Sharing my adventures as a wife, mom, teacher, avid reader, and wannabe crafter.: the mommy express

Christmas Morning

Filed Under : Family,Fun,Holiday,Life,Love by Steph

Jan. 02

2013

Makes me sad to think that Christmas was over a week ago. Our winter break has been lovely and is going (as always) much too quickly. So before it ends, here’s our Christmas morning.

Santa came!

The girls were up at 7am and then.it.was.on. Our families were very thoughtful in their gift giving – Lily looooves her new Rapunzel dress.

Ava loved her new robe…

Both girls had asked Santa for very specific dolls – Lily wanted Fancy Nancy’s doll Marabelle and Ava wanted McKenna, the Girl of the Year “because she reads the same books that I do.” (Namely, Judy Moody and Charlotte’s Web.)

Santa decided that while although McKenna was great, in the long run Ava might appreciate having a doll that reads ALL the same type of books as Ava – so he brought her a Mini Ava doll. Ava read Santa’s note to her explaining the reasoning behind his gift and she agreed with him.

Lily was pretty pumped about her Marabelle.

And the aftermath…

More ribbon fun…

We ate some brunch, skyped with Uncle Josh, Aunt Liz, Lauren and Grandpa and Grandma Lehnert, and then spent the rest of the day enjoying our gifts and enjoying a slow-paced day – we didn’t eat our Christmas dinner (lasagna – hey, I went super low-key) until after Lily’s nap. I don’t know if we’ve had many of these kinds of Christmas’ and while we love family and missed them during this special day, it was kind of nice just to soak up the fun of the day at home.

And now we are into 2013. I still have some things on my to do list for break – including getting to Ava and Lily’s photo books from the past few years. Yes, YEARS. It’s been so nice being able to do what we want, when we want it. We will take down the tree in the next few days and that’s always a sad time, but it just gives us something to look forward to again in the coming year.

The Christmas Pageant

Filed Under : Church,Family,Fun,Holiday,Life by Steph

Jan. 02

2013

November and December were busy months for us for another reason too – because we were staying in California for Christmas, that meant the girls could be in the Christmas pageant at church. The last time was in 2009 and Ava was a sheep.

So little.

This year Ava was old enough to be an angel, which meant extra practices to learn all the dance moves that went along with being an angel. Lily so wanted to be an angel, but alas she had to do her time as a sheep.

Ava was a wonderful angel but unfortunately you don’t get to see that, as Nate’s (the videographer) view was blocked. It was hard to estimate where she would stand, because not all the angels showed up for every practice and that meant that Ava’s location moved quite often. Lily did well – we had to wake her up from her nap and that never makes for a happy Lily. You can see some of her enthusiasm below.

Before we left for church…(and Lily’s wearing the same dress that Ava-sheep wore.)

Showing off some angel moves…

The only time Lily wore the sheep’s hood that night…

Ava earned her wings!

Pretty much sums up Lily’s mood that night…

Waiting for their (non-sheep-herding) shepherds to guide them off into the night after the angel(s) appeared…

Awaiting the visit of the Three Wise Men…

Big finish!

We came home and had dinner (church ended after 6pm) a quick family photo

They wrote a not-so-quick note to Santa and laid out cookies and milk and then it was off to bed. Such an exciting night – Ava said afterward, “I think I’ll be a shepherd next year. They don’t have to dance, they just have to walk and bow.” She knows what’s up.

L’s Holiday Show

Filed Under : Holiday,Life,preschooler by Steph

Dec. 31

2012

Lily’s preschool put on their annual holiday show early in the month and as always it was bananas. I was able to get there around 3:30 (show started at 4pm) to save Nate and I good seats, but that usually doesn’t matter, as parents will stand in the walkways, blocking everyone. I asked one parent to move to the side as instructed by the staff, because she was blocking us. Three more parents took her place. But I was able to see Lily and I guess that’s all that mattered. Afterward we went to her classroom to see a visit from Santa and to celebrate.

Here’s her performance

P1020667 from Stephanie Woodhams on Vimeo.

I’m so impressed that she sang at all, I thought no way would she even want to come out with all the people. (You can hear me say on video how impressed I am that she’s wearing the hat. Not usually her thing.) It was a little overwhelming but she was a trooper. She also sang “Frosty the Snowman” and “O Christmas Tree” in the weeks leading up to the show. Loved it.

The backdrop.

Our actual view once things got underway (we were in the third row).

Worming around to see Lily.

Once in the classroom I missed her getting the gift from Santa, but again, shocked she’s not in tears.

