COLD, snowy faces

Ever since our Christmas Eve, first, sledding adventure, Lance has been asking to get out again each time it snows - but this darn COLD, below temperature weather here in the Midwest! Although still pretty cold, Dad made the decision this weekend that even if only for a few trips down the hill, we were going to go sledding. SO I took the opportunity for this short quick sledding adventure to bring the real camera with for a few pics, just a few.

Here is BEFORE the first ride down.

 DURING the ride down...... (trust me, Chase is sandwiched in the middle there somewhere!)

and the AFTER (COLD, COLD, snow covered faces causing lots of tears and some crying - by EVERYONE!) LOL. But they still wanted to go down more. Lance's statement I think was " I sure like this scary fun!"

And with that, the camera went away so I could help with wiping faces and soothing tears :-) And so I could get a COLD face too (sorry, no pics of me)

Before we hit the big "hills" I asked one favor of the boys - a picture of course :-) My hope is to get one picture each month in this same location with a sign for the month to create a fun little calendar for next year. And since Lance is really improving on his writing skills, I will ask him to write the month! SO, for January.......

Cheers - ( I guess) to January, but please February no more bitter cold temps.

The teacher in me

Soooooo tired of this icky, gloomy, bitter, depressing, cold weather. I don't like going out and don't like bundling the boys and taking them out so there has probably been an over abundance of TV - everything from Disney Junior, PBS kids, to Monsters Inc, University, Toy Story, Despicable Me, and a few others...... But I think we all might even be bored of those. It was all getting to me and so I took a break the other night after Keegan came home from work and set out on a mission - to find more activities for the boys! (Ok, and to have a relaxing dinner in peace and quiet, alone) And I accomplished both!

A few pictures of some learning and play activities. I loved the Montessori approach that Lance's last school in KS used and he seemed to really take to it, so I'm working around that as much as possible. It's difficult with two different ages, but so far, so good. I guess the teacher in me has come out a little. I really love this stuff.

This one was probably their most favorite - backing soda in the pan, then color vinegar and use droppers. Then watch is FIZ over and over again.

I have so many ideas for these awesome little motor vehicles. Counting, sorting, sensory bin, and on and on.... I just dumped them out this first time and let them go at it. And they were naturally sorting and counting. FUN stuff!

We had yet another "no school" day due to low temps. I let Lance skip his nap and enjoyed my one-on-one time with him. We did a few learning activities...... and played LOTS of games, including "Who's Behind the Door" which is his absolute favorite these days! Pretty sure we have played well over 100 times in the month of January. Sometimes you're not sure your money is well spent on certain toys, etc. But this game has been beyond worth the money spent.

First, I had him put the number cards in order, then had him match the number word to each number. (Some of these are in his "site word" homework too)

 Then I wanted to see how many of his color words he knew - he really focused and sounded a few of them out. I was quite impressed.

We also put down some masking tape roads for all the hot wheel cars, which kept them both busy for a little while. (Note to anyone with hardwood floors - don't use masking tape. Maybe try painters tape) I even put a sample down for a short time to see if I was going to be ok, but it did take the finish off in a few places, oops!

And I had forgotten about this little "activity" box I made out of a diaper box and paper towel rolls last Spring. Found it hidden and was able to get good use out of it too - SCORE! Thanks again to Pinterest for helping with all of these ideas.

Lance is actually wanting to spend time coloring these days which has been nice and allowed me one-on-one time with Chase. He thinks it's fun to look for coloring pages on the internet and catch them hot off the printer :-) One of his creations from this week - Monsters University of course!

One Day Getaway Fun

CABIN fever has hit us, so I decided it was time for just a little one day getaway - not to the ideal warmer place with sandy beaches and warm sunshine, but out of the house and something new and different none-the-less. SO, we set out on Sunday (after my frustration set in from packing while listening to screaming and crying and wanting....) Deep breaths, a Cherry Coke and a peaceful drive to Clinton, IA cleared the frustration. The Discovery Center in Clinton, IA was a quaint little perfect place for my 4 and 2 year old to enjoy their "favorites." Although Chase needs to learn sharing and taking turns. He thought he OWNED the Train and the whistle and was not to happy when we made him move to give other kids a turn..... Lance was in heaven getting to be the teacher in the school house (being bossy in Keegans words) Keegan took about 20 pictures of this little Winnebago thinking he was going to craft something similar to put in our backyard. I think he has since changed his mind, but it was pretty cool!

The boys took a nice snooze on the scenic drive with snow covered trees from Clinton to Dubuque then it was Waterpark time! Both of them just loved all of the slides (we were even able to take Chase on the medium slides on our lap and he kept saying "one more time") And Lance was tall enough to go on the tube slide with one of us - which he would have done over and over and over. Lance started exploring dunking his head pretending to swim under water and was very proud of himself!

We had quite a nice view of the river and bridge from our room AND once again the boys sleeping in the same bed in a hotel is just going to be an adjustment and we're going to have to build patience in advance because they will NOT stop giggling and talking to each other! I let it go for a while, letting them have some fun, but after an hour and a half I had to sit in a chair in the room until they dozed off.

COLD day inside play

I hate going out in the bitter winter cold. We have stayed inside A LOT. Yes, I go nuts, but I just don't like bundling and buckling and getting out, then unbundled, then bundled again, then buckled again, etc. etc. etc...... So my PINTEREST pins have come in handy a couple of times in the past few weeks. Just a couple cold day play ideas. They never last quite as long as I expect them to, but the boys seemed to enjoy the variety.

Bringing the snow inside and painting it, playing with it, melting it AND..... Chase eating it!

His masterpiece. 

It was letter " N" week so Lance was gluing nine(9) noodles on a paper for his homework. So Chase played with the noodles too. It kept their interest for quite some time.

I did a TERRIBLE job of updating the blog from August through December so I am bound and determined to keep this blog going on a weekly basis. I LOVE going back and reading and looking at the pictures in a somewhat organized fashion. This time goes by too fast and these memories need to be saved somewhere other than my mind and heart :-) Because Lord knows I lose my mind often..... and is my heart REALLY big enough to keep ALL of these memories?!?!? Perhaps, but always good to have a backup.

Oh, came across this. Lance playing with the Christmas ornaments after I took them off the tree. He is especially fascinated with one of Keegans' childhood ornaments. A little fisherman!

Christmas PJ photo session

Christmas morning was just too full of excitement to try and get those "exact" perfect pictures in front of the Christmas tree in PJ's. I was bummed, but was OK with it this year - wasn't worth the battle. But, since I knew today would be the last day with our Christmas tree (which saddens my heart just a tad) and the boys just so happened to both have those Santa PJ's on.... I thought "why not" And boy am I glad I asked them (and possibly included a bribery of a sucker) All I wanted was ONE of them together - I expected nothing more after the way our family session went this fall.... And to my surprise, I got ALL of these below plus a few more! They were having fun with it, posing and cheesing it up without me even asking. I hope these bring smiles to your faces as they have to mine. These smiles and giggles are just what keep the Holiday spirit alive! Boy am I one lucky Mom.

Pictures really are sometimes worth a thousand words......