Auld Lang Syne

This will be quick because I have a cute husband who needs a kiss at midnight.

I'm closing the December challenge with one last picture of Josiah in his Santa outfit. I just thought that was the cutest thing ever.

2007 - what a year! I remain in awe of our good Lord and all that He does. The biggest blessing this year was, of course, baby Josiah. What a little love he is! Next, babyGap - still amazes us. Our new home. It's just more than I could have ever dreamed. God is good ALL the time even in years that are not as exciting as 2007. It reminds me of my husband and my special verse from Ephesians 3:20 - 21:

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The (almost) end of the road

No, I'm not giving up blogging and no this is not a Christmas carol. It's an old 90s song from Boyz II Men if you don't recognize it. I'm tired. My house is half Christmas, half normal. I desperately want to reclaim a few rooms in our house which have been the safe zones for chaos while the others are more welcoming. So, I need to bust through my un-decorating and get to work. Can anyone out there relate??

(TiVo alert- Jessica Seinfeld will be on Live with Regis & Kelly tomorrow, 12/31.)

NOTE - see my "major award" from Jamie who passed along this blog-a-day challenge. LOVE it!!!

Frosty the Snowman

Simply as a novelty, I'd love some of this snow that the Midwest is experiencing. Oh well. A cold front is headed our way which is good because it was actually almost warm today.

Do you like the chocolate batter lip liner Jon David is wearing? This was taken on Christmas Eve as we made a birthday cake for Jesus. The apron is a wonderful gift from my friend, Jenny. How a mother of 2 and about to have her 3rd has time to actually make gifts for both my children, I don't know. I'm more than impressed.

Speaking of cooking, here is an update on my Deceptively Delicious plan. Today's peanut butter and banana muffins (with pureed cauliflower and bananas) were a huge hit and one that I will often bake. The pumpkin oatmeal is also yummy. I'd give a fair rating to the macaroni and cheese (again with cauliflower). My oldest nephew happily ate it but he's growing and usually hungry so I'm not sure that counts. But, Jon David did in fact eat it a few times. I can't see anyone asking me for the recipe on taste alone but it was passable. I may skip the reduced fat cheese and add the real stuff which will probably add more flavor. I'm not a huge fan of really reduced fat cheeses.

Celebrate me home

My sister, Lorri, left cold and snowy Chicago to spend Christmas with our family. She is usually here every year for Christmas and a few other times if possible. She even met us in Hawaii last January to help with the whole babyGap thing and to give me and JD a night or two free to eat dinner, etc. without our super model. She's awesome.

Kids are usually really good judges of character and some people are just really good with kids. My sister is like that. Though Jon David only sees her a few times a year, he really takes to her and clearly enjoys her company.

Apparently he likes her so much that she has been bestowed a name that has never before been given by him - Diesel. Diesels are the super big trains in, you guessed it, Thomas the Tank Engine stories. So, for some reason, she was given a train name. Yes, he adds an additional syllable to her name so that it actually sounds like ovary. Add to that silliness that she is now also part diesel engine and you can see why we needed to capture this on tape. The video shows the two of them on the phone with my mom (Mimi).

So, we are sad that Lorri Diesel left and pray that she returns to us soon!

My Grown Up Christmas Wish

Christmas is not about giving and receiving gifts. That said, I'd be lying if I said that the whole present thing is not loads of fun and even more now that we have children. JD was like a kid himself Christmas Eve as he prepared all the trains for Jon David on Christmas morn. I think he was actually disappointed that he did not have more to prepare and assemble.

One super nifty gift from my folks to Jon David was Thomas the Tank's Knapford Station complete with a microphone to yell, "All aboard!" or as Jon David says it, "All Abored."

There was something for little ol' me under the tree and it makes me want to do no housework and just play as soon as the boys go to bed each night. It's the fabulous Cricut machine and it really is "all that." As their site states, "Simply by touching a button. Cricut can cut beautiful designs and alphabets." This should take my scrapbooking to a whole new level! Yahooweee! And I found a super site for great layouts, http://www.pagemaps.com/. Check it out!

