Oops...there went half of January!

The holidays seemed to get away from me pretty quick this year.  Or I should say blogging about the holidays and after seemed to get away from me pretty quick.  This year was pretty similar to past years.  Christmas Eve mass, with dinner and gifts at Vicky's.  Then Christmas morning at our house, so Santa can come and visit.  Then Christmas afternoon and evening dinner with my folks for my birthday and gifts, and then the day after it was ice skating, dinner and gifts at Jerry's house.  It just so happened that Russ's alumni hockey game was that morning, so we watched Russ skate at his old home rink while the kids and I huddled under my new fleece Bears blanket, also under the barely warm heaters.

The next day was Vicky's 12/12/12 birthday celebration so that everyone could come and visit.  We saw some out-of-town guests that we don't get a chance to see very often and got ready for Trevor's hockey practices and games.  Gwen had caught yet another cold, so we spent 120 minutes at the minute clinic to get a prescription for an ear infection before driving out to the lake for New Years weekend.  We got to see a few more families there before heading back on New Years Day since the kids had school the next day and my parents left for Florida that morning.

The kids got spoiled and the family got some new toys that we are still trying to work the kinks out of.  But it was a wonderful holiday season to spend as a family.  It was hard to get thrown right back into the heavy routine of all the activities the kids have.  I decided to finally cave and let the kids try out the after school program that working families sometimes use.  I knew it would save me a trip to school on Mondays since Trevor already stays after for Chess club and also knew I couldn't get away with only letting Gwen use it since Trevor had been asking too.  So now, twice a week, I get an extra hour and a half without the kids.  Assuming the weather is nice enough, the kids also have the option of going outside and being on the playground.  Gwen used that to its full potential on her first day and was complaining that I should leave again to give her more outside time.  It's a pretty sweet deal for me!

Russ went on a little vacation with his dad and brother to play baseball with the Twins.  Sounds like they had a blast and only got rained out one day.  He was gone 10 days, over the stretch of two weekends.  That was a strange adjustment having him gone on the weekends.  Poor Gwen didn't like all the extra hockey things she had to come along for.  Trevor ended up asking to not play in a hockey game on Saturday because he came down with a bad cold.  I was watching for a fever, but it never occurred, thankfully.  Even with most of the entire day that we never left the house, it was such an exhausting two weekends.  But it does keep the time flying by.

Now, since the holidays are over, it is already time to start thinking about the summer.  By the end of the month, the summer programs are usually published and we already have the traveling baseball tryout dates.  It always makes me feel a little warmer to start pushing forward towards summer, after the holidays.  There is a lot to get done to make it through to that point next!  

Trevor growing up

Since the wonderful Monday luck that I had a little over a week ago, many things have changed.  Mostly our luck...but we'll start with the first big event.  Trevor had a well-check for being 9 years old.  Not really surprisingly, the kid is growing up, literally, quite fast.  I was asking if he would please start to slow down, at which the doctor explained that no...he goes faster before finally slowing down.  So he's now less than a foot away from over taking me.  92nd percentile for height and 76th percentile for weight.  Not exactly a string bean, but he's leaned out over the years.  We had a little conversation about how he'll probably be the tallest one in our immediate family and I don't think the idea really makes sense to him.  I'm guessing its one of those things you can't really imagine what it would be like to be that big.  I don't know that I ever really thought about it.  I was usually one of the tallest girls in my class.  Anyway....it was a good appointment and we had some good conversations about what is expected for his age.

Then, this past week, the kids have been pretty pumped to get close enough to Christmas to see it coming within a week.  Unfortunately, Gwen got a bad cold starting on Monday night.  She had a low grade fever, and didn't have any energy on Tuesday.  So I explained she wouldn't be going to school.  She was SO mad at me.  She was crying "Mommy, PLEASE can I go to school.  I REALLY want to!"  Man, if I could have recorded that conversation to play for her later.  It really gives me a peace of mind that we made the right choice for her this year.  She got better that day and night so she was able to go to school the next day.  So on Wednesday when she went to school so was so happy.

As a side note to all of this:  Russ and I volunteered to help with the winter party in class on Thursday.  They were playing a game that put the kids in a line to hand the game to the player sitting behind them.  The class spontaneously chanted "cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-CHA" while sitting down and their teacher remarked...."this class is so fun...they will be remembered as the class that spontaneously breaks out to cha-cha."  Russ and I see it too.  The kids get along very well as a class, have fun and still know how to get down to business and do what is expected of them.

So on Wednesday, our traditionally busy day, we went from school to swimming to religion class.  Trevor reported that he got two rocket rewards that day...at the beginning of the school day.  The kids got their last day of swimming classes in, and we had to run to church after eating a quick dinner in the car so they could practice for Christmas Eve mass: bringing the nativity characters up to the manger.  We made it just in time to practice and then get back home for a half hour before religion.  This religion class was really just their Christmas party, which I volunteered to help for.  When I got to his class, it turned out that they had more than enough people to help organize the snacks for the party.  So we tried to get as much done as we could, but there was a lot of waiting around.  Then my special time happened.  The religion leader came in looking for someone to help drive a person that came in for confession, but broke their key off in their car lock and needed a ride back home to get their spare set of keys.  I jumped at the chance.  It was a perfect opportunity to pay it forward since I was the one in need just a week prior.  The woman offered to pay me for gas, but I declined.  She then said that she would pray for me and my family, and that was something I could accept.  She needed a ride about 5 miles away and back, but we got back in plenty of time to do what was needed to help for the party.

I had a chat with Trevor about how lucky I felt to be able to pay my help back to someone that needed it.  Because of his day of rocket rewards, and my luck he thought maybe it was just a lucky day for the Johnson family.  I said that because of Gwen being able to get back to school that day, I knew she would agree that it was a great day for her as well.  We decided that because Russ was in town to enjoy the day, that would be his lucky day as well.

So the kids are now off of school until next year.  It started off with Gwen having a difficult sleeping night last night with her cough but she seems to be handling it ok.  Trevor has been playing Ninjago/Lego Friends with her nicely for most of the morning and we have activities to get them through most of the next week.  Christmas will be here quick!  Happy Holidays everyone!

Starting our Christmas season

This year, we have just started our Christmas season, but already done so much in the way of changing things a little bit here or there.  First off, on Black Friday we happened to go and see Wreck it Ralph at a nearby mall, and when we came out, we noticed Santa's line was really short, so rather than find another day to come out and visit, we went and saw him.  I put the photograph in the frame this weekend and noticed that we only missed one year, the year Trevor was 2.  But we've seen the same Santa for all but one year.  Usually it is some time in December but I'm happy not to have to make another trip out there.

