This week starts the NEW ACADEMIC YEAR at NALC. Where did the Summer go? I have been so busy and had good intentions of keeping the blog current, but I have been so so sooooo busy.

Can you believe that 2018 is gone and now we are stepping into 2019? Where did the year go? Besides that, it stands as a reminder that we really need to make much of the time because it is gone way too fast. Maybe we should go into the new year with "fresh eyes" and see how we can make more of each new day that we are given.

I want this year to be the best one ever. I want us to see so many great things come to be. I know that you have the very same wish and desire.

I hope you have the very best start to a very new year.

                                                                                                     -gomey

This Saturday, June 23rd, is the First Summer Carnival for NALC. It is sure to be a hit and more than likely will be repeated each Summer.

The event is scheduled for 9:00 am - 12:00 Noon and will feature games that are not usually seen at our Annual Fall Festival. There will also be baked items and a watermelon eating contest.

Wow, it seems like it was just yesterday that we were having graduation and looking forward to the new group of kids for our Pre-K Program and BAM...here we are again on the threshold of another Graduating Class.

So many of the Pre-K kids have been with us for a long time.

Kinley Brown, the Owner's "little girl" will be graduating in May and she was a "very little baby" when the Center was being made ready to become a Daycare Facility.

I remember us working on the rooms and painting walls and working to open the center and Kinley was a baby in a carrier...Look now...she will be graduating from the Pre-K program and starting Kindergarten this Fall at White Plains Elementary School. (This is the same school that her older sister, Avery, attends.)

It will be bitter-sweet as we watch the little ones walk across that stage and take their diploma. Time goes way too fast.

Where did February go? Here it is only a couple of days until March. Turn around and June will be here. 

I had great intentions of posting here every day...LOL...that has not happened. It was a good idea at one time.

The March menu has been posted. It looks yummy.

​As for me, I hope that there is no more cold weather. I have had my fill. Enough is enough.

The boys and girls will have pictures with Santa on Tuesday, November 7th at NALC.

Look for a reminder note soon.

Our annual Fall festival will be on Friday, October 27th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm

This is always a fun time for family and friends to come and enjoy this fun filled night at NALC.

What can you do to help?
-We can always use bags of candy to give out to the kids. Some will also be used on Tuesday, October 31st as the classes go from class to class and Tric-or-Treat.

-Donations of money is welcomed to give us the opportunity to purchase specific items that we may need for the festival.

It has been a while since I have written a blog. Time just slips away and here we are in the month of May. This is the month that the Pre-K Class graduates. Thirteen of our sweet children will be going to Kindergarten this Fall in our local school system. I am sure that their parents are asking, "Where did my little child go?" They are no longer babies and it is time for the next step in their lives.

Graduation will be on Thursday, May 18th at 6:30 pm at Hillcrest Baptist Church.

You may be wondering...Where is that Blackbird? I guess it is singing in the dead of night.

Take care!   -gomey

Where does the time go?

Here it is almost Valentine's Day and I have not written on the blog in what seems like ages.

Tomorrow will be the Valentine's Parties. There will be candy galore and excited little boys and girls.

I have been very good about staying away from candy, but it would be rude to not eat candy from the kids, right? I do not want to upset them.

So, tomorrow, I will forget my control and eat candy...for the kids that is. It is all for the kids. I will be the bigger person, or become the bigger person.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I don't know about you, but we live on a high hill and we got hit hard with ice this past Friday. In fact, we could not come down the hill until Monday morning. Fortunatley, we went to the store on Thursday evening and stocked up on the essentials...You know...like MIlk and bread and cookies and cakes and pizza and ice cream and biscuits and soup and canned drinks and something else. I can't remember it all. 

A person has to be prepared. Plus, you need to put on a little weight during a freeze so that you stay warm.We did our part to keep it up so that none of us would freeze to death.

Whew...it was close.

Let me say this...Thank the Good Lord for Netflix. (I am not sure that God really cares about Netflix, but it sounds better if I say it that way.) Our house did not get bored at all, but we all watched our favorites. Want to know what we watched?

I watched every episode of "Stranger Things." Let me say that it was "strange" and creepy and it could be a little scary at times. I really liked it. I would like to know more about the lab and why the creature was there. Maybe I missed something.

Karla watched some show set in the South. I have totally forgotten the name. 

How was your day? We had a really good Thanksgiving at the "gomey house." I got up around 6:00 am and got ready to cook. The ingredients were in the pantry and I placed them on the counter in groups, making sure each item was ready for use.

