Yes, I am slacking....

Ok, so far this year I have been blog slacking. For those of you who miss me, I am sorry. It seems true for most of my fellow bloggers actually, well at least towards the beggining of the month. What is it about a New year? Are you trying to "put certain things in order" or "figure out the meaning of your life" or create your list of "resolutions" that all of the sudden you are behind and you haven't even accomplished anything? That is where I seem right now.

Work is slow, so I can't use that as an excuse, possibly the fact that I haven't really had too many things exciting happening that you want to hear about, and I am really not going to write a bunch of "downer" blogs and bring everyone down a depressing level of my life right now, so I will share what is happy and positive and still show off my beautiful (and handsome) children and all of their wonderful capabilities.

So what HAVE we been doing lately? ...well we did change Lilly's crib into a toddler bed. I might be regretting that decision a bit since I have woken a few times to her door opening and her tearing down the hallway at 6:30. She use to be one who would wake up and kinda play in her crib for awhile before wanting to enter our world (miss that already), but now she is just ready to go the minute she is awake, which seems to be as early as her brother...yikes. She is pretty good about staying in her bed though when we put her down and isn't at the stage yet of fighting naps...thank God.

Lucas on the other hand is at that stage of being 4 and not wanting to take naps. Problem being he wakes up at 6-6:30 and is VERY crabby and easy to break down in the evening if no nap has taken place. So for right now, we will continue naps which I am sure will soon turn to "quiet time" in you room to at least give mommy a little break, right?

The other reason life is insane right now is because my children have been sick for about 2 months now. Maybe healthy for a few days in between but seriously have been to the doc about every other week. I will just run down the list quickly. Lucas: stomach flu, croup, wheezing, double ear infection. Lilly: croup, ear infection, stomach flu, wheezing, ear infection again, and now it has turned into a double ear infection. Seriously. At least they take their medicine well and isn't too much of a fight to get them to do their breathing treatments everyday which we have to continue through the winter...sweet. So, needless to say there has been a bit of a hearing problem at our house lately...well at least above and beyond the typical "hearing problem" that 2 and 4 year olds seem to have!

Wordless Wednesday- The Chocolate Pudding Gotee

Pretend with me Mommy!

Jail. Yep, I put my kids in jail. I was the bad guy with my evil cohort Wrigley who was suppose to watch over them to make sure they didn't escape while I was gone (potty break), but Super Daddy somehow got the keys and came and rescued them (and Wrigley did nothing). Then they all chased me down and I got put in jail (behind the futon).

Pretending is pretty fun and definitely part of the everyday life at our house. And I do make a pretty good evil captor with a wicked high pitched cackle! Hee hee hee he he! Sends them running everytime!
Yes, sometimes I wish they would just run off and play by themselves and let me have 10 minutes of peace (which does occassionally happen...but then it usually gets too quiet and then you get to find out what they are really up to). I do have to admit it is fun to join in their games too...but watch out bc once you do there is no turning back. Lucas and Lilly play pretty well together most of the time, probably bc it is like monkey see monkey do (which Lucas loves). And as long as Lilly is doing everything Lucas tells her then there is typically no fighting, hitting, biting or yelling, but always guaranteed somewhere in the midst of a morning. Lilly is your "typical little sister" who likes to tease and torment her older brother, you wouldn't think this was possible with a 2 year old but I think she knows exactly what she is doing most of the time.

Yesterday and today the new found play was in the cupboards. I came home from grocery shopping and Tim said they had been playing in the cupboards, I thought he just meant they were playing with stuff from the cupboards until this morning when all of the sudden Lucas dissappeared but I heard this faint knocking...opened the cupboard door to find this...

butt in a pot, cute as can be. I heard him talking to Lilly later about getting in her "car" (the adjacent cupboard) so that they could drive to their friend Neil's and Ethan's house. Sometimes they are just too cute...and sometimes you just want to close the cupboard doors, lock them and leave the house for a breather! Don't worry...I don't have any locks!

My new nephew has arrived!

James Steven Hess arrived on Saturday at 2:22am. We drove up to FW tonight and got to check out the big boy! 8lbs 12oz, way to go mommy Amanda! Everyone is doing well.

Proud daddy.

Lilly was captivated, it was too adorable.

And big brother Noah is pretty excited about getting a new wrestling buddy! Can't wait to see him again soon!

