The Kassel Family Project Life 365

…more coffee is a necessity.  This is one of those days.

Laura had IGE In Action Night at Ridgeway Elementary School tonight.  IGE means individually guided education, which is the teaching method used by Laura’s school.  Also, the entire school is turned into an art show, displaying one piece of work from every student.  This year, Laura showed us her writing portfolio and told us all about her favorite things from Unit A (both Kindergarten and First Grade).  She showed us her chosen art piece, a still life of a fruit basket.  It will be proudly displayed on Laura’s art bar in our house.  I took a picture of Laura and Mrs. Hanney and I’m sad that Laura moves up to Unit B next year because Mrs. Hanney is an amazing teacher!  At least John gets to be part of her class next year!

I think that Laura was most excited to take us to the Media Center to see her iPad project.  It was all about the different types of teeth and even included videos.  John was very amazed at the project and said that he can’t wait to use iPads when he starts Kindergarten.  In case you don’t know, John is a lot like Andy.  I think we have another computer geek in the making…

While I am sad to see Laura move on to Unit B, I know she will have another amazing teacher and another amazing experience.  I am very much looking forward to John starting Unit A as he has changed so much since starting Walnut Street Day School.  I am also looking forward to all the amazing experiences that he will have in Mrs. Hanney’s class.  So, it is onward to next year!

We have a bike rider!  Tonight, Laura rode her bike for the very first time without training wheels and without assistance from us.  She even has braking down pretty well.  Go Laura!

Happy Mother’s Day!  We began the day at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church for a Pancake Breakfast made by the Sunday School classes (with a little bit of “help” from the dads).  Laura and John both brought me delicious pancakes and orange juice and then ran back to help in the kitchen.

John got the biggest kick out of adding blueberries to some of the pancakes.  He was very careful to not burn himself on the griddle.

After the pancake breakfast, we headed to Cosmo Park for a picnic lunch and some time on the playground.  Laura met a new friend there and spent most of the time running around the playground with her.  I did manage to get a picture of her when she was “hiding” in one of the big tires.

John spent a lot of time just running around.  He did very much enjoy the swings and, once you got him started, he could swing on his own!  He is very proud of himself for conquering this particular skill.

We spent the rest of the day at home enjoying the beautiful weather.  Kathryn and Andrea stopped by for a bit and the kids had a blast playing.  The adults hung out with a few drinks and chatted the afternoon away.  We finished the evening with a tasty dinner and Andy took a picture of me with the two amazing reasons that I get to be called “Mom.”  It was a great day and I very much enjoyed myself.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the great Moms out there!  To Marilyn – Thanks for being an awesome Stepmom and for being there whenever we need you.  To Mom – Thanks for showing me what it means to be a great Mom, so that I could one day repeat all those things to my kids that you said to me and I swore I would never say!   I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for the two of you.

So, my weekend “To Do” list was ridiculously long…  Even for me…  The house was in desperate need of cleaning thanks to the green layer of pollen all over everything.  Since it also happens to be Mother’s Day tomorrow, I *really* wanted to get as much done as possible today so that I could just enjoy tomorrow.  Well….  Mission accomplished!  I have four things left on my list:  workout, laundry (three loads to go!), make Refrigerator Oatmeal (I usually do this on Sundays anyway), and transplant a spider plant that long ago outgrew its pot.  Even if I don’t accomplish anything tomorrow except for enjoying my family and laundry, I’ll call this weekend a success.  Oh, and how am I celebrating finishing most of that monster list?  By enjoying a glass of wine, of course!

We went to the Circus Pages this evening at the Boone County Fairgrounds.  For being a small circus, it was quite well done and the various acts were quite fun to watch.  We got to see big cats, dogs, horses, camels, elephants, motorcycles riders, several acrobatic acts, and  juggling.  John’s favorite was watching the motorcycle riders in the globe cage.  He was amazed by how fast they could go in circles and not hit each other.  He proclaimed the riders “awesome!”  Laura had several favorites and just really liked it all.   She declared that several acts were “awesome!”  We ended up breaking down and getting the kids light up toys:  Laura got a wand and John got a gun.  Both were thrilled to have them.  Despite it being a late night for the kids (we didn’t get home until after 10 pm), I’m very glad we went.  It was a fun time and well worth it!