Day 4

Day four was pretty good for potty training. He is definetly getting it and will go all day for a marshmallow. We are just hitting one bump in the road... Going poop in the potty. Today I'm thankful I don't have kids that eat food off the floor. I had to have a conversation with Casen that what was on the ground was not a chocolate chip. Ughhh....Hopefully your not eating as your reading this. Looks like I'll have to read up on how to get him to sit on the potty a little longer to take care of other business. 

We survived day 3

After 2 long days of potty training and endless sibling battles I was wanting to throw in the flag on potty training. He woke up eager to sit on his potty and go pee pee - I should clarify he was eager to get a marshmallow. It appears that marshmallows work wonders for Jackson. He did such a great job today. He even went and sat by himself twice and went. So proud of him and who knows maybe we will be done with diapers before the new year!

slightly annoyed

I was so proud of myself. I was thinking I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up the blog during the busy holiday season and then I looked and 4 posts didn't go through. If you are an avid follower there are a few posts that I had to republish tonight. I guess I should check my ipad before I close the app to see if it in fact published.

Besides myself being annoyed with Blogger, Jackson, is highly annoyed with his mommy, the timer that keeps going off, and THE POTTY.
Potty training has started and I am thinking we will take a little break if he doesn't buy into it by Tuesday. Day one was great and now the newness and fun has died off.
But I do have to say he looks rather cute in his saggy underwear.

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve to all our family and friends! 

Today we started out our day hunting for Lovee the Elf. He surprised the kids with some Christmas Magic in the shower. We now have a rainbow water in the shower. The kids were so excited! 

Next we finished off our Lego advent calendars and are down to one bag left of our special advent calendar. The kids are beyond excited to open the last one and add Baby Jesus to the manger in our nativity sets. 

Next, we had my favorite breakfast, potato pancakes. Emmeline even had some and decided they aren't that bad. Yes! I'm slowly converting them. 

After naps we headed to Nama's and Grandpa's for dinner and then Christmas Eve service. I love that it is all done in cndelight and I love that we all light and hold a candle at the close. 

After church we headed back for dessert, family time, and presents. Jackson definetly has it down this year and was so patient waiting his turn. 

After they crashed from their sugar rush we loaded up and headed to find our Santa Jammies. 

The kids heard the story The Night Before Christmas, set out their cookies and carrots, and off to bed. 

We are taking bets on what time they wake up? I'm hoping there are hours and hours of sugar plums dancing in their heads. 

Merry Christmas Eve! 

My little performers

Today we went to watch Caden and Emmeline's last preschool Christmas performance. Crazy to think next year they will be in kindergarten and Jackson will be in preschool.

Caden and Emmeline did outstanding. It is the sweetest thing to see them march in and sing with their class.

The program would be complete with out them waving and saying hi to each of their family members from up on stage. They have done this every year and seem to not be shy at all! 

After the performance they took a class photo and yes, I have the child who is making the funny face with his fingers in his mouth. Oh Caden!

To wrap up the show they went and saw Santa and we took our picture with their wish list. Every year I cringe. Funny how that list is different from the letter they mailed to Santa. It always puts me into a frenzy to try and help Santa find some toys. Thankfully Santa gets a little help from Amazon Prime. 

Our little performer

All of the play practice paid off. Today we had the perfect little horse that sat next to the manger and admired baby Jesus. 

She wasn't thrilled that she wasn't on stage for only one song. And she really wasn't thrilled when she couldn't hold baby Jesus and didn't have a solo. She is already counting down the days until the auditions for next. Looks like we will be adding singing lessons to her dance class as well. 

Sticky Fingers

Tonight we made our annual gingerbread houses and I can't stop smiling while writing this post. This year Caden decided to help decorate. I'm not going to lie it was a rough start with several melt downs over frosting getting on his fingers. A small tab of frosting on fingers would put a smile on most kids faces' as they realize they could lick it off put my little buddy into poor panic mode. We worked through it and by the end of it he was licking it off his fingers. A small win and a enough to put a smile on this mama's face. The kids did a great job and worked so hard. We will have to see how long the house will last!

