tasty turtle

By snow day #3, I was pretty bored.  Elise had emailed me a recipe for turtle bread.  I cheated and thawed out some Rhodes dough and shaped it following the directions.  But it was fun to try something new and the kitchen smelled heavenly.  And if you know me well, you will not be surprised that this turtle was missing an arm about 3.2 seconds after I took this picture.  The rest of him was enjoyed the next two nights at dinner.

Ice is NOT nice

It's been awhile, but we finally got one of those nasty winter storms that shuts everything down for a few days.  The last few years we've been lucky enough to mostly get snow.  And  I definitely haven't had to venture out in it since pre-Amelia.  Sunday night they cancelled school.  Why?  So we can make up a second day that we didn't need to.  The weather wasn't supposed to come to our area until at least lunchtime.  They could have at least had an early release day.  So we sat at home all day on Monday, and the snow finally started after 2pm.  Sheesh.  By the time I went to work at 6, the grass was barely covered with snow, but there was slush on the roads (I drove the Xterra).  At 11 when I was driving home, it was quite slick.  Someone did a 180 in front of me leaving work, but it was so graceful, it almost looked intentional.  I drove slow home (max speed=32 mph, and that was on the interestate), and I had the roads to myself, and I made it home safe and sound.  The next morning, Nathan had a 3-hr delay, and he said the roads were still pretty bad.  It never did warm up too much, but mid-afternoon I took the kids outside.  Here is our driveway (see why I didn't go anywhere?):

And here is our street.  Nice black ice.  The only good thing about it is that I was able to pull the kids along in a sled so we could go for a little walk.

It made for some fast, slick, sledding.  This was Seth's first run down the driveway...

 ....where he somehow maneuvered himself through the gate...

 ...and down the backyard.  Luckily he listened to me yelling behind him to stop at the swingset, so he didn't fall in the creek!

But man, he had fun!

He would have stayed out all afternoon, but his sister was upset that we couldn't make a snowman, and it really ruined our fun.  Which is weird, because usually he wants to go in before she does.  I did make them go on the aforementioned walk before we went in, though.  Yesterday Nathan had a two-hour delay, and he said the roads were much better, so the kids and I ran a couple errands in the afternoon, just to get out of the house.  And the YMCA did have BodyStep, so I felt like a million bucks last night.  School was cancelled AGAIN for today (which I think could have been a 2-hr delay), so my poor children were forced to run a dozen errands with me, and then we met friends at Funigans to burn off some steam.  I am seriously hoping Seth has school tomorrow...they have not made Monday a make-up day, so as it is, we're already looking at another 3-day weekend.  His teacher does a much better job at entertaining his brain than I do!

Tall Mom Club

Last week I heard through another running blog that Tall Mom was going to offer a way to track miles this coming year.   Curious, I checked it out.  I am not what you'd call a tall mom.  And I am not a hard-core runner.  And I'm sure as heck not going to run 1,000 miles this year.  But I joined this community, which has a nice google spreadsheet where I plot in my miles.  My goal is to do 600 miles this year (cross-training counts).  We'll see where I end up come December. 

ps-I love a button she has on her blog:  "You can inspire more than you ever imagined."  (And now that childcare is FINALLY back open at the Y, hopefully I am inspired to go to BodyStep tonight...)

a funny from Seth

One of Seth's buddies brought a magic 8-ball for show and tell yesterday.  When it was Seth's turn to ask it  a question, he asked, "Can I get a hot tub?"  I hope his teachers have seen this commercial, so they thought it was as funny as Nathan and I did when Seth told us about it last night!  (By the way, the magic 8-ball said yes.)

self-portrait, Jan 2011

Seth has art on Mondays, and he was very excited at the thought of starting a new project this week.  He made a very good self-portrait.  In case you can't tell, he is on the scooter he got from Santa Claus. 

ringing in the new year

We have not had New Year's Eve plans in years.  One of our friends suggested meeting at 6 at Time to Eat.  I thought it would just be a couple families.  Our group took up this entire picture and four booths.  We only stayed until about 7:30, of course, but some of the kids did "ring-around-the-rosey"...that counts as ringing in the new year when you're in preschool and kindergarten, right?

