Merry Christmas

Love,

The Atwoods

Candy Canes 5¢

Got this cute little wooden sign as a gift and Eden went all entrepreneur on me.

It works out great for her: I buy the candy canes and she sells them for 5¢ (but most give her a little extra) and then she keeps all the money. Yesterday she sold 20 candy canes but came home with $4.22. It's a loss for me but watching her get so excited is worth every penny.

Olivia jumped in as piggy bank holder but quickly and sadly lost interest when she dropped it and it shattered all over the cul-de-sac. She had herself a good cry on the curb since it was from grandma T but maybe her rich sister will buy her another one. :)

For Sale... Yet Again

This is my Boehm Porcelain Nativity Set that retails for over $3000 that I paid $10 for at a yard sale 2 years ago...except there is a little something added as of Friday.

1 Olivia...free to a home that doesn't have nice things to ruin.

I have nothing more to say.

The End.

Happy Birthday Jonny B

We love you so much we want to be just like you!

So Big Yet So Small

It was time to say goodbye to the cozy shack...

and hello to the spacious mansion.

I've already found her smooshed up against the top of the crib at 4am. She is getting used to all the space but doesn't know how to get herself out of tight situations yet.

Reindeer Bites

I'd been slowly going down hill toward a cold, my level of exhaustion was at an all time high with the babe being up still 3 times a night and the kids were AT IT!

Seriously, I was super done with the fighting, tattling, yelling, running, whining, hitting and I had barely managed to make a pretty decent dinner of scones, chicken and roasted potatoes when I should have been laying on the couch. Just as I was about to demand everyone get their hind ends to the table before I ripped their arms off, Rob jumps up from his computer game and exclaims, "shoot!"

"What?" I say.

"I am 10 minutes late for my unit commissioner meeting."

The commissioner meeting I was not aware of until now so instantly I am FIRED UP!

"I'm sorry" he says and reaches in for a kiss.

Um...no.

"I'M SORRY ok? I just forgot."

I am NOT happy, especially when a computer game is the culprit.

He takes Indy with him and I am left with the girls. We eat and 15 minutes later Rob and Indy walk in. The meeting isn't until 6:30, not 5:30. Seriously?

AT 6:30 he heads for the real meeting and promises to be home in a half an hour. At 7:30, I trudge up the stairs with a 15-pound child in arms to see the mount Everest pile of children's laundry in the hall. (Seriously, laundry is the bain of my existence.) I hear Rob come in the door downstairs but I ignore him. I start ranting to my children about how they don't need to use a new towel every time they take a bath. Just hang them up! Most of the pile consists of damp "clean" towels and I am drowning in this daily chore.

I start sorting through to pick out the towels, barely aware that Rob is now standing beside me and as I turn to send some daggers from my eyes, I instantly freeze. There I am with 3 towels in one hand, Tatum in the other and steam coming from my ears and there is Rob. His hands carry two Dairy Queen Blizzards.

Yes, my viewers, it is exactly from the movies. I am completely unaware of those towels as they drop to the floor in slow motion and all fire once in my eyes is snuffed out. I ask him what kind it is...."you know what kind it is..." he replies with one eyebrow lifted. I grab his arm, push him into the closest empty bedroom and close the door. I set Tatum down the bed and rip........the lid right off that blizzard. I dive nose first into the flavor I have been yearning for for weeks.

Reindeer Bites.

Background: We had taken the kids to DQ a few weeks ago as a reward for doing so well in school and the gal behind the counter mistakingly told me that the flavor of the month for December would be Reindeer Bites. Big deal, doesn't even sound good but oh no.....no no no....she informs me that it is vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks, caramel swirl, pie crust pieces and toasted coconut. Tastes just like a Somoa Cookie she says. "You know the girls scout cookie Somoas?" she says as I stare at her, speechless. "Yes, I know a little about that cookie," I say.

Crap. Now I will be visiting DQ on a daily basis starting at 6am December 1st.

So, I DEVOURED that blizzard in about 2 point 5 minutes and my love for my husband grew three sizes that day. He had listened, he had sensed my exhaustion, my frustration, my irreverent yearning. I asked him if the second blizzard was for me for later and with a nervous smile he asked that question they all ask to see if he is right...yes?

Things were much better for the rest of the evening. Now, it wasn't the best Blizzard I have ever had (although still really yummy)....I am kind of partial to the chocolate covered strawberry blizzard (I never go to DQ so I am not the best person to ask about best flavors) but this was the flavor that I needed that night.

