Santa came, went and left a mess!

Our Christmas morning started WAAAYYY early. Just before 6 am to be exact. Bryce was so excited and made his way downstairs before everyone else and was making seperate piles of presents for Leah and him. I was so excited the morning had finally arrived. I had finished my "Santa" shopping for the kids early and was dying with anticipation to see their faces.

Their opening styles were very different. Bryce opened a present and wanted to play with it right away. By the third gift he had hit the jackpot with his Star wars mask, and the rest of the present opening went VERY slow for him. Leah opened one present and set it in a pile and then said, "Next gift, please." She was very efficeint and had everything unwrapped quick and sorted. That's my girl!

Bobby was super thrilled with me this year. I did not buy anything that required late assembly and I had wrapped everything before Christmas Eve. Santa's job was pretty easy this year in regards to that. Believe me, it was only by chance nothing needed assembly. The thing that was tricky was getting ALL those toys out of the darn boxes they come in. I mean...I seriously was bleeding after tearing out some of those toys. I don't get it. I feel awful for the poor soul who has to secure the toys to the boxes. It has to be a job shipped overseas. The labor has to be cheap in order to pull off that type of labor intensive anti-theft device. The toy is worth what...$20-$50 bucks? I would think it is more cost effective to have someone steal a toy every once in a while rather than pay someone to wind those cords around the toys. That was the worst part, a close second would be the wrapping paper mess.

My kids had a great time and of course were spoiled, as usual. I am REALLY going to go through the toy room and give away some of their toys. It pains me but it must be done in order to make room for the new ones. I need to find a good cause to give them to, so I'll feel better about it.

Ted Friend

Ok! So over a year ago, Bryce starts talking about his friend Ted. I ask him where he met Ted and he says, "Mom, he's pretend." I was like, okay...I think. He makes up stories about how Ted's parents are mean so he wants to come live with us because Bryce has nice parents! Pretty cool! We are already the cool parents that pretend friends want to hang out with. He starts rolling down the car window saying he has to let Ted in. He draws family pictures with Ted in them. He also explains to people about their adventures. Ted is really becoming a part of our family and I got a little concerned.



I do A LOT of research on imaginary friends. I worry that Bryce may be missing something in his life and picks Ted to fill it. To my relief the research shows that it is part of a VERY active imagination and is healthy. Whew! I rest easy and welcome the stories about Ted because they really are entertaining.



Bryce can hold on two parts of the conversation with Ted. He does his voice and then changes it and answers his own questions with Ted's voice. I know...it's a little creepy but just think of the cognitive ability to carry on with two parts of a conversation. Some kids can't even carry on one part. So I am sorta proud and sorta wierded out.



I thought this Ted thing would phase out after a couple months, but Ted has been part of our family now for over a year ( I guess he really does like living with us)! Recently Ted has reached all new heights. Leah was talking in the car and I asked her what she was saying. She said, " I'm talking to Ted, Mom." NOOOOO! Not you too!! Now Ted has befriended Leah.



I have come to accept Ted as just a part of our family. I mean really, it doesn't do too much harm, except now Bryce and Leah are fighting over him. Yep, you heard me, FIGHTING OVER A FAKE FRIEND!!



Leah was talking on her fake phone and I asked who she was talking to. She replied, "Ted Friend."

Bryce says, "He is my friend and not yours!"

Leah replies, "NO, he is my Ted Friend!!"

This goes on for about a minute until I tell them they have to share TED. OH my gosh! I just entered into a different world of motherhood. Telling your kids to share a pretend friends. Nothing amazes me anymore! HAHA!

Bryce and Leah (Ted not pictured)

Let It Snow!

Snowed in Palmdale today! YAY!! I can't remember the last time it snowed this hard. It reminded me of being a kid and getting a "snow day." I remember as a kid NEVER being cold. I could play outside for hours. Now...I'm freezing after two minutes. The problem is my kids are in the "No, I'm not cold!" part of their lives still. So...I suck it up for them.

Bobby and I hurried home to bust out the snow gear. When I was a kid my mom would just duct tape grocery bags around our shoes. GHETTO...I know, but snow boots for four kids every winter for one snow day didn't seem logical. Now, we have to have snow boots, jackets, beanies and gloves for our kids. It takes us a good 20 minutes to get them decked out so they won't be too cold. I don't know why we take the time since they aren't going to be cold anyway.

