Christmas program at HGBC

Syd joined Judu in the Christmas program at HGBC this weekend. She loved it. She wanted to go back and do it again today, asked OVER and OVER! She went to the dress rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, came home and took a nap, then was back up there for the show. She wanted to do it again on Sunday, so she did the 3pm show as well. While waiting to go on stage, my mom told her that she had to wait. Syd said, "I do not like to wait!" ha ha ha! She was so beautiful up on the stage. I'm so proud of my little girl! :o)

Visiting Santa...

The girls went to see Santa yesterday! We met Julie, Adam, Aiden and Emmerson there. I don't know if Syd was more excited to see Aiden or to see Santa. She LOVES to see and play with her friends! Syd went right up and talked to Santa on her own. It was actually her second time seeing him, but this time she was MUCH more relaxed. I have no clue what they talked about, but they had a good chat! He's a super sweet and PATIENT Santa! Then my silly little Myls turned into a screaming, tongue rolling (thanks Mel,) crazy kid! We handed her to Santa and she wanted NOTHING to do with him. She tried to hit him and pull his beard. There was NO way that we were going to calm her down. Poor Santa! So, we quickly scooted Syd up beside them and snapped a shot. As soon as we took her away from Santa she instantly stopped crying, giving him the evil eye. Coals for her for sure! ;o) She will have company on the naughty list if that's the case, I know a good many kiddos didn't want to visit Santa this year!

Standing Up!

Myls is letting go of the furniture now and standing on her own for a few seconds! :o) She could do it longer, but we think she realizes what she's doing and second guesses herself. She's also really into kissing people, especially her daddy. Just know that her kisses are open mouthed and with tongue--you must also watch out, she'll bite too. She was kissing me last night and bit my bottom lip so hard I got tears in my eyes. May have a problem with her biting people, please, please, please, just let it be a phase! :o)

Syd is such a sweet girl. She has been super cuddly with her mommy this week. She is so excited for Christmas. She keeps telling us she wants a "pee pee doll." I mean really... she says it EVERY time we ask. I know it won't keep her attention and I don't want some silly doll making wet spots on my floor! Must find something that I can claim is a pee pee doll though, since it also is a $60 doll! Thoughts anyone? ha ha ha! Next time you see her, ask her to rap "Jesus Love Me." The FUNNIEST thing. She's such a fun kiddo. She also drew her first person this week. She has done the smiley face thing, but no arms, legs, etc. BUT this time she did! It was on a letter "b" worksheet we were doing. I told her Bubba began with "B" and she drew him beside the boat. I of course then had her draw pics of everyone. The funniest though was our cat, Allie, who looked more like a spider or amoeba than anything. She drew 1 leg, then 2 legs, then 3 legs, then 4 legs for a 10 legged cat. Those worksheets too are such a fun thing for her now. She loves to trace the letters, match, do the dot to dots, etc. She is left handed, like her cousin Say-day. :o)

Thanksgiving and Christmas Trees

This past weekend was a whirlwind! Syd woke up Thanksgiving morning so excited to see her family! We went to Maw Maw's house for lunch. The girls both ate a ton of course. Afterwards we went for a walk. Syd rode the Big Wheel and Myls was in the stroller. Syd rode to just over the halfway point of our walk, most of it on her own. I was super impressed. Both girls were just glad to get some fun time outside in the nice weather. When we left Syd said, "I had a really very happy Thanksgiving at Maw Maw's!" Then we went to High Point to see Kenny's family. Syd took a nap, but Myls wouldn't on the way there. Noah and Syd played and played. Myls was obsessed with pulling ornaments off of the tree, we think she pulled at least 50 off, we should have just put them higher instead of putting them back. She liked following the big kids around, especially Gracie. They played great together. Myls did make Gracie cry though, took her passie, tried to try it out, then looked at her like "what's your problem?" when she cried. I really think that Mylie is going to give us a run for our money. She is T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!! ha ha! They both ate a ton there as well. I think both of them would love to have all of that food and see their family everyday. The girls were both asleep as soon as we hit the highway on the way home.

