The Kitchings Family

Kenney's Pool Party

2010-07-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

We were in Galveston for Kennedy's 12th birthday and we finally got around to planning a party for her friends. We decided to use the community pool for a pool party. It was a lot of fun!

Nora's visit to The American Girl store

2010-07-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

My friend and I took our girls to the American Girl store in Dallas today.

We had brunch in the bistro and it was such a great experience.

It's so cute, the dolls get a special chair to join you at your table.

Enjoying a hot chocolate. Well....mostly the whip!

LOVES her mommy!

She LOVED this campfire set. (Noted - her birthday is in 22 days!)

Posing in front of the Girl Of The Year display.

July 4th weekend

2010-07-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to my In Laws lake house. The kids had fun swimming off the dock. The water was a little cold and the weather was overcast but Nora did get in for a few minutes.

We didn't get to go out on the Jet Ski's (MIL says no way on busy holidays - too much lake traffic!) But Nora did get to pretend.

Then we had a major downpour and we were worried the fireworks would be cancelled but after about 30 minutes it cleared up and we headed out on the boat to watch the fireworks from the water! It was awesome! It was Nora's first time on a boat!

On Sunday I took Nora downtown to watch the parade. She got lots of Ooohs and Ahhhhs from the people on the floats. So cute!

Then Sunday night we went and watched the city Fireworks display. It was PACKED! They were great - Nora loved it!

Oh - and if you are wondering why I only have pics of Nora, well Kennedy won't let me take her picture and Hannah is always gone - with a friend or her boyfriend. LOL!

I sure hope this works!

2010-07-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have just put torture devices on my sweet baby girl!

Here she is sucking that thumb!

We went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago and she said we need to stop.

She recommended the thumb guards.

So I have put them on Nora and tucked her in to bed.

It says we have to do the thumb guards for 30 days for it to be effective.

I sure hope this works!

Gavleston

2010-06-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful vacation! 4 days in Galveston with my family, my parents, and my brothers.

The beach house was amazing and the beach was awesome! The water was so warm!

The big girls each got to bring a friend. They had such a good time together.

We enjoyed a great dinner at a Mexican food restaurant in the historical district.

Most of our time was spent playing on the beach and in the ocean!

Or just hanging out on the patio.

But on the 19th we did have something to celebrate! Kennedy's 12th birthday!

She chose to go to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner.

It was an amazing vacation that I will never forget!

Thanks mom and dad!!

Snow Day!

2010-02-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

We have snow in Texas!! It snowed ALL DAY LONG yesterday and left us with a winter wonderland! It is just beautiful and white! The big girls played in it all last night and this morning but I didn't get Nora out in it until this afternoon. She had a ball! She didn't complain once about being cold. She made and threw lots of snowballs, made a snow angel, and helped us make 2 snowmen!

I hope that Nora remembers this fun snow day!

It might be a LONG time before we have another one like it!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T06:36:00.001-08:00

Well, Nora decided she did not want to be a Cowgirl for Halloween. Luckily I still had last years costume and it fit so she was a fairy princess instead! She was so excited to go trick-or-treating!

Hannah was a Candy Corn Witch. She looked adorable!

Kennedy didn't really want to dress up but I told her she couldn't trick-or-treat without a costume. She really wanted candy so she dressed up as a soccer player....big stretch!

We met up with our neighbors Kristen, Mike, and Kendall. Kendall turned one year old the day before. She was so cute in her Monarch Butterfly costume!

Nora with her LOOT!

Happy Halloween!!

The Punkin' Patch

2009-11-01T06:22:00.000-08:00

We got so lucky and had beautiful weather for the Punkin' Patch. We went to this great little place in Celina, way out in the country. We had been there before when the big girls were little.

We started off by feeding the animals. (can you say Hand Sanitizer?!?!)

Then Nora spotted the bounce house and slide so of course we had to visit those!

Obligatory pics with the pumpkins!

Fun on the hay ride!

Kennedy and Nora took a ride on tractor train.

Fun was had by all!

Nee-Haw Cowboy!

2009-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween Nora is dressing up as a cowgirl.

