Cookies with Santa

This post is a lot about myself. Sorta odd I know, but I will turn it into a tribute to my mother.

When I was in Elementary School my mom was the PTO President. I certainly didn't really know what that meant at the time but I knew that my mom came to school with me all the time and that my baby sister (probably Olivia's age) Alex came too. Fast forward 25 years and here I sit with an elementary daughter of my own and as the Chairman of Family and Cultural Events at her school. Maybe it is because this is how I was raised, or maybe it is my public service passion getting the best of me, but either way I feel it is my obligation to support the school Isabelle attends and do my best to make it better.

Last year with it being both Belle and my first years in this arena I just sat on a few committees and helped out as needed, but when the time came around this year I got nominated for the Family Events title and although I knew it was a bit more than I wanted to bite off, I agreed. So far Livi and I have pulled off a "Lunch with Our Hero's" for the September 11th memorial and also the Houston Grand Opera performing Hansel and Gretel for 600 small children. Both events were wonderful and although taxing, worth my effort. None however were quite as exhausting as my biggest event of the year, Cookies with Santa, a Saturday event for every family at Creekside Forest Elementary.

It was definitely a family affair with Ben working overtime on my assignments and Olivia and Isabelle both staying late after school and going early other days. My mom even put on her PTO hat once more the day of the event and came with thank-you gifts for all of my committee members as well as spent the day wrangling Livi and Leo...who we happened to be babysitting for the day.

After hours planning, working and worrying the event took place and was a great success. Santa arrived on the firetruck while Ben drove his truck. 400+ kids sat on his lap and filled his big heavy bag with lists and personal notes. We made reindeer food and Christmas cards and we served over 800 cookies and little cartons of milk. The cafeteria was filled with holiday music and Christmas artwork from every kid in the school and there were no noticeable mis-steps. Of course you learn what you would do different next year and what you wouldn't change, but overall I am very pleased and very much relived that the event is in the history books.

Isabelle and I were the first ones in the school that Saturday morning and the last to leave Saturday afternoon. Our feet were tired and we desperately needed a Diet Dr. Pepper...and some apple juice. As climbed into the car Belle turned to me and said Mom, you were awesome. You raised that whole thing up all by yourself! And it was at that moment in time that I knew that it was all worth it and that was absolutely why I volunteered my time and energy. I used to be that little girl with the awesome mom too.

Turkey Trouble

We have so much to be thankful for and November is a great reminder to count our many blessings.

First, we are so grateful for our two little girls. Isabelle and Olivia are both healthy, smart and sweet girls and Ben and I are not sure what to do with ourselves whenever we find a quiet moment alone. (Fortunately that rarely seems to happen.) Both girls performed a festive dance in their dance classes that they had worked on for weeks prior to the holiday. Isabelle performed the Turkey Tango in jazz style and Olivia did the Turkey Wobble in 2-year old ballet style. I am their mother, so I cannot give an unbiased opinion, but they were both stars. They loved dancing for all of the parents to see and Isabelle even skipped school one day to attend Olivia's dancing debut.

We are also thankful for our extended family and living in a day and age where traveling and communication is so simple. We were fortunate enough to share the Thanksgiving holiday with ALL of the Christensen family this year and we had fun from sun up to sun down.

We celebrated an early surprise birthday party for Max that Isabelle was thrilled to plan. We met for lunch with balloons, presents and an 8 candle and then made our way over to The Woodlands Ice Rink where we skated in the warmest skating rink ever. It was mid-80's outside and the ice was literally melting as we skated. The kids had so much fun trying to stay on their feet and got better and better with every lap.

Thanksgiving morning we began the festivities with the annual Turkey Trot and again were drenched in sweat with a warm run. We all got cleaned up for family pictures and then enjoyed a yummy turkey dinner with all the trimmings made by Grammie. Once we finished all of the dishes and a piece of pumpkin pie, it was time to kick off the Christmas holiday and all 4 of the grandkids went to bed with brand new holiday jammies from Grammie and Grandpa. The rest of us raced through the newspaper and quickly made a Black Friday game plan. Alee, Tara, my mom and I hit Target and Walmart like professionals and were in and out with a heafty amount of money spent in a matter of minutes. We then made good on our yearly promise and woke little Isabelle for round two of shopping at 5:00am. Isabelle almost jumped literally out of bed and before we had even left the garage said This is the best day ever.

We spent the rest of the weekend going to the movies, sleeping in, eating leftovers and enjoying our time together. The warm Texas weather reminded us even more how much we have to be grateful for and I pray that we can keep the spirit of Thanksgiving in our hearts everyday until next November.

POTUS Election 2012

Politics is what gets my blood pumping. To be honest, there is nothing else that I have experienced that excites me the same way. That being said, a Presidential Election year is an exciting time in our household. Ben and I watched the news every night for nearly a year prior to the November 2012 date and loved all of the debates and banter. I was itching to get out there and work but being a mom is my FT job right now so the GOP will have to wait a bit longer.

