A Pictorial of Christmas 2010

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

And the gingerbread house was made by Papa, according to the exact specifications of Morgan!

While Mikayla watched her Veggie Tales movie...

 and took ornaments off the tree...

 and ran in terror from the attack of the killer Cavalier King Charles!

After the kids fell asleep, Santa came, hungry for some of Morgan's cookies...he may have even broken into the fridge for some extra cookies since he brought 4 helpers with him this year.

Santa and his helpers did a bang up job with all the gifts this year...if I do say so myself. 

 

 The next morning Morgan was thrilled with every single gift!  Santa really got it right...even though he did a lot of last minute shopping...er...crafting in his workshop?

 

 As you can see, clearly, she had a great Christmas!

 

Excited about our pretty dress. 

 My pretty girl posing in front of the tree. 

Mimi and her girls. 

She broke into her sister's present...and ate it. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

 

Cheers to New Years!

Resolution time, anyone? Well, I'm gunna try a little somethin' different this year and go for something other than weight loss...maybe then the skinny-ness will follow? Here we go with some resolutions, no, more like goals, for my family for 2011.

1. Try to be healthier. This means eating well, taking vitamins and exercising.  This also means making doctor, eye doctor and dentist appointments for the hub and I just as often as we do the kids. We often get looked over for those kinds of things, and we need to take better care of ourselves than we do. Both parents need to be in full fighting force to keep up with these little ones!
2. Take the kids to the park more. I get really nervous at the park, always thinking that I'm going to lose track of one of the kids and that something awful will happen. I have to just be more confident that I am going to keep a good enough eye on them both and let them run free. They always have a good time at the park whenever we're there. Hopefully that'll be fun for them as well as a nice break from the house for me.
3. Do the girls' hair more often. A cute outfit is great, but having cute hair just completes the look!
4. Get organized!!! My life is a mess...the entire thing, not just one part. I want to go back to keeping a planner in my purse at all time so I can avoid missing appointments and forgetting playdates. Most importantly, I need to figure out a better organization system for this house! So much stuff, so little storage space.
5. Get some furniture...okay, so yeah, not a resolution, but like I said, I'm going more for goals here! If you have not been to our house since we first got married, you aren't missing anything because the furniture is the same, only we have quadruple the space. It is kinda ridiculous that we have people over and then they have to sit on the floor b/c we  have one couch in one room, and a love seat and a recliner in the other. Maybe by next new years eve we can host a party...with plenty of seating....maybe just seating for the 4 of us in one room to start.
6. Be more giving. I pride myself in being the person always willing to help others, and lately, for one reason or another, I feel like I've been less and less so. Next year, I plan to be a revamped version my my former self and be the friend to others that I would want them to be for me. Also under this topic, volunteer work. I know I'll be crazy busy with school and the kids, but I always enjoyed giving back to the community, and I'd like to pick that back up. On top of helping others, it helped me to feel better about myself. Like I was doing something important and worthwhile.
7. Get some God. I would like to make a habit out of going to church with the girls, at least Morgan for now as Mikayla is not so great with daycare situations. I also need to get Mikayla baptised as I've been putting it off for a while now with the excuse of not being able to afford a party to celebrate the day. So we'll either set asside the money for a party or get a costco cake and some water and call it a day. The meaning of the day is the same either way, and that is the most important thing.
8. Work on the reading. Morgan is actually getting a lot of sight words and starting to sound out others, and I really need to make more of an effort to help her along with it. Even though she gets frustrated, I need to just do one book and hour with her to work on it because I really think she could be pretty good at reading by the time we start Kindergarten if we do. Who knows, maybe Mikayla will pick up a few new words in the process!

Hopefully I can check back at the end of 2011 and see that I have completed, or at least taken great strides towards all these things!  Here is to a new year, and a new me! And to all of you reading this terribly boring rant of a blog, from our family to yours, please have a very happy and SAFE new year! 

The words I love..

Morgan has some adorable words that just melt my heart everytime she says them. I hope I never forget them, but just in case, I'll look back at this reminder of how adorable my 4 year old is:
Hopcorn (popcorn) ~  Puhkaywuh (Mikayla) ~ Woovie (movie)  ~ Bideo (Video) Game ~ DisneyWand  ~ Baywee (Bailey:  my parent's dog) ~ He-eew (Hill) ~ Cah-wedge (college) ~ hopsicle (lollypop) ~ wristle (dog collar) ~ Shayshen (Madison...name stuck from when Morgan was little) ~ Choc-o-wit
She calls hamburgers "burger cheeses," refers to pre-school often as "pretty school," and she describes our drive to Mimi's house as "over the he-eww, down the paft (path) and to Mimi's house!"
She also says "grape" in reference to her head, thanks to her Daddy! The new phrase I hear often is "Daddy hit me on the grape" while they are playing boxing on Wii sports.(He used to have to let her win, but now she kicks all of our butts!)

