Full plate

Kate thinks I helped her out today, but I actually welcomed the distraction for the kids. Today my friend Kate got to move into her built-with-their-own-hands house. I got Sam and Zoe. It's perfect, Sam and Brady are both 6, and Zoe and Natalie are both 3. It's easy. It lets me pick up some schtuff and do some laundry in between snacks.
I have hosted for the past couple of years "New Years at Noon" for the MOMS Club. So that means that my house that is knee deep in crapola from being held hostage by the snow for 2 weeks needs to be picked up (I had to sacrifice the kids rooms, and mine) and make snacks (no food in the house), and come up with a craft (I got a couple in mind).
So after the Rankin kids left, we went to Costco (I bought a whole pizza for my kids so I don't have to cook for them for the next couple of days. Nice parenting, huh?) got supplies for a craft as well as the basics (milk, gogurt, cheerios, raspberries & blueberries...). Oh, and I got my tires rotated. I also had to pick up some oats to make my boss, Spencer, Oatmeal Raisin cookies for tomorrow. He's a New Years Eve birthday baby. I always thought that it would suck to have that birthday. Everyone has plans. And you can't get reservations anywhere. So anyway, those are his favorite cookies so I'm making some and freezing some cookie dough too (since he's a bachelor) so he can make a few at a time. And they have to be done tonight since I have to drag my kids to work at 8am for an office meeting. Let's hope my children take a nap tomorrow. Cuz mommy's gonna need one herself!

Height Predictions

I measure the kids every Christmas to log in these little keepsake ornaments. Last year Brady was 45 inches tall, this year he's 48 (an even 4 feet. He's only got 11 more to go to catch you mom!).
Natalie was 37 1/2 inches tall last year, this year she is 42 1/4, just over 3 1/2 feet. By the way, 42" is the minimum height I would suggest taking your children to Disneyland.
I went to a webmd site and predicted their adult heights. I'm including this in the blog for future comparison.
Brady should reach 6'2".
Natalie should reach 5'7".
The shrimpy gene has been eradicated! Now, if only the chubby gene...

The Dentist And the Damage Done.

This morning the kids had their check-ups at the dentist. Dr. Swanson is a very kind man with a gentle staff as well. Brady did great, nervously sitting in the exam chair and dutifully allowing the counting, scraping, x-rays, and fluoride. He got to wear sunglasses and headphones while watching The Bee Movie. He did great with little to report.

Natalie? Oh, you mean you didn't hear her screaming from your house? Oh. She had 3 of us holding her while Dr. Swanson counted her teeth and at one point broke free from our grip (we were all a little surprised of the strength of a 3 year old.) She gnashed her teeth and hissed, bit the mirror, scratched at my chest and bucked wildly in the air. She screamed in a blood-curdling scream (if you haven't experienced a girly fit, you have no idea what I mean) and tried all kinds of tactics to get us to stop: "I need to tell my mom something!" "I need to go outside!" "I don't want to be here!" and our favorite, that brought tears to my eyes "I don't like you Dentist!" Once the torture was finished, she snatched the cup of water from the tech with daggers in her eyes. She gulped the water and crumpled the cup and sulked.

Seriously?! (hi Sara!)

I make it a point to talk to the children about the dentist frequently and always tell them several days or a week in advance that they have an appointment. I explain exactly what they can expect to happen, and that they earn a prize at the end of their checkup. I think I do a pretty good job as a parent in this department about educating and taking the unknown out of going to see the dentist. Apparently Natalie thinks I'm full of shit.

While I was helping to restrain my daughter I began to doubt what we were doing exactly. She is pitching the fit of her life and what kind of permanent fears are we instilling in her? But then, she is being totally ridiculous in her behavior as the dentist is simply touching her teeth. So I can hardly condone her behavior since the consequence isn't painful, just invasive. And just like we (well most of us) immunize our children for their health, we will continue to see the dentist every 6 months and we will continue to hold her down while she squeals like a stuck pig.

Natalie last night after the movie (Bedtime Stories).

