Food a Plenty

Wow, only two days until Christmas. Where did December go?!?! I am now done baking cookies, not only have I completed all of the batches but mentally I am done as well. On to bigger and better things...mainly Christmas Eve and Day meals. Last night, we (Mom and I) planned the shopping list to support the recipes we will prepare. It seems like enough food to feed an army, but we are only 8 total. You know, we're Italian so we like to be prepared :) And it is so much fun to make new and different things. There are some recipes I only use on holidays and I get re-energized when I think about making them for that special event. Our menu goes something like this: On Christmas Eve, we are having tapas (a fancy word for appetizers). We will be making a couple of things from my new Giada cookbook -- parmesan linguine frittatas and mozzarella prosciutto pinwheels. My mom is going to make a turkey rollup thing, and we are also having shrimp cocktail, bruschetta, and cocktail franks (mostly for the kids). Christmas morning we have scrambled eggs, English muffins, bacon and sausage. Christmas dinner will be filet mignon with a spicy parsely tomato sauce, crab cakes with lemon vinaigrette, broiled zucchini and new potatoes, and butternut squash. Possibly homemade rolls also if I get adventurous or bored :) Desserts will be apple puff pastry (like a flat apple pie) and bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Wow, when I type it all up it seems like a lot of food and I am sure I forgot something so the list may be even longer. And I promise, we really are only feeding 8 people!

Christmas Cookies

I think my favorite part of preparing for Christmas is the baking. I bake most every night, a different batch of cookies each night. So far, I have made 6 tins including Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Oreo Truffles, Peanut Butter Kisses, Pecan Crescents (kind of like a Mexican wedding cookie) and Uncle Joe's Cookies (these are a butter cookie dipped in chocolate, but the recipe came from my sweet Uncle Joe so the kids have given them a new name). Oh, and sugar too but that didn't really count because they were break and bakes. I have been through Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin batches two if not three times in the month of December. They are James' favorites and he doesn't let them leave the house! I took a selection of all 5 to work on Friday and they loved them, requesting more for Monday. It gives me a nice feeling of satisfaction when I make something that someone likes...it must be the Italian in me, like a good Italian mother always wanting to keep food on the table. I'm going to make another batch of Oatmeal Raisins tomorrow (we're fresh out) and then reassess to see what I need more of before the troops come in from Jersey this week. The kids also want to make sugar cookies and I may do some snickerdoodles too. Baking is so much fun!

32

Wow...another year over, a new one just begun. Today is my birthday and I had a great day. Mostly it was a normal Friday. I started off the day by delivering some Christmas gifts to a couple of my clients and then got back to the office just in time for the holiday pot luck and white elephant gift exchange. The white elephant is so fun, we never know what will turn up. I've been fortunate to get useful things and today I got a really nice pedicure set. I'll be using that in the summer for sure! Then it started snowing and we got another 5" or so. While James and Quinn shoveled and played in the snow, Keely and I made my birthday cake. We spent the rest of the evening setting up the new TV. Instead of buying Christmas gifts for each other, James and I decided to finally buy a new TV. It's all set up now, and I was afraid 52" would be too big but it looks great in our family room. We celebrated by watching Home Alone on the big screen. We were planning to go out to dinner but since the roads were pretty nasty, we had pizza at home and will go out tomorrow night. Lastly, I got some birthday gifts from James and the kids -- a framed picture of James and I for our room, a gift card to DSW Shoes so I can buy some new shoes I've had my eye on for months, and a Giada cookbook. Fun stuff and it was a good end cap to my birthday :)

The Annual Christmas Card

When Quinn was born, Christmas cards from our family got a little easier. Everyone loves a picture of a cute kid (or kids) and ours certainly qualify...in our biased opinion. So we started the tradition as many families do of a picture card. James and I are opposed to formal pictures and we only used such formal ones in a couple of our cards. Each year though we struggle to get the "perfect" picture of the kids and it's become more difficult as there are now two. This year we waited until this past weekend, probably the last possible time to get it out in time for Christmas delivery. We took the kids to a local park, dressed in their Christmas outfits so we could take advantage of the fresh snow and mountain backdrop. It was freezing and therefore, they were more cooperative so that they could get back in the car quickly. Ah, bribery at its finest....or maybe torture, but who's keeping track? :) We also took some photos when we got back home but Quinn wasn't being too cooperative. Keely on the other hand will pose for pictures all day long.

