So I asked Kyle...

... "What do you want to do while the girls are napping today?"  While we both had enough that needed done, it was the first of his days off in quite a while that there wasn't so much that we were overwhelmed.  (Read: We could play Wii Jeopardy or Epic Mickey for a little while before getting back to work!)

Apparently, that was a stupid question.  Instead, we thought we'd break my nose.

No, seriously.  Dumbest story ever, but Kyle and the girls were playing on the floor, I decided to join them, there was the tiniest bit of rough-housing, and at some point Kyle "tossed" Avery my direction (from a foot away, while we were all on the floor, mind you) and her head hit my nose "just right".  My husband and 2-year-old broke my nose.  How lame am I?

After cleaning copious amounts of blood off of our white carpet and tile (and clothes), keeping the girls from picking up things that mommy "spit on", putting them down for their nap and icing my face with frozen fruit smoothie, I was off to a squeezed-in appointment with ENT.

It's in fact broken, but could be much worse.  Some deviation but nothing that should cause any problems.  I go back on Tuesday to meet their plastics guy after the swelling goes down completely, but he's pretty sure I'll need minimal intervention at best.  And that it shouldn't look "too different".  *sigh*  Here's hoping that I agree when it's all said and done.  I'm not sure anyone cares about those "little things" as much as the person sporting the crooked nose.

He offered to fashion a splint but explained that they do absolutely nothing preventative, mostly they just say, "Hey, I have a broken nose, don't punch me in the face".

No thanks, I have a (much more fashionable) blog for that.

Christmas 2010

Christmas was just perfect this year.  Elise and Avery were very excited by all of it, we got to spend several hours with each side of our family, there was beautiful snow on the ground but no road issues to deal with... hold on.  About that, I seriously forget what grass looks like, having not seen it in about 2 weeks.  Now that Christmas is over, can we be done with snow?  *sigh*  And to think that it all goes uphill until at least March...

Anyway, Christmas Eve was spent in Ottawa.  The girls did very well on far too little sleep, and everyone had a great time.

Grandpa Mike even picked out a special gift for the girls, which they still can't get enough of!

Both girls crashed within 10 minutes on the road, snug in their new blankets :)

We were home, as is always important to us, in time to have dinner and a relaxing evening as a family on the eve before Christmas.  We enjoyed lasagna and garlic bread and our now-traditional Almond Pound Cake w/Strawberry Rhubarb Spread, read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and (eventually) went to bed.

Christmas morning we got up and read the Christmas story (this year in the form of an adorable book simply called, The Nativity), put the last ornament on our countdown calendar, and headed into the family room to see what we could find...

After we pried the girls away from the kitchen (for a little while, anyway), they enjoyed opening other gifts - though a modest amount, since the kitchen was pretty much The Thing this year.  Enjoy a few highlights...

Elise and Avery were so sweet.  Throughout both days, they'd be so enthralled (and so surprised...? :)) when they got something "just like Sissy!"

Later that morning, we headed over to the Lawless' for a delicious (as always) brunch - but not before fighting over pictures in front of the tree.  (Seriously, fighting.  From these princesses (poses (all on their own) courtesy of our WDW trip which has been over for weeks)  ...

The girls opened lots of toys for their playroom there, and got adorable little backpacks and wallets from Great Grandma Shirley & Grandpa Charlie.  As will apparently be the case much longer than I thought, they couldn't care less about the bills in their wallet.  I swear, give them a choice between a penny and a hundred-dollar bill and they'll take the penny every time! :)

At dinner time, Nana, Pappy, Cassi and Great Grandma Cora came over for our family Christmas with them.  We had a yummy dinner (roast, candied carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet rolls and chocolate pie), and opened still more gifts.  We are all quite loved, that's for sure!  When the girls went to bed, the grown-ups played a game of Pictionary Man (so fun!) before calling it a night.

And now, the Christmas decorations are gone, Kyle is back to work (after an unprecedented 4 days off! Merry Christmas indeed!), and we're back to "normal" - but with lots of fun new things to enjoy.

So now to start planning a vacation and a birthday party, right? :)



More pictures (of both days) in Picasa!

Merry Christmas!

My second favorite, "That's what Christmas is all about" video...



This has been my focus this year.  Elise and Avery know it's [the celebration of] Jesus' birthday, so why are we getting gifts?

"Christmas is the time when Jesus came near to us, so that he could show everyone how much he loves us"
"So that's why I give - I'm so happy about the gift God gave me".

Unlike the Santa story, God's gift is free.  Regardless of whether we're sleeping, awake, bad or good (for goodness sake).

Merry Christmas, to you and yours.

