Fun and Karaoke

So we had a little bit of fun last night. We went out with Doug's brothers and their wives - left all the kids with Grandy and Granddad. This has been a tradition for a number of years where the "Siblings" go out.

Deb and Roy were our organizers for this trip and we headed to Belvedere Square. We hit up Ryan's Daughter for pre-dinner drinks then over to Taste for a delicious dinner. After that we went to a Tavern in Parkville for Sunday Night Karaoke. Oh goodness, was that a LOT of fun! Doug and I sang "Friends in Low Places". Debi and Roy were VERY brave and each did a song by themselves and then Mark and Stacie did AC/DC Back in Black.

We are feeling affects of too much alcohol but still laughing about the singing, great conversations, waiter, etc.

I have video but am NOT going to show any of it... just know it was worth the Flip just for this video.

Princess Play

The Craig Girls went out to lunch today at CPK. We had a WONDERFULLY drama free outing. Aubrey and Anna played for most of the lunch with the following:

And before we went to lunch I took this...

And the reason this is better than the Treo (ZOOM girl) is 1) quality and 2) ability to edit and upload and create movies with different clips. The first video is 2 different clips about 7 minutes apart and took me ZERO time to do...

More Pictures of the Holiday and Resolutions

So last we saw the Craig Clan in pre Church activities. From here forward is known as "Kitty Jaquar" Period in our lives.

And it begins. Nanny B made quite the impression with these gifts!
Dinosaurs!
Kitty Cat Jaquar on the move.
Teddy Bear Cinnamon Swirl Bread - my cousin made this and sent it to us - AWESOME.
Christmas Morning, gifts opened, Aubrey has moved her chair from the living room to the family room and is SITTING on her most of her toys, "so my sista doesn't get them".

And Christmas Day at Grandy's... notice the cat in the background.

Most of Christmas morning and Christmas day were videotaped... so here ends this round of pictures :)

Last night we did Christmas with the New Hampshire Craigs and had LOTS of fun! We also went to get the Picture People shot of the 6 grandkids and it was "interesting". Molly screamed the whole time. I think it was great even with the moving Molly!

Sunshine asked us what our favorite gifts were but I want to know what were your KIDS favorite gifts??? Aubrey - can you guess? Yes Kitty Cat Jaquar costume and her Melissa and Doug Dress up ballerina (magnetic). Molly - her radio flyer retro rocket and anything her sister got. Doug - surface temperature laser thing.

New Year's Resolutions

Do you make them? Do you keep them? What do you want to do better/different/same this year?

Personal Resolutions:

• 
  
  Continue to excercise 2-4 times a week


• 
  
  Continue to eat well


• 
  
  Say "YES" more often to "mommy will you play with me"


• 
  
  Keep Work at work

Family Resolutions:

• Go to church with the girls at least once a month (YES, we will try to go more...)


• Make dinners together more often


• PLAY more games (thank you santa for candy land)


• Continue to limit TV and movies.

I like Becky's idea that we take the BLOG365 idea and interpret it as we will... I am still on the fence on what I will do.

So if that post made any sense, you are a better woman than I.

You Should Write That Down

Someone told me today that, "You should write that down so you have that memory forever". Well, HA, I blog and I blog with pictures and now VIDEO.

Too bad I can't remember what we were talking about that I should have written down.

Got my Flip today. Freaking awesome. Love it. L.O.V.E. IT. Will post video tomorrow :) We have a very nice Sony Digital Video Camera that we got when we were pregnant with Aubrey. Doug is the official videographer of our lives. He edits, makes movies, etc. I have been using my cell phone to capture "smaller" moments and this Flip will let me do more stuff and still carry it around in my purse.

Pictures from Christmas Eve:

Getting to Nanny's. She has a new toy all set up and ready to play!
Opening Arley's New Train.
Doug was VERY happy with his new game.
Trying to get dressed up shots... so sweet!
Aubrey

Trying to get a family picture, not so much.

Very cute! Arley with Nanny and G Taw

Aubrey and Pop-pop

Trying to get the 3 grandkids in their matching PJ's.

Molly So Cute

There are more pictures from Christmas Eve and the start of the "Kitty Cat Jacquar" but will have to do those later... sorry :)

Whew! and Challenge

What a whirlwind of family, fun, gifts, and missing naps. We have had a WONDERFUL Christmas. We have pictures and stories and gifts, oh my. I don't know where to start so I will do a bullet list of "stuff" and return later this week with our pictures!

• Christmas Eve Children's Service - 2nd and 3rd graders putting on the Christmas pageant - Aubrey running to the front of the church yelling, "I WANT TO SEE MARY". Yeah, fun.


• Aubrey, how was church - "I didn't like it, you wouldn't let me go see Mary and Joseph".


