Baby it's Cold Outside-I LOVE THE SNOW...

...and so do my kids! YEAH!!! I don't like driving in it but when I'm fully covered in 12 layers of clothing and I'm with my kids- there is nothing better than a bit of time outside in the snow! After the first snowfall, we all were eager to get outside.

Snowball fights began immediately

As did snow angels

It's hard to see but we made our first snowman of the year...he was about a foot high since the snow wasn't packing.

Then. It happened. Something Brian had been contemplating for years and realized now could be the time. He asked if we wanted to try sledding at the Bridge Street interstate ramp like the dozens of other families we'd seen over the years. I wanted to say no but I also wanted to try and so..."YES!"

We were the only ones there but people had been before us. Bri took a test run and then it was me and Al and we were both nervous...I told him to think about it like a water slide in the Dells and just enjoy it! WE DID!! It was amazing! Some of the best sledding I've ever experienced.

Mara and Daddy were next and since she's fearless, we knew it would go well and it did!

Only problem is that with a great sled down it means a great hike back up...it was hard for all of us and it might be impossible with too much more snow. We heaved up and up and up!

It was my favorite moment in the snow with my kids ( to date) What a blast!

What a great afternoon!

Here is one of Amara and Daddy's runs! What fun!

Girls Gift Exchange 2010 (otherwise known as GGE)

For teh past 7 years, my girlfriends in Chicago ( mostly from college and a few who have joined "the group" along the way) have gathered at the holidays for a Girls Gift Exchange. What started as just an opportunity to get together, drink, gossip, EAT, and exchange a few gifts has turned into THE EVENT of the year that is NOT to be missed. The reason? There is nothing ellaborate about it...we wear PJ's or sweatpants, the drinking still happens but since many have kids or are pregnant it's not necessary. It's just the one event all year that we all can be US and we just can be best friends and have a blast, laugh endlessly til our bellies ache, talk about our hopes and dreams, and get some pretty awesome gifts. The event is such a big deal that daily e-mails start about the event to the whole group weeks in advance, deep depression sets in if you can't make it, and people even fly in for this event!Everyone brings a gift to exchange, a food item and a beverage.

This year was hosted by Monica and she made huge efforts to add lots of little details...

The glasses
The candles...

The centerpieces...

The appetizers....

Our amazing host!

No boys and no kids allowed...except babies!!! WE LOVE BABIES!!!! And Erin just had sweet Molly two months ago so she got to attend her first GGE and her mommy hardly had the chance to hold her because the rest of us were fighting over her.

Me and JennyJenny and Mira by the mistletoe

Food

and more food!

Lots of friends!

So we play the gift exchange by drawing numbers. You pick your gift in order and you can steal someone else's gift two times before it's "dead" and unable to be stolen. It's all about the number drawn. Jenny was super crabby when she picked a low number!One last picture before the stealing begins!

Rita sees a gift Erin opens and WANTS!!!! ( she ended up stealing it)Jenny picked the perfect gift for her and loved it. Monica ( her oldest friend) stole it from her and Jenny was pissed. Monica, as a way to try to make peace, went into her bedroom and got a picture of her and Jenny. Jenny held the picture but kept the pissed attitude...for a few seconds!

17 of us this year!

After the gift exchange and more eating and drinking, we turned off the lights and did a group tradition of a candlelighting....pass a candle and talk about a specific topic- this year it was what we were thankful for and what our hopes were for 2011! What a wonderful tradition that allows us to really connect as a group and share our lives! I didn't leave until 2:20AM!!!!WHAT A WONDERFUL NIGHT AND A TRULY INCREDIBLE GROUP OF WOMEN I'M SO HONORED TO KNOW AND LOVE!!!!

A New Challenge

Well...it's official...I'm signed up for the Illinois Marathon on Saturday April 30, 2011!!!!! Oh, no- I am NOT doing the 26.2 miles- HECK NO! I am however running the relay with a four person team and that's farther than I've ever ran before- more than 7.5 miles! It took me two years to get the courage to try to go from 3.2 to 4 miles so this will be a huge jump this winter and spring and I'm excited about it...and nervous.

