Christmas Eve Preparations...for Christmas morn

We baked gingerbread cookies for Santa and made him a glass of Christmas milk. We wrote a letter thanking in in advance for the things he may bring us and went to sleep, in hopes he would come.

Well, he did! And the kids were thrilled with their loot. Conversation with Leah Christmas day:

L: "Mom, I dust love my doll house that Santa gived me."

M: "You do? I'm so glad honey."

L: "Yeah, him made a good choice to me. He know I like doll houses."

Benjamin is officially a "big boy." He has been asking for a video game system since he was...well, probably about four years now (he envies his cousins--in a good way). So Santa thought he was probably ready for one. Although, Benjamin may have thought about his options if he knew it would fall into his 1-hour screen time limit. However, he's learning to deal with it and budgeting his time carefully. (Mom and Dad are enjoying Santa's choice, too!)

We cheated...

Well, today we received a Christmas package from Uncle Mark and Auntie Jenn. We had planned to hold any packages until Christmas day. However, in the midst of Christmas eve craziness, Rich and I decided to let them open Mark and Jenn's package in hopes there would be a new toy or two to keep them occupied until bedtime. Whew! It bought us a few more hours of sanity before bedtime. Can any of you parents relate? Benjamin has been asking for Risk for about a year and begged for it on his birthday 8 months ago (we told him maybe next year since it's age suggestion is 10years+). His only hopes were Uncle Mark...and (as always) he came through. Not to mention the dozen other gifts he was really excited about. Leah was thrilled to get some fancy pajamas (she' pretty easy to please) and this cute princess register (along with lots others--great job Auntie Jenn since I didn't give you much to go on!)
We'll check in tomorrow to share our Christmas morning fun. Merry Christmas!

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for loving and understanding friends and family that will not hold any grudges that their Christmas packages and cards are late! Thank you, thank you!



Oh and I am also thankful for James Taylor's Christmas Album!

Santa's Letters

Well, you will be happy to know that my children have mailed out their 2007 Christmas wish lists to Santa, and not a day too soon! We have been working on these for quite a while and they just kept on growing. Here they are mailing them in an official "Santa Mailbox" at the town square. They raised many questions about how the letters will get to the North Pole, what the mail carrier will do when he encounters a polar bear (we are currently studying Arctic and Antarctic animals), how Santa will keep track of all of the letters that he receives, whether or not he has a secretary, and if Santa is as smart as God...Oh dear! I really can't take this Santa thing much longer. Especially because I really can't keep track of what I tell them and Benjamin is questioning some of my discrepancies. It should only be a few more days of questions before they forget about how wonderful Santa is...until next year!

WordLESS Wednesday

Christmas Cookies with Ms. Kelly

Ms. Kelly invited us to bake Christmas cookies with her today and we had so much fun. The kids love traveling to the "Big City" (Nashville) and going to Ms. Kelly's house "that she doesn't share with her mom." --Apparently, she's pretty cool to live by herself--and she has a GREAT place off music row! (And poor Ms. Kelly always travels down to see us and we very seldom make the trek to her place.) So we baked several batches of sugar cookies and enjoyed lunch together. As they say down here in the south..."We love us some Ms. Kelly!"

Christmas card photo shoot

Conversation with self (evidently)...
Can I get just one good shot? Am I asking too much? Can you both stay still at the same time? Please, put your sister down. Please, leave your brother's hat alone. I can't focus when you move. Please take your fingers out of your nose. Look here...Look there...Is anyone listening? Am I just thinking these requests, or am I asking them of you? Is there a photographer around here that is less emotionally attached to this craziness that can find the humor in my monkeys? MAYBE I CAN GET JUST ONE SHOT THAT IS SALVAGEABLE FOR A CHRISTMAS LETTER!!! Maybe the Christmas letter doesn't need a photo. Maybe this blog will be enough. Maybe my friends and family can recognize the efforts that I have gone through to get ONE GOOD SHOT! Maybe...just maybe.

Although I didn't quite meet my goal for the day (a printable shot), we did have some fun attempting to do so.

Merry Christmas!

Another Thankful Thursday...

