Christmas Break!!

The week leading up to Christmas was wonderful. I got lots of sleep- I am no longer sleep deprived! I know this because I've been able to read without falling asleep in 10-15 minutes! I finished the book I was reading (South of Broad) and started a new book (Hunger Games). I've finished Season 1 of Friends which Andy and I are watching again, seasons 1-10. We started Season 2 yesterday! Love, love, love that show!! The first two seasons are so dated though!

We wrapped gifts, finished Christmas shopping, set up a fish tank (Christmas gift for my grandparents), and made chocolate chip cookies for Santa. We took the boys to see Santa Claus and Tyler wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He wouldn't sit on his lap or stand in front of him. Maybe next year!

We've also gotten to hang out with family and friends a lot! I hung out with school friends one night while Andy was at a Christmas party. We had my teammates and their families over another night. We all had such a great time! There were 10 adults and 5 kids and we had a nice time talking and hanging out together. My parents came over for dinner one night and we had fun playing the Wii and the card game Spoons.

It's just been such a wonderful break so far. I hope this next week goes slowly!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve we went to church at 5 and then went to a nursing home with a group from our church to sing Christmas carols. Our family did this last year too. There were probably 20 of us from church, mostly families with children went. We walked through the halls singing and greeting the people. The men and women were really happy to see the kids' faces - it was really neat. I loved seeing the smiles that our boys brought! We've kind of made this a family tradition of ours since we have a group to go with. It's nice to give to others and I think it is so important to remind our boys that life ISN'T "all about me" like our culture teaches us all the time. Because it's not! We came home and let the boys open one gift from us. Read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the story of Jesus' birth from the bible. Then Ty did the cutest thing- he walked over to his window and peeked through the blinds asking "santa claus?". It was adorable. He was looking for Santa!!

We had such a wonderful Christmas! We have so much to be thankful for. We spent the day with family, had a nice nap, and opened too many gifts! It was a great day. The boys woke up early - Wilson came in at 3:20 the first time, then again at 5 something, and finally sometime after 6. Him and Luke were up around 6:30 but we somehow sidetracked them until almost 7 so Tyler could sleep a little longer. They raced downstairs to find what Santa had left for them. They both got the Lego they were wanting and Tyler got a Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. Wilson's Lego is the Airport and Luke's Lego is a remote control train. They are now built and the boys have had a lot of fun playing with them. Tyler loves his Buzz and Woody. Wilson also got Creationary and Luke got some Pixo's (a craft thing). Andy and I had so much fun watching them. It was cute to watch them take it all in - they found Santa's cookie crumbs on the plate and his egg nog was all gone. The fireplace doors were cracked open and one of them realized that. Christmas is so much fun!! We went to my grandparents for a late breakfast. Then went to my parents house around 4ish and stayed until bedtime. What a great day! I'll have to get some pictures from Andy's camera!

Other Christmas vacation fun

1. Danny, Steph & Co. came over the day after Christmas. We hung out, ate dinner together, and played games. It was fun!
2. I got to sleep in every other day. I finished The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and read Dear John by Nicholas Sparks.
3. I went shopping in Cincinnati with two of my friends all day long! It was so much fun. Bought several things with my Christmas money. We even stopped at the Cheesecake*Factory for to go cheesecake on the way home. I brought Andy a piece to thank him for my day of girl time!
4. Andy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary! We ate lunch at Red*Lobster and ran errands, shopped, and just enjoyed being out without kids.
5. Had game night with my family at Cara's house. Fun!
6. Planned b-day parties for Wilson (GI JOE) and Luke (SPIDERMAN...again!). Did the party shopping and had fun with the boys.
7. Watched movies with Andy.
8. Enjoyed being with my family and lounging around the house in jammies. This has been a perfect vacation.

Now, ringing in the New Year with my hubby. All the boys are asleep. Tomorrow we need to take down Christmas decorations. I'm trying to get caught up on laundry and do some cleaning before I head back to work on Monday. :( I'll sure miss my boys!

