Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you, on the 6th day of Christmastide :) 

In your reality, 
see. 
know. 
feel. 
and live. the Christmas joy.




I'm working on a blog about our Christmas day, but wanted to share a "Merry Christmas" with you right now :) 


Blessings! and Joy!
nIcole mArie

blessed.

by Kelly Rae Roberts

Trimmings and Twinkle Lights

We finished trimming our Christmas tree today. 
It's been up and full of twinkle lights for the last two weeks. (There's 900 little lights. Yes, I have a twinkle light problem)
Now, it's finished. Completed.
It's ready.
We are ready, I hope, for the Christmas miracle.
I hope that you are, too.








Maranatha!
nIcole mArie

...gosh, I had forgotten how many fantastic and beautiful ornaments we have.

You are not alone in this.

For many reasons close to my heart I post this tonight. 

I hope that these words touch your heart, too. 

blessings, and yes, joy for you.

nIcole mArie

Angel Kisses and Freckles

This is an actual conversation from 5 minutes ago:

Max: Mama, Mama, why are there dots on us?
Me: What?
Max: Dots, why are there dots on us?
Me: Oh, those are called freckles.
Max: Freckles?
Me: Yeah, freckles.
Max: Okay, but what are they?
Me: They are kisses from angels. (I wait for a reaction from him because it is so very silly, and plan to give him the real reason -- Google, what is the real reason?)
Max: Oh, okay.

Then he walked off to do his next bit of work play.

-------------------------------
I sit her typing out this exchange so that I don't lose it from my mind, and I am marveling at the idea of Angel Kisses :)  Perhaps I won't ask google after all.



Blessings! and Joy!

nIcole mArie

Saint Nicholas Day Cookie Exchange

We celebrate Saint Nicholas on December 6th.  As a kid, he would come and fill our shoes with little candies each year.  We liked Saint Nicholas a lot :)  I wanted to make sure that my little family celebrates Saint Nicholas, too, so these are a few things that we do each year (so far).  

Saint Nicholas brings our children pajamas -- these are their "Christmas Pajamas".  Did you get those when you were a kid?  I did.  I loved them.  I thought that it would be cool for Saint Nicholas to bring the 'jamas the kids get to wear for Christmas.  

 He decorates, too,  and gathers all of the Christmas story books. 

 The kids' nativity gets set up under the little tree

 Chocolate coins, candy canes and a rosary in the shoes!  The boys like the big rosaries.  We've started to say a 1/2 a decade at night with our night prayers and I'll eventually work up to a full decade and move on (and move rosary time to a different point of the day).  Max likes to be able to count and follow the beads.  Benjamin, still not so much. I know that there are families who have their children praying full rosaries at my kids' ages, but we are not those families.  

Slow and steady, a little at a time for us! 

 Stockings get hung by the window with care (as we don't have a chimney)

 And our table got decorated by "The Spirit of Chrismas" statue, and two books.

 There are stickers for the Tree for us to decorate it, and the Nativity story is really awesome.  Both from Usborne Books :)

 Grown up nativity, too! Oh, my kids can play with this one, too.  The statues are made of resin, so they are unbreakable.  (sigh of relief).

I also hold a Cookie Exchange at my house every year.  My friends and I get together on Saint Nicholas Day and exchange cookies and hang out and our children play. Last year I was on top of things and had coloring sheets and a Saint Nicholas movie for the kids.  This year, not so much ;)  but I did bake cookies!! I didn't get around to baking last year, and the dough was sitting out as my friends arrived ;)  Luckily, they we kind enough to count me in the exchange anyway.  I love those girls. 

These are just a few pictures of the exchange...

  

I was giggling about how many vehicles were on my street -- there were 13 or 14 moms + kids at my house -- so I took pictures :D 

 And then Grace stuck both of her hands into carmel dip. She thought it felt amazing. I thought it was gross.

So yeah.  Happy Saint Nicholas Day, all!  It's only taken my an entire week to post this. 

hehehe, I still have posts about my birthday and  Las Vegas in October. One of these days...

For now, I am going to enjoy Advent and the preparations for Christmas Day and feeling the Christmas Joy that comes to us at this time of the year.  I hope that you can find this Christmas Joy in your heart always, and not just at Christmas time.  

