jingle bell rock

my goodness - it took many many tries to get this video to upload. i'm not sure if it was due to the size or something else, but it was really frustrating. the kids did this on their own. i grabbed the camera as fast as i could. this was christmas eve.

s playing

at s's school playground. we haven't been there for awhile, with all this freezing weather.

amiguitos pumpkin patch visit

brother & sister before riding the train to the pumpkin field

on the train

in the large field of pumpkins with the hay maze

z..

...and s

this pumpkin patch had a boat ride. we did it last year, when z attended pasitos. attending pumpkin patches for school is not my favorite activity. if we go again next year, i'm bringing backup.
we purchased kettle corn on our way back to school. 

s pics

s at school

painting a pumpkin

at the playground

whee! what fun!

haircut for z & canadian thanksgiving

z got a haircut while i waited. after this, we picked up s from grandma's house, and went to a party to celebrate canadian thanksgiving. j was in bend for c's bachelor party. mommy got one night free while z spent it in canby with los abuelos. 

z is terrorizing uncle b

preggers n

hurray for twins k & r

my son has wings

and he's chasing the girls

there's s! all the kids are trying to fit in the chair all at once

z's 5th birthday

some cupcakes from the neighbors...

z's birthday party at out of this world pizza

s playing in the tiny house

opening presents at home

z's crown from the school celebration at the end of the month

on the last friday of the month, they celebrate all the kids' birthdays who have birthdays that month. i brought cookies in for everyone. 

z's 5th birthday

daddy lights a candle in z's birthday doughnut

 since z goes to school full time, abuelo & abuela wanted a chance to see z on his birthday, so they came really early to our house before j went to work, to deliver birthday doughnuts and gifts for z. 

waiting to blow out the candle

singing to z

grandparents visit

after school, grandma & grandpa visited z, and brought cupcakes. this day was quite a day of sugar!

we all sing to z again!

we went to benihana for z's birthday dinner, and it was the dinner from hell. it took forever for our order to be taken; we were seated next to a bachelor party; the cook kept making raunchy jokes; there was too much pepper and seasoning in the food for z's liking; the kids were falling asleep as we waited for the bill. i wrote a letter of complaint. the manager called me and left a message, offering us another free dinner, but that was the last thing we wanted! no thank you!

plumper patch

here is one more photo i found of 3/4 of the family at the pumpkin patch visit sponsored by intel.

chronicles of potty training

not much to say. after trying for 8 days, we got nowhere. one evening, s peed 4 times in the span of 15 minutes, soiling 4 different pairs of pants. i'm finished. back to diapers. it's clearly not time.

soup stealers

i ate soup for dinner one night, and my kids ate the entire thing. s, especially, always wants to eat what mommy is eating. not what daddy is eating, but only mommy. sigh. 

chronicles of potty training

yay - they're dry!

 z made it through the night monday night without needing steroids for the cough, so i sent him to school yesterday. he had a slight temp, just 99.2. he made it the whole day without wanting to come home.
s had her preschool class yesterday. i put her in big girl underwear, and she made it through the whole class without getting it wet. i tried putting her on the potty there, but she did NOT like it. we had to run errands after class, so i put a diaper OVER her underwear, so that she would feel it in case she peed, but it wouldn't make a mess. when we got home, the underwear was dry! she hadn't peed since she got up at 7am! her great streak was ruined in the afternoon, though, when she pooped in her panties. oh well. grandma & grandpa took the kids to see the zoolights (and burgerville), and j & i went out for dinner. we found some old gift cards that needed to be used up at bugatti's. yay - someone else made dinner! i had meant to make brisket, but forgot carrots & celery at the store, and s was napping, so i made caramel corn instead. anyway, after dinner, we stopped at our friend j & d's house to help celebrate j finishing his college degree. fun night!

and then it was a restless night. i heard z coughing beginning at 1am, with the croupy cough. it had returned! :( s woke up a couple times, too. i heard z coughing more & more frequently, so i finally went in at 4am, and found him awake. he had a fever, and so i gave him ibuprofen and the steroid. i kept him home from school today. he made the craft in the picture above with wikisticks, which he got from his burgerville meal. it's a picture of santa in his sleigh, carrying a bag of toys. z put a z on the top, so you'd know it was his. i've been busy making cookie dough & doing serious laundry - down comforters, covers, and sanitizing the wipes. busy busy. i also have the brisket cooking in the oven. when that finishes, i have to bake the cookies, and we will decorate them tonight for z's posada at school tomorrow.
no luck today so far with s's potty training. she has peed 2 or 3 times in her pants. i'm not ready to give up yet.

