Bouncing Mom

It's finally cold-ish here. So we invited our sweet neighbors to go to a bounce place with us and took off for a morning of fun. The Dads were working so it was just 2 Moms and 4 kids. The older girls are fairly self sufficient and we could have easily joined the other moms in the cafe area to enjoy over priced beverages and free wifi. But thankfully our neighbors are fun. So we bounced too.

Then...the older girls wanted us to do the BIG slide. Why not? We were already sweating and getting mean glances from the Moms who had lied to their kids saying Moms can't bounce. SOooo babies in hand we learned to climb the big old ladder. This video doesn't quite do it justice. It is at least 12 feet high. It was Cutie Pie's only shot at doing the big slide and I had to carry her the whole way (arm workout!). We spent about an hour doing it...over and over again. The kids were thrilled. AND....I'm not ashamed to say it was both a work out and pretty darn fun.

I know, I know....the iPad is tempting, it's nice to keep lipstick in tact, and Moms typically don't jump. But I dare you to try it. Your kids will think you are awesome. You will probably sweat and definitely burn some calories. You might get some mean looks from other Moms. You will have fun. You might be a little sore later. AND most importantly...one day when your teenager won't talk to you because they'd rather be texting, surfing the net, or doing whatever they'll do in 10 years you can remind them that you are a family who puts technology aside to prioritize each other!

Uni...

Ahhh facepainting. The staple of events for young children. 

We are totally in that phase. Yet the quality from one face painting to another ranges greatly. In one place you might get a rinky-dink rainbow where the colors run together and look like a hideous bruise moments later. Other places, you might get this: 

It's sparkly, the eye of the Unicorn is also Cupcake's eye, there is tonal work, and outlined detail. Let's just say this is the Cadillac of face-paints. Yet Cupcake had no idea. Until she looked in the mirror....and laughed with JOY and EXCITEMENT. 

She named her "Uni" and insisted on keeping her on all day. Which is why the post nap, kind of smudged Uni is still here: 

Thankfully she is logical. Thankfully she likes pretty things. Logically speaking if you sleep on your pretty pillow all night long with paint, it might not be pretty anymore. 

Bye, bye, Uni. Bye, Bye. 

Preschool program

About 6 years ago I went to the Preschool Christmas program of our ring bearer, Aiden. He was PRECIOUS! It was a world un-familiar to me as I was newly married and not close to having children of my own...at least I didn't feel like it was close. Flash forward to this week when we all got dressed and ready to go to Cupcake's 1st Preschool Christmas program at the very church I visited all those years ago. Wow! Time really does fly!

Cupcake was very excited for her show and asked MANY times to be sure Daddy would be there too. I realized a few things: 

1. My girl is looking more like me. (Don't you think, Mom?!)

2. My girl LOVES a performance. 

3. My girl takes learning the hand motions VERY seriously. 

4. My girl is radiant, sweet, and beautiful. 

5. My girl makes me sooooo proud. 

They sang 2 songs with their age group and 3 songs with the whole school. Our video cameras are ill-equipped for such events as these. We're working on it. In the meantime here are a few pictures. 

Cupcake and a few favorite friends from class. 

Tiny Little Baby song

4 calling birds from 12 Days of Christmas

9 ladies dancing from 12 Days of Christmas

Also, they sang Feliz Navidad and shook some serious hips to the Spanish tune!

They concluded with We Wish You a Merry Christmas....and on that note, We wish you the same! We'll be logging off for a few days to enjoy our sweet girls in this joyous season. 

Her own little tree

Have you heard of "Truth in the Tinsel?" You can buy the e-book here. It has been an AWESOME Christmas activity that will surely become a Crack Team tradition. Basically we made an ornament for each day leading up to Christmas and read a scripture from the Christmas story. The ornaments were things like a crown, Mary, Joseph, Bethlehem, Gabriel, sheep, etc. We put the ornament clue in our advent calendar so each day when Cupcake opened her little door she'd see the clue. She has REALLY enjoyed it. 

