Raindrops on Roses and Markers on Noses?

So, Aaron has this thing about markers. He loves to color, I just wish it was on a piece of paper. Mind you, he starts on the paper. He really has good intentions. But the temptation is just too great for my little boy. He can't resist...he is fascinated with his nose. He must attempt to color it with his marker!

His latest pick (no pun intended)? Green. I'm hopin' that sometime in the month of December he does it with red and then I can get a Rudolph pic...I do have those foam antlers!

"What? I wasn't doing anything"

"Cool...I don't think she noticed"

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Later that afternoon (notice marker still on nose), Aaron decided to help Mommy out in the kitchen. He saw how much fun operating a hand mixer can be and decided to give it a try. He was actually quite good at it...he is a strong little boy. Maybe he will grow up to be a man that can cook for his wife!

"Look Sissy!!"

"I am now getting ready to make a mess."

I really love baking and I'm so glad that I can share it with both my kids. Katelyn enjoys helping Mommy out and she's gotten a lot better about following directions. I haven't let her crack an egg yet...at what age is that a good idea for kids? ;-)

You know Dasher & Dancer & Prancer & Vixen, Comet & Cupid & Donner & Blitzen...but do you know these two?

I couldn't resist scrapbooking this cute picture of sister and brother, both wearing their colorful foam antler hats that I picked up at the Yankee Candle Outlet in Williamsburg.

Roam if you want to.... (Part Deux)

Okay, so something I forgot to mention yesterday about our dinner at Second Street...if you look at the picture of me in the restaurant you will see the lady-half of the couple that is sitting behind us. I'm horrible with names or I would be able to tell you their names. Sigh...instead I will just call them "the couple" and the story will seem less personal. "The couple" got there early enough to have the Early Bird Dining Special, which included an appetizer, salad or soup each, two entrees & a dessert to share! It's supposed to save you 30%, and yet I don't know how anyone would be expected to eat all that in one sitting! I'm getting off point...the reason I share this with you is because when their dessert finally arrived, it smelled SO GOOD that I had to look over and see what they were eating. They must have noticed my interest because a few minutes later, they were tapping me on my shoulder, and do you know what they asked? They wanted to know if I would like to eat some of their dessert! How sweet and funny. And believe it or not...I took them up on their offer! And it was delicious...a pumpkin crisp with a toasted pecan and coconut crust. Not only did I enjoy the dessert, but I loved getting to know this lovely couple that was so willing to share their food with a stranger. Outside of the man being a Carolina fan (visualize my mom rolling her eyes), we all had fun talking and joking with each other the rest of the meal. Isn't is fun when you get to meet new people, even if it is only for that one time?

Okay, back to our trip. After a relaxing and fun night #1, we did our best to fall asleep to a certain someone's snoring. Actually it helped me out to hear SOMETHING...anything. I realized that I am addicted to white noise. I didn't bring my little fan with me and suffered a tossing and turning kind of night. Needless to say, morning came just as I was getting settled into peaceful sleep. But hey...all I needed to hear were those magic two words to get me out of bed: OUTLET SHOPPING. That's right. Saturday we spent ALL day at the outlets. And let's just say that I did my part stimulating the economy.

Here's a picture of the trio before going to the outlets. Don't ask me why I am pointing my toes.
I didn't take any pictures of the outlets because: 1) I didn't want to lug my camera around and 2)I didn't want anyone to think I was a creep, taking my camera into dressing rooms and such! Ha! We really didn't leave the outlets until after dark, and after a quick bite to eat at some Italian/Steakhouse joint, my mom got her wish. She had been very keen on shopping at....

The Christmas Mouse. My mom loves loves loves all things Christmas and just can't pass up a Christmas Shop. It really is a bit OCD if you ask me. But, I think we all enjoyed seeing the lights, looking at the decorations and hearing some Christmas music. We looked at the entire store, top and bottom levels. One thing you would notice after a day of shopping with my Mom...she can not be hurried and if she likes the store, she will look at almost everything in the store. There is no casual browsing with this woman. So, after about an hour in the Christmas Mouse, I went outside to get my camera and take some outside shots.
Of course, they were taking sooooo long that I finally started taking pictures of them through the windows. I was kind of hoping they would get embarassed and therefore, make their selections quickly. Notice my mom is just smiling....probably thinks it is funny...my plan did not work!
FINALLY, I get them out of the Christmas Mouse, and it's back to the Inn for us! We had had a long day of shopping and wanted to relax. Instead of a board game, we decided to watch one of the DVDs that were available for B&B guests. After the movie, it was lights out! We were all so tired that I think we slept much better that night.

