we're baaaaaack!

We are back in action. follow our adventures from here on out over at xoHUGS+COOKIES! add us to your blog list, tell your friends!!

http://www.xohugsandcookies.blogspot.com

punkins

we woke up yesterday to a cold rainy mess outside. it was delightful! Bate's nut farm was on the list of things to do since i have a rather hard time picking out pumpkins each year in beach weather. we had to take advantage of a perfect fall day.

we also decided riding ponies was a good idea. when i say we, i mean Emmerson and i. Greg wasnt keen on forking over the $10 for just minutes of joy, and Hud didn't really know what he was in for. but boy oh boy, that girl of mine is a lover of ponies and i thought Hudson would love it too. thought, being the key word there...clearly i don't know my sweet boy all that well because he was miserable the entire ride. i'm pretty sure he was traumatized from that experience. The ride got cut short when the rain caused some flooding in the ring and the ponies started jumping over the puddles with littles strapped on their backs.

above we have a perfect example of the serious contrast of personality between our two littles. these two are so completely different and i love that about them.

we topped our day off by painting pumpkins and snuggling by the fire. perfection.

costumes

I don't know about you, but i was perhaps overly joyed when i checked the weather forecast this morning.

feast your eyes on wednesday fellow residence of san diego!!!! you better believe we will be heading straight for the punkin patch!! Halloween is quickly approaching and halloween costumes are often topic of discussion in our home. Emmerson is stubbornly set on being a princess this year. which princess? undetermined. it changes every week. this week? Ariel. we have a Disneyland trip planned for later this month and she will have free range in the princess store. regardless of what she chooses, it will be nearly impossible to top last year's ensemble...

she really truly made the best mini Taylor Swift  ever. ever ever.
As for the wee fellow? His UPS man costume should arrive on our doorstep tomorrow.

Ah! this time of year gets me giddy. I can't get enough!

long live the nielsens.

okay, so i could have just held off for a few more weeks and made it an entire year without a word from this Nielsen blog of ours, but i got the itch to type and so it begins again. you're welcome. i must say, it feels somewhat awkward after so much time has passed. a one year recap could take some time. so i wont bother. Here we are back in the fall months which just so happen to be my very favorite in what seems like any place but here, where it is now hotter than july and all i really truly want is to wear sweaters and boots and drink hot chocolate. wahhh. damn this perfect sunshiney weather all year 'round. i need my seasons.

 the littles got bigger...

Emmerson turns four (!!!!!!!)  this month and Hudson is one and a half. where have my babies gone? they are awfully precious little humans. i love them so bad and consider myself mighty lucky, indeed.

my sweet loving deliciously good looking hunk of husband works hard and keeps me laughing on the daily. Our kids have so much of his weirdness that our home is rarely boring.

as for me, I still love christmas, sweets and all things Taylor swift. obviously. 

mad hatter tea party

emmy's 3rd birthday party:

bitter sweet

it worked!!!!! we got tickets for Taylor On Ellen!!!...that's the sweet part. the bitter part is that Emmy is too young to come. the tickets are for the outdoor concert portion of the show, and they don't want littles out there. bummer. the whole reason we even have tickets is because so many people were kind enough to pass along emmy's taylor loving video and now i can't even bring her along. obviously us grown ups are equally as enthused about taylor as she is, but when taylor goes on tour for her new album...you better believe that sweet emmy girl will be my date! thank you so very much to anyone who helped in any way! we. are. so. excited!!!

Taylor On Ellen

This is a request for some serious assistance. Taylor Swift will be on Ellen. if you e-mail TaylorOnEllen@gmail.com, you have a shot to go to the show to see her perform. I'm trying desperately to get my sweet little Taylor fan, Emmerson there. i feel like the only way is to flood ellen's e-mail and twitter with this video of my precious girl. if you could send a quick e-mail to the address above (with a little note routing for us to be at the Taylor On Ellen show, or simply just the link to the video) we would be forever grateful! Also, if you have twitter, tweet our video link to @TheEllenShow and @taylorswift13 with the hashtag #TaylorOnEllen . Let's get Emmy on Ellen to see Taylor!! share this! tell your friends! Thank you lovely people!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7rSVVSEMyU&feature=youtu.be

more from emmy's mouth.

all of us driving in the car and Gregory asks Emmerson
G: "hey Em, are you a boy?"
E: "no!!!!"
G: "are you a girl?"
E: "no!"
G: "well than what are you?!?!!"
E: (deeply concerned) "I'm something else! I need a hospital!!!!!"

