The Preschool Chronicles

When I picked Isaac up from preschool today, I noticed a little boy from his class crying as he walked out with his mom. When Isaac came out, I inquired about why Luke was crying.

"He's crying because he didn't get a treat from the goodie box for being nice."

Naturally, my next question was, "Did you get a treat from the goodie box?"

In a nonchalant voice, he answered, "No. Me and Luke and Lucas didn't get treats because we were playing."

So I attempted to correct him by saying, "You need to be a better listener."

He emphatically replied, "I was a good listener. I heard everything the teacher said. I just didn't do it."

I stand corrected.

This experience of teaching Isaac to behave has been an interesting journey, especially this week.

Yesterday, I was preparing him for a play date at his friend's house. Before dropping him off, I reminded him to play the things Cooper wanted to play. (Translation: Don't beg, from the moment you walk through the door, to play Super Mario Galaxy because you are completely obsessed with Mario and that's all you want to play.)

I specifically said, "Do not ask to play Mario. You can play it if he asks you. But DO NOT ASK HIM."

When I picked him up from the play date:

Me: Did you play Mario?

Isaac: Yes.

Me: Did you ask to play Mario?

Isaac: No. I told Cooper he needed to ask me if I wanted to play Mario. So, he asked. And I said, Yes.

Again, I stand corrected.

Of course, he corrected me on Monday, as well, when he told be that it wasn't "appropriate" for me to put him in time out because it hurts his feelings.

Methinks he has a little of his daddy in him. What do you think?

Our Trip to Asheville

We took advantage of the MLK holiday weekend to travel up to Asheville, NC. We were joined by our friends, the Hairs, and we had a great time!

It was cold while we were there, but we took advantage of some of the interesting things Asheville has to offer (neat shops, restaurants) to beat the cold. Obviously, the kids can find most any odd thing interesting and entertaining.

We discovered this cool bus that had been converted into a coffee shop.

The kids loved hanging out on the bus and drinking hot chocolate.

We just had to visit the Biltmore Estate while we were in Asheville. On the shuttle bus to Biltmore, Dylan and Adam are just happy to be out of the cold!

It's big. Really big.

You can see our group in the distance with just a portion of the house showing.

This is a side view of the house.

We also toured the vineyards and winery. (Scott, Jill, and Tony)

Of all things, the kids wanted ice cream. And they even sat outside to eat it!

We visited the stables, as well. Isaac's never met a tractor he didn't like.

We plan to go back to check out the gardens and walking trails in a few months when it's warmer. Hopefully, A LOT warmer!

No Days Like Snow Days

A North Carolina Christmas

This Christmas was different from our last few. Besides it being our first in North Carolina, it was also the first time in several years we actually woke up in our own home on Christmas morning. We decided to take advantage of being a little closer to our family in Alabama by driving there after the kids opened their things Christmas morning. (Of course, when we came up with this plan, we had no idea an historic Christmas snowstorm would hit the southeast and we would be driving through the middle of it.)

We've been in our house long enough that it now feels like "home". That's a great feeling. The friends we've made here have a lot to do with that.

Some of our dearest new friends are Ron and Donna Welsh. Dylan has become great friends with their daughter, Laney, and our families have enjoyed spending time together. They hosted a Gingerbread House Party at their home on the 23rd, and we all had a blast!

We were supposed to work together as a family to get the houses decorated, but Kat did the bulk of the work. Behind her, you can see some of our other great friends, Jill, Olivia (one of Kat's best friends), and Ian. Tony and Adam aren't in the picture.

Dylan and Laney didn't mind jumping in and trying to get all the credit after it was mostly done!

Here are a few of the finished houses. I think Isaac ate most of the decorations before they made it onto the houses.

After decorating the gingerbread houses, we went caroling in our neighborhood. It was really cold, but very, very fun!

No one enjoyed it more than Isaac, who would run up to the front each time and sing out...loudly!

Since we were here through Christmas, I was determined to make some homemade candies, including the most difficult...divinity. We were on batch #3 here, with batches 1 & 2 having to be thrown out, so we were very focused. This was our last chance because we had used all the Karo syrup.

When we first started, Scott, Isaac & Dylan were helping drop pecans, but by the end, it was just Katherine and me. Everyone else had deserted us. Scott did grab a camera, though, when he saw things looking up.

The third time was the charm! We did it!!

And this was our house as we drove away. It was snowing and sleeting, and we had a long drive to Atlanta ahead of us. But we made it to Atlanta safely, and made it all the way home for Christmas the next day. I guess, no matter where we make our new home, Alabama is where family is, and family is really HOME.

Randy's Visit

After spending Thanksgiving in Birmingham, Randy rode back to North Carolina with us to help get the house decorated for Christmas. (For those who don't know, Randy is very talented at that kind of thing.)

In a week, Randy worked almost nonstop helping to transform the house. He spent hours making live garland and other decorations from magnolia leaves, cedar trees, pine, etc. When he was finished, it was really beautiful. I don't know if we'll ever get him up here again, though, after working him so hard!

He spent the first couple of days in the garage making the magnolia garland.

He put it on the banister, as well as other places throughout the house.

It was even prettier with the lights and ribbons.

And, yes, he made all the ribbons too!

The wreath he made to go over the fireplace was a bugger to hang!

But it was beautiful once it was in place.

The tree and the mantle were some of my favorites! He helped make our first Christmas here really special! Thanks Randy!!