Christmas update

Better late than never. At least the Christmas update is here before the new year! We had a wonderful Christmas at home with the kids, Oma and Opa (gregor's parents), and snow on the ground. For some reason just about all of our pictures turned out blurry... Was everyone moving too fast? Was the lighting weird? Is the camera broken? Frustrating.

A few highlights:

1. We put milk and cookies in the garage for santa because Larkin wrote to the north pole and asked santa to please not come into our house. He can put presents on the deck or in the garage. Because of the snow, we decided that he should go for the garage. Dad woke up early to move the presents inside under the tree.

2. I was up at 5 in the morning too excited to sleep in. Hudson woke up at 5:15 and we sat in my bathroom for 45 minutes talking about how excited we were for the day.

3. The kids heard the Christmas bell and ran down to open their stockings. After stockings, they organized all the presents by name around the tree. I don't know, but if I had to guess, I'd say Larkin was in charge of this.

4. Larkin got a puppy that she can carry around in its own bag... she decided to name her "6 Bucks". When asked why she named her this she said, "It just came to me."

5. Brooke's favorite present is this tiny dog that walks and yaps. (and yaps and yaps and yaps). If you try to turn it off (even if she is in the next room) she runs in yelling "doggie doggie doggie". I think that yapping is slowing driving me over the edge of sanity.

6. It's hard to say what Hudson's favorite present was. He says all of them. I think building his big Lego Star Wars ship with his dad and Opa was a true highlight. I love how magical Christmas is for him and how truly excited he is with every single aspect of it all. His excitement kept the magic alive all day for everyone.

7. We had a yummy Christmas Dinner/Lunch and just had a fun day at home hanging out.

8. The rest of the days were filled with making an igloo (I think Gregor had more fun with this than the kids, but Hud did get to use the ice ax, which he thought was super cool). Larkin, Brooke and Gregor made snowmen (a boy and girl to be exact)... can you guess who dressed the girl snowman... oh yes, that fancy girl is a product of Larkin's. I think she has a future as a stylist to the stars.

9. A Big thank you to the fairy godmothers who made this an extra special xmas for the kids :) We love you!

So that's about it. All that anticipation and now it's over. Next up, new years eve (really one of my least favorite holidays of the year... I hate feeling pressure to stay up late, especially when I'm ready to have a baby any day now). Then Hudson and Brooke's birthday ... then the baby (hopefully in that order). What a crazy crazy time. At least I'm blogging now while I still can. How am I going to do all that I do with an infant attached to me all the time??

Freedom!

We finally made it out of the house today!! Holllaaaa!

The last couple of days almost put me over the edge of sanity. I ran out of bagels and that is never a good start to my days. Brooke was a disaster tornado ransacking the house. She broke at least 10 Christmas ornaments and removed all the ornaments within her reach so our tree looks a little more than odd right now. She when through all my cabinets and filled everything she could with water (while spilling most of it on the floor). I can't tell you the number of times I've slipped on random puddles of water around the house. She found Larkin's nail polish and painted a little more than her nails. I found the lid to her toothpaste, but not the tube... although little droplets of toothpaste are turning up all over the house... what did she do with it!! And that's only a small sampling of her fun this weekend. Larkin entertained herself with a sponge and soapy water for a good 2 hours on Saturday (I say it again, where does this kid come from!). She was cleaning every table, all the door trim, and really anything she could think of. At one point I made her stop because it just seemed weird. But she truly loves it (making me happy once again that she is in Montessori school... such a good fit for her!). She also got in her fair share of trouble. She got a hold of my camera and took 271 pictures (I'm not exaggerating... 271! I'll add some to this post once they finish downloading). She also thought it was a good idea to play "hair-cut" with Brooke. She sat her down with a towel around her neck... luckily I found them before any hair was actually cut. We decided that maybe putting in barrettes and ponytails was a better idea (ya think!). Okay, apparently Larkin had photo shoots with Brooke all around the house with different Christmas decorations and with grace. Not many of these came out, but I get what she was after... maybe she has a future career. Also, I have a few seriously funny "Wii" playing faces (no I'm not posting these). Okay, I admit it, Hudson and I have played A LOT of super mario bros. these last couple of days... I love that he calls me "game master." Larkin also decided to make everyone "Christmas Crowns" and was very adamant that we get a picture with everyone in the crowns (in one of these crown pictures, check out Larkin's front teeth... love them!). Hudson and Gregor did make it to the local ski slope yesterday for their first ski of the season. Apparently Hud did really well, even going down an intermediate slope that I admit scares me a bit with its steepness! Go Hud. So hopefully we won't have a string of days where the snow melts during the day and freezes at night forming ice everywhere... I don't want to be stuck in the house any more!!

