Sometimes I stay on the computer late at night only because the laptop keeps my legs so warm.

So while I'm warming myself tonight, I figured I might as well do a little catching up.

Christmas morning was such a fun time.  I remember when we were growing up, Dad would make us wait ForEVER to go in and see the tree, because he had to shower, brush his teeth, set up the Christmas music, and get the camera ready. It was torture.  

Well, my husband does the exact- same- thing!  What about just waking up and walking down to the tree?  There really shouldn't be that much prep work involved. 

The kids were very good about acting excited about every silly thing they pulled out of those stockings.

 Ty is still trying to figure this whole Christmas thing out.

He was super excited about his new sippy cup....and the slippers you see on his feet.

He had no idea what to do with the presents.  

"Open it!"  we'd say.  So he'd sit there and look at it for a minute, and then start to bang it with his fist, expecting that to take care of his problem.

Even after we showed him how to rip the paper, he didn't quite catch on.

Eventually, I had to just open it for him.

Tia's box of cosmetics.

Hayley's stealth scope..

J suggested that halfway through our gift opening, we take an intermission and go eat breakfast.

 Who does that? 

Surprisingly the girls were on board with the idea.

I loved that my kids got so many books this year.  Ty would have his daddy read to him all day long if he could.

This was the most controversial gift of the day..  Tia's Fur Real Friend, walking, purring kitty.

The controversy was that Ty thought it should be his.  

Fights broke out between the two all morning over that thing.

A while ago, at Ty's doctor appt, the doc asked if Ty was starting to push other people's buttons to try to get a reaction out of them.  I said 'yes, it's pretty much his favorite thing to do.'

The doctor then gave me a little disciplining tip:  Pick him up and calmly say "Ty, No pulling hair," and then take him into a different room, place him on the floor and keep him behind your back for a certain amount of time, so he is not getting the reaction that he is after.  We have laughed at and exaggerated this form of discipline so many times (even though I do see the reasoning behind it) that it has become kind of a game to Ty.  Here he is trying to escape from behind J's back.   

Another of Ty's favorite things to do.  Whenever there is a blanket or sleeping bag on the floor, he wants you to drag him around on it.

This is one of a set of fabulous sharp knives we received from my parents.  They are so great to have.

Mom, I thought you should know also that this is the one I keep under my mattress in case someone  breaks into the house.

Hayley's birthday is coming up!

Just wanted to share a picture of her birthday invitations that we sent out in the mail this week.

(I'm having way too much fun with these bottles ;)

It will be a great time

Oh, this child.  

 His face is caked with refried beans in this picture.

Looking forward to a great year.  Maybe one day this month I'll get around to setting some resolutions.

Buckle up

and enjoy the ride, as I make you look at picture after picture after picture, as if you have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve.

This December we have been all up in the Christmas spirit, and have loved every minute of it.

A week ago, the third graders had a Holiday Feast that parents were invited to.  It was fun to join Hayley and see her all excited to hang out with Jordan and I.  Below is a picture of the sweet girl after she consumed an entire plate full of desserts.  

Only seconds after this picture was taken, she was crying in my lap because she felt like she was going to throw up.

We used this as an object lesson to teach her to be wise about her eating choices.

Because every moment is a teaching moment. ;)  

 This little boy...I'm telling you,  he is the sweetest thing.  I can't help but love on him all day long.  (I just wish he made my shopping experiences a little more bearable...but I will take the bad with all that good.)

We went with some good friends to a beautiful place called Longwood Gardens.  Gorgeous lit trees...a fun holiday sing along.....It was a great time.

 Hayley was on the lego team again this year, and the following are just a couple of pictures from the expo.  They  had to build a lego model and explain the what's, how's and why's to the judges.  It was really cute to listen to their explanations of everything.

 At our church Christmas party, Tia was an angel in the choir.  Such a beautiful little thing.

A very sweet friend of mine, came over to 'help' me wrap Christmas presents, since I don't believe I've ever been properly trained to wrap like an adult.  As we sat there and talked, she ended up wrapping 

Every 

Single

One of them.

She was like lightning, it was unbelievable.

'Pass me another' she'd say, and by the time I was done jabbering, they were all wrapped to perfection.

