MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas Morning Photos and Video

Nickelodeon Christmas

This year the Tyler and Maggie got the chance to visit with Santa at the Nickelodeon Hotel. Tyler made sure to tell Santa he wants the "Larrymobile" and Maggie wants "a princess."

Savannah

This past October we met Jeff's Mom and her Husband Don in Savannah, GA for a weekend trip. Unfortunately we did not dress properly for the "cold" weather and didn't get to explore as much as we wanted to. It was still a great weekend and we were able to learn alot about beautiful Savannah.

Here are two photos of Tyler's favorite buildings from the tour. The first is the church where they dropped the feather at the beginning of Forest Gump. The second is City Hall with a gold plated dome.

This is a Live Oak Tree. One of many beautiful old trees in downtown Savannah.

For all you Paula Deen fans....

I'm a Cub "Sprout"

Tyler came home from school one day back in August beside himself with excitement. The Cub Scout leaders had talked to them that day and invited them to come to a meeting. It was all he could think about for days. So we signed him up that week and he still gets excited every week on his meeting night. This week we finally went and bought him his uniform. He has put it on every day since. He is very proud to be a Cub Scout. We only have one small problem....

He thinks he is a Cub SPROUT. :)

A Girl and Her Horse

Recently, while on an extended Ohio visit, we were able to spend some time at the Logan County Fair watching my niece Madison show her horse. My siblings and I spent many years at the same fair showing my steers, having lots of fun, and getting into "farm kid" trouble. For those of you who didn't grow up on a farm, that basically means you pull harmless pranks, stay up all night, and have lots of water fights. It was interesting to go back and visit the fair and to see it from an adult perspective.

The best part of the fair was seeing Madi show her horse, Jessie. This was Madi's first year at the fair and she Rocked It! She received 3 1st Place Trophies, as well as several other ribbons for placing in various classes. (Kaci help me out if I got this wrong) Despite a rainy and windy day, Madi did her best and seemed to enjoy her first year at the fair. We are all so proud of her.

Other highlights from the fair include: Fair Food, the cousins all loving hanging out together, all the kids riding rides, Sammy and Maggie getting stuck on the big slide. In the end, it is these little things that made the fair so special. Well, that and the boys. But the memories of Fair time still bring a smile and chuckle to all us grown ups.

Disney & Maggie's 4th Birthday

Well a month ago Maggie turned 4! So I am a little slow on the posts, but I still wanted to share some pictures from her day. We decided that since we weren't able to invite any of her friends or cousins to a party, we would take the family to Disney's Magic Kingdom. Nanny and Pa Pa King were able to fly down and go with us for her special day.

Jeff and I naively thought we would be home around 4pm. We ended up spending the whole day at Disney, from 9am to 11pm! The kids did SO GREAT and they just had the best time. I think we decided that 4 and 6 are the perfect ages to take kids to the park. Tyler's adventurous side came alive with his love of all rides, especially Roller Coasters. He begged us to go on Space Mountain, but we decided that was a little too crazy for a 6 year old. Even Maggie decided she was a Roller Coaster lover. I took her on the Goofy Roller coaster and when we got off she said "that made me all jiggly." Overall it was just a fabulous day.

We also got to have a special birthday lunch with Pooh and his friends. Well, it was special for Tyler. Unfortunately the Birthday Girl is scared of Costumed Characters and spent most of the lunch hiding.

After one visit we are now all Disney addicts and hoping to visit alot more. Tyler can't wait to ride more rides. Maybe Santa will bring us all some season passes!

Kindergarten Graduation

Wow life has sure changed a lot from a year ago. Last year I was freaking out about sending Tyler to Kindergarten. I was anxious about him being in a new environment without Mommy and Daddy. I was concerned that he had to go to an all day Kindergarten program. I was sad to think we would not see him all day. I was excited for him to be able to make new friends.

