3rd annual Easter picnic

Each year we host a picnic for our Church group. It's always such a fun time and it's a blessing to see all the families together! This year, we had made some cascarones for the kids' school so I thought it would be a good idea to make some for the picnic too. So fun! And nice to have a little helper!

So this was egg hunt #1....that's a LOT of kids!!

Attempting to get a family pic...

and Easter baskets....and egg hunt # 2...

And the final (futile) attempt at a family pic - following lovely Easter lunch at mom and John's...

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Feb 5, 2011, Compass Church hosted a Daddy Daughter Dance. And of course we signed up for that!! But in all the excitement there was also some apprehension. It was one of the few times the kids have been separated ever and we just weren't quite sure how they'd each handle it. We attended Church together but then went our separate ways.

I had a big night planned for Price. Despite the still-cold weather, we headed over to Grapevine Mills mall and checked out the Rainforest Cafe. He thought it was SO cool! His reaction when the gorillas started their little show was just priceless - surprise, excitement, awe...it was so cute!!

And Charis looked like a little princess and Daddy like her Knight. They were so precious. She loved the night of being dressed up so pretty and getting to spend special time with Daddy. She cried in the care on the way though, saying she

missed her brother. She did have the benefit of most of our friends (who all have girls) being there with her too. All in all it was a great night and the special time with just 1 parent seemed to overshadow any anxiety from being separated!

January 2011

January tends to be sort of an off-month for me...not back in school for most of it but finished with the holidays. I love January, really! I had some fun days home with the kids, we took them to the Stock Show for the first time. Price loves animals so much (maybe he will be a vet?!) that he enjoyed it the most I think. But they all thought it was cool seeing all the animals!

We also celebrated our 17 year high school reunion with an informal gathering with some closer classmates. Not as big an event as last year, but lots of fun!

It was a really cold January, and even closed out the month with some snow, that continued into February, causing us to miss 3 or 4 days of school. Daddy is so fun and goes to play outside in the snow and of course the kids LOVE that!! Mommy waits inside and gets the hot chocolate all ready. We actually lost power during one of the cold snaps and were out for 8-10 hours. We all huddled in bed together until the kids could no longer tolerate that then we had to pack up and head to the Andrews' for the day, as we'd used all of our firewood the day before. We were fortunate to have somewhere to go but even more fortunate that we don't have to suffer through the elements of the weather on a daily basis.

Ringing in the new year

Undoubtedly I was exhausted after a fun New Year's Eve! Poor Chris had to work again, but I took the kids to Church and we finally got to have our anniversary steak dinner (at home). This day, though, the kids decided they wanted to go to the beach....now. "We will go get our swimming suits on Mommy, then we can go to the beach!" So I did have to explain that it wasn't quite that easy to get to the beach that actually it took some planning, but I promised them we'd go this summer. And so the seed was planted and the planning began! This, of course, is a picture of them playing "go to the beach" - I do love the way they can be satisfied with a promise and some pretend at this age!

Closing out 2010

December 29 (also our 9th anniversary) I took the kids to their first ever movie at the movie theater, Yogi Bear. We went with Rilee and Miss Amy and it was so fun!! I like this picture because Charis and Rilee sometimes looove each other (like here) and sometimes...well, they don't! These are two strong-willed little girls whose wills do not always align. It really is so cute to see their personalities coming out - and Amy and I do our best to hide our giggles. Poor Chris was actually sick as well as working this entire week so we did not really have any anniversary celebration. Hopefully our 10 year celebration next year will hold a little more excitement!

December 30, a group of us brought our kiddos to the zoo. I guess that's a benefit

of living in Texas, that it is warm enough to go to the zoo in the winter (but too hot to go in the summer). Oh well - the kids always love the zoo!!

And we closed out the year with a grown-up party. We had friends over, which has been our tradition each of the past several years. It was a fun time, as always. It's a good time to remember how blessed we are to have our close circle of friends.

Christmas 2010

I love Christmas! It's definitely my favorite holiday. I always have the sense of "over abundance" with all the things that we do during this time, not the least of which seems to be an obscene amount of gifts. But we really tried to spend some time focusing on the right things during this time as well, including a birthday party for Jesus, which the kids really seemed to understand and enjoy. As always, this year was filled with the hustle and bustle of shopping and parties with family and friends. Phelps (the Elf on the Shelf, a gift from the Cheathams) made a reappearance this year. He would bring daily surprises and land in a different spot each day. The daily surprises at some point became an expectation, making me wonder why I ever starting doing that to begin with, but maybe next year with some maturity, they will be a little less demanding. It was also the first Christmas in the remodled house, so it was a challenge learning how to decorate in my new space! The kids big presents from Santa this year were a life-like white puppy for Charis and a big orange talking dinosaur for Price. Additionally the Charis got a pee/poop baby and Price got a cool train set. They got lots of other fun toys, puzzles, pjs etc. We are certainly most blessed with all those "things" but remembering the blessing of the birth of Christ is what truly makes this time so special.

