Good Night to the Autumn Leaves That Fall from the Trees

We had a great start to the day!

At Gymboree, Ms. LouAnn started art class by giving the kids orange paint for free painting.  After a few minutes, she added a squirt of blue to their pallets.  Almost as soon as the first drop of blue landed on Shawn’s paper-plate pallet, he announced, “Chicago Bears!”  Ms. LouAnn was beside herself (especially since they were off-shades of blue and orange, but he still made the connection).  Dadda will be so proud!

The rest of the class time focused on a fall theme. The kids colored the outer rings of paper plates with red, yellow, orange, and green creamy crayons. Then they glued on various shapes, sizes, and colors of leaves that Ms. LouAnn had collected.

During the break, she read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert while the students had Winnie the Pook cookies and water.  For the final project, they glued a brown rectangle to a large piece of paper.  Then, Ms. LouAnn passed out sea sponges and we practiced dabbing them on the paper before she gave anyone paint.  One color at a time, the kids received red, orange, and then yellow paint to sponge onto their trees.  Finally, Ms. LouAnn showed them how to tear apart leftover leaves into little pieces and stick them onto their painted trees.  (I thought they looked great without the added leaves, but that’s okay.)

For the last activity, Ms. LouAnn revealed a tub full of balls and shapes that they pretended were leaves.  The kids had fun throwing and retrieving the ‘leaves’ from the tub over and over again.

Throughout the day, at random moments (like riding in the car), Abby would break into song.  Not just any song though, she’d sing, “No more pee-pee in my underwear!” (A little ditty that I made up in an effort to encourage… well, I guess it’s pretty obvious…

This evening I had a doctor’s appointment to follow up from my visit on August 24.  The lump in my left breast is still there, but I feel like it has changed a little – softer maybe?  They did a pregnancy test, since hormones can do all kinds of crazy things - negative.  They sent me to get blood work to see if my thyroid is to blame.  I also have to set up an appointment for a mammogram and an ultrasound to make sure what we think is a ‘collapsed cyst’ really is just that.  I’m not looking forward to my first mammogram, but I am looking forward to finding out the results!

Meanwhile, Raj and Shawn opted to play outside in the gorgeous weather rather than go to Open Gym at Gymboree.  Abby joined them with her mom and grandfather for fun time with chalk and ‘baseball.’  A great evening to be outside!

When it was time to tuck Shawn into bed, I had him read Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown to me.  It was interesting to listen to his rendition.  (I’ll definitely have to record him ‘reading’ sometime.)  Afterwards, I read it to him and he helped me fill in missing words.  When he noticed that the “old lady who whispered, ‘Hush’” was no longer in the room with the little rabbit, he asked where she went.  I explained that she went to sleep in her own room.  A little while later, we pulled up his covers, gave each other goodnight kisses, said our, “I love you – always and forever!” lines.  With the lights turned off, I sat on the ottoman next to his bed while he settled in for the night.  About five minutes later, he looked up at me and revealed, “You can go to sleep in your bed now, Momma.  It’s okay.”  Really??  Seriously??  And before he had a chance to change his mind, I kissed him one more time and left.  Good night to the little boy who grows up so fast!

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

An email to Oma, Opa, and Jennifer:

Haben Sie eine wunderbare Tag der Deutschen Einheit!
Liebe,
~ Shannon

Have a wonderful Day of German Unity!

Love,

Shannon

I've got a great excuse to have German food tonight!  I’m trying a new slow-cooker recipe and  for dessert I have brown bag apple pie, ahem, Apfelkuchen, from the Long Grove Apple Festival we went to yesterday.  Can't wait!

Slow Cooker Smoked Pork and Sauerkraut Dinner

Ingredients:

• Use 1 1/2 lb. peameal bacon roast or a smoked pork loin roast.
• Use 4 potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold because they are firmer and don't fall apart as easily.
• Use one 28 oz. can Sauerkraut, drained.
• Liquid - 1 cup of either apple juice, orange juice, or water.

Instructions:

• Put Peameal Bacon Roast and Sauerkraut in slow cooker (crock pot).
• Add peeled potato quarters to the slow cooker, making sure the potatoes are pushed well to the bottom. Potatoes need to be in liquid to cook properly. Even though there is not enough liquid in the cooker to start, there will be once it cooks for a few hours.
• Pour in about 1 cup of apple juice, orange juice, or water.
• Cook, covered on low to medium, for about 6 hours. Check your slow cooker instructions for approx. times.
• Remove potatoes, meat, and sauerkraut. Keep warm.
• Put cooking liquid into saucepan, bring to boil, and thicken with 1 - 2 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in some cold water. Use as sauce for the meal.

