Awesome Message from Santa site

I wanted to share with all of you, a wonderful message from Santa site I found today.  I have a link next to this post called Portable North pole.  You just put you child's name, age, hair, and eye color and a few things you would like Santa to say and upload a pic if you like and Poof...they shoot you an email with the link for your child's very own Personalized Message from Santa!  My kids went NUTS!!  They absolutely loved it and I loved that I added that Santa needed to tell them to listen to their mother more!  Both of their eyes got wide when they heard that!  Love it!  Anyway, that is all I have tonight.  I have a bit of a headache and am signing off to bed!  But don't fret, you will hear from me soon.  I would also love to hear from you!  Let me know what you would like to see or hear more of....like advice, recipes, tips, questions....anything just ask!  If I don't have the answer, I can help find one!  Have a good night and thanks for listening.

Good Friends... Good Times...

We had a wonderful, wet, winter weekend.  Wow, enough W's for you....reminds me of my son's kindergarten class.  Each week they go over a new letter, this week is Mr. P so they are having a Party and eating Pancakes in their Pajamas while watching the Polar Express.  (Makes me chuckle....)  Anyway...Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner and entertaining conversation.  There were 2 couples and their children, which ends up being 6 adults and 10 children (8 girls and 2 boys)!  Talk about being outnumbered...I mean us parents, the boys loved it.  The kids had so much fun "Moonlight Sledding" in the back yard, that was the exciting name we adults came up with so we could have some adult conversations without interruption!  They did great and no one came in fighting or injured so the night went off without a hitch and my husband cooked Lasagna for dinner!  All I had to do was the Olive Garden Salad and Garlic bread, Pecan pie and of course, set out a tray of my Christmas Cookies.  We had great conversation with good friends, good food, and very well behaved kids!  What more could anyone ask for?!  Did I already mention how much I love this time of year?!  The icing on the cake...well besides my kids sleeping in Sunday morning....The Vikings winning!! 
I cannot believe my 1st born (my baby) is going to be 6 years old on Saturday! Where oh where does the time go?  If I could give one piece of advice to a new mother, it would have to be this.  "Cherish your babies, hold them tight, stare at them as often as you can, and enjoy the heck out of those quiet moments rocking them to sleep in their rooms.  Don't try to rush it because you have a load of laundry to get done or dishes to do. There will always be another load of laundry or dishes to do but those precious little moments that you will never get back, will quickly become only a memory."  Time goes so fast, it waits for no one. 
Now pray for me...Einstein is having friends stay overnight for his birthday!  First time ever, and I am sure I will have some entertaining stories for you on Sunday!  Surprisingly... nothing too terribly exciting to write about Curious George...yet.  Apparently he has been taking it easy on me the last few days or he is off his game or better yet, he is working on a doozy!  Thanks for listening and please leave a comment and let me know what you think.  Have a good one!

Little Treasures...

By all means my children are my little treasures, however, this post is not about my little treasures, well to a point.  Our front entryway closet is a bi fold and has seen the wrath of my boys.  There is a hole where the handle used to be and today I noticed a toy tweezers (from their animal hospital kit) sticking out of the hole.  I twisted and tugged and finally got it free only to notice several colors further down inside the bi fold door which of course, I could not reach.  So after disassembling the door from its runner, shaking it, and prying in the 1 1/2 inch hole, we had found several little treasures and some gum.  I knew without a doubt, this was the work of Curious George.  I decided to ask him if he was indeed the one who placed all of the trouble game pieces plus a few extra trinkets in the door and  his answer was simple, "Yes".  I asked, "Why?"  and got the answer I hear all the time, whether the boys are fighting, hurt, or into something they shouldn't be...."I don't know".  Then later, he told me he was "saving them for later".  I chuckled, I guess he is not only like a monkey but also a squirrel (in the wintertime).
Back to my fascination with the Christmas season, I was wondering what traditions, if any, you and your family have.  Are they passed down from generations before or have you started you own?  I am always curious what traditions others have.  In my family, we always celebrate Christmas with my brothers, step mom and dad, mom, grandfather, aunt, and all my nieces and nephews the week before Christmas.  My husband, kids, and I always go cut down our tree (we plant one in its place in the spring) and decorate it the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We also always have a huge Italian spread for our Christmas with my family.  These are things that I grew up doing and continue, however, I created a new tradition with my kids.  They get to open one present on Christmas eve each year.  They know what it is before they even open it because each year I get Tony, myself, and the kids a new pair of pj's.  Then we all wear them to bed that night.  It works out great for pictures on Christmas morning (as long as we don't have any accidents!) and it's always fun to have a fresh new pair of jammies!  So shoot me a comment and let me know your traditions, even if they are a little off the wall....I would love to hear them and may even post a few of my favorites in a later post.  Thanks for listening!

