Gingerbread House Construction

 This year we hosted the Fifth Annual Zickerman Gingerbread House Construction party (a tradition started by the Zickerman family).  Adam bakes the houses from scratch and everyone comes over with their favorite candy to construct and decorate their homes. The only string attached is that our guests have to take their houses with them when they leave - I should really only pick the candy off of one house per year!

This year we had our nephews, Hunter and Conner, join us. Their mom dropped them off Saturday and they stayed over night to be a part of the party on Sunday. BubbaJ adores his older cousins. They showed up and BubbaJ smiled from ear to ear for the remainder of the day. And nap time - forget this nap time thing, he might miss something if he closes his eyes for a few minutes. I take great pride in watching my son and nephews interact. I have always heard that your siblings children hold a sacred place in your heart and that is definitely the case with my nephews. They are very special boys and I really want them to be a big part of BubbaJ's life.

The boys were very patient all weekend, but kept asking when we would be decorating their houses. They really worked themselves up for the construction process.  We went to the store and they picked out a special candy they would each like to put on their houses along with candy to share with the guests. When it came time to decorate they spent ten minutes on their houses and claimed that they were done with their master pieces. Within five minutes of claiming they were done Conner was already asking if he could eat his house!! Oh to be young! All that mattered to me was that they had a good time. And I did make Conner wait until we took them home to eat his house. I wanted his parents to see his work of art prior to demolition.  BubbaJ was the foreman for the day. He sat in his high chair and ate M&Ms until I finally had to cut him off - the sugar intoxication was a bit much!I will admit though - three boys in one house for two days - I was e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d!!! But it is always worth it!!

Update......

Prior to the week of Thanksgiving Tyler and I were able to travel to Orlando with Adam for a conference. Low and behold the conference was taking place at a resort on Disney property (now you can understand why Tyler and I joined him). On Adam's breaks from class we were able to experience life in Downtown Disney and we were even able to visit the Magic Kingdom. Tyler was able to go on more of the rides than Ianticipated. Although, I do wish he were a bitolder as I know he would have appreciated theexperience more. He did get one photo op with Donald Duck and had zero patience to wait for Mickey. Well all I have to say is that Mickey Mouse missed out

 that day not getting to meet Tyler John Zickerman! Our last night in Orlando was a special one - we were joined by my best friend from childhood and her family. They drove us to the City 

Walk and we enjoyed good food, good sights, and wonderful company!! 

                  

Thanksgiving turned out to be a great day! I rather enjoyed the preparation of the food and Adam was able to start a project in the garage. Tyler surprised us by proving that he wasn't really a vegetarian by eating a little turkey and some sausage from the stuffing. It was a great

 day!! 

On to holiday shopping. I must report that for the first time in my existence I am almost done with my shopping prior to the week of Christmas. Actually I was done prior to the first week of December. This is a huge milestone for me, so I would like some pats on the back and an Atta Girl. I don't know what got into me this year - except that I did find some screaming deals because we weren't traveling the day after Thanksgiving (and I was able to ditch out of work a little early). This staying home is really paying off.....now I have to think about wrapping some of the gifts to put under the tree. I wonder if Tyler will try to unwrap them early. This holiday is so exciting......Tyler is going to enjoy it so much.

This weekend was are doing our annual Gingerbread House decorating. I am especially looking forward to it because my nephews will be coming up to build their own houses. I hope they are as excited as I am.....more on that to come........

VIDEO - The resort we stayed at was very festive with music every where we went. The video below shows just how much Tyler enjoyed the music.

My Hubby

I saw this tag on a friend's blog and thought ...oh fun.......

-Where we met: At a mutual friend's wedding
-How long we dated before marriage: 3 years
-How long we've been married: 7 years
-My favorite feature about him: His almond shaped eyes
-My favorite quality about him: His drive to be successful in all he does
-His nickname for me: Mamma Bear (it used to be Babe before Tyler)
-His favorite color: Dark Blue
-His favorite food: He'll eat anything, but really enjoys Fried Chicken
-His Favorite Sport: Skiing
-Who said the 'L' word first: He did in a round about way - I will never forget that moment
-First kiss when and where: In his dorm room...
-Favorite couple thing to do: Vacations (which we don't do enough)
-How many kids: One - for now. :)
-His hidden talent: He is an amazing baker
-His age: 33
-His favorite Music: He likes a myriad of music - just ask his IPod
-What I admire most: He never gives up
-His favorite past times: He is a very busy individual, but I would have to say his favorite past time has to do with construction and spending time with his son
-Will he read this: He will if I tell him about it!