Family Dinner

Tonight we had everyone over for a special family dinner. We celebrated Papa's birthday with a little sauce and meatball, red wine, and the most delicious apple pie. It was so nice to visit with everyone and I was thrilled that Dr. Chris and Emily were able join us. Wish I could say it was a quiet, low key family dinner, but with 3 little ones it is never quiet. After dinner the kids calmed down and Jackson serenaded us with Jingle Bells.  It is one of the cutest things I've ever heard. It was a great night, celebrating someone very special to us.

Happy Birthday to our fabulous Papa!!!

Growing and growing

It is the busy time of the year. I have a to do list that is about a mile long. Every time I feel like I cross something off I ads two more things. I have been putting off the family blog to tackle things at teaspoons and twine. It is pretty exciting to see that little blog grow. We went from a few clicks and follower to posts that are in the thousands and a few recent ones that are almost to 10,000. It is funny to see how some if our printable are floating around all over on Pinterest. And this week we got approved for ads on the blog. While I'm sure we are no where near retiring, it may be a little extra money to help with the craft projects. 

Feels like Christmas Morning

I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning when they brought this in. 

I'm so excited to have produce in my refrigerator that isn't going to freeze. I can't count how many heads of lettuce I have had to throw away because they were frozen solid. I'm thinking salad will be on the menu everyday next week! 

Pizza Party

After a hard and emotional week it was nice that a lot of us were able to get together for family dinner. We were lucky enough to have Uncle Tommy and his beautiful, sweet wife here. Emmeline loves her Aunt Erina and would love for them to live here. In 5 minutes she had Emmeline using a Spanish word correctly in context. Think what she could learn if they lived here!  The kiddos had so much fun using Uncle Tommy as a jungle gym and Caden was in love with his huge phone. And while there was so much bad news the past few weeks, it was nice to give Aunt Sherry a hug and be thankful for the little bit of good news that came and to see most of the family together.

Christmas Card Holder

Tonight I finished an easy little project to hang Christmas cards that arrive. 

I love that Chris thinks nothing of me asking for a sander for my birthday  or using a staple gun in out bedroom at 9 o'clock at night. 

I can't wait for everyone's cards to arrive so I can hang them. And did you spot our card? This is a first for me- cards done before Thanksgiving. They are stamped and ready to go! 

Early Thanksgiving Celebration

Tonight we had an early Thanksgiving with the Crawford and Solinski side. It was the first in the new house and the first holiday we have celebrated with Esther or as the kids call her Baby Esther.

It was wonderful to all be together. I was in charge of center pieces for the table. Emmeline and I spotted and almost got in a fight over this purple cauliflower. We opted to share with the person and our good deed was rewarded with me finding more at Winco. Who would have thought a trip to the bulk bins would result in me spotting more of it.

I went for a center piece that wouldn't end up in the trash and could all be reused. 

Dinner was delicious and the company was fun and fabulous. 

The kids had so much fun with their aunts and uncles, Nama, Papa, GG, Atticus, and their favorite Baby Esther. It melts my heart to see them play together.

Have so many great memories of holidays with my family, my cousin, and family that we considered cousins. I'm so thankful that they are getting to build some of the same memories. 

Of course the evening would be complete without a photo shoot to document them being together. Nothing like trying to get 4 kids to all look in the same direction to get you to work up a sweat.  

The Big Game

Today I was lucky enough to go to the "Big Game" with my husband and two of our favorite people.  I'm so use to watching the husband coach and me be in the stands that it is hard to get use to. I love going with the guys and hearing them call the play before it is done. It amazes me how they can look at how they are lined up and guess that. After all these years the X's and O's still confuse me.