Speaking of Santa, I finally gave in to Trevor's asking about Santa.  I have read about parents writing a letter to their kids about Santa and have a blogging friend that used one last year for her daughter that seemed to fit well with us (Thanks Erika!).  Here's what it said:

Dear Trevor, 

You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?” 

I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say. 

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa. 

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Dad helps, too.) I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights. 

This won’t make you Santa, though. Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch. 

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments. 

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy. 

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible. 

Before you go around telling your sister, or friends that there is no Santa, be careful because believing in Santa is all about believing in a Christmas miracle, and destroying someone else’s belief is a very sad thing to do.  If someone asks me if I believe in Santa, I honestly say “YES” because I do believe in all the Christmas miracles that the idea of Santa brings.  I don’t know if this helps you understand why there is a belief in Santa until you are a parent, but hopefully it is a start.

So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too. I love you and I always will. 

Love, Mom

He didn't get the letter before we visited him, but he also didn't say anything that I'm aware of.  I also didn't give him the letter before his sleepover party on Thursday night, but I did hear the boys talking about it that night.  I hope Trevor didn't ruin anyone's Christmas spirit!  So when he read the letter, he seemed very happy and told me that he wouldn't go spilling the beans to anyone else.  He thinks that when Gwen knows, we'll stop doing a lot of the traditions that make Christmas fun.  

What is interesting about this whole thing to me though, is that we still have our Elf on the Shelf (Frankincense) that comes around and I think...like his toys, he still has a hard time fully believing that they don't come to life when we aren't watching.  A few months ago he told me that he can't throw away his character toothbrushes because of what happened in Toy Story 3.  He has such an imagination that while he has loved to create his own stories with his toys, its hard to switch off that imagination switch when it comes to seeing the toys portrayed as real things when no one is watching.

Gwen has been loving the Christmas changes in our house and taking full advantage of the new music selections on both the radio and the CDs that we have.  Her favorite is a Kids Bop Christmas CD that we have already listened to 5 times and it has only been out for 3 days.  Her dance class is starting to prepare for their Winter Show in January, and they are performing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" but if she hears the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, she actually still remembers most of the moves from that recital as well.  

We have only seen 2 movies of our Christmas collection - both Grinch movies.  She has been playing with the Christmas ornaments and as a side note, we were putting the ornaments up and Trevor opened his Lightning McQueen and Toy Story ones, and saying that they didn't have hooks on them.  I explained that he never let us put hooks on them because he always played with them instead, so he took them out of the box and put them by the doll house to be used as a toy.  Gwen, of course, picked up right where he left off.  She undecorates and redecorates the tree.  She has a lot of princess ornaments and so with the lights, they put on a show...usually some kind of dance number.  Now that Frankincense is here, she also wants to give him part of her Advent Calendar chocolate the way Trevor has the past few years.  At least, that is what she said this morning...and then she ate both pieces.  

She also is enjoying the books that come out too.  I somewhat forgot about those and got more library books so I've read her favorite books, but she has some other new books (American Girl Doll books) that we have been reading as well.  

So with all that, I believe we are in the Christmas spirit.  The kids are again slotted for bringing up Mary and Joseph for the manger scene at church on Christmas Eve.  This will be Trevor's last year bringing a character.  He can bring other things, but they listed pre-k to 3rd grade.  His comment is, why does church have to be so long that day?  He's used to Children's Liturgy where the kids get to go out of the service to have their own discussion about the readings.  It's a nice break for them so that they don't have to be still for the entire hour.  But that doesn't happen on Christmas Eve.  Hard to believe it's only 3 weeks away.  I gotta get on the shopping bandwagon!  I'm probably very behind!

Thanksgiving dinner

Well, we made it through another event of this part of the year.  We are a little over halfway done with the busiest four months...at least from my perspective.  I decided to not go out into the Black Friday abyss because there wasn't anything on anyone's list that we had to have, so it made the day a little less stressful.  Since stores are now opening Thursday evening, there seems to be a little pressure to get everyone home to get back out the door to the stores.

I am off topic, yet again.  The kids only had school Monday and Tuesday this week.  Gwen had her usual dance lesson, and both kids had their swimming lessons on Wednesday evening, but no chess or religion.  Plus, Russ was home all week so it didn't seem so unmanageable, but as always, time flies by.  As sort of a treat for the kids, since we didn't have to rush out of swimming lessons, I let them play in the leisure pool area for a while after their lessons.  Both kids were really looking forward to that.  Gwen passed her shallow water swim test, so I didn't even have to be in the water with her.  She was THRILLED!  She is to the point now where she can float on her own and swim about 5 yards unassisted both on her front and back and loves to be in the water.  I don't know if she will need her swim vest in Florida...although I'm guessing she will want it for confidence-sake.

The school also had its family breakfast, bright and early on Tuesday morning.  Gwen got a taste of eating a meal at the cafeteria, which I think she is really looking forward to doing next year.  I don't know what of the lunch meals she actually will feel like eating, but she knows its an advantage of being in 1st grade or older.

So Thursday comes....with the help of my mom, the house is reasonably organized and clean.  I only had to go to the grocery store 3 times that week.  And one more this weekend because of Trevor's birthday gathering.  Apparently, the turkey I got could have been larger, due to the fact my daughter decided she was going to eat practically all the dark meat off of the bird by herself.  "More Butterball Turkey, please!" she said more than twice.  Trevor ate a bunch of mashed potatoes, which I have never seen him eat and I believe he also ate a slice of banana cream pie?

We all fit at the large table....a little snug, but at least we didn't have a kids table this year.  Perhaps next year, as Trevor's birthday falls on the day before Thanksgiving, so for the next two years we are going to have to have his party on Thanksgiving.  Just something to think about for next year, family ;-)  But it was a good time.  I was thinking back....I believe that was my 11th turkey I had made.  Would have been 12 but I had a little surprise turkey of my own that foiled those plans.  But I must say, it has finally become easier and I have a certain level of confidence about it.  I know how to make the stuffing, and know about how long it will take to cook the turkey and clean it....I don't think I will ruin it anymore.  Yes, a disaster could happen, but my nervousness has decreased over the years.

So thank you to everyone who was able to come and join us this year.  We are blessed with so much health and happiness and have a great time.  There are two more celebrations - one as a big gathering, one as a small family for a certain birthday kid.  More to come on that.  Bottom line....I'm not willing to admit he has now hit the age where he is halfway to being an adult....*sigh*  Doesn't help that both kids have been breaking out the old photo albums and remarking how young everyone looked.  Well yeah....now that it's been 8-9 years since those pictures were taken.....

