Last night

I went up to check on the kids before I went to bed last night and found sweet surprises in both room.

Eve had a really hard time falling asleep and was up very late last night. This might have been partly why. I think she’s getting excited for her birthday. :)

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I’ll help translate a few:

1. Little Live Pets (official website, Amazon)
2. Mechanical dog. I think she saw one at KMart one time.
6. Non-permenant hair dye. She wants to dye her hair bright purple.
10. Surprises

I think the rest make sense without translation. :)

Lex, on the other hand, had no trouble falling asleep!

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When I showed him these pictures this morning he was surprised he’d fallen asleep that way. He said he only meant to cuddle her for a few minutes then planned to put his head back on the pillow. I guess he was pretty comfy.  ♥

A (not so) quick catch-up

I’ve neglected this blog so long apparently Alan decided to pick up the slack! :) I was away so long that my browser required me to re-login and then WordPress wanted me to upgrade. After the upgrade I saw the title of Alan’s post in my dashboard and thought it was some weird advertising thing. Then I realized it was just a post by him. A (loving) knock on my holiday baking frenzy. :) Sadly I’m all out of wine, so cookies will have to do.

Anyway, I was taking school pictures off the camera the other day and realized I have a ton of non-school pictures as well. Lots going on these days! The time is just flying by. I have just one more week in 5th grade, then vacation, then kindergarten! I have mixed emotions about that! I feel ready to try a different grade and a different school, but I’m really going to miss the comfort of my well-known school and all the kids and teachers there. I know where everything is and I know everyone’s name and I like all the 5th graders and they like me… it will be a bit switch to an entirely new school! However, I’ve been in a funk lately, slow and dragging, and maybe a new scene will reinvigorate me. Or maybe vacation. Or maybe sleep. Someday.

So what else has been going on? Let’s take a look at the camera and see…

We got our Christmas tree last weekend. I got an email from Greg in CA saying they were trudging through snow to get theirs… not a flake on the ground when we got ours. (Things look a bit different outside now!)

searching

Searching for the perfect tree…

eve likes

Eve likes this one.

the tree

We settled on this one. It looks so tiny here, but it fits our (tiny) space.

hole

There was a bit of a hole in the tree so Alan tried filing it with children.

decorating

The decorating went well. Lex was there too, I guess I just don’t have any good pictures of him.

decorated eve

Eve insisted on a decorated Eve picture.

I just realized I didn’t get a family picture in front of the tree. Oops. Maybe we’ll try for a Christmas morning picture instead.

What else? We are now on bread machine number three in our quest to replace the old one. The first two didn’t work. Luckily Amazon has an easy return policy! This one came last week and I was so darn busy I didn’t have a moment to deal with it. A few days ago the kids got tired of waiting for me so they got the bread machine out of the box and made the first loaf all on their own. Well… I was in the kitchen as well and offered some guidance, but they did all the work! The machine isn’t perfect, but it’s better than the first two. I’m going to have to decide soon if we keep it or send it back.

bread machine

They were so eager for fresh bread they made the first loaf all by themselves.

A few nights ago I tried to open the kids’ door to check on them at bedtime (my bedtime, not theirs) and found the door blocked. I was worried for a minute, then realized Lex had shoved his mattress off the bed and it was blocking the door. When we got past that, this is what I found.

silly sleeper p2

Look at that empty bed.

silly sleeper p2

He made himself a crib!

Silly boy made himself a crib! Julie, I was thinking of you that night and our conversation about waking the kids. I dragged him back onto his bed, he fell on me in the process, I rearranged him and Alan pushed his mattress back on the bed. We laughed and took pictures. Both kids slept through the entire thing! Lex didn’t even remember it in the morning. He remembered moving his mattress, but had no memory of us fixing it during the night. My kids sleep like rocks! :)

Saturday morning we went to the annual Gingerbread House Festival, a fundraiser for a local charity. Everybody who’s anybody was there! Lex and Alan opted out. Poor Lex was actually really torn between going (he remembered it was fun last year) and staying (his new EV3 was calling his name). The final deciding factor came when he realized he had no clean socks. Somehow he only owns three pairs of socks! Eve and I took care of that problem with a trip to KMart after the Gingerbread House Festival. Actually, the KMart trip was for socks and because Eve had left her snowpants at school and swears she can’t find them anywhere. KMart was packed, what with it being so close to Christmas and a big snowstorm predicted for the afternoon. In the checkout line we ran into my mentor teacher. When I mentioned Eve’s lost snowpants he asked why I didn’t go back to school to look for them. D’uh!!! I have keys. Why didn’t I think of that! I think that’s one step back from being a teacher. Silly me. Anyway, we bought the snowpants and here are pictures of the gingerbread houses.

