Yesterday was our primary program and it was so cute. Courtney had a speaking part and Ethan sang with a group of boys. Courtney had been practicing her part ("My family loves me.") and she thought it was too short, so she kept adding to the end of it and I was a bit nervous that she would do that on the stand. Ethan had been practicing his song and had the words down really well but was a bit nervous when he practiced before the meeting began.
Here are some highlights:
1. Before the Sacrament started Ethan was sitting on the stand and the girl next to him pinched and hit him. He didn't take this well but had a wonderful sister sitting near him that put a loving arm around him and made him feel better. I am really grateful for Primary teachers (even those who don't teach my children) who love them and take care of them when I can only watch from the audience.
2. After the Sacrament, Courtney was seated with her little class on the stand and she proceeded to stand, wave her arms to get our attention and then stick her tongue out at everyone. There were quite a few chuckles. I knew something like that would happen and I'm glad it was taken care of in the first 5 minutes so I could sit back and relax.
3. As I thought, Courtney said her part wonderfully and then stood there at the microphone like she was going to say something else. Luckily, the 2nd Counselor in the Primary told her "Thank you" and helped her get down before she could say anything but everyone chuckled because they knew she wanted to say something else.
4. Ethan sang wonderfully! He did such a great job with the other 3 boys he sang with and didn't forget any of the words. He was so happy when it was over.
5. Courtney is the loudest singer in the primary and knew the chorus of most of the songs and wasn't afraid to sing them. ;)
6. Courtney made it almost through the entire program. I was very impressed with her! During the final song which was sung by the primary and congregation she ran down from the stand to cuddle with Bryan.
Courtney and Ethan both got new Primary teachers yesterday. I was a bit nervous about Courtney because she has been clingy at Church lately. I introduced her last week to the woman they called to be her teacher so she would know who she was and Courtney acted really shy so I was nervous. After Primary Courtney ran up to me and yelled. "mom, I love my new primary teacher!" Her teacher was right behind her and thanked her for being such a good example of reverence and told her how much she loved being her teacher. Courtney wasn't shy at all and said she would see her next week. Ethan also came home saying how much he loved his new teacher too. His class is filled with 8 or 9 boys and 1 girl, so it's a tough class, but the boys seem to love the sister who has been called to be their teacher. So it was a great Sunday!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Pioneer Day
Yeah, you thought Pioneer Day was July 24th...WRONG! Santa Clara was founded by a group of Swiss pioneers whose ancestors still live in Santa Clara and keep the pioneer spirit alive. (Santa Clara and Ivins border each other and have always hated each other, for reasons I don't know, but since we are transplants we don't feel the hatred and just do the fun stuff!)
This weekend is Swiss Days for Santa Clara where they celebrate their heritage. The citizens of Santa Clara buy wooden cows (life-sized) to paint and then they put them out each year and there is a judging contest to see who has the best cow. It gets pretty intense. They have a parade on Saturday and all kinds of pioneer activities set up for the kids. They have cows to milk, make butter, play pioneer games and make candles, just to name a few activities. It's great fun. Right after Courtney was born, I entered the pie baking contest and won 1st place for my filling. I didn't understand the nasty looks at the time, but now that I have lived here longer, I realize that I made a major social mistake by entering when I hadn't lived here long enough and I wasn't living in Santa Clara. Oh well, I still won!!
So today was Pioneer Day for the 2nd graders at Ethan's elementary (Santa Clara Elementary). My friend around the corner and I are room moms together for the boys' class and we volunteered to do the pioneer games. We played stick pull, Indian leg wrestle and chain tag. There are 4 classes of 2nd graders so we did 4-30 minute rotations. It was great fun and the weather was so nice...high 70s and sunny. The kids were asked to dress up like pioneers, which we were not prepared for. We went all around the neighborhood and got things for Ethan to wear. He ended up just wearing a cowboyish shirt from and a hat borrowed from a neighbor. Earlier on he had on boots, chaps, vest, hat and jeans. He looked so cute but thought maybe he was overdoing it a bit.
