Gift Opening

We opened our gifts tonight since we will be heading out of town for Christmas. They kids were so excited. Nolan just kept saying "Me! Me! Me!" Apparently he's not really interested in taking turns.

Nolan gave Aidyn this doll house "Hotel".

Aidyn got a Barbie laptop from Jeff & I. She was thrilled! "It's just what I wanted!!" was her response.

Aidyn in her new pj's.
We hope you all have a safe and joyous Christmas!

A Christmas Carol

On Saturday we took the kids to see a children's theatre production of "A Christmas Carol". The show was excellent and both kids made it through the whole thing. Here are Aidyn & Nolan as we are leaving for the show. Aidyn was very excited!

He'll hate me for this someday, but for now, it's just plain cute!

A night on the town

Last weekend we went out with our friends Corey & Ana Martin. We went to this really cool restaurant downtown called Babalu. The food is described as Latin-Caribbean and was sooooo delicious. We all loved it! Ana and I especially enjoyed the Mojitos. Afterwards, we went across the street to Bunkers to watch our friend's band play. We had a very fun evening. Thanks Martins!

Brown Christmas?

It's not too often you get to draw Christmas trees with sidewalk chalk.
I was agreeable to the chalk, playing basketball and riding scooter, however when Aidyn asked if we could put the pool up today, I had to put the kibosh on her plans.

Aidyn's Christmas Program

Aidyn had her Christmas program at church tonight. It was titled "The Friendly Beasts" and was the story of Jesus' birth through the eyes of the animals that were there. It was very cute and she was so excited to sing.
The first song she sang was "Get Ready" and she was dressed as an angel for it.

These are some of the 3 & 4 year olds singing. Aidyn is in the back on the right side (pink sweater).

The last song of the program was performed by all the kids ages preschool through 2nd grade. They sang "Joy to the World."

Decorating Cookies

We decorated Christmas cookies today. It seemed to take a really long time...but the kids enjoyed themselves. We did the "painting" method which was a fun change of pace. This is how I remember decorating cookies at my grandparents house. Do any of you other DeWitz kids out there remember doing this?

Our Tree

Thought you'd like to see the kids with the tree. Pretty cute!

She tried to kill me...

Her name is Nastassia. This morning she tried to kill me.

Being the adventurous soul I am, I decided to try a new class at the gym this morning. Cardio Kickboxing was the class. I have taken other classes where there were some kickboxing moves involved. They were fun, I thought that fun might carry over into this class. Wrong. The first time I looked at the clock so see how much longer I had to keep going 5 minutes had passed. I had 55 more to go! I could tell already, this was going to be ugly.

So I got the hang of the moves pretty well. No crazy step aerobics choreography here, just some imaginary jump ropes, jabs, upper cuts, kicks, shuffle left, shuffle right, squat, squat, squat, squat. Then it all gets blended together...shuffle left, kick, squat, kick, squat, jab, jab, strike...shuffle right...repeat. After we've done that maneuver 16 or so times (enough to make me feel light-headed and like my muscles are ripping) Nastassia screams "Jack it out!"

"What?"
For those of you new to this lingo, like me, I will translate. Apparently "Jack it out!" roughly translates to "This is your time in class to rest and get your breath back" "So I want you to do jumping jacks until your calves explode." "Now, JACK IT OUT!"

This process goes on for 1 hour. A very long hour. There was much more kicking, jabbing, squatting, touching the floor, shuffling and "Jacking it out!" but things started to get blurry after a while. So Nastassia became my focal point. This woman talked the whole time. She was NOT out of breath. How is that humanly possible? Obviously she teaches this class on a regular basis (I could tell by looking at her ass. Nice ass.) and she is a personal trainer, but come on! Even the workout crazy guy beside me who is at the gym ALL the time (I call him "Warren") had to stop and take a break occasionally.

Well, I made it through the class. I didn't puke, although it crossed my mind afterwards in the locker room. My legs are wobbly and I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow, but I did it! I haven't decided if I'll try that class again. It depends on how long it takes my body and my ego to heal. I'll keep you posted.

Little Drummer Boy

Be careful with the volume on this one. He is really ROCKIN OUT.

Tree Lighting

This evening we went to the Chanhassen Tree Lighting ceremony. There was a bonfire, hot chocolate, Christmas cookies and lots of cuddling because it was too damn cold to be at a tree lighting ceremony.

The Pillsbury Dough Boy was there. Not sure why...

It was really fun when Santa arrived. He came in on one of the fire trucks with the lights and the sirens blaring. Aidyn was very excited.

When they lit the trees, it looked so pretty in the park. They have all the trees decorated with red, white and blue lights. If you live in the area, be sure to drive by.

