Friday, September 19, 2014

I am leaving, please come with me!

Not you, my loyal followers, but this website hosting platform, Blogger. I now have the website alittlewall.net all for myself. I know, a .net address, like this is 1997. But someone in China already bought alittlewall.com. I am not kidding. I tried to get it and was able to trace the ownership to China. Seriously, they have the great wall, why do they need my little wall?

But back to the blog. I have used Blogger to house this blog for more than six years and it has been great. Super easy to use and quick to start up. But now I need a bit more. I want the blog to be a more professional looking and I have launched a small business selling teacher gift packaging (more info on the new site!). To do that all in one place, I have to go to Word Press. And I need to do it before I blow up and get so popular that I have to ask, like 45 of you to move with me.

This is most likely more detail than you wanted so here is what I am asking you to do:
  • If you have followed me on BlogLovin, please update it to the new one www.alittlewall.net
  • If you follow it here, you don't have to do a thing but when you go to alittlewall.net, click on the "Follow on Word Press" button on the right side of the page. 
  • If you are here via Facebook then great for you, nothing to do as I will continue to post from the new blog onto Facebook.

I hope the seven of you will follow me on to Word Press....pretty please!

You know you don't want to miss what these guys are up to.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Just in case you want to kiss up

I am really not on board with the "first day of school gifts". How could that not be sucking up, loud and clear? (This is foreshadowing, in case you are wondering). What I am on board with, is a thank you gift for putting up with my child all summer AND yeah new school year. That clearly is not sucking up. Not in the least.

Last year I gave the teachers doughnuts in a cute container and it was a big hit. This year, I made this label for my friend Sonia. She needed something for the crossing guard at her daughter's school (they have required drop-off and pick-up; a dream). Since men like smoothies, I suggested Smoothie King and with a card reading: "Thank you for making our days run smoothly". I love a good pun.
I have since made another one for Zach's Kindergarten teacher with a gift to a local, kid friendly yogurt store (she has twin first graders) that says:
So maybe I am on board with first day of school gifts....

Really, I am on board with gifts for teachers in most settings. Especially when they involve gift cards and me getting to make something. Plus, Zach's first week was tough. I think he handled it great, but I know that is largely due to his teacher being so warm, calm and supportive. I can imagine her week and I thought a little treat for her family over the long weekend, was not too out of control. But my concept of "out of control" can tend to be skewed, I have been told.

In case you want to kiss up be supportive of your teacher, here is a link to the printable of the first card.

Friday, September 5, 2014

School's back

You guys, I have a kindergartner, how is that possible when I am only 26 years old? And how is it possible this guy is in big-time elementary school?
His smiles were much more genuine then, but he still has the ability to shrink his eyes to 1/8th their normal large size when he smiles. He gets that from me - he is so lucky.
This is not going to be a weepy long post about my oldest starting kinder. Mainly because it has been done for me and I don't really do weepy. This post is my favorite first day of school ones (not weepy, just funny) and this one made me cry. Everything has been said and it is all true. However, I didn't cry, I practically danced out of the school and once I dropped James off, the only thing going through my head was:
I then spent an hour and a half at the grocery store (I had to make two trips and chat with friends) went to an eye doc appointment and prepped dinner. I could not have been happier. I then made what I thought was an awesome snack which both my children refused to eat asking instead for cheese and crackers. Naturally they did, it is the standard Wall snack. No worries, I polished off three to make myself feel better.

My friends keep asking me how I am doing, with a sympathetic look in their eye and I tell them I am fine. I am EXCITED. These boys are used to being in school. Zach likes it, James does as well once he gets past me not being there (I am awesome in his eyes, more of you should cry when I leave). Zach is so social and has oh, so many questions, he is a great fit for more schooling. He has already come home asking me to be sure to read him the author and the illustrator of the books we read before bed and has learned the sight word 'am'. Kindergarten = success.

Oh there have some hiccups too. Like getting up early. No one in our family is thrilled with this plan and we are pretty terrible at it. But luckily since Zach has to wear a uniform (basically, he can chose from khaki or navy shorts and a red, navy or white shirt) him getting dressed is fairly easy. When he does not get distracted by legos or something. And since they eat lunch at 10:40 I don't really worry if he doesn't eat all that much breakfast.

We have been riding our bikes to school, since we live less than a mile away. My sister says I am such a stereotype. Totally. I just need some pedal pushers (now called skinny pants) and I could be a 1950s housewife.
Except that on the way home, this guy sneaks my phone out from the pocket and plays games on it.

He also started school and did great for about three days then realized that this was also for real. He goes every day and staged a revolt (see paragraph above about my awesomeness). The revolt involved full body convulsions on the floor and a piercing scream to go with it. You would not know it from these angelic photos, but he is a beast when he wants to be. Which is anytime I tell him "no".
Happy first weeks of school my friends!

Here is the look back at the boys first days of school and the best example of the fact that clearly I birthed twins, 2.5 years apart.
Zach:
2013
2012
2011
2010
 James:
2013
2012