Merry Christmas!

The day has arrived. The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and spend time loving on family. We started the festivities with the traditional Christmas Eve pajamas. Missy wanted to make sure the monkey face was showing for the camera and Bub (fighting a fever) had no clue what she was up to, but it made for a great picture showcasing their very different personalities!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a great time with family and friends and I hope you are able to reflect and celebrate the reason for the season.

Until next time!

~Monica

Holiday Extravaganza

The past few weeks have been BUSY!  We had Missy's "Holiday Extravaganza" at gymnastics... kinda of like a recital, I guess... the parents got to come down to the gym floor with them and see what they could do.  It was so cute and she was so proud of herself!  As she was jumping and flying down the trampoline, she would look at me and shout, "WOOK MOM!! I DOING IT!! I DOING IT!!"  She even learned a new skill that the next level up does!

This is the beloved Ms. Jennifer.

At the end of the Extravaganza, Santa came out and Missy had her first encounter of the season with him. :) 

She was so sweet and asked only for a pencil.  And when she got one (it just happened to be included in the gift bags) she was SO excited and ran back over to him and said, "Tank you VEWY MUCH for my pencil!!  It my FAVORITE pencil in da whole world!!"  This reaction caught the "Santa" off guard and he let out a normal laugh and broke from character a little! :)

Later that night for advent, we went and saw Santa after church.  Poor Bub.  He was not having it.  He didn't actually cry... but he held back those tears with all his might!  He did manage to ask for an iPad though.  Ha ha!!  Priorities!

They also had the chance to meet Mrs. Claus and she and Missy danced and twirled while waiting for Santa to finish his time with the children in front of them.

Missy, again, was thrilled!  I think we have a believer!  Bub... not so much.  :)


I'd love to hear your Santa stories!!


Until next time!

~Monica

A Long Road

I missed Day 4 & 5 of the Advent Tree.  We did them, and I can give you the details in a few short sentences.  We had a movie night with chocolate milk and popcorn and the kiddos got another fun ornament to hang on their tree. :)  We watched the VeggieTale movie about Saint Nicholas.  I'm still unsure how we are going to handle the Santa thing in our home.  I know there is a lot of magic in believing for the kids, but I'm still not sure.  I do know that we want to focus the holiday on Jesus, but there is something to say about Saint Nicholas and what he did and why he did it.  I have a feeling that we need to decide sooner rather than later as Missy is 3 years old.  I asked her on Day 1 what Christmas was all about and she said, "It's when Baby Jesus comes and brings me presents." For now, we'll go with that. :)

For the sake of full disclosure, I feel that I must share with you how hard the past few days have been.  If you are just joining me, you can read my initial post about The Accident here.  The holidays are drawing closer and it is becoming harder to plan knowing that a big part of my life will not physically be here with us. This time last year, Diana and I were planning the activities and projects we wanted to do with the kids.  We crammed as much as we could into the 4 days they were with us.  I can't help but think about the fact that this Christmas was supposed to be at their house.  When we bought the kiddos their Christmas pajamas this year and I tried with all my might to find matching girl/boy fleece footed pajamas that were also masculine and feminine, I could only think of how cute it would have been to get all 4 of the kids together in fleece footed pajamas... and that maybe this year we could have finally gotten all four kids not only looking at the camera, but also smiling.  I can't help but think about Sam's 4th birthday and Bub's 2nd birthday could have been celebrated together this year.

In all of this, I feel a gaping hole.  I feel an emptiness that I have never felt before.  My partner in life (besides Hubs) is gone.  She isn't on vacation or busy... She is physically gone.  A new normal has not yet been found.  I keep hanging in there.  Getting through each day, taking it moment by moment and holding onto the memories that have been made and the memories being made, because those memories may be the last.

Life has new meaning.  I try to savor each moment and not take anything for granted.  I am reading Hope for the Weary Mom, by Brooke McGlothlin and Stacey Thacker, with two of my dear friends.  It's our own little book club via group text message!  :)  It's so much fun and the conversation has been so great.  The current chapter was definitely hard to read though.  It is all about dealing with and overcoming loss.  One point that I took from it is that I am not following God because of what he can do for me... I am following God because of what he has already done for me.  I need to keep my faith and trust in Him to get me through.  Brooke says near the end of the chapter, "But healing can't be forced.  It simply takes time.  And as with everything else in life, true healing comes as God leads us toward it, peeling back layer after layer of raw hurt, and breathing new life into our wounds."  I am definitely on the road to healing, and I know it is going to be a long road full of good days and bad.  


