So, this is Christmas....And what have you done?

Anybody get the Celine Dion reference? Oh man, I love me some Celine Dion Christmas....

I decided early on in December to just ignore this space for a little while. To be honest, I just didn't want to deal with posting anything....But I want to make sure that our awesome holiday season is documented, so away we go....

Our Elf made his first visit to our home this year and he was a big hit! Not surprisingly, the mornings when he made a mess or got into trouble were the biggest winners. Also, the morning that Elfie waged war on the dinosaurs (stupid Elfie...who goes up against dinosaurs?) There were a few mornings when Elfie didn't show up because Jonathan jacked with him the day before (for those not well versed in Elf rules...you are not allowed to touch him or he loses his ability to fly.) or he was gone on one of a few trips to the Elf emergency room because Jonathan "tried to help him" and in the process, knocked him around a little.

We were lucky enough to get invited to lots of fun Christmas parties, Christmas play groups, dinners with friends etc... (I know, you are probably jealous cause we are so popular. But, before you lose your head, let me be honest and admit that most of those parties were with the same people, work engagements or family....) Either way, it was fun to celebrate so much!

We made lots of cookies and gingerbread men, so Jonathan is now ready for a job in the Sam's bakery department (he says they have the best cookies). Let me just say, his icing skills are stellar. Especially with bright blue icing...

For Christmas, Aunt Katie and my parents came to celebrate with us and Zacks parents. We spent Christmas eve playing, eating, working in the yard and playing outside. We merged our family traditions and had tamales (me!) and fajitas (Zack!) for dinner that night....It was delicious, but I will NEVER understand people that don't like good tamales....y'all are weirdos. Before the boys went to bed, we put out cookies, opened new Christmas jammies, sprinkled carrots in the yard for the reindeer and watched the sky for the Big Guy. Jonathan was really getting into it :) Once they fell asleep, Santa came ;)

Christmas morning was all kinds of awesome and full of tradition overload. Stockings, gifts, breakfast casserole, hot chocolate, more gifts etc...It was absolutely perfect and made this girl's cheesy little heart VERY happy. I LOVE the picture of Matthew playing with Buzz Lightyear....check out all the cars in his hand...he has walked around with those cars since that morning. EVERY WHERE HE GOES. And Aunt Katie freaking won Christmas this year with her gift....a Power Wheels Jeep. The boys went nuts. They have asked to go drive it about a million times a day since then. Way to go Kates, you win.

Finally, this past weekend, we headed to Austin to celebrate with my entire extended family. For the first time in YEARS, we were all together and it was so great. Jonathan and Matthew were able to play with cousins they rarely see....some of which had never even met Matthew! We even broke out the old family videos.....*sigh*....I had some seriously rough looking years around 8th grade. Like, for serious. ROUGH. But, being the big person I am (no pun intended in regards to said videos....) I ignored my craziness and totally enjoyed watching my Grandma Honey, Papa Max and my sister...all of which have passed. There is something magical about hearing their voices again after so many years.

 (Sorry for the oddly placed pictures. I will forever be frustrated with stupid blogger...) 

So, all in all....an awesome holiday season. I am excited about 2014 and all the fun stuff we have coming up. Next on the calendar...Matthew turns 2!!!! (I will have a whole post dedicated to that freak out in a few more days...2 years old? WHAT?!) And, to give you an example of just how exhausted everybody is after this crazy season.....

Things Lately....

It's been a while, so let's just bullet point this sucker. (And please excuse the random bullets....what the heck with that?! Why can't I figure out where those come from!? Blerg.)

• We started a new family tradition on Tuesday...we watched Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, drank hot chocolate and let the boys decorate the tree (at least the bottom half!) Jonathan LOVED the hot chocolate and has asked for it multiple time since....obviously. Who doesn't love lukewarm hot chocolate in a sippy cup? (And doesn't Matthew look like Linus, carrying his blanket around with him?)

• Thanksgiving was awesome. We went to Austin and spent lots of good time with my family. One big change was that the boys both slept in twin beds in the same room. I was totally paranoid that they would scream and wake each other up all night long...but they did amazing! We all ate lots of food, played around, read books....it was just...so freaking great.

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• On Friday, Zack and I left the boys at my parents and we headed home for a relaxing weekend. It was really nice, but man, I missed my boys. Like, a lot. And not in an "oh, I better say I miss them so I don't sound like a jerky mom" kind of way. But in a legit way. Kind of surprised me actually. While they were gone, I got LOTS of projects done around the house! I finished the Christmas tree, decorated my mantle and re-designed the wall in my living room! Turns out you can actually accomplish a whole heap of stuff without two little boys under your feet. I think I ran like 1,000 errands on Saturday AND saw a movie!

