buckle

Today we went to Palm Springs for lunch and to walk around the mall. Every time I've been to the mall, I've looked longingly at one of the stores, Buckle. They have the cutest jeans and I've always wanted to try them on. I love cute back pockets. These jeans have the most unique pockets I've seen.

Today Chris convinced me to go for it, even though I knew they were pretty expensive. I figured that since I did have some Christmas money, I should give them a try. As the girl was helping me find my size, I glanced at the price tag. $146.00. Um...no. I did try them on and I'll admit I loved the way they fit, but I would NEVER spend that much on jeans. To be honest, even $50 is a little much. I tend to stick more in the $30 (or under!) range.

I have never agreed with people who claim that expensive jeans are, "...the ONLY ones that fit me well!". You haven't looked hard enough, in my opinion. :) So I'll keep looking since two pairs of my jeans now have holes in the knee (since I've had them for over 5 years).

christmas round 2

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with my parents. After having breakfast with just the four of us (with our new tradition of Land of Nod), we headed over to their house. Cam was very into opening presents. We had a great lunch (thanks, Kendall, for going down for your nap right when we were ready to eat!) and enjoyed some time outside watching Cam on his new ride. The weather couldn't have been more perfect.



Kendall appeared to be a big fan of Cam's remote control car.



This was Cam's present from my sister and her family. He loves it and despite being not quite tall enough, he does great on it!


Today both Chris and I are experiencing the "Christmas letdown". Seems like after a Holiday or time with family, there is always the, "OK, now back to regular life", which is kind of hard. So we are back to our regular activities, like taking our scavenger hunt today outside (and now that we have nothing to do...the cold weather is back!). Oh well. We have nothing to complain about as we had a wonderful Christmas with both sides of the family.

christmas round one

Yesterday (Christmas Eve) we returned from a few days up north visiting my in laws. We had such a fun time! Cameron had a blast with his cousins, which is such a refreshing thing to type seeing as it hasn't always been that way. He was much more comfortable and loved playing with them. He still needed space every now and then and got upset a couple of times, but overall we were so happy to see him interact with them and enjoy doing so. They are such great playmates for him.

Other than watch the kids, we ate and ate and ate. Did I mention we ate? I mentioned before that I wanted to fit 10 dinner rolls in at lunch time. I didn't quite make it, but I made a valiant attempt. I got in a couple good and cheesy Christmas movies as well as a wonderful pedicure with my sister-in-law. Overall it was a great trip. And other than a few minutes on the way home of a VERY upset Kendall (after she poked herself in the eye with a straw...to which her eye is still tearing...hmmm...don't I feel like a lousy mom!), the ride went pretty well.





Last night we had my parents over for pizza and dessert. Today we are headed over there for presents and Christmas lunch of pork, cheesy potatos, bread, green beans, and homemade pizookie (by far the thing we are all looking forward to the most).

stats

4- number of times Cam and I baked this week

4- number of items baked where chocolate was the main ingredient

35- minutes we've worked up to for Cam's "special room time"

5:15pm- time Kendall went to bed last night due to the yucky naps

5:00am- first time she needed to be fed...pretty good stretch!

2- colors of frosting I made for Cam's class today (they were decorating cookies)--sadly I only had blue and yellow...not very Christmas-like!

1-movie rented from Red Box this week, Public Enemies

4-scavenger hunts taken this week (this is by far a favorite activity for Cam)

1- Starbucks trip this week: Soy White Mocha, extra hot

10- number of homemade rolls I wish I could fit in my stomach during our Christmas meal (up at my in-laws)

1st christmas program

Yesterday we, along with my mom and dad, attended Cam's Christmas program at his school. It was very short and just consisted of each class (only 3) singing one Christmas song. Cam did well for Cam, which was all we wanted. We are so proud of our little guy. :)

Cam and his teacher, Ms. Gaby.

lights

I love looking at Christmas lights. It's been fun this year because Cam is also a fan. Last night we met some friends down in Long Beach (Naples to be exact) to walk around the canal of lights. We had a great time. We first met at Harbor House for dinner. We left Kendall with my mom and had a great time just the three of us.



Side note: I'd like to say an extra thanks to my mom for watching Kendall. Despite my mom's best efforts to cover up the real truth, with my endless questions I was able to gather that Kendall was a handful. I should have known she would be, considering she has hit the stage now where she bursts into tears when I simply leave the room. So thank you, mom, for putting up with a fussy baby all evening!

I've also started taking walks with Cam after I put Kendall down for the night. We just walk around our neighborhood, but it is so fun to get bundled up and have him point out all that he sees.

chuck e cheese

Today it rained most of the day. We were thankful to have been invited to a birthday party for two of my nieces at Chuck E Cheese. I don't think I had been to a Chuck E Cheese in at least 20 years. Cam was in heaven. We had such a fun time and it was topped off by two great car rides (exciting considering they were an hour long each way).

Cam loved the basketball hoop. More than anything, he just liked getting the balls and setting them on the ground for Chris to pick up and throw.



Cam also loved riding the horse. Take a look...

Kendall was a jewel. Despite being tired, she was happy the entire time and loved looking at all the lights.



Tonight I made homemade macaroni and cheese. Chris has been wanting this for a while, so I finally made it for him. I found a great recipe from Paula Dean. Dear me was it rich and wonderful!!

Tomorrow we are hoping the rain will take a break so we can head out to Palm Springs for lunch. If it does rain, we'll have to get creative and come up with something to keep busy. :)

p.s. Sorry many of my pictures are rather blurry. We have a camera that takes nice pictures, but it is just so big that I hate bringing it places.