Christmas...A Little Late

     Ahhhh....I can breathe, finally.  We had a pretty good Christmas, but I am glad it is over.  It was just so hustle and bustle, that I'm not sure I really enjoyed it all that much until the gifts were opened and there was laughter surrounding a Bingo table.  A few nights before Christmas we went to church with my parents and saw Mikayla perform with the children's choir during one of the Christmas Eve services.  She did a great job and we were all so proud of her.  Christmas Eve I was not feeling well, so we only made it to Christmas with my parents and had to skip my great aunt's.  One of these years we will make it out there.  I ended up going to bed pretty early and waking when my mom dropped Mikayla off.  I managed to read Twas the Night Before Christmas and say goodnight to the kids then back to bed I went.  I woke up {very early} feeling much better on Christmas morning and enjoyed watching the kids open their presents.  There is just something about the expression on their faces when they open something they really want {even if Santa gets the credit}.  The rest of the morning I got to be lazy while the kids were playing with their new toys.  In the afternoon we headed out to my uncle's to have our extended family Christmas.  It never ceases to amaze me how we can fit 30 people into such a tiny house and yet not feel like we are completely stepping on each other's toes.  A lot of laughing was definitely in order.  The kids enjoyed the opportunity to play with their cousins and this year even got to get in on the Bingo action.  Noah won $10 (with the help of Mike), and Mikayla didn't win anything but my cousin was sweet enough to share his winnings with her.

Noah waiting for church service to start.

Mikayla gave Noah Mr. Pricklepants and Squeaky from Toy Story 3.

Santa got the kids new bikes.

Noah with his new book and bike.

It's not the best video, but at least we have something.

This one got cut off due to our camera powering off.

A Brief Lesson in Taxidermy

     The other night we took the kids to see Santa.  This year we chose to see the one at the Bass Pro Shops because they have a little wonderland that the kids can enjoy before and after visiting with Santa.  Since it was so close to Christmas we had to get our ticket for later, which left us with some time to explore the store.  Bass Pro Shop has been down the street for two years now {I think} and we have been to it maybe three times.  I like the store, but I have a hard time envisioning what exactly it is that I would buy there.  After a bit of looking around, Mikayla mentions that the geese look like real ones.  So I had to have a quick little lesson of how the store goes about getting the animals and preserving them for display.  Not quite sure she got all of it, because after our discussion she was putting extra gore into how they get them when she was sharing her new found knowledge with her dad.  Umm, yea, next time the taxidermy lesson can be left up to him.

Frosty Tipped Pinecones

     There is nothing like the holidays to bring out my crafty side.  I took some time this year to do a little holiday crafting with the daycare kiddos (sorry, no homemade gifts this year).  I have a few different projects that we did and will hopefully be sharing.  First up are frosty tipped pinecones.

Frosty Tipped Pinecones
Supplies:
Pinecones
White paint
Glitter
2 plates


1. Gather supplies.

2.  Place a generous amount of paint and glitter on plates or other flat surface.  Holding onto the bottom of the pinecone, twirl it in the paint until all the tips are coated with paint.

 3.  Once all tips are coated in paint, you twirl the pinecone in the glitter covering all the paint with glitter.

 4.  Let dry.

Finished product.

By the batch.

     A few notes about this craft.  You can use any color paint to do the tips, I just liked the white because it was snow-like.  I also used a sparkly white glitter, but again you can use any color to get a more festive arrangement.  You can even use the scented ones from the craft store to add a little more of a holiday touch to them.  As a final note, I created these as ornaments for the kids by adding a string of yarn to the top but they are so quick and easy to make that you could quickly make a batch and put them out as decorations.

Where Has the Time Gone...