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Last day of the Holiday Break

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to all!  It is hard for me to believe that over a week ago was our Christmas celebrations and two days ago was our New Years celebration.  Time has really flown.  The kids, I think, had a great time at all of our celebrations.  We had Christmas Eve mass where the kids got to bring up two pieces of the manger scene:  This year it was Mary and Joseph.  Although it wasn't baby Jesus, and I knew both of them wanted to bring it up, I thought it best that neither of them should do it.  So they did their part and we had fun with Derek and Kyrsten, Kyrsten's family, Bubba, Papa, Brian and our family.  In order to save seats for the entire group, Trevor and I walked (because the weather was SO nice) to church an hour before it started.  While walking to church, Trevor says something to the effect of, "Mom, you look really fancy.  In fact, if someone saw us walking down the street right now, they would think you looked really fancy." He then started talking about wanting to get me a smoothie which I wasn't sure where it was coming from, but I really enjoyed our short walk to church. 

We headed out to Grandma's house for our yummy crab and prime rib dinner with the exchanging of gifts.  It always is a great way to wish each other a very Merry Christmas!  The kids made out with some fun Star Wars and artsy toys as well as some clothes.  As always we had to rush home in order to be back before Santa came to our house that evening. 

Also as usual, Trevor was up around 7 and stayed in our bed with us until we allowed him to wake Gwen up at 7:30.  Gwen got her big Cinderella doll she asked Santa for, and Trevor got his video games he wanted.  Trevor got a bunch more diary type books and a few board games to play as well.  Before long, it was off to Bubba and Papa's house to have the next Christmas and my birthday celebration.  We brought over a few favorite things from Christmas and were off for an overnight.  It makes more sense to not have to rush back home when it is easy to hang out there for the night.  So we played a game of dominoes and left in the morning to do our fourth Christmas.  After that, the kids and Russ with the rest of the family got to do their skating time.  Gwen quickly tried to figure out how to skate on her own.  She's not quite there yet, but she learned a lot in a short time. 

The time between that evening when we were finally able to be at home to organize and clean until now seems to have passed in a blur.  We did get out to see Chipwrecked at some point, as well as take the tree down and put away all Christmas decorations, so we really are ready.  Now it is just about deciding what to play with or what to do next.  We went out to the lake house for New Years but even that felt like it was two seconds rather than two days.  I know I was really worried about how the kids were going to do this break, but it seems to have worked out well.  Perhaps it was the change of toys and the want to play with someone else.  I'll take it though.  Now, if I could fast forward to March I'd be good.  January can often be too cold and depressing for me.  Only 62 days until our vacation, which doesn't sound too far away!  Yay!  Just a few more finalizing details that I can work on and we will be all set. 

So bring on 2012!  It's going to be a great year for us all, I have a feeling!

One crazy week

It was a busy week for us, ending on a "last day of being 7" for the young man.  Both kids had school until Wednesday this week and the only activity that didn't happen was Chess club on Monday.  I'm sure Trevor would have wanted it to happen, but at least we were able to keep mostly busy until Thanksgiving.  The kids even had swimming lessons on Wednesday, and I'm sure because most people left for the weekend, she had a private lesson.  Trevor had a few less kids in his class as well. 

Thanksgiving Thursday went off without a hitch...I think.  I did my usual turkey, stuffing, rolls, green been dish.  The kids were kind enough to help with the cleaning the night before and day of.  We had a houseful of 15 people, still missing a few folks but had a good time.

This year Black Friday started Thanksgiving evening.  I picked up a good friend at 10pm and we didn't get back home until about 3:30am.  Strangely enough, I didn't pick up anything more than some stocking stuffers for Christmas, mostly some REALLY good deals on home stuff and some snowpants for Trevor since his have gone missing.  We went from Toys R Us to Herbergers to Kohls to Target.  Kohls was a complete disaster and the one store I could have done without.  Herbergers was the one I came out of thinking that I got a really good deal and it was very well run.  It was a very different night than in the past because of how early the stores were open.  I do think I like it better this way because I could come home and sleep for a little while before the kids woke up.  It did take me most of the day to recover from everything that had happened that day. 

So the rest of the day was pretty low key...finishing up the cleaning...laundry....just relaxing....then Trevor and Russ were going to go to the Wild game, but Trevor decided he didn't want to go.  So Russ took Gwen instead.  I thought Trevor was going to get upset, but he didn't.  He genuinely didn't want to go.  So he and I had a little time to ourselves.  I decided I wanted to have a little date night with him, and we went to California Pizza Kitchen.  He said he was going to be embarrassed only with one other person, but when we got there, and he saw that it wasn't like a table for 10 and only the two of us, he was good.  I had a very peaceful and pleasant conversation with him.  Because we were at a mall, I also asked him to come and get his Christmas sweater with me because I knew they were still having good sales.  That spawned some questions about if I like to shop or not.  I know I have said it before, but I really need to do that more often.  The night ended with us chatting right before he went to bed about what a good time we both had that night.  And I also know that Gwen had a great time too. 

And now it is Saturday.  We spent the morning seeing the new Muppet movie, and I was VERY VERY happy.  I'm glad I had the kids watch the Muppet Show because a lot of it references that as well as a bunch of the Muppet movies.  The kids are familiar with The Muppets Take Manhattan but none of the other ones.  And I know they probably didn't appreciate the 80's music as I did, but WOW....I have a big appreciation for Jason Segel.  I watched him on SNL and learned he co-wrote the story and if that guy doesn't have a perfect understanding of the Muppets I don't know who does.  I hope they do well with the movie!

And now we begin the preparations for the kid to turn 8.  I think I'm ahead of the game and feeling pretty good about being ready for tomorrow.  More to come tomorrow on that event.

July is over before I know it

So with all going on this month, I knew it was going to get away from me. We have already been through the 4th of July, another weekend, and are at the lake for the first chance to be on the lake all year. Too bad the weather was horrible or we had scheduling conflicts until now to be able to get out here.

So short and sweet, our 4th of July was mostly spent at home getting caught up with yardwork, housework, and some "office" work. With the weather finally getting hot, we have been able to be out in the backyard but have found out that all our blow-up toys have holes in them. I'll have to run back and see if I can get some more cheapo things because Gwen can stay outside for a good chunk of time if she has some water to play with.

