You've Got Mail

We started a fun tradition this morning in early celebration for the month of LOVE. :) Our Best Bites had the idea and it so cute! Got 3 mailboxes from Target and all you do is print off their little notes that they have already designed and write down something about each child every morning. Stick it in the mailbox with a piece of candy, and done! I even got some cute little erasers and pencils and non-candy stuff to add some of the days. Can't wait to see the girls faces when they come down today! My sixth grader gave me the reaction I expected, so it's up to them to redeem their brother. In saying that, I know he will look back and at least remember his mother tried. She really tried. Really. Ha. Just kidding. I love him to pieces. I really do. I just hope I make it through the next 6 years.

Holidays!!

We had the best time this Christmas. Family came to us! I didn't have to pack one bag, print off one boarding pass, or stop at one roadside gas station. Now that is a true Christmas miracle. It was nice to stay home and entertain and make food and watch kids run around. Loved it. A lot. It was a relaxed kind of week with family coming and going and LOTS of eating going on. Ugh. But man was it all so yummy. My mom is the best cook, and I'd like to think I'm gleaming a little from her every time we make our traditional yearly recipes. We are blessed. And thankful. And we got snow!!! That was kind of cool.

A caroling we will go....

We had our first annual neighborhood caroling party this week. It was so fun! And so windy. :) Was great to see the kids sing and their sweet voices were the best. A group of us newbies in the neighborhood decided to kick back up a tradition that was done years ago here, but stopped as kids got older. Well, there are new kids in town....and LOTS of them. So we did a progressive caroling party and our house was the last stop otherwise known as the "dessert house". More cookies and cupcakes then your eyes can imagine. And I think at this point in the season, I'm hitting a slump on cupcakes. Never thought I could say that, but it is true. It will be cookies from here on out. No more buttercreams in this house until 2013. Kids had a blast and it was great to meet some new neighbors whom we'd never seen before. Great time! Hooray for caroling.

Sugar Rush

don't ask - ;)

We hosted a cookie exchange at our house last night. So much fun!! I am in amazement and feel so blessed to have made friends so quickly this move. God has provided some great friendships, and whenever I have people over, or hang out with the lot of them :), I am reminded again and again how unexpected and wonderful it is. All of our kids can hang and play and it's wonderful! So Drew and I had about 7 families over last night, and it was sugar heaven. I don't think I've ever had that much sugar in my kitchen before just for my family. Wow! Great start to the holiday week as we head into our last few days of school and family starts getting into town.

Snowball Fight!

Yep. This month is obviously going to be all about elves. Sorry people. But I have to say this is my favorite one yet. And pretty easy to clean up, believe it or not. Thank goodness for an ample supply of marshmallows in my pantry at 11:00 at night.

Snap, "Buddy, Pop

Sooo behind on this little blogie poo. My intentions were to write way more this month. Way more. But, all I can seem to get posted are pictures of elves. Not very fun. Haven't even posted about our wonderful trip to Texas for Thanksgiving (this weekend I will...really), and life in Tennessee (it's wonderful!). Going to get on it this weekend. There may be like 40 posts this weekend. Look out!

Buuuuut, back to Buddy and Holly. They make me happy. Can I just say that? I love our little elves. Love that they add a little lighthearted fun around here. Obviously so not what Christmas is really about, but the girls love it. Which makes me love it. Who knew I would be obsessed with little forms of anything anywhere I shop?! Hobby Lobby today had little trees. How cute is that?! So now Buddy and Holly have a camping trip coming up in the near future. Even found little deer ornaments at Target that will look great in my fake "woods". I mean really. Does it get any better than this?! I clearly need to get a life. ;)

Cupcakes

Last month I brought some cupcakes up to Caleb's school for a teacher's luncheon. Agreed to help serve and clean-up, and left with 2 cupcake orders. Who would have known?! This is the first one. Becca turned 7 this weekend and wanted roller skating cupcakes. Had so much fun making them and shaping fondant into little skates. And she requested purple and pink. I think there was lots of that!

Next order is in a week or so for holiday cupcakes. Look out! Momma is bringin' home the bacon now! Well, not really....but I did pay for my own gas for my car with the money. Very wise spender don't you think?! I'm having fun. Fun playing with fondant, fun doing something that makes me happy seeing other's happy, and fun playing in the kitchen with new things. Seeing where this goes this time in TN, and ready for whatever comes my way.

