It's All in the Marketing?

On Sunday we went to Borders to grab a "treat" at the coffee shop and do some last minute Christmas Shopping. We love going there on cold winter mornings because we can look around, the boys can get excited about what books they want and we can go get a coffee and a treat at the cafe!

As we were getting ready I said to Sam that he had to hurry up because we were going to Borders.

He said, "I don't want to go! You know WHY it's called BORDERS? Because it's BORING!"

Then later on in the car he said, "You know they shouldn't call it Borders because people will think it's boring. They should call it 'FUNNERS' because it's FUN!"

Perhaps we should let Borders customer service know.

Christmas Parade

Two weeks ago we had the annual Santa Parade in down town Kennesaw.

Because Josh is a Cub Scout he and Rich got to walk in the Parade. The Cub Scouts had a float this year and the boys made some ornaments for it at one of Josh's Cub Scout den meetings. Here they are showing them off...





We love this parade and go every year! The last few years have been warm and beautiful. This year was FREEZING!

Sam and I froze on the side watching (but we still had fun)!




And here are Josh and Rich walking in the parade. See if you can spot Josh carrying the banner!






And the Cub Scout float....


I am catching up! I am I am! Today the boys and I went to the Tellus Science museum just up the road and then we came home to make Magic Reindeer food. We're all in Christmas mood now and so excited!

Sam's Christmas Pageant

Wow! Five Days to GO!!!

The boys are both off on Christmas break now. All the Christmas shopping is done and I'm left with a pile of presents to wrap!

Sam had his school Christmas pageant earlier this month and I wanted to share a few pictures and a small video of him with you.

Unfortunately, I forgot the video camera and my regular camera was low on batteries, so I couldn't video it all, but I did get a small bit.

He was one of the Cows in the Manger.



Isn't he the cutest?



Here he is singing "Baby Jesus We Love You."







To be honest, I was actually amazed he sang and did the hand motions. He's so different to Josh. Josh is a complete show off and loves to sing and be up there performing. Sam doesn't like the attention and gets really quiet if he catches you listening to him sing. You have to do it covertly.

The whole pageant was so cute! By far one of the better ones I've seen there! I can't believe that next year he'll be in Kindergarten!

Sam finished up on Tuesday and Josh finished up on Friday. Needless to say, they are very excited about Christmas and being off school for two weeks.

I have a few more Christmas related pictures and activities that I will hopefully get posted this week.

Thanksgiving Recap

I am sooooo behind! I have lots to update, but don't want to do it all at once... well, maybe I will, I don't know.

I hope everyone had a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have the use of my best friend's condo in Perdido Key, Florida! This is the same place we went three years ago and was the subject of my very first post here!

The car ride down was long! But the boys were great and we did manage to play some games. The most memorable was "Let's see if we can name all 50 states." Josh and Rich did really well, despite trying to add a few "New" states like "New Canada" and "Mariana" -- and then I had to convince Rich that "New England" was not a state but a region. After that they just had fun thinking of funny state names.

We got down there about 2:30ish and the first thing the kids did was change into their swim suits.

It was really too cold to swim in the water, but it was great for putting your feet in!

And the boys had fun in the surf!

We took a walk on the beach to stretch our legs! Josh spotted some Rays just about a foot off shore and we saw lots of dolphins!

When we saw the fisherman, Sam said, "Look! Invisible Fishermen!" Then he asked me what the guy did if he "caught a wave."

After our walk we came in and got dressed and took the kids to the Flora-Bama for dinner. The Flora-Bama is a beach bar located on the Florida-Alabama border. Before we went in, I checked to make sure it was suitable for kids and was told "before 7:00 only." When we left, there were quite a few families having dinner there, so I felt better!

Sam was tired and hungry which made him grumpy!

Wednesday was a beautiful day on the beach! The water was nice and warm and the boys had lots of fun playing in the water.

And they both got very wet!

They met a boy named Parker (who was also 5) and had a great time playing with him in the afternoon. Parker was there with his mom and grandparents. His grandparents own 2 condos there -- one of them is right next door to Linda Leighs! And they were the nicest family! I hope if we ever go back down we run into them again! The boys had so much fun playing with Parker! He and his mom had to leave on Thanksgiving morning to go meet "Dad" and little sister at the Other Grandparents' house for Thanksgiving!

But Wednesday afternoon we played on the beach for several hours.

The boys dug holes and built sand castles and Rich made a Formula 1 Race Car in the sand.

More pictures are on my Flickr page -- you can get there by clicking here.

The rest of the vacation was spent pretty much in the same manner. The weather on Wednesday was the warmest and best. Thursday was a bit chilly and windy so we didn't last as long outside. And not much was open since it was Thanksgiving! Friday we made the decision to pack up and leave.

And it's a good thing we did. On the way home, Josh developed a fever and was very sick. His fever continued to climb and finally broke on Saturday night/Sunday morning. But he was still off. I kept him out of school on Monday and when he was still not well on Tuesday we went to the doctor. She confirmed he had the flu!

Poor Josh was distraught! He thought he was going to die. He'd heard that kids who got the flu died and he didn't want to die! I felt so bad for him. But the doctor was really great! She explained the worst was over and he'd be himself in no time... but to keep him home the rest of this week anyway!

