November Gatherings

November was busy for us....still....I guess I keep waiting for a relaxed month, silly me.

As a Family, we gathered for Thanksgiving. My parents invited the missionaries over and they all raved about Spencer's pumpkin pie and how "pure" it tasted. Secret: Spencer cooks our Halloween pumpkins all day in the oven, then mushes all the insides, and uses that filling to do the pies....it literally takes all day....that's why he's the baker in the family. I'm so afraid to bake...I'm afraid I won't be good at it, OR worse...I'll get fat from eating all my goodies. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, so I only had a tiny taste. Silly Spencer, made double pie filling and so we went ahead and made muffins and bread with it....who doesn't love an extra dose of butter and cream cheese on their bread????

I'm not very good at cooking and slaving in the kitchen all day. So I just bought an already smoked and cooked turkey and put it in the over for a couple of hours....I figured I could not fail . The best part? It was fully eaten...no leftovers for us. It's bad enough I eat poultry every other day in the year....

YES...first picture I took of him getting ready to do the Thanksgiving
 feast at school

Spencer worked a lot...more than half the month, so it was rough on us...at one point he worked 10 night shifts straight (right before the holiday, so he could get the day off). It's so rough on us, I can't be home (so he can sleep) and then I never get anything done. I have to come home like an hour before he wakes up and hope dinner is on the table on time....and the kids yell the minute they get in....I wish my children weren't so loud. It's like they have to volumes: LOUD and LOUDER. We have a 2,000 sq ft home and I can hear them clearly from across the house....ridiculous. 

Luckily, there were a lot of foreign doctors willing to work the holiday....so he got Wednesday all the way to Saturday morning off. 

Ah...much BETTER

I got up at 3am on doomed Thursday to scout deals, but Walmart is too sneaky. Even though they said most deals will be online as well, the ones I was looking for....were not. They had a 1500 pc creative lego box (easily $100) for $30......but you had to go into the store to get it...meaning? they probably only had like 10. Then, I wanted aladdin on bluray for $10...had to go in as well for that....UGH.

I had much better luck at Target....they did have everything (except the doorbuster TVs) online. I got a few things.  After checking several stores later, nothing was really worth taking after that. It's so much more relaxing when shopping is done for the kids....the only thing I gotta worry about are parents, husband and a few family members....which sometimes giftcards suffice. So....NO, I didn't go into the stores on thursday...but I did go to walmart on Friday morning...only to find Christmas pjs and a $10 fryer...haha....seriously, it looked like a war zone. There's always left over movies and games, but I never watch anything with my kids...they refuse to let me watch anything longer than 15 minutes....I STILL have movies from a couple of years ago....unopened in the movie bookcase....it's so terrible.

Thanksgiving Feast at school

Dominic had Parent Teacher Conference a couple of weeks ago, and he did awesome. Ms. C started the meeting with a prayer (what a refresher, you don't see that in public schooling). Ms. C kept saying how smart he is, and how his head is always thinking....you can tell. His vocab is not the greatest, but she says that if we start reading and memorizing more words, he'll be great. Dominic has memorized a couple of Dr Seuss books....the ABC book and the If I could teach my dog 100 words...that's his favorite. Sometimes, when he's in time out, he will sit in his room, and I will hear him flipping pages and saying the words out loud. It's clear he can't read, but the fact that he memorized the books is so fascinating to me.
 Ms. C was also impressed that Dom knew all his numbers, shapes, and colors....she says most kids his age don't' know....which surprised me. I guess they know some of them, but not all. The other day, Dom came up to me and said the word "trapezoid" and used it in the correct context.....yeah, I was just as surprised too. I asked him where he heard it, and he said Team Umizoomi.....so see? tv does teach kids things. He's actually really expanding his vocab thanks to nick jr and you tube, believe it or not. He can see how expressions are said or how certain words flow together...and then I'll hear him use the expressions....it's good to know he's still learning. And he corrects himself all the time, he confuses she/he and her/him all the time....but we're working on it. And he knows his colors and numbers in Spanish.
The last school day before the break, we got to have a Thanksgiving feast. Dom was so excited. All the moms and dads volunteered to bring finger food ( cooked ham, cubed cheese, chex mix, grapes) and we all shared our tiny bites. It was kinda fun....I'm actually looking forward to the Christmas one.

