Day 1 {The Fun Has Come to an End}

Since it's the end of the 25 Days of Nash (Are you crying like Nash?), I thought I end with 3 pictures instead of 1. Really, the truth is I can't resist this face. Can you blame me? :)

I'm really surprised this kid even has cheeks left. I could eat them right off his face, even without guacamole. :)

Check out the drool. He drools and chews on his fingers like a champ, but still only has 2 bottom teeth. It's funny how that works.

Well, as you know this isn't the last of Nash. I bet you weren't really that worried. I'm probably going to take a brief blogging break... or maybe not. Who knows! I never know when the mood's going to strike or when I'll take photos too cute that I can't help but post.

We've already taken down our Christmas decorations (including the tree) for the sake of our sanity. Keeping Nash away from the Christmas tree and the vents in the floor is a full time job. I'm also pretty burned out from all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and Brooke and Luke's crazy, difficult behavior. I'll tell you more about that situation when I have the energy. I'm hoping to spend some time with Mark and even head out to dinner with some friends this week. So I guess I'll be back when I get back. :) See ya then!

December 25th {Merry Christmas... A Few Days Late!}

It was a bummer that Mark got called into work on Christmas Day. I suppose people still need to get from Point A to Point B, even on Christmas. Luke, Stella and I started our day off baking some grain free goodies for breakfast. I was so excited to use my new cookbook stand for the first time. It works like a charm. :)

Because we already opened our presents the day before and my family wasn't coming over until later in the afternoon, we spent the rest of our morning outside enjoying some sunshine. It wasn't really too cold with the sun shining down upon us. Love that sun! Brooke took this lovely picture of Nashy Boy and me on the swing.

After taking a walk and swinging, the kids wanted to play in the woods. I didn't care as long as they put their mud boots on and that's just what they did. Nash got parked in the Exersaucer in the yard so I could keep an eye on all my people at once.

We've gotten some mileage out of your hat, Stephanie H.!

I had to get this one down in the record book for sure. Those little cuts on Nash's knuckles are from him chewing on his hands all. day. long. He must have a really high pain tolerance because I would think that would hurt just a little. He does have chew toys, he just prefers to chew on his hands instead. Silly boy!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the blue sky. We may not see that around these parts until Mid-March, so it only seemed right to snap a photo.

This is a crack up. Brooke, Luke, and Stella were playing Hide 'n Seek in the Woods with no leaves or anything to hide behind, go figure. You might conclude from the above picture that Sister Sue must be the "counter" but no, she's hiding. Right in the middle of plain sight. Of course she thinks she's hidden because she's covering her eyes. It was hilarious!

She's hiding again. :)

Getting a "normal" picture of Luke is so tricky. He's the least comfortable in front of the camera so he usually starts acting goofy. I caught him acting normal. Do you love the boots?

Looks can be so deceiving. T.R.O.U.B.L.E. disguised as pure sweetness. Stella gets the handed down boots. :)

My parents came over around 2 PM and everyone else rolled in around 3. I decided it would be fun to do a "White Elephant" gift exchange and it was not only fun, it was a hoot and a holler. :)

I wrote numbers on little slips of paper and everyone randomly chose a number. What number you pick determines the order in which you get to select a gift.

Stella had number 1 so she got to go first. She chose the gift my sister brought which held a stuffed Santa, a glass Nick knack, and a framed picture of my nieces in a really ugly, old frame. Stella was thrilled. :)

Unfortunately for James, he got one of the gifts his mom wrapped up which held the old brass kitchen cabinet knobs from her new condo. Bummer.

Also a bummer for my mother was when she picked a gift with this crusty, dusty old Harley Davidson hat. Funny thing is, my nephew ended up taking it home with him willingly and happily.

Because Janice is in the middle of unpacking, she offered to bring over some gag gifts for us so I didn't have to hunt through the house for crap. As a result, Luke was thrilled when he opened one of her gifts that held this angel snow globe.

The best part about this game is that you can steal from other people or take your chance on something that hasn't been opened yet. I highly recommend it for your next gathering.

My dad took a chance and ended up opening napkin rings. I was laughing so hard by the end that my head hurt. A majority of us ended up with stuff we actually wanted. Most of it came from Janice's moving boxes. :) My nephew made off with the Harley hat and a coffee grinder. I got to keep the whole box of Mentos gum my nephew brought and I shared it with the kids. I was so smart to steal the gum from the kids so I could be in control. Insert evil laugh... I think this will become a new family tradition.

This is a picture of the gift I gave my dad. It's a fleece photo blanket from Snapfish.com. They should have advertised it as a sheet, but after I had my mom sew some black fleece to the back, it was good to go. The picture quality was pretty impressive. Maybe it's just my new camera. :)

Brooke got a robe from my parents and she's been wearing it a lot. I think it may be worn out by the time 2012 gets here.

