Is there a snow day in my future?

It has been snowing steadily since mid afternoon and is beginning to look pretty white out there. John and I took a walk after that ugly Packer loss and it was very pretty out there. If it keeps snowing all night long, there is a good chance we will have a snow day tomorrow. While most children and probably teachers enjoy a snow day, I find it difficult at the Preschool level. I only have so many days to finish up Christimas projects and teach Christmas songs and recitations. Some of my Monday kids only come two days per week so you can see the dilemma I face here. I also have my whole classroom set up for Monday's class. The helper chart, the name tags, the attendance chart, the projects, the worksheets, etc are all ready for tomorrow's class. But then again, they are only three and four years old and have lots more days of school ahead of them in their lives and it only takes minutes to ready the room for Tuesday's kids, so weigh that against a nice day off and I would enjoy a snow day after all. I will check the scrolling screen tomorrow when I wake up and see if we have another day off!

The weekend wrap up

Here is Tizzy, clearly indicating that she wants to come to Grandma's.

MMMM Brownie batter!

Licking the brownie bowl.

Notice the chocolate on Tizzy's shirt!

Tizita and Grandma in the tent we built.

My grown up babies

This is our silly Tizita taking a ride in her doll's stroller. She is also trying to tell us something here with her hand expressions.

We had a very fun time visiting with Tizita again this weekend. We licked brownie batter- she takes after her grandma in that department. We just can't get enough of that batter! We put up a Tee-pee and tubes to crawl through. Grandma almost got stuck going through the tube, but luckily Tizita helped pull me out. We made a tent in her playroom and sat in there for awhile drinking coffee and visiting. I taught her to use her scissors and she did very well, we cut up paper and then used the glue bottle to glue it on other paper. I was very impressed with her cutting skills. I just don't want her to be one of those kids who goes off to Preschool without scissors skills! She also had a wonderful time playing with her Aunt Alissa who was also up there with us. They formed a very nice aunt/niece bond. Alissa was even able to get some pretties in her hair!
Today we have been to church and to Walmart. Now I have the rest of the day to relax and do some Christmas prep. Snow is predicted for this afternoon and into the night, so maybe we will have a snow day tomorrow!

Babysitting for the very first time!!!!!!!!!!!

Tizita has been left in John and my care while her mama, papa, and Aunt Alissa go out for a bit. We are so excited to be given this very important job. Courtney and Paul put her bed and I don't think she will wake up, but I am keeping my ear on the moniter just in case. I have strict orders to go up, don't turn on lights, and lay down next to her if I hear her stirring and to call them if she cries too long. I am secretly hoping she wakes up because I really would love to snuggle with her up there, but I am guessing they will be home before she even notices they left. This is what a grandparent lives for!

Thanksgiving Day!

Alissa has always been our turkey carver.

The yummy desserts, famous ice cream cake, french silk pie, and pumpkin bars.

Here are two of the cooks. they felt they should wear grandma's shower caps to keep hair out of the food.

Our outside lights!

It was a perfect Thanksgiving Day. The turkey and all the trimmings were yummy and the company was good. Not only did we enjoy a great feast but we got the outside lights up and the tree decorated. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Thanksgiving Eve visited again

Here are my mom, Alissa, and me enjoying our pizza.

Here are Mallory and Kevin at the Pizza restaurant. Our conversations on these outings always seem to go back to our dad, Ken. This is shortly after Kevin spit his beer out due to laughing so hard about Ken's vinyl shoes!

Here are John and I at the new Firecracker Bar. John wore that sweater to work unbeknownst to me when I chose my outfit. Whoa! Married too long, think too much alike or just look good in red? Not sure... Taps are only $.75 here!

Thanksgiving Eve

On Thanksgiving Eve it is our tradition to go out to eat and have a few beers and lots of laughs. This year it was Alissa, Mallory, (Although she does not drink the beers) Kev, my mom, John, and I. Here are the two lovely ladies waiting for their pizza at Rock River Pizza Company. Just look at how long Alissa's hair is! She is growing it out to donate to Locks of Love and she has a little bit to go yet. Mallory looks pretty good after being kicked in the face during a cheerleading stunt that went terribly wrong!
I wanted to download a few more photos but blogger is not communicating well today so I will try later.
The turkey is in the oven and it already smells so good. We will go to church in a bit and then the six of us will sit down to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner before we tackle the tree.
I wish all of you a very Happy, Blessed Thanksgiving. What a year of blessings it has been for us!

