Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Ahhhh... Thanksgiving is here.

We'll be spending the afternoon with my side of the family. It will be fun to watch Nick and Nolan playing with their cousins that they rarely get to see.

All of my childhood Thanksgivings involved me playing with my cousins. The very cousins that I will be sitting around the table with tonight! :) I was always paired up with my cousin, Adam. We'd spend the day goofing around doing all kinds of crazy things then we'd sneak into the kitchen to steal some delicious food that was off limits until dinner time. Our bellies were usually filled with potato chips and mixed nuts even before the feast would begin.

I'm thankful that my family is still nearby and that I'll get the opportunity to spend another Thanksgiving surrounded by them. And even though I won't be snitching potato chips this year and playing goofy games with Adam. I will be happy to be sitting across from him at the table sharing stories about what's new in our lives.

I hope someday my kids will be able to sit around a Thanksgiving table in the future surrounded by the very cousins they'll be playing with this afternoon. For me, this holiday is all about family and being thankful for what I have. I'm truly a lucky gal for having such a wonderful and caring extended family on both sides.

It's bound to be a great day and I hope everyone else has a Happy Thanksgiving surrounded by family and with bellies filled to maximum capacity!

War of the Wombats

Do you need a good laugh? If so, check this out! I guarantee it will be the first time you laugh about wombats.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK

Twelve years ago today...

My long 25 hour labor finally came to a happy end...

Nicholas entered this world at 6:44 a.m.

I guess he was just as frustrated with how long it took to get here, because the first thing he did was bite the doctor's finger!

He was born on his due date...

A healthy boy with healthy lungs!...
A sweet little brown-eyed baby...

I will always remember the sunlight streaming through the hospital's window just enough to illuminate the peach fuzz on his head. That is the first time I noticed he had red hair.

Nicholas has transformed from the little "copper top that never stops" (I've never seen a toddler with more energy) into such a considerate and thoughtful boy. He's got to be one of the sweetest boys I've ever known...He consistently thinks of other's and their feelings.

I'm really enjoying this age he is now. We could chat and laugh all the live long day. He's one of a kind...and those that know him well can attest to that. I simply love this kid with all my heart and hope he has a happy, memorable, and FUN birthday.

8 mos old...one of my very favorites! So funny.

My knights in construction paper armor. 2001
( I think my mom was babysitting this day, they always made the most wonderful "costumes" when Grandma Margie was at home.)

Oregon Coast 1999

October 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS

YOU ARE TREASURED AND DESERVE A HAPPY HAPPY DAY!

Remembering and Waiting Part II

Twelve years ago today....


I learned that my doctor was wrong...
I woke up early in the morning with contractions, so off to the hospital we went with our packed bags in tow...
I was so excited to have this baby...
And a day early at that!...
I, too, was wrong!...
The waiting room was filled with family anxiously awaiting the news to come through the swinging hospital doors about the newest member of our family...
They waited... and they waited... and waited even more...

Remembering...and waiting Part I

Twelve years ago today...

Was two days before my first child was due to be born.

I remember being a little nervous about how a giant baby kicking inside of me was going to enter this world safely...
I remember being so anxious to find out whether or not I'd be having a son or a daughter...
I remember constantly daydreaming about what he or she would look like...
I tried to imagine myself as some one's mom. It seemed so surreal at the age of 24...
I found myself just looking in the closet at all of the adorable and tiny outfits that would soon be worn by our child...
I hoped that our child would be as healthy as could be...
I remember feeling like I would never be able to sleep comfortably ever again...
I remember my doctor telling me that based on my exam I would still have at least two weeks before the big day. TWO WEEKS...
I remember baking a giant batch of snicker doodles while talking to my mother-in-law on the phone about the disheartening news my doctor shared with me earlier in the day...
I remember worrying about the weather, and hoping the snow would go away, so our commute to the hospital would be swift...
I remember wondering if I'd be spending Thanksgiving day in the hospital...
I tried to imagine what kind of parents Connor and I would be to this new baby...
I thought about what kind of person this little baby would grow up to become...
I wondered what my feet looked like and if I'd remember how to tie my shoes...

