Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you all got to have a nice and relaxing day. Hopefully you got to spend it with loved ones. I guess I'm lucky to have my birthday today because Doug will never have to go to work on my birthday and I get to be with my family. Around here it is Christmas until noon, and then we do away with the Christmas wrapping paper and bring out the candles and happy birthday paper. A friend of mine made me a yummy chocolate cheesecake with a sour cream topping dusted with cocoa. It was really good. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I wanted to let you know about our Christmas.

We told the boys that they were not allowed to come out of their room until 8:00 AM. Promptly at 8 we heard the door open and Matt said, "It's Christmas! Now we can open ALL the presents!" and there was much rejoicing and they bounded down the stairs. I suggested to Doug that he better get up to make sure that they don't really tear into all of them without us. (It's my birthday and therefore I get to sleep in). Apparently he wasn't fast enough and the boys already got into one gift. There's a reason that I stuck all the wrapped up clothes at the front of the pile of presents. I'm so sneaky-eh?

I couldn't really sleep with the the shouts of glee and the yells from below. Plus Santa brought them balloons to blow up and let loose around the living room and they made a very high pitched noise. So I went downstairs and the ripping of wrapping paper commences. Santa brought the boys remote control trucks and he brought Timmy an exersaucer- which he LOVES!

The day started out very nice and I started my food preparations (as usual I went overboard with food). Then I heard Thomas starting to cough alot (he's getting over a cold) and then that cough turned into wheezing. So, needless to say, Thomas spent a bit of time today getting breathing treatments. (We let him wear sunglasses so the mist doesn't get in to his eyes. He also gets to play a video game of his choice-it distracts him so he's not too bothered) I guess that he just got so worked up and excited over his new stuff that the cold (which I thought he was over) went straight to his lungs. To make the day even better, he ended the day by throwing up a couple times (which might have had something to do with the junk that he ate.)

So the day wasn't nearly as relaxed as we had hoped for, but we can look forward to the weekend. Doug took off a few days so we can all relax and play together. (Before I attempt the dreaded winter break with 3 kids at home).

I'm going to set up my Mii on the Wii fit (also from Santa) and then go to bed. Hopefully everyone will be more calm and tomorrow we can relax. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

A few Christmas thoughts

I was thinking today of all the cute Christmas stories out there and of all the music that helps with the spirit of the day. And I thought I'd share some of my favorite Christmas stories and lyrics from different songs.

I love the songs and the stories from "The Forgotten Carols". One of my favorite songs is "Homeless". I love the words as they remind me of the humble entrance of Christ into this world. I love the words that say "He showed us it's how we live, Not where."

One of my favorite Christmas movies is "The Muppet's Christmas Carol", and I love the message that Tiny Tim sings. "Bless us all that as we live we always comfort and forgive. We have so much that we can share with those in need we see around us everywhere, Let us always love each other, lead us to the light. Let us hear the voice of reason singing in the night. Let us run from anger and catch us when we fall. Teach us in our dreams. And please, yes, please bless us all"

There are many different versions of mary's Lullaby that I love and I heard a new one recently that really touched me. Here are the lyrics:

All mine in your loveliness baby, all mine. All mine in your holiness baby divine. Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime; Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.

The wise men are coming to worship their King, The shepherds are kneeling their homage to bring. Out yonder the star over Judah will keep. No harm will befall thee, then sleep baby sleep. O let me enfold thee, my baby tonight, While legions are singing in joyous delight. A new star has risen to hail thee divine, For you are a king, but tonight you are mine.

Away spectered future of sorrow and plight, Away to the years that must follow tonight. The pangs of Gethsemane, let them be dim, The red drops on Calvary, not Lord, for Him! O let me enfold thee, my baby tonight, While legions are singing in joyous delight. A new star has risen to hail thee divine, For you are a king, but tonight you are mine.

Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime; Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.

by Jamie Gibson

I can not even imagine Mary's thoughts the night she gave birth to the Savior. Perhaps she did think some of these words. She knew the importance of her baby's life and all that He would do for us. Can you imagine having a brand new baby and know how his life would end? (I'm sure she knew the scriptures from Isaiah). Wouldn't you just want to hold him and protect him from all the bad things of the world? That's a mom's job.

As the Grinch said, "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more." I hope that we all remember the true meaning of Christmas. I hope that we all remember Christ and all that He did for us to be truely happy. I know that He has shown us the way to live and to be happy. I hope that we can all try to be more like Christ our Savior, and be more loving and selfless towards others. Merry Christmas!

5 months old!

