1 COUSIN + 1 AUNT = 24 HOURS OF FUN

Tracy, my nephew's mom, wrote to me earlier in the week to see if they could come visit this weekend.  Our schedule was clear, so they headed our way yesterday.  Our time was spent playing foosball, mastering the pogo stick, playing card games, eating pizza and cupcakes, beating personal records on the Bop-It and Bop-It XT, chatting about life, snuggling and playing with the littlest W, giving armpit massages, and reading books on the Kindle. 

Hunter rocked Teebs for a while.

Hunter and Devon spent quite a bit of time with the Bop-Its.  I was impressed with their ability to play them right next to each other without getting confused by the noise of the one they weren't playing.

Naomi got some quality snuggles with Aunt Tracy.

Hunter became a master pogo-sticker.  We took a few videos over the course of their visit so that we could post one, but I'm just going to share all three.  He was clearly a rookie on the first video.  By the second video he was bouncing more than 50 times before needing a break.  On the third video he was doing tricks. 

No family photo op would be complete without a pose with silly faces, so we set up the tripod and did a W-style picture before the visit was over. 

A quick, fun visit!







11/22/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that Tim was asked to help officiate the Turkey Bowl today.  He needs to be able to officiate basketball this time of year and can't risk the injuries that come with playing in the Turkey Bowl, but officiating gives him a less dangerous way to join in the fun.

What's something that you're thankful for?

A FUN TRIP TO SALEM

The kids and I have had a date with our friend Carol on the calendar for a few weeks and today was the big day.  Carol came to our house, then we all loaded into the van to drive to Salem in torrential rain.  Our destination was the Riverfront Carousel, which none of  us had ever visited before.  Tim had actually headed to Salem a little bit earlier for a meeting and we ended up calling to ask him to join us when he was done.

We watched the woodcarvers work on future horses, were given carousel horse DNA (wood shavings), rode the carousel multiple times, recognized a girl from church and met the grandfather who had brought her there, and the kids were given coins to make souvenir pennies and the opportunity to pick out one postcard.  Fun times!  Despite the fact that three adults took pictures, most of them were too blurry to share.  Here is a good one of the group, though.

 

 

Next up was lunch.  The original plan was to get hot dogs at Costco, but that was before we'd taken into consideration that this is the day before Thanksgiving and half the planet would be there.  So we went to Muchas Gracias in Keizer instead, another first for our family, and filled our stomachs with tasty food.

 

Then we drove home under blue skies and with the sun beating down on us.  This is Oregon, after all, and we try our best to have as many types of weather as possible over the course of two hours.  We pulled into our driveway and Carol gave us a parting gift, a surprise she'd purchased when none of us were looking.

 

 

 

Isn't that beautiful?   I love ornaments with a story behind them and this one will always remind me of a fun afternoon with a good friend.  It may even help me to look past the sin in Carol's life that she's unrepentant of ... the fact that she listens to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  I'm pretty sure there's an eleventh commandment forbidding that behavior.  Right? 

 

I'm thankful for sweet friends, new places, and good food!

 





EATING, MOTHERING, EARNING, AND WATCHING

Tasty Food - We had Cajun Chicken Pasta for dinner last night for the first time in ages and I'd forgotten how much I love it.  Delicious!  If you're not a pasta eater, then you could serve the chicken sauce over rice or eat it on it's own. 

Bad Mom - Teebs is almost one and I'm embarrassed to admit a pattern that's developed - first birthday parties have clearly become less of a priority over time.  Silas turned one and we invited a lot of people to a big party.  Devon turned one at the same time that Silas turned three and Tim graduated with his Master's, so we had an all-encompassing party.  Naomi turned one and we served cake and creamsicles at one of the "just because" potlucks we were having that summer.  Tyler, the fourth little W, is almost one and I've made no plans.

There is a part of me that thinks we should have a party, but there's another part that realizes he won't care either way (until he looks at photo albums years from now, anyway) and one year olds don't even have friends to invite (just family members and their parents' friends).  I promise we'll do something, even if it's just the 6 Ws, but I need to hurry up and figure out when.  This non-summer birthday action is not normal for our family and December is just a wee bit crazy.  I just can't believe I've become a mom would even consider skipping a first birthday celebration of any kind.  It's not bad, it's just not me.  At least, I didn't think it was.  