chronicles of potty training

THE machine. i'm scared to use it.

z woke up with croup this morning at 5am. j gave him steroids at 6am, and he is staying home from school. a student of mine dropped off a christmas present last night - a starbucks barista italia. it is an espresso machine which grinds beans and makes espresso with the touch of a button. i didn't have enough espresso beans to fill the container, so i piled the kids in the car, pajamas and all (once s had peed), and went through the closest starbucks drive thru. i got a pre-made coffee to get me through the morning. i'll try making the first espresso when the kids are napping. for now, it's too chaotic. one kid wants one thing, the other kid wants something else. so far, z has read bob books to me; i've read to s; s has painted a picture; z is trying to paint but s keeps contributing; z has worked in his workbook; and we're about to practice rudolph the red nosed reindeer in spanish, which is the song his class is singing at school for the posada (which is totally the blind leading the blind here - doing my best with youtube). thank goodness this is makeup week for me - light schedule. 

do you see what is below the chair, and can you guess what it is?

potty training has not yet been effective. s keeps peeing, and then saying, "uh-oh!"
she can pee after waking, but hasn't been successful otherwise. i guess it will just take time. i need more patience. i have screamed into a pillow several times today so far. 

life

probably about a month ago, i began a list of pictures and videos to add to the blog. life has been packed with too much work, and some play, and i simply haven't had time to add anything. in the meantime, life has been passing by, and there have been too many things i'd like to record here, so i need to just start randomly listing things. 

z & s have been enjoying opening the little advent bags each morning. they have to wait until z has practiced his violin for the day, which now consists of him playing three twinkle variations - mississippi hot dog, ice cream - sh - cone, and run mommy run daddy. i hope to have him begin beautiful butterfly twinkle tomorrow. we've been doing a little note reading also. anyway, he calls the advent calendar an "elavent" calendar. 

last week, j was in phoenix for two nights. before he left, i was talking about how i'll get lonely without him here. z heard me, and said, "don't worry, mommy. you won't be alone. you'll have s & me!" it was very sweet. i think he even gave me a hug. i've been leaving notes in the bags for z to read, instructions on where to find little dollar gifts, in addition to the daily piece of chocolate. today's note read "look in the oven." i had left a gingerbread house kit in the oven for them to find. i did my best to make both kids understand that they are to NEVER leave anything in the oven themselves.

we have started potty training with s. it takes a LOT of patience!!!

lots of babies being born. one of my high school mates became a GRANDMOTHER yesterday - her 17 yr old daughter had a baby on uncle b's birthday. our good good good friends p & n welcomed a baby boy early this morning after 36 hours of natural labor. 

we had fun at c & r's annual xmas party last night, and they are expecting a baby boy in january. they actually hired someone to serve (a daughter of a friend) and a coworker to bartend for the party. c smoked a turkey, and there were lots of great nibbles, along with cake pops. they sent some home with us for the kids. truly a fantastic party! we ended up getting  home later than we expected, after midnight. and of course s woke me up this morning at the crack of dawn. 

i should be peeling, slicing veggies right now, prepping them to be roasted, but what the heck - here's a picture from the annual trip to see santa today. we went to the bridgeport village, which is an outdoor mall. in the past, i have had the luxury of taking the kids during the week, so there was never much of a line. today, however, at 10:15, there was a really really long line, in 37 degree weather. poor s - no mittens, wearing a dress with tights and uncomfortable black dress shoes. of course no hat, either, because her hair was in pigtails. z had left his hat and mittens in the car. both kids were very patient. i stood in line, freezing, while j ran around with them. z made me really nervous. right by the line for santa was a fountain, with a little area where you could jump on a small pathway of stones partially submerged in about 3-4" of water. i thought for sure z would fall of the rocks and get his feet sopping wet, but it never happened. thankfully he only tried once. eventually it was our turn to visit with santa. z told santa he wants a plastic boat for the bathtub, and a remote controlled airplane. s, of course, didn't say anything. it was 12pm when we made it back to the car.  

s wasn't smiling. z's smile looked too forced.

z had a great smile, but s wasn't smiling.

finally, they both smiled and both looked at the camera. we were out of there!

 zane said to me after we got back, this is the best day ever! cake pops to eat, a visit to santa, a gingerbread house to make, running around in the frigid air - what else could a young boy ask for in a day? he is such a sweet boy. his mama loves him dearly.

off to prep the vegetables...