Banking

One of the many great things that Elizabeth does through school is banking.  The school system has a partnership with a local bank which allows students to make weekly deposits into their account while at school.  A wonderful PTA volunteer brings the deposits from the school to the bank, which credits each child's account and provides a receipt and an envelope for the next transaction.  After five deposits (of any amount), they get a small prize - and at this age, any small token is a huge incentive.  We opened an account for Elizabeth in January and she immediately deposited her Christmas money.  Each week, she takes some money from her piggy bank to deposit - Lee and I are doing are best not to fund her banking because we want her to become responsible for her money, and this is such a great way to start.  For Valentine's Day, she received a few dollars from some of our extended family members and she was so excited to deposit them the following week!

Elizabeth was going to hold off until Valentine's Day to open her card from Grammy and Grampy until she noticed the money in Emily's card....

Now she has a stash, ready to go for her next banking day.

Yankee Candle

After we left Magic Wings, we had lunch and did a little shopping at the Yankee Candle Factory, which was nearby.  We didn't stay too long because it was very crowded (we didn't realize that it was a holiday weekend until we got inside and saw all the people!), but the girls clearly remember it from their last visit and had a good time.  The biggest surprise?  Elizabeth apparently LOVES Santa Claus now - no more Santa fear!

Elizabeth and her buddy, Santa.

  

Emily was fascinated with the cows that were all around.

Return to Magic Wings

Ever since we discovered Magic Wings last spring, the girls have been clamoring for a return trip.  Lee and I decided that it would be the perfect Valentines treat for them, so we drove up last Sunday morning.  Once again, it was an amazing experience.  There are so many wonderful butterflies and this time, we were all lucky enough to have them land on us.  Emily seemed to be one of their favorites, though she was petrified every time a butterfly landed on her, yelling:  "Get it off!  Get if off!"  We had a great time and Lee and I are wondering how long we can hold off on a return visit this time around.

Heading in to Magic Wings.

Heliconius doris

An Idea Ieuconoe butterfly lands on Emily's head.

Lee shares his butterfly with Elizabeth.

This picture doesn't even remotely capture how thrilled she is!

Idea Ieuconoe

Caligo eurilochus

Look at the pout!

How Times Change

Twenty years ago, I would have spent Valentine's Day with my girlfriends, talking about boys; ten years ago, Lee and I probably would have gone out for an overpriced dinner.  This year?  We spent the evening with our two little Valentines and a great group of friends - the Dudley, Belin, Weiss and LoGiudice families.  Jen and Sal hosted and the grown-ups talked and indulged in some adult beverages while the kids colored, played watched television and played hair salon - and we all munched on great food all night long.  It is amazing that eight girls, ranging from preschool to fifth grade, can play so well together; and the boys, Tavio and Devin, are lucky enough to be exactly the same age, so they are buddies for life.  We had a great time and it was such an awesome way to spend Valentine's Day!

Valentine treats for the kids (apparently, some moms - not me, of course - think of everything).

The girls playing together.

Apryl and Victoria.

Jen and Tavio share dinner.

Jas and Elizabeth - best buddies.

All of the kids!

Be My Valentine

One of the girls' favorite holidays is Valentine's Day; actually, any holiday involving gifts is one of their favorites!  This year, the Valentine's celebration seemed to extend for a while, so they had a blast.  On Friday, I volunteered in Elizabeth's classroom during their holiday party and it was so amazing - the children were all so genuinely thankful for each other's valentines, calling out "thank you" and "I love it" and ooohhhing and aaaahhing over every card.  It was so great!  Then, on the morning of the 14th, they opened our presents for them, which they loved too - books, princess figurines and special t-shirts.  Mixed in with all of that were the cards and gifts they received from family all week long!

Emily loves her Valentine from Elizabeth!

Awww....sisters

Emily loved her Valentine from Felix.

Sticker books (above and below) from Uncle David and Aunt Melissa.

Elizabeth spied her Valentines first thing Sunday morning.

Emily "reads" her new book, Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!

Think she loves her t-shirt?

Yep!

Making Valentines

Although Elizabeth exchanged Valentines with her pre-school classmates, this is the first year that she will do more than simply deliver the Valentines that we bought and signed her name to.  We talked about what she wanted her Valentines to look like and after checking out our options, we decided that she could be the most original if she hand-made her cards, rather than buy something already made.  This gave Elizabeth and I the opportunity to work on a craft together; it brought out her creativity; and it allowed me some minor relief from the working-mother guilt that perpetually haunts me.  Once we decided on a design, I set to work on the template and Elizabeth set to work on crafting.

She LOVES glitter glue, so of course every valentine had to get a squirt or two.

After the glue came the sparkly stickers.

We got piles of stickers at A.C. Moore, my favorite activity store on earth.

Our house was covered with Valentines for a few days, while the glitter glue dried.

We also tried our hand at some heart-shaped sugar cookies - but if you are my FaceBook friend, you probably aren't surprised to learn that these ended up in the garbage...

Strong Kids Matter

Every year, we dedicate one blog post to the amazing work that the YMCA does in our community.  As most of you know, the YMCA is a huge part of our lives.  The girls are on a first name basis with many of the employees and members; they both learned to swim there; and last summer, Elizabeth's four weeks at Camp basically changed her life, turning her into an outgoing, confident little girl.  Her Camp experience completely energized Lee and I - if Camp could make such amazing changes in our little girl, imagine what it could do for the underprivileged children in our community - and we decided to pour more of ourselves into the fundraising campaign this year.  Each year, our YMCA provides more than $300,000 in financial assistance to local families - $300,000!!  We are both committed to raising as much money as possible so that as many families as possible get the financial assistance necessary for their children to go to Camp this summer - or participate in any other program our YMCA offers.

Today, the YMCA kicks off the 2010 Strong Kids Campaign - ALL of the money raised during this campaign supports Kids Korner, Camp Ingersoll, aquatics and fitness memberships for those in financial need.  Now - more than ever - we need your help.  Click here to donate (or on the Strong Kids icon on the right side of the page) - and drop us a note or comment when you do.  No donation is too big or too small.  Thanks everyone!!

Peas in a Pod

The girls have had to sleep together in the guest room on the weekends while we work on their bedroom (new chair rail, paint colors, closet, etc.).  We put them down in different beds because Emily is too much of a trouble maker and won't stop talking so they don't go to sleep; but when it's time for us to go to bed, they end up together.  The way they snuggle together is pretty cute.

Belly Dancer

For some reason, Emily drank a lot of water at the Y one day last week.  After she and Lee got home, she was playing when she suddenly heard the water swishing around in her belly - and thought that it was hysterical and went running to find Lee so that he could "see" the water too.  The whole thing was so funny to her that it was the first thing she told me about when I got home that night.  Today, she repeated the same thing all over again, and Lee got it on video.  According to Lee, this video does not come anywhere close to how funny Emily is about the whole thing (including her dance moves).  Turn up your volume....

Kids Say the Darndest Things

- "That's not a very good idea" says Elizabeth, after watching a man go by on a bicycle, his dog on leash running beside him, in the dark and snow.
- "Bears and wolves are expensive.  You don't want to touch them."  It makes sense, once you think about it a little bit.
- "Dear Emily, you are so beautiful.  We love you very much.  Happy Thanksgiving."  Emily, "reading" a card that she received from a great aunt and great uncle
- "I hope that the candle doesn't cancel out the smell of the Christmas tree."
- "Mommy?  Is today Christmas Eve?  (yes)  Okay, then I'm going to be good today."  Gee, thanks Emily.
- "Maybe you should ask your mom.  Your mom is a famous cooker."  Elizabeth's advice when I told her that I wasn't certain about something that I was baking.
- "I just love happy endings" Elizabeth sighed after watching Snow White for the first time.
- "Miss Cathy.  You know what?  My mom is drinking a BEER!" Emily the tattletale.
- "Kiss Me!"  Someday, Emily is going to drive the boys crazy.  Right now, she just drives US crazy.
- "My brain is really workin' today!!" said Elizabeth after figuring out something on her own.
- "Emily, I talked to Grammy today."  "You did??  Was she making cookies for us?  I bet she was...."

Bounce!

Last weekend, Elizabeth went to a birthday party for her classmates Megan and Sarah at Bounce U.  It was with much trepedition that we approached this party, as she normally does not do well at birthday parties that are held at "places", as opposed to homes/yards.  But this place was filled with inflatible slides and bounce houses and she really had a great time.  Toward the end, we even "raced" up some of the obstacle-course-filled slides.  She is very excited to go back (she was invited to another party later this month) and really wants to have a party there - what kid wouldn't?!

On one of the big slides.

Happy girl.

Chaney and Elizabeth

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear?

There was no school last Friday so I took the day off from work and we went to the EcoTarium in Worcester.  It was a very neat children's science museum with a lot of different things to do, including interactive areas as well as learning areas.  Lee and I enjoyed it as much as the girls and we are thinking about going back when the weather is nicer, because there are a lot of nature trails and other outdoor activities.  We stayed in almost the entire, although when we were leaving, we just had to check out Kenda, the resident polar bear.  The windchills were more than 10 degrees below zero so even though we were only outside for about ten minutes, it took us a while to recover (I seriously thought that might have lost a finger to frostbite!).  We warmed up by the fire at a local restaurant and then headed home.  The girls promptly fell asleep in the car - an increasing rarity - a sure sign of how much fun they had.

Emily the scientist.

Getting a lift from Daddy.

Elizabeth really loved the interactive area.

Loving the underwater displays.

Kenda the polar bear.