Tizu's Trip to Target

"Thanks, Grandpa for taking me to Target, when can we go again?"

Last weekend on Sunday Courtney had to run to Target, so John and I volunteered to go along and watch Tizu while mama shopped. It brought back such fun memories of when Courtney and Alissa were small. We used to go to Value Village in Elkhorn and just let them walk around and touch things. It was pretty much like a free museum. We didn't have a lot of money in those days (still don't, I guess) so we had to find cheap entertainment for them. We only had one episode when Courtney broke a bottle of Pine Sol. Who puts such a product on a bottom shelf where a child can reach it so easily? We just high tailed it out of Value Village. Anyway getting back to Target we had such a fun time just letting Tizu walk around, touch everything, and explore. When we took her to the Christmas section and showed her the trees she gently touched the ornaments and said "oooooh, Pretty!" It was precious! I am happy to report that she is a toucher just like her grandma and her Aunt Alissa. We are notorious for touching everything we see and Tizu appears to be the same way. It was just such fun and I look forward to many more shopping trips.

It takes a Village

This afternoon I put up my village. I was excited to get it up but once I started dragging the boxes up from the basement, struggled with all the cords and power strips, and the wrinkled up snow blanket, I was no longer so excited about it. I should have waited for Mallory to help me. This is the first year in a long time that she wasn't here to assist me in the assembly of said village. She will be here on Thanksgiving so she can make any changes that she deems necessary. Alissa will be here for Thanksgiving this year, too. Nathan is going to spend the holiday with his dad. This is one holiday that they will always spend apart, I think. Nathan and his dad like to have a real manly Thanksgiving and Alissa tried it once, but preferred to spend it here with us. It does give Nathan and his dad some nice bonding time. I haven't told Alissa yet, but she will be helping me put up the tree on Thanksgiving night. Watch the comments, I am sure she will give me her two cents worth on the tree idea. John tried to put up our outside lights on Saturday, but he said it was the worst day of his life. Seems the clearance lights we purchased at Target last year were all tangled up in the boxes. I will be attempting to untangle those tomorrow. Bah, Humbug!!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!

This is my artsy shot. Those are snowflakes falling.

I am not a fond lover of winter but even I have to admit that what we woke up to this morning was very beautiful. I took a few pictures this morning before I left for work but bear in mind it was still pretty dark outside so they don't really do the winter wonderland justice. John and I walked tonight in the new fallen snow and it was magical. I think it is more the cold that I dislike, the snow is actually not so bad unless one has to drive in it. My Preschoolers were so excited today about the first snowfall, their parents were less than thrilled. Sometimes I wish we could keep that childhood excitement!

A ride in Mallory's Wagon

Shortly after Courtney and Paul announced their plan to adopt from Ethiopia, we all started finding things we wanted their child to have. Mallory decided that she wanted him or her to have the wagon that she enjoyed riding in when she was a little girl. We cleaned it up and took it to Oshkosh where it waited patiently, as we all did, to find out who would ride in it.
Well, in the above photos you can see Tizita enjoying the wagon. Papa takes her to the lake on their daily walks in the wagon. She enjoys it every bit as much as Mallory did! Thanks Mallory for sharing!
In these photos, Tizita is wearing the snowsuit that Alissa wore 28 years ago. It is one of the things that I saved. We think it is just the right color for Tizita and she really enjoyed putting it on today. We will be sure and give it back to Alissa if and when she needs it for her little girl! Now if only Tizu would wear mittens, she only keeps socks on her hands!
Be sure to read the previous entry, too. I posted them both at the same time, but due to photo problems I had to do them separately.

Meghan and the brothers finally meet Tizita

We just had another fun filled weekend with sweet Tizita. On Saturday my friend Lynne, her daughter Melissa (also my friend) and Melissa's daughter Meghan and twins Calvin and Jacob met Tizita for the first time. It didn't take long for all of them to become fast friends. They had tea parties together, frolicked on beds, threw beanbags, and drove trucks. They brought Tizita the Elephant game with the butterflies which was a big hit. They headed back to Watertown while I stayed to spend some more time with Tizita. I will post a new entry about the rest of the weekend.

What happened in Bethlehem?

