Halloween 2011

We had a fantastic Halloween today. In fact, we had a pretty nice Halloween week.

It all started last Wednesday night at 9:30 when I received a phone call from one of the moms from Riley's class. The mom was scheduled to help out at the classroom Halloween party, but her other daughter was sick and she couldn't make it. Riley's teacher had mentioned that I would be willing to help, which I had said when I volunteered the week before. (Sidenote: I LOVE that I can help for any activity at the school since both kids are now in school!). Anyway, I said I would help, so Thursday I went to Riley's class and helped facilitate the party. It was a lot of fun!

Saturday Riley had her last soccer game (more about that later), and then Jeremy had a birthday party for one of his old preschool friends Ryan, and then we had a gathering with the neighbors. There was a ton of food and lots of fun for the kids and adults. Even pumpkin Jell-o shots!

Sunday one of the local churches had a trunk or treat where the kids got candy inside the church and did all kinds of activities. We hung out with a bunch of friends and had a blast. That leads us to today, Halloween! The kids both had school, and they wore their Halloween shirts. No costumes were allowed at school. They got off the bus around 4:15 and we came home to change, have some snack and meet up with our friends.

At the trunk or treat.

We have a Ghostbuster, angel, viking, 2 witches
pirate, karate guy and a sorceress.

Jeremy lasted about 1 hour, and then he asked if I could take him home. Phil had stayed at home to hand out candy. Riley and the older girls kept going for another hour. The two other girls were done, and Riley wanted to visit some of her friends from school. We stayed out another 15 minutes. The amount of candy the kids gathered is ridiculous. And I'm sure I'll be "forced" to help them eat some of it. :) But if that's the price I have to pay...

My pirate.

My pirate and angel.

The motley crew.

Trying to stay still.

We asked them to make funny faces.

 

That's My Boy

At dinner tonight, Jeremy was telling us about his day.

"Did you know my teacher likes spinach? And broccoli? Yuck."

So we told him that Dad likes spinach and that Uncle Kevin likes broccoli. He said that his teacher was asking the kids if they liked certain foods, and the kids responded by giving a thumbs up. He said she asked who liked spaghetti, and he put a thumbs up.

"And then she asked if we liked chocolate chip cookies. And I gave her TWO thumbs up."

Yup, that's my chocoholic, dessert-loving kid. :)
 

First Days of School

I'm not even going to acknowledge how behind I am...but I am. This post took me longer than normal because I needed to scan a picture I found. Why? You'll see in a minute.

Riley's first day of second grade was on August 24. And thanks to the advances of Facebook, I was able to find one of her old preschool friends was going to be in her class (for Miss Betty's reference, it's Kaitlyn T.). We met Riley's teacher the Monday before school started so we could drop off school supplies, see her classroom, and of course meet the teacher. Riley's desk was all set up, and she was very excited to see that there were a few other people she knew in her class.

We met Jeremy's teacher the following evening (the school does kindy on one night, and the other grades on the other evening). Again, thanks to Facebook, I found that one of his preschool buddies, Hunter, would be in his class as would one of our neighbors. His teacher was so excited and bubbly--just what you'd expect a kindergarten teacher to be. He was able to find his cubby, and we turned in all his supplies.

So on August 24, we loaded Riley up and headed her off to school. She's a pro at this, and nothing seemed to bother her. She's now one of the oldest kids in the school, as the school is only a K-2 school (with almost 1,500 kids!). 

Riley with the traditional sign.

Posing for the camera.

The reason behind my posting delay.
This is me in 2nd grade. See a resemblance?

Here we are today.

Dad and his girl.

The kids.

I had the rest of the day with Jeremy all to myself. I was pretty sad about it, mainly because it would be my last day with the guy. I'm sure many of you are/were tired of hearing/reading me lament about these waning days. He's my baby, my boy. And he still is. But now that we're almost 1/4 done with school (WOW!), I can't be prouder of how well he's done.

Anyway...we enjoyed our day together full of parks and hockey, but of course. The following day was Jeremy's first day of school. The school lets the older kids go first and then all the kindergartners start the next day.

Jeremy's first day of school.

My boy.

Mom and her boy.