The game was a blow out. It was fun knowing a player in the other team. A few times I forgot who I was rooting for. After sweating in the stands thanks to the beautiful November weather we opted to leave a little early when we were certain Stanford had the W. The season tickets ended up being a ton of fun and something that I'm pretty sure we will do for years to come.

Master of disguise

Mr. Jackson makes me giggle every day. I don't know what happened, but Jackson has broken out if his shell and has quite the personality. Lately we are unable to get him out of the house without a hat, boots, and jacket or wings. And his hat of choice is either his Woody hat or his firemen hat. 

He can't seem to make up his mind if he wants to be Buzz, Woody, Luigi, or a firemen. His learned to get creative bad mix and match his outfits. The outfit that takes the cake has to be his Woody hat with swim goggles that he wore to a Bulldog football fame. The kid was tripping and falling from the goggles, but wouldn't give them up. 

Oh he makes me laugh. The best is the reaction I get from people when they see him. He tends to leave them speechless. 

The Crib is Gone

I can hardly believe that 5 years later and our house is without a crib in it. It makes me sad and makes me think we should work on fixing that. 

My baby is now in a big boy bed. A few months ago we turned his crib into a toddler bed and he did great. The transition was painless so we decided to move him into a big bed. The one bonus of being done with the crib is that we are closer to getting the boys to share a room and getting an office back. 

Look at my big boy who will forever be my baby! And yes he was taking advantage of the new big bed by spreading out and sleeping with every animal and book. 

Date Night postponed

 I decided a few days ago to plan a surprise date night for tonight thinking that the football season would be over. And then this morning I had to call the babysitter and cancel. Lucky for us she is a huge Bulldog fan and understood. 

It was a great game last night and a great  surprise win. The kids did a great job cheering on the dogs. They have been such troopers hanging out in the stands so I can watch the game.

Pheasant Day

Today we went to Pheasant Day. It was my first time going out to The Ranch in years. Last time we were out there we were celebrating a newly engaged Gabe and Tiffani. It's only been 6 years, but it's crazy how different out lives are now. Today instead of hauling an ice chest of beer, I had a box of Capri Suns and
goldfish crackers. 

The kids had a blast playing in the dirt, chasing the dogs, running around, and snacking on some delish food. They were pretty well behaved minus the one scream fest from Jackson. I'm sure the old men were wanting him gone, but in his defense the poor boy got bit by a yellow jacket. Of all places it got him on his middle finger. My little love walked around with a swollen, red middle finger. After some hugs, kisses, and a cookie and lollipop he was ready to play.

 They came home exhausted and covered in dirt which equals a successful time. 

Fall Fun

Today the kids and I had a great day playing in the backyard. We attempted to tackle the leaves again. After filling the green toter, having Caden stomp in it, and then repeating the process several times we tackled about a 1/4 of the leaves. The kids had a great time and lucky for them there are hundreds more leaves to rake on Tuesday.

And then there was Jackson. He was hysterical wearing the goggles and raking with a bat. Love my crazy boy! 

Taking Advantage

This mama is taking advantage of the final few weeks of football by getting some projects done after the kids go to bed. Tonight I tackled new Christmas Stockings. They are almost done. I just need to stencil letters on them. It's crazy that we are half way through November. It will be Christmas before you know it. 

Back with the Living

Today Daddy seemed to join the living again. The past 5 days he has been holed up in our room. He made a departure to go coach Friday night and then has been pretty much locked away until this afternoon. The kids have been very worried about him and have missed him. It's tricky keeping them away when they know he is in the house. They were excited to see him up and heading out to practice. And this mommy was even more excited he was home to read bedtime stories before he crawled back into bed. It has been a long few weeks with several sick patients. This mommy is very thankful for early bedtime, red wine, and brownie brittle (Tiffani you are in so much trouble for introducing me to this!) to get me through this. Praying that Daddy feels better soon, he has a full week with playoffs. 

