HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA!!

Generous

The kids are so cute at this time of year ... well besides their constant begging for the toys that they want for Christmas....
First when the 'dream' book came which is much anticipated around our house Benjamin made sure to circle toys for Maiya in addition to the toys he circled for himself. Then today I asked Ella what she was getting Benjamin and she said 100% sure of herself "Oh I think a Power Rangers Bicycle" - don't you think that is a little expensive Ella - "Its Ok he would really like it" Then I asked Benjamin what he was getting Ella - "A Dora Bicycle AND a Kitchen" - Wow I wish I had the budget you guys have!

Clarification

Just so you know ... no one got hurt in the Kmart incident - it was a 'knife' fight between two guys and apparently everything was stopped by security probably at the same time I was making a scene in electronics.

I know, I know

Its been a long time since my last blog... We have been celebrating the holidays - last weekend with my family and this weekend with Kyle's family.
Maiya has reached a new milestone! She can roll over now from back to stomach - and even get her arm unpinned - Nana discovered her little trick yesterday when she was supposed to be napping in the playpen:)
Well Kyle and I had temporary insanity and decided to brave the crowds for the after thanksgiving sales - we got to Kmart at 5:30 am and there was already a line to the end of the sidewalk. We couldn't really get in line until closer to the store opening at 6 because we had Maiya with us and it was really cold.
When we actually got into the store I felt like some kind of wildebeest running from a lion in the open plains - I wasn't sure where to go and I immediately began to forget the things we were trying to find. We did want a graco booster seat for Ella that was only 10 bucks but we couldn't find it anywhere - I am convinced they never even had any - just teased parents in the circular so crazy people like us would get up a 5 am. After we found a couple of other things - we split up; Kyle to electronics (of course) and me to housewares - then I decided to brave the front of the store crowd to check out Christmas decorations - as I am pushing my way through I hear this commotion by the entrance - some guy screaming at the top of his lungs nothing I can understand but I can tell he is crazed - then all these ladies start my way and one says "this can't be good" then the next says "he has a gun - I'm getting to the bathroom" -- now I knew at that moment I had watched way too much TV - because I freaked out too - I ran my fat butt to electronics as fast as I could which you have to get the full picture - these people have no idea about what is happening at the front of the store - so I know they thought I was crazy because I am running screaming at the top of my lungs for Kyle - they probably thought " whatever is on sale can't be that good"
Well it turned out to be some 'domestic dispute' between and ex-husband and current husband of some woman - it made the Danville paper. Now I will be cheesy for just a moment - it turned out to be nothing but for the little bit of time it took me to get to Kyle I was really panicking - I knew I wouldn't be calm until I was with him - I love my man!!
Now just a side note, the last time Kyle and I went shopping together was last weekend at a wal-mart in Richmond and some man appeared to have died of a heart attack while waiting in line - the paramedics were still working on him when we left the store but he didn't not appear to be responding at all.
So now we are on our way to return something - so wish us luck, I am hoping for an uneventful shopping experience.

Kiss

Maiya's new thing is trying to make raspberries - for the most part of yesterday she had her tongue sticking out busily trying and mostly just making spit bubbles. This morning while carrying her upstairs she was working on it again and her head wobbled at the same time - she made contact with my neck and made a perfect kissing sound - it was so cute it gave me chills!

Grab Bag

Ok here are few mini stories I haven't had time to individually blog...

Benjamin's conference...
It went pretty well - She said he is making a lot of improvement, he is neater, pays more attention, and is not obsessing about the computer as we had feared. Her main concerns are his whining and he doesn't do well with other teachers e.g. music, guest speakers, etc.
She also went over his report card and what will be required on the first one - I was surprised at how much is asked - He has to verbalize a sentence then attempt to write it - to pass he has to get the beginning sounds correct - her example was that he said "My pumpkin is a vampire" when he wrote vampire it was something like shashmi - if there was a V he would get credit. - So when I made pancakes today he wrote down the ingredients to practice and he picked out the correct beginning sounds on all but "squirt".

