It's Officially Merry Christmas!

Now that the nail polish is mostly gone from my bathroom and I can laugh about it now, we are on to happier, more merry things! I will get some pictures up later (a little trickier when not at my house but I will get it worked out) but for now, we had a wonderful, safe trip flying to Portland. I swear, I am sure we caused the plane to drag with the 8 bags we checked plus a ridiculous amount of carry-ons - it was Santa's sleigh that's for sure! We had the best of intentions of doing a lot of online shopping to ship straight here...didn't happen! But we are so happy to have been able to come to Oregon for Christmas for the first time since 2002. It is cold and wet. We love it. This is going to be so fun to spend Christmas and the week with Aunt Shelly, Uncle Joe, and Grandma Nadene.

Merry Christmas and may Santa bring you everything your heart desires! Because, well, that is the most important thing...!!!

There are no words...

...I have officially had my "Merry Christmas" breakdown.Hot Pink Nail Polish all over my bathroom tile, 2 bath mats, a couple of items left on the floor, and my carpet. I am failing to find any humor in this at all.

UPDATE: OK, there might be words. I am grateful for my friend. My friend (who was released 6 weeks ago as my counselor in primary and I adore her) stopped by with a plate of Christmas goodies and a small gift for me. I of course was in tears and told her what happened and this woman, who lost her dad last week and has had two sons pass away (one as an adult, on as a 5 year old child) totally understood that at this moment in time, this was a huge disaster for me. Her husband tried to tell me it was not worth crying about and we will look back on this and laugh. She said "yes it is worth crying about - right now, it is!" She and her husband went off to the hardware store to buy some industrial strength acetone for me. She said she could smell the nail polish remover - and my bathroom is the farthest room in the house from the front door.

Since my day started with my keys locked in my car and I tried to make lemonade out of lemons, this has really been a fine way to wind up the day. Maybe I can look back and laugh...some day.

Additional Update: Steve got home at about the same time the acetone arrived. He spent over an hour with a mask on (potent stuff) scrubbing the bathroom tile with a toothbrush-sized wire brush. I had already spent a half an hour in tears with regular nail polish remover and it wasn't totally getting it. I love you Steve!!! It is gone!

Our Visit to the Temple Lights Display

Us Arizonans love a chance to get dressed up for the "Cold". Make fun of us all you want but it is easy for your body to be so confused when your day goes like this: (From Lindsay's perspective:) Get dropped off at school when it is 36 degrees and wait outside playing and then in line for her class. Start the day with a hat, gloves, and a coat. Gradually drop layers thru the day's recess times to just a cardigan sweater to no outerwear at all. Come home after school to ride bikes with friends and change into play clothes appropriate for the temperature of about 70 degrees: shorts and a t-shirt. Get ready to go to the Temple Lights and mommy keeps saying to dress warm and bring jackets, hats, gloves, etc. Get steps away from the car, having thought she didn't need the cold weather stuff, only to ask us to open the van again so she can get them! Thru the night, the temperature dropped from 57 to 48 so it was getting colder and colder. Yup, our bodies are jacked up and confused by our winter weather. Caroline, well, she just does what Caroline wants. Her layers were on and off several times. Every year we go to the Mesa LDS Temple to see the beautiful Christmas lights, concerts, and nativity display. We went on Tuesday night and watched a dance concert of a lyrical dance company dancing the nativity story - it was beautiful and the girls were entranced, especially Caroline. Lindsay was ready to bug out and see the lights and Caroline wanted to keep watching.
We always go into the Temple visitor center to hear the presentation with the Christus statue, a beautifully recorded narration of scriptures about Jesus Christ. The kids always enjoy this, no matter how many times we have seen it. Then we went to watch the brief movie "Luke 2" - a short film (under 10 minutes) set in the time period on the birth of the Savior.
The nativity "creche" is beautiful and actually spans several parts of the grounds, from Isaiah writing what became his Old Testament Prophecies of Christ's birth to the shepherds seeing the star to the manger with its lifelike depiction of Mary, Joseph and the animals. This is always the last thing we look at as it really helps us to feel the true spirit of the season.

Caroline is 4!!!!!

