Happy New Year 2016!

It’s 3pm on a sunny NYE afternoon. Both of my kiddos are napping, which never happens. Instead of working on my never-ending “to do” list, I decided to just sit and reflect. I am sitting in my oversize chair in my bedroom, looking out the window at the beautiful white covered land that brings me great peace. I always claim to dislike snow, but this winter, I have found a new beauty in the white blanket.

Seeing the animals in their thick winter coats, roaming the woods without the camouflage of leaves,  brings me joy and settles my “always thinking” mind.  As I watched four deer slowly walk around and then settle down to rest, unaware that they were being watched, I felt such a sense of peace.  I quietly told myself, “life is beautiful”.  I then realized that it was more than just that. That moment was reminding me that simple is beautiful. All it took to bring a sense of calm and beauty to my soul was to look out the window. I truly love sharing my land with four-legged creatures. Yesterday, I saw deer, coyotes and a bald eagle without leaving my house. Nature is calming.

Can you spot the 2 deer laying down?

I peaked in on my children a few moments ago.  This. 

This is beautiful.  This makes my heart happy. This simple little thing.

Everything happens for a reason, right??  Rylee never naps…hasn’t in a couple of years.  But today, she asked if she could go lay down with Wyatt, who was already sleeping. I believe this happened so that I could take this hour to reflect, recharge and remind myself of what matters.

With this, I know what my goal is for the new year:

I challenge myself to enjoy the simple life in 2016. To slow down. To spend more time outdoors in nature.  To mentally capture beautiful moments with my family. To be more thankful for the simple beauty that is my life.

Cheers to you, my friends, for a simply beautiful new year!

More Presents, Less Money

We have always been good about making sure we don't go overboard with Christmas gifts.  Our kids have everything they need and we don't want them to get everything they ask for.  

Last year, we kept this in mind as we purchased just a few gifts for them.  We do presents from Santa and from Mom and Dad.  My husband doesn't necessarily agree with this, but he doesn't do the shopping or wrapping, so I win that battle.  

Anyway, last year after the kids finished opening presents there wasn't much excitement in the air. We didn't get them anything big, nor anything they asked for...because a 3 and 1 year old don't ask for anything...or at least ours didn't.  So, after the presents were all opened, James went out to his car to get the dump truck he had originally bought for Wyatt but decided to return.  We were glad we made the last-minute decision to go ahead and give it to them, because it ended up being the most played with gift and created that fun Christmas morning spirit.  

So, this year, I decided there needed to be more of that "fun" on Christmas morning.  I got the kids more gifts than usual.  I had a hard time stopping myself from buying Rylee a million things -- she is so easy to buy for!!  Of course, I have to keep the number of gifts the same for both kids, so knowing I wouldn't know what else to get Wyatt to even it up, made me put a stop to buying for Rylee.  I have a feeling she will always be easier to buy for than him.  Rylee also circled everything in the toy catalog that she wanted....along with WHO she wanted to buy it for her...so she made it easy on all of us as well.  

By the end of our numerous get-togethers, the kids got a ridiculous amount of gifts!!  After watching multiple kids open presents in several different settings, here is what I learned this year about young kids and presents:  The more presents to unwrap, the better.  IT DOES NOT MATTER what is inside of them. Unless you are my 4 yo niece and get a package of Oreos ("Hey! This isn't a toy!!"). 

James and I both noticed that kids in general like to have more gifts to open -- I guess that's a no-brainer, but I didn't pay much attention to that until this year.  For other kids that I buy for, I normally set a price range and go for 1 nicer item within that range.  James and I both took note that other adults will give the kids multiple less expensive gifts, each wrapped separately and the kids will get more excitement out of those gifts. 

I also learned that kids will have the same reaction to a gift whether it's a $3 light-up toothbrush or a $50 toy with lots of bells and whistles!  Rylee proved this to be true when she was asked by her uncle what Santa brought her....though Santa brought her several really nice things, she could only remember the light-up toothbrush!  Wyatt was super excited about every single present he opened, but has played the most with the 2 least expensive items he received!  Note to self: Don't spend too much next year!!  

Wyatt had a gift exchange at his daycare last week.  As it wasn't his normal day to be there, I took him so he could participate.  We were given a $5 limit. Wyatt and I shopped at Dollar General for our gift to bring.  I was pleasantly surprised by how many decent options we had in that price range!!  As each gift was opened, I found myself thinking "Wow, that was a good gift for $5!" After all 12 gifts were opened by the two year olds, I was so shocked at the quality of gifts that were received, and at how happy each child was with their gift!!  Wyatt got a package of hotwheels cars, which has been his "thing" the past month....so that was an awesome gift for him!!  I told James next year, I'm only shopping at Dollar General for all the kids and I'm only spending 20% of my usual budget ;)  Kidding. Maybe. 

I also found it interesting that the gifts I thought the kids would be the most excited about, they weren't.  Or, the opposite...something I thought they wouldn't care about was a favorite item!  I bought Rylee new cowboy boots and figured they would be her least favorite item.....I think she showed the most excitement over those than any other gift she opened..she even put them on right away and wore them with her jammies :) This made me very happy as I spent a couple of months trying to find the perfect pair.

While Christmas is not about the gifts and we try to teach the kids that.....it's definitely the highlight of their holiday. I want their Christmases to be memorable for them as I have many fond memories of my childhood Christmases.  This year though, I think I learned the tricks to make us all happy....have lots of presents for them to open, but cut the budget in half! :)  .....until they are teenagers with expensive requests....

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I can't believe Christmas is just 3 days away!!!  I could use about three more weeks of Christmas season :)  I just love it so much.  I reported back in November that I was almost done shopping and planned to just enjoy the season without the stress of shopping.

Well, I have to say I really did enjoy it.  I still did some shopping and kept thinking of things I "needed" to get, but it wasn't at all stressful.  I actually found myself being more generous than most years and buying for people I don't normally buy for.  I don't think that would have happened had I had so much shopping to do.  Overall, I just really felt cheerful all month :) I did more charitable giving this year as a result too.

