East-side Mario's
Happy Birthday Addy!
Reading together
Nature walk at Wascana Park
Emerson examines some "nature"
Such a perfect fall day
Boys at the hay maze 
Addy helping Sera through
Three little pumpkins Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Delicious Autumn
warning: this post is a bit disorganized!
After an overfilled summer (not that we’re complaining), September gave us a chance to relax a bit. The kids settled in to school and their activities, and I got a routine. Ah, how I love routines!
Of course, as we launched in to the month there were a couple of annoyances to go with all the fun. I planned out all these activities for the kids to be involved in, including a cooking class, dance classes, and a group violin class, but all the ones I wanted (no joke—all of them) ended up getting cancelled! We wound up with just swimming lessons and piano (nobody can cancel that one since I’m the teacher!), but it’s given the kids time to play together, so I guess that’s good? I’m hoping to get some other stuff going in January when the weather chases us inside. On the plus side, the kids are all making more progress in swimming lessons than they ever have before (Theo: listens to the teacher and tries things! Addy: she’s such a fish it’s ridiculous. Emer: actually stays in the water the whole time!). Piano practice has been really regular, and I’ve been delighted at how excited Theo and Addy have been about plunging in and learning new things. I’m all for summers off!
Three days into kindergarten, Addy got to celebrate her fifth birthday. We decided to procrastinate her friends’ party for a few weeks so she could get to know the children in her class first, but in the mean time we had a fun family celebration, and she got to be the first kid to take birthday treats to school. She decided on a cookie theme for her birthday this year, so we made chocolate chip sandwich cookies for her class and her birthday cake looked like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with Hershey kisses as the chips. She chose East Side Mario’s for her birthday dinner, and got her very own Hawaiian pizza along with a super-yum Italian birthday custard with a sparkler in it. They also brought out little mini ice-cream cones for the rest of the family, and ended up giving us a whole extra pizza when they got our order wrong the first time. Yeah, we love that place.
After three straight years of Joy School, I decided to take this year off. We enrolled Emerson in a little pre-school just up the street, and my favorite part of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays is walking him up there. He’s so enthusiastic and observant about the world around him. As I dropped him off that first day, it was so fun to watch him give me a quick kiss and then just jump right in. Lots of parents had to stick around the first couple of days, but Emerson only needed about 30 seconds to adjust. He’s so friendly and outgoing and loves talking about his friends at school and planning what to play with at each class. Meanwhile I’ve had a little time to devote to writing. Sera takes two naps on those days, and I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish during that time.
Theo has made the jump to grade two, and after I nearly drove the principal crazy in the days before school started as we tried to make sure he had a good match with a teacher, it seems we got it right. Most of his close friends are in his class with him, and because the class is a grade 2/3 split, there are only 22 kids. His French is sounding rather impressive (at least to me), and he seems to love his teacher. Although his behavior at home has taken a bit of a hit since he started back to school, I’m trying to make enough time to really connect with him for a while each day, and help him make some goals each week.
Although Addy had looked forward to kindergarten all summer, her first couple of weeks were a bit rocky. For her, it just seemed like so long to be away from home. Her teacher and classroom are both great, but the transition was a little harder than either she or I expected. We spent some extra time talking over cookies and brainstorming about how to make new friends. Although it took courage, she really tried and she’s met some cute new friends. Now that she has gotten settled in she’s really enjoying it. And her French is coming right along too.
The other fun thing we got going this month is a Friday playgroup. Although I am glad for the break from Joy School, I discovered that I missed that special time planning and hanging out with preschoolers. Although Sunbeams absorbs some of that energy, I missed spending that time with my kid. So we’ve made the playgroup a sort of themed event. One week we went on a nature walk at the gorgeous, sprawling Wascana park that goes through the south end of our city, and the next we made a stop at a hay maze they’ve set up at a garden shop nearby. It’s always good to get together with moms to chat and have fun, especially when it doesn’t even mess up my house!
So, that’s it for September. I’m loving the apple crisps and the leaves and the daily conversations about Halloween. Sometimes I wish it could be autumn always.
After an overfilled summer (not that we’re complaining), September gave us a chance to relax a bit. The kids settled in to school and their activities, and I got a routine. Ah, how I love routines!