• The tutu that plays music when you dance, none of my family will ever forget the nutcracker music


• Trying to get pictures of the 3 grandkids in their matching PJ's.


• Tears from good memories wrapped up as a gift


• When asking Aubrey if she wants to open presents, "I do, I do, I just really do"


• Kitty Cat Jaquar Aubrey


• Great Food


• SANTA CAME! And proved that he does not TAKE your toys.


• Aubrey sitting on all her toys so her sister couldn't get them


• Molly jumping on her zebra and going to town.


• Did I mention Kitty Cat Jaquar Aubrey?

OK, started this at least 2 days ago... haven't gotten any further :)

Got an email about NaBloPoMo challenge for all of 2008 - yup Blog 365 baby... you get one day off, Feb 29th :) http://blog365.ning.com/

Haven't had a moment to blog this week it feels like. Being on "vacation" with the kids home leaves ZERO time.

But finally uploaded pictures and now need to organize them and post them. And tell our Christmas stories. And clean the house. And excercise. And clean out my closet. And put away wrapping paper. And take down the tree. And visit with family in town over the weekend. And try to get a Picture People shot of all 6 grandchildren. And grocery shop. And I really need to get the Flip Ultra Video Cam. And Doug is working all weekend. And OMG I am going to freak out. Bye.

Best Day

5:50 am - cuddled with hubby and talked about the day
6:05 am - got up made coffee, blueberry muffins, cleaned kitchen, checked email
6:30 am - both girls awake, dressed (daddy helped)
6:45 am - breakfast with family
7:15 am - in car with girls on our way to school
8:00am - in car on my way to a quiet house
9:00am - after laundry and list making, on the way to run errands
9:25am - stop at the Mac to get a protein shake and say hi to my trainers
10:00am - Kohls, got bras and other 'stuff'
10:30am - Borders, got books other 'stuff'
11:00 am - Wegmans - INSANELY crowded with customers and shelve stockers (OK, maybe I ran into Chico's and Ann Taylor Loft..)
11:30 am - eyebrows, pedicure
12:30pm - car unloaded, groceries away, commence lunch and finish wrapping a couple of things, finish folding and putting away laundry
1:30 pm - laying on bed finishing up GREAT BOOK.
3:00 pm - Got Kids

Molly is taking a late afternoon nap, Aubrey is having some quiet time, Doug is on his way home and then we are headed to their school christmas party which should be a VERY fun time! I can't wait to see the "show" :)

Last Night's Drama and Clarification

**OK, I have gotten a number of phone calls from loved ones... for the record... I DID NOT tell Aubrey I killed her chocolate pony. I was thinking it but did not SAY it to her.**

Last night, 11:38 pm, Aubrey is crying. I go into her room and she is asleep but crying. I ask her what is wrong, and with her eyes closed and still crying she says, "too many dragons, too MANY DRAGONS, there are too many dragons" desperately.

Um, yeah. So I give her a cuddle, brush back her hair, put on a cover, and tell her I love her. She calms down and rolls over and I go back to bed.

Trivial vs Significant Life Altering Issue

Last night Aubrey and I watched Wizard of Oz before bed (do not judge me). We sat together and it was very nice. After the movie she asked if she could bring a toy up. I said yes and I usually QUALIFY - pick one. I did not do that. So Aubrey ended up handing me a parrott and asking me to carry it because, "it is so very heavy mommy". Fine, but then she loaded her arms up with 2 teddy bears and 2 stuffed horses and a small pony. I laughed and told her if she could get that stuff up stairs it was fine with me.

Doug called Aubrey into his office to give him a hug and a kiss. And Doug left the office holding 2 teddy bears and 2 horses. He carried them upstairs for Aubrey - gotta give that girl props for thinking!

Lately Aubrey has been waking up one or two times during the night. She walks to her doorway where there is a latched baby gate. She whispers, "mama" REPEATEDLY. I jump up thinking my big girl daughter probably needs to pee.

But, no. That isn't the issue.

It seems Aubrey can not sleep because the hairs on her new horse are not laying exactly the way they should. Or that the blanket that is covering her is not the blanket she now needs. Or that her zebra that she lost a month ago isn't with her. Or that she decided she doesn't like her pj's and has stripped them off and is cold. At 2:15 am.

So last night at 2:15 am I hear "mama" REPEATEDLY, I jump up. And can you guess what the issue is. But you would be wrong, 'cause it isn't that there are too many animals. It is that her covers are touching her and she doesn't like that specific cover. So I remove the offending cover, I put the approved cover on her. I go to bed.

