Christmas DVR

Do you ever wish your day could be on a DVR? You had options to pause, fast forward, rewind, start over or delete? This is how I felt all day today. I awoke in a pretty nasty place and pretty much stayed there all day. I'm not sure when or why but I kept feeling like whatever started me off that way, the fire kept being fueled so in the end it really didn't matter.

Finley awoke around 6:00. I was able to get her back to sleep but then Andrew got up and Beckett crawled into bed with me. He lasted for all of 10 minutes and then tried to wake the baby. After he had no luck he went downstairs. I had made overnight french toast to throw in the oven. In years past we have eaten breakfast first. I was in no hurry to get downstairs. In my world right now...when the baby sleeps..I sleep, especially when another adult is present. I guess however, this wasn't the day. This may have been where it all goes wrong...maybe.

I lasted about 10 minutes and went downstairs. The pressure was on by said son to get moving on breakfast, but I had to pump so it was going to be slightly delayed. I got the oven preheated and popped in the overnight french toast. About 20 minutes later we ate breakfast and then the pressure was on to open gifts. HERE is where my day turned. I felt that our ENTIRE family should be present, whether or not, one would even know if they were there. Andrew felt otherwise, stating the ever obvious factoid,  "Don't you remember being their age on Christmas morning?". Um, yes, I do...but still wasn't comfortable leaving Finley out of the festivities so I went to wake her up.

Despite being woken, Finley did very well. The kids ripped through their gifts. All were enjoyed and couldn't wait to played with. Upon polling the kids, Tatum said her favorite gift was her Monster High dolls. Beckett loves his Batcave. Finley, I think enjoyed listening to all the wrapping paper and played with a little doll that I won for her on a blog:) Andrew and I did not buy for one another this year and I am perfectly OK with that. I love making sure that the kids are well taken care of.

Tatum did score quite a few Monster High dolls. She is pretty pleased that she now has so many. Lets hope these last longer than the infatuation with the Zhu Zhu pets last year.

Beckett was thrilled to receive all things Batman. He has been playing with them all day.

Finley just kinda took it all in. I did take lots of pictures of her though.

As the day progressed the day seemed to get better for me though. Finley has been suffering through some bad reflux. Enough for us to decide to call the doctor on Tuesday when they reopen. She isn't sleeping during the day at all and when she cries it is that painful, burpy cough. She refuses to be put down. She just isn't comfortable. She is SO tired though. You can tell as she will fall asleep but once you put her down, she lasts about 10 minutes and is up again. I was with her for the rest of the day. I got very little play time with the other kids (however, I am sure this will catch up to me later in the week):).  To put this in perspective, I didn't finish one whole cup of coffee, one glass of water or finish my lunch. I made dinner in between feedings and rocking back to sleep.

At least dinner turned out OK. I made ham, cheesy noodles, corn casserole and rolls. I got the OK from Tatum and Andrew so I will take it. Now that Finley is down, (for the night I think), I can kinda relax (at 945) , and get this blog post done.

Please don't get me wrong. I am THANKFUL. I am BLESSED. I am HAPPY. I just had an off day. Andrew says I put too much on my plate for this day. I just feel like I don't them to miss anything. It is so rare for us all to be together with so much time (4 days). I always want to make the most of it. Andrew says that I do this every year. I don't remember feeling so down in years past, so I will just chalk this up to a bad day and move on. I do however, wish I had a DVR remote so that I can "start over". I feel like I wouldn't miss so many smiles, the laughter or the kids playing with their toys.

I also don't want anyone to misunderstand-- we do celebrate the birth of Christ in our home. We strive to put Him first and have Him be the forefront of our celebrations. Our kids are very cognizant of the true meaning behind Christmas and why we give and get gifts. We have not lost sight in Him. In all truth, today was a day that I really reflected a lot of this in ALL of my downtime. I got a lot of prayer in today:)

From our home to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. Sincere tidings for a very blessed New Year!

Cinnamon Rolls

I am NOT a baker.

Tatum rolling the first batch.

The melted butter technique.

Look at all that yummy cinnamon.

I attempted to make rolls the first year Andrew and I were married and I couldn't get the dough to rise. After that I decided I would never bake from scratch again. And, I didn't..until today.

My goal was to have these done on Monday but my first batch of dough didn't rise and I couldn't get the stuff I needed to make another batch until after Andrew got home. Tatum was suppose to help me--THAT was also part of the plan. It was suppose to be something we did together..but what I have learned from this experience is that baking while having a small infant is not conducive to getting a plan into action.

Here is what I can tell you.