     Oh yeah, I know where it has gone...Time recently has been spent with a nightly trip here or there making sure we had everything ready for my brother's wedding as well as getting things done for Christmas.  We also have had weekly trips to gymnastics, choir, and soccer.  It keeps us really busy.  I am so ready for the break after the holidays when I can have my evenings back and to be able to just sit and breathe.  My brother got married on Saturday so now we have a week to spend with grandparents and finish up any last minute Christmas things.  My brother's wedding was a nice ceremony followed by a great reception.  I know I am partial, but they had the cutest little flower girls and ring bearer.  Who I might add lit up the dance floor and really got the party started.  Noah had every one cracking up with his moves.  It was just too cute and it left me wondering where he took his lessons {I'm guessing from his cousin}.  Mikayla had a few moves of her own to which I was asked if she was in a dance class.  She hasn't been in dance for a few years, but the girl sure knows how to improv.  I wish I could have gotten video, it would have been great to show them when they get older. 

A flower girl and the ring bearer.

I loved him in his little tux.  He was just so handsome. 

Me, my brother, and my sister.  The photographer was going for a little bit of flare here.

My sister and I with the bride and groom.

I snapped the pic just as he was going down to the floor.

My mom and dad.

The two flower girls dancing the night away.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

     I love comfort food.  But I am also busy and don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, so I am all for quick and easy meals.  Recently I made this chicken pot pie that is one of my favorite winter-time meals.  It definitely falls in the quick and easy recipe category.  So yummy!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1/2 lb. Cooked diced chicken (you can use the Tyson pre-cooked chicken to make it even easier)
2 C Frozen mixed veggies
1 C Sour Cream
1 Jar of chicken flavored gravy
1 Box of pie crust

Remove the pie crust from the fridge according to the package.  Preheat the oven to 425.  In a bowl combine the cooked chicken, mixed veggies, sour cream and gravy.  Roll one of the crusts in the bottom of a pie pan.  Pour in the chicken mixture and spread evenly.  Roll the second crust on top and seal prior to pinching the crusts.  Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.  After about 15 minutes cover the edge of the crust to prevent burning.  Allow the pot pie to cool a little prior to serving.

Not the prettiest, but it sure is yummy.  {You can see the importance of the foil.}

Things They Say Thursday--Dec. 8th

     This past weekend we went and saw "The Muppets" at the theater.  Both kids seemed to enjoy most of the movie, but there were some parts that Noah deemed scary.  Nonetheless, it left him the next morning say "Mah-na, Mah-na."  Now I can't get it out of my head. 

Packers Quest

     I've been a {big} Green Bay Packers fan for a while now.  I actually got my first Green Bay jersey back in middle school {eeks...to think of how long ago that was}.  I have since somewhat got my husband on board, but the kids definitely feel the love.  We travelled to Minnesota for Thanksgiving and had a great time visiting family.  We also went with a promise to Mikayla that we would get her a Green Bay Packers shirt.  She had been asking for weeks months if she could have one and we looked everywhere around here to no avail.  We thought with Minnesota being closer and a fan base there we would have better luck.  Yea, not much better luck but alas we got her one.  At what is most important is that she loves it!

Um, yea, the girl has a style all her own. :)

True 'Dat

Creating Memories...

    Recently I have been thinking a lot about the legacy I will be leaving for my children and what memories and traditions they will remember when they are grown.  Some of my memories I have of my own childhood are baking with my mom, Christmas with my extended family, and an annual trip to go look at Christmas lights.  Over the weekend I decided I would carry on the tradition of taking the kids to look at Christmas lights.  We are lucky enough to have a great display just down the street called Christmas Card Lane.  But before we went to see those, we made a quick stop to drive down Jingle Bell Drive at our local mall.  It is a light display set up in the parking lot that you drive through listening to Christmas music.  Once through there we made our way to Christmas Card Lane.  Mikayla really enjoyed reading all the Christmas cards on the lawns and telling me all the different ways I should turn.  Noah had fallen asleep before we got to Christmas Card Lane, but before that each light set he would see he would say "that's interesting."  He was sure to emphasize each syllable of the word which had me smiling.  On the way home we made a quick pass by a local home that has a walk-through display of Christmas inflatables.  We ended the evening with all of us watching a movie in Mike and I's bed in our pjs.  It was a great nightcap cuddling with my little ones.

Turkey Hands

     For the unit of Thanksgiving I did with the daycare kids I decided I would make the very common/popular/easy to make turkey handprints.  I painted each of the kids' palms and thumbs brown and then each of their other fingers a different color.  When they were dry I added the beak and legs.  I love quick little projects like this that I get to do with the kids.  Makes my day!

