"Crispy Treats"

Last night the kids and I made Rice Crispy Treats. It has been a while sine we have done this, but we were inspired by pink and green marshmallows we saw in the grocery store. The pink marshmallows were stars and the green marshmallows were Christmas trees. Caroline sorted the colors for me as I wasn't sure what color pink and green would have made when melted together. She insisted on doing it all by herself. Tucker and I waited patiently for her to finish as we were informed that "only big girls can do this." Caroline then decorated the "crispy treats" with Christmas sprinkles and viola! Our next project will be gingerbread men. I have a feeling we may wait until Tucker is in bed to attempt that. He is not quite as patient as one needs to be and wants to eat the treats right away. Lucky for him, rice crispy treats are ready immediately.

UP!

This evening I took Caroline to the Student Union Theater on campus to see UP! It was cute! I wasn't sure how long she would last, but since tickets are only $3, it was worth the risk. We got three (small) containers of popcorn and M&M's. Caroline was a big fan of movie popcorn. She did really well and seemed to enjoy the movie. A little more than halfway through, she leaned over and put her face right next to mine and said, "Thank you for taking me to the movies, Mom" and then kissed me on the cheek. I love moments like this. It makes all the battles over clothes worthwhile! We stayed and watched the entire movie and then stomped through the leftover snow as we walked to the car. We had a fun girls' night :)

Tucker & St. Nick

Tucker was the only one of my children that would cooperate today. Caroline was afraid of St. Nicholas because he "looked like a spider." Tucker, obviously, had no problem with St. Nicholas.

First Snow of the Season!

Tucker held this snow in his hand for longer than I could have. His hands were freezing!!!

Still holding snow!

Snowball fight with Ava, Henry, Tucker and Caroline!

Hands were just too cold...time for a nap!

Snow anyone? Yes, she does have on a sleeveless summer dress under her coat. Don't forget to notice the heart tights and Halloween bow.

A Snowy Morning with St. Nick

This morning we woke up to snow. It was very exciting as this was the first snow we have seen in a while! We had to go to the seminary for the PMO Morning with St. Nicholas program. The kids were dressed in their matching outfits, however, I do not have a single picture of them together. Caroline refused to go anywhere near St. Nicholas (even though she knew it was really Greg). Tucker was extremely cooperative so pictures of him with St. Nicholas will be posted in the next few days once we get it. They enjoyed cookies and candy canes, coloring and crafts. They looked cuter than ever and had lots of fun!

Caroline's Blue Dress

Last night I let Caroline try on the dress that I wanted her to wear today. It has no pink on it so I needed to make sure she was OK with blue before this morning. She loved it because it twirled well! Yay! I tried really hard to get some good pictures of her, but this was the best I could do. Thankfully, she managed to not get any of her dinner on her dress. She did not want to take it off to put pajamas on so I had to wait until she fell asleep to get her jammies on her. No complaints...I am just glad that she liked it and felt like a princess in a dress without pink!

Static

Tucker played in his "Flintstones car" for quite a while. As a result his hair stood straight up due to all the static. Even when I tried to brush it down, it would not go. I had to take some pictures because it looked so funny!

Catching Up

Sorry it has been a few days since there has been an update. We have been on the go but I'll try to fill you in on some key moments over the past few days.

On Monday, the kids and I went to Tracy City (or if you are from around here, "Trayceee Seaty") for lunch at the Dutchmaid Bakery. Fortunately for Tuck, it is located across the street from the fire station. There was an ambulance parked in front of the station that Tucker had to see. I had to position his high chair so that he could see the ambulance at all times. We had a nice hot home-cooked meal which included mac-n-cheese. At one point, I heard Tucker say "truck...mac-n-cheeeeese," "truck...mac-n-cheeeeese." Next thing I know, his matchbox car was submerged in the bowl of macaroni and cheese. He is such a boy.

On Tuesday we went to school as normal and then went to Shenanigan's for lunch. Caroline was very upset that The Crust was closed for lunch because she really wanted pizza! I did have a frozen pizza at home that Chad fixed the kids for dinner. I had my final meeting for the PMO Board and Spouses Board. It was such a good feeling to pass those jobs off to the enthusiastic new folks. After the meetings, we had wine and cake to celebrate! Well, the senior spouses were celebrating anyway.

Wednesday was another busy day. The kids and I, along with a friend made a quick trip to Murfreesboro to go to Hobby Lobby and Target. We came home for a quick nap and then went back to school to set up tables for the upcoming craft fair. Once we finished setting up, we came home, had dinner, kids went to bed and Chad painted his icon and I went back to school to take my items to display on the table.

