Welcome to Christmas 2010 at the Holman Home

Awesome, funny, crummy to have a sick baby, crazy, over so fast

Getting ready...



Want to win your hubby's heart? buy him a remote controlled helicopter...
payback for the light installation done yesterday :)
He has been playing with it non-stop
I didn't mention to him how super cheap I bought it for on Amazon, just let him relish the fun





S riding her Christmas present,



she was also tickeled that I snuck her memory card a few weeks before and printed her gazillion pictures



M delighted at her pillow pet, a dog and the only dog she got this year, she also got 5 $20bills, she is saving up for an airline ticket. Santa had folded them into orgami airplanes. At about 2 p.m. Christmas day she ran up to me and said, "now I get why the $ was folded like planes!" Oh boy



A delighted in receiving a new camera and a ladybug pillow pet. She also LOVED her mermaid dress-up





J was so sick she didn't enjoy much of anything. I feel like finally yesterday and today she is realizing that she has new toys. Here are a few pics of her better moments, and there were only moments.

Let there be LIGHT!

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
lights hanging from the ceiling



My electrician was awesome enough to work a holiday and install my new lighting fixtures on Chrismas Eve, while I went on a bike ride :O
6 recessed can lights, we bought the combo pack from Home Depot to save some $
and I found three pendant lights from Home Depot
I love them, so happy to have found lights in stock that I love, more $ saved



We had originally budgeted $1000 for lighting, right now we are at $229!
AWESOME,
still need track lighting for under and above the cabinets
estimate of around $300
Saving money in lighting to move to another pot that is bound to cost more

Christmas is COMING!

First snowfall! Kids had a blast running around in the snow and being pulled on the sleds

My little Christmas elves!

At our house Santa arrives on a firetruck! Rob's office had a great office party complete with Santa arriving in style.

Christmas projects in full swing

Kitchen Remodel - week 2

The progress is slow...
Rob and I have always talked about remodeling our kitchen. The floral wallpaper wasn't really my style. While we were at it why not knock out the soffet, put down new flooring and place a new countertop :) The fridge was also making noises, like a gerbils had become trapped.

Money has been saved, $10k to be exact and we are trying REALLY hard to stay within that budget. S needs braces this year and I would really like both projects to be completely finished. In order to stay within budget Rob and I will be the planners, workers and financers, etc. Some of my wants are going to have to give but I still think in the end it will be beautiful. Time frame is completion May 1st, a little bit of a joke but maybe not when I am still blogging about kitchen remodel in April.

This past weekend Rob was able to drill the holes in the ceiling for recessed lights, we spaced them throughout the kitchen area 18 inches away from the cabinets and about 4 feet apart. I am nervous about how much light they will give off. Everything I have read, measured and tallied says we should be in business. Also planning on installing two pendant lights over our "bar" area and one pendant light over the kitchen sink.








New form of entertainment for the kids, turn on the oven lights and watch the cookies brown...wow!

Thanks

A few pics from our November month...

M playing with her food again, this time it's a ladybug

Nana and Papa came for a visit, we had a girls night out and went to Annie

Dolls invading out home

Winter swim meet

Help Wanted!

Where have we been?

Things have been a little wild and crazy around here,
the typical awesome Christmas stuff that fills every evening

of the month
Rob and I thought we would add a little more craziness and

bought each other an early Christmas present...
we have begun our kitchen remodel
AWESOME
Last week the new appliances arrived, stainless steel and beautiful
This week was a lot of dirt and dust as we knocked out the soffit above out kitchen cupboards and pulled down the wallpaper, why didn't I do that four years ago?
I just mopped down the floors in time for a Christmas party at the home tomorrow
Hope no one minds a little remodel

Before...

Soffit removed, yahh!

Happy Harvest

Cute as can be cow and cowgirl

Colonial girl #1, kept getting asked if she was Laura Ingells...

that was so last year

Colonial girl #2

Not sure about sticking her hand in a cold, wet pumpkin

No fear for this one, get be to the guts

i dont wanna

Is this a good thing?

baby girl putting herself on the stairs for timeout?

this was after calming down, she usually runs there in a dramatic fashion and lays out along the bottom step

I try to keep the giggles to myself as I continue working in the kitchen

It is amusing to see my little one acting as a door stop

Moustache

If you give a girl a moustache...

Accomplishment

Tired of sitting on my fanny
Wanted something to look forward to, work on, motivate
Saw the hubs riding a bike and for some reason thought it looked fun...
it is fun in a weird sort of way
There are times that I come home and think,
that wasn't fun and then the next morning I want to get up and do it again
Mind clearing, pedal warrior
66 miles, 3 hours 37 minutes, sore muscles but all worth it
next year, 100 miles??

The City

Just returned from our yearly trip to "The City"

highlights include...

morning roll call count of taxis, dogs and be-beeps (Jo talk) for police cars

a visit to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island

playing checkers in Central Park

building lego men at the lego store, you were supposed to buy the creations, my girls just enjoyed building and then moving on.

At $3.50 a pop I don't blame them

pose with the dolls before entering doll land mecca, American Girl Doll store

Other memorable moments include being denied access to 6 taxi's due to who knows what? too many kids? We ended up walking the mile to Chinatown for "Chinese ice cream"

the kids jumping in the elevator before reaching the bottom floor

renting a sailboat at the lake in central park

climbing all over Alice in Central Park

remembering I had left my car keys in the hotel room as the bus taking us home was about to pull away, that is memorable

Williamsburg

Finally made a family trip to Williamsburg, Va

Halloween costumes requested,

any guess at to what they want to be?

M & S both asked for Colonial ball gowns

We settled for daytime wear

A, sitting in time out

Now its M turn

My two little peas in a pod

Tryin to get everyone to cooperate for a group photo at Jamestown

We enjoyed the beautiful weather, fun family time and southern atmosphere :)