It's a MacWonderful Life

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Where's Frosty?

So, our great snow was a huge bust the other day! Nothing but a dusting here. However, south of the city got a couple of inches, so schools were definitely closed. I was so tempted to get in my car and drive the kids to a park down there to play in the snow and then I thought better of it, with all of those white knuckled drivers out there. I was totally bummed. I even got out the snow pants and boots for the kids the night before (yes, we own snow pants and boots believe it or not.) Oh well, there's still time for another snow, right? I'll keep my fingers crossed.

We just bought a new point and shoot camera, so I had that already to go too. I was trying out this cool little feature it has called smile shutter. It detects your smile and snaps the picture. It really does work, surprisingly. See for yourself....

Nice try, still gotcha!

Monday, January 19, 2009

It's been a while

Wow, almost 2 weeks since my last post. Talk about a slacker. Actually, I've been a little consumed with this workout thing, it takes up a good chunk of my precious free time. Maybe I need a third resolution....blog at LEAST once a week. I'll try. Anyway, not a whole lot going on here. Our latest struggle is nap time. Kyle seems to be giving it up, at least for a few days at a time. See what I mean about my precious free time? It's slowly dwindling! Here's what happens when you haven't napped for a few days and you sit down to watch your favorite show with a yummy snack all snuggled under a blanket.....

Looks just like his Daddy, he, he! Well, at least there's one person in this house that doesn't have any trouble sleeping. She'll sleep just about anywhere, anytime.

As for Mr. Ryan, he keeps growing by the minute. He's a tough one to keep up with these days , always getting into something. Here's his latest trick, pretty industrious if you ask me.

Well, I'm off to bed. We're expecting snow by morning, so keep your fingers crossed! Mommy wants to play!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A New Year's resolution, or two....

This year, like everyone else on the planet, I've decided to start working out again. The practical me decided that joining the gym was not the way to go this time, since all I ever do is end up donating to their lovely facility while everyone else but me uses it. So, I invested in a workout video that I can do at home at my convenience. A friend of mine promotes these videos and she's going to be my "coach", if you will. The hardest part about this program is going to be the diet change. That means no more cookies or other crap that I tend to snack on during the day. The other day when I was doing my workout, I was doing some push-ups and leg kicks while Kyle was watching, and he said "Mommy, those are some funny tricks!" So, now my workout is called funny tricks! He'll even imitate them for you, if you ask him to (priceless) :) I'm heading into day 3 and boy am I in some serious pain. I've used muscles that must have been asleep for years. Since I'm so sore, the steps are kind of a challenge. So, tonight I decided to do some laundry and was gingerly walking down the steps with the basket until.... THUMP! Yes, I fell on my ass and slid half way down the steps. Let's just say I'm even more sore now. Tomorrow's workout should be a breeze! Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

As for my second resolution........We went to see the movie Marley & Me last weekend. For anyone that intends to see it, read no further. Anyway, it's about a crazy yellow lab named Marley who destroys everything in its sight. Eventually he mellows out and becomes a great family dog. Unfortunately, age sets in and the family is faced with the decision of letting him go. Can I tell you, the tears were just pouring down my face. I had to do everything I could to keep from crying out like a baby (as did the entire audience). It just made me think about my poor Abbey and how she has lost a lot of attention since the kids came a long. Don't get me wrong, she gets plenty of attention from the kids, but just not quite as much as she use to from me. So, my resolution is to give Abbey the love that she deserves. She doesn't ask for much, just a little love. I think I can do that!

Here's to 2009! Hope it's a good one!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Merry Christmas 2008

This is the time of year you take a step back from your everyday busy lives and realize what is truly important to you. I couldn't feel more blessed than I do right now. I have two beautiful boys, a sweet and loving husband who makes a wonderful father to our children, two sets of parents that continue to pour their love into our family and some amazing friends we can always count on. What more could you ask for?!

Well, we definitely had a great Christmas this year. Santa was good to us all. So, here's our week in review......

We started out celebrating at the T's on the 23rd with the annual Ham Fest. We love going to this because it brings back a somewhat lost tradition. Besides the good food and company, we all get together and sing Christmas carols accompanied by the T trio, with Uncle John on sax, Aunt Lori on the piano, and Mr. T on trumpet. The kids love it. Kyle made a special request this year for Frosty the Snowman and they came through, much to his delight. Thanks T's!

On Christmas Eve we took the kids to see Santa. Better late than never :) We started out at the mall and waited in line a good 20 minutes or so only to see Santa get up and leave the building. No one bothered to let anyone standing in line know that he would not be returning for an entire hour! No kid is going to stand in line for an hour, even for Santa. When we caught wind of this, let's just say Daddy gave the elves a little piece of his mind :) So, we told Kyle that Santa had to get to his next destination and that we would meet him there instead. We packed up the kids and followed his sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer to the next location. Here's how it went......