Beans Beans the Magical Fruit

Does anyone else know that song? If so, I am sorry and if not, I will spare you the rest. Well the winter leaves everyone indoors too much and I don't know about you, but we are kinda getting restless and tired of coloring. So I have created a fun little place right here in my family room and I thought I would share the idea with you (if you haven't already seen it). I hope you are not filling yourselves with beans this winter, but you could fill a box! I have to say that I never thought I would buy two 25lb bags of pinto beans at COSTCO...but they are sooo worth it. We now have a "box-o-beans" and the kids LOVE it. Basically it is like an indoor sandbox, but bonus b/c it is a little less messy. My friend Emily shared the idea of a rice box, which I was totally going to do, but after talking to my little sis, she suggested beans b/c they are easier to clean up (and they are cheaper in bulk).

Lilly is more of a pourer and scooper, where Lucas is more into pretend with diggers, bulldozers and even dinosaurs who get buried in the "rocks". Really the possiblities are endless and only yet to be explored.
It is new this week, but I would say they have played with it for hours already. Hopefully it will keep them entertained for awhile. The cool thing was that I already had the storage bin under Lucas' bed. It use to be filled with "clothes I hope to fit into again". Suprisingly enough, I am able to wear about 1/3 of them, and another 1/3 just needs to go to goodwill and the last 1/3...well here is to hoping in 2009! What is your winter playground??

Wordless Wednesday...A boy and his dog (and yes they are really sleeping)

Christmas Catch up

Why is it that I always seem to start off the new year already behind? This is the last Christmas post and then maybe I will move onto things like...New Year resolutions...oh wait I am already a week late for that too! I guess I better make put tardiness on my resolution list. Wait, I think that was on there last year. Hmmmm.

christmas with the bishops = 7 reindeer on a couch,

and two snuggly cousins all cuddled up!

and catching up with long lost cousins who we don't see often enough!
christmas at the hess' = us getting everyone else sick and only a few pictures since the photographer was not feeling well...

We had a good and merry time (minus the flu). It was nice to see everyone even though our plans didn't work out exactly as scheduled. Can't wait to start the new year...oh wait it started without me!

It is official...I have a 4 year old.

Well, I have been calling Lucas "almost 4" for a few months. And I think you can definitely see a difference when this age hits. It is a fun age to watch b/c he asks ALOT of questions trying to understand everything, talks back quite a bit (and sits in timeout quite a bit), and really just has so much understanding but at the same time, so much innocence. Some questions catch you off guard and some make you laugh. I think at the very least the next year will be quite an adventure and I am looking forward to it.

So, the dinosaur birthday bash went well, small crowd but it was nice. My favorite part actually happened after most people left... Lucas runs into the house after playing in the garage on his new Batman "motorcycle" (tricycle), "Mom! Am I still 4?" "Yep, you are still 4!" I answered. And with so much enthusiam and excitement he ran back in the garage to tell Hannah that indeed he was still four years old! Too cute.

And thanks to watching the skills of my cousin at Lilly's party, I attempted a 3d dino cake...have to say I was pretty impressed with myself!

Lucas loved his stegoaurus cake and his first request after blowing out the candles was, "Can I have a piece now? I want to eat his head!" (Nice).

And by now, he was a professional gift unwrapper and did not need any help from his friends or sister...but they snuck it in anyway.

Thought I would share some other funny pics of the little dinos that rocked the house. Kids are just too funny and cute.

There were all kinds of dinosaurs at the party;

scary drooling dinos, rock star dinos, dancing dinos, and even bus driving dinos. Good times.

And it was good...

Hope everyones Christmas' were filled with love, joy, excitement and smiles. Here is what ours was filled with...

funny sleepy but excited faces and the wonder of how santa really got down the chimney to fill those stockings!

pure excitement and joy over simple things.
lots of smiles for a very busy girl who got; paint, crayons, markers and a new little art desk/easel to let her creative juices flow!

and a super fast race track that not only travels the cars it came with but also boats, trains and anything else that will fit on it.

Hope you got the toys and wishes you asked Santa for!

Ooohhhhh...

...the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is sooo delightful.

