Ready, Set, FALL!!!!!

Okay, so it has officially been fall for a week, but it FINALLY "feels" like Fall now. I woke up this morning and decided we needed warm "fall" cinnamon rolls with orange icing and Halloween sprinkles before we headed out for school. The kids loved it!!! They were so excited to eat breakfast that it wasn't like they were being force fed and rushed out the door in the morning. This one tiny little thing made me feel more like the Mom I used to be. I need to do this more often!!! (For all of our sakes/sanity.)

Marathon Kids

Again, Aunt K would be proud!!! We signed A & D up for an after school running program. Over the course of the next 5 months, the kids will have walked/run an entire marathon. Yep, 26.2 miles. So cool!!! I am so excited for them, and secretly for us too since we are all active participants as well. The Caswells are doing a marathon...together! :)

Barbie Heaven

Little Miss A had her favorite friend over this afternoon for a fun Barbie play date! The girls were in heaven. A & T are more like twins than A & D!!!! Not only in the way they look, but in personality and passions as well. Her Mom and I love it!!! :) I think we need to add this to a more weekly activity since the girls were playing peacefully upstairs and I had my own Mommy/Son play date downstairs...drawing and puzzles galore! :)

Change in the Weather

The nice fall weather this morning was a wonderful change. After enduring 100 + temperatures for the majority of the summer and extremely high 90s even this past week, it was amazingly refreshing to walk outside for school this morning with a temp of 57! Little Miss A said "I think we skipped fall and went straight to winter!" Mr. D added his prediction of SNOW for later today. Too funny...no snow, but it sure is a nice afternoon!!!

Can't Stop the Chop

Though we are FSU alumni, this post actually has nothing to do with college football!!! Our Little Miss A wanted to get a haircut. She was drawing all sorts of pictures this morning showing what she wanted it to look like, how it would be styled, etc. It was short!!! When we asked her to show us with her fingers on her hair how short she wanted it, she pointed to her chin! Talked a little bit down from that style, she came home with this...

then immediately wanted it in a pony. (Thankfully it still fits.)

She's already planning her style for church tomorrow morning. She wants it just like Mommy's! This is going to be fun! I don't know who is more excited about that...her or me! :)

Watch DOGS!!!

Little Miss A and Mr. D saw all the Watch DOGS (Dads Of Great Students) on campus last year and have been anxiously awaiting Daddy to join the club!!! The kick off event was on Thursday and Daddy went! :) He walked in the door afterwards proudly sporting his T-shirt to show the kids. They were elated!!!!! YEA!!!! Their kid tees are on the way.

Daddy told the kids of his fun game (ice breaker/team builder) of rock/paper/scissors where he ended up being a cheerleader. They both marvelled that Daddy actually not only knew what it was, but could actually play the game. Then began to giggle as they were picturing Daddy as a "cheerleader"!!! :)

Realizing that Daddy has a shirt and is now totally official, they were certain he would be joining us on campus the very next day. Not so, but we are all so excited to see his schedule of the 4 days he'll be with us at school this year.

Running Champ

Holy crow, we have a runner in the family!!!! Aunt K, you would be proud. One of our gym coaches caught me in the hallway after school gloating about Little Miss A's performance in PE this afternoon, urging me to ask her how she did in gym class today. When I asked her, she said "Mom, I was the fastest and got ALL the scores!!!!" Through a serious line of questioning to interpret this news, I found out that they had a bunch of races in gym class today and Little Miss A came in first for almost all of them. Did I mention she was in a dress? Granted she still had on sneakers, but still this is co-ed PE!

GO LITTLE MISS A!!!! :)

Mr. D's class goes to gym tomorrow for the same exercises, so we'll see how he does. The pressure is on, but he's already betting on a good performance after Little Miss A's experience today. He's counting on the fact that he'll "beat his friends for sure!"

I am SOOOOOO glad they are in different special area class blocks!

What Does Freedom Mean?

As we were wrapping up the evening getting ready for bed tonight, Little Miss A informed me that "That's not Freedom! My teacher said freedom is getting to make your own choices, and I definitely didn't choose bedtime!" Happy freedom week Little Miss A, but it's still bedtime! :)

Trouble In Paradise

So, Mr. D had his first scuffle at school today. Not that he did something to someone else, but that something was done to him! :( I was beyond upset!!!!! I wish I could just put my kids in a bubble! There are days like today that I just wish I was homeschooling my sweet little munchkins!

