Merry Christmas!

While our Christmas/New Year festivities are far from over (we are celebrating next Tuesday with Greg's whole family when his sister and her husband make it into town), we have had enough fun to warrant a blog.  We spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Greg's parents.  We enjoyed fondue on Christmas Eve and a traditional Christmas dinner at our house on Christmas Day.  Our kids will think we are Jewish because we have turned this holiday season into about 12 days of celebration.  They have opened presents seemingly everyday and will continue to do so through next week.  Santa came to our house and Aubrey was thrilled because not only did he get her exactly what she wanted but he also ate up the cookies we left and the reindeer gnawed away at the carrots.  Nathan was most impressed with the match box cars he got and we all had fun zooming them across the floor.  Christmas and kids is a magical combination.  

On their way back home from Montana, my whole family spent the night here last night.  More celebrating!  We each opened another gift, had another big meal, and stayed up too late talking.  I also decided that in the gift department I was deeply regretting the MagnaDoodle we got for Nathan.  You know, one of those screens you write on using a magnetic pen?  Who would have thought that both children would love it with an unending passion and that I would spend hours of every day mediating whose turn it was to use it, how much sharing should be required, and how on earth to hide the dang thing so I could get some peace .  I am seriously contemplating buying a second one, just to preserve my sanity.

On a side note, yep, still pregnant.  Measuring HUGE.  Big enough that the doc once again brought up another ultrasound and the possibility of induction.  I am NOT IN FAVOR of an induction but need to stop measuring so stinking enormous if I want to avoid that conversation.  I will be 39 weeks at my next appointment and I think more decisions will be made then.  In the meantime I am large, crabby, and done done done done done.  I have never measured this big with any of my pregnancies and we are all predicting a large baby.  Let's all say a little prayer for a 2007 baby!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and the time spent with family.  Happy New Years!

Some Winter photos

Next week will be busy (you know, Christmas!) so I thought I'd get a few recent pictures up to tide you over if I'm missing for a bit. Most don't need any explanation but Nathan sleeping with his ball...Let's just say that our boy is quite literally OBSESSED with balls and basketball and has taken to sleeping with a ball. Most kids want their blankie or stuffed animal. Not our son. We find him sleeping peacefully, curled around a ball. That Y chromosome sure is different than the XX combination I'm more familiar with.

Merry Christmas to all!

A very good day

Some days just go well.  That was yesterday.  After church Greg announced that he was feeling all warm and cozy and family oriented and that we needed to make an afternoon of it.  So, we headed to the mall for some holiday sight seeing.  The kids got to walk (a big deal for Nathan when he always has to be in a stroller with mommy) and we took in the sights. We looked at Santa, gave Frosty the snowman a high five, pointed at beautiful bells and sparkly lights, took a ride on an ice cream truck (you know, for 50 cents the truck barely moves back and forth), played in the kids play area, rode up and down the escalator, looked up up up at a very tall Christmas tree, and were asked if Santa would remember the sparkly pink rubber ducky that Aubrey so badly wants (he did).  

Next it was home for some family cooking.  We made up a batch of homemade chicken and dumpling soup.  Greg and I had made rice pudding earlier and let the kids dye one batch red and the other green.  We at warm soup and bread, ate our beautifully colored pudding, and then got ready for Christmas lights.  We bundled the kids up in their jammies and blankies, gave them a Christmas cookie, and set out around the neighborhood.  We drove around until all the fun got the better of the kids and they were zonked in the back seat.  The night ended with Greg and I packing sleeping kids into the house and putting them to bed, then curling up for some Travel Channel, followed by reading with hot chocolate, foot rubs, and snuggling off to sleep.  And I wonder why Mondays always feel so hard!

On a side note, things in the pregnancy department are progressing.  I'm almost 37 weeks and am dilated to 1 cm.  I'm still measuring big which allows me to whine and complain to my fullest capacity.  The baby looks good, I'm not putting on an obscene amount of weight over the holidays, and my doctor things I will safely make it through Christmas and New Years without giving birth.  My ultimate plan is to have the baby around January 3.  You know, after Christmas festivities but a week before my due date.  Now if only it were that simple...

Tag, I'm it

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B.  Each person answers the questions about themselves

C.  Tag five other people, as listed at the bottom of this message.  Send them a personal message to let them know they have been tagged.  (I winged this summary.)

5 things I was doing 10 years ago (in 1997)

1.  I was a senior in high school, deliberating over three different colleges.  I went to my last choice but met my husband so that's okay I think!

