Nutcracker

I can't believe I forgot to post about the Nutcracker. I remember going to see the Nutcracker when I was a lot younger and hoped we would have a chance to see it with our kids. Easter Seals where Little Man has therapy had gotten a bunch of tickets and gave them away for free. Since Wednesday night church had ended for the year we picked up 8 and took our friends Beth and Grant and their boys with us. Bobby and I started off the night by taking our kiddos to dinner at Amerigo. YUM! I love that place. Usually we go at lunch time and get the artichoke dip (or Italian Nachos as Bobby like to say) for the entree. The kids did fantastic. Poor Munchkin though had a problem with her dress itching around the middle. Being the creative mama I am I took her to the restroom and tied toilet paper around her waist. It was a temporary fix but it worked for the most part.

We got to the show with not a lot of time to spare but enough that we found good seats to see the show. Little Man sat on Bobby's lap the entire time and seemed entranced by the music. Munchkin got in and out of her seat a few times but really loved the dancing. She kept asking when the snowflake dancers were going to come back. During intermission Christie Cookies provided a snack for everyone. I took Munchkin and her "date" out to get a snack and go potty. The second half seemed to fly by and it was time to go. We thought we would take all of the kids to Ben and Jerry's since they did so well but when we got their they insisted they were closed. By my watch and my cell phone it was still 3 minutes until 9.I know, I know! It is a pain when people come in that close to closing time but come on! We had little kids up past their bedtime who were so excited to get ice cream that late!

We did the next best thing and took them to Starbucks for hot chocolate and cookies. It was fun and we all got to hang out. All in all it was a very successful night out with the kiddos. We got home and they slept I am sure dreaming of sugar plums!

Christmas

Our family tends to travel a lot during the holidays. Bobby and I have only had a tree a few times in the 9 years we have been married because of the traveling. Since we were not travelling this year it was fun to get our tree, decorate it and have some of our own fun Christmas traditions. On Christmas Eve the kids opened one present each. They each got a brand new pair of nice warm flannel jammies. It wasn't too difficult to get them to bed that night and we woke up to the sound of Little Man opening a package. Now, we did put a package in each of the kids doorways for the morning. Planning ahead we got each of the kids a pair of slippers to match the new jammies.

When we came downstairs the kids saw the presents and were so very excited! But, they were also the most patient children I have ever seen on Christmas morning...we will treasure that as long as we can! Once we got downstairs Bobby read about Jesus' birth from the book of Luke in the Bible. After talking a little bit more about Christmas being about Jesus birth and the reason we give presents it was time to tear into the presents. We let Munchkin hand each gift out since she can read all of our names now.
Her favorite gift was her new Digital Camera which I have already posted pictures from. She also LOVES all of her new Polly Pockets. Uncle Joe and Aunt Rox got her a 10th anniversary set which is really cool. The Pollys though are teeny tiny! She has played with it non stop though.
Little Man was pretty excited about his socks that we got him....I am sure I will only be able to get away with that for a couple of more years too. He has been playing with his airplanes, air craft carrier and carrying around the Polly Pocket case. He also loves to snag the new camera and take pictures really close up to anything he can find. Most of those have been deleted since all you can see is flash.

I got Bobby a dremel. It has already come in quite handy. It is not going to be the tool he uses when he has to sand the house but for his airplanes it works quite nicely!
Bobby got me a Blue Tooth for my Razor phone. he had to drive really far because he was thoughtful and got the pink one to match my phone. He also special ordered the pink and black Heidi Swapp iron for scrapbooking. We had such a fun day! None of us got out of our jammies all day long and just hung out and played with all of our new stuff.

We also made a Happy Birthday Jesus Angel food cake that we ate with Cool Whip and strawberries. Yum! Munchkin even sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Cute girl!

I have been amazed this week by my kiddos. They have played and played with the new stuff that they got. Hopefully the novelty won't wear off any time soon!