The choices are infinite it seems and I always struggle to make it just right. As Linda told me, just close your eyes and pick one! I finally settled on this one with the three best pictures. I like the sepia look in two of them. Here's the resulting card, ready for the mail tomorrow. You are most likely on our mailing list so consider this is a sneak peek.

Book Review: He Sees You When You're Sleeping

Mary Higgins Clark is my favorite author, with a clarification. She is not the best author I have ever read books by, but she is the one I have read the most books by. They are the adult version of what "The Baby Sitter's Club" was to me in my teen years. Her books are all about the same, set in NY/NJ, and are all mysteries. They are not that predictable though and I usually can't put it down once I start. They are also quick reads for me, I'm usually done in about a day (with interruptions, obviously). Once a year, she teams up with her sister to write a Christmas mystery. I picked this one up from the library, it was from 2001 but I don't think I ever read it. I say think because sometimes I know I have read a book but can pick it up and feel like I am reading for the first time. Anyways, this was a good book. Sort of an "It's a Wonderful Life" story about a person who has been stuck in purgatory for 46 years and has to help someone on Earth in order to get into Heaven. It's a good seasonal read and I'd recommend this one or any of her others that she's written for Christmas.

Next up on my list is one I said I never would read, due to its popularity among the teen set and their mothers. Yes, it's Twilight and I am honestly not sure I will get through it. But I got it from the library free of charge so I will give it a try. Stay posted :)

All I Want for Christmas...

...is my two front teeth, my two front teeth! At least that is what Quinn can say this year now that his other top tooth is out. The gap is so big it looks like 4 new teeth could fit in there.The tooth fairy was short on cash so he got two new Hot Wheels cars. The tooth fairy is also short on memory because he already had one of the cars...but no worries, he gave that one to Keely. What a nice brother :)

Overheard

While I was cleaning the car out this afternoon, the kids were playing on their swings in the front yard. They were having a nice friendly conversation, which I was hearing in bits and pieces when I turned off the vacuum cleaner. I have no idea what brought about this comment but it made me stop and almost cry right there.

Quinn to Keely: "Keely, if you die when you are young, you get to grow up in Heaven with Jesus. Isn't that cool?"

We don't personally know any children that have died and I am not sure where he came up with this thought. I'm thinking mostly Catholic school, but hoping that our openness about death and it being a part of life had something to do with it. It also amazes me how someone so young could have such a broad perspective on life and death. Probably since I am fascinated with death, I found it interesting and quite profound from a 7 year old :)

Cavities!

The kids went for their semi-annual dentist checkup yesterday. I'm beginning to dread these visits. I never had cavities as a child, and can count on one hand the total cavities I've had in my life. James had only 1. Seems our kids aren't as fortunate. Quinn has had a number of cavities in his short life, and we've had to have them all filled as they are in his molars which won't fall out until he's 9 or 10. The last time we went in May, they were both cavity free and I guess we got a little over confident. This time, no such luck. Quinn has one and Keely has not only her first but her second as well. So we will be back to the dentist in 2 weeks for the fillings :(

Also, an update on Quinn's school behavior. It turns out that his teacher was right -- just our phone conversation and some home reinforcement has nipped his bad behavior in the bud. It's been two weeks and he has no conduct card marks. He has also received two "Purple Tickets" since then (they are special rewards for outstanding behavior)....one from his teacher for being great in class, and another from his EDP teacher for holding the door for the adults on the way out of church on Sunday. He's proud of himself, but told me the other night that "behaving is hard sometimes". At least he's doing better and hopefully that will continue!

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Or in this case, girl.

For a week to maybe even 10 days, Keely has been complaining about having a sore throat and bellyache. Not constantly, but once a day or so, she will mention it. There is no giving up with her, and this morning after her daily complaint, I threw my hands in the air and said, Fine we will take you to the doctor after school. To most kids this would be a threat. Not to my daughter. I even told her about the dreaded throat swipe for strep but no luck. Quinn was all excited to accompany us so he could see the fish in the waiting area. So off we went to the doctor after I picked them up. Of course, Keely seems fine and is the happiest little girl in the waiting room. The nurses and doctor must have thought I was nuts. Yes, I swear she is supposed to be sick. After a full checkup, the verdict is no strep and everything is normal. This is supposed to make me happy but for some reason, I wanted justification for spending $20 on the co-pay and getting home late. As we are walking out, my ever persistent daughter claims "I am really sick, Mama. My throat still hurts!". And as we arrive home, my much more level headed husband tells me, "I could have told you she wasn't sick". Oh well, it's normal for moms to be nervous that their child might have undiagnosed strep leading to complications and possible death, right?!?!

