November

As we approach November....all it does, it makes me think about all the things I need to get done by December. But we did have a lot of fun events this month.


Dominic's school, every year, does a multicultural night called "passport night". Basically it's to embrace all the different nationalities that go to our school and we get to know each other better. It's usually a big event....because some countries bring food...a lot of food. Whoever did Mexico last year brought tamales....I was not doing that haha. I brought cookies with cajeta. Figured it was my first year, I wasn't going to stress over it, not place the bar too high haha. There's always next year...maybe. All the kids went with me. Spencer arrived late. But they got to go around and see the other tables and see what goodies they were willing to give away. We had a pinata and it went super fast...too fast. So most of the pole didn't get to see it. We'll do that better next year...maybe haha.
At the end, the boy scouts help us do a parade of flags and a little thank you ceremony and off we go back home. It was a fun event...and the kids got to taste different foods. Dominic was intrigued by Israel...of all places.

our table

Dad brought a pinata

Dominic got to hold a flag...he's so little

Ethan was having fun finding friends in the hallway

Ethan passed his speech evaluation meaning...he did have some concerns about his sounds, so he has moved up to the next phase. We met with an actual speech therapist in the early childhood center (literally around the block from us) to see if he qualified for any kind of speech therapy. This is the last step...this lady decides if he needs it or not. It would be nice for him to have it....and it would not cost us anything. Dominic's therapy was so expensive and with insurance being the way it is now.....usually it's out of pocket for most of the year...for us. Ethan is FAR better than Dom was at this age....BUT if he can get help before PreK...I'm all for it. She took him into a room and Jacob and I waited outside. She thought he would probably qualify BUT she had to actually run the numbers and call us back after Thanksgiving. She literally called me the day after and told me that he would qualify for two days a week for 30min sessions here at the center. I am so happy, that he will get some help before PreK. He will do so much better and hopefully stress less. Another issue to tackle....He stopped wearing his glasses since we moved here...so now we gotta see a optometrist and see if his RX has changed. He recently tried to put them on again, and said he saw "bumps in the floor"....so I know that's not the right RX anymore. When he got his first testing done they told me his left eye was 20/40....which I think is very bad. I think his other eye is compensating for the lack of sight in the other one....and now we got one good eye and one bad one. So, we're in the process of seeing if maybe we can undo that. There is a member in our ward to specializes in eye therapy....but mostly lazy eyes...so I'm not really sure this is for him. I wanna see a pediatric eye doctor first and see how this goes. Also, he still has tubes from his eye surgery in his tear ducts...those have to come out. He's pretty much scarred from  the incident because he will NOT let anybody come near his eyes...so I'm not really sure how to prepare him for this.

tackled a local craft fair just us 4. 

We had a HUGE snow day mid November....it was insane...something like 8 inches! School was cancelled and my kids left for the backyard from about 8:30am to about noon. They went out again around 3 pm until about 5 pm. They had a blast. We had (mostly) the right gear and a sled for them to use. Spencer happened to be off that day, so it worked out for me. All three had a blast, while me and Jacob kept warm inside.

snow day

they were ready by 9am

people beat them to the hill

we got about 8 inches

Dad was just not ready for it

We also tackled home depot and made gingerbread picture ornaments. The kids were being so mean that day and Spencer was not suppose to work..but he did. So right after swim, we headed over there. Me...all three kids...and no one listening. I was talking very firm to them (not yelling per se)..but you could tell  I was making the other parents look at us...haha. It was eventful...but I was really glad to get out of there. I think Jacob was the obedient one that day.

Thanksgiving was a bit sad this year. Spencer had to work all week. My ministering teacher invited us to her house but it was a 3pm. Since it was so early, I told her were would go, but I would probably have to leave around 5pm back to my house so I could serve OUR dinner and have it with Spencer. So this whole time I thought we were going to have dinner...just the 5 of us. I guess it's not sad...it's was just odd...I think it was truly our first year were it was just going to be just us.
Spencer was able to get off around 2:30pm, so in the end we did end up staying for dinner and the kids had a blast playing with the rest of the kids. Sometimes, we dont' even know that we need something, and the Lord just does it because we need it. I was actually really sad that day....because I felt alone. But this tiny gathering reminded me...that we're indeed never alone and I'm so glad she was prompted to reach out to me. It definitely put a smile on my face.

decorations are always a must

the kiddie table. Nobody cared for the homemade pies in the back

and the adults were stuffed

Last, but not least, Spencer had a work party. We've never attended any of these things. Usually, he works....but this time he didn't. It was super fancy...something we don't do comfortably haha. It was at a fancy golf course...and there was a sushi bar, and a shrimp bar, and a pasta bar....and of course a fancy bar...but we skipped that. There were so many fancy old people...I imagined they were upper accounting...or administrators of some sort. Its funny....you can tell who is medical...or who's definitely not. These guys were not. We parked next to a Aston Martin....never seen one in real life...they're really not that great...don't see what the big fuss is about. Either way...the food was great, the band started to play and we left haha. We have so much more fun just by ourselves. Actually by then, people were hitting the bar for the 4th and 5th time...geez people. We just felt more comfortable if we left. We got to take a quick pick by the nice fireplace and we got to dress up nice....it was nice. It was long overdue...I should say. I wish we did it more often. I told Spencer, we're coming next year.