Being thankful!

There are many things to be thankful for in our lives - God, family, and friends being at the top of the list! We were very busy this week but managed to not eat too much :)

 Grandma Val came down for Grandparent Cooking day at Nola's school. When I dropped Nola off, I noticed that I had told Grandma the wrong time. So she had to quick step it down to school - but Grandma didn't miss much!!!

 Nola and her craft project for the special day!

 Grandma Val and Nola made grilled cheese. Do you think she shared some with her teacher Ms. Gerhardt?

 That same day, the first graders had their sharing feast. The parents brought in food and then helped serve to the kiddos. They made their vests and hats.

 The best part was when I got to eat lunch with Brenner :)

 Grandma Val and Nola had some more fun playing Whowasit?

 Papa bought this Elsa robe for Nola - so angelic....

 ....then she breaks out moves that her big brother taught her!

 Brenner getting his money from the tooth fairy. When he lost his first two teeth, I wrote these extensive letters from Manny - his tooth fairy. Matt did this one. Brenner had many questions including why didn't the tooth fairy take the tooth (Matt had taped it to the letter), why was it signed "tooth fairy" and not "Manny", etc. My response was it must have been a tooth fairy in training!

 Matt is still having some back problems - but can manage to fall asleep anywhere with his muscle relaxers!

A bit of snow on Wednesday made for some fun.

 Not sure what the storm trooper was doing in Barbie's bed?!

 One of Nola's school projects.

 Brenner wrote this hilarious story!

 On Thanksgiving we headed to Aunt Theresa's and Uncle Chuck's house for a feast. The kids had an awesome time - and were excited because there were invited to spend several days there. Ahhh - a little bit of kid-free time for mom and dad. Thanks Uncle Chuck and Aunt Theresa!

 Christmas came early with a trip to Target. Lucky Brenner and Nola.

 With no kiddos, we took the opportunity to go to The Elms hotel and spa. It was wonderful - drinks in the bar, sleeping in late, and getting a hot stone massage  - it was wonderful! We were so relaxed! After check out on Friday, we went to our favorite sushi restaurant and then watched Mockingjay. Fun times!

 The crew before we headed out on Saturday! We then went to Grandma Val's for some more yummy food!

 Nola with some great art work. Yes - I am biased :)

A little bit of Yahtzee on Sunday night. Brenner rolled Yahtzee twice in a row!

Soaking it in

I took some extra time this week to just soak in the kiddos. We get so busy with things that it is nice to just enjoy the moment. One of my favorites was Brenner practicing his school program songs - this is really special because I will miss the program due to a work trip. This children are a true blessing :)

Pure joy on their faces....along with some carrot on Brenner's face!

Nola snuggling in her blanket - Papa couldn't resist taking a picture.

Papa also surprised Brenner rounding the corner one afternoon.

Brenner wanted to play checkers with me. For the first time - he beat me....no I take that back - he smoked me bad. I was amazed at his skill and told me. He said "Mom, I am just using my strategy". I didn't "give" him any moves until the last one when he had me three to one.

On Thursday, Papa had to go to the doctor (preliminary diagnosis of a bulging disc - no good!!!). I picked Nola up from school and we had a girls lunch. She was so cute eating and be-bopping to the music playing over the speaker. Fun times!

On Saturday night, we were having a couples night sans kiddos. I prepared a authentic Mexican meal - the food and company was fabulous. And I got to break out my "good" dishes :)

Brenner came home Saturday night from the sitter with his tooth really loose. It bugged him all day Sunday (and grossed me out). He kept make this face.

He finally twisted it out - with lots of blood. Ugh - but he was pleased!

Still on course with comprehension.

Brenner is also writing quite well.

Brenner was disappointed that he missed 2 on his math test. I told him that we don't expect him to be perfect all of the time!

I was pleased to see his class start Rocket Math this week. The kids get one minute to do as many problems as they can. Each kid has a goal set by the teacher (Brenner's was 15 in this one) that needs to be met to go to the next level. You can't miss any (so even if he answered 16 but missed one he wouldn't advance). Brenner is liking it and I like that it is pure response - either you know it or you don't - without drawing/counting/etc. the problems!