He done good that man of mine, he done good.

High Chairs and a Whole Lotta Chub

She is moving up in elevation.

Startin' the solids.
Look at that chub-o-liciousness.

She will be 5 months on Friday!!

Ever Been on a Bakery Tour?

Hadn't been on a date for awhile so I left it up to our friends, the Blue's, to come up with an activity for our double date. They decided to be creative with our meager budget and infant in tow and we went on a bakery tour. We would drive and pay for the gas and they would buy the donuts. 3 out of the 4 of us like maple bar donuts so we decided to hit every bakery within a 20 mile vicinity and buy one at each for sampling. It turned out to be lots of great conversation while we drove, a nice dinner in the middle and sampling back at our house at the end.

1st stop:

CJ's Bakery in Black Diamond

Just look at that glazed over, sweet thing.

And take a look at that cinnamon roll too!

Here are the boys fighting over who was going to pay.

Happy Donuts in Puyallup turned out to be awful. Don't go there. I have never spit out a donut but after trying one of their crullers, I now can say I have.

But look how happy everyone is leaving here. Can't be all that bad, right?

Baby Tate slept through the whole ride. It was perfect timing.

Couldn't pass up Krispy Kremes now could we? We just salivated awhile and then instead of buying a donut...we bought 12.

The best thing they sell is still those hot plain glazed. mmmmmmmmmmm!

Our final stop was at my favorite find: Legendary Donuts in Lakeland. This is the home of the Oprah Donut. Maple bar with crumbled bacon on top. Hello!!! Plus the chandeliers add a nice touch that make you feel like you are doing something high class and luxurious not filling your body with fat and sugar.

Donuts make you feel all kinds of wonderful.

Donut love!

Notice how I am not in any of these pictures? I am busy sneaking bites under the box flaps.

It really was fun but were were completely disgusted by the end. It was a lot of sugar for one day but the kids enjoyed our leftovers.

1st Place Maple Bar: CJ's Bakery

Their maple frosting/icing/glaze was the most tasty without being too over the top sweet

(but my favorite is still the bacon donut from Legendary. Come to mama!)

1st Place Plain: Krispy Kremes' by far!!

on the flip side: Krispy Kremes' maple bar was our least favorite...far too sweet.

Giving Thanks for our Thanksgiving

For the past three years we have hosted a lot of family. Love it but I also love low stress holidays once in a while. This year, made the traditional basics, hosted Rob's brother Tim and his two kids and had a quiet day.

Thanks Jodi for the outfit.

Then Eden and I did the traditional scour the Black Friday ads with intention of going at 4am to get any of them. We just love to see the ridiculousness.

Dance Party

Since our friends the Blue's have such cool dance parties at their house, it was high time we joined the cool crowd before my kids ran away and found a cooler family to live with.

We put up the disco ball, plugged in the strobe light, (which I promptly unplugged after my head exploded) cranked up some Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus and went to town. It was actually really fun until the kids got so amped up that it was all about kicking and tripping and slapping. Why do kids do that? They just can't control the excitement. Indy even managed to lose another tooth amidst all the fun!

We had snacks and soda and then were in bed by 8. It was a good night.

The week prior we went to the elementary school's Dance of the Decades and Rob and I danced while the kids hid in shame. And so it begins. Mwa ha ha.

Here are the kids standing around...because that is what you do at school dances. You can't be seen dancing in front of your friends. That would ruin your image.

Tatum was having so much fun that she gave up and slept right on through the pounding noise.

And then there were family pictures. I might look like a Diva but actually I was working out a pose in my head when she snapped the picture. What? "You were supposed to count to three!!! I wasn't ready!!"

And I paid $10 for all this humiliation!

Hours of Fun for $1

Found the doll stroller at a garage sale in 2005 for $1....5 years later it comes full circle.

March 2006 - Olivia (2 months)
Eden pushing Olivia
December 2010

Olivia is now doing the pushing. (Tatum 5 months)

Santa Claus it Coming to...our cul-de-sac

Santa always comes to your cul-de-sac on a lit-up fire engine asking for food donations, don't you know? It was a real treat to have this swing around our neighborhood and stop just for my kids. The real Santa stepped out and handed out candy canes. The kids still can't get over the idea that he made the effort to come and see them!