Happily Ever After

It all started ten years ago today. One boy, one girl and one first date. Nobody thought ten years later we'd be married with two kids, but here we are. I'm thankful to have such an amazing husband. I wouldn't want to endure the craziness of life without him.

The Christmas Pictures

Look! A Cowgirl Jessie doll! Just what she always wanted. Ignore the hair. This was day 2 of Christmas and I couldn't get the child to sit still for 2 seconds so I could fix it.

A new John Deere bike! It even rides well in snow! It's been proven...
Stockings at Great-grandma's house.
A remote control Gator!
A new doll! Her name is Eva and she's been everywhere with us this week. Oh the joys of having a girl sometimes.
Some cute new clothes!
A Lego firehouse set! I get to build and rebuild this several times a day. Again with the hair. It was braided at grandma's the day before and turned into an afro on day 2.
My Little Pony stuff!
J helped pass out presents with his new BFF. Cousin Scott is all the boy talks about now.
Rocky the Robot truck was a big hit! So far it seems pretty indestructible which is nice. J loves to load his back up with cars and watch him dump. Winner toy!
The kids got some good stuff this year in addition to the stuff in the pictures. J also got a new workbench, power drill, Imaginext Batcave, Imaginext space shuttle, a Batman helicopter, some great new clothes (Size 5...my big boy...), puzzles, books, another big dump truck, a sleeping bag, new pjs and a John Deere truck. M got tons of Littlest Pet Shop stuff, new clothes, pjs, a sleeping bag, 3 Muskateers Barbies and Prince, 3 Muskateers carriage, puzzles, Trouble game, Thumbelina dvd, CD player with CDs, Barbie Princess set and a new case to hold all of her hair stuff/lotion/lip gloss/jewelry. Whew. Thank goodness that's over!

Because She's So Proud of It

_DSC1136, originally uploaded by mklosterman.

M did her first big puzzle by herself with no help from mom or dad! She's so proud!

Up and Down

Weight loss over the holidays is HARD! I gained 2 lbs over Thanksgiving, lost it, gained it back when I ate Cheesecake Factory, Cheeseburger in Paradise and Fuddruckers all in the same weekend, lost it, then managed to lose over Christmas. So if you're not so good at math that's a total of 2 lbs I managed to lose over the past 3-4 weeks. Ugh. At least I didn't gain and I'm at point now where I refuse to watch what I eat when it's a big holiday or I'm getting a weekend away. I'm so thankful the holidays are behind me now. Now it's time to focus on getting in shape for our trip to the islands! I'm focusing on doing 2 hour workouts 5 days a week and eating about 1600-1700 calories a day. Only 5 more months until swimsuit season!

Post Christmas Wrap-Up

Christmas is officially over! The tree is down, the decorations are put away, wrapping paper has been bought for next year and my house finally resembles some kind of normal. I always look forward to putting up the decorations, wrapping gifts and enjoying Christmas activities but by the time it's all over I am SO DONE!

We had a great Christmas. The kids were completely spoiled (Matt has all the pictures on his camera so I'm waiting for him) as usual and we have more toys than we know what to do with. I had to completely change everything in the playroom so that J has his own area and M has her own area. M has so many Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pockets and Barbie shoes in the playroom it's like one giant choking hazard! Luckily, J is past the age where he put everything in his mouth because it's so impossible to keep all of it put away.

We're ready for a vacation around here so we're packing the kids up and heading to Las Vegas in a few weeks! Yay! Matt and I love Vegas. It's my second favorite place in the whole world. We're staying at a place off the strip so it will be completely different from any trip we've ever taken there, but I'm still really looking forward to it. It's been a while since we've flown with the kids and I'm expecting it to be much easier this time. No diapers, sippy cups, extra clothes or carseats will be needed! Last time I flew alone with them too so it can't possibly be as bad as that. I would do it by myself again now but at that time it was quite a challenge! This is why we don't have a third child. We decided one night we wanted to go to Vegas so we booked tickets for 4 of us and away we go. That's just how we roll around here. :)

Merry Christmas to All...

...and to all a good night!

Christmas Program and Letters From Santa

The kids had their Christmas program at school this week and here's my little reindeer singing. The kids all did a great job and as always it was so much fun to watch. Grandmas even came to join in the fun!

And here's my little angel.
On Wednesday they also received some letters from Santa! Santa mentioned how good they've been this year, which toys he knew they wanted and what things they need to work on. Please ignore that my daughter is wearing a tanktop in the the middle of winter. She had on a sweatshirt at some point during the day I swear.
M definitely was questioning the authenticity of such a letter but she finally came around and realized it was totally real.
J ripped it open and after we read it he wanted to know if he could have a snack. I'm not sure if he just wasn't impressed or if he just assumes he's on the naughty list and doesn't stand a chance of redeeming himself.
At least he's cute! Maybe not so much right now when it looks like he got in one heck of a fight, but usually he is! Right now we have 4 injuries on his face alone! One on the chin, one on the forehead, one on his cheek and another where his chin Band-aid tore off some skin. At least Christmas pictures are done!

Blog Post Done? Check!

Christmas cards done? Check!
Christmas cards mailed? Check!
Spiked cider made for Saturday night? Check!
1 Floor of my house completely clean? Check!
Computer taken in to be repaired? Check!
Christmas shopping done and wrapped? Check!

