Holidays

Bailey opening his Christmas present- We caught a video of Bailey trying to get into his present under the tree, despite previously being told "no". He also woke me up one morning with his candy cane bone lying next to me and his eyes begging me to open it up for him.

Matt bought me a Ty beanie baby of a dog (named Barley) that looks a lot like Bailey. Bailey was a little jealous.




The Gingerbread House (decorated on the 21st)

Bailey with one of his toys


Pumpkin Pie took this picture when Bailey was hanging with them in the play room (watching a movie)

Bailey in the first snow of December. He thought he was in hog heaven!
Me, my brother, and my sister- I don't think we look anything alike (or more like I don't look like either of them).

Oh my goodness...where do I start? I guess I will start by giving a run down of what December has had in store for us.
Matt left at the end of November for a business trip in Wisconsin and returned at the first of December. I handled myself very well, managed to get the girls ready for school each day (lunches and snacks included) and get to work on time. I also prepared supper, kept the house and all chores maintained, and spent some much needed quality time with my girls. We were so excited to have Matt back home though! Then the real madness of the holidays began...
4th: Girls music recital- absolutely wonderful and both of the girls played beautifully.
6th: I attended a woman's meeting with my best friend and enjoyed myself.
8th: Christmas program at the girls' school. Pumpkin Pie is in the choir and Sweet Pea played a cow. It was very cute and the kids did a magnificent job.
12th: Our best friend's came over to celebrate the holidays with dinner and gift exchanges. The girls received personalized watches (one of their favorite gifts received).
13th: My best friend from college and my husband's best friend from childhood, along with their precious daughter came to visit for the holidays. They brought the girls personalized items as well. Pumpkin Pie was most enamored with our friend's daughter singing and pretending to play the piano. She took over 20 pictures and 3 videos of it, which is so like me.
19th: We were supposed to visit Matt's family in North Carolina. However, those plans changed due to the snowy weather. We did eat a delicious dinner at his aunt's home and Matt's mom came to visit (technically, she was supposed to be in North Carolina but did not reach that destination due to the 6 inches of snow already in North Carolina. She did end up staying all night. The girls received another favorite of their gifts (actually two)- Mamaw bought them Vera Bradley backpacks and their aunt bought them certificates for a manicure. That evening, Matt's friend and his girlfriend came over to hang out for the evening, which ended up being awkward because of Matt's mom being here but that is a much longer and more personal story.
21st: My mom came to visit for the afternoon. We started the gingerbread house and Pumpkin Pie had been asking for some assistance with making friendship bracelets. We all attempted but sadly, I have never been very crafty. After mom left, we finished the Gingerbread House, which did not turn out like the picture on the box. The girls had a great time decorating the house and discussing plans for next year's house.
23rd: Matt's cousin and family came to visit for the holidays. They brought the girls so much stuff that I wouldn't know where to begin.
24th: We have a tradition of opening gifts with the kids on Christmas Eve. We emphasize the kids understanding the true meaning of Christmas and typically spend Christmas day running from place to place. Christmas Eve is OUR time together and to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Our children could not come up with any thing in particular that they really wanted for Christmas this year so they both ended up getting books (Pumpkin Pie received American Girl books and Sweet Pea received all of the new Olivia the Pig books that came out- due to her pig obsession). Sweet Pea also received a new music stand to hold her music when she is practicing violin. Pumpkin Pie received some fashion design items because she wants to become a fashion designer someday.
25th: Christmas Day- We started out by going to my sister's mom's house to take my nephew and sister their gifts. We then rejoined with them at our Grandparent's home where we had the traditional Christmas dinner, specially prepared by my Mamaw. She happens to be the best cook in the world. We exchanged gifts and had the traditional reading of the Christmas story. This year, my aunt had a beautiful story published about her mom's values and experiencing Alzheimer's and finding the blessings through such a frightful experience for those involved. We read it aloud and I managed to not cry in front of everyone. After leaving Mamaw's, we went to my mom's home where the girls received even more presents. We still had one more stop to make though, my bestest buddy's house to hang for the evening. It is becoming a traditional way to wind down a wonderful Christmas. We also received a special surprise this Christmas. My sister let my nephew come home with us for several days.
28th: We took my nephew back home today and Pumpkin Pie cried. Sweet Pea was sad but also enjoys being the baby, which she is not when Rotten is with us. I say "Rotten" because the girls have spoiled him. He can simply whimper and the girls run to take care of whatever he wants.
This year has been filled with so many blessings. Matt and I are very fortunate to have family and friends to celebrate with. We still have many more activities planned for the week before we have to return to work and school. One of those tasks is to definitely clean my house! I received so many thoughtful and wonderful gifts but the most important gift is the love of Jesus. I have already started thinking about my goals for the new year and am so appreciative of the wonderful things that have happened over this past year.

