Atley's Journal

Atley ate most of oatmeal and ate most of baked cinnamon apples for breakfast. For lunch she ate most of hamburger stew with meat, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, and carrots. She ate whole wheat dinner roll and most of fruit cocktail. We were talking about schools - Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School. Atley said, "I'm gonna go to Big Sky High School and be a Bald Eagle!" That was so cute and funny; it made me laugh so much. Very very close Atley! They certainly are the Eagles; although I've never heard them called the "bald eagles." Here's a couple of pictures before Nora, Avi, and Svea went to Swim Lesson. The 3 "Big Girls" were wanting to do some 'elaborate jumps' and some little guy was making that difficult. They moan about it and I always remind them: "This is the Daycare Room and if he's (or Cal's) bugging you then move out to the Preschool Room and the Little Ones are not allowed there....

Atley ate French toast and dried plums for Breakfast. For lunch she ate pulled pork, ate whole wheat toast, peas, and two servings of watermelon.    This first picture is from yesterday afternoon when Atley was creating with these little magnetic building pieces I have. She has been really interested in this activity for most of this week. It's always interesting how they'll do something and then not touch it for days or weeks and eventually come back to it. The following picture is left over from yesterday afternoon when Atley and Nora were building a private Spa area where the little guys were not welcome. The boys didn't really know or care that they may be missing out on something significant! Ha.  Next picture: I have to tell you a story behind this picture. Avi is kind of interested in the fact that I'm color blind. For the last two weeks she's been coming to me every day with a couple of markers and asking, "Which one is the darkest or lightest?" Wh...

I'm a bit slow getting these Blogs started because Tate - lawn mowing wizard - gave me a 2 minute warning that he was coming today. :) Text: "I'm on my way!" and he lives 2.0 minutes away and that's when he walks. Ha. I usually have everything moved and ready for him. Sometimes there are lots of Daycare equipment on the lawn. Anyhow it's all good. Atley ate whole wheat toast and two servings of mangoes for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef with marinara sauce on top of whole wheat spaghetti noodles; and two more servings of just noodles. She ate cauliflower, and ate fruit salad.  Just letting everyone know we're  not  having Science with Lauralea tomorrow. She's having to go to Plains again to take both Parents to the doctor. Atley heard me saying that and she said, "Lauralea's Parents are Super Old!" So apparently there is Old and Super Old. :) Additional Notice: Our Science with Lauralea classes will be done the end of August; wh...

A couple people have asked how my State Inspection went yesterday so here's the answer to that if you're interested! I had zero deficiencies which of course is what we always strive for. I was trained MANY years ago by the best - Lauralea - and it was mandatory to have ALL our ducks in a row. Now I try hard to follow that same routine primarily so I don't get a deficiency and embarrass her!! That's my favorite joke I always tell the inspectors because they all know who she is. Haha.  Atley ate two big servings of cream of wheat cereal and ate dried plums for breakfast. She is eating Lunch today with Mom and Dad.  First two pictures left over from yesterday morning. Science with Lauralea was short and sweet as she had to go to Plains and the kid's had Swim Lessons and Tennis Lesson. So we did a couple of quick demonstrations of "pressure" and briefly talked about how it works in this context. Lauralea had about 5 inches of water in this bucket and was swing...

Hi Everyone! First, Atley doesn't have a Blog today as she was gone all morning.  Howerver, the reason for this note is to inform everyone there will be NO BLOGS tomorrow Thursday the 22nd. The State ChildCare Licensor will be here doing an in-home thorough inspection after lunch during the time I normally do the Blogs. Blogs will be back on Friday the 23rd. 

Atley ate raisin/cinnamon English muffin and ate grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate pork roast, whole wheat toast, beets, and two servings of applesauce.  Atley said, "Gary!! I found a spider, but I died him!!" :)  Atley said, "Gary! Tomorrow is gonna be the best day ever because me and my friend have tennis and then it's her birthday. On the SAME day!!" :) This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon. Svea fell asleep in the chair in the Preschool Room. If you could see this in live mode you'd see Nora was intent on bugging Svea and not letting her rest. Avi and Atley kept trying to grab Nora's arm, but Nora's a slippery little critter. Haha. Svea's nap probably lasted about 15 - 20 minutes.  This next picture is from yesterday afternoon when all the kids (Cal was absent yesterday) were on the airplane. That "carry-on" will cost you a lot Avi. Ha. Atley was the pilot while Nora and Svea were on the wings. :) Next pictu...

Atley ate most of corn chex cereal and ate peaches for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef, toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, bite of avocado, bite of tomatoes, and two servings of mandarin oranges.   I have a note left over from Friday afternoon when Atley kept asking Svea to stop singing at the Art table. Finally Atley said, "Gary!! Svea will not stop singing! Because it's really bad singing and I don't like it." I try hard to turn "lose-lose" situations (like this one) into "win-win" and sometimes that's not real easy. :) This first picture is from this morning when Atley was setting up the blocks for a big game of dominos. :) She worked hard at this by herself. Avi was doing this same thing last Friday afternoon and Atley and I were watching videos of that. Atley said, "I wanna do it too." Second picture: Atley and Nora were reading Preschool books AND being pretty silly at the same time! Hard to believe right!?! Haha. The N...