At 4:45 am I hear "mama" REPEATEDLY, I jump up. And yup, "mama, I can't sleep because these animals are in my way". I toss a HUGE pile of animals (see note above about what she brought and consider that in her bed already was a snuggle puppy, 2 reindeer, a different horse...) on the floor whereby my daughter starts crying because she NEEDS her pony. I pull up a pony, NO not that pony, Chocolate Kiss pony. This is the pony we did not bring up, the one that has to have its hair laying nicely... I tell Aubrey I killed that pony and let the wicked witch of the west give it to her wicked flying monkeys and I go back to bed.

Until my alarm goes off at 5:05.

The Dash, The Cough, The Diet

1. Watch This: http://www.dashpoemmovie.com/
2. Send how to manage a cough in a 16 month old... email or comment
3. 2 lbs left to Goal - WOO HOO :)

Absense

I can't explain excactly why I haven't been blogging. Been a bit tired. Been a bit preoccupied with work, life, kids, etc. Same as all of you. My words have not been spilling. They have not even been being formed, it is blankness; it is black; it is still. And stillness is not something I come to easily so I am enjoying it.

So I will enjoy the stillness and read what is out there and post when I can - if I can.

I am on vactation starting in a week for 10 days and I am SURE that the craziness that is this house when all 4 of us are home will kill any stillness I have.

Big Shoes

Christmas Meme

I was tagged by Kelly.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both depending on the gift, some paper, some bags, some boxes.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Real!

3. When do you put up the tree?
Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving

4.When do you take the tree down?
New Years Weekend we un-decorate

5. Do you like eggnog?
No, lactose intolerant

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Hmmmmm, my memory is NOT good. I remember a great leather bomber jacket, my first portable CD player and first CD (Achtung Baby) and an Apple 2GS. Probably the Apple 2 GS, that was cool!

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, one beautiful fancy one from Lenox, one wooden one that I LOVE, and 2 "toy" ones.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Myself

9. Hardest person to buy for?
The men in my life-- brother-in-laws, dad, father-in-law, and Doug.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can't think of anything really horrible.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Mail - didn't even know I could E-MAIL... something to consider :)

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
I don't really have one. I have a favorite Eater movie, but not Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Labor Day

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds it could incriminate me.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
COOKIES

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear and colored this year. Usually just the white though.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Nothing But A Child - I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME I HEAR IT

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We will always wake up in our house on Christmas morning. My family Christmas Eve, Doug's family Christmas Day.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Nope, but can try - You know Dancer and Prancer and SOMETHING and Vixen and Commet and Cupid and Donor and Blitzen,

20. Angel on the tree top, or a star?
Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Open PJ's Christmas Even, everything else Christmas Morning - except for stuff to and from whatever family we are with.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
NOTHING

23. What I love most about Christmas?
Seeing the excitement and magic through my daughters eyes!

24. Church early or late Christmas Eve (midnight or 7pm service?) or not at all?

EARLY service!

25 Have you ever NOT burned yourself when doing the candle thing at church?

Nope, burn myself or my pants EVERY SINGLE YEAR!

I tag Anne, Jen, Lydia, Jess, and anyone else that reads this :)

NOTE: I copied the post from Kelly, pasted it in to Google Docs so it kept all the formatting, and then published from there... that way I didn't have to fight anything :)

Naysayers - HA

Just a quick note that that "Weird" recipe with Velveeta and chocolate is freaking unbelievable. And SO easy, but REALLY messy. I thought it was weird too when I heard her say the ingredients... but really it is 2, yes 2 boxes of confectioners sugar with a thickening agent... the cheese and butter. Um, yeah, YUMMMMMY. I did it without nuts... and I didn't roll it into balls, I put it in a pan...

I love the internet

I was reading this and clicked on this where I found this which I had first heard about from here.

While on the Flawed but Authentic Site I clicked here and then here where I could NOT resist buying this. All within about 5 minutes.

And tonight I was putting together my holiday baking list and instead of searching through cook books I was able to find and put together all my recipes in under 10 minutes. Granted I will probably only get to half BUT my intentions are good...

So here is my list:
Chocolate Cheese Fudge
Paula Deen - Ellen Show from Friday
RECIPE
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, sliced
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts
Two 16-ounce packages confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1. Melt cheese and butter together over medium heat in saucepan.
2. Remove from heat, add vanilla and nuts.
3. Sift together sugar and cocoa in large bowl. Add cheese mixture. Use hands for final mixing!
4. Remove candy from bowl with hands and roll into balls. Add skewers.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Zucchini Bread IV

Submitted by: KristenRated: 5 out of 5 by 411 members
Prep Time: 15 MinutesCook Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 25 MinutesYields: 24 servings
"You'll get two loaves of classic zucchini bread, sweet and cinnamon-spicy. This is a definite crowd-pleaser."
INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.
This recipe appears in the Allrecipes "Tried & True Favorites" cookbook. Buy it online at http://www.shopallrecipes.com/


Holiday Pumpkin Bread

Submitted by: Denise LaPonsieRated: 5 out of 5 by 40 members
Prep Time: 10 MinutesCook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 10 MinutesYields: 36 servings
"A fragrant array of spices -cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice -accent this moist pumpkin-nut bread peppered with juicy raisins. The generous recipe makes three loaves, so plan on giving some away to friends and family."
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
puree
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7 x 3 inch loaf pans.
2.
Mix oil, sugar, and eggs together in a large bowl. Mix in pumpkin puree and water. Stir together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add to the pumpkin mixture, and mix until just combined. Stir in nuts and raisins. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3.
Bake for 1 hour. Cool on wire racks.