Well, if I post nothing but Thankful Thursdays, at least I'm focusing on all of the things for which I am thankful! I am thankful for my friends who so kindly remind me that I am an unfaithful blogger. :-) I am thankful for children's book authors (again) and scholastic warehouse sales! I am thankful for homeschool families with similar goals, ideals, and interests and whose company we enjoy! I am thankful for people who have led me to grace and have made a wonderfully positive impact in my life. But most I am thankful for my amazing husband and children, for I am honored to be their wife and mother.

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for the beautiful yellow leaves that cast a tranquil glow into my living room. It makes me smile every morning!

I love AUTUMN!

Word-less Wednesday (not an easy task for me)

Fall Fun!

Today we enjoyed some impromptu letterboxing with our new homeschool friends at the town square. Here are a couple of shots (more to come later).

Benjamin climbing a tree at civic plaza (How do you think Murf. Parks and Rec feels about that?)

Leah in her "curtain" (that's Leah vocab for kerchief).

Thankful Thursday

Thanks to my friend Misty for suggesting we take a few moments on Thursdays to post a few things for which we are Thankful.

This week, I am Thankful for:

• my husband who is unstoppable when he commits to something!
• my children that never cease to amaze me with the questions they pose to me daily.
• children's authors who excite children into reading their first chapter book ALL BY THEMSELVES! (Because sometimes their moms just can't convince them that they can.)
• new homeschooling friends that confirm your children will be just fine and you need not be "home school quirks" just because you home school!
• good girlfriends who put their busy lives aside and coordinate a girls night "just because" friends are important.
• my brother who finally proposed to his wonderful, patient girlfriend (and now still has to wait two more years before tying the knot and is content with that)!
• I woke up healthy this morning with the opportunity to BE THANKFUL!

????Question(s) of the week?????

Thanks to my new friend Brittney for this idea. And I may be jumping the gun on the week, because knowing my little ones, they are sure to top this by the week's end, but, for now...



(Last night while tucking Leah into bed...)

L: Mom, why you not wear your bert (bra) to bed? (Leah tends to make up her own words)

K: Do you mean my bra? Well, its not very comfortable to sleep in.

____________________________________________________

(this morning at 5:15 as she peels my eyelids open and is sitting on my chest...)

L: Mom, why you not wear your glasses to bed?

K: Well, my eyes are closed at night and I don't need to see.

L: Oh, your eyes not work too well?

K: Yep (obviously we have had this conversation about why people wear glasses several times)

L: Dat da way God made you, right?

K: Yes, that's how God made me.

L: When you die, you will bring your glasses to heaven, right?

K: No, honey, I won't need my glasses in heaven. Everything is just perfect up in heaven and works just perfectly.

L: Oh, (long pause) so you not need your bert (bra) in heaven, too, right? Cuz your bweast will be perfect in heaven, right?

K: That's right, Leah. Breasts are perfect in heaven, too.

(and you're too precious to remind you why ladies wear bras vs. why we wear glasses. Evidently, in her barely four-year-old mind, its because they don't work well! But AMEN to perfect bweast in heaven!)

A cake for a princess!

Leah has been eyeing this princess cake for a while. And although I briefly thought about making her one, I just needed to look at the pictures of Benjamin's first birthday (those of you who have known me since then--you may remember this; those of you who haven't can probably imagine this). I was young and creative and had been planning his first birthday for many months. It was a beach party theme ( I was sooooo against "character" birthdays back then). I had this vision of a sand castle cake. How hard can cake-making be? Hmmmm. It looked more like a sand pile and much of the cake, or cake crumbs ended up in a sand dump truck and sand bucket to be served to my guest and less-than-kind brothers who had lots of fun with my creative ideas that never quite materialized. I guess you now understand why Leah has a "character" cake and we just LOVED it.

The house was filled with Princesses and manly-men to carry them off to far away places. We had a princess riding a unicorn, Snow-white, Tinkerbell, Little Mermaid, a Lady bug, a doctor (McDreamy to be exact), a Vampire, Spiderman, Obi-Kenobi, a ninja, a pirate, and Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat. Thank you for bringing your little ones to join Leah for her special day!

Happy Birthday Little Princess!

Dear Mastercard Advertisement Department,

OK, so I like crafty commercials (see Southwest post below). I thought this would make a great Mastercard commercial. I'm sure all of my mommy friends out there have several "priceless" moments of their own that would make wonderful commercials, as well. Here's mine:


One American-made shiny, or not so shiny coin: $.10, or maybe $.01, or maybe $.05, but probably not $.25.

