Before Christmas Post

 

*Totally forgot to publish this!*  

I can't believe that Christmas is only a couple days away. It just feels strange. I'm done my shopping but I still have to wrap it all though. Dan did a Costco shop today and he said it was crazy busy. We had planned on going down to the States shopping today but we needed to get stuff done here. I thought that I'd clean Lexie's room today but I only got half way through it! I try to get her to help me which totally slows me down. Do you ever work your butt off and then it looks like nothing was done? That was totally today. Lexie's closet and drawers are tidy but the rest of her room is cluttered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Watching Santa come down the stairs.

 Decorating gingerbread people made by the students at Fleetwood Park Secondary. They were so tasty and had a nice soft/chewy texture.

 Olivia as a butterfly.

 Alexis as a cat.

 Alexis was an angel for her Christmas concert.

Olivia was a sugarplum fairy.

Breakfast with Santa #1

Yes, that's right. There will be 2 Breakfast with Santas. This first one was at my mom's work. The teacher chef and students made breakfast and it was really good! Their potatoes were really good. And their scones with currants were just like my Grandma's!!!! I had two even though I'm trying to lose weight. Still. That's an ongoing goal for me. I've got most of the girls gifts. The big girls have been easier, it's just Miss Cassidy we still have to get something for. She's asked Santa for a Princess Peach stuffy and a Princess Peach DS game. Check and check. One was from Hong Kong and one happened to be on Craigslist.

November

 

Things are going well. Nobody is sick- knock on wood! Our nanny is working out well. The girls seem to like her. Cassidy likes seeing her on Fridays when she drops off another girl at school. And I've had other parents tell me how good she is with the girls and that's comforting.
I'm thinking ahead to Christmas now. The girls have started to talk about what presents they want. Olivia still believes in Santa. I think it'll be Alexis who tells Olivia the truth about Santa.

Halloween is Over!!!!

I did not enjoy Halloween this year. There were moments when it was good. But it all started yesterday when I opened the door and let in all my little cuties. "Tomorrow is Halloween!" The first few times I was thinking, yes it is. The next few times I'm thinking okay, I got it. The next 382 times got really annoying and the final 450 times I was ready to throw myself down the front steps of my school. (The super steep ones) My students were very chatty and very excitable yesterday. The mistake I made? I tried to teach them. Math, reading and stuff. They were so random. I'd ask "What mental math strategy can I use when adding 8 + 8?" And I'd get answers like "My brother is going to be a vampire." Show and tell was a gong show too. Little M brings in a dog tooth and the buzz in the room but noticable. Then when she showed it- holy sh*t they went wild. She had to show it around the class 3 or 4 times. And you must know that this took like 10 minutes which in teacher minutes feels like 70 minutes. Today my class was actually much better behaved. That and I didn't really try to teach much. We spelled some Halloween words, we did planners and we did journals. The rest of the day was a dream for them- recess, costume parade, birthday book, lunch, buddies (hey Lianne if you're reading this- missed you today! how'd the scavenger hunt go? and are we still best buddy classes even though I love the Broncos but I will not be wearing a Broncs jersey on jersey day?) super fun Halloween stations with the other grade two classes (hey Alison Holmes do you still check Facebook?) and then PARTY TIME!!!! Oh by the way the question of the day was "When's the party?" How many ways are there to say at the end of the day??? Just one. I wish there were a way to say it and have my kids listen and remember. And one little dude, let's call him J, he must have asked that question 8 times. I love you J but stop asking me the same question. It's still at the end of the day.
I wore my pj's today. I'm pretty random too hey? Well, I don't have a costume and I was thinking how if I'm not going to wear my clothes I'd rather wear pj's. I found a kids book about a little girl who's trying to get ready for bed but her stuffed animals are wild. So I was a book character. In my pj's. With a stuffed bear and really cozy Old Navy socks. One of my special little friends says to me "You look kinda cute with your hair like that." (My hair was in pigtails) I said "I will take that as a compliment. Thanks!" But the best comment of the day was from one of my neighbor's students (that's you Alison!) I was giving the directions for a game and his hand is straight up in the air. He's one of those little monkeys who's name you quickly know. So I call on him. He says "I've heard....(insert dramatic pause) you're the best teacher. EVER." (Emphasis on EVER.) I almost peed myself! I said "Is that the rumour going on around outside?" He says "No, inside" Then some other kids chime in and say "Ya, I heard that too." OMG!!! That's the best rumour about me. EVER.
So I must also talk about my trick or treating experience but I'm exhausted. So I'll make it quick-ish. Me: dead tired, eyes glazing over, asking "Are you sure you want to go out in this horrible rain?"
Olivia- yes, yes, yes, trick or treating is the best,
Alexis- I'm putting on my costume over my school uniform and I'm not changing, crying, I'm not wearing a jacket, put my boots on,
Cassidy- no, no, no, I'm Princess Peach bumble bee, I don't like my jacket
So we eventually head out in the dark, rainy night. And it actually stops raining. I kinda enjoyed the next 30 or so minutes. The big girls ran ahead, it was slippery, I had to hold Cassidy's hand and her bag and my umbrella at the same time and Cassidy poked along but it was all good. Dan met us about 30 minutes into. Then Cassidy lost it- she wanted to eat the candy and started to melt down. Bedtime is always difficult but tonight was especially difficult. I'm so glad it's finally over.