The other rotations the 2nd graders did was to make homemade butter (yummy), homemade ice cream, and some other pioneer games. Then the kids sang pioneer songs while we buttered a bunch of wheat bread with their homemade butter. They then ate bread and relaxed until it was time for lunch. It was 2 hours of fun!!
Courtney went with me and would switch from being a pioneer girl to a "regular" girl. She had a bonnet she would wear. We have one that Grandma Pack gave her but she wanted to borrow one, so I got her one when I borrowed some clothes for me from a woman in the ward.
Here are some photos:
This weekend is Swiss Days for Santa Clara where they celebrate their heritage. The citizens of Santa Clara buy wooden cows (life-sized) to paint and then they put them out each year and there is a judging contest to see who has the best cow. It gets pretty intense. They have a parade on Saturday and all kinds of pioneer activities set up for the kids. They have cows to milk, make butter, play pioneer games and make candles, just to name a few activities. It's great fun. Right after Courtney was born, I entered the pie baking contest and won 1st place for my filling. I didn't understand the nasty looks at the time, but now that I have lived here longer, I realize that I made a major social mistake by entering when I hadn't lived here long enough and I wasn't living in Santa Clara. Oh well, I still won!!
So today was Pioneer Day for the 2nd graders at Ethan's elementary (Santa Clara Elementary). My friend around the corner and I are room moms together for the boys' class and we volunteered to do the pioneer games. We played stick pull, Indian leg wrestle and chain tag. There are 4 classes of 2nd graders so we did 4-30 minute rotations. It was great fun and the weather was so nice...high 70s and sunny. The kids were asked to dress up like pioneers, which we were not prepared for. We went all around the neighborhood and got things for Ethan to wear. He ended up just wearing a cowboyish shirt from and a hat borrowed from a neighbor. Earlier on he had on boots, chaps, vest, hat and jeans. He looked so cute but thought maybe he was overdoing it a bit.
The other rotations the 2nd graders did was to make homemade butter (yummy), homemade ice cream, and some other pioneer games. Then the kids sang pioneer songs while we buttered a bunch of wheat bread with their homemade butter. They then ate bread and relaxed until it was time for lunch. It was 2 hours of fun!!
Courtney went with me and would switch from being a pioneer girl to a "regular" girl. She had a bonnet she would wear. We have one that Grandma Pack gave her but she wanted to borrow one, so I got her one when I borrowed some clothes for me from a woman in the ward.
Here are some photos:
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
With a little bribbery...
She did it!! Courtney actually got into a car and went to preschool without throwing a fit or having me drive her! What a great day. Of course I did tell her that if she did well I would take her out for ice cream after preschool, but still...she went peaceably!!
Last Monday I tried the bribbery thing but it just didn't work, she screamed anyway and I ended up driving her. (They even had a Harry Potter movie ready for her in the van, but she only hesitated for a minute.) Monday afternoon, when it was time for dance class, I decided that this was a war worth fighting. Courtney was excited to go with her friend to dance class until she climbed into their truck...then she freaked out and began screaming. I gave her a hug, promised her that I wouldn't be sending her with anyone who wouldn't take care of her, told her I loved her and then held her down while the other mom buckled her in. She screamed, gave me one last hug and then, as they were pulling down the driveway, turned to the other little girl in the truck, stopped crying and said, "I love your hair today, it's so cute." Yeah, she didn't even cry until they were out of the driveway, so I think it was all a ploy!
Today I was ready to do battle again and had enlisted the mom driving to hold her down, but she just walked out the door and was happy. It helped that the little boy she just adores got out of the van and ran up to meet her. Having a cute escort doesn't hurt any situation ;)
Now...I just hope it lasts longer than today. But I don't really care because we're getting ice cream!!! (it's Golden Spoon, so it isn't bad for you) ;)
Last Monday I tried the bribbery thing but it just didn't work, she screamed anyway and I ended up driving her. (They even had a Harry Potter movie ready for her in the van, but she only hesitated for a minute.) Monday afternoon, when it was time for dance class, I decided that this was a war worth fighting. Courtney was excited to go with her friend to dance class until she climbed into their truck...then she freaked out and began screaming. I gave her a hug, promised her that I wouldn't be sending her with anyone who wouldn't take care of her, told her I loved her and then held her down while the other mom buckled her in. She screamed, gave me one last hug and then, as they were pulling down the driveway, turned to the other little girl in the truck, stopped crying and said, "I love your hair today, it's so cute." Yeah, she didn't even cry until they were out of the driveway, so I think it was all a ploy!
