25 Days: HH Style, Day 9 & 10

Day 9: Go to Church Children's Musical

        Go to Kansas City Symphony Holiday Show

We had a little change of plans for today.  I was excited about going to the Children's Holiday Musical at church again as Boogie loved it last year, but we ended up having a great opportunity as well.  Edward Jones partners with the KC Symphony each year to offer special performances, invite only, to EJ employees and clients.  J has been sending clients for 4 years now, but we've never gone.  He ended up with two extra tickets this year so we decided to have a little date night and go!  It was a great time.  We got to check out the new [well, I guess it's not all THAT new anymore] Kaufman Center; which is beautiful, got to get dressed up and hit the town!  The show was great and we even got to perform with the Symphony! [well, they did a little sing-a-long section with everyone, but it sounds better saying we got to perform with them...]

Day 10: Have a Christmas Music Dance Party

I don't know what to say about this activity other than it was a total failure.  My kiddos LOVE to dance; I thought this activity was a shoe-in to go over well.  But, both kiddos were total grouchy pants all day. Sissy just wanted to suck her thumb and snuggle [which I'm not necessarily complaining about]...

 And Boogie just pouted in the corner...

On another note...Did you know that elves bathe in candy?? Who would have thought?

25 Days: HH Style; Day 7 & 8

Day 7: Take Family Photos by the Tree

[apparently I forgot to take a picture of the activity card for this day, oops...]

I really like this tradition.  Nothing fancy, just us in our jammies, seeing how everyone grows and changes year to year...

Daddy and the kiddos had a little story time by the tree before family pictures. One of Boogie's favorite books right now is "Are You Grumpy, Santa?" I have to agree, it's pretty cute, especially since Boogie can "read" the whole thing to us :)

Boogie thought the timer on the camera was the coolest thing ever [which made it hard to get him to sit still]. He thought it was hilarious to watch mommy push the button and then RUN to get in the picture!

This morning, Boogie again broke down into tears when he couldn't find Waffles.  He stopped still in his tracks in the kitchen, gave me that long, slow pout and burst into tears "Waffles!! Where are you?!" I tried my best to calm him down and distract him by saying "why don't we get some breakfast and then we'll look for her." I opened the cabinet door and Boogie jumped and screamed. "WAFFLES!!!!" And all was right in the world again...

Day 8: Visit Santa

I'll start with the Adventures of Waffles for today.  She got quite acrobatic last night.  Boogie spent a great deal of the day trying to hang upside down as well....

Today we had our Christmas Party with the families from our playgroup.  A pot-luck brunch and guess who made a special appearance?? Santa!!! I'll be honest, I'm a little skeptical.  I'm not sure it was really the Jolly Ol' Fat Man himself.  First of all, he really wasn't all that Jolly.  I would actually describe him more as grumpy and even creepy....but, the kids loved him! Actually, that's not true at all. The kids were terrified of him!  Sissy did pretty well with him though.  She's pretty chill and having a big brother has made her a pretty tough cookie so....creepy Santa ain't no thang!

Despite the shady Craigslist Santa, we had a GREAT time with all of our friends.  I can't say enough how truly blessed I am to have found these incredible mommies and their families!

25 Days: HH Style; Day 4, 5 & 6

Day 4: Write a Letter to Santa

We let the kiddos write their own letters this year. We made a trip to WalMart the other day and Boogie found some cars he's been talking about non-stop since and saying "Santa bring me cars!"  So, he wanted me to draw some cars on this letter for him to color.  Sissy...well, I'm not sure what she wrote, but I'm sure the jolly ole fat man is used to deciphering toddler scribble.

This morning Boogie was on top of looking for Waffles.  He's starting to understand that she likes to move around.  He found her really quickly; perched up in the corner...

Day 5: Make an Ornament

I'm really excited about this becoming a part of our holiday traditions.  Store bought ornaments are beautiful, but there's something really special about homemade.  I loved pulling out their ornaments from last year and seeing, already, how much their little hands and feet have grown! The first ornaments we made this year were super easy.  Just take a plain, clear ornament, open the top, squirt in some craft paint, replace the top and SHAKE!  Each person chose their colors to match our tree.  I love how different they all turned out.

