We're Off to See the Wizard...er...Shamu!

We are so excited about our trip to Sea World!

The Princess and I went and found some Sketchers Cali Gear shoes today on sale. She found some cute mosaic shoes and I found some white shoes (they don't make cute mosaic ones in mommy size!). They are like Crocs but have a closed heel so we can wear them on the roller coasters. I remember the last time my sister and I went to Sea World we had to sit on our flip flops on some of the rides so they would not fly off! Of course we had to get some cute little Cali Bits to go on them...I found a daisy, ladybug, and bee with some white jewels. The princess's shoes came with some but we added some more multi-colored jewels. I found the Prince some Thomas the Tank Engine Crocs, but they were not in his size....they had the size above and the size below...will have to hunt those down when we get back as he was going nuts over them!

We went to Michael's on the way home and I found the PERFECT little notebooks in the $1 bins. They are blue on the front and have that hard plastic cover page. They have a little band around the edge of the pages to keep them together. I found stickers of sea animals in the scrap booking section along with letter stickers in with different colors of blue on them to look like waves! I wrote the kids names on each using the sticker letters then in a Sharpie marker underneath their name wrote "Sea World Memories", and then back to the stickers to spell out 2008. I then let them put whatever stickers they wanted on the pages inside. I figure they can use them for an autograph book for the characters they will meet on our 'Seafari' tour and the Princess will like to record her favorite things from the trip in it as a journal! She is excited and the Prince was squealing with delight as he put on this sea animal stickers!

Again...Where Does the Time Go???

Wow, has it been FOUR months since I updated this site? I guess so. We have been busy, busy, especially the last few weeks. We have been wrapping up school and dance. The baby-man is busy, busy developing his vocabulary and saying the cutest and most surprising things at times! Last night we were eating Chinese take-out and he had noodles covering his high chair tray. Out of the blue he says, "Big Mess!" He is funny because he will just all of a sudden have a new phrase to say! I know in his little mind he has been listening to all of us talk and his little brain is stringing together words that make sense and then all of a sudden a situation comes up and WHAM-that is where he is supposed to use those words together! It is amazing, amazing to watch your child learn to use language. What other time in life are we learning and putting together as much as those first few years. We have to learn a basis of knowledge for an entire lifetime! I LOVE witnessing this again!

Where Does the Time Go???

Wow, it has been a while since I posted. My baby-man is now officially a "tod." He turned two at the beginning of February. We celebrated his second birthday with a football party since he loves anything football! He had a great time with his family, little cousins, and a few friends from Gymboree.

He is learning to talk and says some pretty cute things:
All dogs are “woof-woof’s”
Any body of water is a “baf” (bath)
He calls Hannah Montana “bofe” (meaning “both” since her theme song is The Best of Both Worlds)…can you tell he has an older sister?
He loves to say “No-No”…I wonder why ;-)
He now tells me when he goes to the “baf-oom” (bathroom) so I figure we will start potty learning soon. We still need to master getting our pants up and down easily by ourselves before we can be independent in this endeavor though.
He loves to dance and lets me know that he wants to listen to my iPod so we can sing and dance! And it melts a mommy’s heart to have her little boy want to dance with her!

He can really throw a football and well! He is very sweet and well behaved but is a normal two-year-old boy and tries to give mommy a heart attack at times…especially with his stunt of moving the ottoman out from the couch and then LEAPING from the ottoman to the couch! I am now in the midst of planning my daughter's SEVENTH birthday!

What a wonderful ride we are one...I can see time passing like a blur - akin to my childhood rides on the park Merry-Go-Round (remember those old metal rusty things!) I remember lying on my back as a parent, grandparent, or older friend would push faster, faster, FASTER!!! I could look up and the sky was the constant, never wavering - just the blue sky - while looking out showed the blur of the landscape whirling by. I pray that as we journey onward on our merry-go-round as a family that my children will know those important constants; the constant of love of God, love of mommy and daddy. I pray my children will always know that no matter where the "ride" takes them, they have unconditional, never wavering love and support of family.

I am thankful for these days. I am soaking them up...

Christmas Tour of Homes

A friendly little snowman waits by our front door to welcome you into our home, all decorated for the holiday season!

Won't you come in and have some fresh, hot coffee? We have some oh-so-good Eggnog creamer. Grab some white chocolate dipped pretzels too! My lil' princess's job is to sprinkle the pretzels as soon as I dip them in the white chocolate! The lil' prince holds the job of 'quality control' and tastes them for us to make sure we did a good job! ;-)

Here is our staircase all aglow! Along with our candy cane tree in the foyer, the 'formal' tree in the dining room, and our memory tree in our family room. (Notice that this year they are all decorated only about two-thirds the way down...we have a toddler this year!)