One visit to Pediatrician: $25 on Mastercard

One set of cool e-rays confirming 4-year-old's confession: 100% covered after insurance co-pay on Mastercard.

One box of latex gloves: $7 on Mastercard

Examining every stool sample from your four-year-old daughter until said American-made coin is discovered: PRICELESS!

I fallowed a penny...

So Leah ran interrupted my only mama time throughout the day (on the toilet-which I might not inform my readers of this detail if there wasn't a certain amount of irony) and through tears and sheer panic confessed, "I fallowed a penny."

After a moment of panic, respiratory check, and a hug, we made our way to the coin line up. Let's face it, when were talking petite four-year-old internal parts, the size of the "penny" is important. The "Line-Up"

So, good news: said swallowed coin was identified as a ten-cent penny and not a one-cent penny. Remember, in this case, size does matter. It could be the difference between passing a coin painlessly and surgical extraction!

After a trip to Dr. Humphrey (second one in a week for an injury), he recommend we wait for it to pass. However, he noted, I would have to inspect bowel movements to be sure it passes.

***Conscious thought while walking out of Dr. office--no big deal, I don't mind poop, I have seen a good amount of poop in my lifetime, I like poop talk, in fact, many would say I have a healthy obsession with poop, I don't poop often, but when I do, I enjoy it, I have changed many poopy diapers, I have smelled many stinky poops, how bad can inspecting poop be? I am a mom, I can do this with ease!***

However, this turned out to be one of the most degrading and disgusting things I've ever done, as a mom, a teacher, a wife and otherwise. There is something about squishing human poop between your gloved hands that is wrong on many levels. Luckily, she doesn't poop often, and it only took 3 BMs to find the troublesome coin.

This is not the coin, and I've gone into enough gory detail today, but lets just say...it was not photo-worthy.

Just look at that pride! And during a reminder discussion about things we eat, Leah reminded me that she "didn't eat dat penny, [she] dust fallowed it." Of course, one couldn't chew, swallow and digest a coin as defined by "eating."

A Day in the Life of the Daniellos is always exciting!

The Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY

Benjamin and Leah have just wrapped up a study on dinosaurs (again), it seems to be a favorite in our house. But some new questions have been posed about when God created the dinosaurs since we are often only fed the evolutionary theory that dinosaurs existed 250 million years ago and did not coexist with humans. So, in search of our answers we stumbled upon The Creation Museum. Our friends, Ella, Carly, and mom, Kristi joined us for the weekend trek.

The Museum was great. However, it truly deserved several more hours (without children) to grasp all of the information. Here are just a few photos we were able to get. I was so overwhelmed with the exhibits and information, that I forgot to take my camera back out after this first exhibit.



The campground at which we stayed, The Little Farm on the River, in Rising Sun, IN was right on the Ohio River. It also had its BIG Halloween Festival complete with haunted house and TRICK-or-TREATING! Yippee! (photos coming soon)

Fall Creek Falls State Park, Pikeville, TN--Take 2

We have found our new favorite state park and promise to visit often. There are beautiful trails and hikes to the falls. We ventured on one to the bottom of the main falls. Although it was only .4 miles, it was a fairly difficult trail (rocky and steep) for a three-year-old. Leah was quite a trooper and is coming into her own. Benjamin commented on the incline back that he didn't remember it being as steep on the way down! We got some good shots, here are some that show off the trail.

Want to get away?

Dear Southwest Airlines,
I have an idea for a new AD to compliment the embarrassing moments you use for your airline. Unfortunately, it was a real-life moment for me. I've always tried to take the honest route when my children ask questions trying to judge how MUCH information is appropriate for the age/cognitive ability, etc. and answer matter-of-fact-ly. More times than I care to count, that approach has come back to bite me...sometimes harder than others. Here is a recent conversation with my six-year-old while we were adding movies to our list on Netflix.

B: Mom, can I have get (insert any superhero or big kid movie title here)?
M: No, that's for teenagers, see its rated PG-13.
B: So which movies can I get?
M: Well, any movie that's rated G and some that are PG.
B: What does that mean? Who made up those ratings? What are all the ratings?
M: (After a carefully thought out explanation, I ended with) They are NR, G, PG, PG-13, R, and X.
He appeared content with that answer and we finished choosing our movies.