(This photo is from three days before, and she was two seconds away from a meltdown)

Even though it’s always insane, she loved every second of it, so of course it was worth it.

Santa Visits Through the Years

Filed Under : Holiday,Life,Tradition by Steph

Dec. 31

2012

This year’s visit was both awesome and awful. Awesome because they were TROOPERS. Awful because the line was in.sane. But if we waited until the weekend before Christmas, I feared things would be worse. We soldiered on and here’s the yearly picture.

And here’s photos of Santa Visits Past…

We didn’t subject Lily to a crying picture like we did Ava (I was sitting next to Santa and Ava was on my lap in 2007) in 2010.

I took this picture just a few days ago – sure wish I would have thought to do this the day of.

The line started on the other side of the circle – out of view of my camera and kind of behind the escalator, again which you also can’t see. It then went by the people standing in the middle of this photo, past the ornament on the right and then wrapped behind the large tree and around again through the larger ornament on the left. See the two golden ornaments? That was a second line – for people who paid with their Fast Pass. No.joke. So that’s what made our line ridiculously long, the merging of these two lines. By the time we got through the ornament – and then through the tree (do you see the doorway?), we finally got to the ornament where Santa was seated. Mercy. Here’s what the tree looked like inside.

I also took a few pictures of the girls with Santa. Nate pointed out the “no cell phone pictures” and I felt that I earned these pictures.

Did I mention the mall passed out waters and candy canes to those of us in line? I feel they understood just how horrible the situation was. Nate asked was it worth it. Honestly? Yes – we would have been sad if they didn’t get a chance to talk to the Santa they are used to and there were smiles all around. And what did they ask for? Ava asked for “an American Girl doll, McKenna” and Lily asked for “Marabelle.” (Fancy Nancy’s doll.)

December 2012 Fun

Filed Under : Family,Fun,Holiday,Life by Steph

Dec. 31

2012

December must be more than one post so here goes.

We had every intention of putting the tree up after Thanksgiving, which is what we’ve done the past few years. This year we hit a snag. We keep our tree in storage and the storage company repainted this past year and painted.over.our.lock. I didn’t realize that it was actually OUR lock, so when Nate talked of purchasing bolt cutters to get into it (he was told that he’d have to wait for the regional manager, who wouldn’t be available until the middle of the week). Long story short, we have our tree, our stuff is no longer in storage, which was always the plan.

The girls helped me put up our decorations. They were SUPER pumped. I honestly wish I could bottle their enthusiasm and energy.

The placing of their name bulbs on the tree.

Decorating the tree in the living room.

Lily had a favorite branch in the family room…

I don’t think you can see from this picture, but there were eight ornaments on one branch. I confess I ended up spacing them out after she went to bed. She got me back by rearranging the ornaments when she woke up.

We also had advent activities throughout the month that included cookie decorating

(Lily’s snowman)

(Ava’s snowflake)

We went to the Nutcracker – it was Lily’s first time and she did pretty well. Little antsy at the end, but to be honest, I always feel that way at the end.

and to Bethlehem

There was also lots and lots of practice for the Christmas pageant.

This was the dress rehearsal and pretty much the only time that Lily wore the hood. You can just see Ava’s head on the left in the back.

Next up are pictures from the pageant and Christmas.

November 2012 Wrap Up

Filed Under : Holiday,House,Life by Steph

Dec. 31

2012

My mom traveled back to Michigan November 8th and it is always sad to have her leave, but I felt happy for her this time. She escaped the insanity and I was more than a little jealous.

We spent the first weekend of November packing up pretty much our entire house. Even though we were getting flooring, even though we had the beginning date of November 5th for over two months, the magnitude of the situation didn’t hit me until the Saturday night before, and then I wanted to cry. It started with 30+ boxes of flooring in both the family and living rooms for a little over a week, so the wood could acclimate to our environment.

Nate took everything off the walls too – and then efficiently packed everything that would fit into our garage. The large furniture stayed and eventually went into the box van the flooring company brought – and then everything else that couldn’t fit in the garage or the van was moved around by the flooring crew as needed.

And here’s a few days into the work…

Our floors were at different levels and in order to lay the planks the way we wanted (and the way that the owner of the flooring company recommended) we had to have plywood laid throughout the house – an unexpected addition to the job. We were only home for one day of work, and the girls and I holed up in Ava’s bedroom playing, reading and watching movies. We ate lunch in the car so we could listen to an interview on XM’s Kids Place Live. Mary Pope Osborne, the author of the Magic Treehouse books ,was going to be on, and we submitted a question on facebook that was answered on air! (She loves Shakespeare’s time, which just happened to be Ava’s favorite book too!)

