Saturday, December 24, 2016

on the eve of

Merry Christmas, Love the Cox's!
(for all of those not on our mailing list)


the children are nestled all snug in their beds.
the presents are out.
the cookies have been eaten.
stockings are stuffed.
ronald and i are cuddled up in bed watching christmas vacation.

we woke up this morning to a note from
tootie (our friendly elf).
 she told the girls goodbye and
left them pj's for tonight.
brette told me they weren't cute and she wasn't wearing them.
true to form, she went to bed in doc mcstuffins jammies.
she's trying to kill me.
i have my fingers crossed i can talk her into them
in the morning so our pictures are cute, but
i'm not holding my breath.
we went to church this afternoon and
then made an evening of looking at the lights.
we stopped by the magic tree and 
then drove out to brookside where
they really know how to decorate for the holiday.
by the time we got home, we had enough time to set 
out cookies, (we made some the other day just for santa)
put on jammies and read
'twas the night before christmas.'
it was a really fun night and i wouldn't mind
making it a tradition.
  
tomorrow i'm in charge of dinner.
yikes.
i have a turkey ready,
dressing made,
potatoes done,
and rolls frozen.
all i have to do tomorrow is bake a pie.
i feel ready.
i'm really hoping for a chill, stress-free morning.
i want to enjoy santa with my kids.

i hope you're enjoying christmas to the max!

(first, our cookie adventures)










(and tonight, church and lights)







Joy to the World!


Monday, December 19, 2016

sing and be merry

christmas programs are now at the
top of the list for favorite things.
literally - my favorite.
brette's little three year old class sang 
we wish you a merry christmas.
as a parent when you see your kid 
walk down the aisle of your church 
like such a big girl,
with prayer hands and a big smile, well,
its everything i've ever wanted for christmas.
and then she actually danced and sang, which
i really thought she would clam up and do nothing,
so it was such a sweet surprise.
the actual sound that comes out is more
like yelling chaos, but that just adds to the charm.
i'm already so excited for next year's performance.
i think i would send my kid to school 
just for the christmas program.
it really doesn't get any better.






meanwhile, my littlest turned up her cuteness so 
she wouldn't be outshone by her sister.
how freaking adorable is this???
mimi introduced her to hand lotion.


excuse me while i watch these on repeat and
die of cuteness overload.





Sunday, December 18, 2016

december birthday brownies

my niece turned ten last week and we 
didn't get to celebrate with her over the weekend since
we were out of town at a wedding.
instead, we headed over to their house during the
week with a little gift and a sweet treat.
i made smore poke brownies.
have you ever made a poke cake?
it's like that, but with brownies instead.
can you say, ooey-gooey delicious?
they were amazing.
everyone loved them,
even ronald, who never eats dessert.
and to make it better?
they're so easy to make.
buy a box of brownies and make them
just like the directions say.
when they come out poke holes all over and
pour marshmallow fluff on top.
the marshmallow seeps into the brownie making 
it pretty much the best thing that has ever happened.
put the brownies into the fridge to let cool.
meanwhile, crush up some graham crackers.
i think i crushed up somewhere between 4-6.
whatever covers your brownies. 
i also warmed up some hot fudge.
after like 10 minutes, i pulled the brownies out
topped with graham and drizzled a bit of hot fudge.
you can stop there - because that's amazing OR
you can cut marshmallows in half and place on
top of the graham crackers. (or just use mini marshmallows)
then broil until marshmallows are golden brown.
(i didn't do this step because i didn't realize but the marshmallows 
we have in the pantry are fruit flavored.)

i saw this recipe on facebook - here's the video.


and here are mine:




Tuesday, December 13, 2016

winter wedding

one of my friends from college was married
over the weekend in jefferson city, so
ronnie and i dropped the girls off at my parent's
and made a little overnight trip of it.
it was so fun and the i loved the venue.
the bride was gorgeous and i got to hang
out with margie and all my sorority sisters -
which i never get to do, but love.
too much beer and a dry dz ride later,
we made it back to our hotel for a long winter's nap.
 
 
 
 
 
unfortunately, my parents were not having the same luck.
both kids were sick.
running fevers and couldn't breathe.
so instead of enjoying an actual guilt-free night away
with, dare i say, breakfast to follow, i got a text from
my dad letting us know that they had
a rough night and so did the girls.
of course that would happen.
so bright and early, ronnie and i hit the highway
back home to get two sick kids from my parents.
i've spent the last few days at home with them and
called into work monday so i could take them
into the doctor to see what was up.
ear infections, pink eye and a cold.
great combo.
i hate colds.
there's no medicine that helps,
they last for weeks and
someone always needs a tissue.
but we now have eye drops and antibiotics, so even
though the cold remains, the pink eye and ear infection
seem to be getting better and better.
we have family christmas on saturday and sunday, so
i need them feeling great and soon.
 
 
ps- ronnie is sick now too. awesome.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

preparations

for being christmas time, we've actually
had a pretty chill week.
i'm surprisingly prepared for the holidays.
my house is decorated.
my tree is up.
and every. single. one. of my presents is bought.
well, i don't have the girls' stocking stuffers done,
but that's so easy.
i ended up going black friday shopping by myself.


