Bedtime

Few things are as wonderful and bonding for our family as reading books at bedtime and our nightly routine. There's always a negotiation period to decide how many books shall be read and then there's the unavoidable debate over which books shall then be picked. Usually Daddy reads one and Mommy reads one but lately our 2-year-old has taken it upon herself to re-"read" one of the books to her babydolls as well. Man, there is just nothing like being a parent. It's one of the most indescribable wonderful feelings ever.
PS~Thanks aunt Vetti for these great new jammies.

Our new ATV

About a month ago, my hubby bought us a new ATV so that he and I could go riding together in the forest near our house. This week we finally got that chance (thanks grandpa for watching the kiddos!). I hadn't ridden with anyone that way before, as my companions were always on the same ATV as I was. I hadn't had the opportunity to ride alone before. I always had fun but now that I've ridden this way, I see what all the fuss was about. I had SUCH a good time that even though I brought along my camera, I forgot to take pictures. I only got this one, while I was waiting for him to check the trail (a long winding downslope) for downed trees. There was more than a foot of snow in some places and we made loads of first tracks, had to traverse off the trail to avoid obstructions, and had a blast. Now I can't wait for our next chance to go again.

Fun Learning

Quite a while ago, Daddy helped teach our little girl her colors by playing Candyland. Of course, at first she didn't get the whole "game" part, but was happy to choose cards and tell us what color it was, then try to find a space on the board that was the same color. Recently she has grasped the "game" part of the package and is becoming quite the Candyland connoisseur. She also works on matching by playing Memory & Picture Dominoes. Our latest upgrade to this fun learning process is attempting to teach her numbers. To do this, we're using Chutes & Ladders. We put little dots on the spinner so even though she doesn't recognize all her numbers yet, she can count dots to know how far to move her player.
The hardest part about C&L is that the path is less defined (the path covers the entire board) but she seems to be getting the general idea - so much so that Daddy lost to her last night. She squeeled with delight and danced around when she realized that she won. Mommy was very proud of her because believe you me, there is NO WAY Daddy loses on purpose at ANY game.

At the Hop

I was mid-process of making tuna fillets for dinner last night, listening to music and hearing the kids playing and daddy acting as referee when suddenly there was no noise from the other room besides music. Any mom knows that when the kids become quiet, something is brewing, so I stepped away from the kitchen for just a moment to investigate. Here's what I saw:
Don't they make cute dancing partners? Isn't it nice every once in a while to be pleasantly surprised?

Christmas in January

Somebody has GOT to tell those roses at Great-Grandma's house that it's JANUARY. It's just not natural I tell you. Other than that peculiar observation, the day with Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa turned out out very nice. Even though we couldn't make it for the huge gathering in December, there were still eleven people there. We had some snacks, a yummy dinner and got to open presents again (always a hit with the kids). Our little girl had a fun time being the one to hand out gifts and even managed to carry one to her uncle that was twice her size. These were my two favorite pictures from the day. The rest are in the smilebox photoalbum.
So it seems we've finally finished our Christmas celebration....just in time for planning our annual valentines day trip.

New Camera

Our little girl got a camera for Christmas from Nana & Grandpa. Although there's quite a learning curve, she's figuring out that the camera takes a minute to actually get the shot and you've got to hold your hands rather still or the shot is blurry. Still, of about 100 shots, 30 or so turned out so that's not a bad ratio for a beginner I figure. You have to take into account that family (cousins mostly) and friends helped her take some shots too. All the same, there's 30 pictures I wouldn't have otherwise had. It kind of gives you an inside look into her world when you look them over, which is neat.
PS~thanks to Daddy, I have a new camera too so even though my new one is waterproof and shock (translate-drop) proof, I'm extra happy my 2-year-old has her own now.

