preschool meet & greet {2011}

Yesterday was the little pumpkin's long anticipated day! Oh my, she was a bundle of excited energy and shyness all in one, just itching to go back to school to see her sweet teachers again, talk to her old friends and maybe - just maybe - meet a few new ones.Last year we made {these} alphabet flowers for her teachers - I just love them and will be making them for Hudson's MDO teachers in just a couple of weeks. But since she has the same teachers this year that she did last year, a new little "thinking of you" gift was in order.I polled my teacher friends for ideas and most came back with some sort of gift card to Sonic/Starbucks/Target and so forth. Overwhelmingly they said "no apples"...HA!

My friend Laura gave me the idea to get or make a cute little ruffle clutch and I thought, PERFECT, because they can use it at school, for field trips or just for personal use.

I was even more excited when I found Jamie's cute shop on etsy, zero7one9designs, and found her adorable and affordable wristlets. We tucked in a little Sonic gift card for a frozen treat because it's still 100+ degrees here! Yellow...gray...chevron...cute inside pockets...what can I say, these little clutches had me at hello.Jamie was AMAZING to work with - she went above and beyond to make sure I received the clutches on time. The quality is unbelievable. Only problem is...I now want one for myself - HA!

And while we're on the subject of teachers, how about printing one of these Teacher Tidbits from The Blackberry Vine for your child's teacher to fill out...a little cheat sheet for you to have throughout the year.In my quest to stay organized this year I printed a stack of these School Notes from Anything but Perfect to have ready to go whenever I need to send a quick note or $ to Grace's teachers. Squeezing in a pic with mama & daddy just before heading out the door - she was thrilled, can't you tell?I just love this sweet picture. This is Mrs. Peterson greeting Grace after not seeing her all summer.Thank you God for putting such sweet teachers in my littles' lives! What a blessing!As soon as Grace walked in the classroom and spotted an unfamiliar face, shyness took over...she was a little bundle of nerves, poor 'lil thing!

Of course it only lasted a few seconds. Mrs. Bryan came over to talk to her and as soon as she spotted
Mrs. Bryan's hot pink pedicure everything was A-OK! Her toenails matched Grace's shoes...and all was once again well in the little pumpkin's world :)And then Julien came in...one of her little buddies from last year. They were soooo happy to see each other and so cute giving each other a hug.Clips from orientation day...Getting a head start on Monday's question of the day...The meet & greet was split into two groups. Grace was in the first group. Just as we were leaving, two of her friends from last year were coming in. She was so happy to see Kennedy & Saahil!Thank you Mrs. Bryan & Mrs. Peterson for the fun goodies...the bear pencil was Grace's favorite.As soon as orientation was over we headed home, picked up Hudson (thanks Noonie!) and headed to Dallas for a little last minute weekend trip...summer's last hurrah!

Monday is the big day for Grace...first day of K4!
Where did the summer go???!

