A bit overdue...

This was by far my favorite gift this past Christmas season. It first appeared on Christmas morning. Amid the flying wrapping paper, new toys, and excitement, Sugar and Spice jumped up and ran to his room retrieving his beloved book. With the most pure desire to join in the giving of the morning, he brought it to me tucked behind his back and proclaimed, "Mommy, I got this just for you!" It was a sweet and tender moment. I watched as he gave to me a book he loved. He as so excited to be part of the morning excitement! I was so thankful for the sweet reenactment just two days later on My Little Reader's birthday when he again ran to his room and brought back his beloved book to present to his sister. I love that this sweet boy of mine was so willing (and excited) to participate that he was willing to give up something that he really loves. Definitely a great moment this Christmas season!

My Classroom In January!

Can I get a HIP HIP HOORAY

It's official...Sugar and Spice is wearing underwear!
This day has been a loooonnng time in the making!

I am not sure that my sitter is quite as excited...

A hard lesson to learn

Today I was awarded the "Meanest Mom in the World" prize. I know some of you may be shocked to find that you have been dethroned and that I have managed to usurp this grand prize. Are you curious how I managed this feat? It was really quite simple. I had the audacity to turn the car around. You see, we were headed to the "big girls" ballet class for My Little Reader to try out. She enjoys the "little girl class" but the teacher thought she might be better placed in the more difficult class. Not yet halfway there My Little Reader made the unfortunate decision to roll up some papers from her backpack and hit her sister over the head. Definitely not very ballerina like. And so, I very calmly proceeded to the next intersection and turned the car around. Surely you heard the wailing, for it was at the top of her little lungs. A fine moment indeed. But with marked calmness I proceeded to lay down the law. In no uncertain terms she was told exactly what would happen at home and what the consequences would be should she choose to continue on her current path. It was a fine mommy moment. Calm and assertive. That is when I became the "Meanest Mommy." Oh well, someone has to have the title, right? It might as well be me. And it was....at least for an hour or so while she rotted away in her fabulously appointed room filled with all of her prized possessions. Then I made dinner and she remembered how much she actually does like me. Suddenly, I had a new title of "Best Cook". I guess it was someone else's turn to be the Meanest Mommy. Best of luck to her!

Dear Sunbeam Teacher,

I know that Sugar and Spice gave you a run for your money today. Please believe that he truly is a very sweet little boy when he wants to be. Hopefully next week he will not 1. Move his chair across the room in the middle of Primary, 2. Yell out the random (though somewhat sweet) thoughts that pop into his head that may or may not have anything to do with the lesson, 3. Insist on sitting in the Presidency chairs instead of his own, 4. Believe that he can use the microphone at will, 5. Lastly, be so disruptive asking constantly for lunch until you bring him to me. I have been in your shoes before. Called to Sunbeams at the end of the year when they have learned to sit and listen and behave only to very quickly face the harsh realities of January when the Nursery workers drop off a new load of completely untrained, somewhat wild, and altogether unprepared-for-the-situation 3 year olds. Your best bet is a box of graham crackers, a handful of crayons, some fun books, and a whole lot of faith. In the meantime, we will work hard to remind Sugar and Spice that Church is supposed to be reverent (or according to him, "no-fun mommy"). Here's to a less embarrassing, hopefully less stressful Primary experience next week!

Okay, okay. My list of have-done's

That sweet husband of mine says I am being too hard on myself with my to-do list and should instead focus on what we have accomplished since moving in on December 20th. So here we go...