Rub A Dub-Dub, Carnage In The Tub

Last night after working all the live long day, I decided to take a nice relaxing soak in my tub...

Ahhh....hot water, bubbles, and a magazine.

Lovely.

Except, this is what greeted me as I stepped into the tub.

A freakish "angler fish" of sorts that looked like it was ready to consume half of the ocean's population.

Oh... And then I found this specimen. Imagine a lobster mixed together with the Terminator.
He looked MEAN... beady red eyes. Huge pinchers. Metalic fins. Scary stuff.

Then there was this poor fella. Just taking his jet ski for a stroll around my tub.

Can you imagine the scenario my sweet little Nicholas dreamt up while playing with these characters he built so carefully with his own two hands and his AMAZING imagination.

Ahhh...Blessed is the mother of boys.

Shuffle Up and Deal...

Texas Hold 'em Tournament, our style...

We invited a bunch of friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers (all of which ultimately fall into the category of friends) over for a BIG poker tournament.
We like to host one of these shindigs at least once or twice a year.

We had 20 people willing to gamble ten dollars of their hard earned money to support our cause.

Some even willing to pony up 15 smackers...




(Did Marianne get 2 aces, just a number 2, or maybe she's just stoked about world peace.)

Pretty soon, everyone was seated in their respective chairs hoping for the pocket aces to be dealt in their direction.

Our house was brimming with poker players from all skill levels. This makes for the best poker games because you never know what the newbies are gonna do! Keeps things interesting.

Our friend Rob, also kept things interesting by sporting a pair of opaque sunglasses... Just like the pros on World Poker Tour.

But then pretty soon... He was digging into his duffel bag, he had brought a wide array of shades (among other things :)) to keep the crowd guessing.

Rob sharing his accessories with me and Jenne.
(It's apparent in this photo that Rob only likes sharing his shades and not his winnings...my pile of chips was almost non-existent at this point in the evening.)

Nicholas came downstairs to see how things were playing out... I gave him my camera and told him to get some good shots of people at the party. This was his idea of a good shot. Cookies.

(sadly I have nary a picture of half the people in attendance.)

He did manage to get a great picture of Connor. Isn't he handsome?
Plainly, the duffel bag held more than just sunglasses... Next thing we knew Rob was dressed head to toe in this get up. His plan worked perfectly, his constant barrage of changing his appearance caused his opponents to lose their chips in his direction. Landing him a spot at the final table...

Here you find everyone that took my money.

Why did I invite them into my home again? :)

As 8 o'clock slowly turned into 2 o'clock, seventeen of our friends found themselves with lighter wallets and no hope of going home winners. That sentence alone makes me wonder if there's a chance they may ever come back in the future for more "fun" poker parties.

It's safe to say at least three of our friends left with a spring in their step and bulging wallets.

Connor's cousin Erik left the table in third place with $50 dollars to buy his baby boy a new pair of shoes.

The final two were Jenne and Rob (Yes, the disguises REALLY paid off). They came to an agreement to just split the rest of the pot and both go home with $102. (Jenne will undoubtedly buy herself some shoes and Rob just might buy some more sunglasses.)

In my opinion, it was a great way to spend $15 dollars. I may have been a loser by poker standards, but how can you feel like a loser when you're in a house alive with great friends laughing and smiling into the wee hours of the morning. Not possible.

Sock It To 'Em

Many years ago, in an attempt to squelch my kids from hurting each other in a wrestling match they were having in the living room, I came up with a "new"game of sorts. One of which doesn't require anyone pinning someone else to the ground. In this game, the chances of butting heads and losing a tooth are pretty nil. No one ends up in tears after getting accidentally getting kneed in the chin. (Now do you know why I despise living room wrestling matches?)