Picture this...Caroline comes running into the kitchen Sunday afternoon hollering "I am going to go look in the mirror to see how BIG I am now!!!" Our Little Girl is growing up! Caroline's 4th Birthday was on the 16th. She got to start the day by choosing her breakfast the night before. I suggested several things...French toast, pancakes, waffles...she chose powdered sugar donut holes. Go figure! She got to open one gift in the morning, a pair of bunny slippers.
Tis' the season to be obsessed with Tinkerbell! She wanted Tinkerbell everything, same goes for her Christmas wish list. She loves the Disney Fairies play set and pop-up book from Dad and Debbie and LOVES the Tinkerbell velour jogsuit from the Ashton's (Molly's family.) and has worn daily (and nightly) since Sunday night. Literally. She let me wash it one night! We had the family over for a birthday dinner party - Caroline chose the main dish - Orange Chicken, Spring Rolls, Rice, and Stir Fry veggies. Mommy and Daddy weren't planning on getting a whole lot gift wise because the swing set this summer was for both girls birthdays. But....
...when the kids were all riding bikes outside in the neighborhood 2 Saturdays ago, their friend Dillon crashed his bike into the princess tricycle Caroline was riding and broke it beyond repair. So, she was surprised with (note her covering her eyes as it was wheeled in) a training wheels bike. I think she was beyond thrilled. The bike had blue on it; that is all that mattered. It didn't need to be a Princess or Dora or whatever...we knew as long as it had blue, it was a winner! (And it was the least expensive!!)
Thank you Dollar Store and Wal-Mart! I had noticed at our 99Cent Only store that they had a huge selection of Disney stationary items so when it came time to put together the treat bags for the Tinkerbell Party, I knew right where to go! I HATE "loot bags" full of plastic junk so I usually try to do something they use during the party or something useful at home, like art supplies. This time I got Tinkerbell colored pencils, pen, pencil sharpener and for fun, some Tink tattoos and a candy necklace. And all she wanted was the Tinkerbell rings on cupcakes for her cake. For $4.88 from the Wal-Mart bakery, I got a dozen in the colors she wanted. She got to invite 6 friends to her party and I surprised her and her sister by picking up Lindsay from school to be the party helper. You can't see in the bottom picture because it cut off in the collage, but cousins Hayden and Brynley came too. Hayden was so funny - He saw the cupcakes and said "Oh, isn't there a PINK one?" Cracked us up.

I think most of the kids at the party were more pulled together than Caroline. She started the day with her hair done cute in a CLEAN Tinkerbell Jogsuit. But, of course, she ripped out her hair clip and changed from sneakers to flip flops the second she had a chance. That's our Caroline!

Apollo Group Holiday Party

Steve's Company, The Apollo Group (the corporate parent of The University of Phoenix) has and annual swanky Holiday Party at a large Scottsdale Resort - about 2500 people attend. This year's theme was a Las Vegas/Casino night complete with Elvis, the Rat Pack, Magicians, etc. The food was as always delicious (highlights included Roast Chicken with a Truffle Sauce, Lobster, and a Dessert Buffet). We were all given chips to play the casino games but sat that part out - we really have no clue! We ended up sitting and chatting with an older couple who's daughter lives in our neighborhood and her kids go to the same school. It was a fine conversation until she said the word "goiter" - then I knew we were in for the long haul! Steve and I have made it a tradition to stay the night for a little R&R. When we checked in they were sold out of King Rooms but, with a little sweet talk we were upgraded to a Corporate Suite. After a delicious breakfast buffet saturday morning, we sat outside and soaked up some sun, reading a little, then dragged ourselves off to finish some Christmas shopping. One of these days we want to bring the girls to one of the amazing resorts - we kept seeing things they would enjoy - the station to write letters to Santa, the Gingerbread Castle and village, the ducks and quail wandering the gardens, and of course the pools. We think we will do it off season and get a great locals rate - a fun way to have a vacation at home!

The party is always nice and fun, but, a bonus would be nice too! hehehe...

