More Fun in a Box

First Snow

Since Seth was so small last year and didn't actually get to play around in the one and only real snowfall with significant coverage that we had last winter, I consider the snowfall we had this week to be his first actual snow experience. And he loved it! It started snowing in the late afternoon on Thursday and just kept on coming. Eric taught Seth the sign for snow, so every time he passed the front door or window, his little hands would go up in excitement, signing away while his mouth was shouting, "SNOW!"

I was very happy that the snow lingered and we woke up to the ground still covered on Friday morning. In middle Tennessee you just can't take the snow for granted, because although the ground may be significantly covered in an hour's time, it can all be gone within the next hour or so.

Both boys were busting to get out the door to play in the snow. (By the way, getting two boys dressed and ready to play in the snow is quite an event in itself. I was nearly exhausted before we even got out of the door. ) Seth was mostly playing off of Caleb's enthusiasm, since he had never actually been out in the stuff. I guess he figured if something got big brother that excited, then it must be worth his time to check it out, too. It was cute to watch Seth press his little face up against the door and exclaim, "Wook, Momma, wook...Snow!," as he awaited his chance to get out into it.

Of course, the getting dressed effort was worth it, even though Seth would not keep his mittens on. The boys bolted out the door and were instantly enthralled in the wintery fun! Caleb loved eating the snow (of course) and throwing it at me, while Seth was happy running around in it and feeling the crunchiness under his little boots.

I had a difficult time getting the boys to take their eyes off the snow and actually look at the camera, but that is okay. They were having fun and, although Seth was a little shocked that the snow was actually COLD and not as much fun to sit in as he had anticipated, he had a good time experiencing it all for the first time.

"Seriously, Mom?"

"Reindeer ears?"

"Okay, I will humor you...briefly."

No Gorillas Please!!

Each year, since we have been living in Nashville, we take a trip to the Opryland hotel to see all of the Christmas lights! It is such a fun tradition and we usually take it all in the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year, we were a bit delayed in our visit, but continued the tradition the week after Thanksgiving. It was especially fun this year, because Caleb is so into the lights and decorations. So, of course that gets little brother all the more excited! Seth can now spot a Christmas tree from a mile away.

Eric and I thought it would be neat to surprise the boys with a trip to the Rainforest Cafe to start off our festive evening. We had never eaten there before, but stop by to visit the mechanical hippopotamus and snake outside the restaurant every time we are in the Opry Mills mall. In the midst of patting ourselves on the back for thinking up such an exciting treat for the boys, we neglected to thoroughly think the idea through.

Here are some of the questions we should have asked ourselves before our little adventure:

Would a 20-month-old really enjoy eating chicken nuggets surrounded by a bunch of mechanical gorillas? Would said child be totally terrified by the whole experience, hold his little head down, and cling, with all his might, to the closest parent, making it a little difficult for anyone to eat? Would the oh-so adventurous big brother even be scared ("but only a little," he said) of the big elephants in the corner? (Aren't elephants his favorite animal?) Who would have thought the cool rain storm, that occured every 30 minutes, would send Sethie into sheer panic?




No, we did not think of these outcomes...not until it was too late. Caleb did end up thinking that the place was pretty cool. Seth never did really warm up to the whole idea. We had to turn him to where his chair did not face the gorillas. Thank goodness for the balloons that they put on the back of the chairs. That did provide the little guy with some security and enjoyment. We just hope he is not forever traumatized!


















Seth was much more at ease at the Opryland hotel, amid all of the lights and Christmas trees. Both boys had a great time! We went on a Wednesday night, so it was not nearly so crowded, and it gave the boys lots of room to run around in certain areas. And Eric and I were very happy to share a special night together with our boys and see all of the wonder through their sweet little eyes.

See, much happier with his balloon! And away from the gorillas!

Caleb actually took these two shots. Not too shabby for a four-year-old.

Up, Up, and Away!!