Of course with all these extra ornaments we had to find a home for them. So, we allowed Cupcake to have her own small tree that has become more and more beautiful each day!

Here she is painting the crown because a King was born!

I'm not going to even pretend that I didn't enjoy a daily crafting opportunity. It rocked! 

After a handful of days, Cutie Pie was DONE watching. She wanted in on the fun. She did a great job making her bright star. 

Here you can see a page from the book...their ornament does NOT have googly eyes. Cupcake insisted that a husband would want to see his wife, Mary. So on went the googly eyes. I rather like her addition!

We didn't manage to keep up with EVERY day but we made sure to hit as many as we could. It has been incredible to see how Cupcake soaks in the details we are learning. When someone mentions the angel that appears to Mary, Cupcake is quick to tell you His name. She also can recognize other symbols now beyond just Baby Jesus. It was a really fun way to count down to Christmas. So our 1st Annual Truth in the Tinsel is almost done which means Christmas is COMING!!!!

The hangover

Remember our Trail of Lights experience? 

I decided the only way to cure the lack of sleep hangover was a cozy day at home. 

Here is our recipe for holiday fun hangover healing:

Christmas pajamas

Fresh popped popcorn

Raisins

Juice boxes (its a party when there are juice boxes, people)

Frosty the Snowman on the TV

A few crafts

Lots of snuggles

I think we'll recover. Don't you? 

Trail of Lights

The Austin tradition is back!!! Trail of Lights historically has been a key part of Christmas in the Music Capital. However, for the past two years they did not have the trail. Of course with it's reinstatement we wanted to attend. Why not pick the nicest (70ish degrees) night in December? Why not go RIGHT after the hubs gets off work? 

Here's one good reason: Everyone else might have the same idea. 

5:30 - The hubs arrived home

5:45- We headed downtown

7:00 - Arrive downtown (normally a 20 minute drive)

7:05 - On the shuttle bus 

Buses get stuck in traffic too...who knew? 

7:55 - Bus arrives at Zilker park

8:30 - Finally at the start of the trail we can enjoy what we promised our girls 3 hours prior. 

Bed time is normally between 7-7:30 for Cutie Pie and 7:30 - 8 for Cupcake

Soooo they were tired. 

We carried them. 

We only one picture. 

10:45 - We finally got home

They loved the lights. 

They had on cute matching shirts. 

We ate yummy tamales and kettle corn.

We did the Austin tradition. 

We don't mind carrying them. One day they'll be too big. 

It's still a Merry Christmas though a margarita machine on the bus could have been fun. 

Like sissy....

Cutie Pie wants to do WHATEVER Cupcake is doing. If I have her on the changing table and she can't see her big sis...she will call her nickname at the top of her lungs. Almost all of the time this is SOOOO sweet to see her want to do what big sissy is doing. Sometimes however she is just a little too young to keep up. Painting...or giving Mom a hair style....or stirring something Mom is cooking.....those are all things that are a fun challenge for a 3-almost-4 year old but for a 15 month old can be a downright disaster. 

Yogurt with a spoon...all by herself falls somewhere in the middle. Not a disaster. Not impossible. Not a total success either. She is determined. She is curious. And...she loves her big sissy!!!

Follow the Star

The Hubs loves to play basketball. He's good too. I'm not partial. I could offer a list of references. Now, I love that he plays, stays in shape, and it doesn't hurt that he's a baller. BUT what makes me the most proud is he doesn't just play basketball. He builds relationships. He finds out what is going on off the court with the men he meets on the court. Now I may be partial here but I'm soooo proud of how he uses every opportunity..even the 6am, sweaty court side one to befriend others.

One of the guys he plays with mentioned that his church was doing a special event a couple of weekends ago. They had been planning it since March and many of the men at his church had been growing true authentic beards since then. It had 250+ cast members. The hubs asked if we could go as a family to see his friend. OF COURSE! I'm all for supporting the man I'm so proud of and little did I know that I was about to be richly blessed!

