A Look at the Past Year!

Wow, I was at first going to post a woe-is-me post about being sick over the

holidays and missing my family (they're all in Chicago with my sis Jamie and her family).  And not just sick, last night Claire threw-up all night and now Dave and I have the "Are we getting sick?"... nauseas feeling.  Aw, psychosymatic symptoms how I love thee.  But then I got to thinking about all the fantastic things that have happened this past year to us.  Here are just to name a few:

 

CHINA!!! Dave and I got to go on a trip of a lifetime in May courtesy of Ma and Pa Coleman.  That was such an amazing experience that left us asking ourselves, "Are we REALLY in China right now or just China town?" Know what I mean? It was terrific with the only thing scary happening was being on the plane and shot at with these temperature guns and told that if anyone on board had even a slight temperature we were quarantined! Oh, and my father-in-law left his backpack with passport and wallet on a bus in Beijing, only to have some kind Chinese person take in all the way to the American Embassy who in turn delivered it to our hotel the next day! Miracle I tell ya!

KINDERGARTEN!!! I know everyone feels the same way when their first goes off to school.  I was no exception.  The only thing that made me feel better was Emma smiling standing in line waiting to enter her classroom.  She is one amazing little girl.  I'm in awe of her every day.  She is kind, reliable, talented, happy and such a wonderfully kind little person.  She's off on a new adventure and hopefully David and I have prepared her enough to handle being on her own a couple hours Monday through Friday.

PRESCHOOL!!! Claire Bear started preschool at a new montessori school.  I was a little apprehensive at first simply because I loved Emma's school the previous year and didn't know much about montessori.  But she has just flourished! She comes home with new Japanese words which thrills me and especially David that both went on his mission there an school.  She is such a kind lovey little girl.  She loves going off to school with me and asking questions like, "mom, what makes the car move? Does it have a brain? How do we move and talk and think?" Which I reply, "Ask your daddy these questions little miss!" ...because I have no clue! ;)

Hallie is my little buddy.  She has the most amazing vocabulary for 2.  She says things like,"No problem mommy!" Or "It's ok, I'm good!" She's is stinkin' hilarious! She's so athletic too! That girl can do a flip in the air and land on her bum! Silly little girl!

NEW JOB!!! David got a new job for a contract company called General Dymatics that works exclusively for the Federal Government.  A Federal job is being created for him too, so the paperwork on that has been pretty intense.  He will be working on a computer program that keeps track of the mental health issues for all military personnel.  He is thrilled to start in January, and I'm so very proud of him!

HMMMM...me.  Well, I've done a lot of personal growing this past year.  I've struggled with PMDD since having children, so I've had to pretty much rewire the way my mind thinks and processes things.  As long as I tell myself positive things I do ok.  Which brings me to my New Year's resolution for 2010! I want to try to stay more positive this year.  I want to do more things for other people.  I want to find the time to start volunteering at Emma's school more and Claire's, I want to attend the temple with David more, I want to be more consistent with FHE.  I want to lose the weight I need for me to be happy having one more baby.  I want to be healthier both physically and mentally.  And I'm changing all the WANTS to WILLS!

So to all of you, Happy New Years!!! I pray that it holds much happiness for all of you, happiness that YOU create, not just the kind that can randomly happen.  And I pray that I won't throw up tonight... ;)

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas Eve and we're about ready to head over to my grandma's house for dinner and a program (bet you wish you still had to perform in a program in while in your thirties! Early thirties I might add!).  We've tracked Santa and he's heading to the Falkan Islands.  I think it's so cute that Norad has a tracker for Santa Claus! I wanted to let all of you know how much we love and appreciate you! I was really crummy with cards, so some people got them and some didn't (address problems and such, and I ran out of cards for the first time!).  So even if you didn't get one, you are loved!

I pray we can all remember the true meaning of Christmas.  Christ lived and died for us.  We need to always remember His love for us, but at this time of year we are blessed to feel it and spread it to those around us.  I hope and pray that all of you have a very Merry Christmas or Happy Christmas (love how the English say that instead of Merry).  To all of you that we have not seen in so long, we love you and think of you often! Happy Holidays! 
Love,
The Coleman Family

 

 

 

 

 

(The top two pictures are of Claire's preschool putting on the Nativity for the ward.  She was the Inn Keeper and LOVE it!)

Merry Christmas Salvation Army! Nephis and a midnight donut!

