2013 Color of the Year into my Project Life album

I can't wait to incorporate this 2013 Pantone Color of the Year into my Project Life album!

Looking back on 2012

A few months back, I had read the pre-written Obituary of someone and felt as if MINE would be lacking A LOT. It seems that whenever I read one in the newspaper, I find myself with that EMPTY feeling - as if I haven't done enough with my life.

Dropping out of college after only 3 weeks is hardly note-worthy in an obituary, but the fact that I had NO IDEA what I was there for, hated my living quarters in a high-rise building in the heart of downtown Madison AND was extremely overwhelmed sitting in my smallest class with 300 other students (after coming from high school classes with a max of 30) made it clear enough for me to just simply WALK AWAY and go back home... where I belonged.

My mom tried to encourage me, telling me I have LOTS of things to put in my Obituary someday. Still, I struggle with that, but THANKFULLY I don't plan on going anywhere - anytime soon. (And in the event that something DOES happen, I guess my MOM can help to write something noteworthy.)

I can, however, reflect upon 2012. I started feeling the same way... as if I hadn't accomplished much, being a stay-at-home mom, but when I started to break it down and take a closer look, I really DO have some accomplishments that I am pleased with.

• Completed a 16 month journey of breastfeeding Silas.
• Retired the nursing bra(s) that I feel that I have LIVED IN since April 2009 - right before the birth of Sydney.
• Updated my Bucket List from 26 items to 144 - thanks to the amazing LIST of inspiring blogger Jenny Meyerson.
• Crossed SEVEN items off of my Bucket List this year: 

1. Field of Dreams
2. Maquoketa Caves
3. Join/participate in a book club
4. See a Globetrotter's Basketball game
5. Read the Hunger Games trilogy
6. Read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy
7. Participate in a backyard campout.

• Participate in my second year of Project Life.
• Documented a Week in the Life - inspired by blogger Ali Edwards. (Although, I would LIKE to put mine into a special album or something; I just blogged mine - or included them into my Project Life album.) April 22 – 28, 2012.
• Read 13 books for pleasure.
• Enjoyed 3 deep tissue massages.
• Stored 8699 photos into iPhoto on my Mac - all from 2012! (Thank goodness for digital cameras!)
• Bought an external hard drive and FINALLY backed up the contents of my computer!
• Threw up only once.
• Started back on Copaxone on September 30th and went 93/93 - having NEVER skipped a dose; although, I did WANT to skip a few times, but the fact is: I DIDN'T! 
• Joined a MS Support group at the local hospital.
• Joined a local Book Club (HER) and participated in one at the public library.
• Participated in Parent/Tot swimming lessons with Silas.
• Made a handful of greeting cards with the local Stampin Up rep.
• Fell in love with quinoa and added it into our diet(s)
• Participated in a Breastfeeding Support Group walk
• Handfuls of playdates with friends
• Located the Ziploc baggie - containing First Haircut Hair of Silas - from the garbage can.
• Created a 2012 photo calendar and 2 photo books (for gifts)
• Participated in a Big Picture Classes writing class THIRTY-ONE THINGS.
• Participated in a Big Picture Classes writing class WRITE NOW.
• Won a free seat to participate in Becky Higgin's class "Project Real Life" from Big Picture Classes founder Stacy Julian, via her blog.
• Participated in a Big Picture Classes class PROJECT REAL LIFE.
• Located a matching BIRTH-to-YEAR photo frame for Silas and completed one for him.
• Planned and pulled off a Surprise Party for my mom's 60th birthday.
• Washed (and eventually folded & put away) a minimum of 360 loads of laundry.
• Unloaded/reloaded the dishwasher more times than I'd like to count.... running it once daily.
• Got my 3-year old to start taking afternoon naps again!
• Hand-addressed 75 envelopes, sending out a family photo & holiday letter.
• Participated in our first year of ELF ON THE SHELF.
• Wrapped and enjoyed advent holiday books as a family.
• Considered a YMCA membership, but decided to spend those funds on 3-year-old preschool instead.
• Bared my body at the local community pool a handful of times this summer without feeling terribly body conscience.
• Witnessed the Canadian Pacific Railroad Holiday Lights train.
• Drove across the Mississippi River bridge handfuls of times.
• Got into the habit of flossing daily (for the past few months of the year).

SLEDDING FUN_29DEC2012

This morning, Mike decided that it would be a GREAT DAY to go sledding!

