Christmas Slideshow

Here is a slideshow of pictures from the past couple of days. It starts with some preparations, including Zoey's Christmas list for Ross (entitled Christmas Recipes), and then some present opening and gingerbread house making. There is also some pictures of the kids and their cousins playing Guitar Hero. And when you live in SoCal, you don't get a white Christmas, but you do get to go to the beach! Enjoy!!

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Christmas Recap

Things have been a little busy. I started December off pretty slow and calm. I had little things planned to prepare us for Christmas each day, to keep Zoey occupied and excited and then... we got struck by a virus... again. So pretty much the rest of the time, up until right before Christmas Eve, someone was sick. That left me scrambling to finish up preparations!! Luckily, my parents came a few days early (that definitely added to the excitement),and then Tina and her family came a couple of days later. We had a nice Christmas, Zoey was very excited. She passed out the presents and loved it when another one was for her!! Max sat off to the side, opened up one present and then just wanted to play and play, until the next one came along. We have been having lots of fun playing and playing and playing!! We hope your Christmas was lovely, too!
Here is Zoey before Church on Christmas Eve...


I will probably put together a slideshow of pictures. It looks like I have too many to blog about. But a funny story... We open our presents here on Christmas Eve. A long family tradition on my side. But we reserved "Santa" presents for the morning. So Zoey chose to give Santa a "Z BAR" for his snack with a glass of milk. A Z Bar is a Clif bar for kids. Anyway, I think Ross loves them as much as the kids, so he was happy with that choice. Zoey wrote a message to Santa on a paper plate, and set out the snack with milk. here it is:

Well, Max came along and said, "mmm Z bar, yummy" and swiped and ate it!! It was very funny.

And here is Ross' big present...


Wishing you a happy rest of the Christmas Season and a Happy, Healthy New Year!!

Just Something to Make You Smile for the Holidays

I know this is going around... just wanted to share

Chopper Progress...

Ross: Are you going to blog that I put my engine into my chopper frame?
Me: Are you going to give me a foot massage? Oh wait, did I say that OUT LOUD? I meant, Yes, Ross, of course I will. And we are very proud... I will even add a picture.

Rice Krispy House

After a long week, both kids sick and not much sleep for mom and dad, Ross took the day off and we have just been recuperating, while staying in PJs! Zoey got sick too, but she is faring a little better and has perked up quite a bit, so I decided to get out one of the "projects" I have for her. It is a Rice Krispy Treat House kit. Here is the finished project. She did it all by herself. It isn't three dimensional like a Gingerbread house (which we are planning on for later).



here is Zoey with her stocking. Poor thing, she looks a little sick and still in PJs, but had fun:


And here is just a neat photo Zoey took herself of an ornament on our tree:

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Every year the police in our town drive around announcing that Santa is coming down the road. They have huge speakers on their car playing Christmas Carols while the kids all come out and wait for the big guy! Zoey rushed out (poor Max was sick and sleeping) and danced and danced and danced....



And then got to meet Santa:



She was pretty excited. This is the first year she has really been excited about it, so it is neat to see. On a side note... we've been having a pretty rough week. Two ER visits in one day. Does this happen to other families?? Yikes. Max had a crazy high temperature, and Zoey fell on the playground. He is still a pretty sick boy, but Zoey is doing fine.

Superbowler!!

Zoey had a birthday party to go to this afternoon. It was at a bowling alley. She has never bowled before. Luckily, they had the bumper guards up for everyone!! The first thing she did was walk up, set the ball down and KICK IT!!! Not hard at all, so she didn't hurt herself. She quickly figured out a way to do it though and got an amazing score of 99!! Almost broke 100. And she had 3 spares. Nice job, Zoey!

A Foamie Nativity

We have been crafting away... getting ready for Christmas. Here is our Nativity scene made out of... Foamies, Of course. Zoey wouldn't have it any other way.


We still have some sheep and a shepherd to make, but I got in a fight with the glue gun... and lost. Darn thing. Click on the picture to see the people up close. Zoey's put their faces on. She draws heart lips on the girls! She has been having a ball with the people and camels (which I have to give credit to Ross... the camels are just a bunch of pom-poms and they turned out really well). The whole town of Bethlehem has been going for rides around our house and having a party!! She gets it, though... she proudly put together the Angel and Mary and understood what was happening. I hope you are having a joyful preparation for Christmas. I am trying to just remember the reason for the season and share it with the kids, without having stress over presents and stuff like that. God Bless.

MY PAPA ............by Zoey

It was time...

Although we love the surfer look... it was time for Max to meet the clippers...

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think?