Full Circle...

As I write, my boys are downstairs watching an old Christmas classic, the same one I watched as a child.  Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer...had a very shiny nose... Awww... one of my favorites.  It is such an awe struck moment for me, shows me how my life has come full circle.  And knowing that the memories that I create with my little ones will last long after they have their own children, is just exhilarating.  This time of year is an especially wonderful time to make lasting memories and an excellent time to create new traditions or pass on family traditions.  I have so many happy Christmas memories from my childhood, from my Uncle dressing up as Santa (which I didn't figure out until about the 4th year), my grandma's delectable Ham dinner, my brother and my excitement on Christmas morning (and my parents lack there of since it was 5am and only now do I realize why), and the warm fuzzy feeling the season brings.  Don't get me wrong, I know there is a lot to do and families aren't always perfect or in the best moods around the holidays because it can be stressful but for me, this is the time of year I love! 
Now as for Christmas Shopping, I usually avoid at all costs, the dreaded Black Friday!  I have never gone...until this year!  My good friend, whom I do not get to see enough due to distance apart and 3 kids like I have, asked to meet me in the cities on Black Friday.  My first thought...Hell no!  But they do have some good deals and I would love to see my friend, plus drinks after shopping were included which sweetened the deal as well as the thought of getting away from home life for a day, so I said "I'm in."  I did my homework before going, I looked up all the stores I wanted to visit for their Black Friday ads on the Internet and marked down everything I saw that I had planned on buying, just to save some time and money.  Otherwise, it gets overwhelming running through a store without a list wondering what you've got and who you still need to shop for after you've been to 50 stores already. It really wasn't that bad except the line at Kohl's that strung its way all the way around the store!!  I left home at 6am, started shopping at 8am and finished at 5:30pm.  Then we were off to my favorite place to eat, DeMori's Italian Restaurant!  We met a few other good friends for dinner and drinks and ended up staying until bar close!  I never do this!  Needless to say we left my minivan and got a ride back to my mothers house, where we were staying for the night.  We woke up in the morning to go get my van and I called my mom on the way back to open the garage for us so we could pack up all the gifts. Now my mother lives in a kind of townhouse.  There are 3 buildings on her side of the street and each one has 4 units (two upstairs and two downstairs).  I pulled in from the opposite way I usually come, with my friend following and backed up to the garage and noticed the garage door still down.  I got out of the car, as did my friend, who then asked, "did you call her?"  I said "Yes" and went around to the door and noticed the screen door locked.  I chuckled and said, "what is she trying to steal our gifts and not let us back in?"  Just then, my friend says, "Are we at the right one?"  Well duh...she's only lived here 10 years I think I'd know where my mom lives... then I glance up above the garage at the address and cringe...Just then I hear this piercing voice from behind, "Nikki, you're at the wrong one!"  It's my mother out in front of HER garage one building down.  My friend looks at me laughing hysterically and says, "Are you still drunk?"  Yep, never gonna live that one down, now I know why I hardly ever drink or stay up until 3am willingly!
Have a good night and thanks for listening!  Oh, any ideas yet for a survey question?  Leave me a comment.  Love to hear ideas.

A Time of Thanks...

I would like to start a weekly survey.  Just a question with a few choice answers, but I would like some help with ideas.  Anything goes...so are there any questions you would like to have answered or know where other moms stand on a topic?  Think about it, I am sure you'll come up with some good ones.  Leave your comments in the comments section at the bottom of my post and we will see what we can come up with.  Thanks!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  I would like to personally thank all of the wonderful people I have in my life for everything they do and have done for me throughout this year and always.  And to all the men and women who have served or are currently serving our great country and their families, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  We have so much to be thankful for as moms, sisters, wives, daughters, and Americans.  Sometimes we forget that time is precious and will not stand still, even for a moment.  We get unravelled in the day to day grime, exhausted, and sometimes even forget who we are or were before we were moms.  Who are you?  How would you describe yourself?  A mom, a wife, a daughter....Dig deeper...you are much, much more.  I have had many days that I have asked myself these questions, struggled to come up with anything other than a mom.  But we are much more...being a mom doesn't just define who we are, it is only part of who we are.  Granted it is a big part and takes a lot of your time but it isn't all of your identity.  So on those days you wake up wondering how you got to this point, with uncombed hair, no make-up, sweatpants, and a dusty, toy-filled home, take a look in the mirror and try to remember all those things that make up who you are, the person your parents raised, the women your husband fell in love with, the things you enjoyed doing and do something for yourself.  We spend so much time taking care of everyone else and trying to make everyone else happy, we tend to put ourselves last and it is normal but we still need to take care of ourselves first sometimes otherwise everyone will suffer in the end.  It doesn't make us any less of a mom but actually will help us be more. 
Take time to realize how special your life is, hold those little ones close and enjoy every minute, pray for the parents who have lost theirs, kiss your husband and remember the wife who has lost hers, tell your parents you love them, they will not always be here and tell your friends how much they have enriched your life.  Happy Thanksgiving, now go eat your fill, laugh, and be merry!