We gathered all of our snow clothes... we don't travel very lightly... and we headed off to a small hill that Mike is VERY FAMILIAR with.

"Where will we go swedding?" Sydney asked.

"At Grandpa's house." I stated.

"Where at Gwanpa's house? We can't go in the fwont yard because we don't want to go into the stah-weet (street)."

"In Grandpa's backyard." I replied.

His rebuttal was "There's no hill in Gwanpa's backyard."  

"Ah, but there IS!" I told him. "Don't you remember when we went sledding there last winter?"

"But WHERE?" he wondered.

"Well, if you start by the sunporch and sled down towards the birdbath."

He stared at me blankly.

"OK... how about this? You start by the sunporch and sled down to where Grandpa set up the tent when the tent was by the house."

"Oh yeah," he confirmed. "there WAS a little hill there! I remember now."

As I walked into Grandpa's house, Sydney announced "Wook, mommy's got our two sways (sleighs)!"

Unfortunately, the wind was cool today and the boys didn't last long. Silas tipped over on his sled, going down the hill on his back, resembling a stuck turtle. After that, he wasn't overly interested in sledding anymore and announced "House now."

It was still a nice way to spend time together as a family.

Funny things kids do/say_28DEC2012

Funny things kids do/say...
DECEMBER 28, 2012–

Sydney started squealing like a pig and entered full-blown freakout mode at lunch. "What's the matter?" I quizzed, half-expecting him to say that he sneezed on his sandwich or something.

"Siwas is getting his shirt dirty! Siwas is wearing his pita buttah and jewwy sanwich on his arms!" he squealed and screeched in his high-pitched (mosquito) whining voice.

I peeked in from the kitchen, where I had been throwing some food onto a plate for myself and pouring glasses of milk for the three of us to drink. I laughed... and laughed... and laughed some more!

Sure enough, Silas had separated his sandwich into two pieces of (messy) bread and had plucked a whole into the center of each piece. He then, slid his arm through each slice of bread - wearing them as bracelets.

"Eeeew! His shirt is dirty! It's making me GAG!" Sydney wailed.

I couldn't stop laughing, especially after witnessing the smile and proud face of little Silas. He didn't seem to mind the theatrical commentary at all... he proceeded to pull of bites of bread with alternating hands and pop each one into his mouth.

It was SO FUNNY!

What next? (Home sweet home)

The sky is clear and the snow sparkles, resembling glitter, with the bright sunlight. It looks like a beautiful day, but LOOKS can be deceiving. The Local on the 8's reports a sub-zero windchill and the morning temperature fell into single digits. Our home, built in 1896, has plastic on many of the windows during the winter season and we KNOW that plastic is doing SOME good for us because we can hear it move as the winds blow outside.

A Polartec fleece jacket is part of my "mom uniform" most days, as well as my red slippers (that Daddy likes to steal). I must admit that there ARE days that I don't get out of my pajamas at all. (The boys don't seem to mind one bit either; in fact, 3-year old Sydney protests getting dressed on non-schooldays quite often, insisting on wearing his snuggly, warm jammies instead. The thermostat is set warmer because we are home nearly all the time and we don't want the kids to get cold. We joke that 70° often still feels COLD, but sometimes 72° feels too warm; wondering if - like the story of the Three Bears - if 71° would feel "just right"?

Business in the bathroom is kept brief as the toilet seat gets quite cold if the door is kept closed in the tiny room that shares TWO outside walls.

Having lived in two "newer homes" in my adult life, I miss the warmth, new windows and energy efficiency of those homes. Although, the character of older homes IS missing from new(er) homes; character and charm that can't be beat. Our house boasts a beautiful wooden banister and upstairs railing in the hallway, as well as hardwood floors throughout much of the main floor.

I'm not sure HOW or WHY it happens, but it seemed that there was always "a SMELL" to Grandma's upstairs and attic space. The closet in our office, that houses all of my hanging clothes, has that similar "old house smell".

I find myself wondering WHERE we'll move next. What will the housing market look like in our new destination? Affordable? Expensive? Will our next house be OLD or NEW? Will we be able to paint our front door RED? Will there be a deck or a patio for eating outside? Will we have a fenced yard for the kids to play? Will there be a small hill to sled down OR the perfect tree to build a tree house? Will the house have french doors? (A feature that I have ALWAYS admired, but never had in a house.) Will it have an eat-in kitchen or just a dining room, like what we have now? Will we have a finished basement where the kids can play so that our living room isn't filled with toys and books?

