Gifts, Trees & Stars, Oh My!
One of my favorite Christmas traditions began for us just last year. My husband and I had decided that our two older kids were ready to learn about the giving part of Christmas. We brought them to the Dollar Tree and split up; I took Logan and Doug took Cody. We let them select gifts for each other, Tyler and the other parent. We met up again and switched kids so that Logan could buy for me and Cody could choose a gift for Doug. It was so much fun letting them loose in the store to select what they thought was the perfect gift for someone. They took their gift giving very...
Catching Up On Christmas
This time of year can be so wonderful and joyous but also so very stressful. I’ve mentioned before that I was behind with my Christmas shopping this year. Well, I stepped it up a bit and am almost finished now with that only to realize that I haven’t done my cards yet! Every day this week, I’ve opened my mailbox to find 2 or 3 Christmas cards mixed in with the regular variety of bills, advertisements and catalogues. I love getting these cards, especially now that most of my friends and family have children and I get to see their adorable faces and how they’ve grown...
Mommy Time-Out
My very favorite place to be is with my 3 boys and husband. I love their company, love being their mom and love taking care of everybody. That being said, sometimes I need to take some time for myself. This is something I forget quite often and have to psyche myself up for when the time actually comes. When I do it though, it always feels so good and I realize just how much I needed it. I think part of the problem for me is that now that I’m not working, I fee guilty about spending extra money; especially on something that’s not for the kids or my family. Also, I feel...
Victorian Fun
The boys and I were really excited about kicking off December at the Victorian Streetwalk and apparently we weren’t the only ones! Many, many men, women, children, and dogs strolled through downtown Saratoga last night. It was a clear crisp night and everything looked so beautiful with the twinkling lights and decorated store fronts. After careful consideration, we had decided Tyler would stay home with my husband to keep him on his routine and I would bring the two older boys to meet a friend and her son. Our plan was to meet at 6:00 by the library but the parking...
Breaking Routines
Now that the holiday season is here there are so many fun family events planned, some of which are in the early evening. We have a pretty specific bedtime routine at our house. It’s worked fairly well for us over the years. Although it seems weird, if our kids go to be later, they wake up earlier. So for the sake of having a well rested family we often forgo activities that run past our early bedtime. As Cody and Logan are getting older now they really get so much enjoyment out of those activities and it’s becoming harder and harder to pass them up. This Thursday is...
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of th...
I love, love, love this time of year. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday with the family, filled with great company, great food and lots of laughs. My favorite part though was watching Tyler interact with his 6 ½ month old cousin. It was truly adorable to see a side of him that I rarely see. Tyler was so gentle with him! It was absolutely precious to watch them reaching out at one another and making each other laugh. Tyler loved his job of handing his cousin toys and squeaking them for him. It gave me a glimpse of the kind of big brother Tyler might have been. A...