Gag a maggot

That was a favorite saying of my dad's. What Larry and I had to deal with today made me say "gag a maggot". I had started cleaning our downstairs bathroom and doing loads of laundry (after having the dogs living inside for 2 weeks, it was a little stinky and hairy). Larry hollered at me to bring towels.
That led to an hour long plumbing fiasco, pulling apart our entire sink and dishwasher and, well it was gross. And not how I wanted to spend a Sunday morning. But it also led me to think about some phrases that I heard often growing up:
-Gag a Maggot
-Tough titty said the kitty when the milk went dry
-It's colder than a well-diggers toe.
-You wanna knuckle sandwich?
-I'll give you something to cry about.
I'm sure there are many others, but their either too "colorful" (like what my dad always said when he hit his head, which he did often earning himself the nickname 'Billy Bumphead') or I've blocked them from my childhood memories.
Another random thought is something that my Grandma Alice and I did all the time, and I secretly have done it my entire life, and am now teaching my children to do it. Every time I pass through either a broken fence (posts without chains for example) or pass by something that separates whomever I'm with (a lamppost perhaps) I have to say "Bread and Butter" to nix out the jinx. Just like bread and butter go together, I have to say it to "put together" whatever was separated. Does that make sense? I don't really believe in the jinx, but it's a fond memory I have of my Grandma Alice.
How 'bout you, any funny family sayings/quirks?

Waking up in a panic.

Don't you hate that feeling that something is wrong and wakes you up and there is no way you are going back to sleep with it unresolved? That was me early this morning.
The kids and I were pretty punchy with each other yesterday, we've been in the house for almost 2 weeks solid, with only a quick errand as a break from the confines of our house.

Daisy has been subjected to all sorts of torture in the name of entertainment this week. She has been seen riding in a baby stroller, wearing a super hero cape, being hauled around inside of a towel, and many other humiliating scenarios.
I awoke early this morning realizing that I hadn't seen Daisy since yesterday afternoon. I immediately thought that she ran outside and was frozen to the sidewalk, but thought that she wouldn't have made a noise when Larry got home from work last night. I opened the garage but she didn't come running in like she normally does. I snuck downstairs and opened each of the kids closets thinking that they may have locked her in there. Nope. She wasn't anywhere. I even looked around for crates or boxes that my children may have locked her into (thank goodness she wasn't, I hated thinking that my kids could do that). I opened the garage door once again, and this time she darted inside! Phew! She just hid out to catch some reprieve from her captives.
Today we're having a big melt, our cul-de-sac looks like hell, but dammit we're getting out of here! We tried yesterday, but with all the ice on our driveway, we couldn't even back the van out. We all cried a little when we were unsuccessful in out departure. Today we shall be successful! Flash (Erin's cat) will be snuggled (he/she is a new cat therefore exempt from torture) today! The kids will get some sort of physical activity that doesn't include snow-play! They will probably eat something greasy and deep-fried! Today is our day! We're on our way! (Suess, anyone?)

Walkin' round in women's underwear...

A great thing about Christmas is that I get to whip out all of my Christmas music. A perennial favorite it Bob River's Twisted Christmas. Nothing like I AM SANTA CLAUS sung to Black Sabbath's I AM IRON MAN. But my favorite of these is the one where I can't even sing the original lyrics anymore to the regular song, and my mother-in-law sent me a beautiful snow globe that also plays this particular song. Sing my blog title to the tune of "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland". Hey wait, here's the lyrics:
Lacy things, the wife is missin'
Didn't ask, her permission
I'm wearin' her clothes
Her silk pantyhose
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear

In the store, there's a teddy
Little straps, like spaghetti
It holds me so tight
Like handcuffs at night
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear

In the office there's a guy named Melvin,
He pretends that I am Murphy Brown
He'll say, "Are you ready?" I'll say, "Whoa Man!"
"Let's wait until our wives are out of town!"

Later on, if you wanna
We can dress, like Madonna
Put on some eyeshade
And join the parade
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear

Lacy things- missin'
Didn't ask- permission
Wearin' her clothes
Silk pantyhose
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear

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Bustin' a move

Larry and I are both pooped, but our night isn't over yet! Stuffing and wrapping and charging and nibbling (cookies and carrots) still to do.
I had the foresight to make some reindeer poop (chocolate covered raisins) to leave as "evidence" outside. My kids love poop.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! xoxo, H

Santa Tracker

We did this last year with the kids and they love it. Larry loves it too since it's a military site.
Norad Santa
I think you can also track him on google earth.

BrownChickenBrownCow!

Ahh, that's been in my head all day... if you want to know why, you'll have to call me. Trust me, it's worth it. Even Larry and his boyfriends have been calling each other to say it.



