Christmas Time is Here

Last year, decorating our house for Christmas was a completely new experience.  This year, we had it down...or so I thought.  It is funny  how the house seemed perfectly decorated last year, but we still found room for new additions this year.  Even after the garland was hung, the nativity set out, the stockings were placed over the fireplace, ornaments adorned the 11 foot tree in the living room, and the tree in the office lit the front window, how, you may ask, was there need for more?  Well, we live in America after-all, don't we?  So, like true American's, we had to do MORE! 

The were two primary additions.  First came the lights on the outside of the house. That was something we consciously chose not to prioritize last year, so we are so excited to be able to show off our Christmas spirit to all of our neighbors this year. 

The second addition is a much more sentimental one.  Billy's sister Jenni had collected the Hallmark Barbie ornaments for years.  She has quite a collection, and his mom gave them to us this year.  We already have more ornaments than we know what to do with, and I am not exaggerating.  With two trees, one of which takes up half my living room, we still had almost an entire tub of ornaments left over that we didn't hang!  So, the only logical way to solve this problem and ensure Jenni's ornaments are displayed was to get another tree.  Thus, we added another (fake) tree upstairs on the balcony overlooking the living room.  The funny thing is, even with 3 trees, it still doesn't feel overdone.  The even funnier thing is that I don't think it is excessive. Yes, I have 3 Christmas trees in my house and yes I am implying that I still have room for more Christmas decorations!  'Tis the Season!   

Fancy Smancy

When I was a kid, it was a huge treat just to eat at someplace other than our house.  I thought Taco Bell was some of the best food on the planet.  My kids, on the other hand, at 5 and 2 have actually experienced fine dining.  Last night, my parents treated us to a dinner out at Ruth's Chris.  Before thinking we're all crazy, let me explain.  My dad cashed in some credit card points for more Ruth's Chris gift cards than I have ever seen in one place.  They asked if we'd like to go, and we decided that we could go sometime around my birthday to celebrate. 

We tried to find a babysitter, but were unsuccessful.  So, we bravely forged where few parents before us have.  We took our toddler and our kindergartener to a fancy restaurant.  For the past day, we've been preparing Audrey explaining to her what she should expect and what we expect from her.   She wanted to wear her Christmas dress, since we had told her we were eating at a fancy place, and that is her fanciest dress. 

Overall, the kids were surprisingly well mannered.  Audrey had trouble keeping her napkin on her lap because she was wearing a longer dress, and Barrett was completely confused by having 2 forks. All in all though, I am so proud of how little they disturbed the other guests.  In fact, I am pretty sure that the other people in the restaurant didn't notice they were there until we were walking out.

I attribute much of this good behavior to two factors:  bread that was on the table within minutes of us sitting down and smart phones.  Actually, I should just say cell phones in general, because Barrett had more fun playing with my dad's flip phone from 2008 than he did with my phone.  The funny thing is that just before offering the phone to Barrett, my dad offered his phone to Audrey to play with.  She just looked at him and said, "What am I supposed to do with that?"  Clearly, she prefers phones that can connect to the internet, play games, and watch shows.  I guess Barrett is young enough that pushing buttons still makes him incredibly happy.

 

In the end, we all had a great time.  I don't think I'll spread my luck to thin though by trying that again too soon :)

Thanksgiving Boat Rides

Many people spend the weekend after Thanksgiving with family.  Some are decorating for Christmas, shopping, watching football, or just relaxing. In our family, we go boating.  I kid you not, and I have photographic evidence.  We had a great weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks spending time with both of our families.  We also got a new camera with a great black Friday deal and spent a lot of the time experimenting with taking pictures.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend.

Dancing Queen

It has been a long time since I last posted.  That's because it's been a crazy month for a variety of reasons.  Not only are we in full holiday swing, but I was down for about a week with pneumonia, Barrett had a stomach bug, Audrey had a dance recital, I was traveling (twice), and we went to the Lake of the Ozarks with our families the weekend after Thanksgiving.  With all of that going on, posting on the blog completely slipped my mind!