Today I was ready to do battle again and had enlisted the mom driving to hold her down, but she just walked out the door and was happy. It helped that the little boy she just adores got out of the van and ran up to meet her. Having a cute escort doesn't hurt any situation ;)
Now...I just hope it lasts longer than today. But I don't really care because we're getting ice cream!!! (it's Golden Spoon, so it isn't bad for you) ;)
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Wedding
On Friday, we took Ethan out of school early and headed to Laughlin, Nevada, for Leigh Ann's wedding.
It took us 3 1/2 hours and we were there (thanks to the time change) in time to have an early dinner with the family and meet Gary. They wanted a quiet wedding without the fuss, so it was just our family.
After dinner, we all went to freshen up and then we walked down the Riverwalk to the riverboat where they would be married. Laughlin is a strange place because when we were walking we saw a bunch of raccoons and on the way back from the wedding we had to stop a few times to let skunks go by us. You think they would want to keep the varmint population down, but no one really seemed to notice. We had the entire boat to ourselves, which was nice. Leigh Ann has us there 30 minutes early, so the kids explored around (they loved the boat) and waited for the wedding to begin.
Courtney was the flower girl and Ethan was photographer (Leigh Ann bought both the kids disposable cameras to use during the ceremony but I ended up using Courtney's because she isn't that great at taking photos and wasn't too interested because she was busy with flower girl duties). Leigh Ann had gotten everyone an artificial red rose to hold but Courtney and Ethan ended up with all of them, so Courtney carried hers down the aisle as she walked. Then Dad walked Leigh Ann down the aisle.
The minister did the ceremony and it was nice. Leigh Ann had a hard time getting Gary's wedding band off her finger when she had been wearing it for safe keeping ;) But it was a nice ceremony topped off with a toast and then they were given a t-shirt saying "I took the plunge in Laughlin." Then we got to play for another 45 minutes on the boat.
They turned on some music, gave us bottles of water and we went onto the second story to look around. Courtney began practicing walking down the aisle with all her flowers and Ethan began to dance Irish jigs for us to make us laugh. Then the co-captain came up and asked the kids if they wanted to drive the boat. They were THRILLED!! Courtney went first and even was allowed to honk the horn. The captain let them look through his binoculars and steer, it was great. Ethan took his job very seriously and asked a lot of questions and watched where he was driving. Courtney just moved the wheel to the beat of the music. They were even given certificates stating that they are honorary captains of the boat.
After the boat ride and we were docked, we went back to our hotel room with the intention of going swimming, but the kids were tired. So we all got ready for bed, had a few tantrums from Courtney because she was just overly tired, and then went to sleep.
The next morning we ate breakfast, watched the HUGE carp swim around the dock and watched the ducks. Then we loaded up and headed home so we could be back in time for Ethan's soccer game.
Congratulations Leigh Ann and Gary!
Here are some photos:
It took us 3 1/2 hours and we were there (thanks to the time change) in time to have an early dinner with the family and meet Gary. They wanted a quiet wedding without the fuss, so it was just our family.
After dinner, we all went to freshen up and then we walked down the Riverwalk to the riverboat where they would be married. Laughlin is a strange place because when we were walking we saw a bunch of raccoons and on the way back from the wedding we had to stop a few times to let skunks go by us. You think they would want to keep the varmint population down, but no one really seemed to notice. We had the entire boat to ourselves, which was nice. Leigh Ann has us there 30 minutes early, so the kids explored around (they loved the boat) and waited for the wedding to begin.
