A Pretty Smart Girl

On Wednesdays I work in Brennas class for an hour.  I'm usually working with other kids and not Brenna when I'm there, but every once in awhile Mr. Langston will have her work by me while I help other kids.  Yesterday she sat with me while I helped a few other kids with their writing assignments.  After we were all done, some students were going up and reading their page, it was about 100 things.  One little boy wrote that he wanted 100 Eagle Bucks.  They get a chocolate bar for every 10 Eagle Bucks they earn.  So, Mr. Langston asked the class if they could figure out how many chocolate bars you would get for 100 Eagle Bucks.  He said he would probably fall down if anyone could get it right because this would be division.  One said 100 bars, another 1 bar, then 2 bars.  Brenna raised her hand, he calls on her and she says 10!  Good Job Brenna!!!  We both looked surprised and he asks her how she knew that..."I'm a pretty smart girl...aren't you going to fall down?"

I love to be there and witness these things :)

Ryan turns 4

Happy Birthday Ryan!  It's amazing that my baby is now 4 and so independent.  Cause let me tell you, he was not an independent baby, lol.  Every year on their actual birthday, I always do something fun with the kids (something small).  But this week Nolans brother and family were coming to visit.  The day just worked out that the men planned on going fishing and taking the boys.  So, Ryan got to go fishing for the first time on his birthday.  Papa went to get the boat ready the day before, and at 7am, Daddy, Ryan, Uncle Landon, and Cousin Anthony set out for Santa Margarita Lake.

I am pretty excited that daddy managed to get at least one shot with Ryan attempting to fish.

This happened to be what he did the rest of the morning, eat!

I was worried that it would be too cold (it was), that the boys would be difficult (they were alittle), and that the day would turn out horrible for them (not so much).  They actually had fun.  After all the chaos with the boat not working, and noticing lots of water coming in the boat and worrying that they might sink (they didn't), it was a fun day for the boys and a learning experience for all, lol.

That night we had the family come to our house for dinner.  It's always fun to fit lots of people into our small house, lol.

Ryan and his Francesco cake :)

Uncle Vince gave him his very first fishing rod.  This little boy is going to be ready to go again soon.

This is what Awesome looks like!  Now really, that is the perfect shirt for a birthday boy :)  Of course, his facial expression is a whole other story, lol.

One more Rescue Bot to complete the collection, Bumblebee :)

It turned out to be a pretty great day.  He only threw about 4 fits, so one for each year. (please tell me this will not be a trend)

How Brenna spends her Holiday

Today was a holiday, so that meant no school.  Nolan decided to take today as furlough, so we had the whole family home. We spend the whole day in our pjs, it was great :)  The kids had a few moments of craziness where they decided to have screaming fights.  Umm, what happened to the peace and relaxation?  We got it back after they got the pleasure of sitting in corners and pouting.  Nothing says lets have fun like two pouting kids, ugh.  They finally settled on Polly pockets, and they had a pretty nice town set up :)

Later in the day I was sitting at my desk working on party stuff, then Brenna comes in with her flash cards.  Apparently 3 days off school was too much for her to handle.  After she read a few books, she started making sentences with her flash cards.  Since this mom has been lagging on the new cards for the 250 list, she had to make due with her 100 words.

She set up all her cards on the floor behind my chair.  My workshop isn't very big, so everytime I turned around, I was knocking over her cards.  So I stopped working on the party and decided I should get her flash cards done.  But, since I was already being crafty, I decided to make bright and fun flash cards.  Thank you Silhouette :)

Anything to make learning just alittle more fun, and what's more fun than a rainbow of flash cards :)

Christmas 2011

I've finally taken some time to get all our Christmas pictures organized and realized, we had a REALLY busy Christmas.  Even with how busy we were, we still managed to appreciate all the things going on, the people in our lives, and the Reason for the Season :)  I think we had a really great Christmas.

Now, don't think I don't appreciate our families during the whole year, but during this time it makes us truly grateful that we still live here close to ours.  We don't have to travel far for the holidays, and the kids have all their grandparents right here.  Especially with Nolans schedule, we never know what holidays he'll be working, so it's nice to not have to stress about how we're going to see everyone.

To start off the holidays, the kids and I really wanted to make a gingerbread house. I can't believe we've never done one before this! Well, we sure made up for the past few years. The kids and I made one at home, then we made one with Nana & Papa, and then Brenna made one at the Girl Scout Christmas party. They were all really cute, and I only helped with the frosting, the kids did all the decorating.