Audrey's dance performance was two weeks ago.  It was a pretty big deal for her.  Not only did she do a dance with her class, but she had also auditioned for a part in the Carnival of the Animals.  She was cast as a kangaroo and got to dance with some girls her age and some a bit older.  It was a great experience for her, and most importantly, she really enjoyed it.  She had some long rehearsals, but did great during them; she just loves watching the other girls do their dances. 

When I saw her in her leotard and her hair pulled back in a bun, I was shocked by how grown up she is becoming.  She isn't even 6, but when I look at her in her dance uniform, she seems so much older than that.

The day of the performance, she actually performed in two shows.  Her grandparents, great grandparents, and great-aunt all came to watch her perform.  She got several bouquets of flowers from her loving family, and looked almost like she would topple over from carrying all of them.  Who knows whether she will ever become a dancer by trade.  Right now, that doesn't matter.  Audrey is having fun dancing and we're having fun watching her.

Big Boy Underwear

Last Wednesday when I picked Barrett up from school, he had a big sticker on his chest.  That happens at least one a week, so it was no surprise.  What was surprising is what his teacher wrote on the sticker.  It said, "I peed in the potty today."  I was delighted.  We've been talking about it and bought some underwear a few weeks ago, but we haven't pushed it at all.  So, I let him tell daddy, we praised him a lot, and we went about our evening like normal.  The next day when I picked him up, the teachers said he used the potty all day and was only wet/poopy when he woke up from his nap.  I was almost on the floor when she told me that.  Could it be.  Could Barrett really be making this choice to start using the potty on his own?  And, at less than 2.5 years old at that! 

That night when we got home, he told daddy and Audrey about his accomplishment.  Then, he looked at me and said, "un-wear?"  (that is how Barrett says underwear).  I asked him if he wanted to put on some big boy underwear, and he got really excited.  He chose the Batman ones, and proudly put them on.  Then, we had an entire discussion of how everyone else in our house wears underwear while folding laundry.  When it was time for bed, he was disappointed to put on his diaper, but we explained that if he went potty in the toilet after he woke up in the morning, we'd let him wear underwear to school. So, guess what?  He did it.  Not only that, but he wore his underwear all day and didn't have an accident.  They did put a diaper on him at nap time, but I wouldn't expect no accidents while sleeping for a little while longer.

So, other than when we were running errands yesterday (I didn't want a puddle in the isle at Target) and when he is sleeping, Barrett has worn underwear all weekend.  He even wore them at church this morning.  I am still in a bit of shock.  I know there will be accidents from time to time for weeks still, but Barrett is now officially wearing big boy underwear, and he couldn't be prouder. 

Confidence

There are so many things in this world to celebrate, enjoy and be grateful for.  At the same time, there are other forces working to throw us off and make us question even those things that we are most certain of.  Things like doubt and guilt creep into our hearts slowly, but over time, they build up and start to overshadow our faith and confidence.  It is in one of those moments I currently find myself. 

My daily routines are centered primarily on 2 focuses:  my family and my job.  Each of those have many different parts, and challenges in any of those parts is often create enough of a gap for some of the guilt or doubt to start making their way inside.  All of the challenges with Audrey's transition to kindergarten have done just that.  They've made me question my parenting choices and whether we are being effective in raising our children to be self-sufficient, God-serving adults.  It might help if I had other parents of children in Audrey's class to talk to, but we are just as new to this school as she is.  It also doesn't help that I can't participate in a lot of the activities with other moms, because I work full time.  That makes the guilt continue to grow.  So, when there are opportunities for me to meet other parents and start a network at Audrey's school, I doubt my ability to make the most of them and just don't participate. 

It's a vicious cycle once the doubt and guilt start taking hold.  It's also easy to feel helpless.  I know the guilt and doubt are something that I am allowing.  I know I can and should evict them, but it's much more difficult than it sounds.  It is difficult because I am relying on myself to do it. Because I am putting my confidence in my own imperfect human will.  As long as that is where I am putting my trust, it's not surprising that I feel helpless, because I am. 