Last night Brady commented that his ear wouldn't pop. I told him to yawn, kissed him and said goodnight. About 30 minutes later, I've got a miserable, painfully moaning/whining/crying 6 year old in my bed. Larry loads him up with a dose of Tylenol and I cuddled him while he moaned in pain. It was kind of amusing though he was crying and crying, and after about 20 minutes he was unconscious. It's like the timer on the Tylenol went off, his pain subsided, and he could drift off to sleep.
He said it felt a little better this morning, but that he still couldn't pop it. I made the quick decision to take him in to the doctor rather than wait and see. I've spent too many holidays at the E.R. or urgent care. We ended up getting a doctor who is doing her residency here, which I really didn't care. I don't think you need a medical degree to see if his ear drum is red, but you do need a medical degree to prescribe him some Amoxicillin (which he loves). Sure enough, she said that it was very infected and even let Larry compare the two ears. She still has some work to do to hone in her bedside manner (forbidding Natalie to have a piece of gum because she is 3 years 10 months, not 4) but I really didn't care today. And Natalie got a Belle sticker, so she was happy enough.
Ma picked up me and the kids over at the high school so that we could get Brady's prescription and get him started on it today, rather than having to wait until Larry got home this evening (you know, at 11:00pm). She also ran me around town getting a couple more errands done before dropping us back off. The problem with our plan was that both kids fell asleep on the way home and I had 3 bags of groceries, and 2 sleeping children that I had to encourage to hike across a 3 lane road and through 12 inches of snow through a trail... it was a noisy walk ("I'm cold!" "I'm tired" "I want you to carry me!" "Knock it off or I'm throwing your toys away!" "Stop your whining or you're going to straight to your room!" you know, lively family conversation).
I'm home, had a nice visit with my brother on the phone. I called him because he texted me this:

Can you spot the 44th President of the United States?

I enjoyed this on a couple of different levels, and I thought it was a nice visual history of who has run our country (old white men).
My baking has to stop at some point, I'm almost out of sugar. Tonight I made fudge and those Starbucks Cranberry bliss bars, and I'm making cinnamon rolls tomorrow for Christmas morning. My name is Heather, and I'm a bakeaholic.

Kyoto Steak House

Vickie wearing her White Elephant gift.
Our onion volcano.
Spencer and his new lady, Janet. Larry didn't want to take a picture with me for some reason. He said I embarrass him. Isn't your natural instinct when you see a camera and chop sticks is to make walrus tusks? Maybe it's just me...
That's where we had my office Christmas party tonight (it's the Bellingham version of Benihana). Spencer and Larry took care of an entire bottle (and some) of Sake (gag) and got the other husbands in on it too. Everyone had a hoot opening their white elephant gifts (my co-workers know how to do it... bad!) There was a pooping and grunting pig, a giant pumpkin decoration, a Seahawks key chain that shouts things, a brain squishy ball, and I brought a sponge shaped like a microphone so you can sing in the shower. It was a very fun evening, lots of laughter and good conversation. I ate my whole dinner with my chop sticks I brought everyone their "affirmation tin" and everyone truly seemed to appreciate the gesture. Here is what my co-workers had to say about me:
-Heather, You are fun, I enjoy your sense of humor and that you are down to earth.
-Heather, You have been a great friend and there for me when I needed you. Thank you.
-Heather, I am here to thank you fro all of your help and willingness to teach me when I have a question, and always with a pleasant response and your wonderful sense of humor.
-Heather, you are such a gifted and creative person. I am thankful for all of your help.
-Heather, you have been one of the most stabilizing factors in the office.

On the way home from dinner (Thank you Erin for watching the kids, we really appreciate it!) Larry buzzed over to the high school parking lot and did some donuts (men and their 4-wheel drive) and then he and B decided that they couldn't leave the hill un-sledded (it's been well used, just not by us). We ran home to get snow gear and sleds (well, Natalie and I grabbed a Christmas CD and a blanket, we were NOT participating in sledding at 9:30pm). The boys made several runs at varying degrees of steepness and had a great time pelting the truck with snowballs. Natalie and I snuggled and sang along to Miss Piggy et al on the John Denver and the Muppets.
Not long after we arrived I noticed a couple of very large snow "drawings". Someone had walked around and drew a huge smiley face with "Merry Xmas" under it. It had to be 20 feet around. Then I noticed something to the right of the smiley face. It was about the width of a football field (width, not length). I smiled. I asked Larry if he saw it. "What, the big figure 8?" I said "No, those are two circles, keep looking." And he did, then he got that "Aww, man!" look and smiled. Someone had walked out a giant penis and balls, circumcised I might add. Nice.

Never in all my days on this earth have I seen such a thing!

Me and my girl. Photo by Brady.

Brady told Santa something, but I didn't catch what he wished for.
Part of Santa's entourage.

I thought an old lady quote would work nicely with what we (and many others) experienced today.
I HAD to get out of the house and get some food and hopefully some last minute items for Christmas. The newscaster said if you were going to go out, go today. So we did. The van maintained very well and we made it just fine to Fred Meyer. Then we waited 15 minutes to get into the parking lot. We stalked a couple to their car and got their parking spot and trudged in. I dragged a shopping cart through the snow (so much fun) and I'm glad I did because there wasn't a cart to be seen in the vestibule. I had to deposit a check at the bank, so I put my grocery sacks in my basket and made Brady stand guard over our cart (2 reasons to be thankful. 1. the bank has glass windows so I could watch Brady and 2. my son is old enough to be farmed out for these sort of responsibilities.)