We did spend a day out at a local winery. It was a beautiful day, and although the drive out and back was a little long, we were able to visit with the great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and owners of the winery. This is the business that I currently do some part-time bookkeeping for, so it was nice to be able to put all my thoughts as real sights.

Trevor had the week of the 4th off from his parks program and he used it to heal from his ankle injury as well as getting better from a summer cold. Prior to the 4th, we had went out to the Mall of America and both kids went on as many rides as they could go on during the afternoon. My cousin and her family were in town and the kids enjoyed having someone to ride on rides with. Gwen was ready to go on any ride that she was tall enough for, and Trevor actually found a ride he is too tall for, so he would go on the crazy-wild Rollercoaster while the little kids went on their bumper cars.

So we have some time at the lake this week, a wedding, a shower, and then the end of the year baseball tournament for Trevor. It is going to be a fast flying month!

Proud parent moments

Well, I guess if this week had a theme, it would be that both kids have really stepped it up and in school really given their parents something to be proud of. On Thursday, Gwen had her end of year conferences, and we got a very good report. She is smart and even pretty well balanced emotionally. She needs a few reminders during some activities, but I have to remember that she is a full year younger than Trevor was when he was in the same level of preschool. I know she really gets how to play with others well, as a result of playing with Trevor. She may not be the angelic child when she gets frustrated with him, but it only happens with him, never with any of her classmates or playmates.

The way that they are playing is taking a turn for the better in that I'm happy that they have stopped being so physical. It isn't completely gone, but it is far less often than it used to be. Now, it has turned to the whining and complaining directly to me. I am sticking to my guns and explaining that the kids have to work it out between themselves, but it can grate on the nerves, especially this week.

Trevor has decided to take part in the no screen time for a week this week. He has gone every day so far, and I think with as busy as we are, the rest of the weekend will be fine. It has led to more time with each other, hence the headaches this week but if it helps for future events, I'll deal with it. Trevor's substitute teacher has not yet even given him one of his reminder sheets. I think we are already down to 7 weeks of school left. Hopefully we can continue his streak. He took a standardized test before spring break that we got the results of this week, and he did very well. I think I may get more details than the information that was given to us, but it looks like he may be going to be in a gifted and talented class next year.

Silly me and my sickness but I didn't get the Easter decorations out until yesterday. I guess it was a little of a good thing though because their Easter baskets came out, with the plastic eggs and that has been the newest game. One gets to be the Easter bunny and hide all the plastic eggs and the other then gets to find them. It has been proving to be a good few hours of fun.

A New Year, a New Schedule

Well, I knew the time would come where I was beginning to feel like I'm getting the kids involved in a lot...perhaps too much....of activities. However, I believe one of my strengths is the ability to plan and be organized. There are some times of the day and week where I consider it very close to non-negotiable. I also take great care to try to avoid activities being scheduled for the same kid back-to-back on a continual basis. There are also things that I can tell the kids would love to do, or get a lot of benefit out of, so I have to weigh all my options before diving in to activities.

Unfortunately, the new year has not exactly gotten off to the stellar start that I would have hoped. Trevor, then myself, and then Gwen all came down with a bad head cold as we were coming home from our trip to the lake house. Trevor did not go to school on Monday or Tuesday and seemed a little sad because of it. It makes me feel good that he is at the point where he does like to go to school. I took him in to the doctor, just to make sure everything was ok, and two doctors checked out his lungs and said that it had the soundings of beginning pneumonia. He had not had a fever of 100.4 or higher, so he could still go to school, although his energy level was why I was keeping him home, not because of a fever, and he did not wheeze, but that I was welcome to have Trevor go down for a chest x-ray. If I would rather, I could also wait for a few more days to see if he could fight it off himself, or not. The third option, which I chose was to give him an antibiotic because if it did become pneumonia, that is what they would give him anyway. With the option of either letting him get worse, or helping him get better, I decided to help him get better. That was on Monday. He still did not go to school on Tuesday because he was up a good part of the night coughing and didn't get enough rest.

Gwen did catch a cold, but it wasn't bad enough for her to be up at night, or have a fever, so she did get to go to school on Tuesday. So then I decided during that day to call and see what kind of new activities the kids could get in to. Right now we do have hockey for Trevor and swimming for both of the kids. I found a close and reasonably priced dance studio for Gwen to take lessons at which started on Wednesday afternoon. It is a half hour lesson for both tap and ballet. I washed all of her clothes that I picked up at Target, and when Wednesday came, she was so excited to know that she could put all of it on and do her dancing that I promised her after we picked up Trevor from school she could put it on. When she got all the gear on, she was in heaven. The smile on her face was heartwarming. During class, I found it interesting that she actually enjoyed the tap part more because the class was going to perform a show with their tap shoes at the end of the month. I did not sign her up for that show. However, I did get her signed up for the spring recital on our Anniversary weekend. I have a feeling when that costume comes in, it will be added to her wardrobe of princess dresses.

The other thing that I found was for Trevor. There was a daily deal for in-home piano lessons, so I took advantage and called to schedule that session. Those start next Thursday for a half hour. I explained it to Trevor, and he seemed skeptical. He has always loved his own playing of the piano, but I don't think he has ever understood that taking lessons would lead you to being able to play songs that you recognize and like. A few days ago, I showed him an easy song on the black keys of Mary Had a Little Lamb and since then that is what he wants to practice. I think he thinks he needs to be able to show his teacher that he knows a song on the piano. I really like this option because it is during a time when it won't interfere with other activities and we don't have to go anywhere. Perhaps it will even make me keep my house cleaner than usual.

The third and final change to our schedule is something I promised Gwen. At her preschool, they also have a childcare room. Gwen has been asking to go in there forever. They have guinea pigs, different toys, and get to eat lunch as well. So during the time when my mom is not able to come over on Wednesdays, Gwen will be going into the childcare room at preschool. I'll have another four hours to do things for myself on Wednesdays.

So big changes for our family are coming this year. Hopefully everyone enjoys their new activities.

Our Four Christmases

I believe the last time I posted was to say that Trevor's final day of school was done before the Holiday break. He said that he had 12 days off of school and I asked him if he felt like it was a long time. He said that he did think it was a long time. Coming back from our New Years celebration and driving past his school, explaining that he was going back there in two more days, I again asked him if he felt like 12 days had past. He said no, he felt like he still had 12 days to go. I completely agree....our 12 days have flown by, mostly because we have been able to have multiple celebrations and such exciting events for the kids that it really hasn't seemed like much time has passed at all.

