Just Keep Scrolling, Scrolling, Scrolling

I have been working almost all day today to catch up on my blog.  I had so many things to post about and just have not been all that interested in it, nor much time.

If you are interested in seeing all the things I posted, you have to scroll back a-ways, several pages in fact.  You should be caught up when you get to the post entitled "Cajun Thanksgiving."

Duhhhh!

Savannah posted this on facebook last night after playing our new Wii Jeopardy game with her brother.  Two of my smarty pants, math geniuses obviously need to go back to the basics.  Even I knew the answer to that one! 

playing jeopardy with Tristan:

clue : 27 divided by 3 equals this.
me: eight!
Tristan: no! its seven!
alex trebek: nine.
obviously we need a math lesson (: 

This is the conversation that followed on Facebook with one of Savannah's friends, Alyssa:

Alyssa:  LOL!  Mrs. Morgan would be ashamed!  Love you guys!
Savannah:  I know.  It's those calculators.  Can't do long division.  Obviously can't multiply.
Alyssa:  Devilish things they are, calculators.
Savannah:  Devilish indeed.....  

Hahaha!  These kids crack me up!

The Elf on the Shelf

Last year, my friend, RaeAnn told me about The Elf on the Shelf.  The elf comes from the North Pole and watches to make sure everyone is good during the Christmas season.  Every night he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa and then finds a new place in the house to watch from.

It sounded like so much fun that we went out and found one for our house.  He made his first appearance and the children named him Morri, which is short for Mahonrimoriancamer (if that's anywhere close to the actual spelling), but then it seemed like he really loved the spot he first picked to watch from, because he stayed there the rest of the time.  The kids did not really pay too much attention to him.

This year, he arrived with Christmas pajamas for everyone and has hung out all around the house over the past month.  The boys loved waking up and looking for him.  We found him in some really cool places. 

Hitching a ride with the Wise Men to find Baby Jesus.

 

Watching from Ethan's stocking.

Checking out the angel's view of things.

In the plant, with a Christmas word search from Santa's Workshop.

Snacking on the donuts he brought everyone for breakfast. 

I guess we caught him before he could finish.

We also found him hanging from the lamp, perched on the clock, watching from the key holder, and even in a present.  Some people have really naughty elves that play pranks while visiting their house, but we have a very good and kind elf.  Several days he brought us treats, wrote us notes, and even changed the batteries in our clock one night.

He leaves tonight to return to Santa at the North Pole. 
It's been fun having Morri with us. We will miss him. 
Until next year!

Look What's Cookin'

Traditional Christmas Eve shrimp boil with lemon butter and horseradish sauce.

BBQ chicken bites for the suckers who don't like shrimp.

Build-A-Bear & Toys For Tots

Today, Tristan and Savannah went to Jennings to help deliver toys with the Toys For Tots organization.  

The youth spent the month collecting toys at church.  

The Marines invited them to come be elves and help the kids get their gifts.

For Christmas, Savannah got the little boys gift cards to Build-A-Bear Workshop.  The nearest one is in Lafayette and we had planned to take the boys the week after Christmas to cash in their gift cards.  

After the youth activity was announced, we decided to take the kids on into Lafayette while we waited for the big kids to be done.

Ethan had been to Build-A-Bear before, but the little boys were there for the first time and did not really know what to expect.  Jackson had said that he wanted a monkey and Holden had an elephant in mind. 

But when Jackson saw the tiger, he immediately wanted to make a Daniel Tiger.

Holden and Ethan chose the exact same Brown Lab dog to make. 

Here they are doing the "Heart Ceremony."

They rubbed the hearts to make them warm, kissed them to make their animal loving, jumped to make them playful, and rubbed them on their muscles to make them strong and brave. 

Holden decided to name his brown dog Sassy, like his pup at home.

Jackson stuffing Daniel.

Ethan working on stuffing his dog.  He did not know what to name it.  

We had to borrow the Book of Names.  

Daddy helping Holden and Jackson brush and fluff their animals.

After that, we picked out a few clothing items for their dogs.  Daniel got a red sweater and pair of tennis shoes, just like he looks on the show.  Sassy got a hooded shirt to wear.  

We are a little confused with the name Holden picked.  

