Chloe's Christmas

We took some video of Chloe opening her presents. I edited it this morning. The inside shots are pretty fuzzy since we don't have a light on our camera, but the outside shots are really good (if you can ignore the mess that is our backyard). Enjoy our crazy dog!! Oh, and Sydney and I were right.....the legs came off that day! ;o)

Merry Christmas!!

We all had a very Merry Christmas at the Mullen house! Santa brought the girls bikes and the Bratz that they wanted. Bill and I got each other bikes, too....so look out neighborhood!! ;o) We got up around 6:30 to open presents. We ate chocolate chip pancakes at around 8:30 and by 9:00 we were hitting the streets. It was pretty chilly, but we had fun. Sydney's bike didn't come with training wheels, so she got to learn how to ride. She did really well. Hayley was a little apprehensive, even with the training wheels, and Emyley just rode her bike like an old pro. I took lots of video, so once I figure out how to edit, crop and all that other mumbo jumbo, I will be sure to post it for all to enjoy.

Sydney and her I-CY Penguin for her Zune!

Hayley and her soccer ball!

Emyley and her Dora CD Player!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Mullens!

Eleven Years Ago Today......

Eleven Years Ago Today.....

• I was checking into Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut to be induced.



• I was fighting with the OB nurses who wanted to send me home since they were overbooked.



• My wonderful Doctor, whose name I cannot remember, stood his ground and I was admitted.



• I was checked into my birthing suite (which I never left again for 2 days!).



• I walked the hallways with Bill in determination to have a drug free labor and delivery.



• My water was broken for me.



• I stood in the shower while Bill directed the water onto my back where the labor pains were most intense - again still determined for drug free.



• I admitted my silliness and begged for some Stadol...as I was absolutely NOT going to have an epidural.



• I again admitted to silliness and begged for the epi.



• My mom was frantically calling my apartment where Bill and my dad had gone to let out the dogs since it was time to push - where was cell phones when we needed them, anyway?!?



• My epi was being turned OFF as ordered by a very mean doctor, who unfortunately I will never forget the name of! ugh!



• I pushed for about 5 hours with no luck and the doctor decided it was forceps time.



• At 11:51pm, Sydney Christine was welcomed into the world at 8lbs 6oz and 21" long!!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!
We love you!!

Sydney is a Blue Ribbon Colt!!

Sydney was the Blue Ribbon Colt Award winner for her class for December!! We are so proud of her!! Way to go, Syd!!!

Gifts, Gifts and more Gifts!

It seems every holiday season the list for gifts gets longer and longer. Well, this year, Sydney has two teachers and Hayley does too since her teacher has been out recooperating from major surgery. And, well, since I taught myself how to embroider this year, I decided that some cute handmade ornaments would work just fine. And, they did all turn out so cute, so I had to share with all of you!! And, because they did turn out so well, I will probably be adding them to my store sometime next year.

Okay, this isn't an ornament, but it is a pillow I made for part of a baby shower gift this past October. It is so cute, I had to include it, too! ;o)

Minshew's First Ever Winter Musical

Sydney was in the chorus for the school's first winter musical. I don't have any pictures of the musical itself since our camera just doesn't take good pictures in the gym. But it was a really cute performance called "December in Our Town" that depicted the diversity of the holidays. All of the kids did a really good job! And thank you to our friends Joni and Stephanie for letting us sit with them and pass the looooong waiting time until the performance started!!!

Oops, missed this one....

Because we were going to be travelling the weekend after Thanksgiving, we weren't sure when we would get to putting our tree up. Our tradition is the Saturday after T-Day. Well, Friday (day after T-Day) right before we left for Okla I hurriedly put up the tree. It is one of those with the lights already on. Then on Sunday when we got home, we put the ornaments on and hung our stockings. I am feeling very bah-hum-bug-ish this season, so we only did the tree, stockings, wreath and a couple of table decorations. I just didn't want the hassle of putting so much stuff back up after Christmas!