Girl Cheese

Every once in awhile our family indulges in the great American favorite...The grilled cheese sandwich. Apparently Munchkin thinks it is "girl cheese sandwiches" because she thinks Little man has to have "boy cheese sandwiches"! Silly girl!

PP

Yeah for almost pp in the potty!! Each night Little Man wants to sit on the potty and go poo. Well I turned my back the other night and turned around to a puddle on the floor. Last night he tried again and didn't make quite as big a puddle and even stopped when he realized that he was making a puddle. Maybe fewer diapers are in our future!

New camera

So, Munchkin got the new pink Fisher Price Digital Camera for Christmas. She went crazy with it. Here are a few of the fun pictures she has taken already.

Merry Christmas!!

We have had a whirlwind evening tonight! Today was so relaxed when it came time for church we were completely rushed! Our church didn't have services this morning so that people could hang out at home with their families. They did have 3 services tonight though. If there had been childcare we would have gone to the 7 O'Clock but there wasn't so we went to the 5 O'Clock. This was good for us except that we usually eat dinner right around 5ish. So, we either had to eat at 4 or at 7. We thought we would grab something on the way home but DUH! nothing is open on Christmas Eve. We did try the Taco Bell drive through but they were out of Chicken and Beef. Then we tried Mcdonalds by us who had a sign saying they were open until 9pm. They only had 5 people working (which should have been enough..I worked at Burger King and opened by myself) which was not enough people to run the drive through and cook. SO, long story short we came home and I made a skillet meal and some Sister Schubert rolls.

After the kids opened a pair of new jammies each we read a chapter from Charlottes Web, brushed teeth and finally got them into bed. Now Bobby is down the street giving a neighbor a guitar lesson. I just finished baking an Angel Food Cake for our Happy Birthday Jesus cake and I am in the process of baking my moms famous Cornmeal Crescent Rolls. I can't wait to eat them!

Soon I will be stuffing stockings and putting tags on Santa gifts (I am glad Munchkin can't read yet!). Munchkin is really excited about Santa coming! When asked what she wanted Santa to bring by different people she would say "Whatever he wants to bring me, but I hope he doesn't think I want a Bratz doll!" After her friend told her that she had written a letter to Santa she decided she wanted too also. So on her list is a Doodle Monster. Well, thank goodness Santa got her a little one. I know she will be thrilled!

Tomorrow is going to be so much fun. I know the kids are excited about the presents but I hope we are instilling what the real reason for Christmas is in them. Before presents in the morning we will read the Christmas Story out of Luke and talk about Jesus more. Today on the way to the church Munchkin piped up with "The presents are not what is important about Christmas it is about being together and giving to other people!" Could a mama be prouder? I think not!

One other fun thing she said today after jumping around on my bed was "It feels like Jesus is walking around in my heart right now!" She had fallen onto the bed and could feel her heart beating faster. It was so cute!

I pray this Christmas finds you well and happy!

Cooperation

This morning while we were getting ready in the bathroom Munchkin was walking around the edge of the bathtub. We have a big garden tub with a rock wall around it so it was pretty safe. When she would get to the outside area where it was much narrower she would call her brother over and say please hold my hand. He would walk with her along that edge until they got to the wide area again. That just melted my heart. I pray they are best friends and love each other like that for all time!

It's a Salient Christmas

Last Sunday was our Salient Christmas party. Mark and Melissa invited us over to have dinner and get to know the new members of the band. We have recently added John Pfaender (Bass) and Nick Diamond (Drums) to our line-up. Bobby had obviously met them but some I had only met Nicole once and it was the first time meeting Trish. Our kiddos had a fantastic time playing with Mark and Melissas little boy and entertaining Nick and Nicoles little girl.
We had a taco bar that was pretty yummy (except the guacamole which was pointed out by Melissa who bought it and Nick who thought he would taste it first). I made a Smores Mousse Cake which does not go with tacos but it was either that or frozen churros.

It was really nice to meet everyone and I hope we will have many more chances to hang out in the near future.

