Embrace the Cold. Embrace New England.

As much as we have all come to the conclusion that we are not cut out for New England, we are  embracing life out here.

I keep telling myself how lucky we are that the Marine Corps affords us the opportunity to travel and live in places that we would otherwise NEVER choose to live (Massachusetts being one of them).

There are a few things about Massachusetts that have grown on me, that I will miss when we leave here.

1) the friends we have made out here are awesome "New Englanders"

2) Fall time apple picking

3) Cider donuts

4) the cheap lobster...seriously...so cheap!

5) the education system here is freaking amazing! (the rest of the country should get on board with the was New England does school)

 

We got our first real snow of the season last week.

And everyone knows, this Texas girl doesn't like snow (and everything else that snow brings).

I was completely content drinking my coffee in my heated home wearing my fleece pajamas.

Of course my four year old had different ideas.

As soon as she saw the snow falling, she started begging me to take her outside to play in the snow.

Of course I told her no, and that it was too cold....

I wouldn't want us to get sick...

Every excuse I could think of...

She was persistent though.

She tearfully begged me to go outside to make snow angels.

I gave in.

Seriously...the things we do to make our children happy.

By the way, the entire TEN minutes we were outside, I was freezing and unhappy.

For those of you who have lived in the frozen tundra places that snow, you know what a pain it is to get your kids suited up and layered up to go outside.

My son reminds me of a certain little boy named Ralphie from "The Christmas Story".

I guess seeing this happy face was worth it. 

Mattis and mommy....we were cold.

When I was pregnant with Mattis, I couldn't wait till Christmas so that I could get my kids in matching Christmas jammies and take photos!

This is the closest I could get Mattis to smile for the camera.

(yes...we have blue carpet upstairs in our house. no...it was not my choice. yes...I think it's hideous too. yes...we are obviously renting our home)

 Speaking of homes...

We are currently in the process of selling our house in California!

Prayers that offers start coming in fast, and that we can sell!

And some random pics of the kiddos.

Poor little guy. He has no idea that his sister put kitty cat ears on him.

We are doing a chocolate advent calendar with Dannika this year. 

Anyone else think her giant Hello Kitty doll is creepy?

Hope everyone's having an amazing holiday season so far!

Always A Daddy's Girl

As I recorded my daughter and my husband "two stepping" together tonight, I got teary eyed.

Moments like these between Nick and Dannika are so special.

I pictured their father/daughter dance on her wedding day.

Just like that.

Life passes by in an instant.

And no matter how much time Nick has spent away on deployments and training, Dannika thinks the world of him.

And when comes home after being away and reunites with her....

It's like he never left. 

She's a true daddy's girl, and both of them cherish every moment that they get to spend when they are together.

Seeing them together makes me smile.

 (sorry...none of these pics are in chronological order, and I didn't feel like rearranging them)

She was only 4 days old in this pic

This was taken yesterday. They cut snowflakes together. He came home from work a little early to join in on arts and crafts time.

 Today was "pajama day" at gymnastics. Out of all the stuffed animals that she had, she chose to take "daddy".

He came home from work early to come watch her at gymnastics. Can I also add that he was the ONLY dad in the viewing room at gymnastics?!? All the moms were "jelly".

3 months old...

 

For such a "manly" Marine...he sure is a softie when it comes to his baby girl.

I feel sorry for the future boyfriends in her life....

First Parent Teacher Conference

I'm gonna be cliche....

But, where does the time go?!?

My husband and I had our very first parent/teacher conference with Dannika's preschool teacher on November 22.

As parents, we were both so excited for it because outside of what Dannika tells us about her day at school, we really have NO idea what she does all day after we drop her off!

I was so anxious to hear what Dannika's teacher, Mrs. Danielson, had to say about her.

I knew it would be all good things, because I know my daughter well enough to know that she is the farthest thing from a trouble maker.

But I was still blown away by all the great things that was said about her, and it also felt really good to be told that Nick and I were doing a great job raising her.

This is the summary I got from our parent/teacher conference:

Strengths:

delightful, happy, engaging, great effort, wants to please, doesn't back away from a challenge, great imagination, aware of others' preferences (example: she mentioned to her teacher that "Shira likes to draw." Her teacher told me she was surprised at how much she pays attention to what each and every classmate likes/dislikes. She said it's not normal for a a 4 year old to have that much attention to detail!), compliments peers and adults.

Areas for Improvement:

To assert herself (this goes back to her being a people pleaser), take a bit more initiative/leader (Dannika is a go with the flow kind girl, and is the farthest thing from the "bossy" type like I was), to share teacher attention (sensitive to what compliments are given by the teacher to peers...meaning if the teacher compliments another student, Dannika is really sensitive is she doesn't receive a compliment as well).

Lastly, she should improve as her self confidence increases.

What are the child's favorite/preferred preschool activites?

Dress up clothes, doll house, exploration table, music, dancing, singing, read aloud stories, manipulative materials.

I'm so proud of my baby girl, and what a beautiful and intelligent young lady she is becoming!

She's so independent that it makes me sad sometimes!

I can't believe Kindergarten is just around the corner!

Again....where does the time go?!?

Just a Few Christmas Traditions

It's snowy, icy, rainy, slushy, and just plain depressing outside today.

I think my poor hubby got sick this weekend spending hours outside on the roof putting up our Christmas lights.

Note...it took 2 days, 4 hours, and 2 trips to Michaels to finish our lights.

Not to mention, I made him take the first string of lights he did on our roof down because I didn't like the color! 

