Buddies

I'm sure I've said it before that Michayla is one of Winston's favorite people. He was excited about the rare opportunity to go into her room and lay down on her bed. I think she enjoyed his visit too. 

Gymnastics Guest

Michayla went with me to pick Maelle up from gymnastics. I hadn't realized that Michayla had never been to one of Maelle's gymnastics practices before. Maelle was so happy that Michayla was there and so proud to show her skills. She has been working really hard to get to level 4. She has he first meet of the season on December 10th. We are all anxious to see how much she's grown as a gymnast. 

FAME Team

I had another great evening with this awesome group of teachers and women. We met downtown and talked about teaching and assessment. I really enjoyed getting to know each of them even better. It is always refreshing and inspiring to hang out with these ladies. 

Because Science

Our new favorite show is Because Science. The kids have to stay up past their bedtime to watch it, but it's so interesting, it's worth it. The last one we watched was about putting fake memories into people. Fascinating! We also watched one about air getting sucked out of the earth's atmosphere through a portal and how long it would take for all of the air to get sucked through. Anyway, it's a good show. 

Solitaire (Sort Of)

While shopping for family games on Black Friday, I bought a four pack of playing cards on a whim. Benny promptly took one to carry around in his pocket for doing magic tricks. We opened another one and Maelle asked if you can play that solitaire game from the computer (phone) with those things. Chris showed her how to set it up and away she went. Tonight we opened the other two decks and all played Solitaire together. Michayla used one of her decks so all five of us could play. Maelle and Michayla both ended up winning. It was fun!

Turkey Sliders

Benny really wanted to have turkey sliders for supper tonight. We stopped at Busch's to get buns and then went home to pull out the leftovers and make them. I think they were a big hit. I opted for a traditional turkey leftover feast. It was delicious again. I'm sure we'll get sick of turkey at some point, but not yet. 

Black Friday

As is our tradition, my friend Rebecca and I braved the crowds for some Black Friday deals. We didn't leave until about 7:30 AM when the real Black Friday diehards were likely already done shopping and hopefully snug in their beds. We also went out for lunch at Red Lobster, another tradition. I think I am just about done with my Christmas shopping, so that's good. It was a fun way to spend the day with a good friend. 

Turkey Day

We had an amazing Thanksgiving. I guess it's because we have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful every day for my wonderful family and for our health and happiness. Just being together with them today playing games and laughing would have been enough. On top of that we had a feast fit for a king. Literally the drumsticks on this turkey were something out of King Arthur's castle. We are so thankful for this life that allowed us to grow our own 30 pound turkey. It was delicious. We are also thankful for all of our family and friends. We hope you had a blessed day too! 

Ready

Today I had to go out and do the last minute Thanksgiving grocery shopping. Me and everyone else on the planet. Thankfully I was able to find everything we need for the big day. The only problem is that at about 5:00 we realized that our turkey is way too big for our roasting pan. Chris had to go back to Adrian to look at every single possible store. He finally found a pan that is long enough at Big Lots. We are so excited for our home grown turkey feast and our family day tomorrow. Now for some sleep. 

Conferences

Chris and I went to the kids' parent-teacher conferences tonight. Everything is going well for both of them. They both love school and are doing well in all areas. Benny needs to focus a bit more on the task at hand (instead of reading all the time) and Maelle will be happy to know that she is going to get more challenging math to work on. We are very proud of both of them. 

Wonder

I got to go with Maelle and her class to see the much anticipated movie, Wonder, today. Wonder is based on one of my favorite books. The movie was excellent and very true to the book. I do recommend that anyone going to see it takes tissues. It is happy and sad and heartwarming and inspiring. Maelle and I both loved it. We will have to take the boys to see it over Thanksgiving break. 

My Little Pirate

Well, the play is over. Four weeks. Five shows. 120 kids. One amazing production! Today was the final run and the cast party. Maelle is exhausted (but she would never admit that). I'm sure 120 kids and all the grown ups who made the show possible will be sleeping well tonight. 

Pirates Past Noon

Today was the day! Maelle and the cast did an amazing job performing Magic Treehouse: Pirates Past Noon. I am so in awe of the adults and kids who worked so hard to put on an amazing show. It was absolutely fantastic. One more show tomorrow and then for some much deserved rest for everyone involved. 

Dress Rehearsal

The cast had dress rehearsal last night and two matinees today for the Compass kids. I wasn't able to be there today, but Maelle said it went great. I was there last night because I volunteered to help decorate the lobby and hang artwork in the theater. I was busy, but I did get a sneak peek. The cast and crew have worked so hard. They are going to put on an amazing show. I can't wait to sit in the audience tomorrow and cheer everyone on. Here is a picture of Maelle with her pirate ship artwork in the lobby of the TCA. Can't wait until tomorrow!

