Christmas

Trying to add pictures for the Christmas blog, but not going so well! Sorry.

Christmas!

Christmas came and went wayyyy too fast! I so enjoyed doing so many special things with my family to celebrate Christ's birthday. We made multiple trips in the car looking at Christmas lights. Cooper loved looking at people's blow ups of Santa Claus, Frosty and Winnie the Poo. He also loved to pet our Moose in the front yard :). We made it to the Christmas Eve service at church..and there was NO nursery. So our boys attended their first service of Big Church. Cooper enjoyed the music and I laid a blanket on the floor for Cohen with some toys and he played. They were wonderful.

Cooper loved all of his toys Christmas morning. By far his favorite was his basketball goal and ball. Cohen just watched..I think his favorite was his keys (hard to tell). I baked sweets and we all ate way too much.

The day after Christmas we went to Guntersville to spend with the Grandparents! Cooper was very excited to see his Grandpa! And everyone else..but Grandpa is his buddy. Cooper wore Grandpa out and we spent lots of time with all of the family. Nana and Grandpa spoiled the boys rotton with gifts and love. Mama Pat rocked Cohen to sleep, I think that was the first time he had actually been rocked to sleep. Very sweet. We also enjoyed time with Aunt Sandy, Tony, Banning and Kelly.

More to come on Christmas.. we will be celebrating with my family this weekend. I am posting some pictures but will update the website with more soon.

Chelsea Christmas Parade

This past Saturday our small town of Chelsea had a Christmas Parade! It's the small things like this that really help me get even more into the Christmas spirit. This was the second time Cooper has attended the parade so it's also something that is becoming a Christmas "tradition" for us. We really had to bundle up for the parade it was very COLD out.
Cooper had the most fun catching candy this year. He asked us each time Yea? before he picked up a piece of candy. I better enjoy that while I can. He then thought he had to eat each piece right away when he got it.

Cohen on the other hand was bundled up in the stroller but did not want to wear his hat and did not want to sit still. So..he ended up taking a nap in the car (warm and cozy) while the parade was going. By the way..we watched the parade from the back of our car, no babies were left unattended. :).

There were lots of floats, fire trucks, bands and decorated cars and trucks. By far my favorite is always the fire truck with the "dalmation." :)

Tinkerbell DVD

So...there is now a coupon or 2 out to get the Tinkerbell BluRay combo pack for practically free!
I am going to get mine tonight. Cooper likes to watch the Tinkerbell previews but I wasn't about to spend 20 something dollars to get him a "girly" movie :). (Although I am excited to see it)
But, now there is a $10.00 off coupon at the Disney website. And..Target has a $5.00 off any Bluray purchase. You can stack those coupons. There is also a rebate (I haven't printed that one yet.) The Blu Ray is on sale at Target for $19.99. So with just those 2 coupons the most you will pay is $5.00 + tax. Anyway details at at the Stretching a Buck Blog. There is a link on the side of my blog.
FYI: BluRay combo has the bluray DVD and a DVD for regular dvd players!!

Trip to see Santa!

I wasn't sure if going to see Santa was going to happen this year! Saturdays for us are usually full and it takes a lot to get Clay into the mall. I decided if I was going to do it I better go before the weekend and before the kids were out of school. So I got them dressed and went for it! :) We went at 10:30 in the morning and I think hit it just right. There were only 6 people in front of us. I even had to pull out Coopers snack to make it with that short wait!! Cooper was excited to see "HO HO" but when we got up to him and I put him in his lap he was not happy about me leaving him there. He kept his hands out for me to come and get him. Cohen on the other hand was as happy and content as could be chewing on his fist! :) So I had to sit with Santa as well to get a decent picture! I certainly hadn't thought that would happen. Would have worn more make-up! :)
So we did that..and then went to the Disney store! This was Cooper's first trip inside of the store but he notices it every time we come to the mall! He was in baby heaven! I decided to let him pick out one of the plush babies and pick out one for Cohen. (They were Buy one get one free). Yay! It was a hard choice but he chose a Winnie the Pooh and a Eyeore for Cohen. We then went to Chic fil a and had lunch and watched the Carousel. Full and fun morning with the boys.
I wish I had taken more pictures of our trip, it was somewhat difficult. And..our scanner is
broken so i can't post the Santa picture yet.

Double Layer Peppermint Bark

I had a request for this recipe! It's yummy stuff. I got the recipe from the SouthernPlate blog.

