100 days of school

Ellie finished her necklace with 100 beads. And she made a jewelry box for it.







Today apparently they did all sorts of 100 day activities including writing 100 words. It was also free dress day...big day at school.


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Oops

I didn't take photos of the kids today.

So enjoy a picture of LA City Hall I took from a rooftop at a project building. Also note the snow on the mountains.



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Oatmeal fans

My kids are weird. They love oatmeal. Not like "this is good, il lest it but can we have something else tomorrow" kind of liking. They are oatmeal obsessed. Ellie told me she couldn't wait for the morning because she wanted oatmeal. You need Calvin to do anything for you...promise him oatmeal and he will run and jump at your command. Oatmeal.







But Calvin has a secret. He found the sugar cereal in the pantry. Now each morning after he has his diaper changed he runs to the kitchen before I can realize he is gone. He grabs a silicone muffin cup and heads to the pantry where he then proceeds to fill the cup with sugar cereal. Tricky, fastidious kid.










He doesn't share.


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100 days of school

This Friday is the 100th day of school (or so Ellie's teacher says). She, in addition to her normal homework, has to put together a project (smaller than 18"x18"x18") to represent the 100 days. After a long brainstorming session, Ellie decided that she wanted to make a necklace with 100 beads. Done!

We got beads and string over the weekend and she started. She said she wanted to do the beads in groups of 5 and use knots in between the sets of 5. We are still working on the learning curve of getting a knot where she wants it. But she is doing it on her own...well with help from Calvin.










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Piano recital

Yesterday was Ellie's piano recital. She played a solo (a song we selected only two weeks ago after deciding she didn't want to play what she had been practicing!) and a duet she has been practicing with a friend from her theory class.

She did really well! I was so proud of her.






(This is her, "mom! Stop bothering me, I got this!" look)

Grandma and Grandpa came down for the recital as well. Calvin was nervous for E apparently.



After the recital Calvin wanted his turn.


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Sibling love

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Busy day

Today I had a whole bunch of work stuff in the afternoon and evening. So Nick totally was my pinch hitter and took Ellie to piano (the last lesson before her recital no less) and then took the kids to a restaurant night (restaurant donates portion of profits to Es school) at a restaurant the kids (and Nick) had never been to. When I got home everyone was asleep. So I guess I'll get a recap from Ellie at breakfast tomorrow.

I also walked Ellie into school today, she had been asking for a while and it was nice to get a little face time with her teacher.










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A reader

Ellie is starting to ask to read after we say goodnight by herself or to take a book or magazine in the car. Today she had to have the latest Ranger Rick this morning to read at breakfast, walking to the car, and on the 30 second drive to school.






What is interesting is in starting to see her preferences come out. She likes the "real fiction" books. These are stories about humans in human typical settings, with a little twist, like the Ladybug Girl books. Hence she likes the historical fiction American Girl books and even tolerates the fantasy and suspension of belief for the Katie series. But books that have huge suspension of disbelief (fantasy)...not her cup of tea.

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A big sister

This morning Calvin was coughing and showing signs of a cold and upper respiratory infection. So I decided to start the steroids and albuterol treatment. Cal likes to hold the mask on and for you to read books.

Well, Ellie volunteered to read while I got dressed and ready to get out the door for the day. Calvin wanted to sit in her lap.

The result, as sad as it is to see the nebulizer in action, is utter adorableness.






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Syrup

The kids have been on an oatmeal kick lately. But of course it's the brown sugar instant oatmeal. Well it smells like syrup. And anyone who eats it smells like syrup. Today Cals teacher asked if he had pancakes or something with syrup...I explained...and then she said that everyone had been wanting Calvin cuddles because he smelled so good. Ha!



Tonight we got home before Nick and E. Calvin wouldn't go inside and insisted on sitting in the stoop and waiting for Nick.





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Goodbye kisses

Calvin is back in his routine at school. He's happy to be there, or just want breakfast.

Usually I have to ask for a wave and a kiss, but I usually get one or the other.












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Reports

It was a long day.

I got a call from Ellie's school nurse in the morning that during recess she fell and hit her head. After 30 minutes she was still complaining that her head hurt. The nurse thought she was okay, but it was my call. So I went to the school (I don't have the highest level of faith in the school nurse as she thinks all kids, even kindergarteners are seeing her to get out of class. She also said that Ellie goes to her too much, although I confirmed its only when she is bleeding or hit her head...and that one time that she fell on her knee and had trouble walking...). So I brought E from school and kept an eye on her for another 30 minutes. She was still complaining and said she was dizzy so to the doctor we went. She is fine, the doc said to keep an eye on her but expects she will be totally okay without any problem (she was able to read another American Girl book silently in the office which he said meant she didn't have any issues).

Then when I picked Calvin up his teacher told me he had an incident report. Calvin bit another kid. Apparently the kid wasn't letting him open the window on the playhouse, so he bit him. Ugh...

I didn't get all the reports out that I had today. And then there was a PTA meeting.

Long day.


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American Girl

Years ago when Ellie asked for an American Doll we told her that you had to read the books by yourself before you could have one. We figured it would buy us years. Like until she was 8, the recommended age for the dolls.

Well as she sees her birthday rapidly approaching on the horizon she has a quest for a doll (and it didn't help that we just got a catalog in the mail). She asked to go to the library to get a book to try and read. So we did. I told her she had to get one of the first books in the doll series (Meet Kit, Meet Molly, etc) but whatever book she picked didn't mean she had to eventually get that doll. Well she picked Meet Kirsten, which was the doll I had as a little girl. I remembered the basics of her story (immigrant from Sweden, etc). And it looks like she will finish the book tonight. Which means she will ask for a doll for her birthday.










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22 months

The little dude turned 22-months yesterday. But, we totally forgot to do tiger pictures so we did them today. In his jammies.










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Towers

I spent a few minutes with Calvin at drop-off today. His and my favorite blocks were out on the play table and so we both began talking about what we saw in the blocks and building a tower.



We actually made a pretty tall tower before Calvin decided to knock it down.






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Teeth

Calvin had a dentist appointment today and so Nick took him, and Ellie as well.

Not sure where this picture was taken, as nobody told me they got ice cream after the dentist...



And Nick also captured a moment of the two of them not fighting over Playmobil in Ellie's room. Calvin usually sneaks into her room and plays with the Playmobil...mostly to bother Ellie and because she likes it so much.


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Light reading

I caught them both reading magazines/catalogues during breakfast.





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El Niño

So it rained. And it rained A LOT! And it's gonna rain again tomorrow.

Ellie was mad at me because I wouldn't let her take an umbrella to school.

Cal and all his teachers and friends got cabin fever.

Nick checked the attic to make sure that all the HVAC work didn't cause any leaks (it didn't).

And I sat on conference calls all day staring at water running down my window.




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Happy New Year!

So new year and I completely fail on a first post for 2016...what a great start. And I was so excited to be back to our routine and normalcy...ugh. Let's just pretend that I was super busy with awesome, new year resolutionly, things.

A few pics of our fun with the Rose Parade:





















So yeah...here's to 2016!!

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