Until next time,

~Monica

24 Days of Christmas: Day 3

Have you ever been to a preschool gymnastics class?  Its pretty hilarious!  To see them springing on the trampoline and swinging on the bars and teetering on the beam... trying with all their might and fighting every urge to run around like little banshees.  I love it.  Missy has been taking gymnastics for a year and a half now and the thing that impresses me the most is not the maturity that she has gained, not the skills she has learned, not the dedication she gives to something at 3 years old by practicing at home as much as she can... the thing that impresses me the most is the patience of her coach.  

I have my degree in teaching... teaching elementary school.  However, I know that I do not possess the patience that it requires to teach the younger children.  I'd much rather have a classroom of thirty-four 6th graders than a class of twenty kindergartners.  Preschool? I don't think so.  Preschool Gymnastics?! A place where they can run around without desks and chairs for them to sit in? A place where older children and teenagers are tumbling? No way!!!  And there are only at the most 6 other preschoolers in her class!!  Yup!  "Miss Jennifer" has the patience of a saint!

She works with one child on a back bridge while simultaneously reminding another to stay in a certain position.  She helps one child with a spider hang on the uneven parallel bars while also reminding the other children to stay on their carpet squares.  She manages 3 jumping children on the trampoline while making sure the others are seated on the side of the trampoline and not falling off! She walks them, in a single file line, through the gym while the competitive girls are practicing their routines and skills all over and keeps them all safe and in line.  She cannot leave the child she is working with because that child is normally not in a position where they can do it on their own.  Could you imagine if she were to help a child get into a position hanging upside down on the bars and then walk away to redirect another?  She would have upset parents on her hand.  In the year and a half that I have watched Missy do gymnastics, I have not seen lose her patience once!! I can't recall her ever even raising her voice!  She has definitely not put my child at risk.  She calmly redirects the kids and they listen.  

She has definitely taught me a lot.  She has three children of her own, two of which I have met.  They are respectful and get along very well with my own children despite the rather large age gap.  I even believe that Missy has a huge crush on her son.  :)  Watching her reminds me of how I want to discipline and correct my own two little ones: with calm redirection rather than the impatient demands that I can lash out with in frustration.  Patience is not a strong suite of mine.  

Due to gymnastics, we decided on something very easy for Day 3 of Advent.  In the cone for day 3, they found a little ornament for each of them to put on their tree.  

Princess Aurora for Missy and Lightning McQueen for Bub.  Simple.  Short.  Sweet.  The longest part of the whole thing was them deciding on the perfect spot on their little tree to put their ornament!  

Each was moved around a handful of times before it was JUST RIGHT.  :)  My little perfectionists!  I think their little tree is turning out great!  Suites them perfectly!! Bright.  Colorful.  Whimsical.  Perfect.  

Until next time!

~Monica

24 Days of Christmas: Day 2

We have a lot of birthdays in the month of December.  Not only are there quite a few family birthdays, but also there are quite a few of Bub's little friends that have birthdays around this time.  Since I knew there was going to be a birthday party on this day, I planned for something that I knew wasn't going to be as time consuming for the kiddos to do for Day 2 of the Advent Tree: popsicle stick snowflake ornaments for their tree.

Again, I used things I had on hand: craft sticks, pom poms, pipe cleaners, stickers, etc.  I just emptied the contents of this awesome craft bucket that was given to Missy for a birthday present onto the table, collected other little things in our craft arsenal, and let them pick and choose what they wanted to use to decorate their snowflakes!

I tend to keep little trinkets that I think can be used for art projects.  So when the Children's Librarian included little trinkets for an art project and my kids didn't use all of them, I held onto the rest.  When jewels fall off of tiaras (or tiaras get stepped on and crushed into a million pieces) I collect them and put them into the craft drawers.  Empty toilet paper rolls? Yup! I have a bag of those too!! You never know what a child might see them as and even just pretending they are pirates with a telescope can lead to loads of entertainment!

I did purchase some glitter the night before.  What is a homemade snowflake without glitter?!

In the end, they only used a few of the different things and glitter was the biggest hit!  The hubs and I each helped a child glue and stick and glitter-ize their snowflakes.

