cheers!

wishing you all a fabulous end to 2011.

cheers to 2012.

{image here via pinterest.  i added my own text}

bonded

i have been going through a lot of old photos.  photos from this past year.  there is a common theme amongst these pictures.  many are exactly the same as the photo above.  benjamin & emilia together.  together laughing, playing, sitting, just being.  just being brother & sister.

i can sit and say that 2011 was the year that solidified their relationship.  sure, emilia has always adored ben while ben has always included emilia.  but this year something was different.  something clicked.  this year they learned to enjoy & accept one another.  they learned to help & protect each other.

they created a bond.

i am an only child so for me watching their relationship take shape has been nothing short of amazing. there is a bond between siblings.  what i hope is an unbreakable bond.

as their mother, i make it one of my personal goals to make sure their bond is never severed.  at times, i realize that there will be divide between them but i hope it is nothing that will cause them to dislike one another & stop speaking {even as someone without siblings, i know of too many who have horrible as well as non-existent relationships with their siblings}.

i look forward to the day that they are grown with their own spouses and even children.  i look forward to sitting back & watching their relationships expand & intertwine.  i come from a family where my cousins & i are a somewhere between 12 & 18 months apart.  growing up it was awesome.  for the sibling-less me, there was always someone to play with & have a common ground with.  however, as we have grown the relationships we shared as children have changed.  the cousins who are siblings still have great, although at times difficult, relationships {but i realize that is all apart of being a sibling}.

going into 2012, i look forward to seeing ben & emilia’s relationship grow & even change.  i look forward to seeing where things go & how they intertwine and what their differences are & become.

this is a deep rooted duo who are going to rock 2012 with all they’ve got.

stay tuned…

he drives me bonkers & i love him

oh this boy…

…i need to work on my patience with him.  i need to be more reasonable with him.  i need for him to be reasonable.  i need for there to be less arguments.  i need to remember he is 5.  but i need him to remember he is 5.

but i love him…

a gaming christmas

ben loves to do anything that keeps his wheels turning.  if given the choice, he would prefer to work on a project or play a game over imaginative play (i.e. play cars or with a toy kitchen).  the later option just doesn’t stimulate him as much as a game or craft.

when it came time to give lists to family members for ben, the obvious choice was games, games and more games.  board games, card games, even puzzles.

between christmas eve & christmas day he got some great new games.  we have been playing them non-stop.

our favorites, in no particular order:

spot it.  it’s a matching game.  it can be as slow or as fast paced as needed (depending on who is playing).  there are 5 different games that can be played.  we have only tried two of the 5 versions.  even emilia can get into this game since it’s simply matching.

blokus.  a logic/strategy game.  this one might be my favorite.  the simple way to explain the game: the player must fit all of their pieces (color) on the board; however, no two of their pieces can lie adjacent to one another but must be touching at least one corner of another of their pieces.  the first one to correctly place all their pieces wins.

rat a tat cat.  the gist of this game is that each player is dealt 4 cards, face down. although when playing with the kiddos, two may be  face up.  the idea is to get rid of the high cards & try to get low cards.  it’s all about memory, logic, and using mathematic skills.  i played for the first time this morning with ben & dan and it reminded me very much of little game we played in college called golf.

with winter a long winter still ahead of us, i have a feeling we will be playing a lot of these games during the evenings & weekends!

give one (or all) of them a try!  you won’t be sorry!

christmas 2011

i can’t believe christmas is over.  it came & went so quickly.  i feel like it always does.  i always want just one more day.  one more day with dan & the kids.  just our little cozy family of 4.

we had a great christmas.  ben & emilia can’t say anything bad about the holiday.  they had a great weekend filled with little sleep, family, good food, presents & lots of love.

i love seeing the excitement through ben & emilia’s eyes.  every moment is just more magical.  the only magical thing missing this christmas was snow but that didn’t stop any of the fun.

our festivities started on christmas eve.  dan’s family is italian every year, on christmas eve, there is the whole 7 fishes dinner followed by dessert, coffee & the opening of presents.  benjamin & emilia couldn’t wait to open their gifts.  emilia found one addressed to her & walked around all evening with it until it was time to open.  ben (& emilia) wanted to help everyone quickly open their gifts to get back to theirs!  again, it was so fun, for me, to just watch them.

christmas morning ben was up before everyone.  i heard him rustling around in bed.  i went to lay with him & we talked about what he thought santa may have brought him.  after a few, restless, minutes it was time to wake up emilia.  as soon as we said santa she was up & ready!

between some sleds (for when the snow decides to arrive), a wii & games, board games, loads and loads of princess stuff, and coffee mugs with their initial, benjamin & emilia had a fabulous christmas.

the kids spent the morning in their jammies playing with all the new things followed by a much needed afternoon nap for emilia (who asked to go to bed!) and then a great dinner with more family.

