2016_01_14 Thursday

Wow, are we rockstars or what?! Nobody's alarm clock woke the house until Dave's went off at 7:36 this morning! The bus pick up right around that time! I saw it drive by as I was getting dressed. But, we hustled like nobody's business and actually made it to school with 5 minutes to spare. Now, I'm not saying I ever want to do that again (it was definitely NOT fun), but I am soooo impressed with ourselves!!

2015_12_16 Wednesday

I have slept particularly poorly the last few nights and have found myself awake at strange hours of the night. I will say, though, it is really calming to be awake when the rest of the world --or at least my little sliver of it -- is sound asleep. There's something I really like about experiencing everyone else asleep: maybe the calm, the dark, the absolute quiet, the air's calmness, the slow rhythm of everyone else being deep asleep. not sure. yeah, deep thoughts, I know.

2015_11_25 Wednesday

We are relaxing a Nanie's house (I'm actually working today), and Elise told me that she loves the inside of my glasses because they're "tuh-quoirse."

2015_10_25 Sunday

Yes, it has been awhile since I last posted, so here are a handful of shots from our 3rd annual adventure to Southern Belle Farms for pumpkin pickin' and a whole lot more...enjoy...

2015_08_25 Tuesday

What the whaaaat? my car wouldn't start when I jumped in to head to my first private yoga session. Cursed vehicle battery gods. That is NOT the mindset you're supposed to have going to yoga. So, I Lyfted over, had a tremendously amazingly wonderful session (for which I will likely not be able to raise my arms or legs tomorrow), and then waited patiently for my Lyft driver never to return for me. So, I hoofed it back home. Rockin' 2.1 miles already; that's not bad. Plus, it is THE most gorgeous summer day you can ever imagine. Now, that does make for good yoga.

PTO stuff is ever-present. not complaining, just amazed that there is truly never a quiet moment. Something always needs attention immediately...much like an infant, I suppose. And, where there isn't a fire to put out, there's the next event to organize and stress over.

Also learned today that I'll be picking up lots of work in the coming months, as a dear friend resigned and I've been asked to cover her region and another colleague will be out honeymooning. Should be a nice change of pace from diseases, although Africa isn't all that glamorous!

Kids are adjusting to school routines very well. There was about a day each of fever in the last week, and both had a nasty dry cough...guess who has it now?? yup. Elise also took a decent nap yesterday; it's been years since she's napped. I think school is crushin' her...in a good way. Jonathan is already getting projects to do. He turned in his Culture Quilt and now has a music project that we may enlist Auntie Harp to help with!

2015_08_03 Monday

Today is Day One of our practice for school! I got up with the kids at 6:50 and pretended it was a normal school day. We even walked to school at 7:35! I think we'll need to back it up a little to give us some cushion, though -- good thing we practiced!!

Tonight is also our first opportunity to meet the teachers and classmates. And, of course, it's my debut PTO event. So nervously excited.

2015_08_01 Saturday

We had two overnight visitors!!! What a wonderful visit!!!

2015_07_30 Thursday

Well, we have had a terrific summer. The kids have been at a local park for the entire time, having pool time and outdoor/science-y adventures. Camp ends tomorrow, so they'll have a few days of brain mush. And, now we are gearing back up for school to start next week!! Starting on Monday, we'll get alarm clocks set for the right time and do some dry runs of the morning routine. We got our teacher assignments this week, so the kids are pretty excited.

Also, I just saw this amazing clip  on one of my favorite sites, and it gave me a little needed perspective.

As the new PTO co-president, I'm a bit frantic, but it's all manageable. Tonight is our first big event: Parents of New Students Orientation. That said, it's not our event, so we're just supporting...making it a wee bit less stressful. But, this is the start to a few weeks in absolute insanity.

Elise is about to loose tooth #2. Jonathan just had his #8 doctor's appointment, where he learned that he shouldn't have ANY non-school screen time on school nights! I love that...we'll see how that works.

2015_06_17 Wednesday

I had the worst night. I could not get to sleep, and when I did, I had horrendous dreams of me driving over a bridge between NJ and PA with the kids (not sure where Dave was) to escape Hurricane Sandy and having the bridge collapse while we were on it. And, then we'd brace to plunge into the swollen river below, and I'd wake up. How random and frightening is that? and why am I dreaming about that? I need a dream analyst. I was writing about 'self-driving' abroad for work, and there are lots of reasons why that's a bad idea in various countries, but that specific concern did not come up while I was writing. :o\

On a happier note, the kids did a terrific job this morning in getting up and (mostly) dressed and ready to go to camp without much attention from me. This is what we want.

We also tried hunting for lightening bugs last night, but it's just too darn bright at 8:45...and it was still pretty hot too (it topped off at 94 yesterday). 100s are coming later this week.

2015_06_15 Monday

What a lovely, spontaneous night! I walked the kids down to my friend's house on our street to meet their brand new puppy, Tucker. Such a sweet dog. Our kids are all about the same age, so they played together, ate watermelon slices, and caught fire flies while the moms relaxed and chatted over a glass of wine. What a perfect summer night.

