Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas from the Ralph Family!

First and foremost, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all! My friend got her husband a bumper sticker that said, "It's OK to say Merry Christmas," so if Bethanne says it's OK, then it is.

So, at the end of our "Christmas" we will have had five "Christmas's", so this could be a long blog. Check out the end for a full link of all pictures, should you feel the need to REALLY catch up on all our merriment!

We started off on Sunday - since we were going to be out of town on Christmas day, Jay and I got Santa's email (he probably has a BlackBerry after all!) and asked him if he could stop by a bit early. We knew he would find us wherever we were, but since Addi was pretty adamant that Santa would bring her a dollhouse, we thought the safe thing would be to have him stop by early. Since Jay and I are heading out to Key West for a week on Saturday (sans Kids!) we had a pretty packed car, and a dollhouse certainly would not have fit. To seal the deal, Addi sprinkled our poorly made reindeer food on Saturday night and crossed her fingers he'd stop by.


The big guy must have a heart because he came by, and BOY WAS ADDI EXCITED.



Sam could really care less but did enjoy her boat Santa gave her.


After opening all her gifts, Addi looked at Jay and I and asked where our gifts from Santa were, then said, "You must have been BAD!" We told her that we forgot to sit on Santa's lap so that must have been the reason why we didn't get anything.

Monday we headed to southern Indiana for the Ralph family Christmas. After spending the 23rd with the Schmitt family, we woke up on Christmas Eve and took part in one of the great Haubstadt traditions - bar hopping. I wish I was kidding, although the beer at Nesbit really does seem to be the coldest on earth.

Next we headed back to the Sensmeier's and opened gifts. The kids did remarkably well waiting their turn - although the temptation to open gifts before their turn was too much for some (ahem, Addi.)


We heard some bells and turned to the door, and who walked in but SANTA! The kids must have been good because he made a special stop just to say hi. Addi ran right up to him and thanked him for her dollhouse, and then the kids all opened their gifts and took pictures with Santa.


After a LOT of sugar, Jay and I headed to midnight mass and the kids stayed back with their aunts. Then we woke up this morning and headed to Indianapolis for Christmas number four with the Young family.


By now, Sam was a total expert at opening gifts.


And Addi figured out that if she hid under a hat, we probably didn't realize she had Sam's paci in her mouth.


Four Christmas's down, one to go!

To view all the pictures, click here http://jayandstephanieralph.shutterfly.com/ and select Christmas 2008.
Two more days till Key West!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

On Dasher, on Dancer...

Yesterday Addi and I decided to make reindeer food and cookies for the impending appearance of the big guy. Since we are heading out in the morning for Indiana, we sent Santa a letter and asked to see if he could stop by our house a bit early. And he obliged... pics and stories later.

In case you aren't familiar with fine reindeer cuisine, it's a mixture of oatmeal and glitter. Oatmeal because, really, who doesn't like that, and glitter so it sparkles and Santa can see our house from far away. Addi added her own special touch of flour and sugar because that's what reindeer like, according to the boss lady.

After the addition of the four scoops of flour, the glitter pretty much disappeared. A-ha, I thought, I have some glitter glue in my scrapbook supplies, that should totally work.

Wrong. All we ended up with were chunks of glued-together oatmeal. They didn't even sparkle. You live, you learn. We spread it outside anyway, chunks and all, and Santa showed up last night. Maybe it was the glitter, maybe it was the $50 we left on the front steps... who knows.

Anyway, as we spread out the glue-y goodness, I asked Addi if she knew what the reindeer were named. And got a reminder that she MIGHT watch too much Disney channel.

"Yes... The reindeer are the Super Sleuths. Darby, Tigger, and Pooh."

Close enough.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Tornado Addi

Last night, while preparing for the ice storm and making sure we had flashlights ready in the event of a power outage, I headed upstairs and saw that Addi's light was on. No problem, I just opened the door (like always) to turn off the light. She had gone to bed, then made some noise up there, so I expected to find her sacked out in bed.

Wrong.

