2014 Christmas/New Years...

Aside from the fevers/chills that wouldn't end Christmas was very nice this year. First of all, the boys are way more into it than any previous year. I almost caved several times and let them open some presents. We did agree to let them open the ones from my parents/friends on Christmas Eve to appease them a little until the next morning.

Rima (Mike's sister) got to visit for Christmas with her husband and son this year which made it all the more special. We had dinner Christmas Eve and then Rima & Greg stepped out for Midnight Mass but because of all the waking up every night I was just too beat to go this year. We set out Santa presents and Rima set out all the things that she brought. We didn't make them wait too long that morning before they got to open the gifts.

We ended up sleeping in the same house for 3 nights which was very nice. We didn't have to worry about leaving and coming back, we could sit and watch movies as late as we wanted and wake up & have breakfast together the next day. We were able to get some nice family pictures too. The first time we tried to take a family picture, G wasn't there (which we didn't notice at first). Everyone came over to the stairs and we set up (I kept thinking there was something wrong) & I put the timer with 9 shots. I went to check on the pics and all of a sudden, G came from the dining room (he was busy playing his tablet in the kitchen and was oblivious to the commotion in foyer) and turned the corner and just looked at us sitting on the stairs. All of us broke into "Gaby!" and started laughing, not believing we did the pics without him.

The boys took a bath in grandma's bathtub (which they love) & afterwards J combed G's hair. As he was combing it he said "Gaby you have really curly hair."

New Years was very calm (especially compared to Christmas) but we were all okay with that. Mike's parents spent the night and we all toasted at midnight. The champagne we had on hand wasn't very good so we drank more of the sparkling grape juice the boys had :)

And just like that our Christmas break was over.

The end of 2013 (part 2)

Dec 21 & 22 - E found him on the mantle

E was the only one really concerned that Twinkle was missing the day we left home. Once we got to my parents he saw him on the mantle

Dec 21 - Twinkle making the long journey in my purse

The day after we arrived, I still had a few Christmas presents left to buy & so grandma got some alone time with the monkeys while daddy, auntie & I went out & finished our purchases.

Dec 23 - in the tree

Dec 24

On Monday, Dec 23 I got together with my bestest girl friends. I was SOOO excited to see them! It started with an all girl's lunch (no kids or husbands). We first headed to lunch at 54th street for grub & girl talk. Then (after almost 2 hours!) we split up & headed our separate ways for a few errands. Jackie & I decided to head out together since some of our errands were at the same place. We went to Dick's for a couple of items & then I noticed that I didn't have my credit card & forgot it at the restaurant. Jackie remembered that she forgot her hand sanitizer at the table too. I had enough cash in my wallet for the gifts & then we got back in the van & headed the one block over to the restaurant. It was so crazy packed at Zona Rosa. I successfully parallel parked the van (between a car & the sidewalk, but hey it still counts!) & we ran into the restaurant. For security reasons they had me show I.D. but they had my card. I was so thankful! Since it was so packed Jackie & I split up & she took her car over to the other side of Barry Road & I did the same. It took longer to get out than it did to drive across the way! It was a good idea not to leave either car in ZR parking. I did my errands at Wal-mart & then we met up Target. She followed me home then we started getting some things ready for Joy's sprinkle & exchanging gifts. Unfortunately, Joy's son was coughing & had a runny nose so it was thought best that he stay home but that meant that his dad couldn't come join in the fun either. Andy did get to come for a few minutes & Joy sat in the car with Lucas. I made him a plate of food so at least he got to have some. The kids had a great time together & I got an early birthday present!

Christmas Eve was filled with lots of love & family. Unfortunately, some of the family had to go to work that night but we ate & the boys had fun. We tried to put them to bed at a semi-normal time & used the rest of the time to play cards. My mom, brother & sister went to Midnight Mass (a tradition in our family) but I was tired & not really feeling like going. Mike & I played cards instead with my Aunt & Uncle. I started out strong but after one hand with a bad score I continued to drop; I was first from behind (haha). After they got back we started putting presents under the tree. That was an exercise by itself! I also had to find a spot to hide Twinkle as that was his last night until next Christmas. I settled on my laptop bag & luckily they never found him.

