Christmas 2008

Our Christmas week started out really really cold - in the teens; Tuesday brought freezing rain and Wednesday, Christmas Eve brought torrential rainfall and temperatures in the 60's.  It was warm on Christmas day as well but it continued to rain.  Athena and I went to Christmas Eve service at SonRise Church where she sang in the Children's Choir.  It was a one time a year appearance for the choir and they sang one song.  Athena did a lovely job and was very pleased to get to do this this year (her first). 

After church, we came home and picked up the boys and headed down to Tom & Teresa's in Sugar Tit, KY.  This was the first year for them to host Christmas Eve and it was great! They've spent the past year finishing their basement and it was a nice big open space for my wild family to charge around, eat, drink and be merry. We were all able to be in the same room but didn't feel cramped.

Everyone had a great time and Santa came and brought a bag of goodies for the kids.  On Christmas day we did our normal hanging out at home and enjoying each other gig.  Athena asked for three things for Christmas - an ipod, roller skates and some Littlest Pet Shop toys.  Jesy and George gave her Jesy's old ipod and Santa brought LPS and both kids got roller blades.  We also bought Athena a keyboard and Carter electric drums.  The kids bought Patrick his very own scooter and helmet.

We tried to keep Christmas simple but we always seem to go overboard. I had to hold back some things that we bought. We did 3 presents each from Santa and 5 each from us - 1 "big" one and the rest smaller (less expensive ones). 

All in all it was a lovely Christmas.

A Snowflake in the Nutcracker

Athena was a snowflake in the Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker production this year in Cincinnati. The performance was on Sunday, November 30th at the Taft Theatre downtown.  We had to get there at 9:30 a.m. for a 3 p.m. performance.  Most of the day was spent sitting below the stage talking with the other girls that Athena is in ballet with. They also got to try on their costumes and had photos taken.  We weren't allowed to take any photographs. The website has finally posted the photos here http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/album.jsp?aid=768a5498cf3d1c52effd She's on page 2 and 3.  I'm not planning on purchasing any of the photos, but if you'd like any, please let me know and I can either purchase them for you and mail them on or if you can purchase them direct and need me to mail them to you, I can do that as well.

Here she is:

It truly was a magical day and experience.  The real ballet dancers were absolutely fantastic and they were very kind to all of the little girls.  Athena was mesmerized by all of gorgeous costumes and music and dancing.  Hopefully we'll get to do this again next year. 

Carter's 4th Birthday Party

I think Thanksgiving Day this year was warmer than Easter was. We took a nice long walk at Stonelick State Park. It was just lovely. Athena got to ride her bike and Carter road his scooter and we played on the playground.  

Thanksgiving dinner was nice and Carter's cake for this party was a big turkey!

He had such a great time! Uncle Glenn bought him a remote control car that flips over and lights up. It's really neat and he really likes it. Carter also got a remote control dump truck. He gave it to his Sissy as she really like it.

On his birthday Carter took a cake to school. The last birthday cake was a cupcake cake with dump trucks and bulldozers moving "dirt" (icing) on top.  He had such a wonderful day.  I think this was a really special birthday for him.

In the morning before school, he opened up two presents (as Daddy was already at work). He opened up his robot mask and his Webkinz from his Sissy. His name is Greenie Lizardie and Carter asks to play on the computer every day.  He really struggles, but it will get easier for him to maneuver around and Athena is a huge help.

When Dad came home, we opened up the rest of his presents. His big dinosaur, Spike, and an Airplane set to go with his GeoTrax train set. We went out to eat at LaRosa's for pizza as requested by the birthday boy.  

All in all a fantastic birthday week!

Chuck E Cheese is the Place for me!

Well, if you're 4 and 6 it's definitely the palce to be! We had Carter's birthday party there on November 25th. In addition to Athena, he invited Cassie, Zoe and Max (neighbors around the corner), and Julie, Sarayu and Matthew from his school.

On the way to the party, Carter kept on talking about his friend who was coming from school. I couldn't understand what he was saying but it sounded like Julie so I asked if he meant Julie. He told me that her name is not Julie but Jewlie.  Julie is French and her Mom is one of Carter's teacher, Ms. Michelle. As he hears Ms. Michelle say Julie's name with a distinctive French accent, he says her name the same way as Ms. Michelle.

Anyway, the party was wonderful! We had pizza and two different cakes - one monster cake and the other was a spider (Halloween designs). Carter received some neat toys and all of the kids had such a great time playing all of the games.  Jesy and George came as well and that was icing on the cake for both Carter and Athena.   Photos will follow once Jesy or George send them to me as I forgot to charge my camera.