We got all of our usual holiday activities crossed off and added some new ones.  Here are some highlights:

Put up the tree and decorated it the day after Thanksgiving.....yes, in jammies. Why? Because that's what they wanted to do at 7:30am! 

Rylee wrote to Santa.  As I mentioned before, she will not go see him, which is okay with me, so we send a letter.

Our Elf on the Shelf returned...she wrote a letter to Rylee letting her know that Santa received her wish list.  Some how we managed to remember to move her every single night this year!!!! 

Disney on Ice and Festival of trees.  The latter was new this year, but will be on our annual "to do" list.

The Blenders concert with my dad.  This was my 2nd year attending and I hope I never miss it in the future!!  It was at Hoyt Sherman place this year -- my first time in that building...beautiful!!! 

Gingerbread House with Daddy.  I never participate in this one....this is a Daddy thing. I was impressed with Rylee's creativity...she added a fire place with fire! Wyatt lasted about 5 minutes.

Cut-out sugar cookies.  I tried a gluten free recipe this year and it was amazing!!!  We all loved them!!  My mom joined us and hopefully will be able to every year.  Wyatt frosted one cookie, while Rylee helped with the entire process from mixing the dough to rolling it out, to cutting, to frosting many cookies --- for some reason she would only eat the cookies I frosted....hers had way too many sprinkles :) 

A friend and I did some Christmas candy baking together this year.  It was so much more fun with a friend and we plan to make this a tradition!! 

We made it out several nights to look at Christmas lights.  I am beyond impressed with all the festive light displays in my small community!!  We are even blessed to have an amazing display that is set to music.  I've seen videos of this sort of thing, but witnessing it in person was incredible!!  We were all speechless....just watched in awe for about 15 minutes.  Hopefully we can see it one more time before the season ends.

Our library had a Winter Festival night for the kids.  They were to wear their jammies.  It ended up being a really cute Polar Express event.  The kids received tickets that looked like the ones from the movie (Stamped with "BELIEVE" on them).  They walked in a line on railroad tracks made from construction paper, then sat for a reading of the story.  They got to get up and dance several times to music from the movie.  There were also 2 adorable crafts they made, as well as a station to make reindeer food and eat cookies :)  It was about an hour long and Rylee was so sad when it was over.  She wanted it to last longer and she knew they only read a portion of the book....she wanted to finish it!  All the kids received a bell (like in the movie) at the end. 

Something else new for us this year, was a Christmas concert for Wyatt's daycare center.  His class only sang 1 song and he was THAT KID who cried hysterically through the entire song.  My dad came to watch and he and James felt so bad for Wyatt.  My dad kept telling me not to make him go up on stage.  But if I'm being honest, it was a little entertaining :)  It's not like the other 2 year olds were singing anyway, so none of the parents missed hearing their child sing.  The three year olds were super cute though....they sang 6 songs!!  I couldn't believe the difference one year makes! 

James and I attended our first ever (or at least in 5 years) adult Christmas party.  One of our neighbors invited all of the neighbors within a mile or two radius over last weekend.  It was the first time we had met most of them.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was so great to meet everyone finally!!  James even found many things in common with several of the men, which was great!

Tomorrow evening we will head to my aunt's house in WDM to stay the night.  My family has been having Christmas Eve at her house for as long as I can remember.  I always look forward to it more than anything else during the season.  It's so nice to have everyone together, have a nice meal, see the Christmas decorations I remember from her house as a child, and of course, open presents. 

On Christmas Day, it will just be the 4 of us in the morning....opening presents and eating sweets for breakfast.  James' parents will join us in the afternoon.  I don't usually cook (or do anything for that matter) on Christmas Day, so we will have a frozen lasagna meal.  I always look forward to a day where we can't go anywhere and we just spend the day relaxing and enjoying each other. 

Hope you all are enjoying the season too.  Have a very Merry Christmas!!! 

Christmas Song Story

I decided to try my hand at writing a fiction story last week-- for a contest.  I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do it again!

I thought it would be fun to start out the story with a line from a Christmas song.  I asked my Facebook friends to give me a line, as well as a number between 800-1600, which would be the number of words in my story.

After getting so many great responses, I then got the idea to include LOTS of Christmas song lyrics into a story.  I chose "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose" for my opener.  The person who gave this suggestion, picked the number 999.  So, here is my 999 word story, that includes MANY lyrics from Christmas songs.

How many can you find???

                “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.  Jack Frost nipping at our noses. This is silly.  I’m not feeling very Christmasy,” Zack said to Jill as he reached for another blanket. The chill in the air was definitely not going to be covered up by the puny fire they had going in their yard. 

“Well, I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” Jill began.  “But since there is no snow on the ground, I figured sitting by the fire would be the next best thing.” 

“Seriously, Jill, I can barely feel my toes.  The fire is slowly dying. Can’t we go inside and decorate the halls with boughs of holly or something instead?” Zack urged. He wasn’t feeling the Christmas cheer his fiancé promised sitting by the fire would bring. 

Zack gathered the blankets and stood up to head for the house. “Baby, it’s cold outside. I’m going in.  I’m sorry.”

Jill let out a sigh and followed behind.  To be honest, she was freezing too.  Trying to put a little Christmas in Zach’s heart this year was tough for some reason. 

Inside, she grabbed supplies to start wrapping presents. Maybe seeing the gifts that would light up their niece and nephew’s faces on Christmas day would help Zach find the Christmas spirit.

“Honey, would you like to help? Pick out some paper and a bow for this one,” She said as she tossed the Cinderella doll onto Zack’s lap.  “Make it look good, but don’t outdo Santa.”

Rolling his eyes, Zack said, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s no Santa.”

“You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe!” Jill replied as she curled ribbon to top her nephew’s present.  Everyone thought she and her Grandpa were crazy, but they enjoyed keeping the magic of the holiday alive in their hearts.

