Friday, December 28, 2012

Goodbye Holly Jingles

On Christmas Eve, Holly Jingles left with Santa to return to the North Pole. Jaidyn and Addy were in tears as I tucked them in to bed that night and Jaidyn had Holly tucked in right beside her. Holly did leave them a note telling them that she enjoyed her time with them all and promised that she would return again next year on December 1st. And she will be welcomed again with open arms as we had become extremely attached to that silly elf! Saturday Holly was found hanging from the fan in our room. She hid so well that it took quite a while for the kids to find her. Both the girls became upset as they thought that she had returned to the North Pole a few days early. Photobucket Sunday Holly was left in our bedroom when we left for the day to go to Papa & Lala's house and overnight she must have decided to stay and play in our room dragging out both Wes and I's underwear from our drawers. Reid was not thrilled seeing all his Dad's undies thrown out and hanging from the drawer. Photobucket Monday Jaidyn slept with Holly and on her last morning with the kids she was found rocking Baby Jesus in the Stable (don't have a picture of this). Holly chose to save her sweetest and most meaningful gesture for last, reminding them what Christmas is truly about. Photobucket

Christmas Joy 2012

Christmas has come bringing cold weather with it! And even though all of my decorations with the exception of the ones outdoors have been organized and put away, the cold weather looks like it is here to stay. All season, I strove for an economical but festive Christmas celebration and spent as much time as possible just at home. I baked (Yes, I baked 2x), played games and read through our huge box of Christmas themed books with the kids. I think the kids enjoyed this as much as any of the actual activities we participated in . We have been so blessed with all of the events leading up to Christmas and even though I tried to keep it simple, we were still all very blessed by the many gifts we received. We kicked off Christmas break celebrating with friends over some Mexican food and drink. It doesn't get any better indulging in chicken enchiladas, guacamole dip and some 5-star worthy margaritas! The kids decorated cookies (lots of cookies), smothering them in icing and chocolate M&M's. Super sugar overload so we saved most for Santa and his reindeer! Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket The next 2 days were spent at Papa & Lala's house...presents, Christmas lunch, Play-doh creations, ornaments, Pinterest handprint Christmas tree & hot tub. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Christmas Eve at Papa & Nana's...jacuzzi bath, Christmas lunch, Santa scavenger hunt, presents, Fashion Glasses, Christmas Eve Mass, Fried Frog Legs, marbles with Great Grandpa & an evening with great friends. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/jacy1034/2012/031-11.jpg Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Christmas Morning at home & Days after Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket

Friday, December 21, 2012

Holiday Motto

Saw this on Pinterest yesterday and it has now become my motto for the remainder the holiday season. I really had to work hard at it this morning when I searched high and low for an hour for a missing Christmas present that I knew I had wrapped a couple of weeks ago. Ends up, I just forgot that I already sent it with my mom to her house, so I wouldn't have to pack it later. So much for trying to be over-the-top organized! Photobucket

It's a HOLLY Jolly Christmas (Elf Update #3)

Holly continues to excite the kids each morning with both her silly and sweet adventures. The boys wake up first in the mornings and search out Holly first thing and it has been hard keeping her where-a-bouts from the girls as they like tattle on her doings. Only a few more days until she returns to the North Pole with Santa. :( Saturday Photobucket Holly hid amongst the holly greens. Nothing too exciting, but I think she was extremely worn out from the slumber party girls. Sunday Photobucket Was hoping this would inspire some readiness from Reid, but no such luck! Monday Photobucket The kids thought this was super funny! Reid was not thrilled as he knows that toilet paper should stay in the bathroom. It's not like he's using it right now, so I am not sure why he got all pooty pouty pants about it. Tuesday Photobucket I think Holly just might be missing Santa and her friends at the North Pole. Wednesday Photobucket A bedroom barricade! The girls were so careful to not tear it down crawling underneath it all morning getting ready before going to school. Holly didn't do a good enough job getting it low enough to the floor. She will have to work on that if she comes back next year. Thursday Photobucket Holly left the kids some surprise magic candy seeds. Friday Photobucket Overnight those candy seeds grew in to full candy canes! Yummy! Don't you just love the girls outfits for school? It is Polar Express Day and they are supposed to wear pj's and can bring a stuffed animal and blanket. They aren't supposed to wear slippers because they fall off too easily so they chose their furry warm boots. And of course Jaidyn's sleepwear attire wouldn't be complete without her sleep mask! Photobucket Jaidyn has done well in keeping up with Santa's request in his letter and has been reading lots of Christmas books to Holly. Yesterday, the boys and I spent a little time at Jump Mania to get in some exercise fun! There were only approximately 10 other kids in the entire facility the entire time we were there. It was great! This was one of the only times that I was thankful for the freezing windy weather as it kept most people at home. :) Photobucket Photobucket

It's Always A Party!!

Last Friday, I survived a night of giggly fun girls as Jaidyn had her indoor camp-out themed slumber party to celebrate her 8th birthday. We kicked off the night with camp-out style grilled hotdogs, chips and a veggie tray (none of the girls except Jaidyn would hardly touch). They played relentlessly for hours and one of their favorite things to do was sliding in their sleeping bags down our basement stairs. We had Pinterest style s'mores and they were able to choose from several different toppings and stuff them in a sugar cone before placing them in the oven. They were quite yummy and so much less messy than a typical graham cracker s'more. I survived and I know all the girls had a great time, but it won't be any time soon that I am looking to have another one of these slumber parties that turns in to a nightmare of sugar-overloaded silliness extending well into the midnight hour as that was when I finally ventured down stairs and laid outside the tent so that they would all go to sleep. I'm such a party pooper, I know!! I drifted off only to wake up to the sounds of their snores and with a sore hip from lying on the carpeted concrete floor for an hour. Where was Wes during all this??? He was sleeping happily in the comfy cozy bed for the past 3 hours. :( Photobucket The basement was transformed into a scene perfect for a camp-out under the starry night sky. Photobucket Photobucket Food Bar Photobucket Photobucket Playing a game of headbands...I caught trying to cheat by looking the in the glass door hoping to see her reflection. Cheater pants! Photobucket Sliding down the stairs Photobucket White powdered donuts, juice and fruit for breakfast! Levi helped me get the groceries for the party and I told him that he wasn't allowed to have any of the donuts until all the girls woke up on Saturday morning. He took me word for word and he snuck downstairs and woke the girls up at 7:00am so he could have donuts!! Photobucket One of the mom's when dropping her daughter off also brought me a "survival" kit!! Even though it was rather tempting many times throughout the evening, I held off and didn't pop the top until mid afternoon the next day. I figured it had to be 5 O,Clock somewhere, right? Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket All the girls were sent home with a Hobo style treat bag. :) Levi had a nice little holiday party ending the first half of the preschool year. The party consisted of holiday songs, conversations on Santa's lap and a gift exchange. Reid was super good sitting in one of the little chairs and watching all of the festivities...maybe because Santa was in the room and he was trying to be on his best behavior. I wish Santa would show up a little more often!! Levi only asked for one thing from Santa, a new bike. Unfortunately, I am not sure that is on Santa's list... Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket As we were leaving the preschool, Levi asked looking up at the roof, "What did Santa ride today?" He obviously didn't hear any pawing of reindeer hooves.