Snow Day!

Well, we have had a couple of days where snow was predicted and we got nothing but a bit of sleet and freezing rain.  Yesterday/last night not much was predicted, but Lance and I of course stayed up to make sure, and lo and behold it was a really good snow for a while.  We got about half an inch in 30 minutes and even though that is all it was with the exception of some flurries the rest of the night - it was really coming down for a while and made the roads bad enough with the hills and ice that school was cancelled today.  Tyler attempted to make a snow angel, and snow balls as soon as we went outside, but there wasn't quite enough snow.  The driveways, however, were icy enough that we got some "sledding" in this morning in the neighbor's driveway.  We are still anxiously awaiting enough snow for golf course sledding, but for early December this was a pretty fun treat.  All of this will melt soon so it won't be a true snow day (even though the kids are out of school all day), but they were super excited when the woke up to see "all the snow everywhere."  They are having some hot chocolate now and warming up a bit, and maybe we can make it out one more time to play before it all goes away.

We had so much fun at the Rockettes on Sunday with So-So - it was a great show and the kids both seemed to really enjoy it.  Katie has been the last couple of years, but this was Tyler's first time.  He thought the set decorations were really cool, and Katie is still mesmerized by the dancers and costumes and spectacle of it all.  Big thank you to So-So for taking us all this year! 

Christmas Spirit

We are slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit.  We put the tree up last Sunday when things settled down after getting back in town. The kids spent almost the whole day in pajamas, but we had a fun, festive day in the house on a super cold day. 

Today, however, was much colder and it just so happens that this is the one that worked out best to put up Christmas lights.  The kids had fun "helping" with the lights, but more riding the jeep power wheel around the neighborhood until they abandoned it in the cul-de-sac because it was "too cold to ride with wind."

Tomorrow we have pictures with Santa and then we are going with So-So to the Rockettes!  We are supposed to have some freezing rain tonight, but it should clear out in time for the Santa visit, and definitely in time to see some high kicks.

Tomorrow we also find out what bowl game Vandy will play in this year.  We are pretty sure that we will be in Birmingham, which will be on January 4th.  We have sitter issues no matter what the date, but I figure we have a better chance on the 4th than we do on New Year's Eve, which is when the other options are.  I say that, but with the Birmingham bowl being at noon that means two nights away rather than one - which is virtually impossible.  Either way it looks like we may not both be able to go to the bowl game, but we have a better chance of being able to take the kids to Birmingham than any of the others so that's what I am (secretly since Lance would definitely like a better bowl) hoping for in the announcement tomorrow.  I love this age with the kids and don't wish for the days and years to go any faster(!), but one thing that will be nice when they are a little older is that I know they will be able to manage trips like this if we take them with us!  On the otherhand, the kids have been pretty defiant and whiny lately (maybe that's why we can't get anyone to help watch them  ;)), that another age and stage may be welcome! 

Seriously, though, all of us getting on each others nerves these days has to be expected.  I am at my busiest at work in December and we added an event this month just to make it more exciting, which makes me stressed and a lot less patient.  Lance is working seemingly all the time, and when he isn't seems to be constantly fielding phone calls, texts and emails about work, which essentially takes away the "parental back-up" element that makes parenting the dynamic duo tolerable.  The weather has been pretty horrible and the kids are stuck in the house more often than not, which can be taxing and they have had a lot going on, too, with school activities and new experiences.  So,  I think all of us are really looking forward to the Rockettes tomorrow, and time with family in a couple of weeks, and the much anticipated visit from Santa, and all of the fun traditions and special festivities in this season - this year the Christmas celebrations and seasonal happenings are much appreciated as a welcome work reprieve and a reminder of what is most important! 

Thanksgiving #1

Today was our first Thanksgiving (of 3 total) for the year and it was great!  We had a fabulous meal with Lance's brother and my sister-in-law and family and we are all totally stuffed.  I forgot to get pictures earlier when they weren't quite as disheveled, but managed to get this one just to have a record of the kid's 5th Thanksgiving!  The weather was a lot different than last year when we ate outdoors, but it was a wonderful day despite the cold.

Tomorrow we are off to see my family and we have a very busy week once we get back.  I have a lot going on at work, Lance always seems to have more work than time these days (a good thing, of course, but just makes everything a little more chaotic), and the kids have their second tennis lesson!  They were so excited about their first lesson (I posted but can't seem to find it so I am not sure what happened).  They did great and are really looking forward to the next one.  We picked up a couple of rackets for them (they borrowed them the first time last week) and it seems to be a good call because for right now they are wanting to play all the time (but I have had to refuse them with the temps in the teens).  Liz watched them for us while we went to the UT/Vandy game (huge thank you for that - we had a great time at the game and the kids had fun spending tie with her too) and I think they coerced her to play in the yard for a bit.  It is kind of cold for outdoor tennis so we got them some new gear and they were almost as excited about that as the tennis!

