31 December 2009

2009 Year in Review

I think I will safely say that 2009 was a good year for our family. I'm looking forward to what 2010 brings as well.

To start, we found out our long awaited little baby was going to be a BOY!
We went to Hawaii for super cheap with a week's notice...and we had a great time.
We took some cute family pictures, courtesy of my brother.
We played in the snow!
I went to Vegas with blogging buddies and had an awesome time getting to know them all.
I got tired of being pregnant (even though I was very grateful to be pregnant) and always trying to be positive especially when I was in pain.
We lost Red Fish but a few weeks later, got Stanley.
I had a BABY and we named him thanks to the iPhone.
I washed my iPhone, it died, then came back to life, then died a permanent death.
T-Bone and I went to Wicked.
Big Sister started Kindergarten.
I ate lots of yummy things for my birthday.
I learned how to crochet.
We had Christmas and lastly Big Sister had lots of funny things to say.

I hope that 2009 was good to your family and 2010 is even better! Happy New Year!

28 December 2009

Christmas Wrap-up

Did you all have a good Christmas? I hope so. Ours was perfect as far as I am concerned. In the past 7 years every Christmas Eve we have driven 2 plus hours to T-Bone's Grandpa's house in L.A. We sit there amid tons of chatter and people we don't ever see and mostly who have absolutely no relation to me (T-Bone's Grandpa was married for 10 years and his wife died and these are her children) for two hours and then drive back home. We never get home earlier than 9:30 or 10pm. Did I mention he has 3 dogs and a cat and furniture that has been there for 40+ years? A disaster for someone with pet and dust allergies.

I hate it.

His Grandpa can't hear and is 93 or something so the actual purpose of the visit--to visit with him--is washed up in all the other stuff. We never get to actually spend time or have a conversation with him.

Well this year we didn't go. They are doing renovations on the house and T-Bone's aunt, who lives there recently had surgery so the house and hostess wasn't prepared for a 30 or so person party. Instead we went on Saturday. It was so nice to have an actual conversation with Grandpa and learn something about him. The drive still sucked but at least the visit made up for it.

So instead on Christmas Eve Big Sister and I made cookies in the morning for Santa and then decorated them. After T-Bone got home from work around 2 we did some last minute shopping and then Skyped with my brother and niece and then my sister and her kids. After dinner we just relaxed for the evening. I can't even remember what we had for dinner. I got to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Christmas Story in the Bible to Big Sister. I haven't done that once since we've been married. Big Sister was so excited for Santa to come that she went to bed at 7. She kept talking about how if she heard his sleigh she was going jump out of bed so that she could see Santa in real life. She even opened the blinds in her bedroom about 9 inches so that she could look out the window if she heard anything. It was so fun to see the magic of Christmas alive in her. She sort of got the idea of Santa last year but this year it was so much more. T-Bone and I tried to watch It's a Wonderful Life but I passed out and went to bed, I was too tired. Mr. Smiley has been teething and just not sleeping well so I went to bed early. I'm pretty sure T-Bone watched the whole thing though.

And that brings us to Christmas morning. It was perfect. Big Sister woke up about 6:30 which is normal so it wasn't too rough getting up. She ran in the living room and then ran back and yelled, "Santa came!" I didn't want this year to be super fast opening presents and so we took our time opening them and playing with them before we went on to the next present. It still only took an hour or so but that's okay. We got lots of things, including a Wii with a couple games. This also was the first official year that Big Sister picked out gifts for each of us on her own. I really want her to understand that gift giving is about what the other person wants, not what you want. So far she has only really given gifts to her friends so she hasn't had to think about what they want. If she likes it then she gives it to them. But this year we gave her some ideas and then each parent took her shopping. She really wanted to give me a Snuggie so that's what I got, and she gave her Daddy a tie. T-Bone gave me a big rectangle griddle/grill so we had french toast and bacon for breakfast and then we just hung out. We didn't get out of our jammies all day in fact. We set up the Wii and played around on that, played with Big Sister's toys and books and just relaxed. The Charger game came on in the afternoon so we watched that with my Dad and his wife and then had hamburgers for dinner. Go Chargers!