We were at Freddies for 2 1/2 hours. And I just got some basics. The kids were frazzled and starving, so I let mommy guilt kick in and braved it over to the golden arches to redeem myself (I picked up a People mag for myself to read while they played). The problem was it took us 45 minutes to drive the 1.5 miles to McDonalds, and Natalie fell asleep (or was it all the exhaust fumes???) so I told B that once we got there it would have to be a drive-thru deal since I was not interested on staying out past dark and I still had my hill to battle. He was cool with that and we made it home without incident, but the kids have been unruly since.

Thank goodness we're going to Jen's tomorrow, Brady needs to work some boy energy off like you wouldn't believe. Feed us or not, Jen, we're coming over! I hope you make it home from the great white north safely, eh!

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OOO-UM-GOW-UH

I've had this little boy Kyle in the back of my mind for the past couple of years. He was a former student at St.Pauls (I believe) and so there was lots of information about him posted throughout the halls.
Yesterday he and his family were the cover story for The Bellingham Herald. Kyle used to receive lots of mail when he was first diagnosed with his inoperable brain tumor. Mail has tapered off and Kyle lamented on all of the mail he used to receive that made him smile.
So I am sending Kyle a Christmas card today, along with some movie tickets, and I am asking you to send him a spare Christmas card and some well-wishes. Kyle's mom Christin has also been writing a blog, the Christmas brunch video brought me to tears.
You can read his blog here: Kyle Roger
and send a card here:
Nicolas & Kyle Roger
837 S Hills Dr
Bellingham WA 98229

Ripped her a new hole

You've heard that term, right? When someone chews you out you say "they ripped me a new hole".

The kids are really trying to play well together, as they're getting a lot of one-on-one time together these past few days (and threats of a even bigger storm on the horizon!) Just before bedtime tonight, they were playing "puppy", a popular game with them. They take one of our dog leashes and lead the other around (don't worry, they've been taught not to put the leash around their necks... Erin).

Natalie came upstairs quite upset about her butt hurting. I have a feeling that this may be a source of the pain(I took another picture, but it made her fanny look large):

And this picture uploaded along with the underwear shot:

10 Inches

We had 10 inches of snow today, and the kids were outside (actually Natalie moved into each neighbors house for an extended visit. Every time their kid would go inside to warm up, so would Natalie. She just worked her way around the cul-de-sac.) Being housebound, I cleaned our office that was quickly becoming a dumping ground. If I didn't clean it, I was afraid it would be lost forever.
The kids helped me make my mice (they were supposed to be for Natalie's pageant today, but school was cancelled) and I made some more Christmas candies for neighbors and service people.
I watched The Wedding Planner today with J-Lo and Matthew McConahey(sp?). Lousy. But it's one of those lousy movies that you end up watching on days like today.
I also made a mama and baby yarn octopus, my first yarn creation. The children were arguing over who the octopi belonged to, so I guess that means they like it. Or they were bored and ran out of things to argue about...
The little mice that will never be... I'm so bummed I don't get to watch Natalie's pageant this year :( I'm sure these mice will find someone to love though (your brunch, Jen?)

We are very popular with the little winter birdies (our cat Violet was engrossed in their behavior and tried to launch an attack when one bird bumped into our window and knocked himself silly. Violet knocked herself silly trying to catch him through the sliding glass door!) I finished the "gratitude" tins for my office's dinner party on Monday. It's like valentines for grownups, each person has to write a nice sentiment to each co-worker and drop it in our tins. I thought after recent happenings, we could use a little team building. And it always feels good to have your ego stroked a little bit. And it's nice to sit down and think of one specific thing that you appreciate about people you spend 40 hours (ok 12 for me) a week with.

**Oh my god, is my blog title a VanHalen, about My Big 10-inch? Who sings that? Oh geez...

The White Schtuff

Brady and Riley wiped out early in the run.
Katie is unphased by Larry's excitement.
Norman is looking for a place to bail out.



The igloo.

I went to work this morning without any problems. Coming home? My van has been abandoned at Haggen once again.