As you can see, Ryan was not a big fan of the man in the big red suit! Oh well, maybe next year!

That evening we all went to church and then headed over to the S's for some food, drink, and fun. This kids got some practice in, opening a few presents before the big day.

Then we went home to get ready for bed, set out the cookies and milk, and write Santa a letter. This wasn't just any letter. This was a letter from Kyle telling Santa he didn't need his pacies anymore and that he could give them to all the new babies, knowing that he would get presents in return. We have been prepping him for this for weeks. So, we wrote the letter. He wrapped up all the pacies and we set them out with the cookies and went to bed.

Ok, maybe the going to bed part wasn't that easy. Given all the excitement on top of no paci, we shed a few tears and FINALLY fell asleep by 11:30 p.m.! We were thinking we would at least be able to sleep in a little (past 7:00) since he was up so late.....Wrong! 6:00 a.m. rolled around and someone was standing at the side of my bed looking for his paci. When I told him he only had one hour until morning came, he was proud of himself for about a minute. So, as to not ruin what progress we had made, we took a sneak peak to see if Santa had left any presents. His eyes were as big as golf balls when he saw all of those presents under the tree! So, we snuggled back in bed for the next hour with Kyle watching TV and Mommy and Daddy trying to catch a few extra Zs. 7:00 a.m. rolled around and we decided to wake up Grammy and Papa and begin the unwrapping frenzie.

We had such a fun morning opening presents. Here are the boys with their very 1st presents. I don't think big brother wants to share this one. It's MINE!

Kyle was very pleased with his Leapster, as you can see.

Ryan loved his new little chair. Just my size!

Ahoy there, Maties! Thanks G-daddy and Nana!

Ryan couldn't get on his new ATV quick enough! Thanks Grammy and Papa!

This year the big kids in the house got a toy of their own, thanks to G-daddy and Nana! Nap time is now Wii time for Mommy and Daddy! It's so much fun! We even let Kyle have a turn every now and then :) He's actually pretty good at bowling. Here's Daddy teaching him how to play Mario karts. For anyone who knows Rick, this is definitely a proud moment.

We then wrapped up the afternoon with a nap. Remember that paci? Well, someone else did too. He decided that he didn't want any more presents and that he didn't like Christmas Day. He just wanted his paci back. Simple as that. So, trying not to ruin Christmas for the poor kid, we decided to give Santa a call. Lucky for Kyle, Santa told Daddy he hid one in a dresser drawer just in case Kyle might need it. When he overheard Daddy's conversation with Santa, all of sudden we were singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Talk about flipping a switch! The only good thing is that we're down to one and he knows once it's gone, it's gone. So, for now my 3 year old still has his paci (sigh). I guess we'll give it another shot in a few weeks, and no, cupid is not taking it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

A Holiday Performance

Kyle's preschool had their winter sing-a-long performance the week before Christmas. Even Daddy was able to get out of work to see his favorite little star perform. The kids were so cute. They sang quite a few songs, complete with costume changes (santa hats, antlers, bells, giant candy canes). I figured out that the candy canes were probably his favorite prop as he stopped singing and started battling the girl next to him with his candy cane. A new weapon, I guess!

After the performance, a very special guest arrived....Santa! Kyle asked him for a lot of presents. I think Santa asked him to be a little more specific and he decided a truck that carries cars would do. They had quite a conversation (a quiet one as you can see), I wish I could have heard it all.

On the go!

Ryan took his first steps a few days before his 1st birthday! He really started getting around a few weeks later. Now we can't stop him. He's pretty quick on those two little feet! It's funny, he started out with what we call the archery walk..... leading with one arm, tucking the other one in, and heading for his target. Now that he's walking, it's a little easier keeping up with big brother.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan!

It's hard to believe my baby is 1! This kid is just as lucky as his brother was this year. I think we've celebrated his birthday 3 times now! We celebrated when Grammy and Papa were here, again on his birthday day with Nana,G-daddy, Aunty Julie, Uncle John, Holly, and Hope, and finally a week later with all of his little buddies. Being 1 is so much fun!

Because Ryan is on a gluten-free, dairy-free diet at the moment, I had to make him a special cake. Let's say my first attempt wasn't too successful. The cake turned out fine, but the icing was a different story. I don't think icing is supposed to be pourable. Oh well, he didn't know the difference and it served its purpose as you can see.

It was really tough trying to figure out what to buy him when he has so much stuff from Kyle. So, we decided he should have his own ride...

From Blogger Pictures

Hey! I thought this was MY ride!

Big brother Kyle was happy to show Ryan the ropes when it came time to unwrapping the presents! Ryan just thought it made a good seat.

Turns out G-daddy and Nana thought he should have a ride of his own too....just a different kind!

So, we finished up the birthday celebrations today with the party with his buddies. My second attempt at a "special" cake for Ryan was much more successful this time. It actually tasted half decent.