Christmas Eve

We've had a busy Christmas Eve. We started the day having brunch with Mickey's parents and sister. After eating we got to the present opening. The kids were going nuts with anticipation. Later Mickey pulled out a family gift for us to play with, DDR for the Wii. (That's Dance Dance Revolution for anyone who doesn't know what DDR stands for.) I think everyone had a good time dancing. After they left Kade and I laid down. I'm the only one who slept.



Then we had dinner with my big family at my parents' house, Hawaiian Haystacks. (We always have something non-traditional.) And of course there were more presents to open. The kids were wild about the presents there too. They kept snooping and trying to figure out what things were. We couldn't stay too long because poor Mickey was having a bad allergic reaction to the dog.



We came home and gave the kids their traditional Christmas Eve present, pajamas. This year I threw in slippers too. We then reenacted the Christmas story with our Little People nativity set and sang a few hymns before sending them to bed.



I have a lot of pictures to go through before I put any on Flickr. But here's a cute one of the kids in their new jammies. Merry Christmas.

136 and Counting

I only have 14 miles left for my goal! I will get there. I have one more week and one day left to walk. I'm feeling good and my bum pain has subsided which I'm happy about.



What goals are you going to accomplish in 2008? Now that I've got a good routine going I'm going to change my workout a little and concentrate on more weights along with cardio. I also want to get back to scrapbooking. I'm so far behind. If I can get a few years done next year that will be great. I have to find something to motivate me though. I'm on the look out for a good class or something. Let me know if you hear about something like that. I'm sure I'll have to go to a few Friday Night Crops at Pages in Time or barricade myself in the office for several hours at a time. I'm still pondering some other goals for next year. I'll keep you posted.

Snowy Sunday

This is almost a week late but oh well. Last Saturday night and Sunday morning a winter storm blew through and left several inches of snow. It wasn't really that bad but we got a call that church was canceled. The kids were happy and I was happy that I hadn't put on my pantyhose or makeup yet. The kids really wanted to go outside and play in the snow. Mickey, being the great dad that he is, took them out. I took pictures from the step and watched from the couch as I knitted. (I never said I was a great mom.) They had so much fun. They started with building a fort. It didn't get very big since the snow wasn't really the packing kind.







Then Mickey blew up the snow tube/sled thing. He loaded all three kids on it and pulled them around. After the second turn he was already running out of steam.







The kids played outside for maybe an hour or more. They came in with red faces and cold hands. Time for hot chocolate. Somehow we kept busy the rest of the day, I can't remember right now. Here are a few more pictures from that snowy Sunday.

Mmm....Licious

Are you wondering what licious means? At first I was but now I know. I heard it the other day when Kade was licking the beaters from the mixer. I was making roll out cookies and while I was using the mixer Kade came over to me with his hands over his ears. He asked if he could have a taste. I told him when I was done he could. (This all started with his first beater of chocolate cake batter months ago.) I finished up and gave him one beater. He took a lick and said "licious". At first I didn't understand him, it wasn't very clear. It sounded like he was saying itches. That didn't make sense. He said it a few more times and I figured out what he was saying, his form of delicious. Duh. Then he said, "Mmm, that licious." Then "Mmm, it's licious." Licious has now become "the" word for anything that tastes good. He used to use good or yum. His vocabulary is coming along. Here's a few pictures of the licious boy.

