Pre-K Graduation

Amanda has finished pre-k and is ready to start kindergarten in the fall.  We are so excited about her beginning her "real" school journey.

Her school had a little graduation ceremony on Sunday where each class sang a song and the children walked across the stage when their names were called.  Amanda's class sang a cute Square Dance song.  We thought she looked just like Jessie from Toy Story.  

She loves to be on stage!

At the end, all of the children sang a few songs together.  At one point, my mom swore that she heard Amanda's voice in the crowd.  I'm not surprised.  She has a voice for theater!

Amanda is ready for kindergarten!  She has even mastered zipping.

 She wanted to make sure I took a picture of her in her jewel shoes.  She absolutely loves these shoes.

We are all about hair styles these days!

Amanda has a long road of school ahead of her.  May she always be full of the same joy and confidence that she has now as she travels this road.

Land of Snow and Ice

Scott made this Borax creation at Cub Scouts on Sunday.
Get the directions at Steve Spangler Science.  

This is a sight we rarely see in Georgia - our Valentine's decorations backed by snow.  Yet, as we are one day away from Valentine's Day our ground has several inches of snow.  The kids have had a blast.  

Amanda found some tattoos the other day and stuck them all over her face…all by herself…with the bathroom door closed and locked.  :)

Andrew enjoying the sled that I had as a child.  I remember my parents purchasing this sled and our other sled when I was about his age.  We went to the hardware storm just before a predicted snowstorm and these were the only two sleds left.  Who knew we would still have them all these years later.  

Scott found the Spiderman mask in our dress up box and decided to use it like a ski mask.

This girl shows so much expression as she sleds.  She is not one to hold back her excitement.

Eating snow is really good.

We headed up the street to see if we could find some better hills.  You can see that one 4WD truck had passed…but that was the only traffic we saw all day.

We went around the corner to a street called Hilltop.  The name fits, and it is a great street for sledding!  I have to say, when I'm running, I don't always think of it in such positive terms.  It is the last hill at the end of my three-mile course, and I'm ready to get home when I reach the top.

Playing in the snow makes hungry and tired children,  We made a big dish of homemade mac & cheese.  Amanda had three big helpings.  I think it was the first time ever that we had no leftovers!

We ended the day with a fire and movie.  Guess who didn't  make it through the whole movie?

It snowed more last night, so we are gearing up for another day of fun before it melts tomorrow!

Farley's birthday

Farley is 7 today!  As Andrew very accurately pointed out, that makes him 49 and the oldest member of our household - "Older than Daddy!"  

We love celebrating our dog's birthday because it is a good chance to sing and torture him by making him wear a hat.  

Amanda, of course, is the planner of all celebrations.  

The only way that we can encourage Farley to sit still is by offering him a banana.  He will do ANYTHING for a piece of banana.  (You can see Amanda retrieving more birthday hats out of our party drawer.)

When we offer him a banana, he not only sits, but immediately lies down.  He knows the sequence before he can receive his treat.

Our sweet, sweet dog.  He really is a good friend and companion.  We are thankful for him.

Art in Excess

Amanda's teachers are cleaning out their room and they sent gobs of art home yesterday.  According to Amanda, there will be more in today's Friday folder.  She was so excited about it that she wanted to open her book bag on the way home from school.  But sifting through book bags in the car is one thing I don't allow because inevitably some papers are lost and others stay in the car, destined to be stepped on and torn.  So she showed restraint and maturity by telling me that she was going to wait, but that she wanted to be the one to open her bag when we got home.

I'll say…this opening-the-bookbag-in-the-car was a battle I chose to fight at the beginning of the year.  After all, preschool is training Amanda for real school…years and years of book bags and papers that Mama needs to see.  Amanda is strong and does not want to have to wait for things, so we have had many days of tears about having to wait. (Lest you think I'm torturing her, we have an eight minute commute, all right turns and only one traffic light.)  So I was thankful for this day when all of my efforts seemed to have paid off.

Her book bag was full!  Look at the spread.

My first thought was one of thankfulness…thankful for a school where she can live in the art center…thankful for a school with the resources to have paper and paint and markers…thankful for teachers who let her use as much as she wants (a luxury she does not always have at home).

Here are some of my favorites:

A family picture.  She was clear to point out to me that "Daddy is bald!"  I think she tried to spell my name above me.  

No surprises to me that there was at least one rainbow.  Amanda loves making rainbows.  They are featured in most of her coloring.

This one was clearly directed by the teachers, but I love it anyway.  Amanda has creative teachers who send home such cute artwork.

This set of self-portraits reminded me of an artist's series.  I think they also show great self-confidence.  And I just love the one in the middle with the giant "Amanda."

We are half way through the school year, and I think Amanda is definitely ready for kindergarten.  She is starting to learn to read, although she doesn't really have the patience or interest to sit long enough to practice.  She is far more interested in playing with her babies or practicing gymnastics when she gets home.  

Self Sufficiency

In our house, we value self-sufficiency.  I love it when the kids help themselves to water and snacks.  I encourage them to choose their own clothes and get dressed independently.  If they are cold, they can find a blanket or get a sweater. 

But this may be taking it too far...

I came into the kitchen today to find Amanda getting her own breakfast.  I store the cereal on the top shelf, because that is where it fits the best.  She had moved the step stool into place and was on the counter on her tip toes to get the box she wanted.  She did this same stunt later in the day to get a snack, but I had the rice cooker on the counter, open and ready to start.  Bags of snack poured out of the cabinet into the rice and water.  We are going to have to stop this trend.  