Christmas Day

Tyler woke up first so I tried to keep him quiet until 7:15. Then the big boys woke up and we all came downstairs! They were adorable. Wilson ran to his new Lego garage and was pumped. Luke glanced at his box and then ran over to get Lottie's stocking for her before seeing what he got himself. He is so tender hearted! Then he realized Santa brought him a huge slot car racetrack. He was very excited! They dumped their stockings out and enjoyed seeing what was inside. Tyler got a See N Say and a little car garage. They also opened a couple presents from mommy and daddy. It was fun. Wilson bought me a gift with his own money. It was totally his own idea. He went up to Andy a couple days before Christmas and told him he wanted to buy me a present. I told Andy I really needed a new shower puff from Bath & Body W. So Wilson went and picked me out a red puff. It was so sweet! They started building Lego's and the racetrack with Andy while I got ready. We went to my grandparents for breakfast around 9:30. It was great to see my cousins! We were home in the afternoon and I took a big nap while the boys played. Then around 4 we went to my mom and dad's for opening gifts and dinner. It was a great evening. We even played Apples to Apples while the kids watched part of a movie. Christmas Day was wonderful and filled with family!

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas! Having the week off leading up to Christmas is so nice. We made sugar cookies for Santa, bought the last minute gifts and wrapped lots of presents. On Christmas Eve morning we let the kids open their gifts from Mimi and Poppy. Luke opened a gumball machine was very excited about that. Wilson opened his pillow pet dog. They each got a game too. We went over to my mom's for a little while in the morning to hang out and let the kids exchange gifts with Terry. At 5pm we went to our church for the Christmas Eve service. Afterwards a group went to a local nursing home to sing carols in the hallways. We thought this would be a great service opportunity for our family to participate in together so we went. It was neat - the boys were of course shy but I think it was good for them. I had them waving to the residents as we caroled down the hall and Luke was brave enough to go up to some of them to give them the little potpourri gift we were handing out. Came home and read "The Night Before Christmas", set out the cookies and egg nog and convinced Wilson to go to sleep! They each got to open a gift from mommy and daddy before bed too. They were so excited. Andy and I had a lot of fun that night setting out gifts and stuffing their stockings. We always trade stockings that night too. We had a great day and I couldn't wait to wake up and see W & L's faces!

Wilson's Christmas Program

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Luke's Christmas Party

Make a Smilebox greeting

Blogger Doesn't do well with math.

So apparently I was a little ahead of the game. When I logged into blogger it said 500th post but my dear, sweet husband added up the posts from each year and informed me that I was NOT to 500 yet. :) So I think this is 498 or something. Almost there!

We've had a great weekend! Friday night Andy made homemade pizza- yum! We hung out around the house and after the boys went to bed watched The Holiday. Saturday I did some cleaning - I forgot to tell you I got a new vacuum! I now have the best vacuum I've ever owned. It works SO well. You wouldn't believe the amount of dirt and dust it gets each week. Crazy! I got it on Black Friday at Kohl'*s. For a really great deal. My dad let me spend part of our christmas money premature-ly since it was such a good deal. I have used it 3-4 times since just because I like it so much. Don't worry, that will wear off I'm sure! Every time I vacuum I show Andy the dirt inside and we're both amazed.

Back to Saturday...in addition to some cleaning we had the church christmas pageant rehearsal Saturday morning, then I ran some errands and did some Christmas shopping. I made pepperoni rolls and potato/broccoli/cheddar soup for dinner. Once the boys were in bed I wrapped presents while we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Not my favorite but it was still fun to watch! Tonight is the annual variety show and christmas pageant followed by the youth coffee house. Looking forward to the variety show acts!

Christmas Decorations!

Check out some of our Christmas decorations - we've had so much fun figuring out where to put everything in our new house!

Here is the big family christmas tree down in the basement with all our ornaments.

Here is our first fire place and mantle! We were thrilled to hand our stockings! I also set out a lot of my snowman things across the top.