He seems to be better now and wants to go back to school tomorrow. But, since she told me to just keep him out all week, we're going to do that! I do have some homework from his teacher that he's been doing to keep from falling too far behind.

So this week Josh and I have been spending the week at home indoors. And it's been cold and rainy so we keep thinking of how nice the weather was in Florida!

It's Fun Being Five!

I don't know where the time has gone this week. I really don't.

Last week we had Sam's birthday party here -- lots of fun -- and Wednesday was his actual birthday. It seems like so much has happened! I have also caught another cold! I can't seem to get rid of them this year! Hopefully I'm on the mend, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Anyway, last weekend we had 18 (give or take) people here for Sam's birthday party. I was having so much fun talking to my friends! The only picture I managed to take was this one.


And you can see I'm in the picture so technically, I didn't take it!

On Wednesday, Sam's actual birthday, Rich was able to take the day off. He and I managed to spend a few hours alone -- we actually went on a coffee date! It was nice to spend some time with him just doing nothing! We picked Josh up from school an hour early and then brought Sam home. We opened presents and played the afternoon away! It was nice!

Here is Sam sporting his new Liverpool t-shirt -- sent by Auntie Jane! Sam LOVES this!


He put it on immediately and then managed to keep it on from Wednesday afternoon until Friday night when I made him take it off so I could wash it! No doubt he'd still be wearing it otherwise!

Since Sam has turned "5" life has been oh so fun. Mind you, he's been 5 for all of three days. We discovered he had broken the limb off of one of our house plants and "fixed" it by scotch taping the limb back on to the tree.

Today has been especially fun. This morning he decided his hair was getting in his eyes so he trimmed his own bangs. Not bad considering he was standing on the toilet and looking at his reflection in the mirror when he did this.



Then, not five minutes late I look up and see this....

And I'm almost certain, those underpants are not clean! He's an odd one!

The weather here in Atlanta was so beautiful this weekend! The boys rode their bikes to the playground. Since Sam is not that confident with his bike, I walked along side him and helped from time to time -- well if truth be told, more often than not!

Anyway, while we were talking Sam said to me that I needed a bike and I should ask for one for Christmas. So I said, "Sam, will you get me a bike for Christmas?"

His response... "Mom, you have to ask SANTA for a bike, not me! I can't get you a bike!"

Then I said, "Well, how about you ask Santa for me when you go see him."

To which he was most upset and responded, "Mom! I'm not going to waste MY Santa wish asking for something for YOU! YOU have to ask Santa yourself!"

Oh Five is going to be a FUN year!

Trying to Stay Healthy & General Rambling

We've been lucky so far this year. With all the flu and H1N1 going around, no one in the family has yet to come down with it.

(Knock on wood).

I did bring the boys to the pediatrician for both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vax last week. I hope this means neither of them will get it.

Since yesterday was election day, the kids had no school. For once, I was really happy that there was no school! I seem to be on the back end of a head cold (just really stuffy sinuses, nothing too major) so it was nice to have an extra day to sleep in and not worry about doing anything much in particular (and I'm feeling much better today).

Over the last six-weeks we've had a "Family Challenge" going on here. We each picked three things we wanted to achieve over the six weeks and then we worked to achieve them. I'm happy to report both boys met and exceeded their goals. Mom and Dad didn't fare so well - neither Rich nor I met our goals, but we weren't off by much!

Sam was the winner by far so he earned $25 for winning! And Josh came in second - he achieved all his goals too, but didn't accumulate as many points. BUT he also "won" $25 for doing so well in school, winning the science fair and really sticking to his many commitments and keeping his grades up.

So yesterday I took the boys out so they could spend some of their money. Sam really wanted a new Webkinz and Josh wanted an "Action Replay" for his DSLite. Part of my plan was to bring them to Toys r' Us and have them make a list of things they wanted for Christmas (and Sam for his birthday) but once we got to Toys r' Us, Josh had to get his Action Replay and couldn't focus on anything else!

So I guess we'll have to try that again another day! I did manage to get some ideas for Sam's birthday at least!

We're busy gearing up for Sam's birthday next week. We've got his birthday party here this Saturday -- please pray that we all stay healthy and the weather stays beautiful! I want to have the kids outside as much as possible. And since we're making this a "Family Affair" it may be a bit crowded if we can't move outside for part of the evening!

Finally, I wanted to give a special shout out to our pediatrician's blog: Jerry's Jungle. We love all the folks at Kennesaw Pediatrics -- they are wonderful! We've been with them since just before Sam was born and have seen them grow from having just 3 doctors to having 6 on staff and now they are on Facebook, Twitter and have their own blog too! Check them out!

Halloween 2009 - Gobble Gobble & Goblins

As you may have heard, we've had a very wet Autumn and it's been unseasonably cold for this time of year.

Well, yesterday, Halloween, was no exception!

The day started out with the Cub Scout's annual "Turkey Shoot." Josh and I headed off, in the rain to see what the Cub Scouts had in store!

