Bike riding redneck style :)

It's been really cold the past few days but the kids have been dying to ride their new Christmas presents. So instead of heading out in the direct cold, I backed out the Durango and let them ride around in the garage for a couple hours (yes hours, they love their bikes!).

And normally I don't think it's redneck to play in the garage, but our garage isn't like most. It's definitely a man zone, filled with oil and grease and other messy, stinky things. Add to that my kids being in mismatched pj's and we're lookin' verrrry classy in these pics :)

Nonetheless, here they are. Jake got a Thomas scooter for Christmas but he insisted on riding his bike like his big sister:

When daddy watches the kids

Let me preface by saying that I am SUPER DUPER grateful for my husband who is willing to drop everything to help me out when I need it most. I don't know what I'd do without him, truly. I love him to pieces.

That being said, let me get onto today's post :)

I went to my OB appt. this morning and without getting too specific, I was told that some "changes" are happening and that I either need to go to L&D to be monitored and put on IV fluids, or I need to go home, lay on my left side, drink tons of water and take it VERY easy. Of course, I opted for the latter. So, my sweet Hubster came home from work and took care of the kids while I rested.

When I woke up, my poor house looked like a bomb went off. It was a DISASTER. Seriously, food particles ground up all over the floors, smeared on the counters, rotting in the bedrooms, nasty dishes piled up in the sink, toys everywhere, the bathroom was filthy (two males, one of which is still learning to aim... you catch my drift), etc, etc, etc...


Mind you, the house was thoroughly cleaned this morning and he was only home with them for a few hours. Annnnd, get this: he said he cleaned up half way though! So it was worse than this at one point. Yuck.

It doesn't look nearly as messy in the pics as it did in person, but rest assured, it was pretty heinous. Be thankful I didn't take pics of the bathroom.

As for the kids, Lauren was still in her jammies (mid afternoon), and Jake was walking around in his undies and a shirt because "that's what he wanted to wear". And for lunch? My husband served them a super nutritious meal of yogurt and a tortilla because you guessed it, "that's what they wanted to eat".

::eyeroll::

Moral of the story: my husband is awesome at caring for the kids, having fun with them and making sure their (very) basic needs are met, but a housekeeper (or chef) he is not :)

Christmas 2010!

Yes, that was the best family picture from Christmas this year. Justin looks completely unimpressed and Lauren looks like a grump-a-lump, but hey, it is what it is :)

Our Christmas this year was alot like last years Christmas (I love me some traditions!) but this year, the kids actually *got* the reasoning behind celebrating. And that was the best part; it wasn't about Santa or the gifts, it was about celebrating "Jesus' birfday"! We tried very hard to be mindful to continue to impress upon the kids the true meaning of Christmas and I think we succeeded. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, talked about the Wise Men and why we give gifts, and focused on the true meaning behind this wonderful day.

That being said, we also feel it's important for the kids to experience the "wonder and magic" of the Christmas season, and so we incorporate Santa into the gift giving. Each kiddo gets three gifts, and this year we gave them a joint gift (a new kitchen we got super cheap during Black Friday) because their old one was falling apart.

Christmas Eve we went to church and then came back to our house for a dinner with family. After dinner, Lauren and Jake opened a present from Nanny,


before setting out Santa's milk and cookies (and carrots for the reindeer):


The next morning, it was clear that Santa had stopped by our home!


Lauren, very much her daddy's daughter, doesn't get excited too easily. Plus, she's not into gifts and toys like most kids are so it's very challenging to get a super excited response from her. So she walked into the living room Christmas morning and nonchalantly said, "I think Santa came". Very typical of Lauren and exactly like her daddy in this respect...

Luckily, Jake has enough enthusiasm for him and her and he got VERY excited when he saw presents! In fact, he dug into his stocking (and then sister joined in):


When the stockings were finished, we opened presents!


Lauren got a Pinkilicious bike and helmet,


a handmade jewelry box with lots of little girl jewelry and dress up stuff,


and a Vtech tag Junior with a few books:


And as for Jake, the minute I'd set a present down in front of him, BAM! There was wrapping paper flying and I couldn't get any decent pics of him :( Most of them turned out like this:



So, sorry for a lack of pics of my boy but he got a Thomas scooter for toddlers,


a couple motorized trains for his train table (new Thomas and Percy because they were both played with to death, a Salty train and a James train):


and a boy "shooter"/truck toy. To be honest, I have no idea what the purpose of this toy is but the Hubster picked it out and Jake LOVES it. It's loud, obnoxious and screams"BOY". Jacob thinks it's the best thing ever, so that's all that matters to me :)


As for the Hubster and myself, we decided to spend very little on Christmas this year because 1) we're doing Dave Ramsey's financial planning and 2) we have a baby coming and babies are expensive!

So the Hubster got a couple things; clothes/shoes, bible tabs (he wanted 'em) and a coupon from Moi saying he could have an entire day to work on the Nova :)


I got some new jammie's and a gift card to Bath and Body Works,


which was great, but both the Hubster and I agree that our favorite gift came from our girl, a homemade picture frame she made in school for us:


Picture complements of Lauren herself.

All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas. I hope that all of your Christmases were wonderful and that you cherish the memories that you made this year :)

Puddle hoppin' at Aunt Sarah's

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed a few mornings ago.... and that's putting it nicely. It was dreary and raining for however-many-days-in-a-row and the kids and I had been cooped up in the house too long. Add in some crazy pregnancy hormones and I was a mess. Pregnancy and my hormone level are NOT friends in the third trimester.

My husband saw the kind of ahem, state I was in and determined that we needed to get out of the house that day. And so, he called my BFF and said to Sarah, "what are you doing today because Shelly and the kids are coming over." Needless to say, I wasn't too happy at him at that point. I planned on staying in my funk and being a miserable mess that day, but he and Sarah had other plans for me. So I sucked it up and MADE myself get an attitude adjustment.

So we got to Sarah's and immediately the kids started splashin' away (yes, it was still raining!)


I was wearing my rain boots, but to be honest, I had no intention of splashing in them because I was still trying to shake my grumpy attitude...


That is, until I saw this dork splashing away in the puddles:

and then of course, I HAD to jump in with my kiddles:
Thankfully, I didn't let my hormones get the best of me. I still enjoyed the morning with my kids, and I'm pretty hopeful they enjoyed the splashin' and playing with their mama :)

After splashin' it up, the kids played for a bit:


before heading inside to get warm. We drank hot chocolate, chatted it up while the girls played dress up, and acted as referees during the brawls over stolen toys.


(And no, Jake isn't trying to cut off "Mac's" airway despite the look on the little man's face :) )

All in all, it was a good day. I'm SO thankful for a husband who recognizes these pregnancy induced mood swings and does whatever he can to help me get through it, and a best friend who not only loves and accepts me for who I am but also for inviting the kids and I over in a split second.

XOXO you two :)