Happy New Year!

We are currently making our way up the mountains to this little shack.


Yep, us, our best friends, and a nanny are spending three fabulous nights in this beautiful home. Only it's currently covered in snow, and more snow is in the forecast while we're up there! Think skiing/boarding, sledding, hot drinks, hot tub, 6 plasma tv's, gourmet kitchen, and more. I can't wait!

Have a happy new year's celebration! I know I will. :)

Best Christmas Ever!

"Best Christmas ever." Isn't that what everyone aims to achieve every year? We pull out decorations, and re-live traditions, and buy more gifts and bake more cookies and attend more parties, all in an attempt to top the year before.

I am one who truly lives for Christmas. Every year I try to bring back the holiday feelings I had when I was young. The joy. The anticipation. The smells. The massive gifts.

Brian too. He is conditioned to think that more is always better. It doesn't really matter what you get, as long as there are LOTS of gifts under the tree.

These are traps. And they're easy traps to get into.

After the last two years of Christmas mornings (I say "morning", but truthfully it took us all day to get the gifts opened) left us overwhelmed and undersatisfied, we vowed to make things different this year.

Here are three major changes we made this year, which helped make this the Best Christmas Ever.

1. Fewer gifts.

We thought we had done this last year, but as the day wore on and the gifts were still mostly unopened, and we were drowning in paper remnants, we realized we had failed. This year we implemented a strict 3-gifts rule. Each of our kids got something to wear, something to read, and something to play with. Brian and I also stuck to that for each other. Of course with grandparents, and cousins, and aunts and uncles, there were many more gifts than just the three from us.

2. Less traditions.

There are so many things that we would like to do, such as drive around and look at all the lights, decorate gingerbread houses, attend all the parties, bake cookies for the neighbors, ride the "polar express train", visit Santa, attend the city tree lighting, and so many more. Fitting it all in can get overwhelming and stressful, and strip the very joy we are trying to achieve.

So this year we picked the things that were most important to us. We attended one or two parties. We visited Santa and took pictures, since we love comparing the pictures each year. We baked cookies, but only a few, and we used store-bought dough at that! It was more important to me to get to decorate the cookies with my kids than to slave away in the kitchen all day. And we skipped driving all over the valley to see the "best" house lights, and instead enjoyed the ones right in our neighborhood.

3. More handmade.

Many of our gifts this year were handmade. In fact, all of what the kids gave out was handmade (see previous post). I loved the joy the kids had in making gifts for each other. Everything was so much more personal and thoughtful. Plus they had fun making everything. And frankly, with four kids needing to shop for each other, it would be a logistical nightmare trying to get each of them to the store without the other ones seeing. Next year I will just do a better job of tracking what each of them has made, to make sure they have everyone covered and aren't left scrambling at the last minute.

Overall, these things that simplified our holiday also made it that much more enjoyable. We had more time for games, family movies, and reflecting on the Real Reason for the season!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We have family in town and are enjoying our time together greatly. We're finishing up shopping, going out to eat, hitting the movie theater, playing games and looking forward to celebrating our Savior's birth! We wish blessings on you and your family this season!

Handcrafted Christmas

At the risk of spoiling some of our gift surprises, I thought I would share some of what we are doing this year for Christmas. Besides keeping costs down, some of our goals were to reduce the "commercial" side of Christmas a bit, and give things with a more personal touch.

Our older kids are doing hand-made gifts exclusively. I haven't figured out for sure if the younger two will buy dollar store-type gifts, or just draw pictures or just sit the giving part out. I am also trying not to overwhelm myself in the process.

Biniam is a whiz at knitting, so he whipped up a few creations, including "doll blankets" for both Emma and Isaiah. Emma is also working on some knitting projects with the help of her awesome Knifty Knitters.

Here is a preview of some of what we have made.



Emma's teachers are getting little jelly jars filled with candy and decorated by Emma.


With the help of my very talented friend, I made some beautiful jewelry to give away.


I used iron-on webbing to make applique's for baby onesies.


Using the same applique technique, I made personalized totes for my nieces and nephews.


Some lucky recipients will receive framed, original artwork from Emma.

Snow!

