Hello 2012

The new year started off with Bob and I driving back to VA to retrieve the boys from a McDonalds where we had met up with them. Sooo thankful to have my boys back!


It was a pretty long drive, but at least not as much traffic and rain as the original drive. Tyler read almost the entire time (Al had given him the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid books he had asked for) and Jasond did some sleeping.

On the 2nd they still didn't have school, so we got some time to catch up. We also had dinner with my grandparents before they were scheduled to leave for FL for the winter.

Tyler was back to school on the 3rd. That morning Jason had tumblin tots before heading to school in the afternoon, when I head off to a doctor's appointment of my own.

After school they got to open yet more presents before Tyler got back to a week off of karate.

On Wednesday I got to use my new hair dryer, but Jason insisted I dry his hair too. Ha ha.

That evening after karate my dad brought Tyler to Nokomis for the Pinewood Derby clinic where he cut out the wood to create his "Tech Deck" themed derby car.

On the 5th I got to go to the GI doctor to learn how to give myself my injections of my new medicine. Just awesome. I'm sure it's every mom's dream to have a sharps container in their bedroom. Ugh.

Once I got home I was able to take Jason out to play in the snow dusting. He insisted he was going to make a snowman "this big" (as shown in the 2nd picture). A little tough with a 1/4 inch of snow!


We persevered and created the world's tiniest snowman, but it was big enough to make Jason happy!



Afterwards we took a walk in the snow.

Then we had some snuggle time. Jason is still loving that darn monster hat!

That afternoon Jason and I hung out and did puzzles at the library while Tyler did his "kids can cook" class there.

On Friday Jason and I enjoyed some outside time (shooting his new nerf gun daddy had given him...ugh) before we went to serve lunch at Tyler's school.

That evening after a make-up karate class I agreed to let the boys have a sleepover in Tyler's room. Yep, that didn't end well. Jason was back in his crib probably by 9:00. Maybe next year.

On Saturday we had a surprisingly warm day. Tyler got to check out his new pogo stick.

Then we even had a picnic at the playground, with what seemed like the rest of the surrounding area.


We ended our saturday with a little birthday cake baking for Bob. Jason is always a fan if it involves licking some batter! Well, who isn't?

2011 comes to an end...

December 26-31

The day after Christmas oddly found us at The Discovery Museum. You would think that we would have been home playing with presents, but by mid-morning I just needed to get out. The boys had fun though. Love the blackmail photos of the boys in dresses as they played in the dress-up theatre.





That afternoon we met my sister-in-law and her family at my mother-in-law's house for our belated Christmas celebration. The boys had fun opening presents again and playing with their cousins.



The next day I did something that I found to be really hard. I packed up the boys and all their stuff, picked up Bob, and drove to VA to meet Al and Michele...where I handed them off so they could spend 5 days with their dad. I was soooooo incredibly thankful to get them for Christmas, but hadn't really focused on how hard it would be to give them away for all of Christmas vacation. As we started back to NJ we saw rainbow and I told myself that it would be okay.

The next day I went to my friend Tracy's to meet us with a group of high school friends (some of which were only visiting for the holidays). I got to meet my friend Tracy's baby finally, as well as Kristen's and Lindsay's. All so cute. Thankful to meet everybody but sad, now that my friends are finally having kids, that I didn't have mine with me...


In an effort to keep my mind off of things my mom and I had a girls night in AC. It did reaffirm that I am in fact a total dork. I think we were probably in bed by 9:30, but in spite of that I did have fun.


I spent the rest of my 5 day "break" by doing ridiculous things like doing a very detailed cleaning of my car, working on this stupid blog, shopping, etc. I know how to have a good time!

New Year's Eve was definitely low-key. Went to Friday's with my parents and Chris. Then I went to Bob's where we went briefly to his friends, but otherwise just ate junk food and watched the ball drop. Good times. Sigh. Farewell to 2011.

Christmas Day, 2011

Santa came!

Tyler was the first one up, of course. Instead of waking up Jason and possibly dealing with a major crankypants, we just let Tyler open his presents first. My parents woke up to watch him and Bob came over to join us too. After he opened his stocking he melted my heart by wanting us to open our presents (the ones he picked out at the secret gift shop) before he opened his. Awww. Anyway Tyler seemed to like everything, even clothes (of course there were 2 Diary of a Wimpy Kid shirts). He was most excited by some of the smaller stuff such as his mighty bean case and track, a new Dude Diary, and some DS games.



Finally Jason woke up to open up his presents. He got really into it this year and seemed to like just about everything! The major hit was the trampoline and tool set!






I can't forget to mention that one of Tyler's biggest gifts was actually a hand-me-down laptop that my Uncle Glenn passed on to us that I surprised him with later in the morning. He couldn't have been happier!

Soon family started to arrive for brunch and Bob head home to spend Christmas day with his family. We had a nice brunch and were able to sit back and relax.

There were some last-minute changes in plans so we ended up spending the day at the house playing with all the new presents before finally getting dressed for the day.

Then we head to Al's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike's house for Christmas dinner. The kids had a great time and it was so nice to see everyone. I'm very thankful that they still include me and the boys in family things, even though Al and I are not together. And the photos are from Uncle Mike, cause they are way better than the ones I took with my phone!

Christmas Eve

Finally Christmas Eve had arrived. The boys and I attended a Christmas Eve service at 1:00, which was incredibly crowded but very nice.

That afternoon we had our Christmas Even celebration at Jim & Cara's. They did their tradition "seven fishes" meal, with a bit of a twist. Friends and family were there. It was a nice time.



We got home and had a little time to track Santa via NORAD.

Then they got to open their standard one present (christmas pajamas, of course) and one addition group gift, a kitchen set that I had bought from a friend. Very cute and knew the boys would love it.

Then we laid out our milk and cookies for Santa.

And finally we read the traditional Twas the Night Before Christmas. Actually, Tyler read it. And yes, I'm wearing matching footie pajamas. They rock.