Catching up December

Before I put Christmas pictures on here, I need to try and catch up on pictures for the month of December. We had so many activities during the month (before school got out) that it seemed we were running every night (and day). We had a school play (son number 4 played "Lewis" in the Lewis and Clark play), a school musical program (son number 3 sang Christmas songs and it was so cool!), a Christmas parade (where we froze to death while watching son number 1 play his trumpet - so fun!!), and finally my daughter and I went and watched Ballet Idaho perform The Nutcracker. Her best girl friend (I have to specify because she has a best boy friend too!) played a mouse in the ballet and it was so neat to watch her perform and the ballet dancers were excellent. Of course we can't forget the picture of my little girl on Santa's lap (the boys think they are all too big for this:(.

It has truly been a full month and that is not including the Christmas festivies which I will post later. On another note, my hubby and I have two foster kids now and so this brings our total to 7 children living in our home. I can't post pictures of them because that is against a VERY long list of rules we have to follow, but just know that they are darling and we enjoy having them in our home, but our workload is up a bit and this may cause me not to post as much or maybe I will post more to save my sanity!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....something?!

It's great fun when your kids are old enough to do the Christmas light hanging by themselves (Dad was on the group supervising and directing) and my boys are just the two for the job. They love being up on the roof where they can break their necks.

Then we were off to the tree lot to pick out just the right one. The kids all have their own idea on which one is the perfect tree and I just give my seal of approval and go stand by the outside heater. We love to have a real tree, you can't beat that fresh tree smell!

Exciting Times!

First she wore her dad down until he let her get her ears pierced and then she felt confident enough to ride her two wheeler without training wheels. Such exciting times! So much for a mom to handle in a week, she needs to slow down a little bit or I am going to feel like she will be off to college soon. She looks so cute with her little flower earrings though! I worried if she was old enough or responsible enough for it all but she is the one who reminds me to clean her earrings 3 times a day. She also remembers to wear her helmet on the bike (even if she has been reminded a few times) and now that she has a helmet that fits her (the one in the picture was bit big) she puts it on and buckles up every time. My little girl is growing up!

I got tagged

10 years ago I was
1) Living in an apartment
2) Busy with 3 very little kids
3) Managing an apartment building-yikes!
4) Dreaming of a house
5) Happy!

5 things on my "To-do" list today
1) clean the fish bowls
2) take the kids to the dentist
3) water the plants
4) make the gingerbread house with the kids
5) Laundry (the daily grind!)

5 snacks that I enjoy
1) Carmel with a little apple dipped in
2) Pretzels
3) Popcorn
4) Girl Scout cookies
5) Anything chocolate

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire
1) Pay off student loans
2) Pay off my house
3) Share with both families (mine and his)
4) Take a Disney Cruise with my husband and kids
5) Give a bunch to my favorite charities

5 jobs I have had
1) Dental Assistant
2) Secretary
3) Human Resources Manager
4) Teacher
5) Mom (by far my favorite)

5 places I have lived
1) New York
2) Texas
3) New Jersey
4) California
5) Idaho

5 people I tag are
1) Jen
2) Jamie
3) Shandy
4) Stacie
5) Amber

They grow up so fast!

Okay, I swear this kid was just a year old yesterday and then he was off to Kindergarten. Could it be that he is now already 16 years old and going out on dates?! I can't believe it my oldest is old enough to date and just went to his first school dance. It was girl ask boy (in my day that was called Sadie Hawkins but I guess this was called Harvest dance).

It was so cute, about 2 weeks before the dance a huge poster board arrived on our door step with a box if goldfish crackers. On the poster board the invitation was written to the dance in a really cute way and then inside the cracker box was the name of the girl who asked him (but first he had to dig through all of the crackers (coming up empty several times with notes that said "keep looking"). Once this was done, he had to come up with a way to answer her that was just as clever. He went and bought a goldfish and put it in a bowl and covered the outside of the bowl with swedish fish candy (under one of these gummy fish was his answer). I thought that was clever.

