Becoming A First Grader

 On the way to the elementary school the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the weather was nice to boot, too.

 After finding her seat, Sophie waited nervously for the teacher to tell everyone what to do next.

 Bailey, a self portrait.

 A rare almost all of us together family photo.  Some of Bailey's friends were playing in front of the school and he didn't want to take a picture with us. 

So, I had to settle for part two of almost all of us together family photo on the way home.  Bailey is dressed in jeans because he had school that morning.

Spring Break?

We made it through Spring Break, although it didn't turn out at all like we had planned.  I envisioned days at the park, a picnic or two, having a couple friends over to play, decorating for Easter and the like.  The reality was high fevers, lots of medicine and TLC, lots and lots and lots of time spent on the couch watching TV.  You guessed it, Bailey was hit with the influenza (B) bug.

We had yet to get the doctor's ok, so he missed the first day back to school (Thursday) but made it back for the second day.  He is now officailly a third grader.  He has the same teacher as he did in second grade and his closest friends are in the same class, so he is doing well.

Sophie's enterance ceremony for elementary school is on Monday and then she will officailly be a first grader.  We spent some time today going over the school supply list to make sure she has everything.  All we need to do is get her name tag and she will be all set.  Her feelings about starting school change from day to day.  One minute she can't wait to start and the next minute she wants to go back to pre school.  I'm sure she will be fine once she gets settled into the routine.

How The Mighty Fall

Around three o'clock yesterday I got a call from Bailey's teacher telling me to bring my insurance card and come to the junior high school as soon as possible. Bailey had fallen, was bleeding badly and an ambulance had been called.

I know that head wounds bleed a lot, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. Sophie burst into tears when she saw her brother lying there, his face and hands covered in blood. Bailey, on the other hand, was a real trooper and one cried once during the entire ordeal. Both kids were scared of riding in the ambulance, but thankfully, Bailey's teacher came along with us and helped out so much- explaining what happened to the doctors, holding Sophie's hand when she was scared and I had to help Bailey.

After the initial examination, they asked me to wait in the waiting room while they stapled Bailey's head since Sophie was still crying. All of the nurses and doctors were amazed that Bailey didn't cry or try to fight them. He just laid on the table and let them do what they needed to do. Ten staples later and we were on our way home. We made a quick stop at the convenience store to get dinner for the kids since it was already pretty late and then came home. I gave Bailey a dose of kid's pain reliever since he said his head hurt a little, they ate and then got ready for bed.

They told me to keep a close eye on him, so I got up every few hours throughout the night to check on him, but each time he was snoring softly, dreaming away.

We went back to the doctor's today and were told it would take about a week to heal. A week without swimming lessons or strenuous exercise, which also means no sport's festival tomorrow. He had the option of just being there to support his team and watch, but decided that he didn't want to do that. He is pretty disappointed.

He is doing a lot better this morning and keeps bugging me about going to the park! We have compromised with lunch out.

Never Met A Stranger. . . .

A few weeks ago, we went to cousin K and cousin A's elementary school sport's festival. After a while, Bailey got tired of watching and found a group of junior high school girls to help keep him entertained. (That's him in the grey shirt, standing up)

This Saturday, we will do it all over again, but thei time for Bailey. Bailey is fretting over remembering all the steps for the class dance and practices everywhere- in the bath tub, waiting in line at the supermarket, while cleaning off the table after dinner. What can I say, he's got sparkle!

I, on the other hand, am fretting over the lunch menu. It seems like I always fix the same things- yakisoba noodles, Japanese style fried chicken, little star shaped hash browns, cherry tomatoes, fruit salad and candy cheese. I want to make something different, but am feeling so uninspired in the cooking department lately. What to do, what to do? I wouldn't worry so much if it was just our little family of four, but I am pretty sure MIL and SIL and her kids are coming along as well.

I hope to put together a shopping list today and get the shopping out of the way as well, so I better make up my mind and just go to it. Why can't I just get a big bucket of KFC and be done with it?

