Movies and Sleeping

This last weekend we did not ski.  Since the kids did not have lessons we decided to take another easy weekend.  The upcoming weekends will be crazy enough that we needed a weekend of rest to gear up for the mayhem ahead.  We did not do much.  The kids played with their toys and have finally made it to the bags of toys from Christmas that were still in the sun room.  We all took turns playing the X Box Kinect.   It is definitely a fun family activity and while it isn't the same as running around outside or doing strenuous activity it is movement and focus for the kids which they need even when they don't want to be playing outside.  Jason and I did a couple workouts and I got a short 3 mile run in on Sunday when it was freezing.  I wasn't going to run since it was so cold and I didn't need to run but after doing a workout with Jason I had the energy and endorphins going so I decided to make use of them and hit the pavement.  On Sunday afternoon we took the kids to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D.  Ali had been asking to go to the movies and even though they have already seen Beauty and the Beast it was on the big screen in 3D so we went.  I think I have now crossed so unwritten line of being old because I took the opportunity at the movies to put my coat around me as a blanket and went to sleep.  I got in a good forty-five minute nap and the kids didn't even notice.  These are the moments of pure heaven...I can sleep and the kids are occupied.  Jason even took a short nap in the theater but Ali woke him up ...I'm glad I sat next to Sofia!

Math Test Success!!

Since moving back Sofia has been doing very well in school.  Her only difficulty has been in Math.  She had to learn all the U.S. money as well as all the different ways they taught math.  Her problem wasn't necessarily in her ability to do Math but learning how they do math here.  The other issue Sofia has is that she wants to be the best and she wants to be done first.  That is hard when the kids around you have been doing math this way for a year already so she made a lot of silly mistakes from rushing.  We have really spoken to her about not rushing and taking her time to figure out the answers.  I have also been working with her every day after school to learn her addition and subtraction math facts by heart.  Her hard work has paid off when she took her last math test.  All tests have to be signed regardless of how the student does on the test so you can imagine how proud I was of Sofia when I opened her folder to find her math test with 70 out of 70 correct!  She was so happy and proud of herself.  We took a picture and sent it to Jason at work so we could spread the good news.  Here is the picture of Sofia with her math test.

Lost tooth

I thought I had posted this but apparently not..... Sofia finally lost one of her front teeth.  It is her third tooth to fall out.  She was very excited to have the front tooth come out.  I think she was so excited because people would notice since her other teeth that have fallen out have been on the bottom.  She is anxiously awaiting the other front tooth to fall out.  Her other front tooth is very wobbly as is one of her incisors.  She may be eating a lot of applesauce soon!

Jiminy Peak

Two weekends ago we went out to the Berkshires for the weekend and stayed in a hotel across the street from Jiminy Peak.  We won a "free" weekend so long as we listened to a sales guy talk about why buying a timeshare was good for us.  We didn't care and had no intention of buying but to have a weekend away in a hotel condo that was across from a ski resort for free and have them give us $125 for nothing was good for us.  We didn't end up skiing the entire weekend since conditions were not that good.  We didn't want to pay $160 for the four of us to ski on bad snow.  Saturday ended up being about 50 degrees too so it felt like spring and not a time for skiing.  On Saturday morning we had to do our tour which included a breakfast at a nearby restaurant.  We lucked out on who we had for a sales guy.  Turns out he was from Maine, played hockey and new a kid who went to Jason's high school.  He was very nice and knew we weren't interested in buying so it was just a nice breakfast having good conversation.  After going through the sales pitch which in reality was just us chatting with this guy we headed back to our room to suit up for the pool.  We spent the rest of the day at the pool.  The kids had a blast doing somersaults and flips in the pool.  After the pool we decided to go across to Jiminy Peak to one of the restaurants for dinner.  We decided to head over a little early and just have appetizers for dinner which is always fun to do.  We rented a movie from the front desk and watched Despicable Me with the kids in our room.  On Sunday we packed up all our stuff, checked out and hit the pool for another couple hours before heading home. 