I stayed at work a little too long, and then had to stop and get some blood work done and by the time I was ready to make the climb, people were turning around on the hill and heading back down. Larry had to come rescue me in his little red truck. He almost abandoned the big hill until we saw our neighbor drive by in her suburban, and he couldn't be out driven by a Chevy (or a girl) ;)

The sledding was great, I chucked snowballs at the neighbor boys much to their great delight (they were using their sleds as shields trying to dodge me). Natalie bagged out and headed inside to watch cartoons while everyone else played. Even the dogs did some sledding. And Larry built a really cool (but very tiny inside) igloo. It's almost 5 feet tall, and Brady can sit inside it quite nicely. It was all they boys could do to not destroy it, you'd think something so cool would be immune from a boys desire for destruction.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

lots of mileage today

So after all my fears (which were a little bit just trying to get out of my neighborhood, but then was kind of annoyed at how clear the rest of the city is compared to us) I got out and about with the kids in tow just fine.

First we headed over to Jen's home to have a cookie exchange which was very fun, but short-lived as Natalie had school at 11:00. We scored several different kinds of goodies and dashed Natalie across town to school. Then we headed over to see Carly and Huggins (with the intent to go to Target together, but then I remembered I didn't have enough time or money) so we just gave them a plate of goodies, and came back home just in time for Brady to go to school and for me to get a call from work insisting that I come in. NOW.

There was a big change that happened at work today, and as sad as I am for Spencer to have had to make this decision, I told him that we all supported this change and that we all understand how hard it was for him. He was so upset about it, but sometimes mixing friendships with business can be painful. But, the rest of the staff (minus the one change) are excited to begin 2009 with a fresh start and a positive, productive work environment!

Here are a couple pictures from our "hike" yesterday at Whatcom Falls Park. We went there to feed the ducks, but left the bread on the counter... hate that.

I'm taking the turd out.

I have a cookie exchange this morning and Natalie has school, so it's time for me to drive the minivan down our hill. My neighborhood is still a sheet of ice. I might chicken out and steal Larry's truck.
Yesterday I made 80 Buckeye Balls, a bazillion pretzel candies, 2 failed attempts at Almond Roca, and 2 batches of candied walnuts (since Larry ate an entire batch himself. Mom, I need more walnuts!)
Erin joined me for Bunco last night (her birthday celebration). I bought her way in, and then she walked home with an extra $30 for most wins of the night! The other "sub" player walked home with the big prize, most Bunco's $60. Ladies, we've got to make sure we attend, these fresh playaz are killing us!
Wish me luck out there today!

Close but no cigar.

Last night Larry ran down to Haggen to return a movie and I sent him my baking grocery list.
He came home last night with most everything I needed. It's hard to relay what I needed when I can see what I need in my head to a man that hardly ever steps foot into a grocery store (would you want to after working 20 years in one?)
I asked for slivered almonds. I want them to make mouse ears. He brought home slivered almonds, but they were slivered the wrong way.
I asked for MnM's for a cookie project. I noted that I wanted holiday ones. I failed to note that they needed to be plain (I assumed that he would know to get those since I'm baking with them). He brought home peanut. Because he likes peanut MnM's.
So close. I really appreciate the effort, but I'm still dead in the water for 2 projects until I can exchange these two ingredients!

OH. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN! I'll be seeing you tonight for Bunco!

Sledding on a Sunday

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One Year Old

The kids and I met Tracy downtown for dinner and theatre tonight. She planned on coming over afterwards to jump in the hot tub, but decided against it because it was snowing down south. Poo-poo, I thought.

We ate at LaFiamma (good pizza, but disappointed once again in the service) and cruised over to watch The Velveteen Rabbit (our Christmas gift from Tracy). It was a very sweet play, the kids enjoyed it and Natalie ran into a couple of her friends, Regan and Isabella, and Brady found his classmate T.J. there as well.

When we entered the theatre there wasn't any snow, and when we left there was 2 inches on the ground! I panicked a little bit, because my van is a turd in the snow, and no it's not just my driving. We dropped Tracy back off at her car and after 45 minutes I was at the Barkley Haggen and my windshield wipers had frozen so my range of vision was quickly diminishing. Larry had just gotten off of work, so he met us there and I abandoned the Odyssey and we piled in the truck. There were 12 cars disabled on Barkley hill alone, besides the dozen or so I passed getting as far as I did. But I decided to concede to the snow at Haggen, my van has NEVER made it up our neighborhood hill in the snow in the 41/2 years we've lived here.

Home safe and sound, the animals are all snuggled in, and the weather channel is on. I guess this means I don't get to go scrapbooking tomorrow :(

It's that time of year again.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/sWolTTnIupJ9Rlu3db5z
I posted one of these last year on my blog... speaking of which, my blog turns 1 year old tomorrow. I don't know if I have it in me to do anything special for it, but I do have to say I'm proud of myself for committing to doing it for an entire year! Now if only I could commit to a diet the same way...

