Friday, May 27, 2011

Recalled.

P32

These were recalled a while back, but I can't say I was sad to find an unopened package in my husband's car. More like delighted.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

On the cusp.

What are we on the cusp of? Summer, of course. One more week of school. We're hoping to be in the pool this summer, a lot. We're hoping to visit friends and family. We're hoping to avoid boredom. You know, the usual.

Nora's last week of school sounds pretty awesome. They have a bike day, a sensory day (with the caution that the kids will be getting dirty--as if they don't already get super dirty at this school!), and two water days. Actually, they're "water and popsicle" days. Nora doesn't want me to forget the popsicles.

The school she attends is Reggio Emilia inspired, which means they've had tons of play-based and project-based learning. Her class's main project this year was "buildings." They built skyscrapers, castles, fairy houses, tons of stuff. Here's just a few of the things they built.


Nora was excited to show me her classroom in action.


Anneliese was along for the ride.



So, it's been a great year and we're pleased.

What else is up? Strawberry picking on Mother's Day.


And I started a new exercise program in April. I'm part of a Galloway run-walk-run group. I've done some running before (Couch to 5K in 2008) and I found it extremely gratifying, but mentally very tough. I'm enjoying this more because of the group aspect, which is surprising but awesome. I guess I'm less antisocial than I thought.

The older I get, the more I'm willing to try new things. Is that normal? In the past few years I've successfully, on some level, conquered several fears and misgivings. Like last year with gardening--I never thought of myself as a gardener, but no one had ever taught me anything and I had never tried before. We may not have had the most beautiful or even the most productive garden in the world (although perhaps the most beautiful and productive on our block!), but it was awesome to do something I never thought I could do. Since moving to our new house we just haven't been able to tackle our yard like we'd like to, and I think gardening has escaped us for this season. But it's not over yet. Uh uh. Fall planting, it is on. The one downfall of joining groups and trying new things is that it's a constant struggle for me to balance all of the different areas of my life. I think that's true for a lot of people, and it's definitely one of my biggest personal challenges. We've become even more active in church lately, which is great, but when focus shifts to one area I have to be careful that I don't let another area suffer. Work in progress? That's me.