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A candy castle

gb p2

A Lego house

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A pirate ship

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The white one on the right was done by my friend Jen, and she won the prize in the professional baker category.

gb p5

Snoopy

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Our school subdivision

My friend Jen (whom we’ve made gingerbread houses with in the past) organized a school-wide holiday reward. She and a few other people baked gingerbread houses for each class and the students got to decorate them. Then she brought them all to be donated to this event. They gave us our own sub-division. :)

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More school houses

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A tree house with a Swedish Fish roof.

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A cuckoo clock

snowflake eve

Eve had her face painted like a snowflake and she made herself a Jan Brett Gingerbread Baby (like the book).

We bid on a few houses and I got a call Saturday night saying we won one! Unfortunately I was at a staff Christmas party when the call came in and they left only the generalist of messages. I have to pick up the house tomorrow, but I have no idea which one we won. I’ll post pictures of it tomorrow. :)

The staff party was fun. I didn’t take any pictures. I work with a crazy bunch of people… for one more week. Weird. We did a fun, and long, Yankee Swap and I came home with a fat coffee table art book. I’m going to re-gift it to my friend who is an artist. Re-gift with a full explanation of where it came from! :)

Saturday night the storm came and the snow started. We woke today (Sunday) to a winter wonderland!

eve

Snow! Time for sledding.

snowblower

They spent quite a long time hanging out in the neighbor’s back yard, sheltering themselves from the falling snow from his snowblower. He was clearing his back deck. They loved it.

lex

Look at this big kid! He helped shovel the driveway.

For some reason I took pictures of my big kids but no winter scenery pictures. Maybe the snow will stick around for a few days and I’ll get another chance. There’s rain in the forecast for Friday, but I hope it doesn’t come. It would be nice to have a white Christmas.

My kids are so big in the snow. I just got lost in the blog looking for other snow pictures, from times gone by. Check out this funny one of them with Bone, and this one of them playing on the old swing set. They do grow up fast!

PS. I need a new blog header. I’ll add it to my list of things to do. The current one is so last season!

Sweet sleepers

We had to change Eve’s sheets last night so I put her on Lex’s bed to wait. She snuggled right up to him and he didn’t seem to notice. They were so sweet looking that we decided to leave them there for the night.

sweet sleepers

Sweet sleepers

Eve, apparently, woke up first and climbed back into her own bed for a few minutes, then they both got up. Lex said he didn’t even know Eve slept with him all night.

A few photos from the week…

I keep thinking we’re half way through July already, but then I look at the calendar and realize that it’s only the first week! So much for my slow summer vacation!

Here are a few pics of what’s been going on around here.

berry picking

When we got home from Franklin the kids ran right over to the black raspberry patch and picked a big bowlful. I remember doing that last year as well. Does that now make it an annual tradition? :)

playhouse

Then they spent some time hanging out together in the playhouse. Just chilling. Happy to be home. Obliging me for the occasional photo.

hot nights

We’ve had a few very hot nights. Their bedroom is the worst! What you can’t see here are the ice packs, wrapped in wash clothes, tucked under their backs. They think it’s a special “hot night” treat to get to cuddle with ice packs. :)

ac

Daddy to the rescue! Alan installed the super loud AC that we normally put right in their room into the storage room instead. With long ducting he has jerry rigged (excuse me, Alan-rigged!) central air for their bedroom. Lex calls it “Awesome Air Conditioning!”

4th

Fourth of July preparations. Glow sticks, patriotic “boppy tails,” picnic dinner… thunderstorms! Oh well.

playground

What do you bring to the playground? We had a big playdate with a bunch of Eve’s pre-k classmates. She insisted on bringing a full picnic (wooden food) and a (wooden) birthday cake! I thought she was crazy but the kids loved it!

greens

Thanks to our CSA pickup Lex got one full serving of greens this week! That container was full of snap peas… now Lex is full of snap peas! One serving of greens a week is sufficient for a growing boy, right?!

climbing

We attended a birthday party at a playground this afternoon. A playground we used to go to all the time when the kids were younger, but haven’t been there in several years. They LOVED this new climbing structure!

rocking

They also loved this rocking toy! I’m going to see if I can find a picture of them on this thing when they were younger… more age appropriate for the toy!

crazy rocking

Then a few more kids joined the fun! They had a BLAST! A little chaotic, but no one got hurt. That’s the sign of a good birthday party at the playground!

homework

We had quiet time today from 4:15-5:15, after we got home from our morning activities and afternoon parties. Lex decided to do his piano practicing and homework at quiet time. He’s so excited, and adorable!