In our split foyer you look up and see this cut-out into the living room. I hated this when we bought the house and wanted to cut out the knee wall. Now I'm thinking that is way too much work! It will probably stay like this forever...so I made the best of it with more christmas decorations! Candles and figurines I haven't set out in years b/c of little fingers grabbing... :)

In our new house I set up 2 trees! A first for us! I've had the wish for a snowman tree for several years and always said when we move into a bigger house I was going to put all of my snowman ornaments on a tree. Here it is! I love it. This is an old tree we inherited and it works for now. I would love to have a taller skinny prelit tree eventually for this room.

Winter Break - Days 5 & 6

On Christmas Eve we hung out at home and had an enjoyable day. We let the boys open a gift from us around lunchtime. Wilson got a mail airplane Lego and Luke opened his discovery toys shovel. We went to my sister's around 3pm for appetizers and games. That was fun. I made the Cheese Queso from the Pioneer Woman Cook's website. It was good. I also took home made chex mix. We played Buzz Word which was a great game. We went to our church's Christmas Eve service and my parents, Cara, Madelyn, and Silas came too. Caroline was sick so Jason stayed home with her. Read about their not so Merry Christmas here. They all ended up with a stomach bug. After church we set out cookies and egg nog, sprinkled reindeer food on the yard, and put the boys to bed. Then Andy and I traded stockings and did the Santa thing! It was fun! In my stocking Andy gave me a silicone whisk, an apron, a label maker, ghiardelli dark chocolate with caramel, a new knife for cooking, and fuzzy socks. It was a great stocking! Andy's had 2 photography magazines, a gift card for netflix, itunes $, a chocolate orange, gum, and a 12 pk of moutain dew. I love stockings!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day! The boys woke up early, around 6:50 am. We let Tyler sleep in but the boys were ready to see what Santa brought. Wilson got the Police Station Lego set and Kung Fu panda movie plus several stocking stuffers. Luke got a basketball, a camera and stocking stuffers. They were both thrilled with the things they received. Then Andy and I opend gifts. Andy really spoiled me this year! He got me a set of Springform pans so I can finally make cheesecake, the movie 27 Dresses and a Le Creuset dutch oven. I've wanted one of those for a couple years and he was so clever in tricking me when he wrapped it! He used a DVD case (since I asked for 27 dresses) and inside the case it said "Gotcha! Go look in the oven...". There he had placed my new dutch oven! It is beautiful. It is Carribean blue (teal) and 5 1/2 qts. I love it! It is the exact one I wanted. Then in a bigger box he had wrapped the movie! I'm making dinner using my new dutch oven tonight! Andy got a Canon backpack for his camera, 2 long sleeved tshirts from Eddie Bauer, and a couple camera accessories he wanted. Ty woke up around 9 and we opened his stocking. He got a new winter hat, a baby book, new passies, and a couple small toys. We then went over to my mom's for brunch and presents. We ate delicious food but missed Cara & Co. who were all home sick. We opend gifts there and played on my mom's Wii. I got a Kitchen Aid Stand mixer!!! I've wanted one of these for a long time! It is black and I can't wait to use it. I'm using it tonight. I received so many cooking things (which I wanted!) and I can't wait to use them. When we left my mom's we went over to Danny and Stephanie's to hang out for a while. Then we came home and relaxed before going over to my Grandparent's for Christmas Dinner. We again had delicious food and fun with the family. It was a great day! I'll post a picture slide show later because there will be lots of pics I want to share!

Winter Break - Day 3 & 4

Day 3 (Monday)
On Monday we went back to my mom's to decorate the Gingerbread Men cookies. Here is a sampling of what they look like!

