Christmas 2010

{Some pictures from Christmas morning after the chaos has been tamed somewhat}

Christmas morning was really something and I think it gets better and better every year with how much we get a kick out the kids and the enjoyment we see them having. Santa was probably better to us than we deserved. Kendle is always the first one awake, then we had to wake Morgan up and remind him that Santa came the night before. The twins we let sleep in for a little while longer and that worked out great actually because then they could do their stockings and presents after most of the chaos was over. Riley and I were each running on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, but it was totally worth it.

And so Christmas is now over.  I am packing up my Christmas decorations today and thinking of the song "I Cry the Day that I Take the Tree Down" from The Forgotten Carols.  It is always a bittersweet day. We had a wonderful Christmas holiday and the last week has flown by in a whirlwind of wrapping paper, too much good food, Christmas lights, last minute shopping, melting snow, laughter, staying up way too late, movies, cleaning, and fun. Morgan is still requesting to watch "The Grinch" for the millionth time and I am thinking my cleaning out job before Christmas is going to need another go around to be able to find places for all the new stuff. We have loved all of our extra family time we have been able to squeeze in. I'm so thankful for the special memories we have been able to create with Kendle, Morgan, Cooper and Kale and I can't wait to keep being excited for Christmas along with them for years and years to come.

It's Almost Christmas Break

Today is the last day of school and then we have two full weeks of Christmas break. The last few days I've been busy as a squirrel storing nuts for winter. I've shopped, baked, cleaned, worked out, dealt with a broken dryer, wrapped presents, put decorations back on the tree the twins keep pulling down and watched as the days until Christmas have slowly been dwindling down. I've loved having Riley home every afternoon after work and I'm dreading him starting soccer again in January.

I'm also a little annoyed today.  I'm really tired of our school not letting the kids have holiday parties. Is it the school's or the teachers? Once again, I have to watch my daughter head off to school totally dejected because no holiday cheer is to be had in her class. LAME! I had her dress up in full Christmas colors and jangly bells anyway. Ha! They can't say it's a money issue because us parents would sign up to bring treats and whatever else was needed in to the class. Also, no Christmas concerts/plays/programs. DOUBLE LAME! I have so many fun memories from my childhood of our class parties and school programs that it makes me sad for Kendle to not have any of that. I can remember being Blitzen in my kindergarten program and Mrs. Snowman in first grade. We looked forward to it every year. It is seriously unbelievable to me that things like that are becoming a thing of the past. Ok, glad I got that off my chest. :)

Riley was having his work Christmas party/meeting today and spent all day yesterday smoking the ribs for it. My fridge and kitchen have smelled like garlic for the last 24 hours and I'm glad he finally packed those babies up this morning and I can have it start smelling like Christmas again and not a BBQ joint. To him that smell is heavenly, to me it just smells like campfire.

I am so stoked because as of this morning I have lost 10 pounds since I started running in September! It has been really tough, I won't lie. I have to literally drag myself onto the treadmill some days, but it's awesome to see the hard work paying off. I know if I followed a better diet the weight would probably be coming off quicker, but hey - I like to eat yummy food. My other goal was that I wanted to be able to run an 8 minute mile by Christmas. Today I ran it in 8:15. I'm getting closer every day. Realistically, I don't know if I can run much faster on the treadmill than I'm already running before I just fly off of there. I think it's easier on a track or the road to sprint really hard. Think I can make it to my goal by Christmas? We shall see. The best part isn't just losing the weight, but I am also feeling better and having more energy and feeling strong so that is all good. My next goal is to lose another 10 pounds by the end of March. I think slowly but surely is the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

I'm excited I get to catch up with my gal pals tonight and enjoy some yummy dinner. Tomorrow night we are doing Riley's family Christmas party at his brother's just a few block's away. I think we have a fun weekend in store.

You've Had a Birthday

Today is my dear friend Natallie's birthday and back during the Thanksgiving holiday my other dear friend Nancie had her birthday as well. These two ladies are really something special. They both go out of their way to help others and have given me personally SO much service throughout our friendship. I don't know if I can ever pay back all the help that I owe them.

Who else but good friends like these can you trust to come help you mop your dirty floor and clean out your fridge? I mean really, c'mon. Friends like that don't come along every day.

Friends that you can stay up late into the night visiting with and who won't think you're crazy for all of your strange and quirky tendencies. Friends who you don't mind dropping by unannounced because you know they aren't going to judge your crazy messy house and loud kids. Friends that can have a good time and supply lots of much needed laughs and smiles and encouraging words. Friends that hold your babies and commiserate with the late nights and lack of sleep. Friends that root for your successes and pick you up when you are down.

So happy birthday ladies! Glad you are both the wonderful people you are, and glad that I can say that you are my friends.  I wish you both a wonderful year full of all the good things you deserve and more!!

