The Calm Before The Storm

I sit here in the kitchen enjoying the quiet. It is the last day where there will just be the 4 of us for about 10 days. Don't take me wrong, that is not a bad thing. We are about to welcome our family to Utah for what will be our last Christmas here. And this year is bigger than ever. We are expecting Nana & Papa tonight, Grandma & Grandpa tomorrow morning, and Annie on Friday at about noon. We are excited to have lots of family here to celebrate this festive holiday. It will the first that Grandma & Grandpa have spent with us since Keely was 2 months old (7 years!). And naturally that means their first Christmas in Utah.

Santa brought an early Christmas present to us over the last couple of days. We've had some pretty mild dry weather since the cold Thanksgiving, but it seems a white Christmas will be guaranteed now. It's also forecast to snow again tomorrow and Thursday. I know it's hard to tell but that's a ruler sitting in the snow, and it reads between 8 and 9"!

Lastly, Callie got all spruced up for the incoming family and the holidays. She looks so cute, and smells good. She even got a holiday bandanna to put her in the holiday spirit!

34

I am now 34 years old. I celebrated my birthday today in the best way possible, on a weekend with my favorite 3 people. I slept late, then was presented with my birthday present. To clarify, this was actually my second present. I got one a week early when I purchased a red leather bag to carry my laptop and other work related items on my monthly trips to Virginia. And I got many compliments on that bag while I was in Virginia so it was most definitely a good choice. My second birthday present was a much desired griddle and I broke it in immediately by making pancakes :) It was so nice not to have to rush anywhere, so I relaxed while watching football until mid-afternoon. Then we headed out to do some shopping at Kohl's before the highlight of the day, seeing MegaMind at the movies. We even treated ourselves to snacks at the theater -- there's something so good about that popcorn! We closed out the day with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Bonsai Japanese Steakhouse. We all love the Hibachi food and the cooks are very entertaining. They line their walls with pictures of people who have celebrated birthdays with dinner there, and I joined the ranks. This is a picture of our picture taped to the wall in the restaurant. They also sang to me while Quinn bonged a drum and Keely rattled a tambourine, then we all had ice cream sundaes. It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

Santa

The University holds a faculty & staff appreciation each Christmas and offers 30% off to all employees. This event also includes other perks including Santa available for visits from children of employees. The best part is there is no line and no fee for photos (but you have to take your own). We aren't real big on visiting Santa, my children have always known that is not the real one -- just a person helping out with such a big task and we hate waiting on long long lines just for a photo opportunity with a fake (and sometimes not very good looking) Santa. In any event, we knew Keely would be keen on going and sitting on Santa's lap.

She actually wanted to stand next to him, but he pulled her right up. She smiled big and when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas, her answer was Heelys (the sneakers with wheels). For the record, I have no idea why she would want these because she hates tennis sneakers and socks and she cannot wear them to school...I guess someone she knows has them and she thinks it's cool to skate around. Trouble is they don't come in her size (they mostly start at Size 1) and I think she knew that because she said she was going to lie to Santa and say she was 9 if he asked because Heelys are for 9 and up. Turns out she didn't have to because this Santa had no clue what she was talking about and quickly wished her a Merry Christmas and sent her on her way.

Quinn had no interest in sitting on Santa's lap, nor has he written out a Christmas list. I think we are teetering on the edge of "believing" and I am not sure what (if anything) to do about it. He hasn't said much of anything and I think that's kind of him if he doesn't believe because he's not spoiling it for his sister...who on the other hand is very into it this year. Keely wrote a Christmas list up and placed it by the fireplace. Her theory is that elves come during the night, take the list and bring it back to Santa. She was thrilled in the morning when her list was gone :)

Christmas Card Time!

