Charlotte's First Day Of Kindergarten

Decked out in her fuschia outfit (turns out she already had fuschia socks and shoes), Charlotte was ready for school this morning. It has been a tradition in my family since I started kindergarten to take flowers to your teacher on the first day of school. Charlotte picked out purple mums for her teachers this year.
She loves her Dora bookbag that Jon got her in New York City a few years ago.


This just might be my favorite picture of her.

Here is Charlotte standing outside of her classroom this morning. I love this palm tree. Not only is it cute, it's also really easy for her to see down the hall so she can find her room on her own without getting anxious. (Okay, fine, it was probably me who was anxious that she wouldn't be able to find her room. What can I say, she's been my baby for so many years. It's hard to admit she doesn't need me as much as I think she does)

And here she was getting off of the bus this afternoon. After brief panic over the bus driver telling me there was no Charlotte on the bus, we found her with the help of the kids around her. The seat backs are so tall and she's so little that you couldn't see her sitting next to the window. I don't think she realized that it was her stop so she was enjoying looking out of the window. The bus driver felt bad for not realizing she was on the bus and assured me that she would look out for her next time.

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Charlotte has been telling me all about her day. She's changed her favorite part of her day a few times since coming home but they include playing with playdough this morning, watching the smart board design while listening to music during rest time, and a funny scavenger hunt. She said the cafeteria was really loud but fun. Recess was hot but she liked the slide. She thought it was cool that the computer lab was upstairs. There are 4 stalls in the girls bathroom and paper towels which is good because she doesn't like hand dryers. Riding on the bus was loud and hot but she liked watching the stop sign swing out at each stop.

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It's almost bedtime now and she's so tired that she has the giggles that won't stop. She can't wait to go back to school on Monday!

Fairies

Yet another fairies panel I bought from the net. A colourful one this time. Cut them up into 12 blocks . . . .

. . . . went with a 2" buttermilk yellow fabric as 1st sashing and then on to a 3" sky blue as all over 1st border. Finished it off with a 5.5" goldish yellow fabric with flower prints.

Nicely laid down.

Backing fabric complimented nicely I thought and binding was a strong yellow.

Just nice for a little princess.

Measurement : 42" W X 50" L

Made out of 100% American cotton

Price : RM 200

Status : Available

Saving money by doing less running (you know the running you do in a vehicle...)

Last night I was contemplating on what I should write about for Frugal Friday. We save money in many ways but I was trying to think of something I haven't written on before. The money saving tip that I thought of was: "Stay home more, combine errands and stay away from stores. :-)

  Okay,  maybe we don't have to completely stay away from stores though that probably would save quite a lot, but running to them less can help save money too. This is the way I was raised and I try to do that now that I am grown as well.

   My goal is to going shopping once a week at most (preferably every two weeks) and only go to the super Walmart (which is my major shopping trip), once a month. I also try to combine other errands together. For example: We are invited over to a friends home tomorrow. As we go there and back I also have come up with some other errands that need to be run such as: Pick up something at the church building, drop off recycling and buy some stuff for an upcoming wedding. That could have been 4 separate trips but instead I combine it all into one trip.

  The benefits I find in combining trips are this:

• I save money on gas.
• I save wear and tear on our vehicle.
• I save time.
• And I have less stress of rounding children up, getting them loaded and then unloaded many more times.

  Some things that help us to accomplish this a little easier are:

• Keep a running list of things we need at the grocery store. That way when I do go I can get everything.
• Keep a list of errands I need to run. So when I do have to go out I will remember what other errands I want to do at the same time.
• Keep water bottles, snacks and kids magazines in the van so even if errand running gets long, the kids stay happy.
• Avoid unnecessary trips to the store by being willing to substitute and make do. Here is a list of food substitutions you can make.

I am curious how often do you go to the grocery store? Or do you have any other tips to share for staying home more?

For more ways to save money have fun checking out all the Frugal Fridays links at Life as MOM.

Saving money by doing less running (you know the running you do in a vehicle...)

Last night I was contemplating on what I should write about for Frugal Friday. We save money in many ways but I was trying to think of something I haven't written on before. The money saving tip that I thought of was: "Stay home more, combine errands and stay away from stores. :-)

  Okay,  maybe we don't have to completely stay away from stores though that probably would save quite a lot, but running to them less can help save money too. This is the way I was raised and I try to do that now that I am grown as well.

   My goal is to going shopping once a week at most (preferably every two weeks) and only go to the super Walmart (which is my major shopping trip), once a month. I also try to combine other errands together. For example: We are invited over to a friends home tomorrow. As we go there and back I also have come up with some other errands that need to be run such as: Pick up something at the church building, drop off recycling and buy some stuff for an upcoming wedding. That could have been 4 separate trips but instead I combine it all into one trip.

  The benefits I find in combining trips are this:

• I save money on gas.
• I save wear and tear on our vehicle.
• I save time.
• And I have less stress of rounding children up, getting them loaded and then unloaded many more times.

  Some things that help us to accomplish this a little easier are:

• Keep a running list of things we need at the grocery store. That way when I do go I can get everything.
• Keep a list of errands I need to run. So when I do have to go out I will remember what other errands I want to do at the same time.
• Keep water bottles, snacks and kids magazines in the van so even if errand running gets long, the kids stay happy.
• Avoid unnecessary trips to the store by being willing to substitute and make do. Here is a list of food substitutions you can make.

I am curious how often do you go to the grocery store? Or do you have any other tips to share for staying home more?

For more ways to save money have fun checking out all the Frugal Fridays links at Life as MOM.

Twas The Night Before Kindergarten....

Tomorrow is the big day... the very first day of Kindergarten!


Charlotte couldn't be more excited. I thought I'd show a few pictures of how we've gotten ready for the big day. We ordered her lunch box from lunchboxes.com. I wanted her to have a lunch box with a matching thermos like I used to take to school. She picked My Little Pony.


Earlier this week we went to her open house.

She found her seat. She got to meet her teacher and her teacher's assistant. I was thrilled to find out that her teacher is actually a friend of mine. It's nice to see a familiar face when this transition to "big school" can be so overwhelming.

This is the school library. The school is almost brand new. Last year was it's first year open. Our school system is pretty big and her school has 900 K-6th graders! That's a big change from my little elementary school that had 200 kids.

Charlotte is VERY excited about the cafeteria. She has been ready to pack her lunch box for months now. She can't wait to eat lunch at school.

After open house we went to Walmart to pick up her school supplies. Charlotte had school money from Aunt Suzanne & Uncle Dave and Grammy and Grandpa. We gave her a little guidance but let her make the decisions on what to buy.

She bought a new outfit for the first day of school. I love that most skirts come with shorts under them for this age. She has yet to learn how to sit lady-like in skirts.

She had a lot of fun in the hair accessory department. I love fixing her hair in the morning so having a bin full of new hair stuff is pretty exciting for me too.

And of course she got her school supplies too.

Charlotte and I packed her lunch this evening and got her clothes all laid out. I'm hoping she doesn't wake up too early tomorrow morning because she has a big day ahead of her. I can't believe how grown up our little girl is.