2009 Ready or Not

Wow.

2008 has completely flown by for me. Can it really be the start of a new year? I'll turn 29 this year. When I was a kid that used to seem so old, and now I still feel young and like I have loads to learn.

I love the prospect of a new year starting and being able to wipe the slate clean and set new goals. I still have not made my official resolutions yet.

This year I would love to simplify my life in every area possible. I would love to keep my car clean for more than a week. I want to designate more time for myself that is scheduled into my daily routine that is non-negotiable. I want to be a happier, more care free mom. I want to not let the little things stress me out. I want to make every day better for my family.

I saw this family motto and thought we would adopt it for our own family this year:

*picture via Tatertots and Jello

Christmas In Pictures

It was Cozy

It was Bright

It was Merry

It was White!

We had a wonderful time with all of our friends and family this Christmas Season. It will be a hard one to top!

Christmas Eve

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."

*Christmas Evening, picture via Thomas Kinkade

Having a Merry Little Christmas

Here's what I've been reading, listening to, and watching this holiday season:

Reading:

~The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

~The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

~The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean

~The Fifty Dollar Gold Piece by Roderick L. Cameron

Listening:

~James Taylor at Christmas *Favorite Song: Baby It's Cold Outside

~Sing Choirs of Angels by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir *Favorite Song: Still, Still, Still

~Christmas Impressions - Christmas Moods/ Various Artists *Favorite Song: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland

Watching:

~The Holiday

~White Christmas

~The Polar Express

~Home Alone

What I've Been Doing the Last Two Days

Last night as I was making my fifteenth batch of cookies, I mentioned to Riley how much I love baking. It is so relaxing to me, therapeutic, and just something I really enjoy. I wish I had more time to devote to perfecting some of my recipes and inventing new ones. I love browsing through cook books and looking at pictures of pretty concoctions. My tastes are pretty basic - nothing too fancy. As I scooped cookie dough and wrapped some pretty packages, I imagined I was in a huge cook's kitchen complete with a large granite counter top to really have some elbow room and a sink large enough to hold 12 cooking pots. I'd have a floor to ceiling pantry with one of those rolling ladders to reach the top shelves, and a restaurant style dishwasher big enough for three days worth of dishes. I could while away the hours in complete kitchen nirvana.

Then I heard that record scratching sound in my head that brought me back to reality, and took a good look around me. If I'm keeping it real here, which I try to do, I'll just tell you that my kitchen has been a disaster of sorts for the last week. There was baking supplies, cookie dough, glitter, ribbon scraps, tape, and who knows what else all over the place. I finally got tired of the crunching sound underneath my feet (I know you've all been there) and swept up about a pound of glitter and sprinkles. I got down on my hands and knees and got all of the toys out from under the couches and swept under them. The dust bunnies were brutal. Then I found the horrors of all horrors. A sippy cup with old milk that had been under there for who knows how long. I just had to throw it away before it made me sick! Thank you Mr. Morgster.

I was able to get all of my goodies wrapped up and done today though, so that is a good feeling. Here is a little look:






































So while my kitchen has suffered unspeakable neglect this week, it has been worth it. The fruits of my labors will hopefully bring a smile to the recipients faces and let them know I'm thinking about them this Christmas season and that I am glad for our friendship. As a bonus, our home has been filled with the smell of pumpkin bread, molasses cookies, and chocolate. It brings happiness to my heart.

One of my favorite Christmas Songs this year

This holiday season, I keep coming back to this song over and over to listen to. It's kind of a romantic Christmas song. This time of year we are so busy and rushing around that we don't always take the time to just spend some quiet time with our "one and only's". I have this playing on my playlist and I love the words.

"Christmas for Two" by Sixpence None the Richer

They can have their trimmed up trees
Dressing up on Christmas Eve
There's so many other things I'd rather do
Like making angels in the snow
Playing records soft and low
Bundle up and watch the fire glow me and you

But with time to spare, without a care
We don't need nothing new
Some mistletoe, a lover's glow
And a table dressed for two
Yeah, I'd rather have Christmas with you.

Shopping days are almost done
Shopping never was much fun
Without my one and only one it's all just blue.
But with time to spare, without a care
We don't need nothing new
Some mistletoe, a lover's glow
And a table dressed for two
Oh I'd rather have Christmas with you

Rudolph, Frosty, Christmas lights
Jingle bells and silent nights
It's always right in front of you

With time to spare, without a care
We don't need nothing new
Some mistletoe, a lover's glow
And a table dressed for two
Oh, I'd rather have Christmas with you
Yes, I'd rather have Christmas with you

I'd rather have Christmas with you.

