is it really over?

so call me a bad mom. i know i am one. i was too busy enjoying and watching and experiencing to remember to take pictures. sorry! here's what i got:
a video of the break through. true to form the baby liked the paper more than the loot. even when older brother shows us how to chop the rocking horse with an axe, the paper still has all the intrigue.

we didn't announce the playroom was done, just wanted the boys to come upon it. well it took 2-3 excuses we made for them to go downstairs until caleb says "is the play room open? can we go in?!?" YES!!! they loved it. i couldn't bring myself to drag them out of there to open more presents, so this is where they stayed for the next few hours. can't blame them, they hadn't seen all their toys in 10 months or more!!!
the pods wouldn't swing cooperatively so you get many shots of each boy at a different angle.



and the seats. i should have known....they have yet to be used for their intended purpose. rocket ships-check, boats-check, toy launchers-double check, seats-huh? what's that?

lets make it a christmas weekend! why not?-snow is only 2 hours away and so much fun.





notice a pattern here? does this baby ever get put down?




the little 2 were screaming when we left. i'm sure they had never experienced numbness before and didn't have the vocabulary to tell us what was going on. we bundled them in warm clothes, put them in their car seats, and wrapped them in blankets. they squealed for another 5 minutes. when jeremy and i finally got changed and ready to go ethan stops. 2 minutes later he says "that was SOOO fun!!!" what?!? is that the same kid that was just screaming? just goes to show you how far warm hands and feet can take you..

yeah for snow! double yeah for warm hands and feet.

calm before the storm

it's here...it's here...it's finally here...what a wonderful and blessed christmas we had. although we missed being with family terribly it was also quite fun to get to go at it alone. we opened presents until 4p.m. quite the feat considering we started at 7 a.m. every year the kids can't wait to tear into their toys. we are always telling them 'no!! wait until you finish opening them all up.' this year-we went with the flow and it was so nice!

this is what mom and dad stayed up all night doing. it was not a small task. we worked all week behind closed doors, and i think the boys really appreciated having their 'stuff' again. i'm sure you appreciate it as well since it is freeing up tons of time for me to post these pictures.
the magnetic chalk board wall. no small feat in and of itself. the wall was textured so it had to be 'de-textured' before we could paint it. then a coat of primer, 3 light coats of magnetic paint, and 2 of chalkboard paint. what fun!!!

the pods. the whole room is supposed to look like the inside of a space ship. the chalkboard wall is the windshield, the computer on the wall, hand scanner, etc. get it?






the downstairs rocker chairs. mom and dad got the couch and red chairs

look at all this loot-spoiled kids

we 'wrap' the entrance into the room where santa left their presents. something a friend told us about years ago and the kids love it. moment of truth-i wasn't planning on doing this again this year. its kind of a pain. but sure enough caleb started talking about it a few nights earlier, so i had to. they love to break through into the fun, plus it looks cool, huh?

here are the boys trying to get mom and dad out of bed and down stairs. i never understood as a kid why mom and dad were always so tired on christmas morning...this year at 3:30 am as i was crawling into bed. i had some major sympathy after all those years.


here comes the fun

christmas eve

our little santa baby...

by the tree

the boys love their grandma and grandpa great. we are so lucky we moved close so we could let them develop that relationship. ethan can always sucker someone into reading to him.

caleb can't resist a grandpa that wrestles.

ending the night with stories read by grandma great and pictures under the tree



pj boys

leaving the goodies

he can't come until you're asleep you know?!!!

its beginning to look a lot like....

so technically christmas is over, but i am behind in the wonderful world of blogging, so here you go....

one reason i love early december-fall sweaters on sale. i actually found 3 that matched. who says you can't dress boys matching. girls do it all the time, and just look at how cute they are!



time for christmas crafts. aunt t sent us a popcorn factory kit. it was awesome. the boys could create and make treats and then eat them. most of the treats got eaten prior to making it on the balls but heck-we got the point. they loved it.
if you look closely you will see ethan created a vampire/jaguar/i'm not sure what else. i guess it depends on who asked him.

caleb can't be normal even if he tries. he has to start out with 2 balls.

and here's caleb's finished project. the perfect ability he has of having no patience at all gets him a ball with 2 candies tacked on. oh well-i guess it all tastes the same whether you eat them together or separate.

you will just have to ask his grandma how much this little guy likes popcorn balls. ha ha!!! don't even try to take that away!!!

what a fun time we had!! thanks t!!

ethan decides to make a cranberry garland for the tree. since they were 3 for $1 i indulged him.

this is what happens when you buy cranberries 3 for $1. they are usually discounted because they are old and squishy.

still looks great on the tree. no comments please on why the bottom 2 feet of our tree has no ornaments.

christmas is coming. we are not ready. we are excited though and can't wait. jeremy has the week before off and we have big projects planned. will see how that goes. love you all!!!

weekend adventures

wow-a weekend at home, without 10,000 projects (just 10)..
let's kick it off with caleb's favorite drink...pink enchiladas....

yum.yum..
then on to further proof that we need to brush ethan's teeth more often

and the baby...just because he can't be left out of anything!!! just ask him

winding it up with gingerbread house makings.

for the record, more frosting ended up eaten that decorated with. heck-you're only young once!
next day on to projects, nah. that's not fun

let's jump in the leaves mom and dad raked up...



here's me giving up trying to get them all the look at the camera at the same time.

hooray!
and let's face it--who doesn't like pink enchiladas.?