a warm house

Yay! A house warming!  

My cousin Kate and her husband Dan just bought their first house.  And me and my rowdy bunch got invited to come, too!  (Only, I thought it better to just bring two of the kids, one of whom can't walk.)

They live just on the other side of the city, but it may as well be a world away.  Us with our busy kid schedules and they with their workplace real jobs...we rarely see each other.

But I always love getting together with the fam.  It somehow keeps me cracking up the whole time, like I haven't laughed in years or something.  

And here's the newest addition to the family: Calvin.  He's a poodle.  Did you know poodles are hypo-allergenic?  So cool, Calvin.



Carmen is VERY interested in pets.  Sometimes in our house, the cat will walk by and she'll follow her with her eyes and look around at us with the expression, "Did anyone else just see what I saw?"  Here with Calvin, she would get that soft fur in her hands and just SQUEEZE.  He was very patient.



And now I definitely have to paint a wall in our house with chalkboard paint.



Just in case you weren't sure who was who.  (Thanks, Kate, for the great iPhone pic!)



And it turns out Kate and Dan have the same taste in furniture as me, only they actually buy it and enjoy it!  Their house looks amazing.

Congratulations, Kate and Dan!

isn't it ironic?

Diego has always loved baseball.  More of a fall ball guy.  Fall is just a great season to be outside swinging a bat.

How about that bat?  It's a real metal bat--that I bought five, yes five, years ago at a yard sale, then  quickly hid in my closet.  After I bought it, I wasn't quite sure my kids were up for the responsibility of a real bat verses a foam one.

But the day has finally come.



OK.  But that's not the ironic part.  This is:



I glance over at the unkempt yard...bikes randomly parked all over the place, weeds growing...but that doesn't look like a weed.

We stop playing to get a closer look...and would you believe it!!  That is corn growing in front of our porch.  You see those silky threads hanging out of the one and only ear?



Since it's not summer, and I'm sure that plant wouldn't have lasted much longer, we picked its only ear to shuck.



It even had three or four kernels!  We dubbed it the cutest corn ever.



How's that for a follow up to the goodbye garden post?!  It just goes to show what a great gardener I am.

I'm quite certain it was planted when some raccoons went through our trash one evening.

"Enough about corn, Mom.  Batter up...let's play some ball!"

goodbye garden

One day, three years ago, I got a crazy idea to start a garden at the kids' school.  The reasons behind it were mostly selfish...I wanted my kids to be outside more since we weren't going to be homeschooling anymore, plus I'd get to be at their school often and see them.  Then there was the other more educational reason... that gardening is one of the best hands-on learning opportunities for children.

What started as one simple garden for the Kindergarteners (a grade my own kids weren't even in) grew to include seed starting kits for entire grades, Pansy Day to make the school grounds pretty, and two more gardens: one for second grade and a sunflower garden for the Spanish teacher.  And just this year, we added 5th grade garden helpers to pull weeds and our first ever Garden Club that meets monthly.



Looking at this garden, it all seems so easy, but it has been anything but.  The posts for that gate were dug deep by my hard-working husband.  That mulch was spread by my family and one other on a most frigid spring day.  Those cinderblocks were moved by only a few hands.  That dirt was wheelbarrowed around the fence by only three people.  We gave up afternoons, weekends, and summers maintaining the garden.

And Diego has surely been my helper those many years.  He was usually eager to go to the garden and help in whatever way was needed...especially watering.

I've complained to my own family over the years at how nobody helps out with the garden.  In my dreams, it was never a one man show, but something that would eventually take on a life of its own: with schedules of teachers clambering to get their classes out in the garden; children learning science, math, language arts in the fresh air; and cafeteria workers opening up a salad bar grown by our own students.  Maybe in another ten years.

Last week was Pansy Day.  Our biggest yet...780 pansies planted by each child in the school.

At one point, six classes of third graders were filing their way back into the school, and I noticed that Diego was nowhere in sight.  I followed them into the building to see if he had gotten mixed up with the students, but the halls were pretty empty and still no Diego.  I figured I better head to the office...maybe they could make an announcement or lock down the school or something?  As I'm getting ready to turn into the office, I glance out to the front parking lot, and who do I see skipping down the sidewalk?  Yes, Diego.  All by himself, heading towards the school.  He'd obviously been looking for me at the car.

I gave him a good talking to, but finally and immediately realized it's time for me to give up this garden dream.  I'm hopeful someone will take over, despite volunteers being few and far between.

While it has been so fun to see the kids' faces light up when they discover a giant zucchini or dig in the dirt or pull the longest weed or watch a salamander scoot over the edge of the garden, I think my own kids are calling for my attention now.  It's time to get my own garden at home back in order.

Diego and I took a stroll around our house the other day, and I finally got the nerve up to sweep the mega spider webs down from our back door.  That made me sweep off the stoop.  And that made me empty the two pots and think of putting some pretty fall arrangements in there.  And what should we see in the dirt beside the door?  A giant toad!

