Merry Christmas!

Wishing all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!!

Our Elf on the Shelf

Do you have an "elf on the shelf"? Well ours just joined our family and he couldn't have come at a better time. The days have been LONG around here! Listening and behaving have become a challenge in our home! So our little elf on the shelf has made his appearance and has now become a part of our family, and a new tradition. We started a little bit late... but I think he came just in time! As of yet we have named him "Pepper". Mateo is in awe of him.

We have a little advent box with collection drawers. The little "elf" has come every night and leaves a small treat (a little piece of candy left over from Halloween :-)) or a message. (Mateo has been asking where he lives and what he looks like). Today on the way home I told Mateo that the elf had come to live in our house and would stay until Christmas. I told him he was waiting for him somewhere inside. Well he couldn't wait to "see" him. He found him sitting on our mantle along with his little story book. Mateo's face was in awe. He wanted to know if he was alive and if he could move. We looked at him, read the book and learned the "rules". You cannot touch him but you can talk to him. If you touch him he will lose his magic. We read the story, talked about him, talked about behaving and where the elf might be when he wakes up tomorrow. You see, he goes back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa and let him know if the boys have been naughty or nice. I think it might work cuz the elf has only been here a few hours and when Mateo does something he shouldn't be doing, he looks straight to the shelf to see if the elf is looking. And of course, in big brother fashion, he has all ready reminded Marco that he could be put on the "naughty" list.

*update. It's been 4 days. Pepper has returned every night in a new location. The morning excitement starts with running downstairs to find him........and is it really "magic". Mateo has been trying really hard to be on his best behavior!! ANd that makes for one happy Mama!!

Where we found him this morning!

Portable North Pole

Came across this super cool idea and site and wanted to share!

Register at Portable North Pole, and you can send a message from Santa Claus to a toddler, older child, or even an adult. After navigating an extensive online questionnaire that even mentions siblings, chores, and the most coveted gift on your child's list, PNP creates a high quality video of Santa speaking directly to your child. You'll get a quick tour of the North Pole hot spots, hear a little about your child's strengths and areas for improvement, and even see your child's name, right there in Santa's book. And if your kid's name isn't exotic, Santa even says it. Neato. The best part of all? Sending messages through Portable North Pole is free. If you want a DVD keepsake, they'll make one for a small charge.

It's super cute, super easy and so much fun for the little ones!!

A Reminder to Be Thankful!

One of our traditions that we have decided to keep is having a real LIVE Christmas Tree. Even if it only means a trip to Home Depot, usually in the rain. Borrowing the scissors to keep removing twine off each wrapped tree in search of the "perfect" tree. Only to drive Jeff bananas and still wonder all the way home if we picked the "right" one. This year we have been putting it off due to timing and wanting to make sure the tree stays fresh thru the holidays..or was that the real reason? Poor little Marco is sick, yet again. Unfortunately he is easily affected by colds and the allergens in the air. His poor little lungs are affected so quickly and wheezing is not our friend!!

Well our plan had been to get our tree on Tuesday. Come Tuesday mommy had a horrible stomach flu...YuCK!! So no trip to get our tree. Also the start of Marco's cold. So on Wednesday it led us on yet another trip to see Dr Novesteras. And what were her friendly words? "you dont have a LIVE tree do you?" My response, "No, not yet, we're going to get that tomorrow." Sadly, plans have changed. Basically she said if we want Marco to keep Marco healthy and breathing normally, or breathing at all...no LIVE tree for us. Her suggestion, put a live tree on your porch, but no way inside your house.

It's horrible to say but I did go thru a moment of being sad and wondering what we were going to do. No offense, but I am NOT a fan of fake trees. I did ask if this was permanent or if there was hope for next year and it may be a temporary thing. Yes, it may be temporary. Yipee....but until then, we have to decide, do we "borrow" a tree to get us thru this year and make it a Charlie Brown Christmas, or do we go shopping, find the "perfect" fake tree and go from there?

But in the end, I am left with the true reminder! That we have two beautiful, healthy, active, incredible boys!! And in the end, neither of them will even take a second to wonder if our tree is real or not!! They will just revel in the excitement and joy of Christmas! And it's our job to make that happen!!

Woo Hoo! Now the Search for the Perfect Christmas Card!

Yay! I qualified for the free Shutterfly cards! Now I can't wait to find the perfect pictures and perfect card! We are taking family pictures next week. Let's all keep our fingers crossed. I am sure they will be our life in motion as our boys never sit still together for more than 1/2 a second!

Fear Factor, No Fear, What?

These boys are so darn funny!
Right now, Mateo's favorite thing to watch on TV ~ Fear Factor~! What? I was working one day last week, Jeff text me and told me "our son is addicted to Fear Factor". And now he can't get enough. Kinda cute, kinda freakish? But then again, Mateo plays to his own drum! I mean while most boys would rather be playing with Hot Wheels and Super Hero's (yes he does play with these things too), my guy is still into his Animals. They rule his world and I LOVE it!!

And Marco. He is nothing like Mateo was. He has no FEAR!! He will climb anything, I mean anything. If he sees a step stool, it's an invitation to climb. When I left the dining room chair pulled out, I found him on top of the table. Most of the time Mateo's little play tables are turned upside down. Yes he climbs to the top of the bunk, so now I have something to block him from going up more then two steps. (I think this is my payback from when Mateo was small and I made a comment about how he was too chicken to jump or climb...lol on me!). And he LOVES the park and slides. I mean why not...its all about climbing. But the cutest thing right now. He climbs on a chair, or Mateo's bed. And when he tries to get down, he slides half way down and calls our for help. Just hanging there. And usually waiting for Mateo to come to the rescue. So darn cute. Hoping his limbs stay intact!!

A new way of blogging!