He keeps talking about Sassy and we think he is talking about the real dog in the back yard.  

We have to clarify. 

Ethan decided to name his dog Max and picked out a hooded shirt and an orange neckerchief.

We had fun and the kids are loving their animals.  We shopped a little bit more in the mall, ate at Chick-Fil-A and went to Target before heading home.

The big kids had a great day too.  They went to the armory in Jennings where the toys were all layed out on tables.  They walked around with the kids who were there to get toys for Christmas and showed them all the toys that they could choose from.  There was a black trash bag that already had three toys in it that their parents had picked out earlier and the kids got to choose one they liked to be added to the bag and taken home to be wrapped for Christmas morning.  After that they all went to McDonald's for lunch.

Do You See What I See?

I was at the Toyota dealership last week with Holden.

He was sick so I kept him home from Mother's Day Out.

I really needed to take him home and put him to bed, but when I left the house to take Jackson to school, 

I noticed that my tire pressure light was on, indicating that I had low tire pressure.

This was actually the second day this week that it was on, so I felt the need to go ahead and take it in to make sure there was not a nail in it.

We made some hot chocolate and were playing "I Spy" to keep ourselves busy when we decided to take a closer look at the beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby.  

It was very tall and had huge, over-sized ornaments all over.

I asked Holden what this was.  His answer, "A snowflake."

"What is this one?" I asked.  "A bell," he said.

"And what about this one?" I wondered.  

With much confidence he shouted, "That's Jupiter!"

Christmas at Mother's Day Out

This morning was our Mother's Day Out Christmas Program.

I invited RaeAnn and Matthew to come and Ethan was home from school sick, so I doped him up and brought him along as well.  

When we got there, we dropped Jackson off in the room with his class and Holden made me wait with him.  RaeAnn, Matthew, and Ethan went to find seats.

Ms. Debbie, the lady in charge of the Mother's Day Out Program.

Holden was so excited to be a shepherd until it was time to perform.

We waited and waited to see him come out and join his class, but he just never came.

I walked over to see what was up and found him laying on the floor by the door.

He refused to go be with his class.

He was much happier watching his class perform from the comfort of Ethan's chair.

Jackson was a Wise Man who brought Joy to Baby Jesus.

After each kid in his class came to wish Baby Jesus a Happy Birthday,

they sang "Happy Birthday" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

When the program is over, we went into the kitchen for a snack.

Holden decided to hide under the table while we ate.

I think he might still not be feeling so hot after being sick last week.

Jackson with his teachers, Ms. Yolanda and Ms. Arlene.

He loves being in their class.

Holden with Ms. Brittney and Ms. Sarah.

They are the same teachers from last year.  They moved up with his class because Ms. Brittney's son is now in the two year-old class.

They both have really fun teachers and enjoy going to Mother's Day Out.

Our Student of the Year

We found out several weeks ago that Savannah was chosen as a nominee for Student of the Year.

The faculty and staff chose ten 8th grade students who were invited to apply.  We had to sign tons of paper work and then she had to fill out an application including all of her grades, test scores, leadership, activities, and awards beginning with sixth grade until now.

She then had to write a biographical sketch including her family history, hobbies and interests, activities, career and life ambitions, and three issues that she deals with or that are important to her in her life.  She chose to write about her hypoglycemia, teen suicide, and kids cussing and using profane language.

The applications were due on Friday, December 7, but an earlier memo said they were due Tuesday, December 11.  Savannah had hers turned in on Friday, but most everyone else did not turn theirs in until Tuesday.  After receiving everyone's applications, the faculty committee was supposed to choose five finalists that would then appear before another separate committee for interviews and another written assignment.

After all week of hearing nothing, we found out yesterday afternoon that they were interviewing all the candidates at 8:00 am today.  Savannah was a little freaked out and felt unprepared.  She was expecting to hear if she made the group of finalists before hearing about interviews.  We were also thinking that they would make the announcement today at school of who was chosen as a finalist and give them the weekend to prepare to interview.  They also usually dress up for the interviews but the school counselor said they were to wear their school uniforms instead.  

After the school contest, the winner is submitted to the parish contest and from there it goes as far as the State Middle School Student of the Year.  Two years ago, in Tristan's grade, the middle school Student of the Year was also chosen as the Calcasieu Parish Student of the Year.