The kids.

The school sponsored a Boo-Hoo Breakfast for moms/dads of the kids just starting school. We put J on the bus, and I drove over to the school to meet up with his class. He got there a little late--I think the bus was late. But our neighbor kid was very excited to see me. He kept telling me that he was having hot lunch that day and he couldn't wait. And then he offered to take a picture with him and Jeremy. Too cute.

Jeremy and his buddy Hayden.

Boarding the bus.

Jeremy in his class.

Jeremy and our neighbor Luke.

I went to the breakfast and met up with some preschool moms (Kaiden and Kiley's mom). It was a ton of fun. And it helped me deal with the fact that he would be gone all day. The first few days was rough, honestly. But Phil was working on painting Riley's room, so I was busy taping, and I talked to some girlfriends. And now we've gotten into a nice swing of things, and both kids are really thriving at school, not that I had any doubt. They're both finishing up their soccer seasons, and J's last hockey for this session is tomorrow. I'm so proud of the kids!

Two Touching Articles

Some days I don't feel like I do enough to help others. Now that both kids are in school, I have stepped up my volunteering efforts. I've helped out at school for both kids (I was able to attend my first field trip with J's class last week!), I've helped with Market Day, with PTA stuff, and I spend 1.5 hours every week at the library. (Sidenote: I thought about helping at an animal shelter, but I thought it would be too difficult to leave the animals there and not bring them home.)

And then I read something like this. Or this. And then I don't think I do enough to help others. I look at my brother and sister-in-law who've touched so many lives in their travels. They just returned from Guatemala where they helped build schools for low-income families. This was after a 3-year stint teaching in Lebanon. And prior to that they served in the Peace Corps.

But for now I just thought I'd share with you those two articles that affected me. I hope maybe they can inspire you, or make you go home and hug or call your kids/loved ones. And know how much you all mean to me.

Animal Crackers

We have a very busy sports schedule. Mondays and Wednesdays Jeremy has soccer, and Tuesdays he has hockey. Fridays and Saturdays Riley has soccer. Most people would think that's a bit much, but I think the kids thrive on scheduling and, let's face it, sports. They're both super athletic. You're welcome, Phil. (kidding)

So a few Fridays ago, I brought some snack along for Jeremy to munch on since I knew that he would be hungry. We usually eat dinner before soccer since practice starts at 5:30. I look over at him, and he's meticulously eating animal crackers. He's taking a few nibbles and then giggling.

I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was eating their butts. Why, you may ask? In Jeremy's words:


"so they can't poop."


Yes, that's my son. I'm so proud. On most days.
 

Life with Two in School

Earlier this year when I signed Jeremy up for kindergarten, I was hit with a wave of sadness (as evidenced by my numerous posts about how I was coping with his impending full-day schooling). I wondered how sad I would be, knowing that I wouldn't have anyone around for most of the day. It made me prematurely miss the baby phase and how Jeremy starting school would signify another aspect of his independence.

(I still have to upload the pics from the first day of kindy, so bear with me.)

The first week was sad, there's no doubt. I would come home to an empty house, or when Phil would work from home, he'd go off and work and leave me be. I spent much of the first week just taking time for myself. 

And then it became fun! I could catch up on my DVR, I could rent movies from the library and watch them, I could go to Target and walk around without having to enter the toy area or worry about children getting tired and wining about when we could leave. Granted, I haven't been able to get a whole lot accomplished--I did have these grand plans of cleaning out some closets and doing a thorough cleaning of the basement. 

But I have made progress in other areas. My parents came out and helped me clean out the garden. I canned 4 full jars of pears, I've made jelly, I've cleaned up the office and sorted paperwork, I switched the kids' closets around and I've been freelancing more during the day. I was able to attend my first field trip with the kids when I traveled with J's class to the apple orchard. I've had lunch with both kids this week. And I've started running daily.


Overall, life is pretty good. And J is totally loving school, not that I had any doubts. I don't know what I was so worried about.

Summer Roundup Part 2

Janis and the kids. Notice Jeremy's ode to
Janis' hometown: Edmonton Oilers.

Ah, the rest of our summer!

