Traditions are such a nice thing to have, and I love creating new ones. A couple years ago we came across a cute tree farm not too far from the house to cut down your own tree. The trees that grow there remind me of Whooville, I love them! They grow a little crooked and have so much character. And if a Whooville Christmas isn't your style then they have a great selection of Frazier furs as well. Then as if trees wernt exciting enough there is a small petting zoo and bowld peanuts. This year Johnny got to feed the pigs and goats pumpkin, he was cracking up the whole time.
I really enjoy going with my family and finding the perfect tree to bring home and decorate. This is the one my Johnny wanted, I told him we wouldn't have to cut it down, we could just pull it out of the ground. LOL
And because one camera just isnt enough anymore here are the instagram shots....
After a recent stop to the pet store a Bearded Dragon has quickly made its way to the top of Johnny's Christmas List. The sales person loved these lizards, seriously I saw her kiss it. She was going on and on about how cool they are and of course let Johnny hold one. After just watching the recent documentary on lizards he was more then excited to have it sit on his shoulder. And I will admit it was pretty cool how it just sat there.
But being that I hold the title of the meanest mom in the wold, I immediately shot his dream down. I do not want to be taking care of a lizard! All weekend it is what the boy talked about and realizing I was not going to buy him this lizard he got smart. He went and asked GiGi and Poppy, these two are worse then Santa. Who knows what Christmas morning will bring for Johnny Blue. He may have a new pet that will live at Gigi and Poppy's house. LOL
But I walked in on him singing the Bearded Dragon Blues and had to share. Please know he will die if he knows I showed anyone (of course I uploaded it to you tube) so you may never speak to him about this song.
So we went to see Santa. We have a really good one not too far from the house at Bass Pro (where you will also find Nafie). They close off a huge area of the store and make it a winter wonderland, there are toys every where, crafts, games, trains and yes Santa himself. It really is a fun experience. We got there and while standing in line Johnny looked at me with a smirk and said im nervous. (Hmmm maybe if you knew your were on the good list you wouldn't feel nervous. lol) I asked him to talk really slow and tell Santa everything he wants, hoping that would keep him up there long enough to get some good pictures. Yea that backfired. He was on the lap and off within a matter of seconds! I was able to get a couple shots, he looks so grown up I cant take it!
We spent a good hour looking at every single toy and then playing with everything that was out and then of course we just had to look at one more thing. It was a good evening, and hopefully he told Santa just what to get him.
That little elf sure knows how to have fun! Here are some of the latest places we have found our buddy!
Replaced all of our stockings with Johnny's underware. LOL (he didnt find this one too funny), got trapped under a glass by a Dino, TP our tree (pictures of these soon)
Building a snowman
Flying a plane
And my favorite so far, he decorated Johnnys room with snowflakes. He must have worked really, really hard to cut out ALL of those snowflakes.
I couldn't get a good shot of the room, but I love what Zippy did I just might do it throughout the house :)
I think the reason I like Christmas so much is it is filled with magic. Everything about it, the lights, the excitement, Santa its all so much fun. Tonight Johnny wanted to start his letter to Santa, and I say start because he informed me it will take him a few days as he has a lot to write. It made me smile, he put on his Christmas jammies from last year, which are way to small and missing a few buttons. He got out a red pencil and wrote Dear Santa about 4 times until he was satisfied with his handwriting. (Afterall this wasnt for Mrs. Graham it was for Santa!) He sat and thought, and asked for things I have never even heard him talk about. After spending a good 10 min at the table he decided that was enough for the night. I was so worried once he started school that the magic was going to start to die but I think its just getting to the good part.
I cant wait to go see Santa, hopefully John will be home this weekend and we can start all of our traditions!!
Pushing down on me, pressing down on you... oh come on I know all of you started singing. Man last week I had to take a step back and look at everything. Two nights in a row Johnny had an emotional meltdown at Karate. Im talking about the ugly cry, peeling him off me to get in front of his class. It was crazy, and I have never seen him like that at karate before. It was sad.
He is now in an Advanced Karate class, most of the kids are 8-10 years old and are red/brown/black belts. That in itself is intimidating, but you add in the fact he was stripped of his belt and it was hanging on the wall of pink belts (which he got made fun of) and I can see how getting in front of the class could be hard. Alright rewind to the belt part, Johnny has been getting N's at school in behavior. Behavior such as singing in the bathroom, skipping in the hallway, wiggling in line. I kid you not, while I think a lot of this stuff is just BS he needs to learn to control himself at school. I told him the other week if he came home with another N he would have to turn in his blue belt. Sometimes being a parent is so hard, and following through with punishments just sucks. But I had to stick with what I said. So no belt, big kids, doesn't know the form yea that's a lot. Oh and his dad has been gone again for the past month and his day starts at 5:15AM.
