Chirstmas ’07

Part 1…

We spent Christmas morning at home, just the 4 of us. It was really great. There is just something magical about kids on Christmas morning. They woke up at about 7:45 (I couldn’t believe they slept in on Christmas morning!) Connor was slightly disappointed that Santa didn’t leave him a space shuttle, but within 5 minutes he was completely wrapped up in the toys Santa did leave. He and Logan love the rescue heroes! Connor was playing just like a little boy…talking for them, making different scenarios, bad guys, good guys, the whole nine yards. He played with the toys for hours until it was time for….

Part 2…
We drove up to Arlington for my family Christmas. It was slightly crazy (7 kids…9 adults…3 dogs and a cat), but it was a blast!

Part 3…
Continues tonight with Christmas with Derek’s family. You gotta love all the Christmas celebrations once you have a big extended family!

And finally, pictures. These are all from our house Christmas morning.

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And these tell a story.

We were done opening stockings and I suggested we start opening the other presents under the tree. Connor, with great excitement, runs up to Derek and says, “Daddy, does this mean you get to open your chair now?!”

Derek and I simultaneously say, “oh, don’t say what it is!”
Connor’s face slowly crumbles.
He slinks away.
And does this.

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So Derek does his best daddy comfort moves.
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And with praise for keeping the secret for a whole week, plus convincing him that Derek needed help since it was such a large present, Christmas cheer was restored once again.
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Merry Christmas!

The big oh 5

Connor is 5 today! What a big day! The first thing we had to do was measure him. He was convinced that he is bigger today than he was yesterday. I’m not sure about that, but he is pretty big, measuring just under 49 inches. Then he opened presents-a stuffed Pablo, an art easel, markers, chalk, and the movie Space Camp. He was so thrilled about it all that he had to do his typical tongue out pose.

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Then I made birthday breakfast, funny face waffles.
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Just for fun, let’s peek at Connor through the years….

1 week old…
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Almost 1…
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About 2.5…
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Almost 4…
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Almost 5…
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We spent a couple of hours at NASA this morning (with about a million other people…man, that place was packed today!) Despite the crowds, we had a good time. Connor walked on a 9 foot high tight rope, rode a roller coaster on mars in one of those cool moving simulators, and picked out and Apollo rocket from the souvenir shop. He is happily playing with his ever growing collection of space toys. Tonight he wants to eat at Texas Roadhouse, and then we have our Christmas Eve service at church. I would say it’s been a great day!

It’s hard to believe I have a 5 year old. Seems like just yesterday that test (shockingly) turned up with 2 pink lines. He is growing into an amazing boy, and I am so proud to be his mom. I can’t wait to see what year 5 has in store for us!

A few tags on a rainy Saturday

It’s pouring outside right now, which has really thrown a wrench in my plans to sleep in this morning! So I’m up. I got tagged yesterday by Danielle, and I don’t think I’ve ever done this one before.

7 Random Things About Me:

1.) I like to sleep with my feet hanging off the end of the bed. I think this started back in high school when my super cool, antique bed was not quite long enough for me. I got in the habit of sleeping with my feet out the end of the bed, and I still think this is such a comfy way to sleep!

2.) In December 2002 (when I as huge pregnant with Connor) I downloaded about 20 different versions of “O Holy Night” and listened to them constantly. It’s my all time fave Christmas song, and it can still make me all verklempt. (<—— I love that word.)

3.) There are 3 words that I mispronounce every single time. At first, I truly didn’t know I was saying them wrong, but now I just say them wrong to be funny, mostly when I’m with Derek. Although sometimes I forget which is right and which is wrong. The three words are antenna (pronounced antAnna), unscathed (pronounced with the a like apple instead of aim) and preface (pronounced pre face).

4.) Sometimes I have to stop and remember that I am an actual grown up. This could be a blog post all on it’s own, but I stop and think a lot about how weird it is that I’m an actual grown up. It trips me out.

5.) I have piles of stuff all over the house. They drive Derek nuts. They look messy and random, but they are actually quite organized. I can usually find something specific amongst the piles and piles of stuff. I’ve always been this way….just ask my mom.

6.) Whenever I am in the car or drying my hair, I sing and think I am an actual good singer. Then I turn the music down or the hairdryer off to listen to myself and I realize it’s all in my head. I’m not completely tone deaf or anything, but I’m not nearly as good in real life as I am in my head.

7.) I believed in Santa until I was about 10 years old. Is this really unusual?

While I am on the topics of tags, Roomate tagged me several weeks ago. I did it right away but couldn’t think of an answer to one of the questions, so I left it unpublished.

