Literally...

You really have to watch how you ask a question to a 4-year-old. For example:

Me (from the bathroom, with no clock): Aaron, what time is it?

Aaron: It's nine o'clock.

Me (knowing he always just gives the hour): What are the numbers after nine?

Aaron: Ten, eleven, and twelve.


Bwah ha ha!!!

Claire video is fixed!!

I don't know what happened with the YouTube link requiring an invitation, but I have fixed it so you can see the video now! Enjoy!

Christmas Recap: Aaron

We did Christmas Eve at Mimi and Pa's house, and just a visit to their house gets Aaron all excited. We arrived around noon and had a lunch of mexican food--quite a change from your standard Christmas fare! The kids ate and then we announced it was present time!

Aaron was a bit disappointed to learn that he had to go LAST because he is the OLDEST! It was actually funny because Claire went first, then the triplets, and I decided to let them go in the opposite order that they came out of Christi's belly, even though it was within 2 minutes. Nate was pretty proud he had come out first!

One of Aaron's gifts, from the triplets, was wrapped in a crock-pot box, so when Aaron unwrapped it he was a bit puzzled and we were all saying, "You got a crock pot!" He sorta smiled and was saying, "Thank you so much..." when I finally told him he better open the box to find the real present. What a polite little dude!

That day he got:
*A giant roaring dinosaur


*A Little Einsteins globe with a joystick to make rocket fly around the globe, and it teaches all about world geography and famous locations. He is so proud to know that the Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world!


*A Thomas the Train rolling suitcase, perfect for overnights to Mimi's or Jen Jen & Beth's!

At 5:00 we went to the Christmas Eve service at church. Aaron was so tired--he actually fell asleep in my arms! We woke him when it was time to go forward for the Lord's Supper. When we got home, he was so excited to put out cookies for Santa. He really wanted us to bake some fresh chocolate chip ones, but I had so many leftover from my cookie exchange the week before, that I told him Santa would like a variety of cookies so he got to choose 4 or 5 different kinds for Santa to try.


That night he had the hardest time going to sleep! He went to bed just after 8:00 but was awake for quite a while. I heard him one time singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" to himself. Every time I peeked in on him, he was lying in his bed squeezing his eyes shut, just trying to fall asleep. He finally konked out sometime after 10:00 and Santa was able to come!

Just after 7:00 on Christmas morning, Aaron woke us up saying he wanted to go see if Santa had left any toys. We woke up baby sister, and went to see. Santa had set up a marble run, because Santa likes to play with the toys sometimes to make sure they work. Aaron was so happy because it is just what he had wanted!



Santa also left a Leapster, which Aaron absolutely loves to play.


He was very excited about the gummy worms in his stocking! Everyone who called that morning heard, "And some gummy worms! That's so silly!!"


And of course, Santa left Pez dispensers! I always got those in my stocking.


After they had played with their Santa gifts for a while, we opened presents from Mom and Dad. Aaron got a couple of games for his Leapster (his favorite being the Wall-E game), and a Wall-E sweatshirt and pajamas.

Aaron's favorite thing to do that morning was tear down his marble run and build new designs. I had so much fun with it! My mom came over and even she got in on the fun, saying she needs one for her desk at work!

That afternoon we went to my uncle's house for soups/salads, and Aaron got some dominos and a nice sweater. He kept begging to go home to play with his marble run!

The next day was the big family gathering with Chris's extended family. Aaron took his Leapster and enjoyed some lap time with Mimi before his cousins arrived.




Once everyone was there, the kids were so wound up and ran around the house like crazies! So we took them outside to play with the cousins' new bows and arrows.









We had a great meal--ham, sides, and LOTS of desserts. Finally it was present time, and we let Mammaw open her gifts first. We tried to get a picture of her with all the great-grandchildren, and this is about as good as it gets!


Aaron got a new Rhyme Bible, a devotional book, an ocean floor puzzle, some coloring and sticker books, and his big gift from Mammaw....the much desired and asked for...CLAW GARBAGE TRUCK!



