Crazy Hat Day

It was crazy hat day at Leo's school. It was also "free dress". Thankfully I realized about five minutes before we walked out of the house, so Leo could change into a non-uniform shirt and pick out a hat. The teacher said they were making some in class, so he didn't need to bring one, but he wanted to wear his Brobee hat.

When I picked him up from school, he was wearing the hat he made.

He let me try it on too.

Field trip and science fair

Are you familiar with this box?

All the kids had them today.

Leo's class took a field trip to the mall.  I didn't join them since siblings aren't suppose to go on field trips.  Of course, I could have just gone to the mall since it is open to the public after all.  I hosted a preschool meeting instead (we are redesigning the website).  Anyway, the kids started out at a pizza place and Leo made his own pizza.  He said he made it with one pepperoni in the middle so it looked like a tire.  Then they headed to Build A Bear Workshop.  Each kid got to pick out and make a bear (some kids made other creatures).

Leo was very happy about his bear.

A tie-dyed rainbow bear in army fatigues.  Hmmm.  Maybe Build A Bear was trying to off-load their post Memorial Day bear clothing.  I asked if there was a baseball outfit, which seemed like a more likely choice for Leo, but he said they didn't bring any out for him to choose from.  A lot of the other boys had similarly dressed bears.  

In the box was this birth certificate, which reminded me of the glory days of Cabbage Patch Kids and when I got to go to a special Cabbage Patch store for an official adoption.  If you can't read it, Leo named his bear "Shooty".  

Serafina handled her brother getting such a cool toy and her receiving nothing very well.  If the situation had been reversed, Leo would have pitched a major fit and objected to the unfairness of it all.  Serafina does seem to think we will be going to Build A Bear and she'll be making herself a rainbow bear any minute now.  Leo told her she won't like it there because the stuffing machine is loud and sounds like a flushing toilet.  Serafina doesn't like loud, flushing toilets.

After school, we headed home briefly to unwind a bit and change into comfortable clothes and cleats for tball practice.  But before we went to practice, we headed back to school for the science fair.  It was something I considered skipping, but Leo was enthusiastic about it and I can't deny the kid his first science fair.  It was very crowded in the room, but I knew we didn't have to stay long.

His class's exhibit was close to the door.

So happy and proud.

They did an experiment involving water and oil.

Here he is checking out the other Junior Kindergarten's project.  It involved ants and Mrs. Hufana helped Leo ask some questions to his classmates about the ants.

Then we headed to tball.  It was the last practice of the season since Saturday is the last game.  Apparently, Leo had a good hit during practice, but I didn't see it because I had to take Serafina to the other side of the park to use the bathroom...twice.

Freckle tickle

There has been a rash of violence around here. Hitting, smacking, kicking...and it isn't just sibling on sibling. Serafina has been taking swings at me pretty regularly. Nothing tests your parental control like getting whacked by your three-year-old. I give time outs, I scold them through gritted teeth so it sounds extra scary, but really nothing deters them from getting physical when one or the other is pissed. It makes me fear the summer months when we are all home together every day. But this afternoon I caught them being sweet to each other and I had to grab my camera to document it.

 Serafina was tickling Leo's freckle on his back.

Memorial Day weekend

Our holiday weekend was very low key. The weather was a bit gloomy and I've been recovering from a cold.  Thursday I started getting sick, but I had lots to do so I couldn't let myself feel it yet.  Most important, I had to attend the final board meeting for the school year.  It was part party, part meeting and it's when the new board members take on their new roles and we say goodbye to departing members.
I got a promotion...

It's a little surreal to see my name as President.  I've been told it's an easier gig than VP, but only time will tell.  I'm pretty proud of the job I did as Vice President.  I exceeded my fundraising goal for the year; the bake sale alone brought in a whopping $1,490.  As difficult as the job has been, it's been extremely rewarding.  I'm happy to pass it on though.   Next year will be demanding with my responsibilities at the preschool as well as my role on the PTA.  My neighbor suggested I get a job so I have an excuse not to work so hard on all the volunteer duties.

