I'm Sure She Takes After ME

When Rick and I got the letter inviting Maggie to join our community's Accelerated Learning program...well, we were some pretty proud parents. It wasn't surprising news...after all, Maggie's always loved writing and illustrating her own stories, even before she knew how to spell. And this year, she attended the Young Author's Conference, where she got to share one of her stories with her peers and heard two children's authors speak about the challenges and rewards of writing.

But leaving your school and most of your friends behind in order to pursue a more fulfilling creative learning outlet is a tough decision for a kid to make. It helped a lot that her friend Julia was there.

And the teacher had a great project for them to work on during a social meet-and-greet night that really helped get them excited for the new year. They did a "scavenger hunt" that took them all around their new school and helped them get familiar with the building.

We're not going to think of this as a "temporary" school...Maggie knows she can't just decide to quit and go back to her old school after a week or so. We're going to stick this out...and it'll be awesome. I may even join the PTO. Wonder if they have a Gifted Parent program?

I'll bet my parents would be pretty surprised when they got that letter.

First and Last

I can't believe today is already the last day of school...I mean, is it just me, or didn't we just have Christmas break a few weeks ago?

Here's a picture of Alex, Jack and Maggie on their first day of school last August...

And this is a picture from this morning. What a difference one school year makes!

And today isn't just any other last day of school...

Maggie was accepted into the accelerated learning program for gifted students, so next year she'll be at a different school. We've already met her teachers and toured her new building (blog post to come). Several kids from her 3rd grade class will be there, so hopefully the change won't be quite so scary. She says she's looking forward to it.

And Jack...my little Mister Boo...he'll be a big 1st grader next year! Not that Kindergarten isn't real school...but, well...first grade is a lot more, uh...schoolish. You know what I mean.

Next year, Alex will be a 6th grader. My little mouse will be a big boy, a middle-schooler. Wow. He's seems excited about it...I guess I have mixed feelings. Don't these kids realize that if they keep getting older, then that means I have to keep getting older, too? Rotten brats.

Now, this is one kid I'd love to get into a classroom...

Keep your fingers crossed for all of us that the HeadStart program is still accepting students for next year. Jacob needs the structure of school just as badly as I need him out of my house for a few hours a week! *sigh*

All right! Bring on the summer vacation! Days at the pool, trips to the zoo, afternoons at the park, picnics in the back yard, golden tans and mosquito bites, BBQs and birthday parties...

Only a few more hours to go...

In a Nutshell...

The kids had a theatrical performance on the 31st....Maggie and the second grade did a program called "Under the Sea" that was super cute, complete with sailor hats and kazoos! Then Alex and the fourth graders put on a musical play called "Heroes All," and Alex had a small part as Albert Einstein! (Sorry about the poor quality of the pics, but all I had with me was a point-and-shoot camera and we were about 7 rows from the very back of the auditorium. On a related note, the zoom on my Flip video leaves much to be desired.)


My CT scan last Friday went very well, thanks for asking! (I told you I'd have the technician take my picture....she even gave me a print-out of the scan, since I told her I was a scrapbooker, she thought it would be something I could use in my album!) Turns out I have a nasal spur, and I get to find out whatever the heck that means on the 21st.

On Tuesday, I took Alex, Maggie and Jack to see "Monsters vs. Aliens".....it was totally hilarious! We saw the 2-D version, because I wasn't driving 30 minutes away and paying extra for the 3-D glasses when we could see the thing in our own town, just down the road. I used the money we saved to splurge on popcorn and soda.

Yesterday, we had an actual sunny day...no snow, no rain, and the temps were in the high 50s. We just had to go to the park! It was a good day. The little boys slept like rocks as soon as we got home.




And my new Wednesday night tradition....$2 margaritas at Hacienda with the girls! Last night they had orange flavor....oh my YUM! Harvey went along to make sure I didn't overdo it.

I've been working on a new doll, too! She should be done soon, then I'll post pics...I really love how she's turning out! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :)

Last Day of Summer Vacation.....

.....and the first day of school, BOTH days over and done. These pics were taken this morning as we waited for the bus (yay, no more driving them to school!). By the way, 7am is an ungodly time of the day to be awake and coffee-less. Keep that in mind when viewing these slightly blurry pics. It really was a miracle I was able to function at all. :)

I tried to make the last day of summer vacation a really special day for the kids, and I think I succeeded. After lunch yesterday, we took Alex for a haircut, and then.....we went to the PARK!! We hadn't been to this particular park in years, and the kids LOVED it. Note to self: When we go again, do NOT wear your fake Croc shoes, lest you get stabbed repeatedly by the mulch again.

At one point, Alex said he was getting a little bored, so I asked him if he'd like to make a video (since I just happened to have my trusty Flip Video in my pocket). He was too thrilled to shoot a documentary on Maggie and Jacob...I'll have to edit it for length and post it here in the next month or so. :)

After the park.....ice cream at DQ!! We were all so tired at this point.....this picture cracks me up because the kids all look like eating ice cream is just about as enjoyable as a trip to the dentist.And, as if I hadn't had enough calories for one day, Maggie and I decided to make gingerbread cookies after supper. (By the way, I found that little cookie press at the thrift store for 25 cents.) The cookies turned out pretty darn tasty (not as good by themselves as chocolate chip, but better with coffee)!And, before I turned in for the night, I made Alex and Maggie each a card to slip into their backpacks to be discovered when they got to school. Inside I made sure to say how much I loved them and hoped they were having a great first day.....you know, mushy stuff!

Remind me to tell you about the awesome clothing deal I scored over the weekend!! Gotta get to bed, I think I'm a crack-of-dawn riser now!

Crap.

Kids, Always Listen to Your Mother....

.....when she tells you not to run through the house!
I just couldn't get a good picture of the massive lump on Jack's head from slamming into the corner of the wall....the knot stuck out at least an inch! I made sure to give him lots of love and kisses to make it better.
There's been so much going on around here.....We've been having lots of fun with Whetzel, and even Nicodemus has started coming out of his little house more during the day. He's not quite brave enough to sit on our shoulder the way Whetzel does....maybe someday. I'm trying to work with him while Whetzel is out of the cage...the good news is, he doesn't nip at my hand anymore! I'm on the phone with Rachel in this pic. A Whetzel in each ear! lol

We had a "Meet and Greet" at the kids' school last night. Alex and Maggie got to meet their teachers, drop off their school supplies, see their classroom and other parts of their new school, and play on the playground for a little while! They'll be attending my old elementary school, and I made sure to tell them, "Your mom's little girl butt sat on those swings and slid down that slide!" They thought that was pretty cool. I'm still in shock over the fact that school starts TOMORROW! And I didn't take any dang PICTURES at the school!!! *sigh*