Yes, the garbage truck obsession continues. He was so happy to get this, and it has been the most played with toy through the weekend. He even wants to take it with him in the van, but we've had to tell him no because it is just too big!! So he takes his Leapster instead!

Claire's update will be next!

Christmas Songs, Claire-style

I have been dying to get a video of Claire singing all her cute versions of the Christmas songs she knows, but I didn't have a camera to do it. Thank you Santa!!

Some things to note:
*Jesus is "asleep on the head".
*During Frosty she notices that I am mouthing the words along with her, and she stops me from singing with her! After that it was very hard to make myself stop "singing" with her, and she kept trying to catch me do it. I bet you are mouthing the words along with her too!
*When she starts Frosty again she tries three different keys and it cracks me up!!
*Rudolph has a red nose, "just like the other reindeer".
*She gets sillier the longer she sings, but she manages to get in Away in a Manger, Frosty the Snowman, O Christmas Tree, Jingle Bells, Rudolph, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
*Turn up your volume--for some reason the sound is really low, at least on my computer.

My new video camera!

I got what I wished for! A small video camera perfect for taking little clips of the kids. It can record up to 60 minutes!

I took a couple videos this morning, and wanted to share! I'll have another post soon with Christmas details!

Merry Christmas to You!

Merry Christmas to everyone who reads my blog!

And as a special bonus, this is my 200th post! I have really enjoyed keeping this journal since February, and look forward to more fun things to share.

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, filled with warm memories!

A Baby Changes Everything

Jesus coming as a baby in that manger truly DID change everything! This song is awesome.

A scrambled post

I have so many things on my mind!

*I can hardly believe Christmas is 3 days away! Only 2 days until our first family gathering! I am so excited about the kids getting their gifts, and doing all the traditional things like reading the Christmas story by firelight (or maybe a fire on Christmas Eve would scare Santa?), going to the Christmas Eve service at church, warm cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. The anticipation is killing me!

*Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. I am so excited about her gift this year--I have bought the two of us tickets to see TransSiberian Orchestra tomorrow night!! She is excited--she cried when I first told her because she would have liked for Grandma to go. I hardly ever get to do stuff with just my mom, so I'm looking forward to this.

*The kids have yet to see Santa! I'm hoping we can make it to the Enchanted Forest tomorrow, and they can sit on Santa's lap. This is one thing that hasn't been a high priority this year.

*I was tallying the kids gifts last night, trying to figure out what will be wrapped, what will be from Santa vs. Mom/Dad, and I realized Claire's gift count is higher than Aaron's (because his gifts were more expensive). I may have to go find a $10 toy or something for Aaron to even it out a bit! (I think that sounds crazy, as he will get plenty of toys!! But I'm still thinking about it...)

*I also realized that Aaron thinks Santa is bringing him a big garbage truck for Christmas, but he is getting that gift from Chris's grandmother, and we won't do that gift exchange until Friday. I am really hoping he is not disappointed all day on Christmas when Santa doesn't deliver it!

*My dad is coming to visit Friday. I'm looking forward to it! He never stays long, but I'm hoping he'll stay through Saturday evening at least.

*One of my best friends from high school is getting married Saturday. I'm so excited for her, and can hardly wait to attend the wedding!

*I have so many things to cook this week! I'm determined to make some homemade cinnamon rolls, plus I have to make enchiladas for one gathering, veggie soup and salad for another gathering, and au gratin potatoes and strawberry salad for another gathering. It's a good thing I love cooking!!

Didn't know it would be this hard

Saturday I had my first taste of how it feels to have a hole in my heart at Christmastime.

I had some shopping to do, and because friends were otherwise busy, I went by myself. I walked into JCPenney, and immediately saw a table of sweatshirts, marketed toward grandmothers. You know, the ones that have applique designs of teddy bears that say "My grandkids are BEARY special" and other sayings like that.

