Mom Chatter

Family Skate Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:51:00 +0000

SO... today we went out for our first family skate!!! AND more importantly, The Girl's first time out on skates!!! We went to a local outdoor rink and had a WONDERFUL time.

Mr. Wonderful started helping The Girl out...and later I did a little helping too! THIS is pretty surprising since it was only my 4th or 5th time skating. I get around alright... thanks to my roller skating days I think... but I'm not so graceful OR steady. I was able to help The Girl stay on her feet... and let Mr. Wonderful do a couple quick zips around the rink!! Did I ever say that I LOVE watching Mr. Wonderful skate? I'm in awe... I wish I could watch him more often when he goes out to play hockey now and again.

BUT, I'm getting off topic!!

The Boy was able to get around the rink all on his own, but he enjoyed holding hands with Mama, Dada, or even The Girl. He definitely enjoyed posing for a picture with his ol' Mama!!
We had decided to go on this family skate to see the cartoon characters skate... BUT they were kind of a disappointment. Look close in this pic...CAN you can see the Tweety Bird and strange bear who I suppose counted as the cartoon characters? Scooby-Doo was supposed to be there... The Kids would have LOVED that!!! Oh well, we still had a good time!! :)

The Boy really enjoyed seeing the Zamboni...
AND seeing his Mama skate. At one point he even said "Mama your getting better too!" I had just said that he and The Girl were doing REALLY well.

In the end, The Girl did REALLY well with skating. At one point she went around the rink just holding just ONE of Mr. Wonderful's hands!!! I couldn't believe it! She'll definitely be starting her skating lessons in the next couple of months... she LOVES being on the ice... though not next to the strange bear that was out there!

NO MORE SNOW!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:54:00 +0000

I've had my fill... PLEASE, just melt away now!!! (Over 2 feet the other day... and another 10-20 inches on the way... THAT is enough for this snow lover!!)

The BIG One

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:33:00 +0000

So... another BIG snowstorm!!

In our backyard, we have about 28 inches. I'm usually a fan of snow, but this storm has made me like snow a little less. Yesterday morning, as the first snowflakes were starting to fall we discovered our heater wasn't working. LUCKILY, we called someone in to look at it and they were able to fix it. (Don't think we would've been so lucky if it had gone out today.) We were without heat for a good part of the day, but we had it for the overnight hours... though we did lose our power late last night for about 20-30 minutes. UGH!!!

Today has been MUCH better!!! We did lose our power briefly again, but THANKFULLY it's mostly stayed on. Mr. Wonderful and I shoveled... and later we all went out to play. At least we tried to play. The snow is up to The Girl's belly button... she has a VERY hard time getting anywhere that hasn't been shoveled.

The Boy has figured out a way to get around...

digs a path with his hands and then takes a step!!

Were glad the snow has stopped for now... we have enough!! We'll definitely be getting out to play in it over the next few days!!

The Boy's Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:07:00 +0000

The Boy took some pictures of the snow today... I'm quite impressed with many of his shots!!
THIS is my favorite shot from today!! :)

More Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:58:00 +0000

Last night we got another 4inches or so of snow!! I'm completely amazed by this winter. I've been living in this area for about 10 years now and don't remember quite a snowy winter... we're LOVING it though!!

This snowfall was VERY pretty... it blanketed the world in a light fluffiness!! Everything was so peaceful this morning... at least for our neighborhood.I went out and shoveled this morning after breakfast. I don't normally shovel, but on occasion... I just do it!! :) Anyway, it was a very light snow... so it wasn't a big job... happily!! While I shoveled, The Kids played in the snow...

This is The Boy trying to catch the snow falling off the tree on his head. FUN TIMES, right?! He said he liked the sound of it. :)

When I was done shoveling, The Kids helped me clear off the car!! Their such good helpers.
After the work was done, we got down to building our THIRD snowman of the season!!!! This one The Boy actually helped a lot with... usually he abandons me for sledding.

