I feel like summer is vanishing before my very eyes! The month of July has passed so quickly it’s a blur! School is lurking around the corner, and while I’m starting to make preparations I feel that if I keep ignoring the fact that it’s in three weeks it will somehow take longer to get here. We attended the kindergarten kick off the other night at David’s soon to be school. He had a great time! The kids did rotational activities while the parents were in an informational session.  We took Emma and Samuel with us to the school, and while we were in the middle of the informational session Emma fell into the chair in the cafeteria and busted her mouth open. I knew immediately when she hit that it was bad. She cried of course, but only for a little bit. However, by the time she went to bed her mouth and face was swollen up. It just so happened that I already had a dental appointment scheduled for her and David the very next day. The dentist checked, and while her two front teeth were slightly loose, they should tighten back up. The bruising looks terrible, but should go away in time. Bless her! She’s such a tough little girl!

I’ve been making my own preparations in teaching piano this fall! Every semester I try to make sure I have a refresh. I do this by updating my materials, working on lesson plans, and planning out recitals and events. I also make sure I myself as a teacher set certain professional goals. I’m looking forward to attending some teacher workshops, and recitals. I’m also hoping to do some more recording and performing as well. I find that doing all this helps me take a fresh look at things, and hopefully keep from “getting in a rut”! The second year after having to start over is always easier than the first for obvious reasons, and I’m feeling more established and ready to take on more students this year!

I’m trying to spend as much time with the kids as I can before school starts! We went to the Redbirds game yesterday evening, and stayed out super late! (It was 9:30 when we go home! 😉 ) Today we went to the zoo! We actually do this quite often since we live so close. The weather this week has been amazing, and so we decided to go to the zoo.

Samuel is crawling all over the house now! I took the picture below because he and Emma were actually playing together. Or should I say, Emma was playing and Samuel was grabbing her toys and chewing on them. Either way, they were interacting! That sort of thing has been happening more frequently. The other day they were all three playing. I love listening and watching them. They don’t fight ALL the time. 🙂

Samuel is also wanting to sit at the table and eat like the rest of us. He wants to feed himself, and he does not want to sit in the high chair anymore. We have one of those pod seats that fastens onto a chair, and he sits at the table like a big boy. 🙂

I’ve been trying some new recipes recently! The first is an Asian glazed salmon with fried rice and green beans. The salmon is delicious with a beautiful sticky glaze that is easy to prep and cook. I happened to have some leftover rice and decided to try making fried rice. I’ve done this before, but last time I burned the rice.:( That’s one of the things to watch out for when making fried rice. After scrambling the eggs and sauteing the veggies the pan is super hot. It doesn’t take long at all to fry the rice once it’s in the pan. Don’t be like me, watch the rice, stir the rice, don’t take your eyes off the rice! 🙂

The second is a Hawaiian burger! This burger is tasty and colorful. There is basically a salad in between the bun! This recipe includes grilled pineapple and red pepper slices, thinly sliced red onion, tomatoes and lettuce, a seasoned hamburger patty with provolone cheese, and a special sauce spread on toasted onion rolls.

Happy Summer!

PK