happy new year!

Wow, it’s 2010!  Have to catch up on the entire autumn soon…

i’ll take the good news first, please

Sunday night I had just returned from a girls weekend* and was reading bedtime stories to the boys. Hobbes walked in the room and Nicholas said to him, “Hobbes, I have good news — Mommy’s home!” Then he said, “Hobbes, I have bad news — Calvin died.” **

*Fun weekend in Detroit with my fellow RA fans.
**Calvin died 4 years ago. The boys don’t even remember him, but have recently seen some pics and were wondering where he was.

omg, kindergarten!

Yes, FINALLY, the first day of kindergarten was yesterday. The boys were counting down the days and were so excited yesterday morning. We didn’t realize there would be SO many cars yesterday (though I should’ve realized considering they changed the busing distances) so we made it only just.in.time for the bell to ring. But the teachers were all enthusiastic at the door and Alex & Nicholas went right in without a problem. They said the day was great when we picked them up and they compared their days. I was a little worried that they would be upset about separating, but they seemed okay. It looked like Nicholas’s teacher, Mrs. C, was aware of them being twins and she even came over to say hi to Alex before we left.

Pictures!!

wow, where did the summer go?

Well, I’ve been meaning to update all summer but just haven’t had the chance. So here’s one big catch-up.

July
The boys started camp the week after school ended and had THE BEST time. They were members of the beavers and met lots of new friends, learned some swimming, played lots of games, danced, learned music, did art, etc. It was the best money we could’ve spent, since they definitely would not have had as much fun with just me. 🙂 Meanwhile, I spent a lot of that time taking my mom to dr’s appts and physical therapy so I didn’t get as much done around the house as I would’ve liked. Oh well!

We went to Lake George/Lake Vanare for a week. The weather was mostly nice, with only 1 1/2 days of rain or so. We were debating about going back again this year, though it does get easier with the boys as we could just sit on the beach and watch them play in the water (up to the rope) instead of having to be in with them the entire time. We did our usual stuff, including Magic Forest, again. We also toured Fort William Henry this year, which was fun. In all the years we’d been up there, I’d never been to the fort. I also convinced Joe to see Harry Potter at the drive-in with me, which was a lot of fun.

When we got back from vacation, the boys still had 2 weeks left of camp, so that kept them nice and busy.

August
August brought their last week at camp. I wish I had thought ahead and signed them up until the end; I’m going to have to save up some more money next year and send them as much as we can. The last week they put on a little performance and they did a great job. They first sang It’s a Small World, then Day-O, Shake Senora (complete with booty shaking) and then I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing. It was the cutest and funniest thing ever.

My dad also came to visit starting that first Monday in August. He came to visit a few times and we went out to Steve’s a few times to see him and go swimming in the pool. Speaking of swimming, the boys were doing great with what they learned at camp! Mostly, they still keep their floaties on, but Nicholas especially wanted to practice swimming without the floaties and even underwater!

Took the boys to see their first 3-D movie: Ice Age 3. It was cuter than I expected, but what a rip-off to spend $4 extra per ticket just for 3-D! I told the boys not to expect to see every 3-D movie that is released because we can’t afford it!

Last week, Mom and I took them to the Aquarium with some other members of the twins club. It was a nice day, though it felt like all we did was eat. First we saw the seals outside, then the sharks (and people in a cage, feeding the sharks!). Then we had lunch and the kids got to know each other better. Next it was time for the seal lion show (based on Harry Potter). Made a quick stop at the penguins, sea otters. Our twin friends wanted to go on a ride, but A&N didn’t, so instead we petted and fed the sting rays. Boy, are they strange animals, really begging for food and actually splashing us when we didn’t feed them quick enough. Then we took an ice cream break, found the tortoises and Japanese sea monkeys, and then we decided it was time to go home (I actually had to work that night, too).

And now it’s September 2! The first day of school actually isn’t for another week since Labor Day is so late this year, but the boys are getting anxious (and so am I!). They have their backpacks and lunchboxes ready. Oh! One other great thing about camp is that they are now excited to eat pb&j and hero sandwiches (ham, bologna & cheese) so it makes sending lunch with them SO much easier! Alex has also decided he loves cheeseburgers and Nicholas has decided he loves hot dogs. Not the greatest things, but at least we have more variety.

I will post pics from the summer soon, and more posts once school starts!

pomp and circumstance

Wednesday was the boys’ preschool graduation.  The school rented out a hall at a temple and had it all decked out with balloons and everything.  The graduates wore caps and gowns which was about the cutest thing ever.

They started off by doing the Pledge of Allegiance, sang My Country Tis of Thee, then sang songs from throughout the year.  Then everyone got up to say what they want to be when they grow up and why, while holding little props they made to represent their future career.

Alexander: I want to be an astronaut so I can fly past Mars!
Nicholas: I want to be a librarian so I can check out books and read.

