More Back-of-the-Door Fun

I decided to get crafty this last day of November. I had seen in Family Fun magazine what they called an "A-door-able Advent Calendar." I thought it was a great idea, because it was something that the kids could help me create. I was able to convince Hayes to hunt with me for door and window pictures in magazines. (Eleanor had no interest in flipping through magazines as she was distracted by a holiday stamp set that she found in our Christmas crates.) Once we found 25, he helped me cut them out and off we went as we worked to make the calendar.

Here is our finished product. I hung it in the same location that I hung our Summer To-Do List, on the swinging door in the kitchen. I have festive "stuff" for the kids to do behind each daily door and window. Hopefully, this calendar will help us focus on having fun in the Christmas season. I can't wait to see what they think when they see the calendar hanging on the kitchen door in the morning!

Thanksgiving Holiday

We took full advantage of having Dad home for almost 5 straight days. That, combined with a visit from Mimi and Papa, kept us all on the move. Here are some of the better pictures from the weekend.

Thomas getting the turkey ready to eat . . .
the kids with their new cousin . . .
daily soccer and football in the front yard . . .
Ben oh-so-happy because he's "outside" . . . Dad creating our annual "Tree of Lights" . . . Ben riding the Holiday Train with Papa at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens . . .H's favorite, Mr. Frog. (H asks for a picture with him at every visit!)And, finally, a cute family shot near the Coca-Cola train set-up in the Orchid House. We have so much to be thankful for and were very grateful for our time together!

Ted

Look who showed up in our house this morning . . .Let's hope that his arrival signals the start of improved December behavior of the Carroll kids!

Our Thanksgiving Bowl

This year, after reading the book The Thanksgiving Bowl, we started a new tradition on Thanksgiving Day. E cut out slips of paper for everyone to write down anonymously two things for which they were thankful. Then over dinner, she read aloud what had been written, and we had to guess who wrote what. She got Aunt Brandi to help her read some illegible notes. What was E thankful for? She wrote,"I'm thankful for My family, " and "I'm Thankful for God." Pretty good, right?

What about H? (Now remember, E wrote them for him so I'm not sure how much of these actually came from H or E's strong influence on her little brother.) He supposedly said, "I'm Thankful for Super Heros, " and "I'm Thankful for 3 pices of Pupkin pie." Showing his humor, isn't he?

Over the River and Through the Wood

E and H went to hear a fabulous storyteller at church on Friday night at an event called "Over the River and Through the Wood." Hearing that title brought back memories of singing that song when I was younger.

Before the two kids went to the event, I asked them if they were familiar with the song, and they responded with blank stares. E finally remembered that, yes, she had heard it before, but it was because I had sung it to her during some prior fall. I went running up the stairs to find the handy-dandy book (below) that I had discovered at one of our favorite old-fashioned toy stores here (Richards Variety Store) a year or two back. I sat down and read/sang it to them quickly to get them prepared for what was in store that evening.

Then, over the weekend, E decided that she wanted to try to play the song on the piano. We have developed a method to enable her (or Hayes if he was interested) to play songs on the piano even though they have not yet had official piano lessons. Earlier this year, I sat them down and went through all of the center keys and labeled them by their letter names.
Then, we began to write down the notes/letters in some favorite songs like this:
We have amassed quite a repertoire of songs that the kids can play. E keeps the songs safe, right on top of the piano. "Over the River and Through the Wood" is a tricky song to play with some flats here and there, but she's working on mastering it in time for Thanksgiving.

"I'm So Sorry"

Earlier this week, while Ben was napping and E was working on her book report on the computer, I told H that I would play a game with him. His eyes immediately lit up, and he ran to the game closet. The game he chose to play was Sorry. (I must disclaim that I have never played a complete game of Sorry with the kids. The games usually end with Ben coming over and taking some or all of the pawns and running away with them.) I was excited to be playing with him and thought it would be an enjoyable half hour or so. Little did I know . . . Hayes has learned to play the game under "Hayes and Dad" rules which are NOT the rules that come with the game. I realized that I was going to have some problems when one of my pawns landed on the same spot as one of Hayes's pawns, and I sent his pawn back to Home. He immediately burst into tears and told me that I could NOT do that. I did not know how to respond to him. Isn't that the point of the game Sorry? Don't you want to send your opponent back to start when given the opportunity so that you can say to them, "I'm so Sorry," in a really silly voice?

Trying to make him feel better, I told him that he could send my pawn to Home if he was given the opportunity during the game. My feelings would not be hurt. Wouldn't you know . . . a few minutes later, H was given just this chance. How did he respond? He turned to me and said, "I'm not going to send you back to Home. You are my mom!" and he came over and gave me a big hug. How sweet was that?

