Santa!

Santa was very good to my children this year. Sam was very excited to find a wii when he woke up Christmas morning and has been playing it a lot in the last few days! Ella got a new pink and purple tricycle. She hasn't figured out how to work the pedals yet but loves to scoot around and load up the trunk!

Don't you love the way my kids hair is in the morning. I had to capture that bed head look!

Christmas with the Medleys

We hosted our first Christmas at our house. We had John's sisters and their families over for brunch on Sunday the twenty-eighth. There was way too much yummy food. We fed my nieces so well they had to take naps following brunch. How is it I can get the thirteen year olds to sleep but my almost two year old wanted nothing to do with a nap?

I think the day was a success. Now it is time to find places for all of the new toys!

Christmas in KC

We went up to Kansas City on Christmas Eve to celebrate with my family. We had a delicious chili supper for John's birthday and later that night my sister, brother, mom and I went to Christmas mass. The next day the majority of my mom's family and some of my dad's came over to celebrate Christmas. Everyone had a wonderful time. We are truly blessed to have such a close and amazing family!

Christmas Cheer!

John's work Christmas party was last weekend. It was held at the Hilton in Branson. It was quite the affair. There was dinner, drinks, dancing, a casino area and a large scavenger hunt. I'm proud to say our team came in second in the scavenger hunt earning twenty dollars each. I think only three out of the ten of us completed all the events though. The open bar was too much of a lure for some (including John). My competitive spirit would not give up though. Rooms were also provided for everyone but since it was John's weekend on call we had to return home. Luckily, we get a voucher to return at our own convenience. We had a good time!

Cards are Coming

These are the best of the many, many photos I took trying to get one for the Christmas card. Ella just doesn't like to be still. Sam did a great job and was so patient. Last year I had both moving. Maybe in a few years they will both cooperate.

Decorating Updates

We got our curtains in today! I'm excited I think they finish off the room. We also received our mirror for the entry last week and it was hung today. The picture doesn't do it justice but wanted to share anyway. I'm also including a photo of the couch pillows. I'm so pleased with how everything turned out in the living room.

I'm also excited about our Christmas tree. We were able to find a beautiful frasier fir shipped to Missouri from North Carolina. Of course we had to pay twice what we did last year but it was worth it!

Poor Grandma!

It was time to change the blog up for Christmas. I hope you all like the new background. The thankful lists on the side have been changed to each of our favorite Christmas carols. We were all standing in the kitchen and I was asking everyone to tell me their favorites. Sam and John had told me theirs and I was getting ready to head downstairs to type. John called out to me jokingly, "Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer."
To which Sam replied, "SHE DID???"
He is too funny!

First Snow of the Season

Sam is very excited about the prospect of lots of snow this winter. He has never been able to build a snowman or go sledding. While I'm missing the warmer days in Carolina he is anxious for a BIG snowfall. He got a small taste of snow this weekend with our first snowfall. He, Grandma, and Grandpa had fun making and throwing snowballs.

Successful Surgery

John's surgery went very well and he is home and resting! We now have something else to be thankful for this week. John, Sam and I were all very nervous for the last few days even though we probably didn't need to be. I was surprisingly calm though on the morning of his surgery. Everyone was very helpful and kind. Special thanks needs to go to my sister-in-law for watching the kids and taking Sam to and from school. It was nice to be at the hospital and know the kids were in good hands.
Sam was very nervous about going and visiting last night. He has this new found fear of hospitals. It was good to be able to see though that Daddy was doing well. Look out gym in a month...here comes John.

Birthdays and Baptisms

My cousin's two children were baptized this weekend. It was at the church I went to as a kid and where my children were both baptized. It is a place that just feels like home. I had the honor of being Aiden's godmother which made the experience even more special.

It was also Emma's birthday this weekend. She had a kid party on Saturday at a gymnastics studio. My kids had a blast! Her family party was at my aunts along with parties for the baptisms. Everyone had great food and a great time.

Jackopierce

John and I went to see Jackopierce perform Saturday night in Kansas City. We had a great time. The concert was amazing! They started with the mellow songs, John's favorites. Unfortunately, some of the drunk crowd got noisy and forced them into the more upbeat tunes. They sounded great and were very entertaining. We even got to talk to them after the show.

We also enjoyed our company. My brother, Becky and some of their friends were there and it was nice to be out with them before, during and after the concert. A much needed night out!

Rainy Day Fun

Take one look at this picture and tell me my kids need more toys for Christmas. They are so lucky to have so many great things to play with and I feel lucky that we now have a toy room to hold everything!

At the point of this picture they had been playing quietly by themselves for about fifteen minutes which usually means trouble. Happily though everything was fine, just messy. Isn't that the point of a playroom though?

Will Read for Food

I don't know how many of you remember Book-It from your days in elementary school but it is alive and well. In exchange for reading books Pizza Hut will give you a personal pan pizza for free. Of course that only feeds one so then mom and dad have to cough up the money to feed everyone else. I used to love this when I was younger. I don't remember getting coupons myself but I do remember my little sister Christy getting them and then we would all get pizza!

