Happy New Year!!

I thought this toy was really cool and very fitting for New Year's!! I hope you all have a wonderful new year! Happy 2007!


Click here to get this from pimp.myYearbook.com!!

We got a new bedroom set!!

We finally upgraded from the hand-me-down bedroom set!! We are so excited! It is a platform bed, which is apparently popular everywhere but here. So, for once in our lives we are trendy. I didn't think that would ever happen. We don't usually care. Another nice thing about it is you don't have to use a box spring, so it is about $200 cheaper! I am so excited to get it here. My back is not going to know what hit it! It is also great to be finally in a queen bed! Oh the space!

Christmas break

We have had a great Christmas break. We still have a three-day weekend left! We have gotten a lot of things cleaned and/or organized!! THANKS Aaron! He is awesome! The house is in better order than it has been in a long time. We have been able to spend a lot of time relaxing as well.

The Wii is a ton of fun! Luke and Aaron have really enjoyed the new Zelda game and we have all liked the sports game that came with it.

I have also gotten to crochet quite a bit, which makes me happy. This double-sided blanket I am doing for my niece is going to take a while. I don't think it'll be done for the shower...it is only a few weeks away. But, I do have about 2 months before she is born. That is a more attainable goal. It is turning out really cool, though.

We made cream horns last night. We have never worked with phyllo before, and so it was a really interesting experience. By the last few, Aaron had figured out how to actually do it and it was pretty easy. We'll actually be able to duplicate it. Oh, they were SO yummy!

Recovery

I woke up at a little before 2 am on Christmas morning and couldn't go back to sleep. You'd think that it would have been the kids, but no, it was me all excited for Christmas. The kids had a great day and loved their gifts! We really enjoyed watching them open and play with all their new things! Christmas is for kids, it is so much more fun when you have little ones to watch and play with on Christmas morning. Somehow, I had energy to make it through the day, until about 2 pm or so when I got pretty tired. We were at my in laws' home until about 4 or so and by the time I got home, I didn't want to nap and then not be able to go to sleep for the night.

Tuesday was a busy day where I still didn't get a chance to clean the house from all the messes of Christmas. So, this morning, we are left with a huge disaster! Aaron is home still and so between the two of us I think we can get this place livable again, soon!

I did it! I did it! I did it!

I was actually able to complete the blue blanket that I was crocheting for Luke for Christmas!! I was so excited to be finished. I had enough yarn with some to spare! I thought I might get into trouble at the end. It turned out very well and looks great. I'll post pictures after Christmas. (I have a lot of things to post after Christmas, eh?) Even though I couldn't hide the fact that I was crocheting a blanket for him, I still wrapped it and put it under the tree for Luke to open in the morning.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Dee-dah!!

Belle loves Santa. She is only 16 months old, but she knows who he is. It started with a decoration that I added to the door. She loves to look at the things I hang there. Well, she has learned how to say it, well sort of. She calls him "Deedah!" It is so cute.

Merry Christmas! Leave me a present!

Get Your Own! | More Flash Toys

Pink

Pink is such a versatile color. You can mix and match just about any shades of pink and they look fabulous together--as long as only one of them is a print. Having said that, I have never liked pink. I am not a girlie-girl and I have no desire to wear a lot of pink. When I was pregnant with Belle, I told people that I wasn't a big fan of pink in hopes that I wouldn't get a lot of it. But, having female relatives I got a lot of pink clothes. Belle looks great in them, actually she looks great in just about anything! I have come to appreciate pink and even wear and enjoy a couple of pieces of pink clothing. (I wasn't the one to buy them, but I still like them.)

You really can't mix greens, oranges or reds. I think if you put teal and forest green together, for instance it just doesn't work. Come to think of it, blue is pretty versatile, too. I love blue! I think I'd be happy to wear only blue for the rest of my life!

Wiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!

We were able to get a Nintendo Wii. We didn't have to wait in line for 15 hours in subzero temperatures, either. We're waiting for it in the mail, now. I hope it gets here by Christmas, since that is the bulk of Aaron's Christmas. I can't wait to play it! It'll be so fun!

We're going to go to my in-laws' home for Christmas Eve since Santa Dennis is going to be there. Aaron's uncle dresses up every year and we get to have the kids enjoy him. Then, we'll go back home to clean up and sleep at home. We'll stay home in the morning to open presents and play. After that, we'll go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play with brothers, sisters, grandparents and cousins. Plus, more presents and lots of food! I am excited! We are going to have a great Christmas! We only need to go to one parents' home, since mine are 2000 miles away. Some year we'll make the trip, but it is not something we can afford very often.