2.  Was preparing for my disastrous role in a one act play.  Humiliating!

3.  Working at an orthopedic clinic (Jen, were you there at the same time?)

4.  Still straightening my hair nearly every day.

5.  Thinking my AP Bio final was so hard.  Oh, if only I knew what organic chem had in store for me!

5 things on my to-do list today

1.  Get caught up on a mountain of laundry.

2.  Go to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)

3.  Get my Christmas packages shipped

4.  Try try try to remember to water the tree so that it doesn't self combust.

5.  I-chat with my parents so they can tell the kids good-night

5 snacks I enjoy

1.  I have really enjoyed Top Romen lately.

2.  Cold cereal before bedtime is awesome.  My favorite is Wheat Checks.

3.  Any Christmas goodie lying around my house.

4.  Popcorn (in an air popper like my mommy makes it)

5.  We have been eating Satsuma Mandarine Oranges by the pounds lately.

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire

1.  Let my parents and Greg's parents retire

2.  Let Greg retire!

3 . Buy a loaded Denali (I can't even spell it!) for my ever growing family.

4.  Buy our dream house: kitchen with two ovens and a massive island, at least 5 bedrooms, huge backyard that is self-mowing, great big play room, office, craft room....

5. Donate money to either St. Jude or Shriners.  Why not both?

3 of my bad habits

1.  An unwillingness to learn new things.  I want to be good at things NOW so if something doesn't come naturally to me (i.e. the guitar, golf,) than I just quit. My least favorite quality about myself for sure.

2.  Taking the best people in my life for granted. 

3.  Spending too much time focusing on what is coming rather than enjoying the moment.

5 places I have lived

1.  Dillon, MT

2. Great Falls, MT

3.  Lakeside, MT

4.  Yakima, WA

5.  Liberty Lake, WA

5 jobs I have had

1. Professional ice cream scooper at Baskin Robbins

2. Dining room server at Ponderosa Retirement Center

3.  Nurse tech at Holy Family Hospital on the peds floor

4.  Labor and delivery nurse

5.  School nurse

5 things people don't know about me

1.  Greg and I have a secret that no one else in the world knows.  It is our code if either one of us is ever kidnapped and we have to be sure that our spouse is alive.  :-)

2.  I think making true friends now that I'm out of school is hard.

3.  I hope to never go back to work as a nurse.  I'd way rather write or get paid to read good books.

4.  Greg started watching "Battlestar Gallactic" and I actually kind of like it.

5.  I kind of want to keep having babies until I get another girl, just so Aubrey can have a sister.  

I'm sorry, I have no one to tag.  All my blogging buddies have already participated in this!  Thanks though Brittany, it's always fun to talk about yourself!

We had our annual cookie making day this weekend.  We consumed approximately 1 million pounds of sugar per person.  Greg and David participated by being our master mixologists.  I got to look longingly at others' eggnog delights, spruced up with rum, while I delighted in my sparkling cranberry juice.  I am still suffering the repercussions of all this food.  Hannah made KILLER candy cane fudge, which gives me horrible heartburn on contact.  It also happens to be delicious and what we have leftover and I cannot stop eating it.  As I write my esophagus is burning but I've already contemplating how big of a piece to break off this time.  Where is my will power??

I'm putting a few pictures in but will include more later.  KayLynn and I were actually there, although I don't have any photographic evidence of it. KayLynn got some good pictures of all of us that I will pass along in the future.

What's going on with us

Christmas is great. It seems like everyday we do something related to the season. Buy a Christmas tree, turn over another day on the advent calendar, wrap a present, get Christmas cards, make cookies, play with the kids new Fisher Price Nativity Scene, etc. Of course, the other thing on my mind is that I'm due to have a baby in five weeks and that I'm large and uncomfortable. As you can see from the pictures, this whole pregnancy situation is on Aubrey's mind as well.

On a different note, I have to brag about our fun day yesterday. The kids and I had a nice day and when Greg got home we loaded everyone up to go to his basketball practice. There is a side gym the kids can play in and we can still see Greg. Well, Greg had gotten his location and time mixed up so the gym we showed up at was completely empty. The Jones family then spent the next hour running fast, throwing balls high, getting lots of drinks from the awesome water fountain, skipping, and having fun. After we got home and put the kids to bed Greg and I snuggled on the couch with hot chocolate, watching "Seasons Eatings" on the food network, and having a jolly time. Greg looked at me and said, "Isn't it great how much we love each other?" In case you can't tell, I am completely in love with my family.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Pictures

These pictures belong with the post below, although I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to add them to that post.

Are you a guitar hero?