And here is my "sick" child posing for the camera last night....

The Turtle

Quinn was born a full week later than his due date after 19 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing and a C-section. He obviously didn't want to come out of that cozy nest. His personality is similar to that birth story. He is slow to wake up in the mornings, he likes routines and doesn't like change too much, and is very patient. He will spend hours building a new Lego ship, car, hotel, etc. and hours drawing pictures of intricate animals. Even now, he is laying in bed and keeps calling me to answer funny questions (i.e. how do you spell house?) because it takes him at least a half hour to settle down and fall asleep.

His tooth loosing pattern has fallen nothing short of this personality. As I've written, his first tooth he swallowed. The second one was so dead when it came out that it broke in half when I tried to maneuver it into the tooth pillow. This third one was so loose and he literally would not bite with his front teeth for weeks. We were begging him to take it out, even so far as James offering him $20 if he lost it on his own accord before December 1st. Well, even that wouldn't entice him.

On Saturday morning, he was eating a roll with butter for breakfast. It was a homemade very soft roll leftover from Thanksgiving and he obviously forgot not to bite with his front teeth. And so his tooth came out. And he came to me, very nervous telling me that he lost his tooth. Of course, I was all "You didn't swallow another one, did you?!?!". He wasn't sure but good thing James told me to check the suspect roll. And sure enough, I found the tooth lodged in the roll covered in butter. Subject tooth then washed off and left that night for the tooth fairy. Of course he didn't get his $20 (and honestly, he tried on the technicality that it came out prior to December 1st) but the fairy left $2 and he was happy. And this one didn't even break in half, so I guess we are showing signs of improvement :)

Thankful

Yesterday, James and I went to Keely's classroom for their program with the Kindergarteners. The Pre-K class was dressed up as Indians and the K class was the pilgrims. They each took turns singing songs and doing dances. It was a cute program followed by the pilgrims and Indians taking part in a combined feast. Here's Keely showing her bipartisanship posing with her best K friend, Lexi.
Smiling Keely, singing the celebration song that the tribe would sing when they brought home their feast.
And lastly, Keely and her friend Olivia...
A couple of weeks ago, Keely brought home this cornucopia from a project at school. She is thankful for all the usual things including grandparents, parents, brother, pets...and also for the entire Wolter family! She loves her cousins and talks lots about the few times she has spent with them. I thought that was so cute, and funny that her teacher had to wrap the text around the bottom because she is thankful for so many people. She is such a sweet little girl!
Lastly, Quinn had to do an assignment in computers class, writing a paragraph about what Thanksgiving means to him. Hopefully it is readable, he typed the entire thing by himself and did a pretty good job spelling most words or at least closely spelling the words he didn't know.
My favorite, most amusing part is in the second line..."then my dad and my mom do a sot". For those who need a translation (I did) sot = shot. The history there is that James and I do a shot of Wild Turkey at kickoff of most Hokies football games for good luck. The last time we did one, I was upstairs in my room and James was downstairs getting out shot glasses, etc. and I hear Quinn say, "I want to do a shot for the Hokies!". Don't worry, faithful readers, he did a shot of milk. So back to the paragraph, he confused the turkey on the holiday with the Turkey for the Hokies. And I can only hope that the teacher doesn't think we are lushes :)

Charity

We attended the noon mass yesterday. At the end, there were a flurry of announcements for holiday giving -- i.e. food banks, Christmas tree ornaments with needs for families, and lastly a service project that two 8th graders are doing to collect socks for the homeless. That seemed like an easy enough thing to do and we were headed to Target after mass anyways. So while there we picked out 10 pairs each of mens', boys' and girls' socks.


This was the resulting conversation at the checkout counter:


Keely to the cashier: "Will you please put those socks in a separate bag for me?"


Me to the cashier: "No, that's okay."


Me to Keely: "Keely, those socks are not for you. They are for charity."


Keely to me: "Who's Charity???"


Me to Keely: "Charity is a thing, not a person sweetie."

So funny what children say. I am still laughing when I hear her say it in my head :) Obviously, I then did a little more explaining about people less fortunate than us, etc. The kids already know about it from our giving to DI and some of the service projects they've done at school. I talk to my kids like I do to adults and sometimes I have to remember to use smaller words!

