Lifesong

On the To Do List

Sometimes it's nice to just do nothing, isn't it? To have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and nothing in particular to accomplish. Sure, there are things that I might should do, closets to organize or school to prepare for or elipticals to sweat on, but those things aren't on my to do list this week. Instead, here's my to do list:

Nope, your screen didn't mess up. There's nothing there. And sometimes that's just relaxing. Different. Fun. Stressless. I don't think that's a word, but it should be.

The kids, however, have been quite busy. They have had lots on their to do lists, mostly involving playing, playing, mixed in with some more playing.

Christian's big agenda this week was to get familiar with his Geo Trax train. He LOVES this train. It keeps him occupied for, literally, minutes. Oh, I kid. Hours, of course I meant hours. He can use the remote control and move the train around the track, and he loves to fill up the train with another toy and send it around again.

 

Ansley LOVES her new table where she can spread out her Calico Critters dollhouse. But that's no surprise - the poor girl would play with the dollhouse on the teeny tiny space alotted on top of the fridge in the playroom for her entire quiet time. And, I must admit, I love this dollhouse, too - especially the lights that turn off and on and the cute little cat family that lives there.

 

A big hit on Christmas Day and beyond was from my Mom to John: the Rubik's Revolution. It's a cube, yes, but really nothing like a Rubik's Cube. It's a memory and speed game, and there are six different games. If you know my family, you know we are all very competitive, especially Jonathan. And John. And me. We have had many, many fun rounds with Rubik's Revolution. And the fun part is you can play it in a group or individually, and Ansley has picked up on quite a few of the games. She's our next competitor!

 

Did I mention Christian loves his train?

 

And then there are the things that never get old to my kids. They both absolutely love to play with the kitchen (that Ansley received for her second birthday) and have tea parties and fancy dinners. Ansley most definitely plays with the kitchen more these days than she ever has before, and Christian enjoys it just as much!

And, of COURSE, carloing. These two carlo half of their day, easy. They can sit at the kitchen table and be as happy as can be, creating different pictures and trying out all the different colors. Until someone has a color that the other one wants, and then all carlo breaks loose. But they are learning how the great Sibling Dance works - you step here, I'll step there, you take this toy, I'll have that one - so they need to learn to dance well together sooner rather than later. We are getting there.

 

So there's our week of nothing.

Mixed in with these last priceless moments of 2008.

A Merry Little Christmas

My New Year's resolution is to have every post title be a song for 2009.

Not really. But it does sound like quite a challenge, doesn't it?

We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with family, savoring these moments a little more these days because we know how quickly they can be taken away. We are thankful for the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago, who rules over all the nations, who rules over this house and in our hearts. You are, and you were, and you will be FOREVER.

We continued our tradition of opening one gift (pajamas) on Christmas Eve to be worn that night. Ansley has caught on to this tradition, so she knew what she was opening.

 

Ansley also picked out gifts for everyone this year (as well as last year) and so we have a two year tradition of her handing out her gifts on Christmas Eve. She did a great job this year, and everyone enjoyed her thoughtfulness. (Here Mimi is opening her gift - a new mug, since Ansley knows that Mimi loves hot tea!)

 

Here is Ansley in her new Christmas Eve pajamas (while Missy brushes her hair):

 

I thought I got a picture of Christian in his new pajamas on Christmas Eve, but you'll see them in just a minute on Christmas morning.

We told Ansley that she could get up at 7 am on Christmas morning (she is normally not allowed to come out of her room until 8 am), and she was very excited about that, and liked to remind us. So at 7:04 am we headed downstairs. Since Christian had been struggling with a 104 degree fever for four days, we decided to let him get a little extra sleep.

We all went through our stockings first (which is where Ansley's pink sparkly headband is from) and then we took turns opening presents. Here is Ansley opening two sets of clothes for Ellie. She was very excited!

 

This was one of her big surprises:

 

She also received a pink iPod, because she loves to listen to music and wants songs repeated over and over, so now she can do it on her own! And she received John's Top Secret Project with a new addition to her dollhouse. This table is the Top Secret Project. Previously, her dollhouse was on top of the fridge in the playroom, which was hard to reach and hard to play with. So now she has a special place for it to go, and everything fits!