Not enough time in my day & 2 IOUs

There are several times that I wish I could freeze time so that several thing I want to do could all get done in time. Yesterday I wanted to go ATV riding with my hubby (he wanted to take the day off work) but since we just had a week off for Christmas, I convinced him that we really couldn't afford another day off. Then last night we were listening to music during dinner and heard Tim McGraw's new song (I didn't catch the name) that had some lyric about lots of people working graveyard that didn't have time to die...or something to that effect. Basically, from what we could tell, it was about choosing the right things in life to live for and work isn't one of them. We both liked the song and hubby looked at me and said "I bet HE would have gone 4-bying with me"....I was already sad for missing out on riding with my hubby and the little stinker just rubbed it in. Sweetheart, I owe you a day of just us, riding around together.

A few days ago it also happened. We were leaving at 2AM the next day to fly home. There were WAY too many packages to fit into our suitcases and I realized I would have to send something home instead of trying to get it on the airplane. I also needed to exchange a couple gifts for my nieces and try to find a package that had been held up arriving due to the storms. I couldn't do any of those things prior to that since the storms had made traveling for me virtually impossible. Unfortunately, I had already made plans to have lunch with a few friends and my brother at his favorite locally owned pizza place before he flew out that afternoon back to his house. So I was left with these two options:
1-exchange gifts for three nieces, get my package, send my other package, and reschedule for dinner with friends but miss out on lunch with my brother
OR
2-lunch with brother & friends but not get nieces gifts exchanged, lose my package and deal with paying for another $50 piece of luggage and toting it around the airport with all of our other stuff.

I chose to miss out on lunch with my brother and he was, to say the least, very bent out of shape about it. I did get everything else done, but wish there had been some way to get all things done that I had wanted to that day. Although I know he was mad when he left, I gave him a hug and told him I hoped he got home safely and he (I think reluctantly) hugged me back and said "see you later".

Little bro (okay "younger", not "littler"), I owe you lunch at your favorite locally owned pizza place next time we're there together. It'll be my priority. Sorry I missed out on it with you.
Love, your older, but not bigger sister

What to make

Okay, last year I was naming my recipes "What's for dinner" but then that excluded anything you wouldn't necessarily eat for dinner, so now I'm changing it to "What to make" just to be more inclusive.

Today I made a YUM YUM YUMMY treat. If you weren't sure what kind of cookies to leave for Santa (word has it, his favorite is sugar cookies) or were all out of flour or some other raw ingredient, here's an easy cookie that's sure to earn you big rewards from the big guy, or at least make up for some indiscretions from earlier in the year. I call them "Reindeer poop" but you shouldn't include that in Santa's note if you know what's good for you.
For all you brownie lovers, who fight over the edge pieces, this one's for you too. Stir together a box of dry brownie mix, 1/4 cup each of oil, water & cocoa and two eggs. Sprinkle the top with chopped up pretzels and cook for about 10 minutes then top with a kiss (I used the peanut butter filled ones, but any kind would do). They turn out looking like Reindeer poop, thus the name, but taste just divine. As you can see, they're good for 1-year-olds too, not just Santas.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you're all celebrating and having fun tonight. Best wishes for a prosperous and wonderful new year!

Christmas Day

We're finally back from our trip up north and although we had a really fun time, it's nice to be back home. We hope you all had as much fun as we did over the holidays.

Merry Christmas Everyone
from our family to yours

So many Christmases

Our kids are especially lucky to have so much family around them with whom they get to spend time. As a result, this time of year is especially fun for them. It started about a week ago when we got together with friends for Christmas crafts. Then last weekend we celebrated Christmas with Grandpa's family here in California. Next, we're looking forward to spending time with Mommy's family up North. After that we head west for more fun with Nana's family. By early January, we are going to have gotten to spend time with almost everyone and be ready for some home time. For now though, we're all excited to be caught up in the holiday fun.

Here's shots of last weekend with Grandpa's side of the family.

Sun at Last!

After snowing all week, we woke up to bright sunshine this morning and just HAD to go play in it. We quickly gobbled down some waffles and headed outside for some sledding action. It was nice and warm and everyone had a great time (except our little guy for a while while he had snow in his gloves). Today is one of those days when we can appreciate living in the mountains.

