Good-Bye and Christmas Lights

This morning, we all gathered together for a family breakfast before my Brother had to start packing and head home. I was thinking Keree is going through another growth spurt because she ate so much...my luck, her arms will be the only thing to grow, yet again. While my Brother packed his car, we unpacked the van and tried to straighten the house out. Around noon, my Brother finally was ready to hit the road and head home. Luckily, we will be seeing him again this coming weekend, so it wasn't too sad. Since I knew we had a pretty big evening planned, I prayed Keree would take a nap. Even though it took her awhile to fall asleep, she finally did and shortly after she fell asleep, I indeed up joining her. Luckily, I woke up a few minutes before 3p because I had to get both of us ready. My Best Friend from high school was in town visiting his family and us. He only comes to visit over Thanksgiving and so I was excited to get to spend some time with him. Our plan was to have dinner and then surprise Keree by taking her to her 1st big christmas light display. Keree and Uncle D were so excited to see each other, they are so cute together. So our first stop after getting the car seat installed in the rental was dinner. We went to our favorite place to enjoy some snackers and sandwiches. Keree decided that she wanted soup, so instead she enjoyed some cream of broccoli and snackers. After dinner, we spent some time just sitting together and visiting. Keree and Uncle D drew pictures, spelled and wrote words and just enjoyed each other. So we then headed to the Shrine to enjoy the yearly Christmas Light display. I hadn't been there since I was 8 or 9 and of course Uncle D and Keree had never been there. It certainly has changed. First you go through some lights and then they lead you up to what sort of is like tourist traps. The first stop is a petting zoo, camel rides and so on. Luckily, you don't have to stop and you can bypass the area. We did stop at the second stop, there they had Christmas Tree and Wreaths decorated by local businesses or celebrities. They were so amazing to see. Keree said her favorite tree was the one all in red because it matched her dress and hat. We then headed into the Children's village. There they had about 5-6 different free crafts for the children to do. Keree made us all a button with our names on it, created an awesome paperclip angel (didn't take a pic of it and Uncle D decided to keep it), colored lots of pictures and just enjoyed our time. We then all went to see the puppet show that they perform, it was really cute and even the adults got into it. Our last stop before getting back in the car for the rest of the lights was to see the Gigantic Lego Nativity. The sign said it took them 9 months to create and it was shipped from Seattle in special crates. It was amazing and we spent quite awhile just marveling at it. We then headed back to the car to finish seeing all the lights. I was surprised at how fast the traffic was moving through the lights, it was sort of a bummer because I really wanted to read the story that went along with what we were seeing to Keree. Our night ended back at our house, we said our good-byes and tried our best to convince him to come see us more often. To remember our evening, Keree got a collectible Cow (their mascot at the Christmas lights this year and every year they offer a new animal). It totally cracked up me and Uncle D because for some reason Cows have always been our thing, so it was perfect that Keree has one now.

Last Day before Break

Well today was the last day before Holiday break, of course it's only 3 days of no school but I honestly think Keree will be happy to have a few days at home. When I dropped Keree off at school, I actually was stopped by the Director and since I hadn't unpacked the car from the weekend show, I still had my inventory. So, I was able to make a fairly large sale to her, WhooHoo! When I came back to pick Keree up, the summary said that they made a book today about what they were Thankful for, they read the book Thanksgiving Mice and sang songs. After yesterday of Keree not doing the project, Keree was excited to show me her art project she made today. She had traced her own hands and made two turkeys. She was excited to tell me that they were getting married. The rest of the Mom's there all laughed about it, I honestly wasn't surprised when she told me that since she is obsessed with marriage (thanks to Monsters vs Aliens). When we got home, it was sort of a day of rest. We have a one day show this weekend but our inventory is pretty stocked up, so we won't be killing ourselves with late, late nights. Plus my Brother is headed in for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving and then we are looking forward to some Black Friday deals.