Black and Blue

Tonight we cheered on our very sick Daddy and his Bulldogs from the comfort of our home. We had our black and orange jams on and popcorn and a movie and then the kids were in bed and asleep do I could follow along the nail biting Black and Blue Bowl. Thank goodness for technology. I am so grateful for the play by play text messages from my mother in law. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the game. After a nail biter first half the Dogs pulled ahead for the VICTORY. Now we are going to nurse our daddy to health so he can focus on playoffs. 

2 Down

The flu has gotten two of us. I should have known that my kids were way to calm for a sugar filled holiday. Caden woke up twice needing two breathing treatments :( I hate this time of year for him and then was wiped out and had a fever by afternoon. Emmeline had to come home early from school and spent the afternoon laying around and not arguing with her brother over what movie to watch during family movie night. (you know she is sick if she is agreeing.) Now we pray and hope the flu bug decides to visit elsewhere. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Mario, Luigi, and Princess Sophia or to keep with a theme we will call her Princess Peach. ;) 

I survived not making all of our costumes this year, bit I do think my last minute creation of Luigi turned out just as cute as the extremely short version we had. And I didn't get a picture of me with the kids. I went as a mushroom. After a few states I took my hat off and just traveled as a mom. :) 

We started our day off with some fun cupcake decorating with Miss Kelsey. Caden was so excited that it involved an Oreo. It's a spider that involved lots of messy frosting that he slowly warmed up to having on his fingers. I think I went through an entire roll with him, but so worth it. 

The boys spent the whole day in their hats avid Jackson wore his whole costume mustache included from 10 on. He even took his nap wearing his hat. 

After naps we started our rounds with a visit to see Great Pop at his nursing home. The kids love going there and they were so excited to see the place decorated. After that we headed to Grandma, GG, Uncle J and Aunt Cory, Aunt Elizabeth, and Nonie. Emmeline didn't seem herself and was tired so we headed home without seeing the DeTars - can't believe we didn't get to see our boys or get a group photo:( and we didn't make it to our church. Next year I guess we will start Halloween earlier in the day and make a pit stop first at the DeTars to get a photo. 

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Lesson #1 DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN TO TRY ON STORE BOUGHT COSTUMES

This is the first year that the kids did not want to do a family theme. Well I should clarify, Emmeline didn't want to. I knew the day would come just didn't think it would be at 5. She found the costume she loved at the store and so did Caden so we went ahead and bought them. Since Caden decided he wanted to be Mario from Super Mario Brothers we thought it would be cute to have Jackson be Luigi. No stores carried the costume but I found a 2-4t online and ordered it. I assumed a 2t-4t would fit with plenty of room. Since I have always made their costumes there were always several moments when I needed them to try it on so I could hem or pin in certain spots. Good thing I decided to try on the costumes today because Jackson must be a giant in China or wherever his costume was made. The poor kid was so  smushed into his costume.

So after daddy got home. I headed out in search of something to work for Luigi.

Lesson #2 - DO NOT GO TO THE OUTLETS WHEN IT'S DARK

I know that the Fairfield Mall is totally off limits at night, but I assumed the outlets is totally safe. Well I can't be certain but I'm pretty sure I was witness to some ladies who were trying to pass stolen checks. The ladies and their friends already seemed really out of place in the Osh Gosh outlet and then they threw in their over the top friendlyness and wanting to chit chat and distract the poor girl ringing them up and I was thinking this was all bad. Surprising the first check they tried to use wouldn't read in the machine, then they didn't have an ATM card, the other girl's ATM card was demagnetized, and then suddenly they found a different check book. But wouldn't you know as I'm finally being helped by someone else I hear them ask for an ID and the girl can't find it. My secret long ago dream of being an FBI agent came out and I'm thinking COME ON, this is a SCAM. I was feeling really bad for the girls helping them. When I was done I casually went to the connecting store and was acting like I was shopping but was trying to see what was playing out. After waiting a little bit and the girl still digging looking for an ID I casually told the worker in the other store that the customer seems to be dragging out process and I'm not sure if they need some "extra" help. I gave her a certain look. I was hoping she got my vibe. I headed to my van and thought I would write a few license plates down that looked sketch and then decided that I would put my mom hat back on and go home. 