A little Christmas spirit

One of our labs that we use at work sent us a note saying that he would like to pay for a frame and lenses (with all the bells and whistles) for one person from each office that he serves. The owner of the lab (our smallest, kind of a mom and pop lab) is named Charlie, and so I have dubbed him "Charlie Claus".

None of us in the office knew anybody with a genuine need for glasses, and the best I could come up with was somebody in our community who gives herself to children with special needs, has adopted 3 children that have special needs, and battled cancer this past year. But my thought was more that it would be a nice gesture, not that she needed this gift.

Then today a new patient came in. She was kind of disheveled, but friendly. I brought her back and performed my portion of her exam. She revealed to me that she lost her glasses 2 1/2 years ago, she loves to read, it's painful to read, and oh yeah, she's been on Methadone for 4 months. I told her "good for you" for getting on this drug (you know, to get off drugs) but left it at that. I could see she was trying to do better, but life has kind of kicked her around. I don't know why people start taking Meth, but have nothing but pride for those who can successfully quit.

It turns out that she has quite a vision correction, more than most, and certainly people that have her rx do not go without contacts or glasses, and she'd been living like this for years.
She is on DSHS, and if you haven't read about the glasses program, click on the link. Inmates make medicaid glasses (which I think is a great use of both programs), but glasses are back logged 6-8 weeks. So she wouldn't have glasses until February. Our Optician offered her a deal for $50, but the patient lamented that with Christmas, bills, and 2 birthdays, she simply would have to live without.

That's when we all shared "the look". Charlie Claus is making this lady a pair of transition lenses (the ones that go light to dark) in a brand name, quality frame. And she'll have them by early next week.

She broke down in tears twice. She asked "You mean I'll actually get to watch my children open their gifts this Christmas? I haven't seen that in years."

It's funny how we had this gift that we didn't know who do give to, and boom, there she was.
I'm so happy to have been part of her day today. And to give her that gift and hope in mankind and reward for trying to be a better person.

Links to recipes

Peppermint-Vanilla Butter cookies (super simple)... I ended up drizzling them with white chocolate because I had some left over but I think I would have liked to press some turbinado sugar on top to make it a little more sparkly and festive.
http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2007/12/peppermint-and-vanilla-butter-cookies.html
I've never made biscotti before and wasn't a big fan (who wants to eat a brick?) but this was so simple and so delicious! I've got butter on the counter softening so I can make more... Larry wasn't satisfied with the nubs and crumbs he got. Neither was I.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/holiday-biscotti-recipe3/index.html

It's cookie season!

Peppermint Vanilla Butter Cookies Holiday Biscotti (cranberry and pistachio)
Larry hard at work on our A-frame (he went to the store to buy powdered sugar to add "snow" for the kids. aww)
Natalie made a gingerbread house today at school too. She and Brady annihilated it moments after this photo was taken.

I volunteered my master baking skillz up to Josh's school for their fundraiser. Last weekend I sat with Tracy and a very sullen "I'm sick" Josh "ohmigod, you're embarrassing me mom!" at the Holiday Craft fair at the old Fountain Drug store. They were selling almond roca, sugar cookies, brownies, snickerdoodles, and a couple other things. They were all so yummy, they kept selling out! So I said I'd help the cause, because I can't donate my time. I wasn't going to post a picture of what I made because I planned on making more to give away. But I thought if you saw the pictures of my creations, I might get kissed up to a little bit more and give my ego a workout ;)
And last night I bought a Trader Joe's gingerbread house, it is super cute and only $7.99. Larry and the kids made it and I snapped a few photos before popping 2 hydrocodone (?) and 3 Tylenol p.m.'s. It didn't work as quickly as I had hoped, but was working well when my alarm went off this morning and I kept working the alarm into a dream so I could turn it off. I woke up 13 minutes before I was supposed to be across town. Nice one, it's not like I only work 12 hours a week, you'd think I could get there on time!

Mt. Baker

Yesterday we headed up to Mt. Baker with the promise of snow, and it didn't disappoint. Natalie once again showed us that she is a "lay by the poolside" kind of girl, not a "lets go for a hike in the snow" one.
I would have posted these pictures last night, but as I sat down to blog, 25% of the screen disappeared. Yup, an ocular migraine. I really hate these because it's like a warning of what's going to happen to you in 15 minutes. It's like waiting for your execution. Ugh.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It keeps going downhill...

Brady had a school project to finish this weekend (a gingerbread man) so I cut out a cheesy one for Natalie to work on as well. I gave them all sorts of scraps, pens, glitter, and glue and set them loose while I fiddled around the house. Brady is "still working" on his, but Natalie's is done:

While our mind is in the gutter...

