Time is of the Essence

You know how you have a clock which is set a little fast to give you more time? Our is our alarm clock. or was. It has been set about 20 minutes fast forever. Well a certain nine year old has now admitted to resetting it to the "right" time for us.

Guess who was 20 minutes late for school today*?

* I also blame the fact that one child had homework to finish this morning (because they never have homework over the weekend - she and I both forgot) and free dress day. Man, is it easier when they have no choice what to wear!

Best note home from school ever

Click for larger view

Aww, I really wanted to go to the moon!

Seriously, this is just another reason why I love our kids school.

Lunar rover mentioned above

Oh and the weather mentioned above- was a forecast of snow and sleet. Which it did for a bit, no accumulation (actually, I laughed when I read the weather statement on the weather station that mentioned record snow was recorded at BDL as a trace amount).

If you ever ask me this, I'll probably deny it

but I miss my kids.

There are no cartoons blaring in the background. No bickering over toys. No demands for food even though we just ate. No fighting. No messes. My house is clean, I;ve been working room by room since school started and amazingly, it's not destroyed 5 seconds later. The floor is not longer sticky. The toilets are flushed.

The silence is deafening. More so then any of the above could be.

My job here is done. I know I cannot do this anymore every day. I need to get out.

The Lists

School starts in one week. Our summer has been great - nice and relaxing, but it's time to go back. The kids are getting antsy. And while we've enjoyed limited sunshine and warmth this summer, the heat is finally here - I actually hope it cools down before the kids start school.

All over Twitter and Facebook are posts about back to school shopping. It used to make me sad, thinking about all the clothes I wouldn't be buying my kids. But then I actually think about how much I save on not buying clothes for back to school, about not battling the kids in the morning about outfits to wear and I think I've actually made out better in this deal. When Einey started kindergarten - we took her out on a big shopping spree. We brought her all kinds of new clothes for school. That she never wore. With Meenie, we brought her a few outfits and then just replaced as needed. For Moe, I picked up a few things on Etsy. But again, my kids have Moe clothes then they need. I look at the piles needed to be folded, the full hampers and wonder how they could possibly have any more clean. We don't buy them many clothes - they get them as gifts, as hand-me-downs. They don't grow fast.

For school clothes, I needed to pick up more uniforms. This will be the first year with two in uniforms - next year, all three will be in them. For girls, they actually have a lot of options - to mix and match. Einey is going on year three of wearing most of the same uniform we got her in first grade. We've had to replace shoes each year, some shirts and get longer pants. For Meenie, I was given some hand-me-downs, so I only had to buy a few items.

• Plaid jumper
• Short sleeve Peter Pan collared, button up shirt
• Red tie
• Blue knee hi's
• Brown or back Dress shoes
• Long sleeve button up shirt
• Blue uniform shorts
• Blue pants
• White crew cut socks
• Sneakers
• Short sleeve polo
• Long Sleeve Polo
• Red Gym Shorts
• Red Gym Pants
• Red Sweater
• Red or Blue Cardigan

Now onto the individual classroom lists.

Third Grade:
1 backpack (still using the one we got for kindergarten)
6 wooden pencils, sharpened
3 Lg. erasers
1 handheld pencil sharpener (with collection well)
1 pair Fiskars metal scissors
12 inch ruler (standard and metric)
2 ruled marbled composition notebook
2 lg. glue sticks
8 oz. bottle Elmer's school glue
2 pocket folders
2 red pens
crayons
colored pencils
1 set watercolor paints w/ brush
2 white board markers
1 old sock to use on white board
multiplication flash cards
1 plastic storage box for supplies
1 box of gallon sized Ziploc bags
3 containers of antibacterial wipes
3 boxes of tissues