My niece, Carly and Stella.

The kids (big and small) headed outside before dinner. From the left, Carly, Jamie, and Stephanie. The sunset was gorgeous and so sunny! Sun, please come back soon!

Brooke riding her new big girl bike.

We had to divide and conquer. Some of us ate in the dining room and some ate in the kitchen. We changed our Advent candles to white because we're not longer waiting to celebrate Jesus' birth. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Thank you Lord for sending us a Savior. It's funny how God would send the King of Kings to begin life as a baby just like the rest of us. He's so clever like that. :)

Nash was such a good little napper. He slept for 4 hours Christmas afternoon! That made my day without Mark a ton easier. That and the fact that my parents brought most of the food. I was only in charge of the bacon wrapped sweet potato bites. Yummy! And to think I never even liked sweet potatoes is mind boggling. :)

It was a wonderful day and I'm sad Mark had to miss out. Today however, I don't think he was feeling too left out while he was standing in the sand of Fort Lauderdale beach. What a bum! Lord willing, the weather in NY will hold out, and he'll be home sometime tonight. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas too!

Day 2

If there's wrapping paper, Nash will be on it in a second. I hope he didn't actually get as much in his stomach as went into his mouth. :)

December 24th

Today turned out nothing like I thought it would. It wasn't bad by any stretch, we just changed it up "mid-game" when Mark found out that he has to be at the airport tomorrow morning at 6 AM.

Luke was singing before the 3 PM children's Mass at our church. This being our first Christmas at this church we were warned that we needed to get there really early to even park in the parking lot or to get a seat. We were seated by 2 PM to avoid those problems and even got to sit in our regular seats. We're creatures of habit. :)

Mark's mom came over this afternoon to babysit Nash and Stella. We figured that it would be too painful for all of us if the little ones had to sit for an hour and then another hour on top of that. They were happy, we were happy.

The most amazing thing happened while we were at Church. Santa dropped our presents off early because he knew that Mark had to got to work tomorrow. Isn't Santa clever like that? :) Yes, when we walked in the door, all the Christmas presents were under the tree. The kids were overjoyed at the unexpected surprise. Grandma was upstairs with Stella and Nash and when she came downstairs, presents were everywhere. Can you believe she didn't hear a thing!!?? This is as good as it gets.

Brooke got a bike for Christmas which she desperately needed. She was way too big for her 16 inch bike and now has moved on to a 20 inch. It has a hand break. What more can I say? :)

It was a little chaotic. Mark decided that next year everyone is going to sit in a designated spot and the presents will be delivered in an orderly manner. I was calmer this year. Last year when I was on bed rest the chaos made me crazy. I couldn't take pictures as quickly as they were moving. This year I just rolled with it.

I think we finally convinced Brooke that parting her hair down the middle isn't as cute as parting it on the side. She looked really pretty today with a sparkly red shirt over the cardigan her great Aunt Nan bought for her.

Nash was in heaven. He drug himself around the living room playing with the already opened, already discarded toys and wrappers. If our floor looks clean in the morning, it will be because Nash mopped all the dirt up with his shirt.

My favorite part of opening presents has to be the ones that Brooke and Luke pick out at the Dollar Tree. Mark received some silly string. That was tops on his list. :)

I received a handmade gift from Brooke. I bet you can't guess what it is! :) She very thoughtfully made me a desk top organizer and explained that it didn't turn out exactly as she had planned. That's a drawer in the middle. She's so good to me. :)

Mark also took the kids to Home Goods a couple of days ago and let the kids pick out an apron and a cookbook holder for me. I asked for both which just goes to show you how lame I am. :)

Now Janice and James were also included in these special gifts. They both were given these special hats from Brooke. Janice wore hers for dinner and it was very fancy.

We had an awesome day today. The sun was shinning and the kids played outside all morning while I ran to Kohl's and Target to make some returns and pick up a few odds and ends.

We had dinner with Mark's parents and Uncle Poodle and Grandma Kathy did most of the hard work. The kids enjoyed eating on new divided plates I bought from the dollar bins at Target.

Our splurge tonight was some ice cream for desert, but we managed to keep everything grain free which was a success. The kids ate the heck out of the beef tenderloin Mark's mom cooked. Yes, Brooke is always sure to tell me that my beef is chewy compared to Grandma's. I can't compete with beef tenderloin for sure. :)

Mark will be out of the house before sunrise, but I hope to be sleeping in since we don't have to go anywhere tomorrow. My family will be coming over in the afternoon and we'll have another dinner I don't have to cook. Merry Christmas to me!