This may sound extremely dark and depressing, and it would be if it weren't for the light of God in my life.  While I was praying last night, I was feeling helpless and frustrated.  And that is when God reminded me that all I have to do is put my trust in him.  I've been reading through the book of First Samuel, which is a narrative of much of David's life.  Time and again, he sins.  Time and again, he is confronted by that sin.  Time and again, he repents.  He mourns his humanness and his inability to serve God with an unpolluted heart.  But time and again, God welcomes him back with open arms.  God blesses him and encourages him.  God never turns away. 

That, my friends, is where I am putting my confidence.  This is the same God that sent his son to die so that we can be saved.  The same God that tells us in Matthew 6 that we should not worry about anything, but in everything put our trust in him.  The doubt and guilt are still there trying to break me down, but God's presence is stronger.  Even today at church last weekend, he knew I needed this reminder, and I opened my pew Bible for the scripture reading to see Matthew 6:34.  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  I am taking that to heart so that I can stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and how I measure up as a parent.  Like David, I am putting my faith and trust in God.  Like David, I will fail to measure up because I am human. But like David, God will embrace me and pull me closer to him.  And that is what gives my life meaning and purpose.

Trick or Treat

Getting ready for Halloween this year has been a lot of fun. We've been gearing up for a while with getting the kids costumes, carving pumpkins, and reading It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown every night. 

Sunday night, we went ahead and carved our pumpkins so we could enjoy our creations throughout the week.  The kids did a great job scooping out the pumpkin seeds, and they didn't even make a huge mess.  Audrey chose to have a pumpkin with a scary face, and Barrett wanted one with a happy face.  It made Barrett's night when Billy got out the jigsaw to make the process of carving go a little more quickly.  In the end, we had some awesome looking jack-o-lanterns on our porch.

 

 

Audrey, like every other girl in the world this year, wanted to be Elsa from Frozen.  We found a costume that looked very Elsa-ish, but isn't actually an Elsa costume.  Audrey calls it a Snow Queen.  Thank goodness it came with a cape, because it is cold and windy tonight!

Initially, I was going to dress up Barrett like Olaf, the snowman from Frozen, but every other little sibling of a young girl was going to be Olaf too.  So, we let Barrett pick out his own costume.  The result was better than I'd hoped too.  He chose a monkey costume that he absolutely loves to wear.  I have no doubt that both kids will be wearing their costumes even after Halloween is over. 

When we went trick-or-treating tonight, the kids did great, despite the cold.  Barrett loved pushing doorbells, and Audrey told her joke a couple of times.  Audrey got a little intimidated by some bigger kids that were basically on the same route as us.  When we got home, they ended up coming to our door, and she gave them candy.  Audrey also saw several other Westchester kindergarteners, which she is really excited about.  I am so glad she is starting to build her new community here around our house! 

Barrett's Imagination

Barrett likes to get up early.  During the week, I am usually out of the shower and drying my hair when he comes charging into my bathroom to greet me.  Because we want Audrey to be able to sleep as long as possible, I let him stay with me in the bathroom and try to keep him quiet.  As you can imagine, that is not the easiest task, especially when I need to get myself ready at the same time.  To keep Barrett entertained, I give him access to a couple of drawers in the bathroom that hold items that he won't break or hurt himself with.  One of those drawers is the one that holds my hair dryer, brushes, flat iron, and curling iron. 

A couple of weeks ago, Barrett decided to take my curling iron out of the drawer and started carrying it around the bathroom.  Subsequently, he found the attachments for my hair dryer that I don't use.  He really liked the one that had the comb on it, and I soon found out why.  He took the cord to the iron and put the plug end into the middle of the hair dryer attachment.  Then, he started walking the curling iron around the bathroom holding it with the "hot" end down.  As he started to swing it side to side, he began making an "errrrrrrrrr" sound.  I observed for a few minutes trying to figure out what he was doing, and then he stopped.  He walked over to the vanity, and I thought for sure he'd lost interest in whatever game he was playing in his mind.  I was wrong.  He grabbed a plastic bottle of foot cream and took it to the curling iron where he pretended to dumb some on it.  Then, he resumed his activity swinging the iron back and forth as he walked across the floor. 