She already had the red boots and an old straw hat and she would run around the house saying "Nee-Haw, Nee-Haw!" so I thought it would be a perfect costume for her.

The costume arrived in the mail today and she wanted the hat before we could even get out of the car! She loves her costume!

Tonight was the Fall carnival at my school. Nora had a blast. She got to wear her costume and she even WON the costume constest for her age group!

SO STINKIN' CUTE!!

Do you know what this is??

2009-10-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

Nora doesn't!

Last night Nora and I went over to my friend Candie's house to visit. Nora was having a ball playing with her son Cannon and all of his boy toys. While we were playing cards Nora found this toy gun on the floor by us and she asked me "What is this?" I said "What do you think it is?" She didn't know so I said "Is it a hammer?" She was like "Yeah! It's a hammer!" and she almost started banging it on the wall! It was so funny!

She has obviously grown up with only sisters!

Funny Faces

2009-09-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Nora wanted me to take her picture earlier today.

Somehow we ended up doing shots of funny faces!

She was cracking me up! She was cracking herself up too as you can see in the last picture!

Homecoming!

2009-09-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

McKinney Boyd High School homecoming was this weekend. The dance was on Saturday night. Hannah was so excited!

She found a dress and some shoes that she loved and looked gorgeous!

She did not have a date so she went with some friends. What fun!

Fun Bus!

2009-09-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

Nora turned 3 on August 2nd and we waited until school started to have her party so she could invite her friends from school. During the school year the Fun Bus comes every Monday to Nora's preschool and she LOVES it! It's like a gym on wheels. So I thought it would be perfect for her party!

IT'S HERE!!!! She was so excited when it pulled up!

The people who run the fun bus are awesome! They are so great with the kids!

Back inside for cake and presents!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA!!

You are such a big girl!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well the whole family was set to go to mass this morning but Kennedy ended up with a stomach bug so she had to stay home with daddy. But Nora, Hannah, and I did go. Here are some pics of Nora after mass on the alter.

and here is Hannah looking more beautiful than should be allowed at 14!!

Happy Easter everyone!

For my friend Candie!

2009-02-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

My friend and co-worker Candie was giving me a hard time today since my blog post is soooooo old and never changes! So here ya go! A new fresh one! ;o)

No really, we've just been busy with school, soccer, basketball, etc.

School is busy! We are getting ready for TAKS testing soon and we are also going to camp next month! Kennedy gets to go this year! She is so excited!

Hannah had a birthday on Jan. 30th. She is now 14!!! We are having a little party Friday night for her. She invited some friends to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then to see Confessions of a Shopaholic at the movies and then a sleepover. Fun!

Nora is 2 1/2 now and she is very talkative and loves to sing and dance. She is very demanding and cranky at times too!

OK - so you are updated! Ha!

We can see!!!

2008-11-26T19:10:00.001-08:00

Everything started getting blurry for me about 2 or 3 months ago. I finally went to get my eyes checked since I was getting frequent headaches. The Dr. said my vision is to the point that I am not legal to drive without corrective lenses! That's scary! So I did a trial pair of lenses for a week and I was AMAZED at how clear and bright and defined everything was! It was like my eyes got HD!!! But my vision was not perfect so at the follow up exam the Dr. recommended a different solution and I tried that for a week. Still not just right so at the next follow up exam he gave me a different brand of lenses and I can see perfectly now! I wanted to get a pair of glasses to have in case I have an eye infection (teacher = pink eye at least once a year!) or to wear before/after I put in my contacts. So here is me in my new frames!

Kennedy had her eyes checked at school which is routine every year. Well the nurse let me know that she failed her eye exam (mostly in one eye). So I took her to the eye doctor and he recommended glasses for her. We might get her contacts soon but for now she has glasses! Here Kennedy is in her new frames!

California rollin'!

2008-11-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

Our whole family loves California rolls (even Nora!). They are so yummy but we just don't get to have them that often. So tonight at the grocery store I picked up everything we needed to make our own! I made the first batch and they were gone within seconds and everyone wanted me to hurry up and make more! After the second round was gone the girls got a chance to make their own. They did a great job!

Hannah's roll.

Kennedy's roll.