A great accomplishment for Daddy

In the summer of 2008 Chris started a graduate program at UTA. He decided to pursue his Masters in Professional Accounting, a 42 hour program that would make him CPA exam eligible. This was a pretty big undertaking since he maintained his full-time job and Daddy duties. He thinks it helped that he was "shacking up" with the advisor of the program :-). At one point it even looked like he might have to take my class, but circumstances changed and we never had to face that (even though I thought it would have been kind of neat)! Well, he finished the program in December 2010 with a 3.8 GPA and is now CPA exam eligible - because as everyone knows, one CPA in the house is clearly not enough. I am so proud of him though - he did a great job and it's a great accomplishment!

school Christmas program

The kids had their 2nd school program at Christmastime. The first program the kids, especially Charis, cried the whole time and did not really participate. A mere 6 months later they were such big kids! I could hardly believe it and was so proud!!

Thanksgiving 2010

We decided to make the trek out to Abilene this Thanksgiving. My Grandma, who is in assisted living these days, suffers from Alzheimer's and it seems to worsen slightly each time we see her. I know these visits are so important, and I do think the kids will remember her. She is such a dear, sweet grandma, and I know I am so fortunate to have her still alive! She is my only living grandparent and each visit with her is very special.

Also, this Fall, my Aunt Charlsa was

diagnosedwith breast cancer. She underwent a double mastectomy, which, Praise God, left her cancer-free. But I was wanting to spend some extra time with her too.

The menu was extra-fabulous this year! Michele hosted and dinner consisted of turkey (of

course), fingerling potatoes and sweet potato casserole (w/pecans on top), bacon wrapped green beans (my first try on those), dressing, pies, and more. As always we were stuffed to the brim!

After lunch, Michele, Aunt Charlsa and I all

worked on a craft where you take a 6x6 inch tile, glue on a picture and some scrapbook paper, modge-podge over it then add a bow or some cute decoration.

We actually only stayed one night so it was quite a quick trip, but well-worth it and a blessing to spend that time with extended family.

Pajama day at school

November 11, 2010 was pajama day at school. The kids love these special dress up days (especially because every other day they have to wear a "uniform" T-shirt with choice of jeans, khakis, or navy pants, shorts or skirt). They got to pick out their own outfits, and Price's came complete with bed head!

Our 3rd grown-up trip to Austin!

Going back for my 2nd annual Educators Conference in Austin (11/6/2010), we decided to make it into another mommy and daddy getaway! I drove down to Austin on Thursday and the conference started Friday. Chris flew in Friday night and stayed at the conference hotel with me. We got to enjoy a low-key night out, complete with romantic steak dinner! Then on Saturday, the conference wrapped up around noon and we headed back to Mecca Spa for an afternoon of relaxation! We enjoyed a sushi dinner that night and drinks and music at Maggie Mae's on 6th Street. Heading home Sunday we felt so excited to get home and see the kids (this was the first time to have 2 nights away, with us both gone). It was a good weekend away, but always good to be home!!

Some of the funny things we do...

Charis and Price are best of friends, virtually inseparable. I am so lucky. We have hit the stage (for quite some time now) that most of the time it is easier having twins than having just one. I mean, there is a built-in playmate.

Some of the games they play though are so funny. One is "boys and girls". In this game, they get out ALL of their "Little People". They have tons of them and just play pretend going to school, or going to gymnastics or mommy/daddy/babies. Sometimes (and I guess I need to take a pic of this) we will come downstairs and all of the Little People will be in one big line. It's almost a little strange! Thankfully they were not doling out pretend kool-aid to the people...

They are really big on lining things up though. In this pic, they have gotten all of their books out and put them in this pattern.

Another more recent game is doing pretend cooking, wherein any small toy can act as an ingredient. So they will gather all their ingredients and put them in a bowl, mix, and then serve up something yummy. This, by far, is the messiest of all the games, and hence my least favorite!

They, of course, love reading, drawing, coloring, painting, cooking/baking, riding bikes (or anything outside). They are still in to Dora and now Diego too. They love Scooby Doo. Charis regularly pretends to be a dog or cat. And Price loves to play catch (especially with a balloon) or shoot baskets in his little all-purpose sports center.

Swim lessons at Lifetime Fitness

We finally bit the bullet and joined Lifetime Fitness back in the summer. While I am fairly certain that the amount we pay is not even close to justified by the number of times we go, when we do go it's fun, and there are a lot of amenities there. One of these amenities is the indoor pool, which we took advantage of for some swim lessons. The kids seemed to enjoy it once they got comfortable with Mr. Brady and I think they showed some improvement over the month.

I want to document a conversation about Mr. Brady from one day when we were on our way to the gym:

Price: I wonder where Mr. Brady lives

Charis: I think he lives at Lifetime

me: I am pretty sure he does not live at Lifetime; he just works there

Price: Maybe he lives in the sky

me: hmmm...maybe so buddy.

Another conversation on the way to the gym:

Price: Mommy, I don't want to go to Lifetime today.

me: why, buddy? It will be fun!

Price: no, Mommy, I don't want to go. I just want you to get fat. I really, really just want you to get fat.