The Lion says "Roar"

Tyler's newest trick - you ask him what a lion says and he grins and says "Roar" with his hands in the air like claws. What started this trick you might ask? His Pa was visiting a few weeks ago and decided that Tyler needed his own lion - this is a very sturdy lion I might add - even I can sit on it. Tonight he figured out how to climb up on it on his own. He loves his lion - he hugs it, he kisses it and then says "Roar"! The joys of watching your child grow up!

Giving Thanks....

The paper tells us that they cannot predict that we will have a white Christmas yet, but that a white Thanksgiving is a huge possiblity. It is raining outside right now - with no white flakes in sight. But the day isn't over and it's not Thanksgiving yet. Which leads to me being thankful for our current year's holiday plan......

This year we will be giving thanks in our own kitchen - living room - and which ever other room we choose to venture into. We don't have to get in the car and drive somewhere, we aren't getting on a plane to fly somewhere, and we don't have to fight with our families for the food! I almost commented that this will be the first time we have ever spent Thanksgiving at home, but I wouldn't be telling the truth. We did spend a glorious Thanksgiving Day in our 500 square foot apartment in Lansing, Michigan in the year 2000! So, - okay it has been awhile. Due the circumstances of having a job and having to work on Friday this week - we decided to stay home and have our first Zickerman Thanksgiving. In the process of planning this day we decided to ask our neighbors if they would like to join since they too stay home for this splendid holiday. They obliged and we even suckered them into cooking the turkey (who said we weren't smart?).

Why am I happy about this year's plan? Well - I can't say that I won't miss the family laughter and company. Because we all know that is a special part of the day. But if it snows - we can take Tyler sledding in the streets and spend the rest of the day in front of the fire (unfortunately with football on the television). We don't have to travel on the slick highways and have our families worry about our safety. Hmmm...let's see, what else? Okay - honestly I am trying to convince myself that this is a great plan and that we won't be missing out. Because I am going to be missing family like mad. But I am thankful for my husband and son and look forward to spending the day with them and maybe starting a new Thanksgiving tradition of our own!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Pumpkin Carving

Okay, so every year since college I have carved a pumpkin. My roommates and I had pumpkin carving parties. Last year Adam and I had a huge party at our house.  It has always been somewhat of a competition - scraping your pumpkin so clean you could almost break a piece off - finding the perfect pattern - poking the holes just right and setting all pumpkins side by side when all is said and done.

 Up until this year I was a pumpkin carving perfectionist! This year - I had to share my pumpkin carving experience with BubbaJ. I cut the top off and let him have a go with getting the inside cleaned out. This was rather entertaining as the pictures show. He was a little leery of the goo - but soon realized it could be fun to throw it all around the kitchen floor.

Needless to say that by the time we got everything out of the inside, I wasn't much into poking a long creative design. So, this pumpkin has some eyes, a nose, and a mouth. But giving up my pumpkin carving perfection for the look of enjoyment on BubbaJ's face was worth every second!!

Beginning Blog....

I am not sure about this blogging activity, but I thought what the heck, anything is worth a try. I need one more activity in my life to take up my free time.

Most of the people reading this probably already know everything about us that may be of interest. We are a family of three (plus 5 - 2 dogs, 1 indoor cat, 1 outdoor cat, and 1 stray cat that we took responsibility for two nights ago - more on that later).

The boss of our household is BubbaJ aka Tyler. We are mere servants at this point. BubbaJ is 20 months old. I will be very glad when we can say he is two. Adam insists on stating his age in months. Apparently this is what parents do for the first two years. I did tell him that I refuse to say that he is 24 months. So in February we will stop the madness. The purpose of this blog is to update people on our family happenings and post pictures of the Big Boss - for Grandma's - Grandpa's - Aunts - Uncles - and friends who will appease us.

So where are we now (so you will know if the upcoming postings are happenings or just more of the same) - We currently live in Flagstaff, Arizona. Adam is a County Prosecutor and I am a Budget Analyst for the County. We also teach one night a week (each) at the Community College. Again trying to fill up that free time we have. Tyler is the stud of his daycare being surrounded by younger women and loving every moment of it. He is his father's child! For now we are content and enjoying life as professionals and parents. -----MORE TO COME....