It's COLD!

Okay, so maybe I'm a wimp, but it is COLD outside! Sammy's computer says the current temperature is 34 degrees. Not freezing... yet! On nights like this, I wish I had fleece footie pajamas like my kiddos have. Wouldn't those be great? No cold feet... no elastic waistbands... no gowns that get twisted in the sheets when I roll over at night... just warm fleece from my neck down to my toes!

I need to go digging in all the boxes in the garage, because somehow, I am still missing some winter clothing... including all of my long sleeve tees & sweatshirts. How sad is it that I still haven't unpacked all of my boxes? 3 1/2 months & I'm nowhere near completely set up. I know many people that would be appalled at that fact, but such is my life! I was pretty happy that I got all my dirty dishes washed today. That, in itself, was a huge accomplishment this morning!

My friend, Rachel, posted about her family Christmas traditions, which got me to thinking about some of ours. (Rachel, is this about the hundredth blog idea I've stolen from you?? Thanks!) I grew up in a family of 5... Dad, Mom, 2 sisters & I. When we celebrated, it was usually just us, my maternal Grandparents & sometimes my paternal Grandmother. Every once in a very rare blue moon, we would spend Christmas with aunts, uncles & cousins. On Christmas Eve, we would each pick out one gift to open. Afterwards, we would set out the cookies & milk & write a letter for Santa. In the morning, we found the glass of milk almost empty & cookie crumbs sitting on that same plate. Christmas morning was so much fun! We couldn't come into the living room until everyone was in place with cameras, etc. The stockings bulged full of goodies & Santa left his presents unwrapped underneath the tree. On either Christmas Eve or Christmas day, we would watch the movie, A Christmas Story. Our family probably has that entire movie memorized! ("It was... it was... soap poisening!") And, my Dad has started a tradition of reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to all of the kids on Christmas Eve. Sometimes they listen... sometimes they don't. Each year, they get a little more attentive. When we celebrate Christmas in Kingsville with my maternal Grandmother, we all attend the Christmas Eve candlelight service at her church. This service is so special & helps us focus on the true celebration of the season.

And, then I married Sammy! :) And, everything changed! When his family gets together for holidays, it is the ENTIRE family! (My Life Group knows all about this...) We're talking aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, out-laws, great-aunts, great-uncles, 2nd cousins, girlfriends, boyfriends & enough dogs to fill a rescue shelter! I'm not kidding... there has been up to 12 dogs when I was there & even more before I joined the family! I think they had to get rid of a couple of dogs to make room for me! In their defense, they used to raise Dachsunds, so there was atleast an excuse for all the critters. (I think we've lowered it to only about 6 or 7 dogs this year.) And, Sammy's family goes ALL out on the food!! I joked with his "out-law" uncle one time that the Rogers family was the most "eatenest" family I knew! He agreed. If there is a reason to celebrate, there will be 2 tables filled with food. ALL kinds of food! They do things big, which was foreign to me, but has finally grown on me... literally! :) His family is loud & full of life. It is a completely different environment from what I was used to, but they are his family & they are now mine, also. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Now, with my own family, we have a tradition of attending Santa's Village in Richardson each year. It's a fun, family outing with lots of wonderful photo ops. We also make a fun, Christmas dessert that the kids can help decorate. Last year, we made Santa Claus cookies out of Nutter Butters. They were cute. I'm sure more traditions will arise as the kids get older & I hope they cherish those as much as I cherish the memories & traditions from mine & Sammy's families.

Now, I wish this would become a Christmas tradition... unfortunately, for Kingsville, it was probably a once in a lifetime sight:

CHRISTMAS DAY IN KINGSVILLE, TX - 12/25/2004

Tall Tales...

Sammy won 2nd place in the area Toastmasters "Tall Tales Contest". Tall tales, huh?? I'm not so sure I should be proud of that...

Christmas Wish List

Yesterday, the kids' teacher at school made a Christmas Wish List for all of her students. When I went to pick up the twins yesterday afternoon, I saw it posted on her door:

Girl 1 - Teddy Bear
Girl 2 - Doll
Girl 3 - Teddy Bear
Girl 4 - Doll
Sydney - Styling Head

Now, I know exactly what she wants, but I think she sure had her teacher confused! She has always marched to the beat of her own drum!

