2010 Hollidazzle Parade

Opening weekend of the annual Target Hollidazzle Parade!!!  We have never gone on opening weekend, but the weather forecast said ... YOU SHOULD GO because it is darn cold but it is only going to get colder the longer you wait!  So, due to the fact that we waited last year and mommy was miserable standing outside, we went and braved opening weekend crowds.

We headed downtown early and decided to enjoy a casual dinner out at Hell's Kitchen.   The girls had a great time there ordering chocolate milk and silly face pancakes!!

After eating, we found a spot along the parade route and parked the girls in their jogging stroller while daddy headed off to find hot coffees as the the girls had arrived prepared with their own Hello Kitty thermos of hot chocolate made by daddy at home.

We happily waited for the parade to start and the girls definitely thought the cold night was worth every minute once it started.

As always, Santa signaled the end of the parade and the girls were thrilled they got a chance to see the big guy and were busy waving away as he passed in front of us.

Mommy even got in on the light action by wearing one of the girls parade hats ... pretty stylish in a strange sort of way!

We had a great time once again this year and I am sure we will return for another visit next holiday season.  It was a great way to start the Christmas countdown!!

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit!

Santa in his sleigh with Rudolph and another reindeer as drawn by Miss Alyssa:

Rudolph, Princess Celestia and a few smaller pegasus unicorns as drawn by Miss Madison:

On This Thanksgiving ...

 Madison is Thankful for a pegasus and unicorns.

Alyssa is Thankful for rainbows and family.

2010-2011 Preschool Pictures

ECFE Visit with an Elf and a Reindeer!

We made a special trip to school today on a non-school day to enjoy a visit from a local elf and reindeer.  The kids even got the chance to listen to Santa himself on the phone answering some of their questions.

We found out today that girl reindeer do have antlers and the antlers fall off of the boys during the fall and winter, so we learned that all of Santa's reindeer are ... wait for it ... GIRLS!   Mommy and daddy think somebody might want to inform poor little Clarice who has been thinking for many years now that Rudolph is indeed a boy ... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The girls had lots of questions for our elf and Miss Madison stole the show when the elf asked her if she thought girl reindeer had antlers ... of course she said no ... the elf said they do!   Madison told the elf he was wrong and proceeded to march through the crowd yelling MOM ... MOM ... tell him they do not!

After the majority of kids left, the girls stayed to thank our friendly elf for his visit and got a little one on one time with Dolly the reindeer.  They petted her, felt the sharpness of her hoof edges and even gave her a kiss right on the old reindeer lips.  Although both girls were having a great time, Madison really has a way with animals and she asked the questions and showed no fear in touching our little friend.

We are very much looking forward for more holiday fun as Thanksgiving approaches and Christmas not far behind ... :)

What is wrong with his girl parts?

Okay, so IT happened ... this past week in the locker room after swimming lessons.  By IT, I mean that there was a naked boy in the girls locker room, about 4 years of age ... standing there waiting to be dressed by his mother.

We were in the locker room changing from our wet swimming suits into dry clothes and the entire time, which then seemed like hours but was actually minutes, both the girls simply stared at this boy ... or more precisely his boy parts.  Needless to say, mommy hurried as fast as I could to get the girls dressed and turned in another direction without making an issue of the naked little boy about one foot away from us.

The boy and his mother left ... one mommy and two wet girls means a much slower exit from the locker room ... and we finished changing, brushing hair and packing up our belongings.  We left the locker room without a word mentioned and actually made it all the way to the car, into the car seats, seat belt almost locked, when Miss Madison spoke ...

Madison:  Mom, why was that boy's girl parts hanging down?

Mommy made a quick glance across the backseat to where daddy's face turned slightly red and he quickly locked Alyssa into her seat.  Okay ... no help there ...

Mommy:   Well, because boys do not have girl parts, they have a penis which hangs down and girls have a vagina which doesn't.

Mommy glances to the front seat to see daddy wishing he wasn't present in the car and obviously questioning my decision to use the words penis and vagina.

Madison:  Peeeeeenissss????????????  That is funny mom.

