School's Out!

Well, I am now the mother of a 2nd grader and kindergartener. Where has the time gone?!!

Today was Tyler's last day of school. He brought his grade card home today and finished off his year with another round of all As. Although he's looking forward to sleeping in and not doing homework, I think he's a little sad to be done. We celebrated with a "School's Out, Summer's Here" party. We enjoyed grilled hot dogs, watermelon, pink lemonade, and sand dessert.

The sand dessert is very similar to dirt dessert but is made with vanilla sandwich cookies and french vanilla pudding rather than oreos and chocolate pudding. (There are a few other ingredients thrown in there, too.) I thought it turned out really well and it was a big hit, although the pink lemonade in the light up glasses was probably just as big a hit. Our kids really like pink lemonade!

Now we can get down to the business of enjoying summer!

Bikes, Books, and Birds

When Tyler got his new, bigger bike a couple weeks ago, he asked if he could ride his bike to school sometime. That seemed like a reasonable request and something that most boys would think was kind of fun, so I agreed. Since the kids aren't allowed to ride their bikes out of my line-of-sight yet, that meant I had to go with him. So this morning Ron went into work late so he could stay with Danielle while Tyler and I rode the 1.3 miles to the school. Tyler was really excited and enjoyed waving at his bus driver (who "yelled" at him to get to school) and the other kids we passed along the way. There was some question about whether or not he was allowed to ride his bike to school because he's not in 4th grade, but we decided not to ask for clarification of the rules so we wouldn't be knowingly breaking any. It rained a little this afternoon but stopped just in time for Danielle and I to ride over to the school to meet him. He must have been the first kid out of the building and he talked all the way home! I know he enjoyed himself, and I'm glad it was something we were able to do.

Tyler's last day of school is a week from today, but they're already winding down. I feel like he's been doing a lot of busy work this week. Tomorrow is the last day for the reading program Tyler's in. Tyler was excited to report that today he moved up another level to 5.5! If he keeps up all the reading over the summer, I'm sure he'll be up to a 6th grade reading level by the time school starts, if not higher. The books in the school library for this reading program only go up to 7.9, so I'll be curious to see what happens when he hits that mark early in the 2nd grade. Have I mentioned how proud I am of him?

Today was the first day in a week I didn't have to go in to Tyler's school to tutor or run copies, so Danielle and I headed to the metropark. We got caught in a light rain shower, but it was warm enough we didn't mind too much. We are so lucky to have all these wonderful parks nearby! We've only been to this specific park once before and it was in the middle of winter, so everything was new to us today. This was a wetland area, and the birds we saw were different than the ones we typically see on our walks (not the duck - the other birds). It was fun. We also saw a couple frogs, and Danielle is always a sucker for a flower, even if it's attached to a weed. We're hoping to fit in at least one more picnic and nature walk before Tyler gets out of school. It will be nice when the 3 of us can explore together, but sometimes it's nice when it's just the girls.

TBall & Fishing

This morning was Danielle's first tball game. She did great! She even managed to hit the ball the first time she was up! Her batting helmet was too big and kept flopping around, so she had a little trouble running, but she did well anyway. It was a lot of fun watching her.

Later this afternoon/evening we went fishing at a nearby state park. This was our first time at this park and at least one of us would say it was a perfect place to fish. Tyler ended up catching 7 fish! We'll just say the rest of us didn't do nearly as well and leave it at that. A small water snake crawled up on a rock in front of Tyler to finish his dinner. It was actually pretty interesting but I didn't think everyone would appreciate the video I took of him eating. Our late day fishing trip made us all eager for the lazy days of summer! (Only 8 more days of school!)

We had a really good day!

Chasing Bubbles

Clara entertained herself much of the day by leaping after the little white fuzzies floating through the air from a nearby cottonwood tree. I thought I'd see if she was in the mood to chase bubbles, too. I know, it's one thing to blow bubbles for a baby, quite another for a dog. That's why I had Danielle come out and blow them. As you can see, she was indeed in the mood to chase bubbles.

