First Parent-Teacher Report

Today is my first ever experience with the Parent-Teacher reporting and received good reports from Sami's teacher which makes me sooooo proud of my Samantha (^-^). 

Tomorrow is PA Day meaning no school, however, Sami is looking forward to daycare as they are having movie time with popcorn and the works!

October 2010

We are now a couple of days into October, so how was September?  September had a lot of getting used to with Sami starting Junior K.  Uniforms are great, that's one less outfit to think of for the day, however, uniforms from Monday to Friday, that means laundry. Laundry is not my bestfriend.  I am talking about a Junior K here - it never fails that there is always something sticky (or crusty) somewhere - thank you for navy blue!  Laundry is not really so bad, it's the ironing that worried me - yes, past tense! (^-^)  I've established a routine when I did her uniforms; hang them up fresh out of the dryer and steam them and we're good to go.  I have never been so happy that I bought the steamer - thank you for small inventions.

Snack time remains to be a challenge every week.  Snacks should be peanut and peanut by-products free, yes, that includes her favourite Nutella.  Chips are a no, though Sami would be just fine with that.  One thing I don't have to worry about is her drink - all she wants is water!  All natural, pure and fresh - no preservatives - I hope.

October is an eventful month, I just received the monthly calendar.  October 8th, Samantha will be participating in the school's Terry Fox walkathon.  That should be interesting and fun to watch.  There's Show and Tell on the 25th and Halloween Party on the 29th.....more of that in the coming posts.

It's Mommy's Birthday!

 

September 24 - It's Mommy's Birthday

Creativity Challenge

Preparing a healthy snack every day for a Junior Kindergartner challenges my creativity - and it's only been the first week......I have to do this for the rest of the school year.  I'm not complaining, I'm actually having fun.  I really feel like a mom!  Those silent rewards that I get when I open Sami's EMPTY lunch box when she gets home; and the not-so-silent reward that I receive when Sami tells me "I really love the snack that you prepared for me Mommy." - wouldn't that get your motivation juices going?  I might have to brush up on my baking skills - if there were any to begin with （＾ｖ＾）

Here are a few of my attempts at making my JK's snack box.

September 10, 2010

September 10, 2010, Samantha is officially a school girl. 

Lining up to go inside the school.  All smiles (^-^)

I told ya school is fun!!!

 

 

My bus is right there.....

Ne ne ne ne ne （＾ｖ＾）

 

 

This is where I spend my after school.

 

 

Yay!  Lunch time!!!

First day of school definitely was an exciting time for Sami as well as for Mommy and Daddy.

EXtreme Sami

Labour Day 2010....Samantha at the EX - Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) - Canadian Forces Interactive Exhibit.

Getting geared up for the zipline

Safety comes first

All Set

Looking good

Ready to go!

Fast or faster?!

Faaaaast!!!

Everything is a blur!

That was a breeze!  Let's do it again!

Sami at Work

Do Not Disturb!  

Nothing breaks Sami's concentration when she's hard at work.

The Prettiest Alarm Ever

Sami was busy doing something all by herself.  She takes two of her Dora stickers and a strip of pink ribbon.  She sticks a sticker at each end of the ribbon; and then presses one end on the door frame and the other end on the door. 

Whatcha doing Sami?  "It's an alarm", she says.

Ahhhh.....my future security professional?  I wonder.

Sami's Code of Conduct

Sami says.....

1.  When someone gives you something.....you say "Thank you."
2.  When you burp.....you say "Excuse me."
3.  When you hurt someone.....you say "I'm sorry."
4.  When someone is being silly.....you laugh.

So I ask her, what if it isn't funny....she says....."you laugh anyway."

That's what I'd call the "obligatory laugh."

Sami's Billboard

Sami's Billboard

Current No. 1 Hit

 

 Sami's current favourite song sung by Ohno Satoshi (of 嵐) whom she calls "Singing Boy".

Anyone care for a。。。。えええ。。。。何これ？

Red bean bread topped with soba noodles, slivers of fishball and popcorn - otherwise called - Sami's Special.

How could I not eat this when Sami so proudly presented me with her master creation.  Looking at it though, I was wary to even take a bite. 

During this time, we were watching Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, one of our favourite shows to watch together, she has finished her share and short of saying ごちそうさま！she says, "Mmmm, that was good."  May I have yours? 