Christmas Past: 2005 - Polar Express

I was just looking for some other pictures when I came across these and thought it would be fun to post, in the spirit of "Things that would have made it to the blog had there been a blog when the event occurred. " These type of posts may randomly pop up from time to time.
For our Christmas Gift in 2005, my dad took all three families to the Polar Express in Williams AZ and we stayed overnight in the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. It was so much fun! The kids all got their Christmas Jammies early and got to get all bundled up for the cold. (Always a fun novelty for us.) Though we did not have snow (just missed it) it was still a fun adventure to ride to the "North Pole" with all the Polar Express trimmings - hot cocoa, cookies, finely appointed servers in the train cars, and Santa handing out a jingle bell to every child. One of the highlights was on the way back to the train depot, the servers led the train car in "The 12 Days of Christmas". My dad, the dramatic tenor that he is, was chosen at random to have the "5 Golden Rings" as a solo. He did a fantastic job and the whole train really got in on it. The servers said he was the best "5 Golden Rings" they had ever heard.

Photoshoot last week

Can I just say how thrilled I am with these pictures? My neighbor Yvonne took over 300 pictures last thursday for us. Here are about 15 or so of them - we got some great ones of Caroline - she has had a difficult time smiling for pictures until we figured out that she needed to show us her Tinkerbell smile! There are some beautiful neighborhoods near us...we just borrowed them! my little girls are growing up...

(If you don't want the whole music thing covering the pictures, click the "X" and it will shrink it. The music was just such a nice fit so I added it!)

Deceptively Delicious

I will be the first to admit I was swayed by, first, the celebrity linked to this cookbook, having seen her on Oprah and the Today show, and second, by the charming marketing and presentation of the book itself. So, after watching Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah I immediately ordered from Amazon.com 3 copies of this book for myself and two sisters. And so it sat, looking darling on my counter. I finally cracked it open this week. See, my kids actually LIKE to eat veggies. They ask for Broccoli and force feed vegetables down their daddy's mouth! So, I have never felt a need to hide or sneak healthy stuff - it is just a part of what we eat normally, along with the occasional corn dogs and Lucky Charms. (We ARE human, after all - I am not an organic croc-wearing only shops at 'Whole Foods" type. ) Tonight we decided to try the chicken nuggets. My kids had seen the Oprah episode with me and were anxious to taste what I made. Long story short, they liked it and cleaned their plate. But, I could have made my standard Italian Parmesan chicken in nugget form with a side of broccoli and they would have eaten that too. Next time I do this though, I will bake them. I bake my other chicken recipe and it comes out just fine. I am not a big pan fryer and I found they browned too quickly and the breading fell off not to mention they were kind of soggy. BUT they tasted good.

The gist of the recipe is this: the bite size chicken is coated in 1 c. pureed vegetables with 1 beaten egg. (Cauliflower, broccoli, beets, etc - it gives several choices.) I used 1 c pureed blend of broccoli and cauliflower I had from a frozen blend in the freezer. The crumb mixture is 1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs (I always make my own and keep them in the freezer) 1/2 c. flax seed meal, grated Parmesan and various seasonings.

So, they tasted good but looked terrible, not like the picture in the book! But the kids didn't even ask to dip it in ranch - the vegetable puree was flavorful without tasting like it was a vegetable puree. It really was good!

I will try more recipes and report back. My kids are anxious for me to try the brownies with spinach. There are several muffins I want to try.

The past couple of days...

I'm a Star!!!

Lindsay was selected as Star Student this past week which meant working on an "All About Me" poster, writing her autobiography, and bringing a couple of show and tell items. Caroline and I came to school to see her presentation to the class. I love spending time in her class - it is great to be a fly on the wall and see how the children work, learn, and behave! Anyway, the kids of the class got a chance to ask her 5 questions like "what is your favorite letter?" (L) And "What is your favorite number?" (8). She brought her favorite thing in the world, her Felicity American Girl Doll she got for Christmas last year.

All I Want for Christmas is my TWO Front Teeth!

