it's almost 2013

As 2012 is coming to a close I thought I would end the first year of my blog the same way I started it, by posting our Woinarowicz family Christmas letter.  We have had an amazing, fun, crazy, busy year with lots of trips, celebrations and major milestones.  I hope that this holiday season has found everyone out there happy, healthy and getting to spend time with the people they love the most.

See you all in 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The 12 months of 2012

Read to the tune of “The 12 days of Christmas” and see what Cayden and Harper did this year.

 

JANUARY – IN THE 1^ST MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…SETTLED IN TO OUR NEW HOUSE

We finally got to move into our new house in Bismarck Christmas weekend and worked on getting settled in January.  It was like Christmas all over again when I got to see all of my old toys and stuffed animals after such a long time.  I think that Harper was excited too because she got to have her own room and doesn’t have to share with Mom and Dad any more.

FEBRUARY – IN THE 2^ND MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID… MOMMY’S VACATION

Mommy and Grandma Shell took a trip to Mexico.  They were gone for a long time and looked funny with their different skin when they came back but they did bring Cayden and I some really great presents.  Plus we got to spend a whole week at home with Daddy. 

MARCH – IN THE 3^RD MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…IT’S STILL WINTER

Mommy baked a LOT of cupcakes.  I think because it was still cold outside and she needed something to do because she doesn’t play with guys like I do or with little ponies like Harper does.  I am not complaining though, they were yummy. 

APRIL – IN THE 4^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…MY FIRST CIRCUS

We got to go to the circus with Cayden’s friend Hunter and his Mommy.  I slept through a lot of it but I know Cayden was so excited by it.  We saw lots of animals and clowns and got fun treats.  Mommy bought me fuzzy, light-up bunny ears that really came in handy for Halloween.  I can’t wait to go back next year!

MAY – IN THE 5^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…WENT TO THE BEACH

Mommy, Harper and I flew on the airplane to North Carolina.  We got to swim in the pool at the hotel, eat fondue (my new favorite way to eat supper), went to the beach to play in the sand and ocean and went to see all the sharks and fishes at the aquarium.  It was a so much fun even though Daddy had to stay home.

JUNE – IN THE 6^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID …LOTS OF CELEBRATING

I got to be a cowgirl in Medora!  We were there for Great-Grandma and Grandpa’s 50^th anniversary.  I can’t count that high but we had a good time.  Cayden had fun riding all the horses in front of the stores and even yelled “Yee-haw.”  He made a good cowboy.  Then it was time for my 1^st birthday.  Mommy made me a ladybug party and I got to have so many people at my house.  I’m a big girl now!

JULY – IN THE 7^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…OUR VERY FIRST PARADE

On the 4^th of July, Mommy and Daddy took Harper and I to watch our very first parade.  I never knew that you could get so much candy and it was awesome seeing all the different trucks and tractors.  My favorite part (other than the candy) was the horses though.  Harper like when people came by us playing music so she could dance.  It was so much fun!

AUGUST – IN THE 8^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID …A WEDDING IN THE RAIN

Cayden, Mommy, Daddy and I went to North Carolina for cousin Mandy’s wedding.  I got to wear a pretty gold sparkly dress and Cayden had a fun bow-tie.  We didn’t ride our wagon down the aisle but I think we still did a good job as the flower girl and ring bearer, even in the rain. 

SEPTEMBER – IN THE 9^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID …CAYDEN STARTED PRESCHOOL

I got to start school this year.  We get to do all sorts of fun things with my new friends and teachers and Mommy and Daddy are proud of me learning to write my letters and numbers.  My favorite part is singing our good-bye song before we leave.  I even sing it to Mommy when she picks me up.

OCTOBER – IN THE 10^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID …SUPERHERO PARTY

This month was Cayden’s 4^th birthday.  Everything was Spiderman and superheroes.  Mommy even made me my own superhero shirt.  We all had so much fun playing with his new toys but he doesn’t let me play with them anymore.  We also got to go trick-or-treating this year.  Cayden was spiderman (with great big muscles) and I was a bunny.  Grandma Shell made my bunny costume and I loved wearing it!

NOVEMBER – IN THE 11^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…ANOTHER FUN AIRPLANE

Mommy, Daddy, Harper and I went to North Carolina again.  I got to go fishing with all the boys, I hunted for acorns and I drove Pop’s tractor.  Mommy and Pop got Harper and I Chicago Bears shirts to surprise Daddy the day they played his football team.  I don’t think Daddy liked the surprise or that his team lost but Mommy thought it was really funny!

DECEMBER – IN THE 12^TH MONTH OF 2012, THIS IS WHAT WE DID…HEADING TO NEBRASKA      

After we spend a quiet Christmas at home in Bismarck, I get to go to Nebraska (with Mommy, Daddy and Cayden of course) for cousin Brenda’s wedding.  I usually don’t like to take long trips in the car but I think we will have a good drive.  Cayden and I will have all our fun new toys and movies from Santa so we can keep busy while Mommy and Daddy Drive.

Christmas crafting

This year for Christmas I decided to make a lot of the gifts that I was planning to give and some things that I wanted to have around our house.  There are still some friends whose kids haven't gotten their gift so I won't post a picture of that project quite yet.  Here are three of my favorite craft projects from this season that were all big hits.  And, of course, my new best friend was there every step of the way.

My glue gun was permanently camped out on my kitchen counter for about a month.

1. Harper's bedroom wreath: I wanted to make a wreath for each of the kids' bedroom doors.  They already had a small tree in their rooms with ornaments and lights they picked out themselves but I wanted their doors to scream "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" when you walked down our hallway.  Not wanting to go overboard but not having much for ideas I hit Pinterest.  Being someone who loves to bake and craft, I have to limit my time on Pinterest to only those special occasions when I have something specific in mind and need some ideas.  After about 45 minutes of scouring pictures of wreaths, I came across one fluffy one covered in faux fur.  From that picture, this is what I created for Harper:

The fur wasn't as fluffy as the one on Pinterest but it works well with the big letter (and wasn't quite as messy).  By wrapping small sections of fur around the foam wreath and gluing the strips as I went I was left with a few small sections that needed to be filled in.  Little triangle shaped pieces fit nicely and fluffing the fur a little make the seams less noticeable.  The letter is just a simple wooden letter modge podged with Christmas fabric.

2. Not wanting Cayden and Harper to have the same kind of wreath on their door, I found another idea on Pinterest and then let Cayden have some of the creative design control.  Here is what he chose:

 

The wreath itself is wool yarn wrapped around a foam circle.  Cayden chose the red yarn after he decided that we wanted the peppermint candies on his special decoration.  He LOVES peppermint Hershey kisses, M&Ms and candy canes so his choice in decor was actually very appropriate.  I glued the ends of the yarn on the wreath when I started and then when I was done wrapping it around.  The candy decorations came in groups from Hobby Lobby and the wires stuck into the foam easily.  I did glue some of them in place and used the tight yarn to hold others in place.

 

3. Peppermint Bath Salts: Between secret Santa drawings at work, Cayden's teachers, the kids' daycare and some friends I wanted to give gifts to, this idea was the easiest and got the very best reception. 

 

 

The salts themselves were incredibly easy to make (1 cup Epsom salt, 1/2 cup coarse sea salt; divided in half with red food coloring added to one half and a few drops of peppermint or mint extract added to the other half).  I put each mixture into a Ziploc baggie and cut a small hole in the bottom.  Alternating the two mixtures so that there were different layers I filled a simple canning jar.  Adding a candy cane, a small coffee scoop and a hand written note the finished product turned out rather cool.



