25 days!

Today marks 25 days until Christmas! This excites me beyond belief! I love this time of year. I am so thankful to provide my girls with the wonderful Christmas they will have. This is more then just presents! Time spent with family, Christmas traditions, holiday spirit and SO SO much more. We will soon get and decorate out tree! No huge hurry here with our new furry friends, plus the one place we have to put it is in front on the heather and I wont lie I am not the best at remembering to water the darn thing. I need to pick out wrapping paper, something I take very seriously. I like it coordinate plus we have to have different paper then Santa. Chris and I have yet to go shopping together, that looks like it will be on the little ladies birthday which leave them with Nanny! She has planned a day of dinner out, movies and haircuts! I am very excited to our big ol' family Christmas party! Nanny and Grampy George will be going too. Next weekend Nanny and I will hit up Freeport for holiday outfits for the girls and a trip to LL Bean. I am a little in love. I bought an itunes card today while grocery shopping and downloaded every song Maddi Jane (the girls favorite singer) has. I will put them on their Nabi's soon then they are ready to be wrapped! Today I was even more in the spirit of Christmas which I didn't think was possible! Maybe it was the flurries throughout the day or watching people tromp in and out of the stores with carts piled high. Gahh I can't wait. Pippa has helped too! I need to grab the girls Christmas jammies ( I was going to make these but I am a bit frustrated with my sewing abilities right now ) I think I will wrap their Christmas jammies and put them under the tree and then have Pippa our elf open them so they have them early!  Time to make some Christmas cookies and deck the halls even more. I better enjoy this time of year because from January to April can be a pretty big downer.

Picking out an outfit soon for our family we are buying for, the only thing better then giving to my girls is knowing we can help another family do the same for their children. I feel for the parents that can't provide gifts for the kids just has much as I feel for the kids lacking Christmas presents. I know it is about more but every kids deserves something under the tree.

Truly is a happy happy holiday season.

Pippa

Pippa has been here with us for three nights now and all three nights she has managed to cause trouble. I hope she is reporting back to Santa Clause!

Santa

So this morning did not go as planned as far as the excitement with our elf Pippa. Instead of looking at her mischeif (hanging upside down from the cupboard drinking maple syrup from a straw with left over halloween candy strewn all over) the girls asked Chris is he set her up, because... this part make's me want to cry... "Santa is not real" followed by _____ told me there is no such thing as Santa. I seriously wanted to cry then and there. I knew eventaully we would get here but honestly I wanted them to believe for a while longer, a long while longer. I don't want 6 year olds that don't believe in Santa. :( I was upset that a child would tell my children this, this is how it goes I know but I am still sad. I explained to the girls that St Nicholas was a real person and his spirit lives on inside of us. He created a magical Christmas feeling that puts holiday spirit in all of us by his selfishlessness. Then my girls asked if heaven is real? I told them that was for them to determine, I myself will see it before I believe it. I explained that it is not fair for someone to tell them what they should believe. I explained that St Nicholas was real and walked our earth for sure. Devan was so upset about this particular child making an impression on her opinion with Santa that she refuses to think about her beliefs in god and has determined that nothing this child believes is real. Devan said "How could she believe in heaven when she has not seen it if she can't believe in someone who really existed." I never thought this converstaion would be so in depth and involved with religion and I feel for my girls trying process what they beleive. I just feel bad that their opinion is wrapped up in another childs. I asked my girls not to discuss their beleifs with this child anymore, I don't want our opinion on god passed on to her as her opinion on Santa was passed on to us. Ryleigh left happy as a clam hoping Pippa would be there when we returned because she believes in her. Devan believes in St Nicholas at this point but as far as Santa goes we have work to do in this, I have worked hard in the past to make Santa magical and real, he ripped his coat in the door one year, there are boot brints on the floor, a mess from the reindeer and the list goes on. I have hope for her still, she will come around and see but for now there is a damper on the magical feeling for sure. Gosh I hope they don't go to school and tear this kid apart. I am going to search high and low for the best looking Santa before we go this year! I want a real beard to pull and I would love Santa to know a bit about the girls. Letters for sure! I can't wait for Devan to get off the bus today, she asked to stay home and snuggle me today all day. Lately she has felt the need to snuggle a lot! I love days where I am home with them in the afternoons! I think a Christmas craft is in order for today. Love them girlies!

