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Archive for May, 2009

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Time Flies!…

May 30, 2009

maddy

I’m feeling old.

I can’t believe I have a daughter starting high school in the fall.  Where does all the time go?  I distinctly remember the day, fourteen years ago, when we brought her home from the hospital in all her pink entirety.  I was thinking:

“Is she really ours?”

“Now what?”

“What do we do with her?”

“How can we take of her?  She’s so helpless.”

Though far from helpless now, we still ask each other:

“What do we do now?”

“What do we say to that?”

“Where do we draw the line?”

A lot has changed since that day many years ago:

She’s taller than me now (yikes!)

She’s acquired three little brothers

Her interests are vast including dance, piano, choir, softball, lacrosse, soccer, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, track, horseback riding, art, cooking, swimming, and tennis

She likes boys (double yikes!)

But some things have remained the same:

She’s wholly independent

She loves to entertain and be the center of attention

She loves kids

She’s fearless

She is persuasive

She is beautiful

She is good…

It’s heartening to watch her grow through the years and see her making more and more of the right choices as she gets older and a bit more experienced and wiser.  I think that’s the most rewarding thing for a parent. To see your kids choosing good all on their own.

So, because she has been good , we agreed to a birthday party…

With an outdoor theater

At night

With 30 of her closest friends

BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS!

(triple yikes!)

That was last night and it went off with just one hitch.  The wind started to blow halfway through the movie.  REALLY hard.  We had to batten down the hatches (temporarily nail the movie screen to the siding on the house).  Luckily the movie included enough action (for the boys) and young hot actors (for the girls) that the wind did not deter.  They watched Forever Strong, ate candy, popcorn, cupcakes, and S’mores, played basketball and did a lot of texting.  I think it was a success!

cupcakestrampfriendsbasketballsmorescandlesgirlsmoviedark-movie

Happy Birthday Maddy!  We love you.

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Tags: birthday, forever strong, outdoor movie party
Posted in Fun | No Comments »

Me Wholeheartedly…

May 28, 2009

One can never have too many books

I whole-heartedly believe that.  I hope my kids’ teachers believe it too because that’s what they’re getting on the last day of school.

I spent the second half of this school year teaching art in Erik’s class.  It was way more fun than I thought it would be.  We studied several different artists and created several different projects.  I was enchanted with the creativity the kids exhibited.  I loved it.  I’m considering volunteering  again next year.  Shhhh…  Don’t tell!

For Erik’s teacher I came across a simple, darling book with a huge message that I’ve added to my Very Favorites list.

ishIt’s a book about Ramon who becomes discouraged when his art is criticized by his big brother.  He decides to quit drawing altogether until he finds out that his sister has saved all his crumpled up discarded drawings and taped them all over her bedroom wall.  He learns that life isn’t about perfection, but enjoying every moment and making the most out of what you have.

Jack’s class studied the Revolutionary War this year. I find history  fascinatingly (I made that up) engrossing and there’s nothing worse than a dry history textbook.  After the year we spent home schooling I now whole-heartedly believe that it takes eons more than a textbook to bring history alive.  (Another reason the classroom is not the ideal setting to spark and support a child’s love of learning.  But that’s another post altogether).  So I found two books for his teacher to add to her classroom library.  Hopefully they will spark a desire to delve through the layers of history.

TheYearoftheHangman

In this adventurous novel, Blackwood  imagines what would have happened if the Americans lost the Revolutionary War.

61KXC2BGNBL._SS500_A fun look at the two enemies of the Revolutionary War, both named George: George Washington, the man who freed the American colonies from the British, and George III, the British king who lost them.  They have more in common than you might think.  It gets kids thinking about both points of view and why the Georges did what they did.  SO much more interesting than a boring old textbook!

I whole-heartedly hope the teachers don’t read my blog.  It’ll ruin the surprise!

What are you giving teachers this year, if anything?

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Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Another Onslaught and a question

May 26, 2009

It was full.  There was a birthday.  A funeral (poor Peter Rabbit).  A lake swim.  Potato guns.  A rain Storm.  Movies.  Burgers.  Bike riding.

Our Memorial Day weekend in pictures:

hayleyDSC_0001-1 copy 2heelsshovelgravepeterbikeatvatv-m-graftjackcostumescootergrandma-trikeme triketrikestrike-j-hcrocspushfootprintskids-rainrain-dancerain jumpdiscarded-heelsnickmombirthdaybag

Now the question:

What are you doing for end of the year teachers gifts this year???

I need some ideas.  Thanks!

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Tags: memorial day weekend, potato guns
Posted in Fun, Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

End of the year Roller Coaster

May 22, 2009

I’ve always loved roller coasters.

Well, maybe not always.  It took me until I was about 10 before I could fully enjoy and appreciate a good roller coaster.  Since then, I’ve been a huge fan.  The thrill of climbing that first hill to the exhileration of your body shooting down the steep hills to the ferocious flip flops of your stomach when you experience the corkscrews and loopedy-loops.  It’s a rush of fear mixed with joy mixed with adrenaline.  I love them!

Lately though I’ve been feeling like my life is a big roller coaster ride.

I’m not a big fan.

The end of the school year seems to do this to me every time.  The thrill of facing the end of a rigid schedule to the exhileration of attempting to juggle the wrap-up activities of 4 kids at once, to the flip flop of my stomach as I realize what isn’t getting done while I’m rushing around tying up all the loose ends.

Especially blogging.

It has fallen by the wayside this week.  Something had to give and this was it.

Do you feel this way at the end of the school year? Please tell me I’m not alone.

It’s not that I haven’t thought about blogging. Because I have.  In fact I’ve taken my camera with me to many of these end of the year events.  I just haven’t had time to sit down at the computer to think of something clever to write in addition to my random pics.

But I found about 20 minutes between events this evening to sit down and peck out a quick post.  For posterity sake if nothing else.

The first set is the second grade day-long field trip I went on yesterday.  WHY save these marathon field trips to until the end of the year???

The second set is the preschool graduation ceremony.  Yes, that’s right.  My preschooler graduated from preschool.  Even though he started half way through the school year.  And even though he’s going again next year.  Oh well.  It was cute at least.

facecowboyoh-deereglASSESroom-of-mirrorsspinnerwheelperfect-dayred-bull

duckmicrophone-huggertwirling-masktreatproud-graduate

Good luck with your end of the year roller coaster rides!!!

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Tags: end of school year
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Weekend Summary

May 17, 2009

The boys took off on their annual Father-Son Camp-out on Friday afternoon.  Porta-potty and all.

truck

Maddy and I enjoyed our “girls only” time and went with some friends to the “big city” to do a little shopping and have a little dinner.

We did too much shopping, ate too much food, stayed up too late, and slept in too long on Saturday morning.

It was fabulous!

We had beautiful weather the entire weekend and spent hours outside.

bballerik-umbrellabunny

bathing-suitcaped-will

How was your weekend?

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Tags: father son camp out
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