Holiday Fun

Winter is not my favorite time of year. Driving on bad roads, the bitter cold, the very dry house, feeling trapped in side, just not my idea of fun. However we have been making the most of the winter weather and getting into the holiday spirit.


Our first snow was two weeks ago, and here is some fun we had outside. We made this huge snowman but my camera battery died before I got a good picture. He is still standing in the yard but has melted a lot and now you see all the grass and leaves we picked up along the way as we rolled our snowballs. He is not picture pretty anymore.

To get into the holiday spirit and to add a few personal touches to the decorations we decided to make snowflakes. A little paper, a couple glue sticks and this great glitter I found at Target that is in these little tubes that have salt shaker type tops.

Thomas did is own cutting and made his very own snowflakes. His favorite part however was the glue and glitter sprinkling. See my table....

Luke was a lot more neat about it and he made a Santa snowflake that was really cute also.

One of Thomas's finished snowflakes. Turned our really good!!!

Luke made lots and lots of little ones.

Our very messy process and my glitter table. Note to all, if you try this, cover your table first. I still have glitter stuck on my table. That might be because I got the bright idea to put glue on the paper and then had the boys turn it over and rub it on the table top to pick up all the excess glitter instead of shaking out more. Works great to stick to the snowflakes but it also does a great job making it stick to the table.

Then we hung them up in our entry way. Looks great! See Luke's Santa on the right.
These were lots of fun but every day I have a lovely glitter collection all over my floor as it falls off of the snowflakes.

Here are a couple more pictures of our snow fun.
Our dog really loves the snow. She is getting old but it doesn't stop her from getting out and rolling around in it. She is a golden retriever and the snow just cakes to her fur. Not very fun when it is time to go inside.
Then the babysitter had a party for all the kids and families she watches at her house. Guess who made a surprise visit. Thomas went nuts when Santa came in. There is no fear of Santa with this child. Luke wasn't so sure about Santa at 3 but Thomas was having a fit as Santa called each child, one by one to sit on his lap and Thomas was not getting a turn.

Luke was one of the first.
Finally, it was Thomas turn and he was so excited. Now he is telling me that Santa is going to bring him a motorcycle. Where did the motorcycle idea come from, no clue. Not sure what to do here because he thinks Santa is bringing him a real motorcycle. Hopefully he is not disappointed on Christmas morning.

I sure hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas season and enjoying the fun of the season. On my list of things to do this year, I have about 10 different cookie, fudge, etc... type recipes and we are going to make a bunch of them up. Then the boys and I are going to head out and make deliveries and spread a little holiday cheer.

Have you been having some holiday fun baking, decorating, whats on your holiday list of things to do?

Our Path.....

I believe that in my life I have been given a path that has brought me to where I am today. I was thinking about this the other day as I can remember a big life changing moment in my life. It changed everything for me and I believe is how I got to this point in my life today.

I go back to being in Junior High 8th grade to be exact. I loved music at this age, my favorite class was choir. I love to sing. At that time I believe I was pretty good because in a couple of concerts I had a few solos of my own. Clearly your music teacher has to believe you have some talent if you are selected for a solo part. Now fast forward to the end of Junior High where every student who wanted to be part of the High school choir had to try out.

My love of singing of course led me to try out because I wanted to be in the choir. However, this was not my path to take. I did not make it into the choir as my tryout did not go very well. I am a very nervous person and I was very nervous at the tryout and I did not do well because I could not get past my nerves. My music teacher was shocked and very disappointed that I did not get selected, she even told me so. Giving me the advice to join the girls choir and prove myself to the teacher so that I would be part of the choir in 10th grade.

I had the option to be part of the girls glee choir in high school but I did elected not to be part of this due to trouble with some other girls who were also in the girls glee choir.

So because of that, my singing came to an end in the 8th grade. Who is to say I would not have done a lot more with music had I made it into the choir but instead I walked away from it all.

