Saturday, January 5, 2013

Ever Had One of THOSE Days?????

Well, I did.  And it is not what you are thinking.  It was one of THOSE days that I don't want to forget.  Not the "I just won the lottery!" days, but a day that made me feel content and like I am where I belong RIGHT now (because sometimes I wonder what I am doing).

We had a stay around the house day for the first half.  Homemade waffles, eggs, bacon and orange juice.  The kids had some TV time and then said they didn't want to watch TV anymore.  Yes.  They.  Did.  Instead they got into costumes and just played.  Like kids do sometimes.  The imagination stuff where one is a doctor or a dancer or a race car driver.  And they played well together.

Clark needed a haircut so he and Daddy headed out for some "boy time" while I was home with the girls.  They wanted "ballet music" so I put in a CD with classical music and then they asked for me to be their ballet teacher.  I don't remember much since I was 6 when I took ballet lessons, but we have a book so we referred to it and did some stretching, practiced first through fifth position and they wanted to do some tippy toe moves as well.  They love to do "ballet hands" and I love to watch them move in the graceful way that four-going-on-five year olds move.  It was a treat.  Kendall got out a couple of stuffed animals and set up mats as seating for them to watch the show.

Daddy and Clark returned home and everyone was ready for a trip to the park, but it was after 1p, so naps were threatened.  We decided to offer skipping naps in order to make the most of the afternoon and the sunshine.  We had a quick lunch and headed to McFee Park in Farragut because it offers a great play area with absolutely no shade on it and that is exactly what we needed on a cool day.

Unfortunately, it was not as sunny as I had hoped, but the kids had fun.  And we did too.  We took a walk around the whole park and gave each the opportunity to be the "line leader" which turned out to be a really big deal.  Daddy found them each their own walking stick and we were on our way.  I even incorporated some Operation Boot Camp-Knoxville moves in our walk with skipping, going sideways, walking backwards, etc.

Clark and Daddy decided they needed more boy exploration time and the girls wanted to get back to the playground.  Emma found a new friend and they played tag, ran around and then collapsed on a bench.  Kendall played "pirate girl" at the top of the slide but told me that I wasn't playing it right when I said "arrrrh, matey!"



We haven't taken the kids out to dinner very often in the last few months, except for McDonalds or ChickFilA.  For some reason, we decided to check out Mr. Gatti's in Turkey Creek.  I have never been there nor had the kids and we figured we would try it out since I had a good coupon.  I won't give it super high marks on the food, but it was pleasant, kid-friendly and we all left with full bellies.

Normally Saturday is popcorn and movie night.  Once the kids were bathed, they headed downstairs and Daddy helped them find something short.  We all snuggled on the couch under blankets and watched a quick show before coming back upstairs to tuck them in for the night. They were all almost asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.  Success!

Nope.  It wasn't some big exciting adventure.  We didn't win the lottery.  And we didn't spend a lot of money.  But we had time together as a family and it went smoothly.  It's been a challenging week at home, so I welcomed these moments and I really cherish them.  God reminded me of what it is I am supposed to be doing here on this earth.  I am their mom and I need to be here for them and really WITH them.  It was a very good day.  Thank you God for this day.








Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy 2013! And a Christmas Recap.....

We had a relatively calm New Year's Eve but did party it up just a little with Auntie Karen and Uncle Tom, a bunch of appetizers and some of those "fun" NYE horns.  Uncle Tom did the balloon drop and they even had little surprises inside some of the balloons.  This required some popping of balloons.  The Louis booties seemed to be a little too small to pop them by taking a seat, but there was a lot of effort, which was hilarious.  They ran around the house blowing their noisemakers and it sounded like a gaggle of geese were being tortured (as we're the neighbors, I am sure), but they did have fun.

I'm going to try to get back to posting daily, with a photo or something written just to keep the memories "fresh".  Tonight I thought I'd post a little about Christmas too since I missed it here.

As I tucked the girls into bed on Christmas Eve, Emma said I should get to bed.  I mentioned that Santa makes his visits for boys and girls.  Kendall pointed out that he would have to bring me my stocking items, so I agreed that it might happen.  Kendall said that maybe Santa would bring me my "longest hair" for Christmas.  How sweet.

And then my precious Clark said Jesus would come over for dinner for his birthday on Christmas.  He explain that he would make pirate hats and I would need to get all of the other birthday "stuff".  That's my boy working on hosting a party for Jesus.  ;)

We spent the early morning opening gifts before heading to Auntie Karen and Uncle atom's house for  brunch.  It was a special gathering of friends and family including Tommy, Stephanie, Ricky, Doug, Nanny Barb, Mr. Jerry and Josh.  The food was amazing and it was a pretty relaxed time for all, except for the mustard incident.  Clark found a very interesting lazy Susan and wanted to give it a spin.  Unfortunately, it had two different types of mustard in open dishes that went flying onto the carpet.  I believe Clark has left a permanent reminder of his silliness on their carpet.

Aside from that, the kids enjoyed spending time with everyone, opening gifts, being silly and playing with their new toys.  Clark got a Lego camper and truck which got put together pretty quickly with a little help from Josh and Nanny Barb and Mr. Jerry.  They are SO handy!  The girls got new Barbie dolls and some accessories.  Clark and Emma also each got a kid's camera (one that Kendall had already), so they were ready to take photos of everyone.  It was also funny that the girls decided to show up dressed in their brand new Disney princess costumes.  They each got two  costumes and have worn them almost every day.


We also announced to the kids that we are GOING TO DISNEY WORLD in January! I am so excited that I just wanted to be able to tell them it is coming. I don't think they quite understood it like I had hoped, but I know they are going to love it!

Santa brought Kendall a skateboard along with knee and elbow pads (for all).  Emma got a baby doll with some play items/clothes from Santa.  And Clark asked for a Lego set and a toy motorcycle. Apparently all three had been good because Santa came through for them.

Dinner was at Poo Pa's and scheduled for 5 or 5:30p but we all fell asleep and didn't wake until until 6:10p when Teddy started barking like a crazy dog. We were lucky that Poo Pa, Uncle Stevie and Uncle Albert tolerated us being over and hour late, but we were so happy to get the chance for a meal and some Christmas celebrating with them as well. The kids were thrilled to get to share some of the excitement of their new toys with their grandpa and uncles, so I think it was awesome.

We are so blessed to live so close to family and be able to make Christmas memories.

Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy 2013!