Child Gardening

Wow Julius’ first week at kindergarten!  And Patricia’s first week at preschool!  Will took Patricia to school on her first day and she was very (understandably) confused and sad that she wasn’t heading to preschool with Julius.  We decided to keep her at her school for another year since she is still 3 years away from Kindergarten, and we thought was technically too young for preschool but then we found out they were moving her up a class in her school.  So now she’s in preschool!  My kiddos are both so big now!

For some weirdness, Patricia is the age Julius was during the pandemic when we were drowning and watching him/plopping him in front of the tv while we worked from home.  Ah memories.  Honestly the one good thing about those times is that I got to spend a lot of time with Julius.  I took Julius in the mornings, so Will got up early and worked and I took Julius on walks or did outside play or went to the farm and picked fruit until my first meetings at 10am.  Then I’d work until late, usually stopping to put Julius to bed, but frequently just eating dinner at my desk.  (Which was pretty depressing, not going to lie.) Will was the real hero for doing the brunt of the childcare during the work day.

But alas, now we have two big kids!  It’s so bittersweet.  I am so proud watching them grow, but where have my adorable babies gone?  Honestly, I’ve never been that into babies, except my own, and I think the toddler years are my very favorite.  This is part of the reason I was so horrified she’s a preschooler now.  No more toddler?! I told Will that when Julius was Patricia’s age we treated Julius like a big kid because he looked so grown up compared to when he was a baby (our only comparison).  But now, looking back at pictures from that time he was really just a little guy!  We put a lot of pressure on that little guy.  For Patricia we have a constant side by side comparison with big brother Julius, so she’s always going to seem like our little lady.  So she gets away with a lot more than Julius did, and everything she says right now is still so darn cute.  For instance, she dropped some cheese on the floor the other day and she asked Alexa, “Lexa, can Dany eat cheese?”   (We’ve been teaching her that many things are not safe for dogs to eat.)

Well, here are my two big kiddos off to school.  I made them this back to school chalkboard, modified from one I got for three dollars at Savers.  I made it reusable so we can fill in “first” or “last” day of school.  (We’ll see if I remember.)  I love my little nuggets and I’m so proud of them both!

Patricia’s first day of Preschool!

Julius’s first day of Kindergarten!

First/Last Day of School Sign

What you’ll need:

• Chalkboard (I modified a bistro chalkboard I got at savers).
• Cricut and my pattern here
• White permanent adhesive vinyl (I used oracal, which I haven’t used before but was the cheapest at Michaels)
• Transfer paper

0. First I modified the bistro chalkboard I got by removing the hardware, chopping off the feet, and fixing up the paint to match.

Before

After

1. Make sure your chalkboard is clean and dry.
2. Load the pattern I provided above onto your cricut (note – my chalkboard is 11″x14″ so you might need to modify it to fit your chalkboard)
3. Place adhesive vinyl on regular grip 12″x24″ mat.  Cut pattern.
4. Weed the while spaces (everywhere but the dots and letters and banner.
5. Using a brayer, press a piece of transfer tape over the design, gently peel the back off the adhesive vinyl so it sticks to the transfer tape.
6. Position transfer tape with design over the chalkboard, then press down to adhere.
7. Use the brayer again to really press the vinyl onto the chalkboard.
8. Gently remove the transfer tape.