Bobby, John, Mark and Nick
Me, Nicole, Melissa, and Trish

My two little dustmops

Mark and Melissas little guy chasing the other kids in his walker


Nick and Nicoles sweet little girl

Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree

We were finally able to go get our Christmas Tree yesterday. The last couple of times we have gone to Lowes to get it and thought this would be a good idea once again. After traipsing through Lowes finding nails, wrapping paper, sumo glue and blue tape we headed out to the garden center. It was pretty much a Charlie Brown tree lot at that point. Apparently they had to turn the water off when we had a cold snap a week or so ago so many of the trees were pretty brown. We got a Douglas Fir for $20 and it still looks good. There were needles on the ground but not many came off when we shook it and ran our hands over the branches so we think we got a good one. It only has to last 10 days anyway. We got it home, got the lights on and put all of the ornaments on. I remember my mom always opening the ornament boxes and telling us where they came from and letting us hang them on the tree. So, that is what I did. As I pulled each one out of the box I told the kids where we got each one and let them put them up. Little Man got the really soft not breakable ones since he would take them to the tree and drop them on the floor. Munchkin had fun putting them up though and even got to put the finishing touch, the angel on the top. Now, if we can keep the dog from knocking it over and the cat from climbing it I think we will be good to go!


Look at all of those trees!

I do not want my picture taken with these Charlie Brown trees!

I like having my picture taken, plus look at my cool Barbie wrapping paper I picked out!

A much happier boy at home.

The final touch!

9th Anniversary

It is official! Bobby and I have been married 9 years. It is so fun to know someone so well and know that we are going to learn so much more about each other over the next many years together. We were married when I was 23 and he was 22 (only a month away from 23). We started dating when I was 20 and had already been friends for a year in college. It is so cool that we have history at this point. I just love him so much and am so happy that we have 2 beautiful children together, a house, a (gulp) dog and a cat. Plus we both love the Lord and want our house to be built on His foundation.
For our anniversary we went to a new restaurant (new to us anyway) called Nick and Rudys. It is downtown Nashville and has valet parking. I am so used to valet that I forgot to put the parking brake on and almost hit the car behind us. That would have been horrible since we would have had to spend our anniversary money on fixing the much nicer car behind us. Since we would be home late our friends Ron and Angela took care of our kiddos for us overnight. Nick and Rudys was fantastic! I had the filet which was called the Beef Tenderloin and Bobby had Salmon. You know it is a good steak when you barely have to chew it. After we shared dessert we headed off to Opry Mills for some glow golf. Both of us were in black and discovered that we were both incredibly linty! eww! To top off our evening we went and saw Casino Royale. It was definitely worth staying up late for! There were lots of cool stunts without as many cool gadgets.

I love my husband so much and I am so glad we got to spend that evening focused on us and having a really fun date. Hopefully we will get to have more of those this next year...of course next year is our big 10 year reunion. We shall see what that anniversary has in store for us.

How cute are we?


Bobby would like for me to point out the sign saysThe Rat Pack Alive an Well

TIPS Holiday party

We have a nice lady named Ms. Judy that comes to see us each week. She works on fine motor skills with Little Man and we are starting to work toward transition to preschool. Every year TIPS has a holiday party. This year it was downtown near Vanderbilt. The kids had a fantastic time. They got to do a couple of crafts, Santa came to say hi, Munchkin sang Jingle Bells for all to hear, they had door prize drawings and even had breakfast for everyone. The family that came in right before us won the tickets to the Titans football game for today. That is ok though because everyone that was there went home with something. This first picture is kind of funny. The kids are wearing the same outfits they wore last Christmas .


I love Santa!Little man with Ms. Judy.

Some funny phrases from our Munchkin

"Mommy, my leg wrist hurts!"
"Excercise is good for you because it makes you grow big and strong just like fruits and vegetables!"
When asked what a certain noise was "That was pass and gass!"
While standing outside her brothers room yelling down the stairs "I can't sleep while he is screaming!"

