Christmas Time

We are gearing up for Christmas round these parts. I don't know if it is because we live in a small apartment or because I turning into Scrooge but man we have too many decorations. I tried to take it a little easier this year. I decorated, took down and re-decorated our hand rail only to decide that it was better bare. Climbing up those stairs to the bathroom several times a day just makes the candy cane ribbon feel super annoying under your hand especially since I have to really use the railing to balance myself.


Our tree kind of sucks this year. It is so dry and doesn't smell at all. My friend even gave me this stuff you put in the water to make your tree smell and it didn't work either. We were going to go and cut one down but it has been so cold and the roads have been yucky so we decided to take the easy route and get a $20 tree again from Ikea. Come on, that price is unbeatable.

Here we are decorating. Not the best photos but that isn't our profession.

I really want to do a Messiah Sing-Along. I know that seems random but I love that music and once upon a time I participated in a Sing-A-Long and it was fantastic although it was largely due to the people I was with. I tried to rope Greg into going to one here in town but he wasn't too keen on it especially because it cost money. I guess I'll just have to wait for Chloe to grow up a little more because she'll totally do it with me. She's already got the "Hallelujah" part down.

My kids have been talking about Santa all the time and I have my same annual debate about dumb Santa. Kill the dream, embrace the dream? For now, I just try and stay really vague. Chloe's class asked for a stamped envelope to send a letter to Santa and when I tried to ask the teacher where the letters were really being sent, something was lost in the translation--granted our "conversation" was all written. Am I going to receive some random letter at home? After all, I am Santa.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to remember the things the girls asked for this year:

CHLOE:

• Jesus. I didn't really know to do with this one so I asked her what she would do with Jesus? She just wants Him to visit us. My sweet girl.
• A bigger room. (tear)
• Her bed separated from Tati so we can tuck her in better at night. (another tear)
• A pet fish. (she tells her anti-pet parents who are starting to buckle)
• A crocodile, snake or a walrus Pet Shop (the crocodile and snake are hideous and the walrus is impossible to find so we got her a few that were on sale and hopefully they'll be received well enough--not that she needs one more Pet Shop)

TATIANA:

• A new Mommy and Daddy (ouch! When we keep offering to take her to somebody else's house though she changes her mind)
  
• A Russian doll (I'm working on sewing her one she can sleep with)
  
• A new book
• New markers

We had our ward Christmas party last week and Chloe was the "head" angel.

It was some production and we even tried to discourage from participating because of the amount of practices but she really wanted to do it (are we horrible?). She memorized her part quite well and Tati even memorized it even though she likes to say "Good tidings of Great George" instead of "Great Joy" just because it makes everybody laugh every time. Chloe got a bit of stage fright at the moment of her line but overall it was fantastic. The best part was the Primary didn't have to be in charge this year because some ladies were super gung ho to do it all. The message of the angel has been on my mind a lot because of all the practicing and also because it was one of the topics this month in the Ensign. "Fear Not!" I'm trying to remember this everyday as I stress about how this baby is going to come into the world and the when of it all and how thrashed my body seems to be becoming more and more on a daily basis.

Chloe also was honored at school and read an "original" story about Santa. It is called "Author's Chair". Basically everybody meets in the library at lunch time and different kids sit in a big chair and read their story and then everybody courtesy claps. Chloe's story was in French. Basically it was like, "Santa wears a red hat", etc. She was so cute. Unfortunately we have the world's crappiest camera. I think this Santa is like one click away from going nuts and buying a super nice camera.
And I wanted to end with this picture just because. Tati with her head stuck under the couch. Pretty much sums her up.

Being Thankful

Well we passed another Thanksgiving in Canada. It is always weird to have the celebrations on different days. Everybody here celebrated back in October. We decided to save the turkey we bought for "American Thanksgiving" for Christmas just because for everybody else here it was a normal day. We did have a special dinner though and busted out some of the family faves like Ranch Cheeseball and Orange Jello Salad but the rest will have to wait for Christmas. I figure it will be better then anyway since we'll have the whole day to rest and relax together.

So onto our list of things that we're grateful for. Sometimes it is hard to remember the things you're grateful for so I decided to try and find things that I was grateful for physically that I'm struggling to remember every day.

Reasons to be Thankful that you are huge and large:

• I don't have to suck in my gut ever! In fact, I can stick it out as much as I'd like to.
• My bra cup runneth over and frankly that will not be something permanent so even though I feel a bit hoochie sometimes, I should really be enjoying this while I can.
• And most importantly: a cute baby will join our family after all this.
  

Some stuff Chloe is Thankful for: my school teacher, Jesus, the Earth, metal, wood to make walls, shelves, etc.; electricity, my school, food, my friends, electronics, houses, my crafts, my family.

