still deckin' the halls

We are in the middle of a snow storm people! It's been a great, yet long day stuck in this home of ours. I've enjoyed watching the storm from the comfort of my warm home; however some people have had to get out and experience the elements.

A little action shot of the neighbors helping each other get their mini vans unstuck in 18 inches of accumulated snow. I felt a bit guilty watching rather than helping, and a bit ridiculous taking pictures. BUT, it was a good reminder to stay indoors, and NOT drive a minivan.

However, I just didn't sit around all day. We had some pretty exciting stuff going on inside our home today. First, we must start the day with watering the Christmas tree. This little elf

can't get enough of the watering can. He's been obsessed for months with this little green can, and now that he can help water this amazing tree that we brought from the outside, inside--he's even more excited to help with his can!!

Then the busy little elf, put on his supervisor hat and watched over us make sandwiches for 363, which is an organization that distributes sandwiches to the homeless. This was a great opportunity for kids to get involved giving to other during the season of giving. We shelled out 500 bologna & cheese sandwiches in about 60 minutes this morning.

After lunch and a little nap by the foreman, Harrison and I got busy in the kitchen making a little goodie for ourselves.

I discovered the ultimate Christmas cookie magazine while waiting in line at Target one day.

I decided not to buy it because I figured I could find the recipe for--

online. A sort of replacement for the peanut butter blossoms that we don't make anymore due to our peanut free house. After searching for the recipe, I gave up and decided it was worth the $5.99. Let me tell you---this magazine is a lot of bang for the buck if you have a sweet tooth and do some holiday baking. I have looked this magazine over and over and just can't decide where to start, or better yet...where to end.

So that brings us to this evening. We're chillaxin, watching a little ABC Family Christmas movie, eating cookies, doing a little of this

and that. I'm only participating in "this". I refuse to play along with Scott and the boys as they play "that". "That" is the game hide and seek. I don't play that game indoors because apparently I was the one (victim, perhaps?) who knocked over one of these

one night at my grandparent's home. It was full of plants and well, it was a mess. I remember all of us grandkids were sitting on the spare bed afterwards (kinda like being quarantined) while our parents cleaned up the mess. Guess I did it. But it was dark, how come I got blamed? Anyhow, I like to laugh about it. I'm too scarred to play hide-and-seek indoors.

So instead, I choose to point Henry and Harrison in the direction of their hiding Daddy, sipping on a little adult beverage, while searching for a contest to enter my Drew Carey look-a-like.

Happy shoveling.

deck the halls

There are about a thousand little things that I could be doing right now while Harrison is asleep and Henry is at school. However, I've been reminded to post and since I have no motivation to do a few of the thousand things I should be doing...

SO! I've set a timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off...I'm done! No constant proofing and perfecting because this is the season of a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.!!

I'll start with yesterday. We got our tree. This happens to be one of my most favorite things to do with my family. Now, it's way easier to go to the lot and pick out a real tree, but what fun (or work) is that!? So after church, we scarfed down a sandwich (made by my husband) and loaded up the boys and off we went! There was fresh snow from Friday night and it was a bit chilly. However, Mr. Harrison was buckled down and off we went with saw in hand.

It was tough to find the perfect tree this year. And after some time searching, we narrowed it down to three. However....this little one (in the sled) told us we better make a quick decision. He was cold and crying with boogers and tears making him colder. He just wanted to keep moving really because once the decision was made and the sled was moving, he was happy.

Henry liked to run after the sled. Needless to say, by 6:30 last night, we were one tired family from treking through the snow and fresh air.

Here's the tree untrimmed by the man who cut it down.

Here's our cute little neighbors who also cut down their tree yesterday at the tree farm. It was quite an adventure for all. If you haven't cut your own tree, try it--so fun!

And this lil man thought it was about the coolest thing to put a tree in the middle of the living room. The oohs & ahhs were like none other I've heard from him.

I bought an Advent calendar this year from a woman who handmade it in Finland. It's beautiful. I don't have a picture of it on my computer and I'm working under a tight deadline people. I have two things to say about the calendar: It's a great way for me to remind Henry daily that Christmas is NOT about Santa and gifts, but rather it's about preparing for the birth of the baby who changed everything. Secondly, it's a great way to bring in spending time with the kids, rather than just little trinkets of stuff. Believe me, we love the trinkets, but Henry was just as excited when he got to chop down a tree with his family.

Umm...have you ever given a kid a whoopie cushion and watched them say busy for hours? Henry received one as a prize at a benefit this weekend. The giggles and squeals from him and the little neighbor girls was pretty darn cute and funny. Try that for a stocking stuff this year.

Come on ride the train! The CRAZY TRAIN! OMG (on a time crunch, texting abbreviations are allowed today) this was SO MUCH FUN! I think it's probably not as fun to the average/normal mom, but when we met at Southdale Mall last week, the moms were just as excited about this train as the kids were.

I think we are still laughing, mostly at ourselves, because not only was the train ride so much fun, but also we owned the stage at the mall for a good hour. The kids ate snacks and danced like they were superstars. There were no toys and no messes to clean up. Just some good company, snackin' and goofin' around. Can I get a CHOO CHOO!

Buddy from Dinosaur Train. Need I say anything more? I think I'd run too, Harrison!

I have two minutes until my time is up, so while my pictures are uploading, I'm going to dump the last of it....

Thanksgiving was a blast! We spent a long weekend with my in laws. I have to say that when people complain about having to spend time with their in laws, I have nothing to add. We were blessed to spend time with cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. We ate well, slept well, played, did lots of art, and had lots of laughs.

Time's up!

Jen

a bit of the cra-zies

Usually my best inspiration for my blog comes from my own children. So while I was uploading pictures and scouting through them this morning, I couldn't help but think of the word, cra-zy.

