Updated w/ winner: Weekend giveaway: Win cereal and Movie Cash!

Congrats to Hannah (& Steve) at Life Happens for winning this giveaway! I hope you can put the tickets to good use! Thanks for all the entries, everyone. I wish I had free tickets for you all!!

I have been saving this giveaway up for a while!  I knew it would be a more appreciated prize in the dead of winter, and given all this snow and ice people are getting this week, this seems like a great time to share the wealth. How about a night (or two) at the movies?

In November I was sent some specially-marked boxes of General Mills cereal with Movie Cash (basically a gift card for movie tickets), along with 4 additional Movie Cash certificates, courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark. I'm sad to report we haven't used our gift certificates yet, but I imagine we will soon, and we certainly enjoyed our cereal pretty quickly!  My son was amazed that Trix cereal was a lot like Kix, just more colorful.

Thanks to the aforementioned sponsors, one of you can win the same prize. That means you'll get 5 Movie Cash certificates (two boxes of cereal nets one certificate that you can claim online, plus the 4 certificates that come in the prize pack), and each one is good for up to a $12 adult admission at participating theaters. Just leave a comment here on this post along with your email address so I can contact you if you win!  Giveaway ends Tuesday and I'll post a winner on Wednesday!

Using all we have been given

I'm sorry to be posting so sporadically over the past couple of months. I have been a little bit more thoughtful lately (at least in my mind) and instead of writing it all out or typing it all up I have just been spending time in my mind and being mindful. It's been a good thing.  But I learned a little lesson this morning I thought I would share.

Rebecca has a cute little pink Osh Kosh B'Gosh (I just love saying that) winter coat we got from a friend before she was even born. She's been wearing it all winter, or at least when we head out into the bitter cold.  Today I was zipping up her coat before we headed out to pick up brother from his playschool group and as I zipped the coat up all the way I noticed there was a nifty extra piece of fabric at the top of the zipper to fold over once the coat is zipped.  I thought that was so ingenious. I used to hate when the zipper hurt(s) my chin so I was glad I could keep Rebecca's chin pain-free. Remember how she has been wearing this coat for months?  And I just noticed this today?  Not so ingenious.

We went and picked up our favorite brother and as we were hanging our coats back up after we made it back home I had a thought that maybe Rebecca could have had a more pleasant winter thus far had I put the zipper cover to good use a little sooner.  Now for the life lesson...And maybe if I can use all the tools I've been given, my life would be a lot more pleasant as well.  I began to ask myself questions and the thoughts just kept coming:

I love reading my scriptures but often feel I need to approach it better when I read each day - truly seeking to know how I can spend that time drawing nearer to the Spirit and to the Lord.  Do I pray as fervently as I could?  Do I wait for revelation to come or am I too impatient to stay on my knees? Do I sometimes forget to pray in the hard moments in my day when I could use some divine assistance?  Do I forget to be thankful?  Do I get overly concerned about how my kids may or may not behave during church and miss out on something wonderful that I could have been learning through the Spirit?

I have a feeling this little piece of fabric on Rebecca's coat will come in handy - not just to keep her chin from getting rubbed but I think it will remind me of this simple, yet powerful, teaching I needed to learn today.

From near to far, from here to there...

...Funny things are everywhere!

I tried to get a Cat in the Hat-esque picture of the kids looking at the squirrel out the window.  They are wearing bibs because this is how they ate lunch, watching the squirrel for at least 30 minutes.  

 Here are some noteworthy things the kids have been up to lately:

Jacob

• Whenever there are two or more of something he will often say that there are three ("free!").  
• He has picked up a nice set of adjectives from somewhere, "That scarf just made Rebecca so pretty!",  "Rebecca is so cute with pigtails!" and my favorite, "That was just a lovely song!"  
• "Do you want to see my silly game/talk/walk/thing?"  It is usually something he has done once and then wants to show us.  
• We read a few Dr. Seuss books in close succession earlier this week (we have almost all of them) and the Cat in the Hat logo was on them and I think he realized maybe it was by the same person. So I told him about Dr. Seuss and how we could even celebrate his birthday on March 2nd. He said, "Oh, I think maybe we should just call him and tell him thank you for writing these nice books." 
• He has learned the First Article of Faith this week and should be able to pass it off in Primary tomorrow. He recites it almost to the tune of the song up until the end where he says "in the Holy Ghost!" and gets very high in his range.  I was so proud when he totally got it yesterday!  
• In April our Primary is having a party where the kids can get the same number of ice cream toppings as Articles of Faith they have passed off. Jacob is excited for this and can't wait to get more "ice cream coughings!"  
• He loves being a Sunbeam and asked me today if I was going to come peek at him again tomorrow. Last week he saw me in the back when I was doing RS attendance and the week before that I went in to help him say the prayer, so I guess he thinks it will stick.  \

Helping take the Mickey window clings down after Christmas.

Jacob won Candy Land the first time he played it!  