It was a Christmas miracle (One that I hope will happen again next year.. ;) 

But seriously, Thank you again Becci!

Here are our little boys playing in a box of peanuts afterward.

Then came Tia's first grade feast, which had more of a multicultural theme.

We tasted a lot of new and interesting things that day.  Some delicious, and some...made me throw up in my mouth a little.  (True story.)

This was the only picture I got from that day. :)

Every morning after I drop the girls off at school, we take the little boy on the left to preschool.  When we first started doing this, neither of these boys really knew what to think of each other.

Now, they are best buddies.  All I hear is giggling, the whole way to school.

For the past couple of months, Ty has been all about Daddy.

As soon as J walks in the door after work, Ty grabs his pants then points downstairs, where the toy blocks are.

When J takes him downstairs, Ty then pats the floor where he would like J to sit, and then hands him block after block, until he builds a tall tower.  This happens every single day.

I think it's adorable.

Here they are sitting on the couch watching sports together.

We accompanied another family to a Christmas Tree Farm, where we helped them choose the perfect tree.   Ours is fake, and already lit, so we had no need for another. 

We had a blast.

 And we also found a deer carcass.

Maybe one day I will devote an entire blog post to our paint balling experience.  

It was an amazing time. 

This is the only picture we have with any relevance to that day.  I had several of these marks on my body.  Surprisingly, of all the places we got hit, Jordan and I both agreed that the upper legs hurt the worst.

Proof that I am domestic. ;)

Lots of holiday baking this month.

We joined friends this week for some gingerbread house making.

The kids prepared a little concert for us before the construction began.

And last night we did a little caroling.  

(Yes, every picture you see of me from now until April will also include my beanie hat ;)  

 

The girls in their new Christmas Eve robes.

And Ty in his new superman pajamas.

A Christmas Eve bedtime story...

And a Christmas Eve prayer.

Can't wait for Christmas Morning!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

The superstar

She clocked in at an unbelievable 29 minutes.  

I am so proud of her.

Since every girl had to have an adult running buddy, I signed up to run with Hayley.  

Before the race, I said "I'm your running buddy, so stick with me, ok?"

"Ok!" she said.

2 seconds after we started, she took off through the mass crowd of runners with her friend, and I didn't see her for the rest of the race.

So I slow jogged/trotted next to another mom who was also ditched by her kid, and we chatted, until she started to tire out.  I tried to motivate her by saying the first mile is always the hardest...but she eventually dropped out of the race and left me solo.

Clearly, motivating is not my forte.

It was hard to feel competitive when I was surrounded by all these cute little girls.  Every time I passed one, I felt a little bad...so I slow jogged/trotted the rest of the way while I struggled to force my headphones to stay inside my tiny earholes. I may have the tiniest ear holes on this planet.

Tonight we attended a work event called the Blue Jeans ball.

Lots of food...lots of dancing.....lots of alcohol.

J asked the bartender what they had to drink that didn't include alcohol.  Next thing I know, he's carrying around a cup of cranberry juice.  :)

He was the perfect date. 

So glad I have a man who isn't afraid to shake it on the dance floor.  

Vanity

We took our girls out shopping for some clothes the other day.  Hayley told me it was the greatest day of her life.

We bought some cute boots and some leggings (as well as a few other things) and they have been feeling like high class fashionistas ever since.  They look adorable.

Turns out that Tia's leggings weren't the best purchase however, as we noticed that they turn everything they TOUCH purple.  This morning we noticed that the insides of her boots were purple...her underwear was purple, her entire legs...purple.  She got in the bath and turned the bathwater purple.  And do you know what else?  The bath tub is now stained. Purple.
We have been all over the internet trying to figure out how to get the stains out.  Acetone, bleach, baking soda and vinegar.....the Magic Eraserrrrr (oooooh), but nothing has worked.  Jan-gyver...this is a plea to you, for help.   Legging stains are not my area of expertise.  Nor did I know such things existed.



Oh the high price of being fashionable... and of all things vain.
You know that one of the curses/side effects of my being pregnant with Ty was my lovely Melasma/face mask/mustache.   I have tried to not be vain, and think positive thoughts like, "It could be a lot worse than this. I could have no arms, and legs.  I could be dead."
But there comes a time when a woman has had enough of people staring at her upper lip,  wondering why the heck she doesn't just wax.  I have thought about wearing a sign that says "it's not what you think"  or "hellooo, my eyes are up here," ;)
So, in an attempt to re-feminize my face I recently spent $260 to get it peeled off.


