Grandpa Wally's Christmas Tree

For the second year in a row we were able to go and help Grandpa Wally decorate his Christmas tree. Libby even missed school for this special day. Since Grandma passed away I have realized the importance of taking advantage of the time we have to spend with our grandparents, so I don't feel bad about taking her out of school. Grandpa was happy we were there and we had fun decorating the tree with 50 year old candy canes and setting up the train (all while listening to Anne Murray's Christmas CD- Grandpa's favorite, not mine).

Did I mention how I'm just learning to be a mom?

I have no fun pictures to post, just a need to write. Just some random things I did today to make it through...

1. Dyed Noelles banana creme pie yogurt green (with food coloring). She wanted Key Lime Pie flavor and I didn't have any. I improvised and she ate it.
2. Let Noelle crack two of the four eggs required for the cookies I was making. Only about 1 1/2 eggs actually made it into the bowl.
3. Let Libby use MY scrapbook paper to do a "craft". This was a sacrifice.
4. Provided Libby with her own ribbon, so she could make bows too.
5. Put Noelle in zip up jammies and pinned them on her - prior to laying her down for her nap. This prevented her pooping in her crib and then spreading it around for my cleaning pleasure. (The child is potty trained!-I only put a diaper on her at bedtime and naptime).
6. Made Daren cookies for his clients.
7. Cleaned the bathrooms. Noelle kept telling me I needed to clean the toilets. Yes, my 2 1/2 year old complains when the toilets are not clean enough.
8. Showered (although it wasn't until about 1 pm). Noelle told me this morning that I was stinky and I need to shower. That was a real boost to my self esteem.
9. Took the girls to the ward Christmas party, without Daren. Daren is officiating b-ball tonight. I hate going to ward things without Daren, but Libby wanted to see Santa (to ask for a new bike) and her friends. Ellie wanted to see friends too, but NOT Santa. She told me she did not want to sit with Santa and she kept her distance from him tonight. Without me even asking her to, Libby went and told Santa what Noelle wants (a baby doll). After we got home tonight Ellie was asking where her baby doll was. I explained that Santa would come to our house Christmas Eve and leave it for her. You should have seen the look of pure terror on her face. She has no interest in Santa coming to our home. I had to tell her he wasn't coming at all to get her to calm down.
10. I know there are about 20 more things I did, but my mind is fried. I am thankful for my girls. I realized today that I probably wouldn't get out of bed if it wasn't for them. Don't get me wrong, I would love to sleep in every now and then, but it would get old after a while. Daren and the girls keep me motivated and that is a blessing. I guess I can do it again tomorrow....

The Tree is Up

Well, we've created a new tradition at the Jackson home. We now put the Christmas tree up on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I am thrilled to blog this event, especially because I found a Christmas song from my childhood to add to my playlist for this month (Barbra Streisand's "Jingle Bells"). Jess, Brig, Dave, and Ty- this song is for you!

Halloween 2008

The carved pumpkins aren't much to look at. I do the bare minimum when it comes to carving pumpkins. Just enough to make the kiddos happy. They aren't even clean enough to put a candle in. Next year I will have to do a better job or better yet I will have to enlist the help of Daren (ya, right- he hates slimy/sticky things on his hands!).

Noelle only wore the hat portion of her costume for this picture. I couldn't get her to wear it any other time. Libby loved being a cheerleader and wearing some make-up for the evening. Don't ask me why there is a stuffed dog in the photo. They insisted Ellie hold it in the photo and it had to come with us trick-or-treating.

Snow on October 13th!!!

We woke up to snow a couple of weeks ago, so I took the girls to the bus stop early and let them play in the snow. It's the simple things that make them happy.

Temple Square for UEA

We didn't go on any fantastic vacations for UEA weekend, but Jess, mom, and I decided to take the kids to Temple Square. It was a beautiful day and we had fun. We ate lunch at the Nauvoo cafe and went to the Church History museum. Isaak thought the organ music coming from the tabernacle was "vampire" music (it was pretty hard core organ).

New countertops

We had new countertops installed a couple of weeks ago, so our kitchen sink was not an option. Is there anything sexier than my husband doing the dishes in the bathroom?!
Still working on the potty training... this a typical look for Noelle these days. Cruisin' in the undies.
My new counter tops! I love them. So much better than the old "leather look" formica. They are smooth and CLEAN.

Libby's birthday and a whole lot more!

It has been so busy since school started so I'm behind in my blogging.

Libby's birthday was on Sept. 5th. She was spoiled and had three different celebrations. We went to McDonalds on her birthday (lucky us!), we had kabobs, cake, and ice cream with the extended fam on Sunday, and the next Saturday she had a "Fancy Nancy" birthday party with her friends. I'm not doing as much next year. All the preparations were exhausting.

Camp Steiner

Another Labor Day has passed and so to has a trip to camp Steiner. This year it was just me and Libs. Daren and Noelle stayed home. It was a good compromise. Daren didn't have to camp and I didn't have to be up all night with Noelle (not that I wasn't up all night anyway!). We had a good time. It was a little crowded this time around, but still a beautiful place to be and a good time to catch up with the extended fam.