A Week Full of Events

I had the past week off for winter break. I took the opportunity to check a lot of items off of my to do list and to soak in a lot of activities with the kids. Russell has been asking to visit my classroom so I took the kids to play at my school. This was a blast! Russell loved the giant white board while Sloane spent most of the time in the kitchen center. We also went for haircuts and made the trip north for dental check-ups with my brother. I took the kids for pictures which turned out absolutely ADORABLE! I was so impressed with the photographer. She was so charming with the kids. Our weekend was spent bowling with the neighbors and shoveling snow (UGH)! Will spring ever get here?!?!

Although my week was quite refreshing and I would never complain about having time off with my children, there were two unpleasant events of the week:

First

I spent one morning during the week at the library which turned out to be a slight nightmare! I honestly do not know what went wrong! The kids just became extremely giddy and before I could grasp what was happening, I lost complete control of them! Sloane was running between book shelves squealing and once Russell caught onto the excitement, he was off. I had to drop everything and hoist two children under my arms kicking and screaming. I was mortified to say the least and had to make a quick exit without any new books. This turned out to be the BEST punishment for their behavior. Russell was completely distraught over not having new library books. He spent most of the afternoon apologizing for running in the library.

Second
Our furnace conked out on us causing a very cold Friday. Thankfully we have a fireplace so we had more wood delivered and were able to keep the heat above 60 degrees. The furnace is temporarily fixed however it is just a matter of time before it is a goner. Just when you think you are about to have a little cushion to lean on... POP there it goes!!!

Good and bad, I am so thankful for the time off with my family!

We spent extra time on art projects this week.
Sloane is becoming a dress-up queen! She loves her princess dress, Cinderella shoes, movie-star sunglasses, crowns, hats, and jewelry! She always has to check herself out in the mirror.

This was the first time we have gone bowling as a family. Russell was so excited! He raced to roll his ball down the alley and then did not even wait to see what happened. He was more into getting high fives from all of his friends!

What is with this snow?!?! I looked back and the first snowfall was on November 16th. Should I really still be posting snow pics?!?! I can not wait for spring!!!

This is Sloane's latest chain of events...lining up EVERY baby doll, wiping them with baby wipes, giving them each a diaper then a pair of jammies, covering them with a blankie, then giving them all kisses night-night. Repeat, repeat, repeat! It is very cute, but at one time we counted nine pairs of pajamas lined up on our family room floor!

Mother Goose Lives On

Russell loves nursery rhymes. Over the last few days, he has requested for me to read to him from the Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme book. It takes several minutes to get through the shortest rhyme due to Russell's curiosity. He questions EVERYTHING! His questions are adorable, but at times I am not quite sure how to answer them. I thought I would share a few of his thoughts:

There Was An Old Women Who Lived In A Shoe:
You can't live in a shoe. It would hurt. Where is the bread? Why is it all gone?

Humpty Dumpty:
Why did he crack? Why did he sit on a wall? Eggs don't sit on walls. Eggs crack then you have dinosaurs.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub:
Why are the men in a tub? There's no room. You can't have bread and candles in a there.

Rock-a-Bye Baby:
Mary lost her baby? The bad guys put the baby in the tree. The baby will fall. Baby needs to find Mary. Where's Mary?

Hope these thoughts from a 3-year-old make you smile like I did!

Only a mother would...

Only a mother would take pictures at a dentist office!!! Yesterday, Russell had his first dental cleaning with Uncle Keith (my brother is a dentist for those that don't know). I have been prepping Russell for weeks with stories and role playing about going to the dentist. He has been very excited to see "Unc Keith's office." On our drive there, I reminded him about the special chair and big light that would shine into his mouth. He assured me that he was ready. I think I was more nervous about the visit than he was. Upon arrival, Russell was tight lipped while meeting the office ladies but then Mary, the dental hygienist, took him into her room and let him ride the chair and look at the special tools. Russell is really into tools so this perked his interest quite a bit. Mary then gave him cool sunglasses to wear - this too interested him! Russell was great! He followed directions and sat nice. Mary did laugh however at how talkative he was. Even while his mouth was full of tools, he was speaking to her in full sentences!!! What a kid!!! He walked away with a new toothbrush, floss, and plenty of stickers. The best part...NO cavities!

LOVE is a Beautiful Thing!!!

I have to admit it...I am a sap for Valentine's Day! Aron and I are not extravagant by any means, but we are sure to share a card with one another that includes a little love note. I can't help but enjoy a day that is devoted to telling people you love them!

