Christmas Tag

I got this as a forward and saw it on a blog, so I'm a copycat....so sue me!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love wrapping presents for my family, but bags for my friends.

Real tree or artificial? In Oregon we had a real one, but this year we got old faithful out of the box.

When do you put up the tree? Usually, the week of Thanksgiving (this year it was before).

When do you take the tree down? First week of January

Do you like eggnog? Not the thick stuff, but I found one called "Silk Nog" that's WAY good!

Favorite gift received as a child? I loved my handmade cabbage patch doll and my glow worm.

Hardest person to buy for? My Dad....the man has everything he needs or just buys what he wants when he wants it.

Easiest person to buy for? Marcus...anything camo and he's good to go.

Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but Cali liked to play with it too much so I put it away.

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail...I love that personal touch.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably the lovely bag and scarf from my in-laws last year....no offense, just not my taste. ;)

Favorite Christmas Movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas!!

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually I'm a procrastinator, but this year I was done before Thanksgiving because I started in September!! Yeah!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can think of, but I usually buy new stuff for gifts, so probably not.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mom's goodies that we baked today....fudge, toffee, and snowballs, yum!!

Lights on the tree? yes, white ones.

Favorite Christmas song? "O Holy Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful"

Travel at Christmas or stay home? I'd rather stay at home, but this year we're heading to California to be with my family....I'm SO excited!!

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen....right?

Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing this year...sad

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning!!!

Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Idiot drivers and crazies in the store.

Favorite ornament theme or color? I love a simple theme...green with red and silver accents.

Favorite for Christmas dinner? Fried Turkey or Ham and Grandma's potatoes....yummy stuff.

What do you want for Christmas this year? I really can't think of anything that I just have to have....but I do want my Dad to be well.

List a family tradition that you have implemented in your own family: Decorating and Baking together....I love it!

Let It Snow!!!

An amazing thing happened in Houston, TX just two nights ago...SNOW!! We looked out the window after putting the kids to bed and noticed that it wasn't raining anymore, it was snowing. We grabbed the warmest clothes we could find (because all our winter/snow clothes are put away) and ran out with cameras in hand. Not that the snow itself was such a phenomenon, but the fact that it was snowing here, on the gulf coast. We also decided to get Austin out of bed to play for just a bit...what cool parents we are! It was all still there in the morning too. This was Cali's first experience with snow. She had a blast, but only lasted about 45 minutes before she was done being cold and wet.

This is what we found as we walked out the front door.

A snow angel...still in his jammies too!!Austin and Marcus were soaked to the bone, but they sure built a great snowman!

I had a really hard time getting Austin to come back into the house even though he was completely soaked.
Ahhh...memories.Cali really loved the snow...it tasted SO good.Look at my little Rudolph. This girl needs a coat!
We had a really great time playing in the snow. It made us miss Oregon even more! We were glad that the kids had an opportunity to play in the snow, even if it was just for a little while. What a fun, memorable day. It makes it feel even more like Christmas. We're almost there!!

Little of This...Little of That

I had my first volleyball tournament this weekend so Marcus stayed home with the kids all day. After a while they got a little stir crazy so they headed to a community gathering where they had Santa and Mrs. Claus and even some snow! They had a blast...just wish I could have been with them instead of yelling at 15 years olds. (We did have a pretty successful day overall, just a few bumps in the road that I had to smooth out. More to come, I'm sure.)

Cute little Cali enjoying her day with Daddy.

It took a while to round up the troops, but finally got a pic together. (just don't look at their outfits or Cali's hair...I said I wasn't home ALL day!)Cali has proven that she is a climber, just like her brother. Her pose at the top of the chair was priceless....proud and unsure of her fate at the same time. (I'm not sure if she was afraid of getting in trouble or afraid of falling.) She sure likes to push her boundaries, and my patience. She has a look that says, "Yeah, I did that. Are you really gonna punish me?" She's just too cute and mischievious at the same time!

Marcus, unable to wait a few more weeks till Christmas, brought home a new Wii game. They are two peas in a pod when it comes to video games! You'd think they were deprived. They don't play very often, but when they do, they sure are focused and it's hard to tear them away.

