Hey There, Lil' Pilgrim

For almost the whole of November, Nathaniel couldn't stop talking about a program he had to do at school. He kept asking if his teacher had emailed me a date on when it would happen. I had to keep telling him 'no' until the day I actually got it.

The last day of school before Thankgiving break, his 1st grade class was doing a reader's theater. The time was later in the afternoon so I figured we'd have no issues getting there on time. I was wrong. We were only a few minutes behind and when we walked into the classroom they had already started. We barely got to hear Nate's part and then it was over.

I was feeling a bit frustrated, but then the teacher told the kids they'd take a quick break and then do it again for the parents who may have missed the 1st go around (I wasn't the only one, yay!). We then got to see the whole thing and it was cute, although my kid didn't speak very loudly and only had one quick little part.

(Turn Up The Volume....1st Graders Don't Speak Very Loudly)

Nate's teacher then said that the kids could leave if the parents were there. It was only 5 minutes before school really got out, but Nate was ecstatic that he got to leave early with Mommy and that he'd get a ride home.

When we got home he couldn't wait to show me his cute bracelet that they made during their 'party' and he made sure he named what each colored bead represented. I just thought he made the cutest little pilgrim!

What Happens Next...

A Bunch Of Turkeys

Thanksgiving was fast approaching and we had yet to do our traditional paper turkeys. I don't know that the kids look forward to it as much as I do, but I try to make sure we do it yearly.

This year it was super simple to get all the hands and feet cut out as the Silhouette Eric got me a few months ago is an awesome little device and made it sooo easy. I was almost giddy with how little work I had to do to get it all ready to go.

For whatever reason we decided to do it in conjunction with Family Home Evening. Normally that would've been fine, but on this particular day - Eric got home almost 2 hours later than normal. I should've just forgotten about it and tried to do it the next day, but when I have plans to get something done - it needs to get done. This made for an extra long night and a bit of a temperamental mommy.

We had a nice talk about being thankful and grateful and the things we should be thankful for. Then we went to work. It was nice that everyone was able to do their own thing and I just did Jacen's. It meant that Nate and Ailey had an interesting looking turkey, but it was theirs.

So from our turkeys to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

What Happens Next...

California Dreaming

5th grade is the year when the kids get to learn more about the States, or so I'm guessing - as Lex had to do a State Report. He chose the state of California (I'm guessing it's because he had so much fun at Disneyland) and they did most of the work at school. I was all for doing work at school because it is a school project.

A couple of times he mentioned he needed the computer to print off a couple of pictures and that was about all we heard and saw of him working on this project. 

Then a few weeks before the project was due, I just happened upon some papers in his backpack and in that stack of papers was some important information. The students were supposed to make a float of their state and it was something that had to be done at home! Because a poster isn't enough, they needed to do some sort of project. UGH!

Thankfully, I saw it a few weeks in advance so we had time. I decided we'd start the float on the Sunday of my birthday and then we put some final touches on it the next day. Lex took it to school and waited anxiously for the little kids and I to come see him at school.

While his float wasn't the greatest of floats present, it looked pretty good. I was just hoping he'd get an okay grade overall. He got all points possible for his float which made all the work sort of worth it. I still think it's ridiculous to do silly little projects along with a poster, but I just get ornery when teachers think parents have all sorts of time to help their kids with stuff like that.

What Happens Next...

Double Trouble

My little brother and sister both had sons born about 20 days apart. Because my little brother is no longer with his son's mom, they have seperate birthday parties for him. My little sister is a good big sister to our brother and they combine these boys parties. (Okay so they've only had 2, but both of the parties were joint ones)

This year the party was on November 15 and it seems both boys were slightly under the weather. I didn't really notice it in my one nephew, but I could tell that the other one wasn't really acting like himself.

They had a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party and the decorations were awesome. My little brother found a huge Mickey Mouse balloon that was a hit with all the kids, but especially Jace. My little sister did some other fun decorations, but I loved the picture frames she put together. 

They didn't really have to plan anything because when the cousins get together, they have fun no matter what's happening. This particular day, balloons were the hit and my nephew, Carson had a great time playing with Tanis.

Happy Birthday, Vince & Ry!

What Happens Next...

All About The Woodwinds

Before school started and when we were making elective class choices with Shaylyn she decided she wanted to join band and play the flute. (So not sure where the want for band comes in as neither Eric nor I played an instrument) So we put band down as one of her electives and sure enough she was in band.

This meant that not only would we be going to concerts for Tanis, we'd also be going to support Shaylyn. This was a bit frustrating as it also meant we get to take all the kids to concerts as our babysitters are both performers.

Thankfully the band teacher made our lives easier and instead of doing a concert in both October and December, she just did one in November. Each group played a Halloween type song and a Christmas type song.

So on the 12th we made our way over to the school. We had to stand in line for about an hour before they opened doors. This could've been a problem, but I decided to let the kids kind of play around in the lunch room area outside the auditorium. I figured they'd get all their energy out and hopefully sit better during the concert. They did okay.

And once again, I forgot to charge the camera battery, so halfway in between Shaylyn's songs I had to pull my phone out. One day I'll remember to charge the battery before hand...One day.

And someday, I'll figure out how this little guy was able to sleep through a band concert! He's got mad skills, yo!

What Happens Next...

Happy Birthday, Carson!

My nephew was having his 4th birthday party at a bowling alley. The whole family was excited, especially the kids as they really enjoy it and we really don't do it very often. Then we looked at our calendar a little more closely and realized Shaylyn had a cheer competition the same day. 

This was a little more than sad because Shaylyn and my nephew are pretty close. For whatever reason, Carson has chosen Shaylyn as his 'favorite'. She thinks he's pretty awesome too and was sad that she would have to miss the party.

Eric and I talked a little bit about who should do what and who should be where. In the end we decided I'd take the rest of the kids to the party and he'd go support Shaylyn at her competition. 

Because of an issue with Amazon and shipping, my nephew's present didn't arrive in time. So we left a little earlier than I would've so that we could stop at a store and grab another present for him. Thankfully the kids did pretty good in the store and we were in and out in no time.

We got to the bowling alley about the same time as my mom and then went in and got everybody all ready to go. 

It wasn't easy helping 2 little ones bowl and keeping another little one occupied, but I had some great helpers. Tanis is always awesome when Eric's not with us and helps me out however he can, so he helped Ailey bowl a few times. My little sister held Jace almost everytime it was my time to bowl - which is pretty amazing considering Jace has some stranger anxiety. My mom also chipped in occasionally. My little sisters boy pretty much demanded her attention and my older sister's little girl also wanted Grandma a lot. 

We had a great time and I felt bad I didn't get a chance to visit with my nephew or his parents a little more. I even bowled 2 strikes, which is pretty good for me considering I haven't gone bowling in quite a while. I texted Eric so that he believed me. I'm pretty sure it only happened because he wasn't with me. HAHAHA!

...The Birthday Boy with his Mom and Dad...

After the party my kids really wanted to go to grandma's to spend a little more time with their cousins. I decided we'd go because we really don't get to my mom's as often as we probably should. The kids had lots of fun together and I was able to help my sister tie a quilt for her hubby's Christmas gift. 

When we got home we heard Shaylyn's team got 1st at her competition again and she was more than thrilled, but still kind of sad to miss the party.

What Happens Next...