Merry Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Homan family at our house for dinner. I spent most of the day cooking and baking. Mom and Dad brought the steamed shrimp! We had a nice dinner and then it was off to church for the Christmas Eve service. Unfortunately Cody did not make it through the entire service. In fact, probably 15 minutes into it, he and Hannah started eating some snacks that they mananged to find in the diaper bag. Well of course this led to Cody needing a drink, which i forgot! I never leave the house without his sippy cup and of course this one time i forgot. Well, he just wasn't getting over it and Dad took him out for awhile. We tried bringing him back in and he had just had enough at that point. So i took him to the church nursery and of course he was as happy as could be playing with new toys he'd never seen. What a stinker! Soon after Dad came to find us and then not long after that Jimmy came to find us. At that point it was just Hannah and Mom enjoying the service. So needless to say, we decided it was just better to leave. We knew we had to get in bed early for Santa to come. So after baths we tucked the kiddos in for the night.

Christmas morning Hannah was so excited to see all the gifts under the tree. Cody on the other hand had woke up on the wrong side of the bed and needed a time out not long after waking up! Eventually he came around and decided to come out and open his gifts. He was defintely more aware of what was going on this year but still only wanted to focus on what he was opening at the time and then did not want to open any more. Next year will be even more fun for him!



After spending several hours in the morning opening packages and playing, playing, playing, we headed to the Showman's for lunch and to open even more presents! John, Katie, and John Jr. were there as well. I did manage to get a group picture of the four kids!



After a delicious lunch of ham, green beans, potatoes, fruit, and so much more, we delved into the presents. The girls were extremely happy about getting their Nintendo DS. Cody was having fun playing with matchbox cars. Everyone was getting tired and we headed home for the evening. I completely exhausted myself trying to organize and find places to put the new toys. My house was a disaster of cardboard boxes and paper everywhere but i managed over the next few days to get my house back in order. All in all, despite everyone having runny noses and coughing, we had a very nice Christmas!



Merry Christmas!

Santa, Here We Come!

Well, today it was off to visit Santa at the mall. Nanny had wanted all of the grandchildren to get their picture taken with Santa. I had been talking to Hannah about this for a week or two trying to prepare her, however, she really was not liking the idea. In fact, she flat out said she did not want to go and that she would just send Santa a letter. Tears were even coming to her eyes whenever i mentioned about going. She explained to me that she was shy and what if she forgot what to say? Bless her little heart! So when we were loading up, she told me that she would just wait in the car. Well, Nanny and I did our best to convince her to come into the mall and just peek at Santa. Once we got that far, we said to just stand next to Santa for a picture, that she didn't have to talk or sit on his lap. Nanny even added that we would go look at Webkinz stuff if she just stood next to Santa. Hannah was just not buging. Finally after a while of convincing, she agreed to stand in line with us. When it was our turn, Hayley walked up and sat next to Santa, and little John was placed on his lap with no problems at all. I then went to put Cody on the other side of his lap when he immediately refused and started crying (which did not surprise me). So i decided to hold Hannah next to Santa with Cody standing in front of us. After several attempted pictures with eyes closed and a nuk in Cody's mouth that he would not give up, and a long line being held up, we finally got a picture! What a painful process. I think we were all exhausted after that one! Hannah did loosen up by the end as Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She did manage to get out that she wanted a DS. After several more temper tantrums from Cody, we decided to pack it up and head home. I just can't believe how exhausting a picture can be!

New Bedtime Ritual?

It cracks me up how toddlers are so programmed and love routine! Cody has had a cold for the past week and I heard that if you rub Vicks VapoRub on the bottom of your child's feet, it will stop nighttime cough. So i gave it a try a few nights ago, and by gosh, it does work!! The funny part is that Cody now says "feet, feet, feet!" when i tuck him in at night. So even though his cold and cough are pretty much gone, i am still putting this on his feet just to appease him! The things mothers have to go through...

Christmas Crazies!

Yes, it's that time of year again...everyday a long list of things to get done. We had a very nice Thanksgiving at our house with my parents. I made it easy on myself this year and just made a roaster chicken. I made mashed potatoes and corn casserole. Mom brought the stuffing and whoopie pies for dessert. After dinner, we watched old movies on my parent's projector which were really fun to watch. My parents took the kids overnight and i headed over to John and Katie's to look over the ads and plan our strategy for Black Friday.

We had another successful Black Friday shopping day. I set my alarm for 2 am and at 2:20 sat straight up in bed and thought, i am supposed to be at my mother-in-law's house in 10 minutes!! Here i forgot to turn my alarm on after setting it! Thankfully all i had to do was wash my face, brush my teeth and hair, and get dressed and i was out the door by 2:30! I pulled into Nancy's driveway at 2:45 and it was off to Tom's for a cappucino to keep us warm while standing in line. We arrived at Kohl's at 3:20 and at 4 am on the dot, the doors opened and the crowd poured in. We were in for quite a surprise when we realized the carts were not in their usual place. They had scattered them up and down the aisles! Frantically we headed for different aisles to find that precious cart that we got up so early for! Thankfully i found one cart all by itself that had our name on it. Then it was off to the toy department, clothes, housewares, etc..We waited in line for an hour and then it was off to Walmart where i have to say were the best bargins of the day. Lastly we headed back to York to Toys R Us. With barely any parking spaces left, we hurried in to find those video games for 9.99 before 1 pm! The electronics department was something else as well. It had a line to enter and you had to tell the workers what you were looking for and they would go get it for you. There was no browsing! Well, we did get away with this by me holding our place in line and Nancy looking, and then her holding our place and me looking. What an ordeal! Around 3 pm we headed home after going strong for a full 12 hours!