 

Ansley also received lots of cookbooks and bakeware since she has become so interested in baking this past year!

Ansley peeking out from her tent:

Ellie watching all the action in one of her new outfits:

 

Ansley with JonJon and the huge Search and Find she received - one of her gifts from JonJon and Missy. She loves stuff like that, and she's really good at it, too!

Another hit was the Pogo Stick - I highly recommend this if you have an active five year old! Here she is on Christmas morning, when she first discovered it.

 

Christian woke up crying at 8 am, so we brought him down to show him Christmas morning.

He received two Geo Trax sets, as well as a car mat, lots of cars and planes, and some big dump trucks.

 

He was so taken with the train, he wasn't really interested in going through his stocking or opening gifts. We had to help him along.

 

Christian received lots of carlos in his stocking, and he colored, I mean carloed, a good bit of the day away.

 

Just for comparison, here is Ansley the day after Christmas. She had worked hard to get good so quickly!

 

As we head into a new year, I am thankful for all that 2008 brought us - fun times, memories, love, laughter, learning, growing. I don't know what 2009 holds for us, but I know Who is in control, and for that, I am thankful.

The C Clause Visit

I waited a little later than usual this year for our Santa Clause visit at the mall. Well, waited isn't really the right word - didn't have time until now would be more accurate. And especially since John is off now (for two weeks!), it made for a much easier trip to the mall.

And since Christian has been talking about C Clause so much - and even saying Ho!Ho!Ho! with it - I was curious how he would react to actually seeing him and being able to sit on his lap.

Any guesses?

 

I don't know why I really wondered. It seems like reactions are pretty standard among the two year oldish crowd. So that makes me curious - does ANYONE have a picture of a child around or under two who ISN'T crying? Just wondering.

Merry Christmas!

Flashback Friday

Of course, on the last Friday before Christmas, it has to be an ornament. This ornament is on our memory tree in the basement. When it first came out of its box, the conversation went like this:

A: Where is THIS picture taken?

M: In the house I grew up in, in Douglasville, Georgia.

A: WHAT??!

M: In the house I grew up in, in Douglasville, Georgia. (You get used to the broken record effect with a five-year old.)

A: Well, how'd I get THAY-ERE? (That's "there" for the non-Southernese.)

 

It's funny to me that Ansley thinks we look alike. I don't see it quite as much - I mean, sure, you can tell that we are mother and daughter, but not spittin' image of me. And there's always the fact that I am probably like seven years old in this picture, but I looked like I was five. The story of my life. Ansley won't have that problem.

This is also proof that I did have blonde hair, once. Naturally. Oh, and straight hair, once. (Ansley asked oh-so-sweetly yesterday if I knew that my hair was black underneath. Thanks, sweetie. And for the record, it's not black, just darker than the chemically altered hair on top.)

But look at those dark jeans. Ansley has a pair just like them. She doesn't have a shirt like that, though.

There is no date on this ornament, but I know I must be older, because I remember those clothes, and that rocking chair I am sitting in, and those bookshelves my Dad built in the background. I remember Christmases in this house - warm, cozy, family Christmases. I would always beg my Dad to get out the Christmas decorations the DAY after Thanksgiving. He would always oblige. And my Mom would always start playing Christmas music pretty early in the season (like mother, like daughter). I remember the ceramic Christmas trees my Grandma made with the little lights on them, the red plastic Santas that held candy, and our red stockings, and the pinecone wreath, and the little cross stitched ornaments. The highlight of any Christmas season for Jonathan and me was Present War. A game born no doubt from those seemingly endless childhood days leading up to Christmas, we concocted a fun game to pass the time. We would gather our presents and form a little wall, and then take turns pulling out a present, and whoever had the biggest present won. The object, of course, was to have the most presents.

And if you know Jonathan, then you know he always won because he cheated and took all my presents.

Oh, I kid. I'm sure he didn't take ALL of them, just enough to win the game.

Jonathan and I always made a schedule for Christmas Eve of what we would do at each hour, just so the day would go by faster! My Dad would always have to get up on Christmas morning (after Jonathan and I went in their room for the hundredth time, telling them it was time to get up!) and turn on the Christmas music, plus all the lights in the house before we could come downstairs. I do that with my own children as well. I wonder what memories they will have of their childhood Christmases?