Don't they look great!?!?!

Nora having a bite! (A big one!)

Halloween!

2008-11-02T05:26:00.001-08:00

We had a great Halloween this year! The weather was perfect! Nora is at an age where she really got into Trick or Treating! We went over to Kennedy's friend Abby's house and had pizza for dinner and then out we went to load up on the candy!

Nora was a fairy, Kennedy was a soccer player, and Hannah was a graduate!

Nora is big on princesses right now so we had to tell her she was a fairy PRINCESS

so she would put on her costume!Kennedy can be found in her costume any Saturday!

No points for originality but this is all she wanted to wear!
Hannah looks so scholarly in my cap and gown!
It's a little scary that she will look like this very soon at her high school graduation!!!

Nora wanted to walk the whole time and she wanted to carry her bag

even as it got heavier and heavier!

Manchester is victorious! 4-1!!!!

2008-10-25T16:06:00.001-07:00

Kennedy had a soccer game today. They have been on a losing streak and I have missed a few games due to cold weather or early mornings. So today we went and they won! It was 4 to 1 and Kennedy scored 2 of the goals. It was a great game!

Kennedy looking at Nora because she would not stop yelling "Kennedy!!!"

Our soccer star in action!

Nora looking cute on the sidelines!

Listening to some tunes on Hannah's Ipod!

My cool teenager!

It was a beautiful day and a great day for soccer!! Go Manchester!!!

Fall Carnival

2008-10-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

Last night was the PTA Fall Carnival at our school. It was so much fun! We played lots of games and danced and got to see all of our friends.

Nora won a coffe cake at the cake walk and she wanted to eat it right then!!
Kennedy decorated a pumpkin!

Nora got to play another ducky game!

Yay! A winner again! We love this game!Nora got to pick three prizes and she picked three suckers! All night she kept saying she wanted to go back to the pool because she knew that was where the suckers were. After she had eaten three suckers we had to cut her off!
Kennedy and Nora in the scarecrow cutout! Neither of them would put their face through the hole! This was as good as it got!

Nora running around like crazy (on a sugar high from all the suckers!)
Oh and I just got a phone call and I won a beautiful candle basket in the raffle! I am so exited! Woo hoo!!!

The State Fair of Texas

2008-10-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

We went to the State Fair the other day. It had been a long time since we have gone. We had a blast! We ate lots of crazy food like deep fried oreos and played lots of games and rode some rides.

Here are Paul and Kennedy coming off the end of a crazy house!

While Hannah, Nora, and I waited for Paul and Kennedy we did some dancing. Nora gathered a crowd with her cuteness!
Here is Hannah on a scary ride! (By herself!! No way was I going on that thing!)

We went to the petting zoo and saw some baby animals.

Here are Paul and the girls playing the horse race game. No winner :o(

Kennedy ready to go!

Nora and I played the water squirt game. No winner again :o(

Nora loved playing the ducky game!

Yay! We have a winner!!Nora thought she got to keep the duck as her prize and started to walk off with it. We had to show her where to pick her prize.

She chose a soft ducky!

Now this is my speed! Although Nora really didn't like it!

We had tons of fun and we were all exhausted after it was all over!

"I wanna jump mommy!!"

2008-10-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Nora's new favorite thing is to go outside and jump on the trampoline! We go out pretty much every evening and she has a ball. But all good things come to an end and it is not pretty when it's time to go in!

Nora collects some major static while she is jumping and her hair stick straight up and out!!

In this pic Nora just touched the spring on the side of the tramp and got a shock and she really didn't know what to think about it.

So what does she do??? Touch it again!!!

Birthday party in the park

2008-09-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

We went to a birthday party at a park today and it was such a gorgeous day! The park was fantastic too! Nora had a blast going down slides and climbing on everything! Even once getting a little to close to the edge of a pond! Hannah and Kennedy were probably a little bored but they put on a good face!

Yes, I am a creature of habit!

2008-09-08T19:26:00.001-07:00

So I was listening to the radio this morning while I was getting ready for work and they had a funny bit where women would send in their morning routine. It was really funny! So here is mine.....

