Glad to Humor Him

I have to admit to being to the doctors office five separate times this past week. Four of them were to the kids doctor. So this morning on my latest visit my kind pediatrician, who has a personality like my brothers, walks in sees me and just laughs. As I am pleading my case that I am really not one of those freak moms who likes to be in the doctors office just because, he reassures me that it's fine. Its just been funny for him to see me come in four separate times with a different kid in tow each time all in one week. So I'm glad that I am able to humor him. That is my job after all, to provide other people a brief bit of laughter at my expense. Especially when I can really see the humor in it also. I guess I can just be thankful that we only have four children otherwise we would be back there again soon.

Man of the Year

It has been quite the week around here. We had family in for Christmas so were all set to enjoy ourselves. But then it happened, the dreaded virus struck. First one and then another started to feel bad. By the time Christmas morning rolled around, only half of us were even healthy. But even those numbers couldn't last. From what I can tell only my Hubs has stayed healthy. Which is quite unusual in itself since he always catches what the kids have. My family went home and took with them a very unwelcome present. And this Christmas goes down in history as the germiest one ever. And my sweet Hubs is definitely up for man of the year. He's taken such good care of all of us and the house at the same time. After a week of feeling terrible I am finally coming out of the worst of it so can now only fully appreciate all he has had to put up with. He has even kept up with the laundry which is hard enough to do when your not dealing with a bunch of sick people. As well as taking down all the Christmas decorations so I wouldn't have to do it. Yep, he's definitely up for Man of the Year. Where is that write in ballot?

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is light. So I thought of this great ice sculpture of a horse with a wreath around it's neck. You can see how the light is coming through the ice sculpture. Really breathtaking I think.


We saw this and many more ice sculptures at "Ice" over at the Gaylord Resort this past week. It truly was amazing all the different ice sculptures. They have this amazing Nativity scene in ice. I just wish those pictures would have done it justice. The kids had the most fun on the giant ice slide that they went down just before the exit. So if any of you are in the Dallas area, go check it out. It's a lot of fun.

So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHuntw

Wordless Wednesday

His first game.

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Are you a Peeker?

It's that time of year when our houses are brimming with presents for our families and ourselves. Which brings me to my question, Do you peek into your presents? Now I must tell you right off the bat that I am a reformed peeker. I come from a very distinguished family of peekers (all extended though...see how I distance myself from them now).

Growing up I could find the presents that my parents hid within days of it being brought into the house. I would pillage through the closet, crawl through the attic and even unlock the camping trailer all to get to the unknown presents calling my name. Naturally my mom soon became aware of my little problem and decided that she would start to wrap the presents. Little did she know that it only slowed me down that first year.

I became so good at unwrapping and rewrapping presents that no one ever really believed that I had peeked. They would tape entire edges of the wrapping paper and then look for evidence of my peeking. They never could see it though. Yet whenever they quizzed me about what was in the present, I could always tell them. Right down to the size and color.

I had such a problem peeking that when I finally did finish peeking at all my presents I was sad that I couldn't peek anymore. So I did what any little sister would do. I started peeking in my brothers presents and then rewrapping them. And again my family didn't really believe me when I claimed to know what was in his presents as well. But one Christmas morning as I handed out presents to everyone I proved it once and for all. I was able to tell them not just what was in my presents but what was in everyone's presents under the tree. Yes as you can most definitely tell, I had a serious peeking problem. So I decided to peek no more.

And I didn't for a very long time. But when Hubs and I were dating I told him about my peeking problem. And of course he didn't believe me. So naturally he had to test me. Once again I had to brush off my old rusty peeking skills (which really weren't that rusty)and I proved to him how great I was at peeking. He had double wrapped my present thinking he was sneaky but even he was impressed that I had peeked and re double wrapped the present without a trace.

So here I am today, years after my last peeking challenge by Hubs and I can completely and honestly say that I am not a peeker. I guess I have gotten old and the challenges just weren't enough for me. Now I actually look forward to being surprised Christmas morning because that really happens all to seldom. But I guess that since technically I still wrap most of the presents I do know the majority of the gifts under the tree.