First day of Sunbeams pictures with Dad while Mom was at choir...these are all hilarious but I think this is my favorite.

Helping Rebecca put her clip in.  

Rebecca

• She is learning lots of new words that are fun to hear. A few of her newer words are popsicle, popcorn, Cheerios (said it today for the first time), stir, boo (as in Peek-a-boo), frog, turtle, brother, Grandpa (Pa Pa), Grandma. 
• Yesterday I told her we were going to call grandpa and so she said Papa and then a minute or so later I was being silly as I pulled my phone out and said we were going to call Grandpapa and then she smiled and said Papapa?  
• She likes to be my little echo sometimes when I say prayers, so I am trying to end sentences with words she doesn't know how to say yet just to hear her try it out.  
• She loves nursery. It took a few weeks to get used to it but she really loves it and sometimes nearly breaks into a run to dash to the cultural hall after Sacrament meeting.  

Jacob playing video games with cousin Peter

Rebecca found a fun seat to enjoy her snack during our Hoopes family cabin stay.

It looks like Jacob built this snow cave. But really, Jeff and his siblings worked on it and Jacob came in and tried to take credit for all the hard work.  :)  

One of the funnier moments of our vacation. We went in to go to bed one night at the cabin we stayed at before Christmas and found Rebecca asleep in the pack 'n play and Jacob was not in his bottom bunk...but in our hamper with the dirty clothes emptied out on the floor.  

The kids had a blast making a gingerbread house with Grandma Hoopes!  

That is one happy wise man!

Cousin picture...Kirby, Myklin, Fallon, Jacob, Rebecca and Tys at my sister Jamie's house. 

Enter now! The Twelve Hour Kix Giveaway! *Updated with winner*

And the winner is...Katja! I'll email you right now to get your address. Sorry for the delay in posting the winner! Thanks for all the great ideas. I'll let you know what changes we make to breakfast time.

I loved eating Kix when I was a little girl, and I still like the cereal now! My kids are not picky at all, but it still makes me happy that I can share this cereal with them that I've loved for so long.

Recently our family received a fun package courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark. In it was a box of Kix, a box of Honey Kix, counting flashcards for the kids, a snack cup, a straw cup, and a giant animal counting puzzle. The cereal is long gone but we are still enjoying the other goodies. How would you like to win the same Kid-Tested, Mother-Approved prize pack? Just leave a comment before 12 Noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 12, answering the following question. Please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you to speed things along!

What are some things you do during your busy morning routine to still make it a fun family time? If you are just eating by yourself in the morning, do you have any special routine you follow? This is something I'd actually like some advice on. Some mornings are slower than others with just a toddler and a pre-schooler in our house (no school bus to catch or anything like that!) but I could use some good ideas on something to do during breakfast besides just eat! I usually do picture time with the kids before naptime where we look at a picture and discuss a scripture together - maybe that would be better done in the morning!

I'm excited to choose the random winner of this prize pack tomorrow at noon - it was loads of fun to have the "Man from the Puppy Truck" bring it to us! (That's FedEx in case you don't understand Jacob's lingo!) Thanks again to Kix and MyBlogSpark for sponsoring a great giveaway!

Messiah

I remember when my two children were born.  As I would look at them and hold them in my arms, I had many, many thoughts and feelings.  But, one of these thoughts was an utter sense of amazement than I could be part of creating something so amazing.  This was a little person--with working eyes, ears, hands, feet--all the body parts, my kids had them!  It was just amazing to think that Stacey and I could have done that.  Well, I recently attended the performance of Handel's Messiah by the Grammy Award winning UMS Choral Union, and had a similar sense of amazedness--as a Choral Union member, Stacey was part of creating the amazing, rich, powerful, and inspiring sounds I heard from the stage.  She helped build this sound and experience that was so amazing.  Stacey.  Wow.

So, Saturday night was the first performance and Handel (this year) by the Choral Union.  It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and determination by Stacey.  First, she decided she was going to try out for the choir.  She went to the try outs, and was a bit unnerved.  Many who try out do not get a position, and she feared she would be among them.  But, she was not.  She made the team, and, so, the practicing began.  For the last many months Stacey as been practicing every week, and this last week, she has had several practices.  It has been a lot of hard work, a lot of focus, and a lot of singing, but, it paid off.  The music was amazing.

Here is the choir, symphony, and soloists on stage at the Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor's premier concert venue.  I was seated on the second balcony, and the sound was amazing.  The Hill Auditorium was fashioned after the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so its acoustics are very amazing.

Here is Stacey with her sister, who came all the way from the commonwealth of Virginia for the performance. 

Here is Stacey with me, and with my brother and sister-in-law, who came up from Ohio for the performance.



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Here is a short video of clapping after the whole thing was over. It took several minutes for the clapping to end.

Hopefully my posting this brief post will not discourage Stacey from posting something herself, so we can hear what the starlet has to say about her first big show.