Day #3...our day to leave and go back home. Boo! Of course, this is the day that the sun decided to come out and stay. We decided to go back downtown and visit a couple more shops before we returned home. Of course, I wanted to document the breakfast table...Kathy (the owner) set a beautiful table for us each morning. Isn't this how you normally eat breakfast at your house?
Both days Kathy treated us to delicious fruits. I preferred the strawberry, melon, banana & pineapple medley from day #1 while my sister enjoyed this berry concoction day#2. We were also served french toast, bacon, omelettes and sausage....and of course, COFFEE!!!

We left the Inn and headed to Merchants Square in downtown Williamsburg. It was a cold and windy day, but so nice to see some sunshine!
On the way back home, we made one more stop for shopping. A few people had recommended that we stop in at the Yankee Candle store. Wow...it is quite a place! So much more than just candles...

This is a shot of only ONE HALF of the store....it really is huge!

Mom and Kelly are excited and ready to shop!

Not only did they have these cute Christmas cutouts for your kids, but they also had Santa and his sleigh available for photo ops.

Step into a magical world, where it is always nighttime and the stars are twinkling above. And if you stay for awhile, you will witness snow flakes fall from the sky. My kids would love this place!

Mom...come on....remember, Christmas Mouse? Bless her heart, she just can't help herself.

That's it from me! We left Yankee Candle and headed back to Raleigh, NC. I had such a great weekend and it was a perfect getaway. Thanks to my mom and sister for putting up with me. Hope that the next time we do this, AV will be able to go with us! She had to stay at home and be a good student. We missed you AV! Love to you all!

Roam if you want to.... (Part I)

Title brought to you today by an avid Rock Band 2 drummer.

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Before I get to my pictures of my Williamsburg trip, I want to take a moment to thank my husband for not only taking care of our kids AND the house, but doing it with such a wonderfully positive attitude. It really was so great to call and hear an upbeat voice...it helped me to relax and know that I had left things in very capable and willing hands. Love you Bryan!

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As many of you know, my mom, sister Kelly & I have been planning a girls' getaway for a few months now. We had narrowed our choices down to Asheville, Wilmington & Williamsburg. Since all of us had visited the first two places, we decided to try something new and head to Williamsburg, Va. It did not disappoint. Even though the rain tried to dampen our spirits, we still had a SUPER FUN time. We shopped, dined out, laughed, relaxed, shopped some more, played games and watched movies, tried to sleep, ate calorie-laden sweets, sipped hot coffee in front of the fire, and shopped some more!

After we decided that we wanted to go to Williamsburg, we thought it would be more fun to stay in a B&B somewhere close to downtown. We found this cute little B&B that was very convenient and very charming.

The Inn at 802 is right off of Jamestown Road and very close to historic Williamsburg. AND it was only a few minutes away from the outlets. Yes! We picked this place because it looked cute (such a girl thing) and because it was able to accomodate three people in one room. They served breakfast in the mornings and provided coffee/snacks during the afternoon/evening hours. And we all loved the fact that they had complimentary sodas in the frig...we could grab them whenever we wanted one.

Here is the back of the Inn at 802. Parking was tight, but my sister has mad driving/parking skills. We only had a few traffic violations on the trip, right Kelly? Funny how you can make lots of wrong turns in a unfamiliar town on a dark and rainy night.

First glance as you walk in the door. Doesn't that look like an inviting place to read the paper and have your morning coffee?

The stairways that lead up to our guest room.

Lovely suite with a private bath (of course). Just so cute and comfy! Mom staked her claim on the twin bed right away. I guess she has had her fill of sleeping with her daughters over the years. That's okay...the other bed was HUGE, so Kelly and I had plenty of room.

This room had a BIG walk-in closet...and I think my mom would have slept in here if she could.

We warmed up by the fireplace while deciding where we should eat....

