BAKING WITH MOMMY...

I thought that since we have some company coming in the near future that I better get some Christmas baking done or at least started. This morning that was the first thing I was going to do with Blake after the kids went to school. All was going well, we had the cookie dough mixed and I was getting ready to role it out for cutting when I realized that I didn't have a rolling pin...now what do I do? lol So I got creative and used my role of wax paper to roll it out. To my surprise it worked rather well on we go with the cookies! A-A-A-CHOO....yes you guessed it Blake sneezed all over the rolled out dough and we had to throw it out and start all over GRRR!
OK round 2...the cookie dough is rolled out once again but guess what now? No cookie cutters...after some searching around the house I managed to find some play-doh cutters that worked pretty good (cookies are a little on the small side). One batch of cookies is all that got done today and for the next time I think I will just run to the grocery store LOL.
Blake had fun and really so did I so in the end I guess that's all that matters! :0)

Just added to post....Sheila left a comment wondering if Blake left any cookies for everyone else? Yes he did but he licked all the icing off...lol no I'm just kidding but I am the one who eats all these cookies....Just ask my mom about it (right mom? :0) they are almost gone :0(

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

THE WEEKEND

The weekend has come to an end and already Monday will soon be coming to an end. It is hard to believe that Christmas is only 29 days away....OMG where has the time gone. We have the decorating done, wrapped the gifts last night or at least the ones we have, and the shopping is coming to an end. If only we had some snow it would then feel more like the Christmas season :0)

Even though Matt had to work Saturday night and Sunday we still managed to get some things done around the house, I got quite a bit of cleaning done over the weekend and the new family room is getting ready for the tv on Tuesday (feeling pretty cozy down there) can't wait until it's finished. We got a couple early Christmas gifts over the weekend with the new tv (in our room right now, might stay there lol...flat screen LCD) and Trinity got a nice white electric fireplace for her chilly room, it looks great and she is enjoying the heat!

Not much else going on around here, the kids got their report cards last week and looked pretty good with Jay somehow managing to get all B's (teacher said he was getting really slack and putting forth no effort but in the last couple of weeks she is impressed by his hard work and effort). We will see what next term brings. Trinity pulled off 5 A's and 4 B's and is enjoying her new friends at school. Kohl is said to be the "light" of his class. Everyone just loves him and with some more hard work from him and less talking we can look forward to another great report card in March.

With Christmas coming and all the great foods that come with the holiday season I am planning on (starting today) loosing 5-6 pounds before Christmas. I know it doesn't sound like much to loose but that's how much I've put on since we've moved :0(....and I want to be able to enjoy the yummy cookies and treats without any worries.LOL I think Matt is joining me in the fun :0)

That's all the news from the Sydney Mines Smith Clan...

The kids today after school (Monday)

FALL FAMILY PHOTOS

SANTA CLAUS PARADE

This year was a great year for the Santa Claus Parade with the kids being able to sit in the front yard to watch all the excitement. To keep the kids entertained while waiting for the parade to start we brought out our singing Santa for the kids...they sang, danced and had a great time! With the amount of candy and treats being handed out, I had to run in the house to grab gift bags for the kids to put their treats in. It was just like Halloween.... Jay was helping out with his youth group passing out free hot dogs and hot chocolate during the parade then was off to finish his night in Sydney for supper and games then a trip to Dairy Queen before finally coming home around 9:00pm. Definitely a busy day filled with lots of excitement!

By the time Jay got down to our house with the tray of hot dogs he ran out...but not long after we were back in the house after the parade there was a knock at the door.....Jay with more hot dogs!

PRIMARY AUTUMN PLAY - KOHL

Mrs. Cantwell along with Kohl's primary class worked really hard on their autumn play. The first half was the kids each telling a halloween joke (I guess she didn't feel they were ready until now) and the second half was the play. Kohl played Dudley the Crow and an awesome job he did!

Kohl's joke....When do ghosts play tricks on one another?

....On April Ghouls' Day!

Thanksgiving Poem... "Five Little Pilgrims"

The school's new theme song "Don't Laugh at Me"

WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON AROUND HERE....

The kids school had their Remembrance Day ceremony on Wednesday morning and they did a fantastic job. Kohl's class sang the Poppy song (with the melody BINGO) they were so cute, this was their first performance in front of the school so Kohl was a bit nervous and Trinity had a few lines to read with her class which we discovered she in not scared to speak with a mircophone in front of a huge audience. Jay lucked out as he calls it, only 2 students from his class did some readings. I didn't see him that day until I left the school.

I got a good start on the Christmas decorating and the tree got decorated on Saturday with the kids getting to put on the ornaments. Next year Jay should be tall enought to put the Angel on the top of the tree. Jay was spending a good part of his weekend working on a school project that didn't get done for Friday. But at least now he understands the importance of getting his work done on time and he now knows his information on Russia and will be able to present his project to the class on Tuesday. I have to say that I am very pleased with the amount of work he has put into this project and I am sure his teacher will be too. I know he is proud of himself :0)

With the trampoline taken apart do to the storm the boys had to find another way to keep entertained the other day while I was out decorating the yard. They were thankful that the storm blew down so tree branches. By the time they were done ripping off the branches and leaves there wasn't much left to it.

Sunday was a great day to get some much needed work done in the new garage/gamesroom for the kids. What a difference we made in just one day.with just some vapor barrier and left over paint...

The kids found lots to do to keep entertained while we worked towards getting this room done for them to enjoy...I guess they are enjoying it without it being done...

So after all the excitement of the day I ended it off with giving Trinity the hair cut she has been waiting for...not a big change for us but for her it feels so much better having her hair thined out. She was so happy and she said that she felt like a new person... I can't believe that she still has hair left after I thined it out...

CHRISTMAS DECORATING HAS BEGUN....

MCDONALD MONOPOLY

We don't usually get to caught up with the McDonald Monopoly games but for some reason we saved all of the games pieces and entered the codes on the Internet McDonalds Monopoly game. I played this with Blake for a couple of days (only aloud 10 codes per day) and yesterday Blake kept rolling doubles, then finally he landed and got the third piece of yellow property and won $500. Seriously he did! We called the number issued to us and we are waiting for papers in the mail for verification and to answer the skill testing question. After that we just wait for the check!