Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I arranged for a photo shoot for Christmas cards this year with my friend Lindsay. It was with great fear and trembling that I arrived at the park with my three well dressed and perfectly groomed children. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get a good group shot with Jackson and his two year old oppositional defiant disorder. But I never thought it would be as hard as it actually was. There were several times when both Lindsay and I had to stop and catch our breath from the antics it took to get Jackson to do anything besides roll around in the dirt. Thanks to a talented photographer we got some great shots. We never did get the perfect group shot for the card, but put three individuals together to make a cute card.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We debated whether or not to get a tree this year. I saw scenes in my head where Jackson would jump from the couch to the top of the tree, taking it down with him. This hasn't happened, thankfully. He has broken at least 4 ornaments so far. The tree is smaller than we normally get but I think it turned out pretty well.

Knotts

Yesterday we went to Knottsberry Farm with Lance's parents and the California Cousins. Every year in November, Knottsberry Farm honors veterans and they get in free and they can bring guests for a discounted rate. Lance's dad was a marine years ago when Lance was little. This was our second year being invited to go with Grandma and Grandpa to Knotts. The kids had so much fun. The park wasn't crowded so they could ride their favorite rides as many times as they wanted to. The only sad part of the day was when Uncle Dave lost his iPhone on Montezuma's Revenge.

Is it too late?

Is it too late to post pictures from Halloween when it is almost Thanksgiving? Needless to say, I haven't been on the ball lately. We had a fun Halloween at Aunt Jamie and Aunt Jill's houses. Lance forgot our suitcase so we had to borrow a few things but it was fun, the kids got tons of candy. Isn't that what really matters?

Rachel turns 9

Our family caught the first wave of the flu season this past week. I was out for the count for several days. Jackson followed up with pneumonia. Allie stayed home several days with fever and Rachel stayed home as well. My parents were here this week for a vacation and all they got was nursemaid duty. Despite all the illness, we celebrated Rachel's birthday on Friday and Saturday . My mom made her a yummy cake. We ordered CPK takeout, Rachel's favorite. She got tons of presents from aunts, uncles and grandparents. The best part for Rachel was that she got to go to Magic Mountain for the first time. Lance took her and they spent the day standing in long lines going on extreme coasters. We are so grateful to have Rachel as part of our family.

The Next Barefoot Contessa?

Sometimes I am a bit of a control freak in the kitchen. So I decided to actively try to control my inner control freak and let the kids do a cooking project where I just let them do it and not try to direct them too much. They made Halloween cookies and they did turn out well. Will they make it on the cover of Martha Stewart Magazine? No, but give it a few years.

Movie Night

We have started a new tradition at our house...Friday Movie Night. The first movie up...The Hannah Montana Movie. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. First treat...Microwave popcorn mixed with M&Ms. Next week...Nightmare on Elm Street. Do you think that would be too scary? OK, maybe we'll watch The Wizard of Oz instead.

Middle Child Syndrome

I'm no psychology major (oh wait, i am) but I think somebody wishes she was the baby again....

Sorry, Jack

I took the kids to Jack in the Box drive-through for dinner last night on our way to meet Lance in Santa Clarita to look at a condo we are interested in purchasing. I asked the girls what they wanted to eat and Allie replied, "I want a cheeseburger with In-N-Out Sauce." I started laughing and told her that they don't have In-N-Out sauce at Jack in the Box. She had to make do with a plain cheeseburger. Grandpa Jim, can you talk to Jack and ask him if he could borrow the sauce recipe for us?

Are you being naughty?

I was working on the computer today when I realized that it had gotten very quiet in our apartment. I called out "Jackson, are you being naughty?" He yelled back "YES!" When I went to look for him, this is what I found....Don't tell Rachel, it was her toothbrush he had in his mouth.

First Day of School

When I was single, I used to think Christmas was my favorite day of the year. Now that I am a mom, I have changed my mind. The first day of school is my new favorite day. Let's just say it has been a long summer. Lance, Jackson and I took the girls to school today. Rachel got the teacher she was hoping for and was excited. Allie didn't get the teacher she wanted and so was a bit more apprehensive about the whole thing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they both have a great first day so that we won't have to peel Allie off my leg tomorrow like we did today. I just got Jackson down for a nap and now I'm going to pour myself a Diet Coke, turn on the DVR and watch me some reality TV. Project Runway, here I come!

Sundays

Everyone always looks their best on Sundays. It is the only day of the week that I can get it together enough to style everyone's hair. Because we were actually early getting ready for church yesterday (this hardly EVER happens) I took a few pictures. The one of Rachel made me look twice. I felt like I was looking into the future. She looks so grown up in that shot. I'm hoping that it was just a trick of light and camera. I'm not ready for such a grown up girl!