Summer is Flying By!

I can't believe it's already the 3rd week of summer vacation! We have been so busy since school ended. Here's a bit to catch you up! {be prepared for a LONG post with A LOT of pictures!!!!}

• We celebrated Brendan's graduation from Kindergarten. We can't believe he's off to 1st grade in Sept!! As our tradition we had a little grad cake to end our year! He was most excited with his new Leapster 2!!
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• Our first week off Brendan went to Lacrosse camp- he enjoyed not having to "play" real games but rather do practice drills & just have fun.

• Then we spent a few days in PA. We went to Hershey, PA & stayed at the Hershey Lodge. We went to Hershey Park (on a day of nearly 100 degrees!!) and spent most of the day in the water park. Both the boys had a fun time playing in the water. Brendan went on his first roller coaster- but decided they weren't for him!!

Too tired to play anymore!!

The next day we drove to spend the day at Dutch Wonderland & nearby Kitchen Kettle Village. Brendan had a lot of fun on the rides. Christian loved the carousel ride!

• This past week seemed to be filled with many library activities. Our library offers many programs over the summer and even opened a new outdoor exploration play area. Brendan is enjoying a sign language class, many reading/craft classes & has joined the reading club. HE has to read 6 books & report on them to attend the end of summer party. Christian is also enjoying some singing & dancing classes. He is in the Read to Me club & must have 20 books read to him to attend the end of summer party! Reading will certainly keep us busy!!




• Brendan also started swimming lessons again this summer. We hope to toss the swimmies by the end of this summer!!




• Christian has become such a big boy! He is eating up a storm and following Brendan everywhere {still crawling - thank goodness!!} They especially love to eat lunch together!!

• I've been busy with my garden. Loving my herbs this year {basil, parsley, rosemary, sage & thyme}

Happy Summer All!!

Getting Crafty!

Next week is Brendan's school play, "Save the Rain Forest". He chose to be a chameleon. This past weekend I created his costume. I bought a dark green sweatsuit & I glued foam & lame fabric for the scales. For eyes I'm using styrafoam halves w/ google eyes. I bought green costume fabric to make a tail. I made spikes with the foam too.

UPDATE!! The play was a HUGE delight!! We are so proud of our little star!!

March Madness!!

Here are a few pictures from our busy March! We attended the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Islip. Brendan created a Leprechaun Catcher for school. We took the boys to White Post Farms to feed the animals. Christian turned 10 months! He's finally crawling! Sean participated in St. Baldrick's for a cure for children's cancer - by shaving his head! Enjoy! Happy Spring!!

Manga!

On Saturday, Nov 21, I went to our local "little book store" (aka not B & N) to a book signing. I got to see Lidia Bastianich. She's on channels 13 & 21. (I know...not the food network.) But she has a great cooking show with all Italian cooking. She also gives you history & shows video of her trips there. So her new cookbook focuses on the smaller, outskirt towns & their culture. She came with her daughter, Tanya, with whom she wrote this new book. Together, they share their food tasting & historial experiences. Lidia was very warm, and full of interesting stories. Here are some pictures I took.

Here she is signing my book. The woman in line behind me, took the picture.

Here's my book signed!

Apple Picking

Today we went Apple picking at Lewin's Farm. Brendan was so excited to pick his own apples this year and pick them for his brother. Christian loved being outside, looking around and smiling. We also picked up some veggies at the farm stand, flowers and pies/cookies at Briemere Farms.

Firsts

Yes. We're still here! My blogging {Sadly I must admit} will be a bit sporatic for a while. Maybe only special events or weekends. Things are too busy right now. But here's my UPDATE on our exciting few weeks...

Brendan's first day of Kindergarten {I know! Where does the time go???} was exciting. He rode the bus and brought his lunch. He did enjoy it - however is he's trying to get over the fact that his teacher doesn't have "cars" in her classroom. Each day it seems that he's enjoying it a little bit more. He says his favorite time of day is P.E. because she let's them run! {typical boy.} He also loves his teacher. He really likes the books she reads. We also already had our first Open House up at his school. {yes, I'm admitting this} I was impressed how organized she was. She also seems very structured {whew!} and right on top of things. I'm also happy that she offered many opportunities to working parents to get involved {she has class moms but other parents can help too} - I signed up to help with the 100th day of school (centers/party), a project prep helper (get projects organized at home for her) and a mystery reader {SHHH!!! Brendan doesn't know that}. She I'm looking forward to it all!