Silas enjoyed eating the icing instead of icing the cookies! They also made some Christmas crafts at Gamma's house. In the afternoon I tackled a few stores for my last few gifts/stocking stuffers. I finally found a stocking for Ty that would suffice. I had looked at Target, Hobby Lobby, Meijer, Walmart over the last several weeks. Ended up getting one at J.B. It doesn't coordinate with Wilson and Luke's but it was the best I could find. Monday night we hung out at home, I tried a new recipe which we weren't crazy about and made this gingerbread tree from a kit my mom had.
Day 4 (Tuesday)
We woke up and went to Panera for breakfast, thanks to a gift card from school! We sat by the fireplace and all enjoyed a bagel (except Lukie - he always gets a pumpkin muffie!). Three seperate people talked to Andy and I and told us the following: we have such a nice family (heard that twice!), you've got your hands full (twice too), you've got a great daddy, and I raised two sons, mine has done that too (in reference to Wilson crawling under the stall on the bathroom floor to get to me and Luke). People were so kind and friendly! Love the holidays. After Panera we drove around (hey, kids were buckled in, calm, quiet, and not fighting!) and explored in the country. After a while we turned our GPS on and told it to find our way home. Fun! We're loving the GPS. In the afternoon we went to Walmart and got groceries and some organizing tubs and new laundry baskets. Then came home and made chex mix (had to use crispix, Walmart was sold out of wheat, corn, and rice chex). Also made pepperoni rolls and soup for dinner. Here is a picture of Tyler when I was making dinner - he decided he loves Tarn now!
After dinner we got the kids ready for bed and drove around looking at Christmas lights. We picked my mom up and she went with us to see the lights downtown. Then we dropped her off and drove around a neighborhood. Wilson fell asleep in the car. But not Luke. Stubborn thing. He fought the sleep and stayed awake!

Winter Break - Day 2

On Sunday afternoon we headed over to my moms for some cookie baking. It was fun! Cara made sugar cookie dough and I made gingerbread cookie dough. My mom had tons of cookie cutters and cookie decorations. We rolled out the dough and let the kids cut and decorate. On the sugar cookies we used an egg wash to paint the icing on. That was super fun for the kids. Then mom and I cut out the gingerbread men and baked them. The kids were done with cookies by then so we didn't get them decorated until Monday. We all took turns playing my mom's Wii and Guitar Hero. Then we ate chili that my dad had made. On our way home we stopped by a local firestation to watch their light show. They had their garage door open and Santa was inside so Andy took Wilson and Luke in to see the trucks and Santa. They thought that was great!

Winter Break - Day 1

Matt & Elise

The boys playing Guitar Hero!

Elise & Tyler

On Saturday we loaded up the van and went on a day trip! We were going to visit some friends who had a new baby! Matt and Olivia had sweet little Elise 4 weeks ago. We stayed and visited for a couple hours. Elise is precious! She has lots of hair and is so tiny! We couldn't believe only 4 weeks separated Ty and Elise. Olivia didn't think she was up to Ty's birth weight yet! We had lunch together, watched Wilson and Luke attempt Guitar Hero (soo cute!) and talked.

When we left their house we used our GPS to find the Masonic Home (nursing home) where my grandmother lives. It led us there and we surprised her with a visit. We were so close by we decided to stop. She was thrilled. She met Ty and held him in her lap. We went up to the dining room to see the Christmas tree and also the birds and fish that are near the dining room. She doesn't see hardly at all anymore but she navigated pretty well through the hallways. Luke even sat on her lap and she rolled him down the hall. Wilson and Luke don't remember going there even though they've been twice but they handled it nicely. They were a little afraid but warmed up quickly. They each chose a stuffed animal from her bed and had fun looking at the train with Daddy under the Christmas tree. It was great to see Grandma and to see how happy she was to have us visit. We should go back more often.

At this point we were all hungry. Andy had heard of Bluegrass Brewing Co. (they make their own root beer) and thought it would be fun if we could go there for a snack. So we looked in our GPS and it was less than 2 miles away! Score! So we went there to share a couple appetizers. Andy got a root beer and I tried an Altbeir. Then we had a big soft pretzel with beer cheese and a Chicken Quesadilla. Both were yummy. The boys ate most of the pretzel and Luke even liked the beer cheese! The restaurant was neat - they had a kids play area which looked like a small stage with toys out. They sat us near the play area and the boys were able to get up and go play. Great feature!

Snow Day #1

It's me! No fancy shmancy writing today like all those big vocabulary words by sweet, intelligent husband uses. I teach second grade ya'll, our writing is more elementary! Just kidding, I loved his post and he was correct in why I wanted him to guest post. I told him I've never seen the word poop so many times in one paragraph. Anyway! Had to tell you about our fabulous snow day!