I love this time of year - the remembering, the traditions, the family, the love.

Ansley counts down every day - FIVE MORE DAYS, MOMMY!

Christmas is upon us.

Letters From Me

Dear Amerigo,

I must say first that you do have good food. However, when four adults and FOUR CHILDREN come in to eat and nobody asks if we want the kids meals first, they just bring them, and then the adults get their food an HOUR later, you really shouldn't charge us for the four bowls of ice cream that were asked for in order to keep the patrons in your restaurant from leaving. I mean, in order to keep the kids occupied. That is just wrong.

Seriously!

Signed,
An Ameri-no-go

Dear Chick-Fil-A,

I love you. I LOVE you. I really do. Your food is wonderful, your service is friendly. Everything about you is just excellent. And today when I went, there was a note in my bag that said (among other things), "...the business philosophy of Chick-Fil-A is based on the principles embodied in the life and teachings of Christ. We hope those principles are reflected in your dining experience at Chick-Fil-A." THAT is awesome. Dining at Chick-Fil-A is, always, MY pleasure.

Signed,
One Happy Chick (and Mom)

PS Your peppermint milkshake rocks.

Dear Shutterfly,

I noticed your site says 100% satisfaction guaranteed. So I'm telling my story: when I order cards, and the cards look like a six, maybe I'll give you a seven, year-old made them, I'm not satisfied. I want another order, and I don't want to have to prove it by taking a picture of the faulty cards and uploading them so you can "analyze" it. I'm not satisfied = new order. Period. Per your website.

Signed,
Do I Stutter-fly?

Dear Land of Nod,

Your catalog has the CUTEST stuff. Especially for my girl. Absolutely adorable. So when I'm in the mood to drop the equivalent of a mortgage on some things for my kids, you are the first place I turn to. You are prompt in delivery and your customer service is awesome. When I received my package a few days ago, I was really DELIGHTED to find suckers, stickers, and funfetti sprinkled across my order. Really, it made my day. Wasn't expected, wasn't asked for, but was just FUN. Made me feel much better about spending that mortgage payment, if you want to know the truth. Thanks, Land of Nod, for that bit of Christmas cheer!

Signed,
Happy Nods to You

Just sayin' some things that needed to be said. Anything you want to add?

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like (A) Christmas (Party)

We finished school in four days this week, so yesterday Ansley and I baked when we would normally do school (and quiet time). It was a lot of baking - three hours worth! But Ansley never got tired of it. I knew that she would love it, but I did have an ulterior motive: we are hosting a Christmas party this evening, so I wanted to make some treats for it. My plan worked out well.

Here is the little baker getting started, and in her new Christmas apron.

 

Is it me, or does she look a little mischievous in this photo? Rest assured, though, she was delightful all afternoon. Sweet as pie. Or, a Christmas cookie.

We started out making sugar cookies. I had purchased these  super cool cookie cutters, thinking they would be so pretty and Ansley would love them. Now I know that things in Williams Sonoma catalogs are more difficult than they appear (if only I had read the reviews on them!) So we scratched those and went with plain old cookie cutters. And they turned out just as pretty. (The big blobs at the top of the photo? Yeah, those are supposed to be ORNAMENTS! WITH STAINED GLASS! I got caught up in the hype.)

 

Ansley does such a great job - she can even roll out the dough (despite my attempts to tell her it was too difficult), cuts out the cookies, puts them on the baking sheet, and decorates them well. You probably can't even tell which ones she decorated and which ones I decorated.

Then we moved on to peanut butter kiss cookies. I love these! Ansley loved rolling them in balls and drenching them in sugar. And she put the kiss on each one.

 

Then we made snowflake ornaments while we waited for the cookies to bake and cool. Ansley loved this! And even though they weren't for the party, I thought they turned out really cute!

 

We are looking forward to getting together with our friends tonight for a fun evening! Our good friends Shawn and Christina are finally moving to Knoxville, so they will be joining us as well! We are excited to host a little Christmas cheer.

