Good Bye 2012!

So a couple of hours ago, after a day of Super Why, cuddles in this rainy cold weather, a meal of typical chicken nuggets and mac n cheese..I looked down at the clock/date on my computer and noticed its New Years Eve. Ha, now I knew up til today it was coming sure but as a stay at home mom, my days typically run together. Im trying to improvise some festivity into the day. I printed off some related color pages, pulled out a couple of movies and have some cookies baking. Stephen gets off at 6 so hopefully we can have a yummy dinner and salvage a little of the holiday. Im sure Ill be the only one still up at midnight but hopefully we will have a little bit of fun family time.

What is your family doing for New Years Eve? Are you leaving the kids with a sitter and heading out? Are you staying home and enjoying some family time? Do you have traditions for New Years Day? Growing up my dad always cooked a nice meal on New Years Day. It always included black eyed peas and greens(luck and money in the new year). I wish Stephen was off so we could go and join the meal this year too. I wonder if we could figure out cooking greens? Any tips or advice? Maybe it would count if we just eat green beans or peas...

Anyways, my New Year's Resolutions are as follows:

Organize our home. It isnt very big and easily gets messy since we have to many things without a spot. So Id like to spend the next couple of months working on that.

Create a budget for our family that allows for smarter spending and saving so that we arent always in a small place.

Maybe Ill also look into college classes, someday my kids will be in school with their own little lives, Id like to have something I can do at that point. I dont think I want to go back into weddings since so much of it takes place on weekends. I dont think I can give up weekends with my kids.

Id love to hear the resolutions of others! Leave a comment or link me to your New Years blog post!

White hair!?

This morning, once the kids woke I put them in the bath as usual. While they were splashing around, I used the time to clean the bathroom. I love when I can find ways to multi task like that! Well I was cleaning the mirrors, and looked up noticed something in my hair. I leaned closer, to find it was 2 pieces of hair...turned white! Are you serious? I turn 26 in a week from today! Im not ready for white hair! I am totally supportive of women aging gracefully but Im not ready to be graceful about it so soon! I could pluck them, but Im afraid of the growing back in multiples theory. I did spend naptime looking up hair colors. I have never colored my hair but this seems to be a great time to try it! Sounds like the perfect way to celebrate my birthday!

How old were you when you first found gray/white hair? Did you try to do something about it?

Bah, Humbug..A Book Review(its a free one too)

                                            http://pinterest.com/pin/74098356340911799/

So I was woken up a bit ago by a cryer...followed by two since they now share a room. I put them both back down and ended up in the living room to ensure they were settled. I would rather stay up then be woken up multiple times. I can always nap when they do if Im desperate. Anyways, I didnt feel up to opening the laptop(at that point at least, didnt last long lol). So I pulled up my Amazon Kindle App. A couple of weeks ago, I did a Pinterest search on free books for Kindle. I didnt have high hopes because I have found a lot of free books that were horrible and had been put to free for a very clear reason. Well, the description of this story seemed interesting enough, so I downloaded it onto the app. Later that evening, my husband had graciously allowed me to go take a quiet(well in a closed room by myself, nothing is truly quiet anymore) bath. So I grabbed my phone and indulged. I read about 20% of the book then and was surprised to find that I liked it. Now Im only 50% done but Im very hooked. It is filled with witty conversation and intelligence. The woman is a professional decorator(which I wish I was) and single mom. The kids are really involved in the story which I enjoy seeing as Im a mom myself. The male character isnt all dreamy or a cheesy romantic, which makes for a nice read. I feel like if I were watching the story take place I would really enjoy it.

Once I finish the book, I'll let you know if my opinion still stands but if the story continues at the same rate Im sure I'll be sad the story is over :). Anyway, Im ready to get back to bed and read more later! The kids seem quiet again, so I think Im in the clear. Goodnight, blogger world!

I placed the Pinterest link for the book at the top of the page, for anyone who  would like to do more research of the book.

Giraffe Lesson Plan for a 2 Year Old

Time for another way too late at night blog. One of my New Year's Resolutions: Start adding a little structure to Finns life(and by extension Lorelai). We spend time everyday talking and learning but Im not very structured with them. I dont mean I want to treat my 2 year old like he is in school everyday and not allow him to play but he could use some practice with learning how to focus for periods of time. If he can learn to sit and do an activity for even 5 minutes, that will be an improvement. So my goal is to create structure in his life that will make him interested in what we are talking about enough to learn to focus. The bonus will be the information he picks up :) Dont worry, there will still be lots of silly 2 year old play time as well!

In order to help myself keep to this, I have to get a little organized. Im good at creating our activities to achieve what I want him to learn but I know I would do better with creating "lesson plans" to create the activities for. So I came up with my first lesson plan tonight. Its simple and not very long. It will be easy to spend the week on it but not have it be our entire day either. It's also based on what he seems to be interested in right now. He loves letters. He is trying to learn to count to 5(currently it goes something like 12325!). So I'd like to include what I know he is interested in as well as give him new things to be interested in like shapes and colors. Below I will post what I came up with. If anyone has suggestions or ideas let me know! I welcome any input!

Lesson plans for 1^st week of January.

Giraffes, Circles, G, 1-5

Animals: Giraffe

Colors: Orange and Yellow=colors of a giraffe

Shapes: Painters tape circles=shape of giraffe spots

Letter G=giraffe, uppercase and lowercase, sounds.

