The Sugar Bowl - High School Style

Most of you know I love my husband's job. I love season where we get to go to games 2 nights/week (really - I'm not being sarcastic here) and I get super giddy the day of a game waiting for the evening to arrive. Since kids, this love of watching basketball games has arrived at new challenges, however I'm lucky so far to have one kid who might just adore these games more than me, and another who, well, is just happy to be here (or anywhere for that matter). Both are good travelers, and both can sleep like no other, therefore, late nights have not intruded yet on moods or schedules (thank goodness).

Another thing I love about his job is the chance to interact with high school kids. Albeit, if he were a girl's coach, this part would be more than over-the-top-FUN for me, but I have really enjoyed getting to know his players (sometimes just all their names is a huge victory!) and strive to make it a point to get to through each season (I scored an "F" in this department last season).

So a few weeks ago I posed the notion to Jason that we should have the team over sometime soon and he pitched the Sugar Bowl as "the night".

It was a blast. The Tigers have a great group of guys on their team and it was fun getting to know them more. Lincoln LOVED it, to say the least. The poor soul went to bed at midnight with a smile on his face still talking about the Tigers. Precious. He, too now knows them by name!

I busted out my camera to take some shots (which didn't really turn out great for some reason), and I'll have you know - in a room full of high school boys (2011 high school boys, clarified), at any given moment, at least 94.3% of them will be looking down at their cell phone. :)

Thanks Tigers for a fun night!

***I just now got Lincoln out of bed; first thing he said..."Tigers???"***

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Go Hogs!

 Lincoln is SOO excited about the game tonight. It's pretty stinkin hilarious. There's 3 possible reasons why he's so giddy with joy: (1) duh - the Razorbacks are just AWESOME, (2) the Tigers are all coming over tonight and there's quite a few boys on Jason's team that he just adores, (3) he's been eyeing the 2 Razorback cookie cakes sitting on the counter.
I'm with ya - no doubt it's #3.

 He wore this goofy hat through wal-mart today while simultaneously calling the Hogs. Yes. He's a goof ball.

And as I'm writing this, my funny little man just yelled (loudly): "I wuv you Mama!!!!!"
It's going to be a good day. :)

Playtime

Christmas Break is officially over...and it's playtime.

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Happy New Year!!!!!!

I'll NEVER!

My darling neighbor did a fun post I thought I'd steal (or swipe as it's now said in my house thanks to Dora.)

We've all said it....I'll NEVER (fill in the blank)! Only to find ourselves doing the exact thing years (sometimes days!) later. I don't like to have guilt over the "giving in" as it may appear, but rather kick myself in the rear for being so ignorant as to make such a comment.

Here are some of mine:

"I'll NEVER let my child sleep in our bed...or even in our room for that matter!!"
Lincoln slept in our room for the first 3 months of life and Noah slept in our bed for the first 2 months.

"I'll NEVER move back home to Arkansas!!" (said after I left for Cali for college)
Moved back 5 years later to finish up my Master's where I then said:

"I'll NEVER stay in Arkansas after I graduate w/ my Masters!!"
A few months before graduation, I married my husband...who was a basketball coach in Arkansas.

"I will NEVER wear a skirt that comes to my knees!"
Right.

"I will NEVERquit running every day for the rest of my life!"

"I will NEVER wear skinny jeans!"

Okay. I still don't do this b/c I'm still convinced they look AWFUL on me.

Stolen from Mrs. Amanda...but true for me as well, "I will NEVER drive a minivan!"

I still don't but I wish I did b/c they're ultra convenient and conducive to little kids...the cool SUV's just are NOT.

I'm sure there's a million more, but here's my latest one to kick of 2011:

I will NEVER say "I'll never."!

Here's to being open. :)

I Know it Should Be About Christmas....But

Glancing at the ole blog roll, I notice posts dedicated to all things Christmas, and well, I took a gazillion pictures throughout our fun Christmas festivities that tell the story, so if you're interested, here's the run-down:

Had Christmas in Crossett with Jason's family the few days leading up to Christmas Eve (told in pictures here)

Drove home Christmas Eve and woke up in our cozy home to have Christmas morning with just our family of four, 2 dogs, and the traditional monkey bread; then headed to my parents house (who live relatively close) to celebrate the birth of Jesus with them - accompanied by more food, more presents, and of course, more fun. That story can be shared in pictures here.

Don't get me wrong - it was SO much fun, but there were a lot of things that went on and writing a blog post about it all in detail will probably be boring to you, and it wears me out just thinking about writing it.

All my decorations came down yesterday and the house returned to normal, so I'm now officially moving on from Christmas.

There. Done and done.

NOW - I wanted to mention something about BABY SLEEP.

As I've blogged about before, we moved Lincoln to a big boy bed about 3 months ago. He's had his ups and downs...the extent of the downs being that if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he must run into our room and jump into bed versus putting himself back to sleep.

On Christmas Eve, we decided to put him to sleep in the crib so that he wouldn't catch Santa. :)

Him and Noah had to be woken up at 9:30am the next morning.

The next night, we were exhausted and needed sleep, so we did it again.

Him and Noah both slept until 9:30am...again.

Repeat the same routine the third night, and go the same results.

Lincoln pretty much sealed his fate that night.

Also enter a random email from Baby Center about toddlers sleep that said a toddler should not be moved out of their crib until 3 years old because that is the age they can fully comprehend staying in their bed.