Overcoming (bad) bedtime habits

I called Mike at work tonight... frustrated. I wondered "how many times does it take before your child understands the concept of getting tucked in and STAYING IN THEIR OWN BED until morning?" I've heard that it takes 30 days to develop a good habit, but FOR many, many months we have struggled with games at bedtime. I told Mike "I think I am going to send an email to your cousins to see if THEY have the same problems. OR talk to some of my local friends with similar/older kids. (I fear asking a couple of them - local friends - because they "have PERFECT children" or so they lead everyone to believe.) We can't be alone in our struggles, can we? Seriously... how long does this last?"

We have routine. We go upstairs. We brush teeth. We go potty. We (night) diaper and jammy. We read a few books, depending upon how long it took to get all other bedtime jobs done. We turn off the light (8PM-ish) and Silas announces "Twinkle Star!" I snuggle with Silas for as long as it takes to sing "Twinkle, twinkle, little" and he cuts me off, announcing "Bed now! Bed now, Mommy!" (Oh, how I wish we could make it through the song at least ONCE, but he WANTS to be in his bed and I can't hold that against him. I'm used to Sydney being such a snuggler.) Once Silas is in his crib, Sydney knows that it is HIS TURN to snuggle in the recliner with me. I tell him "I will sing Twinkle, Twinkle TWO times and hum it ONCE. Then, it's time for bed." He likes to TRY to negotiate for more, but I like to stand firm or else he takes advantage and attempts to make me jump through countless hoops. Before I take him from the recliner to his bed, I ask him "Do you want the gate open or closed?"

He always wants OPEN!

"What is YOUR JOB to keep the gate open?"

SYDNEY: Stay in my bed.

"What happens if you come out of your bed?"

SYDNEY: You shut the gate.

Then, I put him in his bed and cover him with his series of blankets... in the order that he has previously specified because heaven forbid that you wouldn't have "the scratchy blanket" on first. (If only their room were warmer, I would like to get rid of all of those extras.)

I kiss him goodnight and tell him I will see him in the morning - when the sun shines. "I love you, monkey! Stay in your bed PLEASE."

I think I don't even make it to the bottom of the stairs before I hear the sound machine suddenly louder. And then, Sydney is pillow-in-hand either 1) coming down the stairs, 2) sneaking into our bedroom or 3) coming to find me - wherever I am.

And then, when I take him back to his room and shut the gate, he fusses and cries as if "I" am "the bad guy" and it is SO SHOCKING and SO UNFAIR! Next, he will either 1) climb over the gate or 2) stand at the gate and yell... for a long, long time. He normally gets a warning "If you don't stop yelling, I will have to come close your door, too!" Sometimes, that works. Many times, NOT!

Again, "I" am the unreasonable one for shutting the door, too!

I've had (on occasion) had to put up ANOTHER babygate so that they are 2-high on the room. (He HATES that because he can't climb over it anymore.) 

We do this almost every single night and it is getting OLD!

I really WANT him to be a good sleeper. I really WANT to tuck him into bed and have him STAY THERE! (Of course, every time he comes out, he's convinced that WE need to tuck him in again.) We've tried to tell him "If I/we have to come up there to tuck you in, we have to shut the door, too."

[Turn up the chalkboard-scratching screeching whining now.]

I feel like THE ENEMY! I feel like I am the one stuck being MEAN! For real... WHEN does this STOP?

I have a hard time getting mad at him when he comes out, announcing "Mommy, I didn't get to help you do your shot yet. I think you need me to help you hold the cottonball." All of the other excuses get tiring.

For a while, he would pee about 3 drips and announce "Have to save some for later." (Grrrr!) Sure enough, 20-40 minutes later, he'd be proclaiming his need to go to the bathroom! (We're over that game now.)

Other times, he would INSIST that he didn't need to go potty. (Then, too, he would suddenly NEED to go a few minutes later. SO... it is non-negotiable now... we GO POTTY as soon as we are done brushing our teeth.... OR ELSE he doesn't get his cup of water in his bed "because you are saving all of that water in your belly instead". (He HATES not having his cup so, he changes his mind quickly to just go potty.)