Decorating the tree this year was interesting too. Brenna has helped us with ornaments in the past, but this year Ryan wanted in, and he was all over the place. I really tried hard not to reorganize the tree, but lets face it, 20 ornaments in one spot don't work well. Plus they can't reach very high. Nolan is always the one to put the star on the tree, but this year the kids both wanted to help. Leave it to daddy to work his way so they both can help, and being up there wasn't good enough, they both had to have their turn touching and adjusting it, lol. I'm was so glad it didn't fall off! Every year the kids get a new ornament and I usually take a picture of them with it. I thought they were super cute :)

We started the month off with the Christmas parade.  Brennas Girl Scout troop walked in the parade as Angels, and each girl decorated their own wings.  We had some really colorful wings out there :)  I walked with the other moms, and Ryan sat and watched the parade with Tata, Nana and Papa.  I brought a bunch of hot chocolate, so we all got a warm treat at the end.

2nd, we had the LPD kids Christmas party, which is always fun :) Santa comes to visit and brings the first present.  Since we got there alittle late, our presents were at the back of the tree.  Brenna and Ryan were the last kids to get their presents, and they were sooooo good!  They sat patiently and waited till their turn.  Patience was their trait this season.  

3rd, came Brennas Christmas program at school.  We had our class party the day before, and it was so cute.  The kids got to watch a movie while they ate, and the room was SILENT!  Mr. Langston had to tell the kids to talk and make noise, it was a party! For the program, Brenna and Chloe announced the first song they were singing, and they sang 5 songs.  They all did such a great job. 

4th, the Girl Scout Christmas party.  They made snow globes, ornaments, and gingerbread houses.  They had a gift exchange, and were suppose to bring a stuffed animal to donate.  The stuffed animal was a BIG issue with Brenna. (some back story) About a month ago, we went through all of our stuffed animals, including my old ones from the attic.  The kids were only allowed to keep what would fit on their shelf.  This was a very time consuming project, because they love stuffed animals.  Fast forward to our November meeting, the girls were told about the plan for the Christmas party.  They were asked to bring a stuffed animal to give away to an organization that collects them for the police and fire departments.  They give them to kids at emergencies, this is close to our family so shouldn't be a problem.  Brenna started crying, so I suggest we go buy one to donate.  On the drive home I realized that wouldn't teach her about giving what you have to someone else in need.  All month we gave her time to decide which one she would party with.  She had two in the car on the drive to the party and started crying again.  It took us 15 minutes to settle down and finally understand what she needed to do.  They got one final hug before they gave them away...

Such a sad face :(

Finally it's Christmas Eve, and guess who is an Angel for the live nativity at church :)  Since Brenna had to stay for both services, Nolan & Ryan left with Nana & Papa to go and get dinner ready.  After Brenna was finished, we went looking at Christmas lights.  It was really fun for just the two of us.

Merry Christmas! We all were able to spend the day together :)  Nolan was able to get Christmas off, so the day was really relaxing.  Since it was on Sunday, we planned on going to church.  I was worried that the kids would have a hard time seeing all the presents and then leaving.  They did a great job!  We all got up (with alittle comedy from Ryan) came downstairs and checked out the tree, then everyone got ready for church.  NO HASSLES!  I was scheduled to work in the nursery, so I took the kids there with me, and Nolan went to church with his parents.  After, we came home and I made brunch while the kids played with Nana & Papa.  After everyone was there, food was in the oven, and the hot cocoa was dispersed, we finally sat down to open presents.  I couldn't believe the kids that day.  They were so patient, excited, thankful, and enjoyed every moment.  As a parent, you can only hope that they will truly enjoy the magic of Christmas.  I think this year, we all did :)

Brenna does homework :)

Wednesday is minimum day every week for Brenna.  Sometimes we go to the park with some other moms and kids for lunch.  So we get home closer to 1.  Since this day isn't as long as the rest of the week, we usually save the homework packet for Wednesdays.  Today was a park day :) so we got home around 1:15, spent some time relaxing and watching cartoons.  Ryan finally fell asleep for his nap, Nolan got on the xbox, I started working on some craft projects for the birthday party, and Brenna sat down to do her homework.  Usually she brings each page to me so I can read her the instructions.  Today I looked over and she was focused and almost done.

