Welcoming a New Year. Happy 2012!

Happy New Year!! (I'm a week or so late, but... as always, my excuse is - busy.)
Reflecting on 2011, We are fortunate enough to say that it was overall a pretty good year. Aside from a few standard bumps in the road along the way, this year provided us with great opportunities, the creation of lasting memories, lots of laughs and giggles, family time spent together, and we have learned so much from our kids. Here's to hoping that 2012 brings all of us a year equally as enjoyable and fortunate!
Life is what you make of it. Regardless of the circumstances, you are responsible for your reaction, attitude, outlook and approach to each situation you encounter. You can choose to make your own experiences as enjoyable and memorable as you wish.
So for a little catching up where I left off...
The last two weeks of the year I spent a few days at home with the kids. It was a mixture of a day or so off, a few days working from home, a few days in the office... but it was nice. One of the days we met friends of ours at 'Monkey Joes', one of the indoor play places that the kids love to go to.

Emma after coming down the big slide.

She surprised me, every chance she got she would run to the back to this huge slide and go down it with no fear - with all of the older kids. There weren't any kids her age doing that slide.

Here comes Drewbie!

Ciera!

Aside from Emma being a little out of focus in this one, I love what's going on in the background. Drew and Ciera are laughing hysterically.

It was good to see them.. they actually moved to Michigan in the last year and were back visiting for the holidays so we were able to get the kiddos together.

For New Years Eve, Andrew and I had a hotel room downtown, we went to dinner and then went to the House of Blues to ring in the new year! The kids spent the night with my parents. They went out to dinner with them and then had a sleep over.

The view from our hotel room -

and, in the other direction -

The balloon drop at midnight

And, my munchkins out to dinner with Mimi & Pop...

New Years day we went with friends of ours to the Syracuse/DePaul basketball game.

For Christmas one of Emma and Drews presents from our nanny were these castles.

 They were able to color them and put stickers on them... and they had a blast playing with them while it lasted. Unfortunately since they consumed a good part of our living room we couldn't keep them forever. Plus even though they were made of pretty sturdy cardboard these kids did a number on them over the course of a week or so. But it was really funny to listen to them playing with them. They would invite one another into their own little houses. Sometimes they would pretend it was a restaurant and take eachothers orders.

Monday (The day after New Years day) Andrew and I both took the day off and had a 'fun day' with the kids. Most companies had Monday off... And actually I believe most of our company did but not us. Due to the nature of insurance claims, the days that most companies have off sometimes end up being our busiest; and at the very least require us to be available.

We actually took the day off as a 'recuperation' type of day because our week and weekend especially was so busy that we figured we would need that one extra day before going back. But who were we kidding?! Recuperation or relaxation with 2 toddlers?! Ha.Ha.

But that's ok. We had a fun day. We took the kids to RainForest Cafe. We thought that would be fun for them at their age. Unfortunately we didn't realize that it was the last day before schools went back from winter break so it was slightly INSANE but thats ok!

In the car

It was really really cold that day. They were bundled up!

Making eachother giggle.

So we got there and there was an hour wait. An hour?! Seriously. But, whatever. It's attached to a huge mall so we had something to do to kill time. I absolutely hate those kids play areas in the middle of malls. Not only are they obnoxious (and can just about give anyone a migraine after hanging around it for more than a minute) but I have a feeling they are germ infested. I usually avoid them at all costs. But for some reason that day, we let them play in it. Ick. It was so insane I could barely keep track of where both of my kids were at all times.

It was raining behind our table for the majority of the time we were eating... specifically behind my chair. So I wound up getting kinda wet. The kids thought it was really cool. They were a little bit apprehensive about the thunder and lightning. When one of the thunderstorms ended Drew said "well... that wasn't so bad."

Its funny to hear some of the things they come out with. Yesterday Drew was jumping on his bed and I came in and told him to stop, and his response 'Well... That is going to be a problem."