I've been trying to prepare her all along by getting her to think of things they might ask in an interview.  I was having her think about her strengths and weaknesses, who she thought her hero was, and why she felt she should be honored above all other candidates.

  We are so proud of Savannah and all that she has accomplished.  She has largely been dissatisfied with school over the years.  (We decided she should not necessarily tell them that in the interview.)  But even through all the ups and downs, she still holds herself to a higher standard and studies hard and is respectful to her teachers and other students.  Her teachers are the ones who nominated her for this award and I think that speaks volumes of how they perceive her as a student and as a person.  I would be proud to have her represent our community.  No matter what, she is one of our favorite students!

Student of the Year was announced today during 5th hour and Alyssa Foreman was given the honor of representing Moss Bluff Middle with the title.  She and Savannah have been best of friends since 5th grade when they sat next to each other at the Regional Science Fair.  Savannah has said from the start that she really felt like Alyssa deserved to be Student of the Year and that she hoped that Alyssa got it if she did not.  Savannah said today that she feels more excited for Alyssa than she thinks she might have felt for herself.  Alyssa is a wonderful young lady from a great family and we are so happy for her.  She is more than deserving!

Chew, Choo!!

Holden was shoveling pretzels into his mouth and I was afraid that he would choke.  I told him that he needed to chew before eating more.  And he did exactly that......

He started fake sneezing.  "Choo!  Choo!!"

I laughed.  Out loud!!

Little kids are so precious.  I love the way their innocent minds work.

Hand Written

Ethan was chosen to participate in the 3rd grade Handwriting Contest.  

He had to copy the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

He also had to answer a question about why having good handwriting is beneficial to him.

It is due tomorrow, but he worked on it all week and is supposed to turn it in to his teacher today at school.  They will choose a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place out of all the 3rd grade students who were chosen by their handwriting teachers to participate.  School winners will then be turned into the parish competition and then to the state competition.  Gillis Elementary has had six entries at the state competition.

He worked diligently on it and made several handwriting samples before deciding on this one.

Good luck to my little man!

Swim Banquet

Last night was the High School Swim Team banquet.  It was held at Crossroads Church.

We had brisket and chicken and everyone brought drinks and side dishes.

Tristan with his goofball friends, Gavin and Zac.

The coaches, Beth Marceaux and Stephanie Buta.

Tristan got a certificate for swimming two years and a certificate for lettering this season.

He also earned two patches for placing in the top 16 at the District swim meet.

Tristan was also chosen to be on the state swim team as an alternate.

He did not get to swim at the state meet, but he enjoyed getting out of school 

with nothing to do for two days.

This swim season was very dramatic and frustrating to say the least.

It would take days to explain all the crap that went on, but we are very happy to be finished.

We do not know what will happen to our team next year.  We may find ourselves without a coach and without a sponsor.  I would really hate to see that happen, but I guess time will tell.

Tristan had a good season.  He took three seconds off his 50 free and fifteen seconds off his 100 Breast.  He took more than ten seconds off his 100 free and swam the A Relay for both the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free Relay all season.  I was not surprised when he was over looked for the state relay team, even though he earned it and was promised a spot on both relays.  Part of the dramatic crap all season.

He looks really strong for next season.  We will see how it all goes down over the summer.

I hope the coaches can work everything out.  I hope the parents will calm down and stop trying to call all the shots.  I hope the coaches will grow a backbone and stand up to the threats and demands of the stupid kids and parents.  I hope the kids who don't want to be on the swim team stay home.  I hope the kids who really deserve and want to be there are given the opportunity to represent our school in a positive way.

As I said before, we will see.  As for now, I am enjoying sleeping in.

Moss Bluff Christmas Parade

This morning was the Moss Bluff Christmas Parade.

We dropped Tristan off at the school and went to Sonic for our traditional parade snack.

While had made plans to meet the DeFelices and the Hilliards, so after getting our food we went to find our favorite parade spot in front of the office at Holy Family.

We had a bit of a wait so we folded down the seats in the van and ate our food and visited.

Alyssa's mom came by as well as our neighbors, Logan and Dylan.

We were glad to see so many friends.

The parade finally started!

The parade Marshals.

