Cooking Class v1.2

Remember Sassy's cooking class fiasco? Well, we're still plugging away with "at home" classes...

Here's the recap of the second half of "official" classes:

Week 3- Pumpernickel Tuna Melts





Week 4- Berry Crepes





Both weeks were a gleaming success! Sassy still helped with every bit, including plate presentation and serving her "guests" {aka Nana and Tink}...

Now that the official 4-week period of cooking class is over, I will stop highlighting it... promise. But, this is something Sassy ♥'s, so we will surely continue sharing this time together.

In fact, next Monday is Sassy's half birthday, and I think she has some crazy cooking plans up her sleeve. It is, in her mind, a national holiday, after all.

Oh, The Force...

Since I know you are all dying to know how our photo shoot went last night...

...Well, it was... interesting.

Tink.was.a.stinker.

I should have known that recovering from a double ear infection combined with a full day of MDO {with Halloween party} was a recipe for disaster.

Jenna was wonderful, though, and I am confident that there are some fabulous ones in the mix.

Sassy looked adorable.



So did Tink.



So did Ty {purple sweater and all...}

As for me... well, this pretty much sums up how I was feeling:



I will most definitely share our photos when they are done!

Now back to our regular scheduled programming...

O.ver.whelmed.

I have too, too much to do in the next few days!

Parties, events, costumes, work, paperwork, CLEANING our house, meal planning, cooking, laundry... {I could go on and on}

I know the logical thing to do would be to make a list and start completing tasks, one by one.

I can never bring myself to do this.

When I have so much on my plate, I just want to retreat... to go lay in bed under the covers and do nothing.

How do you all manage your never-ending to-do lists without losing your mind??

May the force be with us.

We are having family pictures taken this evening.

We are attempting to have family pictures taken this evening.

In case you all haven't noticed by now, I am a HUGE fan of photographs. Love, love, LOVE when pictures tell a story. It's like totally a language I speak...

The last time we tried to have our pics taken was back in February. It was somewhat of an epic fail. I want so badly for my children to cooperate, and for things to go swimmingly, and I know that it's my utter lack of relaxation that precedes the disaster that is inevitably our photo shoot. I know this.

I just cannot help myself.

I need to channel Buddha this evening. Do some meditating. Woo-saaa.

It's time for the serenity prayer.

Oh, and a little force never hurt.

The Great Pumpkin Patch Roundup, 2010...

{Read all about our first trip to Walter's Pumpkin Patch here.}

{Read all about our second trip to Walter's Pumpkin Patch here.}

Applejack Pumpkin Patch: October 16, 2010

We visited Applejack Pumpkin Patch for the first time this year with Parents As Teachers. I can attest that the only thing better than spending a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch with your family is getting paid to spend a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch with your family.

The girls had a great time in the giant slide, in the sand box, and all of the other fun things they offered.




Sassy even got to try the zip line. She did great!



Ty took the girls through the corn and sorghum mazes while I snapped away...



Then they did the pillow jumper:



And the barrel train:




We rode out to the patch, chose our pumpkins, and saw how the girls measured up:



It was a HOT day for mid-October, but we had a great time!

Walter's Pumpkin Patch: October 23, 2010

My parents were supposed to come with us to Walter's on October 9th, as well as the Buddy Walk, but my Mom ended up in the hospital with some gallbladder issues, so they were unable to come along. So, we decided to make yet another trip to Walter's with my parents this past Saturday...

Tyler finally snuck Sassy onto the paddle boats, which she proudly exclaimed was the FIFTH type of boat she has been on (in addition to canoe, motor, pontoon, and ferry)...



The hill slide was a big hit. Seeing (and hearing) my Mom come down was nothing short of hysterical. What she wouldn't do for Miss Sassy...




Speaking of coercion... guess who graced the vat of corn...



Tyler and Graycop challenged Sassy to the obstacle course...



And, we checked out the pumpkin cannon:



The girls rode int he barrel train...



...And we sat a minute in the Shabby Shed...



We stood tall one last time in 2010...



...took in the sights...



...and joined the farm dog on a hay rack ride out to the patch...



The girls found their treasures...



...and we called it a day. Walter's, see you in 2011!!!

Cox Farm Pumpkin Patch: October 25, 2010

I was seriously pumpkin patched out at this point, but so, so glad I chose to go with Sassy's preschool yesterday afternoon to Cox Farm!

I think Sassy was way more excited to ride the bus than to go to the patch! HA!



It was also "wear red day" for the kick off of red ribbon week. The wind was INSANE, hence the crazy hair in every.single.picture. First stop; barrel trains!



Sassy and her buddies...



Playin' in the hay...



Sassy, K, and E:



More hay play..



Out in the patch...



...and finally, a group shot! So fun!



Thus concludes the crazy pumpkin patch season for the SPH. FIVE TRIPS this year... a new record. And one I don't even want to think about breaking... until next year.

Stellar.

Grand. Outstanding. Shining. Exceptional. Magnificent. Celebrated. Great.

OK, OK... Are you understanding the awesomeness?

Well, that's my Sassy girl.

Thursday evening, we had her 1st quarter parent-teacher conference. Sassy got a rave review from Mrs. B. On her actual report card, she scored all M's (Mastered) besides one C (Shows Consistency) in "cuts on a curved line"... {gotta love preschool standards and expectations}...