mommy's new year's resolutions

I am very lucky to be home as much as I am with the kids.  But I am a much better nurse than I am a housewife.  I spent the last couple years trying to find the perfect balance, and I think kindergarten has really helped.  There truly is such as a thing as too much free time.  I am not over-involved in the PTA, but I do choose to help with projects that interest me.  I love Seth's teacher, and I try to help her as much as I can, sometimes in the classroom, but usually with things I can do at home.  The repetition of doing things 21 times is easy work, but it is a constructive way for me to use some of my free time.  So for the new year, I resolve to do a better job around here, even if it means someone is going to spill/smudge/undo it five minutes after I finish.  I will try new recipes, give us a little more variety at dinner.  I will be more organized, starting with closets and hopefully not stopping.  I will try to remember to turn off the printer each time I use it (that one is for Nathan...it drives him crazy).

The kids' resolutions:
---Seth will not leave shoes/socks/mittens/hats/jackets in the back seat of my car, but will put them away in the appropriate location.  Nor will he ask me for a drink before he has ascertained whether or not he has a cup in the fridge left over from earlier.
---Amelia will leave lovey in her room, so we do not have to go for a hunt every time it is quiet time or bedtime.  She will try her best to tame her stubborn streak in the new year.

A girl can dream, right?

There are some things I did in 2010 that I plan to continue, and I encourage you to do the same.  Find something active that you like to do, and do it for yourself.  I have found that I like to run, though I will never be fast.  Recently, the Y has started a BodyStep class.  I have gone the past two weeks, and realized how much I have missed it.  I am going to try to go once a week in addition to running.

Make the most of your money.  In 2010, I started to seriously follow Southern Savers.  The website goes through the weekly grocery and drugstore circulars and tells you how to optimize your savings by stacking coupons on sales.  She also tells you about good deals at other retailers, rebates, and freebies.  I only kept track of my grocery savings, but I went from saving 28% this time last year, to an average savings of 46% each week at the grocery store this year.  I no longer make twice a month trips to Target or Walmart to buy toiletries.  I just stock up when I find a good sale.  I mentioned our awesome consignment shop in my last post.  Although some of my earnings at the consignment shop end up going towards books or clothes for the kids, last year I made $225 there.  $225 to not have stuff sitting in my attic that I'm never use again.   I also discovered Groupon and Living Social, websites that send you deep discount deals each day.  For me, it's worth two extra emails each day to find a deal every week or two that saves us 50%! 

Hope 2011 is a great year for everyone!

Books in Review 2010

If this annual post drives you nuts, please disregard.  Here is my book list for 2010:

Ape House by Sara Gruen
Swimsuit by Patterson and Paetro
The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde
The Christmas Passage by Saperstein and Samerjan
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Susannah's Garden by Debbie Macomber
Resistance by Anita Shreve
Cross Roads by Fern Michaels
Made in the USA by Billie Letts
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
South of Broad by Pat Conroy
Fortunate Harbor by Emilie Richards
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
Mommy by Mistake by Rowan Coleman
Right as Rain by Bev Marshall
Happiness Key by Emilie Richards
The Shack by William Paul Young
Game Over by Fern Michaels
Mending Fences by Sherryl Woods
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Dear Emily by Fern Michaels
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Dairy Queen Days by Robert Inman
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Deadly Deals by Fern Michaels
White Hot by Sandra Brown
The Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Benton Frank
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Scoop by Fern Michaels
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Lucky Man by Michael J Fox
Vanishing Act by Fern Michaels
Trouble in High Heels by Christina Dodd
Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons
In Memory of Junior by Clyde Edgerton
Razor Sharp by Fern Michaels
Pandora's Daughter by Iris Johansen
Stand-In Groom by Suzanne Brockman
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
About Face by Fern Michaels
Where or When by Anita Shreve
Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
the green book
Land of the Living by Nicci French
Pawleys Island by Dorothea Benton Frank
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Fifty-four books, which is funny, since I feel like I have less time to read than I used to.  A vast majority of the books are still loaners, and I've decided to start donating the books that don't consign to a local do-good organization.  My hunch last year was wrong; I have not gone broke buying books at Costco.  It's the consignment shop that has done me in!  I manage accounts for my mom, Nathan's mom, and myself, so sometimes I'm there on a weekly basis.  I am drawn to the 75% off book rack every time I go in.  At the time, I cannot walk away from a book I've been wanting to read for less than $2.  I rationalize it in my head, that it's definitely worth it if I read it, and then maybe loan it out before reconsigning it.  But truth be told, I need another book like I need in a hole in my head.  What can I say...I love books!

creative advertising...