The Girl found the snowman's face... since I couldn't find our snowman kit!!
BEAUTIFUL, huh?! Leaf eyes, a pine cone nose, and a stick mouth. We're quite proud of our snowman... though I think it's quickly falling over... since it was quite warm out today!!
Even our friends who stopped by for a visit liked it!!!I know that I should be a little sick of the snow by now, but I'm enjoying it!! We've liked sledding in it, building snowmen, and I never get sick of seeing it freshly fallen. I must say that I am looking forward to the next predicted storm too... another 12-24inches... AMAZING!!!!!!

Tea Party

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:01:00 +0000

The Girl LOVES tea parties... unfortunately we don't get around to having them enough. Today we had a small tea party with a few friends... pink bolt and planet hero bunny. As you can tell, The Girl was ECSTATIC!!!!!!! I see having many more in the future! :)

The Plunge

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:47:00 +0000

SO... the other day I went to support a friend in completing one of her "bucket list" item (on her birthday, btw) AND the Special Olympics by "plunging" into the icy cold Chesapeake Bay!!! What a fun, crazy time!! This is surely not an activity I've aspired to do... in fact, I've always been one of those who saw the news clips of winter plunges and thought "who in the world would WANT to do that?!" Well, now I'm amongst the numbers of crazies!! Anyway, here is a short video of my first "plunge..."

Yep... FIRST "plunge." AND my second plunge occurred about 5 minute later...I figured... I'm cold already... WHY NOT?! ...and really the water was warmer than the cold air around me!!! If you didn't notice... it WAS snowing that day. :)

This is me and my plunging buddies... the one in the middle is the birthday girl!!
The whole day was a good one... well, except for the traffic we endured afterwards... that was MUCH more painful than the actual plunge!!

Our arrival... waiting for our "polar express" aka school bus ride to the park/plunge zone.
ON the "polar express!!"
This is the FUNNIEST porta-potty name I've ever seen!!!
Us and the official (maybe) "polar bear." :)
I always figured that doing SOMETHING to raise money for charity was a good thing, but I always figured THAT something would be walking or running a 5K!!! This was a fun way to raise a little money for the Special Olympics... a GREAT cause... and I'm glad I did it!! Not sure I'll be doing it again though... :)

...AND I'm glad I helped make the birthday girl's day more fun!! :)

Menu Plan Monday - February 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:34:00 +0000

Recipe reviews from last week...

Crockpot Turkey and Wild Rice Soup - We weren't so happy with this recipe. Thought it was quite bland... a LOT of pepper helped it out. We'll eat the leftovers (which are currently in the freezer), but I won't be making this again.

Red Beans and Rice - This was good, but not sure it's going to be the NEW beans and rice recipe. Loved doing it in the crockpot though!! Still searching...

Here is my plan for this week...

MONDAY: OUT for dinner!!!

Going out... taking advantage of a local restaurants Monday meal deals!!

TUESDAY: Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue over Potato, Salad, Fruit

Skipping the regular kid's choice night this week since we are going out on Monday... The Kids get to pick their meals that night!! Giving this crockpot chicken recipe a try. I have a TON of chicken in the freezer, but don't feel like doing much with it... but happy to try new crockpot recipes!!! :)

WEDNESDAY: Leftover Pot Roast (from freezer), Sweet Potatoes, Veggie, Fruit

Pulling out of the freezer (AGAIN) for a SUPER easy meal!!

THURSDAY: Red Beans and Rice Burritos/Quesadillas, Applesauce

Had leftovers so going to use them this week in either Burritos or Quesadillas... we'll see which I want that night!! :)

FRIDAY: Homemade Pizza, Salad, Fruit

A regular in the Chatter household!! :)

SATURDAY: Ranch Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Fruit, Green Beans

Mindless, tasty recipe... Mr. Wonderful made spaghetti last week while I was out SO I'll make it this week!! :)

SUNDAY: Seafood Night

Mr. Wonderful plans and cooks!!

