Category: Family & Friends

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Activities Family & Friends Holidays Household Work

Hanging Out, & Other Odds & Ends

We have had a pretty low-keyed week around here.  Joe had the week off, and I went to work on Wednesday, and Thursday.  My boss is out of town, and it was nice to finally catch up on some projects and get organized at work for the New Year. 

We had a major snow storm hit on Wednesday night, and Thursday.  I left early for work on Thursday, and slid across two lanes of traffic on the black ice (even in 4 wheel drive), and came very close to crashing into a tree!  Fortunately, I managed to steer into the curb, and the back wheels of the Jeep stopped me, just before I hit the tree.  I came to a complete stop, and didn’t even hit anything- no trees, houses, people, or other cars.  It took a while for my heart to stop beating though.  I drove super slow the rest of the ride into work!

The boys have been playing with their Christmas toys, and have managed to stay healthy…knock on wood.  Joe and I finally decided to break down, spend the money for a new computer.  Our, er- my computer is over 10 years old!  It has run great, but it is slow, and I am sure it is just a matter of time weeks, before something finally gives out on it.

I have a remote log-in from work, which means I can log in with my home computer and work off the server at work, which is really nice.  I have been doing more and more work from home, and my computer is very slow, working with the brand new server at work.  We also store all of our pictures on Joe’s laptop, but it is running out of room, and we wanted to transfer all of the photos off his laptop on to something with way more storage.  So, we finally justified the purchase. 

We got an HP Pavilion Elite, for a very good deal thanks to some rebates.  It didn’t come with a monitor though, so today we ventured out in the bitter cold temperatures to Circuit City, where we bought our new 24 inch LCD Acer flat screen monitor. 

Then we had to organize clean the crap off our desks, that have been accumulating for a few years.  It wasn’t bad, but it did need a good cleaning.  We put on a Thomas DVD for the boys, and in 40 minutes, had everything cleaned, sifted through, and organized. I can’t believe how much nicer it all looks.  We are pretty organized anyway, but just getting rid of all those loose ends and papers that we didn’t need, really made a difference. 

Now Joe is giving the boys a bath, and hopefully once they are in bed, we will be able to set up the new computer.  I really like my old computer, but am ready to move onward and upward.  After 10 years, I guess it is time.

For the rest of the week, we are just going to hang out and take it easy.  It is supposed to still be cold, but Joe took Ryan sledding yesterday, so maybe we’ll try taking both boys tomorrow for a while.  My brother is also generously giving us his flat screen TV- he upgraded to a new HDTV-, and offered his previous one to us. Did I mention we have a TV that is 15-years old?  I guess we just don’t replace electronics unless they are broken.  Anyway, my dad and him are going to come up and “deliver” it for us tomorrow.

Joe has to go back to work on Monday, and I have an appointment with a doctor for second opinion about me possibly needing braces.  I’ll blog more about that next week.  I also have a few more projects to wrap up for work, so I’ll be doing some work too.

Finally, I am trying to get organized for 2008.  I need to get a calendar, clean out some files, and set up our bookkeeping.  We are excited about 2008- we hopefully have some changes coming our way, but I don’t want to “jinx” it just yet.  When it comes to be, of course I’ll share.

For New Year’s, we will probably go out to dinner, and then just hang out at home.  I can get used to all this relaxing.  🙂

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year’s!

Categories
Cole Family & Friends Holidays Parenting Ryan

Our Christmas

For the first time ever, we actually stayed home today-the entire day- for Christmas.  In years past, we have spent Christmas with family and relatives, but the way it worked out this year, there were no family plans for Christmas.

We got home late from having Christmas Eve at my aunt’s house “in the big city.”  We had a blast, with my siblings, my mom, my cousins, and my aunt and uncle.  The boys had a wonderful time playing with their teen-age cousins, and Ryan was thrilled we picked him up a Santa hat, earlier in the day.  He was saying, “Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas,” and saying he was one of Santa’s helpers.