I started crying right there in the middle of JCPenney! I realized that #1: If Grandma were alive, she would be shopping with me right now. She was always the one I called to go shopping with me. And #2: If Grandma were alive, I'd be buying her one of those sweatshirts, because she likes them and they were a good deal (and she always liked a good deal!). I tried to dry my tears because I had a whole day of shopping ahead, but in the few hours I was out I found myself randomly tearing up.

That night we went to a Christmas program at a nearby church. It was amazing--a two hour program complete with a huge Christmas tree, lights timed to music, and a play. Even snow falling from the ceiling!! When the opening started, I found myself sobbing again, because I realized that if Grandma had been alive, I likely would have invited her to come along, and she would have loved a program like that!

I had not realized just how hard the holidays, especially Christmas, were going to be without her. She is so deeply missed.

An old lady...

I laid on the couch for a while after dinner (had some MEAN heartburn and was trying to rest it off!). When I tried to get up about an hour later I had this HORRIBLE pain in my lower back...I couldn't put any pressure on my right leg and I was seriously limping from furniture to wall.

As I was all hunched over trying to get to the back of the house (and wondering what on earth was wrong with my back), Aaron said, "MOMMY! You look like a OLD LADY! You look like you need a walking cane!"

Chris and I laughed so hard I thought I was going to double-over. I mumbled, jokingly of course, "I think I'm going to pee on myself!" and Aaron said, "You're not by yourself!" and gave me a big hug.

Oh my goodness. This boy cracks me up!!!

(BTW, my back pain is subsiding a little. I'm wondering if it is that sciatic nerve thing that happens to pregnant women??)

Christmas Tour of My Home

I would love to be able to see pictures of some of my Mom's and Grandma's favorite decorations from years ago! So today, I documented some of mine, for posterity.

First, on the door coming in from my garage, I hung the beautiful wreath I won at a silent auction last year. I didn't bother with a wreath on the front door because the only person who ever uses that door is the UPS man!


In my kitchen, I have a cute little gingerbread man sitting on the window sill above my sink. This little guy makes me smile. He's my baking buddy during the holidays!


I love getting out platters and using my cute Christmas tree trivet.


My table has hand-crocheted placemats made by Chris's grandmother. I have some fake poinsettas I found at Grandma's house in one of my apple pitchers. Random, I know. Aaron was eating strawberry pancakes while I took pictures.


And Claire was busy with her Diego stickers.


Now join me in the living room! On the sofa table, I have a cute light-up train that I also won at the silent auction last year. The kids really like it. I also have a couple of cute peppermint candle holders, with no candles. I couldn't find the ones from last year and I haven't remembered to buy more at the store. This is the story of my home decorating. Half-done!


Next to the train is my nativity set, which a college roommate got me several years ago. The star is supposed to light up but needs new batteries.


Then we move on to the mantle. I just love my stockings! I bought the first 3 when Aaron was little, and my friend monogrammed them for me. When I was pregnant with Claire, I rushed back to Target to buy another one for her, hoping they were still carrying them a year later, and picked up two just incase we had a 3rd baby down the road. I like matchy stockings! I went ahead and hung the new baby's this year. I doubt Target still sells these stockings so maybe that means we should not have any more babies.


One of my favorite pieces on the mantle is my Christmas countdown. Aaron loves to change the days! He's always wanting to change it to zero though!


I have some cute stuffed snowmen sitting in a window. And a Santa I found at Grandma's house.


My entertainment center is sporting a cute Santa and snowman with really long legs. These just make me smile. There is also another nativity scene, an MSU snow globe, and a couple of other random items.


Then of course the tree! The Christmas skirt was also crocheted by Chris's grandmother and matches the placemats. There is also a Christmas boot around the house somewhere that she crocheted. She's working on a crocheted nativity set for me, and since many of the other women in the family already have one, I'm looking forward to getting mine!

(I keep meaning to take down that picture behind the tree, and wrap it like a present with a pretty bow, then re-hang it. My aunt does that with her pictures most years and it looks cute!)

