Christmas Card......

I LOVE getting Christmas Cards!

And I love creating them, but it just ain't happening this year. And I've made my peace with that.  We tried taking pics for them (back when I thought I could do finals and Christmas cards at the same time ha ha ha ha).......this was the best pic we got. Just ignore the chain shadow on Todd's face and pretend Owen's eyes are open.

And know that we wish you a Very Merry Christmas! 

Happy Birthday, Diva Grace

She's nine, people.

NINE!

As Isaac said this morning, "Emma Grace, you're halfway to 18."

Holy Crapballs.

I feel like there's one of those sand timer thing-a-ma-jigs and we just realized half of it has emptied.

So I did what any sane mother would do, I chalked this day full of all kinds of talks to get a start on the next nine years:

Topics We Discussed:

*Periods

*Dating

*Choosing a spouse

*Childbirth

*Breastfeeding

*Potty Training your Toddlers

*Caring for Teenagers

*Career choices

*Saving for college

*Choosing the pet that's right for you.

*How to handle rage

*PMS

*Surviving your teen years

*Oh.....and whether or not Obamacare works.

Okay just kidding on most all of those. 

There was a brief discussion on childbirth, but she quickly moved on when the word "privates" was mentioned.

However, we did spend her birthday dinner trying to convince Todd that getting a Newfoundland puppy would really be a great fit for our family and our tiny concrete back yard.

It was quite humorous.

But his answer seems to be a firm NO!

Anywho - 

Happy Ninth Birthday to my sweet, sassy, hard working, stubborn and funny "halfway to 18" but still little to me, girl!

I love you more than my pajamas and one day (in about 12 years)  we'll pour us some wine and discuss all topics mentioned above.

Until then, ssssssllllllllloooooooooowwwwwwwwww down on this growing thing and enjoy your lego friends that are littered all over the living room floor.

 

Referaliversary!

Seven years ago today, this happened.

Everything I thought I knew about love was tested and found to be lacking.

Love is a choice. It's a verb. It is not wrapped up in biology and genetics.

And this little boy?

He is easy to love.

And he gives it back ten-fold.

Love you, Isaac David! 

We are blessed.

 

My Poor Blog

Are you there, Blog?

It's me, Margaret Rachel.

(Okay, if you didn't get that intro, then you are clearly neither female nor my age.)

Anywho -

HELLO people who still read this!
 (Hi Mom and Mom-in-law)

While, I have not been busy blogging, we have been super busy. So here's a quick photo recap. Excuse the excessive amount of selfies. They're just fun sometimes. I don't know why.

In no particular order.......I give you November:

Took the dogs to the vet.
They're great.

Except the brown one is really old.
And we were told to enjoy her.

So I'm trying to do more of this:

Because I love them.
Like really love them.
Like a lot.

And then?
We hosted a baby shower while Todd was out of town.
The kids just lllooooovvvvveeeedddddd doing chores

while I turned this epic fail

into this:

And it was still pretty much an epic fail because nobody ate it at the shower.

Long story short, let's just say there was some confusion......
and multiple cakes.

But that's neither here nor there.

This girl is about to turn nine this week.
NINE!!!!
I have been parenting for almost a decade.
And I still don't know what the heck I'm doing.

This boy is just a CRAP TON of cuteness balled up in one little body.
Literally makes me smile EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

And I totally busted this one sneaking a snack in the pantry.
It was the happiest freaking day of my life.

HE WAS SNEAKING FOOD!
Hellz to the yeah, Owen!
Sneak away!!
You go on with your bad self!

Let's see........I chopped my hair off.
(Well, I paid someone to chop my hair off.)

I don't know if I like it curly or straight.
Feel free to vote.

And I got to go on a few dates with this handsome fella.

And my awesome sister-in-law.....

Oh and my parents came into town for a few days and my mom helped the kids make teacher gifts.
They turned out so cute and SO much better than anything I could have come up with! Thank you Pinterest and Panze. Together, you are a force to be reckoned with!

And last but not least? We finished November with a trip to the beach for Thanksgiving.
Yet another bad selfie of me and my m-i-l goofing off while shopping with Allisen.

T'was fun. T'was fun indeed.

We had an awesome trip, celebrated the diva's birthday, and laughed more than I've laughed in a long time.

So basically?

Life is busy but good right now.

Like really good. 

Like" pinch yourself are things really going this well?" good.

And to make things even better......

My sister will be here in 21 days!

Awe yeah!

Bring it!

The Man With the Tube

This week Owen's obsession is art.

He takes pieces of paper, folds them up really tiny, and then draws people on them.

People with tubies.

His self portrait: 

(He cried because he couldn't get the hands right. I don't see the problem?)

(The tubie is the small circle underneath his chest.)

And this morning, he said, "Mommy, I'm going to tell you a story. It's called The Man with the Tube."

Me: Great! I love to hear stories.

He pointed to the guy on the left.

"There was a man with a tube."

Silence.

Me: Well, then what happened?"

Owen: Nothing. That is the story.

Me: Oh ummmmmm okay. I love it but the man looks sad. Is he sad because he has a tube?

Owen: No. He's sad because his tube can't reach his milk.

Me: Oh. That would be sad.

THE END.

Sleep......

Sleep for me is a vicious cycle of will I? Won't I ? Can I?

And yes, I (doctor recommended) medicate to help me sleep.

Judge all you want, but if you're close to me, then you've seen me without sleep.

She ain't pretty.

Or sane.

Anywho - all this to say - I went through a bad sleep cycle last week.

And luckily, I've learned that they are cycles and I will sleep again and the world is not ending, so life is a little easier with that understanding......

But I finally fell into a good deep sleep two nights ago.

And then I woke myself and Todd up.

Because I was trying to fix the engine of our car.

In my sleep.

The role of the engine was played by my bedside lamp.

I thought removing the engine (light bulb) would fix the car.

(that doesn't need fixing.....)

um yeah.

I don't know.

I'm weird.

And clearly I'm not meant to be a mechanic so I can cross that off my list now.

Phew.

Happy Helloween!

We did our annual Holland/Fischer Helloween night tonight.

Different venue, same kids.

 Love them all.

The Fischer kids were the Wild Kratts.

(If your kids have not watched that show, they are missing out.) 

(Emma Grace's wig was just a hot mess. Literally. I tried to help a sista' out by flat ironing it. Not a good idea. Bless my little heart.......) 

The Holland Kids went as Ariel, Popeye, and a Special Ops:

Great weather, great friends, and great kids.

Who could ask for more?

(Except maybe a wig that works and some high heels that don't give you blisters. Right, Leah Kate?)

 And this one?

He was awesomesauce.

He waited until we got home and as soon as his feet hit our floor, he lost his you know what, but you know what? Homeslice went out and socialized and trick or treated and had a blast for the first time on  Halloween ever! And that was a huge win. 

HUGE!

So, to sum up.

Tonight was awesome.

Hope yours was too.

Enjoy scarfing down your kids candy and telling them the dogs ate it.