Rotary Show - Day 2

It was amazing to wake up to weather in the 60's. The downside was the wind, it was blowing around 20+mph and then there were gusts in the 40+mph range. We have been through some bad winds before in our tents but this time, we ended up taking bungee cords and securing it to the building. Thankfully that worked but it was a little spooky at times. Now the girl next to us, the nicest thing I can say was she was an idiot. She didn't have her tent weighted or even tied to the building. The first time, her tent went flying, it almost hit Keree and I. We were just happily sitting on the benches across from our tent eating breakfast. I saw it flying towards us, so I grabbed Keree so fast and went running. We offered her some bungee's, we offered her some twine and she refused all of it. The other people with tents around her also offered help, she refused that also. Of course, the next two times her tent slammed into ours. We are so lucky there wasn't any major damage done to our tent or our inventory but I was ready to sue her if something had happened because it was just plain stupidity and for the fact she refused anything to prevent it, even made it worse. Otherwise, we had a pretty good day considering it was a Sunday. Keree enjoyed helping take money and give the customers back their change. She's getting really good at it. She spent some time watching movies and walking around. When it was time to pack up, the wind really hampered our quick pack. Instead of taking around 2hrs, it took almost 3 1/2. It was rough and we got home alot later than we had expected. Keree fell asleep on the way home around 730p and I'm hoping she sleep all night.

Hump Day

We are still adjusting to this time change. No matter what we have tried, Keree is up by 530a and since it's light outside, won't go back to sleep. Because of this, we are always arriving at school earlier than drop-off time. After dropping Keree off at school, I had to run to Sams. I was in need of some allergy medicine and they have the best deal on it. So, since we were there, we walked slowly around looking at all the Holiday decorations, baskets and toys they have out. Spent some time in the book/magazine aisle and finally checked out and headed home. Once at home, I got back to work but before I knew it, it was time to pick Keree up from school. When I picked Keree up from school, the summary said that today was Game day. So they spent the day playing games and read another book about Trash trucks. When Keree came out of class, she was excited to show me the Turkey she made by tracing her hand. As we were driving home, I was asking her what games she played today. She said that they didn't play any games, that the Main Teacher just let them do whatever they wanted to do. I have to say, I don't doubt my daughter because the Main Teacher seems not to want to teach anymore (even her attitude during our parent/teacher conference). It's such a disservice to the students in her classroom. When we got home, Keree had to show off her Turkey to my Mom and then she decided tomorrow at school, she is going to make our whole family a Turkey Hand(we'll see if that really happens). Otherwise, the rest of the day/afternoon/evening was spent working. This weekend is one of our biggest shows and the last two weekends have really left our inventory depleted of some items. Keree was content to play, practice reading and math and helping us. I also figured out what the one item Keree said she was asking Santa for. She kept saying Baby OwGow, I knew she wasn't hearing right, whatever it was because Keree speaks very clearly. So before lunch, I went to the Mega store's website and looked up dolls. There was 48 pages but luckily within the first 3 rows on page 1, there it was Baby All Gone. I was so thankful to have it finally figured it out.

Parent-Teacher Conference

Today, there was no school because it was Parent-Teacher conference. I was dreading going for the fact I feel like nothing will change and I'm wasting my time when I try to bring up a valid point. Of course, during our conference the Teacher tells me what a dream Keree is. She then tried to take credit for Keree knowing how to read and how she is spelling words. Umm, no I don't think so, she's learned this stuff because I taught her, not you. We brought up the subject of certain kids picking on Keree and trying to take her brace off. She played like she was totally stupid to the whole thing. Her actual comments was, "Really are you sure this is happening?" So I go, my daughter wouldn't lie about something like this. My daughter actually wanted to quit coming here because of it. And then I brought up how the don't see alot of things and I brought up the pushing incident on the playground. She then spent the rest of her time trying to stumble through the conference. It probably didn't help when later on, my Mom told her that Keree wasn't learning anything in class anyway and we only send here there for socialization. After that, there was no communication and she told us to leave. I'm just wondering how the rest of the year is going to play out after this. In the evening, we headed into town. My Brother had a 3 1/2 day weekend, so he came in from Ohio to help. Gotta love the guy so much! Since we couldn't set up till 8p, we hung around talking and playing in the parking lot waiting for the time to tick by. We also visited with some our fellow Show friends and they were all so happy to see Keree. Once the doors opened up, we actually got set up fairly quickly, which was good because tomorrow it will only be my Brother and I running the booth.