From the start of our trip to Yakima, Greg was set on getting his hands on the video game "Guitar Hero".  This was to be quite a feat being as my parents sure don't have that game, let alone a Play Station.  However, with the dedication of a karate master, Greg kept calling places, pleading with people, and eventually convinced a friend of Hannah's to loan us his entire system for the weekend, Play Station, guitar, and game.  It was an unbelievable hit with everyone, especially my dad.  On Friday night Greg and Dad stayed up until 1:30 a.m. playing bad 80's butt rock until Greg called it quits.  Dad said he was going to play one more song.  Mom found him the next morning asleep on the couch in the family room, fully clothed except for the shirt he was using for a pillow.  Come to find out the man stayed up and played by himself until 4:45 a.m., at which point he collapsed from exhaustion.  He got almost 3 hours of sleep that "night" and spent the next day decorating the house with Christmas lights in a sleep deprived frenzy.  He told Hannah he was going to tell her friend that we had lost the Play Station.  

I also put up a few pictures of the kids helping make Thanksgiving dinner.  I love watching memories being made.  We had a truly fabulous week.  Anyone else find this Monday hard to swallow???

p.s. On second thought, the pictures will have to wait.  The blog won't download them for some reason so I will try again in a bit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy turkey day!  We have had a day of complete gluttony and it's been glorious.  Our multi course meal was a carb fest.  We washed it down with sparkling cider and a good wine and topped everything off with three different kinds of pie.  Seriously, it does seem sinful to have a holiday that really is based around food but man it's good!  The whole fam was here other than KayLynn and her husband David.  She is spending her first holiday away from home and was very sad.  I encouraged her that it would get easier but I could sympathize.  My first Christmas away from home I called, spoke cheerfully, hung up and cried.  We included Matt this year though so that was fun.  Who ever thought I'd have Thanksgiving dinner with Matt Sackmann????

I hope you all had a great day with people who love you and you love too.  It's so nice to have an excuse to just be with my family.  And tomorrow I'll be up at 5:00 a.m., ready to join the masses for insane shopping.  I do love Thanksgiving.

TGIF

Wow.  This has been a long week.  LONG.  REALLY LONG.  Greg has been in the midst of a deadline that should be, God willing, coming to a close tonight.  I say tonight because the poor man is hoping to be home by 9 p.m., after leaving the house at 5:30 this morning.  I did some calculations and have decided it's been a nearly 70 hour week for him.  No surprise that when he works crazy hours, I feel like I'm working them too.  We are all so anxious to have this week behind us.  The kids miss their daddy, I miss my husband, my husband misses us, and we all miss our regular lives.  Plus, at my doctor's appointment today my blood pressure was up, I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, and I'm feeling generally worn out.  We all need some rest!  Greg has all of next week off but we aren't leaving for Yakima until Monday.  Tomorrow and Sunday will be days of rest.  Rest.  I'm not sure we remember what that is. Here's to hoping that some mama and papa lovin', turkey, football, and time with family remind us. 

In the midst of this craziness, I have been trying to focus on the fact that we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and the things we can be thankful for. Things that come to mind are a job that lets me be at home with our babies, kids who crack me up everyday, a husband who, after 13 hours of work, walks in and changes a dirty diaper, a man who is the best snuggling partner EVER, a thermostat that I can set as high as I want and not worry that we can't pay the heating bill,  and the security that comes with knowing that I really wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world.  After all this self reflection I asked Aubrey what she was thankful for.  "My blue blankies", she said.  (This, by the way, is what she's always thankful for.)  "What else?"  "Um, Nathan's green blankies?"  To this Nathan ran and got his blankets and I got to hold both my babies on my greatly reduced lap with their respective color of blankies.  And I thought about how I really do have room on my lap for three kids.  Another thing to be thankful for.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's good to be married to your best friend

I know I have said that Greg and I can't play games together without regressing to 5 year old bullies, but we have found cribbage to be the exception. We are hooked on this game right now and having a blast. Like all games, Greg is ahead in total games won, but the game tonight was one to remember. After I lead the whole stinking game Greg got SIXTEEN POINTS in his kitty (I know this only makes sense to other cribbage players) and was back in the races. I only needed three points to win and on my next turn got, you guessed it, a total of two. The lowest score of the game. This put me one point from going out and Greg two. Yet, because the game gods were shining down upon me, I pointed out on the next hand's opening play. It was a spirited yet very sportsman like showing on both our parts. We commented afterwards how great it is that we still enjoy each others company and spending time together. I do love my husband.