This year has been good to our family (I'll do a 2009 recap next) and Christmas was happy because of it. I'm so grateful for the time to remember my Savior and his birth. I love that we remember the greatest of all the gifts of God which is eternal life that he gave to us. I try to renew my faith and diligence to try to give back as much as I can through my obedience of his commandments. Merry Christmas!

And some pictures...

Yes, that was our tree. It has been on the side table next to our couch but I thought we should bring it out to the middle for Christmas.
A sweet automatic toothpaste dispenser and orange ball. Santa knows Big Sister's favorite color
T-Bone always looks wasted in pictures. He's modeling his new golf shirts. Both of them. And the hit of Christmas--a lip gloss tray. She has not stopped putting lip gloss on for 3 days.

Mr. Smiley put a piece of paper in his mouth that had blue marker all over it

And a few more gifts

20 December 2009

So much better!

Thank you so much for all your help! I figured out--thanks to you guys--that I wasn't crocheting in the chain stitches and the end of the row. So now it's straight! It still doesn't look all that fantastic but at least the edges are mostly straight. Thanks again!

And here is the finished product.

18 December 2009

Real Life Crocheting Help

Hey all you crafty ladies out there I need some help. So at the beginning of this week I decided I was going to learn how to crochet. (Why do I always want to say crochety when I read that--like a crochety old lady? Anyway, moving on...) I found some videos on line and got some hooks. I have the basics down like the chain, single crochet and double crochet. I'm starting to get familiar with patterns, but they are still a lot of gibberish but I think I'm making headway.

What I am not making headway with is making my projects square! I cannot seem to figure out how to end each row so that it's straight. I've looked on line and there aren't really any "tip" sites about crochet, just info on how to do the basic stitches. So can anyone help me? What do I need to know when I'm ending a row so that it looks straight. Oh I should say I can make a square when it is just single crochet, but this pattern I've been doing is a little different. This is what it looks like so far....

Nothing like the picture.

15 December 2009


Why do I think it's a good idea to stay up until 11:30 playing worthless games on my iPhone when I know that I'm going to get woken up in a couple hours?

Why is it that when I really want Mr. Smiley to have a good nights sleep, he doesn't?

Why is it that when I want Mr. Smiley to take a long nap he doesn't and when I expect him to sleep a short time he ends up taking a long nap?

Why is it that in a room full of acceptable toys Mr. Smiley will find the one forbidden thing I forgot to put out of his reach?

Why is it that Big Sister will fight me to put in a sweatshirt when it's cold outside but when it warm she will be dressed with her hat, scarf and gloves?

Why is it that Big Sister will have a closet full of toys and games but have "nothing to do"?

Why is it when I'm frustrated at Mr. Smiley for not falling asleep in the middle of the night that he smiles that huge smile and gives me a giggle so it's impossible to not be happy? (I'm thinking that's a survival technique).

Why is it that so much of my life revolves around sleep or lack of it?

11 December 2009

Out of the mouth of Big Sister

Here are some recent gems from the mouth of Big Sister:

Right after starting Kindergarten
Big Sister: I'm almost going to be in first grade, but I'm not. But I am.

BS: Grandpa can I zerbet your tummy?
G: Sure! (Lifts up his shirt to reveal a very hairy belly)
BS: Ugh, never mind your tummy is too furry!

BS tripped and fell on the way to school
Me: are you ok? What did you hit?
BS: the ground

BS: I didn't even toot at school. My bum was sleeping.

T-Bone: What's greatest threat to America? (Referring to Stephen Colbert)
BS not missing a beat: What's the greatest recipe in the universe?
T-B: Bears?
BS: no hot dogs!

