Cupids

Here are my two cupids who filled my cup of love today while their daddy was flying back to the states from a 2 day stay in Bermuda!

Attempt #2

Our friends, Tyler and Melissa have an annual Christmas party with the most authentic Santa I have seen. He is a great guy and tried luring E in and got close to winning him over... maybe next year!

Ry did it!

Trying for the kids together. No such luck!

A peace offering - candy cane wins!

Didn't mind the jolly man helping him unwrap his present!


Going in for the kill... E ran away just after I got this shot.

Fear of Santa

My kids love the idea of the big guy but they aren't fans of getting too close. This year we opted to skip the mall altogether since we knew we would have at least 2 options to attempt a Santa photo. The first one was horrendous and I was pushed to the floor by my soon to be four year old. Although Ry doesn't looked scared she decided mid-way in the line that she wouldn't sit on his lap then refused to go near him until I was squatting beside Santa with her brother. Then I got pushed down. The pictures (thanks G for shooting rather than helping your poor wife up!) speak for themselves.

Fireworks

It has been YEARS since I've seen any fireworks and this year I made plans to take the plunge and take the kiddies to see some. I was concerned as I didn't know how either of my children

would react. Ryleigh is known for her fears and Evan is still quite young. And to top it off, Glenn was leaving for work. So I made plans to meet up with my good friend, Jeanne and her family. I felt comfortable knowing I wouldn't be doing it alone. Saturday, we woke up and Glenn had a show at home for work. This meant there was a chance he would be home.

Last night, we packed the kids in the car (notice the WE, yup G was in town) and headed to Jeanne's house. We followed them over to her MIL to park and headed down toward the fireworks. My friend, Melissa and her clan (minus 1 - they didn't bring their 1 year old) met up with all of us. We decided to hit the elementary school playground before finding a spot to sit. We let them burn off some energy and about 45 minutes to an hour later we got a grassy spot to sit.

The kids got to play with sparklers (thanks Jeanne) and eat snacks (thanks Melissa) and WAIT. It felt like we waited forever and then finally they started. Ry was sitting in our double stroller with big eyes but only once did she cover her ears due to the noise (the finale). And Evan was a real trooper. The only thing he wanted was food. We (Melissa & I) were rationing off Cheerios in fear they would run out. 1/2 way through I put Evan in the double next to Ryleigh so Glenn & I could sit back and watch. Sam (Melissa & Mike's ball of energy) sat on our blanket and he completely cracked me up! He made it a real joy to watch especially since Ry wanted to stay in her cocoon in the stroller.

Overall it was a great night. I don't think we (Sharps, Lachers & Jeffers) will forget it since we all had first-timers with us. Driving home, I kept thinking of Ry's expressions as she watched... it was amazing!

Continuing the Tradition

When I was a kid my mom would hide our Easter Baskets. Since having my own children I've continued that tradition into my home although my husband does not get it at all. I told him that all these years later is the one thing about Easter morning I remember and I loved it so much. Since my children are young I knew I would need to find easy spots for the kids baskets.

In the afternoon we went to visit my parents and Ryleigh had her own personal easter egg hunt. Poor Evan was stuck watching from the inside. Next year you will get to dodge the deer poop with your sister!

The best part (for me)

I have two things this year that made my heart sing this holiday season. The first, was a couple weeks before Christmas when I had the privilege of dropping off items my MOMS Club donated for a family. We Adopt-A-Family every year and this year I had the responsibility of getting the items to the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center. When I dropped them off, I was overcome with the true meaning of Christmas. The entire center was filled to the rafters with items for several Adopt-A-Families. It was truly incredible to see such selfless giving.
My second favorite was being able to play Santa for my own family. Once all the wrapped items were under the tree and everything was set up I admired my handy work. All the wrapping, beautiful tree and the image of seeing my daughter so excited the next morning danced through my head late Christmas Eve.

My little reindeer

Finally some Christmas Posts

She did it!!! She finally sat on Santa's lap (after many attempts throughout the season) and requested Cinderella Movie (5 times I might add). However, Santa Grandma had purchased this some time ago and was planning to give it to her at her house the afternoon of Christmas. After much persuasion by friends and husband, I contacted Grandma and told her I NEED THAT MOVIE here so my baby girl can open it on Christmas morning, otherwise all hope in believing in him could be lost at the ripe ole age of three!

Holiday Rundown

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was fun filled although looking back it was a bit of a blur. I hosted Christmas Eve and we did our traditional Honey Baked Ham buffet. It was quite good. My parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law and niece all joined us to celebrate. I spent most of the time in the kitchen either preparing, eating or cleaning up. It wasn't that bad and I actually enjoyed it. The best part was having my family together and having Glenn be home to be a part of it.

Christmas day was an early start for us. I did not sleep well the night before. I woke up at 3:30 am and never really went back to sleep. I got up at 5:30 to shower and get ready to head over to my folks with Ryleigh and Glenn. We got there in time to open presents with everyone. It was mad chaos because the kids (Ryleigh and Avery) were mad unwrappers. My daughter loves bows! If she could, she would have taken every single bow off of every present. She also loved tearing paper but if it was clothes she ran to the next item to be unwrapped. She had a ton of loot. She must have been good this year because Santa spoiled her.

We didn't take many photos... too busy. We did get a good one of the girls late in the afternoon. Glenn was also able to get some video. I will attempt to post that too.

Feeling like my father

When I was growing up the big Christmas Tradition that stands out is the TREE. We would get a live tree. My father would get the tree into the stand in the garage and bring it in to our house. It would take another 1/2 hour or so for him to get it just right (some times with string, I might add). All the while I would learn every curse word imaginable. It was the only time I would hear my father spew such language.
Well I am right there with him. Our tree, the one you see in the post below.... is a pain in my neck. The darn thing tipped over on Sunday (early morning). Likely I got up with Glenn and saw it from our balcony. He was able to get it upright before he left. I was praying everyday that it wouldn't fall back again.... well it fell over today. The only saving grace is it is falling back into the wall and not falling forward into the family room. I know what the problem is but I am not strong enough to fix it myself. Our tree stand was not made to deal with such a large tree....
so once Ry gets up from her nap we're off to Lowe's to buy a new tree stand. Then when Glenn gets home at late tonight we can attempt to re-pot it. Of course it has ornaments on it.
I think the torch of 'foul mouthing the Christmas tree' has officially been passed from father to daughter.

Recent Frenzy

Ryleigh and I spent the Thanksgiving Holiday in Crozet, VA (near Charlottesville) visiting my sister and her family. We drove down on Wednesday with my parents, about 7 hours. We left mega early and arrived by lunch. It was great to be able to see my sister's new home and spend time with her family. My brother also came in which was a nice surprise.

The girls had a good time together. Avery was really good with Ryleigh considering their age difference. I think they look possessed in the top photo.

Gifts

Alright another holiday is almost upon us and I have NO CLUE what to purchase my husband. My husband is a gadget man and it seems everything he wants is always over 100 bucks. Now I don't mind this but Father's Day. This needs to be a gift from Ryleigh... any ideas???