The B-HIVE: Before Christmas

December was an insanely busy and stressful month here at the B-hive. Between Christmas parties and programs and date nights and game nights and shopping and decorating and wrapping, our calendar was quite full.

In addition to the extra busyness that December brings, we had our normal routine which is also full of activities. On Mondays, Max has preschool while Sam, Jack and I go to playgroup and try to sneak in a trip to the Y. On Tuesdays the boys have gymnastics, on Wednesdays Max and Sam have preschool while Jack has his little Romparoo class, Thursdays Max has a Learning and Fun class twice a month and we always head to the Y in the morning for one of mommy's favorite classes--Body Pump. Fridays Max and Sam have preschool and Jack and I go to the Y. Every morning we have somewhere to be. I guess it is good practice for me for when Max has to catch the bus for kindergarten next year.

The boys enjoyed their gymnastics class but I don't think they really learned that much. The reason I decided to sign them up for such a class was that Sam was doing cartwheels all on his own. However, when I got to observe their final class of the session, neither of them had any concept at all of how to do one. It was kind of funny watching them try to place their hands and feet on the mat, though. So, while it was a fun place for them to jump and run and play and we did make a few new friends along the way, we decided that for $215 a kid for a 10 week session, we were going to try something else for January.

Here are a couple of pics that I took during "parent observation" day. It was hard to get a good shot since we were corralled up on this balcony that was not only a million degrees, but the opening was covered in netting. Getting a good perspective was almost impossible, and for some reason on this day my camera was acting up and not performing as quickly as I would have liked.

Here is Max accepting his "medal"...

My camera was too slow to get Sam's medal presentation, but here is another pic of the boys climbing over one of the obstacles...

On the boys' last day of preschool before Christmas break, the parents were invited to come listen to a short program of mostly songs performed by the kids. Max's class had pajama day and Max did a super cute job singing the songs and doing the accompanying actions. It was really cute and fun to watch...

Sam's class did a little singing program as well, but oops!!--mommy messed up and sent him in his pajamas too! I could have sworn that I read somewhere that it was pj day for him too, but I guess I was mistaken. It is hard having two kids in the same preschool--I am always getting things mixed up. I guess I need to pay more attention. Anyway, it was kinda funny because Sam totally didn't seem to mind that he was the only one wearing a pair of hand-me-down spiderman pajamas while the rest of his class was dressed up in cute Christmas dresses and sweaters...

I ran my 3rd 5k in three months in December--The Reindeer Romp. It was cold and rainy this day, but we nailed it anyway! One of my friends and her husband volunteer at this race every year, the proceeds of which go to cancer research, so we wanted to run this one for sure. My two friends, Christine and Heather, and I have set a goal to find one 5k to run every month. I am definitely not looking forward to January's race, however, as the temperature keeps creeping lower and lower. It is quite fun to do, and even though it is only a little over 3 miles, I feel such a sense of accomplishment after finishing each one. Who would have ever thought that I would enjoy running? Definitely not me. A year ago I would have strongly stated that I was not a runner. Fast forward to today--today I ran 6 miles at the Y in under an hour!!

My four boys snuggling in for a book at bedtime...

At the beginning of this post I mentioned that Paul and I had a lot of date nights in December. We went out every weekend this month before we headed to Vermont.