Mr. Putter

We have reached the part of the school year where we are simply putting in time. The lesson plans are done, the tests taken and now it's all about extra recess and year book signing until we get our number of days in.

One of the ways they fill in at the elementary school is "Storybook Character Dress Up" day. I'm not a big fan of costumes, especially not ones that cost a fortune or take a week to make yourself but if it's important to my kids I try not to spoil all the fun. My kind of costumes require a $5 thrift store purchase and a little face paint.

Meet Mr. Putter.

 

If you're not familiar with Mr. Putter, he's an old man who lives alone with his cat and together they have all kinds of adventures in easy reader books. Zachary has read lots of them this year and it just seemed like a perfect match. There were no stuffed cats to me found at the thrift store but he pulled it off well anyway.

What do you think? Do you see the similarities?

The kindergarteners made their own costumes in class.

The ants go marching one by one, Hurrah, Hurrah! The ants go marching one by one....

Meanwhile, back on the funny farm, this was my project for the day. It was a perfect day to be in the berry patch and they are gorgeous and tasty this year! 28 lbs. in an hour. I would have kept going but I didn't take enough buckets.

 

Our evening treat, fresh strawberry milkshake. Mmm! 

I served these to the kids on the porch after dinner. 3 of the 4 cups made it to the table without incident, the fourth one slipped out of my hands and spilled all over the floor. No big deal, it's outside, right? I took a couple of buckets of warm water to rinse it away. But the 3rd bucket full was just too much for my old bucket handle and it snapped off just before I got out the kitchen door. Now I have milkshake on the porch, a gallon (plus) of water on the kitchen floor and a child who still didn't get dessert. While I'm grabbing every handy rag and towel, there is a moaning sound from the porch. Somebody spilled their cup, all over themselves and the bench beside them. I finally get him cleaned up and the floor dry, thinking "well, at least my kitchen floor is clean now" and that's when a small boy with dirty feet walks through the puddles on the porch and into the kitchen. Goodbye clean floor. By now what was spilled on the porch is starting to cement fast. I'm filling another container to wash the rest of the porch and the bench when I hear the neighbor lady walking up. Why of course, this is a great time to chat. HA!

No reason to cry over spilled milk{shake} here but I think we'll stick with strawberry shortcake after this. And my milkshake?  It made a great bedtime snack, when I finally had time to drink it! Hope you enjoyed this episode of "Why I never get Bored."

And since Mr. Putter still has 2 more days of time to do, he'll be up before 6 in the morning. I best be off to catch some sleep too before then, I'm kinda tired for some reason.