We took a trip to Opry Mills Mall over Thanksgiving weekend when Memaw and Pepaw were visiting. As soon as we walked into the mall, Caleb saw kids flying through the air and immediately wanted to take part. There was a strategically placed jumping apparatus in our view. I don't know how to describe such a device, but I am sure most people have seen them at the mall and/or amusement parks, and have probably thought the same thing that I have: "Who would let there child participate in that?" Well, now I can add myself to that list. An apparently long list, since we ended up waiting about 45 minutes for Caleb to have a turn. Caleb (and Memaw) were troopers as they waited patiently in that line, as Seth delightfully ran around the open area, happy to be freed from the stroller. (By the way, the lighting did not make for good photos or good videoing, as you can see.)



Thoughts of just how safe this crazy apparatus really could be, along with thoughts of whiplash and vertically compressive forces impacting my son's developing little spine flashed through my brain. But only for a minute. Caleb's adventurous spirit won out over both my protective mother bear instincts and my chiropractically educated brain. Not to mention my frugal, almost to a fault, nature. That part was taken care of, though, since it was Memaw's treat.

Caleb had a blast and I got him on video shouting, "This is the funnest thing EVER!!" The guy operating the ride was really good with Caleb and helped fly him through the air and do some of the tricks that Caleb's light body weight would not allow him to do on his own. In all of his excitement, Caleb also slung snot on the poor operator guy while he was flying through the air. I got that on video, too! I did dispose of the guy's tissue for him, so hopefully that made up it a little for that. Oh, the occupational hazards of flying kiddos through the air!

O' Christmas Tree

One thing I found out about myself last Friday when we were putting up the Christmas tree, is that I can be a little possessive when it comes to decorating the tree. I did not know this about myself. Of course, this was the first year that Caleb actually had an opinion about where he wanted the ornaments to be placed and was extremely zealous in getting them on the tree. See, I like to take my time as I pull each ornament out of the box and reflect on the significance of each decoration. My four-year-old, on the other hand, just saw a bare tree and knew that it needed some flair...IMMEDIATELY! While I was in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch on Friday after we had spent the morning assembling the Christmas tree, Caleb proceeded to decorate the tree by himself. (Of course it was only the lower half that got covered) I admit, he did a pretty good job. But I had envisioned us all lovingly placing the ornaments one at a time on the tree while reminiscing about good times and Christmases past. Okay, I don't think I actually thought it flow that smoothly, but I did at least want to participate. Oh well.

Have I mentioned how sweet, kind, and patient my husband is? I was still feeling pretty lousy from being sick and now I was somewhat disappointed, so I took my overly sensitive and coughing self off to bed for a nap once lunch was finished. When I woke up, the tree was bare again, except for the lights. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it until Caleb came downstairs and told me that he wanted to decorate the tree together. Sniffle (and I am sure there was a cough in there, too) I am not sure how much "gentle" persuading that it took on Eric's part, but I was grateful. Grateful that he was able to nudge him without breaking his festive little spirit.

Caleb was more than happy to do it all over again! And it was a lot of fun, even if some of the branches had more than one ornament and the majority of the ornaments ended up on the bottom two rows of branches. I do think it just may be our most beautiful Christmas tree ever!


There really is no theme to our tree, or symmetry for that matter, but it is filled with so many memories. Our ornaments do not match, but there seems to be a story with almost every piece we put on the tree...from the Christmas stocking ornament I made at day care in 1980 to the hand painted ornaments that Caleb had made for each of the last three years. There are all of the family ornaments that the Sims' family gives us each year, that have grown from two snowmen together in 2002 to four carolers in 2008. Pictures of Seth and Caleb's first Christmases adorn the top of the tree near the angel, as well as two bears in purple princess dresses that Eric picked out in memory of our sweet twins whom we lost to miscarriage in 2005. It is a sweet reminder of their very brief earthly lives.

My favorite part is our tradition of Eric and I picking out a special ornament each year that we call "our" ornament. We started doing this when we had been dating for only four months and nine Christmases later, we look forward to finding that ornament that will be ours each year.