Luckily, the boys didn't wake up too early the next day. We opened presents & had a very nice day all relaxing. Too bad my brother had to go to work but he was gone after lunch & came back after dinner. After dinner we played "The Game of Things" with Shannon & her boyfriend & my aunt. The boys played with their new rescue bots & watched said rescue bots the whole day. Did I mention that it was THE WHOLE DAY? They pretty much took charge of the big tv in the living room...

Christmas Day family picture!

We went shopping the day after Christmas but other than that we didn't do much (too cold outside!!) until Dec 29. The whole family (minus dad) went to FunRun in Liberty & had a great time. My mom even went down some of the blow up slides with the boys! We worked up quite an appetite so we headed to Pizza Street Buffet afterwards. The boys actually took naps during the drive over. They loved eating that pizza & played a little in the arcade too.

E eating pizza. Sitting at his own table with Auntie

We finally got to see my dad on Monday the 30th. He was working hard & the weather wasn't cooperating so we didn't get to see him until then. The original plan was that we'd see him the night we got in & then he'd leave that Sunday to go back to STL but the weather was too bad for driving. He pulled doubles & stayed there that week & then we saw him for about 5 days the next week.

New Years Eve...
We had planned to go to my friend's house that night but plans kept changing & we ended up staying at my parents. It ended up working out well. The boys stayed up & all the kids got little goblets that had sparkling grape juice. We were watching the wrong channel on tv (the one we were on only showed Eastern Time's countdown) so we were a little late "celebrating" the New Year but at least we were all together.

We headed out to Pizza Street (again) the next day. Dad was excited & wanted to take the boys out. This time, the boys tried out the roller coaster simulator arcade game & LOVED IT! I was so surprised. They are getting better at trying different moving games. I hope this trend continues! There was also a young kid (early teens) that was really "paying it forward" & putting tokens for all the other kids to play. He was really sweet & I thanked him for putting the coins in for my boys. He said, "That's okay, looks like they're really enjoying it." So sweet!

The end of 2013...(part 1)

We got to spend this Christmas with my side of the family this year. I hate having to pick one year here, one year there...wish both families lived close enough that we could spend it all together or a few days here & a few days there. The first time we went down for Christmas with the boys (2011), we flew. My mom flew up here & we bought her a ticket with our air miles (we only had to pay the taxes for the boys' tickets) & she helped us to and from KC. One adult per child. This year, we wanted to do it on our own since the boys are over 2. We kept checking flights & the only ones available were with the configuration 2 & 2. Legally, we cannot fly like this, unless we get another adult to help us. Two children can't sit together without an adult & one child can't sit by himself without a parent/guardian next to them. We called air miles & asked if they would be adding other flights & they said they haven't gotten anything yet but to check in the morning & night. We kept checking & nothing was added. That's when Mike came up with the idea to buy snow tires instead. I supported this decision. The weather isn't always bad & this way we can control when we leave & we wouldn't have to worry about baggage weight. He found a deal for the tires he wanted (after research) & we went forth with the plan. I was just happy that one of the plans on the table was just scrapping going down.

The day before we left this huge threat of freezing rain was on its way, but in the evening on Saturday (December 21). We checked the weather in the states we would be crossing & the worse part was once we got to MO. The plan was to get there in one day (weather permitting). A few people suggested we hold off until the next day but we thought that would be worse because then we would have gotten the freezing rain by then here. So we left as scheduled, December 21 by 10 a.m. We had lots of rain in Michigan & then off & on in the other states but thanks to the weather forecasting online we put rain-x on the windshield the night before. The only time it got really bad was after we crossed the Missouri border. We both thought it was raining & then we looked at the windshield wiper & the antenna; both of which had an inch thick of ice around them. Freezing rain was upon us.

