Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2013

Christmas Eve finally arrived, and Lincoln and Beau were excited all day!!!  We did a tiny bit of shopping, tons of cooking, and plenty of having fun!  Our church has a beautiful Christmas Eve service, so we got all dressed up and headed out.  Three handsome guys were sweet to pose for a picture.  (Well, Beau was not happy about it but couldn't help but give a sly smile when I told him that he better give his best frown face.)

We had fun singing Christmas Carols, and Lincoln grabbed the hymn book to follow along with the music notes with his finger.  He was bobbing his sweet head and singing along . . . too cute!  Beau mostly sat on my lap to sing or scribble on his coloring book.  Nana and Pops joined us, and we had a great time. 

When it was time to light our candles to sing Silent Night, the boys got super excited!  I helped Beau with his, and we managed to not burn anything down!  When we finished singing, he began to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus then blew out his candle - what a great idea!  Lincoln's sweet face is too much!   

After communion and a few more songs, we came home to have dinner.  Taco soup, cornbread muffins and cookies were on the menu, and everyone was hungry!  (No, the kids don't eat taco soup, but it isn't for lack of trying.  They had baked fish and veggies.)  It was getting late, so Pop Pop read Twas the Night Before Christmas, we bathed and got in our Santa pajamas and set out the cookies.  Lincoln decided that Santa might be tired of milk at other people's houses, and we should make him hot chocolate!  Beau was super excited about this idea and added the marshmallows.  It was a very important moment to say the least! 

Lincoln wanted to stay up to watch the news to see if they reported on Santa's progress, but Daddy found a Santa Tracker online.  He was visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico at the current moment and headed our way!  Lincoln told me we should all hurry to get to bed so he could leave our gifts while we slept.  Surprisingly, they both went to sleep quickly and quietly!

Another surprise was that they both slept until their normal time and stayed quiet in their beds until we came to get them in the morning.  They first had to check if Santa ate the cookies and drank the hot chocolate.  Success!!!  Santa ate some of each cookie, left a few crumbs and drank most of the hot chocolate.  Beau has shouted at least 15 times that Santa ate ALL OF THE MARSHMALLOWS!!!!!  Thanks for that, Santa!  Also, Santa left a note telling them how delicious the treats were.  We went to the tree to check out what Santa left in the stockings, and there were so many fun things.  An orange and banana (How did Santa get to a fruit store???), a new cup, a secret invisible ink marker and coloring book, a Mike/Sully monster, and a gift card to the Nestle Tollhouse store!  They definitely loved the "cookie credit card" the most!!!!!!! 

Santa brought them the two toys each that they had asked for . . . a Buzz Lightyear toy and Minion Dave for Lincoln, and a cash register and Minion Stuart for Beau.  They were thrilled that he brought exactly what they wanted!  He also left an extra gift for each boy because they have been so good (?!?!), and Lincoln got a Snoopy Sno Cone maker and Beau got a grabber thingy.  Tooooooooo excited!!!!  We opened our family gifts next.  Those consisted of a Dusty Crophopper tent, Cars rain boots and a balloon animal kit for Linc, a Jake and the Neverlands Pirates tent, Batman rain boots and a balloon animal kit for Beau, several kitchen gadgets, Daddy pants, an HDMI cable, a date night gift card to Alamo Draught House for Daddy, and jewelry, work out shorts and shoes for Mommy.  Everyone was super happy with their presents, and the boys may have been more excited to help us open our gifts than their own!  They posed in their new rain boots immediately! 

We had to put together the tents right away, of course.  They played separately then together in their tents, and they came up with plenty of imaginary scenarios.  While these tents are a little annoying in size, they provide a multitude of ideas. 

Of course, we had to put together the Buzz Lightyear toy and cash register next.  The Sno Cone machine was soon after, and we had lemonade sno cones before lunch.  The Snoopy Sno Cone maker is the same one that both Kevin and I had as children, and it's a little less than technological.  It took quite a bit of effort to push the ice down while turning the crank . . . the boys couldn't help but wonder why the shaved ice was coming out so slowly!  They did enjoy their sno cones at last!!! 

