The tree is up

The tree is now officially up. It does look nice if I do say so myself. We've put up all the decorations through out the house as well. The only thing left to do is to put the Rudolph train around the tree and clean up. Hopefully we'll get that done tomorrow and I'll be able to put some lights out at least on the front porch. We're in for more rain tomorrow so we'll have to see. I'll have to post photos after I get the house cleaned up.

I do miss cutting our own tree but there isn't any places near the house and I'm not paying $45 or more for a tree that I have no idea when it's been cut. When I have a house big enough to do two big trees perhaps I will. :)

Preparing for Christmas

The Friday after Thanksgiving I always start preparing the house for Christmas. This year meant moving a couch into the garage so that we could get the tree in the living room. And straightening up the garage (it's not perfect but you don't have to step over things to get in there) so that when Grandma comes to visit (we can't wait) she doesn't hurt herself trying to get in our house. Of course after shopping and cleaning I wasn't feeling like putting up the tree but with Alex (especially Alex), Logan and Kayla asking to put the small tress up in their room I had to get started.

The kids trees are up and we've assembled the tree in the living room. But we won't do the lights, ornaments and train until tomorrow. I've found that 9 p.m. isn't a good time to put ornaments on when you're 4 and 6. Besides right now they're still enjoying some pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving.

Woohoo! Congrats to Phil!

The letter we've been waiting for finally arrived in the mail today. Phil officially passed his comps and has now earned his Masters! We're all very proud of him! We're even more thankful for all that we have!

Start of a New Tradition

Every year there are a few items that we're usually looking for in the door buster sales at the different stores near our home. Normally it's just me getting up at hours that are unmentionable but this year I got some company. This year I got to share the experience with Kayla. Last year Kayla discovered the "other" Santa and so this year I told her she could join me on my adventure. Mostly because I already have most of her gifts.

I must say it was nice to have someone to talk to while I'm standing in the lines and someone to ride in the car with me. I used to do that with Jenny (but alas we're too far apart to do that now other than joining each other via phone). We worked as a team splitting up to make sure we got everything we were coming for. She and I enjoyed a nice venti cup of coffee from Starbucks (her second favorite only to going to Kohl's)after shopping and picked up some Krispy Kreme donuts for those still at home in bed. We were back home in bed by 7:40 a.m. - a record shopping trip even for me.

Hopefully next year she'll decide to join me again and she has a greater appreciation for what we do to get just the right gifts for the ones we love. Thanks for spending the time with me Kayla.

Waiting......

We're one piece of paper away from finding out if Phil has earned his Master's degree. We just found out today that his portfolio he presented reflecting on all the outcomes of the course was accepted. We are now just waiting for the letter saying he's passed his comps. Keeping our fingers crossed that letter comes in the mail today.

Power Outage - Too Short?

I had just finished dinner tonight and we were sitting down for dinner and the lights flicked off, back on and then off again. We were without power but it wasn't bad. We found the flashlight pulled out the matches and lit some candles. Phil, the boys and I ate dinner by candlelight (Kayla was at Thai Boxing). It was nice not to hear the noise of music or the tv in the background and just be able to have everyone talk.

After we finished dinner we head off to pick up Kayla and call in the power outage on our cell phone. We warned Kayla her chicken may be a bit cold but still it would be tasty. We got back and the lights were still out. We went around got on warm jammies and lit some candles. About 10 minutes later the lights all came back on. We(Phil and I) were a bit disappointed because we were enjoying the time without the tv and the kids were liking playing with the flashlights. Of course then I started cleaning up the kitchen and the boys were taking a bath.

I finished the kitchen and started to blog about the desire for the power to stay out a little longer and then the power goes out again. Of course by the time we got the candles all lit again the power came back on. Go figure. Maybe we'll make a light free night some time soon. (The upside is the heat will still be on. :)

Break in a Blog

Normally I'd blog some over the weekend but haven't this weekend because everyone in the house seems to have some version of a cold. Phil was sick enough to go to the doctor and get some meds on Saturday. Of course after we took Montana for his yearly shots at Petco. Perhaps the colds are due to teh fact that it's actually starting to get cool down here. I won't say cold as that's an insult to my northern friends. But the night time lows have been in the teens and the daytime highs in the 40s (which of course isn't reached until about 4 p.m.).

Then on the off chance I have some down time I've been cleaning the house. I really need to mop the floor but perhaps taht will happen on Tuesday night. At least I can see the kitchen counter and the table again.

Preparing fror the Holidays

It's that time of year again - Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love to decorate (probably drives Phil nuts)although I have slimmed it back some because of the dogs (mainly Montana's big wagging rear end). One of the better things about that time of the year is the need to do deep cleaning. By deep cleaning I don't mean just putting things away I mean getting rid of those things that you don't use anymore. In the past couple of weeks we took 7 garbage bags (the big ones) full of clothes and toys to Goodwill plus we've probably got that many more in the garage ready to go.

Provided I get over this cold we'll be straightening out and weeding out the garage this weekend. In order to fit the tree in the living room we have to move one of the couches out to the garage. And there is no way I'm not having a tree. :)

Congratulations Kayla

Kayla just found out that she's first chair for flute in 6th grade band today. Way to go Kayla! We're proud!

