Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2012 # - I've lost count!

Up:

• We started Elf on the Shelf this year. I was hesitant to join the craze, but figured in the end it might help me coax Jackson to behave better. It has helped a little, but it's been really fun watching him go down stairs each morning to find Scout (that's what he named our elf). Even Kennedy gets excited when she sees the elf! I'm not using too many of the ideas I've pinned on Pinterest yet because I want to save them for when he's older and can really remember everything. I just love this time of year though and it is especially fun when you can enjoy it through the eyes of children. Everything is so magical and exciting when you're that age!
• Our job just got infinitely easier this Christmas. On Saturday we went to the Ops Group Kid's Christmas Party. Jackson sat in Santa's lap and told him that he wanted candy for Christmas - I think we can handle that! He and Kennedy both had a great time playing games, winning prizes, and jumping in the bouncy castles. So fortunate to have opportunities like this available for our kids to enjoy.
• Mike and I had the wonderful opportunity of attending one of the fellow spouse's Capstone Dinners on Saturday night. Our friend, Alex, has been attending culinary school in Boise and as their final project before graduation they have to plan an eight course meal with wine pairings for each course. As soon as she told me about it I already had a babysitter booked, there was no way I was missing out on something that awesome! I figured eight courses would make me pretty full, but Mike assured me that each course would be super small portions since it's culinary school and I wouldn't get full. He was definitely wrong! I was stuffed by the end of the main course and still had 4 more courses left. The food was out of this world as was the way it was presented. Definitely glad Mike drove home because I fully took advantage of the wine pairing as well! My favorite course was the vegetable - chestnut dumplings and Mike's was the soup - roasted garlic soup, but all of them were out of this world. I'm pretty sure Mike's going to check on being permanent invites to all these capstone dinners even when we don't know one of the chefs! Alex did an amazing job and we're so proud of all her hard work. She did all of this while being 8 months pregnant and she already has 2 boys at home, not to mention that the event was on her wedding anniversary!
• Among everything else on Saturday, it was also Mike's youngest brother, Dave's, graduation from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater. Super proud of him and wish we could have been there to celebrate. It's pretty awesome to think that all 5 of the Hefferly children graduated from Texas Tech University! Not only that, but how privileged  Mike and I have been to go to college ourselves and come from families where both parents also graduated college! The really interesting part will be seeing how many of the grandkids will go to Texas Tech too!

Down:

• I feel like my 'down' is always the same. I don't mean to be redundant, but we just don't see Mike nearly enough. His schedule is always unpredictable and different and with all his additional tasks now he isn't home on the weekends anymore either. He's worked every weekend for the last couple of months and super long days at work. I can't imagine how exhausted he is and then he has to come home to us crowding him because we miss him so much. I pray that things slow down someday, but for right now we just have to be thankful that we get to see him at all.
• Obviously the tragedy in Connecticut is on everyone's hearts and minds right now. So much violence in the world. I can't even imagine what those families are experiencing and right before the holidays no less. Can't stop thinking and praying for all those innocent children and thanking God for everyday I get to hold my babies in my arms.

We've been experiencing winter in full force around here. Too bad it's super wet snow and not good for sledding or snowman building.

This is what cartoon time looks like at our house! 

Daddy and I are working on putting the bowl game spreadsheet together for the family and Jackson got to help Mike make his picks!

At the Kid's Fun Zone Christmas Party!

Jackson was slightly overwhelmed, but loved playing the games.

Jackson playing with his friend Annalise!

Peek-a-boo! Kennedy loved the bounce houses too!

Loving Netflix!

Umm....Kennedy it's not time to open presents yet!

Cuddling with her favorite guy!

Mike and I before Alex's Capstone Dinner.

The extensive menu - Mike had the cod for his main dish and I had pork, delicious!

Favorite Thing:

As I've mentioned before, I'm so grateful that Kennedy, unlike Jackson, loves to eat. However, that girl is a MESSY eater! I don't complain too much though because I'd much rather clean up a mess and have a healthy child. When we moved to Mountain Home my mother-in-law, Terry, bought us a Black & Decker dust buster. Best gift ever! I use it in the kitchen non-stop for all the crumbs Kennedy loves to leave behind. If you are looking for a good Christmas gift idea for a loved one that has children, I highly recommend it!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2012 Catch Up!

Yes, I'm still alive and haven't fallen off the face of the earth! We've been extremely busy this holiday season and something had to give, sadly it was the blog.  To catch you up from my last post, back in November Mike watched the kids while I went with the spouse's on a trip to Sun Valley during Veteran's Day weekend. It was a much needed time away to recuperate from the kids and not have to answer to anyone but myself. To my surprise, the kids survived with Daddy! Then Mike's Mom and brother, Pat, came to our house for Thanksgiving. We had a great time with them; it was so nice to be around family! Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Pat now that he's moved to Hill AFB in Salt Lake City! We also have a lot to be thankful for this year! Mike made flight commander right before Thanksgiving which is pretty awesome. He's been busting his rear end during this instructor upgrade and will hopefully finish up in January. He also made WSO of the year for the squadron! We're really proud that all Daddy's hard work and time away from us is paying off. So far in December we've already had the squadron Christmas party and the spouse's Christmas gathering among many other holiday events. Hopefully I'll be able to stay on top of the blog now that things are winding down for us and can resume with regular editions next week, but no promises! Sorry for the overload of pictures, but a lot can happen in one month!

