Resolutions for 2012

What girl doesn't weigh herself after the holiday season and not think about New Years resolutions :)?

I'm not really a resolutions kind of person.  I like the idea of them but I'm really not good with the follow through.  It reminds me of an overextended lent period.  I always, always give up something really hard for me to give up during lent.  Last year I gave up chocolate.  It was really hard--harder than the year I gave up sodas. The thought of having to give something up for an indefinite period of time makes me think that I will give in too easily.  So, I'm going to resolve to do things that are really good for my health. I want to be as healthy as possible for my family, so hopefully I'll be able to succeed. I figure if I write them down and publish them for the world to see then I will feel more accountable to uphold them. Here they are:

1.  Eat less sugar.  I am completely, totally addicted to sugar.  It is my vice.  When mommy is stressed out she doesn't grab a glass of wine--she grabs a handful of chocolate chips from the freezer.  My father-in-law had a health scare this past year and he asked what he should do to prevent future problems. His oncologist said two things: "1. Eat less meat and more fruits and veggies. 2. Sugar is bad for you."
I'm not saying that I'm going to completely cut sugar out of my life.  I absolutely adore baking sweets and goodies for the family.  But, I can cut out the eating of junk that my body doesn't need (like the entire bag of Rolos I wolfed down over the holidays).

2. Quit sodas.  They are so bad!  Why do I drink them?  I've given them up for lent several times and I always get to the point where I don't miss them anymore.  I have tried a "one a week" method and it just doesn't work.  I end up wanting another one the next day.  I work out religiously and try to eat well (besides the sugar of course :)). Why do I drink such a yucky thing for me?  I'm going to need your help friends, if you see me with a soda make me throw it away.  Iced tea, please.

3. Read the books I've always wanted to read.  I've mentioned it before I think, I am a voracious reader. I read a book or two every week.  Most of the stuff I read is current.  I want to read all the things I missed when I was growing up--like A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle.  I've also never read The Hobbit.  I'm going to spend some time this year reading things that I missed growing up--I guess I was too busy reading The Babysitter's Club series and Nancy Drew!

4. I am very dedicated to my work-outs. I try to get in 4-5 a week.  I belonged to a gym until right before I had the baby and I went religiously.  I even taught a few classes here and there and really enjoyed it. When I had her I decided to be my own personal trainer. I do work-out videos and we have an elliptical machine. I really like to exercise and I'm very grippy when I don't get to. However, if I don't get it done in the morning I'm not going to do it.  My life is so crazy busy sometimes, the morning work-out is just not an option.  I'm going to resolve to work-out on the days I need to even if it is not at a time that I prefer.  I also might try to get back to the gym this year--working out at home has been very good for the baby and I but we might venture into the world of germs and the gym nursery after flu season is over :)!

Wish me luck!  May 2012 be a blessed year for us all!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Christ!  We celebrated on Christmas Eve with my in-laws.  Gumdrop is starting to get a hang of unwrapping!

 Christmas morning!  The older two woke up about an hour before the baby.  The Hubs and I had not had our coffee yet and didn't even think about the camera until she awoke.  It was pretty sweet to see her bubba and sissy help her with her stocking.

 Robot Bunny!  What is a robot bunny, you ask?  Your guess was as good as mine.  It was the #1 thing on her Christmas list and I had no clue.  About a month ago, we were walking around Target and she screamed, "Mom!  They have robot bunnies!"

 Grandma got her some make-up and accessories.  She is not modest at all about telling us how gorgeous she is all made up!

 My Boy got a very cool new Skateboard from Santa.  It is a little tricky to figure out, but he has been happily riding around the kitchen all day!

 Gumdrop loves her ball pit.

 Our new trick is climbing on the desk in the playroom.  I added this pic because I loved Lollipop's drawing of her "Robot bunny( aka Seraphina)"on the board behind her.

 Figuring out her new laptop!

We had a truly blessed Christmas.  Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Christmas Happenings-Photo overload!

We have had a jam-packed schedule this holiday season.  Here is a small sample of what we have been up to.

We went to two "adult" gatherings, but of course, I only got a photo before one!

Our Santa picture from a party at a friends house.  Notice how far away Gumdrop and I are from Santa?

The kids got to make their own hot cocoa and s'mores at the party (amoung other things).  It was really fun!

The Hubs had a birthday! Like our "art station" behind him?  It drives me nuts......

We made treats for our classmates!

We have enjoyed wearing our Christmas outfits.

Lollipop was a superb "Narrator #4" in her class Christmas play.

Our friend Hannah had a Polar Express bday party.  We got to wear our pjs, decorate cookies, and have fun at our local planetarium. (Really bad photo, sorry, but I feel like he gets left out because he dodges the camera so much!)

