Classic Spaghetti Picture

This one speaks for itself! I think every kid needs a picture like this one. I love it!

Christmas Day

123, ABC wooden Aligator Puzzle from Thousand Villages

Wooden school bus and 16 passengers from Thousand Villages.

Wooden Kitchen from KidsKraft.

After last year's Christmas and Boo's recent birthday in November, I was determined not to have another plastic explosion and battery fest in the house. In fact, we wanted to keep the whole thing pretty simple and relaxed. I made a wish list on Amazon for the grandmas consisting of only wooden toys. We didn't go overboard, and we were so proud to get only wooden toys and nothing requiring batteries. Well, okay, I put two small Tonka trucks in each stocking, and they were plastic. At first, I think Coo was disappointed, but he quickly got really into playing with the kitchen and decided all was well afterall.

Another change we made is that we started hosting Christmas dinner last year. I remember not wanting to leave my new toys on Christmas day and go to grandmas. So, now that we have children, we decided that they should spend the whole day at their house. My parents and my niece have come to our house for two years in a row, and we love this new tradition. I always make eggnog (spiked, of course!) and homemade chocolate truffles. This year I made beef wellington, mashed potatoes, asparagus, bread and cheesecake. Before eating, we went around saying what we are thankful for. Coo says he's thankful for the baby in my belly. We all decided we were most thankful for our family. Except my dad who said, "well, I'm fat, ugly, old and poor, so I guess I'm thankful to be alive."

Merry Christmas and farewell to 2007

Twas the night before Christmas

Okay, so I'm posting late about Christmas. I'm just getting my schedule back to normal. This is one of the sweetest images, though. Our 4.5 year old put out milk and the cookies we had made the day before for Santa. He was so excited. We read the poem "twas the night before Christmas" before bed. These old traditions are so nice. They had a tough time going to sleep, and when I checked on Coo, he said, "Mom, are the cookies gone yet?" This innocence won't last long.

Christmas Cookies

The boys made their Christmas cookies tonight, and they had a blast. I overcame my compulsion to not let them make a mess so that they could decorate them all by themselves. It was fun. I always wanted to do that as a child, so I want it to be a tradition for them.

Laundry Room Makeover

We finished the laundry room makeover yesterday! Before, our laundry room was a place I didn't enjoy to be. The walls were builder's beige and so dingy. There wasn't enough storage or anywhere to hang clothes to dry. I don't have a picture, but we installed a cute, small armoir that fits behind the door. It perfectly holds a hamper for towels and has shelves for other things. We also got a cute wall cabinet with three cubbies and a rod. I saw the same one at Pottery Barn for $149 on sale, but I got it at Home Depot for $79. My husband hung crown moulding, and I got it all painted yesterday. I tried that Sherwin Williams paint that is no VOC (harmony), and I really love how easy it was to paint with. I've always liked Behr the best, but I wanted to try this "greener" option. The downside is that it is $42/gallon instead of Behr's $25.

Anyway, last night I stood in there for hours listening to the dryer. It's my new favorite room!

Two lessons learned the hard way

Here in Georgia, the winters are pretty mild. Still, after playing outside in temperatures around the high 40's, I had a brilliant idea. Partly to get the kids in without too much whining, and partly to create one of those picture-perfect memories, I told the kids to come inside and have hot chocolate. Yay! We all got inside without me having to carry them both in. Success!

I put milk on the stove top to warm, and first made BooBoo's drink while it was only slightly warm. And this is when I learned my first lesson. Who knew that warm chocolate milk in a sippy cup would explode out of the spout once a little pressure is added? Poor thing took one drink and was shot in the face with warm liquid. It covered him and the cabinet behind him. Of course it scared him to death, so he started wailing. I quickly got him settled and cleaned up a bit, then I hurried to get the milk off the heat to make my 4 year old's drink. I realized it was too hot, and BooBoo was still crying, so I sat it in front of him in a mug with a loose top on it and told him not to touch it yet. "It's too hot. Let it sit there a minute." I turned around to finish dealing with the sobbing 2 year old, when I hear another scream. Yes, lesson number two. Don't expect a four year old to wait to try his hot chocolate. I turned just in time to see him throw his mug into the air and have it land in his lap. Thank god for the little top on that mug!

So, instead of a Norman Rockwell image, I have two children drenched in chocolate milk and wailing. What I'm proud of is that I was able to find the humor in it, even if I was the only one. I was laughing uncontrollably while I wiped down the kids, their clothes, the cabinets, the floor and their chairs. The happy ending is that we all got settled down and had a nice cup of warm chocolate. And CooCoo, 4, said, "Mom, I want to do this everyday!"

Ahhh, that's what I was going for.

Introduction

I can't believe it! I finally opened a blog. I've been wanting to do it for some time, but I just couldn't think of a blog name! I wasn't in love with anything I thought of that was available, and finally this morning I was sitting here and it came to me. Really... I didn't think it up; it literally just popped right into my mind. And I think it's perfect for me. All my life growing up, no matter what we were doing, my mom would say, "We're making memories." It really stuck with me, and I think it guides me in the way that we raise our kids. I want to make memories with them. Good, simple memories. And when I find myself crabby or having a bad day, I realize somewhere deep down that I'm probably making bad ones.

My sub-title comes from something my husband frequently says. We are different in many ways, and one is that he is patient and very easy going. I tend to rush through things to get to the end. I want results, and I want them NOW! Guy reminds me to "enjoy the journey." It seems like a simple idea that would come naturally, but for me it is something I have to remind myself of almost daily.

So with those two ideas, I'm starting my blog. Maybe it will make me more conscious of how I'm living. Maybe it will motivate me to reach even further. I like that my title doesn't force me into any certain theme because I think I'll have many mini-themes. Parenting, venting, cooking, and trying to live green are the things I think I'll write about. If I never have any readers, it will at least be a good way to force myself to keep a journal. So, here goes...