Mail Call: Dec 19 - 24

Good Afternoon! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families!! Ours went really well...the girls were so excited for Santa Claus to come. We put cookies (which Destin and I made) and pink lemonade out. He brought all kinds of gifts for the girls...clothes, baby dolls, a MobiGo game system, Elmo, board games and more!

Then that morning we celebrated with Patrick's dad, brothers and families. They got more cute clothes, and toys to enjoy. Then later on that afternoon we celebrated with my mom, stepdad and little brother...where they got a new kitchen set and many other fun toys/clothes/etc. Busy, busy! And we still have ONE more Christmas to celebrate this coming up weekend with Patrick's mom in Osceola :D

We are so incredibly thankful for everything we received from all of our family, but most of all we are thankful for each other, and having such incredible loved ones to call our own.

As far as this week with the mail, I got lots of fun goodies...

• Karen Katz Christmas book for Arwen (Christmas gift via Amazon.com credit)



• Toys R Us $5 off $25 or more coupon


• $50 Check from Maggies Clubs (paid post on FFF)


• Christmas cards from family


• Maxim magazine (freebie)


• Philips Avent bottle (freebie)


• E-Pillow (PR & Giveaway at FFF)


• Calendar from our real estate agent


• Examine Yourself book by John MacArthur, Jr. (freebie)


• Free Hostess Frosted Devils Food Donettes coupon from Viewpoints


• Huggies Diaper sample from Sams Club


• Alpha Hydrox (PR for FFF)


• Totsy order for the girls’ Christmas


• Purex Insider box w/new product (which won’t be on shelves til Feb. 2012)


• DarkReds cd (PR & Giveaway for FFF)


• Woolite sample & coupon


• “Take Charge and Change your life Today” by Trevor Bolin (BR for FFF)


• A box of goodies from Hidden Variable (creators of Bag It!) (PR & Giveaway for FFF, completed earlier this month)


• “Daily Gifts of Grace” (BR for FFF)


• Yum Yum Dish/Bowl (PR & Giveaway for FFF)


• Nescafe samples (set of 6)


• Tena pad samples (freebie from Walmart)

Its a new year!

Its a new year...which means new projects. And we didn't waste anytime getting started on our newest one...making the basement a new playroom for the girls & turning it into a guest room too.

We are about 1/3 of the way done of making this a finished project (the other 2/3 is putting the bed down there & organization). We started New Years weekend, and decided to start this project right after Christmas - when we looked in our third bedroom (the old playroom) which was so overfilled with toys that you couldn't even walk in the room. With that said, the girls DO NOT need any more new toys/clothes/books for awhile. Destin's 2nd birthday is approaching fast (less than a month away almost)...and I am hoping people would consider getting her money for her savings or maybe a membership to the Zoo or something :) We can dream, right?

Well anyway, all but a handful of her toys are currently downstairs in the basement. We moved our Tv from our bedroom downstairs too, on a swivel Tv stand hanging on the wall...then Pat decided he missed our Tv in our room (I missed it too) and bought a new one for downstairs and moved our Tv back upstairs. So currently, we have have of the basement filled with toys galore, a couch (which was given to us by my wonderful bro n' law & his wife), and the entertainment center (which is for sale - I need to post a pic of it on here, FB & Craigslist). This week, we plan to move our old King size bed downstairs, and that will be the "guest room" part of the newly designed basement. Hopefully we will get it all organized, decorated and such in the next month or so..but until then I am still cleaning upstairs daily.

The only bad part about the new toy room being downstairs, is that I can't be upstairs when the girls aren't. Maybe if they were older, but for now, I have to be with them both, watching/playing/interacting/teaching & having fun seeing my girls grow. But for those of you that do not know already, I like to multitask...I do the dishes/laundry/floors/bathrooms/email/blogging/facebook/play with the girls/breastfeed and lots more all day long. So I am going to move some toys upstairs, so I can continue to get things done while they play upstairs for a little bit each day.

So now that all of the toys are downstairs, Destin officially has a new bedroom to call her own (which was the old playroom). It still has her 9 cube book shelf with drawers (filled with leftover toys), and her toddler size bed. She still is not willing to go to sleep on her own, nor does she take naps, or sleeps in her bed longer than a few hours. She slept all night (meaning she stayed in there on her own until the morning) in her bed for the first time last week...she hasn't done this in a very long time. I just wish that some miracle would happen, and she would go to bed on her own, sleep in her own bed every night/all night...maybe someday she will again!