Here is a little stroll down memory lane (more for me and for journaling sake, but feel free to read along):

2000- A Santa Claus walking a schnauzer-Eric's family has had three schnauzers and at the time had a sweet one named KeeKee. Eric LOVES dogs!!! I think in the early stages of our dating, I may have faked a little more dog enthusiasm than I actually had...to get the guy, of course. It worked.

2001-A glass ornament with a picture of a Jack Russell terrier (could be JC's brother)-By this point, the fake enthusiasm had turned to real enthusiasm, as we had adopted JC in May, two months before I left for school in Iowa, which meant I had two boys that I missed terribly in that first year away.

2002-The Sim's first Workman family ornament; two snowmen (with our names on them) with a heart underneath reading Our First Christmas Together -This year we cheated. We didn't actually pick out an ornament. I am not sure why. It was probably a combination of me being nuts with exams right before break and all of the travel we had done that fall back in forth between KY and Iowa for weddings. We were just too tired to remember, even though it was our first year as a married couple. Thanks, Sims, for saving the day!

2003-A little ocean scene Caribbean ornament-The day after Christmas, Patti and Gary took us on a cruise of the Caribbean. It was our first cruise and a lot of good food! We also had a little stowaway that we didn't know we had carried on board until a few weeks later.

2004-A teddy bear in a UT sweater-To celebrate our first Christmas in Tennessee (and with the aforementioned stowaway), we thought it was only appropriate to christen our tree with a little orange. No worries; we are still true blue Kentucky fans! But a little orange is okay. We also had an array of baby's first Christmas ornaments, but the UT bear was "our" ornament.

2005-Mini Cracker Barrel ornament-I know most people think we are a little off because we have a weird obsession with Cracker Barrel restaurant, but after all, it is where Eric and I first met. So it does have sentimental value. Enough to put a little miniature version of the restaurant right in the middle of our tree. Did we mention we also have a Christmas village Cracker Barrel on our kitchen table? Maybe that is a little extreme. The barrel ornament is also a symbol of 2005 being the year I laid down my pride, decided to put practice on hold to stay home with my baby, and strapped on the ole apron again (something I NEVER thought I would do again) and took a part-time job with an "old friend".

2006-A tennis ball with a Santa hat-Somehow this ornament has snuck its way onto Caleb's little tree in his room. We just thought this was really cute and since one can rarely find a tennis ball amid all of the football, baseball, and basketball paraphernalia, we grabbed that baby up at Hobby Lobby. We both enjoy tennis, but Eric LOVES the game, as do our boys. In 2006, Caleb took an interest in the game and would take his little racket out with Eric and play with the big boys.

2007-A pirate ornament-This was the year of the pirate in our house! Everything was about pirates for Biz. We saw the ornament at Black Lion in Opry Mills and there was no discussion, we had to get it!

2008-A log cabin Pigeon Forge ornament-We usually take a family vacation with Eric's family each year, but this was the first year that we took a vacation with my family. We spent four days with my family in Pigeon Forge, TN, and hope to make it a tradition.

And as with most things, the box has this mysterious appeal and is usually more of an attention getter than the actual contents. This is actually where Seth could be found during the decorating festivities.

Say Merry Christmas and Thank You at the same time

I copied the following post from my friend CJ's blog. I thought it was a great way to express gratitude to those sacrifising so much for us over the Christmas season and throughout the year.

Here is the information:


"Zerox is doing something cool this Christmas season. Click on this link to send a free card (drawn by elementary school kids around the nation) and the thank you message of your choice to a soldier overseas. You don't get to personally choose which soldier it goes to, but you do get the joy and satisfaction of knowing you brightened the day of someone who doesn't get nearly as much appreciation as he or she deserves. "

Who is that Blue Haired Target Lady?

It just wouldn't be a weekend with Memaw without a visit from the "Target Lady!" (For those of you unfamiliar, it is from a Saturday Night Live skit) It is one of Biz's most favorite Memaw activities. He gets out his cash register and the craziness begins. And the blue hair just topped it all off.