Knitting Projects

I was working on a few projects for our friends, the Williams family. My plan was to mail them the gifts for Christmas. Then we got word that they were coming here for a little visit in the middle of December. Yea! and Oh no! I had to put a rush on some of the projects since I wasn't done with most of them. I quickly finished all but one of them before they got here, that would be Janel's. Hers was a little more complicated since I was kind of making it up as I went along. Not a good thing to do when you have a time limit. Our friends came over for dinner on the 14th. They gave us gifts and I felt bad that I wasn't able to give them theirs. One more day. The next day we had a ward dinner. We all went to that and afterward they came over to get their gifts. They loved them. It's always nice to give a handmade gift to someone who appreciates it. Sage was the first to open hers. Her face lit up when she saw the purple fuzziness. It was a pair of socks to (kind of) match the ones I gave to Janel in August. She was thrilled. Next was Eliza's turn. Meg helped her open her fuzzy leg warmers. She seemed to like them. She put them on, with help, and walked around showing them off. Next was Janel. She was excited because she had an idea of what it was. She really liked the purse I made for her. I lined it with purple fabric and even made pockets. Last was Mark. He got a sophisticated green scarf with a diamond pattern knit in. He loved it and mentioned that he could use a hat to go with. (It's in the works, Mark.) We enjoyed our time visiting with our friends. Sadly the trip was a short one. I've taken pictures of the projects. You can look at them here.

School Holiday Concert

I'm finally getting around to posting about the school concert. On December 11th the girls had a holiday concert for school. It was held at a local church this year instead of at the high school. Megan is in the little swing choir (they have some choreographed moved for some of their songs) called Swanson Singers. (She practiced her songs for weeks beforehand.) Mattey sang in the 1st and 2nd grade choir. They both did great, singing with lots of enthusiasm. The lighting was terrible for pictures but we took some anyway. Kade behaved very well and it was only about 45 minutes. Nice. Other family in attendance were Nana and Papa and Grandma and Grandpa.

Christmas Greetings

Since I can't make enough cards to send out (and I don't have everyone's address) here is a Christmas e-Greeting from our family to yours.







I found this card idea on Quickutz website. I can't find the exact page because I think they removed it. I used the Merry & Bright set they had out for Christmas. It was a limited quantity and have sold out. There goes my ideas. Anyway, I just didn't want everyone thinking I came up with this. I lifted it, but I changed it some.



This is what was inside the card:



We thought we’d do a Top 10 of 2007 for our news this year (in no particular order).



1. Mickey and Kelly went to Mackinac Island for a few rainy days to celebrate their 14th anniversary.

2. Spring break trip to Cincinnati. We went to the zoo, an aquarium, and swimming at the hotel.

3. In May Mattey graduated from kindergarten with a little ceremony.

4. Megan was once again involved in softball and soccer.

5. Kade really started talking when he turned 2 in March. He’s quite the ham.

6. Kelly had a much-needed week long get-away in Utah for her birthday.

7. In the fall Mickey started back to school again after a little break.

8. Megan is in a 3rd & 4th grade class and doing great.

9. Mattey has taken off with her reading even though she says she doesn’t like to read.

10. Kade is just about ready to use the potty all the time. Yippee!



We hope this season finds you in good health and full of happiness as we celebrate the Savior’s birth. Happy Christmas and Merry New Year.



Here is our fabulous picture. We don't like to do the traditional picture. Maybe next year will be even more untraditional.







Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Cards

I'm happy to report: The cards went out this morning! Mickey printed the pictures for me and I got copies of our news. I stuffed the envelopes and Mickey donated his tongue to seal them. Thanks for taking them to the post office, Sweetie.



I have gotten behind in so many things like posting things on the website (and cleaning the house). Maybe I can sit down this weekend to post a few things that have been overlooked, like the girls "Holiday" Concert. I'll have to get Mickey to do the video for this since I'm still clueless and the pictures didn't turn out that great (too dark). I'm sure there are other things that need to be posted too. Maybe the projects I'm working on and will be giving this weekend so I can show pictures. Lots still left to do. Back to work for me.

