Christmas Photos!

Why on earth do I put myself through the torture of Christmas Card pictures. Every year (except maybe when Madelyn was only a month old) they have been an absolute nightmare. Scott and I have never gotten so mad at each other as we have over Family or Kid Christmas Card pictures. ***This year I did learn a lesson and didn't ask for Scott's help!***

So I wasn't going to do it this year and some CRAZY voice inside of me said.."they're a year older...just try"! Big mistake! All I can say is Thank God for digital and if you only knew how many closed eye photos I deleted.

Getting pics alone was fairly easy...together impossible.






Nothing worked...bribery, begging, pleading, crying, threats...nothing!!! So once again..I am saying never again...but I know as well as everyone else...that I will still try again next year. One day it will work...it just may take 10 more years!

Priceless!

Airfare to Vegas......$300
Hotel.................$90
Food, Drinks & Taxi...$400
Souveniors............$100
Cost of New Vacuum....$200
Spending Time with the Girls........................PRICELESS!!!!

Being the good husband Scott is, he decided to clean the house before I got home from Vegas. While vacuuming he pushed the vacuum under Christian's bed. Any mom/wife knows....you never vacuum under a bed until you look under there first. Its amazing how things collect under there. Well a pair of Christian's PJs were under his. I got home and found a burnt pair of PJs and a vacuum that smelled like it was on fire every time you turned it on. He gets an E for Effort!!!

I do love my new vacuum though!!!

Trick or Treat?!?!?!?

Christian as Spiderman


Madelyn as Ariel the Little Mermaid

There is no way to describe how much better holidays are when you have kids!

Mom and I took the kids trick or treating at the nursing home we work at. Its a great activity for the residents and the kids love it. I love it because...I know exactly where the candy came from (I bought it), it takes less than an hour and its a warm place unlike door to door (although this year...that wasn't an issue). After we finished there we went to our assisted living for a Halloween carnival. The kids had a blast playing games and winning little prizes. They also had a haunted hayrack ride that the kids insisted on going on. Madelyn screamed a lot and Christian's eyes got really big! I figured we would be sleeping in a bed with 4, but NO nightmares, so that's good.

Madelyn also decided that she is going to be something next year that has the same hair color as her. We had to shampoo her hair 5 times to get the red out!!!

My Baby Girl is 5.

Where on earth did the last 5 years go? I can not believe its been 5 years since I became a mom. Its been the best 5 years ever and I wish I could slow everything down. My babies are growing up way to fast. Last night I asked Madelyn to come give me cuddles and she says (in a rather disgusted voice) "From a five year old?". My heart sank...I said....absolutely!!! Then I asked her if 5 was too old to give cuddles and she said "no". Thank God she said "no"...I can't imagine my day without cuddles and loves from my kids.

There is definitely something to be said about having little ones around...and I am not exactly looking forward to the day when this changes. But right now....I am "the best mom ever", funny, cool and I get all the hugs and kisses that I want. It makes me sad to think they won't always think of me that way....but it all comes around full circle I suppose. Because I am sure at certain points in my life, I wasn't my mom's biggest fan and didn't think she was very cool....but now I do!!!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder....

My girls' weekend in Vegas was a huge success. It included all the requirements...relaxation, fun, no work, and most importantly friends! We had such a great time catching up, hanging out and having fun. We never ran out of things to talk about that's for sure. But one thing I must say is that...being away definitely makes you appreciate your kids and hubby that much more. (And maybe it makes them appreciate me more too!) Its great to be home!!!


Check out my facebook for more photos...although the other ladies took way more pictures than me!

Kids being Kids

I have many things to explain in this picture. First we'll start with the fact that the kids are in their underwear. For some reason my children hate clothes, the minute we get home they ask if we are going anywhere, if the answer is "No" they strip. Sometimes they don't even ask they just strip. One day I am sure that they will be mortified to know they ran around naked or half-naked (like this photo) together. Even worse that they answer the door like this when the Schwan man comes?!?!?!?!?!

Then there's the mark on Christian's head. I didn't realize how much actual hair protects a person...or at least covers things up. He took a carpet dive at Daycare and ended up with this nice rug burn on his forehead!

Last, but definitely not least...the food. So I guess I was a little engrossed in my email and facebook when we got home tonight and I didn't start supper the minute I walked in the door (like I usually do). So after a little while I hollered at the kids asking them what they wanted for supper (Not getting up from the computer mind you!). Madelyn yelled back "Don't worry, we already made it!". I had to see this.... Now, how did I completely block out the sounds of them setting up their table, crawling on the counter to get the plates down and then gathering all their food. So what did they make for "supper". A heaping spoonful of peanut butter (at least its protein), potato chips (a vegetable I suppose) and bread with ketchup (a starch with a fruit technically) and lastly milk! You can't see the bread and ketchup but that's what Madelyn has shoved in her mouth. At least they hit all the food groups for the most part, right?!?!?!?!?!?!

So the moral of this story...they REALLY do need me!!!!!!!

PS. No I didn't let them eat that for supper!

How many signs does one person need?????

You may not be aware of my absolute hatred of mini-blinds; but I do hate them with a passion. Our old house had no mini-blinds. I removed them all after having Madelyn, because of the strangulation danger. Well, when we moved into our current house...we had a lot more windows and no curtains to cover them. So going against every motherly instinct I have I left the mini-blinds. But to make myself feel better, I did cut all the strings to the top so that they would not be dangling down, except when the blinds are up (which I never put them up). I did eventually find curtains, never really found ones I loved so I settled for sheers. As you all know sheers are transparent, so unless I wanted the whole neighborhood looking in the windows...I had to keep the blinds or find an alternate. So we have lived peacefully in the house this way for 20 months. SIGN 1: Then while jumping on her brother's bed, Madelyn sliced two of her fingers on the mini-blinds in Christians room. Not sure if it was on the strings or the blinds themselves because in the process two slates were broken. She probably could have used stitches in the one finger, but I weighed the options and thought a little bit wider scar on the finger compared to the trauma of another shot and stitches (not to mention getting them removed) I decided to steri-strip it and call it good. By the way...it healed nicely, not sure it will really scar at all.

SIGN 2: Then we come to yesterday....Scott saw a red mark on Madelyn's neck and he asked her what she did to get that. She said "I wrapped the mini-blinds cord around my neck". I FREAKED!!!! Needless to say, we made a trip to Lincoln and bought new curtains for the entire house. And all the mini-blinds have been removed and thrown away. Because I refuse to sell them on a garage sale for some other family with kids to put up in their house.

Yesterday just confirmed to me that I should NEVER go against my "Motherly instinct". Thank God the big guy upstairs gave me two signs to fix the problem!!! And that I am just talking about a rope burn and not something devastating.

You may wonder why I had the hatred in the first place, well a woman came to speak at my "mom's group" when I lived in Lincoln. She walked into her living room to find her four-year-old son hanging from the mini-blind cord. Luckily the father was able to perform CPR and he survived. But when she was talking, she spoke of other cases that were not such happy endings. The one that terrified me the most of a 11 year old boy that was found dead in his bed. The mini-blind cord must have been close to his bed and through the process of tossing and turning while sleeping that night he strangled himself. Can you imagine 11 years old?!?!?!?!

That's it...I am off my soap box.