(and yes, I know that it is not "Christmas time" on our liturgical calendar yet, but I'm not about to rebel against those who are truly joyful right now and wishing others merry and bright.  They are loving, and living beautifully, let's love and live beautifully, too!)

Blessings! and Joy!

nIcole mArie

cozy, warm, and quiet, indeed.

This morning, for about 40 minutes, I was all cozy and warm on my bed under the covers, sitting with a laptop (like I was back in college or something).  I was reading up a little bit on the importance having a well-formed conscience while trying to understand what it means to be a faithful citizen of the United States of America before casting my vote on November 6th.

Light reading material, huh?

It was quiet. and wonderful, indeed.

(Yes, that is an angry birds band-aid. don't be too jealous.)

I hope you get a few moments like this today!

Blessings! and Joy!

nIcole mArie

Messy.Painted.Pumpkins

This is a wonky looking post tonight because I'm tired of moving the pictures around.  The gist is that we made a mess today.  We painted our pumpkins.  It was an adventure.  The littles had a tremendous time, and I found out that I really want to be "that-artist-mom-who-laughs-at-messy-little.people-and-allows-them-unhindered-creativity" I am not. I was freaking out because Max mixed blue into yellow paint. And then Grace dropped pink on the floor, and got some on her clothes.  I was laughing at myself struggling with the mess, so I eventually joined in a bit and painted on paper (as I didn't have my own pumpkin), and then we put handprints on the wall ;)  Perhaps I'll rearrange this all tomorrow.

Until then, Blessings and Joy! nIcole mArie

These Players Playing. These Helpers Helping. Heal These Kids. Extra Life.

Update (10.22.12):  Team KBMOD has now raised 47,701 and some odd cents! They will likely hit their target of $50,000 before fundraising is over in November.  This is a team of 102 players...they came in 2nd to a team of 761 players who raised $76,000 something... Not too shabby, Team KBMOD, not too shabby! Woo!




Watch this video.  This is one of my husband's good friends.  Let him tell you why he is playing for the kids.





Rock it, Jon :)






Yesterday, I mentioned a blue table full of computers.

It's not full yet, but will be in a couple of hours.

Check out the projector.  That's to monitor the live chat.

Gaming starts at 9pm tonight.
Guys are excited.

Energy is high in the house.

They are thrilled to reach their $50,000 goal.  Let's get them there.


Play games. Heal Kids. Extra Life.




Blessings! and Joy!
nIcole mArie

Play Games. Heal Kids. Extra Life.

Last year my husband was the captain of a team that raised well over $35,000 for sick children around the world.  They raised the money by playing video games for 24 hours straight. 

This year, my husband and his friends and all the rest of the team are hoping to raise $50,000 during this 24 hour period and it looks like they can actually do it.  

Think about this:

11 (or 12) twenty-somethings sitting at a bright blue table in my cold cinder block walled basement lined with their own computers playing with and playing against each other while live-streaming their games to raise money so that sick kids in Children's Miracle Network hospitals around the world might have some respite during their hospital stays.  Rock it, boys.  Rock it.  

Bob and a few friends are trying to scramble to get our basement together and prepared for Saturday -- last night they were clearing the space of our (my) clutter, and running electricity to have extra lights downstairs.  Tonight they run Cat 5 cable so that, well, I don't exactly know what it's for, but it's something computer related ;)  Perhaps to get everyone on the Internet.  idk. 

I honestly couldn't be more proud of or excited for my husband.  It's wonderful to be married to a man who cares so deeply for others, and that these others are sick children.  I love this about him.  It's awesome. 

Please consider donating, even the smallest amount, for these darling sick children.  They could use some laughs and some fun. Will you help them with that?  Click the badge below. 

Blessings! so much jOy!

nIcole mArie

3 Little Cans

In our house the littles don't just stack blocks, or pillows, or other such "normal" items.  They like to raid the pantry and find heavy canned goods that could break a toe if dropped, and stack those.  Then tumble the canned goods.  Then stack again.

(Do you like the runny nose?  SO much teething going on in our house. UGH.)

When you think about it, how cool is it that she initiated the play on her own, used her imagination, and learned cause and effect without my hurrying and fussing at her to put the cans back.  (I have mellowed 4 years into parenting :P Gosh, I've so much to learn, but I'm trying) 

She just played, and played, and laughed, and played.  