Jackson and Pinkie playing outside during her visit. 

Our little kicker!

Loving on Uncle P!

Pat was put in charge of the kids while the rest of us did some shopping!

Beautiful girl!

Sharing her 'lovey' with Pinkie!

Jackson watching his newest obsession - Frosty!

The best of friends!

Love this shirt MiMi gave her!

Let's make some gingerbread cookies!

Decorated 6 dozen cookies for the airmen cookie drive - Mom was proud that she taught me so well!

Had a few extra for the kids to enjoy!

Pretty sure the majority of my day is spent cleaning up after this little angel! She loves to empty out the cabinets and drawers! 

My 'project' for this Christmas was making an Advent Calendar for the kids. It took a while to make and was the first time I ever did any hand stitching, but it was well worth it and I think we'll enjoy it for years to come.

Mike and I heading out to the squadron Christmas party!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2012 #45

Up:

• The kids had a great Halloween. On Tuesday they had a party at Tot-time. Then Jackson had fun celebrating at his school. We went trick-or-treating with our neighbors that evening. The kids were exhausted by the end of the evening, but absolutely loved it. Jackson is still asking to put on his costume and go trick-or-treating again. 

Jackson was roaring like a dragon so Kennedy had to join in as well!

My neighbors Becky and her daughter Abby at the Tot-Time party.

Kennedy stealing another kid's food -typical!

Checking out what they got in their bags.

Jackson and Kennedy eating the suckers that Becky made for their treat bags.

Since Daddy wasn't home to help we had to put the treats out on the porch for kids to get at our house, but our kids thought they were for them!

Checking out our 'Toodles' pumpkin.

Trick-or-treating at the commissary. We saw some of our friends while we were there. 

Jackson getting some love from Eva.

Jameson didn't want to be left out so he decided to give Jackson a hug too!

Getting ready to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.

As soon as Abby came outside Jackson ditched Kennedy and jumped in Abby's wagon!

Kennedy loved all the candy!

The kids surveying the loot when they got home.

• I painted my nails this past week which I maybe do once every 10 years. I actually think I might do it more often. It made me feel more girly which I need sometimes when I've been in 'mommy mode' too long!
• Halloween and the 'pumpkin pictures' with Kennedy totally confirmed the idea of getting a better/nicer camera. Can't wait 'til after Thanksgiving when I get my new camera and don't have to wait what feels like 12 hours for it to reboot before taking the next picture!
• We cut Kennedy's mullet this week! It was looking pretty bad and her hair is so thin that it made it even worse. My thought was, if we cut it off, maybe it'll thicken up as it grows back out. It looks so much better and I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. Kennedy HATED getting a haircut and screamed the whole time. At one point we had to take a break because she was crying so hard she almost threw up - ridiculous!

Down:

• Mike, Jackson and Kennedy are all sick. So very thankful that I haven't gotten it yet because someone needs to take care of everyone! They all have bad congestion and high fevers. Mike has had his since Thursday night and still isn't rid of it. The kids I think are quicker with it and are hopefully on the upswing although J man still had a fever this morning. It seems like we aren't the only one in this boat though. A lot of my friend's kids have been sick too. In fact, my neighbors daughter even had a febrile seizure which is super scary, so I've been overly worrisome this go round!
• In addition to the illnesses, the time change has royally messed with my mind. The kids haven't adjusted at all and we end up going to bed at normal time,  but waking up at roughly 4:45-5:15am - ahhh! Hopefully they'll adjust soon and I can catch up on sleep.
• Christmas is just around the corner and I feel so unprepared. Usually I have an idea of what I would like to get for my family, but this year -nothing. Not even a back-up plan. Parents are super hard to buy for mainly because they have everything already. If you have any thoughts, I'm open to anything at this point.

Favorite Thing:

The Air Force family is great about taking care of those 'in need'! Our squadron always takes meals to those that have a new baby, a death in the family, surgery or any other hardships. They've used some pretty neat websites to accomplish this and I wanted to share then with all of you non-AF peeps so that you can use them in your own church/friend circles as well. They'd also be great with all the holiday events coming up!

1. http://www.takethemameal.com/index.php - This website lets people sign up to bring meals to others' house for example if they just had a baby. You can just sign up for a date and type what you are going to bring. This way the person doesn't end up eating 10 crockpots of soup, but you can vary their menu a little! It also sends you reminders so you don't forget!
2. http://www.perfectpotluck.com/index.php - This website has sign ups for different ingredients or menu items to make a potluck work. This is a great way to avoid duplicating menu items and to ensure you have enough food, not just desserts etc. This one also sends out reminders.
3. http://www.tastebook.com/ - This final website is a way to electronically share all your yummy recipes. After your potluck or meeting you can just type in your recipe onto this site. Our squadron created their own username and password that is known among everyone. This way once your recipe is loaded anyone with the log-in info. can access the recipe. You could also use this to create a cook book for your organization as a fundraiser!