Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.....

Last night we took my in-laws to San Antonio for some good Mexican food and to see the Christmas lights on the Riverwalk. As we were waiting for our table (about an 1 1/2 hour wait - yuck!) we walked around the market square. There was a childrens bull riding machine. We watched a few kids ride, most of them falling off on the inflatable mat at the end. When we headed into a little shop to browse Alex said he wanted to ride the "pony". We weren't sure if he was serious because he's pretty timid and does not like rides in general. However, he did ride a real pony at a fair a few months ago and liked it so we let him try. Zachary went first and he rode a little and then fell off.

Then Alex rode. He never really smiled but he didn't cry and ask to get off. He also didn't fall off at the end. My camera ran out of room and didn't catch the whole thing on video but here's what I did get. At the very end they made it turn in the other direction.

Yee-haw!

Christmas Day

Whew! I'm tired. We've had a great Christmas day. The boys were so excited to see that Santa had come. They both got new pajamas & slippers from Santa and had to put them on. Alex got Hulk pj's and Zachary got Spiderman - they both had Spiderman slippers. Zach's been talking about Spiderman all day. They got tons of great gifts from everyone but had lots of fun in their new frog tent. Daddy even joined in at one point.We had a wonderful late pancake breakfast so decided to eat our Christmas meal around 3-4. The boys stayed in their new pj's all day. My mother-in-law and I did the cooking - roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrot souffle, asparagus, and rolls. Oh, don't forget a pumpkin and a pecan pie. Yum! After dinner Chris and his sister, Amy, took the boys outside to play. This is what I saw when I went to meet them.

What - are they at a beach? No, that's a sand pile in our back yard. Looks like fun but what a mess!

My brother-in-law and his wife (mostly his wife I think) gave me this great photo quilt of the boys. They used pictures I had been sending out to the whole family this last year. I love it! Thanks Pam and Andy!Now that the boys are clean from the sand they are playing with play-doh with daddy, grandma, and aunt Amy. Play-doh is not really my thing but daddy is good. Here is his masterpiece.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Santa, we're ready!

So hurry up and get here!

A little confused

On Sunday night we went out to dinner with the boys and then headed into Target to get a few things for the house. As we were loading the boys back into the car after shopping they both started to fuss. They said "No home. New house." They were both saying this and were quite upset that we had to go home. I guess they still didn't get that the new house is our home. When we pulled up to the house they got excited and started squealing "new house!". They are too funny.

The move - catch up

The move went well. The movers came on Wednesday and packed most everything up. The boys were very interested in watching all the action. As more and more things were boxed up, we had less room to play. Thursday everything was loaded up on the truck. More fun for the boys. Poor Chewy (our yorkie) had to spend the day in his cage since the front door was open all day. Zachary tried to comfort him.

We did find a nice out of the way to play though. The boys thought the closet under the stairs was pretty fun.The boys and I spent Thursday night sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags. They actually did really well. I wondered if they would want to play in there but they stayed on their "beds". Mine wasn't very comfortable. Of course the anticipation of the move probably didn't help me have a good nights sleep either.

My parents came over on Friday morning after my meeting at Alex's school (A big problem - I was told the meeting was at 9:35 but when I got there they said it was at 12:45. Long story short, we're doing a phone meeting on the 7th after school starts back up.) Mom & Dad loaded more stuff up on their truck and we headed to the new place. My parents stayed the whole weekend with us to help us unpack. They are the greatest! Everybody was worn out every day (and we still are) but it's been worth it. I love my new house!

