Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 165

Only 7 1/2 days of school left. Mondays are not always fun, today no exception. She left conditioner in her hair after her bath lat night so this morning had to jump in shower to rewash which left her with wet hair and a wet shirt for school. Oh well, just a few more mornings!

"Jump!"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 164

Natalie has been singing since yesterday's performance practice and it cracks me up! Some of the kids that were in the play have volunteered to sing at our School director's retirement party in a couple of weeks. Yesterday they practiced the three songs and Natalie kept practicing at home. Funny how hearing a child sing can make you either cry or smile! I took a couple of poses, but this one seemed more "Nat" since she was mimicking funny hand gestures for the song!

"Do the Monkey..."

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 163

Thursday. 9 1/2 days of school left. One month until we leave China. Doing a picture each day should be helping me "get closure" on our time here, but it does not seem to be helping. Spending time with friends helps. Making plans for when we return to the US helps. Clearing out a room of all the junk we have accumulated over 5 1/2 years helps. But in the end, there is still the notion that you are walking away from a big part of your life. When we came here it was different as we walked towards something new and unknown. It was an adventure. The repatriation is more of a return to what we had so you have to reconcile that with who you have become. I know there are those of you out there who know exactly what I mean. Thank goodness or it would be difficult to keep on a forward path! 


Well, no time for melancholy today! At least not until later. We are christening my new dining table and chairs with a "clean out the pantry" Girls Night at my house. I have three kinds of beans soaking, 4 oz of teeny pasta, 3 cans of sweet potato puree, 7/8 bottle of wheat germ, two jars of pumpkin baby food, 3 cups of oatmeal, 4 kinds of crackers we didn't like, 5 kinds of Chinese hot pot spice packages, a can of crab meat, and that was just the first two shelves! Lots of new recipes to be created today!

"Sweet Potato Oatmeal on Crackers sounds like we are ordering Sherpa's, right?"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 162

End of year results in not so thought out pictures. Only 10 more left...

"Designer Toes"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 161

Up since 2:40 today. (What is up with that? Too many things bouncing in my head!) So no clever chit chat with Natalie this morning. Hence just a picture of her finishing her math homework.

"I love Geometry"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 160

Today she wanted to show us a card trick. Worst trick ever. Cards were right side up when she had me pick, cards were all in numeric order when I placed my card on top, she shuffled when she could see the faces on the cards, and then she didn't get my card right. I think she needs to watch that Youtube video again. Not magic at all.

"Here, let me show you a magic card trick"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 159

Yes, all of the Daily Blogs were backed up. No internet for about 36 hours. Yuck. Back on now. And it's Friday!!1 So off to breakfast. There is a special guest for this morning, though not sure who will be here to meet them. More later...

"Stop or I'll shoot! with my bamboo pole"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 158

She is still at it. Still practicing after school and in the morning. Waiting for the first spill that might indicate the end of the risky sport, but so far, so good!

"Swoosh"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 157

I think the retro look will make the picture resonate with all of my friends my age who might of also refused to look at their mother in the morning before going to school. Cause: Mathematics Homework completed in morning.

"Pan Balancing problems not fun"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 156

Yes, this is Natalie's new thing: skateboarding. The fact that her lessons in this activity are coming from me does not bode well for her at all! However, we figure this will its course in a week or two. She has been "riding" since Sunday. Today she wanted to ride the board to the gate to catch the bus. This probably would have taken her 30 minutes as she is not, well, she is not much of a risk taker. So going more than 2 mph causes her to jump off the board. 

"She had a pretty face but her head was up in space.
She needed to come back down to earth. "

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 155

Only 17 1/2 days of school left. 28 Days until our shipping day. 41 Days until we leave China. 

"How to complete 3 months worth of Handwriting homework in one weekend"

Daily Picture Grade 4 - Day 154

My new table, chairs, and benches arrived yesterday. And that is the "orange" buffet in the background. No one is allowed to eat or touch anything in the dining room for now. I am overall pleased though the fabric on the chairs seems bluer than I was expecting. Especially in this picture today. More pictures later when I get a chance to get organized. Though I fear that is not going to happen until the movers come to take everything away!

"Breaking in the NEW TABLE"