Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

*side note: I posted this before Thanksgiving accidentally, so it will be out of order.

Out and About

Tornado, waiting to do some updated neuropsychology testing  
as we prepare for this new phase of "adulthood"  

 

    We always love it when our appointments are in St. Pete. We love going there any chance we get. 

    This pizza roll (warmed up) was one of our favorite treats we have ever gotten at Valhalla Bakery.

       We also just really love Baum Market where Valhalla Bakery is located. It's so cute.

     treats from Valhalla (right bottom corner) and Locale Market (another favorite place to get treats in St. Pete).

     Tornado always loves this sticker wall near Baum Market, so he added one of his own.

Homeschool Academy

 

     Dash takes a U.S. Geography class this year. He was assigned to read the book What Was Ellis Island? and think of a creative way to teach the subject to the other students. We found this Ellis Island Role Play activity set on Teachers Pay Teachers. It came with this fun, interactive game where the students rolled the paper dice and used this admission card to find out their immigration status. Dash decided if they could be admitted into the U.S. based on the criteria he learned about in the book.

     Dash decided he wanted an ugly sweater to wear to his friends' Christmas party and for pajama day at school. He chose this sweatshirt, which I think is so funny (since he isn't dating or about to date).

     Sis and Ninja both take theater at school. Their different classes are both performing their own The Cat in the Hat plays. Sis was Thing 1.

And Ninja was the Baby Fish.

     My friend, whose daughter was playing a fish in the older class, found this great idea for fish make-up online.

     It looked so great.

Homeschool

excitement for their monthly Bokksu Japanese snack kit

     One day I made muffins while they were at school...

     and we ate them in the treehouse while we read our book The War that Saved My Life together.

      Since we have visited several Civil War battlefields and read multiple books on the subject, we started watching the miniseries North and South as a family. This is probably the 5th time i have ever seen it. At least. (This is one of my favorite scenes I like to act out for my kids.) Also, we had to fast forward several inappropriate-for-kids scenes that I knew were coming. It was great family bonding, though, as we looked forward to watching it for an hour or so most nights for awhile. We watched Book 1 and Book 2, but we did not watch Book 3 because I like to pretend it never happened.

    This goofball wanted to be prepared with hydration during movie night by pouring his milk into one of Ryan's empty 2 liter soda bottles.

     We helped Ninja do a project the other kids did when they were little: planting grass into an aluminum baking pan.

      Hopefully, it will grow, and he can play dinosaurs or people or whatever in the grass. And trim the grass as it grows with scissors.

Christmas Parade

 

our first Tampa Christmas parade!

       I don't know if it will ever stop being weird being in the heat during the Christmas season. I feel kind of like we are pretending it's Christmas.

 

We did not know to expect all of the "throwing of beads."

 

It quickly turned competitive and addictive.

 

The acquired so many, they were weighed down, and Mom had to help wear them.

     I love Curtis Hixon park.

     After the parade, the little ones got to play in the bounce house.

Preparing for Christmas

 

I love my new letterboard.

decorating tree #1 in the dining/kitchen area

     finished, along with our advent calendar string (that is still missing a few numbers that I will find as I continue unpacking Christmas decor)

tree #2: homemade ornaments throughout the years

       I don't know what book or movie he got this idea from, but Ninja was very adamant that he, as the youngest child. would place the star on our big tree in the living room.

     How much do I LOVE Christmas and all of my trees and decor? This was our first Christmas with cats...oh, man, I did not think about how they were going to change my holidays. Am I never going to have a normal Christmas again for the next 18 years or so that I have them?! It's a little disappointing. Good thing they are so cute, and I love them so much.

     She thinks she's hiding. She probably broke an ornament and is hiding in shame.

Gratitude

 

       Sometimes he can be so cuddly, and I will take it whenever I can get it. This is how close we were in the chaise lounge (that is not meant for two people our sizes) as we watched North and South one night. #512 (of my Gratitude List)

 

       One day, I'm SOOO going to long for the days of waking up to having parade beads strung across my face. He is so wonderful. (#513)

just a boy and his smoothie and his cats, hangin' out

#514

     Also #515-532: St. Petersburg, insurance that pays for things like testing, sticker walls, beautiful artwork on buildings, Baum Market, pizza rolls, Dash's sense of humor, the big sister who loves being a teacher to her little brother, homeschool academy classes, a friend who is always helping me, great things we can learn from horrible times in history, a mini-series that stands the test of time, subscription boxes, parades, my letterboard, how much I have shed my OCD and needs for perfection (see above: cats), and my beautiful staircase.

What We Were Up To

Field Trip/Junior Ranger Badge

November 10, 2018

     In early November, we returned to Desoto National Memorial.