The Blue Box

I received a very special gift today...the blue box. My wonderful husband hid the gift in a cookie jar and sent a text with the picture and a note saying, "I love you." I came home and opened the jar (because I am curious like that). I found the special gift and was thrilled that my husband is sweet enough to think of me on such a random day. I promise to share the real reason on Friday, but it isn't as amazing of a reason as you might think.
I love my husband and adore him greatly. He is the perfect man for me.

Thanksgiving Holiday

This week was another wonderful week. Wednesday, Matt and I did some Christmas shopping and finished cleaning the house in anticipation of the plans ahead. Thursday, we attended dinner at Matt's Aunt's home and enjoyed a wonderful meal and visited with some much missed family. Thursday night started the thankfulness for us though. We picked up my sister and nephew and headed to Sevierville to view the Shadrack light show- which was so amazing. My nephew was in awe of the lights and the girls were pretty amazed too. We celebrated a family tradition that we have attempted to stick to for some years now. Every year, we each get a new pair of pajamas and enjoy decorating the Christmas tree as a family. My sister, nephew, both girls, and my husband decorated the tree while I snapped pictures of the wonderful memories. Matt got Superman pajamas this year. I got black and white polka dot pajamas. My sister got gray and blue artsy design pajamas. My nephew got polar bear pajamas and each girl picked out some Christmas design pajamas.
Friday, Matt attempted some Christmas shopping but only obtained a few goodies. He did, however, get the one thing that I requested for Christmas- a steam mop (don't act surprised that it is a cleaning supply). We took the girls and my nephew to see the miniature train set up at UT gardens, then to see the Three Rivers Rambler (which I did not realize would be running), and on to Worlds Fair Park to take some pictures and let the kids enjoy the playground. We managed some awesome pictures of my nephew on the train tracks, playing with his new Thomas the Train, and wearing his new train shirt. He has a passion for trains right now! We are planning some Christmas pictures of the girls this coming weekend. We did a little Christmas shopping Friday evening and watched the Polar Express.
Saturday, we had to take my sister and nephew back home. It is so sad to see them go back home but we have plans to see each other again in a few weeks. For those who don't know, they live about two hours away from here. I love them both so much and enjoy my time with them, which I never get enough of. We also visited with my grandparents Saturday and ate some delicious home cooking, courtesy of Mamaw.


From the light show in Sevierville
Matt in his Superman PJ's, decorating the tree

A photo from the miniature train exhibit

I have given a lot of thought to the changes in tradition this Thanksgiving. I have been so accustomed to our Thanksgiving breakfast at Mamaw's and I missed it so much this year. My Papaw is getting sicker and preparing a large meal has become a burden that my Mamaw can no longer bear. My Papaw has talked with me about his progressively worsening health and his preparation for death. I think about all of the changes that I have seen among my family over the years and how each one has been a struggle when I was faced with it but new traditions were celebrated in its place. I worry about how another lost tradition will be replaced when it was such a significant part of my life. I am thankful that I have traditions that I have started with my own children and I want to continue to instill those things with my girls. I want Thanksgiving to always be important to my girls and hope that they always remember that Thanksgiving is a religious holiday (started to celebrate how blessed our lives are because of Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, our ability to have religious freedom, and God providing much more in our lives than we ever deserved). I love my family more than anything on this Earth and am truly thankful for the many blessings in my life.

Disney on Ice

We went out to eat with our best friends and attended Disney on Ice: Finding Nemo last night. The girls had a great time and Disney did a pretty good job with this show. The girls had matching dresses and hairbows (thanks to Val) and received tons (I do mean tons) of compliments on their outfits. Apparently, not too many people could find Nemo apparel and the girls are so doggone cute, everyone had to give compliments. The girls ate the attention up!
After the show, we all rejoined at the house to play an hour (or more) of Super Mario Bros. on the Wii. It was so much fun. The only thing that could have made the night better would have been better food at Applebee's and if Kari hadn't been so tired. She goes all of the time.

Next week is sure to be filled with activity too. I am planning on cleaning and putting up the Christmas tree. My sister and nephew are planning a visit for several days, and of course, giving thanks to God for another wonderful year (plus some yummy food at Matt's Aunt's). I am hoping to get all of the presents wrapped and possibly getting Christmas pictures made. Plus, we have another couple of fun activities planned for the kids.