After lunch and another sno cone (my arm is already tired!), the mailman mysteriously left a delivery.  The boys get a package from Auntie almost every week, so the best way for her to send their Christmas gift was with a drop off at the front door.  (Super kudos to Daddy and Pops for putting together the coolest Home Depot station ever on Christmas Eve.)  They loved Auntie's gift and hurried inside to begin playing.  This work station also doubles as a pizza shop and Slurpee station, and it's just more proof that their imagination never stops! 

While the boys were playing with all of the new fun toys, Mommy and Daddy were busy cooking again.  I began the rolls early but had a bad packet of yeast that didn't rise.  Daddy went in search of an open store and didn't disappoint.  I made the chicken dressing, started a new batch of yeast rolls, and went for a run.  The boys rested/napped for a bit, and Daddy whipped up his yummy fresh green bean casserole and mashed potatoes.  Nana and Pops came for Christmas dinner again, and then we went to their house to exchange our gifts.  The boys were sooooooo excited to give them their presents, and again I love that they are happy to give!!  They loved unwrapping more gifts too, and we have two superhero houses, two Play Dough sets, and two helicopters to play with!!  Because Beau was so eager to tell them that he had asked Santa for a cash register and all of the fun food stand that he would play, Nana and Pops built him a stand!   There are different signs to hang based on what store he wants to play . . . Tom Tom, Home Depot, Target, and Whataburger.  We all know that the Whataburger sign will hang the most!!  Everyone lined up to place their orders, and Beau was in heaven!!!  Also, he had to sing the Grand Ole Flag song when he saw the flag hanging.  (We sing that every time we see a flag!!!  Patriotic - yes!!) 

Because we like to take pictures of food, our lovely dinner spread was yummy!  The ham was from an awesome place in College Station, and we just had to heat it up.  The potatoes, green beans, and dressing were wonderful, and the rolls turned out find after we got new yeast.   

The kids and I worked hard to make yummy desserts, and we had chocolate chip bundt cake, hello dollies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate covered sprinkled oreos.  So much sweetness! 

 

As we got ready for bed, we recapped the day.  Lincoln decided that the extra gifts might not have been from Santa after all.  "Maybe Jesus gave them to me for his birthday!", he told me.  I can't think of a better statement.  Perhaps all of the blessings we received were actually from Jesus.  I would be remiss to not mention that each time we discussed that it was the birthday of Jesus, Beau would wonder about the cake.  How could one have a birthday without a cake with a candle to blow out?  After a quiet bath and bedtime story for the boys, Daddy and I snuck into Lincoln's room to check out what he was doing.  He had set up all of his stuffed friends to have a contest . . . who could name the most words that started with the letter M?  Since he makes up the voices for each friend, he'll need to think up a lot of M words!  Why is a 4 year old not tired ever?  He was still talking to them at 11:00 PM!!!!  

We have had a wonderful Christmas, that's for sure!  I love that the boys didn't have a case of the gimmies, and they truly enjoyed present opening for everyone.  They might even love helping others open gifts more than their own.  It might not always be that way, but I love their sweet hearts right now.  It was a Merry Christmas all the way! 

Minnie and Bubbles Visit!!!

Minnie and Bubbles came to visit us on this Pre-Christmas weekend, and we were so excited!!  It's been quite a while since they were able to come, and the boys were peeking out of the windows for hours waiting on them.  We played and played and played!  After a short rest, Beau woke up a little less than cheerful.  The group shot on the couch showed that he wasn't feeling his best. 

Everyone kicked it into high gear to play after the slow wake up, and there was so much singing and shouting for the rest of the evening!  A few times, I pointed out that the giant amount of noise wasn't special for our visitors . . . it's just a nightly thing around here!  Lincoln tried to teach Minnie to play the new air hockey game!  Beau did lots of pretend cooking for everyone, and he led us all with his imagination games.   

When it was rest time or bed time, Beau picked Bubbles to read the story.  They love the Dr. Seuss Space Book right now, so Bubbles told them all about the planets, moon and stars.   