Waffles was making quite the ruckus downstairs this morning.  I had no idea what she was up to.  Turns out she went on a little joy ride!

Day 6: Dress up in Silly Clothes

So much fun!! I gathered a pile of holiday themed dress up items and let the kiddos pick what they wanted to wear. Of course, Boogie picked the ruffle skirt :) This activity will be even more fun when they're a little older and it won't take 20 minutes just to get changed into new clothes!

It took us awhile to find Waffles this morning.  She changed it up a bit and ventured upstairs!! Now, I'm wondering if Waffles is also a diabetic or if she's just ornery....

We found her checking her blood sugar in the bathroom!

25 Days: HH Style 2012, Day 3

Day 3: Watch a Christmas Movie

Surprisingly, this activity did not go over well (at least not yet!).  Boogie is usually down for a movie any time you suggest it. Except today of course.  Maybe it's because we tried watching a couple of the old school Rudolph movies (which I've always thought were a little creepy) instead of Shrek or Toy Story or maybe he was just too ornery to sit still today.  But, I do have National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation recording from ABC Family right now, so as soon as this silly football game is over, J and I can watch! By far my favorite Christmas movie...not sure why we don't own it?! [Dear Santa...]

Definitely the more exciting activity today was bath time! I may have been a little heavy handed with the fresh bottle of bubble bath.....Tucker hopped into the tub and yelled "snow!!!"  It really did look like mountains of snow had taken over the bath tub.  Both kiddos loved making bubble beards and mustaches and hats and rubbing bubbles all over the walls...

And Waffles. Oh, Waffles.....we had our first meltdown in regards to Waffles.  Boogie came downstairs this morning and went right the tree where Waffles was yesterday and yelled "Waffles!! Where's Waffles!" J and I tried explaining that she moves to a different place everyday, but Boogie was too stunned.  He burst into tears when he couldn't find her.  Looks like we may have some issues with separation anxiety when Waffles has to return to the North Pole until next year....

We finally got Boogie calmed down and helped him look around to find Waffles.....there she is!!

25 Days: HH Style 2012; Days 1 & 2

Yep, it just started and I'm already late to the party!!  I've been slacking BIG time on this whole blog thing.  We've been so busy lately. Doing what, I don't know, but busy.  At least I have the "25 Days: HH Style" to hopefully get me back on track. Although, it's obviously not working so far...

I don't know about you, but last year I was kind of annoyed by all the facebook posts and pictures of people's tiny little elves on shelves (and in trees, in pantries, toy boxes, bathrooms and all other places they might have been causing mischief).  While it seemed like a cute tradition, it also seemed to have become the "in" thing to do.

Having said that.....we decided to "keep up with the Jones'" this year.  Yep, I gave in.  To be honest it's Boogie's 'terrible twos' that pushed me over the edge.  I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, this little (creepy looking) elf will help keep him in check....at least for a few short weeks.

In case you've been living under a rock and haven't heard the tale of the "Elf on a Shelf" here's a short summary:

• Santa sends said elf to your house
• Your first task is to name your elf 
• Said elf "watches" during the day, keeping notes on your behavior
• During the night, said elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa the happenings of the day
• Said elf returns by morning in a different place than she was the day before
• Each morning you have to look and find said elf
• You cannot touch the elf as this will cause her to loose her magical powers and she won't be able to get back to Santa to tell him how well you have been behaving (ie: no presents for you). [note that I referred to the elf as "she." Our elf is a girl, but some elves are boys...]

So, without further ado...I would like to introduce you to our elf, Waffles [name chosen by Boogie]:

She arrived at our house yesterday.  Unfortunately, there was no magical change in Boogie's behavior (darn!), but he does like to run around in front of her yelling "Hi Waffles!" and "look! Waffles is watching me!" So, I guess he kinda gets it...

Onto the 25 Days...

Day 1: [two activities today!] Put up the Christmas Tree & Go to the Holiday Luminary Walk

Since meeting Waffles, reading her story and naming her took up most of our morning, we were only able to get the tree up, but had to wait until after the kiddos went to bed to get lights and decorations on it.  Boogie had a lot of fun taking out the branches and spreading them out.