Arwen is still an amazing sleeper - she goes to sleep on her own, and stays asleep all night - every single night! We are so lucky! At about this age, Destin stopped sleeping through the night...so I just hope & pray that Arwen will keep up her amazing sleeping skills :) Pretty soon, we will be starting her on cereal - I can't wait! This means, we need to find a booster seat for Destin & Arwen will have the old highchair (we still have to put it back together).

My task today (and last week) was to clean out all the closets, organize them, donate stuff, put stuff where it belongs, etc. I did my closet & worked on Destin's last week. Today, I plan to work on Arwen's closet & figure out what she needs as far as clothes go. She is just growing so fast...at 5 mos old, she is now growing out of 3-6 mos and is starting to wear her 6 mos clothing. Which means, 6-9 mos/6-12 mos will soon be approaching. I also switched from size 1-2 diapers, to size 2 diapers...since we have been having lots of blowouts (almost everyday!), which means lots of extra laundry for me and trying to get stains out of clothing. Yuck!

In other news...I am loving my Nook Color (a gift from Patrick). I hope that when I have more time, I can post where to get free ebooks, apps & more! Patrick & I play on it every night with the crossword puzzles, and I have read online that you can get apps for it too :)

New Years weekend...was also when we celebrated Christmas with Tammie (Patrick's mom). We had a very large brunch meal...bagels, donuts, eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits & gravy, muffins, and more! Gma Tammie & Papi Mick loved their new photo book that I made them from Shutterfly :) I am so thankful for getting 4 of those for free this year...I didn't have to may shipping either! Woo hoo! Destin got a really cute baby bed/sink/high chair (an all in one) toy with a new babydoll...she loves it! She has played with it almost everyday, and loves to feed her babies and put them to bed, then pretends to wash her hands :) Arwen got some new outfits...that will look so cute on her. They are size 6-9 months, which is the perfect next step when it comes to clothes for her.

That night...New Years Day...we went out to eat dinner with Pat's brother, Daniel, Heather & Braxton & Gma Tammie & Papi at Zarda's BBQ in Blue Springs. The same place that we had cater our wedding...it was very yummy! Then we went back to their house and played the new "Dance 2 game" on Wii. I loved playing with Heather :) I can't wait to buy this game & play at home! It is definitely a workout, but lots of fun! I hope that over the next few weeks I can play the Wii more often...its been almost a good year that I haven't played. We moved it downstairs, and to my dismay, I found out that Pat sold most of our games as credit at Game Stop. I knew he was selling them, I just didn't realize we only had 4 left! Wow! So, maybe after we save up some money, we can go get some more games to play.

I already mentioned my New Years resolutions in another post...so that is taken care of!

Milestones i am looking forward to...Destin sleeping in her own bed! Arwen crawling/talking/walking...and more!

As of right now...it is snowing, snowing...almost 6 inches here - I have been telling Pat, I wish it would snow so I could take Destin outside to play. We don't have a sled, but from the looks of it outside - we need to get one :) We talked about turning Duke into a sled dog for Destin :) Last year, Destin was too little to play outside. So hopefully today or tomorrow we can enjoy this beautiful white wonderland outside!

I started writing this post on Jan 2nd..so this is just me getting caught up on saved posts for my blog :P Now I feel a little better...on to writing updates for organizing, dieting, cleaning, my babies growing up & more! Take care!

Our Christmas 2010

We celebrated Destin's 2nd, Arwen's 1st and our 7th Christmas (as a couple) this year :)

On Christmas Eve...we read several Christmas books (as I had them all out in her room all month long), had a snack, bath, and put out cookies, milk & carrots on the fireplace. We had to make sure to block them off with the baby gate (see pic in Dec file) so Daisy & Duke wouldn't get to them first! Then we took Destin for her nightly car ride (still her only way of falling asleep at night). When she left...she said "Merry Christmas Mommy, Merry Christmas Arwen, Daisy, Duke, Daddy!" It was so cute!

Christmas morning...Destin woke up at 6 AM..then Arwen soon after...we went potty, brushed our teeth, and video taped (the first time we have used our video camera since 2007 - our wedding!) the girls coming down the hall to their presents. We sat on the floor with both girls and opened up all their gifts.

Santa came for his visit leaving lots of toys, and goodies for both the girls...from us & Santa they got...Baby Einstein toys/books (I got 2 big gift sets that came with tons of toys, books, CDs, DVDs & more!), Llama Llama Red Pajama book, Brown Bear book, 3 DVDs (1 Juno dvd - I got this for FREE & 2 Bear in the Big Blue House - I got these for free with my Disney Movie Reward Points), We Did It Dora doll, Little People A-Z Animal set, and a PowerWheels Jeep for both the girls (its a two seater - so when Arwen is older she can ride/drive too). I also bought the girls a bunch of clothes from Old Navy about a month ago, but we decided not to wrap those and had them wearing them since Thanksgiving :) We also bought the final Shrek movie earlier in the week for all of us to share! We also wrapped some of Gpa Todd & Gma Julie's toys to give to the girls...an elmo remote, a laughing rolling horse & a light up musical bear.