We've had snow (or "no!", as Noah calls it, which can get confusing) off and on the past week or so.

Snow blesses me. I love it so much! I also love that my kids are getting old enough to go out and play in it without me. Let's be honest. It's much more fun to watch from a cozy window than to trudge around in the snow endlessly pulling sleds. Don't get me wrong. I do occasionally reach an arm out the door to wipe a nose or adjust a stray mitten.

Let's Get Ugly!

Brian and I hosted our first (annual?) Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. There were some very, very disturbing outfits. I tried to class things up a little bit with some pretty candles. The class ended there.




We tried to get pictures as people walked in and revealed their outfits.

Bryan and Jenni looked nice at first. Even dapper and glamorous. But that ended quickly.


See? Aint nothin' pretty about that!


Is that a smooth Gent from the 50's?


Nah. I'm going with sleazy used-car salesman.


It's the Vest Ladies! These vests were just awful. Does anyone really wear these? If you do, I apologize. And please stop.


Uh-oh. Things are getting crazy, and people are just arriving!


Oh man. What do I say? That's the man I married.


The winning couple. She actually bought the sweater "new" at a retail store. Seriously, who makes these things? He had little ornaments all over his sweater that kept falling off, leaving a trail of where he'd been. And his pants? They're jammies.


Here's the best picture of Brian's outfit I could find (if you're lucky, maybe I'll post a video of him prancing around in it). But yes, that is a sequin vest. And tight, awful, 80's pants. And my red socks. And please don't ask what he and the other guys are doing on the couch. Things got weird.


I wish I'd gotten a better "group" photo, but here are most of the girls.

And most of the guys.


Here's to a great party. And hopes that your holidays are a little prettier than ours.

Warning: Distractions can be costly

I don't know what it is, but I seem to have a low tolerance for my kids' behavior today. And they seem to know it, and are taking every opportunity to test me just a bit.

So I just made a quick trip to the grocery store with the two little boys. We were on a time crunch in order to get back in time to meet Emma's bus. I only needed to get milk and bananas, so instead of going to the discount grocery store across town, I went down the road to Albertson's. No big deal, since I was only getting two items.

As I walked into the produce section I happily discovered that apples were at the "preferred" price of $.68 a pound. I usually pay around $.98 a pound, so I gleefully loaded up two bags. I didn't come for apples, but I couldn't pass up the deal. Little did I know that while I was loading up on my cheap apples, Noah was helping himself to a $1.99 a POUND apple. The only reason I discovered him was that I overheard an old lady giggling at him. So now I have two bags of apples, plus one single apple in my basket.

Then I got the bananas, and headed over to the milk, which was also at a lower preferred price. I headed to the checkout line and thought to myself that this trip to the "expensive store" was actually working out okay (minus the Apple of Gold). Then I hissed at my boys to quit running and screaming, and went to the open self-checkout line.

As I'm scanning my items and entering in my codes, I am also trying to coax a 3-year old and 1-year old to not run away. Also listening to them make friends and give high-fives to a complete stranger. Also catching them laying face down, licking the floor.

We made it out to the car and down the road, and it wasn't until I pulled into my neighborhood that I realized: I DIDN'T ENTER MY PREFERRED CODE.

I spent $16.50 on 1 gallon of milk, bananas, and apples that I didn't need at a price HIGHER than I would normally pay.

Does bathtime get any cuter?

Introductions

Blog: "Hello, Shana. I'm blog. Your blog.
Me: "I have a blog?"

So I'm a little bit lame on my blogging lately. I blame it on Facebook. (Isn't that the going excuse lately?) Or maybe I blame it on my out-of-hard-drive-space-computer that takes For.Ev.Er to even delete an email. Either way, it has nothing to do with me. Really.

So just a quick recap. A couple of weeks ago Emma turned six. SIX. I'm not even going to go down the whole "how did this happen" road. I've come to realize I will just never understand it. We went ice skating for her birthday, and it was great fun. Maybe I'll post pictures before Twenty-Ten.

We almost had a big change with Brian's job. But we didn't. But life was on pause for a while. And now we're back to "play". Which means we are back to making plans for the holidays, plans with friends and family, and we couldn't be more excited. In fact, Brian is at the airport right now picking up some out-of-state weekend visitors. We love visitors!