Several days later at the LaVergne Public Library...
We enjoyed a fun storytime that concluded with a tour of the library. We left the children's dept. and followed the librarian and about 30 other homeschooled children and parents to the reference section. She proceeded to explain to the children that the videos in the children's dept are all rated G, all other videos are house here. My very diligent and curious son raised his hand and asked: Excuse me, Ms. Lorna, is this where the X-rated movies are kept?
She quickly noted that they didn't have those movies here while shooting me a look.

So, I have since reevaluated my honestly policy and have convinced my son that he misunderstood me and there is no such things as the X rating!

Sincerely,
in need of a get-away,
Ms. Foolish Mouth

Dear Ms. Foolish mouth,
We're too embarrassed for you to even use your AD idea. We do have an idea for you, though, keep your mouth closed!

Sincerely,
Southwest Airlines

Newest Website Find

So, I have been searching for Children's Audio Books for the children to listen to while traveling. I have been able to find several books at Libraries that I have, well, pirated. And since I am a frugal mom, over the years I have also recorded my own "Mommy Version" our favorite picture books onto cassette (how old school). However, I have been looking for professionally recorded stories in MP3 format for their MP3 players (Benjamin believes it to be an iPod...we won't tell him its a $20 Wal-martPod). I'm rambling...
Anyhow, I found this web site that has FREE Audio stories to be downloaded. Many of them are fairy tales and a series by the Web author (they don't appear to be published in hard copy). So, unfortunately, we won't have the book with which to follow along. But there are lots of choices, including some favorite Bible Stories.
Just thought my mommy friends might be interested. Even if you're not, lie to me!
Click here to link to storynory.com

Fall Creek Falls State Park, Pikeville, TN

Today we went hiking at Fall Creek Falls, a beautiful state park about 2 hours from home. We got some great photos. Here's my favorite of the day taken of Benjamin walking across a suspension bridge that spans the falls. More photos to come tomorrow.

Kara

Hershey Park, Hershey, PA

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't have one photo of our Hershey Park adventure. Unfortunately, I didn't have my fifth hand to carry a camera to chronicle our events. One of my dearest friends, Talia (from college), joined us and now understands why she doesn't have children yet! However, she did take some pics for us and we'll get those when she's over the shock of spending three days on the road with a long, lost friend and two children. None-the-less, we had a great time. Benjamin and Leah experienced their first rollercoaster--The Trailblazer! (I did find a photo of someone else's Hershey Park Trailblazer experience, though!) After an hour of patient, or not-so-patient waiting, the 1 minute and 15 second ride was well worth the wait!

YeeHaw for James Taylor

Most of you know how much I like James Taylor. And some of you are amazed how poorly I know the words to his songs despite them being my favorite! Still others are amazed at how surprising it is that he hasn't called me to sing back up for him considering how great I sound The rest of you question why he has not sued me for making a mockery of his music!

Despite all of that, he still allowed me into his concert! My parents, my oldest brother, Craig, my Aunt Ginny, and my good college friend, Talia joined in fun. We drove the RV to Portland, Maine for his show: "One Man Band." He was accompanies by only a pianist and the concert was incredibly intimate (despite the 10,000 other fans). We didn't get a photo of us all together, but here I am with my parents and Talia.

Absolutely, one of the highlights of our trip (for the kids, too, they got to have a long awaited slumber party at Uncle Mark and Auntie Jen's)!

Just a preview...

Without taking away from the Bride and Groom...

Are they the most gorgeous "Princess" and "King" (self-proclaimed) you've ever seen?

More photos of the wedding to come soon.

Barrington Baptist Church, Barrington, RI

So here's a little back ground:

My Dad and the Brogan family--brother's, sister's, father, uncles, and children (including me) are infamous for pushing the needle to E before filling up their tanks. However, more times than one would like to count, they have lost that game (yes, including me).

So, while we were in Rehoboth I ran my generator to start the Air Conditioner for a bit (one of the few nights we actually needed it up North). For an unknown reason, the generator died and wouldn't re-start. We fiddled and poked all the known possibilities with no success. Several days later, we drove it to my Dad's work so that he could look at it with me. After a brief decoding of the user's manual, we solved the problem: GAS! Evidently, if the truck's tank is below 1/4 tank, the generator can not run! Well now, isn't that a Brogan thing!