My Monk, looking adorable in the Mermaid costume she got for Christmas from Aunt Bev.

While we're talking about cute words, I may as well talk about my other baby girl, too. Mikayla is starting to enter the phase of "mine" and "no," but she also likes to say "oh no" and "I dunno," which is so cute. She also is obsessed with shoes and will carry her shoes around the house for hours at a time saying "shoes" and trying to put them on her feet....even though she is usually in footed pajamas. She also says water and carries around a water bottle while pretending to drink from it then saying "ahhhhh." PS, where do they get the word mine? I haven't used that word since Morgan was born as everything I have is always shared with them and yet, it always comes up as a favorite word to say. Who is this magic fairy who comes along and plants this word in their head? I sure do wish that fairy would be replaced with the "please and thank you" fairy, or something along those lines.

I know I'll think of more later, and I'll share them with you then, but for now, these are just a few memories of my babies and how adora

Publish Post

ble they are.

In my kitchen this morning...

The butter monster!!!

Apparently this is what happens when I wait til the toast is cold to butter it.

The picture that saved a lens

I was testing out my new lens and was getting frustrated and began to think that maybe I should return it and save up for something else. Then I got this beauty:

Yep, It's a keeper. Now if I could only figure out what it was that I did to get this shot, I'd be golden.

Deserted Disneyland

Everyone knows that Disneyland is the "Happiest Place on Earth," especially at Christmastime. However, it is also the busiest place on earth at that time as well. Well, this year, the girls and I headed down to Irvine ahead of Michael so that we could enjoy the holiday decorations without his huffing and puffing over the insane crowds. Being honest, the crowds drive me insane as well and I occasionally will forget myself and start loosing my marbles when my foot starts going numb after having been stomped on and rolled over by strollers and wheelchairs far too many times to count. But, to me, Disneyland at Christmas is worth all the craziness. It is the prettiest place at Christmas with all the ornaments hung on the garland that garnishes the castle, and the amazing overlay they place on Small World...oh, divine. There is something so magical about the fireworks, the castle lighting up, and of course the snow (bubbles) that when combined with the whimsical music, gives me the warmest feeling full of memories that come flooding back of all the other trips to Disneyland in the past. I'm telling you, Disneyland makes me smile like no other, but it makes my kids beam with excitement every time we go. And THAT right there is priceless.

Southern California, the week of Christmas, was flooding and mudsliding and just a mess with all the rain they were getting. I knew that Disneyland would be completely empty during the rain, so I waited until the 22nd, the day the weather channel said it was supposed to rain most of the day.  The rain dried up that afternoon, although it still looked a little ominous. Despite my mom telling me I was crazy, I bundled up the children in their warm red coats, grabbed my sister, Madison (aka Mommy's helper for the evening) and headed out to see the mouse! The parking structure: empty! Small World: 5 minute wait! Christmas Fantasy Parade: prime viewing without having to camp out for hours ahead of time to hold a decent spot.... throw in being serenaded by the birds at the Tiki Room, a few rounds on our favorite King Arthur's Carousel, a flight with a magic feather on Dumbo, shopping for a new Disney ornament for my tree, all topped off with a yummy mint chocolate cupcake with a green Mickey on top, to share....this trip was amazing!!! We stayed for about 4 hours just walking around looking at things and taking in the view that was incredibly void of people! Here are a few shots from our trip to remember...since it will probably never happen again!!!

Maddie and Morgan paying homage to the "California" letters in front of California Adventure since they will soon be gone.

Mikayla, in awe of all the music and lights on Small World.

My sister and Morgan ooing and awing. 

Morgan, all smiles on her favorite ride...the one you can find everywhere

Mikayla, having more fun than it looks. "Woah, woah, woah!"

Driving with Children....alone...for 6 hours

"You might think I'm foolish
Or maybe it's untrue
You might think I'm crazy...."

Yeah, well I am crazy!

I have done this little 361 mile trip down to my parent's house on my own with the kiddos twice now. The first time, for my friend's bridal shower in Palm Desert, it involved throwing an entire bag of pretzels into the back of the car. This trip, went pretty well. Morgan asked her usual "are we there yet" question a gazillion times, but that is to be expected and is easily drowned out by the sound of Mikayla's screaming right before we hit our usual stop at Laval Road, about 3 hours in. A lot of people ask if I stop when the baby starts crying. Answer: nope, not on your life. Stopping before our usual lunch locale really isn't practical or beneficial in any way, to anyone. Michael and I have learned the hard way that when you take Mikayla out of the car, she is still upset since she knows she is heading right back into that carseat in a second or two....which in turn makes the screaming worse. And LORD knows we don't want that! So, I crank up the Foo Fighters to drown out the "are we there yet" songs from Morgan and the hysterical tearless screams from the baby until we see those tractor trailers disappear into their own lane as they prepare to head up through the grapevine.What a welcome sight it is....and it has nothing to do with the fact that we have arrived at Lebec's very own, In-n-Out!!! Silent, happy, full, and sleepy children, yep, that's what a hamburger's all about!!!

Last minute shopping...not so bad!

Okay, so I know what you're thinking: "weekend before Christmas shopping, are you INSANE!!!" In my defense, yes, yes I am. But it actually isn't that bad. Let me tell you first that I come directly descended from my mom who is the person with the organized gift closet full of Christmas and birthday gifts months in advance. She is amazing...and I try to be as organized as she is...sometimes...well I'm not organized, but I'm working on it. Anyway, at the very least, I did pick up from her that you should start shopping early so that you don't have an expensive mound of shopping to do right before the holiday. Most of the time, that is what I do, I plan early. This year, I had everyone's shopping done and gifts planned for early...everyone except for my kids that is. Morgan could not tell me anything she wanted for Christmas with the exception of a small yellow puppy. A stuffed one. A two dollar puppy. Now I love shopping thrifty as much as the next person but spending $2 on your child for Christmas when you bought $25 gift cards for the other kids in the family is pretty awful. This morning, Morgan changed her tune and started telling me she wanted video games (strange since we have none and to my knowledge she doesn't play them anywhere) and a barbie castle.

So about 6 days before Christmas I ventured out with Mikayla to brave the last minute crowds to get some gifts for my girls. To say it was crowded would be the understatement of the year. I have to say that the insane crowds actually proved to be a benefit to me. As I mentioned earlier, organization does not come easy to me. The wall to wall people all over the stores forced me to be very strategic about my shopping. Go in, head for the toys I had in mind, don't over-think price comparisons/colors/different styles, nothing. See what I want, grab it and go. The end. No sitting in the aisles like I usually do trying to figure out if it would be cheaper on Amazon once I paid sales taxes on it or if Morgan would prefer the pink or blue swimsuit on her barbie. The zoo that was the store really helped me to stay organized with my shopping list and keep on track. Mikayla even seemed to join me by grabbing one toy off the shelves and hugging it for the rest of the trip. Guess what Santa got her? I was out of that store (which happened to be Target) in less than a half hour. That NEVER happens.

So bottom line is that although the prices may not be as good as they were back in August, I probably wound up spending a ton less by not browsing the aisles like I usually do. I may save the bulk of my shopping until the last minute next year, too.

Morgan's Preschool Christmas Program

Well, my baby had her first (and last) preschool Christmas program a week ago. She was so great! She sang her little heart out and was quite the performer. I have been looking forward to this day since she was born...it came and went too fast, with a couple tears from Mommy, and with far too few pictures! I do have a good video that the hubby took though...and if I ever figure out how to post it, pay no attention to the screaming banshee in the background, that's just my love #2 expressing her anger at having to sit in one spot. Anyway, here are the few pictures I have of the event.

Getting ready to go sing!

Saying something about sleeping, I'm sure.

Discovering herself on the big screen behind them.

YOU!

The Santa Line...

Okay so I apologize now, I have been super behind in my blogging, but I have been crazy busy! Don't be shocked when you see pictures and blogs of things you know happened weeks ago! We'll start playing catch up with our trip to see Santa.

Miss Morgan had been wanting to see Santa for months!  I kid you not, MONTHS!!! She has never really been to keen on that strange bearded man in red, so I was really happy to see her all excited about him. We had been promising her that we'd go pay him a visit, and one Sunday she was begging me, with all the politeness you can ask for out of a 4 year old, to go and see him. So off to Bass Pro Shops we went, on a Sunday, at 3pm, to get our very widely advertised free picture with Santa. Maybe you already see where I'm going with this. It was absolute madness!  Parking took a while as there was some kind of test drive event right in front of the store....REALLY?!?! Taking up like 20 prime parking spots for that? Dumb. Then we got inside and located the large group of people in the back corner of the store. As I approached the man to get our "Bass Pass" which would allow us to get in line at a certain time to see Santa, I noticed the ones he was handing out said 6:30pm. Great...it was 3. So when I finally got up to him he had run out of passes and attempted to tell me that there was no way were were going to see Santa that day. To quote Cher from Clueless, "As if!!!" I was not about to tell my daughter that we were not going to see Santa. Know why? Not just because she wanted to see him and was on the verge of tears at hearing this news, but because there was no line for Santa. They were calling Bass passes for 4:30 at this point. Everyone they had handed passes to for these later hours had left thinking that they would actually have to return at the time they were quoted on their pass. SHOCK, right? So I told the man that I was going to wait, and when ALL the people with the Bass passes up to the 6:30 time slot failed to show up when called by 3:45, I'd be waiting to see Mr. Claus. Not only did I think this way, but so did a line of over 100 families that stretched around the store. The manager then came over and told this guy that he was ridiculous for thinking that the Bass Pass people would actually show up 3 hours early when they were specifically told  "go see a movie, have dinner...it'll be a while."
The very intelligent lady then started integrating us in with the trickling line of bass passers so that we could all have a turn on Santa's lap. He was a very unhappy, yellow bearded Santa, but to Morgan, he was Santa and she was so happy to see him. I'm glad I had a "I am woman, hear me roar" moment on this particular day.

Oh, and note that I was expecting a crying 1 year old picture of Mikayla with the big man and his belly full of jelly, but she actually reached for him and was quite content sitting on his lap. I was shocked, and a little upset because I was hoping for at least one traumatized child picture of her with Santa. Last year she didn't even make it to Santa's lap and I had to get in the picture with her. Sigh, maybe next year we'll see the waterworks! At least I got two cute pictures of my kids and the gift giver himself.

My monk, waiting in my line full of protesters.

My big girl and Santa.

Mikayla, not crying, Kinda bummed.

My Baby Has Arrived!!!

I have been waiting for the day that I would get a "fancy camera" for years now, and I've gotten a lot more impatient this past year or so. Finally my husband gave in and said "if I wanted something as much as you want this camera, I would have bought it a long time ago." And just like that, my DSLR wish was granted!!! I did so much research my head was spinning! You have no idea how hard it is to research something with all these strange words and numbers that you do not know the meaning of!  After reading through pages and pages of reviews, I came to the conclusion that the best camera for me was the Nikon D90. I am quite sure I'd feel the same about any other DSLR, but I could not be happier about my camera! I'm going to need some time to figure this darn thing out, but when I do, I hope to take some amazing pictures of my family that will grace walls and photo albums for lifetimes to come! Here is a tour of some of my trials with this camera so far...

My very first picture! I even tried the manual focus. Not that I understand anything more advanced than (turn the dial until the picture looks clear.) 

 

 

 

The shot I've been waiting for all fall of Morgan in her red coat in our yard with all the leaves...pay no attention to the pool at the top of the pictures...it isn't really there, your mind is playing tricks on you. Stop looking at it!

 

Not really a good quality picture, but I like that it kinda summed up our day over here: Michael beaming with excitement as he sawed down the hideous forest in our backyard. Oh, and Michael is smiling, which is rare, so it had to be documented!

 

 

 

 

 

I love this one of my husband. Again, it is a rare opportunity that he allows me to photograph him, so I took full advantage. 

Eventually I'll have some photos that are all fancy...now that I have a fancy camera and all! Teehee! Right now, I'm just super excited that I have this camera that blurs the background...notice the blur in a couple of the pictures! I'm telling you, that is all I have wanted for YEARS!!! Now to get Mikayla to like the new camera so I can get some pictures of her up here, too!

OH! And I didn't tell you the most exciting part! My friend Teri, knowing that I have the uncomfortable strap that comes in the box, MADE me a strap cover for my secret santa gift!  It is my new favorite thing about this camera as it is so unique. I seriously feel like some kind of fancy photographer now...only if I could take those fancy shots to go with the feeling! Oh well, I'll get there!

Oh, Christmas Tree

     Every year, we wait until the last minute to get our tree. Not intentionally, it just happens to be that when I am ready to go get the tree, Michael is working late or the kids are sick, etc. This year, Morgan has been absolutely dying to get a tree and decorate it since before Thanksgiving, and there was no way we could make her wait too long. Last Monday,  we saw a non-sick, non-working late day, and we seized it!  We went to Home Depot, as I fondly remember doing as a child. Honestly, as nice as going out to the forest and chopping down my own tree sounds, it is so much easier this way. We had no big plans this year, just get in, spend about 30-40 bucks on a tree and move out. However when we got there and started looking around, we noticed this couple was looking at trees in the back with a lady who looked awfully suspicious. Like at any moment she was going to say "Pssst, hey you. Yeah you, over here. Look at these nice trees I got for sale," in a street watch salesman sort of way. Sure enough when we got close she said "ya lookin' for a big tree? I got ten footers over here for the price of a sixer." So we grabbed our $29.99 ten foot tree and ran for the car before they could change their minds. It is the most beautiful tree we've had and it is huge which makes it perfect for our house and it's dumb vaulted ceiling that makes any decent sized tree look like a dollhouse prop.

     Decorating it was a blast with the babies. (Okay, so we put one to bed and took pictures of her with it the next morning. Did you really expect us to break out the fancy ornaments around Mikayla? Uh, no.) Morgan had a great time helping to hang all the ornaments in the middle of the tree and we even let her help put the fancy ones up on top. She was just so meticulous about where each one was placed in the tree and which side faced out. So sweet. We wanted her to put the angel on top, but there was just no way with this tree, so instead, she directed Daddy so he could put it up there perfectly.

     The next morning, Mikayla woke up and was in absolute awe of the tree. She stood there and stared at it for a few minutes, realizing that it was in the place where her ball pit had previously been. Then, without warning, she dove right under it...I'm pretty sure she was looking for her toy under there because she backed out and dove back in a couple times after that. No major disasters with her pulling over the tree or breaking ornaments yet. We did place some plush and plastic ornaments at the bottom of the tree just for her to play with, and so far, those are keeping her occupied and away from the breakables.

     We had a great time decorating the rest of the house, too, but the tree was the crowning glory this year and really took the cake.

Family Pictures!!!

     Well, family pictures are always rough for me because I never want to take them. I always think, yeah, when I loose a few pounds we'll get them done. Let me tell you that I have lost and gained those "few pounds" more than a a few times and I still never end up getting the pictures done. I decided that I didn't care anymore and that I wanted a picture on the wall of my family and I. I can't tell you how happy I am that we did. I don't look amazing, but it isn't about that, it is about having a memory of my family and how it looks in December 2010. Maybe next year I'll be a skinny supermodel, and I'll happily take another picture then, but for now, this is what it is, and I'm happy to have captured it on film. And just look at my handsome hubby and my adorable baby girls! How could I have passed up an opportunity to capture those cute faces in pictures?!?!

     Thank you and much love to Kia Gregory of Kia Gregory Photography for taking these pictures of us last weekend. I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out. :)

     Now everyone, I will show these pictures to you now if you promise to act surprised when they show up in the Christmas card!

Christmas came early...kinda



I guess, according to Morgan time, Christmas came early, this year. This one resulted in a big bowl of vegetables for dinner while Mommy and Daddy had Costco hot dogs and frozen yogurt. Michael wanted to make sure the punnishment sunk in. But Morgan ended up asking for seconds...of vegetables. She ate more vegetables in that one sitting than I have EVER seen her eat. Oh how I love her. Merry Christmas, everyone!



Christmas Candle Craft!!!

Craft time! I found this super cute blog called Deck the Halls of Home With Joy.  I took my crafting cue from a post on December 2nd entitled "This little light of mine." It is a really cute and super simple craft. You take a tall candle in a jar, wrap it in paper and then embellish it with ribbon, pine cones, candy canes, or whatever else your heart desires, slap a cute tag on it and you have a gift. She shows one on her blog that she made specifically for a teacher that is adorable. All you crafty mama's out there probably could make something amazing out of this, so I thought I'd share with you. If you try it, let me know how yours turns out!
http://deckthehalls-christmas.blogspot.com/

Here were my materials that I bought from Michaels. Most of them were 50% off! The papers were 4 for a dollar! Oh, and the candles were from the 99 cent store...LOVE that place!

Here are the first two that I finnished. They took about 5 minutes to make each. Love quick and easy Christmas crafts!