Gingerbread house making: Steve and Lindy's house edition

Aron's creation complete with chimney stack
Ella and her Aunt Annie eating their house Lady and the Tramp style

Luke and Uncle Kevin using teamwork to get it done.

Ella and Aunt Annie had some construction issues and their house fell over.

Luke was more interested in eating the colored sugar.

Luke and Uncle Kevin glueing some sides together with frosting.

Ella, Grandpa Steve, and Aunt Annie

Aron working independently (he doesn't play well with others)

Work around

Here I am at Lindy's house with my Christmas gifts from her. She unknowingly tried to derail me from my goal of using up all of my bath products (you may remember that goal from this post right here) by buying a Bath and Body Works gift card for me for Christmas. Good for me that I'm finally out of all products except lotions (I still have 3 or 4 more to go) so I was able to go and purchase a lot of shampoo and conditioner as well as some shower gel at their after Christmas sale. Score one for me!

Side note: The Bath and Body Works gift card for Christmas is an awesome gift due to the super sale they do from 12/26 until sometime in January.

Post side note: I'm wearing my other gifts from Steve and Lindy in the picture above, too (gloves, black scarf)

Merry Christmas to me (aka dodging 2 really big bullets)

1.) Remember a couple weeks ago or so when we had that really big snowstorm from Saturday night into Sunday morning? It was the night that I got home from attending the Bazaar Bizarre with some friends. I unloaded part of my purchases and got distracted. I ended up leaving the back of my CR-V open all night and it snowed in the back of my car. Worse than that, I left purchases in there along with my purse. MY PURSE complete with all my credit cards, license, money, etc. The amazing part is that no one stole any of the stuff in the back of the CR-V or my purse. One bullet dodged.

2.) I got a call from my Mastercard's fraud department on Wednesday. They wanted me to verify my last three purchases. This was tricky because Aron and I share the account and the purchases could have been his or mine plus we put it to use frequently in lieu of cash because it is convenient. They asked if I had gone to a fast food restaurant. I said yes because Luke and I went to Subway to celebrate the last day of school. They asked if I purchased items at DSW. I said yes because I had just bought 2 new pairs of boots. Then they asked if I bought something for $9000 from a car place. I said NO! The lady said that she thought it wasn't us because it was out of our normal purchase pattern. The charge was declined at the car place even though our credit limit would have accommodated it because it was so unusual. They cut off that credit card and are issuing us new ones. Two bullets dodged.

Merry Christmas to us!

I can see that!

Pre-Jinjyfest par-tay

Today we had my parents and Aron's parents over for a Christmas meal. We decided to break out some gingerbread fixins just like Auntie T has taught us and have a little gingerbread house making extravaganza. Enjoy (I know we did)!

Aron in the foreground, Grandpa Steve (Aron's Dad) in the background

Luke in the front on Grammie's (my Mom) knee, Ella in the pink robe with Poppy (my Dad) beside her.
Poppy's creation (aka the manger complete with sheep, wisemen, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus (nice, Dad)

Stevie on the left, Lindy on the right (Aron's parents)

I think you know this guy...

...and this girl

Santy Claus

Behold, the first year that both Ella and Luke would sit on Santa's lap without a lot of coaxing, crying, or pleading looks of Get Me Out of Here. A Christmas miracle, indeed.

What part of party don't you understand...it's so on right now***

***lyrics attributed to P!nk

She's too school for cool***

So I went to Ella's Christmas party this morning. I was sitting there talking to one of the boys that sit beside her. I asked him how he was doing and if he was ready to get this party started (it was getting to be time to start the party). He distractedly (is that a word?) answered and said "Yeah....................(pause)....................(pause).......................Ella's the smartest kid in class." I said "Oh yeah? She tries really hard to do a good job." He said "Uh huh...................(staring at Ella)......... and she's real pretty, too..............(staring)....................(staring)..................."

Back up, Pint-Sized Romeo. She's not on the market yet so BACK OFF cause her father will be displeased that you're checking out her mental and physical attributes. Besides, her dowry will be small so you may want to hold out for another chick....maybe there's a girl whose Mommy drives a Lexus or something.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Just to prooooove I'm not a complete Scrooge (ehem, thanks Connie), here is a cute video from the kid's program at church this morning. Ella is on the far right in the grey sparkly dress with black leggings and Luke is more toward the middle 2 over from the tall kid in the red shirt.

Check it out around the 1:28 and 1:55 marks. Yup that's my kid going ape with the bells. So proud(ish). Yes, proud-ish. That's the emotion I'm feeling right now.

Nice to know where I rank...

Who am I fooling...I was replaced with this little kitty years ago...

Recently, Ella and I took a little road trip to Cleveland to go to Bazaar Bizarre with Auntie T and our new buddies, Arlene and Vincent. On the way home, I asked Ella what the best part of the day was. She told me "Hanging out with Auntie T, buying a this little elephant, buying a headband (from some other vendor), and hanging out with Mom. That puts you in 4th place."