Life

Life sure hits hard sometimes. We had an especially rough weekend. I don't really want to share details now, maybe I can in the future, but I am not ready for that, yet.

We made it through and we are ready for what comes next, as long as it isn't bad. I am glad that it was this weekend and not next. I can be prepared to face all of the family and have a great Christmas. I don't think I could have done that if Christmas had been over this past weekend.

I feel that maybe I should be more upset still. I am not exactly happy, but I am sobered. I feel that I have changed, but that I am still happy about the rest of my life. I guess I really don't know how to feel.

Hoodies

I'm not usually a fan of posed pictures, but this one turned out really well. I was trying to get a cute picture to thank my aunt for the new clothes and this is what I got!

Snow Belle

It snowed again. Luke was playing inside with his dad. I took Belle outside to play in the snow. She had a blast this time!

Gmap Pedometer

I found this on Dumb Little Man (which by the way is a great blog. He puts tips for just about anything you can think of in life!) You use a map to trace routes for walking/running. It can calculate the miles you would go as well as estimate calories burned. I made a couple of routes that I can walk and get the exercise I need. You can save them and go back to remember later. Although, I don't think I'll be using it all that much until it is warmer... I'll have to go do my walking at Wal-Mart or something!

Christmas Blanket

Since I decided to only finish Luke's blanket by Christmas and that other projects can wait, I have actually been working on it alone. I have gotten a lot done and got to the half-way point, today. I can't believe that all it took to get me to really work on crocheting it was a thought that it needed to be done. I had also not worked on it in a while and was working on other projects. I had gotten bored with the the large blanket, so I worked on smaller projects. I guess I got that out of my system. It's a good thing. Christmas is only 2 weeks away!

Ha! Ha! I can post here!

Consider me a vandal. And not in the sense the Ancient Romans used the word.

Oooooh, Aaaaaah...

A couple of years ago, Aaron, his sister, Luke and I, went to look at neighborhood Christmas lights. She had Luke "Ooohing and Aaaahing" over every light we saw. This year we took the kids and I got them started on it again. Even Belle was saying it. It was adorable.

Unresolution

I agree with Aaron on this one. He doesn't like making New Year's resolutions because it is just an arbitrary day and why would you keep doing it, since it doesn't really have a lot of meaning?That said, I am making a resolution to be positive. I am a lot more negative, judgemental and critical that I want to be. I want to look for the good in things and especially people. It is also not of my business what others choose to do. When it has nothing to do with me, I am just going to leave it alone!!

Link to Pattern

I probably should have listed a link with the previous post. Here is where I found that pattern for a reversable baby blanket!

It turns out really neat! I don't think I will get to it until after Christmas. I have decided that the only projects that I really have to get done before Christmas, are the ones for Chirstmas. That cuts the stress way down! I think I can actually manage that!

Blogger Beta

I have had fun adding new elements to my blog. And it is so much easier for me on the new Blogger than before!! I love it!! I also realized in making a list of my current projects that I need to spend A LOT more time crocheting. Why do I always get so many great ideas at the end of the year? I really need to start brainstorming earlier!

I also found the coolest crochet blanket pattern. I took the kids to the library for storytime. There was a woman there who was making a blanket that was two-sided. You actually switch colors every row and it looks like you have to make it one color at a time and attach the two. I'll take pictures when I complete one!! I am excited. I am always trying new things in crochet, so this should be fun.

Pretend Spiderman Costume

I almost ripped Luke's pretend Spiderman costume. What kind of horrible mother would do such a thing?

He is the cutest little boy! He has been pretending to be Spiderman for a few days and told me today that I needed to be careful not to rip his pretend costume. I am so glad he has such an active imagination!! That is one thing we really try to encourage: playing with an imagination. Some people seem to think that their children and everyone else in the world, I suppose, should be grown up and sophisticated. I don't agree! I think we should all be allowed to play. Sure, there is work to be done, but why not have a little fun in life? Why not make up some stories to enjoy your day? Why not stay up late on a special occasion, just to enjoy life?

