We put all the holiday crud away last night.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I am proud of myself, most years the stuff comes down 12/26.
How can it be that every year we need a new Tupperware tote?
I really didn't think I collected all that much this year.
Could be my packing skills.
I was in such a hurry to get it all stuffed back into the crawl space, that I literally shoved everything into the bins.
Note to self: Buy super glue for next Christmas.
I think we are finishing up on the sickness here.
Mikayla is better. (mostly)
I feel better.
Shayne is better.
Sam, who thought he was coming down with it said he feels good today.
I am knocking on...well, Formica.
Yesterday I edited photos all day.
I pick them up today.
I still need to finish 30 layouts and projects by the 2nd.
I have done ten already.
The kids have been doing their part to leave me extra studio time.
Santa brought them huge boxes of cereal to live on.
And a box of oranges.
Plus, they have been wearing the same footed pajamas for days!
Team players, I tell ya.
I looked up how many WW points my homemade almond roca was.
The almond roca that I have been eating like a starving person, handfuls at a time, so much that my teeth hurt.
Oh man, it is gooooooood.
Five points.
FIVE!
A piece!
Awesome.
January will be very sweaty and hungry.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas is:
72 AA batteries.
Six laser tags guns.
Four remote control helicopters.
One helicopter rotors already tangled up in Shianne's hair.
Two talking monkeys.
Six Advil.
One slightly gross yellow cake freshly baked in Mikayla's Easy Bake Oven.
Three feet of snow...and counting. (Big storm coming tonight.)
Two garbage sacks full of paper and boxes.
One Lazy-Boy recliner box (already claimed by the monkey family)
Two exhausted parents. (3 am bedtime)
**side note, the kids slept until 9:00! Mom gave them some *special* hot cocoa last night that may or may not have contained um...(whispers) Dimetapp...
5,655 calories consumed by me...and counting.
Five happy kids.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Six laser tags guns.
Four remote control helicopters.
One helicopter rotors already tangled up in Shianne's hair.
Two talking monkeys.
Six Advil.
One slightly gross yellow cake freshly baked in Mikayla's Easy Bake Oven.
Three feet of snow...and counting. (Big storm coming tonight.)
Two garbage sacks full of paper and boxes.
One Lazy-Boy recliner box (already claimed by the monkey family)
Two exhausted parents. (3 am bedtime)
**side note, the kids slept until 9:00! Mom gave them some *special* hot cocoa last night that may or may not have contained um...(whispers) Dimetapp...
5,655 calories consumed by me...and counting.
Five happy kids.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Monday, December 22, 2008
So you think you are done...
...and then a random neighbor from around the block comes over with a gift.
I am in that frantic mode...the one where you wonder if you have under-purchased for one of the kids.
Or forgotten someone.
And then you start second-guessing ALL of the gifts you have socked away in the closet.
Sigh.
CHA (a scrapbook trade show) is right around the corner, and I have 41 layouts and projects to be completed before Jan 12th. That'll make me sleep good at night, yes? Having a butt-ton of assignments hanging over my head during the holidays.
I am also coming down with a cold.
Sore throat on one side, and stuffy-head achy head.
I do love me some Nyquil though.
On the agenda for today:
Update blog. (check!)
The annual! family! Candy-Day!
This is a tradition we did growing up in my house.
Everyone in the family takes a holiday treat recipe and makes it.
I even remember my Dad mixing up some rice-krispie squares.
My kids love it, and they are all old enough to make a lot of the recipes.
We will be making:
Cake Balls
Divinity
Orangecicle Fudge
Chocolate Fudge
Caramels
Rice Krispie Squares
Maybe the having a cold thing is a good idea.
If I can't taste anything, maybe I will be less inclined to eat it.
Hoping you have a Merry Christmas!
Wishing you confidence in your gift-giving, good treats on your table, and clear nasal passages!
I am in that frantic mode...the one where you wonder if you have under-purchased for one of the kids.
Or forgotten someone.
And then you start second-guessing ALL of the gifts you have socked away in the closet.
Sigh.
CHA (a scrapbook trade show) is right around the corner, and I have 41 layouts and projects to be completed before Jan 12th. That'll make me sleep good at night, yes? Having a butt-ton of assignments hanging over my head during the holidays.
I am also coming down with a cold.
Sore throat on one side, and stuffy-head achy head.
I do love me some Nyquil though.
On the agenda for today:
Update blog. (check!)
The annual! family! Candy-Day!
This is a tradition we did growing up in my house.
Everyone in the family takes a holiday treat recipe and makes it.
I even remember my Dad mixing up some rice-krispie squares.
