Now We Like Santa Mommy! Can He Come Play Again Today?

Funny thing too. Last month, Hailey and Emma kicked poor Santa out of his own chair, refusing to have anything to do with him. Now, on the 27th of December, they are crying cause he is the coolest guy on earth and they want him to come back and visit us again. All despite the fact that Santa only supplied a few pair of jammies and some shirts, I think. All the COOL stuff was gifted by either Mommy and Daddy, Me-Maw or Papa. Yeah, seriously our kiddos made out like bandits all thanks to a suffering economy and precious Black Friday deals. You HAVE to love Wal-Mart's price matching policy!!! I was able to get a V-tech game system for $25 which left me $15 to purchase a game for them. My mom got the girls buy one/get one Dora backpack sets... which BTW sing the "backpack, backpack" song that Kevin just loooooves. Then there was my dad. He purchased the Dora doll house for full price on Wal-Mart.com, but when I picked it up, it happened to be on sale for 60% off. OMG, I was so excited! The $40 saved allowed us to buy so much more for them while using the same amount of money. And since his happened to be my dad's money technically, it was a double bonus to us. Enough about great sales, deals and money saved, here's what ya'll want to see, pictures of the kids enjoying life, enjoying the holidays and that sweet baby boy of mine. I promise to blog more insightful, meaningful stuff later. You know, like Christmas Eve service, having my brother in town and KLTY's Christmas Wish program, but I wanted to get this done too.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Too cold. Too cold. Oh my gosh, sorry, I had to finish off that line. I know, I'm corny.

Friday was a great day! We had lots of fun around the Lebanik house. Well, not in the house, but yeah...you know what I'm getting at. The kids and I made a trip to the air port to pick up my brother Ryan(who just graduated from UNVL) and my mom. She had been in Vegas for a week visiting with friends and of course watching Ryan's commencement. After we picked them up, we headed to the mall to burn some time before Kevin got off of work. Besides, I was in desperate need of some winter hats for the girls. It was going to get cold again before Christmas and we had something extra special planned for that night. I had been given 4 tickets to the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Texan Resort so we met up with Kevin as soon as he could leave work. ICE! is an exhibit of over 2 millions pounds of ice that were made into sculptures by 40 visiting artists from China. And to keep all of that ice from melting, they keep it COLD in there. Well below freezing. They did provide these super long, thick coasts for everyone to wear, but even then we rushed through as the kids got very cold... very quickly. Afterwards, we hit Quizno's for some quick dinner and headed home. The girls love having Uncle Ryan in the house. He is great with the kids. He plays with them and lets them totally beat on him. I think they'll be sad when he goes back home. But in the mean time, here are some pictures from ICE! including one of Emma and her Uncle Ryan that I absolutely love.

Best Ever $94 Spent

On gymnastics! I really think the next 8 weeks are going to be a blast for the girls. Today, the girls had their very first gymnastics class at the Roanoke Rec Center. It's an 8 week class and there are a total of 6 kids in the class. Only 4 were there today, but it was still a lot of fun. They get to do everything from learn how to do a cartwheel to the rings, the balance beam and even the vault. I think it's great too that they teach the kids valuable life lessons like taking turns, following directions and safety. Here are a few pictures of the girls in their leotards and leg warmers...messy hair and all!

Is He An Angel Or What?!?!

For Christmas, my wonderful, amazing, charming, thoughtful husband bought me a fancy new camera. (did I add in enough adjectives???)I am so darn excited about this bad boy! It is an amazing piece of equipment! I can't wait to start taking some pics of the kids. Speaking of, here is my first test shot. I know I'm bias, but you have to admit, he looks like a sleeping angel with those lashes of his!

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Buikding a Cookie Man House

Each family has their own holiday tradition. The first year Kevin and I were married, I made a gingerbread house. Ever since then, we have made one to keep till after Christmas. Last year we spiced it up and did one of those trees instead. This year it was back to the old classic. Hailey and Emma did such a great job by themselves...okay, we helped just a little, but as you can tell by the pictures and video, they were the main designers.




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Rub-A-Dub-Dub 3 Lebaniks In The Tub!

You know when a baby is too big for a baby bath? When he sits himself up, grabs the lotion bottle and swings it around knocking everything on the counter onto the ground. That's when! Matt had been doing this for about a week now, but I didn't want to admit to myself that he was becoming a big boy. Well, as big as a 5 month old can get anyways. So here was have it, the beginning of a new era. The era where the girls have to share their toys and make room for Matty. It's amazing just how small a tub is when you put two toddlers and a bath seat in there. Matty, you're really in for a treat. As dangerous as it is having four feet and four arms splashing about, it's just as cool to get to hang out with our sisters and play with all their neat toys.

Matty even has his own ducky!


