school days.

We attended kindergarten orientation last night. I remember two years ago feeling vaguely overwhelmed at preschool orientation - I think they might have handed out a calendar and there were newsletters here and there. Now that we have two years of preschool under our belt I figured kindergarten would be a piece of cake.

I was wrong.

A lot of people worry about their child starting school - will they cry when you leave? will they make friends? will they be able to keep up with the school work? I have to say I'm not too worried about Dylan. He'll like the challenge and he'll love the big playground and he'll finally know the answer to 12 + 27. I'm worried about me.

First of all, the sheer amount of paperwork is overwhelming - lunch forms, snack calendars, "specials" calendars (i.e. which days you need to make sure your kid brings gym shoes), Scholastic book order forms, bus tags, classroom policy forms, forms for the office, forms so you can volunteer...get the idea?

And then there are the volunteer tables - as you are surrounded by hoards of sweaty children and their parents in a tiny non-air-conditioned hallway They would like to know if you would like to help out with the Valentine's Day party...or perhaps Santa's secret shop...or maybe popcorn day? Oh, and could you pick up some extra hand sanitizer and glue sticks for the classroom too?

Seriously, however, I am very excited to volunteer and be involved and I am glad the opportunities are available...it's just a little hard to decide as a first time kindergarten mom what is too much? too little? (Not to mention the big question: will the other mom's like me?? Nothing like being in a school setting to trigger all sorts of school-aged insecurities!)

And actually - truth be told - I love school - love the structure, the learning, even the forms. I'm a rule follower at heart, but I think that's also my problem - there is some mild paranoia that I am going to forget something - and how terrible would that be?? I had JUST mastered remembering to send show and tell to preschool every two weeks. This is a whole new ballgame.

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg because there is also an emotional level to all of this kindergarten business - my child has a locker, and a bus stop, and he's eating lunch in the school gym - where did my sweet chubby cheeked little boy go? Have I prepared him adequately to go out into the world? Can I cross everything off those checklists they keep handing out (pop quiz: does your child know his address? his birth date? his mother's social security number? (kidding on that last one - or am I?)

So just when I've slowed down, taken a couple of breaths and realized this all really going to be OK (and possibly purchased one of those obnoxious super organized mom calendars), I realize...oh wait, there are two more little ones coming behind big brother. Can someone please explain how you juggle more than one school aged child's schedule??

Here's to a new school year - full of change, possibility, and forms.

peaches

I noticed on Facebook last week that my friend Sara had done some peaches - not canned, but ready for the freezer instead. Canning is still a little intimidating for me (I did applesauce once but in my mother-in-law's kitchen - I'm not ready to go solo yet!). I have done strawberry freezer jam before so I figured I could handle freezer peaches.

I picked up 1/2 bushel of peaches from Well's Orchard on Friday (I've heard they are the best - $16 and there were about 60 peaches in there). I let them sit out for a couple of days and yesterday, I got through about 2/3 of those. Here are the directions I used in case you want to give it a try.

The peeling wasn't too bad. Here's the method I used: Dip the fruit in boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds. Remove peaches from the boiling water using a slotted spoon and put into a large bowl or pot of cold water and ice for several minutes. The skins came off pretty easily after that.

Here are the directions Sara sent me:

1) Peel the skin with a sharp paring knife and all the yukky part that clings to the stone or pit.

2) Cut into bite size pieces and place into 1 qt glass measuring container.

3) Once you have one full quart, transfer to large plastic bowl so you can mix it around.

4) Add 1 TBSP fruit fresh (keeps from browning and stays fresher, longer) and anywhere from 1/4 up to 2/3 cup of sugar... depending on your taste.

5) Let it sit and "marinade" in the mixture for about 10 minutes. (This is when I get back to peeling and pitting again. A long process but you will appreciate it in the end.)

6) Pour mixture into freezer containers. Make sure you don't fill too full as they will expand during freezing.

Cookin' with The Katie's (+ The Crazies)

My *amazing* sister-in-law/BFF has been coming over on Wednesday nights to keep me company (both of our hubby's work late - one of the many joys of the car business) and help out with The Crazies. A few weeks ago, we decided that we should start making dinner together as well - she comes up with a recipe each week, I buy the ingredients, and off we go.

This week we made Chicken Artichoke Pizza and it was pretty amazing. It was also pretty easy which is always a good thing. As an added bonus, the kids gobbled it right up.

Chicken Artichoke Pizza (makes 2 pizzas)
1 pkg. Mama Mary's thin crust pizza crusts
Olive oil to mist crusts
4 to 5 C cooked chicken, diced
1 C mayo (not salad dressing)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 (14 oz.) can artichokes, finely diced
1 C Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 C Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced ripe olives, drained
1 (4.5 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained

Preheat oven to 450. Place crusts on baking sheet and mist with olive oil. Set aside. In medium size bowl, combine chicken and remaining ingredients. Spread 1 /2 chicken mixture on each crust. Reduce oven temperature to 425. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

*Notes: The olives and mushrooms are optional - we skipped the olives and only put mushrooms on one of the pizzas. You could use fresh if you wanted. We used a can of portabello mushrooms. Also, we probably only used about 3 cups of chicken between the two pizzas and that was plenty.

our little doll

This is what happens when you have a big sister who loves baby dolls. This picture was taken back in June but I just figured out how to get it off of Matt's phone. For the record, I find this photo both creepy and cute.

Traverse City

We spent a long weekend in Traverse City this past weekend. We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge so a lot of our time was spent there at the indoor water park. We also tooled around downtown TC, explored Mission Point, celebrated my birthday at The Jolly Pumpkin, and swam in the bay. Beautiful town and great company - love my family! [click on the collage if you want to see it larger]

terpblog365

I have been inspired by my friend Theresa (and her friend Sara) to start a picture of the day blog. I am not a fantastic photographer but that's not really the point - I am intrigued by the idea of capturing our daily life and the bigger world around us, one photo at a time. I'm only a few posts into this, but it's fun to wake-up each morning and think of the day ahead or to reflect on the previous 14 hours at day's end. It helps me to look at life differently; oftentimes (most of the time) life is not found in the grand gestures but in the small things, the simple things, and the humorous things. Without further ado, I present terpblog365.

(P.S. If this inspires any of you to start your own, please pass on the link!)

Mady's on the move!

Mady is really moving now! She especially likes to crawl into the little forts that Dylan and Ella build around the house. Love her grin here as she gets a bear hug from Dylan. Little Miss Trouble's other favorite pastimes? Dumping out the big crayon box, playing with the computer cords under the desk, and pulling wipes out of the package one by one.

kids & cars