We all had such a fun (but short) visit.  We can't wait to visit Minnie and Bubbles in Arkansas next week!!!!!  We have tons on Christmas activities planned before our trip, and there will be lots to document on the blog.  Stay tuned . . .

Gift Exchange with the Robisons!

On Friday night, we got to spend some time with our favorite family . . . the Robisons!!!  The boys might have gotten a little restless during dinner, so Jackson sat with Lincoln to watch a little movie.  They were so happy sitting together!  Beau wasn't so sure about sharing his big brother and just watched with a little frown. 

After dinner, we went back to our house to open a few presents!  Everyone was really excited about presents, of course.  Jackson and Beau worked on unwrapping a gift together, and their teamwork made it go quickly.  Beau was so excited about his "hockey thing" as he called it.  He's learned all about table top air hockey in less than 24 hours, and the boys love it!!!   

Lincoln didn't wait for help opening his gift and was happy to cheese out with his Foosball table.  I made Samantha put it together . . . sorry!!!  He's totally an expert already at spinning his guys.   

The boys also unwrapped new adventure spy kits, and they are going bonkers over this one!  They each got a flashlight (always a super gift at our house), binoculars, and a real camera to take on super fun adventures.  Two super happy guys stopped for a smile! 

They have definitely taken the adventure spy kits seriously and are investigating and snapping pics of lots of things.  Yes, the cameras really work with 35mm film (it turns out that real film is still for sale!), and I can't wait to get that developed to see what amazing pictures they took!  The boys personally selected a Jake and the Neverland Pirates ride-on ship for Jackson at Target, and they were sure he would love it . . . and that he would love to let them play with it.  Jackson is such a laid back guy that he didn't mind sharing!  We also got him a Mickey Mouse book that plays several fun songs, and he did so much cute dancing!  It was a fun little present exchange between friends.  Lincoln and Beau really love Baby Jackson . . . wait, we probably shouldn't call him Baby anymore.  We'll work on that!  Jackson totally acts like he's a big kid too, and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.  Such a fun night with super fun presents and a good time between friends!

Another Sesame Street Cookbook Recipe

Before I can describe the fun that we were having while taking this picture, I must address the crazy hair that Lincoln and Beau are currently sporting.  It is horrendous!!!!!!  I know their hair is crazy long, and I'm sorry!  Things have been so busy with holiday fun events, lazy weekend days, ice storm electricity issues, and back to super busy work/school schedules . . . and we haven't been to get haircuts in sooooo long.  It's on my list, I promise! 

Lincoln has rediscovered a Sesame Street cookbook that the Whitener's gave him a couple of years ago, and he's picking out fun recipes to make.  We made the Grover's Blueberry Pancake Smileys over the weekend.  He greeted me on Tuesday morning with a request to make the Giggle Jiggle jello shapes.  I dutifully picked up the ingredients at lunch, and we stirred up the mixture after dinner.  It was torture to wait until Wednesday evening to eat our masterpiece, but they survived!  We used cookie cutters to make fun shapes to eat our Grape/Blueberry jigglers, and they had so much fun.  Well, Lincoln only liked them a little.  I think he liked the idea more than the texture.  Beau LOVED eating his treat and wasn't bothered that it was cold and jiggly!  I'm not sure what recipe he'll choose next . . . Oscar's Scrambled Egg & Zucchini Pie, Elmo's Tomato Pizza, or Big Bird's Mango Smoothies.  He ruled out the Strawberry/Kiwi slush because kiwi has seeds, and the Tapioca Pudding Cones are weird because Tapioca sounds weird.  I'm ready for our next cooking venture, and I will be happy to spend time stirring and tasting with my little chefs!

