My ginger head.

Don't you just want to run your fingers through it???  I did everyday....

until he begged to cut it all off.  I've been too sad to take a picture of the "after."  

Lately

I think I have officially beat my record for not blogging.  I should be so proud.

Life is great.  What can I say...

Clara is growing faster than I would like.  She is 4 1/2 going on 16.  Her preschool was canceled last month so we have been having "girl time" every day.  She sits by me with the Ipad while I edit my latest photo sessions and keeps me company.  She is really into picking out her own clothes and wearing make-up.  She is very independent and loves to help me with laundry (when I do it) and cooking.  

Thomas is almost done with the 1st grade.  This year has gone so fast.  I am ready for him to have a break, but I don't think I am ready for him to be in 2nd grade.  He is such a great boy and keeps me entertained.  Sometimes I think he is too smart for his own good.  He loves to read and often gets in trouble because we find him reading in the dark at 10:30 at night when he is supposed to be asleep.  He has loved 1st grade and has had a wonderful teacher.  

Fear the future.

Sometimes I catch a glimpse of Clara's future and I get a little nervous.

I knew he could!!!

Steve went on a date Friday night. One of our topics of conversation was the fact that Thomas could not ride a two-wheeler yet. We tried teaching him a couple months ago, but he was too afraid to fall. Steve and I were more disappointed with ourselves due to the fact that we didn't make him try again. I told Steve that I KNEW he could do it, but just didn't realize it.

Saturday morning Clara and I had some baby showers to attend. We left the boys to entertain themselves. The minute I walked in the door, Thomas came running to me to tell me he learned to ride the 2-wheeler. He was SO excited, and so was I.

I asked Steve how long it took and he said, "maybe 10 seconds." He said he got him on the bike, started to run along with him and then let go. And that was that.

I'm so proud of him!!!

Big Brother

The first thing Thomas said when I picked him up from school yesterday was, "I'm going to get treasure box tomorrow!" He was so excited.

He woke up early today. The first thing he said when he came down stairs was , "I get to go to treasure box today!"

We drove to school, he talked the whole way about treasure box.

I picked him up from school today. The first thing he said when he got in the car was, "Clara, look what I got for you at treasure box today!"

I almost cried.

He is such a great big brother.

Dating

Last night I was going to pick up the babysitter. I had both kids in the back of the car and I was going over the rules and what I expected of them while we were gone. This was the conversation that followed:

T: Where are you going?

M: Dad and I are going on a date.

Thomas started laughing hysterically

M: What's wrong with that?

T: you can't go on a date, you're already married!!

Unclogging

I read a blog post once about a farm. At this farm the irrigation system wasn't working. The system was clogged. The farmer went out to check the water line and reached in to find a dead raccoon. Once the raccoon was extracted, the water started flowing again.

It's time to extract the raccoon and get the water flowing again. My Raccoon is Christmas, I never blogged about it and I felt like I couldn't update my blog until I posted about the fantastic Christmas was had. Then it was Thomas' birthday, then our anniversary, then valentines day, then my birthday.

So here I go...I'm unclogging.

Just a few things....

So I totally shot myself in the foot saying I was going to blog everyday. Who am I kidding?!?!? I am bending the rules and allowing myself to play catch-up.

Day 3

Day 4

Clara walked right over this and didn't even notice. She left flour foot prints, it wasn't until I told her to be careful that she looked down. Both the kids thought it was pretty funny. I thought it was until I had to clean it up. It's amazing how flour travels.

Day 5

Tippy wasn't feeling too creative on day 5. He overslept and ran downstairs to get in position before the kids discovered him.

Day 6

And I quote...

Thomas and I were having a conversation in the car tonight about how much we loved to read. He then said...

"I'm so glad reading was invented. It is way better than TV."

Day 3

It was cold today. Cold and cloudy and rainy - my favorite kind of day. I knew right away I wanted to make chili and corn bread for dinner. I pulled out my favorite recipe and started it at noon so it could simmer all day.

