It’s PINK!

Posted December 31st, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

No, I’m not fond of this new layout, but I’m bored with the old one.

B – Please design something new, or change the colors on the old format…

Pictures from Christmas

Posted December 27th, 2008 by Dad | Comments (0)

Making Christmas Cookies at B’s parents, a tradition as long as B can remember

J eating a self-decorated Christmas cookie. He crashed many hours later.

C opening presents Christmas morning

J enjoying Christmas morning

Our 4 and our parents Christmas morning at our house:

And last but not least, a certain 4 year old riding his scooter while wearing his doctor kit and … pink latex gloves. He’s happy

Merry Christmas – 2008

Posted December 26th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

The economy might be awfully bad right now, but warm feelings were in abundance this holiday.  The boys are still hyped up from their days of celebrating – plus I think their sugar highs will last a couple days longer from all the sugary foods we have had around here – when I cleaned up the kitchen this evening I threw away quite a bit of cake and candy.  C and J have NEVER had this much sugar at one holiday!  Bed time snacks this evening consisted of peanut butter crackers for C and a banana for J.  Hopefully this will allow them to rest tonight.  Bedtime has been a lot later at night than during school days.  Last night, with it being Christmas night, I let the boys wear themselves out in their rooms with their new toys before they went to sleep.  Accordingly, when I crawled into bed around 1 this morning, C still had his light on!  To compensate, C slept until 8:45 this morning!  (J was up at his usual 6:30 – regardless of when he goes to sleep the night before…)

We spent the evening of the 23rd with B’s family. The boys were so excited that it was finally Christmas – at least in spirit, if not in the actual day.  To highlight their new toys – they each received new suitcases that were much needed after all the traveling we have done in the past couple of years.  Their suitcases were filled with transformers, bakugan balls, and this really cool tool belt that came with tools (and a firetruck for C and a dump truck for J) that could be used to take the trucks apart and put them back together again.  Really neat!  B received some camera stuff like a monopod that he really wanted and I got this really cool cat statue designed by Jim Shore that is in my living room.  Also, I received a stunning walnut, hand turned, decorative plate that Ke made. I have it sitting on my fireplace hearth for now. I’m still pondering the best place for such a special treasure. Thanks!

On the evening of the 24th, we went to my parents’ home to celebrate Christmas. I tried really hard to make sure that C and J were rested for the evening, however that is sometimes easier said than done.  I rocked J to sleep to make sure he had a nap, and he did.  However, when B went to get C up from rest time, C had just snuggled down into his blankets and said he was finished playing (with his new toys from Grandma and Grandpa) and was ready for his nap.  Regardless, C still had enough energy to enjoy his new BibleMan lightsaber and Wally and Eva toys that Nana and Pop gave him for Christmas.  J received a firetruck, ambulance and concrete mixer.  I can just visualize the fun he will have come summertime with these in the sandbox!  I won’t see J all summer as he enjoys the backyard!!  B received more camera accessories that as my mom put it, “I don’t know what they are, but they were on your Amazon wish list!”  I’m sure B is looking forward to taking quite a few Saturdays in the new year to go play with his camera!  My parents got me a pair of beautiful diamond earrings.  Thank you!! I put them in my ears on Christmas Eve, and I haven’t taken them out since…

Christmas morning dawned early and J woke us up saying, “Santa brought me a lion pillow!”  B, J and I then had a fun banter about how J knew that it was for him and not C.  J was insistent that the pillow was for him since Santa knew that he wanted one.  (J didn’t know he wanted one until he saw it!)  The lion thing is more of a rug that he can lay on while watching television.  It is really soft and fluffy like J’s favorite stuffed animals.  B found it while he was out shopping by himself and got it.  Good job, B!

My parents and B’s came over on Christmas morning.  We enjoyed snack foods of sausage pinwheels, M&Ms, pretzels/chocolate snacks, asparagus rollups, cream cheese with different toppings and crackers, grapes, etc.  The boys loved having the Grandparents over here.  It is a tradition that they will always remember.  I’m glad my parents and B’s get along!  It makes for such a fun family!!