Honey Bunches of Marshmallow Yumminess

     As it turns out I have a specialty, well at least in terms of family gatherings.  It really started as a kid making Rice Krispy Treats with my mom.  They were always my favorite and when I got older I started experimenting with other types of cereal {i.e., Fruity Pebbles, Frosted Flakes}.  Well a few years ago my my mom sent me a recipe magazine with a recipe called Chocolate Dipped Snowballs made with Honey Bunches of Oats, marshmallows, and chocolate.    I quickly made a batch and took them to Minnesota with us for the holidays.  Since then my mother-in-law has asked for the recipe and my sister-in-law requested them for this year.  My side of the family usually requests them too, so I am proclaiming these simple things my specialty. 

Chocolate Dipped Snowballs
1/4 cup of butter {1/2 stick}
1 bag of marshmallows {10.5 oz.}
5 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats {I like the honey, but I have heard the almond is also good}
Chocolate Dipping Sauce

1. Melt butter in large pan on low-medium heat.
2. Add in marshmallows.  Stir occasionally until all the marshmallows have melted.
3. Stir in cereal.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.
4. Using your hands shape the mixture into balls. {I like to coat my hands with butter or cooking spray.}
5. Place on wax paper.  Allow to cool completely.
6. Heat dipping sauce according to directions on package.  Once melted, dip each ball into the chocolate and return dipped side up to the wax paper.
7. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.

Pic from honeybunchesofoats.com

A Time to Give Thanks

     Thanksgiving has long been a tradition surrounded by food.  I mean, these days you ask most people what Thanksgiving is about and their first response {at best} will be family followed quickly by food.  It is true that the first Thanksgiving did involve lots of food, but it was more so the celebration of the food and the impending bond of the Pilgrims and Native Americans.  Both of these groups had so much to be thankful for, hence the name Thanksgiving.  Moving past the little history lesson and onto my reasons to be thankful for this year {in no particular order}:

1. My family.  I have two amazing kids and a wonderful husband who make me strive to be better every day.
2. My house.  I am lucky enough to have a place where I can lay my head at night.  I may still complain about its inadequacies, but I have a home.
3. My Friends.  I have great friends who entrust me to care for their most precious ones.  Without them some of the rest of the things would not be possible.
4. Food.  Each night I get to choose what I am going to eat and when.  I love that.  I am a fortunate one who knows that each night I will go to bed with a full stomach.
5. God.  To have something so great to believe in.  When all else fails, He is there.  That is definitely something to be thankful for.
6. Our country.  It is great to be able to live in a country free from persecution {well almost}.  We are fit with so many great benefits living here, that those sometimes get forgotten with all the recent hardships.
7. Caffeine.  Not going to lie here.  I am not a coffee drinker, nor alcohol, but pop is my go to. 
8. Naptime.  A little bit of piece and quiet.  Really just a break in the day and a transition between activities.
9. Showers.  Their not only a time to get clean, but a time for "just me" time.  I never relished the time before, but now I am forever grateful to have those few moments a day where I am by myself.
10. This blog.  I am grateful to have finally found an outlet to share my life.  To be able to have a place where I can put all of our memories.  And really a huge thanks to the whole blogging community where I have become inspired in different areas of my life.

So this Thanksgiving I am going to honor the true meaning with all of these things {and more} I am thankful for {and celebrate with some delicious food}. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Where My Heart Is

     This week finds me in kind of a hard place.  I was looking forward to {really counting down to} telling everyone that we were expecting.  But here I am with no such news and a touch of sadness that still lingers in my heart.  We want to try again.  We will try again.  But the waiting does nothing for the pain we are feeling now.  And even if we do get pregnant again, I have a fear that it will come with a little angst and worry.  My goal for myself is to embrace my pregnancy the same way I have the others.  I am going to try and be just as excited.  But just because we try again and get to have another little one to love on, it still will not replace the one we lost.  I want to remember them always.  So for now we wait until the time is right and I have a beautiful little reminder of the one we lost.

