Santa!

 Serafina sat on Santa's lap!  I repeat, Serafina sat on Santa's lap!  This is no small miracle, people.

We discussed it for the last few days.  I knew she wasn't going to be easy, but she agreed to sit on a stool in front of Santa.

When we got ready to go, she pitched a huge fit about her dress (she didn't want to wear it) and then her sweater (she wanted it zipped up).   Leo, on the other hand, was excited to see Santa and, for the last few days, he's been asking if it was time to see him yet.  

He had no problem sitting on his lap and giving good smiles.

 And then, the most amazing thing happened.  She sat down next to him.  She didn't smile, but she also didn't cry.

We were there with our friends, of course, and we had the big kids do a picture since they are good about smiling and looking cute.  

 Then we had all the kids get in there.  Santa held out his arms to have some of the kids sit on his lap and Serafina ran right up to him.  I almost passed out from astonishment (or maybe pain*). We are entering new era when we only have one crying kid in the picture.

*I only have one wisdom tooth and it's been half erupted through my gum for a number of years.  Well, it's finally started to cause me pain (a lot of pain and some swelling), so after calling seven different oral surgeons, I found one that can extract it tomorrow.  Tom stocked up on pudding, jello, soup and all the stuff I'll need.  Hopefully, I will have a quick recovery so I can enjoy the visit with Grandma Ruth and be ready to travel to Seal Beach late next week.

Serafina at school

When I was working in the classroom today, I spotted this hanging up.

In case you can't read it, it says "I am thankful for pink".  Ha!

After snack, the kids are suppose to look at books.  Here's Serafina and Bella.

Heading out to recess with Apsara and Ashley.  It was cold out, but I'm not sure how Ashley got where she needed to go with that hood in her face. 

As part of my role on the board, I often represent the school at information nights and school fairs.  I always assure parents that the co-op duties are very light, especially in comparison with other local co-ops.  I tell parents that it is a rewarding experience to participate in the classroom and witness your child's education.  Those things are true, but it is also exhausting.  Those little bodies everywhere and all the glue, paint, macaroni and crayons, makes it feel like the time crawls by and I can't wait for it to wrap up so I can relax.  Of course, I can't really relax because I still have almost an entire day with my own two kids to survive.  

More leaves

 It poured rain today, but yesterday it was sunny (but cold and windy).  There are leaves all over our neighborhood, but I stopped at this spot and let the kids get out and throw leaves for a little bit after school.

 We are gearing up for our Santa visit later this week and Grandma Ruth's arrival this weekend.  Serafina is having some sleep issues but we are trying to work through them.  Speaking of work, it's my turn to bring snack to preschool tomorrow.  Leo is still obsessed with Star Wars and we've moved on the Empire Strikes Back.  My memory of that film isn't as strong, but I'm still answering many, many (MANY) questions about it every day.

The rain cleared out this afternoon and we went for a walk.  We stopped by our friends' house and waited on their porch until they came home.  Wouldn't you be happy to see these guys when you got home?

Leaves

The mustaches are still a little bit sticky, so they need more wearing. 

Ski rental and mustache fun

Though we won't be going to Tahoe until January, the ski rentals began now and we wanted to get Leo all set up early so they had all this sizes. He's grown a bit and his ski level allows him to get longer skis.

He's excited about it.  We didn't get Serafina any.  She says she doesn't want to ski and since she's pretty uncooperative, we tend to believe her.  We can always do a weekend rental later in the season if she seems game.

We got Leo poles this year.  He will only get to use them at the end of the season if he's advanced quite a bit and he gets the green light from his dad.

Serafina has been fighting her naps.  When Leo was this age he did the same thing and that's when I started laying down with him.  I can't do that with her because then Leo would have to hang out all by himself and we need that time to do important things, like his homework or playing mustaches.

How do you play mustaches, you ask.  Well, you put on a mustache and make a face while the other person takes your picture.  You repeat this process until you've used up the whole pack of mustaches.

There are lots more pictures of me with mustaches, but since that isn't exactly my best look, I'll only post one.  

Now this guy looks good with a mustache.

And one last picture of my sickie cuddling with me tonight.  She's continuing to complain about a headache, but I think she might just be looking to get more of the yummy red medicine (Tylenol).

Happy Friendsgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We spent a lovely Thanksgiving with our friends, but before that, we had to watch some of the parade.

And dance along with the Rockettes.

Ta-da!

With all the baking I do, I haven't really made pie crusts.  I had a crust disaster a long time ago, and I became a little intimidated by them.  Today I tried again and it came together nicely and rolled out well.  I was encouraged and felt it might just work.

We headed over to my friend Cara's new house.  It's a very lovely place and my kids always have fun with Addison and Riley.  Here they are having a little pre-dinner dress up.

Once an iPad is switched on, they are like moths to a flame.

Gathering around the table to give thanks.

I'm sad we didn't get one with Cara in it since she looks so cute with her baby belly.  Their third girl is due in February.

Leo said he's thankful for God.  Serafina said she's thankful for candy.

It was hard to wait for dessert to be served, so watching a little TV helped distract them.

Tom was in charge of making the stuffing and when he got there, he took care of the gravy.  I made some chive butter, butternut squash soup, this apple cake with caramel glaze...

and a pumpkin pie.  The crust (which was slightly out of proportion to the filling) turned out very nice and the filling was spicy and not too sweet.  

The kids gobbled it up.

Overall, it was a very nice evening and we appreciate our friends hosting us.  My kids behaved pretty well, especially since they aren't feeling that well.  We made a last minute trip to the doctor last night since Serafina has been complaining about a headache.  She got diagnosed with a sinus infection and was prescribed an antibiotic.  Leo has the same issue, but not as sever (he has the advantage of being bigger and older), so even though the doctor prescribed him the same antibiotic, he said we can hold off giving it to him and see if he starts to improve on his own.  It's not a holiday around here unless someone is sick.