Blog Neglect
Wow - it's been awhile. Where to start?
Halloween was a blast! We did some crafts (bats, ghosts) and some baking (bat and ghost cookies - do you notice a theme for the kids? they dig the bats and ghosts). Mika had a party at school and went dressed as a kitty. They paraded around the school showing off their costumes. Mika was delighted that she got to visit the big kids' classrooms and got a lot of compliments on her outfit. Back in the classroom, they made candy ghosts and creepy pudding and put on a song and dance for the parents. That night, we went to a dinner and dance put on by the cousin's dance school. Declan went as the Hulk and Mika went as a princess. They loved it. My kids LOVE dance floors, flashing lights, and loud music. The next day, we carved up some pumpkins and headed over to Nana's to meet the cousins for trick or treating. Declan and Lucas didn't last long, but Mika and Jackson made it through almost the entire neighborhood. We will have Halloween candy until Easter.
Mika has a bit of an obsession with Michael Jackson. It started days before his death and has shown no signs of slowing down. She will happily watch both Jackson 5 videos and his later solo works. She loves trying out the dance moves from the various videos, especially Smooth Criminal. According to the girl, she loves his dancing first and songs second. After getting word that the movie was safe for kids (Thanks Kristy!), Mika and I went to the This Is It Michael Jackson movie. She LOVED it.
We've successfully completed another round of swimming lessons. Mika's were great - it was her first time being in the water without a parent. She went from complete mental breakdown and inability to get into the pool on the first day to class champ by the end of the lessons. Yay Mika! Declan's were kind of silly. The lessons for his age group are too 'baby' for him. He'd be doggy-paddling past the teacher as she tried to get him to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" and get his face wet. I spent most of the time keeping Declan on his side of the pool as he tried to join Mika's class.
Both kids are very anxious for the snow to come and, more importantly, the outdoor ice surfaces. Mika wanted to play ringette this year, but is waiting for next year for that. From what I could tell, you had to be 5 as of December or something to qualify for the team. Another year of skating practice will be good. Declan just wants to play hockey. All the time. Day and night.
Both kids are doing really well in their gymnastics classes and love it.
Our house is slowly getting de-cluttered. We've filled about 1/3 of the garage with big items and totes full of various stuff for a garage sale in the spring and I will likely fill at least 5 more just with kids stuff - old toys, clothes, etc.. Someday very soon, I expect to have a usable basement complete with play centres for kids. Mika is hoping for Polly Pocket and Barbie toys for xmas and Declan wants Batman toys and a play kitchen from Ikea. The kitchen would acutally fit well into the playhouse centre plan for the basement, so we shall see what Santa brings this year.
Mika loves Kindergarten. There's never a problem getting her to go. She refuses to speak to her teacher or show off her mandarin skillz around me, but her teacher assures me that Mika is picking up on it very well, is an active participant in class, and a general joy to be around. Huh...whaddya know? First report card is out tomorrow. Next week, we have a student-led conference where Mika will supposedly show us what she's been learning and discuss her weak areas. No pressure for the four-year olds or anything. :)
Declan is demanding hockey before it's time to pick up his sister from school - more in a month - maybe sooner!
Halloween was a blast! We did some crafts (bats, ghosts) and some baking (bat and ghost cookies - do you notice a theme for the kids? they dig the bats and ghosts). Mika had a party at school and went dressed as a kitty. They paraded around the school showing off their costumes. Mika was delighted that she got to visit the big kids' classrooms and got a lot of compliments on her outfit. Back in the classroom, they made candy ghosts and creepy pudding and put on a song and dance for the parents. That night, we went to a dinner and dance put on by the cousin's dance school. Declan went as the Hulk and Mika went as a princess. They loved it. My kids LOVE dance floors, flashing lights, and loud music. The next day, we carved up some pumpkins and headed over to Nana's to meet the cousins for trick or treating. Declan and Lucas didn't last long, but Mika and Jackson made it through almost the entire neighborhood. We will have Halloween candy until Easter.
Mika has a bit of an obsession with Michael Jackson. It started days before his death and has shown no signs of slowing down. She will happily watch both Jackson 5 videos and his later solo works. She loves trying out the dance moves from the various videos, especially Smooth Criminal. According to the girl, she loves his dancing first and songs second. After getting word that the movie was safe for kids (Thanks Kristy!), Mika and I went to the This Is It Michael Jackson movie. She LOVED it.
We've successfully completed another round of swimming lessons. Mika's were great - it was her first time being in the water without a parent. She went from complete mental breakdown and inability to get into the pool on the first day to class champ by the end of the lessons. Yay Mika! Declan's were kind of silly. The lessons for his age group are too 'baby' for him. He'd be doggy-paddling past the teacher as she tried to get him to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" and get his face wet. I spent most of the time keeping Declan on his side of the pool as he tried to join Mika's class.
Both kids are very anxious for the snow to come and, more importantly, the outdoor ice surfaces. Mika wanted to play ringette this year, but is waiting for next year for that. From what I could tell, you had to be 5 as of December or something to qualify for the team. Another year of skating practice will be good. Declan just wants to play hockey. All the time. Day and night.
Both kids are doing really well in their gymnastics classes and love it.
Our house is slowly getting de-cluttered. We've filled about 1/3 of the garage with big items and totes full of various stuff for a garage sale in the spring and I will likely fill at least 5 more just with kids stuff - old toys, clothes, etc.. Someday very soon, I expect to have a usable basement complete with play centres for kids. Mika is hoping for Polly Pocket and Barbie toys for xmas and Declan wants Batman toys and a play kitchen from Ikea. The kitchen would acutally fit well into the playhouse centre plan for the basement, so we shall see what Santa brings this year.
Mika loves Kindergarten. There's never a problem getting her to go. She refuses to speak to her teacher or show off her mandarin skillz around me, but her teacher assures me that Mika is picking up on it very well, is an active participant in class, and a general joy to be around. Huh...whaddya know? First report card is out tomorrow. Next week, we have a student-led conference where Mika will supposedly show us what she's been learning and discuss her weak areas. No pressure for the four-year olds or anything. :)
Declan is demanding hockey before it's time to pick up his sister from school - more in a month - maybe sooner!
posted by Mama T at 9:12 AM
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