Have you heard of Follow the Star? Apparently there are more churches around the US that do this special event than just in Austin. However, the official Austin link if you are more interested is:
http://www.followthestartexas.com/

These pictures are from my phone because I had no idea what I was in for and was completely ill-prepared. It was outside and you could walk or drive through the scenes at your own pace. We walked. AMAZING is a understatement and it was something our whole family enjoyed....even if Cutie Pie's enjoyment was limited to the live Camels that were awesome!!!

Gabriel appears to Mary

She prays

The Christ child is born in a stable

(three wiseman came with live camels...i couldn't get a good shot but Cutie Pie was blown away)

Palm Sunday

(side note- this was MY favorite scene. I cried. Big ugly tears. The towns people (actors) were soooo excited the moments before his arrival and were literally shaking with joy. It was so moving I couldn't help but cry!)

The last supper 

(Authentic beards people...it was so impressive!)

Jesus prays in the Garden

Betrayed by a kiss

Turned over to Pilot

On the Cross

(side note - I whispered to the Hubs - it's so cold he must be freezing. The hubs reply? Ummm...honey...think about what he is representing. Those cuts aren't real and nails aren't through his hands. Cold is nothing. Ohhh...right. Oopps!)

The tomb is empty!

(this was the hubs favorite - it's hard to see in the picture but it was a MASSIVE rock moved over and a simple gown on the stone bench....moving!)

The ascension

(Cupcake's favorite)

I missed the last scene which was a simple living room set up with a father reading the passages from a bible and explaining that all of this ... Jesus's life is the gift that is intended for any of us should we choose to accept and that this gift is the REAL meaning of Christmas.

After "Follow the Star" it is safe to say that The Crack Team is sufficiently into the Christmas season. Thank you, Shawn-basketball-soldier-friend for the invite. We were so blown away and so happy we went. It's been a little hard to head to the store to buy Christmas gifts...

Breakfast with Santa

Kindergarten will be the end of me. Mark my word! Getting this family up, dressed, and out the door anytime before 8:30 is nearly impossible and never a pretty sight. 9:00 is doable with some planning ahead. Really, our happy place would be 10:30. Sooooo, breakfast with Santa at 8:30am meant leaving home around 8am. Any guesses what took the loss here? 

Oh to be able to "do" my hair again. One day, one day....if I have any left when it's all said and done. Those gingerbread pancakes however were YUM-O!

After breakfast Cupcake got to dive into the craft stations. She really enjoys crafting! Some friends from her school call her artist girl because when given the choice, she always will choose the art station. 

Of course breakfast with Santa wouldn't be complete without, well, Santa. Cupcake was terrified last year. And this year, she's not too sure either. We don't push the whole Santa thing so we weren't pushing it. She did however want to tell him her "wish" for Christmas. She told us she wouldn't sit on his lap....just share her wish. Well we got to the front of the line and he just grabbed her and put her on his lap. I was shooting pictures and later realized that actually...she wasn't happy. He didn't listen to her wish and he DID pick her up. Fail. Bad Santa. Luckily we have a neighborhood Santa who is incredibly nice that we'll see this weekend. Hopefully he can redeem the whole Santa reputation. Cutie Pie sat for a minute and then cried because Santa wasn't Daddy...and that's who she's all about this week.

How it is around here...

If you read my last post you'll know that I mentioned our tree going up and someone's lack of desire to decorate. I thought it was only fair to follow that post with a video that sums up life around here for that special someone.

During the video one female is sleeping, another is the camera-women, and the third is calling the shots. I don't think names are needed. She opens the bag. Someone suggests we need to move some stuff first. She shows someone where to put the tree....you'll see the hand motions. Then she reminds someone to pick up the stuff. She notices she is being filmed. She offers a smile. She sings a line of Frosty the snowman but you can barely hear it. She wants it done, now. She follows someone around a bit to make sure he's working in earnest.

