Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, it is a cheesy posed photo, but I'll take it.

Let me back up a bit... On Christmas Eve, Ryleigh put out food (oatmeal) for the reindeer.  There was also glitter mixed in so that the reindeer would find their way by the sparkles in the moonlight.

Christmas morning was typically early.  Santa brought RJ a bunch of Hot Wheels track and Ryleigh a My Little Pony Castle.  Our families also took very good care of them, and we are very grateful!

The rest of the day was pretty leisurely.  Lots of playing, much Lego building, and many sugar cookies filled the day.  Although it was a quiet Christmas as compared to when we travel for the holiday, we very much enjoyed our day of family time.

So, now let me back up a little bit more.  On Tuesday, Ryleigh's dance class did a parents-in-studio class, which allowed us to sit in the studio and watch the class close up instead of through the two-way mirror.  Ryleigh enjoyed showing us her skills and showing off her ballet vocabulary.

On Thursday, Ryleigh stayed with a lovely babysitter while I went and did the Room Mom thing for RJ's class.  It's amazing how time flies when you have 25 first graders in a room.  Seriously.  I had four activities, one craft, and a snack planned.  We got through two activities, about 3/4 of the craft, and about 3/4 of the snack before the kids had to run out of the door.  I felt bad that we didn't have everyone ready to go on time, but I didn't take into account that some kids like to be a little more leisurely than my two.  Still, I think, or at least hope, they all had a good time.

The rest of the week was filled with doing stuff to our rental house.  Jip went by himself on Monday and Saturday.  We all went on Friday.  We're hopeful that tomorrow afternoon will be the last trip to do stuff to the house.

This week should fly.  The kids will be going to BrickHeadZ camp each morning.  I'm sure they'll play hard in the afternoons.  Jip has duty one night this week, but the rest of his work days should be pretty normal.  I'll slowly start taking down the Christmas decorations.  Hopefully everyone will stay healthy and we can take in a few other fun activities during the break.  As always, pics to come.

Until next time, cheers!

Home for the Holidays--and Beyond

Jip returned on Saturday from the GW's last underway for four plus years.  The kids probably didn't realize the significance, but it was the last time Jip will come in from sea on GW, and quite possibly, his last underway of his Navy career.  Still, they were excited to help commemorate the occasion by watching the ship come in.

After Jip got back, we grabbed lunch and headed home.  Then we turned right around and headed to our friends John and Patti's house for some dinner and lively conversation.  Their teenage boys are so tolerant of our two, and we are so grateful!

On Sunday, the four of us enjoyed Breakfast with Santa again.  We had a lovely morning with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Unfortunately, Jip wasn't able to make it home in time for Ryleigh's school's mini Christmas concert.  But, Ryleigh has made sure that Jip is all caught up on all "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Feliz Navidad."  I have video for another time, but for now, here are a couple pictures of our girl doing a great job signing the same note for every word of every song.

As part of the kids' Advent calendars, I wanted to make them something they could wear to school that would be Christmas-y, but not too embarrassing.  I found a couple of designs by someone else that I downloaded and cut into flocked heat transfer material.  I ironed it on and voila!  I think they turned out pretty cute!

As for this week, we have a few things planned.  Jip has a couple days off from the ship this week. But, we aren't letting him have a day off, as we are sending him to the house we own to do some work on it to get it ready for sale.  Ryleigh and I went on Thursday to take a bunch of measurements.  We all went on Sunday to take some tools and supplies and do some little things.  I'm sure Jip will get more done in the first ten minutes there than we did when we all went--it's funny how quickly an empty house can become boring to a 7-year-old and 5-year-old.

RJ's class party is on Wednesday.  I was asked to be his classroom's room mom.  Thankfully, through technology, I was able to send out the notifications to each class member's family and have parents sign up to bring in items or volunteer at the party.  I just hope the kids don't blow through all of the activities I have planned and will be bored.  Of course, it will probably be the opposite, and we won't get to all of the things I have planned.  But, just in case, I have supplies for an extra activity.  And, we can always turn to reading a Christmas book or singing some carols.

