Thursday, November 29, 2012

Danny's Comments


Part of our weekly school routine is the Thursday Packets that go home with each student. They are filled with a week's worth of work, as well as any other paper communication the school needs to send. Our instructions as parents are to review the enclosed, sign and date the envelope, and send it back with our student. There is also a line for "Parent's Comments," which I have never, ever used.

A few weeks ago, Danny mentioned to me, "You know, there's a compliments section on the Thursday packets. Why don't you write something?" I corrected him, saying it is a "comments" line, not "compliments." And I thought that was the end of it.

So when today's envelope came home, as I went to sign for the week, I burst out laughing when I noticed the below:
 Classic, lovable Danny.


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thankful


We have so  much to be thankful for, including a Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, friends, football (go Irish!!) and fun (and not a lot of photography). One snapshot I did capture, though, describes one of the things I'm grateful for these days. Laura is increasingly interested in what her older siblings are doing, and trying to keep up. The above photo shows the three of them watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which thankfully kept them busy for quite a while and allowed me to chill out a bit after my half marathon. Yes, we have plenty of "Mommy! Up!" moments, but I'm slowly getting some space.

I am so thankful for these three. Yes, they are loud, sometimes needy, occasionally annoying even, but always loving. They are healthy and happy, and we are blessed.

Friday, November 2, 2012

St. Clare

 One of the many rites of passage for Catholic school kids is the saints project, whereby you research and dress up as a saint. CKS does this in 4th grade, in conjunction with the All Saints Day Mass. Clare, fittingly, chose St. Clare of Assisi. Below are photos of her processing in, with the entire 4th grade (and Archbishop, who presides over this mass), and then her class.


Coming immediately on the heels of Halloween, most parents (and teachers) breathed a sigh of relief to have this completed, but it really was fun to see, too.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween 2012


As Danny mournfully commented last night at bed, and again this morning, "Another Halloween has come...and gone." I take the level of his sorrow at its passing as an indication that he had a good time, as I'm pretty sure did they all.

For posterity, Danny was dressed as Harry Potter (we are currently reading the third of the 7-book series, and he is loving them). Clare went as Hermione, the main female character from the Harry Potter books. 

Once again the Francos joined us for the evening - it really wouldn't be the same without them. We adults had agreed to let the four big kids trick-or-treat by themselves, to their utter delight. I am pleased to report that they returned safe and sound, and we received only positive comments from the neighbors. They also returned with their biggest haul yet, which prompted me to suggest the old "sort and swap" that I so remember enjoying when I was a kid. This was a big hit!

Laura started out the trick-or-treating rather tentatively, but once she saw the first piece of candy her enthusiasm picked up.
I still managed to steer her home after just a few houses, where she holed up at the table in the playroom with her bag, likely marveling at her good luck and not wanting to jinx it by interacting with the adults.
Her good-natured attitude toward the costume was such a delightful surprise (compared with the knock-down fight she and I had early that morning regarding a jacket and hat). Here's hoping that next year I am equally successful in getting her into the shark costume.