Come back little brain cells, I need you

There is always that old joke that once you start having kids they literally suck the smarts right out of you. Your once quick mind starts getting reduced to mush and you experience agonizingly slow moments of trying to remember things.

Why did I walk into this room?

What is that woman's last name?

Where did I put that random miscellaneous household item?


We try to cram so much into our brains in so many different compartments and are expected to analyze and withdraw that information at lightning speed whenever needed. At any given moment I can find myself multi-tasking five different things and only paying semi-attention to any of them. My brain is exhausted! Here is evidence of that:

On Sunday I wore two different earrings to church. I didn't even realize it until about mid-way through sacrament meeting. Luckily I have long hair that kind of hides things like that or it would have been really embarrassing. I think I was trying two different ones on to see which looked better and then got pulled away to do something else and then just never remembered to go back and change earings. I don't think anyone noticed, but I seriously felt like I was losing it a little.

Then last night I decided to make some hot chocolate for Riley who had been out working in the cold and the wind getting all of their soccer gear cleaned out down at the high school field. I plugged in my little cocoa maker, added the ingredients, and listened to it whirl away. I thought Kendle was just being her usual picky self when she said she didn't like it. Then when Riley got home and I poured him a big mug full, I could tell by his face something was wrong. He asked, "Was there still soap in this mug or something?" I took a big sip and my lips curled back in disgust. Then I realized instead of just adding 5 teaspoons of cocoa powder, I added 5 tablespoons. Yuck! When I was adding the ingredients I was also getting kids snacks, fending off babies that pulled the baby gate down and got in the kitchen and probably five other things. That is what happens when you are not paying full attention to what you are doing!

So today I am literally going to be trying to gather my wits about me. HA!

The Magic of Christmas

I love the age that Morgan is at right now. Three year olds LOVE Christmas. They love everything to do with it. The tree, the treats, Santa, the presents, the snow, Christmas carols, the Christmas lights, Christmas movies...........

It is also a wonderful time of year to get him to be good because Santa and his elves are watching. He was so excited to go see Santa Claus to tell him what he wanted for Christmas (which was a Woody and Buzz Light Year toy.) Every day he asks if it is time for Christmas yet. I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning.

As my mom pointed out to me, Morgan looks like such a big boy in this picture. He suddenly doesn't look like my tiny little buddy anymore. He is getting so tall and strong. I'm going to miss the excitement he has for everything as he continues to grow older. I wish we all could keep that magic of Christmas we feel at this age.

Kendle has already moved on from believing in Santa, but I'm quick to remind her that only those that believe in Santa receive presents from him under the tree. We had a good little chat the other night as well about how "Santa Claus" isn't  just a matter of believing or not, but that he embodies the spirit of fun and giving at Christmas time and that we can all be "Santa's" to other people during this special holiday time (and that we don't want to ruin the fun for the little ones.) I think she got it. And she still wanted to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas after all.

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."

  ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

This and That Friday

Yesterday afternoon, I finally went in to Greenies and picked out my pair of TOMS shoes I won from the giveaway on Jenn's blog. These are the ones I came home with although it was a tough choice:

Aren't they so cute? They are surprisingly comfortable and the ash/grey color is one of my favorite's right now. TOMS shoes also has an amazing company goal to help provide shoes for needy children. For every pair of shoes purchased they give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. You can read  more about that here. I was so excited after bringing them home, I decided to wear them to the cookie exchange I was heading out to where I devastatingly stepped in a big puddle from the torrential downpour we had going on last night. Amazingly enough, they dried in about two seconds and without a stain or spot to be found. Yay! That's a good shoe. If you haven't been to Greenies, you should go check them out. It is a beautiful shop filled with lots and lots of cool things and more than a few bikes I would love to buy for Kendle and I.

And after the week I've had, I really needed something like a cute new pair of shoes to give me a little pick me up. Earlier in the week Riley's truck broke down on his way home from work. Luckily he made it to a safe area not far from our house because the main problem was with his front driver's side wheel/axle/bearings and it could have caused him to be in an accident. So the good part is he was safe, bad part is that it cost a lot to fix. Our Durango has been having problems too and I think I am just about fed up with automotive trouble at the moment. Don't they always say bad things happen in three's? Hopefully our third car doesn't all of a sudden start acting up because I think that will push me over the edge.

Kendle was excited they were having a "read in" day at school today. The students got to wear pajamas or comfy clothes and bring blankets, pillows, and books to read. They were also collecting can food to donate as part of the day. There could not be a more perfectly fun day if it was tailor made for Kendle. She was so excited for the opportunity to finish up a couple of books she has been reading. I think her backpack weighed about forty pounds when she left for the bus this morning. Blanket - check. Books - check. Canned food - check. Homework folder - check. Lunch and water bottle - check. Umbrella - check. She would totally be prepared for an emergency!