I hope you enjoy making memories with your own family and that Santa is good to you too. :)

Day 3

I had to post two pictures today so you could see the bigger picture. Pun intended :)

Nash by his own might crawled under the Exersaucer and was chewing on the Christmas tree. If Mark doesn't get called into work after Christmas, our tree will be the first to go. Next year we will just electrify it. He'll be bigger then so the shock probably won't kill him. :)

December 23rd

Our day started with grain free waffles and bacon and keeping Nash from lifting up the vent covers. Stella's guarding her post in the kitchen trying to be helpful.

After some school work and errands for Stella, Mark and James, the kids watched a Christmas Dora. I don't care for Dora, but they seemed to think it was great.

Luke was very excited because James helped with the assembly of the Lego truck Luke got for his birthday. The fact that it is yellow is a nice bonus. :)

Nash was crawling around the first floor and by the time we remember he was on the loose, Mark discovered him in the office with this ball point pen in his mouth. I think we may need a bell on him. :)

This might not look like much, but I'm proud to announce that our first grain free pizza was a success! It's made of 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons coconut flour, 2 tablespoons flax meal, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Make a couple patties on parchment paper, press it into a thin circular shape and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (flipping halfway). Let them cool slightly, put the toppings on and put under the broiler for a few minutes. The kids ate them and even Mark said they were good. I think I'll put them into the rotation twice a month. What a nice surprise to know we can be grain free and still have our pizza too.

Tomorrow we have some cleaning to do since Mark's parents and Uncle Poodle are coming over. Mark's mom will stay with Stella and Nash while the rest of us go to church. Some dinner and presents and we'll call it a day. Christmas is coming!

Day 4

Santa should bring child safety locks for Nash for Christmas. Too bad the sleigh's already packed and locks aren't in it. Looks like I'll be making a run to the store after everyone buys gifts and returns them. That will be #1 on my to do list in the new year. :)

December 22nd

I can't believe it's December 22nd already. I had to do a double take when I looked at the calendar today. I have completely lost track of the days because one day has just melted into the next. It really helps that Mark has been home. Praise God for getting paid and not going in to work!

I blew off school again today in favor of crafts, Christmas movies, and wrapping presents. After craft time Mark took the older 3 to his mom's to borrow her collection of Christmas DVDs. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, but better late than never. While they were gone, I began wrapping presents and then Mark and I finished them during rest time.

I have no reason for converting my photos today into black and white other than I felt like it. I also feel like crap, but I'm sure this cold isn't fatal. It's only a "Mom Cold" and you mom's know you don't get a sick day for that. :) You should check it out "The Man Cold" on You Tube for a good laugh. Click here.

Sister Sue has been on fire this week. Today she unwrapped several presents that Brooke spent rest time wrapping. She secretly took them into the laundry room and unwrapped them. She's a little toot!

We've been eating dinner later since the kid's are grain free too. It's interesting, but we're just not as hungry as we used to be. Since we're slackers and don't eat breakfast until 8:30 or 9, then we're not hungry for lunch until 1 or 2. When we eat lunch that late, we can't eat dinner at the stroke of 5 like usual. It's not a problem per say, except Sister Sue needs to go to bed early. Stella has been going from the dinner table to bed almost immediately. Thankfully, Mark usually the man for the job. And trust me, it's not always pleasant. Our dinner time jokes usually turn to Stella's favorite..."Knock, knock" "Who's there?" Stella answers: "You go to bed!" No, Sister, you go to bed. :)

Silly boys, monkeys don't go on heads.

Brooke takes FOREVER to eat now. She used to eat at a normal pace until I think she choked a little on an omelet and now excessively chews her food. Add in her paranoia or OCD about being hungry and she's eating for over an hour. I'm not kidding. We have to tell her the kitchen's closed and send her away. She told me tonight that I'm always trying to starve her. Darn, she figured me out! :)

She's trying to give me the stink eye too bad she looks cute doing it. Cuteness takes away her street cred. Today was another good day, one devoid of major tantrums. Don't get me wrong, she was still a pain, she just didn't throw herself on the floor and cry like a 2 year old.

Because we got the presents wrapped this afternoon, after the kids were in bed, I watched the movie Larry Crowne. I really wasn't sure if I would like it other than Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks were in it and I like them both. It was really cute and I would say if you're in the mood for something light hearted, you should check it out. I imagine with Christmas quickly approaching you might not have much free time, but maybe on the 26h. :) See you back here tomorrow.

P.S. Enjoy daily posting while you can because I will NOT be doing this again. I mean that lovingly, but firmly. It takes too much time and I'm too lazy. :)