All three kids received an electronic device of some sort. This was all of them at the end of the day waiting for their night snack. A sign of the times, eh?
Our First Christmas of 2011
Last weekend we celebrated Christmas with my mom, aunt, brother and his girlfriend, Jamie. We all went out for lunch before the big gift exchange in order to also celebrate mom's birthday. But that first Christmas gift opening session is pretty exciting so after a little chit chatting at the restaurant...the kids were ready to go home and get down to business.
All three kids received an electronic device of some sort. This was all of them at the end of the day waiting for their night snack. A sign of the times, eh?
All three kids received an electronic device of some sort. This was all of them at the end of the day waiting for their night snack. A sign of the times, eh?
Our Youngest Star
I was pretty sure I knew how Ella's first big performance was going to go this evening. And it wasn't going to be good. She had thrown a fit when I tried to put her tights on because she wanted to wear pants. And she screamed bloody murder when I went to leave her classroom before the program. So when her class came up I tried to avoid eye contact, fearing that it would just result in tears and her collapsing on stage. I mean...this isn't my first rodeo with shy kids and Christmas programs.
Boy...was I wrong.
One of their songs had them counting and this is her looking down at her fingers trying to figure out if she had the right number of fingers up. It was TOO funny!!
I seriously got all teary-eyed because I was so proud of her!! She did SO amazing and honestly looked like she was loving every minute of the attention! Who knows...maybe she'll end up being our performer?
Boy...was I wrong.
One of their songs had them counting and this is her looking down at her fingers trying to figure out if she had the right number of fingers up. It was TOO funny!!
I seriously got all teary-eyed because I was so proud of her!! She did SO amazing and honestly looked like she was loving every minute of the attention! Who knows...maybe she'll end up being our performer?
Mission Impossible
Tonight was Ella and Josh's Christmas program (Lauren's is on Thursday). Of course, Lauren wanted to take advantage of any excuse to get dressed up, too. So while I had the kids all dressed up I figured I would try and get a photo of all three of them looking spiffy.
I don't know if you've ever seen the SNL skit where they keep telling Will Ferrell to give em' more cowbell even though all you can hear is cowbell. Well, if Ella's smile was cowbell...we'd be hollering at her for more cowbell.
Little less energy, Ella.
Apparently you were supposed to have your hands on your hips in this one, Ella.
A little more smile and a little less mouth, Ella.
Uhhhh...whatever that is...no, Ella.
Almost perfect, Ella.
YAY, ELLA!!
Man, I love these kids!!!
I don't know if you've ever seen the SNL skit where they keep telling Will Ferrell to give em' more cowbell even though all you can hear is cowbell. Well, if Ella's smile was cowbell...we'd be hollering at her for more cowbell.
Little less energy, Ella.
Apparently you were supposed to have your hands on your hips in this one, Ella.
A little more smile and a little less mouth, Ella.
Uhhhh...whatever that is...no, Ella.
Almost perfect, Ella.
YAY, ELLA!!
Man, I love these kids!!!
Christmas Craft
We worked on our annual Christmas craft this weekend. It was a rainy day no one really wanted to leave the house so we did not even get out of our pajamas that day. So....don't judge how the kids look. :-)
And while I can't show you the finished project....I'm sure you'll get an idea of what we're up to this year after seeing this.
And while I can't show you the finished project....I'm sure you'll get an idea of what we're up to this year after seeing this.
Photoshoot with Lauren
Before I knew what I was doing for a family Christmas card I did a little photoshoot with Miss Lauren. And even though we figured something else out for our card...I couldn't NOT share some of the shots!!
She's so big. ;-( And so beautiful.
She's so big. ;-( And so beautiful.
Speak the Truth
A co-worker sent me this video. I seriously died laughing. Hysterical. And SPOT ON!
This.is.my.life!!!!
This.is.my.life!!!!
May the Force be with you!
Last night was just about as perfect as a Halloween night as you could ask for. Well, for Iowa. ;-) It was a little chilly but honestly...there weren't snow drifts so I was thankful! I had convinced the kids to dress up as Star Wars characters a few months ago and couldn't wait to see them all dressed up!!
It was just me and kids this year so I left our bowl of candy on the porch (secretly hoping some kid would just dump the whole thing in his/her bag) and headed out into the neighborhood. I had decided that I would let the kids go as long as they were in good moods and didn't whine or throw a fit. When the first person cried or caused a scene we would head home. Otherwise, I wasn't going to put a time limit on it. I mean, it's Halloween and it's only one night a year. Little did I know....they would last almost two hours!!!
We had such a blast!! The kids had so much fun and we are finally getting to the stage where Ella can really keep up with the older two without a lot of assistance from me. So I got to stand back and watch them have fun and occasionally help Ella when her bag got too "hea-bee" for her to carry. ;-) Finally at 7:40 the Ella was too tired to walk anymore and Josh and Lauren were tired enough to agree to head home.
So we had a quick candy snack-fest and headed to bed for the night! All in all...it was a successful night!
It was just me and kids this year so I left our bowl of candy on the porch (secretly hoping some kid would just dump the whole thing in his/her bag) and headed out into the neighborhood. I had decided that I would let the kids go as long as they were in good moods and didn't whine or throw a fit. When the first person cried or caused a scene we would head home. Otherwise, I wasn't going to put a time limit on it. I mean, it's Halloween and it's only one night a year. Little did I know....they would last almost two hours!!!
We had such a blast!! The kids had so much fun and we are finally getting to the stage where Ella can really keep up with the older two without a lot of assistance from me. So I got to stand back and watch them have fun and occasionally help Ella when her bag got too "hea-bee" for her to carry. ;-) Finally at 7:40 the Ella was too tired to walk anymore and Josh and Lauren were tired enough to agree to head home.
So we had a quick candy snack-fest and headed to bed for the night! All in all...it was a successful night!
Jack-o-lantern!
I cannot stand carving pumpkins. In fact, the only reason I do it is for the kids to have the experience. Which, I'm not sure why that matters, because none of them will stick their hands in the pumpkin to get the goop out and none of them are old enough to cut the pumpkin themselves. So I end up cleaning out all the pumpkins and cutting out two of the three of them with little to no direction from the kids....and, in turn...all the "pumpkin carving experience".
And to top it off, this year I thought I'd roast the seeds and have a healthy snack for myself as a reward only to end up burning them. And by then I had lost all motivation or desire to go through the rest of the goop to find any more seeds.
Oh well...they turned out cute and the kids had fun watching!
And to top it off, this year I thought I'd roast the seeds and have a healthy snack for myself as a reward only to end up burning them. And by then I had lost all motivation or desire to go through the rest of the goop to find any more seeds.
Oh well...they turned out cute and the kids had fun watching!
Strike!!
We took the kids bowling this weekend. I had one more certificate that I had purchased for half price and it was about to expire so I figured we better quick use it! The kids are always excited to go bowling and when I told them we would be eating lunch at the bowling alley, too, they all squealed with excitement! Funny how eating in a bowling alley can be the highlight of a weekend for some people. ;-)
The mini-size bowling shoes always make me giggle!
In the end, Josh beat us all. Then me. Then Ella. Then Dustin. And finally Lauren. But what is most important is that I beat Dustin.
The mini-size bowling shoes always make me giggle!
In the end, Josh beat us all. Then me. Then Ella. Then Dustin. And finally Lauren. But what is most important is that I beat Dustin.