Preschool Graduation

Tonight was Danielle's preschool graduation. I know I'm biased, but isn't she beautiful?! She looked so grown up tonight. She did a great job singing, too. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

"Hurry up and take my picture, Mom!"

Danielle and her best friend Katie

Singing

Tyler took this picture

No longer a preschooler

Danielle's Last Day of Preschool

Today was Danielle's last day of preschool. It's hard to believe that after 5 years of preschool (Tyler ended up going longer than we anticipated) we are finally ending this chapter of lives. It's kind of bittersweet.

I am so amazed at my no-longer-little girl. She loves Jesus, she's kind, she's smart, she's polite, she's tender hearted, and she's beautiful inside and out. Danielle no longer gets lost in Tyler's shadow - she shines all on her own. I don't know how we managed to get blessed with such wonderful, amazing children.

Her class took a field trip to the park today. Tyler got sick to his stomach last night and still seemd a bit queasy this morning, so I kept him home from school. Since Ron was out of town, I had to take him with me to the field trip. Although he didn't have as much energy as normal, he seemed to feel well enough to play without getting sick again.

Tyler wanted me to think he was strong enough to bend the metal with his powerful kick.

Danielle's class, less one little girl who wasn't there today.

Danielle's teacher gave the kids a CD with songs they sang in class this year. We listened to it on the way home from the park. Danielle was so cute singing with the songs. I didn't realize she knew I was taping her, though. I love how she sings "From the earth to the cross, my Dad to pay".

Tomorrow is her preschool graduation. She's pretty excited.

Life Around Here

It seems like life has sped up a little over the past week and will probably continue to do so until school is finally out. Here's what's been going on around here lately...in no particular order:



I have been going in to Tyler's school a couple times a week to make copies for next year's first grade teachers. So far I have made over 14000 copies and still have quite a bit yet to do! This is a prime example of why you should ask for specifics before you say yes. :)




Tyler got a new bike, which he is super proud of. Unbeknownst to him, Ron and I had been discussing getting Tyler a new bike since before Easter because he'd outgrown his old one. We also told Tyler that if he managed to get up to a fifth grade reading level (5.0) before the end of the year we would do something special for him. He did achieve that last week and has already passed 2 out of 5 tests to move up to the next level (5.5). So we bought him a new bike last week and told him it was to reward him for his reading achievement and for getting straight As all year. He really has worked hard and we are so proud of him. (Don't tell him he was going to get a new bike anyway.)




We had our annual Summer FUNd Raiser (aka garage sale) this Friday and Saturday. I use the money I make at our start of summer garage sale to fund our summer exploits. Last year I spent my final $5 the day before school started. It worked out great. This year we did really well. On Friday Danielle sold brownies and lemonade while Tyler was in school. She made $17. Tyler sold just lemonade on Saturday and made $15. I thought that was pretty good. They set money aside to pay tithe and then spent the rest at Walmart today. I don't think the people behind us in line appreciated us counting out all the quarters and dimes!




Tyler has 13 days of 1st grade left. Danielle will be done this week. Her graduation from preschool is Thursday evening. She's very excited. Her first tball game is this Saturday. She's pretty excited about that, too. Tyler has decided he doesn't want to play baseball any more. This was one of those difficult parenting situations. He needs to learn to stick to something he begins, even if it gets tough, but we don't want him to be miserable or a burden to the rest of his team. We discussed it with his coach, who is one of Ron's poker buddies, and decided to let him quit. If he doesn't want to be on the field playing, he probably won't be paying attention and could potentially get hurt. It's not worth it. I just wish he would have decided this before we paid for his registration and new mitt and new bat and baseball pants! Oh well. This will enable us to watch all of Danielle's games together as a family, which will be very nice.




As some of you have heard or figured out, Tyler learned a new vocabulary word this week. We were SO close to the end of the year. If we could only have made it another couple weeks. I guess the funny part is how he told us. We were eating dinner and he suddenly got very excited: "Have I got a story for you guys!" Then he told us that a girl on the playground called him a @#$%#@. And it wasn't just any swear word. It was the big one. We tried not to react when he told us, but explained that that is a bad word that nice people don't use and it is certainly not acceptable for our children (or us) to use. Of course, I was remembering Tyler's frequent misuse of the word "butt" this whole time and felt we were probably fighting an uphill battle.