.

Makes you a little warm and fuzzy to be in 4th, doesn't it?...course, there's no trophy for fourth place...just a hand shake and a "fair thee well."

Full disclosure

*****Vote in the upper right hand corner********

Ok, so the real reason why I did that quiz the other night is because the kids don't have a whole lot on their Christmas list. Everyone keeps asking what the big ticket items are for the kids this year and quite frankly, there just isn't one. During the quiz the other night, I asked them what they were just DYING to get for Christmas. Ella said she wants some Zhu Zhu pet stuff and Luke wants a remote controlled Bigfoot. I've already got both of those items taken care of with other people so that left us with nothing to buy for the kids.

Ella's been asking a lot about Santa and if he's real or not. Long time blog readers know how I feel about the subject of The Great Santa Hoax every year. I remain pretty evasive about the subject and I think she's on to me. She asked me again the other night. I usually turn it back on her and say "What do you think?" She said "I think it could just be parents that buy the presents and give them like they're Santa." I said "Oh yeah?" She said "Or it could be that he's real. Is he real?" I said "What do you believe?" She said "Not sure. You ever notice that you don't answer?" I said "Yes." in a way that did not encourage follow up questions. She said "Huh." I said "If I were you, I'd sit back and collect the presents and not ask a lot of questions." She said "Ok."

I can't help it. Call me a Scrooge, call me a stick in the mud, or whatever but I just don't care for the commercialism of Christmas. I don't enjoy the jockeying for position of who is getting what gift and am I spending as much on them as they are on us and did I accidentally buy a gift that they already have. I don't enjoy lying to the kids and telling them to believe in Santa.

Disclaimer: That's not to say that I don't enjoy the idea behind Santa and what I lack in enthusiasm for the tradition, Aron certainly makes up for. He has the kids leave out cookies/milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Personally, I just think he wants an excuse to eat the cookies.

P.S. I was cleaning out a closet and organizing it (yes, Robin. You read that correctly...organizing it) and found a gift card to Bath and Body Works that I bought in 2007 and never gave away. If I remember correctly, I was going to have Luke give it to Ella for Christmas but lost it before it could be given. Score one for me! Looks like Santa came just for yours truly!

Pop quiz

Poor, unsuspecting Ella doesn't realize what's coming her way...

Aron was late the other night (meeting again) so I made up a little quiz for the kiddos to take during dinner. It was kind of fun but most of the answers were things I probably could have already guessed.

Wanna play along? Here we go:

1.) Favorite Food--E: chicken nuggets L: fries

2.) Favorite song: E: Anything Christmas L: So What by Pink

3.) Fave TV show-- E: Scooby L: Scooby

4.) Fave animal-- E: elephant and kittens (specifically, KITTENS. Not cats. KITTENS) L: lions

5.) Fave cookie-- E: Frosted sugar cookie L: All of the above (technically his response was "yum!" but I'm counting it as a lover of the cookies)

6.) Fave day-- E: Saturday (cause I can lay in bed with Mom and Dad and watch cartoons

L: Tuesday (obviously)

7.) Fave dinner-- E: McDonald's ("cause you don't like it, MOM!") L: McDonalds

8.) Fave color-- E: "Purple, yellow, red, pink. No wait. Red, yellow, purple, pink. No wait. Red then purple then pink then yellow. Yeah. In that order" L: blue, orange, green

9.) Fave breakfast-- E: McDonald's hashbrowns (Me: "Hey, wait a minute. You've never had those!" E: "Yes I did. Remember when we went on vacation, we stopped at McDonald's. I had a parfait but Daddy had a hash brown and he gave me a bite. I remember it." Me: "Well, ok then.").

10.) Fave pet-- E: Kittens! (E: "Remember when you gave my kitten away of the litter of kittens that Kiki had a long time ago?" Me: "Uh, I guess so." E: "I really miss her." Me: "Oh ok. There goes the Mother of the Year trophy right out the window."

11.) Fave dessert-- E: Chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream L: "Hey do you have any of that I could eat?j I could use dessert."

That kid...what do I say?

"Hey! Hey Ma! I'll show you my teeth!"
"I don't wanna see yours, buddy"

"Whoops, I just whacked myself in the nose with my thumb."

"Don't poke your eye out, kid. Mommy can't afford it with Christmas coming and all."

"How 'bout I show you my nose holes? Your blog wants to see that, right?"

"Um, I love you despite your nose and what's in it."

"I'm gonna show you and you're gonna like it, Ma!"

"I think I'll make dinner now...."

Cookie Exchange

I'm doing a cookie exchange with a co-worker and her friend. I decided to get a little crazy and make sugar cookie with royal icing. (Click on the picture to enlarge). It was really fun. Let me know if any of you want to get together to try it, too. (I'm a nerd so I'm fully expecting no one to take me up on this with the exception of Jeanne who likes to eat/would like to eat the cookies being produced).