Courtney was the flower girl and Ethan was photographer (Leigh Ann bought both the kids disposable cameras to use during the ceremony but I ended up using Courtney's because she isn't that great at taking photos and wasn't too interested because she was busy with flower girl duties). Leigh Ann had gotten everyone an artificial red rose to hold but Courtney and Ethan ended up with all of them, so Courtney carried hers down the aisle as she walked. Then Dad walked Leigh Ann down the aisle.
The minister did the ceremony and it was nice. Leigh Ann had a hard time getting Gary's wedding band off her finger when she had been wearing it for safe keeping ;) But it was a nice ceremony topped off with a toast and then they were given a t-shirt saying "I took the plunge in Laughlin." Then we got to play for another 45 minutes on the boat.
They turned on some music, gave us bottles of water and we went onto the second story to look around. Courtney began practicing walking down the aisle with all her flowers and Ethan began to dance Irish jigs for us to make us laugh. Then the co-captain came up and asked the kids if they wanted to drive the boat. They were THRILLED!! Courtney went first and even was allowed to honk the horn. The captain let them look through his binoculars and steer, it was great. Ethan took his job very seriously and asked a lot of questions and watched where he was driving. Courtney just moved the wheel to the beat of the music. They were even given certificates stating that they are honorary captains of the boat.
After the boat ride and we were docked, we went back to our hotel room with the intention of going swimming, but the kids were tired. So we all got ready for bed, had a few tantrums from Courtney because she was just overly tired, and then went to sleep.
The next morning we ate breakfast, watched the HUGE carp swim around the dock and watched the ducks. Then we loaded up and headed home so we could be back in time for Ethan's soccer game.
Congratulations Leigh Ann and Gary!
Here are some photos:
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Too Much Like Me!
Courtney is a mini-me. This is good and bad. It's good because, as Bryan says, "We know that she'll turn out okay because look at you." But it's bad because I don't have the patience to deal with myself because I understand now that it isn't any big deal. But you can't tell that to a 4 year old.
Preschool was great the first day. Courtney popped right out of the van and was ready to go. But on Monday she wouldn't even get in the carpool van with her friends. She just screamed and held on tight saying she didn't want to leave me. I had kindergarten flashbacks in the worst way!! I completely understood how she was feeling. I drove her to preschool and, once again, she just popped right out of the van and ran inside.
But yesterday she, once again, wouldn't get in the carpool van. I drove her but this time she wouldn't let go of me. I took her into preschool and tried to get her to stop screaming but finally her teacher (who is wonderful!!) just grabbed her out of my arms, told me to wave goodbye and leave. I could still hear Courtney screaming when I drove away but she calmed right down and said she had the "bestest time" when she got home.
Dance class and Primary have now become the same way. When I asked her yesterday why she was so upset, she told me that she didn't want to leave me. I remember this well. I didn't need my mom's attention all the time, I just needed to have her around and know that she was there.
Anyway, I guess the Mother's Curse is REAL!!
Preschool was great the first day. Courtney popped right out of the van and was ready to go. But on Monday she wouldn't even get in the carpool van with her friends. She just screamed and held on tight saying she didn't want to leave me. I had kindergarten flashbacks in the worst way!! I completely understood how she was feeling. I drove her to preschool and, once again, she just popped right out of the van and ran inside.
But yesterday she, once again, wouldn't get in the carpool van. I drove her but this time she wouldn't let go of me. I took her into preschool and tried to get her to stop screaming but finally her teacher (who is wonderful!!) just grabbed her out of my arms, told me to wave goodbye and leave. I could still hear Courtney screaming when I drove away but she calmed right down and said she had the "bestest time" when she got home.
Dance class and Primary have now become the same way. When I asked her yesterday why she was so upset, she told me that she didn't want to leave me. I remember this well. I didn't need my mom's attention all the time, I just needed to have her around and know that she was there.
Anyway, I guess the Mother's Curse is REAL!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Soccer Games and Busy Day
Ethan and Courtney had their first soccer games of the season on Saturday. It was a crazy day!