Blue Christmas

Oh the humanity! There is some serious drama in our house as of last night. In the past 24 hours, Jon David has decided to respond to some awful offense against his person by placing (not quite throwing) himself on the floor, burying his head in his hands and occasionally giving a whimper and saying, "sad..." He's done it probably 6 times so far.

What kinds of horrible things am I doing to him to provoke such a strong, emotional response? Well, one example: "No, Jon Jon, we don't throw our trains. If you throw another one, it will need to go in time out." Yep - that's it. That's the kind of mean, horrible mommy I am.

Other than a few drama fests, we are all well. Josiah is on day 6 of his first cold and I'm so ready to have 2 healthy children. He's such an amiable guy. He'll cough a bunch and then just give the absolute sweetest smile I have ever seen. We have him sleeping in the pack & play in our room so we can listen for him better in the night. (Please do not pay much attention to the messy floor in the background of the pictures. I am in SERIOUS need of some house cleaning!)

Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!

Silent Night

Singing "Silent Night' in church, especially on Christmas Eve, is one of my favorite things to do to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, we baked a birthday cake for Him as another way of showing Jon David why we celebrate Christmas. Merry Christmas!!

Oh Holy Night

Oh holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine

Greeting cards have all been sent

Well, with a few exceptions, the cards are FINALLY out and about 50% of the gifts are wrapped. The cookies are a-baking and we are having fun! Just a few more last minute errands...

Merry Christmas, Baby

I took about 100 pictures of my baby boy today. I like to take a bunch of photos every month to showcase his growth. I'm so overcome with love for this baby, it's amazing.

Back to Christmas, I'm curious as to what other people do for family traditions. I'm especially interested in how people focus on the birth of Christ and helping children learn about the meaning of Christmas. Please leave me a comment with how you celebrate Christmas!

Here is a neat book that I checked out of the library and I highly recommend: The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays & Everydays by Meg Cox.

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree

Okay, so the title has nothing to do with what I'm writing but I am due a break. It ain't easy coming up with a new title/Christmas carole every day! And, this happens to be one of my favorite secular Christmas songs and I especially like the Brenda Lee version. It's kicky.

Today is Baby Si's 4-month birthday and we celebrated by taking him for his check-up. His stats are just peachy. He weighs 15 lbs 1 oz (50%) and is 25 inches (55%). The doctor said he looked perfect, very alert and a happy baby. I remain his ever adoring mommy and think all that is true.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The highlight of our day was heading over to the "other" Denise's for some fun baking Christmas cookies. There were 6 kiddos under 3 (plus one still "baking" and due in February) and 4 mommies. The sugar cookies were so good though I had to watch and make sure Jon David did not eat all the cookie dough (see below). He had a blast!

Her baby, Katie, is so so cute and only 2 weeks younger than Josiah. It's so neat to see our babies together!

We promised to do it again next year - can't wait! It'll be Christmas Cookie Bake '08!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I doubt we'll have a white Christmas this year but every Christmas was white when I was a little girl. We grew up outside Chicago and you could always count on snow. Here is a picture of me when I was about 8 and probably wanting to go inside and get out of my "fur" coat!

You'd better not lie...

Well, I may not lie but I will be "Deceptively Delicious"! Tonight I am working on my purees to make some yummy food for Jon David. He has since graduated from the "chicken nuggets only" diet and will now entertain other foods. Thank you, Lord!!!

If you have not yet heard, Deceptively Delicious is Jessica Seinfeld's new book with lots of kid friendly recipes with veggies and other goodies hidden in the form of purees. So, you make chocolate cake with beets, etc. I plan to try mac and cheese with cauliflower puree.

When he was a baby, I enjoyed making his baby food. It was simple and I got a kick out of feeling like Jon David was getting the best possible food. And for a while, he ate like a champ - broccoli, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, etc. I was so excited about the adventurous eater I was helping to shape. Then came his first birthday and all bets were off. So, I am encouraged to start this new eating chapter.