Cookies

It is the time of year when I love to bake! Tonight I have a cookie swap with my MOPS group. I am making a really yummy recipe with blueberries, cranberries, white and chocolate chips in it. They smell really good. Unfortunately the recipe said it made 9 dozen cookies...I think those must be about the size of a penny because it only made 5 dozen. I need 6 dozen for my swap so I had to make another 1/2 batch to finish it off. It feels good to make something from scratch and have it turn into something so delectable!

Busy

This coming week I think will be one of the busiest this year. Thankfully this weekend has been fairly low key. Naps are being taken, Munchkin is out flying with her daddy and I am about to embark on a cookie baking frenzy. We have something every night next week. It is not even all Christmas stuff it is just the way the week falls.
Monday I have my MOPS cookie swap (hence the cookie baking frenzy), Tuesday I have a Pampered Chef open house, Wednesday is our 9th anniversary and our kiddos are spending the night at a friends (Thanks Angela!), Thursday is my once a month Pokeeno game (much fun and laughter will be had, and I think Friday I will be home. Bobby has been gracious enough to work around me this week in the craziness.

I know all of the different nights will be fun for different reasons but I am looking forward to Wednesday the most. Bobby and I get to take a moment out for us and celebrate 9 years of marriage. I think we are going to check out Nick and Rudys downtown and then who knows. We are such bar hoppers (kidding!) maybe we will do that...maybe I will check to see if any local bands are playing that we know though.

Hopefully we will get out on Saturday or sometime this week to get our tree. We have only had one a few years that we have been married because we have traveled so much. This year it didn't work out for us to go anywhere so it will be nice to have one. Now, my hubby grew up in Oregon where they went and cut one down every year. I remember cutting trees down too so it would be nice to have that tradition with our kiddos. Sometime in the future though. The last couple of times we have picked ours up at Lowes. That may happen again this year. I can't wait to get all decorated.

We went to a little Christmas party this morning and Munchkin sang Jingle Bells for about 150 people. She was so dang cute!

Peer Pressure

at age 4? After swimming today we went and hung out at Mcdonalds with some friends. The little girl is about 9 months older than Munchkin and the boy is 6 months older. I am not sure if we are almost to the point of boys have cooties or what but Munchkin was not nice to the little boy. The reason she was not nice is because her girl friend was mad at him for scaring her. The two of them kind of ganged up and wouldn't hang out with him. This is not the first time this has happened. She has done this with other girls too and we have talked about it. On our way home we had a long discussion about loving other people. We talked about how she would feel if her two friends ganged up on her and told her that they weren't going to be friends with her anymore. She looked sad and said that it wouldn't feel very nice. Also, we talked about how God must feel when we are not loving toward other people and how sad He is when we act like that. Now she is in her room drawing a picture that we can mail to the little boy as an apology. Hopefully the next time in a situation like that she will think about how God would feel and how she would feel if she acted like that. It kind of scares me for the future. She is 4 now how on earth is she going to be when she is 14? Can I go hide in a hole?

Irrational Fear

So, I have this irrational fear of cranes. No, not the bird, the giant metal monstrosities on construction sites. It is not totally unfounded. When I lived in California there was a woman that was driving in San Francisco with her baby in the car, in a freak accident a crane fell from the top of the building smashing her car and killing both of them. I don't know if it happened around the time I was starting to drive or what but it has bothered me since then.

We have been going to Easter Seals here in Tennessee for a little over a year. They just got bought out by Vanderbilt and it looks like we will be having Little Mans sessions at Vanderbilt Hospital now. This in and of itself is not terrible. It might be a little more difficult in terms of traffic but we will have the same therapist who is fantastic. The problem is that there is a lot of construction in the area and there are several cranes that we have to drive right by. It just freaks me out...all of the giant loads they are moving look like they could fall at any second. Of course, my children think it is the coolest thing ever. Hopefully we can drive down there and I won't pass my neurosis on to my kids.

Celebrity look alikes

I thought this was kind of fun. This is at www.myheritage.com. To be able to do the lookalike collage you have to sign up but it is free. So far I haven't gotten any junk from them either.