A Meal Fit for a Grandad

Today we headed down to Findlay Market. It was cold but sunny.  We've never gone the weekend before Thanksgiving. Boy was it busy and fun! The place was packed with vendors and people.  We bought food for a meal that both Patrick and I thought Nick would have loved.

Tonight for dinner we had various homemade sausages, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and salted rye bread. To top it off I bought a bottle of Riesling - figured a German wine should go well with German sausages.  Probably a bit on the inexpensive side for the old git, but wine none the less (and with a cork mind you! How posh am I?).

We bought real hotdogs for the kids to eat in skin casings. I believe that's the first hot dogs they've ever had.

Dinner was super duper yummy!!!

Next week is going to be super crazy busy -

Tuesday is Carter's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's with his friends;

Thurdsay is Thanksgiving and Carter's family birthday party;

Saturday is our final Nutcracker rehearsal;

Sunday is the Nutcracker - Athena and I have to be downtown at the Taft theatre at 9:30 AM for a 3pm performance. This will be a loooong day!!!

Monday is Carter's 4th birthday - Woo Hoo!!!!

A First Sleepover & Hockey

First for last weekend. We went to a Cyclones Hockey game on Saturday night (11/8). It was throw back night, so the tickets were fairly inexpensive. The best part was the cheap food - YEAH! Hotdogs, beer and pizza for $1; popcorn for 50 cents. Me and kids had fun stuffing ourselves. 

Athena brought along her camera and I think she pretty much filmed the entire game. We have yet to sit and watch her videos. She was super cute filming away trying to catch all of the action. We got to catch a few fights and some goals with the Cyclones winning the game. We stayed the entire game which was a first for us.

This past Friday, 11/14, was the first time Athena had friends over for a sleepover. It was the twins, Ethan and Olivia, of course. It went really well - everyone had a good time.

You're Not the Boss of ME!!!

Thursday morning when we got to Carter's school to drop him off for the morning, he burst into tears. After getting him to calm down, he was able to tell me what was wrong.  Ms. Linda (his teacher) is too bossy in Carter's opinion. Not only had she made him count to seven but then she made him count to eight! He said he didn't like bossy people and she wasn't going to make him count anymore. 

I told this to Paul, Linda's husband, as he let us into the school and he just about fell over laughing. Linda, to her credit, immediately tackled counting with Carter that day getting him to count shining beads instead of the normal things. 

Patrick was pleased as this showed that they make him learn and do things that he might not enjoy doing.

Just Call Her Attie

Today was the first time that Athena asked me to call her Attie. I'm supposed to use it whenever I address her.  Man! How am I going to remember this?  

Halloween 2008

Halloween this year was PERFECT! The weather was warm in the 70s and sunny. The week had started out quite cold so it was a definite pleasant surprise how the week ended.

For the first time, Athena was not with us at Grandma and Grandpa's on Halloween (she's growing up too fast!!!). She was invited to her best friend Olivias' house. Here's a photo of Ethan (Olivia's twin brother), Athena and Olivia:

After trick-or-treating Athena spent the night with them. The next morning, Ronna, the twin's Mom, made pancakes with M&M's from the Halloween candy. The kids thought they were great.

Patrick, Carter and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's to eat dinner and go trick-or-treating with Uncle Glenn. Carter had no interest in his Halloween costume so he wore his orange and black shirt with the skeleton and "I'm all skin and bones - need more candy" on it. He had such a great time. He was invited to spend the night with G&G, but he decided not to.

On Saturday we decided we had to do something outside again as it was going to be sunny and back in the 70's. We went to a park in Mt. Washington and watched them catapult everyone's left over pumpkins down a hillside. The machines used were Trebuchets which looked like were hand built.

Here's the kids holding the Pumpkin Queen's Scepter:

The kids were allowed to pull the trigger on our pumpkin:

and here's our pumpkin mid-flight!

Soccer and Bowling

The weekend of October 24th was super fun once again! 

On Saturday Athena had her last soccer game. She is now thoroughly in love with soccer. She wants to play defense. Her coach this Fall was Coach Susan. She's actually a neighbor and she has been absolutely perfect for Athena. She pushes her just enough but is super kind and enthusiastic as well. On the plus side, she adores Athena.  

Coach Susan put Athena as kind of goalie (don't really have goalies in instructional soccer) and Athena just loved it. I'm going to volunteer next Spring so that we'll get to have Susan again as a coach.

After the game we charged over to the Blue Ash Recreation Center Nature Park to do the Halloween Festival.  The weather was once again perfect- Fall warm and sunny. The kids did trick-or-treating, then had hot chocolate and popcorn and we finished up with a magic show.

