"Home is Where Your Mom is"

I have been putting off writing this post. The pictures have just been sitting in my camera and I just kept telling myself I didn't have time to do it. Honestly though, I did have time I just didn't want to think about it. My trip to Texas was so fun but so short. It makes me want to go back just thinking about it. Looking at these picture just makes my heart ache. Oh what I would give to live close to my parents.
We were only there for about five days and it just wasn't enough. Every morning I would wake up and think, "Oh no! It's almost time to go back."
I decided to go to Texas for several reasons. One being that Cic is turning two soon and won't be able to fly for free very much longer. Another reason being that I was just feeling drained and needed to recharge my batteries. Lastly, I am pregnant and wanted to tell them in person rather than some lame phone call. So, yes I waited a long time to spill the beans to everyone (I am already 20 weeks along now) but honestly I wanted my Mom to know before all of facebook and blog knew. She is my best friend, after all.
It was FREEZING cold when we left Colorado and I was really looking forward to feeling the warm Texas sun on my face. My Mom teased me and said that we could work in her garden when I got there. When we arrived though, there was a freak ice storm that hit San Antonio and all the highways were shut down. It was CRAZY. My folks live 20 minutes from the airport and it took us over 3 hours to get home. I guess Texas has no snow plows or sand trucks b/c it was chaos! People were so excited to see snow/ice that they were pulling over on the side of the road to touch it. SERIOUSLY?! They need to get out more. (I know that I sound like a total Colorado snob right now, but honestly...REALLY?)
Though our trip was short, it was jam packed. I always love this about my parents. They are the best hosts and always have such fun activities lined up to do. My Mom and I did plenty of shopping and she spoiled the kiddos with lots of fun toys. I was really nervous that I was going to have to hold both kids the entire trip but they quickly leached on to my Mom and Dad and acted like they saw them everyday.

Friday night my parents took us to Chuck e Cheese for dinner and it was just perfect. Kai just took off with my Dad and they played about every game there. The next time I saw him his eyes were huge and he had handfuls of tickets. He was in heaven and my Dad was absolutely a dream with him.

Cic on the other hand couldn't quite figure out what all the craziness was about. She was interested in watching everything, but wanted to watch in the security of someones arms.
My Dad just followed Kai around and helped him with whatever he wanted to do. It was just one of those nights that I want to always remember.


We also went to the San Antonio Rodeo while we were there. My parents got us these AMAZING seats. I had forgotten how much I absolutely LOVE rodeos. It made me proud to be from Texas. I loved everything about it...the smell, the country music, the crazy Western outfits everyone wore, etc. It was so much fun. The rodeo was an indoor rodeo held inside the AT&T Center (where the Spurs play). It has been voted one of the best indoor rodeos and it was just incredible.

There was so much to see and do. We walked throughout the live stock show on our way to the rodeo, as well as the numerous tents of shopping, and then finally past the carnival. I could have stayed there ALL DAY LONG, but alas Kai woke up early that morning with a stomach bug. Yup, it isn't really a vacation unless someone gets sick. I thought that maybe we would get lucky since both kids had sinus infections earlier in the week, but no Kai got sick the morning of the rodeo. He couldn't keep anything down. He was fine as long as he didn't have anything in his stomach so we just took him. MOTHER OF THE YEAR AWARD, I know. I can't believe I did that, but it was fine. He was fine, he was just sleepy and I didn't want to ruin every ones plans. Wow, sounds horrible when I put it that way. I pretty much just held him the whole time and he loved the cuddling.

Cic was awesome and must have known that I couldn't hold her b/c she was just fine watching the horses on grandma and papa's lap.

Look how excited Kai was to be there. Poor little guy. He was a zombie.
Cic got really drowsy and started to dose off on Papa's lap.

Then she was out.
And so was Kai.
One of my favorite parts of the rodeo...Lady Antebellum.

They played after the rodeo was over. I love them. They were on a rotating stage so everyone got to see them. I sang along to all of the songs with my Mom. It was so fun. I haven't been to a concert since before Kai was born. I've missed it. They did not disappoint either. LOVED IT.
After the rodeo. It looks warm and sunny but it was chilly.
We went to the park on Sunday after church and the weather was awesome. It made me so excited for summer in Colorado. I can't wait to spend all day outdoors with the kids!

Kai is all about playgrounds lately and keeps asking me to take him. So glad that my Dad took us to their neighborhood park. It's fun to watch Kai in his element.
I told him to smile and this is what I got...
My Dad took turns pushing each kid. He was so good with them and so patient. I love him more than he knows.
My attempt at pushing Cic while trying to take a picture at the same time. I had to include it b/c she is so happy in it. Love this shot.

l.o.v.e.

It was a perfect day. Haven't spent a lot of time with my Dad in the last few years so this was perfect.
We did so many fun things resulting in Kai being pretty worn out by the end of the day. We roasted marshmallows, went hot tubing, made cookies, watched movies, fed deer, shopped, went out to eat, etc. This is what I found one night on the floor when I went looking for him. He was exhausted.