Date Night

About a year ago, Keely decided she was going to attend a gymnastics class. This was news to me, but when she decides that she wants to do something, I have no choice but to concede or else she will keep bugging me about it. Persistence is a strong suit for her, no doubt. So I set out to find her a gymnastics class and settled on The Little Gym. She attended a gym class on Saturday mornings for the rest of their winter semester and really liked it. What I didn't like was the fee for the class so I didn't sign her up again. However, the initial membership I paid for lasted for a whole year and will end next month.

The unintended consequence of this gym membership was Parents' Survival Night. One Friday night a month, they babysit for your kids from 6-10 PM. The cost is reasonable ($30 for 2 kids) and they let the kids play in the gym, feed them pizza, do art projects and watch a movie. My kids love it and we've taken advantage of it a few times. Last night was one such night. I dropped the kids off about 6 PM and picked James up from the bus stop. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant, complete with a very lovely glass of wine for me :) Then we went over to Target and browsed the toys and books section and it was very nice to do that child-free. It's so nice to have alone time with James. We don't even talk that much about the kids, but more about higher life philosophies and big picture things. It's a break in the monotony and gives us a glimpse back into our pre-child days. We had a really nice evening, and the kids had such a fun time that they didn't want to come home when we picked them up. Me thinks I may have to sign up for another year membership at TLG just so we can take advantage of more!

School Trouble

Yesterday upon arriving home from work & school, we were surprised to have a phone message from Quinn's teacher. She explained that over the past couple of weeks, Quinn has not been very respectful of his teachers or his friends trying to complete their work. This Monday, the teacher was out with a sick child and the aide was the substitute for the day. Quinn was very disrepectful of the aide and was supposed to write an apology letter to her that evening at home. We knew nothing of this...on Monday, Quinn had told me that the teacher was out sick but nothing more. So yesterday morning, he had to write the apology letter first thing in the morning. We both spoke to Quinn last night, several times about behaving in class. James is more stern with him, the true disciplinarian. I am a softie, and would rather handle it from an empathetic approach. Today, I called his teacher in the morning to let her know we are on the job, and will keep reinforcing the behavior at home. She called back at lunchtime to say that he was very upset when she told him she was calling us, and that since that point he had shaped up his behavior quite a bit. Today, he also behaved very well and when I asked Quinn at the end of the day how he did, he said the teacher told him it was an excellent day. His teacher also reinforced that he's a "good little guy" and hopefully just by working with him at home we can nip this problem in the bud. I sure hope so, I don't like being surprised by things like this.

Again, out of my control and I feel so helpless. There is so much trust involved with parenting...you try your best and hope they make good choices when they aren't with you. I know this will only get more challenging as they get older, and it makes me yearn (slightly) for the younger years.

Quinn must be having a bad week, tonight he split his head open when he fell from a chair. He was standing on it, trying to reach something...something he's been told not to do...and he fell and hit his head on the corner of two walls. He's in bed now with a bandage on his head, looking like The Karate Kid. He also has a VERY loose tooth and refuses to touch it for fear that it may come out. I guess the tooth fairy is not enough to entice him.

So that's a glimpse into Quinn's life right now. I'm hopeful that his school news will be more positive next time!

"The Only Kid"

Having two children is a challenge. I would never want to have an only child, but sometimes I wonder how much my children "like" each other. I know they love each other, because siblings are supposed to love each other but sometimes it just seems like they would rather not have a sibling. My sister and I fought like cats and dogs. We get along fine now, but there was a time when I wondered if that day would ever come. I always wanted more children (3-4), but after having two so close in age, it seems like about all we can handle. I struggle with only having two children and I hope I don't regret that choice later on in life. We are blessed with two happy healthy children though and I know how lucky we are to have them. Wow, that was a digression from the intent of this post.

James and I try to give each child some one on one time on the weekends, not consistently but as much as we can. Last weekend, James took Quinn to Science Day at the U and Keely and I did a girls morning, complete with manicures and pedicures and hair styling (for her, not me). This Sunday, Keely had a play date with her best friend Lexi. Before she left, Keely told Quinn "Have fun being the only kid in the house!". She was gone for about 3 hours so we had some quiet time with just Quinn and it was really nice. Then I took Quinn to a fund raiser for his school, Mother/Son Bowling. They rented out the whole alley and we bowled for 2 hours & and they gave away prizes, had raffles, and refreshments for all. It was a nice event. Our lanes didn't have bumpers but the kids were good sports even though they didn't get many pins down. Quinn took home a play sword and a little green monkey, and I got a bubble bath gel and candle (I gave Keely the bath gel). They took pictures of each mom and son, and printed off the pictures before we left. Here is ours...

