Out with the old...in with the new...Goodbye 2011...Hello 2012!!!

I can't believe that another year is about to end. However, I am excited about all that 2012 will bring. I truly believe that it will be a positive year. My mother always told me that the even years were often better than the odd years. I hope that's true!
Some highlights for the Walkers in 2011:
Nya turned 3!
We left Baltimore!!!! (Kwesi just agreed that that was huge.)
We went to the beach alot over the summer.
Kwesi and I celebrated 6 years of marriage in July!
Chuchu survived a major health crisis.
I went from teaching 2nd grade to 4th grade.
Nya started preschool at Mount Jezreel.

In 2012 we look forward to:
Nya turning 4!
Celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary.
The bank just accepted the 2nd offer on our house. We are hoping for a smooth settlement.
We are grateful to my inlaws for letting us move in with them during this transition time for us. However, we are really looking forward to moving back into our own place within the next few months.
Taking the classes that we need to advance our careers.
Going to the beach alot!
Healthier lifestyles
Finding a church home
More fishing for Kwesi
I hope to add to this list...

Happy New Year!!! We hope to have a blessed year and wish the same for all!

How freakin' cute are these?

Kiddie Egg Molds

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other"-Burton Hillis

Where has December gone?  Is Christmas really over?  Just a few weeks ago it was Thanksgiving and I was in disbelief over the fact that we only had a few weeks left to get ready for Christmas! 

However, we had a fabulous Christmas and we are really enjoying our time off together. 

Lucky for us, my parents arrived in town last week and are staying until after the New Year.  They are staying with Lauren in Germantown but we have been able to see them quite a bit.  I was so thankful that they could watch Nya last Friday while I had to work.  It can be challenging taking her with me!  She enjoyed herself tremendously.  They even watched her Friday night so that I could get the Christmas gifts wrapped!  Yay! 

Christmas Eve was great.  My parents came out to spend the day with us.  We watched football and they had the opportunity to experience some spicy jerk chicken from Muffin Man (http://www.muffinmancaribbeancafe.com/).  Yum!

In the evening, Nya could not contain her Christmas excitement.  We baked some cookies for Santa and made a fun mess!

Not sure how the flour ended up all over her face...



We made snowflakes, Christmas trees, and gingerbread men.




Time for cleanup!



























By the end of the night, Nya was exhausted so she went to bed at a good hour and didn't stay up all night.  I was worried that she would get up before 5AM, but luckily, she waited until 7:30!

Even Mani was thrilled.  She also woke up at 7:30 and even jumped in bed with us!  (That's huge for a 13 year old!)

The girls were so excited when we walked into the living room.  I think that Nya was more excited about the fact that Santa ate her cookies than the gifts!



Cookies for Santa...






Nya is obsessed with anything having to do with My Little Pony right now.  I loved it when I was a kid, too.  It's amazing to see how some things have such staying power!

Unwrapping and unwrapping...

Mani really loved the cotton candy maker!  Kwesi made some for the girls and it was the real thing!  Between her new mini fridge, popcorn popper, and cotton candy maker, Mani said that she is planning to have lots of movie nights with her girls!  To be 13 again...

Nya was so anxious for Grandma and PopPop to get up...She said they were "...taking too longer!"

Fun madness

Nya was thrilled to get her popcorn maker too.  She kept telling Grandma that she got one like Mani.  FYI-moon dough sucks.  We will be going back to Play Doh.

The girls finished opening their gifts pretty swiftly.  Kwesi and I each received tablets from Santa.  I love my Kindle Fire and he loves his HP Touchpad.

(It has been funny to see technology getting so much action this week.  This evening, I sat back and looked at Grandma Debra reading on her new Kindle, Nya playing a word game on her MobiGo, Kwesi setting up his tablet, and me reading on my Fire.  Even PopPop got a new laptop for Christmas!  We were all so content!)

For Christmas dinner, we ventured out to Lauren's place.  We were sad to see Mani go home and I think she was too.  Nya was overwhelmed with her second Christmas at Aunt Lauren's.

More technology in action...Dad got a Kindle Fire and loves it too!

Blackjack

Christmas was wonderful.  I am so thankful that we were able to spend so much time with our families.  I love the holidays.

Santa Hat Brownies

http://daisyt13.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/santa-hat-brownies/

I have been trying to figure out something cute and easy that Nya can help me make over the holidays.  How cute are these?