Our first Christmas was kicked off on Christmas Eve with Trevor waking me up a little after 5am. He totally had me fooled because I don't always look at the clock when he gets up. I explain he can go back and play in his room until I come to get him or he could go downstairs. After he decided to go downstairs, I then checked the clock. Our rules are not to go downstairs until after 7:00. I knew how he felt however, as I had been known to wake up extra early on Christmas morning because I was so excited. With his being allowed to bring down the donkey for Christmas Eve church service and the fact that our Christmases started that evening, he was the same way as I was, way back then. And asking him to try to go back to sleep was useless.

We went to church, enjoyed Trevor showing his donkey to the congregation and pose for his picture, and then he crashed. I had hoped that he would make it to the car so he could rest for a little longer, but I guess he took what he needed. Gwen was a hoot to have in church too as she would hear the priest talk about Jesus and want to chime in. They were learning about him in Preschool so she was quick to cue into the service being about Jesus.

We went from church to Grandma's house. We had our yummy dinner followed by the opening of gifts. It is always fun to start out the Christmases with them as I have for over 10 years now. We head home so that we can beat Santa home and put the kids to bed. Santa got some milk and cookies before the kids rushed upstairs to go to bed. I was interested to see if Trevor would pull another early morning the next day, but he didn't. Simply up at his usual time, a few minutes before 7. We waited until 7 to wake up Gwen who was really sad to learn that she didn't get to see Santa. She said she wanted to give him a hug. What a sweetheart. We then got downstairs and saw the kids' joy of celebrating Christmas in our own house. Especially given the fact that Gwen really didn't know what to make of it all. I will bet that she made a lot of good memories for next year.

We then made the trip out to Bubba and Papa's house for the third Christmas and my birthday. As is tradition, Christmas is celebrated first, followed by my birthday. The boys and kids got to go outside for a little playtime in the snow and I got to enjoy peace and quiet for a few moments. It was a good birthday surrounded by great family. Thanks to everyone for making it special.

Our fourth Christmas happened the next day, where we had more gifts and dinner at Grampa's house. We were so blessed to be able to spend that dinner with Great Grandma too. The kids got treated to ice skating after dinner which they really enjoyed.

From that point on, we have had random hockey practices, dinners, and a trip to the lake house before Bubba and Papa head to Florida. I just finished taking down our Christmas decorations so we are ready to head to school tomorrow. I'm also looking at starting Gwen on dance lessons and Trevor with piano lessons. It may just be a busy year for us, but it will be great. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new year brings us all!

And that brings us to Winter Break

Trevor just got out of school and that starts his Winter Break. He's obviously very excited for being so close to Christmas but this past week has been very interesting as well. Last Thursday we went to the golf course where they had a Santa Bingo night. We had dinner there because kids eat free! Yay!

I had never stayed for Bingo before, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. They had one of their staff who had dressed up as santa. Her name was Brooke, and Trevor right away was asking why it was a fake santa. Gwen still says it is a girl if you ask her. There were some real ringers playing the game as they did charge $3 a card, and some people had 3 people each with 6 cards each. But we actually won a game. The kids decided to pick out a tiny billiard table. And they would not be talked out of it. Gwen wasn't really into the game after the first one, so we decided to leave before the game was done.

Saturday, I was able to get out to go bridesmaid dress shopping with my soon to be sister-in-law, in-law. Or however that works out. It was so nice to be out away from the kiddos. I even bought myself clothes. I seriously don't think that has happened before in years. It was very peaceful and nice to be out with an adult and not have to talk about the kids even. Now if I can find time soon for Russ and I, I'll be set!

Sunday Trevor, my mom and I went to the performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I don't remember the exact year I saw it with Donny Osmond, but it was another great show. Trevor said he enjoyed it as well. We had great seats for viewing, but not great seats to catch the streamers that were thrown at the end. It was very nice to get to see that story again and start a new tradition with my own son.

Monday was almost a typical day. Gwen didn't have school for the rest of the week, but we were able to hang out and organize the house a little bit.

Tuesday, I went over to visit Ethan and Kelsey while Gwen was at my mom's house. He's at the cooing-smiling age, and very fun! Yet I was able to hold him while he slept too, which really works for me!

Tuesday evening was our Benihana birthday dinner for me. It. was. awesome. We sat at a table with 3 other people, one of whom was a boy, the same age as Trevor. They yelled across the grill at each other for a lot of the dinner, Gwen was actually mesmerized by the chef and ate a bunch of shrimp with shrimp sauce for the first time. It was a chunk of change like it always is, but when you use the big coupon they give you for your birthday, it was well worth it!

Also Tuesday evening was the end of my school term. I am not sure of my grades yet, but I'm happy to have them done. It was a big "to-do" off my list when Wednesday morning came.

And now today, Wednesday, I helped out with Trevor's class party. I was in charge of the games so I organized snowman bowling and pin the carrot nose on the snowman. It seemed to be a big hit and it was fun to see the dynamic of the class. Trevor decided he wanted to get all spiffed up for the party and asked me to do the same. I tell you, that Trevor is a pretty cool kid when he wants to be. I'm pretty sure he's off Santa's naughty list this year.

So now the real craziness begins. Trevor has 12 days off from school, hopefully we won't be driving everyone crazy. I have started to use helpful hints of the book called "Siblings without Rivalry". It's all about how to encourage good relationships between siblings and promote your own feelings about the kids in a more positive manner. Gwen of course is fighting me the whole way, but I think the kids really are starting to work together more often than they used to.

Case in point, this week Trevor came up with an idea of feeding all of Gwen's baby dolls. She has recently gotten two princess babies as rewards for potty training. These dolls came with musical bottles. So it works out since that each of them can have a baby bottle and feed all dozen or so baby dolls that they have lined up on the couch. HA Trevor, if only that were so easy, although thankfully I've never had to take care of more than one bottle-feeding baby at a time. Anyway, I was quite surprised when the next morning, Trevor asked Gwen if they could feed the babies again. They also like to play a delivery game with the train setup around the Christmas tree. They each sit on one end of the tracks and put an object to be delivered to the other side of the tracks. I know it isn't probably related to my changing habits, but I'm going to try to promote any group activities for the kids that I can so that maybe they can always have a playmate. Who knows in this parenting thing....

