Standiford Family

Today was just beautiful outside even if part of the day was gray.  The temperature made it to the 60s.  Yesterday and today I wore sandals.  Kade won the argument and wore sandals to school today.  My toes have been naked for several weeks now.  I was very happy to paint them and show them off.

I love this polish color.  It’s called “Blackberry Baby”.

This afternoon Mickey did some cleaning in the yard and garage while Mat and Kade played outside.  Meg worked more on the presentation part of her science project.  It’s almost done.

We had another showing today.  Our house really likes all the attention it’s getting.  (As of right now, we have two more this week.)  I have needed to come up with somewhere to take the kids on occasion.  (It’s not quite park weather yet, too much mud.)  For that I turned to our favorite place, at least one of them.  (By “our”, I mean me and the kids.)  That is the library.

(Kade’s trying to figure out which Beast Quest book he needs.)

Kade and I visited there this afternoon for a little while before meeting Mickey for a quick lunch and our own viewing of a house.  I’m sure the library will get old soon for those of us that go 3-5 times a week but I can really relax there among all those books.  Our library was re-built and re-opened last year.  They have nice cozy spots to cuddle up with your kids to read.  They also have a fireplace with leather couches nearby for the adults to sink into.  There is even a little snack area with vending machines.  It’s like a home away from home.

Kade is learning to be a handyman like his dad.  Today Amanda and Chris moved into their first house.  Mickey helped with the loading and unloading of the truck and the kids and I showed up later to help unpack and clean.  It was decided that the locks needed to be changed.  The men went off to buy the supplies.  Kade was right there in the middle of things for the first door.  He was thrilled he was allowed to use the tools.  I’m sure he’ll need a refresher course for the next locks he changes.

The girls were no slouches.  They were running things up and down the stairs, vacuuming, and chowing down on red vines until they needed a movie break.  I unpacked most of the kitchen.  Pictures of these events were taken but did not turn out clear so Kade gets to star in another potd.  Good thing he’s cute.  You gotta love that expression of total concentration.

This afternoon Mattey and Kade went out to play while Mickey did some clean up work in the garage.  The reds enjoyed themselves tromping around in the mud and and swinging in the almost 40 degree weather.  The sunshine is SO nice.  (The fun ended when Mat threw a snowball in Kade’s face.)

Has Spring come early?  I doubt it.  We’ll probably get a few more inches of snow before Spring really settles in but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Kade’s teacher sent home a progress report today.  He’s doing great.

There was a note from Mrs. R. inside.  ”Kaden is very responsible and a great helper.  I can always depend on him to help me out.  He is also a good friend and enjoys playing with all of the kids.  Kaden is a terrific listener and he follows directions very well.  He does the crafts and activities independently and neatly, and he is quick to help others out if they are confused.  Kade also likes circle time and he loves to contribute ideas to our conversations.  He especially likes when we becomes scientists and we do experiments.  Kade does a very good job of identifying letters and numbers.  I have loved being his teacher these past two years and watching him grow.”

Mrs. R. has known Kade since he was a bump in my belly so she’s really gotten to watch him grow.  I’m glad she’s been his teacher this year and last.

Other things Kade really enjoys doing are:  play dough, water play, singing, instruments, rhythms, block building, story time, science, show & tell, puzzles, manipulative table toys, puppets, telling stories, asking questions, sharing ideas, solving problems, directing activities, and acquiring new skills.

I think this kid will be ready to take on kindergarten in the fall.  We’ll have to work on letters, phonics, and writing over the summer.  He’s already figuring out math.  It’s so fun to watch him grasp the concept of addition.

Kade was looking out the window and said, “The sunshine is giving us grass.  I’m so happy to have grass.”  I thought that was cute so my picture goes with that thinking.

The saying goes “In like a lamb, out like a lion”.  I wonder what the end of March will be like.  This is our second sunny day and the rest of the week is supposed to be nice too.  Maybe even 50’s on Sunday.  What a treat!  I just hope the lion part is rain/thunder storms and not snow storms.

That was the theme of the day at Kade’s school.  (It seems like I have more to report on him.  I guess it’s because he’s with me more and his school does more fun things.)  Kade started out in his Star Wars jammies but I noticed they were about 3″ too short and the shirt just barely covered that pot belly of his.  I talked him into his Scooby-Doo ones that fit better.  He took his Citrus Dragon with him to share the day.  I helped out with the event.  (I didn’t end up doing much, filling cups for the kids and taking pictures of everyone.)  The day was a success.  The kids all had fun eating breakfast and wearing jammies at school.

Yesterday while cleaning out some cabinets in the kitchen I thought I had better boil some eggs.  There’s a little person who often asks for a big egg, meaning boiled.  They finished cooking and then I ran them under cold water….and put them in a bowl in the refrigerator to use/eat later.  A few hours later I was making dinner and pulling some stuff out of the fridge when I decided the eggs needed to be cracked.  I did it the fastest way I knew how, I knocked the bowl onto the tile floor spilling the eggs everywhere.  That started the makings of our lunch today.  After we got home from church I peeled a few and Kade used a tool my sister-in-law gave me.  It’s a small food processor thing-a-ma-bob.  It worked very well.  Kade and Mattey both had a turn turning the crank.  (Kade’s picture turned out better.)

I then added the mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper and we had lunch.  Quick and easy.  Just like I like it.

Kade had his date with Mickey today.  Mickey really needed a haircut and Kade kind of needed one too.  After stopping for some lunch they went to the barber shop.  Kade got his hair cut by Mike.  Today he got it spiked.  Afterwards Mike used the “dassager” on Kade’s back.  It’s his favorite part of the visit.

For the second part of the date Kade went to Strikes and Spares to race the go-karts.  He “raced other people and one was behind and three was in front of me”.  This was his third time going and it’s now his most favorite thing to do.  I’ll have to go next time to watch this kid in action.  Maybe we’ll get some video.

I think not.  Mattey had fun dressing Kade up.  I just had to post this picture.