Me, Martha Stewart? HARDLY!!

My poor kids!  I was so excited to decorate a gingerbread house with them last week.  After participating in the activity for years with kindergarten students, I was thrilled to share in the fun with my OWN kids.  Here is how it goes.  You take all of the pieces of the gingerbread house and glue them together with frosting.  After it is nice and stable, the fun part begins and it's time to decorate the lovely house with lots of candy.  Well folks, my inner Martha was gone that day.  I could not even get the house to stay together.  The roof kept falling along with all sides of the house.  I was humiliated.  Stumped.  Frustrated.  Sticky.  Do you understand what I'm saying here?  I could NOT get the darn thing to stay together. The simplest thing ever.  Anyway, despite my troubles, the boys had a great time.  I laid the pieces flat and Preston put tons of candy on the sides and Mason had a blast eating the candy.  I have to constantly remind myself of a saying that is repeated often when working with children......"It's the process not the product".  And the process was fun!

It happens ONCE a year....

I speak for all in my family when I say that Papa's homemade ravioli is our favorite Christmas tradition. This is not just ravioli. It is the ravioli. The ravioli that is coveted by all who enjoy any sort of pasta. The ravioli that melts in your mouth. The ravioli that takes Papa hours upon hours to make and is made with love. The ravioli that the family fights for. The ravioli that could not be replaced by any other Christmas meal. The ravioli that everyone ditches their in-laws for to have a seat at the house with the to-die-for meal. I have enjoyed this tradition for as long as I can remember and hope to enjoy it for many more years to come!!

Papa and Preston sharing the job of ravioli making!

Papa showing Mason how it's done!

Auntie Jules and Darrel helped just a bit too!

Preston and Papa making ravioli....his first time!

Papa and Mason making ravioli for his first Christmas!

You know you have boys when....

When you find yourself quoting Mrs. Brady from the Brady Bunch when she said "no throwing balls in the house". She knew what she was talking about.  A light fixture was broken thanks to a wondering ball.

When there are knobs missing from each dresser set.

You know you have boys when you have a huge gap that is missing ornaments on your Christmas tree.  Ornaments are better used as baseballs, soccer balls, and even bracelets (I'll let you figure out who likes the bracelets).  

When the underneath part of your ottoman is ripped from too much (un-allowed) jumping occurs.

When end tables are empty of picture frames, plants, or any sort of decor due to the fact that it would last about 5 seconds before it is knocked off or broken.

When there are so many scratches and peeled off paint on your walls, you give up trying to cover them up.

You know you have boys when it's not uncommon to have mud all over.

When kitchen utensils are used to build things not to actually cook.

You know you have boys and love them when they are last to make you smile at night and the first little people you want to see in the morning-mud and all!

If the shoe fits....

 Then wear it!!  Apparently Mason feels the need to throw up gang signs to look tough while wearing my shoes. I love these boys! Not a day goes by when they don't make me laugh! 

Some pictures to re-cap our weekend!

The boys relaxed on the new pillow from Costco.  It is a body pillow that Jake and Maddy have.  It is the best pillow ever and is so incredibly soft!

Let's see!  The boys had fun dancing to Christmas music and boy do they move!  They especially like Mannheim Steamroller.

After his T-ball game, Preston decided to be goofy and add my Uggs to his uniform.  Preston goofy?  Hard to imagine, right?

Mason is a chip off the old block....mom's block that is.  I found him reading my copy of US 

magazine on Saturday night.  He needs his fill on celebrity gossip.  

Kirb made delicious shrimp cocktail along with crab legs.  The shrimp looked exactly like the picture...very fancy.  What a guy!  He is the best chef I know and I'm so glad he is married to me!

We bought our tree on Saturday.  The boys were so excited to decorate it.  All I have to say is THANK GOODNESS for shatterproof ornaments.  Within seconds they were everywhere and being thrown like baseballs (thanks Mason).  Mason refuses to leave the ornaments on the tree which then leaves Preston to put them back on.  That explains the bulbs placed erratically.  We keep forgetting to put our star on top of the tree.  We'll do it tonight.