Serves 4.


Abby came over shortly after 7:30 am this morning, while Shawn slept in until a little after 10:00 am!  That gave Abby plenty of uninterrupted time to play with a box of books and Shawn’s new magnetic Thomas the Train book all to herself.

Gymboree’s free Bonus Class schedule changed this month, so we were left without a class today.  I had plans to take the kids to a much needed excursion to Costco, but instead, we spent the day playing at home.  Ahhh… the simple pleasures of a pile of boxes.  (I keep meaning to put these out to recycle, but I just don’t have the heart to take them away!  Maybe tonight will be the night.)  Here, they show off their favorite game – riding a Choo Choo Train!

Sometimes staying home is just as much fun, if not more, than running out to planned activities.

After a stretch of great days, potty training seems to have taken a setback today.  I feel like both Abby and Shawn are peeing every 10 minutes or so – whether they’re on the toilet or not!  Lots of clean ups today.  (sigh)  On the other hand, Abby got enough stickers on her Potty Paper to finish her sheet and take it home!

Luckily, I got a break when both went down for naps easily.  Abby woke up minutes before Bill arrived and Shawn woke as she was leaving.  It was an early wake up for Shawn, but he also went to sleep faster than he has lately.  I was a little nervous that Shawn’s sleeping in this morning was going to mess up the rest of the day, but (phew!) not the case.  He must have just needed a few more hours of shut-eye.

Grandma Fanny came over for her English lesson.  We reviewed short a and short e sounds and introduced the short i sound.  I've given her small picture cards of words that contain those short vowel sounds rather than written words and she LOVED sorting them. It helped build her vocabulary, her spelling (I had her write the words on the back), and it gave her something to practice at home between our sessions.  She has a hard time differentiating them and an even harder time getter her mouth to cooperate when trying to enunciate, but she’s such a hard worker and incredibly motivated.  What a difference it is to work with her and struggling middle schoolers!

After emailing with Jennifer, Oma, and Opa, I added soft pretzels to the German meal.  I cheated and bought some frozen from the grocery store.  Not the best, but they fit the bill. Shawn loved his!  After all the food from dinner, we didn’t have any room for the Apfelkuchen for dessert!  It’ll have to wait for another day.

Long Grove Apple Festival

Happy 142^nd Birthday to Mahatma Gandhi

Shawn and I slept in while Raj went off to tailgate for the Bears’ game.  Though I was half-awake long before, I really woke to the sounds of Shawn playing in the corner I set up for him in the computer room.  (There’s a small table, crayons, and drawers with paper, coloring books, etc.)  It’s rare for him to get out of bed on his own, not to mention wander into another room without calling for attention.  I took advantage of his independence and listened to his quiet playtime from a distance.  Eventually, he ran into greet me and we snuggled and played under the covers until the lure of eating breakfast was too strong.

This morning Shawn proclaimed, “Momma, I was a baby.  I’m bigger and bigger.  I’m a boy.  And, I’m starting to get a man.”  You are absolutely correct, just not too fast, pleeeeeease!

I had planned to spend the day at the Apple Festival in Long Grove.  But, it took a lot longer than I expected to convert the van from a harp-hauler to a child-hauler.  The fact that our neighbor’s daughter, Yazi, came over didn’t exactly speed things up.  She and Shawn decided to pull toys out of the garage, which would have been a great way to occupy Shawn while I got the van setup, but it didn’t work out that way.  I ended up chatting with her mom for a while… we investigated a praying mantis on their back window… Yazi and Shawn ended up playing in the van (though I did get her to 'play' with the hand-vacuum and suck up Shawn and Abby's stray snacks!)… and by the time I had everything ready to go, I looked up to see Raj home from the Bears’ game and we hadn’t left the house yet!  So much for spending the whole day at the festival!

Luckily, I convinced Raj to go to Long Grove with us.  We only got to spend about two hours there, but it was worth it.  Shawn got to ride a pony and a tot-sized train.  We bought a mini-caramel apple pie, full-size apple pie, a caramel apple dipped in cinnamon sugar and white chocolate, and chocolate mummy on a stick (which we ate right away - YUM)!

