Christmas Teaser

Greetings! I have many events to blog about that took place in my unplanned hiatus.  But just not today. Lots of unpacking and situating to do round these parts. 

But I will leave you with a picture of some of the wonderful peeps that made our Christmas. 



Happy New Year!

Dear Nate

Dear Sweet Nate,

Six years ago on this day, Dad & I went to the hospital very early in the morning (Debbie was there too).  It was chilly that day, but I didn't notice much because I was very ready to meet you.  When we got to the hospital, a nurse took me in a wheelchair up to a room.  This would be the room where Dad & I would meet you.  The doctors and nurses thought you were going to be there very soon, but it turns out, you wanted to wait all day to meet us.  That was okay, because it gave Mimi & Paka and Aunt Amanda & Uncle David time to get to the hospital. 

At 7:40 PM, you were born. You weighed 7 lbs 5 oz (less that Lila:) and were 20 inches long. I didn't think you looked like Dad & I at all at first.  But of course, you really look like me now!

After you were born, we all rested for a few hours because Mom was very tired. I was so happy that you had arrived and was a little scared and nervous to have a baby. Before you came, it was just me & Dad (and Kitty Paus). You are the one person in this whole wide world who made me become a mom. I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished in your 6 years.  You are a smart, strong-willed, kind and funny big boy. I love you so much and look forward to all that this next year brings for you.  Happy Birthday, my sweet Nate P. Love, Mom

My Child That Will Let Me Take Pictures

Thankfully, Lila hasn't gotten camera averse like my other sweet child:) Lest you think my camera picks favorites.  I can't even pick up the camera without Nate hollering from across the room, No pictures! Oh well, maybe he'll grow out of it. Maybe not:)

Sometimes, it is sitll hard for me to see that Lila looks anything like us.  But then I'll take some pictures and see that she does resemble my baby pictures. My word, I just don't think she can get any cuter. At least in my opinion!



Nana & Wayne got her this chair for Christmas.  She loves it.  She crawls up in it to read books or feed her baby a bottle. So sweet.

She really is a riot. She keeps us laughing most of the time.  She is personality plus right now. Always jibber jabbing about something and making the funniest expressions. The only thing you have to watch out for with her is if she thinks you are eating and not offering her any. Hysterical she becomes, I tell ya. And the doctor told me a few weeks ago that her appetite would slow down. Um. Notsomuch, Dr. S.

It's funny that when you have your first child, you can't really remember what you did when you didn't have a kid.  And then it seems impossible that you will forget what it was like not having 2 children. Well, I think we are at that point. I find myself remembering life before her and wondering where she was.  One of life's many blessings.

Ornament Mover

Lila really doesn't bother the Christmas tree as much as I thought she would.  But she does like to rearrange ornaments.  She got that from me.  I loved to move them all around every day leading up to Christmas.  Merry Christmas!

Nate's 6th Birthday Party

Today, we had Nate's 6th Birthday Party at Pin-Up Bowl on Delmar.  Such a fun place for a kid's party and I think the adults liked it too. If I were a mom that thought ahead about blog posts, I would have gotten a picture of the outside to start off this post. But I was so not on my game today, or any day here lately for that matter:) Even forgot candles for the birthday cake but we pulled it off.

Nate enjoyed rolling the ball, but then would run away and not even see how many pins he knocked down (it was a theme with some of the kids).

We had friends from Nate's old school, new school, our extended family friends and real live family. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Thankfully, the adults helped out with keeping the kids on track - they needed someone to keep it movin.

The Peach sisters - I know you can't see their faces, but I thought it was so cute that Avery was waiting with Megan to see how many pins were knocked down.

The parental party-goers...

Plus the newest member of our family! Sweet Sonia (Evan & Olga's)

My sweet almost 6 year old - 8 more days of having a 5 year old.

My parents kept Lila on Saturday night and it was such a help to us.  They tagged along after her at the party too and once she got over her shyness, she really needed somebody tagging along! She is now officially at the age where she is into EVERYTHING.

Nate's Star Wars cake!

This is his red-headed friend, S. They were in school together from 18 months - 5 1/2 years old. It was so wonderful for them to get to see each other since they attend different kindergartens.

Peter was a great bowler and it makes my heart happy that Jane Ellis's little boy was at my little boy's birthday party.  There just really isn't anything quite like a lifelong friend.

Can you tell the icing was blue??

Nate's friends must know him so well - he received the most thoughtful gifts that included art supplies. He is one happy boy. Thank you everyone for thinking of him.