Next week is Thanksgiving, and we will be spending it with friends. And just today we found out we will have out-of-town family here for Christmas. Yippie!

And now, I'm going to brush my teeth and see-how-many-more-hyphens-I-can-use-before-Brian and our company arrives. Ack. I just couldn't do it!

Lesson learned

Today I learned a very important lesson in parenting: ALWAYS, no matter what, make sure I am dressed before Emma goes out to the bus.

Our typical morning routine is this. I sleep as long as the kids will let me. Then when I have to, I roll out of bed, go into Emma's room to get her started on getting dressed, come back into my room, plug in the flat iron, go potty, and wait for Emma to show up. Then I style Emma's hair, grab the boys, and we all go downstairs to eat, get Emma's coat on, and usher her out the door to catch the bus.

Now, it is important to note that the bus picks up Emma right across the street from our house. And I watch out the window to see when the bus is just about there, then I send her across the street, watching her as she goes.

Well today was no different. Except when I rolled out of bed and looked down at what I was wearing - a flimsy tank top and Brian's underwear - I decided to pull some running capris on for a little warmth/modesty. Fast forward to Emma running out the door to the bus. I stood in the doorway watching/freezing. She made it across the street, then towards the bus. Then the unthinkable happened - she took a nose dive right there on the sidewalk. I froze. Prayed she would get up and continue on. But there she was, face-down and sprawled out on the sidewalk, screaming. I looked toward the house longingly, praying to God he would make some shoes, or a cover-up - ANYTHING appear. But there wasn't time. Emma was crying. The neighbor lady was bending over her. And the bus was waiting. I had to go. So there I ran, down the driveway, across the street, and along the sidewalk. Barefoot. Flimsy tank top. No bra. Morning face and hair.

Emma was fine. Just a bump on her knee and a bruised ego. She chose to get on the bus and continue on to school. I, on the other hand, might take a little longer to recover.

Catching up: Labor Day Camping

We got home from church Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and I got to thinking. I'm not one to let a perfectly good vacation day go to waste, and with no school or work the next day, I suggested we go camping.

Me: Honey, why don't we do something spontaneous and pack up the car and go camping?
Honey: Go take your pills and lay down.

So it took a little convincing, but Brian got on board and the kids jumped right in and started packing. (Isaiah had already arranged a sleepover at G&G's house, which he chose to keep instead of camping with us.) Within an hour we had food packed, gear loaded and we were on our way. Where? We didn't know. Life is short! Live spontaneous!

I was actually prepared to pull off the road somewhere and set up camp by a creek, dig a hole in the ground, and call it good. However, my Darling Husband's idea of roughing it is rolling the dice at a Motel 6. So we compromised and found a campground.

We ended up finding a lovely site at a small campground, right on a creek, and with a bathroom near by!

My studly Mountain Man got the fire rolling.


Noah and some chips. Actually, as I go through the pictures, Noah is holding chips in almost all of them. No wonder my kids like camping.


Camping is so much fun!


Noah is off on a Manventure.


Keep in mind it was a balmy 68-or so degrees. But my Girl was determined to swim!


Enjoying a sausage dinner.


Biniam LOVES sausage dinners!


Here's my kids' idea of roughing it. Cramming into the van and watching a movie on an 8-inch screen. But hey - that left Brian and I alone by the campfire for the evening. A date in the woods!

Catching up: Isaiah's 3rd Birthday

Isaiah turned the Big 3 in September, and since he'd never really had a big party before, we decided to go all out. I chose a Carnival theme, going for lots of color, fair-type food and tons of candy.


Fresh popcorn was at-hand for all to enjoy.


Food consisted of country-fair staples such as corndogs, corn on the cob, hot wings and watermelon.


Instead of a cake I baked cupcakes inside ice cream cones. They were easy to hold and so cute too!


Little signs labeled things around the party.


A wall displayed photos I had taken of Isaiah a few days earlier.


Carnival games were set up around the yard.


Yes, that is a real fish in the bowl. The kids "caught" fake fish, but got to trade them at the end for real goldfish.


