Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Super Mom

Yeah, there's just no way to do it all...

I grew up with a Super Mom and so I thought you could do it all, but then I had kids.

I also had a good conversation or two with my mother who admits she could never do it all. She says there were things that slipped through the cracks, but her trick was to never sweat the small stuff. Ultimately, it almost always appeared that things were under control.

Dang, I missed the part of the lesson which explained HOW to do that!

Anyway -- what's the point of all this?

The point is that I love my mom. And I love being a mom. I love the desire I have to want to do it all, but I appreciate the fact that I can't.

It's in those moments where I can't do it all - those moments when I feel weak or lazy - that the biggest blessings appear right in front of me.

When I'm not sweating the small stuff I get to have interactions like this:

LITTLE MISS: "Mommy, I'm trying to talk to you."

ME: "I'm sorry, Sweetheart. What do you need?"

LITTLE MISS: "Mommy, I can't zip this up. Someday I'll be able to, like when I'm a big girl, but I can't do it right now."

ME: "You are absolutely right, Little Miss. Thank you for asking me to help you."

Small stuff to me. Big stuff to Little Miss.

There will be a day when she doesn't need me to zip up her jacket. And since I'm certainly not ready for a day like that any time soon, I will relish those "idle" moments because they can become big moments to someone else. Someone who needs me more than I need a clean house, a made bed, an updated blog, a completed scrapbook, a full pantry, etc.

Another cool thing I figured out: To Little Miss, I'm a Super Mom. :)

We Elfed Ourselves!

Merry Christmas from the Wyatt Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Look out, Mr. Turkey!

The girls taught me a cute Thanksgiving song that I have to pass along. It's sung to the tune of "Where is Thumbkin?"

Mr. Turkey.
Mr. Turkey.
Nice and fat.
Nice and fat.
Now I'm going to eat you.
Now I'm going to eat you.
Just like that.
Just like that.

I love my pre-schoolers. And I'm truly thankful that they love to sing. They cheer me up whenever I'm feeling blue.

Here's wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

I have a Twilight Mom

I love my mom. She's here visiting and bought me the coolest little card game today, just because.

Any of my fellow Twilighters up for a challenge? (v---v)

Feeling awkward...

Yeah, that's how I feel right now about my Blog. I'm sure you know that feeling too -- the friend you bump into at the grocery -- the one who called you last -- the one you never retured the call to -- and now it's like six-months later... I hate that feeling.

Don't get me wrong -- I don't get that feeling too often, but when I do get it, I just hate it.

So, "Hello (AGAIN), Blog. I really do think about you and appreciate you sticking with me.

I don't want to place blame but seriously, it isn't all me. It's that darn Facebook! It's easy to upload pictures and keep in touch with my friends. You just sit around here waiting for me to be creative enough to type more than 144 characters at a time. Who really has time for that any more? I promise, it's nothing personal..."

In case you aren't keeping in touch with our family on Facebook, here's a brief list of the major events that have taken place:

1. We moved to Maryland (see the pic of our new house).

2. I turned 38 -- BLECH!

3. We sold the house in Arizona -- FINALLY!

4. The girls started Pre-K.

5. The girls turned 5! (I know, I can't believe it either.)

6. Life is good.


Stay tuned. I do plan to get back to blogging soon.

Turtles and Toddlers

Who knew a routine drive to preschool would turn into a rescue mission?

Just as we were arriving to the school grounds, we spotted him...

A little Eastern Box Turtle, upside down and alone in the road.

Thanks to some quick reflexes and slow traffic, I was able to grab him and take him to school with us.

Miss Independent quickly named him, "Ocka," and told her classmates every bit of turtle trivia she knew. She was very Steve Irwin-ish" (a.k.a. "The Crocodile Hunter") in her delivery, which seemed to come very easy to her.

Despite my strong desire to keep our little find, my sensibilities kicked in and I remembered some turtle trivia of my own...

Although cute and fairly easy to take care of, turtles do not appreciate being relocated. In fact, many of the species will do everything in their power to return to their personal habitat. (There's a real life message in there that I can seriously relate to, but that's a post for a different day...)