No belt, big kids, pressure to do good in school, pressure to earn his belt back, he doesn't know the form and missing his dad. Oh and he is 6. Yea this is when I realized - he is 6, he is a kid a kid who doesn't need to be stressed out. So I backed off, I can not stress out every day about whether or not he is getting a check mark in class if its something bad enough his teacher will contact me and other then that we will deal with it on Friday when I get his weekly report. We practiced the form, and practiced a lot. Johnny has to get a stripe for this form or he will not graduate. In order to get his stripe he has to go in front of the class and get graded. Last night he was called to get in front of the class
Zippy! Ah how I love when Zippy arrives at our house. A special elf that reports back to santa every night. (Well our elf is a bit forgetful, bless his heart sometimes it is days before he make it back to the N Pole) It is just the extra motivation Johnny needs to keep his behavior in check with all the Christmas excitment. Not to mention he LOVES to wake up and see what Zippy has gotten into!I dont want to be that person who fills up the FB newsfeed with elf pictures so instead I will share with you.
Johnny left out his Cowboys and Indians and they did not take Zippy for a friendly. They tied the poor guy up.
Day 2: Apparently Zippy was feeling a bit scruffy and needed a shave
Day 3: A hike around the candle, with his walking stick of course, later he did indeed make it to the summit where we found him meditating
And for tomorrow, we all know how Maple Syrup is a food group for elfs!
Stay tuned for more Zippy updates. The weekend ones I am sure will be good :)
I have been so caught up in taking everyones picture I realized I haven't done ours yet. There is a beautiful red barn that I pass every day, it is in walking distance from our house and on Dr. Bicker's property. (Our landlord from the farm days) I have wanted to take pictures there forever, but it is always over grown and may or may not be illegal. But I was so excited as I passed by it I saw a path had been cut. A perfect path from the fence right to the barn. I drove Johnny home and put some clothes on him and we jumped the fence closing my eyes so I honestly didnt see the No Trespassing sign. Yes I know, not setting the best example judge me all you want. So here we were ready to take pictures I have had in my head for the past 3 years at least, and guess who didnt want to take pictures? Seriously kid? He is always hamming it up for the camera but nooooo I got a lot of attitude and smolders but no dimple smiles or good belly laughs. Grrr and this cost me 2 bucks, dont get me wrong there are some cute ones (which I may use) but we will be back, and in the meantime I have another idea I might try this weekend.
Good grief we have been busy. Rather then ramble on about what we have been doing for the past month I will just give you the cliff notes. (I always liked those better) I have been taking pictures and editing like a crazy woman ever since I came back from the beach, and John left for another job opportunity in New Jersey helping with the hurricane clean up. I dont know when he will be home and I dont fully understand what he is doing. Which leaves me and Johnny again doing what we do. Oh yea and we had thanksgiving. I will stop here as Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. The holiday kicked off with a fall feast at school. The kids dressed like Indians or Pilgrims and did three songs, one guess what Johnny was. He chose the name Big Arrow and had very detailed Native American drawings on his shirt. Of course when he got up there he pulled shy guy so not much singing but I love those shy little looks..
I was really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year because all of the Wolfs were in town and when Peggy and mom get together an amazing thing happens in the kitchen! It has been a year since I have seen the Texas Wolf pack and way too long with Nolan and Megan. I cant believe how big the twins have gotten or how old Johnny looks next to them! I know you are probably going to fall out of your seat when I say this but I didnt get too many pictures. Nolan had his fancy camera out and I was playing with it. Who knows if they came out (I had no idea what I was doing). But it was a great visit with everyone and the food was rediculious. We all truly have a lot to be thankful for. This year I am especially greatful for the small things I take for granite every day.
OK I am very grateful for this little side job that has really taken off. I do love photography and I am still in shock how many people love the pictures I take. It is hard to believe Blue Prints has been in business for 1 year and I have had over 35 clients! But whew, the month of November is a little overwhelming. I usually book 4 clients a month, one a week is comfortable to me and gives me time to edit and not miss out on too much family time but November I have booked 10 sessions! 10 I tell you, it's so hard to say NO! So seeing as I am going to have my face either behind a computer or camera the entire month my mom's invitation to the beach sounded pretty good. Johnny and I went down for a quick trip to enjoy the sand, water and sun. I was really surprised how beautiful it was this late in the year. We had highs reach 80 and the lows in the 60's, now I don't remember the last time I went on vacation with just my mom, but hopefully I can do it again soon!
