Party in the Back

Well, Josiah was disappointed to hear that the same staff member who took over posters for his play has also taken over designing the t-shirt design.  Those were the two things he wanted a hand in doing for the marketing department.  He does get to deliver the posters to businesses this week, so he's looking forward to cruising around with the 11th graders.  

Josiah was asked by the hair people (for the play) to take off an inch of his hair.  He and I headed to Great Clips.  Josiah said he was going to ask for a low taper fade and an inch off the top.  Great.  The hair stylist asked me if I wanted to chime in and I said, with confidence, he knew what he wanted.  He could tell her himself.  I was getting my hair cut on the opposite side of the store, but I could see Josiah in my mirror.  I saw that she cut the sides of his hair and I assumed she was working on the low taper fade portion of the haircut.  We both finished around the same time.  We walked to the register, I looked at him and saw he still had a lot of hair in the back.  By the time we walked outside I said, You have a mullet!  What happened?  When the stylist asked him if he wanted the low taper fade in the back, he said, no.  No!  He had a mullet.  So we went home, got our razor out, and I cut off the party in the back.  There are still signs of the mullet up by his ears, but he has a month until the play so that should grow out and we can clean it up before opening day.  

The upper school had dance day this week.  While I was waiting for my K3 class to get out of music, I watched the 6th and 7th graders. I tried to sneak a picture of Caroline.  

We saw our first act of violence in the pond out front.  It looked like the big white duck was trying to drown a smaller mallard.  I was going to have the boys take a closer look when a neighbor walked out and was watching them.  It went on for at least 10 minutes before they separated and then I could see three ducks - the big white one, the mallard, and a smaller white one that must have been in the middle.  The little white one quickly swam away.  The mallard followed, but doubled back and flew to the big one flapping it's wings as big as it could before retreating.  So that was interesting.  I guess they don't always get along.  

Josiah had friends over this weekend to make another video.  They did a Sports Battle video - badminton, football, and basketball.  Todd got a picture of the filming in action.  

And since I was out of town again, they got to eat out.  We've discovered that Culver's custard is incredibly good.  So smooth.  

Meanwhile, I hung out with Grandma, Grandpa, and Maggie and had a very nice visit.  Maggie was pleased with my departure because she didn't have to share her chair anymore.  

Spring in Bloom

Caroline's science class has moved on from the plant kingdom to the animal kingdom.  They've been studying invertebrates, specifically worms and mollusks.  This week they dissected a worm.  Caroline said they were given scissors and cut the earthworm lengthwise, carefully avoiding the intestinal tract to prevent 'spillage.'  After Henry cut himself with a scalpel last year, I was happy for the scissors!  She said they could see all the things they learned - the crop, gizzard, and aortic arches.  They did dissect the intestinal tract as well and found dirt in there.  It was nice for the pictures in her book to come alive.  

We are learning all the theater lingo now that Josiah is in the school play.  This past week started off-book rehearsals.  Lines memorized. Check. They had a make-up person come to match their skin tones.  Then they were banned from tanning until the play is over, which is tough in the spring, especially since they have outdoor lunch and outdoor recess when the weather's nice. Josiah is also excited about doing the marketing part of the job.  A staff member has taken over making the posters, which Josiah was really hoping to have a hand in making.  In the meantime, he's been designing a t-shirt for the cast and crew.  Henry has been to weekly meetings for set design, but they've yet to start building, which is stressing out their teacher.  He did say there were two fathers that have been to meetings and are on top of what needs to be done.  I was glad to hear that!  

We stopped at the oral surgeon's office this week for a consultation because Henry needs two teeth taken out for his braces.  He's currently in the 'no photographs please' phase of life, so I improvise.   

This weekend, Henry and I headed up for a quick trip to Staunton.  Grandma and Grandpa's tree was in full bloom and it looked beautiful.  Even Henry recognized the beauty and took a picture with it.  He tried blueberry pancakes for the first time.  He leans chocolate chip, but Grandpa made some mean blueberry ones.  

He enjoyed Maggie and Maggie gave him a talking-to.  

It is always a pretty drive home.  

We still have four more weeks of school until our spring break.  Spring fever has already hit the preschool, so four weeks feels like an awfully long ways away.  

Sleepless Nights

The week after Daylight Savings has been a fun one in K3.  Two kids cried every morning and through their tears I made out, I'm tired.  I know.  Me, too.  Another friend celebrated a birthday, which brightened our Thursday.  When we celebrate in K3, we do mini-cupcakes.  That's for the sanity of all in the room.  She brought in beautiful full-size princess cupcakes with two inches of icing on top.  The kids were very excited to try them.  They were eaten with glee and we could not get out to the playground fast enough to run off that sugar.  

Our big three are in the midst of a pickleball tournament in gym class.  To encourage his partner, Josiah drew him a picture. 