Anyway, we were only home for that one day, and I thought I was going to go insane. My mom was there for three days and I don’t know how she didn’t lose it. The workers were WONDERFUL, super friendly and kind and thoughtful, but the constant noise, cramped quarters (we wanted to stay out of their way) made me a little stir-crazy We were able to sleep in our rooms for most of the time, as they saved our rooms for last. We had mattresses down for the girls on two nights and I think Nate and I slept in our family room a few nights, but they did things super quickly.

More craziness…breakfast time…

Most of the furniture from the kids’ rooms in the family room…

Here’s the kitchen almost completed…

Ava and Lily did so well with all the craziness. I’m very thankful that we continued to have internet, so they could keep their after school routine.

The floors took two weeks and after that installation on the tile backsplash started.

Most of the work was completed before Thanksgiving, and for that (working kitchen, awesome tile-less countertop to make pie crust on, floors we could walk on, etc.) I was truly thankful!

And through all of this, I was thankful for the decision to put Grace into kitty daycare. She wasn’t happy about it, but knowing she was somewhere safe, not in inconstant fear of all the strange noises, people, random nails, staples, etc. (although again, the workers were hyperobservant about this and vacuumed really well before they left each night), was a huge relief. I dropped her off on Monday and picked her up on Friday and then it was back to daycare on Monday again. She didn’t try to starve herself, she was able to hide under a blanket and we visited her during visiting hours at night. No joke. The things we do for our furry family members.

And that was November. Lots of activity and lots of memories made!

October 2012 Wrap Up

Filed Under : Family,Halloween,Holiday,Life by Steph

Dec. 28

2012

It has been a loooong time since I posted and rather do lots of small posts, I’m going to do a month wrap up. The last few months have been busy with school and home remodeling projects. I honestly thought October was never going to end.

October saw a visit from Grandma Lehnert and the start of our kitchen remodel. Spoiler, it’s not 100% done – probably about 85%, which is good, but yeah, not done.

We planned on switching out the tile countertops for quartz, updating the lighting, adding a glass tile backsplash, replacing the sink with a stainless steel one, updating the window (Nate’s done this pretty much throughout the whole house. He just finished with the last window – in Lily’s room – today), and painting. We also lined up a local flooring company because we also wanted to have the same floors throughout the house, instead of laminate, peel and stick linoleum, and carpet, but that project didn’t get underway until November, so hold your horses.

Here’s our kitchen before shot

October 15 the countertops and backsplash were taken out – we still had a sink (thankfully because I hosted book club on the 18th) but the countertops were plywood. And they stayed that way for two weeks. We used the plastic tablecloth I use for kid projects to protect the plywood and that worked pretty well. The major bummer was we weren’t sure if the dishwasher was hooked up and so we were without one (although Grandma filled in admirably, and by admirably I mean she pretty much did the dishes) for over a month. Nate likes to remind me that he and his brother were the family dishwashers. I said that’s all fine and good, but when you are used to it, not having it is painful. The few days we were without a sink I washed them in the bathtub and all I can say is that I am so very thankful for running water and a sink. So.very.thankful.

There was the usual Halloween activities including picking out a pumpkin

Lily made straw angels – wasn’t really into picking out a pumpkin, but playing in the straw, yeeeeess.

I also forgot to bring extra cash – hello, the world does not universally accept credit cards Steph – and so sticking with one pumpkin was fine with me. Aaaaand we never carved it. It stayed on our porch through Thanksgiving, so I guess we got our money’s worth out of it.

The girls dressed up in their costumes for dance class. This year both wanted to be a fairy – Lily wanted to be a white fairy (and she was fine with the black dress) and Ava was the Halloween fairy who spread Halloween cheer to all. True story.

They participated in their school Halloween parades

and then that night we went trick-or-treating. I went as a Binder Full of Woman this year. My students watched the first and second debates and we talked about how that comment made me laugh, so they got a kick out of my costume.

Lots of other things happened of course including coughs and colds,and meetings, meetings, meetings, but these were definitely the highlights.

Their morning

Filed Under : Life,Love,school by Steph

Oct. 06

2012

Every morning I help make sure the girls are ready for the trek to school. This includes eating breakfast, making sure teeth get brushed, hair combed and uniform and mandatory (according to Lily) dress put on.

