Yankee Candle Factory

Joe, Xander and I made the trek to the Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield, Mass. this weekend. It was a three hour trip, but the weather was clear (frigid, but clear) and the trip was easy.

The first good thing about this trip was meeting up with fellow Cherry (ACOT member) Renee. It was my first time meeting someone from the boards and she was so nice! She could only hang out for an hour, most of which time was spent on line waiting so our kids could see Santa. And he was an awesome Santa! Don't expect to see any pictures, though...I'm saving them for the Christmas card this year! Anyway, shout-out to Renee for meeting me! You're awesome!

After Xander had sat with Santa and fondled all of the toys in the toy department, we wandered out to the rest of the Yankee Candle experience. If you've never been there, I have to recommend it! There's a Bavarian Village with cute store fronts, a band of backwoods robot singers, and scores of those little Christmas collectible villages all set up with lights and everything.

Xander and Joe made wax molds of their hands, and they each got new ornaments for the Christmas tree (Joe got a guitar, Xander a set of drums). We had lunch at the Candlewick Cafe, and Xander made me sniff just about every candle scent in the place. Whew! I spent an insane amount of money on votives. But a good time was had by all!

Mostly, I just enjoyed spending the day with my family doing something new and fun. And there's a very high chance we'll be back again next year!

Morning Sunshine

It was a bright and shiny morning this morning, perfect for taking some pictures while Xander and I walked up the driveway to wait for the bus. Early morning sun and late afternoon sun are my favorites for taking pictures, because the lighting is so warm. Here are the pictures I took this morning:

Internet Friends

I would like to give a shout-out to the community at A Cherry On Top, where all my scrapbooking girlfriends live. Say what you will about online friends, but sometimes they're the only ones there for me.

Today, for example, I was feeling pretty low. All I had to do was let the girls at ACOT know how I was feeling to suddenly get a boost of good feelings! They understood how I was feeling, they said all the right things, and reminded me that even though you may not have met a person in the flesh doesn't stop them from being a true friend in every other sense.

So thanks, girls, for picking me up and dusting me off! I really needed it!

Parent-Teacher Conference Day

Today was Parent-Teacher Conferences at Xander's school. I was prepared for the worst, after the following conversation:

Me: "Xander, what do you think your teacher will tell me when I meet with her?"

Xander: "Probably that I put soap in Jacob's hair."

Not very confidence-inspiring, to be sure! But it went great. Xander's teacher says that he's doing great academically. He's really nailing the english language arts, and doing pretty good in math too. I got to see the first sentence he wrote: I like Mom. Awww!

The behavioral issues are minimal - the usual not sitting still, wanting to do his own thing at times. Xander's teacher thinks he's a great kid. (I agree!)

******

As an added bonus - cause I'm feeling generous! - here is a picture of Xander from yesterday. He woke up complaining and crying that the sun was hurting his eyes, so I gave him a pair of Joe's sunglasses. Well, he instantly became Scott Summers aka Cyclops from the X-Men. Even picked out his clothes to match colors. This is his Scott Summers pose.