Friday's Quote

Never interrupt someone doing something  you said couldn't be done.

-Amelia Earhart

Miss Lindsey, the Teacher

My mom is doing a great job in therapy. She has been discharged from occupational therapy, and is continuing to progress with speech. Luckily for her, Lauren's favorite activity is playing "school," and she gets lots of one-on-one instruction from Lauren each afternoon.  

"Eyes are off the board. Have been giving her chances now y'all need to practice."

Some of her early feedback was a little harsh. When Grammie was not available to attend her class, Lauren shifted her attention to William George. He took her class for a day or two and apparently things did not go as smoothly. Lauren came to me with tears streaming down her cheeks as she explained, "George said he hated my class!" 

I told Lauren about 360 reviews and how they are used in the workplace and that she should probably take George's feedback to heart, although he could have expressed his feelings more delicately. 

We talked about encouragement and how teachers motivate. They don't just point out things a student does wrong. She immediately took George's feedback to heart. The next note I received about Grammie was better... 

...although I was initially concerned when the address included my full name. 

She is a leader and brave and powerful. She is a good student. Keep going.

While I am very sympathetic to Grammie and little George (particularly with the earlier notes), I am thankful to have not received any notes about my own performance. 

Hand Crafted

Today the duo are headed out to their best friends' birthday party. The birthday girl and boy are twins, and they are excitedly making cards for their friends.

When my mom was in the hospital, her friends from Sunday School papered her room with cards, all of them thoughtful and many of them hand made. Had they not stamped "hand crafted" on the back of the card (where Hallmark is always stamped on my cards!), I would have never thought they could have been made by an individual. Those ladies have skills.

I love and encourage the trio to make their own cards, but am not sure I have the skill set to make an adult version. Have you attempted card making? Do you think you would want to give it a try?

Friday's Quote

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

-Albert Camus

Downward Dog

About eight or nine years ago, Skip pulled his hamstring muscles while playing softball. He says they snapped like a string, and he could barely complete his run to the base. Technically, he pulled one, and then he pulled the other hamstring when he continued playing the season. Anyrate... I have been after him to try yoga for years. When he started playing softball with our church's team last year, he finally caved and tried it. The verdict? No more pulled muscles.

Back to School Style, Second Grade Edition

Look Six

This next outfit is another favorite, and you will have to trust me because it doesn't necessarily photograph well. When shopping, I am not exactly in full Rachel Zoe mode, snapping photos with a point-and-shoot to see how they photograph. This dress is pure Americana with red and blue stars on top, a silver belt and a fun tulle skirt-like bottom. When this outfit was worn at the beginning of August, Lauren asked, "Uhm... why are we wearing July clothes in August?"

I assured her Americana is fine all summer long. Also, Tommy Hilfiger built an entire brand on the look so she should consider herself in good company.  (It doesn't hurt that I nabbed these dresses from Target on clearance for $3.50.) They wore them throughout August, on Patriot Day, and I can see them paired with leggings and a turtle neck shirt for Election Day. This type of dress is a staple for any girls' closet, and they haven't had one I have liked as much since these dresses from years ago.

1) Americana Tank Dress, Target (no longer available)

2) Blue bicycle shorts with white stars, Target

3) Mary Jane Sneakers, Stride Rite

You may notice that Grace was not exactly feeling the modeling on this particular morning. She had left her red bow upstairs and did not have enough time to grab it before leaving. Who could blame her for feeling less than enthused when her look isn't styled properly.

Weekend Update

Happy Tuesday Thursday, friends!

I have been working on an involved family photo project (long story/not worth it) that has sent me back into our photo archives and has made me realize that capturing our weekend activities has not really been a priority here for a while. I think it's because we are creatures of habit, and writing the same things each week can sometimes seem redundant. Also, as the above strike-through indicates, sometimes loading and editing photos can slow things down. Since this serves as our family journal/scrapbook and, apparently, photo album (See project reference. I'm ok with taking the photos... just not so much with the printing of the photos.), capturing the comings and goings of our little crew might be worthwhile.

So here goes. Fridays are declared "Fun Friday" around these parts. The trio wear their "comfy clothes," as they call them, to school. We usually have some type of reward-based treat after school, although we do not have a consensus on this. Skip has introduced the duo to Sonic and their good-value, happy hour specials. I know there is much, much love for Sonic in the blog world, but we do not have a good Sonic, friends. Our Sonic routinely scores low (e.g., 70's) on health ratings (the drink dispensers have been cited previously... I won't go into details) and has even had a run-in with local authorities (an officer had his drink tampered with by a Sonic employee). I'm not a fan. I will not eat or drink from our local Sonic, and I am funny about having my children eat/drink food that I wouldn't eat/drink myself. Anyrate. I am the lone, dissenting opinion about Sonic at our house, and this rant has gone on long enough. This past Friday I was able to talk the duo into a special treat for dinner (ordering pizza) instead of an after school treat from Sonic. A fun Friday pizza night is about the best fun our trio can have.

We went to Skip's parents' house for lunch Saturday. Skip and his dad grilled steak and salmon, and the trio played outside for hours. We had been promised cooler temps for the weekend, and being outside without melting was sure nice for a change.  The trio needed looooong showers Saturday night.

After church Sunday, the trio asked to swim again so we loaded our things and headed to our local YMCA for some more late summer fun. William George is determined to squeeze some fun out of summer after being in daycare during July and resuming preschool in August. He is having a blast, and the duo had much more fun this time, too. Technically, it's still summer, and the trio have been quick to point that out.