ELF ON THE SHELF

While black Friday shopping my sister in law asked me if the girls had and Elf on the shelf doll. I have seen the idea before but have never seen a kit before. It was late and they were expensive in my opinion so I passed up the option to buy one. THEN I saw all the wonderful ideas on pinterest and wanted one real bad. I stopped by the gift shop at work today and they had elves so I picked up a girl elf! I stuck some mailing labels on the bag it came in along with a piece of peppermint gum to make her smell like she was straight from the North Pole. I wrote a letter to the girls and popped her in the mail before the girls got off the bus. When they got off the bus we checked the mail and they knew right away when they saw the address that they had received an elf! Ryelighs reaction makes me laugh! She said I'm not going to fight with my sister until after Christmas. Lol They love Pippa very much and are making sure to behave in front of her! I can't wait to let the fun begin when they head to bed.

Black Friday

I went Black Friday shopping this year for one thing that I planned on getting the girls. I obesess WAY to much to plan out an entire trip shopping and honestly when I saw the Nabi in the Walmart flyer I cringed and was excited all in one. To make things easier on myself I planned to only buy that one item. We know what the girls are getting this year and there really wasn't anything else of that list that was on sale. I have done Black Friday in the past at our local small Walmart. It is not a Super Walmart, and there are around 100 people waiting in line usually. The Nabi is not stock at our local Walmart, with this said I was not sure how many they would have in stock so I went to a larger store that carries them all the time. I waited for 4 hours! They Nabi's originally cost $200.00 and they were on sale for $129.00 this means I saved $140.00 bucks it was worth it! The hard part is not waiting to get in but getting out after you have your item, which by the way I was told I was too late they were sold out. I walked off dissapointed and basically fell over a pile of them trying to stay out of other shoppers way. I don't think the employee I asked even knew what I was talking about. Can't blame him, if I had people diving at me for directions and answers I would probably have said the same thing.

There was some controversy over Black Friday on facebook and other blogs I follow. One of which is the most materialistic person I can think of HA. I guess she does not see it, I do.  Honestly I think if you don't like it you shouldn't participate. I don't post to mothers who go "out" s how bad it annoys me or how your house is trashed makes me feel ... because it is not my business, I do things differently and it is not my place to put my opinion in on your their way of doing things.

You can see my opinion to all the negative facebook'ers bellow.


Can I just say that there was no foul play in my experience Black Friday shopping, it was my time that I chose to spend with my sister shopping. We met random strangers who went back for toys for us, helped others by passing toys, laughed and kept each other entertained while we waited in pure exhaustion. I work my butt off and if I want to shop on Black Friday to provide my children with the Christmas my mom always dreamed for us kids, then I will and I would appreciate not being made to feel like I don't give a crap about Thanksgiving because I went and bought a materialistic item on Thanksgiving. I would have been in bed otherwise not celebrating at that point. The item I went out for was an educational tablet for my kids who according to their teacher at their parent conferences, have not yet used a computer in their class this year because of the shortage of computers. Providing my daughters with this tablet was only going to happen at sale price, I was not willing to pay $400.00 to do this. I basically bought one got one free, I sinned, it was Thanksgiving but it was important to me. I have heard all of your opinions now there is mine. And for the record my kids get few presents each under the tree each year because believe it or not us as a Black Friday family, we believe and know what is really important. Some of the stories about yesterday and today are just awful and unacceptable but there have been a few people bashing the whole experience before it was even here. We don't all have greed in our hearts we just want our money that amounts to less and less to go a little further.

Thanksgiving 2012

This year we had Thanksgiving at my Mom's house. It was a beautiful day outside so the kids were in and out all day. It was a very laid back, stress free day! There was a lot of laughter.

We have a lot to be thankful for, two health children, a home, everything we need and more.

Ryleigh is most thankful for her family and house.
Devan is most thankful for her sister and her pets.