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• Tomorrow I will head to La Grange to meet my parents and pick up the boys! I can't wait to see them and for them to see all the fun Christmas decorations we have put up....Oh! And our Elf will be waiting for them too!  We have LOTS of fun Christmas stuff planned for the next 3 weeks...Zoo Lights at the Houston Zoo, the Children's Show at Second Baptist, Christmas parties, school parties, school Christmas pageants.....I am seriously trying to cram as much Christmas spirit into the next 3 1/2 weeks as possible! These kids WILL LOVE CHRISTMAS! ;)

Jesus, Santa and our thoughts on Christmas.

(Disclaimer....I wanted to share my view of things because I feel like there is a lot of judgement out there during the Christmas season. Some parents believe that you can not be a true, strong Christian family and still introduce your kids to Santa. Some parents believe that Santa is the end all, be all of Christmas. I just hate that the competition that pervades parenthood has reared it's ugly head in the Christmas season as well. So, I wanted to share my thoughts proudly. We all do what we feel is best for our family...and this is what works for us. No judgement here!) 

We praise the Lord in this house. We teach our boys to give thanks for the blessings He has given. We study the Bible and pass along the stories and teachings that make up our faith. We are a God fearing family.

We also believe in Santa.

And we decorate for Christmas....like, full on. 

And this year, we will be visited by a silly little elf from the North Pole.

And I am not going to apologize or feel ashamed. Are the holidays becoming too materialized? Yes. Have many, many people lost the real focus of Christmas? Yep. Does that mean that "good Christians" can't let their little kids believe in Santa? No way. I am a huge stickler for traditions. When I think about my childhood, almost all memories come from my favorite traditions of each holiday. And, like basically every other kid in the history of the world, Christmas has always been my favorite. (I admit, I believed in Santa just a tad bit too long...) But, beyond the traditions and memories of Santa and his reindeer, I cherish the traditions of holidays spent with my family...Going to church on Christmas Eve and singing Silent Night with candles, opening a present on Christmas Eve that is ALWAYS pajamas that my Mom picks out while we eat tamales and chilis....Just because I believed that Santa brought me toys each Christmas, didn't mean I neglected the fact that the ONLY reason we were celebrating was to honor and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. I remember singing Christmas carols at church and nearly crying at the words to Silent Night....and I was young. Even then, I knew where the truth stood. You know how I knew those things? My parents. They made sure that I knew that Santa might bring me some toys, but Jesus was the REAL reason for the season (to borrow the old cliche....) 

I think that is what matters the most. If you do a good job of teaching your children the true meaning of Christmas, there won't be any issues. There has to be a good balance of the two. The magic and fun side of commercial Christmas: Santa, Elves, reindeer.....and the important and life changing side of Christmas: the birth of Christ Jesus. 

So, this year, we will navigate the season to find the balance. We will let our silly little Elf come visit....but instead of simply watching for "naughty" kids, he will be watching to make sure our kiddos are acting the way Jesus wants them to act. He will be watching for them to be kind, loving and supportive of each other. That they are respecting adults and remembering to Thank God for their blessings. If they are not acting that way, our Elf will remind them the next day by sharing stories and verses from the Bible that show us how to act. Our boys will make "wish lists" of gifts they would like from Santa, but they will also make lists of things to give others. We will find ways to bless others during the Christmas season. We will show them that it is better to give than to receive. 

And hopefully, when all is said and done....they will have experienced the magic and excitement of the Christmas season.....but more importantly, they will know and understand the greatest story ever told.

Big Transitions

I do NOT like change. I have my favorite parking spot, my favorite seat at lunch (no matter where I am working....I stake my claim early and sit there until I quit,) my house pretty much looks the same until my Mom comes and redecorates. We eat the same meals, go to the same parks, hit the same places each weekend. In fact, just this morning, TWO different people at the mall made note of it. The annoying guy at Bass Pro Shop, who tries to sell you vacations, looked at our family and said, "Man, y'all sure love Bass Pro huh?" Uh, yeah dude....we sure do. Later, the sample guy at my favorite food court eatery said, "I won't offer you a sample, I know you already have your meal planned!" Right on both accounts my good sir.

