We’re going with a little somethin’ from the archives today because every time I come home my boy seems just a bit bigger.
I’d never wish him to stop growing, but I sure love looking back on how far he’s come! (My sentiments about his daddy haven’t changed, either.)
Hands down, one of the best things about leaving is coming home. Florida was a blast: the water was gorgeous, we had so much fun, and now I’m ready to get this guy back with me!
I can’t wait to see his smiling face!
A few weeks ago, HEB had some samples of some of their ready-made salads when I was shopping. One of them was a couscous salad that appeared to be super fresh. I tried some and ended up buying it. I bought more the next week. The next time I was looking for it, it was gone. I asked the deli attendants, and they said it hadn’t been selling well, so they weren’t sure they would have it again. Boo!
I went on about my shopping.
The following week, I was in another HEB, so I thought I’d look. No dice. So I started gathering ingredients instead. I have to say, it turned out pretty good. Mr. Gray even ate some–after he asked where the meat was.
You will need:
1 box roasted garlic and olive oil couscous
Juice from 2 small lemons
8-10 cherry or grape tomatoes (or any sweet variety)
Fresh spinach (I shred mine with scissors; it can be left whole)
Fresh mushrooms (I chop mine; they can be any size)
Feta (I actually forgot it when I made it last, but it makes the salad)
Course ground pepper
So much fun to be had with a few race medals, a colander, a (dry) Pull Up, and some tools. I always love how proud he is when he gets all dressed up. He’s always ready for something.
As much independence as he is gaining, I hope he continues to dress himself and be proud.
A few things I’m lovin’ about Baby Gray right now:
Call me a jaded kindergarten teacher, but random kid art doesn’t really strike my fancy.
I enjoy creating it with Baby Gray, but I don’t feel the need to hang on to each and every piece. That being said, when he was on a paint kick last week, I wanted Mr. Gray to get to enjoy it without having it all over the house. I decided we would make welcome home bunting out of it.
I found this printable template for the triangles and got to work.
I traced on that back of the artwork and used my straight cutter to quickly zip down the lines to make the triangles. I used metallic cord and for the string (I just taped it to the back with Scotch tape since it would only be used indoors).
Once I had the entire thing strung, I went ahead and hung it up before adding letters to see if I needed to change any spacing.
When I was set with the bunting, I cut a paper shopping back into a flat sheet and printed Hip Hip Hooray! on it. When printing to cut, I always add a space between each letter so I have enough margin. I cut each letter out and used double-sided tape to stick it to the banner.
This was totally free and super easy. Baby Gray loved helping (although he wasn’t thrilled I cut his art up at first–even though I told him when he was painting last week that I was going to do it) create the bunting and showing it off to dad when we returned from the airport.
Jaded kindergarten teacher no more: purposeful kid art abounds!
Apparently photo taking was not my forte this week. As I browsed through my phone to gather outfits, all I had were screen shots of random things I have been working on this week and needed to share with others. These few will have to do!
In other news, Mr. Gray is “almost done at the airport,” which is how Baby Gray keeps phrasing it. This kid is too much. Makes sense, though. That’s where we dropped him off and where we’ll pick him up–soon! We can’t wait!
You know that feeling where you are just engulfed in gratitude? So full and content? It started Thursday after I dropped Mr. Gray off, and it completely overwhelmed me last night. Mr. Gray’s trip has reminded me so much how loved we are.
Thursday started with friends calling and texting to check on me after I had dropped him off at the airport. I have been so grateful for everyone’s prayers and thoughts while he’s gone–for me and for him. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard (hats off to those who are at home alone due to deployments and other situations that leave you without your spouse; wow).
Everyone has continued to check in on Baby Gray and I throughout the week and I have just continued to pray prayers of thanks for such amazing friends and family members to support us in all seasons.
Tuesday night, I got a message inviting me to dinner. Annie immediately said she’d watch Baby Gray so I could go (thanks, Mom!), and boy, did I need it. I was able to dress up a little and get out of the house for a bit to recharge. I even curled my hair–don’t mind the fact that it rained.
We enjoyed an amazing dinner to celebrate Dr. C’s birthday, and I left feeling so cared for and loved. The dinner wasn’t about me. I was just there. Everyone took time to ask about Mr. Gray and ask about how I was doing while he was gone. We laughed and enjoyed some time to just be friends–wihtout kids, without distractions.
I drove home (after a solo trip to Target–possibly my second trip of the day) with the sunroof open and the music blaring, just the way night drives were intended to be. I belted out some tunes (Mal, that title is for you) and reflected on the night. Tears of joy welled in my eyes from the time I left to long after I got home last night as I sat thinking about how incredibly blessed we are to have such amazing people in our lives–and I was only with a fraction of them! God has provided support for us beyond anything I could ever have imagined.
Baby Gray spends a lot of time with his teachers on Sundays. Our Rev Kids volunteers are amazing; and I always want them to know how much we appreciate all they do for our boy. He learns so much each week, and he is truly being taught some great foundations for life.
Taking a little spin off the teacher thank yous I did last year, I came up with this year’s idea:
I grabbed some recipe cards, wrapped them in baker’s twine, and made a thank you note to tuck into the twine.
I found this fabulous site with cute fonts and got to work on the individual notes. I used business card templates for the actual thank yous.
Like last year, I wasn’t able to thank each teacher individually, but I am so incredibly grateful for the way they pour into our kiddos every week.
