Mommy Home

I am home today with the boys. Nathan and Dalton say "Mommy home" and I think it is so cute. We've had fun being together today. This morning we read stories and played with play doh. They love play doh. I have some that I made a while back. It stays fresh for a while and it gives them a big glob to work with :)




This morning I put small pieces of apple in their pancakes and they loved it. Collin said he could "feel the apples on his teeth." Collin is on a major growth spurt right now. I've never seen the child eat so much. He is constantly saying he is hungry. For a change of pace, I ordered some pizza from Papa John's and we went and picked it up for our lunch. Pizza is always a big hit with the boys. I had to call Jim (who is in Philadephia again this week) to tell him that Collin ate 4 pieces of pizza! I told him we are in trouble when they become teenagers, we will have to do a "catering order" with the pizza companies and we won't be able to afford eating pizza out very much because we will have to buy so many!




If the sun would come out, it would be a georgeous day. It is 60 degrees outside and I've opened up the front door for some fresh air. It has been raining all day. When we went to town Collin asked where the sun was. He asked if it was hiding today and I told him I thought it was.


They are down now for nap. While they are napping I have to squeeze in my shower and make our tortellini soup for dinner tonight (as well as the usual chores of laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.). With Jim gone there is little time for rest in order to keep up with this crew! :) Tonight I am teaching in Mission Friends at church and it will be the first night the twins will be in class so it should be interesting!


I'll leave you with this picture of Sassy bonding with Collin's white kitty. Can you tell which kitty is real? :)

Togetherness

Recently Collin had the twins sit on his lap on this little wooden chair they have. I thought it was cute that they were trying to pile up so I grabbed the camera:





Another evening they were wild as could be and we couldn't seem to keep them off the couch. Finally, Jim just grabbed the camera to catch the mischief in action:





Last night the twins insisted on sleeping with the big boys. I stayed with them a while until they fell asleep (and of course I did as well). When Jim came to get me, he took this picture after I got up because we couldn't believe how everyone fell asleep! The small space in the middle is where I was sleeping. Nathan fell asleep with his head on my leg and I had to "ease" out of bed!

Boy Mouths

Boy Mouths are used for many things. Here is an example of them being used as a vacuum:




What do you do when you spill some candy on the floor? Don't let it go to waste, just get your brother (and possibly the cat) to help you clean it up :) You can clearly see an example here of the difference between a new mom and a mom of four....A new mom would have gone running, cleaned up the mess, and possibly washed their mouths out from any possible contamination from dirt. A mom of four runs to get her camera and watches laughing knowing everyone has to eat a pound of dirt before they die (or so my parents said :)

Boy mouths are also used for hurting your sibling, especially when you are two. The biggest battle we have with the twins is stopping them from biting each other. I couldn't help but grab my camera at this precious moment of the big brothers examining the injury and offering comfort:






This week the boy mouths have been used to do a lot of whining, crying, and being irritable. Everyone had a hard time adjusting to Mommy being back at work and starting school and usual activities. We have some tired children and we are hoping a weekend of rest will make next week go smoother.

Christmas

We heard about these lights and the boys and I went out to see them one night. The lights light up to music on a radio station! Here is a brief video clip:





Here are some "still" pictures, but they didn't turn out as well:





We also went to see another house downtown. This is a beautiful old house and it was very pretty for Christmas:





What's a post without the newest fashion photo? Here is the Christmas version



Christmas morning was a lot of fun with the boys opening their gifts. Nathan just didn't get into though. He would open one present and want to stop and play with that present. He didn't understand that there were more to come!


Opening their stockings




Collin opening his White Kitty (what he wanted most)




I always get a little sad at the end of the day when Christmas is over. So much leads up to the one day and it is over so quickly. My hope is that the spirit of Christmas stays with our family (and yours) throughout the year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

This will probably be a long post since it has been so long since I've posted! It has been a whirlwind. Jim had laser surgery on his remaining kidney stones on 12/15 and has been in pain every day since (except for yesterday which was his first pain free day YEAH!). It has been hard on everyone, him for the pain and the kids because they wanted to play with Daddy and couldn't, and me for being a "single parent" during the busy Christmas season!