In 2 months, I'll start Baby Si on solids and I'll be cranking out the purees anyway. So, this is just a new way to do it.

Stay tuned to see how the deception goes!

Tuesday morning deception update: oatmeal with canned pumpkin - YUMMY!

To kids from 1 to 92

I dug through the old pictures and thought I'd share last year's Christmas pictures with you. It's amazing to look at my baby boy who is now officially a boy (though some parts still a baby). He was just getting good at walking and a ton of fun! Enjoy!

Christmas card picture. I was pregnant and did not yet know it. :)

It's a marshmallow world in the winter

Seeing all these sweet baby fat rolls makes me think of a Michelin man or, in keeping with this month's challenge, marshmallows. I do love this "carol" especially when sung by Sammy Davis, Jr.

What mommy is not thrilled when seeing her baby nice and fat? I love this little chubb and thank God for him every single day!

Okay, I must also admit that this daily Christmas carol post challenge is challenging. I could use some encouragement, cheering on, etc. So, please leave me a post and tell me to keep going. I'd love to know who is reading this blog. I see all sorts of wacky towns on my site meter and wonder what nice people are taking a few minutes to see what's up with me and my fellas. :) So, help a gal out!

The President of the "Aint Missing a Meal Club"

PS - Props to my blog friend, Janice, for my new header! She sells some great stuff. Let me know if you need her contact info! She's great and oh so helpful to clueless people like me!

Stink. Stank. Stunk.

Nice cheery title, huh? It was better than the alternative which was, "You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce." (Can you guess the song now?)

No, I'm not speaking of the guy who cut me off in the mall parking lot (didn't happen) but rather to this dumb croup/ear infection bug that has been a part of my son's life for way too long. It was like this last year as well. Starting in late August, we basically are in three stages of sickness: about to get an ear infection/croup, sick with ear infection/croup or getting over ear infection/croup. Stink. Stank. Stunk.

Today's video is Jon David talking about going to the doctor. The random noise you hear is Thomas the Tank Engine's whistle going off for some strange reason.

It also stinks because we have to miss my nephew's birthday party tomorrow.

Another thing in the stink category is the diaper rash we are sure to battle as a result of the antibiotic. I try to keep up on the whole dirty diaper thing but it really does not seem to matter. The red bum is almost as bad as the actual illness.

Lastly, I am more than a little bitter that despite the fact that I am also sick with a stuffy nose, I still can smell my sons' very offensive diapers. What gives!!!!???!!!

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Christmas came a little early for me. I received the most beautiful stocking made for me by JD's mom. She is known for her needlepoint skills and has even made a beautiful purse for me one year for Christmas. But, this year she outdid herself with my "Mommy kissing Santa Claus" stocking. The incredible detail is hard to capture on film but it truly is just spectacular. What a treat!

And I needed a treat because we are once again a sick household with the possible exception of Josiah (who has seemed a tiny bit snorty at times). I have been able to stay strong the past few months when JD and Jon David have been sick. But, I was not able to stay free of the germs this time. So, my pretty stocking made a snorty blogging mom happy. :)

Here are pictures of Jon David's stocking from last year (incredible as you can see) and JD's stocking made about 30 years ag0 (also beautiful).

A picture of my snorty big boy who wore his PJs all day.

And my I-think-he's-still-not-sick baby who is sometimes stuck in the pack & play to keep big brother from coughing in his face (something big brother is quite good at doing):

Do you see what I see?

Playing hide-n-seek with Jon David goes one of two ways. Usually, he hides and once you find him, he giggles, "More hiding!" So, you find him again. Trick is, he does not move. That's right, he stays in the same spot. And when you play along and ask yourself (out loud), "Hmmm - where is Jon Jon? Is he up in the tree??", he will respond to your questions with a "no" or "yeah." Or, the other option is for him to tell you where to hide and he'll come find you. It's great fun and I do love it. See for yourself. :)