Pre-K 2009-2010

Micah brought home two books of his year in pre-K: one is this photo album.




























There are scenes from the playground and special events. Those are all of the boys in his class.



Then there is this monthly journal that include photos, drawing, writing, and a record of his stats-- such as that he has gained 5 pounds and grown 2 inches since August. I just posted 4 of them below- I really liked the giant ice cream cone and the "meow" of the cat.






























It's been a great year- next fall: Hello, Kindergarten!

Bottled Message: A Short Story by Gabi

Hi! I'm a bottle holding a secret message. I've been reading the message in me for years! And I've been telling the waves witch way to go! Heres what my message saids -- go over the river & throuh the storm to get to the iland you love, there you will turn into a human agen.
I did it and now look at me! I look like a princess!!! I hope prince charming is at the ball tonight.

We had professional photos taken!

But this is not one of those.

Cat Got my Tongue

She's such a fat cat-- but she keeps her cat eyes on those other two who sometimes make her as nervous as, well, herself in a room full of rocking chairs.
Moses and Miriam were having a catnap, but we interrupted their catting around with some catty remark.

Which lead to a cat fight----

Until they catwalked off.

Pancakes and Star Wars

I told you every day was Star Wars day at our house. We recently had some Yoda pancakes (plus various superhero symbols, and butterflies, letters, and a Star Trek pancake that didn't survive long enough to be photo documented.) The other exciting nerdy addition to our dining is the Star Wars cups. The local toy store recently had a "clean out the attic" sale, and sold four of these Star Wars episode 1 cups for fifty cents each. These are from the movie which came out in 1999. I bought them all. Someone suggested to me they are collectors items and I should store them carefully. But I poured milk in them and washed them in the dishwasher. Both of the kids are proud of their Jar Jar Binks and Queen Amawhatever cups.

Dancing in the Jungle

Gabi did a great job in her recital yesterday! It was jungle themed, and each class was themed as an animal or other wild thing. Here's a few pictures- it's hard to take pictures of dancer on a lit up a stage from a dark audience, especially without a flash. Blake proved this with is iPhone pic above. His caption for this photo: "Gabi is the 3rd sparkly blur from the left." Here are some of my pictures:

Blank Panthers Jazz:

Rhinoceros Tap:

Gazelle Ballerinas:

Heads or Tails.... or?

Micah was using a nickel to flip a coin and he looked at me like I'm crazy when I called tails. "Mom, there's just a head or a house. There's no tail on here."

Frappy Hour!

We've created Starbucks monsters! Not only did we let them try the hot cocoa there during the winter but now we've gone and let them try the strawberry and vanilla frappucinos when the barista gave them these little sample cups. They used to think Starbucks only had coffee so didn't ask for a thing when I went through the drive-thru.... now, they have wizened up! Luckily the 'bucks is serving half-priced fraps for "happy hour" from 3-5pm this week so it's a fun after school treat.

Gabi's Bean Dip

Gabi likes to look at recipe blogs with me, like Pioneer Woman Cooks or especially Bakerella. So, she wanted to show you her own recipe complete with photos. This is her famous bean dip recipe which she invented and can make entirely by herself.

First, you need canned refried beans. We were fixing for a crowd here so we used 2 cans, but you can also just use one can for a small family. You'll also need a microwavable dish, preferably a round one.
Gabi recommends you use two kinds of cheese in this recipe- a yellow cheese, such as cheddar or colby, and some good melting white cheese. She really likes the quesadilla blend cheese from Kroger.
Your first step once your ingredients are gathered is to put half of the beans in the bottom of the dish and spread them out in an even layer.
Then you sprinkle on a generous layer of shredded cheeses: this will create a secret layer of cheese- the most important part of Gabi's bean dip!
Then you carefully spread the remaining half of the beans on top, trying not to disturb the cheese beneath.
Add another layer of cheese on top.
Now you microwave the dish until it's warm and the cheese is melted-- about 2-3 minutes depending on your microwave. I forgot to take a picture of the garnish, which is corn chips arranged around the outer edge of the dip creating the impression of a sunflower with petals sticking out. Serve with chips or as a side dish with your favorite Tex Mex recipe.

Micah's Mother's Day Gifts

Micah's class made these adorable cookbooks for Mothers' Day. Each student's parents sent in the child's favorite recipe. Micah's submission was Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (click on the link there to see the actual recipe). Each recipe also included the kid's direction for the recipe and picture of their mom making the dish. See:

I have changed a lot since Micah drew me the first week of school. :)

He also did one of these fun fill in the blank things about mommy. Did you know I'm 15 feet tall?

He says at the end that he loves me because I let him do whatever he wants. Ha! If that was true, he would be permanently frozen in this position:

Starry Night, Blue Ribbon!

Gabi won first place for the second grade in her school's art show!

International Star Wars Day

Did you know yesterday was Star Wars Day? May the fourth. (Get it? May the fourth be with you! Ha!) I meant to post this then but ended having 2 sick kids home from school, so you get a Star Wars video in celebration of Cinco de Mayo instead. And really, every day is Star Wars Day at our house.