Poor Danielle. She looked so confused and said, "But what does that mean, Mommy? What does it mean?" We did not explain what the phrase meant. We did have to explain to Tyler what "cuss" meant because a teacher told him not to cuss when he told on the girl for calling him a name. (A "teacher who doesn't like me because she always has a mad face when she talks to me.") We really tried to reinforce to them how serious we were about them never repeating the word, or even words that rhyme with it, again. Danielle said, "That's ok. I don't even remember it now." Tyler immediately piped up, "Oh, I do! It's @#$%$#@, Danielle!"

The next day the kids were outside playing and Danielle asked Tyler to tell her the worst word he knew. What a bratty little sister! She was completely setting him up. He told her this new word, and she immediately told on him. So, he got a spanking and lost the privilege of riding his new bike for one day. Danielle had to go to bed early. It was a good opportunity to remind Tyler that he's ultimately responsible for making good choices despite what others encourage him to do (our first lesson in peer pressure). And we reminded Danielle that we should encourage each other to do good, not evil. Thankfully he wasn't calling anyone that...yet.

Tyler's teacher and I exchanged emails about something else today and I mentioned his new vocabulary word. She told me that we have done a great job as parents in raising a wonderful, intelligent boy who has great morals and values. She was sure that even though he now knows this word, he wouldn't use it. I have to admit that she has more faith in him than I do, but it certainly was encouraging to read her kind words. It's always nice to hear someone who isn't genetically linked to your child say kind things about them. And hopefully this will be all I have to say about that.

Learning to Fly

Danielle found a baby bird hopping around in the mulch beds this morning. He started in our neighbor's bed and then hopped over to ours. Danielle was really worried about him at first, but once she backed off a little, the mommy bird came down and fed him. We didn't see where she was perched, but she must have been keeping an eye on him. She let him hop around and flap his wings for awhile by himself, then she would swoop down to check on him - just like every mommy with a growing chick has to do.

Danielle took some video.

And to follow up on a couple of my other posts:

Tyler moved up to the fifth grade reading level yesterday. Grandma R was kind enough to point out that most newspapers are written on a 5th grade level, so Tyler is technically reading at an adult level. That's pretty cool.

Tyler gave his presentation today and got the highest grade possible, an S+ (excellent).

I know that other kids read well and probably lots of the kids in Tyler's grade got high marks on their projects, but he's my son...this is my blog...and I'm proud of him.

Happy Mother's Day!

It sure is nice being a mom. Both the kids made me homemade gifts at school, which they gave me earlier in the week. I love their creations, but what I enjoy the most is their excitement about giving them to me. They are so proud and so eager to make me happy. And in that moment after they give me their gift, I get to shower them with praise and make them feel like the most important kid ever. How cool is that.


Today I received more gifts from the kids. Apparently the kids had specific items in mind when Ron took them out yesterday. Tyler gave me some Aquaglobes, and Danielle gave me an Upsy Downsy (generic Topsy Turvy). I told you my kids like infomercials!! They also made me cards. There is nothing quite as sweet as a homemade card. It's especially neat to look at how they progress from year to year. I thought it was cute that both kids made my card open backwards this year (not on purpose).


Ron also took the kids to the local grocery store yesterday. On the Saturday before Mother's Day they allow kids to decorate their own cake (if you buy one). To avoid arguments, Ron bought 2 cakes so Tyler & Danielle could each decorate their own. (Thankfully they are single layer cakes.) I loved the cakes, and the kids were so excited about them. They were perfect. It was a good day.






















In other news...


Tyler has been working on his very first school report and project. He had to pick an animal to write about. He had a list of questions to answer and could compile his report based on that. His finger was still splinted when he started working on it, so he typed the whole thing. He really did a good job...one finger at a time. I thought it was cute watching him concentrate so hard and working at the computer, so I snapped a picture. He came up with the idea for his project and did all the work on that, too. It turned out well. The great part is that he's super proud of his work and can't wait to take it in and share it with his class.

