Merry Christmas!

Okay, so I have been slacking.  Things have been a little nutty with Christmas and all.

The last week of school was crazy. I was running around trying to wrap up all loose ends before the kiddos were out of school. I got it all done and was even able to sew presents for all the staff of the school (compliments of the sunshine committee, which I co-chair). I made some extra tissue holders for family as well.

The kids pre-school did a wonderful job organizing a Nativity play in the worship space with a milk and cookie reception afterwards.  Rebecca was frankincense during the play and Tyler was a donkey.  They both sang loudly and did all the motions.  Ryan was able to take a few hours off work to come and watch so I didn't have to worry about taking pictures and videotaping at the same time.  Each class made presents for their parents which were homemade and extemely special.  Tyler made an ornament for the tree and a reindeer pin, as well as a Christmas tree tee-shirt that his whole class wore for their Happy Birthday Jesus celebration the next day.  Rebecca made us a book/calendar for the year with her handprints creating a scene for each month. It was laminated and bounded. 

The same day of the play, Tyler got his first stripe in karate.  It is a yellow stripe on his white belt.  Mr. Scott (his instructor) invited all the parents to watch his class do a demonstration of their skills.  Ryan and I were really impressed with all that he has learned so far.  That same week, Rebecca also earned a medal in gymnastics for her session.  She loves going and is trying to learn how to do a cartwheel.  She practices it all the time.  I hope it pays off for her soon so she stays encouraged.

During that same week we had our MOMS Club family Christmas dinner and a moms only ornament exchange.  Both of those events were lots of fun.

Ryan and I went to our supper clubs Christmas party. Adam and Kelly hosted it again this year. I think this is their 3rd year hosting.  They changed locations this year to their neighborhoods clubhouse and it was so nice.  We had lots of room for the food, games and gift exchange.  Every year the party coordinator (Adam) comes up with games/contests for us.  This year it was a gingerbread house making competition.  Matt won and I can't remember who placed 2nd and 3rd. I think there was another game planned but we got started abount an hour late so we'll probably play it next year.

On the same night of the party, Jill and Ryan hosted their annual cousin sleepover.  They have all the Galasso and Strange cousins over 1 year go over and spend the night.  I know that they plan all kinds of fun activities for the kids and this year they came home with crafts.  My kids are still talking about how much fun they had.

My side of the family was spending Christmas in New Jersey this year.  We celebrated early with them.  The kids each got a barbie jet, imaginext batcave, and little people airport.  These have been much played with toys once we opened them.

The week of Christmas was also a crazy week for us.  I hosted a Christmas party for our book club one night and a margarita and mexican happy hour dinner for my girlfriends the next night. Both were very different affairs but each was a lot of fun.  I was lucky that Ryan came home to cook our fajitas and watch the kids for us during the happy hour. It was just what us moms needed to have a minute to enjoy ourselves during this busy season.

We spend Christmas Eve and Christmas night at Ryan's parents house. The food was great(as always). The kids ran around crazy (as always) but mostly got along great. On Christmas night, they put on a show for us.  It was very sweet. Madison was the director and I suspect the writer as well. It is great how all the kids listened to her and did a great show for us.  She plays the piano and played some Christmas songs for us. All the kids sang the carols as well.

Our kids all received lots of great presents this year.  Rebecca got lots of accessories for her barbies and easy bake oven. She also got some games and an MP3 player.  Her favorite gifts were her Barbie jet, Barbie cruise ship, and tickets to see Annie with all her cousins.  Tyler got some games, a nerf gun (which is Ryan's favorite present), and an Artic Cat which is a power wheels toy. His favorite gifts are his monster truck/gator (what he calls the Artic Cat), his batcave, and his pirate ship.  Jason got a play center and tee-ball set from Santa.  He definitely loves the tee-ball set the most.  He also jumped right into the ride-on toy before anyone else could.  We are so thankful for all the presents we received. Thank you!

We went to lunch the day after Christmas with Ryan's Aunt Carol, Uncle Vinnie, his cousins and their kids.  We haven't seen them all of them in a long time (although we did get to see some last year) so it was really nice to catch up. Hopefully when the weather is nicer, we can plan a bbq in the new backyard and invite everyone over. It will be easier to talk than at a restaurant. 

Well, I think I have caught you all up.  I hope each of year had a Merry Christmas or whatever you celebrated.  And I hope you have a Great New Year!

Rebecca's 5th birthday party

We had a joint party for Rebecca's birthday with her friend Brett.  We had the party at INK in Gainesville and probably had about 50 kids there plus the parent(s).  It was a little crazy but we didn't have to leave anyone out so it was great. 

