Rollar skating makes me a cool mom

We went to Skateville tonight to roller skate since it was the Parkview skate night. Ellie, Hadley and I attempted the challenge. I thought maybe Hadley was a little better since she skated at school and came home with a grin ear to ear stating that she loved it! But, she needed a lot more help. And, Ellie well she had never had wheels on her feet before. We survived. Only a few tears, lots of encouragement and a little tough love. We left just after an hour of "torture"... seriously my back hurt from the tenseness. I called Robert and said I needed 3 advil, a stiff drink and 2 bowls of icecream ready for our arrival home! We will do it again but hopefully on a really quiet night!

Lucky number 7

Hadley had her first friend party at JoAnn Fabrics. It was fun. The kiddos decorated letters of their first name. They decorated cupcakes and we finished the day with a little pizza for lunch. Later in the day we had family over for supper and cupcakes.

I cannot believe Hadley is 7 already! Her goal is to officially quick sucking her thumb. She really wants to get her ears pierced.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year. We had Grammie, Papa, Andrew, Laura and Abigail over. It was a beautiful day with a dusting of snow. The girls were able to get outside and play. That evening Mom (Grammie) and I went shopping. We were able to got to Walmart, Target and Michaels. There were a lot of good sales. It was nice to come home after being out and about searching for the perfect gifts. Surprisingly it wasn't that busy!

Friday we spent some time shopping again and we went out for lunch at Crooked Pint. It was a fun lunch with bloody mary's and great food. We gave the server a special note which Hadley wrote that said "Buy something for your baby. Happy Holiday's!" We included $20. The server was so happy she told us after she read the note she had tears in her eyes. The goal in mind was to teach Ellie and Hadley how to give to make people feel special!

First Day of School

Sept 8th: Hadley's first day of 1st grade. Teacher Mrs. Baldus.

Sept 10th: Ellie's first day of pre-school. Teacher Mrs. Peterson.

Last day of school

Hadley had her last day of school on June 5th.
All week I could tell she was feeling the anticipation of her last day. She was moody and a little off. On the morning of her last day she woke up and made her bed, just like the first day. Then she got dressed and we did pictures. They had a pizza party at school. Poor Isaiah got sick just before and had to come home since he threw up. At pick up we watched the whole school wave goodbye to the 5th graders. Many of them were crying as they left Parkview. I had tears too! I did my best to ward them off when I gave Hadley's teacher Ms. Ryskoski a hug goodbye. I will miss her dearly. She has set the standards high for the girls teachers to come. Hopefully I can figure out a way for Ellie to have her!
Hadley did well, she didn't cry. She was excited for summer. We celebrated with the neighbor kids when we got home. We had a table of snacks set up with candy, cookies and chips. Oh and of course orange pop.

Oh and Hadley lost her first front tooth the night before her last day of school!

Tent

The girls are sleeping in the tent tonight with Daddy, We will see how it goes? It is a little cold outside tonight .. say 50?

Update:
Hadley came inside around 3am to cuddle with mommy. Ellie and Daddy stayed outside and slept the whole night!

Easter

Easter weekend was up North in Isle. We left Saturday morning and arrived at Grammie and Papa's house around 10:30am. The girls played outside and we went out for lunch with Grammie to Toucans. It was a yummy lunch and afterwards I took a nap. The girls and Grammie and Papa went for a Gator ride over to Laurie and Bruce's house. Shanessa and the kids were over there so they were able to visit and play.

That evening we sat around a fire, we set out carrots and lettuce for the Easter bunny.

Easter Sunday we all got up around 7:30-8am. Hadley found her basket right away in the washing machine. Ellie looked a little longer and finally found hers on top the cabinets in the kitchen. The Easter bunny brought books, clothes, flip flops, bubbles, chalk and candy.

We went to chuch, it was nice to see everyone!
Then we had Easter dinner at Grammie's. The weather was a little chilly but not horrible. The food was great!

Ellie stayed up North and Hadley, Daddy and I left at 5:30pm.
It was a great weekend!

Lunch at Toucans

Playing in the mud

Easter bunny brought Hadley some clothes

Easter bunny brought Ellie some gummy candy

Bubble guns from the Easter bunny

It was so nice to go to church where everyone knows your name

Hurry can we take a picture before we get comfy

Taking the kiddos for a ride around the yard. A little windy outside!

Pretend play

Tonight it is Thursday and it is raining here in North Lakeville. It has been raining all day... but April Showers bring May flowers right!