Further sealed Lincoln's fate.

Then this morning, they BOTH slept until 10:30!

So, I have the comfort of knowing that if need be (like, say at grandma's house over christmas where he did wonderful sleeping in a big bed!), he can do it, but for now - Lincoln's back in his crib and the house doesn't stir until 9:30am. It's been NICE.

Now the big question is whether or not all this good sleeping is attributed to being in the crib or sheer exhaustion from Christmas....?

I'll keep ya posted.

Christmas Week!!!!!!

Oh my Goodness!!!! It's the start of CHRISTMAS WEEK!!!!!!!!!
(Insert CHEESY GRIN and giddy excitement.)

Last week we took the kids for the first Santa visit (yes - Lincoln has not gone the past 2 years). We went right before his duty was up (close to 8:00pm) because, well, that's how we roll during b-ball season.

We thought we'd be the only ones there...no lines.

We were wrong.

But in a humorous way...

Jason's assistant coach and his family were there, too!!! So we ended up joining in the festivities together and had such a fun night spending impromptu time with them.

This is Lincoln interrupting our friend's time with Santa.

**Take notice of Lincoln's hand on Santa's knee to get his attention**

But then Lincoln got his turn! They both didn't mind Santa at all...I don't know if I should be worried by this or not. :)

We jump-started the night last night with Christmas movies and popcorn! All day yesterday Lincoln kept requesting "Rudolph" and "Frosty the snowman" so we did a LOT of singing! It's so cute hearing him start to sing.

Jason and I think Lincoln would prefer Frosty bring him gifts instead of Santa.

Happy Christmas week to you!!!!

Some Favorites

Just thought I'd list some things I'm loving these days...

This one's obvious: Lincoln's ability to contribute to the family's financial stability with his personal banking skills. No brainer.

Next we have this lovely NEW item from the makers of everyone's favorite Butt Paste - it's a butt protetant to PREVENT the nasty little rashes before they happen! What a grand idea! I picked me up some of this stuff, and so far, it's been great! It's best uses come when the little one has lots of poopies (from being sick, teething, or starting new foods). I recommend it. :)

Then there's dum-dums. They had to make the list because, let's face it - they've been a life saver at times when Lincoln gets bored (per say, at the DMV) or at basketball games that can be long. The great thing about these in particular is they are small enough to finished, and are in light colors so they don't make such a mess. And the great thing about all suckers is they are LONG LASTING. Love them.

Now this is a "mommy item". When it come to powder, I'm a Mac gal. When it comes to eye shadow, I'm all about Smashbox (though they discontinued my favorite). Lip gloss? Bare Minerals, Smashbox, Lancome...some of the front-runners (not so picky on this one). But when it comes to blush? NARS ALL THE WAY. Tried it about 6 years ago and have never bought another brand since.

*****the picture got deleted and I don't feel like uploading it again. Sorry.***********

Then there's Northface. Oh I LOVE Northface. This little number was bought by Jason back before we had kids and spent a lot of money on each other at Christmas. This year, our Christmas present to each other is a date night on Monday (which I'm super excited about). But you can bet I'll probably be wearing his present from years past because I wear it ALL THE TIME. It's super warm and I don't need a jacket. Plus, it has tons of pockets that zip which means I can basically secure all things baby and money when I'm out. Perfect.

And Christmas...how fun is this season??! What's super exciting is seeing Lincoln talking about"Santa, Frosty-the-snow-man, Baby Jesus, and Rudolph!" throughout the day as he sees images pertaining to such. And of course this super cool santa at pinnacle that looks SO real is awesome!

Another favorite in kid land is movie time. With the weather cold outside, the family has started having movie time at night every now and then where we watch Christmas movies. Lincoln LOVES it. He gets popcorn (which is on his top 10 list) but it's not pictured here cause he had already eaten it. :) The movie also must be viewed with his pillow pet, a blanket, and his hands crossed behind his head - always.

And of course the season means daddy is starting to be home more!!! Noah's loving it.
Okay - another mommy favorite. This Ole Henriksen moisturizer. Oh My. It's heavenly. I usually don't sped much on facial stuff, but I've notice the mad dash of sudden wrinkles to my face and thought I should take better care of the good ole skin. This stuff is miracles in a jar and is highly recommended by yours truly. The whole line is amazing but I don't have the budget for that. If you do - you can't go wrong.

Ha. And my energy source. I'm not a coffee drinker, but man I LOVE these.

Frozen vegetables. Yup. They made the list. I haven't found a kind my kids (either of them) don't love. They're great cause it's super fast and I can make them as mushy as needed for Noah, then eat them over the next few days.

And the sit and stand....it is not mine but my dear neighbor Amanda let me borrow it for this season in life. I love it. It saves so much time because Lincoln can come and go on it as he pleases and doesn't need to be strapped/un-strapped a thousand times. It really is a great invention if you have 2 kids close in age.

And Christmas lights! I've never appreciated them like I have this year because Lincoln LOVES them! We've strolled through neighborhood many nights on our way home the past few weeks just because it's so fun to see his eyes of wonder. He still can't say his "L's" so this is what we hear CONSTANTLY: "Mama!! Daddy!!! BIGHTS!!!!!!!!!"

**this is not our house, BTW** :)
And of course, my birthday/Christmas present.
Feel free to add to the list!!!!!