Boogie was much more excited about helping J put the lights up on the outside of the house.  Although, he was slightly confused by the ice cream man driving by while they were outside putting up lights...

Boogie is very obsessed with Christmas lights this year. Anytime we pass by a house lit up with lights he yells "Look! Christmas!" So, our second activity of the day was, in Boogie's words "Amazing" and "this is awesome!"  I agree. the Luminary Walk at the OP Arboretum is pretty awesome! The weather was MUCH better than last year; no freezing rain this time! Boogie and Sissy giggled and squealed with delight through the whole thing!

Today, we awoke to find Waffles in the Christmas Tree...

Speaking of Christmas tree.....here she is...

Day Two: Color Christmas pictures

This activity went much better than it did last year.  Everyone actually sat still and colored; at least for a few minutes.  I think J was trying to make up for his poor performance last year.  He spent about an hour and a half coloring his picture (the one with the presents).  Here are our masterpieces hanging in our new art display frame!

O is for...

Old!

Yes, my little man is getting old.  I can't believe he's not my little baby anymore.  He'll be 21 months on Monday.  That just sounds so old. He's a walking, talking, basketball playing, Goldfish eating, snuggle machine! He truly has become a little "man." So handsome!


And check out my baby girl!

All that wrinkly newborness is gone!  She's all baby now.  Chunky thighs, big blue eyes, sweet smile and even little giggles. Man, they grow too fast! [don't worry, I'm not getting baby fever!]


Speaking of getting old....my main squeeze turns 29 today.  Unfortunately, next to my 3-0, that 2-9 sounds so young! I won't get too sappy on you, but I will say I'm a pretty lucky girl to have him in my life and my kiddos are the luckiest kiddos in the world; they have the world's best daddy!


To show their love for their daddy they put together a very special gift....the gift of quality time. I created a "date kit" for each kiddo to spend some special time with daddy.

Boogie's "Daddy-Son Date" kit is all about a fort building movie night, complete with sheets, string, clothes pins and of course some yummy movie snacks...

C-Monk's "Daddy-Daughter Date" kit is all about spending some time in the sun planting pretty flowers, complete with flower pot, seeds, soil, watering can and, of course, a cute sun hat [for baby, not daddy]...

Can't wait for them to spend their special one-on-one time together, but of course I'll sneak in and take some pictures :)

Love continued...

I'll continue on the Love theme and share our little Valentine's day treat...Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches!!

I originally found the idea here. As usual, I changed it up and simplified a little bit!! Here's the recipe for my version:

Ingredients:
1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 stick butter (or equivalent in margarine)
1 egg
1 Tub Cream Cheese Icing

Steps:
1. Combine cake mix, butter and egg. Mix until smooth.
2. On parchment paper trace out heart shapes.  I used a small heart cookie cutter as a stencil

3. Transfer batter into piping bag (if you actually own one!).  I just used a gallon size ziploc bag.  [Here's a great tip I found somewhere:  Put one corner of the bag down into a large mug, fold the bag around the mug.  This will allow you to use two hands to transfer the batter into the bag.  Then snip the corner of the bag so you have a small hole.]

4. Pipe the batter, tracing your heart shapes.

5. Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool completely.
6. Open your tub of icing and stir to make it fluffy.  Spread it on the bottom side of one cookie, top with another cookie to make your sandwich!

You could re-create this recipe with sugar cookie dough and any food coloring/holiday shape!!

tag! you're it...

My first game of blog tag!! I was tagged  by Emily over at 2 Dogs & A Baby

Here's the Rules:
#1 Post these rules
#2 Answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you
#3 Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
#4 Tag 11 people and link them to your post
#5 Let them know that you tagged them

My Answers to Her Questions:
1. What is your favorite time of the day?
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but....the morning (at least the mornings after everybody sleeps through the whole night).  Snuggling in bed with my 3 loves before daddy goes to work.  Everybody is rested and happy and giggly.  Love it!

Technically, this picture was from evening snuggle time, but you get the idea...


2. Do you have any kids?
Two beautiful babies. My peanut sized, very independent, 19 month old Boogie.  My chunky monkey, snuggle muffin, 3.5 month old C-Monk.