I apologize for the quality of the photos.  My camera was not cooperating and I ended up using just my phone... in a not-well-lit room.  Oh well... live and learn.  :)  

Missy, at first, took too long sprinkling the glitter on the first spoke and the glue began drying.  

She then tried pinching it and sprinkling it on, but she hated the mess that it made.  So... she dictated where each and every dot of glue went and which color went on which spoke.  She is such a detail oriented person. :)

Bub pointed out where things went and intently watched the glittering part.  He has never seen glitter in action from what I can recall... so this was new to him!

After they were done decorating and before the glue was completely dry, I hot-glued a ribbon loop to the back to hang them from.  I recommend waiting until the glue dries.  There is no other way around making a mess and/or getting hot glue all over your fingers.  I think that they turned out fabulous!

Each kiddo got to hang their own ornament on their tree. 

Bub simply shoved his onto the top of the craft cart... glitter side down. :/ And then exclaimed, "I did it!!" while throwing hands up in the air!  It was so cute how proud of himself he was!  Even if that meant I had to clean smeared glitter and glue off of my beloved table runner.  

Their tree now has their first ornaments on it!! They are so excited!

Here is a close-up of each:

I love how cheery they are! And they totally work with their garland!  


Until next time!

~Monica

24 Days of Christmas: Day 1

This is the first year that we are doing an Advent Calendar.  I am super excited!  Rather than a traditional calendar, we are doing an "Advent Tree!" I found the idea on Pinterest, but here is a link to a tutorial.  I forgot to take pictures while I made all of the cones, but Cassie at "Hi Sugarplum" does a great job of explaining it! All of the ideas for the 24 days were either Pinterest pins or were my own.  Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  Well, I do.  Love it.

 It all began yesterday.  Right after breakfast, the kids were dressed and then went back to the table so that they could find the cone on the tree with the number 1 on it.  The little slip of paper said that they were going to be getting their very own Christmas tree and that they were going to make a garland for it!

 Then it was off to the living room for garland making fun!!  To make the garland, I used all materials I had on hand: some white beading cord and neon pony beads.

Missy has done quite a bit of beading in the past, so she went right to it!  Bub had a little more trouble but he tried.

Then things got interesting.  Have you ever seen a Jack Russell go into "puppy mode" and they get all crazy and start digging or running around and they can't seem to stop, but they look so happy and excited that you don't want to stop them?  (Donner did this when we tried to litter box train her... never again...) Well, that was Bub with the beads!  He started digging...

And dumping them....

And sitting in the tray....

And driving a car in them... immediately after we picked them back up... and complete with screeching sounds....

And throwing them... which sent Missy into a panic and scramble to pick them up....

And swimming in them....

While he was having the time of his life with the beads, Missy and I were busy beading and collecting beads that were being scattered.  After an hour or so.... the garland was strung and on their little tree!!  Both of them were so excited by this little tree and Missy cannot wait to put other things on it!  She wants to do all the activities today, but she will have to learn patience.  :)

Before going to bed, we read a story called The First Christmas Tree and Missy drew a picture of a Christmas tree.  She was so excited about the story because it was a "God story" and was even to hear only a few lines before determining that it was the story of baby Jesus from a different perspective.  She amazes me!  I would show you the picture of her Christmas tree... but Bub's scribbles got a little carried away and drifted onto her piece of paper and she responded by scribbling all over her paper.  Oh well.... kids will be kids! 



Until next time!

~Monica

Givingthanks!

source

Thanksgiving is in full swing in our house right now.  Last night, I wrote my list of the last few things that need to be purchased. Today, our guests arrive and tomorrow morning the cooking begins!!  This will be my second Thanksgiving in which I was responsible for the food.  I am much more relaxed this year, but somehow, I doubt that will be the case Thursday morning (sorry, Nicole).  Hopefully, I remain like the duck: calm and unruffled on the surface and paddling like the devil underneath (my favorite quote from Lord Barbizon). 

I love that this time of year really makes us think about being thankful.  Today, Missy was picking out what she wanted to wear for Thanksgiving.  When she told me what she wanted, she said, "I want to wear dis dwess for Givingthanks... I mean Thanksgiving."  I thought she said it perfectly.  :)  It saddens me that society seems to celebrate Halloween and then skip right over Thanksgiving and move to Christmas.  I don't dislike Christmas... I love Christmas!  However, Christmas decor is popping up in stores earlier and earlier.  Black Friday is no longer only on Friday... it is creeping into the day that we should take a step back and be thankful for what we have!! Instead, people focus on what they want.  

