scarecrow family

The girls stuffed our scarecrow again this year .....

... and kept busy getting each part just right.

They also made him a wife .....

.... and even twin daughters!!

Happy Almost Halloween Weekend!! 

homework

The girls' latest homework assignment was to draw a picture of their teacher and then tell a story about her.  They both had definite ideas of how they wanted to portray Mrs. Olson and what they wanted to say about her.  It always makes me smile when I see their art so closely reflect their individual personalities.

Zoe's final product:

Zoe is very precise with her work.  She wanted to add fancy flowers in Mrs. Olson's hair and extra fancy earrings, as well as a special dress (which totally reminded me of graduation photos from the 50's).  She said she knew Mrs. Olson has green eyes and that her hair is more blonde, but that she used a pencil for the hair and that's why it was dark.  Her story, concise and to the point -- that's my Zoe : )

Ella's final product:

Ella creates like she moves through her days, when ideas come to her she goes with them.  She gave Mrs. Olson a crown and is experimenting with making noses a new way.  She added an E and a Z to the balloons (for Ella and Zoe of course), and the blue and white tiles are what the floor looks like at school. Her story is so Ella too, I love how colors mean so many different things to her : )

 Reading both girls' words about their teacher made my momma heart feel very happy.  It still is hard for me not being with them for so much of their days but knowing they are with someone they think is nice, someone who gives them great hugs, someone who they know will help them, someone they like AND love makes hugging them goodbye in the morning a whole lot easier for me.  And when I think about them at their school throughout the day, I have so much to smile about.

Lately

This is me, and why I haven't been blogging much .....

(I consider the 'children' my own two AND the 25 I teach) 

So though our routine has changed considerably and there have been some bumps along the way;  and while I often times feel completely flustered and overwhelmed (and many times embarrassed that my hair hasn't been washed in 4 days because I haven't wanted to take the time to wash it), the girls have been enjoying their full days that are packed with fun.

Creating art at Kindergarten:

Playing on the playground:

Playing with friends during their after-school care:

They've also been spending a lot of quality time with their dad:

And creating habitats for their animals and dinosaurs in our backyard:

We've even had some fun family weekend fun in downtown Minneapolis.

Getting balloons from the balloon clown:

Looking out the overlook window at the Farmer's Market and the Mississippi River:

Checking out the Stone Arch Bridge:

Biking over the Stone Arch Bridge:

It's been BUSY in many not-so-fun ways, but also busy in many SUPER fun ways -- and even though I truly think I slept more when Ella and Zoe were babies and getting up every four hours during the night (I at least had the chance to catch a nap when the girls were napping during the day), this Kindergartener .....

.... and this Kindergartener ......

..... are doing great!!