SNOW!!

Now this is what I call a SNOW DAY!! We woke up to about 20 inches of snow on the ground this morning, and it is still snowing!! The kids are so so excited. We were bundled up (me in gregor's snow gear.. yeah that's cute) by 9 this morning and attempted to go sledding. Alas, the snow was a little too deep. Brooke was getting buried and I ended up taking her home. Gregor and the kids lasted a bit longer and had a blast (at least until they were chilled to the bone and crying). I think it takes longer to bundle up and then warm up than anyone lasted outside... but that's the way it goes right. I'm just trying not to think about going into labor today... don't think about it... don't think about it... seriously, what would we do? I'm not thinking about it. So we are house bound for a couple of days. They are predicting another 6 to 10 inches today. I think we are going to have a white Christmas this year!

Gregor left work last night around 5 pm and didn't make it home (a 15 mile drive) until around 10:30... that's how bad the roads, accidents, etc were. Apparently, a lot of people were walking home. So, we are thankful today that Gregor is here to play in the snow with us this morning!

I'm thinking.... it's only 11... what are we going to do for the next day or two.... ugg... let's just hope the power stays on.

Larkin's quote of the Day

"Mom, I love looking at the ornaments and the lights when I have a song in my heart!"

Seriously, where does this kid come from??

Christmas Trees and Snow

It was a fun filled weekend of decluttering the house, decorating for Christmas, and cutting down our Christmas tree. On top of all that, we had our first snow of the season!! FUN! It didn't actually snow much in Crozet, but Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge Parkway were beautiful and white. Cutting down our tree at Ralph's Tree Farm near the Parkway turned into quite the Griswold experience when we tried to leave and the mighty minivan couldn't make it up the steep road. Instead, we rolling... correct that... slipped backwards down the road with no way out in sight. To make matters worse, other cars (mostly minivans) were having trouble navigating the road, and at one point we had another van slipping perpendicular down the hill straight at us. It was all fine though (after a crazy hour of wondering what to do!) when we found another longer downhill way home... yay. Gregor and I went Christmas shopping while the kids were home with a babysitter (what a luxury.... standing in line for a coffee with no one pulling everything off the shelves, browsing the aisles of a toystore without the "I wants" and "can I haves..."). I think we are going to make the alone shopping a holiday tradition. It's freakin' cold here today. I was hoping not to have to buy a maternity coat this season with only 5.5 weeks to go... but dang if my belly didn't get cold today! I'm going to try and tough it out though.

So it looks like the naming poll is still neck and neck between Cora and Everly... for those of you who didn't vote... please do!! Gregor and I are having so much fun with it!

I am freakishly tired today and can feel myself slowing down. The kids all still have a cold, and I'm just tired of huge, projectile, snot rocket sneezes (seriously, how do kids sneeze like that!) and kids coughing in my face.

Why do I love these SO much. They just make me laugh!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Vote for the baby's name

Let's just make this fun and official. I put a "vote for the baby's name" poll on my sidebar. Please vote and leave me comments if you have any write in choices :)

Here's a little extra info:

Cora is the name with meaning... Last of the Mohican's is our favorite movie. We walked to the movie soundtrack in our wedding. In the movie, Cora is strong, beautiful, etc... great qualities. BUT. Cora Deb-or-ah rhymes (not so cool). Also, I don't like the way I say the name (it come off with a little bit of a long island accent), but I like it when other people say it. Possible nicknames could be Coco or Cobra.

Everly. I've always loved this name. No meaning in particular, but I think it goes well with Hudson, Larkin and Brooke and it has adorable nicknames.... Evy, Ever, Evie

Scout: I love this name, loved the book etc. Gregor thinks it's better for our next pet (I'm just putting in there for fun... don't think gregor would actually go for it).

Ingrid: Another name with meaning. We ate at this cute little breakfast place in Whister when gregor and I went on our "alone" vacation back in march. Might be a little to "German" when paired with patsch.

