Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is always one of my favorite days.  I love stories of boyfriends or husbands doing romantic things.  I love how exited kids are to open their valentines and get a few pieces of candy.  I love how everyone is extra kind and sweet to each other.  How can you not love a day like that?

This year was the first time we were required to make a valentine box.  And by "we," I mean Hannah.  Because unlike a lot of parents I saw on Facebook, I didn't make it for her.  I bought a kit at Target and she proudly made it herself.  Well, I helped with the flags.  Her valentines were Fun Dips.

Olive made her valentine sack at school and her valentines were animal masks.

Here's Hannah in one of Olive's mask valentines.

Olive making her heart craft at her party.

And decorating sugar cookies.

Hannah made a butterfly magnet clip at her party.

Everyone loved her castle box and she was very proud.

Going through all the valentines at home.

My valentines to my family were lightsabers.  Because nothing says "I love you" like a weapon. :)

Wonderscope Field Trip

I went on the kindergarten field trip to Wonderscope.  They have redesigned the exhibits since the last time I went there with Hannah's kindergarten class.  I had four kids in my group including Olive.  She really liked building with blocks, the rock wall, and the blue spinner (last picture).  

Random Pictures

January and February are usually slow months without much going on, but this year they have been pretty hectic.  The two big changes are me going back to work substitute teaching, and the other is our construction project. That means we have people walking in and out of house all the time, furniture moved into other rooms, and tools and dust are everywhere!  Chaos.  This is what my living room looks like now:

The girls have lots of Fridays off of school and we can't really stay at home and play (see above picture).  One Friday we went to the mall just to get out of the house.  Olive got a book, Hannah bought sunglasses for her doll, and we ate a mall pretzel.  They thought it was the best day ever.  I love how little things make them so happy.

Hannah is now big enough to ride my bike.  Steve set her up on the trainer so she could bike and watch videos while he was running.  Like daddy, like daughter.

We visited the Compassion Experience to see how other kids around the world live.  We toured rooms while listening to the real kid (now grown-up) tell their story.  It was a great experience for kids growing up in the suburbs!  This girl was named Olive and she lived in Uganda.

The girls love to create!  Olive got into the craft closet and made all of these by herself.

And Hannah made this bird feeder by herself.

100th day of kindergarten!

Substitute Teaching

So when Olive decided to switch to full-day kindergarten in November, all of a sudden I had seven hours a day to myself.  And I haven't had that since...I don't know...never.  Okay, I guess I spent summer days by myself before I had kids.  I just can't remember what I did back then.  One summer I remember removing wallpaper and painting rooms.  What do I do now without kids?  Well, for two days I had a blast watching movies and going shopping.  Then I got bored.  When Olive was half-day it was perfect because I had three hours to myself.  Just enough time to eat breakfast, run an errand or do some housework.  But seven hours was a different ballgame.  I felt like I was living by myself.  The house was too quiet.  I started understanding why people live with cats.  In short, it was time to get a job.

By Friday of Olive's first week of full-day kindergarten, I had already put in my substitute teacher application.  And it took TWO MONTHS to get approved because of all the paperwork, background checks, orientations, etc.  In January I got my first job and it was at the girls' school (I was actually the first sub in the new building!)  I was nervous.  It was my first time working in 3 1/2 years!  But it was great, and I remembered how much I enjoy teaching.  Being around kids is way more fun than being at home by myself!

I've subbed mainly at the girls' school because we don't have childcare for them after school.  But I've also worked some mornings at other schools.  I've even tried things I've never taught before like pe, library, and gifted learning!  And I've taught things I'm very familiar with...2nd grade at my old school!  I basically relived a day in my life 4 years ago- same lesson plans and everything!  It was so much fun to catch up with my teacher friends and take a trip down memory lane.

Being a substitute is also taking a trip down memory lane.  It makes me feel young, mostly because the last time I subbed I was 23. :)  It's fun to do different things every day.  I like choosing when to work and at which schools and grades.  I like knowing no matter how difficult the kids are, it is only one day (and if I hate it I never have to go back!)  I'm not a big fan of being thrown into new situations and not knowing what I'm doing...but I'm getting better at it and it's a good life skill.  It is also reminding me how exhausted I was when I worked!  Being in charge of 20 kids all day and then going home to parent 2 while trying to catch up on all the housework requires a lot of energy.

What do Hannah and Olive think about it?  They think it is awesome and they are super proud!  They love seeing me at school.   They love eating breakfast at school (which is how I make mornings work if I have to go to another school.) They are always interested in asking about my day at dinner- what grade I taught and what the kids were doing.  They really want me to to sub for their teachers, but so far that hasn't happened.

When I started subbing Olive said, "I didn't know a dad AND a mom could have a job at the same time!"  It broke my heart to hear my daughter say that.  She was too little to remember me working during her first two years.  But luckily she is making some new memories and expanding her knowledge of working parents. :)

Seussical the Musical

We went the high school production of Seussical the Musical.  As we were waiting for the show to start Olive asked me if it was going to be "pictures like in the books."  I tried to explain a play was people acting out the stories, but she said she didn't want that and she wanted to see a show on a screen or in a book.  After the opening number she turned to me and said, "I LOVE this!"  Of course.  Hannah looked at me with a big smile and said, "I'm so glad we came!"  It reminded me of when I took her to see the junior high production of The Little Mermaid, a night she still talks about.  And actually some of the same kids we saw in The Little Mermaid were in Seussical (now as high school students)!  I got to catch up with lots of former students, their parents, and some co-workers, too.  The secretary at my old school sat right next to us with her grandkids.  We had a great time and the girls said they are actually singing some Seussical songs in their spring music program!

