Happy Holidays!

Thanks for all your support in 2015.  

The New Year is going to start off slow for my blog, but I hope to be back in action by March.

Wishing you all a Happy 2016!

THREEnager

She is a force.
Loves her family  {{{especially her mama}}}
Loves ALL non-girly things and some girly things too.
Loves dinosaurs, trains, construction trucks, Transformers, action figures, the sandbox at school (...), playing hide-and-seek, BounceU, ponies, Halloween and tutus.
Has more enthusiasm for school than any kid I know.
Asks to do her "homework" and eat yogurt.
Cries LOUDLY when she's been "wronged".
Stands up for herself.
Gives the best hugs.
Her face is my face as a kid.  So weird to see my kid-face when I look at her. 
Has the cutest, squeakiest little voice and a face with so much expression.  Knows how to work the eye brows.
She will tell anyone and everyone, "We don't say 'Damn it'. That's a bad word.  We say 'Oh darn!'."
So, so, so silly. Puts a smile on my face every day.
Takes at least 10 toys to bed with her, even though big sisters are still not aloud to have toys in their rooms.
Says "I sorry mama, but I still love you" when she's gotten in trouble.  And just like that she's not in trouble anymore.
Asks me to go lay in my bed so we can snuggle after big sisters go to school.  Can't say no to that.
Calls her feet her "fuddies".  My favorite word.
Loves to be tickled.  Says "Tickle me mama!" Then says, "Okay mama that's ENOUGH!"
Loves to be carried, especially piggy-back.
Swings HIGH on the big kid swings.  Holds on tight.  Smokes the drop.
Asks me, "Mama, are you happy?" when I'm having a bad day. Always cheers me up.
Loves lollipops.
Loves running errands with mama.
Knows all the stores that hand out lollipops to kids.
So excitable.  Says, "Mom, c'mere!  Check it out!  This is so awesome!"
Has the best hair.
Loves the color black.
Dada is THE man in her life.
Loves her big sisters.
Nana's and Papa's are her fave.
Loves her cousins, "Unca Cwis" and "Aunt Cwistina"
Some of her common phrases: 
   "Please I show you?"
   "Please you carry me?"
   "Whoopies!" which means oops!
   "Deeeeeee-licious!"
   "That's alarious!" which means hilarious

I love her so much my heart hurts.  How is she three already???

Happy 3rd birthday Clara-beans ("No I Clara!")!!

I hope it's filled with lots of non-melty chocolate :)

Family Thumbprint Tree - 50th Anniversary Gifts

My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past summer.  It's so hard to buy gifts for parents, right? I searched all over Etsy for the perfect gift. In the end, I ended up getting them several gifts.  

I made them a Family Thumbprint Tree. I found this free PDF file online (click here). Then I edited it by adding a new heart on the tree trunk with "R+C" inside the heart.  I also added their anniversary date to the bottom of the image. I was able to get all of our family members' thumbprints, including my mom and dad's, and then I found a cute frame on sale at Michael's.

My parents renewed their wedding vows so my brothers and I surprised them with this 50th anniversary Unity Candle Set from Things Remembered. 

I took pictures during the ceremony and the dinner afterward and made them a Shutterfly photo book. I scanned photos from their actual wedding for the book also.  This was my favorite gift :)

I have one last gift for them that I'm saving for Christmas. I don't think my parents even realize that I have a blog so the odds of them seeing this is slim to none. But just in case, I'm going to wait to post it.  It's too good to ruin!!!!  Be sure to check back after Christmas!  If you're looking for an anniversary gift and want to know about this mystery gift, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send you the info. 

Happy 50th Mom and Dad!!

xoxoxoxo

thirty seven

Having your birthday fall on the weekend is the BEST.  You are given the green light to go ahead and celebrate all weekend long.  So that's what we did.

On Friday, my actual birthday, my parents took Clara and I out to lunch.  We had the most beautiful weather on Friday and got sit and eat outside.

Lunch was followed by a trip to the mall to ride the carousel and the train.  This was more for Clara.  I nearly threw up riding the teacup on the carousel with her.

My sister-in-law came over with my niece and nephew after Clara and I picked up big sisters after school.  Living in the same neighborhood with my brother and sister-in-law is such a blessing and having our kids growing up near each other is irreplaceable. 

Tim came home from work with these beautiful flowers too :) 

On Saturday, I got to FaceTime my niece who just went away to college.  She's the first grandchild to go away to college (and 1/2 of my dynamic babysit duo).  We are all having a hard time letting her go.  I can't even imagine how hard it will be when my own kids leave for college...

Saturday afternoon, my mother-in-law and father-in-law came over to celebrate my birthday as well as my father-in-law's birthday.  My in-laws live near Ted Drewes and always offer to bring over a truck load for special occasions.  My #1 favorite treat!

Saturday night, Ava had her first ever sleepover!  

All of the calls, texts, emails, FB messages from family and friends made me feel like the luckiest lady on earth. Aside from almost visiting the ER and my dishwasher breaking for the gazillionth time, I couldn't have asked for more.  Thirty seven is going to be a great year, I can feel it!

