Little bits from preschool...

Monday was my workday in Tyler's classroom.  It wasn't such a bad time, even with the rainy day keeping them inside. 
My job was to help the kids put on little puppet shows.  They could pick any puppet the wanted to and have it tell a story or sing us a song.  It was cute and some kids were able to really get into it. 

Tyler and his best bud doing a dinosaur show...

 Today the were also working with the letter "I" so one task was to glue "I" words onto a big letter "I".  In the process they were also going over the sounds "I" makes. 

 The art project was to trace 5 hand prints, then cut them out and glue them onto a plate to make a wreath. 

 Up front they did more work learning to write both the upper and lower case "I", then color pictures that start with "I". 

 A new toy was brought in for the month, a play table full of beans.  They Loved it.  To the point it makes me want to hose off our water table and put beans in it to play with on the back porch.  Birdseed is also a lot of fun. 

 After clean up, they sang "Happy Birthday" to a friend that was turning 5, read some holiday stories and practiced their songs that they will sing at Friday's tree lighting at the OV Community Center.

We ended with snack and then it was time to head home.  Aside from the normal guy not listening to a word I said, and the teacher's annoying Christmas musical bells (they are awful and can go on for-ever if left on) it was a good day. 

I also get the pleasure of working next Monday, but Jen will be there to keep me company.  Then next Friday Santa is coming to class, can't wait to snap some photos! 

Old Fair Oaks Christmas...

Saturday we headed down to Old Fair Oaks for their Christmas in the Village celebration.  We were able to meet  some of our friends for an extra good time. 

We started off with a Winnie the Pooh show.  The players acted out 4/5 classic Pooh stories, the kids seamed to have a good time.

 Afterwards we walked over the square to see Santa and figure out where we were going to watch the parade.

 Mrs. Claus was a new addition this year...

 We found a nice spot and waited a bit for the parade to start, but before they knew it, the firetruck was rounding the corner to signal the beginning.  

 The parade was the same as it's been the last few years, lots of beauty queens, random groups, music and dancing girls. 

 We remembered to bring goody bags this year to collect treats...

 After the parade we went to watch the tree lighting and sing a few carols.  The rain decided to start making it's way back, so we only stayed a few minutes.

The best part was after when we all went to pizza.  The kids enjoyed getting together and it was fun to talk amongst the adults, including some of the husbands.  

The season is finally starting to kick in!

Sale at GBC!

Details here: http://goodbadcraftyblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/sale-sale-sale.html

Tyler Rides a 2-Wheeler!

So excited to get those training wheels off.  A video/pic montage.

Some Recycled Crafting...

Tuesday we headed over to Roseville to the Re.Create store for their open craft time.  For $5 an hour, you can use things from their bins to create what every you can imagine.  This works out well for rainy days.  There isn't a lot of guidance though, short of some crafts placed around, so you have to come with an openly crafty mind.  Some might think this is easy for me, but it's actually not, it can be a bit overwhelming. 

They had some really cool giant pine cones that we glued to foam circles to make a Christmas scene.  

 Cody looking for supplies...

 Tyler's finished tree...

 Cody's scene, complete with snowman...

Cody found these cool packing inserts and decided it could be a jet pack, he started it there and brought it home to finish.

 Measured some yarn to turn it into a backpack and he's been wearing it ever since.

 We saw these cute reindeer in the front window and decided to make one.  We glued it all together at the store and brought it home to paint and finish. 

 Adorable! 

The boys had fun and spent some time with friends in the process.  Success!

Wet Saturday Soccer...

Saturday was a very wet soccer day.  Keith and I reffed our final game with light spits of rain then we watched Cody's game after. It looked like it was clearing up for his game, but then in the middle it decided to sprinkle some more.  Cody's team was very light on players, as we only had 6 of the 13 show up for the final game.  So this meant lots of playing for all the kids, but they all did great! 

Kick off...

 He had lots of ball time...

 He played forward, goalie, defender and back to forward.  

Forward is his favorite as he gets to run more, but he did awesome back at defense. 

 Buddies...

 Favorite part of the game, snacks! 

I'm glad for the long season to be over so we can get a break, but I love the gab session with the moms as much as Cody loves to play.  See you next year! 

Tyler's Feast at Preschool

Tyler's preschool held a family feast the last day before Thanksgiving break.  It's a full spread lunch, preview to Thanksgiving dinner if you will. 

When we arrived for the feast the kids were outside listening to the story of the pilgrims. 

 Tyler's place marker he had made earlier in the week. 

 Tyler's feast was mostly fruit and cookies.  He's not a big fan of the Thanksgiving meal, and I didn't feel like wasting food that day. 

 We were all asked to sign up and bring something, so I picked dessert.  

I've been craving apple pie since I canned apples a few weeks ago, so this was an opportunity.  Instead of making a pie that would require cutting, serving and forks, I made minis in a muffing tin. 

They were awesome, and yes I'm totally tooting my own horn here.

This and That from the week...

Finally a moment to sit and breath! 

~Sunday, Cody decided he was going to organize his Lego's.  He's wanted to do this for some time now but we haven't had a chance to go through his boxes.  It took him a good portion of the day but he did a wonderful job! 

Sorting all his Lego's into colors...

 Which meant all this was emptied out...

 Leaving a project for Mom.  (Notice the not smooth flaps on the bottom of the boxes)

 So I found this in my stash...

 and fixed his boxes so they are more Lego friendly...

 The one set he was able to finish on  Sunday night. 

 So his job now is to built all his Lego sets so we can sort them back out into their own boxes.  Hopefully a certain 4 year old lets him finish his projects without too much issue!

~I've been doing a lot of PTA this week.  It was delivery day for our cookie dough and butter braid orders, joy!  It didn't go all that well, and I came home with way too much dough that hadn't been picked up.  Hoping to rectify some issue before the next fundraiser. 

~Christmas time is right around the corner and I've almost stopped panicking.  I think I have all the gifts planned out, and a bunch of stuff has been bought to follow through with these plans.  Doing a bunch of crafting that hopefully will be appreciated. 
I've also had to tell myself "no" this year.  I'm not doing a bazillion cookie bags/boxes for everyone we know.  It cost too much and I don't need the added stress.  So I'll design a simple Christmas card and have it printed at Walmart/Target. I'll put together small gifts and treats for the boys' teachers and a few poppy seed cakes for some very close friends.  
This is so hard for me not to do a bunch, especially because we'll be in Boise this Christmas.  Trying to think small and less stressful! 

~Tyler had his last soccer class this week.  He has loved this so much and is a good little player!  I can't wait to see what he does next year when he gets to play in the league. 

Skill review huddle....

 Goofing off after getting his jersey for scrimmage...

 And he's off! 

 He loved to tackle the ball, now we just need to get him to push it to the side instead of trying to go through the opponent. 

 Goal!

 and another! 

 Still cheering after every goal...

 Coach told him to stand to the side and ask for the pass, but to let the other boy take the ball down.  He did well at this, not rushing in to take the ball. 

 But when the opportunity came...

 He was excited about his new backpack. 

~Friday is Tyler's feast at school, more to come on that later...