Christmas Tree!!!

Christmas is perfect. I cannot think of any part of Christmas that is not perfect.

I am so excited about decorating for Christmas this year!! There have been tiny babies putting a cramp in my Christmas style for the past two years, but this year I have two little "helpers" to assist with the decorating.

We put up our tree a few days ago. Flora was introduced to the magic of the Christmas tree the previous weekend at "PoppyGigiShane house" (her words, not mine), so she knew the drill. We put on festive clothes and said "pleeeeeeeeease" to convince Chris to bring up all the Christmas boxes. It worked!! Once we got started with the Christmas tree, Flora worked tirelessly, intent on putting HER Christmas tree branch in exactly the right spot.

Scout was more interested in eating the Christmas lights than being helpful, but he was easily distracted (like most men) by a project that tested his brute strength and wits.......I jammed a Christmas stocking onto his head. It was stuck on there pretty good, so trying to get it off occupied him for quite a while. He looked so cute in it though! I didn't feel bad about it.

We ended up with a simple, but perfect Christmas tree with only soft ornaments that cannot be destroyed by little hands. Well, actually I'm sure that those little hands COULD destroy any or all of the ornaments if they so chose, but at least the ornaments can't destroy the little hands. Of course, my little Christmas angels politely posed next to the tree.......HA! After many failed attempts at a cute picture, we finally got this one.
Yes, that's right.....Scout's still got the stocking stuck on his head.

So, we're done, right? No, apparently not. The very next day, Flora and Scout decided that our Christmas tree was missing something......something.......hmmm.......WHAT could it be missing??? Never fear! My little Christmas elves are on the case!! Working, working, working.
And the finished product.........
Ah, yes. Perfection.

Badge of Honor

Flu shots today!!! After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to get my kids vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. Clay county was holding a clinic today at a huge local church from 10am to 7pm, so I packed some snacks, books, and diapers and headed into the unknown. I had no idea how long the wait would be or how many shots they had available, but off we went.

As I rolled our monster double stroller into the church foyer at about 10:15am, I was handed two little tags with the numbers 653 and 654 written on them. Hmm.....well, that's not encouraging. I looked up to see a river of chairs that flowed as far as I could see down the foyer and around the corner. This is NOT a small church, so we're not talking about a small foyer here. I pushed the stroller down the aisle, looking for a seat.......still pushing.......still pushing......around the corner.....still pushing.......THERE! A seat with enough room for the stroller!! Hooray!! At this point, I am thankful for small victories!! I later found out that people had begun lining up outside the church at 4:30am!!!! Crazy......if I'm going to wait for several hours I'm going to do it indoors.

Alright, now we are going to fast-forward THREE HOURS to the moment right before the shots. I will say that the three hours really did fly by and my kids were SO GOOD. No fussing, no whining. If I must wait in line for three hours with two kids, I'm glad I got stuck with these two!!! Also, the church provided cookies and Veggie Tales movies!! Woohoo!!

So, back to the shot.....Flora was a little bit nervous, but the nurse was really nice and comforting. However, nice and comforting flew out the window once she poked Flora with the needle.....

Flora cried!!
Flora coughed!!
Flora gagged!!
Flora vomited her chocolate chip cookie all over Mommy's shirt!!
Ugh!!

The nurse was quick to hand me a wad of Kleenex, but this job was too big for Kleenex alone. Luckily, we had planned it so Chris arrived just before our number was called so that I wouldn't have to comfort two kids at the same time and good thing!! Flora and I sped to the bathroom to wipe ourselves clean while Scout got his shot. We returned just as the nurse was finishing up with Scout. She looked at my shirt, laughed, and said, "Looks like you got the badge of honor!"

My kids are not vomiters, so this was my first time wearing this particular "badge of honor." I tried to enjoy it, but, well, it was gross. Next time we go for shots, I think we'll pass on the cookies.

Fashionista

Ok, giving into peer pressure...... :)

Flora has a pair of boots that are still a bit too big for her, but she LOVES to put them on. Almost every day, she wakes up from her nap and puts on her boots......sometimes she even puts the boots on before she falls asleep.

Sometimes she even puts on panties.......but the point is that she loves her boots. Now you are ready to hear the funny story. :)

We were at Walmart and Flora was perched in the cart observing our fellow shoppers. A dad with two young girls was walking towards us and one of the girls caught Flora's attention. She was probably 6- or 7-years-old and wearing bright pink boots. As they passed us, Flora leaned over the cart, pointing and nodding enthusiastically, and told the girl, "Cute boots!"

The little girl just gave Flora a dirty look and kept walking. I guess she wasn't happy about her cool, big-girl boots being complimented by a 2-year-old.