Luckily Sam doesn't really need any incentive to read books. I always wanted a child that loves to read. Sam will keep asking for me to read more books. A few weekends ago we sat down and read a whole chapter book in one sitting!

I'm really anxious for him to start reading more on his own. He has about 20 sight words right now but isn't showing a lot of interest on doing it on his own. I'm trying not to push and waiting for it to come. The teacher in me tries to hold back the pushy parent and keep it contained to those teachable moments when he is really interested. I know it will come and I hope he will continue to love reading throughout his lifetime.

Trick or Treat

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating with their cousins. We all got together around 5 for some pizza and then it was costume time. Ella was a little upset at first that Sam did not want to walk with her and kept running ahead with the big kids. She was happy though when she realized that all this candy was going to be for her. She had a sucker open about 4 houses into it and life was good!

After hitting quite a few houses we went back home. Sam's two older cousins (12 & 13) and a friend were going back out again. Sam managed to talk them into taking him too. He was really excited about trick-0r-treating. I think he could have gone all night.

I don't know who ended up with more candy though. Sam worked hard going door to door and Ella figured out it was fun to just keep taking more and more candy out of Aunt Dana's bowl. While Sam was out trick-or-treating a batman came to the door. Ella kept yelling, "SAM, SAMMY!" and couldn't understand why batman wasn't answering her. She would not believe me when I told her it wasn't her brother.

Pumpkin' Carvin'

This afternoon we carved our pumpkins. We are lucky this year since John is on vacation and can help us with all of our Halloween festivities. He was on call every Halloween while we were in North Carolina.

Sam was on a mission to dig out his pumpkin seeds and ready to bake them for a snack. He decided quickly though that the job was more difficult than he thought. John and I ended up cleaning out both pumpkins. I thought Ella might like pulling out the seeds but cried when I tried to get her to help.

I carved one pumpkin into a traditional jack o' lantern. My whole pumpkin took 10 minutes from cleaning to carving. Sam and John on the other hand decided they wanted a batman pumpkin to match Sam's costume. Well, Daddy is a perfectionist. The whole process was more like 40 minutes. I must admit though that their pumpkin looks great!

Homecoming

This weekend was Homecoming at Mizzou! The kids stayed with my parents while John and I headed to Columbia to see old friends. We were able to catch up with some of my friends from undergrad and some of our friends from John's med. school class. It was so nice to see everyone! We ate good food, drank cold beer, played washers and enjoyed eachothers company. It was all topped off by a great Tiger victory.

Wanted- Godkid.

Yesterday my cousin called and asked if I would be his son's godmother. I was honored and of course accepted. When John came home from work last night Sam said, "Guess what? Mommy is going to be Aiden's godmother."
"Oh she is, that is great!" John replied.
"And guess what?" asked Sam. "That means I get to be Aiden's godkid!"

Fun, fish, and four square!

John spent the day Saturday fishing with a friend from work. They caught a bunch of crappie and his friend let John have it all. We decided to have his sisters and their families over for a fish fry.

We had a great time eating the delicious fish and other yummy food! The second hit of the evening was four square. I think everyone but Ella got in on the action. Let me tell you, the Medley family is competitive. People were upset with calls, diving for balls, and trash talking. It was a good time had by all.

Step 2- tables

Slowly but surely we are getting our living room furnished. The first step was the rug, chair, couch and loveseat. Yesterday we finished step two, the tables. We got an end table, coffee table and a media cabinet for all of the tv junk (I mean equipment). Hopefully you can see all three in the picture. The media cabinet is the black one in the very back of the photo.

On to step three, pillows and curtains! I also need to start looking for accessories. Problem is they need to be pretty kid proof.

Happy Autumn

Okay, so maybe it's the elementary teacher in me coming out but I had to change my background for Fall. It's making up for not being able to do bulletin boards any longer. I hope you enjoy the variety. Also, check out the new lists on the side. There used to be lists of our favorite books but in honor of Halloween I'm doing each of our favorite types of candy!

Pledge of Egypt

We were running behind this morning getting Sam ready for school. I was pretty sure that we got him there in time though to be in his classroom before the bell rang. I asked him after school if he had made it to class on time. He told me he was the last one there but he wasn't late because Mr. Allison (the principal) hadn't come on the intercom yet for the "pledge of Egypt."

Carnival!

Sam's school had their annual carnival this evening. Sam had a blast! Ella had a good time too but was a little upset with her mom that she couldn't do everything that Sam was doing. Next year we are going to hope Daddy isn't on call so he can keep Ella. A bounce house full of kindergarten to fifth graders just doesn't seem like the place for a one year old to me.

We spent a lot of time at the candy bar walk. Just like the cake walk from my own elementary school carnivals, but I guess moms don't bake anymore. Sam won two candy bars. Ella didn't win any but loved walking in the circle with the big kids. Besides the bouncy house for Sam the other big hit was the balloon lady. Ella got a flower balloon and Sam got a tiger. Unfortunately, Sam's balloon didn't last long enough at home for a picture.