I also overheard Emma and Drew talking yesterday and she was bossing him around (as always) and then it ended with 'Drew... do you 'stand me?' I'm assuming it was 'do you understand' but it was just funny.

Drew is also into the -'I've ever seen!' to the end of statements. For example 'That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Or 'Thats the biggest I've ever seen!"

They say so many funny things every day and I really should start writing them down because we laugh so hard when it happens but then I forget a few days later.

This morning I was asking them what they wanted for breakfast and Drew said he wanted fruit snacks. I told him he couldn't have fruit snacks for breakfast... but maybe later after breakfast I would consider it. He wanted to know why he couldn't... I proceeded to tell him that he can't put fruit snacks into his belly first thing in the morning, he needed breakfast first. His response was "Why? Because then I'll turn into a monster??"

Yeah. Seriously. Where do they get this stuff? Scooby Doo was on last night and Emma continued to assure me that 'the ghosts were just 'retend' they are not real. Just 'retend' ok mom? So no be scared.'

Hugs.

We were hanging out one night watching TV... getting ready to head up to bed and Drew said 'Hey Em, let's take hugs.' and they hugged. It was cute. Poor Drew is on his tippies and still trying to reach her. Emma has definitely sprouted over the last several months.
In just two short weeks, I will have THREE year olds! Where does time go?!

 

My favorites

I know how blessed I am to have 2 beautiful children, a supportive, loving husband and we work really well together as a team. I truly don't have much to complain about in my life. It is easy to get hung up on material things sometimes or small 'problems' day to day but in general, we are pretty lucky.
However, let's be realistic. Every minute of every day is not perfect. There really is no such thing as an absolutely 100% perfect everything.
So, they say the 3's are harder than the 2's. And I am starting to think maybe they might be right about that. I hate using the word the "terrible two's" because I never want to say they are terrible. They are my babes, and they are my absolute favorites. But MAN are they giving us a run for our money these days!! And I do believe they leverage the twin thing to their advantage. They totally gang up on me. It doesn't help that they like to ignore what I tell them, and laugh at me if I try to discipline them. Time outs really don't work well, and some days are truthfully just discouraging. They have a way of making me feel defeated at times. Maybe my expectations of them are above normal? But they are either getting along very well and laughing and having fun - OR not. I feel like I'm talking to a wall when I try to reason with them. If one of them does something bad its really easy to put them in time out, explain what they did wrong... and be firm with time out time, etc... But if they both do the same bad thing at the same time it starts to get a little bit more difficult. And I think they know that.

They also have little independent attitudes goin' on as well. That, I do believe is just strictly to do with their age. They are realizing that they have a say, and whether right or wrong... that they can do what they want and are their own little people. So it's our job to make sure they know right from wrong, nice from not nice, how to be polite, and most challenging at the moment - teaching them that there are consequences if you don't listen, or do something bad. And no matter how inconvenient it may be for us, we really need to stick to our guns about consequences. For instance, "if you do that again, we are leaving." Well, when you are at a friends house visiting, or in the middle of a restaurant eating a meal, it actually ends up being more inconvenient for you to follow through with your punishment than it is for them. But one of our joint missions right now is really to stick to it and follow through. Maybe then they will take us (me especially) more seriously and listen the first time. They do tend to take Andrew a bit more seriously than me.
So far in the last few weeks, we have had a few incidents when this had to happen. For one... we were on our way to our friends for dinner and Emma had to have her medicine that she normally takes before bed time before we went because we didn't know how late we would be. So we put it into her juice and told her she had to finish it (or at least drink most of it) before we went into their house. She decided that she absolutely was not going to. We told her a few more times that she either drinks it, or we don't go... and she can't play with her friend. She was determined to challenge us on that. So we spent the first half hour or so that we were at their house parked out front, in the car with Emma, taking shifts, while the other one went inside to visit. Drew of course was allowed to go in and play... but Emma sat in the car refusing to take her medicine and we refused to let her go inside. It was a total stand off. The medicine hasn't been that much of a battle lately, this was really just her testing us, and trying to get her way. Eventually she broke down, because it started to get cold and we were telling her all of the fun things Drew was doing inside. But it's circumstances like that which make it more difficult as a parent to stay true to your word and hold to consequences, but that is when it's most important I think.
The other one was at breakfast the other morning... Andrew and I took the kids to breakfast and usually they are good in restaurants. There was a period of time when they were younger when they first learned to walk that we couldn't take them to restaurants because they wouldn't sit down. Once we got past that phase they were fine and we haven't had any issues.

