The Holidays are HERE

It's official...the Holidays are here. We are about to celebrate the first fantastic Holiday of the season and I couldn't be more excited. I am going home this year, which is always the best part of the Holidays. I know that HOME is only 2 hours away, and I can pretty much go home whenever I want...but there is NOTHING like being at a Viefhaus family gathering. The food, fun, games, and conversation are UNFORGETTABLE every year. I have the greatest family in the world and feel so blessed to get to bring two more munchkins into our fantastic family. They are going to learn so much about family and love and I am so happy to be able to show them. I am also so excited to host New Year's Eve this year. My family is coming to our house and I am so pumped. Ella LOVES when her cousins come to visit. They are always so caring and sharing when she goes to their house and she loves to return the favor when they come in town. She talks about it for WEEKS. First thing she says when she wakes up in the morning, "Mia and Sophie are coming today." Then I have to break her heart and tell her to wait a few more days, but the excitement in her eyes is ADORABLE. (Poor Gracie gets left our of her statement...but I think she still looks at her as a baby.) And she is really starting to get excited for her ONLY boy cousin Meade. Ever since Tyler was born she has sort of made a connection that Tyler is growing up just like little Meade. She loves to smooch him and "take care" of him...which honestly I think she annoys him most of the time. But, it's adorable either way. LOVE. THE. HOLIDAYS!!! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving...eat way too much and feel good about it.

WINTER INDOOR (or outdoor) FUN

We all have our area of expertise...Mine may not be sewing, or other crafts. My expertise is in getting kids up and active, and I have a great idea for you and your little ones to keep busy and moving in the long winter months.
Most kids know SOME exercises. If they don't you can teach them some basics...such as push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks. There is the ever important running in place, squats, wall sits, or basic balancing on one foot...if they like dance, plie squats or other dance moves can be turned into exercises. If they are in school ask them what they do at school. The options are endless. Well you can make a FUN easy game out of exercises.
Here is what you do:

You need a large piece of paper or posterboard (you can use regular paper too, but BIG sizes are WAY more fun)
A marker
Exercise Ideas
Dice


You want to draw a 6 x 6 set of squares with the #'s 1 thru 6 across the columns and rows.
Then fill out the squares with exercise ideas (don't forget to add a # or amount of time for each activity). You can use the same activities over and over again with different times or numbers! Here is your chance to be creative. If you have very limited space chose activities where the kids can remain close. Maybe you are going to play this game outside or with more room to roam...then you definitely want to add in laps of some sort...everything from walking and skipping to galloping and hopping on ONE foot!! They will enjoy the walking break. Challenge your kiddos. You will be surprised at what they can do!
Now all you do is roll the dice and where the 2 numbers meet...that is your exercise!

And don't forget to join them. This is a great way to keep activity in your home!! As a PE teacher I know that childhood obesity is on the RISE! Stay healthy and active over the Holidays!!

My first project :)

I would like to present my first sewing project...a cute easy skirt for my daughter, Ella! She even wore it to daycare today!!! I had to redo the bottom part once, but that's it! Overall, I would say it was a success. However, I definitely learned a few things about fabrics. The bottom fabric was NOT stretchy feeling UNTIL I washed it. Then it was like sewing a rubberband. :) But, it still worked out okay. I am going to attempt another one tonight. The new one will be a pink base with a lavender damask trim! I am so pumped...as Jimmy said when I got home last night, "You are obsessed." Well I am proud to be obsessed!! How did I do??

Officially CRAFTY

I am officially beginning my adventure as a CRAFTY mom. I have purchased a sewing machine and I am ready for some challenges. Oh wait...challenge #1 was getting my sewing machine to work. I messed with that thing for I think 18 HOURS...STRAIGHT to find out that there was something wrong with it. Many things lead to finding this out.
1. I am an idiot and didn't really READ the labels on the thread when I picked it out. I just grabbed a few spools and threw them in the cart. White, black, blue and so on. Well it was UPHOLSTERY thread!!

Who does that? I was just about ripping my hair out because the machine was getting jammed up over and over again. Well...that is what happens when you try to use upholstery thread in a regular sewing machine! ha ha

2. After I got real thread it was still "bubbling up" underneath my fabric. So, I called EVERYONE that I knew had a sewing machine to ask them what I was possibly doing wrong. I am sorry...the directions were CRYSTAL clear...so I didn't think I was an idiot when it came to threading the machine and the bobbin. So, I called in the big guns.