Count to 5=counting  giraffe spots

Field Trips: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

River Legacy Science Center

 

 

A Note to My Son

Well, I wrote Lorelai a note, so I wanted to make you one as well. You my son are a crazy and goofy little boy! You're oh so curious, which tends to lead to trouble but I know your exploration will be so beneficial to you over time. You have such a way of absorbing information and surprising me when I dont expect it. You have finally decided to put more effort into talking to us. We cant understand everything you say yet but a good portion of it is clear and with purpose. You are obsessed with alphabet letters and can identify all of them. You are working on learning the alphabet song, counting to 5, and trying to potty. You can identify a giraffe and a duck(although you just call it quack quack). You love your Hot Wheels and we rarely see you without one in your hand. You love to go places and get completely stir crazy when we are home for too long. You are incredibly goofy and playful. You like to rough house with your Daddy. However when you want cuddles(which you often still do), you come to Mommy. You have a unique and sweet relaionship with each of us! You just enjoyed another great Christmas for which you were completely spoiled. You are so important to me and your family. I love you son!

A Note for My Daughter

One of the reasons I type these posts is so that down the road I can look back and see what is going on in our lives. So this post is for Lorelai. You, little girl, turned 1 this month! You also celebrated your first Christmas. Two weeks ago, you were still crawling around. Then one day last week, you seemed to wake with a purpose. You just started toddling around the house and since then you are just following your brother around! Im so proud everytime I watch your steady and determined steps. I know you recently turned 1 but Ive told your Daddy a couple of times, it didnt feel different. You have been following your brother close for a few months. Im pretty sure you think you're 2 just like him. I cant remember the last time you acted like an infant. Its a little hearbreaking to be losing both my babies at the same time. Im just so proud of how bright you are though. You have a little sense of humor that I love seeing come out. This week you have been pretty clingy but you had good reason. Two molars are peeking through making the total count 10 teeth now. To be honest its the first time you've made a fuss about teething, so I cant complain. Im just enjoying the extra cuddles and not getting much else done. For Christmas you go a lot of nice things. Santa brought you some girly toys so that your entire play time isnt Tonka trucks and HotWheels like it has been. Your grandparents seemed to have a blast shopping for you because you got a nice collection of adorable outfits. You are so loved! Anyway, I just wanted to write you a little something. Hoping in a few years, I can pull this up and let you see it. Then you can see how much you mean to me!

Purple Tree Shopping

Its late and quiet and I am here sipping the first cup of coffee made by my Keurig! Im in love. I cant believe how easy cleanup is and how fast it works. Such a great invention. I guess you'd call today a success. I went back and got the stand I previously mentioned. The shop was having a 50% off sale, so I paid 5 bucks. Awesome. I also picked up a super cute black jacket and some coffee mugs(since I will be using them a lot now) while I was there. I also hit up some great after Christmas sales. I ended up with a pretty tree topper, some ornaments and some cute wintery stuff to use at Lorelai's birthday party. I also ended up with a nice brown jacket and some jeans and to finish my project for the kids I picked up a dvd player.

While I ran errands, the kids were invited to play at a friends house, so I took advantage of the offer. I ended up being really glad I did. As the day went on, it got so cold and windy, I cant imagine getting the kids in and out of it all day. So glad to have such great friends who love my kids. So all in all it was an excellent day! Tomorrow I will be organizing and rearrangin the tv into my kids room so they can finally enjoy it!

The one thing I would still like to accomplish is finding a reasonably priced purple Christmas tree. I keep finding them for 150-200 dollars. I want one but I really dont want to pay that. I thought trying to find one now would be good because Christmas things are 50% off. Unfortunately they are all still expensive. The only ones in my price range are the little 4' trees. Id really like a 6' one. So if anyone reading this has any suggestions, please let me know.

Second Glance

I wake up everyday telling myself "tonight, Im going to bed earlier." Then I find myself in the wee hours of the morning, writing blogs to settle my mind down for bed. However, I have a little bit of a drive to go to bed soon tonight. I just got done ordering myself a Keurig! Im picking up in the store later today! Im ridiculously excited to pick it up and go shopping for the cups I want to try! The kids are actually going to go play in the morning at a friend's house so Ill have a couple hours to get things done on my own. I have a couple errands and some Christmas money to splurge with. I cant wait! I spend the last month shopping for everyone else. While I love so much going through a store and getting things I think family would love, shopping for myself is so satisfying. I dont get to do it often. In fact I used a little of my Christmas money to get a couple of things for my kids so that while Im out spoiling myself, I dont even have to have that guilt! I cant wait! I hear Old Navy is having some great sales! I definetly see a stop there tomorrow because I really want a peacoat for $20! Who can resist such a good deal? Anywho, I just wanted to come on and talk about this because I everyone in the house is sleeping so I didnt have anyone to spew this excitement on. Another one of my goals tomorrow is to find something to put the tv I bought for my kids room today. It is a totally adorable Pricness tv I found for a great deal on Craigslist(love that site! makes spoiling your kids a little more affordable).The other day I went into my favorite thrift store, and they had a cute primary color desk/stand(not sure its exact purpose) that would be perfect. Im hoping to go back and see it still there(fingers crossed) and they were having 50% off week. If you enjoy thrift shops, I definetly recommend checking out Second Glance on Rufe Snow in North Richland Hills. Pretty much everytime I go in they are doing some kind of sale. Also their proceeds go to help women and children who were victims of domestic abuse. So not only do I leave with awesome deals, I also get to leave feeling like I did something good that day. Win, Win for everyone! In fact when we moved to this apartment we were looking for an entertainment center. We hadnt found any in stores that worked for us. We have all of Stephen's game consoles and ridiculous amount of cords and controllers(the hazard of living with a tech geek). We even still have a vcr. So we were in need of something that holds all of that. The modern ones they make, are made to be sleek for all the tiny dvr boxes and thin Wii conseles. None of them would have fit our stuff and I was sick of the mess of cords and unorganziation of all the stuff. We stumbled across this shop and came across an "older model" entertainment center. It has that wood paneling look but it was in perfect condition for the age it probably is. It had clearly been taken care of..The original price they had it for was $75...thanks to the sale they had going on we paid $25 for it.

