For Christmas this year, sweet Dee gave me a much wanted iPhone. She got a gift card for it (thank you BIG storm!) so today I had big plans to load up the troops, all but Carlos who had a day with Nana to deal with Christmas present exchanges, and head over to Seattle to the Apple store.
We started the morning with Levi waking up having asthma issues, his meds weren’t helping all that much so we went in to the doctor’s office for a quick check. We got his meds adjusted a little and he actually sounded worse than he really was so all was good. Next stop was the dentist office for Levi, which as you can see from this picture he really didn’t love. His sensory issues just work overtime at the dentist. He was a trooper and got a pat on the back for taking such good care of his teeth at home and was sent on his way with some new floss, which made his day. I always like to take them because I get to see our dear friend, Joy!
We thought we’d catch the 11:30 ferry and had plans to meet cousin Nathan for lunch before heading to U Village, but we missed the boat by 4 cars and just grabbed a sandwich at Real Foods. The Apple store was fabulous and I’m in 7th heaven figuring out my new phone. It’s pretty cool and fun! It’ll be nice to be able to watch a movie on it while we’re sitting up at Wilkes in between preschool pickup and drop off.
Time to hang it up and get some sleep! Hate to see the wind and rain coming in, but so happy it’s not more snow. And it makes me smile knowing that Levi will wake up a happy, happy boy to finally be able to use his Spiderman umbrella! Tomorrow’s Carlos’ day at the dentist…wish me luck!

Here’s a link to The Funky Monkey, which featured Levi as their “Tuesdays Tot”! He’s pretty stinkin cute, if I do say so myself!

http://susannahbananaboutique.blogspot.com/2008/12/tuesdays-tot-wednesday-now.html

The roads were still bad so we decided to go late to Nana and Papas and then do our Christmas with them, have dinner and spend the night. The boys were so excited!
The roads were still icy, we tried to drive the Volvo to their house, were planning to park at the boy’s school and walk down to Nana/Papa’s house but the road scrappers had been through and we couldn’t get into the parking lot so Dee dropped me and the boys off to walk down their nasty, icy driveway while she drove back home to get a ride with Nana/Papa. The roads were decent except for their driveway, which was a slippery mess. Dee was stressed out about the sliding around in the car, I was stressed out about the sliding around while walking the boys down the driveway but she remembered the Jack Daniels! We settled in, poured a couple drinks and relaxed. The boys were jazzed that Santa came their as well. Trey rocked out with his new guitar and Levi was super excited to get his Spiderman umbrella.
We had a really nice night just hanging out with my folks, it’s not too often we get to do that. In the morning the snow hadn’t melted too much so the thought of actually getting out of the driveway wasn’t pleasant. Dee and I spent a few hours shoveling snow and ice and trying to at least make a path to drive out of. Let me tell you, I had no idea how long their driveway actually was! We did as much as we physically could, drove out without much issue and all was good. Today, we are SORE…but it was worth clearing the driveway for my folks!

los




Our boys are at a wonderful age for Christmas! It took awhile to settle them down on Christmas Eve, but they finally fell asleep and Dee and I got to work. Santa came and ate the cookies and drank the Egg Nog we set out and the reindeer munched the carrots. The toys were set out by our Charlie Brown tree (that never did get decorated) and all was set for the morning.
I was first to get up but when I was in going potty and excited Carlos came bursting into the bathroom and screamed “Oh my goodness, Mama, there are presents out there…Santa came!” I’m pretty sure he was shocked because he’s been fairly naughty these past few days. He got Mama Dee up then flipped the lights on in the boy’s room and woke them up with the good news. Dee and I grabbed a cup of coffee and the opening began. The hit of the morning was the headlight flashlights that each of the guys got, they are super cool, but now our boys look like a team of miners headed down into the mines. We spent the morning building Lego spaceships, boats and helicopters, which are now destroyed, and delivering the cookies we made to our neighbors.