Violet: Family name. Cute nickname (Vivi), but does it sounds weird with Patsch??

Please vote! we need help!! only 6 weeks to go and I'm ready to get a blanket with this girl's name on it (maybe a stocking too, but don't' tell!).

Turkey Day in Hilton Head

Thanksgiving on Hilton Head for an entire week with family... what could be better than that! Mollie, Brandon, Cat, Ronan, Isla, and even my dad (aka BOB) all congregated at Lynes Land (home to my mom and mikie, 2 dogs, 1 bird, and 3 ferrets) for the holiday. The weather was wonderful (for the most part), the food was fantastic, and the family bonding was priceless. Brooke fell in love with baby Isla and now has named all her dolls at home Isla and sings her songs all day every day. Hudson and Larkin keep talking about their cousins and all the fun they had... (I really wish we lived closer to the cousins). Everyone got out on the boat and enjoyed the sunshine and dolphins. I enjoyed a prenatal massage (total and complete bliss), pedicure (sorry pedi lady... my toes haven't been done in 2 years... seriously!) as well as "personal time" hanging out with Cat, Mollie, my dad, etc. I even got to go wedding dress shopping with Mollie. Is there a more perfect family activity?!?! Mollie found a gorgeous dress and I so want to post a picture... but I don't want it to get leaked to the groom! All I can say is that it is unbelievable and she simply glows in it. I love that I got to experience that with her. I also love the way I feel taken care of on Hilton Head... someone always asking me if I feel okay, making sure I'm taking time for myself, worrying about me (Thanks everyone!)... I can't say enough... I just felt loved. The 10 hour drive was terrible and I was convinced I was getting blood clots in my legs, but overall it was totally worth the trip! We had a Thanksgiving/ Christmas because none of us are going to be together for Christmas. The kids were totally spoiled, but loved every single minute of it (thanks!!). Our family was gifted the Wii plus games and I think I've lost Hud to gaming for awhile now. The Wii has also brought out my inner game fanatic (which I had successfully buried when I was 15) and I can feel myself getting loured back in. I want to have Wii parties with my adult friends and find myself bonding with Hud over what level of Mario Bros. we can conquer. It's sad I know, but it that mindless fun that I need right now... so if I fall off blogging for awhile, you know what I'm probably doing... yes, I'm playing the Wii! I think Hud runs a couple of miles every time he plays it, so I'm telling myself it's good exercise for him!

Now we are home and nothing is slowing down anytime soon. We are gearing up for Christmas... thinking about our tree. I think we are going to go this weekend and cut one down with the kids... it's time to think about presents, Christmas decorations, etc, etc, etc.... holiday parties, birthday parties... the list goes on and on. The real scary thing that I keep pushing out of my head is that I only have 6 more weeks with this baby in the belly! Granted I feel HUGE... (seriously, was my butt this big with the other 3?? I don't recall so... and I'm having the "will I ever fit into a single digit size pant again" thought... these last weeks are tough body wise)... but it is easier to have the baby in the belly than out!! Christmas is going to be here and gone before I know it, and then we will be in the 2 week countdown! YIKES! We still don't have a confirmed name... Gregor and I seem to be channeling all our baby angst into the name right now. Cora or Everly, Cora or Everly, Cora or Everly... any votes?? Middle name is Deborah... I'm thinking maybe a last minute right in name might be the answer.