Looks like the garden adventures will continue after all.  But I'm happy to have them right in my own backyard.

preschool lessons...for me.

Diego has been so excited about doing preschool.  He would slip his arms through the straps of his backpack, come find me in the house and say, "Come on, Mom, it's time for school!"  You can't beat that for enthusiasm.   We've slacked a little lately, but that's okay.  It comes in spurts.  And sometimes, learning happens when you least expect it.

One of the first art projects we did for Halloween was this haunted house.  The basic idea that popped into my head was to cut out shapes from black paper and glue them together to make a spooky house.   Doing crafts with Diego is one of the best ways we 'do preschool'.  It gets him cutting (which he loves to do) and glueing (which he hates), not to mention writing and thinking creatively.

While I was satisfied with just the house and the ghosts, Diego wanted to add things on with a black pen.  I got a knot in my stomach thinking, "Oh no, he's going to scribble on it and mess it up"...but I couldn't have been more wrong.  He started with the bats.  Then added the spooky black trees.  There's also a pumpkin, a spider and a moon.  By the spider, there is a white cat, and then by one of the chimneys is a sign that says 'no cats'.  I have no idea where he learned to draw like that, but each of these additions was thoughtfully planned out by him, which is one of the major lessons I've been learning--let HIM do it, so HE can learn.

And I love it even more because it was all him.



This reminds me of the lesson learned on September 6th during our calendar time.  Can you tell what it was?



I think the thought that literally went through my head was, "What the heck are you doing, Susan?" Why was I the one writing the numbers on our little cards?  I'm not the one that needs to practice!  And over the course of a month, Diego has gotten great at writing his numbers and is starting to know which one is which.



I haven't really planned out any school lessons...I've just been winging it using the seasons, months, holidays, and books we check out at the library as the backbone of what we do...with a whole lot of Pinterest inspiration thrown in.



The paper plate mummy is where we learned that Diego really hates glueing.  Tearing paper into little pieces: really fun; glueing them down: not so much.  It was supposed to only be the head, but Diego noticed he didn't have a body so we decided to add one.  I think Diego's an 'out of the box' type of thinker.



Since we were on a roll with the paper plates, we decided to add the green monster...that is an example of mommy doing way too much on a project. He had painted the plate green, but there was still a bunch of white on the sides, so I just smeared the wet green paint out to cover it.  Why did I do that?  And those little black lines on his body were glued on, mostly by me...I should have just had him draw on the body.  As it turns out, this is the one we like the least!  Lesson learned: back off, mommy.



And our favorite... the ghost.  I did make the chain for him, but Diego figured out how to get the ghost to hold it.  This one was a joint effort.  Lesson learned:  sometimes working together is okay, too.



We've been reading a lot of Pete the Cat around here.  So much so, that he can now read it on his own, without even reading the words.  Or is he?  I bet that big R-E-D on the page is starting to look familiar to him.



And finally, I thought we'd try a little experiment with a dried bean.  We put it in a ziploc bag along with a wet paper towel and taped it to the window.  Meanwhile Diego cut out a little castle in the sky for our Jack and the Beanstalk experiment.  Sure enough, a few days later, the bean had sprouted roots!  It took us a while to find some dirt to put into the cup, but when we finally did, that bean plant took off.  Diego enjoys giving it a little squirt of water each day, and we were both amazed at how fast it grew.  He even starting putting tape on the window to mark how far it grew each day.  I'd say it was more than an inch a day.



Last night at dinner, I asked, "What's the only mammal capable of flight?"  It was basically to get the older kids to stop arguing about whatever it was they were going on about.  Spouting off knowledge has been a great way to do this, lately.  But it was Diego who was the first one to blurt out, "BATS!"  (Thanks to the picture book, Nightsong, about the cutest little bat ever, for that little tidbit.)

I'm not sure who was more excited about his answer, him....or me.  But I am sure he's not the only one doing some learning around here.

the zoo in fall

One cool morning last week, I had finally penciled in the time to hit the gym after dropping off the kids at school.  Only the zoo is right next to our school.  And when Diego piped up, "Let's go to the animal zoo," how could I say no?  Besides, there's a lot of walking at the zoo.



When we joined the zoo this year, they gave you a coupon for some free stuff.  We used the snow cone option up on our first visit, but this time, I decided to brave it and get the cup of animal food.

Diego excitedly said, "You never buy me this, mom!"

He was ever so careful with his paper cup of who-knows-what pellets.  He would throw just one at each animal.  One little pellet.  We were all the way to the back and he still had a whole cup of food.



This little guy was persistent and Diego didn't like it.  That goat wasn't taking one for an answer.



We finally moved on to this pretty deer.  Diego didn't like feeding them by hand, even though I encouraged him to try it.





There's a reason they have that long tube to the camels.  They're spitters.  And boy is that tube nasty.