New Shoes

The father of my officemate and cohort is in town from China. He has met Jacob (and saw Rebecca enwombed), and so brought them each a gift. Here they are, showing off their cool new slippers. Jacob was quick to note the presence of Tigger on the sole of the slipper, while Rebecca was extremely pleased to tromp around showing off her new footwear. They both wore their shoes when we went out to dinner on Saturday, and around the house as well. They are very appreciative of their new footwear, and the slippers are certainly cute.

Jacob was not terribly cooperate in the picture-taking department yesterday, so, it was difficult to capture a good picture of the two of them.  But, you get the point.  Thank you, Mr. Qu.

Both opted to go pantless so as to make sure their leggings didn't distract the eye from their slippers.

Virginia

For Thanksgiving, we had the amazing opportunity to go to Virginia to visit Stacey's parents who live there. It was a grand time. Here are a few pictures:

Here is Jacob and aunt Erin (who came back with us from Virginia) looking at some fish in the Baltimore Aquarium

Here is Grandma M and Jacob jointly flying a kite

We had a little get together with three of Stacey's friends from high school/college who, for one reason or another, find themselves in the DC area.  Here are the children of everyone.

It was a great time in VA.  Thanks for the good time, Grandma and Granpa McKoy.

Chicago

So, a couple weeks back, we went to Chicago. I went to the National Tax Association annual meeting there, and Stacey (along with my mother), played with the kids (and reportedly had a good time). Here are a few pictures.

Jacob rides the luggage into the hotel

Jacob at some childrens museum, having a good time

Rebecca touching the big shiny bean thing

Rebecca and my mom looking at the shiny bean thing

J, R and I in front of the bean

Jacob driving a trolley car at a childrens museum

Rebecca showing us the city skyline, in front of a fountain (that was waterless, as it is now cold in Chicago)

Visit to Utah

So, a couple weeks back I went to Utah for a conference.  It was a good time at the conference, and then afterwords, I spent a bit playing with my siblings who live there.  One of my siblings is stabling my little Nissan truck that I drove throughout high school and college.  We took it up Provo canyon to have a fire while I was back for the conference, and here I am standing in front of it.

"Happy Halloweeny "and A New Kind of Candy Bar

 

Here are a few cute pictures from our Halloween festivities. For the third year in a row I took the kiddos down to Main Street downtown to trick or treat at the businesses on Friday. Saturday our ward had their trunk or treat and a big Halloween party so the kids were delighted to dress up again. When Jacob saw Jeff in a champion wrestler/superhero costume (which was it, Jeff?! (: ) and when he saw me in my ridiculous nerdy costume he asked us "what kind of lion are you?"  So, Jacob was a lion, and Rebecca was a cow, and they played their parts fairly well.  

This year for Halloween I got in on a great deal with SheSpeaks and was chosen to be one of many bloggers who handed out a NEW kind of Snickers on Halloween.  I really like the new candy, it's like a regular Snickers but with the addition of creamy peanut butter and fewer actual peanuts.  We have some left over if anyone nearby wants to come raid our kitchen!

In addition to being provided with this new candy (and the original) to hand out to trick or treaters, we also received a fog machine, "fog juice," as Jacob calls it, a strobe light, some spider webbing to hang up, a large sign declaring that it was no trick - this was the only house to get this new treat, Snickers caution tape and window clings and a trick or treat bag.  So we decorated our house as best we could. The kids had a great time helping me "scissor" the caution tape and stretch out the webbing across our door, and my husband helped hang up the big sign once we had the rest all done. The Snickers Peanut Butter Squared will be available in stores later this winter, and in case it means anything, I recommend it! :) 

Where's Jacob?

Oh no! There's a lion in the sandbox!

Visiting Dad's floor at the business building, the kids took some time to show our good friend Venky how solving the world's accounting research conundrums is more fun when you scribble in the middle of your work.

They both fell asleep on the way home from trick or treating on Main/having lunch at the Institute/visiting Dad's office.  That is one tired cow...

And one sleepy lion!  ("Wimoweh," anyone?)

Some more playing in Venky's office. He let her ring this bell for a little bit, and I wished I'd looked for a cow bell for her to wear that day.

The doorstep in the middle of decorating it, and Rebecca sporting her Happy Haunting sweatshirt.

Mummy wrapping at the church party! Jacob kept asking, "Where is Daddy, I just can't find him ANYwhere?!"

Eating a cookie with black icing is so fun and colorful for the teeth.

Jacob decorated his own cookie. I think it turned out quite well.

The family in costume! You wish I didn't have my jacket on so you could see the rainbow suspenders better, and that you could see my uneven pigtails and poorly rolled up jeans.  And you wish Jeff had his cape on for the picture.  But here we are nonetheless.

Our cow could stand on her hind legs; she's fairly amazing. 

Throwing caution (tape) to the wind from Jeff Hoopes on Vimeo.

fog machine from Jeff Hoopes on Vimeo.