Throughout the night, while WE are sleeping, we are FINALLY getting Sydney to stay in his bed. (For a while, we kept finding him in bed between us OR in the playpen in the corner of our bedroom.) In the mornings, he's also getting better about staying in bed longer. Some mornings, after Mike has left for work, he ventures into our bed and climbs in because I find him there when I wake. Many days, he comes in and announces "My clock says SEVEN now. We can get up!" (I'm OK with that!)

I figure that about the time we will FINALLY get Sydney to go to bed easily, Silas will start climbing out of his crib and we'll be back to square-ONE. Although, the way Silas WANTS to be IN his bed, I remain hopeful that it will continue to be "EASY" with him.

If only there really WAS such a thing as an "EASY BUTTON"...

My mom tells me "Sydney reminds me A LOT of your brother! He just really likes to be BY PEOPLE!" (True. AND he looks an awful lot like my brother, too!) 

Speaking of BAD bedtime habits... I really SHOULD make a resolution (or a noble attempt) to start going to bed at a more reasonable time AND getting more sleep myself. It's just, after SUCH a long day with kids all day long, I just want a little ME-time and tend to stay up too late.

CHRISTMAS celebration in the Guard house

I had conned my parents into coming to DBQ on Sunday instead of waiting until Monday/Christmas Eve - since it was the weekend and they weren't working. Told my dad that IF they came on Sunday instead, I would take him Christmas shopping since he had JUST asked me "any ideas what I should buy for mom?" and hinted that I should do his shopping for him. Lowell came a little earlier for me on Sunday and he went with the boys and I to do grocery shopping before my parents arrived. (It was a BIG HELP with the stores being especially busy and keeping the kids cooperative. PLUS, Grandpa Lowell enjoys coming with us to Sam's Club because they often have DELICIOUS samples!) Then, we (all of us except Mike - who was working) enjoyed Papa Murphy's for dinner.

Mom and I made Chocolate covered PB balls... our family tradition for the holidays! Mmmmm!



We also had some leftover chocolate so, we dipped some Nutter Butter cookies AND some fresh raspberries. YUM! The berries were FANTASTIC with the dark chocolate coating!!! It was a nice day.

Took Dad shopping on Christmas Eve - late morning - while mom played PlayDoh with the boys and discovered that SILAS knows how to count! (He had announced "FOUR, FIVE, SIX!" before Sydney got to those numbers. She was dumb-founded!) They also glued cotton balls onto Santa's advent beard. Dad and I returned in time for me to put the boys down for naps and then, mom and I worked in the kitchen (until Mike got home from work)!

Mike and Lowell arrived within minutes of each other on Christmas Eve. I think it was around 5:45 if I had to guess; didn't look at the clock. I had spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen with my mom. I made a Christmas Lima Bean casserole (and had made the strata for breakfast). Mom was making chutney and twice baked potatoes. A month or so ago, Mike and I had made a DELICIOUS chicken dish and declared that we wanted to serve THAT for Christmas dinner. A week or so ago, Mike made steak in a new rub and sauce that HE wanted to serve for Christmas. He had planned on doing the flank steak and sauce when he got off of work. (I went ahead and started making the chicken dish as he was walking in the door and I know that he was mad at me for it. "You just can't leave well-enough alone. What's the matter with my steak for dinner?" I told him that I wanted to have BOTH. Personally, I would rather have too much food, than not enough.) It all worked out and was delicious in the end! 

After Christmas Eve dinner, we separated out all of the gifts into PEOPLE PILES and then, took turns opening. 

As we were moving presents from the dining room to the living room, Morris Stegasaurus started to talk through the wrapping paper. Of course, Sydney heard it and was SO EXCITED, but didn't really know WHICH PRESENT was Morris.

The boys LOVE to help everyone open presents!

Throughout the night, I think I opened ONE, maybe TWO, on my own - because the boys were distracted.

Photo Credit: Lowell Guard

Sydney's preschool had sent home a gift in a manilla envelope that Sydney had decorated. Inside was a booklet... the 3 year old's interpretation of Christmas with the kids all dressed up in costume. Sydney was A COW. Cutest - Cow - EVER! (Other classmates were wisemen, shepherds, etc.) 

Silas took a break from presents to steal Daddy's (cheaters) glasses and to read a book. 

I'm glad it wasn't ALL about presents, but that we were able to enjoy just BEING TOGETHER.

