We Believe!!

Or at least we believe in going to the mall and sitting on Santa's lap, and taking the opportunity to bribe our kid to "be good so Santa will bring you a present!"

We took Hayden and Jack for the first time to see Santa. We've never taken Hayden, because we always thought he'd be scared of Santa...but we went for it on Saturday afternoon (I know...crazy to go to the mall on Saturday afternoon!)

But we actually didn't have to wait too long, and Hayden did great!! On the way there my sweet hubby was wanting to wager that Hayden would clam up and not say a word to Santa, but I didn't want to bet. Hayden did so great! He lit up when Santa reached for him to pull him onto his lap and really easily said, My name is hayden and I'm 3...When Santa asked him what he wanted, he said "I want Thomas the tank Engine!" (of course! I think Hayden believes he actually lives on the Island of Sodor...you have to know Thomas even know what that is!) I was so proud!! Although, we didn't really explain very well, that Santa doesn't give it to you right then...you have to wait for Christmas morning! So, he was a little dissappointed to walk away empty handed!

Jack wasn't too crazy about Santa, but tolerated him for a minute. It was fun!

It helped get me into the Christmas spirit that i"ve been lacking, to see Hayden suddenly be so aware of Christmas, and Santa, and Frosty and Baby Jesus...We also went to Peacock Lane to see the Christmas lights, which was fun.

I went home and wrapped up a bunch of my presents to put under the tree...i feel like now I'm almost ready for Christmas!

My baby is ONE

Jack turned one on friday. It's so bittersweet to me. This year has really flown by, much faster than Hayden's first year. I seriously can't believe he's one! We had a fun day, we went to Build A Bear and made him his first Teddy. It's sort of a tradition, we did it with Hayden too. Then we had a small family party on Sunday. Here's Jack showing his #1



And eating cupcake


In other news, Hayden has been throwing major fits lately (more like tantrums). He's never really done this but Matt has been gone alot lately and it seems to have popped up about that time. I think he's just demanding a little more attention. I really laugh out loud sometimes at it...he just really loses it! This is him DEMANDING chocolate (who doesn't want a little chocolate sometimes?)




Although, he still does show a sweet side. I got a new toy for my camera this week (thanks to Lee Ann's hubby tipping me off!)It makes my flash work alot better and so I played around a bit today on hayden...





That's it...Oh, I'm getting another bathroom added to my house! I'm excited...it will also be a laundry room, which I don't have right now. I"ll post pics tomorrow so you can see the progress. Nighty nite!

Real or Fake Christmas Tree?

We always have gone and made the trek to our local tree farm to chop down our own tree. We don't have a lot of traditons for Christmas, but Matt and I have always forked out our 35-45 bucks for our pretty Noble Fir. This year, I've been thinking alot more about "being green". Cloth Diapering, wanting my own chickens, re-usable grocery bags...trying to use organic cleaning products...it's actually pretty trendy to be "green". So, this year i felt a little sad chopping down a tree and felt like it would probably be more green to have a fake tree and spare the world losing another tree. But, it turns out, the green thing to do is to have a real tree. If you care, here's a few links my friend gave me about Christmas Tree facts..

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

and www.christmastree.org

Here's some pics from our outing to Riley Creek Farm in LaCenter (the best deal on Nobles!)

busy busy

This week is super crazy I feel like! 2 birthday parties, crafting my brains out for christmas ( I can't WAIT to post pics, but I have to until I give the presents or the surprise will be ruined!), and sew sew sewing for MOM's this week. My poor Christmas tree is still all bound up from the tree farm in the garage, waiting for some family time to put it up and decorate it!

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Matt is full swing into bball coaching, and I'm finding it hard to sit down the to computer without him home too much. I REALLY can't wait to post my gifts I'm making...oh well, I just have to leave you on the edge of your seats waiting!

The great news is, I've been making those nursing covers (like Hooter Hiders) for awhile now, but gals are catching on and asking to buy them from me! I've sold 3 this week! That's partly what I'm sewing for MOm's too, for a fundraiser we're going to sell them. I"m praying about starting a little business, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the license, taxes...ugh. But, I do want to work for myself at home, so we'll see.

my placemat purse

I made this cute placemat purse (inpired by Beckie of course!) for my friend Janette's bday and she LOVED it! And it seriously took about 30 minutes to make! By the way Target has tons of really cute placemats!! I stood there forever trying to decide on which would make the best purse...because so many of them would be good for it, and most were under $4. I already had the handles in my project box (they've been waiting for the perfect project for about 4 years now).

Thanks Beckie!!

so...sleepy...must... shop...

So Kohl's opened at 4 am today, and my mom and I decided to go for it. So we set the clock for 3:15 (so we'd have time to run through the 24 hr starbucks on our way). We hopped out of bed in an adrenaline rush of the great deals we knew we'd find. We threw our clothes on and were all ready to head out, when we looked at the clocks in the kitchen and realized....It was really 2:15 and the clock in my mom's room was off by an hour...dang! We were already all awake! So, we took our time getting to Starbucks (surprisingly alot of crazy people in line at 3am!) and Sat in the car in the Kohl's parking lot watching the crazy people stand in the freezing cold, waiting to get in. It was fun, we did find some good deals (Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders for $1.99 each!). We waited in line for well over an hour to pay for our items!! But, of course they have cleverly put many displays of good deals all the way to the register, so we continued to shop all the way there.

We had fun...not sure we'll do it again next year. Happy "black friday"...anyone know why it's called that? Maybe because businesses get their finances out of the red and back into "black" due to all of the money they make today!

Nasty day...

Well, today was no good. But I really believe God is changing me (thank goodness!), because typically I would've lost it a few hours ago. But, my sanity is hanging in there and I actually made it through bed time, by myself!

So, Jack's been kinda crummy feeling for a week and a half. Weird poop, runny nose, hacking and coughing...today I called the doc. Took him in and sure enough....First ear infection. Meanwhile in the docs office, Hayden starts saying his tummy hurts. I don't really believe him, he's been saying this kind of thing more often lately, not really serious.

We proceed to Walgreens drive thru to pick up Jack's antibiotics that the doctor so nicely called in for us. It's not ready, come back in 15 they say. I'm literally pulling out and Hayden starts crying hard...my tummy hurts! and blahh...vomit. Lots and lots of vomit. Nasty. So, pull over and try to contain the mess and comfort him.

He seems to be feeling much better, playing as usual. This is a super duper long day for Matt...7am-10ish pm, so I"m totally on my own. I think I'm missing my friends Bachelor Finale party unless Matt suprises me and gets home early. But...I made myself some cookies to eat while I watch it alone...how bad can that be? Me and a plate of cookies...sounds like a good date to me!