Happy New Year!

Dear Blog,

Happy New Year! I have to say that while the beginning of 2010 went really slow the end of it (June-December) went super fast. I can't believe Christmas and New Year's is over already. We had a fantastic Christmas, Wesley was so much fun this year and it was great having two little ones. While family still bought them way too much stuff, they actually did better this year and all got them savings bonds also. It was just the four of us (and a whole lot of skyping) but it was great. Seeing Wesley's reaction to getting an AT-AT was priceless, I think this is the first Christmas he will actually remember years down the road. We tried to keep is simple but I think that next year we are going to try to make it even more simple (all simple, no complicated! HA! Do you like the tie-in to the title of the blog?). We are going to work on fewer gifts from everyone (even Santa) and I think Santa will leave a lot of the gifts unwrapped. So, I guess we made a "Christmas Resolution" this year, for a simpler, less commercial Christmas next year. A year focusing on the real meaning of Christmas, the gift from God of his son, our salvation. I am also working on a "12 Days of Christmas" type thing to learn about the story of Jesus' birth, much like the Resurrection Eggs we do at Easter. Details to come....

New Year's Eve was low key but fun, we had friends over, appetizers, snacks, Scrabble and Phase 10, champagne and sparkling cider and sparklers and fireworks at midnight. I can't believe we all stayed up that late!

2011 will bring lots of changes for us. We are moving probably at least twice, first up to Virginia and then we don't know after that. We plan on enjoying our time up there and hopefully we can find someone to rent our house VERY soon. We are simplifying as we go too. Since we are only taking some stuff with us it is really making up go through everything and decide what we really need/want to keep and what can go. We are hoping for a fresh start this year, new friends, new homes, new things to do. We will be very sad to say goodbye to all our friends here. Savannah has become quite a home to us, a place where our two boys were born, where Wesley has gone to school, where we have a church we love, a place close to the beach and stores we like and Disney World. We have been through two deployments here, had our first company command, my first time as an FRG leader, being part of a spouses club a PWOC.  We bought our first house here and learned a whole lot in the process. We saw snow in Georgia (global cooling! I knew it!).  I doubt we will ever move back here but I do hope to visit again one day, this second home to us, a place we have come to love and have created lots of good memories in. It will be so sad to say goodbye to our first home, our first house.

But, new adventures are on the horizon and we can't wait to see where 2011 will bring us. New home, new friends, maybe another baby?  Oh, and I am not going to resolve to blog more this year, because let's face it, as soon as I do that I blog for like  3 days and then not again for the rest of the year. I will resolve to make better choices for my family, to live my life to the fullest for the next year. To take advantage of the choices and new experiences we have in front of us. I will stick with my library book resolution (only getting books from the library and only buying if I really love it and will read it over and over again).

I hope you have a wonderful new year. Till next time,

Sundee

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Wesley and the AT-AT

Henry on his first Christmas.

Christmas 2010

Family Wall Noir Christmas 5x7 folded card

Create beautiful photo Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Dear Blog,

As we get closer and closer to Christmas more decorations go up, Wesley gets more and more excited and I try to find more ways for our family to make fun holiday memories together. My husband had very different Christmases (at least how he remembers it) from how I did. It is sometimes a battle to kick to Grinch out of him but in the end he usually enjoys the efforts I make and the torture I put him through to make our holidays merry.

I just finished writing out the Christmas cards (going in the mail today!) and I have almost all the gifts for the family and am going to ship those off too. It will be a huge relief to get those sent off. This week we did a couple projects for the holidays.

First, we made Whoopie Pies. For those who don't know, a whoopie pie is two chocolate cakes with a marshmallow cream filling. These can vary but the kind we make are chocolate with marshmallow fluff/icing filling. They are super good and go really fast around here (especially when you are sharing them with friends). It took me quite a while to get the recipe from my mother in law, in fact it took 4 years of marriage and a deployment to get them but it was worth it. My husband says they are better than his mom's when I make them but I think that is only because I double the icing recipe so there is LOTS of fluffy filling. Anyway, here it is for anyone who wants to make a super special treat this holiday season. Williams-Sonoma is selling them on their website-12 for $50. This recipe makes about 16 and will cost you only a fraction of that!

Whoopie Pies:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla (use a good vanilla like Burbon vanilla, not an extract or imitation vanilla!)
Beat until mixed.


Then add:
2 cups of flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp of cocoa
1 cup of whole milk (I have used 2% and it has turned out fine)
Mix all ingredients together and drop by measured tbsp onto parchment lined cookie sheet. 
*I like to use my Pampered Chef large scoop, it's perfect!*
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-9 minutes.


While baking make the filling:
1.5 cups of shortening
12 tablespoons of Marshmallow Fluff
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1.5 cups of confectionary sugar


When cakes are cool slather on the filling and make into little sandwiches. Enjoy! 