Since then, I try to go in a couple times a month because I always leave with something great. Its actually a great place to go for Christmas decor too. They have an entire section dedicated to it basically year around! They also usually have nice couches and furniture. If you're ever in the area, its absolutely worth your time to stop and take a look! And dont forget, it all goes to a good cause. Anyway, thats my second commercial of the day. I am sorry if I seem like an infomercial..but I wouldnt share if I didnt feel strongly about what I find! If I ever have a bad experience somewhere, I promise to share that too. Alright Im finally sleepy, g'night all!

White Christmas Pictures

So it's 2 days after Christmas and Im already anxious to jump into Spring cleaning. As I clean things up and find places for new toys and such, I just want to get rid of so much stuff! The kids are currently napping, my laundry is sorted and running, any remnants of wrapping paper are in the trash or vacuum and Im munching on some stocking candy, as I straighten up the ridiculous amount of toys my kids have accumulated. On the upside, I got very good sleep last night, so I have the energy for all the cleaning that needs done. Interesting, how a good night sleep for a mom equals the ability to take on the world. In the meantime, I wanted to share some pictures from all the snow we got.

Despite the issues the snow caused our traveling plans, I was glad to be in East Texas for it. It wouldnt have been nearly as pretty out here in the city. A snow covered mall or Walmart isnt nearly as pretty as a white snow covered tree and lane.

A White Christmas in Texas

How was everyone's holiday? So if you read the post where I answered if I thought we would get a white Christmas, just go ahead and ignore that. I knew I should have skipped that question, no way would I be able to answer it straight. Christmas morning we woke up to a very cold and rainy morning. We opened gifts with the kids and had our breakfast. Once we were all dressed and rainproof, we loaded up and headed to Texarkana to my Grandma's house. We had a delicious turkey dinner and a lovely gift exchange. We were there for a few hours and as our gathering was winding down, snow began to fall. Big, huge flakes coming down at a fast rate. We still had another stop to make at my other grandmother's house and wanted to see my older sister and kids. In the 30 miles between the first grandmothers and my sisters house we saw 7 cars already in the ditches. It had only been snowing for an hour! Texans do not know how to drive in snow, so this is a common occurance.While we made our last 2 stops, we were discussing and decide if we should really try to drive back to Fort Worth in the weather. Stephen was suppose to report to work the next morning, so we didnt want him to miss if possible. After very short hellos to everyone, we decided we would try to get back.

Hours later we were on the highway going 15 miles an hour. After 3 hours and watching cars around us fishtail and making us nervous, we made the decision to take the Longview exit. Lucky us, our families our there to stay with. Stephen's family was the closest to get to and got us off the roads quickest, so thats where we stopped. We were completely unprepared for an overnight stay(in the future, I will not make that mistake again). The kids were already over exhausted from so much time in the car and such a busy day, and they didnt have the things they are use to going to bed with. It was one of the worst nights ever! The kids werent comfortable in their sleeping arrangements, Stephen and I were on a leaky air mattress. No one got very much sleep. I cant tell you how happy it made us to wake and see a bright shiny sun and clear roads outside! We got up and cleaned up as much as we could. Luckily the kids had gotten clothes for Christmas, Stephen and I were stuck in ours a second day but at least we hadnt done anything too messy. We loaded back up, stopped for drive thru breakfast and set out to make it back home.

As soon as we were home we all showered/bathed and all of us took a much needed 3 hour nap. Once we all woke, we were all starving, so we went out for some Mexican food. If you are near the Mid Cities area, and you're looking for Mexican food, try Mi Pueblos. They have a couple of locations but we always go to the one near Northeast Mall. Its in the strip with Olive Garden and Red Lobster. I promise you will keep going back. It is really delicious and they have fast service. When you have to toddlers with little patience, speed of service is so important. The food is always excellent and they have a friendly staff. Sorry I didnt mean to turn this into a commercial, but really they are very good!

Once we made it home, we spent some time playing with new toys with the kids and then sent them off to bed. They were still tired, so they didnt put up much a fight. Now Im enjoying the silence of the house and watching some more Brothers & Sisters.

Great Gadget!

 Tonight, like the rest of the parents, I was up late finishing up wrapping gifts and playing Santa. It was a perfect Christmas Eve night. We picked up Stephen from work and drove around looking at Christmas lights in neighborhoods near us. Then we got home, I bathed the kids and got them in their new Christmas jammies(not Christmas themed just gifted for wearing tonight).

We had a pizza dinner and watched Polar Express.

Then we got them tucked into bed and Daddy read Texas Night Before Christmas.

They went to sleep fairly easily but it was pretty late so I didnt expect them to put up much fight tonight.

 

Now I'm happy to share our evening with you, but the actual purpose of this post it to talk about a gadget I purchased and love.

This is a Scotch Pop-up Handband Tape dispenser.

I am not normally a gagdet person and this seems fairly mundane, but I felt it was good enough to share. However, I bought my tape last minute and this was one of the options left. I think it was fate. It came in like 3 colors but of course I chose pink because Im a girl, lol. Each one came with 3 pads of strips to use in it and I noticed the stock of refills is available next to it(would be pointless to buy if I cant keep using it). I went in considering getting one of those big teacher desk tape dispensers. I always lose the little individual things and I thought if it was something like that it would be harder to lose. I think this is waaay better than the old dispensers though. It reloads incredibly easy(cant say that about the old ones). It also does what it says and makes wrapping gifts a lot simpler. It fits on my hand comfortably and I just all around love it. I bought a second one and intend to keep them both around. Pulling out a precut piece of tape and slapping it on the paper was nicely convenient and I think made wrapping go quicker.