Tip Jar

A little shuffle around and change of plans has left me with some free time, so I thought I oughta update the old blog.

*Bailey's sports festival is coming up in a few weeks so I have been trying to determine how many people will be coming and getting a rough idea of the menu. I have finally found a really good Japanese style fried chicken recipe that I like (one that takes a little more planning, but tastes oh so good whether fresh out of the fryer or at room temperature), but I can not for the life of me make a rice ball that doesn't fall apart. I have asked several friends and have gotten some good advice- use less filling, make the rice balls with freshly cooked rice, use firm pressure when shaping the rice balls, try using plastic wrap and more- but I still can't make the perfect rice ball. Any ideas, suggestions or tips?

*One of the biggest adjustments for Bailey transitioning to elementary school, is that he has to remember a lot more than before. At preschool, the teachers checked to make sure that he had everything that he needed to bring home, but at elementary school he has to remember it all himself and it is proving to be quite a challenge. For example, he will remember that he has math homework but not to bring the math book home. I am just wondering what I can do to help him remember. I hope that it will be easier for him to remember once he has been in school a little longer,but in the interim any suggestions would be really appreciated.

School Is So Cool

Monday, was parent observation day at Bailey's school. I went, expecting just to watch, but the first grade teachers had all planned out an interactive class. The students played among themselves first and then after about ten minutes or so the parents were invited to play.

Basically, the students had to introduce themselves and shake hands with as many people as they could within the time limit. A couple of kids that I knew from Bailey's preschool class came up to me right off and I was surprised how many kids I didn't know came up to greet me too.

The lesson was fun to watch and participate in but it also gave me a chance to see how Bailey interacts with his classmates. The forty five minutes that they had allotted for parents to watch really just flew by. I was thinking of not going, but I am really glad I did.

Bailey seems to like going to school, especially because he gets to walk to and from school by himself. His teacher is a little strict and doesn't let Bailey get away with much which I think is good. So far, he hasn't had any homework and other than a few minor mix ups about what book to take on what day there hasn't been any major problems.

Another Day At Home

Yesterday, I managed to get three of the bags Bailey needs for elementary school finished. There is one for his glue, scissors, tape and stapler. The middle one is for his gym clothes and one more for his cup and toothbrush. Now, there are only two others I need to make- one for his inside shoes and one for miscellaneous use.

For Sophie, I need to make two shoe bags (her shoes have gotten too big for the ones she was using) and check to make sure that all of her things still have name labels on them. I should also get her uniform dry cleaned and maybe buy a few more pairs of white knee socks.

Bailey's stomach isn't getting any better, so I took him to the doctor this morning. Seems to be a stomach virus that is currently going around and the doctor advised us to stay home until Bailey gets better. After picking up his medicine, we made a quick trip to the store (for a few groceries and a couple of new books to keep the kids occupied for a while)and then we came home.

I am pretty sure that tomorrow will be another at home day, so I will try to finish up the bags for both kids by the end of the week.

Little By Little

Little by little, we are getting things ready for Bailey to start elementary school. Today, they delivered and assembled his desk. It takes up a little more room than I thought it would, but after we get used to it, it won't be so bad. I wonder how much studying a first grader has to do anyway. . . . but, there will be more studying as he gets older so we went with a desk that would grow with him. I just have no idea where we will put another desk in two years when Sophie starts elementary school. Think they would mind sharing?

Bailey's gym clothes. We bought these a couple sizes too big, so hopefully he can get more wear out of them. They have a drawstring at the waist so the size can be adjusted pretty easily. Don't you love that, mom, why do we have to take pictures of everything face?

Today it is cold and rainy and Bailey is complaining that his stomach hurts, so after lunch I hope to get started on the shoes bags and gym clothed bag that he needs. I was hoping he would just agree to use the ones he used in pre-school, but he has outgrown Thomas the tank engine and can't fathom having anything other than Pokemon. He has Pokemon pencils and pencil case, erasers and colored pencils, glue and scissors. Wonder how long this Pokemon obsession is going to last?