Of course, as we launched in to the month there were a couple of annoyances to go with all the fun. I planned out all these activities for the kids to be involved in, including a cooking class, dance classes, and a group violin class, but all the ones I wanted (no joke—all of them) ended up getting cancelled! We wound up with just swimming lessons and piano (nobody can cancel that one since I’m the teacher!), but it’s given the kids time to play together, so I guess that’s good? I’m hoping to get some other stuff going in January when the weather chases us inside. On the plus side, the kids are all making more progress in swimming lessons than they ever have before (Theo: listens to the teacher and tries things! Addy: she’s such a fish it’s ridiculous. Emer: actually stays in the water the whole time!). Piano practice has been really regular, and I’ve been delighted at how excited Theo and Addy have been about plunging in and learning new things. I’m all for summers off!
Three days into kindergarten, Addy got to celebrate her fifth birthday. We decided to procrastinate her friends’ party for a few weeks so she could get to know the children in her class first, but in the mean time we had a fun family celebration, and she got to be the first kid to take birthday treats to school. She decided on a cookie theme for her birthday this year, so we made chocolate chip sandwich cookies for her class and her birthday cake looked like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with Hershey kisses as the chips. She chose East Side Mario’s for her birthday dinner, and got her very own Hawaiian pizza along with a super-yum Italian birthday custard with a sparkler in it. They also brought out little mini ice-cream cones for the rest of the family, and ended up giving us a whole extra pizza when they got our order wrong the first time. Yeah, we love that place.
After three straight years of Joy School, I decided to take this year off. We enrolled Emerson in a little pre-school just up the street, and my favorite part of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays is walking him up there. He’s so enthusiastic and observant about the world around him. As I dropped him off that first day, it was so fun to watch him give me a quick kiss and then just jump right in. Lots of parents had to stick around the first couple of days, but Emerson only needed about 30 seconds to adjust. He’s so friendly and outgoing and loves talking about his friends at school and planning what to play with at each class. Meanwhile I’ve had a little time to devote to writing. Sera takes two naps on those days, and I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish during that time.
Theo has made the jump to grade two, and after I nearly drove the principal crazy in the days before school started as we tried to make sure he had a good match with a teacher, it seems we got it right. Most of his close friends are in his class with him, and because the class is a grade 2/3 split, there are only 22 kids. His French is sounding rather impressive (at least to me), and he seems to love his teacher. Although his behavior at home has taken a bit of a hit since he started back to school, I’m trying to make enough time to really connect with him for a while each day, and help him make some goals each week.
Although Addy had looked forward to kindergarten all summer, her first couple of weeks were a bit rocky. For her, it just seemed like so long to be away from home. Her teacher and classroom are both great, but the transition was a little harder than either she or I expected. We spent some extra time talking over cookies and brainstorming about how to make new friends. Although it took courage, she really tried and she’s met some cute new friends. Now that she has gotten settled in she’s really enjoying it. And her French is coming right along too.
The other fun thing we got going this month is a Friday playgroup. Although I am glad for the break from Joy School, I discovered that I missed that special time planning and hanging out with preschoolers. Although Sunbeams absorbs some of that energy, I missed spending that time with my kid. So we’ve made the playgroup a sort of themed event. One week we went on a nature walk at the gorgeous, sprawling Wascana park that goes through the south end of our city, and the next we made a stop at a hay maze they’ve set up at a garden shop nearby. It’s always good to get together with moms to chat and have fun, especially when it doesn’t even mess up my house!
So, that’s it for September. I’m loving the apple crisps and the leaves and the daily conversations about Halloween. Sometimes I wish it could be autumn always.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Homemade donuts
Okay, I know this goes against my usual policy of posting once a month, but as a preview of sorts for September, I wanted to share this new, super-easy donut recipe I found. They are so awesome on a brisk fall day with some fresh apple cider.
HOMEMADE DONUTS
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 box cake mix (we used spice last time--mmm)
4 c flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the water, then add the cake mix and flour. Knead together until stretchy, then let rise for an hour (or pop into a warm oven with the door open for 20 minutes--I'm all about shortcuts). Roll the dough out to about 3/4-1 inch thick, cut into circles with a large cup, and make holes with a bottle lid. Then fry them up in oil over medium heat. They are delish!
HOMEMADE DONUTS
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 box cake mix (we used spice last time--mmm)
4 c flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the water, then add the cake mix and flour. Knead together until stretchy, then let rise for an hour (or pop into a warm oven with the door open for 20 minutes--I'm all about shortcuts). Roll the dough out to about 3/4-1 inch thick, cut into circles with a large cup, and make holes with a bottle lid. Then fry them up in oil over medium heat. They are delish!
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