 

It helped me take care of the entire Santa haul this year and the additional family gifts we are taking with us tomorrow. Anyway, thats mostly all I wanted to get out here.

 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

 

 

O'Malley the Alley Cat

Watching the Aristocats with my babies. I forgot how cute the movie is! They are really liking it too with all the fun music and talking animals, what toddler wouldn't? I've spent a lot of today tidying up everything. Cant wait to set out all the gifts tonight! Christmas magic is in the air! If your family will be waiting for Santa to visit tonight, be sure to download the NORAD Santa tracker app! You can see just where Santa is(and maybe use it to talk the anxious kids into getting to bed!). Even though my two arent old enough to understand the whole Santa thing, I put it on my phone for the fun of it!

Ive been pinteresting today. I was hoping to make a yummy breakfast tomorrow. Something simple of course, as we will be leaving as soon as we finish opening gifts. I also dont want it to be terribly messy, a bathtub stop would take too long when trying to leave. I was thinking maybe one of those egg casseroles or something. Is anyone making something festive and fun in the morning? If you are going to post about it please link me! I love seeing pictures of things like that! Last night Lorelai and I were looking at the pictures in the articles Yahoo posted of festive Christmas cookies. There was little snowmans and santas. She giggled at every picture. So definetly let me know where I can find pictures of your festive creations! I'll grab Lorelai for look at it! That little girl has the best little sense of humor.

So since I'm here I might as well answer another Christmas question, eh?

Can you name Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen..and of course Rudolph. Have you guys read the story they put out? Apparently Rudolph is a girl. They say male reindeer lose their antlers in winter but females keep theirs. So Santa's sleigh is being led by a female...yay girl power!

When Santa gets to your house, does he have a chimney or does he have to use the front door?
Well we do have a fireplace but we place our entertainment center in front of it. When we moved into this apartment, Finn was tiny and I was very pregnant with Lorelai. I knew it would be a while before I would be able to pull him out of it every 5 minutes. Especially while I had him and a newborn to care for. So we have it blocked for now. We may rearrange one of these days. I dont see it though, my husband has everything wired to that area. So Santa probably has to use the front door.

Do you read a special book Christmas Eve night?
We read Texas Night Before Christmas. Same basic story with a fun Texas twist. I have had the book since I was a child. The one I have has beautiful illustrations and I love it.

Do you like eggnong or hot chocolate?
I love them both! I love hot chocolate a lot but seeing as how I can get it anytime, I usually take full advantage of eggnog season. It should pretty much have its own budget during December.

Do you like colored or white lights?
While I see so many beautiful yards lit up in white, I love the color lights. Its what I prefer in my own house and just normal for me. I love all things bright and colorful, always. So definetly colored lights for the win!

When do you put your Christmas decorations up?
First weekend of December. I have friends that put them up way early this year, like before Thanksgiving week. Thats fine but I like my Thanksgiving and Christmas time separate. They are two different celebrations with different meanings. I like to be able to focus on each one. Of course, that doesn't mean I give up black friday shopping for Christmas..haha

The kids were playing nicely together, so I thought Id answer a few..now there is a suspicious stinkiness in the room. So I have to go find out who has brownies in the oven.

Late Night Rambling

I'm up far too late, once again. Tonight, I finally started wrapping gifts. Im probably a little over half way through them but I am getting pretty sleepy. So I think I will have to finish tomorrow night. While I was wrapping I started a new show on Netflix. Brothers & Sisters. I actually really like it so far. I find the story lines pretty entertaining. Anyway, I just wanted to say I liked the show I guess..lol. Im clearly too tired to come up with something good to talk about. So goodnight.

The Day Before the Day Before Christmas

Kids are playing in their room nicely together, so figured I would stop here a few minutes. Its been a quiet day. I'm commiting a mommy sin and letting my kids watch some tv while I get work done around here. In all fairness its Netflix on our SmartTv. So I'm able to control what they watch. Is it bad that while I know we should probably do more productive activities, that I dont feel all that horrible? Ha, Ive gotta get this stuff done at some point! My goal is to have the living clean and picked up so I can pull out everything and get it wrapped after the kids are in bed tonight. Not to mention I would like Christmas morning pictures to not look as though a tornado hit our living room recently!

So these are a 8 of the 15 Christmas cards I decided to handcraft. Budget friendly and in my opinion, very cute(but that might be biased).

I guess since we are talking about Christmas, I could post a Christmas questionnaire answer...

 

What does your family do on Christmas Eve?

Well, you see, my husband is the assistant manager at a nearby Walmart. For the most part his job is a good fit for our family. The downfall, of course is how many holidays he works on. He will be working Christmas Eve until the store closes for Christmas Day(so greatful they do that!). But, I refuse to complain for a minute about this. Im so thankful for him being able to go work hard every day. It allows me the luxury to be home with my babies and without it we would have the concerns about Christmas.

 

Do you meet up with extended family at Christmas?

Every year for since my dad married my step mom(I hate using that term, she was an incredible mother to me but for the sake of the explanation, I decided to be specific)after opening Christmas gifts in our own home Christmas morning we would gather there for lunch. They were married when I was in the 1st grade(January). Im pretty sure we went that Decmeber right before too.  It always included a big beautiful spread of food and fun family gift exchange. Other stops and traditionas have come and gone, but that has gone on every year. I love it and always look forward to it. My mom's sister comes in a couple time a year from Georgia and thats where I get to see her. She is such a fun person to be around, so I always get excited to see her that day.

