I've Been Tagged

Okay, cute Cassie tagged me and this is kinda fun and interesting. So here goes . . .

The Rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


1. I have a terrible habit of biting and picking at my nails. Women and girls are supposed to have long beautiful nails so their hands look slender and delicate. Not me. I have always bitten my nails since I can remember so it has been a habit all my life that I can't break. No hand modeling for me, I guess. Disgusting, I know. I guess I'll just go fake.

2. Most of you already know this but I love to organize--Binders, files, clothes, shoes, pantries, drawers, closets, bins/totes, toys, etc. I get the "spring cleaning" bug every couple of months. Sometimes I'll move things from bin to bin and just rearrange to make it fit better or get some more space. I love to label things as well and everything has to have a place and be in some type of order. I like everything to match and look consistent too. It makes me happy and sane. The sad thing is that when Joe offers to organize something, I go crazy because I want him to do it how I would do it and put things where I think they should go. Why can't I just appreciate his work and effort at making one less job for me? I am ridiculous.

3. Another thing most people know is that I love to work on projects. I can't just sit and watch TV without some type of project going on--quilting, scrapbooking, coloring, folding laundry, or organizing papers ;). My hubby always wants me to just sit and watch a movie with him but I feel like I am wasting so much time especially after the kids are in bed. I feel accomplishment when I work on projects but sometimes I just need to relax and play a game with my kids or snuggle with my handsome hubby because they are my greatest accomplishment. I am working on this one.

4. I am a cry baby. I don't mean that I'm a whiner or complainer. I'm actually pretty positive but I have always been a crier and being a mother has made it worse. I wear my heart on my sleeve and my emotions are very close to the surface. I worry about people and their feelings, even ones I don't know. I personalize everything. If somebody cries, I do too. I cry at movies, sitcoms, songs, and some commercials. When we watch a movie as a family, my kids look back at me to see if I'm crying and I usually am. When I get stressed out or frustrated I just go into my room, let out a good cry, wipe my face and then I'm good to go until the next time. Sometimes it just feels good to let it out.

5. My husband actually stated this fact so don't think I am bragging about myself. He says that I am very loyal and true. I hope that others see me that way because I want to be a sincere person. What you see is what you get. I try to be nice and be friends with everybody. Sometimes that may make it hard to get close to me. I am not good at introducing myself or "small talk" so I have been thought of as "stuck-up" (is that phrase even used anymore?) but I really love people and want to be everybody's friend. If people have a lot going on in their life, I want to help them out by taking over (which may not be a good thing) or coming up with a solution. Friends mean a lot to me and I truly do care about others' feelings and don't want to ever offend.

6. I have a hard time telling people no. I over-commit myself and run myself ragged trying to fit it all in, do it all, and please everyone. This stresses me out and sometimes leads to my good intentions and not being able to follow through. Unfortunately I realize that doing it all is physically impossible and sometimes I may have to back out at the last minute. I also feel guilty if I do say no. I need to just say no at the beginning if I know I am going to be over-scheduled or too busy. I shouldn't feel guilty or that I need to give reasons why I can't do it. It is okay if I have plans and things going on. People will understand because we all have families and responsibilities, right? The guilt is already starting to set in so I better stop there.

Now I tag: Marci, Cath, Mary, Jen, Melissa, and Emily!

Christmas Morning

So it's finally here. The kids have been so excited and counting down the days. I love being a mom and seeing the excitement in my children. It makes me so happy and excited too. We had a great morning. Clark and Kate woke up at 5:30 and came in to get us but we sent them back to their bed until at least 7:00. They came back in at exactly 7:02. I don't know if they went back to sleep but we sure did. When they came back, they had Jake with them this time, at least for a moment. The next thing I know, Jake is running up the stairs saying that Santa had come and he saw all the toys. Clark was beside himself saying that he didn't want to know anything and that Jake better not say a word. He was also filling him in on the rules that have been the same for 8 years--waiting for Mom and Dad, saying prayer, lining up youngest to oldest on the stairs, waiting for the camera and video camera to get going, etc. and told him that he broke all the rules! Clark had also told Daddy on Christmas Eve to bring up the video camera when he went to bed and leave the tree lights on all night so that it was a surprise for everyone. It wasn't fair that he got to see everything first before the rest of us went downstairs. Although he said that he was going to see it all first when he had his own family. What a sneak! We then woke up Carlee and let the Christmas Day begin.

Following the rules just like they are supposed to--youngest to oldest.

Santa brought Carlee a rocking horse that neighs, wiggles its tail, and moves its head. She didn't know what to think of it. She was terrified and crying at first but by the end of the day she was rocking back and forth and moving her head just like the horse.

Santa brought Jacob some Playmobil Pirate stuff. He is wondering why he always gets an orange in the toe of his stocking. We don't know, but it's tradition. Maybe he needs Vitamin C?

Santa brought Kate an American Girl doll that she went crazy for and hasn't put her down since Christmas morning. She actually put her down in this picture so she could check out her Webkinz charm and bookmark.

