"The Goose is Sensitive"

Each time we leave our house, we have to drive past a small pond where geese and ducks gather.  The ducks seem to keep to themselves and stay off the road but the geese are always going back and forth, making driving a bit of a hazard at times.

Yesterday we were on our way out of the neighborhood, and I was in a hurry, and we come up on three geese taking their time crossing the rode.  I slowed down and gently, eased up on them to hopefully convey the message that we needed to get a move on.

From the backseat a little voice says, "Mom, be careful!  Goose are very sensitive.  They are from God and Jesus and you must be very careful with them!"

Nothing like getting admonished on your driving skills from a 5 year-old!

Out with old, in with the new......

This past week I had to fill out a medical form for one of the girls that asked, "at what age were they sitting on their own," "at what age did they self-feed," "at what age did they walk unassisted."  I was pretty clueless when trying to recall that information from memory---I'm sure that makes me a bad parent---the good thing was that I was able to get most of the information from this blog!  So I now have a renewed sense of keeping this thing updated, not only so my children will have a record of all their growth accomplishments, but so that I can fill out future medical forms :-)

It was a crazy, busy December with the holidays and all the Christmas programs, parties, and family get-togethers.  I also got a new desktop and I'm struggling to get pictures from my phone to my desktop.  It seems there should be a much easier way than emailing them to myself from my phone.

Next, January followed with some missed school days because of the weather, and what seemed like daily dance practice for the Nutcracker performance that the two oldest girls were in.  The end of the month finished with the girls all being sick.

Thankfully, February is slowly, moving along, and I am just enjoying the moments before it's time to get into the craziness  of scheduling summer camps and activities.

I've tried to just recap some of December and January in the pictures that follow. 

Annual visit to Christmastown.  This year we got to take a picture with the Clydesdales.

Is this one beautiful kid, or what?

That face!  Really?? He's as bad as the kids.

The girls delighted in seeing how fast they could make this thing spin.

G's first band concert.

Kindergarten Nativity Play.  K was one of the "WiseGirls".

Preschool Christmas Program.

My two peas in a pod.  I'm relishing the matching outfits because I know that it's not going to last much longer.

Look at those cheesy grins!  Like father, like daughter.

G's school Christmas party.  Love the photobomb!

Christmas celebration at Grammy's house.

Christmas celebration at Mimi's house.

Christmas Eve celebration at Aunt Brenda's house.

G and K were Santa's Helpers this year.

Christmas morning at our house.

Little Miss M loving her new Minnie Mouse Hat.

My sweet, handsome Bobo.

And the first tooth came out in January, and on the same day as her BFF.

Snapped this pic of the tooth fairy's visit--wink, wink :-)  K's only comment, "why doesn't she have any shoes on?"

K's first Nutcracker performance.  She was in the Babydoll dance.

G was in the Lollipop dance.

And the Courtier dance, which was her favorite.

And in the Older Sisters dance.

I need 2 more weeks.......

Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Along mid-November I was feeling totally in control--gifts ordered and divvied out to the grandparents, Christmas cards ordered, teacher gifts almost complete, and a plan to have everything wrapped and tucked away by Dec. 1. 

Surprise!  Nothings wrapped and I'm still finishing projects.  It's crazy!  I'm pretty sure that I didn't take into consideration how challenging the girls' schedules would be--school programs, extra-curricular activities, holiday related activities, etc.  Somehow it seems they all have to take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Trying to take a deep breath and enjoy the spirit of the holiday as we head into the last week of school before Christmas break!

A little photo recap of the end of November:

Cutest Pilgrim ever!

The majority of the girls chose "Pocahontas" as their Indian name :-)

Little Miss M doing the goodbye song with her teacher, Miss Jessica.

Annual Thanksgiving picture with cousin CJ.

Making our list and checking it twice, and then adding some more!

First pic of the season with Santa.

From the back of the bus.......

On the way to school the other day we were talking about school, college, jobs, and what you want to do when you grow up.  G said that she wants to go to college and be a teacher.  K said she wanted to have magic ice powers like Elsa. 

G tried to tell her that was not going to be a good choice and what did she really want to be.....her answer, "Okay, okay, I'll be a fairy!"

Love that girl!!!!  Hope she can keep that sense of innocence with her for a long time!

There was a little parrot

So, I'm pretty sure that my kids don't listen to me when I'm talking.  That's why I have to tell them three times to quit jumping on the furniture, and sometimes that is still not enough.  But then there are times when I am amazed, and not even aware, that I've said or did something that sticks with them.

This past week the Littles and I were picking G up from school.  G gets into the car and this is the conversation between her and Little Miss M:

M: G, what you did in school today?
G:  I had a spelling test and a social studies test today.
M: Den? (that's "then" translated to toddler speak)
G:  I went to computer and bible.
M: Den?
G: I had lunch and recess.
M: Den?

And this conversation went on much longer than I've detailed here.  I just want to say, "thank you G for having patience with her"!  

And I'm amazed by this because........it's pretty close to word-for-word what I ask/say when I pick the Littles up from school each day.  It's also proof (and hope) that something is getting thru and staying in there :-)

Within earshot......

Overheard from the family room:
K:  "What's it smell like?"
Little Miss M: "It smells like butt."
Then lots of giggles from both of them.

Little Miss M demonstrating her "crab dance":
I say out loud, "I wonder where she learned that," thinking that it must be on a TV show that they watch and K responds, "she learned it in China."

These two are keeping me on my toes!

Is 5:30pm too early for bed???

It is starting to catch up with me---the back to back activities on Monday and Tuesday----by the time Thursday afternoon rolls around and there are no more scheduled activities, I feel like it is the weekend and I am in slacker mode.  Suffice to say that on Monday and Tuesday my creative juices are starting to wane when it comes to ideas to make our "while we are waiting" time fun.  Dinner has to be planned out and executed before we arrive home, if the kids are going to get anything healthy--thank you crockpot!

Thankfully, the kids are doing well and enjoying school and the activities.  K had Umbrella Day--you can't see her face but she's under the Dora umbrella.

 G and Little Miss M are also doing great!  Little Miss M would love to go to prek more than two mornings a week but this Momma is not ready to let her go yet!  Knowing they are enjoying school and the extra-curricular activities keeps me chugging along, "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!"



K's soccer has finished for the season (that's one thing off of the list for now).  Here she is with her BFF.  These girls have been friends since they went to Toddlin' Time and now they are in Kindergarten and soccer together.

Love their "girly" socks and soccer balls.

Pictures from the State Fair.  Fun day for everyone--especially since Little Miss M was big enough to ride so many rides this year.