They had a great time at the dance and went with 7 other couples. Their day date was a scavenger hunt at the mall and all 16 kids participated. Fun stuff! I can't believe how fast they grow. I remember being 16 like it was yesterday and now my kid is that old!!!

Disney on Ice

While my husband took our 4 sons camping last night, my daughter and I went to see "Disney on Ice". Now Disney always puts on a good show, we love their movies, and their parades are amazing. This show was no exception. They had numbers from most of the popular movies, from Toy Story to Pinocchio. All of the princesses (with their princes) were represented which my daughter loved. I snapped a few pictures and before you look at them, I am warning you that my camera isn't very good (especially for far away shots). Hint hint to the husband - I need a new camera honey!! There is a picture of the Disney gang, the Lion King w/ Timon & Pumba, the grand finale where all of the characters were on the ice, and then finally a picture of me and my little princess. It was a really fun night!!

Preschool Halloween Party

We had our preschool Halloween party yesterday and the kids had a blast! We had two princesses (one peach and one pink - now don't get that confused because they will remind you!), a soldier, a dragon, a ballerina, Spiderman, and Ironman. We decorated a haunted house, played Halloween Bingo, watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", and had lots of treats to eat. It's hard to believe that this is my job - to play with kids! Who knew!! My other job is to hang out with teenagers (teaching Driver's Education). What a life! I'm so glad I got my teaching degree, I truly never have to grow up!! Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!

Pumpkin Carving late into the night

Even though it was almost 9:00 when we got home from the Simmons going away party last night, we began our pumpkin carving. Monday is the only night that we are together as a family these days (some one is running in another direction every other day of the week). So as tradition holds, I let my children weild knives and work drills to carve their masterpieces.

My oldest carved a sinister face, my second boy made his look like "The Joker" on the new Batman movie (even with the bloody scars), the third son gave his a hat and made him a "gangster", my youngest just made a cute face and my little daughter carved her whole face (she needed a little help with the mouth) by herself. They all put their creativity into the project. What other night do I allow my children to stab something with a carving knife? They loved it! For anyone who hasn't discovered the tool that you connect to your drill to "de-gut" the pumpkin, it is worth it's weight in gold. No more yucky hands for me!

The kids were exhausted by the time we finished (thus the reason why my daugher is bawling in the group picture when the pumpkins were complete). It was difficult to get up this morning for school, but hey - Halloween only comes once a year right?!

GO MAVS!

Mountain View's marching band did so well at the District III competition on Saturday! They won first place in their division for percussion, marching, and music, second place for auxiliary (color guard) and second place overall (that is against 30 other schools). They were so awesome to watch!!

Their band director was so cute, she was jumping up and down and going "whew!" and that is something because if you know her she is very reserved and doesn't get too excited very often. It was such a great night for this marching band who have worked incredibly hard since August! My son is going to be so happy to have a much deserved break for a few months (after practice 2-3 times a week, games and competitions) until pep band starts. I am so proud of my musical son! Go Mavericks!!!

The Quirky Tag

Okay my best friend tagged me and so I guess I better do this!

6 things about me that are quirky:

1. I am always cold no matter what the weather is (unless it is 100 degrees and I am in the sun) so I always take a sweater to the movies even in the summer time and I wear socks to bed!

2. The last thing I do before I go to bed is go to the bathroom, even if I just went 5 minutes ago. I think this is a mental throw back from when I was a kid and we weren't allowed out of bed once we were tucked in even if we had to go to the bathroom (I had many accidents as a little kid and then I became paranoid!)

3. I have to do my own laundry. If someone else does it I am afraid they will shrink my clothes or not get the stains out before they go in the washer. Again, I think this is a paranoid throw back from my childhood.

4. I won't go to bed with a sink full of dirty dishes. I hate the way my kitchen smells in the morning if there are dirty dishes in the sink.

5. I am always lighting candles and spraying febreeze around my house. I am super worried that my house will smell like it is full of a bunch of boys - oh wait, it is full of a bunch of boys!