1. Name: Megan Warner. Yup, Warner is my middle name, after my grandma. I hated it as a kid, but have grown to appreciate it as an adult.
2. Birthday: 1/23. I’ll be the big 2-8.
3. Birthplace: Olympia, WA
4. Eye Color: brown unless I wear green and then they are hazel-ish green.
5. Hair Color: dark blonde
6. Height: 5’9″
7. Ethnicity: Caucasian
8. Weakness: sweets, anything that’s a really great deal (like $2 shirts and $10 pants and things like that)
9. Most missed memory: Playing real, competitive volleyball on a good team.
11. Last time you cried: Yesterday. I rented The Waitress and cried my eyes out. It’s not really a sad movie, but now that I am pregnant, just about every movie brings me to tears. This includes August Rush and Dan in Real Life, the two most recent movies I saw in the theater.
12. Song title that currently says how you feel: “Where Are You Christmas” (This is the one I couldn’t think of. And I will admit I am having a really hard time getting into Christmas this year. It’s the tiredness and sickness, I think.)
13. What is the perfect day for you: it would include sleeping in, yummy food, time spent with friends and family, playing really fun games, seeing a movie in the theater, eating at a good restaurant, and maybe a little shopping but only if I was in a shopping mood.
14. Ever been asked for an autograph? no-actually I can change this to yes now! One of the kids who came to see the show got autographs of everyone in it. Cracked me up.
15. How do you vent anger? I cry. or sometimes scream into a pillow.
16. Who do you talk to most on the phone? probably RyAnn or my mom.
17. As a kid, were you a lego builder? Yes, but not as much as I am now since my kids are crazy about legos.
18. Do you chew on your straws? no
19. Do you sing in the shower? no, but i sing when I blow dry my hair.
20. Who’s the last person you stayed up late talking to on the phone to? I talked to Juli Beth a few weeks ago until almost 10 which is pretty late in my book!
21. The last place you went to in a plane? Oklahoma City for girls weekend last July.
22. Do you cry at weddings? Usually
23. Are you afraid of the dark? only when Derek is out of town.
24. What are you addicted to? my computer.
25. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? only creamy for sure.
26. Who do you fight with the most? I don’t fight with many people (I hate, hate, hate confrontation)
27. Who can you tell anything to? I have a bunch of girlfriends who fall into this category, and Derek.
28. Who can’t you get enough of? Micheal Scoffield on Prison Break. 🙂 And Jim Halpert on the Office.
29. Who makes you laugh the most? I laugh a lot. Connor is definitely up there, Derek makes me laugh, friends make me laugh, my brothers and sister, Logan, and myself. Really. Sometimes I crack myself up. Just ask Derek.
30. Worst feeling in the world: knowing you have hurt someone.
31. How many pillows do you sleep with? 2
32. How many rings before you answer your phone? 2 if I hear it ringing.
33. How many times do you press the “snooze” button? If only my children or my dog came with a snooze button.
34. How do you sleep? Usually on my back with my arms over my head, or on my side.
35. Last time you laughed: I laugh every single day.
36. Ever looked at someone ugly and said “EWWW”? no way!
37. What is your favorite color? love greens
38. What is your favorite state? I love Texas for living, California for the beach, the weather, and the memories, and Colorado is beautiful.

I hate too many posts in a row with no pictures. Aren’t my boys sweet? (I know, I know…I’m just a little biased.)

Have a great Saturday!

Conversations

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Connor and I have a very similar conversation in the car on the way to school. We talk about him controlling his body and his hands. We talk about when it’s appropriate to be silly and when it’s not appropriate. We talk about what our hands are made for (sharing, loving, etc.) and what they are NOT made for. We talk about his ability to make good choices, about the sticker he will earn, and how he won’t have to x out his smiley faces.

Okay, writing that out makes it seem way overkill…it’s really not. But Connor has some issues related to these things, and I have found if we talk every morning about what’s expected of him, his days are much better. His day today was so good today that his teacher sent a note home saying how good he did!

Anyway, I digress. This morning during our conversation, Connor spent a good 5 minutes telling me all about his “remember-minder” and his “forget-minder”. What? Your kids don’t have one of those? Well, Connor could tell you all about it. Today, his remember-minder was turned on. It almost turned off at nap time, but at the last second, it turned back on. He kept his “forget-minder” turned off all day, hence the great day at school.

That kid cracks me up. Seriously. Were does he come up with this stuff?

I hope his remember-minder remains intact. It was a great day!