Friday we went to the mountains for our Christmas tree. Bubba, Judu, Maw Maw, Melanie and Mitchell (Miguel, Michael, Martin...) went too. Syd was glad to be with everyone again. We ate at Bojangles for breakfast as usual. The girls both were super happy they whole way there. Syd and Maw Maw chatting in the backseat the whole time, was the cutest. Poor Maw Maw's ears had to hurt from that little motor mouth! Syd rode the horse as soon as we got to the tree farm. She loves all animals so much. We then rode to the trees, behind the tractor. Syd told everyone what she told us the day before, "They cut them down with scissors." ha ha! We picked out a skinny tree this year. I really had a width requirement, wasn't going to get another massive "fat bottomed" tree again! Dad took the longest to pick out his tree. The silly man! Then we rode back down. We went to Fire Mtn for a late lunch. I don't like buffets at all. BLECH! But everyone ate a good lunch, and I was a good girl and kept my mouth shut. :o) We got back, ate dinner at Bubba and Judu's (turkey and ham sandwiches of course,) and then came home and set up the tree. I got the lights on that night. Still am super picky about the lights and have way more than most normal people put on there. Only 2,050 this year but the tree is about 1.5' shorter and 3' skinnier, ha ha!

Saturday we went to find some plastic ornaments so little Miss Destructive (Myls) wouldn't hurt herself. We found some fun bright colored ones since I won't use colored lights. It looks so cute. I'm calling it the Fruit Loop tree. Syd and I worked on a pipe cleaner chain garland. We got it decorated some before we went to Poppie's for ANOTHER Thanksgiving meal. Both girls again were so happy to be with their family. They love everyone so very much. When we got home after dinner Syd and I worked on putting more ornaments on the tree.

Sunday we enjoyed our last full day with Kenny. Watched the Panther's game. Then went to Bubba and Judu's again for YUMMY spaghetti! SO, in those 4 days I think that we all gained 5 lbs. ha ha ha ha!! What a fun weekend! :o)

Chatting and Coffee...

Tonight I went out and had coffee with the girls! (Steph, Julie and Sarah) It's so nice to get out and talk about anything and everything. They make me laugh, that's for sure! :o) Julie found Waldo, she's a super spy that TRULY needs a haircut! ha ha! And the guy with the weird moving brows was TOTALLY distracting! ;o) He made Sarah cry, not sure if it was sheer terror or that he was amusing. Then we went to Harris Teeter to search for wine tags (ones in NC don't require wine purchase, and there are some AWESOME coupons on them) and other coupons. We are all addicted and may need to form a coupon-aholics group. That would mean we'd need weekly meetings. I know I could use that, but would the husbands allow it? As to how we'd help our coupon addiction, I have no clue, I think we'd only make it worse. Making it worse wouldn't be so bad since we'd be doing it together. All falling deeper into the world of coupons, on a mission to get out of stores with spending no money or the store OWING us money. Not a bad addiction, so should the habit be broken? Only downfall is the cashiers who make us think we are doing something wrong, telling us we can't save that much money and calling their managers on us like we are convicts. Then the managers looking at us again like convicts while we have at least one of our children in tow. We are on their surveilance system looking guilty, while the managers call their corporate headquarters on what you are trying to do. (They are told to do it 99% of the time, and it makes them MAD!) Maybe we should just go in groups to deal with the belittlement? So really is it a coupon-aholics meeting or simply a support group to deal with the guilt that the cashiers and managers put on us when we are doing NOTHING wrong? Or, should we begin workshops for cashiers and managers on proper coupon usage, so they see that it is VERY possible to walk out of the store only paying $.07 and saving $40. Nonetheless, we were VERY successful in our hunting endeavor. I'm super thankful to have made such great friends in the past couple of years! They are pretty awesome! As a bonus we all have children right around the same age and they all get along so well too! SO, I know most of them have seen this, but here's the quote again... I love being weird with them! :o)

We’re all a little weird and when we find those people whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into a mutually satisfying weirdness and call them our friends and best friends...

And I must add that my super sweet husband watched the girls, fed them dinner and put them to bed so I could get out for a bit. Major kudos for him, he ROCKS! :o) Now, really though... how can we win the lottery?