The year brought all of that, and alot more. Tyler did fine in the all day program. Maggie and I managed to occupy our time. Tyler made an unexpected best friend, Lindsie, on his bus. Tyler's best friend moved away. We encountered our first bully and his very mean attack on our son. We struggled to make a 6 year old understand why kids are mean and why you can't just retaliate in kind. We had another unexpected change and had to move schools in the middle of the year. We moved 1000 miles away from our home and family. Tyler started a new school, became the minority, and encountered new bullies.

Thru it all Tyler has been resiliant, kind, loving and sweet. He is also full of energy, imagination, and inquisiviness. A year ago he could barely write his name. Now he is reading full sentances and writing letters to his friends. We give thanks every day for what a wonderful child we have been given. Congratulations Tyler! You did an awesome job this year.

The Good and the Bad

I have to admit, I didn't expect my day to day life in Florida to be so drastically different from what I was used to. I mean, sure, it would be hotter. Sure there would be more ethnic diversity. Sure there would be more people in general. However what I didn't expect was the little things to be different. So here is "The Bad" or probably more appropriate "The Weird" of Florida:

1. Grocery Stores: First, the grocery stores down here don't have customer courtesy cards. I just find this weird. I figured it was a national thing. Of course, there is no Kroger down here. :( I really miss my Kroger. There are no weekly 10 for 10 sales. When a grocery has a Buy One, Get One free sale it is BIG news. They actually advertised this sale on TV!! And, while we are on the subject of cost, WHY oh WHY do groceries cost more in Florida?????? I mean, you would think at least produce would be cheaper. And why is milk more expensive? I know they have cattle here because there are some on about every corner.

2. Libraries: Ok at first I just thought I needed to pay more attention, but the library down here is just ODD. The online system looks really impressive, at first glance. But then you realize you can't actually find the information you are looking for and you realize the system isn't that great. I still told myself it was just me, until I actually tried to look for a book in the library. They have a fabulous "new release" section, but when I went looking for an older book it was nowhere to be found. This is what I found on the main floor: about 50 magazines, the new releases. mysteries and history. Ok so I went to the second floor, but all I found was the children's area. Where, oh where are the books????

3. School system: Ok in my naivete I figured schools were basically the same nationwide; some just had more resources than others. Not true. At first I was pleased that Tyler was going to attend a brand new school. I am still happy, but I realize that also means they sometimes are extremely disorganized. This does not apply to school dismissal as they have this down to a science, with numbers for every child and a microphone system to call kids to cars. Another strange thing about school: every Wednesday they dismiss an hour early. They also return to school about a week earlier than they do in Ohio. All the differences are mainly little (all the kids have an "agenda") but they are just strange little differences.

4. Preschool: Now I really didn't expect preschool to vary state from state, but this is probably the biggest difference. In Florida they have a state funded Voluntary Preschool Program, known as VPK. (Don't ask about "preschool" here, you will quickly be corrected) VPK is basically available to all kids who are 4 by September. It runs 5 days a week for 1/2 days! I was totally not prepared to send Maggie to preschool 5 days a week, so I am totally struggling with this. The only alternative is to pay for a private preschool, but that is actually more expensive, and harder to find, than in Ohio.

5. People: So, if it is true that up to 25% of the mid to northern population suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, then wouldn't you think that people in Florida would be happier? Well, I can tell you they sure aren't friendlier. From traffic, to impatient people in Wal Mart, the people in this area are really (insert bad word here). I don't know what their problems are, but the sunshine doesn't seem to be helping anyone.

So does the good outweigh the bad? I'm not sure yet, but I can tell you this.... Last Friday when Jeff and I decided to do something fun we were able to drive 10 minutes away to Downtown Disney and hang out for 4 hours. While walking backing to our car Tyler said "Mommy, this was the best night ever." I know we couldn't have done that in Ohio!