While we were visiting, Dad encouraged the children (although they didn't need much) to drive his work cart. Needless-to-say, they're pretty convinced they can drive anything now!

New England Aquarium, Boston, MA

We had the pleasure of visiting one of my favorite Boston attractions: The New England Aquarium. When I was a private teacher for a family in Newton, MA, we visited the aquarium nearly every week, and as a result, I became quite fond of the penguins. Today, we visited the aquarium with Rich's parents and his brother and his family. The children really enjoyed the sea animals especially the sea turtles, the sharks, and the sea star "petting" tank.

Rehoboth, MA

From New Hampshire, we travel back south to Rehoboth, MA to visit with some old friends: The Louro's. Leslie and I became very good friends when her husband (Greg) and Rich were in Bosnia together in 1997 (what seems like a life-time ago). During that difficult time, we played important roles in each other's lives and continued to over the years to follow. We have watched their children grow into amazing teenagers and I'm proud of what they have become.

We spent some time by the pool, relaxed by a campfire, talked until early hours of the morning, caught a movie (Ratatouille), ate great food :) and truly enjoyed their company. Despite a few mishaps--bee stings, scraped knees, failed generators, a broken oak dining chair, dog bites...it was a wonderful visit.

I'm embarrassed to say that we didn't take any photos. And the morning we were leaving, when I finally realized we didn't have any photographic memories, they refused to indulge me in a family just-rolled-out-of-bed photo for our blog and scrapbook. (Can't say I blame them.)

Lake Winnipesaukee, Gilford, NH

We spent a nice long weekend with Rich's sister, Renee and her family, Dennis, Amanda, and David at their home in NH. The rest of Rich's family (local) was there and the children were thrilled to spend time with their cousins. We spent two days at the Gilford town beach on Lake Winnipesaukee, took a hike in the woods, did some letterboxing, visited Kellehaus Ice Cream Shoppe for make-your-own-sundaes, among many other things (including fishing for dead fish on the beach).

Let's all admit it: Every great trip deserves an evening in the Emergency Room! Apparently when we were letterboxing on Cape Cod, Benjamin discovered some poison--of some sort. Several days later while in NH, it spread into his eyes and was easily irritated by the heat. The ER doctors weren't too concerned with the type of poison--evidently they treat them the same--with a few doses of Prednisone, benadryl, and good ol'fashioned calamine lotion. He's a shot of my trooper and me in the ER taken with Nana's cell phone.

Demerest Llyod State Park, Dartmouth, MA

One thing we do miss living down south (along with family and friends) is the ocean. We've been trying to spend a good amount of time at the beach while we're here. We enjoyed a wonderful day with the "girls" (a group of high school friends with whom I share a unique bond) and their children. (You can see a group photo in our March '07 post.) Unfortunately, I wasn't insightful enough to bring a camera, much less take a photo of all the children together. --Thanks to Meg for these photos.--

Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA

Uncle Eric took us to the USS Massachusetts docked at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA. the children loved climbing aboard and exploring the ships. Eric spent some time on an Aircraft carrier while in the Marines, so was able to share some first-hand information with us along the way. The ships were hot and tight and Benjamin decided early on that he preferred to be on the decks, seen here with Eric. Here's a shot of Leah climbing over a "knee-banger" in the submarine

Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA

Our quest to visit zoos across the country took us to an old favorite, Buttonwood Zoo in New Bedford, MA. Benjamin and I used to frequent this zoo for the first three years of his life. Leah was thrilled to hear that she visited it while "in my belly."

We were fortunate enough to witness Emily, the elephant, have a BM, at which time, Benjamin shook his head and muttered, "How embarrassing!" Leah's favorite were the Harbor Seals, Benjamin's, the Black Bears.

Cape Cod, Cotuit, MA

My Godmother, "Aunt" Barbara, moved to Cotuit, MA on Cape Cod several years ago with her daughter Jane and family. We were able to spend a wonderful afternoon with them which included lunch, letterboxing, and ice cream. Incidentally, I think we have hooked another family into letterboxing. Benjamin and Leah had a blast with their new "cousins" and have asked several times since when they can visit with them again. Here are a few shots on the beach (digging for hermit crabs)

Success!

And some good ol'fashioned playtime in the yard: