And she's off...

The first day of first grade. I really can't believe the time has come. I'm not sad, but I'm not exactly thrilled either. Last year was kindergarten - a half day - and she was only gone for about 3 and a half hours in the morning. We took her to school and picked her up when it was time to come home. She loved it and was equally excited to start 1st grade this year which I AM happy about! So far she loves her teacher, has some friends from last year's class in her new class, and likes the fact that she can eat lunch with them. I guess what I really don't like about this new year is that for most of our time together now during the week she isn't being influenced by me for the majority of the day. And that kind of scares me. The influence of friends and other students, mmmmm, not liking so much. I guess I can only pray that her dad and I can help keep her morally strong while she's growing up and that she makes friendships with girls and boys of similar upbringings. Cell phones now? No. TV in her room now? No. Believe me, she's asked! And what I found unbelievable is that kids her age have "yeses" to those questions. Nope, sorry, not for this girl! When can I, when can I she asks? Hmmm, I'm not sure I tell her. Maybe when your 25...

There she goes getting on the bus on the first day of school. The first time she ever rode a bus anywhere and she wasn't the least bit hesitant or nervous. She can get along with just about anyone and is not the least bit shy. Just two of the reasons I love ya M!

Sticky Gobs of Heaven

Last Christmas my kiddos got a bubble gum making kit from Santa. My oldest is a big fan of anything that needs stirring, mixing, adding, subtracting, and overall messiness so this was a big hit for her. My boy isn't far behind on enthusiasm for this type of thing either. Enter the big blue box that promises gobs of yummy gooey gum that you can whip up with all sorts of colors and flavors...

The box claims it's for 8+ years but my kids (now 6 and 3) have just as much fun although I definitely need to help them. I mean they could very well do it on their own if I wanted to spend the next 12 hours cleaning my kitchen and assuming they didn't burn the house down and I still had a kitchen left to clean. It just takes a little microwaving, mixing, and kneading and voila! bubblegum is born. The company is called Scientific Explorer and they have much more than bubblegum available. I already know that this Christmas M will be hounding Santa about the Spa Kit but for now we're satisfied with this...