Apples to Applesauce

The great thing about apple picking? It's so much fun! The bad part about apple picking? Consuming a bag of 16 apples before they go bad.

My Jr.K lesson last week was making applesauce in class with one apple from each kid's bag. I bought the perfect applesauce-making picture book by Eden Ross Lipson, Applesauce Season, which had the recipie imbedded in the story. Amazing! The kids got to chop, mash, and enjoy.

This, however, did not solve my own apple surplus problem at home. I'm not that big on applesauce. I don't care for apple pie. And I cannot stand apple crisp. Luckily, I remembered an old, old, recipe from the famous Erin Phraner: Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies! Yes, folks. I made my own applesauce, then made my own cookies! Our little Brooklyn kitchen is really gettin' its groove on. It officially smells and tastes like fall!

Field Trip!

Four-year-olds make everything fun. I'm convinced. This week, the whole JK trekked out to Dr. Davie's Farm to go apple picking! I'm not even the biggest fan of apples, and I had a blast. Picking apples, eating on the grass, a hayride, and being able to wear jeans to work -- What could be better?

No Work and All Play

Jr. Kindergarten is a great place to be when you act like a five-year-old on a daily basis. I'm teaching my first full lesson tomorrow on sharing with the help of Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss! I plan on sharing my scooters and legos, as you can see by my beautifully crafted antlers... 

Back to School

Tomorrow is my first day of Junior Kindergarten! 32 little four-year-olds will be marching in (or clinging to mom and crying in) to our classroom and I couldn't be more excited! Oh, and in case you need someone to play with...

For Jonathan

I love my brother. Since there is a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, I think Brothers & Sisters Day should be celebrated, too. I can't really explain why, but it was incredibly sad to leave my brother this weekend. Who needs Labor Day? Here's to Brother's Day.

A New Chapter

Tomorrow, I start my first full-time job here. 

Am I really an adult already? 

Nerd Alert

Stamps are boring. Why collect stamps when you can collect ticket stubs? 

Since way back in 2000, I've been keeping all sorts of ticket stubs and shoving them in a plastic baggy. Until today, when they all got a major upgrade into a scrapbook! Yes, that's right, it was a hobby-tastic afternoon as I organized all my tickets in chronological order. The sad part is, I really enjoyed it. Not only did it cater to my mild OCD tendencies, but it was like taking a walk down memory lane. I didn't realize how nostalgic a simple ticket stub could be!

This is one of my favorite pages -- It has the first Broadway show I ever saw, Cabaret, the first annual New Hampshire Theatre Awards, my friend Jared's show at Walnut Hill from back in the day, and the little green one is from the movie Hellboy. Not the best movie by a long shot, but I remember thinking it would take some real luck to have that little stub survive the "collection." But it did! Brave little fella. 

I'm so proud of my little collection. Of course, it will probably sit on my shelf with all my other scrapbooks and photo albums, but maybe it's something the grandkids can appreciate someday...