I never really noticed till now, but it looks like he's giving her CPR in the picture.  I assure you, she was fine  he just loves to give sissy kisses then say "nice" (because we always said "aww, that's nice").

3. What would your dream job be?
For the time being, I have my dream job: Full-Time Mommy!  I get to be with my kiddos 24/7; be there for every moment of their short childhood years.  This time goes so fast and I'm so blessed and thankful to be able to devote all my time to making it great.

Once the kiddos are in school, I'd like to rejoin the traditional working world, at least part time.  I miss my residents at TCK so badly!  I absolutely want to go back into the industry of working with older adults.  They are such an inspiring group of people to work with.  I'm very passionate about the cause of finding a cure for Alzheimer's and other memory stealing diseases.  I would love to work with older adults suffering from these diseases to help make their last years great and be there to support their families through the challenges that lay ahead.

That's my Poppy and the driving force behind that passion. Love you and Miss you!


4. Who is someone you look up to--that maybe doesn't know it?
There's a lot of people I 'look up to' for many different reasons. People who inspire me, people who encourage me, even people who show me who I DON'T want to be.  For this question, I'll pick on my friend Heather over at Sweet Peas & Sassafras.  I grew up with Heather and became good friends our last couple years of high school.  We went our separate ways for college, got married, had kids, but have been able to stay in touch through the wonderful world wide web.  In the spirit of blogging, she's the one who initially inspired me to start my own. She's always been a great writer and journalist and I can probably never match her wit, but I'm at least trying....

She also played a role in inspiring my passion for photography.  If you haven't checked out her work, you should...here's an amazing example:

I think this is hands down my favorite family picture.  Too bad C-Monk was still hiding in my belly.  Looks like I'll have to bribe Heather to take some shots of all 4 of us sometime...

Lastly, and most importantly, I look up to her because she's a rock star mommy.  She's shared her life through pictures of all the fun and silliness that ensues in their house and many times I've said to myself "can you be my mommy for a day?" For the last few months she's done it all by herself as her hubby took a short term job half way across the country! Every time I get stressed out dealing with my two kiddos by myself and start staring at the clock, waiting for J to come home and save me...I think of her and how she just powers through, don't know how she does it!


5. What the best part about being married?
Wow, it's hard to pick one thing. I guess the best way to explain it is not being afraid to fall cause you know someone will be there to catch you.  J is absolutely the biggest support system in my life. He's my foundation, always there holding me up.  I've always been a very anxious person; a worry wart if you will.  J is very level headed and laid back.  Anytime I get overwhelmed (which is often), he's there to calm me down. I don't know if this is true for all marriages, or if I'm just lucky. I love knowing that he will always be there; it let's me breathe a little easier...

6. Morning person or night owl?
Night Owl.  Always have been. Looking back I think it's because of my dad. Yes, he's a night owl too, but I don't mean just genetically I get it from him.  Growing up my dad worked so hard for our family.  He was gone all day till about 6:30 every night and on business trips all the time. I got into the habit of staying up late to just spend time with him, because sometimes that's the only time we had.  We didn't do anything wild and crazy, but would just sit on the couch and watch random TV shows and movies. My mom is quite the morning person and would head to bed long before us, so it was just me and him; hanging out, spending time.

Gone are my days of being able to make up for it by sleeping till noon (man, I don't remember the last time I did that, but it sounds A.Ma.Zing!).  Having babies has definitely made it easier for me to get up early, but I still don't like it...


7. What are 3 words to describe you?
Now I feel like I'm in a job interview...what should I say; hardworking? team player?...
No really, this is such a hard question.  Forces you to look at yourself objectively, which I'm really not good at.....