A weekend with the Jones family

We spent this last weekend in Federal Way, soaking up some time with Greg's sister Julie and her husband Jason. Greg's parents made the trek over as well so it was a family affair. To be honest, the weekend mostly paid homage to the gods of good food and sloth so that must have meant we had fun. In no particular order we watched movies, played cards, ate copious amounts of steak, spaghetti, and chocolate, played with the kids, went to the park, and napped. As an added bonus Jenny and Dane came over for a short visit Saturday afternoon. That was great, except for what was said afterwards. I might have remarked that Jenny didn't look anymore pregnant than I did and Greg said, "No, she really didn't." Then everyone had to be amazed that she was due a month before me. If she wasn't my best friend I'd really have to hate her.

The only downfall was that Greg had to work most of Saturday. He took it like a champ though and we were just grateful he had made the trip. Up until Friday morning he didn't know if he would be able to come so we satisfied ourselves with seeing him during breaks and living it up during the evenings. I don't think Thanksgiving break can come fast enough for any of us.

Have a good week!

A case of the Mondays

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We had a fantastic weekend and I woke up this morning bummed that it was Monday, my weekend was over, my house was a mess, and my back hurt from sleeping in one lousy position all night. I was grumpy and impatient and bratty. For no good reason! I sulked about all morning, pouty and cranky, sure that my laundry was breeding downstairs and that I'd never see my kitchen sink again. About that time Aubrey began talking about Halloween and all she had seen. She then exclaimed, "Do you remember the pelican I saw at Daddy's post office?" After some questioning I determined that she was saying, "Do you remember the SKELETON I saw at Daddy's OFFICE." It was so funny that I felt instantly better. Taking a nap this afternoon also helped. Greg telling me that he was bringing home my favorite gumbo and an ice cream cake for my birthday tomorrow helped most of all.

p.s. I just sent out a massive blog invite to all of my family. Sorry it has taken me this long, I have been too lazy to enter in all the email addresses.

A great day

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We had a wonderful time. Greg's office puts on a Halloween party for the kids, complete with terrifying decorations (it took us 10 minutes to convince Aubrey to leave Greg's office), fantastic costumes, trick or treating, and a sugar laden buffet. As you can see from the pictures, we had a cowgirl and a cowboy. Greg got into the spirit and threw together his own version of a cowboy costume. I took inventory of my closet and decided I would wear anything that didn't make me look like a blimp, which did not include any cute cowgirl clothes. Afterward we stopped and visited Aunt KayLynn and Uncle David, as well as Greg's dad at his store. The kids were a hit and REALLY learned how the whole "trick or treat" thing works. We spent this evening answering our own doorbell and reassuring Aubrey that we were not giving away her candy. Holidays get more and more fun each year as the kids get older. Now onto Thanksgiving!

p.s. I had to include a picture of our friends Roth and Mandy. They went as Jim and Pam from "The Office."

A Haircut or a Homicide??

After deciding that Nathan's hair was ridiculously long, I decided to cut it. Twenty minutes later his hair had gone from ridiculously long to just ridiculous. I did a terrible job and it could only be salvaged by a professional. So, this morning we marched into "Great Clips" for Nathan's first real haircut. To say that he didn't behave nicely is putting it mildly. He was insane. He nearly needed a tranquilizer (as did I) to make it through. The tears and snot and drool flowed, even though he was being bribed with a sucker and a movie. Aubrey watched in horrified fascination. I don't think she'd ever seen another human being lose it quite the way Nathan did. The end result though is a very grown up little haircut that is stinking cute. I think I'll take him in for his next cut on his 16th birthday. And Greg can do it.

Baerlocher Baby

Our great friends Angela and Justin welcomed their third baby into the world today. Their little girl, Grace Christine, was born at about 2:45 this afternoon, weighing in at 8 lbs. 14.5 oz. and 20 inches long. Angela said that she has a little bit of dark hair and chubby cheeks. She is joining big brothers Adam and Tyler. It has been a long wait, as anyone who has ever been pregnant knows, and they are thrilled that their daughter is here. Congratulations Baerlocher family!

It was a good day to be a Coug

I know this email be offensive to all you U of W alumni, but YEAH COUGARS! We went to the WSU/UCLA game yesterday and watched them walk all over UCLA. The sun was shining, it was a gorgeous fall day, the whole fam got to enjoy a great football game, and we won! We also got to see some friends of Greg's that we hadn't seen for a long time. We hadn't seen Matt in over three years (a high school friend and groomsman in our wedding) and enjoyed the chance to catch up. Greg's parents watched the kids for the day too which was, I must confess, fabulous. Two kids three and under at a swamped college campus followed by a four hour sit to watch a game??? Insanity is what that would have been. As it was we sat, enjoyed good food, great conversation, and a perfect football day.

