Alarm Clocks

I really dislike alarm clocks...I love days when I don't have to use mine...like summer and days off of school. I bought Dave a new alarm clock a couple of years ago.

It is a very cool clock. It tells the temperature outside, inside and the humidity inside. (It even attempts to forecast whether or not it is going to rain the next day or not, but that part is not very predictable.)

When Dave got that alarm clock we passed "his" old one (which was his Grandpa's before that) to Amber. Amber loved it. We didn't really set the alarm, for her, but we could tell her stay in your room until your clock says 8:00. (I like to sleep in.) My Amber is very much a rule follower and would never come out until 8:00.

So now that she is going to school, she requested a new alarm clock for her room.

Grandma and Grandpa bought her one for Christmas. Talk about a cool clock! The only problem is she totally sleeps through the alarm. Her alarm wakes me up in my room and I will go in 15 minutes later and she will still be sound asleep. That's OK though because I can get a couple of snuggles out of her while she is still half asleep.

What happened to Grandpa's clock?

It is in Amy's room now. Too bad it never has the right time, she likes to press the buttons...

Presents

I thought I would do a post about all the presents that were hot for the girls to have this year for Christmas, as well as the ones we made and those in which we are most thankful.

Our holiday break began with 2 of my sisters-in-law, and nieces and I feverishly putting together scrapbook of our summer vacation for my mother and father-in-law. We spent a week in a beach house this past July as a 50th wedding anniversary celebration for them. The scrapbook was a huge hit. It turned out wonderful and really brought some memories back. My mother and father-in-law also received a flag that was flown over the Capital in Washington D.C. on October 31, 2009, the day of their actual 50th wedding anniversary. Awesome gift.

My mother-in-law must have been EXTREMELY busy over the last year. She made these "no-sew" blankets for EVERYONE. I watched at least 12 of them be opened and I know she made at least 2 others beyond that. I cannot imagine how she did all that. I have a made a few for charity though my MOPS Group and I thought that my hands were going to fall off after cutting and tying 1-2 blankets with help!

Onto a few of the gifts that made the list at our house. Amy's Christmas list went on and on...every time a new commercial came on all I would here is "I want that". Thankfully that has stopped since the holidays are over. Her big items were, a Nintendo DS and a "2-wheeled scooter". These were also the two big items that Amber got for her birthday in October...I am a bit afraid of the pattern this might be turning into.

Amber's bigger gifts included Mario Kart for her DS and roller skates. She loved playing her cousins MarioKart over the summer so now she and Amy can play together. HA HA!! Playing together is usually not the problem, it is playing together without and argument developing.

Wish I could say that my children are not spoiled rotten, but unfortunately they are. I prefer to call them "extremely loved".

Holiday Vacation

Over the holidays, we spent 10 wonderful days in Ohio. Dave is from Canton, Ohio, so we travel there usually twice a year. Every other year, we spend Christmas in Canton...this was our year to pack up everything, including all presents, and head to Canton for the holidays. As always we had a wonderful trip. The girls LOVE spending time with their grandparents and cousins. I am always so amazed at how these kids all pick up and start playing as if they saw one another yesterday. In reality, we haven't seen anyone, except Grandma and Grandpa, since July. I know when I was young and hadn't seen my cousins in a while, I was a little shy to begin with, but not these kids. It is really something to see their relationships.

We came home on Saturday, but it was a rough trip. Poor Amber has figured out that when we leave it is going to be a few months before she sees her grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles. The poor thing cried herself to sleep the night before we left, because she didn't want to come home. She woke up "OK"...that was until Aunt Tammy, Uncle Guy, Missy and Johnathan left for Florida about 30 minutes before us. Then the tears really started again. The poor thing was so sad, and it was absolutely heartbreaking for us to see how sad she was and not be able to do anything about it. She cried herself to sleep in the car again about an hour after we left. And then at bedtime once we were home. She really misses her family. It makes me sad that we live so far away, but yet I am happy that the girls have such a closeness with their grandparents that they do care.

I was particularly close to my Grandma Rahm. I can remember as a child praying that she would never die because I didn't know how I could go about my life without her. As a child she was my best friend. To this day, when things get really challenging, I often wish I still had her to talk to.

This is a picture of me and B.J., my cousins Meredith and Stephanie and my Grandma Rahm. I am the only one not looking at the camera.