Christmas 2008

Grandpa reading, Twas the Night Before Christmas,

look how good we are being Santa!~!!

Making cookies for Santa with Uncle Zac

Wow!! So many presents

Stocking Stuffers!!

This look is priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting for Santa on the stairs on Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!!!

The Gingerbread Creation

Chance is having SO much fun making his
Christmas tree! He had fun eating it too!!

Aren't we cute???

~ The Gaylord Hotel~

Small Celebrations

I am here to report that we have made it (almost) through a week of everyone being at school for 5 days without being sick! Hallelujah, prayers are working. When I say we have been sick for a month, that is NO exaggeration. It all started at the end of October, stomach flu, 3 staph infections, bacterial pneumonia and lots of allergies. I think we have surpassed the allotted sickness allowed in one family. At least I can hope right? We have 2 weeks of school left before the holidays and McKenna and I have been counting down. We went to see Santa on Tuesday and Chance was perfect (you never know with a 19 month old). When Santa asked him if he had been good, he looked right at him and said, "yea". When he asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said "Melmo". Shocker huh? Gifts are piling up under the tree and the holiday season is in high gear. Now, if only I can figure out how to get the decorations put away by someone other than me, I dread that each year!!!

Has Winter even started??

If my memory serves me right, we haven't even gotten into the winter months? This past month has been sickness after sickness around here. Between staph infections that gone through almost everyone to now the running noses, coughs, stomach bug, I am WORN out! It has literally been an entire month of this. McKenna went to the doctor yesterday after being sent home for school with a fever to find out that she has fluid on her lungs and in her ears (never even complained about her ears). She is now on 3 different meds. We took Chance to the doctor today b/c he has been showing the same signs, so far ears and chest sound clear......
Maybe this is a sign that b/c this past month has been so infested with germs that the holidays will bring promise to two healthy children......I won't hold my breath. I still have a lot to be thankful for, these things are SO minor, I guess I shouldn't be complaining!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Daylight Savings Time!!

Here is a photo of Chance falling asleep sitting up in his crib. I went in to check on him to find him sitting up, with his blanket around his face, pacifier in his mouth, sound asleep...Of course as soon as I took the picture one of his eyes came open...Sure wish I could fall asleep like this.

Another milestone happened today. He started "big boy" school. He wasn't going to start until January, but we decided to go ahead and start him now. He walked right in and began to play, we had to distract him a few times so we could sneak out. When I went to get him they told me about the great day he had today. He slept on a big boy mat and played outside.....As I am writing he is beginning his meltdown b/c he is tired...So I guess that is it for now!

The Dynamic Duo

We decided this year to head out early to get the kids their Halloween costumes. I don't enjoy being that mom that is in panic mode to find the perfect costume days before the big event....Not to mention that I have 2 to buy for now! McKenna decided that being Supergirl sounded like the best idea for this year (to be honest we were a bit shocked). There you go, one is Super girl and the other is Super Man....Wow, things are easy sometimes! We went to Party City where you have to pick out the costume you want, there is someone there with a wireless mic and he tells someone in the back what costume to get from the back, I was amazed at how things have evolved since I was a child. What happened to the days of walking in to Target and buying your costume that cost $10, gone are those days!!!

They came home immediately and put on their new costumes..WE had to get the camera out, it was one of the cutest things we had ever seen. I can't wait to show them off to our neighbors......WE think we may have the safest house on the block with our ADORABLE dynamic duo!!!!!!!

Elmo, Football and Friends.........

Well, we have been so busy, I forgotten about keeping up with my blog, sorry. We are about half way through soccer season, McKenna improves each game and tries really hard. As for Chance he has a major obsession with Elmo, it is all he talks about, all he wants to watch and play with. McKenna liked Elmo, but we don't remember it being quite like this. Football season is in high gear and now that some college games are on Wednesday, we have football on from Wednesday through Monday, I get a bit of reprieve on Mondays and Tuesdays.

This past weekend I ventured into a whole new world. We went to Pete's Piano Bar for Crystal's 30th. For those of you that have never been it is quite an adventure to say the least. The people watching alone is SO worth the trip. From "brides to be" to birthday celebrations, you will see it all. I remember at one time during the night thinking to myself, "where in the world did these people come from?". You see it all at Pete's. It was fun, loud and smoky all at the same time....I always enjoy time with friends! We are looking forward to our Vegas trip next week.

