Whew! We've been gone almost a whole week! We finally made it in earlier this evening. I will blog about the Robinson Thanksgiving Extravaganza over the next couple of days, but just wanted to post a quick update. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Can you believe it's that time of year again? A time for jubilation, rejoicing and stuffing your face. We all know I'm talking about... my birthday. I'd also like to take a moment to give a shout out to Kim, who shares the same birthday. May you get the turkey neck (if you like that sort of stuff) on your special day. I've always been thankful that my birthday occurs around a holiday that's all about being with people you love and eating. I'm thankful it's not around Christmas, those people get the shaft when it comes to presents.

In all seriousness, I want to take a quick moment to let all my friends and family know how truly blessed I feel having you in my life and how grateful I am for each and every one of you. Have a safe trip to those traveling this week. I leave everyone with a picture that needs no explanation. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night.

Nutcrackers

I'm normally not a collector... with one exception. Nutcrackers. Scott's mom bought me my first one several years back and it has become a tradition to receive at least one from her every year. Scott has even bought me a couple. My collection is not huge, yet. But I love it, as each one was selected specifically for me. Not that there's anything wrong with buying some yourself, but there's just something special about it to me because of the tradition. I look forward to it every year.

Well, we dragged out our Xmas decorations from storage over the weekend. The nutcrackers are usually the first things to get unpacked, and this year was no exception. I get so excited unwrapping each one and looking at details I had forgotten. I love them all, and thought I'd share a few of them with you.

First Art Show

We took Nicholas to see the Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Walton Art center on Saturday. This was his first show, so naturally we were a bit nervous. Actually, we envisioned him throwing a F5 tantrum the moment the lights went out, and we would have to carry him out screaming, thankful for the dark theater so that the other parents couldn't see our faces. Fortunately, for everyone around us, he did really well and had a great time.

He danced, clapped and cheered, and pointed out characters and objects on stage. He was feeling so good at one point, he even tried to snatch a barrette off of a woman in front of us. Thanks to reflexes like a mongoose, Scott was able to intervene just in time. His favorite part, of course, was the Hungry Caterpillar. Although I think he enjoyed the Little Cloud just as much. The length of the show was perfect at just under an hour. We concluded our outing with lunch at Pesto Cafe (yum!), where he flirted shamelessly with the waitress and announced to everyone he had a booger. That just goes to show you, always expect the absolute worse, and things have a way of working out.

MDO - A Typical Day

One of my favorite things about MDO is picking Nick up. Lately he's been really talkative and hamming it up for his teachers. Today I was greeted with, "what's shaking mama?" When that elicited a laugh from me and the moms around us, he just threw his head back and howled with laughter and said it again. I'm gonna assume he learned this from his daddy.

Since it was cold this morning, I put a knit cap on Nick before we left the house. He was still wearing it when I arrived to pick him up. The teachers said he refused to remove it. He finally did when we got home, and his hair was sticking up everywhere. I think it's a good look for him.

Fragile (Frah gee lay)

Due to some serious insomnia the last few nights, I came across this really cool website called SpringWidgets and they have all sorts of , you guessed it, widgets. I've attached my favorite. I just need a Red Ryder BB Gun...

Be sure to click on the chain.

Cookie Cookie

Nicholas has been pestering me about decorating cookies all week. I should have known that decorating cookies wasn't really what he was after. It's all about the frosting. And he doesn't just pick up the cookie and bite into it, he scrapes the frosting with his finger. A little bit at a time. I believe he picked up this technique from Hanna. It's an art form b/c he sure takes his time with it. Needless to say, I ended up decorating most of the cookies while he liberally smeared frosting everywhere.

Some of my best work!

And So It Begins

Scott usually sits with Nick at bedtime. They read books, sing songs and say prayers (in no particular order.) The other night I heard Nick just laughing hysterically and thought maybe Scott was tickling him in there. Turns out they were looking at a book and Scott pointed to a swimming pool and asked him what that was. He responded by saying, "swimming poots" and just howled. He could barely repeat it before collapsing into laughter. Great. Potty humor has officially arrived.