Rebecca had a great time.  There is so much to do at the place.  It seemed like all the kids were enjoying themselves.  I know Tyler really liked it as well.  I'm not sure about Jason because as soon as we got in there he took off running.  I have no clue who watched him the whole time but I think it was mostly Pop Pop Tom.

Feeding all those people was a little hectic. And I grossly underestimated the amount of juice we needed for all those kids.  Oh well...I don't think anyone died from having to serve their kids water from the fountain when we ran out of juice.  Rebecca's crown cake came out well. I wasn't really sure I would be able to pull it off but I am glad I tried it and didn't call Publix on Thursday like I was contemplating.

And the gifts, Rebecca's friends got her the most wonderful gifts. Lots of barbies, jewelry kits, oven stuff for her easy bake oven, a microphone, games, arts and crafts stuff and her favorite gift....a chef's apron with her name on it.  Our friend Judy made it for her (I mean sewed it) and then had it embroidered with Rebecca's name on it.  It is adorable.  She put it on immediately and wore it until bedtime.  When she got up this morning, she wore it all day until she had to leave for a friends house. 

Thank you everyone who came to the party. Check out the pictures on our shutterfly site.

Backyard project

Last week Ryan embarked on a project to level our backyard. I must admit at first I couldn't really imagine how it would look.  But now that it is completed, it looks great.  In the spring, we will have to have a party to christen the new yard.  I will post some pictures soon.

Girl's sleepover

Last Friday night Rebeca went to a sleepover at Grandma Beverly's house.  Grandma Beverly is not her actual grandma but her cousin Libby's grandma.  Rebecca started calling her that a long time ago and Tyler followed suit.  Anyway, Grandma Beverly had a sleepover for lots of little girls.  They went on a horse and carriage ride, saw Santa Claus, and then played at the house. Rebecca had so much fun.

She now wants to host a girls sleepover at our house...

Life is short so take some time to say I love you.

Two things this past week hit me really hard. But first I want to say that we are so lucky to be part of a great preschool and its community.

On Monday when we got back to school after Thanksgiving break, I learned of a teacher at the school who lost her grandson to SIDS. He was 7 months old.  Her son had to make the heartbreaking choice of taking his son of life support.  His baby.  I've spent so much time over these last couple of days trying to come to peace with why this was His plan. Gods...I mean. An innocent baby. I've always thought that God only gives us what he thinks we can each handle.

Today I learned of another heartbreaking death. A mother at our preschool passed away in a car accident yesterday. It was raining, her car hydroplaned, she went into the other lane and was hit head on.  In that instant her whole families lives changed. Her sweet daughter, my R's friend, will grow up without a mother. I've have been trying to wrap my brain around this. But I can't. I'm not sure this will ever make sense to me.

Life is so short. That instant can happen to any of us. Be sure to take some time every day and tell everyone important to you that you love them.  Show them. Hug them. Never go to bed angry. You never what may change.

Rebecca's Birthday

Monday was Rebecca's 5th birthday.  We celebrated at her school with cupcakes for her class. Her teachers gave her a hat to wear which she did almost all day. After school she had gymnastics.  Her whole sang Happy Birthday to her which was really cute.  Ryan and I told her she could pick what she wanted for dinner. I was completely expecting to be eating chicken nuggets at McDonald's but she wanted chinese chicken and soup.  This is code for sesame chicken and sizzling rice soup.  So we went out for a nice birthday dinner with both sets of grandparents, our family, and her cousin Libby.  Ryan bought her a cookie cake (another favorite) which we enjoyed at the restaurant.

She got lots of phone calls from the family members she didn't get to see and was excited to hear their voices on the anwering machine.

On Sunday we are bringing her to the American Girl doll store. She is going to get some outfits for her bitty twin. She is so excited.  I'll update you guys after that...

Thanksgiving trip to Destin

We spent Thanksgiving away from home this year.  We went to Destin with the Galasso side of the family for 5 days. It was a little cold at night but besides that we had perfect beach weather.  The kids had a great time. 

We got there on Tuesday afternoon. The kids played with the Strange cousins.  We went out for mexican that night for dinner.  I know we went to mexican at the beach...we love it though.  After dinner, we took the kids to the outlet mall to the play area.  It is a sand park.  The boys had a great time in the sand playing.  But the highlight of the evening was the big Christmas tree.  It had lights that danced to the Christmas music that was playing.  Rebecca and her cousin Madison made up dance routines and would have been occupied all night.  They were so cute. It reminded me of my youth and doing that with my sister and friends.

