Happy Thanksgiving 2015!

To start our week, we decided to send one last care package off to Jip.  We hope that it will get to him before the ship actually pulls in.  As they get closer and closer to the US, they should get better and more consistent mail service.  We're crossing our fingers for that so they can use the anchor ornaments and tinsel we sent to decorate.

On Wednesday, the kids' school had a very nice feast for the families.  The kids made placemats for themselves and each classroom was doing a little fun activity when we arrived and to kill time as the younger kids and their families went through the line first.  We all volunteered to bring side dishes, and it was all delicious.  Of course, my kids wouldn't know that it was delicious because they wanted their regular lunches packed.  At least Ryleigh tried some non-Kraft (but still Stouffers frozen) mac 'n' cheese.  Both of them ate the cupcakes brought in by the teachers.  They are my cupcake kids!

On Thursday, we walked next door to enjoy a Friendsgiving with our neighbor Hannah and her two children.  Another one of her friends, Angela, also brought her two boys.  All of our husbands are Navy officers and all of our husbands are floating somewhere in some ocean right now.  So, it worked out very well.  The kids had a grand time with each other--even the 12-year-old got into the spirit and played hide-and-seek with the littles.  The ladies enjoyed each others' company and we made plans for regular get-togethers.

The kids and I spent most of the weekend decorating.  RJ really, really wanted lights on the outside.  So, a couple of trips to Home Depot later, we have this.  Ryleigh squealed with delight and RJ said "Holy Cow!  Our house is beautiful!"  Mission accomplished.

We also tackled the inside.  It took a lot longer than usual to put together the inside.  Maybe it was the multiple trips to the storage unit or my "helpers" that hung 3 ornaments per branch on one side of the tree only?  Hmmmm.  Still, by tonight, we look like we are in the spirit.  I think we feel in the spirit, too.  But, I will say I will feel more in the spirit when I make two more trips back to the storage unit to tuck away the bins until they are ready to be packed full of ornaments and village pieces again.

We delayed our usual BrickHeadZ fun until Sunday so that we could meet some friends there.  We met Jeni and her boys.  Jeni's husband and Jip work together on GW.  The boys are a bit older than RJ, but as always with Legos, age kinda disappears when the bricks are being assembled. The boys built cars and ran them down ramps.  They put together sets.  RJ built a "bot" that transforms from a penguin-looking robot to a jet.  He's so creative!  Ryleigh put together her usual sets, tried on some dress-up clothes, and stuck close to Mom.  It was a fun afternoon.

This week should be a pretty normal one.  The kids are super excited for Bob the Elf to come back, and they are excited to see what's in their Advent Calendars.  As always, pics to come.

Cheers!

Goldilocks Week 2

This week was another week of not too busy, not too bored.

On Monday, we went to Kangaroo Jac's to use 2 coupons for free jumping and to burn energy.  Once a child under the age of 2 left shortly after we arrived, we had the entire place to ourselves.  It turns out that the place isn't so fun when there's one else but Mom to say "watch me" to.  Still, they found ways to keep themselves entertained.

Ryleigh is still very much enjoying ballet.  I've watched her get better and better each week, which I enjoy.  On Tuesday, the class was smaller than usual and they were waiting for other girls to arrive, so Ryleigh had the studio to herself long enough for me to snap a pick through the open door instead of through the one-way glass.

We had a great time at BrickHeadZ, as always.  The kids were delighted that someone had built a fort out of the foam Legos.

On Fridays, both kids have show and tell.  Ryleigh's class follows the week's theme.  Up until this point, that has been pretty easy.  But, this week, the theme was Pilgrims and Native Americans.  Ummm.  Yeah.  There are 0 things in the house that follow that theme.  Of course, I didn't think about it until Friday morning.  I volunteered to make a pilgrim hat for a stuffed animal really fast.  No, Ryleigh wanted a hat for herself.  Thank goodness for the stash of construction paper I've started keeping around.  Five minutes of cutting, taping, and gluing gave Ry her very own pilgrim hat.

I got to watch RJ do his show and tell on Friday because his class did it later than usual.  The picture below is from a different week, but it still gives you an idea of how confident he is when he is up there.  He still needs to work on slowing down his speech, but I also think he was nervous since I was in the room.  The kids get to ask questions after they do their presentation.  I noticed RJ called on a girl he has a crush on (and I think she has a crush on him).  I need to find out from Miss Naomi if he always calls on her.  :)

Friday afternoon was their school's fundraiser at Chuck E Cheese.  We decided to go immediately after school, which was not the greatest choice because no other school friends were there yet.  But, it was a great choice for getting to play what they wanted.  Once they ran out of tokens, they played a little bit, and then it was time to cash in the tickets for silly prizes.

Saturday was yet another birthday party.  And, it was back at Kangaroo Jac's.  The kids had a great time.  The place was as packed as I've ever seen it and they were busy enough that they didn't once ask me for tokens to play the arcade games.  RJ was especially delighted because it turns out that one of Ryleigh's classmates has an older sister in RJ's class, so he knew someone there.

Sunday was a lazy day.  It rained all day.  It stopped raining as soon as the sun went down.  How lazy was it?  RJ didn't even get out of his pajamas.  That's pretty lazy!  Netflix got a good workout as did the Rdio app that plays music on our TV.