I wish this picture was better. But it does show how crazy I am about this boy. Since my parents kept Lila, we went out to dinner last night at Nate's choice of restaurant. It was a nice change to be able to totally focus on Nate and not be picking up sippy cups off the floor. We talked, did math problems (yes, his latest obsession - wish I could harness it for some other areas!) and were able to finish our dinner without rushing. I loved being able to celebrate him and tell him all the reasons why Scott & I are so proud of him. It was a great night and I'm so thankful for all of my family - including the little sippy cup dropper:)

Happy Birthday Party Day My Sweet Sweet Boy! I hope you'll be my baby boy forever, even though you are totally not a baby anymore:)

Christmas Card Out-takes

I tried really hard to get a good Christmas card picture. But you will not be seeing any of these on my Christmas card.  I had to go a totally different route because my kids (one kid in particular) would not cooperate with the photographer.  It started off not so bad. 

 And progressively got worse. Lila all of the sudden decided she did not want to sit by Nate. 

 Time after time, she tried to get away.

So we changed locations. But that didn't work so well either.

And then she decided she had just had it. Her hair looks blonder when she's mad - next to her hot red skin I guess.

The grandmothers will probably not think Lila crying is funny. But it's just a day in the life, right? No one was harmed in the taking of these pictures - except maybe my eardrums.

Saltine Toffee Bark

Nate & I made this Saltine Toffee Bark one night this week. It is AWESOME! So yummy and oh so good for you:)

Saltine Toffee Bark (Taste of Home, Dec/Jan 2012)

40 Saltines

1 cup butter - cubed

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 pkg milk chocoloate English toffee bits

Line a baking pan with heavy duty foil. Arrange saltines in a single layer on foil. Set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 1-2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Pour evenly over crackers

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until bubbly. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow chips to soften for a few minutes, then spread over the top. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Cool.

Cover & refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. 

*This a picture right before I put it into the fridge to cool. 

 

Try it today!

Teacher Gifts

I have enough teacher friends to know that some teacher gifts just get thrown in the trash:) But I ran this idea by a few of them and they gave their seal of approval.  I've done this for the teachers at Nate & now Lila's pre-school the last few years.  

I bake mini loaves of lemon blueberry bread, tie it up with a bow and add a Starbucks gift card.  Coffee with a treat - get it? Scott kind of looked at me funny when I said that, but it makes perfect sense to me.  I find that this works well when there are several teachers that are most deserving of thanks during the holiday season (I made 5 this year.)

 

What are you doing for the teachers in your life this year??

Low Key Weekend

We had a pretty low-key weekend, sometimes a little too low-key considering we were on each other's nerves a tad bit on the rainy, cold afternoons.  But it was nice to get a few things done around the house for the holidays and Nate's birthday. 

We tried to cheer on the Bulldogs on Saturday, but it was not to be.  Lila was decked out for the occasion though. 

On Sunday, Scott took the kids to the Botanical Gardens to see the trains. It was the first year I had not gone, but there were some kid-free things I needed to accomplish.

Nate likes the see & spy game and was able to find them all again this year.

His face is overexposed in this one, but you get the point.  I thought it was too good to leave out!

I'm taking a short break from Recipe Monday.  Collecting a few to try and share with you soon! 

My Love for Hummus

I haven't done a what I am loving post in a while - so when I came across this delectable treat this weekend, I knew I had to share.  This new hummus made by Sabra - Rosemary, Olive Oil & Sea Salt is FABULOUS. Now I don't think I'm a picky eater, but when I list off the foods that I won't eat, I can see where someone would think that I am.  There was a time when I would not have even thought about touching hummus but now it is one of my favorite foods.

I think this hummus is even for the pickiest of eaters (yes, even you Audra:) Eat it with pretzels for a salty bite.  Yummo!  

Trimming the Tree

I like decorating for Christmas, even though I don't have a designer tree or really all that much stuff to decorate with...just as well, since my children take everything down over the course of the month.  Even though we were tired from our Thanksgiving adventures, we pressed on and got it done on Sunday night. 

Like me, Nate loves to go through the ornament box and remember all of the ornaments of Christmas past.



 I think I can tell we were both a little tired here!

Lila was really good during the trimming of the tree, and pushed a box up to this chair, crawled up with her That's Not My Reindeer book, and proudly read to herself. 

I tried to get a picture of the kids by the tree. Here's how it went.

Happy Holidays!