Post Christmas Wrap Up 2010

I'm giving you the short version...trust me, you should be grateful.

- gran and pop ended up not being able to come because Gran was in the hospital (thankfully, she's better now)

- uncle russ and meghan ended up going to Indiana to be with Gran and Pop instead of coming here (which was the right thing to do!)

- Cora woke up in nasty shape on Christmas Eve morning and she and mommy spent the whole day waiting in offices and the hospital until after multiple chest x-rays she was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and an ear infection and given double injections and lots of new meds.

- We didn't get to go to church because Cora was contagious.

- BUT... Rob's parents, sister, aunt, and cousins, and two dogs came. We had yummy food and drink, good company, nice cool Christmas weather, and enough gifts to fill the empire state building! Plus Gran and Pop are here now! So all is well and Christmas turned out to be merry!!! Here are a few of our favorite things!

matching pink tutus and pink converse !


A NEW SWING SET!!! Thanks Pop and Daddy!

Gran and Pop finally got here! Yay!

matching American girl gowns for Cora and Samantha!

Cade's new skateboard and "rockstar" jacket! His two top Christmas list items that Santa delivered!

Clara's push car!!!


Clare Bear's first present experience!!!

Look at this face! Cora was giddy when she unwrapped her first stocking gift and it was a zhu zhu pet just like she asked for!!! Thanks, Santa!


Abuela's cute doggie, Pepe'

A new fashionista Barbie from Maisi

So glad to see Abuela and Monona who came all the way from Argentina!!!

Cade can really rock now with his keyboard from Abuela and Abuelo!!!

Rob's cute cousin, Gianfranco!

i want a hippopotamus for christmas!

Cora loves this song! If you don't know it search for it you youtube. One line of the song says, "Mom says a hippo will eat me up but then, my teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian."
As we listened to that line in the car
Cora says, "the mom is right!"
I say, "No she's not! A hippo won't eat you! Its a plant eater! That's what vegetarian means."
Cora looks at me as if I have mush for brains and says, "Nah-uh mommy!!! A vegetarian is a doctor for pets, and a hippo can't be one of those!!!"

i just laughed, and left the correcting to Cade!

Where did i go wrong?

We're always talking about how Christmas is Jesus's birthday and reading stories about Bethlehem. So I'm not sure where we've gone wrong, but here's what Cora told me the other day...

Cora: playing with a nativity scene "mama, baby jesus sure isn't very christmassy!"

Me: shocked and appalled "What do you mean baby Jesus isn't Christmassy????? Baby Jesus IS Christmas! It's his birthday! We wouldn't have Christmas without HIM!!!!"

Cora: "Yea, but instead of wrapping him in those white clothes they should have at least wrapped him in red and green!"

Photo shoot- for real!!!

We finally got in that photo shoot with photographer extraordinare, LeeAnn Ritch! Love her! Love her photos! She's so fun and easy to work with! Take a sneak peek!
http://www.leeannritchblog.blogspot.com/

christmas lights + friends = fun!

i think my sweet friend felt sorry for me cause of the whole pokemon thing so she took our kiddos last night so we could go out to eat without them! Thanks August! Looks like they had a blast!

Happy Birthday to me!

OK, so today is my birthday. And please, I'm not telling you this so that all 5 of you will call and sing to me and wish me a happy birthday. I'm really over it! Being 29 for the fifth time in a row isn't all it's cracked up to be. Last night Cora asked me, "mommy, is tomorrow the day you are going to be as old as the hills and twice as dusty?" Yes, Cora, yes it is!

Anyway, I love my husband very much! Please keep that in mind as you read on. He has his faults as do we all and I always tell him he's lucky that he has me because no one else would put up with his quirky, Argentine/Italian/Spanish ways. He's different, but he's a great husband and daddy and would do anything for us! Having said that, I never knew he was a gamer until recently. Cade finally received a nintendo DSI for his seventh birthday in november. Apparently according to Cade every other kid on the block must have received one for their third birthday. He'd waited a long time and he got it... along with 2 games. Then a few weeks later Rob brings a Pokemon DSI game home with him one afternoon "for Cade to play." He didn't purchase this game, but rather "found it in his desk from the first day of school when some student left it behind it and never reclaimed it." So whatever... Cade had another game until someone came looking for it. Rob and Cade are now obsessed with Pokemon. It's an entire language in itself and although we have limits on DSI time for Cade, I have occassionally found Rob playing "cade's DSI" late at night or when Cade is outside. I knew we had a problem when Rob was out of town a few weekends ago and Cade ran in screaming, "mommy, call daddy! Call daddy! I just caught a very rare pokemon and he's going to be so happy!"

