What a Difference a Year Makes!

For the 2012-2013 school year, we began our homeschool journey, for the first time, with all the kids.  The year prior to that was only a half year with one of my children.  I was determined that I was going to start blogging again for the 2013-2014 school year, but then this happened... 

Big Baby in Here!



At 40 years old, this was a little scary for me, but all my fears turned into joy when this little big girl was born...

 

 



Our 8 lb 11oz bundle of pure sweetness captured all our hearts (and attention), so blogging was put on hold for awhile while we mixed school with special times like this one...

 

 

 

 

Little ones truly do grow fast, and our youngest is now 6 month old!  She has fit right in and even participates in school...

 

Enjoying the reading nook

Celebrating 100 Days of School

 

Before we knew it, we had completed a school year and went out to celebrate the big day at The Cheesecake Factory (one of our favorite restaurants).  We dubbed this night our "First Annual Awards Night."  I hope this means I can look forward to a repeat of the delicious dinner I had that night!!

 

Our "Class Picture"

 

Anyone with a big family knows that there is no easy or fast way to have dinner at a restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory.  That's ok, though, it was sooooo good!  We decided to pass out awards at home, complete with a kindergarten graduation ceremony for my youngest son!  (My oldest son was a bit delirious from a late night and a full belly!)

 



 

 

 It's been a really great school year, but we are all thrilled to be enjoying a little rest and recreation!!

 

 

 

 

 

Kindergarten Time!

My sweet Aidan starts kindergarten on Monday.  I try to share in his excitement as he carries around his new Star Wars backpack or shows his daddy his new Mario Cart (a Wii thing) lunchbox.  He visited his new teacher and saw the classroom last Tuesday night, and he keeps asking, "When can I go back to that kindergarten?"  He's excited and eagerly waits the day that he gets to go to kindergarten and stay all day.  I try to join in the excitement, but instead I want to cry!  He is second born in a line of four.  Does that matter...NO!  They are ALL "my favorite."  Each one brings a special uniqueness to our family.  Hannah returns to school as a third grader.  I'll miss our "girl chats" and her laughter that I've heard all summer (She's just discovered "I Love Lucy.").  Aidan will go all day right along with her.  I'll miss his funny stories that he always seems to have right at lunch time.  I won't get to share lunch time with him during the week for a while.  Do I sound like I am sending them off to college?  Well, it kind of feels that way!  

When you go to kindergarten all day, you have to have nap time at school.  The teacher said to cover the nap mats and bring a blanket .  So, to make it extra special, I covered Aidan's nap mat with Toy Story fabric that I found at Fabric.com (a place that I frequent too much) and bought him a matching blanket at Target.  I made and attached a pillowcase to the mat cover so that it would be easy to put away, but it also makes the mat a little longer.  This is good because the extra thick Kindermats are a few inches shorter than the basic Kindermat...not very comfy when your legs are hanging over and are elevated two inches off the ground. 

He seemed thrilled with it, but so did his  2 year old little brother, Jack (not shown in the picture because he was having a fit and saying, "My cowboy!" (a.k.a. Woody).

Aidan will have a locker (pretty cool, huh?), and they will keep their nap items in a laundry bag.  I picked this up at Target too, and I embroidered his name on it.

This picture gives you an idea of just how much this bag will hold!  I think Aidan could fit in there as well!

Maybe, I could fit in that bag...I don't think anyone would know I was there.  Do you think I could get away with it?  ;)