I got my text that we were out of school around 4:15am. So I rolled over and went back to sleep. Was up at 5 to feed Ty and then turned off both alarms. After I fed Ty I went back to sleep and Andy let me sleep in until 8:30! It was wonderful. Today was spent in the kitchen. Pretty much all day- cleaning the kitchen, baking, cleaning, baking, etc. I made two batches of caramel corn today which takes for.ev.er. Then I made Peanut Butter Crispy Bars because it was a recipe I was wanting to try- yum! That one also took a long time because it has three layers and needs 2hours of cooling total. I had to use a candy thermometer for those and that was fun! Andy bought me one at Walmart today because I'd never needed one before. The teacher gifts are ready and the caramel corn for snack day at school is ready. After so much time in the kitchen today I didn't feel like making dinner. So I called Puccini's and order to Chicken Bada Bing Calzones. Yum. You should try one. They are delicious. We had salad with them and Andy picked up a frozen pizza for the boys. I never left the house today. That was kind of nice! I've really enjoyed being home with Ty - he has another cold. Lots of boogers, a runny eye, and he has sneezed several times. Poor thing. So I was glad to be home to take care of him. The big boys helped in the kitchen and drove us crazy today! So when Andy went grocery shopping I reserved Horton Hears a Who from Redbox and he picked that up. They were quiet and content during the movie with popcorn and hot chocolate. That gave us the break we needed! Luke talks SO much. It's nonstop. And he repeats himself over and over and over until you respond! Sweet but some days it's too much! Andy picked up our Christmas cards at Wal-mart and those are almost ready to go out. I've been able to cross several things off my list. I really this snowday to stay caught up. Though the house is a mess and I still have to make Cowboy Caviar for my small group Christmas Party and I still need to make homemade Peanut Butter patties. I'll post the recipes if anyone wants them!

Letters to Santa!

Last week we drove through downtown and noticed a huge red mailbox for putting letters to Santa inside. I thought that would be really fun for the boys. So this morning we decided to write letters to Santa and take them to the mailbox. Wilson and Luke each told me what to write in their letter. Luke said he wanted a camera and that's all. That he had been a good boy. Wilson listed all of the Lego sets that he likes so that Santa could choose which one to bring. He also said that he had been a good boy. Then they each drew pictures on them and Wilson wrote his own name except for the s. On the envelope they put some Christmas stickers in place of a stamp and we were ready to deliver! We parked and walked over to the big red mailbox. The boys were pretty excited! They each put their letter to Santa in the mail slot. Then we took them across the street to Starbuck's and got them kid hot chocolates. They thought that was a pretty great outing! Enjoy the pics!

Ty is ready for Christmas too!

Updates

I'm feeling a little less stressed since my last post- it's Friday! I get to "sleep in" tomorrow! I've bought most of my secret santa gifts. This weekend I need to write my clues and get the gifts ready. Last night I did some online shopping for Christmas so that was a good feeling. Still have a few more gifts to go buy. I called our Dr.'s office on Thursday and had them call CCH to check on Ty's appointment. (Thanks for the advice, Tricia!) Cincy said they would call us this afternoon or Monday afternoon with an appt time. They are trying to schedule the appointments with the neurologist and opthamologist at a time when the ENT will be available if necessary. Why would we need an ENT? I wasn't sure, they hadn't mentioned that before. Anyway, they didn't call today so I'm hoping to hear from them on Monday.

Dinner tonight was GOOD! I tried two new recipes. First, Carol's pepperoni rolls. This was a big success for me! I have always avoided yeast dough recipes because they didn't turn out for me the couple times I had tried them. Well over Thanksgiving I sat and watched Carol make her dough- and took notes!! She was making cinnamon rolls but her basic dough recipe can be made into cinnamon rolls, pepperoni rolls or dinner rolls. I have always loved her breads- and this time it tasted right! On a 1-10 scale Andy gave them an 8 1/2, which I thought was pretty awesome! If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I"ll post it.

