Happy New Year!

Hi! I'm back.

If you are reading this, it means that you happened to log in to my old blog during that one hour when I posted telling you I was changing back to my old blog address (this one).

I decided that while I liked the cool professional feel of having a REAL website, I really wasn't up-to-speed on all of the technical emails I was getting on a weekly basis telling me to upgrade my genesis platform and phP or else my blog would self destruct.

I don't even remember if those were the exact terms, I just know that it all became completely over my head very quickly. My skill set includes having babies, doing spreadsheets, and chalkboard art - but NOT website design.

So here I am - back to my comfort zone - using a free website with a super easy user interface.

It's been so long since I  have written about this crazy life that I don't even know where to start. There have been two baseball seasons (Davis) and two football seasons (Hayden) and two Destination Imagination teams formed (Hayden and Davis) since we last talked.

There was a period when I contemplated giving up the blog - because I put so much of our daily life on Instagram these days, but every time I come close to making that decision, someone will remind me of a story that I have posted on my blog (usually Mica) that I have absolutely no recollection of until I go back and read the story.

I really do feel like I would be selling Blake and Nathan short if I didn't write about their daily life - especially since Blake's crazy personality could easily create the best reality tv show in modern history!

So, here's what we've been up to, in no particular order.

I read a book that Stormy suggested on her website (here), and she did such a good job writing her review that I chose it as my one and only book to read in 2013. And I was glad I did. I highly recommend it.



In December, it iced and school was cancelled for two days! We scrounged up enough clothes to brave the winter weather and take the kids sledding. Brrr. In doing so, we found out that Blake is a scaredy cat, Nathan is fearless, and Hayden and Davis are some of the best big brothers EVER!


Nathan won for giving the best Christmas present ever. One afternoon in early December he walked into the bathroom, pulled his pants down and said "Iannagopah'ee" which is toddler-ese for "Mom, I want to go Potty - and Merry Christmas - and Happy New Year - and does this mean I'm your favorite kid now!" Since then, he has been wearing underwear (except for naps and night time).

I know people potty train their kids every day but I took this as a major victory because Blake makes me look like a complete potty training failure since he continues to struggle with it (and just turned 3). I had not even planned on starting to potty training Nathan until he turned 2 in February. But if I am being honest with myself, I even already had an excuse to postpone starting until the summer.

(Because it's too cold in February).

(That excuse made sense at the time). 

Needless to say, this was a very pleasant surprise and I think I owe our visiting Elf on the Shelf (Melph) for his success.

Which explains why Santa brought Nathan his very own roller coaster this year....something Santa might have at one point said was too big to fit on his sleigh (and our living room) - but he had a last minute change of heart and made room for it.

Mica saved the day when two days before Christmas, Davis announced that all he wanted from Santa was a rainbow loom, a can of whipped cream, one thousand dollars, and some handcuffs.

None of which had been purchased.

(Well, the whipped cream had been purchased but that was for Momma's peppermint hot chocolates after the kids go to bed).

Mica had bought the kids rainbow looms but they weren't scheduled to get them until a kid exchange some point after Christmas. Obviously, Santa knew this so he ignored that line on the wish list.

But then came Christmas Eve and that's all Davis was talking about.

Rainbow Looms.
And what color bracelet should he make first?
And should he make his friends one too?

So we stopped by Mica's house and made a special request for a Christmas present advance. The present was still from Mica (not Santa) but it helped explain why Santa had ignored that particular request.

And from then on, we spent most of the Christmas break in our jammies making rainbow looms.



We did make a couple of exceptions and put on real clothes for some holiday parties like the ornament party and the pearls and ties party.

Then we invited all of the cousins over and had our annual New Years Eve Bash and played my new all-time-favorite party board game, Quelf. (I highly recommend it - but only play with people you are very comfortable with and maybe a glass of wine - or two). Just to give you an idea - the game included a leap frog game between Nicci and Jeff and a Irish dance performed to The Wheels on the Bus by my mom and I.

The night was fantastic and the Aggie win in the Chick-Fil-A bowl only made it better. I have to admit I had declared it a loss before half time and tried to convince everyone to change the channel to the NYE special, so Johnny Manziel must have been out to prove me wrong.

Then, Uncle Matt once again wowed us with his magician skills. Even though he didn't make anyone disappear or saw anyone in half, he impressed the kids with a trick that involved lighting a signed napkin on fire and having it reappear in between two window panes.

So that's us it in a nutshell.

Stay tuned for more!