Next for fun? After dinner, Lindsay and Caroline were playing school at their white board and somehow "sweet innocent" Caroline smacked a marker into Lindsay's mouth finally taking her loose tooth to the next level. Well, with a little blood and help from Mommy, Lindsay pulled out her 2nd tooth! She lost her first tooth right before we went to Disneyland (Because "there are lots of fairies at Disneyland Mommy") and waited until we got there to put it under her pillow where she was lucky enough to get TINKERBELL as her tooth fairy and got a keepsake Tinkerbell bracelet! (The tooth is traded for aA pearl charm to be added to the bracelet.)

So, she put her bracelet and tooth under her pillow (to make sure the tooth fairy here knew she had the bracelet that gets a new pearl in trade for the tooth). In the morning, Lindsay's things were exactly as she left them and she came out of her room half asleep trying to figure out if the tooth fairy had come or not. Well, with a little help and extra hard looking with Mommy and Daddy, we were able to see that the Tooth Fairy had "accidentally" left the new pearl for her bracelet under Caroline's pillow! She must have been confused by the bunkbeds, we told her. Lindsay thought this was so funny and Mommy and Daddy said "Phew!"

Our Lovely Gingerbread House!

Thanks to a $8.99 kit from Costco, we got to build a lovely gingerbread house together as a family on Friday night. It was actually a lot of fun - everyone got in on it and considering we ended up having to rob spots of candy off the gingerbread house to fill in other spots (because some kiddos I know were snacking along the way) it turned out pretty dang good. We only lost one candy cane due to being broken in half. We really need to get a tripod for our camera. WE spent so long (OK, I spent a long time while the rest of the crew laughed at me) trying to set up the bar stool with various books or DVD cases stacked up to create the perfect height for a self-timed photo. It finally worked.

Cousins, Cookies, and Candy!

Molly and Andy were working at a charity event on saturday and staying the night and next day at a resort for a little couple R&R so we had the cousins, Hayden and Brynley. After a day spent playing outside while Steve and I put the exterior lights up (half are not working...scratching my head...) we let the kids ice and decorate some cookies. We SHOULD have had lots left over from the gingerbread house kit because it came with 4 gingerbread man cookies) but instead had to dip into our almost forgotten about Halloween candy stash to get enough to make a respectable stab at it. They had fun...then we threw them in the bathtub.

My front Door...I hope it says Merry Christmas!

And after 3 bows in 36 hours, I think I am finally happy with my wreath. I got this wreath from my sister for my birthday a few years back - from Restoration Hardware - it is artificial eucalyptus and bay leaves with berry sprigs. It has had the same bow for the last couple years. I put it up with the old one; it looked tired. I made a new one; it looked too bushy and fluffy for my taste. I realized i just needed a nice classy wide red bow - it has a corduroy texture so it is a pretty ribbon and was actually just a bulk spool from Michael's. Merry Christmas!

How sweet is she....

I couldn't resist this one. I know every one has the "sweetest" child in the world, but Caroline is truly my sweetie that is a devil in disguise. She has such a doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality - she changes on a dime from a growling, snarly, ornery, little critter to the most darling and kissable and loving child I know. She tells me several times a day, "Mommy, I love you so much!" When she is THIS little darling, that is when I hug her and say "Oh, this is the girl I love!" She actually struggles with some areas of speech a little bit (r's, w's, l's, and "ch") so when she says "much" it is more like "Mutz". She will probably need speech therapy one of these days but for now it is endearing! Lately, she has taken to referring to herself in the 3rd person - for instance, "Mommy, can Caroline have a snack?" "Mommy, Caroline wants to play outside and ride bikes." She is definitely an odd duck. (Any fans of Seinfeld? It reminds us of the memorable character Jimmy; he was in one episode only. ("Jimmy is sweet on you. Jimmy would like to ask Elaine out.") She is my Tom Boy with short hair but she carries a purse. Her favorite colors are blue AND pink. Her preschool bag is usually loaded with about a month's worth of immediately ripped from her head hair clips. Her favorite clothes are cut-off long denim shorts and a green striped t-shirt with a bug on the front. She repeatedly digs them out of the dirty laundry to wear over and over but she always wants lip gloss on. She never wants to wear the same PJ top and bottom that match - always mixes. She kisses my belly to kiss the baby and prays for the baby to come out of mommy's tummy any time she says a prayer.

I snapped this picture last night when she fell asleep next to the tree for Christmas story time. How sweet is she?

