mid-week musings.

One of my least favorite times of the year is back.

Science fair time.

I'm really not a fan.
Does that make me a bad mom?
Bad former teacher?
I don't know...I just dislike it.

This year Riley's project is to find out which "yeast food" creates

the most carbon dioxide gas.

{sugar?  honey?  maple syrup?  gatorade?  any guesses}
It's definitely a cool project,
but I guess I just could do without the whole science fair hoopla.

I can't believe he's going to be in middle school next year.
I think he's so handsome.
I'm not ready for girls and school dances and all that jazz.

These guys can be great buddies...when they're not bickering.
Now I have such sympathy for my parents.
My brother and I fought A LOT.
{but he was an annoying little brother...what was i supposed to do?}





I made chicken noodle soup again yesterday.
It's their new favorite meal.
Riley had two huge bowls,
and the boys both wanted it in their lunch today.
That never happens!!
This time I made it in the crock pot.
Frozen chicken breasts...chopped carrots, onion, garlic...marjoram, parsley, pepper...chicken broth...
cook on high for 5 hours...add uncooked pasta for 20 minutes before serving.

On another topic...
am I the only person who hasn't seen Downton Abbey?
And I just realized last week that it wasn't Down-TOWN Abbey.
I keep hearing I need to be watching it.
But when??
There's no time!
By the time the kids are upstairs and in bed it's 9:00.
Then Gary and I have a chance to catch up with our days,
clean up the kitchen,
and then I'm falling asleep on the couch by 10:30.

Which is exactly what happened last night when I started writing this.

Now, I'm off to yoga.
I've been doing a one week free trial at a place here in our town.
And...I'm actually sore.
I do feel stronger and more flexible every time I leave.
I could do without the 'open your third eye' stuff
- not a fan of that -
but I just take that time to pray and thank God for His many blessings.
Like having healthy kids to do science fair projects with
and make chicken soup for.

Off to downward dog....

back to school.

I wore my waterproof mascara today,
because I was sure I'd be a sobbing mess this morning.
I sent my littlest person off to kindergarten.

Yeah, the boys started school too, but I knew they'd be okay.
They have great teachers...and tons of their friends in their class.
They're good.
But I wasn't sure about Avery.

Riley looks SO tall to me here.



And she looked so little in line.



She walked into her classroom and never stopped smiling.



And my waterproof mascara wasn't even necessary.
I was okay because she was so happy.

I went home to my quiet house and finished my coffee,
folded some laundry,
put quinoa in the crock pot,
and headed to Target.  Alone.  Without my little partner.
Wah.

But I'm happy for her.
Kindergarten is so much fun!
And it's kind of nice to have some time to get things done.
But I was pretty happy when she came home.
She decompressed on nickjr.
:)



School starting means craziness,
but believe it or not it makes me happy to see my counter like this:





After school I was in full birthday treat mode.
A certain 3rd grader is turning nine tomorrow.
Pumpkin muffins are his standard class birthday treat request.
And Avery and I made him a birthday banner.





Everyone in this house just keeps on growing up.
I'm not okay with it.
But it's fun to watch it happen.

waterproof mascara and summer.

My girl graduated from preschool this morning.
I've been through two of these graduations before,
so I knew it was the right day for waterproof mascara.
Her preschool - which was also the preschool the boys attended - always puts on a slideshow of all the kids.
They play horrible songs like 'Let Them Be Little' and 'It Won't Be Like This for Long'.
Have you ever listened to the lyrics of that second song?
Terrible.



She was so happy and confident up on stage.
She was singing so loud we could hear her in the audience.
Miss was proud of herself.



And now I'll never be the mommy of a preschooler again.
I'm going to miss weekly art projects
and her coming home with playdoh in her hair
and singing songs about slippery fish.
And when I think about the fact that she won't be home with me
during the day I can't even handle it.

Tonight the kids were outside on the trampoline
and riding their scooters
and I was making pancakes for dinner with all the windows open.