Like mother like daughter - Katie was really digging her new shoes and tennis skirt - those are two things I get super excited about too! She claims that the shoes are "super fast" and wore them to school every day last week.  

Our silly little man isn't all about the clothes, his favorite part of the lesson was hot potato where they work on "happy feet."  The thing I am worst at in tennis is moving my feet, so it would be great if they learned to keep them moving!  Tyler doesn't usually have trouble getting moving though - we caught him dancing without a care in the world recently - he really does love to move and groove!  I hope he stays carefree for a lot longer - it is so fun to watch children enjoy the world with no inhibitions. 

Thanksgiving Fun!

The kids had a performance at school this morning, and it was so cute.  They both did better than I expected and actually song the songs, but I had a really hard time seeing those short little things.  I have been hearing the songs for weeks when they have practiced at home, and it was really fun to see their hard work come to fruition.  Tyler got some new shoes for his first tennis lesson (!), but he wouldn't wear them today because he was worried they would come untied and it would mess him up during his performance.  They both took it very seriously, and woke up this morning incredibly excited about the big day.

They were also super excited on Wednesday when they went to their first ever tennis lesson.  A friend of theirs (we are good friends with her parents) has been taking with this lady for a while and we decided to sign the kids up.  They did great for the first time ever holding a racket - Katie actually hit the ball (albeit with a two-handed forehand) and Tyler was especially excited about "hot potato" which was really just dodge ball with a tennis ball (but it does teach "happy feet" which is a good tennis skill).  We will keep going back as long as weather allows (outside) because I really was pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed it and how excited they were to get to play!

Songwriters

The kids were asking me the words to God Bless America and Tyler asked me if they could write their own, to which I replied of course.  Katie then got her notebook and pencil and began to write the cutest song ever.  She wrote - I love my "bruthr" Tyler he is the best and my mom is "to."  She sounded out all the words and sang it to the tune of God Bless America - so cute.  They are doing "writer's workshop" in their classes and it seems to be great!  They encourage them to write words how they sound and not worry if they are correct or not and it has given them confidence to try to sound out words and enjoy writing.  They have been practicing for their Thanksgiving performance this coming Friday and have been singing, and now trying to write the words to the songs, for weeks.  I am sure they will clam up on performance day, but they are definitely having fun learning new songs with their classes and Tyler especially likes learning about Native Americans and pilgrims! 

This seems like such a slow process for them to really learn to read and write, but they are getting it and I am impressed with the progress they are making.  Katie just came back to me with a new song - wuns (once) ther was an elephant (she told me that one and didn't try to write it) at the wtrprk (waterpark) and he was on the go, he wnt (went) and sa (saw) a tgr (tiger) that was slpy (sleepy) in a tree...  She is writing lots of sight words correctly, but doesn't seem to think other words have vowels apparently - ha.  Tyler isn't writing, but he is helping her think of what the song should be about.  Maybe they will be a famous song-writing duo one day  :)  - we do live in a good city for that to happen!  Uh oh, she is now asking me to read what she wrote and I need to pay better attention while she is sounding it out or I will never get it! 

Finally!

Well, my dad visited this weekend and we finally got the swing set put up!  We really enjoyed spending time with the crew and T & K really like playing with my dad's girls.  Katie is absolutely ecstatic to have a swing set - she woke up Monday morning and begged to swing for "just a minute," immediately came home after school and went straight to swinging, and was excited to see the "snow" this morning but sad that it probably meant it was too cold to go outside (it definitely was - the first cold always feels even colder than it actually is).

They had a fun evening, though, despite not being able to play outside.  Tonight I had a board meeting, so Lance took them to the Vandy basketball game.  They all seemed to have a good time and he said they were well-behaved and enjoyed the game atmosphere.  We are cutting it close on homework this week since we haven't even looked at it yet, but they will get it done and fun evenings with dad are worth it! 

Halloween and now Christmas!

My sister asked me today what the kids would like for Christmas and although my initial reaction was that she is way more on the ball than me, it also made me realize that it really is time to start thinking about Holiday madness!  I have been putting together a wish list on Amazon for the kids and I can't help but get excited about this year.  They are already making Santa lists and letting us know things they like, and it is kind of fun to finally have a year that they are aware and eagerly anticipating all of the Christmas and Santa hullabaloo.  I do have to say, though, that it is a little disconcerting how "old" Katie's big requests seem to me.  She really, really wants something that "plays music, with headphones, and takes pictures."  Sounds like an iPod to me and my baby girl couldn't possibly want something so big-kid-like  :)!  My work is crazy busy at this time of year, so maybe I should actually do what I always say I will and shop online early and get it out of the way! 

Halloween was fantastic.  Although a day late, the kids told the sitter that it was "the best night ever," and it was clear that they had fun on the actual Halloween night (we carved our pumpkin, ate pizza, and watched a movie) and the day after when we went neighborhood trick-or-treating and then ate freshly made smores with neighbors and friends in the cul-de-sac.