Play and Learn Christmas Party

Today was our playgroup Christmas party. The main reason I've been pushing myself to get my baking done all week. Something I look forward to every year. Boy, I'm going to miss this when I no longer have children young enough for playgroup. This year Joe was off from work so he got to come with us so that was a huge treat. We had a good time and when it was all over we went to Kaitlyn's class to help put together gingerbread houses. And you know what they say, a picture speaks a thousand words so I'll let the pictures do the talking...

CJ at the playdough table

CJ on the slide

CJ going down the slide

Here comes Santa Claus looking a little thin this year

Santa all settled saying hi to the boys and girls

CJ was called up for a gift and he ran right up there. Not at all afraid

Coming back with his gift

Opening his gift

CJ look over here

No CJ, I can't see your face

A good picture of him with his new toy, a Santa Spud

Now it's time to go to Kaitlyn's class to help out with her gingerbread house...

CJ fits right in at school. He pulled a chair right up to Kaitlyn's desk and went to work on his coloring with her

Making friends already

Kaitlyn's gingerbread girl that she made while other kids were doing their gingerbread house

Such a fun filled day. And as always my cookies were a hit. It's always good to get no tears from CJ when he sees Santa. And we had lots of fun helping the kids put together Gingerbread houses. Too bad we can't return on Friday to help decorate them.

RIP Nibbles

A sad night it was last night in the Barnes household. Natalie's gerbil Nibbles passed away. We had her and Kaitlyn's gerbil Lucky for a little over a year. A fun family pet it has been. Tears were shed. More so by Kaitlyn than Natalie. We told Natalie we could go get another one if she wanted. She wasn't sure at first. I told her to think about it. They wanted to know why it happened. I'm afraid there will be no Gerbil autopsy though. We don't know what happened to her. Maybe she got sick, maybe she was just old, maybe it was her time. We had a good run though. And Nibbles will be missed.

To help fill that void though Natalie did decide she wanted another one. So last night we went to the pet store to find one. She found this cute little brown one. Very friendly little guy. Just a baby really. So we asked the lady if we could put them in the same cage with our other one. She said it should be fine since Lucky always had a mate. So we brought the gerbil home and went to put her in the cage and Lucky was not happy. She went right after the new gerbil, who was not named at that time. The kids were devastated. Joe separated them and put the new one in a new cage. Let me tell you the new one was holding her own with Lucky though. Of course the last thing we needed was to loose another one. Natalie finally came up with a name for our new little friend though. Her name is Penny. So now we have Lucky and Penny.

Still, Nibbles will be forever missed. We hope you RIP Nibbles. Know that Lucky, Natalie, Kaitlyn, CJ, Joe, and Monica all miss you too. Have fun with our pet fish Swimmy in animal heaven.

This is Lucky. Nibbles looked just like her except the markings on her back were a little different.
Our newest addition to the family, Penny. Welcome to the family Penny. You can't tell by this picture, but she's a feisty little gerbil.

Snow Day Fun

Last Wednesday we had our first snow day. We had some friends over for part of the morning. They wanted to go out and play in the snow, but the conditions weren't ideal. It was raining at that point and no one really had the proper snow attire. So in an attempt to keep them from asking me to go outside and play I got them to play a game. They chose Hullaballoo. It turned into a very fun game that they played for most of the morning. Here's just a little of what it looked like...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Santa Train and Parade

Yesterday was a fun filled day. We met Grandma and Grandpa at the train in Thomaston to take a trip with Santa. An hour and a half ride on the train seeing the sites and most importantly Santa. Then after that it was over our friend's house for dinner and then to go with them to Old Saybrook for a Christmas parade. An evening parade in the middle of December in CT is something I've never experienced before. So we all bundled up real good and headed out into the cold evening. It was interesting and the kids seemed to have a good time with their friends. I put together a little video slide show of the day's events. Enjoy!

Week In Review: December 6 - December 12, 2009

Here is this weeks Week In Review for December 6 - December 12, 2009

Sunday: Joe got up early and left for work. I stayed in bed. The kids got up a little while later. I tried to doze, but it wasn't working. So I got up and got them breakfast. Then I sent the girls to go through their toys to make our move a little easier. They fought about what to get rid of. I gave CJ lunch and tried to rush the girls along, but CJ ended up falling asleep in his high chair. I finally kicked them out of the room and put CJ down for his nap. Gave the girls lunch. I had lunch. Then I worked on going through the papers on my desk and getting rid of what we no longer need and filing what we do need. Joe came home from work. I put some stuff on Freecycle and started some laundry. Then Joe went and got the tree. I started some sauce for dinner and washed the dishes. Then I helped decorate the tree. Finished cooking dinner. Cleaned off the table. Did more laundry. Fed everyone. Gave CJ a bath. Sent the girls for a shower. Cleaned up the Christmas decorations. Vacuumed. Sent the kids to bed. Did another load of laundry. Then did some blogging and posted some pictures. Took a shower and went to bed.

