Christmas is for Kids

Ok so my last Christmas post was a little negative so I have come to redeem my Grinch attitude with some Christmas cheer. 

Christmas is all about the kids. The faces. The screams and squeals of joy coming from the around the Christmas tree. The pure excitement and anticipation as dad very slowly but carefully pries every toy from its box. The begging that ensues as they ask to go from one toy to the next without any care to clean up the first toy. Kids love Christmas. 

And I guess I do too. I mean look at the faces. 

It is hard to hate something that makes your children so happy. 

We had such a great day too. Family came over during the day and helped manage some of the chaos which really just ended up in a solid two hours of opening gifts. By the end, Nicky was just bringing me his gifts so I could open them for him. It was wonderful. They were so happy and grateful for everything - Nicky and I were too. Our babies are so loved and it makes our hearts happy. Unfortunately I had to work Christmas night so while Nick went to his families side, I took a nap and went to work. Not exactly the Christmas ending I had dreamed of but nurses don't exactly get Christmas breaks. 

I posted a video to YouTube but here are some pictures from the day. And the next day, which was when Isaac joined us for second Christmas. It has been a nonstop party for days. 

Now to get cleaning and organizing! I might need some extra hours in the day to get it all done. As soon as I pack up one toy, they kids open another one. This might be a task to do during nap time... 

Merry Christmas to all! And a Happy New Year!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I hate Christmas. 

I figured I would lead with that. It is just not my holiday. I do not like winter. It's cold. And usually wet which means the roads are horrible. I am a terrible gift buyer. I hate giving gifts. I hate receiving gifts. If everyone could just make a 'Christmas Registry' like they do for babies and weddings, that would be great. Or just buy yourself a gift and open it in front of me. I do not like peppermint. Get those candy canes away from me. Unless I am really hungry and candy is my only option - which is more often than I want to admit. I love food and there is so much food. Winter weight is really people. Don't even get me started on Santa. Who is this guy? No Santa did not get you that bike for Christmas, you're mother did. That night that I had vomit on my shoes and blood on my pants. Yes, a horrible twelve hour night shift bought you that bike - not Santa. I could go on but I am even making myself depressed at this point. 

Everyone said that thing would change once I had children. 

Damn, I hate when people are right.

I still do not like Christmas but let me tell you a little about having children during Christmas. 

Marlee's eyes light up when she sees all the decorations as we drive down the street. They sparkle with excitement and joy. She begs to see more every time we pass one well lit house and are waiting for another. 

Nicky shouts "Ho! Ho! Ho!" every time he sees a Santa. It could be a picture of Santa, a toy Santa, or a Santa figurine. Nicky does not say much but he knows what Santa brings to the table and it's a lot of "Ho! Ho! Ho!'s". 

Isaac happily turns into dads little helper when its time to put up decorations. They put the lights up outside and come up with a plan together to make the lights shine just right. He is looking forward to cutting down the tree tomorrow which is our yearly tradition. Tree cutting and hot chocolate drinking at Pine Tree Barn. 

This will be our first Christmas in our new house. I already have a place picked out for the tree and while I am still a Christmas hater, I am a little excited to get the tree decorated and see the kids faces on Christmas morning. Just a little! 

It is still early so maybe a little more holiday cheer will come my way. 

We will have to wait and see. 

Fall in Love

The fact that it is the end of October and I haven't made a post about how much I love fall is quite embarrassing. Its my absolutely favorite time of year.

What is there not to like?

The perfect day would consist of browsing a pumpkin patch with a hot chocolate in hand.

Well a lot more has happen this month which is probably why I have been so busy and unable to blog. And an amazing month none the less though! I'll give the quick run down...

I turned thirty and my family planned a surprise party which was embarrassing and incredibly sweet. I am lucky to be party of such an amazing family for thirty years!
I surprised my sister by heading up to Cleveland for her birthday and was apart of a bike bar crawl. I might have had more fun than anyone there! My face hurt from smiling so much. 

Marlee is doing incredible in preschool and loves it so much. She had Grandparents day and her first Harvest party which were so sweet. She also had her first dentist appointment which went wonderfully! No cavities and I cannot say enough nice things about All Seasons Dental. I was really impressed with the place. 

Nicky has started talking more which has subsided my fear of him needing therapy which is a story for another crazy day.

Isaac did not have the best first semester at Perry Middle school but is starting to bring his grades up which is a good thing since basketball is right around the corner and he will not be playing with poop grades!

The Cleveland Indians are in the World Series! If this doesn't get you excited, then nothing else I say on here will either. Series is 3-2 and we play again tomorrow!

We already purchased our pumpkins and were a little late decorating them but we finally did it! It was incredibly messy but so much fun. I love watching the kids get creative. 

Trick or treating was yesterday and today which means costumes and candy! Hot chocolate is a must after the chilly weather we are having! Poor Nick seems to have a stomach bug though and was not feeling well. He stayed home with the grandmas yesterday while the rest of us pillaged the neighborhood for treats. Our first trick or treat in the new house was a massive success. I really do love the place we have chosen to raise our family.
Today, we did our second Trick or Treat down in Magnolia and I was able to squeeze Nicky into the doctors costume. He was not thrilled but was along for the ride.  

