Happily Ever After...

I don't post much about my boys, primarily because they are no longer boys, they are men,(sniff) and I want to respect their privacy. But today, I decided to violate my own rule and brag a bit on both my boys in a few posts. For my birthday this year, my oldest son, Justin decided to give me the gift of a date night out with him. His life is pretty busy right now- He is on the graphic design team for a major children's clothing retailer, church and care groups, he has become quite the gym rat, and he has a love interest that is not necessarily in the same state. He may be moving away.... Despite it all, he is a faithful firstborn son and accept the responsibility that brings. He calls several times a day to check on me when his dad is out of town. He watches the girls twice a month so his dad and I can date. I know that, God forbid, if anything ever happened to his dad, he would step in to assume the roles needed to care for the girls and I. A date night was the perfect gift. ...

February is a notoriously insane month for our family. We begin the month with our anniversary, then we a have a birthday palooza, and when we finally recover- it's March. I took absolutely no photos of all the birthday festivities, so I decided that it was time to pull out those unpublished Christmas photos. Matching Christmas Eve jammies. Gianna named her doll "Brenda" which is another story for another time. Brenda??? We believe in lots and lots of vanilla steamed milks when it's cold. Happy Birthday Jesus cake. His got photographed before it was consumed. Ryan and mine weren't so lucky. Bentley likes to observe all the fun from his perch. (He thinks he's a cat.) Ahh, the coveted zhuzhu pets. This years hottest item. At the height of the frenzy these little $8 rodents sold on ebay for $50. I am not crazy, however, and bought them early. Since my girls don't want TV with commercials, they had no idea what they were. Thankfully, they loved them any way. S...

May your day be filled with kisses. And snuggles from those you love. May you enjoy unexpected surprises. (Like 3 inches of snow in GA) And may your snowman.. ...be Chinese. Happy Year of the Tiger!

"Hi, let me re-introduce myself. My name is Cristy, and I have a blog that I have SORELY neglected. I'm so sorry for those who thought f or sure that our house had burned to the ground, or that I had contracted the bubonic plague, or possibly that I had been carried away by a pack of rabid possums. I just wanted to reassure you that I am indeed alive." So, hmmm, where have I been for the past, say 3 weeks or more? Homeschooling. Swim lessons twice a week. Art class on Tuesdays. Science club on Fridays (for which I am the room mom, which literally means I stay in the room for 2 hours each week to help the teacher. Weird, I know.) Piano lessons. Did I mention homeschooling? Ah, yes, and then there is play group on Thursdays (which I wouldn't miss ever. I promise Aimee. Unless of course I am carried away by rabid possums and then I will you my entire stash of chocolate chai.) Oh, and a few friends and I started a girl -scout- like group called "Keepers at Home...

I was born in the mid-west and grew up in Colorado. I LOVE winter. I love SNOW even more! Living in Virginia, we got our fair share of decent snowfalls. I woke up as excited as the kids at 5 AM to hear if schools were closed. We spent our days sledding, sipping hot chocolate, and enjoying all things winter. We are so crazy about the stuff that one year IN THE MIDDLE of a blizzard, we walked 2 miles pulling the boys on sleds to the grocery store. Not because we needed anything. Nope. Just for the thrill of walking two miles in the blustery snow. Crazy, I know. This weekend, we celebrate 7 years of living in Georgia. It has flurried a few times, but the only significant accumulation happened when we were in the Mediterranean and we missed the whole thing. Mind you, no one heard me complain from Greece about the one I missed! To give me that "winter" feel, I decorate my house with reminders of snowfalls past. This year,I decided to extend some of my Christmas decorations and mak...

The girls and I were talking about how we all have the same last name, which was a "light bulb" moment for Gianna. They then, asked me what my other name is. I had to stop and think. Do I have another name other than Mommy or Honey? Oh right. I'm D..... Cristy Cl@xton. (but since I don't answer to D....., except at the Dr.'s office, I'm Cristy to all my friends. And acquaintances. And BJ's, Netflix, Costco and any other retailer that has my name.) So I'm Dawn. Except I'm not. Which the girls found to be rather funny. Aria then asked me what my Chinese name is. She was SHOCKED to learn I don't have one. "So I call you Mommy but your name is D... and you go by Cristy, and (gasp) you have NO Chinese name???? " "Where were you born?!?" "I was born in the United States of America, Sweetie." She started to giggle and said, "So, you're only American? Well, I am Chinese- American." I guess in the melt...

Every year at Christmas, Daddy takes all three of his girls to do something special. This year, we went to our favorite place to have tea. We laughed and laughed about the differences in our girls. Both are very girly girls. Both are giddy and excited about tea with Daddy, but one of my girls may or may not need additional manners training. HA! Aria is my prim and proper girl. Patiently waiting for her tea, making sweet small talk, and remembering all her manners. Gianna's not gonna lie- For her, it's all about the FOOD. And she wants it NOW! Aria showed me how to politely fold her hands while waiting for more hot chocolate. Gianna couldn't wait to down that poor unsuspecting mouse! Aria remembered to lift her pinky finger when sipping tea. Gianna forgot that shoveling food in your mouth AND talking excitedly at the same time *might* not be polite. But BOTH girls were very polite in careful in the gift shop as Daddy let them pick out a tea cup to start their collection. Eac...