Here is a little taste of our Christmas! We had a great time. Isaac was a blast. He has been looking forward to Santa's visit for so long and it payed off. He got his Bengals helmet and a bunch of new race cars. Megan had fun, she got a new baby doll and some dishes and food for her kitchen.

I was all set to capture Isaac on video Christmas morning and the excitement that comes with seeing all the gifts under the tree... I was expecting, "Yeah! Santa came!" etc. What I got was, "Where are all my presents?" Still cute... kinda. Ahhh.... the honesty that comes with being 3.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

Holdiay Cooking

What fun is cooking if you don't have little helpers?

Ho! Ho! Oh No!!!!

Well…. I think the picture says it all…..




I had a feeling Meg wouldn’t be thrilled about the Big Guy, but she wasn’t having any part of it period.


Isaac wasn’t too sure. He was really excited to see Santa, but once we were in line, he hid behind my legs. He did ask Santa for the things on his list; a Screamin’ Banshee, a Gator’s or Jets helmet and some cars. He was thoughtful enough to tell Santa that Megan would like a Buckeyes helmet (ahem) and a baby doll.



He was smart about his departure and gave Santa a big hug in hopes of making a good and lasting impression!!

Our Weekend...

Friday Night our friends, Cate and Sophia came over to play and watch Frosty the Snowman.



Saturday I made Martha Stewart's Homemade Granola and Brendy's Peanut Butter Fudge. The granola is awesome and my new favorite recipe. Brendy's fudge however, didn't turn out nearly as good as it does when she makes it.... She must have special fudge making powers!!!!
While I was slaving away in the kitchen, these rascals were doing this....


Sunday, after church we headed to Mom & Dad's for naps and then we headed to Steph and Jason's for some yummy white chili and then we headed to a local Christmas Tree lighting where we enjoyed some carols, and a horse drawn sleigh ride.

Thanks Grandma S for the cool clothes!

Mmmmmm... Cookies!

I thought it would be fun to get some kids together and decorate Christmas cookies.... ok..... I really wanted to invite my friends over.... and they just happen to have kids ...that like cookies. So we picked a day made a quick lunch and let the kids go wild with sprinkles and icing!
I think they had a great time! I know Isaac and I did. Now, I just need to prove to myself that I have will power enough not to eat all of the cookies.... at least not in one day!!


Megan was there.... but by the time we got around to actually decorating the cookies, she was ready for a nap! So she will get to enjoy the fruits of all the others labor!!!

Oh for the love of Pooh,....

Christmas Photo Session.... Take 1

Isaac: "Mommy! Look! I am practicing!"
Me: "What exactly are you practicing?"
Isaac: "Putting my hand here.... and my foot here.... and not falling!!!
Me: "Great job, bud! Can we not practice that while Meg is intently watching you?"
Isaac: "Because she's not 3?"
Me: "Yep, because she's not 3."





Trying to get two kids to sit and take a cute picture is nearly impossible!! I am usually on top of Christmas cards, but this year have fallen behind... So I am trying to come up with a cute picture of the rugrats to put on our card.... we'll see!

What would happen if....

We were making cookies the other day and Isaac loves to help me in the kitchen, so as the ingredients were mixing, my little chef asked what would happen if we turned it to level 4? So in the spirit of education, I said, "go ahead and try it". He followed the instructions, and got a mischievous look on his face and said, "what about level 10?" I was afraid of the outcome, so we compromised and went with level 5. I just love the look on his face!!!

I'll have Thanksgiving pictures soon, I hope everyone had enough turkey and dressing!!!

Like Father, Like Son

After putting Megan to bed, I went down to the basement and look what I found....


I love how their right legs are both up in the air!!!

Strawberry Preserves

There is a long standing tradition in my family.... it is one that involves biscuits and homemade strawberry preserves. My mom has made these my entire life and they are the only preserves/jelly I will eat. They make the best strawberry milkshakes and pb&j's in the world.
They taste the absolute best when mixed up with butter and served with warm biscuits to dip in the mixture. My husband finds this disturbing, unnatural even. What does he know? If you've never tried it I highly recommend it.
Here is Isaac enjoying some strawberry "beserves". He likes it so much there are times he forgets to eat the biscuit.

A Family Portrait

Here is our budding artist, Isaac's first attempt to capture his family! I, for one, think it is brilliant!! In fact, I may contact an art museum to see if they would be interested in displaying it!

Nothing Sweeter...

Is Anyone Else Having This Issue?

I call it, "toddler on the leg syndrome".
Poor Miss Meg has her first real cold. It's getting better, but she is still super cranky and clingy. I took her to the pediatrician just to make sure it was "just a cold", which it was, but to add insult to injury, she got a flu shot while there!! Poor baby.
Feel better soon sweetie.

On my wish list...

I didn't discover the "blogging community" until this summer... I know, I know was I living under a rock? I had our first family blog, but I never knew just how many blogs there were out there. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this (new at least for me) frontier, but I am so glad I did.
The first blog I really started following was Alicia Paulson's Posie Gets Cozy. She is an amazing artist and I remember being so impressed by the fact that she was having a book of her work published. Well, that book came out yesterday!! Stitched in Time: Memory-Keeping Projects to Sew and Share from the Creator of Posie Gets Cozy
I can't wait to get it!! Congratulations Alicia!