There are a few things... well, a lot of things that I am thankful to God for this year... but I will only touch on a few. :)

My husband.  He is my best friend.  He is super patient with me and the kids and always puts us first.  He folds and puts away the laundry because he knows how much I hate that chore and he cleans the kitchen after dinner.  He also allows me to sleep in on the mornings that he is home (which is often right now).  He is a man of integrity.  He works hard to support us so that I can stay at home with the kiddos.  He isn't one of those dads/husbands that comes home and sits because "it's the stay-at-home-mom's job to cook and clean and take care of the kids."  He comes home from a full day of work and realizes that I've also had a full day of work and helps out where he can!  I love him and am excited about the years to come!

My kids.  They have taught me so much about myself.  I have learned that I need patience.  They have indirectly pointed out my flaws and have made me embrace me for who I am.  They have helped me to look at life more positively than I used to.  They make me want to be a better person.  Missy is a free spirit. She is spunky and strong-willed and intelligent.  She is protective and nurturing and gentle.  She is curious and artistic and an encourager.  Budboy is a fighter.  He came into this world struggling and has held strong and come a long way.  He deals with his allergy like a champ and never complains.  He is smart: he knows instantly if he has ingested something that has cheese or milk in it and will spit it out before swallowing!  He is caring.  He is a lover.  He is strong and protective.  He is silly and goofy.  He is sweet and quiet and loud.  My children could not be more different and they can be a challenge.  But they are a rewarding challenge and I wouldn't exchange them. :)

My family.  We have been through a tough rode in the last few months, but we are stronger because of it.  I am thankful for the times that I did have with my sister.  The years that we were connected at the hip and the years that we were connected by daily and hourly texts.  I would not be who I am if I didn't have her in my life.  She has always been my best friend and my sister.  No one can fill the position that she held.  In my family there were the parents, the girls, and the boys.  Each member had their partner. My partner may no longer be here with us, but we will be reunited again one day.  

My best friends.  Some of them have been friends for close to 20 years and some have been friends for a shorter time frame, but they are all very important to me and play a pivotal role in who I am.  Distance has separated most of us, but we are all still connected and pick up where we left off.  I am moving closer to some of you and am excited for that.  I am still connected with some of you by correspondence, but I am thrilled that we are getting better at staying in touch. 

I am thankful for the Army.  The Army has given the Hubs a job and a steady one.  It allows for me to stay at home with our kids.  It allows me to have the doctors that I need for my health.  We don't get to live extravagantly, but our needs are met and that is what is important.  We get to live simply and focus on what really matters to us.  

I hope that you all have a great time with family and friends this Thanksgiving! 

What is the thing that you are most thankful for?

It's Fall Y'all

I'm not technically "southern"... I was born and raised in California, and have only lived in the "deep south" for a year and a half.  The Hubs and I were married in August 2007, and since then we have moved more times than years we have been married.  For 8 months, I jokingly referred to Donner and myself as "nomads!"  Anyway, a year and a half means that Savannah has been our longest home since we've been married!! :-D

So in honor of the south, it's fall y'all!!  Fall in the south means that cotton fields are blooming!  If you have never seen a cotton field in bloom... You should!  It is GORGEOUS!!  I have yet to capture a picture... one that isn't blurry or so far away that it doesn't look like much.  The colors are amazing.  Milk chocolate browns and golds of the stems, dark greens of the leaves, and crisp whites of the cotton.  Almost always with a backdrop of trees with their leaves of reds and golds and oranges.  Breathtaking, I tell you!  My words are not doing the sight justice! 

As friends of mine and I were chatting on Facebook about the beauty that are cotton fields in bloom, the Hubs kept laughing at me.  Over the past year, I have become... as he says, "southernized!"  Yes... That is a word... at least in our house.  :)  Southern hospitality is alive and well in Savannah and I love it!  I don't know what it is, exactly, but I feel at home here!  The way of life is perfect to me!  I feel like I should have been born and raised here!  If you have never been to Savannah, visit!  It's awesome and you won't regret it!