Santa brought the boys flashlights that also have headlamps.  I am already tired of being blinded by them!  However, they saw them at Home Depot awhile back and really liked them.  Santa did good!  B and I got C several Leap Pad books, Horton Hears a Who (we watched it this evening) and the new Narnia/Prince Caspian movie that we watched on Christmas afternoon.  C also received the lego Nintendo DS Indiana Jones game and is playing it in bed now.  J received a doctor dress-up set and toy wrecker and has enjoyed towing his fire truck and ambulance between his room and the living room.  J has a great imagination and can play with cars and trucks for hours!  Also, J received a box of pink rubber gloves from Santa – the 1 thing he asked Santa for.  We also got J a new scooter, as the one he has been riding has a broken part where the handles adjust up and down.  He looked interesting riding his scooter on Christmas afternoon while wearing his new doctor coat and pink gloves…

The neatest gift the boys received was created by Santa and B. C and J each received a photo album with over 100 picture each. The pictures were from their baby pictures to current. This evening I walked in J’s room to tell him good-night and B and J were looking through the album. J showed me some pictures and J said, “Here is me, me, me and me!” Another good job, B. I’m very proud of the skills you are developing with your photography. You are wonderfully talented!

I must not forget to mention the fondue…  Oh, my…  To begin, we had chocolate fondue at my parents house on the 24th for dessert.  It was delicious.  We had a blast dipping banana slices, cherries, marshmallows, and pound cake in the warm, gooey chocolate.  As there was ample chocolate left over, mom brought the fondue over here for us to enjoy again on Christmas morning with our other snack foods.  Somehow, my mom and m-i-l conspired that the chocolate wasn’t getting warm enough and put it on a burner on the oven.  Someone forgot about it and while I read the Christmas story out of the Bible, the chocolate fondue started to bubble and burn.  The fondue pot ended up burned and stuck to the eye of the stove and you couldn’t imagine the horrendous smell that it produced, not to mention all the smoke.  We got the windows open and the fondue pot (plus the attached eye/burner) outside.  Enamel is still on my burner, but the pot came off of it.  I will take a wire brush to it tomorrow.  The fondue pot is still sitting outside.  I’m not sure what to do with it, yet.  I’ll deal with it tomorrow as well.  Needless to say, we didn’t have fondue to eat Christmas morning.  However we will remember it for quite a few years to come and will laugh about it.

B just finished installing a towel rack on my cabinet door that he got me for Christmas. I was typing on this post and heard B drilling and then say, “That was stupid, B!” (Not something you want to hear when someone is drilling on your kitchen cabinets! As it turned out, B just forgot to get a screwdriver and didn’t want to have to go back in the garage to get one. (You had me worried for a moment, Dear!)

We all had a really good Christmas.  I know the boys are glad that Santa didn’t bring them underwear this year as he did last year. (Although Santa DID consider it.)

Merry Christmas to you!

Yes, too much candy CAN make you sick…

Posted December 25th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

Last night (Dec. 23) we went over to B’s parent’s house for Christmas.  Ju made chili and K handed out Christmas presents after dinner.  We all had a great time!

Earlier in the day, our next door neighbors brought us a 1 pound box of Russell Stover candies.  Unfortunately I had a migraine/sever sinus headache all day.  That afternoon I took a couple pain pills and laid down on the couch to rest.  That morning J had an eye doctor appointment so after that C went home with my mom for the day.  Therefore since I only had one child with me, I didn’t feel too bad laying down on the couch.

Unfortunately I fell asleep.  While I was asleep, it was rest time for J. J got out of bed, located the box of chocolates and got back into bed with them.  All that was left was 3 pieces.  J enjoyed himself.

Chili and cornbread for dinner was delicious.  Almost finished with dinner and J throws up.  All the chocolate, all the chili and cornbread and 20 ounces of milk.  Ugh.  I tell J, “You don’t have to finish your dinner.”  (We had been coaxing J to finish his dinner.)