Nya Loves Dance Class!

Today, the parents were allowed to observe the dance classes.  Nya loves her dance class!  I am happy to see that she is a good listener in class.  All the girls were too cute!

Santa Visit

Every year we go to Bass Pro Shops at Arundel Mills to see the Santa Wonderland.  We love it!  On Saturday we surprised Nya with our annual visit.  Nya was such a big girl.  She went right up to Santa, sat on his lap, and told him that she wanted a bike.  I thought that was funny considering the fact that she received two bikes last Christmas (one from each set of grandparents) and has only mastered riding one of them so far.  I guess that she just figures that bikes are the thing to ask Santa to bring.

After our visit with Santa, we took Nya to see Arthur Christmas (http://www.arthurchristmas.com/).  It was such a cute flick and Nya loved it!

A Sweet Little Nugget from Nya...

Last night, Nya and I reviewed "The Happy Way is to Obey" chart from her school.  We discussed the importance of listening to and obeying our parents, teachers, and God.  Nya was very excited about getting her chart filled in so that she can turn it in for a special treat.  Anyone who knows Nya knows that listening is a challenge for her.  So I was excited about her enthusiasm as well.  She went to bed without much drama and about a half hour later, I went in to check on her.  I thought she was sleeping and was about to leave the room when she called out to tell me that she loved me.  I told her that I loved her too.  To that she responded with, "Mama, when I don't listen, it breaks my heart."  I was so surprised to hear her say that...!

How Cute!

So, I came across this idea for DIY holiday flats.  I am going to definitely make a pair for Nya and I to have for Christmas!

http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/2011/11/diy-gold-toe-flats.html

Wish me luck!!!

Bliss...via Wegmans....

So I am loving the fact that there is a Wegmans about 10 minutes from the house.  They have so many delicious pre-packaged meals, fresh produce, a huge selection of organic items, and just alot of other fun stuff.  Over the weekend, something new that I came across in the store was the Orange Pomegranate Martini Coctail mix (http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=656019).  Sunday evening I whipped up a batch mixed with a tropical vodka and it was amazing!  Even my father-in-law, who rarely indulges in adult beverages, enjoyed sipping on one!  It was nice to just have some quiet time to sit back, enjoy my beverage, and read one of the latest books from one of my favorite authors, Elin Hilderbrand. 

Being Thankful

During this time of the year we are reminded to be thankful.  I want to work really hard at being more thankful every day of the year.  One of my co-workers reminded me that if you have a home to go to with  people that you love there, you should be grateful.  Thank you, Ms. Matthews-very true words!  Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the day to day routine of DC traffic, school, errands, keeping up with Nya and my other two kids-Kwesi and Chuchu(smile), etc.  I have to keep reminding myself that all of those things are blessings.  Traffic is frustrating but at least I am in traffic because I am going to work.  School can be exhausting but thank goodness I have a job that I really enjoy and helps support my family.  Nya, Kwesi, and Chuchu are very needy, but I am sooooooo thankful for my family.  The good times we share are truly a blessing.  I vow to show each of them how special they are to me each day.  There is a blessing and a positive in everything and I plan to work hard to stay focused on those blessings.  Stay blessed!!!!!

"Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils”-Cyril Connolly, Engish writer

The leaves are so pretty during this time of the year!  Over the past weekend, Nya and I enjoyed raking some of them.  We didn't make much progress but we had tons of fun!  My girl was determined to jump in the leaf piles.  At first, I told her no, because I was thinking that it would be too dirty and germy, but then I told myself to stop acting crazy and let her experience being a kid!  That's why we take baths!  Nya had a great time.  The weather was perfect this weekend so we had lots of fun outside time.  If the weather could remain this way, it would be amazing.  However, I have the feeling that we have some rough weather ahead of us in the not too distant future, but I love the snow, too!

Nya was so proud of one of our leaf piles!

Chuchu was loving it out there, too!

Girls' Trip NYC

It is November and I am reminded of how thankful I need to be every day.  I am especially thankful for the opportunity to take a mini-girls' trip with Lauren and Steph.  We went to the taping of the Anderson daytime talk show in NYC.  It was amazing.  I had never been to a show like that before.  The show is taped in Time Warner Center.  We arrived around 7:45 and were the second group in line.  Once they allowed us inside, the production crew came around asking to see who had questions about the show topics for Anderson.  Of course, Stephanie had a question!  Unfortunately, while the show was being taped, they ran out of time for questions.  But that lucky girl did get the opportunity to ask Anderson a question after the show was finished taping and got a big hug as well!  He is hot-a true silverfox!

