Lights Out...

Saturday night was an exciting one, the power went out...ugh:( We were all watching a movie, Grace and I in the bedroom and Richie and Seth in the basement. When the power went out, Grace was mad because she thought I turned the TV off. It was very hard to explain to her in words she would understand that the power didn't work. She kept trying to plug the lights in on the tree!!! Yelling at us that they wouldn't come on...!!!haha

Richie and Seth walked up the street to see what was going on because we saw fire trucks on the street behind us. On the way back the tornado sirens were going off, so Robby brought his boys over and we were all the basement riding out the storm, in the dark, playing Operation...

This had to be one of the best days ever!!!

More Christmas Celebrating...

The day after christmas Aimee, Kevin, Hayden and Carson came over to exchange gifts with the kids. Seth ready for anything in his police gear. (I swear he would probably sleep in it if we let him!!!haha)

Grace was ready to rip into the presents and she didn't waste any time eiter...she is ready for t-ball this year, equipped with her very own bat!!!

We love spending time with our family and friends during the holiday season!!! Thank you for spending the time with us and we hope that the next year will bring happiness to all!!

Christmas dinner was at Mom and Dad's (pot roast, YUM!!!) Seth got a game called Ultimotion from Santa, so we took it over to Nina and Grumpy's to play. It hooks up to the TV (it is kind of like the Wii). It has five sports games on it and tennis is one of them. Grumpy was really getting into it.

Christmas Morning...

Christmas morning is hectic as always, and I am sure everyone's house is like that...Seth woke up first and went to check the cookie plate and came running into our room yelling, "Santa came, he ate all of one cookie and a bite out of another...all the eggnog is gone and the reindeer really liked the carrots because they are gone too!!!" What a hoot!!!
The kids made out like bandits this year and everyone hit the nail of the head with all of the gifts. This was the first year Grace really got into the Santa/Christmas mood.

Puzzles and games were a big hit this year too. We have playing Operation everyday!!! They love it.

After all the presents were opened, which didn't take long at all, (hahaha), Richie made homemade waffles for breakfast and Mom and Dad came over. Once everyone was dressed for the day we headed outside for some sunshine (this weather is really playing games with us, cold one day and then 60 degrees the next. LOL) Grace was able to try out her new bike she got for her birthday. Miss independent was bound and determined to figure it out on her own. She pedals the big wheel just fine, but this one has breaks on it so it will take her a few times to realize the pedals have to go forward in order to keep going and backwards is for stopping. She had a blast and will practice, practice so she can keep up with the boys this spring.

This next picture makes me laugh...Seth got new Police dress up stuff for christmas and when he rides his bike he calls it his "police motorcycle". Soooooooo, this is what it looks like...

Complete with helmet, night vision goggles and utility belt with all the bells and whistles!!!

Christmas Eve...

at Nina and Grumpy's usually means someone is going to get a wedgie...This year, Pete and Richie decided to take on the police officer and let me tell you it took both of them to hold down Luke for the execution of the WEDGIE!!!

Seth had the camera the first part of the night and he took some pretty good pictures of everyone for me...we might just have a future photographer on our hands!!!

Now on to the opening of the presents...Pearl was very diva like with her pup in a purse!!!

Preston, the superhero, was excited about his new cape!!! Watch out Batman!!! (it even has his name on the back)



Grace really enjoys playing with her dancing ballerina!!!
Seth has been asking for a "harley davidson" jacket for a while (just a black jacket) and while Nina and Grumpy were at the lake over the summer they found "it"...His eyes were the size of softballs when he opened it up...
(click to enlarge picture)
And last but not least Mom and Dad got some pretty cool stuff from the kids too. Here is Mom trying to figure out what all the papers are for. They got a gift certificate for a two night stay at a Bed and Breakfast in southern IL. http://www.davieschoolinn.com/

The grandkids love painting and you know I am always looking for crafty stuff to do for them...so it was off to Pottery Hollow this christmas...

Each of the kids painted their hands whatever color they wanted and put it on the plate.

The Day After...

When the kids got up this morning, Grace was ready to ride!!! Aimee, Kevin, Hayden and Carson gave her a bike for her birthday and she absolutely loves it!!! She saw her bike in the box and told Daddy that she needs to put it together...Richie brought it downstairs and they got to work. She is very excited about her bike, she keeps telling us "now I have a bike like the boys"!!!