The girls are playing and they just asked to play with some bags because they are playing store. What kind of store do you ask? Baby clothes store. And, Hadley is walking around the house with a baby tucked under her shirt. I haven't peaked in on them in their room because I don't want to interrupt. But I can hear lots of chatter! These two are so cute it is crazy, well at least I think so. I am so grateful for two girls who play so well together!

Ellie is 4

Today Ellie is 4! She woke up in New Ulm at the Holiday Inn after 9am. She was one tired girl from the busy girls weekend with Gramie, Laura, Abigail, Hadley and Mommy. She went swimming to start her day off. We left at 11am and had lunch at Emma Krumbee's. She got a huge piece of peach pie for her birthday treat! So far a fun start to her special day!

Ellie

I cannot believe that Ellie is going to be 4 in less than 10 days. She is such a fun kid. It is amazing to watch her grow and change into a pre-schooler instead of a toddler. She can do so much for herself. She still loves to be held though. Even tonight she wanted either Daddy or I to hold her right during the hussle of getting supper ready. She hasn't been feeling good. She has a cough and stuffy nose. All and all is does okay all day but by the end of the day she is just ready to be done. Plus, with daylight savings and the nice weather, it has worn her out as well as us all!

Weekly updates

 Every week we get an email from Hadleys teacher. Here is one of them!

Hi Families,

I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was outside all week! I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy it. 

I am sending home a book order today! It will be due on or before March 20th. Our online class code is NGJ32, otherwise feel free to send in a paper copy of the order with a check made out to Scholastic.

This week we read the second Curious George book, Curious George Rides a Bike. The children
are beginning to notice the writing style of H.A. and Margret Rey.
(Example: The book always starts out saying,
"This is George, he is a good little monkey but always very curious.")
Some are even attempting to write their own Curious George books.

In math this week we
worked on expanded form more intensely through addition story problems.
Some of the students are beginning to add numbers together in the teens,
for example 13 + 16. As a class, we discussed
the many ways we could solve this problem. We talked about which way
would be the most efficient. I model doing expanded form each day, and
many of the students are trying to solve the problem this way too. See
below for an example of how we solve an addition
problem using expanded form.

13+16

13 -> 10 + 3

16 -> 10 + 6

10+10=20

3+6 = 9

20+9 = 29

Reminders:

*There is no school tomorrow, March 13th.

*Hat day is Thursday, March 19th. Bring in your favorite hat to wear all day!

We are running out of crayons!
If you would be willing to donate a box of crayons to the class, please
send them with your child next week. Thanks so much! :)

Have a great weekend!

Active seems like a understatement

Today I worked at Hidden Valley Elem. It was a good day. Ellie was with Anne and Rory and Hadley was at school. It is nearing the end of the week as it is Thursday. Yeah Friday tomorrow!

Hadley decided she would let me put her hair up in a pony today. She looked super cute because we added a little braid. She loves her jean leggings. She wore those with a cute long sleeve shirt and a pink vest. After school she spent an hour at Kerstins until Ellie and I picked her up. She has been working really hard on reading and math. She comes home with 3 books in her book bag and we "try" to read them before she goes back the next day. It works well that her school is a later start because usually we read in the morning before school.
She is a little hesitant on reading but we continue to remind her that practice makes it easier and soon she will love it.

Ellie is loves to listen to Hadley practice reading. She tries to pretend to read herself. She continues to wear her Elsa dress. It isn't going to fit forever so I guess I don't mind her wearing it as long as it is clean. Her and I worked on numbers yesterday and I feel like she is getting it. Our bigger challenge is the alphabet. We need to work on recognizing the letters. She loves ECFE and I love taking her. Today I had to miss it because of work and last week we all missed because Hadley was home sick with a stomach bug.

Currently both the girls are obsessed with watching Good Luck Charlie. They love that show.

Last night we started swimming lessons at Lifetime. It was a success. The girls have seperate lessons. Ellie was shy at first but she was brave and stuck it out and Hadley was just excited. I actually really enjoyed it! I kinda hope the girls become swimmer!

I am just so lucky that everything is working out so nicely with the childcare arrangements to the success at school and activities. Everyday something new comes home in Hadley's backpack about a camp or a sport class. Not sure what we are going to sign them up for this summer but the sky is endless. Ellie really needs to take singing and acting, that girl just loves to sing and be dramatic even though she is shy to start.

This weekend we have busy plans. Friday night we have to pick up my packet for my Saturday 5K in Minneapolis. We will go visit Cassie after I pick up the packet and have some supper. Saturday morning the girls will stay home while I go run and then later that day we have Nevaeh's birthday party at a hotel. So swimming, pizza and fun! We still need to get her a present! Cannot believe she is going to be 7!