I'm so glad I took the opportunity to visit my folks. Probably my last trip with just two kiddos. Crazy to think about actually. I have the best parents. They are so supportive and helpful. I have got to find a way to be around them more. They just make life easier when they are around. They are never a burden and are always looking for things to do to make things easier for me.

I guess the next time I see my Mom will be when the baby is born. We laugh about how the only time she really comes to visit is when I am having a baby. It's a sad truth. I guess that's what it takes to get her to come to Colorado. :)

I can't wait for her to come though. She is such an example to me. I want to be just like you, Mom. I love you!

yUp...

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Thank Goodness it's OVER!

January has been such a "BLAH" month for us around here. There have been some fun things, but I feel like most of this month we have spent indoors because the kids were sick. I have felt so stir crazy and just needing to get out...even if all I do is run to the grocery store quick.
Kai is now in "Sunbeams" in church and does really well. His teacher is AMAZING.
Cic is now in nursery all by herself. Kai is no longer there to keep all the toys away from her and to bully her. She now can play with whatever she wants and loves to taste each and every one of them. Because of this...she also brings home every germ and sickness that any child has ever had. Thus resulting in our month of on again off again runny noses, coughs, and recent sinus infections for both kiddos.
This picture was taken at the first of the month on Kai's first day of "Sunbeams."

This month has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL out. We had one snow storm worth calling a "snow storm" and it left us with a little bit of snow. It was sunny outside the next day and the snow was melting quick...NOT before Kai and I had a chance to build a snowman though.

I am no snowman expert but Kai thinks I am. He was so proud of his snowman. His favorite part...the "hat" on top. :)

One thing I am always amazed about is just how heavy (or how weak I am) that snow is. Kai did his best to help me lift the snowballs, and I nearly died laughing listening to him grunt while he "helped."
I'm so excited for FEBRUARY! I'm not a big Valentine's Day fan...too mushy for me now. I used to love it, but now I just don't believe it. I am excited to go to TEXAS this week. Stoked actually. Starting a new month, with a fresh start (while still nursing my kiddos from their sinus infections). Going to Texas just puts a smile on my face, even if my parents do live in San Antonio now...it's not "home" but close enough. I'm sure I'll even look around at the airport hoping to see an unexpected familiar face. Yup, I do miss Texas terribly.

So glad today is the last day of January! I'm hoping February is sickness free and we get to spend more time outdoors.

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 was such a whirlwind. It just didn't really feel like Christmas I guess. The weather didn't feel like Christmas and I guess I just let it sneak up on us. Don't get me wrong, we did Christmas activities and yes, I was totally prepared for it. I don't really know how to describe it. Maybe it's b/c I didn't watch my favorite Christmas Movie, It's a Wonderful Life. I had the time to watch it, I just couldn't do it this year. That movie makes me sad.
Everyone talks about how Christmas is all about family. Ben has a super busy job from November through January. He can't take any time off during the busy period so if family can't come to us, then we just don't see them around the holidays. I had a glimmer of hope that maybe my folks would come visit us this year but alas, someone needed them "more than we did" again this year.

For Christmas Eve this year we went to our friends (the Amberry's) house. Kai and Cic were just buzzing around all day and spending Christmas Eve with friends was just the icing on the cake. Here are the kids before we left for the night on Christmas Eve.

When we returned from dinner we sang our Christmas songs and read the Christmas Story together as a family. After, we let the kids open one gift. They both decided to open the gift from each other and were more than happy with the loot.
Cic gave Kai the spider man he had been wanting and Kai gave Cic Jesse. They both went to bed with big smiles on their faces. We also opened a package from Ben's brother. They sent everyone new pajamas. The kids were so excited and Ben and I both have new jammies as well. It was so nice to sleep in new soft jammies. Thanks Barry and Jenn!

Christmas morning was so nice. It was a beautiful day. I believe it was in the low 50's. No snow but super nice weather. Kai has been waking up at 6:30am and coming in to wake me up and cuddle in the mornings. On Christmas morning I laid in bed waiting for Kai to come running in and he never showed. I'll admit that most mornings I am tired and wish that he would sleep in a bit, but Christmas morning I looked forward to hearing him try to tip toe quietly into my room and then get within 1 inch of my face and whisper loudly, "Mommy are you awake?"

I laid there till 7:00am and decided that I needed to have the Christmas tree lights on when the kids finally decided to breathe life into the house. I turned lights on, put on a Christmas CD, lit a nice smelling candle and then decided I couldn't wait any longer. I felt like the little kid on Christmas morning. I just couldn't wait any longer...I had to see Kai and Cici's face when they saw the tree.

The first thing we do on Christmas morning is open our stockings. Ben brought Kai and Cic down the stairs together and the first thing Kai said was, "Did Santa eat my cookies?" We made and decorated sugar cookies for Santa to have a snack on Christmas Eve. He was happy to discover that Santa had taken a bite out of every one of the cookies Kai picked out for him.

This is the stocking Santa prepared for Kai.

Cici's stocking.
Me, Harley, Willie, and Ben's stocking.
Check out that pile! Kai and Cic must have been good kids.

The tree Christmas morning 2010.