Cute, huh? Quinn was glad to have some time alone with Mom, and James took Keely to Wendy's for a late lunch while we were gone. Then it was back together for family time, and it only took minutes before they were fighting again :( Oh well, the fighting makes us cherish the times when they play nicely together.

Ice Skating

In downtown Salt Lake City, there is an outdoor ice rink in Gallivan Plaza. Every year, they open in mid-November for the winter skating season and the first night is always free to everyone. That's free skate rentals and free skating all day. This year, they also had free hot chocolate! We've been before, not last year but the year before. The kids were really excited this year. It almost didn't happen because Quinn woke up sick this morning and stayed home from school, but he was feeling better by the evening :)

We drove downtown about 5 PM and ate dinner at Lamb's Grill, a Salt Lake staple with yummy food. Then we walked over to the plaza. What surprises me most is that the crowds are not bad considering that it's free. Maybe it isn't well publicized, but I don't care because we take full advantage. James didn't want to skate so that left me with two beginners (and I'm not all that good of a skater myself!). The last time we skated last Christmas, it didn't go well. I didn't have high expectations but after a couple of times around, the kids started to improve. Keely especially seems to be really getting the hang of it, and we were going around at my full speed (again, not too fast because I am not that good) with her asking to go again and again. Quinn is not as natural but got better the last couple of times around. We even got to watch the zambonie (sp?) go around and clean the ice, and then headed over for some hot chocolate. Quinn said it was F-U-N (and yes, he did spell it out) and Keely said more than once that she loved ice skating and could we come back again tomorrow? Well, not tomorrow sweet girl...but I can say we will go again this winter because it was a really fun evening! Here are a few pictures to document it, albeit a little grainy because they were taken with my cell phone camera.

Around the House

This weekend was one where lots of things got done around the house. Last weekend we had purchased a storm door for our front door and James put it up on Sunday afternoon. I never thought I would be so happy to have a storm door. It lets so much light through the foyer and into the kitchen and I look forward to taking advantage on some of those really nice Utah sunny days. I meant to take a picture of it, but it doesn't really matter because it looks like any other storm door. It's black and has nickel etching on the glass.

We also finally bought an ottoman/coffee table for the family room to match The New Couch. We've been looking since we got the couch...since it was such a small space, normal coffee tables weren't going to work. Last week, James found this ottoman at World Market (one of our favorite eclectic stores). The cubes nest inside and the top can either be a tray or a leather ottoman. We went and bought it on Saturday and it's great for our room and matches really nicely. I'm sitting with my legs propped on it now and the kids are enjoying the cubes and eating breakfast on it. So far, it seems like a pretty versatile piece!

I also got some fall cleaning done on Sunday including putting away summer clothes and going through all my clothes to make up a bag for DI (Deseret Industries, the Utah equivalent of the Salvation Army). Lastly, I got into the kids' rooms and cleaned them both. About 2-3 times a year, we have the kids make a bag for DI as well but this time was just a general room cleaning and putting things back where they belong (A place for everything and everything in its place is my motto!). But Quinn got mad that I wasn't giving anything away and got his own trash bag to fill with Cars stuff for DI :) I love that they realize that they are very lucky children and that there are children not so lucky. So that was about it, it's nice to have a clean house and we'll hope it lasts at least a few days. The clutter will creep back in though, it always does!

Sleepover!

Quinn had his very first sleepover this weekend, for his friend's 8th birthday. There were about 9 boys there for the big event, with Quinn being the youngest and only one in 1st grade. He was super excited. The night started at 6:30 PM and they had pizza, cake and just played like boys do -- crazy and wild. I can only presume by the level of noise when I dropped him off how crazy they were all night. This boy's mom must have the patience of a saint :) I had told Quinn to call if he needed us, but we didn't hear a peep. I picked him up this morning at 9 AM and he was calm, cool and collected. The boy's mom said they went to sleep about 11 PM and then got up at 5:30 AM! Needless to say, Quinn's in bed already and he was a little testy today from lack of sleep. He also didn't even use the bag of clothes I packed for him, or even the sleeping bag and pillow I sent. Boys are so funny, huh? He was wearing the same clothes I dropped him off in, and he slept in the birthday boy's loft bed (the birthday boy slept in his brother's bed). I think I was more nervous than anyone, not being in control of where he was and what he was doing for over 12 hours! It was strange to be a family of 3, if only for a short time. We took Keely out to dinner to TGIFridays and then walked around REI. Keely declared several times, "It's no fun being the only kid in the house!". Of course, once Quinn was back home they were fighting within hours. I'm sure this is the first of many sleepovers, and I'm glad to have this first one out of the way! Maybe next time I can relax and enjoy the peace & quiet :)

