A good day

Brian worked yesterday so I decided the kids and I were going to be out of the house as much as possible. We went out to lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory and were able to get a table in the trolley. The kids loved it ... K was disappointed that it didn't move. The kids were SO good. We waited 20 minutes for the table and they patiently waited, then they ate all of their lunch without being asked and were absolutely perfect the entire time. It was such a pleasant lunch. They have been getting along much better and since M's been out of school, he's been less tired and less grouchy. He slept in until 8 am today. That's almost unheard of. After lunch, we went for a walk around midtown and then to Ikea. M and I watched Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark when we got home and then we all colored and played games. It was a very happy Mommy day. Why can't they all be this way?

See ya next year.  Have a safe and happy New Year.

Christmas with The Cyr's

Brian's parents came up so we could celebrate Christmas together.  Of course, the second they walked in the door, the kids wanted to open their presents.  They just couldn't wait any longer. 

They were excited for Grammy and Grandpa to open the present they gave them.

M tears right in.  As fast as he can.

K's turn.

Love this one.

K got a new princess watch.

Trying out Grammy's new umbrella.

Fun times between Grammy and K Monkey.

K loved her new My Little Pony books.

The many places of Sigmund

We have had so much fun with Sigmund this year.  The kids couldn't wait to wake up each morning and run downstairs to look for him but he's gone back to the North Pole to work with Santa Claus.  M said he missed him and asked me if Sigmund helps Santa build toys at the North Pole. 

Christmas 2009

We celebrated Christmas last week in Coalinga with my family.  Brian's family is coming up on January 2nd to celebrate.  The kids were crazy excited and must have asked 50 times when it would be time to open the presents.  Our Christmas Eve was on the 25th and Christmas Day was the 26th.  It's not Christmas without Daddy and he had to work.  Shift-work can be a real bummer.  Eeeh, we're lucky we still have good jobs, right?

I took this the morning of Christmas Eve.  The kids love my moms little dogs.  Each time K wants love from my mom, she'll say "I want to be Molly (her dog) OK?"  She'll hop up on my Mom's lap and love on my mom like crazy ... but only if she's Molly.  If you ask her to be K, no way.  Strange I know.  I love the last photo in this collage.  Molly is a licker ... just look at that tongue.  Eeeew.

My mom always makes meatballs on Christmas Eve ... K helped her this year.  She cracked the eggs, crumbled up the crackers and even rolled about 25 of them into balls.

The kids were so excited, we let them open 1 gift right when we got to my sister's house.  Here they are opening their first ones.

A few random snaps.  I made that scarf for Lacie with my Knifty Knitter.

Believe it or not, M was the most excited about the Bendaroos (the entire night).  Here are some funny shots of him saying, "Oh yeah, oh yeah!!"  He also liked the Bakugan 7 in 1 a lot.

K liked them all.  While she was opening a gift she yelled out, "This is my best Christmas ever!!!"  It was just precious.  What a fun age.

Bottom left ... the umbrellas my mom got the kids was a huge hit also.  They couldn't wait to go outside and try them out.

CHRISTMAS MORNING.

Santa brought the kids head-lamps in their stockings.  They had a lot of fun with them.

Love em'.

Santa brought M a whole bunch of Star Wars stuff.  He got a Luke Skywalker Lego Watch, Darth Sidious, a huge Lego Star Wars Book (his fave - he looks at it ALL THE TIME), a green light-saber, a Star Wars Model and stocking stuffers.  Top-middle picture - M is holding Darth Sidious and Luke.  All smiles.

Santa brought K the Barbie Veterinarian Set and a Zhu-Zhu Pet.  All she wanted for Christmas was the "Animal Doctor" toy.  She loves it and takes care of all of her animals on it.  I love the bottom-right picture.  She's looking in "Puppy-Doggies" ears.  She also got lots of good stocking stuffers.  Mom and Dad were angry because they didn't wake us up until they had already looked at their stuff so we didn't get to see their reaction.  It made me sad.  They woke us up at 5:45 am!

K said this morning, "I've been dreaming and dreaming of Christmas but it just won't come again."  We keep explaining that it's only once a year but she won't listen.

Well, I'm a little bummed that Christmas is over and dreading putting all these decorations away.  I love this time of year, it seems like it gets more fun each year.  I am truly blessed. 

Horses

While in Coalinga last week for Christmas, my Mom and I took the kids to the Caballo Club to see the horses.  It was a beautiful sunny day outside and we needed to get out of the house.  The kids loved it and were even able to feed a horse carrots and pet him up close.  People are definitely much friendlier in a small town.  As this man was leaving, he saw us looking at the horses.  He rolled down the window and asked us if we wanted to pet a really gentle horse.  He pulled his truck over and went and got his horse.  The horse was 31 years old ... and so sweet.

For some reason all of the horses just loved M.  They followed him around and would run over to the fence when he walked up.  M (who isn't an animal lover) couldn't get enough.  We were out there for a good hour and a half before he would let us leave.  He told me today that he wants a horse now.

They were ALL so friendly.

A great shot of Mom.

K enjoyed herself but got so whiny towards the end.

Why can't her eyes be open?  I love the shot anyway.

This horse had the most beautiful blue eyes.