Happy Veteran's Day

Since today was Veteran's Day the schools here are closed in observance of the day. So that meant, Keree didn't have any school. I had also called her Homeschool coordinator because I had heard nothing from her and I was just assuming that it was canceled today also. We spent the morning, running a few errands, I needed a certain color ribbon for an order and we also had to pick up a few balloons for the parade. When we got home, the Homeschool coordinator called me back, she apologized for not calling and then explained to me, that they hired a new Homeschool Teacher who would be visiting us. But she won't start for 4 weeks and so in the mean time, we won't be meeting with anyone. Not to happy about it but it is, what it is. We have a field trip next week with the group, so we are looking forward to it. In the afternoon, we then headed up to the car dealership who was driving Keree in the parade today. We were super excited that they had agreed to drive her as Princess Tomato. So after a few snafu's, we headed to the park for line-up. We decorated the car, well actually, all we did was add a few balloons and of course the magnets that said who she was and what her title was. While my Mom, Keree and the driver waited for the parade to start, I went and parked the van at the ending of the parade. I then hiked back to the park (16+ blocks) to take a few pictures before the parade started. I'm not in the best of shape, I'll admit it but it didn't help that it was in the low 90's today. I then walked to about the 1/4 mark so I could take a few pictures there while the parade was going. I was so excited when Keree's car finally reached where I was. She was smiling, waving and having a blast. As soon as I snapped my pictures there, I took off running to try getting to the 1/2 way mark. So off I go, through a back alley and as I was running across a parking lot, I realized my sandals were just not cutting it today for running. So I slide them off and ran almost 2 blocks in just my feet on the pavement (as I think now how stupid a move that was but hey, my baby in a parade is a big deal!). It was also quite interesting all the people staring as me running in bare feet. I made it there just in time to snap some more pictures. Of course after I got them, I ran to 3 other places just to get pictures before the parade was over. The Driver, my Mom and Keree had such a nice time. Keree loved waving to the crowd that had came out to watch. As for me, my feet are killing me, I have two huge blisters on the bottom of them. Of course, you know our day couldn't be without drama. When I got home, I had a few frantic messages about cheerleading. It seems even though yesterday's practice was do or die and the Coach strictly said "if you don't show up your not in the competition." There are 2 girls, who's parents are begging for them to be involved. My thought is too bad. The girls worked almost 3 hrs last night re-learning their entire routine because only Keree and 2 other girls showed up. Plus they want to hold another practice tomorrow night, which is impossible for us to make because we have show set-up. Of course, the decision to hold the practice was already made before we even got the call. So they are adding in these two other girls in the back row and we can only hope it's not a total disaster come the competition on Saturday! And to add to all the fun, tomorrow is Keree's parent/teacher conference. I'm heading to bed, it's just been way to much fun today...NOT!

