An Official Girl Scout!

The Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try"

To serve God and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be

honest and fair,

friendly and helpful,

considerate and caring,

courageous and strong, and

responsible for what I say,

and to

respect myself and others,

respect authority,

use resources wisely,

make the world a better place, and

be a sister to every Girl Scout.

(Editor's Note: Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all lived by The Girl Scout Law??)

At Tuesday night's Brownie meeting, Casey was very excited to become an "official" Girl Scout. They had their Investiture Ceremony where they recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise and Law, and the new girls are pinned and welcomed to scouts by their leader. They then shared some fruit salad they helped make with the rest of their troop and their moms.

To add to the Girl Scout fun, this past Sunday, Casey attended Scout Day at Bear Branch Nature Center with her two best friends, Isabel and Beth. They learned about geology, astronomy, and forestry (my favorite because we hiked through the forest for most of the talk and learned some very interesting facts!)

Petting a wood turtle...

Finding sycamore tree leaves...

Halloween

The girls had a great time on Halloween. After designing their pumpkins, helping Daddy carve them, and roasting some pumpkins seeds, the girls and I headed down the street to our friends' for dinner and playing before trick-or-treating. (Jacob was not the least bit interested in his costume and Chris volunteered to stay home and give out candy on this wet night). Luckily, after some early sprinkles, the weather cleared a bit and the kids had a great time collecting candy with their friends!

Picking seeds out of the pumpkins guts for roasting...

Pre-Halloween Fun

On the Sunday before Halloween, we loaded our costumed kids up in the van and made the trek to beautiful Lancaster, PA to Happy Hauntings at Dutch Wonderland. This was a present to Emma for her birthday (instead of having a kids birthday party). What a good choice! The weather was mild and beautiful. The park was decorated for Halloween and the names of the rides were changed to reflect the season/holiday. The summer waterpark was dry, but, at night, we walked through a winding path and the kids were able to trick-or-treat at various spooky stops (with good chocolates given out too!). I wish I'd taken more pictures, especially at night with the lights, etc, but our hands were full and we were busy having fun!

Riding on the Haunted Rail Express...
...and the Scary-Go-Round...
...and the only time I won the battle of the cute dog costume with Jacob (although I lost the battle of the hood with the very cute floppy dog ears).

Silly Girls

On the evening of parent conferences at Casey's school, my dad graciously offered to come by and stay with the kids. When I came home, I found that the girls had lined up practically every toy they owned as an audience for a performance they were putting on. What a hoot!

Shrinky Dink Day

About 2 weeks ago (I'm a bit behind with blogging), I got a call from Casey's school nurse asking me to come pick her up from school as it seemed she had pink eye in both eyes. I was actually relieved that she was calling about pink eye, as many other kids we know from school and the neighborhood have been getting sick with the flu and other fever-causing viruses.

So, Emma, Jacob, and I headed on over to school and picked her up for a nice long weekend. (It was Thursday and she couldn't return to school until being on eye drops for 24 hours.)

We entertained ourselves in a variety of ways (amidst avid hand-washing to try to prevent the spread of this very contagious germ). Over the summer, Kristen gave me a girly Shrinky Dink set (she and I have a long standing love of Shrinky Dinks). I decided that this was the time to finally break it out. The girls had never heard of them and so it was all good fun.

First, they chose their picture and I cut it out. Then, they colored them. We popped them in the oven, watched them shrink, curl up, and flatten out thicker and harder than they started. What magic!


Emma made a bracelet out of hers...

Emma's Birthday- Take 2

Today we celebrated Emma's birthday with her preschool class. She was sooo excited about it and about having me as the class parent today. At her preschool, the kids celebrate their birthdays during the class closest to the actual day (if they have a summer birthday, they celebrate a "Special Day" in class during the spring). So, today was her day. And, apparently, she's been talking it up to her friends at school.

Unfortunately, her small class of 7 kids, was dwindled to only 4 today, as 3 boys were out sick. (I have to say, though, that it's really fun to work with such a small group. They're all cuties and we get to do so much with each of them. And, they share lots of secrets from home. Like when we talked about "deer" starting with the letter "D" and Jordan announced that her mom had just run over a deer with her car!) After we "shake, shake, shaked our wiggles out," Emma sat with Mrs. Hawkins at the beginning of circle time and talked about her birthday. She got to wear a birthday sticker and got a special birthday card and pencil from Mrs. Hawkins as well. Mrs. Hawkins made her feel really special and that was so nice to see.

During circle time, we talked about the month, day, date, and weather. We learned a lot about apples today- the craft, story, and even some songs were about apples. We had fun doing the normal preschool things. I got to work with the kids on decorating a big letter "D" and working with "D" words. Of course, that didn't take too long with only 4 kids, so it was on to blocks, floor time with the ever-popular Dora dollhouse, painting, etc. The weather was really mild today so we even got to take the kids to the playground for some fun.

