end of summer.

(I forgot about the pictures from these last two posts! Playing catch up here!) 

Our neighbors hosted a Back to School Ice Cream/Movie party! So much fun!! 

Swimming... 

Jumping on the trampoline... 

And every kind of ice cream and topping you can imagine! 

Then when the sun started to set, everyone found a pillow, picnic table, blanket or chair... and we watched a movie outdoors! (UP... which I love. So sweet.)

A nice thing about living across the street... when Miss Gretchen got sleepy, I walked home, put her to bed and set the monitor on the front porch. Much more fun than wrestling with a tired baby.

Thanks again, Craig and Megan! We had a great time!!
(You can see more pictures on Megan's blog!)

belated.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa! 

frog day.

Second grade always starts the year with a unit on Frog and Toad. They finish their unit with "Frog Day!" 

We didn't have any luck catching our own frog, but one of Corey's co-workers helped him out. These guys were huge!  (Green Bean and Brownie)

Our favorite 2nd grade teacher! She's not only cute, she's crazy brave! Look at her holding all these giant frogs! 

There were two circles (and 60 kids sitting around them). They put the frogs on an X and then counted 3 jumps. A parent measured and the designated "frog catchers" tried to catch the frogs. (A few of them made a speedy exit under the fence and headed for the creek behind the school.) She gave the kids a little lecture before they started about how we're not going to freak out if one the frogs jumps towards you/on you. (But I'm pretty sure I would freak out if one of these frogs jumped in my lap!)

There were quite a few shrieks and screams and scrambling children after the first giant bullfrog jumped towards the crowd. (It was around this time that Corey said, "I could never be a teacher. I would be screaming at these kids.")

Someone asked if we got a picture of Sophie with her frog. This is about as close as she got to it.  :) 

Thankfully Mrs. Childs isn't a big chicken when it comes to frogs.  Happy Frog Day! 

frog hunting.

Tuesday evening we set off on a family frog hunt! 

Getting to ride in Daddy's Jeep is always a treat. (Because you get to sit in the front seat. No airbags in 1986.)

Corey had gotten some tips at work on the best way to catch frogs. 

Supposedly, if you walk along the side of the pond, dangling a bright fake worm on a fishing pole, the frogs go crazy. 

But we didn't have any luck. 

But Lawson thinks anytime he gets to use a fishing pole is a great time! 

I was content to hang out the walking path with this little bug.. 

another quote.

Where is Daddy?!
He said he'd be back in a gypsy.

-- Lawson

quotes.

Random quotes from my children today...


Lawson: "Every time we drive over these tracks it hurts my junk."

Sophie: "You've gotta respect the frogs."


I don't really have a good explanation for either of them.
(But I think Sophie has been hearing about "respect" in 2nd grade. And Lawson was talking about cooking the frogs from the 2nd grade frog jumping contest. Apparently she didn't that that would be respectful.)

Lawson's quote?
I don't even know what to say.

** edited** 
I do know exactly what Lawson is saying. 
So does he. 
I just don't know what to say about it.  :)
But Corey and I laughed. 
A lot. 

10 months.

 

Lawson made her a crown.  :) 

day 2.

This little guy made his momma cry this morning... 

His first day of school was great. Just a little bit of hesitation. No tears at all.
So I wasn't prepared for Day 2.

Our school doesn't assign teachers for kindergarten for the first 5 days of school.
They mix the kids all up and rotate them between two of the three classes. The third teacher observes and makes notes about behavior, academics, etc. This helps them get an idea of ways to divide the kids into 3 relatively balanced classes. As a teacher, I understand the reasons for it. But as a mommy... especially a mommy of a kiddo like this... it is really, really hard.

I should have prepared him better. Talked to him more about the fact that he would start the morning in a different classroom... he would probably be with different kids... he might not be with Ezra or Luke (two of his best buddies)... it would be different than the day before. I should have gone over all this with him. But I didn't.

I also should have gone over some of the kindergarten stuff with Daddy, who was dropping him off these first two days of school. Things like... if he gets scared, or starts clinging to you, or starts crying... give him to a teacher and walk out. They know how to handle it. They know how to calm these scared little people. It's okay for him to be upset and have you leave. You don't have to be the one to calm him down. That's what the teachers will do. I should have talked to him about this. But I didn't.

So I was caught off guard when a very frustrated Corey showed up at my classroom door at 8:00 this morning with a sobbing Lawson. A loud sobbing Lawson. This was a morning I was actually glad that my kids go to computers at 8:10. I got my kids settled, then walked Lawson back down to kindergarten. Unfortunately, there was a lot more crying. Still very loud crying. The kind of crying that brings all available staff members in that direction to see if they can help. The kind of crying that makes mommy end up giving him a big hug and a kiss, telling him I love him and that he will be okay, and then pushing him into the arms of a kindergarten teacher, and walking away. Walking away... hiding around the corner... and then starting to cry myself.

Thankfully, we have some great staff members at our school.
He calmed down fairly quickly... I calmed down fairly quickly (after making a couple other staff members get teary just looking at me)... and we were both able to pull ourselves together. I even got a smile and a wave when I saw him at the assembly 45 minutes later. He did great the rest of the morning.