A New Month

We turned the corner into a new month. It's sort of deflating as you look forward all month to Halloween and then boom, it's over and November is upon us. But there are fun things ahead, as the holidays loom on the horizon. We welcomed the new month with Nana and Papa visiting. The leaves finally started falling off the largest tree in our front yard and the kids love playing in the leaf piles (what kids don't?!?!). Here's Keely, as usual being a ham and posing for the camera.
It'd be an issue if she wasn't so darn cute :)
On Saturday, we decided to go for a hike up to Ensign Peak. We've been there before with Aunt Lois and Uncle Ryan, it's a pretty easy hike since you start in a neighborhood so close to the peak. A hike nonetheless and we were off. The weather was balmy for the first day of November, in the upper 60s. Here's Nana and the kids taking a rest on the way up.
We got to the top and the views are just great, the whole city splayed out before us. I love how the roads follow the grid and they seem to stretch forever (must be the engineer in me!). Here's Nana and Papa with Quinn, with a new to the Great Salt Lake behind them.
And here's the view to the south.
We posed in front of the obelisk (now there's a fancy architecture word I haven't used since college).
And then one of the kids took this picture of James and I. It seems we hardly take pictures together anymore so it's nice to have this one and I like the way it came out. We are posed towards the southwest, with the Oquirrh (yes, that's spelled right and it's pronounced O-ker) Mountains in the background.
After the hike back down the mountain, we traveled downtown and James suggested we go to Body Worlds. This was surprising because he was adamant that he had no interest in it, and I've wanted to go since it opened. We had a quick lunch and then got on line for the exhibit. We spent about 90 minutes walking through and seeing all it had to offer. I highly recommend it, for the educational value and its fascinating bodies and body parts. Even the kids liked it, although Keely was a little young. It's a bit expensive (thanks, Dad for paying!) but I still think it's worth it. It's not every day that you get to see real bodies posed in different positions and how that affects muscles, tendons, organs, etc. I've always been fascinated by death as well so it appeals to me. I may even consider donating my body to science :)

That night we had a yummy BBQ dinner at Rib City. Keely chose since it was another birthday dinner for her (thanks again, Dad for dinner) and they even gave her a free piece of cake because I told them that when we ask where she wants to go for dinner, she says "Rib City!".

Sunday we did some shopping at Kohl's (clothes for the kiddos) and Lowe's (new storm door which I can't wait to have up!) and then had some torrential rain and in came the cold weather. Then it was time for the return to the airport and Nana & Papa's departure. It was a nice weekend, and a good way to usher in the new month!

Happy Halloween!

This year, Keely dressed up as Ariel and Quinn chose Indiana Jones. Keely was also Ariel last year but she got a new costume of a slightly different mermaid variation this year. They are allowed to dress up in full costume for school, and they have a parade through the school before a party in their rooms. Keely's parade was first, and here she is walking through the lobby. Nana got to attend the parades since I had to be at work :(
Quinn paraded with the rest of the school in the gym later in the morning. Keely and Nana got to watch and take pictures...
After school, we decided to carve pumpkins. This event typically goes something like this -- kids want to carve pumpkins, kids don't want to get hands dirty, Mom cleans pumpkins, kids draw face on pumpkins, kids leave to play with toys, etc., Mom carves pumpkins, kids come back periodically to check progress, Mom finishes carving pumpkins, kids approve of said carvings. Here I am hard at work, and then Keely posing with the finished products.
Pretty nice job, if I do say so myself :)
After a quick dinner, we were ready for trick or treating. The kids posed for the obligatory pictures...don't they look fabulous? I am particularly proud of Quinn's costume, not because I hand made it or anything but the various pieces we bought all put together just look so much like the outfit Indy wears in the movies. Quinn loves the jacket so much and he plans to wear it this winter.


