O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

Abby begged to put up the tree this weekend, and in hindsight it was the best time possible for us.  We have a tradition where we have a couple of slabs cut off the bottom of the tree each year and let them dry a few months.  Then I sand them and glue a picture of each kid on a slab and polyurethane over it.  When that is dry I write the year on the back with a sharpie and add a hook and ribbon to the top and I have an ornament for the next year's tree made from the previous year's one.  When each kid moves on and has a tree of their own someday I'll be able to pass on a collection of each of their trees with pictures of what they looked like that year.

"Pacman Pie"

I made 4 pumpkin pies trying to find the perfect milk free recipe for Abby (allergic to milk).  Two ended up in the trash...one I forgot to add the sugar to, the other just failed all taste tests.  This one was the favorite, and was dubbed "Pacman Pie".  Let me know if you want the recipe for a decent milk/soy/egg free pumpkin pie.

By the way, it's midnight Friday, and she hasn't eaten a bite of ANY of the pumpkin pies yet.

All Dressed Up

I never posted pics of the kids dressed up at the end of October, so here they are.  Ben, obviously is a fireman, Abby a cheerleader.   This is her actual cheerdance costume that she's used for her dance recitals.   Neither one of them likes to stray too much from the norm.

Grey's Anatomy, Our Anatomy

Abby and I had our first true conversation about racism. We were watching Grey's Anatomy and she asked why the brown doctor couldn't operate on the patient, and why the girl one had to (Sandra Oh). I explained some about race, discrimination, what a swastika was and how symbols identify people and their beliefs. (All in brief and according to what a 7 year old could take in.) Nothing like starting a sentence with "Well, you know how you and I don't look alike, right..."

Giving Thanks

We spent the day with family and friends (who we consider family).  We ate in abundance, but laughed more.  I haven't had a Thanksgiving this good in years.  Thanks to all of you for making such a special day for me. 

This Just In...

"Parents help children through math problems Thursday night. Among some of the conundrums —
just how many M&Ms are in a typical bag?"

 

 

WEBSTER — How can one measure that elusive inchworm? Just how many M&Ms are in the typical “fun size” bag? If Billy has three cookies and Martha has five, how many cookies are there?  Children and parents mulled over these questions Thursday, Nov. 8, during Park Avenue Elementary School’s “Supper  and Books” event, which featured a night of stories, math problems, and of course, classic squared-off cafeteria-style pizza.

 

We're published...again!  This appeared in our local newspaper after we participated in our children's school "Supper and Books" activity.

...More news at 11.

Shutterfly | Photo Cards

Shutterfly | Photo Cards

Christmas Card

I spent some time today trying to get pictures of the kids for a Christmas card. It took a Herculean effort to get Abby to co-operate (2 days of fighting and tears), and you can see what it was like with Ben. You might think I mistreated or tortured them. Geez, if the worst they had in life was to put on nice clothes and have a picture taken, then what a blessing life is! Maybe they need a little more hardship in their lives to understand Christmas card time isn't so bad after all.

The Best Gift of All

Abby and a friend have been rehearsing a couple of songs for a performance the music teacher at her school will be directing for the second grade parents.  Here is a video they wanted me to make for him.

Le Petit Chef

Ben LOVES to bake. Really, to help me with anything I am cooking. I try to let both of my kids help with as much of the work as they can (except working with the stove) because I think it builds their confidence, helps them with their math (counting measurements, etc.) and the sooner they can take the task over for me the better! I've been doing family cooking for about 30 years and to be honest, I'm pretty sick of it. I also started doing the family grocery shopping when I got my license at 16 years old. I figured if I was doing the cooking, I might as well do the shopping too. That way I could make sure I had what I needed on hand. My mom was working full time, and it made perfect sense. I'm sure she was glad to have one less chore to do. My brother always came with me and made fun out of it.

As I'm making this blog entry my husband is at the market with both kids doing the grocery shopping. Thank goodness he doesn't mind it too much because I've been avoiding it at all costs lately, even using online shopping w/ grocery delivery services!