Random thoughts of the day

I'm having one of those days where everything just seems annoying. I think I'm tired... could be that my 5 year old has decided that 5:15 AM is our new wake up time yet I keep going to be around 11... yeah, that could do it especially when you add to it the basketball that keeps kicking me throughout the night and the growing of baby parts.
Anyhow, back to annoying things. Why does it bother me when the kids sing the wrong words to a song over and over again?? For example, today Larkin was singing:
"The doctor is a friend goodbye, the doctor is a friend goodbye" and I just wanted to scream... "the doctor is a friend OF MINE", the doctor is a friend OF MINE!" but instead I calmly told her the correct words. This is what she said to me, "Mom, sometimes I think I'm right, but this time I know I'm right... you need to watch Barney and learn the words... then you'll see, the doctor is leaving baby bop so they are singing goodbye."
Now I'm questioning myself! Could she be right, do I have the wrong words?? I guess I'll have to watch Barney to figure it out.
On the bright side, I am loving these slippers right now for the kids. I don't have any money to buy them, but I think they are totally adorable and wish I had them for all three kids for Christmas. Also, even though I am Huge right now and seriously can't fit into anything, I am loving the pattern on these pajamas and this robe... they're flannel... and something about them just says cozy. I will confess that sometimes my taste gets a little weird (bad) when I'm pregnant (one of the reasons that Gregor doesn't trust me picking a name for the baby this late in the game), so if these are really hideous I'm sorry. I tried to add photos, but for some reason there are "internal errors" and I'm way to tired to figure out what's happening... so just click on the link and check it out.
Other things that are bugging me today:
Spilled chocolate milk on the carpet (I cleaned up at least 3 spills today on the carpet... why oh why can't the milk STAY IN THE KITCHEN!)
My freaking deaf dog. She keeps wondering away as I'm trying to leave the house and doesn't hear me calling. She sneaks on my bed to sleep (my side of course) when we are gone and my covers smell. She shreds and eats any box/plastic bag/paper bag/lunch box, etc etc that may have touched food at one time... and she brings her finds into the office to shred and eat on the carpet so it's aways stained and covered with crumbs and container remnants (also the room where the chocolate milk gets spilled). Yes, it's gross in there.
Stepping on Lego's! Why are they everywhere, and why do my feet always find them??
Okay, that's enough today... I think I'm going to bed now in the hopes of starting a fresh day tomorrow (hopefully not at 5 AM!).

Painting

We finally did it!! We painted the girls' room this past weekend. I think it looks really really good. Rebecca, I wish you were here to do a mural for us :)

Larkin wanted her room purple, so we picked this great blue-ish purple color. When she saw it, she said, "Um, I think it's blue! I wanted purple!"

In certain lights though it looks really purple and other times a little more blue. I love it overall. It give the room a really calm feeling. I think it's all coming together really well.

The kids also had a good time this past weekend jumping into the leaves. It's always fun until someone bleeds and the game is over. This time, it was Hudson biting his tongue and that was it. It was fun while it lasted! Now we are ready for our next fun adventure ... a week in Hilton Head to see family!!

Rainy Days

It's been raining all day here today, and it's supposed to keep raining for the next 2 days... Do you know what I hate most about raining days (and cold days for that matter)... The COATS! Rain coats, warm coats, whatever coat it is, no one wants to wear it in the car. You spend the extra minutes in the morning hunting down the coats and getting everyone in them and zipped to make that wet/cold 4 second walk to the car only to have everyone protest that they CANNOT wear their coats in the car seats because they "HURT." So, I end up standing in the rain/cold trying to get the coats off the kids and everyone buckled and situated. Then when you get anywhere you have to go through the whole thing again.... coats on, run inside somewhere, coats off. I personally think it's easier to ditch the coats all together (maybe keep them in the car in case of some emergency where everyone is going to be outside for awhile), and get a little wet/cold on the short runs to and from the car. That's just one little thing that makes my life easier... so they kids get a little wet or cold for a second. I think they'll survive. Maybe I'm just bitter because none of my coats will zip over my big ol' belly these days. Yes, it's turning into a BIG BIG belly. As a side note, I already feel like this baby is going to fall out... that must be a fourth time around thing... fun fun :(

Who's the Parent??

Larkin says to me this morning

Mom, could you and dad PLEASE be in charge of your shoes and put them away in the closet so I can vacuum the floor!!

I just had to laugh and respond, "Sorry Larkin, Dad and I will work on it." Aren't I supposed to be the adult here!

Then, this afternoon, Hudson looks at me while I'm on the phone with Gregor and says

Mom, can you PLEASE get your freakin' self off the phone, I need to talk to you!

Maybe I'm just having a bad mommy day...