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Wow! It sure has been a cold day!! Syd went to preschool today. She came home singing the "Hokey Dokey." You will NOT convince her that it's actually Pokey, she'll have none of that! ha ha! Myls and I hung out this morning. She is growling at everyone and everything. Really, my sweet little girl growls. Funny! None of us woke up this morning in a happy mood but by the time afternoon nap was over everyone seemed to be much better. I took a power nap, so I was better too. Thank goodness for naps! Syd loves to climb in Myls' crib and play now. She doesn't understand that she shouldn't wake her up to play. Syd just loves her playing with her so much though, and the look on Myls' face when Syd is around is priceless. I hope that they always play so good together, but know I'm due for some fights, ha ha!

We went to my parent's for dinner. Both girls STUFFED themselves! Bubba had bought a black bear to go with Syd's Teddi. He dressed him up and everything. His name is Camden Ryan, both girls' middle names. I am going to call him CR. He's in the bed with Syd and Teddi now. As much as I dislike stuffed animals invading my house, Syd loves them. I am just glad it's not Barbies! ha ha ha ha!! Gosh, I know there will be some, but I don't like them.

Kenny has been working his butt off. I hate it. Really, it's just not the same. We miss him so much! Can't wait until he's able to put that junk down, that's for sure. Anyone have an idea how we can win the lottery?

Triples Update...

Pictures of my stuff: all of the stuff from this past triples is mixed in. This was all accumulated over 3 rounds of triples. And doesn't include the bathroom stuff or the medicine. :o)

Garage Stuff 1

Garage Stuff 2

(The 16 rolls of paper towels are spread out everywhere, most not in pics)

Laundry Room--now a pantry, ha ha!

(23 boxes of Pillsbury brownies/cake mixes, 18 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 20 tubs of icing, 23 boxes of pasta, 16 bags of cookie mix, and as you can see a TON more.)

Over the Stove

(8 boxes of Tea bags, 12 Eagle Brands, 6 chocolate chips, 2 bags of brown sugar, 2 bags of powdered sugar and more)

Garage Stuff 3

Not naming this time, ha ha

Yeah, I know it was a week and a half ago... BUT figured I'd post the totals and some of the stuff I bought....

Bloom: Spent $39.36 Save $157.23
This included: 5 things of chicken, 5 packs of Vanity Fair Plates, 8 Wet Ones tubs, lots of Pop Tarts, and TONS more.

Harris Teeter: Spent $119.43 Saved $349.91
This included: 1 box of Pampers (normal price $29.99), 6 packs of Wipes Refills (normally $8.89 each) 1 bottle of my favorite Riesling - as a treat, 10 jars of pasta sauce (48oz), 6 bottles of Downy fabric softener, 4 lbs of grapes, and again TONS more.

I spent more than planned, BUT we won't be buying a good bit of things (especially wipes, pasta sauce and fabric softener) for a LONG time! :o) I LOVE Triple Days!! I need to take pics of my shelves, etc. I can't believe how much I got for so little! :o)

OH, and K Mart! (They do super doubles!) Spent: $16,54 Saved: $85.74! Got Syd some of her GoodNights Pullups in there too! :o)

Writing and Giggles!

Syd is writing the letter "S" now!! "Up and around, down town!" is what I say when I show her. So, when I heard her saying it from the other room, I knew she did it all by herself today without me doing it first! :o) Fun stuff! she's learning other letters, and "O" is always the letter of choice. It's also the start of her happy faces, sunshines, doggies, etc. You never know if it's simply an "O" or a circle unless she adds stuff. She is also learning to sing some Christmas songs. Away In A Manger is her favorite, followed by Jingle Bells.

Myls is still EVERYWHERE. She's such a happy kid though! She always finds a way to make herself and others giggle. Hope she keeps that as she gets older! Silly girl. I think she's going through another growth spurt... I can't believe she's wearing 18 mos and even 2T's already. I know, I shouldn't be surprised since Syd did that too, but WOW! Myls REFUSES to walk, she wants to crawl! Kenny and I have tried to get her walking between the 2 of us, but she just sits back down, crawls and laughs. Booger head!