I just got lost in my own blog again looking for a picture of them on that rocking toy at the playground years ago. Sometimes I wish I had a “Like” button on the blog! I’d press it a lot. On my own blog posts. How’s that for self confidence! Or self amusement. :)

Now Alan is home and the laundry needs folding and the kitchen needs cleaning and I need to say goodnight.

Silly Sleepers

I added a tag called “silly sleepers” to mark all these crazy sleep positions :) Some day I’ll go back through the years of blog posts and tag them all. For now, here’s a starter photo.

sleeping eve

Her legs were criss-crossed in front of her (criss-cross applesauce, hands in your lap) and she was flopped right over them. Sound asleep. So flexible!

A few random pictures…

do you like my picture?

Do you like my picture? There are geese flying south (dark blue Vs), monarch butterflies (brown Vs), wind, clouds, I forget what the light blue Vs are, cars, a tree with falling leaves, a street sign, a sun (I think, just above the street sign), and a stop sign. I love his artwork!

sleeping kids

This is how we found the kids one night last week. Doesn't it look like they were trying to get to each other but fell asleep mid way? Silly sleepers :)

lex's papers

Comments like these are why I love the Friday folder :)

pirate eve

Eve went to a pirate party this weekend (one of three birthday parties my kids attended this weekend!)

sweets

Look at all the sweets options available at this kids party?! Crazy. There was a whole other table of crackers, cheese, fruits, and veggies. All for a mid-afternoon party. Wheee! The options seemed endless.

glasses

"Sunglasses on my glasses?!? That's CRAZY!"

eve

Eve. What more can I say?

my trip

This came home in the Friday folder recently too. :)

apple picking

Eve went apple picking with her class today and I got to chaperon! I was so excited.

apples for applesauce

Apples for applesauce (see the sad outcome below, posted earlier this afternoon)

Four posts in one day and I’m officially caught up! Off the camera anyway! In life, well details are fleeting. My weeks are fleeting. I have a big post-it note on my dayplanner saying “Over scheduled, over tired, over eating!” I’ve started canceling social engagements this week because I can’t keep up. Rough life, eh? This was supposed to be the week I hit lifetime at WW, but that won’t happen. After six weeks of failing at maintenance I’m a few good pounds over my goal weight. Because I’m so busy and don’t have time to take care of me. I should say not MAKING the time to take care of me. Next week will be calm, right? Next week. If I make it so. In the meantime I will grab every lovely moment I’ve got with my little monkeys, with or without the camera. We had a nice afternoon today (applesauce disappointment aside) and I will make sure there are many more such afternoons to come.

Sick days

We have been dealing with an interesting sickness in Lex this week. Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning he said his stomach felt bad and he needed to throw up. He never actually did throw up (then) and he seemed fine otherwise (no fever, ok energy, ok color, etc.) so I sent him to school on Wednesday. I was wondering if maybe it was nerves more than actual illness because he kept saying his stomach was “flipping over.” He apparently did ok, but when he got home he ate a few bites of snack, threw up, then fell asleep in my arms on the couch at 4:45. Alan got home awhile later and put him to bed and he slept straight through until 6am Thursday morning. He woke up happy and ready to go to school. I chatted with his teacher Thursday morning at drop-off and she had two theories. She said on Tuesday his best friend announced that they were no longer best friends, but apparently continued to play with Lex all day Tuesday and Wednesday anyway. She said other than the statement he made there seemed to be no change in behavior. She also said that they played the game that Lex doesn’t like in gym class again last week, after not having played it for a long time. He did fine Thursday, but when he got home today he spent the afternoon on the floor saying his belly hurts and he needs to throw up. Fortunately he didn’t actually throw up this time.

I’m left wondering if he is really sick or feeling anxious or something. One thing I do know is that he is VERY tired. We’ve had several busy weeks and weekends with lots of travel and I think he (and all of us!) just need a rest. We are looking forward to a low-key weekend coming up. Eve has one birthday party to attend, but otherwise I think we are going to be camping out at home.

Wednesday night when I brought Eve up to bed we found Lex sleeping like this:

lex sleeping p1

lex sleeping p2

lex sleeping p3

Our official “throw up bowl” is in there somewhere and for a minute I was worried he was going for the bowl in his sleep and missed. I was quite nervous about what we would find under that pile. Fortunately, it was just him, sleeping. Crazy sleeper!

By the way, did I mention that he is completely out of diapers now? I think it has been a month or two now that he has been sleeping in underwear and waking up dry. Yay!