Lots of pictures to come!

"Roar" I'm a Dino! Hadley modeling our craft!

Ellie playing play doh yesterday

This is what they create on my phone or iPad and then save it!

Long weekend

Hadley had a five day break from school and boy this it go fast. Tomorrow she goes back already and I wish we had a few more days to play.

Thursday
It was a day filled with friends. Rory was over for a few hours. The three of them ran around the basement. After Rory left the girls and I went to Lifetime. I ran and walked on the treadmill and the girls played. I managed to get in five miles thanks to Pinterest for keeping my mind occupied. After we got home we had tacos, a serious family favorite! Maddie came over to play and decided to spend the night as well as Gwenyth and Rory. It was easier for Anne as well as myself to have them stay over since they were due to arrive very early Friday morning. All five of them played hard. Ellie and Rory were in bed at 10:30 and Hadley at 11:00 and the 5th graders at midnight. It was a late night but they were having so much fun!

Ellie, Maddie, Rory, Gwenyth and Hadley watching Planes Fire and Rescue

Friday
It was cousin Katie and Hadley day! Katie picked Hadley up at 10:00 and they went to MOA. They rode ride, made Elsa Marie Heinsen at Build A Bear, had lunch, played with legos and bought Jasmine and Aladdin barbie dolls at Disney. I was home with three amigos, Ellie, Rory and Gwenyth and we played and cleaned. I pre-made a lasagne for Saturday night (Valentines). Hadley came back home around 2:30 and finally around 3:30 I decided maybe I should get dressed. We ran to Target quick for milk and when we got home Auntie Michelle was here to watch the girls so Robert and I could join Tom and Jean and the gang for dinner at Moscow on the Hill. Dinner reservations were at 7:00 and we arrived right on time. We (9 of us) had a little cozy spot. We did the whole deal and everything tasted great. I ordered the cabbage rolls and they were out of this world. We got home around 11:00. It was a late night but worth it for the great food and company.

Ellie drowned her waffles in syrup this morning!

Robert brought me home a dozen roses!

Saturday
I had to work - blah!
Robert and I girls stayed home. Rory came over for a bit. Shanessa and the kids arrived around 2:00. I got home about 3:45 to Anne, Robert and Shanessa have bloody mary's. I enjoyed one too and then we took the kids to Lifetime to swim. They had a great time. When we got home we had our lasagne dinner and the kids were in bed early... a little before 9:00. Robert went and saw the movie American Sniper. He really liked it. He was surprised that the kids were all in bed when he got home. It was a early night for the rest of us because I had to work at 7 again.

Nevaeh moves a lot in her sleep.

Sunday 
I had to work again - blah!
Shanessa and the kids hung out the whole day. She said they played the entire time, school, house, barbies. The little ones watched Frozen so they wouldn't bother the big ones. When I got home we decided to take the older girls to see Snowflake at the Children's theater company. I called and there were rush tickets available so we got super close seats for $15 a ticket. It was a cute performance by one man named Snowflake who made junk useful. He used action instead of words. Shanessa and the younger ones ran some errands and ate supper at McDonalds. After the show we had happy meals from McDonalds too. When we got home the little ones just finished a bath it was Hadley and Nevaehs turn. After bath we relaxed. The kids were in bed around 9:45 except Parker he went down earlier because he wasn't feeling good. His cough had picked up and he was so tired he fell asleep in the living room. Shanessa and I were able to have a couple of drinks and we went to bed around 12:30. It was a nice night!

Hadley and Neveah enjoyed the show.

Matching PJ's

Monday
We took the kids to the zoo. It was packed! But it was still fun. Shanessa and the kids left for home from their. The girls and I had Noodles and Company for lunch then we came home. Hadley wanted to take a nap. She rested for 20 minutes and then got up, Ellie took a bath. I am writing this blog. I am trying harder in 2015 to write more. I was terrible last year. I plan to put up a couple blogs from 2014 still. Maybe I will get it done today who knows.

Ellie slept in until 9:30 this morning and she was in our bed!

Scrambled eggs and hotdogs for breakfast with toast and juice.

The penguins are always a favorite for the girls!

Hadley loves the pink flamingos!

These four are so much fun to hang out with! They were good listeners today.

Golden Birthdays

Mine was when I was "1" --- No memory for me.
Robert was when he was "13" --- Robert states no memory.
Hadley asked me tonight when is her "golden birthday?"
I explained the idea of it... she got it.
Hadley's will be when she is "9"
Ellie when have hers when she is "22"

Hadley said she'd like to go out for pizza!

We are going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

A very nice winter day