Caroline has just started a little 6 week community gymnastics class which she loves.
(Caroline at three and a half)
Funny thing is, it’s not my first time in this room or this class.
Here’s Andrew in 2008 in the class at two and a half.
And here’s Alex in 2005 taking the exact same class when he was almost three.
Bela Karolyi better watch out…
I’m pretty sure I could teach this class now.
My new favorite baby gift to give is the One Line a Day Memory Book.
The concept is so simple and in the same lines with journaling & scrapbooking but IT’s DOABLE for everyone.
The idea behind the book is that you have 6 lines for each day of the year. The brillant part of the book is that it lists 5 years on one page. So you get to see what your little one or yourself was doing on January 1st for 5 years. Just think of all the changes you will see this way.
I bought each of my children their own book two months ago and both my husband and I have been faithful to make sure there is something written for each day.
Sometimes we write how their school day went, which friend they talked a lot about, games that they played at home, what they ate or refused for dinner, favorite books, funny stories they told us – really anything is open for an entry.
Here are a few of the examples I have for each of my kiddos:
Alex (10 yrs) – You played “French Resistance Army” with Andrew and Caroline. You each had on a toque and gloves. You all built a trench (made of toy boxes, chairs, and play kitchen furniture) coming out from the tent – loving the Tour de France right now.
Andrew (7 yrs) – Ran errands with Dad & Alex – went to Alex H’s for birthday party and sleepover- at lunch, you said, “Look at me, I can eat like a yak.” And you did.
Caroline (3 yrs) – We play Candy Land almost every day. No matter where you are on the board you always say, “I’m almost winning and you’re almost losing.”
I have enjoyed writing in this book so much that I bought one for my sister for a baby shower present.
To jazz up the gift a little, I decorated a little bag for the book to go in.
I used a blue bag that a pair of sheets had come in and some pink fabric.
I cut the side of the bag since I need to be able to put the bag on my sewing machine.
Cut out a letter “C” (initial of her last name) out of the pink fabric.
I sewed the “C” onto the bag and added a little decorative trim.
Hopefully my sister will enjoy this book as much as I have – Although I have a feeling she might be recording sleep durations and blow outs in the beginning 🙂
I’m not going to lie.
I’m feeling a little lazy right now and just want to go sit on the couch and watch trash tv.
So while I don’t have anything earth shattering here today – unlike every other day 🙂 I do want to express how lucky I am for the kiddos I have.
This is how I found them last Sunday morning.
And while the pictures are blurry, this much is clear.
My kids love each other and love hanging out with each other.
Yes, there are the usual arguments and squabbles but for the most part they hang with one another even in their free time.
I’m not quite sure how my husband and I got so lucky but every time I see this I am so so thankful for it.
I had to make Caroline a new nap mat for school since Sophie (our dog) was kind enough to destroy the one we’ve had for the last 8 years.
No, I didn’t have to buy one but I thought , “I can do that. No problem!”
I am a fool.
An over confident fool who needed to be talked off the ledge several times during the sewing process.
I based my design from this nap mat which would have ended up costing me $64.
So in that instance, I am not a fool.
My nap mat came in right around $33.
Because we couldn’t find any Wonder Woman fabric, Caroline chose these flamingos.
There is no tutorial because I didn’t think many of you would want to rip out stitches and sew parts of the nap mat together that aren’t supposed to be.
(the orange blanket is sewn into one side of the nap mat )
(there is a green foam pad inserted into the nap mat – it can be taken out so that the fabric part of the nap mat can be washed)
I will tell you this, Caroline loves her nap mat, but there has not been one single nap taken on it at school.
I think she just bides her time and plans what she will play with once that unnecessary quiet time is done.
What do you hope to accomplish in September?
A few weeks ago I told you of Caroline’s completion of potty training (yeah!) so today I thought I’d share with you some of the books we read during this process.
Princess Potty by Samantha Berger (there’s a Pirate Potty too)
With the following lines from the book, how could you not like it?
Hear yea, hear yea,
Princess Potty has made the finest pee pee
The book comes with a crown and a set of jewels. For every success, the child puts a jewel on their crown.
Potty Animals: What to Know When You’ve Gotta Go! by Hope Vestegaard
This book is actually wonderful because it uses rhyme to talk about bathroom etiquette – washing your hands, closing the door, not waiting too long, etc.
I didn’t know about these books at the time but I bet she would have loved these as well.
The New Potty by Gina & Mercer Mayer
and how can you forget the old classic
Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel
I’m thinking of writing a potty training book titled…Your Poop in the Little Potty Makes Mommy Gag!
Any favorite potty training books I’m forgetting?
