Pre-school portraits

Jack had school pictures taken a month or so ago.  The studio they went through was much more expensive than the studio that Lilly's school used.  I could order 2 5x7s for $15 or order the CD with permissions to print the photo how I like for $18, so I just went with the CD.  I thought it was very expensive for 2 preschool pictures!

This is the image they gave me on the disc:

I am just going to assume that they would have cropped this had I ordered actual prints.  I am also going to assume that they were bitter that I didn't order prints from them and that is why they cut his feet off and had equal parts back drop and Jack.

Here is what I did to the picture:

He is still missing his feet but he is still very handsome and looks quite grown up.

After the baby comes next year I will have our photographer from last year take our pictures again.  Oh yeah, I am pregnant and they are 80% sure it's a girl!  Most of you who read my blog already know that information, but my sister said I needed to write it here.

Some of the pictures from last year....Jack really has changed in the past year!

Black Friday

After our pie party I geared up for Black Friday shopping.  Even though I am opposed to shopping on Thanksgiving day, I had to go where the sales were.  This is the first year I showed up to the store before it opened and stood in crazy lines.  5 of my friends joined me and we were serious shoppers.  TV's, blu-rays, video games, movies, toys, board games, everything you can think of was in one of our carts.

This is a picture my friend took from our place in line outside of Target.  If you thought we were on the back side of target in the alley by the trash cans, then you were correct.  We didn't have to wait outside for very long, but we did have to wait for an extremely long time in line to check out.  I got GREAT deals and had a lot of fun with my friends. Once we checked out my friend gave us all pie in a jar to eat in the parking lot. If you think eating pie in a jar after scoring serious deals on TVs is fun, then you would be correct!

On Saturday, Jim and I took the kids to see Rise of the Guardians.  It was a good movie, but it was a little too scary for my children. They seemed to like it all the same.

Great Holiday week, one more day off from school on Monday 

and then back to work and school for everyone.

Thanksgiving Day

We went to Mike and Jaime's house to have Thanksgiving dinner with their family (Mike is one of Jim's brothers).  My only food assignment was apple and pumpkin pie.

Jim and I also planned to host a pie party at our house that evening so I made 4 pies Thanksgiving morning. Cherry pie, apple pie, and 2 pumpkin pies.  I made all the pies which helped to make me feel like a real adult.

It was my first time making a lattice crust for the cherry pie and I was very proud.  I feel that it should be said that I used store bought crusts, and I am okay with that.  Jim practiced for Thanksgiving pie by making his own crust the Sunday before the big holiday and it exhausted him, so I knew store bought crust was the way to go.  I did use real apples that I peeled and cored myself, I thought I took a picture of my apple pie but it is no where to be found.

Before we left for Wilkes-Barre I tried to get some pictures of the children but it was just too sunny and I don't quite know how to deal with direct sunlight in photographs.

Lilly loved holding her newest cousin, Riley.  Riley is a very sweet baby and I don't think I heard her cry for the three hours we were there.

Emma age 3, Jack age 3, Lilly age 6

Lilly loves turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (jellied from a can - like her mom), rolls and pie. Jack likes no food, but that is consistent with his every day life.

Jim's grandmother was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving and since we were already in Wilkes-Barre we were all able to visit her after our lunch. Jack and Lilly were so sweet and not afraid at all. Jack walked right up to Grandma B and held out his hand for her.  I think she really loved seeing the children.  After that we drove back home to get ready for our pie party.

The pie party was a good distraction from the sadness of the afternoon. We invited some friends over and instructed everyone to bring pie!  I really love pie, it is going to be my new go to dessert.

There was another little boy at the party who looks a little like Jack.  The boys also happened to be wearing blue button down shirts which seemed to add to the confusion. I don't think their facial features are similar but from behind even I would get them confused.

Lilly and I counted 9 pies at our house.  I was too full to try all the pies, which means we need to have another pie party soon.

Jack doesn't eat pie but he loves hot chocolate.  Although he just calls it chocolate and sometimes chocolate water, which doesn't sound as appetizing.

Lilly likes pie AND hot chocolate.

I am grateful that I have such a wonderful family to share holidays with!

Thanksgiving week

The schools here have a long vacation for Thanksgiving.  The kids go to school on Monday of Thanksgiving week and then don't return until the following Tuesday a week later.  This year I was smart and I cancelled everything in advance so we could have a nice lazy week.

 The perfect way to start off the holiday season. We watched cartoons in bed, played with friends, and took the week slow, other than Thanksgiving day.

Jim was home from school and only had to work (as opposed to work AND school) so it was a slower week for him, academically speaking.

One afternoon I was taking a nap and the children were supposed to be watching cartoons. This is what I woke up to:

It took a LONG time to clean that up.  Seriously, why do people ship with packing peanuts??