3. Mother in law came over to help. Now, any one that knows me knows that I MUST have been desperate at this point :) hee hee. But, after speaking with her on the phone she told me that I must be doing something wrong and I felt that I was in the RIGHT. So, she came over...re-threaded everything herself...did one stitch and she knew there was something wrong with the machine.

THANK GOD it wasn't me!!! However, I did waste about 18 hours of my life messing with that stupid machine. But, I exchanged it and am glad to say the new one is up and running BEAUTIFULLY!! Now the projects await!

Hopefully I will be posting one of my successes soon! Stay tuned!!

SISTERS

I will first start off by saying, "no offense" to anyone who has brothers...I just can't really speak from that point of view since I ONLY have sisters. But, to me, sisters are the GREATEST things on earth. I look back at my childhood and miss it so much. I want to go back in time when we shared a room and cuddled in the same bed.
Maybe it is also because I am a twin, but life could NEVER be the same for me without my sisters. I was thinking today about Ella, and how I will feel so bad as a mom if I can't give her a little sister. Part of me wants to be done having kids. We have 2 amazing munchkins, Ella and Tyler. But the other part of me is DYING for Ella to have a sister. Someone to go through everything with...like we did. Now, again, I know she can do many of these things with a brother...but there is NO comparison to a sister.
And, I am not saying I would be disappointed in another son, but if I could 100% pick out what I was having next, I would be pregnant again in a heartbeat. I just feel like we will DEfINITELY only have 3 kids max, if we have another one, and I desperately want it to be a sister for Ella...is that wrong? Well, only time will tell. I just know that having sisters has shaped my personality in the same way that I want to help shape Ella's. It helps create a bond between women...not just my sisters. You fully learn to how to accpet women for who they are and to be truly happy for them...almost like you are secretly rooting for them in a good way. We have learned very recently who our TRUE friends are. And we have noticed that the women we get along with best...usually all have great sisters! So thank you to all the SISTERS out there who know how to care for and take care of all their girls!!!
These pictures are from Adie(far left)'s bachelorette party! We had such a blast at our Murder Mystery Dinner theater. I was jealous of all you wine drinkers since I was about 3 months preggo!!! But, another great night to add to our memories as sisters!! Love you girls. Can't wait to move back to STL to be with you guys again. :) Whenever that will be!!!!!

LET CRAFT TIME BEGIN!!!

We are LOVING this fall weather. Now that it has finally stopped raining for five minutes we can actually get outside and enjoy our Southern Illinois weather. I took this picture yesterday and almost FAINTED when I saw how long Ella's hair is getting. This is not the little girl that was born with JET black fuzzy hair 2 1/2 years ago! No way can she be getting this grown up.
Ella could not be more in love with her little bro Tyler. She always tells mommy that she is "taking care of him." So adorable. I think she likes him MUCH more than she likes me right now. We are at the fun age of "I am gonna challenge mom in everything she says and does." Awful. She tells me that I'm NOT going to get her something to drink and I'm NOT going to hold Tyler. Hopefully this will pass soon.
I am so excited to start on my next adventure...let the CRAFTS begin. I am buying my first sewing machine to start on little projects that I have been wanting so badly to start. I have always loved clothes and thought it would be fun to make clothes for my little muchkins. Sadly, I know that making girl clothes is usually more fun than boy clothes (sorry Tyler) but I will do my best to make cute things for him too. I just may have to get some cute ideas from other moms out there. So, if anyone has any input on a good sewing machine...send it my way. I am flying blind here!

Happy Fall!!

Blog Envy...

So after following many new bloggers I have accepted the fact that I have MAJOR blog envy. I love to read other people's blogs and they always seem to have such important things to write about and to share with people. I most definitely feel like my blogs are BORING and nothing more than informative to my family as to what is going on with my life. I just LOVE to find inspiration in what so many of you out there are doing and sharing with your family and friends. I have found myself very inspired to be a better mother and to try and find more hobbies for myself. I know for a fact I BETTER be getting a sewing machine for Christmas...however I find myself not wanting to even wait that long. I want to start on so many projects already. After seeing the cute t-shirt dress that Marta made for Mia from lilblueboo and to see the cute flower headbands that JoysHope makes it really inspires me to find something creative that I can do. It really would be the perfect activity to take up some much needed down time. My hubby works a lot of nights and weekends...and when I don't go home to visit my fab sisters I am the most BORED human ever after my kids go to sleep on Fri and Sat nights :) So, thank you to all of you cute mommies that give me inspiration and more to look forward to :) I hope to make you proud someday soon!!!