The morning of

James was the first one up, although it wasn't at 5 am, it was 6 am. But 6 am is doable. James came downstairs very excited to see everything.

Translation :

ho ho ho = Santa

feffent = presents

In this video, James is telling about all the presents and about how Santa came down the chimney.

The joys

Yes, it was 50 some degrees outside, but Ryan would still not keep his clothes on.

The spiderman slippers were gifts as well as Clip-Clop the rocking magical horse.

Is it insanity?

When I had just one little body to watch over, I was a lot more patient. I was able to handle messes because I could watch and control them. Then came #2 and things just got exponentially messier. More messes and the messes were much, much bigger. So, why should it surprise me that when we put a gingerbread house together that the boys would stick their fingers in the icing and lick all the candy before they put it on the house. I mean, would we really have people over who would expect a perfect and non-child put together Gingerbread house? So, one definition of insanity is "unreasonableness". And Yes, I would say it was insane of me to expect 2 little boys to not get messy, not stick their fingers in the icing and not try to eat all the candy. Maybe it's because I was hoping to have one project completed with minimal interruption. I might have to wait a few years for that one :)

Maybe next year I'll do better..

She's mobile

And yes, she just keeps on moving. I get very amused how she scoots over to the boys and tries to get involved with their activities. James then has to pull her away by her feet. She doesn't seem to mind. She just goes back again.

What a 2 year old sees

What do you get with a two year old, softenening butter and a spice cap? Well, not a clean countertop. As ryan watched me make sandwich cookies, he just couldn't resist making his own with my butter that was softening.

We only made one batch of cookies this year.

It's 8:18 AM on Christmas Eve

And I'm drinking my coffee in my PJ's while the boys watch Curious George, the baby's still sleep and I'm planning my day. I have to make my pumpkin roll, pumpkin pie (from the can), pumpkin bread and maybe oatmeal sandwich cookies, if there's still time and butter left. Christmas Eve dinner tonight will be at my In-Law's and Christmas will be here tomorrow, noonish. All shopping is done, most of my presents are wrapped and I'm excitedly awaiting Christmas morn.

Merry Christmas my dear friends and family. We hope that you enjoy this day with your family!

Mommy's Boo-Boo

What do you get when you try to be sneaky and move things around in the garage? Well, not an ER visit and not even a tetanus shot, but it sure hurts! This is hush hush. I purchased a large item from a sports store but wasn't able to bring it home because the box required an open bed truck or a trailer. So, our good friend James took time out of his saturday and picked up our trailer and drove to get the item and then brought it home. Thank goodness Alex had to work all day so I didn't have to lie and get him out of the house.

I decided to move some things around in the garage and when I moved this jack looking thing, it came crashed down on my thumb and blood started gushing. I'll let you know that as I was moving items I was thinking "I hope I don't hurt myself because then I'd have to have an excuse for Alex". Well, I went upstairs to clean it off and debated going to the dr's office for a tetanus shot. well, it wasn't worth of a doctor's visit, just some neosporin, tylenol and band-aids. When Alex asked what happened, I said I was moving stuff in the garage and then he didn't ask any more. So, the ITEM is still downstairs, hidden and I don't think he suspects anything. So, don't mention anything if you happen to see him, but can ask him after Friday morning.

P.s. I'm okay although it still really hurts

And the Stockings were Hung..

I personally think it would be a lot more fun to hang real stockings i.e. panty hose from the mantle, but I don't think that tradition will take place any time soon. My mom made stockings for me and my siblings many many years ago. I still have mine and love it. It's the perfect size for stuffing lots of goodies in and holds up well too. She has continued this tradition and has made a stocking for all her grandchildren - although I think little Josiah is still awaiting his :O. No pressure mom :) Anyways, ours are hung with care or just push pins in the mantle so the kids can't yank anything on top of their heads and are empty and ready to be filled Christmas Eve.