I am attaching a few pictures. I would appreciate it if you would disregard my double chin. It seems to have a life of its own these days.

Too painful to watch

While I am not typically a baseball fan, Greg has sucked me into watching the playoffs, and now the World Series, this year. Who couldn't resist cheering for the Colorado Rockies when they swept the Diamondbacks? I took this good cheer and fervor into last night's opening game, thinking of my Rockies as the Little Engine that Could. The Red Socks are a hard team to root against but putting in a yell for the underdog can't be beat. Except that last night there wasn't ONE DARN thing to cheer for the Rockies about. We had TIVO'd the game and during the 5th inning, as the Rockies pitcher WALKED IN RUN AFTER RUN, I would cling to Greg's arm and screech, "Fast forward it, fast forward it!" It was agonizing. Greg can't watch parts of "The Office", he finds them too embarrassing, and that's how I felt about last nights game. Just make the pain stop! I was confident that any moment the phone would ring and it would be the Rockies bullpen asking if I could make a quick flight in to pitch. I don't think I could have been any worse.

I guess I'll watch again tonight but only if I have TIVO'd it so that I can race right through any truly miserable parts. I don't have a good feeling for Colorado. They were not a pretty sight last night.

Happy Halloween!

We kicked off our Halloween festivities this evening with pumpkin carving and the painting of my ever growing belly. The kids thought painting my stomach was a blast and found pumpkin carving to be a bore. Greg and I would try to coax them back over to the pumpkins ("Aubrey honey, look, it's a happy pumpkin! Nathan, look, do you want to touch the seeds?") and they'd give us a moment's worth of faked interest and go back to chasing our cat Tika. They liked the finished products though and were even more impressed when we lit the candles and turned the lights off. Greg got a great shot of our glowing pumpkin faces. Enjoy!

Preschool in a box

This post is for all of you with kids who are reading my blog. At our last MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting a wonderful woman by the name of Lisa gave us a demonstration on "preschool in a box". She is the mother of six kids and used to be preschool teacher. She has put together all these boxes of activities for her children and they are amazing. What is great about them is that they are nothing special! Feeling inspired today, I went on a dollar store run and came up with about seven of my own boxes. They include things like one filled with craft sticks, puff balls, and glue to create things with, a tupperware full of rice with measuring spoons and funnels to play in it with, buttons and string and pipe cleaner to make things with, zillions of erasers and cups to sort and arrange by color, a container of sea shells and a counting book to practice numbers, a magnetic fishing pole with fish so that the kids can fish for different numbers and colors....the list goes on. I think I spent about $20 on everything and each box is something different and special. The kids had a ball with all of it. I let Aubrey help me pick everything out too and she loved feeling included. Nathan uses the boxes in different ways but as Lisa pointed out, everything is learning! If you want to feel like a killer mom, go get some tupperware, rice, and a few colorful things, and ta da, you are mommy of the year!

Greenbluff and hearts

We went on our annual adventure to Greenbluff this Saturday. My parents, KayLynn and David, Hannah, and her friend Kari all were in town for it as well. We picked out pumpkins, Aubrey rode a pony, the kids played in a farm equivalent of a sandbox (filled with dried peas), we ate polish sausages, and enjoyed the GORGEOUS October day.
We had told Aubrey that she could pick out her pumpkin and she hung out in indecisionville forever. She would roam the pumpkins, touch them softly, push them over, and keep going. Greg and I decided we would just have to pick one out for her and took our pumpkins and paid for them. At that precise moment she picked out this small, green pumpkin, far more reminiscent of a zucchini than a pumpkin, and fell in love. It was such a pathetic looking specimen that they just gave it to her. (Obviously, it was the Halloween equivalent of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.) Nathan spent the whole time trying to pick up every single pumpkin. You know, the 40 pound variety that are taller than he is. Kids are funny.

Oh, and about hearts. Are Greg and I the only ones that love each other intensely 99% of the time and greatly dislike each other while playing games together?? We played hearts last night with KayLynn and David and it was as it always is; trash talking that turns mean, funny jabs that become personal attacks, sarcastic comments, and a general desire to poke the other person's eyes out. I hold firm that Greg is a terrible winner and a terrible loser, he thinks I'm a complainer that can't take the fact that he generally kicks my tail in all games. (Which is, unfortunately, quite true.) Our marriage only stands firm because we play games against, or with each other, oh, once a year.

p.s. Yes, the number of pictures for this post borders on the absurd.