6. I am a romantic through and through. I cry at sappy movies and romantic books, even if it is so obvious how they are going to turn out. I love a happy ending, chick flicks, and the hallmark commercials always get me bawling.

Okay, so those are the quirky things about me and now after writing them I am wondering if Tiffany is right about me being a little OCD! I tag - Shandy, Julie, Jen, and Jamie (but only if you want to do it!)

My Kids Are Amazing

My kids just love to dress up, every Sunday they jump out of bed and say, "yeah mom we get to put our Sunday clothes on!" Okay, can you hear my voice dripping with sarcasm? My kids despise getting dressed up. What they love more than anything is an old t-shirt and ripped jeans. What kid doesn't?! Well today, we went down to the green belt and had our family pictures taken. Christmas is around the corner and I want to me sure we got the pictures taken outside before it gets too cold. So if there is one thing my kids dislike more than dressing up, it is taking pictures. Once when they were little and we took pictures at Sears, Skyler knocked Kyle off of the table they were sitting on and we had tears for over an hour! They were so good about taking their pictures today though. We got them done in under a half hour and they even posed for me in front our house when we got home. They are so awesome!

Preschool at the Patch

Although it was absolutely freezing today, we had a field trip to the pumpkin patch for my preschool class. Who knew it was going to freeze overnight? We had shorts on a few days ago and now it is parkas, hats, and gloves. Yikes! The kids were such troopers though. We were riding on the hay ride to see the pumpkin patch and all of the animals and they were saying, "Teacher, this is fun" while their teeth were chattering. They were all very independent about picking out their own pumpkins and we ended up with one that looked a little more like a gourd. I love their independence!!

They are such a fun group and are really starting to get the routine down. We have gone from a rag tag motley crew to a true preschool class in just two short months. Aren't they adorable? I just love them! All of the hugs and "I love you teacher" just make my day. Thanks to the fantastic parents who braved the cold to come with us, you ladies are my heroes!

Home Science Experiment

I was outside this afternoon re-arranging the pumpkins by the front door and doing a little Halloween decorating and my eyes fell upon this movement by one of the pumpkins. I almost jumped out of my skin, but then I realized that it was a little caterpillar. I was so excited! I thought this will be a great opportunity to do a little "Home Science Experiment" with my kids. When I was a kid we were always catching caterpillars and putting them in jars and watching them turn in to butterflies. So I grabbed a mason jar, drilled some holes in the top, put some leaves and grass in the jar, and plunked in Mr. Caterpillar.

I have no idea what this species of caterpillar is (it is green like the grass so it may be hard to see in the picture, it is sitting on the grass at the bottom of the jar) and so I don't know how long we have to wait before it spins a cocoon or how long it will be before it becomes a butterfly. If anyone has some expertise on this subject and wants to pass it on, I would be thrilled. I looked on-line, but there are so many green ones I coudn't identify ours. If he actually lives and makes it to a butterfly (if the kids don't shake his brains up by looking at the jar constantly) I will post his picture when it happens. Here's to a little home science :)

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Last year about a week before Halloween we went to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins and it was absolutely freezing. I rushed the kids through the patches and told them just to grab whatever pumpkin they saw. We sat on the hay ride shivering and tried to smile for the camera but it was impossible. After we paid we sat at the picnic tables to have a snack and our hot cocoa turned cold in just moments. I was so miserable that we were barely there for an hour and I wanted to go home.

This year I approached the experience with much more wisdom. Yes it is only September 29th, but who says you can go pumpkin hunting in September? It was absolutely gorgeous outside, sunny and 75 degrees. I thought we were in California again. The hay ride was glorious, we walked through the pumpkin patches taking our time to pick out the perfect pumpkin. The kids rode rides, we took our time weighing and paying for our pumpkins. We sat down at the picnic tables and had popcorn, donuts, and icy cold sodas. It was a joyous family night out and I left there after 2 hours with a huge smile on my face. Obviously I don't like being cold. I highly recommend Linder Farms to anyone who wants to enjoy a family night, but don't wait too long the cold weather will be here shortly. We already have our pumpkins though and I couldn't be happier!!