Our Soccer Girl!!!

Well, we have ventured in to the world of soccer. Let me start off by saying we were pleasantly surprised. The team has only had 3 practices prior to our first game.....We won today 3 to 1. For those of you who have never watched a bunch of kindergarten girls run after a ball, it is quite a sight to see! McKenna tended to do a lot of "catching up" with the herd of girls running after the ball, however, she never stopped running. Some parents I will have to say take this very serious...Give me a break folks, they are 5!! It was a lot of fun and she was all smiles. Chance had fun during the game playing in a mountain of ice that a coach poured out right behind us. Who knew that ice could be so fun??? For the record he was stomping on it not eating it, for those of you thinking, "what kind of mother is she"? There are only 8 games this season and rumor has it we will then head into indoor soccer.....Am I really becoming a soccer mom???

Our "Firsts"

Wow, what a CRAZY week. At the end of last week we took Chance to his "Aunty Jennifer's" to get his first haircut. I have been putting this off, but when someone referred to his hair as a mullet I knew it was time. Jennifer is a stylist, but we thought he would do better if we did it her house where he is familiar. He was PERFECT. I could not have been more thrilled. He sat so patiently while she was cutting all of his curls off, yes it broke my heart. I saved a few for his book, but who really wants to see their hair when they are a grown adult? The things we parents do......
As for McKenna, she started kindergarten. I can honestly say this has been the easiest transition we have had in her entire life. I have been nervous about this day for months. Monday came and she came down the stairs and told us she was a bit nervous and Paul and I quickly changed the subject and explained how fun school is. We walked her to school where her precious teacher awaited their arrival. Her teacher is a first year teacher, so I know she must have had butterflies in her stomach as we were all dropping off our "babies" to her. McKenna put her backpack and lunch box on her table and went to the carpet to read a book, just like her teacher had asked. I went to walk out, no tears yet, and I couldn't do it. I leaned down and told her how proud she makes me each and every day and that I couldn't wait to hear about all the adventures that kindergarten would bring. The tears were just rolling down my face, actually as I am writing this it makes me cry. My sweet little angel is truly growing up. I gathered the strength to walk out and she was all smiles....I had to get to work my my students were waiting on me.
I called her as soon as school was out, and her response to me was that "kindergarten is the most fun she has ever had". That sure puts things in perspective, we want our children to love school and so far mine does.
I couldn't just take on kindergarten this year. She is of course still loving dance. She does ballet and tap. She is also going to play soccer this fall. We have our first practice tomorrow, who knows how that will go. She is most excited about getting her very own trophy at the end of the season, she is MY child, keep your eye on the prize!
Paul and I are super busy with school, work and kids and looking forward to football season!!!
I will post pictures soon of our "firsts"......Until next time!

Where did my summer go???

As my summer is about to end I am wondering where in the world it went? Two and a half months seems SO long, but its already coming to a close for me! We had a good time, many play dates with friends, two girlfriends having babies, A LOT of home improvements, swimming lessons and best of all, spending quality time with the kiddos. The end of summer is always a strange feeling for me. I love routine and knowing what to expect everyday, but on the flip side of that I miss not having to get up so early and miss the snuggling I get to do with the kids everyday. As they are growing up I am finding my time just slipping away from me, it makes me sad. I am ending my summer on a high note, it was a GREAT one. Now I will have to look forward to the weekends and long breaks we get. We went for a walk this morning and as I was pulling the wagon where they were playing and talking to each other, it hit me, I am very lucky to have two beautiful children. We have McKenna's open house for kindergarten next week, hard to believe its here. I am about to send my baby off to school where they will help prepare her for the world, we as teachers are SO lucky to have such a big responsibilty with these young minds. As for Chance, he won't start at his school until the winter, I hope they are prepared for him, because he is a handful with a curious personality.