ICEBOX COOKIES

1 c. butter2 c. brown sugar, packed2 eggs, unbeaten1 tsp. vanilla3 c. flour1 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. baking soda1 c. chopped nuts
Mix all ingredients together. Roll into 1 1/2 inch rolls with waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Dough can be prepared in advance and frozen until needed.

Russian Tea Cakes I

Submitted by: OdetteRated: 5 out of 5 by 292 members
Prep Time: 20 MinutesCook Time: 12 Minutes
Ready In: 35 MinutesYields: 36 servings
"This is a family recipe that's been made at Christmas time by at least 4 generations. This year will be the first for number 5!!! 'Bubba' brought it with her when she came from Lithuania. I pass it on in the true spirit of this season!"
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons confectioners'
sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for
decoration
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.
In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. I also like to roll mine in the sugar a second time.

Mango Chutney - UPDATED - I am doing this one instead cause there are pictures on HOW to do this... just click this sentence :)

Submitted by: Shirley CrowleyRated: 4 out of 5 by 23 members
Prep Time: 10 MinutesCook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 40 MinutesYields: 240 servings
"Mangos simmered with raisins, ginger, onion, garlic and lots of spices like cinnamon and cloves. Get those jars ready!"
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups distilled white vinegar
6 cups white sugar
6 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
5 small red hot chile peppers,
seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup fresh ginger root,
chopped
16 cups sliced, semi-ripe
mangos
1/2 cup sliced almonds
(optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1.
In a large saucepan combine vinegar, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, chile peppers and salt. Bring to a boil; boil for 1/2 hour.
2.
Stir in onions, garlic, golden raisins, raisins and ginger and boil for another 1/2 hour.
3.
Stir in mangos (and almonds if using), reduce heat to low and simmer for 1/2 hour. Pour mixture into sterilized jars, to 1/2 inch below lid level, and seal.

Plus:
Family Recipe Sugar Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies (I use the recipe on the container)
Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

Applewood Farms, a Pictorial

On the Mend

So I have lost the will to blog or at least the inspiration to even attempt to be funny or interesting or spellcheck.

I feel surprising well after sleeping all. day. Friday. All. Day. Saturday the kids were with Grandy and Grandad (THANK YOU!) and I was worn out but up and about. I wrapped all the presents in the house, including stocking gifts. That took over 3 hours. With my darling husband doing all the lifting. In our house Santa Clause uses special wrapping paper for each of the girls - that paper is never used again anywhere and never seen by mere mortals.

I also finished a blanket I started 2 years ago - WOO HOO for me. I sat in the leather recliner and knitted. We watched the DUMBEST movie Catch and Release with Jennifer Garner. While I enjoyed it, it was not very good. Then we watched some Tivo'd shows - Las Vegas and Psych and then I went to bed.

Aubrey woke up at 3am calling for me so I got her settled down and covered up with ONE BLANKET ONLY. Couldn't go back to sleep so came down and cleaned up the kitchen, took out the trash, checked email. Went back to bed at 5am. Crashed until 7 and now am sitting enjoying a cup of coffee as Aubrey plays nicely with her horsies and Molly naps.

Anyway, nothing inspiring but it is crazy weird to have been in the house all day yesterday with the kids not there for 11 hours. It was toooo quiet but I did need the rest and enjoyed getting a few things done. My parents are heading up today to taked the kids to Applewood Farms - which looks amazing. I am just hoping the weather holds!

Happy Friday

Just a quick note to say I am thinking about you blogging world. I am awake, my "procedure" went well. The doc explained everything to my husband which means I got told, "it went well". Hopefully this resolves everything and this is the end of it. And I just realized since I didn't post the details you guys have NO idea what I am talking about... sorry.

Can I just say that twilight anesthesia rocks? Wow. Anyway, I just got up from a 3 hour nap and are heading back for more sleepy time.

Catch you on the flip side.

Random Fun Stuff

Random Time Wasting Fun Links

• Free Rice: Vocabulary and Feed the Hungry - ADDICTIVE
• How addicted to blogging are you? Me 75%
• ElfYourself.com - seriosly hilarious. Here is my family elfed http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1191017969
• Google Documents - easier to format, added formatting (like strikeouts, etc)
• Contest - ends today, is easy :) Teeny Manolo is the site!
• Blogoversary - Track Yours!