You know you're a mom when...

you lick your thumb to wipe something off your child's face.

I always swore I'd never do this because it's just plain disgusting, but I was forced to do it this morning on our way out the door to school. I went 4 1/2 years without succumbing to this nasty habit, but this morning got the better of me. I felt like a mother cat! Ewwwww...

P.S. It's sleeting, but it sure does look like snow!

Freecycle

I have been a Freecycle fool lately! I found this group online while living in Richardson. I joined the UTD/Richardson group at that time, but I never offered anything or took anything from other offers. So, when I moved to Wylie, I joined the Wylie Freecycle group. Wylie is a much smaller town, so the posts were few & far between. And, then, my friend, Susan, mentioned that she had also joined the Garland Freecycle group & the Plano Freecycle group. For some reason, it never crossed my mind that you could join groups in other cities or towns that you don't reside. After joining these 2 additional groups, I started receiving several Freecycle posts daily.

The whole premise of this website is to recycle items that we no longer want or need to those that do want or need them. And, it is totally FREE! There is no bartering and no money exchanged whatsoever!

It's been really neat to see the way this organization helps out those who may not be able to afford certain items, such as Christmas decorations, furniture, clothing, etc. For instance, one lady posted a request for any Christmas trees or decor that she might use to decorate this season. When we moved, we brought with us an old 4-foot Christmas tree that we purchased at Dollar General several years ago. We no longer use it, so I offered it to this lady, who was more than happy to use it at her home. She was excited to receive it & I was so happy to give it to her. Just before Thanksgiving, one lady posted a request for a dining room table that would seat 6 people. And, lo & behold, someone had one to give her! I am amazed at how many of these requests are granted. But, as we've all heard... One man's junk is another man's treasure!

Anyway, I've enjoyed giving away some of my possessions that I no longer use or need. And, the people that have picked them up are always so friendly & grateful. Everyone seems so honest, ethical & very genuine.

AND... I am picking up my very first Freecycle item today. One lady sent an offer for a few kids' kitchen items... 2 kids' trays, a few Barbie dishes & a few Toy Story dishes. I'm sure my kids would love these & we would definitely get some good use out of them. So, she is letting me have them & I can't wait to go pick them up!

So, if you get a chance, I think you would really enjoy & benefit from being a part of a Freecycle group. Check it out!

2-Year-Old For Sale

As I told Sammy last week, I think Nick's "two-year-oldness" finally kicked in! It all started when we arrived at my parent's house for Thanksgiving. He started being a "Daddy only or else" kid. He wants absolutely NOTHING to do with Mommy, which is okay when Daddy is not around, but is torture when Daddy is around. If Daddy is at home, Nicholas will not let me hold him, touch him, kiss him or even walk near him. He's all about Daddy at that time. It's ridiculous! However, when Sammy is gone, he has no other choice but me, so he doesn't fight it as much. Last night was one of the worst moments... he screamed bloody murder when I tried to lay down next to him. It was truly heartbreaking for me. I've heard most kids go through this stage at one point or another, but this behavior just seems over the top, in my opinion. I really, really hope he grows out of this soon.

Along with a just plain ugly attitude he's been expressing lately, he has perfected this terrible, gravely scream. It is like nails across a chalkboard for me! I cannot stand to hear that scream!!

And, not even 24 hours after we arrived home from Bastrop, Nicholas took a stumble right into the corner of our brick column on our front porch. He truly is an accident waiting to happen! So, just when he recovered from his horrendous black eye, he now has a scraped up knot right above the opposite eye. Sammy & I were a bit worried about him having a concussion, because he hit that corner pretty hard. Plus, he took a good, long nap afterwards. But, we continually checked on him throughout his nap & he was fine. Every night, I am amazed & extremely thankful that we made it another day without a visit to the ER. (I'm knocking on wood...)

I'm hoping that these are all just phases that will soon pass. When the twins were born, my mom used to tell me to recite this phrase to myself over & over until things got better:
This too shall pass... this too shall pass... this too shall pass...