I am starting to feel the crunch of the holiday check list piling up on me. I want to try and wrap as many presents as I can today. I still have a box full of crafts to finish. I need to clean my house, but really I just want to hire someone else to come do it for me. I need to put the ornaments and ribbon back on the Christmas tree that the twins keep wildly and gleefully pulling off. I need to start planning some Christmas food and shop for stocking stuffers. Aren't stockings the most fun part of Christmas? I think so, and I love to find neat things to stuff in there for my family. Hopefully this weekend I can cross lots of to-do's off my list.

Well, the twins are waking up and doing the "I'm hungry and mad and you better come get me right now cry" so I better hop to it!

Taking Pictures

No matter what, whenever I start taking pictures of the twins, one of them ends up crying and it's usually Kale. He is quite weepy. Here is the latest example:

I snapped these really quick before running to get Morgan from pre-school last week. Everything started off great, happy smiles, lots of laughs at mom's silly faces and then inevitably, the sad faces always surface. Notice in the bottom left picture, Cooper is looking like he is going to start crying too, but no, Kale is still the only one crying after all in the last picture. I don't think they liked the hat I was wearing.

What a fun weekend

Our weekend fun started on Friday when we surprised the kids with a family day trip to Seattle to see the HarryPotter Exhibition  at the Pacific Science Center. Kendle was so excited and kept asking us the whole way there what it was going to be like. We had a great trip and luckily the roads were dry and safe. When we got to the PSC, we were told we would not be allowed to take pictures or video or anything of the sort once we entered the exhibit hall. We were so bummed! There were so many cool things that would have been awesome to have those memories of. The very first thing we encountered upon entering was an actor that was welcoming us and let some of the children try out the sorting hat. It was great! All the kids got a kick out of it. As a whole there were lots, and lots of interesting memorabilia and staged rooms from the movies. They also had a few hands on activities like pulling out mandrakes in the herbology lab and throwing quaffles through hoops in the quidditch display. Our kids liked those rooms the best. I think that is one thing that could have improved it a bit was more hands on activities and displays. My favorite room was Hagrid's hut. We got to sit in his big comfy chair. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I would recommend going if you are a big HP fan or if you were going to be in Seattle anyways and were looking for something fun to do with your kids. (Although, younger children might not find it as fun or interesting.) The tickets were a little overpriced in my opinion, but I think it was still worth going to.

After that we battled the horrible (and I mean, really, really horrible) traffic and finally got out of the city a little ways to stop for some dinner at Red Robin. The kids had been wanting a milkshake all day long. I think Morgan probably asked at least ten or twelve times. So finally we got them a milkshake. Because it took so long for us to get a table the manager brought us a complimentary appetizer. I have to say the babies were great up until this moment in time and then they were just starving. As long as we kept food coming their way and their little chubby fists stuffed with fries they were perfectly happy. After we were all done eating, we packed everybody back up in the car, changed them all into jammies for the ride home and took off. We got as far as the gas station to fill up when Riley realized he forgot his debit card, so back to Red Robin we went. Whew! Then had to stop one more time to get some milk for the babes and then we were really on our way. It was a quiet drive home. We pulled into our drive way around midnight, put all the kids to bed, and then I think Riley and I were asleep before our heads even hit our pillows. What an exhausting but awesome day! I can honestly say we really had a fun time. We were hesitant about taking the twins, but they are great little travelers and didn't make a peep during the whole time at the Harry Potter exhibit. Everyone slept in Saturday morning and that NEVER happens, so I know the kids must have been just as tired as we were.

Saturday morning we spent cleaning out the car and doing some house cleaning and laundry and hurried to get done so we could watch the Civil War game, which to Oregon football fans is the biggest game of the year.  Sad to say our team lost, but it was still a pretty good game and not too big of a blowout. Better luck next year Beavers. After the game we dropped the kids off at our SGB's (soccer girls babysitters) in Kennewick. These girls are awesome. They love to watch our kids and our kids think it is the biggest treat in the entire world. They are always asking to go over there. Then we headed to Famous Dave's to meet up with Johnny and Julie for dinner. Riley and Johnny received Famous Dave's gift cards from their team so they took us ladies out for date night. We kept joking that we are cheap dates. After filling up on delicious food, we all went and got pedicures. Yep, that's right, all of us. We enjoyed some pampering and the guys enjoyed the relaxation as well. I could tell Riley was looking kind of sleepy. After that we headed to the mall to do some shopping/browsing for a while and ended the night with some Cinnabon's. That was a lot we packed in and still picked our kids up by just a little after 9:00. That was quite the date. I think the guys definitely deserved an A+.

I told Riley, see this is what every weekend could be like if we had an unlimited amount of money and you weren't coaching soccer every Saturday. Ha, ha.