Yeah, if you don't relate to this, you aren't married to a man :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXLHWmjA5IE

I can not figure out how to embed video from YouTube - so if you know how, bring on the secrets.

Others to come but with the school delays I wanted to get this posted in case you were bored at home :)

Snow

I love the first snow of the season. I feel like a little kid, giddy with the excitement and the beauty and the expectation that snow brings with it. Something fun or new always comes with that first snow - the way the world looks, the promise of hot chocolate or extra cuddles and books, or sleeping in and staying in comfy pajamas all day.

Maybe spending a lot of my childhood in the south contributes to the excitement, but it is palpable in me.

Now we live in the "country", we live in an area that has it's own name during the winter season and if the County has a 2 hour delay our "zone" is closed. We have a steep driveway. We have a very long driveway. And even though the driveway poses issues I still get excited when they call for snow.

Today we were to get about an inch of snow. We had 5 by the time we got home at 3pm, and it is still snowing.

I left my car at our friends house and Doug picked the girls and I up (he has the 4WD). And even in the 4WD, we almost ran into the ravine. We had to leave the car about a quarter of the way up the driveway and HIKE in the snow with the girls. Aubrey was a TROOPER! Even in NON-snow shoes she made it up and wanted to stay outside. It really was beautiful.

We got inside and the girls and I made a gingerbread house - or tried to anyway, we had soup and grilled cheese for dinner, we had a fire going, we read Christmas books and we had a drama free bedtime routine!

You can see our footsteps and this is not even HALF!

16 and 20 Not Necessary

My daughter Aubrey is quite interesting in that she does not like to perform AT ALL and will not do something if asked (like ABC's or count or sing). BUT she likes to correct me. So if I start off singing something wrong or saying something wrong she will GLADLY jump in and do it the "correct" way.

I was counting to 5 on the way home last night, for Molly's benefit as she likes to count along (un, oo, ee, or, i). Aubrey jumped in and said, "Not that way mommy, this way" and proceeded to count to 30. Great. Except that she skips 16 and 20. And this is something she has been doing for MONTHS, skipping those 2 numbers. So I try to count with her and add those in. No going. She stops counting, yells at me, and continues HER way. I try to explain that 16 and 20 WERE part of the 1-30 crowd. She wasn't buying it and continued it her way.

So seriously I was having a discussion with my 3 year old and could not get through to her that 16 and 20 were real numbers. It. was. completely. absurd.

So I gave up and I believe Aubrey will someday go before the scientific community with an ironclad argument about how the number system as we know it needs to be modified to exclude 16 and 20, and I am POSITIVE that some part of her argument will involve Chotty.

Holiday Traditions

Every year we add things to our holiday traditions. It started out with things that Doug and I took from our childhoods but as we grow as a family what is important to us is highlighted in the things we focus on and repeat every year. It is so interesting and fun to watch the dynamics of Doug and our girls as they interact with the train and as Doug makes a point to watch holiday classics each night with Aubrey.

We do not do a lot of TV in this house, so having a special 30 minutes of TV built up by daddy is VERY exciting. Last night it was Rudolph. Tonight it will be Frosty.

Other things we do:

• church, remembering to talk about the reason for the season - Baby Jesus's Birthday
• Oranges and peanuts in our stockings
• train table
• keeping pictures from our christmas cards each year and bringing them out to see how everyone has changed
• reading LOTS of christmas books
• singing christmas carrolls
• cutting down our tree
• decorating our tree
• baking cookies and breads
• making a Gingerbread house - from a kit, DUH
• Advent calendars together
• watching holiday classics
• christmas eve dinner at my parents
• christmas day at Doug's parents

And I heard this one last night that I want to add! Making oatmeal with lots of glitter, put it outside so the reindeer have a snack and they can see the sparkles from WAY up high and come eat it and maybe even "drop" one of their bells for us to find.

I am sure there are lots of things I am forgetting but what are some traditions in your house?

**Update regarding the orange in the stocking, I did a quick search and found this:

The gold Nicholas threw to provide the dowry money is often shown as gold balls. These are symbolized by oranges or even apples. So the orange in the toe of the stocking is a reminder of Nicholas' gift.

and this:

There also the other tradition connected with Christmas Stockings. People use to put an orange (or even an apple) in the toe of the Christmas Stocking as a reminder of Nicholas’ dowry gift. The gold Nicholas threw into the maiden’s room is often shown as gold balls. The oranges in stockings symbolizes that great gift of Saint Nicholas.

Posting for Postings Sake?

I totally miss the daily posting of my blogging friends. Know I think of you often and have hit Refresh on Google Reader about 1700 times so far today.

