I Love This!!

Thanks to David and his thoughtful Christmas present to me, I enjoyed a facial and pedicure today. He even thought to include cash for a tip with the gift certificate. What a guy!

I officially have spring fever (only 80 days to go, you know . . . ) so I'm done with red polish and have moved on to the colors of my favorite season. I thought Emma should have a pedicure too so here's a shot of our freshly painted toenails. When I was painting Emma's nails she said, "Yay! This is fun! I love this!" A girl after my own heart . . .

A Delightful Day

Emma and Alex have been practicing "not smiling" for pictures so this is what I got . . . then they burst into giggles after the camera clicked. Ethan was trying to join them with his own serious expression.

They had a great time tearing open the packages and we all received many nice and thoughtful gifts.

Ethan was very excited to receive a Nintendo DS from Santa Claus (now he can continue saving his hard-earned allowance). Santa gave Alex and Emma their own handheld games (Leapsters) so they can play alongside their big brother. Here they are on Christmas night (in the new pjs--a present from Grandma):

Here they are the next morning, snuggled up in mom and dad's bed:

As cozy as this looks, the quiet concentration soon turned into "don't touch me," "you're in my spot," "Mommy!!!" etc.

In lieu of going outside in the cold weather the kids chased Audi around the house to get the wiggles out. She (the dog) loves to do laps around the kitchen/family room--the kids chase her and then she gets smart and starts chasing them. It's a pretty loud scene--lots of screaming and giggling but thank goodness, not much barking!

We also played card games and board games, read books, the kids battled with light sabres and did artwork with markers, crayons, stamps and stickers. Oh yeah, we also built a gingerbread house and two workshops for Santa (the sticker and glitter kind, not the cookies and frosting kind). Boy, am I tired!

My mom was with us for a few days and we all enjoyed having her here. Emma had great fun playing Trouble with her and sitting on her lap. They all beeped the horn on her wheelchair every chance they got!

83 Days and Counting

I'm not a big fan of snow, wind, cold . . . I would be quite happy to skip directly to spring (who needs those extra 83 days anyway)! I realize this would be different if we lived in a fair-weather state but that's not the case. Actually, we enjoy a lot of nice weather here but that hasn't been the case this week! We enjoyed a fun Christmas at home and luckily we didn't have to drive anywhere because it has been snowing like crazy. Now that the snow has stopped it is too cold to go outside and play in the powder, so we're all going stir crazy!

Patcheck Family

My mom visited Mike, Mitchell and Baylen (my brother-in-law and nephews) and their family for Thanksgiving. Here is a picture of all of them--Mike, Mitchell (15), Baylen (12), Jessie (14), Jodi and Wyatt (13).

Mitchell is trying to add a few inches to his height but seriously, look how tall he is! He is 6'1" at 15 years old. He looks so much like Tracy (my sister/his mom). Baylen looks like his dad, Mike. Also in the picture are Mike's wife, Jodi, and her children, Jessie and Wyatt. They are a tall bunch! We can't wait to see them next summer!

Gettin' Groovy with the Mc5Family!

Did you have any idea we had such impressive dance moves? We wish you a Merry Christmas!

E-X-T-R-E-M-E EXCITEMENT

Happy Birthday, Alex and Emma! Now give each other a birthday hug!

Me: Alex and Emma, do you remember what today is? It's your birthday!

Alex: Are we four?

Me: Yes, you are.

Alex: Yeah! I'm going to tell Ethan we're four!

We did most of our celebrating on Saturday at their birthday party but will also celebrate tonight with dinner at a restaurant.

An interesting thing occured at their party which made picture-taking a challenge . . . they didn't sit by each other. When they walked into the party room Alex sat by the boys and Emma sat by the girls which happened to be on opposite sides of the room. I was going to have them sit together but then I decided to just let things happen (hard for me to do sometimes). It is fun to see them developing friendships yet they are still so connected to each other and with Ethan too.

I would be happy with the crack . . .

. . . of dawn. But no, the little ones in my house, especially the dog, don't understand the luxury of sleeping in. These days I consider 7:00 a.m. sleeping in and it's a rare occasion when that happens! That's why I'm now addicted to coffee. So here's to an early, but not yet bright, Monday morning!