As an aside, Amanda is really excited about this nightgown she is wearing.  I had a sewing day a few weeks ago to tackle some mending projects that were piling up.  My Mom came over and together we sewed buttons on a jacket, repaired holes in three pairs of jeans, darned some leggings, repaired a rip in a dress, and stitched some stuffed animals, as well as ironed all of my Christmas napkins and tablecloths.  I also found this pajama top in the pile.  It is a hand me down with no matching pants.  Amanda had been wearing it solo, but I thought it was just too cold for that.  I meant to sew a skirt from new fabric, but I remembered that we had a nice knit dress with a big stain on the sleeve.  So I cut the skirt from the dress and sewed it to the PJ top.  Voila!  A new nightgown that Amanda loves!

Library Day!

We are slowly getting back into our normal routine after the Christmas holidays.  It's funny that it seems to be taking longer than normal.  I attribute that to the really cold weather that we are having.  My crew has never known such a cold January.

I also attribute the slow start to our busier than normal activity schedule.  Scott is participating in winter swimming two nights per week.  Andrew has started Upward Basketball.  And Amanda is thrilled to be doing her first extracurricular activity - gymnastics.  Just look at the smile in this picture!

We have had wild afternoons this week.  The backyard is cold and swampy, so I can't send the kids outside.  They (mainly Andrew and Amanda) make the living room their gymnastics arena using camping mats.  The couch is the vault.  The mats are lined up to be the floor exercise.  A coffee table is the beam.  And the back of our bigger couch is the bars.  Amanda can hang on the back of the couch and do a flip.

But today was different.  I decided to take them to the library after school.  Our books that we checked out before Christmas had no more renewals, so we headed out to the library after school.  

Oh, I forgot how wonderful are library afternoons.  We checked out 38 books.  The kids climbed into the car with their stacks and the ride home was silent.  They filed into the house and each went to his or her own corner to pour through their new books.

Andrew chose the little couch.  He was reading a book called "Stink."  I don't think it is fine literature, but he seems to enjoy it.  He has trouble finishing books.  He tends to put them down after one reading session and move on to another the next time he reads.  I think he almost finished this book in an hour.    

I think in this picture, Scott was reading a Geronimo Stilton book.  These are among his favorites, although they are way below his reading level.  He can certainly finish a book in one sitting, but he finds them funny and entertaining.

He did not read for long yesterday.  As soon as he finished his snack, I reminded him that homework was more important than reading.  His homework fluctuates and last night he had to finish a report.  This is the first year that he has had significant writing assignments to complete at home.  I love that it gives me the chance to help with his writing at home, but it can be difficult for him to keep his focus…especially if the living room is a gym.

Amanda also picked out many books to bring home, but what she was most excited about yesterday were Magic Tree House books on CD.  She is reading the series at school and is really excited about Jack and Annie.  I remember that we read the entire series with Scott when he was this age.  Before she decided that she needed to pose for this picture, she was lying on the floor listening to one of the books.  Of course, her attention span isn't that long and soon enough, I heard her switching CDs.

Amanda is really interested in the idea of learning to read.  Several books that she picked out yesterday are ones that she recognized as books that she can use to practice reading.  But, the actual work of sitting down to read isn't as appealing.  She would rather be upside down on the back of the couch.

We love our local library!!  And are so thankful for it.

Adventures on the road!

Texas.  It's a state the we know well, at least the Eastern part of the state.  Twice a year, we make the trek.  I know the route like the back of my hand.  Sometimes we leave at 5AM and travel the 14 hours in one day.  Sometimes we leave later and stay at a hotel along the way…we know the best hotels that allow dogs.  Because we always take our dog.  

Two adults, three children and one 85-pound dog…in a mini-van that can seat seven.  It's not too bad.  There's no DVD player, but we bring plenty of books on tape.

So we set off early on Dec. 23 for our semi-annual trek feeling confident that we would make it by bedtime.  Things were going well.  Six hours into the trip and we had already listened to one complete book - The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  I highly recommend it.  

Suddenly, the van started lurching and jumping.  We were in rural Alabama, miles from the closest town.  We pulled off the Interstate and headed toward town.  Just as we arrived in Atmore, AL, the van completely died.  Nothing.  

But we were safe.  And some nice men pushed us to the side of the road and gave us the name of a wrecker and repair shop.  We waited…and waited…and waited.  An hour later, the wrecker finally arrived.  

 The five of us rode in the cab with the driver, while Farley stayed in the van.  At one point we looked back and he was "driving" the van.  He was in the driver seat while the van was moving.  It was so funny.  

And we waited and waited some more.  We were in the lobby of the shop while Farley stayed in the van.  We cut crafts and colored, read magazines and did jumping jacks for entertainment.  For four hours we waited, (and the kids were wonderful) only to find out that the computer in our car had died and a new part would have to be ordered.

The closest car rental location was 30 miles away and the only car available (and we were thankful that there was even one car available) was a Chevy Cruz.

Five adults, three children and one 85-pound dog in a Chevy Cruz with 10 hours left to drive (and a return trip to look forward to).

It was hilarious.  I seriously spent the rest of the trip laughing.  Poor Farley. He was wedged on the floor behind the passenger seat.  I'm not sure who had the least amount of space.  It was a close call between Derrick (whose seat was so far forward that his knees were in his lap) and Farley.  

 Finally, Farley tired of sitting on the floorboard, so he jumped on the kids' laps.  And proceeded to roll down the window and almost fall out...at 70 mph.

With nowhere to put his head, the back of Derrick's seat became comfortable.

Our saving grace was the large trunk.

Oh boy were we thankful to return to Alabama after the New Year to retrieve our van.