So now a little bit about my Christmas present . . .

Now, not only will you be subject to my horrible photography, but you will also get the joy of my fine video skills! Thanks to my AWESOME husband, I now have a Flip video camera!!! I am so exited to have such a small camera that can just always be in my purse. It also means, you get the joy of lots of Balogh videos!!! Now remember -- this is my first attempt at both using the Flip and downloading the video to my blog. I'm going to master iMovie at some point so I can edit these little babies, but for now . . . enjoy!

Ford and Virginia in the bubble room at the Magic House -- Jeb was running off to see Curious George or some other excited thing during this time! :) It is hard to tell but they are pulling huge bubbles up around themselves -- you mostly see it when the bubble pops! And obviously it was crowded with other kids really wanting a turn. Waiting really is tough!

These are a few of our favorite things . . .

WOW! What a Christmas! An awesome Christmas Eve service at church, a very late night for mom and dad (2:30 am to be exact -- thank you Mr. Basketball goal!) and some really fun and exciting gifts for everyone! PLUS, A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!! There are way so many favorites and we definitely didn't capture them all, but here are a few of the top ones . . .

Jeb is loving his new glider bike. He can't wait to get it outside for a spin but I don't think Jeb, two wheels and ice is a very good combination!

Ford was so excited to get Super Mario Bros for his DS -- it was his favorite game until a certain little adorable puppy ate it! :( Getting a replacement made his morning!
The "it" toy of the year . . . Zhu Zhu pets x3 thanks to Santa for wheeled guinea pigs that moo -- but they are a HIT!
Virginia waited until Christmas morning to open her gift from Ms. Gordon and Ms. K (her teachers). I would NEVER have put a gift under the tree and waited 3 days to open it when my mom said I could have it now. Honestly, I still couldn't do that!

Virginia helping Jeb open the gift she bought for him -- Llama Llama Misses Mama.
Trio crane is quite a hit . . .
And Ford's #1 most favorite thing -- an airsoft gun. Santa basically went against the wishes of his mama, but I think mama was wrong about this one. He has spent hours outside in the snow and cold shooting cans for his targets!
And thanks to Jeb's shopping, Virginia and Ford now have personalized Snuggie's!
More cozy pj's and a cool Auburn jacket . . .
Jeb in his new chair . . . eating of course!
And Virginia, DS and new chair = one comfy girl.
We have enough stuff to last the entire year for sure! Thanks grandparents, cousins and friends for all the amazing gifts!!! And hopefully when the weather improves, the kids will enjoy the basketball goal -- poor Brent doesn't ever want to put together another one of those again. EVER! :)

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas from St. Louis . . .

Love,

Charla, Brent, Ford (8), Virginia (6) and Jeb (3 3/4)

Innkeepers, Angels, New PJ's and the First Gift!

The annual Christmas Pageant . . . no Christmas Eve would seem complete without one now. This year, we moved up! Ford is no longer angel choir material and this year he got a "real" part . . . he was the innkeeper. Needless to say, he did his part well!

Virginia was the most adorable angel in the choir -- she is the one on the right side, 2nd up from the candle! Maybe I should have asked Santa for a better camera lens! :)
Because we are on our own at Christmas, we never get a family picture. So each year, we try to at least get a dad shot and a mom shot . . . Dad shot . . .
Mom shot . . . with everyone in their new pj's!
And tonight we changed up our usual rules a bit. We let each of the kids pick one gift from under the tree to open tonight. The boxes they chose, told so much about them! Ford picked the tall skinny long and odd looking package that he had been pondering over since Mimsie brought it at Thanksgiving -- he picked the one that was different and he had no clue what it was! Virginia picked the most beautifully wrapped package under the tree -- wrapped with love by Dillards -- Uggs from Mema and Bud, and Jeb, well, he just picked the closest thing to him!! That happened to be new gel markers from Mema and Bud. They were all excited but Jeb did a nice fist in the air and said "Yes, yes, I asked for that!!!!" First presents were great hits!!!
Merry Christmas Eve!

Celebrating SIX!