I guess someone can't be blamed for his lack of enthusiasm around projects like these....and he can't be blamed for his needed cat nap after being the work horse either.

We love you, Crack Man 'O the House!

A first peak at Christmas...

The day after Thanksgiving we started decorating for Christmas. We had planned to host the Hub's team at work for a dinner and Christmas party the first Saturday in December. Of course Cupcake was THRILLED to get the decorations out. She loves to decorate for any holiday so she could barely wait to move into the Christmas decor. We got the tree up pretty fast but I wanted to give the branches time to relax after being boxed up for a year. Cupcake has a decorators itch....much like her mama and so in the interim she went right to work making ornaments of her own. She never complained how long it was taking me to be "ready" for ornaments. She just came up with a solution herself. I was proud of her. As a side note you can see who does NOT have the decorating itch. 

Here he's sleeping under the glow of the tree to the tune of Christmas cheer...

While we mostly limit or avoid excess sugar intake around here I figured with the first snap of cold I'd introduce Cupcake to a favorite indulgence of mine, hot chocolate. Not surprisingly, she liked it. Of course for your first cup you should have the super fancy whip cream with sprinkles on top too....

I even honored her Gigi by first insisting that she close her eyes and open her mouth while then filling it with a squirt of whipped cream. We giggle, we sat by the fire, and we drank our hot coco...until roughly 9:30 when Cutie Pie woke up. Have I mentioned she's even more of a sleeper-in-er than her big sis?!

Christmas is underway around here...with more pictures to come. Just don't hold your breath for our Christmas card. They are still at the printer and at the rate we're going...well, at least we still have some time before Christmas!

Uh-oh!

This video is old. Maybe a month old. But, it's going to be a 9 second Crack Team classic.

Watch it.

Watch it again.

Notice the slow mo...even though it's filmed in real time.

Notice how the camera man (and there is only one man in this house) diverts the camera with laughter....not concern...laughter.

Enjoy.

And as Cutie Pie likes to say. Uh-oh!

SUCKER!!!!!

Cutie Pie loves...and I mean LOVES to unpack things. A purse...doesn't matter who's it is or if we know it's owner, a suitcase, a bag, a box, my cupboards, cereal boxes, and the list goes on. This is great when I need a few minutes to cook dinner. This is not great when we are at story time at the library and my kid looks like a pick pocket cause she's dying to dig through the purses on the bag wall.

A few weeks ago we needed a minute for something so the hubs grabs Cupcake's Halloween basket. Cupcake hasn't touched it or even asked for the candy since Halloween so it was a full thing to unpack. I questioned his choice but he assured me that unpacking it was all she was capable of and opening any of the packets wouldn't be possible.

After getting organized for a brief minute I peaked around the corner expecting to see candy strewn across the kitchen floor. I didn't. I saw this:

I think this is her SUCKER face. See, Daddy, I can and I will open candy!

A confession

Here it is...a big hairy confession. It's one that might get me pinned as a no fun, bible beating, stick in the mud, mommy. It's a confession that might tempt you to feel judged for your own decision. I'm not judging...will you trust me? This is about me. This isn't about you or what you do or don't do. This is my blog and I hope that you'll let me confess, hear my point, and not be unkind to the wrestling of my heart. I already feel pretty isolated by my decision, I don't need a verbal stoning too.

So the confession....

Wait for it.

Remember, I'm not judging others for doing this. I'm not trying to start a movement. It really is just a place for me to write out my feelings.

Here it is:
I loathe Elf on the Shelf.

Can't stand it. Dislike him. Get annoyed seeing "ideas" everywhere. Frustrated that people pay money for this thing. BAH HUMBUG to the ELF!!!!!!!

Notice - this has nothing to do with people who have it.