Christmas Tour

It's definitely looking like Christmas around the blogosphere. And BooMama is hosting a Christmas Tour of Homes. And since I love to visit other people's home I decided that I better show off my small bit of Christmas decorating that we have.

So let me begin at the front door where you will be greeted by Santa. If it's after dark then he has sparkling lights to show you in. But then again if the batteries are dead (which is often the case) you won't even notice the lights on the wreath. But you will see the pretty white lights on the house that Hubs puts up for me every year.


On my dining room table is my Holy Family. It means the world to me since it was my grandmothers. It was given to me after she passed away. I always love taking it out each year and hate to put it away. I never thought I'd love paper mache so much.


On our kitchen table is our Advent wreath. It's a very special one this year made from a paper plate and green garland and four small white votive candles. My three year old made it at church for us and she is so proud when we light it every night. So this is the one we are using. After all, it's not every year you get a new Advent wreath.

Next you will come into our family room. We have a small tree (it's small since technically I can put the star on top without a stool) covered in way to many decorations. But with four children all wanting to put them on the tree, every branch is prime real estate. We have all our stockings hanging from the mantel. And yes, I am a bit of a Type A personality in that they must all match. But they have the cutest snowmen on them. And although you can't see it in the picture my Christmas tree skirt also has cute snowman faces all around it.

On my mantle I have my Advent calender tree for the children to open each night. But since my children don't know what patience is, we always have issues about waiting for their night to open the box. So instead of opening a box every night it usually turns into an every four night event. Then all the kids get to open a box at the same time and no one gets left out. I don't know why it doesn't bother them to go days in between but it doesn't. I also have a few more of my snowmen on one end of the mantle.

On the other end of the mantle I have my Santa collection. I have gotten a few here and there over the years and now I think I may have a Santa addiction. But since it only affects me once a year I don't worry to much about it.

Next we will head into the kitchen where I really don't have to much to share. Except this lone little Snowman paper towel holder. It was given to me one year and I really like it. He's always sitting by the hot stove so it's a wonder he hasn't melted yet.

I also have my Christmas dishes in the kitchen. Every year the kids are anxious to start using them. So out they come and then all the food gets pushed aside so they can look at the pretty tree and presents on the plate.

Now BooMama asked us to share a special holiday treat with those of you who dropped by. And I must admit that treats just don't last long in this house. So sadly I don't have any pictures of recent treats to show you. But please know that if you come by you will get a lovely cup of tea or coffee. And if your super lucky you may even get a Surprise Snowball.

Surprise Snowball
40 Hersey Kisses
2 c. flour
1 c. Margarine
1 c. pecans, chopped
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Unwrap Chocolate kisses and set aside. Blend together margarine, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add pecans and flour to mixture, mix well. Chill dough mixture for about 10 minutes. Shape dough around each chocolate kiss covering completely. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

Thanks for stopping by and just be warned that those Surprise Snowballs are addicting and messy to eat with all that powdered sugar. And if your interested in seeing some more homes then head on over to BooMama.

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is small. And so I decided to show a picture of my oldest daughter when she was a bit smaller than she is now on a trip down to South Padre Island. She is also covered in a lot of small grains of beach sand. It took a while to get her clean.



Then of course we have another picture of two of my children when they were smaller. Here, my son's small head is the only thing sticking out of the sand. And my small daughter at the time was very proud of her work.


So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

Life Before TiVo

or in my case DVR. It seems like such a distant memory. How on earth did we live like that. No rewind, no pause or no recording of live TV. It's amazing how much we use it. And I really fought against getting it for almost two years. What was I thinking. I love DVRing. xoxoxo

Wordless Wednesday

That was one hungry catepillar.

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Some of my favorite Christmas Ornaments

I've seen some other bloggers out there posting about some of their favorite Christmas ornaments. And since I'm partial to a few of mine, I'd thought I share some of them. The sad thing is that there are a few of my most prized ornaments that didn't get put on the tree this year. With my youngest around and pulling on things I decided to give them a year off and they should hopefully make their return next year. So maybe next year I will get to show you those ones.

First off we have a favorite off all my children. It's one of Santa's face and he is always getting fought over who will get to hang him up on the tree. Whoever does do it always puts him front and center and then everyone knows that Santa is watching everything they do for the rest of the month. Some days it helps their behaviour and other days it doesn't.