Sick And Tired

My little monkey is sick. He's got the worst sounding cough and congestion. And even so he has been quite a trooper this weekend while Scott and I ran errands. Especially yesterday with the cold, cold weather. He even got up enough energy to help me do a little laundry.

He thinks laundry involves moving clothes in and out of the washer over and over.

He's watching a dvd at his fave hangout spot, the kitchen table.

Change It Up

Many of you are probably wondering what's up with all the new backgrounds. Or maybe you're not, but thought I'd share at any rate. There are so many pretty backgrounds for fall and Christmas, I'm not gonna be able to stick with just one. I'm changing it every week. I know how to spice things up, huh? This latest one is from Scrap-e-blog, which Christina found. Lots of cute free backgrounds. You can even get a matching header made specifically for you.

Read This

We've all heard people ask the question, "what's on your i-pod?" They say it can be quite revealing. In my case, it would reveal that I don't have an i-pod. I'm telling you, sports radio.

(warning: Digression) I'm not without music in my life, however. My little buddy loves to sing... songs that will drive you nuts. Let's see... highly annoying song that will stay in your head for days? Check. Singing this highly annoying song incessantly? Check. Replacing highly annoying song with another equally annoying song the moment you become numb and tune first one out (purely survival instincts.) Check. Like London Bridges? Come hang out w/ us for an afternoon.

Anyway, since I can't really relate to the whole i-pod thing, I like asking people what they're reading. I found this neat website called Shelfari that allows you to display what's on your "bookshelf." I'm not reading anything currently, but thought I could share some of our favorite books. I put our "bookshelf" on the sidebar. The top shelf is Scott's, middle is mine and bottom is Nick's. I'll change it from time to time. So check out ours and hopefully, you'll share what's on your bookshelf.

Here Kitty Kitty

So I went to pick up Nick from MDO today and this is what he looked like.


Apparently, they were kitty cats today. He did not want me cleaning his face all afternoon. His teacher said she turned away for a second and he had started coloring his shirt, which explains the bright red stains.

Birthday Dinner

My little brother, Huy, and his fiance, Shannon, came over for dinner last night. It was his birthday, so I prepared a special meal for him. Actually, his birthday was Monday, but he was out doing cool stuff with his friends and not his family (sniff.) Anyway, dinner was wonderful if I say so myself. Well, I guess I just did. We had a lovely time. Nick loves seeing his Uncle Huy and Aunt Shannon. Happy birthday, Huy, and don't forget your kind sister on her birthday which is coming very shortly, in two weeks to be exact.

Is Nothing Sacred?

I read an article last night that caused extreme incredulity, disgust and outrage. Are you sitting down? Apparently, they are going to remake the Karate Kid (wait, it gets better) with Will Smith's son, Jaden. What the?!?! The kid (who's really very smug looking in his pic btw) is only 10. What is wrong with these people? While I may not be the biggest fan of Karate Kid (actually, I make fun of Scott every time he watches it on TV), I can admit it has a certain charm. Scott would argue that it transcends time. And the soundtrack can best be described as... inspirational. I fear once Scott hears about this, he will curl into the fetal position.

Read the rest of the article here , then post your outrage!

On Like Donkey Kong

I love board and electronic games, especially the ones that require you to think. And I'm not talking about Sorry! or Trouble. I read an article in Real Simple magazine the other day about hosting game night. It listed several great games. They all sound like so much fun, I thought I'd share. Put your game faces on!

Board Games
Apples to Apples: Make split-second matches between nouns and adjectives—for example, “hair transplants” and “unnatural.” For 4 to 10 players.

Wits and Wagers: A trivia game in which you don’t have to be a know-it-all. Just bet on the right answer. For 4 to 20 players.

Say Anything: Answer questions like “Which movie should never have been made?” A judge picks the best. Combines the best element of Apples to Apples and Wits and Wagers. For 3 to 8 players.

The Chain Game: Use your creativity to link common idioms. A player draws a card with a phrase. He or she must use one of the words on the card to come up with a new phrase. The next player does the same with the first player’s phrase, and so on. The group tries to go through as many phrases as possible before the timer goes off. An example of a common-phrase chain: “final exam,” “that’s final,” “that’s life,” “wildlife,” “wild and crazy,” “stir-crazy.” For 3 to 10 players.