Josh had to go through the safety course. Where they spoke to the boys about gun safety, and even though these are BB Guns, they are still weapons. Each boy had to attend before they could go out on the range. When they were done, their name tags were punched.

Since it was pouring rain, they didn't have the BB Gun range open, but they did have the Sling Shot range....

and a place to make a marshmallow shooter...

(yes, I did saw all the pieces of the PVC pipe and help him put this together)

By the time we were through with all that, plus we took time for a drink of hot cocoa and a snack, the weather cleared up and the ranges opened.

Josh was very excited! He got his target all ready --

Put on his safety glasses....

and then had a go...

Each boy was allowed to take 10 shots. When they were done, they had to wait until all the boys in their "range" were finished. Then they could get the targets when the Range Master told them it was okay.

Here's Josh showing off his "after" target. He was a bit disappointed because he only managed to hit the paper once -- up in the top right corner.

However, he's decided that Grampa can take the time and really show him what to do and how to aim shoot the BB Gun at a target properly when we see Grampa next. And he had fun!

And this was just in the morning!!! In the evening we went to a friend's house for pre-Trick-or-Treat insanity.

It was wet, and cold and rainy, but that didn't stop the kids from having fun, running around the neighborhood and collecting heaps of candy! Which Mom and Dad quickly "inspected" last night!

Today is cold, but sunny and the boys are outside getting more fresh air, rolling around in leaves. Rich and I are packing up the Halloween Decorations (well, really Rich is. I'm eating pumpkin seeds). And we're getting geared up for Sam's birthday party next weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Branded Bobcat!

Pictures from Monday Night's Cub Scout Pack Meeting - Josh getting "Branded!"

He told me he was a bit nervous!

Special thanks to Sandra O'Reilly for taking the photos!


For more Wordless Wednesday visit WW HQ and Five Minutes for Mom.

Pumpkin Patch and Bobcat Badge

Man, things have been busy here! Yesterday we had two fun things going on.

In the morning, Sam had his "Happy Harvest Day" celebration at school. They used to take a field trip out to the YMCA Camp nearby, but apparently it got too expensive so now the school hosts an in-house field trip.

The kids ride a train around the parking lot...



Then got to go out to a "pumpkin patch" (which was really the church's baseball field with pumpkins in it) and they got to pick out their pumpkin. Sam was the first one in and the last one to find his - but he got the perfect pumpkin, don't you agree?



And here is (most) of his class modeling their pumpkins.



They listened to the Story Teller...



And did some Crafts! It was a fun day for all!!



Then in the evening, Josh had a Cub Scout Pack Meeting. He got his Bobcat Badge (which really is his "initiation" into scouting). He was even branded!



I had a friend take some pictures of Josh getting "branded" and hers turned out better than the ones from my camera. I'll post them on Flickr or here once I get copies of them.


And he earned his whittling chip - which allows him to carry a pocket knife to all scouting functions - except those at school. He's got Grampa's old knife so he's very excited to bring it to the Den Meeting on Monday and show it off.

This week we're just a busy -- Halloween is coming up and it seems we have all sorts of activities surrounding Halloween and then Sam's Birthday... before we know it Thanksgiving will be here!

Future Scientist in the Making!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but Josh entered his schools 1st Annual Science Fair.

His project was titled "What's Your Angle?" He wanted to know what the optimum angle for shooting a rubber band the furthest was. His hypothesis was 45degrees is the optimum angle and will make a rubber band go furthest.

We all went outside one day and had fun experimenting. We took a box and a protractor and made measurements at 15degree angles. Then, Rich made a rubber band shooting contraption and we started shooting rubber bands!

After a few tries, and some unexpected results -- it was showing that 30degrees went furthest, we decided that the wind that day must have played a part in corrupting our data. So we went out back and tried it in the grass by the fence. There we got the expected results!

The organizers had given Josh a list of questions that must be answered to fulfill the Science Fair Requirements - that came in very handy when he was putting his data together! It made the whole project fall into place. He answered the questions, we made a simple graph of the results and then decorated the rest of the project board with pictures and the items he used for his experiment.

The finished project....



Last week Josh had to bring the project to school. There were judges lined up from local businesses around town... "real scientists!"

Last night was the night of the science fair. We went and thought we knew where Josh's was set up as he had brought it to the cafeteria that afternoon and put it where he was told. Well when we got there, his project had been moved to the "Table of Merit" and had a little blue sticker on it that said 3-3.

Naturally we assumed this meant he got 3rd place for Third Grade. Nope. Apparently it was just a code of some sort because Josh actually got FIRST PLACE for Third Grade!

There were some really great projects there too - but Josh answered all the questions, kept his experiment simple and had a great idea and he ended up winning!

Of course there was an awards ceremony and he got to go up on stage and get his award. But as luck would have it, the battery in my camera died and I didn't get any pictures. I have some from my cell phone, but they turned out horrible. There was someone from the school taking pictures and if they post them I'll be sure to post a link here.

Reading Together

I came upstairs one day to get the boys ready for bed and Josh was reading to Sam.

My Little Cub Scout!

Who wouldn't want to buy popcorn from this cute Cub Scout?



I know it's a bit blurry... here's another one...