Because I walked away I became involved in other activities that lead to an entire new group of friends, that lead to meeting my husband, and the rest is history.

Had I not been part of those other activities (if I did music I would not have been) I would have never made those new friends, I would never have met my husband and so on.

So yes, I do believe we have life changing moments. Sometimes I think they are very obvious and other times not so much. Way back when, I did not see that moment of not making the choir as a life changing moment. Today, I would say this moment has most certainly brought me to where I am today.

Have you had a life changing moment?

I was tagged about a week ago by my friend T-Rex mom to play along with this fun posting game. What I have to do is answer the four questions she has given and then ask four new questions before passing it along.

So here goes.....

1. What is one of your most embarrassing mom-moments? After Thomas was born and I returned to work I was still breastfeeding. Lucky for me I have a private office but I work with 4 men all in the age range between 49 and 60. We are a small company. My first day back I took my pump into the office and sent an email telling them all that if my door was closed do not enter because I will be pumping my milk. Not exactly an email I wanted to send but I didn't want anyone walking in on me either. Don't worry they all stayed away. I think they were all fine with it except for one of them was made very uncomfortable from it. A side story, I got a good laugh from one day. I had my door closed and the warehouse next to ours had a very loud air compressor running. One of the guys said to the man who was always uncomfortable with my pumping "that noise must be Nina's new pump". I got a good laugh from it but I guess he ran away from that moment so fast.

2. What is the weirdest advice anyone has ever given you regarding parenting or regarding your child? What was your response? My mother-in-law was not a fan of breastfeeding. She didn't do it and she didn't want me to do it. I can remember her telling me after a couple short months of feeding Thomas that I really needed to switch him to formula. Oh how I drove her crazy as I nursed for about 16 months.

3. While you were pregnant, did you ever have the random stranger stop and tell you the most intimate details of the birth of her child? How did this make you feel and did you say anything in response? I do not remember ever having anyone do this to me. I was never real big when I was pregnant so I am not sure people felt it was time yet.


4. What do you do to maintain your sanity when you've had a long day and/or night with the kids? Oh how I love the ice cream also. At the moment I can not think what I do but often I give myself alone time when I have half work days and the kids are still at the sitters and school. Thomas is napping at that time so I don't rush to pick them up, instead I have some me time. It is very nice!!!


Please join in and answer any of the above questions or my new questions below. I'd love to hear your experiences. As for Tagging.... I am inviting any of you to play along if you would like.

Now for my questions:
1. What was your favorite childhood television cartoon? Scooby-Doo Where are you? I loved Scooby and now I am watching them all over again as Thomas loves Scooby. The funny part is we have Scooby cartoons starting from 1969 all the way to 2010 with the new episodes. Amazing that a cartoon can still be so popular after all theses years. Of course I think the original 1969 "Where Are You?" are the best ones.

2. Are you a minivan mom? LOL.... my mom always had a minivan and still does today. As a kid this was the best thing because my mom took us all everywhere. Me, I refuse to ever own one. I have a small SUV and I can only haul two children in my car but I don't care. My next car (in about 4 more years) will be one of these new crossovers with three rows of seats because we are fast approaching the age of friends and the need to take more than just my two children.

3. Do you find time for exercise? I try but lately I have not. I do find when I make that time for me and squeeze it in, I am happier and more motivated. A new gym opened near my work and it is actually a great monthly price so I am seriously considering joining. I will always go on my half days and occasionally on my lunch hour.

4. Do your children still believe in Santa? How old were they when they stopped believing? Luke is at the delicate age as he is about to turn 8 and is in second grade. Last year one of his friends told him and his other friends there was no Santa. We did a good job convincing him other wise (thank you Polar Express). It has not come up this year but I have a feeling it will. I am not sure I am ready for him to know the truth but at some point he is going to know. A friend of mine tells her oldest that he will get no presents if he doesn't believe because she doesn't want him ruining it for his little sister. I do want to make sure that magic is in Thomas for many years but it will be hard with an older brother.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING & HALLOWEEN

OK so it is almost Thanksgiving so I am sending out my blessings to all of you for this wonderful holiday filled with great family time.

