Sunday, December 20, 2009

Five days to go...


I know this is cliche, but I really can't believe it's almost Christmas! We're so excited and have been so busy getting ready for the big holiday. We went to the Nutcracker yesterday (something Bri and I try to squeeze in every year if we can) but this year it was extra special because we got to take Chase! His favorite part was the mouse king, and the soldiers, and the Chinese dancers, and the Russian dancers and... :) I'm so glad he loved it because we always do.
Today was great for many reasons. We got a bench in Sacrament meeting - yay! And Clara just about fainted when she saw that her Christmas dress cam with a mini version for her dolly! She carried it everywhere all day. The Christmas program at church was just beautiful; I can't say enough about it! I really love this time of year, but having an amazing Sacrament meeting celebration is just the best. We also made our traditional Rice Crispy Wreaths this morning and took them to some of the kids' friends. It's always fun to do things with my kids that I did when I was a kid!

This week Bri only has to work two days (spoiled!) so we'll be hanging out with our little family doing our own Christmasy things until Friday afternoon. That's when we'll join the rest of the Eberts for Christmas dinner up at Bri's parents house. In the meantime I will be wrapping, delivering, and getting those last little gifts that always slip through the cracks somehow, and hopefully I will find time to get this house cleaned up too! We'll see...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Thanksgiving



Thanksgiving was delightful. Most of the DeFrancis clan came up for the holiday and Kim and Brad were kind enough to host (amazing since she's having a baby in a month)! Me and the kids made our traditional turkey treats which I've been doing since I was a girl - fun! We played games, had a baby shower for Kimmy, talked and watched football and ate and had a great time. My favorite part was Kim painted little pumpkins for each of us and put them at our place settings. She also had written a little note to each of us on our placemats about why she was thankful for us. It was really sweet. After leaving Kim's house on Saturday all the cousins (and their parents) went to the Discovery Gateway museum. It was a blast! I am grateful for so many things, but family is definitely up at the top. During such incertain times it's great to have a support system that you can always count on. Happy Thaksgiving!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Sleeping Booty Tinker Bell Princess

Clara is crazy into all things girly right now. She LOVES getting into my make-up, wearing at least sixteen 'outfits' a day, clomping around in my high heels, wearing pretties (jewelry), brushing her hair, painting her toes and 'ingers' and smearing gobs of lotion all over the place. I am pretty much used to her appearance, but I always get a kick out of peoples faces when they come to the door and see her wearing three frilly skirts at the same time and running from room to room singing and dancing like she's in a fairytale. She often grabs Chase by the hands and says 'Dance with me Chase!" followed by twirls and spins and leaps. Chase sometimes goes along with it (when I remind him that she plays star wars with him on a daily basis) but usually laughs at her and says dancing is for girls. Nothing makes him laugh like hearing her say "I'm a sleeping booty pwincess!" I have to admit it does sound pretty funny when she walks up to me with mascara smeared across her forehead and says "Look Mom, I'm booty!" The downside to all this is my makeup is getting absolutely destroyed (I end up wearing a little less every day) and so are much of the textiles in our house; from clothing to throw pillows - they all seem to be smeared with some sort of greasy lip smacker substance. I hope this is a phase, or I have one seriously vain daughter!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Great kids!


My friend Jill hates blogs because she says parents just gush over their darling kids all the time. So I'm just going to prove her right!
My two sweeties decided to bring me breakfast in bed last week all by themselves (Brian had already gone to work). I was spoiled with orange juice in a sippy cup (so it wouldn't spill Chase said) and Rice Krispies cereal and three large graham crackers. What an unexpected surprise! And just to keep things real for Jill, I'll add that the cereal and milk were knocked over and soaked my bed, and the kitchen was an absolute disaster when I went downstairs to assess the damage from their culiary preparations. It didn't even come close to putting a damper on how happy I was about their little surprise though. Thanks kids!
Posted by Picasa

Chats with Chase

Chase: "Mom, do you know where my school skating party is next week?"
Mom: "No."
Chase: "Oh great, I knew it."
Mom: "What?"
Chase: "Parents are supposed to be smarter than kids, but you're not!"