The Santa Experience

Today, Matt took his picture with Santa. All of you parents know what that means: drama. He was very excited about meeting Santa when we left the house and I had been prepping him with what to expect. It was me, however, that didn't know what to expect.

The pictures are taken at the front of a store in downtown that has these huge glass windows. Everyone outside can see and hear the kids as they have their picture taken. I pulled into a spot right in front of the store and as I opened my door, all I could hear was a child screaming. I looked into the store window and there was Santa with this child screaming and crying in his lap. It was a beautiful Christmas moment. You would have thought that Santa was performing brain surgery on the child.

So now I am thinking this will be fun because Matt, like most small kids, feeds on other children's emotions. I take Matt into the store and swiftly walk past Dr. Santa. My thinking is that maybe Matt will not notice the child recoiling and screaming in Santa's lap. There were four children in front of Matt and I kid you not, the first three all cried. By this point, Matt was getting very nervous and asking questions. Then he spotted the camera equipment and almost had a melt down.

Now, it is our turn. We walk over to the set and Matt is bear hugging my leg and saying "I can't yike pictures! No pictures mommy!" One of the workers manages to peel him off of my leg and Santa coaxes him over. Matt climbs up in his lap and begins to tell Santa he wants a basketball and bowling. Then I made a fatal mistake; I walked away. Matt bolted off his lap, attached himself to me, and began crying. By this point the helper, photographer, and Santa we all trying to lure Matt back. At one point, the photographer tried to tickle Matt with this fuzzy stick thing and Matt started screaming; that was pretty funny.

Finally, I can't remember how, but we got Matt back into Santa's lap and took the picture. I am not sure how the pictures are going to turn out but it was a very memorable morning. I finally remembered to take my own camera and here is what I snapped.

Quest

I am on a quest this month; I want to bake European cookies.

I watched Rick Steve's European Christmas the other night on PBS and now I am obsessed with European Christmas food, especially cookies. I think I am stuck on cookies because they seem easier than figgy pudding or some kind of roasted duck with truffle sauce.

I found a recipe for these Swedish cookies called Pepparkakor, which means pepper cookie. No, there is not real pepper in the cookies, just a lot of baking spices. I am not that adventurous! If you want to try your hand at baking these hot little Swedes, here is the link: http://www.christmasiscoming.co.uk/Pepparkakor_recipe.html When I bake them I will let you know how they turn out. I also have a friend who is going to hook me up with an anise cookie source. I'm not sure if these are European but they were really good and seem like they would be.

If you have any good cookie recipes, especially ethnic ones (is that the correct way to say that?) please send them my way. I would love to try them!

Catch Up

Happy Wednesday to all! In case you were wondering, I am alive and am not sick. Things have been crazy since we returned home. It seems like I have had a zillion things to do. Yesterday, I was so pressed for time that I was literally running through my house to get things done before I picked up Matt.

Well we made it back from my mom's and had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I hope all of you did too. I believe that Matthew thinks Thanksgiving is the greatest thing ever. Everyday he stayed up until about 11 p.m., walked around with a bottomless cup of M&Ms, a movie was constantly playing in our room, and both sets of grandparents were around to fulfill every wish and desire. I will say, he was very good.

We had a great time. The usual Thanksgiving fare was cooked: turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries and desserts. We also tossed in some healthier sides like steamed carrots and brussel sprouts . Yummy! Oh, and how could I forget, mom's squash casserole. Anyways, all of the food was delicious and we had a ton left over.

We played Phase 10, Skip-Bo, May I, and dominoes. I had forgotten how much I love games and how competitive I am. My mom had never played Phase 10 and managed to cream all of us. She had this great routine of acting all confused and then miraculously winning the round. Just wait until next time Mom.

Also, to clear up any confusion about the previous entry's comments: my mom did dance on American Idol with her cane and yes, she is insane.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is one of my favorite holidays; I can't decide between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think I prefer Thanksgiving because there is not so much "hoopla" and commercialism like there is with Christmas.

This Thanksgiving is extra special for me and my family. This is the third anniversary of my mom's heart surgery. For those of you who do not know, my mom has had heart problems her whole life. She had open heart surgery when I was six months old, later had a pace-maker, and then had a heart attack when I was 17. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and other things and was told to expect a heart and lung transplant. Actually, my mom was told to abort me because she wouldn't make it, and when she did survive, they said that she wouldn't live to see me graduate. My mom has tremendous faith and trusted that the Lord would take care of her and sure enough, he did.

Well, 3 years ago she was very very sick and almost died twice. Her organs were starting to fail and her heart was worn out. To help you understand how bad her heart was, a normal heart is the size of a fist, my mom's was about 4 times the size! The doctors were running out of options because she refused to get a transplant (and at her age, I don't blame her). Her doctor got in touch with a phenomenal cardiologist at Baylor and they decided to replace her heart valves and repair the hole in her heart. She didn't really want to have the surgery, but I was 5 months pregnant at the time and showed her an ultrasound picture of her grandson named Matt. She says that is what helped her to make up her mind to undergo the surgery.

On this day three years ago, my brother and I followed her into the pre-op room and said our goodbyes for the moment. Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was goodbye for the next few hours or the rest of my life. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life. However, my mom had an amazing attitude and said she would win either way: either the surgery would be a success or she was going home with the Lord.

All I can say about those next couple of hours is that I have never prayed and talked to the Lord so much in my life. I literally felt like he was holding me in his hand. Thinking back now, it was one of the most peaceful feelings I have ever had.

The surgery was a success, in case you hadn't figured that out. I am so thankful that my mom had the faith to listen to the Lord and obey him. I am thankful that she is here, that she was able to be with me during Matt's birth, she is here to spoil Matt, and that we are celebrating this wonderful day with her.

Happy Heart Anniversary mom and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I love you and am thankful for everyone of you!!

A Matter of Perspective

Matt's newest obsession is taking pictures. During the past couple of days he has become quite the photographer. He has a couple of play cameras that he uses but my favorite is his cell phone. It doesn't have any kind of camera function, but do you think that would stop my child's imagination.

Today we were getting out of the car and he found one of his cameras while crawling out. Of course, I had to strike a few poses for him and say "CHEEEEESE!!!" Then, I gave him the keys to open the front door. For those of you who do not know, this is a BIG deal to my son. We have had many melt-downs over this.

Matt takes off running to the door, but suddenly runs back handing me the keys. He tells me he has to take some pictures of a squirrel. I'm thinking sure buddy, knock yourself out.

Well, he was not taking pictures of a squirrel. He was bent over a dead mouse on the driveway and taking pretend pictures of it. The cats had brought us an early Thanksgiving present; thanks Max and Rascal.

Aren't you glad that I did not attach a picture today.

Conversation

Matt: What's that?

Me: That's Charlie Brown music.

Matt: No, that's Charlie Black.

Me: No baby, Charlie Brown.

Matt: Noo, that's Charlie White.

Me: (Thinking I understand the game) Ooh! It's Charlie Purple.

Matt: No Mommy. That's Charlie Brown.

Friday Fun

Translation

Those of you with kids know the joy in translating our child's language to people. Matt, like all 2 year olds, has his own language; we affectionately call it Mattanese. Most of the time, especially if you are around him enough, he is understandable. However, when he is excited, he needs a translator.

This morning was one of those occasions. There was one problem: he was talking to me, the translator.

We were driving to school and he was jabbering in the backseat about the day and what he was going to do. He kept repeating the same word and I have no idea what it was. I guessed about five different words and they were all incorrect. As you can imagine, he was getting irritated and I was getting desperate.

Deciding it was time for a distraction, I pulled the mom trick of using fancy words. Finally, I said "Matt, we are having a miscommunication." Very matter of fact like, Matthew responds "Yeah, I know!"

To Clear Up Any Confusion

In case you are confused....

It's a good thing there were instructions because I would still be there scratching my head.

Thanksgiving

Lately, Matt has been into using timers. We set the timer for cleaning up, playing with toys, waiting for a bath and so on. On Monday afternoon he woke up from his nap and asked me to set the timer. This was the first thing out of his mouth after being asleep for two hours. I found it amusing and asked him what for. Matt's response: for Thanksgiving.

He is sooo excited about Thanksgiving; we talk about it at least once a day. He knows that we are going to Grandma's house, we will eat lots of good food, and his other grandparents will be there as well. Almost everyday he asks if it is Thanksgiving or can we go to Thanksgiving. Every morning we will look at his calendar, find today, then find the turkey, and count how many days until we leave.

All of this excitement over a turkey. I can't wait to see what he will do for Christmas.

Lesson Learned

Today, we attempted the unimaginable: Christmas shopping during nap time.

It took us about 50 minutes to get to the nearest mall and Matt slept 20 minutes. Matthew usually takes about a two hour nap.

We arrived at the mall and tried to do some Christmas shopping; Matt was most uncooperative. Duh! and yet, we acted so surprised. Then we went to Target, and let me say, it was the fastest trip I have ever made. During the ride home, Matt kept asking to get out and demanded everything. He literally told me he wanted everything.

When we got home, I had to lay outside in our swing for about 5 minutes in order to defrazzle myself.

Where's Unlce Earnie??

This video was taken from our trip to visit Unlce Earnie in Austin. Once we left the park, we drove to the airport to drop Earnie off. Matt fell asleep during the drive and did not wake up unitl we were almost home. This is Matt waking up and discovering Uncle Earnie is gone.