!)
We spend Christmas Eve with my parents, otherwise known on the blog as “Nana and Papa”. We have always gone to their house for dinner but tonight with the ice and snow they came to our place. We had a wonderful crab dinner (a family tradition) and Dee and I and the boys got to open 1 present early. New jammies so we all look nice for pictures Christmas morning. They look so darn cute and the new flannel is soft and snuggly. We’re just chilling out awhile before we get the boys ready for bed, put out the cookies for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer. Hoping for a great night’s sleep by all and can’t wait until morning to see their faces when they realize Santa has come!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from the Field-Bennett family!

With sledding comes a few wipeouts…this was Carlos’ best from yesterday. The funny part about it was that there was an ice layer on top of the snow so when he face planted he kind of stuck. He’s was 100% fine, no tears or drama.
Trey had a good one today and scuffed up his chin, it’s more like a snow burn than a cut but he wanted a pirate band-aid anyhow. No tears for him either, he got right back up and wanted to sled some more.

We’ve been busy this morning with more sledding, the building of our snow family (although it appears to be 1 mama and 4 kids…just a size issue) and the start of a snow fort. Those bricks are tough to make! If anyone wants to come help you are MORE than welcome. The snowmen did have eyes and mouths and even buttons but Abbie decided she would eat the faces off of them, so they are just bare snowmen.
We’re still snow bound, but have had 2 visits, which is nice because being home bound with the fam is great in some ways but having more people to talk to is cool, too. The Freemans came by to use the seal a meal for some salmon and we got some to have for us! What a treat. Also, Gay and Rob stopped in to visit and play in the snow, but the boys were napping so we’re hoping they come back soon to play. Rob really wants to try sledding down our hill and the boys always love it when they come to play.
I’m enjoying a little quiet time here before the family wakes up!

Despite the snow, and Dee and my better judgement, the Burr Family Christmas party at my folks house today was a go. Yes, the Burrs braved the elements and made it from Seattle to our little piece of paradise. Nana came to pick us up since we couldn’t get out of the driveway and she’s got the Outback and is a good snow driver. We got there and had a great time with the family as always. Bloody Marys, mimosas and a really great eggs benedict casserole and my favorite peppermint cookies filled us to the brim and then some.
As a special treat one of my parents friends came as Santa. I took video of the boy’s reaction. Carlos immediately hit the floor (I think he was saying “oh S^&T, I’ve been naughty!”) but was the first to get up in Santa’s lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas. It was really great and such a surprise for the kids. We opened the kid’s presents and the White Elephants (we ended up with a ceramic bell and an Entertainment book…love the coupons!).
After the celebration, my mom took my aunt and uncle to their car that they had parked at the school so they wouldn’t have to do my parent’s driveway. On the return trip, my mom met up with some sledders walking in the middle of the road and she was trying to be nice and move to the right and ended up in the ditch. She was fine (thank God!) but the car wasn’t budging. The rest of the family could get out of the driveway and get around her so that was good. They were on their way home but we were stuck without a ride. We called our friend, Margaret, and she was willing to pick us up at Wilkes and bring us home. We grabbed a couple carseats, bundled up and treked up to Wilkes but then got a call saying she was stuck in her driveway. Poop! So we treked back to Nana and Papa’s place, but by then the tow truck was there getting Nana’s car out. We didn’t want her to drive again but it turns out that she knew the driver’s girlfriend and he was willing to give us a ride home. It was fun, the boys were wiped out and all fell asleep in the tow truck on the ride home.
We’re back now, the boys are fed and warmed up and chilling out watching a movie and we’re just glad to be home with the power on and sleeping in our own beds. It’s been a long, but fun, day.

So it wasn’t the blizzard they were predicting but we did get another dose of the white stuff. Ended up with about 8 inches to play in! The boys are LOVING sledding and being out in the snow in general, even the dog is happier. This morning it was a strange snow, though, because there was freezing ice on top of it so it made a crunchy top layer. Still not the best for a snowman!