Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!

Family Photos

Over Thanksgiving we had our pictures taken with my family.

Here are a few of my favorites:

I love the boys' expressions on their sweet faces...priceless!

These are the two that would do anything for me and my boys!

Love you, Mom and Dad!!

My sisters Rachel (youngest), Valerie (middle), and me!

All of us! I wish Huddy was smiling in this picture, but he IS saying (in his deep voice) cheeeeesee!

Preschool Party and some really UGLY Sweaters

Carters Christmas party at preschool was Friday afternoon. They sang some cute songs, and Carter mostly hid behind the boy standing next to him. Lee and I weren't really sure why. He is really outgoing and LOUD at home, but in some social situations he is REALLY shy.

After the short program was over the kids got to make gingerbread houses. Here is Carter's masterpiece. He was so proud...and then Daddy left it at the Science Center. oops!

Last night Lee & I went to a really fun ugly sweater party. This must be a really popular thing, because I went to 4 Salvation Army and Goodwill stores before I found ONE ugly Christmas sweater. When the older lady ringing me up commented, "Oh honey, you got a GOOD one!" I was excited!

Here is my adorable hubby in his 'too tight' Christmas sweater that I embellished for him.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but my sweater had beads, beads and more beads made into snowflakes and bells all over the sweater. The best part was the brand name...wait for it... wait for it.... HO HO HO. Hilarious!

Today I baked and baked and did some more baking. I planned and gorcery shopped for this day for a week, and then my oven acted up all day. UUGGHH!!!! It kept turning it self off at random times. Hoping a day of rest will do it some good, and my feet too :) Carter was an amazing help. I figured out half way into the day that having him help me instead of shooing him away, made it easier. He loves to cook!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

Santa Express Train

Twas the night before Saturday

and all through the train station,

little boys dressed in their jammies

the Santa Express our location!

"ALL ABOARD!" The conductor announced

we filled the seats and settled in,

Our destination the North Pole,

You can imagine the grins!

To each boy was given

a beautiful silver bell,

And as quick as he came

Santa bid us farewell.

Singing carols, drinking hot cocoa

Yummy sugar cookies we ate,

Our train adventure we remember,

by the memories we create!

Christmas Wreath

I am frequent "window shopper" to the Mercy Hospital gift shop. When I work I like to stop in and see what neat decorations they have for each holiday. I especially love when something is left after the holiday at a 90% discounted price!

Here is a Christmas wreath that I really liked at the gift shop:

I decided NOT to spend an insane amount of money for that wreath and instead re-created one of my own for 1/3 of the price!

I am pleased with how mine turned out!

Teacher gifts!

We have three teacher gifts to buy or make this year. I found a really fun, cute idea for decorated clipboards! I have been in a really craft mood lately, so I thought I would give them a try. To see where I got the idea and full instructions go HERE.

I found the clipboards at Walmart for 97 cents, the scrapbook paper was on sale at Hobby Lobby for 25 cents, I already had acrylic paint, brushes and ribbon on hand. I did have to buy the Mod Podge, but it is a huge bottle and can do several other projects with it.

Here how mine turned out!

What do you think...Nice gift or a cheap idea???

Back in Business!!!!!!

After six weeks of not having a laptop (mine decided to crash), I finally have a new one!!

So, I will be back to blogging....starting tomorrow!!

I have been up to A LOT of crafty projects, shopping and decorating for Christmas and keeping busy with the boys. I can't wait to post pics of what we've been up to the last month! Thanks to my incredibly smart, computer savvy husband that was able to retrieve ALL my photos off my old computer!!

See ya soon!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday was Lee's 35th Birthday!! We had a great evening! First, we ate at Taki Japanese Steakhouse, then came home to red velvet cupcakes from Carefree Cakes in Valley Junction. The boys were really well-behaved at dinner, and loved the 'show' and food!

