Petsmart Visit

Evan's 1st grade class recently visited Petsmart to select new guppies and fish pond accessories for their refurbished classroom habitat (which is an in ground aquarium in their classroom). They have spent a lot of time preparing for the arrival of their class fish family. They had a marine expert (I forgot her exact title....Dr. Something or other) come out and talk to them about the types of fish that would do well in their environment and she tested the water over several weeks to decide the perfect time to introduce the fish.

Here are the kids getting ready to pick out their new Classroom 11 friends. It was a really nice turn out of kids for an unusually cold Saturday morning for an optional school event. They really enjoy one another and Ms. Angela does a good job of making learning fun and applicable to life.

Aren't they adorable? Yes, Noah is dressed in his Harry Potter cape in front. and Evan is posing with Sophia...his kindergarten crush.

Mrs. Angela truly made this a great learning experience. She made them earn all the money themselves, made them responsible for counting the money, deciding how much to spend and on what, she even let them take turns holding the money! The nice cashier in the background was patient as they tried to figure out how much money they needed for their purchase.

I really love this school. It is an Applied Learning Center which basically means that they learn by applying classroom learning to real life situations. They are allowed to lead each other and themselves to learn about all subjects and how to apply what they've learned to real life. It is a school that's perfect for those who like to think outside the box. They have tons of parent resources as well as parent involvement. Did I mention that I love this school!?

Back to the Grind

So we are back in the swing of things here now that school has started up again.  I took a bit of a blogging/menu planning/focused parenting break this summer.  But now it's over and it's back to the grind!  All of a sudden I have lots to share or maybe it's just that I have more time to myself to share it.

 Our morning "goodbye" prayer before we all part ways
(I may have broken concentration to take this picture...sorry Lord)

The morning even went well.  We set an alarm clock for the boys for the first time and I'm not sure if it's a good idea.  Maybe we should have done an in-service on the darn thing.  After it went off this morning, Evan came crashing into our room announcing ..."Daddy, the blue clock in our room keeps beeping and I can't sleep!"  Terrance politely told him that was the whole point in having an alarm clock and teaches him how to hit the snooze button!  Seriously....the snooze button!  Shouldn't he have just told them to get up and get ready for school! Anyway, we'll give the alarm a week before we decide whether or not it's a waste of time.  After we all finally woke up...did I mention that I don't do mornings...the boys had breakfast and got ready for school with no grumbling or fussing and fighting.  Amazing!  We were out the door with no drama on the first day back at school.  Yippee!! Yes...I'm bragging!!  Evan is taking being a 1st grader in stride.  It's amazing how much he's 'matured' since last year.  He walked right up to his class and went through his normal morning routine putting his back pack away, turning in his summer homework...yes, I said summer homework!  Greeting all of his classmates and teacher just like it was second nature.  It was kind of depressing watching him do it all without needing my help at all! 

Evan showing Mrs. Angela that he completed his summer homework packet

As far as menu planning goes...I'm excited because I have three new recipes to try this week.  I'm sorry I don't have a link for my recipes, but I got them from magazines and store handouts so I don't have a website to link them to and I'm too lazy to type them out right now...maybe later!

Monday: chicken quesadillas using homemade (okay...Central Market homemade) tortillas
Tuesday: baked tilapia  smothered with Creole Tomato dressing (another Central Market recipe) along with shrimp puffs
Wednesday: Taco Night
Thursday: Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Friday thru Sunday: Haven't I cooked enough!! The boys are on their own since I have to work all three days this weekend.  I'm sure there will be lots of pizza and hot dogs and McDonald's involved!

*as usual I'm linking up with I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Planning Monday

Think Pink

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Pink attire and pink ribbons are everywhere.  Even the NFL players have pink on their helmets, ribbons on their jersey's and even pink gloves.  I love it. The underlying goal of Breast Cancer Awareness month is not only to promote education and awareness about breast cancer but also to raise money for breast cancer research and treatments.  So every time you support a company or product that supports the pink ribbon, you are doing your part to help.  Don't you feel good inside?

I want to mainly emphasize the importance of early detection from the NBCAM website:

One of the earliest signs of breast cancer can be an abnormality that shows up on a mammogram before it can be felt. The most common signs of breast cancer are a lump in the breast; abnormal thickening of the breast; or a change in the shape or color of the breast. Although finding a lump or change in your breast does not necessarily mean you have breast cancer.

As you all know, my friend Shalana was diagnosed with breast cancer and has undergone treatment and is now cancer free.  She has finished two of her four reconstructive surgeries and is doing very well.  She is still strong and beautiful and she hasn't let the diagnosis control her... instead she took control of it.  I can't express how proud and amazed I am of her for coming out on top of everything she has been dealt this past year.  It's good to have those type of role models in your life.  Kind of makes you think...if she can handle all that she's been through with a smile on her face then these little trials of mine are insignificant in the grand scheme of things and if I am ever dealt the hand that she's been dealt then I hope I am able to go through it with at least a smidge of the grace that she has shown.