Instead, I saw this. And I had to take a video of it because I couldn't fit it all into one picture.

http://s250.photobucket.com/albums/gg266/stephaniejralph/?action=view&current=December.flv

She was asleep on the floor, snuggling with her purple elephant.

What are we going to do with her?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Big show off

Sam turned 7 months old this week. And she totally was showing off... She knows how to spell now, you know. Genius I tell you!


Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Be sure to floss


Monday, December 15, 2008

Overheard at our house this month:

  • Who put the diaper rash cream all over the couch?
  • What gets Vaseline off flat screen TVs?
  • Crap, there's Vaseline IN Sam's nose too?
  • Why did you squeeze Mommy's lip gloss into her eye shadow, then paint the bathroom and yourself?
  • Why is there gum on the dining room wall? (Duh - the fridge was full.)
  • Mommy, did someone poop your pants? (remember, we can only call Addi "Mommy". No one asked ME this. I'm Puppy.)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Meeting Saint Nick

Friday night we met the Dettman's at the mall so the kids could meet Santa. We talked to Addi on the way there and told her she was going to meet Santa and you would have thought we told her she was going for a root canal. The girl had NO interest. Until we got there, that is. THEN she was extremely excited.

We waited in line and then it was our turn. Addi went right up to Santa and told him what she wanted: A dollhouse.

Next, Sam got to talk to Santa and she just growled and stuck out her tongue. But I'm sure Santa could understand perfectly since he obviously speaks all languages.

Jay and I didn't want to miss out so we talked to Santa too. I'm not sure if he can really bring world peace or a new fancy car, but we'll see! And I wore my cute new boots, and yes, my sweater was on the correct way.

We went outside and rode the giant rocking horse. The girls loved it! Santa even came out to watch and Addi kept yelling "Santa! Look at me!"

We found out today that Santa works for getting Addi to behave. After being what can only be described as a royal pain the butt all day, Jay finally had enough and said he was going to call Santa and tell him to cancel the dollhouse. And the flood of tears began.

Ever since, she's been lovely. Too bad we can't threaten with Santa all year round!

Rub a dub dub

Two girls in a tub!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Sam Loves the 80s

Ugh. Gag me with a spoon.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Arrrgghhhhhhhh......

I've mentioned my daughter's imagination before. Like how she now will only refer to me as "Puppy." Or how she likes to pretend she is Dora about to get eaten by an alligator. Add in the difficulty of understanding her when she talks... S's sound like T's, but sometimes S's sound like D's, and life at our house is one big guessing game as to what scenario we are playing out at any given time.

Now, pretend you are me for a minute. You walk in and see the picture below. What do you think the girls "are" today?"



Here's a hint: I was told to "Back away from the boat!"

That's right. According to Addi, "Sam's the captain and I'm her pirate, and her bed is our boat. Arrrghhhhh!"

She then proceeded to Arrrgghhhh at me the entire time I got them dressed.

At least she didn't roll her eyes at me today.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Sam the Monster

The long, long journey of sharing our toys began tonight. Up until now, we have had Addi toys and Sam toys. Mine and yours, you could say. Or more realistically, Mine and Mine (if you would ask Addi.)

But tonight was different. While Addi made her puppy (that would be me - she now refuses to call me Mommy - only Puppy) a "snack", Sam sat in the play room with us. And she reached for Addi's toys, which of course went right into her mouth.

The first few Addi immediately freaked out about. "No! Mine!" she said. But then I had a brilliant idea. I convinced Addi that Sam was the MONSTER coming to attack her toys! And she totally went with it. A giant, drooling monster.


If anyone has anymore ideas about sharing send them my way. I'm pretty sure that one
won't last long.

Don't forget to be humble!

On Saturday Jay's dad and his wife came to visit. They watched the kids for a few hours while Jay and I ran a few errands, then we all went to dinner and to see the Christmas lights. The day was a big success in my mind because I finally found the perfect jeans to go with my cute new boots.

