Entrepreneur and Beaver Boy

Today when I picked Noah up from school he was very excited about a new plan he had thought up to set up a stand in the yard to sell various snacks from our house. I tried to explain to him that, since the wind was blowing about 60 mph, tonight might not be the best day for such an endeavor. I really did not want to have to sit outside with him, and, sadly, in this crazy world we live in, I would never let him be outside in the driveway waving at passing cars by himself. He would not be swayed, however, and found a box for his "wares" and wrote the prices on the box. Cookies and crackers were $.40, yogurt was $.60, and Gatorade was $1.00. He set up his little shop in the driveway and sat there hopefully waiting for people to go by.

Unfortunately, most people were still at work, but he was patient. When our neighber came home from work, Noah ran over to give him his sales pitch and came back with $1.00 and a HUGE smile on his face. I felt terrible for trying to talk him out of something he was so excited about. Soon other neighbors came home and, when all was said and done, he managed to make $4.00! He now thinks he's going to sell his goods every day after school. I told him that if he continues to have success, he's going to have to buy his own merchandise rather than raiding our pantry.

So what about Beaver Boy? Last year Noah had a wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Broesch, who would give him extra projects that went along with topics they were talking about. One project that he really got into was when they were learning about beavers. He had me take him to the public library and got a bunch of books about beavers and then did a presentation to the class about how they make their homes. I came up to school and helped the kiddos make little beaver dams using chowmein noodles and peanut butter. We learned more about beavers than I ever thought was possible or that I ever wanted to know.

This year, Mrs. Broesch is teaching 2nd grade. She was planning her lesson plans, and, apparently, 2nd grade also has a beaver lesson. She asked Noah if he wanted to be a "guest presenter" and talk to her class about beavers. We made another trip to the library and he did some "research" and planned a little talk about the important points about beavers and their homes. He was so excited about his presentation and said it went well.

He said that since 1st graders and 2nd graders go to lunch at the same time, that some of the 2nd graders have been approaching him to ask questions about beavers. I wanted to be sure and blog about this, because I think when he is a high schooler he will be pleased that he was the "beaver expert" as a 1st grader.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

The kids and I had a really fun time at Vala's Pumpkin Patch last Friday. Noah had the day off for fall break and we lucked out with gorgeous weather! This was the first Vala's trip that I can remember that we weren't dressed in our winter coats. After work Seth came to meet us and we ate dinner there (had to take out a minor loan) and stayed until after dark. Another first! I found out that the teenagers also come out after dark. It really made me appreciate my sweet little ones. they grow up so darn fast.... I can do without the teenage years coming too quickly.

Fall photos

A photo slideshow by Smilebox

Lots of 1st when you're 3

Ella is getting to be such a big girl! First soccer, then preschool and dance. She loves all of them! She was so excited for her first day of preschool last Tuesday. She's literally been talking about it since last April. She also had her first dance class last Tuesday afternoon. The little 3 year old girls in their leotards and tights is too cute for words!

Gotta love those pink shinguards

Ella started soccer this fall. She is playing with other 3 year old girls and it is so stinking cute! She's actually pretty good at dribbling and kicking- she's been watching Noah's soccer games for so many years, she has a pretty good idea of what to do.

She didn't always understand the soccer terms, though. The coach told them to "dribble" and Ella picked up the ball and dribbled it like a basketball. Then they were told to shoot it and she picked it up and threw it into the goal.

Maybe basketball is going to be more of her sport?

Mini photo shoot with Noah

Another digital slideshow by Smilebox

Baby on the Way!!!!!!

Since I've announced the news on Facebook, I figured I could finally start blogging about what is really on my mind lately..... we are having a baby!!! The due date is December 31st and we are all very excited. Because of our last experience, I waited a loooooong time to tell anyone and was frankly a nervous wreck for the first 12 weeks. At about 10 weeks we had to tell close family and we did tell the kids because it was getting a little obvious and harder to hide.

I had quite a few ultrasounds at the beginning, which was basically my doctor's way of trying to get me to relax a little bit. It did help a lot seeing that heartbeat, I can't believe how much I took that for granted with my other two. Noah really wants a baby brother and Ella really wants a baby sister. Shocking! One of them has a pretty good chance of getting their wish!