5:00 AM - Alarm goes off.....hit snooze
5:07 AM - Alarm goes off again....hit snooze
5:14 AM - Alarm goes off again....hit snooze
5:21 AM - Alarm goes off again....hit snooze (I know, I know - what's the point???)
5:28 AM - Alarm goes off again....I guess I'll get up this time!
5:30 AM - In the bath....now this bath could include different things depending on the day.....I wash my hair every other day and so I shave my legs every other day. Except on Friday, I don't do either - just a good washin'!
5:45 AM - Brush teeth, wash face, apply eye cream, moisturizer, and lip balm
5:50 AM - Brush hair and pull back into a pony
5:55 AM - Time for make-up!
6:10 AM - Go stand in the closet and stare at the clothes (I hate this part!) I usually have to iron something! Urgh!
6:25 AM - Back to deal with the hair....if I feel like it I might blow it out and curl the ends but usually it just gets a nice part and goes back into the pony. Sorry, it's all I can pull off right now!
6:30 AM - Wake up Hannah
6:35 AM - Wake up Kennedy
6:40 AM -Put on watch, earrings, ring, and perfume (I wear the same jewelry and perfume every....single....day!)
6:45 AM - Go drag Hannah out of bed! (She has a little bit of me in her when it comes to waking up!)
6:50 AM - Make Nora a sippy cup of warm milk and get her up - I hate waking her up so early! Plop her on the couch with her cup and Disney Channel.
6:55 AM - Take my meds and vitamins with a glass of OJ. Make a bowl of cereal (Special K is the cereal of choice right now) and hollar at the girls to make sure they are getting around!
7:00 AM - Eat and browse the Internet!
7:10 AM - Change Nora's diaper, get her dressed, fix her hair.
7:15 AM - Make a to-go cup of coffee
7:20 AM - Out the door! Whew!

Go through the day, sleep, repeat!

Nora's New Go-Go Boots

2008-09-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

I did some consignment store shopping over the weekend and I found an awesome pair of Gymboree boots that are really rare and hard to find. Surprisingly they were even in Nora's size! So this morning I tried them on her and she LOVED them! She was a little unsure of how to walk in them at first but then she took off. She loved the sound they made on the tile in the kitchen! Pardon the pajama top and diaper and CRAZY cheese-face!

Nora's second birthday pictures

2008-09-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post these pics that we had taken of Nora for her 2nd birthday! Enjoy!

No, I did not fall off the face of the Earth!

2008-08-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated the blog! Sorry! I usually think summer will be the time that I can get lots done but it ends up being quite the opposite! I always think "I can do that tomorrow" and, well, 2 months later school is starting and I haven't gotten anything done! OK that is not totally true!

We did go on a great little 'mini-vacation' to The Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX at the beginning of June. It was so much fun! There was lots to do.....they had an indoor/outdoor waterpark, wand quest, arcade, restaurants, and entertainment.

Then we celebrated Kennedy's 10th birthday. She had some friends come over and we went to The Magic Time Machine for dinner and then we saw a movie and had a sleepover.

Then we went to Oklahoma to celebrate the fourth of July with my family! Here is Nora playing in grandmas backyard in the baby pool.

We spent lots of days at the water park trying to keep cool! Nora got very brave on the waterslide!!!!

So as you can see we did have lots of fun this summer. I am sad it is already over! But hopefully now that we are back on a schedule I can be more diligent about updating the blog!

How did this happen??

2008-05-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Nora was sitting IN MY LAP while I was on the computer and I look down and see that she has done this to herself......

Nora loves her blanket!

2008-05-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Nora walked up while I was changing the laundry from the washer to the dryer and she saw her blanket in the dryer and wanted it. I told her it was wet and she had to wait until it was done drying. So she just decided she would cuddle it IN the dryer since I wouldn't let her get it out!

MS 100

2008-05-10T12:43:00.001-07:00

My dad and my brother rode in the MS 100 last weekend. We went out the meet them at the Texas Motore Speedway which was the half way point. I am amazed that they can ride that far on their bikes and for such a good cause too! I'm so proud of them both!