Fun week!

Life of Pie

I am really excited for the movie "Life of Pi" because I loved the book and the movie looks visually stunning.  However, this post is not about that movie, but about Jim's pie.

Did you know that Jim is quite talented? One of his talents is pie making.  From scratch.  He makes his pie crust loosely following the directions of Martha Stewart.  This year Lilly and I helped him to peel, core, and cut the apples, as well as assemble ingredients on the counter for him.  We were very helpful.

This was a trial run for Thanksgiving and his pie was delicious!! The three of us ate it in it's entirety over the course of 24 hours.  Jack was not interested in pie or his dinner, so he ate nothing.

Of course because Jim is clever and not nerdy at all so he carved 3.14 into the top of the pie crust.

The pie was so good that we all (except Jack) ate it for breakfast.  I figured it was healthier than toaster strudel or sugary cereal.  It had real apples and homemade crust with no preservatives.  Maybe we should have pie every day for breakfast!

Yard work

Last weekend I was unusually involved in yard work at my house. Typically I stay in the house and don't help. Sometimes I pick tomatoes off the vine.  I occasionally cut squash off the vine and I have been known to pick some herbs, but that is the extent of my work.

However, last weekend I helped Jim and Lilly plant 200 tulip bulbs.  Jim dug the hole and then Lilly and I placed 200 bulbs in the hole, then Lilly and Jim filled the hole back up with dirt.  My part was more work than it sounds.  It is the first time I have ever planted something and I expect big returns on those bulbs!

Lilly started to comment on how I wasn't really helping with the digging but Jim shushed her and pointed out that I was helping with yard work.  He is a good man and doesn't try to make me do yard work.  It's too bad I can't say the same thing for myself and house work.

We also raked the yard again for what I believe is the third time this season, not including the time Jim mowed all the leaves.

Here are the bags of leaves at the beginning of the day, Lilly loved to use them as beds. By the end of the day we had quite a bit more.  Lilly was extremely helpful with the leaf clean up.  Jim and I filled the bags of leaves and then she dragged them to the curb for leaf pick up.

My job was to hold the bag open while Jim filled them with leaves and I have to say it exhausted me. Holding bags open is quite the work out. Or at least that is what I tell myself so I am not so sad by it all, I might need to have my iron levels checked. That was the last nice day of fall weather and it has been cold ever since.

I think the yard needs one more raking, but we might just let Jim mow the leaves and dump the clippings into his compost pile.

More phone updates...

One day (in the past two weeks, I have no idea which day), Jack woke up from his nap very early.  He was so miserable that I brought him into my bed and he fell back asleep.  He has not fallen asleep in my bed since he was an infant.  I loved every moment. I also don't know why I didn't smile in these pictures, but at least there is more proof that I was there with Jack as his mother.

One morning getting ready for school both children were happy and posed for a picture....

Another slow morning at home, Jack found Lilly's very soft and fluffy earmuffs.

Animal sounds

An entire video devoted to Jack reading a book and making animal sounds....

Phone Update

It's only been two weeks since I last did a mass blog update, but it seems like it was just yesterday. However when I searched through all the video and pictures on my phone I realized my sister was right, it's time for a blog update!  Somehow all my pictures I downloaded from my phone did not download in correct date order, so I have no idea when these pictures were taken other than they were taken in the last two weeks!

Jack is in a small morning preschool and I let him wear a hat to school every day.  The poor child is going to spend the rest of his life with adults telling him when and where he can wear his hat and I refuse to start that at age 3.  He LOVES his baseball hat and he is the one who wears it backwards.  I think it is because the rim is a little big for his face and he can't see very well or it is because he was just born cool.  However he often puts the fedora on top of his baseball hat.  That poor fedora has been through a lot in the past 3 weeks that he has owned it, I don't think it will last much longer.  Jack loves to throw it off of his head and stamp on it and crush the hat.  At this point it looks like a hobo hat, but that's ok because he loves it!

Jack also has taken to dressing himself like a rapper, but seriously what is cuter than a 3 year old in a backwards hat and sunglasses? Your answer is: nothing, nothing is cuter than Jack, except Lilly, and then it's a tie.

You might think that I am partial to Jack and favor him more but that is just not the case!  He just happens to be the only child who is left home with me and is at the mercy of me and my phone.

Did you know that on some mornings after Lilly goes to school Jack and I climb back into bed and watch cartoons together?  That is the only time of the day where he will let me hold him and cuddle with him.  That is partly due to the fact that he is zoned out by the TV and doesn't notice me holding him.  That's ok, it is just a few precious hours a week that I have with him and he will soon grow out of that too! So the guilt of him watching cartoons is slightly eased because he lets me hold him and hug him without fighting me.

(Jack watching cartoons.)