Thankful for Family

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parent's house in Bastrop. We spent our time there relaxing out in the country... fishing, digging in dirt & laying in the hammock. The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time! We ate our Thanksgiving feast out on the deck & enjoyed our leftovers there, as well. Perfect weather!!

I enjoyed spending some time with my cousins from Houston. And, Sydney loved getting to know her girl cousins, Grace & Lily. I'm so glad we were able to spend quality time with them.

Here are some great pictures from our time there...

FISHING FAMILY

Grace & Sydney at the Pond

When the girls got tired of holding their Barbie fishing poles, the grown men took over.

Nothing screams "manly" like a Barbie pole!

SAND GIRLS

Lily, Grace & Sydney playing in the sand pile

My cousin, Jennifer, & I are watching these girls get DIRTY!
I really, really dislike sand!

Here is a sweet picture of Sydney & Grace, before they left back to Houston on Saturday

And, here is a precious picture of Grace's little sister, Lily

But, my favorite picture, hands down, is this last one! It shows how chaotic taking group shots really are! You've got Nicholas upside down in the baby swing & Lily sliding halfway down her mom's leg. Samuel is taking a picture back, because he absolutely refused to cooperate that entire morning! I'm not wearing makeup, nor did I blow dry my hair that morning, so I'm crouching down next to Sydney, trying to hide behind her cuteness. And, my poor Grandmother has a look on her face that says, "Why the heck are we doing this?" PRICELESS!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, also!

My Love Language

According to Dr. Gary Chapman, here is my "love language":

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Acts of Service
with a secondary love language being
Quality Time.

Complete set of results

Acts of Service:		10
Quality Time:		9
Receiving Gifts:		5
Physical Touch:		3
Words of Affirmation:		3

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

It is definitely on target!!

Overkill!

We just heard that Wham! song AGAIN on the way home earlier!! I promise you... every time we turn on that station, it's either already playing or it will play soon.

Singin' a different tune...

Okay, this is going to be an upbeat post... I promise! No more talk of sick kids, a dirty house or loads of laundry!

I am so excited right now, because in 1 day & a few hours, we are leaving on VACATION!! Well, it's a vacation to us. We are going to my parent's house in Bastrop for Thanksgiving & I am thrilled! My 94-year-old (Or is it 93? I can never remember.) Grandmother is already there, waiting for us all to arrive. My cousin, his wife & daughters will be there also. I am so happy to be able to spend some time with them. But, as happy as I am, my daughter is PUMPED!! She is so used to being surrounded by boys, so when I told her she was going to get to play with her girl cousins, she lit up. She has not stopped talking about Grace & Lily. (And, by the way, it's so funny to hear her try to say "Lily". She just can't quite get all those "l"'s in the right order.) She will tell anyone (strangers included) that she is going to play with Grace & Lily at Mimi & Papa's house. I hope they are looking forward to their visit with Sydney as much as she is with them!

I am also really excited about the delicious food! Sammy is in charge of the turkey this year... something he really enjoys doing. And, even though I don't like turkey, he does it up good. Everyone else is in charge of the salads, casseroles, stuffing & desserts. My favorites are the casseroles! Veg-All Casserole... Creamed Corn Casserole... Broccoli & Rice Casserole... YUMMMMM!

The kids are excited about feeding the wild turkeys at Mimi & Papa's house. I asked if we could shoot one for our dinner, but my mom was adamant that we are not to mess with her turkeys AT ALL! She's very protective of those ugly birds.

Another favorite of mine during this holiday season is the beautiful Christmas music. I have this awesome Christmas CD that I bought last year & frankly, I'm surprised that it's not totally worn out. It's Manheim Steamroller's Christmas Extraordinaire. I LOVE it! Sammy likes it. And, the kids even like it. It gets tons of playtime at our house! Sammy also enjoys listening to the radio stations that play "All Christmas, all the time", as they say. However, we always seem to hear Wham's "Last Christmas". I do get sick of that one song this time of year! And, just so you can too, I'm sharing it here with you:



Just one downside to the cold weather... dry skin. My skin itches like crazy, even though I have slathered on gobs of lotion. It is nearly impossible to get relief from my dry skin during the winter. BUT... I won't let that ruin the mood!

