Christmas

Andrew got up four times the night Santa came to our home. Luckily, Santa sneaked in and out without being spotted. Randall got out of the bed first Christmas morning and checked the status of the living room. Not a creature was seen but Andrew's stocking had definitely been ruffled. I got up and could hear three tiny boy voices behind Peter's door. After a quick shave and a haircut knock, I was given admittance. The boys were given the green light to come out and the excitement began.

We took a lot of pictures of everyone opening gifts. I am dumping them on FB because it's easier, so check there for all the fun details. Santa did a good job this year, though Andrew was certain Mouse Trap was not for him because it was a family game. Thankfully, by the end of the day Andrew was in love with the idea of being the sole owner of a "Rube Goldberg". Blake loves his dragon and Peter feels that Santa knew exactly what he wanted. I'd like to thank Target for our stockings. I don't know what I would have done without the dollar section. So awesome.

G&G McBeth provided new suits for the boys. The boys look so dapper we've given them their own titles. Blake is The Brain. Peter is The Muscle. Andrew is The Money Man. G&G Larsen gave each of the boys some sort of art/craft. My boys do something crafty every day without fail, so it was a huge hit. Their Great G&G McBeth gave yoyo's and a new shirt. Their GGp's AMAZE ME! I'm so grateful for the time and love they put into Christmas every year. It's so special.

Randall and I had lovely after-naps. The boys played and played without fail.

And the food! I love me some food! Bacon, eggs, homemade cinnamon rolls, and egg nog for breakfast. Ham, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, and green beans for dinner. Lots of unhealthiness in between.

But the icing on the cake for me was playing Mouse Trap as a family then singing Christmas carols over Skype to my parents.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve did not disappoint. The morning began with a double batch of biscuits and gravy. Randall's brother and his family came over after breakfast. The boys opened presents (mostly gifts with wheels) as the adults chatted. My sister-in-law and myself got each other the Leven Thumps series -thank you Deseret Books. All the kids built gingerbread houses and our kid's roof was so heavy with candy, it toppled over completely. The boys also colored a bit. It was wonderful to spend this time of year with family.
Every Christmas Eve we open one present, which is always new pajamas. This year I decided to take old fleece and flannel that used to be curtains and bedding, and make snuggies and pajama pants. Last minute I thought I'd better go pick up some shirts to match and added patches to the shirts so they'd go together.
The boys were slightly confused when they began to open their gifts. Blake, always excited to open anything, exclaimed, "A blanket!" when looking at the pajama pants. I had to instruct the boys to open it completely so they could understand what they were seeing. They all pulled the pajamas out but didn't unfold them, still just thinking they were some sort of blanket. Once they realized they were pajamas, they were "all aboard!" They turned out so cute, I still can't get over it myself! (*I do need to add a cuff to Peter's pants. I hadn't realized the pj pant I used as a template was too small. But no biggie. Easily fixed.)
Next they opened the snuggies. Again they just thought it was a blanket. Again we instructed them to really look at it. Peter saw the arm holes first, Andrew yelled, "Snuggies!" and Blake yelled, "My cape!"
Eventually we started to chill, watched and fell asleep to Santa Clause 2. After putting the kids to bed I had to wake up again to get started on the rest of the night. Being pregnant, it's not so easy to wake back up. But Randall and I got into the groove of things and got things ready for the next day in a good amount of time.

To delete or not to delete, that is the question

So I've been thinking lately about the pro's and con's of Facebook. I'm sure I don't need to make a list because most of you have facebook and probably have the same list I do. So I've been thinking, is it really worth it? It's really nice to keep in touch with people from my past and it's so easy to keep up with my family. But, honestly, maybe I shouldn't be clinging on so tightly to my past. I do have a life in the here and the now. So does having Facebook enrich my life or detract from my life? Living in the now, in my home, with my husband and kids and school and work and extracurricular and church and neighborhood... there are a lot of things that pull for my attention. I am thinking I should simplify and cut out the unneccesaries, the distractions, the complications. What are your two cents?

The perfect time to blog

There is a solid reason why when I die I would like my husband to burn my journals without opening them. He could even scatter the remains somewhere if he so chose to. The only time I feel like writing, blogging, journaling, etc, is when I'm thinking about something intently, usually on the darker side (again, sorry for using the term sexual being), or am just ticked off about something. The latter is what brought me here today. I should really change my blog from a family blog to The Personal Rantings of the Insane Mother. Or something like that.
So here's my beef. Why do people allow their dogs to poop in others yards. I'm not talking about pooping up in the front, near the sidewalk, but traipsing all through the yard and up the side yard near the back fence and doing business. There's no way an owner doesn't know what's going on. And then to not feel obligated to pick up after their dog... seriously. I wish I had a bbgun. I would seriously wake up early and sit inside, nearby the window and just wait. I could take the screen down and crack the window. Place the tip of the gun through the small space so no one would detect it but it would be ready at a moments notice. Then: BAM! BING! lesson: learned.
Here's my bigger beef. I put together a party for a non-profit organization called Freedom Stones. They help stop human trafficking and teach mothers to become entrepreneurs so the can take care of their families. Check them out. Anyway, I invited almost 50 women. I invited all the women I have contact with from my previous ward in Carrollton, my current ward, and friends and acquaintances from the gym. I sent out evites. One of the best and most effective way to invite people, don't you think? So easy to view the invitation, and all you have to do is click the yes or no button. RSVPing made simple.
How many people responded to your evite? Welllll, I had three or four people send me personal message via facebook letting me know they couldn't make it. Very kind. Very thoughtful. Love them all. On my evite I had ZERO no replies! Impressive eh? No one cannot come. Oh but wait a minute. Zero replies yes? Huh. Did anyone even open up the evite? Did anyone look? Can anyone come? Does anyone care? Well, it's a mystery because I'm not a mindreader. Really wishing I had that power right now. So, I had to email the non-profit rep and cancel the party. How can I host the party when I expect no one to show? So big bummer.
It's one thing to have 15 people RSVP and then have 18 show or even 20 show. It's another thing to have not one person at all find the 2 seconds it takes to click on a yes or no button, or even the 5-10 seconds it takes to open up the evite.
So upset.
Can you tell?
What makes it worse is that I haven't thrown any sort of party for the last 5 years because the last time I hosted a party no one showed. It was a more typical party selling Do Re Mi and You products (fantastic musical toys for children. They are a part of Kindermusik if you've heard of them.)It was so upsetting to me that I never wanted to host a party again.
I changed my mind for this party because it was for such a great cause and I thought for sure I'd get a decent response.
Lesson: learned.

hoo haw

hee haw hoo haw Wee nee three tree see dee me we weenie meanie silly billy philly cheese stake sandwich bar road tire car hat dog firt run where now if then can cow hit ball underscore top bottom feet toe words thoughts dogs neat poop kill pellet shades tree neck necklace freedom stones tires cry tear laugh long blake threat tried won fought hard window airplane yelling noise spoon bowl loud air sky cloud fluffy animal stuffed trashed can my name is earl hick sword sock puppet talent-ish show yodel opera laugh clap funny tired kicks high hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog sleep funny nail pink tired pain neck hurt stiff back pinch pull stretch fat calories msg food eat too much more words thought steam lakes valley give said the little steam give oh give give oh give summer time oh what do you do in the summer time when al lthe world is green fish steam lazily lethargic tap tap tap punch punch punch keyboard letters sentences words.

There. There's one word thoughts that came out of my head in real time. I couldn't think of anything to blog so I thought I'd just type some words. Enjoy, my six followers.

All better

I apparently have the cutest blog on the block. ;)