Emmy puts her sunglasses and a massive bow on Hudson...
E: (laughing hysterically) Look mum! Huds looks ridiculous!!!

while playing with ponies on the floor....
E: "Mum, can you help me make a parade with my ponies just like disneyland?"
Me: "sure!" (and i help her set them up)
E: "Wowwwwww!!! look at that presentation!!!"

driving in the car John Mayer's song Daughters comes on
E: "Mum, you're not a daughter..."
Me: "yes i am! i'm my parents daughter!"
E: (as if I'm dumb as dirt) "Nooooo no. you're not a daughter sweetie pie. don't be silly."


E: "Mum, can it be my turn on the iPad now?"
Me: "yep, just let me finish this email..."
(i hand it to her a couple of minutes later)
E: "ohhh fanks mum! you're a really great sharer! that was a very nice girl. fank you for making me happy!!"

looking through instagram photos with Emmy...
Me: "Look Em! it's your friend...she's crying."
E: (as if she doesn't throw fits on the daily) "yeeaahhhhh...she really needs to settle down."


when she saw my new hair do...
E: "Mum!!! you got a cut!
Me: "yeah! do you like it???"
E: "yeah!!! yous hairs is just like twilight sparkle!!!!"
Me: .....

while watching Katy Perry's California Gurls video, during the part where she is lying nakie in the cotton candy clouds...
E: (in shock, even though she has seen this video countless times) "Mum, are those her BUNS!?!?!?"
Me: "yeahhhhhh, those are her buns...."
E: "she needs to put her big-girl panties on."

oh target...

Today was one of those shopping days that left me in need of a nap..and I only went to target. Hudson had a doctors appointment for a rash in the rolls of his neck. fat kid problems. Target was next on the list because me and Emmy girl wanted to own the Katy Perry "Part Of Me" movie mostly me since she didn't even know that it existed. minor details. we pulled up, and there was construction going on blocking out half of the parking spots causing us to drive in circles for over ten minutes just to find a space. the shopping portion of our trip went fairly smooth...my typical go in for two items, and leave with twleve extra items that i felt was more than necessary in our lives. including a pumpkin plate. ive never been good at choosing a checkout line. this trip was no exception. the lady and her ridiculous amount of goods i opted to stand behind declared after i placed all fourteen of my much "needed" things on the belt, that she was going to need 3 separate orders and gift receipts for some of it. after obvious confusion crossed ms. target cashier lady's face, i then noticed the "new employee" label on her tag. perfect. there's a good chance that it took eighteen minutes to assist the high maintenance one before it was our turn. thankfully the mini-humans were on their very best behavior, or i may have lost my mind. the alarm went off as we walked out, but i ignored it confident that we didn't yoink any merchandise. finally we were out of there, and with the exception of Emmerson screaming at the top of her lungs that the "freakin sun" (oops) was making her thirsty and sweaty on the walk back to our car, we were happily on our way back home. At the first light, i pulled out our new blu-ray to check it out and the plastic security cover was definitely still in tact. flashes of the alarm going off and that "new employee" tag consumed my tired brain. i really wanted to watch that movie...for the third time. back to target we go. i nearly forgot about the dreaded parking situation as we pulled in. again. i found a spot in a much more acceptable amount of time, then got both little nuggets out of the car. again. i decided against a cart this time thinking it would be more of a hassle. i made emmy walk and clearly forgot that my five month old is now 22lbs. he is a backbreaker and puked on my arm on the way in. luckily there was minimal line waiting and quick service from an experienced target cashier. we then booked it outta there. but for real this time. and all for that damn katy perry movie.

Bangin'

It's been nearly two years of begging and pleading with my sweet husband to promise he would still love me if i chopped a fringe in front of my face. gregory has been an open hater of all bangs big and small since before we met. he says it's just one of those things that girls think are cute, and boys don't understand. kinda like shoulder pads. well i did it. and he still loves me.