So yesterday for Claire's preschool snack, I was in charge of buying donuts for after the field trip.  The darling kids sang Christmas songs and acted out the nativity for a group of elderly men and women at a local retirement home.  I skipped out a little early and headed to the grocery store with Emma and Hallie.  Once the shopping was done, I went outside with the kids and saw a lovely cheerful man singing and ringing his Salvation Army bell.  I reached into my bag and pulled out some loose change and told Emma to put it in the bucket.  Watching her and smiling, she reached over and put not only the change in, but a wad of green bills.  "Emma! What did you just put in there?!" I looked through my purse, but I have no idea how much she put in! A couple dollars? A couple $20's? I had just gone to the bank and cashed a church check, plus I had gone to Costco and gotten cash back too, so usually I know exactly how much I have (because it's not very much very often!) but right then I didn't know.  And I had to be careful what I said to Emma because it was money for those less fortunate.  So I told her to stay out of my purse and let mommy handle the money.  Oh well, the money could have been thrown away or lost, so to you Salvation army, I say a big fat Merry Christmas!!! :)

I have to throw in something else kind of funny.  I've told many of you about Claire's aversion to undies an tights.  Well finally I found a couple pairs she'll wear (I just have to wash them every night) and believe me, she knows if I give her another pair! We've fought and fought about tights , so finally she agreed to wear them to ballet (it's required).  I discovered that she loves knee highs.  So the other day I told her to put on the clothes I had gotten out for her.  She comes down,"Mom, where are the Nephis?" "Nephis? You mean Nephi?" "No MOM! Where are my Nephis?!!!Finally Emma, the translater, tells me,"Mom, she means her knee highs!" Of course, how did I not get that?

And speaking of translating... about a month ago my girls spent the night with my sister and a friend.  Apparently Hallie woke up in the middle of the night crying and mumbling.  Laura tells her, "I'm sorry! I can't understand you!" Emma rolls over and says,"She wants a drink of water."  A couple hours later Hallie wakes up again and starts crying and mumbling.  Once again Laura can't make out a single word.  In her sleep Emma says, "She says she wants a donut." Laura says, "Hallie, did you just ask for a donut?" She nods yes.  What a hoot, a midnight donut and a translator.

Sorry this was a bit long, but I had to record my kid's oddities! Gotta look back and remember these things to make fun of them with!!!!! :)

Merry Christmas!!!

The other day I decided to do Christmas cards, even though I just wasn't feelin' it, ya know? But how can I not, when I've got such cutie pie girls to take pictures of and send to family and friends...gag, I know...

 So the above picture is the one I chose.  Emma's not looking really thrilled by then, and Claire was exhausted from preschool and would only smile when I offered hot chocolate with marshmallows and a candy cane.  Hallie pretty much was the only happy chick for the entire photo shoot.  There were definitely cuter pictures, but they all were blurry (I thought I'd turn the dumb flash off to get a prettier picture with the Christmas tree behind them...yeah, didn't work.)

 Pretty cute...darn it!

 

This was my fav, but way too blurry! Double darn it!

Benadryl and a Birthday!

Oh Emma, my little Emma -Lemma -Lou.  When she was born, so were a handful of silly nicknames.  Emma-Lemma-Ding-Dong, Emma Pooh Bear, Emma Lou Who, Emmie, Ems, Sister Suzie ...the list goes on and on.  Emma is truly a delight in my life.  She is full of compliments, she loves to dance, she loves special occasions.  She is a little social butterfly! I love to see her run to the playground before school, her little friends flock to her and begin chasing each other around.  So darling...

For Emma's birthday this year, we had a "friend" party.  She wanted a few friends from school, a few friends from church...pretty much a "few" friends turned into 14! Sooo, what to do with 14 children? I brought up having a pajama party with breakfast and she loved it! And yeah, I was crazy to have 17 little girls running around, but it was worth it!

Backing up a bit, Emma had gotten an ear infection the week before her birthday.  The doctor put her on Amoxycilian, and up until the 11th, HER BIRTHDAY, she was fine on it! Ummm, let's just say she woke up that morning with hives covering her body.  The hives were even in her ears! The poor girl! So, in my frantic state (the party started in one hour), I gave her a heaping dose of Benadryl.  Once the party started, she got really glassy eyed and quiet.  All the girlies were running around having a blast, and she leans over to me and says very quietly, "why are they so loud?" I didn't get it until chatting with my friend Heather who stayed to help out, that the Benadryl was knocking out my baby...on her birthday! It must have taken her quite a lot to not fall asleep, because that night I gave her another dose and she was asleep within 10 minutes.  Oh well, at least I have pictures to prove she had a birthday party, I'm sure she doesn't remember much of it...

 

Looking a little out of it here, hmmm, wonder why? :)

 

Em opening her presents.  After each present was opened, the girls would all clap, it was SO darling!

 

All the girls cozy watching the new Tinkerbell movie (CA-UTE movie by the way!)

 

All the girls plus my friend Crystal and sister Laura.  Both my helpers, couldn't have done it without them!


E: Energetic! That girl is like the Energizer bunny!
M: Magical.  She still believes in Magic.  Fairies and Santa DO exist!
M: Mannerly! Sounds silly, but that girl has the best manners! I never worry about her at other's homes while I'm not with her.
A: Adorable!

New Member of the Fam!

Congratulations to my baby sister Jamie and her hubby Ben! Charlotte Mary was born early this morning.  She is so beautiful, I just want to hold her and kiss those cheekies! Good job Jame, we love you!!!

What a Weirdy...

 

I need a laugh today, so I thought I'd post these silly pictures of Claire and her imagination.  She's is such an interesting little girly...