Goldilocks and Bryan's Bears {vintage back to school party}

Grace and her preschool classmates are "Bryan's Bears" so I decided a little wordplay was in order. My love for the classics won out and Goldilocks and Bryan's Bears...A Vintage Back-to-School Party was born.This little party started out BIG in my head...inviting the 12 littles in Grace's preschool class for a fun party to celebrate the new school year because life should be celebrated...I think that's going to become my new motto.But our travel plans didn't let that happen (...and I'm all for an impromptu, last minute weekend away!) so we went with Plan B: a small celebration at home to present the little pumpkin with her school supplies and just celebrate the beginning of another fun school year.Don't worry school friends - Mrs. Bryan and I have been talking about this concept all summer and we're putting together something fun for nursery rhyme/classics week in the Fall! Checking things out...Her four-year-old-little-girl-giggles are contagious!We kept the food about as simple as it gets. Chocolate cake + ice cold milk. Two of the little pumpkin's favorite things in the whole wide world.I love making a big fuss of little celebratory moments in my littles' lives so presenting the little pumpkin with her new backpack & napmat was no exception. She was sooooooo excited that her backpack was PINK and "so girly and cute".Armed with her new backpack, she then went on a school supply scavenger hunt throughout our house filling up her cute backpack with all the essentials she will need this upcoming school year. Reading clue #1...her reading has just blossomed this year. We're so proud of you, Grace and amazed at how your reading has just taken off. At the same time, it's bittersweet to see you growing up so fast. *sniff, sniff*ON.THE.HUNT...let the wild rumpus begin!The last clue...my favorite. The scavenger hunt was so much fun for the little pumpkin - we're definitely doing it again next year! I used the cute free printables from Happy Home Fairy - so perfect! If you've never checked out Happy Home Fairy, you're missing out! Check it out!A couple of weeks ago we were talking about school and the little pumpkin told us she wasn't sure she wanted to play with the new kids in her class (6 buddies from last year + 6 new friends). She said, "when they're kind of old friends THEN I'll want to play with them, but I'm going to be shy around them until they're old friends."We took the opportunity to talk about why it's fun to make new friends, why the new kids might be feeling even more nervous than she will be since they don't know anybody, and why it's important to always be kind to everyone and reach out. And so with that inspiration.......our theme for the year became "be kind". I love creating opportunities for the littles to practice kindness. I could go on and on about why I think morals are so important and why I feel character building is probably a parent's second most important job behind teaching your littles all about Jesus and lovin' them with every fiber of your being, but I won't :).....I'll just leave it at "because it does a heart good".So just like last year we filled an extra pack with school supplies to donate to one of the local schools that struggles in this area.I had one last surprise for the little pumpkin...a letter from Twink, the back-to-school fairy! Yes, Twink left Grace a VIP letter and a bottle of Pretty Pink Pumpkin Polish with Jitter Glitter for her little piggies! he he heHere's a close-up if you want to read the poem I *ahem* Twink wrote for the little pumpkin...and no, it doesn't rhyme. 1:30 a.m. the night before is not a good time for rhyming...Most of the grands weren't able to make it due to their work schedule, but Noonie was able to come and she brought Grace some fun school goodies and Hudson some books.Can't wait to celebrate back to school Mother's Day Out with you, Hudson, in a couple of weeks!And just like that, Baby Bear and his family came back from the woods and Baby Bear said, "Who's been sitting in my chair?" "And who's been eating my porridge???"Too BIG, Too little...Just right.And so the story continues...Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear AND "Pumpkinlocks"...Celebrated many more milestones together...And they lived happily ever after. The end.

Resources~
Scavenger Hunt Cards: Happy Home Fairy
School Subway Art: eighteen25
Milk Bottle Chalkboard Labels: Love Party Printable

Papa Bear, Mama Bear & Baby Bear {vintage embroidery}

My second attempt at hand embroidery...I think it's safe to say I'm hooked. *wink*
Thank you Noonie for turning it into an apron for the little pumpkin!

Happy Sunday!

picnic at the fairground {Lulu & Co.}

I'm in love with these Denyse Schmidt fabrics! Here's a little sneak peek of our most recent project......now if my sewing machine will cooperate and make those buttonholes we'd be all set!

Why do machines always give you trouble on the very.last.step??? Arrrrgggghhh!

"blueberry monster"

This little fella l-o-v-e-s blueberries. No cookie monster here - okay, maybe one of those too - but let's just call him the blueberry monster! This little pumpkin is rather picky when it comes to food, but she LOVES to bake, and of course, loves blueberries too.This, here, is exhibit A.Proof positive that a) my littles DO eat some healthy breakfasts...he he he... like these blueberry muffins we made from the last of the blueberries we picked this summer; and b) they DO get to wear cartoon character clothing...albeit in pajamas - HA!...but who's counting, right? They did ask if they could put nutella on the BLUEBERRY muffins - What???!! NO!!It's been a crazy couple of days getting ready for back-to-school, some fun party projects and pulling double duty as the mister has been away for business these past couple of days - so excited he comes home tonight!

All the while, I managed to pinch a nerve in my lower back - OUCH is all I can say. I have no idea how I did it but it HURTS. Sure does open up my eyes to people who suffer from debilitating conditions or disabilities.

A couple of fun pics...typical Grace & Hudson: Ha Ha, I got it! As soon as he puts it down, it's MINE!
(what is "it" you ask?...an old, EMPTY wooden crate - why?)My cute-mischevious-cuddly little guy! Oh, how I love you two! You truly are the sunshine in my life! Hope you're enjoying these last weeks of summer before all the hustle-n-bustle of a new school year!