Plaza Lights

What happens when a family member gets a sweet new camera? Yep! You end up with some great pictures!

During our KC stay, Derek's parents took the whole family out for a fabulous meal at McCormick and Schmick's (and yes, we had a chocolate bag) before doing a little strolling along the plaza. And if you've never been to Kansas City, the plaza is a huge outdoor shopping area that lights up on Thanksgiving day. It's absolutely gorgeous during the holidays and is a long tradition for KC-ers to enjoy the sites! After we watched some horsies and bell ringers, we had Matt snap a couple pictures and I love how they turned out!

This next one? Definitely a framer!

And that rounds out the Holidays at Home pictures! Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years Eve!

(Unless you're like us and will be in bed by 10pm)

4th Christmas

This year, we had a total of 4 Christmas celebrations and I couldn't be happier. I love seeing extended family and having Drew see faces that he's not seen in a while or never even met. It's nice to catch up in person with those whom you facebook or instagram with all year but live too far away to actually see.

Thursday evening we ventured over to my Aunt's house for a celebration with my cousins and their families. Jackson is about 8 months older than Drew and it's always fun to catch a glimpse of what Drew will soon be up to. Here is our picture from 4 years ago as a family and here we were on Thursday....

The house was loud, the kids were running everywhere and bourbon slush was being devoured quickly. An outsider looking in would have considered it pure chaos, but to us, it's a familiar setting of which has become the norm I love. And although he wasn't smiling, at least we got a small family picture of us 3!

Christmas Day 2012

First, a snapshot of my 2012 wrapping motif. This is probably one of my favorite things about the Holidays each year and I was so excited to have fun with it again. Generally, I spend a lot of time picking out a color theme and accessories, but this year I went with some different 'North Pole Packages'. Utilizing brown packaging paper, green yarn, red stamps and tags found on Brooklyn Limestone, I created a basic, but fun wrapping theme!

 

 



Christmas morning was spent with my parents where Drew started off the morning putting baby Jesus in his manger and opening his stocking just as I did there in my youth.

 



 

Then after enoying some egg nog and my mothers banana bread, it was on to opening gifts. Drew loved to unwrap each package, but was more interested in putting every single piece of paper into the trash bag instead of what was actually inside the package. The process was painstakingly slow, but alas we eventually got through each and every package from my side of the family. 

 



 

Post nap, it was on to Derek's side of the family where he had another stocking ready to be emptied and tons more packages ready to be opened.

 



 

It was an amazing Christmas with both sides of the family and we appreciate all of the wonderful, thoughtful gifts. I loved watching our family open the gifts we gave them, but watching Drew open his was definitely the highlight for me. I have to admit, however, that my favorite part of the day had to have been when the pumpkin pie came out (for the 2nd time that day). We decided to let Drew enjoy his share of pumpkin pie on the couch with his daddy and grandpa.

 

He ate as much as his little stomach could hold until he was about to burst. And then, the best picture-perfect moment I could have imagined happened when his belly popped out of his shirt and he sunk back into the couch. Too bad I only had my iPhone, but you get the idea...

I hope all of your bellies were filled just as much as your hearts were this Christmas!

4 Great-Grandkids

To start off Holiday celebrations in the midwest, we drove over to Wichita, Kansas on Sunday with Derek's family. Drew's only living great-grandparent, Gigi, was there and he was finally going to meet three of his second cousins. The 4 of them range in age from 1-2 and it was quite cute seeing them all interact.

That being said, trying to get a picture of them all sitting nicely with Gigi was near impossible. We tried plopping them down and snapping quickly but that was a nightmare. Three moms ultimately had to join in the picture and we still didn't get one with everybody posed.

So here's the best shot that I got. I'm on the right and two of Derek's cousins are on the other side of Gigi with their little ones. Left to right are Kolton (18 mo), Kensey (22 mo), Matthew (12 mo) and then Drew who wouldn't let go of the huge, stuffed, talking raccoon.

At least they all enjoyed Great Aunt Barb's arts and crafts time....

Hope you had a wonderful Holiday! More pictures from our multitude of Christmas celebrations to come later this week!

Happy Holidays to All!

A Look Through The Years

I broke out the external hard drive this week to find some pictures for my mother-in-law and came across some old pictures of Derek and myself. I thought it would be fun to share a few from the pre-blogging days so we could all have a good laugh.

Wanna see them?

Ok so I've already shared our very first pictures taken together here, but here are a few more of our favorite blasts from the past....

Fall 2003

July 2004

Christmas 2005

Summer 2006

Summer 2007

Fall 2007

Fall 2008

February 2009

And here we are, just a month ago. 