I also have a fondness for snowmen. This is one of my favorite snowmen. He's a very simple snowman but I just really like him.


Now as a mom, I am always excited when the kids bring home ornaments that they have made at school. This year is the first year that Hoss got to bring home one and he is very proud of his Christmas wreath. I think it's pretty neat to.


This next one was made by Z. when he was in first grade I think. I truly love it. It's his hand print in white paint. But they didn't stop there, no, they added little touches to all his fingers to make them look like snowmen. How cute is that? I had to put this one up pretty high this year to keep it away from tiny hands.


Then of course having two boys, I have a Santa playing football that gets fought over. Poor Hoss never stands a chance against Z. in hanging this one. Z. practically smells it out before it's out of the decoration box and grabs it first. Z. has become all about football in any form. So yes, this is one of his favorites.


This last one is one I just found this year. It's a small wooden ornament of the Holy Family. I love this so much that I'm thinking that I will keep it out year round for us to enjoy. Originally I thought it was a small Holy Family statue, but when I picked it up I saw the hook and string to hang it from the tree with so I realized it was really an ornament.

But then I get to wondering if it would be sacrilegious to then put it back on the tree at Christmas time. After all if it's been in place of honor all year long would it really want to go back on the tree? Oh, how my mind works sometimes. Putting emotions into inanimate objects. Anyways, give me your opinion on that one would ya?

Restocking and Baking

I'm restocking our medicine cabinets today or at the very least throwing out the super old stuff. (And yes that was restocking and not packing). Hubs and I have decided once again that we love our current house so much right now that we really don't want to leave it. Even for the extra space, the extra money we would spend just seems sort of crazy to us since I'm officially a stay at home mom. See I told you we were flaky people lately. So we finally made a decision (we even spit on it...okay we really didn't do that)that we aren't going to go anywhere until our youngest is in school.

So now i can focus on more of the Christmas activities that I've been feeling like I missed out on last week. I'm way behind in my baking and picture taking. Have I ever told you how much I love my kitchen. It really is perfect for me. It has just seem so lonely lately without any treats being created. Now if I can just find my camera that Hubs packed up, then I could take some pictures of the baking about to ensue. To me that definitely takes precedence over unpacking those few boxes left.

Shopping Online

I've been doing a lot of shopping for Christmas online lately. I truly don't like to shop much and will generally do anything to avoid the crowds at the stores. But then I get to feeling a bit guilty. I see the shipping charges and think to myself "you really could have saved this money". But then I remember how cold it is outside and how I have to drag anywhere from one to four children with me. Once I calculate in the numerous potty breaks, snacks and tantrums avoided, I always decide that the shipping costs are well worth the hassle it saves me. Plus it has the extra benefit of getting something "fun" in the mail. Yes, I do like online shopping.

Flaky

Hubs and I are turning into some serious flaky people. We love flaky biscuits,flaky pie crusts, flaky pot pies, you get the idea. We never dreamed we would be flaky people. We always thought we were more consistent lovin' kinds of people. You know the soft, moist, spongy kind. You put something in the oven and your always guaranteed the same results over and over. That's not necessarily the case with something flaky. Some days it works out perfectly but other times there is just to much shortening to make it flake just right. But over the last year we have proved to ourselves and our families that yes, we are the most flakiest people they know. I guess flaky isn't always a bad thing. It can make for some delicious meals at least. It just really surprises us is all. Maybe we should join a meeting or something. We could stand up and introduce ourselves as Mr. and Mrs. Flaky. Do you think it would help?

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is long. So here I am pondering what sort of pictures do I have that can be described as long. And I decided on a picture of a bridge that's close to our home. It's not the longest bridge in our area but I think it has some of the most character to it. Up until about six or seven years ago it was still in use. The scary part was that it was a one lane bridge. So when you would drive up to it you would check as best you could that no cars were coming from the other direction and if it was clear you would drive as fast as you dared to get across it. It was always a short adventure that felt much longer to get across than it actually took. But since school buses had to use that bridge (built around 1887), they decided to build a new "overpass" right next to it. Now the "Old Alton Bridge" is just a park for us to go walk around in if we want to. The kids love going there.