Thank God for a patient husband!

But they look awesome! (Thanks honey...)

I love Christmas time.

It's not just because of the decorating, the lights, the trees, the gift giving, and the music.

I love it because it's a time of year when a LOT of people celebrate Christ.

I think that's a great reason to celebrate!

I also love family traditions. 

I think it's important to have on going family traditions, because I want my kids to grow up and have fond memories of their childhood at home.

We always put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and take it down the day after the New Year.

This year we put it before we left for our Texas trip since we weren't going to be home for the day after Thanksgiving.

(and yes...I have a fake tree because I don't want to clean up after a real tree)

Every year, each person in our little family gets to pick out a special ornament to add to the family Christmas tree (of course, I picked out Mattis's this year since he OBVIOUSLY can't pick out his own yet).

I write the year and the name of the person who it belongs to somewhere on the ornament.

It's a lot of fun to see what ornaments we picked out in the previous years as we decorate our tree each year.

I also do a yearly "family ornament" with a family photo on it.

It's cool to see how our family has changed over the years as we put up our tree.

Our family does two Christmas trees.

We do our "Family tree" and our "Marine Corps tree".

Our Marine tree has all Marine Corps related ornaments and patriotic colors on it.

I buy new ones every year to add to it.

The family tree on top and the Marine Corps tree on bottom.

Our two trees :-)

Every year, we send out a family Christmas card to our close friends and family.

And my awesome husband is always more than willing to endure a family photo session every year for the Christmas card.

This year, we had a friend of mine from high school take our photos while we were in Houston.

He owns his own photography business, and after stalking his Facebook page for months, I decided to hit him up when we were home.

If you're in the Houston area check out Danny Boyle Photography!

In the recent years, I've become a huge fan of Tiny Prints to make our cards.

They have such amazing and professional quality cards, adorable templates, great customer service (I've only had to use them once for a problem with shipping), and for the quality of the card you get, the price is well worth it!

So I present to you...

The 2013 Romer Family Christmas Card!

What are your family traditions?

Thanksgiving in Houston (pt. 4)

This is my last Thanksgiving post!!!

It was a packed week for us in Texas, and I'm glad I got to share it!

Because the Marine Corps has managed to keep me away from home for my entire adult life, when I go back, there are little novelties about Texas that I HAVE TO HAVE!

It's just a few things about Texas that make it special that you can't get anywhere else!

1) Shipley's 

You will forget about the place called dunkin donuts once you've had the ooey, gooey, soft, and pillowy deliciousness of a Shipley's glazed donut.

I refuse to eat donuts from dunkin donuts because I have become a bit of "donut snob" since I grew up with Shipley's.

Also, no one in the country besides Texans know what a freaking kolache is!

GOOGLE IT, PEOPLE!

And when you go to Texas, make sure you have one.

It will change your life.

2) Shiner Bock beer

Brewed in Shiner, Texas.

You can actually find this in a lot of places around the country.

But for whatever reason, it tastes better in Texas.

3) Chick Fil A

Ok, ok, so Chick Fil A is not native to Texas, and you can find them all over the place.

However, since moving to Massachusetts, they're hard to find and there isn't one near us.

BUUUT, there is one walking distance from my parent's house, so we ALWAYS go when we go home.

I love me some waffle fries and Chick Fil A sauce.

Oh, and they have Diet Dr. Pepper!

It's hard to find places to serve Diet Dr. Pepper anywhere else in the country, but you can find it EVERYWHERE in Texas.

Why, you ask?

Because Dr. Pepper is native to TEXAS...duh!

 4) Texas BBQ

It's no secret that real BBQ comes from the South.

There's a cute little place called Rudy's in Houston that serves the most absolutely delicious brisket and ribs.

They also have a BBQ sauce that is to die for.

Not your typical sweet BBQ sauce.

Texas BBQ sauce tends to be a bit more on the "vinegary" side, as opposed to the east coast Southern BBQ (which tends to be sweeter).

Seriously though, you won't find BBQ like this anywhere in Cali or Mass.

And for those who don't like spicy BBQ sauce, their "Sissy sause" is still pretty amazing.

These are a few of my favorite things (you know you just sang that to the tune of the "Sound of Music" song).

After living in Southern California the last 10 years, and having easy access to places like Disneyland, Seaworld, and the absolutely spectacular San Diego Zoo, I've also become a bit of a "zoo snob".

We went to the Zoo up here in Boston, and it was seriously the lamest zoo I've ever been to in my entire life. 

There were no attractions, shows, and entertainment....just a buncha caged and fenced in animals.

They also had a lack of unhealthy zoo concessions.

I was so disappointed with the zoo here.

That's what happens when you've been to the San Diego Zoo a gazillion times....you become a "zoo snob".

My parents live close to the Houston Zoo, and I remember going there as a kid all the time.

The Houston Zoo ranks right up there with the San Diego Zoo (it falls a teeeeny bit short).

We always make a trip to there when we're in town.

We didn't get to go this past Summer because I was like 7 1/2 months prego, and it was 106 degrees in Houston with a million percent humidity (yeah...that was not going to happen).

Sorry...no pics of animals....just a bunch of "selfies" of ourselves.

Mattis' first trip to the zoo.

He was less than impressed...as you can tell by his facial expression.

Lastly, what's Thanksgiving without some football?!

Bama lost (Nick's team)...yay!

The Aggies lost (Dannika, Mattis, and my team)...boo!

And some random last photos of some cuteness...