Randomness

Not much new from the Freeman camp. I was looking back through the pictures on my camera and I am embarrassed to say I've taken very few pictures since Christmas! Old man winter has really limited our activities! We continue to be buried in snow with no relief in sight. The groundhog assured us of that. I feel like I need to jump into a pool of lotion/sun and soak for a few days. I have been pressuring Jeremy to take me somewhere warm for even a long weekend but so far he hasn't caved. Carter and I were talking a few nights ago about summer and going back and forth with "I wish it was summer so..." I started out with, " I wish it was summer so we could have a picnic outside" and Carter came back with "I wish it was summer so I could sleep in my underwear!" Oh, I guess boys will be boys!

Carter is staying busy 3 nights a week with swimming lessons and Taekwondo. He recently had to take a test to "promote" to a new belt. He had to perform his skills in front of his master and 2 judges. I was SO nervous for him but he did great and advanced to the next belt. He is on his second round of swimming lessons and is doing so good. I am so proud of him! Hopefully we will see the sun one of these days and he will be able to test his skills in an outdoor pool!

Practicing his swimming in the tub!
Claire is full of spunk! She is going to be my strong willed kid and tests our boundaries everyday. Carter has asked on a few occasions if she is old enough to put in time out! She has become the instigater of trouble and thinks it is funny to pick on her brother ( we are SO in trouble) Her vocabulary is limited to mostly "no" and "no" with a lot of attitude including a little eye roll and turning her head away from us. She still loves to snuggle with me so it is so hard to be angry with her since she is so darn cute!


Playing dress up in mommy's hat and coat!

Valentine's Day was low key with a nice dinner out just the two of us. The kids had fun making valentines for their classes and friends.

Till next time! I'll try and be better about posting things more often!

Christmas 2009

Santa was good to us this year! I am in amazement of how blessed we are to have so many people think of all of us at this crazy time of year. Jeremy and I started a tradition when Carter was first born to only give 3 gifts as the wise men brought baby Jesus 3 gifts. It helps us keep the gift giving in check but somehow our kids still end up with a ton of stuff! Thank you to everyone who thought of us and all the very special gifts we received. Now, I just have to find a place to put it all! Our Christmas plans had to be altered this year due to Mother Nature yet again. We spent Christmas eve at home, just the 4 of us. We made our traditional prime rib and crab leg dinner and opened presents. Christmas morning the kids opened their Santa gift and we all checked out what Santa left in our stockings. We had planned to head back home to spend the day with both sides of our family but a nasty ice/snow storm caused us to stay home. I was pouting for awhile as it was the first time in 34 years that I had not been "home" for Christmas. My parents lost power on their farm with the temperatures dropping down to the 40's in their house so I kept reminding myself we were in a better place! Nice and warm! We were able to make it back on Sunday for 2 celebrations and the next weekend to celebrate with Jeremy's mom. Carter and I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks on Christmas day just to get out of the house!

The name is Rex, you can call me captain or sir, please try and remember mom!

The captain Rex box was a big hit as well!

Oh, maybe they do love each other?

Apparently, all 17 month old girls automatically know what to do with lipstick? Who knew? I think we could be in trouble!

The kids each got a recordable book from G&G Berry. They read and recorded a story to them so they are able to hear their voice whenever they want! What a great idea!

Carter and his second cousins, McKenzie, Maycie and Nolan. Claire had had enough and fell asleep on grandma's lap.

The kids and I did some baking for Santa. I am not too sure they were edible by the time the kids got done with them. I had to throw them both in the tub afterwards! They had fun making a huge mess!

Last weekend Jeremy and I took Carter to see Curious George at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. It was a good show and nice to spend some one on one time with Carter! Grandma was nice enough to come down and watch Claire for us!

Last Sunday we lost our beloved Max. He was 2 weeks shy of turning 14. Although we are super sad we know he lived a good long life and brought a ton of joy to our family. We have been reminiscing about him this week, here are some of our favorite things about him.

6 months old

1. He picked us, we didn't pick him. We got him at a kennel in Omaha, in the spring of 1996. Jeremy and I lived in a studio apartment in downtown Omaha and thought it would be a GREAT idea to get a dog! What were we thinking? We went to a local kennel and after walking around the numerous cages, we were on our way out when the sweatshirt I had tied around my waist got caught on something. I turned around to find this golden retriever with the end of my sweatshirt in his mouth. Well, needless to say, we couldn't resist.

2. Max lived in 15 places in his lifetime!

3. His tail waged in a circle!

4. He loved to rest his head on your lap.

5. In his younger days he knew many tricks, like play dead, treat on the nose trick, shake, and hide and seek.

6. He loved stuffed animals!

7. He was great with kids, even in his older years when he was stiff and sore he let them do whatever they wanted to him and he was never cross with them.

8. He'd do anything for a treat or a belly scratch!

Everyone seems to be adjusting to his loss. Charlie paced the house for 2 days looking for him but has finally calmed down and is eating again. Carter has mentioned him a few times, mostly asking what we think he is doing in heaven. We had him cremated and plan to bury him at my parents farm when the ground thaws out. RIP Max.