A New Kind of Bike Ride

Tio Luiz stopped by for an afternoon at the house to hang/play/rough house with the Caswell twins which they of course LOVE!!!! :) He rode his motorcycle to the house...SOOOOO COOL!!! As he left, he gave each of them a quick ride down our street. The grins were priceless!!!

Kindergarten Crushes...

Okay, didn't think I'd have to post on this topic for a while, but we've already had our first "crush" report! Mr. D came home from school this week and announced that he had a girlfriend. At first I didn't think anything about it...it's a friend that's a girl...no big deal, right? Wrong!

I began with the basic question. What's her name? With a dreamy faraway look Mr. D told me "Her name is Maddie short for Madelyn. Isn't that such a pretty name? Oh Mom, she's the most beautiful girl in Kindergarten!!!" Am I really hearing this from my five year old little boy?? What's really funny is that as I am asking what she looks like, Miss A has an open ear, taking it all in then announces that her brother HAS to show her who this girl is on the playground tomorrow! This is a scene I have imagined in my head before, but with the roles reversed!!! Too funny!

In taking the kids to class the next day, I stopped by Miss. A's room to get a sneak peak of "the girl", but alas she was absent. I was explaining to D's teacher who I was looking for and why, Miss. A laughed...she said that ALL the boys like her. With my curiosity at an all time high, I can't wait to check in again tomorrow morning to see this mystery girl. :)

First Soccer Game

Mr. D's first soccer game was great! It wasn't too early in the morning and was the perfect overcast sky...no sunscreen required and not too hot! The kids are so cute on the field! Playing in the neighborhood is wonderful since A & D both kept seeing other kids from school. Mr. D had some really good plays which definitely kept him "in the game" with a smirky grin every time he heard his name called in encouragement from the sidelines whether it was from Mommy and Daddy, other parents or fellow teammates. :)

One of our favorite pics of the game was this one.

Mr. D's friend from class on the team was CONSTANTLY hand-in-hand with our Mr. D.

Little Miss A began as the team cheerleader

then turned MIA. Apparently called from the sidelines by the nearby play scape...we need to work on her game time focus. :)

Through the plays of the day, we have some work to do. Additional practice for Mr. D and a pep rally rundown for Little Miss A about expectations for game day. Focus on Mr. D!!! :) This is going to be family fun for everyone for the next few fall Saturday mornings!!!

The Spirit Stick

Little Miss A absolutely LOVES her cheer class! Coach Kim is awesome!!!!

Today was a super special day for Miss A...she came home with the SPIRIT STICK!!!!! Every week coach Kim selects a cheerleader that shows the most effort during class. This week, that was our sweet Little Miss A. She was absolutely BEAMING with delight when Mr. D and I picked her up from class. :)

First Soccer Practice

Mr. D's first soccer practice just happened to fall on the same night at the same time as Kinder curriculum night. Luckily all the events were at the school, so Daddy and Little Miss A took D outside to practice and I went inside to Ms. H and Ms. A's classes to get the scoop. Team North Forza Milan consists of 3 boys and 3 girls, one of which is in Mr. D's class at school. From what Daddy said, the coach is AMAZING!!!! Total patience with Mr. D's emotional highs and lows giving him just the right amount of encouragement to keep him engaged in the fun activities he had planned for the evening.

Crazy Weather Perks

The tropical system that moved through central Texas yesterday brought the Caswells a nice change of pace. (Sadly, it also cancelled Mr. D's first soccer practice...he was totally bummed.) But we made it up to him by totally chilling out with a nice warm bowl of chili and a fun fall show with the cozy background sounds of rain and thunder. Our morning continued the slow pace when we got a call from the school district (after I had already gotten out of the shower, of course) that school would be starting 2 hours late today. Woo hoo!!!! We took the morning slow, actually making a nice warm meal and having breakfast together, watched cartoons and got ready without the rush and stress that our typical mornings usually bring. We left the house nice and neat AND EARLY at 9:10. What a great way to start the day, if only every day could be a late start. Actually, I wonder how we advocate for a permanent change to the elementary school day start time? Seriously, 7:15 is way too early. ;) I'll have to research that.

