All the Small Things...

Baby #4 Has Flown the Coop...

Okay, so he hasn't "technically" flown the coop-- I suppose I have about 15 more years until that happens-- BUT this is the first step and I don't like it one bit!

Pre-school is the gateway drug to Kindergarten.

Soon after that he'll be mainlining hardcore elementary school- ALL DAY, EVERYDAY!!!   

Again, I don't like this one bit!

 

First of all, he's about the sweetest, easiest kid to have around, so why would I want to send him off somewhere?

Second, do I really want to have FOUR schools to contend with?

Third, he's only 3 and that just seems way too young.  He was just an embryo 36 months ago!

Fourth, one more lunch to pack.

And fifth--- I'll miss him

...a lot.

 

 

SO, I put on my big girl panties and sent him off with a lump in my throat the size of his Lightening "LeQueen" (as he says it) lunchbox.

And you know what happened?

 

 

He loved it.

 

 

 

 

Back To School 2011...

It's back to school for the Greding kids!

I've been DREADING it for the weeks.

No more lazy days of "oh, I'll do that tomorrow" or late night movie nights, or last minute sleepovers.

 We are now filled with "Are you done with your homework?" and "Oh my gosh- we are SO late!"

waa waa

:(

BUT, I put on my big girl panties and tried my best to make a great first day of school for my kids... and me!

 

 

First-- the breakfast...

So, I gave up the Super Mom dream of pancakes, bacon and hash browns for my kids' first day of school kick off and just went with donuts.

I will not feel guilty.  I will not feel guilty.  I will not feel guilty.

At least they were fresh-- I sent Dan to the donut store at 5:30 am!

 

 

Second-- the lunches...

I always try to make the first day of school lunch extra special.  

I like to include all of the kids' favorite snacks and even decorate their lunch sacks a little.  Patrick and Chandler would KILL me if I did this to their lunches, but Scarlet definitely loved the cuteness of it!

Oh, and how cute are these Lunch Lines?  I bought them at The Paper Source.  The jokes are dumb-- really dumb, but that's what I like about them.  :)  Just a fun little note from me and a silly joke-- a fun little addition to any lunch!

And yes, I even stick one in my Senior's lunch.

Sorry, kid.  Your mom is a dork.

 

This was Dan's contribution to the festivities.

He's a cute Dad.   

I love that I'm married to a man who would stay up late and create a chalkboard message for his kids' first day of school.  SO sweet...

 

 

 

Okay-- So here are the official BACK TO SCHOOL front yard pics of the 3 "bigs".

The chalkboard frame?  It's a decal from The Paper Source.

As soon as I take Keiran's first day of school pic (September 6), it's headed for the front of my refrigerator.

I love it.

Scarlet brought our usual first day of school basket of apples to her teacher.  

This has been a tradition since Patrick's first day of school 12 years ago!  All the kids have presented their teachers with a basket of apples on the first day of school in grades K-5th.

Come to think of it... I have MANY more years of this tradition!!! :)

 

Wednesday Jones and Keiran came along to see Scarlet off to school.

I LOVE that KK brought his Lightening McQueen lunch box... just in case he needed it!

 

Then the after school snack--

I LOVE a caramel apple!

Love.

 

All in all, it was a great first day and my kids are happy with their teachers and their schedules (except Patrick -- he's not a fan of his math teacher-- deal with it).

 

Here's to a GREAT 2011-2012 school year!!!

The Last Day of School 2011...

I'm so mad that I didn't get pics of the boys as they left for their last day of school, but it didn't occur to me until Scarlet was leaving and I loved her little outfit so much that I thought to snap a pic.  Oh well, I got some of them after school got out.

 

Even Miss Jones was excited for the last day of school!!!!!

 

The biggest perk of being a room mom is getting to party with the kids!  It was a blast hanging out with Scarlet and her fab teachers at their Last Day of School Party!  This year I did something I've never done before and made shirts for all the kids.  It was soooo fun and easy and I'll definitely do it again.  Thanks for the fantastic idea, Michelle!!!

 

Then there were games!!!

 

And as THRILLED as I am to finally have summer here, I will miss Scarlet having these two incredible teachers.  They are top notice teachers and super fun girls!!!

 

Just a side note... I bought all the girls the same necklaces and all the boys the same necklaces, so they could all have friendship necklaces and of course, the teachers had to have them too!

 

One of my favorite parts of the day was the final bell countdown!  The kids and the teachers counted down the final seconds and then it was a celebration/stampede out the door.  SOOOOO funny!!!

Now it was time to head home and party with the rest of the kiddos!

 

I "MUSTACHE" You...

 

I did it!!!

 

For the first time EVER, I didn't stay up the night before Valentine's Day making valentines for the kids until 3am!!!  I actually got my act together and Scarlet and I made these little cuties over the weekend.  