Peppermint Bark

2 Packages Almond Bark (white candy coating)

1-2 drops peppermint oil (can be omitted)

1 box standard sized candy canes

Place almond bark in large mixing bowl and microwave for 45 seconds, stir. Repeat until completely melted. Add peppermint oil. Pour onto waxed paper lined baking sheet or countertop and spread out until approximately ¼ inch thick. Place candy canes in zipper seal bag and let kids crush them. Sprinkle over top and allow to cool. Break into small pieces and store in airtight container or place in gift bags.

Peppermint Bark

With all of the cold and rainy days lately we have been stuck in the house. With a 2 year old that's not easy! So I have had to come up with things to do. I decided to make peppermint bark with Cooper. I was reading a blog that said it was "kid friendly." And it was! I had a ziplock bag of candy canes and let Cooper use his Handy Manny hammer to break the candy canes. He couldn't believe I was letting him stand in a chair in the kitchen and hammer candy on the counter. He did a great job and loved putting the candy canes on the almond bark. We are still working on the eating of all of that candy! Not good for my figure :).

Freebie

Sometimes on some of the blogs that I read there are ways to get things for free! Gotta love that.
I wish I had started reading these blogs a long time ago..they have been very useful. So here is a link to the latest free thing I have found. I think many of you will enjoy. It's for Olay Quench body lotion. You can get 2 of the full size and all you have to do is fill out a rebate form.

http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/2009/12/freebie-olay-quench-lotion.html

Also.. I have found a wonderful new blog that I would like to share. Lots of fun recipes. I know
Merritt is always looking for some new recipes. I am planning on taking a few hours this weekend and printing a lot of her recipes. As soon as I finish this blog Cooper and I are going to make double layer peppermint bark together! Fun!

http://www.southernplate.com/

Cohen's Check up

Cohen had his 6 month check up yesterday. I have found that it is almost impossible to take the boys to the Doctor by myself so I had to ask Clay for help. (Oh we need a babysitter sooo Bad) Clay met us at the Doctor's office and then took Cooper out for a while during the appt. I can't believe I ever thought it was difficult with 1. I just enjoyed the time I had with just him (and Cohen took advantage). Check up went well...the new weigh in is 21 lbs 28 in. 95 per. in weight 90 in height and 95 in head size! That wasn't really a shocker :).
Oh the words to describe my little Cohen! Sweet, Beautiful, Angel, Patient, Loving, Tender..I could go on and on..I am just so in love with my 3 Boys.

Hike

Clay and Cooper go hiking in the woods behind our house almost every weekend. It's one of Coopers favorite things to do, he just loves all of nature. I haven't had the opportunity to go on any "adventures" with them since I was pregnant with Cohen. So..I finally made the time to go on a hike with all of my boys and my 2 girls :). Mobie led the way but Cooper wasn't too far behind. I think Cooper is going to be the Wilderness Man when he grows up. He just takes off and does his own thing. With all of the leaves on the ground Cooper was most interested in sliding in the leaves on the hills. Very cute, but scary, I am worried about snakes!

Thanksgiving!

We were lucky enough to host Thanksgiving at our house this year! Brent, Merritt and their family came as well as Mom. So we had a house full! 4 kids and 3 dogs that really ruled the Roost :). Mom came several days early and we prepared a lot of the food ahead of time. Thanksgiving day flowed really well. The kids were able to play outside with the boys. They hiked in the woods, jumped on the trampoline and had a fun time. We ended up making a fire that evening and making smores. The kids really enjoyed that ( like they needed more sugar). Oh yes, and Uncle Brent gave the kids all tatoos, which they were very proud of. :)
Brent wanted to go to Dreamland while he was in B-ham, so Clay and Brent did that one day. And the girls got to go to Homewood and eat at a little sandwich shop (which was yummy). We had wonderful chicken salad. The girls took a little extra time and walked in the At Home store as well as O'Henry's and had coffee. I wish we could do that more often!!
We had an early Christmas as well. Cooper got a new train and movie, which he has not put down! And Cohen got a piggy bank, we need to get him saving early :).
Brent and his fam left Sunday morning for the long 10 hour trek back home. I know that was a hard trip for them but really enjoyed our visit!
WE WILL PUT MORE PICTURES ON THE WEBSITE, THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE LIKE 300 PICTURES WE HAVE! :)

Update

Just so you guys know I haven't given up on blogging! We have done lots of stuff lately I am just Impatiently awaiting some pictures on my computer! :) I think I need to figure out how to do that myself (you think).
So...hopefully so updates on life to come soon!