"Is it a stay at home day?"

Brock has been asking for snow for at least a couple years now. Aubree and I were in the living room early this morning, and I could hardly wait for Brock to wake up so I could see his face when he found out it had SNOWED!

When he walked down the stairs he looked at us (watching tv) and immediately asked "is today a stay at home day?"

I told him "It's Friday. Do we stay at home on Fridays?"

He looked a little bummed when he said "no..."

Then I said..."except when it SNOWS!!"

His eyes perked up and he got so excited! We looked outside, then we opened the door, and when he felt how cold it was, it took a bit more persuasion to get enough layers on to go outside! :-) Such a lucky boy...he got a visit from the tooth fairy and and snow, all in one night!

The kids had a great time. I'm not sure Brock has EVER had as much fun as he did sledding! (or whatever you call this!) Aubree loved running around anywhere her Bubba did. And took every opportunity she could to eat the snow. eww!

Where did January go?

My last blog post was updating you on our Christmas around Texas. And now I find myself on January 30th wondering...where did the month go???



In typical Benich Family Tradition, we have kept ourselves very busy just being a family of four with two working parents. Sadly, I'm not sure I've taken my camera out this month at all...I will pause for those of you who are in shock. But never fear, when my camera is not on me, my phone definitely is. So you will get a picture filled post. (My favorites anyways!)


We had the pleasure of spending New Years Eve with Craig, Cathy and her family. Brock thought the noise makers were pretty cool. Funny though, no idea where that noise maker might be now! ;-)

Aubree has started potty training. Well, let me re-phrase that. Aubree has started potty training AT SCHOOL. For a couple weeks now, she'll go at school all day long. Rarely wetting her clothes, and in big girl panties the whole day. She goes by herself some times too. As soon as Mommy is around, all progress takes a sudden hault! She does NOT want to go potty at home. I don't get it. I've tried nearly everything I can think of, but we're not making much progress at home. Here are a couple of my tricks.

...just sit on the potty and eat your cereal!

...sit on the potty with baby?

Did you notice the look of pure joy in both pictures? Yeah, there is attitude there. Regardless, she was so very excited to get her panties. In fact, the day we brought them home from the store, she took off her pajamas, and put all 7 pairs on. (We had to work on that concept.)

Another classic Aubree moment. She spills the cereal on the floor one Saturday morning. Sarge starts eating the cereal. Aubree breaks down and starts crying because Sarge is eating the cereal. When she found out she couldn't beat him, she decided to join him. She ate EVERY marshmallow off the floor as quickly as she could before Sarge got them! What a mess. Then, I made her vacuum. :-)

I wondered why she didn't follow me inside that day. I had to walk back outside and found this. Pull toys? No, we have coolers.

Another trip to the dentist for Brock! He is soooo good for the dentist! Now we're working on being that good when Mommy and Daddy help to brush, floss and use mouthwash.

And the week is never complete without a pillow fight in the living room. Dad enjoys his fair share of fun with those as well. :-)

So nothing terribly interesting in January...but we had a lot of family time, and family time is a good thing!

Merry(1) Merry(2) Merry(3) Merry(4) Merry(5) Merry(6) Merry(7) Christmas!

We survived another Annual Tour of Texas! This time totaling 7 Christmases. Trying to share each would be difficult, as well as time consuming, so here are the cliff notes!
We went to six different cities in 4 days. Over the course of those 4 days, we saw:
* 6 PARENTS
* 4 GRANDPARENTS
* 4 BROTHERS
* 5 SISTERS
* 6 AUNTS
* 6 UNCLES
* 17 COUSINS
* 4 BUNS-IN-THE-OVEN!!!!
* 1 NIECE
* 1 NEPHEW
* 2 GREAT AUNTS (My Grandma's sisters)
* nearly 30 Second Cousins and I won't even wager a guess on how many 3rd cousins I saw.

So, why do we travel? Because we are SO BLESSED with SO MUCH FAMILY!


Christmas #1 - San Antonio, our own Tom Benich Family Christmas. It was a great Christmas but what makes me laugh ( or perhaps shake my head) is knowing each of us got hand-helds. Aubree got the Fisher Price iXL which didn't make the picture. With all these hand-helds, we're going to have to make sure we incorporate lots of outdoor family time this year, but they were very handy for all our travels.

Christmas #2 - Conroe, with Tom's dad. Brock and Aubree had a great time playing with their cousin Avery. We walked to the park and had lots of fun. They also had a blast when Grandpa and Grandma took them to Build-A-Bear to make their own reindeer!

Christmas #3 - Houston, with Tom's Grandparents. Be sure to check out the dresses Aubree and Avery are wearing. Tom's mom made them. They are PRECIOUS! And smocked on both the front and the back!

Christmas #4 - El Campo, with my dad and our family, then with my Grandma Dornak and Many Many Many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. Aubree got a cute coloring playset from her Paw Paw and E, but instead of coloring politely, she unrolled the thing as if she was showing Paw Paw her Christmas list!

A very special treat at Great Grandma's house was a visit from SANTA!! Brock knows the routine by now and was very excited. Aubree on the other hand, didn't want to sit on his lap......

.....but she insisted on showing Santa her *SPARKLE SHOES*!! I laughed so hard. That came out of no where. What a G-I-R-L!!

And won't this be fun in the years to come! All those buns in the oven!!!!!!! :-D

Christmas #5 - Victoria, with my Grandma and Many Many Many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. The kids always love seeing GG and her dog, Tag. We "almost" got a good family picture.

