Sunday, January 27, 2013

Nemo and Little Man's Adventures

Nemo is Little Man's class pet from school. I think this idea is so incredibly cute. Nemo came home with Little Man this past Thursday. Nemo came in a travel bag with a Journal to record all the adventures he goes on with our family. It is encouraged that the kids take photos along the journey and draw pictures in the journal for them to discuss with the class. I will also write a brief description of our fun filled weekend for the teacher to read to the class. To be honest, I had no clue that Nemo would be coming until Little Man was attempting to bring an extra backpack home from school. Thankfully I was able to throw together a special "Welcome Nemo" dinner complete with Sparkling apple juice. I love how the little things can make my boys so happy. Little Man had a blast making sure Nemo had a wonderful dinner and making sure our dinner guest was comfortable. We ended our night by watching The Lorax together snuggled on the couch.


On Friday, Little Man was invited to a sleepover at his friends house all by himself! I think it was the first time he has stayed the night at anyone.s house without me or Squishy and he was thrilled. Little Man's friend doesn't attend the same school as Little Man but had also completed a weekend with his class pet, Buddy the Beaver, just a few weeks ago and welcomed Nemo with open arms. Both boys are the biggest Scooby Doo fans of their generation, so they had a Scooby Doo party with cartoons, pajamas and Scooby snacks. Nemo loved cuddling with the Mystery Machine pillows and blankets. I wasn't there to witness the craziness that evening but I heard everyone passed out from all the singing and dancing. 


Even though Friday was full of adventure, Saturday was even better! I met Little Man and his friend at the local skating rink. This was the first time I have skated since Middle School and a first for both of the kids! I have to admit I was impressed with how quickly the kids caught on to skating. I consider my boys to be quite clumsy, just like their mother, but they had amazing coordination on the roller skates. They used the side walls at the beginning but after 30 minutes Little Man was skating around the rink all by himself! Squishy was chasing after his big brother too! It was so adorable and we didn't forget Nemo either! He was a natural at skating too :)


We skated for a couple hours and then loaded everyone in the car to take a quick nap. We didn't drive out of the parking lot before everyone was fast asleep. We stopped by the house and packed their overnight bag before heading off to take the boys to my sister's house for their sleepover with her. I have been trying to work a couple evening shifts on the weekends and the boys love getting special time with their Aunt! I snapped a quick pick of the kids asleep on the couch and the dog watching Nemo while they were sleeping.

Sunday we picked up the boys and went to Mass. We did not bring Nemo to church because the boys do not like to be quiet when they have distractions with them. Instead we took Nemo on one last adventure at Turkey Creek and showed him the beautiful nature trail. It was an extremely busy weekend! Now I am printing pictures from the computer to add to Nemo's travel journal and preparing a short summary of the weekend. I wonder if it would be acceptable to just a copy a link to my blog? :)

Little Man was so glad that he was able to take Nemo to meet his friends and family and have some amazing adventures everyday. I am so grateful he has a great teacher that makes learning and experiencing life fun. We are still experiencing a lot of changes in our daily lives and it looks like we are getting back into a good routine and possibly moving into a larger place. Yay! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on our journey.









Friday, January 11, 2013

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Sorry I have not been blogging much lately but thank you for the kind emails asking how myself and my children are doing. Your prayers have touched our hearts! I am finally getting settled into a new routine with my kids. I am hoping to incorporate blogging more but since it has been such a long time here is a summary of our Advent and Christmas preparations and celebrations.

God truly provides. My kids and I have been blessed with my friends and family members coming to aid us during our greatest life change. At times it's hard to imagine what plan God has for us but I am beginning to see that his plans are more amazing than anything I could plan for myself and my family. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue down our new path.

Since I have not been blogging consistently there is so much I would like to share so I will apologize in advance because the rest of this is going to look like a mini scrapbook with random thoughts and pictures. I will try to keep everything short and sweet :)


Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree
We decided to purchase a real tree this year and the kids were so excited running through the forest or trees on display. It was a beautiful night and the smell of the Christmas trees and wreaths was amazing. I hope one day I can take the kids to actually cut down a Christmas Tree. 



Decorating the Tree
We were going to wait to decorate our beautiful tree but the boys were so excited after buying ornaments and lights that we couldn't say no. I think putting our gorgeous Star on the top was their favorite part of the entire experience.


Feast of Saint Nicholas
I absolutely love reading Jessica from Shower of Roses blog on all her traditions with her family. I wanted to write letters to the boys from Saint Nick but I had been working extra shifts due to the seasonal rush this time of year and starting a second job.

This year Saint Nicholas brought the boys some Christmas books, The Legend of the Candy Cane and A Christmas Prayer. There was also chocolate coins and candy canes with Christmas socks filled with several real gold $1 coins.

Squishy's Holiday Program


Squishy had the cutest holiday program at his daycare for the children ages 3 and under.
His class sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Although none of the children really sang, it was more the parents in the audience since the children were overwhelmed. Squishy was sitting next to a little boy wearing a Rudolph nose and stared at the blinking light on the little boys face until half way though the song he decided to poke the poor kid on the nose. It was hilarious! I will always remember this production and I am so excited to see Squishy participate in more programs like this soon.



Baking Gingerbread Cookies
Decorating cookies has always been a favorite activity for Little Man during the holidays. This time Squishy was able to participate but he chose to eat the cookie decorations instead of decorating his cookies.


I am hoping to post about Christmas Day soon... I have until Candlemas though right? In addition to the activities above we also decorated gingerbread houses and went for a walk through Christmas Reflections. I tried my best to incorporate our normal traditions but this Christmas was a very simple one due to lack of time and money. I think it actually made it one of the most meaningful Christmases we have shared as a family. I also have some ideas about celebrating The Baptism of the Lord this upcoming Sunday I would like to share along with a review of The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their friends and families!
God Bless!

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