December, part A

For some odd reason, I was called to be on the Enrichment committee at church. (Thanks, Miss Karen.) I was kind of excited to plan the Christmas party because last year's was so successful (no thanks to me - I had nothing to do with it). It was a great night, filled with friends, laughter, and good food. Everything came together, even though there was definitely some chaos. For example - cars not starting, no knives to be found, forgotten snacks for the nursery...

Live and learn, right?

I am so lucky to be in this ward. I am very thankful for the amazing group of women I have to support me, whether they know it or not!




Iiiiiiiiiiiiit's theeeeeeeeeeeee KAREN show!

After dinner and a message from Elder Holland (very touching - if you have a moment, please watch!), we had an ornament / service exchange. I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few ladies really b-a-t-t-l-e for things. ♥






Word.

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My friend Shannon turned, well, older this month, and her big wish was for all of us to get together, with all the families, and eat. Twist my arm, why doesn't she? It was quite the sight when we walked in and they had set aside four tables for us. They obviously didn't know us - two was all we needed!! The guys took all all the kids except for The Hud, who dined at our table. At any given point, Maddy & a couple of the other kids could be seen crawling under the table just for kicks. It was such a fun night, we need to do it again soon! Oh wait... we will!




I am all up on Stacie right here. Hmmmm.

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Our plan was to put up and decorate the tree the weekend of Thanksgiving, but that didn't work out. We really need to remember that the first weekend in December, Mike is going crazy studying for finals. But I guess by the time we get it figured out, he'll be done with school. Maddy had a great time looking at all the ornaments, and she would ask where each one came from. When she pulled out the Belle ornament (from Beauty & the Beast) that my mom gave her a few years ago, she freaked! And promptly broke it. So, it now rests safe among the top branches. :)



While we decorated, Hudson played around, looking very handsome in his Sunday clothes.



The finished product:


And yes, I did end up (finally!) getting a stocking for The Hud. Whew.

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Each year, the Arlington Stake puts on the Nativity. Imagine pretty much every room in the church filled with different nativity sets. There are so many beautiful, hand-crafted things in that place. It's really nice to have that at the beginning of the season - to try and keep the focus on what is important. This is the 4th year we've gone - we love it!



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I have wanted to do braids in Maddy's hair for the longest time. She has always been such a punk about her hair - she hates for anyone to even touch it, normally. Well, one night I finally convinced her. I got 2/3 of the way done and she started fritzing, so I hurried to finish it. And then we had a long lesson on Bob Marley & rastafari. (I can talk about these things like I know them. I mean, I did go to a reggae concert in Corpus Christi once.)

I felt a little odd taking her out and about - especially to this particular park. I didn't want anyone to think weirdly of my child. (After all, most of the women there are married to doctors and... LAWYERS.) (Holla!) If this rambling makes no sense to you, it doesn't really to me either.

Moving on.

Here are the braids:





And here she is, walking around like she owns the place.



While she played, Hudson and I took turns being crazy. Oh, well, I was crazy. He was just cute. I guess he wanted to show off his other top tooth that had come in a couple days earlier.






The Maddy


The Hudson Prince

The nice weather ended shortly after this, and we all got colds. Hooray.

An epiphany

It occurred to me that instead of staying up late, making silly drawings about our circus at night, I should have been sleeping.

Oops.

Bedtime - Mostly a nightmare

Are you ready?

If not, get ready to read THE most ridiculous thing ever.
But I secretly hope I'm not the only one doing all these cockamamie things just to get some sleep!

From birth until about 5 months, we've had Hudson mostly in our room, in the co-sleeper. After that, he went to HIS room (with Maddy) and I've used it off and on, only it has been in the bathroom. People laugh about the idea of him in the bathroom, but it just works. We've kept it in there, just in case he has a hard time going back to sleep - sometimes he wakes Maddy up, sometimes not, but it's mostly for *my* peace of mind. Wellllll, he's been doing really well - sleeping good at night, waking once to eat, whatever.

