School year started with a sniffle...

Well, the Bubs officially has the beginning-of-the-school-year creepin' crud. Poor kid.

The sniffles started this weekend and laid him low today. He and the couch shared some quality time...as did his handy box of tissues.

What did I do?

I fought the good fight against those creepin' crud bugs. Lysol spray and sanitizer were my main weapons of choice. The aim is to keep the little guy from getting the crud, too.

Even my dad, an elementary ed. teacher, has mentioned that he was going to take extra precautions with his students to keep them as healthy as possible. Frequent hand washings was top on the list.

I trust that you all had a fabulous and safe Labor Day weekend...looking forward to reading all about it when I visit your blogs!

**And here's my shameless plug~ Have you visited my new site, yet?**

Big brother moment~

The boys weren't surprised when I came rushing around the corner with my camera. I just HAD to get a few pics before we took the Bubs to his first day of second grade!

Bubs wasn't so enthused about having his photo made and kept giving me weird faces....and then he had the wonderful idea to have his little bro' in the picture. This was my favorite result. The lighting, among other things, isn't great but it so perfectly captures the Bubs in his big brother mode. Melts my heart everytime I look at it...

Mommy moments...

I've put off thinking about it all day. It was quite easy to do with all my mommy chores and hanging out with the boys.

Even as the Bubs and I talked excitedly about it, I put off thinking about the implications...the changes it would bring.

It began to sink in as I started to get things set out and organized for tomorrow morning. That inevitable rush to rise, shine and get out the door.

My throat couldn't help but get a little tight as I tucked the Bubs in and read him a story. As I gave him silly kisses and basked in his rolling, little boy giggle.

*sigh*

The Bubs starts his first day of second grade tomorrow. I'm so very excited for him...but a little sad, too. Such is the life of a mommy.

Sweet Shot Tuesday

The Bubs starts second grade next week. We're all as excited as he is...even if a little sad that time seems to be flying by. He's gotten even taller this summer and his feet seem to have tripled in size!

So whether your children are going to public, private or home school I wish you all a fabulous school year full of new discoveries and increased schemas (as my Dad tells his 1st graders).

After all, they can be a star wherever they are!

And, yes, my Dad tells his first grade class that, too.

Cause he's cool like that.

Thanks for stopping by! (The Hubs is having shoulder surgery today. Could you whisper a prayer?)

Mono Monday: Happy

A boy and his buddies....

HAPPY.

*Taken at the Bubs' field day event at school. The day was overcast, windy and a little chilly...not ideal conditions for a day of outdoor games and fun. But the kids didn't care and they're excitement was infectious. The Bubs' class had just gotten done with a relay event and when I turned around, there the boys were...how could I resist this shot? They were so cute and happy.

Where'd the week go?

Whoa, nelly. What a week!

The Bubs started first grade. We're getting back in the groove with some old routines and breakin' in some new ones. He's slid back into the school shindig pretty well so far and I'm relieved.

Pay no attention to the goofy expression on his face over there. *sigh* I was trying to snap a pic before we headed out the door and this is what he gave me. My silly boy.







E-man has cut his first tooth and is well on his way to a second. He's been shoving everything he can get his little hands on into his mouth to gnaw on.

Hubs even let him chew on one of his old Playstation controllers. That's love right there people. The man tore apart a controller for the E-man's teething mania.

As for our weekend, let's hope that Danny (tropical storm) doesn't wreck our time off...or anything else for that matter!

Pictures, first grade and mommyhood...

What is it about looking through past pictures that makes one go all sentimental? *sigh*

That's a picture of him from a couple years ago.

The Bubs is starting 1st grade next week. Wasn't it last week that we were snapping off pictures at his kindergarten celebration? Oy!

The summertime boredom bug has fully sink it's teeth into the Bubs's tushy. Between the E-man cutting teeth and needing extra cuddling and the torrential thunderstorms, our outdoor time has been limited. I've gotta remedy that pronto before we both go a little batty!

With our venture into first grade around the corner, the uniforms have been bought and the school supplies purchased and set aside, ready to be put to use. I know he's ready to go back and he's excited about the new routines and new friends, but I can't help but wish that time would slow down for just a little while. That's mommyhood for you...we delight in watching them discover new things and discover themselves, yet we want to hold back the hands of time, too.

Will she or won't she?