After we opened & played with presents in the early morning hours, we got dressed & ready to go to Pat's dads house in Raymore. We already had the Jeep loaded, just had to get the girls & food in the car :) We got to thier house a little after 8:15 AM or so...had a huge breakfast made by Bill & Anna. They had biscuits/gravy, sausage links/patties/bacon, fruit, hashbrowns, pancakes and more! After we ate breakfast, we opened up tons of gifts from Uncle Daniel, Aunt Heather & Braxton; Uncle Mike, Aunt Darcy, Clara & Abby; Uncle Eric & Uncle Andrew, Gpa Bill & Gma Anna; and Great Gma Smith...Wow! The girls got so many neat toys, and clothes to share :) I think Destin's favorite was the puppy popup tent & sleeping bag from Uncle Daniel & Aunt Heather...

Then after we left their house we came back home...got ready for Gma Melanie, Gpa Jeff, Uncle Joe & Great Gma Anne to come over. We made mac n cheese, cheesy potatoes, crescent roll cheese with gouda & crackers...Gma Anne brought burritos & banana pineapple salad, and my mom brought a fruit & veggie tray, sliced ham/turkey/cheese, olives, pickles, BBQ sauce, mini weenies, and tons of dessert (pumpkin bars, red velvet cherry cheesecake cake, cookies, peanut brittle, brownies, and more!).

We ate at 4ish, and then opened up the massive amount of gifts that they brought for us and the girls...Destin loved her Elmo pjs, and all of the toys she received. And Arwen loved her new Baby Einstein bouncer seat. We spent most of the next day putting toys together in the morning. They got lots of books, clothes, and more!

Then that afternoon Great Gma Reta & Great Aunt Tracie came for a visit. We opened up gifts and ate leftovers for lunch :)

Pat & I got some great gifts too....money, giftcards to Kohls/Macy's/Gamestop, a new DVD/VCR player, cookie racks, tupperware, a new movie, MU sweatshirt, a new sweater for me and more! Oh, and I almost forgot - Pat surprised me with a Nook for Christmas. Its one of those eReaders, where you can download books. The one he got me was black/white only, so I was thinking about upgrading and spending my Christmas money to get the Nook Color which would allow me to read books with the girls and more! We are going tonight to get it...I am so excited!!!

Then later this week, Gpa Todd is driving up for a couple days..we haven't seen him since September. Then we will celebrate Christmas one last time with Gma Tammie & Poppy this New Years weekend. Busy, busy, busy!

So...overall I think we all made out very well for Christmas! We got to spend lots of great family time with our loved ones, and I got some great pics to share with you all on Shutterfly. Please check them out! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family!

The Meaning of Christmas...

On my nightly drive, Destin & I always love looking at the lights together...which had me wondering, why do people put lights on their house at Christmas? I have noticed more and more people do it at Halloween - but almost every other house puts up lights for Christmas. Sadly we haven't this year, and probably won't due to time, the weather and whatever else. I would love to put some up next year though...because I know Destin loves them!

I know there are several meanings of Christmas, either it be something that you make your own or from the history/religion. Do people put up lights because they know the history of them? Or do they do as a tradition of thier own? I am not sure...I do not know alot about religion, or going to chuch; so when I came across this article I learned quite a bit... The article which I found in KC Parent magazine explains some things that we do at Christmas...

http://kcparent.com/KCParent/10-12-01/Christmas_Traditions.aspx

1. Christmas Lights

Adorning the Moorish towers of the Country Club Plaza are Kansas City’s famous Plaza Lights, twinkling since 1925. Legend holds holiday lights date back to the 16th century German reformer, Martin Luther, who first placed candles on a Christmas tree long before the invention of stringed bulbs. The lights are symbolic of Christ, the “light of the world.” And our glowing tree toppers—stars and angels—symbolize the star that shone over a stable in Bethlehem and the host of angels proclaiming Jesus’ birth.

2. Christmas Tree

Decorating with evergreens harkens back to ancient Egyptians, who used the branches to honor the god of winter solstice. Similarly, the Scandinavians and Celtic Druids revered these plants for their hope of life in the dead of winter. But evergreens, remaining ever green as other plants wither and die, have become an enduring Christian symbol of everlasting life.