Time continues to fly by with Timmy. Of course this past month has really gone quickly because of the holiday stuff. He continues to put his hands into his mouth. If you're lucky enough to get your finger stuck in his little fist, it will immediately go into his mouth (at lightning speed!). He has actually slept in his a crib a few times for a hour or 2 at a time, so we're getting there. When on his stomach, he can tuck his legs up underneath him, although he has no arm strength so he buries his face into the floor when he does this. He's growing each day. He's a joy to have around. When I am frustrated with different things going on, it is such a blessing to have him on my lap and smiling at me. I guess it took the 3rd one to really appreciate the new baby phase and have fun with it. Here are some pictures from this past month.

Weeeee!

I know it's been a while since I've done anything here, and I will eventually get around to blogging about what's been going on (just holiday busyness), but I HAD to share this with you. It makes me chuckle.

So I was at Babies R Us tonite and I saw the most ridiculous thing you would ever need for a baby. Here's a picture from online:

Introducing...Wee Block for a mere $9.99 from Babies R Us and even more expensive at some other places. Here's what Amazon has to say about it:

"Another diaper change, another shower? You need a Wee Block! Just cover baby before diapering, and let the soft, absorbent dome catch your little guy's geysers. 100% cotton, machine wash. (Buy two, so you're never caught without.). Imported. Colors may vary. "

How ridiculous is that? Then I saw this:What in the world is that, you might ask? Well it's "The Peepee Teepee for the Sprinkling WeeWee". Say that 5 times fast! Hee hee. No joke. Check it out on Amazon.

I just have to say one thing. Washcloths people! Go to Walmart and buy a 12 pack of washcloths for under $5. I have been using them for 5+ years. You just need to make sure you always have 2 at your diapering station. I have been sprayed on only once or twice with 3 boys. You cover the little guy with a washcloth just as soon as you remove the dirty diaper. If he pees, it's absorbant.

I can't believe people are making money on that. And here's another one that is a waste of money:Ta da... Tinkle Targets! Or "Piddlers" Or "Toilet Time Targets" Yes, there are many versions out there, all ranging from $3-$8 for a 15-30 pack. They help your little boy aim in the toilet and are completely safe for the septic tank. First of all we have never had to use any target practice for our boys. Second of all, two words..."Froot Loops". If you get the generic version you have hundreds of little colorful circles for your child to aim into and you've only spent $2. You just have to make sure that he doesn't try to get it out of the toilet and try to eat it afterwards.

4 months old

Timmy is now 4 months old. Time sure does fly when you're running other children around. These past four months have really gone fast. I have to admit that I am actually enjoying having a baby around and I'm happy (despite the fact that I now have to get out of bed earlier all the time and that things fall by the wayside around the house). It gives you a different perspective on things when a cute baby looks at you and smiles at you like you're the greatest person on earth.

He is weighing in at 14 lbs 4 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. Some of his 3-6 month clothing is getting snug on him. He trys to shove his fist in his mouth. He is constantly blowing bubbles so his clothes are getting saturated with spit. He can roll onto his side. He is very chatty and he will "talk" to you for quite a while. He keeps completely focused on you and when he "talks" his eyebrows go up and down, and he varies the speed of his sounds. It's like a real conversation except that I have no idea what he's trying to say. (except for "Gee mom, you're the greatest. I love you so much. Etc..." I'm sure that's what he's talking about)

He STILL hates his crib, despite the fact that I have gotten him a mobile, a soothing aquarium, and layed down a baby quilt to make it softer. He will sleep 8 straight hours in his car seat. I guess I should be grateful that he even sleeps that long. I am thankful, of course, but I want to get him to make the change to his bed before he attempts to roll over in his car seat in the middle of the night. I try to enforce the daytime naps in his crib, but sometimes I don't want to deal with the 45 minutes of crying only to get a half hour nap (his nap-not mine) out of it. If only he would find those fingers while he's laying on his back. He shoves them in his mouth the rest of the day.

So back by popular demand, heeeeere's Timmy!

Baby steps

I thought I'd share a few pictures of Timmy's cute feet.

Bunny steps.

Ready for church!

Looks like a shoe, but really a sock.

Matches with everything!

Cheesecake mission

The other night I was up watching the Food Network (as usual), and I saw a show spotlighting Junior's Cheesecakes in NYC. Check out these cheesecakes. They are (in order) Devils Food Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake, Cherry Crumb Cheesecake, and Carrot cake Cheesecake.

