Snow Days

Last Tuesday, the forecast predicted a very light snow, totaling less than an inch.  However, it turned out to be a much steadier snow that lasted all morning.  Our district, which has a reputation for canceling at the prediction of snow surprisingly remained open.  People were pretty upset about the school staying open.  There were a couple of buses that got stuck and some kids had a hard time getting home.  Thankfully, we didn't experience that.  However, the county had so many complaints that they later issued an apology.  Then, in their typical over reaction, they canceled school for the next two days with a delayed opening on Friday.  It had been very cold and the snow/ice hadn't really melted, but this was just too much!  These kids could have been in school.  On our second snow day, I invited a girlfriend of mine over with her son and then our neighbor's son also came over.  The boys enjoyed sledding in the backyard.

Brennan figured out how to zip down the backyard hill and steer his sled this year.

The boys had a lot of fun crashing into each other.

Tyler was having a blast as well, but I was more involved with pushing/pulling his sled and didn't manage to get many photos of the little guy!

Visits from Ogre

As I mentioned in December, our elf, Ogre, arrived on December 1.  This year, I noticed a lot of mommy outrage on Facebook and the blogs about the Elf and how pinteresty moms are putting so much pressure on other moms to do over the top creative stuff with their elf.  Please know I am not doing Elf on the Shelf because I think I need to be super mom.  I do this because Brennan really loves it and I don't feel like it's a big deal to continue the tradition.  I have not "hacked" my elf.  I position his arms with sewing pins and tape.  His hat in one photo was a $1.50 ornament I found at Michaels.  I also got him a sweater that way!  Woo hoo!  This year, I didn't have a plan on what to do with the elf day over day.  I kind of played it by ear and it worked out well.  Ogre was a little less mischievous this year because I didn't want a mess to clean up every day.  Brennan is already questioning if Santa is real, so who knows if this will be our last real year of our elf.  Here are some moments with Ogre from 2014.

Christmas!

This year, we really didn't go nuts on Christmas gifts.  What do these children really "need"?  LOL.  They seemed happy with their stocking stuffers.  The boys got a couple of new games each, some books and their much anticipated "Snackeez" cups.  I found an inexpensive air hockey table, so that was one very large/exciting box for them to open.  However, in the end, Brennan said his favorite gift was the Snackeez cup.  (And, oddly enough, every child we've seen since getting them, sees the cup and exclaims with joy, "Snackeez!"  Yes, they have good marketers.)

Tyler saw rockets in Michaels a couple of weeks before Christmas and was freaking out that a rocket was his favorite and that Santa would bring it.  So, of course Santa brought it.  Now, we have to plan a launch day :)

This year, I was well planned and made a french toast casserole that I could prepare the day before.  It was sweet and rich, but for a special day, just right!  It was nice to be able to just stick it in the oven and enjoy the morning with the kids while breakfast cooked :)

We headed up to NY on Christmas day afternoon.  We had a great time visiting with both sides of the family.  I was operating in pretty serious vacation mode and did not take many pictures, but we saw my grandparents and mom's extended family, as well as getting a great visit in with my in-laws and my own siblings.  We enjoyed seeing "On The Town" on Broadway with my family while the kids stayed with my in-laws on Saturday.  The boys were excited to show off their new Batman pajamas and robes.  We can finally retire Tyler very old/too small batman pajamas now :)

 On Monday, the day before heading back to Virginia, my uncle came to visit with his family, which is especially special for my kids, since they have kids that are basically the same age as my children.  We went over to Martha Clara vineyard to see the animals with the four kids.  They all took turns feeding the buffalo.

The goats and sheep were also fun and the kids fed them as well.  They had pigs, but we weren't allowed to feed them.

Back at my parent's house, all three boys enjoyed attacking Brian... a favorite pass time of my children.

We drove home on the 30th and spent two days doing laundry, packing up Christmas decorations and reorganizing the basement.  Before we left for NY, I spent 2 days getting the rest of the house in order, so I feel like we are ready to face the new year.  House is somewhat organized... bring on the chaos of 2015!  Happy new year everyone!

Toothless

In the last couple of months, Brennan's two front teeth have been working their way out.  He had a serious snaggle tooth of one tooth or another since before Thanskgiving.  The one at Thanksgiving held on for weeks before coming out.  That one actually fell out during swim lessons and he managed to retrieve it from the bottom of the pool.  It was so ready to come out that it didn't bleed.  By the time we reached NY at Christmas time, his other tooth was getting ready to come out.  If you lookc closely, you can see in the picture with Peter that he tooth is sticking out.  He was too scared to twist it and hoped it would fall out in his sleep!

Finally, this week, it became so loose, that he kept flicking it.  It was a little bloody and for days, he would irritate it.  Finally, it was basically hanging on by gums alone and Brian convinced him to yank it out.  Here he is with his tooth in hand a new smile!  He has let me know though that he can in fact still wish you a Merry Christmas, despite what the song says!  This was his sixth tooth to go.

RCC's Christmas Pageant

Right after Thanksgiving, we started rehearsing for the children's Christmas pageant at church.  I have a volunteer serving as assistant director in the children's ministry now, and she happens to be a certified music teacher, so it was great to have her helping teach the kids the carols for the show.  Amanda and I would spend about a half hour with the kids during children's ministry to work with them.  We had a very simple script this year.  It was narrated by our upper elementary class with the rest of the children singing in the chorus.  Tyler was an adorable shepherd.

Brennan was the inn keeper and stayed in the Inn the entire time!  I couldn't find him before the show to snap a shot, so this is the best I got.

I'm not really sure what Tyler was thinking, but he wandered around the stage throughout the show.  I was in front, trying to discreetly direct the children, but at one point, I think he walked all the way up to me before heading back into the Inn with Brennan.

The sheep from our toddler class were adorable.  They were wandering the stage, dancing and snacking!

The reviews are in - best pageant to date!  It's a perfectly imperfect show and that seems just right for us.