Christmas Eve, Silas got: Tractor book; John Deere tractor/gator, farmer and animal set; a See & Say; a Super Grover doll; Washable Crayola Marker 8-pack; a toy dump truck; some clothes.

Christmas Eve, Sydney got: A Dinosaur Train puzzle; a multi-pack puzzle with consutruction equipment; a 50-pack Crayola washable markers; a utility bucket truck; a Harold & the Purple Crayon book; Morris Stegasaurus; some clothes.

Christmas Eve, The boys shared: 3 pack Dinosaur Train dinosaurs (Tiny & Don Pteranodon and Ned Brachiosaurus) AND a Sid the Science Kid DVD.

The boys were SO EXCITED with the gift from Lowell and Carol. THREE of the talking Dinosaurs! Ned Brachiosaurus had been on Sydney's wish list for A LONG TIME! Then, it was supposed to be TINY and a different kind of dinosaur, but Walmart had shipped TINY and DON... brother/sister dinos. That works out OK, too.... this way, they can EACH play with a pteranadon at the same time since we have Tiny AND Don now. Silas was SO FUNNY... he wanted to play with them, but had to wait until Sydney was distracted with something else and then, Silas ran behind the recliner to play with them out of sight. CUTE!

Silas wanted a turn with the dinosaurs...

so, he swiped a few when Sydney wasn't looking and ran behind the recliner to play with them quickly.

We gave Silas a SUPER GROVER doll. He LOVED IT!!! 

Funny how the boys instinctively KNOW to go to Papa Olson to rescue new toys from their packaging.

We thought it was sweet... Silas was standing on top of Papa's feet while Papa was trying to get Grover out of the box for Silas. 

Immediately, Sydney tried to take Super Grover away from Silas, but Silas fought to keep it for himself. Silas also thought it was funny to bite Super Grover's nose. (He's biting A LOT lately.... most often when he is tired.)

Grandpa Lowell, Nana and Papa all headed home (or to the hotel) for the night; we looked forward to their return in the morning for brunch.

At bedtime, we read our letter from Barney that said we could hug/kiss him goodbye. 

The boys have NEVER been so excited to brush their teeth and get ready for bed before so that they could say GOODBYE to Barney properly.

Advent Book #24 was... the Night before Christmas! (Fitting, eh?) 

An audio book that we'll cherish for years and years to come!

Struggled to get Sydney to sleep on Christmas Eve. I think it was almost ELEVEN before he finally settled down. I felt HORRIBLE that we forgot to re-hang our stockings and to set out milk and cookies before bed so, I made sure to do those before I came to bed so that our house was ready for Santa's arrival. 

Sydney was relieved to see that had been done on Christmas morning. He was disappointed that Santa didn't eat the whole peanut butter ball, but he thought it through and told us his hypothesis... that Santa probably gets FULL if he has some cookies and milk at EVERY boy and girl's house. (Good theory from our 3.5 year old!)

CHRISTMAS DAY

A view from Christmas morning...

Mike got a call from the alarm company that there was motion inside the store. (I was CRUSHED!!! I didn't want Mike to miss Christmas morning with the boys.) Right after he left, I heard Silas call "Mommy!" but I pretended not to hear him. Sydney had crawled in our bed early this morning and fallen asleep. I had HOPED that we could all stay in bed until Mike got back. I snuck out of bed to go to the bathroom and then, heard the front door open; Lowell was here. I snuck partway down the stairs and whispered that Mike had to go to work and that I had HOPED to keep the boys asleep or upstairs until Mike returned; told him that I was going to run some bath water - in case I needed to use THAT as a stall tactic. Thankfully, a few minutes later, I heard Mike come back home. (He said that there are 2 less BIRDS in the world now; he shot them with a BB gun at work. I guess there WERE at least EIGHT of them living inside the store. They can't really "HUNT" with guests in the store. So, bird(s) set off the motion alarm in the back of the store.)

Sydney must have sensed that Mike was home because all of a sudden, he woke up so, we rescued Silas and ventured downstairs. (Mike had turned the trains ON before the boys came down.) 

They were THRILLED to find TWO Dinosaur Train train tracks... one regular train and the other was "the water one" that travels underwater. They didn't seem to notice any of the other gifts from Santa.... OR the stockings.

The boys DID notice that Barney had left us some of his favorite donuts (that he brought us for our North Pole breakfast on Dec 1st) AND 2 candycanes, placed in the shape of a heart. (He must LOVE us!)

