November 2010

November was a blur to me. Between just the normal busyness, I was tired and dealing with appointments--LOTS of appointments. And not just OB appointments, dentist and flu shot and all that jazz.  Ky had his 3rd dentist appointment and once again we had a new hygienist and dentist.  They discovered a cavity.  I was shocked and appalled.  He doesn't eat sugary stuff very often--we don't even drink juice very often!  I brush his teeth in the morning and at night (talk about adding insult to injury).  And well--he's only FOUR! 

When I asked why and what we could do, they basically said "His teeth have deep grooves, there isn't much you can do."  "WHAT?!"  You're my dentist!  You are supposed to have solutions!  So yeah--we are done with these people as our dentist.  We will take Ky to get his filling and then go elsewhere for appointments.  ARGH!  It has been so hard to find a good dentist.  I am just getting tired of it all.

While I'm talking about Ky--This month we learned about animal classifications.  And then Ky decided Toy Story was the new cool movie...and of course like every preschooler he now has his very cute and mixed up saying "To Amphibians and Beyond" (Quoting Buzz Light Year).  And yes, that is really what he thinks Buzz Light Year says.

Okay...so to the November Pics...

I watch my neighbor's kid every other Monday (She does the same for me so we can both rotate teaching) and I decided that the kids should make something fun for Christmas.  So we started a LONG term project making ornaments.  The first week we made the dough.  They had a lot of fun!  They then rolled out the dough and cut out their shapes and left them to dry.  A few weeks later after they dried (and when Daniel came back) the kids painted them.  Then a few weeks later they put a clear glue coat on them to protect them.  And then finally put a string through them and hung them.  They had a lot of fun--and it was a great project because it took up a lot of time.

With the potty training--Alaina has been very proudly dressing herself (except for shirts--she can't do shirts yet.)  Several times now she has put her underwear outside of her pants.  VERY FUNNY!  And she doesn't seem to notice or care.  Silly girl!

We received our first snow in Madison, the very beginning of December.  Can you believe I was STILL picking broccoli until then?!  I can't believe it!  I will definitely be planting broccoli next year.  And because I was still selfishly picking broccoli, I did not get my garden turned over for next year.  ARGH!  It is going to be a LOT harder to do when I am 8 months preggo!  Oh well...good thing I have a WONDERFUL husband to help! :)

With November came---OUR NEW WOOD FLOORS and we got some NEW WINDOWS too!  YEAH!  The 20 year old carpet was pulled up from our living and dining room and saved (yes saved) for the garden next year.  They took two weekends for us to install, but we did it!  I will have to post pics of the finished product later.  It is beautiful!  And what a difference!

We also took advantage of the energy rebate and got enough windows to max it out.  What a difference that makes!  First of all we can see out our windows! (We couldn't in the winter before because they would frost up!) And secondly, they aren't falling apart!  Yes, we literally have some old wooden windows that are rotting--30 year old windows--who would think!  We have 6 more windows we need to take care of and we are hoping that they will renew the energy rebate and we will do that next year.

The kids did Operation Christmas Child again this year.  Ky got into it this year a lot more than he did last year.  We let him pick out what went in his box and we also let him pick out some toys for a boy his age in the area who needed gifts.  It is neat to see him year after year understand a little bit more of what he is doing and what kind of impact it will have on another child.  I love finding opportunities like this for him since he is so limited on what he can do at his age.

Alaina also picked out things for a little girl, however, she has no idea what she is doing.  So of course, she assumed everything she picked out was hers and I had to "take the stuff" away later so I could pack it in the box.  (Good thing we have naptime!) It all worked out!

November was such a mildly warm month.  I took the kids to the zoo and they had a blast.  I figured it also worked well into our "Animal Classifications" lesson plans.  Ky was identifying mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds.  Alaina--well she was just everywhere...  I also learned that taking a newly potty trained child to the zoo in November is not a good idea when they close down the restrooms inside the park.  The only restrooms that were open were the ones by the entrance.  That made for a delightful--"run and carry to the potty before she pees on me" trip.  And then of all things--when we got there she says "I don't need to go."  Yeah--I made her sit until she had something to "go" with.  UGH!

You will also notice that there are some pics of Alaina with a little girl named Lana.  Lana is in our playgroup and she is Alaina's new best friend.  Alaina just ADORES here and ALWAYS asks about her.  It is so sweet to see them holding hands and running around.  A first friend!

At the end of November, I took the kids to the newly done Children's Museum in Madison.  The place was CRAZY!  There were TONS of kids EVERYWHERE!  I was hoping to miss some of the crowds by waiting several months after it opened to take them--but yeah--it didn't matter.  The new museum is very nice, but like I said, it was CRAZY!  I don't really have a strong desire to go back...especially after the tantrum Ky threw when we left.  UGH!  And normally he is really good about leaving places. 

You probably noticed the pic of Alaina and her dollhouse...that was our birthday present to her.  I had a lot of trouble finding an age appropriate dollhouse that came with accessories.  I finally found this dollhouse in November.  Rob and I figured it didn't really matter at her age when we gave it to her since she didn't know any better.  So there it is.  She loves it and so does Ky.  There have been many fights over it--meaning it is a good toy.

We celebrated Grandma Jan's birthday in November.  We had a really nice Mexican lunch and Nana took the kids on a walk to a new playground.  It was a nice relaxing afternoon--and yes I fell asleep that is how relaxing it was.  Extended family does not get better than that--you feel so comfortable you can just fall asleep. 

And finally--the homemade pine cone bird feeders.  When we were learning about birds, we made bird feeders and hung them up on the tree in the front yard.  Ky was so excited to see the birds get the seeds.  But we never did...the squirrels stole the feeders....so we made two more..and so the squirrels stole two more.  I give up.  The squirrels win.  Ky is crying.  There isn't much more we can do.  Sorry old chap...back to the old fashioned bird feeders it is. And that is that!  I am not making anymore!  Squirrels! UGH!  They totally ruined our fun!

And that was November in a crazy blur! Now don't forget to check out the video! Alaina decided she was getting married...hmmm...