So Mr. Stephen (the school's director) and I took "Ocka" to a marshy spot near where the girls and I found him. And while I'll never know for sure, it looked like "Ocka" had a smile on his little orange face.

All in all, it turned out being a good day for turtles and toddlers.

There was, however, one exception. Through all of the excitement, none of us thought to take a picture. Thank goodness for the Internet!

Mother's Day

Where does the time go? This is the question I've pondered the most since becoming a mom. Even after the hardest of days, my mind asks this question as my head hits the pillow.

Through every stage I've wanted time to slow down - to freeze at some points - so I can enjoy the "moments" a little longer.

After years of thinking I'd never become a mother, I was blessed with the arrival of two beautiful baby girls - truly, two of the greatest blessings in my life. I'm grateful for each day that I get to spend with them - each is an opportunity to see them learn something new, and a chance for me to be a better mother to them than I was the day before.

And, since I'm reflecting in this post, I thought I'd include a couple of my favorite (and first) pictures I took after "Little Miss" and "Miss Independent" came home from the hospital. They were taken with my camera phone, which seemed so awesome at the time. Looking at them now I can see how poor the quality was, but the pictures and those few "moments" I had with them in their infant stage was priceless.

Before I close this post, I need to take a moment to thank two other moms... the two who are nearest and dearest to The Man and me...

Mom Beverly. Thank you for raising a son who is humble, loyal and honest. It's not hard to see where his best attributes come from. Like you, The Man knows no strangers and does everything he can to make others feel at ease. Speaking of which, your love for me, from the moment he took me home to meet you, put me at ease and has been appreciated more than you know. Thank you for being a wonderful mother to us and a loving "Grandma Beverly" to the girls.

Mom. You are an example to me and someone I’ve looked up to for as long as I can remember. Thank you for encouraging me to do my best and for being patient with me during my growing pains. I love your optimism and your sensitivity for others. Those are two of the best gifts you’ve shared with me. I love you more than you will ever know, and I truly appreciate everything you have and are still doing for me.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Thankful Thursday times two!

After missing last week's Thankful Thursday post I knew I had to document TWO things that I'm thankful for. Luckily, the list is endless so it wasn't too hard.

Since "two" is a lucky number around here, I decided to share the cards that Miss Independent and Little Miss made for their TWO teachers this week. It's "Teacher Appreciation Week" at the preschool and the girls are very thankful for everything that Ms. M and Ms. T does for them.

Of course I'm thankful for them too -- much more than they know.

Now, back to the cards...

Can you tell which cards were made by Miss Independent and which ones were made by Little Miss? Be careful, it's tricky...

Thanks to ALL of the wonderful teachers out there.
We are so thankful for YOU!

Introducing: Thankful Thursday

"Thankful Thursday" posts are something I've wanted to do for awhile, but as with other ideas, they got pushed down my "blog to-do list."

However, being thankful daily is a personal goal I've set for myself, and I refuse to delay sharing what I'm thankful for any longer. Frankly, it's just not right. Because as Bob, the Tomato, says, "A thankful heart, is a happy heart." So here goes...

Today, I am thankful for my parents.

From the moment I was born, I knew I was loved. There's absolutely no greater gift my parents could have given me.

They've been there to teach, guide, listen and help whenever I've needed them to. Often, they knew what I needed even when I didn't.

If my girls end up loving me as much as I love my parents, I will consider myself truly blessed.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for all that you have given me. I love you.

It is definitely a thankful Thursday.

Remembering Patty (1960-2009)

My cousin Patty lost her battle with cancer on Saturday. She was 48.

Most of my memories of her are from events that took place before I was 11, when we lived closer to each other.

The fondest memory I have of her is the weekend she spent with my family in Hawthrone, Nevada. She was 21, and to my 11-year-old eyes, she was blonde, beautiful and totally cool.

Patty played dolls with me (I had just gotten Golden Dream Barbie) and taught me how to crack and eat sunflower seeds. She was a great teacher because I continue to eat sunflower seeds to this day. In fact, The Man used to call me Sunflower Girl because I'd eat them every other day.

To many, those may seem like small things considering all of the other wonderful and more significant things Patty did throughout her life. But to me, they are cherished memories and meant the world to a girl with mostly boy cousins (0 girls on Mom's side / 3 on Dad's side -- Debbie, Patty and Susan, who are all 10+ years older than me).

