More PEAS Please! Dinner with the Animals

Monday night we were observing how we all eat our peas. Scott told a story about his older brother who hated peas, but was required to eat them so he stored them in his cheeks and sat at the table for hours without swallowing.  I personally cannot eat peas unless they are mixed with some other food thus, masking the taste. Harley and Nash opt for the skewer method of PEA eating.  While Atley shovels them into his mouth with greasy fingers.  We discovered that Scott is the only normal pea eater in the family.  I thought it was so cute the way Harley was sliding her peas onto her fork with her chubby little digits. I couldn't resist reaching for the camera. However, at our zoo if one animal is being photographed they all want a picture. This eventually led to a whole bunch of bizarre dinner photos and the removal of several shirts.  What can I say, I'm raising a pack of omnivorous fame-seeking baby wolves.

Colonial Days & a Christmasy Weekend

This year Atley's class is studying Virginia History. On Friday the school hosted a Colonial day.  It was really an amazing event for the kids. With the help of a lot of parents the kids had the option to attend 5 out of 12 classes in which they learned all about colonial life. The classes ranged from quilting, to colonial herbs & medicines, to calligraphy. I had the wonderful privilege of teaching tin-smithing.  That's right! I taught one hundred 4th graders who were all wielding potentially deadly weapons and sharp pieces of tin how to punch intricate designs with a nail and a hammer.  My ears are still a little sore.  The truth is it actually made me a little nostalgic for teaching.  We really had so much fun.  The kids performed Colonial dances like the Virginia Reel and ate a fantastic colonial lunch.  Of course we were all in costume.

Saturday night was our church Christmas Party. This gave the kids a chance to reiterate just exactly what they hope to find under the tree Christmas morning.

We also had a few minutes Saturday morning to craft, which is definitely one of my favorite Christmas activities.  We made these cute little snowman ornaments from battery-powered tea lights (Target $ Section).

 Today (Sunday) the snow and ice came. Church was let out early and Scott built a cozy fire. The kids sledded for awhile only to come in and warm themselves by the fire.  Then we roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores.  It was perfect. I felt so Norman Rockwell-ish. To top off our beautiful little piece of perfect Americana, we discovered that school was cancelled. You have no idea how much I needed a snow day! A day where I wasn't needed or expected to go anywhere. I cannot wait.

Pardon Me While I Ramble

Here is a post about a whole lot of nothing.  Consider it a blogger version of a Seinfeld episode, good for a few laughs but hard to explain later. Truth is, I really want to get to the posts about Christmas Crafts and Activities but I feel like I cannot move ahead until I share a little bit about what has been happening in our house the last couple of months. First, Scott and I dressed up for a costume party  on Dia de los Muertos.  Unfortunately, we went all out and nobody else did.  Slightly, embarrassing.

We had fun anyway.  We were in the company of several diplomats and an ambassador.  The very same weekend Atley spent Diwali (the Hindu Festival of Lights) with his friend.  I began the week thinking how cultured my children were.  How fantastic I was at exposing them to different traditions, languages and people.  It didn't take long for me to be humbled, as is generally the case.  I realized that perhaps I was missing something in their education because when they were asked what town they lived in by a tour guide later that week both boys immediately said Maryland, which is neither a town nor the state in which we live.  Atley couldn't tell his wrestling coach whether he was left or right handed and then at Sunday dinner, none of my children seemed capable of eating with their utensils as they shoveled mashed potatoes into their mouths with their hands.  This might not have bothered me too much until I looked out the window and discovered that even a mother squirrel is better at teaching her children table manners and the proper use of a fork than I am. Needless, to say we are going back to the basics at our house.

Speaking of wrestling, the boys started wrestling in early November.  It is adorable and frightening and wonderful for them.  Atley and Nash are in the same weight class which is interesting to say the least.  They get their singlets this week and I cannot wait to take pictures of them.  It is going to be awesome.

