Wii are Family

During our stay in at Jim & Patty's - we had a great time together as a family. Being together for a week really reminded me of the fun we have together and what we are all missing by not having each other in our daily lives. Anyway...every night after dinner, we would usually go down to play the Wii. I am not a big video game person, but I think the Wii is pretty cool. I will play a little here and there, but for the most part I sat on the couch and read (I managed to knock off 3 books while I was there). Kurt is totally into it...and he got Julia into it too. She was quite a bowler. I know what Kurt is asking for Christmas...same as last year. This year I think that Santa will give in.

Julia was introduced to the DS...she wants one now. To Draw on.

My personal favorite was the fact that Kurt's mom was pretty into bowling. She would be right there playing with the rest of them...apparently she was quite the bowler back in the day and even had a 300 game. Who would have thought that a 68 year old lady would be such a gung ho Wii player. Go Mom....can't wait until Kurt uses you as the reason why he wants to get the Wii.

Another World...

We are visiting Kurt's brother and family for Thanksgiving. It started out on Friday around 4:30pm, Kurt, the kids and mom in the Taurus X (nicer word for station wagon). It continued for the next 13 hours. We made it without an incident. The kids mostly slept, but we did not. I made it until the last hour of the drive and I had to put my head down. i couldn't take it anymore. Anyway, we are all here, enjoying our time with our family we don't see enough. Julia is loving playing with her cousins and their friends who seem to come by all the time. They are all her new "best" friends. She is definitely going to have to go to cousin rehab when we get back...she won't know what to do with herself. Jimmy is loving playing with Pudge and all of Uncle Jimmy's matchbox cars. What he is not loving is sleeping in the pack and play. He still sleeps in a crib at home, which poses a problem on trips. He can't sleep in a regular bed yet, because he hasn't yet. He is quite comfortable in his crib at home and I am in no rush to move him. Although he takes up the entire length of the pack and play and I think he hates it. He ends up in our bed every night at some point.

It's been nice relaxing and not having the stresses of home to have to deal with (school , housework, Christmas shopping, etc). I didn't even turn on the computer until today. It was actually nice. I have read 2 books so far, several magazines. Gosh, what bliss that was. I love to read so much.

I also took the dog for a long run-walk on Sunday. He loved it and I loved being out in the nice weather. It was about 45 or 50. I had a great workout. I was wondering why I barely saw anyone. It was like 10am. Where was everyone? Then I was remembering that everyone in this part of the country goes to church on Sundays and that is where they were all at. I felt like such an outcast. But I was near God for sure...enjoying his creation and taking care of my temple for Him. Church is a state of mind...not a place.

Indian Summer...

I totally forgot that i had taken these pictures of the kids. I took these on November 6th - it truly was the last nice day we had before the cold fall - winter days came. I forgot to load these up, because this was the week of the preschool auction when I was pulling my hair out! Anyway, it was a great day out and I had to get some shots of the kids just being them.

Julia & Jimmy's Kid Party

Last Sunday (November 16th), we celebrated the kids birthdays with our friends and neighbors. Needless to say, there were alot of little people there. The theme was Princess and Superheros...so most of the kids came dressed in their finest. I was pretty sure that Julia would want to be a Princess, but she wanted to be Wonder Woman. Luckily, we were able to score a costume after Halloween for next to nothing. She has worn it a ton already and even wore it to bed one night over her jammies. I am just happy that she's into something besides princess. Jimmy was happy to wear his batman costume...and to look like his bigger friends that were dressed up.

Two parties in two days brought two Costco cakes.
Make a Wish! What do a 2 and 4 year old wish for?
Paige, Julia & Kylie...2 of Julia's best friends!

The kids enjoying their cake & ice cream

Playing with some of their loot.

All in all, we have recovered from the 2 days of parties as have the kids. It was a lot of fun. The kids pretty much stayed in the basement playing, while the adults were able to actually have some conversations. It was a fun night!

Julia & Jimmy's Family Birthday Party

Last Saturday we had all of our family over to the house to celebrate the kids birthdays. It was nice and the kids had a great time. In the past we've done one big party, but this year we decided to split it up and do 2 parties, a family party and a kid/friend party. That was probably a good move.

Although I didn't get a picture of it, the first present that Julia chose to open was from Kurt's mom and the first thing she pulled out was an Ariel Polly Pocket. She screamed so loud. It was so cute. This was the one thing that she really wanted, followed by the Ariel that goes in the tub (which she got from Grandma too).

Jimmy loves cars. He loved getting a few new vehicles to play with. He was getting sleepy, but you can tell he's still having fun. Great Grammie was happy to see him playing on the floor like this. She said she forgot that kids did that until she saw him doing it.

Can Elves Make Barbies?

Any parent of small kids who understand the concept of Santa and the great marketing techniques of retailers and manufacturers are really not on the same page. I hate the fine line of greed and childish excitement that surrounds Christmas. I love the joy and pure wonderment of what Santa is to kids, but Santa is not loaded...at least the Santa that visits our home.

Last year each of our kids got 5 gifts and their stockings. I am sure that we did not spend the same amount on each kid, but they are small and they understand how many gifts are there and not how much each of them cost. I tried to explain to Julia how many pennies were in a dime and she did not want to be bothered by that concept. Julia and Jimmy are both obsessed with the various catalogs and ads that are out right now. They both pour over them and rip them to shreds. They both point out things they want and Julia wants to add stuff to her "list." Most of the stuff they want is reasonable, but some stuff is not. Like the $200+ fake dog/fake pony. They are not going to get that stuff. Seriously? I really want to smack the marketing machine that is hauled out for Christmas! My kids are normally pretty good, but my sweet little girl has a case of the gimmes and i know where she got it...TV and print promotion.

My neighbor came up with a great idea and her kids have brought it to our kids. If you pick out something with 3 numbers - that is all that you will get from Santa...but if you pick out stuff that has 2 numbers, Santa can bring you other things too. Julia just told me this today as she was looking at the Target book that we got on Sunday. She told me this set of Barbies in the ad (that my sister has already purchased for her) has only 2 numbers...followed by the question..."Can Elves make Barbies?" I answered yes, because the small Chinese people who are making them probably look like Elves to my 4 year old.

Technology is Great!

I know that I haven't posted in over a week, but things have been crazy over here. Last Sunday was the preschool auction that I am the co chair of and that kept me pretty busy. It still keeps me busy...finalizing all of the numbers and getting rid of all the stuff in my house. i will be glad when i can close it all out. Then this weekend we have the birthday bashes. First a family party on Saturday and then a friend party on Sunday. It will be a busy weekend.

Anyway, today on the way home from Costco, both kids fell asleep. Because I have learned the hard way, they remain in their car seats...tandem snores coming from the backseat, while I sit in the driver's seat in my garage, checking email, balancing the checkbook and now blogging. I think technology rocks.

Even better, my mother-in-law just called...she's cooking dinner tonight! I win - if only they sleep long enough for me to reply to some of the emails in the box - I will be golden.