Cellulitis

So I just spend 4 days in the hospital when what I thought was a blemish on my forehead turned into full fledged cellulitis. (www.mayoclinic.com/health/cellulitis/DS00450) It is basically a skin infection. Within a week it grew from a small blemish looking spot to a huge egg shaped red puffy spot on my face. Despite 3 trips to the Doctor and 4 different antibiotics, it continued to grow. I finally had enough when my eyes began to swell and barged back in to the Doctor's office. The sent me to the hospital where I spent 4 days on IV antibiotics. Let me tell you, 4 days in a hospital alone is VERY BORING! I didn't really feel sick, just more tired than usual. I basically had to sit there all day so I could get my antibiotics every 8 hours.

The consequences of our out of state move became very apparent when I was sent to the hospital Friday night. Jeff was at work and we literally know 1 person in the whole state! Lucky for us I was able to "convince" my Mom to come down for a few days to stay with the kids so Jeff could go to work. I am not sure what people do in these situations when they have no family or friends close by. Obviously we need to make some friends.

Anyway I am home now and on the mend. I am still on oral antibiotics but the swelling and redness have mostly disappeared. The BEST part of the whole drama is that I have to be on a Low Tyramine diet for the next 3 weeks. That means NO CHOCOLATE!! I don't know if I have ever went 3 weeks without chocolate in my whole adult life. It is going to be a very long 3 weeks.

Tyler Wants a Hair Cut

Mommy: "Daddy is getting a hair cut this week."
Tyler: "I am going to get my hair cut too."
Mommy: "You don't need your hair cut. Your hair is already short."
Tyler: "I want to be bald."
Mommy: "Why do you want to be bald? What is fun about being bald?"
Tyler: "I want to look like Pa Pa!"

A 3 Year Old's View of Her Birthday

Maggie has been asking for a lot of thing lately so I told her she needs to put them on her birthday list. She quickly agreed. However she thinks this means she gets to decide not only what people are buying her, but who is buying her what. So far, here is her list:
Austin is buying her a bike
Madi is buying her a music box

LOL
I am sure the rest of your names will be on there as she thinks of more things she wants.

She also keeps telling me... "When my friends come over for my party...." I don't have the heart to tell her that her friends can't come over. Maybe next year we can make a trip back to Ohio for her birthday.

Back to School

Tyler went back to school this week. He had a nice 3 week break, but I think he was really ready to go back. We had actually planned to homeschool Tyler for the remainder of the year since we were uncertain of where we would be living or what the schools would be like. When we finally did find a place to live, we noticed there was a very new looking school across the street. Then when we decided it would be best for Tyler to go back to school, it was nice to learn the school had only been open 6 months. There is a huge overcrowding issue in the county and we are glad to be part of a new school that doesn't have to deal with that issue yet.

The school system here is very different in little ways. They are much more concerned about crime and safety issues. The school is basically "locked down" for most of the day. Students are not allowed in the school before a certain time in the morning. Students are ushered off school grounds pretty quickly in the afternoon. There is no lingering, loitering, etc. There is also no walking your child back to his classroom in the morning. This is very hard for me. Tyler is still unsure of where he is going, so to watch my "little boy" walk in those doors by himself is very hard some mornings.

I guess he is really not my "little boy" anymore. Tyler informed me this week that he is NOT a little boy. He has certainly grown up in the week since he started back to school. He decided that he would ride his scooter to school. That was really cute to watch. He is getting pretty good at the scooter, but I think we may get his a bike this weekend. He is also, unfortunately, dealing with some bullying issues at his new school. Tyler has told us that he has 2 girl bullies that tease him and make him do bad things, at least according to Tyler. My Mom thinks that is because they like him, but I am not so sure. Hopefully I can talk to his teacher next week and figure out what is going on.