At the star party at school
BS: I can't see anything. I can't even see that truck.

On her birthday knocking on the bathroom door
Dad: Who is it?
Big Sister: It's Big Sister. The 5 year old. The one that's having a birthday.

Speaking of an owie on her arm
BS: Dad, look at this junk.

10 December 2009

Stay at Home Mom vs. House Wife

A couple days ago T-Bone and I were talking about some friends of ours. We were talking about self-employment versus working for the "man" and that sometimes it's just more realistic to buckle down and get a job rather than think you can make it in the self employed realm. Let me get this out right now that I think self employment is a wonderful venture. I know many people who succeed at this and I'm happy for them. But there are also those who don't succeed. They fall victim to those businesses that are multi-level marketing scams but market themselves as not scams. Then they brainwash these people into believing they can make tons of money off the merits of other people. The thing is it usually takes years to make tons of money and you have to work really hard. Okay, blah, blah, blah, that's not what this post is about. I just wanted to say I have nothing against those that want to be self employed or those that want to work for the "man" either. Just support your family. That's all I'm saying.

Anyway, moving on. So we were talking and I commented to T-Bone that I wanted to work when our kids got older. I find great satisfaction in working. I take full pride in the fact that my job--although non-paying--right now is to take care of our home and take care of our children. I love my job. It is frustrating at times. Like last night at midnight when I heard a strange whisper at the other side of my bed from a certain five year old asking for ice and water which she already had in her bed. Because of that conversation, me, my husband and the very light sleeping 6 1/2 month old who shares our room were all now awake. In the middle of the night. While feeding said 6 1/2 month old and trying to get him back to sleep I was having a really hard time not being angry. But I still love my job.

I love that Big Sister needs me to cuddle with her because she just stubbed her toe. I love that Mr. Smiley makes my day every day with his contagious laugh and smiles. I love the satisfaction that I get from knowing that I am teaching my children how to be good people. I just hope that those teachings play out when they are older. I realize that my job as a Mother is the most important job because I am raising the future leaders of the world.

But I won't always need to be home. When they are older I want to work. I don't want to be a housewife. So finally after all that I come to my point. I have an acquaintance who once she was married stopped working. They didn't have kids for a couple years into their marriage, but she never worked. I thought that was interesting. Neither good, nor bad, just interesting. I want to be busy but not too busy. I don't think I'd want to work full time, but I know I don't want to be at home all day. I was thinking today that working part time in a yarn store or something like that would suit me just fine. I'm sure I could find things to occupy my time if I wanted to, but I like the idea of going back to work. It gives me a sense of self worth. And I'm not talking about monetary worth, either. I like looking back at my day and being able to say I accomplished something that day. Right now it's that the house is not a complete disaster by the end of the day but when I'm older and don't have small children to care for I want to accomplish other things.

**So what about you....are you, have you been, or do you want to be a housewife? Are you a stay at home mom? What are your feelings on the subject?**

09 December 2009

Hello! For those of you wondering, I'm not dead. I just have a hard time blogging these days for some reason. You know how you think of things to say while you're say, in the shower, and then after you get ready and actually sit down at the computer, nothing is in your brain anymore? Yeah, that's me. Or maybe it's the 6 1/2 month old little guy that keeps me busy all day. I finally got some time last week to organize my papers and file some things away and I realized that I hadn't filed anything since April. That's before Mr. Smiley was born. So it's not just here that I'm behind. It's my whole life. I see papers stacking up in the kitchen. Piles and piles of mail and books. Big Sister brings home so much stuff from school that sometimes I feel so smothered by that. After the kids go to bed all I can manage is to collapse on the couch and watch whatever junk is on TV. I didn't think I'd ever get to this point. I normally am a very organized person. It's a good thing I have my calendar and my shopping list on my phone or I'd probably forget so many other things!

But today I was determined not to let those thoughts from the shower go anywhere except the computer and I thought I'd drop in and give a little update.

