The 'Wii'

Dave has been talking a lot about a Wii over the past couple of months. He wants one. He says he especially wants one because they are so hard to find. I can't believe they've been the top Christmas gift two years running. We know people who have them but have never played it.

I wonder if they are as cool as they are cracked up to be....

Playing Chutes and Ladders

Drew received the Chutes and Ladders board game from Santa this year, and gets so excited playing it. He especially loves spinning the dial and yelling out the number, between 1 and 6. The 'yelled' number is often followed by lots of jumping up and down, which is funny to watch since he is frequently subdued and mellow, except when he is throwing a temper tantrum, which fortunately is less often these days.

This game is not only fun for him, it is a great learning experience because he gets to practice reading numbers (both right side up and upside down), taking turns, motor skills and counting as our pieces advance on the board.

I remember this game when I was young - it was popular then. I wonder if it will still be popular when Drew has children...

Drew's Kitchen

Drew is in heaven playing with his new kitchen/BBQ set. It's a kitchen on one side and a BBQ grill on the other.


He especially loved serving us coffee...


Time to put the pizza in the oven...


Grilling out.

Playing in the snow

Fun memories from Christmas in Wichita playing in the snow...

Sledding with cousin Tyler

Yummm....snow tastes like a slushy!


Sledding down the hill with Daddy

Christmas Eve

I love this time of year. Christmas decorations, festive music, shoppers buying last minute gifts, and when we're lucky, snow. Dave, Drew and I had a blast sledding and playing in several inches of snow today with my brother and Drew's 4-year-old cousin. We wanted to build a snowman but we have to wait until the snow starts to melt - it's too dry and won't stick together yet. But it looks like a winter wonderland outside. We also made a trip to Starbucks, one of our favorite splurges, and warmed up with yummy hot drinks after being chilled by the snow.

Later today we'll go to Christmas Eve mass with extended family. Another tradition I treasure. For now it's a lazy day......some people are just waking up from naps and others are still sound asleep, storing energy for a late night with the family celebrating with amazing food and wine. How lucky we are.

Children in Church

I was at church yesterday morning and was so impressed by a couple of families in the front row with children who were like little angels. What is the secret to getting little ones to behave in church? I would love to know. I prefer not to sit in the cry room because there is little or no control of children there. But Drew has a hard time sitting still and staying quiet, so it's a struggle to sit in the main church with him. Hopefully over time he will become more patient and willing to sit quietly in church.

Good-bye purple

It was time to change the color of this blog when I began cringing after opening it. Purple was fun when starting this, but was becoming increasingly more difficult to look at. I think this one is easier on the eyes.

End of the Tree Saga

I am very excited to say we have a beautiful Christmas tree! Last weekend Dave decided he was going with the tree he’s had in his truck for two weeks (I’m not kidding) from Home Depot, and when he was setting it up there was a string of lights that didn’t work. ARGGG!!! Fortunately they had more to exchange it and they were further discounted! So it was an even better bargain and we LOVE bargains. It did take a couple of hours to set up, pulling apart all of the branches, which explains why the trees on display at Home Depot look bare…they don’t take the time to set them up nicely.

This tree is 9’ tall and has 1500 lights, which is more than most prelit 9’ trees. Dave jokes if you look at it too long it will burn your retinas. It is almost too bright. But we love it. We have one ornament (Drew made it for us at preschool) and a tree topper on it. Next year we’ll put it up early and take the time to add the ornaments, but for now it works great.

I do have one other ornament up, and it’s over my desk. It is a dancing hippo with a green sparkle dress, frilly white skirt, fuchsia high heels and fake eyelashes. It is from our MOYC Christmas party last week (what a great time) and was stolen a few times before I took it home. Drew is dying to get his hands on Hilda the Hippo but I tell him we just look.

The Christmas Season

We made the trip up to Union Station and Crown Center today to enjoy the train display and Christmas decorations. That area is so fun to visit any time of year, but decorated for the Holidays, it was especially beautiful.

The train display is quite large and very impressive. We saw at least 3 Christmas trees that were 2+ stories tall and festively decorated. We even had our Christmas card picture taken with one of them. The setting reminds me of Christmas in Hawaii with the waterfall.

All I want for Christmas is....

We recently went to Breakfast with Santa for Dave's work and Drew was very excited to see Santa. We stood in line as he watched other children walk up to Santa and sit on their lap. He was all ready to do that.....until it was his turn. So Drew and I had our picture taken with Santa. Then we told Santa what Drew would like for Christmas....a helicopter, a stove, an oven (he's really a chef at heart) and a train. He especially loved the candy cane, and ate the entire thing on the way home. Now we need to work on the 'deer in the headlights' look when taking pictures....

Will we ever have a Christmas tree???

For the last 3 weeks we have been discussing whether we want a real or an artificial tree this year. I vote for artificial because it requires no water, doesn't leave sap on your hands and doesn't drop needles on the floor, and Dave agrees. The only thing I will miss is the scent, but we can light a candle for that.

Dave has visited no less than 5 retailers, comparing their artificial trees, plus he has spent countless hours looking at them online. I come home to 11x17 color print outs spread across the kitchen table to compare options he is recommending. Being the thorough shopper he is, he even ordered several different styles of sample branches from one online store, which we received today. In the meantime, he purchased one tree last weekend, in case it sold out, and is leaving it in the box until he exhausts the other sources he is considering. We have to laugh about it.