I'm also loving "Baby it's Cold Outside" by Built for the Sea that this cool family put on their Christmas CD. It's great!

*Extra credit: Do you consider Christmas time romantic, and do you have mistletoe hanging in your home?

Fun in December

Here are some pictures of the kiddies I've been meaning to post.

*This first one was from last Friday night. Kendle wanted to watch the movie "Annie", so we spread out some blankets, popped some popcorn, and turned it into a fun time. Little did we know that not only did the Morgster want some popcorn too, but that he would proceed to eat two big helpings and watch almost the entire movie - enthralled. He sat with Kendle on the floor and didn't budge unless it was to get more popcorn. There was no fighting or crying. It was a magic moment.

*The next picture was from our ward party on Saturday night where they took pictures with Santa. Morgan was not too thrilled with the idea of sitting on his lap. He kept doing the "fish face" with his lips for some reason. Kendle however loved the opportunity to get one last chance to tell him what she wanted for Christmas.

*Last night was Morgan's first time out in the snow. He didn't know what to think of it, and didn't really want to touch it. He just kept saying "Wow, wow, wow". Riley was shoveling the walkways and Morgan thought that was pretty interesting stuff.

*Later we had a little FHE about the Christmas story and sang the Nativity song. The children participated and took turns holding the baby. They really enjoyed themselves.

I'm so thankful for all of the fun memories we're making together!

Happy Snow Day!!!!!

We woke up to more snow coming down, and I checked the school district's web site to find that we had a two-hour delay. Hurray for that! Kendle has been so excited for the snow. She had fun playing in it before church yesterday and then she was so cold she sat in front of the fire for two hours. Now if only I didn't have to take Morgan to a doctors appointment, this would be the perfect cozy day. When I was growing up, our house had these wonderful sloping little hills in the backyard that we could actually sled on. We'd do that and build snow forts for hours on end. We'd have snowball fights with all the neighborhood kids. We'd grab our moon boots and our snow bibs and play outside until our fingers and limbs were numb with cold. My favorite time to go out in the snow was right before it got dark outside, it just seemed so magical.

Stay warm everyone!

Christmas Card preview

Here's just a taste of the fun I like to call: "Taking pictures at light speed before your kids freak out and have a major meltdown".

Hope your picture taking experience was as great as ours!

18 months

How can it be possible my little guy is 18 months already?

Morgan is getting so big and becoming his own little person. He has very distinctive qualities already. Such as - he likes to wear cool hats, walk around in big boots (or any shoe for that matter), and go outside.

He also enjoys:

*Eating cookies (and lots of them)

*Pulling all of the books down from the bottom shelf of the bookcase and sit in his "reading pile" while he browses the pictures

*Brushing his teeth and coming his hair

*Taking wild baths

*He LOVES to pretend to clean. He will wipe up spills, get the broom if something is dropped on the floor, and pretends to wash dishes. He is a wonderful toy picker-upper and hums his own little clean-up song as he does so. It is the cutest thing.

*Gives the best hugs and kisses. He always blows me kisses after I tuck him in, with a very loud "muuuuuaaahhhh!"

*Helping Riley with his crutches. Maybe a little too much. We've all been whacked more than once.

*Will say "Mom" really loud, but it sounds like he's saying it with a Bronx accent.

*Keeping us all laughing with what he will do or say next.

He has such a sweet disposition for the most part and is a happy, good boy. This is a fun age and we love him so much!

Surprise?

Don't you love it when your husband wraps presents and then leaves a sticker off of one of the presents on the kitchen counter for you to inadvertently find? I have never been a present peeker, and I really dislike finding out what things are before Christmas. But to Riley's credit, at least it was something that I really wanted.

Nightly Christmas Stories

Thanks to my mom I have a neat Christmas binder full of holiday stories. There is a story, scripture, and song for each night from December 1st until Christmas. We were a bit behind, so last night we went through and caught up on the other stories we missed. We read "The Gift of the Magi" which is one of my favorites and talked with Kendle about the meaning of the story. Then we talked about the Three Wise Men and the gifts they brought for the Savior. Let's just say Frankenstein and Frankincense sound too much alike. I always love to hear kids say things from how they think it's supposed to sound.