i had a few hours before i needed to be into work.
brette was in school and ronnie had reid.
it was incredible.
i got a lot bought and it was nice to have some
"alone" time to do it.
plus, i didn't feel like the crowds were bad, but
i've always been a fan of black friday shopping.
nothing is wrapped.
 in fact, everything is sitting in my bathtub 
because the girls rarely go in there.


so i still have that, but
there's no point in getting it done super early
because i would never put them under the tree.
reid would have them destroyed in 5 minutes.
she spends a lot of her time taking down the
ornaments and the poinsettias i have in my garland.
i pretty much redecorate several times a day.


i plan on making cookies with the girls the week 
before christmas so we can have special treats to leave for santa.
we also need to take the girls to see the magic tree and
maybe swing through christmas at the park to see all
the lights if the line to get in isn't too outrageous.
we have christmas with my family scheduled, cookie day and
christmas with ronnie's family on the calendar too.
it's the 8th of december and i am ready.
i can't believe it. 
i feel like i'm forgetting something really important.
am i?
hmmmmmmmm.


here are a few pics of the girls from the past week.
brette being sweet and then...
brette being brette.



and reid, bundled up 
ready to run errands with me.
we're never getting rid of that pacifier.




Wednesday, November 30, 2016

sleep success


i found a secret to getting brette back to
sleeping in her bed AND staying there.
 
(this is when you start dancing, clapping,
drinking, giving hand shakes and high fives.)
 
she's literally been killing me basically since
we took her rail off her crib and gave her freedom.
it started out kind of cute and funny:
we'd put her to bed and then find her asleep,
curled up next to our door.
no big deal.
we would pick her up and take her back to bed.
done.
then she started bringing blankets, pillows,
stuffed animals and made her home in the hallway.
we laughed.
more to carry, but we still put her back in bed every night.
pretty soon she didn't even let us tuck her in bed.
she just grabbed her stuff and headed for the hallway.
we didn't fight her on it, but we always suggested she
sleep in her own bed.
she wasn't having it.
after awhile she would wake up when we were carrying her back in
her room and start crying.
 so eventually, brette spent all night,
every night camped out in front of reid's door.
then came the knocking.
she would knock at our door and want us to lay with her.
so ronnie or i would sleep with her for 10 minutes every night.
after that came the nightly visits.
have you every had a child stand over your bed and
lightly touch you?
it. is. terrifying.
she would sneak in our room and wake me up like a ninja.
she wanted to sleep with us.
the first time she did it, i thought she was scared, so
i told her ok, but only for 5 minutes.
then it happened again the next night and the next.
sometimes she'd come in several times a night.
i finally didn't let her in the bed at all and took her straight
back to her pallet on the floor in the hallway.
she realized that if she went to ronnie's side of the bed he
would let her in AND let her stay for the rest of the night.
i woke up a few mornings to ronnie and brette cuddling and i
would be so pissed because i knew the next night would
be so much harder - - for me and brette.
not ronnie because
he sleeps through everything.
i laid down the law with mr. ronaldo and told him if he
wanted to continue to sleep in our bed then he had to stick
to his guns and not let brette sleep with us.
i threw in some cuss words and added physical threats so
he knew i wasn't kidding.
this is what happens when you don't get enough sleep.
(i'm pretty sure this is his fault somehow anyway.)
we decided something had to change so we decided to buy
brette new bed in hopes that she would get excited and
want to go back to sleeping in her room.
we got rid of the crib and bought her a daybed.
i let her pick her own sheets and blankets.
we made a big deal about it and i was hopeful.
but here was no change.
she would be so excited about the bed - - excited to play on it.
but if you asked her where she was going to sleep,
she would always say, in the hallway.
we tried a sticker chart and bribes.
she didn't give one F about stickers or
ice cream or fun outings.
she wanted in our bed and that was it.
she cried that we made her sleep in her room.
she begged to sleep in the hallway.
and instead of creeping into our room at night,
she stood at our door and yelled for me, scaring me
half to death at least three times a night.
what. the. hell.
i was so done.
i considered locking her in there and letting her
figure it out, because that sounded so much easier.
but i was worried that 1) i would scar her for life and
2) she would need to go potty and be forced to wet the bed.
[ps- brette has done so awesome without diapers at night.
we stopped using them in september and have only had
two accidents, both in the first month.]
back to what to do...
i didn't have any ideas.
i was getting up with her about every two hours.
all she wanted in life was to sleep with us.
and now that she was back in her room, i
had to actually lay with her to get her settled, unlike
the hallway where i would lay her down and leave.
it sucked so much.
i was creeping out of her room praying to god, she didn't
hear me and wake up or i'd have to start all over again.
it was ridiculous.
i was so tired.
it was like having a newborn, but one that you
want to kill because YOU ARE THREE YEARS OLD!
 
