Our 1st Christmas Concert

Sweetie's in the 2nd row, 4th from the leftThe lead up to the concert was verrrrrrrrry exciting. The kids were ramped up, they'd been practicing their song and knew it really well.
We got there early and got seats in the 2nd row but weren't sure if this was going to cut it, Honey had specifically said FIRST ROW. It was roped off as they were making a video of the show so no one was allowed to sit there.
Honey is in the 2nd row, 5th from the right in the blue dress.

Honey was one of the kids selected to do the introduction to their number, along with her classmate. She'd been practicing her line & didn't seem too concerned about standing in front of everyone and speaking into the microphone but I wasn't sure how she'd be once the day came and the audience was really there. Sometimes at home she'll freeze when we ask her to do a song or something for the grandparents and say "I'm too nervous!!!!" but she was fine! She & the other guy walked right up, got their line out perfectly and then went to take their places on the risers. How can a 5 year old be braver than I am??


There's Lovey, red dress, 4th from right.

The show went really well and the kids were perfectly behaved. They warned us in the morning that they weren't allowed to talk to us or even wave to parents. This didn't deter us in the least from waving at them like mad and grinning ear to ear at this milestone event. We kept at it because they were listening to the "no waving rule" so well that they didn't even register that they saw us. They didn't even blink or smile or anything but eventually they did seem to see us and give us a tiny smile. Sweetie kept walking, straight faced and arms at her sides but she did open and close her fingers a few times in order to signal that she'd seen us. :)

The concert was over in an hour or so and we were allowed to go over to the school and visit the kids for a few minutes. They had left with their class once their part was over & walked back to class. We had a hard time getting them to leave their room to come see us in the hall so they're obviously very dedicated students. They thought it was pretty fun to see Grammie at their school!

Christmas Card Fun.....NOT!

Every year I have some idea of getting a nice picture of our family to send out in our Christmas card. It doesn't sound like a bad idea. Lots of other people get me to do this for them, so I should be able to get one for myself right? Not without much consternation and gnashing of teeth!

We got Mandy to give it a shot over Thanksgiving but it was cold and the kids were miserable (you may recall this from a previous post!) and nothing usable turned out unless I wanted to advertise my family "as is". However, I prefer to leave everyone under the illusion that we are a well put together unit of harmony & happiness. (and if you are not currently falling for the Christmas card photo trick, humour me)
So with December now upon us, I'm starting to feel the pressure, so much to do and getting the pictures taken, edited, and a card created (or pilfered off the net at least), prints ordered &picked up, cards signed, stuffed, sealed, addressed, stamped and actually in the mailbox is a huge undertaking at any given point of the year but December adds that extra rush!
They were only happy to pose with their favourite animal and none of the pictures of the three of them together turned out!

This was by far the best & clearest shot of the day. I don't think it's any coincidence that NONE of these subjects can move, fuss, whine, cry or fight :)

This one would have sufficed, if I was willing to have all friends and relatives contemplating what stage the divorce is at!
and these ones have some personality and are pretty much in focus but not exactly what I was going for!

So second attempt yielded nothing any more usable than the first shoot. You see Mandy? It's not you, it's DEFINITELY them :)))

Sweetie's Getting An Eductation!!!

Sweetie came home from school one day and had a question.

Sweetie: Mumma, what's a wiener?

Me (hoping this was just a food related question): oh that's another word for hotdog

Then she gets a skeptical look on her face so I know that I haven't answered her to her satisfaction.

Me: who was talking about wieners Sweetie?

Sweetie: L. He told me 'my wiener is my piener'

and then I fought with all my might not to fall down laughing while I simultaneously worry if he was doing more than just talking about his piener!!!!

I managed to control most of my giggle fit and told her that he probably meant "penis" and that sometimes people call it a wiener. Then I asked her if he'd been showing her anything and she said he hadn't so hopefully that's all she learns about pieners in the next 20 years. :)

Festivities :)

We went to the Christmas party for the multiples club and what a party! The organizer did a great job and there was so much stuff for the kids! There was a colouring table, a tattoo station, a clown making balloon animals non-stop, an amazing buffett of snacks and treats and then Santa showed up and everyone got to visit him and then got a goodie bag! Oh and there were gingerbread cookies for decorating too. Wow!

Since I was standing there waiting for my kids to go through the line up for Santa, I started taking pictures of the other kids too. This was the funniest one all day! Santa is a real trooper!

Discovery Toys: Fashion Friends

A friend of mine from playgroup recently became a consultant for Discovery Toys. She's off to a great start & is getting the word out about her business. She asked me to try out a toy with the girls and do a write up about it. Here goes!

The product we got was called Fashion Friends and before ever getting that box in my hands, I was pretty sure it would be a hit. It's a set of interchangeable figures, clothes, hairstyles and accessories. What's not to like right???

Right away there were a few things I liked:

1. it came with its own container & lid for storage (unlike a certain other little doll & her bazillion accessories)
   
   
2. there were enough bodies to go around, most things come with one or two dolls, this has 4 complete dolls plus outfits & hairstyles to spare. Each of my girls could have her own and still be able to mix and match without starting WWIII by taking her sister's stuff.
3. the pieces are bright, colourful and there is a lot of variety

Now more importantly, what did THEY think????? They were wild to get into that purple box. As soon as they spied it sitting on the counter, a relentless stream of requests began. Can we open it? Can we open it now? Is it time to play with those yet???? They were just about foaming at the mouth! Then today after school, it was the first thing they asked about when they got off the bus! They whipped through their homework at lightning speed to be able to get at those dolls.

I tried doing a little interview once they'd been playing a bit & got some good feedback!

Me: Do you like this toy?

Them: I LOVE it! I've always wanted this!!

Me: What makes this a good toy?

Them:

• You can change SO many things!
• this girl has freckles & I really like freckles
• it's easy to change the pieces
• tell the lady I REALLY like the purple one

Me: Are there enough choices?

Them:

• YEAH! lots of choices! Oh! I need to change my hairstyle. You can really put a different one, you don't have to just pretend it! You can just take it off, there's lots of them!
• I love how this girl looks!
• You can change everything of her parts!
• JUST EVERYTHING!!!!

They also liked the variety of the options and being able to make a doll that they felt looked like themselves.

I explained to them that we were testing out this toy so we could let people know if we thought it was a good one or not and Lovey (in red) piped right up: Raise your hand if you think this is a GREAT TOY!!

As you can see, Fashion Friends gets 3 hands up from this group (or 4 if you count mine behind the camera!!)

If you are interested in getting your own Fashion Friends or other Discovery Toy products, email me at kelmurandco@gmail.com and I'll hook you up with the consultant.