2013_08_30 Friday

Jonathan and I walked to school this morning. He got to sleep in an extra 16 minutes! We saw the bus pass our second stop option and waved it on, and we got to school with about 10 minutes to spare. We may make this a regular routine when Dave can be home for Elise (or if she decides to get up earlier). It was really a nice, easy walk. That said, construction is starting at school, so it may be more of a headache going forward. We'll see.

I stayed for the principal's tea. It was nice to see who she is and hear about some of the new initiatives. Because the school is so new, they are going through some growing pains, esp with restricting parents from things they had been allowed to do when the school was smaller and newer (popping in for lunch; swinging by the classroom whenever, etc). It's sort of amusing that that was allowed anyway. I also offered myself up for any 'consulting' they may need on school security.

I just got this note from Elise's teacher:

Today we are practicing using computers and Elise has a special message for you!

eeeeeeeeelliise

I'm assuming she wrote that herself.

I also am staying true to my extra-curricular activity promise: I've signed Jonathan up for one sport (tennis) and one activity (robotics) this semester. Elise is in ballet/tap, which is probably enough for her right now!

2013_08_29 Thursday

Dave's flight got cancelled last night, so he had to spend an additional, unexpected night in NYC. I guess I stayed up too late because this morning was rough. Jonathan is still limping a bit from a fall/scrape at school yesterday, but we made it to the bus stop on time. I came home and fell asleep on the couch until Elise dropped something and woke me up. Dave got home around 10, and we were just finishing up breakfast and getting (Elise) dressed.

Then, we mailed off our first Box Top submission for school and headed to the botanical gardens. They have a kids' scavenger hunt on Thursday mornings, but we missed it. Instead, we just enjoyed the gardens. We hunted for frogs and turtles and checked out lots of plants. After a snack and juice (boy, was it hot), we headed back home for lunch and a short nap.

2013_08_28 Wednesday

Best laid plans went sideways this AM. I had planned to take Elise to the library's story time at 10, which is exactly when the library opens. We got there about 15 minutes early with the intention of browsing, but there were too many shady dudes, so I bagged it. Stopped by Whole Foods and Home Depot and a local shopping center that I had heard about but not visited instead. Then we passed a park on the way home, so we stopped to check it out for a bit. It's a scortcher today, though: low 90s, so we couldn't stay out too long. Elise had a princess sandwich -- whole wheat waffle with PB and mashed strawberries -- for lunch; she seemed to get a kick out of that.

013_08_27 Tuesday

Here's Elise's class update:

We had a Great day today! Happy Birthday to X! He is three years old! Today in art, we made napkins that we use at lunch time tomorrow. X decorated hers with buttons. During circle time, we changed our calendar and X helped us to describe the weather and change the weather to sunny. X helped us change our days of the week. During music time, X helped to stir the alphabet soup. For our daily activity, we worked with flash cards of colors and shapes. X matched all of the colors together and Elise excelled at matching all of the shapes together. X quickly found all of the stars in his group and moved on to the next set of shapes. 

Elise really seems to like ballet class. However, she can't take a nap right away on Tuesdays because it's so close to the bus arrival. That said, she completely fell apart on me, screaming and yelling, when I took her upstairs for a nap. Guess who desperately needed one!?

To top the day off, Jonathan came home with a disciplinary note. He's talking too much in class. The plus side is that he's making friends just fine. The minus is that he can't shut up. So, I came up with the "two finger touch" technique. He may put his elbows on his desk and use his first two fingers to hold his lips closed secretly to make sure he's not tempted to talk. He's not to make a big deal of it (it's not for the class to see), but it's a physical reminder to keep his mouth closed and his eyes on his teacher. Of course, he has to move his hands when he is called on to speak. He should also always have his eyes on her; if a classmate tries to distract him he should just point in her direction without taking his eyes off her. Let's see if this works!! I really don't want to have to go back to the daily journal from Kindergarten; that was such a headache.

2013_08_26 Monday

I had quite a fun morning. I re-shelved books at Jonathan's library. It totally fed my OCD/German-ness. I feel like I got all the books in the shelves and the ones that need re-shelving into order. I'll definitely be back!

From Elise's class:
Today we practiced the Swiss tradition of a formal lunch. We had so much fun. Thank you everyone for bringing in everything necessary for our lunch. I will wash your items and return them to you the next time your child is at school.  Today we used watercolors to paint a still life painting. X really enjoyed this and carefully colored in her painting. X was the first one to use the watercolors and she mixed her colors with ease.  Our letters of the week are A and B. Elise helped us to identify words that start with A and B. X told us about her trip to the beach during story time. X helped us during our Swiss lunch and she also helped us name foods that are green. X really else excelled at the lacing boards today.   

013_08_25 Sunday

The kids and I went to our local diner for brunch. Again, Elise decided she needed to go potty, so Jonathan manned the table. This is less stressful (than IKEA) since it's a smaller and familiar place.

On the way home, we rested in our swing. While walking around, I found a baby bird. When I called the kids over to check it out, the momma bird freaked out and started squaking at us. Not sure what kind it was -- gray/purple and fairly small -- maybe a gray catbird. We stepped away, and I peeked in awhile later. The baby was gone, so I'm guessing mom took care of it.

The kids are loving the new playroom. They've been in there painting and drawing at any free time. I've moved a bookcase in to hold art items. We've built up one tent for a quiet reading space on the other side. It's coming along well.

2013_08_24 Saturday

I took the family to a very cool, funky artisan's "colony" that I discovered on Friday. It basically is a big warehouse with booths for various artists. There were a ton of things I was interested in, but I thought I'd get Dave's buy in first, as most were well over $100 a pop. We ended up buying an industrial (wood/metal) table with spin-y chairs and getting a coat tree custom made. The table top is from a bowling alley, and the chair seats twirl around so they can be adjusted to the kids' height. We'll use it as an art table and a spill-over for meals. It's really cool. The coat tree will basically match, with two rows of hooks, a wooden bench, and a lattice metal rack underneath. The tree should be done by Sept 10; I think we can get the table/chairs any time.

Dave had a fantasy football thing in the early afternoon, so I took the kids to IKEA. This one is even cooler than our last one! We had a late lunch ($12). Although we went to the bathroom before we got our food, Elise's little bladder needed emptying mid-lunch. So, rather than leaving all our food and dragging Jonathan into the ladies'; I went totally Free Range, and asked a nice family next to us to keep an eye on him. Jonathan was totally willing to sit at the table while we went. It sure is nerve wracking, but of course, nothing happened. He sure is amazing. I checked them into Smalland for 45 mins or so while I raced around to get goodies. This playspace has a frequent visitor card and they have a restaurant-style beeper to notify you your time is up. We may well use that card! This was Elise's first time being allowed in; she's finally tall enough. I think it was the hair that boosted her. So, I got an art easel to go into the front room, which is now called the play room. (I also got a replacement mirror for Elise)