Chocolate dipped?

Okay, so perhaps the phrases "Throwing yourself into your work" and "Jumping in with both feet" have a new meaning when it comes to Christmas baking with Grace. Subconsciously she took these literally and dipped herself in the chocolate along with the pretzel rods. Regardless, we dipped and rolled three dozen rods that afternoon and had fun doing so. We had a cookie decorating party with a neighbor the following day (a snow-day from school) and my black kitchen floor had more sprinkles than all of the cookies combined. I would think she would get tired of making things, but as I type I'm being hounded. "Can we make something. We need to make you a cake." No rest for the weary, even when they are 4 and awake at 5am. If you need a Christmas cookie, you know where to find it! Making Christmas cookies is one of my favorite memories of my childhood. My dad would roll about 500, only a slight exaggeration, and fill a few roasting pans. Frosting them took hours and we all did it, including Granny. One year all of the ginger-bread men were G.B. Packers. Another year I recall having chicken-pox, what I was wearing, and that my hair was in braids. I was in 2nd grade. I'm hoping these 2 will have as detailed of memories when they grow-up and share them with their kids as well.

Let it Snow!

Does any child not like snow? Grace was determined to go out and shovel this past Saturday, so we bundled her as much as possible and hoped she could still use her arms! She was out for about 40 minutes, shoveling the backyard with visions of creating a giant hill for sledding. Last year Bryan made a huge hill at the end of our driveway by piling all of the snow there each time he cleared it. She had so much fun on that mini-hill and would glide across the front yard on her belly each night after dinner. Although her attempts are slightly premature- I think we need a few more snowfalls- she was proud of herself. Maybe this year the big sledding hill at the park will get more than one use from her and Bryan and maybe I'll even get a chance! Fortunately, Bryan doesn't mind the cold, whereas I tend to sleep under 5 blankets (and a quilt...in fleece pj's) and bundle up in long-underwear all winter long. I am however looking forward to Miles growing and all of us doing winter activities in the coming years. I can remember sledding on snow (and ice) covered hills in Belleville with my family and going to Elver with friends, so I like the idea of creating those memories for my kids as well. Grace came in for her thousandth viewing of "The Little Mermaid" and warmed up with a cup of warm milk. The only thing remotely chilled on her were her nose and cheeks. I guess we did a good job in "bundling" department!

Parenting Project

Once a month Grace and I hit Super Wal-Mart in Freeport. No Daddy and no Miles. So, of course when I asked her if she wanted to get a Gingerbread House or Tree to put together and decorate, her response was "Yes, me and Daddy can do it." = P Shows where Mommy rates! They had a great time, and they even let me make the frosting. Grace was so proud and loves to do special projects and take little trips with her Daddy. Regardless of the differing parenting styles, views on discipline, etc, you work through them and results are children that love the things that make Mommy different from Daddy and vice-versa. Bryan plays pretend so much better than I do, because I'm always distracted. (No big surprises there!) Personally I think I stay on task a bit better. Bedtime is done and over within 10 minutes for me, but Daddy tends to read, voices included, a bit more enthusiastically and animated at the end of the day. An extra book or two never hurt anyone, right! So, whether you see Bryan playing princesses or me guiding someone through getting ready for school, these kids are so much fun...and work. We try our best to take in all of the moments that could be taken for granted and stick them in our memory, and in as many cases as possible a picture file!

Humane Society Special

When we lived in Sheboygan from 2005 to 2006, the agreement was simple. If we moved 2 1/2 hours from home, I got to get a dog. That's all there was to it. So for a month I searched shelter sites, specifically petfinder.com, looking for a young to adult, small dog that was cat and kid friendly and somewhat low mantinance. I had never lived without a dog until I left my parents house, so a dog was not a huge life changing thought to me. A dog had always been a part of a family, and that part for me was missing. Well, enter "Snickers". On my first trip to the Sheboygan County Humane Society, I was interested in meeting a little female beagle. She was adopted. I kindly asked the lady working if she would keep us in mind for the previous stated qualities. Remember, I was thinking, and Bryan had been promised, a Chiuahua sized dog for our 2 bedroom condo. I could not have fallen in love quicker with a puppy than I did with this muddy, hairy, stinky, 70 pound mutt that came out to meet Grace and I. He and his mom had been there, turned over during a divorce, for 4 months. Dubbed our "70 pound Chiuahua" and renamed Foster, he has yet to meet a person who doesn't like him. Dog-haters like Foster. He doesn't leave the yard, generally doens't bark, has licked maybe 3 times, and is fantastic with all kids, cats and other dogs. The moral of my long love-story is simple. There are so many animals sitting in shelters, and this being something I have always been passionate about, consider adopting a dog or cat before EVER buying one. (Two of our three cats are/were adopted. The other was off a farm.) I am so far beyond annoyed by hearing about designer dogs and puppy-mill pet-stores. Granted, Foster is more of an exception than the rule. He did not come with a guarantee, but neither does a fancy little puppy. We adopted him with intentions of getting a dog that may have some training needs and we lucked out. People ask how I trained him, and I simply state that he came that way. He is our "Humane Society Special" and we know that he will never be replaced. Perhaps that is the hardest part of having adopted him at 3 years old. We missed a bit of his life, but that's what makes him Foster.

Self-Portrait

Now that is some serious artwork! We do a lot of crafts at our house. Anything from playdough sculptures to quite complicated little projects. Grace is an arts and crafts fanatic! She'll color for hours, put one hundred stickers on 2 (small) sheets of paper, string beads for jewelry, decorate cookies, and paint quite exquisite pieces for Daddy's office. The day that she was working on this portrait I actually managed to bake two loaves of bread and clean the kitchen. She keeps at it for quite some time! (Of course when Miles is napping no one tries to eat the paint.) I loved crafty projects growing up, although I have now knit twice in the last 4 years. I do attempt to do my own invites, thank-yous, cards, etc when time and children allow. When all else fails Bryan and I are master coloring champs in the Disney Princess division! Hopefully you all find time, in one way or another, to do the little things that life has pushed onto the sidelines!

Surprise!!!

Alright, so it's been awhile...but I've been busy! Between the drama that all holidays tend to bring and dealing with small children, I managed to completely blindside Bryan with a 30th birthday surprise party. Needless to say, on top of being in the throws of a bad cold, we all had a great time, and I was beyond glad to have pulled it off. Our kids were a bit tired too, as is apparent in the photo. (We were home by 8 though!) All in all we had a bunch of friends, family, fun, and food to make the night go round, so my thanks to any of you that pitched in or brought a dish. Now, bring on Christmas!!