“We stopped believing once. And then one foggy Christmas Eve…” Jill began telling the story Zack had already heard several times.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Jolly ol’ St. Nicholas.” Zack teased.  He wasn’t going to believe her story about seeing Santa dancin’ and prancin’ in Jingle Bell Square.

Ignoring him, Jill placed the last wrapped present under the tree. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” She said in a sing-song voice. Just then the doorbell rang. She and Zack both jumped up to get the door. Through the window, they saw their neighbors Rick and Jane holding a plate of cookies.

“Our finest gifts we bring,” Jane said with a smile as she handed the plate to Jill. Seeing that Rick and Jane had more plates to deliver, they kept the chatter short.

“Thank you so very much!” Jill told them. 

“We wish you a Merry Christmas!” Zack said with enthusiasm. As Jill closed the door, a smile grew on her face. She knew Zack would come around.

“Wow! Where did that come from?” She asked.               Zack just gave her a wink and walked to the kitchen to set the plate down.  Jill followed behind and was delighted when he handed her a cookie. 

“What do you say we head downtown for a bit?” Zack asked. “I always like watching the tree lighting and hearing the carolers.” Zack was slowly starting to feel the Christmas spirit.

“Yes, I’d love to!” Jill couldn’t believe he made such a festive offer.

On the way to Main Street, Jill noticed the stars were brightly shining.  Her heart was so full of Christmas cheer. She placed her hand on top of Zack’s.

“I’m so glad you are trying to be less of a scrooge,” She told him.

With a chuckle, he replied, “And in case you didn’t hear, Santa Clause is coming to town.” He loved teasing her.  In some strange way it was actually cute that she chose to believe in Santa.

                Main Street was littered with people.  Children laughing, people passing. In the air, there’s a feeling of Christmas.  Jill looked over towards the pond. Seven swans a swimming let her know it wasn’t cold enough for the pond to be frozen.

                “Look Honey, the swans are still swimming and you couldn’t even handle sitting by the fire with two heavy blankets.” She got her chance to return the heckling. Zack just put his arm around her as they walked towards the Christmas tree that was about to be lit with hundreds of brightly colored bulbs.

                “Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree”, the children’s choir sang. This brought Zack back to age eight, when he got to sing carols around the big tree with his choir friends. The spirit was settling nicely into his heart.

                “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, you’re right,” He said as he kissed Jill on the head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a one-horse open sleigh that appeared to be giving rides.

                “5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” The crowd counted down to the lighting of the large tree.  As the lights came on and filled the street with a warm glow, there was clapping and cheering. Zack and Jill joined in.

                “Thank you for bringing me here tonight,” Jill said before she kissed Zack’s cheek.

                “You are very welcome.  And thank you for trying to help me get in the Christmas spirit.” Zack replied as his eyes wandered over to the horse drawn sleigh.

“Since we’ve no place to go…” He said as he pointed to the sleigh.

“I’d love to!” Jill squealed with excitement. The couple climbed into the sleigh. Jill told the driver how much she wished they would be dashing through the snow instead of rolling on wheels.

The driver handed them each a cup of hot chocolate and said, “I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have yourself a cup of cheer.” Jill smiled.

Zack snuggled up close to his soon-to-be bride. “Consider this sleigh ride your gift,” he told her.

“Baby, all I want for Christmas is you.” She said with a wink.

Holiday Cheer

Happy Friday!
So far, my plan to just enjoy the holiday season is off to a great start!!  Everywhere I've gone this week has been so cheerful.  If it's okay, I'd like to share some of my holiday experiences from the week with you :)

First, as is true most years, people just seem happier.  I see lots of smiles, kindness and laughter.  It's so heart warming to go somewhere and see so much holiday cheer right now.  On one town's facebook page that I'm a part of, people keep offering gifts to the person who correctly guesses a number....how fun, right?!?!  I am also really loving that my new little town has Christmas music playing outside of the shops.  No matter how cold it is, I roll my window down each time I drive through "main street" :)  Oh, and Red!!!  Red, Red, everywhere....my favorite color!!!  I love seeing it everywhere I go!!

The kids and I drove around looking at Christmas lights on Monday night...my favorite was what I think is called "lazy lights"....its like a spot light that shines colored dots onto the house.  I wish I would have gotten a picture to show --- it was so neat!!

On "Giving Tuesday" I was feeling especially kind and got several of my "acts of kindness" out of the way.  I donated money, selected an angel from the local angel tree, and wrote a Christmas card for a recovering soldier.  Just as I finished these items, I received a notice that a local charity was looking for volunteers in the coming weeks.  Being in the giving spirit and wanting to get started with some volunteering, I signed both myself and my daughter up to help.  I'm looking forward to doing that together in a couple weeks!

Speaking of volunteering, yesterday I finally got to help out at Rylee's school.  I was looking so forward to it all week long.  It turned out to be a really good time! They are learning the letter G this week and talking about Gingerbread Man for the holidays. I got to watch them act out the Gingerbread Man story and then lead a gingerbread matching game in small groups.  Preschoolers are so much fun!  Rylee made a gingerbread house at school today that she brought home.

Last night I started some Christmas "baking".  I made oreo balls -- James' favorite.  I used the peppermint oreos for a more festive ingredient.  This morning I made some bars that I will be taking with me to a gathering at my in-laws this weekend.  I had a few left that wouldn't fit in the container, so I set them on a plate, wondering how I was going to keep from eating them all day.  About 3 minutes later, Rylee yelled to me that the UPS truck just pulled in the drive.  PERFECT!!  I had the kids take the plate of bars to him....he happily accepted :)  The poor guy has been to our house at least a dozen times in the past few weeks. Gotta love online shopping...and free shipping!

Our Elf on the Shelf showed up this week.  I'm not gonna lie...kinda wish I never would have started this tradition.  But, the kids love it.  Rylee really truly thinks Elfie is real.  She has conversations with the thing!  At least Elfie leaves her letters to let Rylee know she was paying attention. It really is adorable to watch Rylee talk to her and makes the holiday seem very magical :)  I'm glad to know there is at least one character Rylee isn't scared of, since she hates Santa, Cy, Smokey the bear, etc.