The kids went around our whole neighborhood and took home quite a lot of candy. It rained on us a bit, but nothing too much to send us home early. The turnout was not great though and we have a LOT of extra giveaway candy, as well as the influx of trick or treat candy. So I will be taking some to work tomorrow...better them eating it than us :)

Shopaholic

Since this post is about shopping, I have to start with this. I started my Christmas shopping today. I believe that is the earliest ever. I'm quite proud of myself. Now the trick is to hide the presents somewhere, and not forget where so that I can get them wrapped on Christmas eve.

Okay, now the real reason for the post. Keely got a bit of money for her birthday. We let the kids spend some of the birthday money and then put the rest in the bank or college savings account. Quinn got the same amount as her last month and he chose to spend a good chunk on (more) toys from his favorite store, The Red Balloon. Keely wouldn't want to spend it on toys, she'd rather shop for her favorite fetish...clothes! So yesterday I took her to Kohl's so she could spend some money. Boy, can this girl shop?!?! There's no talking to her about her clothes, her opinion is so strong. If you try to talk her into something you like that she doesn't, she will not wear it. So I've stopped fighting (mostly) and let her get what she likes, with the exception that it has to be seasonal. i.e. She wanted jelly shoes yesterday and I wouldn't let her...I know, we could buy for next summer but she will not let them alone until then. In about 30 minutes, probably less, she had 2 shirts, a shawl, and a pair of shoes in the cart. Actually this was great progress since we actually had come for shirts. The shoes were a bonus because they were on sale and she had them last year, so I knew she would wear them to school. She was thrilled to put on her new clothes when she got home, and was literally beaming the whole rest of the day. Today when she got home the first thing she did was change into them again, and told me how much she loved her new clothes. Seems she's like most girls, a new outfit can make for a good mood :) And because she is such a ham, I had to get her to pose for me this evening...
Notice the toe points. She is such a little actress! And so cute, I must say. She asked me to call her "My Pretty" all day yesterday. She can't wait until this weekend when Nana comes to visit and they will pick out her Christmas dress. The trick there will be to keep it off of her until Christmas :)

Antelope Island

On Friday, the kids had a random day off of school so I took PTO to spend the day with them. James' alarm (me getting out of the shower) didn't go off so he slept in and ended up staying home too. We took the opportunity to drive out to Antelope Island, the largest island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. We've never been before since it's such a long drive (lol, not really but James hates to drive anywhere). This island contains the largest herd of bison and once a year, they round up the herd to vaccinate them and make sure all are healthy. Well, they were doing the round up this weekend. We saw at least 15 of them free roaming and then the rest of the herd in the corrals. We also saw lots of birds but didn't see any of the populous mule deer.


First we stopped at the potties outside the main entrance. Here we posed near a bison statue. Only after we took the pictures did we see the sign on the back, "Do Not Touch". Oh well...















Then we drove over the causeway and to the Visitor's Center. Before we even got there, we saw a few bison grazing outside.






They are huge creatures, it really is amazing to see them so close. They seem so docile but they weigh 2 tons and can run pretty fast so it makes you wonder if they've ever gotten mad and charged people or their cars.

We explored the Visitor's Center and the kids posed with another bison statue :)














Lastly we went up to Buffalo Point, a nice lookout over the lake. We took a self family portrait by placing the camera on a rock and using the timer. Ah, modern technology. It's actually a pretty good picture :) When we got home, James was outside with the kids while they jumped in the leaf pile and he snapped this gorgeous sunset. Such a beautiful fall day! We'll enjoy it while it lasts....

A Whole Hand!

Keely turned 5 today. She had a great day starting with her 2 hours in Pre-K with me volunteering. It was so fun for me to see her in school and she was happy to be the V.I.P. and center of attention. The two hours consisted of Keely being the leader (doing day of the week, date, weather, etc.), reading buddies coming in, me leading the class in Junior Achievement lesson, Keely explaining her V.I.P. poster, some outside time and then snack. Oh and lots of singing, including Happy Birthday to Keely. Reading buddies is just so cute. Each Pre-K student is paired up with an 8th grade student and once per week, the 8th graders come down with a book in hand and read to their buddy. Keely's buddy was sick today but she was more than content to share another little girl's buddy. It was precious watching the 8th graders have patience and read to the little ones.

Then it was off to work for me and EDP for her. After school and work, she opened her present from Nana & Papa. They got her a keyboard with microphone, that she admired in a toy store in Las Vegas. She had hours of fun with it, singing dancing and making announcements (i.e. "There will be no school tomorrow and would so-and-so please come to the office?"). She is so dramatic, I really need to get her into some acting or singing classes.