One morning, a couple weeks ago, I let Mike sleep in - Hudson was in the bathroom. I figured it would do Mike good to have the first sounds he heard be a sweet baby. ;) So Maddy and I headed out to watch cartoons. As time went on, and on, and on, Maddy started getting antsy, wanting to go see Mike, and I couldn't believe Hudson wasn't awake. I let her back there to wake him up, and I'm sure glad I did. Maddy woke up Mike, who figured he should check on Hudson, and there he was, standing up in the co-sleeper, looking over the edge. If you've seen a co-sleeper, you know they're not that deep. So the fact that he hadn't toppled out was truly a miracle. Thank heavens for Maddy's persistence! (Sidenote: Yes, it's about time he gets out of that thing, but he's shown basically no sign of wanting to pull up on anything, so I thought we were safe.) After that little episode, we changed out the co-sleeper for the pack-n-play, just in case.

Maddy has gone back and forth with giving me a super hard time about going to bed. It really sucks because, for the most part, I'm here at night - I'm the one that has to deal with it. Well, it got so bad, that one night I put her in the pack-n-play. And the next couple of nights after that, she requested the pack-n-play, and even her crib! *insert worried / confused / annoyed / frustrated face* Well, one night she threw such a ginormous fit, that I put her in the pack-n-play when there was a basket of laundry in there. Later on she said to Mike, "When I'm a bad girl, I have to sleep in the basket for a whole week." Niiiiice.

Well for the last week, Maddy has been sick, and now Hudson has it. The runny nose, the constant coughing at night. Oh yes, it's super fun. I wake up to take care of one (or more!) of the kids, and then Mike's snoring keeps me up. A few times, it has been so bad, so very very bad, that I go to the kids' room and sleep on Maddy's {CRIB} mattress, next to her! And then I wake up and hate myself for doing that - this body ain't as good as it once was. (Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave!!!!!!!)



If you can follow that, you're a genius.

The good kind.

*Incidentally, Maddy is back to doing well for bed / naptime - she no longer throws gigantic fits and wakes up Hudson just for kicks and giggles. I don't know how long it will last, but for now, we're good!

Christmas Eve

Since my father-in-law had pink eye, we moved our Christmas Eve dinner to Brian & Kirsten's house. Fajitas & enchiladas from On The Border provided a very tasty meal and of course, everyone spoiled the kids. After the kids were in bed, Mad Gab & Phase 10 made an appearance. We played way too late, and both kids cried all the way home. *sigh* Still a great night though.









We beat the pants off the boys in Mad Gab and I got last place in Phase 10, FYI.





But wait. Let's get a close-up of that - -



HA.

Bethlehem Revisited

Down in Waxahachie, Texas (pronounced /ˌwɒksəˈhætʃi/ for all you Northerners), they do this awesome thing called Bethlehem Revisited. I've been here six years and this was the first I'd heard of it. We piled in the car one Saturday afternoon and headed down there. Because I'm a champ, I had Maddy in capris and barely a blanket for The Hud.

Aside from the freezing temperatures (seriously, so cold! It was nice & warm during the day, I swear!), Hudson hating almost every minute and then him losing both socks, it was great. They have the whole "town" of Bethlehem set up, complete with people totally in character. It was awesome! It really felt like (what I imagine to be) Bethlehem. Our friend Mr. Mike even caught a chicken that was trying to fly the coop. !!!

Now that I know this little gem is there, you can bet we'll go back. Thanks Marlee & Paul for the heads up on it, AND for having Google Map at the ready for when we needed help getting there. :)













Afterwards, we headed inside the little church to warm up a bit and check out their beautiful Christmas decor. It was a nice way to get in the holiday spirit.