I'm even more excited about who I am running with...Brian and I decided after we got to watch the Marathon last MAY that we would run the relay and asked on my blog if anyone wanted to do it with us. My girlfriend Mallory said she was IN with her hubby and we were so happy to have a team. Mallory and Stephen had to back out and Brian and I were wondering who we would do this with and if we'd be able to do it at all. I'm happy to announce that our new relay partners with be Brian's sister Anita and her boyfriend, Joe! YEAH! We are thrilled!

And our team name with be: Racing Home

You'll be able to check out our training and our progress on this blog or on Brian's BLOG

Visiting Santa, Picking a Tree, and Trimming their new little trees!

Last night was super busy and so much fun! We started getting the kids pictures taken for Christmas then headed over to meet Santa. Al immediately ran to Santa and started telling him about the Star Wars Transformers he saw at TJ Maxx.
Amara, not so much...she talked about seeing Santa the whole way there and as we got closer and closer, she got more and more scared. She was NOT happy when we put her on his lap for pictures!

When Daddy held her she was better and she gladly accepted the book and the candy cane.

You can see she is still nervous.Maybe next year.

Then on for a very quick trip to get a tree- it was COLD. We picked it in less than 2 minutes!

Here it is!

And today the kids got all the decorations out from the party at Jack and June's and decorated, decorated, decorated with all the string and ribbons and ornaments June gave them..I only helped with Mara's bow she demanded on top!

We put one of Alaric's batman ornaments on this tree too.

Mara loves hers

And they both love having them by their bedsides when the fall asleep!

Making Seasons Bright!

The First Day of December...ooohh the anticipation!

Today is one of my favorite days of the holiday season...the first day of December...the beginning of the hustle and bustle and beginning of all the anticipation. I re-read last year's blogpost and today I'm not as deep as I was last year. I think I'm just tired. Literally and figuratively. I was up until midnight and up again this morning at 4 so I'm exhausted BUT I think what I'm looking forward to this season is some FUN! Some energy, some excitement-we've been so consumed by health concerns these past few months, I'm so eager to put some energy into something else and it's truly the magic of the season and the light I see in my children's eyes!

God was with me this morning as I tried to show my family some magic...we looked outside and there was SNOW! Real stuff that actually stuck and the kids were overjoyed! Then they noticed that something was on the floor in the dining room. It was an empty box to THE ELF ON THE SHELF. the elf got out! Each night, when the kids sleep-he comes alive to visit Santa and tell him if the children were being naughty or nice. Then, before they wake up, he finds a special hiding spot where he can watch the kids all day long. Well, last night he broke out of his box, opened the book and spread it on the ground too AND hid ( do you see him in the very top of the picture peeking out behind the curtain at the top of the door frame?). Guess what the kids named their Elf? Magic...love it!!!

Then, the kids saw their book baskets. Only this time the books were wrapped. Each day before Christmas, they get to unwrap ONE book and read it and then add it to thier other winter/holiday collection books that have been dispersed all over the house for them to enjoy!

Last year we did the advent calendar for the first time and we all loved it. Today, they picked a piece of paper from the #1 pocket and found a clue.

It said to go to the place where the kids keep their undies...

To the bathroom we headed. The next clue told us to find the Chief sign on the beer fridge. Sadly, my kids knew just where to go....

To the bar in the basement....this clue said to go where mommy and daddy get nice and clean each morning. THE SHOWER....

They pulled back the curtain and there it was-their Christmas tree for their bedroom!

Beautiful!

Well, I didn't want Brian to feel left out. He's had such a difficult fall and works so hard for our family, even in pain, and I wanted to do something for him. When I saw this on my favorite blog, Dating Divas- i knew this was my answer.

I made a Christmas Countdown just for Brian. Each day til Christmas he gets to turn over a card. I typed up compliments, things to do together and acts of service and the days and then glued them onto cardstock with cute paper!

Brian, and the kids liked seeing all of them together on the wall in the hallway!

Here's what Day #1 said today....

The kids also discovered other surprises this morning, including all the Christmas DVDs and videos out!

And I made a "sweet" centerpiece last night too....just took my cake plate and 3 unused vases and filled them with ornaments, candy canes, mints, greenery, and some decorative rocks- Ta Da! I think it turned out well!

I hope you are as eager for this holiday season to begin as I am...enjoy it! love it! Hold your kids close and your spouses even closer and focus on your family and the fun-not the stress and the craziness!