You bet your sweet tushies, I'm gonna do it!

*crickets chirping*

Oh, didn't I say what I'm gonna do? Whoops. Take a look and see if you can guess....

Yes, that is a purple satin Halloween hat with flowers, feathers and netting. It's delightfully gaudy and I'm going to have a blast wearing it Friday to school! Oh, and don't adjust your monitor or bifocals...the second picture is a bit blurry. I'll try and get a better picture when I wear it in a few days. The Bubs will be dressed in his Thomas the Tank Engine getup for part of the day and I thought he'd get a kick out of his mom having some fun. He hasn't quite reached the age that he'd be embarrassed by that, yet, so I can get away with it.

Besides I think it's important for kids to know that their parents can have fun and laugh at themselves. Especially for the Bubs, right now. He's been sick so often lately that, understandably, it's become a big focus for him and he's begun to act like a bit of an "old man". I want him to laugh and have a good time again. Laughter does, indeed, do us good like a medicine!

If you have the urge to gag, I understand....

I normally hate to cause anyone to gag, but you may feel that way by the end of this post. Calm down, it's not what you think! I don't have another gross prego story. Nope, I'm just gonna brag unashamedly on my son.

Even though the Bubs is getting a crash course in group socialization since he's never really been exposed to a classroom environment for any significant length of time he, according to his teacher, is doing very well academically. Yay, Bubs!! *mom and dad doing a happy dance*

After school yesterday his teacher let me and my Dad, who also teaches there, know how successful the Bubs was on his initial assessments. He knew quite a few *high frequency words, all of his color and number words.....and then, after asking the Bubs to cover his ears, she quietly told us that he was the only one in the class to know any of it! This is great for a kindergartener! These are some of the main things a child should know at the end of their kindergarten year. I mean, we'd worked at home with these things and tried to read with him everyday, but I don't think the Hubs and I were fully aware of how much the Bubs was retaining.

Speaking of the Hubs, his smile was a mile wide when I gave him the good news from the teacher! He is deeply pleased that his Bubs is not only doing so well in school but honestly seems to be enjoying the whole experience. I don't think school was a fabulous experience for Hubs, so I think that he's relieved when I show him classwork or relay good reports about Bubs. The first thing he wanted to know after hearing about his son's achievements yesterday was how can we keep it going and encourage him to reach even higher heights. Yep, I got a good man here!

So I'm sorry for the gag- er, I mean brag-fest, but I just had to. Our precious little boy had a wonderful success and I wanted to share it with the world.....or at least the lovely part of the world that reads this little blog!

*High frequency words are the words that appear most often in printed materials.

"Oh, no he di'n't!"

Have you ever seen someone do something that you've thought to yourself, "Oh, no they di'n't!"? I had one of those not-so-fun moments this morning as I was getting the Bubs settled in his classroom. The Bubs was dutifully hanging up his bookbag when he said hello to another student that he'd told me the day before "wasn't his friend anymore". I know how the friend thing goes with children that age. One day they're inseperable, the next they hate one another. The Bubs didn't get this concept at all and was still being his usual happy, charming self. Anyway, the other little boy drew back his hand like he was going to punch the Bubs after he'd simply said hello.....that is until he caught me givin' him "the eye".

You know what I'm talkin' about when I say "the eye", dontcha? Uh-huh. I thought so!

I didn't say anything right then. The teacher was busy handling three other things and hadn't caught what had happened, but I know for a fact that she has a no tolerance policy on violence or any threatening behavior in her room. I followed Bubs to his seat to give him a good-bye kiss and waited for the other boy to come to his seat.....the one right next to my child. He smacked his lips and rolled his eyes at me as he moved his tray and chair as far away from the Bubs as possible. (Oh, no he di'n't!!) Well, y'all, I reverted back to my old teacher's assistant days and put a stop to that behavior.

I slid his tray and chair back to their correct positions and let him know that he needed to sit where the teacher had assigned him. Then I calmly -yes, calmly- let him know that it wasn't a good idea to hit people...or to act like he was going to hit someone and that I knew that the teacher would never allow that in her classroom. With huge, round eyes focused on mine, I could tell he was shocked.

"Oh yes, Baby, you neeeever know what Ms. Anna will see," I told him.

With that, I gave the Bubs a big kiss and told him to have a wonderful day. And then it hit me......Oh, no. I'm in another teacher's classroom that may not appreciate me doing that at all! Oy.