Monday: Got up and got Joe off to work. Then got the girls ready for school. Walked them to school. Came back home and told CJ a million times not to touch the tree. Then get out of the toilet. Then get out of that cash box. Ahhhh, love the toddler stage. I couldn't wait for naptime. I fed him lunch and put him to bed and just had peace. Got him up from his nap and walked to pick up the girls. Walked back home and started homework help along with PTA stuff. And still CJ don't touch the tree. CJ get out of that. CJ don't climb the walls. Kaitlyn was being lazy with her homework again. Natalie wasn't listening to me. And I couldn't concentrate on my PTA Agenda. I couldn't wait for Joe to came home. As soon as he did the kids were all his. I finished what I needed to do. Washed some dishes. The left for my PTA meeting. And the one place where I wish I'd hear a little more fight or just any sort of input from other people I get none. Just a bunch of blank stares. Oh well, it was good to be out of the house. I got to see the pictures of the new school. Came home from my meeting. CJ was already in bed because he wasn't listening to Joe either. Well, at least it's not just me. I got my dinner. Sent the girls to bed. Joe and I sat and watched TV together. Then I took a shower and went to bed to start the CJ don't all over again tomorrow.

Tuesday: Got out of bed and got everyone ready. Had to warm up the car. I brought the girls to school while Joe stayed home with CJ. I had a meeting in the FRC this morning. So I went to that. After that I chatted with some people at the school. Gave some dates to the secretary in the office. Then came home. Joe and I chatted about our upcoming move and how we are going to make it a reality. Put CJ down for a nap. I did some laundry. Had some lunch. Watched some TV with Joe. Packed up some dishes. Did some more laundry. Packed up some more stuff in the kitchen. Went to pick the girls up from school. Talked to both of the girls teachers. Then came home. Joe went to work. I helped with homework. Then I washed the dishes and started dinner. Fed the kids. Cleaned up. Had the kids clean up the living room. Did more laundry. Got the kids ready for bed and put them to bed. Then I spent the evening board, but not wanting to do anymore packing. Joe finally came home from work. We watched some TV and then went to bed. Hoping that Wednesday was not going to be messed up with a delay or no school due to the predicted snow.

Wednesday: What a long day. I was up way early. 5 a.m. to go to the bathroom and then couldn't go back to sleep. I tried. My mind was running though. With things I needed to get done. What would happen if the snow caused a delay. What if it was canceled? Finally I decided to just put myself out of my misery and get up and find out what the weather verdict was. The answer was no school. That actually was easier than a delay. Then I don't need the car and I don't have to drive Joe to work. So I went to turn the alarm off in the girls room. I have to go through CJ's room to get to their room. I was doing really well. Not waking anyone. On my way out the door I kicked something and woke CJ up. There was no getting him back to sleep either. I took him out and tried to lay on the couch with him, but Joe got up and I couldn't keep him with me much longer after that. Joe went to work. All three kids were home. I had four more coming over in a couple of hours. I washed dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Cleaned up the living room. Cleaned up the bathroom. Did some laundry. Pulled out some clothes from the closet to sort through. Then my house was filled with children. I tried to get them to play board games. They wanted to go out in the snow. Problem with that is it was raining and not everyone had the proper snow gear. If I had let them out there then they would have been soaked with no change of clothes. So I had to keep explaining my reasons to a bunch of children who just wanted to go play in the snow. I did get them distracted playing a game though. I started going through some clothes. Then I gave CJ lunch and the rest of the kids a snack. I tried putting CJ down for a nap, but he was having nothing to do with that. My friend came and got her kids. I gave my kids lunch. Then got CJ out because he wasn't going to sleep. Tried putting him down again, but still he wasn't happy. I needed a break though. I was going non stop all day. He finally got quiet, but I don't know that he actually slept. He wasn't quiet for all that long. I went and did some laundry and started lugging up the clothes bins from the basement. I went through those. Joe got home from work. Someone came over to buy our vacuum. We had dinner. I went through more clothes. Got everything organized. Got all of the girls summer stuff and stuff that doesn't fit out of their drawers. Had to wash the stuff that came up from the basement because it smelled like the basement. I gave CJ a bath. Got everyone ready for bed. Put them to bed and washed more clothes. Then I washed dishes. Marinated a steak for dinner tomorrow night. More laundry. Took a shower. Finally went to bed.

Thursday: Got up and got the kids ready for school. Joe left for work and took the car. I was trying to find CJ's mittens to walk the girls to school, but couldn't find them. So I ended up asking my friend to pick the girls up so I didn't have to go out in the cold and slip on the ice. She did. I chatted with a friend online for a while. Then I went through CJ's drawers. Did some more laundry. Fed CJ lunch and put him down for a nap. I made a shopping list. Joe came home from work and we went grocery shopping. Spent way too much money, but I got most of my cookie stuff. Went to get the girls at school. Came home and put the groceries away. Did homework. Did more laundry. Washed dishes. Started dinner. Played with the kids. Put CJ's winter clothes in his drawers. Got the kids ready for bed and sent them to bed. Joe and I watched some TV and I put some stuff on ebay. Then I went to bed.