Aubrey had me BELLY laughing last night as we were laying together. She was singing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" but instead of "you would even say it glows" she says, "you would even say it BLOWS". EVERY SINGLE TIME. I tried to correct her but she said, "it not glow, it BLOWS mommy". So she kept singing it over and over and I kept laughing harder, so she was laughing and it was just pure joy and pure fun.

There has been some big family news on both sides of my family lately! It is very exciting.

• My niece Sarah got her first college acceptance letter to MICHIGAN. She has not made her decision but it is VERY exciting that she is already hearing positive news!
• My other niece Anna, 5, is READING! Amazing.
• My cousin Cindy is pregant with her first child and due in May! I can't wait until Dec 18 to see if it is a little girl and I give her all my clothes :)
• Her sister, Heather is ENGAGED! WOO HOO! I just found out this morning. His name is Todd which gets very confusing. See, I am married to a Doug. My sister is married to a Doug - so we call him "The Other Doug" or TOD. But now there is a Todd, so do we call him "The Other TODD" or TOT? That's not fair... but funny.

Anywho, wish you all were posting. Dreaming of NaBloMoPo next year :)

Pretzel Goldfish

Doug and I were standing in the kitchen discussing dinner. Molly and Aubrey woke up from 3 hour naps just a little bit ago and had a snack and we had just finished a craft project. Daddy put on Lady and the Tramp for Aubrey.

Molly walked into the kitchen, opened the "Junk Food" drawer, pulled out the bag of Pretzel Goldfish.

Carried it into the family room

Sat down on the floor

Proceeded to carefully unwrap the top and open the bag

And began eating the goldfish while watching the movie.

Doug and I watched the entire thing and were busting out laughing. My 16 month old- who pretends she doesn't talk or understand the rules- sure knows a lot more than she is letting on. Stinker Belly Winker.

Stinker Belly Winker
So, I picked up these foam stickers from Michael's and I got white boxes to "wrap" presents. Aubrey and I decorated the boxes today.
Aubrey and her new friend Rudolph, and her sisters new friend "Clarice".

Aubrey has been walking around all evening with them both. And she totally dressed herself and we even went to the mall with her in this outfit - dress top is green velvet, dress bottom is the white fluffy stuff, and the pink polka dot tights. Lovely.

Max Has Spirit, How 'Bout You?

Go Navy Beat Army!

I am watching the game and Navy is taking over with AUTORITY! Yeah, they are.

Reminds of this picture I took on the morning of Army Navy Game in 2004.

14 pts in 1:50. Yeah, AUTHORITY.

And of course Random Randomness:

1) My daughter's Christmas list is not easy this year. Her number one request is "Hugs from Santa's Reindeer". Her second request is "Roly Toly's, Pink ones, so I can play with the roly toly's".

So I asked some questions... what is a roly toly, "you jump on it and then you bounce in it", where did you see a roly toly, "At Chotty's House, she has lots of them". I stopped asking questions.

My husband has been doing some research and talking to friends. It is illegal to own reindeer in Maryland - but in Pennsylvania it is not. He asked a friend of ours that lives in PA and there is a lawyer up there that has 4 reindeer. We are working with him to get more details and see how close we can get to these reindeer. In the mean time I ordered a book and stuffed reindeer that will be in the middle of her floor Christmas morning with a note from Santa that he couldn't wake her up and they had a strict time table they had to adhere to.

2) Build a Bear - man are they good. We went for Aubrey's 3rd birthday party. We signed up for "stuff for stuff". They recently sent me 20 Bear bucks. Then a week later I got a 5 dollar coupon and a flyer about their new "limited time" Reindeer stuffed toy. So YEAH, duh, we are going tomorrow. And I will probably spend more than my 25 in coupons... I am a sucker. I have fallen for their trap... I will spend money, they send coupons and "earned bear dollars", so I go to use them and earn more and spend more. It is a vicious cycle. Seriously.

3) If you guys think I am on the ball you need to meet Lori-Anne and my sister in law Debi. We stopped by Debi's today, as requested, and there were advent gifts for the girls but looking around her house she has TONS of gifts already wrapped... I haven't really done the whole wrapping thing yet. Aubrey opened one of the books from Aunt Debi and exclaimed, "Oh, it's GORGEOUS"

4) Grandy and Granddad kept Molly for us this morning while Aubrey and I did dance and swim lessons and Doug worked. We stopped by for lunch and Aubrey said the following to Grandy, "Grandy, if you mind, can I wear this necklace home?"

Just 'Cause

Good Morning! And depending when you read this, Good Afternoon and Good Night.

My husband thinks I am on edge so his statement this morning was, "I am going to keep pushing because you are close to the edge and it shouldn't take much to get you to explode". Thanks baby! Too bad I am not close to the edge and just totally laughing at his futile attempts to goad me.