Atley competed in the Space Derby at Cub Scouts. His modified Boeing-747 was one of the only rockets that flew successfully.  He loved every minute of it, being an aspiring pilot and all! Atley is next to me at the moment. He really wants me to write about how he went on a field trip to Jamestown a few weeks ago. 

Before we could get the Christmas stuff out and head out of town for Thanksgiving we had to participate in our traditional destruction of the fall pumpkins.  Yes, some barely missed sister's head.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we loaded up the truck and drove to Florida.  Atley had an especially enjoyable 13 hour trip. We had a great Thanksgiving feast and a good visit with my dad. We went to the movies, played with Hoss the German Shepherd, did a lot of karaoke and the best part was Harley and Grandpa were in charge of dishes.

 The boys were surprised by a new motorcycle from their Grandpa.  We got it running, rode it, crashed it a few times, got it running again and  eventually got a visit from the police.  Apparently, the neighbors didn't appreciate the noise.  You know what they say, "It ain't a party if nobody calls the cops!"

 

After a few days in Florida we headed to Georgia to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma Butler and the Donaldson cousins. No trip would be complete without a visit to The Varsity, (where they messed up my order and gave me two of everything) SCORE!! We went and saw Santa Claus on Peachtree City's main mode of transportation the golf cart, played a little dress up and caught a magic show where a silver dollar was put up Nash's nose never to be seen again.  Yeah, he is still examining his bowel movements for something shiny just in case.

 

We are home again and I cannot wait until Christmas break.  I have so many fun things planned but we never have time to do anything but homework, endless homework.  Ugh! I am so sick of school. But, that is a rant for another day. 

Marble Monster Munch Mayhem

Oh,  how I love alliteration! A while back we had six consecutive days of rain. So, we had to get creative or go crazy. We each made some monsters and glued them onto a box. Then we shot marbles at them.  This literally provided the munchkins with almost 2 hours of entertainment.

Still Alive

I always tease my friends whose every blog entry begins with, "I know it has been a while since I blogged but..."  and there is a month or more between each entry.  Apparently, that is the pot calling the kettle black.  Things have been crazy busy, as each fall seems to be, back to school nights, PTA meetings, Primary Programs, soccer, scouts, homework, violin, piano, flag football, preschool; not to mention football is now officially on 5 days a week plus all my other shows are coming back for the new season.  Pathetic right? I will attempt to catch up and stay on track for the rest of the school year, but I can't make any promises.  

We had one last swim party before the weather turned autumn like and we closed the pool for winter, as I type that I realize it is officially 86 degrees outside right now. The party included a sleepover with three other little boys, beside my own. To say that it was one of the longest nights of my life, would not be an exaggeration. It doesn't help matters that Harley thinks she is a 9 year old boy that can flip into the deep end and fart with reckless abandon.  It wasn't until days later that we realized that during the wild party the toilet in the basement some how got cracked and flooded the guest room!

 

Harley and I have spent some nice days at the park. We are both finding it difficult to entertain her without the help of her brothers though. Even the park seems a little dull without our traveling comedy troop in tow. She has told me on more than one occasion that I was boring. She also told me that my ears were getting way to big to pull off the short hair any longer. I love her candor. She is such a diva.  She gives me a tea party just about every afternoon and forces me to eat all of whatever she provides.  So, if you think I may have gained a few pounds, it's all Harley's fault, in more ways than one.

 Nash is playing soccer and once again his dad is coaching.  He scored a whopping 12 goals last Saturday. Granted he has learned the art of Cherry Picking or camping out by his own goal refusing to play defense. We are always so happy when he plays well and wins or we have a truly devastated child as witnessed above. Hopefully, one day his overly competitive nature will serve him well.

We took in one more Nat's game before the season came to a heartbreaking end just shy of the hunt for October.  We even ran into some of our dearest friends at the game and hitched a ride back to our car with them.  I am not sure what I like more about a night at the ball park-Bryce Harper or Shake Shack!