Halloween 2013

Momma and Alyssa

This year was a bit too cool out for Mr. Wyatt to join us during Trick-or-Treating.  We skipped the costume for him since he was going to be home playing with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa who came down to visit us and man our own ToT bucket.

Auntie and Alyssa wearing witches hats!

Alyssa however, was ready to get out that door with her Auntie and Momma and Papa.  She used her light-up wand (a Harry Potter wand from Barnes and Noble because I was sick of the umpteen breakable cheapies turning me into a frog or rabbit daily and splurged as the only required costume piece for her).

Unicorn Rider and Witch (who happens to be wearing a unicorn!)

We were just ready to get out the door and the big surprise showed up...FRIENDS!!!!  Now we had a Unicorn-riding costumed buddy to go trick-or-treating with so the night got infinitely better!  The adventures ranged from potty training requirement #1: Momma sacrificing pride and asking to use a stranger's bathroom (I did remove my mask before requesting entry to her house), all the way to a three-year-old totally 'burning' her father when he runs into something and she offers up her lighted wand "so you can see where you going"!

It was a great night and we were so happy to have our trick-or-treating buddies with us to make our night great

Thankfulness 2013: Day One

This is a year full of firsts in our house because we moved in less than two weeks into this year.  So for the day after Halloween:

I'm so thankful for the family-friendly neighborhoods we live in the center of!

We went from a college neighborhood (two blocks from the university and surrounded by apartments), that partied all year long and didn't participate in holidays in a way that the children could participate, to our new suburb filled with families of all ages who celebrate holidays with lights, decorations, and trick-or-treating even.  We were able to walk rather than drive last night to enjoy the holiday that is so fun for kids who want to show off their costumes and of course get treats.

It is just such a nice change to have such a calm area!

Pumpkin Patch Party

Our realty office that worked with us on the purchase of our current house sent out invites to join them for a small Halloween pumpkin patch party. It was held outside their office building and it was a chilly and windy day per MN luck.  Of course it was sunny but the event was in the shade of the building sadly which meant that it didn't help one whit.

It would have been a great event if the lines for things such as balloon animals (or flowers as the blurry yellow and green object in the photo is) or the wonderful face painting stand had been in the sunlight!  So while it was a fun hour of diversion, we stayed long enough to stand in the two lines, pick out the pumpkins for the kids and bundle back into the car and out of the biting wind.  Hopefully we get a warmer event next year!

Vacation!

Never again.  Okay, maybe in a couple years.

We spent a whole week away from home.  With a toddler--who doesn't nap.  Yup.  Insane might be a little strong of a word but I'd think psychologically draining would be a minimum to aptly describe a vacation with two very young children.  Specifically a vacation that isn't touristy.

Water is so much fun if I'm dressed!

We went to my family's lake cabin.  Alyssa doesn't like to swim...or wade...or do anything with the water except sit on the dock and splash her feet.  Distraction and tiring activity #1...gone.  Oh sure, the rare moment of running through the waves splashing on the sand were there (I was given photographic evidence as I was not the one capable of getting her near water).  Too bad they were few and far between.

Sand playtime was a huge hit but unfortunately that is not nearly as energy spending as swimming.

Learning to Sit!

Wyatt decided to throw up between every.single.meal.  Not sick, not to the point where we were running to the doctor because he was under-nourished or getting dehydrated (no where close to this level thankfully).  Just a constant need for burp cloths to handle puddles of spit-up every half hour or so.  Laundromat--yay!

Walk of Flags 2013

The two vacation portions that were undiminished:  #1- Chris and I got the chance to go into town and see his veteran's flag finally.  They are put up by volunteers throughout the summer (daytime only) and the town is lined with over 1800 flags each time.  Each one represents a veteran and the sight of the town lined in these flags is gorgeous.  I grew up passing them and never thought I'd see one that personally means something to my family.

#2- We (adults) were able to watch the fireworks on the Fourth shooting over the lake.  Behind the treelines there are two more lakes.  I'm sure you can see in your mind a fraction of how amazing our show is every year.  My kids sleep like rocks.  Perfect! The only thing that would be better is if they could (HAPPILY) stay up to watch in awe and excitement the same show that I grew up watching.

Those kid's poles catch all the best fish!