A cute one of K.

Tonight while reading to the kids, K lets out the most foul stinker ever.  Of course, we all got a huge laugh out of it.  Especially M ... then he asked K, "What have you been eating?  Sugar and spice?"  I don't know where he got that from but it was too funny.

Dovewood Court

My friend Andi told me about a cool place to take the kids to look at Christmas Lights.  It's a neighborhood in Orangevale called Dovewood Court.  So Tuesday night, armed with lots of warm clothes and hot cocoa, we went to check it out.  You can drive or walk but we chose to walk through.  Lots of fun and a new tradition for us. 

Yes .... a good one of both of them.  Woo-hoo.

This is funny.  I kept trying to get K to look and she wouldn't.  M just wanted to get the picture over with so he is turning her head and telling her, "Just look, K".  Peace on earth, huh?

Now she looks and he doesn't.  Go figure.

M was animated and excited.  He loved it the most.

One of the houses had this set-up with music.

K said a cute thing the other day.  She didn't want to eat the other half of her sandwich because she wanted to save it for Santa's Reindeer.   

Toys For Tots

M and K have been saving their money to purchase a toy and donate.  See this post for more information.  We counted the money the other day and the kids will each have $10 to spend. 

M's counting all of the change.  He's getting good at counting money.

The kids showing what they bought.  M got two small "Cars" toys and K got a "Puppy In My Pocket" set.

Dropping them in ... and checking out what else was in there.

M was proud.

We went to Holiday in the Park at Discovery Kingdom on Saturday.  The kids loved looking at all of the decorations and listening to the Christmas music.  There were no crowds and we were able to walk onto every ride.  The downside - it was soooooo cold.  I mean really cold.  The kids were good sport about it though.

K's Jammie Day at School

K had Pajama Day at school last week.  Anyone that knows her, knows how much she loves to wear "jammies".  She couldn't wait to get to school because they were also having their holiday party. 

Brian said I always luck out on my days (because I didn't have to get her dressed for school).  She hates getting dressed in the morning and always wants to stay in jammies for a little bit longer.  She's also gotten a lot pickier about what she wears.  Sometimes she'll insist on wearing shorts and a tank top and then you have to talk her out of it.  (it's winter, right?)

She came home from school with a stocking full of goodies.

Fun, fun.

Just a cute picture.

All About M

M had a fun-filled day last Friday. He had a Christmas Program at school that morning, followed by a party at school. All of the Kindergarten Classes sang along to a live band. It was so cute. M sang a little but appeared to be daydreaming for most of the last 2 songs!! I wish Brian could have been there but it was at 8:10 am and he just couldn't get off of work. They sang 5 songs and then the principal came up to give out some awards. M was called up and given a certificate for perfect attendance in the first trimester. He looked so surprised and proud.

See my little angel? Can you spot him?

His school party lasted until school got out at 12:30 pm. K and I stayed for the entire party (I helped put it together). The kids participated in a gift exchange. M's having a tough time deciding which gift he wants to pick in this picture.

The kids opened their gifts at the same time. It took about 10 seconds!! Seeing all of their smiles as they opened them made my day.

They also decorated Gingerbread Cookies.

And had lunch .... with LOTS of sugar. K was sitting quietly and not eating ANY of the food on her plate. I asked her why and she said, "I'm just waiting for the cupcakes!" Stinker.

M made a special ornament for us at school and couldn't wait to show me.

He also couldn't wait to go through off of the goodies junk food he got from the party.

M's friend from school that lives down the street came over that evening at about 4:30 pm.  I watched him while his parents went to a party.  They were so crazy.  M kept saying, "Sound the alarm" and then all 3 kids would scream at the top of their lungs.  I let it go for a while and then told them they had to scream in the playroom with the door closed.  I have to admit ... they made me laugh a lot.  We did Play-Doh (I was brave) and they made a mess all over the floor ... I finally got it all picked up and put it away and they asked me to get it all out again 30 minutes later!!  I didn't ... it was 7:30 at night.  We had pizza and they watched a little bit of the Polar Express but the other little boy (our neighbor) said it was "freakin' him out" so he didn't watch much.  I set up the airbed in the guest room for the boys and was worried that bedtime would be a challenge.  We read a few books, I put them to bed and then heard them whispering in for about 10 minutes, went in again and they were sound asleep.  They were so giggly and happy.  The only way I could get K not to sleep with them was to allow her to sleep with in my bed (Brian was at work).  I'd definitely have him over again.  It was fun.

Christmas Crafts and Baking

We've been busy, busy, busy with Christmas stuff.  The kids absolutely love it.  K has been walking around the house singing Feliz Navidad, Rudolph, Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree and Jingle Bell Rock.  Each morning the kids run downstairs to see if they can find Sigmund and eat their treat out of the Advent Calendar.  M does a countdown every morning.

I found some small ceramic ornaments for the kids to paint.  They really took their time and did a good job.  This cute one somehow got broken (after she dropped it).  She said, "It's OK, right?  Because accidents happen." 

Serious business.

I went to a Cookie Exchange and K helped me make 4 dozen cookies.  M was in school.  We made Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookie Bars.  They turned out yummy if I do say so myself.  She loved licking the spoon (after we were done of course).

Messy face.