A Late Happy Birthday to Jesus

3 Very Important Christmas Shopping Lessons I Have Learned and Hope To Remember Next Year

I am revealing some of my crazy shopping habits here..don't judge. I admit I am somewhat addicted to "getting a good deal.":)

#1.  Do not buy things off of Amazon until the last possible date to buy to get in time for Christmas.  Lincoln has mentioned several times that he wants the Trios castle for Christmas, so much that I know he would be crushed if he didn't get it.  I even tried talking him out of it because I couldn't find it on sale, but he will look at the other choices and say, "I want that, but... I want the Trios castle the most."  Since Black Friday I have been pretty consistent about checking sales ads, ebay, and amazon for the lowest price.  Finally cracked down and bought it Thursday off of Amazon, and wouldn't you know, two days later it goes on sale at Toys R Us $20 cheaper!  I was not sure the seller I bought from from Amazon would allow returns, and by the time I found out that they would, the castle was sold out.  I can still buy it online, but then I can't use the %20 off coupon because you have to use it in the store, so the price would be about the same after shipping.  Took me awhile to get over stewing about this one.

#2.  Do not return things planning to purchase them again because you receive a $10off coupon afterwards. I did this and when I went back to buy them they were no longer on sale so would end up paying more.

#3. Make sure to pay attention to the time when you are looking online for 8 more dollars to spend to total $50 and get the$15 Kohls cash.  I spent so much time looking for something else to buy that I lost track of time and didn't buy anything until after midnight.  They were only doing the $15 cash on Cyber Monday, not Tuesday so I did not get the cash.  Took me a couple days to get over this one!!!

It seems like every year I decide things like this are just not worth it but I find myself doing them again next year. I am not sure saving 10, 20 dollars is worth it.  Maybe if I read this next year I won't do some of these same things again?  Doubt it... I am too much of a bargain shopper!

Hope this gives you a laugh and eases any Christmas prep "stress" you may be feeling.  Don't sweat the small stuff, and be thankful for the real reason for the season.  Thank you God for sending us your Son so that we may spend eternity with you.

More Thanksgiving pics and Lyla Singing

I am glad these two have each other b/c they were def. outnumbered that day.  With all the cousins I think there were 9 boys and 3 girls. There is only so long a girl can play tackle and guns and whatever else boys do for fun all the time.

Jumping is Lyla's favorite thing to do at Gm Pam's and Papa Ed's.  

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Lyla with some friends in her Sunday School class.  I think I took 6 pictures and never got one with them all looking at the camera.  I coudn't get Lyla to crack a smile, and when we told them to give each other hugs this is about the closest they got! 

Lyla had this serious expression pretty much the entire time.  She must have been really focusing on those songs!

Lincoln threw up that morning so he didn't get to sing.  I was a little disappointed because I was going to take a picture of them all dressed up.  He has apparently already figured out that dress clothes are uncomfortabe and it is a battle whenever I want him to wear a shirt/tie and dress shoes...which so far has been only a couple times a year, mostly Christmas and Easter!  Maybe that is my problem, I need to do it more often I think!  I think he even complained about the black pants when I had him try them on.  Do they really feel that different then khacki's?  Anyway...I am planning on recording them both singing their songs one day after church while they are dressed up again so I can  hopfully get more then 1 wear out of the Christmas clothes!  I was thinking about doing it today (Sunday a week after these pics were taken), but Lyla threw up last night so now she was home sick today.  Maybe next Sunday!  Hoping we can get this all over with before Christmas this year. Will post the video!

Thanksgiving

Blake and Lincoln.  Shooting "bad guys" is one of Lincoln's favorite things to do .  It could even come close to his beloved Mario Wii game that he plays with Gm Pam.

As far as I know this is the first time Lyla has touched the cats.  She used to cry every time one would walk past her!

Matt's cousins came one day and Gm Pam had her hands full to say the least!

Family picture!

Clown NIght and Halloween

Clown Night at AWANA.  Lincoln has been going to AWANA at his friend Emily's church.  It has been good for motivating me to work on memorizing scripture with him.

Trick-or-Treat time!  Lincoln was a knight and Lyla was a princess.  Earlier in the week I had convinced her to be Elmo because Matt's mom had given us an Elmo costume and I didn't think anyone would wear it next year.  When she tried it on that night we found there was an eye that had broken off, so without knowing she was in the room, I said to Matt; "maybe she should just be a princess (that is what she wanted to be before I convinced her to be Elmo)... she looks kind of like a one-eyed monster."  She heard me say it and responded with a hurt sounding "no I don't!"  Of courses it wasn't long before she decided to be a princess again...way to go mom.   Good thing she really likes princesses and was not at all upset with the situation!

