The First Day of School

Well, the girls had their first day of school today and it was a big success! Andy takes the girls to school so he sent me an update on how their morning went. I was so nervous about how it was going to go, but I was busy all morning and didn't have much time to think about it.

Both girls went straight into class, introduced themselves to their teachers and there were no tears. Yay! When I picked the girls up, they were both happy and excited to tell me about the fun they'd had at school. I can't even tell you how relieved I am that they enjoyed their day.

This picture cracks me up (for many reasons)! Sophia's sign says:

• She's 2 years old
• She loves Rosie, blue & pink, and pickles
• When I grow up I want to eat food.  Ha!

Emma:

• 4 years old
• Loves football, green & blue, and spaghetti
• When I grow up I want to be a firefighter

 Here are both of my big girls on their first day. I'm dying over how big Sophia's backpack is. What a cutie!!!

Funny note: Andy didn't realize that Sophia wasn't wearing shoes until they were getting into the car. Mornings can be hectic. ;)

Girls, 

Mommy and Daddy are so happy that you love your teachers and new friends. We hope that you always love school as much as you do now. We are so proud of both of you and we love you very much!

A Star is Born

Emma has been very busy with performing these past few weeks. Her school had it's annual "Spring Sing" where each class preforms a special song and dance on stage. Emma's class sang "Milton the Mouse." It was SO cute to see all of her little friends singing and dancing on stage. Emma did so well and was just precious in her mouse ears.

Her dance class has been gearing up for their big show and they have been practicing hard. She's been doing so well in dance and I'm so proud of how much she's grown in dance this year. It has really helped her confidence and she's made such good friends in class. It is so fun to watch them, but let me tell you, her teachers deserve a medal!

Spa in a Jar

Tomorrow is Emma's last day of preschool for the summer. I can't believe that her first school experience is already over! She has learned so much and has loved everything, especially her teachers. I wanted to give both of her teachers a gift that they would enjoy and could "use up." Teachers collect so much "stuff" over the years. I saw a great idea on Pinterest for "Pampering in a Jar." It looked easy, cute, and something that anyone could enjoy.

We found most of our items at Target for pretty cheap: Ball jars, Dove chocolates, fuzzy socks, lotion, gel eye pack, lip balm, and a face mask. 

We put all of the items into the jar, tied a pretty ribbon around it, attached a little note, and deemed it a Spa in a Jar.

 

These were super simple to put together and came out pretty cute. I think I need to make one for myself!

Taste the Rainbow

Emma is back to school after a week off due to VBS. Her first day back was "Rainbow Day" which gave me the perfect opportunity to make this amazing rainbow bread that I've been dying to make.  Emma loves rainbows and I love making her special rainbow treats, like rainbow waffles.

I found this fabulous tutorial online that walked me through the steps. Be sure to check it out if you want a more detailed tutorial. I cheated and used the ready made dough found in the freezer section of the grocery store instead of making my own. Whatever dough you use, the process is the same.

 Divide the dough into six equal sections. I didn't worry too much about how precise the sections were. I just eyeballed it. Add color to each ball of dough and knead in the color. I used Wilton's gel food coloring. Let each ball of dough rise to double the size.

 Spread out the purple layer, making it about the size of your bread pan. Repeat with all six colors, working up to the top red layer. Brush water on top of each layer to help the layers adhere to one another.

 Place in a greased loaf pan and let rise until it has doubled in size. It was pretty humid when we made this and ours took a few hours to rise.

 Bake the loaf according to your recipe's directions. Ours cooked for about 25 minutes on 350. The bread is done when it makes a hollow sound when you tap the top of the loaf.

 If you want a soft crust on your bread, brush the top with butter. If you like a crustier bread, skip this step.

When the bread is cool, slice it up and watch the amazement in your kiddos' eyes when they see the beautiful colors!

 Emma's rainbow lunch was a peanut butter and jelly on rainbow bread, strawberries with rainbow sprinkles, and rainbow Goldfish.

The end result is one VERY happy rainbow lover!

I Made It!

I can't believe it! I made it through the school year alive! If you felt that huge gush of wind last week, that was the collective sigh of relief as we teachers reached the end of a very tough year.  For me, it was THE most challenging year professionally and emotionally

Our state began new teacher evaluations which meant training, training, and more training on the process. It just about killed me. I also had a very tough class that forced me to deal with situations beyond my expertise or control.  I was so worn out from the day that I usually came home and just crashed...hence the neglected blog. The precious time I spent with the girls was without the camera and my spare time was spent detoxing.

There was also a lot of change at our school which has been very tough for me. My sweet teammate, who I have loved teaching next door to, is changing schools. I am thrilled for her and bummed for me. Another sweet friend is changing grade levels and even though she isn't moving rooms, I'm going to miss seeing her and hearing her great ideas.  We are also losing all three of our assistant principals; one is retiring and the other two are off to be the principal of their own schools.  Whew!