Alexism for the Day

This past weekend we caught Alex sneaking around in my closet. It wasn't a huge deal but something (small kites) that we had bought that we were waiting to give the kids at a later time was in there. They knew about it but they just hadn't earned it yet. So Alex and I are driving home today and Alex asks me where we're going this weekend. I told him no where and I asked him what he wanted to do. He told me that he wanted to go to the park and fly his kite. I said you know that you shouldn't go in my closet without asking. Alex says, "I know but I'm sneaky."

Hat Day - Relay Life

Today was hat day at Logan's school and we had to scrounge to find him a dollar (I didn't want to send in a larger bill with a 6 year old) so that he could wear a hat. He said if we didn't have a dollar he'd be the ONLY one in his class without a hat. The dollar goes to a worthy cause because it does support relay for life. And you know we wouldn't want Logan to be the ONLY one without a hat. What hat did he choose? Why his army hat.

A Miniature Lawyer

On Saturday we were getting ready to leave to just get out of the house and Phil sticks a small baggie of chocolate chip cookies in my purse for the kids. Alex comes up to me and says, "Can I hold the bag." I say to him, "You have to ask your Dad because I think he wants me to hold it because he put it in my purse." Alex replies, "I did ask him and he didn't say anything." I again reply, "I think he wants me to carry it because he put it in my purse." Alex says, "No he doesn't because he didn't say for you to carry it."

Logan's First Conference

Today was the first conference for Logan. I have to say that the teacher had nothing but wonderful things to say about Logan. He's calmed down and isn't pulling strips on a regular basis anymore. He's doing very well in language arts and math. We got to bring home his writing journal and I'm sharing some of the photos he's included. One is of him and I going to Publix. It's hard to decipher but it says "I was at Publix and I was with my mom. Love, Logan" The other is one of him going to Michigan with Shane.

We also learned that Logan provides the teacher with "Loganisms" at school as well. We were told the story of how he was sitting on the carpet (his teacher was in the front wearing a skirt) and he leaned over to the boy next to him and said (in what he thought was a whisper), "She has old lady knees." Luckily his teacher (as all good Kindergarten teachers do) had a sense of humor. In fact, her husband asks her daily what new "Loganisms" she has each day.

Family Photos Part 3

The last of the set.

Family Photos Part 2

A few more photos.

Family Portraits Part One

A few weeks back we had an outdoor family portrait session. These are some of the photos from our session. We did group and solo shots and a funny family portrait.

Grocery Store Fun

Here's what Phil and I do for entertainment. We go to the grocery store without children. You'd think that that would be boring and humdrum but one of us always seems to find a way to entertain the other. Tonight that was me. I love clearance bins. (Mom - had to do the Elvis one just for you - thank you thank you very much.)

More Halloween Photos

Here's a few more photos from right before we trick or treated with some friends of ours. The boys are posing with Vivienne the kitty and Kayla is posing with her friends Madison (flip flop) and Jennifer(pirate).

Hoodini Dog

Yesterday we came home to an interesting suprise. Phil and the boys walk into the house to be greeted by our lab, Montana. However, he shouldn't have been able to greet them by the door because he's crated when we're at work (for his safety because he chews everything and when left outside to run he jumps the fence). Needless to say several things had been chewed:

1. Pages from the Religious Education Book I use to Teach from (plus the folder my papers are kept in).
2. Tony's tiger slipper (sorry Tony)
3. My feather pillow on my bed.

Can't be mad because it wasn't Montana's fault that he was left free to roam the house. At least he didn't chew on electrical wires and I bet he has a bit of a tummy ache to boot.

Voting

Hopefully everyone voted in this most historical presidential election year. What a wonderful thing to see such a huge turn out. Lucky for me I was able to walk right up to the polling booth and cast my vote. If you didn't vote you should because you konw the importance of it when you have the following conversation with your four year old:

Alex: Mom, where are you going?
Me: I'm going to vote.
Alex: When do I get to vote?
Me: When you're 18.
Alex: But the tv said the kids pick the president.
Me: That's true we did see that on tv.
Alex: I'm going to write my vote on a piece of paper when I get home.

(Note: Nicklodeon did an online voting option where the kids picked the president.)

So if at 4 it was important to vote so should it be for anyone over age 18 (no matter who you vote for).

Even the middle school (Kayla) and the elementary school (Logan) did mock elections.

Game Three Tball Tournament Twins vs. Marlins

Saturday was the third game in the playoff series for the Twins. It was the longest game of the season. The game lasted over 2 hours! The normal game length is 1 hour and 15 minutes. The team played great. We had some great hits and great defensive plays. The Twins put up an awesome fight but lost in the 5th inning 27 to 26. Logan hit off the pitch at each at bat. He played circle during the game and witht eh exception of one throw had a great game. Since the team lost two games in the double elimination tournament it was their last game. They played a great season! Go Twins!

Halloween

It seems like we've been pretty busy lately and I haven't had much time to post. That and I've seem to have misplaced my camera card reader. On Halloween I left work early (Friday traffic coupled with Halloween traffic in the ATL is a horrid mess.). The nice part was I was able to go to Logan's Halloween classroom party. The suprised look on his face was priceless (of course I didn't tell him in adcance). I got to help him make some crafts. This photo (taken by the class mom) is of Logan's new mask.