Hiding in the Book Pile

Zoey has loved books from the beginning. I cannot tell you how many hours and hours and hours I have spent reading to her. (I also cannot tell you how many times I have read the SAME book over and over in those hours, LOL) Max is different, of course. He wasn't too interested in books and stories until about a year ago. And then, it was only very specific books. All that has changed in the past couple of months. He enjoys books more and more, although still pretty selective, but with Max, you don't just read the books, you have to interact with the books. We find him acting out the scenes to his favorite books all the time. Do you remember the Five Little Monkeys Book? Well, he has read that one over and over, and acted out what every monkey does on every page... He is very good!

The other night we were reading a book about Fall, where the characters raked up a leaf pile and the dog hid in the leaf pile. He thought it was pretty funny. And then all of a sudden, Max told me to lie on the ground while he covered me with books, making a "book pile." So the fun began... hours of entertainment for Max come from books and his imagination. Here he is, hiding in the book pile... (He insisted his face be covered as well)

Marketing

Zoey is very attached to her stuffed doggy, Buford, and has been since she was a year old. Sometimes when we would drop her off at a babysitter, and we didn't bring Buford along, we would draw a picture of him on her hand to help while we were away. Well, she draws on herself now sometimes, and occasionally I let her draw a flower or sun on me, too. Tonight, she was drawing a doggy on my leg, and then she just kept going and I looked down to see that there was an entire mural, which included a picture of a book. I asked her about the book, and she just cracked up making up a story about the book and the name of it and what it was about and then added...

"Oh, and it comes with a DVD!"

How could you pass that deal up... book and DVD.

The Perfect Snuggle

After a long week, I made some tea and sat down on the couch on Friday night to just veg out for a couple of minutes. Zoey was in her room playing and Max was down in the playroom. I sat down, put my feet up and turned on the TV to see if there was anything I wanted to watch, when I thought... this would be perfect if I just had a blanket. So, I called to Max (after all, why else do you have kids, if not to make them your personal servant for a little while) and asked him to get me a blanket. This was actually a test, to see if he understood me and would do it. He very excitedly (see, they are only happily your servant for a limited time) ran to his room and brought me his much loved Lightening McQueen blanket Grandma made him. I was so thrilled that he did it and actually gave me His special blanket that when he came I gave him lots of hugs and kisses. But he ran off! Well, he ran off to get me his two stuffed doggies so that I could have them to snuggle with too. See, to Max, the special blankey and two doggies are all you need for the perfect snuggle... How lucky I was to have him share those with me... smile.

Five Little Monkeys

We went to the bookstore and got the book Five Little Monkeys for Max. You might remember the book or song...

Five Little Monkeys, jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Well, Max loved the book at the store. He is a big fan of slapstick humor... he has always cracked up at people falling, even as a baby. He used to watch the big kids sled near our house and just laughed and laughed when they crashed. Anyway, the monkeys in the book falling off the bed are just hilarious to him. But... we didn't realize he had a plan when he went home. As soon as we unlocked the door, he ran to his room and yes, he climbed on his bed, started jumping and then "fell" off and bumped his head (just pretend, of course)! I guess I should have expected that, but honestly I didn't. I'm off to call the doctor...

8 things you may not know...

Blogging has been light lately. Lots on my mind, but not much to write about. So I thought I would have a lighter post about me:) My friend Tracy has tagged me to write 8 things about myself, that perhaps you may not know...

1 - First, this post itself is very difficult. I do not like to share things about myself. I have no problems with you asking me anything at all. I will answer and answer honestly, but to just write it here... very difficult. I often question many, many of the posts on this blog... wondering if I am letting too much of myself show. In the end, I think it is all good though.

2 - I was born in Kokomo, Indiana. Ever heard of it? Probably not. I lived there all of four weeks or so, and have never been back!! I hope to see it one day though.

3 - I grew up 15 of my first 18 years in Germany. And, heaven forbid, I DO NOT speak German!! When I first came back to the states people were appalled by that fact!! I, however, have never, ever come across on opportunity where I even would have used it if I had known, so you be the judge...

4 - Ross and I (okay so this is not specifically about me) were born in the same year and graduated high school and college in the same years as well. This isn't too uncommon except that we met after all of the schooling was done. What is funny about it is that now we can listen to the radio and hear a song and be like, "Hey this was when we were in 10 th grade!!" And then we marvel at the fact that we were living totally separate lives, miles apart, not aware of the other... Okay, Ross doesn't, just me.

5 - I pray in the shower.

6- I love really great grocery stores. A little weird, I know. They recently opened a new Whole Foods near us, and I think it is the greatest place. I don't even know why.

7 - I also love the weather and weather patterns. I check the weather everyday. When we lived in Massachusettts, I checked multiple times a day. It is my only problem with Southern California... there is nothing going on when it comes to weather.