One of the centerpieces. All about candy and color!


I made the tissue flowers and hung them all over the house and yard.


Isaiah's look of surprise when he saw the main attraction - the Rainbow Balloon Lady!


The kids lined up for a continuous two hours to see balloon creations come to life. There were hats, aliens, fishing poles with fish, and more!


Isaiah got a motorcycle.


Why is it that an any social event, the men all end up segregated?


There was a face painting station set up, using Emma's vanity.


The kids loved their face paints!



Here I am, fiddling with the tri pod. We set up a photo booth for people to take candids with the self-timer.


Biniam and Emma goofing around.


Me and my BFF.


Such a cute family!


There was quite a mob when the presents came out. Isaiah is somewhere in the middle!


As the party started winding down, the kids started becoming comatose from all the sugar.


Some of the aftermath...




It took a while to get things back to order, but it was worth it for the memories. Happy birthday, Isaiah!

Catching up: Emma's first day of school

Quick! For the moment my computer is lacking the Blue Screen of Death. So I'm going to catch up on as many belated posts as possible. Bear with me. :)

Here are photos from Emma's first day of school.

Here she is, outside her school. Doesn't she look darling? By the way, it's not easy picking the perfect first-day-of-school outfit that looks school-ish while also sufficing for 90-degree weather. This picture makes me happy and sad. Happy, because my girl is so happy, and so grown up. Sad, because my girl is so grown up. And also sad because we can't find this sweater ANYWHERE. Dang.

Walking up to the play yard where the kids line up before class. I think Brian and I were more nervous than Emma was. I bawled earlier in the morning when I looked out the window and saw all the neighbor kids getting on the bus. I couldn't believe this was really happening!

We said goodbye and watched Emma walk in with her classmates. She just said "bye!" and walked right in. Brian and I looked at each other and shrugged. I guess that was it!

I put the little boys in the stroller and went for a run while Emma was at school. For some reason my legs took us back to Emma's school, where we ran around it, then barely made it home in time to catch Emma getting off the bus.

Praise the Lord, I - I mean SHE survived!

Best Buds

When I was pregnant with Noah I was blessed enough to have a BF who was pregnant at the same time. It was great having someone to share in the misery - I mean joy of what I was going through.

Well, Noah was blessed too because my friend delivered a boy also - just one day after Noah was born. Noah loves Drew. The two are just like brothers with a genuine love/hate relationship. Mostly love though. Noah walks around the house every day saying "where's Drew?"

Although they are only one day apart, you can see that their physical differences are quite noticeable. :)

Parenting: Harder on the Parents

I remember as a kid, before my dad would spank me for being disobedient, he would say "this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you". Yeah, right, I thought.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about how parenting is so much harder on the parents than it is on the kids. What I mean is, I think whatever a child goes through emotionally, the parents are experiencing right along with them - or maybe even instead of them - but about ten times more intense.

The other night Brian was holding Emma's bear, Timmy, and I looked at him and said "you've never loved a stuffed animal so much, huh?". That bear is an extension of Emma, and I'll be darned if I don't love it more than all my childhood animals combined.

When Emma started school this year it brought so many emotions for me at warp-speed. Will she be safe? Will she make friends? Will kids tease her? Will she feel uncomfortable? Will her teacher love her and cherish her the way Emma deserves? What if Emma gets lost? Imagine the panic she will feel!

Of course from Emma's perspective her biggest concerns were things like, what kind of snack am I having today and how soon can I ride the big yellow bus home? See what I mean? These experiences are SO much harder on the parent than they are on the kid.

So today we found out that Emma's name came up in a lottery to be moved to a new classroom with the newly hired kindergarten teacher. We had been given the option of volunteering Emma to make the move, but Emma wanted to risk it, hoping that she would end up with her current teacher, whom she loves. But alas, Emma will be moving, and her best friend will NOT.

I cried when I got this news. My heart breaks for Emma. Not only that, but the Big Move happens the day before her birthday.

Brian and I will sit down with Emma tonight and give her the news. We will point out all the positive things in the situation. We will smile. But inside, our hearts will be hurting. But you know what? Emma will be fine. It's so much harder on us than it is on them.