Sassy did great on her Letter Recognition Screening. She was able to ID all 26 letters, create the correct sounds for 19, and correctly list words that began with each letter on 9. Pretty good for four. She received high accolades in this department.

What was even more pleasantly surprising was the result of her Phonemic Awareness Screening. They looked at rhyming, discrimination of rhyming words, segmenting sentences into words, segmenting words into syllables, and segmenting words into sounds. I was really impressed with how well she scored. So were her teachers. She's got a ways to go until mastery and total kindergarten readiness in reading, but she is off to a really, really strong start in this first 9 weeks.

I hate to admit it {as I would never intentionally underestimate her skills}, but she is ready for things far beyond what I thought she was ready for. This is just one of the great things about her preschool program... now I know new ways to challenge her. I've been given ideas on how to improve her building skills at home. Invaluable information, if you ask me...

Equally as important- Sassy is nice to other kids. She is a good friend. She helps others. She is considerate. She cleans up after herself. She follows direction well.

Love. LOVE. ♥♥♥♥♥

I never realized how proud I would feel until I did.

---

Needless to say, we wanted to celebrate accordingly.

Despite the fact that I worked book fair that evening, we all {including my parents} drove to Braum's for an ice cream celebration.



Tink was super proud of her sister super enjoyed her ice cream.



All the players were present. {Dad was there, too. Promise}.



Nana & Graycop presented Sassy with the newest Monster High doll, Ghoulia Yelps.



Mom and Dad gave Sassy two new charms for her charm bracelet- a sheep and a pink diamond ring {for being a nice friend and shining so bright}!



Sassy felt pretty special, and we are SO proud of her!!



Here's to many more stellar achievements...

A Funny From Sassy...

{I am contemplating tackling one GIANT catch-up post tomorrow... we'll see...}

This morning we were in the car on our way home from WalMart. Ty and I were sharing our typical sarcastic banter back and forth. Sometimes, it's all too easy to forget little eyes that are watching you and little ears that are listening to everything you say! Case in point...

Tyler had just said something ree-diculous, and I gave him the stare that only I can give. I mean, he knows the stare through my big ole' sunglasses. Now, that's an accomplishment...

So, he says, "What?" To which I reply, "I don't even like you right now. That's what"...

{I know, I know... not a very nice thing to say in front of the kids. I get it. I was jo.king.}

Then, from the backseat, Sassy chimes in, "Well, you married each other!"

BAHA HAHAH HAHA HAHA HA!!!!!!!!!

That's right. We did, didn't we? Nothing like being put in your place by your four-year-old...

Stream of Consciousness...

ala MckMama...

I'm a little grumpy.

I've been under the weather all week. My sinuses are kicking my butt, and then some weird spider had to go and bite my foot. I've always been extra sensitive to spider bites, so I usually get flu symptoms- fever, chills, stiff neck. Fun times. Well, this time, the top of my foot burned black and blue and red and hot and swollen. Yep, all those things. After the third day of getting bigger and darker, combined with the fact that my foot was going numb, I had to make a trip to the doctor.

So, here I am, doped up on antihistamines and antibiotics, with a very sore arm to boot (tetanus shot)...

I took the girls to get their hair cut yesterday afternoon. Epic fail nightmare. I suppose I could only call it a fail if they didn't receive complete haircuts. They did. Barely. What possessed me to make an appointment right after an entire day of MDO... we may never know. Please, please tell me it is not only my children who return from MDO channeling Regan...

On a positive note, I went ahead and got a super fabulous haircut! Now, let's see if I can make it look just how she did...

I also feel like I am swimming through the endless possibilities of activities to take my kids to over the next few weeks. I know, I know... what am I complaining about? Well, the fact that they want to do every.single.one. Halloween parties, Trick or Treat Street, pumpkin patches, field trips, book fair, this, that, and the other thing. My brain is about to implode.

Is anyone else getting the holiday shopping itch? I've started just a little bit, but I have to restrain myself because I WILL continue to buy things until December 24th. Guaranteed. It's always better for me to wait. I am getting pretty pumped! What are your holiday shopping methods and routines? Anything you just have to score for yourself or your kids this season?

Well, on that note, it's off to Sassy's first PreCOOL Art Class. Wish her us luck!!

The Unveiling...

We had our first Halloween party of the year this past Sunday. I was, of course, rushing around until the last minute trying to finish up Sassy's costume to make it just right. But, we did it!

In typical Sassy fashion, she decided that she was going to be a purple unicorn before last Halloween was even over. As usual, she did not sway from her decision all.year.long. Nope, not once. Thanks to a little creativity and some tips from my friend, Lisa, we were able to pull it off {for the most part}...

So, here she is, in all her purple unicorn glory...





When it came to Tink's costume, well, that was a bit harder to decide on. Until my mom and I spotted this little gem for $20 at TJ Maxx. We tried the headband on, and poof... had to have it.

We'll call her a cupcake princess...






Happy {early} Halloween!

Walter's, Take Two...

After the Buddy Walk, we met up with several families at Walter's Pumpkin Patch. It was a gorgeous day {still}, and we really enjoyed our time there. Lynzee & fam rented one of the campfires from 4-7 pm, so it was really nice to have our own "space" to camp out.

We totally Smore'd it up! Everyone brought their contributions, and we had an entire picnic table full of S'more goodies. It doesn't get much better than that.

We also ventured out to the patch this time and chose some pumpkins for our porch. Sassy and Tink looked over the options meticulously until they found the perfect ones. Here are some pics from our day: