Birthday Shout Out(s)!!

Happy Birthday to the man that hung the moon!

 And to a lady that I will be forever grateful for bringing up an amazing son.

I love you both!!

Gingerbread House

Madelyn talked me into making a gingerbread house on Saturday. I had purchased the gingerbread house kit because I knew I was not crafty enough to build one from scratch. Turns out I'm barely crafty enough to assemble one from a kit. The directions on the box made it look so easy...yeah, not so much. I ended up breaking one of the walls and the roof kept sliding off. After a few choice words and having to walk away before I threw it away we finally got it built. Madelyn loved decorating it but we both decided that it would be much better to buy one that is already put together and then she could decorate it without having to deal with her mama having a mini tantrum when putting it together.

Looks can be deceiving...it wasn't that easy!

Finally the fun part begins.....

 Taste testing...



Exploration Place

Yesterday I joined Madelyn and the rest of the 2nd grade class on a field trip at Exploration Place (Science and Discovery Museum) in Wichita. Thankfully I went to work before the field trip and didn't ride the bus with the kids. I for sure would have had to add butterscotch schnapps to my coffee if that were the case. When I met the kids at Exploration Place one of the kids joyfully reported that a kid threw up on the bus! That only confirmed why I should not ride the bus with the kids. Gross!
There were so many parental supervisors that I only had Madelyn and one other child to keep track of. I'm thinking Madelyn's teacher knows my tolerance, or lack of, when it comes to kids. We were at Exploration Place for five hours, which was a little more than the 2nd graders (or my) attention span could handle. But we made the best of our time and had a fun.

Christmas Survey

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Depends on who you ask.

What do you want most for Christmas? I  have a pretty blessed life with amazing family and friends and don't have any materialistic wants that I can't go out and purchase myself.

What is your favorite food at Christmas? all the chocolate goodness that I make, peanut butter balls, peanut clusters, choc covered pretzels, pretzel turtles, etc

Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Yep I started in August

Have you finished Christmas shopping yet? I should be but I keep thinking of more things to buy. Good thing I have no budget for Christmas. Ryan just chooses not to ask what I spent anymore.

What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night by Celine Dion or Josh Grobin

What is your favorite Christmas movie? Elf

What is your best memory of Christmas? Waking up very early and creeping up the stairs to see what Santa had brought before mom and dad were awake. I remember being so excited.

What do you look forward to most at Christmas? Madelyn's excitement on Christmas morning

What are you doing for Christmas this year? Spending Christmas Eve morning/early afternoon with Ryan's family, spending Christmas Eve with my family. We drive back to Augusta Christmas Eve night because Santa visits our house.

Who do you want to kiss under the mistletoe? My two fav people, Ryan and Madelyn.

What kind of Christmas tree do you have? A pre-lit 8 foot fake tree

Do you take part in a secret Santa? No, I work with a bunch of scrooges

Do you go to any Christmas parties? This was the first year we skipped my work Christmas party because it has been so lame the past few years.

Have you ever had a white Christmas? Yes and I love them

How early do you wake up on Christmas morning? I sleep as late as Madelyn will let me...we usually are up before 7:00am.

Do you still get a stocking? I still have one, but it is usually empty. :(

How many Christmas cards do you normally send out? 60

Wordless Wednesday

Foul Smell

Yesterday I made a reuben sandwich and as soon as I opened the can of saurkraut Ryan and Madelyn were complaining about the foul smell. I LOVE saurkraut, so much so that I will eat it straight from the can. It has a very foul smell but the taste is delicious. A few minutes into my reuben creation Madelyn came walking out of her room looking like this:



She just doesn't appreciate a good sandwich when she smells it.

YMCA

Although joining the Village People and singing YMCA would be a great time...... we actually joined the Y, formerly known as the YMCA. 

We have been members in the past and Madelyn has played sports, participated in swimming lessons and gymnastics through the Y.  The Wichita, Andover and ElDorado Y offer many activities and have awesome facilities. A few months ago a friend convinced me to attend a spin class at the Y. I must admit I was a bit cocky about it and figured it would be a breeze. You know, considering I have run a marathon. Ha! Was that a humbling experience when I walked out drenched with sweat and legs like jello.  It is $10 per class, which isn't terrible, but if I go once week that is as much as a monthly membership for my fam. And with the winter months upon us and my decreased desire to run outside or on the treadmill I needed an incentive to keep exercising through the cold months. We will likely go to the Andover Y as it is the closest and the newest, which makes it pretty awesome. My goal is to keep off those winter pounds that always tend to creep up and look very scary when it comes to warmer temps and boating time.