Silas wondered where Barney was for much of the morning. Sydney declared "Daddy was right! Barney DID take his fireplace home with him!"

My parents returned to our house. Got a text message from the neighbors saying that they had some extra carmel apple pecan pie and wondered if we were interested in any. Texted them back and Ben dropped off most of a pie. It looked really yummy. Mike didn't wait for breakfast; he tried some and said it was good. A minute later, our other neighbor, Lisa, called to say that she was coming over to drop off homemade cinnamon rolls. Within a few minutes of that, our breakfast strata was done and we dragged Sydney away from the trains to eat. (Silas was already at the table... he was hungry and waiting for breakfast!) We ate mid-morning; even Sydney declared the breakfast as delicious (although, he was commenting specifically on the juicy HAM in it). 

After breakfast, we noticed that the boys were UNDER THE TABLE opening Santa presents. 

Silas came out with Mike's unwrapped present. (OOPS!) 

Sydney got a Dinosaur Train A-to-Z book, Silas got a Sesame Street Search & Find book, Mommy got a Photography for Mothers book and Daddy got a Sudoko tablet.

Eventually, long after we woke and after breakfast was done, we opened our presents from Santa Claus and did the stockings, too. Each of us got Cyclone gear in our stockings... a hat for Mike, shirts for Sydney, Silas and I.  The boys each got a card game, too... GO FISH for Silas and CRAZY 8's for Sydney. Mommy got some Project Life cards.

The boys each got some additional tiny dinosaurs to ride the train(s).

Sydney opened his present from Santa.

Sydney thought it was his civic duty to (help) open the gift that Santa
left for Silas. Thankfully, Papa Olson could hold Sydney on his lap so
that Silas could open HIS OWN gift!

Mommy got a box of Project Life supplies. AWESOME! (No photo.)

Daddy got a grill mat. (The boys opened it on his behalf while he watched.)

Grandpa Lowell and the boys are checking out all of the
new dinosaurs that can ride on our new Dinosaur Train(s).

Silas helps Daddy break another batch of dinosaurs out of the package.
Silas is QUITE INTERESTED in getting the scissors, announcing
"That! That! Scissors! Cut! Cut! Cut! WANT THAT!"

My parents left around noon to head to another Christmas celebration. The boys (Silas, Sydney, Mike and Lowell ALL took naps while I downloaded LOTS of pics off of the camera!)



In the afternoon, I made Clam Chowder (and baked frozen Baked Cod and Garlic Toast). We ate an early dinner and Grandpa Lowell headed home early.

Around 6pm, while Mike was enjoying a hot bath, he talked to his mom for two minutes when she returned our call. She reported that she LOVED her gifts that we sent her.

Later in the evening, Sydney discovered the 2 presents left under the tree for the cats.

"We should open these for them because they don't have hands." he announced, convincingly.

Silas started announcing "Barney. Elf. Went North Pole. With Santa. In sleigh. Fireplace gone. Miss him. Love Barney."

We enjoyed some popcorn and a movie tonight as a family before bed. (Started watching Horton Hears a Who, but switched over to How the Grinch Stole Christmas... Daddy's FAVORITE holiday movie!) Sydney declared that he wanted HIS popcorn spicy and demanded "I want cayenne pepper on it!" (He shares with Daddy... and they enjoy nice cold milk with it!) Silas snuggled with me on the couch; our popcorn was without spices. I enjoyed watching Mike and Sydney snuggle together in the recliner; melts my heart to see him interact with the boys and feeling badly that he works so much, missing out on a lot of the fun that we have in our house.

After battling with Sydney at bedtime, I discovered that Mike turned on MY FAVORITE holiday movie... ELF... and was sitting in the living room, waiting to enjoy it with me. (He had made nachos and chips for himself.)  I thought it was sweet of him to play it for me and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was tired and would have liked to have gone to bed, too. I hadn't yet seen that movie this past holiday season so, it seemed like a GREAT way to end the day! He eventually just fell asleep, snuggling on the couch with me. It was really appreciated to enjoy some quiet time, sitting together on the couch. (Honestly, I fell asleep snuggling on the couch with him, too, but that, too, was nice.) Eventually, he declared he was going to bed. (My movie was nearly over.) Then, we realized that we still had to take our garbage out. Brrrr!

We had a FANTASTIC holiday! Took LOTS of pictures. Created LOTS of holiday memories. Felt A LOT of love. Enjoyed the holiday season!

