Holidays

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! 
I can't believe Christmas is over!! Well, it is TECHNICALLY over. We are still acting as if it is Christmas every day at my house. All of the lights are on and the Christmas tree is plugged in as soon as we walk downstairs. :)  I do not know what I am going to do once we take all of the decorations down. Little E-man still "ooos and ahhs" over every little thing, EVERY time I plug things in, or light a candle, like it is the first time he has seen them.  So sweet!  I find myself getting sad, thinking of the holidays being over. I LOVE this time of year! So much thought and preparation goes into planning for the holidays. Not just the gift part... though that does take a lot of planning/effort/thought. I'm talking about the "magic" of the season. I remember Christmastime in my early 20's prior to having children. The "magic" was missing. I still loved Christmas and being with family, etc.  But the "magic" was missing. My daughter's first Christmas... there it was! Back again! I think it is being able to witness the season and all of the excitement through their eyes that brings it back to me.
Our family had a wonderful Christmas!  To help keep the magic alive, we had an Elf ("Nimble") come to live with us. He arrived right after we got home from Thanksgiving in Ohio (which I will be posting pictures of a little later). The kids thoroughly enjoyed his presence. He left little notes, hung around in weird places (like the ceiling fan, light fixtures, Christmas tree), he left a special candy canes, hung a Santa hat on our tree, hung tons of paper snowflakes in the family room for Christmas Eve morning, had a tea party with my daughter's stuffed animals (she was actually very angry about this!!), rode on some of the reindeer decor, among other things. Nimble was not as mischievous as other elves that I've heard about.Thankfully our elf encouraged good behavior! ;-)  My daughter enjoyed him, finding him every morning. Surprisingly E-man was TOTALLY into it! He seriously looked for him every morning. They also enjoyed an advent book basket from Grandma Locke.   We tried a new routine this year for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with the Locke family, had our own Christmas morning at home and then spent Christmas evening with the Harper family. It seemed to work well and the kids didn't feel rushed around on Christmas. 
Unfortunately I have been unable to visit with either one of my grandfathers due to illness and bad weather. Hopefully we will be making those trips VERY soon!  Anyway, I just wanted to share a few pictures. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday, had safe travels and spent lots of quality time with loved ones. Keep that Christmas spirit alive!!! 

Christmas Eve with Grandma and Granddad Locke

enjoying the train

CHRISTMAS DAY....

Santa came!!

He plopped right down in the middle of the "choo choo" :)

She loved her "elf" hat

playing his drum from Santa

Christmas afternoon at the Harper house

and they wrapped up their Christmas day... playing with the train. :) 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas lights