I took pictures of Shawn playing while we were there, but ironically...

 

...where are the apples?? (I swear it really was an APPLE fest!)

We stopped at Barnaby’s Family Inn for dinner on the way home, since the food vendors at the fest were shutting down.  It wasn’t at all what we expected, though it was certainly family friendly.  I wasn’t impressed with the food at all, but it was priced about right.  There were patrons of all ages and the parking lot was full.  (Shawn was mesmerized by a table of squealing tweens next to us.)  It was a popular place to come, but I don’t think we’ll be revisiting any time soon!

Just before bedtime, Shawn told Raj, “I have to go pee-pee!” and pulled down his pants.  Raj was busy brushing his teeth, so after he quickly escorted him into the bathroom, I helped him get onto the toilet.  And, he peed!!!  He hadn’t announced it after-the-fact, like he has in the past, he announced it BEFORE he went and was able to get to the toilet in time to actually go!  YIPPEEE!!

My Tike the Pike and a 'Season'al Wedding

Ms. Becca challenged Shawn to new swimming skills today.  While Ms. Brittany was with the other students, she coached us on blowing bubbles in the water and bobbing under water, neither of which Shawn had ever done before.  I’ve tried to get him to blow bubbles before, but he would just end up inhaling the water and choking instead. But, not today!  After practicing how to blow above the water, then on the surface, he managed to blow a few bubbles with his mouth partially under the water!!  Wa-Hoo!!!  Then, Ms. Becca positioned Shawn and me next to each other holding on to the side of the pool.  She had me show him how to go under the water and come back up, a bob.  Then Shawn did it, too!  He didn’t quite get his whole head under water, but she explained that at this level, going under up to their eyes is all that is necessary.  Fantastic!  (It’s amazing what Shawn is willing to do for Ms. Becca!)

With the successful demonstration of blowing bubbles and bobbing, Shawn got a progress report that indicated he is ready for the next level of swimming classes, Pike (withOUT parent) – under one condition, Ms. Becca has to get her director’s approval because Shawn  is not old enough.  Pike is designed for students who are ages 3-5.  After looking at the program descriptions online, I noticed that Shawn’s current level, Pike with Parent, is technically a transition class for 3 year olds who are “new to swim lessons or group participation and still need a parent to accompany them in the water.  The instructor will try to work one-on-one with each child to get them accustomed to the lesson environment.”  If he’s already technically in a level for 3 year olds, I’m hoping it won’t be too difficult to convince the director to let him move up.  The next level, Pike (without parent), is to “learn the basic paddle stroke on their front, back, and sides, kicking skills, and become comfortable with having their face in the water while blowing bubbles and swimming.”  It seems like such a huge difference from basically playing with water toys, singing songs in the pool, and a dabble of other swimming skills tossed in (depending on the teacher)!  At this point, my biggest concern is how Shawn would respond to a new teacher without me in the pool with him.  If he gets to work with Ms. Becca, I think he’d transition pretty smoothly; however, there’s no guarantee who his teacher would be and he just hasn’t responded to some of the teachers he’s already had.  When he didn’t respond to one, it wasn’t a huge deal because he’d just work with me most of the time anyway; but, at the next level of classes, I wouldn’t be in the pool with him to help.  On the other hand, he’s got to learn how to work with all kinds of people eventually, so we may as well start!

If the director won’t approve the next level, I wonder if Ms. Becca could give private lessons… either way, I’ll keep my fingers crossed…

This evening I played the harp for a black-tie-optional wedding at the Four Seasons in Chicago.  The bride is friends with the mother of a Phi Sig with whom I went to college.  (They’ve helped to pass my name around to brides-to-be a number of times.  In fact, the only times I’ve actually seen Jackie since we graduated from U of I have been at various weddings!)  I played the prelude, processional, candle lighting, recessional, cocktail hour, and during dinner at the reception.  Aside from my sore, pink fingertips and aching hands afterwards, it felt really good to ‘gig’ again.  I’ve had a few small jobs, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve had something like this.  (Not that I enjoyed navigating the maddening streets – and pedestrians - of downtown Chicago, though.)