For other MPM participants, go visit Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie... so many yummy plans, many with recipes!! :)

Future Hockey Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Grumpy Ol' Troll

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:49:00 +0000

We LOVE this guy/song in our house... The Girl is so HAPPY when she sings it!!!! :)

Morning Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:56:00 +0000

One good thing about getting up early to get The Boy out the door every morning... I get to see the sunrise!! Starts my day on a happy note!! :)

Menu Plan Monday - January 25

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:58:00 +0000

I'm behind with my planning again this week, but I at least have tonight's dinner cooking... so, I'm all good!! I have a busy week... so, trying not to work too much in the kitchen!! :)

Recipe reviews from last week...

Pot Roast - YUM!!! I made it in the crockpot and it turned out DELICIOUS. When I was throwing this together... I realized I didn't have onions, so substituted a bit of onion powder. Also used dried cranberries 'cause that's all I had. I threw all ingredients in the crock and let it sit for 8 hours... no meat browning or onion softening. Mr. Wonderful and I both really enjoyed the end result. Will definitely try again!!! The Kids even gave it a taste or two... they didn't eat it all, but they didn't say "eww, gross" either!!

Home Style Brown Rice Pilaf - This was good, but don't forget the soy sauce... it makes the dish!! It was a bit dry, but the soy sauce helped that. I really liked the mushrooms in this dish. Will definitely try again, but might not make it into a regular rotation. The Kids hardly touched it... go figure.

Here is my plan for this week...

MONDAY: Crockpot Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, Salad, Biscuits

Didn't get this made last week... it's cooking now for today!!

TUESDAY: Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken Nuggets, Clementines, Salad

kid's choice night

WEDNESDAY: Leftover Ham Soup, Biscuits, Salad

Pulling out of the freezer for a SUPER easy meal!!

THURSDAY: Red Beans and Rice, Applesauce, Corn Bread

Trying another bean and rice recipe!! It's good food to have on hand!! Going to try this out in the crockpot... maybe this will replace my ol' recipe...

FRIDAY: Homemade Pizza, Salad, Fruit

A regular in the Chatter household!! :)

SATURDAY: Ranch Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Fruit, Green Beans

Mindles, tasty recipe... Mr. Wonderful will probably cook because I'll be out of the house most of the day... taking a chilly dip!!

SUNDAY: Seafood Night

Mr. Wonderful plans and cooks!!

For other MPM participants, go visit Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie... so many yummy plans, many with recipes!! :)

Paint Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:43:00 +0000

Feeling a little brave today... so I let The Kids paint. They LOVE to paint and I LOVE their creativity, BUT the possible mess sometimes scares me!! I've been telling The Kids for a while now that they could paint their calendar and bank projects... so, today was the day.

Let me just say... THANK YOU for washable paint!!! If it weren't for that stuff, I'd never let them paint... well, maybe never.

The concentration The Kids have while they paint though makes the whole paint experience extra special.You can tell that they are putting their all into their work. I LOVE it!!

The Boy...
seems to be a purist lately. His paints don't touch... he sticks with the primary colors. He takes a LOT of pride in his work!!!His work is wonderful!! And his pride is GREAT!!! :)

The Girl likes to mix her paint and glob it on!!She LOVES to make new colors... she kind of gets a marbled look!!

In the end... The Kids really enjoyed themselves, there wasn't a HUGE mess (did get some paint on the floor), and we now have some beautiful banks and calendars!! So glad I decided to go for it!! :)

Rainbow Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:31:00 +0000

Today we saw a rainbow!!!Always an exciting event!! This one was at a local pond... a pond with a fountain. The Girl and I headed out to play at the neighborhood playground while we waited for The Boy's bus to come drop him off from school. Well, the ground was too muddy for The Girl... another day this wouldn't have bothered her, but today it did... so we took a short walk to the pond that is just across the street. The Girl didn't see the rainbow right away, but when she did...
she LOVED it!! She didn't want to leave to go to the boring ol' bus stop corner... she just wanted to look at the rainbow... such a happy sight!! :)

Menu Plan Monday - January 18

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:06:00 +0000

In the mood to try some new recipes out this week!! It could either be a big FLOP of a week... or a week full of YUMMY surprises!! I'm hoping for the latter. :)

Didn't try any new recipes last week... so no reviews this week!!

