Go ahead, make fun of me...

or join us in the Christmas spirit. Since Great Granma is here, I thought we might as well decorate the Christmas tree while she's here... and then I got carried away and put out all of our Christmas decorations, hung our wreaths, and put out our stockings:) I know it's early... but Christmas is a huge hit with the kids, so we're going to milk it for all it's worth this year:)

He's got personality...

Today, Chris had a program at preschool... It was a little Pow-Wow... He walked into the auditorium sooo cute...

Although he was the only one using his necklace as a sling, and shouting out, "Look, I've got a broken arm."

He was so cute...

When the Pow Wow first started, the director asked, "Who knows why we are all here." Chris quickly raised his hand. My butt began sweating and I wanted to hide because I couldn't even imagine what he was going to say. Of course, she called on Chris, and he said, "Because it's almost Thanksgiving." Woo Hoo... bullet dodged, sweet answer.

Chris sang all the songs great... and he was definatly into the hand motions.

And then at the end- all the kids in the circle.... and then there's one kid in the middle trying to touch the fake bon fire. Yep, that's my Topher. Surprise, Surprise:)

HAPPY TURKEY DAY:)

Brendan's Granmom has been with us for a couple of days until we go to the lake... It's been great hanging out with her! We love ya Granma!

The bonfire that Chris almost put out:)

Total Sweetness:)

Growing up way too fast. Part 2.

The other day we were walking up to the elevator. The elevator has always been an issue for us. When you have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, both want to push the buttons and it's always a fight. This time though, I thought I had it under control. I said, "O.k. kids, Chris you can push the up button, and Addie you can push the floor number." Chris then said, "Mom, it's o.k., I'm five years old. I don't care about pushing the button- Addie can push them both." WHAT!?! He said it so grown up and like it really wasn't a big deal. And then I got mommy emotional and wanted to hug him forever and never let him get a second older.:(

Growing up way too fast

My kids continue to remind me that that are growing up before my very eyes:( Addison started asking for a big girl bed. Chris had been in his big boy bed by now because we knew Addie was on the way... but we haven't pushed the issue with Addison. She's my sweet baby, and there was no rush! But, when she started asking, we knew it was time. We converted her crib to a toddler bed and she's had no problems! I guess we'll be shopping for big girl room furniture after Christmas...

This is the first night she slept in her bed... We checked on her around midnight and she was halfway falling out of the bed... We moved her back in, and didn't hear from her until the next morning.

For the past few nights, she has been waking up in the middle of the night. She's also been cranky... but no other symptoms... I had mommy's intuition though and took her to the doctor today eventhough at first they thought I was crazy.

Doctor~ So, has she been running a fever?
Me~ No.
Doctor~ Has she been eating and drinking o.k.?
Me~ Yeah, no real change in her appetite.
Doctor~ What other syptoms has she had?
Me~ She has woken up in the middle of the night and she's fussy.
Doctor~ So, she's fussy? And she woke up in the middle of the night?

Ha! She looked at me like I had lost it... But sure enough, she has an ear infection- poor little thing. We got antibiotics and hopefully we'll be back to a good night's sleep... in our big girl bed real soon.:)

Oh lord! I've officially become that mom!

Oh, man... I really have become that mom that I never thought I would become. I was driving down the road the other day- I had showered, had gotten all dolled up, and I looked down at my wrist and just had to die laughing... Look at my fine jewels... Give me a macaroni necklace and I'd be hot stuff... But hey, my Chrissy made it and I love it.


Oh, and then theres my car... yep- gotta love the minivan;)

Did you notice my new magnet? It's fabulous:) Chris and I are so proud~ He made the Snow Swimming Swim team and is now swimming Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. I laugh every time I see it... Next thing ya know, I'm going to have a bumper sticker that says "My kid is on the Leesburg United Methodist Honor Roll."

I'm pretty much falling into all the mom traps that I said I would never, ever do. But ya know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.:)

Paigie K... thanks for letting me know that you read my blog. I love you soooooo much~ and yes, of course you deserve a shout out. And I'll try not to be so mommish around you. I might break out a cute outfit over Christmas and we can ride around blaring music so I can feel young for twenty minutes. I love ya babe... Holla!