Last night was our normal Sunday night at my parent's. Both girls just love their Bubba and Judu. Between Myls' "Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh" all of the way home and Syd crying when she leaves and wanting to call them all of the time, you can MORE than tell. :o) Tonight, is dinner at home and some major cleaning. This house is a WRECK! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Fall picture day...

Movie Night!

Just got done with our first movie night with Syd... well... 30 minutes of a movie. ;o) She watched The Wizard of Oz. We are recording the rest for her. We lit a firelog, popped popcorn and she got to drink a little Dr Pepper in a freezy cup. She thought it was super cool. Myls will get to participate soon, I am sure... Next time I hope to start the movie earlier and we'll get to watch all of one! Wonder what movies are out that are only an hour long, since that's as long as I'll let her stay up past Myls' bedtime? Lots of silly movies are in our future I'm sure.

I'm strong Daddy and Miss Eater Much.

Thursdays are Syd's preschool days. She was able to take Teddi, so she was super happy! On the way to school, she had her first "don't want to go to school moment." We had gotten to the intersection close to my parent's house and Syd decided her and Teddi didn't want to go to school -- but to Bubba and Judu's. "Me and Teddi want to go see Bubba and Judu, Mommy!!" Poor girl! When I went to pick her up, she was super happy and ready to visit Maw Maw. Didn't want to leave, that's for sure! Tonight she told Kenny that she is strong because she can drink Mt Dew and Pepsi. Hmmm... then I know a couple of people who should be body builders. ha ha! (Thanks to Maw Maw for a WHOLE Pepsi to herself!) She got ready for bed all by herself tonight. It was super cute! Everything was great except for the backwards pants, ha ha! No way could I turn them around! Earned herself a treat! She's growing up WAY too fast, that's for sure! She's working hard on writing her name, my little lefty.

2 of Syd's favorite things: Teddi and her Big Wheel

Myls went shopping with me while Syd was a school. What a good girl! She even told a lady "bye bye." (Right after she walked away of course!) She is juicier than ever, I tried to keep bibs on her all day. Come on teeth! At Maw Maw's she tried to walk! Let go of the sofa to walk to her. It was an awesome try! It won't be long! We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, that little girl ATE some food. More than Syd and pretty sure more than me. She LOVED the dumplings. That full belly made a super happy girl the rest of the night. The waitress couldn't believe she's only 9.5 mos! She just doesn't seem that big to me. We went to Concord Mills too. Myls rode behind her sis, she loved trying to grab her hair. Syd was such a sweet sissie making Myls laugh. Too cute! My funny kiddos!

Art & Babbles

Sydney painted pictures for her room yesterday. She had such a fun time. I love watching her think about what she's going to paint. She was obsessed with the red and thought it was funny that it looked red in the container and pink on the canvas. She even learned that red and blue make purple. We are going to do more experiments to find out what colors do when they are mixed together. Hope at least one of my girls loves art as much as I do. The first picture was a red cloud with rain drops. The drops were her favorite. The next picture was a lime green sun, tree and camel. That girl can be so random, it makes me laugh. Reminds me a ton of Kenny with being so random and silly.

Red Cloud With Raindrops

Sun, Tree and Camel

Mylie is into EVERYTHING these days. She started "talking" to me yesterday. It sounds like she's trying to say whole sentences. Ma-ma and Bubba still are her top picks word wise. Da-da makes an occasional appearance. Poor Kenny, but Syd was always ALL about her Daddy, it's only fair! I think she's trying to say "hey" now too. When she wakes up, she says it almost everytime I walk into the room. She is crawling all over the place, learned to open cabinets, and is pulling up and cruising the furniture. She stays under my feet most of the day and is always grabbing my pants trying to get me to stop. She's doing a silly thing where while she crawls she hums. Funny funny girl! Hope to have a new tooth or 2 in the next week. Hoping it will close in her "Madonna/Letterman gap!" I love that crooked little grin!

Welcome! :o)

I'm starting the blogging thing! Hope this is an easy way for all of my family and friends to stay updated on our world. The girls are growing super "spast" (Syd's "fast") So, why not? ;o)