Ornery Little Stinker

Last week Kade started getting sick. Wednesday he said his chin hurt while holding his neck. Thursday he had a tummy ache and got about 3-4 Tums out of me. Thursday night he threw up. Friday he wasn't doing much better but was still running around and acting mostly normal. Then Friday night he says his ear hurts. That's the one I was waiting for. What do you do when your kid is sick on a Friday night? We gave him ibuprofen for the pain and took him to see Aunt Jan the next morning. Yes he had an ear infection. He got a script for an antibiotic and took it fine on Saturday. Sunday he refused to take it. We forced it in, half of it coming back out when he spit. Monday I didn't want to fight with him again so I kept patiently trying to get him to take it. Monday afternoon I started withholding things he wanted to do or have in an attempt to get him to take his medicine. No luck. By dinner time I was getting frustrated. I told him he needed to take it or go to the corner. He happily chose the corner. He was there while we ate dinner. I went to peek at him because he was so quiet and look what I found.



He had fallen asleep on the floor and was snoring. (Don't ask about what he's wearing.) And the cute part you can't see, and I didn't see it until I put him in his bed, his lower lip was still sticking out from pouting. He slept all night. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday because his throat didn't look right and he said the medicine hurt his throat. The doctor said it was inflamed but didn't look bad and his ear was looking pretty good already. He said we should try to get him to take one more dose of the antibiotic. Yeah right. We tried putting it in his pink milk but he knew. He wouldn't drink it. I gave up. If he has to go back in two weeks I'm asking for the shot.

Photo Shoot

Tonight we did a quick photo shoot attempting to get a picture for the Christmas card. Who started this tradition anyway? I've been reading blogs all over the place and every family has the same problem, children that don't cooperate. Here's our best picture from this shoot. (Actually we got a good one within 10 shots, I just didn't want to rub it in.) Happy Picture Taking.

White Christmas

Several weeks ago I got an e-mail from Jan asking if I would like to go see Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" with her and some other female family members for a girls day out. Mickey was supposed to be leaving the next day for Boston so I thought I might need a little break from the kids before he left. (He is now not going to Boston for a training session because stuff came up at work. There will be a next time and maybe I can go too.) Today was the show. Most of us met at Jan's and left from there to pick up Mickey's grandma. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel in Elkhart. After eating some home cooked style food we were back on the road to Nappanee to the Round Barn Theater. The theater was pretty neat. I've not been there before. There weren't a lot of seats and the inside was left to look like a barn with all the wood slats showing. Does that help with acoustics? Betty and I sat together and we had decent seats. We were on the "floor" kind of at the top of the orchestra pit which has seats in it. We had lots of leg room but there was a tall lady with bushy white hair sitting in front of us. She was kind of hard to see around but maybe better than the pole Jan had to sit behind. The actors all had good voices and I enjoyed the music and dancing. But like the movie the story was rather slow moving and dull. Maybe I just watch too many movies and television shows that move faster. It was nice to get out but it was a long day with a lot of sitting. We'll have to do this again sometime.

Mileage Update

I am now at 112 miles! I'm getting very close to my goal. I was discussing the lack of change in my body at Crop Night last night. Vicky brought it to my attention that changes could be happening that I can't see, like on the inside. For example my heart is probably beating stronger than it was. I started thinking about that and I have noticed that I'm sleeping better (mostly getting to bed earlier) except when Kade comes in to join us at 1:00 am. I also have more stamina. Getting from the third to the fourth mile used to be a lot harder. When we first got the elliptical at the beginning of the year I could barely do two miles. I guess that some things have improved. I'm still waiting for the outside changes though. Am I too vain?

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek at the Christmas cards I'm making. They will hopefully get done and mailed by next weekend, as long as everyone cooperates for the picture. For everyone that doesn't get one, sorry I can only make so many, I will put up a picture of the finished card as well as what's inside.