Follow me on this one:
As a Christ follower, Christmas is a very important season for us. It's the birth of our Savior.
Said Savior came to Earth so that He could die for our sins. His death means we don't get what we deserve, we get grace.
His entire existence was meant to wipe clean any naughty or nice list that our Heavenly Father might have.
So, if JESUS is the reason for the season I absolutely LOATHE that some creepy looking Elf that costs 29.99 at Target is getting so much play and his "purpose" is to make sure children are being good.

I have some friends that make me think more closely about all decisions that I make. Said friends did not grow up in the US. So imagine me trying to explain to these people that Christmas is about Christ and yet this Elf thing is supposed to be a "fun" way to celebrate the season that is about someone who is here to free them from being on a bad list? They might ask me about the Elf. I get it....the elf is fun. But with sooooo many people completely obsessed with this fun I wonder if the message my friends get as they are sorting through our culture is that Jesus just isn't as fun. So we put the message of the season aside to create some fictional fun to amp it up. Something is backwards when the Jesus things feel cheesy and the Elf thing feels fun.

I know you will be tempted to comment about including Christ in Elf on the Shelf. You might even link me up to some people who do it well. Please resist. I've seen them. I've considered them. If you want to do them, that's awesome. Again, this is not about you. I personally don't feel any better about trying to Christian-ize the Elf. John 8:23 cleared that up for me.

Where does that leave us with Santa? St. Nicolas was a man who represented the giving spirit we admire and since St. Nick was a real person and Santa exists to carry his legacy, we feel that including Santa in our Christmas fun is ok. We don't talk about the naughty and nice list. We don't leave reindeer food in the front yard or cookies on plates. We don't really focus at all on the fictional Santa. However, a Santa ornament, seeing Santa at the mall, or singing Rudolph the Red nose reindeer with our friends is an opportunity to allow the spirit of who St. Nick was add to the fun. Since Christ gave His life for us, anyone who encourages us on a path to greater selflessness is welcome in our fun.

It is really this simple....at Christmas I desire CHRIST to be my focus. When my aforementioned friends come into my home, which they do often, I don't want them to have to sort through which things are fictional fun things and which things are true. I want the clear message of my heart, my home, and my actions to be that I love Christ because He first loved me. I want to have fun. I want to deck the halls. I want to share hot chocolate and home made cookies with anyone who wants to stop by. This season is rich with joy, togetherness, and an energy that comes with this most wonderful time of the year. It's just my personal belief that at the core of all the fa la la la las is the richness that is the Birth of our Savior. Furthermore, because this holiday has such a deep meaning the overflow of our hearts is the fun and festivities we crave. We want to spread Christmas cheer because there is a genuine outpouring of joy that comes with a precious baby born to save us all.

He appeared and the soul felt it's worth!

He is big enough to carry the season. He deserves to be the center focus. And He's a big enough deal that there just isn't enough room on my shelf for an Elf.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you consider my timing for blogging Thanksgiving you can go ahead and do the math on when we'll get our Christmas cards out....a little late. 

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with our precious little turkeys! Our older turkey was so excited to watch the Macy's day parade with me. It's one of my favorite traditions so her enthusiasm made my heart so happy. 

We also had a big turkey...bigger than our eldest child....weighing in at 26 pounds. 

We had ordered him from a local farm and he was killed Tuesday, delivered Wednesday, and roasted Thursday. You can't beat a fresh, local, organic fed turkey. However, you also can't control their weight. Luckily, we had invited plenty of guests and fed a total of 17 with our feast. We were so thrilled to welcome dear friends and our sweet neighbors as part of the group. My neighbor's father is visiting from China and at age 70 has never had an American Thanksgiving. Imagine his shock when the first bird he sees is a 26 pound chubbers. He took a few pictures with the bird for good measure. So did I!

A few days later, Cupcake and I grabbed hold of the wishbone and for the 2nd year in a row, she won. She told us her wish was for a train. Wow. You never know what they will think of next. 

We hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving too...and let the record state that we began decorating our house the morning after Thanksgiving for Christmas and we've been playing Christmas music ever since!