We had a break from the heat & humidity, so I took the boys out on the driveway to paint their chairs. We designated a tshirt and shorts for each of them as their new “paint clothes” and they took it from there. Nolan chose to use multiple colors and cover his entire chair, while Lincoln kept going back to his trusty red 🙂 Once they were done, we placed their handprints on the seats as a reminder of whose chair is whose. Up next…the table.
Nolan had a preschool assignment that entailed my writing about what makes him a “good egg” and then he was supposed to color the egg. Since Lincoln always needs to do what his big brother is doing, I found an Easter picture for him to color too.
My mom sent home St. Patrick’s Day goodies for the boys which included window gel clings and cupcake decorations. The boys love decorating the windows for the various holidays. They decorate and then redecorate and then redecorate again. It gets to the point where Jake and I have to put the window decor far enough out of reach so the windows get a break every once in a while.
What preschool year would be complete without a Valentine’s Day card & candy exchange? Nolan’s “homework” for the event was to decorate a box for his notes & treats. I glued construction paper to a shoebox and let the boys sticker it up. Lincoln, of course, had to lend a hand.
Last year I made the mistake of pointing out to Nolan that the garbage man was taking our Christmas tree away (as the man was tossing the tree into the back of the truck.) Apparently this was the wrong thing to do; clearly a rookie mistake. I felt horrible! He was incredibly saddened by the event and talked about it for months. I’m not exaggerating. It was summer and the little guy was still talking about how the garbage man took the tree but we’d get a new one next Christmas.
This year, we’re trying something different. We started talking about taking the tree down several days before we actually did. We also had the boys “help” us take the ornaments and lights off. Now the tree is sitting out front in the snow waiting for the garbage truck to arrive in the morning. I think I may strategically plan a visit to the gym that coincides with the tree pick-up. Once he realizes it’s gone when we return home, I’m hoping his reaction is that he continues to tell us that the garbage man will be taking the tree away to give it to other people who need a tree. After all, that’s what we’ve told him happens when we donate items from the house that we no longer need. Why wouldn’t the tree go to someone else too?
On a completely unrelated note, this is what happens when you forget to put away the paper towel roll that you were using to pad ornaments as you packed them away. Lesson learned.
The temps rose into the mid 20’s today, so we took advantage of the balmy weather and sun and headed out back to do a little shoveling & playing. The snow was perfect – light & fluffy and easy for the kids to maneuver through with their snow gear & boots on. Nolan helped me clear off the patio and Lincoln assisted with brushing off the wood bins on the deck. They were both my little helpers this afternoon. Nolan asked me to get thee sled out of the shed and he was nice enough to pull his little brother around the yard. It was pretty funny to watch! There were several times I thought Lincoln was going to tumble out, but he hung on! Once Nolan was tired from pulling, I had Nolan jump in the sled and I took them around the yard. We drove Maverick nuts as we made a figure eight path.
I bribed the kids this afternoon. I told them we could finish decorating the gingerbread house we assembled this morning IF they took naps. For Nolan, he not only had to take a nap, but not get out of bed (at all.) It worked! Both of them crashed for a good chunk of the afternoon, which really isn’t surprising since we spent about 45 minutes or so out in the cold right before they went to sleep. I loaded the gingerbread with frosting and let the kids add the candies. Lincoln actually ate more than he added to the house – at least the gumdrops he was eating were miniature 🙂 Nolan really got into the project. It was a good way for him to have fun while practicing his counting.
The kids both got haircuts yesterday. Nolan’s was long overdue. I think his last one was mid-October, right before my mom has shoulder surgery. I took the scissors into my own hands and snipped Lincoln’s hair in about 4 places before calling it good. Nolan’s took a bit longer because it is so thick and curly, but he sat so well for me. My past attempts at cutting his hair have not gone well. Maybe the practice he’s had sitting still for my mom has rubbed off.
Tonight, as an incentive to finish dinner, I told the boys we’d drive around and look at Christmas lights. Their eyes lit up and they gobbled up the food on their plates. I loaded them into the suburban and off we went. Every year, there is one house that is the fan favorite by a landslide. We even have to drive by it during the day because Nolan and Lincoln both like looking at the display. Lights on or off, it’s apparently exciting either way.