On Sunday we had the soccer party at Crossgate Lanes.  It was the first time that the kids had been bowling and my first time in probably 15 years.  We had a blast. Here's some photos from the party:

SHE DID IT!!!

On Tuesday, October 21st, Athena rode her bike for the first time without training wheels. She kept on bugging Patrick that night to take off her training wheels but he wouldn't do it as she's always asked for them to be put right back on. I decided that I'd help her with it. We went next door to the little parking lot and with just a little help from me she was able to get it. 

She rode around for about 15 minutes before it got too dark. She told me, "Mom, I'm the proudest 1st Grader EVER!!!".  I wish I'd had my camera as she was so happy and proud of herself.  

Way to go!!!

Another Action Packed Weekend

Last weekend we again ran about helter skelter.

On Friday night we went to Parky's Farm for the Halloween Nights event. It was a perfect Fall evening - started out warm and became just a little chilly. We went on a hay ride (the first one where it was actually dark); saw a Mad Cap puppet show; roasted marshmellows; and saw a magic show. All of us had a really good time. This year was the easiest of the 3 years we've gone as both kids are old enough for us to stay once it gets dard and they know to stay with us.

Saturday started with the kids going to their art classes - Carter goes to visual arts (things you make with your hands) and Athena to music. After that it was off to soccer.

Athena has really come a long way in soccer with the help of our new coach, Coach Susan. Susan has been such an incredible influence on Athena. Athena wants to continue to play soccer and wants to play defense. She says she prefers it and is better at it. It's not so choatic and aggressive. We're going to sign her up for the Spring session and hope that Susan is still coaching.

Next we went to the Halloween event at the Zoo. Both kids had such a great time. Luckily it was warm. We got to see a few animals and the kids got candy. Happy day all around. We ended the day by eating pizza at home and then the kids road their scooters (a nightly event).

Sunday, after church, we headed out to Shaw Farm and Rouster's Apple Farm. It was a fun day, but we missed Uncle Glenn. This was the 1st year that he didn't come with us. Shaw Farm was an absolute crazy place. Patrick and I thought it would be this way as it was such a beautiful warm day. We went on the hay ride and ate popcorn, but it was just too busy to really get to play with the different Halloween things. We headed out to Rouster's and had cider popcicles and bought apples, blueberries and apple cider - YUM! We stopped at the Miami Twp park (the one with the lake) and took a walk. The kids road their scooters.

All of us were tired on Sunday night but sated. We had a really lovely weekend together.

Out of order - Back on track

Ugh - I just realized that my last two posts went to the wrong blog. Oops!

Fall has arrived to Cincinnati. It's now in the 60's and not as sunny or lovely.

Last Friday was the BAE Halloween Festival. The kids had an absolute blast. Here's a photo of them in their costumes that I made.

They also entered a cake decorating contest. The contest was by Grade, so both of our entries went in as 1st Grade under Athena's name. Neither of them won - the winners had help. Athena and Carter decorated their cakes all on their own. I think they look fantastic!!!

Here's Athena's:

And here's Carter's:

Corn Festival

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Corn Festival 2008
The festival this year was absolutely perfect. The weather was upper 70s or low 80s and bright gorgeous sunshine all day with a breeze. We started the day by going to Athena's first soccer game on her Fall team - the Sweet 16's. She did great! Kicked a few balls and actually ran with the other girls - woo hoo!We headed up to Wilmington after the game and had an absolute blast. We watched them saw logs, ate maple cotton candy and popcorn. We looked at old steam tractors and a really big old diesel tractor from 1919. The man with the big steam tractor let Carter and Athena toot the horns. It was super neat and sounded like a train.We saw them threshing wheat and Patrick was in the pie eating contest, of course. This year he chose an apple pie and of the three men participating, he came in second and one $3 to spend on food at the festival. Me and kids took it over to the homemade ice cream booth straight away and ate ice cream - YUM!We also did some square dancing. Athena really wanted to learn, but was tired. I was asked to square dance by one of the group and had a really great time.