Me and my sis in Central Park

After leaving the show, we did some shopping and sightseeing.  It was a beautiful day in New York!  We did lots of walking and it was great to catch up with the girls.  We had planned to have a fancy dinner but ended up feeling really tired so we settled on a yummy lunch at an excellent NYC deli.

We had planned to really party it up and get wild, but it wasn't in the cards for us (we are definitely in our 30s).  But again, it was just sooooooo great to get away for a couple days and spend time somewhere different. 

I did miss my family, though.  My parents watched Nya and they told me that she really missed me, too.  That's my girl!  It's crazy to think that as she gets older it is actually harder for us to be apart!





Rockerfeller Center ice skating







Yummy lunch...



Surprise visitor

As I type, I have received a visit from a surprise guest who was put in bed two hours ago...

Off to bed we go!

SNOW....in October?

On Saturday it snowed. 

We didn't get nearly the amount of snow that some places saw, but still!  Snow in October, really?  Despite the fact that the snow came early it was pretty when it was falling.  I am predicting lots of snow this year and lots of snow days!!!





Winding October Down...

It's Halloween-the last day of October.  These months are flying!  As a child my father told me that time would move faster as I got older.  He definitely knew what he was talking about!

Trick-or-Treating with Nya was definitely a success!  We went to Bowie Town Center and it was absolutely perfect for her!  It started at 5 PM.  By 6, Nya was tired and admitted that she was ready to go! 

Nya picked out this dragon costume from TJMaxx.  Great deal for $20!

Scary dragon...

On our way out the door...Nya helped me carve the pumpkins today.  Next year I am definitely buying one of those pumpkin carving kits!

Our first store was Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  At first Nya was afraid to ask the masked man for candy.

Nya told me that this was the best Halloween ever (not that she clearly remembers any of the other years)!

Checkin' out her goodies...

Nya was determined to fill up her basket.  By the time it was filled a little more than halfway she was ready to leave.  It was a long day for her!

Nya wanted to help light the candles.  That wasn't happening so I let her hold the lighter.  It has a safety lock so she wasn't able to ignite the flame.

I can't believe that this is the fourth year that my baby has celebrated Halloween!  Each year is more fun because she is growing up and able to experience it more.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Christmas is in the Air...

I can't believe how fast the holidays are approaching.  I love this time of year.  The Christmas season is my favorite.  I enjoy it even more now that I can feel the excitement through Nya.  Here are Nya's pictures with Santa from the last two years.  I can't believe that I sat on Santa's lap the first year!

A Nya Nugget

Some mornings are easy getting out the house and some...well, not so easy.  Yesterday was one of those mornings.  Nya fought me every step of the way.  She didn't want to get up.  She didn't want to get dressed.  She whined about brushing her teeth.  She cried because I wouldn't let her have chocolate milk.  In the car she whined about the traffic.  On and on and on....By the time we got to her school, I was so relieved!  Well, I kissed her goodbye and told her that I loved her.  As I was leaving, she said, "I love you, Mama.  Drive carefully!"  Awwwwww...warm my heart.  The drama is worth it in the end.

“Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.” ....William Cullen Bryant

I think that fall may be my favorite time of the year.  It's not too hot...not too cold...and not so many buzzing insects!  Those who know me know that I cannot stand the buzzing of flies and bees in my ears during the summer months.  Fall provides some relief from that.  I know it's silly.

We were so lucky to have a 3 day weekend!  There was no school on Friday for Nya or myself.  We decided to spend the weekend with Lauren and we really enjoyed our time together!

Saturday morning we went to Larriland Farm.  It was great!  We picked more pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, rode the hayride, and picked a bunch of apples from the orchard!  It was a perfect fall day and included popcorn, apple cider, and apple fritters!

Aunt Lauren had fun on the hayride too!

Nya was happy to see Pooh on the hayride trail.

Bedtime silliness...

"But Mom, I'm not tired..."

 

Posing for the camera prolongs the bedtime process...

On Sunday night Kwesi got a cozy fire going for all of us...the best...zzzzzzzzzzzz...what a great way to end the weekend.



Pepper and Chuchu love autumn, too!

How cute is Nya's teeny tiny apple from the orchard?