Today I am thankful for
... getting a "caring heart" today! I earned it by cleaning up a mess that wasn't mine! - Owen
Owen kept a paper "heart in his pocket all day and proudly plucked it out to show me as soon as I arrived at the school! He then showed me the classroom heart jar and plopped his heart in, adding it to the growing pile! "When we earn 100 hearts, we get to have a party ~ like a costume party!" Owen's teacher also told
me tonight that he'd had a FABULOUS day!! This was most excellent news! You see, the last few days have been especially rough. Two months ago, Owen moved into a new class with a new teacher who wasn't aware exactly how important it was that he NOT sleep during nap/rest time. Apparently, he becomes entranced by the darkened room, the soft music, the other snoring kids; books and cars on a mat simply do not keep him awake! But over the last year, we have practically demanded that he not be allowed to go to sleep. When he does, he gets TOO rejuvenated and can't find his way to sleep at bedtime until the wee hours. So anyway, about mid-Sept, we noticed that he was struggling
with defiance towards us and towards his teacher and was very difficult at night time, often not falling asleep till nearly 11 p.m. or later, and we were at our wits end trying to identify the reason this Owen Impostor had taken over. We finally clued in to the error (naps had resumed with the new teacher), dug in our heals and addressed the issue, and after a week or so of fighting the "jet lag," I think he's back in tun
e, and we've turned the corner! My lovable, snuggly, happy-go-lucky, polite Owen is back!! Yay!! (If only we'd caught on sooner! Love you, Owie!)
... an awesome day! Write this down, Mom! 'Owen
and Collin had an AWESOME day because I ALSO earned a star! I earned it for being the best in line and being quiet during reading time! We're working towards either a pajama party or BINGO, where we all get to go home with a prize. We're going to vote on it!' - Collin
Collin loves school and everything that goes on there. Though he still needs and wants "stay-at-home days," he would never want to miss too much. Often when we pick him up, he asks to stay just a bit longer because he gets so involved in hi
s projects. He's always asking me to pick him up after certain times so that he can participate fully in planned events or even finish daily activities!
... my polka dot gankie! - Kate
Kate loves her blankies. Strike that. Her GANkies! Nightly she gathers them and begs to have each laid over her, layer upon layer. (I sometimes hide some so she won't be so hot!) Then in her sleep she kicks them all off because she likes to sleep without covers. Silly! Then in the morning, she gathers them all again and asks to take them all downstairs to snuggle while she drinks her milk. So sweet. But one gankie in particular is by far he preferred favorite. It's a snuggly quilt Great Grandma M made for her birth gift. Several of the quilt squares have brightly-colored polka dots, hence the loving name: Polka Dot Gankie.
... traditions. As the holidays are now in full swing (I feel like they start with the apple harvest and pumpkins and Halloween and culminate with the turn of the year), I find myself looking back over the last several years ~ what I enjoyed, what was stressful, what I didn't like, what I wish we'd done, what I'm glad we did. I believe it's good to try to do new events or engage with different parties, but there's something to be said for traditions ~ the events and activities you can count on and look forward to and remember year after year. Those are the memories that I find I love the most during the holiday season. So tonight I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving in our home (with friends and/or family) and getting our Christmas tree the next day on our regular u-cut lot. I can't wait to spend the weekend watching holiday movies, listening to festive tunes, and decorating the house with Christmas cheer. I'm fantasizing over a visit to see Santa Claus at the downtown Nordstrom and riding the Westlake carousel in the falling snow (that really happened one year!) I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have snowball fights and sledding in the neighborhood and a white Christmas (Let it snow!). And I can't wait to bake cookies Christmas Eve and hang up the stockings before bed in new jammies. Christmas morning is always a treat ~ in our home, running down the stairs, enjoying coffee and muffins, while wrapping paper is tossed in the air and kids shout in glee! [I'm sitting on the edge of my chair, typing, with a big grin on my face, tapping my feet, getting jazzed just thinking of all the good times ahead!] I'm also excited to add new events which may in time also become traditions, such as ice skating, snow skiing (I hope we get up!), and a Solstice Party with friends! To Traditions! Cheers!
Along with approximately 7,000 other people, we headed to Stoney Ridge Farms as a family one beautiful Saturday afternoon. *You may recall, we also went with Collin's class the week prior. We had intended to also go with Owen's class, but we thought he was going on a Friday. His class split up, and he went on Thursday unbeknownst to us. (Well, we knew he was going on the field trip and had given permission, but we thought he was going Friday AND had planned to join and assist!) Major bummer. But anyway, the whole family went one sunny Saturday:
The pic above is one of my favorite pictures ever. One of my others is of Collin eating his first hand-picked apple!
*Kate is clapping for joy! The perfect, round, green pumpkin is a treasure indeed!
As you can see, we went straight from a soccer game! : )
That's Uncle Jared pushing Kate and the pumpkins! He and Janae came up for the adventures!
Seriously, Owen is eating one of the biggest apples ever!! Several people commented and asked where he'd picked it!
The pics on the farm are some of my favorite every year. I'm a total spaz with the camera on this day - both because I love the pics and because I have so much fun on this trip that I don't want to forget a second of it! (and I have a terrible memory; pictures work wonders to jog it and bring the memories flooding!)
