Peonies and Parties

The Baby Boy had his 1st birthday party today. Before we left, we saw that the ants had come marching in...literally. Our peonies were covered in ants.

My mom and my grandmother always told me that the ants were necessary for the flowers to bloom. Today I learned that this is just an Old Wives Tale. The ants are NOT needed to open the blossom into a flower. They are there to eat the nectar that the peony blossoms produce. So, the ants are just there to eat a sweet treat and with or without them we still get flowers...sweet!

So, today we celebrated the 1 year milestone for my baby with family and friends. The ants came marching in and the Peonies came out to celebrate the boy. That made me smile! The great thing is that this is only the start of their beauty. Those blossoms mean that there will be plenty more beautiful Peonies yet to come!

About Graduates and Play-doh

My third class of 4th graders graduated from High School today. Such a weird feeling! I attended the graduation and watched with pride as some of my former students received their diplomas. One of my students even gave a speech as class president. Yes, I was very proud.

It's quite an amazing feeling to know that that diploma represents the accomplishments of their 13 years of schooling. To know that I had a part in guiding their learning for one of those years is very rewarding. In a small way, I feel as though I own a part of that diploma that they are receiving. Heck, they couldn't have graduated from High School if they hadn't made it through 4th grade! Together we studied each of the regions of the United States. We studied rocks, the Solar System, and electricity. We learned long division, fractions and how to convert to metric. In 4th grade, they graduated from picture books and started on chapter books. Where would they be without learning all that?!?!? I know that I am overstating my role but it is hard to put into words the pride that I feel when I see one of my former students walk across that stage in their cap and gown and receive that diploma. In my mind, they are still 10 year olds hanging on my every word and now they are one step closer to adulthood.

Well, what I learned today is a quote. It's not from a former student but it is from one of the graduates...the Valedictorian to be specific. She ended her speech by challenging her fellow graduates to not forget the experiences gained from high school and their childhood, but to learn from them. To make this point, she challenged, "It's often said that you need to stop and smell the roses but I say that you need to step back and smell the play-doh."

I like that. Sitting there in those bleachers I reminisced about each student and I remembered the play-doh...the snotty noses, the scraped knees, the dandelions picked just for me...the successes and the failures...the experiences that shaped them and me. I hope each graduate does a little reflection and remembers the play-doh too.

The Birthday Boy's Shirt

I'm working on my last project for the baby's first birthday party. I decided to take my new love of freezer paper stencils and make a birthday shirt for his birthday party. Today, for the first time, I tried using two different colors. I want his name to be in black with a large blue number 1 behind his name. To make the stencil, I used a font from Microsoft Word to make the name and number. I just picked a font I liked, made it the size I wanted, printed it out, and then used the X-acto knife to cut it out. Easy peazy.
My dilemma today was figuring out how to use the two different colors in areas where the two colors touch. I ended up doing one color first and after it dried, I painted the touching areas freehand since I didn't want to iron a new stencil on over the newly painted area. I was pretty nervous about whether or not it would work but it did. I am very happy with the results!

WOW! What a Contest!

I learned today that Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a contest. Here's what the blog says about the contest..."The nice folks behind WOW Hits 1 are offering TWENTY winners each a boxed set of 17 CDs, one CD for each of the artists represented on WOW Hits 1." You could win 17 CD's! That's an amazing contest and their giving this set of CD's to 20 people. That makes the odds of winning even better. The list of 17 CDs is on the blog and you can learn about WOW Hits 1 here.

Go enter the contest. I did. Good luck!

Whisked Away!

We have a submersible blender that we use a lot for smoothies, shakes, etc. It is a very handy tool that we use a lot around here. Well, it came with a whisk attachment that we have never used. Tonight I was making pancakes and I thought it would be a good time to try the electric whisk. Bad idea.

(Blogger decided to turn this photo too. Tilt you head to the side to get the full effect!)

It shot the pancake batter out of the bowl faster than lightening. The sink, the counters, the refrigerator, the floor, the throw rug, the baby boy and I were all covered in pancake batter. The poor little guy was standing beside me when the stuff shot out and his face was at just the right height to get the blunt of the batter. Poor little guy's face and hair were covered. I felt horrible! I learned a lesson today...don't do that again! And, if I do decide to take the whisk attachment out again, I ought to read the instructions first.

I just have to post the following picture because today I learned that after dinner disasters, a little dress up can help cheer a mama up!

One Year Old

My baby, my little boy, is one year old today. You see that tiny little foot up there? That foot and and the other one are now big chunky feet that can't stay in a pair of shoes due to the thickness of them. Those thick feet go right along with the big body that my baby now resides in.

How can it be that one year has passed already? I still pretty much feel the same way about his birthday as I did two months ago. You'd think time would make me get used to the fact that his birthday is here, but I simply cannot believe that my baby is a year old. I look at him and think, where did my baby go? I swear it was just yesterday that he was placed in my arms and I breathed him in with all of my senses...

• His smell, oh so yummy, warm and new.



• His taste, kissing a fresh born baby's plump little cheeks tastes like heaven.



• His touch, that soft, warm, fuzzy little baby skin so fresh and new. Feeling his body lying gently on mine, skin to skin, sharing our warmth with each other. My fingers gently investigating each of his beautiful baby parts...touching his nose, his cheeks, his hands, his ears. The feel of his peach fuzz hair on my cheek as he sleeps on my chest.



• His sound, boy did his lungs work. My ears got to meet him before my eyes did. The doctor even exclaimed that he had never heard a baby that loud. But he had other sounds...his soft breathing as he would sleep and his gentle cooing during and after nursing.
  


• His sight, this makes me cry as I think of it. This is the most precious to me. After being the last to meet my daughter when she was born, the sight of my son, moments after birth, is such a gift. I can still see his chubby wet little body being held up in the hands of the doctor for me to see. Seeing the face that I had waited the entire pregnancy to see was amazing. That image is forever etched in my mind.

So what did I learn today? Today's lesson is a lesson I have been learning over the past 4 years of parenthood. It is a lesson that I have especially learned this past year. Time is precious. Time is fleeting. Cherish each moment. I know that in the blink of an eye, he'll be a grown man.

Happy birthday, my little one. I sure do love you!

Pink Dolphins

"Pink dolphins live in the South China Sea. They look pink because of red blood vessels near the surface of their white skin." I didn't even know there was such a thing as pink dolphins so I surely didn't know that about their blood making them pink! Kinda funny, I learned something today from my kid's new toy!

That above quote is from the tag from the Animal Planet dolphin that my daughter picked out today at the toy store. I went there with her to let her pick out a special present for her brother just from her. After she found a gift for him, I let her get this dolphin for herself for being such a great big sister. Yes, I know, I'm a sucker! She does love that Pink dolphin. She named her Princess Kaloosta and she has been showered with kisses and introduced to all of the stuffed animals in her room. Currently Princess Kaloosta and my own princess are sound asleep snuggling together in bed.