With a smile, I answered "By all means, go ahead." 

Whew, what a relief.

Samantha Alexa

Samantha Alexa

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Last night's story was "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". Everyone knows how this story went right? So Samantha asks me why Goldilocks went through the window and ran away when the Bear Family came back from their walk. Wasn't it rude for her to just run away? When I was a kid, I don't think I've ever questioned why Goldilocks ran away. So why did Goldilocks run away? Well, I said, cause she was rude - it really isn't simple to explain breaking and entering to a four year old you know. So that was that, until she came up with another question.....so, where does Goldilocks live? I honestly doooon't know! Really, where the heck does she live? Why is this little girl with golden curly hair walking around in the woods, going into somebody's house, eating their food, break their furniture and sleep on their bed. The minute they come back, she goes flying out of the house.

Ahhhhh - I never thought children's stories could be so complicated.

Little Red Riding Hood

One of the books that we borrowed was "Little Red Riding Hood". We all probably know the gist of the story. It has been read to us by our parents, teachers, etc...when we were little kids, it's a story about a little girl with a red cape going to her grandmother's house, who meets a big bad wolf on the way....moral of the story - never talk to strangers; and that's mostly what stuck to my mind after all these years. However, as I was reading the story to Sami, I had to improvise some parts of the story as I found them too violent for a four year old. She even told me the next morning that she had a bad dream - not good (T_T). So anyway, I did some reading as to the origin of the fairytale and it goes back years and years before and has already had numerous adaptations. I may have picked up a book that mostly stuck to the original story. Though, this got me to thinking, there really are a lot of children's stories out there that seem to be too mature for kids....I guess, this is where Parent's Discretion come in.

Sami's First Library Card

Today, we made a trip to the library.  She's always telling me stories of how her class walks to the library some days and that she has fun in the library.  She knows that you have to keep quiet in the library.  She says that you can read books in the library and play on the computer too.  She says that you can borrow books in the library and must return the books on time.  One should always take care of the books and should not scribble on the books.

Today, I got her her very first library card.  She was so proud.  We borrowed three books, she chose them all by herself  (^_^).

My Way by: Sami (02)

I think I am going to start a "My Way by: Sami" series.  She has such interesting quirks that they are good to write about and bribe her with when she's 18.

So how do you like your cereal Princess Samantha?  Dry cereal in a bowl, glass of milk on the side.

My Way by: Sami

A four year old with a mind of her own - very interesting and challenging.  She still refuses to wear jeans to daycare, jeans are for weekend wear only.  Argh were do you get that?!   I have learned that in order to have a fast and efficient morning routine, outfits for the next day have to be approved by Princess Sami the evening before. 

Fine, Sami wins this round.  However, there are some things that remain non-negotiable.

Happy Mommy's Day!!!

Say What???

What is a Boingy Boingy?

What is a boingy boingy?  A boingy boingy is a new addition to Sami's Dictionary. 

One day I asked Sami what she had for lunch.  She said, she had boingy boingy pasta - that sounded really suspicious at that time, but I let it go.

Then conversationally, she said, I had boingy boingy hair when I was little.

That's when I found out that boingy boingy means curly.

My Little Trooper

Sami was such a trooper in New York.  If she walked ahead, she'd look back and say:  hurry up slow pokes!  Believe you me, we did a lot of walking by adult standards, imagine how it was for her - poor her, her shoes would sometimes fly off trying to walk along with us.  She had a trick to conserving energy - she'd take power naps during the lengthy bus rides and be recharged by the time we get to our destination.  At night, she is the one person in the whole apartment who was still at full bars while the rest of us are drained.  One thing that was pure torture to her though was the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge....we came across so many dogs that she's already categorized them as:  the nice quiet dog, the barking dog, the big dog, etc.  We also had to walk on wooden slabs on the bridge, it was like walking on glass floors as you can see the cars below.  She was scared the whole time but made it across, however, not without much whining and pleading to go back where we started.

Now back in Toronto, she's ready to go back to New York - to the beach she says.  Coney Island.

Am I really ready to endure another two15-hour train rides?

A Genie in TO

We were at the Union Station and Sami was sitting inside the car, suddenly she cries out excitedly:  "I saw a genie! I saw a genie!"  - and then a taxi driver with a turban gets out of his cab.  Kids really do say the darndest things.