Daylight Savings was not the only reason we missed out on some sleep this week.  Josiah's science teacher told us about the lunar eclipse.  At 2:15 a.m. Friday morning, Todd, Josiah, and I were up to watch the moon.  The full coverage was said to be from 2:30 - 3:30 a.m.  I was expecting a bright red color.  It was somewhat dull, so we could never tell if it was fully covered.  However, when I took Benson out at 4:30 a.m. and saw a fully white, bright moon, it was quite the contrast.  My pictures make it look much brighter than it did in real life.

We went to school and work a bit tired, but Friday was Pi Day and the Upper School celebrated with all sorts of pies.  We contributed a cherry, but the kids informed me that the Oreo and chocolate pies were the most popular.  Next year.  We got a pizza pie for dinner to continue the celebration.  

This is the boys' math teacher

Friday was a good day because report cards came out and the kids impressed us again with their effort.  We celebrated this weekend at the Mexican restaurant near our place.  We must have always eaten Tex-Mex in Texas because we've been to two Mexican restaurants here and they both brought out a bean dip with their chips.  We never had bean dip in Texas.  It's good.  Henry and Caroline both got chicken and steak fajitas.  Josiah makes his own meal of a beef burrito in queso.  

Saturday night, we hunkered down and all 'slept' on couches.  Henry took the air mattress.  There was bad weather expected with wind gusts and potential for tornadoes.  With the big trees in the yard, and after having one fall last year, we didn't want to take any chances.  And sleep we did not.  At 2:30 a.m., I gave up on trying to get comfortable and went back upstairs to my own bed.  Josiah got in my face at 4 a.m. and asked why I was putting myself in harm's way.  There was a big thunderstorm at 3:00 a.m., but it was not nearly as bad as we were expecting.  So, Sunday has been a tired sort of day.  Caroline somehow found the energy to vacuum out our cars this evening.  A new car vacuum was my birthday gift (I left mine in Texas) and having a vacuum Cleaner is the gift that just keeps on giving.  

This guy is trying to catch up on his sleep.  When we're up, he's up, so he's had a rough few nights this week as well.  

An Even Dozen

It was Literary Week.

On Monday, I took my class to see their Book Buddies in the 1st grade.  The first graders read to our K3 kids.  Later in the day, Henry's 8th grade class went and read to the 1st graders.  Caroline's class went to kindergarten, and Josiah's class went to 3rd grade.  Josiah read to my boss's daughter, so I was glad the next day when my boss told me she had so much fun with it.  Josiah tends to read with a lot of expression anyway.

Tuesday was Book Character Day.  Josiah went as Charlie Brown.  Henry's entire class went as characters from the Magic School Bus.  Henry was Tim Wright.  He prefers when I take the candid shots of him.  hahaha  In my class,  I went as Fred from Big Dog, Little Dog.  I read this to my class (on request) at least once a week.  It's one of my favorites, too. One of the kids in my class questioned whether I spelled Fred correctly and held the book up to my shirt to check.  I passed inspection.  

On Wednesday, we got to wear loungewear and read all day.  I'm not sure if that was mainly a lower school thing, because the Upper School kids had tests and quizzes all week for the end of the semester.  Caroline finished her music elective for the quarter with a mini-concert.  Parents were invited and it was the perfect time for me to go - the classroom was next to where we have recess.  It was during my recess time.  But Caroline strongly suggested I do not darken the door.  It was recorded, so I've emailed her teacher to make sure I get to see the performance.  Caroline said her piece was more improv than anything else.  She's really hoping to do art next quarter, but it's always a surprise until the day of.  

Thursday was Fable Day - dress like an animal.  I had six kids in my class all dressed like animals.  There is nothing like trying to teach when half the class is crawling around the room meowing.  Even though it was Fable Day, Henry had a real life situation happen in his math class.  His teacher walked by to check on the work they were doing in class.  She stood next to Henry, put her hand on his shoulder, and said, "Slow down.  It isn't a race."  I could have hugged her.  I have passed the baton on to his new teachers.  God bless and good luck.  

We finished out our Literary Week with Art Day. Each of the houses in Upper School acted out a painting.  All four houses/paintings had a script to follow and the lower school kids went through and had to solve a mystery.  Rountree House, which our kids are in, were dressed as Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.  Caroline did not want to dress as a fancy lady in the picture, so she got to be a tree.  Josiah was the artist's assistant.  Henry was an art restorer.  The lower school kids had to find the missing dog in the picture.  The different houses were competing for points on how well they acted out the painting and played the scenario with the lower school kids.  

There was a little more to Friday, too.  This little lady turned a dozen.  