Girls in front of the tree!

Lollipop had a noon dismissal the day before her brother and we owed her friend "O" a playdate.

So, the girls got manicures!  Before:

After:

We went to another party with our Nini and had fun doing activities and seeing Santa.

Awesome, huh?

My brother-in-law and his family are going on vacation for Christmas so we met at my in-laws house and did a little gift exchange and dinner with them.

I found these fun snowman headbands for us!

My son wants a puppy so bad he can't stand it.  I, however, have three kids and two dogs already so it's just not going to happen for him.  Thankfully, we have a puppy we can play with at Nini's house.

Present time!

We decided the only way we could get a photo of all six of them was to feed them and do it!

My daughter has not learned the art of sharing just yet.  She was actually sitting on top of her cousin and moved right before I snapped the pic.

Notice the star wars characters eating dessert?

Its been a wonderful season so far, I'm so excited to see what the next few days brings!

Wordless Wednesday

My Boy. My Hero.

My son has a kind heart.  He's done things for years that show us his kindness, but every once in a while he does something that knocks me over.

At the beginning of the school year he came home to tell us all about the happenings of his classroom.  One of the most exciting things was "Charger bucks."  You can earn a Charger buck in many ways---good behavior, getting your bonus words right on your spelling test, acts of kindness.....you get the picture.  Every other Friday the classroom "store" opens and you can spend your Charger bucks.

At open house back in September he showed us his ziploc baggie with his bucks inside.  His little sister said, "OH, I would so buy that baby doll!" (She said it just like that, promise!). He said, "Wow, that baby costs 50 bucks.  It would take a long time to buy that."

Time goes on and he doesn't say much about Charger bucks.  He asked me over Thanksgiving how many Fridays were left before Christmas break.  I said, "Two or three, why?"  And he said, "I need to make sure the store will be open again before Christmas."

This is why:

He saved every Charger buck he earned the entire first semester and bought his sister the baby she loved.

Tears, anyone?

Baby sister loves her too! Her name is Jellybean by the way, but we call her Jill.

That, my friends, is what Christmas spirit is all about.  He's My Boy and he's my hero.

Yes, I'm totally bragging.....

Artistic ability does run in both sides our family.  However, it skipped right on over me.  I can't draw a stick figure but my oldest two kids have been blessed.  They got the gene, hopefully Gumdrop will too.

Two years ago I walked into My Boy's Christmas service and was given a program.  I looked down and saw a drawing and my son's name listed as the artist along with his class year.  Tears formed and my heart swelled with pride.  You'll have to trust that his name is there, I covered it up since I'm trying not to share their names.

Life went on and two years passed by.  We woke up hurried and sprinted out the door to see Lollipop's Christmas program.  Worried about getting a good seat, I grabbed a program and sat down.  I looked down and saw the most beautiful nativity scene followed by my daughters name.  Tears formed and my heart swelled with pride. Again, her name has been covered but her class year is there.

So, like I said in my post title--I'm totally bragging.  And I'm not one bit ashamed to be doing so :).

The Adventures of Buddy the Elf

I'm sure you know all about the book the Elf on the Shelf.  If you don't, here's the low down: we have an elf that arrives the day after Thanksgiving and stays with us until Christmas Eve. He travels magically to the North Pole every night to give Santa a report on the day's happenings.  When he returns home he lands in a different spot every morning.  Our elf is named Buddy and he has been very creative this year about his landing spots (thank you pinterest!).  Here are some of his adventures so far:

He snuck in our candy jar and ate some peppermint bark.

 He wrote a message from Santa on our magna doodle.

 He read a story to some friends.

 He was held hostage by My Boy's army men (thanks for this one Amy!).

 He went fishing for goldfish.  This one did not make Gumdrop happy.  She screamed for the goldfish every time we walked by that day!

 He rode horses with Belle the Barbie.  Lollipop was over the moon that Buddy has a girlfriend!

 And my favorite (that didn't work out exactly as I had hoped)--Buddy painted reindeer noses on the big kids while they slept.

Most of it rubbed off in their sleep, I told them that Buddy had taken a picture when he finished and showed it to them.  They thought it was hilarious!

I can't wait to see what Buddy has in store for us over the next two weeks :)!

It's a Winter Wonderland!

We woke up to Snow this morning!  Of course, there was no school so the kids and I have spent the whole day hanging out together.  We have made cookies and gingerbread hot cocoa (click here for the recipe), we played in the snow during Gumdrop's nap time, we made a cozy nest in front of the Christmas tree, and we caught up on laundry (ok, that one isn't really fun but necessary!). 

Check the Midland Morsels blog later this week for the recipe for this amazing cookie!