Here is my plan for this week...

MONDAY: Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie, Fruit

This is a new recipe. Going to try making it in the crockpot... and will probably have a few OTHER minor substitutions. We'll see what happens!!

TUESDAY: Hot Dogs, Sweet Potato Fries, Applesauce

kid's choice night

WEDNESDAY: Crockpot Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, Salad, Biscuits

Didn't get around to making (or buying all the ingredients) for the Turkey Broccoli Hollandaise, SO found a new recipe to try (and use up the rest of my turkey supply)!

THURSDAY: Home Style Brown Rice Pilaf, Salad, Fruit

AND yet another new recipe... trying to build up my vegetarian recipe collection with this one.

FRIDAY: Homemade Pizza, Salad, Fruit

A regular in the Chatter household!! :)

SATURDAY: Lasagne, Salad, Garlic Bread

I've got a hankering...

SUNDAY: Seafood Night

Mr. Wonderful plans and cooks!!

For other MPM participants, go visit Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie... so many yummy plans, many with recipes!! :)

Mitten Homework Project

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:16:00 +0000

This morning I realized that The Boy had a Family Homework Assignment to complete... thankfully, I remembered BEFORE the day it was due... its due tomorrow!! The project: decorate the mitten using more than just crayons or markers... decorate both sides if possible. So, this afternoon... The Boy and I put together his project. (The Girl helped a little after she woke up from her nap... AND Mr. Wonderful helped a tiny bit when he got home from work... so it was done by the family, BUT mostly The Boy's handiwork!!) Here's the front...and the back...
I meant to do this project a bit here and there over the weekend, BUT instead had to do it in one big push! I think it turned out pretty good... The Boy came up with the design and I just helped him implement it a bit. I feel a tiny bit bad that we didn't do it until last minute... since it could have been so much BETTER, but I'll get over myself!! He had fun... and is quite proud of the final project. He kept saying to himself... "My teacher is going to LOVE this!" Very cute!

As a side note, I did change the background on these photos... I'm quite proud of myself for that!! It's nothing spectacular, but I DID IT all by myself!! I've been playing around a little with Photoshop Elements (trying it out for FREE for 30 days)... something I've wanted to do FOREVER, but am finally getting around to!! Here's one of the BEFORE pics...

Cold Days... Kids Still Out

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:28:00 +0000

The last few days, as The Girl and I zoom home so that I can get The Boy from his bus, The Girl has decided that she wants to go swing. Not a bad thing, but it's COLD out there!! Today, we went out again... and I brought my camera along figuring I'd snap a few pics to try to keep myself warm!! I can't really run around the playground with The Kids right now because the ground is too "soft." So, I wander the perimeter while The Kids play with their found treasures!!The Kids took these "spaceships," "castles," "cars," "horses," etc. and brought them up the playground equipment and after collecting about a dozen up there... ended up sending them down the slide!! GREAT FUN!!! :)I would LOVE to improve my photography skills, so I figure I should try to snap pictures as often as possible!! I'm considering doing a picture a day challenge... we'll see. For now... here's what I saw today!!

Menu Plan Monday - January 11

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:53:00 +0000

I'm a bit behind in my menu planning this week!! I spent much of my regular planning time this weekend cleaning/unpacking!! We had a busy weekend, but we all enjoyed ourselves and are ready to get this week done so we can have another... weekend that is!! :)

Recipe review from last week...

Easy Quiche - Mr. Wonderful and I really enjoyed this dish. It was pretty easy to prepare and it's made from ingredients that I usually have on hand!! The kids did actually try this dish... though they couldn't get past the green in it. I think if I grind the broccoli up a bit in their "section" they might actually eat it... hmmm!!

Here is my plan for this week...

MONDAY: Leftover Slow Cooker Roast Beef Sandwiches, Salad, Fruit

The roast was good... took it out of the freezer Saturday, but ended up having a HEAVY lunch and only felt like having salad for dinner!! Works for a easy for an easy Monday dinner!!