But the school year is over and I have a full week of summer vacation under my belt. Here is a quick picture recap of what has been going on with us.

I was thoroughly spoiled on Mother's Day.

My girls are growing like weeds.

My parents celebrated their 60th birthdays and we had a surprise party for them, complete with family from out of state.

The weather has been SO hot and the girls have been soaking up every minute of it.

The biggest news is that my "baby" girl started preschool! She only goes two days a week this summer before starting three day weeks this fall. She has loved it so far!

I am looking forward to a fun and busy summer with my little ladies. Each summer is so different with kids this age because they are completely different people from year to year. I can't wait to see what this summer has in store!

Parks, Preschool, and Wagon Rides

We've had a great Spring Break this week. We haven't been overly busy but we've kept ourselves entertained. On Wednesday we took the girls out to the park. One of our favorite parks recently went though a complete renovation. It was fun, but Sophia was pretty upset that there weren't any swings. She's obviously still getting used to the slide. 

Emma loved that she was able to do most everything on her own. She climbed to the top of one of the structures but was a little unsure of when she got to the very top. Luckily, Daddy was there to help.

This afternoon we took Emma on a tour of her preschool. It was great and Emma was excited, even though she was a little shy with the teacher that showed us around. I can't believe that we're at this point of our lives already. How in the world is my baby two and a half weeks shy of being three and ready to go to preschool in a couple of months?

Since she's been lucky enough to be at home and taken care of by my mom, she hasn't had many opportunities to leave home and certainly never on her own. We try to put her in activities to help her socialize with other kids her age and she always does great. I'm not worried about her ability to adapt at all. I'm worried about MY ability to let my little bird leave the nest.

The school is beautiful and so well run.  We were able to see one class in session and view several other classrooms and they were all wonderful. It was sprinkling so we couldn't tour the playground but we managed to sneak a quick peek. Boy was Emma excited about that playground!

My big girl!

 After dinner, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The rain had cooled things off and it was the perfect time for a wagon ride. The girls love riding around together looking at everything. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Blurry, but I love this smile!

What I've Been Doing...

...since I haven't been blogging.  I have been so busy with school that I've barely had time to breathe!  We've been really busy with beginning of the year meetings so I haven't much time to work in my classroom and I have felt like a chicken with its head cut off.  We just had Open House tonight, and I've been working on getting my classroom in order before all my new kiddos stopped by.

I put my room together over the summer but on a whim, decided to change it all.  YESTERDAY.  I know, I'm crazy.  Here's what I started with:

This is the view when you enter the classroom.

The front of the room.  That's my ACTIVboard covered with a sheet.

The "old" front of the room.  Once my ACTIVboard was mounted, this became the back of the room.

The student cubby area.  Sorry for the dark picture!

Here's what the room looked like right before Open House:

Entering the classroom.  The table in front does not live there.  I needed a table for handouts.

The front of the room. Still a little bare, but it's a work in progress.

The back of the room.

Our classroom library. Lots of empty bulletin boards.  I need students to fill them up!

Our reading table.

Cubbies

Each student received their back to school packet, a welcome/to-do list from me, and a little surprise.

The kids looked a little scared when I told them they had their first, official, third grade assignment to complete.  They were relieved when they found out that their "homework" included visiting their second grade teacher and giving me a hug.  The little packet is "Magic Back to School Confetti."  It's a super cute idea that I found here.

Sweet Potatoes and Sweetie Pies

My first day back went pretty well.  It was great to be back and see everyone after a long break and meet our new principal.  It's going to be a challenging year with lots of changes, but I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

The girls had a great day with my mom and Emma was NOT happy to wake up from her nap and find Nana gone.  I know I shouldn't take it personally, but I have to admit that it hurts my feelings when I'm "not enough." Once I got her out of bed, she wanted me all to herself and didn't want me to hold Sophia at all.  She kept telling me that Sophia WANTED to play in her jumper.  She's such a character.

Once Andy got home, I had to head out to get school stuff.  It's going to be go, go, go until Christmas! When I got home, Andy and I took the girls for a walk and barely made it home to beat a storm.  The girls were so happy to be outside and loved riding around in the stroller.

I've decided that I'm going to make homemade baby food for Sophia.  I wanted to with Emma, but it seemed so daunting.  It's really not.  I made a batch of sweet potatoes and froze them in ice cube trays to pull out as needed.  We gave her her first taste and I don't know if she loved them, but she ate them.  She gave lots of big smiles when Big Sister came around to watch her eat "real food."

Before bed, Andy and Emma laid down together and read a book, and of course, I had to capture the moment.  Emma has started "posing" for pictures lately, so I love taking pictures of her when she doesn't know.

There's nothing like a daddy and his girl(s).