My kids love it, and they are all old enough to make a lot of the recipes.
We will be making:
Cake Balls
Divinity
Orangecicle Fudge
Chocolate Fudge
Caramels
Rice Krispie Squares
Maybe the having a cold thing is a good idea.
If I can't taste anything, maybe I will be less inclined to eat it.
Hoping you have a Merry Christmas!
Wishing you confidence in your gift-giving, good treats on your table, and clear nasal passages!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Let it snow! (But only minimally.)
Well, folks--it looks like Christmas is still going to come.
As much as I pretend that it may go away if I don't venture out to the crowded stores full of cranky people and those super cinnamon-y smelling pine cones.
It is still coming.
I need to finish up on my Christmas stuff.
Of course, this is the week that Winter chose to come to Utah.
Here is the view from my front porch:
That would be my husband's truck.
He will have to scrape it, in order to go to work.
My van is tucked into the garage...
That is literally the only way I would ever leave the house in winter.
If I had to scrape every time...gloves or no gloves, it wouldn't happen.
It barely happens anyway.
The kids have been cooped up inside the house.
The have asked to go outside and play in the snow, and I keep saying "no."
Why?
Because I can't face the four foot pile of wet: gloves, mittens, scarves, coats, snow-pants, boots, socks, and ballet-tu-tu's. (<---don't ask, it was some "Nutcracker" thing last year.)
I barely manage the laundry, and Winter came.
Thanks Winter!
Love ya.
So since the kids have been cooped up in the house...they have been at each others' throats. Fighting, wrestling, breaking things, crying...I turn up the Christmas music super-loud to drown them out.
What the festive? It's fabulous here!
Finally, in a fit of desperation, (Brendan was particularly ornery), I told him to get on the treadmill, and DO NOT GET OFF until you have gone ONE MILE!!
He needed to work out some of his aggression.
I hear the treadmill crank up, and I hear the thunk, thunk, thunk of his men's size seven shoes. (He's ten.)
And I go upstairs to think of something for dinner.
After a few minutes, I go downstairs to grab something, and I hear this weird whizzing sound coming from the treadmill...
He has flipped the wheels out on his Heeley's and is kicked back, and coasting his mile on the treadmill.
Today all the children will be shoveling snow.
As much as I pretend that it may go away if I don't venture out to the crowded stores full of cranky people and those super cinnamon-y smelling pine cones.
It is still coming.
I need to finish up on my Christmas stuff.
Of course, this is the week that Winter chose to come to Utah.
Here is the view from my front porch:
That would be my husband's truck.
He will have to scrape it, in order to go to work.
My van is tucked into the garage...
That is literally the only way I would ever leave the house in winter.
If I had to scrape every time...gloves or no gloves, it wouldn't happen.
It barely happens anyway.
The kids have been cooped up inside the house.
The have asked to go outside and play in the snow, and I keep saying "no."
Why?
Because I can't face the four foot pile of wet: gloves, mittens, scarves, coats, snow-pants, boots, socks, and ballet-tu-tu's. (<---don't ask, it was some "Nutcracker" thing last year.)
I barely manage the laundry, and Winter came.
Thanks Winter!
Love ya.
So since the kids have been cooped up in the house...they have been at each others' throats. Fighting, wrestling, breaking things, crying...I turn up the Christmas music super-loud to drown them out.
What the festive? It's fabulous here!
Finally, in a fit of desperation, (Brendan was particularly ornery), I told him to get on the treadmill, and DO NOT GET OFF until you have gone ONE MILE!!
He needed to work out some of his aggression.
I hear the treadmill crank up, and I hear the thunk, thunk, thunk of his men's size seven shoes. (He's ten.)
And I go upstairs to think of something for dinner.
After a few minutes, I go downstairs to grab something, and I hear this weird whizzing sound coming from the treadmill...
He has flipped the wheels out on his Heeley's and is kicked back, and coasting his mile on the treadmill.
Today all the children will be shoveling snow.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
We all knew eventually I would stoop this low.
Tuesday night, after power-pump class at the gym, Ponica and I ran a couple of errands.
One of which was the grocery store, and I was really hungry for a snack, so like the good and faithful weight watcher that I am, I went to the single candy bar aisle, instead of the Theater sized and bagged candy aisle.
Really, I know I should have just waited until I got home, and feasted on the tasty rice cakes that have been gathering dust in my pantry for two months.
I just wanted something chocolatey and chewy, okay?
Anyway, here I am, by myself, in the candy aisle.
Well, I was kinda, sort-of a little bit gassy.
And alone.
And I maybe just let a little gas escape.