 

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I LOVE Christmas time!  Seeing lights on houses as we drive through town, seeing Christmas trees through windows, unpacking all my lighted houses, snowmen and 30 (yes, 30...I am using that number in reference to myself and I am not sure I like it) holidays worth of ornaments makes me smile every time.  The best part of all, though, is seeing the look on the kids' faces the first time they see my little village all lit up, seeing the tree completely decorated and seeing our house covered in lights as we drive down our street.  These simple little things make them so excited that it gets me excited to do it every year.  I don't care if people come to my house and think that Santa threw up garland and fake snow everywhere or if they compare the lights on the outside of my house to the Griswolds...as long as it makes Cayden and Harper smile I will keep doing it!  Truth-be-told, I will probably keep doing it long after they think it's fun too.  I.JUST.CAN'T.STOP.MYSELF!

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving weekend

For the first time in the 8 years since he moved to North Carolina, I (we) got to be with my dad on a major holiday!  It was a long time coming and an absolutely fantastic trip.  Despite the fact that we were traveling on Thanksgiving and our flight into Charlotte was delayed about 3+ hours (not doing much to improve my opinion of your airline or customer service Delta) we made it to Dad's by 7pm and just in time for dinner.  Anyone who has traveled with young kids know what I am talking about when I say that we got plenty of dirty looks from people sitting down around us on the plane when they saw Cayden and Harper.  It's a good thing that the drunk lady in front of Jake wasn't talking loud enough for me to hear her rant about drugging my kids with Benadryl if they start to get loud en route.  Little did all of these nasty people know that my kids are pros when it comes to air travel and were incredibly well behaved the WHOLE time!

 

 

 

Part of the reason for our long (6 days away from work = heaven!) vacation in November was to have a holiday together, finally, but also to celebrate a big milestone.  Starting with G&G's 50th anniversary and Harper's 1st birthday this past summer, we have a full year of major milestones in our family including 60th, 50th, 40th, my 30th (YIKES!!!) and 21st birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc.  This week was my Dad's 50th birthday.  It was so amazing to get to spend this important day with the first man in my life and the best Pop my kids could possibly have.  We had an amazing time relaxing up in the back-woods of North Carolina, getting to have a true Griswold Thanksgiving weekend (with 12 adults, 2 kids, 6 dogs and a cat all in attendance) and a fantastic birthday for Dad in the mountains! 

 

Cayden was in HEAVEN getting to drive Pop's tractor!  Pop was pretty proud too.




making the trek back to the house from the dock (it's not that far but the hill is pretty steep)




So proud of his acorn and pine cone finds!




The two best uncles any two little kids could have!




Daddy was not impressed that Mommy and Pop dressed the kids in Bears gear when they were playing the Vikings.  I am happy to report that all of our positive vibes helped the Bears wipe the floor with the Vikings!



the most important parenting tool

I feel like when you become a parent, from day one, you start to build this little arsenal of parenting tools and tricks.  Each item in your arsenal is a way to handle certain situations, a way to get your kids to cooperate and behave.  Items will vary depending on the child and the parent, however there is one that almost never fails and that is part of every parents array of tricks.  It is the one secret weapon that any parent can pull out and accomplish what they need to.  BRIBERY!!!

I am sure that I have said this before and I will most likely say it again, but any parent of toddlers and/or young kids who says that they do not have to use bribery with their kids is LYING!  Admit it, bribing your kids with a treat they don't normally get to eat, a toy they want, a trip to the zoo or park, etc. is a sure-fire way to end a meltdown before it is in full swing.  It's a way to get your kids to behave in public, eat their vegetables, pick up their toys, pretty much do anything that we as parents need from our kids every once in a while. 

Here's why it works...your kids rely on you for everything.  They need you to provider them with all of the things that they need (food, clothing, diapers, personal hygiene) but they also need you to get them the things that they want.  Until they reach an age when they can work and earn their own spending money, they need to come to you for trips to places they want to visit, toys that they see on TV and now must have this minute, the chance to watch TV so that they can see all those commercials with toys they think they need, etc. 