Super Fun Christmasy Weekend

Our weekend kicked off on Friday morning with a visit to the Trains at Northpark!  The boys really love this exhibit and watch all of the trains in their cityscapes with so much joy.  They liked the scenes of places they know, like Tom Thumb (of course they love their favorite grocery store!), the mall, and the State Fair of Texas.  It was fun to point out the things they remembered from when we went to the fair in September.  Big Tex was a favorite, but he didn't talk.  Beau said his Mommy told him to be quiet, and he was minding.  Whatever!!  I mostly have a dozen pictures of the backs of their heads while looking at the trains go by.  Aunt Marian and Uncle Larry joined us, along with Nana, and they may have some better pictures later.  This big train car was very popular, and we got kind of ok smiles when it was time to go. 

We had an early lunch then walked around the mall for a bit and stopped to visit the ducks and turtles.  Beau had spotted an ice cream store and was sure they needed an ice cream cone treat.  They were super happy with their choices and really worked on their messy faces. 

After a picture, it was time to get busy eating.  They made quick work of their ice cream and handed me the cones to throw away.  They always want an ice cream cone, but they will only eat the ice cream and never the cone! 

We stopped to get Daddy a cookie from Mrs. Fields, and the boys NEEDED a little tiny gingerbread man cookie too.  They were happy to much on those on the way home to take a rest!

I went to get Lincoln up on Saturday morning and was greeted with an excited little boy with a fun idea!  He had his Sesame Street cookbook open to the page for Grover's Blueberry Pancake Smileys and requested that we make them for breakfast.  Sure, why not!!  He ran to get Beau up and shared the plan, and Beau was excited too!  We made our breakfast together, and they had such a good time helping and then eating their yummy treat.   

After a trip to Target and quesadilla lunch, we played lots of imagination games.  The boys set up all of their friends (stuffed animals) and cooked them pretend breakfast and watched pretend Mickey.  They put their friends down for a nap, and we got ready for our rest too.  Story time included Beau's "chef's hat"!   

We needed to make angel cookies to take to Sunday School, and Lincoln and Beau were great tasters.  Of course they loved the sprinkles the most! 

Before we headed out to dinner at Mena's, Lincoln asked for a boy picture.  Beau wasn't going to participate at first, but then he told me he would stand there and not smile.  And that's what he did!  Those are three of the handsomest guys I know! 

On Sunday morning, Lincoln and I shared our angel cookies with our Sunday School friends and helped everyone decorate their own cookie.  Such a fun class!  Daddy and Beau enjoyed big church, and Beau had fun at Children's Time.  We had brunch at Cindi's then went home to play.  While I was making the grocery list for the week, I kept hearing two slap-feet runners going back and forth from the playroom to Beau's room.  They were definitely up to something!  Before I left for the grocery store, we checked on the activity in Beau's room.  They had decided that it needed to be decorated for Christmas, so they had been taking ornaments off the playroom tree to hang on the knobs on the dresser.  Busted . . . . so happy with their ornaments and snack bags! 

Every knob on every piece of furniture or door had an ornament on it, and they were so proud!!!!  I love their enthusiasm, but I actually love ornaments to stay on the tree.  Perhaps they each need a little tree to decorate in their own rooms next year! 

Clearly they the playroom tree is looking sad with so few ornaments that are only out of their reach.   

I'm not sure who's idea this decorating was, but they had a blast for at least an hour!  Working together for that long with no fights . . . decorating with ornaments doesn't seem so bad after all! With a sweet face like Beau's, he can get away with most anything!!! 

What a wonderfully fun weekend filled with lots of playing.  While I cooked dinner on Sunday night, they were busy with a new idea.  Beau had decided that they should have a Cowboy Cookout (during the Cowboys game, while wearing a Cowboys jersey!) in his room, but that they were really at Central Market.  They set up their friends, brought in the food, and sang lots of songs.  At one point, Lincoln suggested that they have a Chili Cook Off, so they got more bowls and cooked lots of chili.  The friends were the tasters, but I never got a verdict on the winner.  These imaginations are out of control, and I love to stand outside the door to hear what they are up to.  It's not all super sweetness, but I might leave that for another post.  We are working on minding a little (a lot) better, and sometimes there are consequences.  Stay tuned!