Ethan's game began at 10 a.m. and Courtney's game was at 12:20 p.m. We made a lunch, got our big thermos full of ice water, loaded all the chairs into the van and got the kids ready. Bryan rode his bike in to work and then we left and met him there.
We got to the field in time for Ethan to take some practice shots and play around with his team. It was a hot morning so he was sweating by the time the game started. His little team did well. There are 7 of them and 5 have played on the same team for the past 2 years. The game ended in a 4-4 tie and the boys were pleased with themselves. Their uniforms are burned orange with flames on the sleeves so they are the "Incinerators."
We then drove to the park for our picnic lunch and to let the kids play on the playground until we had to go back to the soccer field for Courtney's game. We had a lot of fun but I could tell that Courtney was starting to get tired. But she was so excited to play soccer that I hoped she wouldn't have a melt-down.
When we arrived at the field we were pretty early, so Courtney, Bryan and Ethan kicked the soccer ball around until it was our turn. Courtney's team only has 4 little girls on it and they play 3 on 3, so those little girls are working hard. But when Bryan started their warm-up Courtney lost it and ran to the sideline crying. DRAMA!! She didn't want anyone else to use her soccer ball and was upset that Bryan had let someone else use it. We got her calmed down and she was in, ready to play when the game started. The ball was kicked and, as usual, the girls ran in a little clump around the field. Then Courtney got pushed down...and LOST IT!! She ran to the sideline yelling that she got pushed and how upset she was. Bryan substituted the other little girl in and she did well for a few minutes and then she left the field crying. The remaining two little girls did a great job keeping the ball moving. I finally calmed Courtney down and told her that soccer was a physical game and that she just needed to try her hardest. That made her feel better and she went right back in and had a great time. After a while all 4 girls wanted to be in the game and they had so much fun.
After the game we went to my parent's house to watch the BYU game. The kids watched a movie with Grandma while we watched the game...which was good, by the way.
During the 3rd quarter, we had to leave to run home, get changed and wait for the babysitters to show up because it was Ward Temple Night.
Needless to say, we all slept well last night but it was a fun day!
Ethan's game began at 10 a.m. and Courtney's game was at 12:20 p.m. We made a lunch, got our big thermos full of ice water, loaded all the chairs into the van and got the kids ready. Bryan rode his bike in to work and then we left and met him there.
We got to the field in time for Ethan to take some practice shots and play around with his team. It was a hot morning so he was sweating by the time the game started. His little team did well. There are 7 of them and 5 have played on the same team for the past 2 years. The game ended in a 4-4 tie and the boys were pleased with themselves. Their uniforms are burned orange with flames on the sleeves so they are the "Incinerators."
We then drove to the park for our picnic lunch and to let the kids play on the playground until we had to go back to the soccer field for Courtney's game. We had a lot of fun but I could tell that Courtney was starting to get tired. But she was so excited to play soccer that I hoped she wouldn't have a melt-down.
When we arrived at the field we were pretty early, so Courtney, Bryan and Ethan kicked the soccer ball around until it was our turn. Courtney's team only has 4 little girls on it and they play 3 on 3, so those little girls are working hard. But when Bryan started their warm-up Courtney lost it and ran to the sideline crying. DRAMA!! She didn't want anyone else to use her soccer ball and was upset that Bryan had let someone else use it. We got her calmed down and she was in, ready to play when the game started. The ball was kicked and, as usual, the girls ran in a little clump around the field. Then Courtney got pushed down...and LOST IT!! She ran to the sideline yelling that she got pushed and how upset she was. Bryan substituted the other little girl in and she did well for a few minutes and then she left the field crying. The remaining two little girls did a great job keeping the ball moving. I finally calmed Courtney down and told her that soccer was a physical game and that she just needed to try her hardest. That made her feel better and she went right back in and had a great time. After a while all 4 girls wanted to be in the game and they had so much fun.
After the game we went to my parent's house to watch the BYU game. The kids watched a movie with Grandma while we watched the game...which was good, by the way.