Stockings might be my favorite part of Christmas. Oh Yes, I definately enjoy me some presents, but a stocking bursting at the seams has its own rewards. I will say that now I know what it's like to be a mom and have the stocking that's the least filled. I always felt bad that my mom's stocking just wasn't as full as ours. I always hoped that there would be a little box from my dad that would make up for it all.


Anyways, there's some tradition to what goes into stockings. Some of these items include socks, toothebrushes, candy, underwear, chocolate and a pair of holiday boxers.

In order of appearance starting with the closest to you, Mine, Ryan, Olivia, James and Alex.
A side note on Alex's: Alex might have given my mom a hard time about making his stocking purple, so she laboriously made him a new cowboy one. However, it was not as big and therefore couldn't hold as much that the purple one made its way to the mantle this year. So thank you mom for all your hard work!!

White Christmas

Yes, I'm dreaming of a white christmas. What are the chances that there will be a foot of snow in Charleston on Christmas Day?? I'm sure stranger things have happened, but I won't hold my breath.

This might be my favorite christmas movie. No wait, It is, for sure. It came on TV the other night so it got recorded. The boys weren't that interested and Alex wasn't either. But that's okay because I could enjoy it all by myself! My favorite part is when the men do the "Sister" song and that always reminds me of my sister. I won't get to watch it with her this year, but maybe in another year to come.

I hope one or some of you will get to enjoy some white this christmas, because all we're getting here is rain.

No Year's Resolutions!

I don't do New Year's Resolutions. I'm not legally opposed to them, but I just don't like to start my year setting myself up for failure or disappointment. That comes naturally :) But during the year, I am constantly trying to change and improve improve things. Items that I'm currently working on: Getting up at 6 am and having a quiet time; Organizing my ever constant unorganized house (we'll have a crawler soon); Spending more quality time with my spouse and improving our communication; watch James improve with his speech and spend more time with friends.

I anticipate a few milestones next year: James entering Pre-K, Ryan entering preschool; Olivia crawling, walking, talking, etc., Cleaning house, getting rid of baby clothes and toys; Improve my couponing skills, moving more kids out of diapers and all in all getting some resolution to this economy!

But who could not smile when they see this adorable photo of my men!

The Holdgate's, Year 2009

Wow! It's hard to imagine another year come and gone. Here are a few highlights from Fiddler island.

We started off the year in our new home and have thoroughly enjoyed it. As we continue to pick away at unfinished projects, we consider ourselves very blessed to be living here.

We had a few visitors that we really enjoyed seeing: The Schultz's and the Wallace's. We really enjoy guests because first, we clean the house, and Second, we get to spend time downtown.

In May, we welcome Olivia Marie Holdgate to our lives weighing in a 7 lbs 11 oz. She has been a joy and a great addition to this crazy family.

Sometime in August, Alex had an office procedure that will make sure that our family stays at 5 and all went well.

We celebrated Thanksgiving here at our house with 18 bodies and had a great time. Alex and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on November 27th and were able to spend the day with family. My brother in law Nick, married Kristy in December and we are very excited to welcome her to the family.

In the summer of 09, we had Operation No Binky, Operation Ryan in the Big Boy Bed, and Operation Potty Training for James. All were successful. More recently, we had Operation Help Olivia Sleep Through the Night which is almost a complete success.

As we embark on 2010, we look forward to a few more milestones and happy times!

Is it Christmas time already?!

Yes, it is. I knew, not by the christmas music station that started around Halloween or the holiday lights that started showing up in mid-November, but when we pulled out our wonderful tree and plugged it in! Growing up, we always had live trees. One year, we bought a tree that we re-planted in our yard. It finally got too big that my brother finally cut it down. Anyways, we invested in a sizable artificial christmas tree last year. The reasons being the cost, the mess and the short amount of time that they can be put up. We've been very happy. So this year, Alex opened up the bag, took the tree out, attached the 3 parts then plugged it in! All in 7 minutes. It even has lights.