Though I met with the bride and groom a few weeks ago to discuss the music for the ceremony, things didn’t go quite the way we had planned.  First of all, it took a LOT longer to find my way to the loading dock and security office in order to unload and use the freight elevator than I had anticipated.  Once I got to the loading dock, there was no one around to point me in the direction of where the freight elevator was!  (It’s a very unsettling feeling to be roaming the underground labyrinth of a city hotel alone!)  Once I found it, it was fairly easy to find my way to the ceremony room, but still no one was around.  No wedding coordinator or workers...  No members of the wedding party...  No officiate… Again, it was a bit eerie!  Then, I had to go back down to the loading dock to move my car.  I drove around the block (which is more complicated than it should be because of all the one-way streets) to the valets for parking.  (It’s a good thing I didn’t intend to self-park or I may have been late to the wedding!)  I had just enough time to quickly tune and warm up, during which the photographer arrived, but I still hadn’t seen anyone else! In all of my other weddings, there’s someone to touch base with or someone coordinating the event.  The bride told me that there would be someone like that today too, but they must’ve been coordinating other people because I didn’t catch a glimpse until the wedding was about to begin.

Anyway, after all of that rushing around to get there, the wedding coordinator didn’t open the doors to the ceremony room for the guests to come in.  Just a few minutes before the ceremony was to begin, a guest opened the door himself and asked if they could come in.  So, I had a few extra moments to get settled and catch my breath and I was able to save a handful of pieces to play later in the evening, since I didn’t have to play for very long prelude.  The bride requested that I play Gram’s Lullaby by Nancy Gustavson as the final piece of the prelude, as the signal that the attendants should get ready to walk down to the next song, Processional by Linda Wood.  When I got the signal from the wedding coordinator, for lack of a better title,  to begin, I played Gram’s Lullaby… and the officiate, groom, and attendants walked in!  They didn’t walk in at the beginning of the piece either - they walked in ¾ of the way through!  So, there wasn’t enough music to get them all down the aisle and it wasn’t at a point where a repeat would flow nicely, so I jumped to Processional (as the intended piece) just long enough to get the last one up to the altar.  That wasn’t exactly the way we had discussed the procession to go!  Fortunately, the rest of the ceremony went much more smoothly.

At the cocktail hour, I realized I should’ve set up in the opposite corner from where I was because there was barely enough light for me to read my music.  Luckily, the atrium was loud enough that I don’t think people really noticed my musical blindness!  During the reception, the DJ played background music and I was able to take a break while guests were getting seated and toasts were made.  The bride and groom arranged to have dinner available for me, so I ate quickly in another room while I had the chance.

When I was done playing for the evening and I was packing up my things in the atrium outside the reception hall, an old bartender handed me a glass of wine and said that my work was done.  At first I resisted, but I wasn’t exactly in a rush to go back to the loading docks, so I sat and relaxed for a few minutes.  I needed that!  I took my things to the freight elevator and talked to a very friendly security officer about leaving my harp and things in his sight.  Then, I went to the front lobby to retrieve my car from the valet.  I asked if they would deliver it to the loading dock, but because of security purposes, that couldn’t be done.  However, a valet, who had just gotten off duty, helped me find an easier (and much less scary) way to bring the freight elevator to the street level and then helped me load everything in front of the hotel, which I thought was ‘strictly forbidden’ according to the information I had received from the hotel before the wedding, but who was I to complain?!  (Just before put the harp in my van, a taxi pulled up beside me and a whole party of women poured out to come in to the hotel.  As they walked/staggered past the open trunk, they giggled and pointed at the mattress.  I cordially justified that it’s for the harp, which was just inches away, and they half-apologized.)  I thanked the generous valet profusely for all of his help… if only he had been around a few hours earlier when I had first arrived! And then, I headed home.

Shawn was still awake when I got home.  He was very excited to tell me he watched the Disney/Pixar Cars movie and ate popcorn with Daddy.  Even though it was very late, it took quite a while to let go of all the stimulation of his evening and finally fall asleep.  Eventually, I crawled into my own bed and drifted off with Gram’s Lullaby playing in my head.

Easter Egg Hunt at Loretto Convent

We slept in until 9:30 today - WOW!  When we did wake up, we couldn’t believe how warm and bright it was already.  Raj had the wonderful idea to go out for breakfast, so after quickly getting dressed, we headed to The Brunch Café for… brunch.  It’s the first time we’ve been able to get in because our other attempts have required an hour (plus) long wait for a table.  Though it seemed pretty busy this morning, we only had to wait for fifteen minutes.  Our food was fantastic.  Raj had stuffed potato pancakes with a side of sausage.  Shawn had a bowl of mixed berries (can’t go wrong there!), a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, and bites from our plates.  And, I had a huge Mediterranean omelet with feta, spinach, and sundried tomatoes, with a side of pancakes.  Everything was delicious.  We will definitely be going back… next time we get out in time for brunch!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today.  It was a perfect day to be outside at the Easter Egg hunt at the convent where Mona works.  (Although, it turned out Mona had a family emergency and wasn’t going to be there this year.)  Actually, it was even a little warm - the thermometer in my car read 86 F!