My Christmas story for the magazine came out this week. I've received several compliments on it, including a very nice one from the editor!  The topic was ornaments.  Five people shared with me the stories about their favorite ornament.  As I was getting my ornaments out for my Christmas tree last week I realized I really don't have many ornaments with stories.  Almost all of them I bought myself and not for any reason other than I liked them.  Of the ornaments that do have stories, here are a few of my favorites:

My mother-in-law brought me this from Ireland

Given to me by Rylee last year for Christmas.

Rylee and I painted ornaments together this year and she made this one just for me...in my favorite color. 

This doesn't go on my tree, but is Rylee's 1.5 year-old hand print she made at daycare.

Regarding the Christmas tree, I think I have decided on my absolute favorite Christmas "activity".  I love love sitting by the tree at night after the kids have gone to bed.  It's calm and quiet in the house and the glow of the lights is so heart warming.  

Hope everyone is having a great December so far!!

Anniversary Pictures

My mom had been asking me for a picture of James and I for her wall collage and I was struggling to find one that was taken this year.  As I looked through our photos, I realized James and I only take photos of the two of us once or twice a year, and even then they are only marginal, as they are just selfies taken with our cell phones.

Then, when we moved and I unpacked the picture frames I bought for our master bedroom, I realized the only really good photos I have to put in them are 6 years old (from our wedding).  I was ready for updated photos of just the two of us.

So, as sort of a 6 year anniversary gift, I talked James into a quick photo session.  A high school friend has a successful photography business nearby and when I saw the details of her holiday "mini sessions" I knew it would be a great fit for us.

Here are some of my favorites from the session, taken by Creative Cousins Photography:

Mommy-Daughter Holiday Date

What a fun day!  A few weeks back I planned a holiday mommy-daughter date to kick off the season. Rylee and I both love Christmas and I enjoy attending as many holiday activities as possible.

Getting ready to head to Des Moines for our fun day.

We attended our 3rd annual Disney on Ice performance.  I just can't imagine not going to this now.  It's fun for the whole family, no matter your age.  I never think it can get any better than the previous year and I'm always pleasantly surprised.  I really loved several things in the performance this year and even found myself getting teary-eyed with excitement (is that weird?). Rylee had been counting down the days and was overjoyed when she woke up that it was finally here!  She thoroughly enjoyed the show as I expected (except when I wouldn't buy her overpriced plastic toys).

The other event we attended today was conveniently right across the street from the Disney on Ice venue. I was gifted two tickets to the Blank Children's Hospital Festival of Trees.  What an amazing event!  This really put my heart in the right place for the season.  I'm always thinking of ways to give during the holiday and attending this event gave me some new ideas.

If you haven't been, Festival is held at Veterans Memorial and houses lots and lots of beautifully decorated Christmas trees, with proceeds from the event going to Blank Children's Hospital.  We got there right when they opened and had time to walk through all of the trees before it got busy.  Each visitor is given a ballot to vote for their favorite tree.  Rylee picked this one.

And this one got my vote.

Once we finished looking at the trees, we bought a cookie from the bake sale and found seats near the stage to watch the local dancers that were about to perform.  We watched about 15 dances -- young kids are so fun to watch perform!  There was an incredibly adorable young boy dancing and all I could picture was Wyatt -- I made sure to tell James I now have plans to put Wyatt in dance ;)

While we didn't participate, there were so many activities there for the children -- train ride, cookie decorating, gingerbread house making, etc.  Santa was also there for pictures -- Rylee was just "thrilled" about this (she hates Santa...and Cy...and Smokey the bear...and every other costumed creature).  It was a fun, festive event to kick off the holiday and I plan to attend again.  It's a great way to give a little to the children's hospital while enjoying sounds and sights of the season.

Our family Christmas activities this week will be driving around looking at Christmas lights and shopping for our Angel Tree families.  

Have a great week!!

Feeling Thankful

While I could definitely create a super long list of things I'm thankful for, I wanted to share a few that I have been thinking about recently.

1 - I'm incredibly thankful for our new home/property/location/town.  We have lived here almost two months now and not a day goes by that I don't count my blessings and feel like I'm on cloud nine!  I love my house, love the property, and the location.  I can't say a bad thing about our new town and have been impressed over and over again by the friendliness.  From the shop owners, to the fire chief, to the school staff --- everyone has been very welcoming to our family.  I am, as they say here, "Nevada Proud"!

2 - I'm thankful to have a daughter who reminds me not to take life too serious.
"Mom, but I don't even care if my clothes match!"
"Mom, you know it doesn't matter if we spill because we can just clean it up!"
"Mom, why does it matter if the house is clean all the time?"
Also, when she jumps out of bed in the morning so excited because she gets to be the line leader at school that day, or the snack provider, it reminds me that the small things matter!

3 - I'm thankful to have a husband who allows me to stay home with my children.  I'm also very thankful that he plays such an active role as a parent.  He never misses an opportunity to teach the children something new or coach them to be respectful people.  I'm impressed each and every time he takes a minutes to teach...whether its educational, an activity, or just a life lesson.

4 - I'm thankful for reconnections.  In the past few months I have reconnected with two friends from my childhood/high school.  Ironically, they both moved back to the area this year too.  I have enjoyed time spent with each of them.  In addition, I met with my first grade teacher today (who happens to have been my favorite teacher K-12), who I haven't seen since my high school graduation I don't think. Hearing her voice as she read to my children brought me back to my childhood and made me feel very "at home".

5 - I'm thankful for my mother who volunteers to take my kids even when she just saw them the day before and probably has a million other things to do.  The kids will never turn down a chance to go to Grandma's and I'm thankful she creates an environment they love to be in.

There it is....my very short version of things I'm thankful for today.  I'm looking forward to a Facebook feed full of thankfulness tomorrow!!

