A Christmas Story by Laura

Not to be outdone by Nathan's little story, Laura has come up with one of her own. She declared hers is really funny. I couldn't agree more and am sharing how she told it.

The Snowman Going to Fake Work by Laura Rose Lacerda

Oh no me, Frosty I'm going to be late to my fake work snowing. I had better hurry before it rains.

And I almost forgot Crystal my wife to take with me.

So they ate cookies with blue frosting and then they drive to go to work.

And then they made it to work and so they meeted their elf friends and then they were helping them make toys for Santa to deliver to the kids.

And so Santa got Rudolf in case he doesn't lose him and then they make more toys for Santa to deliver more toys to the kids.

And then they meeted crazy elf fish friends.

And then they meet Buzz and Woody.

And then they meeted Garfield with his family.

And then they buy some candy at the candy shop.

And then they go back home and they went into the airplane in the sky with Santa.

And then they meeted Shrek and Fiona at the swamp with their family. I guess Puss was there and Donkey and Pokeynose too.

And then they goed to sleep.

And then they woke up and then on the next morning they got presents from Santa. They got parent presents.

The End.

A Christmas Story by Nathan

Nathan is exploring all kinds of things lately. He is really into reading everything he can and making up stories even more than usual. So tonight he is an author and tomorrow plans on being an illustrator. I wrote everything as he narrated it. I think it is perfect.

Here it is.

Santa Forgets by Nathan Lacerda

Santa woke up form bed on Christmas Eve. He looked at the clock. He saw what time it is. And then he shouted "Oh my, I'm late!"

He put his boots on. Then he put his red pants on. Then he put his shirt on. Then he put his jacket on. Then he put on his hat. An then he rushed to the factory.

Mrs. Claus said "You are late!" So, he got his sleigh all ready to go. He took off. "Oh my, I forgot Rudolf!"

"It's foggy. I can't go without Rudolf!"

So he gone back but he didn't know the way back home.

So he called Mrs. Claus and then Mrs. Claus flew on Rudolf. She setted up Rudolf and then Mrs. Claus got into the sleigh. Then Santa Claus said "How silly I am, I forgot Rudolf."

So they delivered the presents together.

The End

Project 365 - Day 349

So I have been fighting trying to keep Nathan and Laura getting along at least for December and thought I could use Christmas and the nice list and it is just not quite as easy as it was last year. So, my aunt had called yesterday and told me about this book. It is so adorable. The little elf watches the children every day and then magically flies to the North Pole every night to report to Santa and then flies back to our house and sits in a different place and the kids get to look for him each morning to see where he is. They can't touch him because he will lose his magic. I think this will end up being a really fun tradition.

Project 365 - Day 348

Nathan's cub scout den went to a senior home to sing Christmas carols. They were so gosh darn cute singing and visiting with the residents. The residents were so excited to see the boys. Laura got in on the action too. I decided to make some treats for the boys. They didn't turn out anywhere close to the Hello, Cupcake versions I was attempting to make but the kids totally loved these.

Project 365 - Day 347

He's been hanging out under the Christmas tree lately. He is enamored with the gifts and lights and I just love seeing Christmas through his eyes.

Project 365 - Day 346

Cards, cards and more cards. All my aunt wanted for her birthday was more monogram cards with matching pens. She also commissioned me to make some gifts for her. I ended up making a few more for gifts so I have been busy putting these sets together. I am over the moon with the Amy Butler paper packs and love putting sets together with them. I love all the color combinations.

Project 365 - Day 345

So this is Noah's new favorite position. He takes this pillow, puts it down, settles in on it and grabs a book. He loves books. I love that all the kids love books. They are constantly bringing me or Mike or my Mom or Dad books to read. He just looks so big to me now. Not my little baby anymore.

Project 365 - Day 344

Crafts, crafts, crafts. I tell myself every year I will not repeat the previous year and every year I somehow get myself into all kinds of new crafts. I decided to make these "easy" crayon and colored pencil rolls for the kids on my list. Well, since I am a faux sewer I couldn't figure out the correct way to do it so I made up my own pattern just to get them done. So by the end of the weekend I had 10 done and 5 more. They really did turn out cute and I still think that after sewing them all.