Hot Tuesday

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't believe the Weather guy, who was claiming it was already in the 60's outside and would reach almost 80 today. So as we headed outside to take Keree to school, I was shocked. It was nice, warm, sunny, it was gorgeous. After dropping Keree off at school, instead of heading home like I needed to, to do work, I ended up running to the store instead. I was in search of a turtleneck or sweater for her to wear in the Veteran's day parade she will be in on Thursday. After spending almost 2 hrs searching for something plain without printing or embroidery, I finally found a nice long sleeve light weight shirt and also a very cute red sweater. This is the first time in almost 3 years, I didn't buy something not on super clearance or used. It felt really strange! So since it took me so long to find something, I went straight to pick Keree up. I was surprised when I looked into her room and the class wasn't there. It turned out that since it was such a nice day outside, they ditched class and played on the playground the entire time. I held my tongue because no good would come from what I really wanted to say. Luckily, in the grand scheme of things, I really only send her to class for socialization because I know she's not learning anything there. Oh, I take that back, today Keree reported that sometime "after Christmas my Main Teacher will have her baby and after the baby comes out, she will have 6 weeks off from work." Why the heck does a 4 yr old know this??? Why is this even being discussed in the classroom?? Again, something that will continue to perplex me. So, once we got home, Keree begged to stay outside for awhile. So while I was unloading and carrying stuff in, so discovered a Halloween costume I bought on 80% clearance for myself. It's actually a gecko costume but sort of looks like a frog. Both Keree and I took a turn wearing the gecko hat around the yard, I'm pretty sure we were the sight to see since I know a few tractors and cars slowed down to stare. Keree said it looked like she got swallowed up. As for the rest of our day, it was filled with work and if I wasn't working, I was trying to figure out all this end of season Cheerleading stuff. Which is a whole 'nother story. Keree took a late nap only because she fought it with every ounce of her being not to go to sleep. Our evening was filled with Keree playing and of course me trying to work. I'm thinking bedtime will come early for both of us because I'm exhausted.

A Warm Monday

With all the frigid temperatures we have had last week (the low 20's with wind chills in the negatives), I was surprised when I woke up, got dressed, walked outside and it was balmy. Still needed a long sleeve shirt and my fleece, but nothing like the previous days, where I was wearing 3-4 layers to stay warm. Keere was all for going to school this morning. Not sure why but things in the last week has seemed to go better. She has distanced herself from the one little girl (totally avoiding her at all costs from the minute she walks into the classroom) and Bully Boy has been out sick. So after dropping Keree off at school, I had to run to the store for supplies. Of course, it seems I never make it out of the store with out a few other things also. But at least they were in the Halloween 80% off clearance. When I came to pick Keree up, the summary said that they did a science experiment using vinegar and baking soda and watched it foam up. They watched another movie about trash and the Assistant Teacher taught them a new Trash song. When we got home, Keree got to play outside for a short time. It was amazing that she could be out there without her heavy winter coat on. She even convinced me to unpack her bicycle so she could ride it up and down the sidewalk. Once we came inside, the rest of our day was filled with work and trying to sort through the week's worth of emails. Keree is really enjoying more these days helping us with our work and she's getting to be really good at certain tasks. And I have to say I'm really enjoying being able to assign her harder tasks for her to do.

Show and Santa

This morning we were up way, way before the sun came up. We grabbed breakfast before heading to claim our parking spot and finish setting-up. I was lucky because Keree fell back asleep on the drive there and stayed asleep after I stopped the car. So, while we waited for the doors to open, we ate breakfast, while she caught some extra z's. For some reason, it seemed to take us forever to finish setting up (we finished just before opening). Keree spent most of her day inside her fort as she calls it. Both my Mom and I took turns walking around with her and she was excited to see her friends (fellow artists) and they were just as excited to see her. One neat thing that they added to this show this year was they had Santa walking around and also visiting with the kids. My Mom took Keree to go visit him and get their picture taken together. When he asked Keree what she wanted for Christmas, my Mom said that she totally drew a blank stare. He finally told her that it was ok, that when she decided what she wanted, she should write a letter, put it in an envelope, then put it in the mailbox and send it to him. Of course, Keree was trying everything to resist a nap, so I went for a short walk to look around and ended up running into another fellow Artist friend, who I didn't know was even there. While we were talking, Keree asked to be picked up and within 5 minutes, she was asleep on my shoulder. So, I walked back to our booth and she slept in my arms for almost an hour. My back was starting to kill me, so I ever so gently laid her down in her bed in her fort. She slept there for almost 2 hrs. Once the show was over, we headed home and after having a small dinner. We spent the rest of the night resting and getting ready for tomorrow.