I forgot to tell Todd to pick up a breakfast pizza, so she had her birthday breakfast a day late.  For lunch she had Chipotle, and for dinner, her favorite pot roast.  She had a very Norman Rockwell dessert - yellow cake with chocolate icing.  When she did the scavenger hunt for her gifts, she had trouble with one clue, "Tupperware, Rubbermaid, & Pyrex."  She had no clue what those were.  We finally played the "hot/cold" game to get her to the 'lock-in-locks' that she uses for her school lunches.  Youngins'  

Like Henry, Caroline did not give me any ideas for her birthday save one.  A giant yarn knitted blanket.  Check.  She did get a watch because every morning the kids hang out in my classroom until it is time for them to go to their morning assembly.  Every 1-2 minutes Caroline asks us what time it is. Now, I have an analog clock in my room, and even though she can figure it out, she doesn't feel like figuring it out, hence the question, What time is it?  Happy Birthday! She was blessed with gifts from cousins and grandparents as well.  

Even though she had to go to school on her birthday, it was art day, so not real school, and it was a half day because it was the end of the semester.  We were exhausted when we got home, so she had a very chill birthday.  

We've played a lot of badminton lately.  Benson likes to watch the birdie go back and forth, but he has to stay leashed if he's out with us for badminton.  He also likes to eat the birdies.    

We're looking forward to having Monday off - a nice start to the week ahead.

Badminton & Birthdays

The kids have had a busy week of work.  Henry had a lot more than he was used to getting.  This coming Friday is the end of the semester, so there is a lot due as well as a lot of tests.  Henry has been working on a paper about Huckleberry Finn, which has been a bit time-consuming because he likes my company when he writes.  I also serve as typist.  At pick-up on Thursday, he got in the car and apologized to everyone because his paper was not due the following day.  It was a rough draft that was due and he was sorry he had monopolized my time.  When Henry hears the word rough draft, he takes it literally and wants to leave it rough so his teacher will see a difference in the final paper. Yeah.  But it doesn't have to be rough-rough...  

Henry still wasn't feeling the best and was upset to have to write a paper under sick circumstances.  He broke out in a rash on Tuesday night, so I took him to the Urgent Care the following day.  We had a very indecisive nurse practitioner who kept saying it could be a bunch of different things and I could pick the option for treatment.  But isn't that your job...  I went home and researched Henry's rash and it really looked like strep that had turned into scarlet fever, so I filled the antibiotics prescription (instead of waiting days for the long strep test to come back) and it definitely did the trick.  I'm usually a wait-it-out kind of person (so we don't overuse antibiotics), but he fit the symptoms to a T.  

Orion

Henry also had his first stage crew meeting and he found out he's been assigned to 'set construction.'  I was so excited because that's such a useful part.  He gets to learn how to use tools and build.  He was not quite as enthusiastic because he doesn't have any experience.  We're going to let him practice using our drill so he can get a feel for it.  He knows one thing they have to build are doors.  Josiah went to the stage crew meeting, too, because he was put in the marketing group.  They have grand plans of making posters and hanging them up in businesses all around town.

On Friday, while Henry was at a friend's birthday party, Josiah took us outside to see how the planets aligned.  He showed us Mars, Jupiter, and Venus.  Venus was unbelievably bright.  Saturn was hidden by our neighbor's house.  It was pretty cool how clear they were.  We also saw Orion very well.  Then there was Castor and Pollux making a triangle with Mars.  Josiah has an app that tells him what everything is and he loves to show us all that he has learned.  

The triangle has Mars to the right.

We had a few birthdays this week.  Caroline wanted to film my birthday cake, not necessarily for sentimental value, but because the shadow from my glasses makes my eyebrows look evil...  

I also got to run up to Staunton on Saturday to wish Grandma a happy birthday.  Grandpa had made homemade macaroni and cheese and homemade poundcake.  It was like a step back into my childhood.  They were both so good.  We had a great visit, but I was back on the road early Sunday morning.  

Then we got to sing Happy Birthday to Nana today.  All three right in a row.  

Sometimes when I'm cooking dinner, I look out in the backyard and see two or three of the kids playing volleyball with the four square ball.  It looks so idyllic.  I can't hear anything, so I can only make up the encouraging and kind words that they are saying to each other.  And then they come inside.  Their words sound more like a rant about something a sibling said or did...  But at least I got a picture.  

This weekend, all three played outside a lot.  Todd played with them on Saturday while I was gone.  Caroline is convinced he is the best badminton player.  I said I wanted to play a match with him because I felt like I could hold my own. Henry, then took it upon himself to mimic how I play badminton - my feet are stationary, but my arms reach everywhere.  It was pretty hilarious because it was so accurate.  I played volleyball and football today as well until my shoulder couldn't take any more.  It's going to be sore tomorrow.  

The Potato Heads made their appearance this week.  Josiah kept the President's Day theme and made a presidential speech.  

The week ahead is Literary Week at school and it concludes with art day on Friday.  Each day has a theme on how we are to dress, so it is going to be a busy one for sure.  The kids have already asked for different colored shirts for Tuesday, so I know what I'll be doing Monday afternoon.

It is always a pretty drive home from Staunton.