Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-laaaaaaaaa
we had a caroling party! it took me away from everything for a few days. i was cleaning, cooking, and creating these - our caroling books! actually, pete created, printed, bound, and poked the holes - i just added curly ribbon and a scrapbooking sticker ;).
we had a great time with family & friends:
laura, eric, and jd decided to make it an ugly sweater party. i think laura and eric just wanted an excuse to buy these amazing turtleneck/vest combos ;). i didn't snap a pic of jd, he was partying outside all night, but he looked equally as great in his $3 goodwill find!
newly engaged heidi (no pic - boo) and wilson surprised us with a tagged bottle of vino and their presence! wilson didn't respond to our punchbowl (loving more than evite these days) e-invite, but ended up having to call us for directions when he got lost in the valley! still a surprise, but not the coupe he was hoping for ;)
also engaged becca & mike we here! they were SHOCKED to learn that donner is donder, not donner. it was quite fun proving them wrong with all SEVEN of our 'night before christmas' books on the mantel.
to keep the chill away, we mulled wine (i added nutmeg, allspice), made a huge crockpot of our famous chili (you have to click even if you don't like chili), provided all the toppings - cheese, sour cream, onions, tortilla chips, and made the most amazing brownie ever created. ghirardelli brownie mix from costco, milk chocolate frosting with peppermint flavoring, and crushed candy canes - so simple, but i was a HERO at one o'clock!! i can't believe i didn't take a picture of our food! another tidbit about the night..................
WE DIDN'T GO CAROLING!!!!!
it was a scheduling thing. we wanted people to have a couple drinks first, but we didn't start the party until 5:30, which means people didn't get here until 6. a couple drinks, and everyone's hungry! you can't go caroling immediately after eating (like swimming, you need to wait), and by then the couple drinks turned into too-many-to-sound-coherent (we live around a TON of older folks, who would've really enjoyed the singing provided we didn't carry around a keg and themos of mulled wine - that's where things were heading by the time we realized we should carol). next year we're starting earlier and may even spring the caroling on unsuspecting guests - i think the singing deterred a couple people from coming ;).
jack was a super-kid all night! he ate well, chatted, and played outside. he really didn't want to go to bed, the little party animal:
apple doesn't fall far from the tree. i wish we had (maybe not really ;)) digital cameras in college because i have an excellent photo of pete just sleeping where he was (two words: house boats) that i would LOVE to insert here... if my scanner behaved, you would have a treat!
we had a great time with family & friends:
laura, eric, and jd decided to make it an ugly sweater party. i think laura and eric just wanted an excuse to buy these amazing turtleneck/vest combos ;). i didn't snap a pic of jd, he was partying outside all night, but he looked equally as great in his $3 goodwill find!
newly engaged heidi (no pic - boo) and wilson surprised us with a tagged bottle of vino and their presence! wilson didn't respond to our punchbowl (loving more than evite these days) e-invite, but ended up having to call us for directions when he got lost in the valley! still a surprise, but not the coupe he was hoping for ;)
also engaged becca & mike we here! they were SHOCKED to learn that donner is donder, not donner. it was quite fun proving them wrong with all SEVEN of our 'night before christmas' books on the mantel.to keep the chill away, we mulled wine (i added nutmeg, allspice), made a huge crockpot of our famous chili (you have to click even if you don't like chili), provided all the toppings - cheese, sour cream, onions, tortilla chips, and made the most amazing brownie ever created. ghirardelli brownie mix from costco, milk chocolate frosting with peppermint flavoring, and crushed candy canes - so simple, but i was a HERO at one o'clock!! i can't believe i didn't take a picture of our food! another tidbit about the night..................
WE DIDN'T GO CAROLING!!!!!it was a scheduling thing. we wanted people to have a couple drinks first, but we didn't start the party until 5:30, which means people didn't get here until 6. a couple drinks, and everyone's hungry! you can't go caroling immediately after eating (like swimming, you need to wait), and by then the couple drinks turned into too-many-to-sound-coherent (we live around a TON of older folks, who would've really enjoyed the singing provided we didn't carry around a keg and themos of mulled wine - that's where things were heading by the time we realized we should carol). next year we're starting earlier and may even spring the caroling on unsuspecting guests - i think the singing deterred a couple people from coming ;).
jack was a super-kid all night! he ate well, chatted, and played outside. he really didn't want to go to bed, the little party animal:
apple doesn't fall far from the tree. i wish we had (maybe not really ;)) digital cameras in college because i have an excellent photo of pete just sleeping where he was (two words: house boats) that i would LOVE to insert here... if my scanner behaved, you would have a treat!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
morning routine
i'm all for recording routines right now, please bear with me:
mornings come at all sorts of hours in our household. there are 5am 'mommy, i'm up!!' and 8am 'mommy, i'm up!!' calls from jack's room. i prefer the 8am calls, but sometimes the ones in the middle are my fave. they aren't as obscene as 5am, but also create enough tiredness for an afternoon nap. and we get a lot done in the morning. my non-mom friends are always so amazed when we talk at 8 or 9 and i have a laundry list of what we've been up to (and that ALWAYS includes laundry - seriously, any suggestions on keeping up with it?!?!? totally my least favorite - if any can be considered 'favorite' - chore).
