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So after our disappointing trip awhile back, we gave it another go. And can you believe it??? We ALL had fun! including my husband! AND we didn’t even gamble once! Who goes to Vegas and doesn’t gamble once? US, that’s who! So EVERYTHING went according to plan. I mean EVERYTHING! Who has that kind of a vacation? US, that’s who! I’m trying to hide my excitement…think about all the possibilities? there is nothing holding us back! All right, enough. It was just a huge milestone for us. I really honestly believed that we would not be taking another vaca until the kids were like 4! So what do you do in Vegas with kids? We visited the Shark Reef Aquarium.
For $17, not worth it. But if you buy the package which includes the buffet, definitely worth it 
Of course, you have to visit Circus Circus, which is a total rip off but you got to do it! And we attempted to do another buffet at Bellagio, but can you believe, the wait was 1.5 hours! Why, oh, why?
But we did manage to check out their GINORMOUS decorations.
These snowmen were beautiful…made out of carnations!
So basically, we ate and ate. But what else do you do on vaca? Did I already tell you this…my kids are growing up way too fast.
So now the “clean-fest” begins. 6 loads of laudry done, 2 more to go, holiday decorations will be coming down this week, start decorating their “new” bedroom and play room, and mentally prepare myself for 2009. It feels so strange that it’s soooo around the corner. I’m not one to make resolutions b/c why would you want to disappoint, discourage, not check it off of your checklist, etc. You’re talking about a whole entire year…alot can happen in a year. I just like to enter the new year feeling happy about my life, making those around me happy, and hoping for a great year.
Update on lil sis: she and her family are doing well. Lila’s face changes day by day! Her in-laws have been visiting from Chicago for the last 2 weeks and will be leaving some time in January. So needless to say, they have not had much time to enjoy their new home as a family of 3.
My husband will be “reconfiguring” our computer in the next 2 days. Hooray! I started this post last night but after about an hour of not being to download pictures, I gave up. ugh.
Anyways, have a wonderful New Year’s!!! I’ll see you in 2009!!!
big sis
Why the 1/2? b/c I’m counting their naps! So it took a lil bit longer last night for my daughter to fall asleep, which I expected. Afterall, she was moving in to her brother’s room but after almost 1.5 hours, she finally fell asleep. I adjusted by moving up their nap time today and they fell asleep in 15 minutes. I am such a BIG believer in sleep training, esp with twins. So I guess today marks the end of sleep training Gosh…my kids are sure growing up. sigh.
I stayed up late last night to finish up the scarf. Well, I just need to add the fringe and I’m done. I “borrowed” the yarn from my sis and didn’t take into account that I might not have enough so sure enough…I didn’t. No prob…add a fringe!
The weather has been terribly cold here. I know, when it’s hot here, it’s “too hot” and when the weather changes it’s “too cold”. That’s LAers for you! It has been so cold that I find frost (aka snow to my kids) early in the morning.
on the grass…
on top of the car…
Don’t know if we get this every year or if it’s especially cold this year. But it definitely does make it feel like winter!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful time with their families! and eating lots of yummy food! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Just an FYI…the shop will be closed from the 25th to the 29th. Why? VEGAS, BABY, VEGAS!
big sis
So my kids’ new bedroom furniture was delivered this morning. I spent all morning moving toys back and forth, shoving things in the corner, transferring clothes from one room to another and by noon, the rooms were done! What a relief! So I prepared myself for the worst…afterall, my twins have not shared a sleeping space since they were 2 months old. I decided to lay on the floor between the two beds to minimize the jumping, the chit chatting, basically the noise, and guess what?! THEY FELL ASLEEP IN 30 MINUTES!!! I actually fell asleep before them Again…what a relief! I think we could be ready for our trip to Vegas, baby VEGAS! I know, it’s so annoying…where is that saying from…a commercial, a movie…ah yes, the Swingers, one of my husband’s favorite movies. Of course, this line is one he often uses amongst his friends and to me so it has naturally stuck with me.
I am still getting boxes delivered, which I absolutely love! Granted, they are not for me but STILL. It is a nice feeling to get things that you only saw online and be pleased with the purchase. But what I love the most…getting SURPRISE packages…like this one from justJenn.
Look what she sent my kids! It was completely a surprise and SO. VERY. THOUGHTFUL. Always great to have your very own personalized stationary! Thanks, Jenn!!!