Easy Money - If you haven't taken the Swagbucks plunge for your search engine of choice, then I'd encourage you to do so and to make sure you install the toolbar.  I've been using it for years and have always redeemed the bucks I earn for Amazon gift cards.  I've earned hundreds of dollars to spend at Amazon over the years and it's paid for all sorts of needs (like Graco carseats and school books), wants (like Thou Shalt Laugh movies and Cuisinart food processors), and gifts for others (Christmas, birthdays, and baby showers, both tangible items and gift card codes).  Of course, if Amazon gift cards don't appeal to you, then there are a lot of other things to spend your Swagbucks on.  

Good Movies - I've watched a handful of movies over the last couple months that I enjoyed.  Feel free to click the links in the titles to see if they interest you.  IMDb has a handy "Parents Guide" for each movie after the cast and storyline, so you can get more info on whether or not a particular movie meets your personal viewing criteria, regardless of whether or not you have kids who will be watching with you. 

Bringing up Baby, a movie from the 1930s with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, was recommended on a "give me some movie ideas" Facebook conversation a few months ago.  Lots of laughter from the kids!

Mirror Mirror - A spin on Snow White that Tim and I watched, starring Julia Roberts.  

October Baby - A Redbox freebie that I watched while Tim was in class one night.  It was inspired by true events and is the story of a young woman who discovers not only that she's adopted, but that she's the survivor of a failed abortion.  I thought the interview with Shari Rigby, the actress who played the woman who had the failed abortion, at the end of the movie was really neat.

Man on a Ledge - This was another Redbox freebie that I watched when Tim was gone one night.  

The Magic of Belle Isle - A sweet story starring Morgan Freeman. 

11/15/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the blanket my sister crocheted for Tim and I years ago, maybe for our first married Christmas.  It's super heavy and keeps us warm at night this time of year.

What's something that you're thankful for?

MENU - FIRST HALF OF NOVEMBER 2012

The month is half over and I never posted our menu.  Oops! 

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts x2
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and energy mix as optional toppings x10
* store-bought granola
* pumpkin pancakes
* blueberry oat muffins
* egg & potato scramble

DINNERS
* leftovers x2
* tacos x2
* quinoa patties/roasted broccoli
* Mediterranean black bean salad over spinach/rice
* new soup recipe/toast
* grilled salmon (bbq)/rice/green salad
* steak salad (bbq)/whole wheat drop biscuits
* zesty chicken (crockpot, from freezer)/couscous/cider roasted carrots & parsnips
* chicken tortilla soup (crockpot, from freezer)/cornbread (will double and freeze one)
* six layer casserole/green salad
* Italian sausage & rice/grilled Sicilian zukes
* death by garlic
* spinach lentil soup
* creamy butternut soup/green salad

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* produce
* popcorn
* pumpkin chocolate chip cookies 

PARENTING SUCCESS

We've had a really long week here and our schedule dictated that no one napped today, so this evening had the potential to be horrid.  However, it was going well.  The bigs and I had tag teamed some cleaning while the littlest hung out in the jumperoo, then I went to make dinner while the bigs finished cleaning and the littlest giggled.

Then it happened.  A potted plant went flying and dirt was everywhere!

Success #1 - I remained calm.  This is pretty impressive, as my fuse for things getting broken because of reckless or thoughtless behavior is pretty much non-existent and it generally causes my lid to flip in a huge way.  My flaw, I realize, but I'm just telling it like it is.  This time I just quietly said it needed to be cleaned up and went about my business.  No snark, no yelling, no monologue about how everyone is always ruining my stuff. 

Success #2 - The little W responsible for the flying plant came to me immediately to tell me what had happened, apologized, and asked for forgiveness.  No need to ask what happened or to prompt anyone to make it right. 

Success #3 - A different little W immediately started to repot the plant, then went to get the vacuum and cleaned up the gigantic mess.  The mess they hadn't made.  No need to make sure the job got done or to talk about helping each other out.

Those three things were enough to make my day, but there's more.  The mess-maker and the mess-cleaner have a relationship of extremes.  Sometimes they are best buds laughing hysterically together or a cooperative team working on a project together.  Sometimes they are each other's worst enemies and bicker over every. single. thing. they could possibly find to fight about.  This week it's been 99% bickering between them and the remaining 1% has been when they're sleeping.  It's been really bad.  Which made tonight even sweeter. 

I obviously wouldn't have chosen to have the plant go flying, but now I'm (sorta) glad it did because it gave me one of the "parenting is worth the work" moments we all need from time to time.