My stomach hurt.
And no kidding. RIGHT THEN, this guy walks into the aisle. Right to where I was standing, and not some random stranger, but a kid I went to high school with. Not my age, but I still knew who he was.
There was nowhere for me to go, and no one else to blame it on.
I was there.
And it was there. Hovering.
I grabbed a random candy bar and left.
So embarrassed.
And the candy bar I grabbed wasn't even one I liked.
I was not going back to that aisle.
The next day, (I can't even make this stuff up) in my inbox was a "friend" request from Facebook.
That guy!
I am not lying.
I must have made quite an impression.
One of which was the grocery store, and I was really hungry for a snack, so like the good and faithful weight watcher that I am, I went to the single candy bar aisle, instead of the Theater sized and bagged candy aisle.
Really, I know I should have just waited until I got home, and feasted on the tasty rice cakes that have been gathering dust in my pantry for two months.
I just wanted something chocolatey and chewy, okay?
Anyway, here I am, by myself, in the candy aisle.
Well, I was kinda, sort-of a little bit gassy.
And alone.
And I maybe just let a little gas escape.
My stomach hurt.
And no kidding. RIGHT THEN, this guy walks into the aisle. Right to where I was standing, and not some random stranger, but a kid I went to high school with. Not my age, but I still knew who he was.
There was nowhere for me to go, and no one else to blame it on.
I was there.
And it was there. Hovering.
I grabbed a random candy bar and left.
So embarrassed.
And the candy bar I grabbed wasn't even one I liked.
I was not going back to that aisle.
The next day, (I can't even make this stuff up) in my inbox was a "friend" request from Facebook.
That guy!
I am not lying.
I must have made quite an impression.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
A picture diary.
Looks like my posts have been pretty text-heavy for the past few weeks.
So here are some photos of the latest happenings:
First up.
My friend and gym buddy PONICA <----that is a link, in case you haven't been following the blog long...
Ponica has three kids. Her youngest is a daughter. She is a cute little turd, and she is little.
This picture was taken the other night when they were over at our house.
Can you see what the Daughter of Ponica chose to play with?
Hand-weights.
Yep.
She is clearly Ponica's child.
I think that blood is thicker than water. Or so the saying goes.
I needed some new pictures for an assignment.
This was the best I could do.
Indoor, at about 10:00 at night, with a flash.
Pretty craptastic, but it appears as if my girls actually like each other?
Weirdness.
Sam's dad owns a bowling center.
Sam and his dad have been working all summer long on getting everything ready to build a new center. In our town! YAY!
The past few weeks, they have broken ground on the new center.
The kids like to help, where they can.
It helps that my dad is the contractor for the project.
He doesn't think the kids are too pesky.
Yet.
Before you are too impressed with my boys, please note that what they are carrying is not plywood or Masonite.
It is foam.
Let my five year old daughter demonstrate:
Of course, she has been working out with Ponica's daughter.
Project?
Okay. Most of the stuff I have been working on I can't even share yet. Some of it has been for a book deal for Memory Makers Magazine. Oooooo!
Remember that I am HUGE in Europe? Yeah, I thought so.
But here is a little somethin' sporting some Core'dinations cardstock, and some Quickutz Silhouette shapes.
Those photos are old ones.
Mikayla is I think three there.
Here she is this afternoon:
This weekend, I met up with some friends and had lunch.
Some of them pictured are my online scrapping friends. It was pretty cool to meet them in real life.
Laura and Deneen came to Utah from California.
Just to go to lunch with me!
Right guys?
It had nothing to do with the free Utah trip they won from Creating Keepsakes...
Thank you for letting me steal the photos too.
We also did some warehouse shopping while they were here.
I only got us lost once trying to find the warehouse.
Those California girls were dying to see the industrial areas of Utah anyway...
I didn't need anything, but still managed to blow through $80.00.
It felt darn good to get out.
I need to do that more often.
(If you ever want to go to lunch...have your people call my people! I'm totally in.)
And other randomness with no photos:
(You are welcome.)
My laundry on Thursday was piled up. I bet it was at least 20 loads.
I am happy to report that it is finished.
There have been no signs of additional house guests.
I hit a pretty good clearance rack at Kohls, and got Shianne a darling outfit. I will probably need to take a picture of this one.
I had a $10.00 gift card (free from my last Kohls purchase) and after a teeny bit of flirting with the little cash register guy, I got an additional 30% off.
Picked up:
A plaid mini-skirt.
A long-sleeved shirt to match.
Pants for Mikayla.
Shirt for Mikayla.
All for $9.09
Love me a good bargain.