And I still work like crazy which makes me a zombie for about 90% of the time. Luckily this time of the year, it is acceptable to look like a zombie!

Now for the picture overload. Sorry not sorry!

And that was October in a nutshell! Tomorrow starts a new month so Happy November!

First Day of Preschool

I have a child big enough to go to (pre)school!

Wasn't she born yesterday?

Marlee Jo had her first day of preschool today and all the nervous build up was for nothing. She did amazing. I knew she would but I was selfishly more worried about myself. Marlee is rarely away from me. And I mean rarely. Neither of my children are. Being a stay at home working mom (like that?), we do everything together. We play together, eat together, shop together, I get her dressed, brush her teeth, help her when she falls, make her chocolate milk, and the list continues. Working midnights allows me to stay at home with them while Nick is at work and not miss out on anything going on. 

So with school fast approaching, I was nervous. 

What if she didn't like it? 

What if she missed me? 

What if she fell down? 

Would her teacher kiss her boo-boo? 

What if she was hungry and didn't like the snack they served? 

Would she be nice to everyone? 

What if someone was mean to her!?

Are there little toilets? 

Who will help her if she can't reach the toilet?

I mean seriously? Can I just stay with her a day? Or two?

Marlee on the other hand was so excited. I mean she has been talking about this day for months. She is so smart and I was sure that she would do wonderfully. I was excited for her to be around other little kids. She needs that socialization. 

So today, off she went to school. Her book bag was as big as her. She is barely big enough to wear her own book bag! I dropped her off, gave her a big hug, and told her that I would be back later. She hung her name on the chart, letting her teacher know that she was there, and off I went. I did it! No tears or anything. And then I started to think. Should I have stayed a little longer? What did she do after that? I should have helped her find a seat. OMG what is my baby doing now?

But no tears. I did not cry. I just panicked a bit. At home, Nicky was still pouting over his sister leaving the house and he did not go with her. We did some coloring and some laundry to pass the time. Finally, it was time for Marlee to come home!

We stood in line waiting for the teacher to dismiss Marlee. The second she saw us, she ran into my arms. She was so happy to see me! And I was so happy to see her. My nose started to tingle with that awful feeling you get right before your eyes fill up with tears. We bolted out of there right away!

Marlee was so excited to tell me all about her day. They played in the big gym and picked out shapes. She said she has a new friend who is a "girl with a pink shirt." They ate pretzels for snack and drank orange juice. The teacher read them a book and they even sorted gummy bears! She had an amazing time. 

And the ugly cry started. I don't even know why. She did all of these amazingly fun things and I missed it. I did not get to see her play in the gym or sort gummy bears. I didn't get to meet her new friend. I still don't know if everyone was nice to her or if she was able to use the potty without help. I need a detailed update teacher lady! 

Then we got lunch. 

I am a crazy person. I already know this. I didn't need the first day of preschool to tell me this. I just love my little beans. I like to share in all the things they do. I love to see them grow and laugh and learn. I missed today. And today won't be the only day. They will continue to grow and have experiences without me. Eventually she will be starting high school and getting on and off the potty will be the least of my worries. This is the worst part about being a mom. It's not the temper tantrums or being up all night with a crying baby. It's not lunch time when they refuse to eat chicken nuggets, even though they said they wanted chicken nuggets. It's not cleaning up toys off the floor every. single. day. It's letting go. Trusting others to watch over them. Trusting them to be kind and caring to others. It's hard. And it's sad. 

Once we were home, I laid Nicky down for a nap and I sat and talked to Marlee some more. She talked and talked about school. She cannot wait to go back. I gave her the biggest hug. Possibly too big and long of a hug because she whispered "Can I go play with my OhDoe now?" while I was still hugging her. So now she gets an hour of quiet time while Nicky sleeps and I can catch up on laundry. 

Next Tuesday is her next day and and I think I am more prepared.

Hopefully I got all the ugly crying out of the way! 

Another milestone down. You can stop growing any day Marlee!

Zoo Fun and Canal Days

Staycation number two this year is over and complete. While the kids were sick for half of it, we were able to have a little fun too. I wanted to share some pictures from the Akron Zoo and Canal days which takes place down in Magnolia. 

The Akron Zoo is small enough that I felt safe taking the kids by myself but big enough to get the kids excited about all the animals. 

We saw penguins. 

And acted like baby chicks in this huge birds nest.

We saw some sleepy bears.

And fed some goats and lambs. This was the kids favorite part! Four crackers for two bucks and the kids went wild. There were baby goats and big goats which scared Marlee a little. She warmed up though and everyone was able to eat some crackers.... even Nicky.

We also saw a 'mommy and daddy' lion as well as explored in the aquarium. 

Last we saw some flamingos which were Marlees favorite! They were pink! So she bought a stuffed flamingo at the end. Nicky did not want anything... both kids were pretty tired at this point. 

On Sunday, we went down to Canal Days with the family. They have a parade and a small carnival if you will. The Tozzi's are always the best and served pizza and root beer floats for after the parade. The kids had a blast all day!

Marlee and Nick were loaded up with candy from the parade. I did not get any pictures of Marlee dancing but you can check out the video at my YouTube page. Seriously cute stuff. 

We had the best week together. Not even rain and sickness was able to hold us back! 

I love making memories with my family.