Some days I’m running a little late <cough> and so I get to see their morning ritual with Nate. Shoes tied or slipped on, sweaters on, water in backpack, plus whatever else has to be taken to school that day. Nate heads to the side of the house and gets the wagon, Lily’s set in and off they go.

It’s a pretty sweet view. As I mentioned in a previous post, (where I also <cough> said I had a picture of this event) I acted as paparazzi to get the picture, although Nate said I was very obvious about it. I don’t think the girls knew, but I’m glad I got a chance to capture this moment. This was maybe the second week of school and Lily was still in her sad-phase before school. But not here.

Did you know…?

Filed Under : Life,school by Steph

Sep. 03

2012

In her first weeks of school Ava has thrilled us with many facts about the things she learned at school. For example, did you know these facts about ladybugs?

their jaws don’t work like ours – instead their jaws close vertically
when ladybugs come out from their pupa they are orange or yellow
the larva can eat 100 aphids a day and as a side-note aphids suck juice from leaves and that makes leaves die.
ladybugs eat marley bugs
there are many kinds of ladybugs and some have just two spots

Ava is so thrilled with what she knows about ladybugs that I didn’t even realize that this praying mantis was on our front step until I saw both girls intently looking at something.

With no.murder.screaming. At all. Needless to say I’m quite excited about this development.

Also, Ava came home last week with her first homework packet, which included “my very first BOOK REPORT! I WANT TO WORK ON THAT FIRST!!” Loving that enthusiasm. I can’t wait to see what ~~I’m~~ Ava’s going to learn next!

First Day of School – 1st Grade and Preschool

Filed Under : Life,Milestone,preschooler,school by Steph

Sep. 03

2012

August 20th was a big day in our house – okay and for our town, but this post is about us, right? I find that my first day of school jitters are more intense, but not so much for me. Definitely nervous for my girls. “Will they be treated with kindness and compassion? Will they find good friends? Stay safe?, etc.”

You’ll have to excuse the blurry phone pictures. These are better than the Nikon pictures, which were also blurry. Nervous much Steph?

Ava

Ava was pumped and from this picture it appears that Lily was too. Let’s revisit that in a moment, shall we?

Because of the first day craziness, I didn’t get a shot of this on the actual first day of school. We discussed how Nate was going to get both girls to school and on time. Would he and Ava ride bikes with Lily in the bike trailer? Nate and Lily with bike/trailer and Ava on her scooter? Eventually he decided the easiest option was Lily in the wagon and walking just like they did last year. Ava and Nate walked to preschool too, but Ava was 1/2 a year older than Lily when starting preschool and didn’t have to walk to the elementary first. It’s pretty darn cute and helps with all the beginning of the year supplies that need to be taken to school.

Nate was kind enough to get some pictures for me. He said Ava was very excited all the way to school and Lily got more and more quiet the closer they got to the school.

The parents got a chance to see the kids into the classroom and to the student desks. And after about two minutes her teacher wished her parents a lovely day and sent them on their way. Nate said that as soon as Ava walked into the room and saw her name on a desk (she had table-desks last year) she excitedly said, “I GET A DESK?!?!” and he knew she was going to have a fantastic day.

Nate and Lily said their goodbyes to Ava and headed for the preschool. Lily didn’t say a word and once they got to her classroom, Lily started to cry. And pretty much the whole week was me waiting for Nate to send me a text around 8:30 to tell me how Lily did. It was a rough week with us feeling awful for our sensitive girl. Ava looks at new experiences as an adventure and rarely bats an eye but Lily can’t handle it. I was lucky and able to leave work around 3:30 to get her (my day officially ends at 3:15, but it’s RARE that I leave anywhere close to that.) Now that L’s in preschool my daycare pickup duty is much, much shorter. What used to take close to an hour (especially when the two miles of 680 is backed up) is now cut to about 20 min.

Anyway, here’s how Lily fared the first day.

Super excited to see me in her classroom and willing to take pictures next to the sign with little fuss and real smiles.

So this next part is from the second week of school. Things have gotten better, but Lily’s still not a super fan of school. Her first question each morning: “Is today a school day?” followed by “I don’t want to go to school.”

We know this is good for her and already see improvement in her “penmanship” i.e. tracing of letters. And once this past week I saw her singing and doing the motions to a ladybug song.

She’s much younger than Ava was when she went to school and they are different people. She’ll adjust, but man, these two weeks were challenging.

Getting texts like this helps.

And one afternoon we found Ava in a picture and were pretty excited about it. We discussed how it’s like Ava’s with Lily at school and she won’t have to be afraid knowing that Ava went to the same school and loved it.