At that point, I had to know what he was imagining, so I asked.  Barrett's reply was, "I mow."  Now, every morning while I get ready, Barrett mows the bathroom. I think it's pretty cute, and I like the fact that he's entertaining himself.  Billy, however, is usually trying to get a few extra moments of sleep while I am getting ready.  So now, thanks to Barrett, his last dreams are always interrupted by "errrrrrrrrrr."

Running Man

Yesterday, Billy finished his first half marathon.  I have to admit that when he first told me he was going to do it, I wondered if he actually would.  He's worked very hard over the past few months to get ready, so his accomplishment is well deserved.  The kids and I met up with his parents and greeted him at a couple of places along the race route.  After he was done, we met up with him downtown.  We missed him actually crossing the finish line, but we got to meet up with him and walk around for a bit. 

When we were looking for him, Audrey saw someone with a medal.  Then, she became very concerned about whether or not daddy got a medal.  I informed her that he would get one as long as he finished, so then as we looked around, she was insisting that he should be easy to find because he was the guy with a medal and orange sunglasses.  When we found him, he looked surprisingly good for just having run 13.1 miles, and he killed his target time of 2.5 hours by finishing in 2 hours 14 minutes.  That time even includes time for a quick kiss for each of our kids when he first saw us at the 6 mile mark halfway through the run.  After Billy ran off, Bill was like "oh, man, he didn't give you a kiss," to which I replied, "I didn't want one!"   He also managed to finish a beer and piece of licorice around the 9.5 mile mark. 

I am so proud of my husband and his accomplishment!   

 

The Joys of Autumn

Yes, it's that time.  It's time for my annual post to celebrate the joys of fall.   Even though it is a little past the official start of fall, it is just now really starting to feel like fall.  There are pumpkins on our porch, candy corn in the kitchen, and leaves lying in the grass.  I made an apple pie yesterday. Oh, and the weather has cooled off too.  I am not sure why I like fall so much.  There are so many wonderful things about fall that it must be the combination of them that makes it such a perfect season.

Fall is a welcome break from the heat of the summer.  As much as I love open toed shoes, dawning boots on a cold, rainy day is so comforting.  It is also nice to just stay inside and snuggle with my puppies.

I enjoy apples, pumpkin, and all of the other edible treats we've come to associated with fall.  Last weekend we had chili and this weekend we made an apple pie. The colors of fall are also vibrant and fun.  Decorating with them makes me ridiculously happy. It makes me smile to see the wreath on our front door or the sunflowers in my kitchen. Ahh, the simple things. 

 

I also love that our summers of constant travel give way to quiet weekends at home with the family.  This weekend, Billy got out the millions of legos he owns (stacked in tubs to the left of him in this picture) for the kids to play with.  I think daddy did more playing than the kids though. 
 

Once the cool weather settles in, we also tend to spend more time with friends and extended family that we don't see at one of the lakes during the summer.  Just yesterday, we went to Litchfield to hang out with Lana's side of the family.  We had lots of yummy food, and the kids got to ride Daisy the mule.

 

Another great aspect of the season is that, because we're home on the weekends, we are able to go to church regularly again.  That is something I've been craving, and I am so thankful to have a church to go to where we are learning to live out the love of Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in all of the worldly things that surround us, and it seems like every summer I become more susceptible to those things.  So, I pray that this fall, along with all of the simple joys the season brings, that it brings the joy of spiritual revival for me and our family.  God's blessings are all around us, so let's celebrate them with praise! 

All About Audrey

Last weekend, Audrey and I went to Chicago with my mom to visit my future sister-in-law (Laurenn) and her mother (Laura).  While we were there, we found her flower girl dress for Uncle Brian and Laurenn's wedding and did some shopping.  The dress we settled on meets Laurenn's requirements (thicker straps and a big bow on the back) as well as Audrey's (it twirls well). The highlight of the trip for her was when Laura went into her storage room and got out an old McDonald's drive through play set from when Laurenn and her brother were kids.  Audrey thought it was the coolest thing, and I am pretty sure she would have played with it for hours if we'd let her. 