{Necklace made by kaycejones.com.}

Proud Mommy Moment

     Mikayla did her first back walkover all by herself tonight.  I was so happy and excited for her.  She has been working on this for months and she finally did it.  I probably should qualify it with that she a little bit of help from the wedge, but she was at the very end of it so it gave her maybe an inch of a lift.  It so would have been nice to record it, but alas no such luck.  When she was done she looked up at me and I clapped and gave her a big thumbs up.  I was {am} so proud of her.  Hopefully soon she will be able to advance to the next level as I think this is the last skill she has to pass.

Things They Say Thursday--November 10th

     The other day Mikayla and I were playing with the dog when she stopped to ask a question.  Her initial question was whether or not our dog would ever be a mom.  I simply said that it was not possible.  Then she went on to ask:  "do dogs lay eggs like chickens."  Ahem.  I could already tell where this conversation was going.  I informed her that dogs have the puppies in their bellies much like women carry their babies in their bellies.  And then came the part of how they grow and how the mom dogs have the puppies.  Even though we have talked about this in terms of women, I still am not ready to give the full downlow of what goes on, so I still left it at that they just come out of their bellies when the time is right.  I kind of mildly dread the day when she asks more questions.  I want her to know all this stuff, but for now can't I just live my own little world where she never grows up? 

A Little Reminder

     These past few weeks have been rough.  Call it hormones, call it emotions, whatever it is it had left me doubting some of the things I knew in my heart.  And yesterday I got just the reminder that I needed to pick up my spirits:  "God Loves You!"  Of all places to receive a message like this, it came from a game advertisement on my phone.   He works in funny ways like that.  Just when a little doubt was creeping in my mind I received this message.  Just what I needed.  PTL!

Soccer

     This past weekend Noah started soccer.  I was a little hesitant to sign him up since the last time he wanted a few too many mommy breaks, but I went ahead and did it anyway.  It seems as though he is always being carted to things for his sister and I thought it was about time that he had something that was just for him.  Can I just say with only two other days worth of exposure this boy can dribble.  I was thinking that when he got out there he wouldn't know what to do with the ball, but he completely wowed me with his skills.  Now if only we can work on the whole not using our hands thing...  Here is to hopefully the next six weeks of great time at soccer.

Sitting on "Bob" the bobcat.

Waiting for the coach to say okay.

Off he goes.

Taking a little "injury" timeout after he got tripped.

Slime

     On Halloween I held a little party for the daycare kids complete with a spooky snack and some gooey fun.  I know it is late, but I wanted to share the slime that we made {it really is good any time of year}.  I got the idea from the Sid the Science Kid show.  It is really easy to make and the kids had a lot of fun playing with it.

Ingredients:
1 C. Flour
1 C. Corn Starch
1 C. Water
Touch of paint (we used green)

     All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together.  I started off by mixing the cornstarch with the water until it was all dissolved.  Then I slowly added in the flour so that the mixture would not be too thick.  I added the paint just before I thought we had enough flour.  And voila you have some slime.

     The greatest part of this slime {besides being homemade} is that it is a solid on a surface but gooey in your hands.  It made clean up super easy.

Step Up and Halloween

     Last Saturday the kids and I participated in the Step Up for Downs Syndrome walk.  It was a great event and the kids had a lot of fun.  There were numerous sponsors who were giving away everything from food to live entertainment.  The kids' favorites of course were all the bounce houses.  In the middle of the walk Noah decided he didn't want to walk and would rather be carried.  I carried him for about a half mile and then had him get down to finish the walk.  Mikayla on the other hand enjoyed the walk.  In the beginning she led our group by helping to carry the banner.  By the end she was walking with her friend.

Noah with the Chick Fil'A cows. {that's him with the brown hoodie}

Noah and his friend Eli playing with the fireman's flashlight.

Enjoying a little pre-walk snack.

     After the walk we came home to rest for a while before heading to take the kids to my sister's house for the night.  Mike and I had a night out at the rodeo followed by a Reba concert.  The rodeo could have been a little more exciting, but the concert was great as always.