Parenting Tactics

Can children's ages be rounded?

When people ask me how old my kids are, I usually reply "1 and 2". It's easy, succinct, and really, most people aren't too concerned with increments beyond that, right? Although if you ask any child in grade school, you inevitably will get the increment whether you ask for it or not. For example, being "9 years and 10 months old" is WAAAAAY more developed, mature and responsible than say, "9 years and 3 or 4 months old". Surely any logical person would understand the grade-schooler's reasoning. Which possibly, is why I have been met with a few eye rolls and quizzical looks when I reply "1 and 2". I get this from experienced moms mostly, who know my one year old is too big and speaks too well to only be 12 months old or that my two year old is definitely too vocal and responsible to only be 24 months old.

I however, am sticking to my guns. Most days I have a hard enough time remembering what month it is (they fly by so FAST) let alone do the quick math in my head to deduce what fraction of a year or increment of months I should be providing. Plus I'm probably in denial.

In my defense, for all intensive purposes she has not left her "terrible twos". Her latest evidence of this is testing the difference between truth and fibs. She will wake up (I know this because I have a video monitor that watches their beds), walk out her bedroom door and into mine, crawl in bed with us and when I ask her if she has gone potty on the toilet yet she always answers "YES". Or she is alone in a room and I hear something fall/break. I go in and ask her what happened. She inevitably blames her brother. I've told her it makes me sad when she doesn't tell me the truth and I figure she'll grow out of this stage (not soon enough) but in my book this classifies her as "two".

Really, I should be telling people that HE is two as well. I can round up too, right? His latest little trick is telling us "NO". It doesn't matter what we are asking him or what the current situation is. He usually will even oblige us with our request as he is stating his defiance. I tell him that he "doesn't tell his mommy no" and "mommys' the boss", which he seems to be figuring out, but I can just see all the wonderful other "terrible two" tricks looming on the horizon for him as well.

Maybe from now on I'll just tell everyone "they're two".

Our budding Dr Doolittles

Last weekend, while Daddy went golfing, the kids and I spent the morning and early afternoon at the zoo. It was kind of a surreal experience from the moment we walked it. First thing, as we walked in, the monkeys were going nuts, making lots of noise. Since we'd seen them already several times, we decided to head the other direction to the as-of-yet-unvisited portion of the zoo. Our first stop was the koalas. My first impression was the adorable baby being held in his momma's arms who was eating some leaves for breakfast. The kids however, seemed more interested in the koalas in the glass rooms. As they walked up to the rail and looked in, the koala inside stopped what he was doing and gave them his undivided attention.

I thought it was interesting at the time, but as the day progressed it kept happening. At the giraffe area they stopped eating to come greet us. The elephant turned and watched us the whole time we were there as if he had something to say. The snow leopard came down and paced in front of us against the bars of his cage. The orangutans were leaning up against the glass right by us too. Even a turtle crawled up to the wall we were leaning over to watch him. One of the oddest things though was the reptile house. Of course some of the snakes were asleep, as you would expect most of them to be. BUT, several of them worked their way toward the glass and even crawled up it where the kids were leaning against it to watch.

My favorite experience though was the gorillas. As the kids were standing against the glass, two gorillas (I'm guessing a big sister and baby brother) made their way over to the glass and began quite a show of rough-housing right there in front of us. They were so cute and the show went on for at least 10 minutes.

I'm not saying my little ones are animal whisperers or anything. We've been to the zoo a few times before this and they were pretty "normal" experiences as zoo visits go. All I'm saying is this particular visit was exceptional by my standards.

Our First Snow

This morning we woke up to a blanket of white outside our windows. Although he was excited to see it through the window, the second he stepped out the door our little man wanted nothing to do with it and cried to be picked up. Maybe it had something to do with me wrapping him up like the little brother on Christmas Story...