It was a very busy weekend, but Audrey was an awesome trooper.  With more than 10 hours of driving in one weekend, she didn't complain about being in the car and only asked a couple of times how much longer we had to go to our next destination.  Both Friday and Saturday, we were sitting down to order dinner at her normal bed time, but she didn't complain.  She waited patiently and didn't have any melt-downs.  The closest she came to a melt-down was actually Sunday morning when she first got up, but she quickly collected herself and pulled it together. 

On that note, I want to say that Audrey is adapting to school better and better each week.  She started a check-in system where her teacher fills out a sheet after every subject, and at the end of the day, if she meets a certain percentage of smiley faces, she gets to spend time with her fifth grade buddy.  She has really enjoyed that and gets so excited when she gets all smileys.  She has gotten to a point where she seems a little disappointed if she gets any frowny faces, but we try to encourage her either way.

At home, we designed our own little incentive plan to help her stay on track too.  We created a mountain out of cardboard, paper and cotton balls and printed a picture of Elsa from Frozen.  When Audrey listens the first time, Elsa moves up the mountain, and if she doesn't, Elsa moves back down.  When Elsa gets to the top of the mountain (5 steps), Audrey gets to choose a reward.  They are small things, like a piece of parade candy or playing a game on the kindle, but it works.  She does an awesome job of getting herself ready in the morning and cleaning up after dinner now, because she knows that will get her "Elsa steps," as she calls them.  I am excited that it is working, and I hope these good behaviors become habits to a point that Elsa and her mountain become a play-toy instead of an incentive chart. 

As far as actual schoolwork goes, Audrey is doing awesome.  Every day, she is learning new sight words and showings us new words and sentences she can write.  Just tonight, she saw the word "lake" on my shirt and told me it only had one letter different from the word "like."  So, we sounded it out with the "a" and she learned a new word.  She also loves going to the library and checking out books.  As much as she loves books, I have a feeling she'll be reading in no time.  It is so strange to think of her being able to read; Billy and I are going to have to find code words instead of spelling something out when we don't want her to know what we're talking about!

Audrey also likes her music class a lot too, and is learning tons of new songs that she likes to sing for us.  She also likes art and tries to make it at home all of the time using all of the markers, scissors, tape and glue you would expect a 5-year-old to use.  Audrey is learning more and more numbers as well, and can do some simple addition, but it is clear that math is not her favorite subject.  She would rather write letters and try to spell new words than write numbers and try to count things. 

Outside of school, Audrey is still the same Audrey.  She loves her brother, and she loves to "help" him.  She will often tell him what he should and shouldn't do, and he doesn't really listen.  One morning in the car, she was lecturing him about good behavior and how if he makes good choices then he will get rewards, but if he makes poor choices he will have to go to bed early.  I had to step-in and remind Audrey that she is not his parent, and that she should leave the lectures to me.  We try to teach her that she can help him the most by setting a good example and making good choices herself.  I was really glad she sits behind me in the car, because I didn't have to worry about her seeing me smile. 

Audrey still loves to sing and perform.  She especially likes to make up her own songs.  When we were driving in the car last weekend, she sang many random made-up songs, including one about fuzz from her socks getting stuck in her toes.  She also says a lot of hilarious things, and I wish I could remember all of them.  I always laugh in the moment and try to repeat what she said so I'll remember it, but I inevitably forget.  Anyone that remembers some of her one-liners, feel free to comment and share! 

Oh My Bubby

I haven't done posts to just talk about my children in a while, so I decided I would do one for each of them.  I already had a title in mind for Barrett's, so I will start there.

Barrett is full of personality.  He is generally smiling, laughing, and being mischievous.  I can already tell that he is going to be a kid that wears his heart on his sleeve.  You never have to wonder what he is thinking.  That also means that when he is mad, he is really mad, and when he is upset, you'd think the world was ending.  Part of that may be the fact that he is two, but I think part of it is just who he is.  Some people have told me that is because he is a Gemini.  I guess that means they have a "split personality;"  in Barrett's case, he is either all happy or all unhappy.  There isn't really an in-between unless he is sleeping.