Santa Visit 2013

It was finally time to visit Santa this week, and Lincoln and Beau were so excited!  They had planned out what they wanted to ask for and were ready to sit on his lap.  They got dressed in their "fancy shirts" according to Lincoln for the big event!  When we got to the Galleria, our favorite Santa was on a little break.  We went to the front of the line and waited semi-patiently for him to return.  I told Beau that Santa just had to go pee really quick and would be back soon.  After about five minutes, he solemnly told me that since it was taking so long Santa must have had to pee and poop!  Luckily, Santa arrived right after that comment!  They calmly walked up to him and climbed up on his lap.  They all smiled for a few pictures then got down to business.  Lincoln asked for a Buzz Lightyear toy and a Minion Dave, and Beau asked for a thing with buttons to push for our store (a cash register) and a Minion Stuart.  I nodded in agreement, and Santa said ok.  He asked them if they had been good this year, and they responded that they had been super good!!  The Grand Lux provided chocolate chip cookies for the kiddos, and they loved that!!!  I couldn't believe how amazing this Santa visit went, and that no one was freaking out!!!  Ten minutes later we are back at the car and back to reality.  I open the door on Beau's side and tell Lincoln to climb through to his car seat (because there is ice on the ground by his door), and Beau shoves him down to climb up first.  Not only does he climb up first, but he locks his legs up against the drivers seat so Linc can't get past.  I finally lift Lincoln over super-stubborn Beau, and Lincoln tells us that we should go back and tell Santa the Beau was being bad and not get any presents.  Oh, the tears at that comment!!! I guess a sweet picture comes at a price.  I think Santa will still deliver their two requested gifts since we had a talk about not shoving and being more kind.  We are all glad that Santa is really forgiving!

 

Ice Storm - The Aftermath

After a warm and restful sleep at Nana and Pop Pop's house on Friday night, we were hopeful that our electricity would be back on for Saturday.  Kevin went to the house several times during the morning and afternoon to check, but each time he reported that it was still out and getting colder.  Lincoln and Beau were happy to continue playing and not concerned about going home at all!  We went to pack a bag for another night's stay at the Kuhlman Golf Course Resort Home, and the power miraculously came on while I was packing!  We were happy to get settled back at home, and we are a million times thankful that we had a wonderfully warm and comfortable and loving place to crash!  Beau had woken pretty early after his first night in a big bed and hadn't been able to calm down to nap in the afternoon, so he couldn't help but fall asleep on the warm car ride home.  This little guy has played and played and played, and he definitely needed a little break!

It was a quiet night of getting back to sleep in our own beds, and the boys both slept past 9:00 on Sunday morning.  Sunday School was cancelled, so we were just lazy in the morning.  Daddy left for Houston for a work thing and reported that the roads were fine once he got out of town.  After lunch, Mommy and the boys headed out for a few errands.  We hit up the post office, the grocery store (which was still empty from the raid before the Ice Storm and not getting any deliveries due to the ice!), and the Galleria Mall.  Two little guys couldn't wait to get a cookie and walk around for a bit.  We saw Santa, but we didn't really "see" Santa.  There was absolutely no line for the super nice Galleria Santa, which is crazy . . . but everyone was still at home and not hanging at the mall!  I wish we hadn't looked like such ragamuffins with tshirts under our big coats and uncombed hair (well, not Mommy), and we couldn't get a picture with Santa looking like that!  So we decided to go home and work on what we would say to Santa when we came back.  The boys insisted that they wanted Gingerbread Man cookies, and we had a long talk about that.  I kept trying to direct their attention to the sugar cookie decorated with icing to look like Santa, but they were really sure about the Gingerbread Men.  Luckily they loved them!  They were cute cookie eaters . . . see what I mean about the tshirts and unkempt hair! 

They had been asking to play in the snow since Friday morning, even though I explained that it was just slippery ice.  Since it was like 20 degrees on Friday and Saturday, we kept them in.  On Sunday afternoon it warmed to a nice 32 degrees, so we bundled up and hit the backyard for some fun.  The dug their shovels out of the ice with sticks, knocked down every icicle they could reach, slide down an icy slide, and scooped as much ice as they could.  When my iPhone shut down because of the cold after 30 minutes of being outside, it was time to come in!  They had so much fun and begged to go out again later.   