Ms C did say that Dom ,along with his friends W and K....are like the three musketeers...they like to be rowdy together and have dance parties....go figure. I've never seen Dom dance until yesterday when we had our own dance party. He kept saying "look Mama...I'm so good at it"...haha, he really isn't, but it's cool he thinks he is.  He is SO honest, he can't lie even if he wanted to. He just flat out says what he wants and needs to say. "shut up mama I can't hear".....or "Ethan was in my way, so I pushed him"..... The other day, he asked for a  "minion farting gun" for Christmas.  Ok- first of all, they're like $30, and all it does is farting noises....overrated. I said "Dom, why do you NEED a farting gun, you already have one...your butt". SO basically, I saved myself $30 and I created a monster, because now he goes around saying his farting gun is on.....in front of people.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

Ethan is doing well. NO crawling anymore, just walking. He actually walks quite fast, he must have really long legs. I feel like in 6 steps he's out of the living room....he likes to chase Dominic, but he's not as fast yet. But he loves it when people chase him. He thinks he's running....but he's really not...lol. He's a bit of a drama queen. When I say no, he'll drop to the floor and roll and cry....last time, he actually went to the stairs and plopped on them and cried...like Cinderella or something....really, he's a bit dramatic. I'm not sure if its a phase, I'm almost certain that's his personality....ugh. I guess I got my girl...haha. He's teething pretty bad, but won't chew on anything but my feet. I tried giving him the pacifier back (cause he stopped using it at like 6 months) but he doesn't want it. I guess that's good...that's a bad habit. Sometimes, I put a bit of chamomile tea OR cinnamon tea on his night milk so he can rest easier...doesn't bother him, he'll drink anything. But I wish, he had something to munch on.....speaking of....he's got a big belly. He can finish a gallon of milk easily in less than 4 days. I remember our last ultrasound in Nashville, when we found out the gender, they were concerned about his tummy size. Usually when babies in womb have bigger tummies is because they're bowels are not functioning properly, and the stomach is not really emptying as fast as it should....but then another ultrasound revealed that everything was ok....he was just going to have a big appetite. Did he disappoint? NO HE DID NOT (I'm actually quite amazed at how long I nursed this guy). He's really not that heavy though....only about 25 lbs...but Dom was barely 20lbs at his one year check up. Ethan will go back the 21st, so we'll see what the doctor says....she predicted that he would walk right after the 9 mo check up...and she was right.

Since his 11 month post...he's actually sleeping rather well. He is only waking up once (at 2am) if at all during the night...from 8pm to 6:30 am.....I'll take it!!! But Dom has been napping recently and now goes to bed at 11am....so, basically my life still doesn't get any easier. I usually go to bed around midnight or one and I have to get up at 6:30 with Ethan...and he's almost a year!...I feel this is the schedule mommies have when they have newborns....not toddlers.

Goober

I love those turkeys on the butt

I feel like I accomplished nothing. I skipped the gym the holiday weekend due to other priorities. I keep cleaning, but everyone keeps messing up the house...lol. That's probably what I do all day...I fold laundry at 1 am because no one lets me do it before then, or otherwise, it will sit in the dryer for days. I'm always picking up toys, because both of my kids still get up at night...meaning I have to find my way in the dark (which I have finally mastered...I think I'm a ninja) and I would HATE to step on a hard toy...or worse...A LEGO.....in the middle of the night. I have been doing little projects around the house- I'm still trying to finish the kids' vanity- I think I should just post pics 'cause I"m taking forever. And Spencer helped me put up some blinds around the house.....

There was a really bad ice storm during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Our backyard tree (the one housing the tree house) was pretty badly damaged....it's a week tree local to the area. We noticed it was the only tree in the area to break so much....for everyone that had one. So, no more planting that tree...whatever it is. Some people didn't have power for three days, and street lights have just NOW started back up...it was a mess....but no ice on the road...that's a VERY good thing...cause they don't do anything to the roads here. Our house did really well, and it's so very well insulated, unlike every apartment we have lived in. I'm actually surprised how warm it is inside even with minimal heat.

broken branches everywhere

the tree is not only broken in half...it's all uprooted.... 

We fnally decorated for Christmas, still have the outside to do (since weather has not cooperated) but all the inside stuff is almost done. Our tree decided to go out this year (after 8 yrs together)...so this is his last year. Spencer wants a 9ft tree for next year. So, we'll wait until the after xmas sales and see what we get. I think 9 ft is too big, I'm not getting up on a ladder to decorate such beast. But our 6ft tree looks quite puny....in this house. For now, I had to borrow some lights from my parents to make the tree work. And put some garland up and a few decorations. I put a little people nativity up for the kids, cause they kept touching my glass one....aargh kids. Dom would reach for it, and give Ethan some pieces....so the little people had to come out. Bad thing- is that now they are climbing on the brick to get to them....I just can't win. Ethan is already pulling EVERY ornament from the bottom half of that tree....at least its not like the tree has fallen on him. Dom did that at least three times his first Christmas (well...second...he was 2 weeks old his first christmas).

my little craft

And....we're starting the last month of the year with parties, parties, and more parties....crazy how fast 2015 went....2016 will be just as fun I guess.