Barbie Wears A Dress

So we had a major tantrum this morning....arrrrghhhh!!!!  The reason?  Well, because Barbie wears a dress....and so?  Well Sami feels like wearing a dress too....and so?  Yes, I know.....so????  but well, that seemed to be a major issue this morning, for one thing she was wearing jeans to school.  So she says, but I need to be beautiful....I say: you're already beautiful.....but I'll be more beautiful if I wear a dress.  Ah yes, we are talking about a 4 year old here.

Negotiation time:  jeans today, dress tomorrow.  No can do! So I had to listen to ranting and crying alternately in the car on my way to work.....I've learned the trick though....I sip my coffee calmly listen to my music, by the time I was dropped off at the office, the ranting became:  "I'm going to wear a dress tomorrow".

Fine!  Mission Accomplished!

The Tooth Fairy is Too Early

Samantha has been talking about the Tooth Fairy this whole day.  She suddenly came up to me and shows me this white pebble-like thing and says it's her tooth and she's waiting for the tooth fairy to come.  I suddenly panicked and looked inside her mouth to check all her teeth.  All her teeth were accounted for, nothing missing there....still what was she holding......could it be really her tooth - I'm no dentist you know, however, she did seem pretty calm for somebody who has just lost a tooth, so anyway for my peace of mind I insisted that she show it me, she refuses and ran inside the room.  I finally got her to tell me what it was......she got it from a pencil eraser.  Right now it's under her pillow and she's expecting a coin in place of her tooth.

Kids say the cutest things......

We were at Futureshop today.....Sami needed to go to the washroom, as she was walking out, she had her hands inside her jeans......"Sami, take your hands out of your jeans."  ......and as only a four-year-old can get away with:  she says in the loudest voice:  "But my bumbum is eating my panty!"  for everyone in the store to hear.  "Kitbut"  (^_^)

Why Does It Snow?

It was snowing today.  As Sami and I were walking to the subway station, we were having a conversation about snow.  She then told me that the clouds squishes out the water therefore the snow comes down from the clouds - interesting (^-^), coming from a four year old - I will accept that theory.

Samantha is 4!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Samantha!!!

More pictures to come (^_^)

My Future Kindergartner

Sami is now registered for School Year 2010 - 2011, Junior Kindergarten.  We went to her future new school today for registration, so she is officially enrolled.

The Most Effective Way.......

So what is the most effective way to get what you want?  Chant it! - according to Sami that is.  Chant in different tunes - monotone or singsong whatever may be her mood at that moment.

Like:

She wants the channel changed to Treehouse TV - she would go:  change the channel, change the channel, change the channel - until you realize that there is this chanting-like sound in the background. 

I want my dudu, I want my dudu, I want my dudu - like a bee in your ear.

Being resourceful however, she now figured out how to turn the lights on and off - the back scratcher apparently is not only for back scratching.

Sami's Valentine's Party

Yesterday was Sami's Valentine's Party - she has been looking forward to Valentine's Day since after New Year.  She would say after New Year, it's going to be Valentine's Day and then it's going to be my birthday!  I think Valentine's Day for her is a marker that soon it will be her birthday.  It also means that she is going to give treats to her friends.  She was helping me while I was preparing the treats that she would bring to school.  Everytime she placed a treat in each bag she'd say:  "I am Mommy's great helper."  (^_^)  After school she happily showed me the treats that she received from her friends - but most of all proudly showed us the card that she made for Mommy and Daddy (^_^).

....and then it's going to be my Birthday!

I asked Sami what she wanted for her birthday......she said, "Mommy, I want earrings!".   I was expecting something like:  Cinderella or Belle or even Barbie - but earrings?  Totally unexpected!  My baby is growing up, somehow I associate her having pierced ears with being grown up, therefore, I said to myself - not until she's in 1st Grade at least....so I'll pretend I didn't hear her and buy her something like Cinderella or Belle - ah she wants shoes to go with her Belle Princess dress - my girly girl.

When I Grow Up

......I want to be a Superhero.....so Sami says.

Just because I love this photo =)

Ice Princess in the Making

Samantha went ice skating for the first time yesterday, though she was sitting on the ice more than she was skating.   She was having a blast the every few seconds that she was actually moving before falling on her bum.  I, on the other hand, felt like I was carrying a 35 lb barbell while going around the rink.

I think this is going to be a regular winter activity for us =)