*I followed the recipe to a T.
*Melting the butter made a huge mess...I liked slathering it on better
*I didn't use enough cinnamon (I think)
*There is enough fat in these to kill a small human instantly (guess what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger)?
*I missed making these with Tatum:(
*These make 7 pans of rolls but they way I cut them I think I could have easily gotten 8
*The recipe called for powered sugar icing...but didn't state how big of bag...so I got a two lb bag and It wasn't enough to ice all 7 pans (like the baker I adapted it from) so I used 4 LBS of powdered sugar to make the icing for these crazy rolls.
*I probably wont be doing these again any time soon
*I'm tired and can't figure out why anyone with a baby can bake

Photo's are my own (I'm practicing)
I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe...which looks Delicious and can be found here! I just love her and all her recipes:)

So to bask in the glory..my husband messaged me and said they were good enough to challenge his mom (cute..but not buying it). AND...my kids all said they liked them and they tasked like grandma's. SCORE!

Christmas Hangups

Two weekends ago Tatum was in a play at church. The name of a play was called Christmas Hangups. It was a bout the Christmas ornaments in a box and what they meant to the family that housed them. It was a very cute little play all to remind all about the true meaning of Christmas.

She went to practices for 11 weeks prior to the play and twice the weekend of. She had two performances and she did beautifully. It was hard for me to see her as she was the last on her row and all the "big" performers were in front of her. I tried to get as many pictures as I could.

I can tell you that I was brought to tears with my cutie. She makes me so proud. Each child was to pick out what  ornament they wanted to be and Tatum picked out a butterfly. I didn't know we even had a butterfly costume but she came home and pulled out some antennae and some wings and we made do with the rest. She performed with a few of her friends from church. It was open to kids in grades 1-5 for the choir and the older kids in the church handled the speaking parts. They sang some adorable Christmas tunes of which I had never heart but melted my heart none the less.

I think she has a knack for the arts though. She has enjoyed going to plays with both grandma's this summer and now in performing in one.

Santa's Little Elf

THIS little boy is the cutest little ELF I have ever seen.

He had his first preschool program today and he was a success. He didn't appear nervous, he said his lines, did his dances and sang his song--and all so wonderfully:) He and his friends from preschool put on a little skit to a song, followed by some collaborative songs. They each then had a solo and bubba sang Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and he did so GOOD. I am such a proud mommy. I took lots of pictures and if I ever get around to editing them I will get them on here.

He also did a gymnastics demonstration. Let me tell you, this kid has skill. He really enjoys his gymnastics class and he is so confident in his actions. Today, I asked him if he would prefer to do gymnastics or soccer in the spring, he chose gymnastics. After he did his last cartwheel of the session, he came over and gave me the biggest hug. I am so so proud of him. He definitely adds some character to our lives:)

A table top

Standing on one leg...

Running to do his cartwheel

Cartwheel

On his own...

Right before he ran over to me to give me the biggest hug ever. I nearly dropped my camera:)

Finley THREE months

Finley turned THREE months old on this past Wednesday.

THREE MONTHS OLD??? HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN???
You are no longer considered an infant. You are no longer classified as a newborn or "brand new". Where has this time gone? Seems like I just brought you home.

You are definitely growing. You are barely fitting into your 0-3 clothes and a size 1 diaper--yet your 3-6 are huge on you. We are lucky so many people got us some 3-6 outfits, because we didn't have too much:) Tatum's clothes were on a different season for this size so we are slightly behind. I have no doubt by the time you hit 5-6 months, we will catch right back up. While you are not measured in your 3rd month--I assure you that you have reached some milestones.

For instance...you are generally a more happy baby. We get some real smiles from you--and not just to me. You smile at daddy and sissy and granny. While you still have some serious problems with your reflux this is generally fewer than last month. You talk to us..well to me anyway. Your coos and "oohs and ahhs" are all the signs that tell me you know that I am talking to you and you have something you want to say--and tell me you do!

Schedule is not something we keep here in this house but you are becoming slightly more predictable in your ways. When you wake up in the morning at 6 you like to snuggle now before you eat. You "snack" just enough to become alert and then you just like to hang with us until sissy gets on the bus--then you mean business. You generally take a small 30-45 minute nap between 930 and 1030. You eat again after your nap and this is when you are your most alert and active. After this time (around 1-2pm) you like to go down for your big nap. You usually sleep about 3-4 hours and wake up starving! Its then play time (mainly with daddy) and then off to bed again around 930-10:00, along with your last feeding session (however the last few days it seems to be a little earlier).

Which brings me to my next sentence: You still wont take a bottle...FROM ANYONE! My friends gave me some advise that we may try while on vacation this week and not nurse you and only try to offer you a bottle. We might have to see how this goes!

You love to play "Pat a cake" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". Its fun to watch you be so interactive with those big hands and long fingers. You are such a little mover and shaker now too. If we put you on your play mat you will kick your little legs and move them up in the air. At night we will lay you in one side of the crib and in the AM we wake to find you laying on another side of the crib...all while being swaddled. Yes, this is the ONLY way you will sleep. You are starting to enjoy some tummy time now (mainly I think this helps your reflux) but it is so much more tolerable for you. Today, I saw some signs of you looking like you wanted to try to roll so I will be looking forward to that huge milestone coming up!

Well miss Finley, you continue to prove to us that you will be heard in this family. No man left behind here. We are enjoying every moment trying to figure you out. We love you little girl!