8 - I love traditions. Family traditions, church traditions, holiday traditions... love them. It is a precious gift from my family that I want to pass along... From special Christmas ones, to Corned Beef and Cabbage on St Patrick's Day. I think it is little things like this that make life worthwhile .

So now I am supposed to "tag" eight people to do this as well... I don't even know 8 bloggers... and Tracy tagged me....so, besides my sister ...you, yes, YOU, reading this... it's your turn. Either start your own blog, and tell me about it, or put it in the comments box... I would love to learn 8 things about you!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy Birthday Mom (Grandma)
We love you!!

cake:pinkcakebox

Trick or Treat

After two unsuccessful mornings at school with Halloween parades (both kids did not want to participate) I was a little apprehensive about going Trick or Treating this evening. All was well, however, and everyone had a good time. Max was a fireman, and Zoey, a pink poodle. No princesses for this girl... she loves dogs!! We went down to the Riviera Village, which is a bunch of shops and restaurants near us, where they block the streets off and have the merchants pass out candy. It is a fun time for all. The Fire Department brings the big Fire Truck for the kids to see and it is a safe, enjoyable environment, without too much walking for the little ones. Zoey very proudly went up to people and said, "Trick or Treat" while holding up her bucket. Max did a good job, too. He would say "Trick or Treat" and then usually want more than what they wanted to give. Here are the kids in front of the fire truck:


Some pictures of us walking to the Village:

Zoey's Halloween Joke of the Day

What did the bird say on Halloween?
Trick or Tweet

Happy Halloween!!

Sunsets...

One of the reasons I love the ocean so much is the reminder it gives me of God's presence in our lives. No matter how bad things seem, or how rough a day I have had, I can go to the beach and feel the negativity melt away. No other place can do this quite so quickly or so well. There is something about standing on the sand, the cool surf rushing through your feet, looking out at the water and seeing the strength of the waves and vastness of the ocean that reminds me that I am not in control, and at the same time reminds me to be thankful for the beauty in all things. Even as a little girl this happened to me. Growing up in landlocked Germany, I did not see the ocean very much; however, we had some neat vacations that took us to Spain, Italy and (former) Yugoslavia, where we spent some time by the water. I distinctly remember one time, being very young and standing at the beach and realizing what a powerful symbol this was to me. So the other night we went to a little local restaurant for dinner. We have a few spots where the kids like to go and it is actually a nice and relaxing event for all of us. It was still warm afterwards, so we decided to walk down to the beach and watch the sunset. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Part of why I am writing this is that I don't want to forget the evening. Although the sun sets each night and is often worth stopping to watch, tonight it seemed perfect. The tide was low and far out, so the waves just gently rolled in, making it perfect to run and run and run through. As soon as the kids saw that, there was no stopping them. We let them just go and enjoy it. And all the while the sky was turning amazing shades of pink, purple, yellow, red... It was beautiful. The reminder I needed for the day, to be so thankful for the kids that I have and the laughter they produce from just running through the sand and the waves... to realize the gift that they are and to know that God has a plan for each of us, and that their personalities, and mine too are no mistake in His plan for us... to be thankful for the beauty of our surroundings in the big things like a sunset over the water, or the smallest things, like the butterfly that Zoey caught earlier in the day, of which she was SO proud.
I tried so hard to make a mental note of it all, and I hope for years to come I can close my eyes and see Max and Zoey running with the crimson sky as their backdrop, laughter pouring out of them. Deo Gratias

En Fuego

You probably have heard that Southern California is burning!! I just wanted to let you know that we are fine and will be fine. It doesn't directly affect us where we live. It is very hot today though (they are expecting close to 90 where we live and much hotter inland) so that doesn't help much. We do see the affects of the fires in our air and sky and you can smell it as well. It is a little eerie. I can't imagine how bad it is for some people. Wishing you well!

In the Genes

When I came across this the other day:


I immediately thought of this:


Do you think they're related?

BTW, that was Zoey about 3 years ago!! Goodness!

Life is good...

... when you get to use your first power tool at age 3... Or at least that's what Ross tells me. I think I was like 23!

Here he is getting instructions:


On his own:


And now getting to enjoy the fruits of his efforts:

Zoey at Swim Class

When you live in Southern California, you can take outdoor swim lessons all year round! Zoey is really enjoying her classes, even though she is stuck in the group of all boys. Parents have to stay on the deck above the pool, but she yells up at us and waves throughout the lesson.

Here she is doing "red light green light splash time"



Here she is using the kickboard



And jumping in!!

Cute Kiddos

It's not often I get a picture of both kids, together and smiling at the camera, so I had to post!!

The boys with Daddy's Toys

Just some pictures of Max and Ross on the Chopper in progress...

