Reminice (or however you spell it)

Two years ago....

Beyond the fact that their lips look chapped... they look the same.

This was the last Christmas he'd believe in Santa. 

"Ouch", says my heart.

My baby girls.  Ignore the fact that Maisie's wiping.

2 years ago. 

Makes me wonder what 2017 will look like...

60 Preschoolers

I'm supposed to be writing final exams for next week.  Instead I'm busy finishing up Holiday Parties for 'Heidi's Kitchen' events and drinking too much coffee at school.  The coffee is LOADED with caffeine.  Apparently it's giving me lots of ideas.

I spent Thursday baking sugar cookies with 60 preschoolers.  60 preschoolers PLUS my high school students.  Eye-Yay-Yay.

Fortunately, I teach in a 1-A school.  That's short for "small".

That also means Molly attends the same school building I teach in. Therefore.... Molly was able to be one of the preschoolers who made cookies in my classroom on Thursday. 

There's something about mixing preschoolers with high schoolers which brings out the mystery in both.  The preschoolers bring their innocence and playfulness to the classroom which carries over to the high schoolers. 

It's exhausting, funny and weird.  I love it.

Wednesdays with Maisie

Wednesday morning with Maisie...

In my past life I was either a chicken, cat or dog. 

Because I'm good at chicken noises and

cat noises and

I like dog treats.

Long Grove Christmas

How the Long Grove Christmas has come and gone is beyond me.  The balmy temps, light drizzle and sparklers made this holiday weekend feel more like the 4th of July than Christmas. 

Somehow all the kids and grown-up kids who gather at GG and Papa's can figure out a way to make Christmas happen anytime of the year.

My pictures aren't great.  But again, 'tis the season!  I think you'll get the idea.

Christmas at GG and Papa's with 11 kids. 

It is what it is!

Weekends

I remember Sunday's as being the worst day of the week.  It was a 'work-around-the-house, leftovers for lunch, homework finishing, messy hair, bored to tears, sweat pant-wearing day. 

Sometimes in the evening we'd get Dad to cut our hair at the barber shop. We'd usually end up folding towels and studying the Guinness Book of World Records book which sat on the magazine table in the barbershop.  The longest fingernail photo and tallest/shortest man in the world photo were my favorites.  This of course, was before 'Google' made it's entrance to society.

Today felt like one of those days.  It was a 'tried to sleep in, cloudy and cool, didn't shower till 1, steam mop the floors, baking cookies, catch up with laundry, clean out the litter box and sweep the garage' kind of day. 

Goose had a chance to show off his new pad...

While Molly got pissed at her jeep because the battery was dead and we couldn't find the charger.  Plus, the tires DO NOT work well on large rocks (aka: our driveway).

Oh Sunday.  You're one of a kind!

Heidi's Kitchen

Friday night is the first of 5 Heidi's Kitchen catered events at the Heartland Building on the square this month.

Bucket List.

Check.

December 2015

One year ago...

Molly was decorating our Christmas tree.  This was the temporary tree we decorated before I decided

to cut down the ditch tree below.  Stop laughing.

I had just begun to strip this dining room table and Mike was accepting the fact that I'd somehow lost my mind.  The fumes were unusually strong.

Today I sit at the refinished dining room table, next to my 9-foot Christmas tree, with a fire in the fireplace, wine in my glass and the smell of biscotti and Christmas pine in the air. 

Stop right there.

Don't let that paragraph fool you.  Maisie is bawling in the loft because Molly left her alone. Molly couldn't find her nigh nigh and apparently I have hidden it.  Ross calls everyone and everything a chode while thinking it's the most hilarious word in the English language.  Molly just got kicked in the throat and Ross is pissed the girls just selected Pop Pixie on Netflix.  I'm not complaining, really.  Every time I feel frustrated with the stage the kids are in at the moment, I refer back to 2011.  Now THAT was a time for complaining.

So today, I'm giving thanks last year is over.  Also that 2011 is over.  That my kids are getting older, but not too old, that it's not last December, that life has given me opportunities to explore my hobbies and passions, that we have a cat, a dog, a house and some land.  That my kids are healthy and we live in a pretty safe place. 

I took Goose with me to the grocery store today.  He likes mini-van rides.  He wanted the windows down, so I left the windows down.  I swear he sniffed the whole way there.  He kept farting on the way home.  I took him for a run before the kids came home from school.  He ran into a neighbor dog and they smelled each others butts before continuing on their way.  I felt for the neighbor dog.  Especially since Goose ate Kuda's cat turds 2 days ago and they don't seem to be agreeing with him. 

I don't know how that fits into the blog post, other than I realize I have no REAL problems, and man am I grateful.