Life Update- Starting School and Hurricane Florence

I thought for today I'd share a life update and what we've been up to!  Mary-Grace started preschool last week and is loving it!  She goes half days on MWF with Friday being a little bit longer since the school has a lunch buddy program and she will stay there for lunch.  Her teacher is the sweetest and her classroom is so cute.  She carries her little book bag into school with her and it makes me smile but also breaks my heart a little.  I realize that she is growing up so fast and will shortly be starting regular school and I hear that's when time really starts to fly.  I'm thankful that she loves learning and meeting new friends.  It makes it easier for me to drop her off.  Her starting school has changed up our morning routine but it's for the best.  We're all up early and ready to go!  It's also good for me that she is going to school a few mornings.  I still have Benton with me but it's so much easier taking care of errands and things at home with one child, especially since he is a fairly easy child to entertain and is laid back for the most part.  I've shared some pictures below of her first day at school.  I already had the chalkboard that I bought during my pregnancy with her and found the cute apple banner at the dollar section in Target!  Her ABC dress is from Beaufort Bonnet that I bought last winter to save for when she started school.

We've also been to the pool a few times.  Both of the kids love the water which makes going to the pool a fun activity for everyone.  We've also been to the science museum downtown, shopping a few different days, Mary-Grace and I had a mommy and me date for cupcakes, playing with friends, and soaking up these last couple of weeks before the weather turns cooler.  We'll hopefully still spend a good bit of time outside, just not swimming of course.

I'm sure you've all heard about Hurricane Florence.  We live in Raleigh and will somehow be affected by the storm but not as much as the coast since we're about 100 miles inland.  It's been crazy around here the past few days.  People have been stocking up on water since last week!  I bought a few extra non-perishable items, an extra power pack for the phones and iPad, drinks, water, and filled up my car with gas.  I had to go to a few different places yesterday to find gas then after that I heard about the app Gas Buddy that tells you which stations aren't out. They were forecasting for the eye of the storm to come near Raleigh but as of this morning it has changed and looks like it will head to South Carolina so we will see what happens.  My thoughts and prayers are with everyone, especially those living in flood prone areas who have had their homes flooded during Matthew and Floyd, and those with special needs.  That would add so much more stress.  I lived in NC during Fran back in the 90's and we lost power for about a week and several roads flooded but fortunately our house was spared.  I'm sure wherever this storm hits the impacts will not be good.  Please try to stay safe everyone! I'm praying hard for the Carolinas!