Atley ate oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast. For lunch she ate tilapia, whole wheat elbow noodles smothered with applesauce, and ate a couple of green beans. This morning when Nora and Miles arrived Ryan dropped off the kids and Momma Emily. Emily said he was gonna drive around the block. Atley said, "Where's the block!?!" :) Yesterday we remembered to check to see if the salmon are running and if the bears are feeding in Katmai National Park in Alaska - my favorite web cam to check on - and sure enough there were LOTS of fish trying to jump up the falls and the bears were feasting. I think the kids love to watch that almost as much as I do!! We went outside for maybe 45 minutes this morning - the air quality is in the low unhealthy range. I had not been talking to them about air quality, but they obviously were discussing it among themselves. Before we went outside Nora said, "Gary, if you breathe smoke then you have to go to the hospital. And they put a t...

Atley ate two servings of blueberry bagel and ate peaches for breakfast. For lunch she ate a large serving of hamburger & sausage pizza with meat, tomato sauce, pineapple, peppers, and olives. She ate half of her whole wheat pizza crust (we serve on the side) and half of pineapple on the side.    Lauralea had to go to Plains today to help her family so there is no Science with Lauralea today. Atley was pretty sad and emotional this morning for the first 30 - 40 minutes. (It probably wouldn't have lasted that long, but Cal was the only other child here to distract her.) I basically gave her space as she didn't really want to snuggle. She's been fine the rest of the morning and there doesn't seem to be any hangover from that time! :) First picture: Eyeball stickers have been the lasted craze for yesterday and today! Nora started creating some "aliens" and everyone was on board for that. Atley, on the other hand, decided to go with some flowers. Good work Atl...

Atley ate two servings of toasted whole wheat English muffin and ate dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, brown rice, most of broccoli, and ate mandarin oranges.  Atley's Blog will be slightly shorter today because she is off working on her tennis game again. :) I took this first picture when Atley and Cal were the only ones here and Atley frequently plays with the Daycare toys when it's just her, or her and Cal. She had several barn animals inside the barn and then she was building with the fence pieces. (The same result that looks like a highchair to me; like she did a few weeks ago.) Not a highchair this time!! She said, "It's a refrigerator to keep the food cold for the animals." That's a very creative idea Atley. Personally I think you are spoiling your barn animals, but they are lucky to have you!! :) Next picture: We have several fans set up because our central air is having issues and it's a hard time to get someone here for a serv...

Atley ate cheerios and half of banana for breakfast. For lunch she ate half of ground beef, ate whole wheat pita bread, olives, no avocado, and ate watermelon.  We had a great vacation in southwestern Washington and we stayed in a very unique little "hidden house." Lots of little road trips exploring in and around Mount Rainier National Park and Mount St Helens. And lots of hiking trails. A good time of relaxing and rejuvenation.  First picture: Atley was playing with the barns and covering them with doll blankets. I asked her if she was "dressing up the barn?" Atley said, "Nope, I'm making it dark for them to sleep." :) Second picture; Atley and Cal were the only ones here until breakfast; Nora and Miles will be back tomorrow as Grandparents are still here. Atley laid out the cozy corner rug and some pillows. She said, "We're having a jumping contest." Last picture: Atley left early for tennis lesson and this is what she was doing when M...

Atley ate brown rice and most of raisins for breakfast. She went to Gymnastics and is having Lunch with her family before coming back to Little Treasures.  From yesterday afternoon: Atley was watching me comb Miles hair and I had it all slicked down and combed straight back. She loved it. Atley said, "Oh he's so pretty I could marry him!" Haha.  For anyone following these Blogs I want to remind everyone that we're leaving for Southwest Washington tomorrow and the Blogs will resume on July 12th. We've rented a place for a few days southwest of Mount Rainer National Park and we're looking forward to a time of rest and relaxation!! Hiking and reading for me; reading for Lauralea.  On a solemn note I should mention that Atley and Nora overheard (I was totally caught up in the moment and this was unintentional) me talking to a neighbor at the gate and I was telling them that our precious neighbor - Big Willie - died last night. Earlier, Willie's wife came to th...

Atley ate raisin cinnamon English muffin and mandarin oranges for breakfast. For lunch she ate most of ground beef, a large serving of whole wheat elbow noodles topped with a large serving of applesauce, and ate most of her peas. This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon when the girls were all very busy with various projects and activities. Look at Avi's hands over her mouth and Nora's hands over her mouth. Bet you can't guess what they're doing!?! Ok, here's the answer: Avi was trying to teach Nora how to mimic Avi's newly acquired "duck call" skill! Haha. Avi actually does it quite well. Atley, although she's focused on her activity in the picture, finds the "duck call" sounds to be very very hilarious and earlier she was laughing hysterically! :) Science with Lauralea this morning had a bit of 4th of July flair! We told em it was gonna be "fireworks in a jar" and Nora's eyes enlarged about three sizes! Sor...