ok, so let me get to the good news.
one night brette was crying at our doorway before it was even 10:00.
oh lord.
i knew we were in for a long night.
ronnie and i weren't in bed yet so leia wasn't kenneled.
when i went to put brette back in bed, leia came with me.
she hopped up on brette's bed and curled up.
brette loved it.
she asked if leia could sleep with her.
um, yes.
i felt like a light bulb went off.
all she wants is to sleep with someone.
she doesn't want to be alone at night.
give her the damn dog.
of course!
that was it!
i didn't know for sure if it would work, but that night
she got up once at 1:00 to pee and then went back to bed.
no crying.
she didn't ask me to lay with her.
nothing.
she just got back in bed with leia and went to sleep.
wahoo!
the next night, i didn't see her at all.
and since we started this she has been sleeping until
about 6am every morning with no visits to our room.
i don't care if i have to wash her sheets all the time or
bathe the dog more than i normally would.
this is so totally worth it.
sometimes after 6:00 she'll come in our room
and lay with ronnie on the weekends.
or i'll find her playing in her room when reid
and i get up at 7:00.
sometimes she wakes me up and i put cartoons
on for her downstairs.
i know 6:00 is early to get up, but
i'm not even mad because at least
she's sleeping through the night again.
 
so there's my recommendation:
give your kid a dog to sleep with and
hope for the best.
 
 
 






Sunday, November 27, 2016

ready, set, holidays!

we've been busy.
here's the rundown.

we had family pictures taken the sunday before thanksgiving.
it was a last minute thing that i had been meaning to do 
since reid turned one in july.
i guess a christmas card looming over my head finally
gave me the motivation i needed.
it was chilly, but sunny and right at sunset.
it made for gorgeous photos.
i've only seen these three, but i'll get the rest of them
in a week or two.
i can't wait.




thanksgiving was easy, which is so nice to say.
we made our way to my parent's house late morning
and hung around all day eating, drinking and 
catching up with family.
i actually had the girls looking super cute, but
5 minutes after arrive at mimi's brette had on 
dress-up play clothes and we didn't even get a picture together.
wah wah.




and then finally today.
my bff, kass, called and asked if we would meet them
downtown kansas city at union station so i could 
take pictures of her family for their christmas card.
we had nothing going on and it sounded like such a fun
thing to do for the holidays - so  we packed up the girls
and headed out.
we walked around union station and took lots of fun pictures.



then we took the sky link over to crown center.
they had a gingerbread santa house and somehow
we got there early and santa was already on duty.
we walked right in and got our picture taken.
no line.
best. thing. ever.
although, reid didn't think so.
she was scared of poor ol' santa.
but i had to do it.
i needed the photo. 




after, i talked everyone into having lunch at frisco's.
i had never been, but i knew a little train delivered
your food so i thought the girls would love it.
and they did.
they thought it was so cool.
unfortunately the food the train brought was 
not very good.
live and learn.
choo choo.





we had such a fun day and
decided we want to do it every year.
i just love the holidays.
they're busy and crazy and fun.
just the way i like it.


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

thanksgiving prep

and just like that,
we're two days away from thanksgiving and
then the holidays will be in full swing. 
we're heading down to my parent's on thursday so 
it's nice not to have to pack to stay or madly start
preparing my house for guests.
i'm taking corn and baking a pecan pie and that
basically completes my list of to-do's.
i love easy holidays.
brette, reid and my parents actually already had one
thanksgiving dinner at brette's school.
of course it was the week i had to work and no one
could come in to help cover, so i had to miss it.
my parents were impressed and brette looked so cute.
i'm already looking forward to next year, so
i can see it for myself.
THIS is why i'm a stay-at-home mom, so it
feels like really bad luck that i missed it.


(notice on brette's headdress it lists what she's thankful for? 
apples and ice cream! who knew.)

and another little fun thing, right before thanksgiving,
we had some house guests for one night last weekend.
margie and todd drove in for a chiefs game and
stayed with us.
we met up with shannon and drew the next day for brunch
and tried to get in as much conversation as possible before
marge had to leave.


but luckily, she'll be back in a month to visit the new glover baby,
who is only 3 weeks away from arrival.
it's going to be a fun december.
i need to start decorating and shopping and baking,
but i'm not starting any of that until next weekend.
black friday, here i come!

have a wonderful thanksgiving!
i hope you eat a ton.




Thursday, November 17, 2016

so are the days of our lives


i have been working all week long.
working, as in:
three 10 hour days.
two 8 hour days.
and of course, its my saturday to work too.
tack on another 4 hours.
f i f t y  h o u r s.
i haven't worked a full week in 
probably three years, let alone 
more than forty hours.
i'm tired.
brette's been sleeping like shit.
(i want to pull my hair out.)
i've been getting up by 5:30 and
i'm not back home until after 6:00.
i'm over it and i can't wait for
next week when things are back to normal.

you want to know the worst part?
it's hasn't even been that hard.
my parents stayed up here to watch 
the girls since i don't have full-time childcare, so
it's not like i've been running the kids around
and trying to figure out dinners.
THAT would have made things 800 times worse.
and it makes me extra appreciative of
the last three years i've had at home.
i can't imagine trying to work full time
eight weeks after having a baby. 
it's hard enough to leave my three year old and
one year old as it is.
i guess i like my kids after all.
sometimes i forget that.

okay, i'm off to bed. 
tomorrow is another 10 hour day.
blah.