Maddie Time

Maddie and I miss Anna while she is at preschool but we're also having a lot of fun (when we're not sick!). Maddie's favorite thing to do has been to go to playgrounds which she describes to me in the car by telling me how many slides they have. I have still yet to find the "2 slide" playground that she so desperately wants to go to. It has been nice to pack a lunch and just hang out together.

Another fun "find" that we made today was an entrance to the Upper Neuse Greenway Trail with a parking lot. I've been talking about wanting to go find the trail but although it is only .5 mile from our house, such a walk would wear out the kids before we got there. Then today as we were riding down the road I saw the parking lot, which is not hidden at all from view (why I have not noticed it before I have no clue). So Maddie and I parked and went for a little adventure walk.



I look forward to exploring more and taking some bikes over to let the girls ride around.

First day of preschool

Anna had her first day of preschool today! She has been telling me all week how excited she is and at last the day arrived! She went right in and never looked back, I am so proud of her.








sigh, they grow up so fast!

Fun with Sock Puppets

These were lots of work but also lots of fun. Anna has a giraffe and Maddie a princess.

Mornings

I've been trying to make our morning time at home a little more intentional so the girls and I have started doing a bible reading plan called Through the Bible with My Child. It is a rather expansive reading plan (taking 4 years to cover most of the bible) but the texts are broken down into chunks that are just right for the attention span of my girls. I have been reading the text from my ESV bible while the girls have a blank sheet of paper that they draw some semblance of what I am reading. The reading plan then has a few questions to go with the text that we discuss.

Maddie is drawing the creation story (we are using heavy sheet protectors and drawing on them with dry erase crayons to save paper; just wipe off each day)



Anna "follows along" while I read by looking at the pictures in the Jesus storybook bible.



I know this will be a work in progress and there will be some books of the bible that we will skip for now but I love that each morning I can sit at the kitchen table and there is a plan and it is all contained in this cute flower binder :).



Also in the binder lives a prayer sheet for the day where we write down prayer requests as well as some school skills I want to work on with the girls. I hope that as school and other activities gear up for the fall that we would be consistent and start our day hearing God's Word.

Preschool Open House

This is my Anna in the car before going into her preschool open house; she kept saying "mommy, I'm so excited!!". Knowing her excitement makes me so happy that she will be attending preschool and I look forward to taking her for her first day next week.

Easy Lunchboxes

Lunchtime is not my strong suit. Many days the girls and I get home from wherever we have spent the morning and we are all starving (and pretty whiny). My temper is then short as I try to figure out what we are going to eat. This summer I was introduced to Easy Lunchboxes and they have been fabulous. These have the same concept as other "bento box" style lunches in that it is a container with compartments (these have 3). Most days, I fill these up with fruits, veggies, sandwiches, etc and then either put them in the refrigerator for a quick grab lunch when we come home or I'll pack them to take a park or friend's house. I've even been known to give them to the girls in the car when leaving a playdate (it keeps us out of the Chickfila drive thru!). These containers are also BPA free.


I look forward to using these for Anna's lunch this year at preschool.

Diver Ed

During our stay in Maine we spent a day in Bar Harbor and went out on a boat with Diver Ed for some "dive-in theater". It was great! Diver Ed was funny and entertaining as well as informative. He took us out on a boat and dove down to collect lobsters, starfish and anything else he could find. He then took a high quality camera down so that we could see what it looked like on the ocean floor. During out cruise around we also saw seals and a bald eagle.

Hanging out on the boat with our blue painter's tape nametags.



Diver Ed put all of the sea creatures he found into touch tanks for the kids to hold. Maddie loved it all, except for the lobsters. She even held the squishy sea cucumber.





Anna was a little more timid and preferred to let daddy hold the tiny lobster.