I hope you all are enjoying this festive season as much as I am. It's a great time of the year!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Sick, Sick & Sick

What's worse than a sick kid?
Two sick kids.

What's worse than two sick kids?
Three sick kids.

Yep... that's what we've got! All the kids have been battling runny noses, coughs & conjunctivitis. For the past several days, a different kid would wake up with their eyes "glued" shut. We'd have to carefully clean their eyes with a warm washcloth so they could see again. Well, this morning, they ALL three woke up with crusty eyes & runny noses. YUK!! And, their poor little eyes are red & bloodshot.

I'm hoping the decongestant we're giving them will knock this out before Thanksgiving. (I promise, Mom, we are trying!)

In the meantime, we'll be quarantined to our house. Let us know if we miss anything on the outside world...

Typical Thanksgiving

FUNNY stuff!!

Question of the Day

Here is my very important question of the day:

How do people with long fingernails wash inside their ears?

Anytime my nails start getting a bit long, it hurts the heck out of me to wash my ears! The skin on the inside of my ears is very sensitive. Of course, I've never used a washcloth... maybe that's easier ??

You are Loved by Josh Groban

I recently saw this video on another blog & fell in love... as I do with most of Josh Groban's songs. So, I'm posting it here! Enjoy!

UPDATE:
Nevermind... it was messing up the blog, so I took the video off. Search for it on YouTube & you can find several different versions of this video. Great song!

WANTED: A Maid

My goal was to atleast get my bathrooms cleaned today. Well, that didn't happen before this evening, so I thought I would multitask & clean the master bathroom while the kids were playing in the bath this evening. And, of course, this would be the time that the kids did not want to play in the bath... they were ready to get washed & get out of there! My bathroom finally got cleaned, but it ended up being a much more frustrating experience than I had planned in my head. I recall saying several times, "Can you just have a little patience?" I think it's my turn for a bubble bath!

Now it's on to the other bathrooms, the kitchen, the laundry...

Windy Wednesday

The wind has been ferocious today! It started sometime in the middle of the night. Loud, thunderous, strong wind! I thought a storm had blown in & I woke up in a panic & ran to open the back door so our dog could come sleep in the laundry room. When I opened the sliding back door, the wind blew in so strong that it knocked down a cereal box I had left sitting on the kitchen island. Scared the crud out of me, since I was half asleep! Soon after I let our dog, Dallas, inside, the kids started trickling down the stairs, one by one, into our bed. I'm sure they thought there was a storm outside also. You could hear the windows rattling, the wind whistling and the low hum of wind coming from our fireplace. And, it's still going on as I type...

Anytime it's windy like this, Sammy & I laugh about a funny memory we have of Samuel. Soon after his 3rd birthday, we bought a swingset for the backyard. One day, he was out there trying his best to swing straight, but the wind kept blowing him from side to side. He was getting extremely frustrated, so I explained to him that we had no control over the wind, only God does. After processing this information, he finally looked up to the sky & yelled as loud as he could, "STOP IT WINDY!"

Monday Madness

Why is it that my sweet 2 year old will lay down perfectly still for his afternoon nap & fall asleep so peacefully, but will throw the biggest fit & endure 10 spankings before finally giving in to bedtime at the end of the day?

The kids & I bought some suncatchers the other day in the Wal-Mart craft department. These are the kind where the kids fill each little space with different colored beads & then you stick it in the oven for 10-20 minutes & watch the beads melt. We finished creating our beautiful suncatchers almost 30 minutes ago. The beads are just now starting to melt into one big glob that is supposed to look like glass. Apparently, they do not recommend using air bake pan to set the suncatchers on. Oops!

After picking Nick up from Bible class last night, he told me, "I love Bible class." That makes me feel good!

