A Little Bonus Time

I am enjoying the bonus time with Issa this summer, but yesterday afternoon a little pang of guilt hit this mama's heart. What about Evan?

He loves his school, and he hasn't complained once about going while Issa is home. If I kept him home, neither of them would have as much fun, and I wouldn't get a dang bit of work accomplished. The rational me knew all of this. But, mama guilt is not rational.

Pick-up time rolled around, and Issa asked if all of the girls could just move the play date next door. I called next door, and that was an absolute possibility. So...four giggling girls headed that way and I went to go get Evan.

It was truly a wondrous thing. I got a little over an hour with just my boy. We read two Thomas books and a chapter in Pete the Tractor. We played basketball and soccer, and he helped me start dinner. We had tickle fights and played chase. That hour seemed to last for several, and we both laughed until we cried.

Parenting books and experts babble about the importance of one-on-one parent/child time for children, and I'm not discounting that. However, they are missing half of the equation. I think it's just as important for the parent. In those moments, I learn more about my kids than I ever could imagine. We all relax a little bit more, and those are the moments I go to sleep thinking about. Here's to a summer of many more...

When You're in First Grade...

For a girl who has never been to first grade, Issa sure does seem to know a lot about it. I have heard, "When you're in first grade..." more times than I care to count recently. However, I like what first graders think so far!

The first thing first graders need is a clean, first grade room! Here is the view from the door: 

 Nana and Papa helped us move the furniture right before they left, and then Issa and I finished the project over the past few days. We just reversed the desk and bookshelf, but that made a nice reading nook:

 And all of the animals live on the shelves or bed now:

 For those of you who stay with us, please notice the clear path to the bed. You will no longer need to navigate through animals to go to bed. You're welcome. We also purged the dress up explosion down to the one chest and cleaned off the dresser and desks to keep only what was "important." No worries...we still have plenty of treasures, also known as random junk.

We are most excited about the redesigned desk:

 She now has a big girl chair and her very own white board because "First graders need to be organized." Yes...she is a little mini-me. She has taken to writing her agenda for the day on the board. I love her! She also put her writing paper and some workbooks in her desk so she can keep practicing for first grade.

And, perhaps most exciting, she is now the proud owner of her very own library card:

She is one very happy first grader, and I'm one very proud, very happy mama.

A Very Big Day

Yesterday, Brad and I went to a wedding. Although we had a lovely day, the kids had a fabulous day! One of the teachers from Evan's school babysits, and she is possibly the world's greatest babysitter. As we were leaving the house, I mentioned that the kids didn't have sunscreen on yet, and she told me not to worry. She has her magic bag with water bottles, a first aid kit, snacks, and sunscreen. My heart sang. She had asked permission to take the kids on a field trip, so we left some admission and food money and our camera and waited to hear all about the adventures.

After we left, she took the kids to a super fun park:

 They left the park for lunch out, and then they headed to the children's museum:

I'm only a little jealous, and I promise we will be headed back there soon!

They came home, went swimming, took baths, and had dinner. I came home to a tidy house and two very, very happy children. Yes...this mommy is one very happy lady. I hate leaving the kids on the weekend, but knowing they had such a fabulous time certainly makes it a lot easier.

First Day of Summer

Yesterday was Issa and my first day of summer break, and the whole day was a wondrous thing. Since I am relatively certain that this may never happen again, I want to capture our highly productive, fun day.

1. We changed and made all the beds.
2. We weeded all of the flower gardens and staked up a few of Issa's glads. She is getting to be really helpful in the gardens!
3. I mowed while she played sidewalk chalk or followed me.
4. We ate a picnic on the driveway. I thought she was crazy, but she was right. The driveway is the perfect place to watch butterflies.
5. We each got a little computer time.
6. We cleaned the whole house aside from the floors.
7. Issa read me two books.

It was a wonderful day, and I just can't believe how big my baby girl is getting!

Pouting and Celebrating

Nana and Papa went home last night. We were a pretty sad lot around here. The kids and I dropped them off at the airport right before dinner, and Issa immediately melted, "But Nana and Papa are so fun." It took Evan a bit longer. We were halfway home when he announced they had visited the airport long enough and we should go get them. It broke my heart.