For the rest of the game, I agreed that we would not be sending any more pawns to Home. But, I clearly stated that going forward, whenever we played the game, we would need to try to follow the real rules, not the "Hayes and Dad" rules.

Pilgrim Man

Today, H participated in the annual Pre-K Thanksgiving Program during chapel. His role was that of a Pilgrim Man and his lines were, "Bang! Bang!" We practiced these lines all week to ensure that H used a very strong and loud voice. The teachers divided up the Pre-K classes into six different roles: Ministers, Turkeys, Pilgrim Men, Pilgrim Women, Indian Men and Indian Women. In the photo below, you can see the Pilgrim Women with the Pilgrim Men.
In this picture below of H's cute class, all of the different costumes are shown. (Two years ago, big sis E played the role of the Turkey and said, "Gobble. Gobble.")During the performance, Ben would not sit still so I spent much of the time on the floor in the back wrestling with him. Luckily, Dad was there with the video camera to capture the key moments. I also put Dad to work by taking a photo with me in it, since those are so rare these days. Finally, this was our cue to leave. Hayes had had enough time with his parents and the rest of the paparazzi!

Tape Recorder

I never knew how often I said, "Alright," until my little one started to talk. Now, whenever I say it, Ben brings it immediately to my attention when he responds with his own, "Alright." After succeeding in saying his early words and names, "alright" is right up there on his list of first 20 words. Who would have guessed?

On the subject of repeating, Ben has become very good at doing just that. If you make a noise or say a word, he works as if he is a tape recorder in playback mode. (As my almost seven-year-old reads this, she's probably wondering what a tape recorder is. How scary!) In addition, if you sing a rhythm or make the sound of an animal, he'll quickly follow with his own version. I love the fact that he's becoming very interactive for it makes for some very interesting and enjoyable times together!

He truly is a fan

Have I told you that H loves football and that he's especially enamored with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets? Our current focus this week is on the song that they play at the Yellow Jackets' games. It is called Kerncraft 400 (Stadium Version) by Zombie Nation (click to hear it). The song has no words and sounds like a bunch of chanting, but H sings it all day long. He even incorporates the hand raising as he sings it. B has heard the song so much that he starts humming and lifting his hands when he is properly cued.

Another favorite football-related activity is when the "Yellow Jackets run onto the field." H reenacts this both outside and inside at any opportunity. I usually know what's coming when I hear him say, "Here come the Yellow Jackets!!!!!!"Think he's having fun?

Butterfingers

"Butterfingers" is our term of endearment for E. She truly has earned it throughout the years. We can count on her to spill her cup of water daily, be it on the kitchen table at dinner, on the desk by the computer or upstairs in her room. Though it often makes a mess, I've taught her to react quickly. She's gotten the cleaning routine down, as you can see in this photo taken a couple of nights ago. She laughs when we call her"Butterfingers" because she knows how accurate a name it is!

Mr. Owl

Ben learned about owls last week at school. He came home saying, "WHOO! WHOO!" Hayes also talked about owls in his class, and the children made the owl below that Hayes got to bring home. I put it up for display in the living room near some of E's work, and it elicited an immediate response from Ben. He quickly started with his "WHOO! WHOO!s." Then, I lifted him up and walked him over to take a closer look at the owl. He started to cry and leaned away from the bird. It turns out that he's completely frightened of it! He definitely likes to point at it from across the room, but he wants no part of being anywhere close to it.

E Likes . . .

One day last week, E brought this picture home from school. I think it offers a great summary of what is important to her right now. **On her list after "playing", her "cepeing my room clan" is keeping my room clean. :-)

The Boys Next Door

Hayes adores our next-door neighbors. They consist of a family of three boys - a 4th grader, a 2nd grader and a five-year-old. Anytime they are outside playing a sport and Hayes spots them through our windows, he runs out to join them in their yard. They have gotten used to having Hayes around and have become extremely accommodating to him. They let him play football and baseball with them, and they often let him or his team win to keep him happy.

Hayes especially admires the oldest boy, Charles. When we go outside to meet E at the bus stop, Hayes goes running over to greet Charles and his brother Barnett, as they walk off the bus. A game of "I'm going to tackle you, Charles" quickly ensues. Yes, it usually does end with Hayes bringing Charles to the ground. Then, Hayes will ask Charles if he can carry Charles's backpack for him. On most days, the backpack is too heavy for Hayes to lift, but it is not for the lack of trying!