Summer {for us} is officially two days away
and I can't wait.
This summer I'm going to enjoy having all three kids around every day.
Yep...even on those days where they are fighting and driving me bonkers.
{because i know we'll have those days.}

To do tomorrow: finish our summer list, v.2012.
Also tomorrow: spend the entire morning at the city pool with 200 fourth and fifth graders.
Eeek.

"i'm having a such a great day!"

That's what Colin told me this evening after a great soccer practice,
and after a great first day of school.

My heart was bursting.

Both my 4th grader and my 2nd grader had terrific days.
They love their teachers.
They love school.
They came out of class smiling.
I think we're going to have a great year.

After school, we went out for our fourth annual
First Day of School Ice Cream.

That tradition started on Riley's first day of 1st grade,
when he came out of class crying
because his teacher was soooooo mean.
{she ended up being one of his favorites of all time.}

It just so happened that we knew 98% of the people in
the ice cream shop,
so we had quite a few friends to hang with.

Colin was right: it was a great day,
with many great days to come.

I can't believe it.

My baby is in preschool.

She started today.

She didn't cry when I left.
{but she got close}

I didn't cry either.
{but I got *really* close in that quiet car ride home}

She's going to the same preschool her brothers went to.
We know and love everyone there.

She played and painted,
and after I picked her up 
she told me about her new friends
and the boy she sat next to during snack time.

The best news of all?
She wants to go back.

And if she wasn't already growing up quickly enough...

she started ballet and tap this week.


I let her go to preschool,
but I've decided I'm not going to be able to let her go away to college.
I'm trying to think of ways to break it to her in 15 years.

School...and something cool.

We all survived the first day.
I held my breath a little as they walked out of class,
hoping for good reports....
and they were all smiles.
{They look like trouble, don't they?}

I think it will be a good year.
It's hard to believe I have a 1st and a 3rd grader. 
Avery and I got so much done while they were gone today,
but we missed them.


********************


So you know my husband works at Pixar.
He didn't work on Toy Story 3, 
because he has been working on Up,
and then, for the last 18 months, Cars 2.
But our kids got to contribute {a little} to the making of TS3.

Awhile ago Pixar gave all of the Pixar kids 4 x 4 cardboard tiles.
They got to paint whatever they wanted on the tiles.
And the tiles ended up on the exterior of Sunnyside Daycare.

(image from here)

And, for the record, that arrow is pointing to the tile Colin painted.

It's in his memory box in my closet.

And it's actually the sun and the blue ocean, 

not a cameo appearance by the Luxo ball.

:)

Today the kids got these cool certificates signed by director Lee Unkrich.

And some original artwork.

The kids were pretty excited to see their tiles in the film,

and now on their certificates.

Having a dad that works at Pixar is pretty cool.

lunches are made...

supplies are bought and labeled...

pencils are sharpened...

backpacks are packed...

hair is freshly cut...

outfits are laid out...
and we're ready to go.


The boys are excited
and a little nervous.

I told them that everyone is nervous the first day:
students,
teachers,
even parents.
{Especially parents?}


And to calm my nerves tomorrow 
I think I'll need a grande skinny hazelnut latte
after I drop them off at school.

When you're a kindergartner...

...and you're going on your first field trip...
the best part of the day isn't the field trip itself.


It's the bus ride.

Because school buses are non-existent in our area.
Really.
No buses for K-12 kids at all...except for athletes traveling to games in high school.
So weird, right?
But...my husband grew up in the country and rode the bus everyday.
And the stories he tells of things that happened on the bus are a little scary.
So maybe I'm not so upset?
Until I'm talking with my girlfriend Mari in Texas {miss you!}
while she's waiting outside her house for her cute boys to jump off of the bus.
And then I'm jealous because buses = no carpool pick-up line.
Now I'm torn.

Sorry - was I rambling?


Anyways...the bus ride is pretty exciting.

And the trip to the farm is good, too.

I put that one in so that in 20 years my kids will know
they actually did have a mother who sometimes ventured out from behind the camera.

Oh, and let me show you the best $3 I've ever spent:


White boards.
On clearance for $1 each at Michaels.
One for each kid.
Hours of fun.
{or maybe just 1 hour, but still}
Awesome.


**********************

And my sister-in-law asked me to share this link about her dear friend's son with you....