First Grade:
5 pencils, sharpened
1 lg. eraser
1 pair Fiskar metal scissors
12 inch ruler (standard and metric)
2 wide ruled marbled composition notebook
2 lg. glue sticks
1 bottle Elmer's school glue
1 back pack, no wheels (still using the one we got for pre-k)
1 handheld pencil sharpener (with collection well)
1 pocket folders
crayons
markers
colored pencils
1 set watercolor paints w/ brush
1 set fine point white board markers
1 standard blank cassette tape (Still haven't located one yet)
1 plastic storage box for supplies
1 containers of antibacterial wipes
1 boxes of tissues

and Kindergarten:
backpack (still using the one we got for pre-k)
1 plastic view two pocket folder
1 pair blunt fiskar scissors
1 pair paper edger scissors
art shirt
box of 16 crayons
box of tissues
1 set wide washable markers
1 set watercolor paints and brush
$15 for other supplies
1 pencil
1 sponge
1 elmer's glue
1 container of disinfecting wipes
4 glue sticks
1 12x12 top loading scrapbook
3 boxes of clear 300+ count glue dots
$15 of scrapbooking supplies

And then whatever else gets requested as the year rolls on. I think we're ready for school as far as clothes and supplies go.

End of the year-itis

There is 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 weeks left of school (depending on the child). The end of the school year also brings an end to soccer and scouts. And end to early mornings (wishfully thinking here) and needing to frantically wash uniforms. And end to making sure homework is done before we can go hiking/play outside/go for ice cream. An end of trying to cram things in between school and soccer (four nights a week :( ). An end to rushing around. An end to obligations. An end to field trips, projects and celebrations. And end to morning school Masses. And end to time constraints and obligations.

I've got end-of-the-year-itis and I don't even go to school.

Settling In

Today was day four of Moe's preschool year. The first three days, she happily ran off to her classroom with a kiss and wave goodbye. This morning, she came back for a second kiss. And then a third. And then a fourth. Then she reached for a hug and the tears started to flow. I had to hand her over, crying to the teacher, after prying her little hands from my shirt and walk out the door. I knew it's what I had to do. And I'd been there before. Not with my other girls, but back when I worked in a preschool. I knew she would be fine when I walked out the door. And she was. They say she cried for a few minutes.

I think part of it was because a few of her friends were sad this morning. She even carried one little girls bag in because she was so upset, so she walked with her friend and helped her. Meenie didn't want to leave me on days when her friends were sad.

When I picked her up, she was all smiles. She ran over to me and jumped up into my arms. She happily told me about her day. She had a good day (unlike yesterday where she missed recess because she refused to do her work and they were trying to get her to finish it).

It's just so hard to walk away when there are tears involved.

Shoes, oh my!

Today I got the brilliant idea to take the girls school shoe shopping. OMG, what a freaking mistake that was. I figured, we'd go in, they'd find something and we'd be done (we've always done that in the past). I didn't of course, think they'd take off in different directions. I didn't account for Moe wanting to pull every box of shoe randomly off the shelf and try them on. I didn't think that they'd try on these. Or these. Or these. Or these. Or these. Or these. Before finally settling on these, these and these. I didn't even get to the dress shoes, we were worn out by that time. I did want a certain pair for Moe, but they didn't have them (I should have gotten them last week, but I would have gotten the wrong size). They also didn't have these. Or these. Or these. Or these. Or these. Or these. Which is probably a good thing.

Oh and sizes, it took three pairs each before finding the right sizes - 10, 12 and 13.

Next time, I take reinforcements!

The picture of cuteness until they open their mouths

Last week Einey went to a birthday party. It was the first time I allowed her to ride with another friend while I stayed home. I'm beginning to think it may have been a bad idea. That night, she came home and sang a new song. Not one we approve of and we discussed it and told her we didn't want to hear it again.

Flash forward two days.

Einey is on a field trip with school, they went to the aquarium. It's a beautiful sunny 70 degree day. The three girls (Einey and two friends) are sitting at a table with their chaperone, a friend of ours, having a snack. The tables surrounding them are filled with various families. The girls are dressed in their red gym shorts, white polo tee shirts, and sneakers. Their school name is proudly written on their clothes. They are supposed to be representing their school and showing how well behaved they are.

Cue the music.

Yankee Doodle went to town
riding on a heater
accidentally turned it on
and burnt his little wiener

All three girls started singing. People turned to listen to them. They sang loud and clear. My friend's mouth dropped open and she turned beet red. She was totally shocked at the words that came out of their mouths. Apparently the birthday girl has an older brother. He taught it to her and she taught it to them.

All I can say is glad I wasn't there.

My Epiphany

Yesterday, I had an epiphany.