The time leading up to Christmas was very busy. I felt like I was baking in a cake marathon! :) First, we had our work Christmas party. We did Secret Santa and I drew my friend Jennifer's name. I had fun giving her the gifts all week and trying to keep it a surprise. She introduced me to a blog called Cake Wrecks. One of the cakes on this site is a pretty funny looking cake where mohawk-wearing babies are riding carrots! Who knows why a cake would be created like this, but she and I found it very funny, so I made her one. Here are a couple of photos:





Collin and I attended a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's (Collin loves this place!) and I made a firetruck cake with cupcakes with fireman on them:





One night we went to visit Santa. As you can see by these pictures, the twins were not impressed :):





Two Wednesday nights each month I help in the Mission Friends class at our church. The children range from age 2 through 5 and we usually have a room full! I think I learn as much from the children as they do from me sometimes and I really enjoy being with them. Collin loves it too when Mommy is his teacher :) On the 17th I made them a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. I made one last year and one of the children remembered and asked for it again this year. Its great to hear the little ones talk about Jesus's birthday. Here is a picture of this year's cake:



On 12/18 Tristan had his party for Karate. He received his yellow belt! We are so proud of him and he plans to continue on in Karate. He really enjoys it and we love it as it teaches him discipline. I baked the cake for the class. Here are some pictures:






On Friday (12/19) my last day of work, I took Tristan to school and brought in reindeer cupcakes for his class as well as goody bags for the kids and presents for his two teachers. I then took Jim to the Dr. to get his stint out, drove him home, and rushed into work. I also took a cake to work with me that day to give to a former coworker for her son's birthday. Here are a couple of photos:




On Saturday, we were on the float for our church in the Christmas parade. The twins were angels, Tristan was a shepherd, and Collin was himself :) He didn't want to wear a costume he said. They were all were great. The twins were going to be with Daddy watching the parade, but he wasn't feeling well from his surgery so they came along. It worked out great, the weather was nice (not too cold) and the kids were on their best behavior. We had to be at the float at 12:00 and the parade didn't start until 2:00. I brought plenty of snacks including some Christmas cookies and juice boxes for all the kids after the ride. We had a great time and our Church handed out Candy canes with bible verses out to folks along the way. Here are some photos:





On Sunday nights our church offers an Awana program and I help teach Tristan's class (the Sparks). This past Sunday all the classes went in front of the church for a program. They recited Bible verses they had memorized. Even Collin's class is able to recite scripture! I was a very proud momma, not only for my boys but for all the kids we work with. It is amazing to see them recite scripture they learned weeks ago. Tristan loves this program and was concerned that the program meant it was over. I had to explain that it runs through the school year and he was happy as he loves going on Sunday nights. Each night the children spend time hearing a bible story, reciting their scripture, and playing games. Here are some photos of our Sunday program:


Collin's class



Collin reciting his verse



Story time



Tristan's class (actually about 1/2 the class as some were travelling for the holidays)



Tristan reciting his verses



All classes sang Christmas carols at the end with the entire church




On Tuesday, I took the boys to my work to give my coworker/friend a Christmas cake I had baked her. Brianna came with us. They had a blast because my friend Jasmine gave them bunches of candy and goodies. Here is the cake I made her. Collin says I need to make one for him now! :)



We have also had fun this week making a gingerbread house and Christmas cookies. The kids (and Brianna) decorated these themselves.




Anyone in for a sprinkle overdose?




I'll post Christmas photos and our pictures of going to see Christmas lights later. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Perhaps you can see why I didn't have time to send Christmas cards this year! :)

Christmas is almost here!

Can you believe Christmas is just two weeks away? I do not feel ready, but I'm trying not to stress too much about it. I want to stay focused on the reason for the season and to teach my children not only about Santa, but the real reason for celebration--the birth of Christ.


The kids got so excited when we brought the Christmas items from the attic. We have a multitude of singing santas, snowmen, etc. that grandmas have given us over the years. The kids absolutely love them. Here is a picture of the twins having a great time discovering them as we brought them down. They had all of them singing and making noise at one time which was quite loud but comical:





By the way Nanna, take a close look at this snowman. You bought it long ago (I believe for Tristan). He has long ago lost his swinging lights and his hips might not sway as much to the music, but the boys love him just as much :)




Isn't he one of the cutest Santas you've ever seen?



Even Santa's gotta brush his teeth :)




Here's a familiar sight at the Davis household

We all love ice cream, including the twins. In case you don't believe me, here is some evidence :)





Who's cuter, me or the bear? My mom says I am of course!