All day Hudson thought it was HIS birthday, and would randomly sing 'happy burf-day' to himself. I finally got him to sing (while eating), even though you will hear me sing a little.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Fall Party

We had a great time in Kansas City this past weekend. My lovely sister invited us to her work for their Fall Party. She works for a toy distribution company, so that was a perk for the boys.

Here is Rachel's desk and the boys checking everything out!

We ate tons of great food, played in the bounce house, and got spider tattoos, but I do have to say, these two costumed cuties were the highlight of my evening!

Here they are with Aunt Rachel

Me and my baby sister!

The boys went to bed way too late, but we had a blast!

The next afternoon it warmed up so we headed to the park and then did a little bit of shopping.

Rachel's dog Parker

When we got home Lee had swapped the office and the nursery rooms upstairs. Now Hudson has a big boy room complete with a toddler bed! That was on our to-do list this week, so I am so thankful it's done!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We sure did!!

Costume Frenzy

Last week I was in a frenzy (not really, I just like that word).The boys and I were headed to Kansas City on Friday for a Fall Party. We were invited by my lovely sister as her dates. So, I was on the hunt for costumes for the boys, 4 weeks before Halloween! I found Carters cheeseburger outfit on Craigslist, and then had the idea to make Hudson the fries. Only one problemo... I don't sew, my Mother who does is 3 hours away, and the party is 3 days away. I headed to Hobby Lobby and spent pretty much every free moment without kiddos working on this costume. Here is what a few squares of yellow felt, red foam board a hot glue gun and some sticky velcro will get you!

Half way done!

Finished!

Are you making your kids' costumes???

Caramel Apple Crisp

Carter had a preschool potluck last night and I signed up to bring a dessert. I must have dreamt about Carmel Apple Crisp, because when I went to find the recipe, I couldn't find it!
So, I searched the Internet and this is the yummy recipe I found!

Caramel Apple Crisp

8 to 10 cups apples, sliced
cinnamon and sugar ( i just sprinkled a little of both over the apples)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Topping:
2 C. oatmeal
1 C. Butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. backing soda
1 3/4 cup flour
1 C. brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp. salt
Dash of nutmeg (optional)

15 caramels
2 Tbsp. water

Mix apples with lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar. Combine topping, put on top of apples and bake in 9 x 13 inch pan at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are done. Melt caramels in microwave with the water and still well until mixed. Pour over apple crisp.


I am really a horrible baker, but I have to say this recipe was easy and it was really good! Next time, though I will be smart and instead of unwrapping 15 caramels I will just buy caramel topping!!

Friend

Apparently, Carter has a new friend at preschool.

I get a text from Lee after he dropped Carter off at preschool this morning.

It read:

"Jayden's Dad said she talked about Carter all night last night."

My first thought was he can't possibly be talking about my Carter (there are two in his class this year). Sure enough, he was! Lee described the small, short-haired blond girl with glasses to me. I remembered seeing the bubbly little girl one afternoon after class.

When I pulled up to school this afternoon for pick up, the class was on the playground. Guess who was chasing after my Carter...little blond haired Jayden.

I asked Carter about his new friend and his response: "She follows me EVERYWHERE!"

This is just a cute little story after a rough start to the week for him. Monday he didn't want to go and I spent 20 minutes wiping tears and calming fears before he would walk into class.

Teaser

So, I am horribly behind on posting pictures from our trip. I promise to get some more up Monday or Tuesday!!

Here are just a few for now:

Last week was spent trying to get back to some kind of normal.... if there is such a thing!

Carter loved the first two days of preschool. He is fascinated with how much they get to eat at school! Carter absolutely HATES and will not touch bananas. When I picked him up Friday, the first thing out of his mouth was that they had hamburgers and bananas for lunch. He says "GUESS WHAT Mom?" I ATE the banana!!" I was proud of him that he tried something that normally he wouldn't eat. This week they are learning the letter L and about wheels. All day preschool also means earlier bedtimes. Both boys have been asleep by 8:30!! This is so much better than the 10pm summer bedtimes!!