immediately after jack's up, we'll either rest in his room (5am days), cuddle with daddy (most other days), or get up and moving (8am+) days. jack has some milk (he LOVES milk!) and we'll pack some snacks or lunch for pete. after waving, and kissing, and screaming 'byyyyyyyeeeee daaaaaddyyyyyyyy' out our little window, jack and i plan our day.
over coffee and usually an english muffin (jack's breakfast of choice lately). i drink my coffee while jack drinks his 'coffee' (his includes regular milk with a splash of cream in a coffee cup, he loves being all grown up).
writing out our list. today included a trip to costco and the mailstop.
rereading it to me - we have to make sure it's all there or we'll forget something!
i'm a total list-maker. i'm sure jack'll be the same one day!
mornings come at all sorts of hours in our household. there are 5am 'mommy, i'm up!!' and 8am 'mommy, i'm up!!' calls from jack's room. i prefer the 8am calls, but sometimes the ones in the middle are my fave. they aren't as obscene as 5am, but also create enough tiredness for an afternoon nap. and we get a lot done in the morning. my non-mom friends are always so amazed when we talk at 8 or 9 and i have a laundry list of what we've been up to (and that ALWAYS includes laundry - seriously, any suggestions on keeping up with it?!?!? totally my least favorite - if any can be considered 'favorite' - chore).
immediately after jack's up, we'll either rest in his room (5am days), cuddle with daddy (most other days), or get up and moving (8am+) days. jack has some milk (he LOVES milk!) and we'll pack some snacks or lunch for pete. after waving, and kissing, and screaming 'byyyyyyyeeeee daaaaaddyyyyyyyy' out our little window, jack and i plan our day.
over coffee and usually an english muffin (jack's breakfast of choice lately). i drink my coffee while jack drinks his 'coffee' (his includes regular milk with a splash of cream in a coffee cup, he loves being all grown up).
writing out our list. today included a trip to costco and the mailstop.
rereading it to me - we have to make sure it's all there or we'll forget something!i'm a total list-maker. i'm sure jack'll be the same one day!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
bedtime routine
this is one of those things i'm blogging about to remember! jack is growing up so fast -- though this is our current routine, i know it'll change again, so i thought i'd better get it down now. it's only a few minutes, but it's so precious to the three of us...
we have created a bad habit of watching a little star trek before heading into jack's room. i know it's dorky, but pete's a bit of a dork. and, apparently, i am too as i don't mind watching the enterprise on their research missions and often admire the make-up necessary to pull off all the 'races' from those around the universe. after a little trek action, we head into jack's room. we say goodnight to mommy's clock (1st anniversary present from pg), goodnight to the other clock (oven) and the rooster. we say good night to the decorations (always changing), the lady, and the letter G. we bid goodnight to a picture of baby jack.
after laying the little man in this:
we sing songs. 1st up is daddy with camping songs (boyscout songs of his youth). they are followed with 'goodnight, son', 'goodnight, daddy', and i love yous.
then it's my turn. i sing the following, every night, in this order, or i receive protests:
humpty-dumpty
you are my sunshine
baa-baa black sheep
itsy-bitsy spider
twinkle, twinkle little star
abc's
we-willy-winky
my songs are followed with 'sleep well, jack', 'sleep well, mommy', 'love you!' i've learned that once i hear the 'sleep well, mommy' we're good to go for the night. if i don't get that, whether now or later, he'll be up. 'don't want to take a rest' or 'feel better' or 'it's up time' and my fave 'cuddle me 5 more minutes' will come out of his mouth at least once. this 'i feel better' business cracks me up - i couldn't for the life of me remember why he said this until right. now. we usually say he'll feel better or great after a midday nap - especially when he's grumpy - he must've translated that to bedtime! cute.
our transition to the bbb was fabulous, then we hit a rocky patch of jack getting up a TON. now we're going ok, with a few nights of waking up, then a few with silence. naps are slowly going away (biggest sigh ever), but that allows for longer outings and more cuddle time (resting reading or watching a show or brief movie = downtime for me too), but also creates some drama in the evening and doesn't give me any time to be jen or clean or blog or do anything that's easier/faster/quieter/cleaner without a toddler helping.
sometimes i encourage him to take a little rest in here. he calls it his doghouse ;):
we have created a bad habit of watching a little star trek before heading into jack's room. i know it's dorky, but pete's a bit of a dork. and, apparently, i am too as i don't mind watching the enterprise on their research missions and often admire the make-up necessary to pull off all the 'races' from those around the universe. after a little trek action, we head into jack's room. we say goodnight to mommy's clock (1st anniversary present from pg), goodnight to the other clock (oven) and the rooster. we say good night to the decorations (always changing), the lady, and the letter G. we bid goodnight to a picture of baby jack.
