Mother's Day and Last Days of School

Like you, we've had a busy few weeks around here.  We were so happy to have Grammy Pammy and Dale come down for a visit over the Mother's Day weekend.  We had great weather and were able to spend a lot of time outside.  Of course, we made our usual trek over to MCL, which coincidentally or not, is now Kari and Bryce's new favorite restaurant!!

 A day of celebration just wouldn't be complete without a DQ ice cream cake.  Yum!

The next big event was the coveted 10 Pin Challenge won by Kari's class.  This was a reward for her class collecting the most box tops this spring.  10 Pin is a cross between human bowling and dodgeball. Another parent and I made the t-shirts for the kids.  Mrs. Younts' class looked really sharp- and perhaps intimidating- walking out onto the gym floor with matching shirts!

 If you get tagged by a ball you have to sit out until your teammates knock over a pin on the opposing (teacher's) team.

I was fortunate to be able to be in Kari's classroom on the last day of school yesterday.  Another mom and I helped break down the classroom a bit and be a part of some of the wrap up activities and festivities.

 Two of Kari's best friends

 Have you heard of this fantastic book called, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves"?  It's a humorous way to introduce proper comma usage and how commas can affect the context of the sentence.

We could not have asked for a better teacher this year.  Mrs. Younts has a wonderful knack for challenging each student, regardless of their pace.  

Last day of school,

first day of school

Ready For School!

We've had a busy few days around here!  Kari's first day of 1st grade went off without a hitch.  Armed with a new backpack, familiarity with her school, and knowledge that she'd already know three kids in her classroom, she was ready to go. She wasn't as excited as this time last year, but I chalked it up to high expectations for her teacher.  In her eyes, it was going to take a lot to live up to Mrs. Salmon.

 It was rather a chilly morning for the middle of August in Indiana.  Kari is proudly sporting her Stanford jacket with a sweater underneath.

Even though it was the first day and there were lots of parents, grandparents and siblings, the number of kids getting on the bus significantly increased from last year.  It's going to be a busy bus stop this year!

Kari also got to see a number of other friends, neighbors and her cousin throughout the day which always makes the 1100 student school feel a bit smaller.  Lunch is early this year, 11:30, and with no scheduled afternoon snack, I anticipate she's going to come home hungry each day.  By the way, Kari came home fully endorsing her new teacher, Mrs. Younts.

Three days earlier we hosted a neighborhood back to school ice cream social for the second time.  It was a great way to gather the neighbors and visit while the kiddos ran around the yard hyped up on ice cream and mounds of toppings.

Kindergarten Wrap Up

This is the last week of school for Kari and it has pretty much been one activity after another.  Fortunately I've been able to scoot on over for most of the events to document a little slice.

On Monday the entire school was treated to a '50s sock hop.  I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try my skills at sewing a poodle skirt/circle pattern.  Who'd thunk I'd ever use geometry past high school?  Certainly not this gal!  Amazing, that C= 2πr actually works in real life!

Kari chose a bunny for the animal to go on her skirt.  According to her, no one danced, not even to Psy's Gangnem Style, and she was the only one who dressed up.  

Yesterday was kindergarten graduation.  Oh my.  They paired up spelling out KINDERGARTEN, sang a couple songs, received a diploma, and, of course, ate way too many cookies and punch.

On Friday the entire school will participate in Field Day where they play a bunch of outdoor games.  I remember a day like this at my own grade school at Bicentennial Park.  I wonder if mom has a picture from that event....

Eat Your Heart Out

This is probably the very last time you'll ever see Kari in her signature pig tail "bundles" as she calls them.  Today is picture day and I had to negotiate a sticker for her good behavior board to get her to cooperate.  Ah, the sacrifices we make!

First Days

We officially have ourselves a kindergartener.  She didn't hesitate or flinch getting on the bus.  And neither did her mom or dad.

Last Days

Kari's last day at pre-school was Friday.  We had a great run there and could not have been more pleased with our time.  Kari went from a caring in-home daycare environment with Natalie to another setting with caring teachers and staff for almost three years.  Kari was part of the inaugural class and was there when the center opened- everything was brand-spanking new.  She was one of the lucky ones who got to have Ms. Vicki twice- in the 2 year old room and now again in the pre-k room.

Ms. Carla, Kari and Ms. Vicki

Kari doesn't realize it yet, but she's going to miss this place.  She's too excited for kindergarten to realize how great she's had it.  I'm just glad Bryce is still there so I don't have to give up the center cold turkey.

It's been fun. It's been real.  Thanks, everyone!

Piano Lessons

Kari received a beautiful electric piano for her birthday (Thanks, Tiffany!)  Since then Kari has been super excited and motivated to learn.  Conveniently, lessons are offered at school.  Miss Mandy is young and energetic and has a music theory background.  I had to laugh last week because Kari specifically requested that her picture be taken during lessons, probably so that I could post about it.  And here she is!

Belts and Boards

Kari had a particularly fun week recently. At the end of the week she was promoted from white belt to a yellow belt in Karate. This Karate class actually travels to her pre-school where kids who want to participate can.

She has taken a tremendous liking to this class and proved it with this past week's accomplishment. Roll the video please...

Upon successful breaking of the board, Kari was then awarded her new belt. The teacher is especially proud of Kari's listening and leadership skills, both of which had to come from her father :)

More Sewing Projects

Kari and Bryce are enjoying a getaway to Glen Ellyn this weekend. Kevin and I are taking advantage of the time by...cleaning. How romantic.

It seems like it has consistently been cold, rainy and windy around here- just perfect to stay inside and work on some sewing projects.

This first project I have self-titled "The Forgiving Blanket". A dear friend of mine from high school, Anne, had a baby a couple months ago and I found what looked to be a really easy pseudo quilting tutorial. It was fun selecting the fabrics and contrasting thread.

I call it forgiving because of the nature of the quilting. Any small mistakes are easily lost in the rest of the blanket.

This was a ton of fun to put together.

I seemed to be on a positive roll with the whole blanket thing, so in preparation for Bryce's transition to his new school with Kari, I made a simple flannel blanket. No frills, just two pieces of flannel and some handmade bias tape. I'm still awful at making 90 degree corners, but it's only a blanket for daycare, so I let it go. He also got a matching pillow with some of the remaining fabric.

And, Bryce couldn't go to school without a bag to tote his blanket and pillow each week.

The bag is huge-Bryce could sit in it- but I didn't want the problem we currently have with Kari's bag- too small. I probably went a bit overboard, but it should be practical even after his daycare days end.

Isn't the fabric awesome? I wanted to give it some visual interest and masculinity beyond the fish and incorporating grommets seemed like a good way to do that. Never working with grommets before, I was quite pleased with how they turned out. I did realize after the first one that, technically, there is a front and back to the pieces, but anyone would be hard-pressed to notice unless up close.

Other things going on around here? Well, Bryce officially loves watermelon. As in rind and all. He had a small tantrum when we pulled the rind out of his mouth.

Going...

Going...

Gone!

Natalie got five baby ducks for their farm. They arrived in the mail. I guess this is not unusual, but for a city kid, it sounds really odd and borderline inhumane. Anyway, she had them at the daycare house in the bathtub and we had a chance to hold and pet the two week old fragile little guys. What a neat springtime/Easter opportunity!