Back to knitting. Will I be able to complete that scarf? Why is it taking me so long??? Oh…that’s right…I have kids Everything seems to take twice, three times as long when you have kids, doesn’t it? Another reminder for next year…factor lack of time into EVERYTHING!
big sis
Every time I sit down to the computer, I seriously want to throw it across the room!!! Remember back in the days…the dial-up days, the days when cell phones were as big as cordless phones…how did we survive? My computer has been acting up for the past 2 weeks and since my husband has been in and out of town and getting ready for his lil vaca from the office, he just has not had the time to try and fix it. So I’m going CRAZY waiting for e-mails to be sent, things to be uploaded…can you tell I have no patience? Seriously, how did we survive back in the days? Guess we just didn’t know any better. Although it has not kept me away from my computer, it has deterred me from writing here and responding to e-mails. So if I owe you a response, please be understanding
Anyhow, presents have been wrapped and “shoved” under the tree, one holiday party down and two to go, and all handmade gifts have been made…oh…with the exception of one scarf I must knit before the 25th (must remember!). We will be taking a short trip the day after Christmas. Yes, I know…remember I vowed never to go away…I lied. My husband’s grandmother is flying in from Hawaii and so I gave in…we will be spending a few days in Vegas, baby, VEGAS! Can’t say that I’m excited really but I haven’t been in years! I think my husband and I are looking at it as another trial run to see where we need to adjust to make travelling with twins a bit easier. We’ve already strategized so we will see if it pays off.
It will be Lila’s first Christmas and my kids’ 3rd. They are super excited and have been VERY GOOD, suprisingly good, about not asking to open up gifts. Around this time last year, they probably had opened up a handful. I feel we are slowly being eaten up by toys. There are toys everywhere in my house…even when I hide them, they come and find me! I have been very good about giving toys away and storing some for Lila but it seems like the bigger my kids get, the bigger the toys get too. MUST DO A BETTER JOB OF HIDING THEM!
big sis
The last thing on my sis’ mind is getting the house all festive for Christmas so I thought it would be nice to make her something Christmas-y. And since I’ve been dying to make these (pattern from Stephanie at little birds), I thought I would make my sis a batch. AND I can finally talk about it since she FINALLY received them! Yes, she only lives 10 minutes away but it has not been as easy as I thought it would be to go visit…well, with the shop, kids, illnesses, shopping, picture taking, etc.
They were easy to make and easy to adjust. I personally like the tall skinny one…you know how I feel about wide Christmas trees
Tonight I get to have a girl’s night out with my high school friends!!! actually we went to junior high (aka middle school) together as well. These are times I treasure since I have very few of them. The 2 girlfriends that I will be enjoying yummy food with are both lawyers and live very far away. I’m exaggerating a bit but 1 to 1.5 hours away IS very far away for me. Remember, time is of the essence (can I use that here?). I am so terrible with idioms/sayings/whatever you call these…
Enjoy your Friday evening…I sure will!
big sis
So our mommy and me class wrapped up today. It was “organized CHAOS”! Whew! We started the morning with Santa. You should have seen some of the kids…they were SO. VERY. SCARED! One boy latched onto his mom…have you ever seen the way baby monkeys latch on to their moms…just like that! Even after Santa left, he refused to turn around…poor kid. My kids, on the other hand, have been forced to take pictures with Santa (at the mall) every year so I think I managed to desensitize them.
My kids are relatively shy AND STUBBORN. After 4 months of class, they still refuse to actively participate in circle time, which includes dancing and singing. Of course, they know all the songs and moves and practice when they get home but ask them to do it during circle time…oh no! they become statues! Well, today was my daughter’s day to count how many kids were in class. Normally, the parent directs his/her child and takes them around the circle but my daughter said to the teacher that she would do it alone. OMG! SHE DID IT! Did not need my help once! and managed to count each child! I WAS SUCH A PROUD MAMA! Just goes to show…each child is SO different and I should just take a chill pill when they refuse to dance and sing on cue
I have been using all their naps and free time to wrap, wrap, AND WRAP! I have tons of cousins which means there are tons of kids! I finally finished my soft Christmas trees and cannot wait to show you. I made another batch for someone very special and since she has not received them yet, you’ll have to wait another day or 2 before I can show you the finished product.
Other than that, we are enjoying the cold and rain here. It has been suprisingly cold and for all you non-So-Cal people, 50 degrees is VERY cold for us!
big sis
Lil sis moved this weekend and most of my time was spent over at her new place which is only 10 minutes away!