Some stuff Tati is Thankful for: my slippers, my family, my markers, our phone, my little jaguar "Sneaky", my coloring books, the Russian dolls, my books, my Mommy and Daddy, that I have my big sister, my stuffies.

Some stuff that Greg is Thankful for : a comfortable bed, healthy kids, a reliable car, bedtime, funny things and laughing, good music, snow tires, delicious dinners, cute hairdos on my girls, the scriptures, spell checker.

Some stuff that I'm Thankful for: 2% lycra, long, hot showers; my family, hugs & kisses from my girls, bedtime, food, good listeners, cozy blankets, our cool lamps, free heat, no dribbles or accidents (those would refer to Tati), nap time.

Halloweinering

My friend Jeanette said that. And I loved it. So it now is the official title. Happy Halloween 2010. I feel like we let down the team a bit this year because we really wanted to all be dressed in theme (it is hard for me to give this one up) but we had to settle for 2 and 2. The girls were super heroines and Greg and I were a witch and wizard--even though we wanted to be Super Villains. Wanna see a hilarious picture that could be Greg? This is Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon. It just didn't happen. But it would have been great.

This was the reality.

Chloe wanted to be Wonder Woman and since I had those underoos when I was I was little, AND I secretly want to be Wonder Woman AND I love Wonder Woman, I couldn't refuse. The only problem was that Tati was determined to be "Woman Woman" too. We finally convinced her to be Super Girl (not to be confused with her calling herself "Pooper Girl"--although that is pretty heroic too) and her favorite aunt was able to send us a costume. But Greg will make Tati a matching Wonder Woman shirt because come on, it turned out great. Maybe we should go into business. Anyway, initially we felt a little guilty that Tati had this store bought costume and Chloe's was going to be all ghetto and homemade but in the end we felt like the homemade costume surpassed the bought one and we were quite proud. The red cape was her friends so don't be too impressed there.

Chloe wore hers to school and rocked it. We stayed and watched the costume parade at the school and she really did look so authentic and cute. Here are some shots of her getting into the character:


And here we are, the night of our ward Trunk or Treat. These pictures are so awesome. I was already gone setting up. Greg says he was so focused on the many factors, that no, he didn't notice that Super Girl's belt was looking more like a bra, but hey. Something about Tati's smile in this one is just too hilarious.

Working it.

Super Flying Away

This is the "Do I look as good as you look? Yeah, I do" picture.

Hope your Halloween was as cute as ours was. We sure do love these girls. Eeek, what will we do when we have a boy?

Someday (AKA Ode to Tati)

She will:

• sleep through the night.
• not pee in her pants and undies.
• not scream throughout the entire time out.
• wipe after she goes to the bathroom.
  
• not try to hit you while you are disciplining her.
• not stain every shirt she owns.

• not taunt her BIG sister.
• not ask for the ipod every 10 seconds.
• eat her food.
• go to sleep without getting out of bed 5 times to play.
• keep her clothes on.

• want a hair-do.
• not take her shoes and socks off EVERY SINGLE TIME we get into the car.
• won't empty the sand from her shoes in the living room.
• stop losing one of the babies from the Russian nesting dolls.
• sit still for a prayer.
• not wipe her nose and mouth on her sleeve.
• not yell at random children at the store or outside, "Don't look at me!"
  

But, someday she'll also:

• not run up and hug me when I get back from a meeting saying, "Ah, Mommy, I missed you!"
• not want this much affection.

• stop picking up rocks and putting them in her pockets.
• pick out outfits that match.

• wear her clothes properly.
  

• not ask for us to "cozy" her up.
• stop telling us the reasons she is a "big girl".

• make sense when she talks and we'll miss out on trying to decipher her messages.
• lose her cute baby teeth smile.

• stop referring to fat people as "piggies" (which I know is totally inappropriate but with her innocence makes it so hilarious).
• stop wearing two non-matching dress up shoes.
• not be able to pull off a tank top like a nightie.

• not jump over every crack in the sidewalk or tile.
• stop talking to our cars and hugging them when we get home and tell them she missed them.
• be able to make good decisions. Right now, when she approaches muddy puddles and stands on their edges, an all-out war rages in her brain between doing the right thing (walking away or around the puddle) or doing what her legs are fighting so hard to do (jump right in).

• not be able to get away with being inappropriate like when she pretends to shoot farts/poop out of her butt at Chloe like it is a natural defense she has been armed with.

The moral of the story is: We love this fool a lot--even if she makes it hard sometimes.

And to finish off with (and if you're not a relative don't feel pressured to watch this as it is a bit long) but it is Tati teaching how to draw a dino.