So here you can see what the LONG reinforced boards on bridge look liked. You can also see some of the LONG steel bars that make the shape of the bridge. (Sorry I know there is a technical name for these things but I don't know what it is and didn't just want to refer to them as the red thingies).


Here's another view of Old Alton Bridge.

I guess the days of driving across this bridge are LONG gone now but not the memories. Those will stick around for a LONG time.


So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

Packing Stinks

Let me just tell you that I truly hate packing. Whether it's a suitcase for a short trip or just reloading the diaper bag. But truly, the worst of it all has to be packing for a move. I detest it so much that I try to do as little of it as possible. I'm trying to talk Hubs into believing that we are suddenly rich and we should just hire professional movers to come and pack us up. He's having none of it though. No sirree, not my man. My man is way to manly to let someone else come in and pack up our prized possessions (and I use that term very loosely). Nope, my man wants us to pack ourselves up and then he wants to move us himself.

My manly man is out to kill me with packing. I did the very least packing I could possibly do during the day. You see in my world, tiny little elves, fairies or gnomes (I'm really not sure) come to pack up all our stuff while we sleep. So when Hubs gets home from work I proudly show him my two boxes of packed items. Hubs loves me to much to really tell me what he thinks of my two boxes but I can see it in his eyes. But I am not to get off that easy. No, not me. My sweet manly man starts to pack after he has been working all day. Then naturally I feel guilty so I start to help. During all this late night packing my four wild indian children are running around like crazy. Meanwhile I keep trying to convince him that really we should hire movers, all to no avail. So I keep on packing.

And just in case you don't know it... Packing Stinks.

Nap Time dilemas

I don't know when it started exactly or why. But A. is having some serious napping/bed time issues. I'll lay her down and she will scream and cry for at least an hour or more if I let her. It truly has just gotten so frustrating for me. But it's even worse when my one and half year old doesn't get a nap. So just pray that we both get over our nap time/bedtime issues. Because obviously mom has some issues also otherwise this wouldn't frustrate me so much.

Wordless Wednesday

Hangin' With the Big Kids

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Catching My Breath

Ok, after the whirlwind of activity of the last few days, it's time for me to catch my breath. My mom was here this past weekend so we got to spend some fun time together. We were able to also get a lot of the kids present shopping done with out them being with us. Huge help for us. So thanks for that, Mom!

Then as some of you know, we have been looking to get a bigger house for over a year now. We have patiently been waiting for the right one. We put offers on two other houses but backed out because they just weren't exactly what we both wanted.

Well, Sunday we got a call to go and check out a new house which was almost finished being built. So we packed up and went to see if it was something we wanted to see inside of. And it was. So Monday we toured the inside of it and loved it. It isn't far from our current home so my children won't have to change schools and they can still see their friends easily enough. So all day yesterday we (and by that I mean me) were on the phone getting all the details hammered out. We signed the paperwork last night and we will be closing on our new home in two weeks.

So now we are in the process of getting our current home listed so we can either lease it or sell it. Hopefully everything will go smoothly from here on out. We are just going to be super busy trying to pack up and finish all the rest of the shopping needed.

Hopefully my sanity will remain intact. Well at least the little bit of sanity I had left anyway.

Busier than

a one legged man in kickin' contest. I promise to be back soon. Once Hubs has finished running me ragged. All is good though.

Happy Trails

The kids and I went out for a walk this morning. Only they specifically asked if we could go somewhere with a path or a trail. I agree but am thinking to myself "Where in the world do they come up with these things". So we went for a little walk along in an area I've been meaning to take them to for a while now. I was just waiting for it to cool down enough so the chiggers wouldn't be so bad. They were very excited to be able to walk through the wooded areas along the trails.

They were super excited to find a tree with a tree trunk that was hollow enough for them take turns hiding in.


They liked being able to walk across the bridge and being up high.But there all time favorite was dropping rocks into the water from way up high and hearing them splash into the water.

They spent a long time trying to decide who made the biggest splashes with their rocks. I think they decided it was a tie.
And now they are happily back home playing with one of the many sticks that somehow ended up in the van. You have to love it when the stars align just right for a nice morning out.