My first day of 4th grade was exciting too. What changes - new classroom, new class {well, all except 5 kids from last year's class}, new projects, curriculum, etc... It was pretty fun and I'm actually loving it. Honestly, it's not much different than 3rd - well now they know all about tests, our reading program, etc. The work is a bit harder but that's not so bad! I'm actually {not tooting my own horn or anything...} proud of myself over all this "change". The first time I switched grade levels {1st to 3rd} I was so stressed! It was a big jump for me. But after 10+ years of experience I'm able to be more flexible and open to new experiences. {ok, I'm not looking to change again any time soon!!} But I'm happy for the new experience. Just can't wait until all the routines are "ironed out".

Christian's first day at our babysitter's house went great. He goes 4 days a week {she sat Brendan for a few years}. She says he's a "dream" baby {he is!!} and never cries. He loves to sit, watch all the kids play, smile and nap. We were so happy about this. He seemed to be attached to me all summer and we were worried he would be upset. But he loves it. He's there with a little girl who is a month older and next month a little boy who is 2 wks younger then him will join. So he'll have plenty of playmates.

Interview with Brendan - The Mommy Edition

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!




What is something that your mom always says to you?

I LOVE YOU
What makes your mom happy?

WHEN I DO NICE THINGS
What makes your mom sad?

WHEN I DON'T DO NICE STUFF

How does your mom make you laugh?
BY BEING SILLY

What was your mom like as a child?
SHE WAS A BABY

How old is your mom?
I DON'T KNOW

How tall is your mom?
{SPREADS ARMS TALL} THIS BIG

What is your mom's favorite thing to watch on TV?
COOKING SHOWS

What does your mom do when you're not around?
SIT DOWN

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
I DON'T KNOW

What is your mom really good at?
COOKING STUFF

What is your mom not very good at?
MARIO KART - VIDEO GAMES

What does your mom do for her job?
WORK

What is your mom's favorite food?
PASTA

What makes you proud of your mom?
SHE CAN BE SILLY

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
THOMAS THE TRAIN

What do you and your mom do together?
CUDDLE

How are you and your mom the same?
WE HAVE THE SAME HAIR

How are you and your mom different?
I'M SMALLER AND SHE'S BIGGER

How do you know your mom loves you?
SHE SAYS I LOVE YOU

What does your mom like most about your dad?
I DON'T KNOW

Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
TARGET

The Finale to a BUSY Week!

Whew! It's been a busy week - minus working all week at school! Hooray for teacher vacation time! Well deserved I might add- we've got to gear up for the NYS Math exam the first week in March. Uck!

Anyhow, just thought I'd post before the really busy week begins...

Brendan, Sean and I had a nice week off. Although we've discovered that Brendan is so used to keeping busy ALL DAY at school that a week of less busy days...Bordom rears it's unly head!

HIP HIP HOORAY FOR THE 100th DAY PROJECT!

Here it is... 9 planets+ 90 star stickers + 1 astronaut = 100 things in space! Brendan is really excited to share it with his class especially since they are studing space this week. I'm proud of him because he did most of it on his own. He especially liked his face in the astronaut suit!

On Thursday Brendan invited his friend "O" over and they had a fun playdate. On Friday we took Brendan to Dave and Busters for dinner and some video games.

So by Sunday we were exhausted... We spent the morning relaxing. I , of course, got a pedicure! Then we stopped at the library for some playtime and to look for some dinosaur books. (Brendan's latest interest) We even made another batch of banana muffins. I also decided to get out my ice cream maker. It was a wedding shower gift from some friends...6 years ago...not ever used. Why? No clue. But it was SO EASY!! And Brendan really got a kick out of making his own. Needless to say...dessert is going to be extra yummy. I also decided to pull out the slow cooker for an easy dinner. Italian Herb Chicken - with homemade mashed potatoes.