Mr. Clean

This evening John and I were sitting out in the driveway watching the kids play when we saw Sam run to the front door of the house. All parents would know by the dance he was doing that he needed to use the bathroom and fast! Unfortunately, the front door was locked so he had to go through the garage and then to the other side of the house to the nearest bathroom.

Sam returned just minutes later with same clothes, and dry so I thought all was well. John asked him, "Did you make it in time?"

Sam's reply, "No." With a look of uh-oh all across his face.

I asked him if his pants were dry where he had gone to the bathroom. He answered, "the wall, the carpet, the floor." I shook my head and told him to go back inside to start cleaning up his mess. Knowing full well that I would have to go in and redo the job.

He was back in no less than two minutes. John asked, "Did you clean it up?"

His response, "Yes."

A few seconds later John says, "What did you use to clean it all up?"

"My shoe," came the response. What could we do but laugh?

He really had made a huge mess in the bathroom and wasn't too happy about having to help me clean it up a second time.

Let me know if you would like Sam and his cleaning techniques to come help around your house.

Tennis Anyone?

Every Monday and Wednesday night you can find Sam on the tennis courts. He is taking lessons at a nearby tennis complex. He loves it! He told me yesterday, while we were practicing in the driveway, that "I'm almost as good as Uncle Jono." His uncle played tennis in college.

While he has a long way to go before college tennis he is showing improvement. Most importantly though he is having a good time and getting lots of exercise!

You can see Sam in the orange shirt. It is hard to get a good photo from where the parents watch practice.

Hurray for days off school!

Today was a teachers' workday so Sam did not have school. In my opinion the best part of today was that there was no 6:30 alarm clock. The kids and I didn't wake up until eight. It was fantastic!

I think the kids would tell you the best part of today was the park. We tried a new park in Springfield that once was a farm. The playground looks like a farm, they have old tractors, and a few animals. The kids really enjoyed it!

We saw some chickens that both kids liked until a rooster ran over and cock-a-doodle-dood right by us and scared Ella. She loved looking at the miniature ponies and the sheep though. She was upset that they didn't want her to touch them. We will have to go to the park by Grandma's sometime soon where they let you pet and feed the animals. Both kids were disappointed that the cows were out in the pasture and not in the barn for them to see. Ella's favorite animal sound is definitely MOO. Overall though, I would say the animals were second to the playground that both kids were not happy to leave.

Randomness

Okay, besides keeping up with our life's daily events I'm going to use this as a spot to write my random thoughts. Writing to me is a cathartic experience. Not sure anyone cares to read my random babble, but people are free to scroll up and down as they choose.

First, the election. I am still not sure who I am voting for and realize that it is about time to make a decision. I have read about the candidates, watched debates and tried to stay informed. The problem is I don't agree with one candidate on all the issues. I guess it will come down to which issues I decide are most important to me and the country as a whole.

Second, still kind of the election, but the Sarah Palin thing. I watched the debate last night and don't understand how some people are calling her a winner. It is like because she didn't fall flat on her face it was her victory. I don't care if she spoke to the camera well or looked good in her shiny black suit. She dodged many questions and her answers were so rehearsed. Personality is not the reason I vote for my candidates. She is not qualified if she were to need to run this country.

I wish Biden would have attacked her as much as she did him. I'm sure the democratic campaign managers told him not to do so. They probably worried how it would look for him to attack a woman. We can not treat candidates differently based on their sex. If she is up to the challenge then let's challenge her and see.

Third, on a positive note, I am so excited that they are coming out with a movie about The Secret Life of Bees. That is one of my favorite books of all time. If you haven't read it, it is well worth your time. Hopefully the movie will not disappoint. I think it has a good cast though.

The cast was on Oprah this week. One of the members is Alicia Keys. She sang a new song of hers called Superwoman. If you have not heard the song you should check it out; it is very inspiring.

Okay, enough babble for today.

SOOOO BIG!

Our little one is getting so big! Ella went to the doctor Tuesday for her year and half check-up. She is 24 lbs. and 33 3/4 inches. She is tall just like her brother, the 90th percentile. Her weight was only the 50th percentile. I can only dream of stats like that for myself.

She had to have two shots. Let me tell you that as a parent I think they almost hurt me more than it does her. I hate having to hold her hands and have her look at me like, "Why are you letting them hurt me?" It does get a little easier when they get older like Sam and you can at least try to explain the shot's benefits.

We like our new doctor and Ella is very healthy and on or ahead of schedule in her development. John and I are truly blessed to have such happy, healthy kids.

The picture is of Ella doing one of her favorite things. Emptying the kitchen cabinets of all of their contents.

MIZZOU

We have been spending a lot of our fall cheering on our Missouri Tigers. Who by the way, are ranked third our fourth in the country depending on which poll you see. The kids went with us to the first two games and had a blast! I can't say they watch the game intently but there are lots of things going on to see.

This last home game my old college roomie and her husband came down from Illinois and tailgated and went to the game with us. I really enjoyed getting to see Tracy and Alan and relive some old college memories.

This week we are stuck watching the game on tv. John's brother-in-law offered us tickets but John is on call and Nebraska is a bit of a drive. Hopefully our Tigers will make us proud.