ELF - DEC 24

Sydney woke up and ran to our bed. Daddy heard his footsteps and encouraged him to come snuggle. "Can we get up yet?" he pondered. Daddy looked at the clock and realized that it DOES say SEVEN so, we CAN get up. "I wonder where Barney is at today?" Sydney quizzed. "Wet's go wook for him..."

So, we headed downstairs...

We got partway down the stairs when Sydney discovered a paper chain hanging from the stairway window. "Hey, who did THAT?" he asked.

We ventured further to discover snowflakes hanging from all over our living room ceiling. "Hey, who did that?!?" he asked again. "Must be Barney!"he stated so-matter-of-factly.

Moments later, he discovered our elf, laying in a tiny Elf bed, covered in a "My First Christmas" blanket, clutching a pair of scissors and holding one last snowflake.

"Um, Daddy, can you move him so no one touches him?" Sydney asked.

"Let's wait until after Silas wakes up so that HE can see Barney, too."

• • •

All day long, Silas kept announcing "Barney. Elf. Bed!" or "Fireplace. Barney. Fireplace."

• • •


Right before bed, we discovered a rolled note, tied with string:

Dear Guard Family, 

I have had so much fun being a part of your family for the last month. You guys sure have a lot of fun around here. Sorry for any messes I made along the way. Guess I got caught up in the fun too!

Tonight when you go to sleep, some Christmas *magic* is going to happen. When you wake up tomorrow morning I will be gone and there will be presents under the tree. (I know there will be presents, because I have told Santa that you are pretty awesome kids. Santa will do his best to find the perfect presents for you.)

I’ve got a special surprise for you! 

Santa said that I won’t need my magic to get back home tonight because I can ride back to the North Pole with him in his sleigh so, if you want to, after your teeth are brushed and you’re all ready for bed, you can each give me a goodbye hug and a kiss. Just one big hug though because I still need a good dose of magic to start making toys for next Christmas once I am back home in the North Pole. When you are finished with your goodbyes just put me back in my little elf bed
and I will wait for Santa to come.

Can’t wait to see you next Christmas season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

   Barney

P.S. Santa really wants you to be good sleepers and stay in your own beds. Then, you’ll be even bigger next time I see you! I can’t wait!

The boys were SO EXCITED to go brush their teeth! 

Daddy moved Barney's scissors and snowflake; he carefully held the box so that each of the boys could hug and kiss Barney goodbye. Mommy even gave Barney a little kiss on the nose.

We're going to miss that little fellow!

ELF - DEC 23

Barney had the tiny camera that the boys got over the summer from a Parents as Teacher sponsored event. Sydney recalled that the orange camera was FISH and the purple camera was DINOSAURS. (They are similar to the old fashioned view finders.) I was SHOCKED that he recalled them so vividly.
Throughout the day, Silas would stand on Daddy's chair, smile and announce "CHEESE!"

ELF - DEC 22

Barney, our scout elf, is such a great addition to our household! Each morning, the boys immediately wonder WHERE IS BARNEY TODAY? Each morning, they check the previous place, as well as all of the other places that he's been... searching for their tiny friend. It is SO SWEET!

We're running out of time to wrap presents, I think.

ELF - DEC 21

DEC 21: Barney sits in the window above the tv.
As it turns out, Barney is the "A". Silly elf!

Barney built a block tower, spelling his name. Of course,
the boys used a back-scratcher to whack it off of the
entertainment center. Boys will be boys...

Barney spelled his name in fridge magnets.
Silas immediately moved them all to the fridge instead.
Then, he swatted them all off of the face of the fridge,
onto the floor. BOYS...

Sledding fun on the first day of Winter

 Instead of watching television reruns this afternoon, we decided to go play outside in the snow. We were going to try out Frank & Bev's backyard hill, but instead, Mike decided to try out our new duplex neighbor's backyard hill.

Turns out, the boys LOVED IT! A few times, Sydney enjoyed tackling his brother; they both ended in the snow.

Silas seemed to like it the most. Silas' mittens kept coming off, but he still had BIG SMILES! Each time he got to the bottom, he immediately announced "MORE! (A)GAIN! MORE! (A)GAIN!" ... you know, after he had pointed out the half-moon every. single. time!

They really enjoyed going down together. It was SO CUTE to see them hold onto each other!!! LOVED IT!!!