Middle Earth

We headed south last weekend for the long Labor Day weekend. First we went to Grandmother's farm in Citronelle (Middle Earth) to commune with nature. The girls LOVE this place.

They love the animals

and the insects

and the gardens

and the labyrinth

and the cookouts

and the surprises - a Great Owl, a medicine wheel, G&G in bee suits.

And, of course, they love Grandmother and Grandfather. They are being exposed to so many new things at Middle Earth - things that Perry and I don't always understand or believe in. But one of my greatest hopes for S&A is that they will develop open, curious minds, and not be quick to judge. Middle Earth challenges all of us (in a good way). I hope they will learn new things and make wonderful memories at G&G's "farm."

6 Is a Great Age

The girls saw the front page of the paper this morning and were very excited to see pictures of stars from the Hubble telescope. The photos were amazing - old stars, stars being born, a butterfly nebula. After cutting out all the pictures to share with their friends at school, they started asking me questions that I couldn't answer. Where is the Hubble telescope? How long has it been in space? Can astronauts visit it? Do astronauts float in space? On and on and on. What's a mom to do? Google it!! We grabbed my computer and found lots of answers, and even watched a video of astronauts turning somersaults and playing with a flashlight in space. Such an awesome lesson.
Tonight at dinner, Abby had the US map placemat, and she asked why most "twisters" happen in Kansas. I had no idea. So again, we Googled it. We got our answer and watched a few videos of tornadoes on YouTube.
Abby also told me all about coral and coral islands, which she learned about in class today. Sarah is learning about Australia. I was able to pull out my photo album from Australia and show them the Great Barrier Reef and lots of pictures of my trip.
I just think it's so amazing to see how much they are learning, and what little sponges they are! I'm so thankful for their wonderful teachers who are opening up new worlds for them. I'm thankful for the Internet and all the resources available to me when they ask questions I can't answer. And I look forward to learning new things with them. Am I smarter than a first grader? No, apparently not. But we're learning together.

It All Started With a Commercial

I hate commercials. I rarely let S&A watch any channel other than Noggin, not because of the shows, but because of the commercials during the shows. I just think that kids are so impressionable, and it bugs me when companies target them in the middle of an otherwise benign show. But occasionally, I will let them watch Nick Jr. or Saturday morning cartoons on a network. Evidently, that's when Abby saw THE COMMERCIAL. About three months ago, the badgering began for "Twinkle Toes, New from Skechers." So, when her tennis shoes got too small, I agreed to let her get her beloved shoes. I'll admit, they're pretty cute. And they're VERY Abby!

Abby said that they make her dance like this:

(I'm wondering if I should take the shoes back because they make her dance like Elaine Benes.)

Now, Sarah has decided that she wants Twinkle Toes, too. Unfortunately for Sarah, she doesn't need new tennis shoes, so I won't buy her any. But I told her that she could buy her own if she saves her money. I created a list of extra chores she can do to earn money, and she's been hard at work all weekend. So far it seems like she REALLY wants these shoes. Sarah is a determined and tenacious little girl - I'm guessing she'll have new shoes in less than a month. Here she is, hard at work:

Scrubbing the kitchen floors (a five-hour job, with a few breaks) and washing the dishes after dinner. She also set the table, and cleaned the baseboards in the den. I'm going to run out of chores soon!

Cooking Out

Last night, we went to Oak Mountain (my favorite place in Birmingham) for my cousin's son's birthday (my half great aunt's daughter's son - you figure it out). They were camping and invited us to cook out and make s'mores. We had such a great time. The girls loved running around the woods looking for fairies, roasting marshmallows on sticks, and watching the fireflies dance. I was actually a little ashamed, because this was the first time S&A had ever seen fireflies. I'm much too rigid about bedtime!!! I told them about making homemade ice cream at Big Mama and Big Daddy's house growing up, and catching fireflies in jars.
I really want to take the girls camping soon, even though I don't know much about camping. I've done it a few times in my life, but it just seems harder with kids. Still, I would love to be a camping family, so I hope we'll give it a try soon. As we were leaving, Abby asked if she could have a "nature birthday party" next year. Awesome.
Here's a grainy iPhone pic, because I forgot my camera.

Backing Up

A fun slide show from our last day of summer, which we spent at the splash park with lots of friends:

First in First

Today was S&A's first day in first grade! I started their day with a big breakfast of eggs, bacon and biscuits. We all enjoyed it except Sarah, who was too nervous to eat. I took the obligatory first day of school pictures, then Perry and I (and Bailey) drove them to school. It was so much easier than last year - Sarah's jitters were minor, and Abby was almost bouncing off the walls.

They both had a great day. I was able to see them for a moment because I went to help the kindergartners in the lunchroom. Both of their teachers sent home notes telling us about their first day and all the things they did. I've quickly realized that first grade is going to be very different from kindergarten - Sarah even had homework today!

I had them in bed with lights out by 7:00, and they were asleep crashed ten minutes later when Perry went up to kiss them goodnight. Hooray!

Last Two Days of Summer

School starts Wednesday. Today we go to Meet the Teacher and tonight Perry & I will go to the parent meetings. I was thinking about last year, and how nervous we all were, and how sad I was to see them go off to school. This year I'm a little sad, because they're in first grade and they're growing up soooo fast, but I'm much more optimistic about the school year. I know they're going to do great, and love their teachers, and learn so much. I know I'm going to stay busy volunteering in their classrooms and working with PTO. I'm in a much better place than I was last year.
We went to a swim party yesterday, and Sarah's teacher was there with her kids. We had a great time, and now Sarah isn't at all nervous about starting school! She also has seven kids in her class that were in her kindergarten class, so that will help, too. Abby isn't the least bit nervous and just can't wait for the first day of school.
Tomorrow morning we're going to Krispy Kreme. S&A decided that we needed a back-to-school tradition, something we could do every year on the day before school. And they chose KK, which sounds good to me!

Who Knew?

Today we discovered an awesome splash park and playground not too far from here. Well, not close, but only about 30 minutes away. By LA standards, that's practically next door!

It's a Zoo Around Here!

We are being overrun by animals...stuffed animals. Abby has been using her closet as a toy chest for all her animals, but we really need to use it for clothes. So, I needed a solution. We have a toy net in the playroom, but it takes up a lot of room and it really doesn't hold a lot. Plus, Abby loves to get under it and knock all the animals out. Not ideal. After a night of internet searching, I found "The Zoo." It's like a cage, with flexible bars, and you can toss the animals into it or slide them between the bars. To get an animal out, you just reach in, grab it, and pull. We got it painted and assembled this weekend, and so far it seems like an ideal solution. And now the closet can be used for clothes - what a novel idea!

Building and Painting

Perry picked up projects for the girls when he went to Home Depot today. They were little message boards that needed to be assembled and painted, and the girls had a blast putting them together and decorating them. I'd also bought them some little wooden vehicles at Walmart, so they painted those too.

I also bought Abby some kneepads, elbow pads, and gloves, and she decided to try to ride her bike without training wheels again. Unfortunately she was still scared, even with the added protection. We'll try again in a couple of weeks, I guess.