Kids woke up at 7am. I was DEAD asleep and quite shocked by both events. But I have already made breakfast (um Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, count, right?), coffee, unloaded dishwasher, loaded dishwasher, booted my laptop, and got on here.

I picked up a Penguin and a Santa mug with lids for Doug and I for the holidays to drink our coffee and Aubrey asked this morning, "Mamma, when I grow can I have coffee in a Penguin Mug with coffee, please?" I said, "Sure, when you are 21". I need to start keeping that list about when she can do what. Like I am pretty sure I told Aubrey she could have gum when she was 15. Drive when she was 20. Coffee when she was 25 (but odviously coffee in a penguin cup when 21). Wear a bra when she is 15.

We started our advent calendars today! I am hoping this will be a step in stopping the "Is it Christmas today" questions... but probably not.

This is from the Blessings Journal:
"Blessings are ignored in the hustle of the season,
So pause each day to acknowledge the reason
And jot down a blessing that you feel is best.
On Christmas share how you are been truly blessed."

"Count your blessings, name them one by one.
Count your blessings see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."

Check out the sidebar for a running list...

Testing Emailing a Blog Post

Huh, this would be cool if it worked.

We Did It!

We did , we did it, we did it YAY
Lo hicimos
We did it, We did it,YAY

We joined NaBlaPo
for the entire month
Yeah we did it, we did it, we did it YAY

We posted on our blogs
And we made funny notes
Yeah we did it, we did it, we did it YAY

We made it all 30 days
And we all are tired
Yeah we did it, we did it, we did it YAY

Ahhhhhhhh, it feels good.

Pressure, Waffles, and Girl Stuff

I will be really glad when NaBloPoMo is over, the pressure of wondering if I posted or not, being creative every day... I am tired. Oh, wait tomorrow is the last day... that was easy.

I have to have a minor procedure done on Friday Dec 7. No big deal, very girl related but it is annoying as I now can not run in the 5K I was signed up for - my first in 5 years. Outpatient thing at GBMC, they put me under "twilight sleep". Blah. If you want the girly details I will be happy to share... just email me :) If you need my email address let me know that to.

Apparently once you indent you can never go back. I am tired of fighting Blogger. I may have to try Google Documents or whatever that is...

Also, anyone tried the Mobile Blogging. I did but it posted to some random other blog so haven't quite gotten that down yet.
Most of the content above was written after the below but due to the formatting issue was cut and paste above.

LA informed me last night that Aubrey told HER that Chotty and Kalli are sisters and that Kalli is the younger sister and doesn't listen. Hmmmmmm.

Doug made waffles for breakfast this morning. Molly goes crazy for them. Aubrey didn't want the syrup that was on the table so I had Doug get the new bottle out and opened it. I didn't want to fight about which sugary substance she put in her mouth with her wonderful waffles. There were already discussions regarding her shirt, her pants, and I knew there would be discussions about shoes, socks, coat... so why fight about opening the maple syrup before the old one was done???

And as a side note, Aubrey did choose her shirt and pants and does not
match. I got new winter hats from LL Bean and had her open the package so she was VERY excited and wore her hat and was soexcited I was able to get her coat on her and zipped before she realized it.

Let's Say Thanks

I believe XEROX did this last year, well they are doing it again this year... GO HERE, spend 15 seconds! Say thank you to our troops.


Also, check out Operation Christmas Tree

We participated in Operation Christmas Child. The girls picked out toys and toothbrushes for 2 little girls and we filled 2 shoe boxes! We also pick 2 or 3 "angels" off of a tree at hubby's work for a children in our area that need a little something from Santa.

What can you do this holiday season to make a difference in your community?

Thanks Sonia for spreading sunshine :)

Count Your Blessings

Advent Season is days away. As I was putting up our Christmas decorations I realized we have a lot of advent calendars! We have one that LA made for us that is a board with 25 ornaments hanging on it and there is a small tree that goes with it. I have this in my bay window in the kitchen. We have the paper ones we got last year, and we have a beautiful one that my Nana made, it is like a hanging quilt with beautiful ornaments around the edge that you bring to the middle (hard to explain, but beautiful).

I recieved in the mail yesterday, from my Nana, a piece of paper. It is an Advent Calendar where for each day of the Advent season you count your blessings and add what you are thankful/grateful for.

What a GREAT IDEA! We will defintely be doing that with Aubrey this season and I thought I would do it here in some way... either sidebar or start each post in December with it. Haven't thought it all the way through.

**I also saw this super cute craft that Aubrey and I MIGHT have to try. It is a button tree.

**I did stop the Silly Songs because I was all tapped out. What I have posted is changed on a daily basis - the words, the names, etc. So I would just be repeating myself and I do that a lot anyway.