So since we can't go where we want to go..let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Well, we are stuck at home yet another holiday. Not due to sick children this time, but ice. WAY Too slick to leave yesterday, better this morning but saw two accidents and slideoffs 5 minutes after leaving and deciding since we were headed north where it was colder we would forgo the plans and hideout in the burg until a later date. So Tim made a nice fire last night to keep us warm and cozy and we vegged out in front of a "opened early" movie.

And since I have yet to share any tree pics, thought I would show some pics of the decor that no one else will probably see besides us.

The sheer excitement of a simple Christmas tree by a 2 and almost 4 year old was amazing. It just warmed your heart to hear things like "Look Mommy! The perfect tree!" and then with each ornament..."Look mommy, a star! a snowman!" (you get the idea?) Too cute.

So far the tradition has been Lucas topping off the tree, I am sure next year there will be a fight.

And the final decor. I think I like my house better at Christmas.And just to let you know, Santa is happy that he no longer has to do breathing treatments twice a day. We did recieve word yesterday via a checkup that both children are finally healthy (still a residual caugh when they get running), but no more wheezing or infected ears. My Christmas wish came true!!

I hope you Holiday wishes come true as well. Enjoy the family, be safe in the weather, and Merry Christmas to all!!

Oh Christmas Tree...or Lilly

Both Lucas and Lilly liked to help decorate the tree this year, but Lucas was into the ornamets and Lilly was into the beads...which she used to decorate herself! She treated them like giant necklaces and would just dance around in circles. I did manage to steal one strand from her and put it near the top, but decided that maybe I shouldn't put the other beads on anywhere where they could be reachable by a really cute two year old...or she might just pull the tree down on top of herself! Enjoy the dancing pics!

How did she get so cute?

p.s. Pretty sure I lost the contest...but thanks for voting if you did!! (And if you didn't...well the guilt is on your shoulders and I am taking back your christmas presents!)

Classic

Oh the classic picture with Santa. Lucas wouldn't look at him at first, but then he warmed up, told him he wanted a big green and orange dinosaur and then smiled ever so sweetly for the camera. Lilly on the other hand wanted nothing to do with him and I think Tim barely got her on his lap...you could tell with that scowl that she was not a happy camper.

Some days they both deserve coal, but most days I would give them the world if I could. They are the best presents I have ever gotten and I wouldn't change that for anything.

Anyone else stir crazy?

It is kinda funny how the last few weeks every mom I have talked to has seen a bit stir crazy. They seem ready to go get a drink at the drop of a hat, more phone conversations and stir craziness then I have seen in awhile. I thought maybe it is the lack of Vitamin D from the sun, or the business of the holidays. I didn't really put it together until I was talking to a friend and I realized what it is...winter. Yes, winter (although not offiical yet) has kept us indoors, which has therefore kept the germs indoors, which has therefore kept our kids sick, which has therefore kept our kids crabby, which has therefore raised the stress level, which on top of typical "get ready for the holidays" stresses can really add up, which has therefore turned most moms I know into women who need a break. Well, at least I am speaking for me.

I was able to "get away" this past weekend. Headed up north to one of my best friends from highschools house on Saturday. We met up with a few of our other girlfriends, shopped at an insane mall, ate dinner in a bar where no children were allowed, found people from highschool on facebook, taped off a stripe to be painted on a dining room wall, went to a choir concert at our old highschool in the same auditorium we use to sing in, then I finally headed back home. It was perfect. Just enough time to relax, breathe, shop, girl talk, laugh (and then tried not to during the concert). Good times that were much needed, I did miss the kids but it was only 30 hours and they had great bonding time with daddy.

Thought I would share some funny pics. Reminissing in the old halls of highschool, next to the infamous art murals.

Had a great time ladies! You were a blast!

And if YOU still need some quality girl time (always a must to maintain the fact that even though we are moms/daughters/friends/sisters/wives we must take care of ourselves every now and then too)...feel free to drop me a line and we can get together!

Come one, Come all and cast your votes!

No, not voting for president silly, that is already done!

But you can vote for us, for that sure is fun!

We're one of the finalist for Christmas Out-takes-

And oh you can trust me, there are no fakes!

So go to my friends site and vote for us HERE!

Maybe we will win the Prize of the Year!!

And if you haven't seen the best out-takes of all...

Just scroll down one blog further and out of your chair you might fall!

For the kids are choking, and crying, and sad,

But once the photoshoot was over they sure were glad.

So if you chuckle a little or really laugh out loud,

Please go and vote to show us you're proud!