We had an Italian theme for the food, and Ryan and Cole couldn’t have been any happier with the generosity of family and their selection of gifts.  Cole received a shopping cart, play food, art supplies, books, an airport playset, a blanket sleeper, and the big hit- a play pizza set.  He played with that for hours last night!  I think we have a future pizza maker on our hands.

Ryan received a musical instrument set, a mini United Airlines die-cast airport set, art supplies, a giant train book, a Bob the Builder tool / play set (complete with a hard hat), a Thomas glow-in-the dark- puzzle, Thomas pajamas, a colored illustrated copy of “Little House in the Big Woods,” (his first chapter book),  and a copy of the new Puff the Magic Dragon book.  When Ryan would open a gift, he would say, “Well, what do you think about that!”  It was so funny.   I was really overwhelmed by the gifts- it seemed like everyone knew just what to get the boys- they love all their gifts!

After us adults participated in a white elephant gift exchange- we watched my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding DVD.  It was fun to watch, but every time we started laughing at something, or talking over the DVD, Ryan would stand up and say, “Be quiet- I am trying to watch TV.” 

This was my niece’s first Christmas as well, and it was so sweet to see her reactions to everything.  Like every baby, she liked the wrapping paper and ribbons, more than the gifts. 🙂  Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve (you can click on any picture to see it larger):

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When we got home, Cole stayed asleep from the ride home, but Ryan was wired.  We put out cookies for Santa, that we had made earlier.  Ryan wanted to play with his airplane toys, and Joe read him his new train book to try to settle him down.   We finally got him to go to sleep at about 10:30.  He was SO excited Santa was finally on his way.  As I tucked him in, he had a big smile on his face.

I finished wrapping a few more presents, and then stuffed Ryan’s and Cole’s stockings.  I wanted to arrange everything so it was perfect, since this was the first time, Ryan was really excited about Santa.  I couldn’t overlook anything, because I know he would notice.  I finally got to bed around 2 am.

Fortunately, the boys slept in until 8.  I heard Ryan wake up, and Joe and I rushed out of bed.  We got Cole out of his crib, and we headed down stairs.  When Ryan saw the tree and the presents under it he said, “Santa came!”  Then he saw his new, red, shiny fire truck, with the ariel ladder, he so desperately wanted (we even had to make a last minute phone call in to Santa on Sunday for the request!).  He yelled with delight, “An ariel ladder truck!  Santa really did come!”  Then he noticed the crumbs on the cookie plate, and said, “Santa ate all the cookies, and even got the little cookie I made for the reindeers!”  It was just the most magical moment.  Obviously, I didn’t take any pictures, but I will always remember the joy and happiness from Ryan this Christmas morning.

Cole wasn’t quite ready to get up, and did not want to open any presents until he had woken up a bit.  Then he wanted to play with the fire truck.  Surprisingly, the boys just shared beautifully today, and there were very few squabbles over the toys.

Joe and I made breakfast a of scrambled eggs, and French toast.  We had a leisurely breakfast, while the boys played.  We did a few minor chores around the house, and I tried to get Cole to take a nap, but he didn’t fall asleep.  Right before lunch, the boys opened more presents from Joe’s side of the family, and again, the boys loved every gift, and we are so grateful for the nice presents they received. 

Ryan received a  glow-in-the-dark marble runner, a wooden xylophone, books, construction toys (for Cole as well), and a hand-made pillow.  Cole also received a hand-made pillow and some books.  Cole was so content playing with the gifts he had already received, he didn’t want to open anything else! We still have about five gifts from relatives that he did not want to open today.  So we will be opening these in the coming days I’m sure.

Joe made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and the boys wanted to watch Bob the Builder’s Christmas video we checked out from the library.  After that was over, it was nap time, for all of us.  We all took a nice, long, nap.  It even started snowing!

When the boys and I got up, after two and a half hours (Yay!) Joe had started the ham, and had it in the oven.  I made mac & cheese, and pears for the boys, and also made broccoli, and garlic bread for Joe and I. 

After dinner, we cleaned up, and I made a quick batch of toffee.  Then we went out for a drive to look at Christmas lights.  The boys were getting pretty tired and fussy, so we cut the drive short. 

Joe and Ryan started putting the marble runner together, and Cole watched for a few minutes, before it was his bed time.  He was very tired!  I read him a new book Santa brought him, and he went right to sleep.  Then we got Ryan in his PJ’s, and he was ready for bed too.

Staying home this year was wonderful.  It was so nice, being able to just relax and not having to worry about coordinating schedules and naps.  It was just a very easy, and lazy day.  We did miss celebrating with family though, and I don’t think we would want to stay home every year, but it was a nice change, and with two small children, it was a lot easier on them too.  Overall, it was just a great day.  I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas too.  Here are some more pictures of our Christmas. 

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Here is a series of Cole I just loved- eating his first Candy Cane (click on it, to see it much larger):

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Categories
Activities Cole Family & Friends Holidays Mothering Ryan

Mommy and Ryan Day

Today, Ryan and I spent practically the entire day together, which has been what I think has been the first time this has happened since Cole was born- 19 months ago.

My mom is in “the big city” for a visit, so we met up with her, and my sister for some last minute shopping.  My mom also didn’t do any Christmas shopping before she arrived, since she didn’t want to pack all that stuff! 

Ryan told me before we left, that he really “needed some mama time.”  We met my mom, sister, sister-in-law, and niece, at a pretty cool toy store.

Our local toy store has a train table set up, but this toy store, “downtown in the big city,” had a train table, a Lego table, a pirate ship table, and a doll house set up.  Ryan was so happy just playing.  Of course, it was crazy busy, and I didn’t venture away from where he was playing, so I didn’t get to look around too much, but did manage to find this neat, realistic toy trumpet for him, that I know he will love for his birthday.  I even managed to “sneak” back and have it beautifully gift wrapped.

My mom and I wanted to get some play food for Cole, since he will be receiving a cash register from Santa 🙂 , and a shopping cart from my brother and sister-in-law.  I had seen a play food set from Melissa & Doug at our local toy store about a month ago, and when I went in yesterday, they were completely sold out.  I even tried a few more stores in my town with no luck.

So my mom and I weren’t very optimistic we would find the set we were looking for, but we were thrilled when we saw this: the set we were looking for.  It even had 12 pieces, and the set I had seen previously, only had 10 pieces.  I know this says for ages 3 and up, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what could be a choking hazard.  Each piece is solid wood construction, and there aren’t any lids that come off, and the pieces are big.  Maybe it is something on the crate.  At any rate, I know Cole will just love playing with these.

Back to Ryan…we had so much fun together.  He kept kissing me, holding my hand, and thanking me for bringing him along.  He told me he was having a fun day.  He was so good too- he didn’t cry, or otherwise fuss when it was time to leave the toy store.  I told him we would go to Jamba Juice and get a smoothie, since that is his favorite treat. 

We stopped where we thought there was one, but it had closed.  So he had to wait, until we got to another mall, and he didn’t whine or fuss.  He fell asleep on the way to the mall, so I stayed in the car for 15 minutes or so, and let him sleep a bit.  When I woke him up, he was fine, and we went to get our smoothie.

He climbed up to a tall table, and kneeled on his knees, and just grinned from ear-to-ear.  He would sip his smoothie, and smile at me.  At one point he said, “I love you Mommy…this is the best day ever.”  That just melted my heart. 

Before we left to meet back up with our group, I realized how much I love this little boy.  He means everything to me.  As he grows, he doesn’t need me as much as he did, or even as much as Cole needs me now, but I am so happy that he can tell me when he does want to spend time with me.  It is nice to be reminded that he still does need me, but now it is in different ways, and it is so fun to enjoy him as a little person- as a little boy now, instead of a baby.

I realized how much I miss us just having time one-on-one.  We will definitely have to have another Mommy and Ryan day soon, but today was the highlight of the entire holiday season for me.  Spending quality time, with my sweet boy- it doesn’t get better than that!

Categories
Activities Cooking Family & Friends Holidays

Cookies, Cookies, & More Cookies

I attended our annual cookie exchange on Sunday.  My sister started this, what we figured out, seven years ago.  We always have the “die-hard” people that attend practically every year, (unless they are sick, or working)  and then there are some people that have come off and on over the years, and there is always someone new, that someone else invites.  It is a nice chance to catch up with people, that I don’t see very often, and meet new people too.