TUESDAY: Mac & Cheese, Chicken Nuggets, Salad, Fruit

kid's choice night

WEDNESDAY: Ham Soup, Biscuits, Salad

Using up my ham bone!! I've made this recipe before and LOVED it. I would like to add some veggies or pasta/rice/etc. to it this time around. We'll see what I come up with!!

THURSDAY: Spaghetti with Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Salad, Fruit

Making my BIG batch of pasta sauce... will use a little tonight and freeze the rest for later use!

FRIDAY: Homemade Pizza, Salad, Fruit

A regular in the Chatter household!! :)

SATURDAY: Turkey Broccoli Hollandaise

Using the last of my leftover turkey...

SUNDAY: Seafood Night

Mr. Wonderful plans and cooks!!

For other MPM participants, go visit Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie... so many yummy plans, many with recipes!! :)

Build-ooza Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:47:00 +0000

We had a busy, but fun morning!! The Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic was our first stop. The Kids got to make some super cute coin banks. These will definitely replace the older mayonaise and peanut butter jar banks The Kids use now!!See how sad they make The Boy!! :)
The Girl actually did a lot of the hammering today...
two-handed hammering!! (I did take a video, BUT I messed up and didn't actually get what I thought I got... dang camera!!) Usually she just stands by and watches Mama or Dada do the hammering and then she adds the stickers at the end. This time, she jumped right in... even made an impression on one of the Lowe's workers who came over to tell us he enjoyed watching her (double handed) hammering skills!! :)

The Boy is becoming quite the project pro these days!! At this point, he just needs someone to guide him through the instructions and maybe hold the project while he hammers away... though the "holder" needs to watch his/her fingers!! He LOVES it and LOVES his new bank...Will note that The Boy and I thought we needed to IMPROVE this project with a little wood glue. The coin dividers and (plexi)glass cover don't seem to STAY in during coin removal. So he and I added glue to hold the coin dividers in place. We'll add glue to the glass cover at a later date, but the kids have both decided they want to paint their banks too!! :)

After finishing The Kids finished their projects and Mr. Wonderful picked up some fence latches, we headed over to a Tractorpalooza at a local park. Not only did they have TRACTORS...but also we were able to wander the farm museum... always a fun event. There was a new hands-on kitchen display that The Girl just LOVED...I think she could stay in there for HOURS!! We will definitely have to go back sometime soon!!

What a great morning!! We also did lunch at a burger place that I've been wanting to try for a long time... it was quite tasty, but VERY filling!!! Ended up doing salads (for Mr. Wonderful and I) and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (for The Kids) because we were all still full at dinnertime!! :)

Secret Art... Found

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:25:00 +0000

Today... despite the C-O-L-D winds... The Girl decided she wanted to go swing after we came home from a playgroup. We had to pick The Boy up from the bus stop in about 10 minutes, so I decided WHY NOT??!!

Walking through our local playground proved to be treacherous though... at least for me. Almost every step I took broke the ground under me...I almost twisted my ankle a couple of times. I took a step, and my foot sunk a couple inches down into the ground... kind of like when you walk on a light, unpacked snow. The Girl could walk just fine... no problems for her. Of course, the geek side of me had to investigate further...
it seems that there was a layer of thin ice under the mulch/wood chip layer. I must admit, I'd never seen anything like it!! I ended up pulling some out to get a closer look...
AMAZING!! An ice sculpture hidden under all that mulch... and in the shape of little castles!! Of course, once the kids saw the castle shape, they started collected their own...
and they collected a "million" of them!!They became princess castles and prince castles... and one king castle. OH... and this was the Disney castle... according to The Boy. Do you see it?!After finding these, the kids didn't want to go back in the house. Eventually, my stomach and nose MADE them go in... don't ask me how!! On the way back to the house, the kids did have to climb on the remains of "snowball mountain." This is the end of our BIG snow. There's not much evidence left... maybe soon we'll get more!! :)

Menu Plan Monday - January 4

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Back to the grind... vacation is done. :( Planning another easy kitchen week... expecting it to be a crazy, long week... so an easy kitchen week will be good!!