For some reason that morning at breakfast they were so hyper and loud... and we warned them a few times that if they didn't sit down and have good restaurant behavior, we were leaving and they wouldn't get their pancakes. Our breakfasts came and no less than 5 minutes later they did what we told them would result in us leaving, and so we did. Andrew hauled Drew out of the restaurant (he was the final breaking straw that time.) and Emma and I asked for boxes to pack up the breakfast, paid the bill and left.

These obviously are isolated incidents, and again I know we are pretty lucky for the most part... but this is just being realistic. We have our off days too. No one really ever talks about those kinds of days. And, it's just being real.
We had a really good Christmas... but we did have a few meltdowns. I think there was soooo much hype leading up to Christmas day, so much talk about it, so much apprehension... probably complete over stimulation, and Emma cried on and off for about an hour on Christmas morning. She couldn't even tell us why.
I guess my point is... we're responsible for molding these two little people into well rounded, honest, respectable, healthy individuals. To me that seems like a really big responsibility! And I truly want to excel in doing so, for their sake and their futures.
I want to make sure we introduce and promote healthy habits, and impose good manners and social skills... and most importantly morals and a solid foundation of good judgement. These things weigh heavily on me everyday, and I feel is my most important job above all else. Because although this job doesn't currently 'pay well', it will have the largest return.
At the end of the day, no matter how many time outs we had, or how many toys were taken away, whether we had to get mad at them.... or, if it was a perfect day with all good behavior, regardless - every single night I make it a point to cuddle and snuggle with both of them before bed and make sure they know and understand how much mom & dad love them. Our days always end on a good note. =)
At the end of the day, they will always be my favorites.



A Kalivas Christmas...

Well... Christmas is over. Is everyone exhausted?! Because this lady is. It is one of my favorite times of the year, and definitely my favorite holiday but this year was just crazy busy. It was fun though. Santa was good to all of us, and the kids had fun.
We went to visit Santa last week... (which was more successful than last year.)

I thought I would do a little comparison line up of our Santa pictures over the years...

Last year was a riot. Emma would NOT put her tongue in her mouth and Drew cried. This year Emma was really chatty with Santa. Drew was a little bit apprehensive, so Emma did a lot of his talking for him. There was a lot being said during the photo session so I had Andrew go have a quick chat with Santa after to make sure we didn't miss anything important.

After visiting Santa, we went to visit good friends of ours to hang out, let the kids play, have pizza and relax.  They love playing with each other.

Emma looks like she's so much older standing next to them, but... nope!

Emma making something for Santa on Christmas Eve morning

We had Christmas Eve at our house with family...

Aunt ChaCha & Matts gift for Emma and Drew. A new benz!

Cruisin' the block

Emma and Pop

On Christmas day after tearing through what Santa brought to our house... we went to my parents.

Emma and Drew got their first little bikes!! 

Drew caught on pretty quickly.

He was having a good time riding around.

Emma on the other hand... Well.... she had some issues. She just needs a little practice and I'm sure she'll be up and riding in no time! But she was really frustrated by it and every time she got on the bike it would end in a meltdown.

The girls

Emma & Mimi

My family. I am a lucky lady.

Emma and her new barbie mansion. I remember having the same one (Well, 20 something years ago) But same concept. However, Emma's version has a toilet that flushes, lights that turn on, a fireplace that lights up and crackels, etc... It's pretty high tech. Mine definitely did not do all of that. But it has the same elevator that mine had! Oh, and mine didn't come with a cell phone and a laptop for barbie either.