Princess

Tricycle riding

Warm November Day

Tuesday

We were slow to get going this morning, so Keree enjoyed breakfast on the road. While Keree was at school, I headed home and spent my morning working and trying to get caught up. We are so far behind for this show season. When I went to pick Keree up, the summary said that they read the book Trashy town, then watched a video about trash sorting and talked about things they can recycle. When we got home, Keree spent her day up stairs playing with her Little People sets while I worked. I'm still far from being caught up but at least I feel like we got something accomplished today. In the evening, Keree had cheer practice. Of course, we were on time but the rest of the girls showed up anywhere between 20-40 minutes late. The Coach was ticked off and I do understand. But then I think about how many times did we all show up for a practice or a game and the Coach didn't show up? Needless to say I was frustrated because I really needed to be at home working and instead, Keree and I was having a lengthy conversation about the squirrels in the park (not that I didn't love our conversation). The Coach did teach them one new lengthy cheer, so it wasn't a total waste I guess. When we got home, we ate a quick dinner and then got back to work.

Muffin Tin Monday

Keree woke up this morning before 4a and of course she was ready for her day to begin. I on the other hand, pulled the covers up over my head and refused to budge until 7a. I fixed Keree a quick breakfast and got her dressed before it was time to head out the door. I dropped Keree off at school. Then ran to the store in search of Halloween deals. I got boxes of tissues for 34 cents a box, 200 ct paper napkins for $1 a pack, 72 ct plastic knives, forks, spoons for 74 cents, boxes of 40 ct individual pretzels packs for $2 and boxes of 24 ct chips for $2.10. I also picked up some packages of play-dough (24 ct for $2), disney card games (18 ct for $2) and bracelets (30 ct for $1) to put in Treat bags for Keree's birthday (which is in February). For Keree's Christmas, I also got a few dress-up things and a cute sweatshirt all 1/2 off because it was marked Halloween. I picked Keree up from school early, I had hoped to get there in time to see them on the playground again but instead got there right as they came inside. I did hear the one little girl, who's been bugging Keree about her brace go "Keree your not my friend anymore." I watched to see Keree's reaction and she just shrugged her shoulders. I asked Keree later why did she say that and she goes "who knows she just likes causin' drama" with attitude. I wondered for a minute where she had heard that because I really try to keep myself from throwing in ghetto words with attitude when I speak around her. But then it hit me, her one Teacher this morning goes, "E, stop causin' so much drama." Thank goodness, it didn't come from me. When we got home, we spent some time outside cleaning up our Halloween decorations. Keree had so much fun trying to pull the spiders off the webs. We also picked up the outside chairs and toys getting them ready to store for the Winter also because I'm highly doubtful we will have anymore super warm weather. When we finally headed inside, it was time to fix our Muffin Tin. This week's theme was Harvest, Leaves and Trees. I had great plans in my mind but when I finally came inside to fix it, I was too cold and tired to do anything spectacular. So instead, I choose some of our favorite Fall Foods. So in the back row is Cranberry sauce, a piece of Toast cut into a pumpkin shape and finally some Green Olives. The front row is some pumpkin shaped cheeses, cornbeef hash and of course some fresh cut corn. Keree dove into lunch, covered her Toast with cranberry sauce, ate all the corn and hash before saying she was finished. Before her nap, Keree did get one big Halloween treat today from Momma. It's a jar filled with a gigantic Marshmallow Frankenstien head. She had seen them for weeks at the store but she knew we couldn't get one because it was too expensive. So when she say it, she couldn't wait to dig in. We then spent the rest of the day and evening getting ready for a show this weekend. Which we are so beyond not being ready for it.