I drove home last night, extra slow through our neighborhood like I always do this time of year, enjoying the sounds of my 15 month old Oohing and Aahing over the Christmas lights. All I could think about was how sweet that sound is,  his babbling and excitement over the lights, and how there are parents/families of 20 sweet, innocent little Elementary aged children who would never hear those sweet sounds from their babies ever, ever again. There are 20 families who will sit helpless, devasted as they decide what to do with the presents that were carefully picked for each of those children. What about the siblings of those children? What about the other children in the school and their families? And those of the adult victims lost in this horrific tragedy? What about the first responders to all of this? What will Christmas now mean for them? And mostly.... WHY?!?! Anyone lost in this type of manner is tragic, but those poor, sweet, innocent little children... in this type of horrific manner? They said goodbye to their parents and went to school that morning, excitement in the air because of the upcoming holiday season, only to leave this earth in an unimaginable way.  My heart is broken for them and for all of the families affected.
I am so scared as a parent of two young children. I am already the type of person who kisses the kids extra EVERY SINGLE TIME I put them in the car .... just in case.  I have been known to say a prayer when one child leaves with  my husband to run errands, or any time they are separated from me. Call me paranoid or a pessimist, I don't care.  I know if something happens I WILL NOT be that parent that says, if only I had kissed them goodbye, etc.   I feel like I appreciate my children and family but it is times like this that makes me even more appreciative.  I'm also thankful that my children are not yet old enough that I have to explain any of this to them right now.  I fear that I do have to prepare myself for this talk. I fear that at some point, some tragedy like this will happen and I will have to explain to my children that the world isn't as wonderful I, as their mother, have tried to paint it.  I wish that I could protect them from this harsh reality forever. There are so many things to worry about as a parent already... nutrition, safety as they begin to crawl, teethe, walk, chemicals in food, are they safe in school, on the school bus, drugs, driving... etc. etc.  The concerns as a parent are overwhelming and endless.  Now add to that the harsh reality of things that are happening in this world, in this time.... *big sigh*
What I do want my children to know is that horrible, horrific things DO happen in this world. I will try my hardest to always, always protect them but sometimes I won't be able to. I want them to know that there is also A LOT OF LOVE AND "GOOD" out there too.  It is easy to get hung up on the negative and all of the "bad" out in the world, especially in the wake of something like this. However, after the dust settles, try to find the peace/the good.  There is always a hero, even if it is one small child holding onto another child's hand to find comfort. There is always love. Be one of those people who can help others by finding peace, finding love and sharing it with others. Never lose faith that there ARE good people out there. To my children, always BE one of those people. Never lose faith in yourself, in your own ability to do good and make positive changes and never lose faith in God.
I hope that the peace and love of this season surrounds all of my family and friends, as well as ALL of those affected by what has happened, so that we may all feel love and comfort.
I also pray that we as a country can come together and that this incident will motivate the necessary people to make the changes needed so this will never, ever happen again.
Take a child, a loved one to see Christmas lights and enjoy those beautiful, musical sounds of excitement and awe. There is something very magical and calming about Christmas lights. Keep a look out for extra bright "lights" in the Christmas sky. There will be 20 of them.

Giving thanks...

It is almost Thanksgiving!! Where does the time go? I have felt so "ahead" this year... prepping for the holidays. Now it is almost Thanksgiving... ALREADY! :) I'm happy. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!  My husband's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. This year, it is our year to spend his favorite holiday with his side of the family in Ohio. We haven't made the trip in several years and we are all looking forward to it! :) I have been busy busy busy getting ready to leave but I wanted to take a minute to write a note on here. I am thankful for all of you who are reading this blog... friends, family... and whomever else may be reading along on our journey.  I am especially thankful for my beautiful, healthy babies. They bring so much joy and happiness to my life. I do not know where I would be, or who I would be without those special little people. 

I am also extremely thankful for my husband.  He works hard every day to give us a wonderful home, to provide for our family, which gives me the gift of staying home with our sweet babies. :)  I am so thankful for my family, my home, my life.  I will be thinking of all of those effected by the recent Hurricane and hope they can rebuild their lives quickly.
I hope wherever you are going for this holiday, that you are surrounded by people you love, and who love you. I hope that whatever struggles you may be facing in your life, that you may find peace.  
Happy Thanksgiving! 

Fun with pumpkins!

While most people were preparing for Hurricane Sandy, we had a full day of decorating pumpkins! :) 
First we painted pumpkins...

She looks so grown up.

We used fingers, hands ...

and a brush too!

We got quite a bit of paint on our clothes, so we decided to just wear our cute diaper to carve pumpkins. :)

Then we carved pumpkins!

"You want me to put my hand in that?"

Mommy and Maddy cleaning out Eman's pumpkin

He loves his daddy. <3

He was completely happy using the spoon.

Dropped the spoon in there... he's trying to figure out how to get it out without actually touching the inside.

She's an old pro at this now. No problem getting her hands dirty.