Electronic Games
Catch Phrase: Classic Password enters the digital age with this handheld version. For 4 to 20 players.

Scene-It TV Edition: Test your pop-culture prowess with this DVD trivia game. For 2 players or 2 teams. (we have this on the Xbox and love it)

Wii Carnival Games: Try your luck at the ring toss and 25 other attractions that you can re-create with the Wii remote. For 1 to 4 players.

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree: Test your smarts and see how you measure up in five categories of brain-teasers: Identify, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Visualize. Participants play mini-games in a random sequence. At the end, they are awarded scores in the form of brain weights (the heavier, the better) and career paths (hello, improv actor), based on their accuracy and speed. For example, in one visualizing game, the player is presented with an incomplete painting and must use the Wii remote to finish it. For 1 to 8 players.

Dry Spell

We're experiencing a dry spell... from pleasant behavior, courtesy of you know who. He's been so good lately, but Scott and I always anticipate the other shoe to drop. It did. With a loud thud. It all started Friday. Naturally, it was picture day. He normally doesn't give two licks what clothes he wears, but today he wanted to wear his bright blue crocs with his dress clothes. Threw a fit when I put on the nice brown shoes I (lovingly) selected. Howled like I was abusing him (trust me, I was close) when I combed his hair. He declined, very loudly, to walk into the photography studio. And he stubbornly refused to smile for the photographer, clamping his eyes and mouth shut. It was a miracle, but we did manage to get some decent pictures. There was plenty of coaxing, bribing and threatening on my part. All this before 11am on Friday. I hope everyone's weekend started off as well as ours.

I think his expression here pretty much says it all.

How Sweet The Sound

State Your Full Name

I've always heard that you're suppose to teach you toddler your full name. That way if they get lost or need help, they don't tell someone that mommy's name is "Mommy". So we've been teaching Nick our full names along with his. I think it's sticking. Just the other day we heard him yell out, "Scott, come here!"

Say My Name

I love my 2 year old, but he is weird (must get it from his daddy). You've heard it before, parents telling others of something profound their tots have spouted off. Something that makes you think, "dude, that's profound".

Well, Nick was playing with his Magnadoodle yesterday, and all of the sudden he asked me to spell the word belly. I did and a few minutes later he came back and told me...

Nick: My name is "Bellwee".
Me: What? Silly, your name is Nicholas.
Nick: No, Bellwee.
Me: Belly or Barry?
Nick: Bellwee (pointing to his tummy)
Me: Is your name Nicholas?
Nick: Bellwee.

Scott told me later that evening while changing Nick's clothes they had the same conversation, except this time his name was "Wee Wee". How's that for profound?

Hectic, but Happy Haunting

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. Friday was hectic to say the least. I started off by putting the finishing touches on Nick's costume. Then, coaxing him into said costume when we arrived at his MDO for a Halloween party. He was resistant at first, but the moment he got a compliment, he just grinned and really worked the crowd. Compliments from Mommy apparently don't count. Next up was putting him down for a nap since he would be up later than usual. This is always a challenge as he doesn't really take naps anymore (it certainly isn't from lack of trying on my part). He did manage an hour nap after much squawking in his room. After his nap, we went "trick a treaking" at a few houses in our neighborhood. We've been trying to explain to Nick the whole month how this trick or treating thing works, but I don't think he really understood. But after the 2nd house, you could see the moment it clicked in his head. It a wonderful thing to witness.

We went over to the Kaisers afterwards for some delicious chili dogs and more trick or treating. Nick loves going over there. He and Hanna get along really well, they're both pretty laid back when they play. You'd think the candy would stand out most to Nick from that night. Instead, he is still asking about Jason's truck (we took that around the neighborhood.) Thanks to the Kaisers for having us over. They are always such gracious hosts, and we always enjoy hanging out with them. Check out Heidi's post here and click here to see more from our photo gallery.

Some serious posing going on