We are beginning to learn our Christmas songs for our Christmas Eve service which incidentally is not on Christmas Eve this year, but rather on the Sunday before Christmas. Anyway, as we were learning a new song that mentioned Bethlehem, I asked my four year old class what happened in Bethlehem. Now, granted, I haven't taught them the official lesson yet, but since we have been singing these songs I have explained certain crucial parts so they better understand why and what they are singing about. So as I was reading them the words that mentioned Bethlehem, I asked them what happened in Bethlehem, which I thought was a gimme question. Here are a few responses which came after a few moments of intense thinking. (This group always tells me they have to think a little, I personally feel their brains need to wake up or something)
"That is where the walls fell down." (No, that would be Jericho)
"That is where the people all got sick" (No. that would be in Egypt before Moses led the Israelites out)
"That is where they took the big ship" ( No, that would be the Mayflower which is not mentioned in the Bible)
And there were a few more very lame guesses until I had to hand guide them to the answer of Jesus being born there!
The next day, I asked my three year old class the same question in the same way and immediately a few of them said, "Jesus was born there in a stable on Christmas."
After 25+ years of teaching little ones, it is still amazing how different classes can be.
I hope all my readers know what happened in Bethlehem all those many years ago and how that one little event changed our world forever!

Another Cheerleader in the Family!

Congratulations to Mallory for making varsity cheerleading! We look forward to seeing her in action! She is following in Courtney's footsteps! Go Goslings!

New Obsession!

I found yet another new activity to occupy my time as if I needed something else to stick into my day! I joined facebook. I am still very new at it all and trying to navigate around the site and see what I can find. I am looking for more friends! Story of my life, always looking to find new friends. I checked out my graduating class from Watertown High School class of 1971 and I found only 7 members my class of over 350. And the seven were not people that I care to touch base with after all these years. My Carroll College class of 1975 had a few more members, but again, not anyone that I care to contact at this point in my life. No long lost boyfriends... I would be all over them! I did find my good friend, Terri up in Medford, WI. She wasn't ever lost, but maybe now we can keep in touch on a more regular basis. Also found my ex sister in law in NC, again not ever lost, but good to touch base again. And our good friend David Bigelow contacted me and we haven't been in touch for a few years now. I am now going to look for a few truly lost friends and hopefully they are members and I can find them again. How does one lose track of their friends anyway? I do think I am on the cutting edge because most people my age don't join facebook so I give myself a pat on the back for that! If you read this blog and are a member of facebook, please come and be my friend in cyberspace!

Wordless Wednesday, just pictures to enjoy

Gigi, Toilet paper, and a very happy little lady

"Is that toilet paper I spy over there. I better get to unrolling that!"

"Help me get this started, stat!"

"Gigi, you keep your eye peeled for mama, I'll get started."

"Wow, this really unrolls very easily. I think I can get it all off before mama notices!"

"Mama, what do you mean, I can't do this at home?"

Tizita's first visit to Watertown!!!!!

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend with Tizita, mama, and papa. They ended up staying an extra day which was such a great surprise for us! She was such a busy, happy girl and entertained all of us! I know she felt comfortable and happy here which made me feel good. She slept well, ate well, laughed alot, and spent time with all of us. Mallory and Tizzy spent a good amount of time in the bathtub (with clothes on, no water) Tizzy enjoyed opening and closing the sliding doors. Grandpa and Tizzy drove around in her little blue car and used the play washing maching a lot. Gigi and Tizzy unrolled toilet paper and did a lot of dancing. And I got lots of kisses and hugs and snuggle time!

Tizita enjoyed the little booster chair I bought her and she ate so well.

Enjoying time with Grandpa and Grandma

A moment to snuggle and relax.

Tizzy and Mimi going for a ride in our rocker. Grandpa was controlling the wild ride.

Tizita enjoyed playing in our shower and especially liked to pop her head out over the top!

Mallory and Tizzy had fun playing with playdough.

Here is Tizita taking a bath on Saturday night in our tub. We talked about all the children who have taken baths in this tub. My dad used to tell my brother and I that the tub, with us in it, would fall through to the basement if we continued to splash water outside of the tub. Not sure if that ever could happen, but I was always fearful of that fall to the basement, so I kept the water in the tub. I am pretty sure my brother splashed all the more to see if he could make the tub fall. Anyway Tizzy enjoyed her bath and the tub stayed put.

Here is Tizita sitting on my lap eating my cereal for her Sunday breakfast. She quite enjoyed the yogurt cheerios and milk.

Here is Tizita in her pretty church clothes. We were so proud and excited to take her to church with us for the first time. She was so good in church. She kept signing Jesus and saying "Jesus" as she pointed to the cross. She also said "Amen" quite often and folded her hands. She spent the service going between me, John, Gigi, Mallory, Pam, and Kev. She was one busy little churchgoer.