I explained the issues to the girls best I could to their understanding and Isabelle was sold on Governor Mitt Romney when she learned about President Obama's plan for NASA. Olivia mostly preferred Barack Obama but she is young and still teachable. Ha. We spent the election day all wearing political attire and Ben and I cast our vote bright and early Tuesday morning. Isabelle was thrilled to come home from school and watch all of the reporting on polls closing and exit surveys, etc. She made signs for all 4 of us to hold and we chanted Romney Romney for hours before she finally crashed into bed thinking her candidate of choice would pull out a victory.

Sadly, Ben and I knew it wasn't in the cards and were quickly disappointed as we continued to stare at the TV well into the night and next morning. While we wish there had been a different outcome and it is sometimes hard to imagine that little Olivia will be Isabelle's age and in 1st grade the next time we get a chance to vote for the President of the United States, we respect the office and will do our part to continue to make American the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

And I'm proud to be an American, 

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up, next to you

and defend her still today.

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land, 

God Bless the USA.

The Pose

Olivia is a mini-version of Isabelle. Literally and figuratively. Not only is it like raising the same child over again, although this time with a shade darker hair, but Olivia is so busy trying to do EVERY single thing that her big sister does that I think she sometimes forgets that she is in fact only 2 years old.

Isabelle is what she calls herself a Fashionista. Just a few weeks ago a boy in her class, Jackson, asked her if she was born with a bow on her head!! Her teacher had to tell me this story because she feared that Belle would get her feelings hurt but instead our little diva turned to Jackson in front of the whole class and said Yeah, I am a fashionista! And the next day, she asked for a bigger hair bow. Take that Jackson.

And Olivia follows suit. She wants the fanciest, sparkliest, fluffiest clothes and accessories every single day. And she has officially mastered the POSE.

You now will no longer see Livi standing up straight in pictures of any kind. Instead, she will be doing "the pose" and rocking it... just like her big sister showed her how.

Rest in Peace!

I'm not going to lie...I was cheering from the rooftops when Halloween was finally over this year. It seemed to be the holiday that went on for weeks and although we had a great time, I was glad for it to RIP.

During the month of October we visited a pumpkin patch, made monster cupcakes with friends, painted pumpkins, enjoyed a Girl Scout Daddy-Daughter Dress-up Bike Ride (on the only cold day of the month), made pumpkin faces with Mr. Potato Head parts, did a science experiment using pumpkins at school, had tons of fun at our neighborhood Halloween party, carved pumpkins, decorated the house, visited our neighbor's spooky haunted house three times, went to our Ward Trunk-or-Treat, ate a dozen chocolate pumpkin cupcakes, baked pumpkin seeds, ate dinner out of a pumpkin at Grammie's, had a blast at our BFF Emily's Costume Party, ate pumpkin shaped pizzas and finally went Trick-or-Treating before calling it a month!

Isabelle knew that she would be dressing like Merida from Brave weeks before the festivities began and her dress and wig were really show stoppers. We wondered if she would keep the huge crazy red wig on for long but little Jelly wore it non-stop for days and was a beautiful red-head. Olivia wears a costume every single day so Halloween for her was just another day in the year. Cinderella is her most favorite dress to wear so we weren't surprised that it was the dress she wore for all of the parties and activities leading up to Halloween night. She then threw us for a loop and pulled on Ariel instead and was a beautiful mermaid. Fortunately it was 80 degrees and a lovely night to have bare shoulders.

Ben wasn't feeling well on Halloween night so all three of my babies were zonked and in bed by 8:30pm. I cleaned up all of the coveted loot and had the Halloween decorations down and the floors vacuumed before the clock struck 12. Good night October! Time to be thankful for November!

On two wheels

One of Ben's New Years Resolutions for 2012 was to teach Isabelle how to ride her bike without training wheels. Now that we live in Houston with flat neighborhood streets and sidewalks we were sure it would be an easier feat. Isabelle had mastered her Razor scooter earlier this year, scootering with her best friends after school almost daily and getting really fast and brave and also learning the skill of balancing and steering while in motion. So when Ben decided he was up for the task and removed Belle's training wheels it was only a matter of seconds before little Jelly was off and cruising.

Since that day several weeks ago, Isabelle has become somewhat obsessed with biking. She biked to school every day in the month of October and was dressed and ready early each morning so that we had time to pedal the mile and a half before the tardy bell rang. (We figure just her commute to and from school was about 66 miles on her little bike in October.) On the way home from school she pedals any speed that she wants and direction she feels like and sometimes we get home quick while others we detour for quite a while before always return home sweaty and hot, dripping from the Texas sun.

Of course with Isabelle's new found passion we had to find a solution for Olivia. Most mornings she straps on her own bike helmet and hops on her little Strider bike only to be disappointed that she "can't go fast enough," so Ben quickly bought a bike trailer which has become Livi's new home several times a week now. She fills it with treats, books and sometimes a trumpet and sings as we go.

We have biked to piano lessons, playdates and Girl Scouts and Ben even joked about selling the truck since we no longer drive. When we visit friends and family, our bike comes along and even when the weather is raining or chilly Isabelle buckles her helmet and away she goes. It has been a fun month outdoors for all of us and our rear-ends are finally starting to recover from the bike seat bruises. Isabelle has really taken off this year, in more ways than one, and I can't help but to enjoy the view from behind.