We then went out to dinner at Rib City (her choice) where she chose Corn Dogs, French Fries and Root Beer for dinner. What more could a kid ask for?!?!

After dinner, it was more presents from Quinn and us. She got a new leotard from Quinn. From us, she got a Hannah Montana guitar, new play vanity and makeup case, and High School Musical dolls.
She was super happy with all her presents and brought all of them to her room to arrange them just right.
After that, she had her birthday cake and talked to Grandma & Grandpa and then Nana & Papa.

Her birthday cakes are also usually an adventure in themselves. Quinn likes easy things, like racecars, pirate ships, soccer balls and trains. Those I can handle. Keely wants princesses and those involve artistry like faces. One year it was Ariel, then it was Cinderella. Those are hard, and the faces come out horrible. Last year she told me it was ugly, and she was right. So this year I decided to forego the face and make a "Barbie Doll" cake except with an Ariel doll. This cake was super easy to make and came out just darling. Even Keely gave her stamp of approval. Here is the finished product...

School Report *EDITED*

Today was the end of the first quarter and the kids got their first report cards of the year. We also had parent teacher conferences tonight. First we saw Quinn's teacher. She went over his report card with us, and told us he is doing very well academically. He got all C's and S's in his subjects. It's strange to see a C and have that be the highest grade (stands for Commendable). He also got a certificate for perfect attendance and a free kids' meal at Mimi's with it (Mom and Dad, maybe we'll have to go there for breakfast when you're here next weekend...). He is a very social child, and has trouble respecting others while they are doing work (meaning he distracts his friends while they are trying to finish their work) and making good choices. He also needs to take his time on his work, and not rush through just to be the first one done. He must have some of my competitive side in him :) Overall, he is doing well in school and enjoys it.

Then we saw Keely's teacher. She is just the sweetest and really enjoys having Keely in class. Keely got some S's (the highest grade in Pre-K - Satisfactory) and N's (Needs Improvement) but mostly on things that the teacher only expects to have mastered by the end of the year. She is ready for pre-reading and is getting better at coloring, drawing and writing her name. She needs to work on listening and following rules, and not being bossy with her classmates (no surprise there!). In the teacher's notes on Keely, the funniest thing she wrote was "CEO Material". Keely is very strong minded and not shy, and she enjoys the class. She is doing well and happy to be in real school like her brother. One more thing also -- she is one of only 2 in the class that got an S in cutting with scissors! It's because we don't limit her use of scissors, and she cuts very well. It's just an interesting commentary on parents these days being afraid that their children will cut themselves with scissors.

V.I.P.

When you celebrate your 5th birthday in Pre-Kindergarten, it is known as your V.I.P. day. That's Very Important Person for those wondering. It's actually your V.I.P. week and you get to make a poster about yourself that hangs in the class all week. Keely will turn 5 on Thursday and we made her poster this weekend, after rummaging through all of our printed pictures and printing a couple of fresh ones from the color printer. James did most of it, because he's the more creative of the two of us. I did the writing though, since I have the better handwriting. Keely was the cheerleader and she colored in some of the letters in her name. Of course it is prepared on pink poster board (and a bright neon blinding pink at that) because that is her very favorite color. Here she is showing it off for us...

She will be bringing it to school tomorrow, and I will be volunteering in her classroom on Thursday morning for her special day. We'll bring snack for the class and she will get to show off her poster to everyone. I will also do the 3rd Junior Achievement lesson for the class that morning. They are so cute and attentive for my lessons, and I really enjoy seeing Keely in her class environment. I really can't believe my baby will be 5 this week!

Weekend Miscellany

This weekend was blustery cold, too cold for mid-October. It felt easily like mid-winter with temps in the 40s. Obviously there was no camping possible. All there was to do was shop. The kids needed fall clothes so we hit the mall, a place we rarely go. Keely would shop all day and spend all of our money if we let her. She got two new outfits and Quinn got a couple of new pairs of pants. We also made chocolate chip cookies, and Tortilla Chicken Soup for dinner. Then we topped it off with a family game of Monopoly, where James was the champion of all money and property.

This morning, we woke up to this.
The kids were eager to go play so we got them into their winter gear and they had fun in the backyard.
It all melted by this afternoon, but I sure hope this isn't the sign of things to come this winter. We had a rough one last year with snow on the ground steady from November to March (okay, I may be exaggerating but really just slightly!). So I'm hoping we're not in for another one of those...