On Sunday, we had a church fundraiser for a Smartboard to use in the Children's Church. The kids decorated the placemats for the tables. This was Nola's - too cute. The kid helped clean up - great helpers - wish I had gotten pictures but I was too busy serving food!

Quality time with mom and dad

The weather turned cold this week - just in time for opening weekend for rifle season. Brenner was excited to go then had some attitude missteps during the week. So, Brenner didn't get to go out until mid-morning (given that it was 18 degrees when Matt went out before sunup you would think the delay would have been ok!). While the boys played, Nola and I had girl time with my friend Melissa and her daughter Reagan. What a perfect Saturday!

 Matt and Brenner ready to head out into the woods at Hilbrenner Lake. Brenner woke up that morning and kept begging for me to drive him out there.

 Brenner and Papa were in a tree stand 18 feet up - Matt assured me he was harnessed in well. Brenner sat for almost 4 hours - he did so good. They didn't see any deer but had some quality time together.

 On Tuesday, Nola accompanied me to get my hair done. Nola loves Kendra!

 She loved her even more after Kendra gave her an Elsa braid!

 Nola found the perfect spot to work on a puzzle.

 Nola early one morning - she was just too cute. Love the way she dresses up her stuffed animals in doll clothes :)

 On Sunday we got our first snow. Just a dusting but the kids were excited. It was also time to take some pictures for our Christmas cards. Here is a teaser.....

 .....and an out take!

 Brenner started doing "mystery puzzles" at school. Not sure the instructions but he was really excited about this one.

 More spelling and comprehension. He is doing great, but forgets those pesky periods!

 His weekly spelling tests also include a sentence now. Brenner was bummed that he missed one this week - because of that pesky period!

 Still rolling on the math. I was pleased to hear in his intervention time that they will be starting Rocket Math this week. It was recommended by a friend/administrator/parent of ours.

 Our goof ball. He cracked me up in the car. We were listening to a Luke Bryan CD when he moaned and groaned about "all the lady songs". Brenner just wanted Muckalee Creek. I busted up laughing and said one day he will like the lady songs. He vehemently denied it and announced that he would build a mansion with no ladies....except that Nola and I could come in :)

Nola's work from preschool. She has been singing up a storm. Mr. Gerhardt taught her class a song that includes "Little bunny FooFoo, I don't like your attitude". Too cute!

Exercising our brains

I was in DC again for a work trip so the pictures are a little skimpy this week :) The kids had a ball with Papa, Grammy, and Grandma while I was gone. Thanks for all of the help! The kiddos didn't seem to miss me much at least during our phone conversations. I got home about 11:30 pm Friday night. When Brenner woke up around 5:30 he came and said "Mom, you're home. I missed you" and gave me a big hug. Then Nola woke up an hour later, came in and grabbed my face and said "I missed you, mama!" What a wonderful way to start the weekend! Matt was at Shootfest so we didn't get to see him until Sunday evening. No deer yet - but he has been seeing a few not quite legal bucks :)



 Matt took the kids to a ball field to play some baseball. Nola felt the need for cheese!

 On Saturday, the kids and I played a lot of games. This one is Labyrinth - good times.

 I would recommend these games to any parent. Great for critical thinking. Thanks, Grandma Val and Aunt-ta Theresa for the great birthday presents for Brenner! We also played Whowasit? which is kind of like Clue for kids. Fun - but my brain was tired when we wrapped up play time!

 Brenner is doing great on his spelling tests!

 Comprehension test. The kids have to read and do on their own.

 Comprehension writing/spelling - they are learning about trick words (double lls, cks, etc).

 More weird math :) I was talking with a friend while in DC (her son is in the 2nd grade). Her son is doing similar math strategies from Common Core. Their district has been taking math instructions to - parents do not help your kids with math. They aren't learning it the way you did and you are messing them up. Geesh - scary to think about. But - Brenner had another math test this week. He told me that he got 100% - way to go, buddy!

 Love this story "The Worm Fight" by Brenner. What a sense of humor! I laughed out loud at the end!

 Nola made a bat at preschool! Thanks for snapping this picture, Grammy!

On Saturday we also took a break to get frozen yogurt. Brenner got orange and Nola got white chocolate. She is so her father's daughter!