The Simple Things...

My husband was home today!  So thankful for the extra help with the kids so I could get ready for "The Great Thanksgiving Feast"!  I started my day by dropping off my oldest at school and running to the store for a few things.  I got home, put the sweet potatoes on the stove, and began making my pecan pies until I realized I had no corn syrup.  So I hopped back in the car only to drive to the same store I had been to once already today!  When I got home, Curious George wanted to help me make the pies so I had him wash his hands and put his apron on and off we went.  He really loves food and helping me bake so I try to have patience and let him help (which sometimes turns into more work).  Anyway, he did pretty well until I was busy with something, then he decided to start his own agenda which included stirring my pecan pies (in the pie crust) prior to cooking, got into the flour and attempted to put way more than needed into my sweet potato casserole.  All in all, it was a lovely day at home with my family and very nice having Tony home to help with the little diaper diva who doesn't believe in naps! 

Oh, if you like Sweet potatoes, have I got the recipe for you:

Sweet Potato Casserole
3 c. mashed sweet potato
1 c. sugar                                                                    
1/2 c. melted butter                                                      
2 eggs beaten
1/2 c. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Topping: 1 c. brown sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1/3 c. flour
Boil sweet potato whole, cool, peel, and mash. Mix all ingredients together and place in 9x13 pan. Add topping by mixing it together and sprinkling over casserole and bake 350 for 35min.
Soooo YUMMY!! Kids love it!  Let me know how you like it.

Well off to snuggle up with the hubby and watch a movie.  Have a great night.

Awww....Family, Friends, and Sweet Relief

I had an amazing time yesterday with my good friend, her 2 daughters, my step mom, dad, and my kids.  We had our annual Christmas Cookie Bake day.  Cost of Goods - $60.00, Time Spent - 1 day, Spending quality time with loved ones....Priceless!  I think we knocked out about 15 dozen cookies, truffles, and cookie bark in 6 hours and that may just be a record!  The kids had a wonderful time decorating all of their sugar cookies.  I say "their" because little fingers and butter knives tend to go into the mouth to lick frosting and then find their way back to the cookie so those were their own "Special" cookies!  I took out some for decorating later.  All in all everything went according to plan, minus the burn I got on my arm from the cookie sheet anyway.  It's times like this when I feel so fortunate to have such great friends and family surrounding us.  Our time here is so short, it is best spent surrounding yourself with love and laughter!
We finished our cookie adventure around 3pm and I proceeded to get ready for my next adventure of the day... Bartending!  That is right, spent all day baking and now off to work.  I actually enjoy my job considering I get out of the house and get to talk to people who don't need me to wipe their cute little butts.  Although it was oddly slow I am guessing due to all the men out hunting Bambi for the deer opener.  I could only conclude that they either shot the "big one" early and were already passed out or they didn't get one at all and decided to hit the sack early so as to be refreshed and ready to "get r done" in the morning.  So for the last 2 hours or so I just sat alone in the bar in total peace and quiet, it was actually quite nice, although not so nice when I left with next to nothing in tips for my 8 hours of work.  Well you can't always have your cake and eat it too, right?  I got home around 2am and woke up at 5am to get Sissy and brought her to bed to nurse.  Fell asleep, yet again, but this time when I woke up I was shocked because it was 9am and not a sound anywhere.  My lovely husband had taken my boys out for breakfast so I could sleep in and I took a nice hot bath.  It doesn't get any better than that...Ladies don't be jealous...Ok, maybe just a little.  All in all, it was a nice day at home with the family although I do have to say it could have been just a bit better if the Vikings would have won.  Thanks for listening.  Drop me a comment and/or sign up to Follow my blog if you liked it.  I assure you I will always have something to say!

