ICE!

This weekend we made the trek out to Opryland to see Merry Madagascar out of Ice. It seems that Ice may be one of those things that is better in theory, at least with three-year old, tired children. Tyler really seemed to enjoy it, especially the ice slide, but Katie was mostly just cold (it is unbelievably cold in there) and really ready for a nap. We had a good time, but it was very, very crowded (which is a bit frightening when you are trying to keep up with two short people who have no idea the danger of getting lost in a crowd and when the crowd is made up of people all wearing the same coats) and people didn't really have much of the holiday spirit (maybe it was because we were with all of the other people who didn't spring for the VIP ticket that allowed you to skip in line and had to wait in a corral for 30 minutes with little children of all ages). All children under the age of 4 are free so this may be our last year for a while since the kids will be 4 next Christmas and the awe of seeing all of these cool things made out of ice is more enticing when we aren't paying for four tickets :)!

This was waiting in line, he had this jacket on under the special one and it was STILL cold!

An Early Christmas Delivery

My crazy husband was really itching to have some presents under the tree, but since the only shopping we have done is for the kids we didn't really have anything to put under there yet. So, last night Santa's helpers - the elves - made an early delivery of some wrapped gifts. Bribery really works and the kids have been on their best behavior (and going to sleep well thanks to the song that tells them he knows if they are sleeping) in anticipation of presents! They woke up this morning to some gifts with their names on them under the tree but they know that they can't open them until we put all of the dates on our calendar "tree." They were super excited though, and Katie kept saying I can't believe Santa came (she must know that she has been more naughty than nice). They keep telling everyone that Santa came last night, but they will be really amazed when he brings even more stuff Christmas Eve!

We made a second attempt at attending a movie last weekend. We went to see the Muppets (pretty cute), and they did alright. The previews lasted for what seemed forever (30 minutes) and I really think that if those had been a bit shorter the movie would have captured their attention more and they would have made it better through the last 15 minutes, which were rough. I do think, too, that if they knew the characters we would have better success so if there is a Dora, or Diego, or Super Why, Dino Dan, or Strawberry Shortcake movie anytime soon we are there! All in all it was a fun time, even if Ray-Ray and So-So may have been embarrassed to be with us there at the end!

There Are Two Santas, Momma?

Santa made an appearance at the Y tonight and we took the kids to visit with him. They did great telling him what they want (and even what I wanted), and eagerly sat on his lap to take a picture. Unfortunately, I only had my camera phone with me but we will surely be visiting a more formal Santa sometime soon! When we were leaving Tyler asked me if there were 2 Santas, because he talked to one when he was at Home Depot with dad while Katie was at dance class. His count will definitely be up by the time Christmas arrives - I didn't think I would have to be explaining that one so soon! We still haven't taken our Christmas card pictures (so those will definitely be late), and I toyed with trying to get some tonight but none will really work. So, here are just a couple of random shots too!

Rockettes!

Katie spent the day with So-So at the Rockettes show! From everything I have heard she had a great time. She came back with a Rockettes costume that she immediately stripped down to put on when she walked in the house. She brought Tyler a bear and told me all about the bear in the show who was wearing "her" costume. Tyler was excited about his gift and had a good time while his sister was away playing at Ray-Ray's house and watching football with the boys. I got to go shopping and to the grocery store by myself which meant I also had a pretty darn good day!

Decision Maker For Hire

I have had the hardest time making decisions lately (let's be honest - I am never good at it but it has just gotten worse)! I think it is because I have been uber stressed with lots of work responsibilities and my little brain it just at capacity thinking about things that have to be done rather than decisions that I need to make! My car is acting up (again) - the battery light keeps coming on and power steering goes out - and despite having it looked at and tested nobody can figure out what is wrong. My decision there boils down to do we just hope that it will be alright since it seems to recover when you turn the car off and just pray that it doesn't happen while driving on the interstate, or do we urge someone to find something wrong to fix. Or, I guess the other option is do we hold onto it until it is paid off in a year and see if we can drive it into the ground with hopefully minimal repair costs, or cut our losses (and probably expenses considering the history of this thing) and find a way to get something different which would entail somehow paying off the loan on this one and qualifying for something else with equally as low payments.

My hired (for cheap) decision maker would also help me with parenting issues. The school thing is still out there and if I want them in PK next Fall I have to decide by December 31st. Plus, we just got a letter from Katie's dance class that wants $130 for her recital and costume fee and I can't decide if we are going to do that because it doesn't really make sense if we don't sign her up for classes the next session since the recital isn't until May. Katie loves dance, but I don't think she would notice if we didn't do it and it is pretty expensive considering that she keeps talking about wanting to go to swimming classes, play soccer, etc., too. I could get her that for Christmas, but then she wouldn't have as many tangible things under the tree so it is another one I just go back and forth on. In the face of hearing the stories of the families I work with and others struggling, I know that we are lucky to have these dilemmas - some people (some that the kids go to school with) don't have cars at all, can't even consider dance classes or soccer teams, and would love to get just one thing for Christmas. Nevertheless, it is just hitting me that you think the expensive time of having kids is over when they are out of diapers, not drinking formula, and not in child care but I am fast learning that those expenses just get replaced with even bigger ones!