Chuck-E-Cheese

Where a kid can be a kid!!! I used to hate this place... I mean despise this place... but good ole' Chuckie and I have become friends, and I think we'll be seeing a lot more of each other with these cold winter months. Chris now knows that it is "closed" on the weekends for birthday parties and that we can only go during the week during the day... It's actually never busy and has made for some great playdates!!!

Can the weather get any better?

Oh my goodness... what a beautiful fall day! I'm LOVING this weather... and so are the kids...

We decided to take advantage of the warm temperatures and headed to Trailside park with our friends... Addie had so much fun playing with the Hayes boys and her friend, Libby:)

Chris played and played with some boys he met... and was disgusting when it was time to go... His hair was covered in sweat, dirt was under his nails, he smelled like a boy...

and he did not want to leave!

Luckily, we were right around the corner from Nancy's and Nanny's, so I promised a visit to both and he cheered up and left without a fight...

While I was at Nancy's, I talked to Eddie on the phone, and found out he is a blog reader... Woo hoo:) Love ya Eddie~ these are for you:)

Weekend Getaway

Brendan and I headed down to Richmond this weekend to visit Brendan's college roommate and some of our best friends- Jon and Stacie... and the cutest little boy~ our Godson, Baby Jonathon.

We enjoyed watching the Hokies, and the kids played great with each other... We celebrated Jon's birthday and stayed up late lounging by their fire pit and playing cards... just like the good 'ole days.

The next morning, we got up and ventured out to Maymont Park. It's a beautiful park in Downtown Richmond- It's huge- we're talking like 100 acres or something like that... It has animals, Japanese gardens, history items, etc. We walked around the entire thing and loved every second of it.

I LOVE this picture... Ten years ago at Tech, I sure didn't think Jon and Brendan would be up on a Sunday morning racing their kids in a stroller and wagon... Love it!:)

The park was a great place for family pictures... too bad we weren't in matching clothes and all dolled up... I think we're skipping Christmas cards this year (Sorry, guys- If you haven't noticed, we're on the every other year plan... so next year, you might see a picture taken at this park:))

Thanks Jon and Stacie for a great weekend... Let's do it again soon:)!!!

End of an Era...

On Saturday, we got together with Chris's team to celebrate the end of the flag football season. He received a trophy and a medal and couldn't have been happier:) His team wasn't the strongest... but they really came a long way this season. It started with complete chaos... and by the end of the season, his team totally "got" flag football. They could line up and run plays without help. It wasn't always pretty... but I know that Chris could join in any flag football game with older kids and totally play... so I'll chalk this season up as a win:) Chris and Brendan are already counting down the days to the spring season... Chris will be old enough for baseball!


Can you tell we're a Hokie family... we all wore our Hokie gear since the Hokies were playing later that day... and you could tell we're in Virginia- we weren't the only family that did this... Hokie Proud:)

Sticks and Stones...

may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!!! Today, Chris came home from the gym day care and told me that two boys called him chubby:( I think it broke my heart more than it did his! I asked him what he did, and he demonstrated how he growled at them and then they left him alone. At bedtime~ (Do you see me doing the happy dance- both kids are sound asleep at 7:30... we had a super fun day with our friends at the pool:)) Chris and I were talking about the whole incident...

Mommy~ Chris what happened when the boys were calling you names?
Chris~ They said, "Chubby, Hey Chubby."
Mommy~ Well, next time that happens, make sure you tell Jayden's mommy (one of Chris's classmates Mommy works in the gym day care) and also tell me- because I will beat those boys butts. (Not really, but it made Chris laugh.) Chris, when people make fun of other people, they just aren't happy with their own life- so maybe they are sad.
Chris~ Yeah, and Mommy, I feel bad for them, they may not believe in God.

Awwwwww... how sweet is that? He says it better than I do;)

Oh- and why is Miss Addie Tay way too smart? I was reading her Go, Dog, Go before bedtime. The book has like 60 freaking pages... I made it all the way to page 40 before I tried to skip one measley page- and she caught me! Ugh- stinker!

Lucky Me...