I can't help it

Okay, I admit it. Admitting is the first stage of recovery, right? I am ADDICTED to the Twilight series books. A friend of mine bought me the first book for my birthday and I read it in under a week. I saw her on Wednesday and I borrowed book #2 (she's moderately addicted, nowhere near my affliction). I finished it last night. 600 pages. In two days. To my defense, I don't neglect work around the house or my family to find time to read. I read at night....until 2 in the morning...I can't help it. I just CANT but the book down. Stephanie Meyer (the author) has a way of sucking you into the next chapter, then the next, then the next, until you look up and it's 4 hours later. Now that I've finished reading #2, I simply MUST find the third book. Soon.

For any of you looking for a new series to read, I highly recommend it. It's an easy read (obviously, since I'm doing it). When I was younger I read a lot of the Anne Rice series but I like these better. In the last few years have read the Shopaholic series (also started when I received the first as a gift and it finished quickly). It's not like I'm a habitual reader though. Quite to the contrary in fact. I am however, biting at the bit to be able to see the movie, which I promised the friend who gifted me the first Twilight series book that I'd wait for her to see it with me. Otherwise, I'd have seen it already...maybe more than once. It's my current addiction but I'm okay with it.

Ready for Christmas

There's several things we enjoy doing during the Christmas season. One of these things is to set up the manger on our mantle. We make a point of getting the kids excited about it by lifting them up and showing them the sheppards, wise men, animals and Joseph & Mary. We ask them to look for baby Jesus and when they are unable to find him we explain that he doesn't show up until Christmas eve. So then every day it seems, they ask to be lifted up to look for Baby Jesus in the manger. The oldest knows that Christmas is baby Jesus' birthday and when he's not in the manger when she looks she says "Nope, it's not his birthday yet!" It's pretty cute.
Another of our family traditions is a trip to get a live Christmas tree. As practical as a artificial tree may be, there's just nothing that compares with the smell of a live tree and the fun involved in searching for the perfect one. This year we got a nice big noble fir. Both kids were old enough to help hang the (unbreakable) ornaments. Although our little man showed little interest, his sister took on the job with gusto and loved it. Only after the tree was essentially complete did he decide he wanted to help and began bringing his toys in and laying them on all available branches. It's also a tradition that Daddy does the very last tree decoration - the star on top.
Last year I found a board book of "The Night Before Christmas" so this year we've begun the tradition of reading it several times to the kids as well. I leave it on the coffee table so it is always within reach for them and they bring it to us often to have it read to them. The oldest has kind of grasped the idea of Santa this year and I'm so excited to share this season with them both.

What's for dinner?

Daddy & I have a thing for thai food so last night we tried a new recipe I got from one of my magazines this month. It's Thai Chicken salad, and it was yummy.

First, for the dressing, mix together peanut butter, red wine vinaigrette, lime juice, garlic & chili-garlic sauce (use this sparingly as it is very hot). Then in a different bowl mix shredded chicken, cilantro, mint, diced red & green peppers and seeded/diced cucumber. Toss the dressing into the bowl with chicken mixture. Spread out some butter lettuce on the plate. Then top with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with chopped cashews & crispy noodles.

This was really easy to do and relatively healthy so that's a plus. Because of the chili-garlic sauce, the dressing heat builds on itself so Daddy & I drank more water than usual but both finished a full plate of salad happily. I didn't put the dressing on the salad for the kids and they each ate a full plate of salad too.

A Great End to November

We spent Thanksgiving with lots of family who live out of town, that we seldom get to see, so that was a great start to our last weekend in November. The next day, we went with some friends to see a Christmas lights show and fireworks to start our Christmas season. From there we headed to Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa's house for another family gathering on Saturday. To top it all off, today we put away anything Thanksgiving and brought out the boxes of Christmas decorations. Although we weren't able to get it decorated yet, we found the perfect Christmas tree and the kids are just overjoyed to be helping put out and see all of the holiday decorations. It's weekends like this that are better gifts than anything you could ever buy in a store.