 

Why oh why do I not always do this???   It was such a pleasure taking my time and enjoying the the process.  Will I have learned my lesson?  Yeah, probably not.  Check back with me March 16th at about midnight when I am frantically running around trying to "Leprachaunize" my house and realizing that I used up all the green food coloring the year before!  I'm just saying... it's a probability.  

 

Okay, so we LOVED using the GIANT Pixie Stix last year, so we wanted to use them again this year-- only differently.  But what could we do?  So I thought and thought and then it hit me!!!  What's the hottest trend in quirkiness lately???  Why THE MUSTACHE, of course!!!  That's it!  We'll add a mustache to the end of a Pixie Stix, attach a pic of our girl and voila!-- cuteness AND quirkiness collide!

 

Now I don't mean to toot my own horn (but, I'm gonna)--- Dan delivered the Valentines to Scarlet's classroom yesterday and he said as he entered the room the whole class gasped and then broke out in spontaneous applause with comments like, "AWESOME! Scarlet used those Pixie Stix again!" and "No way! Those are mustaches!" and "Those are SO cool!!!"

 

I also have to report that Dan said he looked over to see his girl with the BIGGEST grin on her face EVER and realized why I put in all the effort I do for silly things like this.  Now mark that down in the books as one of my most favorite things he's ever said to me....  

 

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovely readers.

Fun Run 2010...

Oh, the Fun Run...

 

Scarlet looks forward to this event from the beginning of the school year!  A new t-shirt, a medal AND a popsicle?!?!?  Well, it's a dream come true!

 

Scarlet used to be very competitive at this event. My dad used to be very competitive at this event!  lol  But I must admit, this year and last year, she was very much into the water breaks and not so much into the running!  :)  

1st Day of School 2010-2011...

My High Schooler...

My Middle Schooler...

My Elementary Schooler...

 

I'll miss summer... I'll miss them.  :(

 

A yummy treat waiting for the kids after school.  I think I just might be in love with a caramel apple.  The perfect combination of sweet and salty and crisp and gooey.  DIVINE!!!

 

So my brilliant friend, Michelle, called me today and told me in honor of the first day of school, she was going to make Alphabet Soup and bread shaped into letters for dinner.  So, of course, I had to be a total copy cat and do the same!

 

I totally shortcutted it though.  I bought 4 cans of Campbell's Vegetarian ABC soup and added it to a pot.  Then I tossed in some extra veggies and 2 lbs. of browned ground sirloin.

 

I then asked Chandler to help me out with the bread.  I used a can of Pillsbury pizza dough- not exactly gourmet, but FAST!!!  He shaped the dough into all of our initials and we baked it for 10 minutes.  Done!

A very festive 1st Day of School dinner for VERY little effort.  Thanks for the idea, Michelle!

 

Here's to an awesome school year...

The Girl LOVES to Sing...

One of Scarlet's favorite days of the year... the District Chorus Performance!  It is held at the huge civic arts theatre and all the schools from our area perform the songs they have been working on all year.

This year the elementary schools performed songs from Mary Poppins-- SO FUN!!!

My parents and I look forward to this day every year (I would like to include Dan in this statement, but I'm thinking it might be a lie) and we are never disappointed!  We LOVE to watch our girl sing-- what she lacks in natural ability, she makes up for in enthusiasm!!!  :)

 

A Lunchbox for Scarlet's Teacher...

We LOVE Mrs. Peelle, so Scarlet and I decided to bake her some treats and deliver them in a cute lunchbox!

I linked up to:

 

Family Fun Day...

Scarlet sang with her chorus for her school's Family Fun Day.  They sang really fun summery songs and they sounded soooo sweet.  Scarlet loves her chorus!!!

What's a fair without aSHAVE IT ?  It's Scarlet's FAVORITE treat ever!!!
 
Then came the pie eating contest... followed by the water fight!!!

Of course my parents had to attend to see their girl sing!  The rest of the fam was there too, but I don't think I ever saw them except when they came running asking for more money! 

A SUPER fun day!  I love their school!!!

"We're Not Musical People"...

My friends laugh at me because this is my response to my kids every time they ask me if they can be in band or learn an instrument or be in chorus.  

It's wrong... I know.  

I've heard all the arguments-- What if Mozart's mom would have said the same thing?  

What if they are the next Kenny G? (Well then that's reason enough to stop them, right?)

"Kids who play a musical instrument do better in school."  (Okay, so I have no smart ass argument for that one--- Patrick should have learned 30 instruments)

Regardless... WE ARE NOT MUSICAL PEOPLE.

There is no musical blood in either family.  We are just as much circus folk as we are musicians.

Okay, so cut to last Tuesday night...

Apparently Scarlet's constant badgering trumps my innate instinct that we are not musical people...