Name Calling

One of our big issues with Zoey right now is name calling. She comes up with the craziest names for Max. One of the big ones is "Cagelli"; we have no idea where that came from, but she loves to call him that when she is mad at him. He doesn't mind so much, in fact, it probably bothers me and Ross a lot more, but we are still trying to correct it. Ross and I can't even look at each other when we are scolding her for this either because we crack up saying the words ourselves!! So she knows "Cagelli" is out, and she often stops herself in mid word. And when we ask her what she was going to say , she just makes something up like, "I was just saying babelli." Oh, okay, well that's better. So today we were playing outside when this took place:

Zoey (to Max running by): Hey Conjo! Stop it
Me: Zoey, what did you say? You know you don't call your brother names!
Zoey: I just said Conjo, which is Spanish for "he's wearing red pants"
Me (sort of thinking out loud, not expecting an answer): Oh, I see, kind of like an Indian name?
Zoey: Ah, no, Spanish.

Buon Compleanno

The night before Zoey's birthday, we (my mom, dad, Ross, Zoey, Max and I) went out to dinner to the Macaroni Grill. We were not specifically going here to celebrate Zoey's birthday, but told the waitress at the end of the meal that it was a special occasion. Much to our pleasant surprise, a lady brought out a cake for her and then sang Happy Birthday in Italian. It was very beautiful. Zoey sat very still and was a little shy about it, but you could tell she felt very special. It was the first time we had ever had that happen to her. It was just one person singing, too, not like other restaurants that bring out the whole wait-staff to sing their special birthday tune. (Although, that would have been fine for her too) It was just really sweet and she enjoyed it. I didn't have my camera, though. Too bad.

Zoey's Birthday pictures

Here are some pictures from Zoey's Birthday and just having fun with Grandma and Papa.

Events of the week

Sometimes you just have to laugh or else you cry, right? I haven't been able to post for a couple of reasons... First, we have spent the week trying to figure out why Max came home one day and just started limping and then hobbling and then barely walking along. It turns out he had a fractured femur! We aren't even sure how or when it happened. We went to pediatricians, and orthopedic doctors and had x-rays, all very fun with a 3 year old, and finally figured out he has a small buckle fracture. He started to show improvement on Friday, so that was a relief. He is not in a cast or anything, because they feel it would inhibit him more than help. Pretty crazy. But he is getting better, so that is a relief. We see the doctor again later in the week. In the meantime, we were told to keep him on bedrest, or at least keep him from running and jumping!! In a word, IMPOSSIBLE!! The first three days he really couldn't get around and told us, "I can't walk!" So he just played on his belly all day, which ended up making him very, very restless. So we are just trying to keep him contained.

The second reason I haven't posted is Max has figured out how to play the computer games and he no longer is content just watching Zoey. Since we didn't want him moving around too much, it was working out well, but it seems we have created a monster!! We have turned to hiding the computer!!

Some cute things that have happened or been said this week...

After going back and forth from doctor to doctor and getting x-rays everywhere, we were in one waiting room and I just sighed really loud. Max looked at me and said, "oh mom, how do you feel?" I said I was okay and asked how he was doing. He replied, "I'm happy." He really had good spirits through the whole week, before he got restless.

And Zoey got a bike for her birthday. I will post pictures soon. She didn't want to ride it, but the other day I was going to ride my bike to the grocery store, and she immediately wanted to join me. We had a fun ride. She went from never riding to taking a long ride to the store!! That's all for now... We are just plugging along. Ross is going out of town this week.

Happy Birthday ZOEY!!

I wasn't sure if I would have time to post this tomorrow... Lots of fun planned for Zoey's birthday. Enjoy our little walk down memory lane...

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Looking on the bright side...

The good thing about being three years old and being in the hospital is that you get to watch your favorite movie, Cars, THREE times in one day. And then again the very next day!!

That's right, I did say hospital. Hellooo from the sick house. Poor Zoey got a monster cold virus that knocked her out for a week with high fever and all that goes with that. And then Max got it, but his version sent us to the ER in the middle of the night as he was gasping for air. So it has been a pretty stressful and tired week for us, but you have to keep a sense of humor, right??? So poor Max is in the ER and they tell us that he is going to be admitted into the hospital for the day, and that he needs an IV. Well, getting an IV into the little hand of a three year old is pretty tough. Max was sweating like crazy which made the tape they were using not stick. So there were three nurses and myself trying to hold him down and get the IV in. Since they didn't want him to mess with it, they taped up the area and then wrapped his entire hand with a diaper to make a glove. When they finished, Max looked at his hand and exclaimed with worry, "oh no, my hand is missing!!" After a ten minute struggle, it was a little needed comic relief for us.

Anyway, we are all back home and on the road to recovery...