And now, just like that, we are ready for another weekend.

Friday's Quote

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.

Lao Tzu

Weekend Update

This past weekend Skip and I found ourselves alone. The trio spent the night with Skip's parents, and my mom, who continues to recuperate with us, spent the weekend with my sister-in-law. We resisted the urge to enjoy a quiet house and had a rare date night instead. We had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and caught a movie (The November Man). 

The trio returned home Saturday, and we had a fun time grilling out for dinner. We also had some surprise guests. Our neighbors hosted some exchange students for a summer work program. The young ladies who have been visiting are from Estonia and have been working in/around the city selling books. They are friendly and have livened up our cup-de-sac by meeting in the circle each morning for a cheer and a dance or two. They always conclude with the Macarena, and George calls them "the Macarena girls". These events have been fascinating for the trio. We saw them daily when we were heading out for splash camp over the summer, and their dancing livened up our mornings when it was time to return to school. The girls think they are awesome, and George has kept a close eye on them as well. 

When our doorbell rang Saturday and the trio saw the lovely Estonians on our steps, you would have thought celebrities had arrived for dinner. They gifted the trio some of their sample books, and we invited them in for cheeseburgers. They shared their door-to-door selling stories, and we discussed politics, work and the future. They both left Monday morning - Kadre was returning home while Stina was heading for San Francisco and two weeks of sightseeing out west.

After church Sunday, we had lunch at Zoe's, and then struck out for the pool. Given our schedules this summer (and George being too young for the YMCA Splash Camp), William George had not been swimming a single time. Even though he was often in the car when his sisters were being dropped off and picked up and got to gaze over at the inviting pool, he had not been for a swim. "Soon," we kept telling him. "Very soon..." we promised.  Sunday was the day.  He suited up, and he loved it. 

His sisters, on the other hand, had some dramatic obstacles to overcome. Therefore, there are not as many photos of them, as they spent the first half of our swim time in chairs, composing themselves. They eventually rallied, and Grace took the swim test (again... apparently the test has to be taken each visit) to obtain her green band. Lauren still has some anxiety about the test so she spent some time swimming laps. We did get to the bottom of her anxiety. She appears to have gotten some questionable coaching about treading water, but Skip has taught her the proper way now. Once she gets her confidence back, she will be ready for the test. 

Also! During some of their contemplative time on the chairs, Lauren lost a tooth. So we also had a visit from the tooth fairy... an all-around great weekend!

Back to School Style

Look Five

Look five is another fun sale find from Gymboree. 

Sidebar: Can we talk about the inconsistency of Gymboree's pricing structure first? When I purchased a few things back at the beginning of August, the sale prices were $10-12 lower than they are now. This baffles me because we are a month closer to fall, and it seems like perhaps the short sleeved attire should be priced lower than it was four weeks ago.  Gymboree, I am confused. 

Anyrate. The duo are all about the simple dresses worn over bicycle shorts.  This is their typical uniform for Mondays and Tuesdays. 

1) Neon Trim Dress, Gymboree

2) Window Pain Dress, Gymboree (no longer available)

3) Stride Rite Mary Janes, via Zulily 

4) Bracelets, inherited from Cousin Lexie

Friday's Quote

Love is a choice you make from moment to moment.

-Barbara De Angelis

An Update On K3

William George had a wonderful year at K2. He loved his teachers, his friends, his schedule, etc. However, he does not like change, and therefore, when the time came to explain that he would no longer have his wonderful Mrs. L and that he would have Mrs. Christie as a teacher this year, he seemed less than pleased. Complicating matters was the fact that we know a few Christie's, and he couldn't quite figure out who his teacher would be. He sure knew it wouldn't be his old buddy and friend, Mrs. L, and that was hard to accept.

He was a little wary about meet-the-teacher, and he was absolutely reluctant to start class. Sometime during his second week of school, I asked him about his day on the way home. He played outside. His "job" was "weather checker," and he told me they discussed the letter "T". Then he said, "Mrs. Christie... she had on blue pants."

"She did?" I asked.
"And her hair...... it's a lil' bit messy..." he offered, while wiggling his fingers next to his ear to indicate her scrunchy curls (that are lovely, by the way).

Needless to say, he is very pleased with Mrs. Christie, and he is excited to get to say hello to Mrs. L and his other favorite teachers from Sunday School. Weather Checker is one of his favorite jobs, but yesterday he told me his job was "sweeper," and that might be the best gig yet. I think he is going to love K3.

Back to School Style, Second Grade Edition

Look Four

The duo have declared these dresses their favorite back-to-school outfits, although they are not really new. They are both gold, and they are currently popular right now because of the oppressive heat. Shorts and loose dresses are definitely in big demand. 

1) Gold dress, via consignment

This might be Lauren't favorite dress - ever.

2) GAP gold tank dress, via eBay.

William George (who is noticeable NOT wearing shimmery/sparkly gold) is a wonderful photobomber.

Daily Photo

I love my trio.

Return of the Chefs

About four years ago, Uncle James and Auntie Melinda gifted the girls with chef hats and aprons (along with some cool appliances), and those items proved to be indispensable because Santa brought a new kitchen that year. The kitchen and its many accoutrements were used daily for about the next two years.  

Recently, Grace returned to the chef ensemble, and she decided to enlist William George as her sous chef.  We will likely find a more masculine chef ensemble in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy, knowing that he will probably be angry one day about this post.