Tonight he asked me what the latest date is we can have the tree arrive, and adds that if we receive it close to Christmas then we can leave the tree up in to January. Maybe I am unique, but after Christmas Day I'm ready for Christmas decorations to go back in storage.

A real tree is sounding better every day....

My Little Baker

Drew loves to help me cook or bake anything. He has a 'tower' he can stand in to be at counter height next to me while I'm mixing, measuring, etc.

Today he helped me make an Italian Cream Cake. He enjoyed it so much he was giddy. He helped pour in the ingredients and mix them in. He licked the beaters for at least 15 minutes. Every time I tried to wash them he said he wasn't finished yet, and would go back for more. I can totally relate....the batter is always better than the cake or cookies :).

Mom's 70th Birthday

My Mom turned 70 last week, and my siblings and I made the trip to Wichita this weekend with our families. There are 20 of us including spouses and kids. It was a weekend of playing catch in the backyard, watching football and good food/wine/beer.

My brother, David, and his wife Lorie hosted the party at their house Saturday night and it was the perfect family evening. There were wonderfully scented candles in every room, we had Italian catered in and Cara had her wedding cake lady make a beautiful cake that tasted as amazing as it looked.

We ended the evening with a slide show to music, with pictures from Mom & Dad's wedding, spanning 45 years to current day.

Even though we were all there less than 48 hours, it was great family time for the grandkids to play with their cousins and the rest of us to catch up and reminisce.

That's what great memories are made of.

Halloween Festivities

yummmmm...

Grrrrrrrrrrr!!

This has been a fun age for Drew to enjoy Halloween. Last week we decorated pumpkin sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles, earlier this week his preschool class had a Halloween party and tonight he went out with us to trick-or-treat. It took one house to understand the concept....if I say 'trick-or-treat' they give me candy......and he was a pro. He came home with about 5 houses worth of candy in his pumpkin and couldn't wait to dump it out with Daddy and try as many pieces as possible. Needless to day he was an hour late getting to bed and still a little wired, but it was worth it.

Potty Training

We've been applauding Drew for going to the bathroom on his potty for months now and he loves the experience. Unfortunately he hasn't gotten to the point where he tells us when he has to go yet, but we're hoping that will come soon.

Recently Drew and I were shopping at Target and we made a stop in the restroom before leaving the store. It was both embarrassing and funny when Drew said loudly "Yea, Mommy went potty" clapping his hands.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Drew to the Pumpkin Patch today and had such a great time. It's one of our favorite activities every year and the weather today was perfect for it.....a cool, sunny, breezy fall day. The Pumpkin Patch we went to was at Surbuban Lawn and Garden in KC, MO. We love that place. We're in the market for a new tree in the front corner of the house so we took a golf cart around the tree farm and made it a fun shopping excursion. We made a stop at the playground for Drew to go down the slide and play in the little cedar house. We went on a hayride, and rode in a military vehicle which both Dave and Drew loved! Both boys are zonked now....Dave on the sofa watching the Chiefs, and Drew in his bed....peace :).

American Royal BBQ

My friend Laura and I helped judge the American Royal BBQ competition today. This is our second year to judge after exhibiting the two years prior. Judging is a lot less work with much of the same benefit - great BBQ! We judged 5 categories of meats: chicken, ribs, pork, brisket and sausage. This year we followed the lead of others and brought coolers to bring home the best in each category. You end up taking 1 or 2 bites of each piece, and judge 5+ pieces in each category. So we each brought home a LOT of BBQ. Good thing it freezes well.

Telemarketers

We don't mind receiving mail about a new service or asking for a donation, but do not like telemarketing calls to the house. Since Drew loves answering the phone, when a telemarketer called, Dave let Drew answer the phone. He told the friendly caller all about Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto. Drew then ended the call with 'bye bye' and a kiss.

No More Tantrums

I am relieved there were no major tantrums today. We went to school early this morning so Drew could play with the train before going to his classroom. 5 minutes of train time and he was fulfilled. I did hear from his teacher that he took other children's toys twice today, ran off with them, and was put in time out both times. Miss Jenny says consistency in discipline is the key. Good advice.

Terrible Two's

Today Drew's temper tantrums reached an all time high. I was picking him up from preschool and he wanted to stay and play with the train. So I let him play with it for a few minutes then gave him the standard 'one minute' warning that usually works like a charm. This time it did not work and he threw himself to the floor saying he wanted to stay and play with the train. I gave him the choice of walking towards the door with me or I could carry him. The little stinker wouldn't get up so I ended up carrying him out of preschool screaming and kicking with all eyes on us, mean mom that I am. The tantrum continued in the car for 10 more minutes - I've never heard him so mad. I hope this heightened temper isn't a sign of what's to come...

The Life of a Mom

I initially saw this on youtube and didn't learn how to post it here before it was removed. I've sense received it as an attachment. All Moms should see this one!

Dave's Birthday

We have a wonderful birthday tradition in our family. Even Mom and Dad get birthday cakes with a candle, and we sing. It's mainly for Drew's enjoyment because he loves cakes, singing happy birthday and fire. It's a little scary...we call him our pyromaniac. For Dave's recent birthday we celebrated with one of our favorites, a Sheridan's ice cream cake.

First Posting - no pressure

I've been spending so much time reading other people's blogs.......it's a great way to learn about their lives. Even people I don't know - I find myself living vicariously through them for a few minutes. Cooking blogs, gardening blogs, motherhood blogs.....I'm finding all of my favorite topics. I chose the name "The Spice of Life" because that describes everything I love about life, and I believe in living with lots of it.