But I did manage to do some “crafts” with my kids. So this is our first attempt at building a gingerbread house. What can I say about the experience…it was a tad bit stressful for me b/c I like to have things MY WAY but b/c I wanted the kids to enjoy it, I had to take a step back and let them decorate it the way they wanted to. We had almost 2 tantrums…my son dropped his bowl of candy (and wouldn’t you know, it was the teeny tiny ones that he was in charge of!)…I had kids all over me and wanting to touch this and that and taste this and that and then wipe this and that EVERYWHERE…and an hour and a half later, my daughter and I were done. My son left after he dropped his bowl of candy. Patience is one thing he does not have too much ofÂ
Step 1: Buy a kit! I am not a frosting kind of gal. I try but it’s just so sweet for me. I’m the one taking frosting off of everything. And I’m not a whipped cream kind of girl either. I LOVE sweets but cannot stand all that stuff on top of cakes/cupcakes. So b/c I’m not a lover of frosting, I have never attempted to make it nor do I even know where to begin so I did the easiest thing possible…buy a kit and so worth it! I don’t know if I’ll ever end up making my own
Step 2: Begin assembling while kids are eating breakfast and watching TV.
You like? Super easy and requires no thinking. There are grooves everywhere. Loving it so far!
Step 3: Decorate with 2.5 year olds. Get lots of napkins, wet ones and dry. Minimize fighting between the 2 kids. Have tons of patience. Don’t be bossy. Don’t lose your cool. Stay calm. And try to have fun! Why must I be so Type A???
And this is the end result. My daughter was SO proud of herself and showed it off to everyone! Too cute and and even worth me not getting my way!
big sis
First, the post office stated that to ensure Christmas delivery (in the US), packages must be shipped by 12-16-08 via priority. BUT even then, they stated that there is NO guarantee. Sorry, folks. That’s the best answer I could get from them. Bit too late for international shipping.
The kids and I spent the morning at Knott’s! 2nd happiest place for us b/c it is SO very close to our house, I didn’t have to pay for parking (we only stay 2-3 hours), and there are SO many vehicle rides for my son! Some we were unable to ride without another adult but they didn’t mind so much. My son and daughter are getting so big now 
They were able to ride some rides alone and loved it! It sprinkled on us a lil bit and normally I would be running towards the exit but they were having so much fun and I came prepared with extra clothes and their knitted hats!
I have decided that that I will not be taking any custom orders until after the holidays. And b/c I completely feel bad about this, I WILL swap out ID cards and personalize them for you AND/OR take off buttons on the book bag and monogram them free of charge! It’s not much, I know but I have been sewing non-stop since gosh…I think, mid-Oct and I really am enjoying the break. Plus, I have a list of things I need to do for my own family. I finally got around to hemming my husband’s pants last night. Now, they were only sweat pants but STILL! I have to give myself a pat on the back. I was nervous about doing it since it was my first attempt but I must say, I did a pretty good job! I made my husband wear them around the house last night so that I could admire my work
My next project…Christmas tree softies! Since I’m so late in the game, I may just leave them up until the end of Jan!
big sis
I’m done posting the girls in the shop!!! Hurray! The thing about posting…it’s time consuming! especially for someone who has no time to spare! I believe the last day to ship packages for arrival by Christmas is Dec. 15th. I’m making a run to the post office just to be sure so I will let you know tomorrow.
Way back, JustJenn posted about her Hello Kitty Toaster. I would link you to it but I have no idea where/when I read about it. Anyways, it’s on sale this week at Target!!!
I was thrilled when I saw their Sunday advertisement. I had been eyeing it since I saw what cute toast it makes but never got around to ordering it online. It is on sale for $15! Now, I can’t guarantee your toast will look like the one pictured as I have not tested it out yet but I COULD NOT resist. It’s a great find and I thought I’d share it with the rest of you
big sis
I have been swamped the past few days. Goodness, did I take my sis for granted?! I have been running to the computer every chance I get…while the kids are eating their breakfast, while they are eating their lunch, during nap time, when I find them playing by themselves “nicely”.
It’s so great to see that people are interested in buying handmade this year. Was it always like this? I wouldn’t know…my sis and I only discovered Etsy earlier this year. Regardless, it’s great. I am actually giving lots of dolls as presents this year as well
So it took 3 days but my tree is done. AND it’s not b/c I’m anal. It just took that long with everything going on in my life
Before…
And after…
Our lil felt ornaments were handmade by my husband’s aunt. You cannot believe the amount of ornaments she made! We got a 6-7 foot tree and I still have a container of ornaments left!
So there you have it…my “felt” Nordmann Christmas tree!
I’ve posted a ton of girls including paperweights with decals in the shop. I have alot more so stay on your toes!
big sis