...or wishful thinking?

This is Amelia's present for us she made at preschool.  Nathan says it is going in her wedding video.  I just want to know how they made her look so sweet?  She has had a, um, fiesty personality this month.  Yes, we'll call it fiesty.  :)

playing in the white stuff

Of course we played in the snow Sunday...you never know how long it's going to stick around around here!  I've tried to only put unique pictures on this time...you know I'll have the same coat for a decade or more, Amelia has the same hat, mittens, and snowpants as last year, and Seth still fits in last year's coat.  Our house looks the same...anyways, here we are buddled up and ready to play!

Someone plowed the top part of our driveway (still haven't figured out who), which was nice, but took away the speedy area of our sledding run.  Seth really wanted to make a snowman, but the snow wasn't cooperating.  It was perfect to pack into beach pails and make a snow fort, though!

And then, one of our favorite things to do in the snow, play on the swingset!  Our swingset is in a very shady area near a creek, so it gets super muggy/buggy in the summer and takes a long time for the ground to dry out after a rain.  But when you're wearing snowpants and boots, it doesn't really matter, does it?

Seth noticed this as we were cleaning up...if it has happened before, I don't remember it!

I looked out the front door Sunday afternoon, and thought this was really pretty:

Monday afternoon, we took a family trip to the YMCA.  I did make it up the driveway, and we ran errands in the morning and then went to see Tangled after lunch.  Cute movie!  I think I know what theme Amelia will want for her birthday party now!

WHITE CHRISTMAS 2010!

Here they are, all dolled up for Christmas Eve service:

We tried to keep the kids up late, but Seth went to bed kind of early.  Amelia woke up at 1am, worried about whether she had any presents or not, because she has received a video from Santa telling her she was on naughty watch.  I told her Santa hadn't come yet, and it was about 6:45 before we heard from her.  Seth woke up a little after 7.  I'm sure next year will be a much earlier morning.  Here are our gifts from Santa:

 And our Christmas tree:

It started snowing around lunchtime, and after lunch we headed to Cary to celebrate with my side of the family.  My parents put up their little tree this year, because originally the plan was to meet at our house.  Last week the plans changed, but it doesn't really matter the size of the tree, does it?

We brought all our reindeer antlers and hats, and the kids passed them out before we started opening presents.  I had the grand idea to take a group picture.  I think it turned out pretty good!

Seth and Amelia's new overalls, straight from Marvin Windows in Warroad, MN:

The snow finally caught up with us Saturday night.  We woke up to a white...day after Christmas.  Here is the view out the front door...

 ..and the back. 

The roads weren't great for the first three counties, but we made it home safely Sunday.  We had two exhausted kids in the car, and our portable DVD player bit the dust, but the ride home was much better than it could have been.  Our roads were perfect, but the refreeze has made things a little tricky.  I'm going to attempt to run some errands right now...if I can make it up the driveway!

in the cheap seats

One day at the Y, I saw a promotion for $4 tickets to the Wake Forest-Presbyterian game.  The Johnstons came with us, and we had a great time!  Evan and Amelia, pre-game:

 Ryan and Seth (Seth has ANOTHER left ear infection, hence the peakedness):

Will and his flashy shirt:

We met for dinner before the game, so our only purchase was ice cream at half-time.  Most of us picked Wake Wacko cookies and cream (which looks like Amelia's shirt), but Nathan and Will got chocolate.  (And Wake Forest lost to Presbyterian, a team L-R used to play, by 2 points.  The end.)

RC/KM Christmas

Friday morning was busy, as I tried to get us organized for an overnight trip in time to celebrate with my coworkers for lunch and be the mystery reader at Seth's class (For the record, the kindergarteners want me to bring a longer book next time).  I came home, we loaded up the car, and picked Seth up from school.  We ran into a little bit of traffic, and made it to Nathan's parents' house in time to unload the car, finish cooking my casserole in the oven, and get dressed up.  Then we were back in the car...destination, Rutherford County, NC.  I love driving through downtown Forest City:

The last time we went to the Mayse Christmas party, Seth was 18 months old.  There were a lot of new little ones in the group!  Nathan's dad showed me a picture he has in his wallet of his grandparents.  Everyone at the party was related to them (or married in).  It was a BIG group.  My camera didn't like the lighting in the building, and it was having a hard time focusing on Elise escaping from the picture at last minute, but here is the latest picture of the six grandkids:

I put Amelia in her pajamas for the ride back, but Evan rode home with us, so there was a whole lot of giggling, singing, "Pinky Dinky Doo"-ing, and ABC game playing...the kids had a blast.  Amelia still loves her Evan.  In fact, the kids paired up this time:  Evan and Amelia, the kindergarteners, and Will and Brian.  Any other babies have to come in pairs, ha!  They slept fast and were up early, ready to open presents (and disappointed that EVERYONE had to be awake and EVERYONE had to eat breakfast before we would do Christmas).  Festive Will:

We opened presents in our pj's.  We do a name drawing for the adults, so the kids get to open presents much longer than the adults.  This year was the year of board games.  No one should be complaining their bored any time soon!  Later in the morning, we had a surprise snow!  The kids went out just long enough to get a picture, I promise!

One of Seth's gifts was Guess Who?  Nathan loves this game.  I came around the corner once to see him playing against Eric.  Hilarious!

Today was just a normal Sunday around here...Sunday School, errands, Christmas shows, Guess Who and more Guess Who...let the holiday break begin!

brrr

I will try not to whine too much, as my Minnesota cousins experienced one heck of a blizzard about the time in started to get ridiculously cold here.  As in "this is the coldest December we have had in almost 100 years" cold.  I can't remember the last time the kids got to play outside at school.  Seth wears a hat and gloves every day to school, and they don't even let the kids sit outside during dismissal.  I think I took this picture Wednesday morning: 

BBRRR.  Our first "wintry mix" came Thursday morning.  There is always a lot of drama with "wintry mixes".  It could be bad; it could be nothing.  I was a little annoyed when they cancelled school at 9pm the night before.  It wasn't supposed to start raining/snowing/sleeting/whatever until 3am!  It was a yucky day, and I'm sure it was probably safer that they cancelled school, but they could have waited until Thursday morning to do so.  Anyways, the kids and I enjoyed our morning watching cartoons, baking cookies, playing board games, and reading books.  Nathan has been working half days for the past week, and he said the roads weren't bad on his way to/from work.  I didn't want to cook, so we went to IHOP.  You should see Seth eat pancakes at IHOP.  It's impressive!  Friday school was on a 2-hour delay, which was probably smart.  Our driveway was a little slick, but that's it.  And it was our last day of school, so I'm glad we got it in!

Wild Thing, Part 2

There was a reason Seth had Wild Things on the brain earlier in the year.  He has art class every Monday, and for several weeks straight, the kindergarteners worked on their Wild Things.  They have been on display all over the school, and Seth brought his home this week. 



2's Christmas party

Tuesday morning Amelia's class had their Christmas party (and good thing, too, since school was cancelled today!).  In the 2's class, they keep parties simple, and two other moms and I were responsible for snack.  I'm pretty sure none of the kids needed lunch, because we had cookies, cheese, fruit, pretzels, and juice boxes!  Amelia wore her cute reindeer dress and insisted on wearing her reindeer antlers in the car.  I was sure her teachers would make her take them off.  Nope.  She wore them all morning.  If you look closely, you can see her hairbow attached to her right antler.  It was fun!  Wish the parents could come to every party, but there just isn't room!



supporting the ladies

Sunday afternoon, Lewisville held its annual Christmas parade.  We have never gone before, but we had a few little reasons to go this year.  The weather was yucky that morning, but the rain stopped, and it was comfortable enough in coats to watch a parade.

Most of the participants were local churches or civic groups.  Almost everyone threw candy!  We came home with a bag full of candy, a pair of gloves, a puzzle, two teddy bears, and two plastic footballs.  Here is a pig from our vet's group...

 ...some very festive-looking sheep...

 ...and the little reasons we came to the parade!  Most of Seth's little girlfriends have started Girl Scouts this fall.  This was their float.  I love these girls!

 And last but not least, Santa! 

I forgot to mention in the last post...when we left the theater Sunday night it was snowing!  Two snows so far with no accumulation or delays or school closings, I'll take it!  More weather coming our way soon, hopefully it won't mess up any of our holiday plans!

our overzealous angel

Sunday was our Children's Christmas Play.  Our church hasn't had one in several years, so it was kept simple...a handful of older kids narrating from a script, the younger kids singing the first verse of hymns throughout.  Before the play, the kids played two songs with the handchimes.  Seth was REALLY into it.  AFV, here we come!