From now on, our lake trips will be half weeks (four days or less).  I think our grasps on sanity and the toddler-ness adjustments will be preserved much better for this timeline.  Touristy vacations would be easier because there are places to go and distract them with....wear them out until naptime is back in the game!  (Dream on, Momma...)

Card Making and Resolutions

Do you adore cards?  I love searching through the card aisles for hilarious or heartfelt messages.  My favorites are usually found among the Papyrus brand.  I simply love the handmade look and the oftentimes simple designs.  This is probably one of the reasons I decided I wanted to make cards instead of purchase them.  At typically $3 per card, and 4 Mother's Day or 5 Father's Day cards each year (that would be 9 total for me to buy--I buy for my grandmas and grandpas) just those holidays alone made it worth a try.

We are approaching Father's Day and I have not purchased a single card this year.  We've had birthdays, the Valentines, Mother's, and Father's holidays, and graduations, and even one bridal shower.  I have been LOVING the time spent card making.  Shapes and colors are what it comes down to artistically.  This is perfect for me as my siblings got the physical talents of music and art, I simply have the 'ear' or the 'eye' respectively for those talents.  When it comes to colors, that is my area of art.  I love to work with colors and textures but I can't draw a stick figure to play hangman.

I'm progressing in techniques and embellishments but I'm still very much a beginner.  Catch a recent glimpse at where I've been in this adventure:

Metalic Markers!

Love the lined paper (it is a heavyweight and dry embossed with alphabet).

Later I added "Grandpa" vertically...gotta work on my spacing that direction.

Love my gears dry embossing folder.

I love the texture this embossed frame gives when it is cut out!

Ribbon flower and traditional paper pattern!

Matched up the black paper with the green after embossing and added some ribbon accent threaded through.  (Added the age later because my Mom wouldn't appreciate if I posted that online for all to see!)

I am loving the progress I've made (if I had pictures of my work from the beginning of the year, I'd show you, I swear).  This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish as my "New Year Resolution"!  Progress in a skill, something tangible but not with pressure behind it.

I'm proud of these even if they still have visible flaws.  Trust me, I can see them, but I put a lot more effort into these than I did picking out the perfect card from the store before.

Eggs and Candy

Loves her bucket!

Saturday was a heroic attempt at Momma taking two kids to a local city-wide Easter Egg Hunt at the community center.  If you'll recall we just moved here so we haven't been to any city events, or even to the center before the Egg Hunt.  We had no clue how things could be expected to go.

The set up was a little odd and didn't seem to have enough coordination/signage for newbies like myself to get to the events at the times that they were scheduled (elevators for strollers being on the wrong side of emergency doors that were disabled to allow access but no signage or propping or volunteers letting us know that it was okay to go through being the biggest issue).  Once we got to the egg hunt on the other side of the doors, we found out that we were too late for the under 5 age group but we were able to stay for the older group's hunt.  I was admittedly a little nervous because the 'big kids' on either side of us were literally being held back by their parents at some points.  To make sure my three year old wasn't trampled by the older kids who were in a feeding frenzy after seeing the candy all over the gym floor, much like a shark on the trail of blood scent, I held her hand and helped her run out to a section of the floor where there was a lot of candy and eggs but that many of the kids had passed over or hadn't gone for.  Strategy is a learned thing....those elementary school kids all leapt right on the piles at their feet and ignored the center of the gym.  So Alyssa got a safe and easy spot in the middle of everything and had a nice slow time of picking up what she wanted and putting it in her bucket.  I was amazed at how simple it was.  Alyssa loved it once she got out there but she was nervous at the start because of the microphone and speakers being used and the large crowd of kids all getting more and more excited.

Part way through the candy/egg set up.

Watching the beginning of the setup (pre-line up)

The sweet and patient three year old at my side waited very nicely until the whistle blew signaling 'go'. (As soon as the bigger kids started lining up at the cones, we did also.)  This group was the older kids and the parents around us kept seeing their kids being upstaged by a toddler.  I saw the shock on a couple parents' faces and must say, I'm damn proud of my girl.  I'll admit I didn't think it was going to work out that way at all but YEAH!  Way to go, Alyssa!!  The year that I have to physically hold my child back is the year that we end the public egg hunts though.  That was hilarious to watch and horrifying to think of having to do.  I was super impressed with the mom who had all three of her kids in her hands at once though.  Talk about juggling!  (She did get them calmed down to the point that they didn't require restraining any longer which was great.  Those eggs being laid out are like laying a slice of cake in front of the no-sugar-for-lent-ers!)