My dad sent me the picture in this post and it immediately took me back to the days we lived closer to his side of the family. As you can see from my face, it looks like I was enjoying my "girl time" with Patty.

Patty will be missed by so many in my family. Although I can't be there to hug them in person, I want each to know that I am there in spirit. My thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with each during this difficult time.

"Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven
where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down
upon us to let us know they are happy." ~Author Unknown

I need a night out with Edward Cullen. I mean, my husband!

I have a thousand other things I could be posting today, but I just can't resist commenting on Twilight, now that I've watched it on DVD a time or two (*or three or more*).

I'm seriously loving this movie more and more. Rather, I'm loving the whole world of Twilight even more. And for the sake of my sanity since no one but me reads this blog, I won't dive into the thousands of reasons I LOVE the relationship between Edward and Bella, but I will say this much:

I've heard some of the feminist comments about Bella being too dependent on Edward and blah, blah, blah. But seriously...

IT'S FICTION PEOPLE!

You can call me a girly girl, but I love chivalrous men. Especially the ones who act strong and in charge, but choke up when they talk about their family and the woman they love.

And for the record, just because it's on my mind, I'd like to announce that I'm now officially 100% on board with Robert Pattinson playing Edward. I was never totally against him, I just didn't know who he was. Had Edward been somewhere farther along in life (like CLOSER TO MY AGE!) I'd have said Hugh Jackman is the only actor for the part. But I digress... I'll see him soon enough in Wolverine (if The Man will take me on a date, that is).

And speaking of "The Man" in my life. He FINALLY agreed to read the Twilight books. He goes through multiple books in a week so you'd think it would've been easy for him, but he can be a little stubborn when it comes to doing something I really want him to do. It started with a mustache when we were dating, and it's just gone on from there...

ANYWAY -- He's on Book 4 (Breaking Dawn) so he can't give me his full review yet, but here's what he's said so far... AND I QUOTE:

"Men like Edward don't exist."

My reply?

"I know they don't, Honey.
And Edward isn't 'a man,' he's a vampire."

At least we have the antagonistic part of Edward and Bella's relationship down. Now if I could only get him to throw himself in front of a car for me (*that's a scene in the book/movie, so don't freak out people*)...

I guess I'll have to settle for a bite on my neck...

I sooooo need a date night.

I never posted my review of the movie Twilight, but the brief synopsis went something like this:

The movie didn't live up to the book.

Total shocker, I know.

Thankfully, I knew this information going in and was prepared. So when the Cullen's make-up and the not-so-impressive special effects made it difficult for me to get into the movie (at first), I reminded myself that no movie about this incredible series could ever meet my expectations. Then, I sat back and enjoyed it. I relished the feeling I get whenever I think about anything Twilight-related.

Perhaps fellow "Twilighters" can relate...

Now that the anticipation of new books in the series is over, I live for any and every kind of Twilight-related news. I've even found myself on the MTV Twilight Blog site searching for news about the next movie, New Moon. Seriously, I'm 37-years-old and I'm surfing through the MTV Web site?

That's crazy.

Or is it?

As it is with vampires, once you're bitten (by this series) you are forever changed.

You begin devouring whatever information is already out there about the series - blogs, Stephenie Meyer interviews, movie clips, etc., etc. And then you long for new updates so you can stay in this make-believe world (a.k.a. Forks, Washington) that seems pretty darn close to perfection...

Okay, maybe you can't relate and I'm just crazy.

Either way, I'm excited about the release on Saturday and will probably fix a Twilight-themed dinner to celebrate...

And then? I'll focus my anticipation toward the release of New Moon on 11.20.2009.

What?

You think that's crazy?

I don't think I'm the only one... SEE!

Guess How Much I Love You?

We had a great Valentine's Day (make that, "Valentine's Week") at Aunt Judy's this year. The girls got to make Valentine's for their pre-school party, which gave me an opportunity to hear more about some of their classmates. They both had someone they wanted to give a "special" Valentine to, which was sweet. At least I thought it was sweet until I realized that one was a little boy!