2015_06_01 Monday

ok, the kids start their first day at Piedmont Park summer camp today, and I flew off to DC for work. The director there is truly terrific. Jonathan had been here before so it wasn't really that new to him, but it rocked Elise's world. She did a terrific job (as did the counselors). She had to get up with an alarm clock (definitely NOT her favorite), get dressed, have breakfast, and be ready to go. Luckily, we are partnering up with good friends a few streets over to carpool. The kids get to have pool time and be outside and do science experiments based on whatever that week's theme is. and it's around the corner. and it's cheap. What is better?! Dave met me at home so I could head to the airport on time. all is well in the world...except for air travel. that stinks royally.

2015_05_22 Friday

Elise graduated from preschool. We have loved this school, but we sure are excited about no tuition for 10 more grades and both kids in one school for 3 more years! I'm working on uploading videos of the pageant, Pomp and Circumstance, and the diploma.

2015_05_20 Wednesday

Today was Jonathan's 2nd grade award ceremony. He was on the honor roll and got the class "most improved in Language Arts" award. I was really proud. will post pix later.

Elise's school: Today we had calendar time in the morning and practiced counting to 100. We worked on writing our numbers in our journals. Some friends worked on subtraction and some worked on sight words. We played with playdoh. They had French and are bringing home their books. We practiced our pageant song on the stage. X's dad came in as a Mystery Reader at the end of the day and read some fun books to the class! 

What will you miss about French/Ms X? 

Elise - I will miss Ms Natalie bc I love her 

2015_05_19 Tuesday

From Elise's school: Today we talked about bravery and I read a book called Bravery. We discussed some fears and times we can be nervous such as the first day of school. We talked about ways we can overcome any nervousness. I read Amelia Bedelia and the first day of School. They had Spanish. We worked on counting (to 100, by 10s) and recognizing numbers. We looked for patterns on our 100s chart. We played number Zingo. We worked on some projects. 

When was a time you were brave? 

Elise- when I had to be brave was the first time I had to go to the hospital and get a shot 

2015_05_18 Monday

Elise's school: Random things are being sent home (from the school year, personal belongings) so be on the look out! ;)  Today we talked about performing arts and what they consist of. We talked about how recitals and symphonies are where people show what they have learned at performing arts schools. We did some yoga. We played number Zingo, sight words with magnetic letters, sequencing cards. They had Mandarin. We practiced for our pageant. We watched a performance of dancers and tried to imitate them. We learned what auditions are. 

What performing art do you like?

Elise- My favorite is painting. 

2015_05_17 Sunday

We just returned from a super fun trip to DC. Dave and I had his GU dinner, which prompted us all to go. We got in super late on Friday but had a terrific time -- including a ladies' cocktails in the afternoon -- visiting on Saturday. The dinner went off so well, and it was really great to get reconnected with students and spouses from IEMBA. They're all just wonderful people. The venue started out a nice Italian bistro but turned into a rave/dance club in Dupont by the time we left! We also had a brunch on Sunday and then met up with PopPop, Sam, Grandma, Vicki + girls, and Eric for lunch, and then had a big BBQ/May b'day partah at D's before leaving on a 10pm flight that was delayed. The kids were such troupers; they were exceptional. We got back home after 1:30am, so I decided to let the kids sleep in in the morning.

2015_05_15 Friday

From Reading Club: On Monday we took turns on Starfall and the kindle. We worked on flash cards. We worked on subtraction problems. On Tuesday, we worked on sight words. X worked on words are, for, can. We worked on counting. On Wednesday, we read pre-reading skills BOB series and also the ones we've been reading. We worked on some more challenging sight words. Some friends worked on Starfall. On Thursday, we read Enrico Starts School together. We worked on sight words flash cards. Friends played games of Zingo.

From Class: Today we had calendar time and we played picture bingo in teams. We made objects with playdoh. We practiced for our pageant. We made tambourines and had a band and listened to music. We blew bubbles during recess. They had Spanish with Ms. X! :)  It was X's last day! :( we'll miss you! 

What was your favorite thing we did today? 
Elise- my fav thing was blowing the bubbles 

2015_05_14 Thursday

From Elise's school: Today we had calendar time in the morning. We read books on going to Kindergarten - How To Lose all your friends, How About a Hug? We talked about making friends and meeting new friends next year. We practiced for our pageant and worked on sight words. We worked on our project. 

Show and Tell: For my show and tell...

Elise- I brought my Legos bc I like to build things out of my Legos

2015_05_13 Wednesday

From Elise's school: Today we talked about songs and music. We talked about the word lyrics. We made microphones and then we sang with them. We sang and danced the Hokey Pokey. They had French. We practiced for our pageant. And we also worked on a project that will be completed next week. 
X's show and tell: for my show and tell I brought a paper toy and it can go round and round. 

What was your favorite field trip this year?
Elise - my favorite field trip was Legoland and when Ms X came 

2015_05_10 Sunday

I never thought I'd say this, but I have found a food that includes tomatoes that I definitely do not prefer: tomato aspic. I thought it was a pie; it's TOTALLY not. bleck. I also learned the hard way that Waldorf salad is mayo-based. I really struck out on my Mother's Day luncheon this year. Salmon croquettes were good, though.