Who Will It Be?

Sorry the writing has been scarce this week. It has been a busy week and I have had a bit of blogger's block.

I do want to give a big thanks to all of you who read my ramblings and post comments. I have to say, I LOVE comments. I went back and changed some things, so I think you can now post a comment without having an account. Just to let you know how lame I am, I become all giddy when I see that someone posted a comment. I know, it sounds dumb and you can laugh ( or better yet comment), but it is true.

Speaking of posting comments, I am having a give-away today. This was Richard's idea. The first person to post a comment today will receive a one-of-a-kind prize. Original artwork and a picture of the world's most handsome, spunky, and brightest two year old. Matthew! We just got his school pics and they are cute.

If I was a betting woman, I would say that Grandma will win.

First Movie

Well, we did it! We took Matt to his first movie.

Yesterday was our first free Saturday in three weeks so we decided to take Matt to see Bee Movie. It was kind of funny because he didn't understand what we were doing and why he couldn't watch his movie on our TV. When we arrived at the theater, he could see the go-karts at another attraction next door and started crying to ride them. We finally made it inside and went to buy popcorn and drinks. He spied the arcade and took off for that. Once we made it to our seats he was intrigued. Then, when the previews started, his eyes were as big as saucers. He sat in Richard's lap and did not move for about 20 minutes.

When the movie started, Matt was hooked. We were lucky because there was a lot of action and transportation vehicles. However, once the movie did slow down, he started in with going to play games and needing to tee-tee. At one point, he even asked Richard to tell him a story.

Overall, the trip was a huge success. Matt only had to go the the RR twice and stayed in daddy's lap the entire time. I would recommend the movie as well. It was very clean, witty, and had enough humor for both adults and children. We had a great time.

Birthday Boy

This handsome little guy is my big brother Earnie. I think this picture was taken during his glory days (before I came along) when he was about 3 or 4. Today is his 35 birthday, so:

Happy Birthday!!!

In honor of your birthday, I have decided to list 35 of my favorite big bro memories.

1. watching Frugal Gourmet in the summer
2. making that weird homemade pizza that tasted like scrambled eggs
3. letting me camp in your room as a kid
4. going to White Rock Lake and walking through the woods
5. letting me hang out with you and Jeremy
6. letting me hang out with you in the stands when you were in band
7. going kayaking with you and Chrissy
8. seeing your face when Chrissy jumped off that dock
9. the starter gun incident/Shower Me With Your Love
10. taking me to get my navel pierced
11. farting on pillows and sticking them in my face
12. trampoline games
13. playing Barbies and Transformers together
14. building me book houses for my Barbies
15. helping me arrange my room back when I stayed home from school with my sprained ankle
16. watching you put Matt's motorcycle together last year. I am not sure who was more excited, you or Matt
17. the trip to Mauriceville for Thanksgiving
18. practicing our saxophones together
19. Laurie Alert Book
20. hiding from Cosimo
21. adopting Charlie
22. seeing you buy your first house
23. thinking how cool you were when you lived in La Prada
24. telling mom to spank you when I got in trouble
25. remember how I use to curse you out by the fence when I was like 2 or 3 and then say you did it
26. watching scary movies with dad, then walking through the house together because we knew he was hiding
27. walking me down the aisle and giving me away
28. telling me to drink the water from the "waterfall" at the river and then seeing where it came from. I am surprised I didn't grow a second head.
29. agitating Uncle Bobby with Black Cat firecrackers
30. being crammed in the back of the RX-7 during trips to the river
31. playing Catch Phrase with you, Chrissy, and Richard at mom's
32. almost killing us while driving because there was a spider in the car
33. always sticking up for me and taking care of me
34. watching you play with Matt
35. surprising all of us at Matt's birth

I hope you have a great one! I miss getting to see you and love you!

Giddy-Up

Isn't this the most intimidating cowboy you have ever seen? Obviously, Matt was a cowboy for Halloween. The vest and chaps were Richard's. We have a great picture of Richard around three or four wearing this. I will try to upload that one day.

On Sunday, we had a "Harvest Party" for the kids in my mom's bible study group. We had all of these activities planned like face painting, storytelling, and so on, but the only thing we wound up doing was the bounce house. They loved it! Matt was the first in, but as soon as it got crowded he bolted.

Here is Mr. Big Shot walking up for a trick-or-treat. Let me tell you, he thought he was all that and then some.

Matt was able to do some trick-or-treating with his friends Hannah Montana and Miss Kitty Cat. I made the mistake of calling her a tiger and was immediately hissed at.

Finally, it was chow time or so Matt thought. I was mean and only let him choose one piece. That went over well.