Did you notice how Derek's hair has remained completely unchanged whereas mine has gone from short to long to blond to dark brown to straight to curly. And yes, we were both heavier in the past (we're at a combined 65 lbs lower than our all-time highs!). Thankfully, we are just much healthier than any picture above and despite knowing how life can get crazy with children, I'm hoping we can stay in shape for decades to come. 

A lot has changed with us in the past 10 years, but one thing hasn't and that's our love for each other. {Cue sappy violin music} Unwavering and stronger than it's ever been, we consider ourselves lucky to have found the other.

Through thick and thin, he is my other half.

Choo Choo Fun

What is it about trains that are so enticing to toddlers? I mean, really, it's just a small piece of metal or wood that goes around on a track and that's about it. I don't know if that question will ever be answered, but you can bet your bottom That Drew is 100% on the train bandwagon. And that's also why mommy will be finding fun displays around town whenever possible.

Hence, the tree nursery's display we went to this weekend...

Drew was in heaven.

... but even more-so when it was his turn to press the "magic" Thomas button propelling the little guy around the track.

Someday we might have a little girl in which I'm going to have to learn about the world of dolls, but for now, his world revolves around trains.

Family Photos

Now that the majority of our friends and family have received our Holiday card with some of these shots, may I present to you, pictures from our session with the amazing Tess Smith.

And as any good photographer should, she even includes the outtakes that make me smile....

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Did you know that today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day? Basically, we're all supposed to slather anything with some chocolate goodness. I think I can handle that seeing as how A) I could literally dip anything in chocolate and B) I have tons of lefover mini chocolate chips sitting around from my banana bread baking marathon sessions.

How will you celebrate?

A Christmas Post (w/ a tag!)

So although I don't do the Liebster Award thing or haven't done a lot of tagging games, Jenn over at Ripples and Waves tagged me in a Christmas traditions post and I couldn't resist. It's my favorite time of the year so why not participate and keep this chain going!  

Here it goes!

1.) What makes Christmas such a special holiday for you and your family?
Oh lawdhavemercy. Can I just answer with 'everything'? Family, food, giving, the spirit, pumpkin spice latte's, snow, tons of days off work, etc etc etc. I absolutely love the magic of this time of year and countdown the months every year. Definitely something that has always made it special is the Christmas Eve service at my church. Derek and I have attended for 17+ years (even though we didn't meet until 10 years ago) with our families and I've only missed one Christmas Eve service. I was 38 weeks pregnant and couldn't fly back to KC that year! 

2.) Were you told the truth about Santa Claus by your parents or did you find out another way? And...do you plan on lying to your kids (if you have them or plan on having them)?
What? Santa isn't real? I've always loved the Polar Express and how it really relates to adults too basically saying you don't have to believe in Santa specifically, but just his spirit and what he stands for. I think I found out at school and I plan on raising my children how I was raised. Even when we 'knew', we still had presents from Santa and believed in his spirit. 

3.) Real tree or fake tree?
We always grew up with a real tree. Derek and I had fake until this year and I plan to always have real until we're too old to deal with them! 

4.) Do you open presents on Christmas morning, Christmas Eve, or both?
We would always beg to open something on Christmas Eve as children and I like the idea of opening one gift that evening. But Christmas morning, it was always stockings first then presents. 

5.) What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch and Favorite Christmas song to sing or listen to?
The movie is a tie between Love Actually and Elf. As for song, I have a tie there also. Faith Hill's "Where Are You Christmas" and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas". But trust me, I love them all. I've been known to even listen to Christmas music in the summer! 

And here's the 5 bloggers I'm going to tag:

Michelle at Step By Step. Oooh Baby (only cause she's a real life bestie and she has to play!)

Rachel over at Wade's World

Desiree at The Macke Monologues

Lauren at Are We There Yet

Marcie over at The Morris Family Blog

And you know I can't write a post without including a picture....

Copious Calories

Breakfast with the munchkin this past weekend.

For me, this time of year has always been a frustration in the calorie department. Whether its leftover goodies from Holiday parties, yummy morsels sent from clients or treats from Drew's school, some type of food is always hanging around just begging for my attention. The struggle seems to start at Thanksgiving and not end until New Years Day. And although I am pretty good about getting to the gym 5 days a week, it's the weekends and time with friends and family that catch up to me. I'm not good at watching my food intake when we're staying in Kansas City and I can't resist those 400 calorie martini's when we're at Holiday parties! ... oh and egg nog? One CUP is over 300 calories. But I digress.