I was so excited to wear them that I ran right up and changed into my jeans, boots and sweater. We headed out to dinner and all was well. Addi behaved (for the most part) and Sam just sat in her seat and played the entire meal. We even had two different people stop by to tell us how cute she was and how well behaved. It was a GREAT meal and was one of those nights that made me love being with my family even more.

As we were about to leave, Addi said she had to go potty, so off she and I went. On our way back out another lady called me over to her table. My first thought was that she was going to compliment me on how well behaved Addi was - and this was where my perfect evening had it's glitch.

She motioned for me to come closer and when I did she said, "Did you know your sweater is on inside out?"

Nope. Sure didn't.

I love being humbled.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Some things are difficult...

Like trying to explain to a two year old how to puke IN a bucket... not on the floor.

Thanks, St. Nick!

This morning we woke up and St. Nick had been by to fill our stockings, which was great for the girls. Apparently St. Nick is a Wonder Pets fan (unlike me) because he brought Sam a hat that I think makes her look like Ming Ming. The resemblance is "Se-wious!"



Addi got some new gloves and some candy. Guess which one she liked the most.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Oh, Christmas tree!

Last Saturday Jay and I started decorating for Christmas. Might seem early but we love to have decorations up as long as possible. Seriously, I took the Halloween ones down three days before Thanksgiving. And who are we kidding, we don't "like" them up, we are just too lazy to take them down in a timely manner.

With Addi and Sam in tow, it was a bit trickier than in years' past, but the end result was the same... a beautiful festive house!

Here are the girls... "helping".... And no, Addi does not have on pants.

The finished tree... I'll have to get some pictures at night with it all lit up!

I LOVE our mantle... We have a really nice Nativity set and it looks great up there!
This weekend we are going to check out Christmas lights and see Santa... I'm sure that will be an adventure!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Sick girl update

Hard to believe this girl is sick, eh?


The good news is, no pneumonia! So it's just antibiotics and rest to clear up the upper resperatory infection and the ear infection.
Bad news? Jay is now sick and he might prove to be the biggest baby of all.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Trip to the hospital

I'm sure when I tell you all that I spent the afternoon in the hospital with my daughter, your first thought probably is that Addi finally managed to hurt herself enough to need medical attention. Or get mascara in her eye. Or get frostbite on her tush from not wearing pants outside.

Because really... That girl is a dare devil.

Take the picture below for example:

Jay was putting up Christmas lights and left the ladder out. We heard a noise and found Addi at the top, wearing a backpack, heading off to school. Donning her Dora Crocs and her PJs like the stylista she is. Not a care in the world.

But I'm sad to say, I was with Sam today at OSF. Check out her baby bling, courtesy of admitting.


Don't worry, everything is fine. But after spending four days coughing so hard she makes herself puke, running a fever, and just being overall miserable, I took her to the doctor today. Besides an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection, they were concerned she had the flu, RSV, or pneumonia. So off to the hospital we went to get a chest x ray and some labs.

Four hours later we returned home with good news - no flu, no RSV. The film should be back in the morning and we'll find out for sure if she has pneumonia. I'm assuming no.

After the hospital, Jay took off to the pharmacy to pick up her antibiotics and some extra medical "stuff." Turns out we put too much money in flex spending this year, so we're thinking cases of Tylenol for Christmas gifts. He came home, then I got to go BACK to the pharmacy to fix her script. Turns out the fine folks at CVS sent us home with powder and forgot to mix up her antibiotic.

As of right now, 10:04 p.m., Sam and Addi are both asleep. Let's cross our fingers this doesn't end up like the plague.

Monday, December 1, 2008

First real snow of the season

We, like many others around the country, woke up to several inches of snow on Sunday. Immediately Addi wanted to go outside and play, so after convincing her that snow boots would be more appropriate than Dora Crocs, she and Jay bundled up and headed out to play with her new sled.

Despite the dark sky, this was at 11 a.m.

After dragging Addi around in the sled for a few minutes, Jay and Addi set out to make a snowman. When I asked Jay why they did it in the front yard, I got the eye roll Addi has perfected so well and a "Duh. That's where snowmen belong!" Any question as to Addi's sassy-ness? Solved.