We made an Advent chain with the boys tonight. I cut strips of purple and pink construction paper and had the kids help staple the ends together to create a chain. Then they decorated the paper rings with stickers. I don’t know if they totally understand the concept of counting down to Christmas, but I know they enjoyed creating the chain itself. They also really had fun running back and forth under the rings after Jake hung the chain from the ceiling in the porch.
Wednesday night we had to scrounge up some pj’s for Nolan. I was a tad behind on laundry, so his “normal” pajamas were still in the dirty laundry pile. We made due with sport pants and a Twins shirt. Not to be left out, Lincoln “requested” a t-shirt of his own. Actually, he requested one of Nolan’s and we put it over his sleeper. He was SO proud of the fact that he was wearing the Corn Dog shirt. It’s a Sheck boy favorite.
Thursday was Thanksgiving Day. Nolan and I worked on a special project Wednesday afternoon & Thursday morning. We made turkeys using an outline of his hand and finger paint prints of his fingers. He had a lot of fun gluing on the beaks, “gobblers,” googly-eyes, and feathers. After the glue dried, I had him decorate the place settings at the table. He was pretty proud!
We hosted my family and our friends Teri & Nate for Thanksgiving dinner. My parents brought the main course (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing & gravy,) I put together a couple of side dishes (the token green bean casserole and squash & apple dish I made a couple of weeks ago,) Tony brought fruit salad, and Teri made two delicious desserts. We dined with a couple of pilgrims who gobbled up the food on their plates like old Turkey Day pros. It was really nice to spend the day with family.
Can you tell they’re brothers? Lincoln has started smiling the way his big brother does. Both of them really know how to ham it up for the camera.
After Thanksgiving dinner I made the mistake of drinking two cups of coffee (with lots of flavored creamer.) The kids went to bed at 7 & 9. Jake did the same around midnight or so and I was up until 3AM! When I laid my head down at 3, I laid awake for another hour. It was ridiculous. I don’t know what I was thinking putting that much caffeine into my body so late in the day. Lesson learned…the hard way.
Friday we spent some time at Larissa’s apartment. She had a group of us over to swim in her pool. It was a tad on the chilly side, so we didn’t stay in the water long. We gave the boys a warm bath to raise their body temps and then had pizza for lunch followed by ice cream sundaes. Yum! Jake then took the kids home for a nap while I went in to the office for a few hours. When I got home, we put the kids to bed and went out in the porch for a while. Not much was on TV on Friday night; somehow we ended up on QVC. I ended up making my first purchase thanks to the TV pitchpeople. (I didn’t call in though – I made the purchase online.) I’ve been looking for sleeping bags for the boys’ Santa presents and found the perfect ones on QVC. Who would have thought? And not only are they sleeping bags, but they’re sleeping bags with cots! So as the boys get bigger and we’re able to bring the cots with when we travel, the kids won’t have to make camp on the hard (and nasty) hotel floor. Thanks QVC!
On Saturday we made the annual trip to Menards to pick up our Christmas tree. We thought about going to a tree farm to cut one down this year, but I think we’ll wait a bit longer before we go on that adventure. At this point, the kids are more excited about just getting the tree inside the house and decorating it. Down the road when they’re able to enjoy seeking out the “perfect” tree, we’ll head to the tree farm. Until then, Menards will bring the tree selection to us. We convinced the kids to take a nap after we got the tree home, telling them we’d decorate it if they napped. It worked perfectly. We all got some much needed sleep and then later in the evening, enjoyed hanging lights and decorations. We put the tree in the porch so little fingers can’t get to it unless they’re monitored. Thanks to the former owners of our house, some of the outlets in the porch are on a switch that is in the toy room. So even though they can’t get up close to the tree without mom or dad, the boys can turn the lights on and off by themselves – it’s perfect.
Having two little boys in the house means we build a lot of forts. Sunday afternoon was no different. The card table we used on Thursday was still in the living room, so we covered it with a sheet and then placed the kids’ hut next to it to extend the width of the fort. Jake crawled in to see if he would fit. 😉 His feet stuck out one end and his head peered out the other. Being the helpful toddler, Lincoln checked on his daddy and then proceeded to try to rescue him by pulling on Jake’s head.