First of all, Happy Halloween! Yeah, I'm that far behind...T-Bone was an outlaw for Halloween with his authentic stache so I decided to be his hussie and dress up as a saloon girl. It was really fun. Big Sister was Belle again and Mr. Smiley was a luchador (Nacho Libre style) We were awesome if I do say so myself.

I'm not really sure what happened in November...I guess I'll skip to Thanksgiving! Wohoo, two months down! Instead of driving out to Arizona for Thanksgiving we went and hung out at the beach campgrounds with some friends. The deep fried and barbecued turkeys were yummy! The weather was gorgeous too. I love San Diego in November. The sky is clear, the weather isn't too freezing--usually--and the air has that crisp, fall feeling in it.

So that bring us to December. Man I am zooming. Why didn't I do this months ago? Big Sister turned 5!! It's nuts to think that I have a 5 year old. She had a fun birthday with a couple friends and mostly grandparents. She wanted chocolate cupcakes with white frosting and blue jello with sprinkles on top. Not sure where she got the idea to put jello on cupcakes, but I happily obliged. I made jello jiggler stars and put them on top. True to her personality she didn't like the jello too much but that's okay. Sometimes you have to try things. We were going to go bowling but all the lanes were taken up by leagues. It was pretty annoying that the leagues would completely monopolize the bowling alley during the week. That doesn't make much sense. So instead we went to Chuck E Cheese with Big Sister and her friend. They had fun getting tickets to spend on cheaper than dollar store prizes so it was worth it. Happy Birthday Big Sister!

I tell you what, birthdays stress me out. I think about all these other moms who throw huge birthday parties for their kids and I just don't know how they do it. We went to one of Big Sister's friend's parties a couple weeks ago and there were 20 kids there. It was at the park so there was room for everyone to run around and play, but that is just too much stress for me. I told Big Sister she could invite one friend over to bowl and that turned into two. No big deal, I can handle a 3 kid birthday party. Then my mom, my dad and his wife, and T-Bone's parents came too. That made 11 people altogether. I was so glad when it was over. Not that I don't like spending time with all of them, I'm just one of those small crowd people. I also think it has to do with the fact that her parties are always in our apartment since the weather is so unpredictable in December and everyone's schedules are so jam packed our days to do a party are limited. I'm looking forward to the day where we can have a party in our backyard and there's room for a bunch of kids to run around.

So that's what's going on in Big Sister's life. Now for the little one, Mr. Smiley. He turned 6 months the day before Thanksgiving. He truly is a little one just tipping the scales at 16 1/2 pounds and 26 inches long. That puts him in the 35th percentile for both. Big Sister was always--and still is--in the 75th-90th percentiles. I hope she's not taller than him! He is such a sweetheart. He loves to be held and just walk around with me but he also really enjoys being on the floor checking things out. He is a very intense thinker, you can really see him concentrating. And he will play with one toy for a long time. It's such a change from Big Sister who still is bored within minutes of things. He rolled when he was 4 1/2 months-ish and once he figured he could move he was unstoppable. It wasn't long before he was a rolling machine. He would go the whole length of the living room just because he could. Then he started scooting around and that didn't last very long. Last Thursday--a whole week before he was 6 1/2 months he crawled. (Big Sister crawled at 6 1/2 months) So after a week of practicing, he's getting pretty good. I shake my head at him every time because I was so not ready for that. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago that he would even sit. He still doesn't sit by himself for very long, he just wants to be on the move. He also loves to laugh! He is such a giggler and smiler. He makes my day, every day.

Well I guess that pretty much brings us up to speed. And perfect timing too, because I just heard Mr. Smiley getting up from his nap. Life is good. Catch ya later!

**Oh and there are lots of pictures that I've taken over the last few months but I hate how Blogger makes you upload them so they're all on Facebook. If you know my real name, go ahead and add me--if you haven't already--otherwise, you're out of luck. I'm not that motivated to post them here.**