I love the middle picture, maybe if I tried that with my scarf I'd get a lovely butt lift! ;)

Good Grief, Enough of Halloween Already!

Sorry, gotta finish up Halloween so I can get onto Em's birthday (um, key words here: hives, 17 girls, and Benedryl).  On Halloween we had a little get together with a couple families at a friend's house for dinner.  Afterwards we all went to the ward's trunk or treat.  Unfortunately, Dave had a work emergency and missed the dinner and showed up at the church right before it started.  The man showed up with this hat with this grotesque hair attached to it.  And it's not just any hair, it looks like the man bleached out his hair and then let it grow out.  Honestly, from far away, it looked like I brought some weirdo off the streets trunk or treating with me.  He wore it the Halloween I was pregnant with Emma, we looked like such the white trash couple! Ok, enough about the hair...
Emma and Claire ran off with their little buddies and as Dave and I were walking around with Hallie, many of our friends said the girls had all made it around a few times already! The stinkers! It was a blast though, and the kids loved my parent's truck all decorated with cobwebs.  After the trunk or treat, we went trick or treating in a friend's gigantic neighborhood (because apparently we didn't have enough candy yet).  The kid's buckets were so overflowing that at the end each step they took candy would fall out.  It was a lot of fun though and the weather cooperated!

My dad with Hal trying to keep her warm

 

My friend Kelly's little boy Luke, I had to get a shot of the cow people!

Some of my kid's good little friends posing before they took off for candy!

Arghhhh...the ugly hair.  I somehow felt the need to tell everyone it was fake and grotesque - like they needed me to tell them that...

Trick or treating at my parent's truck

Digging into their candy stash in the back of my dad's truck.  And oh great, the back of Dave's ugly hair/hat...told you it was disgusting!

Pumpkin Carving and a little Indian

The girls loved drawing their pumpkin faces before David and I cut them out.

 

"Mama, I help!"

 

I LOVE this picture.  This is Hallie to a "T".  She is so smart and sassy for a 2 year-old! Apparently she didn't like helping me scoop out the pumpkin's guts...

For out family night we carved pumpkins and ate home-made donuts while watching Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin movie.  The girls had a blast eating all the goodies! FYI, it's probably not a good idea to make dinner, roast pumpkin seeds and fry donuts all at the same time.  First batch of donuts cooked WAY too long and the seeds burned.  Whatever...we had fun!

Now on to my little Indian.  Emma chose to be an Indian and Claire and Hal really wanted to be cowgirls.  I searched in vain for outfits for all of them that I liked.  Couldn't find anything! So I decided to make them.  Now I'm not a sewer, I'm a hot glue mama! I thought I could figure out something, so I got some material at Walmart for the costumes but forgot when the actual school parties were that I needed the costumes done in time for.  Luckily I called a friend whose daughter is in Emma's class about something and she mentioned the party! Holy crap! It was almost 11:15 and Emma had to be at school in less than an hour! So I pulled out a dress from her closet and cut around it, put my glue gun to use, cut and ripped the bottom and attached beads.  I think it actually turned out pretty good considering I hadn't really planned the outfit out yet and had 45 minutes to make the costume and feed the kids lunch! Whewwwww...

Emma was happy with it, and that's what counts, right?

She loved the make-up I put on her...shocker I know.

Some of her besties at school: Ella, Haylie, Emma and Peyton.  Aren't they so darling? All these girls went to preschool together last year too!

Our darling neighbor and Em's buddy, Ella.

On our way back home Emma wanted a picture of both of us.  She was thrilled I was able to help at her school party.

Can you tell I've had enough? Emma grabbed the camera and said "smile", I look a little posessed!

I'm sure you're sick of Halloween posts by now, and I haven't even gotten to the party or Halloween itself! Hah!

Haunted Happenings...

First of all, thanks to everyone who responded with kind words and deeds last week, it meant so much to me! I'm finally feeling good about the whole situation, if we are going to have another tiny spirit in our home Heavenly Father will bless us with one!

On to the week of Halloween Happenings.  We don't usually celebrate just one day for a holiday, we have many days of celebrating - and that includes birthdays!  We started on the 24th by having my sister Laura down and my friend Crystal.  We had yummy Costco pizza and a really yummy pizza made by my dad with roasted veggies...mmmmmm... Afterwards we tried to watch Coraline and make sugar cookies.  It is definitely NOT Halloween without pumpkin sugar cookies! And I say "tried" to watch Coraline because half way through it got SUPER scary! So we started Harry Potter (the first one, and the best in my book!) until the girls came off their sugar rush and went to bed.  Then we watched My Life in Ruins.  Oh my heck! Talk about a fantastic movie! Hilarious and romantic at the same time! Loved it!

I don't know what that was all about, but I wanted to show off their darling aprons my mom made them last Christmas!

 Oh my goodness, these cookies were fabulous! I got the recipe on the Martha Stewart web site.  My frosting is butter, powdered sugar, a little milk and vanilla.  Heaven!