Grant's First Day of Second Grade

Last Wednesday, Grant had his first day of school for 2009-2010. My firstborn is already a big second grader! After school that day, I asked Grant to tell me three words that describe his new teacher (I'm getting rather creative at fishing for details about his day, no?).

He thought for a minute, and then said, "I can only think of one word."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Nice."
I thought that was high praise for her.

Kris and I are already very impressed by Miss O and by the positive communication we have already received. Miss O sent home a letter introducing herself, an info packet about the classroom routines and second grade curriculum, and she also sent home a positive note about Grant on the second day. There are 20 children in the class, and four sections of 2nd grade in the school. We feel really fortunate that the numbers are so reasonable.

All in all, it was a wonderful first week!

It's been THAT kind of morning...

I have to vent for three minutes here or else I'll have a cruddy day all the way through. Why do my kids move like turtles even after we've taken all the steps we can to make the morning run smoothly: backpack organized the night before, snack ready to go, clothes picked out. Grant and Ross take for.ev.er to brush their teeth and put on their shoes. And then--then--both of them have to poop right before we get in the car! Of course, Grant won't go upstairs to take care of business; NOOO. He's too afraid of being upstairs by himself. So then it's a turn taking event instead of a simultaneous one. AND THEN WE RUN OUT OF TOILET PAPER DOWNSTAIRS. Use kleenex and baby wipes. Wash hands again. Get in car. Grant walks with neighbors.

Then I feel completely guilty for rushing around like a crazy woman and hollering at the boys to "Hurry up!" That's not exactly the vibe I want to have Grant feeling as I send him off to school.

But wait, there's more: Ross and I still have to go to school to get a tshirt (yes, I 'm co chair of school clothing sales this year) for a kindergartener whose mom ordered one yesterday. This means finding a parking space, going to the PTA lockers and actually using a combination to open the lock, finding the right shirt in the right size, finding the child's teacher, and quickly explaining in the hallway as all the children are coming in why I am giving her this shirt.

Drag Ross to the bank for some cash, navigate road construction, finally get to campus, bring Ross to preschool, drive to my own building, which is now two blocks away, park, and FINALLY get into my office. Then guess what--I needed to make my own trip to the bathroom, too. And it's only 9:05, folks.

Ross's First Day of School 2009

It's hard to believe my second-born babe is in his third year at the MSUM Early Education Center. Ross started there in the toddler room at age 16 months (that's younger than Hope is now!), and is now in one of the preschool classrooms. He had a great first day back with his new teacher and his buddies Z and C from last year. I'm so proud of how much Ross has grown over the summer. I think we are past the awful behaviors that seem to mark the beginning of age 3. Isn't he handsome?






BTW, Kris N--Ross is sporting his new shirt from Pout Baby Boutique, and he'd be happy to read it to you!

Great work, honey!

As promised, here are some pictures from the weekend--worm hunting, helping dad, and the beginnings of our new lanDscaping (yes, I can spell).

Landscaping

is hard work. Not that I did any of that work this weekend; I didn't. But Kris took out all the overgrown plants, dug out old stone and weakening brick, and place three layers of new landscaping stone around the front of our house. It looks great! I'll take a pic when it's all finished. He even had to ask our neighbor to come over with his 4wheeler, tie a chain around a bush root, and use the 4wheeler to yank the dang thing out of the ground!

The boys loved "helping" dad, which for Ross meant flinging shovel-fulls of dirt across the front yard. I think Grant carried about 4 stones before deciding they were too heavy. They also collected about 30 worms from the wet dirt Kris was hauling in from the back yard.

I love my big, strong, ambitious man!

Our last lazy summer weekend...

has been great so far. Today was humid and rainy, so we did stuff like dance to music, watch movies, and play with playdoh. I even made a new dish for dinner that everyone liked. It's called summer saute and it's super easy. Just saute some kielbasa sausage (sliced), set aside, saute chopped zucchini in the juices w/oregano, diced onions, and garlic salt, add the sausage back in, brown for a while, and top off with 3 chopped roma tomatoes Great flavor! Kris built a fire on the fire pit tonight and we hung out with the neighbors. The boys ran around like crazy, Hope drove her truck back and forth on the driveway, and we all relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

To top off the day, Grant lost his very first tooth! He pulled it out himself and was so excited. The tooth fair is on her way now. Check out the pics and the mini video of Hope dancing to Funkytown.

Hangover...

is just about the funniest movie EVER!!!! Kris and I went last night with another couple (yes, a date AND a social evening with another couple we enjoy). I haven't laughed that hard at a movie since Dumb and Dumber. Kris went to it while he was in Mississippi, and he loves it so much that last night was his fourth time seeing it. If you haven't seen it, you should go!