Like I said... perfectly happy just using the spoon. :) 

 The finished products. Painted and carved pumpkins. :)

Crabby adventures

When we went to the beach this summer, Granddad Locke bought Maddy a hermit crab. We didn't want him to be lonely, so Eman got a crab too. :)  I remember having a hermit crab or two when I was little. I don't think they lived too long. I did some research on them when we brought them home. Who knew there was so much to keeping a healthy "crabitat"???  Did you know that crabs need temperatures of at least 75 degrees and between 75-85% humidity? I didn't!  After reading a bit about crabs... I read that without proper humidity their gills slowly harden and they can die a long, slow death... I decided to try to make them a great home. Hopefully they will hang around a while. If they don't make it, at least we can say that we tried!!
I got my old aquarium and put some play sand in the bottom. We got a climbing branch, 2 water dishes (salt and fresh water), and I used some of the grass I had left over from my fish tank. We also got a humidity gauge and some coconut fiber that I attached to the side. They LOVE to climb on this and it helps with the humidity. Its quite the set up if I do say so myself. :) Apparently "Susie" liked it too. The night after we put them in the new tank, she buried herself. She stayed buried for 8 weeks!!!! Everything I read said to leave them alone if they do not stink because they were probably molting."Hermie/Mr. Crabs" enjoyed himself in the new tank. 

8 weeks later...

She's alive!!
Here is Susie, a freshly molted crab!

I don't know how she did it, but she resurfaced, right next to the food dish. :) For a long time she just hung out in her hole. I put a piece of mango on the dish and she decided to come out. :)

It was a very impressive tunnel system down there.

Susie LOVES to dig. Mr Crabs/Hermie likes to climb. He is always climbing, the walls, shells, whatever you put in there. But Susie... digs. We had to redo their crabitat (fresh sand and whatnot) because she had holes everywhere! She has been very tempermental since coming to the surface. She is a much larger crab than the other one and she gets upset easily. Pretty much anytime you change the water, food, etc., she gets irritated and starts to dig.
 

There she goes digging again.

We found this shell on the beach a couple of years ago. It has made a great hide out for the crabs. This was a favorite spot for Hermie/Mr. Crabs. As you can see, Susie is a bit of a bully. She is always climbing all over her little friend. I know this is normal crab behavior, but she really is not nice to him. I've seen her grab his shell and shake him around. During the 8 weeks she was molting, we got used to the little crab. He is pretty social, doesn't scare when the kids go over to look at him and is pretty laid back. Its been interesting to see how even hermit crabs have different personalities.

Mr. Crabs/Hermie in his favorite spot

Susie

 Anyway, that is all for now about our crabby adventures. I don't know who has had more fun with this... :)  I love watching the kids (even Eman) come down in the morning and see what the crabs are up to. Eman can even say "crab" now. (Well, something that sounds close to crab anyway. :) )

Projects

Wow, its been a while since my last post. We've been enjoying the Fall... just wishing that actual Fall weather would stick around. I can't believe it is the end of October and we are STILL getting eaten up by mosquitoes when we spend any time outside! :(  I'm definitely looking forward to temperatures cooling off. :) 
Anyway, I wanted to share some of my projects. 

I made this for Eman's birthday.  His room is sailboat themed so I based the boat design off his the decals in his room.  I decided to make this for him because he loved the one in his sister's room so much. :) I have so much fun making these. :) Especially since they are for my sweet babies. :) 

 I used some really neat beads in the middle to resemble bubbles. They really catch the light.

 This is the mobile I made for Maddy's room. When we moved her into her big girl room before Eman was born, we decided to go with a butterfly theme. I saw an awesome mobile in the Pottery Barn magazine, but decided to make one myself.  I think it turned out great. Luckily the spot we hung it gets just enough air from the vent to make the butterflies flutter. :)

I have a some really neat ideas for mobiles. Hopefully I will get some time to put some more together this winter.

Here are a few pics of the kids... they are growing so fast. :) 

Maddy dancing. :)

Ready for gymnastics

Susie the scarecrow. :) We had way too much fun making her. :) Maddy made the face all by herself.

Eman pushing Ernie around the kitchen

taking a ride on the firetruck

And now we are practicing our daredevil skills by standing in his sister's car. In case you were wondering, we now have three ride on vehicles. We also have a large kitchen... perfect for racing!

Sweet boy. He loves to read. :)

That is all for now. More pics to come!