First lost tooth

Sweet Pea chose a Barbie set with the puppy for her "tooth present". The second picture is right after I pulled her tooth. It didn't bleed too bad.

Sweet Pea lost her first tooth today. I cried at how fast my babies seem to be growing up. Pumpkin Pie was so sweet to tell her sister that it wouldn't hurt too bad as I wiggled it back and forth. Sweet Pea didn't cry at all and was so excited to have her tooth out. I placed it in a baggy for her to show off at school. We called a couple of people and texted a couple of others. She gets to pick something out from Walmart this weekend (since we do not believe in the tooth fairy).

where did she get that brain from?

Pumpkin Pie was studying for her science quiz tonight when she came upon a problem...

Child: Mom, I can't find the answer to number two.
Me: (Reading question: "In which of the three states of matter does air exist naturally?") OK, what are the three states of matter?
Child: Liquid, Solid, Gas...(pause)...Oh, I thought it wanted to know which state in the United States!

Hmmm...did she get that brain from her dad?

I have RELAPSED

We had a great time last weekend. We had the privilege of keeping my nephew all weekend and took a trip to Dollywood (his first time and to celebrate for Sweet Pea's birthday). Since we have been so busy, we decided to be absolutely lazy this weekend.
On to the relapse...last Christmas, we purchased a Wii for the girls. You can guess who plays it the most though. I became addicted. I thought I kicked the habit and had stayed away for a little while, afraid that I would get sucked back in. Well, today, temptation was too much. I purchased the new Mario game. I didn't play it before the night service at church because I knew that I would end up skipping service. However, after church-it was ON! Matt and I have spent the last hour realizing that we do not believe in team work (you would have to play the game to understand). I am already withdrawing and thinking about how I will get my next fix. After music lessons tomorrow, me and the girls may need some "quality time."
Pray that I do not get sucked into Mario World!!!

Halloween and special birthdays

Friday night, we attempted to get ready so we could attend a festival at a local church. I failed at my attempts but I came away with a cute story. On the way home from school, Sweet Pea asked, "Are we going to the vegetable?" (instead of festival).
Saturday, we enjoyed some wonderful company for a nice dinner at home and the kids had a great time playing.
Sunday, we took a trip up to Norris dam after church so I could get some fall photos of the girls before all of the leaves were gone. After church (Sunday night), we ate dinner at Cracker Barrel with some friends from church. Sweet Pea fell asleep on "Tiff-Tiff" halfway through the meal.
Sunday was also an important day for my bestest. Kendra celebrated her birthday, although she wouldn't answer her phone so I could sing to her. But a tradition is a tradition...so I made up for it by singing, "A Very Merry Unbirthday" (from Alice in Wonderland) to her today. She shared a cutesie with me as well...apparently, she complained yesterday that I had not called to sing our traditional day after the birthday song. Her daughter informed her that I could not sing it to her because IT WAS STILL HER BIRTHDAY! Gotta love that half brain we share! Sunday was also our dear, sweet cousin, Val's birthday. She wouldn't answer the phone to hear us sing either. I wonder if people are trying to send us some sort of message?!
Wednesday is Sweet Pea's birthday and she is very excited.

Circus and Nephew

The Grand Finale- the human cannonball!
The circus- getting ready to shoot the human cannonball. My pictures did not turn out well. I took in one of the girl's cameras and the lighting obviously was not ideal.
What a cutie pants!

We had another blessed and wonderful weekend. Currently, we are battling an unfortunate circumstance but I know that God is going to work it all out. Just having that peace was enough to make the weekend great. Saturday evening, we enjoyed Cracker Barrell with our best friends before going to the circus. We had the pleasure of keeping my nephew Saturday and Sunday. He absolutely loved the animals and the clowns at the circus. He was a perfect angel for us all weekend (given his age). The girls were so well behaved and kind to him, which made me extremely proud. Sunday, our preacher started a new series of messages regarding tithes and offerings to God. Then we visited with my grandparents and returned my nephew. Sweet Pea asked if we could pay my sister so we could keep him. She thought $5 would be enough! We are looking forward to the week and hopefully will get to spend more time with my nephew soon.

Wonderful Weekend

I had the best weekend ever! We planned this trip several months ago and it was so worth it. The kids want to make this a yearly tradition. Our girls' birthdays are three weeks apart and my best friend's birthday, as well as her two children have birthdays within several days of each other. To celebrate this year, we went to the Wilderness Waterpark. We enjoyed the best company in the world, great food (because I didn't cook it), lots of playing in the water, and we did some shopping.