There is so much hate, anger and bitterness in the world. We should all take the time to put on our pretend costumes once in a while!! OR, why not just wear one all the time....I'm the little mermaid right now! At least it is pretend, you wouldn't want to see the real thing!! I promise!

Links

Wow! My blog was link-deprived. All it took was to try it out and, how easy is that? I guess most things seem hard until we try them and then it is easy and we wonder what we did before. Now, I can make referencing people and previous posts a simple click away!! I get excited over the silliest things, sometimes!

Oh, is it weird to anyone else that if you run a spell check, "blog" is always a trigger word. Does that make any sense at all on a blog???

Mom's Zazzle Page

My mom is a picture taking fool. It drove me nuts when she was here (Love you Mom) I think the worst was when she was taking pictures (LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS) of me feeding Belle some of my ice cream after my graduation. I mean who is cute eating over the age of 3?? Not me! But it has been nice to see all the pictures she has come up with and shared with us. She has also turned it into a way to make a little money. She has a webpage at Zazzle.com. She made the cutest shirts for Belle and Luke for Christmas. Luke's says "I am a geologist" and has a collage of rock formations, since he wants to be a "rock man". Belle's has a duck on it and says "I love baby ducks". I think she likes ducks mostly because she can say duck. It is pretty cute. Sorry, but they are already wrapped or I'd put a picture on here. That'll have to wait until Christmas.

But, here is the picture that she is going to put on a tote bag for me:



I thought it would be fun to have a bunch of pictures of my kids on a bag that will most likely hold a lot of stuff for them!

And, here is a link to her page:

Photogenic Pics

Advent Calendar

Thoroughly Mormon Millie asked that I post my advent calendar. I made it from my head using five different fabrics and made the pockets from 4 inch squares that I sewed together and attached to a background fabric. There is batting in the middle and ribbons along the top, I don't really like the way that I have decided to hang it, but that is how it will stay this year. The plan is to do one "deed" per day. Some of them I did duplicates and others are things that may or may not get done. I just wanted a way to accomplish all the traditions that we always want to do, but don't always get to.

Here's my list:

(I should have done a "Go look at Christmas lights", huh?)
Read the Christmas Story
Everyone do something nice for the person just older than you (oldest gets the youngest)
Everyone do something nice for the person just younger than you (youngest gets the oldest)
Make a yummy Christmas treat and share it with a friend
Watch a Christmas movie
Read a Christmas story
Make a Christmas Craft
Make a Christmas treat
Make a gingerbread house
Sing Christmas carols
Go caroling
Make and drink wassail
Learn about St. Nicholas
Learn about why we give gifts at Christmas
Take a treat to someone's door and run away
Read a favorite story about Jesus
Act out the Nativity
Play in the snow
Write a letter to someone who is away from home
Do a good deed
Read a Christmas article from the Friend or Ensign
Learn about Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith's Birthday (December 23rd)
Read the Christmas story in the Bible(December 24th)
Open Presents(December 25th)

Hope you have a great Christmas!!

"Will you wake me up in the mo'nin' ?"

This is the question I get everyday, well, MANY times everyday, from my 4 year old. Here's the dialog:

Him: "Mommy?"

Me: "Yes?"

Him: "Will you wake me up in the mo'nin?"

Me: "Yes." (Unless I feel like teasing and having him yell, then I say no way.)

Him: "Promise?"

Me: "Yes."

Him: "Forever?" (I'm not sure why I have to make a forever promise or where that came from, but it is cute.)

Me: "Yes."

Him: "Okay."

You would think that a forever promise was good enough, but then he'll ask again in a few minutes and we go through the whole process again.

The good thing is that waking him up does not mean I have to get him up early and have him be grumpy all day because he woke up before he needed to. I simply have to go upstairs when he wakes up and be there when he gets out of bed and goes potty in the morning. He is a cutie.

I had a topic, but I forgot...

Last night I thought of a great topic to blog about, and I should have written it down. I didn't and now, I have no clue what it was. But, I'll share a cute story about Luke. He is 4 1/2 and is always asking about things. If he is watching a movie he asks all about the plot and who is a bad guy and a good guy. It is really cute, but gets really frustrating, especially when I am reading or otherwise not paying attention to the movie. But, the other day he was asking a series of questions and I didn't know an answer. He thought I should know, and he said he thought I knew everything. I told him that I didn't and he asked if various people did know everything. It was really cute. I wish that he always thought that I knew everything. It would come in handy in about 10 years!