A New Tree

I guess I will still have a few surprises in store for the years to come. Through the past few days, a lot of things have happened that make me want to write them down and remember them. Last year, our Little People Nativity set was used mostly by Trevor, or at least in the year's previous, but this year, it was all about a new "house" for Gwen. We have a 2ft tall Fisher Price Dollhouse, that was a quick grab for $1 at a garage sale 3 years ago. The family that lives there is our family, with Elizabeth and baby Sam as the additional kids in the family. We have a Little People dollhouse that is used by any other dolls or figures that appear in the house. They can be princesses, little people from various toys, like we have a carnival playset and Noah's ark. We have two castles for the small princess dolls. Yet she still loves to have anything that might be like a house used as one, hence the excitement with the nativity set. She is learning about baby Jesus in preschool and Mommy Mary and the angel but the animals seem to travel among the houses. I remember when the nativity was used for Lightning McQueen and his friends.

On Saturday, we went to our usual tree place, and I was quite unhappy with the selection. We have a vaulted ceiling so we can and do usually get an 8ft + tree. I was surprised not just at the lack of height in trees, but usually I can find a few that have a good girth to them. Not so this year. Pretty much all of them I could wrap my arms around no problem. The one we got is no exception, but I guess it is better than some of the ones I saw. I did also settle for the 7ft one, so I did save about $20 on what I usually get.

Sunday after church we decorated the tree. Gwen had found the Cinderella doll-like ornament when I brought all the Christmas stuff upstairs and had been playing with her like a doll. Except after a while I think she realized that she wasn't meant to be as a doll because she didn't have any legs. After that experience, I figured that a lot of the ornaments she would see would become dolls, similar to how Trevor had played with all vehicles and toys that he liked to play with, rather than put them on the tree.

Not so: she loved opening all the boxes for the ornaments and having me put them on the tree. She didn't care at all to play with them and keep them off the tree. Trevor's annual tradition has continued though. All of his Star Wars ships, Luke, and Toy Story ornaments are not on the tree because he would rather play with them. I tired to sneak one on, but he found it and took it off the tree. As if that weren't enough, the ornaments he does play with he will put them on the tree, not as ornaments but as if they are hiding. I guess the tree is part of the game now. So other "ornaments" are now on the tree. He has lego ships on branches, our Super Why vehicles, and even a Luke figure that he got for his birthday that looks identical to the ornament we have of Luke.

Gwen, on the other hand takes or asks to have ornaments taken down to be played with and then put back on the tree. Her favorite are: what looks like a wedding topper with Russ and my anniversary date written on it, a stuffed crocheted Christmas tree in the shape of a small rectangle that Gwen uses as a pillow for her dolls, and my dried clay figure of when I graduated from High School in 1996 - she calls it the red doll. She does not bring these upstairs, and once she is done she asks to have them put back on the tree. She will also spend time just looking at the ornaments she can identify and talking about them: Look, that's Trevor with his nuk from when he was a baby. That's Mrs. Potato Head. That's my name with a crown and a princess.

One other tradition that has been recently re-started is Elf on a Shelf. For those of you that don't know, you can buy a book with this elf that sits on a shelf in your house. Once you name him, he travels to Santa each night to report to him how the children in the house have been. On Christmas Eve he reports for the last time and does not reappear until the next year. Last year was our first year, and Trevor named our elf Frankincense. We weren't sure when he was going to reappear, but he did right after we got our tree. New to our tradition is that Trevor has been giving Frankincense a piece of chocolate from his advent calendar to eat every night. I don't think he understands the concept of bribery yet but I do wonder if he thinks it will get him better reports.....

Then on Sunday afternoon we went as a family to watch the movie Tangled. Very well done movie. The kids would have done fine but they each had their own bathroom break during the movie. Gwen asked me today if we could watch it again, so I know she liked it. Plus her miniature Rapunzel doll has a whole new life which she can reenact. Trevor thought he wouldn't like it because the main male character is sort of a bad guy, but he said afterwards he was going to be unhappy if he would have died, but otherwise I think he did like it.

So that's it for now. Less than 3 weeks to go! I have to start checking things off my list!

He's 7 and it's Christmastime!

Wow...I had no idea this weekend was going to take so much out of me. For some reason I was so on top of Thanksgiving, I thought that I could handle Trevor's birthday just the same. Not so. Compared to Thanksgiving, I was a disaster. I forgot to get half of the things we needed for the party, the cake fell apart, and because it was on a Saturday, there wasn't a whole lot to do. It seemed as though Trevor didn't notice, because he seemed to have a good time regardless. We were able to watch Toy Story 3 and some of our guests had to leave early. Russ got the kids ready for bed before he had to leave, and although it was 7:30, both kids asked to get to bed. Usually, Trevor asks me to read stories up until 9:00 if not later, but when I was done a little before 8:30, he didn't complain at all. I guess everyone was a little tired from the busy weekend.

The day after Trevor's birthday is usually the day we bring up Christmas decorations. We won't be getting the tree for another week or so, but I still get the movies, CD's, stockings, and toys out. It was a very different feeling from last year. Trevor was all gung-ho about getting the stuff out, and this year he seemed almost bored by it all. Maybe because the books are now too young for him, and the Little People Nativity set is really too young for him. I have a feeling when we get the tree out and decorated, it might be more of the same for him. Gwen loves to look at any Christmas tree decorations, and I remember last year how she loved to give me all of the decorations, one by one. Trevor likes to look at them, but doesn't really care a whole lot about getting them on the tree.

It seemed to be a little better with the turning of the calendar. Perhaps a little chocolate motivation was needed. Gwen keeps asking if she can have more chocolate, and the kids seem to be ok switching off with our Mickey Mouse Christmas Calendar.

I do have to admit I have found my weakness this season. Last year and this year we are using amazon's wish list for our Christmas wishes. I keep getting notifications for a free amazon prime trial, so I figured I'd try it this year. I never thought about it, but they often price match with Target, and they don't charge sales tax, plus free two-day shipping with this trial membership. I think I've ordered at least 8 or 9 different orders. It ROCKS.

On a slightly different note, I believe my 38 month old daughter is completely day-time potty trained! I knew it was all about letting her do it herself, and motivating her with sticker charts, and she has done it. Gotta love the decreased cost of diapers about to head into the house, or at least be dramatically less.

So it has been quite the busy time. I only have 3 more weeks of classes then this session is done. And I will be very close to being done. Hopefully I will be able to organize the house like I want it to be. Maybe there can be a light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks-giving

As this part of our season comes to a close, I am remembering all the things to be thankful for this year. Health, happiness, family, financial stability, preparing for the future, vacations, warm weather thoughts right about now. It was a very happy Thanksgiving here at our house. We host it every year, and invite everyone to come, and people who are able to make it do. Of course with Trevor's birthday either on or nearby, it can be a lot to ask people to do both Thanksgiving and his birthday at our place. But we are thankful to not have to split Thanksgivings ourselves. There was a time many years ago where that is what we would have to do.