It's Time

Today I've been in the office working on Christmas cards. Kade was in the living room watching Dora. I was working away getting a lot done when I hear Kade calling me. I asked what he wanted and he said, "Come here." I asked why, not wanting to leave the office and the cards. He said, "Come see." I had no idea what he wanted me to look at. I could tell that he was calm so I figured he hadn't thrown up like he had last night. I walked into the living room to find him totally naked in front of the window. Then he points to the floor and said "Look that." I look where he's pointing and couldn't figure out what I was looking at. There were two dark wet spots on the carpet. I asked if it was poop and he said no. I asked if he threw up and he just looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about. Then I simplified things and asked if that had come from his mouth or his bum. He said his bum. I immediately sent him to sit on the potty in case there was any more coming. Lucky me, I got to clean up diarrhea. I couldn't get it out of the carpet. It's definitely time for new carpet and for Kade to use the potty. I didn't think to take a picture but who would want to look at it. I had to call Mickey and tell him about it while I was cleaning. I had to laugh so I wouldn't get sick. I hope I didn't gross out any one but this is the life of a mother, the yucky side anyway.

Christmas Tree Trimming...

...at elf speed. The tree was put up and the lights were put on for the Enrichment dinner on Thursday. The tree has been waiting to be decorated, at least that's what the kids thought. Putting it off as long as I could I told them we could do it today after church. I had the brilliant idea of recording all the elves at work. Thanks to Mickey's tech-geek skills we have the finished product. Enjoy.



Merry Christmas from all of us to you.



[flv]http://www.standifordfamily.com/videos/christmas-tree-trimming-2007.flv[/flv]

Dinners, Dinners, and more Dinners

This week has been full of dinners. Wednesday night a guy at Press, Ganey invited us to go out to dinner with a new employee and his wife. They are moving here from the LA area and are members of our church. We went to Hana Yori. It's a Japanese Steakhouse. They make the food right in front of you. It's pretty cool. Mickey and I had a good time. We had been to a place like this when we visited Colorado several years ago.



Thursday night I did a dinner for all the women at church. I planned and organized the entire thing with a little help. It was a kick off to Christmas. We had Chicken Parmesan, salad, rolls, and pie and a chocolate mint cookie for dessert. There was also an ornament exchange and a little musical program. It went well. I had men work in the kitchen so all the women could attend. I ended up having more help then I ever imagined. Thanks to everyone who pitched in. I was supposed to sing a song that night with a group but had lost my voice during the day. (It had been on it's way out for a couple days already.) I called someone and luckily she could fill in for me. Usually when I have a big event to do I get really tense and stressed out. This time was so different. I didn't have muscle spasms and once I got the tablecloths (they were missing for a while) I didn't care how it turned out, I knew it would fall into place. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. There was more time for chatting since the pasta got started a little late. Oh well, most people weren't on a tight schedule.



And tonight Mickey and I had another dinner. The Press, Ganey Holiday party. It was nice to get dressed up and go out with Mickey. This dinner has been better in the past. The food was so so and cold. There were fireworks out over the river, blowing in the wind. Very cool. Did I mention this was at the Century Center? There was live music which was pretty good but neither of us felt like dancing. Around 9:30 we decided to leave. The music was too loud and you had to yell to talk to someone. We had a very icy drive home. It had snowed during the day and was mainly sticking to the cement. Yikes. Here is a picture of us all dressed up.

Thanksgiving Pie

Finally, here is the pie I made for Thanksgiving. I saw it on the cover of a Martha Stewart magazine and then totally by accident I caught it being made on her show. I had to make it. It looked so good. It wasn't difficult and it was pretty. (I was a little bummed that some of it got a little too brown on top.) Here's the recipe. I didn't care for the nutmeg and the Granny Smith apples were still a little too crunchy for how I like them in a pie. I don't know if I'll make it again. I really like my mom's recipe. I need to get it, I'm still craving a good apple pie.

Goal Mileage

I am at 100 miles! Only 50 more to go in four weeks. Hopefully I'll make it. I'm sad to report that I don't see much difference in my physical appearance, although I do fit into some pants a little easier. Maybe I need to stop eating but I have already cut back. I should add more weights. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn even while being sedentary (knitting). A side note: Mickey was reading somewhere about brain stimulation and knitting is a great way to stimulate the brain. That's good to hear. I can't imagine how bad my brain would function if I didn't knit, it's already a little foggy.