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 :)