Our Elf's Shenanigans

Henry our Elf has been pretty nice this year. He hasn't caused too much trouble or chaos around the house. The girls have enjoyed having him around and so have I. Their behavior, while definitely not perfect, has been better. It's so much easier to say "go make your beds" "pick up your toys" put your cups in the sink" while Henry is "watching". He has that magical, scary effect on them and I am totally ok with that. I will be sad when he leaves and I have to wait another 330 or so days until that beautiful Christmas behavior returns.

Here are just a few of the pictures I happened to take of him:

He brought the girls a felt tree to play with this season

He put the girls on the nice list, but apparently daddy needs to try harder. 

He was climbing up the side of the door

He brought them a present

Pete the Cat! Their favorite!

He was sneaking candy from the boot!

Caught climbing again!

Story hour:)

He was hittin' up the "sauce"...caught practically passed out in our hallway 

Roasting marshmallows

Looking at the moon with their telescope 

Hanging upside down 

So many more fun things he did, but of course I didn't take pictures:( Oh well! Maybe next year!

Christmas Party...Army style

Party in the middle of the work day? I'll take it. Especially if it means hanging out as a family. Tom's office had a Christmas party filled with delicious BBQ food, sweet tea, cobblers and cake. Christmas music adorned the room. Santa (some guy from Tom's office) walked around handing out giant candy canes filled with candy to the kids and we played games. I happened to win Bingo. My lucky day...I got a new pretty Christmas mug. (I love big coffee mugs...that darn Keurig and it's cup sizes do not fit my poor Fiestaware coffee mugs unless you want the mini cup of coffee).

The girls were itching to sit on Santa's lap, but I told them they had to finish their food first. Madeline sat down, ate a plateful and the next thing I know I look over and she's walking toward Santa. Apparently she takes what I say very literally.

We had a great time celebrating...a small reminder to just how close Christmas is getting! Ahhhhhhh!

And that's as good as it gets for sitting on Santa's lap this year. Bad mom didn't take them anywhere else:( 

Bedtime

Bedtime. 

Such a good dad. 

I think he might need some monkey pjs in his own size. 

Oh my little loves

I just can't get enough of them.

Sleeping Beauty

This girl is as sweet as she sleeps. 

Absolutely blessed with so much love.

Now, if I took a picture of how Madeline sleeps you would see her sprawled out, one leg hanging over her bed railing, no covers, hair already sweaty and disheveled, sometimes her head is at the footboard...

But I wouldn't change how different these two sisters are from one another for anything. Makes my world that much more enjoyable.

Green and Grinchy Night

"What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” 

I love Pinterest. It helps me have fun with my kids;) No, really. It does. Sometimes I am fresh out of ideas to keep them occupied, but when I saw a mom on Pinterest plan a Grinch night, I was all about it.

We started our day baking sugar cookies rolled in green sugar aka "Grinch cookies". The girls did it all. I bought the easy cookies from a bag. (Don't judge. They're delicious and easy...and I had a lot of laundry to do that day.) You add an egg and a stick of butter. They couldn't possibly mess this up. They added the green sugar crystals and voila! Yummy. Ella wanted to be all fancy and have ME ice the Grinch's face on them, but I had to remind her of my lack of artistic ability and the fact that these kids and their dad eat cookies faster than any other human beings on Earth. There was no way I was wasting my precious time making cookies look pretty. Sorry kid. But I LOVE YOUUUUU.

Once Tom came home, we took the girls to the park where you can drive through and they have tons of light displays set up. They were in heaven. I loved when Madeline would point and say "Wook Ella (Look), wook at dat one!" Afterwards, we came home and made "Grinch punch" with lime sherbet and Sprite and ate cookies while watching The Grinch. Ella told me it was her favorite day ever. And that made this mama pretty darn happy.