"How To Draw A Dino" -By Coo-koo Brains

Balancing Act

We've got some exciting news over here. Somebody we know can ride a bike. Well to be honest, this is actually from last month when we still had leaves on the trees but better late than never. I bet she could've done it even sooner but we were a bit lazy about it. Now if she can just stop and start by herself, I might actually have her ride it to school. I can't believe how much she is growing up! She is a very safe person, so in addition to the mandatory helmet, she strapped on her elbow and knee pads as well as wrist guards (which we eventually coaxed her out of wearing since they were hindering her grip). Those were intended for her roller blades but she still won't wear those outside.

What would we give for a nicely paved sidewalk around here? We went across the street to the church to practice where it was open and semi nicely paved. Me, being the large, pregnant mother, took a camping chair with me to watch and take pics. I'm sure we were a sight to behold.

Chloe did awesome. She caught on really quickly and was even able to pedal around a few obstacles like a planter island and a telephone pole. It was really fun to see how proud of herself she was. It was also fun to see Greg in action teaching and coaching. He knew exactly what to say and how to build up her confidence. Here are a few shots of her in action:



Tati also has a "bike" but for some reason she prefers to push herself along rather than pedal even though she can reach the pedals. That was one of the reasons the paci-fairy brought this one because that is a hard trait to find in small "big wheels". She had a grand ole time running around and riding her bike but the real fun was when she found the storm drain and started to throw gravel down it and watch each stone hit the bottom.
I was surprised at how much Chloe enjoyed throwing the gravel down the drain as well once she was all tired out from practicing. Don't you think the toy industry is just really missing the mark with the games they come up with these days?


Here's a short video of Chloe in action. I know I was a crappy camera girl. Remember how I was in a camping chair? I like it because Greg is being all motivational Dad and telling Chloe she is stronger than wind and it is a nice reminder of the good ole days when Tati would tell us she was going to pee before she peed her pants.

Announcing...

Well it is official. In case you didn't get my bump in my Bon Jovi shirt a few posts ago, or in case you didn't read the notice on Facebook (come on people), we are having another baby in Feb. Here's the crazy part, it will be a BOY!



It is both exciting and terrifying. I just felt like I really had this girl thing down. Of course there are all sorts of fears and concerns that come up. People have often commented that our girls look so much like Greg so naturally one of my fears is having a girly boy who looks like me. Eek.

This has been a weird pregnancy. Lots of emotions and lots of trials. This is our 6th pregnancy. We have 2 kids so it has been hard for me to get totally excited about being pregnant without worrying that something would go wrong. From gaining lots of weight really fast (and swelling), to not having my doctor check for the heartbeat to having an ultrasound tech who wouldn't tell me jack, I've definitely been somewhat of a head case. And speaking of heads, it looks like I'm finally moving out of the migraine phase. I'm not a person who usually gets headaches really ever and I was having a real doozy every single evening. I've also been so sick and tired to the point of just being really cranky (sorry my family). Poor Greg has been in survival mode for some time. Hopefully, we're finally coming out of the darkness. On the positive side, it has been a great time to really test my faith and learn how to be ok with not being in control of things.

Who knows, maybe this is a sneak peek of what is to come:
Greg is hoping that he will take after Uncle Stephan and have great hair. He often comments about my brother's hair. It is pretty funny. No hair loss on my side. He's hoping this gene will be eradicated. It has been hilarious that my mind is buzzing from all the boy stuff that can be and Greg is the one talking about hair.

And I just want to say for all the maternity businesses out there, why is it so hard to find a pair of pants to not have to constantly pull up and what is this obsession with jersey material for dresses and skirts? Yes, definitely comfortable but come on, the clinging to every curve, bump, ripple and showing every line to every layer on your body. I don't want people to know what my butt looks like naked thank you very much. Call me crazy, but I'm just not into that. Four months to go. Let's hope this ole body of mine holds out.

Surf's Up (even in Canada)

We're having a hard time surrendering some dreams here in O Canada.
Dream #1: Summer isn't over yet.
Dream #2: We live close to the ocean.

It's raining outside? It's too cold to do anything? No problem, just put on your bathing suit (thank goodness we have free heat) and go swimming on the couch and/or living room floor. I think eventually I will miss having such a small house because I am always a part of their creativity.


This is a song the girls made up called, "Swimming in the Water". Sure to be a hit on itunes next season.


The girls LOVE and I mean LOVE that movie "Surf's Up". They also love the Beach Boys music. Chloe had this very clever idea of using some of our oversized coffee table books as the surfboards.

Here they are paddling.

This is once they've caught their wave.

And here is the movie of them in action. I love my kids.