Other holiday projects for us have been making paper chains to decorate the windows. It is fun and colorful and a great way to spend some family time together. Just cut up construction paper into strips that are 1 inch by 8 inches (you can make them bigger or smaller, but I like that size and it's easy based on the size of the construction paper- 12 x 8). Then make them into a circle and tape or glue or staple them together. Link as you go!

Window treatments, paper chains.

Our "winter" wreath, hanging inside on the back door.

Henry, Santa's little helper, spreading the Christmas cheer!

My "Pottery Barn" table decorations. Love it!

Our Christmas tree. A little eclectic, a lot of fun!

Christmas, Christmas time again....

Dear Blog,


My husband is annoying me asking if I am writing on my blog again so here I am. I was watching the Harry Potter marathon but then the Ravens game (Go Raisins!) came on so no more Harry Potter for me. So sad. So, here I am (after googling about Baltimore City-"The City that reads!" and Edgar Allan Poe - flashbacks from 7th grade English class). 


I was reading on another blog (or somewhere) that a good idea for some topics this month is stuff that we do for Christmas. We have lots of Christmas traditions and I know we will come up with more now that we have two little boys running round. I can't wait for Christmas this year, it will be so much for us with the two boys. We already have our tree and have it decorated. Our tree is eclectic and crazy looking and there is a lot of ornaments in one spot because Wesley keeps bunching them all together and Henry and the cats have totally messed up the red beads but I love it. It is not a Martha Stewart Christmas tree but it is ours and is perfect in its own way. I love how all our ornaments are different and each one holds a lot of memories for us.  We have plans to make paper chains, drive around looking at Christmas lights while sipping hot chocolate, and leaving our outdoor Christmas lights in the trees until next year so the renter's won't have to do it. Keep posted for lots of fun holiday up dates! One thing Wesley and I did was put together a photo shoot of his Star Wars Legos (specifically Clone Troopers) have a Christmas extravaganza. Extra points to me for being creative and having fun doing something Wesley and I love. 

The Post Office

Today my husband asked me if I had a blog. I told him, yes, actually I do but I never post on there anymore because I never have time with two kids and all the craziness that goes on in my life. Then I said "I shoudl blog more because I have a lot to say!" to which he replied" "Yeah. Yeah you do." So, here I am. My goal will be to blog a little something everyday. We will see how it goes. Anyway, here is today's blog.
Oh, and he suggested that I start it "Dear Blog" so that is what I will be doing from now on. Cheers.

Dear Blog,

Today I had to go to the post office. Back in September I had bought Wesley a Lego Advent calendar at the Lego store. In November my mother in law decided to buy the SAME EXACT ONE for the boys for Christmas (which is really just Wesley since Henry is only 5 months old and could care less about a Lego advent calender). Sure, it might have been a coincidence if I HAD NOT SHOWN HER THE ONE I BOUGHT WHEN I WAS UP THERE IN SEPTEMBER. But I digress, that is another post in and of itself. So, I had to mail back the one I bought to my mom who kindly took it back to the Lego store and returned it and bought Wesley Plo Koon's Starfighter set and a magnet set of mini figures and then mailed them back to me. Great. Everything is working out well. She goes to mail it to us and she gets the one evil lady who is always in a bad mood even when it's not the holiday season and everyone and their uncle is mailing gifts and cards and gosh only knows what else through the mail. My mom asks for delivery confirmation and the postal worker puts it certified which not only costs over double what it cost me to mail up to her but I have to sign for it. Well, I don't mind waiting for a package that I know is coming if I have to sign for it but my mother neglected to tell me that I would need to be there to sign for the package. So, we come home from a day of running errands and I see a note on the front door that my mailman tried to deliver the package but couldn't because we were not there to sign for it and I would be able to pick up the package after 9 AM on the next day. Ok fine.

So, today I pick up Wesley from school, bribe him to come with him instead of staying after to play with his friends and hightail it to the post office to make it there before they close so we can get the package. On the way there Wesley informs me that he has to pee. Fantastic. I can't remember if there is a bathroom at the post office or not so I ask him if he can hold it until we get there. He says yes. We get to the post office, go in and look around and there is no bathroom. But the line is short so I ask if he can hold it a bit longer, all we have to do is get the package then I will get him to the bathroom (bad mom, I know!). He says yes. Well. I don't know if you have ever had to wait in line at the post office with a 4 year old who needs to pee but it goes something like this:
(W): Mommy. What are those packages for? Are we mailing anything to Grandma? Do we need to get those boxes? What is that guy doing? Is there I potty I have to pee! Who is that guy talking to? Why is he saying that? When is it our turn? Can go past that door? Why not? Why is it locked? What are we doing? We are getting a package from Grandm? Does it have Legos in it? I want Grandma to send me some Legos. What is this for? It is for a pen? Can I use the pen? Why can't I write on the table? I want to write on the table! Can you get me some paper to write on? I have to pee, can I pee now? What are we doing here? Grandma sent us a package?What did she send us? Did she send me Legos? Mommy. Mommy. mommy. Mommy.
All while dancing around touching everything in reach.