Santa brought Clark some Pokemon toys and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics WII game. We surprised him with a camera and he was pretty excited about that. Now he can stop using ours!

Joe and I were spoiled too. We got a soft-serve ice cream maker, some cute snowman mugs, DVD's, frames for Joe's certificates, a portable DVD player, and a mattress topper.

We had a wonderful Christmas playing in our pj's all day long and just relaxing. The favorite game of the day was High School Musical Karaoke. Thank you to all our family for the wonderful gifts you gave. It is very much appreciated. We love you all and count our blessings as we celebrate this wonderful season and remember the greatest gift of all--Our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Christmas Eve

Okay, so this year being solo with no plans to go and no one to come, we changed it up a little bit. Traditionally on Christmas Eve, Joe cooks a German dinner--homemade noodles called spaetzle, red cabbage called rotkohl, and beef with gravy called rouladen. I come up with some sides--rolls, salad, etc. It is really good and his family started that tradition years ago when his oldest sister, Shelly, went on her mission to Germany. (Joe, his brother Charlie, his uncle, and Grandpa all served missions there as well so German has started to run through their veins) We have continued that tradition as well with our family. When we moved to San Antonio 4.5 years ago, Joe's brother Charlie moved here as well and we always got together with them and had the dinner and acted out the nativity. This past summer, Charlie and his family moved to El Paso so we had Christmas Eve by ourselves for the first time in 4 years. Joe decided to change our tradition this year because our kids really aren't that fond of German food yet so his idea was that we are going to see Christmas lights and eat at a restaurant on Christmas Eve until our kids get old enough to appreciate that good food. So that is exactly what we did. We had never been to the Riverwalk at Christmastime so we decided to go there and eat at the Rainforest Cafe. The kids were so excited to eat at that restaurant. We ate about mid-afternoon and saw the lights right as they came on just before 6:00.

The lights at the Riverwalk weren't anything spectacular (there's nothing that beats Temple Square) but it was still fun to be there walking along the river with the restaurants, boat rides, people, and Christmas music. It was even a little bit chilly so it felt more like Christmas, even without snow.



We were home by 7:00 and then we still had the evening to do our other traditions--Christmas pj's, a brand new ornament, hot cocoa and popcorn, nativity, and Christmas stories before snuggling all together in the same bedroom (Carlee had to sleep alone cuz she still needs her beauty rest) and talking until the kids fall asleep. Another exception to our traditional Christmas Eve is that we didn't give "Christmas" pj's. Since it is so warm in San Antonio and our kids are little furnaces that sleep out of the covers anyway, we didn't buy the warm snuggly Christmas print pj's. We gave the boys their favorite--camo pants and muscle tees! The girls got pink and green stiped shorty pj's which Katelyn thought looked like candy canes anyway so I guess it worked. Usually while the kids sleep all together, Joe and I watch "White Christmas". It is one of our favorite holiday movies. But again, we broke tradition because Joe fell asleep about 8:00 after a very long weekend on-call where he worked about 41 hours straight. At least he was a good sport about walking along the river. Maybe he was sleep-walking. I'll never know. But it was a great night anyway and the kids were so excited for the morning to come . . .

Tree Trouble

Being the typical one-year-old, Carlee has been very interested in our Christmas tree, lights, and ornaments. All day long I pull her away from it and try to distract her with her toys. However, this time I decided to catch her sneakiness . . .

I'll look at the TV so Mom doesn't notice my little hand sneaking up to grab it.

I'll get you, Jakey!

I got it!

Look, Mom!  It's Jakey.

Okay, I'll play with my own toys now.

Like Father, Like Daughter

The other night after the kids were asleep, I was upstairs wrapping gifts and Joe was watching TV with Carlee. It got really quiet downstairs so I walked down there to see what was going on. This is what I saw . . .
So I showed Joe the pic the next morning and he asked, "Who posed us like that?" I said, "Nobody. She's just your daughter." And he said, "Of course. Isn't she cute?"

Cookie Decorating

For FHE, we decorated sugar cookies for our activity. The kids had helped cut them out after school and couldn't wait to add the frosting and accessorize them. It was finger-lickin' good!

Picky Christmas Pics

Katelyn wanted to make our Christmas cards herself using stamps and paper so last Sunday we got the kids all dressed up in their church Christmas dress and decided to take pictures for our card. Because church is at 12:30 and we also had Tithing Settlement afterwards, we started the ordeal about 4:30. Carlee fell asleep during Priesthood meeting for about 15 minutes so needless to say, she was extremely hungry and tired. Joe had them set up in the living room the way he wanted and I was doing the goofy ridiculous dances, actions, and words to make them laugh. We got one blurry picture of all of them genuinely smiling (not looking at the camera, though) before Carlee pulled her hairbow out, kicked off her shoes, and turned on the waterworks. Because I am ridiculous and wanted perfect smiles, perfect outfits, and perfect children for a perfect card, the pics weren't good enough so we did head cut-outs for our Christmas card. They aren't perfect either but at least everyone is smiling their best smiles. Looking at these now after a few days of not checking out their every detail, they actually make me smile and I should have used some of them separately. Oh well. Next year.

