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Teacher Appreciation
05.09.11 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Teacher AppreciationToday I got appreciated. This week our school combined all of the ‘appreciations’ into one week, so it is staff appreciation this week. That usually means that we staff members are spoiled rotten by our PTSA and parent community by the daily luncheon they put on. (It is unbelievable how nice it is NOT to have to plan and pack a lunch for a week!) So I expected the lunch and was excited for lunch, and then my kids entered the room today and they, too, remembered that it is the week to appreciate and boy did they ever! they gave hugs, cards, and even a few gifts. This one from Scout was particularly clever and I thought that I should share:
I know, right? A basket of candy, a huge hit on the diet (down 11 pounds btw!!!). But what is so clever is the note she gave along with it:
Every teacher needs a Scout in their room. Aside from having a just plain awesome name, she is always that reliable sweet, terribly bright kid who consistently works hard, tries her best and is a kind and diplomatic member of our community. SO I let HER know that while she appreciates me, every darn day I thank my lucky stars that she was placed into my class at Hilltop and that I appreciate HER to her very core as well. Sometimes people just need to know that we appreciate them, and I appreciate my students every bit as much as they appreciate me!
Thanks, Scout!
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Ready for Summer!
04.29.11 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Ready for Summer!
We have been furiously working on our patio and gardens over here at LJ House in preparation for warmer weather! If you follow our blog, then you know that before Spring Break we had the patio laid by our friend Javier, then we bought the hot tub and just appreciated that as is for a few days. I got busy emptying the garden beds of their sod and weeds in preparation for fresh soil and plants:
The past few days we have been busy planting the nursery that we amassed in our front yard. The first on the list was the herb garden. Lavender, thyme, parsley, rosemary, sage and a few espaliered fruit trees make the back fence something worth looking at. Bradley bought the Tiki torches last year on clearance because they are just so darn Disney-ish that they just made (cheesy) sense to us! Turns out that they look pretty cute in the garden too!
Bradley ran into a fuchsia sale and inexpensive baskets to hang across the back of our house. Totaled, we have five baskets to festoon the patio with pretty flowers all summer long. Can you believe my economical husband spent only about 8 bucks per basket?! We are hoping to overwinter them and use the same baskets next year.
Then the other day I got into a rather cramped automobile. Guess what was inside? A table and chairs for the patio so we could eat out there! When we lived in Bellingham, our favorite place to eat was outside under the grape arbor. Every meal was spent at that table followed by leisurely conversations and a little toddler girl playing. I am so glad that we have returned to the days of eating outdoors!
And here is my vegetable garden. Under the soil is seeds for string beans, zucchini, carrots, lettuce, basil, peas, arugula and a few sunflowers. Our starts are broccoli and tomatoes, and the strawberries are here, waiting to be planted from starts my mom gave me. I have to say that this is my favorite garden. I find it so amazing that for a few months out of the year we can eat so much home grown healthy vegetables. I am hoping for enough beans to do a bit of canning this year as well. The pots hold pumpkin seeds, Gigi is in charge of those and we’ll be planting them around the corner. We planted one of those big giant pumpkins. We’ll have to see what happens with that!
So here we are, all prepped and ready for the magnificent sun to make her appearance so we can have a fabulous summer on the patio. Oh Mrs. Sun? Where are you? Please come back soon! The Kenmore LJ’s miss you!
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Easter
04.28.11 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Easter
Easter came and went on Sunday, of course with all of the early morning fanfare one would expect. Our biggest news?  The Easter Bunny hid some eggs in the pantry IN THE FLOUR BIN! It would seem that poor old EB figured out a little too late the mess that it would make, and we woke up to find a mess and footprints through the flour. We certainly had a story to tell that day (Jude told it many times to whomever would listen) and we also had to try out that flour on our own feet…
After the discovery of the big EB mess, Guinevere and Jude went on their egg hunt. That Easter Bunny was sure smart because he left a note telling the kids that Gigi was to find the pink and purple eggs while Jude was to find the blue and yellow ones. Good thing too as the pink and purple eggs were in harder places. EB knows how to make the hunt harder for older kids!
After all of the eggs were found the kids ate candy for their first meal (followed by strawberry waffles later). Grandma Sheri and Pipi came over and guess what? EB left treats at their place too! We figured he got confused since we’ve moved since last Easter and he wanted to be SURE that the LJ kids got their prizes! We headed outside to take a picture with the spoils, to romp, play and chase. A very good Easter!
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Star Wars at the Pacific Science Center
04.27.11 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Star Wars at the Pacific Science CenterFor those of you who don’t know, my man is a pretty big Star Wars fan. When I met him, I knew that Star Wars was a part of his past, but then he embraced his inner child/geek, and it became an even bigger part of our lives. On our honeymoon through California, we went and saw Episode I: The Phantom Menace, a movie that Bradley just loved and I? I fell asleep. Then we had kids and a reason to purchase action figures and vehicles was born. Gigi and Jude are well equipped with Galactic Heroes, books galore, costumes, light sabers and often have Star Wars movie or Clone Wars episode viewing parties where they like to act out their favorite scenes. I have to admit that I am not a big Star Wars fan, but support my family with their obsession so much that despite ever paying close attention to any of the movies I am pretty well versed in names, planets, and story lines! I can definitely hold my own in a Star Wars geek conversation! So when we heard that there was going to be a Star Wars exhibit at the Pacific Science Center this spring, we knew it was inevitable that we would make our way downtown to take a peek. That day was today. Gigi and I stayed home from school today (gasp!) and made our way, with our boys, to see the sights. The following picture gallery is a little of what we captured.
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Ice Cream Hands
04.22.11 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Ice Cream HandsTamara asked Jude “Do you need to wash your hands? They have ice cream on them.” Jude replied, “No thanks, I just lick them.”