Seth would have nothing to do with his fuzzy wig, but the bigger boys had fun trying on their new 'dos (complements of Memaw and Pepaw) in preparation for another season of Kentucky basketball. Go Cats! It will be interesting cheering them on with that blue hair flying around!

Eating Applesauce and Watching Pepaw on TV

I love Christmas TV specials!!! 'Tis the Season! I remember when I was little mom would make such a big deal about specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and all of the Claymation specials that, before they were put on VHS and DVD, you could only see one time a year. And, oh what a time that was! I have many fond memories of Becky and I getting so excited, sitting in our pjs and eating mom's peanut butter balls, while watching our favorite Christmas shows. Good times.

So, I was elated when I turned on the TV last night and discovered that both the Grinch and Shrek the Halls were coming on. Hooray! That helped make our loooong Monday without daddy a bit sweeter.

The boys enjoyed a little apple sauce while watching Shrek the Halls on television. Okay, so it wasn't mom's peanut butter balls, but I didn't have much notice. Then, Caleb sat in awe as he watched the Grinch. He sat completely silent for the first half, and then spent the second half of the show asking me a barrage of questions like: "Why is he taking those people's things?," "Why does the Grinch think he is Santa Claus?," "Why does that little girl think he is Santa Claus?," "What's a Who?,""Why is the Grinch so mean?," "Does the Grinch not have Jesus in his heart?," "Why are those people singing?" And on and on. When it was all said and done, I think he did learn a good lesson from it.

The highlight of the night, though (for me anyway), was when Seth caught his first glimpse of Shrek on TV. He started pointing and happily exclaiming, "Pepaw! Pepaw! Wook, Momma, Wook!" I burst out laughing! I am not sure if I saw the resemblance, but Seth sure did! It was really cute.

Caught in the Act...Sort of

The biggest challenge lately for our four-year-old has been to STAY OFF the kitchen counter in the mornings. Caleb has always been the first Workman in the house to awaken. Thankfully, he has stretched his 6am wake-up call to closer to 7am, which makes for a much happier mommy and family, in general. Usually, keeping him off the counter is not an issue. But for the past week, we have had more sweet treats in the house than usual, so those curious little taste buds have gotten the best of our little guy on multiple occasions. Four out of the last seven mornings, he has gotten caught sneaking treats while the rest of the Workmans were peacefully sleeping. Not that I actually saw him do any of it...the evidence was usually right on Caleb's face.


Monday-Caleb was just so excited that he had eaten the chocolate chips out of the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that he simply gave himself away by blurting it out as he greeted me that morning.


Tuesday-On this morning, I was actually awake when the thieving occurred. I was upstairs and Caleb was calling from downstairs that Seth was trying to get on the counter to eat the cookies. Once I made it downstairs to investigate, there was my oldest with lips covered in chocolate. I asked Caleb if, in fact, he had been the cookie culprit. Realizing the evidence was right on his face, he quickly turned around and attempted to wipe his mouth with his sleeve. Then he confessed.


Friday-While making breakfast, I noticed mysterious "tracks" in the pumpkin streussal pie. I proceeded to question Caleb (who had crumbs on his chin) about who could have gotten into the pie WITHOUT PERMISSION. He quickly confessed and accepted his punishment to have no other sweet treats for the day. However, later on in the day when Eric and I were sharing a piece of pie, he got a bit upset when he had to be reminded that he couldn't share in the treat because he had broken the rule earlier in the day. His response to why he took the pie without permission: "Well, I thought I wouldn't get caught." Oh, the honesty.


Saturday-I actually didn't catch him this time, Memaw did. She came into the kitchen early to the sounds of rustling paper and then a quick hand stuffing something behind his back. Memaw asked if he had been in the mints. Sheepishly, he looked up into those loving Memaw eyes. And since everyone knows that Memaws have more grace with their grandsons than their mommas do, he was told that if he was honest he would not get into trouble. He was honest, and no punishment was rendered.


So, we are working on staying off the counters. Stricter rules have been implemented as well as more well defined consequences. However, with no sweet treats in the house this week for sneaky hands and mouths to delight in, the temptation has been significantly lessened.