In other news, Brooke has transferred to her BIG GIRL BED! Yay Brooke. To say it's been a total success would just not be true. I had great experiences with Hudson and Larkin around 22 and 20 months respectively with the big bed. We start with the mattress on the floor and gradually raise it up to the box spring and then add the frame over a period of weeks so they learn the edges of the bed etc. This has been super successful in the past and has really worked well with Brooke as well. She hasn't fallen out a single time. But... Hudson and Larkin didn't realize that they could get out of the bed by themselves or without permission, so it was great! Brooke on the other hand is LOVING her new freedom. She is getting out of her bed for what feels like a gazillion times to go and say goodnight to hudson, then daddy, then gracie, then mommy, then to get water, then to say goodnight to Hudson again.... it just seems to go on forever. It's been about four nights now, and I think she's starting to get out of bed less and less as the novelty wears off, but it's really trying my patience. It's a good thing she's so adorable...that keeps me from completely losing it.

Spiders in the Car

I wonder how many car accidents have been caused by spiders in the car. Seriously, how do you drive effectively when a huge spider is dangling from your sun visor and then suddenly drops "somewhere". I'm lucky I didn't kill my whole family in a car accident... all my focus was In the car searching for this little bugger that felt like it was crawling all over my body. Eventually, I had to just let it go to keep everyone safe, but I still haven't found him! It's still freaking me out! I'm a weenie I know it, but I swear, this one was HUGE!

Girl Talk

This past summer while we were visiting Hilton Head, Hudson and Larkin were on my mom and Aunt Lori's local TV show "Girl Talk"
You can check it out here ... Just click and then choose the 7/06/09 episode. The kids look so shy (especially compared to my bubbly mom and aunt).
Hudson wants to be an actor when he grows up... so who knows, maybe he'll look back at this one day as his big break.

Halloween!!!

The Patsch Family had a fun filled busy busy Halloween. We tried to fit in all of our fall festivities in one day and somehow succeeded. Hudson played a good game of soccer in the morning, and then we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins and get a few fall pictures. It was a little foggy and rainy and Brooke fell and got a bloody nose, but the fresh apple donuts were yummy and the pictures came out pretty cute. After that we raced home to carve and paint the pumpkins before naps. The kids were so excited to get into their costumes and hit the neighborhood for a little trick or treating that we were out on the circuit by 4:30! Hudson was a storm trooper, Brooke was a pirate, and Larkin... well I'm not really sure what she was... she added a few 80's accessories to her costume from last year and went as what I can only call the 80's Lily Fairy. The kids were wiped out by 7:00 and in bed by 7:30 after a huge candy binge. Brooke was so cute!! Once she figured out that everyone was giving her candy and lollipops she would just go to the doors and demand "Balls please!" (she calls lollipops balls... too bad everyone else didn't know that!). She also wanted to sample every piece of candy she got along the way. It was really adorable. Larkin and Hudson really enjoyed getting back to the house in time to give out the candy to all the kids that came to the door. I honestly think they liked this better than going door to door. What a day though, we were all totally wiped out by the end of it.

We've been Swined!

Uggg.. the days are passing slowly in the house. After a fun filled week with my dad (aka Obbie... now known as BOB (thanks to Brooke)) we hit a wall of sick. Backtracking to our week with "BOB"... I think he had a great time meeting Brooke and seeing what wonderful kids Hudson and Larkin have turned out to be. The kids all took to Dad really quickly, and while I think it may have been exhausting being totally emerged into a house with 3.5 kids, I think my dad had a great time. Hopefully, we will see more of him in the future. I enjoyed having someone taking care of me for a little while! For now, Brooke comes down the stairs everyday wondering "Where's BOB." It really is quite cute.
Dad/Obbie/BOB left of Sunday morning just in time to avoid our quarantine. Hudson woke up sunday with a high fever and what the doctors think is the H1N1 flu... we will never know for sure though. Larkin followed with her fever on monday night, and Brooke is following suite with her high fever today. We aren't all that sick really... just fevers, coughs, and general exhaustion (plus super intense nose bleeds for Hudson). My doc put me on the Tamiflu as a preventative because I'm pregnant... good times... to which the only major side effect in pregnant women (that they know of!) is premature labor... great.... this baby is not ready to come out (she doesn't even have a name yet!)!!
To top off the week, Gregor leaves today for a week to take his big engineer test in California. That leaves me at home with sick kids praying that I don't go into labor or get a severe case of the flu myself. My panic must have been evident to my family (although really not to me because I kept assuring everyone that I would be fine... I can manage... I can do it all myself... because I'm what?? supermom?? right... I obviously have a hard time asking for help or admitting that I can't do it all). Anyhow, my brother is flying in for the weekend to save the day just in case things get out of control. I'm optimistic that we are all going to be fine. In reality, this hasn't been a terrible flu (yet). Hopefully, we'll just be able to enjoy the weekend with my brother with no drama. I have to say though, I am grateful that he's going to be here.
What I'm finding the hardest part of it all is not the fevers, the snot, the coughs in the face, the extreme irritability of all the kids, etc... the hardest part is being in the freakin' house all day for the past 4 days with more to come. All I want to do is get in the car and go to the park or the grocery or something... even just drive around for awhile... the house is driving me crazy. I just want to keep cleaning it, which is impossible because every time I get one room under control the kids have taken over another room. Everyone is at each other's throats because we are literally on top of one another. We are running out of puzzles and movies and organization projects. Hudson is starting to feel better which means he has more energy (not good when we are stuck in the house!). I don't know how to just stay in the house all day successfully I guess... it is driving me absolutely nuts. So please... let us all get better soon... if only to get out of the house for a little while!