And finally, thanks to Auntie we got our Christmas picture taken and our Christmas cards are ordered!  The first pictures are what I call the "Kirby Family picture bloopers"  and then the final picture is the final shot.   

To leash or not to leash?

Dear Mason,

It's Mommy. I swore that I would never do it. I laughed at people who did it. I made fun of people who did it. I was disgusted with people who did it. I would not in my lifetime put my dear child on a leash. Nope. Never. No way.

BUT

I am now considering it. In the last couple weeks you have run into the middle of the street and/or busy parking lot at least 5 times. Spanking you, yelling at you, crying because of you, and quadruple threatening you DOES NOT WORK. It's as if I have not said a word to you. I try to hold you most times but I get conned into thinking that THIS time you finally understand the implications of your actions. Every time you do this your little life flashes before my very panicked and freaked out eyes. I can't handle it anymore.

You can be quite the stinker my little one. You throw nail polish on the tile, you jump off any surface regardless of the height and scare me to death, you say "no" to me at all times, you insist on taking your clothes off at least twice a day, you bite your big brother, you have to eat everything that I am eating, even when we think we child proof everything in the house-you still find something to get into, you climb out of your crib at all hours of the night, you throw fits when you can't play with my ipod or cell phone, and you demand to take your diaper off and pee-pee in the toilet but as soon as I put big boy underwear on you, you pee in them.

BUT

Mason, I love you so much. I love that I found out I was pregnant with you on CHRISTMAS day. What an awesome gift! I love that you made my pregnancy so easy. I love that when you were in my tummy I'd ask you to kick and you would right away. Because you were already such a nice little brother, you waited to enter our lives until your actual due date and not on Preston's birthday two weeks early. I was also only in labor for a little over 2 hours and having you was quite easy. And Mason, on the day you were born, the only way you would sleep was snuggled right with me and that's how you stayed all night. I knew right then that we would be close. I love that you were an early smiler. We couldn't even keep your binky in because you would smile it right out. I love that you resemble me just a bit since your brother is a carbon copy of Daddy. I love it that you are always willing to try new foods but you have to smell them first. I love that you will do anything to keep up with Preston even if physically you should not be capable of it. I love that you eat dog food with absolutely no shame as if it is socially acceptable and everyone should be doing it. I love that before you could say "yes" you instead made a noise that almost resembled a sneeze. I love that your favorite outfit consists of jeans, a tee, two bracelets that you wear proudly and a Diamondbacks hat. I love that your blue eyes and very black eyelashes make me melt. I have loved you since the day I found out you were growing inside of me. I love you so much that if something terrible were to happen to you, I would never be the same again. And that's why I have considered a leash. Please, Please, Please for the love of God, Please don't make me do it.

Love Always,

Mommy

SIDE NOTE: Although the thought of something happening to Mason is not funny, the idea of me getting a leash is. I would not really do it. I will hold him from now on!

A shatterproof Christmas

I'm so excited to have found these at Costco!  They are lovely AND shatterproof!  All bulbs in tact this year!  I feel like dropping one just to make sure!  ;-)

According to Preston-

This is what Santa will be toting around in his big RED bag on Christmas Eve.....

Preston- kaleidoscope gears and pin wheels

Mason- a basketball and lots of balls

Daddy- an octopus and a bracelet

Mommy- tap shoes

Papa- candy

Mana- butterflies

Grandpa (in California)- a snowman

Grandma Jean- a vacuum

Granny- a beach ball

Grandpa- magazines

Auntie Honey- a yo-yo

Uncle John- tap shoes

Daniel- a baseball

Dylan- guitars

Uncle Bryan- books

Auntie Emily- crayons

Jeffrey- chalk

Auntie Jamie- a jelly sandwich

Uncle Scott- bread and gears

Maddy- a pet cat

Jake- race cars

Auntie Bree- pumpkins

Uncle Brian- apples

McKenna- birthday candles

Auntie Julia- bouncy balls

Darrel- new cars

Mrs. Slama- tinker toys

Mrs. Brabb- a back pack

SOOOOO.......you better be good! Santa (Preston) is watching you!