Kai and Cic coming down the stairs on Christmas morning. Before the kids opened their stockings.

I'm kind of sad that I didn't take more picture of the kids opening presents, but there were SOOOO many and it took us FOREVER to get through everything.
This is why it took us so long to open presents. Cic opened one of her baby dolls pretty early on and wasn't interested in anything else after that. She was obsessed with her doll and played with it the rest of the day. Kai ended up having to open up several of her presents for her. He didn't seem to mind though...and neither did she.
I started piling up the presents for a picture and was amazed at how big the pile got.

Here is Cici's half...

...and Kai's half.
Wow! It seems like we own an entire toy store now.
We stayed in our pajamas the rest of the day and the house was cleaned up and all the Christmas decorations were put away by 4:00pm. I LOVE taking everything down. It just makes the house feel bigger and CLEANER.

Every year the kids wake up from nap time and everything is GONE. The tree is even sitting on the curb. The only proof that Christmas happened is all the new toys we have.

Kai and Cic got some great gifts this year. One of Kai's favorites is a digital camera. He is constantly asking people to say, "Cheese."

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

DeFeaTed

I know...I still haven't posted our Christmas activities yet but it's Wednesday. My most dreaded day of the week. I loathe Wednesdays. It's just a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day....EVERY WEEK.

I try to be an optimistic person, but I'm sure that if you were to ask Ben he would tell you I am a pessimist. He's right (but only on Wednesdays.)

We took on a newspaper route over a year ago. It seemed like a great idea, a bit of extra cash, only once a week, and I could feel like I was helping out with the finances a bit. I fold the majority of the papers and Ben comes home and delivers them after work. Seems easy enough right? WRONG.
I hate everything about it. I hate that I am stressed about it from the minute I wake up in the mornings. I hate that I have to plan my entire day around when the delivery truck arrives in Castle Rock (30 minute drive) with the papers. I hate that my back is so sore and I get paper cuts all over my hands from folding ALL DAY LONG. I hate that Ben and I are both on edge on Wednesdays. I hate that when I finish folding I am so exhausted all I want to do is go to bed. It just seems like a wasted day.

Ben tries to stay positive though and tries to remind me that the money is great (honestly the pay is shockingly amazing) and that we use it for vacations and such so it does help.

All I feel though...is defeated. I am just totally drained. Every Wednesday I feel like I have nothing left to give. Everything has been sucked out of me and I am completely dry. I hate feeling this way and so...I HATE WEDNESDAYS!

I heard a quote that I have been reciting over and over in my head on many different occasions recently...

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay then it's not the end."
~Paolo Coelha

This is becoming one of my favorite quotes. Simply put, I love it.

Here's hoping that these newspapers won't be the end of me.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to my neighbor Jackie for having the patience (and talent) to get a family picture of us with no one crying or hitting each other.
Also, my amazing cousin Krista, always does such a great job putting a card together for us.
Love you guys!

One for the History Books

At the grocery store today in the checkout line...

A little girl was staring at Kai. I leaned over and said, "Kai, why don't you say 'Hi' to the little girl? She wants to be your friend."

Kai looked me straight in the eye and replied, "No Mommy, she's not pretty."

Same Story...Different Year

We took the kids to visit Santa at the mall on Friday night. I was really optimistic this year because the kids have seen a few Santa shows and seem to like him. We have talked about Santa and I thought they felt comfortable with him...or at least the idea of him anyway.
There has only been ONE year out of THREE where no one was crying on Santa's lap and I'm not sure if it even counts b/c Kai was a newborn and slept through the whole experience.
Last year Cic just stared at Santa and Kai screamed...this year they traded places.

Cic was so excited when we were standing in line. She kept looking through the fence trying to see Santa.
Kai joined in on the excitement and they were both looking in on Santa.
We waited about 20 minutes to get our pictures taken and the kids were so happy throughout the entire wait. We even watched a few kids get their pictures taken before we were up and the kids both practiced what they wanted to tell him. Kai wanted to tell Santa he wants a "Spiderman Watch" and Cic wants a "Baby".
When it was our turn, our game faces turned into absolute TERROR. I have never seen Cicilee more scared than when I sat her on Santa's lap. He was a great Santa and smiled and held on tight to my screaming, kicking, crying child. She was so upset that she flung her shoe across the room. I thought for sure Santa would lose his grip. It was the kind of scream that probably scared all the other children in line behind us. (I'm surprised that everyone behind us still had the courage to see Santa. From the screams of Cicilee you would have thought he just beheaded our child.)
Kai on the other hand, walked right up to Santa and without any sort of greeting said (under his breath), "I want a spiderman watch" and then proceeded to walk away. He didn't want to touch Santa much less sit on his lap and smile for our annual picture.
He just sat there and stared at Ben like, "Really Dad...This is NOT fun."
Ben makes fun of me b/c it's obvious that our kids HATE Santa. He always asks me why I insist on buying pictures of our kids crying. Honestly, I love them. Not the fact that the kids are crying...just the memory of that night. To me they are totally worth it.

I just had to include this picture of Kai and Cic taken today after Church. I thought it was only appropriate to end this post with a happy picture of my kids.