I was also able to not feel very rushed as I'm beginning to really get down the rhythm of things that need to get done and the timing of it all. Other than cleaning and buying all the ingredients, I don't really do a lot of prep work. I finally feel confident to pull it all together. I wonder if that's a signal to getting older.

I was also able to get out early with a friend this morning for the Black Friday deals. Usually I don't go unless I have a specific must have deal in mind. Next year, if this becomes a tradition, I think I'll wait and plan for more gifts. There were some great deals if I wanted to get them, but I felt like I had the gifts covered already. We were in line when Target opened at 4am, which was at least an hour earlier than previous years. It wasn't crazy, like pushing people over, but it was very busy and the line wrapped around two buildings.

We went to two other stores before getting too tuckered out. Gwen didn't sleep well the night previously and I wasn't able to get much sleep as a result. But I did get a nap when I got home. But now starts the new season. Trevor has his birthday and then we formally celebrate the coming of Christmas. Although Gwen's birthday is "first", Trevor's birthday kicks off Christmas and I think he likes that as part of his birthday.

Hope all my friends and family had a wonderful day and knows how thankful I am to have everyone in our lives.

8 weeks and counting

Granted, counting as in I'm sure it will be here in less time....8 weeks from today is Christmas. 4 weeks and it is Trevor's birthday. Tomorrow is Halloween. As with all other retailers, I'm feeling like although most count the "holidays" as Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm thinking our "holiday season" kicks off with Halloween. The kids are already feeling the excitement of an upcoming holiday, even though I've never made a huge deal of Halloween. Last year Trevor was barely getting over the flu and he didn't get to go to the school Halloween party. I let him go trick-or-treating but he was finally on the mend. This year, we kicked it off with the school party last night and tomorrow is the big event. Pumpkins are being carved tonight and we will be bundling up to make the rounds tomorrow.

I've been meaning to include a little taste into the life of a first grader in our neighborhood elementary school. Someone decided to come up with something called "Cheese Touch". I have no idea how far reaching this game is, but I would guess that it actually might not be in other elementary schools in the area. I could be completely wrong though. Anyway, the Cheese Touch is kind of like a secret tag, probably done throughout the school day. If you are it, you are trying to give the cheese touch to other kids in school. Your first two fingers must be crossed and your thumb must be out when giving the cheese touch. If you don't want to be it, you must cross your own fingers before someone declares "Cheese Touch". Trevor knows all the rules, as I guess you can also declare that you are not playing in order to avoid it. Anyway, it is a good conversation starter with people that he doesn't go to school with and I love to hear about all the rules that may or may not be real. As long as no one is hurt by it, I think it is pretty cute.

And for those of you that were expecting other news when I was talking about 8 weeks...sorry to disappoint. Although I have heard similar news twice in the past two days! Congrats to those special people!

Give me a D!

Holy Cow. The weather was unbelievable. The boat was in the water, and we were able to get down to the cabin by 3:00. Since Trevor was in AM Kindergarten, this will probably be the last time we can get there early on Friday. Unless we take him out of school. Regardless, we hit some traffic, while we were still in Minnesota, but otherwise smooth sailing out to the lake. The weather was mid-80's so the kids and I were in the water by 3:30. Gwen was a little confused at swimming with a life jacket on, since when we were in Florida, she was swimming with floaties. But it was interesting to watch her quickly learn when we took a quick boat ride to the creek and jumped in to the warm water there. Then, she enjoyed swimming around in the open water. Perhaps it was because if she thought she could touch the bottom, she wanted to.

So we got done with our swim and got ready to go to our dinner at the Stone's Throw. Eating out on their porch, having their good food was heaven again. I had to cut out of the evening festivities in order to finish my school work for the weekend. Then thinking I'd do well to go to sleep early that night too, I tried to head out for the night. Trevor had other ideas. I think he was revved up to be at the lake and swimming, so he woke up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30. I moved him into the other guest room so he could cool down but he was still up shortly after 7:00. So much for my trying to get ahead on sleep.

We woke up o Saturday to another unbelievable day. The guys went golfing, without Trevor, and the rest of us set up at the beach by around 11:00. It was warm enough in the sun to be in the water for most of the day. Gwen was ready to be done at 1:30 or so. Trevor was tired as well. I mistook Gwen being tired for actually wanting a nap. At about 2:30, I headed out expecting Gwen to sleep with Russ and Trevor to sleep with my mom (which he did) so we could head out for a boat ride. It was a great day to be in the sun. Lots and lots of my wonderful Vitamin D that I crave. We got back I think by 5? At this point I wasn't keeping track. We had a bbq style dinner and server Trevor helped take everyone's order. It is one of his current favorite things to do. That evening we played a game of dominoes, which I won somehow. It was a very fast game, and I was thankful to get to sleep "early"...at least for the lake.

Sunday again was a really warm day, but windy this time. Gwen and Trevor were in the water early, but it was obvious that Gwen wasn't going to make it much longer. So I decided to stay back with her to finish up my homework so she wouldn't bother anyone needing to come back to the house. We got out her little wading pool and I let her play with the little princess dolls that I figured wouldn't get too damaged. The tubes were out with the little kids and adults. Because it was so windy, I guess it wasn't too much fun for Trevor. But his turn came after about 4 hours of playing in the lake. I think he was a bit exhausted. We were able to go out to dinner again on Sunday evening, outside again, and very enjoyable. More dominoes and cards in the evening.

So we missed our yearly parade here in Bloomington, but with the weather what it was, I couldn't resist staying that extra day. I know the kids got their dose of fresh air, and if we can find the time to do it again with the same weather, we will be really lucky. Hopefully July will be wonderful too. We got so lucky this year, and I hope our luck doesn't run out!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's another Mother's Day! I cannot believe I have been a mother for 7 years now. 8 if you count when I was pregnant. It is really starting to get fun to talk to Trevor about these special days and see what he decides to do with them. I do admit, I try to play it up a little bit by saying he has to be really nice to me on Mother's Day. Hey, with my birthday on Christmas, what other day do I really get? So after I said that, he continued by asking me what my favorite breakfast and lunch was. We already had dinner plans to eat at my favorite restaurant, so he knew that dinner was taken care of. My choice for breakfast was an omelet. My choice for lunch was a salami sandwich. This was pretty early on Saturday morning, but he proceeded to run upstairs after he asked me what went into making my favorite meals and asked Russ how to make them. He was still asleep, but he woke up and humored him by asking him to check to see if we had what we needed to make my meals. We actually didn't have everything, so closer to noon, the kids headed out to the grocery store. As with a lot of Trevor's ideas, I could see him getting more and more excited.