They had some teens rope a calf that they would be able to take home.

     Sunday we took the kids to Boo at the Zoo.  It was such a beautiful day and the kids loved the opportunity to get dressed up in their costumes.  As soon as we got there Noah was saying that he wanted to see the elephants and the giraffes.  These two happen to be located in the Africa exhibit, which can sometimes feel like you are walking to Africa to see them {not possible I know, but it is a long walk}.  We made it to see them and then headed back to let the kids play at the playground, but by the time we got to the playground Noah had crashed.  That's when we decided to head home.

She was practicing her zombie face.

A cute baby orangutan.

His preferred mode of transportation.

Showing off his muscles.

     Halloween night we decided that we would just trick-or-treat around our neighborhood.  We took the path that we normally go on for our walks.  The kids had a lot of fun going to the different houses and saying "Trick-or-Treat." Mikayla was also very excited each time we would get to a house of one of her friends.  By the end of the night both the kids had very heavy buckets and were ready for bed.

Noah's parade at his preschool.

Noah and some of his friends from preschool.

Superman and Daphne.

Trick-or-Treating

One for the Books...

     Tonight I had one of those moments where I wished I had my video recorder right at my hand.  I was getting Noah ready for bed and he had chose a book to read, but I had chose a different one.  As I got settled in to read the book to him, he decided he was going to read his book all by himself.  He started to read and I couldn't stop smiling {with pride}.  I had to keep myself from laughing a little with some of the lines that he remembered from the book.  We have only read the book a handful of times, but he did a great job of telling the story, making sure that he read each page.  Even when he got to the end of the book he realized he forgot part of the story and went back and found the page to tell it.  When he finished we continued to read the book I chose, but I personally liked his story telling a little better.

Things They Say Thursday--November 3rd

     A little insight to our Halloween evening, with future posts to come.  When we went trick-or-treating we had told the kids about only going to houses who have their lights on.  As soon as we were done with one house, Noah was quick to say "Let's go to that one with the lights on."  The path we took had us zigzagging back and forth across the street, and each time he was so quick to point out the next house.  When we finished trick-or-treating at one house instead of saying "Let's go to that one with the lights on," Noah said, "Let's go to the spooky house."  There was a house across the street with lights and Halloween music and creepy things out.  Noah was all for it until we got to the middle of the driveway and he looked up, saw a skeleton, and froze.  I kind of nudged him to go up, but he said the skeleton scared him (because he thought it was talking).  One of the people outside was kind enough to meet him and let him get his treat.  After that he was pretty much ready to go home.

Things They Say Thursday--October 27th

     Have I recently gushed over how much I love my little boy, or how sweet he is?  Well, I'm sure I have, but here is another one since I just can't get enough and I want to remember to be able to share with him when he gets older.  One day he was laying down for nap and I came to lay down next to him.  He looked at me and said, "I love your nose."  "And I love your eyes, and I love your hair, and I love your lips."  As he was saying each one he was giving them a gentle pat.  I'm not sure what brought it on, but it was so sweet and it melted my heart.  Is there a chance to just freeze moments like this and save them for later?

Girl's Night In

     Over Labor Day weekend we had a family get together out at my aunt's house.  Mikayla had this grand idea to have a Girl's Night with my brother's fiancee.  All I could gather over the fire and about ten other conversations going on was that we were going to have a Girl's Night In and watch the movie Tangled.  It took me a few weeks, but I finally got it all planned out complete with the requested food:  pizza, candy, and cookies.  Since Mikayla is going to be a flower girl in the wedding we decided we would try and find a dress before coming back to the house to watch the movie.  We succeeded in finding a dress and ordered pizza before coming home.  As luck would have it {or Mike} we got a flat tire just a few miles away from home.  We ended up calling Mike and my brother and left them with the car while we came back home to finish off the evening.  Since Mike was taking care of the car we ended up having to take Noah with us which did not make Mikayla happy.  But in the end the kids had a good night, loaded up on lots of food, and even got to watch a movie.  Maybe next time it will be a true Girl's Night and it will go much smoother.

Mikayla on the carousel at the mall after we found her dress.

My niece.