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This year, the decorating is sort of a hodge-podge of new and old, semi-breakable ornaments. I still have my ornament box that I've had since I was a little girl, minus the few that the kids broke last year. Call me sentimental, but I made Alex put those special church-made ornaments higher up so they can't get them. I guess I won't share EVERYTHING with my kids :) There's also a few mom-made ornaments that I treasure dearly that are illuminating my tree.

I have a goal to buy the boys ornaments, but I'm always thrown off by the cost of them. So, I think I'll buy a bunch after Christmas and save till next year.

Anyways, it's Christmas-time, only a week and a few days away and my shopping is 95% complete!! What would we do without the Internet???

P.S. Alex has been searching high and low for a train set to go around the tree. He finally found it this year and it's been a great treat for the boys. There's even a few presents under the tree already (Thanks Mom!)

James

James is the oldest and therefore, has a lot more interests. He is into movies, spiderman, games, fire trucks, legos and I'd say anything new. He loves presents! .

James is still my quiet child, and I'm thinking that a lot of that is due to his speech difficulty. Speaking of which, he is doing really well, meeting with Miss Katy, once a week. I worry that he doesn't participate socially due to the fact that he can't communicate as effectively as his peers, but I don't think his peers pick on him about it.

He is 4 going on 10 and it's hard to remember sometimes how much he's grown. He wears 4T but sometimes the waists on those are still too big. So, he needs slim style.

And that's my James!

Ryan

Ryan is a typical middle child. He's also been and currently still is, my hardest child. I don't blame him, I think he has a very passionate personality. However, my laid back parenting for James and Olivia does not work with him. Anyways, back to Ryan. He is an attention grabber and loves to do what everybody else is doing. He likes cars, trucks, movies, candy, and pretty much anything that James likes. I don't think there's anything in particular that I've seen so far that is distinctly Ryan. He is a 2 1/2 year old who is happy to receive any kind of gift, especially if James got one too.

Olivia

In no particular order: these posts are inspired by my sister. Every year for chrimas, she writes a post about each child, talking about their likes and their clothes size. It's very helpful for those of us who are purchasing gifts. So, here's what I have to say about Olivia. She is 7 months old. She likes to crawl around and put things in her mouth. She has received 1 girl toy, which is a teapot set that she'll soon be able to play with. Other than that, she plays with cars and trains and books.

She wears 6-12 months clothes and fits into 9 months right now. She's 95% for length and 75% for weight. A little more Boyd in her. She has strawberry hair and big blue eyes. She looks really good in pastels - green. She also looks good in bold crazy colors and designs.

Thanksgiving

This year, we were blessed with a bucket full of family for Thanksgiving! My brother and his family came - Ela, Ana, Emma, Colin and Aunt Nuta. My sister and family came - John, Jack, James, Grace, Kaylinn, Justus, Liberty, Josiah...I think I got them all. And us Holdgates.

Scott and Ela arrive Wednesday, the day before, just in time for dinner. Then John and Jamey arrived the next morning. After the first 20 minutes of the cousins meeting and greeting each other, things settled down, for about 10 minutes. With 13 kids ranging from 11 or 12 down to 6 months, anything could happen. Thank goodness, nothing happened this season. This is the only picture I managed to take due to overwelming cooking demands, but you can see 8 of the cousins, less the 4 who were hopefully napping.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the food, the fellowship, the naps and the beginning of the holiday season. Also, James' birthday is around and sometimes on Thanksgiving and our anniversary is right around there also. So, there's always a lot to be thankful for.

Here are some of my thanks-givings:

1. 4 years ago I gave birth to our little butterball, James

2. 5 years ago. Alex and I were in Annapolis, preparing to start a life together

3. My siblings and in-laws and nieces and nephews

4. Even though we didn't get to see my other brother Jimmy or my parents, We remembered them and missed them terribly

5. I'm thankful for new recipes...some good and some bad

6. I'm thankful for 5 years of adventures with my husband, Alex. Hopefully the next 5 won't be so adventurous :)

All in all, I'm just thankful. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!