HAPPY EATING DAY THANKSGIVING!!!  

Christmas shopping done early

It's not unusual for me to start Christmas shopping in the early fall, but this year, I will be 100% done before Thanksgiving....and that, is unsual.  As of right now, I only have 1 thing left to purchase.

I have a four-year-old who has been making her Christmas list since September, so I was pretty certain what I was going to get her and started shopping for her in October.  I'm actually disappointed I have to cut myself off with her gifts...she is so easy to shop for, I want to get her every single thing I see that I know she would love. We are still arguing over which color cowgirl boots she is getting though; hopefully she won't be disappointed in what I pick out.  

Wyatt doesn't grasp Christmas yet (though I was shocked that he knew Santa Claus when he saw him in a picture), so he hasn't asked for a single thing.  I can tell shopping for a boy is always going to be harder for me, but I feel like I purchased some things he will love.  I leave his big gift for Daddy to pick out....but I'm giving him a deadline to have it by so I don't stress (he's a December 23rd shopper).

One thing I did this year that I've never done in the past and didn't think I would ever do, is buy a used gift.  I wanted to get Wyatt a certain farm toy, but was disappointed to find out it was $30 (it's not very big, thus I thought that price was crazy)...I happened to stop in my favorite children's consignment shop to kill time one day, and wouldn't you know...they had it for $4.85!!  It even looked brand new!!  They had another similar toy too, so I got both for less than half the price of the one brand new!  I was pretty excited!!

In addition to the kids and James, I had 10 other people to buy for this year.  Normally I really struggle with most of them, but this year it just came easy, thankfully.

I really wanted to try buying local as much as possible this year.  I definitely didn't get quite as many things from local shops as I would have liked, but I did get about 20% of it.  I did a lot of online shopping though and have been enjoying the daily deliveries at my house :)

I had a few motives for getting my shopping done early this year.

1. Weather.
I really dislike running errands in the cold, so I decided to take advantage of the nice fall weather to get some shopping in.  I hear we may get 5-7 inches of snow this weekend....GAG!!

2. Shipping time.
I know the closer it gets to Christmas, the longer it takes for items to ship.  Knowing I had quite a few things to purchase online, I figured "why wait?!"

3. Enjoy December.
I have heard people say they enjoy the Christmas season better when the shopping stress is out of the way.  I decided to try that out for myself.  So far, I really feel good knowing my shopping is done and I can just relax and have fun.  I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper, but my new favorite local shops in my small town are having great sales that day and I can just go and leisure shop and enjoy the start of the season without long lines and fighting for parking spots :)

I'm also excited for all of the holiday things we will do with the kids --- decorate the tree, look at Christmas lights, festival of trees, wrap presents, decorate cookies, build a gingerbread house, attend Christmas events, MAYBE see Santa (Rylee has already voiced her opinion that we NOT do this...she is not a fan).

Yesterday, Rylee and I listened to Christmas music and made ornaments...we are getting in the spirit already!

This morning I started addressing Christmas cards. If I wasn't hosting Thanksgiving, I might start getting my Christmas decorations out this weekend....if we really get a sizeable amount of snow, I still might :)

Five Events

Bare with me...I have several short stories to share.  I haven't had time to write, so I decided to do a condensed version of them all.  Enjoy!

Date Night In.

James and I are terrible at making time for dates.  It's something I really wish we could change and I'm always hinting that we need date night.  So, a couple Sundays ago, James told me we would be having date night after the kids went to bed.  At first I thought maybe he got a sitter.  Instead it went something like this....

We put the kids to bed about 45 minutes early and then went downstairs where James had the fire going in the fireplace, with two full glasses of wine.  I'm thinking "oh, this is romantic", right?!  I'm still wondering what it is exactly that we are going to do since it's "date" night.  Then, he tells me to go pick out a board game.  Ha!!  LOVED IT!!!  I knew exactly which one to pick.....LIFE!  Rylee and I had played that game earlier that week (sort of...we didn't use money and really she just wanted to drive her pink car around and add "babies" to it), and I remember thinking as we were playing that it would be a fun game to play with James again now that we have kids.We used to play board games all the time until we had a second kiddo.  We have a decent collection of them, but none had been opened in at least 3 years probably.  

It was just as much fun as I thought it would be.  We could laugh at some of the things that happened to us in the game and cringe at others, thankful they weren't real.  One of us might have even said, "whew" every time we passed a "have/adopt a baby" spot ;)  Somehow, we both managed to make it all the way through without kids in our car. 

It was a very fun date night in and proved we can still enjoy each other without electronics :)  James won the game, but by less than $100!  

External Fixator

One of the things I really love about my magazine job is getting to meet new people.  Last week, I was in a woman's home to interview her for a story.  As we finished, we were chatting about our lives and somehow my accident came up.  I don't normally just bring it up, but I felt comfortable enough with the lady and felt compelled to tell her about it.  When I finish, she quietly stands up and says, "I have something to show you....something you can appreciate."  

I follow her to the adjoining room that, although dark, contained a metal sculpture that kept catching my eye as I interviewed her.  She turns on the light and walks me over to the sculpture.  I could make out that it was a woman's body, but that was it.  I ask her what it is I'm looking at and she says, "It's my daughter." She then tells me that her daughter was injured during a hiking expedition and shattered her pelvis, like I did.  She explained that her daughter had to wear an external fixator for a while and the sculpture depicts her breaking free from it.  

"WOW!" I thought,  That's amazing.  We talked about her daughter's injuries, treatments and how she healed -- all similar to my story.  We were both in such awe that we had come into each other's lives and had this strange story in common.  

When I left she said, "I'm so glad to have met another external fixator survivor."  It was a pretty neat meeting -- got more out of it than I had planned on! :)  

Learning to Ride

Last week, Ry and I had an awesome horse back riding experience.  A friend asked if we wanted to go ride at their family friend's horse farm.  I knew that this family gives riding lessons, so I was comfortable going and knew they wouldn't put Rylee in any danger.  

