More Merry Malousek Adventures .....

Busy, busy, busy!!! That is December for us as is with most. We even ran out of time and days to finish a few hopeful holiday excursions and projects. We DID get the penguins lights up this year, thanks to to kids, but have not yet connected them to the electricity. We also only got the lights up on the back of the roof. Weather seemed to get in out way of completion when we had time set aside to do it. Oh well. No one has said anything so we're still good to go!

We even had a little time left over for some fooling around in the leaves that had fallen from our enseasonable cold winter days recently. What a pleasant surprise for us to have even had a half day of snow falling here in Cypress, Texas!!




I had purchased tickets ealier this year to take Kelsey to see her first ballet, The Nutcracker. She absolutely loves the story and dance so I decided it was time. We planned it to be a mother daughter day, however, I had realized Todd had never been to one so I asked Kelsey if her Daddy could take her. Of course she was delighted! What an experience for both of them. They both plan on going to many more. What a great Dad daughter day it turned out to be.

After several parties, ornament exchanges and cookie decorating parties, our most sentimental and prized party of all is the Annual Grazer Christmas Party. As my father reminded us all during the dinner blessing, this group of family friends (3three generations) have been coming together for this annual get together about 30 years and we've known each other for about 34. Although not all were able to attend, it is such a blessing to have all these wonderful people be part of our lives. We may not be blood related, but we are family!
The Schlangen's

Terry Hobgood and The Joiner's


The kids learning life skills in the backroom.
Three of the five middle Grazer Girls






It is always so fun to catch up the years happenings with each of us, see how the children have grown, and just relax and enjoy the time spent with close friends.

Kelsey and Andrew put on a production of the Nutcracker while Max Narrated, played guitar and sang to the production. It was fabulous!!


Bobby, played Santa and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids while they rotated ornament gifts every time the words "and" and "the" were read. Too funny! Upon the the end of the story, they got to open the wrapped ornament they had in their hands.
It was a super fun night!

Another evening, we did get a chance to take the kids to Palestine, Texas for a ride on the Polar Express. A 1905 Steam Engine train made up complete with elves, bakers, waiters, etc... It was so fun. We were obviously the rookies on this excursion as we were the only ones in day clothes. Everyone else, old and young alike, wore pajamas and robes for the trip.

Once we had our cookies, hot chocolate, listened to a reading of the Polar Express and sang Christmas carols, and much dancing, we stopped at the North Pole. Santa soon boarded the train to pay a special visit to every boy and girl. It was a magical Christmas adventure for us all - pajamas or not!





December has brought much joy and fun to our already busy lives, but it also reminds us how blessed we truly are. Merry Christmas to all and many blessing in the new year to come.

What Have We Been Doing?

I have been scarce lately, but not without good reason. The Malouseks have been very very busy. I am having a ball working at my friends' neighborhood toy store on days Carter goes to school, usually MWF. And on the other days, while Kelsey is having fun in Kindergarten, I am usually playing with Carter and his friends, running errands or preparing for the next Daisy Girl Scout meeting - oh, did I mention I am a Co-leader for Kelsey's Daisy troop? Who knew all the training I would have to go through? It has been an adventure, a learning lesson and an absolute joy!

In all our spare time, (did I say spare- HA!), we have participated in several holiday happenings. We did take a trip with our friends up to Bryan, Texas to Santa Land, a South Texas tradition to see the sights and sounds of Christmas - Texas style. The kids look forward to it every year. Afterwards, with ferocious appetites, we drove up the road to a frequented Aggie stop - Wings n More - for Wings of course. At 10:30 at night and the kids were still running on the excitement and adrenaline from all that Christmas cheer. It was well after midnight when we finally made it home - what a great time was had by all.






The following weekend, Kelsey participated in our church Nativity program. She and Carter both attend RE classes on Sundays so they both had an opportunity to participate. All the children had a choice of costumes which were an Angel, a present, a shepherd, or a barn animal. Kelsey was most excited to be an Angel, while Carter decided to stay home and go to bed instead. Enough said. Afterwards, there was a short reception in which the children got to go cookie tasting and run around with thier friends. It was super fun.



And then of the holiday decorating. While we still have not put up all the outside lights due to yucky weather, we have created a Malousek Christmas wonderland inside. Here are just a few of our favorite sights.

Our Favorite Little Man Ain't Little No More

Four years ago November 30th, Carter was scheduled to come into the world. Boy did he ever!!! His presence was known right away and he has graced us with his presence ever since. What a blessing he is to have completed our family.






Happy Birthday Carter!!! Your an amazing little guy with a magical window for us to see the world through. We are blessed and we love you!

Food for Thought

I have to chime in here. Those who know me, know that I have two children, both with asthma, which has created many complications when ill with viruses, etc.. Those same people also know that I probably spend more on groceries than the average person because I believe in Organic. When available, I prefer to buy all organic produce, meats and dairy. We do try to stay away from processed, preservatives and flavor enhanced foods when buying from the grocery. I also know it is not always realistic in today's society to have it %100 of the time, especially when eating out and ordering out. I NEVER assume or ask others to make adjustments for us and sometimes do buy whatever is available if no organic is available. It IS important to me for our family to eat organic and natural foods MORE than not. I completely respect that every person makes their own choices and to each his own; however, I have felt for some time now that there is definitely a direct relationship between a persons health and what they choose to put into their bodies. Not just nutrient wise, but also HOW it is made, grown, processed, preserved and packaged. I believe that if man makes too many adjustments to the natural processes of growth and disease prevention in food, then the actual food makeup itself has to have been altered some way. Our bodies were made to break down and utilize nutrients from natural sources. Our bodies were not designed to break down and process man made chemicals, pesticides, and other man made ingredients. Yes, our bodies do it, but not without questionable complications. Cancer rates are higher than ever before, immune systems are lower than ever and our resistances are more compromised by higher rates of allergies and asthma, especially with so many new strains of viruses out there.

My longtime friend, Jamie Zelko, an Executive Chef and restaurant owner of Zelko Bistro, brought this to my attention in a movie coming out in June 2010, Food, Inc.. This is a movie I will definitely see. Yes, I know documentary movies are usually biased and even when they say they are not, there is really no way of us knowing the truth. BUT, with more and more data over the last 30 years, how can one put something into one's own mouth and swallow without even wondering what slow gradual changes might happen to their own body? A little here, a little there, and before one knows it, preservatives and artificial flavors, etc... over a long period of time......I don't want to find out and I certainly don't want my children to be the 60 year long guinea pigs to find out.
Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change? - Trailer and PhotosSo, I will be anticipating this Summer 2010 flick. I for one am very interested to hear and see what they have to say. How about you?

....September, October, December?

What happened to November? Well, much things went on during the month of November. I just was way more busy and tired than I thought I would be to blog. So what did happen? Todd went to Napa for a "business" trip. The kids have stayed well (knock on wood). Kelsey had storybook parade day where she dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Carter decided he is in Love with Susan from Monsters v. Aliens, Kelsey lost her first tooth, Thanksgiving, Dad took vacation the entire week of Thanksgiving, Carter turned 4, and I finally got a new camera......oh and got ALL my Christmas shopping complete! Whew! Now I just need to learn how to take better pictures with my new camera so I can update my blog.

Tune in......this month!