Alyssa:  Yeah, that is funny!

Mommy:  Well, it isn't meant to be funny it is just a body part.

Madison:  Well, I am glad I have a PAGINA mommy!

Mommy:  Well so are we Maddie ... patting her head and shutting the door ... 

wishing I had a martini ...

First Snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winter has arrived in style today ... 11 inches (28 cm) of snow, some rain and no electricity to our home for an hour or so.   We played outside, made a snow man and decided it was great fun to go down our playground slide and land in a snow pile at the bottom.  

Daddy had to both snow blow AND shovel the driveway as the snow was very, very wet and heavy.  The girls helped daddy with this task, until they were wet, cold and hungry.

We headed inside for hot cocoa and lunch just before we lost the electricity to the house.   Daddy decided no electricity was a good excuse for a road trip to the Mall of America for Ginger Pear Martinis and sushi rolls at Crave ... how could mommy disagree with that??????

A Few Pieces of Artwork

Madison's Masterpieces:

Alyssa's Masterpieces:

5 Year Well Child Checks

Geez, I remember all the well baby checks and how much work it was to have two babies seen at the same time, dressing, undressing, diapers off, diapers on  ... trying to keep my notes straight on each baby as to who was eating how much and how often and who peed more than the other.  Now, here we are for our five year checks and it was relatively painless for everyone, especially since we took care of the kindergarten shots last year ... yeah!!

We have it down to a system now ... book the girls back to back, first appointment following the doctor's lunch break and show up 30 minutes early for paperwork, hearing and visions testing before the doctor gets back ... perfect and helped cut down the excessive waiting in the past.

The girls are both doing beautifully.   We had Alyssa's injured cheek looked at as it is one month since the injury and there is still a very visible mark on the outside of her cheek, bruising on the inside and a hard lump in the soft tissues.  Basically, she had a lot of internal bleeding in the mouth and that lump is now scar tissue.  He said the majority of these types of injuries will heal completely over the course of six months to a year ... otherwise, we can visit a plastic surgeon at age 10 ... uggggggggg

Madison's only concern remains her very large adenoids which seem to be affecting her sleep with snoring, apnea concerns and easy vomiting.   Her love of food is slowly disappearing too as nothing tastes good she says ... so come Monday we will be making an appointment to see an Otolaryngologist about possibly removing her adenoids, which although is a very common surgery ... is still major surgery.

So here are the numbers as far as stats go:

Alyssa - 46 1/4" and 46 pounds (117.5 cm and 20.9 kg) which is 81st percentile for weight and 96th percentile for height.

Madison - 42 1/2" and 35 pounds (108 cm and 15.9 kg) which is 14th percentile for weight and 45th percentile for height.

So peanut is still our peanut and pumpkin and is still our pumpkin ... both doing very well.

Bob THE Beachcomber ... A Concert

Yes ... this guy used to be a member of Bob & The Beachcombers but now is ... *sigh* ... just Bob THE Beachcomber.  Mommy remembers some of the glory days of the entire band, playing at trade shows, conventions and the occasional school dance back in the 1980's and 1990's.   Now it is just Bob, his guitar and a fancy 12 tape deck boom box ... but the kiddies LOVE him and, therefore, so does mommy.

Tonight Bob played a 45 minute beach concert at the High School common area and mommy wasn't sure what to expect but was happily surprised to see about 100 little kids rockin and rollin to some awesome 50's and 60's songs with the theme song from Sponge Bob Squarepants thrown in for good measure.   Surprisingly enough, even though my girls do not watch the porous, yellow, pant wearing sponge ... they knew the song and it was like a mini mosh pit with children screaming "Sponge Bob Squarepants" like he were a real rock star ... makes mommy think back to the Iowa Jam days when Bon Jovi was the big draw ... yes, those were the days!

Anyway, the beach party was a huge success the girls had a great time dancing and shaking their tail feathers.

Miss Lori would have been proud to see the performance which included much of the upcoming dance recital moves they have been learning!

We will definitely be looking forward to Bob's next performance in our area sometime soon, we hope!!