Okay, so this is an old photo but I was a little stressed out and maybe a little PMS'ing tonight so getting the girls together for a photo was not in the cards. Plus, it was raining so hard and they didn't really wear costumes. Olivia wore cat ears, Lexie wore a pink poodle Old Navy fuzzy costume and Cassidy wore her snowpants with a dress over them and a raincoat with bumble bee antenna. Tomorrow we pack the costumes away so I will stage another dress up shot and call it Halloween 2012. Here are some past Hallween photos:

Miss Olivia as Eeyore when she was 7 months old.

Miss Olivia as Tinkerbell when she was 19 months old. Last time she'll be alone at Halloween.

Miss Olivia as a chicken- this is my favourite costume. Lexie was only 3 months old she was ummm...nothing? I think I may have had a cute bear sleeper. Who knows? I wasn't sleeping much then.

There's Miss Alexis! A pumpkin and a princess.

Alexis as Tinkerbell at just over 2 years old and Olivia as a peacock at 4 and a half. And there's Miss Cassidy in my tummy.

 Alexis and Olivia last year.

 Cassidy last year.

 More last year.

 Oh! There's a mommy sighting.

 Holy cow all 3 girls are together. In one place!!!

hello, here's an update in case you're wondering

So in case you're wondering, I did not do the Grind the following week. I was prepared to go to the gym but I just couldn't do the Grind again. Twice in one summer is enough.
Olivia is enjoying grade two. Her hearing is lower than normal and she just got a personal FM system. It's basically hearing aids but they're not specifically made for her so she takes them off for recess, gym, and lunch. She also has 2 boys in her class who have hearing aids so there's a hearing teacher who sees her. She's so excited b/c the kids who see the hearing teacher get to have a slurpee party each term. I also started a communication book with the teacher (you should see how pretty it is!) and I feel more in the loop this year.
Alexis is enjoying kindergarten. I was a bit worried at first b/c she cried on Thursdays and Fridays when she left me to go in. She didn't like that she had to go everyday. And then there was the time she told me "I hate kindergarten." My heart sunk. I asked her why and she said "B/c I miss all the fun." I thought she meant preschool and said "Oh you miss preschool!" but she said "No, I mean the fun with you and Cassidy." I was so relieved! "Lexie, Cassidy sleeps and I clean the kitchen!" She was relieved too.
Cassidy is enjoying life. She just enjoys being with her sisters. She's so interested in letters and tries to look for them everywhere. I'm always pointing out C for Cassidy. She's always pointing to letters and saying "for Cassidy!" with such pride. It doesn't matter which letter, they're all "for Cassidy"! She also really enjoys reading. Dan and I have been catching all 3 girls in Olivia's room reading. Each with their own book, lying on some blankets and pillows and cuddled up to some stuffed animal. We're almost seeing the "light at the end of the tunnel" with Cassidy. It's hard to describe but if you have kids you know what I mean. She's out of diapers (just pullups at night), she sleeps so well, and she's pretty independent. She dresses herself too and she does this several times a day. She'll find a dress and put it on saying "It's so pretty. It has a butterfly." Then not long later she'll come across another dress and get mad at the old dress "Take it off! I don't like butterfly dress! I want blue dress!" I'd say she goes through 6 dresses a day. I stopped helping her put them on but she figured it out all herself and doesn't need me for that anymore.
Work is good for me. I kept 15 kids from my class last year and I'm now teaching grade two. It's wonderful! I still have my share of monkeys but it's so much easier when they're monkeys you know. I have one little guy who says the funniest things. Like when I was reading a book and was tying it into being an author. I said "An author wrote this so well that someone published it and now people pay to read it." So B puts his hand up and asks "If it's so good why doesn't it have an award?" Then there was picture day and he tells me "I'm going to wear a tuxedo. If I don't have a tuxedo then I'm going to buy one." He cracks me up all day long!
My girls have started asking me "How many days until Halloween?" I can't believe that September is almost over!