Brady voted for the WWU tree.
Natalie voted for this little number.
Number 5, my ass.
Surfin the weiner.


Erin and I took the kids downtown Friday night to see Santa, check out the Festival of Trees, and then we dined at Taco Lobo (that was a huge mistake, and not because of children's behavior).
On the way home, we walked past "Industrial Respite", a sculpture downtown. The kids call it The Big Red Weenie. There were all kinds of 6 year old boy jokes thrown around, and Erin had me pose in a very dirty way (my purse were my "balls" and I'll let you take it from there). The kids had a great time, but dinner kind of frazzled Erin and my nerves. Not only was it jam packed with diners, my food took a good 20-30 minutes to arrive, and Erin's never did! The kids actually maintained quite well for being hungry and confined in a small restaurant. We headed home and blended up some daiquiri's and let the children eat their fill of popcorn while they watched Wall-E.

Be careful turning this on!

I went down to the Holiday Craft fair to keep Tracy company for a little bit, and we had to stare at this thing all afternoon.
I wonder if the artist sees what everyone else does? It's quite graphic in person. Only $125!

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I'm tired. I ran to Freddies at quarter to ten tonight to buy a couple of items before the sales ended. Now I have to wrap them before retiring, so my children don't sneak a peek.
Pictures are on the computer, but I have no interest in posting them now!
Just now we listened to carols, played trains and tea party, decorated our tree, and did 4 loads of laundry today.

Brady's passion

When I got home from work today, this is what I found on my computer. At first I thought it was an angel, but then I saw the whip and realized that the halo was actually a fedora.

Run, run, as fast as you can...

Warning: All of my photos tonight stink. And the red eye thing on photoshop was making the kids look like they had cataracts, so forgive me.
We picked up C from school today (it was a surprise for each of the kids). The boys ran outside and dug and threw sticks until it was dark, then came inside to battle on Mario Kart. They tortured the girls (Natalie and Riley) with guns and swords and threats of tying them up or cutting parts of them off. The girls screamed and tattled and then told the boys they were doo-doo heads.
Miss Erin brought pizza, and together with some fresh raspberries and a head of iceberg, we called it dinner. I bought a tube of gingerbread dough the other day, since Brady has been doing a lot of gingerbread themed art and stories at school this week, I thought it would be a fun way to cap off the week. Each kid cut out their own boy (and girl), and I let them go to town decorating with red hots, chocolate chips, and a can 'o frosting I found. I was actually a bit surprised to see Brady snarf down his cookie, I thought he'd turn his nose up at the "exotic" flavor of cookie, you know, besides chocolate chip or Oreo.
Erin was getting ready to take her monster home when they all three started playing a game that they came up with, and we didn't have the heart to halt their fun. Don't tell Larry what the kids were doing to the floors... but as I told Erin, this sort of activity was exactly why I wanted to buy the hand scraped flooring. So it would already look like hell before we ever stepped foot on it.
I'm pooped, but had to stay up and watch Grey's... what is up with the Izzy/Denny/Alex plot? W-E-I-R-D.

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P.Ser. My 2nd favorite snow globe, my Starbucks one, was a casualty of boy tonight. There were sticks and pillows involved, and regardless of how high I stashed my snow globes, it was no matter to 6 year olds. And the last picture is of the wonderful story my MIL created for my kids. She documented a bike trip she and Cameron made and I absolutely adore it. It is a perfect story for the kids. Maybe I'll read it to you someday too. :)

Funny or Die

My heart broke a little when Prop 8 passed in California. I just had a discussion about it today at work (with nothing but silence from my conservative christian co-worker). I'm calling Bullshit on those who voted for this. Boo! I could rant and rave until I am blue in the face, and dare you to disagree with me afterwards without looking like a fool. What on earth changes my marriage when someone else (gay or straight) gets married too? And who are we (straight people) to say we need to "protect marriage"? Last time I checked, the divorce rate was around 50%. Sounds like we're a good judge on who should get married. I also watched a video of a proposition to ban divorce. Apparently they took all of the verbiage from Yes on 8 and switched it from saying homosexual to divorce. I'll step off my soapbox and go to bed now. Enjoy the video (I {heart} Neil Patrick Harris by the way).

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Doin the Skagit

Tonight my mom watched the kids (and brought them a pizza! love you Grandma!) and I headed down to the Skagit casino with my co-worker Sharon (who talks like a trucker. I love her) to attend a lecture about vision and new lenses, etc. Her and I were probably the least knowledgeable two there, and our jobs really don't have a whole lot to do with the lecture, but in a small office it's helpful to have a general sense of what is new and important in each department. Her husband Larry drove us down and hung out at the slots the entire time. I walked out with a free t-shirt, and he walked out with $200!
I would have loved to stay and piss away a few bucks, but didn't want to abuse my mother. She works for the post office, and you can only imagine how that place looks during the month of December. My only gripe of the night is that we were inside the casino for less than 10 minutes, and my hair reeks like a cigarette. Ick.