     The kids had to complete their Junior Ranger Badges they had started when we had visited with my parents.

     Tornado was posing with Buddy Bison (#buddybison on instagram), like the one he has at home.

    We returned to Sage Biscuit Cafe for another vegan skillet. We checked out the different location on Cortez Road this time.

     We also returned to our little non-crowded spot on Anna Marie Island/Holmes Beach because Dash hadn't been there yet.

And then back to Small Town Creamery.

Family Movie Night

 November 11 2018

      I have been so excited about watching the movie Christopher Robin ever since the trailer first came out, and it brought me to tears watching it multiple times. I have a soft spot in my heart for Winnie the Pooh. First of all, I love the books so much. I realized this in college when I read them for my children's literature class. They are so sweet and meaningful and clever. I loved them so much I designed Tornado's baby nursery in the old fashioned Pooh theme.

      We made a special meal to watch the movie together one night after it came out on DVD. This isn't my best work (Ha!). I didn't give the cheese enough time to melt. However, hopefully you can tell we made little pizzas shaped like bear faces. :)

         As a last minute add, we also set out "Rabbit's Garden" (carrots in hummus).

     The biggest hit was our Pooh Bear milkshakes!

Birthday Party

November 16, 2018

         Sis had a birthday party to attend one weekend for one of her home school academy classmates.

        It was held at a camping area at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park.

     Some of the girls spent the night in tents. (Serious props to those who did because it was COLD that night.) Sis opted to stay for a few hours then come home. They played games and enjoyed birthday festivities. It was a lovely setting.

Homeschool

     I can't remember if I have mentioned before that Dash gets a Bokksu box of Japanese snacks every month in the mail. It's what he asked for as his last birthday gift. He is very interested in all things Japanese (and is looking forward to visiting one day). It has been a fun experience for them to open it every month. We won't renew it because it was just a one time gift and also there is always a snack or two included which contains a fish ingredient they can't eat.

     Tea Time: The book we have been reading together is The War That Saved My Life. I would say that all 5 of us have been into this WWII themed Newbery Honor book.

Homeschool Academy

Tornado made this in class one day.

dress rehearsal for The Cat in the Hat  

play before Thanksgiving break

Gratitude

     #504 in my Gratitude List: Sis showed me one day that these were the emojis that Ninja wanted to send to me. I love him so!

     Speaking of how much I love him, we enjoyed a couple Mommy-Ninja dates this month. For this one (#505), we just got pudding cups to eat at Nutrition Smart while we waited on his sister at dance class. We really love pudding cups (#506). And these had whipped cream and crumbled up pb cups. (#507)

     On another day when I could tell he was melting down and needed some Momma time, we drove to St. Petersburg for a dessert extravaganza. We went to Locale Market which has this yummy chocolate sort-of soft serve. (#508...#509 for that smile)

     We also were so happy to see this pretty little thing labeled vegan in one of the glass cases at Locale, so we shared it also. Yummy! (#510, I can be grateful for allll the desserts. He did actually consume most of this, though, since I have been consuming little sugar lately.)

     I'm also thankful for Love Food Central in St. Petersburg. (#511) I'm not sure that we were planning on getting more dessert. It's a head scratcher for me trying to remember how we ended up here getting more dessert. I really don't know! But we shared this cheesecake, and then he ate the cookie because he really likes cookies. It's often his dessert of choice.

Youtube Challenge

     I get a little worried about this kid sometimes and the lengths he will go to with dares and challenges. I regularly send him links to articles about kids who engage in challenges, and it doesn't end well, like death or near death. I've reached the "Well, if your friend jumps off the cliff, does that mean you have to?!" stage of life, and how did I get here?! I hope I'm getting my point across, and at the same time, I do appreciate his fun, silly nature. This was one time he decided to try a spoonful of cocoa. I think on this same day they also tried cinnamon. There are articles on why this isn't a good idea.

     It tasted as bad as I warned him it would. His reaction was pretty good (or bad, depending on how you look at it).

Sis didn't fare any better.

 

 Travel

     We made plans to spend Thanksgiving in Arkansas, but we ended up going to Missouri a bit early. I unfortunately had to attend the funeral of a dear woman, the mother of friends of mine.     

               

 

     I took this pic to show what a good Mom I am, allowing my kid to go out in flip flops and shorts in literal freezing weather. But, to Wal-Mart we go!

 

     While we were in town, we met up with one of my besties and her kids to play.

 

        Sometimes Tornado is a couch potato, and then there are days like this he surprises me.

     He actually rather enjoys trampoline places, and I love seeing him jump around and smile so big.
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     He played a little basketball, too.

     Overall, it was a nice time!