It's a little game I like to call "sock fight". It's got the word "fight" right in the title, so any boy would be thrilled to give it a go. Basically, everyone peels off their socks and then rolls them up into tight little balls that resemble snow balls. Then you usually pair off into two teams and separate the room with an imaginary line that the teams are not allowed to cross. Then the chaos ensues!! You try as hard as you can to peg members of the other team with the sock bombs. Weaving and dodging becomes common place and laughter always ensues. I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to actually injure someone with a sock. No matter how hard you throw a sock, it will not hurt. Not only can you not hurt a family member...it is very hard to break any household objects with a sock (well except maybe a little ceramic pumpkin decoration, right Con?). There is no winning or losing a sock fight...you only have fun. It's a mother's dream come true, and I personally think I'm completely genius for thinking of it. :)

So, the next time you're family is bouncing off the walls and needs to get out a little energy... just take off your socks and let 'em fly. Everyone will be tired out within about 10 minutes of sock throwing craziness, you'll all have smiles on your faces, and you might even find a lonely sock stuck to your wall mounted candle sconce three days later...much like I just found this morning!

Who needs the Partridge Family?

Coming to an arena near you...

Nolan the "Mr. Awesomeness" on drums

Nick the "quick fingers" on Guitar

Connor the "get your ear plugs" on vocals

And Kelly the "I've got a cramp in my wrist" on drums.

Yeah...you don't want to miss that show! :)

In all seriousness...we've been having fun jammin' together with our new Guitar Hero World Tour game. My kids are learning all the classics from my youth..."Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "Living on a prayer" by Bon Jovi, and sadly..."No sleep Til Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys.

Good times.

Beautiful Autumn Day

We spent part of our Saturday at the pumpkin patch with some friends...

Thanks to this sweet little girl.

Olivia and her brother, Nathan, (who I wasn't able to catch on film...that kid is quick.) celebrated their October b-days at this HUGE pumpkin patch.

(Olivia and Nathan are Marianne's grand kids.)

Eileen, Stephanie, and Marianne enjoying this rare warm October afternoon.

Nolan taking a pumpkin break.

Nick also found a nice resting place.

Here's the whole crew headed for the corn maze.

Wow...all four of us in ONE photo. Amazing.

Hey, it's farmer Jay!

Have you ever seen a goat on a cat walk before? Nope... me neither.

Cowboy Nolan roped another one.


We couldn't have asked for nicer weather to accommodate our day at the patch.

All of the kids had a great time playing together, tromping around the farm, and munching on roasted corn and funnel cakes.

Good times!

Hallelujah for Brenda

OK...I'm feeling a little less than a stellar mom this morning.

My kiddos woke up to see two cute bundles of homemade cookies that my dear friend, Brenda, made for them just the day before.

When they spied these little gifts of sugary bliss their eyes lit up and they practically did a dance of joy. They begged me to let them open them up and try one even though they hadn't had breakfast yet. Being that I'm a total sugar-holic I caved and said "Of course, dig in!"

Now Brenda bakes the very best cookies of anyone I know. She's a baking pro. You should have heard the words coming out of Nick and Nolan's mouths. Things like... "Wow, this is the BEST frosting I've ever tasted."... "How does she make cookies in ALL these different shapes?"... and my personal fave from Nick "Hallelujah."

Now, I know I've made cut-out cookies with my boys before. But has it really been that long since my kids have seen a cookie cutter? Oh the shame.

Next time I go grocery shopping I will walk by the refrigerated dough section with my nose up in the air, scoffing at the array of "lame mommy" cookie dough that is calling my name. Next time I will get the mixing bowl dirty and crack an egg or two, and for heaven sakes I will dust off my cookie cutters so they can see that I too can make cookies into ALL kinds of crazy shapes!

Thanks Brenda for the fantastic cookies, as you can see they were very much appreciated!

A great weekend on the Eastside

What a lovely weekend it was...

The sunny drive over the mountains to see our good friends was punctuated by unbelievably beautiful fall colors.

Nick said the red and orange foliage looked like lava flowing down the mountain.

We drove into P-town with our little car packed with excited passengers, two scooters, and a bag stock full of board games...

It was going to be good!

Let the good times roll...

Just look at this cute kid, don't you just want to reach through the screen and give him a smooch?

Ha...I'm lucky, 'cause that is just what I did. Many times over!