Almost Replaced

A typical morning at our house: I get up and take a shower; David gets up with the kids. I walk out to the family room and all the kids yell, "Mommy!" and run to me for a hug and then follow me around.

Day Two with Audi: I got up and took a shower; David got up with the kids and the dog. I walked out to the family room and nobody noticed. They were totally engrossed in playing with the dog! I said, "Well, this is a first." The kids glanced my way and went back to playing with the dog. Later that day I paused and felt kind of sad. Had I been replaced by the dog?

Day Ten: Emma, Audi and I are sitting on the couch. Here is our conversation:
Emma: "Mama, I like you again."
Me: "Well I'm glad to hear that because I like you too."
Emma: "Yes, I like you again."
Me: "Was there a time when you didn't like me?"
Emma: "Yes."
Me: "When was that?"
Emma: "Because I was wishing for a puppy and then we got a puppy but now I like you best."
Me (trying to interpret this conversation): "So did you like Audi better than me for a while but now you like me again?"
Emma: with a big, satisfied grin on her face - "Yes!"

So now that little poke in my heart is filled in again and I understand that the kids are learning something important about love. Just when you think your heart is so full of love it will burst, you find room for more and it doesn't change or lessen the love you already have. There's always room for more!

Oh, the Magic

We had a less than joyous weekend - no sleep because of the dog, sick, cranky kids and too many things to do. But then last night we headed for the mountains and boarded the Polar Express for a visit to the North Pole. The kids were filled with excitement as they watched out the windows, looking for Santa and his reindeer. When Santa stepped onto the train I'm pretty sure all their eyes REALLY sparkled--it was truly magical!

PLEEEAAASE Wear the Hat!

I found this cute hat for Emma and she liked it for about one minute. I begged her to wear it, with no luck. Finally she agreed to let me take her picture if I would let her have a turn with the camera. I won't post any of those pictures since they were very unflattering pictures of me but here's a shot of Little Miss Emma!

The Anatomy of a Gingerbread Man

Day Two of our advent calendar instructed us to "Decorate gingerbread cookies" which we did. Upon completion Alex said, "Mommy, does mine look really good?" Then he explained what everything was . . . "These are the eyes, this is the mouth and these are the nipples . . . "

Here are our gingerbread people . . . in looking at the picture I'm not sure if mine is wearing a swimsuit or lingerie but it was supposed to be a dress!

Aayooo!

That is the new sound I hear at night from our new beagle, Audi. She is very cute and sweet so I hope she soon learns to sleep at night!

On Friday we got an early delivery from one of Santa's helpers (who is the owner of Audi's mom). The kids absolutely adore her and they keep telling us how much they love her.

Where's Obama?

This morning Alex said, "Where's Obama?" I said, "Well, I'm not sure where he is but there's a picture of him on the newspaper." Alex said, "There is?! Can I see it?" Then he looked at the picture and exclaimed, "There's Obama!"

I'm not sure what prompted that conversation but I am really excited about the interest the kids have in our soon-to-be President. We have talked about it a lot and Ethan asks a lot of interesting questions. This election has captured my attention more than any in the past and I can't believe I actually have a current interest in politics. That's a first! I wonder how much of Obama's presidency they will remember when they get older . . .

So Much Thanks

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving dinner but missed having family with us. The kids were excited to drink out of grown-up glasses (plastic, to be precise, but still exciting) and we got through the meal with only one spill.

Seriously, though, we are so thankful for our good health, wonderful family, dear friends and the safe, friendly neighborhood in which we live.

Monsters in My Tummy

Last night during dinner David said, "Ethan, four years ago it was only you, Mommy and me at the dinner table." I said, "Plus my big belly with two monsters inside." We laughed and then a moment later Alex said, "Mommy, when Emma and I came out of your tummy were we babies?"

Here's a picture of Ethan decorating the Christmas tree in December 2004 . . . in the upper left-hand corner you can see a big white thing sticking out . . . that is my 34-week pregnant belly!