Easter Party and Music Concert

On Thursday, my little girl was a busy bee as she first had her Easter egg hunt and party at school and then at night a music concert.

The parents were invited to join their children during the Easter egg hunt and luckily, I was able to attend as it was right around lunch time (a perk for only working part-time). Amelia was happy to see me when I pulled up and we looked together for 16 plastic eggs with the number 16 on it (each child had to bring in 17 eggs filled with candies). The students made these cute Easter bags in the morning to use as basket during the egg hunt.

One happy girl with a huge bubble gum in her mouth:

 My little girl and her mommy:

Ms. Griffin and her students. I was told that Amelia adjusted very well and fits right in. They love having her in the classroom and she loves being there too:

All the bunnies are lined up for the class party:

The room mom did a great job and made some "bunny" treats for the kids to eat:

The students grew some Easter grass over the past week and now had a little basket filled with an Easter treat, a fluffy bunny and some little chicks. It is very cute and the perfect decoration on our dining table:

I walked around the room while the kids ate their snacks and found some of Amelia's work:

Then it was time for me to head home to release the babysitter while Amelia finished off her school day. This little boy was already waiting for his mommy:

That same night, Amelia's former elementary school held their annual Kindergarten Music Concert and her teachers had invited her to participate. Amelia was so excited to go back and see her friends as well as perform with them on stage. They have practiced these songs for a few months so Amelia knew them too. All dressed and ready to go:

Let the show begin (Amelia stands in the first row on the very right):

I was so proud seeing her perform and she did a great job. 

Amelia loved every minute of it and became quite the little performer on stage:

I put together a couple of video clips of their songs:

After the concert, Amelia hugged her teacher, Ms. Wyatt and her friends goodbye. She misses them and they miss her too but I'm glad that she really likes her new school and classmates too, which made this transition very easy. 

What a full and exciting day for my little girl and I'm so proud of her. My mini-me and her proud mommy:

Hope everyone enjoys their Easter celebrations and has a great weekend. HAPPY EASTER!

Fun Times at the Park

We live only minutes from a very spacious and awesome park. It is the largest park in our town with 147 acres and features everything from soccer, baseball and football fields to running trails, playgrounds and other fun amenities. It is our go-to park as a family. 

On April 2nd, a local realtor company held their first annual Easter Egg Hunt at the park and invited the public to it. Usually, the closer it gets to Easter weekend, the more crowded these Easter egg hunts are. So I decided to take the kids to this one and it was perfect. When we arrived, the Easter Bunny himself was already waiting to take pictures with the children and mommy too. 

The crowds were light and since we came early, we enjoyed some snacks and games before hunting for the candy-filled plastic eggs.  

And then it was time for the egg hunt. There were hundred of eggs spread out everywhere on the grass and the crowd was relatively small; however, it took the kids all of a few minutes to pick up all the eggs. They loved though!

The best part of the egg hunt is opening them up and eating some candies:

It was a successful egg hunt and we all had a fun time. We might make it to one more egg hunt on Easter weekend but since we are still busy with the house, we have to just see how to fit it in to our full schedule. 

That same park is also home to the Historic Mansker's Station, which is a reproduction of a 1779 log station and the Bowen Plantation House (longest standing brick structure in Middle Tennessee). During the year, one can tour the property and learn about life on a plantation and in the frontier. However, every April the park hosts Heritage Days at the Mansker's Station and invites the public to attend and experience life in the late 1700's with their senses. So on Saturday morning, the kids and I participated in the event and learned quite a bit about the plantation lifestyle. Life back then definitely wasn't easy. 

Making a candle is a long process

Costumed interpreters showed us how to make candles, weave fabric, cook over the open fire and make baskets. They also had some farm animals there and we learned about money and how they made tools out of wood and iron.

Learning about clothes and weaving fabric

Watching them make food without a regular stove or oven:

Pigtails over the flames and stew in the big pot

Weaving baskets and petting the goats that produce the milk the people use to make soap, cheese, butter, lotion and candy. 

Life on the frontier: 

From sheep to wool to yarn:

Hard at work, the blacksmith:

This event was a fantastic learning opportunity and very hands-on. I'm sure we will be back next year for Heritage Days. 

However, we don't just visit the park for special events but also on a regular Monday afternoon (we all desperately needed an afternoon off from our home improvements). While the kids are now old enough to entertain themselves on the big playground, Derrick and I enjoyed sitting on the swing and chat with each other.  

There will be plenty more park visits in the near future and once we settle in to a good routine, I also want to go running again and this park offers a great alternative to the treadmill in the gym. We are very delighted to be living near this wonderful,public park.

Hello, Goodbye

Before Spring Break, Amelia had to say goodbye to her friends at Lakeside Park Elementary and her teacher Ms. Wyatt as she would be attending a school closer to our new home after break was over. Amelia was sad to leave but also looking forward to meeting her new classmates and her new teachers. 