After a week at Grandma's house, and having been extremely sick, Austin has been having a little more than just quiet time in the afternoons. Sometimes he fights the sleep, but other times he embraces it. This was one of the days that I promised him that he didn't have to take a nap, just have a little quiet time in his room. Usually he'll just grab a couple (stack) of books and hang out till I come get him. This day he decided to wait for me, patiently, under his bed. I guess I took a little too long for him and he gave in to the inevitable. Isn't that just hilarious?

He's also been ending up asleep in odd places and positions after going to bed at night. One night I went in his room and he was curled up with his pillow and blanket in the middle of the floor. What a goof ball!

Therapy Session

I'm such a slacker and I haven't posted in WEEKS!! I can't even say that I haven't had things to post about, that's not the case. I get so busy looking at everyone else's blogs that sometimes I don't have any time left for my own. Crazy blog world! But I couldn't go much longer without sharing about my Thanksgiving week.

Austin got to go Monday to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend the night with them all by himself. He has three cousins that are always getting to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa and he wanted a turn. How could I say "no"? So off he went....and threw up in Grandma's car on the way!! Poor little guy. He was fine after that and played until he dropped. What a trooper! We headed up to G'ma and G'pa's on Wednesday to get ready for the feast on Thursday. Some friends, that live here but don't have family here, joined us for the holiday festivities Wednesday and Thursday. We had a great time having them there with us! They went home after filling their bellies and Marcus' brother and kids came up that evening. Friday morning my mil and I went shopping and by the end of the day decided that we weren't driving back, so we decided to stay the night with my sil (whose husband and kids were at my in-law's). Marcus called that evening and told me that Austin had thrown up again but was fast asleep. The next morning Austin was running a fever so we packed up and drove back home. Long story short, he ended up having strep throat and was REALLY sick this weekend. We got him to the doctor and all taken care of. Poor miss Cali girl has a sinus infection too. We're just having a low key kind of day. Movie anyone?

So back to the real story. Thursday was more than just a Thanksgiving feast for me. That morning was my therapy session. No joke! The best kind of therapy and anger management available....not that I'm angry, but it's a great release. I had this vacuum that was terrible!! I don't really mind vacuuming, but everytime I used this thing it stunk SO bad that it made me hate vacuuming, so I just never did. It was my in-laws and they gave it to us when we got married (used and old!). It was beyond time for a replacement, so I got a new one last week and it was time to destroy the old one. That was my therapy...destruction!!!

We hung the stupid thing in a tree by it's cord!!

before...

after!!!

Ahhh...I'm a new woman (with a new vacuum). If anyone ever has any appliances, phones, etc. that just drive you nuts, give me a call and we'll take care of it....with a shotgun!!

Austin Says

Have you ever seen the show "Kids Say the Darndest Things"? I think Bill Cosby was the host and he would as the kids simple questions to which they would reply some hilarious things! I saw this little questionairre on a friend's blog. Austin always says such random and off the wall things, I'm hoping we get a little glimpse of that with some of these questions. Hopefully nothing too revealing!!

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"Yes" (I'm glad he thinks so)
2. What makes mom happy?
"When I help you"
3. What makes mom sad?
"When I disobey or don't come down from the tree" (I really don't quite know what that means, but it was funny)
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
"When you tickle me and make a funny face"
5. What was your mom like as a child?
"silly and like to play"
6. How old is your mom?
"61" (ouch!! That anti-aging cream must have expired!)
7. How tall is your mom?
"REALLY tall"
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"Run and play with me" (I've been running in the evenings when Marcus gets home but it's definitely not my favorite)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"Get ready to give me a present" (*so sweet*)
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"Superstar Volleyball Player" (I love this kid!!)
11. What is your mom really good at?
"I don't know...play or cook?" (he really had a hard time even thinking of something...darn)
12. What is your mom not very good at?
"jumping" (guess I won't be a superstar volleyball player then)
13. What does your mom do for her job?
"coach volleyball and teach other people to play"
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
"Chicken Salad and Taco Soup" (those are definitely top of the list!)
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"When you play with me and tickle me"
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"Cinderella" (ain't it the truth!!)
17. What do you and your mom do together?
"Read stories and play games"
18. How are you and your mom the same?
"We have the same color pants and we live in the same house"
19. How are you and your mom different?
"You have really long hair and you're a girl, but I have short hair and I'm a boy."
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"You hug me and kiss me and you say, "I love you"."

