Christmas Morning

Sorry I’v been absent from my blog. It’s the holidays. We have been spending time together as a family. When Kevin does not have to travel we like to spend time with him. So posting goes to the back burner. So, you want to hear about Christmas I bet. We had a great Christmas. It was just the four of us. It was so relaxing staying in one place and enjoying each other. Aundrea had us up at 7:30 am. She came running in our room, “Mommy you have to get up, Santa came”. “How do you know?” I said. She says, “We have already slept!” They had so much fun playing with their toys and opening presents. Cassie was even excited about her clothes. It was so cute. She is going to be our fashion girl. As we made our piles of presents to open Aundrea said she could not open them all, there was too much. We were very blessed from our out of town families.

Be sure to check out the video below of Cassie on one of her toys.

Thanks for checking in. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas.

Cassie has her phone and she is ready to ride.
Princess Aundrea in her throne.

Rolling in the paper.

How does this work?

The aftermath!!!

Friday's snow fall.

A Yummy, Creative Weekend

Ok, here it is. My Christmas card that took a billion years to make. It does not look that complicated and it wasn't. Just a lot of cutting and details. I love how it turned out, though. My favorite part are the little jewels on the gingerbread man. I could not find red so I got clear and colored them with my red sharpe and walla!! I have some left over and can't wait to use them on other projects. I hope those that receive this card love and appreciate it. I had fun making them, late nights and all.
This weekend was a yummy, creative weekend, and a restful one. Kevin and I reinvented a swag that was falling a part. I had the swag for about 12 years and really didn't put it up all that much for the holiday. I did not hang well, and I had no place to hang it so I could plug it in. (it had lights on it) But, I kept it and moved it from house to house. I kept thinking I will do something with it some day. Do you ever do that? Keep something, saying that you can find something to do with it later. I do, and most times I never do. So, this year I decided to do something. Having met so many crafty friends here in Kansas, they have inspired me. So, Kevin and I took of the JOY letters and bow off and glued them onto the grapevine wreath. Very simple, but I love it. I think it turned out cute. A little late putting up a wreath on Friday, but it is up nun the less.

Here is our Gingerbread house Aundrea, Kevin and I worked on.

I bought the kit a couple of years ago and never got around to make it till this weekend. The year I bought it I found out I was pregnant with Cassie and we waited till Christmas Eve to make it not knowing that it took and hour for the icing to harden enough for the house to stand before you decorate. Well it was to late to finish it so we planned for the next year. Well, the next year Cassie was with us and things were crazy. So we did it this year. I was a lot of fun to do. Aundrea loved playin in the candy and eating the sickening sweet icing. Talk about a sugar high. :-)

And here is our yummy cookies that we made as well. I know there is only 4 of us this Christmas and a lot of cookies but we had a great time together making them. It's really memories that we are making and that is the important part.
Oh, I have to tell you about my wonderful husband. I had such a restful weekend because of him. Saturday he let me take a late afternoon nap while he played with the kids. Then when I woke up he was making me a warm bath to soak in, again while he watched the kids. It was so relaxing and quite. You would not have known there were kids in the house. Then on Sunday he let me go take another nap while he watched the kids. How awesome it that!!! Two days in a row I got to nap. Isn't he the best. Love ya babe!!!
I hate to leave on a sort of gross note but looking back it was so funny. Yesterday evening after Cassie had her milk I picked her up from her high chair and held her in my lap at the table while Kevin and I talked. She was coughing and the next thing I knew she throw up all over me. In my mouth and down the front on me. (sorry if this grosses you out) Kevin took her to the sink to clean her up while I sat at the table waiting my turn. We think the coughing brought on the vomiting, because she was fine the rest of the evening. Kevin said he wish he had a pic of the look on my face. My too, I bet it was pretty funny. I now feel like a Mom. That was the first time I have ever been throw up on. Really! Last night would have been a good night for a bath. Oh, well. The things us Moms go through.
Have a Very Merry Christmas!!!!!

Aundrea's Kindergarten Christmas Party

Aundrea is concentrating hard to put the glue in the right place.
Can we have anymore sprinkles on the cookie! HE! HE!