 

Im so anxious Christmas is just a day away. I love getting to go see family that day. This year its going to be a little tiring. Stephen has to be at work 6am the day after Christmas. Christmas lunch is 3 hours away. Going to be a lot of driving that day and I would imagine as it gets later, grumpy kids. However, to me its the one day I find worth it.

Sour Cream Face!

Aah, finally kids are in bed! Finn had a bit of a grumpy day and was driving me a little nuts by this point of the day. Stephen worked 3-8 today. I, for one was glad he went in later. We stayed out kind of late on our date last night. Honestly, though, there are things like sleep I am more than willing to sacrifice for my marriage. We went through a little bit of a rough patch a few weeks back. So the couple of dates we had recently, were much needed quality time. We have been together about 5 years now. So I guess you could say its normal for us to have little rough patches. We arent the same people we were at 20 years old(I would hope we matured since then, haha). We have gone through jobs, made a few big decisions, have more financial responsibilities and of course have become parents in that time. Changes like these would only naturally bring up issues to work through. I have a motto in marriage. I found it on Facebook but I completely agree with it.

I apologize for all the cursing in it, but roughly thats my view on it.

So the last few weeks, after going through that, there has been more focus on our relationship and just regular maintenance to keep it strong.

 

Anyways, we dropped Stephen off for work and the kids and I made our trip to Dallas for a Christmas party a friend was throwing. Im so glad we went. It was so much fun. Both kids had a blast.

What is that on her face you ask? Well I made her and Finn a plate of chips with dabbles of nacho fixings, so they could eat what they want from it. That my dears, is what a child looks like when they decide their meal should be handfuls of sour cream! She wears it well, don't ya think?

 I truly love my friend(Brianna) who threw the party. For as long as we have been friends, she has proven to be someone I can talk to and trust. She and her sister Mikayla, who we are also good friends with, have made us feel like we have family away from family. It's a great resource to have for times such as going to have a baby girl and your toddler boy needs a place to go.

The party included Tex-Mex cuisine and a pinata! Just a good time all around. By the time we left, both kids were flat out wore out. This is good and bad. Good because it meant the drive back to our neck of the woods was quiet and easy. Bad because they fell asleep in the car at 7:00. If you are a parent, you understand the issue with what I just said. Upon picking up Stephen and arriving back at home, no one wanted to wind down for bedtime. Hence my earlier mention of being to my crazy point by the end of the night. It was about 10 before they were settled in their beds. They have each woken a couple of times since and needed to be calmed back down. Now finally shortly after midnight is when it finally seemed silent for the night.

Not even close to how they were tucked in, but they are peacefully sleeping, so Ill take it!

 

 

Date Night

Finished all my Christmas shopping! Now I just have to wrap it all and let the kids finish helping me make Christmas cards. I hand crafted 15 cards and have the intention of letting the kids color the inside of them all. Thought it would be so cute and personal this way. Unfortunately, we arent going to have the time for any of this today. A friend of ours is having a Christmas party today in Dallas. We are suppose to head there about 2. It's a few of my favorite people, so Im excited to attend.

So this last week, we made the decision that we would like to switch Lorelai to a toddler bed. Well turns out a friend of ours had one sitting in their garage that they wanted out. My husband picked it up yesterday evening, once I came back from shopping. I knew we were getting it so I had picked up some bedding for it while I was out. Now their room has 2 adorable little beds. One covered in Lightning Mcqueen and Mater and one covered in LalaLoopsy(i think the stuff from them is so cute). They both successfully slept in them last night. We put the beds right next to each other. So they have their separate beds but arent far from each other. I went in later in the night to check on them and they were sprawled out and asleep right next to each other but still on their own beds. Totally made me giggle. They slept very well and then I heard them up early just playing together and laughing. I cant believe we are to this point with both of them. I have to tell you it feels nice. No more waking up to a baby crying from a crib.

Once they were asleep, our favorite sitter came over to stay with them. I had bought a groupon a little while back for Louie Louie's Piano Bar in Arlington. I have to tell you, that was most fun I have ever had at a bar. Normally I hate bars. Too much smoke and people acting stupid. However, even though a good portion of people there were smoking, they actually had the place pretty well ventilated. I didnt feel like I was breathing in so much of it and the smell was being carried out. I found a drink on their menu that was really good too. Im normally very picky with what I like to drink. I dont like a drink to just taste like alcohol.  Im also never drinking to get drunk. I order things that taste good, period. Otherwise I dont want to spend the money. They had this drink called Sweet Child of Mine. It was exactly what I look for in a drink, I was very impressed. Now, if you are a modest mouse kind of person this place IS NOT for you. However, my husband and I are very open minded and dont discriminate on the joke front. The entertainment of this place was uncomparable! First off, their musicians were incredibly talented. Seriously anything requested they could play and sing. Also, they were quick thinking and incredibly funny. There is a lot of audience involvement as well. I myself ended up as part of an all girl conga line. The entire show was just a really good time. My husband and I both agreed we would be going back. Even our waiter was incredibly nice and we never felt like we had to wait a while to get refills or anything we needed.

I'll probably come back to this post later and add in some pictures of some of the things I talked about. My phone is off and charging and I havent gotten any of them off yet. Right now, I have to start getting everyone ready to get out the door.

These Cute Boots Were Made For Walking!

