back to it

Hi! It's me. Did you think I forgot about you? Trust me, between my grandma and my friend Sherri, I can't forget my blog! :) Ha! I do love blogging but I have to work hard to keep up with it...life is VERY wild right now. The two job thing is a bit intense during "Wave Season." All of my evening/weekend free time is vacation planning right now. It's fun...but exhausting!

So anyway, this was my view all last week.

Or not. That was actually Chris's view. 

This was mine.

Chris went skiing in Vail with some buddies while I had lots of sleepovers with my favorite 4 and 7 year olds. It was a fun "girls week," but I really missed daddy! And, having my own space in my bed. Because, as tiny as they are, they take up a large majority of my king bed!

What all did we do in January? LOTS of gymnastics!

We had lots of hot cocoa. We also had a crazy high number of snow days for a not so crazy high amount of snow. In related news, our last day of school will be about one week prior to our first day of school. NO MORE SNOW DAYS! 

Mads and Savannah making cookies!

Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy sent the girls some Christmas money. Sydney got a doctor dress up kit she's been eyeing and Maddie got a new doll. They love them!

Speaking of Sydney, she recovered from the flu...and NONE OF US GOT IT. It was a pretty miraculous moment. We're not quite sure how we avoided it, but so far, we did. She rebounded pretty quickly, all things considering.

But, for a few days, she was Sydney snuggle bug.

I snapped this pic last week and couldn't stop laughing. No matter how much we brush her hair...she wakes up like this.

EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

It doesn't look so bad from the front, but then she turns around. And bam!

Chris and I actually overlapped. I jetted down to Disney for a long weekend so I flew out when he flew in. We finally got to see each other after 10 days. That's a long time to be apart for two kids who've been together since high school! Ha! 

Ok, that's it for now. I won't be away so long next time!

Maddie is 7!

Seven. S-E-V-E-N.

We have a seven year old. 

On 12 - 27 - 2010, we became parents for the first time. Madeline Lea Hughes, you came out and our lives changed!

You were "small" for your age (and still are!) but always so delightfully chubby.

You loved your pacifier and cried for three days when we took it away.

You are still stubborn! That quality comes from your mama.

You love pizza, and you love love love treats! (That comes from your daddy!)

You have loved to shop since the moment you could walk. 

You might have more shopping stamina than I do!

You are ALL girl. You loves dresses, sandals, lip gloss, and anything with glitter!

You are a very good big sister to Sydney. She really looks up to you!

Both you kindergarten and first grade teachers noted that you are a very good friend. I love this quality about you. You have a lot of very special friendships!

I love to read and play board games with you!

You are a determined little gal that we know will do great things. We love you Madeline!

Merry Merry Christmas!

How has it been 2 weeks since I last posted?! Well, we did have Christmas, New Year's, three birthdays and a case of Flu A in between...so hang with me people! I'm trying!

We split up our Christmas celebrations this year and it worked out great! One year, we had four in one day and I said, "NEVER AGAIN!" We were running all over the place and it was just hectic hectic! 

We kicked off Christmas weekend with a party with friends. Our friends, Sara and Brian, invited us to a "Polar Express" night. Each kiddo was given a stamped train ticket. Our cars made the train and we went on a Christmas scavenger hunt (complete with popcorn!) with friends. Then, we came back to their house for cookies, cocoa and a special guest..SANTA!

Such a fun surprise for the kids. Santa read a story to them and then let the kids ask all of their questions. (Where are your reindeer? How big is your sleigh? And on and on and on...!)

We made some Christmas crafts!

We had a low key Saturday and then we celebrated with my parents (grandma and grandpa) on Christmas Eve.

I think she liked it! :)

Christmas morning, we slept in and breakfast at our house with the girls while they opened gifts and played. 

That night, we went to Aunt Germaine's house and got some good cousin time in! 

Maddie and Sydney love seeing their cousins.

We had our last Christmas with nana and grandpa and Dane and Quinn on Tuesday!

Little miss just couldn't hang.

The next day - Wednesday - was our sweet Maddie's birthday! (bigger post to come!)

We celebrated with some ice cream!

The kids were STILL recovering from the long weekend and passed out on the short ride to supper.

We took a trip to Ikea to buy some odds and ends for the house and let the girls pick out one thing. Maddie chose... a bunk bed. I kid you not. She said, "I know EXACTLY what I want." (Instead, she got a $3 stuffed kitty!)

Sydney wanted a new chair...but she also got a $3 stuffed kitty. :)

We had Chris's college roomies over for New Years..and had an absolute blast! The kids got to play with Dave a bit before we put them to bed.

And then we played games and laughed and laughed! I can't believe it's been over 10 years since these guys lived together!

Finally, we kicked off the New Year with a little case of Flu A. And, here is Ground Zero.

So far, she's coughed inside Chris's mouth, and kissed me smack on the lips while telling me I'm the best mama. Every time one of us sneezes, we think "IS THIS IT?!" So, here's hoping she's the only victim. She's doing OK with it. Definitely in better shape than when Maddie had it (and didn't move for 6 days) but I've been sleeping with her since nights are the worst. I'm hoping she feels better soon! 

December - before Christmas!

After my conference, December FLEW by.

Sydney is loving gymnastics. 

She has a little bit of time before Maddie's class ends and she loves hanging out with the "big girls." Sometimes the competitive gymnasts are there waiting for their workouts and they are so sweet to Syd.

Can you spy my little blondie?

Maddie joined Daisy Troop and she earned her first petal caroling at a local nursing home. 

Madeline's buddy Murphy got sick and her family gave us their tickets to see Charlie Brown Christmas at the Brown. The girls loved it.

We went to Hudson and Sloane's church for a Christmas party.

We celebrated Maddie's preschool BFF - Stella Murphy - at her ice skating party!

My girlfriends had our annual holiday party.

Claire invited Maddie to Build a Bear!

The girls had a blast picking out matching holiday bears.

I organized the first grade Christmas party (because, room mom) and celebrated with my little first grader!

 On Christmas break, I took Madeline to the Mega Quest to do the Ropes Course. We chose a day that Sydney really wanted to go to her school (their all day long holiday party which consisted of decorating cookies, opening a present from her teacher, watching Frosty, and games galore!) since she is still a little too young/short for the course. 

 Maddie did fantastic. She did all of the elements and even did the zip line 4 times!

We are enjoying our holiday break so far. It's been a lot of PJs, Christmas light looking and family time!