after laying the little man in this:
we sing songs. 1st up is daddy with camping songs (boyscout songs of his youth). they are followed with 'goodnight, son', 'goodnight, daddy', and i love yous.then it's my turn. i sing the following, every night, in this order, or i receive protests:
humpty-dumpty
you are my sunshine
baa-baa black sheep
itsy-bitsy spider
twinkle, twinkle little star
abc's
we-willy-winky
my songs are followed with 'sleep well, jack', 'sleep well, mommy', 'love you!' i've learned that once i hear the 'sleep well, mommy' we're good to go for the night. if i don't get that, whether now or later, he'll be up. 'don't want to take a rest' or 'feel better' or 'it's up time' and my fave 'cuddle me 5 more minutes' will come out of his mouth at least once. this 'i feel better' business cracks me up - i couldn't for the life of me remember why he said this until right. now. we usually say he'll feel better or great after a midday nap - especially when he's grumpy - he must've translated that to bedtime! cute.
our transition to the bbb was fabulous, then we hit a rocky patch of jack getting up a TON. now we're going ok, with a few nights of waking up, then a few with silence. naps are slowly going away (biggest sigh ever), but that allows for longer outings and more cuddle time (resting reading or watching a show or brief movie = downtime for me too), but also creates some drama in the evening and doesn't give me any time to be jen or clean or blog or do anything that's easier/faster/quieter/cleaner without a toddler helping.
sometimes i encourage him to take a little rest in here. he calls it his doghouse ;):
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
happy holidays!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
gran's birthday!
gran's birthday this year was a blast! aunt laura sent out an invitation and we all gathered to have dinner, eat cupcakes, watch a private fireworks show, and trim the tree. i hope this becomes a family tradition!
grandpa set up the train around the tree - he's seriously been talking about it since halloween. jack LOVED it. he's clapping his hands here. grandpa taught him how to work the train - it was very difficult to drag him away for dinner.
aunt laura picked up a minature dumbo scene for gran's extensive disney collection - happens to be jack's favorite - he was mesmerized! unc jd also gifted a very, very neat antique mickey bobble head - again, bobble heads are jack's fav, too. wait. was it gran's birthday or jack's....
and the illegal, but always fun, fireworks show.
don't you love it?
(firework above is my favorite. below is another goodie!)
don't you love it?
(firework above is my favorite. below is another goodie!)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
thanksgiving decor
every time it's time to switch seasonal decorations, i have decorator's block. i look to my blog or past pictures, magazines, blogs, hamilton house, whereever to decide on what my plans will be for that season. soooo, if i'm going to use my own blog as a reference/inspiration, i need to update it with my seasonal decor! what we had rockin' this fall:
entry table with 'mommy's favorite pumpkins' - jack
during our visit in pennsylvania the week before halloween (post to come), i became even more obsessed with pumpkins. i love them. we took a trip to larry's produce (surprise!) for our jack-o-lantern pumpkins this year, and i picked up a few varieties in my weak attempt to caputre the pumpkin spirit of this place:
i LOVE this patch!!!!!!!! i am going to re-create with home-grown varieties next year. i've saved my favorite pumpkins to harvest seeds and may be ordering some online, too.
always a banner for our window - i usually have double-sided banners so people on the other side can enjoy them, too, but i love the phrase 'give thanks' and it was a little gift from my mom, so i went with it. it was all sorts of glittery gold on the back so even though the words weren't facing the outside, the glitter was. and who can complain about glitter?!?!
i LOVE our mantel! and since its installation in july, we've had a few decorations on it, but get ready mantel - this is just the beginning of the spirit you're about to experience in your years - the BEGINNING i tell you!
entry table with 'mommy's favorite pumpkins' - jack
i LOVE this patch!!!!!!!! i am going to re-create with home-grown varieties next year. i've saved my favorite pumpkins to harvest seeds and may be ordering some online, too. 
the very nice UPS lady told me she really looks forward to my window displays.
apparantly, i'm a regular marshall field's around here!
apparantly, i'm a regular marshall field's around here!
always a banner for our window - i usually have double-sided banners so people on the other side can enjoy them, too, but i love the phrase 'give thanks' and it was a little gift from my mom, so i went with it. it was all sorts of glittery gold on the back so even though the words weren't facing the outside, the glitter was. and who can complain about glitter?!?!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
we got our tree!
unlike last year, we went straight to larry's, picked out a tree, got it home and up in t-minus 45 minutes:
we look creepy here, sorry about the lighting! that's our tree behind us :)
wrap it up! make it good and tight for the loooong drive home
(approx. 3 miles. we ran it in the turkey trot!)
(approx. 3 miles. we ran it in the turkey trot!)
little man insisted on 'snack!' from the taco truck. one queso-dilla please!
yeah, there's a taco truck at our christmas tree place ---- larry's produce!! what would we do without larry's....
Saturday, December 4, 2010
forgive me!
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