First, let's talk hair.

You would think that we don't own a brush. Frankly, I LOVE Harrison's hair. I love the way it sticks up on the crown of his head. I get a bit saddened when it lays flat, which is usually only after he's had something on his head.

Henry's hair does the same thing as Harrison's, although they definitely have different hair--color and texture. Henry's is cute, but looks more like he forgot to brush his hair. We like to gel and spray his hair to impress the ladies.

Speaking of the ladies...

This little man was caught kissing a little lady at a play date last week. He had the sh*%est grin on his face. When I asked him about it later--later was when he was kissing a mirror in the store, part of his reply included, "It wasn't good." Yes, we had phase one of "the talk". It was cute, harmless and a bit imaginative. They were reenacting "The Little Mermaid" so I blame Disney for this lil episode.

The Flannel...

If you see my husband any point this winter, you will most likely see him in this shirt. The Flannel. I picked it up for him on Thursday and I've already seen him wear it twice. He informed me that he's planning to wear it on Thursday and Saturday of this upcoming week. He'd like one in green, if possible.

He's super stoked about flannels being part of the latest fashion trend. They bring him back to {the first part of} his youth. After numerous closet cleanings, he was left without flannels. I was accused of being the culprit of this tragedy, so therefore, must redeem myself. I think I did well when I made this $20 purchase (I'm a sale rack kinda gal. Not going to find this girl at the front of any store. I love online too--with lots of promotional codes, of course. I picked The Flannel up in the store, hence the price difference.)

Breakfast chez dad...

I awoke on Saturday morning to breakfast served on the floor, straight from the box. What you can't see is the cereal strung across the floor and the 3 mini wheats stuffed in Harrison's mouth, yes, at once. "He'll learn." is my husband's reply as I inform him that Harrison might choke because I usually cut them in half.

The Vikings...

Papa was visiting a few weeks ago and someone tried to turn Papa into a Vikes fan during nap time. Let's just say that these days, it would be cra-zy to become a Vikings fan at this point in their season. Argh!

The laundry room (before)...

Ah hum...This cra-zy wall that should never have been put in the smack center of this space...

The positive, it hides the cat litter box on the laundry side. After consultation to remove the wall, I decided against the cra-zy work and would rather clean up the space, demand that coats get hung up, remove the bench, and work with the space as is.

So embarrassed to post this cra-zy picture, but you have one too...I know you do...

The laundry room (after)...

I still have this cra-zy closet! But, there is something missing...

can you figure it out?

The art supply mess. My favorite part of the (microscopic) transformation.

The final cra-zy...

Harrison has been sitting on my lap for about 97% of this post contently eating Cheerios & raisins, watching the cat jump unmentionable places, and share paper and pencils with his brother, who has been sitting next to us for 75% of the 97% Harrison has been hanging around.

Alright, must dress the boys and run some errands before school!!

Happy beginning to a short Thanksgiving week!

J

P.S. When he got off my lap and thought I wasn't looking.

One more cra-zy...

Let It Snow

stay-at-home must have

When I started my stay-at-home adventure last fall, I wasn't sure what to expect. 14 months later, there are moments in my life when I feel like this mothering job is spinning out of control and all I can do it just stand there to keep from cracking. This job is hard. I might have one good hour with the boys and then the following three hours could be terrible. However, I feel it's when I surround myself with other great moms--at home moms or career women--that's when I find contentment and the willingness to stay the course. I realize that I'm not alone and what I feel--the stress and happiness rollercoaster is so normal. This afternoon, I sit contently on my couch eating part of what is left from this morning's play date.

I've had a great morning! I owe this great morning to the group of women who help bring all the sanity back to my life as an at home mom every Wednesday morning. Whether you are a at home mom or not, I hope you have good friends to help build you up and support you as a mother. They are some of the most wonderful people in my life. I love these women because no one is pretentious; there is little to no make up worn (or expected); honesty and realness is present; they are God-loving; our children play well-but tears and fighting is expected; someone always has food to be shared; kids eat and it's okay to be a bit messy--there's just so much goodness that comes from surrounding myself with these good people.

Here's how it went...

8:20--Harrison is picked up by my friend Kim, who graciously offered to chauffeur him to the play date.

9:00--I'm reading with Henry in the doctor's office while we wait for Dr. O. It was peaceful, snuggly and lovely to spend a few minutes just one-on-one with Henry.

In the meantime, Harrison rides with Kim and company to Suzanne's house. They munch on coffee cake and fuel up for loading 3 vehicles full of "stuff", including 6 children from Suz's current house to her new house, which is beautiful!

10:15--Henry and I arrive just in time to carry in the last 2 boxes of "stuff". The kids play with toys and run through a nearly empty home for 90 minutes. We visit, share stories, plan for the future, and express thanks for having such great friends to spend the morning with.

11:00--Kim opens her "Mary Poppins" bag (happened to be a grocery bag today--nothing fashionable...however, it was grey, which happens to be a trendy color this season) and whips up a spread for hungry kids. We all sit on the kitchen floor munching on apples and sandwiches for a quick picnic lunch.

11:45--Throw the toys in the playroom, bathroom breaks, diaper changes and everyone parts their way until next Wednesday morning.

Now I'm not trying to paint a "my-life-is-perfect" portrait because that's so far from the truth. I am expressing my contentment and thankfulness for the blessings that have come into my life. This morning didn't not happen without blood, fighting, hitting, meltdowns, sharing of pacifiers & sippies & 12 oz of Diet Pepsi. What's awesome is that God gave me these friends to help support me and bring me to saner moments of my life as a mother when we part ways. He has shown me that He provides--14 months ago, I didn't know a single person who I was with this morning. (The group was missing my childhood friend who orchestrated the play group. She had had to work this morning). He is amazing, and I am thankful.