Em's First Field Trip

 

The kindergarteners took their first field trip, to an orchard/pumpkin patch.

 

I've been here before, a few years back, with Narls when he was in kindergarten. I was just as excited and nervous and ready to celebrate fall with my girl and her friends today as I was with Narls then.

 

We had a little prep sesh prior to the trip where the kiddos made their shirts and crafted some pretty spectacular pumpkins.

 

The field trip itself went perfectly. We took a hayride through the farm to a pumpkin patch where we picked out our own pumpkins. The kids got to tour the farm and pet a horse and learn how cider is made. We ended the trip with a picnic style lunch on hay bales, complete with donuts and cider.

 

I cannot say enough how thankful I am to have a job that affords me the flexibility to be with my children for their school events. I love having a career, but my kids are my whole entire world.

 

And now the loot! Pumpkins, donuts, cider, and caramel apples.

Seriously, this is why fall is everyone's favorite season.

Homecoming!

 

Amazing friends, amazing weather, amazing community, and we won.

Yay, Dragons!

School Is In Session

 

One full week of school has passed and we're getting into the swing of things here.   I'm not gonna lie, it's been tough getting two kids and myself up, dressed, fed, and out the door by 8am (I still have my personal pledge to Narls of no tardies - he had over a dozen his first year of kindergarten but only two in first grade; shooting for zero in second). So far so good and a routine is slowly forming.

 

We had an open house at their elementary school where the kids proudly showed us their best ever self-portraits and some of the work they completed. Clay and I met their teachers and signed up for parent teacher conferences and walked through the book fair. It's crazy having them both at the same school.

 

On the calendar are pto meetings, girl scout training (there is currently no daisy troop at the school so my bestfriend and I stepped up to be troop leaders and get things started), planning the Fall Festival (I'm homeroom mom for Narls' class), a field trip to an orchard for Em, and a field trip to a YMCA camp for Narls.

 

 

It's going to be hectic and busy but good. So very good.

We're looking forward to a great year.

First Day of School!

Don't mind me; I'm just over here trying to stop time.

 

 

Last year.

 

 



A Month of School Lunches

A week until school starts!

 

 

I was reminded because I just got Emerson's lunch box in the mail.

 

 

And some refill containers because I'll have TWO lunches to pack each morning. Two! (How is that possible???)

 

Even just thinking about all those dishes every night gives me anxiety. One thing I'm not stressing about at alllll though is what to pack for lunch. Already worked out that kinks with that last year.  Complete with recipe cards that are printed and filed, which detail exactly what I need (makes grocery shopping so much easier) and prep/cook time. A godsend for busy mornings.

 

Click on the links below to find the lunches and the recipe cards. :)

 

week one here.

 

week two here.

 

week three here.

 

week four here.

 

Just a note, I bought the bags, boxes, containers, everything from laptop lunches. (It's a question I get nearly everyday.) I recommend them 100%. Narls has had his boxes since kindergarten, so for two years now, and they are still in excellent condition. We've never had a leak or a spill. I just cannot say enough good things about these products.

School's Out For Summer

I just dropped my boy off at school for his last day of first grade.

What a great year it's been. Clay and I are so proud of this kid! He's so bright and inquisitive (tested into third grade math!) and loves learning.

We had a great teacher who was thoughtful and worked well with Narls.  Clay and I volunteered when we could and we made it to every event and field trip.

I have high hopes that next year - with both of my babies in elementary school! - will be just as fun and successful.

Now onto summer vacation!

Narls' Solar Panel Experiment

 

Narls brought home one of those solar powered desk flowers that sways back and forth with this note from his teacher. She lent him the flower so he could do an experiment. Clay suggested we record the whole thing and make a video, and Narls was all in. He did all the experiments, chose his own words and even did quite a bit of the video editing. I think we were all pretty proud of the finished product.  

 

 Take a look.  

2014 Preschool Recital

 

My baby girl graduated from her pre-k class last night.

And she performed in her last performing arts recital.

 

 

 

I held it together pretty well, considering my heart was swelling with happiness and sadness and pride.

 


  Where has the time gone?
2011 recital here. 2012 recital here. 2013 recital here.

Morrish Community Picnic

 

Narls' elementary school does this incredible picnic to kickstart Memorial weekend.

 

The student's whole family is invited from parents to siblings to grandparents. It starts with a picnic, and then there are all these cool events like a cupcake walk, bounce house, magic show, rock-n-roll show, and a dunk tank.  This year they even had the first Morrish Monster Mash, a mix of a mud run and an obstacle course. Both Narls and Em participated in it and had so much un.

 

A Full (and healthy) Heart

At school, Narls has been learning about ways to keep his heart healthy, which is something very near and dear to my own heart. Heart disease is prominent on both sides of my family; my mom had a heart attack and a quadruple bypass before she was 50, and my dad had a heart attack and stroke by 60. I remember talking to one of my mom's heart doctors who said if you have heart disease in your genetics, you are 40% more likely to have a heart attack. Forty percent. And that's not even taking anything else into account - that's starting at square one.

 

 

The threat of an unhealthy heart was a huge motivator for when we started eating clean a couple years ago. Our diet is still a big topic of discussion in our home; Narls knows all about proteins and healthy fats and over-processing and Red 40 (he even mentioned the dangers of Red 40 to his teacher when he found out M&Ms were a topping selection at the valentine ice cream social). That's not saying he didn't eat the M&Ms, because he totally did, but he ate less of them and with a bit of 7-year-old understanding about the composition of the things he's putting in his body and how it affects his health.  

 

  

Heart disease is a huge motivating factor when it comes to exercise, too. The kids see Clay go to basketball and me to yoga and the whole family often goes swimming together at our gym. Even something as simple as taking Lainey for an evening walk is important, which I don't do with Clay & the kids enough.  It's a struggle for me to exercise every day because honestly? I kind of hate it.  But I hate being overweight even more. And I imagine I'd hate having heart disease most of all. So I do it, even though it doesn't come natural to me like it does Clay, so that it will always be a way of life for Narls and Emerson, so it will always come natural to them. 

 

And it's beyond awesome that these same goals - healthy diet and daily physical activity - are being echoed in Narls' classroom.  The school recently held a Jump Rope for Heart where the kids spent the entire afternoon at different jump rope stations being active and energizing their hearts. Parents came and we helped and cheered them on. The school also encouraged the children to raise money for heart disease and Narls took it upon himself to collect donations.  He set a personal goal of raising $25 and do you know that boy collected $121? Almost five times his goal.  We're so proud of him. And he's proud of himself!

 

We're teaching and we're learning and we're trying and we'll get there.

We have to.  For healthy lives and healthy hearts.

Kindergarten Already?

I swear to god we were just here registering Narls for kindergarten.

 

 

How has it been two years so fast? In the blink of an eye?

 

And this little girl is ready. She cannot wait to start kindergarten and to ride the school bus and take a lunch every day and have Miss Westman like Narls did.

 

We were lucky that Miss Westman gave Emerson her kindergarten test. She said Em knows all her colors, and can identify shapes and numbers, and was able to spell her name and put things in order.

 

That's our girl ♥

Like I said, she's ready.

 

 

Now if only momma was just as ready.