We got there about 15 minutes earlier than my friend and her daughter, but she told me to go ahead and get started without her.  So, I went to the door to let them know we had arrived.  The owner, Anne, said for us to head to the barn and she would be right out.  

Now, I had imagined that Anne would have a small pony picked out for Rylee to ride, have it already saddled up, and that she would hold on to the horse reins and walk the pony around in a few circles, and then we'd be done.  I couldn't have been more wrong!!!  I was absolutely blown away at the entire experience!!

When Anne came out, she picked a full size horse and led it into the barn.  After she hooked the horse, Pete, up in a stall so he couldn't run away, Anne started telling Rylee why Pete needs brushed first and began to show her how to do it.  Then, she handed Rylee the brush and told her to finish brushing Pete while she goes and sweeps the barn.  WHAT?!?!  

My first thought was "wow, she is really going to let Rylee just do this?!?!"  I knew she must have really trusted the horse.  Ry was a little nervous at first, but she got Pete brushed.

After that, Rylee got to help pick out a saddle for her and Pete, as well as a helmet that would fit her little head.  Anne guided Pete into the arena as Ry and I followed.  She then told Rylee how to mount the horse.  I wasn't sure she would be able to do it by herself, and it turned out she did need a little boost. 

Then the instruction started.  Anne told Rylee how to sit and breath while on the horse. I learned that you have to control your breathing while riding so you don't scare the horse. Rylee practiced her breathing and sitting tall.  

She then learned how to make the horse walk, turn, stop, etc.  She was commanding the horse alone (mostly -- she needed to be a little louder and more aggressive) and riding so beautifully.  For the most part, Anne didn't have to hold the reins.  We even played a little game of "Red Light, Green Light", where I called out the colors and Rylee would either start or stop the horse.  I was one proud mama watching her ride so comfortably!!  It was an experience I will never forget!  I'm glad I got some video. 

Conferences

This past week we had Rylee's first school conference.  I'm "that mom" who emails the teacher frequently to ask how she is doing and what we should be working on with her at home, etc.  I just think it's strange to not have her at home and have someone else teaching her, so I always want to know what's going on. So, I thought I pretty much knew what would be discussed and what the teacher would say about her.  

First of all, I had one of those out of body "man I'm getting old" moments as I'm sitting across the table from the teacher, listening to her tell me how my child is doing in SCHOOL!!  

Second, I was both surprised positively and negatively with some of her results.  Some of the things she didn't receive a "Meets and Exceeds" on, I was shocked because she does them at home and/or with others.  The teacher wrote that Rylee doesn't talk much, but when she does she has something valuable to contribute.  This surprised me, because when I take her to library story time, she is always the first to answer every question!  I figured she was probably a "know it all" chatter box at school...but sounds like she is actually very quiet. 

The most surprising thing I learned in that 20 minutes is that Rylee is very ready to read and should have already started.  WHOOPS!!  Parent Fail!  The teacher finished telling us how remarkable her literacy skills are and then, with a hopeful smile on her face, she said to us, "Tell me about her reading at home; she probably reads to you, right?!?!"  Uhhhh......what?!?!

I think James and I looked at each other briefly and then I told the teacher she only reads books that she has memorized, or she looks at the pictures and tells a made up story about them.  I also told her how Ry is asking what certain letters spell or how to write/spell certain words. Her teacher assured us that these are all great signs of readiness and she encouraged us to get her reading sooner rather than later.  So, the very next day I headed to the library and checked out some early reader books and James and I each spent time working with her, separately that day.  I'm sure it's no big deal, but I just felt like I had let her down because I wasn't working with her yet.  We are on the ball now though!  I know she will love being able to read and not having to ask me "what does x-x-x-x- spell?" all the time.

Cousin Time

I didn't grow up with cousins, but I love that my kids have so many...and almost all within a couple years of their ages. Ten of them are age 1-6. We don't see them all often, and there is definitely different relationships between them, but they all get along and play together nicely.

One set of cousins who my kids really enjoy playing with, came and stayed with us this weekend.  It was such a beautiful weekend to be outside.  The kids played HARD the entire time they were here. They got very dirty and mine were in bed by 7:00 tonight!!  They had sleep to catch up on from being up until 10:00 last night....even then, they weren't ready for bed.  Silly kids.  

There was LOTS of running, squealing, wrestling, laughing and general FUN!!!  It made my heart happy to see them enjoying each other so much. It was a great reminder of how important family time is for the little ones.  It has been, and will continue to be, fun watching them grow together.  

Long overdue pampering!

Mamas - you know how you're always saying "I need to go get a relaxing facial", but a year later you realize you never made the appointment.....and then 6 years later you realize you STILL haven't made that appointment?!?!  This happened to me, but I finally made time for a facial last weekend and let me tell you -- it was wonderful and just what I needed!!  Just like every time I leave a pedicure or massage, I thought "why did I wait so long to do this again?!?!?"  

I love massages and pedicures, but there is just something about a facial that makes me feel good inside and out.  It's sort of like getting a new hair cut or color -- it just gets you out of a rut and makes you feel revived!  I love the way my skin looked and felt after my appointment, and it still feels amazing several days/washes later.  

I tried a new spa for my facial, and I highly recommend it!!  It is called Aviva Spa and is located in West Des Moines on 8th street near I-235 (inside Urban Style Salon).  Alicia, the owner, was super sweet and very professional.  As a mother herself, she understood that I was in need of some pampering and helped me feel relaxed.  I loved the small, private environment she is located in.  It was so quiet and personal.  I didn't feel like "just a number" that was being rushed out the door.  She took her time and focused on just me.  

I don't know about you, but for me, not only does the esthetician need to be great, but I also want products that smell good.  At one point during the facial I smelled pumpkin. When I asked, Alicia confirmed that it was definitely pumpkin and told me that the product line she uses is free of many chemicals and uses scents straight from their source (thus the pumpkin--and how perfect for the season!?!).  Turns out, pumpkin has many benefits for your skin (google it). I loved learning that the products were free of parabens and use natural scents! I purchased some of the skin care products to use at home. 