Other than that, still unpacking and organizing. Hopefully I will be done before my parents come down in June. We were glad to be here last weekend when it was snowing in OHIO!! Ha Ha Ha
Love, Donita

Boxes, Sunburns and Goodbyes

My house is still a maze of boxes. Despite being here for a week, with my Mom and Sister to help, I still have lots and lots of boxes to unpack. Ok, to be fair, my Mom TRIED to put stuff away but I told her to stop because she kept putting it in the wrong place. So instead of unpacking we spent most of last week hanging out, eating, and shopping. Oh yeah and going to the beach, which brings me to my next point.

Who invented this new continuous spray lotion? Apparantely someone who has a little more sense than the Hammond family. You see we bought the lotion, applied it, and still went home with sunburns! I was so mad. We took a weekend trip to Siesta Key on the Gulf and hit the beaches. It was a great time. Only when we got home, we realized we did a poor job of applying the sunscreen. The backs of my legs really got burnt and Jeff's whole chest as well as Tyler's back. Maggie got some crazy genetics and luckily doesn't burn as easily as the rest of us. The burns are kind of random, so you can tell the sunscreen worked in areas it was applied properly. Live and Learn!

My Mom, Sister, Niece and Nephew all flew home early Monday morning. It is now very quiet in my house. But there is no one to hang out with, shop with, or go to dinner with. I realized today that there without knowing anyone in the area, and with Jeff working lots of hours, any kind of shopping is going to be very difficult. This was very apparent today when Tyler complained the whole time we were running errands. I even gave up on my Wal Mart trip because I didn't think the kids could handle anything else. I told him he needs to go to school so Maggie and I can do some shopping. LOL

That's all for now. We are enjoying all the sunshine and warmth!

We Made It to Florida

After a long 3 days, we finally made it to Florida. 24 hours later I pounced on the first decent condo I saw and signed a lease. 24 hours after that we were unloading a truck and moving in. We have been living in mass confusion for the past week. In addition to Jeff and the kids, my two Brothers, Mom, Sister, Nephew and Niece have also been staying with us. My brothers flew home this morning so things are finally settling down. My new home is a massive mess, but hey at least someone has an unblocked wireless connection I was able to "share."

Hopefully I can post some pictures and another update soon. Our internet will be hooked up on Friday, so I will have some better access soon.

Whirlwind of a Moving Schedule

We are officially moving in less than a week! We are packing our truck and taking off for my Mom's house on Thursday. Then we are leaving for Florida on Friday! Luckily for us we had a lot of our packing done prior to the job offer in Orlando. Plus we have had lots of great help from Jeff's Mom and My Mom and Sister.

We had a big moving sale this weekend and sold a lot of our big stuff we didn't want to move. Now we are off to Cleveland and Toledo for a few days to visit some of Jeff's family. Then we will be home for long enough to finish packing and load a truck.

We still don't have a home in Florida, but hopefully we can find something quickly once we get down there. It is going to be a long drive with a 6 yr old, 4 yr old, and a 3 yr old. Tyler has been really bad about traveling in the car lately so I am hoping we can keep him occupied in the car somehow. My Niece and Mom are driving down with us also.

Ok, off to pack a suitcase for our trip up North. I'm not sure if I will get another chance to post. Next time I post it will be from sunny Orlando!

Who likes Nickelodeon?

We do!! Mostly because Jeff just accepted a job as the Director of Aquatics for the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando, FL.

We are very excited about this new chapter in our lives. We will certainly miss our families, but they are all pretty excited about the move and anxious to come visit. Our life has been so off routine lately that we are looking forward to settling in and having some stablility for awhile. We just have to make it through the next two weeks of a chaotic packing and moving cyclone of activity.

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers, positive thoughts, and occassional meals that have helped us during this job search. I will try to keep my blog updated with new information regarding our moving schedule and new digs. I will send out our new contact information as soon as I know it.

Love

Donita and Jeff

We missed it!

The biggest excitement to hit Columbus in 20 years, and we missed it! That's right, while all of our friends and family were enjoying this view...

We were enjoying this one.....

