Patiently Waiting

I've been patiently waiting for our family pictures to arrive in my email inbox, and our photographer (got her on a groupon deal for $40, thank you very much) has been sick and has had visitors, so they are coming soon, but here was my sneak peak (she sent me one picture).  I think Brandon looks very handsome, Andrew looks a little tired, and Rachel looks kind of silly, but it'll do.  And I'm very grateful for an updated family picture and I am very THANKFUL for my FAMILY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Preschool Fun

We love Miss Carole's preschool, and Rachel always looks forward to it on Tuesdays & Thursdays.  They have done darling field trips to Chevy's Mexican Restaurant, Fry's Grocery Store, and Dewitt's Stables/Farm.  Miss Carole also had a big Halloween party in her backyard.  I just love how organized she is, and I especially love how she talks to the kids and how she is helping them to learn how to follow directions.

I got her first little progress report, and Rachel is a great student and in Miss Carole's words, "she is a doll!"  Since we have two years of preschool to go, I have really let Rachel take her pace on writing her letters.  In the last couple months she has finally started showing some interest, so she can write most capital letters and is working on the lower case ones.  She's getting better at tracing and staying in the lines when coloring and following the worksheet directions.  She's also fairly good at scissors, which isn't something I have ever worked with her at home.  I also love all the new songs she's learning.

On to the pictures ~

At Chevy's in their field trip t-shirts singing their songs

Miss Carole & Rachel

 

Elise the fairy, Rachel the ladybug, and Hanna the butterfly

Mom made it in a picture.  Thanks, Chrissy!

Holding a small chicken - the girl has no fear when it comes to animals (she gets it from Nana).  She also milked a goat and drank the warm milk right there.  They also had these sweet bunnies that Rach could catch/hold and they'd just sit on her lap while she pet them. 

 

Latest House Projects & Sandbox Reveal!

1.  Curtains for Andrews room - bought a red and black set from Walmart and sewed them together to help darken the room.  Then I took an old white fabric shower curtain and sewed on the strips.  Project inspired by my buddy, Lore.  

2.  End table - it was in terrible shape (I should have taken a before picture) and I got it for FREE at a garage sale.  Brandon cleaned it up, sanded it and we repainted it blue and put new hardware on it.  I love it! 

3.  Brandon built the kids an awesome sandbox!!  I had casually mentioned to Brandon that it might be fun if the kids had a sandbox in the backyard, but I wasn't sure since it might make a huge mess and be kind of a pain.  Next thing I know, he came up with a plan and was off to Home Depot (this is just like his dad).  I was a bit skeptical at first at how big it is, but after playing in it for a few weeks, it's perfect for two kids who both need their own space.  And I love the seating all the way around - genius!  My one request was a cover to keep cats out and also to keep the kids out if I didn't want a sandy mess, so he built a lid that gets secured to the wall when open, and is also strong enough to stand on when closed.  What a handy hubby, right?!  He absolutely loves doing anything with wood, and it's a hobby that I think he'll keep for a long time.  

Nana's Visit

Thanks for coming to visit, Nana!  We loved having you here.

Dressing up like a hula dancer, obviously.  He wasn't as amused.

Lots of dressing up!  Here is Rachel & Andrew as Raggedy Ann & Andy - my mom made these costumes for me and my brother when we were about the same age

Blast from the past:  This is me and my brother Chad (age 4 & 2) on Halloween in 1987 as Ragedy Ann & Andy  

Andrew & Rachel 2011; 24 years later!

And he's done with dressing up.

Swinging first thing in the morning - brrrr!

Not a great picture of my kids, but it's proof she was here!

Happy Halloween!

Holidays are a lot more fun when you have kids to enjoy them with!  This year's Halloween did not disappoint, especially since Nana came to visit.  

It took Rachel FOREVER to decide what she wanted to be for Halloween, but we finally settled on a ladybug (other options included a bee, Bumblebee the Transformer since her cousin was going to be Optimus Prime, Jesse from Toy Story when she found out that's what her friend was going to be, maybe Snow White since we already had the dress, but she informed me that she wasn't going to be Rapunzel because she doesn't like the movie, "Tangled" anymore, and the list goes on and on, but I'll spare you).  