The girls added to their Webkinz collections and Sweet Pea added more pigs to her collection. We had to add the Webkinz to their accounts as soon as we got home. They could not wait!

In other news, Bailey had his "air bubbles" removed today. He is sleepy but is moving around really well. He has been jumping up and down on furniture and climbed the stairs. I promise that I have tried to keep him rather still but it is not working.

Pumpkin Pie celebrates her birthday tomorrow. She is such a diva! She finally picked out part of her birthday outfit this weekend- a mauve twirl skirt from Pampolina. Now we have to find a sweater and shoes to go along with it. It was so much easier when she would go into Gymboree and get an outfit with all of the coordinating accessories! She has a new piano teacher this year and seems to be excelling. She doesn't seem to mind practicing near as much as she used to.


The Christmas Oinking Pig

Sweet Pea's Webkinz

Pumpkin Pie's Webkinz (her volleyball team is named the cardinals)

Our view: I convinced my best friend to go down that waterslide with me. Ohhh that memory will stick with me forever- her facial expression was absolutely priceless.

The birthday cake- yummy!

The Aquarium

We took the girls to the aquarium today. We also planned to go to Dollywood, since the rain was supposed to end around 1:00. However, I ended up being miserable at the aquarium and we had to head back home afterward because I was literally puking my guts out the whole way home. Shout out to the Pilot station for the sturdy baggage that assisted with the long trip home. I've held down a little bit of food for the past hour so I think it is passing. I feel miserable though about the girls not getting to do more. We had also planned to shop for Pumpkin Pie's birthday outfit. I guess it will have to be put off for another day. Enjoy the pictures!

It happened

We woke up at 7:00 a.m. with Pumpkin Pie running a fever of 102. She says she feels fine other than a sore throat and congestion. She is eating fine and playing fine, even though she is confined to her room with a limited number of things to do. I guess we will be seeing the doctor for a third time in a week and a half. I'm afraid our doctor is going to think we are horrible with our kids getting so sick. I promise they are washing their hands frequently and I am going through sanitizing things often. I limit what they can touch and do and am keeping them confined to one area throughout their sickness. What am I doing wrong!

When will it end??!!

These are totally random but they fit the way that I have felt for the past two weeks.
Sweet Pea had the flu last week and on Monday, 20 of the 29 kids in her class were absent due to illness. Now, Pumpkin Pie has a sore throat and is complaining of not feeling well. Matt and I took turns staying home with Sweet Pea this past week. Of course she wanted to run wild when her fever went down and was clingy and lethargic when it was up. How did I entertain her you ask...we colored. I thought she did an awesome job on the Little Mermaid picture and she even took the picture of it by herself. She may have some artsy skills in her after all. It sure isn't genetic though.
I have the cutest dog in the world. This is now his favorite place to sleep and get away from Sweet Pea. He is under my bed on top of my summer shoe box.
We had the water bottle out this week to fix one of the kids hair. Matt decided to spray Bailey with it and Bailey thought it was a wonderful game. He kept trying to lick the bottle and he would push Matt's hand with his paw to get Matt to spray more water for him. I have a video but it is a little lengthy, so I will spare you.
Matt fried ham a week ago and this piece came out of the skillet like this. Can you see the smiley face?! I promise that we did not make this up.

Matt found the M&M in his recent snack attack and thought it looked like a heart. He had to share it with me, which was sweet since I LOVE M&M's. They are just so cute (and yummy).
Many of you may know the struggle I have had with Pumpkin Pie's hair. She has some wild hair that has this wavy, kinky thing going on. So I decided that I would be hair stylist for a day. I permed my daughter's hair! I used big rollers on it and didn't leave it on as long as the box said but she likes it and it has been way more manageable in the mornings when she is getting ready for school.

Another piece of ham...Sweet Pea thought that this one looked like a heart.

We have been very busy recently, between school, homework, music lessons, work, sanitizing the whole house every day to try to prevent sickness, doctor's appointments, etc... I will be glad to have a shorter week this week. I am off Thursday and Friday and am planning some activities with the girls (since they will be out of school). Next Friday, we are going to a water park for the girl's birthday's. We will also be celebrating birthday's with one of my best friend's and both of the girl's best friends. We are very excited! We also have the circus coming up and Disney on Ice coming up. I am currently searching for birthday outfits for the girl's birthday pictures and am really looking forward to those. It has been forever since I have taken any pictures of the girls (beyond everyday pictures). Let's pray that Pumpkin Pie doesn't get "sick, sick" and the rest of us can stay healthy. We have way too many fun things planned to get sick now.
Oh, and being the wonderful mom that I am-I have helped Sweet Pea extend her vocabulary. She recently learned the word "imbecile" and knows the meaning. I am just joking about the wonderful mom part!