Einstein's Sweetheart

About a month ago Einstein (almost 6 and in Kindergarten) came home and said, "This girl on the bus punches me and pulls me out of my seat on the bus." I said (with steam already starting to pour from my ears), "What is this girls name, why is she doing that, and did you tell her to stop, or tell the bus driver?!" He says," Her name is Becky, and it's ok, it doesn't hurt me." At this point I am already searching for the school's phone number when he says, "And she always wants me to chase her out at recess." Whewwww...now I get it!  Deep breath.... "You know why she does that?"  He says, "Yeah, cause she thinks I'm cute!"  I chuckled and said yeah. The next morning Tony is taking him to the bus stop and Einstein says to him, "Becky is my girlfriend." Of course, Tony calls me on the way to work to tell me so when I pick him up I had to ask, "So I hear Becky is your girlfriend, huh?  He says, "Yeah."  I ask, "Well does she know this?"  He says, "No, I haven't told her yet."  I had forgotten how innocent it was to be a little person until that moment.  How sweet is that...  Now today he comes home and says,"Today I got to sit with Becky on the bus. She usually never lets me sit with her because she always sits with 2 other girls."  I asked, "Well, how come she let you sit with her today?"  He sheepishly answers, "Cause I snuck in when she wasn't looking." I chuckled and thought to myself yeah I've heard that one before!  He is definately becoming a little MAN!  These are the moments I cherish as a mom!

Just when you think you have it all figured out...

My three year old, Curious George, as you can tell by his nickname is into EVERYTHING!  Since he could crawl he has been reeking havoc on anything he can get his hands on and climbing to get whatever he couldn't.  Now my 1st child, Einstein, complete opposite.  I could put him on the floor in front of toys and he would play for hours.  No such luck with Curious George!  My particular problem is the bathroom or as Curious George would probably call it, the experiment room.  He has been potty trained (during the day) since he was 2 and at night, 2 and 1/2, so he has been going in there for over a year and just when I think he couldn't possibly get into anything in there, he proves me wrong again.  He has dumped all the Mr. Bubbles into the tub at once and turned on the water when I caught him.  He has plugged up the sink and turned on the water only to dump a whole bottle of hand soap into it.  I was too late showing up for that one and my bathroom looked like an episode of sponge bob.  I do have to say, I had a VERY clean bathroom (for 5 minutes) after cleaning that one up.  He has scavenged through all the drawers and put Vaseline all over himself..quite literally, toothpaste all over the floor (yesterday) and the walls, had a party with my tampons and the Que tips, put the toilet cleaning brush in the toilet....after pooping (yeah that was a yucky one), put an entire brand new box of Kleenex into the toilet and tried flushing it (yet another yucky one), and probably a few other things I have forgotten.  My poor, bare bathroom has nothing in the drawers and the soap, Kleenex, and toothpaste are on a shelf I installed out of his reach and today he decided to put a whole new roll of toilet paper in the toilet after pooping!  The one thing I didn't put on a shelf or move out of the bathroom simply because I can't or no one would ever come over.  Let me tell you how disgusting it was to get gloves (that mind you do not go high enough up your arm) and actually take the toilet paper out of the toilet.  I am sure some of you have had this happen and for those who haven't...be warned!  I died a little inside today...

And don't even get me started with my little diaper diva... I have been in and out of her room 15 times just since I sat down to type this because she keeps losing her nuk and refuses to take her nap.  I just got her up and brought her in to sit with me.  Looking at her, I said, "Do you think you're funny making mama run in and out all day?" She stopped crying immediately and laughed at me.  Guess we know who wears the pants around here.  Post a comment and let me know what you think ~ and thanks for listening.

Just another crazy day....

My morning began at 5am when Sissy woke up. I wasn’t ready to get up so I got her out of her crib and brought her back to bed with me to nurse. At some point, I dosed off and awoke at 6:30am drowsy with my breast still hanging out and Sissy snuggled up to it. I put her back in her room and proceeded to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When I got in there, I glanced at the mirror and noticed this red blotchy spot on my breast. I put my glasses on to take a closer look. I then realized Sissy must have gotten hungry again at some point (while I was in a coma) and missed the mark because I now have a hicky on my breast! I chuckled to myself a bit and turned around to get into the shower and WHAM... fell flat on my butt. Apparently Curious George, (my 3yr old) was into the toothpaste again as it was left on the floor (and opened)! Cleaned up the mess, took my shower, out the door at 7:30am with all three kids. Dropped Einstein off at school, came home, left again at 9:30am for Play and Learn Class until 11:30am, then off to McDonalds and to Wal-Mart, and finally to my dermatologist appt. at 1pm. Then back home by 2:30pm and off to pick up Einstein from the bus stop at 3:30pm! No wonder I am losing my hair! No kidding...I actually am losing my hair. He said I have Telogen Effluvium probably due to my pregnancy/childbirth with Sissy. I swear each one has left their own marks on my body (astigmatism, cavities, stretch marks, and now hair loss) but also in my heart! Motherhood is full of high and low moments, happy and sad, rip your hair out moments and those precious little quiet moments. Thanks for listening!