On the way to my Mom's Devan announced that she thinks everyone should forget about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. As a child I understood the importance of Thanksgiving but that statement never would have left my mouth. I am a proud Momma.

Rockin the 80's

I was born in the 80's and my kid's are totally pulling off an 80's "do" below. To quote Ryleigh, "Oh I look, I mean we look adorable" I can't lie I bribed Devan with Halloween candy to put her hair up like this, but she loves it and I am sure she will request this look tomorrow. I know Ry will, she wore her hair like this to bed and has announced this is how she will be wearing it from now on.

Little Characters.

So my kids are little comedians, they keep me in stiches... here are just a few of their conversations from the night.

 

 

Rebecca Anderson

Devan's take on the election.
Devan, "Ryleigh, did you vote in your class today?" Ryleigh, "no Devan we didn't" Devan, "well I did, I voted for... mom what's his name again, oh wait never mind Obama, that Mitt Romney is creepy looking"

Ryleigh's take on the election.
"Mom what does yes on 1 mean, what does no on one mean?" Me "Well... do you know what gay means?" Ryleigh, "uh like when you sell a house, are they for sale signs mom?" Me, "yes Ry, and you don't be prejudiced against those for sale signs..." when she is a little older I will read between the lines and teach her it is not OK to judge people. (she has a big mouth, I know the whole school would have known what gay was if I told her... and we may have a few ticked parents calling. Not all families are voting yes on 1.
That is all people, the one and only political post from our house this year.

 

 

Ryleigh comes in the room in her towel after a shower with her jammies in hand, Devan is in the middle of taking ANOTHER video of herself and she asked Ry to sing. Ryleigh screams at her that she is not even dressed and pouts. Devan says yup that's going on facebook ha ha. 

 

 

Devan asks me as I am sitting at the computer, Mom do you mind that the puppy is licking his butt under your chair? 

 

SERIOUSLY Devan ... yes I do... 

 

   

Halloween 2012

This year we skipped trick or treat all together and had a massive Halloween party at Grammy and Warren's in the barn. I wont lie at time's setting up Mum and I were ready to cry, thinking it would look more like a mess and the kids would beg to leave and go trick or treating. Then the frustrations turned to laughter. Things were looking good well into one of two LONG days. Crystal and Sophie stopped by with a touch and feel table, a witch pinata and a scare crow which I might add looked a lot like Uncle Sean. Mum and I had planned bingo, a costume contest, eating donuts off strings and stories read by Uncle Isaac.

Take a look at how all the hard work paid off!

The kids were thrilled and we didn't hear about trick or treating all night long!

Oh and Ry lost a tooth! Julian won bingo, Julian also broke the pinata open! And of course all of the kids won a personalized, made especially by Grammy costume award!

Ask us next year if we will do it again... it was worth it but a lot of work.

We had a huge spread of food! Minus the meatballs Sarah burned in the crock pot while juggeling Mommy, a job and an assistant Halloween party organizer.

Thanks everyone for all you did! Once again we have come together like the wonderful family we are and made memories that will be forever engraved in our kids hearts.

Love you guys! 

Reading.

Ry's Video above. Neither of these video's show just how good the girls read.

Doop's video.

Parent Teacher Conferences.

Our parent teacher conferences were pretty much any parents dream. We found out our children are perfect little girls at school and they are excelling like crazy!

This really didn't surprise me but I thought they were would be at least one area for improvement with each of them. Not to say we don't work on school work like crazy at home anyway.

Ryleigh's teacher told me all the kids have a list of stuff to do every day for "stations" they have an hour and a half to do this... apprentely my child bust through this list in an hour everyday. Ryleigh is helpful with the other children and often helps the teacher by reviewing her answers with the other kids while the teacher focuses on the children that need a little extra help. Gosh I love this little girl. She is so helpful and caring. Ryleigh told me about getting through her work quickly but I didn't realize it was a race everyday to help the other kids. Ry is the 3rd top reader in her class. Mrs Mcintosh said that the two readers above her are WAY above her and are reading way above a 1st grade level. The goal is to have the kids writing and reading skills at the same level verus being stronger in reading then writing. Ry is at the same level! The two children that are very good readers are not quite there with their writing so they are grouped together in hopes of increasing skills by working together. The idea is they boost Ryleigh's reading which is already above where she needs to be and she boosts their writing skills. This is not to say that Ryleigh will sail through 1st grade with no issues, her teacher said the expectations are high and they have a lot to learn. Ry's teacher says she's very outgoing and kind.  I know she will do just fine and I am one very PROUD Momma.