The twins got new scooters the other day. And, they are so excited about them! We were all over at a friend's house the other day & the kids were out front playing on their scooters, bikes, etc. Samuel was having so much fun on his friend, Bryce's, Spiderman scooter & was doing a really great job balancing his weight. I commented to Bryce's mom that I should probably look into getting a couple of scooters for the kids. So, the next week at school, she tells me that she found something for Samuel at a garage sale. When we got to her car, she pulled out a Spiderman scooter identical to the one she owns. Samuel was thrilled, to say the least! And, it was only ONE DOLLAR!!! Woo-hoo!! You can't beat that! But, of course, Sydney wants to know where her scooter is. (That's how it is with twins... what you do for one, you have to do for the other!) Bryce's mom assured Sydney that even though she didn't find a scooter for her this time, she would look for one the next time she went to a garage sale. And, sure enough, after a mutual friend's birthday party over the weekend, Bryce & his mom hand Sydney a pretty purple scooter with a basket on the handlebars! And, guess how much it was? That's right... ONE DOLLAR!! So, we just scored 2 great scooters for $2!! But, more importantly, the kids & I developed a wonderful bond & friendship with another mother & son that live nearby. You can't put a price on that!

I better get off this computer... laundry awaits! No big surprise there! But, it will be a lot more fun today because the kids are watching Polar Express for their afternoon "quiet time" and I happen to LOVE that movie! I love the story, but I think I love the music even more. However, that might have something to do with my love for Josh Groban's voice...

Have a great Monday!

Let's try this again...

Hmmmm... a whole new set of celebrities!

My Heritage ??

Happy Hump Day

There's no better way to celebrate a Wednesday than cleaning up lots & lots & lots of vomit! Oh yeah. I can only think about 10 1/2 million other things I would rather do. Vomit just plain sucks!

I'm actually looking forward to my grocery store trip this evening, just so I won't be around to clean up any more vomit if it decides to appear again this evening. However, now that Sammy is home for the night, I'm sure Nicholas will miraculously heal and all will be well again. That's usually how it goes. It's like taking your car to the mechanic... it will rattle the entire way to the mechanic shop, but will work perfectly once you get there. Except for our car, which is back at the mechanic shop. But, that's a whole other story...

So, if Nick doesn't upchuck for the rest of the night, Sammy will get off easy, but I will be happy that his stomach is finally settled. I can't imagine how miserable he must have felt all day long. Poor little guy.

I'm off to the store now...

To be free or not to be...

I received some free movie passes a few weeks ago & was so excited to either (a) go on a free date with Sammy, (b) take the twins to see Open Season, or (c) enjoy a fun girls' night out at the movies. However, none of these happened! Unfortunately, having free movie passes does not guarantee having free time to actually use the passes. We have been so busy lately & haven't had a chance to slow down for a couple of hours to watch a good, free movie at the theater. I hate it that life is so crazy right now, but I also realize 'tis the season. People are moving fast, fast, fast this time of year. We already received our food assignments at the twins' school today for their Thanksgiving feast. It's only 2 weeks away!! Thanksgiving Day will be another week after that. Then, we're on to Christmas. ALREADY!!

Enjoy these fun holidays... they're flying by!

Halloween Fun

The kids enjoyed thier Halloween festivities this year. We all had a great time!

Sunday evening, we attended Trunk or Treat at our church. Lots of cars, lots of costumes & LOTS of candy!

Sydney's friend, Rebecca, and her parents went with us.

Afterwards, we all went over to Rebecca's house & met up with another friend, Joshua, his parents & his baby brother. The kids helped me create a graveyard cake for dessert. YUMMMM!!

Tuesday morning, the kids got all dressed up in their costumes for the party & parade at school. They were so excited! And, we got a great class picture!

That evening, we walked 2 blocks of our neighborhood before the kids called it quits! My 3 superheroes were wiped out! It was very chilly & they were just plain tired. So, we headed back home, popped popcorn & watched Monster House. There is nothing better than snuggling on the sofa with your kids & a bowl of popcorn, watching a fun movie. It was a perfect evening!


(Spiderman, Mini Batman & a COOOOOOLD Catwoman)

My enemy...

LAUNDRY!!

IT. NEVER. ENDS.

Jack-O-Lantern

It helps to have atleast one creative & artistic adult in the family...

Sammy carved this awesome pumpkin for the kids on Saturday. As mentioned in the previous post, here are some pictures of the patterns they each selected:

Samuel's Spiderweb

Sydney's Cat

Nick's Bat

Pumpkin Patch Pics

The kids enjoyed a fun afternoon at the local pumpkin patch last week. They picked out our perfect family pumpkin, which Sammy is in the process of carving right now! They each got to pick a pattern to carve on the pumpkin, so we have 3 different images carved into it. There's hardly any pumpkin shell left! Sydney picked out a kitty cat, Samuel picked out a spider web (which is why poor Sammy is STILL carving!), and Nick picked out a bat. It'll be a nice surprise for them in the morning.