Aundrea told me she was so happy that I came to her party. This made me so happy to hear. I have to treasure moments like this, in a couple years she may not want me to come. Boo Hoo!! They grow up so fast.
She really enjoyed her self at the party. She was the little party director at her table. After we past out plates of cookies for them to decorate she told her table "Lets wait to see what we are suppose to do." She is not normally like this at home. When ever we do a project at home she just dives right in before I can give directions. It just made me smile to hear her talk like that in school. Oh, to be a fly on the wall sometimes!
Be sure to check out the two post below. You should be caught up now.
Thanks for looking!

Teacher Gift

Ok, I have finally posted something creative. I have been so busy with getting ready for Christmas I have not have time to do anything creative other than my cards. I put together this cute teacher gift. The mug is from Wal-Mart and a gift card from Starbucks. I loved how this little card turned out. I normally would have not put these colors together but this is how it happened. The 3x3 card came with a punch set I bought from Stampin'up. (i don't remember the name and don't have time to look it up, sorry) Since the mug had a snowman on it I wanted to stamp a snowman on the gift card but did not have a snowman stamp. You will never believe this, the image on the card is from a hostess stamp set my sister has. I stamped it several years ago and punched it out and keep it in case I wanted to use it later. Well, much later, I needed it. Michelle was amazed that I was able to find it. I put it in my CM punch holder so I would be able to find it and found it I did. I'm not always this organized. I don't always find things when I put them away in case I might want to use later and find it. This is the one and only time this has happened. Anyway, I used my stampin up marker's and glue pen to add glitter, but it does not show up in the pic. It turned out really pretty with all the glitter.
I finally got my Christmas cards done and mailed out. Yeah!! and most of my wrapping is done. Double Yeah!!! I will post a pic of my card in a couple days, maybe on Christmas. I just want to wait till most everyone has had time to get them in the mail before I post.

I hope to get more creative now that things are calming down a bit. I mean my blog is about my family and my creations. I will do my best.

Thanks for looking.

Snow Fun!!!

Sunday the girls got to play in the snow and loved every minute of it.

This was Cassie's first time in the snow. She loved it!!
She walked out there like she had been walking in snow forever. Not scared at all.
I just love this snow suit. Aundrea wore it when she played in the snow for the first time when she was a baby. It is just so cute with the lamb on the hood and feet.

Aundrea loves to help her Dad with everything.

Aundrea feeding Cassie.

Sorry the pic is sideways. I can figure out how to turn the pics when they are still in my camera.

Aundrea shoveled a pile of snow just so she can lay in it. She would not wear her cloves. No, she needed to freeze her hands off. She did not complain. Tougher girl than I am.

Cassie loved to eat the snow. I think all kids are born knowing to eat snow. Mmm, this looks good I think I will eat it. Her little face got red but other wise the rest of her body stayed warm. She would have stayed outside all day if we let her.

Hope you enjoyed our day of fun in the snow. Thanks for looking.

My random facts

I have been tagged my Emily to share 7 random things about myself. (thanks Emily, such pressure ;-) ) here goes:

1~I am an identical twin (yes, Emily I will post a pic of us soon.)
2~I married my high school sweetheart.
3~I sleep with a special pillow and blanket. (I don’t leave home with out them when we travel. If we fly I make room in my suit case.)
4~I’m addicted to ice cream. Right now my favorite is Peppermint by Edy’s, it’s a limited edition, they only sell it during Christmas time. I told Kevin I wanted to buy enough to fill our deep freeze so I can have it all year long. He said “ What ever you want.” (that is what I love about him ;-) )
5~I was a big surprise to my mom at birth. I was born second and she did not know she was having twins.
6~I never miss an episode of “Heroes”. Kevin and I love that show.
7~I have read all Harry Potter books and have seen all the movies so far and can’t wait for the next two to come out.

I’m going to try the follow Emily’s lead and have Kevin tell 7 random thoughts about himself, but he is asleep right now. I’ll get back to you later on that one.
Thanks for looking. I’m off to watch Peter Pan with Aundrea.

Home Schooling Help Needed!

I have so much respect for home schooling moms. My oldest daughter, Aundrea, is in Kindergarten half day in the afternoon. I work with her in the morning on stuff she is doing in school to give her more time on the things she is learning. The school she goes to is awesome and so is her teacher. She has given us resources to help us work with our kids. Most days Aundrea is very engaged with what we are doing and eager to work on it..but this morning she was testing me. She wanted to go watch a movie. (i never let her watch a movie before school so i don't know where she got this idea i would this morning) so a little bribing went on. I told her if she does a good job reviewing her school work i would let her watch a movie. Well, she pulled a "I don't know this" whine, whine, whine and the slouching on the table like she had no back bone, pulling at her clothes like a bug crawled up her shirt, anything to distracted her from what she was supposed to be concentrating on. I was getting so frustrated because I know she knows everything we are working on, she did beautifully yesterday when we worked on it. How do you home schooling moms handle days like this? Of course, she did not get to watch the movie. I had her go to her room to get control of herself and to come back when she was ready to work. Well, I got busy with Cassie and other mommy duties and never got back to her school work. I hope tomorrow is a better day. We will see. Kevin comes home tomorrow morning so she will probably be distracted again. Anyway, any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading my frustration. Off to bed.

Ice storm ~ Christmas tree

Ice covered trees after the ice storm.

WOW! It has been a week since my last post. Since my last post Kevin came home on Friday. So when he is home we like to spend as much time with him as possible. Saturday we did some shopping and bought our Christmas tree. Aundrea was so excited. She had been asking since we have been back from Thanksgiving and we were going to get one. Aundrea loved decorating it and Cassie loved pulling everything off. I spent the rest of the weekend with Kevin and the girls, getting packages ready to mail, and more shopping. When will the shopping end? I’m hoping to be done this weekend. I also have been staying up late working on my Christmas cards. Please don’t think I’m complaining about making them. I love to make my Christmas cards. It’s just this year I have put more detail in them. I was going to post last night but by the time I was done I was ready to hit the sheets. Kevin left this morning for Ohio. He returns Friday morning. I miss him and so do the girls. Cassie walks around calling for him. Good thing he is only gone for a couple nights and not weeks at a time. I have to look at the bright side of things to get me through the nights without him.

Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh, Christmas Tree!

Ok, I'm at the "tale end" of my post. My thoughts have shut down. I can't think anymore. Must get Aundrea off to bed. Stay tuned. Thanks for looking.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Aundrea trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

(she had to have the umbrella so the snow would not get into her eyes)
Aundrea and Cassie watching it snow.
(it really was snowing, it just didn't show up in the pic)

I thought this was a cute way to take a pic, from the outside in.
Aundrea was hamming it up.

Can you see the big snowflakes?
It was so pretty!!!

Aundrea was begging me to go out and eat some snow.

ya gotta love it!!

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we have no place to go, Let it Snow " Let it snow? no place to go? I wish! Just when I had plans to go get some shopping done, it snows. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow... just not when I have to be somewhere. I love to be at home and snuggle up on the couch in front of the fire place with Kevin or the girls and watch a movie. No, not today. After I got Aundrea off to school, Cassie and I loaded up in the car and headed off to the mall. It was slow going with snow and slush covered roads, but everyone was driving cautiously. We made it to the mall and as I was driving up to Penny's I noticed the Salvation Army bell ringer was waving me down the aisle, telling me there was a parking space right in front of the door.(it was snowing heavily at this point) God had sent an angel to watch over me and Cassie. He even opened the door for us when we went in the mall and when we left. (any mom out their knows this is a blessing, because trying to hold a door open and push a stroller through at the same time is no easy task) Anyway, I got 3 more people marked of my list, Cassie got her pic made with Santa and we made it home in one piece.

Thank God!!!

I just had to take this pic and post it. Cassie loves to climb in things like laundry baskets. Just look at her. She is trying to sit in this loaf pan. I could hardly take the pic for laughing so hard. She just cracks me up! God love her!
Gotta go, Gray's Anatomy and ER is coming on and I have to get Aundrea into bed. Hope you enjoy the pics and thanks for looking.

MOPS ~ Snowman tree

Today was our last MOPS meeting till the new year. Boo hoo!!! I just love going to the meeting and visiting with fellow sahm's and Godly women. Today's meeting was so much fun. The ladies that do all the behind the scenes work did a take on Oprah's favorite things. They brought their favorite things for us. One or two things for each on of us. How awesome is that! The above pic is all the great stuff we got. On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to a great friend, Emily. She and her family are moving to Orlando, FL in January. She is so sweet, funny, very crafty and she introduced me to MOPS. Just when we were getting to know each other she moves away, but she has left me and many other mom's she has invited to MOPS in good hands. Emily, you will be missed!!!
Here is our little Christmas tree the girls, Aundrea's friend Kamie and I put up this evening. This tree went up so quick if you blinked you would have thought it appeared in thin air. I could not keep up with the girls. I tried taking pics but between their speed and Cassie pulling everything off as fast as they put on it was impossible. I love the snowman theme, so fun!! I hope Cassie can get pulling off the ornaments out of her system or we will have to put a gate up around the big tree we put up this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. Well I've got to get back to making my Christmas cards. Thanks for looking and thanks for the blog lovin' my fellow blogger. Oh, Anthony, love your comments!! You make me laugh!!! ~later

High School Musical on Ice Tour

Here is Aundrea ready to go to the show. I bought this cheerleader out fit for her to wear. She was so excited. (can't you tell :-) ) Anyway, it was cold and windy out so she had to wear jeans under her outfit. As she was getting ready, she asked if she had to wear shoes. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Yes, put your tennis shoes on.

A: Do Cheerleaders wear tennis shoes? I want to wear my boots.

Me: Yes, all cheerleaders wear tennis shoes.

A: The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders don't, they wear boots.

Me: Oh, I stand corrected, wear your boots. LOL!

She is too smart for her britches sometimes. :-)

This is why she has her boots on.

We had AWESOME seats!!! We were 4 rows back, behind the floor seats. I could not believe I got the tickets just 4 days before the show.

I'm so thankful I got to spent one on one time with Aundrea. I don't get to do that very often.

Here she is hamming in up. She is sooo silly!! She was having a blast. She asked "They don't have microphones, how can we still here them?" For a 5 year old, that is a pretty good observation. During the break, she was signing along with the music and dancing.

That morning Kevin came home and surprised us. We were not expecting him till later in the evening. Yeah!! We were all sooooo excited to see him. He is so like that to come home early because he missed us too. I was praying he would do that, and he did. Thank God. I had planned for a neighbor to watch Cassie for me and I would drive us to the show. I was pretty nervous about driving downtown. I have never drove down there before. But I had my trusty map quest in hand and was ready to brave my fear. Thank God Kevin came home. He drove us to the show. With his GPS and my map quest directions, we still did not make it to the Sprint Center. I had the wrong address. I called 411 and got the correct address, so we plugged it into the GPS and found that we were within a 1/2 mile of the Sprint Center. We still made it on time. Thank God for GPS. I don't know what I would have done if I had been down there with no GPS. I don't know if we would have make it. Anyway, we had a great day. Kevin came home early, we had a great time at the show and we each had one on one time with one of the girls. The above pic is of Cassie showing Kevin what she wants for Christmas. She was just jabbering away in her own little language. What a day, a day from God!!!!

Pajama weekend

I just love Aundrea's smile. It makes me want to smile. It is so contagious. Are you smiling? Anyway, this is what she wore to school on Friday. Her teacher gave them a pajama party for good behavior. Well, the kids picked a pajama party over a pizza party. Smart kids! It's not every day they get to wear pj's to school. Then she went to a pajama, High School Musical, Hannah Montana birthday party this evening. ( i forgot to get a pic) She had a blast!! . So, she pretty much spent half the weekend in her pj's. (easy for me, one less thing to do at bedtime.) Which it is how it should be, right? I love pj's. I could live in them.

I made my Christmas card today. I think it turned out pretty cute. I will post a pic later. I don't want everyone to see it before I send them out. Just 49 more to make. That is what I will be working on tomorrow. I don't know how much I will get done because I got Aundrea and me tickets to the High School Musical on Ice tour. She is so excited!!(to be honest, so am I!) She will be bugging be all day by asking "How much more time till we leave?" I just bought the tickets the other day. I didn't think I would be able to get any, but I found vip seating. Yeah!! I will post pics later.

Kevin will be home tomorrow evening. We miss him so much. It feels like he has been gone forever. Well, off to fold towels. Thanks for stopping by.