Overall, we had a blast with the mini games, the hunt, and the coloring and stickers after that were very happily participated in.  The Easter Bunny didn't get any hugs or handshakes or even a high five this year but hey, it took a very very long time to get to know Santa too.

2013 Resolutions?

Happy New Year!!

Today being the first day of 2013 we are all on the bandwagons we have selected (whether that be weight loss/gym going, making homemade meals, getting ahead on personal debt, developing some spectacular new organizing system in your home, or even that "I resolve to make no resolution" wagon).  I wish you all luck with your personal choice of how to tackle 2013!

For myself, I have decided to take it easy.  I recently was directed (via a friend's Facebook link) to a mildly, possibly drastically, offensive but still motivating opinion article (WARNING: language content may be offensive within linked article!) that made me stop to think.  Now, please, PLEASE don't run off and get offended by this article at first read.  I could have and my gut wanted me to but I read it through, twice, and some (if not all) of the points hit home for me.  I frequently lament my lack of talent in various areas of my life--can't cook, can't sew, can't can't can't...Why?  Because I haven't bothered to learn.  Will I ever become the next Food Network Star?  Only if y'all need instruction on how to open a laptop to order Pizza Hut or using Google Maps to get to the nearest Applebee's!  This certainly doesn't mean that I shouldn't TRY to become more proficient in my cooking skills (like not getting burned every time I use a fry pan for ANY kind of meat...seriously- this goal alone should make me a star!).

No, I'm not going to make a firm resolution of X number of homemade meals or new recipes or even including boxes of mac and cheese.  I'm not going to sew a certain number or type of projects this year.  I AM going to improve a skill.  Something measurable, something that people can see if they are involved in whatever aspect of life it falls into for me...this is what a skill should be considered.  I don't need to be Suzie Homemaker, Martha Stewart, or Carol Brady.  I do need to feel better about what I am able to do.  I've picked up a new hobby this year...paper crafting.  I enjoy it!  It makes me feel good and I produce something out of my efforts.  Right now they aren't amazing but they can get better!  2013 I am aiming to improve at my hobby.  I want to make cards for events that I am proud to give.  I want to make decorations for parties that I throw that even if no one comments, I can look at and smile because of!

Yes, I plan to improve my cooking but this is continual and more about survival of my family (and my limbs) than a year's goal...I plan to do better at cleaning house, again, not a goal worthy of a resolution but more a necessity.  I hope to teach myself to eat better and exercise more.  I just think that 2013 needs to be a year where my resolution is something to boost my self-esteem without guilting myself into things to get it done.

So, 2013, no numbers, no scheduled deadlines (well, other than 2014).  Just something that I'm enjoying and putting time and effort into improving in it!

Big Week!

With Christmas pretty much done (we do have one more group rolling in this weekend for a mini holiday) we have to cruise right along into BIRTHDAY season!

This year Alyssa turns 3 and she is ready to eat her body weight in cake if we let her!

This year is going to be a small little party but we are used to that.  Our family parties have been all but cancelled for her in the past.  Born into the snowy winter, turned one during a blizzard where we made it to my grandparents' house just barely where the party was going to be (obviously no one else made it there), turned two and the blizzard held off until that night and was only slippery roads and light snow during the day (we called that a success because everyone made it to that party!).  This year we aren't even asking family to come down.  Between Christmas trips and shortly to be followed with at least a good chunk of them coming in January to meet the little boy...well, it seems pretty tough to pull off.  Instead we are having a little friends party!  Alyssa is SO EXCITED when you talk about parties but she has no idea what is in store for her this weekend.

There is a place near us that has those inflatable jumping things, you can take your kids (ten and under) to jump for a small fee and let them at it.  We invited a couple other toddlers to join us there for a couple hours of jumping and then we will come back home to eat cupcakes and ice cream before the day is over.  It should be a great time even with such a small group!

In the meantime we have plenty to keep us busy until Sunday.  Monday we had our little Christmas Eve, Tuesday was the Santa Christmas and we went to Wreck It Ralph that night (big hit!), Wednesday some family came down for a playdate at Chuck E Cheese's, Thursday brings a growth ultrasound and doctor appointment, Friday we close on the house followed by buying paint and probably getting the first coat up in Alyssa's new room to prep for Saturday's painting too.  We also have more family down Friday night to celebrate a mini holiday on Saturday and hopefully some extra hands painting too!  That is plenty for one week, right??