This and That

Miscellaneous Highlights

• Danielle's 2 bottom teeth are loose!
• Tyler is 2 tests away from moving up to a 5th grade reading level at school! (Should be accomplished by mid-week next week.)
• Clara hasn't had a potty accident in over 2 weeks!
• Tyler only has 21 days of school left!
• Danielle only has 7 days of school left - then she'll be a kindergartener!
• Our school's renewal levy passed tonight!
• Tyler's fingers are no longer splinted - just taped!
• Yes, I'm really excited about all of the above and feel perfectly justified in using so many exclamation marks!!

Miscellaneous Pictures

I bought a Cranium fort kit for $5 at a garage sale last weekend. They were between $30 - $50 when they were first out. I think they've been discontinued. This one is in great shape, and the kids have really enjoyed it. Here is a fort they made without instructions.

It was a nice night, so Tyler and I decided to walk home from Danielle's tball practice tonight. (Danielle joined us about half way.) We took Clara, so she walked with us, too. Walking at a steady pace, it took us 25 minutes to get home. Clara was exhausted once we got home and soon disappeared. I found her passed out upstairs on the beanbag chair. Although she's getting bigger, she's still very cute!

Lego Lost

I have tried very hard to keep close tabs on Clara so she doesn’t chew up anything that’s not hers. So far I've done a pretty good job.

Tyler worked on a rather large Lego project last week, so he left it on the floor in the family room all week. While we were eating dinner the other night, Clara snuck in the family room and grabbed a couple pieces. I realized she was missing rather quickly and caught her in the act. One of the Legos was pretty mauled, but the others were ok. I didn’t think much more of it until this afternoon. I was cleaning up yesterday’s dog piles when I suddenly spotted something red in Clara’s poop. When I scooped it up, I found a bright red Lego piece. I thought it was funny and asked Tyler (jokingly) if he wanted his piece back. He said he did! So, I used a toothpick to pull it out. I plopped it in a dish of soapy water and actually thought about keeping it.

Then I remembered how Tyler sometimes uses his teeth to pull apart the Legos that are hard to get off.

Eewww.

I threw it away.

My Soapbox

Last week when I was in the check-out line at the grocery store, this magazine caught my eye:

Although there are several headlines that I object to my children reading, I'm sure you can see which one first caught my attention:

It's kind of hard to read the caption under it, but it says 50 Fun Things to Do Bare-A$$ed

I grabbed the magazine, held it out to the clerk, and said "Do you see what this says?! What if my children had been in line with me?!!" She mumbled something sympathetic and continued to scan my groceries. Still flabbergasted but not really sure what else to do, I put the magazine back and continued checking out. Honestly, once I left the store, I forgot about it...until I went again this week.

There it was again. I didn't bother saying anything this time (same clerk), but stewed about it nonetheless. The plunging neckline and references to sex are bad enough, but why the profanity? And if the editors feel it's absolutely necessary, why does it have to be in a spot within the store where our children are exposed to it? Some parents may not care, but for those of us who do, why make things difficult?!

I was at Blockbuster this afternoon, renting a movie for our family movie night. Both kids were in school, so I was again by myself. There in the check out line was the same magazine, only this time it wasn't at shoulder level on the other side of the check-out aisle. It was at waist level, making it right at eye level for someone Danielle's age. Had the kids been with me, there's no way they would have missed the giant "BUTT".

I proceeded to check out and then started to feel a bit cowardly. I mean, if no one ever says anything, nothing will ever change, right? And even if it's only one store, it could potentially be one less store, right? There was another mom with her daughter in the store, so I waited until I got home. I called the store and explained my concern. The clerk was very apologetic and sympathetic. She said there is a mandatory spot within the store where the magazines have to be displayed so she couldn't move them to another part of the store; However, she did offer to move this specific magazine to the second row. By doing that it would be at least partially hidden by the magazines in the first row. That didn't really solve the problem, but I guess it's a start.

Hopefully it made it a little easier for the next mom and her kids.