We haven't fully finalized our Thanksgiving plans yet.  The only thing I know for sure is that the three of us have dentist appointments this week and we will be making multiple trips to the storage unit to get the Christmas decorations out.  The kids have a Thanksgiving feast at their school, so I will bring the mac 'n' cheese for both classrooms and do my best to float between them.

We hope you have a good Turkey Day/Week!

Until next time, cheers!

Goldilocks Week

It was a good week.  It was a Goldilocks week.  Not too boring.  Not too busy.  Just right.

We did our usual BrickHeadZ.  The kids spent most of their time playing with Duplos this time.  They are funny how they go in spurts between the Duplos and the little (regular) Legos.

After school on Friday, we headed to Mt. Trashmore.  Between traffic and the park now closing a lot earlier as we approach winter, we only got 45 minutes there.  But, that was also just right.  It was chilly in the shade, but they were able to burn a bunch of energy.  RJ and Ryleigh ran up the giant hill 4 times.  They slept well that night!

RJ received his first report card on Friday.  He is doing very well according to Miss Naomi and Miss Kim.  He needs to work on the neatness of his work, but his reading and numbers skills are developing nicely.  And, he is known for being kind and courteous and paying attention.  Ryleigh should be getting her progress report this week, but I already know that's she's doing great, too.  This Mama and Dad are very proud of our kiddos.

Our weekend was very chill.  We enjoyed being outside in the crisp fall air and ate dinner out Sunday night.  I was grateful to take a break from Mom's Diner duties.

Oh--we also sent another care package to Jip on Friday.  This one was for his birthday.  The packages have been taking 2-3 weeks to get to the ship, so we are hopeful the birthday one will make it on time.

In addition to his birthday presents from the kids and me (Shhh, we're not telling what his main gifts are.  And, we only sent pictures of what we bought him in case the package doesn't reach him on time or at all.), I made him some sock cupcakes.  I wanted something that looked fun and celebratory, but also something that wouldn't spoil.  I found these super fun men's socks and knew they'd make great cupcakes!  I cut the wrappers out of card stock so they'd hold up well.

The kids were super worried that Jip wouldn't have cake or be able to blow out candles, so hopefully the mini party set we sent will be put to good use with a few colleagues.

As usual, I decorated the inside of the box.  Jip hasn't said anything--I wonder if they still look pretty good when they arrive?

That extra space that you see was filled with more Halloween candy.  I did it after the kids went to bed and they didn't even notice.  Yay!

This week we have a school fundraiser at Chuck E Cheese.  I'd say winners all around, but I'm not sure this mama herding her two cats through Chuck E Cheese could really be considered a winner in that situation.  But, I guess everyone else wins!  We may also try to use up a couple of free passes for jumpy time at Kangaroo Jac's.  As always, pics to come.

Until next time, cheers!

This is What the First Week of November Looks Like

It is hard to believe it is November.  It is hard to believe Jip left nearly 2 months ago (we'll hit that mark this week).

The first week of November was typical for Hampton Roads.  Lots of rain.  One day in the 80s.  No sunshine.  Tons of sunshine.  It was schizophrenic, but still normal for this area.  One day when we did manage to get outside, Ryleigh hit one of the trees in the front yard with a foam sword a few times.  I asked her why.  She said she was trying to get all the leaves off the tree, because then it would snow.  I love her imagination!

I tried to plan our outings this week around the weather. We did our normal BrickHeadZ, but switched to Tuesday in anticipation of Thursday being rotten.  Thursday was indeed so, so rainy.  So, I surprised the kids with a trip to an indoor playground/structure.  I found a good deal on Groupon and figured we couldn't get hurt because it was such a good deal. It turned out to not be such a good deal because on the way there, I realized Ryleigh didn't put her socks back on after gymnastics, and the place required socks. So, off to Macy's.  But, Ryleigh couldn't be the only one to buy socks.  RJ had to get some, too.  The deal was, though, that because they each bought a multi-pack of socks, they had to choose a pair to leave in the car for any future sockless emergencies.

Still, the indoor play area was a lot of fun.  We'll definitely go back and I'll be keeping my eye out for more Groupons.

On Saturday, we went to the monthly kids' workshop at Home Depot.  The kids made jets and were given a choice of Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Army stickers.  Thankfully the kids had the good sense to choose the Navy stickers and sort-of-Navy colors.

We sent out Jip's Thanksgiving care package this week.  We included some items that were supposed to be "Thanksgiving in a Box": turkey jerky (turkey), Pringles (potatoes), pumpkin pie Pop Tarts (pumpkin pie), and decorations.  The kids also bagged up some Halloween candy (and I snuck more in) to send to their Dad.  And, we had to do some Thanksgiving art.  Ryleigh helped me glue on all of the paper feathers.  I love how it turned out!

We're crossing our fingers this care package makes it on time.

RJ had his first oral quiz on Monday and his first spelling test on Friday.  He did great on both!  He's really coming along on his sight words!  Ryleigh's ballet vocabulary grows by the week--she loves her class and her teacher.

We don't have big plans this week.  We have another care package to get in the mail on Friday.  We'll do our usual BrickHeadZ.  And we'll continue to count down the days until Jip gets back.  As always, pics to come.

Cheers!

This is What 4 Looks Like (Cute!)

We received Ryleigh's 4-year-old portraits this week.  They turned out just great!  Dyan had a real way with Ryleigh and RJ, and the photos show that.

We look forward to getting together with Dyan after Jip is home to take more photos as a complete family!