Coach of the Year 2010

If you read today's newspaper, you might have seen a little blurp about Riley being named the Tri-City Herald's girls soccer coach of the year. We found out earlier in the week, but I didn't want to say anything until it was officially printed in the paper. I think I was more excited than he was because he tends to just brush things off and look at the bigger picture and move on to the next thing he has on his plate. Deep down, I know it means a lot to him though. {During the regular season's all-league meeting with the other coaches, another coach got voted the league coach of the year even though Riley really deserved it. I think the other coaches didn't like being showed up by someone who stepped in to coach one season while the regular coach took a leave of absence. I felt like he got really cheated on that one. It is hard to not be respected for all of the hard work and effort that you have put into something.} After that meeting that night, I told him to just keep winning and take those girls to state and it would all right itself in the end. Sometimes actions speak louder than words and that is exactly what happened. 

I am really proud for him to get just a little bit of the recognition that he deserved. If you ask him, he will humbly deflect the attention and credit back to his players and other coaching staff that also worked so hard. And it is true. He was surrounded by amazing players and coaches and everything meshed to make one of the best seasons any sport at Southridge High School has ever had. But what people don't know, is just how many hours he spent going over game film, re-writing formations, strategizing with Johnny his assistant coach, talking one on one with players on how they can improve and do better, scouting other teams, talking to parents, dealing with administrators, and on and on and on. It was A LOT of time away from his family, and took a lot of hard work on his day job to be able to squeeze everything in. People always ask me how I can stand to let him coach and be gone so much, but ultimately it is the one thing that he absolutely loves to do and he is amazing at it.

What really means more than the recognition from the newspaper or anywhere else though is hearing the awesome things that the parents and players have said about him. On Monday night they had their end of the season awards night and he received some really nice cards and notes from the girls expressing their appreciation. Here is one in particular that really stood out:

"Riley,

Thank you SO much for coaching our team this year. You made a huge impact on our team and really helped turn our team around. You were just the change our team needed and we couldn't have made it this far without your help. Thank you for always having faith in what our team could accomplish and setting a high standard for us to reach. No coach has ever had as much faith in us as you did. You have made this year very memorable and you are an unforgettable person. Anyone who gets a chance to be coached by you is very lucky. You have changed my whole soccer experience for the better. Thank you."

He went into this coaching position knowing it was most likely a one season job, and regardless, put every last bit of his heart and soul into making it the best ever for those girls and building up the program in general. I know it was really hard for him to walk away from those girls on Monday night and know that their future soccer season's were back in someone else's hands.

On a card they all signed and gave him it has this quote:

"You have taught us how to be winners in the most important game of all - the game of life."

And to me, that is what truly makes someone worthy of being coach of the year. Not having the best winning record, the most attention or accolades, but having a positive and life changing effect on the players. I'm a firm believer that what you learn in sports and on the playing feild sticks with you the rest of your life almost more than anything else you could learn sitting in a classroom. Riley is the coach you want to have when you are down by two goals, have horrible reffing, and things just aren't looking too good. I hope his girls learned from him to not ever give up no matter what life throws at them.

Job well done Riley!

And for the record, he was always my coach of the year.



Yummy Cookie Recipe

Since it is December 1st, I thought I would share one of my most favorite holiday cookie recipes that always manage to bring a smile to my family member's faces and a warm inviting feeling to our home.

I had some family members ask for this recipe after I made these over Thanksgiving. These are seriously addicting. It's one of those no-fail anyone can make them type recipes. I always debate on what to call them though. Sometimes I refer to them as molasses cookies, sometimes as gingerbread cookies. Regardless, they will make your home smell like a heavenly Christmas bakery and that in itself is motivation enough for me to make them this time of year. Coincidentally, I just remembered my wooden Christmas sign I have hanging in the kitchen says:       

"Kringle's Bakery

Gingerbread, Cookies & Scones."

I guess I'm living up to at least half of that.

If you want a thinner chewier cookie (which my hubby prefers) you can use a 1/2 cup less flour. These should be soft and chewy cookies so you don't want to over bake them, but if you like a crunchier version (like my dad) that resemble more of a ginger-snap, feel free to bake a minute or two longer. 

And if you're feeling a little more naughty than nice, try spreading some whipped cream or frosting on these babies. Wow - that makes one delectable little treat.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread/Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup margarine, melted

1 cup white sugar (I like to substitute brown sugar as well)

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

*1/2 cup white sugar

Mix together the melted margarine, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and then blend into the molasses mixture. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour. (The longer it chills the easier it is to handle since it tends to be a sticky dough.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into small balls and then roll them into remaining white sugar. Place cookies onto ungreased baking sheets. (The recipe says ungreased, but I actually spray mine a bit anyways)

Bake for 8-10 minutes until tops are slightly cracked. Cool on wire racks.

*These also store extremely well either in a cookie jar or frozen for later and they make great gifts.*