Alex and Zachary are also loving the new house. They have so much more room to run around and play. Not only because this house is bigger but because it's only one story. In the old house they were not allowed on the stairs without and adult and so all the toys were kept in the living room making a pretty small play area. Now they have toys in both of their bedrooms. They do end up getting dragged around the whole house but we clean up before nap and bed. Here they are lining up chairs to make a train. Alex loves The Polar Express aka: the train movie and it's been on T.V. several times (and we just bought the DVD). They also got to ride a little train around a park a week or so ago and loved it. They like to talk about trains and line toys up, or chairs in this case, and say "All aboard!".They've had no problem with their bedrooms being split up. They're actually sleeping longer. We really need to get them some blinds on their windows soon. It's really bright at nap time and Zachary doesn't want to go to sleep. Alex did ask me one day to "close" his window and I had to tell him that I couldn't. He was asleep within minutes anyway.

Not only are we unpacking but we're also getting ready for Christmas. We've got up lots of decorations and the place looks great. The fireplace looks especially nice. Tonight Chris started up our first fire. The boys were very excited and wanted to watch everything. They were good though and didn't touch or get too close.

Tonight we finally got our phone/cable/internet service turned on. My cell phone doesn't work very well here so I really needed the phone. It's been weird without T.V. and I've been having withdrawals from the blogs I read. Ah, back to normal now. Tomorrow our Christmas house guests arrive!

The final countdown

Well this is it folks. The movers will be here at 8 am tomorrow to start packing us up. Ready or not, here they come!

I'm not ready.

It's hard to move with little kids. Add Christmastime and it's even harder. Today I tried to get ready. Really, I did. I washed about four loads of clothes. I addressed and mailed most of our Christmas cards. I had to run to the store for one final gift card to add to a box that will have to be mailed in the morning. Tonight I've been finishing up a gift for my mother-in-law that will also have to be mailed tomorrow. I wrapped several presents and put them in one big box for the move (I didn't want the boys or any moving helpers to see their un-wrapped gifts by mistake). I still need to get the dishes washed and get some clothes packed for all of us for the next few days after the movers have packed it all up. We need someplace to put all of our refrigerator/freezer items. There is just too much to throw out but not enough coolers.

Chris is going to head to the new place on Thursday night with a load of things that the movers won't move like plants and our fish. The boys and I will spend Thursday night camping out on the floor here in sleeping bags (everything will be out of the house and sitting on a truck until Friday morning). Friday morning I've got a meeting at Alex's school here before we can leave to meet the truck that's hopefully already unloading at the new place. I thought we could do it alone but today I had to call for backup. My parents will now be coming Friday to help direct movers and keep the boys occupied and out of harms way. Plus my mom is the best kitchen organizer ever.

I hope I make it through the weekend without a major meltdown.......and I'm talking about me, not the kids. Well, the kids too.

Getting in the mood

I'm talking about the Christmas mood. It's been a little hard to get into the Christmas spirit with no tree or decorations in the house. Not to mention that I'm constantly working on or thinking about our move on Friday. (Movers will be here on Wed & Thurs to pack us up.) The last few days I've carved a little time for myself to make my usual goodie baskets for friends and co-workers. Friday evening I made dipped pretzels - probably Chris's favorite. He hates that I tell him he can only eat the broken ones! I dipped almost two bags of pretzels worth. Today I made three batches of spritz cookies. I have a cute little cookie press that makes it so easy and have tips that make a Christmas tree shaped cookie and one that's a flower that I use as a poinsettia. I just use red or green sprinkles and viola! I also made a new recipe today. It's cinnamon popcorn that I got from the Smiles and Trials blog that I read. She posts recipes from time to time and I decided to try it. You melt red hots, butter, and corn syrup and toss in your popcorn. It makes the popcorn all red and pretty and gets a candy coating. It is yummy and not too hot. Even Alex liked it and he's very wary of anything that looks like it could be hot or spicy. If I had my camera I'd show pictures.

Chris is gone tonight to the Cowboys and Giants football game in Dallas. One of his friend has season tickets to the Cowboys and had an extra tonight. This is the first pro game that Chris has been to and he was very excited even though he's not a Cowboy fan. Anyway, he took my camera with him. Since the game didn't start until 7 he's going to have to spend the night. He'll get his payback tomorrow though. My older sister is coming to town and we're Christmas shopping for as long as we want. So there!