Well, the celebrations are done. Virginia is SIX! I was so happy when Brent and I found out we were having a girl. Brent would have Ford for guy stuff and I would have a little girl to shop and get pampered with. Well, Virginia HATES to shop, BUT she LOVES to be pampered! So for her sixth birthday, we ran with it. Party Curls to the rescue -- a licensed beautician arrived at my house with 11 sets of hot curlers, lots of hair accessories, finger nail polish galore and all sorts of nail art. Little girl heaven! Here is a photo journal of our morning . . .

A before shot -- Virginia and Marnie relaxing before the festivities begin. Note the very straight hair!!!

The first curling stick goes in . . . her first time EVER to have her hair curled!
The most adorable group of girls ever . . . all with their before hair!
The curlers are in . . .
Check out those CURLS!
Lucy checking it out in her mirror -- each girl had their own set of curling sticks, their own mirror and their own comb and brush!
All dolled up . . .
They all loved seeing each other as the rollers came out. They would cheer and clap!
Raegan colored this picture for Virginia -- there were markers and paper on the tables to keep everyone occupied while waiting for their turn.
And this is the amazing transformation . . . look at all those curls!
Virginia's amazing kindergarten teacher, Ms. Gordon, also came by. When she arrived all the girls went running to her for hugs! Everyone needs a kindergarten teacher like this!!!!
Brent lighting the candles for Virginia . . . she picked out her cake from Maggie Moo's -- yellow cake with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. YUM! Lunch was Chick Fil A nuggets, fruit and goldfish -- just what the birthday girl ordered!
My favorite girl . . .
Opening presents . . . apparently six year old girls like to be really close to each other!
Blowing out the candles!~
And the festivities are over! The actual birthday was on Thursday -- cookies at school and The Princess and the Frog followed by Noodles for dinner. I think celebrating six was a pretty fun time! Happy Birthday Virginia!

Big boys don't nap . . .

Or do they? He tried hard not to give in, but once he snuggled in to his sleeping bag, it was all over. Night, night Jeb! What a day we have had! Jeb is officially grounded from using scissors for a week. You guessed it, he cut a big chunk of hair out of the top of his head today. Thankfully, it isn't too noticeable and the Christmas picture is already made! :) And he was very polite . . . when I talked to him about why he couldn't cut his own hair, he said, "It's ok mama. We will clean up the mess. Look, I'll get the big pile of hair off the chair." What a helper!

So maybe I'm not a gingerbread house kind of mom!

I want to be that cute, crafty and most importantly, PATIENT mom. But really, I'm not. Patient is just not a word that describes me. And as much as I try to convince Brent that he is Type A and I am Type B, that is not true either. I'm very Type A -- just not about housekeeping! :) So when I saw this adorable already assembled gingerbread house at Costco the other day, I had to try it. I mean my kids are BIG now, right? Eight, almost six and 3 3/4 . . . surely we can handle some icing and candy. Surely! Brent tried to tell me. He sweetly said -- "Gingerbread houses are not you Charla. They are more your sister." Well, enough said. I love my sister and all, but challenge ON. It is certainly nothing compared to the one my mother in law won in an auction this year, but it is ours. And, it was completed with no profanity and very little elevation of my voice. Note to self for next year -- each kid gets their own house. They all have very different decorating styles!

Just starting, and still smiling! Note, Virginia is also sneaking a skittle! :)

A little finger licking!
And, TA DA! Home, sweet, gingerbread home!

Cindermint . . . a new Balogh tradition!

I am embarrassed to admit it. It took us almost three years. Seriously, in 8 days, we will have lived in St. Louis for 3 years, and yet today -- December 13, 2009 -- we made our first trip to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. Because isn't December the perfect time for frozen custard?

Cindermint was the concrete of choice -- vanilla with crushed candy canes. A new Balogh tradition!!!! :)

Frosty the Snowman . . .

Virginia had a friend over after school today. I thought it would be the perfect time to do some holiday "cooking", so we made these super cute and easy snowmen. Thanks to my sister in law and sister for the cute idea!

Virginia and Amelia enjoyed dipping pretzels in the chocolate as much as they enjoyed making the snowmen!
If you want to make these at home, just get long lollipop sticks or skewers, large marshmallows (3 per stick), white almond bark or candy melts and candies to decorate your snowmen. We used M&M's, mini chocolate chips, Christmas tree and star hard candies and pretzel sticks for arms. Easy and minimal mess -- a perfect holiday treat!