In one word....

If I had to describe Isaac using only one word, right now that word would be.......





FOOTBALL!!!

It's Times Like These

There are times that being a mom is so hard and frustrating that you just feel like screaming, or running away. Then there are times like today that make it all worth it.

Early this morning, before I had my first cup of coffee, Isaac asked if he could sit in my lap and cuddle.-- My heart softens.

Later on our way home from our very first trip ever to Whole Foods, we sang and played "I spy". Our fun little game soon turned into a very silly one the closer we got to home. Instead of the regular, "I spy something the color red," We started getting crazy and spying things instead of colors, for example, "I spy something the color two!" This unleashed the giggle monster which in turn unleashed the smaller giggle monstress. To hear my two babies laughing hysterically at each other is the most wonderful sound! -- My heart is melting... no really, I can actually feel it melting.

During lunch we were serenaded by the little guy. Isaac has been making up songs a lot lately, (my favorite song so far, "I love my family, I lllllloooovvvvvvvvveeee my familyyyyyyyy). Todays piece was, "I love my baby sister, she is so cute, I love her!" Seriously, almost started crying! (Note, I said almost, the moment was ruined by his trying to tackle her, which he knows he is not allowed to do, yet just can't seem to help himself.)

And to top it all off, now it is nap time!

It is definitely mornings like this that pull you through all of the tough parenting times, especially when they seem so unrelenting. Hope everyone has a great weekend and can relish in the good moments!

Remember the kid in class who ate paste?

Yep, that's Meg....

Did you vote????

I had planned all along to write about my voting experience, complete with pictures, however, once I got to my destination, I felt a little silly asking a stranger to take my picture, so I left the camera in the diaper bag.... so thus, no pictures. My sincerest apologies.

I was excited to get to the poles, I almost got dressed up! After dropping Isaac off at preschool, and returning books that were due at the library off and grabbing a cup of coffee, Meg and I headed to vote. My handsome hubby called me to let me know he had just driven by my voting location and that there were parking spots available, it just didn't look like it so to park in the actual lot -- (thanks babe!) Cars were parked everywhere and the line was out the door.... thank goodness that it is such a beautiful day out!!! I put Meg in the stroller grabbed my diaper bag full of "waiting in long line goodies" and got in line. Word on the street - literally - was that it was an hour and fifteen minute wait.
Then it happened... a lady with bright white hair came from inside and said, "If you live in M. Township, your line is over here!"
So off we go to the new line, (avoiding the glares of the people who had now been waiting an hour and three minutes) and low and behold! There were exactly three, yes three people in front of me! I get checked in and move to my longest line yet which is a total of six people. After about fifteen minutes I was casting my votes that I had carefully and prayerfully decided on and grabbed my sticker, (which comes with the benefit of a free coffee from Starbucks, a Chik-fil-A sandwich and dough nut from Krispie Kreme)! Hot dog!
I don't know if the candidates that I voted for are going to win or not, I guess we'll know late tonight, but I do know that I felt empowered and fortunate that I live in a country where I can have my voice heard! Sometimes I feel apathetic about how things are going, but not today because today I voted!!

I think I have found my future crafting partner!!!

Trick or Treat

I was hoping to have really great pictures from our trick or treating adventures, but unfortunately, I do not... I 'm not lovin' my camera right now... Santa are you listening? Anyhow, here are the photos I managed to get...







Isaac had a party at school today, and even though all his classmates wore their costumes the entire time, Isaac refused to put his on... I was a little irritated because I wanted to at least get one picture of him, but now in hind sight I'm glad he was able to be strong and not follow the crowd if he didn't want to!! I hope he will be this way in high school too!

Here's a run down of the evening....
Put our costumes on, roasted hot dogs and chili with our neighbors for dinner.
Mark took Isaac the Spider around the 'hood to collect some loot. Meanwhile, I gave Meg her first taste of candy and let her have a lollipop. She loved it! You wouldn't believe the death grip a pot of Pooh's Hunny could have on a lollipop!!
The boys came back we warmed up by the fire, then I took Isaac around to a few last houses. We came home got our jammies on and put Megan to bed, then Isaac watched Pooh's Heffalump Halloween while I cleaned up and Mark handled a few stragglers!

Happy Halloween!!


To those of you who do not live around here, for some crazy reason we always have Beggar's Night on the 30th. I have no idea why we do this, however it drives Mark crazy!!!

Carvin' Pumpkins

Pumpkin Carving at its finest... after the farm this weekend, we had been waiting for the perfect time to carve our Jack-O-Lantern! Mark has been under the weather, but he sucked it up and got to carving right after I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner... naturally.
Our big, 21 pound pumpkin had a ridiculously thick rind and was really tough to get open, but once inside... pumpkin guts galore!!! Isaac only wanted to use his spoon to scoop, but once Mark dug in with his hands, Isaac followed suit. He liked the cold, slimy feeling. Isaac got a little bored with the scooping, so he began driving Doc Hudson on it and drawing - with an orange marker - "here's his shoulder and an ear, here is the nose and knee..." who knew old Jack had all of those parts!?
We finished the evening by watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
If you are wondering where Miss Meg is, she was so miserable and cranky that she wasn't having any fun, so I put her to bed while the boys carved the pumpkin!!