Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here is a sneak peek into our 2500+ mile drive to Iowa and back.

We got up bright and early the Wednesday before Christmas to start our trip! DadOf4 and I woke up at 3:55AM!
We stopped at my sisters for the first night. Here is my sis and Duke!

Next stop was Grandma and Papa's house! The Knight and I made a neat snowman!

Merry first Christmas little Duke!

Santa found us at Grandma and Papa's and left stocking presents!

Prince with Uncle B!

DadOf4 and his sister!

Aunt J and my little Knight!

Papa, Duke and Cousin O!

Cousins!

Grandma, Princes, Cousin O and Princess!

Off to my side of the family! My Dad with Knight, Duke, and Prince!

My dad with Duke and Princess!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa (December 31) Duke (January 1)!

My sister, my mom, Princess, and me.

My mom and Princess!

Cousins in the snow! It was a White Christmas for us!

My sister and her hubby!

My mom and DadOf4

We just returned home after a wonderful Christmas with family. The time always goes too fast! Here are some pictures!

Countdown to Christmas

Check out my new button on the Sidebar! Shana over at My Three Wiseman's is doing something fun for Christmas.

I am going to get more in depth on Friday, but one thing that my kids and I have done to get ready for Christmas so far is to put up our Christmas Tree. I don't know about you but I like a LOT of lights on my Christmas tree. It takes about 2 hours to put up the tree with all of my lights and this is before the decorating can actually begin. The kids were getting really anxious towards the end. They were ready to decorate for goodness sake! They really did a nice job putting up the ornaments. It is fun to go through the ornaments each year and explain where we got each one. It is a nice walk down memory lane. Come back on Friday for all of the "putting up the tree" photos!

Naughty Kitty!

Whew! What a day! Today was Princess's and Prince's very first basketball game. I will post pictures of that in a bit. After their games, we all got GREAT naps and then I took down our Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. I am normally bummed to do this, but I was pretty ready this year.

I think the cats will miss the tree, what do you think?

Last hotel of the holiday!

We are getting up slowly but surely this morning. The Prince had a bit of an upset tummy last night so he ended up sleeping with me. DadOf3 slept with Princess, and the Knight had his "special bed" (aka pack and play). The wake up call came at 6:00AM which was much too early, but if we get out of here by 8:00, we should be home by 6:00PM. The kids are all anxious to see Miney and Moe. Our nice neighbors have been watching them and sending reports so we know they are doing well, but I sure do miss petting them!

Here's to the last leg of our trip! (Toasting with coffee - yum!)

Tomorrow is going to be a big, big day! The Prince will have his very first day at pre-school, and Princess goes back to school. It is nice that her school gives her as big of a break as it does. We had a few days at home, lots of days in Iowa, and we get home in time for school to start again.

More later!

Happy New Year! (On the road again!)

After a super-fun visit all the way around the state of Iowa, we are about to jump back into Otis the van and head for home. I am feeling very sad right now. It is a strange combination of wanting to be home and not wanting to leave Iowa. It always takes a few days for me to bounce back from this feeling. I always take a million pictures so it will be fun to sort through them. They help.

I am excited to start my New Year's resolutions. Instead of the old generic "I am going to lose weight" which never seems to work for me, I have a new goal. I am going to run a 5K this year. I will do some research and figure out what I have to do to sign up for one. I am sure I am almost back to square one after not really paying attention to diet and exercise for 10+ days. I had fun though! Still, I lost 6 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, I can do it.

I will post some pictures of the trip and the fun we had in the snow later this week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Friday Night(mare) Christmas Party...

One of DadOf3's co-workers invited us to a Christmas party on Friday night. Being the smart parents that we are, we checked to see if the kids were invited too. They assured us that the kids could come and that there would be other kids there and kid activities too. So, we bypassed getting a sitter, put all the kids through baths, got them all dressed up, and took them to the party.

The minute we walked into the house, I knew it was a mistake. There were literally 50 or more candles perfectly arranged throughout the house. There were glass figurines everywhere. There were 2 cats and one dog who were not used to children. There were no other kids in attendance.

It was the Nightmare Before Christmas!!!!

I wanted to turn tail and run right then and there, but unfortunately we didn't. We walked in, mingled, caught the Princess as she almost pulled down a table runner with 10 or more candles on it, saved the Prince from the dog after he accidentally stepped on his foot, and followed the 2 year old Knight everywhere as he ran from candle to candle, from cat to cat, and from figurine to figurine.

They did sit for all of 10 minutes or so after I brought them some food. The food included hot chocolate, however, and I was not in time to stop Princess from taking a great, big gulp. The hot chocolate was super hot and she burned her tongue.

Note to people throwing Christmas parties: If you do not want kids to attend, PLEASE TELL THE PARENTS! You will not hurt our feelings, and you will save us from a very stressful evening!

P.S. If you are decorating for your party using candles, kids should not be invited!!!!!

Christmas Cookies and Holiday Hearts!

The kids and I had a fun Friday. This was Princess's first day of Christmas vacation, so we decided to make Christmas cookies. Everyone got into the act, even the Knight! Here are some pictures of our fun!

<==The Princess, the Prince, and the Knight all took turns stirring the cookie dough!












<==The Prince was a little more interested in helping this year!









<==Princess after our first batch of cookies came out of the oven!















<==The Prince wanted to help decorate!







<==The Prince's cookie creation!















<==The Prince and the Princess show off their cookies!











<==Batch #1










<==Batch #2











<==Batch #3











<==Batch #4 (Miney and Moe are the black cats!)

Fun Quiz!

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you like to feel cozy and comfortable. You're happy to stay inside with a roaring fire and a warm drink. You think the holidays should be nostalgic and sweet. The holidays bring out your inner child. Your best holiday memories are warm and intimate. You remember special moments more than gifts or parties.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Santa Claus is in town!

As a follow up to my last post....

Santa Claus is in town! He has been hanging out at our local mall since the beginning of the month but there is no way I was facing the mall on a weekend alone with three kids. Princess did not have school today so my trio and I headed to the mall to visit with Jolly Old St. Nick!

The last couple of years, I have had to be in the picture of my kids with Santa because one or other of the boys didn't want to sit still. But this year I FINALLY got a picture of all three kids with Santa and without me in it!

Yes, I am one of those annoying people who is already humming Christmas carols and itching to put up the Christmas tree! :)

This is the 5th year I have had the kids picture taken with Santa.

The first year it was just Princess and a six month old Prince.

The year after it was Princess and 1 1/2 year old Prince. He actually did OK with that one.

A year later, a 2 1/2 year old Prince wanted NOTHING to do with the jolly old elf, but since it was the Knight's first Christmas we had to get a picture taken with Santa so I held the Prince.

The year after that it was the Knight who would have nothing to do with Santa so I was in that picture too.

This year was different! Yippee! Yahoo!

I will post past pictures when I pull my Christmas decorations out in a week and a half or so!! :)