Other favorites was their friend Anthony who wants to be a paleontologist because he likes digging up bones and Gianna who wants to be a doctor because they give out lollipops.  After all that, they received their little diplomas, and then held up the huge flag they made and sang “God Bless America” – the song Alex has been practicing all year, lol.  It was a really special day, the staff at KJ do such a great job.  Pictures below the rest of the post!

After we went out to lunch – we tried to go to Applebees but first they couldn’t find a good table for the 7 of us, then the fire alarm kept going off, then — 20 minutes after we ordered — they tell us they can’t use the frier so we can’t get french fries, chicken fingers, etc.  We finally decided to leave and head over to the Ground Round where everything was in working order.  What an ordeal.

Today was the last day of school – just a party – at KJ.  I’m really going to miss the school and their friends and the parents.  I am going to have to make a big effort to make some playdates so we don’t lose touch with everyone.

PICTURES!

5 year old stats

The boys had their 5-year-old well visit today.  Their stats are:

Alexander:
Height: 44 1/2″ (75th percentile)
Weight: 41 lbs (50th percentile)

Nicholas:
Height: 41″  (10th-25th percentile)
Weight: 33 lbs (5th percentile)

They both gained about 3 inches and 3 lbs.  Nothing else to report from the visit since they are doing great!

some pics from the last 2 months

boredom strikes again!

Just about time for me to grow tired of the theme I had and change the blog around a bit.  I’m sure since no one’s reading, it won’t really matter.  LOL

happy birthday alexander and nicholas!

How did my babies get to be 5 years old already??  Sniff!

We had a fun day yesterday – Nick came into the bedroom and said, “can you and daddy wake up now so we don’t get too crazy with our presents in the living room?”  LOL

We got them the Frank (from Cars) playset, bendaroos, transformers, toy tools, and some card games.  We had to run out to bring my car to get inspected, but relaxed for a bit when we got home.   Then we brought them to the toy store because we promised them they could buy tracksters (like matchbox cars but you can play games online with some codes) with some birthday money.  Then we met Nana and Uncle T at the Ground Round for lunch – note to self: remember to go to The Ground Round on Tuesdays: Buy 1 get 1 free burgers plus kids eat free!  What a cheap meal we had for the 6 of us.

We headed back to Nana’s for a little ice cream cake and Uncle T played video games.   Nana also gave them some books and some moolah.  Then we headed to Grandma’s where she gave them a baseball set and a globe, which they both loved.  We had a yummy cookie cake and ordered some pizza.  I think I was about ready to explode at this point.  Finally headed home and let them play for a bit.  Luckily they were tired enough to pretty much go right to bed when we told them to.  Once they were asleep, I had to make cupcakes for this morning.

This morning, first thing was Kindergarten Orientation at the Elementary School.  They each went into their separate classrooms and met the teachers while my mom and I took a tour of the school with the PTA.  They were both a bit apprehensive at first (especially Nick) but once the session was over, they were so excited about everything to do with kindergarten.  Nick was excited to tell us that there’s a tv in the bathroom(!) and Alex thought his teacher’s name was funny.  😉  Then we rushed off to preschool for the last 2 hours of class and to deliver the cupcakes so they could celebrate their birthday in class.  Whew, I’m exhausted.  And their birthday party with their friends isn’t even until Saturday!!

Happy Birthday my big boys!  I love you!!

i’m free!!

What a relief, the fashion show is finally over.  Actually, it’s been over for over a week but I’m now finally caught up on everything else in my life.

The fashion show went well – some of us got to R’s house early to start picking up baskets and then headed over the the catering hall to set up.  1 member of the committee helped transport baskets but then disappeared for the rest of the day  to go get ready and the other one didn’t realize that she should try to take off from work (’cause she didn’t bother to ask! Grrrr).  Anyway, thanks to Debbie and a few other dedicated members, we got the room all set up and it came out looking pretty nice.  The final count on the baskets was 114, with many have more than 1 chance to win.  So much for trying for only 75 baskets this year.

E (the 4th member of the committee who didn’t bother doing much work) was a total witch that night.  We had to keep reminding her to work the grand prize table and then she was nasty to Debbie about staying there for the entire cocktail hour.  Plus she brought an extra guest at the last minute and demanded that some of Debbie’s guests move to another table to accommodate her.  Thankfully, E probably won’t be coming to many more meetings and we won’t have to deal with her again.

The fashions looked great and I helped print out ‘lollipop faces’ to represent the “women who have shaped us.”  Joe’s mom and aunt each one a prize and finally so did I!  I won a GC for a restaurant,  haircut and some champagne, candles, bubble bath, etc.  Yay!

Turns out we made close to $8,000 that night which was a lot more than we thought we would make with this economy.  And best of all – it’s finally over and I don’t have to do it anymore!!  Woooooohoooooo!