Christmas Brunch

Dining Room Tree, all decked in German glass ornaments

The party favor, pineapple, with tags from No Fuss Fabulous.

Music Room

Living Room, ready for guests, complete with a roaring fire. One guest said that my house summed me up in a good way. I guess that's better than in a bad way!

Some of the food... twelve ladies came to enjoy the day... all stay at home moms from school. We started at 9 am and the last guest left just before 2. I guess that makes it a success! I think this may become a tradition.

The salad my mom always made.

Halloween at School

S and his best friend, T, went as dice. I painted these boxes in the garage, and a kitty got onto it and left white paint kitty prints all over the garage floor. S hopes they never go away.

J as a clown. He was a big ham in the parade.

Fourth Grade cupcake treats.

Miss N as a pink fairy. She is so cute. Her mom and I have become friends, a southern girl meets a northern girl (who she thought was a southern girl too.)

My niece, M, started at the school this year. It is so fun to see her every day. She was a princess.

The second grade party, making die cut jointed skeletons. The kids and adults loved it.

Mama Pride

J received the Soar Award at school on Thursday for perseverance.

That is the optimum word to describe every day at school for him.

Everything about school is more challenging for him, which is heart wrenching and frustrating for Mama. I love him so much and I just want to scoop him out of school and keep him home to learn at his pace. He is a smart boy, it just takes him a little longer to catch on.

First Day of School

New clothes, new lunch bags, new start
I love their new lunch boxes! Very cool. From Planet Box. The Modern Art magnets J loves, he named Warhol and Mondrian. Apparently those Art Days are paying off!

Lots of compartments...lots of options.

S headed to 2nd grade.
He thinks his teacher is "very, very funny".

His shirt stayed white and clean for about an hour into school, when he got a gusher of nose bleed. Thank God for Shout!

J headed to 4th grade.

He thinks his teacher is "really, really, really nice."

Spring Concert

Madras, Seersucker and Stylish Ties, oh my.

I was very proud of my very handsome sons. They happily dressed up for their school Spring Concert, even though boys don't dress like this in Wisconsin. Except when their mother thinks she may have been Southern in a former life!

Derby Party 2011

The silver mint julep cups were fabulous! They frosted up perfectly.
Red roses, fried chicken, pimento cheese, ham and biscuits, and Kern's Derby Pie shipped in from Kentucky. Notice the tablecloth from Pomegranate, Inc. Love it!

Roasted fresh asparagus. It looked beautiful on the antique platter.

No one picked the winning horse, so all money was donated to the school.

May Day

I spent some time in the Pre-K room yesterday celebrating May Day. It was a cold, cloudy day, but those children are filled with sunshine. We read a book about Counting in the Garden and did a flower craft project. I feel so lucky that the school let's me come in once a year to do this. I grew up with May Day, and enjoy passing the traditions along to the next generation. One little girl looked at her flower and said to herself, "My flower is so beautiful." She was so sweet, I could have spread her on toast!

Royal Wedding Book Fair

I was chair of the Scholastic Book Fair this past week. With the timing of the Royal Wedding, I used that as the theme. The teachers had afternoon tea for their sneak peek, the kids guessed how many jewels were in the container for a contest, and we all enjoyed wedding cake on Friday morning.

Thanks to Vera's House of Bridal for the loaner.

Lots of books were read and enjoyed.

Fancy Nancy Party

My niece joined in the party. She will go to the school next year, and she had a chance to meet some of the girls. Every young lady took home a fancy fuzzy blanket.

A very Fancy chandelier.

Things to make you Fancy; boas and rings and bracelets, oh my!

Last weekend was the Fancy Nancy party that was my donation to our school auction.

It was a great success!

Favor buckets, waiting to go home.

Flowers and feather centerpiece, and cotton candy towers.

All the Fancy Young Ladies!

My talented sister came to take pictures, and my great friend, Jean, with assistance from her daughter, came and gave a French lesson. It was a delightful afternoon, and I am already planning next years party.

ah...okay.