How did that happen?

First off how did I just turn 38? And secondly, how on earth did I end up doing the Grouse Grind on my birthday? When Dan first asked me what I wanted to do on my birthday I said "I want a massage." Umm...so how in the heck did I end up doing the Grind I kept asking myself? If you watch Big Brother, you know Dan. Well, my Dan somehow ended up pulling a BB Dan. He did offer to buy me a lunch on the top and that's what I was really looking forward to. I'll be honest- I did not enjoy going up the Grind. It is so hard! I have not been sleeping well and hadn't slept well the night before, I had a pinch in my hip and I didn't eat enough before hand. But I was determined to beat my last time. I pushed myself when I really wanted to just stop and give up. My last time was 1 hr 19 mins and this time I did 1 hr 14 mins. That 5 minutes feels so good! When we get up to the top I hear other people talking about their times. "How long did we take?" one girl asks. "An hour and a half" said another girl. "Oh, we'll just tell people it was an hour." the first girl says. Then another girl asks her companion "How long?" and she says "An hour 25." I have to admit that I was super pumped when I looked and saw that they were all younger than me!!! THAT. FELT. GOOD. But actually I didn't really feel all that physically good afterwards. As I was waiting in line at the bathroom I felt dizzy and nauseous, and I had the beginnings of a headache. The headache lasted for hours but luckily the other stuff went away.
When we got to the restaurant with the amazing view:

(source: http://www.mdfeeds.com/2009/05/31/altitudes-bistro-north-vancouver-bc/)

it was closing for a private function! But that was okay. I had planned for that and packed some extra clothes in the van. We ended up going to Cactus Club in North Van. It was a lunch date just me and Dan and that was the best present. I had my favourite fish tacos while Dan had a Cajun chicken burger. We got a little shopping in at the Village at Park Royal and then went to Dan's parents to pick up the girls. Dan's mom had gotten me a chocolate cake that we all indulged in. YUM!
As we were waiting in line for the Gondola Dan says we can come back next week for his birthday. Wait- WHAT? Do the Grind again next week? Are you crazy? Stay tuned to see if Dan can pull that off. Right now I'm a firm NO but who knows?

Look who's going to kindergarten!

 

So Alexis started kindergarten this week. I have mixed feelings about it. First, she's only half a day. We're probably the only school left in the province that isn't full day. At first I was bitter- we pay the same price as full time students, she's so ready for full day and it can help parents with childcare. But I'm trying to be more positive about it and there are some good benefits. I get more time with her so that's the best benefit! But it also works out for our childcare. We are starting with a new nanny on Monday. It really benefits Cassidy to have Lexie with her. Alexis will then go to school in the afternoon and Cassidy will (fingers crossed!) nap. Naps are a whole other post I'll have to start on. Let's just say we're starting to have some issues.

Here are some photos of Alexis on her first day of kindergarten. With interviews on the first two days her first day landed on one of my days off.

 

 

 

 

Getting a quick neck squeeze in before going in.

 

Summer seems so long ago...

I'm tired. Exhausted and sleepy. I'm not sleeping well b/c my mind is full of all the things I want to do in my class and with the kids. I love my job and this time of the year is exciting. And scary- as in new students who come to us before their records do. The summer weather is still here but those lovely days that were so open to anything are done. Back are schedules and routines which is both good and bad.
 Here are some pictures from a trip to the beach at Stanley Park.

Playland in pictures

Someone was so close to going on rides without mommy! Next year she'll be going on with her big sisters.

Trying to take off her seatbelt!

 Me and Lexie on the log ride.

The big swing was Olivia and Lexie's favourite ride.

Me and Olivia on the Corkscrew Rollercoaster.