Tis the season for secrets...

The boys picked me up from work yesterday and this was the conversation that occurred upon entering the car:

E: Hi Mommy!
M: Hi El!
E: Hey mommy, Daddy bought mommy some pajamas!

pause...as R takes a deep breath, shaking his head.

R:Eliot! Remember how we talked about surprising mommy?
E: Shhhh! It's a secret!


LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the holidays with a 3 year old!!!

DON'T FORGET THAT TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY FOR THE FREE BLOG HEADER! (click here if you're confused.)

Mohr than Eye Candy.

If you have learned the value of following directions well, you've already seen Russ' new blog last week and his mad skills of a graphic nature. (That came out wrong.)

Well...behold! My new blog header! Does it just kill you?? (Google readers, come on out and take a looksy, it's worth the extra click, I promise!)

A new blog, a new blog header, the spirit of the holiday season...it's all adding up and the sum looks a little like a giveaway! EGAD, this is 7 kinds of fun! {Cue lights and balloon launch.}

Russ will give one ever-so-fortunate commenter a free blog header. You get your name in the drawing once for commenting here ON THIS POST,and once for commenting on this post on his blog. Your deadline is the stroke of midnight Wednesday. (meaning you have until Wednesday night, not to confuse you.)

He will soon be announcing pricing on custom blog headers but for now, this is your chance to earn yourself a little free Christmas cheer.

Comment away!

Frost Yourself.

Don't know if you remember our adventures at Melissa's wedding last November, but one of them included one of her many adorable siblings pointing out that my diamond was no longer in my ring. Blessings of blessings, it was on the floor directly below where we were sitting. I tucked it safely away and moved my anniversary band over to hold it's place. How else would I ward off all those potential suiters?

Knowing that we bought the ring in Little Rock, I assumed I had to take it back there to get fixed. Long story short, there's a local jeweler owned by the same company. EGAD! 12 months later, I take the ring in and get it back w/in 2 weeks.

I'm giddy. Like a newly engaged 21-year-old! So excited that I'm even willing to post this disporportioned pic of myself.

And did I mention Russ' new blog? Cuz, it's awesome.

Mohr news!

If you haven't heard yet, we've got some news. This is unexpected but let's roll w/ it, peeps.

Russ has a blog. His own little bulletin board showcase of all things Russ. Well, not really ALL things but all creative-russ things.

The truly miraculous thing about it? He's blogged more than me in the last week. Y'all, that is whack. And I don't use that phrase freely. Miraculous and whack in the same paragraph. That's what this is about.

Today he posted a peak of the Christmas cards he made in the last week. Get ready to freak out.

Leave him some comment love, then throw that little addy into your google reader.

Comment love or I'll hold my blog posts hostage.

click here. Go go go!

Wish granted. Sort of.

For all of you who have pleaded, begged, prayed, fasted, or simply asked for Russ + Christmas music, there's a bit of an appetizer available to you. It's like the cheddar bay biscuits at RL. (mid-afternoon munchies much?)

The Fundamental Elements have recorded a Christmas Song and MADE IT A FREE DOWNLOAD. Hello.

Merry. Christmas. To. Me.

Head over to their blog to get the FREE download.

More news coming soon. Or should I say Mohr news.

Never gets old.

Snuggle Sundays

Wanna peek into our Sunday afternoons?

Done. Peek accomplished.

Earning his keep.

This week marked a first for our little man. He learned a new word. (Thankfully one that he can use in public...) Chores. Yes, he's only 3 and 1/2 but that means he's practically 4 and that makes him not that far away from 12, really, and then it's almost time to decide what to get him for graduation. Sweet mercy, where did the time go?

So, yes, chores. Or chore, as the case may be. His job?


Canine food management (i.e. filling Daisy's food bowl).

With each full bowl, he claims (and shakes) his booty. He gets a coin to put in his piggy bank. And because this teacher can't let go of teachable moments, we talk about what the coin is and how much it's worth, etc.

(excuse the unexcusebly bad picture. yikes)

Eventually we'll start separating into save, give, spend but for now it's all in one bank while he learns a little responsibility. Also, for now, his "allowance", if that's what you want to call it, is earned by chores. In a few years, it may move to books. We're definitely throwing around the idea.

I once heard John Maxwell speaking at an Arbonne conference and he shared how his kids earned their allowance by reading. When his kids found out that their friends earned theirs simply by taking out the trash, etc, stuff they were already expected to be doing, they got mad and asked why they had it differently. Dr. Maxwell explained that on one hand, they didn't need to get paid to be an active and responsible part of the family, on the other hand, he said, "If I wanted you to become garbage-men, I'd pay you to take out the garbage." Hence, paying them to read.

However, if we paid Eliot for reading books at this stage, we'd have to take out a sizable loan. So, perhaps once he's older and into actual reading, specifically books that take more than 2 minutes to finish and don't include Lightening McQueen as the main character. Kaaaaa-chow.

Laugh Out Loud Wednesday

This line from this blog made me Laugh Out Loud today,

"If you ever grow concerned that your prayer life isn’t what it should be, I totally recommend watching your child take pictures with someone else’s very expensive camera."

What made you laugh today?

Legit

Finally my Christmas giddiness can come to fruition! Instead of just showing you pics from our night-o-decorating, I thought I'd throw in the similar shots from years past, just for kicks. Christmas kicks are my favorite. I promise yule enjoy some of these little throwbacks!

My boys two years ago vs now-a-days



Yesteryear vs yesterday

And the rest of the photo fun:




That's it from this round! Mohrry Christmas!!!

Happy St. Leon's Day!

(Inside family joke, sorry!)

Over Thanksgiving my family also celebrated Christmas since our schedules don't really allow for another hang out time any closer to the 25th. So, we held Thanksmas/ Chrisgiving/ St. Leon's Day.

Enjoy the photo journal:

Hang out time with Aunt Dawn!