After the facial, I had Alicia do my make-up.  She uses mineral make-up, which I had never tried before, but always wanted to.  Bonus that someone else was doing it for me :)  She did a great job.  I told her that I'm very minimal with my make-up (like, mascara and chapstick only) and she kept it very natural looking. I wish I would have had a date afterwards -- instead I just went to Trader Joe's :)

 I really liked the mineral make-up...can't complain about something that is actually good for your face right?!?! Oh, and it has "built-in" sunscreen, which is awesome for me since I suck at remembering to put it on daily.  

Anyway, I haven't stopped thinking about how nice my skin has felt (like when you get your teeth cleaned and you cant stop touching them ---or maybe that's just me?!?!), nor can I get that wonderful pumpkin scent out of my head!!  I thought I should share my experience with you all, in hopes that my post will be the push you need to make an appointment!!  I highly doubt you would regret making one!  ;)  

If you want an experience more personal than a traditional busy spa and want to make sure the products used on your skin are actually good for you -- give Aviva Spa a call!!  It's a super convenient location -- Starbucks just down the road -- just sayin.  #Momsdayout  

www.avivasalonandspa.com  is the website for more information on their services - they do more than just facials and make-up.  Alicia also has a Facebook page - Aviva Spa.  Check out the make-up line she carries too -- it got me excited, and I don't even wear much make-up! You can try it out there and she can show you how to wear it -- much better than at the Younkers counter where everyone is watching you :)  

Oh, one more thing....if you want to give Alicia a try, let me know and I might be able to hook you up with a free 30 minute facial!!  :)  

Whirley Pop

If you are a popcorn fan and do not have the Whirley Pop, I highly suggest putting it on your Christmas list!

I never used to be a big fan of popcorn.  I actually hated the way it smelled.  I remember my mom and brother eating it all the time when I was growing up and I would leave the room.  That was also partially because I always hated listening to their hands rustle through the popcorn bowl -- I still do-- like at the theater when all you hear is hands in the popcorn-- and crunching....it's like nails on a chalkboard!

I'm not sure when I started liking popcorn.  It may have been several years ago when a friend bought kettle corn at an event and offered me some.  Mmmmm, kettle corn.....yum!!!  It's more like candy really and I loved it and have since been buying $5+ bags of kettle corn at nearly every event I attend!

In the last year or two I started buying microwave popcorn to have at home.  My daughter quickly became a popcorn fan and we would eat it every couple of weeks or so.  As I started paying more attention to what I was eating, I decided I wanted to shy away from microwave popcorn and start making the stove-top kind.  Well, as you probably know, stove-top popcorn takes a little more skill....something I don't really have.  Thus, I hadn't been making popcorn very much.

Fast forward to last week when a friend had leftover popcorn sitting in a super cute bowl on her counter and offered me some.  IT.WAS.THE.BEST.POPCORN.I.HAVE.EVER.EATEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  O.M.G!!!  My mouth is watering thinking about it. It was even a day old!

Then....she told me it was homemade kettlecorn!  WHAT?!?!?!
"Tell me how to make this!!" I demanded.

She says, "Well, do you have the Whirley Pop??  You have to have the Whirley pop."

Now, as a person who keeps trying to get rid of stuff I don't use very often, I decided I wasn't about to go spend $20+ on a kitchen item I probably wouldn't use much.  I mean, surely I can make this fabulous kettlecorn in a regular pan on the stove-top, right?!?!  WRONG!!!  SO wrong!! I tried twice to make it and burnt it both times.  I had one super disappointed little girl both times!

Okay, that's it.  I'm getting the Whirley pop!

Meanwhile, somewhere during this week I mentioned to my dad that I was looking for this item..... Saturday morning he tells me he is getting James and I one for our anniversary....an hour later I get a text that he got it....and a few hours later it is in my hands!!!

The next day Rylee and I gave it a whirl (get it?!?!).  I'm pretty sure she fell in love with it, because she ate nearly the entire bowl herself and loudly exclaimed, "THIS IS THE BEST POPCORN EVER!!!"  I will admit, I didn't love it, because it was full of gross butter that came in a package with the pan. But, it claimed to be "movie theater popcorn" and did taste exactly like that.

Yesterday I finally got to try out that kettle corn recipe, using the correct tool.  It came out perfect and Rylee and I devoured the whole thing in no time!!  I'm in love!!   THANKS DAD!!!!

Picky Eaters -- All My Fault

For the past 2+ years I've let my kids choose what they want to eat.  It was never really a big deal to me to make them something separate, because it never required me to actually cook 2 meals....they just eat stuff I can pull out of the fridge or cupboard.  Most days it's actually easier to feed them hot dogs and string cheese than make a meal anyway.

Somewhere in all of this, they completely stopped eating what I make for supper.  I'm not sure if we just stopped offering it to them, thinking they wouldn't like it anyway, or what??  I think, I was making meals for a little while that didn't seem very kid friendly, so I just automatically gave them something that was.  That, or when James travels I never cook and we just eat random stuff...they may have gotten a little used to that in the whole month James was gone last winter.

Anyway, fast forward to today....if I put MY supper on THEIR plate, they act like it is rat poison and refuse to even let their fork touch it.  If I make tacos....they will eat it....without the meat or veggies...just cheese and a shell.  If I make something with spaghetti sauce, but it isn't spaghetti...uh uh, no way are they going to try it.  And please, don't even ask them to eat ANYTHING with meat in it!  We don't do veggies much in this house (I have it with my breakfast every day, but of course they don't eat what i'm eating for breakfast)...so they definitely aren't getting their veggie nutrition.

One of my kids is so picky --- she only likes her milk with chocolate syrup in it, water only if it has juice in it, macaroni only if it is Kraft and the original shape noodles (I thought pumpkin shape would be fun -- nope, not having it), hot dogs only if they are microwaved (who doesn't like grilled hot dogs?!?!?!). UGH!

