Relaxing!

I am having the best night EVER! I really am! Derek and I have been frustrated by our lovely middle daughter's, "I am going to freak out then cry about every little bump in the night, which turns into Lilly joining in, which then leads to them coming to our room...most know how this story goes," for the past few weeks. It has not been fun. I love my monsters so much but DANG I need to sleep! Thank goodness I do not have a "toddler or newborn" I think I am way too old to keep up!

So, back to my best night ever..okay in a long time. I just realized it is 12:05am, I am watching Grey's Anatomy and crying, I am printing up so many recipes, and I am ALONE! Yes, Derek is in the room...but I am alone! No kids screaming or wanting to hold my hand while I sleep, no kids asking me in the middle of the night when it is going to be morning! In fact right now, Grey's ended and I am just sitting here listening to he hum of the desktop. Love it. Then again now it is 12:07am! It will for sure change! They will come in and ask me for something and I will give in. Or maybe like last night Em will bring in stuffed animals and blankets, put them at the foot of our bed, go get Lilly.. who will be crying from her sister waking her up...t hey will then crawl into bed with us (even though Em has made them a bed on the ground), and I will say "I have had enough" and sleep on the couch. This usually happened around 4am, so if I am off to bed in a few minutes I will at least get a solid 4 hours of sleep in! But for right now they are all tucked in bed and I am headed there myself. Life with three busy kids under seven, I have realized, has made me LOVE these moments more than anything! Both the frustration and silence is worth it! I would never have it any other way.

Oh, but I must write about my new internet LOVE! She is the Pioneer Woman. She is just great! I have spent the last few hours looking at her blog, printing recipes, reading her story and I just LOVE her! I rarely post links and so on, but I will for her... http://thepioneerwoman.com/

I was watching her show on some network..I guess I should know that, when she was making salisbury steak with pea/carrots and pasta with alfredo sauce. OMG, all of the food that I love. Anyways, I never really followed up on looking her up, but I did the other day and made the steaks, which Derek loved and Drew said it is the 'best thing ever.' It is just 'good home cooking' that is not too too bad for you:) I am making her recipes on Sundays because really I am only having carbs on Sunday (well, for the past three weeks) and just can not give up mash potatoes or pasta everyday of the week!

Regardless, yummy! If I added stuff or looked at Pinterst I would add/like/pin/whatever it is her site to there!

Oh, 12:29 and now this is the middle child. Awesome!!!

yes, I did take a picture of her since I was just sitting here!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh how lovely is family! Does the song go that way? haha

Regardless, Christmas was pretty STRANGE this year!

Pretty trees and lights are always lovely. We also loved to see our monsters tear open presents three different times, but it was a strange holiday season. More on that to come in a following post.

On Christmas Eve we went Auntie Deb & Uncle Kev's house for Christmas Eve. I have not been to their house since I found out I was pregnant with Emma! It actually turned out beautiful and so pleasant! I was relaxed and was able to take some pictures! I forgot what that was like!

 

 

I loved to relax and watch my monsters at my Aunties opening jackets, a few toys, and undies (I made fun of Drew). It is crazy at Christmas on Derek's side and I am always worried that my babies will not like my side as much as his. My side is so much smaller, but what I have come to realize is that the simple things for my kids are what they remember the most. Like, my kiddos always remember my mom and Brian getting undies for them (aka panties) or Jo & Ken always getting them sweaters/jackets. Just like they remember getting a ballet bag from grandma 'just because' or pictures from CEC with Chow a little bit more than the explosion of Christmas.

I actually laughed when I wrote the last two sentences above. Our kids have NO IDEA what we got them on Christmas morning....it just goes to show that with that amount of toys they may not always be remembered no matter who gives them. Then again, we choose how many presents they get and of course we want them to have a lot. It makes me think, if Derek did not have the income he has or if we did not believe in more-more for Christmas, would our monsters remember more? I know I remember many Christmases when my sisters and I did not get as much as we would have liked. I DO remember those presents though. I now shake my head because, why?? Why, Why, Why hate the month of Jan? Argh, oh well:)

 

Then when we got home that night while Derek was taking a shower, I TRIED to grab a pic of the girls and I, just the kids, and Drew with me for a present I thought of at the last minute. Well, that did not happen!

Above is what I think is the best (second best is the middle in the below collage) from a quick photo sec. I LOVE the girls dresses! I know they may be BIG for some, but Mrs. Brenda got hem for them for Vegas (post to come) and I just had to have them wear them multiple times. They turned out to be their Christmas Dresses..I could not help myself!

 

Then the count for the Big Guy came! Once daddy was out of the shower we set up the Frank the Elf to hitch a ride with Santa, some cookies for Santa, some milk, and a carrot for the reindeer.

Then it was time for "Night Before Christmas," which was read by Derek again this year. They did not listen to Papa (Derek's dad) reading it. One year I am sure Derek will do it. It must be so hard to have your father read as a tradition, which is posted to the internet, and then see it year after year. Too much to handle. To die so young!

Then the morning comes! A morning full of love, laughter, daddy's cooking, monsters tearing wrapping then asking for batteries, text messaging, facebooking, parents stopping by, oh and of course...watching 'Christmas Story," while trying to grab a nap! Love, Love, Love!!! Yes, I love Jesus' birthday and according to Drew he is very old! Love his birthday, but this year has not be great, but I know that for a time the years will be just fine. Wow the holiday's can get intense!

 

Of course there was also a dance show performed by the girls for my mom and Auntie Chrissy. They really are dancing fools! I wish there were more people at our house on Christmas Day to witness the choreography the girls do!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!

 

Via Truck!

