Santa, The Optimist...

I am really thinking the Big Jolly Guy may have gone a little loco this year.

Seriously, you people know me. I am the single most ungraceful, clumsy, accident-prone klutz ever. It's really no secret, so why try to sugarcoat it?

By M's age there is no telling how many times I had already visited my local ER for stitches, splints, ace bandages, etc. Now, the good news is I was blessed with a VERY strong and resilient body which has carried me exceptionally well. I have actually broken very few of the big bones in my body. Yes, I am still sticking with the "big boned" claim. Why else would a 5'6" girl have size 9 feet? (Thanks again Mom!)

Anyhoooo, back to my point...

My beautiful Girls thus far are apples that have not fallen far from the tree. They definitely have gifts and talents that they did not get from me. M is becoming quite the artist. THAT did not come from me. However, they do quite resemble me in the not so good with the walking, talking and chewing gum at the same time department. Walls just seem to have a tendency to jump out in front of us. I only wish this was an exaggeration. You have all seen and know it to be true.

SO, what did the Head Honcho of Elves do?

This......

Please, cross your fingers for us! Pretty Please?

Christmas Blessings....

Even as we cared for a very sickly toddler on Christmas, I was constantly aware how lucky we are as we plowed through all of our loot. To look around and see my little family, healthy (in the big sense of the word), and all here together was a greater Blessing than I can express. We have so many friends and family this year who have struggled with health issues. We continue to remember them all in our prayers. As a military family, we are always keenly aware of how Blessed we are just to be in the same place for the Holidays. So many who share our path are apart. We could not be more grateful to those families for their sacrifices.





Here are some of our favorite moments from this year's festivities.....


This is seconds before the onslaught....

The dogs enjoyed their goodies too....

Princess M with new jammies, new necklace, oh yes and new hair.....

Our house added 7, that's right 7 new poodles to the mix this Christmas. Thankfully, none of them are of the breathing persuasion as Momma is not a fan of poodles. The princesses, however are in poodle heaven....

This one is actually yesterday, when Princess L had one quick burst of energy and went out to explore the new playhouse....

To keep the festive spirit alive as long as possible, we celebrate The Twelve Days of Christmas. Starting with Christmas day and continuing for the next eleven days we each receive a small gift to unwrap. The gifts are generally along the lines of stocking stuffers (except Daddy A always bends that rule on my gifts) am I a lucky girl or what? So we will be celebrating the season for several more days and hoping the Spirit remains with you all as well.

Christmas Traditions....

One of our longest running and most consistent Christmas traditions involves one or all of us being violently ill on Christmas. Usually while traveling through airports trying to get to or from KY. After last year, L is banned from even travelling through Memphis Airport, more specifically she may never frequent the Blue Note Cafe again. All jokes aside, sadly we are keeping the tradition alive as L began with the dreaded stomach bug at 1AM Christmas morning. Although this has seriously dampened her particular enthusiasm for the Holiday, the rest of us have done our part to take care of her and keep the Yuletide spirits glowing. Thus far the rest of us have avoided the dreaded bug and are keeping our fingers crossed that our luck remains.

So think good thoughts for this little angel to be fully on her feet tomorrow.....

On to a happier Christmas tradition. On Christmas Eve, we always make cookies for Santa.

Here are some shots of our efforts.

Our perfectionist....
Buddies at work...

Group project....

Assuming we all get some rest tonight, I'll be back tomorrow with more details of our very Merry Christmas. We hope all of you were as blessed as we were.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas....

Look closely, that fuzz in the picture is SNOW!!!! (oh Ok, it's artificial snow, but who's splitting hairs...)

We spent Friday evening at the Gilroy Gardens. Gilroy CA is famous for one thing. It is the garlic capital of the world. As a few of our previous guests can attest to, there are times driving through the town will cause your eyes to water. The aroma of garlic really is that strong. Happily all we smelled Friday were Hot Chocolate and Christmas Cookies. It was actually only 35 degrees when we left the park. It felt cold enough to us confirmed Southerners to bring down some of the real white stuff. That could also have something to do with the fact that our Chief Outing Planner did not prepare the adults of the group for the weather.... Somehow I let C leave the house without gloves and hat, what was I thinking? I, in fact, did not even take a jacket but luckily had gloves in the diaper bag and stole M's scarf. That's a fun conversation..

"Yes, dear. Mommy knows it matches your hat beautifully, but Mommy is freezing and is going to use it to cover her ears.... No more whining about fashion or we're leaving this instant...."