Since the earlier grocery store trip was a bust, Nana and Pop Pop and Aunt Marian came over to babysit while I went to Central Market and Wal-Mart.  We had to dump our entire fridge and freezer due to the extended loss of power, so I had to restock the essentials and get food for lunches and dinners this week.  It went so much faster without two little grabbers with me!  They were still begging to dig in the ice a little more, so we went outside for a bit when I got back.  We also had a Gingerbread House to build and decorate, and Lincoln was really really really sure we needed to do it right away!  The first hiccup was that both roof pieces were broken when we took the kit out of the box.  We used the icing to glue them together and moved on.  We constructed the house and hoped the icing would hold, but as soon as they began decorating with their candies it collapsed!  So sad!!!   If you ask either of them about it, they have very strong memories of this disaster.   Beau will say that the icing went crazy out of a hole in the bag and dripped on the table making a mess, and Lincoln will say it also dripped on Mommy's hand from the hole in the bag.  That stupid bag and it's stupid hole really caused quite a big of angst!   

I saved the decorating candies and promised them that we can try again with another Gingerbread House in a few days.  The one we made last year was awesome, and I know we can make another great one this year.  We are ready for the temperatures to come up some and melt all of this ice.  One of our underground sprinkler system pipes burst at 10:00 on Sunday night, and no one wants to be chopping through the ice to open the cover and turn off the underground water valve when it's 20 something degrees outside!!  And by no one, I mean ME!!!  A forecast of 38 degrees sounds like a warm front at this point, so bring it on!! 

Ice Day - December 2013

Well, that cold weather on the way arrived with a bang!!!!!!!  After hours of freezing rain and sleet and sub-freezing temps, our power went out at 2:00 am!  We had the house heated to 78 degrees so it wasn't crazy bad.  We brought the kids into our bed with extra blankets, and it took a while for everyone to get calmed down.  I had to answer 750 questions about why the fans were off, why it was quiet, where was the electricity, why we had extra blankets, and most importantly why we were sleeping together in the same bed! 

We made it through the night, although it was not the calmest sleep.  Beau woke early with plenty more questions at 7:45.  Nana and Pops still had power so we packed up to go warm up and play at their house.  Of course, the boys were so excited to play! 

Lincoln enjoyed wearing his spelunker's light to investigate suspicious things!  Beau had one too but couldn't pause for a picture. 

Our street has a few tree problems.  This one is especially sad that they lost at least half of the tree.  Luckily our giant back yard tree has shed all of its leaves, so it isn't getting heavy and drooping.   

Beau did some serious playing and wore his little self out!  He refused to nap but gave us an hour of quiet rest.  He played with everything in the entire house!

We stopped by the house to check on power in the afternoon, and the ice was still heavy.  It looks like snow, but it's really 1.5 inches of ice! Amazingly, our house was still at 67 degrees even while the temps were in the 20s. 

Daddy had some work commitments with a few clients from the brewery in England, so Mommy and the boys went to dinner at Shady's with Nana and Pops.  It was a super popular place because they had electricity!  The burgers were yummy, and we headed home to warm up with cookies and hot chocolate.

Sometimes hot chocolate is more exciting in plan and less exciting in execution.  It's always too hot or too cold or too something for them to really enjoy it.  At least they like the idea of it, and the cookies!!!

We spend some time building a crazy marble obstacle course and watched a little bit of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas before baths.  The boys thought their shower was super fun and crazy!  They doused themselves with water from their measuring cups while Mommy soaped them up.  So many fun giggles! 

Lincoln has been sleeping in his big kid bed forever now and has even had a sleepeover with Nana & Pops.  Beau is still in his crib tent at home, and this is his first night out of a crib EVER!!!!!!  He showed me how he would lay really still and make a snore face as we were getting ready for bed.  I'm not quite convinced!

So now that the boys are sleeping peacefully (knock on wood!), I can report that I had to go in their room 10 times to reprimand and manhandle people back in bed!  Seriously, I caught Beau 6 times out of bed red-handed . . . and he didn't even look guilty!!!!  They finally fell asleep after 10:30, and fingers are crossed for a restful night.  At least we are warm and fed and loved! 