Friday: Got up early and got everyone ready to go. We were out early in the frigid cold temps. Went to the school to pop popcorn. The girls ate breakfast at school while we got started on the popcorn. When we were done with the popcorn I went to the office to talk to the principal about a few things. Then we left and went to the post office to find change of address cards. I couldn't find them. So we went to the grocery store because I had forgotten to get any sort of vegetables when I went grocery shopping. Grabbed a few other things and then came home. Joe gave CJ lunch and I counted popcorn money. Joe put CJ to bed and then I had something to eat. Took care of a few other things around the house. Typed up something for the next Box Tops competition. Then I went to pick the girls up from school. Had a meeting with Kaitlyn's teacher about her progress and looked at her report card with her. She did about as well as I was expecting. Came home and checked out Natalie's report card. Joe left for work. The kids and I just hung around the house. I cleaned the dishes and got dinner started. Fed the kids and then got CJ ready for bed. The girls stayed up late. I started baking some of my cookies. Joe came home from work. The kids went to bed. Finished up my cookies and then showered and went to bed.

Saturday: Got up and started working on some cookies. Had the girls help with those. Joe made breakfast. I finished up my snickerdoodles and was debating starting more. Decided there wasn't time. Ate breakfast. Got dressed. Washed dishes. Got the kids all dressed and left to go meet my parents at the train museum. Had to detour because of the road being closed. Got a little lost. Finally found where we were going. Got our train tickets and road the train with Santa. Had a much better time than we were anticipating. When that was over my parents gave the kids a couple of presents and we departed ways there. We went to Walmart to get a couple of things. Then went to get gas and came home. I baked some M&M cookies which gave me trouble. Washed dishes. Got the kids to dress warmly. Then left to go to a friends house for dinner. Ate over there and then went with our friends to a Christmas parade. Got to the parade and froze our butts off. Then went back to our friend's family's house. Had hot cocoa and donuts. Then we left and came home. Sent the kids right to bed. Joe and I had a snack. I tried to make popcorn, but totally forgot about it and burned it. Smoke all over the kitchen it was awful. Had to completely clean out my microwave. Then I made the popcorn correctly. My house stunk of burnt popcorn though. Ended up falling asleep on the couch completely exhausted before getting up to go to bed.

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Mixed Feelings

A very good friend of mine is pregnant. She is due April 26 which is 1 year and 4 days after I was due with Celeste. It hasn't bothered me much that she's pregnant. I've been okay with talking to her about things. I have been worried about her. I definitely don't want her to experience what I did a year ago. However, she is the first person since my loss who I have been very close to that's pregnant. Today she found out the sex of the baby. I found myself hoping for a boy for her even though I knew they both desperately wanted a girl. I just wasn't too sure how I'd handle an April baby girl that wasn't my own. Everyone else I've known who has had a baby so far has had a boy. She announced to me that it's a girl! So when my friend told me her exciting news I feel like I put on a fake smile and a fake congratulations. I'm sure I'll be fine once the baby is born. And like I said the last thing in the world I would want is for her to lose the baby. My gosh I think that would be even harder on me if she did lose the baby. I feel like a bad friend for giving her the fake smile and forced congrats. Totally my problem and something I need to deal with. I do hope I handle her arrival better though. You would think though a year has gone by I shouldn't be that effected by the birth of a baby. Then again, most pregnancies I'm not privy to every detail and good day and bad day. This is a friend who I see almost on a daily basis though and if I don't see her I talk to her. I hope she understands my reactions though and doesn't think I'm a bad friend.

Thanks for Making a Wish Come True

I should have blogged about this Saturday, or even Sunday when it happened, but life got in the way. Remember my birthday wish? I asked you to help donate to bring Kellsey home. Well, she's home! She came home on Saturday. Perhaps the reason I didn't say anything is because I still can't believe it's true. Kellsey is here. It's been a year long process for the Garcia's, but now here they are a family of SEVEN...

Kellsey is adjusting very well to life in America and with a loving family. The kids adore her. She adores the kids. They are all so happy to have her here. Kellsey isn't used to the food and they have been having fun trying to figure out what to feed her. But she's eating better and better. But hey, if anyone knows any traditional Ukraine or Eastern Europe recipes that she might enjoy please feel free to share here so I can pass them along to Renee. Because she just wants her girls to eat already. This is all just so amazing though. So thank you to whoever was able to help bring Kellsey home!

Kennedy greeting her new baby sister

Kennedy and Kellsey

Kassidy and Kellsey

The Garcia Girls