St. Nick Night

St. Nick night was 12/6 and Santa visited us in the evening. He rang the doorbell and left 2 buckets of candy on the deck. Tradition has it that if you've been good Santa leaves you candy and you'll be getting a present from him on Christmas Eve. If he leaves you rocks or coal, then you've been naughty and won't be getting anything from him on Christmas Eve. Nate was very excited when he opened the door and saw the candy. Earlier he had been a little naughty and I had warned him that Santa might see him and I didn't want him to get rocks. When he saw the candy he squeeled and put his hands on his cheeks and said, "Thank God, Santa didn't hear me!" How funny!

Daycare Christmas Program

The daycare Christmas Program was last Thursday. It was really cute! Schmoo was the most awesome cow and Boo the prettiest angel!

Youth Hockey Player of the Week

Nate was chosen as the Youth Hockey Player of the Week the week before last and got to skate with the Bucs (USHL Team) Saturday 12/13. He got to stand by the door as the lights went out and the smoke screen started and the players ran past and onto the ice. Several patted him on the head or commented as they went by him. Then they announced the starting line-up and then announced Nate as the youth hockey player of the week in that "get-ready-to-rumble" voice and he skated out in the dark & smoke and spotlights to the blue line between two of the players. He stayed out there with the starting line-up through the national anthem and then skated off. He did so well. I was afraid he might be scared at the last moment because of the dark, smoke & roar of the crowd, but he wasn't. He wanted to stay out there and play. He did so awesome and we were so proud.

Individual Poses

Here are the individual poses. They were all so good we had trouble choosing.

School Pics

Here are the daycare pics from this year. I was very pleased again this year. Life Touch always does such a nice job.

Knock-knock. Still there?

Hello all...it's been so long since I've taken time to sit down and blog - reading and writing. Life just gets crazy sometimes and I can't seem to find time for everything. Lately I'm just so exhausted by the end of the day that I drop off to sleep putting the kids to bed. I'm going to put in a couple entries tonight.

Preschool Sunday

Last Sunday was Preschool Sunday and the kids sang. I have always loved listening to kids sing and that day was no exception. The kids were asked to bring flashlights to show they were prepared. But it also fit in with one of the songs they sang - Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam. Schmoo insisted on wearing his head light. Of course it blinded everyone he looked at.

Trunk or Treat

The Church & Daycare held a trunk or treat on beggers night. It really turned out nice and was such a nice and safe alternative to going door to door. Parents & teachers and folks from Church circled the cars with the trunks facing in & passed out goodies/treats/toys from their decorated trunks. There was also hot chocolate, cider, popcorn & smores. I could hand out treats from our tailgate while keeping an eye on both the kids as they made the rounds. It was such a nice night. Schmoo went as Zorro & Boo went as a fairy princess. Schmoo was so funny...he didn't know who Zorro was at first and kept calling himself zero. We finally showed him a few scenes from the Antonio Banderas version of Zorro & that was all it took. Schmoo thought his costume was the coolest.

Birthday Princess

I bet you all thought I fell off the face of the earth. Things just got so busy and
I haven't had the chance to get out here...well lots of things to blog about, but will just start with Boo's birthday. She had a super day! So, now we have two 3 year olds in the house. She just loves "pinsesses". So, she got her princess birthday cake and had royal birthday party.

Hockey Mom

Schmoo started hockey last night. He is in the initiation program for kids 10 & under. The program focuses on teaching kids to skate and fundamentals of hockey. Once they have mastered all the fundamentals they are placed on a house team. They can transfer to a house team whenever they are ready - even if it's the middle of the season. Schmoo is #8 and he did really well last night. By the time the first practice was over he was able to walk halfway across the ice on his own without falling. He was so pumped! Mommy, Daddy & Grandma are so proud of him!

Saturday Outing

Grandma Sue & Mommy took the kids on a double outing yesterday. First, we went to the Johnston Firehouse Open House and then went to Howell's Farm pumpkin patch. At the firehouse the kids went through stations to learn & experience fire safety. They learned about smoke detectors and what to do if they went off, how to stop, drop & roll, how to use a fire extinguisher, how to dial 911 and how to use a fire hose and spray out a fire. They also got to watch jaws of life. Finally, they got to play inside the squad ambulance and the huge ladder truck. Schmoo met a special fireman who let him try on some of his real equipment. That was pretty special. They both got fire helmets and badges and certificates of completion. I was very pleased that Schmoo knew as much as he did about fire safety. Then, we went to the pumpkin patch since Schmoo & Grandma had such a good time. Boo & Mommy really wanted to see it too. Boo & Schmoo played in the corn and rode tractors & little push cars. Then, they climbed up and walked along a fallen tree trunk and swung on a tire swing shaped like a horse. We all went on the hayrack ride to the pumpkin patch & saw Francesca's house from the book/movie Bridges of Madison County. We didn't get pumpkins from the patch, but Boo & Schmoo & Mommy walked through the tall corn maze on a treasure hunt. We found all the icons and punched their card shapes so they each got to pick a treasure from the treasure chest. We took the hayrack back to the barn & picked out some pumpkins, gourds and corn & fed the goats. We were so pooped that the kids fell asleep on the way home. What a fun day and the weather was just perfect!!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Miss Julie took Schmoo's class on another super awesome field trip. This time they went to the pumpkin patch (Howell's Farm). They fed animals, played in a shelled corn sand box, took a hayrack ride out to the pumpkin patch and got to cut a pumpkin right off the vine. Grandma Sue went along. They had a super time! But then...Schmoo went down the big slide and came down so fast that he went airborne and landed face first in the dirt. He bloodied his nose pretty bad and it was feared broken at first. He got lots of lovin' from all the mom's and teachers. Grandma Sue went ahead and took him home after the field trip. Grandma Sue knew just what to do. She pulled out one of her old nursing books to a page with noses and let Schmoo look. She scanned the page with her finger and stopped and said, "What to do if you slide down a slide and fall on your nose." Schmoo got excited and agreed that was what happened. Grandma read further and said the book said he would need to eat chocolate. Schmoo said he could do that! He told Grandma he really liked her nurse book!

Lipstick

I'm a bit behind on my blogging as you can see...it's been awhile since my last. Awhile back we took Boo to Build-A-Bear to create her own special friend. A dear family friend had given us a gift certificate as a welcome to Boo. So, we went and she chose an elephant. It is really cute and she named it Lipstick. Schmoo helped kiss the heart before inserting it & the recorder says, "Mommy & Daddy love you."
Here are pics of her adventure.