Surgery {x 2}

My two littlest had surgery on Monday.  I had so much anxiety in the months leading up to this day.  I hated that it had to happen and I hated that I had to keep it a secret from the girls.  But the biggest source of my anxiety was the anesthesia.  The thought of putting my girls under general anesthesia scares me for a couple of reasons.

First, my oldest, Ava, had to go under general anesthesia to have glitter removed from her cornea (long story: Part 1 & Part 2) and had a horrible reaction coming out of anesthesia.  I didn't know how Sidney and Clara would react to it.  

Second, this past June an article was published by researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital that claims: "Surgical anesthesia given to children under the age of 4 years may be associated with reduced gray matter density in certain brain regions, leading to lower IQ and poorer language development."  

Well crap.

My husband and I talked with several doctors including our pediatrician, another pediatrician, the ENT performing the surgery and an anesthesiologist to try to weigh the pros and cons.  Obviously, you know what we decided.  

We may never know if the anesthesia has had an affect on their brains, but the good news is the surgery was successful, the girls did not have as bad a reaction coming out of anesthesia as Ava experienced and both girls are pretty much back to normal already.

My heart goes out to those parents whose children have to go through serious surgeries. And multiple surgeries.  I don't know how they do it.

I'm so blessed to have my girls back.

Family Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a pretty big deal at our house.  My girls love any excuse to decorate the house and have a party.  I'm a little (but not really) embarrassed to say that we had two trees up 11 days before Thanksgiving.  We also put lights outside for the first time this year....also before Thanksgiving.  Don't be judge-y.  My 3 little ones were ecstatic and that's all that matters, right?!?!  Plus, everyone was sick and we were all stuck in the house for weeks with nothing to do but decorate for Christmas ;) 

There are so many fun holiday traditions to create with your family.  Here are my family's favorites:

Elf on the Shelf – Elvis arrives with the Elf on the Shelf book the day after Thanksgiving and stays with us through Christmas Eve.  This year he even brought his own ornament that he found on sale 75% off after Christmas last year!  What a great little elf!  If you need ideas of elf hiding places, Pinterest has tons of great ideas.

Letters to/from Elvis – The girls always have a lot of questions about Elvis (How old is Elvis? Does Elvis miss his Mommy and Daddy when he’s at our house all day?).  So we started writing him letters to get our questions answered.  Sometimes he even answers back on fun Christmas stationary!

Decorating the House – We bring up the Christmas tree and decorate the house over Thanksgiving weekend (or earlier if pressured by the kids!).  We bought a second Christmas tree at an after Christmas sale.  We wanted the kids to have a fun tree to decorate with all their homemade ornaments and the ornaments they receive as gifts.  So far, the tree only has lights, a tree skirt, a nativity scene and a few ornaments, but the kids LOVE it.  The especially love that they can take off the ornaments and play with them all the time.  Needless to say, it's a pretty bare tree!  We're hoping to get some more decorations after Christmas this year!

Mini Christmas Trees –  The girls each have a mini Christmas tree in their rooms. Even Clara got one this year!  I'll peek in their rooms at night (when they should be sleeping) and find them redecorating their trees! Here is Ava's tree - I found everything 40-50% off at Michael's and Hobby Lobby or at Dollar Tree.

Wrapped Christmas Books each day during Advent – Each child takes a turn opening a Christmas book each night for 24 nights that we read before bedtime.  The first book is The Story of the Nativity.  Each day during Advent, we read a new passage from this book.  The last book we open is The Night Before Christmas.

Good Deed Manger – During Christmas-time, anytime the girls do a good deed we write it down on a piece of paper attached a piece of yarn and the girls can put it in the "manger" (aka; a Christmas basket).  By the time Christmas comes, we have a nice, soft manger for the baby Jesus.

Christmas Music – I absolutely love Christmas music.  I have TONS of Christmas CD’s that I downloaded to my iTunes library so I can play my Christmas music all day long!  Some of my favorite songs are:
- Ave Maria by Chris Cornell
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love
- Baby It's Cold Outside by Dean Martin
- Carol of the Bells from the Christmas Carols for Children album
- Children Go Where I Send Thee by Natalie Merchant
- Please Come Home for Christmas by the Eagles
- I Saw Three Ships by Sting
- It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams
- Jingle Bells by The Brian Setzer Orchestra
- O Holy Night by Josh Groban
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town by The Pointer Sisters
- Silent Night by Stevie Nicks
- Star of Bethlehem by The Judds
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings by Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan
- 12 Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser
- Bells Will Be Ringing by Kelly Clarkson

P.S. - My guilty pleasure is the Jessica Simpson Christmas Album, Rejoyce - don't judge!

Christmas Shows – I love to record all the Christmas shows that come on TV between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Click here for the 2014 ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas programming guide.

Christmas Events around town – There are always fun things to do around town.  Click here for a list of Christmas events around St. Louis.