Spa Day

It's Spa Day at casa de Ward. Kickin' back, munching on some M&M's, taking a bubble bath. Glad we could oblige Buddy and Holly today, because in less than 8 hours...it's back to work!! No rest for the weary. Wonder if I could squeeze in their bubble bath? I could use one too. Maybe some M&M's.

He's baaaaack.

Buddy is back in town. And, he decided to bring a friend with this year. So, we are officially welcoming Holly to town. The girls picked the name. I think it's pretty cute. So they are here, and I'm thinking Buddy and Holly have some fun stuff up their sleeves this year. Don't ask me how I know....I just do. ;)

family

One of my favorites from our photo session with Kim. You can tell the girls were into it way more than the boys. ;) And this is how it feels sometimes doesn't it?! The push and pull of life tugging at you from every direction. So important to have family. Both near and far. As we pack up and head out to Texas today for Thanksgiving, we are excited to see our family. No family is perfect, everyone knows that. But every family was put together for a purpose. To take the sharp edges that make up a unit and soften them. To accept each one for who they are. To train and raise up. I love our little family unit under this roof, but I also love the extended family units we get to be a part of. Marching through this thing called life, and doing our best to lift each other up when the tug and pull of life feels like it's coming from both directions. Feeling thankful we are all here another year. Healthy and happy and marching forward....not back. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Let's Get Rockin'

Dreaming of his next guitar. My little man. He looks HUGE to me in this picture. He is rocking and rolling in his School of Rock that we enrolled him in. It makes me so happy to see him truly loving something. I don't have to tell him to practice his guitar, he just does. Like 3 times a day. The next step for him is to learn to play an electric guitar. He is now good enough to do some "jam sessions" with other kids his age. But....you can't really "jam" with an acoustic guitar. Unless it's an "unplugged jam". Cool to me, not so much to him. So he is saving his pennies. ;) We'll have to see if this one is on his "wish list" for Christmas. Santa may go broke if he buys this one.

Pictures

We had some wonderful friends from Austin come and visit last weekend. And one of them just happens to be a super talented photographer who took some family pictures for us. I somehow got a few on my computer while we were peeking at them over the weekend, but I am waiting on all the fun ones to come with the editing.

It's always tough to do family pictures because either the weather doesn't cooperate, or someone is upset with someone who keeps teasing, or if nothing else the dog keeps getting distracted by every single squirrel that runs by. For me though I love it, crazy weather and all. Love that we get a quick chance to capture life right now at this moment. The good and the bad. Yes, Grace hates her braces, but I love them. I love that I can have pictures to look back on to remember how sweet she looks in them. Just one more sign that she is growing up too fast. Caleb is at that awkward 12-year old stage where he doesn't quite know how to do his hair, or if he really even would ever shower if I didn't force him to. And Miss Madeline is my baby. The one who will still let me hand her a furry vest for pictures and will wear it with a smile. Her crazy smile with her crazy little teeth and beautiful freckles totally melt my heart. Soon enough she will be in braces. So, I'm loving this totally unedited picture of me and my girls. The good and the bad. The braces, the crooked teeth, and the fact that my feet look like they are about to take over the picture. It's totally us. Although......I'm sure I'll be really happy when I see the edited one in a few weeks. ;)

Turkey

Our first Brownie troop meeting is today!! So excited. I've practiced my Brownie handshake, Girl Scout promise, and the Girl Scout Law. ;) Girl Scouts is a big deal here in Tennessee. Excited to see what these little girls are going to teach me this year as their leader. And praying my fearless partner and I get our footing quickly since we are a few months behind some of the other troops. So thankful all the stars aligned and we were able to get 8 girls off a wait list and join a troop. Here we go!!

Halloween

I took one picture on Halloween. One. Mom of the year right here. I have no idea what I was doing instead of taking pictures. Eating candy? Talking too much to my neighbors? Sleeping? What! Thankfully I had a few friends send me a picture or two, or I'd be really sad. Note to self. Lay off the candy next year and engage in Halloween festivities.

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

Friends are wonderful. Especially at the age of 10. Friends can be hard to find when you are new and lots of people in your school have been together for 4+ years. I signed Grace up for Girl Scouts in the hopes of meeting some girls from her grade, and hopefully one or two girls that hit it off with Grace. Thankfully at one of our first events, it seemed a few of the girls and Grace seemed to be having a great time. Totally melted my heart. I hate for my child to be the new person, yet again. Let's face it, I hate being the new mom, yet again. It's hard. And it's easy to just say I'm not even going to try. Grace is a very social little girl, and needs to have contact with friends. So we set up a baking day last weekend, and invited a few friends over. A Halloween baking day is sure to be up any preteen's alley right?! So Taylor and Christina came over and we made edible eyeballs, and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting and even made little bats out of fondant. I stood back and let them have free reign of the pastry bags and orange buttercream frosting. That was kind of hard. Seriously. Everyone had fun, and most importantly, Grace realized that although the new girl, yet again.....it can still be fun to make new friends. Can I just say how much I love Girl Scouts!