Air bubbles

This story is a little embarrassing so be prepared.

We recently cut Bailey's hair again (to keep it short but allow it to get a little longer before Winter). Normally, I could handle questions from my kids without panicking. I guess I wasn't prepared this time. Sweet Pea happened to notice a set of private parts that boy dogs carry around. When asked what they were, I freaked at how to explain this to a young child (which is not the typical me...it could be the illness my body was apparently trying to fight off). I responded, "Those are air bubbles. He just needs to poot." She bought the answer but I have a feeling that I should prepare because the question is sure to arise again when he poots and the "air bubbles" don't go away.

I guess it had to get us...

Thought I would share a cute picture of Bailey snuggling with his favorite toy- the Mickey Mouse rattle.

So, I guess I could have expected that I would get sick. I see kids all day long and they carry in germs but I really tried to avoid it. I have them put GermX on their hands when they come in and I have sanitized my office several times in the past couple of weeks. Sunday morning, it started out as a migraine. Today, I have laid in bed all day long with a low grade fever. I am going stir crazy because I haven't felt like sitting up. I hope that I feel well enough to work tomorrow. I don't think I can stand another day laying in bed! I feel so lazy...
Pray that the rest of the family doesn't get this junk.

Counting

Everyone likes to think that their child is super smart. Mine are always proving me otherwise. As we were reading our Junie B. Jones books this evening, Sweet Pea wanted to count the footsteps on one of the pages. It went something like this...
SP:1...28, 29, 20
Me: 30
SP: ...38, 39, 20
Me: 40
SP:...48, 49, 20
Me: 50
SP:...58, 59, 20
Me: Child, when are you going to catch on that it ain't 20!
Sweet Pea and Pumpkin Pie bust out laughing and I'm left wandering if either of my kids can count past 20. (It must come from their dad!!!)

An Ode to Mrs. B

As we were shopping today, we came across a sign that I had to purchase (you will be receiving it soon). The sign reminded me so much of Mrs. B that we had to get it. It is confirmation that you are now officially a southern redneck!

Dollywood

As many of you know, school starts back this week. It will also mean that my youngest starts Kindergarten. Each year we get a gift for the kids as a "have a good school year" and we love them kind of present. This year, I probably did a lot more than usual because it has been a rough few months (ok, maybe a rough whole year). We took the kids to Dollywood today and I obviously caught this picture of Matt attempting to stop a car with no brakes. He can be such a dork! The girls had a great time and my mom joined us for the trip, which allowed for more rides with the girls individually since mom could be with the one we were not riding with. Sweet Pea rode Dare Devil Falls for the first time this year. I thought she would be terrified but she was ready to go again. We had the traditional funnel cake and went by a store on the way home because it was the only store that had the one thing that Sweet Pea really wanted as a gift.

So, for the gifts... 1. trip to Dollywood, 2. a silver bracelet, 3. a monogrammed heart charm and necklace and another silver necklace with a charm that says "Daddy's Girl", 4. the newest Junie B. Jones book, which happens to be an activity book about going to school (because we adore June B. in our house), 5. Sweet Pea got a new computer game and Pumpkin Pie got a new DS game, and finally 6. Sweet Pea got a ring with a flower (the thing she really wanted) on it and she added to her collection of stuffed pigs today. We spent the same amount of money on the girls even though the number of gifts are not even. I know that some people get hung up on that issue but the girls understand the concept.

Here are a couple of pictures...the ring and the Junie B. Jones book and the pig-





Just for the record, I am having a really hard time with Sweet Pea starting school. Although we plan to have more children, health concerns are putting that on the back burner. That leaves me with feeling like it may be my last one to go off to school. I do cry every year when Pumpkin Pie goes to school for the first day, just for the record. But anyway, it is a sad thing for your youngest to go off to school and makes me dread Pumpkin Pie's teenage years rapidly approaching. Although it is still several years away, it seems to be coming at me like a freight train.
I also thought that I would show off the girls backpacks. Sweet Pea insisted on having two backpacks this year (polka dots from Gymboree and black/white Damask print that her cousin was able to get for us). She actually wanted more but I insisted that two was more than she could carry at one time. Pumpkin Pie has three backpacks that she has accumulated over the past few years that have proven to withstand HER. We typically have to purchase at least two backpacks per year (and we are not talking cheap backpacks) because she is so hard on them that they fall apart. These have managed to outlast her, although the Limited Two backpack is giving in.