Also we have to take a trip in December that will involve an airplane and Jack is to the age where it is getting difficult to keep him in a stroller so I went the restraint route. You know, the whole "hey it's a backpack!" but really it's a leash route.  He liked it for about a minute but saw right through my scheme.

More updates later...

The "American" Community Survey

Two months ago I received a survey in the mail from the Census Bureau.  It is called the American Community Survey.  Along with the survey I received multiple letters telling me that this was a MANDATORY survey and there would be legal ramifications if I did not fill it out completely and honestly.  After two months of threatening letters and harassing phone calls I finally filled out the survey and sent it in this morning.  Just yesterday the Census Bureau called my house 5 times. From what I understand after the phone calls don't work they send government agents to your home to get the answers from you and they even harass your neighbors for information. It is extremely private information I had to give such as if I gave birth last year, what countries my ancestry originates from, if I work, how much I earn, and what time I leave to and from work. As well as what disabilities I suffer from and if I am capable of making my own decisions.  I can't tell you how infuriated and violated this entire process had made me.  The government worker on the phone told me that if I refused to answer it was the same thing as me not pulling over if a police car was attempting to pull me over.  I found out that they can fine you $100 for each question not answered totaling $5000 in the end.  Unfortunately I do not have the means or energy to fight such a battle now but I hope one day that I can.  The picture collage is of the 5 separate phone calls I received from the Census Bureau yesterday on a SUNDAY.

After the 5th phone call at 7:36 PM on a Sunday I called the government back in a rage.  I called them communists and asked why they were harassing me.  Anyway the best the worker could do was put a 5 day hold on the phone calls and workers showing up at my house to give me time to put the survey in the mail.  This entire process has exhausted me, caused me a great amount of angst, and caused me to seriously doubt the direction of this country.   I would have liked to continue fighting against the bureau but I honestly didn't have the energy, and that seems to be their game plan.  You can google it and find blogs and news stories of people paying thousands of dollars in fines.  Hopefully one day I can have the strength and means to fight such a social injustice. In the mean time the best I can do is spread the word, write my senator and use social media to the best of my ability. Hopefully I can take a break from thinking about it and enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Brain Show

Last week Lilly had an in school assembly called "The Brain Show."  I have never seen such excitement for an assembly.  That same night there was a family night brain show at her school.  I didn't tell anyone (aka Jim or Lilly) about the evening event, because I am trying to say "no" to more things in my life.  However, it turns out this was one of those things that no one else wanted to say "no" to attending.  So after dinner Jim and Lilly rushed over to the school to join in the middle of the brain show.  When they didn't come home for a few hours I started to get concerned, but then Lilly burst into the house saying that she and Jim had won the brain show! Jim later clarified that they were the last round to go and they won their round, still exciting. There was no final championship, just winners for each round.

Our friend from church, Cheyenne, was there with her three youngest children and they were on the list to go on stage.  Cheyenne graciously invited Jim and Lilly to join her family on stage for the competition.  Apparently if you were there at the beginning of the show you could get your name on the list to go on stage, but since Jim and Lilly were late they hadn't made the cut.

From what I understand the show was all trivia and in between each question they played music that contestants were encouraged to dance to with specific moves.

Lilly and her friends are STILL talking about the brain show a week later.  Jim won serious dad points for not only taking her to the brain show but for winning on stage with her!

End of the week round up.

Jack's preschool Halloween party was moved to Thursday because schools were closed due to the storm.  Just when you think Halloween will be over on October 31, it is extended by another day!

 Jack is in a small morning class and his teacher combined the morning class with the afternoon class for the party.  Jack was very nervous to walk into a classroom with 10 kids in costumes and their parents.  So nervous, that he wouldn't join the group picture and I had to hold him on my lap.

However, once he warmed up to the idea of candy he had a great time with his friends.

On Friday, November 2, I finally declared Halloween over.  I was sick with a sinus infection and we were all suffering from serious candy overload, so I made homemade bread bowls with homemade broccoli-cheddar soup.

The children were really excited about the breadbowls but equally disappointed by the "vegetable soup." Lilly gagged down a few bites with great drama and Jack refused to eat anything.  Nonetheless, Jim and I enjoyed the soup. This is the story of my life, there are a handful of meals that everyone will eat.  Yet, I persevere!

Because of the time change we had a very pleasant Sunday morning getting ready to leave for church by 8:30.  Everyone was dressed and ready to go by 8:15, a first in recent memory.  However, Jack was sorely disappointed to learn that he could not wear his baseball cap to church.

After church no one wanted to take a nap so we all gathered to watch The Sound of Music.  Only Lilly and I made it through the end of the film.

Now we are back to regular life, still cleaning up from our storm preparations, but we are not traveling and hopefully we can have some calmness for a few weeks before the holidays begin!