Project 365 - Day 342

Laura's empty bed. My sweet little girl is still having trouble sleeping in her bed. She wants to sleep with mommy and it is a battle every night. This night she decided she would sleep in her bed only if she could sleep with lots and lots of her animals. Well the animals were there but she wasn't - she ended up in my bed. We will get there - someday - and until then I just keep reminding myself she won't want to be around me at all soon so I had better take what I can get.

Project 365 - Day 343

The 'cowboy' hats. Laura saw these for Christmas gifts and since it has been so cold outside and she keeps asking when they can all wear their matching hats I thought it was pointless to hold them off. It really is painful for me to look at cowboy hats on them because I love to dislike the dang cowboys but even I must admit the little crew is pretty cute.

Project 365 - Day 341

It's snowing?!? I can't believe it was cold enough to be snowing in Roseville. The kids thought it was so cool. Too bad it melted by noon and they couldn't play in it.

Project 365 - Day 340

Noah and the Christmas tree. He is all about staring and grabbing the ornaments on the tree. I have already performed craft surgery on six ornaments. I only wonder how many more will need fixing before Christmas.

Project 365 - Day 339

Dusti had done some really cool promo pictures and made a birthday banner for our friend Donna's baby (aka reCreate: http://www.recreate.org/) and Dusti had Kendal's birthday party there. The kids had a great time. They made robot/potato head/tin can guys and really got into using all the materials to decorate their special creations.

Kendal wanted to have a Batman party, so we found a cool t-shirt for her and I tried to make some cards but I am not happy with how they turned out. The 'K' was supposed to look like the bat call and the ribbon was supposed to look like bat wings but I just didn't like the look of them. Hopefully she can use them as thank you cards so Dusti doesn't have to buy any.

Project 365 -Day 338

This is what happens when he learns new things every day. He is wanting to eat like the rest of us with forks and spoons and that is proving difficult to master. So, I got the bright idea to use one of these little thingy mabobs. It was going great. He was feeling so proud and eating his oatmeal very nicely. Then I walked away. Never, never, never walk away from a baby eating oatmeal. I wasn't gone very long mind you, maybe a minute? A full 60 some odd seconds later and this is what you can get. This stuff is like GLUE and it was everywhere. I guess I should have known better and been a tad smarter but I was trying to get Nathan out the door for school so my thinking was a little off. I can't believe how trusting I can be when I am distracted. That'll teach me.

Project 365 - Day 337

It was Bup and Laura day. My mom had promised Laura that she would take her to see Planet 51 when it came out at the movie theatre. They had a nice lunch (before the sugar fest at the movies) and apparently Laura ate more than my mom has ever seen her eat (it was pizza). They had popcorn, m&m's, and fruit snacks at the movies and Laura really enjoyed the cute funny movie. I am glad she has this time with my mom. I remember all the fun times I had with my grandma so I know she will treasure this always.

Project 365 - Day 336

Just a little holiday cheer at my Mom and Dad's house. They really go all out with Christmas decorations and the inside always looks festive. The kids were so excited to go and see the lights and help out.

Project 365 - Day 335

Here is the photo from my dear friend Dusti (I still don't like the way I look, but it is tradition and so I must include it)

It has become tradition for Annie, Dusti and I to have birthday lunches at Chevy's. We all love Chevy's and it is a great time with friends. I don't spend nearly enough time with my uber crafty and beautiful friends but this was a great getaway. I was spoiled again with cupcakes and fun gifts to make my own cupcakes. Now if I can just learn how to make them as good as theirs I will be all set. Thanks girls for a great day!

Project 365 - Day 334

The moon looked really cool to me tonight. It was frosty and foggy and full. Just another sign of fall.