She is working very hard to get it together so she can go ride...she has been asking to ride it all day, and of course today it is raining outside...ugh!!!

She is now ready to take on the Mascoutah trails with the boys this Spring!!!

Dr. Jazz...

was the place to be tonight. This is were we had Grace's birthday party. We had family and friends join us for a good old soda fountain good time!!! Where to start. We rented the whole restaraunt for the night after hours. This was the best thing ever...didn't have to worry about keeping the kids quiet (because you all know that is practically impossible!!!hahaha), didn't have to worry about other patrons and not enough tables/chairs.

Once the whole gang got there, I was wondering if the waitresses were going to up and quit...haha. We have a crazy bunch of family and friends and quiet is not our middle name!!!LOL

While waiting for the food, the kids colored and the parents mingled. I love watching everyone talk to each other. It is nice to see that everyone can find something in common with someone!!! Grace on the other hand who is a social butterfly was a non stop chatter box all night, but every once in a while we would catch her taking a sneak peek at her gifts!!!haha (she would usually be found sitting on the red box looking at all of them.)

And being the social butterfly that she is, she found herself on Kevin's lap talking. He told her that he was Santa and without missing a beat (like how could you even think that Mr. Kevin) she said, "No, you are not, you are Mr. Kevin!!!" It was hilarious. They sure don't miss anything, do they?

After dinner and presents it was on to the ice cream sundaes. This was a big hit. All of the kids were sitting at the counter patiently waiting for thier special sundae.

Once everything was eaten, it was time for some knock, knock jokes...hosted by Pete Tillman. All of the kids crammed into the booth with Pete to listen and share their favorite joke.

And no party is complete without a picture of all the MOMS!!!

Thank you everyone that joined us!!! I hope you all had a good time and see you soon. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!!

http://www.drjazzsodafountain.com/

No Birthday is complete...

without a birthday dinner of your choice. Grace chose lasagna. We invited the whole family and Aimee, Kevin and the boys over for dinner. Aimee made a cake for Grace since we were not going to have a cake at her party (which is on Monday at Dr. Jazz). Grace has been asking for a barbie for a while now and so Aimee decided that a barbie cake would be appropriate. It turned out great.

Aimee, you did a great job!!! Thanks for everything. Grace now has to sleep with the barbie every night!!!

Happy Birthday Grace!!!

Friday was Grace's birthday and she and I had a day planned all out (Seth was in school and Richie was at work). First we started out with a couple of errands to run (must return some things) and then it was to the lunch of her choice. She chose O'Charley's...fine by me as the kids eat free there. They just like the rolls they give everyone. She ordered chicken fingers and fries. I told the waiter that it was her birthday and she could order what she wanted. The waiter looked at me crazy, thinking " you are actually going to let a 3 year old order". But she knew what she wanted (just like any other woman, right?!!!) hahaha. Surprisingly she ate all of her chicken and a couple of fries. (usually we are taking the fries away so she will eat the rest of her meal). The waiter even brought out a birthday treat for her when she was done (ice cream with chocolate chips). He was probably thinking "TIP"!!!LOL Then it was off to the mall. We had been to the mall late last month to do some christmas shopping and we passed by Libby Lu (they do girl make overs there, princess stuff) and she was disappointed that she couldn't do it then. I told her that since Richie was working and Seth had school on her birthday I would take her to be a "princess". She was all over it!!! We invited a couple of close friends to go with us. Grace was all ready for this. The "pretties" (that would be eye shadow and lip gloss) and the hair do to match. They started out painting the nails. This was really exciting!!!

Then it was on to the eyeshadow and lip gloss followed by the hair do. She picked out the hair style she wanted. While I am watching them do this, I am thinking to myself, "this is a girl who runs away when she sees a brush come out of the drawer everyday!!!" Go figure, she will let someone else do her hair and actually sit still for it. hahaha

Now no hair style is complete without hairspray and glitter!!!

The final do!!! She looks so much like Seth in this picture it is scary!!!

Now this next picture you can see why I am so impressed with the way she actually sat still for this. I guess if a 3 year old really wants to look like a princess, she will stop at nothing to get that accomplished!!!LOL

Dawnjulene and Dache' came to play princess with us, but Dache' decided not to have it done, but they stayed and watched Grace. Thank you both for coming. We missed having Andrea and Abby with us, but understand. Hope you are feeling better, Abby.

Me and my "pink tank".

