jump up and down

quilts for the boys

Ta-dum!  They are finished!  When we got the boys bunk beds in the spring, I knew they would need new quilts.  Peter's previous quilt hung over the sides of his twin, almost to the floor on some sides, and didn't make an easy job of making the top bunk.  Ned's was a toddler bed size and barely fit over him.  I browsed Flickr and found this quilt  that I used as my inspiration.  I made these quilts for virtually nothing - I had all the fabrics on hand, mostly cuts from my collection of vintage sheets.  This is the advantage of starting projects on lazy afternoons in a small town 40 miles from anything - you learn to make do.  It helps that I have a lot with which to make do.  I think I only previewed these  once - maybe when I was still putting blocks together?  I started working on them in late summer.   I finished the tops before Thanksgiving.  My mother, grandmother, and I pinned them when I was visiting for Thanksgiving  and then I brought them home and they sat.  And they sat some more.  They sat until my Mom came for President's Day weekend and whipped through the quilting in a few hours and the binding in just a bit more.  Thanks Mom!

  And now we can actually make the boy's beds.  Hooray for that!

too funny

When we made Valentines for the kid's classmates, the boys wanted to make one for themselves too.  I told Peter he should put "Peter" as the person it was from.  He came up with his own idea - "From: ME".  And then Ned copied and added his own flair - "From: Me Ned"as if he might forget who "Me" was.   

Printable bag toppers here.

first day of first grade

Here's the big guy already for his first day of school!  He's been talking about school for about three weeks, so when the day came he was ready.  And I think he's wearing the same jacket as last year, but it fits a little differently this year.  True to form, the weather really cooled down on Monday and it was the first day that we needed jackets.  He still wants me to walk him to class, but he doesn't mind too much when I leave.  He's adjusting well, but here at home we are missing him.  Ned had a mini-breakdown yesterday when I told him Peter wasn't coming home for lunch and I find myself really wanting to go get him around 1 or so.  We'll survive, I suppose.  I think I'm going to sign up to do substitute teaching and Ned starts pre-school next week.  We are still waiting to hear back about Ryan's job interview - it's been a week now.  He did really like the company and said he thought the interview went well, so we'll see what happens.   

the birthday boy: four

That's right - we've got a four year old around here!  I can hardly believe it.  We love this little guy and all of the fun that he brings to our family.  He's so curious and full of energy right now - in that stage where he asks "why" and "what does that mean?" all day long.  He loves to dance and sing (if he thinks no one is listening) and talk about what he will do when he is big.

 His requests for his special day were a strawberry cake and bowling.  The bowling took a super long time.  He insisted on rolling the ball on his own and his little four year old arms didn't really have the power to get the ball going very fast.  Both boys would let the ball go and then stand in a pose for a few seconds, admiring their work.  Pretty funny.  By about frame 6, Ned was just about done with the bowling, so he let us help a little at that point, but still bowled his last frame.  

I'm so glad that Ned is such a happy guy and he brings that happiness to our family.  Happy Birthday! 

monday is play dough day

I've been trying to maintain some sort of after school schedule with the boys that includes things like time for reading, time for homework (if there is any - usually not), and time for an activity.  I haven't been doing a good job of maintaining that schedule since we started our extra day a week at speech therapy, but I'm still trying and the boys really enjoy knowing that there is something fun coming up in their day.  To make the planning easier, I designated different days for different types of activities (paper, cooking, painting, etc.) and Monday is play dough day.  

Can you believe that I had never made play dough with my kids before?  I grew up in a house with a carpeted kitchen and we were rarely allowed to play with play dough, so I'd like to blame it on my lack of experience.  Pretty pathetic excuse, eh?  

We finally did it a little while back and the boys loved it and I had a fun time with it too, so I think it's definitely on the list to do again when this batch goes bad.  I let them choose their color - Ned's was supposed to be red, but I was afraid to find out how much food coloring we would need to get red instead of pink and he was happy with it.  And Peter's was supposed to be blue, but again, after I few drops, I lost my nerve.   We used this recipe, minus the Kool-Aid packet, and also put some essential oil in it.  I recently bought some essential oil in mandarin and lemon from this Etsy shop for some cleaning solutions and thought it would be great in the play dough too.  I really love opening up those containers now and just letting the odor waft out.  Next time we make it I'm putting in a few more drops!

the birthday boy: six

Peter turned six!  Yes, yes, we did have a birthday (almost two weeks ago), but it's kid birthday season (Ned's is in about two weeks) in our house and we're just calling it birthday month around here.  So, excuse me if I'm a little late in posting this, but I'm still in celebration mode.  Peter had a great day complete with candles in his morning pancakes and a visit to a friend's house in the afternoon where he ran a car track from their moose head antlers to the floor and saw their chickens.  He loved it!