Project 365 - Day 333

My new bed. Grandma Alma lovingly sent me some mad money for my birthday and I used it to buy a new bedspread. I love it. I was more than a little tired of my 10 year old spread. I got an awesome deal with everything included. I am not sure how great it is when I had to buy new sheets and drapes but I did get a good deal on those too. I now love to make my bed so I can see it all made up. It really is the little things in life that make me happy. Now if I can just find the time to work on the photo wall of black and white sleeping kid photos...

Project 365 - Day 332

(so picture will have to come later, because I can't seem to get it loaded after two days of trying and I know my dad is wanting more posts!)



We had an incredible dinner and visit with the Dobies on Saturday, my parents even stopped by to share the dinner. The roasted potatoes and butternut squash were really yummy. It is so nice to spend time with them and the kids all love each other so much they just play and play and play and we adults can just hang out. Joni and I love to cook so we just have fun gabbing away and making and trying new things. I had been wanting to try this mashed turnip (aka rutabaga) recipe with crispy shallots. I know it sounds weird but it looked so good with Ina Garten made it. After I burnt the crispy shallots beyond belief, Chris came to the rescue and fried up some onions nice and crisp. They were delicious on the creamy rutabagas. I think I found a new veggie to love.

Project 365 - Day 331

It's Black Friday and yes my mom and I are some of those crazy people who get up in the dark of night and go stand in line to shop. My mom has done this before and this was my first time actually waiting in line. Last year I met her with Noah at 6:30 in the morning but this year I was with her at 3 something in the morning to stand in line at Target. We got some incredible deals and it sure was fun to shop with no kids. We had a very specific list and had envelopes with coupons and times for each store we wanted to shop at (4am, 5am and 6am). It sure was fun, but man oh man was it cold!

Project 365 - Day 330

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Happy Birthday to me. I got a wonderful surprise from my friend Myla yesterday. She dropped off some flowers and a very nice card. I got lots of nice birthday wishes from friends via email. Thanksgiving was a small get together this year. Just our family of five, my brother's family of three, my parents and my grandparents. Laura helped me cook, the kids played, we deep fried the turkey (I know it sounds weird but it is really good!), Laura had one of every dessert (four different things) and I got my coconut cake.

I guess I was being a pretty big baby about this cake thing. It is not my dream to have to share my birthday with Thanksgiving every year (although it is not on the actual day but every four years). I mean who would choose to have your birthday on a holiday? I know I don't have it as bad as Christmas but it is sometimes a bummer - NOT THIS YEAR. I felt very special and very loved. The kids were great. Mike got the Pioneer Woman cookbook I have been wanting. My parents got me a new laptop for my back to school adventure beginning in January. My Grandma sent me some mad money that I used to get a new bedspread I have been wanting and just couldn't justify spending household money on.

But I should get back to the cake. I love this cake and the store doesn't make it anymore unless you special order it and then it is like five or six layers and huge and I don't need or want a cake that big. Dad wanted pumpkin parfaits for dessert, Mike, Joey and Jovanni are chocolate pie guys, my mom wanted pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting so I said enough was enough, we are not having birthday cake but I still kept thinking and apparently talking about it. I even made comments that day about how I at least wanted to make the cupcakes look cute because I didn't have a cake. I should have noticed the smirk on my mom's face. So as I was trying to clean up the kids were putting candles on the cake and totally surprised me. The bakery ended up making a smaller version so now I won't feel too bad for eating it.

All in all it was a very special day. My dad is babysitting all three kids while my mom and I head out to Black Friday shopping. Mike even went shopping with me on Thanksgiving night to Michael's for the super early sneak peek sale and I got scrapbooking organization cubes to make a desk so I don't have to take over the living room anymore.

I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful that Mike works so I can stay at home with my children. I am thankful for my children for making me a mommy and teaching me things I can only learn from them. I am thankful for my parents for far too many reasons to mention. I am thankful for my friends for being supportive and loving in good times and rougher times. I live a truly blessed life and am thankful for every day.