Ryleigh has the week off from school, but her activities are still going on.  RJ has a half day on Thursday, and then his break kicks in.  We're going to try to make it out to the beach again for beach lights.  And, the anticipation of a holiday with just the four of this continues to build.  Jip and I will enjoy filets and the kids will probably enjoy PB&Js or grilled cheeses.  However it turns out, pics to come, as always.  Until next time, cheers!  And, Merry Christmas!!

Getting into the Spirit

This was the week that the Christmas Spirit kicked into full gear.  The kids and I had a successful shopping trip for a couple kids for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree as well as for blankets for a local homeless shelter.  The kids enjoyed picking out clothes for kids as well as throwing in a little stuffed animal.  Ryleigh helped me drop off the blankets just before the cold really kicked in here.  I know they don't fully understand the impact of what we did, but I trust that they will remember doing it and will want to repeat it every year.

Friday night we went to what I would consider a last-minute birthday party--we received the invitation on Thursday.  But, after arriving and seeing all of the other guests, I realized that the birthday boy, who RJ really enjoys being around, must have begged and badgered his mom to invite RJ.  RJ and Ryleigh were the only blonde children in a sea of about 25 Indian children.  Both kiddos jumped right in there, though, and had a blast.  I was so grateful they waited until we got home to ask me about the bindi dots they all wore on their foreheads.  :)

RJ felt a bit under the weather on Saturday, so he napped while I made lots of cookies.

He was rejuvenated, though, for a cookie exchange next door.  Ryleigh and RJ played hard, decorated cookies, got photobombed by the teenager, and just enjoyed.

Sunday was the usual Ninja Zone in the morning.  In the afternoon, we went to the Virginia Symphony's kids' concert.  The kids decorated Christmas trees before the concert and then we enjoyed some lovely music and a sing-a-long.  Ryleigh fell asleep and missed two songs that included dancers from a local dance troupe.  She was so sad when she realized she missed them.  I need to take her to a professional dance production some time!

After the symphony and taking 40 minutes to get out of the parking garage (thank you Apple for keeping my kids entertained!!), we grabbed an early dinner.  Then we headed to the beach for beach lights.  It's pretty nifty--they have light displays set up in the sand as well as on the hotel side of the boardwalk, and we actually got to drive on the boardwalk.  It took nearly an hour, but the kids loved it.  We'll do it again when Jip gets back.

And my favorite was one of the displays from the 12 Days of Christmas.  Four calling birds.  Get it?  Four birds and a phone?  Ha ha ha!

This week includes Ryleigh's Christmas performance at school, dentist appointments, walking through our house in Carrollton with our vacating tenant, an ornament exchange with other GW spouses, and Breakfast with Santa.  And, maybe Jip will get home!  Yay!  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

Raleigh Road Trip

We sent Jip on his merry way Monday night.  The ship didn't leave until the next day, but it is so much better to drop Jip off earlier than they are required to be there just to avoid the mad rush.

The kids and I stuck to our usual schedules.  We had some nice afternoons, so we were able to sneak in some outside play.  But to mix it up a little, I surprised RJ and Ryleigh with a little Lego Christmas craft.  Back in October, I had been looking at ornaments on Etsy, and like many other times I've looked at Etsy or Pinterest, I decided that I/we could make our own cute ornaments.  So, I ordered the individual pieces I needed from Lego based on the various pictures I saw on Etsy.  Lego shipped just the pieces I needed from Denmark.  And, after kid assemble and Mom coming back in with modeling cement, we ended up with these.

On Friday afternoon, the kids and I left immediately after school to meet Torrie and Anna in Raleigh.  The trip took an hour longer than it should have thanks to getting stuck behind an accident that required a giant tow truck.  But, the kids were patient and well-behaved.  Ryleigh napped.  They both ate some Sonic.  After we got to the hotel, kids got in their jammies and Torrie and I enjoyed some late room service.