The tugging of the apron strings

So my nagging feeling about all this nonsense today was the reality of raising your children to be citizens of the world. These small things that happen so close to home make us all see what we choose to ignore.
I grew up in such a small community, where we never locked our doors (car, home, or otherwise), we knew everyone in school and our parents knew all of their families. Now I live in a city. A small city. A city I love. And now. Now I worry. I know it was "nothing" today. But my head has been pulled out of the sand.
That these dumbass kids thought "what's the big deal?" when they left hundreds of people worrying because even though it was just a bb gun, and yes boys like to shoot each other with bb guns (my brother has taken more than one bb to the butt), but that the horrific things that have happened around our country makes that notion of a threat a real fear. That's why I can't take it as a joke. Or brush is off as 3 boys playing with a bb gun. Why did they stash it in the bushes? Why did they ever think it would be a good idea to bring it anywhere near their school? Fine boys, if you want to shoot at each other, go to a paintball field, or shoot bb's at each other in your own back yard. I mean heck, my son's window got shot out by an airsoft gun, but that was because 2 boys were playing in their back yard. Their mom knew. That's how boys are supposed to play. So a window got shot out. That's how boys play and learn hard lessons (by paying for my broken window).

Brady and the big, bad world

I will post more after the kids go to bed, but have to get some off my chest now.
We live across the street from a high school. A nice high school. And by across the street, I mean I can see it from my deck, and the main trail that students take to get to school is 15 feet from my driveway.
Today the high school and the elementary school (you know, the one I send my son to everyday) were put in "lock down" because some asshole punks decided to skip school (before "their homie went in for 3 years") and pulled a rifle shaped bb gun out of the bushes and stood in the street pointing it at each other (this bus stop even closer to my house than the school).
When we heard that the schools were in lockdown, we had no idea if it was a hoax, a genuine threat, or active violence. All I knew is that I was supposed to deliver my son there that afternoon, and that my dear friends son was in the elementary school at that moment, and my children's babysitter was texting her mom while laying on the floor of her classroom terrified and unknowing.
My head is starting to throb more. I'll post more later, my head is just spinning with emotion from today.

December 1st

Larry spent the morning hanging lights (with Brady supervising each bulb's placement and constant questioning "Do we have more lights than Riley? Do we have more lights than Aiden? We have more than Makenna, but I like how theirs are inside their windows. Can we drive through the mobile park yet?")

I pulled out all of my snow globes, assembled the kids' Playmobil advent calendars, taught them out to make advent chains, applied my new vinyl (bought from Treasury of Memories, plug, plug) and put up a few more thises and thats. We have yet, however to assemble and decorate our tree. We planned on doing that tonight, but it just never materialized.

I'm off to find a hot shower and a cozy bed... Tuesday's are busy around here.

Oh! I also got my Christmas cards out! That is, all of those who also don't require school pictures since we havent' gotten Brady's back yet.

Galbraith Mountain

My pal Maggie called this afternoon and invited us on a hike (Larry was on a 5 hour bike ride, which is all I'm going to say about that). Then 5 minutes later my mom called and said she wanted to go for a walk, did I have any suggestions? Why yes, let's join the Allen family and the Walker's on a hike!
Brady decided to be a first class pain in the rump, so I converged with Larry after his ride and dumped B and ran. He would have had a wonderful time, especially with his buddy Lucas, but I was in no mood to listen to him anymore, and didn't want to "reward" his attitude.
We hiked for almost 2 hours and there were two memorable quotes of the day. Lucas: "I think that boys and rocks match perfectly" and Natalie, on the way down the mountain whining quite a bit about being muddy and tired: "I'm getting a bit grumpy".
We had a wonderful time, the weather was pleasant (meaning it didn't rain, and I was comfortable in just a sweatshirt).
When we pulled into our driveway, Brady came running out of the house and gave me a big hug "did you have fun, mom?" "And I can go next time? With a good attitude?" (thank you Larry for whatever lecture you gave him!)

Kate and Maggie's boys inspecting a cold little snake.
One of the two very slow moving snakes.
The race is on! Trevor, Lucas, Maggie, Drake, and Natalie.
Yes, Tinkerbell is a wood nymph.
Party's over. I think Natalie is one of those girls who would rather lay by the poolside rather than get muddy running on trails.