Joyfully and Triumphantly we carried on to have a wonderful time.

The girls are ready for Roadsters. I told them to hit up Papa for that request...

On the third round on the carousel, L finally relented and actually rode a horse. It was ultimately a success!

On a final and separate note, we haven't begun opening presents yet, however we have begun receiving packages. As has always held true with kids, some of the gifts to come will likely be ignored after the first five minutes. The packing boxes, especially those assembled by Gramps with Duct tape, will be a fave as long as Mom can stand it in her family room...

Merriest of Christmases and Love to you all.

Princess "M" Milestones...

Wow, what an exciting week we have had...





This weekend C told M he wanted to help her practice tying her shoes. Now sadly, apparently among the "tiny" number of shoes the princess owns, none of them actually have laces. I guess this could have something to do with the reason she was not yet adept at tying.... All of you who are parents of small children know what a blessing Velcro really is. So, C supplied M with one of his runners and left the room for a second.





Upon his return, this is what he found....






Being her Mother's child, she is likely to have big feet, but hopefully not quite this large...







Today, M and I were making fudge for her to take to school tomorrow for their Christmas luncheon. She was asked to bring something that is a family tradition and to stand up and tell her class about it. Who among you is surprised that our most favored tradition would be chocolate?



While doing her most important job of licking the spatula, she suddenly said "Mommy, what does this look like?" Surprise!!! Our first lost tooth! She was so thrilled that she was not even bothered by the speck of accompanying blood. It looks like we will be having an early magical visitor this year.

Here's the new grin...

Here's the tooth...

Just a note, when she went to school this morning she did have two braids. This is the way she came home. Kindergarten is hard work.

Sweet Celebrations of the Season....

Sunday we started a new family tradition. We attempted our first Gingerbread House. I am not Martha, and we didn't actually bake anything this year, but we think it was a huge hit!

For those of you who don't mind a messy kitchen and even messier family, this kit is the way to go....

Here's our crew.....

Dad was Chief Frosting Spreader....

It's a really precise, scientific process, can't you tell?

This is our finished masterpiece. Note the strange look on M's face. Her first loose tooth is very wobbly at this point. I fear this may be the only expression we see until it falls out. The Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus may well be crossing paths at our house this year.

One Last Blast....

We had one last get together with our friends headed to the East Coast on Thursday night.
As tough as it is to say so long to such good friends, we know how blessed we are to have found them.

Here are a few last shots that illustrate why we enjoyed their company so...

That's real friendship, taking turns taking bites of the last brownie.....
Anyone remember "Mahna Mahna" from the Muppets? It's the kiddos fave download from Youtube...

That's one tiny mouth with one HUGE piece of candy cane....

Hard to believe from this shot that they are both firmly in the "terrible" toddler stage....

Not that we're biased, but what a couple of beauties!

Super Dad.....

Today C performed for what he might consider his toughest audience yet. The great Dad that he is, he volunteered to play Christmas carols on the guitar for M's class. He chose all the classics... Rudolph, Jingle Bells, O Christmas Tree, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Frosty. The kids sang along loudly and mostly on key. It was extremely cute to watch and I must say that I was every bit as proud as I used to be watching him play for a few hundred drunks. He did mention that it wasn't quite as easy to master Xmas carols not written for guitar as it was to master his usual faves of 80's metal. Apparently Frosty is tougher than Master of Puppets, who'd have thought it?

That's one Jolly Elf....

What a cute audience....

Of course the Bug was loving hangin with the "big" kids.....

One last glimpse of M's class as a whole. Today was the last day for three of her best buds whose families are moving soon. It's always hard to see friends go, but it seems especially tough to say so long at Christmas.....

That's one happy teacher. That's the smile of a woman who just received a $225 gift certificate from her class. Beats another "World's Best Teacher" apple ornament any day....

Jack Frost nipping at our nose...

Apparently it's rare for the daytime temperatures to drop below 60 degrees here. I am not complaining because I love to get outside with the girls throughout the year. I also love to be able to wear flip flops EVERY day (never mind the other few dozen pairs of shoes I own....)

I also love what I call "football weather". This requires being able to wear a big sweater and jeans without breaking a sweat (flip flops optional).

Recently we have had a couple of days of football weather. For my two little princesses, both born and raised in the deep south, this translated into a chance to break out the snow gear....

Heaven help us if we ever get stationed in Minot...