Christmas Eve Eve Service

This was the entry where I was going to put a family picture of us, like 2 years ago.  Or maybe a picture of the 4 Corners choir (which was awesome, in spite of their direction).  Or the pretty Christmas tree on stage at church.  It was to be about traditions, and church family, and other feel-good things to kick off the Christmas weekend festivities before we head to Ottawa at o'dark thirty tomorrow.  There wouldn't have been anything wrong with that, but I forgot to take pictures... and the night was really about so much more than that anyway.

There's a video that's been played (at least) the last 2 years to start the Christmas Eve Eve Service that grips my heart each time.  Here it is, if you have two minutes -



If not, the gist is this, as you might guess: amidst the busyness of the season - even the "good" busyness like church and family traditions - we ought to remember what it's about.  That Jesus left the splendor of heaven to be born as a babe in a feeding trough, to live a life of complete servanthood, so that God could be near to us and us to Him.  Near to US - undeserving, unimportant though we are.  That we, like Jesus when he prayed, could call the God of the Universe "Abba", or Dad(dy).  How amazing that he wanted - wants - that kind of intimate relationship with us.

Pretty cool.  And so cool to spend the evening reflecting on that gift and worrying less about how clean my bathrooms are for my family.  Turns out, I'm loved no matter what they look like.

Great Wolf Lodge

Just like last year, we carved out time this week to visit the Great Wolf Lodge lobby for Snowland and the "Grand Lobby Snow Show".  Like last year, we arrived a bit early to explore (and decide, again (still?), that we really need to come back for a night sometime soon!).  The girls loved the gorgeous, Christmas decorations --

the animals --

and the arcade.  They didn't even need "coins" to have a great time!

The show is quite cute, at least with regards to the second (Christmas) half.  The audio animatronics sang a Great Wolf version of "The 12 Days of Christmas", and then sang "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let it Snow" - at which point the lobby was filled with snow and giddy children.

It's an indoor Winter Wonderland! :)

And of course, once again, my girls really just wanted to play in the waterpark.  This year, they talked about it in full sentences, and going "when we grow up", and what kinds of swimsuits they'd wear, etc.  Last year it was just "Water! Water!" - but I think they meant the same thing.

OH!  And guess what?  I finally got the picture, with 2 kids looking (and zero crying).

We were going to stick around and check out the Cub Club per my manager-friend's suggestion, but Elise was in pretty bad shape and in need of another breathing treatment.  It's Christmas week, you know, we have to be sick! ;)  All in all, it was a fun morning for sure.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

More Christmas Displays

You might have read about our trips to Holiday in Lights and the Festival of Lights earlier this year.  We also made a very conscious effort to skip Holiday Lights on the Hill, and instead wanted to try "Light Up Middletown".  Wow, are we glad we did.  It was absolutely spectacular, and entrance is based on a donation only.  Since it was our first time and we weren't sure what to expect, we just donated a few dollars to the park - but I have to say, they'll have our money over Sharon Woods I think, for most years to come.  Sorry Hamilton County Parks, there's just something about being asked to make a donation that makes giving $10-$12 (or even more) a lot more pleasant.  Not to mention the fact that, while a bit smaller in scale (though not noticeably so), the displays there were by far the best we saw anywhere.  Crystal clear lights, huge displays, great themed areas, and just so much less crowded and hectic.

Of course, that means you aren't allowed telling anyone about it, either! ;)

No, but seriously.  We went on Sunday evening, and it was a very, very pleasant surprise just a few miles from us!  Sorry for the bad photo quality, nobody claims the flash-less iphone 3G takes good nighttime photos ;)

A few days earlier, we had also gone to Niederman farm for their "Walk through the Bible" display.  Also free, this is an event we try and do most years - especially now that it's so close to our house!  We didn't last long this year though, because it was downright COLD...

Really enjoying this holiday season with our sweet girls, and just the right balance of family outings and time at home.  Hope you and yours are finding quality time together, too!

More photos, of varying quality :), in the Picasa album.

Cookie Day 2010 By the Numbers

• 19 different recipes made
• 8 "non-cookie" varieties
• 11 cookie varieties, not counting double batches of some
• nearly 500 items, obviously not including (at all) the pretzels, popcorn, etc
• yes, 42 dozen things, without including half of the selection
• 8.5 hours (which might be record time, especially considering we had only 1 dough pre-made, and absolutely nothing else done that we usually try and accomplish in advance (truffles, insides of buckeyes, etc ready to be dipped)
• a handful (sure, that's a number!) of totally bizarre snafus, for this usually ridiculously organized bunch of bakers.  We're talking timers not set, ovens turned off (with nobody noticing, until cookies weren't getting finished), weird Papa John's situations, inaccurate government websites (re: post office hours), Caramel Popcorn bricks and managing the largest folding table in existence.
• 2 Great Grandparents watching our little "helpers", instead of Kyle taking them out.  This actually turned out quite well!
• 18 years of knowing the coolest sister anywhere.  Ok, so not cookie day related per se, but we did celebrate that evening.  Oh yeah, which brings me to 1 spiral ham, and a bunch of birthday dinner sides, which my mom cooked simultaneously.  In 1 oven.   (I really want a double oven in my next house, but I already knew that...)

