Merry Chichums

Christmas (or "chichums" as my younger brother used to call it) this year was splendid.
I would love to show you pictures of it...but once again...my camera is on the fritz.
(hmmm...perhaps I should have asked for a new one from Santa).

Bella was thrilled with the spoils left by Santa.
She tells us multiple times how she heard him so "Ho Ho Ho" in the middle of the night.
She's still learning to ride her new princess bike and is dressing up in her new dress ups every other minute.

Oliver is pleased as punch with his Pooh ride along. He sits on it..pushes buttons...laughs...and does it all over again.
That...and he loves the taste of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes.
Not surprising.

I worked a quick 4 hrs during the kids naptimes on Christmas.
The kids hung out in their polor bear pj's.
We traveled to Caliente the next day for a long weekend filled with presents and all 27 of Alma's "intimate family".

The kids, happy and exhausted, returned home to their half unwrapped toys and dug in...they haven't stopped since.

The house is a mess.
Toys are everywhere.
I don't want to put Christmas away for another long year.
Kids are laughing and content....

and so am I.

Hope Christmas was as wonderful for all of you as it was for us.

Now...time to browse the internet for a new camera.

Uno

Is is true?
Did my baby turn 1?
Is he technically...
a toddler?
Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!

Okay, so I supposed I can't stop him from growing, but it doesn't make it any easier to see him leaving babyhood.

Ollie turned 1 on the 21st.
I remember the day vividly.
It was drastically different from when I had Bella.
It was quick.
It was uncomplicated.
It was quiet and special.

I also remember coming home with him...a year ago today.
The house was ready for Christmas.
Bella was OBSESSED with her new brother.
I was tired, but happy.
I remember sitting in bed with Oliver that night.
It was snowing outside and everything was quiet except for his soft squeaking and grunting noises (true to a boy).
Husband zonked out next to me.
Darling little girl snoozing away in the other room.
Baby snuggled tightly in my arms.
And..as corny as it sounds...I had "Silent Night" playing in my exhausted mind.

And I thought.."this...this is perfection".

A lot has happened since that night.
A lot has changed...and there are many things that remain the same.

This, however, will always be true:
Oliver, I love you, my darling little boy.
You have more energy and more sense of adventure than most anybody I've ever met.
You have a mellow and laid-back personality to keep the rest of us guessing what is going through your fuzzy topped noggin.
Thank you, for coming into our lives.
I love you.
Happy Birthday.

And now...
for the fun part.
PARTY!!

Because when your job rocks....

...so do the parties.

This weekend was the "family" AirMed Christmas Party.
For the kids...it was filled with an overwhelming amount of excitement.
For the adults...some good mingling, food and watching the kids geek out when Santa comes.

Santa, you see, made an early visit to the AirMed kids today.
Because his reindeer were getting all their rest in preperation for Christmas Eve, Santa arrived in fine style to the hangar...by AirMed Helicopter (the 430...to be exact).

After a grueling flight from the north pole, Santa and Mrs Claus arrived waving and full of smiles.


The kids squeeled and giggled as the jolly man landed and exited the aircraft.
Not just because..well...it was Santa...and a loud and active helicopter...
No.
They were also excited because all their parents had contacted Santa's workshop ahea of time and put in specific orders of what each kid should get. And Santa ensured those requests were made and ready for delivery.

Bella..requested the Snow White on DVD (so we don't have to watch the VHS "shaky" version anymore).

Oliver...requested NOT to be forced to sit on Santa's lap again. He would keep his distance and hang out in the airplane...where the big red buy with a scratchy beard couldn't take him away from his mom.


Both kids got what they wanted.
And then some (like chips and donuts and cake....)


Everybody gathered to see Santa back off to the North Pole.

We left with 2 VERY excited children and 2 very pleased parents.

Because it's true, when your job rocks...
so do the parties.

Ttttttt...Toffee.

Just a friendly reminder...
toffee season is not over (but, then again, for me, it's never over).

If you're wanting to order, please go to my website and hit the contacts page.
I'm not charging for dropoffs for SL and Davis counties throughout December.

It's delicious, addicting...
and much cheaper than the competitors. True!

So go..
order toffee please.
You're stomach will thank you.

Princess in the Bayou

Today, I fed my appetite for some New Orleans style in life.

It started as a mommy daughter date with dear, sweet Bella.

For weeks, we've been talking and planning for the much anticipated "Princess and The Frog" (when you have a preschool age girl...princesses rule life).
We planned to go to lunch for "mac and cheese and a root beer"...then to see the movie while eating popcorn and wearing princess dresses.

Lucky for the audience, I opted to wear regular clothes and leave the princess dress at home.

Bella, however, wore her favorite dress up (Sleeping Beauty)...all through lunch at Red Robin...and all through the movie.
She...was...in...HEAVEN!

And then...the movie.
Oh...THE MOVIE!!!!

This, my friends, is my absolute favorite princess movie...ever. Period.
You see...I have this slight obsession with New Orleans.
Alma and I visited there almost 2 years ago.
We ate.
We jazzed out.
We took in the sights, sounds and smells of the French Quarter and of NOLA.
We were hooked.

We've talked about going back ever since.
My friend is dating an amazing cop from NOLA....which automatically got him extra stars in mine and Alma's books.
So..then I see "The Princess and The Frog"....set in New Orleans.
Talk and cartoons of beignets and gumbo and jazz and mystery and enchantment and a true princess story.
It fueled the obsession.

Bella bopped her head to every song.
I smiled through the whole movie.
And this....if you are interested...is an amazing movie. Disney at it's finest in my opinion.

And the mommy daughter date?
A complete success and a very fun and memorable afternoon!

The Princess waiting to go see "The Princess...."

The much talked about mac n cheese lunch from Red Robin..per Bella's request

Defining the Cycle

Motivation: Paying MONEY to stand on a scale in front of a stranger to see if I'm sticking to a weight loss plan.

Joy: When the numbers drop each week

Accomplishment: Dropping 10 in 3 weeks.

Selfishness: Being frustrated that I only lost ONE pound this week

Self Directed Passive Aggressive Behavior: Buying a donut right after weighing in

Self Pity: Also buying a giant breakfast burrito and a regular Dr. Pepper from Betos...after the donut was ingested...just because I felt like I deserved it because it was "only one pound".

Lame: excuses for eating like a pig this morning...especially seeing how I hate Mexican Food.

Guilt: what my stomach is telling me right now...too much cheese.

Hunger: How I'll feel the rest of the day in order to make points.

Defining the Cycle: "A diet is the penalty we pay for exceeding the feed limit"

Oh well..better luck tomorrow.

A Festivus for the Rest of Us

This week I ventured to Festival of Trees with the kiddies.
Alone.

Mostly because nobody else was able or willing at that day.
That...or I'm a total loser.
I'm not sure which yet.

Anyway, we had a BLAST.
The "small fry" area felt like it was personally catered to Bella.
Oliver thoroughly enjoyed his root beer sucker I bought him.

We all oogled and ahhh'd over the trees and gingerbread houses.

We stuffed our faces with hot scones and cotton candy.

Oh yes..and me met one very special guy.
One of my children was EXTREMELY excited about it.
The other..
well....obviously not a fan of the jolly of old man.

Ho Ho Ho.