On our way to school, I was quizzing J on his science test he has today, reinforcing that if he finishes a test early, that he spend the extra time to look it over again. Check his spelling, look for punctuation, etc. Then he says "That's what Grandpa Vonny always says." Me: "He does?" J: "Yeah, like when you go to a Japanese restaurant, you eat Japanese food. Or you go to an Italian restaurant, you eat Italian food. You don't eat just macaroni and cheese." Me: Silence for a beat, "Am I missing something? What does eating in a restaurant have to do with test taking?" J: "I don't know, but Grandpa always says that." Ah...okay. At least he is listening to something.

Both are VERY happy about green and gold day at school.

GO PACKERS!!!!
I even sent them a green and gold lunch!

Blizzard in Wisconsin

What do you do when you can't go anywhere because of a blizzard? Well, I:

did 6 loads of laundry

baked a batch of peanut butter cookies

made bbq pulled pork

vacuumed the entire house, okay well just the first floor

dusted the first floor

polished a silver punch bowl and 8 silver trays (to be used at an event at school on Friday)

baked a two layer cake, with chocolate frosting

cleaned the fish tank

printed out valentine cards

took the dogs for a walk

Gosh I hope they have school tomorrow... I'm pooped!

International Day at school

This is my year as President of the Parent Guild. I had this dream/idea for an International Day at the school. We are incredibly diverse, and I felt that fact should be celebrated.
I asked parents to host tables about their country of origin.

They brought all kinds of things to show.

Generations participated.

Fourteen countries were represented by families at our school. This is the first of this type of event, and it came off swimmingly. We had an Ecuadorian Dance troupe and an Irish Folk musician. The kids each received a "passport" and traveled the globe. I was so proud of everyone. I feel this is my mark on this year.

Aren't You Bored?

I was asked lately if I am bored staying at home. My reply, NO! I am busy planning school functions;

• International Day (14 countries represented, a renowned origami artist will give lessons, an Irish folk musician, an Ecuadorian dance group)
• Scholastic Book Fair (we are having a Royal Bookfair, due to the fact that the royal wedding is on one of our sale days... yum, wedding cake)
• planning the food for the 200 people that will attend the auction (I'm too cheap to pay a caterer for what I know I can do)
• Fancy Nancy party (this is my Auction donation, 10 little girls with tutu's, boas and tiaras, ice cream parfaits, french lesson and a professional portrait taken)
• centerpieces for the staff Christmas party on Saturday
• Spring Carnival (I'm not in charge, just a helper)
• First Grade Lunch Luau's (this month is a Chinese New Year theme)
• Camp Out on the Campus (we are having the Boy Scouts give a lesson on using a compass and an astronomer from the UW come to give a lesson on stargazing)
• going through 80 pounds of unclaimed lost and found (how is that possible?! Come on parents-label your kids stuff!)
• through in one kids birthday party (he hasn't decided on a theme)

I am busy, and as much as I enjoy it, I am looking forward to summer. What? I know it's January, but a girl has to look forward to something.

Christmas in the Parlors

Filled with glass ornaments

A feather tree on the piano, with all the ornaments from places we have visited in the USA.

Middleton Place in Charleston, Mount Vernon, Baseball Hall of Fame, Graceland and more.

Candy canes for all the students at school.

Presents for the teachers and staff.

Everything gets taken tomorrow.

Barnes and Noble School Event

S plays Beethoven in front of an audience for the first time.

Good practice for his spring recital.

Third grade performing at Barnes and Noble.

J at the piano.

We had a school fundraiser at Barnes and Noble on Saturday. We had a great turnout, and hopefully will raise a lot of money for our school. I spent the gift wrapping for tips, watching the weather for the impending storm. Luckily the snow waited until I got home. If you plan on shopping at a Barnes and Noble store or online, before December 15, please use voucher number 10259307. Thanks!!!