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion

1 cup celery

1 cup red bell pepper

15 oz can diced tomatoes

15 oz can tomato sauce

30 oz chili beans

30 oz kidney beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

Ground beef, add vegetables, dump everything else in. I usually let it simmer uncovered on low for 5-6 hours. It is not necessary to let it simmer this long, but I think it adds to the flavor.

After our chili and cornbread we made gingerbread men for Family Night.

We found Tippy in the Christmas Tree this morning eating Hershey's kisses. He stayed there the rest of the day watching us. Nobody had a meltdown today because he was looking at them. Things are starting to look up.

Tippy - Day 2

I don't know about you, but sometimes I think things are going to be A LOT better than they really turn out to be. Like The Elf on The Shelf. I was so excited to start this tradition. I thought I had Thomas excited but last night he crawled into bed with me at 1:30am terrified. He was having bad dreams about ....Tippy the Elf.

Steve was in California so it was up to me to go downstairs an inspect everything and a good hour to get him to fall back asleep. I decided we would try one more day to see if the kids warm up to him.

When the kids woke up they found Tippy had eaten the powdered donuts Thomas left on the couch.

In other news, Remember the cute outfit I bought for Clara's birthday? She wore it to church today. I thought I could take a couple pictures before we left, but she didn't want to cooperate. Just like I thought.

I did use the sock curl Tutorial that has been pinned on Pintrest several times to curl Clara's hair. This is the first time her hair has ever taken a curl.

As for the elf...I think they may warm up to him.

Tippy - Day 1

We have a guest in our home for the next 2 weeks. Tippy is our adopted elf from the North Pole. Thomas is very excited, Clara not so much.

As legend goes, you can not touch the elf or it looses it's magic. Clara touched the elf. Thomas tattled. Nothing new there. I told her that everything would be fine and that we just couldn't do it again.

About an hour later I went downstairs to find her crying. She told me that Tippy was looking at her and she didn't like it. She has asked me several times to give him to the neighbors next door - our Jewish neighbors. Someone on Facebook told me to just put a Yamaka on it. I am hoping that when she wakes up tomorrow and sees the shenanigans Tippy got into during the night she will change her tune and learn to love him.

I am planning on blogging each day of Tippy's stay. Here's hoping for a Christmas miracle!

Lunch Mail

When Thomas started school this year I decided that I was going to pack a note in his lunch box every day. So far I have done pretty well sticking with it. The other morning I was packing his lunch and I noticed how puffy the pocket on the outside of his lunch bag was.

As soon as I felt it I knew what it was. I opened the pouch to find a ton of Lunch Notes folded up and saved.

It made me happy to know he enjoys getting them. I love him.

four

My baby turned 4. Where has the time gone??? I had all these plans for a photo shoot. I bought an adorable outfit, had visions of an outdoor tea party and then it got cold. REALLY cold and I bagged it. I also remembered who my daughter is and realized that she probably wouldn't really cooperate anyway, so the above picture will have to do for her Birthday Photo. If you know our Clara Jane, you know this photo says is all.

Clara is a dream. I love her so much. She is funny, feisty and so entertaining. Currently she is obsessed with princesses, cats, ponies, and unicorns. She loves to do her own hair and pick out her own clothes.

We had her first friend birthday party. She invited the little girls in her primary class for a princess tea party. We painted nails, painted faces and played a game. It was perfect.

She was a little afraid of the candles so she wouldn't get any closer than this to blow them out.

After a little bit, her friend finally stepped in to help her out.

What I'm Thankful For

1. My Family

2. Finding this picture on PhotoBooth

No Shave November

Steve participated in No Shave November this year with the other guys from his clinic.

I think he should have won. They were supposed to end the contest the day before Thanksgiving but the other guys in the clinic decided to extend it. Lucky for me Steve was just as fed up with it as I was and shaved it off on Wednesday night.