These cheesecakes are obviously layered. The Devil's food cheesecake has a layer of cake, frosting, cheesecake, frosting, more cake, and then topped off with more frosting. I want to try to create a Pumpkin Spice cake for a base and then layer it with cheesecake and cream cheese frosting for Thanksgiving. I'm intrigued with the Chocolate mousse cheesecake. It's almost like the Godiva Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (another cheesecake I'd like to replicate with layers of dense flourless cake, chocolate cheesecake, and then mousse)

So I'm on a mission now. I saw online that there is a cookbook for these cheesecakes. I checked at Borders, but no success. I'd like to check out the pictures before I order it online. (Pictures in cookbooks are very important to me.) I'm so excited to experiment with more cheesecake recipes. And just in time for the holidays.

Do I have you drooling yet?

Trick or Treat!

We took the boys trick or treating in our neighborhood tonight. They were so excited. However, they only lasted one hour. After one hour their pumpkins were so heavy they were tired of carrying them. My back was aching because I was carrying Timmy in the Smugli. He totally fell asleep while we were walking around. It was cute to hear him snore. We brought the Yoda hood out of retirement (I made it for Thomas' first Halloween) and we thought it appropriate for a Jedi to carry Yoda. Only one person really saw our costume for what it was. Oh well. Most people commented on the boys.

Here's Timmy's Jedi robe. It was a little large. Sorry on the second picture. I think the camera jiggled.

We had the boys wear their Jedi robes to the Church Halloween party last week, but I told them they could wear whatever they wanted when we went Trick or Treating. Thomas found a soldier costume on sale and Matt dug out the Incredible Hulk from our costume box. Both boys allowed me to put makeup on their faces.As we went around Thomas started telling people that he was allergic to peanuts. So at least he's aware. We told him he didn't have to tell everyone and that we would make sure that he was safe. So after the boys went to bed, Doug and I went through their candy and confiscated all the chocolate. I did save some of the plain chocolate for Matt's lunches. But it's just not safe for Thomas. So Doug will get to take a haul to work with him. All in all it was a pretty good Halloween this year.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! This is my favorite holiday. Not only is it during the fall when it cools off and all the trees are so pretty, but it's also a time when you can dress up and be anything you want and you get free candy. What's better than that? I think I have dressed up for every Halloween of my life except for in 5th grade when I was sick. I even did in college and on my mission (I helped organize a Halloween party for the members and investigators -even tho they don't really celebrate Halloween in France). So now that I'm older I still dress up, but I have discovered Halloween through food. I'm a sucker for those little cookbooks at the checkout counters and every year I add to my Halloween cookbook collection. We had our Halloween feast last Sunday and invited some friends. Here's what was on the menu:

Like the hand sticking out of the chili? I experimented by making chili with shredded beef instead of hamburger. It was pretty good. It was a bit on the thick side. Next time I'll add more liquid. I did however enter the Chili contest at Doug's work last week. I tied for 1st, even after I accidentally used lots of red pepper instead of chili powder. Oh well. It was nice and spicy. Also take note of the orange/peach smoothie. We painted faces on the cups with melted chocolate and put the cups in the fridge to solidify before adding the smoothie. Cute idea!

Vegies anyone? I made this last year as well. Who can resist a hand sticking out of your vegetable dip?

Spiders and dip. These are esentially pigs in a blanket with chow mein noodles sticking out of them. Like the Web dip? The kids really liked it. I also made Pumpkin and Bat Jello Jigglers, which were also a big hit with the kids. Didn't get a picture of that.

I actually made this pumpkin cheesecake last year. I'm going to make another one today, but I thought I'd share this picture anyway.

I look forward every Halloween to playing around with different foods. I guess I'll start planning Halloween 2009 sometime next July!

Halloween pictures

Happy Halloween! I have some pictures to put up here, but for some reason it's not uploading them. I did manage to get this one picture up before it went kaput on me. So enjoy this one for the time being. I'll fix it tomorrow.

3 months old!

Timmy is now 3 months old. We celebrated by putting him in his very own Jedi robe (pictures later) and going to our church's "Trunk or treat". We actually got a few comments that he looked like a little Yoda (apparently people think Timmy's ears stick out a little). He is laughing and smiling all the time. He likes to have "conversations" with us. He is quite vocal. He is starting to enjoy his toy mat on the floor with rattles hanging above his head. He actually stayed on the mat for over an hour today reaching for the toys. Here are a few recent pictures.