It also only works if you are willing to eventually give them what they are asking for.  If you are always promising to give them fruit snacks or M&Ms but never deliver, your kids will figure that out and won't believe you the next time you try and use this amazing and effective tool in your arsenal of parenting tricks. 

If you have really smart kids, like I do.  You may have to learn to be a little sneaky with your bribery.  They may not always come right out and say that they want something that will give you some leverage but they will always drop little hints without even realizing it.  For example, Cayden told me the other day that his red spiderman didn't have the right guy to fight.  Stupid me, I tried suggesting that this particular spiderman could fight one of the many other spiderman guys he currently has spread throughout his bedroom.  Spiderman is BIG in our house right now, in case you hadn't caught on to that part yet.  His response to me "Mommy (said in his 'I am completely annoyed that you would even suggest this' voice), red spidermans can fight each other.  They're friends.  Red spidermans only fight black spidermans."  Then he walked away.  Little did he know that he had just provided me with my newest bribery mechanism.  He wants a black spiderman.  And, thanks to this black spiderman conversation I am anticipating I will have a happy, cooperative little boy for the next few days.  Not only will Cayden behave at the promise of a new toy, we can also use that same item as leverage for good behavior after it is in hand because he now knows he must continue to earn his new toys. 

So, don't be ashamed that you need to use this parenting trick.  Be proud of the fact that you found a way to outsmart your child (even if it is temporary).  Because, at the end of some very long and challenging days, parenting can sometime just be about surviving, about doing what you have to do to make it to the next week, the next day, even the next hour where there is the promise of better, happier kids who will hug you, smile at you and say "I wuv you" in a way that makes your heart melt.

top of the list and NEVER again

Barnes and Noble is officially at the top of my s*#t list.  It's supposed to be a book store.  A nice, quiet place for me to be able to take my kids after having been homebound by a blizzard for 2 days without having to engage in our usual shopping fight about wanting and not buying toys.  Unfortunately, Barnes and Noble has decided that I need to be having this fight with Cayden absolutely everywhere we go and as a result has added a section of expensive toys (mostly trains).  SO NOT COOL!  I get that the toys go along with some of the books but seriously?  SERIOUSLY!?!  Now a nice trip to the book store with my kids quickly turns into a miserable 10 minutes with Harper wanting to get out of my arms and play while Cayden screams and cries the whole way back out of the store because I won't buy him the $30 train car.  Anyone out there who has had a child have a complete meltdown in public knows the kind of dirty looks you get from all of the strangers around you watching the meltdown play out as you threaten to leave the store without them if they don't follow you right this minute.  I swear I am not going to take my kids there again until they are in high school. 

birthday boy

Four years ago today I was sitting in my hospital room looking out at the beautiful city of Grand Forks (note the sarcasm) anxiously awaiting my discharge papers.  I couldn't wait to go home with my newborn baby boy and start our new life as a family of three, not just a married couple.  And when I say I was anxious, I mean it.  This day was following 9 months of pregnancy that included a 60lb weight gain, heartburn that I thought was going to burn a hole through my insides and being out of breath after walking from my office to my car; three weeks of contractions, 21 hours of labor and 24 hours of nurses coming in pushing on, poking and bothering both me and my baby.  I wanted out of there. 

Today, I woke up my now four year old son who seems to have grown and matured overnight.  He is challenging, independent, loving, careful, thoughtful and so incredibly smart.  Every day I feel like he and I grow up a little bit more and my relationship with him becomes more and more special.  The day he was born he gave me the most important and beautiful gift I could have ever received...he made me a mom, the one thing that I never knew I was always meant to be.  For the rest of my life I will do whatever I can to make sure that I do my best with that gift!

Thank you beautiful boy! 

Happy Birthday!!! 

Happy Halloween!!!

I love you more than words could ever say!!!