Everybody in the tub

Hailey On A Tortoise

What a title, right? This weekend, Kevin, the girls and I went to Oklahoma to visit our friends Casey, David, Cole and Wade for Cole's 3rd birthday party. And this wasn't just ANY birthday party...it was a DIEGO BIRTHDAY PARTY! There was this cool lady there with all kinds of animals for the kids to play with, hold and even stand on. Well alright, they could only stand on the tortoise, but you get the picture. It was pretty dang cool. The girls were excited to see some of the animals that they've seen on Diego, but mommy was none too thrilled to see the python. Regardless, I did touch it! I was so proud of myself. Speaking of being proud, my children did amazing on the road trip there and back. They counted Mc Donalds along the way, used our new favorite gadget, the portable dvd player, and slept. Matt did equally as well only needing to be soothed a few times on the 3 hour trip home. And I can't blame him. It had been a long day for the little guy who is battling bronchitis and an ear infection. The trip was worth it despite kids that were under the weather. It was nice to see our friends. We've missed them since they moved a few months ago. It's amazing how big Cole and Wade had gotten in just a couple short months. Anyways, here are a couple pics from the party and all the fun animals that were there:

Hails on the tortoise


Kevin showing the girls Chili the Chinchilla


Matt checking things out

Hails loved her cupcake

Emma didn't use her hands to eat her cupcake, just her tongue

Matt, my buddy Casey and I

The Nester family

Deck The Halls

What a difference a year makes! Last year the girls were totally oblivious to the holiday season. This year, all they want to do is look at their Christmas tree! We had a good time Sunday decorating the tree. Yes, every ornament that the girls put on ended up on the same branch, but that was okay. They had a blast doing it. The tree isn't finished yet. I am going to have the girls make a paper chain to finish it off, but the bones are all up. This age is so much fun. I can't wait till Matt is old enough to join in. It really does make me thankful for my amazing family.


Christmas, brought to you by John Deere



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Happy Black Friday! Er, I mean Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day everyone! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. We had kind of a low-key day. Kevin had had epidural shots in his back the day before so the poor thing wasn't doing so well on Thanksgiving day. Luckily, we didn't have too much to do for dinner that day. In true Texan fashion, we had a friend from church smoke our turkey for us. It's been 3 years now since we've had a traditional roasted turkey and I'll tell ya, I doubt we'll go back any time soon. Smoking and frying are so much quicker and tastier than the old school way of doing things. Today was a special day for Matty. He got to sit in his high chair for the first time. Today was also his first taste of a veggie. We kept with sweet potatoes to stay in the Thanksgiving theme. After an early dinner(like 2 pm) we had a quiet night at home in preparation for the early morning ahead of us.

The "kid's table"

Mmmm...Sweet potatoes!

A member of the "clean plate club"

The grub:

Mommy's lil' turkey:


Black Friday...2:53am: the alarm was still 7 minutes away from going off, but it's like Matt was a born Black Friday shopper! He was up wanting to eat. PERFECT! I was able to nurse the baby and still get up and out the door with my Mom by 3:25am. The 3 of us met up with Shelly and Austin at Kohls 15 minutes before the doors opened. I had this day planned out for weeks. So even the added bit of rain couldn't dampen my shopping plans. Kevin just doesn't get it. He has no clue why I love this day as much as I do. It's so exhilarating! A little bit of fun and a break from the kids before the official holiday season(except Matt of course since Hails dumped my pumped milk from the night before). Besides, I have been doing this since I was a little kid. It's just in my blood. Okay, back to Kohls. My mom stayed with the boy till the doors opened so that they were not int he cold. Shelly and I got the things we needed and Austin and my Mom hopped in line so that there was no wait. We were out by 4:15. Off to Wal-Mart. This was my BIG stop. Not only did I have a list of things to get from their add, but I also had a few things that I was price matching there as well. $30 family games marked down to $9.99, princess movies for $5.99, 8 GB flash drives for $12.99, the list goes on and on. The big ticket item was an 8" portable DVD player for $49 though. And no, that Christmas gift has not made it to Christmas morning. Heck, it didn't even make it the weekend. We already had a 3+ hour road trip and I have to tell you, it is the best $49 ever spent! 5:08(8 minutes after the early bird deals opened) we were back in our cars. And since we had some time between stores, we stopped at Starbucks so mom, Shell and Austin could get something to drink while I nursed Matty.While driving to Starbucks, we made a last minute stop at Old Navy so I could get Kevin a sweater and my mom a shirt that she has liked for a few weeks now. 5:45am we found ourselves in line at Office Depot. Matt was fast asleep with a full tummy all bundled up in his carrier, mom and I felt recharged with some Starbucks caffeine with just a few more things to get. Remember how I posted that crappy picture of a picture of the kids and Santa, well we have needed a printer for ages now. My mom got us one for Christmas...okay, obviously another gift that didn't make it till 12/25. I am in LOVE with my printer/scanner/copier!!! It is awesome. And while we were there, I picked up the same one for Kevin's work. He was told by his boss to get a nice copier and since Kevin is cheap, he had me just get one on Black Friday instead of paying full price like his boss suggested. For some reason, Office Depot was totally unprepared for the rush with only 3 registers open. This was the longest we spent in any store that day. We were out the door by 6:45 which wasn't too bad, but did put us a few minutes behind. 7:00am we were the first ones in the door to get my mom a $9.99 hair dryer at CVS and turned the corner to Ulta where she stocked up on Shaper Plus hairspray at a bargain price of $5.99 each(usually $12.99/ea.). I had to get something for Kevin. Especially since he was a trooper with his back hurting so badly. So next stop was Lowes. I felt horrible cause the one thing I really wanted, the Rubbermade cabinet for $39, was sold out. I did however make it there in time for the $29 14 gallon wet/dry vac which Kevin really did want. We were back at the house y 8:30 and the kids had just gotten up a few minutes before. They didn't even really know we were gone. Ahhhhh...another year of great Black Friday deals behind us and another year where I picked up more than stuff for Christmas. I tend to get more practical stuff that we've needed all year, but have been too cheap to get otherwise. Now all I have left to do is start my planning for Black Friday 09'!

