Corner Perennial Garden: Summer Project #3

Planted this over a month ago, but just got around to snapping a couple of photos tonight.  This was previously an empty, boring section of the back yard.

Ethan's First Full Day at Preschool

Ethan attended his preschool for the first full day today.  He was extremely excited about his Lego Star Wars backpack and Vader lunch box.  He only cried a little in the morning class, and teachers raved about him at the end of the day.  We are proud of our little preschool man.

Taken at our front door this morning before jumping in the car.  The force is strong with this one.



Taken at the end of a VERY GREAT first full day.  He was proud and excited.  And, his favorite color is blue.  Who knew?

Ethan's First Day of Preschool

Today, my baby was eased into his first ever preschool by going for 1/2 day.  Tomorrow will be the same.  He loved it.  Mama was sad.

It is a local Montessori school, but a different one than Andrew's.  (The age cut-off for Andrew's school is September 1, and Ethan's September 11 birthday means he will pretty much always be the oldest kid in his class.)

The first photos are from yesterday morning, when Ethan and I had our introductory meeting with the school director and his teacher.

touring his new classroom with the director

first look at the playground

mommy foresees some muddy clothing...

meeting his teacher

meeting a new classmate

checking out some of the classroom manipulatives

at the school's front door, uniform shirts in hand

And these two photos are from today.

note from the teacher

a little playground sand that fell from these new shoes that he was super proud of this morning....
"I wear my monkey shoes to my school!" 
love the paul frank stuff that target carries.

I took (what I think were) some cute photos of both boys before leaving this morning.  But, there was no memory card in the blasted camera.  Second time I have done that.  Argh.  So, on Monday, when Ethan starts full-day preschool, I will be sure to put that daggone card in and get some good photos.

It hurts my heart that both of our babies are now school children.  But, it is good for them, and us.

Hot Summer's Night 5K

Just this Saturday, August 4.  7:00 pm. 87 degrees. A little humid.  Great course - basically flat.  My 10th race.  Ran 11 min/mile, which was good (for me) at that temperature and walking up the two main hilly parts. Jon had an injury that prevented him from racing, :( but he was a great cheerleader! :)  Grandma Cathy watched the boys so we were able to hang out for a while downtown afterward.  Fun!

Ethan's First Official Karate Class

Yesterday, we officially enrolled Ethan in his first karate class. He LOVED it and was fabulous.

It is going to be wonderful for him on many levels. 

One of those is that he could use more male role models in his life. He's got his amazing father.  Check.  However, he never got to meet his grandfathers or great-grandfathers, and, as we know from traditional education, basically all of his elementary teachers will be women.  So, having a "Mr. Mike" around is a GOOD thing.

Another positive facet is channeling that testosterone into a positive place.  That is all I need to say.  WOW.

As I have mentioned before, Mike Genova weaves life lessons into every karate lesson.  Lessons are about being active and healthy and respecting everyone and protecting yourself, as well as listening to Mom and brushing your teeth. :)  At the end, you get a popsicle for your tummy or a red "good behavior" stripe for your belt. Mike Genova is a brilliant educator who knows how to inspire kids of all ages.

And, also, Ethan really digs doing stuff with his big brother.  To him, Andrew hung the moon. Period.

Goodbye to the days of wrangling Ethan in the waiting area while Andrew kicked and punched.  Hello, our TWO karate kids!

just so happy to be included and off the sidelines!

practicing his "ay-yahs" as sweet brother looks on

both of our karate kids running to the instructor

one of many reasons why our family adores mr. mike genova

TOUGH MAN

aspiring...

dwarfed by the "red man" (aka black belt/1st grade teacher mr. alex). I LOVE THIS PHOTO.

Ay Yah!!!

There are a lot more photos here on my facebook page.

Summer Project #2: Jon's Extended Patio

A month ago, Jon expanded our patio with pavers. It was inexpensive and we love it. In the first and only "before" photo from April of 2010, when we had just signed off on the place, you can see the postage stamp sized slab of patio. When our grill sat there, sitting in chairs became waaay too cozy.

As you can see in the remaining "after" pics, Jon extended it.  My only hand in this project was keeping the boys out of the way. :)

Living Room Accent Wall: Summer Project #1

We have been busy bees around this joint.  A recent project (we'll call it Summer Project #1, although it was the most recent) was painting the back wall of our living room the same color as the top of the dining room to tie things together and give our living area some much-needed character.
Here's before, this past Christmas, greeting cards, crooked photograph, massive toy haul, and all...

And here are the after shots!  I surprised Jon by painting it four evenings ago when he had Andrew in Charlotte at a drum corps show.  I waited until Ethan was in bed (duh) to start and it only took a couple of hours.

We definitely like the "feel" of the room a lot more now, and it was a super easy change to make.