Didn't try anything new last week... so no recipe reviews to share.

Here is my plan for this week...

MONDAY: Leftover Ranch Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Veggies, Fruit

It's Monday... first day after a l-o-n-g, lazy, relaxing week... need an easy meal since I have a feeling it's going to be a L-O-N-G day!!

TUESDAY: Whole Wheat Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Strawberries

kid's choice night

WEDNESDAY: Easy Quiche, Fruit Salad

Didn't get my ham made until Sunday dinner... so didn't get this made either!! :)

THURSDAY: Bean & Rice Burritos, Applesauce, Salad

Pulling the last of my beans & rice reserve out of the freezer... :)

FRIDAY: Sbarro Pizza Pie, Salad

Normally I make pizza, but Mr. Wonderful won a pizza pie... we're collecting it this week!!

SATURDAY: Leftover Slow Cooker Roast Beef Sandwiches, Salad, Fruit

The roast was good... it's been shredded and has been waiting patiently in the freezer to made into sandwiches!!

SUNDAY: Seafood Night

Mr. Wonderful plans and cooks!!

For other MPM participants, go visit Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie... so many yummy plans, many with recipes!! :)

The Knot

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:14:00 +0000

The Girl has had a knot in her hair for weeks that I just could not get out!!These pictures do not give the knot justice!!!

She is a night twirler... she twirls her hair in her sleep. The Girl has taken to calling her knot a "handle." I was brushing the knot out twice a day... once in the morning and once after naptime, but one day The Girl knotted it so bad I just could NOT get it out. I kept it from getting bigger, but was never able to get it out... and I admit I gave up at one point. Ponytails became my friend...

Well, today armed with a bottle of detangle spray (I used the WHOLE bottle) and a fine tooth comb... I got the knot out!!!!
It only took about an hour. I was very proud of myself for getting it out AND The Girl for staying so still.

After getting the knot out, I decided to give The Girl a hair cut. I cut The Boy's hair earlier today...
so why not??!! I've never cut her hair before and it terrified me to try it (I do The Boy's, but he's a boy... and I can use the handy Wahl clipper), but for some odd reason... I thought I could do it today.

Well, I did it, but it took a bit (wiggly girl) and it is a little crooked...It isn't too bad for my first try... especially with a little one who was way past her sitting still capacity!! The Girl is still adorable... and now hopefully the KNOT will NOT come back!! :)

Final Skate Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:04:00 +0000

The Boy had his final skate lesson today!!

What an improvement over his first lessons!! He has become much more confident in his abilities over this 7 week course. In this short video, he is picking up beanie babies (one at a time) and skating them to the other side of the rink to throw them in a basket. In the second part, he is skating out to a drawn line and touching his toes for the length of the drawn line.

He is definitely starting to have fun with it too... I noticed him "racing" a couple of the kids in his class and falling just to get them to laugh!! We have signed him up for the next 7 week course... he passed the beginning level and is moving up to the second! YEAH!!

City Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Tonight we took a trip into the city to check out some of the Christmas lights. First stop...
the National Zoo's ZooLights! We came across some free tickets for this event AND we have been meaning to check it out for some time... so tonight was the night!! They've done a wonderful job with the lights... my photography skills do not do them justice.The Kids both enjoyed the visit to the zoo at night... though I think they were sad not to see the bigger animals. We did see get to see Tai Shan, who is heading to China very soon, but he was not very visible... it will be sad to see him leave. :(

The animal of the hour... for The Kids... an armadillo!! The "animal that rolls up." The Kids both LOVED this little guy!! (Perhaps it was because he was the most lively animal at the late hour??!!)

The BEST displays were the "dancing trees" or "singing trees." I could've just sat next to those for hours with a cup of hot chocolate and been completely happy... content!!

The strangest display...
the Snow Globe with LIVE costumed character. The Kids were terrified to go anywhere near it... stayed very close to me. The Boy did finally sneak up while the "panda" was looking at another kid, but he ran fast as soon as the "panda" turned back to him!!