Here are a couple of great shots of all three kids together:

Sydney & Nick are "loving" on their baby pumpkins. Samuel just loves to smile!

My sweet twins!

Sunflower Sydney

Scarecrow Samuel

Nick wanted a picture all by himself... so, he got it! Such a big boy!

Halloween Crafts

I'm in search of some fun & easy Halloween crafts to do with the kids the next few days. I found some great ideas in a magazine called Family Fun. (And, their website is just as good, if not better!) After school tomorrow, we're making Paper Bag Gargoyles. They looked so easy & I know the kids would really enjoy making these.

This weekend, we are carving our pumpkin & toasting the pumpkin seeds. (The kids can hardly wait to eat more pumpkin seeds. They love them just about as much as I do!) And, Monday, we're making either a pumpkin cake or a graveyard dessert. I've made this graveyard dessert several times before & it's always lots of fun to make & to eat. It makes a great Halloween centerpiece!


(By the way, if you don't receive the wonderful Food & Family magazine from Kraft, you need to sign up for it ASAP! It's a great magazine & it's totally free!)

But, I'm searching for some other tried & true Halloween craft ideas that other kids have enjoyed creating. What are some things you have done or are planning on doing?

Owen's Farm

The kids went to Owen's Farm last week with their class at school. (Think pork! Ewww!) Anyway, they had a great time & we got some cute pictures.

Samuel & Sydney

Samuel & his friend, Braeden

Addicting...

Lately, I have become addicted to some games that I downloaded from the Yahoo! Games site. They are so much fun!! You can download the games & play a free trial version for one hour. You don't have to enter any credit card information, so there's no risk of "accidentally" purchasing something you don't want. It's totally FREE!! They'll just cut you off after your one hour of use. And, if you only want to play 15 minutes at a time (which is IMPOSSIBLE for me!), you can quit the game & play your remaining 45 minutes later.

You can purchase the full version for $19.99, but for now, I'm playing all the freebies I can get my hands on.

So, here are my recommendations:

* Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
This game is so cool! It's like those I Spy books, where you have to find all sorts of little hidden objects. This is the same premise. They give you a list of hidden objects to find, but you have a time limit. It really is so much fun, even if it is just for an hour. (I may splurge & buy this for myself soon!)

* Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
The same as Prime Suspects above. It just has a different story line to go along with the "hunt". Fun, fun, fun! And, free for one hour!

* Hidden Expedition: Titanic
Once again, this is the same idea as the two Mystery Case Files games. However, this one takes place underwater (obviously). Still tons of fun & pretty challenging!

Have fun!!

Pizza Pros

Here are my little chefs at work...



Making pizza is always fun for the kids... and messy for Mom & Dad!!

Mom & Kids

My sister took this picture of the four of us & I really liked the way we all turned out. In the past, it has been so difficult to get a decent picture of all the kids together, but I've noticed it gets easier & easier as they get older. Of course, I could have done without Nick's hand in his mouth, but I love it anyway!


(Mom, that is the color of red that I painted in my dining room.)

Cross Gun

Boys can turn just about anything into a gun! For instance, a lovely cross...



I've been "shot" several times with this cross!

Tantrum Time!

Wanna see a four-year-old's temper tantrum at its worst?

Zipping through the trees!

This one's for you, Mom...

As I mentioned in a previous post, part of our Mother/Daughter weekend was an adventurous canopy tour through the TX hill country trees. We zip lined at the Cypress Valley Canopy Tour ranch in Spicewood, TX. It was awesome!!

Here are some great pictures from that beautiful morning.

Walking across our first sky bridge...


Time to fly!

Erin

Mom

Jonetta

Amberly


We are loving this!


Our tour guide took a group shot of all of us on our very last sky bridge...


And, Mom bought us all t-shirts to commemorate the event. Thank you, Mom!


This was truly a wonderful experience! I would do it again in a heartbeat, if I had the opportunity!