Back inside, they washed their hands, had a short rest, and learned the story of David and Goliath. Emma's job today was "snack helper" so she helped me set up the Princess napkins and cups that she picked out and brought to share with her friends. I poured the apple juice and set a treat on each napkin. I had wanted Emma to bring the rainbow cupcakes I baked yesterday because I thought they turned beautifully (and, they were a lot of work!). But, keeping with her chocoholic nature, she wanted chocolate-covered double-stuf Oreos on a stick. So, in between layering rainbow colors in cupcakes, I made those too. And, Emma's choice was perfect! They turned out delicious and the kids (and grown-ups) loved them. It was funny to see all the kids with chocolate rings around their lips.

At the very end, Mrs. Hawkins sat Emma on her lap in front of circle time and thanked her for sharing her treats, her mom, and her birthday with the class. I love coming to preschool and sharing such a special day with Emma and her class- it's priceless to see how proud she is to bring me and have me with her.

Jacob enjoying leftovers...

Happy 4th Birthday, Emma!

Today, my sweet, free-spirited baby girl turned 4. Our morning started when the Bean came skipping into our room announcing, "I'm 4! I'm 4!"

She shared a short bath with her dad before he got ready for work. Casey couldn't wait- she gave her the present she picked out for her- Barbie and the Dog Park set. Then Emma chose toast with jelly for breakfast. We ran some errands, played Twister, played with Barbie and her walking dog, had a visit from Miss Jodi bearing a fun gift, and ate some sweets. I worked on baking some sweet treats for the special day.

When Chris came home, we ate Emma's choice for dinner- pancakes and turkey bacon! This was followed by a chorus of "happy birthday" from her biggest fans and some rainbow cupcakes. Then, of course, more presents! Emma was excited to open her baby doll that stands up, walks a dog, pulls a blanket up, and other fun things we've yet to figure out how to make it do. She also liked her Snow White and 7 Dwarfs characters, Mickey Mouse Yahtzee, pink earmuffs, and some new dresses in her new bigger size.

After playing past her bedtime, a birthday shower and bedtime story, a snuggle and kiss... she's off to bed to begin what will hopefully be a wonderful new year!

What's Old Is New!

I was sitting on my couch with my leg propped up and icing my knee yesterday after a run. Em was sitting beside me and we were watching a kid's show on TV.

Emma: Why do you have an ice pack on your knee, Mommy?
Me: Oh, it hurts after I run.
Emma: Why does it hurt after you run?
Me: I'm just getting old, I guess.
Emma: (appalled) You're not old, Mom; you're still new!

I love that girl!

The Tooth Fairy's Comin' Tonight!

My gosh, Casey's wanted to lose a tooth since her first kindergarten classmate lost one. And she's waited...and waited...and waited.... Every other 2nd grader we know has lost at least one tooth, many of them have lost multiple teeth. And, poor thing, she's had a top tooth that's been in various stages of "looseness" for about a year. Back then, she'd ask if we could see it wiggle and we'd squint our eyes and look real close and assure her that we could.

Well, her dad's been helping her with the wiggling lately, even going so far as to try to tie a piece of dental floss around it for her to pull. She's been a bit nervous about having it come out over the last few days, since it got really loose. So, she wasn't letting Chris play with it too much. She's repeatedly trying to fool me into believing that it came out (she's such a bad liar). She'd be playing and then cover her mouth all of a sudden and say "Mom, it came out!!" Repeatedly. Uh-huh.

Last night, it was so loose that she could turn it backwards (which was very gross). I mean, literally hanging by a thread. She wouldn't let me pull it out. She spent 30 minutes in the mirror before bed "pulling" on it, or so she said. Personally, I think a big sneeze would have shot the thing across the room. I finally put an end to the charade and tucked her in bed, nervous that it might fall out when she was asleep and she'd swallow or choke on it.

Well, a soft little voice and gentle tap on my arm awoke me at 4:35 this morning. "Mom, it came out," was all she quietly said. "You better not be joking," is what I said at first (not being a morning person and all). Then she giggled and said, "I'm not!" So, I got up, turned on the light and she showed me her tooth and the hole in her mouth where it once was. Very exciting. I'm not sure how much sleep she got after she went back to bed.

Today, she was all toothless smiles! She told everyone! Multiple times! Emma was super excited for her and doubly impressed that she could fit a gummy vitamin in the spot where her tooth was and it wouldn't fall out. (Emma actually tried to convince me she lost a tooth from the back last night when she was sleeping too. When I asked her to produce it, she told me she couldn't because she swallowed it.)

Tonight, she had me take pictures of her tooth from every angle. She said she's going to miss it. She finally tucked it in her little Tooth Fairy pillow and tucked it under her pillow as she curled up to fall asleep...

Cute in Pink & Brown!

I thought the girls looked really cute in their respective pink and brown outfits that they wore to Sunday School!