Mummies

We love mummy pops, a lot. Super easy to make, and a total crowd pleaser. Headed off to a neighborhood play date today and bringing along these bad boys. I am in love with my neighborhood. Truly. Started walking with one of my neighbors on my off running days, have met my other neighbor for coffee and lunch multiple times, and headed off to another neighbors house to let kids run wild while moms ignore them and try and chat today. Did I just say that? ;) This is a huge blessing and one I didn't quite expect. Haven't exactly hit the neighborhood jackpot in most of our moves, which I know is more than normal. But, it's always a pleasant surprise when you meet people and everyone gets along and is actually nice. Starting our Friday off right........mummy style.

Recipe for mummy pops

50's Day

The Sock Hop was so cute. Maddie bunny hopped and twisted herself to death. I even got to go out and shake my money maker with her for one dance. I think I could have taken some of those kids on the limbo if I'd had my roller skates, but I held back and let them enjoy. It was so sweet to see her interact with some of her new friends, and try to twist with a little boy she thinks is "cute". Didn't work though. I think he's rather popular because every girl was trying to twist with him. Can't say I'm too disappointed about that. Would much rather her twist with little girls in poodle skirts for now. So root beer floats were had, dried french fries (potato sticks) and pretzels were consumed, and lots of dancing was going on all around us. Elvis even made an appearance. We are in Memphis. ;) Love, love that I get to come and be a part of this stuff with Maddie Waddie. I can always appreciate a good root bear float.

We came....We "booed"

We pulled off another year of "booing" neighbors. And only one minor injury this year. Poor Caleb was running from his friend Carter's house and tripped and fell in the street. Banged up his elbow and ripped a hole in his pants and scraped his knee. But it was for a worthy cause. ;)

I have to say we have made friends pretty fast here this time. Not sure if it's because we live closer to everyone and not so far out in the country like last time, or if God has just placed some pretty cool people in our paths. I'm thinking it's the later. And not missing the fact that God is in the details of life and we sometimes get so busy we totally miss it. I have managed to stumble upon 3 other moms who are new, just like me, and we have all had fun getting to know each other through coffee chats, lunch chats, and late night chats at each others houses when little one's go to bed. So thankful to even have people to "boo" this year!! New friends make a move a little less depressing. And it's much more fun drinking coffee with someone instead of roaming Target amongst total strangers.

Made these two treats. And, of course, lots of candy as well.

bone appetite

Monster Munch

"Booed"

It's that time of year again......planning our routes and making our treats. Bwahahahaha!

Visitors

We had visitors!! Anne and her family came to visit. She officially gets mom of the year for making the 9+ hour drive with a 4-month old, 2-year old, an almost 6-year old, and a 7-year old. I mean that is not easy. I am SO thankful she made the loooong journey to hang with us. My kids were super excited to see Mrs. Anne again and finally meet her kiddos. It was chaos and craziness and fun and amazing. Just as a visit where the kids outnumber the adults 2 to 1 should be! We will forever remember my shutting the gate on Anne's car, Hazelnut calling Caleb "Josh" the whole time they were here (which he loved!), swimming in the freezing cold pool, painting pumpkins, dressing up, going to the zoo, fried everything in my new fryer from Costco (homemade corn dogs anyone?!), and LOADS of caffeine for the mommies.

There is a comfort that comes with having friends you have know half your life come to visit. Anne and I have been through many of lives crazy roller coaster rides together. I am so thankful to still have her and her family in our lives. Although we don't see each other as much as we'd like, we can pick up like no time has passed and that is pretty cool. Someone who knows you and your quirks....and loves you anyway. And it always helps to have a friend that knows your bad car habits and laughs when you shut the iron gates on her minivan. No damage done though. Phew. Did I mention how much I love my husband?!

My house seems strangely quiet, and my kids keep commenting on how they miss everyone. And I need a 4-month old. Just saying. Thanks for coming to see us Rieger clan! Next time WE make the long journey to see you.