2010 is almost upon us :)

Let me just start off by saying that it is a beautiful day here. It is the day after a nice light rain and is in the low 70's.... gorgeous!! I am very thankful to have Sean back as he is guiding me and our family to a great start in the New Year. I feel very blessed and lucky to have great friends and family in my life. Christmas Eve was a complete success!! I had great help with the cooking and cleaning. The food turned out delicious, and the company was even better. We had a great time! Can't wait to do it again next year :)

The Billings Clan

Christmas morning was a success as well. The kids woke up and opened their stockings first, then proceeded to the long awaited Santa gift. Aiden was so excited to see what Santa brought him. Although, I suspect he already knew ;-) LOL!! Kieren on the other hand, just wanted everything; And thought that every gift was his. Somehow I don't think it is a developmental thing with him...hahahaha!! I recorded videos of both boys opening up their Santa gifts:

Aiden opening his Santa gift :)

Kieren opening his Santa gift :)

Christmas day was so much fun hanging with my family. We had a great time! And the cousins are too cute together. Ori and Aiden were inseparable all day. Wherever Aiden went, Ori followed. He even mastered the Billings strut....Ahhh!! I wish I had that on video :) Unfortunately, I think this will be the last year we will all be together for Christmas. Everybody has decided to make their own traditions with their own families :( We are however, trying to convince our other halves that getting together for a New Years Eve bash would be soooooo fun!! Hopefully that follows through, and we can all have the best of both worlds. Christmas with our nuclear families, and then NYE with with everyone. Anyway, here are some pics from Xmas day....Enjoy!!

Santa Called Aiden...LOL!!

So last week Aiden was acting up. I know I know, with a 4 year old boy, that's bound to happen. But since it is the Holiday season and Santa is watching, I have MAJOR leverage. So let's just start at the beginning shall we?

Aiden has been wanting a Lightsaber (which is a weapon that is commonly used in the Star War films). He does not want a blue one, since that means he is a good guy, he wants a red one. And yes, you have guessed right...it is the color of a bad guy. Go figure! Anyway, he has been obsessing about this for months, and every time we go walking through Walmart (don't hate...we're poor) he has to point the red double sided Lightsaber out, and say "Look mommy, it's a red Lightsaber!! Can I have it PLEASE!!" I say "NO!! you will poke your eye out." JK!! Stole that line from the Christmas story. And if you have never seen it, I feel sorry for you. So back to the topic at hand...

I suggest to him every time we have this sighting per say, that he should ask Santa for it. But there is a catch...and Ohhh how I love this catch. I tell him that Santa does not bring toys to boys and girls who have been naughty. I say that if he really wants that lightsaber, he has to be a good listener and be a good little boy. Okay, so that is pretty general, but it covers every base. I am not going to say "Well Aiden you have to brush your teeth really good at night, or you have to eat all your dinner....)" Because, let's face it, then he can be an a$$ the rest of the time. So to be a "good listener" covers it all. Brilliant!! Thank you, I will be signing autographs next Friday.

So one day last week he was being a true and honest PILL!! Just not listening at all!! So I called Sean (who was out of town) and told him to call and pretend to be Santa. I told Sean to use a big HO HO HO Jolly voice, so that Aiden would really think it was Santa. Unfortunately, I only got the last part of the conversation on film. But here it is: My son is not a fool.....bummer ;(

It's been a while....

Sorry it has taken me so long to write. I have been real busy with Sean being gone, and have had absolutely no down time....ugh! I am not going to lie, at first I was excited to get the house to myself and only have to worry about picking up after two boys instead of three ;) But now.....I miss him sooooo much!! Decorating for the Holidays by yourself is no fun, and there is no substitute for Daddy :( I can't wait for him to come home and have the Billings tribe back together again.

In the meantime, Aiden has learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. His friend Gavin started doing it, and then Aiden was insisting that he could do it too. He learned right away!! No practicing, just got on the bike and rode it into the sunset :) I had to, of course, go to Walmart and get the next bike size up since he kept saying that his other one was too small and for babies. No worries though, I did not break the bank. Thank God for cheap bikes! So we passed his first bike to Anna (Gavin's little sister), until Kieren gets big enough to give it a go himself. Can't wait for that......JK!! I can totally wait. STOP growing up boys!

Aiden and the street gang riding their bikes!

Another great milestone has happened for Kieren! He can now point to his nose when you ask him where it is.....YIPPEE!! Little Kieren is so whatevs about everything. Both Aiden and I were clapping and cheering for him, and he just went about his business with out even an ounce of excitement. Aiden used to get all giddy when we acknowledged his milestones. Kieren on the other hand, just goes to the next thing his little brain is telling him to do; Which usually consists of some type of eating. Boy that kid can eat!! Watch out for fingers people ;) I usually hang a sign around his neck that says "He will bite the hand that feeds him." Ahhhh!! JK!! But, I have seriously been bitten more than once in the hand feeding process...LOL!!

Bon Appetit!

"Where's your nose Kierbear?"

Night out with Mommy and Daddy!