Other things to note:

• This is our 700th post.  Thanks for stickin' around with us.
• Seth had an ear infection last week, and weighed in at 40.6 lbs at the doctor's office.  He immediately told me it was time to remove the back off his booster.
• Sunday was the 10th anniversary of the night Nathan proposed.  Saturday we called one of our sitters and she was able to come over Sunday night so we could go see Harry Potter.  That's about as impromptu of a date as we'll ever get!

snuggles with Santa and Mrs. Claus

Here is our 2010 picture with Santa, from the holiday bazaar at Seth's school last month!  Seth told Santa he wanted ZhuZhu pets, Transformers, and a checkboard.  Amelia asked for ZhuZhu pets and a dollhouse.

we'll try again next year...

I thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread house this year.  Then I started hearing horror stories about other friends' attempts.  Amelia was watching a movie with Nathan last night, and Seth needed something to do (his teacher is out of town, and I can tell his brain hasn't been stimulated as much as usual).  I cracked out the gingerbread house kit.  Four walls up?  Piece of cake.

Roof added?  Check.  We put on some reindeer antlers and took silly pictures while we waited for the house to set.

And then we started decorating.  Amelia can smell out candy a mile away, and suddenly we had another helper.  She was in charge of decorating the tree and people, and she did a really good job.

Seth got bored of decorating, but there was still candy left, so Amelia wanted to keep decorating.  It wasn't perfect, but the kids had made it, and it was a fun change to our evening routine.  I went upstairs to get one thing.  I don't even remember what it was.  I didn't go on the computer.  I didn't switch out a load of laundry.  I was gone 30 seconds, tops.  Someone had started eating her handiwork.  There was about an inch space between the two sections of roof.  It was probably salvagable.  And then...

I gave up.  I didn't even try to fix it, because I decided it would just be a constant struggle trying to keep Amelia from eating stale icing and candy.  It is in the trash.  We will try again next year. 

First Snow!

Saturday morning we headed into town to run in the Mistletoe 5k.  I had been asked to be a run volunteer for Girls on the Run, which at the time seemed like a really good idea, since I haven't been running and I had bumped my knee Friday night.  I was asked to run with a 5th grader who supposedly could run the whole thing.  She started out to fast and the cold got to her lungs.  We finished in 40:30.  We'll just call it my good deed for the weekend.  Nathan had an awesome run and placed 23rd overall (out of 1425!). 

We came home, warmed up, and I made my grocery list.  Both kids wanted to go with me to make sure I bought chocolate for our Advent houses (see our mantle in the last post).  All of the sudden, the grocery store got nuts.  Want to know why?  It was snowing!  We were supposed to just get some flurries, but it actually started to stick, at least enough for the kids to test out their boots on the deck!

Winston got more snow than we did, so church cancelled play rehearsal.  Amelia didn't nap, so it was a LONG evening.  Sunday was a much better day!  We went to church, made sausage balls, and the boys put up the outside decorations while Amelia and I braved Target for a good deal we saw in the sale flyer.  I am so spoiled that I normally get to go to Target on weekday mornings!  What chaos!

Advent

We are waiting...and enjoying the holiday season as we wait.  Ms. Trena gave us a Jacquie Lawson Advent calendar that we installed on the computer, and the kids eagerly await when I let them click on their ornament for the day.  Seth's class went on a field trip to the Children's Theatre Friday to see A Christmas Carol.  They rode the school bus all the way into town.  It was Seth's first time on a bus.  Agh!  (He did fine.  Mommy, on the other hand, was a huge worrywart all day.  First time on the bus and on the interstate to boot!)  Friday afternoon, we bought our Christmas tree.  This picture was a misfire, but I think it turned out kind of neat.

I hadn't planned on bringing my camera, but Seth asked me to, so I could take their pictures in front of all the inflatables:

Here is the finished product.  We have upgraded to LED lights on the tree.  I am actually going to recycle our old lights as soon as I finish this post.  Nathan added garland to the mantle this year.  If you look very closely, you can see Cricket, our elf, in front of one of the houses:

Seth made this bell at school.  Each night he is to tear off a ring, and when he reaches the top, it will be Christmas Eve!

I haven't started cards, or baking, but I have made a good dent in the shopping!  :)