Hurricane Ike

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hurrican Ike
Yes, we had a hurricane hit us in Cincinnati. It was a Level 1 hurricane and blasted through here on Sunday, September 14th. It started as a really pretty mild day with lots of sunshine. Starting at about noon, it began to get a bit breezy. By 2pm it was really gusting outside and the havoc began. Our power went out at 2:26 pm and didn't come back until until about 8:50 pm on Monday night.The damage in all of Cincinnati was fairly extensive. We were lucky and only had a few loose shingles and some branches in our yard. As we don't really have any trees around our house, we all went outside to watch the wind. We made the kids wear sunglasses to protect their eyes. It was a bit scary so we all headed back inside. Patrick walked by himself to Hunt Road and said it was super scary there with all of the trees and he ran back home to safety.Athena was out of school on both Monday and Tuesday. Carter's school didn't get power back until Monday afternoon on September 22nd. He thought that he wouldn't have to go school anymore.Here's excerpts from the local newspaper:A massive blackout kept Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in a stranglehold Monday, closing schools and sparking long lines for gasoline, ice and rations.Trees continued to topple over on Monday, forcing many to lose power again. That kept firefighters on the move and dimmed any chance to save food in the freezer for the 78 percent of the 800,000 Duke Energy customers who were still in the dark Monday night.Since Sunday’s storm, more than one million customers have gone without power at some point, according to Duke Energy’s Web site this morning.More than 525,000 remain without power this morning – mostly in Hamilton County, where 270, 232 customers are in the dark. Also without power: 90,109 customers in Butler County, 50,775 in Clermont County and 40,823 in Warren County.In Northern Kentucky, more than 63,000 people are still without power in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.It could be next Sunday when all the power - lost when fierce winds swept through the area last Sunday - is restored, Duke officials said.The unexpected day off from school and work Monday will turn into second day off today for many. Cincinnati Public Schools officials said more than half of their schools are without food and a third of them were damaged. Lakota schools also closed, as did many others.

9/5/08

Well, this is Athena's first day of year to be home sick from school. Hopefully, like last year, this will be her only day. She had a fever last night and still today. Acts fine, just running a temperature.

This is end of Carter's first week at preschool. Every morning, the first thing he says when he gets up is "Mommy, do I have to go to school today?". When I say yes, he cries and cries and says he wants to stay with me and not go. Then 15 minutes before we leave, he asks if we can go as he "needs" to get to school. He seems to really like it and just beams when he arrives and when I pick him up. He wrote some numbers and letters (traced them) for the first time today. Cool.

Athena's first day of school

Better late than never. I'm going to try to do better. Athena told me after her first day that she liked first grade much better than she thought she would.

In addition to her regular class she goes to Music, Art, Library, Gym and the Computer Lab each week.

Ugh! where has time gone?

Man oh man, but I need to post on here more often.

Athena started first grade on 8/21. Her teacher this year is new to the school, Mrs. Jones. She's really neat and we're excited that Athena has her this year. Her class currently has five girls - one just started yesterday. I'm hoping to have a girl get together within the next few weekends so the girls can all get to know each other.

Carter started preschool yesterday. So far, he asks in the morning if he has to go, cries some, but is happy once he get there. This morning he asked to make a heart to bring to his teecher, Ms. Linda. So sweet!!!!

On the way home yesterday he and Cris were in the back of the van looking at the map of the zoo.

"Cwissy, my uncle is orange and some kind of monkey. Sometimes we go and see one like him at the zoo."

This said in total seriousness. We might have to pull out some photos of the real Uncle James to show the boy!!!!

This summer has been huge for Carter - he grew quite a bit. He weighs 38 lbs and is 42 inches tall - in May, his size 4 pants were too long, now they're too short. He is soooo tall. His favorite things around are bugs, bugs, and more bugs. We got him a bug habitat for Athena's birthday gift to him and we caught a preying mantis that he kept for a few days before letting go.

My favorite bug story about Carter is when we were on our home one night and it was past his bedtime. Right before he fell asleep in the car he said - Mom, did you know that if you squish a caterpillar yellow stuff comes out of it!

Carter has decided it's time to learn about his alphabet and it's time to learn to color and cut. Woo Hoo!!!

Can you tell I have big ideas but little time for execution? How sad on how long it's been since I've put an update. So much is going on. Here's a recap:

Athena: She's now playing soccer and loves it! After her first game I asked her what her favorite part was and she said she couldn't pick just one and that she loved every minute of it. Yeah!!! She started out really holding back - standing around chewing fingers or with her hands behind her back while she walked after the ball. After just 3 games, she's really improved and now just chews her fingers while she runs after the ball and even sometimes kicks it! Woo Hoo!!!

She is also finishing up her ballet classes that started in September with a big recital this Saturday. I can't tell if she really likes ballet or not. I know she like wearing the outfits (especially the tap shoes) but not much from her as far as practicing or participation. She mainly follows what the others are doing instead of learning the routines herself.

Finally, this week is the kindergarten variety show. She's in a large group and will perform Rock Star (from Shrek). She's very excited about it all. They're "costume" is going to be a tie dye shirt and jeans. I made her some new pink ribbon jeans and Jesy, Kathy and I along with the kids tie dyed some shirts last Friday. I think they turned out cute - not great but cute. Athena hates hers and whines and crys about having to wear it.

I will have to post an update of my boy Carter later on.

Karen