Thanksgiving 2011

As is tradition at every holiday, we tried to get a picture of all the kids together. Gracie wasn't really into it. Actually, she wasn't into much on Thanksgiving. I had cute outfits picked out for the girls, but they stated that they would only leave the house in their Packers shirts. I knew that wouldn't go over well with my Viking fan family, so I concinced them to at least wear a team-neutral Koos for Kids charity shirt instead. Oh well, I can't win them all.

At least I got cute one of my niece, Elara with JR.

After dinner the kids made a paper chain for Nana and Grandpa's Christmas Tree.

Then the glitter glue came out to make a few ornaments.

Bee decided Grandpa looked cold.

The grandkids decorated the Christmas tree too!

I'd say the bottom two feet of the tree look marvelous!

Tie Dye with Sharpies

 I did this lesson with my special needs kids on Tuesday and decided Gracie would also have fun with it. We put a cardboard in the shirts and then a plastic cup. With a rubber band around the top of the cup, she used a Sharpie to color the shirt. When rubbing alcohol is added with a dropper, the ink spreads and looks like tie dye. Just keep moving the cup around to make a complete shirt. Gracie loved it and started a second shirt too.

 Adding the rubbing alcohol.

Her first completed shirt. Yeah, it's a little big, but Momma made her one her size, and hers was made from leftover shirts that I bought for my students.



P.S. Don't you love my kids' gallery in the background? Our dining room is so artistic!

My Littlest Artist

 Josey got baby Jerry painting! He really seemed to like it, and made three beautiful masterpieces.

"Momma, I'm done."

He Sits!~For Real!

He Sits!~Sort Of...



Stone Soup

Gracie's preschool had Stone Soup today. The kids even went to the river to pick the perfect stones! All the parents were invited to partake in the dish with the children. I must say, I agonized over this decision. A huge part of me hates being away from my classroom. Now matter how wonderful the sub is, s/he isn't the teacher and doesn't know the classroom like the teacher does. However, the voices of many colleagues echoed in my mind, reminding me that our district is generous enough to give us two personal days for just this type of thing, and before I know it my kiddos will be off to college and I don't want to wish I'd done more with them. My students should not be more important to me than my own children. I also didn't want her to be the only kid there without an adult to share her soup with.

So, I decided to go.

 I'm glad I did. It was only a half hour, so I was able to take the morning off and still have another 1 1/2 personal days for other events this school year. It was pretty low key, we enjoyed the soup and then the kids sat on pillows and sang a few songs for us.

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Observation Day

Gracie is loving dance class. She often asks me to go on day that she doesn't have class. On a typical dance day parents are not allowed in the studio. While I understand that the kids participate better without us there, a part of me also wishes I could watch. Last week was extra special because it was "observation day," which means we parents were allowed in the studio to watch. Unfortunately, I had a meeting after work that I didm't know about until the last minute so I didm't have my camera with me. I did, however find my Flipcam in my purse. So there's a lot of video...

Houlton Fall Bazaar

One of my schools has an annual fundraiser called their Fall Bazaar. It's a blast, and Gracie looks forward to it every year. It's a lot like the one at the high school I previously posted about, but this one is much bigger, and has been going on for 49 years. They have lots of fair games, crazy hair, face painting, craft vendors, food, test drive a new car, and a wagon ride. We didn't do all of it, but considering I was there with all three kids solo, I think we did plenty!

 Gracie getting her hair done.

 Waiting for her big sis to get her hair done.

 Little sis's turn!

 Spotting a puppy sculpture while waiting for Bee's hair to be done.

 Duck pond game.

 Gracie showed Bee how to do this game. It took her a couple of tries, but she eventually got the ping pong ball into a blue bowl. The girl running the game told Bee to "do just like your sister did." So, Bee grabbed the ping pong ball, walked up to the cups, and placed it carefully in the exact same blue bowl. At least she listens to someone.

 Spin Art!

 The big reveal.

 Bee and her masterpiece.

 Gracie and her masterpiece.

 "Dinosaur Dig." The kids dug out Easter eggs with prizes in them and got to keep both the egg and prize.

 Facepainting.

Just before we left. Loaded down with colored hair, painted faces, too much candy and lots of prizes. A successful morning!

Post Halloween

 Daddy and I hit the post Halloween sales for dress up costumes for the kids. We have lots of dress up stuff, but it's all girly, and we're pretty into super heroes these days. Among others, we got these. . .

Wolverine

 Jasmine

 Bumblebee

Snow White

Rice Cereal

 On November 1st, my boy had a huge milestone. He tried rice cereal for the first time. He reacted pretty typically, eating some and spitting it out periodically. He's been doing great with it since. I can't believe he's already old enough for solids!



Happy Halloween!

 Our family tradition is to meet at my brother's family's house for trick or treating. They have a wonderful, family oriented neighborhood. Here are all the girls in their costumes. Spider-Man, Rapunzel, Iron Man, and a duck. Lots of people laughed at my girls in such boy costumes, but it was always with a smile. I have unique kids, and I love it.

 We managed to keep track of Gracie's Spider-Man mask for three days, just to lose it the morning of Halloween and find it the day after. Figures.