Austin is such a sweet little boy. It's funny to see the things he notices about me and sweet to know that he loves when we read, play games, and even when I tickle him....even through the protests.

Halloween Extravaganza...sort of

Well, I wouldn't really call it an extravaganza, but we definitely had a week FULL of extra Halloween events. Monday for preschool I had the kids go on a "treasure hunt" because we were talking about the letter 'X'....X marks the spot, duh! They were hilarious. We also finished up some halloween stuff and even learned a little. ;) Tuesday we had a halloween "party" at the library for storytime. Another reason for the kids to dress up and eat sweets, that's all that really mattered. Wednesday there was a carnival at the community center....more costumes and plenty of candy!! I was already done with Halloween before the day even came. j/k Friday's preschool was a little halloween party that the two other mothers and I put on for the kids. We really are amazing!! ;) The kids (and even we) had a really great time. We read a story, sang some songs, made candy necklaces, decorated cookies, created spooky scenes, bobbed for apples, ate donuts off the string, wrapped each other as "mummies" with toilet paper, played musical chairs and of course had snacks....whew!!

Craft time with all the preschoolers....decorating cookies.
I lost track of how many apples Cali bit into and threw back....gross!!Open wide and say Ahhhh....Austin was a pro and Cali wasn't too bad herself.Both had powder everywhere!The Mummy Returns!!!Halloween Night was short and sweet! The kids had a blast and we were only out trick-or-treating for about 45 minutes. Cali learned how to say "trick-or-treat" and we all had a really great time!!Austin could barely carry his bag anymore but wanted more...please?I don't know who had more fun...Marcus or the kids? ;)

I hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween. We sure did!

Halloween Preview

We had our ward party this past weekend so here are just a couple pictures of the clan. It was our first chance of many to be all dressed up. I love that the kids get more opportunities to dress up other than just trick-or-treating!

Cali wasn't too happy at the beginning of the party...too many scary costumes and tons happening around her I'm sure was a little overwhelming. The balloon really helped. ;)
Fish Kiss!!
Family photo opp...I was a scorceress, Marcus a vampire, Austin is Batman and Cali is Tinkerbell.
Cali ended up downing 2 hotdogs and half a cupcake!! Hungry girl.
Austin really had a great time...he can't smile for the camera anymore, it's all funny faces.
Austin and his buddy Aiden were wearing the same exact costume....they never left each other's side the rest of the night!!
Cali wasn't too sure about Daddy's makeup...she barely even went to him the whole night.

We had a really great time! This morning we went to storytime at the library and it was a really cute halloween party for the kids....another chance to dress up, but I forgot the camera. Tonight we're doing our pumpkins (pics to come), tomorrow a carnival at the community center, friday a halloween party at preschool and the main event. Definitely plenty of pictures ahead. I love halloween and having kids gives me even more excuse to dress up and have fun!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Quality Time

Since the hurricane we haven't really had a weekend together as a family yet, until now. This past weekend, besides my evening at my girlfriend's 30th birthday party (Happy Birthday Mandy!!), we actually got to spend a lot of time together! We hung out together Friday evening eating Pizza and ice cream after a trip to the park, we were introduced to a really great park which we took advantage of on a gorgeous saturday morning (we love the park), we went shopping for halloween costumes, Marcus took a well deserved nap, we got to take the boat out for a relaxing ride and a little fishing (forgot the camera), and we took a family walk around the neighborhood on Sunday, which was also quite gorgeous. What more could a mom ask for than quality time with her whole family? Here are some pictures from our awesome weekend:

Austin found the bbq pit at the park...with his head! Poor Guy. Ice Cream was the only cure.
Even with an ear infection and runny nose she's cheesin'!
Deep Thoughts....
Proof that Daddy was home.
Playing at the park saturday morning.I don't think that's a happy face.My children are deep thinkers, contemplating life....even at the bottom of the slide. ;)This was obviously not part of the weekend. This is my group of little preschoolers that I teach Monday mornings. This week we're talking about the letter "J" so we had to carve a Jack 'O Lantern...not too shabby! Aren't they adorable?