We sure would be thankful, it sure would be great,

if you could vote for us- just don't be late!!

Merry Christmas and happy voting!!

Christmas Picture OUT-TAKES...

These are always fun to post and just gives you a little anticipation what the final picture actually turned out to be and since I MIGHT finish Christmas cards this weekend, thought I should post these now. Also, my friend Emily is having a little contest for who has the best out-takes. I would vote for hers by far...but since she doesn't count, thought I would give it a try! They are definitely not the worst we have ever had, but are pretty funny.

The infamous choke-hold...

Only a little crying...but boy does she look pitiful!
And yes Lucas is wearing shorts (and a Halloween t-shirt underneath). Had to bribe him with a sucker to put on the sweater.

And this one looks like he is about to hurl, but you can see Lilly's great hairbow!

This one is actually one of my favorites, oh too cute even in out-takes.

I am definitely one lucky lady with two adorable children. Wait till you see the final pic! It will melt your heart! And feel free to enter the contest too! If it was based on cuteness, I would definitely win, but feel free to challenge me on how horrible it was!

Wordless Wednesday...How many kids can you fit on a couch?

All I want for Christmas...

Sickness Sickness go away. Don't come back another day.

Oh my goodness, I am so tired of everyone being sick. I think my house has been caughing for the last 4 weeks. Have been to the doctor, the ER, back to the doctor and will go back again in two weeks for a re-check. First it just started with colds, snot pouring out of the face, caughing, sneezing with snot to the floor...you know typical toddler stuff. Mommy started getting something too and that never helps. Went for flu shots/2 year check up and both of their chests sounded good and they seemed to be on the up an up. Then Thanksgiving week rolled around and we got hit by a stomach virus and croup. Then last week Lucas got croup and Lilly had an ear infection. Now at least one is on the pink yummy bubblegum meds and the other only starts caughing after running around in circles chasing Lilly or the dog. I got on some antibiotics for a sinus infection which I believe now has moved to my chest so I should probably go back.

Just when you think things may be improving, they both woke up this morning sounding horrible again...not sure if it was lack of humidifiers that we didn't fill last night, the air does seem extra dry and cold this morning, or what. Lilly was choking on phlem which ended up on the kitchen floor in a puddle and Lucas has green snot again. Daddy is trying to make it through the work day and should probably go to the doctor, but you know men. I think the only healthy one is Wrigley.

So needless to say the kids haven't been to school in a few weeks (mommy could use a break), and we have tried to stay pretty confined to the house although 4 days is about my max before I at least need to hit wally world or something.

So, all I want for Christmas...a healthy family please! So send prayers and some chicken noodle soup, I think a week on the beach could cure us all! (or at least me)

Wordless Wednesday- A Barbie Thanksgiving

Do you see the green and yellow turkey? Does not look appetizing, but seriously came with the kitchen. How do they stay so skinny?

Have you been at the edge of your seats?

Well last week I gave you a mission to guess the number of leaf bags. Since then we were attacked by birds and snow has fallen. Which means that I have failed my mission. I did accomplish the three (flattened by Lucas) piles you see above but there were still probably about 4 bags yet to be raked, so sad,...not really.

I am not one for excuses...BUT on Tuesday I was sitting at my desk (I am sure I doing something that useful) while preparing my mind to bundle up and grab the rake and all the sudden heard a thousand birds right outside the front window. You know how when you are driving and you see a field completely covered by a flock of birds or what seems like 80 billion filling a tree all at once, well that was my front yard. I could hear them on the roof, their claws on the gutter, and they were literally covering my front yard. By the time I got the camera out they were all taking off. If you could have heard the sound to go with the photo that would have been nice. But needless to say, that did tend to sway my thoughts that maybe there was something else that needed done that day instead of raking leaves (you know, in case they came back).

Anyway, I did fill 28 bags before the snow hit. Tamara was closest with guessing 30 and to the winner I was going to give a pumpkin pie. Unfortnately this is kinda like salt in a wound b/c Tamara is my mother-in-law and pumpkin pies were the only thing I was suppose to bring for Thanksgiving...so needless to say (if you have read the blog below), she was sad that we didn't come. Soooo...anyone that lives closer want a pumpkin pie? I've still got 2 in the fridge!

And your next mission: Guess how many birds are in the picture above! Just kidding!