thanksgiving wrap-up: a photoblog

Posted on December 1, 2011 by mommyinthemidwest

Hey there.

My little boys on Thanksgiving Day. Just looking at their sweet, innocent faces fills my heart with pride and love. Two years ago, on Thanksgiving, I never would have guessed we’d be where we are now. But I sure as heck wouldn’t have it any other way.

We spent the weekend at Nana and Pop Pop’s house and were joined by Aunt M, Uncle B, and Cousin Spence, or as Theo says, “Pence!” I think Pence is pretty excited that Theo can finally play trains with him.

Dexter managed to find a way to play trains too. Friday night our city had their annual celebration that goes along with lighting the “tree” (a.k.a. monument). Since I’ve lived here for 8 years and had never seen it, I figured I should mark it off my to-do list. The city, it was beautiful. We had mild weather and the crowd was energizing. The lighting of the “tree,” eh. It was kind of like, well, turning on a light. You know? But my boo recently started a new job, right in front of this “tree” and his company opened their doors to employees and their families for the event. So, I got to see the new digs. It was a 2-for-1 kinda deal.

The most fun for Pence and Theo was not only the cookie and drink buffet inside boo’s work, but the wide open space to run and play. Tell me these are two little boys who aren’t having fun. I dare ya.

Well…we had fun trying to get some decent pictures. Finally, the “tree” was lit and we were able to get to the parking garage so that we could sit. And sit. And sit. For an hour. That was the least fun part of the night, but we should have parked further away from the center of activity instead of using R’s parking pass. Lesson learned. I don’t know that I have to go do it again, but it was a fun night. Something different to do on Black Friday, anyway! I wouldn’t leave you wondering what that magical “tree” looks like, all lit up.

yep, that’s it.

The rest of the weekend was filled with a reindeer, giggles with Pop Pop, stories with Nana, rolling and trying to crawl all over the place, and attempts at a decent Christmas card photo.

Well. You can see how successful that endeavor was.

All in all…best Thanksgiving ever. Sure do have a lot to be thankful for this year.

thanks for reading,

~C~

what’s the best age to take your kids to Disney?

Posted on November 9, 2011 by mommyinthemidwest

Disney is on the horizon. It’s far, far, far away on the horizon but if I squint real hard, I can almost kinda not really see it.

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Disney is super special to me and my hubs because that’s where we met. You can read all about it here. I’ve been looking forward to the day we could take our kids there for the longest time, like before I even had kids. The last time we went was in 2007 and I’m anxious and excited to be sorta kinda thinking about our next visit.

But see, here’s the thing. Big Boo isn’t that excited because it costs a lot of money. What doesn’t, right? He wants to go when the kids remember it because otherwise, it’s a waste, you know? I disagree. I think toddlers are only toddlers once. Little kids are the only ones that fall for the “magic,” in that characters-are-real sense, anyway. And I say that the memories are as much for myself as they are for my kids. Sure, they won’t remember it when they are 2 and 3, but I will. I will remember the looks on their faces and them falling asleep with their heads on my shoulder at the end of the day. I’ll remember how happy they were when I finally gave in and bought them that ridiculously overpriced souvenir. When they see Sorcerer Mickey shoot fireworks out of his fingers. I’ll snuggle up with them at the end of the long, long, long day and kiss their little heads as they fall asleep…drifting off to dream of a fantastic world they never knew existed.

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How can you put a price on that?

I kind of gave him that spiel and he changed his tune. He agrees with me, so we’re going in two years. 23 months, actually. (Squeeeeee!!!!). I. CAN’T. freakin’. WAIT. Is there such a thing as the “right” age to take your kids to Disney World? If I thought we would only go once in their lives, I might wait until they were 8 and 9, but I hope we’ll get to go 3-4 times by the time they’re 12 or so.

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So I get kinda lost in the shiny, glittery visions I have of myself at Disney World with the boys. Then reality hits and I think…ages 2 and 3. Hmm. Is that going to be a nightmare? How will they do on a plane? Or should we drive? Should I take the stroller? Etc. Etc. Etc.

We’ll figure all that out as it gets closer, but this trip is going to be epic. It better be, or else it will take me 23 months to get over the disappointment. Any pointers? Anyone have an opinion about the “best” age to take a kid to Disney?

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it’s a hot dog day,
~C~

beauty everywhere

Posted on November 7, 2011 by mommyinthemidwest

You know, I always complain about the onset of fall. Nothing personal, Autumn, but you mean the end of warm weather and the beginning of coats and icy roads and static in my hair. This weekend I took a little time to look at my little world and I decided that I actually do like fall (a little). There are certainly some beautiful colors to admire and without a doubt, some mild weather to enjoy.

chalkboard plate, birthday gift from my sister (artwork courtesy of me)

Colors, like the oranges, reds, and yellows on the trees. Colors, like the blue of my baby boy’s eyes. I think they are going to stay blue, guys, and I’m so excited! After hearing how much Theo looks like his daddy from day 1, it’s nice to know I have something in common with Dexter.

hanging out with mama on Friday, while Theo took a nap

Then there are the rich browns – like that Hershey bar we let Theo go to town on Friday night.

I love the kelly greens – like the balloon the waitress at Red Robin gave Theo to keep him occupied until our food came. Oh, and Dexter’s paci.

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Okay, so those aren’t all fall colors. Whatever. Switching gears for a second – my sweet cousin, Kara, came to spend the weekend with us. We had fun going out to eat, doing a little shopping, and just relaxing at Barnes & Noble while Theo played with trains and looked at some books.

Kara and Dex

Thanks, Kara, for snapping this sweet pic!

Sunday, we didn’t have any plans. I watched most of Crazy, Stupid, Love. since I fell asleep 30 minutes into it Saturday night. I’m a fan of both Steve Carell and romantic comedies, so I thought it was really cute. Kara had to go, but we were glad to have gotten some extra time with her. The boys loved her. The weather was perfect so I took Theo for a wagon ride around our neighborhood. After we got back, I carried him inside and he instantly dissolved into tears in a pile on the floor. I agreed with him – it was way too pretty to stay inside. So we went out to the backyard and watched the neighbor clean up his leaves.

Alright, so … truth be told, it’s time to clean up our leaves, too. But not before raking a big pile for Theo to jump in…

By the way, 1 1/2 year olds aren’t that good at raking leaves, but they look cute trying. I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer to put this one on the chore list.

Let me just tell you how much he loved the leaf pile. Uh, he ran past it and poked it with a stick and kept going. He was not impressed. Yeah – I got all out of breath raking up that awesome pile for a poke with a stick. Dexter actually loved it, so it wasn’t a complete waste.