Christmas Morning.

i just love these photos of little miss S. if you are wondering what the white things is to the left on the top picture it is the door jam. crop it out you say? nah. that would make it too perfect.

today was candy day. it was a good day. i was tired at the end. scout was angry at the end. hayden was whiny at the end. my mom kept going at the end. go mom, go.

on the menu was:
peanut butter balls (or, little bits o' heaven, as i like to call them)
g-ma larsen's fudge (this stuff is the real thing. none of that marshmallow/chocolate chip crap--my apologies if that is the way you make fudge. apologies for calling it crap not because you make it that way)
white chocolate dipped pretzels
ginger snaps dipped in white chocolate
rice krispie treats
toffee

tired of fighting blogger and picture arranging. take it or leave it. the fam. gingerbread houses (ours was a gingerbread train, of course). dec 13th. good times.

Tales o' My Children

Moments with Mr. H:

1. I was in the restroom the other day when I hear "Help me! Help me! The light in the family room fell down!" -he'd knocked down a floor lamp.

2. H. has taken up singing. His favorites are Jingle Bells pronounced Dingle Bells, ABC song, and Old McDonald which is apparently Uh-Oh Donald. Speaking of songs and Jingle Bells. I have the Barbra Streisand  Christmas cd and it has a version of Jingle Bells on it (a Ras family favorite, I might add). In this version Babs sings about going on a sleigh ride and the horse gets stuck in a bank and sleigh gets "upsot". After saying it the first time she repeats "upsot" as if to say, "huh? what kind of word is that?" Hayden thinks this is hilarious. He walks around the house saying, "Upsot?" at which point he breaks into giggles.

3. Sometimes Hayden gets upset and to calm him down I distract him by asking him the colors and/or numbers of the various Thomas trains. A few weeks back I had a wee bit of a melt down and was crying on the bathroom floor (nothing to worry yourself over. just go without sleep for the better part of two years then let me know if you don't have any of these moments). Hayden squats down next to me and puts his hand on my knee then says, "Mama. What color is Percy? Is he Pink? Nooo. He's Green!"

 On Monday evening I was doing the dishes and ran into the island with my hip. It hurt and I yelled, "ouch!" Brent and Hayden were in the family room and I hear B. tell H to see if I'm ok. Hayden comes running in saying, "Okay. What color is Stanley?"

Smart kid. What am I going to do when he's a teenager? He'll have figured out all of my parenting tactics by then and will possibly use them against me.

As for little Miss S. She is just a delight. I really don't know how in the world I got so lucky to have two good natured children. She laughs, she smiles and she just lights up a room. She still army crawls--don't think she'll ever crawl crawl. She pulls herself up onto anything that will hold her weight. She shuffles along the furniture once she's standing. She literally does NOT stop moving unless she's asleep. And she loves her brother almost as much as I do. What a fab-o kid.

me. my birthday. i rock.

last year i wrote an ode to myself on my birthday and it was good. i'll admit i'm a pretty cool cat and deserve(d) and ode. this year, however, i'd like to write about the people who helped to make me me.

* my mom and dad.  what can a girl say about her practically perfect parents? i know that people won't believe that, but really to me--especially growing up--my parents seemed well, just about right. oh, sure there were little things that were weird or bugged me. like when my mom complained just loud enough for a store clerk to hear if she thought their service was less than friendly or my dad and his never ending homeopathic pharmacy he runs out of the pantry. but these are minor things and sometimes fairly lovable. i mean, what could say "i love you" more than sending you home with little baggies of vitamin c and echinacea and stomach comfort and antibacterial foam stuff? the thing is my parents taught me what they were supposed to teach me and then let me do with it what i was so inclined. and, let's be honest, that could not have been easy (do the initials am ring a bell? anyone? anyone?).
they also taught me, through example, to be curious. be curious about other cultures, religions, and ways of life. they gave me a passion for reading and studying that i'm still grateful for. they taught me how to love education and school and learning. how many people really love school? i do. if i could make money being a student, i would do it in a heart beat. got that from my parents. they taught and showed me where i could turn in some of my darkest hours and for that i am eternally grateful.

* my sibs. man. i love them, and the longer they are gone the more i realize that. is that why someone decided that moving far far away was a good idea?
i miss them, you know? i miss that companionship even if we aren't a game playing family.

* the man. i love my husband more than he knows. he has the biggest heart to go with the grumpiest demeanor. he loves to stir the pot just to get a reaction (and boy does he). he has helped me to see who i can be and who i want to be. he, daily, puts up with my incredibly odd idiosycrosies.-- i know, i'm ridiculously good looking, but under all that i'm a bit of a weirdie and he's okay with that. could a girl ask for anything more? he teaches me about perserverence and taking pride in what you do. he teaches me how to be a better me, though truthfully, i don't always listen. he teaches me that relationships are work and they should be work and it's okay if it doesn't work every day as long as you continue to work. he's taught me the value of work (even more than my parents and that is saying something). he's taught me that some men are capable and willing and will do everything in their power to take care of their family. he's a good guy, my man and i wouldn't trade him for the world.

* my children. i've said it before and i'll say it again: i am not a natural with children. i'm better with my own than other people's, but even with them i struggle to do it right. some days i'm a complete failure when it comes to them and other days i amaze myself with my child rearing abilities. raising them is definitely a journey--and one i've only just begun.
i don't know that i truly knew who i was before they came. there is a part of me that i swear did not exist before they arrived and it's a part of me that i kind of like. those two are my air, my light, and my life. i couldn't live without them and i hope i'll never have to. it is astounding what a smile from them can do for my day. i love them with all that is in me and i hope i can do right by them more often than not. but, just in case...i do have a therapy fund for each of them, because you just never know.

truth be told this post is really just the beginning and doesn't do justice to the people who have helped to shape me and whom i couldn't do without, but ...

happy birthday to me. i love you, brenthaydenscoutmomdadandyjannascottdavidal et al.

ps-i apologize for mispelled words. i can't seem to find the spell check.

Tradition!

Our day of cutting down a Christmas tree. Yes, little S and I were in attendance I just didn't take photos of us.

Festival of Trees and the Gingerbread Train.

Mr. H. very very sad to leave the Gingerbread train because it apparently was the Polar Express.

Thanks to all of you who gave me ideas for some traditions. I love them and will do some them this year and some when the wee ones get old enough to appreciate them.

i've got the cutest kids.

a few pictures of the chitlins. little s. and big h. are growing crazy fast and i love it. though i still don't appreciate when people say that s. is a "big baby". --yeah, well, so are you.