It finally pays to live in LA!

Yes, it is November, and we are playing outside comfortably without coats! The weather here has been great. The temperature has been ranging from the low 70s to the low 80s! We are getting a lot of wind right now, as there is a cold front coming through, which should bring the temperature to the low 60s. That is a heat wave compared to the PA and MD weather that I am used to :o)

So, the kids are actually getting a lot of use out of the swing set. We have also been spending time outside with friends at local parks too. Yesterday, we went to the library for story hour and then to a park close by afterwards to play with some friends. They don't like it much when kids run around like animals in the library.

Oh, and speaking of reading, I can't keep Jack away from books (or Audrey for that matter). He has even started challenging himself. He picked out 20 books from the library yesterday. And he would of picked more, but I told him he had enough. He is reading level 2's and 3's and even picked out one level 4 that we read together. Right now, he is sitting reading silently to himself. And every night, he reads a chapter in a Magic Treehouse book.

Here is a short video of the kids. I really enjoy watching them play. For NOW, they play wonderfully together, so I am enjoying every minute of it!

Repurposed Shirts

I found an idea to reuse old shirts on one of the many blogs that I follow. Jack has so many shirts, they don't all fit in his drawer, so I went through is drawer and pulled out 8 shirts to turn into 2. All I did was cut the sleeves off one shirt, and cut triangles out of 3 of the shirts. I also cut the cuffs off one of the shirts to create a colored edge on the blue shirt. I zig zagged around each triangle and sewed the long sleeves into the short sleeves. This project was really quite easy, and made a fun shirt! Now I am looking for more ways to repurpose his shirts.

This one looks a little funky because it isn't laying flat, but the triangles are distributed just like the blue shirt that Jack is wearing. The blue cuffs in this shirt were made this way, so I didn't have to sew them in.

Giving Thanks!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving, although it was just the four of us and we wished we could have been with all of our family and friends, you were all in our thoughts. We are truly thankful for all of the loved ones in our lives.

Thanksgiving was actually pretty relaxed because I did so much prep on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, I made a cranberry cheesecake, mashed potatoes, a healthy version green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and a turkey brine. I also made fresh corn bread, cubed it and added it to cubed french bread for stuffing.

So on Thursday, all I had to do was cook the turkey, make the stuffing, and heat the sides in the oven. It was all quite delicious, although we weren't very pleased with the green bean casserole. So if anyone has any fabulous vegetable sides that they'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them!

We ate a 3pm, had everything cleaned up by 4:30 and later on ate the cranberry cheesecake. As you can see, Audrey loved it!

Wombsday Wednesday

Yes, I realize that today is Thursday, but I keep forget to post pictures on a Wednesday.

Right now, I am roughly 26 weeks. The little guy is quite the mover, and he kicks me constantly. This pregnancy, like my other two, is quite uneventful. I don't have any cravings, or any sickness. I have gained about 10 pounds, and have "popped" as you can see. Jack took the full body picture of me. And if I didn't share, we will be naming him Ayden James, and he is due March 2.

Festivals!

We had a very busy, but fulfilling weekend. We had two major events going on-- Westwego Fest (fundraiser with the homeschool group) and Oak Forest's Jambalaya Cook Off and Fair.

Westwego Fest is one of those carnivals that runs all weekend, so I helped out for bits of time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In addition, we had a birthday party to go to on Saturday. And then there was the Jambalaya Cook Off. We have been planning this event for about two months, and our hard work really paid off. If was a great day! We had carnival games, a jumper, and face painting for kids. Jack ran around like a maniac all day!

He got his face painted with a "Penn State Fleur de lis." Leave it to Jack to think that one up! We had 4 different Jambalayas for people to taste. I think for our first time trying this, that it went really well. We also had concessions and the most wonderful cupcakes donated by a woman in our development who runs a small bakery out of her home.

Best of all, we spent the day surrounded by friends. We have such a great group of people, with such great hearts and spirits that it was an all-around phenomenal day! One resident even showed up with a professional sound system, so we had nice music all day. Ahh, now to thank all of the people that helped out, and move on to planning our next event. Doughnuts and pictures with Santa and a parade of golf carts and fire trucks through the neighborhood!

Oh, and sorry about the side ways video. I have no idea how to flip it, so you'll have to flip your computer or your head. I finally got video of Audrey's moves! Enjoy!

Living Literature

Yesterday, Jack participated in "Living Literature." The kids picked a book to read at home, and participated in a 2 minute presentation about their book-describing their favorite, scene, character, or a brief synopsis. Jack read a book about the Statue of Liberty, and did a great presentation! The amount of information he remembered was great, he looked at the audience the whole time, and didn't hem and haw. Maybe if all kids started public speaking this early, it would be easier for them as they get older. We shall see how Jack does with public speaking as he gets older. For now, I am definitely seeing improvement. When he presented his information about Germany, he was much more reserved and didn't look up a lot--but at least he spoke!

Here is a link to a picture of Jack and the other kids that participated. Oh, and they were asked to bring a snack that represented their book. We brought ants on a log (you, know, celery, peanut butter and raisens). We called them the ships of immigrants!

After Living Literature, Jack participated in PE, where they practiced for Presidential Physical Fitness. They practiced running, and ran in groups by age. Jack tells a very animated story of how he won in his group. They all started out together, pushing, then Jack and another boy got the lead, then the other boy was ahead of Jack. Jack tells of having a pain in his side (that's what happens when you eat right before you run) and he just ran harder and passed the other boy and won. Now he likes running. Lol, he must not be my kid--I hate running :o)

Our Own Place to Play

Last week, Bryan and Hans built the kids a swing set. They did a great job, and Jack had a lot of fun helping. Audrey even got in on the action with Jack's hammer.

I just love the swing set! We found plans online and bought the supplies, and made it "from scratch." It is very sturdy. There is a tower with a slide coming down from it, a sandbox underneath, and a beam off the side with 2 swings, a baby swing, and a see-saw type swing, which the kids are using above.

The kids absolutely love it, they spend a lot of time out there every day. Ahh, an advantage of being in New Orleans- nice weather in November where you can play outside comfortably.