She was so proud of herself and she was so very excited!  

Blessings! And Joy!

nIcole mArie

New Gig. Books and Parties. Oh, and Fun!

Hi, All!   


I mentioned in a previous post that I have some exciting things going on.  This post is about one of those things.

I have some exciting news to share!  Last week, I became an Independent Consultant with Usborne Books & More! 

Are you familiar with Usborne and Kane Miller books?  They are incredible fiction and non-fiction children's books for babies to teens -- well, even adults love reading these books!  

Early in the summer,  I was introduced to this wonderful company and what it has to offer.  I was immediately taken by the vibrancy of the pages, of the amount of knowledge found on the pages, and how excited my children are with reading these pages!  Win. Win. Win. Triple win for our family :)  

Now here I am at the end of the summer sharing my excitement with you!

Click the link (Usborne Books) at the top of this page or you can type books.nicolemariearts.com

Via the website you can:

• Browse and search the entire Usborne Books & More catalog

• Sign up to host an eShow (you can earn free books!) 

• Take advantage of the Internet Specials only available through the website

• Take advantage of Customer Specials for purchases over $40

During my first 12 weeks as a new consultant, I am able to offer to you, my dear friends and family, some really spectacular deals, and I hope that you might want to take advantage of them!

• If you host a party in the next 12 weeks, you can earn DOUBLE the amount of free books than the amount offered otherwise.  This is really cool :)  You can gather quality and fun Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, school supplements, and fun learning games for your family and friends.  
• Not only will you earn free books, but you'll also earn books for 1/2 price, too :)  

• Oh yeah, also, if someone books a show from your party, there's an incentive for you for that, too!

Example:  Let's say that you have a $300 show (easy to achieve) + 1 booking. For this you will earn $100 in free books plus $75 in books for 1/2 the catalog price!  Think of it as $175 worth of books for $37.50 (+s&h). WOW!

All very cool.  All very exciting. :D


I am able to offer this fantastic opportunity through November 23rd. Please contact me with any questions that you might have -- about our books, about booking a show, about joining us ;), or just to chat.  I'd love to hear from you :)

Many Blessings! and Joy!

nIcole mArie








books.nicolemariearts.com
412.387.7678 
books@nicolemariearts.com

She demanded milk.

My dear darling daughter woke up this morning at 4:45ish.  (It may have been 4:43, or 4:47, but for purposes of my retelling, I'll go with 4:45. ish.) She was demanding milk.  When I say demand, I mean crying and wailing and screeching.  The sort that means my sleep is contingent on her demands being met.  It's not something malicious, it's apparently just what toddlers do on occasion.  *head in hands*

Sounds simple enough, right?  Nope.  There's no milk in the house.  I want to sleep. How do I go back to sleep if I have no milk? How?!

I went into the kitchen.  I peered into the refrigerator past yesterday's leftovers and around the ketchup where I had hoped to find a full gallon of milk -- or even a teeny tiny bit of milk. A drop of milk?

There was no milk.  I knew that there wasn't milk. You already knew that there wasn't any milk.  

And then I looked again.  Yes, again. This time my eye caught a container that looked like this:

Don't judge me.  Half-and-half is great in coffee.  It's smooth, it's dairy, it's white.  And I'm a mother.  Mothers improvise. I am good at improvising, usually. (Once, though, when I turned my son's much loved puppy into a crispy mess in an old dryer,  he didn't like that we were going to replace his Mr. Puppy with a new one.  We had an elaborate story about how Mr. Puppy went to the spa and came back, um, different.  He didn't buy it one bit.  He chose the crispy.fuzzy puppy over the impostor.  We gained a new family member that day, his name is Cousin Puppy, cousin of crispy.fuzzy Mr. Puppy.)

This morning, I needed to be good at improvising because I needed to sleep. Sleep deprivation causes strange things to happen.


I poured some half-and-half into a sippy cup and filled the rest with water. Seriously, how could I make her drink it undiluted?  That's just...wrong. gross. ew. *hangs head in shame while giggling*

I stumbled back into the room and handed the cup to my girl child.  She took it. She drank it. She fell back to sleep. *sigh of relief* I fell back into my bed and I giggled while telling my husband what I just did.  He mumbled something to me, but I don't think he was surprised, and he rolled over ;)

Woo!  Parenting Win?  Parenting Fail?  Who cares?!  A little bit of desperate creative thinking, and the girl child and I both slept for a few more hours.