So, when it came to my attention that Matthew would be sleeping in a twin bed at my parent's house over Thanksgiving, I knew what I needed to do....transition him now. I hate crap like this. Everything was going fine....why do I have to go and gunk up the system? Brother LOVED his crib. He never tried to climb out, would just stand there and yell at me when he was ready....even asked to get in sometimes. So I gave myself a week to come to terms with it and organize the great bed transition of 2013. Luckily, my amazing in-laws were ready to get a new bed, so they gave Matthew their nice twin mattress. Score! Thursday night (at like 9:00) Zack and I went to the Leys and picked up the mattress and box springs. For some reason, I figured they would fit in my rinky dink Santa Fe. They didn't. So we had them literally hanging out the back. Zack tied some up little rope with the best Boy Scout knot he could muster and away we drove. Apparently he was never a Boy Scout.....with every single bump in the road, the back hatch bounced up and down on the mattress. So I am yelling at him to slow down (we were going like 30 down Mason Road) and holding on to the front of the mattress with all my might. We actually made it home with both mattress, although, Zack was convinced at one point that the entire back hatch was going to fall off and shatter all over the road. Can you even imagine?! Ha! 

Yesterday, I spent the day playing musical mattresses. The new mattress was just too tall for Matthew's bed and bed rail. He would have fallen out like a freaking Rolly Polly as it was rolling away for it's life.... So, I switched it with Jonathan's mattress. We bought his ourselves, and it was WAY cheap. So naturally, much thinner. Then, my amazing in-laws came through again and offered to let us keep their BRAND NEW queen mattress at our house and give them our full size. This makes my parents infinity happy as they basically couldn't sleep in the full bed at the same time when they came to visit...it was pretty whimpy and had a huge iron foot board. Leave it to my Dad to complain about not having anywhere to put his feet.....So I had to pack up the full bed and clear out the room for the new mattress to be delivered. It was pretty much the best workout I have had in weeks. Now, everybody has a nice, big bed in our house! 

And, as far as how things are going with the transition.....they are actually okay! Matthew went to sleep great last night, but woke up in the middle of the night, climbed out of bed to turn off his noise machine and then climbed back in. He woke up for the day around 6:00. When I headed in to get him, he was trying to open the door. Nap time was a little more tough. I think he climbed out of bed like 5 or 6 times. I swatted him every time (not hard, just enough for him to know not to do it) and put him back in bed. He never did get it....so I finally rubbed his back until he fell asleep. I don't want him to get used to that, but I figured he might need a little help while things are new. Hopefully tonight goes just as well, if not better!

I know these things are important. We have to help our little guys grow up and learn how to adapt to change....but that's hard when Mommy doesn't like change. I cried when I took the crib down and packed up the crib sheets. I almost cried when I realized that my mother-in-law would be putting him to sleep for his last night in the crib. I wanted to cry when he woke up in the middle of the night. I don't want a newborn, but I do want my baby back. I don't even want another baby, I just want my baby Matthew back :( The good news.....he loves the new bed and I think this will be a good thing for him......eventually.

P.S....another good thing...when your whole family is awake before dawn, it gives you time to eat breakfast at McDonalds :)

Just Because....

Because sometimes.....you just like to know you aren't alone, right? 

Or, even better, because sometimes you just like to know there is a mom out there doing things worse than you....

1. Yesterday, I didn't finish my double chocolate chip frap from Starbucks....Jonathan did. And, in his opinion, it was "the best milkshake ever!!" Amen, brother. Amen.

2. I am currently watching, Little People, Big World. There is just something about this show that I can't walk away from. I've watched it for years. However, I have to admit, the mom and dad are pretty wacko. I pretty much want to punch the dad in the face most of the time. Like I said....not sure why I watch it. I just do. Kind of the same reason I watch half the shows on TLC.

3. Apparently, I forgot to let the trash company know that we got new credit cards (after our old one was stolen.) And since we are on auto pay, we missed a payment. So instead of picking up my trash this week, they left it on the curb with a huge sign that said, "Failure to Pay!" Rude! I mean, I don't live in the most super fancy neighborhood, but I don't really like looking as if I don't pay my bills. And since it has rained for two days....the trash (complete with rotten pumpkin) is soaking wet. Obviously I am not dragging my soaking wet trash back into the garage.....so outside it stays until the next pick up! Now, not only does it look like I don't pay my bills (I do...) it looks like I just don't care. I can't win.

4. Zack is working late tonight. And, while I totally love my husband, I was a little excited to have the house to myself once the boys went to bed. I have big plans to watch TV, eat cookies and go to sleep at 9:00....without having to share the remote control or be made fun of for going to sleep so early. 

