4 in 1

Or maybe it's 5 in 1. We'll see when I get to the bottom of this post. Since it's been awhile since I've really written, I've got lots to say! Let's start with Christmas program #1, which is the video of precious Baby and her solo/duet. It used to be that I didn't care for children's programs. Now I'm THE biggest fan! Although I am quite aware that I likely won't be so interested in them in say, 10 years from now. It was so fun to watch those precious kiddos with their sheet shepherd costumes and halos askew. Ahhhh. I do love being a mommy. Next, let's fast forward to our little family Christmas celebration. The hubs came home from work early and we took a jaunt to the mall. I know he must really love me because under normal circumstances he won't stop foot into the mall, and to get him in there just days before Christmas was a real act of love! There was a point to this, however. We took both of the kids ice-skating! I felt like the coolest mom. Everyone kept pointing to Little Baby and smiling at his adorableness. LB loved it, Baby, mmm...not quite so much. But I think in time she'll get the hang of it. Next we had dinner at the mall (a treat for the kids, and well, the parents too, really) and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. Did I mention I love being a mommy? It's so awesome to hear the kids expression of joy and wonder while seeing the lights. Hubby and I were in awe, too, actually. We saw two spectacular displays in particular. One in the posh part of town with every nook and cranny of the estate covered with lights and mechanical Christmas displays. The other was in a funky part of town. Also every nook and cranny covered, but this time Chevy Chase Christmas vacation style. We loved both of them! OK, now if you're still with me, this next one is hilarious. At least to me. I can't stop talking about it. So we spent Christmas with my side of the family a few hours south of here. We went to a cool Christmas eve service that actually took place in a 125 plus year old dance hall. It was rustic, and really gave me a different (and maybe more accurate?) perspective of Christ's birth. Complete with candle light. OK, so that's not the funny part. Early on during the service, the leader said something to the affect of..."Now all the children can come to the front", and me, having attended numerous services where children are invited to the front for a children's story, I asked Baby if she wanted to go. I may have even nudged her. She hopped up from my lap and ran to the front. It took me nar a second to realize that this was a children's program! In that all the little girls had on velvet dresses and bows in their hair and had been practicing for weeks, if not months. And there was a choir director and helper with cue cards. Plus the children were quite a bit taller/older (like they could actually READ the cue cards. Now, did I mention we were in an old dance hall? One without heat. So Baby had on rubber boots with her pants hiked up, a long sleeved Tshirt (she refused her sweater), and a stripped hat with a puff on top. Not a velvet dress. And while Baby is learning how to read, I wouldn't say she could read a cue card. But let me tell you...Baby can SING! And sing she did. Like she belonged. Oh, I can't get over it! I wonder what all the other parents thought. And I was caught without my camera since I didn't know she would be performing. I got a few shots from my phone that maybe I'll share later. It does make a good story, though. Number 4. Baby is currently on an adventure with Big Brother. Big Brother asked if he could take her to our grandfather's place (who is 95 years old). After some thought, Hubby and I decided it was OK. I'm picking her up today. I can't wait to hear of their adventure! I'm sure they are both having quite an experience. Ahhh...did I mention I love being a mommy?

Go Cats Go!

Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't posted in like a billion days or something. It's not that we haven't done anything blog worthy, it's just that we've done TOO MUCH that's blog worthy, therefore leaving me no time to blog.

But let me start out with something that is out of the normal "my family is so cute and we do such wonderful things when I'm not going crazy" post. Like my high school winning the class 2A state football game!!!! Whoo, hoo! I never knew I could like football so much! We've always (and I mean, always) had a strong football program. My senior year we lost in the semi-finals. But it's been a loooong time since we went to state (1987? I think). We won in 1982 (I think?). Anyway, since my hometown is like a 7 hour drive (seriously), I obviously don't go to many (any) games. But the state game was in big D, so Big Brother came up for a visit and we took the kids for an adventure. And we won by ONE point! It was awesome. It was almost like I was in high school again. Which for me was great. I hear of people having an awful time in HS, but I enjoyed it. So anyway, the band played (ew...the band has changed...it's so rinky dinky now) the same songs, and I still remember the cheerleader moves. I even remember some of the numbers my guy friends wore on the field. Ah, it was fun! We ran into a few folks I'd say "I used to know" but it felt like I still lived there.

Well, there have been lots of other things too, and of course we're getting ready for Christmas. We hosted Hubby's office party, and it's starting to feel like home around here. I've got most of my shopping and even wrapping done, and life is good. So good.