And now some pictures, the rest in the December album.  Enjoy!

Playroom Update

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Christmas programming to bring you an update on the Playroom situation.

It's done, aside from a few pennant/banners I need to make (hopefully like ones I fell in love with in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, only much, much cheaper), and - in these photos (though since remedied) - the adorable striped pillow Elise and Avery share to read under the canopy.  I like it.

And all in at less than $150.  And look!  It even comes with.... "RECTANGLES AND SQUARES!" (excited capitalization on behalf of Avery).

(Thankfully, I think she'll forgive me when I trade in her shapes for The Kitchen.)

Edible Houses 2010

I've beat the Gingerbread House thing to death.  (Though, in a walk down memory lane reading that entry from 2008, I am reminded at how much easier things were, and how much more time we had on our hands, when the girls were babies.  Those houses were actually kind of adorable!)

Last year, the girls "helped" us decorate.  This year, the plan was for them to take the reins... but our dear friends Joy and Greg made things even more way more special.  At dinner the previous night, they surprised Elise and Avery with these massive Gingerbread Men!  They are absolutely adorable.

So Kyle and I "decorated" (man, seriously - especially after looking at our first ones.  We are in a rut!) the houses, with plenty of input from the girls, while they decorated (and ate candy off of) their Gingerbread people.

I love this tradition (and hope my kids continue to as well), even if we don't end up eating half of it.... especially since Cookie Day 2010 was the following day.  More on that later.  For now, cute Christmas people - both the gingerbread and the human varieties.

More pictures in the December album, including the girls taking monster bites of their creations!

Kaufman Christmas, part 1

After our visit with the Berenstain Bears, it was time to head north to Ottawa for the extended Kaufman family Christmas gathering.  The girls had a really great time at "Grandma Shelly's Christmas Party", but the highlights had to include the fishing game ...

... "picking" the fruit (seriously, all they ate for dinner.  Don't worry, I'm talking ridiculous amounts.  30-40 pieces each?  Probably not an exaggeration)...

... and learning a new (somewhat closer to "normal") way to jump rope.

What a fun day!

Meeting the Berenstain Bears

A few weekends ago,  the school system where I went to high school hosted the Berenstain Bears for a holiday event.  It was free, and was absolutely adorable.  The high school show choir (ohhh, Encore memories anyone?) performed with the bears, then the kids gathered around on the basketball court and watched the Christmas special, "The Berenstain Bears and the Christmas Tree".  Elise and Avery enjoyed the show well enough, but mostly thought they were so special sitting with all of the other kids.  They'd watch the big kids around them and mimic them (how they were sitting/lying, etc) - it was quite funny!

(And finally, a setting in which they still look small!  Remind me of this day when they (God-willing) start school there someday in the not-too-distant future...)

After the show, the kids lined up to meet each of the Bears.  The girls were not extremely enthusiastic to do so, but since we have read our share of the books they warmed up quickly after talking about them a bit while waiting.

To top it all off, there were free doughnuts, coffee, water, juice boxes, teddy grahams, and fruit snacks throughout the event, and an unbelievable goody bag on our way out the door.  Veggie Tales in 2009 (which we missed!), this event this year... we can't wait to see what's in store for next Christmas! :)

(A few more pics in Picasa... and I promise, more entries to come!)

EnterTRAINment Junction

So there's this place called EnterTRAINment Junction nearby.  We know friends that love it, but we've never made it over.  Our girls only love trains so much (aside from train tables, which are always a hit), so we weren't sure there would be enough to justify the cost of admission.  When I read about their free holiday exhibit, I thought it would be the perfect time to head over and check it out.  I have to say, it's one of the places we'll be getting a membership to for 2011, and we're excited.  It's really cool, and I'm sure there will be more on it to come...

For now though, we mostly just saw the Christmas train displays.  They were phenomenal, and this room is just a small portion:

There were themed sets like the adorable amusement park, and the "Wonderland Express" set that was like a giant, giant scavenger hunt.  Elise and Avery had a great time looking around, and would get excited when some of their favorite trains would go by.

They also had cute little photo spots, and - in the gift shop - a Thomas table to play with for a little while when mommy went to check out what the rest of the place would entail.

We had a great time, and didn't even see the area designed just for little ones to run and play.  Can't wait to go back, and (eventually) we'll share more when we do!