Ornament Exchange Party

On Friday, Nicole hosted a little Christmas party for the kids. There were a total of 10 kids in attendance. We made reindeer food, ate lots of good food & sweets (too many), played with toys and had an ornament exchange.

Making her reindeer dust.

Nicole, Katie, Hudson & Harper



We stayed and played a while after everyone left (and attempted to get a few pics).

Of course, we had to go out and ride the truck.

Here's Hud telling Olivia how to steer. She's SUCH a woman driver! After two crashes, they both decided it was time for Hudson to drive!

We had a fun day and wish we saw these guys more often!

Meet Elfie

Meet our "Elf on the Shelf"....currently named Elfie. Olivia originally wanted to name her Cookie, so I encouraged her to come up with another name. I suggested other names....like Joy, Noel, Hope or Faith. She didn't like any of those. So Elfie it is (for now). It's not committed in the book yet! :)

So far, Elfie hasn't had a whole lot of influence on Olivia. She thinks its fun to look for her, but that's about it. When I suggest that Elfie is watching and will report to Santa, she really could care less. She'll glance over at her...but that's about it. Maybe she will have more influence next year!

Santa's Beard is Bare!

I saw this idea on Pinterest a while back. It's kind of like an advent calendar in reverse.

Santa needs a beard! So every day, we'll add a puff (cotton ball) to his beard, and when there's only 1 left, that will be the night he comes! And yes, I've counted exactly enough cotton balls out. We're only into Day 3, but Olivia has had fun gluing the puffs onto Santa's face! Only 26 (I think) more to go! I wonder if she'll lose interest by then?!

I'm definitely NOT an artist, but I thought he still turned out pretty cute!

Let the Festivities Begin!

Last night we went to the Fort Worth Parade of Lights. We had never been and didn't really know what to expect. Their website suggested getting downtown early, so we got there about 4:15 with plans of eating dinner before 6:00pm when the parade would start. Well, we didn't quite think about the fact that over 100,000 other people had the same ideas! I was AMAZED at how many people were already down there at 4 o'clock! It was crazy! So we went ahead and found a spot to stand (we didn't even think about taking chairs...next year!). Luckily we found a spot that had a big ledge where we could sit. Olivia had her stroller too. Our "post" was very close to Jake's hamburgers, so Jason went and got us dinner to go and we just ate on the street.

Patiently waiting (she did REALLY good considering we waited for nearly 2 hours!)

The parade finally started! Olivia was SO excited. She waved at EVERYONE. I'm thinking she needs to be IN the parade next year! She was so sweet. She waved and waved and waved. She kepts saying "Look at all the horses!" or "Look at all the instruments!"

Santa's coming!!!!

I absolutely love this time of year! I love decorating. I love buying presents! I love how pretty everything is and how there's so many fun things to do! I know it stresses a lot of people out, but I hope my friends and family take the time to just enjoy it this year! I know we plan to!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to my mother-in-law's house and had the traditional feast. It was us, Elizabeth & Mike, Me Mommy, Deanna & the boys, Dave & Sandy (and her parents). We had a good time just hanging out...and eating! I'm definitely lacking in pictures though :(

Elizabeth gave Olivia this wooden nativity. It's really cute. Olivia kept losing "baby Moses". Ha! She knows the story of Moses being found in the basket, so she kept referring to baby Jesus as baby Moses. We've since explained it and she goes around the house asking "Where's Jesus? Where's my Jesus?" He's right here with us baby girl....even if you can't see him! :)

Elizabeth always sets the prettiest tables.

Me Mommy

Attempted a pic of everyone. Didn't work so well!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Maggie's Pinkalicious Birthday

Maggie Elizabeth had her 4th birthday party last weekend. It was a "Pinkalicious Meets Fancy Nancy" Party. So of course, we donned our pinkest clothing and headed to the party!

I was a bad photographer and failed to get many pictures of the decor. Just know there was LOTS of PINK! The girls all got dress up jewelry, crowns and wands. The boys had pink ties and top hats. There was lots of pink sweets as well!

Maggie got a new swingset for her birthday. The kids all enjoyed playing on it.


Olivia ADORES Hudson.



I sure do love these two!



Sweet Turner swinging.

Clancy always has a craft project for the kids to do. This year we got to make Christmas ornaments from handprints. Hard to explain....see Clancy's blog if you'd like to see what the ornaments looked like!

Baby Harper (I think Olivia and I will always call her Baby Harper...even when she's 12!)

Olivia normally isn't real interested in bouncy houses, but she and Etienne had a good time in this one!

"I got the ball mom!"

Finally a pic of the birthday girl! She was on the move the entire time!

LOVED her expression. She was so proud!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY MAGGIE!!!!

Give Thanks

This morning, our pastor taught about giving thanks (appropriate giving the upcoming holiday). We are all so caught up in how perfect we want our lives to be that we fail to realize how wonderful our lives really are! We have homes. We have cars. We have food to eat. We have bank accounts. Most of us could say we have those four things, but there's 85% of the world that is missing at least one of those things. EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT! We may not be wealthy according to America's standards, but we really are SO RICH.

Half of the sermon today was about complaining....the other half about giving thanks. God doesn't want us to complain. If we complain, we're being a part of Satan's league. And that's not a place I want to be!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "....give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ". It doesn't say give thanks just when things are going your way. It says to give thanks in ALL circumstances. God doesn't want us to be complainers. Period. End of story.

When things aren't going your way, turn it around. Someone gets in a wreck and is severely injured? Give thanks that they are still alive. Hate your job? Be thankful that you are able to provide for your family. House needs a lot of work? Be thankful you have a roof over your head and a warm place to sleep. We are to give thanks for the things HE has given us....not to complain.