Happy Kwanzaa!

Happy Kwanzaa!!

Picture Source: Here

For some starter information on Kwanzaa feel free to follow the link under the picture.  They have a nice layout to find different things you might be curious about.

(No idea why but I had this all ready to post tomorrow....but Kwanzaa began today.  It runs through Jan. 1st so if you know anyone celebrating, wish them a Happy Kwanzaa for me!)

Our 2012 Christmas Chaos

 Well the holidays are wrapping up for most of us.  I thought I'd give you a glimpse into our chaos...I mean Christmas.

"So Excited"  (post xmas energy high)

We opened our gifts on Christmas Eve after lunch (when Papa got home from work).  She was thrilled to FINALLY be allowed to open the presents!

Our attempt at getting Papa his iPad back since it is useful at work for him.

Her big gift this year was the LeapPad 2.  Once she was told that it was a tablet like Papa's she was sold.  Hopefully this attempt at getting Papa his iPad back for work is successful but only time will tell.  So far so good though!

She got a lot of trinket type toys which are always a big hit.  She was introduced to the Kaleidoscope this year. 

Christmas Day brought Santa of course...That fat man always seems to out-do us parents!  He knows just what our kids want most it appears and I'm almost resentful that he brings out the show stopper.  Anyone else?

Yup, Santa left a present AND a stocking!

Serious?  A whole musical instrument set?  Boy Santa really knows my kid!

Thankfully she still loves that tablet we gave her...She keeps going back and forth between the drum and the tablet so Momma's feelings are spared this year.  ;)

I'd like to leave you with just a little bit of silliness that all picture sessions are required to have:

That perfect picture that took all sorts of luck.

Hope your holidays were fun, silly, exciting, and full of family time!

Christmas Card Display Gifting

Gifting a craft:

You've seen the Christmas Card Holder here previously...I thought I'd show y'all the one I made this year as a gift for my mother-in-law.  It is pretty tough to package up for delivery and unwrapping at 20" wide and wired ribbon that you don't really want to crease if you can help it prior to gifting.  We decided to not wrap it at all and deliver it loosely so that it would get there and be useful prior to Christmas this year.

Embellish

Feel free to take pictures before gifting.

Don't forget to add the necessary accessories for it to be functional!

We went with gold paper clips to hold cards (mini clothes pins or decorative clips would work also).

If you choose to gift something that hangs, consider including something to hang it from!

I hope your crafting has been fun!  What projects have you made and gifted?

Ornaments and Kids

This year Alyssa picked out her own ornament to add to the tree.  2012's ornament is "Punzel"!  (You've probably already seen her in a couple pictures here or there.)

Previous ornaments have been a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Toodles) for 2010 and a Princess Tiana in 2011.  We do love Hallmark holiday ornaments!  We take a sharpie to the underside (or back if need be) to write which year it joined our tree.

I can hardly wait to start our son's collection too!  The 'kid tree' is going to be so fun looking over the years!

The Blogging Adventure....probably taking a backseat.

I've been at a loss on how to keep up with my blogging over the next month or so...It might get pretty sporadic around here but I'm determined to not let it get dropped altogether.  I'll try to keep up with updates of our holiday, birthdays, moving, and a birth (of course with an introduction to the new man as well).  Bear with me through the crazy hectic life that is our December/January...

We are still in the process of planning exactly how our holiday will go this week plus the toddler birthday next weekend paired with house closing and painting and moving beginning next weekend as well!  I think Christmas is going to be the easiest part of this season since we aren't able to travel to family for it.

As exciting as all of these changes are, I can assure you that we are just short of overwhelmed when we look at a calendar.  It is going to be a little bumpy packing it all into less than a month but at least we will be super motivated by deadlines...HA

So if you could spare a little extra patience with my gaps in posts, I promise I'll try my best not to leave y'all hanging for full weeks at a time!

Elf Days 13-21

Sorry y'all!  I've clearly been slacking in my Elf posts...I did miss a few days of pictures so there will be a couple gaps in this post as well but they weren't all that exciting anyways.

Here is Flower upside down over the dining table making sure we try anything on our plates!

12-13-2012

Naptime Patrol:  **Make sure your child is NOT scared of your elf before he enters their room!  We were smart enough to hold off until half way through the month before we left the public areas...The reaction was full of giggles for us.

