No Surprises

Dominick and I have never waited for Christmas Day to open our Christmas presents. We do get our presents from Santa and our stocking Christmas morning. However the gifts to each other and the kids never make it. We are always too excited to wait. This year I was thinking we might just make it and then Nicholas' gift came via UPS.

The kids were home from school but they were in the other room when it came. Dominick quickly hid it in our room and closed the door. Then about an hour later Nicholas got to open it up. Dominick was just too excited about giving it to him. Nicholas loved his new Red Rider BB gun. We set up some targets in our backyard and we all went outside (after the whole safety talk and lesson) and had a great time shooting at the targets.

A few days later the FedEx truck came with Trinity's gift. I waited until Saturday to give it to her so we could watch her open it as a family. She got a microscope. She has wanted one for a long time. I researched and found one with good reviews in our price range. It's perfect for her. It's pretty durable but not babyish and she can adjust things by herself pretty easily. When she opened it up she wanted to take it all out and look at it. As a family we took turns looking a different slides that came with it. Then we found things around the house to look at. It was very fun.

Yesterday I took the kids with me to the grocery store. They both had a few dollars of their own money with them. Together they decided to buy Dominick a Christmas gift with their money. Where did they go? They headed straight to the candy isle and picked out a few of his favorites. I told them not to tell what they bought and that we wrap them up and put them under the tree for Christmas. We got home, unpacked the groceries and hid the candy so we could wrap it after Dominick left for work. However as soon as Nicholas saw Dominick he said "Daddy we bought you candy for Christmas it's up there in the cupboard."

We have found that opening the gifts a little early one at a time is fun for everyone. You get a gift, the family is excited and you spend time playing/using that gift before you get another one. Where as when you get a pile of gifts all at once it can be overwhelming. Maybe that is just my excuse for not being able to wait until Christmas =)

School * Kids * Baking

We've been pretty busy around here lately. Both kids are in school full time this year. I volunteer 8 to 10 hours a week at their school. The kids love when I come to help out in their classes.

Trinity is in 1st grade this year and doing very well. She is reading starter chapter books. She is loving the Diary of a Wimpy Kids books she borrowed from her cousin Dylan. Trinity also loves exploring new things. She got a microscope for Christmas and has really enjoyed looking at different things at different magnifications. She also enjoys writing books about what she is learning. I've tried to get her to write fictitious stories for fun but she told me "I only write about real things." She reminds me a little of Brennan (Emily Deschanel) from Bones the TV show. She is very serious and matter of fact all the time.

Nicholas is in Kindergarten (they started all day kindergarten this year) and loves it. He is doing very well. He can read, write and spell many words. He is also very good about sounding out new words. I think right now math is his favorite subject. Nicholas loves riding his bike and skateboard when it is not raining outside. He also really enjoys playing the computer. His favorite game is World of Warcraft but I limit how much he can play. His second favorite game is Jumpstart.com which is a fun interactive educational game. We pay $8 a month and both kids can play it as much as they want online, if homework is done and it's raining outside.

homemade marshmallows

I have been baking and making new things quite a bit lately. My favorite things to make are desserts and appetizers. We have had whole meals out of different appetizers I've made. It's amazing how many things you can do with a wonton wrapper. Dominick's favorite wonton creation was when I made baked wonton cups and filled them with shredded bbq pork and topped them with coleslaw. When we are going to a party/get together people usually request my deviled eggs and/or bacon wrapped waterchestnuts.

We are all getting excited for Christmas. The kids have been counting down since sometime toward the beginning November.