**I had not been to the gym in 2 weeks, went this morning and felt great, a little sore but great. I missed you, gym. I will be back on Friday morning!

Another new little thing I will be starting is Aubrey Land. Aubrey has an EXTREMELY active imagination. And she has not ONE, not TWO, but THREE imaginary friends. They have names, families, stories, etc. They are interesting and funny and creative. I couldn't stand it if I forgot about it as she grows. So here is an introduction to the characters... and again I haven't decided if this will be a sidebar thing or just random post thing:

• Chotty - her first imaginary friend and the name went through many permutations before settling here. She is about 6 years old, according to Aubrey. Has lived in New York City and the shot tower in Baltimore, her mommy ran away because she was not a good listener (I dealt with this swifly), and she can sometimes be a bear or a pink puppy. When she is in her girl form and bear form she can drive and Aubrey set me straight that she can't drive when she is a puppy because that is just silly. Chotty recently moved away and Aubrey will need to use her vacation time to go visit her (seriously, this is what she said). But Chotty came back and had turkey with us for the holiday.
• Kalli - this is the 2nd friend and she usually plays the bad witch or mean girl part. She steals toys and is not nice. She is not in every story like Chotty. But she does have a part in many storylines
• Winslow - this is a monster that lives under Aubrey's bed. He is not nice. He steals toys and stuffed animals from lots of little "gurls and boys" beds. And he kills mice and he will kill you to if you look at him. He has started to come out more and more and I am hoping to turn him into a fuzzy pink monster who isn't stealing so much as helping to clean up at night.

So I will keep the stories coming so I have historical data to refer back to.

**Molly's temper is flaring again and she has some new teeth coming in and this is leading to biting... so any tips or tricks in that arena are appreciated. I will be ordering/looking for the book "Teeth are not for biting".

Purse Part 2

It was suggested that I post a picture of this monstrosity that is my purse. So this morning as I was about to clean it out I took a picture when emptied, when cleaned, when filled and zipped up.

And to clarify - the monstrosity is what was IN IT not the purse itself. The purse itself I have an unnatural attachment to. If I had to choose between dropping a child or this purse I would have to think abuot that and the fact that children heal REALLY fast where as the leather, not so much.

The purse was a gift from my mother and my husband for my birthday. The purse is amazing. The purse is an all season purse, all event purse, always there purse. This purse can carry my laptop if I need to, it has been a diaper bag, lunch bag, a beach bag, a brief case and has been everywhere with me this year and for many many many many many more years to come. I love my purse.













When I am in "compose" mode this lines up perfectly and when I hit preview it does not... the intent was 3 pictures on the left, content on the right. I trust you to give me credit for trying.

Contents of Busy Moms Purse

I am pretty sure that the contents of my purse say a lot about me and as I searched for change today I realized it has gotten out of control and I need an intervention.

• 2 Small bags of peanutes
• Neutrgena Lip Stuff
• a beaded necklace that Molly was wearing
• Loose M&M's everywhere
• The Wizard of Oz DVD
• 2 yellow envelopes - one with christmas receipts and one with coupons
• my wallet - open and most of the contents dumped
• a brush
• motrin
• nail polish
• nail polish remover pads
• a Venus Gillette Razor (huh?!?)
• Crayones
• 5 pens
• Tide To Go Pen
• eyeglass cleaner cloth thing
• hand cream
• hand sanitizer
• matches
• a pad of paper (small/cute)
• paystub
• old broken watch
• old lipstick
• tons of loose change
• lansinoh wipes sample
• One size 4 diaper (molly is in size 5)
• sunglasses
• my old wallet
• ipod
• ipod arm holder
• earbuds
• 5 lists from last week
• 2 prescriptions I need to get filled for updated vitamins for the girls
• a recipe for crab dip
• Molly's 15 month stats the nurse wrote down for me
• a knitting pattern
• a childs winter hat (probably mine - the child, I mean)
• business cards loose
• business cards in the business card case

So, what's in your wallet/purse that is weird?

Xmas Preparedness Pictorial View

This was the best of about 40 that Doug took of the 3 of us...
Finding the perfect spot to start searching for the perfect tree!
I think they found it! Aubrey gave it a hug and a kiss.
Aubrey is helping Daddy chop it down

And now to the house decorations...

Craigafeller Center is complete!
The mantle
The outside... lights, blow up glbe, Christmas Light Up Frog... we got it all.

So the house is done, including the lights. The tree is up - it is not decorated yet but will be in the next week. It is a PERFECT tree, it is beautiful!! Did I mention perfect? Doug even got the lights up - and while on the roof, cleaned the gutters. So a very busy day. But a very fun day!

Doug and I were whining that we had JUST gotten the house in semi-decent shape and now it is totally out of whack again to make way for the train table, the tree, etc. Kinda funny!