Project 365 - Day 329

So Noah had his second first haircut. I took him in for a trim in October and saved all the hair from that experience but this was quite different. He was in the chair with the smock on and he went ballistic as soon as she started. He really needed to cut the fluff off and start looking like a boy (per Mike and my Dad). Anyway, the toy and sucker didn't work. The poor girl had to just barrel through and I had to hold him and his little face in my hands so she could finish. Not even Nathan could make him happy. As soon as we took the smock off he smiled and giggled and went back to playing. He just looks so different to me now. He will be all spiffy for Thanksgiving and I hope to get a good Christmas card picture of the kids but because that is what I am planning it it probably won't happen. I am sure the outtakes will be good.

Project 365 - Day 328

He finally did it! He finally found Papa's nose. We are busy cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving and my parents stayed to eat dinner with us and as he was helping Noah eat the question "Where is Papa's nose?" was finally answered! We have been working on this for quite some time. I think my dad almost fell out of his chair. It was quite an exciting time!

Project 365 - Day 327

I just can't believe the way they sleep sometimes. It almost looks like he is sitting with his legs crossed. And I don't know why I am so fasinated with taking pictures of them sleeping. I just love to see it and record it. I guess it is that adults don't sleep in wierd contorted positions and I just have to catch this phase while I can.

Project 365 - Day 326

Here they are. My boys. Noah just absolutely adores Nathan. He wants to do whatever big brother is doing. Nathan pulled him on for a ride on the plasma car. They went all around chasing me and giggling all the while. I hope this love and bond will continue always.

Project 365 - Day 325

It was camp out in Mommy and Daddy's room. The kids are constantly asking to have a sleep over in our room so tonight I set them up. They were so excited - even Noah got in on the action although he slept in his crib. The night went pretty well and they slept soundly. Is this the trick to getting them not to crawl into bed with me? I might be onto something. Now if I could just get them to be in their own beds. I have to say that I am not minding so much anymore because I keep reminding myself there will be a day when they don't want me and I should soak all of these moments up.

Project 365 - Day 324

Today Laura announced that she wanted to wear a skirt with tights. I jumped at the chance to take her picture. She never wants to wear a skirt or dress. I thought she looked so bright and cheery. I just wish the little photo shoot went better. Oh well, all of the shots certainly capture her personality and that is what it is all about - not some picture perfect pose and smile. I will treasure her smile and sparkle in her eyes always.

Project 365 - Day 323

Curse this book. No really I mean it, curse this book. Nathan picked this from the school library because it had his name in the title. Seems simple enough. The picture on the front didn't send up any flares for me either. Do you see where I am going with this? I bet not. So it is story time and Nathan and I are all snuggled up to start reading. So the short version is they are two best friends and Nathan dies and leaves his friend to think about how to go on each day and what he would do if Nathan were here. Boy, oh boy that is not the conversation or bedtime story I had in mind when I crawled into bed. Nathan and I both had a good cry and talked a lot that night. I so love his sweet soul and the depth to which he feels. I love learning about each of my children in these moments. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to experience them and be with them every day.

Project 365 - Day 322

Nathan's soccer season is officially over. All he cared about was going to the party and getting a trophy. The trophy is a big deal when you are six. I volunteered to make cupcakes and my attempt at green grass frosting was a disaster. I bought a special tip that is supposed to make 'grass' or 'hair' but what was not included is the know how to be able to make the frosting actually look like grass or hair. Ugh, I need lessons from Dusti and Annie. Nathan requested a soccer ball with a foot kicking the ball so I thought green grass frosting would look rather appropriate. Anyway, no one really cared how lame my grass looked but the adults were no takers on the gosh darn things. I think the green frosting scared them off or something - don't they know I made the frosting from scratch? It wasn't like it was some tub or can stuff to shy away from. Now I get to take home about 25 cupcakes because I can't seem to go anywhere without there 'being enough'. You see when I calculated the number of players, parents and siblings we were at 50 people. So since the parents didn't partake in the cupcake eating I am stuck with green frosted cupcakes for my two kids to eat all week. Oh well, at least Mike can enjoy them too since I made them egg free.