I signed up to be a co-room mom for Chloe's class this year. Partly because I want to be involved in what's going on in her classroom and partly because on the application for the homeschool academy there's a whole page for my kids teacher to fill out about me and how involved I am at school. Not that I know I'm homeschooling or anything like that but it's good to be prepared 'just in case' and again, Chloe goes to school there and her seeing me there means a lot to her. So we had the room mom meeting this morning at 8 am. Really, why does this school insist on doing things so.incredibly.early? I mean, yes, we're all there already because we take our kids to school *but* I'm back in the habit of taking Chloe to school in my pajamas. I was walking her in every day but she would cry and hold on to me and say " I miss you mommy, please, I want to go home". And while it may seem mean to make her walk herself in, it actually helps her to feel more independant. And more independant means less crying for her and less stress for me. I actually left school in tears a couple of weeks ago. But there was no pajama wearing drop off for me this morning. I had to get up at 6 and shower and actually look presentable since I was going to be in an actual meeting. And while I'm sure there are those of you scoffing at me for complaining about getting up at 6 because you get up earlier than that, I look at my pajama wearing drop offs as kind of a perk. You know, everybody loves perks. And though being a stay at home mom is rewarding, I don't get perks like I used to when I worked. Things like gift certificates, free lunches, etc. I suppose that lots of hugs and kisses are a perk of being at home too.
Anyway, so as a co-room mom (our school has 4 room moms per class, I think that's a lot especially considering there are 5 classes in each grade= 20 room moms per grade!) I have to organize one party a year and wouldn't you know it- I got the fall party, which is coming up fairly soon. I'm a little nervous because I'm not *exactly* a whiz when it comes to things like this and of course I want it to be fabulous. I'm going to e-mail Chloe's teacher as the date approaches but if anyone has any party ideas or links for party websites I'd be happy to see them. I should say peanut free party ideas. There are kids with peanut allergies in her class so the only time they can have peanutty stuff is at lunch. The poor peanut allergy kids have to sit at their own table. It may not be a big deal now but I really feel for them in middle and high school.
And I guess that I'm done rambling for the day. But I'll leave you with a couple of photos (I know you're just *dying* for more plant life photos) since my blog also serves as a journal for me to remember what I planted and how it fared.
My Chianti sunflowers finally bloomed. Very autumnal, no?
I got some inspiration from
Ms. Tee and found an unexpected vase for some cosmos and for some poor parsley that accidentally got caught in the window when I closed it this morning.
And the two little princesses. I couldn't resist. Halle has insisted on wearing her princess dress anytime she's at home lately. And Chloe has discovered the joy in being picture-goofy. I love it.
9 comments:
Goofy pictures! Good luck getting *any* good pictures for at least a year or two! Grant hit that about a year ago and I find it frustrating when I should probably just find it humorous. Oh well.
Your flowers are gorgeous.
Fall party? What about decorating snack pumpkins? Or making dried leaf wreaths? Or some sort of craft project with andy corn? Grant did really cute paper bag turkeys at new song... I could show those to you. Snacks for fall parties- candied apples, pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread, popcorn, warm cider. Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out. :-)
What is andy corn Tisra? Oh...candy corn.
I don't know why but that really makes me laugh. Not because you had a typo...we all have those. Just andy corn...is funny. But I'm supposed to be typing to Amy.
I love your pictures! So pretty. I'm sure Christy Sallee has lots of Fall party ideas, being she's the annual autumn princess or something like that. I would have to think about it but I can't wait to hear all the ideas...I like Tisra's a lot...especially the andy corn. Snort.
Love the sunflowers *and* the princesses.
I'll have to give some thought to the fall party thing....I throw one every year, but it's for grown-ups and it's very food-centric.
Oh- I just saw Mary's comment. Thanks for the shout-out, grrrl.
- Queen of Autumn
Thanks ladies! I really like the paper bag turkeys idea. I was thinking that I'd make sugar cookies in autumn shapes and let the kids decorate them. I also thought that I'd make a cute little something baked just for the teacher and for the parents that help out- since you don't have a choice of volunteering, they volunteer you. I saw some cute somethings on the cover of September's BHG but I haven't read what they are yet. Pumpkin muffins sound good too- and andy corn. I have a brother named Andy so that's kind of weird...
But I'm waiting to hear from the Queen of Autumn :)
Andy corn. Yummm...
travis
Alright, here's my two cents . . . don't stress about the party. KEEP IT SIMPLE! Plan a meal, plan a craft, plan an activity. If you think of it in those terms hopefully you'll save yourself from getting overwhelmed! Family Fun Magazine is usually a fantastic resource for fun, easy, low-stress seasonal kid crafts. Popcorn balls are fun and I've yet to meet a kid who doesn't enjoy them. Plus your kids will enjoy making them with you! You can put candy corn in the popcorn balls too and wrap them in orange cellophane. I made a fun fall cake one time that was easy. I did a basic sheet cake & piped a brown basket weave around the outside. On top I framed it in chocolate leaves in fall colors that I made from dying white chocolate and paintint it onto REAL leaves that I found in my yard. I washed them first of course and then sprayed with PAM before painting with chocolate. Once the chocolate is dry and hard, the real leaf peels off easily. Then you can pipe a message in the center or cover the entire top with chocolate leaves. Another fun craft at home with your kids!
Alright I hit post and then read my post and realized that the caffeine in my coffee did the thinking and typing for me :) If it doesn't make any sense at all but sounds interesting, call me and I'll walk you through it.
Thanks, Amber. It does make sense- not simple but it makes sense. Thankfully I'll have 4 other parents to give tasks to. I'd love to do a nice fall cake for the teacher and parent volunteers.
Okay - Queen of Autumn sez:
I'm with Amber - I was going to direct you to Family Fun's website, which is always my go-to for kid parties: familyfun.go.com
One thing I've done before, which seems surprisingly simple, is to lay hula hoops on the ground and have a pumpkin toss with the jack-be-little pumpkins (or fake ones from the Dollar Tree) - prizes can easily be stickers or bags of "andy corn" or suckers (I always get this stuff at the dollar store) and you can lay prizes in the hoops so they know what they get/what to aim for :) another thing...how young are the kids? Suddenly I can't remember which class you're doing this for...but you can do that little rubber duck carnival game with pumpkins or apples and where they float them in a little wading pool and you turn them over to see what prize you get. You could print clip art tree trunks on cardstock or even construction paper and have them do handprint painting to make the leaves (does that make sense?)....Ummmm....that's just off the top of my head. So. If you need more or just want to catch up :) - christysallee@verizon.net
Post a Comment