Life after Vacation

We spent last week in Joplin, Missouri with my aunt and uncle. My parents went along as well. It was wonderful waking up each morning looking out to the woods and creek. We took McKenna fishing for the first time down at the springs, the only thing she caught was a stick, but that trilled her to death anyway. Paul, my dad and uncle went fishing the next day and caught a lot of catfish, needless to say, we had dinner for the night, there is just nothing like fresh fish. My mom, aunt and I took McKenna to the Precious Moments museum. This is the original place where precious moments was started. She was in "awe" of the amount of dolls, characters and memorabilia. It was amazing to see. It took her what seemed like all day to pick her favorite doll, which of course Grandma bought. She is at the perfect age to appreciate a place like precious moments. If you ever get the chance to go through it, it is quite amazing, there is even a chapel where you can write your prayer requests in a book and is kept there in a safe place. One of the nights we were having a hard time figuring out where to go for dinner, now for those of you that have never been to Joplin, it is a nice size city, but is also a hub for truckers to stop, refuel and continue traveling. Of all places, we ended up at the Iron Skillet, which is a truck stop restaurant. According to McKenna it was "the best restaurant in the whole world", the world through the eyes of a 5 year old is precious. The only thing she knew was that the chicken and macaroni and cheese was delicious. I have always heard that the truck stops have good food, but news to me that it is the "best in the world". We are back to the heat of Texas, 107 today, and counting down until I have to go back to work. Looking forward to starting a new school year, but going to miss the down time with the kids each day. Not looking forward to sending McKenna to kindergarten, she is growing up TOO fast.......

Fun with the Girls

Tonight was a wonderful night....I went to see Mama Mia with my girlfriend Emily, the movie is great and we had a ball. The most memorable part of it was at the end of the movie as the credits were rolling women starting standing up and dancing the the Abba music. In the beginning it was a select few and as the credits continued to roll the few that were dancing turned in to many....It was hysterical. Emily and I were trying to capture it on our phones, but it was still too dark. There are no words for 50 + year old women dancing to Abba, we laughed until we almost cried....
When we left the movie we went to Mattito's and met up with Crystal and Beth. We sat around having drinks and laughing. This was Crystal's first night out after having Emerson, and it was great to see her enjoying herself. It reminds me how important my dear friends are. I love being a mommy and wife, but I also enjoy my time to relax with my girlfriends. When I got home, it was after midnight, the house was silent and dark, everyone was sleeping and I find myself unable to sleep so I decided to blog. I guess I need to head to bed, we are leaving for Missouri to visit my aunt and uncle and I have packed nothing, so typical!!
Thanks girlie's for a FUN night, lets do it again very soon!!!

Never a Dull Moment

Where do I begin?? The kids and I have spent the last 2 days at my parents house so the hardwood could be layed downstairs. I came back over to the house on Tuesday night with my dad to help Paul wipe everything down and get the furniture back where it belonged. You would not believe the dust, you would have thought a dust storm blew through Plano. It took a few hours to get rid of it. The house is somewhat back to "normal". The floors are beautiful, but we have a few obstacles b/c of it. When they ripped up the existing hardwoods, it left a 2 inch gap in the front door, so I am air conditioning my front porch, stresses me out!!! They are going to have to send a door guy out to fix it, wonder how long that will take?
McKenna has been battling a cough the last few days, and we went to the doctor this am just to make sure I haven't missed something. She is fine thankfully, we are heading out of town to visit family and I didn't want to get there and have to see another doctor.
My mom had her surgery today. All went well, they repaired the severed tendon and when the doctor was going to fix the other one it wasn't there......Now, if you are like me you say, how can a tendon just disappear?? Apparently, about 10% of the population has this specific tendon in the lower arm missing.....My mother happens to be one of those, who knew?? She will have her cast on for 2 weeks, then it will come off so she can start physical therapy. She has the best doctor in town taking care of her, my dad......If she is looking for a chef to cook for her she is going to have to go elsewhere, he lacks in that department.

Living Life with Two Kids

Last Friday night my parents took McKenna to the movies and we found ourselves not sure what we were going to do with only one child. We decided to head to dinner, it was so easy to only get one ready and in the car. As were we having dinner we noticed that we had sat very close to the ice cream machine, big mistake. Chance had more fun watching others get ice cream rather than eat his dinner. As we were leaving we HAD to get him his first ice cream cone. See pictures below to see how much he enjoyed his treat, he ate every last bite. I don't think I have smiled this much in a long time. The weekend was spent painting the front 2 rooms before the hardwoods are layed next week. Paul has been such a trooper through all of this. I finished McKenna's bathroom yesterday and I did it ALL by myself...It looks cute and she loves it of course, b/c its pink......
Today we went to Willow Bend mall to enjoy their children's week. It was a mommy and McKenna day, and we went with 2 of her friends. The kids got to make their own pizza from California Pizza Kitchen and they got to watch bake it in the oven. It was a fun filled day as we watched the 3 of them walking through the mall hand in hand giggling. I know there will be many more days ahead at the mall, of course those will be the days when I am not so "cool" any more...Oh how I dread that!!! I love to watch McKenna light up b/c she is having so much fun. It is amazing to me that she is about to go to kindergarten. She is such a blessing to us and is a fantastic young lady!!
We went tonight to visit our friends John and Claudia and their new baby. It took me back to the "baby" days and it reminded me of how much I don't miss the sleepless nights. Don't get me wrong I love and adore my children, but oh how I don't miss those days. I am hoping to go see Crystal and her new bundle Emerson on Friday and get my "baby fix". It is SO fun to hold other people's babies and hand them back when they get fussy.......