This weekend came at a perfect time.  We had been so busy through Christmas and then the kids jumped right back in to school and all their activities that I think this weekend of playing in a pool was exactly what they needed.

Back to school, swimming and gymnastics....

The kids went back to school last Tuesday.  They were definitely tired by the end of the day on Tuesday.  Sofia did not want to do her homework and had a slight breakdown which is unusual for her so I knew she must have been exhausted.  They had a full on week as well with swimming on Tuesday and Thursday and gymnastics on Wednesday and then we headed off to the Berkshires on Friday night.  By the end of the week though the kids seemed to be doing fairly well.  They really just took Tuesday to be thrown off because by the time swimming came around on Tuesday night they seemed to have their energy back.  They did great in swimming and Sofia's group is better this session.  They completed assessments at the end of last session and a number of the children went back down to lessons so now there are only 8 or 9 kids in her group which means  per lane and the coaches can really take time to correct strokes and really coach the kids.  The coach this session came in at the end of the last session and she is great.  She is loud and really pushes the kids to do their best which is great.  She corrects them when they are doing something incorrectly and the kids really seem to respond to her. 

The girls love doing gymnastics and were excited to head back to it on Wednesday.  It is funny because swimming does not seem to tire them out even though they are doing a lot of work but gymnastics makes them absolutely exhausted.  They leave there with aching legs and arms.  I assume they are using muscles that they are not used to using and that in time the aches will stop.  They don't let it stop them during the session though.  Ali was so proud of herself because she did the best split in the group and won a t-shirt.  It was nice to watch her beam with pride when the teacher had her go in front of the class and show her split.  Sofia is hoping to win the challenge for this week so I will keep you posted.

Skiing

We are excited to get the kids out skiing more this year.  We have signed the kids up for the seasonal program at a ski mountain near Jason's parent's house.  Our first outing of the season though was before their first lesson this year.  Since my nephew was in town for Christmas and was going to be skiing I didn't want to miss the chance to ski with him so we all went skiing on Tuesday (yes the non stop action of Christmas continues..the 23rd RI, 24th RI, 25 home, 26th Maine, 27 skiing).  It was worth all the hassle to get up there to ski on the 27th just to have one more day with my nephew.  I'm glad we also went because it gave the kids a chance to get their ski legs under them before their first lesson.  I ended up having to take a few runs with Ali before she got the hang of it which meant I didn't get to spend time with the whole group but Ali needed some one on one time without the pressure of keeping up with the group.  We joined back up with the group and made a couple more runs before breaking for lunch.  Ali used up most of her energy muscling her skis around until she figured out how to ski again so she was getting pretty tired.  After lunch we decided to check out a different green trail that was a little more interesting since it isn't quite as wide and is more winding.  It would normally be fine to take the kids on this run and they did excellent but since it was all bumped  up it was a lot of work and by the time we got to the bottom Ali was done for the day.  Ali and I headed into the base lodge to relax while Jason, Sofia, Joe, Johnathon and Michael made a few more runs.  Jason and Sofia came into the lodge next and we called it a day.  I was sad not to say good-bye to my nephew before he went back home to Ohio but the girls were exhausted and it was time to get them back to Grammie's house so they could relax.  It was a fun first day back on the slopes.

The kids had their first lesson of the season a few days later and they did great.  The instructor took them up the magic carpet a couple times but then headed off to the lift.  I was glad we took that day before to get their ski legs going.  Even in the rain (yes it was raining in Maine in JANUARY!!) the kids had a blast.  When their lesson was over at noon they wanted to keep skiing.  Unfortunately it was raining and Jason and I weren't paying to ski in the rain so Ali went down the magic carpet a couple more times and we headed home.