Anyway, I knew Rob remembered it was my birthday because before bed last night we chatted about how he'd like to take me out to eat and such. this morning for some unknown reason, our alarm clock that has gone off at 6:45 every morning for the past 10 years didn't go off this morning. I sensed a problem when I woke up to the sun out the window. We looked at the clock and it was 7:30. Rob has to be at work at 7:45. He flew into the shower, gave me a quick kiss, and ran out the door. In my head I thought, "he's just in such a rush that he forgot to say happy birthday. he'll text or call as soon as he realizes he forgot!" Then, the door reopens and he shouts, "Mandy! One more thing... (i'm assuming it's going to be Happy Birthday!") don't let Cade save over that Pokemon game we saved last night until I get home!" door closes.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? he remembered pokemon, but not his wife's birthday!!!!! for the love of all things pokemon!!!!

update to forgotten birthday post...he called mid morning super apologetic saying, "i'm so sorry! I was in such a rush I forgot to tell you happy birthday! Let me take you out to dinner tonight. Where do you want to go?" But don't think for a second I let him get off the phone without me rubbing his nose in the fact that her remembered Pikachu this morning, but not me!
Love you, punkin!

Christmas Time Is Coming,

and the garola children couldn't be more excited. Take a peek at what we've been up to this last unseasonably chilly (although fittingly) cold week.


Our little angel in her preschool Christmas pageant. She really was angelic, until we got home after wards! ;)

We've been later (not officially "late") for school every day this week because it takes us like 20 minutes to locate warm things and get everyone bundled! Check our Clara in her cute new hand-me-down coat!
We visited once again with the big guy and his better half at the Backus Hem/Onc Christmas Party! Clara once again didn't cry, but was SHOCKED!!!

Cora with Dr. W and his lil elf, Emily!

Our Elf, Glory, has been very naughty. We even caught her making out under the mistletoe with Frosty the Snowman!
Cora and her ballet buddies ready for their Holiday Showcase in which they are "party girls" to a little number from the Nutcracker.
Practice makes perfect.
TU TU CUTE!!!!!!!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Christmas Photo Shoot

We have a super sweet photographer friend who does yearly pictures of our family. She is awesome. Her blog is here http://www.leeannritchblog.blogspot.com/. We had a photo shoot scheduled for the last weekend in November. But our sweet photographer has a small baby, a toddler, and was moving that weekend so we had to reschedule. Because she's super busy we had to move it to December 19th, which is great! We're just glad to have her. BUT, I was planning on using those photos for our Christmas cards and I had to change the plan a bit.

So, one day a couple of weeks ago it was a pretty day, we had no after school plans, and Rob had to work late. So very impromptu I decided we'd try a Christmas photo shoot. The kids who were big enough to revolt did! You'd have thought I'd asked Cade to scrub the toliet with his toothbrush while dancing the polka. He totally freaked! Cora agreed at first until she figured out that this meant that she'd have to remove her lightly faded, out of date, hand me down, flare bottomed jeans that show her fanny crack like a plumber when she bends over. She would also be changing her turquoise, bedazzled, too tight, "teenager" t-shirt and trading them both in for a red courdroy dress with an ivory color and waist sash. How dare I make her wear something "ugly and babyish!" (God, please help me when she's 13!) So by the time everyone had compromised (ie, dress minus tights and shoes, Christmas sweater thrown over the top of play clothes) I was WAY too warn out to make them go anywhere scenic. And I was pretty sure we only had minutes of daylight left. So surprisingly, I did get some good shots, but the process was gruling!

I can't reveal "the picture" because I don't want to spoil your cards, but what I want people to say when they look at the pictures and the actual wordage going on during the shoot are probably about as different as a brothel and a church! For real friends, when this shoot was over I needed a stiff drink.
Here's what we got!

the goal for the shot: a tree shot photo from a bird's eye view angle with the pretty trees and leaves in the background

true and actual wordage: Mommy, quick take the picture before the baby crawls away and falls out of the tree fort and splits her head opened and gushes blood everywhere.

I am NOT going to get on my knees in the back no matter what you say! Everyone will be able to see this stupid train on my sweater and if you send it to my friends they'll probably tease me until I'm a senior citizen!"

The goal: a garola stack (sitting inside one another's legs biggest to smallest) cute,right?


actual: Clara, if you crawl away again I'm withholding your bottle!!! Cora, squeeze your sister tighter!!! Cora!!! What are you looking at, get your eyes on this camera NOW just in case the baby looks. (added with mama making barking noises in between shouting out orders in an effort to get a smile from Clara)


the goal: a sweet brother sister shot. Clara really did crawl away and if I couldn't get a shot of all three I need a 2 photo card back up plan.
actual: "mommy! this is taking 3 hours. i'm not going to get any playtime! By the time we finish all my friends will be inside. I hear them playing back there. Please please please please let me out of here!" (i think this is when cade actually started to cry)

"well, i guess you better yell good night to them because you're wasting daylight complaining. SMILE AND ACT LIKE YOU LIKE EACH OTHER!"

*sputter, sputter "Cade's choking me!"



the goal: a pile of cuties


actual: whoever smiles this time get's candy!!!!
OK, but this is the LAST one and I'm done!
oh no! you're not done until I get a good one!!!
Clara thinks Cade's head is a drum!
OUCH!!! She's pulling my hair!
Clara, don't eat your brother!