During the 3rd quarter, we had to leave to run home, get changed and wait for the babysitters to show up because it was Ward Temple Night.
Needless to say, we all slept well last night but it was a fun day!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Preschool is Here!
Courtney started preschool last Wednesday. She was so excited! She was up at 6:30, dressed and ready to go. It was a really long morning...
Bryan and I had an action play for preschool. Courtney can be clingy sometimes and Bryan is a master at dealing with her when she is clingy. So we had it all planned that I would drop her off, Bryan would be in his car waiting to see what would happen, and if I needed help, he was going to step in and then I would leave. We were set.
Courtney ate a good breakfast, we got Ethan off to school, and then we left to run errands because I just couldn't keep her busy enough here that she would stop asking "is it time yet?!" every 2 minutes. Finally it was time, so we drove to her preschool and waited for the door (or the window blinds) to open as our cue to go in. I kept looking around for Bryan's car but I couldn't see it. I concluded that he was hidden so Courtney wouldn't run to him and want to skip out on preschool.
When the blinds opened, Courtney was so excited. She has 3 other friends from the neighborhood in her class and all 4 of them jumped out of their cars and went running for the door. Courtney didn't even say "goodbye." I was in complete shock!!
I looked at another mom from our neighborhood and she shrugged her shoulders and said, "well, that was easy" and then we both drove off. I passed Bryan just as I was leaving. He had lost track of time and missed it, so thankfully I didn't need his help.
When I picked the kids up, they all got in the van talking about what a great time they had and how they can't wait for next week. I was so glad. Yeah for preschool!!!
Bryan and I had an action play for preschool. Courtney can be clingy sometimes and Bryan is a master at dealing with her when she is clingy. So we had it all planned that I would drop her off, Bryan would be in his car waiting to see what would happen, and if I needed help, he was going to step in and then I would leave. We were set.
Courtney ate a good breakfast, we got Ethan off to school, and then we left to run errands because I just couldn't keep her busy enough here that she would stop asking "is it time yet?!" every 2 minutes. Finally it was time, so we drove to her preschool and waited for the door (or the window blinds) to open as our cue to go in. I kept looking around for Bryan's car but I couldn't see it. I concluded that he was hidden so Courtney wouldn't run to him and want to skip out on preschool.
When the blinds opened, Courtney was so excited. She has 3 other friends from the neighborhood in her class and all 4 of them jumped out of their cars and went running for the door. Courtney didn't even say "goodbye." I was in complete shock!!
I looked at another mom from our neighborhood and she shrugged her shoulders and said, "well, that was easy" and then we both drove off. I passed Bryan just as I was leaving. He had lost track of time and missed it, so thankfully I didn't need his help.
When I picked the kids up, they all got in the van talking about what a great time they had and how they can't wait for next week. I was so glad. Yeah for preschool!!!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Courtney's Soccer
Courtney had her first soccer practice yesterday. Since it's a holiday weekend, only 2 of the 4 girls would be at practice, so Bryan took Ethan along (to be assistant coach) and invited the other little girl's older sister to play along. They had the best time.
Courtney dressed up in Ethan's shorts from his 1st soccer season (they were still big but were okay on her), a white t-shirt, her soccer gear and was so excited. They ran drills and had a great time.
She wouldn't take her shorts off for the rest of the day because she loves it! She can't wait for the season to start next weekend. It's cute!
Courtney dressed up in Ethan's shorts from his 1st soccer season (they were still big but were okay on her), a white t-shirt, her soccer gear and was so excited. They ran drills and had a great time.
She wouldn't take her shorts off for the rest of the day because she loves it! She can't wait for the season to start next weekend. It's cute!
A Month's Worth of Dinners
I usually go grocery shopping at the beginning of the month and get all the necessary ingredients for dinners all month long. I make a menu and buy according to that menu, but I've found that we use up ingredients meant for dinners closer to the end of the month on things at the beginning of the month. For example: shredded cheese for tacos ends up being used on cheese sandwiches and doesn't make it long enough for taco night. Yesterday I went grocery shopping and decided to change that.
