Horse farm in December?

Trey's preschool class had a field trip yesterday to Strides to Success which is a horse farm that specializes in therapy for special needs kids and behavioral issues. It was a really cool idea and a really neat little place. But not when it's 20 degrees with a windchill of -5. In retrospect, I bet the school is wondering why they planned this field trip for the coldest time of year. It would have been really cool if they could have gone out to the pastures and watched the horses. As it was, all the kids were kept in the (un-heated) barn where there were 3 horses in stalls (that they weren't tall enough to see into) and in a classroom. I also had Emerson with me thinking she would like to see the horses too. Well she did.....for approximately 30 seconds. Too bad the field trip was an hour and a half long. Next time, we'll get a sitter for her.

Trey really liked it though he was disappointed that he didn't get to sit on the horses like he thought he would. He asked me this morning if we could go somewhere where you're allowed to sit on the horses. I told him, yes definitely, we should absolutely find somewhere we can go horse-back riding. Now he's concerned that "we don't have the right gear" (his words). When I asked him what we needed, he told me, "a saddle, a string to hold the saddle on, and a rope to steer and stop the horse." Wow, I guess HE was paying attention to the presentation at the farm while I chased Emerson around. Anyone know of a stable that lets you ride horses on the west side of Indy? When I was growing up, a lot of people I hung out with had horses. We went riding a lot when I was in high school. I don't have those connections up here though so I think we have to go the stable route. That's probably safer than the way we used to do it anyway. There was usually a lot of beer involved and really steep hills. Not sure how no one ever got hurt!

I don't really have any pictures to share from the field trip. Two-year-old runaway + taking off and putting on coats, hats, and gloves for three people = not many photo ops. But we did get to make a horse sock puppet that Trey named 'Fred'. Fred is awesome and has been part of many adventures already. In fact, Woody is riding around on him right now. So, the day wasn't a total loss!

Is Christmas really 2.5 weeks away?

How is that even possible? I have a confession to make.....are you ready? I haven't done one single bit of Christmas shopping yet. Yes, I'm serious. Not one present is bought. Have I thought about it? Well, of course. I even have ideas for most of the people on my list. But actually going out and purchasing gifts? Hmmmm, not so much. I should probably be panicking just a little bit, or at least starting to get nervous. But, I'm not. It may have something to do with the fact that I have to work on Christmas day, and the day after, and the day after that too. So, Christmas with my mom and dad has been postponed to the week before New Years. And Bobby's dad is in Florida and his mom is in South Carolina. That takes a lot of the pressure off to find the perfect gifts before Christmas. Or, it makes me delusional since I have to work 3 days in a row and then we're heading to Jasper right away. So even though I don't have to have the gifts to give before Christmas, I should still have them bought. Oh well, it'll get done sometime. Right?

One little Christmas tradition we've implemented into the Chin house is the "Elf on the Shelf". My mom gave it to us last year but Trey was scared to death of the little creature so we kind of ignored it. But this year, our little elf, Rispy (Trey and Bobby named it, no idea), has been busy watching every move the kids make and reporting back to Santa. This is by far the greatest Christmas invention ever. Seriously, it's the perfect parenting tool. All I have to say when the kids are misbehaving is, "I hope Rispy isn't watching this" and they're good as gold. Well, Trey is anyway. Emerson doesn't really get the concept and could care less. Anyway, I wish I could use it all year 'round to keep them in line. The other thing the kids are supposed to do is tell Rispy what they want for Christmas. I tried listening really hard when Trey was whispering in the elf's ear but he was too quiet. So I told him he better repeat it to make sure Rispy heard him. He looked at me, got really quiet, and said, "I forget what I asked for." Great, now how is 'Santa' supposed to know what to bring?

The other tradition we decided to do was to build a gingerbread house. Let's just say that as the contractor, I sucked. I was very concerned that I would run out of icing so I was a little stingy when building the walls. Bad idea. Since the walls are the very foundation of the entire thing, in retrospect, I should have been way more concerned about getting that part right. Oops. Lesson learned. So now the gingerbread "house" is more of a broken down fort, complete with GUTS soldiers, ninjas, a wooden policeman, and firefighter. Oh well, it was fun....just as much for Bobby and I as for the kids who really just wanted to lick the icing and eat the decorations anyway.

A couple of pictures just because they're cute...

Sassy Emmy striking a pose

Such a handsome little man

Christmas preparations

I'm going to try to make most of the posts this winter very positive and focus on the awesome stuff going on in my life. You see, this is the time of year I despise. Cold weather is my achilles heel. Seriously, I cannot image anything worse than temperatures in the 'teens and 20s and cold blowing wind. But, I'm going to try really hard this winter to embrace it....well, at least to tolerate it with a good attitude.