I am so amazed that the amount of snow some people live in.  Most of my family lives in snow!  We will not even go up to the mountains when it is snowing.  Chains, what are those??  So every year our neighbors dad (he as a cabin in Big Bear) brings the snow to our kids!  I will laugh if one day our kids end up snowboarders...but I highly doubt it because they played for about 10mins and said they were too cold and we went inside for a warm bath.  I kid you not, that is exactly what happend!  Thank you B's for having us over! 

Below look at EM!  She put a helmet over her snowball.  It was her babies bed.  Of course her brother knocked it down a few minutes late.  Such a brother.

Ringing In 2013!

Happy New Year to everyone out there! I hope that your first few days of the New Year have been great and no one has given up on their resolutions! I know I have not! Well, that is because I don't make any! Well, I should not write that, I think I did last year and I think it was to be a better mommy or something like that. Best resolution to say you kept because who wants to be that mommy with that resolution that broke it!

This year we are starting our new tradition of Chinese food on the Eve and a cake for dessert. We got the cake from the store and food from our fave "Wings." After eating we went to the G's for a bit, came back home at 8:50 to get ready to celebrate the New Year at 9pm eastern time! I am hoping that I get at least two more years with Drew where I can do this. Unfortunately, when Drew realizes what we are doing at 9pm then the girls will be told by him and so on. Dang! He does go to bed at 7:30 on the dot...I hope that will last.

 

 

Then after the kids were all sleep daddy and I headed outside with Alisha and Issac for some "adult time!" After a few minutes I was headed to head! But those few minutes I had with 'adults' was nice! Btw, I have no idea why I stuck my tongue out in the below picture...I thought it was funny to post!

Main Street!

After dinner one night we headed over to Main Street.  I was so excited that this year Derek was going to be able to go with us that the girls actually missed a demo at the mall for dance.  The last demo they missed because of being sick.  I know the girls were not tooo thrilled about it, but it is rare that Daddy gets to do fun stuff with us!  There were carolers, pictures with Santa (Lilly would not do, again), arts and crafts, a demo from another dance company, some skateboarding thing, lots of candy and hot chocolate, and JUMPIES!

The kids had a good time and loved to have their face painted (Em always just has her hand) and of course wanted to see 'the snow' at the end of the street.  We did funny face pictures and I think Derek liked the time he had with all of us!

Last year they had snow and we were all excited for it this year, but it was not there this year...instead they had the trendy water thing.  Of course, our kids were not going to do that..wayyyy too cold out there!

But they did get these!

The YMCA was had a booth this year and it was too funny to see how many people were heading over to it with the hope of getting a sleeve of the good stuff.  Oh Hostess I am sorry to see you leave, but it is pretty exciting to see how much people love you! 

Ugly Swearter 2012

We were not going to have it this year, but after some twisting of the arm we ended up having it.  OUR UGLY SWEATER THAT IS!  I am not sure if we will have it next year, but it was fun for the 3rd time!  Then again if we do not have it next year how will all of our friends be able to get out during the holidays without their kids!  haha

This year I had not idea what to do for our ugly sweaters, so I headed to Gasoline Alley to RENT one for Derek and one for myself.  I really wish that my mom, after years of me buggin her, had not followed my advise and thrown her lovely sweaters away!  But she did!  Well, all but one and I have already worn that.  So I got a hot pink with white somethings and snowmen on it and Derek got a HUGE vest.  I thought mine was horrible, but many people liked it.  I wonder if people liked it because we are getting older and that is just what happens when you get older...your taste in sweaters starts to get ugly?  haha

So with the sweaters and the kids at Linda's we had a fun time.  It was a little strange that almost everyone got to the party 1.5hr late, but once about 25 of us where here it was fun.  We had pingpong and fireball and I think everyone had a good time.  I was happy that 5month preggo Mar was here and for the first time DeAnne!  I really missed Max again, but Sara 2 being here made up for it...well out of my oldie friends.  We had some new friends here and Mikey did not make it down, Amanda was sick and so on.  I was just so happy that our family was here and everyone else that came!  Dwayne (Derek's brother) won for the ugliest sweater.  He had one of his wife's (Elisa) tight animal print zipups which I thought was fitting because the prize was a copy of the 'Magic Mike' dvd.  I thought it was hilarious, but the DVD ended up in the kids medi-cabinet!  What a stinker.  I ended up wrapping it again and giving it to him for Christmas.  

 

Polar Express Day

 

I was so happy that Emma was a part of Polar Express Day at school!  She was extremely excited for weeks and weeks to sing and have hot coco.  Frosty the Snowman and other holiday songs were being sung in the car and in the house.  She sang so much that Lilly caught on and knows all of them too!  

Side note....The name of the day, Polar Express Day..why?  I am not sure if it is to politically correct or if that has always been the name of the kinder program?  Not a holiday party or holiday performance.  Just a thought. 

Em was very excited to have Chow, Grandma, myself and Lilly there.  She ate cookies next to her love, Alejandro, hung out with us in her classroom, showed us some of her classwork displayed all around, and of course gave hugs not only to her teacher but to Grandma and Chow.  It was so sweet!  Thanks, Chow and Linda for coming...it means so much to us!

Avah Grace Turns 4!

Isn't Grant so dang cute as a knight?!?  Love that little boy!

The reason why he grabbed his cousins knight attire was in celebration of Avah's 4th birthday party!  Avah's birthday is at the beginning of Dec, but due to dance her party was pushed back a bit.  Thank goodness or else we would not have been able to go.  The BRAVE themed party was super cute with all of the kids dressed in princess dresses and even though it was all inside (super cold outside) DeAnne and Ryan did a great job.  Now if I could only get Avah to smile for me!