The PCA peel which is what I purchased, is designed to happen in a series of 3.  Erica, my skin care consultant told me that Melasma is the hardest thing to treat because it runs so deep.  There are a lot of layers of skin to get through, so it will take time, and patience.
She lays me on her bed chair, which feels more like a cloud, and plays nature sounds while I close my eyes and slip into my happy place.  She layers my face with some kind of chemical and it burns.  She goes over again and again and it feels like my face is literally on fire.  It hurts so good.
"Just keep applying,"  I say.
"until it falls right off."
She cools my face by waving a chinese fan over it.  20 minutes later I'm done and hand her a $20 tip before walking out the door and praying that all that money didn't just go down the toilet.
She sends me away with several instructions.
"No exercising for a week!"  She said.  "No sweat."   "Stay OUT of the sun"  "Wear sunscreen everyday, all day for the rest of your life."  "Wear hats."

These are very difficult instructions for me to follow.  When I don't exercise I get cranky.  I sweat, I just do.  I LIVE outside in the sun, and I look hilarious in hats.  But I can and will apply sunscreen for the rest of my life, every day all day, if that is what is needed.

So far, there has been no change whatsoever in the hyperpigmentation on my face.  But even if there was, I have been told it would only be temporary.  If I remain on birth control pills, the hormones will act to increase the hyperpigmentation....If I get PREGnant, that stache is coming right back...possibly with a beard.  One day out in the sun will ruin everything that has been done to counteract the effects of these hormones.  Which leaves me the option of being a hermit in a dark cave, and practicing 100% abstinence.  (Please, like I could EVER live in a dark cave)  ;).

No fun...no sun...no more children...lots of $ spent...stressing, obsessing.
The high price of vanity.  I'm starting to conclude that in this case it may just not be worth it.
I have to teach myself that it is a mark to be proud of, as it represents my body growing the most adorable baby boy there ever was.  Right?

Meh.  I have one peel left and am requesting a bottle of bleaching cream for Christmas.....then maybe if THAT doesn't work I will go with that whole "I'm proud of my baby creating mustache" thing.  ;)

Cold days

One reason I love the fall:  Lots of snugglin' time with this guy.

He lets me put my freezing feet all over his legs at night and doesn't even complain. (That's not to say he doesn't squeal like a girl when he first feels how cold they are ;)

Today he was cozy in his sleeping bag sitting on the couch when I so intrusively unzipped the bag and invited myself in.  And there I stayed for hours while we napped and the girls watched Dining with the Dean on the computer.   Now if that isn't a perfect Sunday evening....

Ty took his first trip to nursery today.  J was a little hesitant to let him go, but Ty had NO problem being left by himself with all of the toys.  J came and got me out of primary so we could spy on the little boy through the window on the nursery door.  When I got there, he was trying to take a toy away from a little girl.  How adorable is that?  ;)

By the second half of nursery he was exhausted which caused him to have a pretty major breakdown.  Daddy happily came to his rescue.

Tia came home from school the other day so giddy.  She threw her bag down and said "Mom guess what!   Mom!! Today Vincent stood by me in line AND when it was time to go, he waved at me!!"

Hayley responded by saying "She got the boy!"

There were lots of smiles, and giggling, and jumping up and down after that.  It was a sweet moment in her life.   But seriously if this kid lays a finger on my little girl, so help me.......(and her father)...

Hayley is loving Girls on the Run, and is getting ready to run a 5k with her team (and I) in a couple of weekends.  She is also a member of a Lego League, and is really enjoying all of her time spent with friends.  I love the phase of life my kids are in right now.  So easily excited about everything...so eager to learn, so proud of their little accomplishments...self confident and outgoing. I hope they will carry those qualities with them throughout their teenage years.

Anyway, just wanted to do a quick update.  It's time for me to go warm my cold feet ;)

P.S.  One of these days, I will actually put pictures of our family in that empty frame hanging on our wall.  Right now it's a space filler.