Point number 1 of positivity (is that a word?) is putting up the Christmas tree. Bobby stayed home on Wednesday last week so we could get out the decorations and put up the tree. We're one of those lame-o families who put up a fake, pre-lit one. We talked about doing the tree farm this year--you know, trek through the snow, cut down your own, and haul it home--but decided against the hassle and extra expense (not only the tree but the stand, having to water it, etc). So, up went our old stand-by. But I have to say, it looks just as good and it's so nice to have the lights on and ready to go. We did discover one section of lights is burned out but we decided to leave it alone. You can barely tell with all the ornaments. Maybe next year we'll get a real one....

Putting on the ornaments is one of my favorite things each year. My Grandma Mehringer used to buy all of us an ornament every year based on what we were into that year. For example, I have ballet slippers, a cheerleader, a telephone, etc. When Bobby and I started dating, she bought him ornaments too. We have an "Our first home" ornament, a pregnant couple, and a new family one. I've always thought it was a really cool thing that she did, but it's even more poignant now that she's gone. She passed away in June 2007 right before Trey's 1st birthday. Every year I get out those old ornaments and every year I'm in tears hanging them on the tree. She was an amazing woman and I love the tangible reminders of how involved she was in our lives. She always made sure to pick out the perfect ornament to represent each one of the grandkids. It was a Thanksgiving tradition when she would hand them out and we couldn't wait to see what she picked. It's a tradition that my mom has carried on for my kids. I hope one day they have as much fun decorating their own Christmas trees and walking down memory lane.

The angel got a little fancied up this year, compliments of Trey and Emerson

Bobby and the kids--love these faces!

Such a sweet picture!

Chocolate cures all

Trey and I decided to make chocolate muffins this afternoon. He and Emerson begged me to buy the Hostess version at the grocery store yesterday but I convinced them it would be more fun to make our own. Why do I do that to myself? :) Actually, we have a lot of fun baking together and Trey is a really good little helper. And he LOVES to lick the beaters, the spoon, the bowl, etc. I love the resulting chocolate goatee! Anyway, it's a super ugly day here in Indiana (shocking for November, I know) so I figured a little chocolate can't hurt.

Long time no see...

I guess the resolution to blog more often didn't exactly pan out, huh? I'm going to give this another shot. It seems silly to have this fancy new Mac and do nothing but check email and Facebook with it. Maybe this time I can upload pictures more easily, get logged in more quickly, and become an all-around computer whiz. Ok, probably not the last one but I'm determined to utilize what I have. So, I'm going to start this blog up again....more as a journal for me than anything. I want something that my kids can look back and read and say, "Huh, that's what mom was thinking." I tried to do this in an actual journal, but that has turned into writing down the funny things they say more than an outlet for me. I'm always filled with good intentions. It's the follow-through that I have a problem with.... So, let's just jump right in, shall we?

We just got back from a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with my family. We headed to Jasper on Wednesday to my parents' house. Bobby and I stayed until Friday night and the kids stayed there through the weekend. This served many purposes: 1) kids got to spend extra time with Gigi and Grandpa, 2) Bobby and I got to have a night to ourselves, 3) Bobby got the winter yardwork done (without "help"), and 4) we got a free babysitter. All of us spent Thanksgiving Day with the Mehringers. What a crazy night that turned out to be! The entire crew was together for a change and we definitely took advantage of that! We all played Tri-bond (or Trio-fold, depends who you ask). Quite an experience--I never realized I had such a competitive family, or that I am so competitive myself! That game is rigged, I swear. That's the only explanation for how bad Pam and I are at it. But, congratulations Ron and Cori. I guess you earned it (cough, cough).

On Friday, my mom, Trey, and I did a little black Friday shopping....although we did not brave the early morning crowds. That afternoon my grandpa had a fish fry. The whole Mehringer clan was together again. A little more low-key than the night before, but still tons of fun! Then we went to my cousin Jodi's baby shower (on my mom's side). It was awesome to see the Schmitts since I had to come back to Indy for work and wasn't able to do Thanksgiving with them. I am so, so, so thankful for my amazing family, every last one of them. They made this holiday perfect for us. There has been a lot of loss surrounding people I love lately. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing family that I genuinely love to spend time with. I never realized that it isn't like this with all families. I know I will never take it for granted!

Until next time....