Note to self here, do not use the word "fat" in front of three year olds. I am better now about saying that I go to the gym to be healthy or to get stronger. Three year olds will use the word "fat" when you do not want them to though.

Halloween 2010

We had a very eventful Halloween this year. The kids got to wear their costumes 4 different times! We had Spiderman and "Spidergirl". Spidergirl was made up because of the costume Ifound for her at my MCMOM's garage sale. She loved the outfit and since Price was Spiderman, the idea was born.

The first Halloween celebration was my work chili cook-off. This is always a fun event. I mean what could be more fun that chili and halloween costumes? The kids "won" their age bracket coloring contest and got to take home the Shrek memory game. This was a hit! I had two tired babies after that outing!

Next the kids got to wear their costumes to school. This was extra cute because Jax was Spiderman too! So I got to take 2 Spidermen and 1 Spidergirl to school that day. All three kids thought this was very neat too!

The next event was the Church celebration. This was a ton of fun. Complete with pony rides, small petting zoo, puppet show, bounce houses and good friends!! When this was over we headed home for their FIRST ever TRICK-OR-TREATING! We got a relatively late start and only went to about 3 houses, but this was very exciting for them. It was sooo cute! They did really good and spoke up and said "Trick-or-Treat" and more importantly, "Thank you!" They were beyond excited to get a bag-full of candy!

The final fun event was a carnival at the park with the Athans. We had been scheduled to go to a grown-up Halloween party that night, wherein we'd have been a part of a group of 6 dressed as the Village People. Unfortunately I came down with a flu-like illness. It was short-lived but no fun! So Chris took the kids to the carnival, and that was much more fun for them anyway!

Snow White! (mid-October, 2010)

The kids are very into all of the Disney books. Their books are actually my books from when I was little. I took better care of my books than they do... Anyway, so needless to say we were very excited when Snow White came to the Artisan. We made a day of it going to the show with Miss Nicole and Adley then to Central Market for a fun lunch! After the show the kids are allowed to go down on stage anddance with the characters. It is an all-kid cast and is very neat for the kids! I definitely recommend going to see shows at the Artisan!

Paraquito Azul

Dear Paraquito Azul, welcome back to our home. Each child in the kids' school gets a turn with Paraquito Azul. Our turn came early this year (early November I think). When in possession of PA, you are to well-document every outing and then do a write-up in this little journal they send home. So here's our pictorial documentation. A day at Nonnie and John's, time at Lifetime Fitness and at gymnastics. And then the trip to the zoo. Apparently the real live version of the blue Macaw became quite agitated seeing PA. And we also found a bin of PA's for sale at the zoo! I tried to do a bang-up job of documentation on this deal. And sure enough back PA came a couple weeks ago (January)...this time I don't even think I got a pic.

These boots are made for walkin'

So I invested in a pretty nice pair of boots for Price. I'd had my eye on these boots for well over a month and decided to bite the bullet. They are just the cutest things ever, right?

Since I am actually doing this post some 5 months later, I now know that it may not be prudent to spend too much on kids' shoes. He virtually refuses to wear them unless everyone else in the family is wearing boots also. I mean I can coerce him occasionally, but it's a bit of a struggle. They're still super-cute though :-)

A food post

In early Fall, my blender broke. My sweet children had helped me make homemade salsa - they are regular helpers in the kitchen. Little Price wanted to eat some and pulled that blender, full of salsa, right onto the floor. It was not my best parenting moment. I was frustrated both by the broken blender as well as the quart of salsa all over the floor and was concerned about glass in the feet. So I totally yelled at them to get out of the immediate area and it hurt their feelings. And that makes me sad. Above is a pic of them helping before "the incident".

So without a blender, I had to resort to homemade pico de gallo. This was actually quite fun and super tasty!! I read somewhere that pico should be equal parts red, white and green, just like the Mexican flag. So naturally Chris appreciates this as a fine representation of his heritage (ha) and it was a hit! I found it to be a bit more work than salsa in the blender though...

My 35th birthday (August 2010)

Well I seem to have fallen way behind here as my goal is one post per month. Here it is January and I am going to give it a shot to get caught up on this past Fall. My birthday was kind of a bummer. My sweet husband had made big plans for us. He had made arrangements for a weekend getaway to Austin - hotel and spa packages booked, childcare lined up, the whole deal. But sadly, we got a call the Thursday before we were to leave that Chris' Uncle Ricky had passed away. Ricky was very young (40's) and this was a total shock. Naturally Chris went to Illinois to spend time with his family. Sometimes we just never can anticipate the twists life will take. Here's a fairly recent pic of Uncle Rick with his 21 year old daughter, Carly. And on the right is a pic of Chris with Rick's son, Ryan and a cousin, Little Henry.

I ended up having a nice dinner at my mom's with my sweet kiddos. Then my sweet friend Amy just did not think I could stay home alone and do nothing on my birthday so she took me out to Gloria's for a fun evening! Thanks, Amy, it would have been even more a bummer to be home alone for that one :-)