It was truly a painful nightmare for all of us! Why do I subject my kids and myself to these things? Will this be the threatening/ bribing mommy they remember forever? The one always focusing on "getting the shot" and not the well being of the children involved?? I appreciate you more than you'll ever know, LeeAnn Ritch!
for what it's worth, i got the shot!
what a way to celebrate the birth of the Lord!

Clara's 10 month update!

I CANNOT BELIEVE I'M 10 MONTHS OLD!!!! I am a precious, sweet, darling, happy girl and my family is CRAZY about me! (not to toot my own horn or anything!)
"Happy, happy, happy, happy!" that's what people always say about me when we're out and about! Let me tell you more about the past month.
- I weigh almost 20 pounds!
- I cannot walk. I can hold someone's hands and do a few steps, but then I usually opt to crawl cause it gets me there quicker!
- I can sorta balance on my feet for a second without holding on.
- I love my tippy toes!
- I dance every time I hear music (but cora's a little irritated that I only know one move!)
- I can finally clap and say "yay!"
- I love when I wave and say "hi" and someone actually understands me and says it back.
- My favorite toys are the dog and any pair of earrings dangling from mama's ears.
- I tolerate "rough house" very well. :(
- I only eat big people food. Pretty much exactly what my family is eating. There's not much I don't like. In fact, I'm way less picky than my big sis and bro!
- I can sorta drink from a cup, but I still LOVE my bottle.
- I think throwing things down is a very fun game!
- I can hug on this command, "love on (insert name of lucky person, thing, or animal here)."
- I LOVE the Christmas tree!
- I am not afraid of Santa!

And that's about it so far. I'm such a little trooper. Mommy says I'm super easy going. Pretty much the only reason I need a grown up around is to feed me and hug me every now and then. My family loves me SO MUCH! I'd go out on a limb and say they're pretty obsessed with me!
Merry Christmas to All! I'm working on saying "ho ho ho" if I get it, mom will post a video!

He Knows If You've Been Bad or Good

so be good for goodness sake!!!

stripes, and sparkles, and leopard--OH MY!

As I think I've mentioned my middle child changes clothes like 9 times a day. no joke. This outfit was picture worthy. Although she was grouchy and wouldn't cooperate with having her picture taken, I think you get the jist of this fashion disaster!

The Steps to Choosing the Perfect Christmas Tree (according to the garolas :)

We by no means have the art of tree decorating down pat. In fact, I would say this is the first year we've actually pulled it off without a hitch! I had to post this because this day was very Leave it to Beaverish. Which is SO not usually us! I was so proud! It went something like this...


1. Select a local Christmas tree farm. We just found out about this one www.brewerschristmastreefarm.gacta.com and we will for sure go back!











2. Take a hayride around the farm and decide which type of tree would suit you best. We decided to branch out from the traditional pine and go with a Cypress tree this year!














3. Jump off the hay wagon for a bit and pet some rabbits and feed some hungry goats!












4. After the hayride grab a saw and head off to choose just the perfect tree. Be VERY picky and take a long time!



5. Once you've found THE TREE get two really strong guys to cut it down and carry it for you!














6. Shake the tree, get it bagged, and tie it to the top of your car.















7. Bring it home, add your decorations, and voila! You have the perfect Christmas tree!
See that gap of space to the ceiling? Next year, we're going BIGGER!

happy turkey day!

just wanted to leave you all with a picture by Cora this Thanksgiving!
so cute!
note the words... (i think the GA is the beginning of Garola, but she decided against it) then
Cora NDN. She said, "look mommy, i spelled indian all by myself! "
I'm thankful for my kids! and my family and friends!!!

Woof Woof Pant Pant

Today I lost Clara. Only for a few minutes and then I found her! Look where........



she's OBSESSED with this dog! should I be nervous that she can woof and pant but not talk?

Cora, The Philanthropist!

As her mother I am well aware that Cora wears many different hats. She has a wide variety of talents, personality traits, and you're never quite sure who you're going to get day to day. But until recently, I never recognized her as a "philanthropist!" But that's exactly the title she won last Thursday night. I got a call from a girl we know about two weeks ago letting me know that Cora was nominated for an award for philanthropy by The Savannah Association of Philanthropic Professionals. (who know that group even existed) Not only was she nominated, they voted, she was one of the two youth winners (the other being a 17 year old high school girl who does like 72 hours of community service per week), and she needed to be present at an awards dinner on Thursday night!!! I really had to laugh because yes, Cora has participated in MANY community events to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer. BUT come on...she's 4! Anyhow, we were very grateful for the nomination and award.

As we thought about it more, we were pretty sure Cade couldn't handle seeing his sister get one more ounce of attention from a crowd, so we didn't tell them. Rob stayed home with Cade and Clara Thursday night and I told Cora we were going to a "fancy girl's dinner." Of course Cade wanted no part of that. So I invited my friend, Laurie, to come with us. When we arrived to pick her up her little boy, Cora's boyfriend aka Marshall, was crying in the background begging his mommy not to leave without him. So she quickly redressed him and we made it a date! They had a ball together, Cora graciously received her award, Cade got daddy all to himself, and we got a free dinner out of it! You can't beat that!