Come to find out the teacher was cool with it and followed through with the student as I was leaving. *whew!* Thank goodness, 'cause I thought I was going to be the next one in line to be reprimanded!

P.S. My prayers go out to those already affected by Hurricane Ike and those still in its path. If you're of a prayin' persuasion.....join me, Shugs!

I have pictures, so you can't be mad at me for staying away.....right?

Whew! I've finally found a moment to hop on here! I've been a little preoccupied with the Bubs beginning school, getting used to the idea of being pregnant and other household business. Life has a way of just happening, doesn't it?

Oh, I have pictures of our little man's first day of school to share with y'all! He was so very cute in his uniform. Take a gander and see for yourself......

Even though we were all excited (and very ready) for the Bubs to start school, it was still an emotional thing for us. The Hubby is extremely proud of how well the Bubs is doing so far and is relieved to see how much he enjoys school. I still catch myself looking in the rear view mirror as I take care of errands, ready to ask the Bubs what he's doing or to sing along with him when a favorite song of his comes on. Oddly, that gets to me more than dropping him off at his class. Let the waterworks commence....darn these hormones!!

"And in other news...."

Why is it that the A/C never seems to go on the fritz when it's cool outside or when there's loads of money in the savings account to dip into for repairs? *sigh* Y'all, we were soooo miserable last night trying to sleep in our own sweat. Thankfully, the Bubs was so incredibly sleepy that he fell almost instantly asleep last night and didn't, to my knowledge, wake up until around 7 this morning. The Hubs is used to sleeping in the heat, but I think he still didn't fall asleep as easily as he normally does. So, I was the only one pacing the kitchen floor at 1 a.m. this morning trying to figure out someway of staying cool that wouldn't keep Hubby awake. I ended up with a trusty wet washcloth. Sweet relief, sweet blessed relief!

And in other news....

I've been commisioned to paint a mural on the front of some large cabinet doors in a friend's classroom. One of the thematic units that her grade level will be covering is Australia. She loves ocean/beach things anyway, so she wants a mural of the Great Barrier Reef. Or, at least my interpretation of it. I drew a mock-up for her in, um, pencil and crayon (oh, yeah I am that classy people!) and she loved it. *whew!* I'll have to nab a pic of the drawing next week to share with y'all.....hey, it's been that kind of week. I'm excited to get started on it and I hope it turns out alright. I haven't done any painting on this scale in years and I had a tendency to ignore my high school art teacher completely. Kinda wish I had listened just a bit more on how to "construct" a larger scale painting. Although, I do remember that she once told me not to get so hung up on the details of the painting, but to keep my focus on the overall effect. Hmmmm, sounds like good advice for life in general, doesn't it?

Anyways, I'll share pics of the mural's progress with y'all over the next few weeks. (Please, please, oh please, God, don't let me mess it up!!)

Books, Volunteering, School and Dizziness

Fiction, Non-Fiction, Dr. Seuss to Doreen Cronin~ Dad's classroom has a bit of everything when it comes to children's literature. They're on tables, bookcases, desks, in baskets, color coded by genre.........well, they're everywhere and I love it! I'm a big fan of children's books and he's aquired many wonderful titles over the years. So many, in fact, that he's made his own library. As with any library, it needs to be constantly maintained in order to be usable. Since the Bubs is in his kindergarten readiness program four mornings a week, I asked if I could help Dad with anything to which he instantly asked if I could help him organize a couple of his book collections.

It took me a couple of morning's worth of work, but I got his read-aloud library physically organized with a content list ready to be printed out and put in a folder. This coming week, I move on to his International Baccalaureate book collection or his IB List as we call it. Believe it or not, I've enjoyed working in a classroom again. Even if the kids aren't there, yet, it's kinda cool to be back in a classroom environment listening to all the discussions between Dad and the other teachers about the upcoming school year. I didn't realize how much I missed it....

On a slightly different subject....with the Bubs starting school next month, I was planning to go back to school full-time for my degree in Elementary Ed. Now, I think I want to pursue a couple of on-line courses first just to get my feet wet and leave me time to volunteer at the Bubs's school a bit. Between all the changes going on with the Bubs going to school, upcoming changes with the Hubby's job (that's another post).......I'm quite dizzy!

Peace, Y'all!

~Anna