The Christmas tree became rooted in this metaphor when Saint Boniface, in the seventh century, used the fir tree’s triangular shape to teach about the mystery of the eternal trinity—God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In 12th century Central Europe, Christmas trees were hung upside down from ceilings. Later in Germany, trees were decorated with dried fruits, apples and wafers representing the Tree of Life and the body of Christ.

3. Wreaths

Dotting doorways around Kansas City, the holly wreath greets passersby with welcoming cheer. First used to honor ancient Roman gods, the wreath symbolizes eternal life for its circular shape and lasting green. It also pierces to the heart of the Christmas story. Tradition holds that the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at his crucifixion was formed of prickly holly and that its berries, once white, were tinged red by his blood.

4. Giving gifts

Gift-giving is a quintessential custom around the world, but the gift bearer is not always the jolly Santa Claus who makes a stop-in for breakfast at the local HyVee. Like Britain’s Father Christmas, France’s Père Noël, Brazil’s Papai Noel and the Netherland’s Sinterklaas, Santa Claus’ origins trace to the patron saint of children, Turkey’s Saint Nicholas. Santa’s flying reindeer—eight in all, until the addition of a certain red-nosed buck—pay tribute to the Norse god, Odin, whose chariot was pulled by a flying, eight-legged steed.

In Russia and Italy, the gift giver is a witch, Babushka and Befana, respectively. Legend says the crone was too busy sweeping her floors to accompany the magi on their journey to Bethlehem. She soon had a change of heart and took up a basket of gifts to offer the Christ child. To this day, Babushka wanders the countryside (Befana on her flying broom) in search of this holy baby, leaving toys for all good children along the way.

5. Caroling or singing Christmas songs

The Christmas narrative recounts voices of angels glorifying God, but the custom of caroling is largely credited to Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis used songs to teach common folk, who couldn’t read or understand the Latin mass, the Christmas story.

Caroling house-to-house heralds back to medieval wassails. In England, peasants visited the homes of feudal lords to bestow blessings in exchange for food and wassail, a warm drink. In Greece and Romania, children still knock on doors, caroling for treats. And in Mexico, on the night of Las Posadas (“The Inns”), chanting pilgrims venture house-to-house in candlelit processions. Several times they are refused lodging, reenacting Mary and Joseph’s arduous journey. The procession ends huddled around a nativity scene in homage to the Christ Child—God With Us—born on earth.

Did you learn something new? I hope so! Or maybe it just refreshes your memory for those of you who couldn't remember some of the background behind the symbols of Christmas that you see around you.

Traditions

Since the holidays are here, I started thinking about family traditions. Of course there are birthdays throughout the year, and some family get togethers on Patrick's side of the family. My side does not really get together. I am not really sure if we have traditions really, but I can think of just a few things we do each year:

January: ?
February: Destin's birthday
March: ?
April: Easter egg hunt, Birthdays
May: ?
June: ?
July: Arwen's birthday (next year) & other birthdays (Patricks & mine too!)
August: ?
September: We always go to the Fall festivals
October: Pick out/carve pumpkins, Watch Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin, go trick or treating (we started that this year) for Halloween
November: Eat turkey, Watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving, Put up Christmas decorations
December: Watch Charlie Brown's Christmas, Go see the lights at Christmas in the Park, Visit Santa at Bass Pro

So what are your traditions? It seems to me that as a family of four...we need to start our own! We just don't have that many, and I would love to start some new ones ~ especially as our girls get older :)

It's Christmas in Kansas City!

Well, I posted that we went to see Christmas in the Sky last Wed, Nov 24 (the night before Thanksgiving)...which went okay. We got there way too early..and Destin got very restless and didn't want to sit still - she was climbing all over the car and not really watching the fireworks so we left in hopes that she would fall asleep on the way home - she did not...so we stayed up for a while until she finally was out. The next day was Turkey Day (which I already wrote a post about). Friday night...Pat met up with his class of 2000 buddies in Belton/Raymore and got drunk as a skunk! Oh my! He never ever drinks, so it was funny to see him all liquored up :P

Saturday...we went to visit Santa Claus at Bass Pro (I think I have another post about this) and then that evening we finally went to see the lights at Christmas in the Park (at Longview in Lee's Summit). We got there about 7:30 ish, and waited in line over two hours before we drove thru the lights, which took about ten minutes. We got home late, and decided to check out the light show on Willow (up the street from us in Greenwood). It was very cool! They had lights playing synchronized with music via the radio. Every weekend the light show is supposed to be different - it was very neat to watch! They are raising money for a very good cause (although I can't remember what it is at the moment). So, if you are in Greenwood or in Lee's Summit area check out this great light show! Its free and changes every few minutes :)


So in the next couple of weeks, I hope to see all kinds of Christmas lights (mostly on the neighborhood houses) and we will probably check out 10th Street in Blue Springs, as we do every year.