Has Anyone seen Frosty?

I have mentioned my love for Christmas decorations. A few years ago, I won a Frosty as a door prize. He became our bathroom Frosty. He is cute and off white and matches our guest bath decor.... Our new home has a rather small guest bathroom. Funny how a bathroom seems small when you cram the washer and dryer in there. Who designed this place? Welcome to our home. Welcome to our guest bathroom. Check out our dirty unmentionables..... So anyway, because the room is so small, the only place to put Frosty is on the back of the commode....

A certain friend, who shall remain nameless, he knows who he is, has a problem with utilizing the facility with an audience.....





"Someone" has it in for Frosty...
I will never look at Frosty the same way again!

Kitchen Elves...

So, this morning M and I were making brownies to take to an open house at her gymnastics center.

Very quickly "the Bug" jumped in to assist.

This is the work in progress....

Why do we use Egg Beaters in our brownies? Because they are much healthier of course....

Oh and because we must do this.....and Egg Beaters are pasteurized...healthy schmealthy!

That's a happy Bug!

Adventures in Napping...

As adults, especially those of us who are parents of toddlers, I believe most of us would pay BIG money to be "made" to take a nap.

Why is it my toddler likens it to water boarding? You know, not really torture, but darn sure not fun!

On a recent lovely afternoon, yesterday to be exact, it took me 55 minutes to get my beloved down for a 90 minute nap. You do the math. If I sound desperate for that little slice of heaven during the day when no one is yelling, and the kids are quiet too, so be it! I feel compelled to share with you the limits to which L will go to avoid the dreaded "n" word. Never let it be said that my girls are not slaves to a routine. We already have a 15 minute ritual, unique to each child, that must be strictly adhered to before every slumber. L's involves being tucked just right, under the only acceptable blanket, and kissed on exactly the right spot. This never takes less than 3 attempts "NO, not there, right here" with a finger firmly planted on said spot. After finally planting an acceptable smooch, you must then make sure that every last hair is meticulously brushed back from her face, exactly. So back to yesterday, I completed the ritual, and went on my way. The first callback was to re-tuck the blanket. The second call was to remove the bunny-eared Carebear from the room all together. The third call was to return the bunny-eared Carebear. The fourth call was to remove the giant M&M, not one to be a pushover, I refused. The fifth call you ask? I removed the M&M and threatened to remove the one and only acceptable blanket if the little manipulator didn't lay down and go to sleep! I'll show her who is boss..... Ultimately she went to sleep, but funny thing about a kid who has to be awakened from her nap at 4:45pm? For some strange reason, they resist going to bed at 7:30pm. Go figure.

I have discussed this conundrum with a lot of other moms. Some of whom have had the gall to suggest I should just concede and give up the naps. I do believe they have lost their minds. I may not be able to out will her forever, but for the time being I will prevail. Sanity demands it!

A few months back she caved...

Last week when this one was sick with strep throat, I couldn't resist....

They look so cute and harmless, when sleeping.....

Ghosts of Christmas Past....

I love Christmas.

I love Advent Calendars, Santa Claus, Nativity scenes, Inflatable Rudolphs, Carols, The Grinch, etc., etc., etc.

You get the picture. If it's red and green, I love it. I am a Griswold (Christmas Vacation anyone?) when it comes to Christmas. The rest of the year, I try to maintain at least a smidgen of decorum... Not at Christmas! In my opinion, it cannot be overdone. I spent $37.00 at the Dollar Tree today. That means 35 more absolutely necessary Christmas items.

Generally, we try to return to KY at least every other year. The adage is true. There is no place like home for the holidays. However, we quickly learned that the USAF would give us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the holidays in style at each new "home".

I thought I would share a couple of samples of some of our past Christmas moments.

This was a Christmas village sand sculpture at the mall near our house in Florida. I was pregnant with M. These were our first USAF friends.

This was Christmas on The Riverwalk, You can't tell from this shot but Texas really does do everything BIG. They use over a million lights to illuminate the river. Hopefully you can tell that again, I am pregnant. This time with L.

In OK City, Santa arrives on a wagon driven by extremely rare black Clydesdales.

Last year we took a trip to Disney World to celebrate the season. M would have waited all day for this....

Epcot knows how to decorate a tree.....

MGM was my fave. We went at night to see the city streets sync'd up to Mannheim Steamroller music. It was amazing!

Here's hoping you all are enjoying the season as much as we do!