Christmas Day

One last post from me tonight, just to get some Christmas pics up for the families. Our tree - Christmas Eve.



















Xav enjoying a snuggly blankie while Mal plays in the background.














Mal waiting as patiently as he could while Daddy freed a toy from its packaging.















Last, but not least, me with all my "boys" and Dave's girlfriend Cassie.

Not only have I made gingerbread cookies, cake balls, sugar cookies, cookie cutter fudge, pretzel rings and brunchy cheesecakey stuff, but M has been making spicy pretzels and peanut brittle. Here he is before the brittle was cool enough to break. Isn't he cute? I love a man in my kitchen (unless he is an appliance repairman with plumber butt).

The other day, I was talking to some other mommies about a cup I used to have. It had a picture of a bear drinking from the same cup with a picture of a bear and so on. Well when I cleaned up Mal after an "art project" I decided to try to replicate the effect. So here it is. Mal declared there were "four Malchis"














What was the art project? Well, Mal kindly entertained himself while I grabbed a quick shower during Xav's nap. I thought he'd stay out of trouble since he was watching the Polar Express again, but I guess he decided to do a self portrait of sorts. It also wasn't limited to the front. He wrote on the back of his neck and head as well.

Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

It's Still Funny

Despite months of our best efforts, we can't manage to teach Mal any new jokes. He keeps falling back on his favorite. I guess it's his tried and true.

Knock. Knock.
Who's there?
Owen.
Owen who?
Oh when the saints go marching in...

This "hysterical" joke is usually followed by much stomping of the feet and uproarious laughter.


On another note, Xavier is learning new words pretty regularly. Probably no one can understand him but me though. He got some glitter on his fingers from a Christmas card we received and told me he was "barkly" (sparkly). We received a Nemo Christmas card last night. Xav said "Memo" and spent 20 minutes kissing the card. He loves that little fish and I cannot remember the last time we watched that movie.

We signed the forms to go ahead with Mal's evaluations today also. That should be completed by the third week in January.

Nature Neighbors

Can you see all those tracks in the snow? We had a "few" visitors in the night. The deer were everywhere in the yard. I even see the tracks were near the apple trees. We'll have to keep an eye on that.

Pizza Putt - Why, oh Why, Must You Be So Far Away?

We took the boys to Pizza Putt yesterday. They had so much fun! It took some convincing to get Mal into the tunnels, but once he was lured there by daddy and realized those tunnels led to the slides he so desperately wanted to go down, that was it. The Daddy took Xavier through once and I think Mal made the loop two, maybe three, times before Xavier made it to a slide.

We had to have "pizza and woot beer" after all the fun and neither boy ate a THING! Freaks! They get that from their dad.

OK, OK. Maybe I tried it all out too. But don't tell anyone!

Zingo - New Rules

Mal was playing Zingo with me the other day. As the tiles became visible, he would tell me the object on each one. During one round, he said, "a apple and a heart... to eat!"

As you can see by his card, he only needed one tile to win. I think he was tired of waiting for the dinosaur to appear, because suddenly it was time to start stacking the unneeded tiles and running into them with the school bus.

Away in a Manger

You know what I like about the neighboring town? They have a HUGE wooden nativity scene in the park. Yup, can you believe it?

We went to see the ST Griswold's Christmas Mixer Truck at the grocery store tonight. The boys were impressed and behaved so well, I actually was afraid I might have taken someone else's children by accident. ;) The mixer on this truck actually turns and I've even seen it driving down the road with all the lights on. I {heart} this truck!

Enjoying Daddy's Vacation

Well, I think the boys are really enjoying their time with The Daddy. They may have taken "Hop on Pop" a bit too literally though.














Then Mal got it into his head that they needed to all hide in a box. Not a very big box either. Yes, Xavier is in the box as well. You can just make out his little feet between daddy's knees.

















Last night, Xavier decided to climb right into bed with Mal for stories. He must have enjoyed it, because he was right back in there tonight! :)

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful.

At about 20 degrees, this is not the coldest weather we've had this fall, but it is the coldest and snowiest the boys have been out in. I may have over bundled, but at least they were warm. Xav got dragged around in the sled, while Zeke drove his truck over snowbanks and down the steps. Both boys helped daddy shovel. Hmmm... looking at the date on the pics, I'd say the AM/PM setting is wrong. They were taken on the morning of the 12th.

The sled wasn't Xav's favorite thing. He couldn't hold on and took a spill. Daddy was right there to scoop him up though, so it's all good.

I heard there was some trouble posting comments to the blog entries, so I fixed that too if anyone wants to say how adorable the boys are or how incredibly crafty their mother is or even how smart their dad was for marrying her.

The End of Another Busy Day

Well, riding the dog, throwing cars and Mr. Potato Head, and baking (and eating!) cookies does make one incredibly tired.

MOPS Gifts and Projects

I made these clear glass ornaments with the two MOPS groups I'm involved in. In St. Albans I run Creative Activities with my friend Jodie M. There we used the small ornaments I picked up at Joanne's. I used last year's DCWV Christmas Stack, assorted silver ribbons and this silver garland with these tiny little stars shooting off it. In E. Berkshire, I coordinate the (very small) group myself. We used the larger ornaments (from Creative Habitat - thanks Jenny!), same assortment of ribbon and stack, but instead of the garland, we put some iridescent icicles in them.

I also made this Cookie Cutter Fudge that my good friend Linda pointed out to me. I found cookie cutters 6 for $1 - trees, snowmen and stars. They are smaller than the ones on the website, but this recipe made a dozen and still had enough to get some thin fudge in a 5x5 pan. They are in the SU medium cellophane bags, and tied with their Pink Pirouette ribbon. I used the retired navy organdy to tie the tags on.

What Train Table?

You can barely see it in the background of this picture, but the boys do have a train table. I can't remember why I bought it though.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We had a very busy day yesterday. The boys painted some lovely pictures for me. This is what Xavier looked like after that. I think his favorite colors were blue and green.













Then we had haircuts. When I say "we" I mean, I tortured them by removing hair from their heads with a sharp implement.

The Day After

It happened pretty much like I expected. St Nickolas filled stockings for the boys and they had so much fun with all the 3-D bug stickers, "flashlights" and cars he left them. The first words Zeke said this morning? "I want my new stocking now." Yup, apparently he thinks this is going to be an every day occurrence.

M and I rearranged some furniture last night (and boy, that dog is confused!) and I took the opportunity to clear out the toy box. A few toys went in the trash and some baby toys got packed away (kind of sad - but they are growing up). Now everything fits neatly in the drawer under the train table. The first thing this morning, Zeke dumped all the matchbox cars. So tell me, why do I bother?

The ball is rolling.

We went into town today to pick up the packet from Zeke's pediatrician. There are forms for us and for the playschool teacher. The doctor has already gotten in touch with the appropriate school personnel to start the testing we need to get done. He is advocating for us in a big way and I really appreciate how well our pediatricians understand our needs as a family.

Zeke and the little guy got to play in the classroom for a few minutes while I talked to the teacher and all the way home Zeke had the BIGGEST grin on his face! :D

So now we just have to wait for the meeting with the doctor and appropriate school people and get the testing done. The good news is, everyone involved in the evaluations are people he already knows and likes.

Technically, he's right.

Zeke has been running around for a couple days now saying, "You are a Toy-yee! You are not a real mommy! You are a child's pit neen (play thing)!" Do you think he is watching too much Toy Story?