My cousin Janis from Edmonton came to stay with us for a week in July, and I don't know who had more fun! She's headed out here a few other times, and I love that the kids remember playing with her. We spent several days at the pool since the temperature was in the 90s for several straight days. She also was able to check out Jeremy skating. We had planned all along to go to the zoo on the Friday that she was here, and we were so sad when we woke up Friday morning to all this rain! But we decided to go ahead with it and hope that the zoo was dry.

The kids and Janis at the dolphin show.

We were right! I've never seen the zoo so empty in the summer. We found a close spot and were able to enjoy an almost-empty zoo. We checked out the dolphin show, and the kids just had a blast hanging out with Janis.

Beautiful girl.

Me and my girl.

Me and my boy.

Janis and Riley.

In front of the zoo sign.

Riley took this pic.

C+D reading to the kids.

The following day we went down to great-grandpa's for a family reunion where we were able to spend lots of time with Uncle D and Casey. We spent the night down there, and the six of us shared a connecting room. The kids enjoyed having D and Casey read a book they had given the kids: Casey and Derek Take the Ice. Ha!

Uncle D sandwich! Poor Casey's on the bottom!

J playing hockey with Uncle D.

Almost all of the Ackerman clan.

Great-grandpa and his children.

Great-grandpa and the Smiths.

J getting ready to throw.

Sports dotted our summer, much like any season. J played T-ball again, and I honestly think he's ready for regular baseball. His hockey buddy Billy was on his team, and his parents and sisters enjoyed chatting and hanging out with us. His sister Kaylynne called Phil "Uncle Phil."

Nice follow-through!

Riley ready for the pitch!

Riley participated in softball, which she didn't do last year. That girl can hit the ball! She had a lot of fun, and she had a really good coach, which definitely helps. I have a feeling she'll want to play again next summer. I just felt bad that most of her games were on Saturdays at noontime when the days were about 90 degrees! 

I think she was annoyed we asked her to look at the camera.

Riley on the tram.

We headed to the zoo one last time during the summer since the kids told me they wanted one last venture. We checked out the stingray bay exhibit, and the kids attempted to touch a ray. For extra money, you could buy seafood to try to feed the marine life, but the kids weren't up for that.

J doing his obligatory smile.

Me and my girl. J took this pic.

The kids and Mom.

The stingray exhibit.

On the carousel.

Riley's turn.

J goofing around with Uncle D.

We spent some more time with Uncle D and Casey before they headed off to Brockton, MA, for a wedding and spend some time with Casey's family. They are currently in Guatemala where they helped build some schools and houses. Last I heard, they were still planning to come to Chicago in a few weeks to find a sublet!

Putting Uncle D to work!

Riley bowling.

I treated the kids to some bowling before school started, and they each had so much fun! I love that they have the bumpers, but leave it to both my kids to throw the bowling ball over the bumpers! Jeremy's actually landed on the lane next to us and caused the other person a scratch! And Riley had to have an employee come and rescue her ball!

Nice follow-through.

J waiting patiently for his turn.

Getting ready to board the train.

We capped off the summer with a trip to visit Phil at the office. I surprised the kids, and we rode the train downtown. They both did great, and we experienced an extra treat because while we were pulling into the train station, we witnessed some of the airplanes practicing for the air and water show! Two planes formed a heart with their exhaust, and the kids LOVED it! We didn't do much downtown, but the kids got to look out across the city from Phil's office, and we even walked around the Sears/Willis Tower.

Outside Dad's office.

Dad and his girl.

Our puzzle. We actually got it through
the library's puzzle exchange program.

Before school started, the kids and I completed a 550-piece puzzle. It took us 3 days, but it was SO much fun! Jeremy has really gotten back into puzzles and usually does 1-2 daily. He's notorious for finishing a puzzle, wrecking it, and doing it again. His favorites are these Disney puzzles that came 8 in a box, with the minimum number of pieces at 150!

The PONY!

Our really good friends who are our neighbors held a joint birthday party for their two girls right before school started. And no party is complete without a...PONY! How cool is that? Riley was all about it, but J wanted nothing to do with it. But it was quite a sight, and I joked that this birthday is going to be difficult to top!