The weekend was just as busy...Erin came for the crib Saturday morning and i was quite happy to free up some space to make room for more goodies in 24 days! I took the kids grocery shopping and did things around the house. On Sunday we got the Christmas tree and decorations out. Hannah was very interested this year and even Cody was handing us ornaments to put on the tree. Then it was off to Target for supplies for my gift bags that i make for coworkers. We ended the evening watching Tinkerbell which was premiering on Disney. Hannah was so excited for this. We both ended up falling asleep on the couch!

Today i had another long list of things to get done. My head is spinning! I did finish my calendar gift for the grandparents and also did some online shopping. Now it's off to start dinner. I love this time of year but it sure is busy!

Big Boy Bed & Organize, Organize, Organize

This past weekend I decided it was time to pack up the crib and bring out the big boy bed for Cody. Boy did this start something...I started looking through closets and thought how in the world will i have room for more toys with Christmas just around the corner? So i started with Cody's closet and sorted through the "baby" toys and what I believe he will still play with. How do you accumulate so much stuff?! I had Katie come over and pick out what she wanted for John Jr. and the rest is ready for consignment. Meanwhile I did decide to put the crib and bedding set as well as all the nursery decorations that match the bedding for sale on Craigs List. I also listed the high chair but so far no calls yet. Ironically my best friend just told me that she is pregnant so I believe she is going to end up buying the crib.

Cody and Hannah were having fun all day just playing with toys they haven't seen for a while. After organizing the closets we decided to move some furniture around. The glider rocker in Cody's room wasn't really being used anymore and went down in the family room. This led to clearing out some toys from the family room and puting them in the kid's room so it doesn't seem like the whole house is all toys! Then of course we start thinking how we need new furniture for downstairs, new furniture for Hannah's room, and eventually bunk beds for Cody's room when he gets a little bigger. But for now he sure does like his toddler bed. He went right down for his nap the first day and has slept several nights now with no problem. It's nice to know that he can just get up when he's ready in the morning without me having to go pick him out of the crib but at the same time it's kind of weird knowing he is free! I just can't believe how my kids are growing up on me!

Parents' Day at Dance

Today at dance class parents and grandparents were allowed to come and watch for the hour. I scrambled in the morning to get everything ready...diaper bag with toys for Cody to be entertained, camera and video camera, blah blah blah. We left early to go to the bank first and arrived at Miss Kathy's 20 minutes early which was just what i wanted to do, first to get a parking spot, and second to acclimate Cody. Not long after i pulled into the lot, Tammy and her family pulled in and out comes Tammy holding Lexi's dance bag. As soon as I saw it, I knew i forgot Hannah's! No ballet or tap shoes, just the sneakers on her feet were all we had!!! I was so upset with myself. Did i leave and go home to get them and be late? Tammy had a good idea to go in and see if Miss Kathy had extra pairs. Thank goodness we were able to find both shoes in her size that matched!!! After getting situated, Hap and Gam showed up to watch. I'm so proud of my little girl! She did an awesome job. Not shy at all, she performed like she has done this a lot longer than she actually has. We all really enjoyed watching her. Even Cody was amused most of the time. There were a few occasions that I thought i was going to have to make an escape with him, but he made it through. After dance we all went to Jim and Nena's for lunch. By then it was time for Hap and Gam to head back to work and we headed to the grocery store for a few items. Once home Jimmy called to see how Hannah made out. Then it was time to put Cody down for his nap. Hannah and I are enjoying the afternoon like we always do. We even got to practice a few of the dance moves now that i actually know what she does every week! Here are a few pics of the big day!

A Day at the Dairy Farm

On Sunday Jimmy, the kids, and I headed to Sandy's annual fall picnic on the farm! Every year the kids seem to enjoy this more and more. And now that Cody is out of the stroller and walking and running everywhere, he really enjoyed himself. After eating way too much good food and dessert, we headed to see the baby cows. Both kids were a little unsure of sticking their finger in the cow's mouths but funny enough Cody accidentially had his fingers by the fence when he got a surprise lick!

Then it was off to see the bigger cows in the barn. What a mess and smell! As we were leaving the barn, we made it just in time for the hayride. Cody enjoyed the tractor and Hannah and Hayley were having fun being silly together. Scott and Jimmy sat this one out and went back to sneak more food I'm sure.

After the hayride it was getting late and much colder so we headed home. Both kids fell asleep on the way home, in fact, i was almost asleep myself! At least i didn't have to cook dinner since we ate late. After baths, the kids played with Jimmy. Hannah and I played some more games on Webkinz and then it was time for bed. We had a great weekend!