Kindergarten has begun!

we started off by having a little celebration the night before. kindergarten is special- it deserves cake, right? a cake shaped like a pencil! bean liked the idea. :)

then the next morning she was ready to GO! well, first she wanted me to take her picture... she is quite the posing princess. here is just one of the shots from that little photo shoot! ha!

then we did the traditional posing with my backpack pictures. i'm not sure what that facial expression is about...

she was sweet an happy and ready to go. she kept asking if it was time to leave yet. finally i told her yes and we all hopped in the car. on the way there she said, "mommy, i'm a little bit worried." when i asked her why she said she was afraid that she would miss me! awwwww! :)

when we got there she suckered me into walking her to her classroom- i told her that wouldn't be happening everyday though! she did take the lead... for a couple steps. long enough for me to take this picture.

we went back 6 1/2 hours later to pick her up. she was tired but happy. she said she had been nervous when i left but then it was ok. she had had a good time. she was excited about going back. and that, my friends, makes me very happy! :)

Just a little bit different...

i bet bean's school is different than your kid's school.

why?

they go on several field trips a year to an nature education/adventure training place. this place requires that they have a consent/waiver form on hand for each participant. i filled it out this morning....
i totally just signed a paper that said that i understand the risks involved in this type of educational experience. the risks included "falls, rope burns, pinches, scrapes, scratches, bruises, lacerations, fractures, concussions, or more severe life threatening hazards. participation in the ropes course activities entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death or damage to me, to property or to third parties."

i bold faced the word just so you wouldn't miss it. yes, i signed a form that said that i understood that my kid could die while on a field trip. bet you didn't have to do THAT!

Love Letters

dear bean,
i understand that you get frustrated with your brother. i know he doesn't always act the way you think he should. but he is his own person NOT a puppet for you to control.
also, you are not his mother so please stop trying to discipline him.
sincerely,
the real mommy


dear sprout,
it is not ok to hit. it is not ok to hit. it is not ok to hit. it is NOT ok to hit.
thank you,
your "broken record" mom.


dear magpie,
remember our last conversation? the one where i told you to stop barking at the neighbors when they were in their own yard? how 'bout we don't bark at "invisible threats" either. i mean, there is NOTHING there! shut your kibble hole!! geeesh!
yours truly,
the people mama


dear bean,
let's not tattle on your brother 3o times a day. really. unless someone is in danger i don't have to know every little thing that he has done. using chalk to draw on his toy cars is NOT one of these things
love,
your stressed out mom


dear blueberry,
remember when you lost 17 pounds and felt awesome and looked great? you do? so how come you gained them all back? and how come you can't figure out how to lose even a single pound now?
yeah, your excuses suck! do something about it already! gah!
hugs and kisses,
your totally frustrated self

Bean and School

monday bean will start kindergarten. she is going to an alternative elementary school, a project adventure school. their mission is, "through the process of adventure education, students will achieve academic excellence, cooperation, and problem solving skills in an environment that fosters risk taking and mutual trust." there is a lot of learning by doing and other "hands on" opportunities. they will be taking special field trips, they have climbing walls and zip lines in their gym, and they go on a 3 day camping trip. i'm hoping that this is an environment where bean can grow and learn. (because it sounds damn cool to me!!) also, they recieved a technology grant and are installing smart boards in 5 classrooms- bean's is one of them. it is so cool that they will have an interactive board not just a plain old chalkboard!
before you ask, no it is not a private school. we could never afford that. it is one of the public elementary schools in our city. here you can put your kid into a lottery to get into a school other than your neighborhood school. we got lucky and got into this one. :)

she went to her assessment today. she READ two books while she was there... i didn't know she could do that. i know that she used the pictures to figure out some of the words but i don't care, she needed help with ONE word in two books (the word "write" because the w is silent). i was impressed! after that was over she didn't want to leave. she tells her teacher, "i LOVE school!" the teacher said that made her very happy and she couldn't wait to see her on monday for the start of school.

what do i think of all this. besides the fact that it is hard to believe that she is ready for kindergarten- she was just born yesterday for goodness sake- i'm ready for her to go. i don't feel sad. it doesn't bring tears to my eyes. i'm actually VERY excited for her. i think it is going to be a fantastic experience and can wait to see what she can do!

My boy...

loves him some "chocolate popsicles"!




oh yeah, really loves them!! ha ha ha!! :)

Um... yeah....

i know.

i KNOW!

i haven't posted since march. since sprout's birthday to be exact.
so much has happened... bean finished up preschool. sprout talks more, counts, and tells you what color things are. bean turned 5. yeah, F-I-V-E. i turned thirty six. sprout discovered lady gaga and fell in love with dance music (that boy loves to shake his booty!). we went on a big adventure to texas. and tons of other things.
why haven't i posted since march? let's just say a certain little boy decided, on his second birthday, that he no longer needed to nap... ever. sooooo, mommy lost her blogging time and her one on one time with the bean. once i'd adjusted to the change it had been so long since i had been on here i just didn't know how to get started again.
what has changed? well.... the bean is starting kindergarten next week. yeah, that is right, KINDERGARTEN! crazy, huh? (more about that later!) and although sprout will still be here with me i think that i will be able to manage to sneak a little personal time in while he does some solo play. at least i hope so!

so... we're baaaaaaack! ;)

oh and this is what we are looking like these days...




we are so glad to be back, we missed you all!!! :)