Then we read a story about a little boy who's brother really wanted a new pair of boots for Christmas. The boy telling the story watched his brother open his present only to find a sweater. Then it was time for the boy to open his gift. His grandmother had bought him a new pair of boots, just like the kind his brother had dreamed of. He felt so guilty, but then his brother came over to admire the boots and was very happy for him. We talked about not needing all of the toys we see on tv and what we can do for other people to help them have a good Christmas.

I really, really dislike the commercialism of Christmas and it upsets me that we are fighting a battle in our country, state, and communities to keep the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas alive. So I thank my mother for making me this great gift, so that even after a hard and sometimes frustrating day, we can sit down together and feel the true Christmas spirit.

Little Touches

A week or so ago I was browsing through the Pottery Barn Kids website. They had some really cute things marked way down on clearance. I ended up buying two of these. They are supposed to be used for a child's baseball theme birthday party, but I thought they would look cute hung in Morgan's room since he has a sports theme going on. This morning he helped me pick up his room and we hung it up on the wall above his crib: (sorry it is so dark, I must not have had my flash on)

I only hung one for now, but might use the other for something else. The colors matched his room perfectly.

I fell in love with these monogram wreaths I saw a few weeks ago. I searched high and low to try and find something similar, then decided to do my own twist on it. Every year my mother buys me a beautiful wreath from their local high school fundraiser, so I bought one of those cheap wooden craft letters at Walmart, spread glue over the top only, sprinkled on a thick coat of glitter, sprayed it with sealer so it wouldn't spread glitter all over the place, and hung it in the middle of my wreath.

Super easy!

So I didn't get anything important done today, just wrapping presents and toodling around the house. I love days like this.

Haircut

This took a lot of bravery for me to post this picture. I really detest putting pictures of myself on my blog, and this one has bad lighting, a retarded eyebrow, pretty much zero makeup, a husband who's handicapped at picture taking (and actually really handicapped at the moment, he had to take this standing on one leg) and a classic cheesy smile. Other than the fact that my hair is done I look like I rolled out of bed. That being said - I got my hair cut today, and although I realize my hair might not look that different, the gal who cuts my hair took off quite a bit. I think I could have made a wig out of what was on the ground. It's just enough that it feels healthy and bouncy again. I love how she curls my hair and she uses the best smelling shine serum that works it's magic. I asked her if she can just come over and style my hair for me everyday because I'm too lazy. Getting my hair done is like therapy to me. I retreat to a zen-like state and stay that way until I walk in my front door and hear kids screaming, the tv blasting, and see toys strewn about. One can only be glamorous for so long.

Kendle's Version

Yesterday Kendle brought this picture home from school. I thought it was really cute. Her teacher asked the children to draw a picture depicting their family.

She drew us all in our beds, Morgan is in his crib. And the fifth member of our family? That would be our dog Bogie. I guess there really are all types of families!

Thanksgiving 2008

Our Thanksgiving was very good this year. My grandparents on my mothers side came from Idaho to stay with my parents and it was good to visit with them as we don't get to see them very often. It was just a very relaxing holiday, not a lot of fuss and work. I am glad to say I did not eat myself into oblivion like Thanksgiving's past, but did enjoy my fair share of pie and stuffing. My mom sent me home with my own container of stuffing and that didn't last very long! I'm so thankful for my parents and all they do, especially around the holidays. I can't believe I took my camera with me and didn't take one picture.

The day after Thanksgiving my mom and I did some shopping and although I scored the tv armoire I wanted (it was fate), it was too crazy to shop for much else. We tried to go to Michael's and it was insanely packed so we left. I cannot stand crowds and being packed into small spaces. I do not need anything that bad. I always think about how I would get out if there was an emergency. So we left, came back to our place, and had a little impromptu party with some other family members that were in town. We ate some pizza, had leftover pie, did lots of visiting, and made some cute Christmas crafts. That night after everyone left, Riley and I put the armoire together and managed to not kill each other in the process. Except for one of the doors hanging slightly crooked, I would say it was a success.

Now that it is December 1st, I can officially start getting in the mood for Christmas. We put up our tree on Saturday, and I have boxes of Christmas decorations waiting to be unpacked in my living room. Kendle is dying to help decorate the tree, but I wanted to look around for a few new things to put on it first. At least since it is pre-lit, (yep we rock the fake tree) we can enjoy the glow of the lights in the mean time. It always makes everything seem a shade cozier. The Christmas movies have started on television, and I'm looking forward to some family time relaxing in front of the fire. This time of year I just want to hole up inside my home until it's warm again.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend.