Kids Update

A quick note, check out the kids school blog to follow their first time through VPK. I have scanned and posted the papers that they have brought home so far. They think it's neat to see them up on the blog. I am going to update what they do weekly, adding what they tell me that is new each day to a weekly post, but check it as often as you like. And when they bring home papers and projects I will add those too their 'Papers' pages.

Gotta think of something for Brinlee so she doesn't feel left out. Ok enough for tonight, I'm not feeling well and need to go get some rest. Enjoy their blog!

You can find it here: http://www.coneschooldays.blogspot.com

Follow the Twins at School

Ok yes going to track their progress! The kids have their own blog for School! I have posted everything they have done each day for their first week. I will update either everyday, weekly or very important stuff. It's currently in the works as far as layout so you will see change on it. However the posts are already up!

They can't wait to see your comments!!

http://www.coneschooldays.blogspot.com

3, 2, 1 LIFTOFF!

What a great way to end our Easter. On Sunday we decided to go ahead and head to the coast at the weeee hours of the morning to see Space Shuttle Discovery launch. The weather was going to be perfect, and living right here in FL so close why not go and experience it once before there are no more.

So I spent the night at my parents house with the kids on Sunday night. Jay had to work on Monday so we were very disappointed that he wasn't going to be able to make it. Good things is that he has seen a shuttle launch in person before so he was all for us going and experiencing it for ourselves. We still missed him. Anyway...we got up at 1:30am and were out the door with the kids in tow at 2:15am. It was a 1hr 20min drive to Titusville. At least this time it wasn't like 30 degrees outside.

We got to Space View Park by about 3:40am, well a side little part of it with the same view that most locals go to, its less crowded, but still packed! My Mom, Brinlee and I staked out a place and relaxed. We had over 2 hours to wait. Brinlee was really good and was a hoot! I wish I took video of her. Quinn, Bella and Gramps stayed in the van and watched a movie until later. They joined us on the blanket at about 5:30am. They both hid under their blankets for awhile then played some games on our phones to pass the time.

We had a wonderful guy next to us who knew a lot about the stars and launches and such. So we heard some great info. One really cool thing that he knew was that at around 6:08am the ISS you'd be able to see pass under the moon and over the shuttle launch site. TRULY BREATHTAKING! I swear I videotaped this, but for some reason my camera didn't. It looked like a start or plane moving across the sky really fast.

Then only a few minutes later Shuttle Discovery started it's journey. Words can not express what it is like to see it in person. So cool the way the sky lite up, my body was shaking I was so excited and in aww! (Part of the reason why I missed the first second of the shuttle actually taking off on the camera, I was trying to watch it!) Not until minutes later did you FEEL and HEAR the actual rumble from it taking off. You can hear it in the second video part if you listen closely.

I have always loved seeing the launches on TV or from our front lawns here in FL thinking that was amazing, but to be that close and see and feel the launch....AWESOME!! I am very happy we took the kids to see it. They might not remember it, but thanks to technology today I hope they will be able to watch it over and over again. To say they were there for one of the last few launches, have pictures and video will stay in history forever. The long journey home was horrible, but thinking back to why we drove out there to see the launch just brushes those 4.5hrs away to the waste side. Who cares!

So after reading this very very very long post, I do have pictures and video of the launch to share with you.

Learning Fast

Well the kids have been talking about school so much. They love seeing the school buses go by and always asking about going on it and to school. I've been doing some research online for things to do with the kids at home, like a school setting. I have started the process for VPK, but have read that the funding is quickly running out, so if we can't get them in we will home school them this year and see how it goes. They are like sponges right now and want things to do.

My mother helped me re-organize our family room with our FREE bookcase and the kids toys, I'm going to save up some money for learning tools for the kids, and hang up so they can easily learn things. Bella has been asking to learn the alphabet and she really wants to learn how to write. Quinn already knows how to recognize his name on paper and last night tried to spell it in the dishwasher with the letter magnets!

On the website www.education.com I found some great worksheets and activities that you can do with your kids. They range from all ages from preschool to High School. I added a widget in the left sidebar of our blog for preschool activities. However if you visit the website you can find great information and pages and pages of ideas!!

I hope to get started with the twins within the next few months, and I will post their progress too.

Christmas Parades

Yesterday was a very long day!! It was the day of Christmas Parades! I had to teach in the morning, and we weren't too sure if the parades were going to happen it was rainy outside. CAD had an open house that day as well. Quinn got his face painted by miss Diane and he was sooo proud! Bella didn't but did get a snowflake on her hand, and Brinlee was a Mommy's girl!

We did end up doing the Clermont Parade, but was it COLD compared to last year. The kids were shivering, and the dancers did a great job with it being sooo cold!! Jay and Scott looked great in their costumes and as always had a blast. I was upset that after I spent hours sewing the lights onto the velcro they didn't work. I made sure Jay checked them after I sewed them, but then they didn't work. Their wagon looked sooo darn cute, and Brinlee stayed warm and got a free ride with Mommy!!

Leesburg parade was interesting and very very long. With it being cold, us walking a long way to step-off and then waiting in the cold. Parade started at 6pm, we didn't step-off till 7:30pm! Unfortunately we had to wait because a float earlier in the parade collapsed with kids on it. I don't know what happened, but that's what we heard and they did get all the kids out. A lot of people left from watching the parade, but there were still lots of brave people supporting out girls and the rest of the parade!!

We didn't get home till 9:45pm after stopping for some much needed McDonald's. We let the kids camp out in the living room on the floor, I stayed with them and it was fun. Here are some pictures from our very very long day!!

Update Here

Thought it was time to do an update for everyone. The holidays are approaching and as always a lot going on. We are getting very excited that my Mom will be finally moving down after 5yrs of not living down here with us. It is said because she is being laid-off from her job, but we will have our family all together! Sorry Quinn and Bella no more airport trips.

Twins: They have been doing good. They are loving their dance classes tremendously, having fun and participating without Mommy in the room. They are currently learning a little holiday dance to show parents the last week of classes before break. Of course I'll videotape and post! Nanny will be able to watch them every week when she is down here and I know they will like that. Quinn has a major attitude that has to be adjusted, or should I say temper! We never want to clean, help pick up, eat and just throw tantrums. I know it's the terrible 3s, but come on! We are slowly getting better, time-outs are happening more often. Bella is little miss bossy! She doesn't like it when she is asking Jay something and I answer for him she says, "Mommy I was talking to Daddy!." OK! When Quinn is bad she is little miss goody-2-shoes. They are both growing fast, as I just cleaned out their closets and drawers and they have like no clothes! Anything 3T is still big but 2T is too small! I do have to say even with their attitudes lately they are very SMART!! They are going to do great in school.

Brinlee: She is progressing so fast! She wants to do everything the twins are doing. She is picking up very fast, even though she can't talk. We are trying to teach her some sign language to help with the understanding of what she wants. She does babble a ton now, and last night she really was saying Mama A LOT!! Her new things she likes to do is play in the toilets, the dogs water bowl and eating crayons! So bathroom doors are now Always shut and trying to keep the crayons out of her mouth, I'm sure we'll see some interesting poopies. She plays well with the twins, and Bella loves to play with her. I am wondering how she will do when the twins go to school next year?

As for Jay and I pretty much the same old stuff. I am teaching now 6 days a week, and trying to get Christmas events/choreography done while also trying to organize and find music for recitals already. I am glad I have this next week off but probably won't get much done...I hope to do the Christmas decorations, clean up the house, bake some cookies for our studio open house, make some bows, and have fun when my mother comes into town at the end of the week! Then come December a lot of Christmas shows with the studios, parades, and wonderful family vacation I'm looking forward to in Dec because Adam and Judy are coming into town too!! Then right before Christmas I'm going in for foot surgery on December 22nd! What a Christmas gift for myself huh? I have to get my bunion fixed, it's been hurting constantly now, and better to get it done before the end of the year. So a long 3mo recovery, with the first 2 weeks doing nothing. Hope that goes well! I will try to keep you updated too.
Jay will be busy with the next week of doing LightHouse installs. Yea for Christmas time! This is our favorite time. He has about the same amount of clients as last year, we are hoping that within the next few years the business will grow.

Be sure to watch HGTV the day after Thanksgiving for a special from Disney. We went to the cast preview of Spectacle of Dancing lights and HGTV was there filming! We might get on we don't know. You won't be able to miss the girls with their BOWS!! At the preview too we got to meet David Bromstad from Color Splash! He is so nice, I wish he could come do a room in my house PLEASE?

I think that is it for now, I will be updating the theme of our blog of course to Christmas soon, yea for a new look and some new slide shows soon too. Sorry for the long post, had to update you on a ton of things.

Having fun with Michelle and John

SO back on Oct 10th, I know a little ways back we went to Disney with John and Michelle. We had a really fun day at Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom! OMG was the day super duper HOT!!! It was like 94 out plus humidity, we were dripping. We went on the safari, Kali River Rapids, yes the twins were tall enough and loved it....Nanny you get to go on it next with them! We then went to MK did Dumbo, Race Cars, Carousel, It's a Small World and watched SpectroMagic. Bella was excited to see Minnie 2 times that day!! We had a lot of fun!! and Mommy too TONS of pictures, so many that I have to post 2 slide shows!!! Here you go enjoy!

Thanks Aunt Marlene!

Aunt Marlene sent the kids so fun gifts for Halloween, they love their backpacks, containers, Pez dispensers, robes and everything else! Also thanks for the Red Lobster GC, I can't wait to go eat a yummy meal!!! Here are some pictures...

Halloween 2009

OK I know I posted out-of-order but hey it's posted right? Anyway we had a great time this year for Halloween. Quinn and Bella had a blast running door to door ringing the doorbell to get their candy. It took them awhile to say "Trick-or-Treat" but by the end of the night they did. Quinn even said, "Come on Mommy, I need to get more Candy!"

Brinlee got tired towards the end of the night, and so did Mommy and Daddy. She didn't want to ride in the wagon at all so our arms got a great workout from carrying around 20lbs all night! By the end she was ready to go again...LOL!

They got gift cards to McDonalds from Nanny and Gramps and loved looking at all the candy they got. We got back to Gramps house, had dinner and spent the night. Here are some pictures of the evening, enjoy!

Fun at Fort Wilderness

SO on Sunday November 1st we went to Fort Wilderness to meet some friends, Tracy and David who were staying there. They had a fun little Open Cabin, food, and fun times. It was even warm enough to go swimming, yes swimming! It was 89 out and hot, so off to the pool we went. The kids had a blast in the splash pool, I think we were in there for 2hrs straight and had to pry them away from the pool. Here are some pictures.

Minneola Fall Fest - - - WINNERS!

First we went to a Fall Fest at Sweetbay, the local grocery store, they had goodies for the kids, cookie decorating, specials and stuff. They had fun, but we didn't stay long.

We went to the Minneola Fall Fest, CAD was performing so the entire family went, there was food, a small carnival and enteratinment. My students did wonderful for such a tiny stage! There was a costume contest for the kids so of curse I entered in the twins and Brinlee. From the pictures you can see that Quinn was: Peter Pan, Bella was: Wendy (to her TinkerWendy) and Brinlee was: Tinkerbell.

My Mother made the kids costumes, thnks to Emma she let BRinlee borrow her Tinkerbell costume. I of course made some fancey shoes, a matching bow and we customized her wings!! Oh yes she is ready for SPECTROMAGIC! If I had more time the entire costume would have been lit!

For the age group 0-4yrs Brinlee won 1st PLACE!!! They all thoguth they won, they go a basket of goodies, a cool trophy that Quinn had to put in the curio cabinet and a gift certificate to Kandiland Kidz Gym. So cute I must say, she loved those wings, didn't want to take them off at all! WHile my students were dancing she was for sure doing the Brinlee dance on the sidelines and Bella loved watching. (Not sure how the video came out, might post at a later date). We ha a great time, kids had fun....here are the pictures!

Eating Machines

Ok so on Tuesday nights after the twins have their dance class, my Dad picks them up at the studio and takes them to his house until I am done teaching that night. Well he feeds them dinner and this is what they ate tonight:

Bella had:
Soup (Two helpings!)
Broccoli and Cheese
Corn
Two Jelly Sandwiches!
Then a sucker followed up with popcorn!!

Brinlee had:
Broccoli and Cheese- She practically the whole package!
Then she drank a full cup of milk
Popped down a number of grapes
Then she had popcorn.

Quinn had:
Soup

Ok do you see something here? How does Quinn only eat soup and still have tons of energy? And little miss Brinlee...WOW!! Where does it go? Her stomach isn't even that BIG!

First Dance Class cont.

Here are some pictures from their first dance class. I have added some more and got a slideshow going as well.

ENJOY!

Here are the videos, you'll enjoy my Dads and my own comentary as you watch these videos. Being a dance teacher why is it always our kids that dont' want to do anything? But maybe at recital Bella will be like me on my first recital TELLING the others what to do! (She is 'Miss Boss lady' by the way at home)

Their First Dance class....... Alone!

Well yes it's OFFICAL the twins had their first dance class WITHOUT Mommy teaching! THey are enrolled at CAD taking the Foundations class with Ms. Melissa. I am not teaching them because I want them to have someone else teaching and be able to interact with other kids.

They were very excited about going, and Bella loved her new leotard, she actually picked it out and wanted NO skirt! Quinn could care less but was totally happy. They werent too sure when their names were called to go into the class. Quinn walked right up, and Bella was about to cry but told her that Quinn was going and I would be watching in the window. As you will be able to see in the pictures she held her hands by her face, most of the time.

They did really well. It took Bella about 20min to actaully warm up and enjoy herself. Quinn...LOL he just the HAM of the class. You will be able to see when I get the videos up that he was happy with the jumping, rolling and fun stuff.

I think as the weeks go by they will definately do better and really get into it. Bella saw the pictures and video to day and said, 'Yes I want to go again.' I asked her what she wasn't supposed to do next week and she said, 'Rub my eyes.' I'm not making them go, if they want to take they will. It's so weird seeing them take class, I can still remember my first class at ADC. How time flies....

Here are a few pictures, I will upload the rest to Photobucket and post a link tomorrow, there were too many to post.

A day at Disney's Animal Kingdom

We spent the afternoon at Disney today. I wanted to ge tthe kids out of the house, we spend way too much time here and this was a FREE thing to do. (That's all we can afford right now). So away we went in the afternoon when it wasn't as hot outside, only 95 degrees!

We first went to the Safari, and the twins weren't too sure, but as soon as they saw the animals and could take pictures with thier cameras, Thanks Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbie, they were all into it. I have posted pics below in this post for you. We got to see, hippos, giraffes, warthogs, cheetahs, and much more!

We then took a train ride to Rafiki's Planet watcha nd saw reptiles, a hawk, and Bella took a picture with Jiminy Cricket. We also went into the petting zoo! Bella petted a sheep, Quinn just wanted to look. Then we went back on the train and we were on the hunt for Minnie Mouse.

Well....we found her! Yes, I can't beleive it we actually got to take a picture with Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse without crying, being scared or anything! She even gave Minnie a hug and mIckey too. Quinn also did! I think we have broken the ice and they are starting to like the characters. I asked if they wanted to see Goofy, and it was a definate NO.

So after that we went home. It wasn't a lot that we did in the park but enough to enjoy the afternoon and get away. That's what I love about being down here, gets my mind off things, and away from home.

Crafting Day

Well today I was in a crafting mood. So I tired to get the twins to do a craft, making yarn bowls. At first they were very excited about it, helped me pick out what colors they wanted, cut the yarn, etc. Anyway when we got to dipping the yarn in the glue...FORGET IT! They didn't want to get their hands dirty or sticky. So, you guessed it, I ended up doing the project! Bella ended up handing me the yarn and which colors she wanted but that was about it, Quinn just wanted to go play his video game.

I don't think that they will turn out, they are drying still. I think I needed to let the yarn soak in the glue longer, and I only had so much glue. Here are some pictures....




Then later today while they were all napping, including Jay he needed to sleep before going in to work tonight, I decided to make myself a purse. I'm in a sewing mood. I really want to sew a mei tai but don't have enough fabric or the right kind. Darn!! So I made this reversible purse for myself, and I just finished an organizer that goes inside of it, no picture of that. But here it is, Quinn was my model that volunteered!

Friday Update

One again I'm slacking on our blog...that's a Mommy's life huh? I'll try to wrap up what has been going on with all of us today.

Brinlee: Wow what a fast growing little girl! She is now on whole milk. No problems what-so-ever with the change. We started her a bit early because finances are very tight, she did fine and I think is stronger than ever! She is now on completely whole foods, no pureed food, some things I have to mash, but mainly cut into small pieces. She now eats, mixed veggies, bananas, applesauce, pears, blueberries, fish sticks, mac n' cheese, pasta, cherrios, pudding, jello, juices- not citrus, and pretty mucha nything else she can get her hands on!! She is definately transitioning from one thign to another, as far as standing. She is not standing by herself without holding onto things yet. And we are not walking. However she is a very fast crawler!