Ft. Sill Christmas

Christmas has begun on Ft. Sill. We went to the annual Christmas Tree lighting on Post yesterday. I thought it was just a small shin dig, but turns out it was a pretty big deal. The girls are more excited than I have ever seen any child for the littlest taste of Christmas. Their eyes light up when they see the lit manger at the church, or a house with a few strands of lights. Or they scream in delight when we see real deer while driving on Post (and they make me slowwwww down and stare to ensure we do not hit what could possibly be Rudolph). Their excitement makes me THAT much more excited to fill this month with holiday fun for them. They're only young once, and they only believe for so long...

With this tree lighting, they were able to experience it Army-style. We got our hot cocoa and cookies inside a huge army tent. We were greeted by soldiers dressed as gingerbread, the Grinch (made Madeline cry) and elves. A quintet of soldiers played their instruments to holiday tunes. Santa Claus rode in on calvary, and the tree was miraculously lit after Santa let the cannons off!

As I stood there holding Madeline, and Ella was happily resting on her daddy's shoulders, I felt so happy and so relieved to have Tom home this season. The little things seem much more enjoyable with him by our sides.

Tom's office and the location of the tree lighting:)

Playing in the "reindeer pen" where the kids were allowed to watch the show 

Top left is Santa trying to step off the horse and top right is Santa talking to the COL. And that one of Madeline...I caught her holding her ears during the cannons!

And here's the pretty tree all lit up!

Only my kid...

...Actually sleeps with her slippers on.

Madeline found these old slippers of Ella's and wears them to bed nightly now. And my husband told me new slippers would be a waste of a Christmas gift for these girls. Shame shame.

Ella the Artist

If I am ever wondering why Ella is being so quiet I would say 90% of the time she is sitting at a table or on the floor drawing. She loves to draw and create. I think the craft bin is opened multiple times a day by her. I am going to say she gets her artistic ability from her Auntie Monica and Granny P and her craftiness from her Gma. Madeline on the other hand totally takes after me and when she draws a circle and tells me it's a zebra I think to myself "heck yeah that's a zebra, Madeline!" Because I know that's probably what my zebra would look like too if I tried to draw one.

She made this to send to her Aunt Jenny and Uncle Phil 

This is a drawing of her mama and daddy on a date. Don't you love our googly eyes?

She said this is a "snow woman"  

This is a drawing she did one morning of our elf. 

I wish I could figure out a way to keep all of her drawings.

Welcome December!

I can't believe it's already December. When I think back to a year ago, I remember not being overly excited about the holidays. I was still excited to celebrate with my girls because they bring that magic back into the holiday. But it wasn't the same with Tom away. This year, we decorated the day after Thanksgiving and I am loving every bit of it. Our elf, Henry, arrived that day as well and the girls have been waking up extra early to "elf hunt" every morning. Awesome. Really awesome. I think I am going to ask Santa for some sleeping dust for my kids.

Last Christmas, my younger brother and I, along with my mom, sorted through bins upon bins of decor and ornaments. She sent me back to OK with ummmm I'd say 8 bins? Needless to say I can't thank her enough because our house is filled with so much Christmas love now. I find myself smiling reminiscing about decorating my childhood home with her and putting up all of these Santas which now adorn our bookshelves and window sills. The only thing missing is our families to help us enjoy it all. But making new memories with my own family is the next step in growing up, right?

The girls loved helping to decorate the tree, while I about had a small heart attack with each box they opened and didn't put properly back together. Or every ornament they hung up "not in the right place" or one on top of the other on the same branch. I felt like the biggest Christmas Nazi ever. (Is that word appropriate for my children's blog?) At one point I had to walk away and tell myself that this is supposed to be a joyous time and the girls are loving looking at all of my (my mom's) old/new ornaments. Our tree wasn't just 100% purchased at Target in one swift trip. The ornaments on there (95%) of them have special meaning. I have collected them from all over the world while traveling. My mom has collected them since she was a child. There are homemade ones from Ella and myself and Tom and even his mom. I could honestly tell you a little story behind every one of them...that's how meaningful they are.

We call it our 'comfort tree'. It might not make it to the center of Macy's (Tom did add colored lights to it afterall!), but it is quite lovely to look at in the corner of our living room.