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday. Ours was great. The morning started off with the kids finding their Easter baskets and then hunting for all of the hidden eggs in the house. Then it was a rush to get ready for church. We made it in time to get seats (thank goodness!). After church we went to lunch and then came home to dye Easter eggs! A beautiful and blessed day!

Nora-in-the-box

2008-03-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

You've heard of jack-in-the-box BUT have you heard of Nora-in-the-box??

Nora was playing around in the kitchen the other day and she got an empty box of diapers and put it on her head and was running around to everyone and then trying to scare us by saying "Rarhhh!". The funniest part was seeing her little eyes looking through the hole in the side! We were rolling!

It's beginning to look a lot like SPRING???

2008-03-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, just when you are ready to put away all of those winter clothes and welcome spring....you get snow. Mother Nature definitely has a sense of humor! So here are some pics of Hannah and Kennedy having a snowball fight and Nora trying to figure out what all that white stuff was. (She kept trying to eat it!)

Baby Nora

2008-03-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pics of Nora. She is such a funny girl. She is always happy and smiling and I can't get enough! She is talking up a storm and always singing new songs that she learns at school. She loves to be outside (not like her mommy!). She is a very good mommy to her babies and she loves petting Oliver, one of our kitties (Orea won't come near her!). Oh, and if her shoes are velcro - she will spend up to 30 minutes in a trance like state taking them off and then putting them back on again (usually on the wrong foot!). Enjoy the pics!

What a GAME!

2008-03-01T20:20:00.001-08:00

Well tonight was our last basketball game of the season and I have to say, we went out BIG! Our team is small (we only have 6 players) and this is our first year together as a team. Some of the girls have played before and some are brand new to the sport. Well going into tonight's game we were 3 and 3. I really didn't think we would win the game. We were playing a good team. 4 of the players on the team were Kennedy's soccer teammates! We were behind the entire game. Going into the 4th quarter we were down 4 to 10. We told the girls that we only needed 3 baskets to tie it up and we had to hold them and not let them score. Well, Jordan got fouled on a shot and it went in (2 points). She made one of her free throws (1 point). Then we got another basket (2 points) so it was a close game at 9 to 10 but we were still down one point and there was 30 seconds left on the clock. Well Kennedy came up with the ball and brought it down and scored with about 7 seconds left on the clock. Time ran out and we WON! We were all screaming and jumping up and down we were so excited! So now we are in second place in the league and we have a tournament coming up on Tuesday that we might very well win!

Horray for the underdogs!

Hannah's 13th birthday!

2008-02-16T22:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Hannah is 13 and now officially a TEENAGER! Wow! Where has the time gone?? It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. So small and new. Then BAM! She's 5'5'' tall, wears a size 8 shoe, and is too 'cool' for me! Where did my baby go?? Here is a walk down memory lane....

Happy Birthday Hannah! I love you!

Brave Girl??

2008-02-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Kennedy is not usually my risk-taker/brave girl. So I was shocked the other day after school when she wanted me to come to her classroom so she could show me something. And there she was holding the class pet snake! I was amazed at how at ease she was holding this thing. She kept trying to get me to hold it or touch it but that wasn't happening!

Our first basketball game!

2008-01-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

Well, Kennedy had her first basketball game of the season today. We are the McKinney Mavericks (AKA - Lady Mavs) I am the assistant coach (a first for me). The game was really good and the girls all did a great job! Kennedy started the game off by telling me she had to use the restroom right as we were sending her in to start the game! Needless to say she had to wait! She didn't score any goals today but she did put the ball up a lot - they just wouldn't drop! We ended up losing - I think it was like 8-14. It was a lot of fun to be in the coaches seat! I almost lost my voice from yelling so much! I'll keep you posted on the rest of the season and try to get a team picture posted! Wish us luck!

Hi, my name is Robyn and I am addicted to ebay!

2008-01-09T20:06:00.001-08:00

I am proud to say that I am a member of the ebay community. I am ashamed to say that I am addicted to ebay! You are probably thinking that I am talking about buying too much stuff when in fact it is the opposite. I am addicted to SELLING stuff on ebay. On Sunday I gathered up a bunch of old clothes from the girls closets to post on ebay (and I do mean a BUNCH!). After hours of sitting at my computer posting everything I ended up with 69 auctions! I can't wait to see how they end this Sunday! Wish me luck and happy bidding!