Finally, this is one of the kids favorite items! They got it last year from Chris's aunt. When you push the button, it snows and plays REALLY LOUD Christmas songs. Gotta love it!


Now that you've seen my house, maybe you could take me on a tour of yours!

Gingerbread house

The kids had such a good time doing their gingerbread house this year. Yes, I cheat and buy the little kit with the convenient tray for the house to stand in, but I think it turned out cute. And it's low-stress!

Aaron ate most of the gumdrops--he kept sneaking his head under the table and after a while I finally figured out that was where he would hide his face when he ate a gumdrop!

Claire liked all the pink candy. Of course.

What a nightmare!

This morning around 3:50 AM I woke to Claire shrill whiny cries of "Mommy! Mooooommmmmy!!" So I went to her room to see what was the matter.

She was very groggy and sleepy, and I could tell she was barely awake. I asked her what was wrong, and she said through sobs, "Aaron took your tea!" over and over.

I told her it was okay, and Aaron was sleeping. She got her thumb in her mouth and cuddled back down to sleep.

But what a nightmare! Aaron not only tortures her during the day, but even in her dreams!!

(They really do love each other!)

Every door in the house is closed...and more of Claire's quirks

Claire is getting bigger every day, and it's so hard to look at her and not think of how she was my little baby just, what, YESTERDAY?

Lately she has had this obsession with closing doors. If a door is open, it must be closed. Any time she leaves a room she closes the door behind her. I remember when Aaron did this, and I guess it went away. It's so strange to walk in the back of the house and all the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom are closed!

She also says things "smell" like something else. What she means is that they "look" like it, but for some reason she says "smell"! For example, "That smells like Dora!" or "Does that smell like a paper towel?" or "Those smell like dajamas (pajamas)!" Cracks me up and I hate to correct her because it's so cute!

For Christmas, she is getting a big doll house I bought her back in the spring at the consignment sale. (It's been stored in our attic for many months!) I've bought a little doll family and am getting her a couple of rooms of furniture for the house. Then one day last week we were talking about Santa, and she told me Santa was bringing her Ponyville. WHAT? What on earth is Ponyville, I wondered. I looked it up and saw it was a My Little Pony play set. I remembered that she had seen a big carnival one at Walmart right around Thanksgiving, and she must have known from a commercial that it was called Ponyville. (Thank you Nick Jr advertising!) So, I found a little pony bus set for $11 and Santa's going to throw that in with the dollhouse. Santa aims to please!!

Christmas Traditions, in memory of Grandma

Monday night was our church's annual Christmas Traditions dinner. Women in the church sign up to host a table, and decorate it with all their own dishes and centerpieces. The night is always so magical, with all the gorgeous tables to admire, so I always participate. This year I decided to do a different table, using my Grandma's china (which was actually her mother's!). I also used my other great-grandmother's silverware, and my Grandma's silver tea service. I used a table runner I found in Grandma's linens and put it all together quite beautifully!

I added a couple of pictures of Grandma and a written memorial to her so everyone would know the significance of the table. My sweet friend Leigha tied gorgeous napkin ring bows and each place setting had a bag of chocolate truffles to take home. Instead of just inviting my friends, I invited Grandma's friends and my mom to sit at the table with me. We had a wonderful night. I know Grandma would have loved it.






Me and Mom


Grandma's friend Evelyn and her daughter Jewel


Grandma's friends Joanne and Mary Wanda


I took pictures of nearly all of the tables, and here are a couple of notable ones!

Leigha's table was gorgeous! I was supposed to help her with it, but she ended up putting it together all on her own!


I liked the centerpiece on this one...


This one cracked me up. A couple of teenagers did it, and it had high-heeled shoes in the centerpiece!



And if you want to see all the tables I got pictures of, here's a slideshow with more of them!

Borders on pictures

I can't believe I never knew how to do this. I never bothered with borders because I didn't know an easy way to do it. I wanted to pass this along to any of you who may have been just as in-the-dark as me! Enjoy border making!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2008/11/making-simple-borders-for-your-photographs/