Okay, I totally get it -- I created this problem all on my own.  I have no one else to blame.  When they first started eating solids, I made their foods and gave them everything (except meat because I didn't think that would taste very good in puree form).  They were both great eaters for a really long time and loved everything they ate. (hold on, I'm having an "ah-ha" moment.....I'll get back to that..) They even ate what we were having for supper once they could chew.  I have no idea why I ever decided to start giving them "kid foods" like hot dogs, chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, PBJ, etc.  But as soon as I started I must have decided they always needed to eat those foods ----actually, it was probably more like, I realized how easy those foods were to prepare.

So, I've been wanting to get my kids away from all the crap they eat and not only have them eating healthier, but also eating what James and I are having for supper.  We have been trying to get them to try our foods, but neither will.  I know what the answer is and what several friends have recently told me they do......  don't offer them anything else!  (this was my "ah-ha"....when they were first learning to eat, they didn't know other options existed, so of course they always ate what was in front of them...duh!)

Today we were at a friends house and her three children ate grilled chicken, peas and sweet potatoes for lunch.  I was shocked....you'd never catch my kids eating those foods.  She told me that the kids know there is no other food....eat that or go hungry.  I'm SO AFRAID that my kids will actually starve themselves if I only offer them one meal. They both go hungry at school when they don't like the lunch (or snack in Rylee's case as she doesn't have lunch at school).  Which reminds me--- I was looking forward to my kids having to try new foods at school...hoping they would come out of their picky shells.....but instead, they are perfectly happy to not eat.

I have heard of parents making their kids try one bite of every food.  Wyatt just won't open his mouth and Rylee gags so bad I'm afraid she will actually throw up one of these times (my niece did that once when forced to try something).  When we do force her to eat something that we KNOW she will like, she makes a face like she is eating bugs and won't eat anymore --- so stubborn!!!

I've started researching (by that I mean pinterest and google of course) healthier foods that kids actually like and will start trying some out.  My first step was to move all of their snacks up high where they can't reach them and eat all day long (the little rascals always still find a way to get to them).  I've been denying them snack times too, which is tough because I also don't like hearing "I'm hungry" a million times.  Both of my kids like to have a constant flow of beverages too, so I've started saying "no" to some of their requests for drinks.  Seriously, Wyatt would drink milk the entire day with no food and be happy....pretty sure he can down a gallon all by himself in one day.  When the pediatrician told me not to let them have more than 3 servings of dairy in a day, I was like, "Haha, yeah right!!"

I know it won't be an easy feat to get my kiddos eating better, and more importantly, eating what James and I eat, but I'm giving it a shot.  It's annoying to have to bring them their own food everywhere we go because I know they won't eat what someone else made.  I was picky like them and my mom always made me whatever I wanted, so I didn't branch out much.  I don't want my kiddos to miss out on yummy and nutritious foods (Rylee and half her class passed up apple crisp for snack at school -- crazy huh?!?!?!).  I didn't try my first strawberry until I was in my 20's...couldn't believe what I had been missing out on for so many years!!!  I just started eating sweet potatoes a little over a year ago and they are now one of my fav foods!!

Besides wanting the kids to be healthier and less picky, I'm pretty sure my grocery bill will be cut in half when I stop buying so much of the foods they are used to....that in itself is worth the effort!!

If you have any great food ideas for me to have them try, I'm all ears!!  :)

Things they will actually eat that are healthier:
Apples (sometimes with PB)
Applesauce
Berries
Grapes
Cheese
Yogurt
Cottage cheese
....and that's about it. 

Farm Chores

We have been in our new house a little over a week now and are finally feeling settled....at least I am, anyway.  The kids still follow me everywhere I go and have no idea where anything is.  But, they do love their yard and all of the outside play time they are getting in.  James still has a long to-do list, but he got to enjoy some time on his farm this weekend.

We are all enjoying the farm actually.  Everyone has farm chores already.  James of course has a lot....he started with mowing the pasture this weekend. I'm not real sure what the long term plan is for the pasture --- Grandpa A. wants to have goats, but I think hay is more what James has in mind. Hay makes money, goats probably won't (because we would keep them as pets). James also has this strange belief that every kid needs to know how to bale hay.

Speaking of Grandpa A. and mowing....my dad loves a beautifully manicured farm lawn as much as I do and volunteered to mow for us.  He has always enjoyed mowing and is participating in the chores with us. 

Wyatt, as you can see, just helps with everything -- he's a guys guy and likes to ride the big equipment. He had his little lawn mower out while Daddy and Grandpa were mowing. He is also getting good at driving the little power wheels car -- he gets it stuck and then tries to push it :)

Mine and Rylee's chore is to feed the cat every day.  If it were up to me, we would feed her closer to the house.  Heidi (the cat) has been on the farm for several years and apparently prefers to eat in the barn.  We make the trek to the barn and as soon as she hears food hitting her bowl, she comes running.  She is becoming fond of Rylee and lets her pet her while she eats.  Rylee saw that Heidi had a kitty friend with her in the barn today -- she told me they "might be in kitty love" :)

The kids are joining the ranks of other good farm kids by getting as dirty as possible.  Our septic tank was replaced right before we moved in, which left a giant mound of dirt in our yard...I was upset by the mess, but it quickly became the favorite thing to play with outside.  Even the neighbor kids love it....our bathtub had a thick layer of sand/dirt after this particular day of playing outside.

We are all very proud of our new farm and are enjoying sharing it with others.  I even walked around and picked up all the trash that blew around over night last week -- that's something I wouldn't have bothered to do at our last place.  While I loved our last house and our amazing view, this place is much more my style.  Every day I pinch myself at the fact that we actually get to live here and call this place ours.  The property is amazing, with a giant flat yard, fenced in pasture, crop field, timber, red outbuildings.....just couldn't ask for more.  And the house -- while I definitely have updates I'd like to make, it just feels so warm and cozy and "us".  We are in love for sure!