Someone needs to flush that out with a hose.  Yep, this trip I decided I'm so thankful I don't work at a zoo.  Besides the stinky animals, there were yellow jackets flying around, which Diego simply calls "jackets".  Why are there always bees at the zoo?  I wouldn't even let us get snow cones this time because I didn't want to attract them anymore than my red jacket was already doing...I'd already done the crazy lune dance several times on our walk trying to get away from them.



So we came full circle and Diego finally gave in to this guy.  He debated about throwing his cup of food away at this point--he was tired of carrying it--but I convinced him to give it all to this hungry fellow.



Carmen woke up at some point and was content to see the world from the warmth of her stroller.  Her eyes are changing...no more vivid blue...more like hazel now.



My favorite animal at the zoo...the elk.  Especially at fall.  Look at those massive horns.



Plus, this one often gives off a call while we're there.  It shudders through you and always reminds me how glad I am not to be hearing that in the forest around my own house.



Sweet passive deer.  Most of the animals were quiet while we were there, or snoozing inside somewhere.  Except those howler monkeys.  You can hear them a mile away.



A sweet peacock with her little baby.



Diego stopped to see how far he could jump.  It was about five feet, but several hops later he said he finished around 18.



And here's a peek at their new exhibit, the meerkats.  It's smaller than I imagined.  I can't believe there was a whole show on TV about meerkats.



Love this boy.  He convinced me to buy a stuffed cheetah on our way out.  If you know me, I don't need much convincing about a stuffed animal.

A day at the zoo with Diego beats the gym any day.

fall carnival 2013

October is the busiest month of the year for me, but so. much. fun!!  I love making the kids' costumes and the challenge to scrape them together from odds and ends around the house.  

For a boy who loves all things that live under the sea, this is the most fitting costume.  We've been reading a great book, Down Down Down, each night and learning so much about the amazing creatures that live in the deep.

Naturally, this costume was not my idea...but found  here.   I had to buy the hose, sponges, velcro, and gray spray paint...so I probably spent $13.  Wait...I bought the black hooded sweatshirt, too, but since he can use that all season, I really don't count it.  He already had those awesome goggles (which he lost at the carnival!), and that mouth piece was some kind of kitchen gadget we had.  The spear was a last minute idea made out of a cardboard box.   He ended up ditching the sponges which kept falling off--they're supposed to be weights that keep the diver down--and then I remembered the shark from the fish game we made and pinned it on him.  Look for it in the other pictures.



Isabela has wanted to win the costume contest ever since she first won it in Kindergarten as the Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George.  There's been tears some years and 'who cares--I love my costume' other years; but this is her last year at elementary school, so the stakes were a little higher.

She was thrilled when I suggested, "How about dia de los muertos?"  Isabela loves all things international, and I'm not sure I've ever seen someone dress up like this here.

Here's her costume breakdown: I bought a fake flower stem and scarf (ACMoore going out of business), the skirt (Goodwill) and the face paint.  I researched face paint since she has sensitive skin and found out that the Klutz face paint book had the best kind...so I splurged and got it off of Amazon. Definitely worth it.  It went on easily and didn't crack or break her out.

The shawl is actually a table runner, and the flameless candle we had around the house.  The necklace was given to her from her abuela in Bolivia, and she also carried rosary beads thanks to Aunt Leah Ann.



Next up...Snow White.  I couldn't resist this one from Target.



Joaquin insisted on heading off to the carnival without the usual family pictures...so I tried to snap some in the car, and I only got his stick dog.  He went as a stick man skeleton.



There he is...I bought tape and a piece of black poster board for his.  Very simple.


There's that shark I was talking about.  Doesn't he look ready to fall over backwards into the water?



Here's a close-up of Isabela.  It probably took me twenty minutes to paint her face...it was so fun for me, like painting a picture...but I had to keep telling the canvas to stay still.



They brought the pumpkin contest back this year!  This was one of my favorites.



And Diego won the cake walk!  He chose a box of iced cookies that we devoured.



So we basically passed time waiting for the costume contest to start.  I headed over to the smores bar with Diego (which he apparently doesn't like--lucky me!), while the big kids went through the haunted house.  And there's sleeping beauty...I mean snow white.


Imagine my surprise when Isabela showed up for the contest like this:



My jaw dropped.  It turns out the haunted house scared her so much she cried!  OMG.  I think I was more upset about it than anyone.  Everyone else remained calm and told her she looked even scarier, which was the truth.  She'd just have to do the contest like that.


The little kids went first.  It said K thru 1st, but I asked if a four year old could go, and they OK'd it.  Guess what that cute face means:  he won!


And I couldn't believe it, but guess who else won?  Yep.  And the prize was a pillow pet blanket!



Joaquin looks so disappointed here.  Sad skeleton.  I just love his drooping puppy.  I think a little trick or treating will cheer that face right up.