My goal this year has not been to be a more conscious eater (although I'm trying), but to follow my BFF's lead. She has done a lot of soul-searching this year and 'let go' of frustrations and anxiety-ridden thoughts in her life. With her change as my example, I'm trying not to dwell so much on my calorie intake this Holiday season. Who cares if I put on 5 pounds during this time. Sure the pants are a bit tighter, but I doubt anyone actually can tell. And if this is the only time of year that I love to enjoy egg nog or get a chance to eat my father's fudge so be it. I refuse to let a few stupid elbee's hold me back. And heck, I'll just run them off at the gym come January anyway! 

So cheers to that 2nd helping of dessert, or the 5th calorie-filled drink in one evening. My new found "I-don't-give-a-crap-attitude" should be adopted by all until 1/1. Who cares if we have to loosen our belt a notch or two, it's the Holidays. And, most of us will be wearing bulky sweaters or comfy leggings anyway, am I right?!

Dear Mr. Snowman

       I'd like to start off by sending you my sincerest regrets. I apologize, Mr. Snowman, for bringing you into our life and causing such trauma in your life. I thought I was saving you from a boring life on a shelf where you'd get poked and prodded everyday by potential owners. I was hoping I was saving you from eventually being stuck on the clearance aisle next to creepy Santa dolls or broken reindeer. I thought you would look nice in our house and you sure do, but you didn't ask for this.

       Little did I know bringing you home that you would become the obsession of our toddler who thinks he runs this house. I didn't know you would be drug around the floors and hugged so much your innards were squished to pieces. I'm so sorry for the constant, slobbery kisses and eye poking.  

       I wish I had known that those-we-do-not-speak-of would dance around the house with you pulling your arms in different directions. I'm so sorry Mr. Snowman and hope you will make it through the season. Maybe I'll find a companion for you so that you may be tortured together as opposed to by yourself. Hey, at least the dogs decided not to make you their friend, right?!

                                 My deepest apologies,

                                 The mother of your worst nightmare

Gingerbread House

I was at Target the other day spending way too much time just perusing the Holiday aisles when I ran across a gingerbread set. The 'cracker' house was already built, and the kit included everything you'd need to decorate. Perfect. Sometimes I get annoyed at how lazy we've become as a country, but then I spot this and for a split second, I'm glad. Sure we could have built the house ourselves and just bought piecemeal frosting, gumdrops, etc, but why? My toddler would last 15 minutes decorating and be ready to move on anyway. This house-in-a-box made our life just that much easier this week and for once, a lazy consumer product was what we needed.

Drew absolutely loved selecting and placing each piece onto the house. His concentration levels were out the door and his extreme patience was something we really hadn't seen before. It was so adorable watching him figure it all out and making his house exactly how he wanted.

.... and then he got a taste of icing. Funny how each piece thereafter was pushed in a bit harder in order to get more frosting on his fingers.

... and then I got a taste of the icing. And proceeded to make 6 vanilla wafer cookie sandwiches with the last of it. Don't judge.

A Crappy Post

First, let's chat about the non-crappy part. And that would be the fact that it's my father's birthday today! The quiet force in our family, my dad has always been there for me whenever I needed and I'm so thankful for that. He is the goofy one that can make anyone laugh, especially Drew, and always has my back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! 

Love you tons!!

Now, on to the crap. {warning: not for those who get grossed out easily}

So our basement toilet has always filled super high when you flush it before the water goes down. It's quite a mini-scare every flush, but we figured that's just what the settings were. And then my family came into town for Thanksgiving and within a few days of their stay, it was overflowing with each flush and the guys couldn't figure out why.

Fast forward to the following day when the plumber arrived. He had to pull the toilet off completely and use his gynormous snaking machine before he could see what was clogging the pipes. Meanwhile, I'm frantically trying to think of what gets flushed down that toilet other than toilet paper. Nothing. I had no clue. Except, did maybe Drew stick a toy down there?

And then about 20 minutes in, I go to check on him only to find out the reason for the backup; baby wipes. ARGH! You see, we dump Drew's poo from his cloth diapers into that toilet, and sometimes leave a wipe in the diaper if it's got a big clump of poo in it. You see, I don't like poo sitting in our trash can and didn't realize that a wipe here and there was bad for a toilet. I figured it was like toilet paper and would biodegrade. Boy was I wrong.

$225 later, our pipes were clean. And my tail was between my legs.

Oh well... you live and you learn right? So here's my piece of advice; Do NOT flush baby wipes. EVER.

Evidence below: click to enlarge only if you dare