So I'm a little anxious about Monday.
I'm thinking I'll walk him down a few minutes early (so that I can make it back to my room across the building before the bell rings... it was easier with Sophie when I was just a few yards away), hand him off to a teacher, and look forward to Thursday when he will be assigned a permanent classroom and teacher. (Hopefully with one of his best buddies!)

first day.

Smiles all around... 

Lawson was a little hesitant at first, but after Corey stayed a few minutes, he was fine. I got a couple different reports during the morning from various people. Everyone said he was doing great! 

Everyone had a good day.
Mommy included.
But, wow... I am exhausted.
So glad we don't start school on a Monday.

ready or not.

My room at 2:00... around the time the super supportive person left.

After "Meet the Teacher Night." I work well under pressure. 

I even did a little organizing/labeling today... 

Only half my class came tonight. 

So it's hard to tell much at this point. 

One of my little girls didn't talk to her kindergarten teacher until the 43rd day of school. So that might be fun. 

Our schedule got completely changed. 

1st grade goes to specials (PE, Music, Library, Computers) at 8:10 am. School starts at 8:00. So basically we'll do lunch count and then send them away for 70 minutes. Which will be nice for last minute planning in the mornings. 

But it also means that we get our kids back at 9:20 am and the only break we will get until 3:00 is a 25 minute lunch. Fabulous. It's gonna make for some l....o....n....g afternoons. 

Sophie is super excited. Loves her teacher... several of her classmates... can't wait for 2nd grade. 

Lawson is excited about kindergarten, but a little nervous. (And still not happy about having to get up so early.) I'm not sure how he'll do in the morning. I can see him going in fine, seeing some friends, and sending Corey off with a smile. But I can also see him getting nervous, shy and really not wanting Corey to leave. 

I guess we'll see... 

thank you.

To the person who just came in my room and said, "Are you going to be ready for Meet the Teacher night tonight? Or do you just not care?"

Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Your encouragement is overwhelming.

mornings.

Sophie is so much like Corey.
Their personality... tempermant... patience level...
But I've discovered a way in which she is more like me.
The mornings.
As much as I hate to get out of bed, and as much as I would rather sleep late and not wake up to an alarm, once I actually do get out of bed, I'm fine.
Sophie is the same. I wake her up, give her a little hug, talk to her for less than a minute, and she is up, getting dressed and happy.

Lawson, on the other hand...

We've called him Lawson Bear since he was tiny. (Gretchen's a bug, he's a bear... I don't know why, they just are.)
And these last few mornings... getting up early... he has been a bit of a bear.
"I told you not to wake me up! I want to sleep! Stop rubbing my back! Get off my bed! Go away! I'm not going to kindergarten! I don't want coins in my jar!"
It's delightful.

This morning as we were driving to Jessi's, I hear from the backseat...
"If I could choose between bolleyball and school... I would choose bolleyball."

overwhelmed.

Are you thinking I am really on the ball and on top of things because I've been posting while getting ready for school?
Well... you're wrong.
I post dated those over the weekend.
I am behind at school.
So far behind.
Like at the point of thinking, "I don't even know what do to do next. There's so much!"
I did not anticipate the amount of work that came from moving classrooms.
Hours and hours spent on things I haven't had to do for the past 10 years.
Brand new math curriculum... which we were just trained/introduced to today. Awesome.
2 full days of nothing but meetings. My favorite thing.
Meet the Teacher night tomorrow night.
Kids on Thursday.
When Sophie started kindergarten, I was an emotional wreck the day before. Crying off and on all day.
I'm doing okay with Lawson at this point.
But tomorrow may be different.

family rules.

This project was on my summer list! 

I first saw the idea on Beki's blog when she linked to this site. 

Beki and her kids made their own version earlier this summer that turned out very cool! 

But I knew I was going to need a bit more color to make it fit in this house.  :) 

I had been keeping a list of rules for awhile. Several of them were copied off of other blogs, people who posted their own family rules. Some were ones I came up with on my own. We all sat down one night and talked about them, and chose ones we thought were important for our family. (Corey was thrilled to be a part of this project.)  Lawson thought we should add the rule: Don't smother the baby.  :)

I had bought a canvas on sale at Michael's this spring. I taped some white paper together to make myself a rough draft... 

Gathered some supplies... 

I used my rough draft to pencil lines on the canvas. I wanted the kids to be involved in the painting, but I also wanted it to look neat. So I did some outlining for each of the boxes... 

Then my happy helpers went to work... 

I let them do it on their own for the most part. I may have said often, "Slow down... take your time... go slow... just go in one direction... use long strokes like this... go slow... go slow..." But they did do it all on their own. (And I went back later after it dried and touched up a few areas)

I even had a happy helper that offered to wash out all the brushes... 

The next night as the kids were finishing supper (they are the world's slowest eaters sometimes, I swear!) I sat at the other end of the table with a couple black paint pens. I had a fine point one and a medium point one. I tried to make my writing look different, just to give it some character. (But my writing pretty much looks the same everywhere.) All the writing took me about 20 minutes. (Except the "Be Creative." I did that one after bedtime. It took a little longer!) 

For the most part, I am loving how it turned out!! 

It is hanging in our toy room/breakfast nook, right above the hooks for coats and backpacks. 

We have already referred to it several times in the past few days. 

It's a good reminder of things that are important to us... and it's just happy to look at!  :)