Dinner is served

Last night I found something that makes dinner way too easy. We decided to get pizza. So I went to the Domino's Pizza site, clicked on what kind of pizza I wanted, entered in the coupon code, and picked it up in 20 minutes. I was so much nicer than trying to explain my choice of toppings and specific instructions to someone who doesn't even speak English as a first language. When I was 8-9 months pregnant I wanted a ham and pineapple pizza and they even messed that one up. (We got ham and pepperoni instead. Doug didn't want to take it back. I was ready to get my pregnant self back in the car and return it, except for the fact that I was so hungry. So I picked off the pepperoni and added my own pineapple. ). So this time around I picked my toppings, put some things on one half and different things on the other half, and it all came out correct. It would have been harder to explain to someone "no onions on one half and light on the onions on the other half" and have them get it right. And on Tuesdays it is buy a large pizza get one free. This may be a monthly occurrence!

Tag, Smag

So I was tagged by my friend to answer these questions. I enjoy reading other people's tags and I enjoy getting to know them better. I just wonder if I have anything interesting to share. Oh well. Here goes:

Here are the rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others.The questions are as follows:
1. Where is your cell phone? Counter
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Auburn
4. Your mother? Frugal
5. Your father? Handy
6. Your favorite thing? Naps
7. Your dream last night? random
8. Your dream/goal? organization
9. The room you're in? Living
10. Your hobby? Cooking
11. Your fear? snakes
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? patient
15. One of your wish-list items? vacation
16. Where you grew up?Illinois
17. The last thing you did? sneeze
18. What are you wearing? sweats
19. Your TV? Big
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? homemade
22. Your mood? tired
23. Missing someone? Nae
24. Your car? two
25. Something you're not wearing? Contacts
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? crazy
28. Love someone? Kids
29. Your favorite color? varies
30. When is the last time you laughed? Wednesday
31. Last time you cried? forgot

Supposedly I'm supposed to pass this on. Well, that's kind of like a chain letter and junk email. So I think I'll pass. Besides, I have a cold and a crying baby. Gotta go.

"The eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight..."

Here's Doug's eye tonight. Lovely isn't it? Do you think he will learn from this and not play basketball again? No, of course not. Oh well.

Picture Day

Matt has his school pictures today. Hopefully they turn out nice. I'm so used to picking out my favorite pose when the boys get their pictures done. I hope his picture doesn't turn out like Calvin's. I love Calvin and Hobbes.

Taxi cab

I'm not supposed to be a taxi service yet. We haven't even started with after school sports and other things that would require a taxi service. Here's my day so far and it's only 4:00 PM. Let's start with the 5 AM feeding.

5:00 AM get up feed Timmy
5:30 go back to bed
6:30 I hear the boys yelling at each other and go tell them to go back to bed until the alarm goes off.
7:20 Alarm goes off, and I help get Matt ready for school
7:45 call the Dr to get Doug in to see him about his eye
8:00 drop off Matt for school
8:15 take Doug to Dr where I wait in the car with Thomas and feed Timmy (I went along just incase they did something to Doug where he couldn't drive back.) We found out though that if you think you need stitches that you need to take care of it within 6 hours of the incident. The doc said that he should have gotten stitches last night, but this morning was too late. He did get a tetnus shot though.
9:00 Drop off Doug at Metro
9:15 Drop off Thomas at Preschool
Come back and take a shower.
10:30 go to bank and then Borders
11:45 go back to get Thomas
12:15 Come home to eat lunch and get ready to go to store. (This morning I discovered that our milk, which does not expire until next week, was already bad. I made powdered milk for the boys cereal. That stuff is discusting!)
12:45 Sit down to feed Timmy, and realize that I'm tired.
1:30 Talk to Doug and he said that his eye was hurting and he was coming home early. So I get the boys into the car to go pick him up.
2:00 Pick up Doug at work
2:15 Race to the store to get milk and get back before Matt gets out of school
2:56 Pull up to get Matt just in time.

Now I'm resting a bit. Later tonight I'll go out for girl's night. I'm going to Book Club with some girls from church where we're talking about Breaking Dawn. I'm looking forward to getting more input about the book from others and having a time to socialize.

I think I'll put my feet up for a couple hours and hang up my keys. Unless of course I head out to go get pizza.

Church ball

The baby has been asleep for nearly 2 hours, the boys are also quietly sleeping and I'm very tired. So why don't I go to sleep you ask? Well, my husband is playing church ball (basketball at the church with a bunch of guys for those who don't know). I wait up every week, even though I should go to bed, because I know that someday I will get the dreaded phone call that he is seriously injured. So tonite when the phone rang earlier than usual, my first question was, "Are you injured?" This is why I wait up for him every week. When he got home he first went to the fridge for a cold water bottle, and proceded to tell me about the injury. I had to stop him short to tell him to wipe away the blood before it dripped into his eyeball.

Of course he'll go back for a beating next week. Boys will be boys. Is this what I have to look forward to with 3 more boys?! I need a vacation.