12-14-2012

Flower must have been sleepy this night because he simply landed on the vertical blinds valence.

12-16-2012

Well, Flower felt like going for a gallop.  The immediate reaction upon discovery was a demand for the pony to be turned over...Of course the elf magic outweighed the sad pony friends so Flower was allowed to continue his ride.  Later that day it was much more amusing to Alyssa who was starting to enjoy the tricks he was playing.

12-17-2012

My personal favorite:  Flower fixed a jingle bell bracelet that had broken using ornament string.  It became reins for the stuffed reindeer (Kohl's has those $5 stuffed toys and books that donate profits to St Judes or other children's hospitals and this was one from this season).  Alyssa LOVED this!  Not only were there jingle bells involved, but she was informed that Flower would probably leave them for her to play with the next day.  We also had just watched Polar Express the night before and Alyssa loved that jingle bell from the reins too so it was very fitting.

12-18-2012

Flower wanted to play some Xbox so he climbed into the cabinet where the games are currently kept.  Alyssa was very concerned once she found him.  He was locked in (there are hidden magnet child proofing locks on our TV cabinets) and Alyssa thought he was stuck for good.

"Me need the magnet!!  Me help him!"

I was able to convince her that he would use his magic to get out just like he did to get in though it took a few minutes.

12-20-2012

Flower seems to trust Alyssa finally.  He has come down within reach and so far no incidents or accidents.  Alyssa did stay back and refused to say 'hi' to Flower after finding him though.  However, he brought her a special book all the way from the North Pole and she did thank him for it.  Later she tried to give him a drink of water but a quick reminder about his magic and she let him be again.

12-21-2012

Only HOW MANY DAYS?!?!

So I looked at my little Reindeer Countdown and realized that it is getting CRAZY CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!  Of course my hubby being who he is is also pretty difficult to shop for.  I came up with only a couple ideas really this year and none of them were WOW to me.  So I resorted to massive amounts of Google and Pinterest searching for ideas.  Wow was the well dry there too.

I came up with one result that I would LOVE to share with you giving you almost no time to copy it (which is exactly how much time I had left too) but I can't guarantee that Chris isn't stalking this site waiting for me to get excited about that last thing that I stumble upon and blab it.  SO...y'all will just have to bear with me and wait until after the holiday to find out what I FINALLY found.  I promise you'll get the chance to steal the idea just like I did when the next holiday comes around if you want.

However...I could always use a stash of ideas for Valentines, birthdays, anniversaries and next Christmas....What was the best gift you got your significant other?  What was the best gift you received?

Christmas Gifts and a Toddler

"Pease me open now???"

This is the first year that we have really gotten the concept that presents under the tree have stuff IN them.  It has been pretty funny listening to Alyssa ask us what is in the presents in Target (the cardboard cutouts hanging from the ceiling) and telling us that she will open them when they come down and see "What IS it?".

Luckily for us, she has an awful lot of self control it seems because while she asks every day so far (day three of gifts under the tree), she does ask us before ripping paper off.  She also puts the gifts back under the tree when told 'no, not until Christmas'.

The very beginning of our gift pile, organized by Alyssa.

Any of your kids jump into the gifts before Christmas without permission?  I'm sure it'll happen around here someday.

Elf Days 11 &12

Our little Flower is getting a little braver with his antics though not so much that he would come down close enough to accidentally be touched by an excited toddler yet.

Day 11

He had an awful lot of our blocks and Alyssa told him in no uncertain terms that they belong in the block box!  She also told me to take them away from Flower but as soon as I reminded her that his magic goes away if we touch him she told him it was okay.

Day 12--Note the loose grip on the string so as to not topple the elf when pulled by the toddler!!

Day 12

This morning Flower was hiding out in the kitchen but not just any place...He was in the TREAT BUCKET! He had fished out a fruit snack and sent it down on his line so Alyssa could get it when she found him.  A special treat considering it is breakfast time when he is found typically!  Of course she got to eat her treat with her breakfast so I'm glad he chose a fruit snack rather than one of the chocolate candies instead today.  Who knows, he might just drop a little KitKat or bag of M&M's during naptime!

Flower had a pretty loose grip on the string so that Alyssa could have her treat without falling on her head.

Silly Flower...up in a bucket....oh! Thank you Flower!