And then we went to Braum's and stuffed our faces. Well, Mike, Maddy & I did. Our dining companions? Notsomuch. But it was fun anyway! ;)

Just in the nick of time

I got this off my sister-in-law, Kira's blog. I read it first thing this morning and immediately teared up. Perfect timing too. I was busily writing our New Year's letter last night (to go with our New Year's cards that most of y'all will hopefully be getting soon), and I got to the part about what I've been up to, and I couldn't think of anything. I stay at home with my kids, which, yeah I know, it's a job, yadda yadda, but sometimes, I don't know... Sometimes it seems like I don't DO anything. But looking at this list, it's a gentle reminder of everything that I am responsible for at this time. Wow. A heavy load to be sure, but one with big payoffs. I love my kids - I'm so thankful for their sweet spirits, even when they're not being sweet. :)

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I promise to spend a ridiculous amount of money on crayons and goldfish.

I promise not to notice the cracker smeared on my shirt and instead notice your tiny hands.

I promise to know all about princesses and construction trucks.

I promise to read the same book over and over again until I have it memorized.

I promise to let you chew on my coasters and smile at all the teeth marks.

I promise to play dress-up and not be embarrassed when the UPS Guy sees me in a tutu and cowboy hat.

I promise to go to the game even if I don't like sports and cheer louder than anyone else.

I promise to kiss all scrapes and bumps even if they are covered in dirt.

I promise to watch Barney and laugh when I can't fall asleep because the songs are stuck in my head.

I promise to be just as excited about playing peek-a-boo as I am about going shopping.

I promise to listen to Wheels on the Bus in the car and do all the motions.

I promise to use my purse to hold sippy cups and animal crackers and of course diapers.

I promise to forget the bad and remember the good. To spend more time playing and less time disciplining. To hold you at 3am and kiss you goodnight. Mostly, I promise to give these years of my life to you, after all you are only mine for a short time.

**Kira wrote this, so if you take it and re-post it, please give her credit! Thanks!

A loooooooooooooong November

We played outside a lot last month, which was nice.

Since Hudson is crawling around everywhere, keeping him on my lap is a big pain. (Hello, CHURCH!) I brought this little exersaucer out with us and it was a winner. Tell me how white trash that is though, for real.


But is it still white trash if your kid is cute? I think not!




Maddy, cowgirl boots & Cinderella - never one without the other

There's a park really close to here that is our favorite. At least once a week, we go. I wish it would wear Maddy out a little more, but I'll take what I can get. I almost always find another mom to chat with (if I don't bring my own 'other mom') and the other kids that play there are {for the most part} pretty respectful.



So we went with me thinking it would just be fun for Maddy. But then - - - -



Hudson's first time in a swing! Awwww.

On my birthday, Hudson had his first taste of grass!


YUM

One Sunday after church I went outside because, quite honestly, I needed a break. Sometimes Sundays seem really long. Is it just me? I wasn't out there alone for long before my little buddies came out to join me. We played hide-and-seek and Mike broke the hammock. A full day for our family.



One day we met our friends at the park so the girls could play. They really are so cute together!



And the boys! Look at our boys!


{Hudson is the regular-sized one. Hee!}





For my father-in-law's birthday, we went out to their place for dinner. Maddy gets such a kick out of all the attention Kirsten & Jenny give to her (you know, because I don't give her any at all) and it's so nice to see the joy on her face.


Enjoying the nice November weather




Bubbles with Kirsten


YIKES


The Grill Masters - Mike & Brian


Hudson enjoying some puffs and trying not to fall through the seat. :)


Maddy is such a great helper when it comes to presents


After dinner, it was only appropriate to dance...


I had to post this picture. This is Maddy when we Skype people. She is so dumbfounded by the whole experience. (We've only done it a few times, but still!) It's hilarious because she is hardly ever quiet, but the moment we Skype, she's mute! Hmmmm. Maybe I should try that at home? ;)

Since we spent Thanksgiving with my family, we had an impromptu dinner at Brian & Kirsten's late in the month. Taco bar = true happiness. Even when someone forgets such things as lettuce (psh!) and only brings a tiny bit of sour cream. Ha!




Mike & his football buddy

Whew. And December is even worse. Look out, friends!!