Our first night we ate at a great local restaurant, Second Street. My mom and sister had these HUGE hamburgers and I had one of the best grilled chicken salads ever! It's called the Portifino Chicken Salad and it consists of Grilled Chicken, Tomato, Cucumber, Blue Cheese, Dried Cranberries, Red & Yellow Peppers, Salad Greens, Candied Pecans & Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette. It was YUMMY! Our waitress was so awesome...my glass never got halfway empty before she refilled it. I love the fact that she was a talker...not too much, but she definitely had fun jokin' with us. The manager was even nicer and stopped by to chat with us for several minutes. He even brought out his "hooked-on-phonics" map and showed us how to get to all the outlets. What a great dining experience. We were stuffed from our meal, so we bought our Chocolate Tower Cake to go. That's right...it was a tower cake. HUGE.
Here we are, back at the Inn, in our snuggly soft & warm pjs, eating our Tower cake. We drank coffee/wine/soda, ate cake, & then played Imaginiff. What a fun game to play with your family. Kelly and Mom seemed to be more "in tune" with each other than me, but hey...they live side by side so that has to be the explanation, right? We found out that Bryan would make a good werewolf, Dree-Dree could be described as "There's No Place Like Home" and Uncle Dale is best thought of as a fishing boat. Ha! Guess you had to be there....

Well, I'll have to wrap this up for now...my son has totally destroyed the living room and I must go clean it up! Part 2....will try for tomorrow!

What's Goin' On....

I know that I haven't written as often as I should, but hey...this is my blog, and I can post when I want to (post when I want to, post when I want to). Seriously, sometimes I get soooo behind with my entries, that I avoid my blog entirely.

But, alas, I find myself really wanting to share with you guys what we have been doing, so I'm gonna go all the way back to the end of October (I know, that is so far back, huh?). In no particular order, here is what's been goin' on:

We went trick or treatin' around the hood on Halloween. Kate was a princess ballerina and Aaron went as Dash (from the Incredibles). Bryan did an awesome job with his Jack Sparrow costume. He spent a lot of time braiding his wig and even sewing his vest.

Since my hubby is a Halloween baby, I decided to throw him a birthday party this year. We had such a great turnout, and lots of people came in costume.

Bryan got Rock Band 2 for his birthday, and of course, we played it that night. Everyone had a blast rockin' out...kids and adults. It really is a good party "game".

I have really enjoyed looking out my back window to see all the beautiful fall colors. On the day this picture was taken, it was gloomy and overcast...and yet, that's what seemed to make all the colors POP! Thank you God for creating such beautiful scenery.

I think it was too much partying. No, really...isn't it just too darn cute when they fall asleep on the couch? I can't even imagine sleeping in that position...but he was OUT.

She's growing up too fast. I sometimes look at her and think, is she really THIS big? She looks so different now that she has lost her front bottom teeth. Her face, her smile has changed. I'm not ready, Lord. Help me to accept that my little girl won't be little for much longer, and to appreciate this time where she still WANTS to hold my hand in public and lets ME pick out her clothes. I love her so much and I am so proud of the little person she is becoming.


Fall fun! My kids and our neighbor's kids loved hamming it up for this "photo shoot". Bryan also made a big pile of leaves in our backyard for the kids to jump in. Kate and Aaron really loved playing in it, and were pretty bummed when Daddy finally raked the pile into the woods.

Kate has been having fun at our neighbor's house, practicing her ballet and performing shows for the adults. Kelsey choreographed a show for her and Gaby, and they performed it LIVE for the parents. Bravo, Kate and Gaby. Beautiful dancing.

Eating bananas. Who doesn't like bananas?

My uncle and aunt from Charlotte came for a visit. We all went out to eat at Kemps Seafood and then back to our house for some cake and RB2.

Uncle Robert did a GREAT job playing bass on RB2. I suspect that he enjoyed himself just a tad.

Both of our kids love to play RB2 as well. Kate is not only a great vocalist, but she has impressed us with her skills on the drum.

I went to Target after Halloween and found Aaron a policeman costume (on clearance, of course). His sister has plenty of princess dress up to share, but I thought it was HIGH time to get him some more masculine apparel.

Okay, so lately Mommy has been working out to a DVD called "Hip Hop Abs". Aaron has seen the video enough that he likes to pull up his shirt and say "Pip-Pop Abs". How cute!

Lastly, the Sherman kids are having visions of sugarplums...in the form of a Nintendo DS and as Aaron puts it "Bah-bee" dolls. That's right, Aaron wants a doll and Kate wants a video game. Isn't this backwards? Hmmm...I'm on the hunt for some GI Joes or something!

And tomorrow I will be blogging about my weekend getaway with my sis and mom to wonderful, rainy Williamsburg, VA. We really enjoyed our trip and I can't wait to share our pics! Nighty-night.