My Summer Projects

It's not enough that I get the summer "off", whoever came up with that term doesn't have 2 small children and projects around the house to always work on. I (or should I say Paul) finished the downstairs bathroom. We didn't just "paint" the walls, I also needed all new accessories to finish it all up. I have taken down the wallpaper in McKenna's vanity upstairs, and I hope to make that MY project and not drag Paul in to it. To top it all off Paul wants hardwood floors all downstairs, not only did he "talk" of getting them, he ordered them today...I am SO excited! My project list just got longer. I now want to paint the dining room and front room (aka, the kids playroom) before the hardwood is layed. That gives me about 2 weeks to do it, that's enough time right? Well one might think so, but my painting has to take place while Chance is sleeping, unless I can talk my mom in to watching him and McKenna for the day. So my "summer off" is turning out to be the exact opposite. In the end my home is going to look just like new, that is until the next project comes along!!!

What summer and being a "stay at home mommy" is all about!!

Today started out just like the other days do. Chance standing at the side of my bed asking to get up on the bed. I take a quick shower before Paul leaves for the office, then my day begins. After he had his breakfast he awaits his sister waking up, (I can't wait for McKenna to wake up each morning too, b/c I get a small break). After a few minutes of not hearing Chance I listened for his giggles. I went to the bathroom that is being redone to find him standing in a heap of a mess. He had taken out all the toilet paper, turned over the rugs, tucked the shower curtain in the bathtub, all the while thinking he had "helped" me somehow. I think this was about the time I called Crystal to ask her if she wanted a baby...Oh yea, I forgot she is about to have another one, you better watch out Crystal!!
The remainder of the day was spent running errands, cleaning the house, making lunch, cleaning the house, naptime, cleaning the house, and the list goes on and on. We did find a little time to play in the hose outside, which they love to do, of course it is a different story when we have to put it away, little man does not like the fun to end. I guess we all have a little of that in us!!!!
The highlight of MY day was my DEAR friend Tamara coming over for dinner. She is in from California, although she is still a Texan at heart. She brought the kids toys and took a million picutes of them. They call her "Aunty Tamara", even though she isn't their real "aunty" they love her like she is.......
It was wonderful to see her, she looks great and I think Cali is agreeing with her. I miss her already, so maybe one day I can head West to visit her and Jason......
What a day, I wonder what tomorrow will bring??

I am a Jedi

Last week I wanted to paint the guest bathroom downstairs. I mentioned it to Paul and he said no way, he's too busy. I planted the seed in his mind. It is Sunday and the bathroom is almost complete. Not only did he have to paint the bathroom, he had to remove the wall paper, seal the wall, texture the wall, re-seal the wall and then paint. He then had to go over the paint job and touch up some spots. As he was washing up, he said out loud. "What the heck, I didn't want to paint the bathroom, you did". What kind of Jedi Mind trick did you play on me?? So I guess I am a Jedi Master now. One bathroom down, several more to go!! Stay tuned for pictures once everything is complete!!!

Are you kidding me??

As I am sitting here at 10:30 at night I am trying to figure out why in the world I would begin to blog?? Today is our 9 year anniversary (and he is still around) and at dinner I told him I wanted to start a blog, he asked me not to talk about him (sounds just like Paul, huh)? My response to him was that I did have some interesting stories, at least with the kids........So here I go with my first blog, thanks Crystal, Beth and Lisa for encouraging me to do this! I can only hope that as I begin this I will write about things that people want to hear and if not, then it will serve as therapy for me!!! This is out of my comfort zone, which is exactly why I titled it, are you kidding me??? I am heading to bed now to collect my thoughts so I can blog again tomorrow!!!