New Year's Eve

I'm not crazy about going out on New Year's Eve. So I spent the evening at home.

But over at the Taylor house, a small New Year's celebration was going on. It didn't matter that it was only 6:30. Happy New Year! May 2017 be the best ever - or at least a little more exciting.

Merry Christmas

When you have kids who don't work regular 9-5 jobs, it's hard to schedule a time to have a Christmas dinner. So this year I opted for a Christmas brunch.

Before I began preparing my brunch, I snapped a quick pic of me by the tree using my coveted selfie stick.

Then when everyone began arriving, I started annoying everyone taking more selfies. Me and Karen with her traditional Christmas Chiefs clothes.

Violet would have preferred to open presents before eating.

Dad trying to enjoy his breakfast.

Jamie cooperating even though he wanted to eat.

Michael who's always ready to have his picture taken.

My best shot of a family picture.

Lincoln not really caring about pictures.

I don't often have the opportunity to get a picture of Michael and Melissa together. Thankfully Karen snapped a few shots for me.

Lincoln wasn't quite sure about opening his present.

And Violet was really proud of her Secret Life of Pets pajamas - at least I think that's what this is. It was cute, it was pajamas, so I bought it. Even though everyone was gone by noon, we still had a great Christmas.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Everyone is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa.

Michael put together Lincoln's Cozy truck.

Jamie is frantically working to get Violet's Barbie Dream House finished.

Violet has her cookies and milk ready for Santa.

And Melissa is ready for the kids to go to bed.

I've been ready for weeks but couldn't put out my gifts until I was sure the kids wouldn't be coming over. Okay Santa, we're ready!

Naughty or Nice

Violet is very aware of Santa's Naughty or Nice list and tries very hard to be "nice", especially with Sprinkles (her Elf on the Shelf) constantly watching her.

I'm sure she's glad Christmas is just around the corner. It's hard for a girl to constantly be nice to her brother.

Christmas Card

Each year I have these grand ideas of the perfect Christmas card. But working with small children doesn't always make those ideas come out just as I expected.

I found this Christmas card template on Shutterfly and thought this might work. Individual pictures of Lincoln and Violet work so much better than trying to get them to pose for a family picture. Now my mind is working on next year's card. Christmas 2017 will be here before you know it.

Violet's Christmas Recital

Violet had her first Christmas Recital. It took the 3 year old class longer to walk down the church aisle and get situated on the bleachers than it did for them to perform their songs.

The piano accompanist was an elderly lady and I'm guessing she couldn't hear very well because her banging on the piano keys was louder than the screaming voices of 20 children.

But it was the cutest program and Violet was the best.

Dad's 90th Birthday Party

Nothing is harder than planning a party for a 90 year old. Yes, I said 90! Dad insisted we not do anything for his birthday. But turning 90 is a big milestone. So nothing was said to Dad but Michele, Karen, Teresa and I put together a pretty amazing party. Instead of having everyone show up early and yell "Surprise", we had an open house where guest showed up at different times.

It appeared everyone had a good time including Dad even though he denies it. Happy Birthday, Dad! May the next 90 be just as enjoyable.

Sprinkles - Elf on the Shelf

This year Sprinkles (Elf on the Shelf) is visiting the Taylor house.

Every morning, Violet and Lincoln race downstairs to see where Sprinkles might be hiding. The idea behind Elf on the Shelf is that Santa sends elves to serve as his eyes and ears. After you give your elf a name, she has magic powers which allows her to fly to and from the North Pole and report back to Santa.

Today, Sprinkles brought Violet a letter from Santa. She seemed hesitant to take the letter because you cannot touch the elf. But Melissa helped her carefully get the letter from Sprinkles. The excitement of the letter lasted a good three minutes. It took Santa longer than that to write the letter!

Visiting Santa & Christmas in the Park

What's Christmas without taking your child to see Santa and getting a picture with a crying child. Voila! Lincoln is crying and Violet wasn't too sure about sitting on Santa's lap. She's at that age where she notices that all the Santas aren't quite the same.

After a visit with Santa, the Taylors headed to Christmas in the Park. You slowly drive through the park while looking at all the lighting displays. It's hard to tell, but Lincoln's driving the car.

Violet thought it was fun being able to stick her head out the sun roof for a better view.

Even Khloe had fun see the lights. Christmas is getting closer!

Gingerbread House

Karen gave me a gingerbread house last Christmas. I've kept it in the freezer so Violet and I could put it together this year.

The house was preassembled but you had to apply the icing and candies yourself. I was in charge of the icing - Violet did the candies.

I didn't think I'd ever run out of frosting or candies. There were so many of them. Even Violet was getting a little bored with the decorating.

I hate to admit this is our finished product. I am not an artist. Where is Michele when I need her!

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

I couldn't have picked a better son-in-law than Jamie Taylor.