Here are some more light shows that are posted on KC Parent's site:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/09-11-01/Kansas_City_Christmas_Light_Displays.aspx

Here are other links to all the happenings in KC for Christmas...

Old Fashioned Christmas:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/10-11-08/Old-Fashioned_Christmas_in_Kansas_City_2010.aspx

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremonies:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/10-11-08/Kansas_City_Christmas_Lighting_Ceremonies_2010.aspx

Christmas Shows:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/10-11-08/Christmas_Shows_in_Kansas_City_2010.aspx

Christmas Trains:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/10-11-08/Christmas_Trains_in_Kansas_City.aspx

Nativity Scenes:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/10-11-08/Nativities_in_Kansas_City_2010.aspx

Our visit with Santa

Our family tradition of visiting with Santa Claus started last year when Destin was 9 months old. And of course she cried, even with mommy holding her. So now with our two under two girls...we had to go visit Santa Claus this year too! We decided that going to Bass Pro is the best place ~ here is why:

1. Seeing Santa Claus is FREE (it is everywhere!)
2. There are plenty of things to look at, play with (including toys, fish, stuffed animals, etc.)
3. You get a FREE pic of your child & Santa Claus
4. You also get a FREE kids meal to their restaurant at Bass Pro
5. Santa gives your child a candy cane :)
6. Someday Destin & Arwen won't be scared & will get to share what they want for Christmas :)

So, in case you were wondering...Destin did cry :( even with me holding her - lets hope next year goes better. Arwen was just in amazement of Santa's beard - we even got a pic of just her & Santa :) It was so cute! So here are the links for thier pics:

http://images.pictureu.com/Photos/BW39/01/highresFB/BW39016718.jpg (Destin, Arwen & I with Santa)
http://images.pictureu.com/Photos/BW39/01/highresFB/BW39016712.jpg (Arwen & Santa)

Here are some more Santa events in the area:
http://www.kcparent.com/KCParent/10-11-08/Santa_in_Kansas_City_2010.aspx
This link shares where you can get letters, phone calls from Santa, visit Santa, eat with Santa, etc.

Christmas in the sky & park

I almost forgot, tonight is Christmas in the Sky! Where they have free fireworks over Longview Lake, then they open Christmas in the park...over 700 Christmas lights for FREE :) I can't wait to take the girls tonight! Hope to see you there! Click on this link for more info:

http://www.jacksongov.org/content/3279/5215/5230/5638.aspx

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We are in the second week of November, and I have to say that I am guilty of getting out the Christmas tree & decorations out already! I wanted to just put the tree up last week, and then Pat just had to bring up the decorations & because Destin wanted to help put ornaments on the tree. Here is the finished product below:

We have soo many ornaments, but no tree topper!

Destin had so much fun helping mommy & daddy decorate the tree. Its so hard to believe that this will be her 2nd Christmas...last year I remember she was just learning how to walk & now she is just all over the place! She is growing up so fast...this year will also be Arwen's 1st Christmas! We have so many Baby's 1st Christmas ornaments (from last year for Destin), so I am sure writing Arwen's name on at least one or two won't hurt.

Speaking of ornaments...its so fun to look at each one on our tree. Each one has a story to tell, a memory that was made, a Christmas it was received. I remember when Patrick & I first moved in with one another in Lee's Summit, in our small one-bedroom apartment in 2003 (almost eight years ago). And we bought our first tree, and ornaments - I still hang those up. Then when we were married in 2007. Christmas brings such great memories...we were engaged December 13, 2003 :)

Well, since I had the tree out & we in the process of getting the rest of our Christmas decorations out...I decided to have a mini Christmas photo shoot. I will be getting 50 free holiday cards soon, and I need to get some great pics for them :) So here a few (below) that I really liked. Arwen is smiling all the time. She is starting to laugh out loud now, at Destin, Daddy & me :) It is so cute! Every time she smiles, my heart just melts...

Arwen smiling at mommy - her hat is soo big!

Arwen & Destin in their Santa hats

I am still working on trying to get them both to smile at the same time...
I think this might be the first time they both looked & smiled at me though :)
It turned out really well (besides Destin's baby doll being in the shot!).

I am sure there will be more Christmas photo shoots to come - I wish I had access to a nice snowy white backdrop...I am sure we will get snow before we know it :) Until next time, take care!