At least I didn't use heavy whipping cream.  I could have, you know.


Blessings! and Joy!
nIcole mArie

excited for what's to be...

Hi :)

As we leave summer behind and find ourselves slowly easing into the season of fall, I am excited by the many new and exciting things happening right now :)  I'm working on a whole lot behind the scenes and I can't wait to share everything with you... I hope that you will be excited, too!

Until then, I'll leave you with this:

Just being.messy.beautiful.

Blessings! and Joy!
nIcole mArie

Bedtime Monsters and Silly Little Boys :)

Max wanted a bedtime story last night as another way to stall sleep. 

This is what I came up with: Once upon a time, there were two boys and they wouldn't go to sleep so a monster came and ate them. The end.

Benjamin looked up at me and instantly asked, "We the boys, Mama!?" 
Max went another route and just as quickly remarked, "Mama, you're the monster!"

hrmph.

This one day, we went to the park...

So this one day, we went to the park, and had a picnic, and played at the fountain, and explored.

"Mama, look at us doing exercises!"  They were so proud of their pushups.  

The 3 little enjoyed watching sticks in the fountain...

...almost as much as they liked to throw them into the fountain ;)

Group shot from the front.  It's the best I could do.  They just fidget like crazy.

 I promise to update more often, and very soon. 

Blessings! and Joy!  

nicole mArie

Color Me Rad -- No, not the band. The band's name was Color Me Badd. This is a race.

Hi, All!

It was brought to my attention today that there is going to be one heck of a 5k in Pittsburgh on August 25th.  I am jumping up and down super-duper excited about it!  Seriously, I did jump up and down for a quick second.  Nope, I not ashamed enough to keep this fact from you.


The race is called Color Me Rad,
and basically, you wear a white shirt and sunglasses and at every kilometer, people throw colored powder at you. Your shirt gets colored, your hair, your skin, all of you gets colored up. Sounds like a blast :)


It reminds me of the Celebration of Holi in India which is also called the Festival of Colors. That -------->
is a picture of Holi.






<--------------- This is a picture taken at a Color Me Rad race.  Similar concept, different reasons for the coloring of others :)






Sooo, since I'm a big nerd and excited about this race being in Pittsburgh, I posted about it on Facebook and found that quite a few people are interested in running, too.  YaY!

It got me to thinking that I should form a team called, "being.messy.beautiful" since, well, it seem that we will get messy, and color is beautiful, and well, what do you know, that's the name of this blog...

A few hours later, Roo, of Nice Girl Notes, wrote that she knows one of the creators of the race and he asked if she wanted to get a team together for the race in Hartford in two-ish weeks and she agreed. (Btw, she rocks because she totally just had a baby like a minute ago.  Okay, it was a few weeks ago, but it's her 3rd baby, and her other littles are 3 and 2. Oh, who does that sound like? You say me? What? Yeah, she's on the fast track, too, and now she is going to run a 5k? Dude, I didn't do that to #3 was 4 months old. Roo, you go girl.) Anyway, the real point is this:  The creator guy, Jon, offered her a code, "nicegirlnotesblog" for people take 20% off of registration until May 16th.  What?!  Us, too? Yes!  We can have our own team, with our own name, but when the registration box asks about who referred you (I think that it asks?  I'm tired now, and I can't remember even though I did just register), please type in, "Nice Girl Notes".  That's it.  Thanks, Roo, you rock.  You could probably "like" her in FB, too, and throw a little love her way.

I did sign up for the race a little bit ago, received my confirmation email, and I am ready to race/get colored, with you.  Go sign up!

Team name is being messy beautiful.  Last name is, well, my last name.  You should know my last name, but if you don't, email me and I'll tell you. Discount code is nicegirlnotesblog. You'll have until May16th to received both the loyalty price and the 20% off discount!  Let's be messy.beautiful together!

Blessings! and Joy!
nicole mArie




Also, please go and listen to this song.  It's been in my head all day.  Color Me Rad doesn't = Color Me Badd, but I am glad that it made me remember All 4 Love.  Dude, another also: Children of the 90's used text language before anyone knew what texting was.  Boom.