Bella: She is our little helper, tattle-tale, attention getter, yes all around GIRL! She loves helping out and folding clothes or doing small tasks. Her job now is to make sure that Finna has water in her dog bowl. So she takes her plastic cup, fills it from the fridge and even puts it in the fridge to keep it cold then fills the dogs dish. Too cute! Bella is doing good on the potty, we had a few accidents here and there but now I thinkw e are getting a hang of it and actually going to the potty by ourselves and washing our hands. YES!

Quinn: Let me just say BOY BOY BOY! We are definately still into our tantrums, I guess it's just the age. We whine about everything and anything, getting him to talk things out, understnad things is hard. However I shouldn't say he doesn't understnad things, he does it's his actions and just not wanting to listen I think/ He teases Bella like crazy with hitting, bitting and also teasing the dog. This is something we are working on. Eating is a challenge with his as well. He just wants SNACKS all the time so this is where our tantrums come in....a long process here for this. Potty training is coming along, he still goes in his underwear, which I don't knwo why so we have to keep a close eye on him. The only thing I can think of is that he just wnats the attention right now! There is a lot of yelling in the house because he hits, bites, screams, throws tantrums, constantly teases the dog (she wil bite him oneday, honestly I don't blame her). He is very smart, loves to do puzzles with me, make-believe, count, etc. So I'm still trying to figure out what is going on....

The twins do play together very well for the most part, of course they have their moments. THem being in seperate rooms, nighttime routine has been better, and they are sleeping through the night for the exception of Brinlee. They play very well with Brinlee, I don't think Quinn gets the idea that she doesn't know any better when Brinlee takes his toys. Poor guy. Bella loves to share her things with Brinlee and sharing a room. She calls it 'THE GRISL ROOM'

Jay: First I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It was yesterday!! Jay is working everyday still, and trying to pick up overtime whenever he can get it. It's July already and we just put together a flyer to post on his website for Light House..check it out! http://www.holidaylighthouse.com We are hoping that Light House gets even more business this year!

Sarah: Do you really need to know about moi? Yep still keeping things as sane as I can around here. Taking care of the kids and the house during the day and teaching at night. Summer sucks for me since I don't get many hours at all. We ahve asked for my fathers help to put ourselves on a very strict budget. It's going to be rough but worth it in the long run! I try to keep some 'Mommy Time' by designing siggies, blinkies, and more on 3 sites. This is my relax time late at night.

So as a family we are doing the best we can and surviving. This economy sucks but we ahve to keep our heads up even when it looks really really bad. We are enjoying the times at home sicne we can't go anywhere. We are gearing up for the Twins Birthday on the 19th, and Brinlee's 1st Birthday on the 23rd! One party to celebrate too!! So that's about it, I know I'm so slacking on keeping this blog up, I think about it then never get to it, another thing to try to schedule into my very booked schedule...LOL!

Disney Time!

So Aunt Marlene and Josh came to visit and we got some great pictures, we had a lot of fun at the parks. We saw a lot of fishes, riding rides, laughing and having just plain fun!! We can't wait to do it again, thanks for a lot of fun ;)

Make a Smilebox photobook

OK and here is part 2!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Potty Oh Potty

Well we might be on our way to potty training, at least one of the twins. Yesterday Bella woke up with a dry diaper and made it through the day with a DRY diaper until the evening. I told her that if she keeps her diaper dry the entire day she will get a big lollipop. It seems to be working for the most part. She will go on the potty #1 and #2 but now it's just catching and teacher to tell us when she has to go.

Quinn on the other hand doesn't want to even think about it. Yes he will sit on it, thinking he will get a sucker/lollipop but wont do anything. I guess it's a boy thing. Hopefully we can get Bella potty trained, and he will follow through.

I'm hopeful, trying to encourage them everyday!

Cone Kids Cookies

Well today I told the twins we would make COOKIES! So on with the aprons and chefs hats and off to baking we go! Below is a video of the twins Cooking Show.....ENJOY!

Make a Smilebox slideshow