Because while Ohio was stuck in a blizzard, we were stuck in the Orlando airport. We were scheduled to return home Friday evening just about the time the storm was wrecking havoc. We finally made it home Sunday night. What a crazy weekend.

The Evolution of Man

Not having a reason to shave lately, Jeff decided to try out the Grizzly Adams look. I was actually quite taken with the beard, but the time has come to say goodbye.

He tried a few other looks along the way.

Muttonchops anyone?

The good old goutee standby.

Check out the 70s mustache!

And finally the babyface returns!

A Dave Ramsey Testimonial

Many of you may know that we are BIG fans of Dave Ramsey and his teachings. We started listeing to Dave about 2 1/2 years ago and decided to join the "Debt Free" movement. We started a budget for the first time in our lives and did our best to live frugally and within our means. This past summer we accomplished a HUGE goal when we became DEBT FREE!! The was accomplished with a lot of hard work, supportive friends, and many many blessings that entered our lives.

So we were really excited to be debt free, but we were also excited to loosen our purse strings a little and have some fun. We were still saving but also enjoying life. Then we got hit with a WHAMMY. Jeff was "let go" from his job. Yes, big shock in our lives. What are we going to do? How will we survive? Should we panic?

The answers to those questions quickly presented themselves. NO, we don't have to panic. YES, we do have a plan. We have been living that plan for the past 2 1/2 years. We don't have a mortgage because Dave said we shouldn't get one if we didn't have 20% down. We know what to do. We have to live within our budget. We have some savings, we know how to budget, we know how to be frugal and we work well together. We can do this! We also have what has always been most important, each other and our family.

So Jeff and I are taking the steps to provide for our family without having to make rash decisions. We are moving because it makes sense. We are selling all our stuff, because frankly we are tired of moving it.

For awhile now Jeff and I have kept his job loss within our family. We didn't want people to wonder what happened or to answer the millions of "what are you going to do" questions. But I am sharing this post because I want everyone to know what power being Debt Free can bring. Yes I will give kudos to Dave Ramsey for teaching us, and many others, these wonderful lessons. But it really wasn't Dave who made this happen, it was Jeff and I. We worked hard, we drive crappy cars, and we are really, really cold right now :) But we have been blessed. God has a plan for us that we are just discovering. Our future may be uncertain, but we can't wait to find out what it brings us.

Tyler's Birthday

We celebrated Tyler's Birthday this year with a low key celebration at home. All of his cousins were there and that was really excitement enough for Tyler. He got to pick out his own cake and eat lots and lots of icing. He even decorated himself with homemade signs that still are stuck on my wall. He was in his glory.

Jeff made the observation that before you have kids you listen to people talk about how fun birthdays and Chistmas are, but you really can't understand what they mean. (Kind of like the lack of sleep thing) But it is just such a wonderful thing to see the joy and excitement on your child's face. It's really great if they get that much joy out of little things, like the fleece sweatshirt Tyler got for his birthday or his favorite gift of the season, his "art supply case."

Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas. This was really the first year that both kids understood all the excitement surrounding Christmas. Tyler was very, very excited this year. He couldn't wait to decorate. Daddy and Tyler decorated the tree all by themselves. They did a very good job. We went to Grandpa and Grandma Hammond's a few days before Christmas day for our first celebration. The kids had a blast and were very excited to play with their new toys.

We celebrated Christmas morning at home and then drove to the Pa Pa and Nanny King's for the afternoon. Tyler got a crazy pair of "Moon Shoes" that everyone enjoyed hopping on. Maggie got lots and lots of babies and Dora DVDs.

It was one of the best years. We all have alot to celebrate. Even though it didn't snow, we were thankful for the lovely sunny days for driving.

February Fun

Ok, so I am a bad blogger. I have perfectionism tendencies which leads me to not post because I think I have to post pictures with every blog and I haven't figured the picture thing totally out yet. So I have been really bad about this. Let's play catch-up.