Drew's car track with remote control cars from the 'Cars' movie. His fave.

Pretty much everything Drew got this year had to do with cars in some way, whether it was a car itself, or something with cars on it. Well, not his tool set. But pretty close.

Em & her Mimi

My love. At the end of a loonnnggg day. (I was already in my jammies.) LOVE my new vickie secret flannels! (Andrew obviously wasn't being completely cooperative with the photos but this was the best I could get.)

Emma, still playing dolls later that night in her jammies.

When Andrews parents were here a few weeks ago they gave the kids an early Christmas present - this 'city' rug which has roads, bridges, buildings... hospital, construction zone for Drews tractors, a fire station, gas station, car wash.... It is a really neat idea. They love it! (And I love it, because they can play with it and I can just roll it up and it doesn't take extra space!) But there has been little rolling it up so far because it is used daily. Now Drew has real roads to drive all of his cars on instead of my roads drawn on poster size paper. YiaYia & Papou also gave us Gap gift cards for clothes for the kids... Thank you yia yia and papou!! Mommy appreciates those when new seasons roll around and all new clothes are needed!

Santa was very good to me also... I got a new iphone!

Some of my favorite perfumes that I ran out of (I have several perfumes that I like to use, and for some reason I wound up running out of most of them right around the same time. Which rarely ever happens.) So between my birthday and Christmas I loaded back up on perfumes and a brand new one! And lots of other fun stuff. Shauna got us a digital photo frame that also does videos... that was cool. I don't have one of those, and I'm excited because it will be a much easier way for me to keep up with displaying pictures. I take a zillion pictures, and to actually have prints made and frame them to put up never quite happens.

Holidays are so much fun through the eyes of little kids. I love reliving holiday traditions with my kids and my own family. It makes it so much more exciting and enjoyable.



In my last blog entry I mentioned that next on our holiday baking checklist were cake bites. And, we did make them...

I think they came before the 'cake pop' - - Similar concept, just a little smaller and they aren't on a stick.

I made vanilla cake balls dipped in chocolate, and then we also did chocolate cake dipped in white chocolate. YUM!

The holidays are definitely not good for the waistline or my butt. Although I do try to be conscious of it. Everything is ok in moderation? Maybe?

Holiday Baking with my little Helpers

I had today off work, and I'm also off tomorrow. Just to spend a few days at home with Emma and Drew, and try to get prepared for Christmas... even if it is just mentally. Our lives are so crazy, day in and day out. We are constantly running from here to there, and sometimes it feels like we're just going through the motions. We did decorate for Christmas, put our tree up, Andrew did the lights outside.. and most of our shopping is done, but I just didn't have that usual holiday feeling. I never stopped to enjoy it or take any of it in. So that was my goal over the last few days. I wanted to just slow down, spend quality time with the kids, stay home and enjoy all of our Christmas decorations... listen to Christmas music, do some holiday baking... and I thought that's just what I needed. It's my favorite holiday, and I started to get a little sad thinking it would come and go without me even realizing it because of how busy our lives are right now.

So we did just that today! We cuddled on the couch and watched the Grinch that Stole Christmas, and later we put on Christmas music and sang and danced around and baked cookies.

First, we started our day with Christmas pancakes for my kiddos!

Then we got into the baking....

My little baker elfs!

Flour face!

Drew spent more time throwing flour around (To make it snow) than anything else. He is definitely a boy. Which... is why we do these types of activities while daddy isn't home. Because I'm sure Andrew would have had a heart attack had he seen the condition of the kitchen during this operation.

(This was about 1/3 of them)

And... Our MESS!!

On tomorrow's agenda: Cake Balls. (Sort of like a cake pop, but smaller- bite size, and not on a stick.)

We have a few errands to run if I'm brave enough to go to the stores the week before Christmas with crazy crowds and two crazy kids. ;-)

We will just have to see how the day goes.