My brother’s ex-girlfriend, C., hosted the party at her house this year, and it was a lot of fun!  C., and my sister worked really hard to make sure there was lots of snacks, wine, and oh yeah- sugar cookies to decorate.

We didn’t have as large of a turn-out as we have had in years past, but it gave us more room to work, and it was a nice chance to talk to people longer.  I always feel the need to talk to everyone at parties, so this gave me the chance to do that.  My 8 month-old niece also showed up for the last half, and I was thrilled I got to hold and play with her.

The exchange works like this: each person is asked to bring 3-dozen cookies that are already done, and ready to exchange.  Then at the party, sugar Christmas cookies are baked, and then the group sits and eats, drinks, and talks, while we decorate the sugar cookies.  We have really gotten this part down to a science- at the very first party, we actually tried to BAKE everything at once. I think that first party was like seven hours, because we all had to wait to use the oven. We even did this the next year, until my sister had the stroke of genius to figure out to have everyone bake their cookies BEFORE the party. 🙂

When all the sugar cookies have been decorated, all the yummy snacks are eaten, and the bottles of wine are gone- the party is over.  Then we all load up our containers, and plates with the cookies.  They make great gifts to give to co-workers, neighbors, friends, and people that you want to do something nice for.  I usually leave a big tin for our milkman and give a plate to our tenant as well.  This year, C. made some beautiful favors in holiday mugs, with candy, and I think I will end up giving that to one of Ryan’s teacher’s aides at pre-school. 

I love having some home-baked goodies to give to people on hand, and there is NO way I would have time to make all the different goodies that show up. I was up to 2am one night this week, working on my cookies as it was.  I decided to do something a little extra special this year, and made gingerbread snowflake cookies, with homemade lemon icing.  I have made these before a few years ago for my family, and it required me to purchase a pastry bag for the icing. I never used one prior to this, and haven’t since.  It makes me feel very Martha Stewart-ish. 

Joe was out of town all last week for work, and I wanted to start on them sooner, but I just knew, the moment I started decorating them, one of the boys would wake up, and then I’d be in a mess.  So I waited until Friday night, when Joe was home, to make and decorate all of the snowflake cookies in one session- whew!  I ended up with 4 dozen of them, and here they are: (drum roll please!)

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The second picture are of my two favorites.  I intended to do a different design on each cookie, but after about half an hour into designing them, I was running out of ideas, and started to repeat the designs I really liked.  Still, no two were the same. 

On Saturday night, I made two batches of toffee, one with nuts, and one without. I think that is my favorite- it is so good, and so easy!

I was really happy everyone at the party liked the gingerbread cookies, and I hope whomever ends up with my snowflake cookies enjoys eating them too. 

Categories
Activities Family & Friends Health Ryan

Winter Birthday Party Ideas- UPDATE!

After all the great suggestions, and ideas, (thank you everyone who e-mailed and posted ideas), we decided to have Ryan’s party at a kids indoor amusement park “in the big city.”  It is about an hour from where we live.

We went to another kiddie amusement park (outside) not too long ago, and Ryan just loved, loved it.  He has already stopped talking about Christmas, and now just wants his birthday to come.  As he was falling asleep tonight, he said, “Mommy, I’m going to dream about my party.” 

Now the hard thing is deciding a theme- Ryan goes back and forth between wanting trains and construction, so I think we may just do both- have Thomas plates, and construction truck cups.  I guess it will all work out in the end.

The only down part to having the party so far away, is it is not a convenient location for our friends in our town.  Fortunately, the place doesn’t have a time limit, so if people do make the drive, they can stay as long as they want- they won’t just get there, have an hour, and then have to turn around and drive home.   

We have quite a few family members “in the big city,” so it should be a fun time.  Now if I can just get everything done between now and then, and hopefully, cross-your fingers that no one is sick on the big day.

Here is the original post on Winter Birthday Party Ideas if you missed it.