what

is with this cheesy grin?
kelly this is her new pj's that she wears all.day.long.

Yahaira

Yahaira's solo during one of the songs.  I have to admit i was far more nervous than she was. She was just so excited to be singing.  I'm afraid parts and pieces are blurry.  That would be the nervous energy making my hands not quite steady. 

just

a few more pictures from tonights program
Anthony and Yahaira with their choir teacher Mrs. Bruce

Yahaira, Grace, Anthony

Yahaira with Mrs. Meyer

snapshot

of a christmas program...
the first tonight, to be followed by another on sunday.
they practiced their parts, and were eager to go tonight..
it was of course an excellent program (it always is)
My date for the night was Betty, we once again had seats in the front. Which made viewing so easy for this short
person. I always look forward to this program it is one of my favorites.

Ready to go

tonight was their school Christmas Program...

it was too quiet...

so I went searching for the little wonder and found her asleep in my bedroom.
inside the clothes hamper.

santa claus

at the movie theater.

still smiling

after being snowed in for two days...now what to fill tomorrow with since it doesn't look like we will be venturing outside yet again
the snow is suppose to stop, but the temps are dropping and with promises of negative numbers with out the wind chill thinking there is no where we need to be.

baking cookies

another activity to fill this snow day...
an ongoing activity where we mixed the dough, came back to it later and shaped and baked it
filling moments and hours in a day that at times seemd to stretch on and on.
we tried out two recipe's that were new to us a candy cane cookie flavored with peppermint, as they baked the whole house smelled minty and wonderful, and an Elves Snickerdoodle cookie, ours didn't look quite like the picture but tasted amazing. Both recipes were found on the familyfun.com website.

the tooth

has been loose for weeks
today as she and her sister wrestled a foot connected with her mouth and wiggled that tooth
even more, it bled, she freaked. As I tried to see the tooth and not pass out (I can handle most anything except wiggly loose teeth)
I moved the towel and it came out. Sigh. End of story? not quite, there was screaming... hers, deep breaths...mine, some throwing up...her again. Some curious bystanders... really why does everyone come running? once the blood cleared and the emotions calmed it was all good, she has been wondering when the tooth fairy will come, no the suggestion she go to bed right now didn't work. Yes she looks a bit traumatized in the picture above, but still mustered a smile. What a trooper.

road closures

at 8:10pm today
pretty much no one going anywhere in my part of the world

the view

out my window earlier today, the reason we didn't venture out of the house once today. (well except for the time I spent shoveling)
The weather service issued a blizzard warning on Friday, and this morning when I first woke I wondered if perhaps it had missed us, we did get the rain/ice last night so everything was coated in an icy mess, but no snow, around 8 it had moved in and settled. by the time I ventured out this evening to shovel the snow was 14 inches in my driveway, no idea if that was snowfall or a mix of blowing snow too.

Squirrels

these little things have provided endless entertainment for the kids since the snow has covered the ground.
The squirrels discovered our bird feeders right after the first snow. Kevin was going to remove them (in a not so nice manner) but I stopped that train of thought and said leave them, they aren't hurting anything and the kids love watching them.

baking bread

knowing that the weather was going to keep us homebound today, it seemed like the perfect day to bake.
Something that has been on my list of things to do with the kids is baking bread. Ever since the class we took last summer I have intended to do this again with the kids but for what ever reasons, never enough time, a bit overwhelmed with the whole from scratch bread making process, it just never happened. Until today...out came the flour and ingredients, joined with the many eager little fingers ready to knead the bread we started. We all wore a dusting of flour, there was a lot of laughing and smiles, the house smelled awesome as the bread baked, and tummy's were happy as the fresh bread was eaten. Now why didn't I do this sooner?

Reyna's

1st year building a gingerbread creation.
this year it was a train...she was fascintaed, curious and oh bother when she figured out that was candy
she was quite simply hooked!

Gingerbread Train

a different spin on this annual tradition.
alas it still followed much the same path as previous years except for last year which did actually go quite well
you can read about those experiences here 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
this one also included sampling by the youngest, pieces that wouldn't stay put, and of course the inevitable lack of frosting.
oh well, all had fun, which is the reason I continue to do this each year.

Reindeer toast

a snack that the daycare kids assembled and enjoyed one day last week.

the view out my window

dinner

is in the crock pot
beef stew on a cloudy, cold winter's day.

stamp camp

last night i attended the monthly stamp camp at Belle's home.
each month we make 10 cards, Belle has all the pieces cut and all that needs to be done is to assemble.
simple.easy.fun.
Val introduced me to this wonderful event a few months ago. I think it is safe to say I am hooked.
what's not to love,
creating beautiful cards,
a night out with no little ones
spending time with friends and meeting new people
last night included a few new techniques, one of which I think I could quickly become addicted to
embossing is amazing!