Einey is a smart, wonderful child. However, like all kids, she has some quirks. She is highly forgetful. I cannot tell you how many times we've started to leave the school, only to notice she's forgotten her hat and mittens (which the teacher gave her the next day - complete set, and still she managed to lose one of the mittens), lunch box, sweater, folder and yes, even her coat once (and of course, it was right before a snowstorm - I blame Husband* partly for that one, he failed to notice and grab it, making me go over later in the day). For the minor stuff, I just leave it there and send in a note the next day. No biggie.

Usually I check her backpack before we leave the school, so if her homework is forgotten, we're able to grab it before we leave. And in such, I've realized, I have been enabling her. Yesterday, she went to a friends house after school. When I picked her up at dinner time, I mentioned how she left her homework folder in her class (again - second day in a row). It was when she looked at me and said "so, we can just stop and get it" that I realized, things need to change.

No longer an I going to grab her forgotten item. She is going to learn to be a little more aware of her responsibilities. Next year, the teacher isn't going to just say "it's okay, she can just do it tomorrow", so she needs to take a little bit of responsibility for her own actions. Once, when she forgot, she had three pages of homework from one night and one from the other night to do. She whined and complained how it wasn't fair and how her friends didn't have as much homework to do that night (duh! They all remembered to bring their homework home the night before and only had one nights work to do). She was not happy. You'd think she'd learn!

So now, I think I have come up with a plan. On nights she forgets her homework, she's going to have to write a note to her teacher explaining why she doesn't have her homework. In addition, I will print a page of something (or pull one from a workbook) that relates to their work for the week. She'll have to do that page and turn it in. In addition, she'll still have to make up the homework she missed the next day. I'm even considering making her write "I will not forget my folder" 10x each. And adding five each time she forgets. I don't want to torture her, but I do want her to realize that there are consequences to her actions. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

* Actually I blame Husband for the quirk as well. The man would forget his head if it wasn't screwed on. I cannot tell you how many times I have to find stuff for him as well. Maybe the smarter you are, the more you forget? After all, there's only so much room in the brain, something has to give!

Superbowl Fever

Yeah Yeah, I know, another superbowl post...

Superbowl fever has hit this house hard. The surprising part? It's from the under 3 foot tall crowd. We're not a very sports family. Sure, we enjoy playing sports and watching, just not on TV. We'd take a farm league, high school, middle school or even kiddy league game in person over any (well most any) game on TV any day.

So I have been getting a chuckle out of "Patriots this and Patriots that" coming out of their little mouths this morning. Frankly, I was surprised they knew about the Patriots let alone knew it was football. Meenie has it in her mind that we are going to watch the Patriots play tonight. I had no plans to but maybe I'll let them watch for a few.

This morning, I had to search for Pats gear for the kids for school. They have a dress down day tomorrow that's tied into their favorite Superbowl team and they have to wear their team colors. Of course, most things were sold out. I did manage to grab two adult small sweatshirts (I know, I know) which are only slightly too big. I just need to cuff the sleeves alot to make them fit. Once the Pats win tonight, I know there are going to be Championship Tees everywhere, so I may just make Husband stop on the way home from work in the morning to grab a few tees that actually fit them for school.

So yeah, Go Pats.

School Days

Just what do kids learn in school these days?

I'm constantly amazed at what Einey learns in school. I'm more amazed that these little things surprise me.

1. Reading: Einey's reading constant amazes me. No longer can I keep things from her "No that paper doesn't ask if you can go to a party", spell things I don't want her to know or write things down without her reading it. Don't they teach these things in oh, I don't know, sixth grade now?

2. Telling Time: Gone are the days when I can arbitrarily say it's bedtime. No longer can I use the setting sun (which is going down earlier and earlier now - pretty soon to be setting around 3pm) as an indicator. "But Mom, it's not 8 o'clock yet."

3. Healthy Eating Habits: Hey Einey, why didn't you eat your string beans today? Well, X doesn't like string beans. They're not X's string beans, they were yours. Yes, said conversation happened. So much for resisting peer pressure.

4. Competative sports: Did you know speed stacking was a competative sport? Apparently they even have big tournaments.

5. Music: Einey learned a new favorite song: "Yankee's up, Red Sox down" that she likes to chant over and over. We don't even watch baseball.