I made Cheddar Broccoli Potato Soup to go with the rolls. Yum! It was easy and delicious and Andy and I both really enjoyed it. Here is the recipe. Perfect for a cold night! If only we had a fireplace!

This Sunday night the boys will be in our church's Christmas program. Luke will be a sheep and Wilson a shepherd. I love watching them in the play! Afterwards the youth group host a Coffee House. It's a fun evening. Hopefully tomorrow I can post some pictures from Thanksgiving.

Feeling Stressed

Do you know how difficult it is to get any shopping done with three BOYS under 5? I'm sure it would be difficult with any children under 5 but you know. So I still have quite a bit of christmas shopping left to do. I've done some online and we finished shopping for Andy's family because we celebrated Christmas this past weekend at Thanksgiving. BUT I still have lots to do for my family, Andy and the boys. I realized yesterday that Secret Santa at school is NEXT week and I hadn't even started shopping. On Thanksgiving break the only store I was near was Dollar General and there wasn't anything I wanted to get for gifts there other than a few stocking stuffers. Tonight was somewhat successful- the boys have a new haircut and almost all of my secret santa shopping is done. Just need to buy the ornament. I guess having 3 small children, working full time at school which is non-stop every minute, and now adding the upcoming holiday my plate is feeling VERY full. Usually Andy and I are able to get the tree decorated in an evening. We've worked on it for 2 evenings so far. I keep moving ornaments that Wilson and Luke have hung because on some branches there are 2-3 ornaments! And then the rest of the time I'm saying "be careful!". Hopefully this coming weekend I'll be able to get a lot done.

* Tomorrow I am turning in all of my paper work for my National Board Certification! Think Rank change! Thing retroactive pay! Think raise!
* We have not heard from CCH about Ty's appointment yet. Still waiting.

Which holiday is it?

Driving down my street I get confused. I see pumpkins at one house. Then a couple doors down I see hay and gourds. The next house I see has a scarecrow and christmas lights (yes, both) and others have Christmas trees in the window. What holiday is it?! See how I get confused? I guess I'm the type who likes to finish one holiday before starting the next. You see, a few days after Halloween, when the pumpkins start to rot I throw them away. Then I'm ready to gear up for Thanksgiving. I don't have any TG decorations but we did hang a turkey on the door that Wilson made at school. So right now I'm celebrating Thanksgiving. Then probably this weekend we'll set up our Christmas tree. I guess I'm a one holiday at a time kind of girl. What about you?

I love my 2nd grade team!

Here is a picture of the fabulous team that I teach with! Abby, Jenn, Gayla and me! We decided to skip Christmas gifts for each other and plan a night to go to dinner together and have some quality talking time (outside of our school building)! This past Thursday we met at PF Chang's for dinner. It was delicious! We had lettuce wraps, dinner, and the Lucky 8 dessert! I got to try many new things because we ordered things to share. We were there for over 2 hours! Time flew and we enjoyed each other's company. We're hoping to start getting together maybe once a month to meet for coffee or something. It was so nice hanging out. Shawna, our curriculum coach at school, calls our team a "fluke" - because we all get along so well! We share ideas, share resources, and plan everything together. We're all teaching the same thing in practically the same way, everyday! I feel so blessed to work with such wonderful women who make work a nice place to come to everyday. School can be so stressful, but my team is always there to support me. Love you girls!

Christmas 2007

What a wonderful Christmas season! It has been busy around here. The pictures above are from Christmas at our house, my maw/paw's, my parents, and at our house with Andy's family. We had a great time with both sides of the family. On Christmas Eve we had dinner at my sister's house. On Christmas morning we opened presents at home and then went to my Maw-maw's for breakfast and presents. I really enjoyed seeing my cousins, Allison and Justin! Allison came from California! After going home for a nap we went to my mom and dad's house for presents and dinner. Two days later Andy's parents arrived and we celebrated with a big breakfast at our house and presents. Then that evening we went to Danny and Steph's for dinner. Great times! Favorite christmas presents:

Wilson- high hat for his drumset

Luke- Thomas train set and lamp

Alyssa- Ipod dock alarm clock

Andy- movies (Back to the Future Trilogy and Christmas Story)