And minus the pretty standard stuff like highly-nutritional and tasty meals, educationally stimulating family activities, and intense personal scripture study, you should feel caught up with life at the Wadley Asylum.
So here are some photos of the latest happenings:
First up.
My friend and gym buddy PONICA <----that is a link, in case you haven't been following the blog long...
Ponica has three kids. Her youngest is a daughter. She is a cute little turd, and she is little.
This picture was taken the other night when they were over at our house.
Can you see what the Daughter of Ponica chose to play with?
Hand-weights.
Yep.
She is clearly Ponica's child.
I think that blood is thicker than water. Or so the saying goes.
I needed some new pictures for an assignment.
This was the best I could do.
Indoor, at about 10:00 at night, with a flash.
Pretty craptastic, but it appears as if my girls actually like each other?
Weirdness.
Sam's dad owns a bowling center.
Sam and his dad have been working all summer long on getting everything ready to build a new center. In our town! YAY!
The past few weeks, they have broken ground on the new center.
The kids like to help, where they can.
It helps that my dad is the contractor for the project.
He doesn't think the kids are too pesky.
Yet.
Before you are too impressed with my boys, please note that what they are carrying is not plywood or Masonite.
It is foam.
Let my five year old daughter demonstrate:
Of course, she has been working out with Ponica's daughter.
Project?
Okay. Most of the stuff I have been working on I can't even share yet. Some of it has been for a book deal for Memory Makers Magazine. Oooooo!
Remember that I am HUGE in Europe? Yeah, I thought so.
But here is a little somethin' sporting some Core'dinations cardstock, and some Quickutz Silhouette shapes.
Those photos are old ones.
Mikayla is I think three there.
Here she is this afternoon:
This weekend, I met up with some friends and had lunch.
Some of them pictured are my online scrapping friends. It was pretty cool to meet them in real life.
Laura and Deneen came to Utah from California.
Just to go to lunch with me!
Right guys?
It had nothing to do with the free Utah trip they won from Creating Keepsakes...
Thank you for letting me steal the photos too.
We also did some warehouse shopping while they were here.
I only got us lost once trying to find the warehouse.
Those California girls were dying to see the industrial areas of Utah anyway...
I didn't need anything, but still managed to blow through $80.00.
It felt darn good to get out.
I need to do that more often.
(If you ever want to go to lunch...have your people call my people! I'm totally in.)
And other randomness with no photos:
(You are welcome.)
My laundry on Thursday was piled up. I bet it was at least 20 loads.
I am happy to report that it is finished.
There have been no signs of additional house guests.
I hit a pretty good clearance rack at Kohls, and got Shianne a darling outfit. I will probably need to take a picture of this one.
I had a $10.00 gift card (free from my last Kohls purchase) and after a teeny bit of flirting with the little cash register guy, I got an additional 30% off.
Picked up:
A plaid mini-skirt.
A long-sleeved shirt to match.
Pants for Mikayla.
Shirt for Mikayla.
All for $9.09
Love me a good bargain.
And minus the pretty standard stuff like highly-nutritional and tasty meals, educationally stimulating family activities, and intense personal scripture study, you should feel caught up with life at the Wadley Asylum.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
The Christmas List part deux
I loved this comment from one of my blog readers, Marti.
Thanks Marti!
I really want to start this in my house.
I broke it to the kids last night.
They seemed to be fine with it.
The kid that wrote the list?
Already found a loophole.
"Mom! That will be great! Cause one of the gifts Jesus got was GOLD!
A GIANT! BRICK! of GOLD!"
"Yes," I said, "but then the other two gifts were Frankincense and Myrrh, which are basically deodorant and cologne. So if you are okay with that being the other two gifts, then we are set."
Thanks Marti!
About 5 years ago, we started the "3-gift rule" with the kids (from Santa). Christ received 3 gifts at his birth and we told the kids they shouldn't receive more than HE did for HIS birthday so they are allowed 3 gifts only. It works great! They have to narrow it to their favorite 3 things. It works quite well. One year, my son wanted 4 things and he asked me "Why weren't there FOUR wise men?" . WE put the extra item in his stocking - it was a small thing. When the kids ask why other children receive more than 3 things from Santa, we explained that it was OUR rule and we told Santa that is how we want it done in our home.
Good luck with those lists! You have to admire their dedication :o)
I really want to start this in my house.
I broke it to the kids last night.
They seemed to be fine with it.
The kid that wrote the list?
Already found a loophole.
"Mom! That will be great! Cause one of the gifts Jesus got was GOLD!
A GIANT! BRICK! of GOLD!"
