Motherof3brothers

post Christmas COMA

Oh man! phew! I am sitting here at work, the day after Christmas listening to Christmas music and the song says, "it's the most wonderful time of the year". and I agree about 99%. The post Christmas coma effect was in full swing yesterday. Alex and I stayed up LATE Christmas eve. For me, it was the normal wrapping, stocking stuffing, present organizing details. For Alex, it was the same as it always has been, putting something together that we thought would take just a small amount of time, but ends up taking hours and hours and much curse-like whispers. Alex gave Ayden one of his best "Giant' road bikes. It is a beautiful Lance Armstrong yellow bike. They can now go cyclo-cross biking together. But the bike needed to be transformed a bit for a teenager. And a few new things were added as "luxury items".  It took him until 4:30am!!! Our bedroom is right of the living room so I heard everything. Sleep was obviously lacking that night. Being parents, we recognize that it comes with the territory so we sucked it up and carried on.

We had a splendid holiday for sure. We hosted everyone and  served prime rib on Christmas eve. Had a Wii marathon, ate a glutenous amounts of food and desserts  on a beautifully decorated table with China and Roses and proceeded with Christmas Eve tidings. Once the guests left the kids cozied up in their jammies on the couch with us as we read 'Twas the Night before Christmas" and The story of Christ's birth from the Book of Matthew. We then tucked them all in together. Ketner wanted to sleep with Ayden in his room.

Finally the children were snug in their beds and I'm sure visions of track spikes, wii games and Ipod touches danced in their heads 

Christmas day began at about 6:30am, the boys were filled to the brim with fabulous gifts and the Christmas Sparkle in their eyes. We went to mom's for our traditional breakfast and went home to clean up, nap and prepare for hosting Christmas dinner. We served Ham and potatoes, but this time we ate on paper plate and plastic cups.

I will post Christmas photos soon. But I felt compelled to wish all of you a Love filled Christmas.  Keep the Christmas Spirit throughout the coming days. It will  be gone before we know it. May the TRUE meaning of this celebration keep you filled with PEACE, HOPE ad JOY.

warm* long* heartfelt* hugs  are being sent your way!!!

 

10 more days! ugh? or phew?

Are you hangin’ in there?

It is December 16^th. Holy Cow. The kids can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. They have been waiting to be able to say “there’s only 10 days left until Christmas@!” And they are lovin’  it. This has been a really memorable Christmas for me. I think as they get older I am now realizing how fast it goes and I have been taking a ton of time to reminisce. I am doing a December Daily Album to document the small, but warm, lovely, heartfelt things that make up the 25 days of Christmas. The boys have actually enjoyed reading my daily entries and often make comments and suggestions. I think they actually like it. 

 

I also saw on I think Becky Higgins Blog the idea of a 25 days of Christmas album. This album certainly is a ton easier to make. But essentially you find 25 photos from the past and place ina small album and behind each photo you can attach a little envelope for the kids to write down their memory of the photo. When I was pouring through the Christmas photos on my computer a couple things came to mind. 1 I am so happy I have kept my photos organized so  just had to skim through “Christmas” folders and not billions of photos. 2. I realized how cool it is going to be to have this album. The kids have changed so much. 

  Our lives have changed so much, and when I  looked  through 7 years of memories I realize how awesome it has been. I’m excited to see hear the kids discussions.  

I like the "family advent" ideathat I read on Jessica Sragues Blog. I wrote down 25 little, fun things to do as a family. Things like take a walk around the neighborhood looking at lights, go see Fantasy Lights, read the Christmas story, Make grandma Ada’s cookies…things like that and it has been SO much fun. We have done all of the above plus 11 other things. I think this was the best plan ever!!

Finally,  I went to see the “food Nazi” as she is called around here. There is often a connection with food allergies and rheumatoid issues, especially inflammatory things. So I me with her yesterday, stripped down to my undies and let her have her way with me and her clamps J  I am really impressed with her. She is super knowledgeable and seems excited to help me find a “trigger” food. How cool would that be?

How your shopping coming? That is, excuse me, HELL. I went to target yesterday at like 2 in the afternoon and there was a huge line. I just wanted to get a prescription! I like that we have a strict spending limit this year. The stress is really lowered because there is a very set limit. Beyond that is all just wishes for next year.

I hope my friends are all surviving. I am noticing the Christmas cards are arriving very slowly this year. Just 1 or 2 at a time and I usually am shoving photos together on my door by now. Believe me, I get it, mine just went out on Tuesday. I had a little help from Ketner. He got in trouble the day before and had a “chore card” and the one he chose was “to help mom or dad with project” perfect timing for Christmas card assemblyJ

 

 

And one more thing, look at these 2 little girls..................can they be any cuter?

 

8......EIGHT..............ate

8 is a popular number for me right now.  

First: It has been a frigid 8 degrees here at night  in the South Sound.  It is getting up only to about 29 degrees during the day. The fountains are freezing. The grass has a sparkly hue to it because it is covered in frost.