I've known The Cat in the Hat since she was Olive's age.  I taught her older and younger sister.  It's so neat to see all these kids I knew grown up and doing awesome things in the world!

Velma's 90th Birthday

Steve's grandma, Velma, turned 90 on January 19.  I wanted to do something special for her since she has done so much for so many people.  We decided to surprise her at church with a little party.  We were all set for January 15...then the weather gave us ice and church was canceled. :(  We rescheduled to the next Sunday, but unfortunately Granny and Papa were on a cruise that weekend so they couldn't make it.  We still had lots of family, including a nice and nephew from Illinois!  Velma was very surprised when we all showed up at church!  Becky made some delicious brownie cupcakes and we ordered pizza for lunch.  It was a great day celebrating a great mom, grandma, and great-grandma.

I really can't say enough wonderful things about this lady.  At 90 she is still active serving meals at House of Prayer, volunteering in a 2nd grade classroom (she is a former math teacher), and helping her church and community.  She is a blessing to everyone around her.  And Steve and I love her so much that we named our first daughter after her.  She and Hannah share the middle name Rose.

Velma with her great-granddaughters

The whole Kerr crew

New School

The girls got a new school when they went back after Christmas break!  No, we didn't move.  They started building a new school on-site at the beginning of Hannah's 1st grade year.  It has been an inconvenience because it has meant no parking for school events and no recess playground equipment for the past year.  And it isn't finished yet, because this summer they have to demolish the old building to get space for recess equipment.  But we do have a parking lot, now!  Which means pick-up after school is much easier.  And the girls were very excited to have a brand new school.  I asked what they liked the most and they both said, "EVERYTHING!"

Front of new school (this can't be finished yet because the old school is sitting where the circle drive is in this drawing)

 This is the back entrance to the school and the one we use now.  Kindergarten, first grade, and special classes are on the left.  The office and library (big glass room) are in the middle.  2nd and 3rd grade are on the ground floor on the right.  4th, 5th, and 6th grade on the 2nd floor on the right.

"First day of new school" picture on January 5

Hannah's classroom: no more desks, just tables for flexible seating.  There are also "wobble stools" for kids that need to move around more.

Olive's classroom: Pretty much the same, but she has a bigger room and it has a bathroom attached.

Hallway learning space.  And with the glass front to the classrooms, you can see when you send kids to the hallway.  It is great for teaching!

New gym with hardwood floor.  Before, the gym and cafeteria shared the same space.

Library with "maker space" on the upper level where they do lots of STEM activities.

Science Night

Hannah was the only girl in a row of about 10 boys waiting to drive a remote control robot.  That seems about right.  She loved it so much she got in line again. :)

Olive watching Hannah drive.

The best part of science night: animals!

Demolition

If you know us, you know we have talked about moving for years.  We don't really like our house.  In fact, the first time we looked at our house we both vetoed it.  But after looking at many other houses, we saw that this house was a good price for its square footage and location.  And we both love bargains!  So we bought it and we moved in with the thought we would most definitely get another house in 5-7 years when we had a family.  But we also liked that this house was big enough for kids just in case we decided to stay awhile.  Fast forward 11 years and 2 kids later and we are still here.  And we still don't really like our house.  But we LOVE our elementary school and the fact that we can walk to it.  We love that we are within a mile of two really awesome parks and a third one is coming just a block from our house!  We love that we are only a couple of minutes from a grocery store, bank, gas station, restaurants, movie theater, frozen yogurt, and just about everything we need.  So after looking at houses for years, we decided to stay here.  At least until the girls are out of elementary school.

But we would like to fix this house so it works a little better for us in the meantime.  We have the smallest house of just about everyone we know.  Mostly because they are all on their second or even third houses and we are still on our first. :)  After much deliberation, we decided to add a dormer to our upstairs bedroom.  It won't add a bunch of square footage, but it will allow us to switch rooms to work better for our family.  Currently the upstairs bedroom functions as a guest bedroom, bathroom, and (let's be honest) junk room.  Adding a dormer will increase the size enough for us to put in a bigger closet and bathroom and turn it into our master bedroom.  Then our current master will become the guest room/toy room.  Guests will still have their own bathroom.  Plus the girls will have a play space that is right across from their bedrooms.  It will be great for having friends over because all the kids can play on the bedroom level and the adults can stay on the kitchen level.

We have hired a contractor to do most of the work, because I don't have the appetite for DIY that I had when we were first married.  I'd rather spend my weekends having fun with my kids than working on my house.  Although, demolition was both. :)  The girls thought it was super fun to swing a hammer into the wall, break it off, and throw it out the window.  Hannah called it the best day of her life!  She says that a lot though.

Without further ado, here are pictures of the space before and after we did demolition.

In the bedroom looking back at the bathroom with stairs and closet on the right.

I let the kids draw on the carpet before we took it out. :)

Hardwood floors underneath!

Tearing down walls!

looking back at the bathroom with stairs and closet on the right.

The new dormer will go here and the closet will be relocated.