Baby's Hat

Maelle has been working on knitting a hat for her baby cousin, Elsbeth. She finally finished it this morning. She took it off the loom and found that it is much smaller than she thought it would be and that it would be more suited for Baby. So here it is, Baby's new hat. I think Maelle is going to use one of the bigger looms to make Elsbeth a hat. 

"Welcome"

My very good friend Stephanie is so talented. She makes these beautiful "welcome" signs and other rustic artsy creations. Her brand is Perfectly Imperfect by Stephanie. When I saw the one with the bee on it I was in love. Since she now lives in Texas she offered to ship it to me. It arrived yesterday (but Chris didn't tell me) and I found it in the garage as I was leaving for work this morning. I opened it up and I LOVE it! Thank you, Steph! I love having a little piece of you back in my life every day. I miss you! 

Doing Dishes

Well, our dishwasher doesn't seem to want to wash dishes anymore, so Chris and I were the dishwashers tonight. We are not yet sure if this is a fixable problem or a buy-a-new dishwasher problem. Fingers crossed it's the former. In the meantime we will be washing the dishes by hand. (I know, first world problem.)

Laundry Dog

Yesterday we had to catch up on folding a lot of laundry. I piled it on my bed and sat didn't to start folding. The next thing I knew, Winston jumped up on the bed and sat down right in the middle of it all. He looked pretty cozy. He may have added a little more dog hair, but what's a little dog hair, more or less. 

Piglet

We have someone interested in buying one of our IPP boars. Here is a picture of Chris holding him. He is about six weeks old. Such a cutie! 

Harry and Alex

Maelle, Michayla, and I drove to Medina today to celebrate Harry's 12th birthday and to see Alex in Seussical the Musical. It was a lot of fun. We then drove home, arriving after midnight. Thankfully I was able to take about a two hour nap this afternoon. This is way too many late nights in a row for me. 

Girls' Night Out

Tonight I went out with some of the old Herrick Park crew. We drove to Detroit and ate at The Gray Ghost. It was delicious. Then we took an Uber to the Masonic Temple to see comedian, Eddie B. He's a teacher and a comedian. All of his jokes were about teaching. He was pretty funny. It was a great evening out with a great group of teachers. 

Grilled Peanut Butter

A couple days ago, someone mentioned making grilled peanut butter sandwiches. I thought that sounded like an excellent idea. I had never tried such deliciousness. Until tonight when I made one. It was super fabulously good. I will definitely add it to my smorgasbord list. Looking forward to the next time I can have one. 

Friend or Foe

Winston was very interested in the box elder bug on the wall in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure he wanted to eat it, but he may have wanted to just play with it. Shorty after this picture was taken, Benny took the poor big outside, but not before trying to put it on Winston's nose. 

FAME

This year one of my roles is FAME Coach. That means I get to work with a great group of teachers to increase our knowledge of and application of meaningful formative assessment in the classroom. Nought we had our meeting at Danley's Country House. It was delicious and productive. I really enjoy working with these dedicated teachers. 

New Shirt

Maelle got her Pirates Past Noon shirt at play practice today. It is so cute, and she was so proud to show all of us. Less than two weeks until the show!

Saint Museum

Benny and his Sunday School-mates put on a Saint Museum today in honor of All Saints Day this week. Benny was St. Michael the Archangel. When we pressed a button, he began telling us all the facts he had learned about St. Michael. He did a great job! My favorite line (that I'm sure was off-script) was, "And I have a sword." (Which he did.) it made me laugh. 

Yahtzee

We went out to supper at Tecumseh Brewing Company tonight. We started playing a family game of Yahtzee, but our food came and we had to stop. We decided we would take our score sheet home and finish our game, which we did. It was a fun evening with Chris and the kids. (We will have to take Michayla to TBC before she leaves.)

Gancho

Gancho is Maelle's gymnastics coach. She has been going to his gym since she was in first grade. I've seen her grow and improve so much. What is great is how much she loves gymnastics. We are thankful for Gancho and all his coaching and guidance. 

Memories

Michayla spotted this plaque in the Siena Heights field house today, snapped this picture, and texted it to me. It is Chris's Cross Country team from 1995. That was about a year after Chris and I met. His team was inducted into the SHU Hall of Fame in 2005. It's hard to believe this picture was taken 22 years ago. Such great memories!

Dictionary Game

Both of my kids (and many others in the district) have received a dictionary from our local Kiwanis Club in third grade. Maelle just received hers last week. This sparked something in Benny, and he brought his down from his room. We have been playing the Dictionary Game. Benny or Maelle will call out a beginning letter and then read the definition of a word that starts with that letter. The rest of us have to guess the word. This is actually a very fun game. Today We played it for a while before I had to start doing some things in the kitchen. Benny and Maelle continued to play. At one point I heard Benny say, "I love words!" Who knew a free dictionary could spark such love? Thanks, Kiwanis!