In the basement of the convent were two rooms set up for the festivities.  One room had various prizes for a silent auction as well as dozens of gift baskets for raffles.  There was also a table of pizza and salad and cookies, but most of that was already gone by the time we got there – it’s a good thing we ate a big breakfast! Down the hall was a room of activities for children.  A series of Easter themed games wound around the room (putt-putt, buckets, ring toss, dig for prizes, etc.) and the Easter Bunny was set up in a corner for pictures.  Shawn was a pretty reluctant about going near the Easter Bunny.  Each time we reached for his hand to encourage him to move closer, he’d duck out of the way.  So, Raj held him and they took the picture together.

Outside, the children lined up by age groups so the youngest ones could have a few moments of a head start so they wouldn’t be trampled by the bigger kids.  There were hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic Easter eggs scattered across the yard of the convent.  The plastic eggs had candy inside, so of all the chocolate ones had turned to mush after baking in the sun for an hour or so before the hunt started.  Any attempt to handle them just resulted in the chocolate seeping out of the wrappers.  Though I suggested putting them in our fridge, Raj didn’t think they’d make it all of the way home without turning to puddles in the car first, so all we brought home were a couple of lifesavers and Tootsie Rolls.  I was disappointed to see the chocolate wasted, but it’s probably for the best.

A little girl, who looked not quite a year old, lost interest in collecting the Easter Eggs when she found a mud puddle created by an old tire track to be much more exciting.  Taking no notice of her mom in the distance making desperate pleas for her to stop, she ran right to the juicy puddle and kicked her feet about making fantastic, brown, sludgy splashes all over her brand new Easter dress.  In her puddle splashing merriment, she lost her balance and toppled over, landing with a great splosh! in the middle of the puddle, covering any remaining inch of her Easter dress with brown goop.  The little girl’s mom was completely frozen with dismay, while she giggled with delight in her glorious mud bath.  Seeing her mom virtually distraught, all I could offer her was a partial pack of wipes that I had in my purse.  I wanted to get her a towel and some clean clothes for her daughter to change into, but my well stocked purse wasn’t quite that accommodating.

After the East festivities at the convent, Shawn napped in the car on our way to Melissa, Tom, and Blake’s house for dinner and a playdate.  We hardly ever see each other since I’m not at Blackhawk anymore, but we’re trying hard to get together when we can.  (It doesn’t help that we live 30-45 minutes away from each other now either!)  Shawn had a great time playing with Blake – and his toys.  Raj and I had a great time catching up with Melissa and Tom.  And, dinner was delicious.  Sure wish we could do it more often!

At bed time, Shawn and I traded places and he "read" me one of his favorites stories, Happy Man and His Dump Truck.  Obviously, he was just looking at the pictures and remembering a few key phrases, but he even read some of it with the same expression that I do.  It was really cute.  I’m hoping to catch it on video sometime!

An Aquatic Break Through

Shawn woke up at 7 am!  Happy as can be.  Give me a few more minutes to sleep in, buddy!  I went into his room and laid down with him, hoping he’d go back to sleep.  Instead, he sat on my hip and announced, “I’m riding a bicycle!” and when I tipped him off to the side, he giggled, “I fell of the bicycle!”  Ok.  I get it.  It’s time to play.  I’m up.

