Circus Day and Nursery Rhyme Parade

It was back to preschool on Tuesday after 2 snow days and what a fun week it has been. On Wednesday, the preschool had their annual Circus Day. 

My little girl loves to dress up, so she put on crazy-looking stockings and a tutu and we called it an acrobat ensemble. I think she was the only who dressed up for Circus Day but why not. We are only that young once and playing dress-up is always fun. 

Elliot and I were invited to join in on the fun. Ms. Susan handed out tickets before the class could go enjoy the circus. There were balance beams, can toss, ring toss, a tunnel to crawl thru and other games as well as a bouncy house. The kids loved it. 

Afterwards, the kids enjoyed popcorn while Amelia read her dragon book to them. She loves the dragon book series and this one was about the circus. 

The girls made a little clown's costume in school, which they proudly showed off at pick-up time:

She is my clown, my funny and lovable and strong-willed little clown. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry but without her my life wouldn't be complete!

And on Friday, Amelia's class held a nursery rhyme parade. My little girl had her heart set on being Jill (from Jack and Jill). And so we borrowed a dress and a hat and made her a little pail and there she was, my little Jill:

Of course, she knows her nursery rhyme too:

Amelia's class all ready for the parade: (from left to right) Twinkle, Mary, Star Bright, Twinkle and Jill and Ms. Susan as Old Mother Hubbard.

The girls had fun reciting their nursery rhymes to other children at preschool:

What a fun and exciting week it was. Amelia sure loved it. If it would be up to her, every day would be dress-up day. 

Snow Much Fun

If you live along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, you had quite some serious winter weather this weekend. More than 30 million people, including the entire populations of Washington D.C., Boston and New York City, braced themselves for blizzard conditions, with the nation's capital receiving up to 2.5 feet of snow and major flooding from storm surges in New Jersey. Even in the South from Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky to North Carolina declared states of emergencies due to freezing rain, power outages and epic snow amounts. 

While 13 States were affected by winter storm Jonas, it also granted us a fabulous winter weekend. When we woke up on Friday morning, our entire backyard was covered in the white stuff and it kept on coming down all day long. We received 4 inches (10cm) total and it looked like a winter wonderland. Thus, Friday was our first snow day (schools, businesses and government offices were closed) and we loved it. So, we bundled up and went outside to play:

Of course, there was some ice tasting and eating of freshly fallen snow:

 

We made snow angels: 

Building our first snowman. The snow was very soft, so it wasn't an easy task but I think you can tell that it is "Olaf"!?!? Elliot made his own mini version too. 

 

Since our backyard has a natural slope, it was perfect for sledding. Unfortunately, we don't own a sled yet since this is our first winter, but we made due with an old TV cardboard box. And it worked great. It was fun for young and old(er). 

Here is a little video clip of the fun we had in the snow:

And when we got cold and tired, we went inside, drank hot cocoa, watched a movie and painted some snowflakes:

Now, the snow and ice is almost all melted and it is back to school today. But with some luck, we will have another snow day in February. Can't wait! This is the best of both worlds: we do get snow, but only a couple of times a year and it only lasts a few days, which makes it so much more fun and exciting when everything shuts down and we can dedicate an entire day to playing in the snow. 

Home bodies

For the past week, we have been home bodies. Amelia started off with a cold but got some fever on Friday and on Saturday morning she complained about her ear hurting. Since I had constant ear infections as a child, I'm always alarmed when a child complains about an earache and know that it hurts. So off to the urgent care center we went. I'm glad we did because she spiked 103F (39.4C) fever and was diagnosed with a double ear infection. No wonder she was so irritable. 

Even Lammie got a check-up

Combine her ear infection with a stuffy nose and a cough and you have one cranky girl. Luckily, Elliot seemed fine and only started with a runny nose on Tuesday. So no preschool for Amelia on Friday (sick day), Monday (Martin Luther King holiday) or Tuesday (teacher work day). Since Derrick had to head back down to SC for work this week, I have been on my own since Sunday morning taking care of the kids and it wasn't fun...for either of us. There was screaming, crying, fighting and grouchiness all around. Honestly, as soon as the kids were in bed each night, I sat down on the couch and stayed there till it was time to go to bed. I was just too drained to do anything else.

Indy and myself resting on the couch

To entertain us and don't go stir crazy, we did play-dough, went for an afternoon walk when it wasn't frigid outside, watched some movies and made some banana bread. I also pulled out our play tent, where the kids like to read books in or play on the Ipad. They both play well together on the Ipad and I'm always amazed when I listen to their conversations. She is teaching him the in and outs of each game and he soaks it up like a sponge.

Since we had really cold temperatures here the past few nights (think 14F/ -10C) and daytime highs were only around 32F/0C, we were delighted to see some thick snow flakes coming down yesterday afternoon for an hour. It wasn't much but enough to head outside and scoop up it up and go for a short walk to the little lake that is located behind our backyard. It looked beautiful: the lake was half frozen while the fountain was still going in the middle.

There is more snow in the forecast for the weekend and freezing rain as well as sleek road conditions for tomorrow, which means no preschool again. Luckily, Derrick is coming home tonight as I thought it would be too dangerous to drive in those conditions on Friday because this is the South and we are not used to icy roads or more than a dusting of snow. So we will be staying home this weekend, eating comfort foods and warming ourselves in front of the fireplace. This is my new favorite spot in the house, where I enjoy reading or playing board games with the kids. And obviously, I'm not the only one enjoying this warm spot. 

First Snow

When I woke up on Sunday morning and looked out into the darkness from my kitchen window, I saw something glistening on our deck: It snowed. Only flurries and it must have just started an hour earlier but enough to stick to the deck and outdoor furniture.  

This may don't look like much, but when you lived in Florida for over 11 years, you get giddy and excited about a few snow flurries. And so we all bundled up and went outside before breakfast. 

 

Catching snow flurries: 

There was only enough snow for throwing a couple of snowballs and unfortunately, it stopped snowing around 9am and an hour later all snow was melted. But hopefully the weather forecast is correct and we will have the chance for more snow later on this week. It is definitely cold enough. 

Peg Dolls by Fran

As I have mentioned before, I have been spending my free time painting little wooden peg dolls. I always wanted to do some for my kids and when I finally painted my first one last spring, I was hooked. First, I made them for my kids, then as birthday gifts and now I even sell them. I enjoy creating princesses, superheroes, animals and all kinds of other characters out of a plain wooden peg. 

This is how the pegs look when they arrive from the manufacturer. They are made in the USA and are a good quality, which is important to me as my and other children play with them and I want them to last for a while. There are man and woman pegs as well as small (2"in) and bigger (3.5" in) ones. I usually use the bigger ones as they are easier to grab and play with. 

When people order from me, they tell me what they want but I choose the design. As these dolls are custom-made, every single one is unique. First, I do some online research to get an idea of what the doll should look like and to be as accurate as I can be to the original character. Then, I trace the design with a pencil on the wooden doll before I start painting them. Each doll requires at least 2 coats of acrylic paint and some details can be very delicate to paint. 3 to 4 dolls usually take me around 4 hours from beginning to end. 

After they are painted and have dried, I glaze them twice with a triple thick gloss. This gloss gives the dolls a high-gloss finish, it's non-toxic and will keep the paint from peeling off. 

And here are some of my completed works. They range from fairies to princesses, dwarfs, superheroes, animals, and Star Wars characters. 

I truly enjoy painting these dolls, it's a relaxing and calming activity as well as a creative outlet for me. If you are interested in purchasing some peg dolls, just contact me. Thank you!