For those of you who followed on Facebook, I did go with strawberry skewers for his class treat.  I am always appalled at the amount of sweets that end up at the class parties and I wanted to do something healthy.  The kids loved it!  Phew!  I was a little worried.  I printed the free flags from Fog and Thistle.  I think I will do the same thing for Ned's class birthday treat.  

I love this kid's smile.  And that he has no trouble picking out the best flavor cake - that was one delicious chocolate cake.  Thanks for making me a mom, Peter - you're a great kid!

I am still debating whether I will throw the boys a joint friend birthday party when the weather gets warmer.  I told myself this was the year.  Talk me into it please...

100 days

 

Today Peter had his 100th day of Kindergarten.  We made a quick and easy 100 on the cardstock his teacher sent home for the project with punched stars from the bluest, most sparkly paper that Peter could find.  I'm so proud of him.  Remember how I was super worried about sending him to school?  Well, apparently there was no need for all that fuss.  He has grown much this year, he tries hard at school and has done well.  He has learned so many things this year, so many things that I thought would be so hard for him (things like counting to 100 - he could count to 20 at the beginning of the year) because they have a huge verbal component.  I have to give some credit to his super fabulous teacher, but honestly, most of the credit has to go to him.  Way to go Peter!!!  

silly boy

 I walked out of my room after getting dressed a few days ago to find Ned like this.  I asked him if he knew there was marker on his face and how it happened.  He looked at me and somewhat nervously spit out that he had given himself a mustache.  Then he waited, with obvious anticipation and a bit of trepidation, to see how I would react.  And I laughed, out loud.  And he laughed backed and said, "Is that funny?"  Yes, definitely funny!

first day, again

This morning we did it again...first day of pre-school for Ned.  I even got him to let me take a picture - just had to tell him that we needed to do one just like we did Peter's last year.  

 

We were lucky to find a small in-home pre-school in our little town.  I debated about starting him at 3, but with his brother gone half of the day, he was already bored to tears last week (really - there were lots of tears last week accompanied by requests to go get Peter) and I knew that's how it would be.  Peter and Ned's school times are both in the morning, so it will also give me time to volunteer in Peter's classroom.  

He was excited to go play with the red firetruck that he found at the open house night a week ago.  I hope he had fun today!

I didn't mean to disappear for a whole week, but with the start of school we were all getting used to a new schedule.  Peter still resists school in the morning, but once the bell rings, he lets me leave him and his biggest disappointment seems to be that he can't ride the bus home.  He doesn't seem to understand that if you only live six blocks from the school, you don't really need to ride the bus.  I found out that his teacher used to work at the developmental pre-school that Peter went to for the last two years, so she's had experience with kids with sensory issues and told me that she "has some ideas" for him.  Hooray for that!

first day

Peter's had his first day of kindergarten yesterday.  There was a small amount of resistance, but after a breakfast of small pancakes that he got to dip in syrup, he perked up and let me take these pictures of him.

He wouldn't let me take any pictures at school, but he was happy to see a desk with his name on it and pencil case with his own set of crayons and pencil.  He let me leave with no problems - he just asked me if I would come and pick him up.  

He was a little upset when I came to get him and I didn't have a chance to talk to his teacher about it right away.  Peter would only tell me that he had cried.  This morning I talked to his teacher and she said that he had cried a little, but that was it.  I really like his teacher - she's so nice and so good with the kids.  I hope this will work out well.  

After a muffin tin lunch, we just relaxed.  We are in a huge PB & J rut for lunch, and I was inspired by Kirsten's recent post to get out of it.  We only have 12 cup muffin tins and I hadn't planned ahead, so only came up with items to fill nine of them.  Neither of the kids finished their food, so I think I will be looking for a couple of 6 cup muffin tins in my thrifting adventures.

Today was actually a little more difficult for Peter - he had a much harder time getting out the door this morning, but he wasn't the only kid in his class that was having a harder time on the second day.  Too bad they won't let Ned go - he's ready!  I think he will be happy next week when his pre-school class starts.