My favorite Christmas presents

are from Nanny every year. Although she always gives us a very generous monetary gift she also buys the most unique things. Last year I got an ear cleaner/scraper. I love it- mostly for when my ear itches. In fact I use it almost daily. I also received a neti pot. Haven't used it yet, I guess I'm not super comfortable with pouring liquid up my nose. Other presents have ranged from a taco holder to a collapsable crate with wheels. Sometimes the items sit in my cupboards for quite a while before I find a use for them, but that's part of the excitement. Can't wait to see what this year brings.

Fun for the whole family

A couple of months ago we began a new family tradition/game- Hide and Seek. About once a week (E would prefer it be nightly), between bathtime and bedtime we all play together. Right now because the kids are young, we limit it to just the upstairs. The spots tend to be used again and again and the dogs sometimes give our hiding places away, but the kids get such a kick out of scaring each other they don't seem to notice. The whole family goes into one room, while one member leaves to hide. Then as a group we search. Daddy, E and I can hide by ourselves, but R usually needs Daddy's help. R never stays in his spot because he is just so excited, he jumps out prematurely which makes us all crack up. J is too young to hide, but he loves to dance around while we count and looks so darn cute cautiously searching with us.
Tonight I mentioned to Daddy that I can't wait to play when they get older and use the entire house. Although silly, I hope this is something we can continue to make time to do with our kids and I hope they look back on it fondly.

Scorpions

I HATE THEM (actually I am afraid of them but have to be tough for the kids). To be honest, I hate all bugs, but because of the scorpions exoskeleton, in order to kill them, you literally have to beat the h*ll out of them. I have seen 2 in the past 2 days. Friday morning Mr. Turtle (aka R) was taking his sweet old time coming down the stairs and noticed a scorpion on the stair light. I ushered all of the kids into the family room while I grabbed the Raid and a shoe. After stunning it with the Raid (a lot of Raid), I beat the h*ll out of it (even broke the stair light). I gotta tell you, that sucker was huge, as long as the palm of my hand. Now in the world of scorpions, big is definitely better (less poinsonous/ painful).
Tonight while helping R finish his business on the potty, I noticed (right next to my foot), another one. This guy was about the size of my thumb nail (not good). Once again, I ushered the kids out of the room, then I asked E to bring me a shoe. Needless to say, I beat the h*ll out of him.
I know that the reason we are seeing so many is because of our recent rain, but seriously we just had the bug man come a few days ago. I have lived in AZ for almost 30 years and have seen more scorpions in the past year than the other 29 years put together. Ugh, did I already mention how much I hate them.

Socks

Who knew something so small could cause so much trouble. Ugh with 3 kids so close in age, determining which socks belong to which child is always an ordeal. For awhile, I just put their initials on the bottom and this helps a little, but then they get too small and I buy new ones, but I forget to move out the old ones. Eventually there will be a greater difference in size and things should be easier, until then I will just have to do the monthly treasure hunt to make sure they are in the right place.

Adding some culture...

through music. Hoping to at least. We just bought a piano from a friend. I have always wanted to have a piano and although it wasn't the best time budget wise, things just seemed to fall into place. The kids were thrilled and obviously just want to spend some time playing around on it. We are hoping in the near future to start E in lessons and maybe even R in a specialized program which teaches children to play by ear when they are too young to read music. In the meantime, the kids look like naturals.