 

 The monstrous Mole in the front yard is really making his mark. I attempted to rake the huge clump of dirt that he distributed into a heap, but it was frozen solid. Maybe he is tooJ.

I spent the afternoon yesterday trying to thaw my 10 cent fish in their little pond. I actually took my hairdryer out there. I succeeded in making a small hole in which I could plug in one of our old aquarium heaters. It isn’t capable of keeping it from totally freezing, but at least they have an area in which they can be fed.

Second: My “to do” list is growing in length by 8 every single day!! Sometimes by the hour!! I almost have a panic type feeling in my chest trying to control, I mean organize it all.  I am trying to be more disciplined in reflecting on my intentions. “is this something that helps celebrate the season?’ “is this something that can wait until possibly tomorrow, next week, next month which is actually next year! Whoa! Put something off until next year? I am trying.

Third: I am constantly reminding myself that the holiday treats that are EVERYWHERE, do not have to be tried, tasted, or ATE. Again, I want to cherish the season for what it is,  by how much it grew me and my family from the INSIDE    out,   NOT from the outside in.

Lastly: I think one thing never wavers from me….regardless of the time of life I may be in, I still view life, the seasons, the holidays, my family, my gifts, my treasures, my Light, through my lens. I cannot be more blessed by this gift.  I can look back at a photo I took months ago and still remember that feeling. Even mundane things like a photo of Christmas groceries from Costco will remind me of THIS time.

 
The hustle of the holidays and the sweetness of it all.

 I will remember:

 *snuggling together when our power was out due to a wind storm.

*Going to Fantasy Lights for the umpteenth year in a row. And seeing my kids eyes light up just like when they were in their footie jammies and car seats.  

* being stopped in my tracks by the beauty of the Winter Sun.

* agreeing on a Christmas tree (relatively) peacefully after convincing Alex that a Y shaped tree was not grown especially for us.

*watching my kids decorate the tree and talk about each ornament. They are thoroughly enjoying being in this season again.

 

 

 

*pulling out Christmas collections and admiring new additions.

 

 

 

*late night wrapping

*Admiring the Christmas cards  from the  many years past

*Taking it all in:

 




 
   

 

Looking forward to tomorrow...

 

 

     

Christmas time again!

We have officially started the 2009 Holiday Season. Thanksgiving Thursday was as relaxed as it could be.
It was the first time in many, many years that I wasn’t hosting. I didn’t cook anything! I actually bought the $5.99 Costco Pumpkin Pies because you can’t make one that size for less, and it is so totally fabulous.

 

We watched the Macy’s Day parade, the Eukanuba Dog Championship

 

  and of course football.

 We feasted at gradudes

and spent more time laughing than actually eating. It felt good f 
rom the inside,  out.

 

 
  
   

Today we conquered the outdoor Christmas lights. We spent most of the afternoon going through the lights tediously, only to find the majority not working.

 
Or working only part way.  

It is a conspiracy. I don’t get it. When I was a kid, we used the same lights for probably 15-20 years. We NEVER had to buy more lights. SO after a bit of frustration we headed to LOWES and dropped $145 on new LED lights.

 

 

These little mosters better be around until I am 6 feet under. Lights should not cost you $10 a strand. Good grief! We spent the gorgeous, sunny afternoon hanging up our dollars, I mean lights.

 They look fabulous. I cannot figure out how to get a good picture of them, but trust me.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…………

winding down

 

 

  
 
  
Today is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The boys have a short week at school and then Thursday we celebrate a day Thankfulness. After that, it is an effort to keep the pace at a steady, mild simmer.

Today we accomplished "still". We stayed in all day. The rain and wind is keeping us tucked inside having to find other things to do. Here's what kept us occupied on this Sunday before the Holiday rush begins:

1. uploaded Christmas cd's to my ipod

 

I love this photo, I was browsing through my old Christmas CD's and found Ketner's cute little signature marked with a sharpie. How innocently lovely.

2. Lit some fabulous soy Holiday candles. Nothing beats these...$6.99 for pure joy.

3. Watched Skylar enjoyed the setting sun. 

  
  
  
  

4. Played sequence

5. Helped with homework

6. Made homemade Stew and cornbread.

7. Played with a sleepy kitten

 

8. uploaded recent basketball shots.

 
 

9. cleaned up small messes such as these that can only be created by smallish hands.

10. Prayed for you; whom we are Thankful for.

Join on in

Bear with me. I had one too many Chi teas at Bible study tonight so I am a bit on the upper side of mania. But I want to share something..well a couple things. First and foremost, today is Veteran's day and throughout the internet, facebook & news programs today, people have been verbalizing their appreciation to those who serve and have served our country. So completely touching. But I have also seen a challenge on facebook  where people are asked to share something they are thankful for throughout the month of November. I came across a post on a BLOG I follow and sorta incorporated all of the above.

I made a "thankful jar" . The idea is to pour out your blessings. Our goal is to fill it up by Thanksgiving. When we feel compelled, we jot something down we are thankful for or feel blessed by.