We get a big kick watching Hayes as he tries to hang out with the older boys. He really likes playing with them, and they are sweet enough to let him!

Japanese Maples

I have spent a great deal of time recently pointing out to the kids the stunning fall colors we can see around the city. I especially love the orange and yellow trees.

Hayes has followed in my footsteps in the search for beautifully-colored autumn trees, but his favorites are the Japanese Maples. He can spot them a mile away. He really likes their red/almost purplish color. He told me just this afternoon after spotting a deep purple one that he thinks they are the "most beautiful."He also likes to say their names in front of his peers. I've heard him talk about Japanese Maples every day this week in carpool. His carpooling buddies look at him with these blank stares, and he gets a huge kick out of their response (or really lack of one).

The End of Another Season

Well, the seasons of the White Tigers and the Blue Lightning have come to a successful end. Eleanor and Hayes LOVED playing the sport each weekend with their teams. Their dad and I enjoyed watching them have fun!

With the fall soccer season over, we will have to wait until spring for the pre-game team huddle,
the pre-game prayer (notice Assistant Coach Eleanor and Coach Carroll in the circle),

the pre-game self pep talk,
the kick-offs,
the sibling cheering section for Eleanor's games,
Ben in the stroller cheering for Hayes's games,
the post-game cheering parent tunnel,
the end-of-season trophy presentations,
and finally, the season-ending soccer cake. Yum!
The kids can't wait until spring!

Bike Riding

I have been very eager to get out and take walks this week since the afternoon weather has been beautiful. If I have all three kids with me, the only way to walk is to require Eleanor to ride her bike (with her helmet buckled). Last spring, I tried having E ride her bike over the route that I usually walk. The long, steep hills (and the reason I like the route) exhausted her and forced me to push her bike and the double stroller up many of these neighborhood streets.

Due to our unsuccessful attempts at riding and walking in the spring, I was nervous about trying this method again this fall. I did not want to have to worry about her while I already was pushing the 70+ pounds of boys and stroller. I was willing to take a chance, though, because I was so eager to get outside. I mentioned to E that she could stand up and pedal while going up big hills, and that trick made all of the difference! Eleanor hung with me for the entire walk and never cried from exhaustion. She said she had a ball and wants to do it again and again. Yeah!

Everyone's Entitled To Their Own Opinions

Hayes and I started discussing sports teams this afternoon. This conversation is a pretty regular one in our house. We talked about the sports teams that Hayes liked and those that he did not like. Quite often, his reasoning defies logic, but I got a big kick out of hearing his thoughts . . .
Who meets his high standards as a sports team? Here they are, in the order that he named them:
Georgia Tech
UNC
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Hawks
LSU Tigers (and he said, "That's an easy one," as if it is so obvious why he's an LSU fan. His father and I are still stumped.)
New Orleans Saints (because they beat the Falcons and he likes winners, usually)
Florida Gators (for Uncle Steven)
Kentucky Wildcats (for Papa)
Tennessee Titans (from the John Madden Football wii game)
Georgia Bulldogs (because his cousin Cate likes them)
FSU
Wake Forest
Arizona Cardinals (because they played in last winter's Super Bowl)
Tennessee Volunteers
New England Patriots
Dallas Cowboys

Here are the teams that he does not like, for whatever reason or, sometimes, for no reason at all, in the order that he named them:
Mississippi State (because they played Georgia Tech)
Virginia
Miami Hurricanes
Miami Dolphins (because they lost to the Saints so "they aren't good")
Philadelphia Phillies (because they played the Braves)
New York Yankees
New York Mets
"The Wolfpack" as Hayes calls them. He has no idea that they represent N.C. State
South Carolina
Duke

On a related note, we have named the orange shirt he wore today, in the photo above, his "Florida Gator shirt". Hayes never would wear this plain orange shirt until I can up with the thought of tying it to the Florida Gators. Now, it is one of his weekly choices along with a GT shirt and all of his Superhero shirts.

Cheap Entertainment

It seems as if Ben has had more fun with the Halloween candy than his older siblings. He has spent much of his time since Halloween putting the candy in Hayes's spider candy holder and then taking the candy out. I let him do it because I'm grateful that he's occupied with something harmless! Yesterday, he took to the steps with the candy. (Forgive my shaky camera.) He lined all of the candy upon the bottom step . . . and then proceeded to place it into the spider. He repeated this throughout the day. He'd leave the candy and then come back to it. It was quite a sight!When he realized I was watching him, he gave me his "I'm so proud of myself"- smile.