5. The other day, I REALLY wanted to talk to one of my friends on the phone. Unfortunately, the boys were in rare form...screaming, following me around, literally clinging to my leg....So, I walked into my bathroom, turned off the monitors from their bedrooms and locked the door. Matthew kept sticking his little fingers under the door while Jonathan beat on the walls/doors....but, I had a nice conversation :) Sitting on the toilet seat...

6. Matthew has been waking up a lot a night lately....I blame a killer back molar coming in. Instead of running in his room every time he cries, I wake up at the first cry, judge the severity of it (you know..."man, these teeth suck." versus, "OH, HOLY CRAP! My mouth is full of wild monsters digging holes into my gums!") and if it doesn't seem too bad, I turn the monitor off and go back to sleep.

7. The other day, I took TV privileges away from Jonathan. It lasted 6 hours. By 5:00 that evening, I had allowed him to "win" the privilege back. I am not going to lie....it's because I couldn't handle my kids running around screaming and whining anymore. Seriously, I'm the worst. But, in my defense...it was wet and raining and already almost dark. I needed to make dinner! What the heck would you have done? Wait...don't answer that. I don't want to know that you would have postponed dinner in order to have a one on one craft lesson with your perfect kid.

8. I went to Sam's twice yesterday to deal with prescriptions. Both times, I got a huge Coke Zero and a cookie. And they were amazing. I don't drink coffee, I don't smoke, I don't eat fast food (minus Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A....those don't count :)) I don't even drink alcohol.....so I figure I am allowed a few other vices. Diet soda and sugar are mine.

9....And last but not least....I let my kid wear things like this on an almost daily basis: 

Balance.

Saturday night, around 1:45 am, I wrote nearly an entire blog post in my head while I rocked Matthew back to sleep. He had woken up crying and when I went to investigate, I found him covered in barf. And his bed covered in barf. And his floor covered in barf. It was gross. It was also the millionth day in a row that something had gone wrong. I was quickly losing my mind. So there, in a dark bedroom, covered by the lingering scent of barf, I wrote an entire blog post about how craptastic my life was going at the moment. It was long, whiny and ridiculous. The best part? I actually woke up later that morning and wrote the entire post and posted it. 

10 minutes later I took it down and deleted it. I realized that all that complaining was too much. Even for me. I am all about being open and honest and "real" but man, that post was rough. I need to refocus...find a better balance between the craptastic week and the beautiful mess.

But real quick.....can I just list all the stuff that has happened this week? Rapid fire style? 

• 3 days of those god-awful fans drying out my house 24 hours a day.
• Deep carpet cleaning with a hospital grade antimicrobial agent....leaving my whole house smelling like a weird, old school hospital ward.
• My boys literally ran wild at Becks Prime Friday night. LITERALLY. I chased them down the hall. And we were there with friends.
• Saturday morning, I realized my car was leaking something. Seeing as my car was in the shop exactly ONE week ago, I didn't think it would be anything....maybe just a little something leftover (shows what I freaking know) So, I schlep the boys to the car shop and wait.....45 minutes later, the guy asks how the flood was going (like I said, I was just there) and when I told him it was still an issue, he said, "well, I'm about to make things way worse." I swear to you, he actually said that. Turns out, I need a timing belt and water pump. $$$$$. And I was told not to drive it or it would blow up or something.
• Took the boys to get their pictures at JC Pennys. It was awful. After a serious cardio work out, we got like, zero good pictures.
• Saturday night, Matthew woke up barfing.
• Sunday was spent cleaning up barf and poop. LOTS of barf. Did ya'll know that when one barfs on tile, it splatters? Like, all over the house.
• Late Sunday night, we finally figured out where the musty smell was coming from in the linen closet....turns out we all neglected to pick up/wash the blankets that got wet in the flood. So I discovered 5 large, soaking wet blankets....that have been soaking wet for over a week. SO GROSS.
• Jonathan started saying he was sick. Develops the nasty nose crusties....that are then spread across his face in like .01 seconds.
• Zack forgot to put a pull up on Jonathan Sunday night....so he woke up Monday morning soaking wet. Along with his sheets, pillows, down comforter and all of his extra blankets and stuffed animals.
• Monday was spent changing 12 dirty diapers. 12 freaking poopy diapers.  Jonathan developed a low grade fever. We spent HOURS watching TV. Oh and we had to postpone a Halloween party we were hosting for our playgroup :(
• Have to miss work/school Tuesday.