Resolution tag

Ok Jennifer, this means I have to actually update this blog huh?  Well, maybe one of my resolutions should be to keep up with it a little better.  Ok, ok, I've been tagged to offer up my New Years' resolutions.  Here it goes, in no particular order.....

1)  Bobby and I have vowed to start eating healthier again.  We were doing great this summer when our garden was in full bloom and fresh veggies were plentiful.  But the cold, drab Indiana winter has taken over our will and we've succumbed to crappy eating habits.  So, that's my biggest resolution--a healthier way of eating.  I don't want to say "diet" because I know myself and I don't stick to diets.  (Even though Bobby purchased the Abs Diet book and is determined to stick to it.)  I'm just going to make sure I incorporate more fruits and veggies (and tell myself definitively that no, ketchup is NOT a vegetable), whole grains, and healthy proteins.  Hopefully the result will be the shedding of these last 5-7lbs of baby weight.  Now that she's 6 months old, that excuse is starting to get a little thin!

2)  Along the same lines, I'm also taking baby steps to incorporate more movement and exercise into my life.  There's no way I'll actually get up early to go to the gym and work out.  I'm not delusional!  And with two kids, I'll easily talk myself out of a long workout.  But, I've already started taking the stairs at work, parking farther away from the door at the grocery store, etc.  I also have the dumbbells and exercise ball sitting in the living room where I have to trip over them so I won't ignore them.  I've already done some crunches this morning (yay me!) and some bicep curls.  Slowly but surely, this flabby jiggly stuff will go away.  It will, won't it?

3)  I got a sewing machine for Christmas--hooray!  I decided that I need to pick up a hobby and sewing is it.  My grandma is an amazing seamstress and I used to play around with her help when I was younger.  But I haven't truly sewn anything since 8th grade home ec.  That will all change in 2009!  I have already started on a cute little tank top for Emerson.  It's slow going since I only get about 30 minutes at a time to work on it (and I have to look up every sewing term that I don't remember), but I'm enjoying it even more than I thought I would.  It's amazing to be able to see my progress and know that I'm actually creating something my daughter will use.  I'm going to force myself to set aside some time each day (or at least every other day) to work on my projects.  It's a great outlet and lets me do something for me.  That doesn't happen very often!

4)  I want to continue to be the very best mom and wife I can be.  I think this one goes without saying but I feel like it should be here to remind me.  My kids are my world and I would do absolutely ANYTHING for them!  I need to remember to also do the same for my husband.  Sometimes he gets ignored because I'm so focused on the kiddos.  This year is the year that I re-focus on him too.  Bobby, are you reading this?

I'm not sure how many I'm supposed to make but I'm going to stop there.  I don't want to get too lofty in my goals because then I won't stick to any of them.  Since they're now in writing for all to see, does that mean I have to be more committed to them?  Uh oh, didn't think of that!  Well, there's my motivation right?  Bring it on 2009!

I don't really know how this works but I think I'm now supposed to tag people, right?  Well, I tag Jody, Jen H., and Renee since those are the only other people who might read my blog!  Have fun girls!

Finally, pictures!

EMERSON

She just turned 5 months old on Nov. 17th. I absolutely can't believe that much time has already passed since she was born! She's starting to be so much fun! She babbles and blows bubbles non-stop. She has also discovered that she can scream really loudly and does it all the time. I swear it's so high-pitched, only Casey can hear it. She has a quick smile and is generally a pretty chilled baby. It took her a while to get this way though! She loved to hear herself cry for the first several months of her life. I think she has realized that being laid back is much better than being high-maintenance. At least, that's what I'm telling myself! She's sleeping until about 5am almost every night now. That makes a much happier mommy! She absolutely adores her big brother and cracks up at him every day. Which brings me to......

TREY

He turned 2 on June 9th. He definitely has his very own personality and LOTS of it! He talks up a storm--in fact, most days he never stops talking. He went straight from incoherent babble to full conversations it seems. He loves, loves, loves Diego and Dora and would watch them all day long if I let him. I have to say though that he has actually learned quite a bit of Spanish from them. He can count to 10 and knows the basic "Como esta? Bien". It's actually pretty impressive! He also loves his baby sister and his dog, Casey. He gives out kisses and hugs freely and will talk to anyone! He loves to run and jump and climb (in true little boy fashion). He had a recent head injury (see photo above) when he was standing on the Lazyboy and took a nosedive into the coffee table. He also loves to draw and is blossoming into quite a little musician. Piano and drums are his favorite instruments, with the guitar not far behind.

These two make my life crazy busy and I wouldn't have it any other way!