BunDay

In my previous post, I proclaimed that one of the things I'm good at is baking. Well, yesterday I put that theory to the test and made homemade buns and sweet rolls. Yes, homemade...as in flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, etc.. And if I do say so myself, they turned out damn good!

Here are the goods while they are rising.

Nolan enjoyed the fruits of my labor. Nothing like a little butter and peanut butter on a fresh, hot bun!

I ended up with 6 dozen buns and 2 pans of sweet rolls. Yum!!!

Three's List

My friend Jill tagged me on this list. So here I am putting it on my blog. Enjoy.

Three's List

1. 3 things that scare me:
Losing a loved one. My children getting hurt. Messing up my job as a mom.

2. 3 people that make me laugh:
Ellen DeGeneres, Will Farrell, Steve Carrell

3. 3 things I love:
My family, My friends, Christmas

4. 3 things I hate:
Ironing clothes, house cleaning, Megan Mullally's talk show

5. 3 things I don't understand:
How they built the pyramids. How my iPod can hold so many songs. How a water softener works.

6. 3 things on my desk:
address labels, pictures from our wedding, messy papers

7. 3 things I'm doing right now:
Blogging. Listening to Aidyn tell Nolan what to do. Wondering what's for lunch.

8. 3 things I want to do before I die:
Watch my children grow into healthy, happy, well-adjusted people. Travel more, especially to Europe. Be a good example for my children.

9. 3 things I can do well:
Bake, Drive, Eat! (Not necessarily in that order...)

10. 3 things I can't do:
Beat Jeff in a game of Memory. Leave Halloween candy alone. Make lefse.

11: 3 things you should listen to:
Your body. Your children. Your mother. Oh, and Oprah.

12: 3 things you shouldn't listen to:
People who won't listen to your opinion too. Any Marilyn Manson CD's. People who bitch and moan about everything.

13. 3 things I would like to learn:
To paint, To sing, To make pottery.

14: 3 things I watched as a kid:
Hee-Haw, Mr. Kangaroo, Sesame Street

15: 3 things I drink regularly:
Water, milk

16: 3 favorite foods:
Pizza, Pasta, Chocolate

Anyone care to respond with their list?

Gingerbread House

The kids and I put together and decorated a gingerbread house today. They really seemed to enjoy working with candy. Imagine that!

Picking out our Christmas Tree

We went and got our Christmas tree on Saturday. The kids had fun checking out all the trees but seemed to enjoy the free candy canes more.

Grandma Time

The kids got some quality time with Great-Grandma Bowerman and Grandma Sharon while we were in Tappen last week. How lucky can you get?!?!

Family Bonding

Me and my brothers...Ty & Troy.
Jeff and Dad enjoying themselves.

A Tribute to Shirley...

Here are some lovely pictures I took of my sister-in-law Shirley last weekend. I would say she would be mad, but she NEVER checks my blog, so she'll never know! HaHaHaHa!!!

Shine On

We went to Sears yesterday to pick-up Aidyn's pictures. While we were there, Nolan was playing with and subsequently fell into the little play table they have there. So Aidyn came home with pictures and Nolan with a shiner. Lovely.

Grandma DeWitz

My Grandma DeWitz passed away last night from ovarian cancer. It's been kind of a hard day today, but I know she's in a better place. I keep wondering if Aidyn is going to remember her. She talks about her a lot and we have pictures, but will she really "remember" her? I hope so, because she was a great lady. Tomorrow would have been Grandma's 88th birthday. My guess is that she's going to celebrate it with Grandpa by going fishing in heaven. I hope they catch a big one!
I love you Grandma, you will be missed dearly.

Tea Party

The kids and I had a tea party this afternoon. Aidyn got a "paint it yourself tea set" for her birthday and now that it's done being painted we got to enjoy some afternoon tea. Aidyn wanted real tea, so that is actual tea coming out of the pot.


Both kids really sucked down the tea, which surprised me because I thought it was gross. But drinking tea makes me want to vomit, so I may not be the best judge of a good tea.

Lydia's Birthday Party

Today Aidyn was invited to Lydia's birthday party. The girls went to Kidz Klipz to get their hair done!
Here is Aidyn before getting her hair done...
During...("How long does this take???")

And after....

Now it's time to move on to nails and glitter. Aidyn looks like she's a pro at getting pampered!

Here are all the girls looking so beautiful!
Daisy, Lydia, Julia and Aidyn

Lydia and Aidyn on the way to lunch at Houlihans.

The lunch bunch...Lydia, Eli, Daisy & Aidyn.
Happy Birthday Lydia!