Santa Came to Town...

Yesterday was the last day for Parents As Teachers (the playgroup that Grace and I go to at school, the one Mom teachs) and it was PARTY time!!! The kids all played for awhile, while all the parents talked and played with the kids...everyone was dressed in their best to see Santa...B was all ready for him to show up.

F was getting things fixed around the room and preparing for Santa's visit. (Love the tongue!!!haha, concentration at its best!!!)

We have quite a few younger ones this year, and they were all on the mats. G was thrilled to have friends to play with who were also anticipating the arrival of the "big guy".

While B and little B were turning heads and flashes on all cameras were going off...How cute is this!!! little B is going to be a big sister soon, and is taking to being a big sister very well!!!

Finally the moment everyone was waiting for...Santa. F ran up to him with arms wide open to give Santa the hug of a life time...it was almost like he had known Santa his entire life and couldn't wait to see him again!!! This was the biggest smile on someone's face I had ever seen!!! It was the sweetest thing!!

Santa read a book to the kids and then each of them got to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for christmas. He gave each of them a candy cane and some crayons. All but three actually sat on his lap...I bet you can't guess which one of those three were?!! I am sure you have figured it out by now, so I will not hold you in suspense any longer!!!haha

The funny thing is, is that when she saw F run up to Santa when he came in she was right behind him (with open arms, I think she even hugged his leg). Then of course when everyone is looking at her and trying to talk her into sitting on his lap, she plays off the "I am shy, and don't look at me" thing...Go figure, right!!!LOL

Thank you everyone for a wonderful year and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! We will see you in January!!!

Baking cookies...

is one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. The enjoy it too!!! Although, I think they just look forward to eating the kisses when they are done putting them on the cookies. Everytime a batch was done, the kids put the kisses in the middle and then got to eat one kiss while waiting for the next batch...

After all was done the kids and I indulged ourselves in some milk and cookies before we started making chocolate chip cookies. You know what that means, right? Two more cookies and a glass of milk when we are done!!!haha

ER visit...

Last night was a long one. Richie and I went to dinner with some friends and Mom and Dad were watching the kids. We picked up the kids and took them home and straight to bed. After all was settled, Richie and I watched a VERY dumb movie and went to bed. I got ready for bed and then went into Seth's room to take him to the bathroom, like we do every night (he is totally asleep when we do this, he doesn't even know what is going on half the time). I turned him around to head back to his room and his feet flew out from under him and he landed flat on his face, spread eagle on the concrete floor. UGH!!! I was a wreck. Normally things like this don't bother me too much, but my adrenaline was rushing so much all the color excaped my face and I was white as a ghost. So while I am trying not to pass out and keep his mouth from bleeding all over the bathroom, Richie got Grace in the car and we headed to the ER. We called Mom and Dad on the way and asked them to meet us there to get Grace so we could stay with Seth. He jammed his mouth so hard I was worried about his teeth and since he wouldn't let us look to see anything we took him in...(BTW it is now 11:30pm)

After a couple of hours in the ER, they sent us home with some antibiotics and some instructions to call the dentist on Monday. Seth is now on a soft food diet (which consists of ice cream, pudding, jello, mac and cheese, etc...He is really loving life right now!!haha)

This picture was taken the next morning when he and I woke up. We were supposed to have breakfast with Santa today with Aimee and the boys, but I was not about to wake him up to go...He needs his sleep. He has been such a trooper!!

Lowe's Build and Grow

Saturday morning the kids and I met up with Aimee and the boys for some building at Lowe's. They were given an apron, safety goggles, a hammer, and a gingerbread house kit...We found a place on the floor in the back of the aisle and went to work.

Getting Grace started so that I can get Seth started. The kids were so good and patient to listen for directions. They all had a really good time.

Grace was always readjusting her goggles...kids look so darn cute in safety goggles!!LOL

After all was put together the kit came with stickers for the kids to decorate the house...Carson was so precise on were his stickers needed to be!!! I love watching little hands go to work!

Hayden finished the last of his stickers while resting on the floor.

Of course we have to have a picture of the final product.

On the way out the door, Grace and Seth both wanted to show Grumpy their project, so they decided to shout in the store looking for him...everyone is looking at us, but that sure didn't stop them. Once I got them calmed down I explained to them he wasn't working then and we would go the house and show him!!! Seth couldn't wait to see him. He thinks Grumpy is so cool with building things!!