Today, I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world. No, I didn't win the lottery, or sell my house... but I recieved something in the mail that made me realize just how lucky I really am. Recently, I posted a blog about being on a mission to find a four-leaf clover. I've never had one, and I've been searching soooo hard! One of my friends that I have known forever sent me this in the mail today!!!

Here's a link to her blog: www.sundbergfarm.blogspot.com You should totally read what she wrote~ it brought me to tears- especially the part about her dad.

I can't tell you how much this made my day... and it really made me think. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family in my life. I am truly blessed. Thanks Angie sooo much... I have already framed the clover and I will always cherish it... and it will be a constant reminder about just how lucky I really am.

When I was taking this picture, I realized some of you might think I'm crazy for what I have on my mantle... But I've decided that I want to have a house full of meaningful things to me. People often wonder why I have a Smucker's Jelly Jar in my bedroom on our side table... It was actually given to us during our wedding ceremony and our pastor talked about "loving kindness." It's a reminder to Brendan and I both about how to treat each other... I also have this random old tin Prince Albert can that probably makes no sense whatsoever to most people. I remember growing up, my mom used to tell us when she was little, they would prank call the grocery store and ask, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" They would always say, "Yes." And then, my mom would say, "Well, you better let him out." I always found this hilarious... and to this day it makes me smile. Next time you visit, make sure you look for the four-leaf clover... I can guarantee it will be out somewhere in my house... and I hope it brings you luck... or at least makes you smile like it did to me:)

Safe travels...

Thank you soo much to all of you checking on me... I'm happy to let you know that I made it back safe! Hurrican Ida-ho, no U-da-Ho as Ashley would call it ended up not being as bad as we thought... but I will just go on the record and say that anyone staying for a bad hurricane is CRAZY! Ash's beach condo is in the Gulf Shores area of Alabama and is on a tiny strip of land with the bay on one side and the ocean on the other. Her road floods, so Rusty advised us to either "get out" or plan on staying until Thursday! Jen actually had to leave us early Monday morning, and after trekking down to the beach for pictures, Ash and I packed up and headed out. Here we are unshowered, with no-make-up, braving the storm:) And yes, we're in matching shirts- which later got us totally laughed at when we ended up shopping at a mall in the hood:)


Jen, Ash, and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning having a middle-aged woman slumber party... and it was great! When it was time to go, Ash and I did what every person fleeing a storm would do... we picked a city and decided to go explore it! We went to Montgomery, Alabama to shop, eat, and relax! We would have relaxed a lot more if my directions were better. We were trying to find the hotel... and I typed it into Ashley's GPS on her phone... After driving for way too long while following my directions, Ash decided to check out the phone... when she saw that we had "1 Day, 8 Hours" left, she knew I had messed up... Let's just say that we know know there is a Carmichael Drive somewhere in Cali. Oops! Let's just say it was not Thelma and Louise at our finest!


The girls and I had a great time even if it rained on our parade...

Today, it was back to life as I know it. I would show pictures of Christopher, but Uncle E took him to a class at L.A. Boxing!!! He loved it and I think we may sign him up- It's actually a workout class geared for little kids and I think it would be great for him during these winter months.

While Chris was doing his thing, I was with Addie Tay at Nona's. We were talking about how she has ballet tomorrow... and why do you think she is laughing so hard? Could it be because Nona surprised us both by putting on her 1980's leotard and twirled around demonstrating all of her ballet moves? HILARIOUS... wish she would have let me get a picture for the slog, but my life was threatened!

Oh, Addie... Really?

I had such a good time on my girl's weekend... but it was back to real life today... and it was great even if it was more "work." I mean, how could I resist this little face?

Best Friends

We have become really good friends with a family in the neighborhood that just happen to be Hokie fans... surprise, surprise:)!:) They have two kids and one of them is Addie's little best friend. It's nice having kids that get along~ We had them over for the Tech game last week and the kids were playing the night away in the basement... At one point they came upstairs... all dressed like this:


Addie came running up the steps shouting, "I a fireman, I a fireman." It was so cute... I mean doesn't every fireman sport a tutu and necklace?

And here are some pictures just beacause:)