Christmas Cards – I love to send out Christmas cards to our family and friends.  And I love to receive Christmas cards (hint, hint)!  We display all our Christmas cards in the kitchen.

St. Nick’s Day (December 6th) – The kids leave their shoes out before bedtime on December 5th in the hopes that St. Nicholas will come and leave them some money to buy a gift for a child in need (see “Toys For Tots” below).  They also get a new personalized ornament for the "kid Christmas tree".

Gingerbread Man Cookies – We make gingerbread man cookies and while the cookies cool we read the book The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School.  Sure enough, our gingerbread men cookies escaped while they were cooling just like the gingerbread man in the book.  We searched all over the house looking for our gingerbread men and finally found them on the kitchen table ready to be decorated.  Phew!

PS - This year we are going to decorate sugar cookies because I found a dairy, egg and nut free recipe that I want to try out!  In the past, Sidney has helped decorate the cookies but never got to eat them :(  I hope they taste good!  I'll let you all know!

Visiting Santa – The kids love to color pictures for Santa so that we have something to give him when we visit him at the mall.  Getting their picture taken with Santa is special too.

Toys For Tots – A couple of years ago we started the tradition of having the girls pick out a toy to donate to Toys for Tots.  This year, the girls have earned money by doing chores around the house that will go toward the purchase of the toy.  They will also contribute their St. Nick's Day money.  There is usually a Toys For Tots donation bin at the mall by Santa.

Letters to/from Santa – Before Christmas, we help the girls write a letter to Santa about how they've been and what they've been up to over the past year.  When the girls wake up on Christmas morning, there is a letter from Santa waiting for them.  Pinterest has some cute, free Santa stationary.

Portable North Pole Video from Santa – Santa sends video letters to the kids (and sometimes to Mom and Dad) before Christmas.  Click here to make your own video.

The Legend of the Candy Cane & Candy Cane Cocoa - One of the books that the girls open during Advent is The Legend of the Candy Cane.  We drink Candy Cane Cocoa while we read the book.  Click here for a yummy Candy Cane Cocoa recipe.  Click here for a free printable PDF that tells the Legend of the Candy Cane story.  We warm up Silk Chocolate Soy Milk for Sidney so she can have hot chocolate too.

Baking Christmas Treats for Family, Neighbors and Public Servants – I love to bake Christmas treats but I can’t (or rather, I shouldn't) eat them all by myself.  So we give plates of treats to our neighbors or bring them to our families’ houses that we visit over the holidays. Here are some of my favorite Christmas treats:

Cupcake Bites and Rolo Pretzels

Chocolate-dipped Pretzel Rods

Peppermint Bark

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Neighborhood Lights – We are so lucky that there are many families in our neighborhood that decorate the outsides of their houses for Christmas.  We love to drive around at night and admire all their hard work!

Public Light Displays – We love to drive through Tilles Park to see the Winter Wonderland lights display.  Santa’s Magical Kingdom is a bit more expensive, but still lots of fun!  If you haven't seen Candy Cane Lane, you're missing out!

Gardenland Express – The Missouri Botanical Gardens has a great indoor holiday train display that the girls love to see each year.

Magic Reindeer Food – We sprinkle Magic Reindeer Food in our lawn the night before Christmas so that Santa’s reindeer will spot our house from the sky and stop to drop off the girls' gifts. Our reindeer food usually consists of M&M's, chocolate chips, oats, raisins and sprinkles.  We seal the food in a baggie and make a reindeer out of a brown paper bag.  You can also print out a free poem and tag for the back of your bag here.

Milk and Cookies for Santa/Carrots for Reindeer – We put milk and cookies out for Santa the night before Christmas on our “Cookies for Santa” plate.  We also put out carrots for Santa’s reindeer.

Yes, those are Thin Mints for Santa.  We ran out of time!

A Christmas Story – After Tim and I put the girls to bed on Christmas Eve, we start watching A Christmas Story while we wait for the girls to fall asleep so that Santa can come. It's a hilarious movie and it's coming to the Fox Theater this year!

Stocking Stuffers – Kids love those little junkie toys that make great stocking stuffers.  I go to Dollar Tree or the dollar section at Target before the holidays to find our stocking stuffers.

Other Ideas – I also found some more fun traditions that other families do to celebrate Christmas:
- Adopt a Child / Adopt a Family
- Special Christmas morning breakfast
- Write out a Christ-centered goal to start early for the New Year
- Bake a cake for Jesus’ birthday
- Advent Calendar – Do a special family activity each day during Advent
- Christmas crafts and Christmas coloring pages
- Take the whole family ice skating
- Host a White Elephant gift exchange
- Hang Mistletoe around your house
- Go see The Nutcracker or another Christmas-y production
- Make Hot Chocolate and watch a family Christmas movie
- Host an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
- Donate canned goods to a food pantry
- Make a Christmas wreath
- Make a Gingerbread house
- Open one gift on Christmas Eve (i.e.; Christmas pajamas)
- Decorate Christmas sugar cookies
- Attend City tree lighting event
- Have breakfast with Santa

What are your favorite family Christmas traditions?