Advent Calendars Rock!

I just have to give a shout out to my friend Heidee for giving my son such a meaningful and fun gift. This simple advent calendar has been so much fun. Every morning Ben wakes with the question..."Mommy, can I go get my chocolate now?" He just loves it and it is just one magical part of this Christmas season.

Fun Times

ok. Sometimes you just need to be silly. So, this morning as we were making breakfast, we decided to play with my most recent christmas gift. I received this lovely gag gift at my book club outing where we decided to exchage "white elephant" gifts....the only catch was you had to wear whatever you received- throughout the whole dinner. Luckily, I did not pick the shower cap! Ben looks like a real chef here.

Santa Photos!

Ok- it is official- Ben and Maddie have had a little chat with Santa. Ben wants a wobbly scooter (aka a razor) and Maddie just said Ho Ho Ho the whole time. This was a great Santa, and the kids were just great too! hint: click on the photo to get a better look at these beautiful kids God gave me!!

The Christmas Express

So, like many of you, I am trying to find some traditions that will stick at our holidays. I am pretty sure we will do this again! This was a train ride called the Christmas Express. Akin to the Polar Express, this is a 90 minute train ride that was great fun. We entered and had snacks and hot chocolate. A story was read to all the children by a "celebrity" reader- a local newscaster. Then, we all got a visit from Santa, who gave out little toys. We all had a ball, although, Maddie opted to stay home with the grandparents, where it was nice and warm! Ben's favorite part was the open air car- yes, it had no top- it was like a big wagon. He stayed out there (with dad) most of the trip home. Brrrr. We topped the evening off with a meal at Calhouns on the river, and relished the memories all the way home.

More Birthday Fun

I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to kids' birthday parties: Sometimes less is more. If you could only go back to last year's party- you would see that I am slowly learning this. We kept it simple. No games- just playing. ok, I did have favors, but overall, boys and girls (especially boys) love just running around and playing. It was even raining and messy out- but they didn't care, they had frosting and hotdogs to eat! And, check out that teepee! Many thanks to Auntie Robin for that creative and generous gift. The wheelbarrow is a favorite too- it get's lots of use in the "Landfill" which is what Ben calls the diggable area under our deck- aka little boy heaven.

All Aboard the Birthday Train

Yea! Ben is 4! Can you believe it? How time flies. Ben decided on a train cake this year- in the spirit of the Polar Express. He is still not a crazed fan like some of his peers, but he is intrigued somewhat. I saw the cake pan in a catalog and just "had to have it". It was really fun to make, and it is served as pull apart cupcakes. Anyway, I am gastrinomically digressing. The most fun was just having friends and family join in on the fun. Many thanks to the grandparents who sent gifts and moolah! Ben has been ejoying it all.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Ok, it's not easy being green! We recently took on a recycling venture, and Ben created an "airplane robot" . This was during the last warm days of our ultra warm Fall.

Night Time Fun

Well, I have decided to finally get back on the blog! Many apologies to all my faithful readers out there. I have had two nights of 8 hrs. of blissfull sleep- and since I just feel so good, I thought I would burn the midnight oil and get some things done. Like my blog. So many things have happened within these very busy months! Here is a shot of Ben and Maddie on the cool "husband pillows" that Auntie Robin bought at Target for $5 each! I love a good deal, don't you?

I am grateful for daylight savings time! Bedtime is so much more fun!!