Brock, Blake, Brooklyn, and Bo.  We had alot of fun trick-or-treating with them, and all the kids got really good at asking for candy.  I think Bo and Lyla may have been the best at it!

ND Trip

We went to Fargo to visit my Grandma Jean.  We had alot of fun and of course ate like royalty!  Mmm....love those homemade buns!  The first night we got there Grandma took us out to eat at Texas Roadhouse for Matt's birthday.  Afterwards we had chocolate cake!

Aunt Cathie, Uncle Ernie, Tom (cousin) Grandma.  Cathie spoiled us with another delicious meal at her house.  Lincoln was in awe of all the toys she had saved from when her boys were little. (Thanks Tom for helping with the K'nex)!
  Here he is holding a bag of superheroes that he gets to take back to Grandma's and play with while we were there.

Grandma took us to Chuckie Cheese's and of course it was a big hit!  This was a simulator that made it it seem like you were on a roaller coaster or flying.  Lincoln would cover his ears when he didn't want to watch...must have helped somehow!

 Needless to say, the kids will no longer be content "playing" the demo.  Lincoln and Matt look pretty intent here...not sure Lyla is so into it judging from the picking the nose pose!

Lyla was quite the singer at Grandma's.  She often won't sing for me if she sees I have the camera, so after about the 20th round of one line of the mocking bird song, I decided to try and sneak a recording in.  If you are reading this in an e-mail, I think you have to go to the blog website to see any videos.

Pumpkin Patch and Tanganika

We went to Tanganika Wildlife Park one Saturday.  It is like a zoo, but you can touch some of the animals.  

Kangaroo

Can't remember what this was, but I could tell Lyla liked it because it was little!  Hope she doesn't feel the same about mice...

Apparently this is safe, but I am pretty sure it's not a good idea for them to think they can touch a snake!   The lady holding the snake told them to assume all snakes are poisonous, and I reminded them several times that day!

We sort of raced through the pumpkin patch because the sky kept getting darker and darker!  We luckily got a tractor ride in at the end, but ended up being pretty wet by the time we left! 

Love jumping on this trampoline!

A Princess and a Dragon

The newest thing is to play "sleepover" although there is little resting involved.  It basically means dragging my decorative pillows and living room blankets downstairs to the basement, along with an assortment of Lylas dolls that she keeps on her bed.  They set up their "beds" on the floor, and then usually end up dressed up in their princess (sometimes pirate princess) and dragon costumes.  I think Matt had come home while they were playing and starting playing tackle with them here.  Both Lincoln and Lyla will throw their arms up in the air with clenched fists and yell "I'm the toughest!" as he does.  Sure do love this Daddy!
*If you are reading these posts in an e-mail you need to click on the "A Princess and a Dragon" title to take you to the blog to see the video.

I'm Two

Getting back to our car at the downtown library.  Lyla likes to pout when I ask her to smile for the camera. 

To give you an idea of how fast Lyla can change moods.  These were taken withing minutes of each other.

A great day!

Carrots!

I LOVE Kansas falls.  It was a super nice day, so nice that it motivated me to mow the back yard. Yes, I know that sounds weird but I actually enjoy mowing once in awhile if it's nice outside.  The kids also helped me dig up the carrots, although they did not believe me that they were actual carrots until I dug one up.  I also took Lyla shopping a couple times within the last week, and that has been a ton of fun since she seems to appreciate it almost as much as me. I say almost because I know riding the elevator and escalator are at least half the reason she shows such enthusiasm in the mall. She does seem to appreciate looking at "pretty" things though, and if I would say, "oh, that's cute," she would say "that IS tute!"  She is drawn to the jewelry especially, and once in awhile if she spots something she likes in particular will say, "maybe we should get that."  Tonight I took her to JCPenney, and after I picked out a few things for her to try on she said "let's go to the
dirl (girl) room."  (She was remembering our trip to Target a few days before where we tried some clothes on in the dressing room...not sure why she enjoyed this so much but she kept telling me she wanted to go back after we left!)   Turns out the JCPenney one ended up being in an even bigger hit as it was an all PINK dressing room.  I had a hard time convincing her to leave.

