Goodbye 2008

Tonight I will gladly say goodbye to 2008. For me this has been a difficult year, healthwise that is. I think any year that a 30 year old woman with 2 small children has to face a hysterectomy is a difficult one. With God on my side and lots and lots of prayer I have come out swinging and better for it. I am back to my fiesty self and ready to face 2009 with all it has to offer. Frank and I, along with the kids are looking forward to a great year with lots of fun adventures and of course many fun stories and pictures to share. Happy New Year to all! Have a great night!

Holiday overload

The good thing about the holidays is all of the festivities, the comings and goings, the gatherings, the family you haven't seen in months but the bad thing can also be just that. Especially for a family with preschoolers who is used to a schedule, and then when there is the yucky crud thrown in everything is thrown out of whack. Don't get me wrong, we have had a GREAT Christmas and I (of all people) am looking forward to ringing in 2009 with great gusto but thank goodness for a few down days in between. The last 2 days the kids and I have stayed in our jammies until 10am, watched way too much TV and I've read 2 books! Talk about needing some rest. I've also done 6 loads of laundry, tried to tiddy up the house and I took down Christmas on Saturday and it still looks like a small tornado went through our house. The kids are loving all the new toys and it's been fun to see Megan play dress up and change clothes 3 or 4 times a day(thanks Nana). I am really looking forward to tomorrow and ringing in 2009. I'm not sure what our plans are but I just pray that 2009 is better than 2008 and if I spend it on the couch with my sweet husband at midnight then that is fine with me as long as we are all healthy and safe this next year.

Sledding pics

Mitch and Uncle Phil
Mitch

My whole family went sledding yesterday and had a great time. Here are just a few pics from the day.

Christmas pics

We had a great Christmas despite a head cold that we have all merrily shared since Monday. Poor little Megan has it now and has a raspy voice that actually makes her sound so cute when she talks. I thought I would share just a few of the zillion pictures I have from the week. Mitch and Megan were really goodbut are totally exhausted from all the hub bub and family adventures and today just wanted to stay home and play with their new toys. Merry late Christmas to you all!


Christmas Eve

Megan in her Princess jewels
Me and my crazy kids!

Happy 5th Birthday Mitch

Dear Mitch,
I can't believe you are 5 today. It seems like just yesterday you were tearing through the house as a toddler, getting into everything and wrecking havoc on the dog's lives. Now you are reading, doing math and interested in everything mechanical and constantly asking me how fast things can go. My nickname for you is Mr. Question. I love you dearly my son. You have taught me to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life and you have also taught me to speed up, like when you have to go potty really bad after preschool. I hope you have a great year and we can learn and explore many new things together.

Love you lots! Happy Birthday!
Mommy

To do list

This was today's short to do list. I don't usually make lists like some of you do. I keep most of it in my head and if I do make a list then I just leave it at home which is where the grocery list ended up today.

make cupcakes
clean bathrooms
vacuum
fold laundry
go to grocery store
go to bank
pick up cake
send gingerbread men to school with Mitch
wrap presents
make goodie bags

Tomorrow is Mitch's 5h birthday so the list sort of has a theme to it. What wasn't on the list but I would have like to do was read my book and get a little down time but it didn't happen at all. I guess I will fit that in somewhere next week. Party pics tomorrow!

It happened

Just like I thought it would, I lost it today. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is bad customer service and rude people. When I worked retail(men's formal wear) we had to go to customer service training ever six weeks so good customer service, or even decent customer service, is kind of a thing with me. Anyway, I had to go to the mall today and get my wedding ring repaired. The woman there was SO rude that I actually reached across the counter, took my ring back, politely informed her she was rude and marched Megan and I out of the store. I was so miffed that I had to literally sit down with Megan and bribed her with a sucker for a few because the poor girl thought she was in trouble because I had drug her out of the store in such a huff! So now my ring is still in my jewelry box upstairs because I didn't have time to drive to Flatirons and who wants to go to another mall one week before Christmas! So now I am at home, I am going to try to chill for a bit before I start in on the dozens of gingerbread men that I have to make for Mitch's preschool tomorrow. I hope I don't bite all their heads off!! lol

Starting to loose it...