So yesterday I got a call from my mom (aka Nana) that Sean had called and asked her if she could watch the kids for the evening. I was in the dark, like usual when it comes to Sean and his plans. Anyway, after talking to Sean about what he had planned, we had come to a decision that we were going to see the movie "Where the Wild Things Are" at 8:15 pm. Except, it did not seem right to go without Aiden. So we both thought that it would be fun to take him with us. To make it more fun, I thought that when Nana got to the house to watch Kieren, I would surprise Aiden with the exciting news! But my night had to go perfect without him suspecting.

The first clue that I evaded: When I was taking a shower around 6 pm to freshen up, he comes in and asks "Mommy why are you taking a shower, where are you going?" I said, "nowhere, I am just getting clean to get comfy and cozy for the evening." PHEW!! That seemed to pass as an excuse since Aiden left it at that. Second clue that I evaded: "Mommy why are you putting on make-up?" "So I can look pretty when I go to bed." "But mommy, you're already the most gorgeous girl in the world...no need for you to put on make-up." (okay, so I made up the last part....LOL!!) Anyway, after running into some sticky situations and getting him bathed and ready to go (I put him in his pajamas, since I thought it would be fun and cozy to go see a movie at night like that) without any suspecting on his part, we made made it to the time when Nana arrived. He of course had no idea that she was coming over, and he was soooooo excited to see her. But then the unveiling of the surprise unfolded, and here is how it went:

Aiden's progress in school and Kieren's shoe fetish ;-)

I had my first parent teacher conference with Aiden's teacher today. She said that he has a short attention span when it comes to things he doesn't want to do, and very long one when he is interested. DUH!!! Don't we all ;) She says he is doing well, and that he seems to be very interested in music. However, he does not participate in the singing and dancing. I told her that it's because he is very aware of people watching him, and gets very self-conscience (very much like his daddy). She was very impressed that he knows how to keep a steady rhythm with the drums. She told me that when she asked him if his daddy plays drums, he said "No, he plays trumpet." Then another little boy said, "My daddy plays Super Mario Brohters." Ahhhh!! Gotta love kids at this age....hahahaha!!

Aiden's first day of school picture

Lately, Kieren has been having a thing with his Daddy's shoes. Yet every time he gets his foot in one, he starts praying to "Allah." For those of you who do not know what that means, just imagine him on his knees lifting his hands above his head and slamming them on the floor. All while he is chanting (AKA screaming) at the top of his lungs.....LOL!! So anyway, this is a daily, sometimes multi-daily, routine.

Kieren and his two left feet

Hard times are common in Mommy-hood!

So this week has been a rough one. I tried to keep consistent with my sit-ups, and was punished

for doing so. In the middle of my exercise I had a sharp unbearable pain that caused me to get stuck laying on the floor for over 15 minutes. I could not move!! When I finally rolled myself into position to get up, Kieren started crying. I could not and would not go pick him up, so I just prayed that he would go back to sleep. Thank God he did :) I iced it and put heat on it, alternating every 15-20 minutes. Needless to say, it did not work and I could not lift my left arm above my shoulders. Let's just say the next morning, with showering, getting ready, and taking Aiden to school and swim (which I was going to bail on swim, until he threw a fit and demanded that he get to swim), was not fun and very painful! I made an appointment to see the doctor, and he prescribed me medication, but did not even offer any other form of treatment. Such as stretching or referring me to a massage therapist. Even after I told him that this was probably something that transpired from my dull ache in my shoulder for over a year now. So I payed $80 for the visit and another $60 to get medication that will help me momentarily, but not in the long run....ugh!! Go Health Care people and Drug companies....YOU WIN!! It has been 3 days since that happened, and I am still very swore :( But I am will figure something out.

Little Kieren has been full of temper tantrums and frustration lately. He is growing out of his morning nap, but there are days where he still needs one. The hard thing is, is that once I figure out he needs one, it is too late. If I put him down later in the morning he does not nap in the afternoon. And since mommy needs her breaks (to clean, do laundry, or just breathe), he has to wait. This however, causes a full morning, and lunch time, of screaming and crying. But on a good note, he is still cute as all heck! I know this is just a phase, and we will get through it with flying colors. Many more phases to come, I'm sure :)

Mommy Coffee Break...

This morning I had a great playdate and coffee break with my old friend Aimee and her family. The kids played really well together, and enjoyed halloween candy after their lunch. Aiden and Aimee's little girl, Holland, are such a pair. They love to play "mommy" and put each other down for naps. The two little guys, Kieren and Wyatt, were just cruising around pooping all morning long...LOL!! Kieren was also caught stealing Wyatt's old sucker out of the trash and having his turn with it...GROSS!! Did I stop him you ask?? Nope :)

Kieren enjoying Wyatt's old used sucker...At least he is not wasteful ;)

The kiddos watching Go Diego Go!

Happy Halloween :)

Kieren as a Dinosaur

I hope everyone had a festive Halloween!! I know we did :) The kids got to do some old school trick or treating, where they scored a mass amount of lute (aka CANDY). We began the night at Nana's with a fabulous home cooked meal, and ended the night with a game of 'dead and bury' and pumpkin cheesecake....YIPPEE! The kids had a blast and so did the adults :)

Aiden (aka policeman) and Gavin (aka UPS man) cheesing it up for the camera

The Halloween Crew: Aiden, Kieren, Anna, and Gavin :)