Apparently when I don't go to the gym for one day I can be really productive! I figure since I have to go Saturday (because I plan on eating at a fabulous Christmas party!) I should take the day off. I would like to say it's a nice break to take a day off but instead I just end up worrying about every bite I put in my mouth so I'm not sure it really works out any easier for me. Oh well. Such is life. At least I got a big chunk of my list completed today! No picture posts for at least a week. My MacBook is in the shop. When I get it back I'll actually be able to use it without it being plugged in! Yay!

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Five years ago today this precious little girl entered our lives. It had been a long, rough road to get her here and I'd do it all over again to have her. We brought her home wearing preemie clothes that were way too big and wondering what in the world we were supposed to do with her.

We mostly just held her and loved her and couldn't believe she was here.
Then she started growing. I probably won't win mother of the year for giving my 8 month old an Oreo but she sure loved it!

She's always been kind of weird about her sleeping habits. She still prefers to sleep on the floor. Most nights she sleeps under her bed instead of on top of it.

The first year went by quickly and our baby turned 1! I'm still not sure how that first year went by so fast. It seemed like one day she was in the NICU and the next she turned a year old.

She played in the snow...

...but like her parents she prefers the warm weather and water.

The next few years just flew by.
When she turned 3 we went out and bought this gorgeous dress and she insisted on having a cake that matched her dress. Luckily, a friend of mine worked really hard and made her a cake that matched perfectly. Such a diva.
We spent a few months in Seattle during her third year of life. I'm still not sure what we were thinking but it gave the kids some great experiences. It also taught mommy that traveling alone with a 3 year old and almost 2 year old is insane.
Then she turned 4. All of a sudden she had a bigger social circle than I did. We had a big birthday party with 25 of only her closest friends.
And now she's 5. I can't hardly believe that the tiny baby who was hooked up to all those tubes in the NICU is now a happy, healthy five year old. Happy birthday to my favorite little girl!

Thanksgiving and Other Ramblings

Somehow I managed to survive last week so here are the highlights. We always do M's birthday party at Thanksgiving so that everyone doesn't have to come back the next weekend. My sanity just can't handle doing 2 weekends in a row. This year M helped make her own Barbie cake. Not only did it have to be exactly like her friend A's birthday cake, but it also had to include a whole jar of sprinkles. She loved it though so that's all that matters I suppose.

She scored some great gifts including a Fancy Nancy doll and some clothes.

She also got a Barbie cruise ship and $40 to spend at Target on Polly Pockets.

She showed off her Barbies to great grandma.

We also managed to get a picture of my dad with the kids.

Then we went to ride the combine this weekend. The kids had a great time riding around the field.

This week my dad is in the hospital so we're having a rough week around here. I have no idea what's going to happen with him and it's scary. He's had a pretty rough year and I would love to see him back on his feet and being the dad I know again. It seems every time I see him in a hospital bed he gets worse and worse and sometimes it's hard to be a mom, wife, daughter and caretaker all at the same time. It's been a juggling act this week but somehow we're making it work. We'll see how the rest of the week plays out. I'd like to say it can't get any worse but I've been proven many times that it certainly can.

Step 1

Apparently step 1 is realizing I don't have nearly enough counter space for the groceries I just purchased. Step 2 is getting out the dishes I only use twice a year and hand washing them. Eventually we come to step 6,582 where we actually eat the dinner I spent 5 days preparing. It's always amazing to me that I spend a week preparing and my family can have it gone in less than an hour.

Tis the Season

Today I decided we should put up the Christmas tree. It's always such a chore to drag it up the stairs, assemble it and decorate it that I want it up as long as possible. Most years I end up taking down Christmas day or the day after because I'm totally over it by that point. This is the first year the kids have insisted on helping me put up the tree and I'd say it went fairly well. I know I'm in the minority here, but nobody touches my tree. Even my husband is only allowed to help carry it but isn't allowed to decorate it at all. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the tree and everything has it's place. Everything also has to match. I know it's a bit neurotic but if even one thing is out of place it drives me crazy. But I survived the experience and it's done for another year.

*Just so you all don't think I'm a mean mommy I do let them each have their own little tree in their bedroom that they decorate. They just can't touch mommy's tree.

On another note, M now has her own computer. I'm not sure exactly how this happened (it happened on Sunday when I still wasn't in my right mind enough to object) but apparently my child actually knows how to work a computer. She has her own little desk set up with everything and she does little coloring games and stuff. It was her daddy's idea and I think there have been times this week when he has regretted his choice but I make him deal with her when she's using it. That means every five minutes I hear, "Daddy, come look at this! Come save it for me!" I laugh a little each time knowing he has to get up and go deal with it.

So there you have it. Another week behind us. Next week is total chaos!

A Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to 2 of the most wonderful girls I know! I'm so thankful to have you girls in my life and it was lots of fun helping you celebrate last night. Here's to another great year and I look forward to celebrating many more to come.

An Early Birthday Celebration

This week we started the celebration of M's 5th birthday! We had a combined birthday party with another friend who has a birthday close to M's and went to Pump it Up! The kids all had a great time and the girls share most of the same friends so it worked out really well. They played for a while...

Then we had pizza!

And cake!

We sang "happy birthday" to the birthday girls...

Opened up some presents...

And everyone went home full, tired and ready for bed. It was a perfect birthday party. Only 2 more to go!