Addi helped me grab some sticks for the arms and then she stuck some in the snow-person's side (legs, perhaps?) Then, she started crying, saying the snowman wasn't "pretty" enough. Maybe it was the hillbilly teeth I added on?


Finally Addi ran inside and Jay showed off his handiwork.

We'll see how long Frosty lasts... According to weather.com it's going to be a cold week!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

It's a tradition for us to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house each year. This year was no different, and Lee, Roxy, Sabrina, Lorelai, Grandma, Pop Pop, and Uncle Phil showed up Wednesday night. While Jay prepped the food, the girls prepared by wearing matching Thanksgiving PJs.





Thursday, Robin, Adam, Nolan, Mara and Reese joined us and we ate till we couldn't eat any more. In the afternoon we took turns napping.

Friday morning, Lee, Roxy, Jay and I headed out at 4:30 a.m. to do all our Christmas shopping. We saw a fist-fight, some boxes flying through the air, and some really cranky people. But we got all our shopping done in four hours so it was totally worth it!
Walmart, 5 a.m. - notice my husband, top left corner, holding up his find!

Off to Christmas!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What a great weekend (and I hate IOWA!)

This weekend Sam and I traveled to Minnesota to meet some of my friends, some of them for the first time. I have mentioned on here before but when I was pregnant with Sam, I joined an online community for pregnant moms. Now, one year later, the majority of us have May babies and have become fast friends. It's a little odd to talk about at first but these women have really become a great source of support and friendship. And great wine drinking buddies too!

Anyway, Mandee and Jack headed to Peoria last Friday night and Saturday we got up with the Sun and began what, according to Rand McNally, should have been a seven hour trip. Apparently Rand has never made the trip with two 6 month olds because 10 hours after we parted ways with my driveway we checked into our hotel.

That night, our friends Bethanne, her mom, Wilton, Shannon, Wade, Kaitlin, Kyle, Jeremy, Krystal, Wyatt, Westin, Zoey and Mandee, Jack, Sam and I hung out in our room and at the very cool hotel pool. The kids swam and us moms chatted it up.

Sam and Kaitlin, practicing the art of sharing


Sam, Jack and Zoey having a pajama party


Sunday morning, Mandee and I got the kids ready, then they napped while Mandee and I got everything else ready. They also had time to play for a bit, baby style.

Jack and Sam, napping friends


Wrestling, anyone???
Jack and Sam, showing off their paci's


Next, we headed to Bethanne's house for a candle party and some wine. There we got to also meet Patrick (B's hubby) and Mickey and Piper. And of course drank some Oliver wine!

Top row, L - R: Me, Sam, Bethanne, Wilton, Shannon, Mickey and Piper
Bottom row, L - R: Krystal, Zoey, Mandee and Jack

After the party we headed to Outback for dinner and more drinks. Sam proved that she, unlike some people, is a carnivore. Yummy Mickey!

Monday morning, we packed up and headed home. And we got it down to nine hours that time! All in all, a pretty great weekend!

Now, about the Iowa hating part, read below.

Top Ten Things to remember when traveling to Minnesota:

  1. Six different McDonalds. Six different menus. Come on... Who doesn't have sweet T and coffee??
  2. Rand McNally isn't always right. An atlas would be nice to have in the car.
  3. When you DON'T have an atlas, just have Mandee pick up a lesbian at a gas station. They give away free maps of Iowa.
  4. Minnesota is cold. Pack an ice scraper.
  5. When you don't have an ice scraper, a drivers license works well.
  6. Don't drive 87 mph in a 65. Apparently, that's against the law.
  7. When getting pulled over for going 87 mph, pinching the kids to produce tears does NOT gain sympathy from the cop. Nor does it make the pain of a $185 ticket any less brutal.
  8. It's important to have a not-expired insurance card in your car as well. See number 6 and 7, above.
  9. U-turns are a way of life in Iowa. Especially when you get lost (see number 2 above).
  10. Laugh often - then cry when you wake up the kids.

Proof I have a lead foot:
Thanks for the hospitality, Minnesota!

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