With Carter now in preschool, Hudson and I have lots of time together and I think he is still a little upset we left him. Every other word out of his mouth is "no!" or "hearing aid out"! I just have to laugh at him sometimes, because he is saying 3 or 4 word sentences, and some are sooooo cute. "I want canneee (candy) NOW!", "NO touch my shirt!", and my favorite "I wuv you too mommy!" His teacher has me working on 'I want' phrases with him. So, instead of him crying, pointing or getting frustrated I come to his level and say "I want" and he will respond by telling me or forgetting what the fuss was about in the first place. We have to keep a watchful eye on this little independent man! Today he got mad because I turned off the water outside that he and Carter were playing in. I turned around to go inside to change Carter's soaking wet clothes, made eye contact with Lee who was weed eating in the yard, so he could keep an eye on Huddy. Next thing I know, Lee is hobbling down the street (he broke his pinky toe in Mexico). I run outside and Hudson running down the side walk as fast as he can, already about 4 houses away! Lee told me that Hudson was upset that I turned off the water and took off down the street. Ahhh.... the terrible two's!!!

Hope everyone has a great week!

2009 First Day of Preschool

Today was a big day for Carter! He started preschool!! He will be going 3 days a week, all day long. He was pretty nervous this morning, but once we got there, everything was just fine! It was kind of weird around the house without him, and Hudson even came crying to me asking where Carter was. When I picked him up this afternoon, he was non-stop talk and said he couldn't wait to go back Friday. His favorite part was "that I got to eat THREE snacks today!!" He is eating lunch there, and I have to say I am a little envious! Today they had cheese manicotti...yum!

Ready or not....

We are leaving tonight for the biggest vacation Lee and I have ever been on!! We are going here if you are interested and check out the photo tour...wow!
I am not sure if I am ready, but my parents will be here shortly to take over the Christie house while we are gone. It's been a long week leading up to today...Hudson broke a hearing aid, a high fever and a trip to the doctor and some antibiotics for him too, lots of trips to get this and that for us or the boys before we leave, last minute hard core workouts for me and this morning we had Carter's meet and greet at preschool. I should be finishing packing, but am lost as to what I really need to take and what I want to bring (which is pretty much my whole closet). I have a hard time just packing for the weekend when we go back home.
And.. I am not even going to get started on how much I will miss my little ones.

Well, I need to finish packing, and mopping the kitchen floor, and taking Sadie to the vet and go get some hairspray..... Have a great week everyone!!

Check-up

Today we went for Hudson's two year check-up and to my surprise NO shots!! Woo hoo! He is growing like crazy. He is 36 1/4 inches tall (90th percentile) and 29 lbs (60th percentile)! She was super pleased that since February he has grown 3 1/4 inches! Wow! He and Carter will both be about 6 feet tall in her estimate. I guess I will always be the shorty of the bunch! I also wanted the food allergy panel done again to see if he has outgrown his peanut or egg allergy. Crossing my fingers on that! Oh well, if things haven't changed, it won't really be any biggie at home. Starting in January he will be going to preschool and that will be a whole new challenge!

By the way, I LOVE our nurse practitioner! Shamrae is so awesome. We were chatting about the boys and how Hudson's test won't be back until next week and I said Lee and I would be gone, that they can just leave a message. Long story short, since my parents will be here taking care of the boys, she gave me her HOME phone number in case they need anything or have questions!WOW! I was blown away. She said "Maybe this will help you relax a little while your gone." Yes, Shamrae it surely will!!

Here is a picture of our dirt digging little boy! I went to upload pictures and found that Lee took this one on Monday night when I was at work! Carter said that Hudson was "really dirty". This isn't even half of it.....