Now for my very late Halloween pictures.
Thomas and his pumpkin that he was so proud of. We left for a bit and came home to find this pumpkin chewed up by the dogs. Lucky for us, Thomas was asleep so we got to replace the pumpkin with out him ever knowing.

Luke took a long time on his but first time doing it 100% by himself. Oh and shame on me, I did not get a photo of the finished product.
Time for trick or treat. Oh how I hated them wearing masks. Especially Luke's plastic on. I opposed to this but hey, what do I know.
Ever seen Batman in cowboy boots? A fashion statement don't you think?

Star Wars is just the best, Luke is one of the Fet's but don't ask me.

Finally, Luke decides this mask is not working and it came off. Lets see if they listen to me next year.

Everyone have a Happy and Safe Holiday.

Furry Little Critters

I have been having an extremely hard time living in my home these days. I say this because the mice have been as bad this year as they were 9 years ago (our first fall) in this house.

We live in a 100 year old home, half of which is originally an old log cabin. Our basement is an old stone foundation and I believe at one point was a dirt floor that someone filled with concrete (very poorly I might ad).

When we bought this house it was a bank repo that was in total disarray and had been sitting empty for a very long time. Needless to say that with no residence in side the mice took up occupancy. We bought the house in June, gutted 90% of our home and moved in to a very unfinished home in September. Basically we replaced the downstairs bathroom, left the kitchen in tack with a few modifications (new counter tops, redone wood floors) and we had a dining room that we used as our living quarters. The remainder of our home was closed off and under construction.

Not long after our move in I keep seeing a mouse. Note to self when you see a mouse often it does not mean you have one single mouse. Oh no, as a matter of fact in two days we caught 10 mice.

They have never bothered me and we get one or two every fall. I can remember when Luke was little and being potty trained we were in the bathroom and out one walks from behind the laundry and out in to the kitchen behind the fridge. I did not react but to look at Luke and say, we have a mouse.

This year something is different with me. Evey time I come across one it scares the life right out of me. I don't get it, I don't get why this year I am so bothered by them.

One was spotted in the living room, only to go into the kitchen and have one run across the counter and stove (big scream that time). I told Eric the one in the living room was playing the look out while the other one enjoyed the pizza we had on the counter.

My next encounter was even worse. Home alone, I go to take the trash out. We keep our trash cans in a cabinet because of our dogs. I go to pull the bag out and it rips the draw string part right off the bag. It was to heavy because Thomas's pumpkin was in the can (thank you dogs for eating half of it). So I get a second bag and pull off the top layer of trash and remove the heavy pumpkin. Now I can pull this bag out as well. I pull it out and sit it on the floor to try and figure out how to tie it up before taking it out. Well before I get it tied it starts moving frantically in the bottom. Remember, me home alone? Anyway in my shear panic I grab it and fling it out onto the front porch where it spills everywhere. I was not about to go pick it up either and now I have let that stupid mouse free to come back into my home.

Anyway, since those two I have seen several more but we have not had any success at trapping them. We have had a lot of warm/cold weather mix so they are probably coming and going.

The part for me is Eric doesn't seem to care and I can't sleep at night because all I can think about is one of these things climbing across me in my bed or worse yet, one of my children.

I don't understand why I am having such a hard time this year. I do believe this year they are bad because for 9 years in this house our field behind us has always been a grass field grown for straw and is always very tall grass in the winter months (great home for mice). This year the farmer planted corn instead and the mice really started coming in after he plowed that corn field down in early October.

Needless to say, I am ready to pack my children up and move into a new home. So do you have anything that just freaks you out? How would you handle sharing your home with these furry little critters?