to say that for the story)!!

Brenna: Grammy, I can see your tummy.

Brenna: You better cover it up!

Brenna: I WILL tell my Mommy!

I ask you, is the fact that I used the same theme for Brenna's 3rd Birthday, that I used for her 1st Birthday, "Trashy and Cheap" or "Creative and Frugal"??? (see blog post 1-23-2009 for picture of 1st Birthday)

I had Brenna's outfit made for her 1st Birthday to match EVERYTHING! It matched her cake, balloons, napkins, my hairband, etc. She only wore the outfit that one time and I thought it was such a waste, because it was so cute. For her 1st Birthday, the outfit was a dress and bloomers, now it fits her as a shirt and shorts. Since she had only worn it once and it was still in such good shape, I decided to have her wear it again this year.

We also used the rest of the napkins that I had made for her 1st Birthday. I had hot pink napkins made, with black polka dots and they had "Brenna" printed on them...not cheap, but it was her 1st Birthday! I even wore the same hairband. I loved it! I was able to use all of the leftover party supplies.

Brenna,

You are such a fun little girl. You say the funniest things. Your Dad and I love listening to you read your books, talk to your babies, scold your older brother, everything! You are such an entertaining person. I love when you want to do things to "be like Mommy". You love lip gloss, hairbands, painting your toes, wearing pretty shoes, curling your hair, and your new earrings. The earrings are another similarity to your 1st Birthday. We pierced your ears when you turned one, but you refused to leave them in! I would come to your crib to get you up from your nap and the earrings would be laying all over the crib. How you were able to twist off the backs of those earrings at such a young age is beyond me, but you did! I was so afraid you would swallow them, that I had to just leave them out and let the holes close up. Well, you really wanted them pierced for your 3rd Birthday, so that is what we did and you have done such a great job with them. I hope you continue to enjoy preschool, especially once your older brother starts Kindergarten in just a few short weeks. I know it will be an adjustment for you to be there by yourself, but I think you will do just fine. I love you so much!!!

Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy