2009 here we come

so the plan is we are staying up all night! we will see how long we make it, however we have already had our special homemade rib dinner, ate our black eyed peas for good luck (mom we all had at least one), sparkling juice toast, fireworks, sparklers carried by running little boys, dessert, and have settled in to build some legos! we all agree and we think 2009 will bring us many happy memories and special times. thanks to all who have made 2008 a memorable one for us and our children.

planet earth

we have had great evenings over this break of snuggling up in my bed with the kids and watching an episode of "planet earth" each night. the kids are so intrigued and are fascinated with all the beauty. the scenes of death are a little disturbing, but not we have learned to anticipate them and fast forward. last night wyatt said "this episode is great...it is peaceful and has no killing." then sure enough, not even 30 seconds later...so he says "i should have kept my mouth shut!"

crowds...no problem

typically, a crowded theme park is not my idea of a fun day....however, thanks to a friendly invitation from my friend jennifer, it was a very relaxing and fun-filled day. it was a very atypical one for us...we have not been to busch gardens in probably about a year and we usually go for only a few hours, but this time we got there basically at opening and did not get home until dinner time. the boys legs were sore and owen had a bad blister, but they loved the day! i think since my sister's family and ours decided to do the year passes, it allowed us to feel like whatever we did not accomplish in one day, we had a year to do later on. but in all reality, we really did do most everything we had hoped to. bumper cars was a treat for the boys and grace loved the miniature train ride. my favorite was the main train ride where we were within arms distance it felt from so many amazing animals of africa. for lunch, we were able to eat while getting a last bit of the holidays with their christmas show...that was great and then i was able to enjoy a nice cold beer with jennifer (her one stipulation for the visit was sharing a beer--not a problem). and to end the day, ice cream sundaes on the way out...could not have been better! the kids had so much fun with their friends and cannot wait to return...they keep saying "mommy, we can go WHENEVER we want"....honestly i say, "yep, you are right!"

blast services holiday party--table for 5

i decided that blast services (though it only has one employee---todd) deserved a corporate holiday party so the 5 of us had a FANTASTIC visit to melting pot! the kids had a BLAST! perfect holiday dinner!

baby new year 2008---not for the faint of heart

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all wrapped up

for the first year, i was the first one up...waiting for the kids to jump out of bed and be ready to run down and open gifts! but with some gentle coercion, i was able to get those little christmas cuties up and running down the stairs! everyone got everything on their lists and we heard them exclaim throughout the day "this is the best christmas ever!"

REALLY?

so i definitely do not see myself as interesting or "cool" and i feel that there is really not much "wow" in my stories. when asked "what have you been up to?" really i do not have too much to say. not that i am one that if i did have much to say i would, but truly i just do not have enough to elaborate on, especially anything that does not include stories of my kids. so i decided to set out to think of some things that have happened along my path that did make people say"REALLY?" or "WOW!" i hope to add to the list!!

1. spent new year's eve at the savoy in london...if you are not saying "wow" then you don't know what happens at the savoy on new year's eve!!
2. was a tutor for the florida gator's football team
3. live in a 100 year old house
4. graduated with my bachelor's degree at age 20 and was nominated to be a rhodes scholar but did not accept as i did not want to leave my family and fiance
5. have been with my hubby since i was 15
6. bought my dog from a small breeder in iowa and had her shipped to me...don't worry we paid extra for priority :)
7. gave birth to 3 children with no epidural
8.have three children with all extremely different eye colors (dark brown, bright green, and crystal blue)
9. got all A's in undergrad and grad college except one C in Sex Ed of all things and then 1 B+ in graduate school
10. cut all three of my kids hair and now have added todd to the mommy salon schedule

i am going to try to think of a few things that next time someone asks me "what have you been up to?" i will have some REALLY COOL things to say instead of "really not much" :)

christmas eve

christmas eve dinner is always so special. i would expect my family would appear to be so serious, however we are a funny bunch. there is always some sort of mischief someone gets into. our favorite memory was 2 eve's ago when a lifesized napolean statue was knocked down and broken and then my cousin steven "laid him to rest" as if he had been killed in war. the waiters faces coming in was too funny! this year it was my grandpa in his spy glasses that can see in reverse. doesn't he look like dirty harry! it must be an amazing site for my grandparents to look down a room length table and see 18 people all sitting there all because they fell in love! they love us all and never fail to instill the importance of family in us. i love my group!

smudge

in America, burning coal is still the dirtiest way we produce electricity -- and it emits more global warming pollution than all our cars and trucks combined. in just 30 seconds, "Smudge" conveys what the coal industry is up to.

snow test--mine is right on!! how is yours?

Your Snow Test Says You're Independent

You feel like something good will happen to you in the next few months. You don't really like to work, unless work feels like play. You only are successful when you are doing what you love. You are an independent, individualistic person. You thrive when you're doing your own thing. Your biggest worry in life is your family. You stay up at night thinking about them. When it comes time to relax, you have difficulty relaxing. You are a bit high strung.

The Snow Test

merry christmas!

traditions

i treasure making and experiencing traditions, especially holiday traditions. our christmas traditions are always the same and always the best for me. here is our traditional schedule:

.wake up christmas eve and the kids open the last doors on their advent calendars

.bake santa cookies and treats all morning (especially loved by owen)

.sample the goodies (especially loved by wyatt)

.todd and the kids make the luminaries for the sidewalk
.divide out the gifts that go to various homes and load

.casually get ready for dinner

.put out the reindeer magic on the lawn and the candles on the sidewalk

.go to dinner with my grandparents, cousins, aunts, mom, dad, and heather's family at alfano's

.go to my grandparent's house to open gifts

.come home, put out cookies and milk, put on PJ's, read "the night before christmas", and get kids to sleep

.sneak downstairs and help santa get stockings stuffed and toys built

.time for sleep!

.get up early and RUN downstairs with the kids to open gifts!! BEST PART of being a parent!

.casually (key word) get ready and go to my parent's house for yummy bacon (best bacon) and opening gifts

.watch the parade and relax

.head home to relax, have fun with new toys, put away decorations (i know!), and make our special christmas dinner for just the 5 of us!

.head up to bed and kiss my christmas babies and hubby good night!

happy birthday grandpa--king of the costume!

here's to another great year full of memories!

even santa...

...has a blog. santa tells all about his travels, plans, and even answers your best christmas queries! you can even vote to decide where santa should leave gifts and whether you are on the naughty or nice list. check it out at: http://clauschronicles.blogspot.com/

christmas by linus

christmas tree recycling

trying to find what to do with your christmas tree after the holiday, click onto earth 911 to see if your neighborhood has a program. our city is very progressive when it comes to recycling so luckily they pick ours up on our regular collection day. and as you know...mine will be out the day after christmas :)

letters to the north pole

grace's letter

wyatt's letter


owen's letter (dear santa, i want a kirby superstar ultra. i want 500 dollars. i want a webkinz reindeer.")

emails from santa

would your kids love a personalized video from santa? this site allows you to input your child's name, age, and wish list item and then santa tells them a story about christmas! it is adorable! my kids just thought it was so special. owen was waving to the monitor!

http://portablenorthpole.sympatico.msn.ca/home

if i was a holiday drink i would be........

You Are Hot Chocolate

Your holiday personality is generous. The holidays are your favorite time to practice the art of giving. You enjoy picking out presents, sharing treats, and making everyone's day a little brighter. And you don't even notice if you don't get anything in return.

What Holiday Drink Are You?

holiday jingles

last night was the boys school holiday performance. wyatt played the hand drum and sang in several songs and owen sang the dreidel song and then was a king in the nativity scene. there was a little kindergartner silliness during the final song of "we wish you a merry christmas"---wyatt even told me when owen turned around and made a silly face to him, wyatt said he had to "say without words BE QUIET!" how cute is that! i am sure you caught the bunny ears owen is giving to lily in the picture as well!! silly kid! thanks to mom, dad, the hiles family, and the dyson family for coming and staying through it all (even the middle school band---all school bands will forever sound the same won't they!).

elf delivery

todd and i came home late last night to a porch FULL of packages. honestly, if stacked they would have been 10 ft. tall. my aunts bonny and paty had told me to expect A package coming for the sallie house---not 10 packages. opening the boxes and finding wonderful surprises was such a special feeling! they were so generous and thoughtful. and as if that is not enough, my porch held surprises today from my grandmother sharing in the spirit too. i cannot wait to deliver all the wonderful gifts to these sweet children! thank you from the bottom of our hearts to paty, bonny, grandma, and grandpa!

reindeer magic

grace and alex had a magical visit today to the zoo for a reindeer class. the girls loves carolling on the horse drawn carriage, seeing the live reindeer, and making their reindeer crafts.

here are some reindeer facts we learned about:

-life expectancy is 8 years

-reindeer hair is hollow to help warm their bodies

-reindeer and caribou are the only deer where males (bulls), females (cows), and calves produce antlers

-reindeer shed their antlers annually

-the primary function of the antler is to gain social dominance

-new antler grow in the spring and summer

-reindeer milk is high in protein and fat

-reindeer prefer snow over water in winter.

little mittens

how precious are these mittens from oeuf ny that allow your children to hold your hands and the hug me sweater keeps your little ones warm and snuggly. how adorable!