New Christamas Tradition

We just go home from a quick weekend trip. We took the kids up to St. George for the Festival of Lights and Live Nativity at Tuachan in St. George. We had originally planned on getting up early yesterday morning and making the quick drive, but getting up early turned into sleeping in and leaving at noon.

We had a great time. We watched the Nativity in the amphitheater in the canyon, took a train ride, sat on Santa's lap and enjoyed some hot chocolate.

This picture should have turned out a lot better, but a family with 7 little boys jumped in front of us. By the time they finished taking their picture, our kids were done and wouldn't stand still.

The only family picture we took while on the trip...can you see all of us?

This is the third Santa the kids have met with this season. Clara has become quite comfortable with him. Thomas was discussing what else he should add to his list while we were in line. I told him that the first list was the one the elves had and they were all finished making the toys. He was a little bummed that he couldn't add anything, but the elves-being-finished-with-their-work- story seemed to satisfy him.

This little girl gave us a run for our money last night. We were hoping she would sleep in the car on the way up...we should have known better. She fell asleep about 30 minutes before we pulled into the hotel. She did fine while we went to dinner and the whole time we were at the nativity, but when we got back to the room, she went bonkers. She was bouncing off the wall and having a horrible time falling asleep. After about an hour and a half of us trying to get her to stay in bed, she finally gave in at 11:02 pm - I was watching every minute pass and did the happy dance once she was out!

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and then met up with my BFF and her family for lunch. (They happened to be traveling home from Cedar). We were going to go get swirly cones and drive over to the temple to walk around, but by the time we left the restaurant it was freezing cold and nobody wanted ice cream, let a lone walk around outside.

It was a great, quick trip, one we plan on making a yearly tradition.

The random stuff in my mind.

I am sure I am like every other woman out there...there is too much to do to be blogging. I have my timer sitting in front of me. The chicken nuggets will be out of the oven in 10 minutes, and I will press publish post in 10 minutes.

- For about a week I have been working off a punch list. It seems like I cross one thing off the list only to add another. I am trying my hardest to get everything done by this weekend. I would really like to enjoy the week of Christmas instead of running around and being exhausted. I want to enjoy Christmas afternoon with my family instead of being so worn out from all the activities of trying to get ready for Christmas. I'll be busy this week, but next week I am putting my foot down. (really, I am going to try)

-Last night I was driving home from my BFF's house and came across one of those musical light displays - you know the ones that coordinate the lights to the music. The kids and I sat in the car for 20 minutes enjoying the lights and the Christmas tunes. It was wonderful. They even did a reading of the nativity. It brought tears to my eyes. I am so grateful for my Savior and the opportunity we have to center Christmas around his birth rather than all the other stuff.

- It makes me very happy that Clara is so excited to see a Baby Jesus on someone's lawn. Jesus gets just as big of a scream as Santa.

-Clara started balling when Santa walked into the Christmas party today. Unfortunatly, I was across the restaurant getting my salad when he made his appearance. When I got back to the table, all the other moms were trying to comfort her. She jumped into my arms and burried her face in my chest. I felt so bad for her, I know how she felt. I was terrified of Santa until I was 11. I think I was the only kid in existence that was relieved when they found out he wasn't real and it was just our parents. It was funny how fast she came around to him once she realized he had a present for her.

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-Today was Thomas's preschool Christmas party. It was at Chuck E. Cheese. I forgot how much I like that place. I haven't been since I was about 10. I think I used more tokens than both of the kids put together. I was showing Clara the ins and outs of skee ball and I became quite good at the little game where you had to bounce a ball inside a frogs mouth.

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-While at Chuck E. Cheese, a little girl in front of me was cashing in her tickets at the machine. I was really jealous that she had 100 tickets and I only had 71. My poor kids had to walk out with plastic tops. I'll bet she got something really cool like a plastic kaleidoscope.

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-Today was the first time since becoming a Mom (5 years) that I found myself with a nasty, poopy diaper and no wipes in the car. I ended up changing Clara's diaper on a filing cabinet in the bank restroom and using wet paper towels. Now that I have typed that sentence..why is there a filing cabinet in the bank's restroom? I appologize to anyone who walked in there after us.

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The timer went off a few minutes ago. I guess I better stick to my words.

She gets this from my side of the gene pool...

To answer your questions...

1. Yes, this is what she looks like when she is screaming.

2. No, she did not eat her dinner and is now eating cereal for her dinner.

3. Yes, we can afford a baby doll.

Okay..maybe they were right.

Next time you are out to dinner and the waiter tells you that the dessert will turn the kids' mouths blue...believe him.

I'd like to thank....

my cute friend Cathy for posting this on her blog. Because of her, I now....

1. get to watch this YouTube video more times than I can count. Each and everyday.
2. have replaced the original, disturbing words at the beginning of Bohemian Rhapsody with "mama" repeated over and over.
3. need to purchase this song on itunes and make it one of our ipod friends.

This is what 30 minutes of peace looks like. And just so you know...the video is only 4 minutes long. The little ones know how to click on replay.

Reach out and touch someone...

Steve reads Thomas stories out of the Scriptures every night. Last night he was telling Thomas the story about how Jesus called 12 disciples to administer with him. Thomas turned to Steve and asked...

"Jesus had a telephone?"

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe my baby girl is 2!

(please excuse he huge double chin)

There is so much I can say about our little Clara Jane. She is such a joy to have in our family. She is spunky, independent, and very funny. She loves to cuddle, give hugs and kisses and loves to play with her brother.

My favorite things right now...

When she falls down she yells out "I'm Okay" even if she is in a room all by herself.

She says bless you when someone sneezes. Many times I have been downstairs while she is playing upstairs, when I sneeze and I will hear this little voice from the play room say "bless you."