Corn

We have a great little green and yellow awning truck that comes to a parking lot near our neighborhood every summer. Grimes Corn. It is hands down the best sweet corn we have ever had, and every summer we spend a small fortune for the stuff! This past weekend my parents and sisters were here to celebrate my b-day and we had a couple hours to kill on Sunday before they left. We formed an assembly line in my kitchen and went to work. In one hour we did husked, blanched, cut, and froze 45 ears of corn. I am so excited to have it in my deep freeze for the winter months... if it lasts that long!

My Mom

My sister Valerie...she is going to hurt me for posting this picture!

Carter helped too. He couldn't keep his mits off the corn. I love this "don't even think about touching my corn" look!!

Thanks Mom, Dad and Val for the help!

Birthday thoughts...

Last Monday I turned 31. Yippee...not! I used to love my Birthday, but now not so much! My 20's were awesome and exciting times. I read an article a couple weeks ago about how your 30's are supposed to be your best years. Your children are out of the baby stage, off to school and in activities. (Don't get me wrong, I love these early years, seeing my boys go from tiny infants to independent toddlers, to bug loving, dirt digging little boys!) It did take my mind off how I was feeling sorry for myself for feeling old and I how the future holds so much for us. I am excited and looking forward to see what is ahead!

The boys and I

We spent the evening at the Iowa State Fair, and we had a blast! We saw a few church friends and ate a little bit of everything... well, Lee did anyway! Hudson loved the baby animals and all Carter wanted to do was ride the midway rides....scary!! Both boys loved the "little hands on the farm"and got free treat at the end for all their hard work!

The weather was perfect and I even enjoyed a fat free pineapple whip ice cream cone for my b-day treat!!

Relief!

Remember last week when Carter fell and hurt his foot? Well, 2 days after the Urgent Care told us that everything was fine, I got an unexpected phone call. Tuesday, just as we were headed out the door, the nurse (of the doctor that saw Carter) called to tell me that they had found some kind of deformity in Carter's ankle x-ray and wondered if he was having any pain in his ankle. I instantly got a huge knot in my stomach and had that sick feeling when you feel like the worst Mom in the world. (Carter has woken me up in the middle of the night on several occasions the last couple months telling me his ankle hurts. I chalked it up to growing pains or one too many jumps at the play land.) She advised us to go to our regular pediatrician and get another x-ray and get his ankle checked out. So after a LONG day last Wednesday of a doctor visit and x-rays at the hospital , they called the next morning to say it was nothing. "Normal?" I questioned the nurse 3 or 4 times before I finally hung up the phone. WOO HOO!! I have never been more relieved! When the nurse and doctor say deformity, the worst went through my head. Especially since of course I felt like it was my fault for not having it checked out earlier. Of course (if you know me well at all) know that I like to have things triple checked out, since the results were so opposite. My Mom works for a group of radiologists and had one of them look at it too. She really respects their opinion, so one of the doctors checked it out for me. They had the same result... nothing is wrong!

On a totally different note. Lee is traveling today back to Lincoln for a funeral. His best friend Jayde's Dad passed away. Please say a prayer for Jayde's family and also that Lee has safe travels. I would have been there, but couldn't find anyone to take my shift at work. Thankfully, we have awesome neighbors and a wonderful sitter to help me out tonight!!

Up, Up and Away!

Tonight the boys and I went to the Indianola Balloon Festival. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the night.

We had to wait for a while for the balloons to go up, but when they did the boys loved it!

This was my favorite balloon... Cancun can't come soon enough!!

This picture was from Sunday when the flights were cancelled because of the wind.

Reach out and touch a balloon.

They have a kids area with games and rides.
I love how Carter is so protective of his little brother.

If you are in the Des Moines area, I highly suggest you go! You can get all the info HERE.

This weekend was one of those that I like to call a drive-by weekend. It goes by so fast you pretty much don't know what happened or where the time went!