I feel like adding fun colors to my text tonight..enjoy :)
So this week we actually had a couple of normal days. The kids and I at home, husband working, just normal life. It was nice to have a little calm before Christmas week! Now tomorrow we have Lorelai's 12 month checkup(which I think includes shots..makes me so sad!). After the appointment, I am planning to leave the kids with Stephen while I scurry off and finish Christmas shopping. Im sooo excited! I love getting to shop, even if it isnt for myself. Tomorrow night, after the kids have gone to bed, a sitter is coming over while we go on a date. I have a groupon to a dueling piano bar nearby. I am really excited to go! I went to one in Florida and it was a lot of fun. I am excited to go to another one, especially since Stephen will be with me. He is a music lover and musician himself, so I know he is gonna appreciate it. So yes, very excited! Thats about all the goings on at the moment for this household.

Do you ever have a moment when you look up at your kid and in that moment they seem to have grown from the last time you looked at them? This picture was a moment like that for me. Just seeing her standing there in her boots and coat and I dont know. Just seemed to have aged in a day. It just hit me and hurt my heart a little for a second. Although, she is becoming such a bubbly and intelligent little girl that at the same time, I had a sense of pride. I dont know if this makes sense to anyone else but if not, this is a picture of a little girl in cute boots, ha!

 

Now for some more Christmas quiz! I found a couple of questions that I'd like to answer!

 

Do you think you'll have a white Christmas?

 Well here in Texas, you can experience 3 seasons in a day. So while Id like to say no because usually if we get snow, it hits between end of January and February. However, about 3 years ago, there was a big snow storm on Christmas Eve. We were suppose to drive to Texarkana that night to visit some family. We didnt realize just how bad it was out. We thought oh its just snow, its Texas how bad can it be? Well we set out and about 2 hours later we were back home after having gone less than 30 miles. We were in my husband's previously owned Ford Ranger and I remember how many times we had to pull over for a minute, so he could gain his composure back from how dangerous the drive kept getting. If we werent so broke back then we probably would have found the closest hotel and stayed, despite being so close to our house. It was a very scary couple of hours. Luckily we made it back unscathed and dissapointed. I thought for sure we were going to be stuck in our little apartment. We hadnt even put up a tree because we knew we would be going out of town for Christmas,so what was the point? Not to mention I LOVE going to my grandma's for Christmas. It was just depressing all around. Seeing as how we couldnt do much, we just went to bed. Miracles of miracles, we wake the next morning to find a beautiful white world and no ice on the roads! Thank you Texas for your ability to warm things up so well! So we set out all over again(luckily all of our stuff was still packed!). Everything completely worked out in the end!

 

What is your favorite Christmas smell?

I can not decide on just one. So I guess I'll have to talk about all my favorites a little. First, I love the smell of cinnamon. Real cinnamon from cooking or fabricated into a candle. It is such a warming and inviting scent. The smell of course, of a real cypress Christmas tree. We cant have one at this point in our life. The kids have knocked over our artificial ones a couple of times. I dont think a real one would stand a chance here! With as much as my kids like to play in toilet water(why are kids so gross?) Im pretty sure the tree would die of dehydration and our apartment seems to have some sketchy wiring going on, so yeah I wouldnt feel comfortable at all. It would only work on a tree with no lights, and where is the fun in that? I also think the smell of fresh baked goods is amazing. Im a huge fan of breads, pies and cookies. While they can be smelled year around, there is such and abundance at the holidays, its amazing. Although, this was more a scent in my youth. My father loves to cook. He is extremely good at it. He owns a business and deals with public so much, that when he is home cooking relaxes him. I did not get graced with a natural cooking gene. Im really not very good but I can do some baking. My baked items are the only things that usually came out well enough Id be willing to let guests try them. When we attend "bring a dish" functions, I avoid bringing things I cooked. I either buy already made or my husband makes it(he is quite good as well). The last smell that comes to mind is the smell of a roaring fire place. MMMM..need I describe?

 

Anyway, writing this did exactly what I needed. Calmed my mind so I can go to bed. I hate how busy my mind decides to get when Im laid in bed ready to go to sleep! It's so late, looks like there will be a Starbucks stop in the morning. See why I need that Keuring so much? Good night all! Here's hoping I wake up and find the Maya were wrong!

Santa, please bring me a Keurig!

I found a question I want to answer before I run off to bed. It wont be long but I wanted to write something.

What do you want for Christmas?
I really want a Keurig. However, I dont like to ask people for things. People tend to give me giftcards and cash because my birthday and Christmas fall within 2 weeks of each other. I tend to get both events gifts at the same time. So more than likely what I'll do, is hit up after Christmas sells for a well priced one. Since I dont like to ask for things, I tend to do a gift from myself to myself every year. It ensures I unwrap something I love..lol. My husband usually still picks pretty good gifts. So who knows maybe Ill be surprised. No matter what, I tend to start the new year with one! I just want one of the little personal ones, since we dont have that much counter space. So I will be finding a way to swing it!

What are you asking for this Christmas?

Christmas Quiz

I would like to spend the next week blogging about Christmas favorites. Ive been perusing google for a fun questionnaire that I could answer. I plan to maybe answer a couple questions here and there. It will be a fun way to lead up to the big day. If anyone reading wants to ask a question, please leave it in the comments and Ill include the answer in the next blog I post! Or if I answer any questions that you want to take a stab at, please do! Just please link me to your post! I want to see it! Id be interested to hear different takes on Christmas from other perspectives! For the first post I picked 5 questions to answer.

1. What is your favorite Christmas color?

It seems that now, there are so many colors included in decorations. We went from red, green, silver and gold as the staples to bright colored trees and decor. I often see project ideas that include decor in pinks and purples and other bright colors. Im pretty sure that one day I will be creating little individual trees for my kids, when they are old enough to treat them right. It will probably be geared to their personality at that point. As for my favorite color, it has to be that pretty icy blue you see this time of year. I love it!