December 1st, the countdown begins!

Today I think is the official start of the Holiday Season around here. Caroline started the day by putting her first cotton ball on Santa's beard - an advent calendar of sorts she got from her preschool. She kept asking when she gets to put on another one...tomorrow morning, I reassured her. Lindsay was inspired by an old ornament my mom had made and wanted to "needle" one herself. So I let her go thru my fabrics and pick one to use on her very first sewing project. You would think with a mom that sews as much as I do she would have done this sooner! (I won't post the finished product as I think it is a surprise...)

We went to our church Family Christmas Party - we had a lovely dinner and there were several activity stations for the kiddos to do hosted by the Young Women of the ward. Crafts, icing cookies, that sort of thing. The kids had fun just being kids and playing with friends, we were able to sit and visit with adults while the Young Women supervised the kids in activities. It was a fun night that started early and ended early...

So we then went to our new "Mall" - if you can even call it that! It is an outdoor shopping center with all the shops you would expect in a closed mall (Children's Place, Eddie Bauer, Chico's, Ann Taylor, Dillards, etc.) but on streets with parking spaces and actually walking outside! Anyway, it is lovely. We were hoping to catch Santa's hours (he had already gone to bed) so we we just went to the kiddo area, where we could hit the Disney Store, Gymboree, Pumpkin Patch, Build-a-Bear, Children's Place, etc. We got even more great ideas to add to their Christmas lists (like they need more stuff) and we were even able to sneak a few purchases while the kids browsed. The girls hopped into a storefront window display and did their best mannequin impression! They wanted to play outside at the play area and it was cold! 57 degrees is cold to us...and it was windy. But, in true Caroline fashion, she unloaded her jacket, socks, and shoes. Steve sat and watched; I was a little chilly so I went shopping instead and scored on something from Lindsay's wish list I never thought I would find! (Navy Blue lace edged leggings that she can wear to school with her uniform under skirts and dresses - I can never find navy blue - I was beginning to wonder if such a thing existed...black, blue, brown, grey, pink, never navy. Pumpkin Patch had them, if anyone needs to know!!)

We came home and ended with our next December tradition - we have two "advent" countdown to Christmas Traditions. First, I have a binder that is a collection of scriptures, holiday songs and hymns, and inspirational stories to be read and pondered every night. I think I collected the best of what I saw come thru the doors when I worked at Kinko's and have since shared it with several people. Anyway, I was also able to add illustrations with holiday cards we have received - I saved nativity themed cards and added them to each date. I have also tried to turn it into a little holiday family scrapbook, I have our Christmas Letters, a copy of our family Christmas Card, and letters from Santa thanking the girls for treats! Our second tradition I borrowed from a friend. We have collected 24 Christmas themed story books and they are all wrapped and under the tree. The girls take turns selecting a book to open and read. Some are traditional, nativity inspired stories, others are more secular, fun and seasonal. It is a great little tradition and I will always be grateful to my friend Kim who shared the idea.

Our tree is up and looks lovely. We finished it this week. The hardest part is fluffing the artificial tree as it comes out of the box. 1 hour and several microscopic scratches on my arms later, and a few prayers said hoping the pre-lit tree actually lights up for the 4th year in a row, it is not a bad looking fake tree. I am sure some day I will have a more formal home with a themed tree to match our decor, but for now, our tree is a collection of memories. I have ornaments that I made as a child, given as gifts from friends, purchased on vacations, and several from my mom's collection. Honestly, I love setting up the tree and knowing there is a story to tell with nearly every ornament placed on the tree. The painted pine cone I made in preschool, the Lucy ornaments given to me after I was Lucy from Peanuts in a play in High School, a sphere made entirely of origami by Yuko, the Japanese Exchange student we had in our home in 1985, a set of angels given to me by my sister in law the first Christmas Steve and I were married in 1997, the mouse sleeping in a hammock suspended between two branches that was my favorite ornament from my mother's mouse ornament collection. I think this is my favorite part of Christmas, the family memories. Christ is the center of our home and family and memories created as a family are the most treasured.

Merry Christmas and let the countdown begin!!!