Enough Already

I was just telling a friend last night that I hardly ever do these tags and here I am doing back to back tags!! What a liar I am. But I just couldn't resist this one. What you're supposed to do is open your picture files, open the 6th file and the 6th picture, and blog about what was going on in that picture. Well, I went to the file and this is what it was....

This was taken the day before Halloween in 2006 (as you can tell by the date on the picture, duh). We lived in Oregon at the time, Austin was 2 (soon to be 3), I was pregnant with Cali and we were a little late getting our pumpkin turned into a Jack 'O Lantern. Austin had a GREAT time digging all the gunk out of that big old pumpkin. I remember we even went to pick the pumpkin right from the patch. We rode on a wagon out into the field and let Austin have whichever one he wanted. Of course he chose this one, it was almost as big as he was. I let the boys do the dirty work while I played photographer, as I tend to choose to do....anything to not be in the pictures. ;)

That was a great Halloween!!!

Tagged

I was tagged by a couple different people for this one, so I guess I'll fulfill my assignment.

Here are the rules...

1. Link the person who tagged you. (Like I said, I was tagged by a couple, so I'm not linking)

2. Mention these rules on your blog.

3. Tell about 6 quirks of yours.

4. Tag fellow bloggers to do the same.

5. Leave a comment to let them know they were tagged.

6 Quirks is tough when you're as quirky as I am...I'll try to narrow them down. ;)

1. First and foremost I really dislike being late. I get that horrible knot in my stomach and sweat, like I'm nervous for some reason. Especially for church. I'm usually seated and got the kids settled before anything begins...I just can't handle being rushed.

2. I really can't stand clutter. I'm doing a lot better now, as you can tell from my cluttered house, but I used to be quite psychotic about it. I had a place for everything and everything was in its place. Maybe it was because we lived in a trailer that was the size of a cracker jack box and if something wasn't put away then the whole place was a disaster. I have a MUCH bigger house now (too big if you ask me) and two kids that aren't so crazy about cleaning up their own clutter. (and the messy husband with piles all around doesn't help either) I've become much more relaxed about it, but I still don't like it!

3. Weird, I know, but I can't handle a cupboard, drawer, door, window, etc. being even slightly left open. If it's a cupboard then I have to arrange things so it will close all the way. If it's a drawer, same thing...and I've even passed that one on to Austin!! He'll fix his clothes so his drawers close all the way. What have I done??

4. I can't stand hearing people chew. Maybe I'm just controlling like my father (hahaha) or maybe I was just raised to chew with my mouth closed and I expect others to do the same. Whatever the reason, it's like nails on a chalkboard to me....and Marcus does it ALL THE TIME!

5. I'm a stickler for respect/politeness. My kids are even becoming little politeness freaks themselves. Just the other day we were driving in the car with 3 extra kids in the car for a little trip to the park. The little girl asked Austin for a book to which he replied, "you didn't say please. you don't say please or thank you very much, do you?" My little 4 year old has been nagged a little too much by his mother about saying please, thank you, excuse me, i'm sorry...is that a bad thing?

6. Though I'm doing much better at choosing my battles, I get a little bugged when my kids clothes don't match. Don't judge me!!! When Marcus gets them dressed, he'll let Austin pick out his own clothes (that never match) and pick Cali's to be miss-matched on purpose, just to bust my chops. Most of the time, especially on saturdays and sunday afternoons, I just let it slide. Who cares, right? But when we are actually going into public I change their clothes right before we leave so he can't do anything about it.

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you think you'd like to share your quirks with the blogging world, go for it!!!

Yes, I'm a dork. Whether those are quirks or not I don't care. It's my post and that's what I want to share. Do you really think I'd share my worst quirks....or maybe those are. You'll never know!!! moooaaaaaa!!!!