The Return

It is that time of the year again. Time for the return of the Elves. Our elf, named either George or James depending on who you ask, made his arrival on Tuesday. He was expected to arrive Monday morning, but must have gotten tied up in Christmas magic traffic. George/James made quite the splash when he did finally arrive. Tuesday morning I am getting dressed when I hear screaming in the living room. Ben comes barreling into the bathroom, screaming ''Mommy!, Mommy! My elf came! My elf came!' Unfortunately, I believe George James has had to make some not so sparkling reports to Santa this week. One little boy need to learn to listen and another needs to learn that furniture is not a trampoline. They have 24 days to clean up their acts.

Workbook Time!

Ben is now the only 3 year old at daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I thought he might enjoy doing workbook activities with Sharon on those days. I bought a few workbooks at Learning Express yesterday, along with a little mini taper measure that someone was not supposed to find, but did. One workbook stayed at Sharon's and the others came home. I figured the cutting one was better done at home. I don't think Sharon would appreciate Ben with scissors in her house. So this morning at 7:30, Ben was all ready to go and do one of his workbooks. I gave him one of the cutting pages where he needed to cut in a straight line. Before he could cut, though, he had to measure - several times. He used his little tape measure to measure the length of each line. After carefully measuring each line several times, he was able to proceed with cutting. I'd like to note, that I had no input on this train of thought. I think it's funny that he had on his handyman gorilla jammies, too. As for the cutting, he cut in a perfectly straight line. We just need to work on following directions, like when to stop cutting.

Stickers, Stickers Everywhere

Last week I let Ben get a sticker book at the store. I really am brilliant sometimes. I let him get one with like 500 stickers, most the size of a pencil eraser. I believe all 500 stickers have in some way, shape or form been applied to either human skin, my furniture or the dog. Lesson learned.

Wresdling

Wresdling: A simultaneous combination of wrestling and cuddling. 

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Turkey Cookies!

I forgot one! I forgot this post because the pictures were on my other camera. A few weeks ago our friend Susan invited us to Meijer to decorate Turkey cookies using Oreos. The kids had fun making a mess of the melted chocolate and candy. After our cookies and the purchase of some white asparagus, we headed over to Barry's Bagel for a yummy lunch! 

Swim Time

Sunday we headed over to the Hilton where Grandma and Grandpa were staying to enjoy some yummy brunch and do a little swimming. The little fishies were in full swing. Nick really likes being thrown in the pool. Ben does not. So I made sure to throw Ben every chance I got. The boys swam around, jumped off the side of the pool and worked themselves up for some good long naps.

This is me laughing after having thrown Ben. I thought it was funny...

Ben was kind enough to let Nick borrow his froggie swimmer for a bit but then he had to 'push' Nick around in it. 

They ended up hugging it out. Or least Ben did. Nick wasn't really giving much of a choice in the matter.

Lights at the Zoo

Last Friday we bundled ourselves up and headed for the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Terri and Uncle Les (who were in from Georgia). It was quite cold and windy, so it was a bit challenging for the warm blooded southerners. Us northerners, who can handle the cold, had on 2 or 3 layers of pants, heavy coats, gloves and hats. Nick had trouble moving. The wind died down after a while and it turned into a great night! 

Ben was anti-picture at this point. Nick had no choice. He couldn't move.

It's kind of hard to see because of the dirty glass, but the polar bear was sleeping right against the window

Ben had to have his picture taken with the baby wolves statue.

Ben was sooooo tired. We had some issues at the zoo because he was so tired. So, of course he fell asleep as soon as we got out of the parking lot at the zoo. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving Day Crafts

I printed out some Thanksgiving Day crafts for the boys to do while I finished up dinner. They each had a turkey to color and I got really daring and gave a few crafts that required the glue stick. 

Ben applying leaves to his tree. Note the big blue glue stick. I'm happy to report there were no major glue stick mishaps

The Secret to a Clean House

The secret to a clean house - keep em locked up!

The Always Entertaining Awkward Family Photo

Sunday I decided to take a few family pictures before church. Nick was my helper in finding good light. We started in the backyard, but no good.

A few different angles, still no good.

Then we moved to the always good light front porch. And then I got this...

And this. Fitting.