Fall is in full swing here at our house!  The kids love pumpkins.  "Love" may be an understatement.  Budboy stops in his tracks for pumpkins.  Any kind of pumpkin.  Plastic, hollow, trick-or-treat buckets, real... you name it, and he wants to stare at it.  This causes mini meltdowns as we drag him away, but there is always another pumpkin not too far away.  Last fall, we did a different pumpkin art project seemingly everyday when Missy was in her pumpkin obsession.

This year, her obsession is more specific: pink pumpkins.  :)  We haven't seen too many, but she painted one!  One with three faces and hair that rotates so that she can display whichever face she wants on a given day.  Pumpkin painting is a yearly tradition for us.  I'm not a fan of carving them.  Looking at carved pumpkins fascinates me!  All the little details are great!  However, the inside of a pumpkin kind of really grosses me out!  So we paint them.  Plus!  I never have to worry about one going bad quickly on my doorstep!  Budboy hasn't painted his yet this year... he likes to have behavior issues on the nights we have it planned and it keeps being postponed... but it WILL happen!! 

We upgraded Missy this time.  Instead of finger painting, she was given a sponge brush!  And she also got acrylics!  She was super excited to get creative and decorate her little pumpkin!  She begged us for days!  When the special night came, she took her time and made sure it was perfect! 

We let the pumpkin dry overnight, and the next day, she excitedly grabbed some markers and drew faces.  Three different personalities!  She got a little carried away with freckles on the pink one, but her detail-oriented nature made sure to include laugh lines on the white one and eyelashes on the yellow!  Her drawings amaze me!  She pays so much attention to the fine details. 

I have a few more fall activities planned for this season.  Unfortunately, I just realized today that Thanksgiving is next week!!  I need to get on those projects!! (And the menu for the big day!!)

What are some of your favorite things about the fall?

The Princess and the Prince

I guess it's really the princess and the musketeer... but the kids think that Budboy was a prince and that is the opinion that counts, so we'll go with it. Tonight we went trick-or-treating on post. The kids, mainly Missy, as Budboy didn't know about trick-or-treating, had been looking forward to this night for weeks!  

As you can tell... they are oh-so-excited!!

Budboy was practically running up to the first house. Missy was in dress-up heels ("up-shoes" or "slippers with sticks" as she calls them) so she was having a little trouble walking, but she was a trooper and refused to change into the alternate pair of real shoes that we had on hand. 

Budboy just got his first ever trick-or-treat candy, and he now loves this holiday!

She wanted to make sure she had her picture taken after the first house also...

 After the first house, Budboy was even more excited and ran to the next. He was getting free candy and all he had to do was say "trick-or-treat" and "thank you!" Of course, his sounded more like, "teek a teet" and "tank you!" And at a few houses he added, "see wa way-der" (see you later) and "ha-ee ha-wee" (Happy Halloween). 

These boys were so sweet to the kids! One even helped Missy find her shoe and commented that Cinderella lost her slipper!

By now, Missy is a pro at trick-or-treating. She is not shy, though she sometimes appears to be, so walking up to strangers and asking for candy and engaging in conversation is a dream come true for her! Yes, that thought is scary. To her, everyone is a "friend." We are working with her on that.

His "Chandler smile"... Friends reference... :)

 Near the end of the night, we could tell that their buckets were getting harder and harder for them to carry... but would they let us help? Nope!! THEY wanted to carry them!! 

Glow stick swords!!

After the last house, another girl handed them each a glow stick. Which, of course, became swords! And at that point, they were more than willing to let Daddy carry their buckets so they could duel. 

The kids were not thrilled with the idea of heading back to the car, but once we were there they did not fight it. They were visibly tired and a part of them probably wanted to relax... and eat a treat. :)

All done, and another "Chandler smile!!"

My sweet little girl. Tired but very happy!

We got home and dumped their loot onto the floor and divided it up. Missy does not like chocolate and Budboy cannot eat chocolate... so all of that and the hard candy went into the blue bucket for Mommy and Daddy and all the rest went into the pink bucket for the kids. They don't get to eat lot of candy normally, so it will take a long time to go through it as they will get one piece a day, but I was very excited to see that we seemed to get a fair amount of teddy grahams and pretzels this year! So YAY!!

Tomorrow For the rest of this week and possibly next week, I'm expecting to have a little princess and prince running around the house. I'm excited for them. This is Budboy's first "dress-up"!!  :)

How was your Halloween? What did you do? What did you or your kids dress up as?