And is Christmas really complete without a SNUGGIE???

Or, attire from BUCK-EES??? A buckees hat and tail...what a wardrobe accessory!

Christmas #6 - San Antonio with just Tom's mom and his siblings. Let's just face it...these kids are worn out from pictures by this point! Brock, Avery & Aubree were still ready to OPEN presents though! I don't think that ever got old.

Brock got two Nerf guns from Aunt Cathy, Uncle Craig, and Avery. I know he loves them...but not sure if Daddy and Uncle Craig love them more!! Words cannot describe the moves these guys were doing around the house!

Christmas # 7 - San Antonio with my mom and siblings. Again, the kids were done with pictures! We got a picture of Brock and Conner, and Brock and Aubree, but not Brock, Aubree and Conner! ;-)

And as for the gift of the year...a wii and Tetris Party for Mom! We had our very own Tetris party two nights in a row! With box wine, of course! ;-) Only the classy stuff here.

The Tetris gang: Lori vs. Mom vs. Dede vs. Jeffrey. Christa and Brock cheered us on!

Bless any of you who are still reading!

Jingle (Bell), our Elf

For those who haven't heard of The Elf on the Shelf, it's a very cute tradition that I would encourage everyone with small children to embrace. You can buy a kit that includes your very own Elf from the North Pole, along with a book telling the story. The first time your Elf visits you, it is your job to name him/her. Our Elf arrived right after Thanksgiving last year and Brock named him Jingle. I thought that was a very cute and appropriate name for our little Elf! Aubree decided this year he should have a last name, of Bell. Brock isn't too keen on this longer name, but we told her if he got to pick his first name, it was only right that Aubree gets to pick his last name. ;-) Jingle sits on a shelf and quietly observes the kids' behavior each day. Every night after they have gone to bed, Jingle flies to the North Pole to report their behavior back to Santa. It's a lot of fun to watch the kids get out of bed (a little faster than normal!) and start looking all over the house for Jingle. The kids can talk to him, and we encourage that, but Jingle has strict orders from Santa not to talk back. We were able to write Santa a letter this year and send it back via Jingle. And to our amazement, Santa replied!


After Christmas, the kids are a bit disappointed when Jingle disappears. To tell you the truth, Mom and Dad are a bit disappointed too. It comes in quite handy as a reminder when they aren't listening!


We love our Dear Jingle (Bell) and can't wait for him to return again next year.


On this post you will find a few of Jingle's locations this year. Goodbye Jingle! See you again in 2011!

Christmas Joy

These are the faces that make me smile. (And the last picture, Aubree's face just makes me laugh!) This is pure Christmas joy from a 2-year old and 5-year old point of view. And that equals pure joy for parents!

Annual Tour of Texas - 2010

It's right around the corner! The Benich Family Annual Tour of Texas! Every year we say we're not going to travel all over the place, every year we do. I try so hard not to complain. We travel so much because we have so much family! How do you complain about that? However, the reality of it is with two children, it is hard, hectic, and wears us down. But 'TIS THE SEASON!

Our line up this year.......good thing I'm still TOTALLY in love with my CAR!!!

Monday - Dec. 20
For multiple reasons, we're doing our own little Tom Benich family Christmas on Monday, December 20th. Brock wrote Santa a letter, and was able to deliver it via Jingle, our elf (who sits on a shelf). Santa wrote back that if Brock and Aubree were very good, he would deliver presents on the 20th. This will give the kids a couple days to play and enjoy their toys before we hit the road. It also gives Mom and Dad time to clean, grocery shop, and prepare for traveling and hosting.

Tuesday - Dec. 21
Playing, Packing, and Grocery Shopping

Wednesday - Dec. 22
Head out to Conroe to Tom's Dad's house and meeting up with Craig, Cathy & Avery!

Thursday - Dec. 23
All day in Conroe.

Friday - Dec. 24
Head to Richmond early to visit Tom's Grandparents.
Soon afterwards, head to El Campo to see my Dad and Grandma, plus the whole Dornak gang!

Saturday - Dec. 25

Early start for Christmas Mass in Victoria.

Then Christmas with my Mom and Grandma, and the whole Franklin gang!

After lunch we'll head back to San Antonio where we'll host the first of two Christmases in San Antonio. Tom's Mom and his siblings/family will arrive.

Sunday - Dec. 26

Continue Christmas with the Benich side.

Monday - Dec. 27

The Benich side will clear out and make room for the Dornak side to head into San Antonio.

Dede will be back from Mississippi so we'll be able to have Mom and all us siblings here for our family Christmas.

Tuesday - Dec. 28

Continue Christmas? Or, Tom's Birthday? How about BOTH!

Wednesday - Dec 29

Is anyone else tired of Christmas????? ;-)

Hopefully some time to rest is in our future.

Four more days

Last night both kids received a video message from Santa Claus. The look on Brock's face was precious. Santa spoke to each one individually, and even looked in his good "Book" he keeps for girls and boys. Their picture was there, right along with their age, school, special events that took place this year and he told them that he knows they've been trying very hard to be good...but you can always try harder! ;-)

I'm not sure I've ever been so excited for Christmas. But not for me. I'm ready to see their faces. I'm ready to enjoy the youthfulness that Christmas can bring. Four days and counting. Yes, I said Four days. I'll explain more in my next post.