new christmas pjs!

we went to the dentist bright and early on our day off this morning. the kids did great. malloy informed me on the way in that she loves appointments. both kids did great and their teeth are great! 

malloy's goal for the day was to learn to knit something or crochet something. i found instructions for finger knitting and she went right to work. she was frustrated for the first few minutes but was so determined to figure it out. she did and was so proud!! 

the kids went to grandma and grandpa's this afternoon while i made pies for thanksgiving. they got some fresh air and played in the tree. rex played tag with grandpa and tired him out!!! they had some hot cocoa and a snack and then vegged out with the kindles. 

11/23/15

first snow at the bus stop! 

malloy held one of the flags at morning program today! she was so happy and proud to do it! 

malloy's doing great at swimming! at the end of swim class they have a relay race with all the kids. malloy is swimming with 5th graders and holds her own in the pool. it's so cool to watch!!!

day 2 - no zyrtec

wow!!! so much better today! again, there were a few times that rex would normally have flown off the handle and he didn't! for example. he asked if he could take his new guys into the bathroom and neal said no. rex said "ok!," turned around and went back to playing. i had tears in my eyes! that NEVER happens!! what a difference!

 playing school before school. first time in a long time they played together before school without a LOT of fighting!

 the kids helped me at the book fair the after their half days on thursday and friday. they thought it was so cool to be in the library and computer lab when nobody else was! they were so well behaved and helpful to the teachers. it was fantastic.

during the book fair, a boy in malloy's grade came up to buy books and was so very excited to get them. when i looked in his money envelope there was a little over 75 cents in it. i had to explain to him that it wasn't enough money to buy anything at the book fair. his face fell and he was so disappointed. i was telling malloy about it at bedtime one night and she started sobbing because it hurt her heart that he couldn't get a book. we discussed a plan. i put $10 in an envelope and wrote his name and teacher's name and book fair on it. i also emailed malloy's teacher so that the envelope got to the right place. malloy ended up delivering the money to the boy and he gave her a huge hug! his teacher found me later at the book fair and thanked me and said that he needed a little boost like this since he's been working really hard at school and his behavior had improved a lot lately. she also said that she'd like to meet the beautiful daughter of mine. i called malloy over and the teacher talked quietly to her. she asked if she knew the boy (not really) and thanked her and said a bunch of other stuff that i couldn't hear. malloy's face was beaming and also very red. we talked about it later and it made her feel good to help a friend. such a great little life experience in helping others! proud of my big-hearted girl!

friday night, rex had basketball practice and malloy and i had girl's night. she was SO excited to hang out in bathrobes and do our nails. love my girly girl!!!

on saturday morning, there was a pancake breakfast to support the newark valley basketball teams. rex had a great time hanging out with his pals, oliver and josh. later, rex went to basketball practice and malloy and i had some more QT.

malloy loves loves loves to cuddle these days! and she also loves loves loves her daddy!

 we went to to grandpa gary's in the afternoon to play games and have dinner. we played dynomite, a game that neal played as a kid, and clue jr. malloy LOVES clue after playing it twice, she's hooked!

this morning, rex got up at 6:15. we decided we were going to sneak out to the store and get his friend, tyler,  a birthday present for his party. just as i was writing a note, malloy got up. so we took a trip to walmart in our pjs! also, the kids both filled their kindness charts, so it was time to pick out a toy that they'd earned! rex got bungees, an army action figure, and a stuffed snowgie from frozen fever. malloy got lalaloopsy tinies. the kids were riding around in the cart in their pjs and malloy looked up smiling and said, "you're the best, mom!" it really is the little things!

we got home around 9am and started making breakfast for the family! grandma val and grandpa don and grandpa gary came down for breakfast. then it was time to clean the house for bella's birthday party, but not before a game of clue! rex went to tyler's party with neal and i finished cleaning up while malloy watched a movie.

we had bella's 9th family party at our house tonight. poor bella wasn't feeling well but we had a great time with family!

 during the party, malloy bit into a sub and her tooth came loose. neal pulled it out the rest of the way! when did she get so big?!

rex LOVED playing with brady and nathan! 

using a purse that malloy sewed with grandma val so the tooth fairy and deliver her money! 

Goodbye zyrtec! Day 1

Rex has been very moody, short tempered, quick to change moods, and known to throw a wicked tantrum about silly things for the past, oh, year! Neal came up with the thought that maybe it was his allergy pill. I loved it up and sure enough, zyrtec had been known to turn perfectly good children into monsters!!!! We didn't give him his pill yesterday and we've already seen improvement! There were several times, where he would normally get upset and then would escalate quickly to a raging tantrum, that he got mad and then just let it go!!!! Hoping for better days to come!! I'm a bit tired of fighting and spending most days trying to get my kid to calm down!!!

what's a woman without a bra?!

at bedtime, in our pjs, malloy was trying to figure out what shirt i was wearing and what shirt i had on underneath. she said "oh it's just your bra". i told her i didn't have one on and she exclaims "what?! what's a woman without a bra?!" i laughed out loud so hard! where does this stuff come from?!

November 2015

november 1 - still loving the teletubbies! they watched teletubbies in their costumes and then acted out the episodes.

and then did some homework...

 grandpa came home from korea!!!! the kids (and Neal) helped  make a welcome home sign for him

cuddling during movie night

 rex was having a rough weekend. had a few episodes where he was hearing "voices" and was initially blaming malloy for whispering at him. it wasn't her. it happened a few times and we thought maybe it was ear infections SO, we went to the dr. to check it out. no ear infections but lots of fluid so we got some new nasal spray and a quick antibiotic to clear him up. voices have subsided for the most part!!! he was very mad the other day and said he heard voices. oh to be inside the mind of a 5 year old!

she loves the computer - following in daddy's footsteps

got some hooks up for the kids' backpacks and coats! 

 neal and i went to ohio  for a wedding. the kids stayed with grandma and grandpa and had a super fun weekend!

they had a great time but we very excited to see us! :)

swim cap! 

not smiling but still posing? 

 we went to visit roro on her birthday and brought donuts for breakfast! then the kids lounged in their rooms so as not to argue all day while i made lemon meringue pie and spaghetti and meatballs for neal's birthday dinner.

happy birthday daddy!

malloy thought she was so clever with her socks. one is cinderella and one is pumpkin, her palace pet.

 it was grey day at school. i asked the kids to pose for a picture. rex refused to be with his sister. he got made and threw a fit because she "posed like fashion" and he can't stand it. during his tantrum, he stopped and made a face for his own picture. this kid. he told me he'd pose outside so we wasn't close to malloy. again, this kid.          

rex's turkey at school

 we had a party for roro's 80th birthday at our house. what a great celebration of a wonderful woman! malloy LOVED being involved with the games and presents.

love that she's perched right next to her roro

after the party, we rearranged and moved furniture around. grandma val had some furniture she was getting rid of so we took it and are got rid of some other furniture

 we had family over for dinner. malloy apparently hadn't seen addy in a while and was so excited that she was bigger and sitting and holding things. malloy loves loves loves babies!!! she was so good with her!

crazy pjs

 new living room arrangement complete with new curtains!

rex came home with this piece of paper and said that it's an invitation to madeline's christmas party. "i know right where she lives mom"

playing video games with daddy

playing teacher while hanging out at the book fair

 new books!