Christmas

The last five years Christmas has been very low key and laid back for our family.  We were living abroad with no family.  The kids had three weeks off from school so there was plenty of time before Christmas to bake cookies and play together as a family.  For some of the Christmas Eves we did nothing and just hung out as a family and for some of them we went to a friends house for drinks and hor d'oeuvers.  It was a nice evening of relaxing and chatting with friends while the kids played with their friends.  On Christmas day we woke up and had a leisurely morning with no where to go for the day.  On our last year we did go to a friends house for brunch on Christmas morning but there was no rush to get there and if we decided to not go it was not a problem.  It was so nice to be able to have time to relax together as a family with no pressure to go anywhere or do anything. 

This year we are back in America and such is not the way of the American Christmas.  We do Christmas here as Americans go through life...rush, rush, rush.  I forgot how crazy Christmas can be when you have to rush around to see everybody.  The kids did not get out of school until the 23rd of December so there was no time to make cookies as a family so I made them myself.  The kids don't have much free time during the week between homework, swimming and gymnastics so the week before Christmas passed as every other week passes.  On the 23rd Jason stayed home from work but the kids had school and I went down to my parents to help my mother prepare for the Christmas Eve meal she was hosting on Saturday.  Since I'm home I will of course help my mother but this year in particular she needed the help since she wasn't feeling well.  So the kids in school, me in RI and Jason home to do a few errands and fortunately had lunch with a friend.  I drove back home at the end of the day and started to think about how different life was now that we are back in a America.  As I started to feel a bit down I was reminded that things are also good in America when a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky.  It wasn't a part of a rainbow but a full on complete rainbow and it wasn't even raining where I was driving.

On Saturday we drove down to RI for lunch so that we could spend time with my siblings and the kids could play with their cousins and we could open gifts from each other before the rest of the family arrived for dinner.  The girls were very excited to get to RI to see their cousins, especially their cousin Johnathon since they do not get to see him that often.  He is the oldest of the cousins on my side of the family and Sofia adores him.  They were climbing all over him which may have been a bit overwhelming for Johnathon but he was a good sport about it.  After the kids played and we had lunch we decided it was time to open the presents.  This proceeded in the fashion that it has since I was a little girl...presents flying everywhere, ripping open packages and moving on to the next one all while having no idea of who else got what or really even taking the time to look at what you just opened.  While I have realized I do not like this method as an adult I remembered loving it as a child.  The kids had a blast and there were a LOT of presents to open. 

After opening the gifts and cleaning up all the wrapping paper the kids played while the adults prepared the spread for dinner.  The rest of the family (about 30 people in total) arrived and we ate dinner and proceeded to round two of present opening.  As is customary in my family once the eating is done and presents are opened it is time to go home so most of the family left.  I helped clean up as best I could but we needed to leave by 8:30pm because I had to pick up our beef tenderloin from my friends house.  Fortunately I had it delivered to her house earlier that day since I forgot to pick it up from Roche Bros. grocery store.  Roche Bros. earned their slightly pricier products in my eyes since they went out of their way to deliver my Christmas beef for me without a delivery charge on the day before Christmas.  I can't imagine a big supermarket chain providing that kind of service.

We arrived back home about 10:15pm and said good-bye to Christopher Pop-In-Kins for another year and put the kids to bed and prepared everything for the following day.  

Christmas morning came and it was nice.  We maintained our Christmas morning routine...stockings, coffee and holiday sweet bread, open presents and then a big breakfast of eggs, bacon and home fries.  We were so relaxed we didn't even have breakfast until noon! 

I gave Jason an X-box Kinect for Christmas so we played that and the kids had a blast with it.  Ali was a little hesitant at first but once Jason and I left the room she and Sofia played together and had a great time.



On Monday we drove up to Maine and got there just about 5pm.  We decided that our dinner would be much more relaxed and unrushed if we opened up gifts first.  The girls were very excited and I was excited for them to open gifts as well since I knew the gift Sofia had been waiting for was there to be opened...her American Girl doll.  Basically Christmas would be made perfect once she opened that present.  We had also brought Ali's American girl doll up to Maine to be unwrapped as well so they both got their dolls and Grammie had also given them doll clothing, accessories and a trundle bed.  They were thrilled!  It was quite a Christmas and a very different experience for the kids but I think they enjoyed every moment.