Like this! So pretty!

2. What is on your stocking?                                                                                                                 

My stocking is a pretty dark green color(green is my favorite color the rest of the year). It has an embroidered poinsettia on it and is accented by pretty silver sequins. Each of our stockings have differents designs. Stephen's includes a moose with strings of bells in his antlers. They are attached, so they actually jingle! The kids love it. Lorelai has 2 stockings. Only one gets filled though. The other is a keepsake. When she was first born, a volunteer in the hospital made stocking of felt so big, Lorelai could fit in it. Its completely cute but is way too big to fill up. So with the rest of ours, hangs a more modest stocking(the other one is still out to see during the season though). It is a mix of solid red in places and plaid with black in others. It has felt patches stitched on. It has mittens and ice skates on it as well. Its very pretty for a little girl. Then there is Finn's stocking. It is white with a tree stitched onto it. It is decorated with different sequins and buttons. It has tiny little presents attached under the tree. It also has a cute little mouse hanging out under the tree. I know it only asked about my stocking but I figured it would be fun to tell the other designs it hangs with!

 

3. What is you favorite Christmas movie?      

This is a different now then when I was young. As a child I wore out the vhs tape that held Frosty the Snowman. My parents had to put it up during the nonseasonal months for the sake of their sanity. I loved it!

These days, however I am a huge fan of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. I love that Clark Griswald! He truly brings the laughs to the holidays! My father loves the movie, so I have him to thank for this.

 

                                                                                      

4. Describe your tree topper.

Well, it's just a bow. However as soon as everything goes on clearance after Christmas I will be shopping for one we can use in future years. I kind of want a Disney one, so I may be hitting up a Disney store nearby.

 

5. What is the first Christmas you have memories of?

The first one I really remember is when I was about 5 years old. I remember the matching red and green plaid pajamas my sister and I were wearing. I also remember getting bunk beds! My sister and I shared a room and up to that point a bed. We were both so excited to get to sleep seperately. I know I was 5 because when my dad started putting it together, the label said no children under 6 on top bunk. I remember being worried because I totally wanted the top one! My birthday was only a couple weeks away and I thought my parents would give it to my sister just because of those two weeks. Luckily, the bottom bunk was bigger, so it turns out my sister couldnt have been talked out of that one! She also convinced me that if a monster came into the room, they would absolutely go after the person on the bottom bunk first. So that settled it, I was not sleeping anywhere but the top, lol. Not to mention, my parents had no intentions of making me wait the 2 weeks...lol. All the panic for nothing!

 

I hope this was an enjoyable read. Again, if you want to carry this over to your blog please let me know! I want to read your answers! If you have questions I could answer in another post. please comment! I would love some good ideas! Im a slave to Google for questions right now. Oh, and most importantly, is this something you guys even want to read? Or am I wasting my time..lol..Guess I should have asked that first..I may keep posting them even if the answer is no, I just like hearing from other people :)

Christmas Pictures

It was such a fun weekend for the Eyestones! As previously mentioned, her birthday(Friday the 14th) it was cold and rainy, We camped out at home for a family day. However, Saturday, after snoozing in a little we got up and dressed for some fun. We invited 2 little friends for some fun at Leapin Lizards(I love Groupon deals!!! This is our favorite way to take in a date night http://www.groupon.com/deals/studio-movie-grill-18?pt=aUNAA9zAAAACh8udUOJrn7teXMheV3VmV) .

 

 They played for a couple of hours and had a blast! Riley is the little boy I keep a few times a week. He and my 2 have become adorable little friends. Mia and Lorelai are a couple months apart and are way too stinkin cute together. After we finished there, we stopped at a bookstore to pick up a couple of books for the book exchange at the Christmas party I will tell about in a minute. We finished the evening at Golden Corral. The best place for a family that includes a picky eater! It's the one place we can go and Finn actually leaves full and happy.

Lorelai and her friend Peyson

 

Sunday was the day of our playgroup Christmas party. We had a nice turn out with all of our favorite friends. It was potluck, so there were plenty of yummy snacks! The kids all had a fun time playing together. We built a fire for s'mores, played outside, took family pictures and had a book exchange for the kids. Finn and Lorelai loved the party and we left with free family pictures. Great time all around.

Finns first time on the trampoline..he mostly just sat there.

 

 

By last night the kids were exhausted, so today was a quiet day at home. Tomorrow may be the same but I will probably be creating a fun activity for them. I have a ton of Christmas window clings I bought on clearance last year. I think I may let the kids go nuts with them and our big sliding glass patio door. I would also like to make a fun activity to talk about shapes with Finn. Or numbers, he has been showing interest in trying to count to 5 and since all our learning activities are led but what he is interested in, that option may win. Any fun suggestions? Does your kid enjoy counting anything in particular? Do they have a fun number song they like to sing?

Lorelai refused to smile in any of these but I love it anyways.

Lorelai's 1st Birthday!

 Yesterday was cold and icky outside. These last couple of days were the first days in a month I wasnt wiping snotty noses. So, after a run to the store for cupcakes, we closed ourself up for a cozy family day. With the horrible events in Conneticut, it was perfect to be able ot snuggle our babies all day. We all slept in and had a late breakfast. After breakfast, we let Lorelai open gifts(with brother's help of course).

She got a Disney Princess Mulan and a little Fisher Price castle. They both played with them for a good portion of the day, so I know they were good choices. We spent the rest of the day playing and watching movies together.

After dinner, we brought out the cupcakes! We lit the candle and blew it out. When we handed her the cupcake, she just looked at us like "Am I really allowed to eat this?" Then she saw that her brother was going to town on his and decided to finally go for it.