So many people have asked how Caroline’s first day of fall preschool went and wonder how it compared to the Meet the Teacher day.
Let me say this…
She did not win the Miss Congeniality Award.
Drop off went smoothly with not even a backwards look at me.
I peeked into the room after putting her things in her cubby to find her sitting at the table working with one of the teachers.
Super.
I went on with my day, even managing to go to the noon swim practice.
At 1:55 I showed up at her classroom door to see her playing with some My Little Ponies.
The teacher said, “Caroline, your mom is here.”
Caroline glanced up and saw me.
She stood up, screwed up her face in a mean face, stiffened her arms by her side, and didn’t move.
I smiled at her and said, “Caroline, it’s time to go.”
Thankfully, she walked over to me, still holding the pony in her hand.
“It’s time to go so we need to leave the pony at school. You can come back tomorrow and play with it.”
Here is when she started to cry mumbling something about taking the pony home.
I reiterated that the pony needed to stay at school but she would be able to play with it again tomorrow.
One of the teachers leaned her head out of the door and said, “She can take it home with her.”
?????
WTF? Are you kidding me lady? We do NOT need to start the precedent of taking home toys everyday from school and let me tell you, one time in Caroline’s mind would mean being able to bring them home everyday.Plus, I have a dog who would likely eat every toy thus making preschool cost $8,000 when factoring in toy replacement fees.
I looked up at her, smiled, and said, “No, we need to leave the toys at school.”
“Caroline, it’s time to go home, I want you to leave the pony.”
“Noooooo.”
“I’m taking the pony out of your hand now, you can play with it tomorrow at school.”
I took the pony.
“I WASN’T FINISHED WITH THAT! I STILL WANT THAT!” she screamed and I mean SCREAMED.
And with that, I grabbed her stuff and walked out the door while she continued to scream, “I WANT TO STAY. I DON’T WANT TO GO HOME.”
If pick up goes the same today, I am fully expecting a surprise visit from Child Protective Services at my door.
Remember when last year’s teacher described her as, “a pistol? ”
I can only imagine the adjectives being thrown around the break room now.
Add 2 items to Etsy Shop – Check! I added the Baby Gender Prediction Test and the Baby Guessing Cards!
Continue Cleaning Out the Game Closet with the Kids – Check! So excited we went through and organized. I put the games and puzzles appropriate for Caroline at a level she could get them while older games went up higher. So far, three weeks later, everything has been put away when taken out – and we’ve played Candy Land every single day since we cleaned.
Take Quick Trip to New Orleans – Check! We had a great four day trip visiting my parents at the beginning of August. My kids think their Grampa has the best job ever – running a park that includes an amusement park!
Make Lasso for Wonder Woman Costume – Fail!
Make 3 Meals for the Freezer – Check! I made mounds of pasta and sauce one day so we have 3 meals of spaghetti bake waiting for us to eat up.
Go Through the Boys Clothes and Take Out What Doesn’t Fit – Check! A week before school started I set myself up on the floor next to their dresser and pulled out everything. What followed was a fairly entertaining fashion show of long sleeve shirts which were now way to short and pants which looked like waders. But since it will be hot here for awhile, I didn’t buy anything new for the boys to start school except for one pair of sneakers and some underwear.
Make Desk for the Boys Room – Check! My husband used a piece of wood we had in the garage and I found four desk legs at IKEA for $3.95 each so the new desk cost us just over $16.00! Now I’m planning on getting containers for art supplies, a lamp, and some shelves above the desk to finish out the space. My vote was to paint their room but it was vetoed so the builder beige stays.
Make Pillow for Guest Room – Fail!
Enjoy the Last Weeks of Summer – Check!
Hope you accomplished what you wanted to in August!
Caroline is starting her first day of school this year and for that, we are both excited.
She’s watched the boys go off to school for a week now and it’s been a little rough for her.
A few days ago we went to her, “Meet the Teacher,” morning so she could visit her classroom and get a feel of how being in the 3 year old class would be.
As we were getting ready to leave our house that morning we had the following conversation.
“Caroline, today you get to visit your new classroom.”
“Mommy, I love you. I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I love you too. But today I am going to stay with you because it’s a very short day.”
She looks at me and starts crying.
“Caroline, it’s okay, I’m going to be with you at school today.”
“I want you to LEAVVVVVVVVVE! I want you to go. LEAVE ME AT SCHOOL!”
Apparently those last 3 months of swimming, Candy Land playing, book reading, and tv watching have really taken a toll on her.
So after reviewing our conversation, I feel confident that drop off will go quite smoothly today and both of us will have smiles on our faces.