Ella aka Miss Know it all
I was watching the news and there was a woman being led away in handcuffs and she said "ooohhhh that woman is going to jail" - I said well no, first she will go to court - do you know what court is Ella? "YEESSS - court is Ruddy Oak - you know that mommy!! Its where we live"
Then she kept asking about 'Ms. Shell' from church and I couldn't for the life of me figure out who she was talking about - Until I ran into the mystery lady today and as I called out to her in the parking lot "Michelle" - it hit me who Ella was talking about!
Grandma got Ella Ballet/Jazz dance lessons for her birthday and they started this afternoon - She LOVED it - I was really impressed with the teacher - and hope to keep it up for a while - I think its good to have her own thing going - it gets hard listening to Benjamin talk about school so much!

Speaking of which, Benjamin and I went together to the PTA meeting last night and Ella was devastated to not go - but I wanted a chance to see B in his environment alone - the meeting was good - usual announcements then we were taught folk dancing by the music teacher and everyone got a chance to do these dances. It was fun. I thought Benjamin had a good time too - that is until today when Ella asked him about it and he said oh yeah we sat, then danced, and his eyes lit up -- then I drank out of the water fountain! - apparently that was the highlight!

Good Morning

As you can see from the picture Maiya is always Ms. Popularity in the morning - they may completely ignore her by mid-afternoon but she is almost always the focus in the morning!!

Best Dog in the World!!

Zeke is such a good dog I figured he deserved a blog post too - and meg got some cute pics of him!!

Isn't she lovely....

Aunt Meg gets the giggles - hope you enjoyed them Meggie because the ride home after dropping you off was H*LL - Can't imagine a face so cute could be so frustrating! Most babies are lulled to sleep by the car but not Maiya - she cried from New Kent to Williamsburg then I spent one hour at a 7-11 trying to get her to sleep - so back on the road we went and she was crying by the next exit! - I was too tired to stop again so she cried till Norfolk - All I can say is tomorrow is another day! Maybe separation anxiety has started? I thought that was an older baby thing - I guess I'll have to get out my development books.

Happy (early) Birthday Ella

All considered it was a great birthday party!!!!

Ella loved all of her gifts and had fun with her friends playing pin the crown on the princess, decorating cookies, making crowns, and flower cupcakes and ice cream.

Thou shalt not blog...

In a fit of rage!!!
I am so angry and sad at the same time! I have had six parties in the past four years and each time it never ceases to amaze me how rude people are! Each time less than half of the people that said they would come actually show up - I have been under the assumption that it is nice to give people at least a couple of weeks notice for parties - and they will do their best to let you know whether they will be there or not. Now Ella made out her list of who she wanted to be here and it totaled almost 20 kids I pared it down to 15 and she has her little heart set on seeing those kids today - I on the other hand have made gift bags and cupcakes for each kid and I have my wallet set on them being here. Of the 15 invited only about 4 families actually rsvp'd and now 2 HOURS before the party even more have cancelled - How do you tell your little birthday girl half of the people she invited aren't coming? Hopefully as the few left trickle in she will forget and enjoy herself anyway - and I will try to ignore the gobs of gift bags and leftover cupcakes. I don't know what it is with people - is it the money? do they not want to buy her a gift? are they rude? Are they too caught up by their own lives? Do they not use calendars. Do people not realize that when they get an invitation that someone is either putting a lot of effort or money or both into hosting them? What really gets my goat is maybe its the culture of our church - we have so many things going on and many of them last minute - Have church members forgotten true party etiquette? But just this past week someone had a party that people only got invited to TWO DAYS before and over 30 people were there. -- And speaking of church I work my butt off for church out of love for my savior but I also consider the people I serve with friends and this is how I get treated - and if I seem overly angry its because the same thing happened at the last party I threw for Benjamin. I also can't help but get sad about the five kids I didn't invite - they probably would have enjoyed these gift bags - but I 'll never know-- their moms might not have known how to RSVP - and follow through either

Been Busy

Well we have been a little busy - we baby-sat for one of Kyle's co-worker's kids the past two days - the kids really liked the company. Today is our first "parent-teacher conference" and then the kids and I are off to visit Aunt Beth and Aunt Meg until Friday - then we are bringing Aunt Meg back to help me get ready for Ella's Birthday Party on Saturday!
Will let you know how the conference went....

Sweet in the morning...