Boo Hoo!

2008-01-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Today marks the end of my two week holiday break. On Monday I will rejoin the working force. My kids will be back in school. Nora will go back to daycare. Things will go back to the way they were before. We will be super busy and trying to fit everything in but as always we will manage. One of the best perks of being a teacher is having wonderful breaks but it is so hard to go back afterwards! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I love my students and my school but what I wouldn't give to be a stay at home mom! Let's see.... how many days until school lets out for Spring Break?? or even summer vacation for that matter!! :o)

11 years and counting!

2008-01-04T20:49:00.001-08:00

Eleven years ago today I married my sweet husband Paul. We have been through so much together and I can't think of anyone better to have spent that time with. Happy Anniversary Paul~I love you!

Shopping!

2008-01-04T20:15:00.001-08:00

Today we met my dear friend Sam at the mall for a little lunch and a little shopping (in our case - bargain hunting!).
I brought Nora and Kennedy
along (Hannah was at home catching up on some sleep) and Sam brought her two girls Lila and Emily.
We had such a good time and the girls got along so well!

Pint Size Slide

2007-12-31T08:55:00.001-08:00

When Kennedy was little we had lots of Little People toys (garage, town, farm, carnival). For some reason I saved them all when Kennedy outgrew them (at that point we weren't planning on having more kids). So, the other day I had Paul get them down from the attic and put them out for Nora to play with. She loved them! She especially liked the garage. She immediately climbed on top of it and was crawling around on it. I kept pulling her off but she would go right back and climb on top of it again. Then it hit me what she was doing. She thought the blue ramp part of the toy was a SLIDE! Too funny!

Fall in December

2007-12-31T08:40:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, Fall is in December in Texas. It was about 60 degrees this weekend and there were leaves all over the front yard so Paul decided to rake them all up. The big girls love to rake leaves so they wanted to help. Nora loves to be outside so we all ended up out there together. It was a beautiful day and after about 10 lawn bags of leaves the yard looks great! (I'm sure next week it will be full of leaves again since the trees aren't completely done losing their leaves but oh well!)

Daddy's hat

2007-12-29T07:08:00.001-08:00

Nora loves it when her daddy wears a hat. The other day she got ahold of the hat and put it on her head and was walking around looking through the hole in the back. It was so funny and you could tell that she knew she was being funny!

Gotta love a mall play place!

2007-12-29T06:53:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid we got dragged around a mall and it was pretty much uneventful to say the least. Kids today have this fantastic spot to run and play and have a great time with other kids at the mall and it is the mall play place. Here are a few pics of Nora having fun at the Collin Creek mall play place and the Galleria play place.

Build-a-bear

2007-12-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the mall to spend our gift cards that we got for Christmas. The girls all had a gift card to Build-a-bear so we went there and got new stuffed animals!

It was Nora's first time and she got a soft bunny that we call Runny Babbit after one of our favorite books. Nora did not want any clothes for her bunny but opted for a stroller. She had so much fun pushing her stroller around the store. When it was time to check out she would not let go of the stroller so I had to put her and the stroller on the checkout counter to pay.

Kennedy got a bear she named Ned and he got a robe and some slippers.

Hannah got a bear she named Gabriella and she got a sweater and some skinny jeans as her

outfit. Too cute!

Christmas Day

2007-12-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas began very early this morning. Nora woke up at about 6:30 and when I got her back to sleep the big girls were downstairs holding their wrapped gifts from Santa. They begged to open them. I got a reluctant Paul out of bed and once we both had our coffee we opened the presents while Nora was sound asleep. She got to open hers a couple of hours later.

As soon as we were finished opening presents I had to prepare the turkey for Christmas lunch. This is the first year that I was solely in charge of this task. In years past I was either at mom's or she was here with me to do it. Well it turned out great. I even made homemade pan gravy after a phone call to mom for help. It was delicious.

Later that day the big girls and I went to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. That was the first time I have ever been to the movies on Christmas Day.

What a wonderful day!