Party Dress

Little Sis is cracking me up on a consistent basis lately. Tonight we had a birthday party for one of my friends. Little Sis insisted on wearing a "party dress" to it. I guess that makes sense and I am glad to see her wear this dress more than once so I can't complain, even if her changing did have us arriving late!
Earlier today we drove past her new preschool and she told her daddy that she was hoping for a class full of girls with just one boy. When we asked her why she replied "Well, I don't quite like boys, daddy. "

She also had her Mini Olympics for gymnastics this week. I unfortunately missed it due to the book fair but felt these photos were priceless and thus had to share.

She is quite the gymnast and will be moving up soon even though she will be one of the youngest in the next class. She just has the natural ability for this type of thing. Though she loves gymnastics, she has also made it clear that she wants to try out a dance class. Maybe I will consider this in the fall but feel like one activity a week is enough for my 3 year old right now.

My Crazy Week

I put in a ton of hours at Bro's school this last week as I headed up the book fair. I was there long hours (until 10:30 pm on Wed.) but it was well worth it. And my children got a break due to a good friend's help with their care. I can't thank you enough, Miss K.

I was able to earn our school a record of $1800+ in books. A great deal went to the library but I also used a little of the money to purchase books for each classroom's library. The smiles on the faces of the teachers and students made all my effort well worth it. I am so pleased that I was able to bring so much joy to so many. I know I am making a difference.

Bro's Update

We had parent-teacher conferences this week at Big Bro's school this week and I am happy to report that they went well. Even though we chose not to put him in the after school program his reading scores have soared. Here's the results:

• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency: Goal of 35, Bro's score is 50
• Nonsense words: (This is the one we worried about) Goal of 50, His score is 54
• Oral Reading Fluency: Goal of 20, His score is 21
• Retell: Goal of 1/2 reading fluency, His score of 16
• Word Use: His score 48

I am so happy to report that we made the right choice for him. We work on reading daily at home in a no pressure atmosphere and it seems to be working. He has also been taking his AR quizzes and is rocking at them. He is reading at a 1.7 reading level, which is right on the mark.

Things to work at? Leadership skills and handwriting (he loves to write but is somewhat sloppy about it)

Other Comments: Once again we heard what a delight he is to have in class. "...is a very enjoyable student."
Our next BIG decision is who to request for a second grade teacher as I am not thrilled with any of my choices. I would have to say the second grade team is a weak leak at our school. None of the teachers are very loving. I was hoping for a retirement but since that has not happened I will be picking from the two best for him. I plan on spending a good deal of time in the rooms observing (and out in the hall unseen) for the next month in order to come up with the best choice. One of the rewards for being a very involved mother is that I do have a larger say in who my child has for a teacher and I plan to maximize this advantage in order to make this difficult decision.

That's Mine

Here's the conversation that took place in our home last night.

Bro: "Hey, that's my water Sis."

Sis: "Oh, I didn't know." Bats eyes innocently

Bro: "Well, you should have known 'cuz it has a big Superman on it"

Sis: "Well, you should of put it up higher so I couldn't reach it" Another BIG eye bat.

Bro: "Mommy stop laughing. She's NOT funny."

Sneaky Leprechauns

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Much to the kids delight, we had a little visit from those ornery Leprechauns last night. They tip-toed around our house while the children were asleep making all sorts of mischief.

First they hit the fridge and turned our milk green! (The kids both believe milk tastes better this way. I, on the other hand, can't get past the color and swear it tastes minty!)

Then they drug out all the green toys and left toy piles where they had played with them. Who knew we owned some many green playthings? And everywhere those little Leprechauns walked they unknowingly left a trail of greenery.
I found a story that stated that if you make a treasure box and leave it out the Leprechauns must fill it with treasure and gifts. They then cleverly hide it but if you can find it before the end of the day, the treasure is yours to keep. So the kids followed the trail the Leprechauns unknowingly left and were led to the hiding place of the treasure box. They were delighted with their little treasure and I was delighted by their wonder.
This was such a fun way to spend the holiday. I can't take credit for all the ideas though, a couple I again borrowed from a very creative friend.

From the Mouths of Babes

I baked some cookies this afternoon to take to my PTA meeting as a bribe to get volunteers for the book fair I am chairing.
The kids were begging for one, so I told them that after they ate their dinner they could have one.
Little Sis refused to eat dinner because we did not have any guacamole and dinner "is not any good without guacamole".
Anyway to make a long story short, Sis did not get her cookie.

Then she proceeded to make puppy dog eyes at the remaining cookies at the end of the meeting. So much so that another mom almost gave into her.

Here's our conversation on the short drive home tonight:

Sis: I wish I would not have to eat dinner to get a cookie.

Me: I'm sure you do but the rule in our house is that you have to eat the good stuff before you get the bad.

Sis: Mommy, I wish you weren't the boss!

Bro: (always the level-headed one) Well, mommy gets to be the boss until you are a grownup and married.

Sis: (yelling) Brother, shh! I am NEVER getting married!!!

Basketball

Big Bro began basketball a couple weeks ago, with much urging on my part.

Good news: He LOVES it!!

Bad news: He has inherited his mother's athletic ability, or lack thereof!

She has her moments...

they are just few and far between right now.

We are having quite a battle with Little Sis right now, the nap time battle. If she takes a nap, she doesn't sleep at night. If she doesn't have a nap, she is Rotten (notice the capital R) all day long. She agrues about everything, she whines constantly, she's pure mean, yet she wants to be cuddled all day. I can't stand it.

I have tried cutting naps shorter. Doesn't work. If fact it is almost worse because she hates to be woken up.

Currently we are attempting slightly shorter naps every other day. Works good for the days she naps, not so good on the other days. (I also find it ironic how those non-nap days are the days I could most use a break from her.)

The dogs got to go swimming yesterday and Little Sis got her nap. Consequentially, Bailey was majorly sore and Sis was incredibly sweet. Poor Bailey has aged so much in the last couple months. He really can't play at all anymore. While we were cleaning up dinner last night, Sis was taking care of Bailey. She is a good vet. She brought him his food, right next to his bed and even covered him with a blanket.
How do I get that sweet girl around more often?

Give it back

Give me back that hour.

I'm positive that my to-do list would be crossed off with it,
Instead it remains half complete.

Now my kids are believing they are in bed early,
when in fact they are late.

I'll be jogging the dog in the dark tomorrow,
on an hour too little sleep.

I HATE daylight savings time in the spring.