Ok, So I have decided. This blog needs a new look. Well not a new "look" really but a different kind of approach. Of course, it is and will be primarily dedicated to our family ( and tons of pictures) , but I want to include all kinds of other fun stuff too. Including all the crazy fun stuff our little guys do that definitely keep us on our toes, the things that make my mind swirl and crazy things that make me happy that probably only other moms who blog will understand. (I think that's why I haven't done it this way before, because it's mostly family and friends reading this and unfortunately, I have tried and tried and cannot get most of them to blog!).

All lot of my ideas will probably be taken from other fun blogs, but then that's what it's all about right? Sharing and passing it on. So here's to something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Let's just see how well I can do!

Time to start thinking about Christmas Cards

I realize I did this wrong. Here goes again..

We love Christmas and love sending Christmas Cards. So much thought goes into them year after year! I know a lot of people no longer send cards and some do the e-card thing as their way of saving $$. But for us, sending cards is a must. It's a way to keep in touch with those you rarely talk to, and it's so much fun to receive them and watch families grow over the years!! And I love how for the most part, most of the cards we get now are full of fun family pictures.
Each year it seems like I have plenty of time to choose the perfect card and then time gets away from me and I stand searching for the perfect pictures and perfect card with days to spare!! Hopefully this year will be different.

Shutterfly is having a promotion for their holiday cards! YAY! Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010

With the selection of cards that Shutterfly has I can't wait to get started! Here are a few of my faves! Peppermint Bliss and With Love Chartreuse. I'm sure I'll change my mind a million times before it's time to order and send out!


I have used Shutterfly for everything from photo books, to gifts, prints and thankyou cards.
My absolute favorite thing about Shutterfly though - is their great customer service and the great offers for their products!! Not to mention the quality of their products. And even better, they are local in the bay area, so I always receive my order super fast!!

I have A LOT of catching up to do. But until then a short note that will only stay up temporarily.

This blog is intended for people who have been invited to read it or who stumble upon it and find it fun to look at. If you are not one of these, then WHY are you looking??? If you don't care to take part in mine or my childrens lives, then you have no need to know what is going on in our lives thru our blog!! I am debating on making it private, that is to be determined....have a nice day!

Last Basketball Practice!

Unfortunately Basketball is over until the Spring. It's only 4 weeks but it was fun! It's too bad the don't keep it running through the winter since it's an inside sport. Mateo has gotten pretty good at it too! Guess we'll be practicing a lot at home

My little blocker

And of couse, Marco getting in on the action too! He loves basketball!!

Buddies!

Most of the time I spend the mornings, afternoons and evenings telling the boys to leave each other alone. If they just played independently sometimes things would go so much smoother. But who wants to share with their brother and keep mommy happy?
But once in a while, I get some of the sweetest moments shared between my boys!! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE to watch them!

They could take turns pushing each other on this forever! And I actually was thinking of returning it~!

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ~ 2010 World Series Champions!

Just had to include a post about the World Series!!

Halloween and Marco's 1st real trick or treat

In our family we LOVE Halloween. We love decorating, we love dressing up and of course Trick-or-Treating. Mateo can't get enough and hopefully the same will be true for Marco too. This year after nixing wanting to be a rhino and a crocodile, Mateo wanted to be a Fireman. And Marco, well who could let that super cute Frankie costume that Mateo wore go to waste?? That was an easy choice. After dressing up and the anticipation and excitement...we were off to trick or treat. Took the wagon for our little guy...but he loved going to the doors and loved looking at his candy. Mateo was so excited to go to every door and I have never seen a little kid get so excited for every single piece of candy he got. After every house he would run out holding the candy he got saying I love " " with so much excitement. As people put it in his pumpkin all he could say was "wow". So much fun to watch. But after enough walking and lots of candy...he was ready to call it a night and the two of them cruised home in the wagon sampling their loot!!

And it has become tradition, since Mateo was 1, that after trick or treating we go out, cruise the town and look at Halloween decorations. Marco didn't make it that long but Mateo loved it~!

Carving Pumpkins

Making a face like he wanted his pumpkin to have!

He called it a Sponge Bob pumpkin when he was done

Mateo wasn't too keen on cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin (really, my boy who loves to get messy and loves yucky things) but he wanted to draw and design his own pumpkin. Not a bad job if I say so myself!

Halloween Party

Again... we LOVE Halloween here. Really it probably has to do with the fact that it starts off the holiday season of decorating, parties and celebrating!! 2 years ago we had a Halloween party for the kids and it was a lot of fun. We said we would do it every year after that, but last year we failed, mainly cuz Marco was only a month old and I was VERY sleep deprived. So we carried on this year. The kids had a ton of fun. We played candy corn bingo, made candy necklaces, ate some yummy snacks and the kids played freeze dance. Hoping we continue this tradition as the kids get older!!








Not a bad picture for a bunch of 4 year olds!!

Preschool Pajama Day and Fall Festival

At Bella Vista the kids celebrate fall with a pajama party and fall festival. They get to go to school in their PJ's and do fun crafts, games and eat yummy food!

Saying a prayer before snack time

Playing musical chairs! No losers, just a cheering section for those still going! Love it!

The kids all made fun posters about themselves. Mateo loved it!

Pumpking rolling, who would have thunk?

Are these cars super cool or what? The kids had a blast! Mabye an idea for a future party??

Fun Food

I saw a cute idea in a magazine for ghost pancakes, so I attempted them. Not quite like what I saw, but not too bad. And the kids loved them because of the chocolate chips. Then Mateo had a great time making, baking and decorating Halloween cupcakes.

Random pics

Marco climbing on anything he can figure out how to climb on. Surprised nothing has broken up to this point. And the boys being goofy. What they spend most of their time doing when they're not fighting.