It was a much needed break and after pulling in my driveway on Saturday I already want to go back. LOL
Well I really felt the pressure of Halloween this year to try and top the Captain Jack Sparrow costume from last year. Of course part of the fun of Halloween is choosing the costume. And yes, I let Johnny pick his costume on his own (after telling him all the ninja's and masked men didn’t come in his size) he decided to be one of the men that hangs in our movie room. (Thank God it wasn’t Kramer ) He decided to be Mr. Indiana Jones. I was pleased with his choice. The costume was fairly simple to put together or so I thought. Ever notice when you are actually looking for something it is nowhere to be found? I searched high and low for dark brown slacks and a tan button down shirt. After a tank of gas and a headache I went to target and came out with cargo pants and a white button down. It was going to have to do! I purchased the whip from a Halloween store and the hat is Poppy's, which fit on Johnny's big ol head just fine. We also included the holster and pistol which Johnny already had.
We were on our way to the annual Dojo party and I just felt like something wasn’t right about the costume. He had the hat, the 5 O'clock shadow, and whip but we needed to make up for no satchel and leather jacket. Then I had the greatest idea ever - dirt, we needed dirt. There was a nearby construction site and when we pulled up there was mounds of Georgia red clay. So I told Johnny to go roll around in the dirt, get it everywhere including your face, the kid looked at me like I was crazy and did have a concern about the dirt causing pimples, LOL. But once he started rolling he got into character quickly, standing on top of the dirt mountain cracking his whip.
We went on to win second place at the Dojo costume contest. He was beat by a baby Ninja Turtle. After Johnny fought with me for days on trick or treating I decided to go against his wishes and take him to the beach. I guess it has already happened, friends have become top priority. He didn’t want to miss out on all of the Trick or Treating with the neighborhood which I get but come on the beach is the beach! Yea, he got over that pretty quickly. It was the perfect night, in the 60's and we walked over to the village where all the shops were handing out candy. After going around the circle a few times and getting more candy then I would allow him to eat in a year we got something to eat and the night ended with fireworks! It was a really nice way to spend Halloween.
So I get pretty excited when a friend is having a birthday, or a baby shower or even better a wedding. It is a reason we have to get out and do something. (Not that John and I are hermits or anything, but after a long, busy week we usually stay close to home.) So our friend Richard was getting married in the mountains and we were getting dressed up! I had the perfect dress for the event, it is pink and sparkly not in a tacky sparkly way but a princess way. I couldn't wait to wear it. Well Gigi came to pick up Johnny and we got ready, cutting it as close as possible to the time we had to leave John and I come downstairs he in a suit and me in my beautiful dress. We looked good, as long as you didnt look down. LOL As someone that prefers to be barefoot all the time I dont put a lot of time into shoes so I had on boots and John was rolling like Phil Gold, suit n sneakers (but not like white sneakers I am talking neon green and blue). Awesome.
While we had no time to stop I decided it was worth being a few minuets late. The mall was on the way and I scored a pair of neutral pumps and John some black dress shoes for under 100.00. And the best part is we arrived right on time. The wedding was very intimate and small. It was in a beautiful cabin, and with the fall colors and mountains it was really pretty. Being on a Sunday night we didnt get to stay for too long but I am so glad we went. Here are a few pictures from our big night out. And believe it or not, I didnt take very many pictures. It was nice to just be somewhere and not have to do anything!
And the Bride and Groom
Thursday, October 25, 2012
So we all know I take a lot of pictures and I have been accused of abusing Johnny with the camera but pictures are so important to me. As any mom knows your children make so many different faces; we have the snaeky, lying, smiles, smirks, grins and you know what each and every look means. I want to capture all of Johnnys faces, I dont want to ever forget any of them, because I adore all of them. Here are a few of my favorites lately.
Oh and P.S. I am going to try to cut back on all of the facebook pictures of Johnny but I will have to share them somewhere so be warned.
Well I thought I should give everyone an update on Johnny and baseball. Yea, he has pretty much taken over the team. He is playing circle and first base and really doing a great job. It is awesome to see him doing good and having fun. (Well also not having to yell for him to get out of the dirt every 5 min). He hit his first (in park) homerun, and is getting anywhere from 3-6 outs per game. He is getting all the glory and loving it. I do wear his button proud. We only have one or two more games left and honestly I am ready for it to be done. LOL But here is the season in a few pictures....
At my parent teacher conference with Mrs. Graham she told me Johnny's biggest strength is his creativity.
One of his favorite things to do is create, he gets so mad at me when I throw away an empty bottle or paper towel roll because it can be art. So most of the time I run it by him before I throw his potential masterpiece away. His homework this weekend was to make a vehicle out of recycled material, right up his alley. It could be any type of vehicle and because he has already made a space ship he decided on a Unicycle. Yes, a unicycle I also learned this is something he has always wanted to have surprise, surprise. We searched the house high and low for all of our materials and I am pretty impressed with the result. The only thing I did was monitor the hot glue gun use and bend the paperclips. He used wood pieces from an old basket for the spokes, paper clips for the pedals and foam for the seat.
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