Yes, sweet boy.  Too much chocolate/ candy CAN make you sick.  J now believes me.

Gingerbread House – 2008

Posted December 22nd, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

Last week I purchased a gingerbread house kit for the boys to build today, as today is the first day of the Christmas school break.

This morning they woke me up saying, “Let’s go decorate the Hansel and Gretel house!”

So we went into the kitchen and moved the placemats and lazy susan out of the way.  J had the gingerbread house package open before I could say another word.

The gingerbread house came complete with the pre-made gingerbread pieces for the house – front, back, sides and 2 roof pieces, and a chimney.  Also included were a gingerbread tree, snowman and gingerbread man.  Of course in the package were a variety of candies – gumdrops, sweet tarts, peppermints, etc.

I read the directions for the house and assembled it with the packaged icing enclosed.  It came together really well until I started to adjust one of the roof pieces and cracked the roof piece.  I pieced it back together with icing.  C was with me at the table when this occurred.  J had walked off into the living room, but came back as he overheard my apology for the accident.  C said, “It’s okay, mom.  It was an accident.”

I had my lower lip puckered out a little as I was upset by my mistake that wouldn’t have happened if I had thought through what I was doing before I did it.  J came in, got in one of the chairs next to me and pushed in my lip with his little chubby finger while saying, “Don’t be upset Mommy, J is here” and gave me a tender hug.

I managed to get a few cute pictures, although they are somewhat blurry.  The setting on the camera had a delay and I couldn’t figure out how to change it.  I loved the picture where J had his new excavator at the table putting candy on the house.  It looks like the excavator is knocking the house down.

Earthquake!!!!!!!!!!   Here is a picture of the roof that I accidentally broke.

Candy was everywhere by the time the kids got tired of decorating the house:

C wanted to put a yellow star at the top of his gingerbread tree:

Demolition:

Return to Sender

Posted December 14th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

Last night I spent quite a while sitting on the bedroom floor wrapping Christmas presents.  B arranged the gifts under the tree among the stuffed Christmas animals.  It was very pretty.

This morning B and I awoke to a strange noise.  B asked, “What is that?”  I didn’t respond since I was still trying to sleep.  B then said, “It must be one of the boys as Tara (the cat) is on the end of the bed.”

B got out of bed to see what was going on.  Turns out, J woke up, realized that presents were FINALLY under the tree.  The noise we heard was J attempting to open the hard plastic on Harold the Helicopter with scissors.  He had already unwrapped the package.

A few weeks ago, B and I told the boys that we would be getting packages in the mail since Christmas was rapidly approaching.  The boys were given STRICT instructions to NOT open any packages.  C and J were told that if they opened any packages, the packages would be returned to the store.

Last week, I accidently left an opened box on the kitchen counter.  Of course J explored the box.  I put away the contents of the box and reminded J about the rule.  I just didn’t have it in my heart to return the item.

However this morning, J knew full well what he was doing AND of the consequences.

B found J on the kitchen floor with the scissors and asked J, “Do you know what is going to happen now?”

J replied, “Spanking?”

B answered, “No, I am just going to return the helicopter to the store.”

J:  “But you can’t return it to the store.  The package is damaged.”  (Goodness, J is one of the most logical people I have ever met!  I’m sure J was counting on the package being damaged so he could keep his new toy.)

B:  “True, the package is damaged.  I won’t be able to return it to the store, but I can give the helicopter away to a little boy that doesn’t have many toys.”

—————

This evening I asked J, “Are you going to unwrap any more packages before Christmas?”  J replied, “Uh, NO!”

J asked me, “Are you mad that I unwrapped the package?”

Me:  “No.”

J:  “Are you happy I unwrapped the package?”

Me:  “No.”

J (after a couple of seconds of contemplation):  “Confused?”

Me:  “No.  I’m sad.  I’m sad that you won’t get to keep the toy that I picked out for you.”

I think this made J really think.  I don’t know if he has ever thought about me being sad about his actions.  I think this was almost worse (in his mind) than me being mad at him.