After the crazy evening, I'm happy to report that Jackson will now have a semi homemade costume that will actually cover his legs and will not look like a wresting singlet. 

Bucket List

I am so excited to share that thanks to the help of a lot of people and a few helpful people at Pebble Beach we were able to mark one of my Dad's dreams come true. There had been several phone calls and emails in secret to make all this happen. We had a few options to get him on the course the day after Christmas, but after a lot of discussion about weather and health we decided October was best. So when I saw of all days TODAY it was forecasted to rain I was an emotional mess. I did something that I rarely do and called out to my Facebook friends for some prayers. And God is GOOD. Drizzle on the first hole and then I got a text that the rain held off until after he finished the 18th. I'm not sure that they were able to see the bag pipe performance at sunset due to the rain, but thank God he played with no rain. He had some special visitors during and after. Receiving all the pictures made all the stress worth it and made my heart so happy. What a perfect day! 

Here are some pictures from their special day. 

Pumpkins and Popcorn

Tonight we had our annual Pumpkins and Popcorn. We were blessed with some beautiful fall weather for pumpkin carving and movie night under the stars.  It was fun to have some new kids from preschool here and it was cute to see the little ones hanging  with the big kids watching the movie. There were some pretty yummy snacks thanks to all the talented mommies.  I am now addicted to what they call "apple crack". It was sooooo good - lets just say it all magically disappeared while I was cleaning up. I need to get that recipe.
I'm sad to report that I don't have any photos to post. =( I was super busy running around and chatting with some of the other moms that I didn't have a chance to snap a photo. I love fall, but I am already looking forward to warmer weather so we can start movie nights up again.

Benadryl Please !

Well it looks like sweet Caden inherited the one thing I wished none of my kids would get...my nut allergy. I was so proud of him tonight at Cubbies he tried something new a apple muffin. He devoured it and during his last few bites I noticed a few walnuts. I figured it was no biggie. We do our bedtime routine and he mentioned he felt like he needed a breathing treatment. He wasn't coughing but I has gotten good at telling us when he feels he needs one. He finished his treatment, headed to bed, and woke up screaming a few hours later. I was greeted to this. 

And this 

Poor boy. His neck is worst and looks like one giant swollen hive. Hoping the Benadryl kicks in so he has some relief, but it is going to be a long night if no sleep worrying about my buddy. Scratch that it is going to now be a lifetime of worry over every snack he consumes. I was really praying he wouldn't have to deal with what I have had to deal with all these years. 

40th Anniversary Celebration

Tonight we had the family over to celebrate my Mom and Dad. 

Next Sunday they will be celebrating their anniversary in Monterey where they honeymooned staying at none other than Pebble Beach. This has been a surprise I have been working on for sometime. They were making me panic when they started planning a trip, but it all worked out. After the emotional roller coaster of a year my mom and dad have been on this year with more downs than ups with Dad fighting cancer and my mom fighting for her job, I wanted something special. As long as I can remember Dad's #1 on his bucket list has been to play Pebble Beach. There have been a few times when things have gotten in the way. Well with a break in treatment and with it only being a week away it looks like with the help of my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandma their wish is coming true. 

Since they will be gone next weekend we got the family together to celebrate today.  We were lucky to have Aunt Sue my Mom's honorary older sister and matron of honor in her wedding join us. Uncle Jon, Aunt Rachel, and the sweetest baby ever, my niece Esther were here. The kids  LOVE Esther and love making her smile and laugh. 

The kids had a blast playing in the backyard counting stars with Aunt Rachel . Still not sure what number they decided on. :) 

And while they were counting I was busy getting my baby fix. It was a beautiful evening.