Our Little Cheer Girl

For the past year, Little Miss A has been asking to take cheer. This summer we signed her up with Coach Kim, a former varsity UT cheerleader, here in the neighborhood. Today was her first class. She LOVED it!!!! As soon as we got home, she started showing me the cheers they did...I was really surprised she remembered them so well. (Not to mention fantastic form and total confidence.) Then she began showing us her cartwheels, round offs and even walking on her hands!?!? Where in the world did all that come from? Surely this wasn't all from this ONE class!?!? Did my little girl have all these secret talents hidden that were suddenly revealed with the help of Coach Kim? Maybe she's been secretly practicing in her room when she plays. Although she'll occupy herself up there for hours on end, cleanup always looks like barbie explosion, not a tumbling arena. Who knows, but we are definitely seeing a new side of our sweet little girl.

Perspective

Tonight (while still at school) Mr. D asked "Mommy, why are we always the last ones to leave? I just want to go home!" CRUSHED!!!! This is truly the busiest/craziest time of the year for me . I haven't had a single break from kids since the second day of school, no lunch, nothing...I'm telling you, crazy. Anyway, even after a completely full day, I have still been staying late to catch up from the mounting paperwork that accumulates during the day so I can continue with the next round the following day and not begin completely snowed under. With so many kids this year, I have been trying to use my entire school day to just see as many kiddos as I can, then playing catch up after school. I keep looking at these students that I am working with as if they were my own...if Little Miss A and Mr. D were to be going through this process themselves, I would want them to be identified prior to classes starting so they could begin the first day with all the other kids.

It was D's comment tonight, however, that put everything in perspective for me. Of course, we left immediately after. Even though, I have had the best of intentions, my focus obviously needs to shift! Apparently, I need to force myself to take breaks during the day to sort/sift/score paperwork as I go so that I am not spending my evenings with school rather than my own sweet kids. Granted, A & D are there with me and we can interact while I am trying to be as efficient as possible, but they shouldn't be competing for my attention when their evening time is so limited nowadays anyway.

We Made It

We've been MIA lately, totally my fault, but wanted to announce that we made it. The kids absolutely LOVE school, their teachers, their friends, everything!!! Getting up hasn't been an issue at all, now staying focused on getting ready for school in order to get out the door on time is another story. :)

I have still been walking the kids to their classrooms in the morning, but stay in the "neighborhood" connecting the kinder classrooms rather than walking in and being the helicopter parent I've had the pleasure of experiencing as a teacher in the past.

My school days have been seriously hectic, so I haven't had a chance to really "see" the kids at all like I did that first day. Thankfully, our school is one giant family, so I have a lot of friends filling me in on cute things they see/hear the kids doing/saying during the school day.

Little Miss A and Mr. D come to my classroom after the bell and I have been experimenting with activities that keep them engaged in a non-distracting way without completely destroying the room.

I love hearing the kids talk at the end of the day. We "popcorn share" our afternoons so each of them have a chance to say what they want to say and yet still get to respond to what the other one has to say as well. I love hearing them talk together and comparing their experiences.

D: "Ms. A read us a story in class today and we made monster puppets."
A: "Really? We did too! What was your story about?"

After swapping story fragments that stuck out to them, they decided it was actually the same story. I could tell by their expressions at this discovery that they both thought it was pretty cool that they did the same thing in their own classes with their own teachers and classmates.

Hearing about their "specials" classes is fun too. Little Miss A alternates between music/theatre and PE while Mr. D rotates through PE and art. They are in opposite rotations, so they don't even have PE together, which I think is nice. One afternoon Little Miss A was explaining the PE game they played that day called "catch the shark." As I was asking how it was played, they both chimed in with details and were so excited, again, that they were in fact doing the same activities in school without one another knowing. :)

They are definitely getting to be their own individuals and are establishing their own unique set of friends and experiences. They do still share recess and it sounds like they interact quite a lot on the playground. Mr.D and his friend A have been chasing Little Miss A and her friend T almost everyday. The boys think this is all great fun, but I am still trying to determine (from the girls perspective) if this is okay or not. Some days it seems to be totally fine, while others it's definitely not with Little Miss A breaking into tears recounting the events. Of course from a boys perspective, this is entirely way too confusing, so they have no idea if the girls want to be chased or not. I guess we need to come up with some type of code for Little Miss A to communicate with Mr. D to let him know she's had enough and to stop. Let the gender confusion begin!