On a happier note, I get to see Lion King this weekend with my mom and sister so I am super excited! I have heard it is amazing!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

"5 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS MOM" was my wake up call this morning! My first thought was, ugh, only 5 days left? Why does Christmas sneak up on me every year? I know when it is....you think I could be prepared. Am I the only one frantically trying to get every last detail right? Every morning I make a list and never seem to get it all checked off! Here's what we've been up to!

We decorated 2 trees this year, one in Carter's room for the kids, and our family tree. We put the tree in Carter's room at the foot of his bed and he put all the ornaments on one side (near his bed) and then moved his pillow to the end of the bed to sleep closer to the tree. This makes me smile as I type this, as this is what Christmas is about! Claire has been busy undecorating the trees. She brings me ornaments and says "uh oh"

Carter and his "Santa socks"

Claire decorating herself!

We visited Santa today and it went just as I thought it would. Mind you I did not intend to be in the picture, but that is the only way Claire would even get close to the guy in the suit. The picture lady asked me if it was okay if she had her fingers in her mouth...just take the picture already! She was much better after having some ice cream!

I was going to boycott Christmas cards this year as I simply was running out of time. But, the guilt got to me and decided at the last minute to order some. So, they really won't be Christmas cards but Happy New Year cards by the time everyone gets them! I love putting our cards up to display. I save the cards each year and go through them when I get out our decorations out.

The second weekend in December I was able to get away for a couple of days to help my friend Kirsty celebrate her 40th birthday. A group of 8 of us met up in Breckenridge. It was an AMAZING time! We lounged in our pj's around the fireplace, ate ice cream, drank a lot of baileys and cocoa, laughed and cried. It was a well needed break. I could not have gone without the help of my hubby and sister! Thanks guys for letting me get away!

We will definitely have a white Christmas here in Iowa. We were buried with snow a couple of weeks ago and still haven't found the bottom. It was truly a snow day as we could not get out! Word is we are going to get another round this week.

My attempt to make it to work. I got stuck 8 feet out of the garage!

My men heading out to save us all!

Making a path on the deck for the doggies!

This was the first round of snow, you can still see the grass!

Luckily I only have to work 2 days this week! The kids and I are going to spend Thursday baking and decorating cookies. Once Jeremy gets home, we'll have a special dinner followed by church, then back home to open presents. Christmas morning Santa will come, then we head out to visit both sets of parents then home that evening. We will head back on Sunday to spend Christmas with my grandparents at the Allen House, then back to mom and dad's to spend Christmas with my dad's family. Everyone catch that? Crazy I know!!! We hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!

GOOD BYE NOVEMBER!

Um..can someone tell me where November went? I have a feeling December will go even faster. Here is a quick Freeman family update!

The first weekend in November I had my annual B&B scrapbooking weekend at PJ's & Pigtails. It was once again a weekend to remember. This year they added a massage therapist to work us all over and TV's in the workroom to watch movies as we worked. The food and fellowship is amazing! It was a productive weekend for me! I was able to get Claire's baby book finished! Now that I am sorta "caught up" I have to decide if I want to go digital or continue with the traditional scrapbooking.

We enrolled Carter in his first extra-curricular activity at the start of the month. He is taking TaeKwonDo at the local martial arts school. He goes twice a week and looks so stinkin cute in his little outfit! So far he has earned 3 "tapes" on his belt, one for good listening in class, one for being kind to another in class, and one for bringing in something he was thankful for. We are really happy with the purpose of the class, learning discipline!!

Dress as silly as you can day at school!

Claire continues to grow like a weed. She had her school picture taken at daycare this month. I was surprisingly pleased how well it turned out! No snot on her face, no fly away hairs and most importantly her fingers weren't in her mouth! She did sneak them in her mouth for the class picture though! Can you imagine trying to get 8 one year olds to sit still for a class picture? Kuddos to the photographer!
Claire continues to make us laugh daily with her personality. She will make fun out of anything! She is totally content playing with a wrapper or in the cupboards looking for treasures. She can be a little diva ( I have NO idea where this is coming from) playing in her purse with her sunglasses and bracelets in her fuzzy pink slippers talking on her cell phone, or her more favorite personality is growling at us with the Hulk gloves on!

She shakes her head no to everything and has expanded her vocabulary to "Hi, night night and bye" She is so smart and now knows 4 body parts! She also will go get her shoes and point to the closet for her coat when we are getting ready to go somewhere. She will also bring me hair bows to put in her hair before we go anywhere. Her hair is getting pretty long, thus her bed head after nap and in the morning is pretty bad!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we filled our bellies full of good food at Jeremy's mom's on Thanksgiving day. I am so thankful for my little family!

Although I had to work on Black Friday, I ventured out at 4am to get the buy of the year!! I thought I was beating the crowd at Walmart but come to find out some of the things went on sale at midnight ( our Walmart is usually NOT open 24 hours at day) So, instead of being early, I was actually 4 hours late! I went to get a Cricut Expression only to find out they were already gone. I was so bummed out! I walked the mile back to the car pouting. I called some friends to check other Walmarts but no luck! My mom made a last ditch effort to check the Walmart close to her and lo and behold they had ONE left at 11 am!! My new pride and joy! Yep, it says $188! Merry Christmas to me!!

We are starting to gear up for Christmas! Our elf, Sam, has arrived! Carter talks to him all the time and his behavior has been SUPERB since his arrival! Thank you to however created The Elf on the Shelf! I am hoping to start decorating this weekend! Pictures to follow!