Back to PMO on Thursday. Caroline had a good day and showed interest in a new activity. She sat at a table in her classroom and sorted small (pretend) pieces of fruit for quite a while. The teacher initiated the activity and the entire class took turns at the table doing this task. However, to my surprise Caroline loved sorting and did it quite well. The teacher had to put the fruits away to get her to stop. I liked that she was so into putting everything where it belonged as I think that is something she has gotten from me. Now if I could only get her to do that in her room!

Also going on was the Seminarian Craft Fair. I think it was a big success and I am so glad that we did it. It gave seminarians and their families the opportunity to sell their handcrafted items and make some extra Christmas cash. It also provided a shopping opportunity for the seminary community. We had nine vendors and we made a combined total of approximately $1800. That was great and a much bigger total than I anticipated. I was very pleased, not only with my sales, but with the support and involvement of the entire seminary community.

Today was no exception as we didn't sit still for long. This morning we went back to school (yes, I feel like I live there!) to take down the tables from last night's craft fair and also set up for tomorrow's Morning with St. Nicholas program. After lunch, the kids stayed home with Chad and napped while I ran some errands. Dinner, baths, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse filled the evening before bedtime. And now, finally it is bedtime. Caroline just fell asleep on the couch and Tucker is talking himself to sleep in his crib. My bed is calling....Good Night :)

Leaky Cheeks

I just have to share this quick Caroline story. She was almost asleep on the couch when she got up and came to sit with me. I asked her what was wrong and she said that the couch was wet. I immediately felt her pj's to make sure she didn't have an accident. All clear. I asked her why the couch was wet and she told me that her "cheeks were leaking." This obviously meant that she was drooling as she was drifting off to sleep. Kids say the darndest things!

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

On Saturday I decided that it was time to get a Christmas tree. Chad was hesitant because it wasn't even December yet (which normally I would agree), but we have several busy weekends coming up and I wanted to make sure we got one while they were still available. Last year we ended up getting one from Home Depot because it was the only place we could find one. Although the tree was fine, I didn't necessarily want a repeat of last year. We got this year's tree from Dotson's Market in Monteagle. They were marked $37.99 which turned out to be a good price for freshly cut tree. This one was also a little larger than trees we have had in the past.

The kids were excited. Well actually, Caroline was excited because of the tree and Tucker was excited because Caroline was excited. They were in the car when the man put the tree on the top of the Jeep. This caused much confusion as they just couldn't figure out where the tree was. Once we got home they jumped out of the car and got a good look at the tree on our roof. This was not a sight they see everyday. Chad trimmed up the bottom and got it in the stand and in the house on Saturday afternoon. We had planned on decorating that evening and wanted the kids to be a part of it. However, because Caroline did not think she needed a nap, she fell asleep just a little after 6 pm and didn't wake up until the next morning.

So today was the day we would decorate the tree. It was looking pretty bare and Caroline kept asking when we were going to put the lights on it. Tucker wasn't nearly as enthusiastic, as he and the tree started off on bad terms. He kept throwing his pacifiers in the tree and then stood in front of it and screamed "paci!!!" It seems as though he forgot that he had thrown his pacifiers and that the tree had not reached out and grabbed them from his hands. Tucker also said "go away tree" over and over.

Finally this evening, we went to the attic to get the boxes of Christmas goods. Chad and I got the lights put on and then it was time to hang the ornaments. I honestly thought this would be a fun family activity that we all would enjoy. It was cold outside, our bellies were full from dinner and chocolate ice cream and we had a fire in the fireplace...the conditions were perfect! Well, Tucker and Caroline thought the ornaments were toys. The first five ornaments that I put on came right off almost as if it was a game. Not to mention, the kids decided to crawl under and around the tree. Not cool! Caroline's bow fell out of her hair and Tucker brought it to me and insisted that I put it in his hair.

We soon realized that we would be decorating until midnight at this rate. It was time for Tucker to go to bed. He insisted that he take a train ornament (that was Chad's as a child) to bed with him. He was quiet as always and then I heard him fussing. I went in his dark room assuming that he had dropped his pacifier, when I heard him say "train, Mommy-oh no!" The train had fallen out of his crib and he needed it. Sure enough, I found the train, gave it back to him and never heard another word. I am assuming that this would be his favorite ornament of the season.

Caroline's favorite ornament is---any guesses?---the "princess dress" ornament. She settled down after Tucker went to bed, but still managed to smash two ornaments together and break them. Thankfully, the broken ornaments were just the generic gold balls that I am trying to get rid of anyway. Miraculously, the tree is complete and looks great. I think this is one of the best trees we have had. Chad has decided that we are pulling out all the stops since this is our last Christmas in Sewanee! I'll post more pictures as we get more decorations up.