Christmas "program"

Ms. Darla and Audrey and Bridger... Audrey was reading him a book beforehand... The kids in mid-song..... from left - Lauryn, Sage, Billy, Shawn, Audrey and Gracie.

Audrey had her Christmas "Program" at preschool today..... Her preschool is held in one corner of the city hall in Seneca. They only have room for 6 kids (or else Bridger would also be in it this year), and it is held on Tues and Thurs from 9am-12pm. Audrey was very excited and got all dressed up in her "santa" dress which is still too big for her this year. We fixed her hair with lots of ribbons so she looked like a present (this is probably the last year she will ever let me do stuff like that), and was ready to go! All of us parents all piled in and watched the whole class all dressed up in their pretty holiday dresses sing a bunch of songs (such as Jingle Bells, I'm A Little Snowman, and also Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Little Star, and a few others). It was cute as ever with the kids not knowing the words, looking at their respective parent the whole time or being sidetracked with other things (like Bridger who was sitting in front making faces the whole time). Audrey was one of the loudest who sang most of the words (not always the right ones) Billy pretty much whispered hers and grinned at her momma, Lauryn didn't sing half of it and crossed her arms (but when she did sing she was very good :), Sage mumbled and then shouted out the last word of every sentence :), and Shawn and Grace just kind of sang along quietly. All in all, good program - an exact replica of last year's and will be an exact replica of Bridger's next year (with different kids).... yay for Christmas "programs". Sorry, just tired. Got home at 6:40am from work, slept until 7:30am, fixed Audrey's hair, got the kids dressed and breakfast, then Josh took them and I slept from 9:40am until 10:15am, then got up and went to the "program" (yes - I am going to continue to use the "" ), then came home, got lunch for the kids (after their crack overload of cookies and fudge), then went back to bed around 12:40pm. Got up several times but finally for good at 5:30 or so.

The kids getting their crack fix.......

I never appreciated a full-night's sleep until recently. Ok, when the kids were babies - but it 's been a few years since I've been taking it for granted that I could get more than 1 1/2 hours of constant sleep at a time..... Alright - Off my pity rant. :)

The whole gang....

Audrey's 5th Birthday Party

Yes! It's over and done - and I think the birthday girl really enjoyed herself :) We had it at the Outpost in John Day downstairs in their arcade/pizza room. I like having it there because I don't have too much clean-up afterwards, and the kids have fun running from one end to the other non-stop. There was plenty of that this year! We had 8 little girls and one boy (Bridger) there. They thoroughly enjoyed Bridger playing shark and chasing all the little girls around while they screamed...er..no shrieked at the top of their lungs. The cake was a hit, the pizza was good, and the pinata did it's job - for the most part. The top ripped off before it got broke by the bat, so I ended up just dumping it all out -which they all thought was very cool. Audrey got more barbies and polly pockets than she could have ever dreamed and was very thankful for everything! Now to do the thank-you cards...

Festival of Children

Yes, I am going forward a little. I will be catching up sometime. But you know, I guess I can do whatever I want on here.... OH! How refreshing! :) Wah ha ha ha.... {evil laugh}.

Now, onto the blog. So in John Day, Oregon every year they have the usual holiday activities. They have something called The Festival of Children. It's at the fairgrounds, and a whole bunch of volunteers set it up with tons of tables of different craft items for the kids to do. The cost is either $1 per kid/$2 per adult or 1 can of food per kid or 2 per adult. There's painting a various amount of ornaments, making cards, drawing-glueing-sparkling-glittering-and every-other little messy fun thing they can think of. They have snacks catered towards children (popcorn, juice, cookies and pb & j sandwiches). I took the kids last year. It... was....ok. I had Bridger in the stroller who didn't really want to do anything, Audrey who wanted to do everything with her cousins (they were there this year too :), and I had Maddie in a backpack. If you are/were a mother of 2 or more kids you'll understand when I say I was experiencing that uncomfortable hot-ness you get when you are chasing around a bunch of little kids in a public place with a bunch of other little kids, you've got both hands full, each one wants something different, and you are overdressed because you haven't gotten the chance to layer down yet. Well, in the midst of it all, I was standing near a table watching Audrey and I feel an alarming amount of very warm liquid go down my back and soak through my layers. Um,huh.... Maddie peed all down my back. I changed her right before we got there, but apparently it went out the leg-hole or something. Needless to say - fun was over and we left in such a hurry I forgot the stroller with my backpack in it in the parking lot after buckling all the kids in. Luckily it is JD, and after I figured it out (when I was looking for my wallet), some nice soul had taken it inside and kept it safe for my return.

This year's was MUCH better. Josh was there and Maddie was not with us (I do love having her though). Here are some pictures from this year. Audrey had a blast making things with her cousins (Andrea and Leah - oh how she adores them!), and I enjoyed talking with mom, mark, my cousin Sheila, and some other friends I saw there. Bridger made a birdhouse (his highlight of the last two months), he was so excited he couldn't even stand still!

Ahh, now to wait for next year's!

AAAAH, THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN!

Do you remember the days when we were young, free of responsibility, innocent, and thought that any dress (or outfit for that matter) looked breathtaking when paired with a tiara, bunny ears, shawl, any necklace on hand and pretty much any adornment you could find? I wonder, why don't we do that anymore?? Is it because we are too worried about what others may think, or perhaps just to caught up in our everyday chores and responsibilities? Maybe it's because I don't have a fresh set of bunny ears on hand.... I do enjoy watching my little girl still revel in her childhood and dress up in every pink, pretty, glittery thing she can find though. Though Bridger really isn't into dressing up, he still takes childhood head on with the never-ending construction zone that is his room. There is always a truck needing dumped somewhere, something needing fixed that only the tools in his toolbox can work, or the occasional jet that needs to fly repeatedly around, and around, and around... (you get it) the house. Oooh, to be a kid again! Now, I guess I should go back to my work and responsibility {sigh}