Shawn had a total BREAK THROUGH at swimming class this morning! Miss Becca gave him a floaty belt, which he’s worn once before, but this time she also gave him a floaty that looked like a long bar-bell. He loved it!  He actually reached out for it and smiled.  The combination of his belt around his chest and the bar-bell he was holding onto, I could actually let go of him (though cautiously).  I could pull him by the bar-bell and he’d giggle and smile and ask for more.  I even got him to let go of the bar-bell with one hand and splash a little with the other!  (This isn’t an issue during bath time, but he’s never really moved his arms around much during swimming lessons.)  I still couldn’t get him to kick (even when I’d tickle his feet or move his legs for him), but at least he was having fun.  About half-way through class, Miss Becca traded the bar-bell for a kick board.  It was a lot harder to hold on to, but once Shawn figured it out, he smiled and giggled on it, too.  I towed him around in circles and up and down the pool a few times.  Miss Becca pointed out that maybe he doesn’t understand what to do when we say, “Kick,” since it feels different from kicking a ball when you’re standing on the ground.  So, I’d lay on my back and kick a few splashes behind him.  It worked!  He laughed hard and started to kick!!!!  (With all the splashing, kicking, and whatnot that Shawn did today, his teeth didn’t chatter and his lips did turn as blue nearly as much as they usually do.)  Thank you, Miss Becca!

Next week is our last class, for now anyway.  In addition to getting our report cards (!), it’s “Boat Safety Day.”  Apparently, we’re going to practice putting on life vests and getting in and out of a boat.  Interesting…  I’m not really sure why this is a part of this particular class, but okay.

Now that it actually feels like a swimming lesson and not just play time in the pool (though we still sang songs and played with toys, too), I’m more willing to sign up for the next class.  I asked her about the next session of classes and if she’d be teaching it or if our original teacher would be back.  (If our first teacher is signed up for it, I think we’d pass!  Miss Becca actually looks at the skills individual kids are learning, offers the parents suggestions, and - what a concept - knows the kids’ names!  What a difference a change in the teacher has made.)  It turns out that she will be teaching the next session and there’s only a week or two break between the end of this session and the start of the next one.  I was thinking that we’d just go to the Roselle pool and do our own thing, but now maybe we will get one more session of lessons in before the outdoor pool season starts.

Today was a GORGEOUS day (60 F).  Abby came over to ask Shawn to play outside when he woke up from his nap.  Of course, they pulled out the toy lawn mower/bubble blower.  When Abby and Bill went in for dinner, Raj, Shawn, Baron, and I went for a walk to the park.  Raj showed Shawn how to climb a structure that looks similar to the rungs of a curving ladder.  I think I held my breath each time Shawn went near it.  I’d like to say that it was too difficult for his little toddler legs, shaky balance, and unsure footing, but, to my dismay, he proved he could navigate it with little more than a watchful eye and an encouraging word.  I will admit that it was exciting to watch him conquer the difficult equipment, but it’s still not exactly my favorite part of the playground for him to play on!

 

1, 2, 3, Throw the Ball!

We started the morning by running laps around living room, hallway, and dining room.  (By ‘we’ of course, I mean they – Abby and Shawn!)  I don’t know where all the energy comes from, but I think they finally wore themselves out! 

(It's my first attempt at video editing with a new program.  Now, I know how to do captions.  My next task will be to figure out cutting and trimming!  ...Sorry, this one is so long - it was too late at night for more experimenting.)

I love the “1, 2, 3, 5!” counting (around 3:12 and 3:54)!  I’m not sure what happened to 4, but it’s been missing for a while.  It’s a challenge to get Shawn to say it at all these days!  Hopefully, 4 finds its way home before too long.

Throwing the balls and running circles around me must not have worn them out too much.  They had plenty of energy to get them through a Family Play and Learn class at Gymboree.  The equipment was still set up to pretend it was a farm from last week.  Shawn and Abby love how Miss Elizabeth gets involved in the pretend play with them.  She got all the kids to squeeze under a structure so they could be animals sleeping in a barn.  It was pretty funny to watch them all try to squish under the shelter of a small parachute draped over a monkey bar set up.  Then, she sang a song that went something like this:

The (little pigs) are sleeping.  The (little pigs) are sleeping.
Please be very quiet.  Oh, be very, very quiet
If you wake them, If you shake them,
Then they’re going to (oink, oink, oink, oink, oink)!

When the “animals” woke up, all the kids would jump to their feet and shout out their proper sounds.  Miss Elizabeth must have run through this routine at least a half a dozen times with different animals that the kids suggested (most were farm related, but not all).  They had a blast. 

This evening, I had a victory on Freecycle!  I got a stack of chunky, wooden puzzles!  Most were perfect to give Shawn and Abby new challenges, but there were even a few that could wait a few years (like the states of the US)!  I think I have enough now that I can have a rotation of a couple of puzzles at a time so they don’t get burnt out from doing the same ones over and over.  (That’s what was happening with my limited selection before.)  Gotta love Freecycle!