We hope you are enjoying this most wonderful time of year!

Pretzel-Hershey-Kiss-M&M-Squares

That's my original name for the treats that we made yesterday evening. We being me, Ansley and Christian (while John worked on the Top Secret Project in the garage). You may recall that we have made these treats before. They are super easy, and the kids can do just about everything, so they love it. Ansley even helped take them out of the oven this year.

We made them last year, too, but it was just me and Ans (and the year before that, too, for those paying close attention). It is amazing how much changes in a year! And Christian was actually quite helpful. All you need are, well, square pretzels, Hershey kisses, and red and green M&M's - oh, bummer, my title gave it away.

Lay out all the pretzels on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Then unwrap the Hershey's kisses (is it Hershey kisses or Hershey's kisses? I don't really know, and so I will use them interchangeably) and place one on top of each pretzel. Well, here, let my handy kitchen helpers show you.

 

Yes, just like that. See how even the littlest of helpers can get in on it? You will end up with wrappers all over the floor, but it's really worth it. Really.

Then you pop these in a 170 degree oven for about 5 minutes, until they are melty but still hold their shape. Take 'em out, and push an M&M in the middle of each one. There, done!

Unless you are my little helpers. Then you must add a few steps in between.

Make as many silly faces as you can get away with while assembling the pretzels, ignoring the fact that chocolate may in fact make you crazy.

 

Sample as many as you can as soon as you have placed that M&M on top. Share with others.

 

Keep sampling. Really it's not considered sampling unless your mouth and face are covered in chocolate.

 

Job well done, Handy Helper.

Ansley thought it was fun to add more than one M&M to the top of each kiss. My little rebel!

 

We also experimented with flavors - we made half with regular Hershey kisses, and the other half with Mint Truffle Hershey kisses (while pondering how that mint gets in the middle of those kisses).

The winner? Oh, Mint Truffle, all the way.

Interesting to note about that Top Secret Project - Ansley was all worried thinking she couldn't go out in the garage this morning because then she would SEE it, and it's TOP SECRET! I told her it was okay, she could go out there, and so she reluctantly did, and it was GONE! No TOP SECRET PROJECT! Oh, I love this age!

So, to re-cap: yummy, easy, and fun! A great combination, don't you think? Try some today!

Attack of the Stones

Among many things, there is one that stands out and always makes me think of my Dad: kidney stones. He had kidney stones quite a few times during his lifetime, and it is one of the things that he has passed onto me. (Thanks, Dad!) I have had them three times in my life. Make that four.

Yesterday morning I thought we'd get out of the house, since we'd been cooped up all week because of Ansley's virus (Well, we did venture out to Panera one day for lunch, when out of nowhere Ansley says her stomach is hurting. We rush to the door, but we're too late. Panera will never smell the same. Then I decided we'd just stay put in our nice cozy home with toilets and buckets). So we headed out to run some errands. Right there in the line at JoAnn's, I thought I was dying. I'm not even kidding. A wave of nasuea swept over me so hard I thought I would lose my lunch, and breakfast, for that matter, right there among the ribbon and garland. My back started hurting so badly, I thought I might have been pregnant for nine months, and was now going into labor, and just didn't know it.

I'm really not exaggerating.

Somehow, we make it to the car, and since I promised Ansley a trip to the Chick, and we don't have anything at the house, we head in that direction. At this point, I'm convinced something is really wrong, so I call John and have a total meltdown. While I'm on the phone, Ansley is becoming distressed, so she unbuckles herself and comes up behind me and starts rubbing my back. Christian keeps repeating "Mommy cy-ing? Mommy cy-ing?"

Did I mention I don't do pain well?

And I should have been concerned about the fact that my daughter was unbuckled as we are driving down the road and my son is concerned that Mommy is cy-ing, but all I can think about is the blazing pain tearing down my back.

I manage to ask Ansley to get back in her seat, and somehow remember to thank her for trying to help, so she does, but she also starts praying out loud. I am thankful for my sweet kids.

We make it home. John arrives. We head to the ER. Four hours later, we learn that I have stones in both kidneys and something that is blocking my ureter, which they think is or was another stone. So now I'm armed with pain medicine and a urologist appointment.