I went grocery shopping at 8 a.m., was home by about 10 a.m., we went bike riding until 11:30, then Bryan took the kids to soccer practice. When they left I got to work! I made the following dinners, put them in seal-a-meal bags and froze them for dinners this month: 2 pizzas, 2 beef stew mixes, 1 chicken pot pie, 1 chicken soup mix, 1 chicken cordon bleu, 1 swiss steak, and 2 lasagnas. I still have to do fajitas, taco mix (with packets of cheese along with it), spaghetti mix and some cooked chicken to throw on salads for lunch. But that shouldn't take too much time. It actually was great and went fast (only about 3 1/2 hours to do all that)! I saved time because the stew and soup mixes I just put the vegetables in with the meat and spices and then I will add water to it when I pop it in the crock pot on the soup night.
I bought some easy side dishes and stuff to make salads (which I have to buy weekly) but it made my life so much easier. I just take it out to thaw in the morning, pop it in the oven or crock pot and I'm good. I am going to do some research on freezing baked potatoes, etc. and see if I can save time on that one too, but I'm not sure it would work.
Yeah, time saver for me!
I went grocery shopping at 8 a.m., was home by about 10 a.m., we went bike riding until 11:30, then Bryan took the kids to soccer practice. When they left I got to work! I made the following dinners, put them in seal-a-meal bags and froze them for dinners this month: 2 pizzas, 2 beef stew mixes, 1 chicken pot pie, 1 chicken soup mix, 1 chicken cordon bleu, 1 swiss steak, and 2 lasagnas. I still have to do fajitas, taco mix (with packets of cheese along with it), spaghetti mix and some cooked chicken to throw on salads for lunch. But that shouldn't take too much time. It actually was great and went fast (only about 3 1/2 hours to do all that)! I saved time because the stew and soup mixes I just put the vegetables in with the meat and spices and then I will add water to it when I pop it in the crock pot on the soup night.
I bought some easy side dishes and stuff to make salads (which I have to buy weekly) but it made my life so much easier. I just take it out to thaw in the morning, pop it in the oven or crock pot and I'm good. I am going to do some research on freezing baked potatoes, etc. and see if I can save time on that one too, but I'm not sure it would work.
Yeah, time saver for me!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Cute girls!
The phone rang at about 3:30 this afternoon. It was a couple of 11 year-old girls in our neighborhood. They were wondering if Courtney could go over to their house and have a "fashion show" with them. We had plans for the night that weren't going to work with the fashion show so I told them that she wouldn't be able to. When I hung up, I was attacked by Courtney telling me that she wants to play with the big girls. After some thought, I mentally re-arranged our plans and called the girls back. (It actually worked out great because I had a meeting and didn't want to take the kids, so the girls watched Courtney until Bryan could pick her up and Ethan ended up at a friend's house too. It was a win-win). They asked that Courtney bring her 2 favorite dresses and be at their house at 4:00.
Courtney was so excited and picked out her two special dresses then we walked over. The girls were super cute and very excited to have Courtney over. A few other little girls showed up too. They curled Courtney's hair and put lip gloss on her. She got on one of her special dresses and was prancing around when Bryan showed up at 5:30 to pick her up. She was bummed because they had only just begun the fashion show, but we had plans.
When I caught up with my little family at the swimming pool, Courtney was all excited to tell me about her party with the big girls. It was cute and I thought it was sweet of those girls to do that for the little girls. There are plenty of little girls in the neighborhood to play dress-up with. I guess these 11 year-old girls found their real life Barbie dolls to play with and Courtney LOVED it.
Courtney was so excited and picked out her two special dresses then we walked over. The girls were super cute and very excited to have Courtney over. A few other little girls showed up too. They curled Courtney's hair and put lip gloss on her. She got on one of her special dresses and was prancing around when Bryan showed up at 5:30 to pick her up. She was bummed because they had only just begun the fashion show, but we had plans.