Her costume reminded me of the book series, "Ladybug Girl", and I love the red boots per Rachel's request last minute.  I did not make any of her costume, since the whole thing cost only $14 at Target.  And I got Andrew's cute dinosaur costume from a secondhand kid's store for $8.50.  Best idea ever to not make their costumes - no way I could have made them for what I bought them for.  

I guess it's tradition now to take pictures of my kids on Halloween in my neighbor's front yard.  See last year's blog post HERE.  Our across the street neighbors, Jim & Pam King (any Office fans? ha ha), have a bridge and pond with a ton of fish right in their front yard.  And they leave the fish food out so that the kids can feed the fish whenever they want.  They are so sweet to the kids, and I'm so grateful for them.  

I enjoy the warmer weather for Halloween - it means our ward party is always outside in the parking lot, and it makes trick-or-treating much more bearable and fun.  The ward party was fun, yet stressful at the same time if I'm being honest.  Trying to get kids fed, feed myself, carnival games, keeping the candy intake to a minimum, and socializing meant for an exhausting night for mom and dad.  The trunk or treat was a success, and for 50 cents I decorated our van and got lots of compliments.  I took a posterboard and cut it out like sharp teeth, and made the trunk look like a mouth - easy peasy (idea/photo courtesy of pinterest).  For the record, between my mom and Brandon, Andrew had WAY more candy and goodies than Rachel.  I think Rach only had 2-3 pieces, where Andrew had much more plus two cups of homemade root beer.  Seriously?  :)  

On actual Halloween night, we trick-or-treated to all our neighbors, which gives us a good excuse to stop by and say hello since we don't really have many close by LDS neighbors (maybe 3-4 other LDS families on our block).  Then we headed up to Mandy's since our street doesn't get much trick or treaters, and hung out with them for a bit, and finished up at a popular neighborhood in our ward boundaries that always decks out for holidays.  

Trick or Treating with the kids

Picture courtesy of Pinterest - not our car, but just so you get the idea.

Sick October & November?

We had a great streak of healthy, but that never lasts.  Last week, I had to give medicine to Rachel & Andrew both morning and night (both for ear infections), eye drops four times a day to both kids (since they both had pink eye), and I was also taking medicine three times a day.  Nice.  Until Brandon got sick (probably strep), and since he didn't want to go in to the doctor, he took the rest of my amoxicillin that I had had prescribed to me after my 21 day-terrible-cold-with-sore-throat nightmare.  (ya-da ya-da ya-da, we're not supposed to do that; I know, it wasn't my idea.)

We also had a fun visit to the ER a few weeks ago when Andrew fell and got a nice gash near his left eye.  Luckily they didn't need to do stitches and just glued it shut.  Before I decided to take him in, I called my sister-in-law who's a nurse and she told me to just superglue it myself - um, that wasn't going to happen.  I definitely didn't trust myself that close to his eye.  At the hospital, he was a trooper, but he definitely was not happy with us and was very sensitive.  They did a great job (I love Cardon's Children's Hospital!), and it healed nicely.  

So then I thought we had our fair share, and we got pretty close to better just in time for Nana to come in town Halloween weekend, but then Rachel got croup Halloween night.  We know the drill, and this one seemed more mild than other cases we've seen so Brandon took a shift sleeping in her room with her and then I took a shift and slept on the back patio with her to help the seal-barking cough.  Rachel liked our little sleepover out back.  I took her to the doctor office the next morning and they gave her the usual.  And now - two nights later, I just got back from taking Andrew into the Urgent Care for croup (you guessed it, right?).  Seriously SO fun.  At least it all happened before midnight, and now I'm off to bed, hoping the kids won't cough all night.  

'Tis the season ... for doctors, that is.

Andrew the day after his fall (see left eye)

Andrew in the ER