Open minded: (I guess that's technically two words in one) I definitely have an open door, open arms philosophy about life.  It is not my place to judge anyone for who they are or what they do.  It is my job to love them for those very reasons.  I'm willing to give advice from my personal experiences, but I will never cast my opinions upon you. Every single person is different (that's the way God made us). We all make mistakes. Every single person has walked a different path through life; paths that have shaped them into the person they are and guide them to make the choices they do.  It's easy to make judgments and put up walls against the unfamiliar, but I strive to embrace it.  If there's one value I hope my children will inherit from me, it's to love people for who they are. "owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law...and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor..." Romans 13:8-10


Observer: My whole life my personality has been misunderstood.  People always classify me as "shy" or "reserved." But, those who really know me, know that these are not valid descriptors. I think the labels "shy" and "reserved" imply fear or timidness; neither of which are me.  I am merely an observer.  I love the details of life.  I love to watch interaction and process.  I love to learn how others live and think. I'm like a sponge, I love to soak it all up. Sitting in a mall or airport and "people watching" is an all time favorite activity.  I'm just fascinated by life.

Obsessive-Compulsive: Not in a "touch the door knob 5 times, followed by two claps and a turn or something bad will happen" kind of OCD, but...I like a routine.  I like order.  I like to know the plan.  As I mentioned before, I'm a worry wart; always functioning at a high level of anxiety.  It helps to ease my anxiety if I know what to expect.  I don't like surprises or sudden changes to my plan. With a hubby as laid back and "last minute" as J, my high attention to detail and planning is good to have or else we'd never make it anywhere on time or maybe anywhere at all for that matter, but it's also probably fairly annoying to those who don't understand my anxiety. J has definitely been a good balance and brought me down a little bit, but I'm pretty sure he still thinks I'm crazy...


8. What is one thing you don't like about yourself?
See question 7....my worry wart, high anxiety, OCD tendencies....sometimes I wish I could just let my hair down and fly by the seat of my pants...

9. Have you ever laughed so hard you wet your pants?
Yes, many times.  I'm often 'that girl' who can't stop laughing long after the joke is over; the giggles just keep coming.  The most recent, fall on the floor, pee my pants (because peeing your pants is much easier to do after having 2 babies) laughing moment involved my children.  It's definitely a story for their baby books...

I breastfeed C-Monk and since I'm home alone with both kiddos all the time, Boogie sees me feed her...I never really thought twice about it...

One morning when C-monk was about a month old Boogie jumped up on the couch and grabbed my boppy (the curved nursing pillow) and put it on his lap.  He then put his arms out reaching for the baby. I'm sure you can guess where this story is going, but in the moment all I was thinking was "aww, great idea buddy! With the pillow there, you can actually hold your sissy!"  So, I went ahead and laid her on the pillow....

Yes, Boogie proceeded to lift his shirt and try to breastfeed his sister!  I know I should have been the mature mommy and done something more responsible, but the giggles just erupted....I couldn't stop them....before I knew it I was doubled over in laughter....crying...and, yes, probably peeing my pants a little bit....


10. What was your favorite subject in school?
In high school: I loved journalism (yearbook editor right here, and yes, it was a class!). I guess I'm following that passion through this blog and my highly detailed baby books...my children will never feel like they missed out on knowing about all their milestones!  I liked health education and P.E. (I loved that we had 'special interest' P.E. classes, like dance!). Well, I ended up with a master's degree in this area, so I guess it made an impression on me...

In college: I obviously loved the classes related to my major.  My favorite was probably our exercise science lab.  I also loved all my gerontology classes because, well, I love old people :)

11. What was for favorite Superbowl commercial?
What Superbowl? What commercials?  I was too busy chasing toddlers and calming a screaming baby and entertaining guests and eating delicious food...

Here's C-Monk in the bumbo watching the 'opening ceremonies'

My Questions to You:
1. What is one of your favorite quotes?
2. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
3. What sound do you love?
4. If you could chose to stay a certain age forever, what age would you chose and why?
5. I f you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
6. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
7.  Which celebrity would play you in a movie about your life?
8. What would the movie about your life be titled?
9. What was your favorite toy as a child?
10. Who is your best friend and how did you meet?
11. What is the most recent dream you can remember?


Bloggers I'm Tagging:
Stephanie at Letters From the Loux's
Heather at Sweet Peas & Sassafras
Valerie at The Kansas Perrys
Nicole at Furrow Family Fun
Sophie at Real Housewife of Kansas City
Becky at My life as wife, teacher, friend, etc

Yes, I failed at tagging 11 people. Emily (who tagged me) and I have too many blogger friends in common....guess I need more friends...

Anyway, Tag! You're it!!