Moving on to Devan AKA Momma's Doopy Lady.

Let me just start by saying last years parent teacher's conference and this years were night and day from each other! I say this in a good way! DEVAN loves school and she is the class clown this year. She is very outgoing and always talking. Although she is silly and fun she can settle down and get to business too. She like her sister, is in the highest reading group for her class. Her writing is above her reading skills so we will step up the reading even more at home! Devan get's stressed to the max with math but she is good at it too. We will practice at home so her confidence in her math will improve. It was no surprise to me that Devan is a wonderful story writer! She is a very creative girl. We often find her up before anyone at home writing in the living room and coloring away. She is also very artistic. I love seeing drawings come home, she does a great job! It must be a first grade thing, everyday Devan comes home with tons of pictures and notes from her friends. This year she is leaning towards playing with the girls more then the boys! She loves girly things. I almost fell over backwards when she told me she wanted to be Cinderella for Halloween. Go Doopy! So proud of you!

When Mommy and Daddy left the school we were so proud! We were going to do a movie after, an Idea I got on Facebook from another awesome Mommy to two beautiful girls. We ended up going the weekend before, I knew the girls would earn it! So we settled for grabbing dinner and a junky convenient store toy and tic tacs. Believe it or not this was AWESOME to my amazing little girls.

10/22/2012

Today reminded me of the long days I pulled with travel and work last year. I worked late, Monday is my 5:00 day but today I worked even later. Chris has been on nights so he was pretty much useless this evening. I say this bluntly because he usually has things taken care of better then me when he is with the kids. I know he works hard and is tired so I dealt... I did dinner, homework, snuggles, reading, dog, cat, crabs, clean up, tidy and tuck in on my own. I must say I did well. It's 8 now and I am done for the night. I was on edge... I hate when I am like this, the little NON STOP noises the girls make drive me up the wall. I love cuddling and being with my girls but having them under foot because they desperately need my attention while I have work to do is difficult. I am pulled in all directions at work, when I get home it is hard to go for round two, even if this round should count more. Honestly now that we are done... Well I am done with my "chore" list and the girls are already snoring, I wish I would have snuggled more and left some more work for now. I at least got some laughs and cuddly time as we read stories before bed. I have learned my lesson with letting the girls stay up. They are grouchy as all hell the next day and anything but pleasant to be with. So there is plenty of "evening" left so I will rest and crash early myself. I will rest my tired body and mind and head to bed. The thousands of refills I did, shots I gave, calls I took and patients I roomed are now a thing of the past ... The stress is over. I can TRY to forget about the grown "special" woman I made cry as her husband held her hand and consoled her as she got her flu shot. Seriously she almost made me cry. I am grateful for my job and my family. Tomorrow Chris and I will head to the school for parent teacher conferences and hopefully hear what good little girls we have. Maybe ice cream after! We were going to do a movie but I got a little excited and brought them this weekend with Grammy! He he. Hotel Transylvania was a great movie. Well this concludes my night. Going to go get comfy in bed and watch TV... Something I rarely do.

More crafting.

Tonight I decided to take on the cape I am making Julian for Christmas. I wanted to make a "real" Superman cape. The capes you buy in store are cheaply made and expensive. Julian LOVES superhero's. I found the idea on Pinterest and have to say it was a quick and easy project. I hope he loves it, I am sure he will!

The lighting for pictures stinks, the red is deeper and not so cheap looking. It is pretty long, it will fit him for a while, that's for sure. It is silky too, now I need to find some black material and make a Batman cape. 

10/11/12

Ah, this picture makes me love fall even more then I already do.