Tooth Fairy--FINALLY!

Ella was almost the last kid in her class to lose her first tooth (there's one other kid that hasn't lost one yet.) It happened over Thanksgiving right before she was set to spend the night at Lindy's (Aron's Mom) house. We slipped a dollar to Lindy and she got to play the role of tooth fairy that night.

I kept forgetting to take a picture of her with her gaping hole until tonight. She was a bit resistent....

"Hey E. Lemme see your big, nasty tooth hole so I can get a picture."
"No."
"Why you gotta be like that? Lemme see!"
"No. Are you gonna blog this?"

"Of course, I am. Who do you think you're talking to?"

"No. No. No. No. Don't wanna"

"Come ooooooon! Do you want to eat dinner tonight or what? I'm not making it until you show me your missing tooth." Insert crossed arms here.

"It's taco night..."

"Fine!"

Extra pix from the fall photo shoot at Inniswood

I got nothin to talk about...

...so I'll give you another vintage Ella and Luke. Not sure if she wanted to smother him or just shut him up for a while. You make the call, I guess.

Vintage Sunday

Luke loved to punch his little fist in the air and talk smack to the lion mobile...

Birthday Girl Day Out

It was Ella's birthday on the 19th. We don't do birthday parties for the kids except for ones with family so I told Ella she could invite a friend to do a girly day instead the Weds before Thanksgiving since there was no school. She decided to invite Reagan to come along with us. First stop was the movies where we saw Tangled in 3D. The theater wasn't very full and the girls decided they wanted to sit a few seats away from me. I tried not to cry so loud they couldn't hear the movie. Next stop was playing in the play area of the mall. After that was Sweet and Sassy where they were allowed to pick out one item each and lunch at California Pizza Kitchen where they both dined on the classic, mac and cheese.

Mystery Inc

Here's the Mystery Machine birthday cake I made the kids a couple weeks ago. They thought it was pretty cool but they really wanted me to make little figurines of the gang.

Not gonna happen, kids.

Gobble Gobble and what not

I was able to attend Ella's Thanksgiving Feast at school. What do you feed a bunch of first graders to emphasize the Pilgrims and Native Americans?
Cranberry sauce, corn pancakes, carrots, celery, beans, summer sausage and deer jerky (yup, actual deer jerky) along with milk. For dessert, there was pumpkin pudding (4 boxes of vanilla pudding, 6 cups of milk, a small tub of Cool Whip, and 2 cans of pumpkin all stirred together) with vanilla wafers. They made their own butter, too, by shaking heavy cream and salt together in a mason jar (you might want to think about this for your kid-time library club, Mom).

Here's Ella and her friend, Reagan. What a couple of cuties!

What was Ella thankful for? Her Mom.

Take that, Aron!

Der-beeeeeeeee!

The other night some friends and I decided to go and watch an Ohio Roller Girls roller derby bout. See below for the highlights...I'll let you know which features of the derby I enjoyed with a simple "love it" or "didn't love it" Yup...this was it... the location...941 Burrell Ave in Grandview Heights...we weren't sure what we were getting into with an entrance like this one. Felt like I needed some sort of secret knock or something. I wanted to knock but my friends wouldn't let me. Loved it--it added to the charm of the event.
Cathy was definitely a good sport. She braved 70 to travel to the 'bus. Look at her carrying her lawn chair (it was a BYOLawn Chair event, you know. Not kidding. Loved it--made it feel more intimate).
See my awesome Roller Girl stamp? Jealous? Yeah, you are. SUPER LOVED IT. I haven't had a hand stamp this spectacular in years.
This was the ceiling. It was only caving in a little bit...or a lot...Did not love that
See the guy to the left of Krystal? He was awesomely drunk and kept yelling obscenities that I can't write on this blog cause I like to keep it G rated for the kiddies. (yup, loved it. He added some atmosphere and a general feeling of queasiness to my tummy) Yup, we were this close to the action...Loved it

Everyone had their own awesome nicknames. You can see some of them on the backs of their t-shirts. Again, I won't repeat some of their names but I super duper loved it. I sat there the whole night trying to think up an awesome name for myself.

The chick on the far left acting like she didn't know us was Amy, then Krystal (looking super cute, btw), Jeanne, and Cathy. You might know Jeanne from this blog right here and Cathy from this soon to be well known Dayton based candle company that I may have promoted on this blog once or twice.

Here's the whole motley crew starting with me and rotating clockwise: Me, Krystal, Amy, Cathy, and Jeanne.

After the match, we scurried on back to the 'burbs to have some dinner purchased with multiple coupons. We like to live on the wild side.

Is there anything that I really didn't like, you ask? The funky smell. It was some sort of strange combo of popcorn, stale socks, and old urine. How do I know about old urine? You just don't want to know.

Fun night with great friends: LOVED IT!