When I caught up with my little family at the swimming pool, Courtney was all excited to tell me about her party with the big girls. It was cute and I thought it was sweet of those girls to do that for the little girls. There are plenty of little girls in the neighborhood to play dress-up with. I guess these 11 year-old girls found their real life Barbie dolls to play with and Courtney LOVED it.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
SEPs
I love SEPs. (For those of you who don't know they are the School Education Plan meetings, formerly called Parent/Teacher Conferences.) At SEPs you sit down, listen to an evaluation of how your child is doing and then make goals on how your child can improve. The student comes along so they are involved in the process. In Kindergarten and 1st grade, they were 5 minute things where they said, "Yup, he's doing great. Any questions?" This time, we decided that Bryan didn't have to go because it involves taking time off work, driving to the school and driving back to work for a 5 minute conference. But it was different. In 2nd grade, his teacher took over 20 minutes with us, it was awesome.
SEPs are a time when you are told that you aren't just bias toward your child...everyone else thinks they are great/smart/awesome/wonderful too!! Ethan's teacher has been teaching for a long time so she had the drill down. She talked to us about his reading level and his comprehension (which are both great!)and how he really uses his time wisely and is a great friend. Then she turned the time over to Ethan and had him make a list of everything he is good at (she let Courtney and me add some things too). He said he is good at building Legos, math, art and that he loves to learn. Courtney said that he is the "greatest" big brother and that he loves her. I said that he is compassionate and very excited to learn new things. His teacher added other things that she appreciated.
We then had time to make goals. Ethan wants to finish reading the Harry Potter series, pass his Wednesday spelling pre-test each week so he can skip the Friday spelling test and he wants to keep learning well. He also set out a plan to accomplish all these things.
It was a great time. His teacher also asked my permission to have him tested to see how high his reading level really is. Teachers can only test up to the top of their grade level in reading. A 2nd grade teacher can't tell you if a student is reading at 4th grade level because they are only testing their grade level proficiency. But there is a test, given on computer, that can test grade level reading, so she asked if she could administer that to Ethan, just to see how high he is. He said that was okay with him and that he didn't feel any pressure, so I gave my permission too. She is going to try and get that done sometime in the next month. I'll be interested to see the results because Ethan has always loved to read.
After we were finished, Ethan wanted to show me all around his classroom. He loved showing me things and his teacher would give me more details about what they did at each center, etc. It was fun and we ended up being there for over 30 minutes by the time we left. It was a good SEP.
SEPs are a time when you are told that you aren't just bias toward your child...everyone else thinks they are great/smart/awesome/wonderful too!! Ethan's teacher has been teaching for a long time so she had the drill down. She talked to us about his reading level and his comprehension (which are both great!)and how he really uses his time wisely and is a great friend. Then she turned the time over to Ethan and had him make a list of everything he is good at (she let Courtney and me add some things too). He said he is good at building Legos, math, art and that he loves to learn. Courtney said that he is the "greatest" big brother and that he loves her. I said that he is compassionate and very excited to learn new things. His teacher added other things that she appreciated.
We then had time to make goals. Ethan wants to finish reading the Harry Potter series, pass his Wednesday spelling pre-test each week so he can skip the Friday spelling test and he wants to keep learning well. He also set out a plan to accomplish all these things.
It was a great time. His teacher also asked my permission to have him tested to see how high his reading level really is. Teachers can only test up to the top of their grade level in reading. A 2nd grade teacher can't tell you if a student is reading at 4th grade level because they are only testing their grade level proficiency. But there is a test, given on computer, that can test grade level reading, so she asked if she could administer that to Ethan, just to see how high he is. He said that was okay with him and that he didn't feel any pressure, so I gave my permission too. She is going to try and get that done sometime in the next month. I'll be interested to see the results because Ethan has always loved to read.
After we were finished, Ethan wanted to show me all around his classroom. He loved showing me things and his teacher would give me more details about what they did at each center, etc. It was fun and we ended up being there for over 30 minutes by the time we left. It was a good SEP.
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