Finally it's play time. Why is snow so fun? It is probably only this fun to us Palmdalians, who live in the desert and rarely see snow. If we had to live in the freezing cold daily, I don't think we'd be as thrilled. We had a snow ball fight, made two snowmans, and made snow angels. Bobby tried to get Bryce to drive his powerwheel

around and get it to go sideways...silly boys! Thank God it didn't work!

When us grownups finally had enough of the cold, we came in, made a fire and some hot cocoa. There is nothing like watching a movie with the family while the snow falls outside. It was all and all a fun day in the snow, although I do feel bad for the people who are stuck somewhere and not in their homes, my Dad being one of them.

On a side note: what the heck is up with global warming? I'm so confused. I was really worried for a while when we still had 80 degree temperatures in November, but it hasn't snowed like this since I was in school. Does it mean the recycling has paid off, or what? I'm going to do some research and get back to you!

'Tis the Season...The flu season!

For those of you that know me well, you know that I am super paranoid about getting the stomach flu. Throwing up probably ranks up there with child birth, on my list of "not fun" things. At least at the end of labor you have a bundle of joy. With the flu there is no reward (unless you count a temporary weight loss).

Last night Bryce was throwing up. He's really good about making it to the toilet. He doesn't cry or anything. I mean, he's better than me. Now, the worst part is the waiting to see who else is going to become victim. In my head I try to rationalize the reason for the throwup. Like, "Maybe it's food poisoning," or "Maybe it's from eating and then jumping around." I really hope it's something that isn't contagious.

Next morning...Leah is whining and we brace ourselves for the worst. Yep!! Must be the real stomach flu, because now she's throwing up. Not fun! Poor thing!! Now Leah is younger and cannot make it to the toilet so it ends up on the tile, the carpet and best of all, on me!! I feel awful because I know how much I hate it, but the kids seem to be less affected by the awfulness of vomit.

So, the next couple days are going to be stressful because I will just be waiting to see if I am going to get "it" or not. Please, for the love of God, don't let me get it. I am super nervous and am trying not to eat my favorite foods right now just in case...I totally think this through. I don't want the foods I like coming back up because then I won't eat them for a while. I know, I'm a little wierd and obsessed with the subject but I feel like a plan is the best way to get through this rough season.

Leaving the kids...

Tonight Bobby and I are going out to dinner with some buddies. Leaving the kids never gets easier for me. I love going out and being a carefree adult, but seriously how carefree is it when I think about the kiddies. They are usually with their grandparents who seriously probably give them the best and most fun care...so I have no idea what I'm worried about. The kids couldn't be more excited to get rid of us! Grandma has already told them she needs help decorating her christmas tree. They are going to be set. We are so lucky to have two sets of grandparents that enjoy watching the rugrats, so I should just relax and be happy. This will come as soon as a few martini's are in the mix!! It's important as a mom to get back to that person your husband remembers. The one who went out without a rice crispy treat stuck to her shirt...I know she's still in there. HAHA!! So here's to a great night of dining without kid menus and crayons...although those are usually pretty fun dinners too!!

Student of the Month

The good news from school just keeps on coming!! Bryce was chosen as student of the month for November. YAY!

Making us Proud!

Today was our first parent/teacher conference and to be honest I was extremely nervous about it. I mean, we all think our kids are super smart, but I'm aware of this bias. I'm very proud to report that Bryce is doing extremely well in school. He exceeds most of the standards and is right where he needs to be in a few of the other areas. I just wanted to take a moment to share his success!!

Plus, as a parent you really never know if you are doing the right thing with your kids. It's a guessing game and you do your best. I believe his success is in a small way a shared success with us. I couldn't be prouder of the hard work he has been putting in. The thing I was most proud of was his teacher telling me had a good sense of right and wrong. Way to go B-man!!

Pretty in Pink

Most kids like music, but Leah has taken a real interest in singing and dancing. She picks up the words to songs real quick and will dance just about anywhere (which is wierd because she's actually kinda shy). With all that extra energy she has, we decided it was time to channel it into good (instead of say, pulling out everything from the bathroom cabinets and painting the walls with lotion).

We signed her up and yesterday was the first day. She started out a little shy but by the end of it she was totally into it! They did all the classics: Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Hokey Pokey and her favorite Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Afterwards she wouldn't stop talking about how she got to go to dance school and how she has a teacher now. Which is great because since Bryce started school, she has been eager to go too.

Of course we had to overkill with her outfit...i mean that's the fun part...right?