Bethleham Village

Ahhh. Both kids are napping, I'm done Christmas shopping (I think - you never know what will pop up in the next week), and my housekeeper is coming today. Yeah - I love a clean house! Today is a good day!


This weekend we stayed busy doing all the fun December-kind of things. Friday nite we went to the Presbyterian church across the street from our neighborhood to their "Bethleham Village." I was SO impressed - they had llama rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, a live nativity, crafts for the kids, and refreshments. All for FREE! It was so fun! We ended up running into so many people from our ward....the Mormons take over the Presbyterian Christmas party! Ok, that wasn't as funny now that I typed it. But I found it fairly humorous at the time. What can I say? I'm easily amused!


Here is Caden and Chaz waiting for the llama rides. Thanks for the picture, Tammy!

Saturday nite was our ward's Christmas party....and we also did a Bethleham Village-theme. The food was good and we had fun. It's always fun to hang out with friends. Since I'm in nursery now, I have to leave sacrament mtg. before it ends, and stay in nursery until all the kids are picked up, so I miss chatting with everyone. Ah, well, that's what girls' nite out is for, right? (which was Thursday...and very much needed!) Santa showed up at the party, so hopefully Pix with Santa are forthcoming. I'll warn you now...Soleil was SCREAMING when I sat her down on Santa's lap. Hopefully she'll do better this week. I plan on taking the kids to do the mall Santa pictures. Wish me luck.
Why I didn't get any pictures of the cute party, I do not know. I was entirely focused on getting a picture of Soleil's first pigtails! Can you see them? Little wisps of blonde hair. And this picture also debutes my new hairstyle...I tried bangs. What do you think?










Saturday we made a gingerbread house. (Thank you Costco, for the premade sets!) Caden totally got into it. Soleil liked throwing the candy all around the kitchen. I think this will have to become a Bramwell tradition. (not the throwing of the candy. the building of the gingerbread house!)
Tonite we are going to a stake member's home that completely decorates their entire house for Christmas and has an open house every nite complete with Santa, little toys for the kids to take home, cider and cookies, and lots of fun decorations. Fun pictures to follow!

One of those days

It was one of those days. It really started out yesterday afternoon with Caden getting a fever and acting quite lethargic. I gave him some Tylenol and after his nap he seemed a lot better. Fast forward to this morning. We had just finished breakfast, which today for Caden meant all the marshmallows out of his Lucky Charms (bad mom, I know), when Caden coughed. Then threw up. All over himself, the Laz E Boy, his beloved blankets...you get the picture. I scurried around trying to bathe him, throw his blankets into the wash, and spot-treat the chair. Get him dressed, teeth brushed (not even the 3 year olds like the taste of vomit much), and settled in with a movie. Finally get everything taken care. Ok, breathe. Now Soleil wants a snack...no big deal right? After she's done, I'm getting her out of her chair and have her steadied with one arm when she loses her balance? throws herself back? still not sure what she did, but she falls back and goes down on the back of her head on the wood floor and electric train set underneath the tree. I finally get her calmed down...no bruises that I can see. Phew. I did get to talk to my dear cousin today. That was a highlight. Of course Soleil crashed into the coffee table and bonked her head, in the same spot as before, so our conversation was cut short. Congrats on Logan, Jill! I promise 2 kids does get easier....just don't put too much into this post! Usually the kids will nap at the same time in the afternoon, but today Soleil skipped her morning nap, which meant she went down at 11, which meant she woke up right when Caden went down for his nap. No break, and this mama NEEDS her breaks. I did finally squeeze in a shower and Hot Pocket at 12:30. Thankfully I did have an easy dinner planned...only to discover that the meat had gone bad. Had it really been over a week since I bought it? Breakfast burritos as Plan B!

I did try to put Soleil down for a second, really late nap, but 30 minutes of her crying/talking to herself/singing convinced me she wasn't going to fall asleep. (early bedtime anyone?) I walked into her room to find her half out of her shirt. This is the second time she's undressed herself during nap time. The first time she took off her pants. I thought it was so funny - here's a picture.

After the frustrating and sometimes scary day I had with these two, this reminded me why I do this day in and day out. And love it - for the most part. (I could do without the vomit.)