Okay....thanks for letting me get all that off my chest. So, now my job is to find the silver lining in all of this. I have to find a balance. I can be all mad and cranky and whiny.....but I have to find something to balance it out. The longer I sit around and think about the bad luck we have had lately, the more bitter and cranky I get. So, allow me to look on the bright side....here is my silver lining.....

• Since we had to have parts of the carpet cleaned, they went ahead and cleaned the whole rooms. So now, two of my bedrooms have beautiful, clean carpet!
• The fans worked, my carpets and baseboards are dry! And, I saved $800 doing it myself!
• Since I couldn't drive my car on Saturday, and Zack was fishing in Galveston Bay all day, it meant that I was forced to stop moving and just be still at home. It was nice to spend a few hours just hanging out with my boys outside, with nowhere to go and nothing to do! They are getting so good at riding their bikes down the sidewalk!
• Obviously, it was sad that Matthew was sick, BUT....I usually let him fuss for a while when he wakes up in the middle of the night. For some reason, on that night, I went in his room after like 3 minutes. It was like my maternal instincts were in high gear. Mom of the year right here. Bam.
• Since we have been stuck at home the past few days with a broken car and sick babies, I have gotten SO much cleaning done in the house! Not to mention the endless loads of wet blankets (those wet from pee and those wet from flood water) that I actually managed to wash, dry and fold!
• And the biggest and most obvious...I have had lots of time with my boys. I'm telling you, these kids are hilarious, even when they are sick. Today, I kept trying to convince Jonathan to get off the couch and do something....finally, he looked at me and said, "MOM. I do NOT want to do anything. I have a headache. I want to watch TV all day." Amen, brother....don't we all just want to watch TV when we feel crummy? And Matthew has wanted lots of cuddles the past few days. You can't beat that. Ever.

THAT  is the list I need to focus on. Life is hard. Life is gross and messy. Kids get sick on the same day cars break down. Bathrooms flood. Carpets sour. It's just life. It's the way we handle those tremendously obnoxious situations that make us better people. So, now that I have gotten all those complaints off my chest, I am done. I won't complain about those things again.....instead, I will focus on my silver lining. And that my friends....is my balance. Praise the Lord, tomorrow is a new day!

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for His compassions never fail.

23 

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness

-Lamentations 3:22-23

And it continues....

So, we figured everything with the "flood" was pretty much over and done with. And, I guess it really is....but the problem is that there appears to be some residual moisture in the walls, carpets and cabinets. I noticed last night that the floor boards were pulling away from the walls a little and that Jonathan's room smelled a little more odd than normal. So I had the restoration company come by today to let me know what they thought was going on and give me an estimate. Holy crap. Those guys are nuts. The good news was that there really isn't too much damage.....nothing about 10 industrial fans couldn't handle at least. The bad news was that they wanted nearly $1,000 to dry out our hallway. Seeing as how we don't have money growing on the half dead bushes outside, we told them thank you and sent them on their way. 

Our answer was to rent a few industrial fans from Lowes, borrow a few from friends and air out the house ourselves. My Dad drilled a few holes under the sink to help let moisture out and we placed a fan directly in front of it. Then we put fans everywhere we heard the little moisture meter beep. So this is where we are tonight.... 

Could it be way worse? OF COURSE. Will I still complain about it because I am a baby? YEP. We are crossing our fingers that our DIY restoration attempt will do the job. And lest you think we are ignoring a possible mold situation, the professionals were not planning on cutting anything out or replacing carpet or anything....they just said we need to dry it up and deodorize. 

And now, the after pictures! (You actually don't get the before pictures....just imagine a really old school, builder grade bathroom with hollywood lights and plastic towel bars.) We replaced the light fixture, faucet, towel bars, toilet paper holder, added hardware and painted the whole room gray. Next time my parents come, my Mom and I will repaint the vanity and my Dad will put molding around the mirror. I am basically trying to live in a Pottery Barn catalog.

            

And our last project for the weekend was to recover my kitchen chairs! This set is a hand me down from my BFF's attic. It's the perfect size for our breakfast "nook." A few years ago, we painted the 1980's bamboo dark gray and covered the chairs in a dark red. It looked good until the second Jonathan was born. Like, for real. I am pretty sure he spit up on those red chairs on the third day of his little life. Needless to say, they were in need of a makeover....So we found this awesome ticking fabric at Joann, made sure to Scotch Guard it first and went to town! The ticking is dark gray, just like the chairs. I LOVE them!

Overall, a very good, productive weekend. I could have gone without the flood.....but you know, beggars can't be choosers!