Yours Truly, The Cat Herder

by The FW on September 1, 2010

 

Just before 9 am on Tuesday morning, the Little Learners’ Homeschool opened its doors for the first day of preschool.  The children were immediately greeted by the hospitality committee:

I guess you could call him our “Class Pet”.

The children got right down to business when their mother’s left:  PLAY TIME.  But then the small, human chairperson of the hospitality committee suggested crackers, and suddenly it was a toddler cocktail party — almost quite literally.  The boys had their sippy cups in hand while Babycakes circled the room with a plate of Ritz crackers.  Hey, it’s the first day!  What’s wrong with a little extra fuel? 

What a morning!  We sang, danced, read stories, built with blocks, played dress-up, pushed the grocery cart, changed diapers, had “official” snacktime, sorted, worked puzzles, shared hugs, tossed balls, laced beads.  Pfew!  The best part — they were all smiles!  Day one of getting to know each other was a bit like herding cats, but overall it was a HUGE success. 

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The First Day of School

by The FW on August 30, 2010

It’s that time of year again… Back to School! 

Eager mothers in carpool lines are giddy with excitement as they drop their dear ones to unsuspecting teachers.  They have grown tired of applying sunscreen, entertaining “bored” children, & refereeing sibling squabbles.  Yes, it’s time. 

Unless you’re me. 

Instead of dropping mine off, I’m importing three more.  You heard that right — three AND they’re all boys.  All wonderful little boys, who like my Cakes are just shy of the school cut-off date. 

Tomorrow is our first official school day — I’m thinking of calling us The Little Learners’ Homeschool.  (Any other suggestions are welcome.)  Cakes and I made a trip to the store today to buy some of our supplies like glue, kleenex, apple juice, snacks, & most importantly:  Elmo band-aids.  While shopping for these very few items, which by the way took us 52 minutes to complete, my dearest one came up with a new pose for her series of tantrums.  You’ve heard of diving like a pencil into a pool — well, friends, an almost two-year-old can do a “pencil” in a dress in the middle of the store if you refuse to buy her a citronella candle. 

Fast forward 54 minutes: we placed our purchases happily into the car.  I say “happily” because her tantrums are short and quickly forgotten.  After this, we went to the local Early Childhood Partnership to borrow a few materials.  This is such a great resource!  It’s for parents AND teachers, costs a minimal amount of money, and they allow you to borrow educational materials like toys, puppets, book, manipulatives, as well as use their die cutter & laminator. 

Our August/September theme for preschool is Getting To Know You & On the Farm so we borrowed two flannel board kits and a sing-along book BUT not before someone with two-pigtails in a dress did this:

It was a short trip to the Partnership for today, but surely in the coming weeks she’ll learn to enjoy her time there.  Right? 

Until tomorrow… and you know there’s a story just waiting to unfold!

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Pardon Me!

August 27, 2010

Please pardon the craziness & random pictures on this blog while I get adjusted to a new theme!  We’re arranging the furniture & hanging pictures — it’ll look like “home” again really soon!

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Pretty in Pink Playroom & Taking Back Naptime

August 26, 2010

The front room in our house is constantly evolving.  Five years ago when we moved in, it was a lonely sitting room with a bookshelf, a sofa, two chairs & a piano.  When my gig as a Nascar Nanny ended, I started teaching piano lessons & tutoring, so we bought a desk.  Then I gave birth [...]

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Hidden Cameras Tell No Lies

August 25, 2010

The Football House  has been in transition for the past few days. At the tail end of preseason football camp, Tinkerbell came and took Babycakes’ pacifier — her “kinky” as she calls it.  Naptime & bedtime therefore, have become exhausting FOR ME.  Not so much for her.  Apparently without that hunk of rubber and plastic [...]

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A Creative Influence

August 20, 2010

Through the magical powers of Twitter, I’ve been attempting to connect with some online friends to have a REAL LIFE playdate with our children.  Of the five children between the three of us, my dear one is in the middle of the age range.  What kind of influence will she have on the babies?  What [...]

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Her Joy Was Multiplied

August 19, 2010

She was a happy girl. She busied herself with her home & her sweet little dog. But then… her joy was found in another and she became someone’s wife. “This is the life,” she thought.  Being married… she had someone to spend her days with, to share her joys & disappointments.  And there were tests, too.  [...]

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Game Day Style

August 19, 2010

It’s a rainy day here in the South — the girl & I are trying to decide if we should venture out into this wet, humid mess or continue our morning of coffee, jammies, & Cinderella.  She’s watching Cinderella — I’m daydreaming about Fall.  Who else is longing for cool, crisp afternoons?  I love all [...]

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WFMW: Working From Home

August 18, 2010

I’m linking up to this series: :::::::::::::::::::::::::: The year before Coach & I got married, I worked as a nanny for a NASCAR driver’s family.  My schedule was unpredictable and the woman that I worked for thought she owned me.  I didn’t know hour-to-hour if I had to work and she became terribly annoyed if I phoned [...]

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Kids… “Udder” Nonsense

August 16, 2010

There is never a dull moment when Little E is around.  Little E & her VIP posse arrived at my house on Friday night and it’s been controlled chaos set to chase music ever since.  It’s been a monkey-see, monkey-do kind of weekend.  It’s amazing what a 4 year old can teach a 2 year [...]

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