Mike kept testing the road & it wasn't too slick yet (lucky for us). Another lucky thing for us is that it didn't last long; only about 30 minutes or so & then it started snowing. We entered, the vortex snow. The best part about this is that at around 11 p.m. at night we were almost the only ones on the road. This let us drive where cleared. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of snow plows I saw on the roads, especially since they weren't "major" roads. The weather ended up adding another hour and a half to our drive but we got there in one piece about 3:30 a.m.

Pics I grabbed once we stopped at a gas station.

Ang said that she would be waiting up & that the house lights would be on. J had been awake for the last 2 hours & E was awake for about an hour or so & G woke up once we got closer to arrival. E made a comment "Who can find Teta (grandma) Wafa's house?" I texted Ang once we got to Smithville so they'd know we were about 10 minutes away.

There was no problem identifying the house. The Christmas lights were still on & the boys' eyes lit up like Christmas trees themselves looking at it. As we started to get the boys out of the car, my mom opened the front door & despite the snow on the ground came out to grab the boys to take them inside the house. The boys were really awake by then & were looking at the Christmas tree & noticing the cats. It took a while to get them settled enough to go to sleep but it finally happened. The unfortunate thing is that since they slept in the car, they were up by like 9. The good thing is that I was able to just take them downstairs & my mom took care of them after that. I really wish I had that option at home sometimes!!!

Christmas Party 2013...

This past weekend we went to a friend's house for our "annual" Christmas party. Wouldn't luck have it that that day a foot of snow was on it's way & had to make a few stops along the way to the party. We just took our time & eventually made it to our destination.

Two of the boys walked in & started playing with the other kids (they were the youngest ones there) but J decided he was going to be a suck & cry every time daddy went out to the car to grab more stuff. We brought PJ's (& their monkeys) just in case we got snowed in so we had a duffle bag along with the gifts & food bags. After about 10 minutes, he warmed up (slightly) to the kids & started wandering around the house & getting acclimated.

After dinner, we played a round of "The Game of Things" with the adults. The older kids were bribed (by their parents) with a dollar to keep our boys entertained while we played. They did a great job & I figured that would be the cheapest baby sitting job we'd ever have.

The kids were anxious to get the present unwrapping underway so we stopped our game & gathered everyone for the gifts. The boys were really excited to be included & had no trouble tearing into their gifts.

We stayed until about 4 in the morning then drove home. The snow had stopped by that time & most of the roads were clear. We arrived home at about 5:30 to find that the plows had been through our area too & had dumped a two foot pile of snow in front of our driveway. In the 12 hours we were gone, the driveway had about another foot or so. Mike got out & started shoveling quickly to get the boys in (who had slept most of the way home but started stirring as soon as we turned onto our street). He was lucky that it wasn't packing snow & was pretty light. He worked fast & we got the boys in & into bed. Unfortunately, they decided they were going to start the wake up process at 8:40 (which is partly why we didn't stay the night. I figured they'd be up first & I didn't want to wake the whole house). I got out of bed & thought I'd be able to get them to sleep longer if I slept in their room. That turned out to be true, but they still woke up every 40-60 minutes until I coaxed them back to sleep. At noon, a phone call came & that woke up Mike & I but the kids were still sleeping. I figured if we were going to get them back in bed that night at their normal bed time, we had to wake them. We got up & started our lazy Sunday. It was nice to be lazy. The boys went out later & helped daddy shovel the snow.

J giving inflatable Santa a high-five

G's got a lot of snow on his shovel!

E making sure Santa gets cleaned

G proud of his red shovel

Elf updates...

Mr Twinkle has definitely been flying all over our house. E & J now get excited to look for him in the morning. They start asking, "Where's Twinkle?" When they can't find him, I help a little. The days that he was upstairs, I left him alone for the most part so they could find him, or I went with them to make sure they looked everywhere.

Day 8 -- better hope that cork stays in the bottle, otherwise he's off on a different ride!

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16