Below is a close up of under our tree in the family room...the children's nativity along with some favoriate ornaments...ornaments the children can play with, an ornament of Santa kneeling beside the Baby Jesus - I love this one because I bought it with a book about St. Nicholas and it weaves together nicely Santa Claus and Jesus, the real reason we celebrate Christmas! Oh and we can't forget mommy's ornament...a cup of Starbuck's Coffee of course ;-)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

A close up on our wreath on the mantle:

The Princess' tree in her room and the Prince's tree in his room:

And finally, our 'countdown to Christmas'. This year I filled this cute little metal stocking with 25 candy canes and we have been keeping track of the days until Christmas every night by taking out one of the candy canes and hanging it on our tree in the foyer, then we change the number on the chalkboard. The little Princess loves this and the little Prince does too, but for other reasons...he was VERY quiet one day and I caught him eating one of the candy canes off the foyer tree wrapper and all!!!! So since then, I found some fake candy canes to hang on the tree but we put the real ones in back and so far he just thinks they are all fake now ;-)

As you leave our home, let me impart a favorite quote by Linus (straight from Luke 2:8-14 King James Version) in answer to Charlie Brown's question of the true meaning of Christmas in A Charlie Brown Christmas:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men."

Jesus is the reason that our family celebrates CHRISTmas!
Our family wishes you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!!

Now head on over to BooMama's to tour some other great homes!

Knitty-Gritty!

Okay folks...I am taking up a new hobby...as if raising the two little ones, working my transcription business from home, serving on the board at the preschool, AND remodeling our kitchen at the moment was not enough...I am trying to teach myself to knit!

Sarah, over at In the Midst of It, inspired me! She taught herself to knit this past year and has made some adorable hats for her little one. I can do this! I have mastered casting on and the knit stitch...now I am going to tackle purling and then the cast off or binding off...

If anyone out there reading this knits, I welcome ANY advice! I am starting small and trying to work myself a scarf, then my little princess will get a scarf (see that lovely pink, green, and white yarn pictured above!), and then I want to make my little prince some cutsie little hats from the book, Itty-Bitty Hats, by Susan B. Anderson. The book is absolutely darling. If nothing else it is just fun to browse these sweet little creations. However, I do hope to master the art and make some of these myself!

One question for you knitters out there: The picture at the very top shows my practice swatch of what I hope to one day be a scarf for fall...my first knitting project. I am doing a basic knit stitch for this so far, but the edges are going from small (at my cast on stitches) to wider as I go...is this a common problem and if so, what am I doing wrong???

Thanks for any advice.

Autumn Dancin'

Last weekend, in order to more officially welcome in Autumn and October, we pulled out the yard art for Fall. I was placing a little girl scarecrow and a little boy scarecrow I had found at the nursery in the flower bed along with a few pumpkins. The little girl scarecrow is just a bit bigger than the little boy so it is a perfect "big sister/little brother" look to match our family right now.

My little girl was helping me place them. I tied the two scarecrow's hands together so they would be holding hands and the little girl scarecrow kept turning in the wind some. I told my daughter, "Well, I can't keep her from spinning," to which she replied, "Oh no mommy, it is okay, see, she is dancing!"

My little girl is always looking on the bright side. She really seems to have a great outlook on life, even at such a young age. I pray she will retain that and that her father and I can nurture that in her. She is such a joy and a happy little girl. What a blessing she is to us.

Menu Plan Monday

Another Monday is upon us! The 1st of October...it certainly does not feel like autumn in Texas...still quite warm and humid, but it will change, it most certainly always does. Last night we put out the little girl and little boy scarecrows in the flower beds - holding hands - along with a few pumpkins and mums. The Princess and little Prince squealed with delight at the sight of these!

We are still under construction in the kitchen. We have completed the powder room and the floors. The counters are due to go in this week and then the back splash and then the painting and DONE! It has been a lot to coordinate, but it will be worth it in the end. This week, I am without all appliances save the refrigerator and microwave and a little toaster oven! I am relying on the grill, crock pot, and left-overs for our meals.

Monday: Grilled salmon and veggies (squash, asparagus, onions, and peppers)...(chicken nuggets for the kiddos)

Tuesday: Pineapple Chicken in the slow cooker (I am borrowing this right from Laura at Organizing Junkie! Thanks!!!)

Wednesday: Crock Pot Roast and potatoes, along with green beans

Thursday: Soup and sandwiches

Friday: Bar-b-que sandwiches made with the left-over roast with baked beans.

I should have some before and after pictures up soon. Have a great week and head on over to Laura's for more great recipe ideas!!!