My FAVORITE thing she says right now, which she said while looking at herself in the mirror with a new dress on...."I'm a tutie!" (cutie)

Lincoln's Birthday and 1st Soccer Game

 I wasn't sure how Lincon would do his first game since he hadn't even turned 4 yet (it is a 4yo team).  He had alot of fun though, and clapped whenever anyone scored a goal, even the other team.  To my surprise he even scored a goal, although when he did it he clapped with the same laid back Lincoln enthusiasm that he used for anyone else that scored a goal.  I was sort of wondering if he even knew he had scored when I saw him do it, but he told me later he had kicked it in the goal so guess he did! I asked him if he liked trying to score goals or be the goalie better and he said goalie.  Pretty sure this is because he gets a break from running!
Also after one of his practices, I asked if he liked games or practices better, and he said "games because I get snacks after."  Guess I should have figured, but apparently one of his teamates pointed at the other team on the first game and said, "this would be alot funner if they weren't here."   She obviously likes practices better!

Loves having Daddy for a coach!

Yep, he is a clapper.  This time after blowing his candles out.  

Family soccer game!

Matt explaining "Pin the Tail on the Horse."  The scarf was to cover their eyes if you are wondering...

Caleb spent the night after the party.  They had a short night but alot of fun!   After about an hour after putting them to bed I told them they had to go to sleep. They then kept coming and tattling, saying the other person was doing things that kept them from falling asleep!

Quotes

Lincoln:  I was working on Lincoln's horse birthday cake and he stood up on the stool to see better and said, "let me see if it looks good."  After looking at it for a few seconds he said, hmm...not too good."
No worries, he liked it after I added an eye and fruit roll up reign.  Phew!

Lyla:  Matt and Lincoln were going outside to play soccer one night. Someone evidently mentioned me coming and playing, to which Lyla replied,  "Mommy can't play soccer.  She's not old enough."

This may only be funny to Matt and I because of the tone we heard her use, but we let her and Lincoln have pop on his birthday.  She was pretty excited about it after drinking it, and ran over to us and said, "you guys gave me pop!"  She said it like we had done something we weren't supposed to do.

Me:  "Quit sitting there and playing with your thing!"  Ok this needs some background I know. LOL
While I was putting the kids to bed, after telling Lincoln SEVERAL times to get his pj's on, he came and sat down on Lyla's bed without any clothes on and well, you know the rest.

Omaha and NYC!

 Matt and I got to go New York City for a few days. It was my first time, and though I wouldn't want to live there, would def. go back and visit again. Thanks so much Pam and Ed for watching the kids!!! Pam, Lincoln moped around the first day after we were back and asked me several times when he got to back to your house!  Took him awhile to snap out of it!

We stayed in Omaha a couple days before we left, and went to see Great Grandpa and Grandma Schroeder. They have a beautiful garden!

Ed and Zeb got a new "toy" that the adults tried out...yes, even me.  This was my first time shooting any kind of gun!

Omaha Zoo.  I told Grandma Pam she should not do this...hoping she was not too sore that week!
I loved the penguins-did not enjoy the bats!

At Ben, Jake, and Wyatt's birthday party (Matt's cousin's kids).
Lyla was really giggling with Papa Ed here:

Lyla was afraid of all the cats when we came, but I think by the end of the week she had warmed up to them. She would say like she was trying to convince herself, "that kitty won't hurt me."

On to NYC!!!
We took a tour of downtown and saw alot of the major sites. Then at night time saw downtown again and Brooklyn.  It was really cool driving across the Manhattan Bridge and seeing the Brooklyn bridge and the whole city all lit up!  We also toured Uptown and Harlem, and one day stood in line to get Broadway tickets at discount prices.  Definitely if you ever go to New York you should do this as we only ended up standing in line a little over an hour and got tickets to Phantom of the Opera for 50% off.  LOVED the show!

tour bus

shuttle that took us from our hotel to the subway station

subway station closest to our hotel where we got on to go to the Times Square stop- took us about 20 minutes

Times Square

Tons of people and huge billboards everywhere.  There are not any street lights, but  at nighttime it is  super bright because of all the advertisements.

New Years Eve ball

We took the escalators to the top floor of Macy's.  Number NINE!

waiting for tickets

It rained a little that day but we missed most of it since we went back to  the hotel for naps after getting up early for the Today show.

Beautiful Central Park. It was amazing how calming it was walking through there!  

Today Show.  Talked to Ann and both Matt and I were on TV that morning! 

On the ferry going to the Statue of Liberty.  This is the view looking back while we were on the ferry.

Ellis Island

YUMMY restaurant where you got your food and ate outside in the park.  They had custard which is my favorite!

More Central Park

 We ended up switching our flight from Sat. morning to Friday evening because of the hurricane.  It ended up our flight was one of the last ones out Sat. so we would have made it, but I am kind of glad we got out of there early.  It was crazy taking the subway to the airport Friday afternoon since everyone was trying to get out of the city.  They were jam packed with people and I have never stood in such close quarters with that many people! Matt said he was glad he got to experience it, and though there was definitely something exciting about it all, I am not so sure!