We finally make it to the dest and I hand over the package pick up slip and the lady goes back to look for it (now I am holding Wesley as he asks the same 10 questions over and over again). She comes back and tells me she can't find the package that someone else is looking for it and could I please move over a bit (to an unused desk) and wait. Sure. Fine. FIFTEEN  minutes later (and a large fraction of my patience gone) the lady from the back comes out and says she can't find the package. Then she asks "Do you know what the package looks like?" Now, seriously, what a dumb question. Most people don't know what the package looks like that is getting send to them. I *think* that my mom sent it in the same package I sent to her so I describe that box to her ("about this size, has colorings and stickers all over it...") . She looks like she might know where is it, goes back to look for it but comes out empty handed. She tells me to write down my name and phone number and she will call me if they find it. Then she says my mailman might still have it and might be trying to deliver it to me again which is crap and not true because my mailman would have put that he was redelivering the package to me, not for me to pick it up from the post office if that was the case, plus he had already delivered the mail that day and had not dropped off any packages. Lame. So now I am waiting for a package that they may or may not have lost and I will probably have to go through the harassment of the post office once again. Too bad I can't send my husband.

Moral of the story: NEVER SEND ME ANYTHING CERTIFIED MAIL. I will never, ever be there to pick it up. Trust me. This is the third time it has happened.

I forgot the best part of the story! So, remember how Wesley had to pee? Well, I bribed him to be good by promising he could pee outside when we got done. So when we left I took him over to the woods (he was so excited), found him a place where he could go with some privacy, stood behind him and told him to go for it. So, he pulls out his parts, and let's go. Man, did that boy have to pee! He proceeded to "water" all the plants in the area then tried to see how far he could make his pee go. Ugh, boys. Then after he was done he points to the bushes in front of the post office and says "Mommy, next time I am going to pee there!" Oy. I hope it is not a federal offense to pee on the property of the post office. Because if so, I am in serious trouble. Or at least Wesley is. 


Oh, and they finally found the package. Then I had to find a way to get rid of Wesley while I opened it so he wouldn't see the Legos "Santa" is bringing him for Christmas. This Christmas Santa conspiracy stuff is exhausting!
Until tommorrow,
Sundee

Breast feeding 101

I nursed Wesley and I plan on nursing Henry too when he arrives. I had been waiting to have this conversation with Wesley, we had already discussed how the baby grows in mommy's belly, umbilical cords and how the baby can pee in there (hilarious evidently).  WE have talked about how mommy will go to the hospital to have the baby and how a doctor will help mommy get the baby out. Wesley has informed me I need to "push like I am pooping" when the time comes. So, as you can see I am fairly open with information when he asks questions but I am not about to start discussing all the dirty details unless he cares enough to ask. I knew it was only a matter of time before how the baby was fed came up.

At first, I just told him that Mommy would make special milk for the baby to drink the first few months until he was able to eat baby food and solids. He was fine with this up until last Friday when we had lunch out with some friends. My friend has a daughter who is on formula and Wesley watched as she mixed up a bottle for her. A few days later on Sunday the topic of feeding Henry came up and Wesley asked if I was going to pour in the powder into the bottle of water and shake it up. Now was the moment I had been waiting for, rehearsing what I was going to say in my head.

It went something like this:
Me: "Well, Mommy is going to feed our baby a little differently than that. Remember how we talked about how God made girls and boy different so that girls can carry a baby in their belly while boys don't? (nods from Wesley) god also made mommies so that they could make food for their babies to eat, we make a special milk for the baby to drink. The milk comes after the baby is born and Mommy will use her breasts-uh boobies-to feed the baby. so when Baby Henry is hungry, Mommy will take him and feed him. Sometimes I will put the milk in a bottle and you can feed him. I can show you some pictures of Mommy feeding you this way if you want."
At this point, Wesley is very quiet so I glance back to see if he is just processing all this or what. I look back (we were in the car) and see him with a HUGE grin on his face.
I ask tentatively "Wesley? Do you understand?"
He replies: "Mommy....you said 'boobies'!" And then processes to crack up for the next 5 minutes.

So, out of that whole conversation all he got was....."boobies". Sigh. Boys. They really never change or grow up when it comes to the boob.

Cat and Dog Diary

Because everyone needs a laugh and because you know this is true....

DOG DIARY

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with my people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!



CAT DIARY

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.

They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape.

In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Idiots!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormenters by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously an idiot.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.

For now...