Boy Scout Troop 21 carrying the flag.

The high school band.

Tristan was right at the front, on the second row.

You can see him if you look at the tip of the Santa hat on the color guard girl on the far right.

Her hat looks like it is touching his face.

Now it looks like the drum major's arm is touching his arm.

He is marching on the yellow line on the left side of the picture.

Just past the drum major's hand, to the left of the mellophone's bell.

We thought this was Santa driving the old car, but we were wrong.

 Santa was driving the John Deere tractor.

The parade was short but fun and we ended up with lots of throws.  

And of course, we always love to see Tristan march.

Girls Night Out

Savannah and I went out to do some Christmas shopping and had a little bit of a wait before we could come back and pick Tristan up from wrestling, so we decided to stop at one of our favorite Chinese places, Jo Jo's Bistro for some egg drop soup and fried rice.  We were the only ones there until we were almost ready to leave and a large family came in for dinner.  They were all dressed up and fancy!

The soup came in a HUGE bowl with a HUGE serving spoon, so of course, 

Savannah had to be silly about it all.

Of course she loved the fact that the servers were staring at her and speaking rapidly in a foreign language.  She loves being a goof!

Nothin' LIke It

Nothin' like the love between a boy and his dog.

This child is in hog heaven!

Quotable Quotes

Jackson asked me to make him a ham sandwich.  I was working on something at the moment, so I told him to go ask Dad to make one for him.

He came back and told me that Dad could not make one because he had to take a bath.  Jokingly, I told Jackson to tell his father that I have not had a bath today either.

Ethan turned to Jackson and said, "I could make you a knuckle sandwich."

My Louisiana Sky

At the bus stop this morning.

Jackson-isms

Jackson has been cracking me up the past few days.  He is more and more curious about so many things that four year old minds usually do not bother themselves with.

~ "Mom, how many sides and angles are on a hexagon?"

~ I'll need to put some sunscreen on.  I do not want to get sunburned today."

~ After asking how to spell the word ookie.  "So.....if you add a "C" to the front of it, you have cookie."

~ "I used to think that 1+1 equaled 11, but then I realized it was only 2."

~ "What is 12 X 12?"

~ "Mom, when can I fly a plane?"

~ "Is pizza healthy?  I only want to eat healthy foods so that I do not get sick again."

~ "How old do you have to be to go into space?"

~ "Has Santa sent me a message yet?"

~ "What color do you get if you mix brown and white?"

~ "Pluto used to be a planet, but now he is a dog."  (Referring to the Disney character.)

~ "Santa is coming to our house and down through the chimney because he is magic."

~ "I drew a picture of Savannah.  She's in jail."

~ "Do penguins live at the South Pole with Santa, or do they only live at the top of the earth?"

~ "When can I join Scouts?"

~ "Why do we blast out into space when we fly planes?"

~ "What is 4+4?  Oh yeah, it's 8."

~ "I am going to ask Santa for a drum and a pair of drumsticks."

~ "If you have a hot dog, you have to have french fries 'cause those two go together.  Apples go with grilled        cheese."

~ "How many more days until I can start Kindergarten?"

Trust me.  I am counting too, and it's way too many, child.  Way too many!

Breakfast With Santa

After dropping Tristan off at the school for their band trip to Natchitoches, and Savannah at the Children's Theater for Character Dining, we took the boys to Breakfast with Santa at Holy Family Catholic School.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were ready for us when we walked in!

Holden was very chatty, talking Santa's ear off.

I'm not sure Santa ever found out what was on his list, but Holden was happy with a candy cane.

Jackson got right to the point and told Santa he wanted a drum and drum sticks for Christmas.

Ethan was so shy and quiet that Santa had to listen very intently to hear what he wanted for Christmas.

The boys loved their visit with Santa!

After talking to Santa, we went to our table and colored while we waited to be served our very yummy breakfast of pancakes, sausage, juice, and milk.

When we were done, Allen and the kids dropped me off at the DeFelice's house and Brenda and I went Christmas shopping in Lafayette.  We went to the mall, to Toys-R-Us, Marshall's, Dollar Tree, and ate lunch at Copeland's.  It was a fun and very productive day.  I have almost all the Christmas shopping done!  

I think that is a record.