No matter how much they fight, scream, and tease each other the day before they are always so sweet in the morning! Since Benjamin was a baby he has always woke up happy. Now his morning routine starts with 'checking on Maiya' - almost every morning he looks for her and since we are not yet in a dependable schedule she may be in any number of places - the bassinet, her crib, our bed... But once he sees her if she is still sleeping he will cover her up with a blankie and if she is awake already he says in the sweetest voice "good morning sweetheart"
Ella is more like me and begrudgingly is usually the last to wake up but no matter, she always musters a smile when she comes in our room - It has to be in my top ten of favorites - weekend mornings, waking up slow and the family all cuddly and happy in the bed - good thing we have a california king size bed with our crew!!

More Halloween pics...

After two parties, mommy and daddy were too tired to do it again so Ella and Benjamin were the official candy distributors on Halloween and honestly I think they had more fun doing that than if we had dressed up again!

Virtual Addiction

The kids and I have a new addiction - My friend Hallie sent me an email a while back about "virtual zoos" with a link to 4 or 5 zoos with animal cams. I finally got a chance to really check them out with the kids yesterday and within 24 hours we have gone back to the computer countless times to check on the animals. We are particularly fond of the baby panda at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/index.html
and the naked mole rat at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/
and the shark cam at http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/cam_menu.asp
We are so dorky; all three of us were cracking up before we left for the bus this morning cuz we saw the naked mole rat make a poo and then just now Ella and I were squealing like girls at a Beatles concert watching the momma panda give her baby girl a 'bath'. You can also watch pre-recorded video of all the baby panda's vet checkups - I don't care what kind of mood you are in - you can't help but smile.

Sentences!

Benjamin is now writing sentences at school!

Field trip

Well we enjoyed the field trip to the pumpkin farm yesterday - all three were well behaved. It was interesting to see Benjamin in a "school" environment - I had Ella right by me but for the most part Benjamin stayed off with his school buddies.
I found out that Benjamin has a blind girl in his class. Although when I asked him about her I don't think he really gets the concept of what it means to be blind - because he says "Yeah she is blind but I see her eyes work" But of course Ella immediately corrects him "No Benjamin close your eyes. That is all she can see!!!"
Watching the little girl and her mom really made me emotional - I've said it before and I know we all think it - we take so much for granted!
It was touching to see the mom tell her all about the farm that she was standing in the middle of but couldn't see. I don't think our tour guide even realized because the girl is gorgeous (with beautiful eyes -- I understand B's confusion). The mom kept tracking down the things he was talking about so that she could feel it - while learning about corn the mom was frantically breaking a piece of the stalk so that she could feel it. The mother even described in detail what a greenhouse was and passed her hands over the plastic.
I thought to myself - there are so many things that I don't explain to my kids and they can see - and this mom fights to teach her girl about everything!
so needless to say I did get some inspiration from the farm but it had nothing to do with the farm!!

That's Spanish?

I was heading upstairs the other day when I heard the kids making the strangest noises "blaady blaky - oogie oogie -- shammmeee shammaaa --- etc" What are ya'll doing?
"Oh we're speaking spanish!"
Makes me wish I knew another language to teach them but alas foreign languages are definitely not my strong point. In fact the english language even escapes my grasp somedays. Honestly it seems since Maiya was born I forget words on a regular basis.
Its sad and comical all at the same time - Life has come full circle as they say - a few things my mom always did used to boggle my mind and now I do the same things!!!!

1. Mixing up me and Meg's names - I'd think "hey we're your kids lady whats wrong with you" - I didn't say that though I'd get one of her world famous pinches! -- BUT now I mix up Ella and Maiya all the time - it cracks Ella up when I mumble "ok Ella lets get you a new diaper"

2. When the reading 'bug' finally hit me - I would literally fall in love with books I'd enjoyed - in search of more books I'd ask my mom about books I'd seen her reading and I would ask what they were about "Oh Janie I can't remember much about that book it was months ago" - then of course I'd think no way that will be me - I'll always remember details about the books I read - BUT nowadays I forget magazine articles by the next day!

3. I couldn't wait to drive! I just knew when I got my drivers license there wouldn't be a time or place when I wouldn't want to grab the keys and go - but I'd hear mom say all the time "I'm wiped!! I am not setting foot out of this house and I'm surely not getting back in that car" -- BUT you guessed it! I hear myself saying the EXACT same things somedays and it cracks me up remembering my 16 year old thoughts about driving sun up to sun down everywhere I wanted to go!
So I guess its true we do become our mothers - glad I have a cool one! Love you mom!

boy did I digress on that one....