I gave myself the night to pout as I put away extra chairs and place mats, returned toys to rightful homes, and folded my own laundry. (Mom does it for me when she is here.) I cried every time I put something away. It is just such a blissful week when they are here. I love watching them play with the kids, and I love having the time to just be with them. It always goes too fast.

This morning, though, we are celebrating all the small moments. We are rejoicing because it happened rather than being sad that it is over. So...here are some of my favorite everyday moments from the week.

There were so many train tracks built with Papa I lost count:

 Evan woke up every morning asking to play train.

Nana started to teach Issa how to crochet:

 Issa wants to make her own Nana square. We are hoping to finish this summer.

There were spontaneous snuggles:

 And not to be out done, Evan wanted to learn to crochet, too:

 I think he has decided he is finished, but I love the look of concentration.

There was a very quick swim:

 Nana didn't get in, but she got so chilly she wrapped up in a towel:

 Issa and Papa made a wooden sculpture:

 And Issa made her first dessert all by herself:

Look at how happy:

Yes, they are kisses placed on pretzels, but they were her recipe and she did everything but the actual baking. Yesterday, she made us a fruit plate for snack. She did all of the fruit cutting, put yogurt in a bowl for dipping, and put toothpicks in every single piece of fruit. (I need to buy stock in toothpicks this summer.)

There were also trips to the park, a trip to the museum, and books galore. Mom and I found our dresses for Shannon's wedding, and we just were together. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

An Art Project and a Big Day

After school yesterday, the kids, Nana, and I embarked on a major art project:

 Nana brought all of the supplies to make melted crayon art, and it was way fun. We started by breaking, unwrapping, and arranging lots of crayons. Then we moved on to the melting:

 We learned some valuable lessons. Crayons splatter, but they don't burn:

 Putting down newspaper might not have been a bad idea:

 Children lose interest halfway through they second piece of art:

 Thankfully, Nana stepped in to finish the art. This one is Issa's:

And Evan's second piece: 

 And the piece that is really Nana's:

 A close-up:

 The last one was made from crayon shavings--pretty cool. It was a great project and a lot of fun! Now, we are trying to decide how to display them.

And this morning was a very big deal for this girl:

Her last day of kindergarten portrait. I can't believe I have a first grader. How did this happen?

One More Birthday Celebration

Evan squeezed in one more birthday party with Nana and Papa this weekend. He chose a construction theme:

 Of course we needed the appropriate head wear.

There were packages to unwrap:

 And a very thrilled little boy when he learned the new blocks worked with his old blocks:

 I am so glad I caught that moment!

Nana made a dump truck cake:

 And we had a dump truck centerpiece:

 And one very happy little boy:

I think this officially brings Evan's birthday to a close for the year. He is enjoying wearing new shirts and building a fire station with his new blocks, but we are just enjoying celebrating this little man.

Big Day for a Big Girl

We have had such a busy, fun celebration weekend around here, I thought it best to break the events up over the next few days. Today is Issa's day because Friday was all about our little princess.

Friday afternoon, Issa graduated from kindergarten:

 This is the only picture we have of the rather uneventful graduation. She received a certificate and a class picture and we were finished. After all the pomp and circumstance of last year's graduation, it was a bit of a let down. We did celebrate with the required edible arrangement.

The highlight, though, was the big ballet recital:

 The girls:

 Our little family:

 The boys:

 I love this huddle of girls before the recital:

 And here's the class ready to go on stage with their helper:

 And Issa with her teacher, Ms. Paula:

The girls were so cute. They had one major oops in the middle of the dance, but they had a wonderful time. They were supposed to split into two lines and leap across the stage, but they all ended up on one side of the stage and subsequently leaped around a bit. It was hysterical. Ms. Paula was very proud, and we were, too! It went so much better than dress rehearsal.

Issa had a huge cheering section, including Steph, Torre, and Ryan who spent the evening with us. How many friends would do that? We all came home for ice cream afterwards, and Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jeff sent daisies, which joined the daisies our family brought and the roses our friends brought. I think our little princess felt very loved, and we couldn't be more proud.