He's a great father and, bless his heart, he's put up with Melissa for 17 years - 10 of them married to her. I feel so bad I forgot to take a picture of all of us at dinner. But Happy Birthday, Jamie and remember - No backsies!

Girls Lunch

Every month I get together with some of the ladies I worked with. We've been doing this for about 10 years now.

I took a quick picture before leaving for lunch. The selfie stick came in handy again. This is the vest Melissa got me for my birthday.

And this is my group of friends. I hate being in the front and having command of taking the picture. I can't focus on getting the whole group in the photo, trying to smile without concentrating on taking the picture, and actually pushing the button.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Another year almost gone and another year older.

I really don't mind having birthdays as long as no one reminds me how old I am. Michael and Ashley gave me a selfie stick for my birthday. It comes in handy since I have so much trouble taking selfies. My arms just aren't long enough to get a picture that doesn't show all the wrinkles.

The family gathered at Rancho Grande for dinner. I should have put my sweater back on.

Even Lincoln got in the mood for a little birthday celebration with his party hat.

One of my best presents was another picture to add to my "craft" wall. This time it was mistletoe using Violet and Lincoln's foot. I just may leave this up all year. Happy Birthday to me!

New Look for My Bedroom

I've lived in my house for 9 years and I think it's about time for a little remodeling.

It's taken me almost a year to pick a duvet cover that I liked. After that, the paint color came pretty easy. There is a contrasting color you can see on the cut outs of the cathedral ceiling - is it called a cathedral ceiling? Anyway, the running feet of the trim is about 60' by 3" wide. It took me over 4 hours to paint that part. It wasn't that it was a hard job to do. But with the ceilings so high, I had to talk myself into letting go of the ladder every time I moved it. I probably could have asked for help in painting, but this is something I wanted to do myself. It's really modernized my room.

Jamie came by to replace the smoke detector. Lincoln decided to climb on the ladder and help. Like father, like son!

Christmas Parade

The Taylors headed out today to see the annual Christmas parade in Sedalia.

Violet wasn't much in the mood to get her picture taken. But with all the people roaming around, it was probably more interesting to people watch than pose for a picture.

I didn't go because.....well the temperature was well below my comfort level.

Lincoln was all decked out with his stylish hat and mittens. Christmas is getting closer!

Countdown to Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to get started on Christmas.

First came the outdoor decorations. Now that I look at this picture, I feel like I'm missing part of my menagerie. Where are my geese? Well, it's too late now. The weather is not conducive to me getting out again.

My newest addition is my giraffe. I think I got this a few years ago. I found him, new in the box. Part of him was broken, but with the help of small zip ties, he's standing outside with his buddies.

Putting ornaments in the tree was an idea I stole from a neighbor about 5 years ago and now just about everyone on my block has ornaments in their trees. My favorite is the neighbor who has a very small, almost dead, tree in their front yard. It has only one ornament on it and looks just like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

Then came the 20 trips up and down the stairs to put up my Christmas tree. I have two ways I decorate my tree - one kid proof and one not. Since Violet and Lincoln love to explore everything on the tree, I've opted for the stuffed animals instead of the expensive Hallmark ornaments. Each year for the past 30+ years, I've bought an ornament that says "Mom", "Daughter" and "Son". About 5 years ago, Hallmark started making a "Mother & Daughter" ornament. And with the addition of Violet and Lincoln, I have been collecting "Granddaughter" and "Grandson" ornaments. Notice these are positioned high on the tree so as not to be handled by small fingers. Now it's on to buying and wrapping Christmas gifts and planning Christmas dinner.

Thanksgiving 2016

Why I think holidays will be simple is beyond me. You'd think if you were going out to dinner, then all the hassle of preparing and cleaning up after a big meal would be stress free, right? Not if you're part of my family.

Leave it to say another Thanksgiving is over and I got this great picture of me with Violet and Lincoln. I don't care if Lincoln has a toy in his mouth, my picture turned out great! Happy Thanksgiving!

Preschool Field Trip and Babysitting Duty

Today Melissa went with Violet on her field trip to Burr Oak Woods Nature Center.

There are several exhibits and interactive activities for the kids both inside and out.

Melissa said the presenter was very knowledgeable and fun for the kids.

I could have gone on the field trip but because the weather has been a lot cooler, I opted to babysit Lincoln. The job isn't very hard considering he takes an hour nap. He also gets to play with the toys without anyone taking them from his hands. But instead of playing with toys, Lincoln decided to catch up on the housework. Busy day for a busy boy.

By the time Violet got home, the temperature rose so we went outside to play. It scared me to death when Violet came zooming out of the garage in her battery powered car. I didn't know they went that fast. Lincoln loves to ride with her but she has to put it on slow or he bumps his head on the dashboard when she stops. I guess airbags need to be installed. Violet decided to let Lincoln steer on this ride. It was a little hard for her to step on the gas and look around him. Needless to say, I went to bed early that night!