Where does the time go...

We have had a busy couple of weeks here in Patsch World with lots of fun changes and happenings. First of all, we changed the car seats around in the car... unexciting I know... but wait it gets better. Gregor took Larkin's car seat out and I've never felt like a grosser than gross mom. Here is a picture of what was under her car seat keeping in mind that this is with the "no food in the car" rule (exceptions are made on long road trips). Apparently, this car seat hasn't moved for quite a few road trips. I was wondering where all those barrettes were hiding! That is the definition of true "crud".

On the same big car seat move day, Gregor and I also got inspired to move all the rooms around to see how the girls would handle sleeping in the same room. We thought we would ease Brooke into sleeping with Larkin and then transition to her big girl bed so it didn't happen all at once. This was all great in theory, until we realized that we literally had to move everything from all three rooms, and we didn't start until 6:30 at night! Seriously, what were we thinking! But, somehow we got it all done and I think it's going to be really great. It's been 2 weeks now, and the only real difference is that when (and that's a big when) Larkin takes a nap she has to do it in our room. Napping in the shared room just doesn't work. Somehow though sleeping has been a success. I think they both actually like it! Brooke feels like a big girl and Larkin seems to love being the older sister. They girls have gotten so much closer. They play together a lot more now and just seem to generally enjoy each other's company now. It is really adorable (these are a couple of pictures I took of the girls waking Hudson to the bus one morning... they were running together and laughing so hard). I think the way we have the rooms situated is really going to work out well too. Now we just have to get the mattress for Brooke's bed and the dresser, then we can move the crib and changing table into the new nursery to start getting ready for the baby!! Yay :) I also want to paint all the rooms now, clear out the clutter, and start organizing all the baby gear... here comes that nesting thing again.

Hudson started soccer last week and Gregor and I were actually pleasantly surprised at how much he's enjoyed it! He's made goals every game and ahhhh, his smile and look directed right at me when he scored that first goal actually choked me up (I'm blaming pregnancy hormones for the tears in my eyes...). I am so proud of how hard he's trying and how much he's really enjoying it. I never thought I'd like hanging out on the soccer field, but I can honestly say, it's been really really fun. I also ran into Hudson's teacher and she told me how much they love him in school... that's he's so quiet and shy, but making friends and listening, and really doing well. He also got his little interim report and got the equivalent of all A's. Yay Hud!

My job is coming to a close this week, and for the most part, I'm feeling good about it. I'm going to miss the identity I had up at the university, where no one really knew I had kids and I had a few hours a week with no kids yelling in my ear or pulling on my pants. I also was proud of what I was doing up there. I'm also going to miss the money and feeling like I was contributing financially.... But, I'm not going to miss the constant stress and pressure of always feeling like I should be working, never taking a minute to myself, feeling like I wasn't giving the kids all my attention, doing the really important things with them (taking time to hang out, play, read, etc), and keeping up with the house. So, I'm excited to see how it feels to me a real "stay at home" mom. Hopefully I'll take to it well and we can swing it financially. Thanks Gregor for working nights etc to make this happen. I truly appreciate it!

I also included a funny picture of Larkin getting herself ready to go to the neighbor's house for a playdate. She is so funny with her looks, accessories and hand gestures while she explains things to me, ahhh the things that come out of her mouth. She cracks me up daily.... my little fashionista.