You Win Some, You Loose Some

Okay, well I posted earlier that I would explain how my health and Matty's eating habits are connected. So here it goes.



As the title says, you win some and you loose some. I seem to be loosing these days. And I mean that in many senses of the term. For those of you that know me, I have always struggled with my weight. I was bigger growing up and seemed to grow out before I would grow up. I took control of my weight a few years ago and have been able to maintain a healthy weight for some time now. Enter Matt. He's thriving. Doing really well. It seems however that I am having a hard time maintaining my weight while nursing him among other issues. With my recent weight loss, I find myself in a place I've neer been before...trying to GAIN weight. Go figure. When is that last time you've heard a woman say that, right?!?!? Well, back to the story. Matt's nursing has done more than damage the numbers on the scale. Back in September, I ran a 5k. No big deal. I mean, it's only 3 miles. The good news is that I beat my time from 2007. I was proud that I was able to bounce back to the asphault so shortly after having a baby. However some of my motavation for running fast was the fact that about a mile into the race, my bladder spasmed and I wet myself. And I'm not talking about a little leakage. I'm talking about fully empting my bladder. It was horrible. Embarrassing. My only saving grace was that it was a night race. Knowing that something was obviously wrong, I saught the help of my doctor and after some test were run, it was determined that my bladder had fallen. Did you know that 75% of women have some bladder damage post partum? I didn't know that either! And of the women who have issues, 75% of those have their symptoms get worse with age. 10% of women that need surgical repair have the proceedure done before the age of 80. So yeah, I was feeling kinda old after hearing that stat, but it was comforting to know that I'm not the only one who has these issues. On November 12th, I went infor surgery. It was to be a 30 minute out patient thing with little to no time int he hospital. I remember waking up and feeling positive. Kevin came in to check on me and that's when he broke the news to me. After 3 hours in the OR, my doctor was unable to fix me. If anything, there was more damage. It seems that breast feeding has somehow depleted my nutrience and in doing so, my body was unable to heal itself after Matthew's birth. In addition, I have been unable to keep weight on to help my body in the process. Now I start the long road to recovery. I am not going to rush Matt to stop nursing. That's not fair to him. And besides, a year or so of my time is nothing compared to a life time of health and other benefits that breast feeding provides. I plan on letting Matthew wean himself close at close to a year old. Unless his teething becomes an issue. In that case, I'm puttin my foot down! Then I can start taking extra vitamins and medications to help my body prepare for surgery again. At that point, I can get back to running. I can work on my dream of qualifing for Boston. All in time I guess. In the mean time, pass me an extra slice of pie...I've got some weight to put on.

Cereal: It's What's For Dinner!

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If ya'll can't tell, he LOVES food. He did extremely well with his rice cereal and though it hasn't prolonged his sleeping habits just yet, I can tell that a new, well rested, Matthew is just around the corner.

But We No Like Sanna Mommy!!!

Is the 11th of November too early for Hailey, Emma and Matthew to see Santa Clause? HECK NO! Actually, we would have had the kids see him the prior Saturday when we went for the For Worth Child Casting Call, but we didn't have our pretty red sweater dresses on. It's funny cause last year we tried to go the first week of November and they looked at us like we were crazy for thinking that Santa would possible be out that early, but sure enough this year he was. And for the record, in 2006, we saw him on 11/8 so HA! to you North East Mall. Anyways, the trip went as well as I expected it to go. The went up and shook Santa's hand and then latched on to my legs and wouldn't let go. there was NO sitting with Santa. No chance in you know where. Matt did just fine. He sat and giggled. No problems there. I got a decent one of him sitting alone with St. Nick, but adding the girls just wasn't happening. The sweet lady working there said that it tends to be like that till kids are about 3. So here's hoping that Matt stays calm and mellow like he's been and the girls come to realize that that scary man in the big red suit is their friend. We did manage to get a picture however. We just had to use some creativity. It's kinda like the Lebanik kids over threw the North Pole or something. Which honestly, I wouldn't put it past them. But yeah, the picture of the trio sitting in Santa's chair with Santa looking over the shoulder is classic. Hope you like it too. And in true Hailey and Emma fashion, before we left they did manage to ask for a cookie and toys for Christmas...even though there was no way she was sitting on his lap. Gotta love it when girls speak their minds.


Sorry about the quality, it's a picture of a picture. I did ask Santa for a scanner though for Christmas, so maybe we'll get lucky and I can post a truer picture. ;)