Nick and Nolan had a blast playing with Spencer, Hannah, and Sienna. Here's Nick out front riding scooters with...Brad! I love the little pink number Brad is wheeling around on!

Hannah, Sienna, and Nolan take time out to smile for the camera. I swear I really didn't punish them and put them in the cage...although, this picture kinda looks like I did.

So, it's evident the kids had a wonderful weekend.

What about the grown-ups?

Well,

can you say "Molten Chocolate Cake served with raspberries and whip cream?" That is pure fun in a ramekin if I ever I saw fun.

How 'bout a serving of homemade chicken pasta swimming in a creamy, peppery, cheesy, plus bacon for good measure sauce. Served with homemade bread sticks and artichoke feta dip? Yeah, now you're really jealous... We ate like kings!

Did I mention my friend, Karen, is a cooking genius? Lucky me.

We managed to belly up (maybe our bellies were a little larger this time around) to the kitchen table again for an exciting game of Balderdash. (My personal fave...that I have to beg Connor to play with me about every 5 years or so.) We were laughing so hard at one point, I had to take a time out to wipe my tears away.

We ALWAYS have fun with this crew. It's so nice to have friends like Karen and Brad. Our kids get along fantastically and so do we. Can't ask for much more than that. I guess I just wished we lived closer together. I was bummed driving away knowing I wouldn't get to see them for a long while.

Thanks for making our trip so much fun. We love each and every one of you!

Move over Kenny G., Nick S. is in the house.

Last night, Nicholas was invited by his band instructor to perform at a local cafe.
His band teacher, Darin Motamedy, is a well known jazz musician that puts on concerts from time to time around the Puget Sound. He teaches at several of the schools in our school district and invited about 8 kids to play at his concert last night. Nick was pretty excited to be one of the four kids from his school chosen to play.

Check out their performance! They did a fantastic job. It's kind of hard to see Nick in the beginning of the video because my camera is crummy and because of his small stature!

We are proud of that kid! His grandma, grandpa, and great grandmother were able to attend the show and I'm sure they were beaming with pride as well!

Way to go Nick, all of your hard work and daily practicing has paid off!

~~~BOO~~~

I love our neighborhood.

It's a rare sort of place where everyone waves as they go by, even if they have no idea who you are...

Neighbors are always looking out for one another and lending a helping hand whenever one is needed...

People come together every single year for end of Summer BBQ's and Easter egg hunts...

Nick and Nolan's neighborhood highlight happened just last night. The door bell rang and when they opened the front door they were greeted by a big Halloween bag jam packed full of candy, glow bracelets, skull necklaces, Halloween stickers, cute kitchen towels, and a pumpkin candy dish. They were jazzed! We had been "Boo'ed"!!

This little tradition starts each October and slowly spreads throughout the entire neighborhood. Once you've been "boo'ed", you have two days to "boo" two other families. Pretty soon soon all the doors in our neighborhood are sportin' ghostly signs on the front announcing they have been "boo'ed". It's a lot of fun.

So last night, after poppin' some skittles, Nick and Nolan began contemplating who could have boo'ed them and plotting their booing tactics that would be put into action in the following days.
They love sneaking around the 'hood at night secretly placing the goods on the front porches before ding dong dashing away. Their adrenaline pumps as they hide behind cars and trees. They like hearing the families squeal with delight when they find the loot that they have just left behind.

It's a fun tradition that my kids will fondly remember from their childhood. Just another one of many wonderful things I truly love about this place in which I live.

Donut Friday Round One

Just a shout out to my pal, Karen.

Thought you might like to know that we have followed in your footsteps. The boys and I just enjoyed our first "Donut Friday".

You should've seen the looks on their faces when I told them we would be going out to get donuts for breakfast. I think they thought their mom had been replaced by a donut loving alien or something. So, off to the supermarket we ventured to pick out our favorite donut, then we piled back into the car and headed off to school. We sat in the parking lot munching away happily between swigs of O.J.. We chatted for about 15 minutes more about everything under the sun.

Thanks, Karen, sharing your "Donut Friday" tradition. It was a fun and delicious time well spent with my kiddos!! They think you are AWESOME!