Santa, I Can Explain . . .

Tonight was the night that we made our visit to see Santa. And this is the first year that I haven't dressed the kids in Christmas clothes and coordinated their outfits for the picture. A little sad to think they are getting to big for that! :( Virginia doesn't even have a Christmas outfit this year. Wow -- I'm really getting more practical . . . a true recessionista! :) Anyway, as you can see, Ford was happy as a clam, Virginia was faking a smile and Jeb was as stiff as a board. But at least Jeb got in his lap -- he would have no party of Santa last year!!

Virginia and I were the only ones amused by the elf hats that Santa was passing out . . .
Great night with Santa. Great dinner at the mall. Lots of fun Christmas lights to see on the way home. One 8 year old that made a brand new Christmas request for the first time tonight -- seriously, I thought Santa was done!

Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh . . .

Last night we braved the super cold weather (it was in the 20's), and loaded into a horse drawn carriage for a ride through Winter Wonderland at Tilles Park. Over 1.5 million lights were waiting for us, and even in the cold, it was GREAT! This year we were joined by our new fellow Southern family, the Craigs, who moved to STL in April from Greenville, MS. Here are a few pictures:

Jeb loved the lights but also loved being snuggled into a big blanket!

I love this crazy shot of all the lights!
The kids -- Jeb, Charles, Virginia, Sarah Scott, and Ford . . .
And our other St. Louis Christmas tradition is this most famous tacky Christmas house! It is actually 5 houses that join together. You set your radio to the appropriate station and the tacky lights coordinate to the Christmas music. Super tacky and super fun!!!!!
It is beginning to look AND feel a lot like Christmas!!! :)

Marvelous Monograms, Super Soups and Snaggle Tooths!

I have never been crafty, but I always admire all the crafty things others do. I mean, I can smock and needlepoint but someone designs it -- the part I do is in no way creative. I just follow directions well. But lately, I've been really inspired by some super creative friends. And as I said, I'm good at following directions (and copying!). My friend Sara recently created an amazing monogram for her daughter using supplies purchased from her favorite store, Hobby Lobby. I decided to be brave and venture into Hobby Lobby on Monday with Jeb in tow. We left with 6 letters and lots of scrapbook paper and the most important item, Mod Podge. Believe it or not, mod podge letters are amazingly fun and easy!

Virginia's letters are an amazing match for the pink, brown and pea green that is in her bedroom!

And Jeb's are a step up from the baby letters that he had hanging from ribbon . . . they are going to look so cool in his room with his "new" handed down from Ford bunkbeds!!
I have so many amazing ideas for these letters -- a "CLEAN" sign for the kids bathroom, a "WELCOME Y'ALL" on the soffit between my breakfast room and kitchen, "JOY" in Christmas colors for my mantle. Brent, on the other hand, feels that there are only so many words you can have in your house. And that the kids rooms might be the limit for this creative project. We shall see! :)

I've also been in the mood to cook lately. That desire does not exist as much as it once did! Tonight I made a delicious chicken tortilla soup and it was too good and easy not to share.

Doesn't this look FABULOUS!?
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups of chicken broth (or more if you like it soupier)

1 can white shoepeg corn, undrained

1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly

1 rotisserie chicken, chopped or shredded

2-4 teaspoons of chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Serve and top with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips!

And on to more important stuff! Virginia has lost two teeth in the past 10 days . . . one on the bottom and one on the top. And that other top tooth is holding on by a string. Tooth fairy, you are one busy fairy, but please try to remember to come when she loses this next tooth! Shame on you for dropping her money under her bed twice so that she had to enlist parental help to find the missing cash! Good thing we had a couple of dollars around here!!! :)

Family photos . . .

We finally broke down and paid for family photos. We have learned that living out of town means, there is always just one parent in the photo with the kids . . . I mean, someone has to take the picture! It was so fun to work with Kelly and the fact that she got a shot of all five of us is so exciting!! Here are a couple from the day . . .