I thought it would be like pulling teeth, but the kids jumped right on. Sometimes they share their thoughts, sometimes it is just between them. Either way, counting our blessings is BLESSING our home.

Onto thought number 2.

Sunday I restarted a humongous project. I actually started it awhile ago when I read "big picture scrap booking" it really changed the way I thought about preserving my family's memories and seeing/capturing the "Everyday", like my autumn delights that people poke fun of me for :). SO I tackled the project head on....

I cut out EVERY page I had ever done in my kid's scrapbooks!! We are talking book after overstuffed book. It was a monstrous undertaking. Now I am in the process of separating each page into one of 4 categories: 1. all about us. 2 places we go. 3 people we love. 4. things we do. This is not a easy task and one that I will need to practice patience with. But I believe the end result will speak to me and those who I create the scrapbook for. I'll keep you posted.

 

And finally, I did a little photo shoot today for one of best friends. I say photo shoot lightly, because  I am by far, not a photographer who should be using terms like "photo shoot". i just like to take photos and they were willing participants. I will post a few here, without asking first because my Chi tea is getting the best of me, but I think she'll be ok with it since they are too stinkin' cute!! (fyi: click on the photo to see full view. It's much better :)

 
 

 

see...how could I hold all of that J*O*Y* in!!??

(i'm purposely not showing the whole family photos because perhaps you may see them in the mail come Christmas, I don't want to spoil the  fun ;).

and finally, a little Autumn delight because I know you were having some with drawls...

off to bed...remember to count your blessings, even if it means to stuff them into a jar

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Love her!

 

 

rain, rain, rain

Ok rain ....we get ya! we know what you can do, we have all recognized that Fall has come, now move on with your wet self. My lawn is one big puddle. My leaves are no longer pretty and crisp. And my cat keeps whining, like it's my fault she can't go outside and prowl.

 

 

 

 

 

(photo courtesy of "dreamer soul" of smashing magazine)  

Mark it off....

November 1st brings some changes....

1. Football Season has  officially come to a close. I am proud to say we left behind 3 wins for the Bears yesterday! Felt awfully good to leave on a up note. As much as I love football to start, by the end, I am really ready for it to be done. There is a ton of equipment. There is a ton of extreme heat in the beginning gradually changing to , rain, sleet  & mud. There is a ton of running all over Thurston county. There is a ton of planning and organizing, just to make it work. But also a ton of fun, excitement, discipline and entertainment.

I have spent the day washing uniforms, filthy cleats and sweaty pads. They are organized and situated and tucked away for the year.

 

2. November 1st also brings the Halloween hangover. We trick or treated with our extended Families again. let the crazy kids all run a muck in the neighborhood to collect tons of sweet loot.Probably our last for the  "bigs", so we tried to savor the chaos.

 

Nolen

 

Ayden

Ketner

Today we are a bit sluggish. Kinda grumpy at times.  Full of tons of goodness.

3.   November 1st officially begins the Holiday Panicsensations that tend to waft over me. I am devoted to keep it at bay.

4. Finally, November 1st brings....................................our first basketball practice!! yup that's right! Let's go Bears!

 

We wouldn't have it any other way.
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4 more days...get spooked

Halloween is just 4 more days away. We have our costumes ready and waiting. This year I splurged. The past few years Ayden has come with us as we trick or treated with our large entourage of friends, but has not been  too interested in dressing up.

2008

I guess I shouldn't say uninterested, but unmotivated. He could never figure out what he wanted to be until the last minute but it was too late. In 2007, he decided at the very last minute he would be a whoopi cushion with his friend Jared as we were getting ready to walk out the door.
  2007

The last time he really had a plan and idea was 3 years ago.

2006

2006

I don't know if you can tell from these photos, but our rule is that we recycle our costumes. If we don't have it, or good-will doesn't have it or our friends don't  have it....we do not have it :) And we have made it work really well. But this year, we did it a bit different and out of character. The boys have all found costumes that they picked out of a catalog about a month ago. When the catalog arrived in the mail, they all poured over it. It was priceless to see our 13,11 1/2 and 10 year old all sitting a the counter together, cracking up over the possible costumes. I decided right there, i would splurge and get them the costumes they wanted (within reason) I wasn't ready to give up the excitement of Halloween just yet. 13 came way too fast....I'm sure the time is coming when we all agree the boys are too old. But for at least 1 more year we are gonna enjoy.

So as Halloween inches closer, here are a few FRIGHTFULthings appearing around the Young household:

spooky cats preying on unknowing birds.

Spiders spreading their webs throughout the yard

crazy milk carton skeletons waving in the brisk October air

the last remaining sunflowers spreading Autumn joy

Patio decorations awaiting trick or treaters

Homework arearestocked after 1st quarter has officially been completed.

Sadly, summer plants fill the compost bin

and Finally, Summer peaches waiting to be baked into a Autumn  pie
 

 
 It is so easy getting sucked into Autumns Delightful Spirit.

 Enjoy!

SAVOR! 
GET SPOOKED by fall!:)