Later in the week, The Man sent us a yummy Edible Arrangement (MUST HAVE MORE!), took us to dinner at a local seafood restaurant (we love "shrimps!"), ran countless errands with us and even helped me set-up the girls' Valentine's morning surprises. You know, he's good when he wants to be. :)

In honor of the big day, I made the girls pose for a picture or two. During the photo shoot I asked them if they knew how much I loved them.



Miss Independent (above) gave me a huge grin, while Little Miss (below) replied with a pose and comment. Take a look at her picture and see if you can "guess" what the comment was...




Yup -- it was "this much!" I couldn't have been more proud since that phrase comes from one of our favorite Children's books: Guess How Much I Love You. It was the girls nursery room theme and will always be a cherished classic. The Man and I love those kids to the moon and back.

Hope you all had a Happy Heart Day too!

Reno 911

Check this out... two posts in one day!

Apparently I started a post LAST JULY and then never finished it (sad, I know). Since it was nearly complete, I thought I'd post it now so you could enjoy some pictures from our last trip to Reno.

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In a nutshell, our "Reno Roadtrip" was jam-packed with family events. It was 17-days of fun filled activities and some much needed TLC. A few of the highlights are below.

Highlight #1: Papa's Pet Rock

Papa T painted a giant pet rock in his backyard for the girls. They named it "Mommy Froggy" and visited her daily. It was an awesome gift and something the girls will look forward to seeing on future trips to Granny and Papa's house. Thanks, Papa -- we love your artistic ability and sense of fun!

Highlight #2: We found some kittens!

We woke up one morning and found kittens in the front yard. Papa T caught two that the girls called "Nugget" and "Moe" (from the Veggie Tales videos). Taking care of them was lots of fun and helped to prepare us for the two kitten additions to our family the following October.

Highlight #3: Making homemade ice cream

We used an antique ice cream maker from the early 1900's -- it was actually manufactured in Richmond, VA if you can believe that! It took awhile to make the ice cream since Papa had two helpers on the churning part. However, it was well worth the wait.

Highlight #4: Swimming in the toddler pool

As I've mentioned in previous posts, C&S can't get enough time in the water. They'll swim in a tub for hours if you'd let them.



Highlight #5: Seeing Uncle E and meeting his "Sweeties"

And by "Sweeties" I mean Uncle E's sweet girlfriend, Kristina Bo Bina, and his pet Iguana, Sweetie. As usual, Claire jumped right in and made friends with both. I wasn't surprised about her comfort with Kristina, but her ease around the reptile was a little shocking. Apparently there isn't a creature alive that scares this kid. She'll consider that a gift in her future career as a veterinarian. =^..^=

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And that's where the draft post ended. The remaining Reno highlights will be added to a scrapbook someday. For now, it's back to posting some more updated info on the blog. Stay tuned.

Love Orange Julius? Me too!

Darn you, Facebook!

As soon as I get a few minutes to update this blog, I end up checking e-mail and that "other" online communication tool for "just a minute or two." Next thing I know I'm caught up looking at friends' status updates, new pictures, 25+ lists, etc., etc. By the time it's all over, an hour or two has gone by and I'm too tired to provide any updates of my own.

So again I say... "DARN YOU, FACEBOOK!"

I really do have updates to make here, including my recent trip to Arizona, Valentine's Day festivities, etc. But until I can get to those, I thought I'd post a quick recipe since it was a hot topic among some friends on Facebook (go figure) yesterday. It's a family favorite that I enjoyed as a kid and am now enjoying with my kids. I think they're especially good while relaxing on the back patio after an evening swim...

Speaking of which, have I mentioned how much I miss this time of year in Arizona? Good times.

Now before I get all nostalgic, go and get those blenders blending! (NOTE: If you'd prefer to save a few steps -- buy the Orange Smoothie Mix found in most grocery store produce sections -- and then just add ice and water). ENJOY!


Orange Smoothie (that's just like a Julius!)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup Milk
5-6 Ice cubes
1/4 cup Sugar
2 scoops Vanilla Ice Cream
1/2 cup Water (optional)

Directions:
Blend ingredients until smooth. Serves 4.
Refrigerate no more than a day.