That brings me to another of Barrett's little quirks.  Barrett is usually a solid sleeper, but he is an early riser.  In the mornings, I'll hear the "swish, swish" of his diaper has he runs into our room.  Well, unless he is running for his sister's room.  He loves to bother his sister when she is sleeping.  The other night, he actually went to her room, crawled into bed with her, and slept there with her until morning.  He does generally love to be around his sister though, and he copies almost everything she does (if only that worked for potty training!). 

A month ago, Barrett got his real big boy bed.  It is a boat bed from Pottery Barn, and he refers to it as "my boat."  When I say "boat bed," he corrects me with just "my boat."  The first day he had it, he got the play broom out of Audrey's room and was swabbing the deck of his boat.  I guess he picked that up from watching his papas clean their boats. 

The past few weeks, Barrett has really started to talk more.  Usually, that is really great, because I can understand what he is saying and can help fulfill his requests.  Sometime though, the way he says things is still unique to him.  This morning he wanted "ju-ju-cay" for breakfast.  Now, I know how he says juice, yogurt, jelly, biscuit, and many other words that could somehow translate to that.  I finally resorted to pulling things out of the fridge and cabinet; when I pulled out the pancake mix he excitedly started repeating "ju-ju-cay."  I am not sure how you get that out of "pancake," but at least I figured it out!

As I think about it, most of Barrett's words are food related, and I think that is because he loves to eat.  Audrey was always a good eater, but he out-eats her much of the time.  He has started getting a little bit pickier, but I am hoping this is just a phase.  He also loves music.  He often goes into the office and tries to play the piano; by "play" I don't mean bang on it either.  He presses the keys softly and sings to himself as he does it.  He also loves to march around the house with his play drum or the recorder.  When the house is quiet, he will go into the living room, turn on the radio, and start dancing like a maniac.  I am starting to think we need to get him into some sort of music lessons pretty soon!

I guess I will close this post by mentioning Barrett's hair.  I was trying to figure out a haircut for him that wouldn't stick straight up where he has a cowlick.  So, I took him in and asked for advice from the stylist, and next thing I know he had a buzz cut.  It is definitely easier to manage, but I am not sure how well it fits my bubby.  It definitely makes him look older, so maybe that is why I don't like it!

The Frozen Influence

One night when Billy was gone a couple of weeks ago, Audrey asked if she could listen to the frozen CD.  Naturally, I couldn't figure out how to make it play in the living room, so I played it on the computer.  For the next 30 minutes, she and Barrett performed the songs of Frozen as only young children can.  Their expressiveness was so impressive, I had to film it. I had forgotten about the video until I was downloading photos from the camera this weekend. Before you watch it, I have to point out that there is no video of any sort playing.  The kids are doing all of their acting by memory.  Enjoy!

Fun at Home

After a busy summer running from lake to lake and coming home for the weeks between, the past couple of weekends have been a welcome change.  The weather has cooled down (pretty dramatically in fact), and we have had some time to acclimate to being at home.  That doesn't mean we haven't been busy though.  Between Audrey's dance rehearsals, work, church, getting things done around the house, and squeezing in some fun activities, we've kept going non-stop. 

Last weekend, we went to the Greentree parade in Kirkwood.  Both of the kids' new schools had floats, and they could have walked in the parade.  We decided to stick together as a family though and watch instead.  It was a lot of fun, and the kids got more candy than we know what to do with.  The funny thing is that Barrett could not have cared less about the candy.  His favorite treat was an apple that he carried around and took bites from until after we got home. 

 

That night, we got to go to the baseball game.  Audrey actually showed real interest in the game, but was very confused about why, if the player hit the ball, they didn't always get to run to first base.  We pointed out the foul line and explained that the ball has to be inside of it.  She would remember for that inning, and then we'd have to re-explain it the next inning. 

 

Aside from specific events, we've been having a lot of fun around the house.  Billy runs on Saturday mornings, so he is usually gone until 9 or 10.  So, the kids and I play.  This morning we had a percussion parade, built several houses from Lincoln Logs, built a mountain out of cardboard, and drove cars around the living room all before daddy got home from his run.  It may sound boring to some, but having those moments to spend with my kids are wonderful.  I know they won't last forever!