Since my busy week wrapped up on Friday, my cold kicked in full force and I lost my voice Friday night.  Never fear, Nana is here!  She arrived Saturday and I immediately ran an errand.  Then we all headed to t-ball.  On the way home from the game, they wanted Nana to sit next to them.  This wouldn't be possible in the old car.  It also wouldn't be possible with a less spry, agile Nana.

I rested when we got home.  I did some more resting on Sunday and started to feel better.  The kids went into the pool with Tom despite it being a little chilly.  

Serafina didn't mind.  

Some dads toss the ball around with their kids.  This dad just tosses around the kid.

One of the bonuses of being part of a co-op preschool and becoming involved in the school board has been making some pretty awesome friends.  Our kids will be in school together for years to come and play sports in the same leagues.  They have come out for every event I organized and worked hard.  Really hard.  I hope I can provide the same type of support in return.

The outgoing president emailed me this weekend that her family was doing some spring cleaning and wanted to pass on their play kitchen to Serafina.  I had no idea it was going to be this fabulous.  

Of course, both kids love it and spent hours today making and serving up food.  

Last day of Preschool

This school year has flown by. For the third year in a row, I was snack mom on the last day of school. I asked the gal that makes the schedules why she always assigns me this day, but she said it was unintentional. I told her next year she needed to intentially schedule me so I can keep the tradition alive.

Serafina got to pick which name tag she wanted to wear from all her name tags for the year.    

Turning around to look at me instead of paying attention at circle time.

I swore I'd never be in charge of the toaster over again, especially on Shrinky Dink day since I had a kid almost set the thing on fire two years ago when I turned my head for a split second and she cranked it up to 500.  But of course, I ended up manning the oven.  I'm an old pro after all.

Serafina finally got another turn for sharing.  So many of my work days ended up on field trips, she didn't get many chances this year.

She brought her two Foofa dolls and talked about how she loves them and sleeps with them and carries them around like babies.

Mrs. Hessler brought her dog, Daisy, for sharing.  She was a big hit.

Last story of the year.

I tried to get a good picture of Serafina with her teacher.  Here's one with Mrs. Hessler looking nice, but Serafina's eyes are closed.

Woo-hoo, they are both smiling and looking...but what's this in the background?

A Neha photo bomb!

As if working in the classroom on the last day wasn't tiring enough, Serafina's buddy Navid had his fourth birthday at the park right after school.  

Serafina made sure to get in on the cake action.  I made sure to scrape some of the frosting off so she didn't have a huge sugar blast right before nap time.  

This afternoon she made this drawing.  She said it's a happy sun.  I think it's pretty darn creepy.

She was very proud of it though.  

Leo brought home this project that had been hanging in his classroom for a while.  In case you can't read it, the cloud says: My Blessings, and the rainbow strips say "People, Cookies, Jesus, My Family, My Cats, I Love My Sister."  Awww....

Tball and Castle Rock hike.

At Leo's tball game this Saturday, there was a lack of coaches so Tom helped out. I also tried to help a little by serving as third base coach since most of the kids won't remember to run home unless you specifically tell them to.

Here's Leo getting some first base pointers from Tom.

Listening to Dad.

Here's Serafina with her friend Caylie.  She always calls her Hailey and says they are best friends.

The play together well for some of the time and then it all falls apart.

Leo's big throw home.

Caylie's family is very nice to Serafina since she hangs out with them more than she does with me when we are at tball.  She would never in a million years sit still for me to do her hair, but she let Caylie's mom give her a French braid.

Today we headed out for a hike at Castle Rock State Park.  We did this hike once before a while back.

Here's Leo checking out a big rock.

Crossing a bridge.

The overlook is above a little waterfall and there are often rock climbers coming up the face of the cliff.

We could look down and see them doing their thing today. 

Goofy smile during our lunch break.

Mommy and the kids.

I can't get them both to smile normal for one picture...ever.

They decided to try out a little rock climbing of their own.