Love these ladies!

They're getting SO big. 

 

I love seeing the Library book choices. These are Ry's picks. She always picks a book for Devan,  love her. She loves Halloween stories. 

Devan is in to horses this year big time! Can you tell? 

The girls were so kind and loving to each other last night. Devan told Ry she was her princess and waited on her hand and foot, she also let her have a sip of her water at the table. 

On a not so positive note... Devan said Bastard at school today.

I think I need to find something better to call the dog when he pee's on the floor for the 3rd time in a day. 

Devan is a little class clown this year! I asked her teacher how she is fitting in and said she has a HUGE personality! This makes me a happy Momma. 

Ry is her kind hearted self. She makes friends easily and takes her school work seriously. I love them so much. 

Their reading skills are AWESOME. They have come so far. I love reading at night especially Monday's when they get new books from the library. They read them to me now!

 

Gettin' Crafty

For Christmas this year I have decided to make some homemade gifts. I have ideas for each of my nieces and nephews. Custom gifts from Auntie that suite their personalities to a T. First up is Sophie, I have a pattern picked out for a horsie pair of jammies but I started with this cute as can be fairy fabric. It was pretty easy and I must say they came out pretty cute! Can't wait for the next pair!

October Already

I can't believe October is already here. We are in full planning mode for Halloween cotumes and Christmas lists. Both girls want to be La La Loopsy characters this year. They usually change their minds a time or two. I have asked them to make sure that is what they want to be, I plan on starting their costumes soon. Due to the cheesy ugly costumes available, I will be making the girls this year! I have big plans pictured perfectly in my head, we will see how they turn out.

I am having some "blog issues" I have run out of space, I have to option to purchase more, I am not sure what my options are or how to find out. I want to jump right in and sign up to pay a monthly fee but I am apprehensive, maybe there is a better option. SO in the meantime I can't post pictures of my ladies like I wish I could. :(  I guess that should give me motivation to solve this issue.

Soccer started, and has abrubtly stopped, not because they don't want to play but because we have had so much rain : ( so far both games the girls would have had have been cancelled. I am hoping this Sat, they will have a game. Nanny is taking the girls Sat after their game to the Pumpkin Parade in Damariscotta. Chris will be working, this leaves me all to myself. I think I will grab some supplies and get started on a few projects. I have my print release form! I can go to Staples and print out pics to put on canvas! If this turns out good I have some plans for Christmas presents using this method.

From now until I fix my blog issues, it will be all words no picture... this is sad. I have been taking them. A stream of posts will come in once I can post pics again I am sure.

Unposted post from 9/12

Where trips to Liberty are becoming less and less and we have so much to cram into each weekend, we tried making the most of our time and planned a sleepover. I got out of work at 3:15 drove home to get the girls off the bus, they changed for soccer, thrn drove to Liberty to have dinner with Crystal, Sean, Sarah, Warren, Mum and the kids. The girls were really excited to have a sleep over! Brayden for some reason does not like to sleep at my or Crystals house anymore so he wouldn't stay with us, he spent the night at Mum's so he could stay after Sarah left for the night and hang out a bit longer.

Crystal made yummy pot pies, apple crisp, and pumpkin chocolate cookies, thanks Crystal. We made plans of leaving bright and early to make it to the girls soccer game at 8:45, I can't lie the sound of rain in the morning made me excited and sad all in one. I was really looking forward to the girls having a game and so were they. It was nice though to not have to rush, the kids got to play for a while longer, this made them really happy.

Soccer has started!

Ryleigh was all excited for soccer, she was not nervous in any way shape or form. Devan on the other hand was a little taken back to the idea. At one point she even said she didn't want to try. We gave her the option  not to play, she was apprehensive but she didn't want to not play either. Chris was working for their first practice so I took them myself. I thought it was really sweet that Ryleigh asked Devan to be her partner so she wouldn't be shy. Within minutes they both warmed up and decided they love soccer.  The kids are all at the same level basically, this helped with their confidence. They were supposed to have a game the next day but it was canceled due to rain. Next weekend there will be game, the girls are excited to get their purple shirts.