There's 3 days until Mitch's birthday, 7 days until Christmas and I think I am starting to loose it! I had to go to a store that starts with W and ends with art tonight and the Christmas rudies were out in full force. Phew...I hope we all make it! I'll have to blog more about it later. Mitch is having a 2 week long stretch of night terrors, some eczema and is starting to catch a cold...not a good week for a 5th birthday. Stay warm!

Tagged

A few bloggy friends tagged me in the Christmas get to know you game so here are my answers...thanks girls!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? hot chocolate
2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? just sets them under the tree
3. Colored lights on tree or white?White.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?Nope but just because I don't want the dogs or kids eating the real stuff
5.When do you put your decorations up?Usually the first weekend in December
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?Stuffing and gravy
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?Anything involving Barbies or Cabbage Patch Kid Dolls
8.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?I think I was 12
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?Yes.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?We let the kids do it and then I use ribbon instead of garland and candy canes.
11. Snow. Love it or dread it?It's ok
12. Can you ice skate?Oh yes. I took lessons for almost 4 years
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?Again, Barbies or cabbage patch dolls
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you?
The Birth of our Lord
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?My uncle's carmelitta's
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Going to the Children's Service on Christmas Eve
17. What tops your Christmas tree? A star

Update...

I can't believe it has been almost a week since I posted anything. I guess I obviously had way more time to be on the Internet last week when Frank was gone. In the last week these are just a few of the highlights (and low lights) that we have had around here:
Frank got home safe Friday night...the kids were SO cute when we picked him up at the airport.

Mitch pulled the fire alarm at church Sunday morning, DURING the 11am service and the whole congregation got to be evacuated. I would have like the crawl under a rock!

We had our Christmas MOPS holiday party on Sunday night and I learned how to play Bunco.

A MOPS mom taught me how to make and teach others to make dang-ly beaded earrings on Monday.

On Tuesday we had our Christmas MOPS meeting despite all of the snow and it was beautiful and wonderful.

It's been a very full week and it is ONLY Wednesday night! Luckily, I have the kids in bed early and am looking forward to some reading by the Christmas tree tonight.

Daddy Blues

Frank is still in Seattle...until tomorrow...and the kids are barely holding up. Like I mentioned earlier in the week, he hasn't done a long overnight in years. We are use to him traveling around the state all the time. He and the kids are well versed in the cities of Yuma, Wray, Kremmling and Walden but Daddy is usually home by 9 or 10pm and they can always talk to him on the phone. So long story short, this has been a hard week for them. So this morning when Mitch woke up with another attitude the size of Seattle I started singing him this song

I've got the I'm missing Daddy blues
I just want to go back to bed
Because my Daddy isn't coming home until Friday
Oh I've got the I've got a bad case of the I'm missing my Daddy Blues!!

Mitch was less than impressed but Megan loved it and I cannot tell you how glad I will be to see my dear, sweet husband walk out of that airport tomorrow!

One last thing, especially for Aunt Sue, the kids had snow for snack today: ) We had 5 inches today and we can't wait to see you on the 20th!!

Bootiful bootiful dress!

This is Megan's bootiful, bootiful princess dress. Isn't she lovely? She has been wearing it all week, whenever I will let her. She plays Cinderella's Ball in it and dances around the house proclaiming that "this is my bootiful, bootiful dress!" I think she is the most beautiful princess I have ever seen and definitely gives Cinderella a run for her money any day!

Advent with little ones

Yesterday marked the beginning of Advent and this year I also bought this really neat advent box at Target that has tiny little doors to hold small trinkets, candy, money...etc. to help count down the days of Advent. The meaning of Advent is patient waiting but with two small little ones its sounds a lot more like, "when can we open the first door mom, what do you think is behind door number 5? Is there candy in every door? When will we put our tree up?" This morning I read a very summarized verse from Matthew to the kids about the angel coming to Mary and telling her she had been chosen to carry the Christ child and he would be called the Messiah. We had dinner with my parents tonight and Mitch and Megan were retelling this all to my mom and dad and it came out more like....

"...we trick or treated from these doors and mom read from the Bobble about an angle that came down to a carrot and told her Jesus was coming." So maybe Mitch and Megan's version is a little different(ok a lot different) but I am working on it, and hopefully in time they will get the reason for the season!