Big hug for Ms. Wyatt

Ms. Wyatt gave her a sweet care package as a reminder of who she is and that she is loved:

Each classmate made her a card too:

Amelia enjoyed these first 9 months in Kindergarten tremendously and will really miss her teachers and friends. But to make the transition fairly smooth, her new school invited us over the week before Spring break to tour the school and meet her new teacher and see her classroom. Also, we attended a Bingo night, where the kids enjoyed some food, got read a story by a famous Hollywood personality (I forgot his name but he was friends with Walt Disney), played with some new friends and won a couple of books while playing Bingo. A fun night and a great way to meet some new people. 

Last Monday was Amelia's first day at her new school. She was all ready to go:

Love the poem on her classroom door:

Her new teacher, Mrs. Griffin, is very sweet:

Every morning, the students can choose what they want to do for a few minutes before class starts. Of course, Amelia chose play-dough:

And after a few days of being a car rider, we decided she is big enough to take the school bus home. The bus arrives already 10 minutes after school is out and she is dropped off in front of our door whereas it takes me 30 minutes by car (round trip). In the mornings, I still drive her though. It was a bittersweet day seeing my firstborn becoming such a big girl...wasn't she just born???

While Amelia is at school and I'm at work, Elliot is being cared for by Ms. Janet at home. We are so fortunate to have found her and I feel comfortable leaving him with her while I'm out all morning. He really likes her and his first two days went well. 

Yesterday, I started my new job as European Business Development Specialist with a local company and while I was a bit nervous, the day went very well.

The first two weeks, I have training and will be visiting every department of the company and learn all about their products, development and processes. Today, I was in production and even though they didn't let me weld anything or drive a forklift, I learned by watching them assemble some products. Sometimes, they use really big screws and need a big wrench:

Lots of changes still happening, but so far we all are doing well and adjusting nicely. It is always tough to say goodbye, but also fun to meet new people and make new friends. And since we only moved "around the corner", I'm sure Amelia will be back to see some of her former classmates and teachers soon.

March Madness

Every March, the men's college basketball teams play in a single-elimination tournament called March Madness. Tonight play the Final Four teams and on Monday is the Championship game.  It is always an exciting month, especially if your team makes it to the end. But I'm also calling this post March Madness because that is what our month was like: MADNESS!

On March 1st, we bought a house. While the kids and Derrick were almost over their head cold, I got sick myself and definitely needed some rest to recover. But March was everything else but restful. We worked a lot on the house to get it move-in ready. The previous owners did not maintain the house much and it took a lot of elbow grease and time to get it cleaned up. Here is a glimpse of what we had to deal with:

Before, during the cleaning process and after

This formula worked the best on grease, dust and grime: Sprinkle some baking soda on the dirt, spray with homemade cleaner, take a sponge and scrub a bit and then wipe clean. It took me more than 10 to clean the entire kitchen but it looks good now. Here is how I made the cleaner: put orange and lemon peels in a mason jar, top off with vinegar and then close with lid. Let the jar sit on your counter at least 5 days. Then drain liquid into spray bottle and top off with water. It is amazing what you can all clean with baking soda. I used it on the blinds too but we noticed that Scrubble Bubbles actually work the best on dried on dust and dirty door frames. 

We also almost finished painting the entire house, which was no small task given that the house is a bit over 3000 sq ft.(280 qm). Most rooms had to be painted twice to cover these hideous wall colors. 

BEFORE

For now, we choose to paint a neutral, light beige color but may add an accent wall in each bedroom later.

NOW

During the middle of the month, I was also interviewing for a job, which I will start on Monday. After accepting the job, I needed to find childcare for Elliot, which was no easy task. Amelia switched schools and even though she had no issues, there is still a bit of an adjustment period. Especially the early start time of 7:15am (compared to 8:30am at the other school). The kids had Spring Break too and while we did some fun stuff, we also finished up with the renovations as we moved that week. Moving-in took two days and then Derrick had to leave on a business trip right away while we unpacked. We also cleaned up the rental house and handed over the keys yesterday. By now, we are pretty exhausting but there is still a lot to do around the house: finish painting the bathrooms and hallway as well as fixing a toilet, installing ceiling fans and a new dishwasher, etc. The backyard is a mess too as there is an unused above-ground pool and a customized, old wooden pool deck that need to be teared down. As you can imagine, we will be busy for quite a while. But we are really liking it here and the house is quickly becoming a home. If you were wondering how the cat did on her 5th move in 8 years, wonder no more: She likes it too.

On Monday was Amelia's first day at her new elementary school and she liked it (more about that in another post). That same afternoon, both kids had their semi-annual dental check-up. Both did awesome and their teeth are all in great condition. 

Because it didn't take long at all at the dentist, Elliot got a much needed haircut afterwards. My big boy:

This boy is so funny. Every day he comes up with a new name for himself. Here, he is Star Wars Elliot (he never watched the movies and we don't talk about Star Wars but he still knows):

What the heck??? An expression he is using lately:

We made sure to take some time this week to check out a new playground (and the local library) on a very hot sunny afternoon. 

Too cool off and as a well-deserved reward after such a hectic week, we ate some ice-cream. 

This month has been truly crazy, hectic, and exhausting but so worth it. We feel so blessed to be able to own a house and thank God for providing for us. I'm also excited about reentering the workforce and the opportunities that come along with that.