She is amazing me everyday! (FYI, she is now sitting next to me reading this blog, lol)

Loving school

We have entered into the second half of the school year, so let's recap.  Brenna started kindergarten this year, and her school has full day kindergarten.  I was alittle nervous about this, since most schools still do half day kindergarten.  Brenna took to the schedule really well.  The only problem we've had is waking up in the morning (that girls loves her sleep).  We noticed right off that she was taking to the school work really well, so we (or "I") started a nightime routine with more reading, mostly "sight words" to help her develop her reading.  Brenna has always loved books, but now the thought of being able to read them on her own makes her very excited.  We spent about 20 mins every night on those words to reach her goal of 100 words before the winter break.  She surprised me when she was able to test with the principal on her 100 word list the day of her Thanksgiving party. 

She earned 2 pins that day and was soooo proud :) After that we went on a reading hiatus. Not completely, but we toned it down alot. She needed some time to let all those words soak in, lol.

As Sunday night approached, we had to get back into the school night routine.  I pulled out her flash cards and had alittle review time.  She nailed all 100 words right off the bat.  I was worried she would forget them since we hadn't practiced in awhile.  Now she is all geared up to learn her 250 word list.  She is so much like her daddy when it comes to school, it makes him smile.  To top it all off, her teacher mentioned to me that he had Brenna read a book to the class during the carpet story time! How proud am I?!?! SUPER Proud :) Tomorrow is my volunteer day in her class, which I love because I get to see her work.  It really is precious to watch.  It's very rare that I get to work with her in my group, so when I do I get to enjoy her school attitude.  Let's be honest, it was not always fun when we did preschool at home, so to see her at school is great :)

Party Planning

As the kids birthdays are approaching, the creative flow is madly going.  Since the kids birthdays are only 3 weeks apart we have done joint parties for the first few years.  The themes were fun to work with, and the kids loved them.  Last year I thought we should try two seperate parties.  Mainly because it was Brennas 5th birthday and I thought it should be special for her.  They were both interested in different things, so we planned two seperate themed parties.  They were both lots of fun, but I think since they are both still young, it was a waste.  So, this year we are back to a joint party but with two different themes.

For Christmas I got a new toy...

This fantastic machine is my new best friend :)  It has made the party prep work sooooooo much easier.  Especially for a mom who likes to make everything myself.  Since this is a project that needs lots of space, I've made a nice little corner in the living room and jumped to work.  Thanks to Pinterest, I've gotten so many really cute ideas, which drove me to the thrift store and dollar store to try and make all these cute ideas affordable.  I'd say I'm doing good so far...

All these fun goodies will be transformed into what?  You'll soon find out :)  Now I need to decide exactly what each piece is for and whose theme.  That's my current dilema.  We are at T-minus 34 days until party time.  Seems like alot of time, but when you add in all the everyday things that need to be done and the fact that my projects usually take twice as long to do, I'll probably need all that time.  Stay tuned... :)

Where has the time gone?

2 1/2 years since my last post? Really?  Well, I guess you could say we've grown a bit and gone through life, lol.  I'm so blessed and lucky that I still get to stay home and raise my two beautiful kids.  I can't believe Brenna is in Kindergarten

She absolutely LOVES it!  Her teacher is fantastic, she's a smarty pants (in a good way), and it's been fun so far.  She's growing up before my eyes and it makes me sad.  But she's also growing up and it's very frustrating.  She's 5 going on 15 with a little attitude and the need to just be alone.  It's a learning process for all of us. 

And in the other corner we have Ryan. He's 3 and all that entails (sigh).  I feared he would be starting kindergarten still in diapers and sleeping in my bed.  Ryan has never been a good sleeper.  With Brenna in school and us finally getting a real bedtime routine, he's been even more challenging with bedtime.  Add on potty training and you have a STRESSED out mommy.  BUT, within the last few months, Ryan is officially in underwear and sleeping in his bed 90% of the time.  YIPPEEEEEE!!! :)  Overnight, he went from a baby boy who you could barely understand to a little boy with clear speech AND in underwear! Let's just say, life is simplified in a few more areas, lol.  My purse is smaller (no more diaper bag), and I'm actually thinking about selling the stroller (thinking).

With Brenna at school, it's been very different for Ryan to be home alone.  I think this is a great thing for us.  He gets alot more one on one time and gets more time to have his say (and he says ALOT).

Nolan and I have both moved on into the next century.  I'm thinking we did pretty good making the transition to the BIG 3-0.  The twenties were a big mixture of changes that took us from dating, marraige, jobs, houses, and into children.  Now's the time where we are more aware of who we are and where we're going as a family.  It's a pretty good place to be :)