I tell you all this to tell you that Flashback Friday will resume next week.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

See, once I start going with the song titles, I just can't stop. Fortunately, this is an actual song, not a Megan-made one. I know you are thankful for that today.

This week has not gotten off to a good start. I have cleaned up more....well, I'll spare you the details. But I have cleaned more liquid coming from places it shouldn't come from and done more laundry than is fair. Yesterday morning I was giving Ansley a bath to remove said liquid from her hair (note to me: ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep Ansley's hair pulled back when in the throes of a stomach bug) when Christian falls against the bed, busting his lip open (note to me: NEVER, NEVER react with a shriek upon seeing blood. It doesn't go over well with either child).

So, as the song goes, "When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad. I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad."

Okay, Julie, let's see if you're right. Here's hoping I'm feeling better by the end of this post. Oh, and you are, too, of course. A few of my favorite things this time of year.

Snow is definitely one of my favorite things. Unfortunately, it's not a favorite thing I see often. Once upon a time I did. Ooh, that sounds like a story time doesn't it? Ok, ok, storytime: Once upon a time a girl who loved the snow lived in Idaho and saw it all the time and frolicked and played and LOVED it. Then she moved back to the South and never saw it again. The End. Quite a sad story, isn't it? But it still makes me happy. And yesterday we had a blizzard come through! A snowstorm? Lots of flakes? Alright, some snow. But it did make me happy. And it did this off and on all day long.

 

Ansley is in love with her new pink shoes. I love these pink shoes, too. I also love that she finally loves something that isn't a sandal, a Croc, or a dressy shoe. I actually ordered them for Christmas, but then I thought shoes didn't seem very exciting for Christmas, so I gave them to her when they arrived. If I had only known how thrilled she would be over PINK! SHOES!, I would have saved them. They look absolutely adorable on those cute little feet! Or, not so little feet. Size 12 feet, to be exact. Come to think of it, I could probably wear these new Converse sneakers, too.

 

I love, love, love looking at all our past ornaments from our memory tree. (Tree #2, in case you are keeping track). The kids get a new ornament every year, something that really sums up their interests or what that year was about. (For instance, Christian is getting a big ornament ear this year. Oh, I kid!) Last year, Ansley got an art palette ornament, the year before that it was a princess crown ornament. You get the idea. I also like to make ornaments from the kids Santa pictures. I have one for each year, and I just love looking at the changes from year to year. One of my favorite things for sure! This is Ansley and Christian last year. And so the question always remains: will we have two smiling kids this year? One still crying? Time will tell.

 

You've GOTTA love a cute boy in a Santa hat. Ansley was napping this morning (which is why she has a doctor's appointment this afternoon), and Christian and I were hanging out, looking at all the Christmas stuff. He was doing his usual "What's that, Mommy?" or "Watch this, Mommy!" when I turned around and this is what he had on. Christian says Santa Clause "C-Clause", which makes me laugh. So I'm laughing and he's going "C-Clause hat, Mommy! C-Clause!" What's funny about this is that Ansley would NEVER keep this Santa hat on, as much as I bribed and begged and cried, she would have none of it. And then here's Christian who puts it on himself and sits there while I take a picture. Now I'm certainly not saying that one disposition is better than the other, I'm just laughing at how different my children are.

And here's where it gets really interesting. (Assuming you haven't been interested up until now.) I snapped off quite a few pictures of Christian in his C-Clause hat, and he was very patient about it. But then he wanted it off. I politely asked him to keep it on, please. And you know what he did?

 

He KEPT IT ON, but cried the whole time I was snapping these pictures. Oh, it still makes me laugh. He listens, but cries about it because he doesn't WANT to be listening. TWO DIFFERENT CHILDREN, I tell ya! But they always make my life full and fun.

Other favorite things of the season: that both my kids LOVE to play with the nativity scenes. I'm talking for HOURS. Also loving Christmas card delivery SEVEN days before expected. I do love UPS. Except when they are late with something important, like a Christmas present, and then I don't like them at all. So I guess it's a love-hate relationship, as long as they keep up their end of the deal. The deal being deliver my stuff on time!

Oh, Julie, you are so right! I am feeling better already!