Of course, every year I say, "This is going to be a small food day. I am not going to cook as much as usual."

"WRONG!" 

I did the usual and even doubled and went above double amounts so there would be plenty to eat, with left-overs.

The "gomey house" had Ham, Chicken and Dressing, Giblet Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Potato Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Veg-All Casserole, Broccoli Casserole, Macaroni and Cheese, Rolls, and drinks. 

Dessert was Coconut Cake, Sweet Potato Pie, and Pumpkin Pie. The Coconut Cake was simply "amazing."

We ate around 12 Noon and probably sat at the table for over an hour talking and remembering days with my MOM. My dad was with us and enjoyed the talk and laughter. My mom loved days like this, when family was together eating, talking, and laughing. So, if a person can be somewhere "in spirit," my mom was there. We always end up talking about her and laughing about something from the past years.

My mom was very passionate about the things she loved. More later...

It has been busy, busy, and busy at NALC lately. I hate that I have not posted in a while, but it has been busy. Not only do we have a lot of children to feed each day, but we have this time of year that seems to fly so very fast.

We will be having our NALC Thanksgiving meal with the kids on November 17th. That is the time for my Chicken and Dressing, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, and Dessert. (This is the "one" special meal that is open to Arctic parents and grandparents.)

Why the 17th? Actually, some of the boys and girls go out of town during the actual Thanksgiving week. So, we eat the week before and enjoy that Pre-Thanksgiving Time at NALC. For me, it makes me get even more excited about Thanksgiving.

Why is the meal not open to ALL parents? *It is very difficult to open this meal to all classes because the younger children do not understand why a parent or grand comes to eat and then leaves. In the past, it just proved to be too traumatic for the younger kids. (Please, parents of younger children, understand that we do this with the best-in-mind for the children.) 

To the younger children, this is just another day at their daycare facility. Yes, I say "their" because to these children, they have ownership. Like the song, most could say "Welcome to My house..."

Thanks so much for everyone that donated and gave to help make the Fall Festival a success. We could have not done it without you. Thank You for coming and participating. The children loved it.

I have been really busy and have not left a blog in a while. It just seems like the days are flying and there is so much to do each day.

As for me, I get here around 7:00 am each morning and dive right into preparing Breakfast for some hungry "little kids." If you ever want to see what the boys and girls are going to eat, please click on Menu and scroll down. You will see what I have planned for the month.

Sometimes, on rare occasions, I pull a flip with the food and change one day for another day. It usually happens on a day that I am in a rush and need to do a meal that is a little easier to prepare. The days that I do grits it takes pretty much the entire time to get the water going and cook grits. My goal is to be rolling my food-cart out of the kitchen at 7:30 am on the dot to take breakfast to the Arctic, Jungle, Forest, and Farm. It is more critical to get it served fast because those rooms want to start "Circle Time" as close to 8:00 am as possible.

Grits: Did you know that your child loves gomey-grits. Honest, they scarf those things down and love every bite. I had one little girl say that my grits were much better than her grandmother's grits. (Grandma does instant. I do the Quick 5 minute grits. They just taste better. By the way, that grandmother knows what was said. She is okay with it.)

The Ocean, Space, Beach and Park are on the second-shift of breakfast because they can wait a little longer. By the time that I enter the Ocean, the kids are ready for some "Gomey Time" and want to eat their breakfast. I usually start the day with a greeting and of course, I often dance and sing for the kids. That is just how I do it. LOL

If I got money for all the times that the children say that I am the best cook in the world, I would probably be living at the beach in the home that I purchased with their love and kind words. I guess you could say I am the luckiest guy on earth. No one ever complains about my food.

Have a great day! Week! Weekend! or Afternoon.

​                                                                                                                                                 -gomey

It is that time of year and we are excited, but we are also tearful. Some of our boys and girls will be starting Kindergarten this week and will no longer be children in our facility. It just seems so different to not see their faces every day. 

Congratulations to the students entering the Public School System. We know that you will have a great time and enjoy learning more things. You are amazing!

*There is still room in our Pre-K room for parents that wish to have an amazing program that will prepare your child for entering Kindergarten next year. Give us a call or drop by for a visit.

Earlier, we had a child "pre-tested" in the Oxford School System and the teacher said the child was "well-ready" for Kindergarten. That was such good news to hear. That is just how good our Pre-K Program is at NALC. It is going to be even better this year.