Visiting Santa

When it was announced that Santa would be visiting our neighborhood clubhouse like he does each year, the kids were counting down the days until they could sit in his lap.  The day came and it was a crazy hectic day.  I was all over the place with schoolwork, errands, doctor appointments, and ballet.  When Lily and I got home from ballet we quickly ate dinner and then hurried out the door to get in line to see Santa.  Ben couldn't come because he had to go to scouts.  As soon as we got there I had to laugh because I hadn't noticed that Ella had drawn "Christmas decorations" all over her face and Thad was covered in mud from playing in the back yard.

I just laughed and laughed as I looked at my kids and then looked at all these perfect little children dressed in Christmas attire around us.  This is how my real life is.

Thad wanted a zebra beanie boo and Ella wanted a wand.

Lily wanted a beanie boo and a bike.

Skyler wanted a spy kit.

Thanksgiving in Maryland

One of my greatest blessings is that Becca, Preston, and Colby moved to the East coast this past summer.  They are only 6 hours away and I haven't been that close to a sibling since 2009.  So we went up to Maryland for Thanksgiving and had a blast!

If we're just going to be brutally honest here, Preston is probably the kids' all-time favorite person.  Sorry everyone else.  Preston's family has the tradition of making gingerbread men, putting them on a string, and jumping to get it in their mouths.

Colby is the most photogenic baby of all time.

There is a Cookout near Becca and Preston's house.  Every time we have a meal with them the kids fight over who they get to sit next to.  Poor Becca and Preston always seem to have 5 kids instead of one whenever they're with us.

And that meant that Nanni, Papa, Ben, and I all had a table to ourselves.  Poor, poor us -- kid free.  ;)

All of us struggled to get a cookie, EXCEPT my mom who was ridiculously good at this game.

Road trips are always the same in our family.  The oldest 3 nap while the youngest talks non-stop at a disrespectful volume.  Good times.

Other than the plethora of tears that were shed as we pulled out of the driveway, it was a great visit.

Halloween

Halloween 2016 happened.  There was a lot of candy involved.  There was also a lot of Star Wars involved.  Ella was originally going to be part of the theme because she insisted on being Darth Vader for months.  It wasn't until last minute that she changed her mind.  It was a little depressing.  My stomach was supposed to be very pregnant and it was going to be dressed up as BB-8, but I'm happy to report that I'm not quite fat enough right now to pull that one off.  ;)  

I took the kids trick-or-treating this year and it was a blast.  Thad became a zombie halfway through and I brought him back early to give out candy with Ben.  Lily and Ella were so into trick-or-treating that the last half of the night Ella said, "Thank you so much, I love you, bye!" to everyone who gave her candy.  I saw a lot of neighbors' eyes widen and laugh over it.  

Hollyfest

Hollyfest is a free mini-fair that our town has every October.  They have a few rides and tons of inflatables.  That was my way of getting the kids excited to go.  I, on the other hand, just wanted food.  And when our Philly cheesesteaks were a huge let down in Philadelphia (so sorry, Becca and Preston -- I still feel badly about that), I had been craving a good sandwich ever since.  Boom.  There was a Philly cheesecake food truck there and you best believe it was heaven.  It took an hour of standing in line, but it was heaven.  

Here are the kids having fun!

P.S.  I never want to leave Holly Springs.  I love this place.

This School Year So Far

This school year started off crazy.  It was when we were in the midst of figuring out whether we'd be having twins or not, and things were kind of all over the place.  So I'm glad this wasn't my first year homeschooling because the kids already knew the drill and their schedules and were able to get to work easily.

We've kept up the same schedule as last year, but this year our social studies is a bit more fun and intense.  Each week Lily and Skyler take turns choosing a country to study and we learn all about their culture, the way their country is run, their food, language, climate -- all of what a 7 and 8 year-old could understand.  Each time we choose a new country the kids are always eager to learn more about their food in particular.  We've studied some pretty gross cuisines (care for marine mammal meat in Greenland, anyone?).  But there have been a couple of times when we actually wanted to really cook up a recipe or two from specific countries.  When Lily picked France, I basically thought of a whole list of food to make, but ultimately we only made madeleines and one humongous creme brulee.

This year I've also been teaching a homeschooling art class every Thursday.  I have 11 students including Lily and Skyler.  I have loved this so much.  Each week we study a classic artist and his/her genre.  I am a firm believer that you can't teach art without also teaching social studies with it.  But the kids have surprisingly been fascinated by it.  I thought they would all get bored with the lessons I give before they actually start their artwork, but instead they seem to soak it all up and share their thoughts.  Their ages range from 5-10, and I am seriously impressed by some of their work.  There is one bubbly girl in my class who, no matter the genre, draws my portrait every week in whatever medium we're using.  It's awesome and I love it.  Ha!

This past week -- just in time for Halloween -- we studied the Maori culture and the significance in their tattoos.  For the first time ever, we didn't use paper for our art projects, we used our bodies.  The kids all got to tattoo themselves with eyeliner and it was a lot of fun for everyone.

Here are some of my kids:

Ella's Observation Week

Lucky for me, I was able to go to Ella's observation day at ballet as well.  Normally I just bring Lily and we do math in the waiting area while Ella is in class.  But after the boys watched Lily dance, they insisted on watching Ella dance, too.  Since they were phenomenally amazing during Lily's class, I said okay and they tagged along.  They were amazing.  I mourn over the fact that my kids are getting older, but in all seriousness, the fact that they're able to understand behavioral expectations is a huge plus.

Also, this is how I spent most of the class:

May he never grow older.

Also, I have decided that if Ben would have been born a girl he would be Ella's twin.  As I look at these pictures I can't help but see 4 year-old Ben with long, long curls.

Ella's plie.

*waving* "Hi Mom!  Hi Skyler!  Hi Lily!  Hi Faddeo!"

(She had to make sure we felt the love about 10 times during her class)

Enjoy her preciousness.

Lily's Observation Week

Twice a year I look forward to observation week at ballet and then without fail I always forget that it's observation week and I'm scrambling with my hands full of kids while taking lame-o shots on my phone.  However -- it never ceases to amaze me how much none of that matters.  I can think of very few things I enjoy more than watching Lily dance.  It is crazy to see how much she has grown up.  Looking at her now it's hard to believe that she was this super chubby baby with rolls covering her arms and legs.  Instead she has turned into this gorgeous young lady and depending on the moment, I'm not sure if I'm okay with it.

But during observation week, I'm always okay with it.

This is our 3rd year in a row with Miss Carrie.  We love her so much that Ella is now taking ballet from her as well.  Miss Carrie is about as perfect as a ballet teacher can be.  She is always patient, in good spirits, and genuinely loves all of her girls.  She's also a homeschooling mom herself so that earns her extra points.  ;)

This year they've really put a lot of emphasis on stretching and twisting the girls' bodies so that they can be correctly positioned without hurting themselves.  I have tried attempting some of their exercises and I can't do most of them.  Ha.  My body's getting old.  In this picture Lily's TA is helping her point her left foot backwards toward her heel.

Also, I have to say how much I appreciate having teenage teacher assistants in Lily and Ella's classes.  They always are so kind and helpful, but more than anything they give the younger girls a glimpse at what they can become if they continue to work hard.  I love Holly Springs School of Dance so much.  When classes start each hour and all the girls are hopping out of their cars, there are 4 year-olds and 17 year-olds and everything in between walking together and talking.  Several times a year the younger girls go into the older girls' studios to observe.  I really can't emphasize how much I love this non-competitive dance school.

She made it up!  She almost got her arms above her head while balancing.