About Time

I finally got around to uploading Christmas photos! We had an amazingly blessed Christmas this year. I had two weeks off after Christmas so we had lots of time to lay around and play with our new toys. We also made a few trips to Chicago. We went to the children's museum on Navy Pier--fun for younger kids I'm sure, but a little boring for Em. Good thing we went to build a bear afterwards--the highlight of the trip. Aunt Alli had gotten Emma a gift certificate to go since Bruno ate the bear Alli had made her when she was a baby. Em made a bunny with roller skates named Kit, cause if it's not an American Girl, it may as well have the same name as one!!

It was totally an American Girl Christmas. Mia is having fun getting to know her friends. We have had a few game nights with all of our new games. Em's favorite new game is Operation and the adults have had a lot of fun with Partini and Rigamarole--similar but fun in their own ways. Emma and I have been enjoying our Nintendo ds's but Emma is actually getting better than me at Mario Cart since I have no time to play these days. Was that me that thought things would actually slow down after the holiday's?

It always amazes me how Emma can find wonder in things I tend to take for granted! We had an impromtu pillow fight last night after a game of Clue jr. Daddy started the craziness by being a cheater pants and it escalated from there. It is moments like these that Emma says are the best times ever. I agree.

I'm still here!

Okay, so it's been a while. Give me a break, it was December! I promise to catch up with December pictures/happenings this week. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

Happy Birthday Baby Brother

Not the best picture ever but it is the most recent one I have of Matt and Em together. They were playing one of the racing games at Chuck E. Cheese and apparently concentrating really hard. We are going out to dinner to celebrate tonight so I need to get some pictures while he is in a good mood! Pizza, ice cream cake, and lots of presents might just do the trick. I can't believe my baby brother is 13--a teenager! We love you, Matthew!

Wicked Cool

In my best Bostonian accent: Wicked was wicked cool. The show was great--though a little slow at first. I don't think the regular theatre goers behind us appreciated Ryan's snoring! I loved the show -- especially the subtle, okay not so subtle, references to The Wizard of Oz. Some of the songs weren't as catchy as others but it was still really well done. We got to go on a backstage tour after the show (thanks to Rachael and her wicked connections!) and it was really interesting. We got to see all the props and some of the costumes. Lots of behind the scenes "magic". The show will be finishing its Chicago run in January so I am so glad we got to see it when we did.

After the show we went to eat at Brazzas, which is a Brazilian steakhouse where they bring the meat out on skewers and you pretty much eat until you sweat. They give you a little disk that you flip over back and forth and it tells the waiters that you either want more or need a break. It was sooo good. Who knew grilled pineapple could be so amazingly delicious? We were all so stuffed that we went back to Rachael's apartment and fell asleep. So much for a night out on the town! Seriously though, I am still full.

Oh and I am sick. Yuck. I have a cold and just feel blah. I am so excited for my Christmas break. I need it. My to do list grows by the minute. I really don't want to use my vacation to clean my house so I am trying to get everything done before then so I can sit back and relax. That is, if I remember how.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Emma had a great time playing with all her cousins and the mom's all loved the 2 minutes they sat still to have a semi-decent picture taken!

Baby it's cold outside

It is so tempting to stay inside these days. I have so much to do and lots of errands to run but, instead of crossing things off the list, Emma and I stayed home and played board games under blankets last night! Unfortunately Emma doesn't lose gracefully. I don't know where this came from--we have always played lots of games and we have never made it a habit to "let" Emma win (especially Ryan). She always acts like her little heart is broken and makes excuses like "it's not fair, I didn't know how to play". I try not to make a big deal about it and just let her know we will play again and maybe she will win next time. I am so ready for this phase to be over.

Other times, thankfully, she is a huge sweetheart! For example, I came home from Chicago last weekend and Emma had made me a welcome home sign and taped it to the front door! It was so nice to come home to smiles and hugs instead of whining and nagging. I guess I just need to leave more often!

Here are a few pics from Chicago. There were only a few decorations up when we were there but it was still very festive. And very cold.

Funny story to share: Emma and Ryan were riding in my mother and father-in-law's new Prius last weekend. Apparently a lot of the features in the car are voice activated, including the GPS. Clint was trying to see what the GPS could do so he said "Gas Station" very clearly. That prompt didn't work so they tried "Restaurant". Apparently Emma had other things in mind because very slowly and clearly from the back seat came "Disney World". I wish I could have been there!

God Bless America

Happy Veterans Day.

Beauty and the Treats

Emma had a great time this Halloween. I think she spent more time passing out candy than she did trick-or-treating. She loved seeing all the different costumes and she didn't want to miss anything so she sat on Nana Kathy's front step and waited for "customers".

Emma got her costume when we were at Disney this past summer. She wanted me to do her makeup just like they did at the bibbity bobbity boutique and thank heavens the weather was nice because "Belle does NOT wear a shirt under her dress". Um, I hate to break it to you babe but Belle doesn't wear flip flops either. What can I say--like mother like daughter.

The before:

And the after:

Now that Halloween is officially over I have thrown myself into Christmas projects. I promised myself I would keep it simple this year but I keep adding stuff to the list. I'm hoping to get a big chunk of my shopping done this weekend in Chicago. Mom, Alli, and I are going for a much needed girls weekend. Can't wait.

Never did get those pumpkins carved. . .