Friday night we hung out with some cool friends! We had fun eating pizza, peach cobbler and sitting out on the deck. The weather was perfect! Carter did fall off of their deck and cried unusually hard. It was kinda a weird slo-mo kind of fall. Lee thought he hurt his hip but Carter complained of his foot. By the end of the night he was tired, but didn't really complain too much.

Saturday morning Lee and I braved a spin class at the YMCA. I went last week by myself, and Lee wanted to try it. The boys did awesome in Child Watch...so we might be headed there a lot this month. Before lunch we hit the Carlisle pool. It a great place with a frog slide, 2 larger ones and a shallow area for little ones to splash and play. Too bad it was only 75 degrees. A bit chilly once you have been in the water! Oh well, the boys had fun.
We hung out at the park and had some DQ Cherry Dilly bars for a treat that night! When we were at the park, Carter started to complain about his foot again and how much it was bothering him. I checked it out pretty good and it was swollen on the top and side.
Lee took him to the Urgent Care Sunday morning while I took Hudson to Church. I am glad Lee took him. I was anxious enough about it, and thought for sure he had broken a bone or something. I think it was better for Carter to have a calm presence with him! After 2 hours and 3 X-rays he doesn't have any broken bones, it's just bruised pretty bad. So Tylenol and ice packs for him. Hopefully it won't slow him down this week. He is attending the "I like to move it" session at zoo camp!
We tried to go to the balloon festival Sunday night in Indianola, but the flights were cancelled because the wind was more than 10 miles per hour. To say the boys were disappointed is a major understatement! We will try again this week since we got return passes!

Have a great week!

Summer Update

Okay, so by now you probably have figured out that I am not very good at keeping this blog updated! Here is a 'catch up' of what has been happening at our house this July:

Carter:
For his birthday Poppa Ron and Mama Helen gave him a week at Bug Camp at the Science Center. I was a little worried when he came home the first day and asked me, "Mom, when are we going to learn about REAL bugs?" As the week went on they did a ton of 'bug hunting' and arts and crafts making bugs. He even made a maggot out of paper plates and glitter and pipe cleaners. Pretty cool! Lee and the boys also found this moth when they were out renting a movie. Yes, it's a moth, yes, it's in my house, and yes, my child is holding it. I guess we have a weird appreciation for bugs, thanks to Carter!

Hudson:
He had a speech evaluation earlier this month and did awesome. As of now, he doesn't need any speech therapy. She told us that his speech is progressing nicely, which most importantly means that he is hearing correctly. YEAH!!! He did get a new home visit teacher this month, which took a little adjusting, but now everything is fine!
Hudson is also your typical two year old. One minute he is so sweet and sharing and the next he is having a tantrum for some unknown reason. He is not yet showing any (major) signs that he is ready to potty train, but we do have the little potty out and he has gone twice...for Lee!



Lee is still taking classes towards his degree. He has taken on some home projects, and hopefully will get them completed with the help of his Dad! A couple weekends ago, they started and completed a shed underneath our deck. It will be nice to get everything out of our garage so we can both park in the garage this winter. He has been having fun taking Carter and Hudson to play tennis and go to the park on the nights I work. They have found some pretty fun parks in our area! We also went to our very first I-Cubs game. The weather was so nice and we had free tickets, and best of all the boys loved it. Hudson stood the just about the entire game!

I have been keeping busy tending to our garden. This project has been awesome! I have also been baking a ton. A friend of mine gave me a couple HUGE zucchini, so I have been baking and freezing zucchini chocolate chip muffins, zucchini bread, and have a couple more recipes to try soon. It will be a nice change to have zucchini bread in the winter, rather than our normal banana bread!
Last Thursday, I graduated from my 10 week boot camp workout class. I love/hated every minute of it! Now Lee and I are trying to make the most of our YMCA membership!
I also, have had fun doing play dates with other Mom's from our church. I actually hosted a playtime/picnic at my house for 9 moms and 17 kiddos! It was a beautiful day, so the kids played outside, and we had some fun social time.

Great! Now I am caught up!!