She loves to put on make up. It is how I am able to do her hair. I stick her on the counter with a bottle of lotion and tell her it is make-up. She will occupy herself with it for a good 10 minutes.

She will not stay in her crib. We need to get her a bed, I just keep procrastinating hoping some how she will un-learn how to climb out.

She loves to play with her babies.

She has mastered the scream. (I guess that is not my favorite)

She loves chocolate and has quite a sweet tooth.

We love her so much and are so glad she is part of our little family.

Because it's always all about her.

My friend Heidi came over yesterday morning to have me take some shots of her kids. I was telling Derek* how to stand when we had a little visitor who wanted to get in on the action. I didn't ask her to stand next to him or pose like him, she just did it on her own. She already had her shirt off because that's just the way she rolls.

I really hope that 20 years down the road they fall in love and get married because this would make a great picture for their wedding invitation.

I was glad that Clara wasn't in the shot for this next one. It didn't turn out too well because we were sitting under a green tarp, however I thought it was pretty funny as did Derek and Ashton's mom.

I thought the rest of the cowboy shots turned out pretty cute. Ashton wasn't too cooperative for the shoot, but the back of her head was.

*When I was asking permission to post the pictures of Derek, I was told I could take credit for the pictures, but I had to give Heidi and Mike credit for creating the model.

How to ruin a perfectly good morning

Because of the holiday, Thomas had preschool this morning instead of this afternoon. Usually when he is at school, Clara is sleeping. This morning Clara and I got to spend some mommy-daughter time. We went shopping for last minute Thanksgiving things and then came home for a while. She decided we were going to play hide-and-seek. She loves this game and is always the one who counts. Nothing is cuter than hearing her squeaky little voice count and then shouting out "ready or not here I come."

I was hiding in the pantry and took my camera with me. I have a shot like this of Thomas and wanted to get one of her, too. She found me and we celebrated for a minute.

Then I noticed the lighting in the room and decided we needed to do some experiments.

Can you tell I ruined her morning?

This is what she did to try and rebel...

She gave me a nasty look and started to take her pants off because I have been making such a big deal about her leaving her clothes on.

Part of my day.

Naked toddler.

Mommy not caring that the toddler is naked, she is picking her battles.

2 kids eating chocolate-chip pumpkin bread

Toddler says, “I poop.”

Mommy turns to say “what” and sees toddler putting something brown in her mouth.

Mommy jumps to conclusions and starts screaming “no” and running toward toddler.

Mommy realizes it’s just bread and calms down.

Mommy decides that diaper and clothes must go back on.

Mommy also tries to teach toddler to only say "I poop" where there is poop.

Didn't you want a shell when you were little?

When I was in 6th grade, I wanted to work in the advertisement industry for some odd reason. I thought making commercials would be so much fun. Actually, I still think that. With that being said, I would like to give a Christmas gift idea. (The real reason for this post... I am bored and everyone is asleep. I've caught up on all my TIVO shows and the only other things to do is laundry or clean the house.)

Last year I was reading an article on the best toys for kids and these Bilibos were listed. When I first saw them I thought, Are you kidding me? A big plastic bowl? Really? But after more research I decided to get them for the kids.

My kids LOVE these things and they play with them every day. If your munchkins enjoy a nice cardboard box like mine, then they are going to love these, too. It is what it is...a big plastic bowl, but with a little imagination it is so much more.

Back Seat Driver

I love this age! Clara is just about to turn 2. I can't believe how fast these past couple of years have gone. She is constantly amazing me.

The other night we were driving home from Grandma's house. It was late and I was surprised that both kids hadn't fallen asleep. As I pulled off the freeway and was driving down the main street to get to our neighborhood, Clara started to give me some instructions.

Every time we would begin approaching a stop sign, she would put her hand above her head and say, "stop, Mom." There are about 4 signs along this street and she did it each and every time. When we were pulling up to the final stop sign I pointed to it and asked, "what does that red sign mean." She said it again, "Stop, Mom."

I think she is a genius, but I may be a tad biased.

Like a thief in the night.

I just did something. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. I just ransacked the toy room with a large white trash bag and filled it to capacity. I don't know why I feel bad doing this, it's part of being a parent and part of the pre-holiday tradition.

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Recently, Thomas and I checked out Too Many Toys from the library (here is where I should insert that I have not yet returned the book even though it is weeks upon weeks overdue). It is a fantastic book. I love any book that is entertaining for the reader as well as the listener. The title pretty much says it all, so there is no reason to give a synopsis. I checked it out in hopes of opening up a discussion about what we were going to do with all the toys that have made it into our home, not to mention the toys that are hidden in closets, trunks, garages, and at Grandma's house for Christmas. However, the book backfired. Every time we read it Thomas gets this worried look on his face and then proceeds to say things like, that's a good story, but I don't want to get rid of any of my toys. or I like all my toys, why would you take them away from me?

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This afternoon while Thomas was at preschool and Clara was sleeping I decided it was time to do the deed. It felt so good to clear out some junk, but I did feel like I was scrambling to get it done just in case Clara got out of bed or Thomas happened to hitchhike home and come walking into the house. With every toy that walked the plank, I was rehearsing what I am going to say when he asks where something is, which I am pretty sure isn't going to happen, but I must be prepared. I'll say, "hmmm...I'm not sure." I figure this is true and I am not lying because I won't know what happened to them once they get dropped off and become someone else's mess.

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So, as of 2:56 pm I am almost there. The room is cleaned out, the toys are in the car and now I just have to get to DI before Thomas discovers his junk in the back of my trunk. Wish me luck.

It really is the little things.

Thomas was asked by his preschool teacher what his favorite part of our trip was. His answer had something to do with the amount of powdered donuts he was able to finagle out of his Grandma Barb.