Well, last night he switched his sleepover because he had to stay home from school on Friday. He had a fever in the middle of the night, that although it went away by the morning, I couldn't send him to school. I told his friend that it would be better to come over the next night. The kids don't have school on Monday, so it was a long weekend anyway. Trevor had a blast playing with his friend last night and this morning, and after he left he was very nice to me. I was served my requested breakfast, of course by Russ, and Trevor didn't seem to notice, but afterwards asked me if I liked it. I think I'm going to postpone my lunch for the rest of the week because I had to run to talk about my favorite thing (accounting!) to a potential fun project in the coming weeks. I also got my grades back from my last session, and those were what I had hoped for, so things are really going well for me today. Although our first floor does not look much different, I spent most of my time cleaning this week on the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs.

My cleaning project is a story by itself. I knew I was going to have to get the kids involved or at least keep them occupied because the work was upstairs and they can't be by themselves un-entertained for long periods of time. Unfortunately, I cannot have Gwen cleaning with anything that might actually be used for cleaning. I tried having her wiping, but she got some cleaning stuff on that and tried to put it in her mouth. I tried giving her a wet washcloth to stick in her mouth, and of course that was a bad idea. So the bathroom project was wiping down an already clean whirlpool bathtub. They could both fit in the tub and clean it for a good 20 minutes because they had to take the toys out first. Then when I moved downstairs, I had them wipe down their kitchen set toys with a wet paper towel. Again, that ended up in Gwen's mouth, but I knew at least that wasn't harmful. She was wiping off the table.

I was surprised at how much Trevor wanted to help and do everything that I did. Maybe I can get him to do the bathrooms by showing him how much "fun" they are and he'll never even know that it is a chore. Wouldn't that be nice for me!

So anyway, although it may not seem like a fun-filled day for some, I am really happy with where I'm act, especially today. So wonderfully blessed to have such great children, and a wonderful husband to help support us all. I wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day!

Re-Energized

I seriously cannot believe what 2 hours of adult time can do to my well-being. Or really, maybe it was because it had been missing for so long. Completely my fault, no one to blame but myself. Today, one of my mom-friends suggested we meet for lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. It worked out great because Gwen's Tumble's class is right near there, and it got done at 10:30. I was a little concerned about how busy it would be, due to spring break, but I also knew that not all districts had this week as their spring break.

Anyway, when we got there, we had a good chunk of time where the place was not busy at all. It gradually got more busy, and I guess the kids got more antsy, but for the most part, we got to chat and chat and chat. Because the have such a focus of making sure the kids can't escape, plus the fact that the things to play on are very kid-friendly, and the fact that Gwen was totally interested in putting the money in the kid games - not the rides - that we were pretty much uninterrupted for a good portion of the time.

I have always known that it does my mental mind good to take a break to talk with my friends. And perhaps it was also because I have been able to take a few more breaks recently. But this really, really, really, REALLY made me feel so much better. I know the kids had a great time too. The weather is turning around, golf season is kicking off next week for me, and Trevor only has two days left of spring break. Hopefully I can keep this going in the right direction until and through the summer break.

Backing up.... Easter was very nice. We had great food and great company throughout the entire day. Unfortunately, all 3 fish that we have tried to keep alive in the house have since died. As I was thinking about this, it is probably for the best. We got 3 very small fish that ate usually twice a day. I don't know what we would have done if we had to go away even for a weekend. That's almost worse than having a dog. Having to have someone come over twice a day to take care of fish? We'll try it again at some other point. Maybe we'll get bigger fish that don't have to eat as much next time too.

Monday afternoon until Tuesday, I brought the kids over to my parents for a sleepover. I went too. Right now is the age that Trevor would really enjoy a big yard. Plus they have a nice two wheeling practice driveway that we don't have as well. But I know he can practice on the sidewalk here and he does. He is getting much closer, and knows it. So his confidence is growing.

I will be happy to have him start up all the things he is looking forward to soon. Almost time!

Where does the time go?

You blink and there went Trevor's 12 days off of school. That was the first thing he talked about when he was done with school on the 22nd of December. Not one single day did we count down to going back to school. It was so busy. I somehow managed to get back into somewhat of an organized mess so that I can start all over on Monday.

So the New Year has started. We decided to head on over to Hatfield to celebrate the new year. Prior to this New Year's Eve, I think we had done something for New Year's once in the last decade. However, we knew that we probably wouldn't be getting to the lake again until May.

I foresee a lot of changes coming this year for us. I think Trevor really enjoyed breaking out the new calendar for the year and marking all the big events going on for us. He already wanted to put when his first day of 1st Grade will be, however, I decided to hold off on going that far ahead. I'm anxiously looking forward to traveling to Florida in 10 or so weeks. I'm hoping that January will fly by with the help of a trip out to Boston. This weekend the weather was frigid and not fun for me. Basically, if I can get through this cold season, I will be feeling better. But now, without the end in sight, I know I have to search for reasons to look forward to getting through this mess.

Happy New Decade all!

The Joy of Christmas

I think the kids got a real good dose of what Christmas is all about. From church service, in which Gwen enjoyed singing her own songs of "Someday my prince will come" and talking about seeing Baby Jesus at the top of her lungs. Not quite understanding the idea of being quiet in church. Next year, Trevor will hopefully be able to process in the bringing in of the manger scene. Father Mike is very nice about knowing who his audience is for the earlier Christmas Eve service.

As tradition has it, we then go to "Grandma's House", so the kids can open presents with them. Then hurry back home before Santa arrives. Trevor was typically excited about Christmas and woke up early to come in and stay with us before we went downstairs. After Christmas morning, we let Gwen take an early nap before going over to Papa and Bubba's house for dinner and birthday events. And we finished up our Christmases last night at Grandpa's house. I can't convey my thanks to everyone for making the kids feel so loved. It is so nice to have the kids around all of the family during the holidays.

While the kids haven't been able to play with all their gifts yet, I'm happy that the ones that Santa brought were well received. The only tricky part is all the video game playing during the break times. I did want to save some of the games and books for the plane ride in almost two weeks.

The weather was interesting, but Trevor has gotten to be outside for some playtime which is nice. So lots of cleaning and organizing for the next few days. It will be nice to have the house back in about a week or so. Although sad to see the holidays behind us. We talked a lot about moving to Australia or Hawaii to be in the warm warm weather during Christmas.