On Wednesday, we woke up and went the beach. The water was surprisingly warm.  We went down with no bathing suits but Ryan went back to the condo to get the kids theirs so they could enjoy the water.  And they did!  It was so much fun watching them play with their cousins in the water, build castles and search for seashells. After about 2 hours, Jill and her gang were leaving to come back to Ga. so we went to the pool and had lunch with them before they left.  After lunch we headed back to our condo to regroup (Jason=nap) while Ryan headed out to Wal-Mart to purchase all the essentials we left at home (his bathing suit and sunscreen).  We went back to the beach for a couple of hours and then to our condo's heated pool.  Once everyones lips were purple we headed up to the condo to shower and have dinner. Ryan made shrimp in pink sauce over bowties for dinner.  After dinner we went out to meet John, Erica, their kids and the grandparents at the Racetrack play place.  The kids rode the go-karts, airplanes, ferris wheels, swings and a train until they were thoroughly tired out. 

Thursday morning, Ryan went to play golf with his dad. I took the kids to the beach. While we were there we got to see three planes doing tricks over the ocean. I got one really good picture of the plane when it was really close to the water. After about an hour, we were joined by Grandma Jeanne, John, Libby and Jack.  It was then that we saw a sting-ray. It swam right up beside Libby/ It was pretty big but I am not good at estimating how big. I tried to get a picture but it just didn't come out well.  We hung out at the beach until Grandpa John and Ryan got back.  Then Libby, Jack and John came back to our pool with the kids and they swam for a while.  We had plans to have Thanksgiving dinner at the grandparents condo.  But they decided 6 adults and 6 kids in the condo would be a little crazy, so instead we joined other people from their complex and had a big Thanksgiving dinner at the clubhouse.  I must admit that Ryan and I were both a little disappointed. Thanksgiving is one of my most treasured holidays and we normally host it our house. I love making a turkey and all the fixings.  It was bittersweet not to do that this year. But it was hard to disappointed for long since we were at the beach. I just don't think this will become a tradition for our part of the family in the future. After Thanksgiving dinner, we took the kids along with John, Erica and their kids to the sand play area.  And once we were freezing (it became cold that night), we took them home to bed.

Friday was a really fun day. The grandparents rented a pontoon boat.  We took a ride along the bay for 2 hours and had lunch on the boat.  We got to see 2 dolphins on the ride. I am happy to report I got a picture of them. After that, Rebecca was dying to see where Libby lived so we took the kids for a visit. Then Libby came back to our condo and they played for a while.  That night we all went out for a family dinner. On the way we saw the planes over the ocean again. So we stopped and watched them.  We finally got a family picture taken.  We went to Harry T's for dinner. The food and atmosphere there was really great. We had a good time.  After dinner, there was an outdoor concert.  Of course we stopped so the kids could dance. It was hard to pull them away. But eventually we were able to. They were wired so it was a little harder to get them to bed that night.

Saturday we woke up and packed our stuff to head home. We went out for a lunch at a fancy (Rebecca's word) Italian restaurant. Then we made our trek home. It is nice to be back in our beds but I am sad to be back to reality. Grocery shopping, lists, and time to decorate for Christmas...

Green with envy...

I spent the morning at a friends new house.  I am so jealous! I want to move into a bigger house.  After 9 years and 3 kids, I really feel as if we have outgrown this one. There are toys everywhere. And the carpets are ruined.  So now I am spending the afternoon completely jealous. Life stinks sometimes...

The time change...

Yes I know we moved the clocks back almost a month ago.  But it just occurred to me that I have adjusted to the kids not adjusting to the time change.  And I kinda like it.  I have been not so rushed in the morning.  Everyone has eaten breakfast every day, hair combed, teeth brushed, lunches made and most importantly...I have had the extra hour it takes to straighten my hair. 

So it has been a long while

Okay I know it has been a year. So I'll catch everyone up quickly.

J turned 1 in July. He had a fun party at a spraypark and a small party for his 1 year old friends at the house. He is walking, running, and climbing on everything. We are having so much fun with him.

T is 3-1/2 and keeping us busy.  He is finally potty trained.  It was the worst experience and I am so glad it is over with. He played soccer for a couple of months but really wasn't into the aggressiveness it takes to be a good player (at 3).  He didn't like to take the ball away from other kids. He is taking karate at school.  He seems like he is enjoying that.  He is doing very well at school.  He is calm and quiet or so the teachers say. I'm not sure how much I believe it.  I only hope he isn't the "bad" kid.

R will be 5 in week.  She is in pre-k and loving it. She is so excited for kindergarten next year.  She loves school and is alos doing well.  R is still taking ballet this year. This fall, she tried out softball.  She really liked it although I feel bad admitting it, but she absolutely has my lack of athletic ability. She tries so hard but the girl is slow!

The hubby and I are hanging in there.  He is still playing tennis.  We are both following Clemson football (like always) closely this year.  We didn't get to make it to any games so I guess we are officially old this season. There is always the ACC Championship game but I'm pretty sure we will be watching it from home. I have no new hobbies, just keeping busy with everyone elses. 

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!