We definitely recommend going to ZooLights if you get a chance at least once. We'll have to head back to the zoo sometime soon though, during the day, so that The Kids can see the other animals. The Girl asked several times about the giraffes... and The Boy was wondering about the penguins.

And since it was on the way home...we stopped for a short bit to see the National Christmas tree and it's "seedlings." We found Virginia's tree...(it was quite lopsided... hmmm) and Mr. Wonderful's home state tree, but didn't see Mama's home state tree... we were getting too cold and tired to search too hard.

The Kids LOVED all the trains going around the base of the tree!!!I thought Thomas here would've been a favorite, but several other trains got more attention from my little ones!! Though, they could have sat and watched ALL of them for hours... actually circled the tree base (no sitting for energetic kids) and watched for hours!!!

As soon as we were in the car and headed for home...both The Kids were out!! Tuckered out from a busy day and late night on the town!! (NOTE: I do have a picture of The Boy sleeping too, BUT I couldn't put it on here... he'd be way too embarrassed by it when he's older...)

Visit with Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Mom Chatter) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:26:00 +0000

The week before Christmas, we finally got around to delivering letters to Santa AND sitting on Santa's lap.

The Kids put their letters together ages ago... they were waiting for their mama to get her butt in gear so they could mail them. Since neither of them are writing much yet (The Boy is starting to write more and more everyday, but wasn't patient enough to write his letter this year), I let them cut pictures out of what they wanted. After they had their picks cut out, they glued them onto some Christmas paper... and voila... letters to Santa.

The Boy's...Notice that I DID make him write "Dear Santa." Next year he will be picking a lot fewer things and WRITING it all!!!

The Girl's...The Girl actually put the glue on what she wanted for many of her pictures... so they ended up stuck to the paper with strange cut-up pictures visible. Man... serves me right for taking a moment to do something else and letting her do some of it on her own!! :) I spent quite a bit of time carefully taking them off and re-gluing... not the prettiest work, but it was good enough!

After I got them scanned (I need a keepsake after all), put in envelopes, addressed, and stamped, we headed to the mall to put them in Santa's special direct mailbox (it's magic and it gives a little something to others!!).Don't they look super excited about the whole thing??(It took us TOO LONG to find the box.)

The Boy is quite the skeptic already... snooping in the box and asking why he still sees his letter. I had to tell him that like Santa, the magic happens when you're not looking!!

By the time we got to the mall Santa... the line was too long for our teetering on cranky kids. So after mailing the letters we headed home.

The next day... we made it back and The Kids sat on Santa's lap.Well, The Girl did. The Boy didn't want much to do with Santa this year... just wanted to tell him that he wanted Transformers. The smiles tell it all... Girl EXCITED... Boy just wants to get it over with.

So, I would've posted this last week, but the mall Santa experience was most awful... I was a bit to mad to post. Short story... a family budded in line, The Boy had to be coerced into sitting with Santa and his sister, AND the "father" (I think he was the father... just think grown man) of the family who budded in line ended up tripping over The Boy and falling onto The Girl... pushing her into the fake wall and flowers she had been admiring and scaring the crap out of her. Let me tell you the last few minutes in line SUCKED with crying child in arm (The Girl was scared and she had a bit of a scrape on her chin... you can see it in the picture... there was a nice couple behind us in line who gave us a tissue at least... no one else helped out)... a boy who didn't want a picture with Santa... a grown man who didn't apologize until AFTER we got our sitting with Santa (about 20 minutes later)... UGH!! Next year I will be more organized and find a more low key (and cheaper) meeting with Santa... this is my first mall Santa experience with The Kids and my LAST!!!! ...I'm just glad that in the end The Girl was able to enjoy her few minutes with Santa!! It would've been a lot more frustrating if in the end she didn't like it.

Ok... I'm done venting... it still makes me boil a bit...

In the end, The Kids are happy... so I am too!! We all had a wonderful Christmas (perhaps pictures to follow in a future post... I'm posting slowly these days!!)... and hope you did as well!! :)