My, How Time Flies...

I can't believe my little guy is four years old! It's been quite a ride. This picture is one of my favorites. He slipped the "gun" in at the last second, but tried to maintain an innocent look.

How would I describe this little boy? HAPPY! It doesn't take much for him to crack a smile. And he's quite the joker. He has so much energy!!! No walking for this kid; running is his preferred method of transportation. He loves anything that has to do with super heroes and Star Wars. And weapons.

He was sick most of last week (stomach virus). It was NO FUN. Lots of days inside. When he started feeling better, he hugged me and said, "Thanks for taking care of my yuckies." Anytime, little guy. Any time.

Caught By the Law

Well folks, I got a speeding ticket. Shhh, I don't want everyone to know. It's my second. My other speeding ticket just so happens to have been four years ago (almost to the day)!

Here's my story: I was driving S to the doctor. Nothing urgent, but I would like to note that I was on the way to a medical facility. I got tagged in the area that sneakily slows down to 35 mph and then speeds back up. I was going 8 mph over the limit. In heavy traffic. I didn't even look at my speedometer because I was just going with the flow of traffic. Would you have given me a ticket? I wouldn't either. I was compliant, though angry. S was concerned about me being arrested and what would happen to her in the back of the van.

So, want to know the part that makes me mad? I was looking at the list of fines to find out how much I owe ($145 by the way). Did you know that being found in possession of marijuana only costs $98? Hmmm, 8 mph over the speed limit costs more that being found in possession of MARIJUANA?!?! I don't follow that logic...

Holiday Fun!

Christmas was so fun! Here are some of my favorite things about the celebrations...

The tree looked so pretty when everthing was "ready to go!"Baby: "Tell me again why you yanked me from my crib THREE HOURS before I normally wake up?" Parents: "Hmmm. When you put it that way, why did we do that?"Everyone always looks forward to Nana's Christmas table decorations. This year it was all about the kids. Everyone got to take home the dancing penguins and we've been groovin' to them ever since. The best part? Nana decided that the theme finally allowed for paper plates! My favorite part of the whole day? When all the cousins got cozy in their new pajamas and had a Pajama Pile-up.

After Christmas we jetted off to California for more family fun. Boy, did we enjoy the nice weather. We were outside most of the week!

We did some exciting, unusual things on the trip, but the surprising favorite was a day at the old high school field. Everyone had a great time playing.

Coal or Presents?

There's some debate about whether these stockings will have presents or coal. The discussion took place over lunch today. We reminded the kids that Santa could still be making last minute changes to his "lists." This was in an effort to curb some of the misbehavior that has taken place over the last couple days. They are convinced that they could never make it on the naughty list, but I think they are overly confident...

Good Laugh

I went to look at the Archiver's website to see what Christmas cards they were offering this year and I LAUGHED when I saw that I'm on one of the sample cards. This is a photo of me with S and R. (My mom worked there a few years ago and would sometimes provide photos for different store projects.) I guess I must be the "single mommy" sample. So, Happy Holidays from part of our family, three years ago...

Rough Night, Baby?

Oh, my sleeping woes. I know the day will come when I feel like a human being again, but it seems a distant dream. I reached my breaking point the other day when I decided that waking every one and a half hours with my NINE MONTH OLD was getting to be too much. So, I decided to make the baby "cry it out." It was only marginally successful. My sweet little cherub cried for more than three hours! I was ruthless though and didn't go in his room from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. When I went to get him at 5 a.m., he looked hilarious--hair sticking up EVERYWHERE. I don't know what happened in there...

p.s. We're back to square one!!!

Christmas With Little Ones

I found myself in a "situation" that only a parent of small children will understand. I had to mail two large Christmas packages. Easy enough. BUT when you add a baby, a preschooler (who RUNS like mad in the opposite direction given any small chance), a Post Office where you can't park near the door, and SNOW, I wasn't sure how I would do this. Sure, I could have found a babysitter, but I'm too "last minute" for that. For days, I was planning my strategy. I decided a stroller would be involved. Add candy to lure the three year old my way. And I ditched the Post Office for the UPS Store because I could park near the door. While we were in the store, the baby was taken for a "wild ride" by the preschooler, but we all survived. After it was over, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Here are some other favorites from my "little kid" Christmas.

This is my third roll of wrapping paper destroyed by the three-year-old because "it looked fun." Sigh.

I love advent calendars. This is one of my favorites, but I feel some frustration about its use. Last year I tried putting treats in the pockets, and I'm sure you can guess how that went. I've also tried putting "activities" in the pockets, but the kids just take them out. So, this year I bought a little Santa to move from pocket to pocket. I have officially given up because R will not let ANYONE move the Santa out of the SANTA pocket. I guess that makes sense?

I won't even address R eating the family gingerbread house (I don't have pictures because it didn't last too long).

Honestly, I'm really enjoying the holiday and hope you are too!