as the night drew to a close, emilia {again!} asked to go to bed and then dan, ben & i cuddled up on the couch and watched some tv.  it didn’t take long for ben or i to fall asleep.  he & i slept quite soundly for 3+ hours while dan relaxed & watched tv.  it was really the perfect way to end the day.

smile friday // christmas procrastination & cheer

christmas eve eve.  i am so not ready for christmas eve & christmas day.  it is so unlike me.  normally, i have presents wrapped & just have a few odds & ends to take care that need to be done.  this year?  i need to still pick up a few gifts (thankfully they’re only gift cards but i am still going to have to wait in line(s), wrap presents & clean the house in preparation for christmas day here.

i am not bah-hum-bug about the day although i do wish we had some snow.  it just doesn’t feel like christmas without snow.  i need the snow.

i’ve loved these last few weeks.  i have loved seeing benjamin & emilia’s excitement grow.  i have enjoyed getting christmas card (all picture cards!) in the mail each day.  as an aside: i wish people sent picture cards in a much higher frequency, not just during the holidays.  technically, i guess that is what facebook, twitter & blogs are for but i love getting real {snail} mail everyday!

ben & emilia are just about jumping out of their skin with excitement.  i can’t blame them.  we’ve made our lists, got a letter in the mail from santa, had our elf on the shelf (his name is buddy), went with friends to see the zoo lights, rode & watched the polar express with ben’s school, attended ben’s classroom holiday party completely with games, crafts & snacks, baked cookies, decorated the house & worked on some pinterest inspired crafts.

today, amid all that i need to get done i have a few fun activities planned for the kids.  we are going to have holiday hoopla.  we’re going to make some homemade hot chocolate, bake a few more cookies (special ones for santa), and possibly go visit some more zoo lights at local children’s zoo.  to add a little more icing on the cake, we have some friends stopping by later this evening for a little holiday visit.

deep down i am panicking {a little} as to when i will wrap the gifts.  but, in all honesty, i know it will get done and if it means i stay up until 2:00 am wrapping so be it.  a little extra cup of coffee in the morning will equal it all out.

seeing the excitement & joy written all over their faces it what will make it all worth it.

i hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!  i hope someone, somewhere has a white christmas {because we certainly are not}.

smile!  it’s friday!!

merry christmas!

trapped

imaginations run wild when you’re 5.  lately, ben’s imagination has been running wild.  he is into creating & doing every chance he gets.

currently, he is into making booby-traps.  he will use anything and everything he can get his hands on!

last week he used scraps of  streamers.  the trap was set up through a common doorway in our house so if you wanted to get through you had to find either a different route & figure out how to get over or under his trap.

this week he found some colored wasabi tape i had lying around.  while i made dinner, benjamin made a sticky trap.  it ran from our pantry to the counter.  he worked very hard and it paid off.  emilia tried rounding around the kitchen and was at a complete loss when she couldn’t get around.  she sat on her ride-on mickey airplane while ben explained how to get through.  she quickly gave up & turned back around & exited another way.

today is ben’s last day of school, i imagine that by the end of his two-week break, every single doorway in my house will be booby-trapped & we will need to strategically plan our way around the house.

anxiously awaiting

every monday, my mom comes over to visit the kids & for dinner.  she’s been doing it since ben was first born.  even though we see her more than once a week, ben & emilia look forward to these monday visits.

last night, ben & emilia took turns taking watching out of the window looking for grandma’s car.  while emilia was busy manning her post out one of the front windows, ben was busy manning one of the back windows that overlooks out driveway.

my mom saw the kids waiting as she drove up & loved it.  who wouldn’t?!  such a warm & loving welcome.

festive candy trees

these little candy trees are great.  i love them.  so simple, so cheery & festive.

ben & emilia are getting excited for christmas.  one more week!

ben has school two days this week.  two fun days lie ahead of him.  monday, all of the kindergarten classes get to ride on the polar express and then spend the remainder of the morning sipping hot chocolate & watching the movie…all while wearing their jammies!  tuesday is his holiday party.  the mom’s & i have been busy planning & it is sure to be a great afternoon of crafts, games & snacks!

i have to spend this week finalizing our christmas day menu (a few small details left), wrapping gifts (i haven’t even begun!), and purchasing a few more gifts for some family members as well as ben’s teacher.

it is sure to be a hectic but fun week.  i have no doubt that wednesday, thursday & friday are going to be filled with anticipation for all the festivities of the weekend that i am hoping to squeeze in a craft or two for ben & emilia.  these little candy trees look like they may be a cheap & fun way to start off ben’s christmas break on wednesday!

picture via my holiday pinterest board

a birthday!

today we are celebrating dan.  it’s his birthday.

we woke up to some beautiful snow (our first measurable snow of the season!).  we’ve spent the morning listening to music, admiring the snow, and enjoying a late morning breakfast.  all moments that i need, love & cherish.

the rest of our day will be spent celebrating dan mixed with a few errands & then a celebration dinner with more family.

it’s really the simple things, like this, that make for the most perfect day/weekends.

happy, happy birthday my love!