On Saturday, we took the kids to a trampoline park to burn some energy.  Then we went to watch Anna play soccer.  Anna scored the only goal of the game and played really well.  It was so fun to watch her!  The crowd was thoroughly entertained by RJ and Ryleigh who shouted almost the entire game, "Go Anna!  You can do it!!"  We then had to let Anna go have lunch with her team, so we found our own lunch and headed back to the hotel for some pool time.  We were all pretty tired after the pool, so we ate in the restaurant in the hotel.  The kids were passed out close to their bedtime, and Torrie and I weren't too far behind them.

Anna's Sunday game was early and it was chilly, so we let Torrie do that one by herself.  But, we waited at the hotel for her to return so we could say goodbye.  We had an uneventful trip back, making only one stop for a potty break and snacks.  The kids had a great time hanging with Torrie and seeing Anna.  I loved catching up with both ladies.  RJ sniffled himself to sleep tonight, repeating over and over that he missed Torrie.

This week should be somewhat routine, but the holiday-centered activities are starting to kick in.  We have a cookie exchange on Saturday and the Symphony on Sunday.  Fun things like that help the time without Jip pass a little bit quicker.  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving 2016!

A short week at school plus a productive four days at home for all of us made the time fly this week.  I made turkey and all of the fixings for Jip and I.  RJ ate a lot of PB&Js.  Ryleigh ate anything but turkey, fixings, and PB&J.  We put up Christmas decorations.  We rented Finding Dory and saw Moana in the theater.  The kids played a ton outside.  It all made for a great holiday weekend.

Ryleigh helped me make my new door decoration.  All of her sketching over the last few months has led to an artist who can do delicate work for her Mom.

RJ helped me make a pumpkin cake roll.  It helped him knock out one of his assignments for the month of November.  It also allowed us to talk fractions and math.  And, he found out he can make a pretty delicious cake.  He polished off the cake today for me.

Thursday was a bit of a lazy day for the kiddos.  Ryleigh did puzzles all morning.  RJ discovered a 3-D puzzle game tucked into a corner of our game cabinet.  They enjoyed some quiet concentration before lunch.

They both requested naps Thursday afternoon.  Jip wanted one, too.  So, they all headed upstairs.  But, when they got there, Ryleigh couldn't find a comfy spot.  Instead she decided to make her own--in the hallway.

Friday was outside decoration day.  It was nearly 70 degrees, so we took advantage of the mild temps and fetched all of the Christmas stuff from the storage unit and got the front of the house looking lovely.

Saturday was inside decorating day.  But first--breakfast at Denny's and a Home Depot Workshop.  The kids enjoyed their reindeer cups and the reindeer pancakes.  Mom and Dad liked the HD Workshop--hardly anyone was there, so there was no fighting over table space or hammers or paint.  The kids made picture frame ornaments, and I'll say that they turned out better than most of their HD workshop projects.

We finished decorating the tree Saturday morning and the village, or "Ryleigh Town" as RyJo calls it, was complete by mid Saturday afternoon.  RJ liked helping with the tree, but when it came time to do the village, he decided that he should watch his iPad and build a Lego set that Jip got out of the storage unit.  Once the village was done, the kids played outside for a bit while Jip ran the bins back to the storage unit.  The process was definitely faster this year with Jip being here, using the trailer to make fewer trips, and the small helpers actually helping.

We bid Jip good-bye this week for what should be his last underway on this ship.  They should be back for Christmas, but I'm crossing my fingers Jip will be home in time for Breakfast with Santa.  We also need to take in some holiday lights and deliver Christmas cheer (cookies and wine) to friends.  So, hurry back, Jip!

As for the rest of us, it should be a pretty normal week.  The kids and I will be taking a little road trip next weekend to Raleigh to meet up with a dear friend.  The kids are looking forward to the pool.  I'm looking forward to catching up with T and her daughter.  I just hope the kids don't drive me totally crazy during the 3+ hour drive each way.

As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!