6. Science: Did you know A pulled out her tooth today in school? Hey C threw up in school. It was gross. Only in first grade would they be amused by this!

7. Geography: She's learning where places like Disney World, and Maine and California are. And of course with it, also comes wanting to visit these destinations.

But most of all, she's learning to have fun in a safe, enjoyable environment. She's learning more than I can ever imagine and is always happy.

This post brought to you by Parent Bloggers Network and Scholastic.com Parents .

They have to expect it

Every year, the beginning of October (and in collaboration with Fire Prevention Week) they teach fire safety to the kids at the local schools. There are activities, worksheets, visits from the fire department, ad most importantly, a review of fire safety rules. Meenie came home form her first year of preschool with a paper phone where the numbers nine and one were colored in. In addition, 9-1-1 was written by her on the bottom. She properly demonstrated to me on the paper phone and the play phone how to dial the number. The she remarked how she wished she had a real phone to use.

At that point, I made sure to sit and talk to her about only dialing those numbers on a real phone if there was a real emergency. I hope I got through to her, if not rebelmom, she'll be calling you guys soon.

So dispatch mom and rebelmom, just how many "extra" phone calls do you guys get during fire prevention week????

We just did our first family fire drill. The whole time I was trying to get the kids out of the house, they kept asking if it was real. They were pretty slow and skeptical. Husband wants to try a drill at night (because they have slept through the alarm in the past). He also randomly brings home his fire gear from work to show the kids what a fire man looks like so the yare not scared. We've also explained to the kids what a fireman sounds like - like Darth Vader - and that they shouldn't be scared.

I LOVE Daughter's school

This morning, for some reason, Einey wasn't keen on the idea of going to school.

"We're not supposed to bother Daddy when he's busy right?" Yeah that's right. "And I know your sick, so you don't have to bring me to school. It's okay, I'll just go downstairs". After reassuring her that I could bring her to school even though I didn't feel good, she said she just didn't want to go. She said it was because she needs more practice coloring in the lines (which is coming from the junior artist and I know her teacher would never criticize her work - she's much to positive with the kids).

So I told the teacher that she may be a bit moody and why.

Then a half hour after school started this morning, I got a phone call from the school. The office called to tell me that the teacher said she was in a happy mood and having fun.

I can't tell you how impressed I was that they took the time to let me know she was doing fine. I didn't expect nor need it, but it definitely makes me feel better.

It's just the little things they do that make me really happy we sent her there. It's like a second home for us.

The Real Purpose in Life.

This week, I found out the real purpose of this tie. I have caught Einey flipping it up and using it as a napkin to wipe her mouth. It's a good thing I brought an extra (I mean, really, under regular circumstance, how dirty can they get?) because she needs it. I've caught her a few times doing it now.

What have I gotten myself into...

I am a sucker for being involved.

Kids need baked goods for school - sure no problem
Homemade birthday invitations - Of Course
Dinner for a friend who has a new baby - What time?
Classroom Help - I'm there
Homemade Halloween Costumes - Well duh
Holiday Goodies- Baked and delivered in a basket by Dec. 24th

So it comes as no surprise that I am up to my eyeballs in stuff for daughter's Kinderbration- their end of the year celebration. There is 9 more days until the event. The theme: Kindergarten Kingdom. I have just finished designing the program for the event and am currently printing over 60 of the suckers. They are, of course, printed on 8.5x14 paper so they can be rolled as scrolls, like any good royal proclamation. So next up is rolling and tying them with ribbon.

After than, I need to work on the banner. Which hopefully makes it here tomorrow with the express shipping I paid. I shouldn't fear, Oriental Trading hasn't let me down yet. Once that comes in, I need to cut it to size, sketch "Kindergarten Kingdom" on it, and draw (i.e. make husband draw) castles on both sides. Add a few wishing stars, paint and glitter and it should be all set. Maybe some ribbon if I have any extra trailing from the sides.

Thankfully, I am not baking for the event, but I do have to go in and help set up early.

Oh crap, printer jam, I knew that would happen. Only 42 printed, thats why I start early. I still have time to fix it.

After that, it's time to plan for Meenie's birthday party. I have the plan in mind, just need to start working on the invitations....