This event, of course, could only result in a bath immediately following. So I got the all squeaky clean again. By then they were both worn out and ready for bed.

 

All in all, my princess had a great birthday!

Here is what I posted for her on Facebook:

Happy Birthday to my Lorelai! You are becoming a beautiful little girl! Your sweet and always happy to be here personality is beautiful and infectious. Your giggly personality never fails to make me smile. You may have been a surprise but you are an irreplaceable part of our family. I adore you baby girl! Im so glad you're here! Some day when you have your own children, you may be able to understand how much I love you :) Happy Birthday "Bunny!"

 

Baby First Cartoons

This isnt going to be a long post, I just wanted to recommend a show to the mommas out there. Baby First cartoons! They are adorable and educational. They are also not annoying for the adult who has to hear them. All the little skits are usually accompanied by pretty music. They are kind of like Baby Einstein but you can watch them for the price of your Netflix bill. My kids have been watching Color Inspirations this morning. They are loving it. So that is all. Ive just never been let down by the show and thought I'd share. http://www.babyfirsttv.com/tv

Wreck It Ralph, Go Watch It!

Wow! So busy busy busy holiday season! I feel like we have barely been home lately. Yet somehow the place is a complete wreck! The kids have managed to knock over the tree a couple times. Luckily nothing is breakable on it. The time we are home the kids manage to scatter all their toys about and then there is a severe lack of time to pick them up. Finally. we are to the point that the next couple days can be spent here at home. Hoping to get in some serious cleaning time! Not to mention, Finn is acting completely exhausted. So looking forward to a quiet cleaning day tomorrow for sure.

This past weekend included an incredibly fun Mom's Night Out with some friends of mine. We spent part of the night at one friends house making s'mores completely for ouselves(so good when there isnt any children asking for a bite). After a while we decided to get some fun action in and headed to a nearby Main Event for some laser tag. This was my first time playing and I have to say I wouldnt hesitate to do it again! Total blast. We ended the night up way too late at IHOP. The next night was date night for Stephen and I. We left the kids playing with friends and headed to a movie. We went to Studio Movie Grill. I had Groupons so we got in nice and cheap and ordere some dinner with our movie. We chose to see Wreck It Ralph. I have to say the movie was excellent. We both loved it. Im already anticipating the DVD release so we can watch it with the kids. I believe Finns Christmas gifts will include some toys from said movie. Just way too cute movie. If you have the chance absolutely see it! Sunday morning we had some lounge time around the house. Towards the afternoon we all dressed up nice and headed to meet a friend. We attended the Festival of Carols at their church. It was a beautiful event. Complete with orchestra and choral performances. Just a very busy weekend!

During the week, I have acquired a part time job. I have been caring for a one year old little boy a few times a week. So that always takes up the majority of our day when I take him. It's nice to have the little extra income and my kids enjoy playing with him. He walks so they all spend time chasing each other around. Hoping he will be inspiration for Lorelai to finally take some steps! The girl is being so incredibly stubborn about the whole thing. She can stand up independently for a long period of time. Thats all she'll do though. Just stand there and grin at you. Then after a bit, she just sits back down and goes about her business. Complete stubborness!

Im almost done Christmas shopping. Our next payday, Ill be able to quickly knock out the rest. Just waiting patiently for that. I bought netting so that I can make the patio nice and fun for them. We live on the 2nd floor and both kids can fit through the bars on the railing around our patio. So I bought some netting at home depot to fix the problem. Im hoping to make a nice fun little space for them out there. Both love being outside and I would love to give them more oppurtunity during the day to be out there. Now I have to find something to hang my husbands bike with. It currently takes up the majority of the space out there. It needs a new out of the way home.

Thats about the rundown of our life right now. Not much particularly interesting but its very busy! Lorelai turns 1 this week! Im a bit emotional about that. I cant believe Ive losing my babies already! Its been a crazy couple of years of diapers, formula and crazy sleep habits. Its all starting to straighten out though. I have a potty training 2 year old. We are done with the formula and both sleep all night. Im just glad both are willing to still cuddle or I would be taking this a lot harder! Hoping there will be more posts later in the week! I know we are taking family holiday pictures this week, so I should at least be able to post some of those early next week! Thats the great thing about kids. Stick them in front of a camera and bam, you got Christmas gifts!

Alright, well time to change the laundry over!

Christmas Tree is Up!

Oh my goodness! Can you say busy? This weekend and every day has been constant going for us. From play dates to errands to Daddy's crazy work schedule, we have been going and going! Its been the good kind of busy though. We had marvelous weather this past weekend which basically begged you out of your house. So we had a couple of trips to the park. We also had playdate with some of the kids' little friends, on a couple of different days. I also landed myself a little part time job! I will be taking care of a 1 year old little boy a few times every week. I've actually already started and it is going incredibly smoothly. He is a very mellow and adorable toddler. He and my 2 mesh very well. They all seem to play the same and enjoy each others company. I wanted the oppurtunity to make a little extra money and start building up some kind of work history again, while at the same time I dont want to be away from my kids. So this is the biggest blessing for me to have found this!

On another note, our tree is up and looking splendid. Since the kids are still so young we decided to put the tree up after they were in bed last night. At first I felt guilty for not having them participate. However, when Finn walked in the living room this morning and stopped dead in his tracks to say "WOW!" I knew I made the right decision! That reaction made my heart sing. I just love making these kids happy. A lit up face of surprise is a priceless thing.

Our humble tree

 

My favorite ornament

Our family of 3 snowpeople from the year Finn was born. I have go to go have a new 4 people one made!

We havent included her in our snow family yet but we did buy Lorelai ballet slippers last year

A wedding gift for "Our First Christmas"