"Yes," I said, "but then the other two gifts were Frankincense and Myrrh, which are basically deodorant and cologne. So if you are okay with that being the other two gifts, then we are set."
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Making a list...and CHUCKING it twice.
My kids have been unable to complete their homework, as of late, as their poor little hands are all cramped up.
They have been feverishly working on their Christmas! Lists!
Here is a sample of just one of my little darlings' Holiday Wish Lists.
Some of the items on that list include:
PS3 80GB Game System
Recharge Station
Remote
Wireless Controllers
Five or six games (Santa can just pick)
Guitar Hero World Tour Super Bundle
Portable DVD Player
Video iPod
This list...
The list went on for four pages.
That's right folks, college ruled, one item per line, FOUR PAGES...
And he assures me he is not finished.
I told him Santa would not be bringing him a whole bunch of expensive things.
"Why not?" he said, "he just has those elves make everything for free."
"Well, honey, someone has to pay the elves for all their hard work."
"Dad and I usually pay Santa for some of the expensive stuff..."
I was sweating! I didn't know where I was going with this.
I had to go into "labor laws", and "minimum wage"...to keep alive the LIE that is SANTA. Sigh...
It would be a lot easier if the kids just figured it out.
I know, I know, it would lose some of the "magic", but man! Santa gets a lot of credit for just sitting around in a red velour track suit.
Back to the list.
And the disappointment that will ensue for this kid come Christmas morning.
I can get on board with number 51: Soccer Ball.
Number 71: Boondoggle stuff (he went to Scout Camp, okay?)
Even number 73: Alvin and the Chipmunks Soundtrack.
A little annoying, but at least I KNOW WHAT IT IS!
The rest of the list has things like:
ZX Turbo
and Jetrax TG
(???!)
And, if Santa could not figure things out either, or if he just happened to have some extra room in that sleigh of his...I especially enjoyed number 53:
Covering all the bases, right there.
I think it would be entertaining for "Santa" to teach him a lesson on being greedy.
Maybe "Santa" could donate all of his allotted Christmas Funds to a charity.
Better yet, "Santa" could wrap up the utility, dentist and his emergency medical bills all stamped with a "Paid in Full, Merry Christmas!"
Or perhaps, "Santa" could wrap up a manila envelope, full of photos of this kids horribly-messy-should-be-condemned, apparently MOUSE INFESTED room, at various times throughout the year...accompanied by a festive North Pole letterhead correspondence card with the words:
"You Fail."
They have been feverishly working on their Christmas! Lists!
Here is a sample of just one of my little darlings' Holiday Wish Lists.
Some of the items on that list include:
PS3 80GB Game System
Recharge Station
Remote
Wireless Controllers
Five or six games (Santa can just pick)
Guitar Hero World Tour Super Bundle
Portable DVD Player
Video iPod
This list...
The list went on for four pages.
That's right folks, college ruled, one item per line, FOUR PAGES...
And he assures me he is not finished.
I told him Santa would not be bringing him a whole bunch of expensive things.
"Why not?" he said, "he just has those elves make everything for free."
"Well, honey, someone has to pay the elves for all their hard work."
"Dad and I usually pay Santa for some of the expensive stuff..."
I was sweating! I didn't know where I was going with this.
I had to go into "labor laws", and "minimum wage"...to keep alive the LIE that is SANTA. Sigh...
It would be a lot easier if the kids just figured it out.
I know, I know, it would lose some of the "magic", but man! Santa gets a lot of credit for just sitting around in a red velour track suit.
Back to the list.
And the disappointment that will ensue for this kid come Christmas morning.
I can get on board with number 51: Soccer Ball.
Number 71: Boondoggle stuff (he went to Scout Camp, okay?)
Even number 73: Alvin and the Chipmunks Soundtrack.
A little annoying, but at least I KNOW WHAT IT IS!
The rest of the list has things like:
ZX Turbo
and Jetrax TG
(???!)
And, if Santa could not figure things out either, or if he just happened to have some extra room in that sleigh of his...I especially enjoyed number 53:
Covering all the bases, right there.
I think it would be entertaining for "Santa" to teach him a lesson on being greedy.
Maybe "Santa" could donate all of his allotted Christmas Funds to a charity.
Better yet, "Santa" could wrap up the utility, dentist and his emergency medical bills all stamped with a "Paid in Full, Merry Christmas!"
Or perhaps, "Santa" could wrap up a manila envelope, full of photos of this kids horribly-messy-should-be-condemned, apparently MOUSE INFESTED room, at various times throughout the year...accompanied by a festive North Pole letterhead correspondence card with the words:
"You Fail."
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