Painted Hands

One of Mason's favorite things to do outside is dig in the dirt.  He usually keeps the dirt off the sidewalk and it keeps him busy for a long time, so I really don't have a problem with him doing it.  A few days ago, after digging in the dirt for awhile, Mason comes over to show me what he had been doing. He decided to paint his hands with mud. He was pretty excited about it.

The Joy of Music

Dave and I love listening to music. Our kids love listening to music. We've created a CD of our favorite songs and play that whenever we are in the car. Mason has always loved what we've chosen to listen to, and amazingly, he knows the words to most of the songs. It's funny to be in the car and hear Mason sing along to some of our favorites. Right now some of Mason's favorites include "1,2,3,4" and "Meet Me in California" by the Plain White T's, as well as "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon. What makes driving in the car even more entertaining these days is that Ellie is starting to sing along too! I especially like John Mayer's version of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." I think this might be Ellie's favorite as well. During the chorus, she starts to sing "Feeeeeee, Feeeeee, Feeeeee" (trying to say "free") in a high pitched voice. It's pretty cute. I tried to get video of the kids singing, but of course, when the camera is on, they get all goofy. 

* I apologize for the poor lighting. It's hard to make it work in the basement at night.*

Here's Ellie singing "Feeeee!"

Here's Mason singing "1,2,3,4." 

(If you listen closely, you'll hear Ellie say "five" after they count to four)

I have been tagged...

1. Where is your cell phone? In my back pocket.
2. Your significant other? Dave, a great guy who makes me laugh.
3. Your hair? Brown. I'm trying to grow out my bangs. I always think they will work on me, and they never do.
4. Your mother? Trish, : ) She's always there with support and love,  and helps me be a better person and mother.
5. Your father? Mike,  He's also a great support and a good listener. I now see how patient he is as I watch him interact with my kids.
6. Your favorite thing? my family
7. Your dream last night? I don't think I had one.
8. Your favorite drink? I'd have to say chocolate milk.
9. Your dream/goal? I want my kids to grow up to be good individuals and I hope I'm doing everything I can to help with that.
10. The room you're in? My bedroom
11. Your hobby? scrapbooking, blogging, reading
12. Your fear? scary movies
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In a bigger house with my family.
14. what you are not? a loud person
15. muffins? I love poppyseed and chocolate, of course.
17. Where you grew up? Martinez, California
18. The last thing you did? I cleaned up Mason's play-doh.
19. What are you wearing? a black t-shirt and khaki cords
20. Favorite gadget? I really don't know.
21. Your pets? none 
22. your computer? an i-mac. I love it. There are so many cool things you can do with it that are totally easy.
23. your mood? happy
24. Missing someone? I miss my family. They're so great!
25. your car? 2002 Mitsubishi Galant
26. something you are not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Like someone? I'm a pretty good mix between Mom and Dad.
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today with Kathryn. She's funny.
31. Last time you cried? I think about 2 weeks ago

I Tag Kathryn, Mandy, and Claire

Mason meets Charlie

Last Friday I was reorganizing our storage closet. As I was going through the boxes, I came across our Christmas decorations. I thought it would be wise to keep them out since I would be needing them fairly soon. 

The Christmas boxes were sitting in my hallway. I didn't like the crowded hallway that was now in my home, so I decided to start getting rid of the boxes...by decorating. This is probably the earliest I have ever decorated, but I'm totally excited for the Christmas season this year. Mason's excitement is contagious.

Our decorations are up and our Christmas DVDs are out. Mason has found a new favorite movie. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has been playing in our house since last Friday. Mason has "TV tokens" he gets to use for an allotted amount of TV watching per day. The only show he has used his tokens for since last Friday is Charlie Brown. He even quoted a part of the movie at dinner tonight. I'm anticipating watching this movie at least 50 more times this season.