splashing.

We actually got rain last night! It's been ages since it rained! 

So someone got to experience splashing in puddles for the first time... 

(This is my first time posting a video... fingers crossed that it works!)
* Any idea how to make the video bigger??
* I think she's actually saying, "I step in water." Mommy's a little better at interpreting Gretchie speak. =)

checklist.

Let's see if they like checking things off a list as much as their mommy does... 

An old picture frame... a little spray paint... some scrapbook paper... and a dry erase marker. 

A quick checklist on the computer and a box for each kiddo. 

So far it's made our bedtime routine faster and easier. 

And a faster, easier bedtime routine makes this momma happy. =)  

sweet shop.

There are a lot of things on MY summer list that did not get crossed off. Bummer for that. 

We did pretty good with the kid/family list, but my list was not so good. 

My lists tend to be a little ambitious in the summer though, so it's not unusual for things to not get done. 

But this is one project that did get crossed off... 

We have this little area between the garage and the shed. I had never really thought much about it until one day that Sophie was playing back there. (This was obviously back in spring... see that green grass?)

She had moved one of the pool chairs back there and had rummaged through the garage for some painter's tape and a Sharpie so she could do a little labeling. (No idea where she gets that from...) =)

She was calling it her Tea garden. (I'm not really sure how it ended up being the Sweet Shop, but, whatever.)

While she was playing, I ran inside and grabbed my lovely little green notebook and did some quick sketching and brainstorming ideas...

I kept it all a secret from this little girl. I wanted to surprise her...

We ended up throwing this all together pretty quick one day, so I left out a few of the details I had planned on. But I still think it turned out pretty cute... 

I was determined to use things we already had with this project. The only thing I bought was a $4 vinyl tablecloth from Wal-Mart. We already had the polka dot one, but I thought this one would be fun and colorful! (I thought vinyl might hold up better outside than other materials. And don't look too close. I am really not that good at sewing.)

I replaced Sophie's SIT labels with happy little flowers...

and grabbed a cute little green bucket I had. (Your menu is still there from the day you babysat, Hannah!) The chalkboard was just an extra piece of plywood Corey had in the garage and the chalkboard paint we've had for years.

This fancy chip/dip set was a wedding gift. One that had been in a high, high cabinet in our kitchen for years. I don't think we have ever used it. They didn't sell at our garage sale and I figured if I was willing to just donate them to a thrift store, then why not let the kids enjoy them?? (They stole the beans out of Gretchie's little bean table.)

Same with my FiestaWare. (All I tried to sell were 6 cups and saucers. Same thing. They had been in a high cabinet for years. We never used them. I pulled them out of the "To Donate" box and saved them for the kids.)

The table was one that Corey had started to build one time for their shop at work. It had been nearly finished in the basement for years. He nailed a plywood top to it to finish it off and I did a quick little paint job. (Too quick. Some of the red is already chipping off.) Sophie helped me one day with the swirls and polka dots on top.

I also covered an old board with some of the vinyl tablecloth and set it across two 5 gallon buckets. It makes a fancy little counter top area. =) The blue Rubbermaid holds all the dishes, a little pad of paper for taking orders and the chalk bucket.

The kids haven't spent as much time as they would have liked out here this summer. (Stupid crazy hot temperatures! Last week we reached 52 days of over 100* temps.) I'm predicting it will get much more use this fall.

It's such a happy little area now. I love that it was all inspired by Sophie's imaginative play one day. And while I am a huge fan of kids using their imaginations and creating their own fun from random things... I'm hoping this little bit of fun will inspire even more imagination and creativity. And I think that's worth the $4 I spent on supplies. =)

school.

* School is going well. I feel really overwhelmed and unorganized right now, but I think I always do at this time of year. Maybe in year 14 that feeling will go away? =) I've got a sweet bunch of kiddos. And some really good artists... 

 * This is the birthday line he was drawing. Pretty good, don't you think?

* My oh-so-organized desk. Somewhere under this mess is a grouchy note from a parent. Only took 8 days. Boo. (I had the nerve to ask for healthier/less sugary birthday snacks since we are going to have to have our parties at 8:40 am. Another mom thought it was a great idea and brought us all fruit cups with watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple. The kids were thrilled!) (Have you ever tried chili powder on fresh fruit?? The mom brought a little bottle to sprinkle on if they wanted. It must be a Hispanic thing. A bunch of us tried it, though. It was surprisingly good!)

* I spent a few hours at school on Saturday, trying to find the top of my desk and get rid of piles like this... Can you tell who was up at school helping me? =)

* I cleaned out one of my assessment notebooks... (Gretchen kept trying to walk across it and was slipping all over the place. Papers everywhere.) 

* I always start the year by doing interviews with all my kids and writing stories about them. Then the other kids practice writing their name and write a sentence or two about them, along with a picture. The kids were confused at first about Leila's favorite food. They thought she was saying chicken and ducklings. =)

* A question the kids have been asking during interviews this year is "Where is your favorite place?" So far we've had: the zoo, school, the skate park, Braums and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart made me smile. =)

* We have a new custodian in our wing this year. I love her. I love the way she cleans and I love the sweet things she says. She tells me what a good mom I must be since I can spend all day surrounded by kids and then go home to kids, too. She sees my wild children after school and says things like, "I don't know how you do it, girl!" (That may have been the day that Sophie and Lawson were running and jumping over her giant trash bag while she cleaned my desks.)

 * How is it that I am able to get more accomplished at school with this child than I am with my other two? They are seriously driving me crazy. In the morning and after school. Just wound up crazy silly. And needy. They're exhausting. Even the custodian thinks so. =)

* Someone drank my Dr. Pepper out of the lounge refrigerator on Friday. That was a bummer. Luckily I had 60 cents for the machine. I was really counting on that caffeine at the end of the day.

* One of my students looked at my id badge the other day and said, "You look way younger in your picture." But then the next day she told me I smelled good... so I forgave her.

* I was able to fit a second recess into our schedule. But 3 days out of the week it's at 8:30 or 8:45. Which isn't really ideal considering school starts at 8:00. But it was really the only time I could fit it in and I knew the kids wouldn't really care when it was, as long as they knew they were getting 2 recesses. The plus side? The temperature at 8:30 in really, really nice! Not the 100*+ that it is later in the afternoon!

* Gretchen comes RUNNING to me everyday when I get to Jessi's yelling "Momma!!" It's my favorite part of my entire day.

car wash.

watering.

My apologies for the crazy amount of pictures. I only chose the ones that made me smile. (But there were a lot that made me smile.) She was having so much fun helping Daddy... 

She. was. soaked.
Completely.
But those smiles were worth it...

parade.

(This was actually from the beginning of August. I'm playing catch up with my blogging...)

This man drove us crazy at the parade last year. But he must have listened to some of the criticism and did a much better job keeping things moving this year. No big long spaces between floats! Yay!

This just made me smile... If you grew up anywhere around Abilene, you knew Disco Bob. I love that he was a part of the parade. He was waving and smiling. So happy. 

Someone found Mommy's Sonic drink...

The kids were so excited about this float! They were giving out little bottles of Sundrop soda and they each got their own bottle. Sophie saved hers, but Lawson drank his all as soon as we got back to grandma and grandpa's house. He was bouncing off. the. walls. that evening. We realized later that one of those little sodas had more caffeine than a Mountain Dew.

This is always the most popular float...

This truck is full of bags of chocolate. Bags. Our bag may or may not have gotten hidden away in the refrigerator. And mommy may or may not have been the only one who knew where it was.

Such a fun (but hot) family tradition.