1. Blinds in kids bedroom's, living room, and playroom. With some speedy help from a guy named Pete!
2. Paint in sitting room, on island, and in kitchen.
3. New coat of paint on kid's playroom bookshelf. It is now a stunning shade of green!
4. Ceiling fans in playroom, Sugar and Spice's room, My Little Reader's room, living room, and our room.
5. Fancy-dancy chandelier in Princess in Training's room.
6. Curtains on two of the three windows in my room, and cafe curtains in the kitchen
7. Fancy-shmancy back splash in the kitchen that doubles as the biggest Christmas present Ben has given me (with Jeff's help of course!) Which he is sealing as we speak!
8. Two new bookshelves in the sitting room.
9. New cover on the loveseat.
10. Assembled beds for both girls purchased from IKEA
11. Assembled desk for My Little Reader
12. Assembled three bar chairs
13. Assembled two white chairs-one for each girl
14. 11 loads of laundry, folded and put away! [But I have tons more to do :( ]
15. One very organized pantry and one sorta organized kitchen. I do have a fancy sprinkle cupboard as promised in a previous post that I will be showing off soon!
16. Frosted covering over bathroom window
17. New firehouse bookshelf for Sugar and Spice
18. Christmas decorations throughout and a birthday tree to boot!
19. Hosted Christmas for both sides of the family and had My Little Reader's Birthday party two days later.
20. Assembled storage unit for playroom. Even better, bought closing totes to hold all the toys!
21. Hung hooks for dress up clothes
22. Key rack hung
23. Coat rack hung
24. Shelf for wireless installed.
25. Filled the free dumpster three times before they hauled it away in the middle of the night :(
26. Pendant lights hung in kitchen.
27. New dining room light hung.
28. Hung flower picture in hallway
29. Assembled our bed and topped it with a beautiful new comforter set
30. Laundry sign hung
31. Emptied more boxes than I can count...but know there are many more still waiting their turn.
32. Put my trusty computer together so that I could get back to blogging!
33. Completely emptied the big storage unit! Hooray!
34. Changed the faucet in the kitchen
35. Took down all the Christmas things in my classroom and put up the winter/snow theme-complete with an igloo tent!
36. Vacuumed the dining room at least three times a day.
37. Read one entire book that had a very disappointing ending
38. Hung bow holder in kids bathroom.
39. Decorated My Little Reader's bed, chair, and desk with cute spots that turned out to be permanent. Hope she likes them for the new 5-7 years!
40. Set up patio furniture

A list of to-do's

So... I shouldn't be blogging. I should be working on my to-do list. I am avoiding it. But then I realized I can do both. So here we go... (Bold items---DONE!)

1. Move hope chest, dresser, and random items from Mom and Dad's
2. Lesson Plans
3. Laundry Well...sorta. There is always more laundry to do. We have more than enough clean stuff to last the week...so I am calling it done!
4. Clean the toys out of Princess in Training's room to make way for her clothes.
5. Grocery Shopping
6. Birthday treat for My Little Reader to take on Monday
7. Hang snowflakes in classroom
8. Buy new sea animals for classroom tables
9. Blog about Christmas and My Little Reader's Birthday
10. Target-buy three more curtains and two shoe racks.
11. Bath and Body Works-bubble bath. It must be a crime to have lived with a garden tub for nearly three weeks and not yet used it particularly with a sprained ankle! Does Mr. Bubble from the grocery store count?
12. Payless-new shoes for My Little Reader. Needs both Church and school shoes. Go back to Target and also buy some Church tights.
13. Pick paint color for my bathroom.
14. Get curtains up in my room and Princess in Training's room.
15. Put away Christmas decorations
16. Order pictures to put in hallway frames
17. New York and Company- need new pants.
18. While at mall check on freezers at Sears. Too late. Missed the sale. :(
19. Take books to Bookmans
20. Decide where to put hope chest and unload the four boxes of stuff that goes in it!
21. Clean off kitchen counters
22. Move huge lights out of our room.
23. Encourage Ben to buy a printer so that I can print this list and feel satisfaction as I cross items off!
24. Move train table to Sugar and Spice's bedroom.
25. Buy another bookshelf for the sitting room. Found two more boxes of books today with nowhere to put them.

Somewhere in there I also need to be a mommy to three small kiddos that never actually made it out of their pajama's today. Here's hoping for an early and cooperative start tomorrow.