So, instead of being upset that Olivia didn't want to participate in Christmas photos for our card this year, I choose instead to be thankful that she is healthy enough to put up a good fight! (and thankful I got a few decent pics a few days later!!!)

First Chuck E Cheese Experience

Jason and I were both off work Thursday and Friday. Olivia had vacation from daycare, so we just spent time as a family with no real plans. I can't even tell you the last time I took a day off without having things to do. I guess that's what happens for working moms....time off is usually time spent at doctor's offices, grocery shopping, etc. (and Saturdays consist of more necessary errands). I do occassionally take a day off to do something fun with Olivia, but never ever do I take a day off to do "nothing"....much less, TWO days off for "nothing"!

So....what to do, what to do?! Thursday Jason and I decided we'd take her to Chuck E Cheese. We've never been with Olivia. I think the last time we went was when my 13 year-old niece Ally was about 7 or 8. So, it's been a while. We went early...about 11:15-11:30. There were only about 5 cars in the parking lot. It was really nice! We left around 1:00 and towards the end it started getting busier, as there was a 5-year old birthday going on, but it still wasn't super busy.

We had a good time. Olivia wasn't overly-excited about it. She liked putting "money" into the machines more than anything. The "rides" were a little scary to her. She's so cautious. And I'm ok with that!

Here's a few pics. I only had my cell, but had to document our first Chuck E Cheese experience!

Max & Ruby

Clancy, Nicole and I took the kiddos to see Max & Ruby this past weekend. Olivia hasn't ever really watched it, but we got really cheap tickets (offset by the $15 parking) so we went along!

All in all, it was a pretty cheap production, but Olivia seemed to enjoy it ok. We had TERRIBLE people sitting next to us. The kids were bad and the parents were worse....just carrying on gossiping the entire time. It was ridiculous.

Here's Olivia waiting on the show to start....and having her first sucker. Yes, she'll be 3 in January and is having her first sucker! She does get sweets, but rarely just straight candy.

Group photo attempt after the show. I think everyone was ready for a nap. I KNOW my girl was beyond ready!


This one cracks me up. The looks on all of their faces is hilarious. They were D-O-N-E.

Taco Pizza

I know at least one person that's made a recipe I've suggested, so I thought I'd pass along another one. I found out about Taco Pizza from reading another person's blog. My friend Clancy reads the same blog and also thought it looked like a good one. I let her try it first, and after her recommendation, we gave it a try. I think we've made it 3-4 times now. It's a new household favorite!

Click on the link for the recipe: The Pionner Woman's Taco Pizza

As with virtually all recipes, I tweak it. I do NOT make my crust. P-l-e-a-s-e. Who does that?!?! LOL

I don't do the crunchy tortillas on top (reduces some of the fat/calories by omitting).

I use reduced-fat or fat-free cheese (fat-free melts like rubber though....fair warning).

I use light or fat free sour cream for the sauce. The sauce makes this pizza good. Don't omit the sauce!!!

RECOMMENDATION: If there is only 2 of you eating this, I suggest putting the toppings (particularly the lettuce) on half at a time. Otherwise, the heat makes it wilt by the time you get around to eating the whole pizza. And yes, the entire pizza gets eaten in my house. I eat a normal serving. Jason eats the rest! But it really is very filling and should be able to feed 3-4!When I made it last night, he was suprised to learn that there isn't any meat on it, and we've eaten it several times. It really is yummy!

No More Paci!

Other than when she was a little newborn, Olivia has only used her paci at bedtime. When she got up in the morning, the paci would just remain in her bed. Since she turned 2, I've hinted around that we should probably get rid of it (she literally only has one paci). She's not been interested. I could see the fear in her eyes whenever I mentioned it, and since the dentist has already told us she'll almost definitely need early orthodontia work (not paci-related), I just didn't see the big deal or reason to push the issue yet.

Friday night I went to put her to bed as usual, and when I grabbed her paci to give it to her, she looked at me like I had lost my mind and said "I don't need a paci. I a big girl!". Oh. Well. My bad!

She's only asked for it once since, and it was jokingly. I'm shocked how easy this has been...and am SOOOOO beyond thankful that we didn't have many miserable sleepless nights!

As a reward for being such a big girl, I bought her a big girl game...Candy Land. She immediately made me open it so we could play it...even before she had breakfast (which she does IMMEDIATELY after waking up)! She did a pretty good job too! She is a slight cheater, as in she really only wanted to draw the purple cards. If she didn't draw one, she'd draw again. Don't worry. I put her in her place! Ha!

We played the whole game, and she managed to pull out a win...first timer's luck!

Our Raggedy Ann

Well, get ready for picture overload!

I just loved Olivia in her costume this year and couldn't help myself!

She loved putting on her costume...

...and make-up...



...and we didn't even have too may issues with the hair/hat! She wanted to take it off a few times, but would always put it right back on (with maybe slight bribery).

CHEESE!

Sweet Daddy Jason and his little Raggedy Ann

Raggedy Ann RUNS!

Instead of door-to-door trick-or-treating, we went to our city's Fall Festival. The local churches sponsor it and it's a pretty big event. I saw today that they estimated 12,000 people attending. They had all kinds of games, trains, petting zoo, hay rides, etc.

I had to include this picture. When it came time for Olivia to pick her duck, she immediately shoved up both of her shirt sleeves to avoid getting wet. Cracked us up!

Pumpkin Bowling

Riding one of the trains. She was so somber riding it. We really couldn't get her to look at us or wave (of course, she had to hold on for dear life).

Hope everyone had a safe Halloween! Luckily we don't have TOO much candy to eat around here....it would really interfere with my weight loss plans!!!!