Warm then Cold!

With an ice-filled cold forecast for the end of the week, we spent some time outside in the nice warm weather after school on Wednesday afternoon.  It was 80 degrees, for crying out loud!  The boys climbed the wall, slid down the slide, swang in the swings, and most importantly took orders at their Whataburger counter.  They are hilarious about their Whataburger restaurant under there!  Lincoln was grilling burgers, and Beau determined that his fry station was running low . . . so he ran off to the fry store to buy more potatoes.  There is no lack of imagination in our backyard!

After dinner the boys got to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation for the first time.  Such a classic Christmas movie!!  They really like the Christmas tree parts, the lights on the house parts, and when the uncle lit himself on fire part.  We are really enjoying the warmth in our shorts and tees! 

Before we started the movie, Lincoln and Beau helped make a chocolate chip bundt cake.  They were so ready to eat it one minute after it went into the oven!  Thankfully, they spent the 45 minutes of cooking time watching the movie.  When they finally got to taste it, they were super proud of their yummy cake.  They even told me that it was so good it didn't even need icing! 

Thursday brought the super cold and icy weather, so we'll be wearing our big jackets for a while.  We have had 30 degree temps and freezing rain/sleet all evening.  It is still warm in the house, but outside is a different story! Hopefully the ice doesn't mess with the power lines . . . or we'll be heading south to a nice warm hotel room! 

Nana brought a few fun crafts for them today, and they had fun painting and making Santas.  They sang me the sweetest and most angelic "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" during dinner tonight, and it definitely brought a tear to my eye.  Sweet little voices always make a Mommy melt!  We'll do our best to stay warm and de-iced for the next few days.  We may be spending a lot of time cooped up at home, so we better figure out some fun ways to entertain ourselves!

Christmas Decorating

It was finally time to decorate for Christmas, and we did it fast!  It took a village to figure out how to get the lights on the tree to work.  I can't for the life of me remember how I did it by myself last year!  Lincoln immediately wanted to put the star on top! 

Mommy was in charge of decorating the grown up tree.  Some of the ornaments from the bottom seem to have migrated to another location.  I see we'll have to have a talk about the breakables!!!   

It was a really big deal to set up the Snoopy train around the tree, and the boys asked me a million times if I was ready.  Setting it up was a breeze . . . it's the maintenance that's a beating!  See, the train works just fine and circles the track really well.  Two sneaky little boys like to turn it on and off every three minutes, and they knock it off the track EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  One of my goals should be to teach them how to put it back on, but I have trouble aligning the wheels on the track myself.  I'm glad it bring so much joy because it also brings plenty of annoyance! 

Decorating the playroom tree was next, and they attacked it with gusto!  Most of the ornaments ended up of the bottom third of the tree . . . right in their line of sight.  I might have spread them out a bit while no one was looking.  It seems like the ornament-thieving is not limited to the big tree, as I found a dozen kid ornaments having a picnic on the rug in Lincoln's room.   

Our elf, Bobby, made his yearly appearance on Sunday.  He brought the boys cute Christmas plates and an Oreo treat.  It seems like he's got a few tricks up his sleeve this year, and he really got the boys squealing this morning!  He hid there stockings and replaced them with their underwear!  They were freaking out that Santa couldn't put any gifts or candy in underwear!!!  Luckily Bobby has returned the stockings and is sitting on the candy jar now.  That crazy Bobby has to think of 22 more places to sit.  Lincoln is really sure that Bobby reports directly to Santa, and he's been know to run up to him and say, "Bobby, can you be sure to tell Santa that Beau shouldn't get any presents because he's being mean and stealing my puzzle pieces.  I know you didn't see that because we were in the other room, and I just wanted you and Santa to know that he can't have presents."   

I can't believe we are already into December, and there are so man Christmas activities to do.  Tonight we made cookies and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.  It was a pretty fun way to end a busy Monday.  On to the rest of the week . . .