Our best but blurry picture

Carlee is done and the others can't straighten their mouths.

My two perfect picture posers

My never-fails-to-make-me-laugh show-off

Birthday Baby

Last Friday, December 7, our little baby turned the big ONE. It's hard to believe that a year has passed since she was born. She is the greatest Christmas present we could ever receive. Carlee has quite the personality. She has always been more stubborn at getting what she wants and loves our attention. Carlee is perfectly content and happy when I sit by her on the floor all day long while she plays but the second I get up to do something she follows right after me to "help". She crawls as fast as she can saying, "Daddy" when she hears the front door open for Joe to come home. She also loves her brothers and sister. Her face lights up when she sees Clark and she smiles when he carries her around. Katelyn has always taken really good care of her and gives her lots of kisses. They will be great friends when they get to play with dolls together. Jake just loves to tease and tickle her. Sometimes she laughs really hard and sometimes she goes after him. It won't be too long before she can take him down. Carlee is a great blessing to us and a special part of our family. Happy Birthday, sweet pea!

Carlee didn't really have any interest in opening her gifts so her brothers and sister helped her quite a bit. But once her gifts were open, she got interested really quickly. She got a Cabbage Patch doll that walks and talks, a Little People airplane, jeans and a sweater, a pink Build-a-Bear and some outfits for it, and a coat. She got so excited when her doll started walking. She would bounce on her knees and wave her arms and laugh. It was so cute. She also dances when the airplane plays music.

While Joe was growing up, his family had a tradition that on their first birthday they would lay out a piece of bread, some money, and a book for the birthday kid to choose. This was supposed to predict their future profession. The money means they will be in business, the book means they will be a scholar and Joe actually can't remember what the bread means so we have come up with our own prediction--either they are supposed to be good eaters or the bread winners of their families. All of our children have gone for the bread. We just think they are meant to be good eaters. They start that way as babies and they'll end up that way too. :)

Carlee loved her cake. I made a white cake with chocolate ice cream in the middle. I then frosted it pink and used fruit-by-the-foot to make a ribbon so it looked like a present. It didn't turn out very well cuz the fruit rolls ended up looking globby in the middle but oh well, it tasted yummy and Carlee ate it up. You live and learn.

Sittin' on Santa's Lap

For Family Home Evening we made our annual trip to the mall to visit Santa Claus. The kids enjoyed sitting on his lap and telling him their Christmas wishes, all except Carlee. You'll see why!

 
 

 

Where does the time go?

Okay, so I started doing this blog during Thanksgiving week and I obviously haven't posted anything since then. I always wonder where my time goes but today I realized where it has all gone in the last 2 weeks. Our family has celebrated Thanksgiving, Jake's and Joe's birthdays, planned and organized one Christmas party, attended another Christmas party, decorated our house with Christmas cheer, completed our Christmas shopping (almost), and kept up with the usual routine of house cleaning, laundry, cooking, Young Women's activities and meetings, working late hours and being on-call, running kids to basketball, piano, dance, preschool, scouts, and playdates, and Christmas is less than 20 days away! My, how the time flies!

Anyway, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with our family alone. It was the first time we didn't have company or we weren't the company for someone else. It was a great day and this year it was Jacob's birthday as well. Joe did his favorite tradition of playing in the Turkey Bowl and this year Clark got to participate too. They had a great time and it was a little chilly that morning so it felt even more like a true Thanksgiving. Kate helped me in the kitchen while Jake and Carlee watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and played with toys. We ate our dinner about 2:00 in the afternoon. The turkey was divine, Kate's mashed potatoes creamy, the gravy okay (I need to work on that one), the raspberry Jell-O salad delicious, the rolls golden brown, Clark's deviled eggs scrumptious, the green beans tasty, and Joe's apple and pumpkin pies heavenly. It was a great dinner and we discussed all of our blessings over the meal.

Jake then opened his birthday gifts--a big Buzz Lightyear Hot Wheels race track, a transformer, and a Power Ranger costume. He decided to go see "Bee Movie" at the theater. It was a pretty good movie and Jake loved it. Then we came home and had pie. What a wonderful day!

On Black Friday, Joe braved the crowds at 5:00 a.m. looking for a specific gift that was sold out by 5:20. All I know is that he crawled back into bed around 6:00 and said that people were rude and they turn into animals. I guess he won't do that again. Jake had a few little friends over in the afternoon to play and then had pizza, cake and ice cream. We tried to start some games but those boys just wanted to have sword fights with balloons and race matchbox cars so they just had a great time with their toys. Jake was excited to have a little "birthday party" with some friends and he even got to open a few more presents. Thanks, friends!