Russell and Sloane began their Valentine's celebration a day early at daycare. They each enjoyed a party within their classroom where they played games, shared Valentine cards, and tasted yummy treats! When I arrived to pick them up Friday afternoon, they were both grinning from ear-to-ear and eager to show me their treat bags. Ever since, they have been re-opening every single card and asking Aron and I to read their friends' names. It is so cute! Sloane becomes so excited when you say a friend's name. It's as if she is thinking, "how do you know who that is from?" She squeals and repeats each name as you say them. Russell is quick to find all the "boy" cards and pushes away anything pink or princessy.

We enjoyed Valentine's day at home on Saturday. When I handed Russell his card from Aron and I, his response was, "Oh, wow! Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad! Wow!" All this over a card! I guess there was no need to get them each a new book and music CD. We did however enjoy Russell's Imagination Movers CD. Saturday evening we blasted the tunes in Russell's room and created our own family band. Russell on drums, Sloane on saxophone, Daddy on keyboard, and Mommy on guitar! We were completely outfitted with sunglasses and all! What a hoot!!!

I hope you all enjoyed Valentine's Day as much as we did! Spread the LOVE around! God Bless!

The kids enjoyed opening Valentine gifts from Grammy and Papa!

Two of the members of our four-man band. Aron and I are not about to share pictures of ourselves dressed with sunglasses, a Barbie guitar, and keyboard :-)

A Week In Pictures

It has been crazy around here! Sometimes I question my decision to be a working mom, but when it comes right down to it, I know it is what's best for me and my family. Being a teacher allows me to have the best of both worlds...a job I LOVE and lots of time off with my family! I am anxious for winter break next week!!!

Grammy and Papa sent these large blocks to Russell and he has been having a blast building towers and castles. Here he is pretending Diego is climbing the castle.

Some work friends made this rocking horse for me when I was pregnant with Russell. Both kids enjoy it, but Sloane is definitely the one who is on it the most. It is usually parked in her room.

I took the kids to the library Saturday morning. The first stop upon arrival is always the fish aquarium. You can see that Russell insisted on bringing a backpack along with him.

A new favorite activity at the library are the computers. It amazes me how technically advanced kids are these days!

The puppet theatre...Russell had fun with the crocodile while Sloane used the kitty cat.

If you haven't noticed, Russell's new favorite outfit is his "hunting pants, safari shirt, and hunting boots." He puts this lovely outfit on by himself on all non-school days. Here he is busy at work fixing pipes :-) Gotta love that imagination!

Sloane came down with the stomach flu on Saturday afternoon. After a long nap and bath she curled up on the couch with her best buddy Mac.

Grammy and Papa came to town today to watch our sick little one so that Aron and I don't have to take time off work (thank heaven for retired parents). They brought Sloane a new bath time baby doll. As you can see, she loves it!

Chili Cook-Off

Tonight our neighbors', Leigh and Scott, hosted the first annual neighborhood chili cook-off. All the kids played while the adults ate, ate, and ate! Each family brought a crock pot of homemade chili. We then had to sample each one and vote for the top three chili recipes. Aron was thrilled because he was declared the CHILI CHAMP! We had a great time hanging out with our neighbors, eating delicious food, and watching the kids play. As I always say...we have the world's BEST neighbors!!!

North Altadena Chili Champion!

Yummy cupcake cones!

Sloane and Anna having fun on the slide.

Rock stars in training: Zeke, Antonio, and Russell

Fire Chief on Duty!

Pizza! Pizza! Get your hot and fresh pizza!

When Aron and I first got married and lived in Grand Rapids, we used to make homemade pizza on a regular basis. Most of our friends on the West side even joined in on the fun at some point. When we first moved to Royal Oak, we rented a very small house with a teeny tiny kitchen. We unfortunately got out of the pizza making habit. Well when sitting down last week to make our grocery list and plan for the week's meals, Aron suggested homemade pizza. Terrific thought! I figured it would be a great way to have fun with the kids. So on Friday night we came home and got to work. It was a blast!!! Russell was so excited to wear his chef hat and apron. Sloane didn't want to wear hers, but she still dug right into the fun. The kids loved every minute of dough mixing, dough rolling, sauce spreading, cheese sprinkling, and pepperoni bliss!!! The best part of course was the pizza eating! We can't wait to do it again!