Yes, we're here

I can't believe I haven't posted in two whole weeks!

Well, we had a good long weekend with President's Day and all. I took the kids up to PlayWise Kids in Columbia, MD, for a chance to have some fun and we all had a ball. We ended up spending about 4 hours there with a short lunch break, too. I timed it so we could leave at 3 pm with the hopes of avoiding Beltway traffic. They both fell asleep on the ride home and there was hardly back-ups, so we were home in about 40 minutes. So a short nap that day. :-)

The next night we had a PTA meeting, which was the rescheduled PTA meeting from one of the school closing days. Thankfully it was not too late a night. However, I have been spending a good 45 minutes to an hour doing "reading stuff" with Natalie each night, and having a meeting on a weeknight really crimps into that time. I did manage to get the reading in before heading to the meeting.

Of course then we had the surprise snow storm that weekend -- it was a surprise because we were really counting on rain! We all played in the snow to make an snow princess, complete with sunglasses, princess party hat, and a pareo. I'll have to post a picture once we get it off the camera. :-)

Fairfax County had a two hour delay for school on Monday, and DH had to take Nicholas to a hearing test at 9 am that day, so Natalie went to work with me. We arrived early (8:30 am) and she helped me make photocopies, helped with some stapling, and she helped me recycle a pile of papers off my desk. Then I brought her to school for 10:15 am. She had such fun at my office that she has been begging me since then to go "be an assistant". :-)

Tuesday I had a civic association board meeting, and those start late (7:30 pm) and I didn't get home until close to 10 pm. But I was smart and managed to get Natalie's reading in before I went to the meeting.

Last night we had a Partners in Print session at Natalie's school. Partners in Print is a program where teachers show parents some unique (and fun!) ways to help children as they develop their reading skills. We were in a classroom with some Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students to learn "Look, Say, Cover, Write, and Check". I think this approach will be a great way to help Natalie get practice writing her words, and she'll get the added bonus of learning how to spell words at the same time. We were done with our session by 7 pm, but that's because it starts so very early (6:30 pm)!

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss' Birthday, and Natalie will be reading part of Green Eggs and Ham at the school assembly. She will also be a recipient of an award for her participation in the Reflections program. So we are all going, including Nicholas, and we'll cheer her on!