No More Tears?

Ella started preschool on Monday.  She is in a ReadyK program this year, and will go to school 3 mornings a week. 

Last year, we had trouble with drop-off almost *every* time.  At first, I felt she maybe was too young to be starting preschool.  I kept saying "I will give it a month".  The month came and went and though the tears let up a little, there was still the clinging to my leg, and the hesitation about going into the classroom.  Sigh.  She went the whole year, and she did ok by the end, but it was rough.

Ella is my spirited child at home.  I really had no idea that her first year would include tears and clinging to my leg.  I figured she would be a social butterfly.  Lesson learned.

I went into this year's first day of school with very little expectation.  I tried not to portray my own stress in dropping her off.  Like last year, she told me the night before that she was SO excited for school.  There was even some excited squealing.  I had my doubts.

The first day came, and we got dressed and ready.  She was eager to have her 'first day of school' picture taken, and was the first one out the door to get into the car.  I kept waiting for the meltdown, but much to my surprise...it didn't happen. 

Ella went into her class and found her name on the board (the first thing she does each morning is find her magnetic name tag and move it on a very cleverly drawn shape on the chalk board).  She kept holding out her hand for me to take it, but I didn't take it.  I stuck around to help her find an activity...she chose play-doh.  I chatted with her for a minute and she gave me a hug and a kiss and let me walk out the door without even a second glance.

PHEW!  We did it!  Well, we did it the first day, anyway.  I am hoping her attitude will remain the same the rest of the school year! 

My baby's last year of preschool!

Love her.



Still smiling by her cubby!



My friend snapped this photo *after* I left
the room.  Proof that there were no tears. ;)

First Day of First Grade

Ryan started first grade this year.  He has had nothing but good things to report, so far, and claims to love it!
 


The last line of Ryan's sign says that he wants to
be a baseball player when he grows up.

 

 

 

What do you mean there is homework in
First Grade??

 

He's growing up TOO fast!

 

Sigh

This about sums up my feelings right now. 

Today was the last day of summer vacation.  Ryan starts first grade tomorrow, and though Ella doesn't start back to preschool until Sept. 10th, our days of lazy mornings and 'do whatever we want in the afternoons' are behind us for another year. 

I am not going to lie and say that every day was perfect, nor am I going to say that there were never days that I wanted to pull out my hair for the sibling rivalry that presented itself quite regularly.  I will, however, say that I truly enjoy my family, and I am so thankful for any and all days that we get to spend together. 

While we look ahead to apple picking, and pumpkin carving, I will be excited about those things, too.  However, tonight...tonight, I will just sigh.

Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast

I first found this recipe here when I was browsing on Pinterest one day.  Do you like Pinterest?  It's addicting at first, SO many good ideas, but I have made a rule for myself that I MUST try one thing that I pin for every 10 pins.  It is working, so far!  Well, sort of.  ;)

It is rainy this morning, and a little cooler than it has been all summer.  I had some peaches to use up before they got too mushy, so I decided to substitute them into this recipe, and it was DELISH!  You can see the original recipe in the link above, but here is how I made it.

Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast
Yield: approx 4 cups1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 cups Vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup raisins
2 medium peaches, diced (save some for garnish)
Honey for drizzling on top
Method
Combine quinoa, almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and raisins in medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then place lid on pan and reduce to low heat. After 5 mins stir in chopped peaches and simmer for approx 5-7 mins longer. Stir and check for remaining liquid and if most is absorbed then remove from heat, leaving lid on pan and let rest for 5 mins to absorb rest of the milk. If when you peek, there is still lots of liquid, simmer for 3-5 mins longer but keeping a close eye over the pot as this mixture can easily burn if left to boil dry, then let it rest for 5 mins. Taste for sweetness and adjust to your liking.  I drizzled the dish with a small amount of honey (a little goes a long way) to sweeten it just a bit more.  You may not need any additional sweetener as the raisins and peaches do add a nice sweetness that may be just perfect for you. Be cautious as even these natural sugars will spike your blood sugar levels and you want to minimize this.
**Some additional fillers/toppings I would like to try: sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, blueberries, raspberries, apples, or strawberries.  Whatever kind of fruit is in season!!

The kids were not patient enough this morning to wait for a cooked breakfast, so they chose something else.  I do think that they would like this dish, though.  Perhaps I will warm the leftovers for them tomorrow!

Enjoy!

What do YOU do on a rainy day?

Do you stay inside on a rainy day?  Build a fort?  Read a book?  Watch a movie?  Yeah, we do, too.  But, in BETWEEN rain showers, we dig out the fishing poles (and by we, I mean the kids), and do a little (ahem, pretend) fishing in our back yard!

We haven't had a whole lot of rain this summer, but the amount that we got in the last day or so was enough to create a few puddles in our back yard.  The kids slipped on their rain boots, grabbed their poles, and spent quite a bit of time 'fishing'. 

 

 

In Ella's Words...Age 4

We celebrated Ella's 4th birthday this month.  I thought it would be fun to play 20 questions with her to see what her answers would be:


1. What is your favorite color? Purple
2. What is your favorite toy? The water slide (our slip-n-slide)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon
4. What is your favorite tv show? JoJo's Circus
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut Butter and Jelly or Grilled Cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? Flower Power shirt (a shirt with a flower on it ;))
7. What is your favorite game? Tic Tac Toe
8. What is your favorite snack? Cookie
9. What is your favorite animal? Pandas
10. What is your favorite song? Mama Tooted (ugh)
11. What is your favorite book? Strawberry Shortcake
12. Who is your best friend? Molly and Delaney
13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallow Cereal (Mom's Best Naturals Mallow Oats)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my Bike
15. What is your favorite drink? Juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Kitties and Blankie
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Oatmeal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hot Dogs
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Ballerina

Too cute.

We celebrated with grandparents on Ella's *actual* birthday, but she wanted a Princess and Pirate party to celebrate with her friends (she actually wanted a princess party, but since most of her friends are boys right now, we decided that they may not appreciate all the pink ;)) 

 

Ella wearing the "4" shirt I made for her

 

Waiting for her friends to arrive at the party

Just being goofy...

 
Ella got a bike for her birthday...a princess bike, of course!


Ella, you are such a sweet girl.  I adore how generous you are with your hugs and kisses, and how you are always concerned about others.  You like to be Mommy's helper, but you light up whenever Daddy is around.  You recently asked me at bedtime, "Mommy, is God in my heart?", and we talked a little about what that means and we prayed (you repeating after me) that Jesus would live in your heart. <3

We love you so much, Ella!!  Happy 4th Birthday!

 

Favorite Waffle Recipe

I am not a breakfast maker.  I'm just not.  Well, at least that USED to be my excuse.  I should say that I don't enjoy making breakfast.  Perhaps it is because I am not really a morning person?  Perhaps it is just because my husband DOES enjoy it, and so I let him do the breakfast making.  Either way, it's just not my favorite meal to make.

My husband is the BEST pancake maker, and he makes them from scratch.  He uses a Betty Crocker recipe from a cookbook that used to belong to his Grandma.  It's delicious.  On the page before is a waffle recipe.  I have adapted it to make it a little healthier, and we LOVE it.  I mean, c'mon, I can handle a waffle iron first thing in the morning...I'm not *that* bad!  ;)


Favorite Waffle Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp sea salt

Heat waffle iron.  Beat eggs until fluffy; beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth.  Pour batter from cup or pitcher (these are Betty's words, I use an ice cream scoop or a small ladel) onto center of hot waffle iron.  Bake until steaming stops (um, or until the light on your waffle iron tells you that the waffle is done).  Remove carefully.  ;)

Enjoy!!