Festivities

We have a guest this weekend. In addition to Mamaw and Pawpaw, Ted is with us this weekend. We’ve been waiting all year for Ted to visit. Ted E. Bear is a special friend in Connor’s preschool class. Each Friday, his teacher draws a name to see who gets Ted, and this week she drew Connor. Oh my word, he was beyond excited when I picked him up on Friday! And what a fun weekend for Ted to visit. Yesterday, Connor, Logan, Derek, Ted, Mamaw, Pawpaw, Kathy, Justin, and Kayla all came to see opening night of the show. I’m sure you’re all dying for a picture of me in a bonnet, obnoxious lipstick, and fake eyelashes….

Then today, Ted got to go with us to our neighborhood park to visit Santa.

Logan cracked me up with his reaction to Santa. Here he is, ready to walk to the park:

Here he is once we arrived at the park.

Definitely leery.

With a little encouragement from mom, he finally approached Santa.
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The promise of a candy cane is what convinced him to walk all the way up to him.

In the end, Logan scored three candy canes from Santa, but never got closer than in the picture above. But he sure was happy with his loot!

Everyone deserves a day

I woke up yesterday morning and thought to myself, “self, what should you do today once the boys are at school?” I could go workout….Wednesday is a workout day….or I could try to get Austin into the vet for his second round of shots. There are a few groceries we need, not to mention the house that is in desperate need of a cleaning. Desperate need.

I then made a decision in my mind. I declared yesterday Megan Day. I put on real clothes to take the kids to school and even a touch of make-up. After the drop off, I went to Payless. That was sort of a necessary errand since I needed shoes for the play, but it still ended up being really fun when I found a for real cute pair of shoes that I can wear in the play and in real life. After that little foray, my stomach growled. My stomach is always growling it seems. Oh, I had already eaten yesterday morning-a bowl of cereal, an apple, and an egg, to be exact. But I could not ignore my little grain of rice that was begging for food. So I made a stop at Chick-Fil-A and treated myself to a chicken biscuit. Yum.

Then it was pedicure time. I now have glorious Christmas red toes and I love it! After that, I decided Megan Day was over. I had spent enough money and felt sufficiently spoiled. So I headed home.

An amazing thing happened. I started laundry. Vacuumed. Picked up toys. I picked up Justin from school so he could come play with C and L. Picked up the boys. Stopped at Sonic and treated everyone to cherry limeades. I cleaned my kitchen. De-cluttered some major clutter areas. Finally finished decorating the inside for Christmas. I started dinner…a real dinner. Cajun pan seared tilapia fillets served with an herb cheese sauce, angel hair pasta, and corn.

I did more yesterday than I have done in weeks. And I treated myself more than I have in months. It was a good reminder that sometimes mama needs to treat herself, and the entire family will benefit from that. If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. That’s the truth!

Pregnancy Rule #42

It’s perfectly acceptable to cry at any time.

As any pregnant woman will tell you, each and every pregnancy is as different as each and every child. One of the biggest differences this time around is my out of control emotions. I mean, I already tend to be an emotional person, but I am really just a mess right now.

Last week, I was at rehearsals for the play that starts this weekend. Oh, did I mention I am in a play? Our church started a community theater, and we are doing A Christmas Carol. I am playing Belle, Scrooge’s fiancee from when he was young. I only have one scene, but there are still lots of rehearsals and lots to learn. There are 4 people in my scene-me, my Scrooge, the old main character Scrooge, and the ghost of Christmas Past. All three of the other actors have done shows before. Many shows. Me? Not so much. My theater experience consists of playing Thumper in Bambi in the 6th grade, one summer acting workshop taken with a friend, and 1 year of theater during high school where I never once stepped foot on a stage.

So, needless to say, any direction given during our scene is directed at me. That’s fine, it doesn’t bother me, and the director is super, super nice about. But one night, it all proved to be too much for Pregnant Meg.

Rehearsals had been running for about 3 hours. It was well past my new 9:00 bedtime when it was finally time for our scene. We’re running it, and I’m stopped. I need to turn this way. No that way. No, walk here. No, walk at this line. No, look at your Scrooge. Wait, look out wistfully. Do this, no this….I could feel the tears start to burn in the back of my eyes and my throat start to swell. Don’t cry, Megan. Don’t cry. Don’t….too late. The tears started.

The director, the sweet director gently asks if I’m okay.

“I’m fine”, I blubber. “It’s been a long day.”
There’s a long pause. No one is quite sure what to do with this crying girl on stage.
So I fill the silence dramatically.
“and I’m pregnant!”

Ohhhh…understanding sighs and nods follow.
Being pregnant pretty much means a free pass to cry at any given moment for any reason.

Now they want me to cry during the show. Apparently, I rocked the scene all teary-eyed that night.