Since we had Quinn and then added Keely to the family, the yearly ritual of sending Christmas cards has become a lot easier. What better way to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" than with one or more pictures of the cutest kids (in my biased opinion)? Picture cards are my favorite to receive in the mail, so naturally they would be my favorite to send. And these days, the options are really unlimited. A few years ago, I discovered a site called Shutterfly. This is just one of many sites that you can use to upload photos to create picture gifts. And once I discovered this site, the others just melted away. The choices are seemingly unlimited. The first hard part of sending a picture card is to take and edit the perfect picture(s) of our kids. Then the job gets harder -- but not in a bad way, there are just so many choices. It is so hard to pick just one! I always play around with so many options and have trouble deciding. That's where I call in the reinforcements (aka James) to make the ultimate choice :)

I played around with the cards available for 2011 and in just a few minutes was able to make three draft cards. The photos I've used are most likely not what you will see in the final version...but I think they will do the trick if we get lazy and decide not to take any fresh pictures of the kiddos. (note: Keely will most likely demand new pictures in her Christmas dress...when I mentioned using these old snow pictures, she was very upset!)

These are such a limited view of all the cards available on the site -- there are several different types including stationary, folded and flat, different sizes including 4"x8" and 5"x7", and a choice of 1-6 or more photos. With so many cards to choose from, you can see how the options become limited only by your own imagination!

Cards are not the only thing that I have used Shutterfly for in years past. Each year I make a calendar of the past year's pictures of the kids to give to their grandparents and other family members. These are such a simple, inexpensive -- but often the most favorite -- of all gifts on Christmas morning. The calendar choices on Shutterfly are also seemingly limitless, with so many backgrounds and photo combinations available.

Another product that I have also used and loved the result are the photo books. I used this choice for a keepsake of our 2009 two week vacation to North Carolina, Washington, DC and Blacksburg. In a day and age where printed photos are quite uncommon, I love that we can pull out this book and glimpse some of the scenes from this amazing trip.

So if you haven't already, go check out http://www.shutterfly.com. It's fast, easy and ultra user friendly. I just know you will love it! I know that I am going to have fun making not only this year's Christmas cards but also many photo gifts in the years to come.

If you are a blogger and would like to win 50 free Christmas cards, click here.

Happy Shopping!

Playin' Santa

I haven't started Christmas shopping yet, with the exception of one present for Quinn. Well, that's not entirely true. Yesterday we spent the afternoon shopping for people we don't know. Each year the kids' school participates in a program called 'Candy Cane Corner', which basically acts as a Sub for Santa type program. They need pretty much everything for needy families, including clothes, toys, toiletries, wrapping paper, you name it they need it. So we headed out to Shopko and bought clothes for a family of four, a couple of toys and a large roll of wrapping paper. Then we decided to keep on giving by heading over to Macy's where they have the annual Giving Tree program. There are trees set up at local businesses with ornaments for needy children. We picked two ornaments, one for a 9 year old boy and the other for a 11 year old girl. This one is a little more personal, and a little more fun because the needs are specific. We headed off to Target and Old Navy to fulfill these two lists. We purchased two pairs of pants, a winter coat and a remote control car with batteries for the boy. We got a pair of jeans, a top, boots and iTunes gift cards for the girl.

We are so fortunate to be able to give to programs such as these. If the situation were reversed, I know I would be counting on these programs to give my kids and our family the Christmas I couldn't. I think the kids really understood the point and for the most part really enjoyed spending time shopping for others.

We also went to the annual 'Festival of Trees' on Friday afternoon with the Martins. This was our first time there and it was quite moving. This is an event where people decorate and donate Christmas trees (and more goodies in most cases) and then all proceeds from the event (including admission) benefit Primary Children's Medical Center. The event was more sad than we thought though, because most of the trees are in memory of a person who has died of cancer or something else. And they mostly have pictures and stories accompanying the trees. A couple of hours of looking at things like that can make you a bit sad, but then grateful for having the gift of life. It hit the girls (Keely and Victoria) hard, the boys not so much. I am glad we went though and now I know a place to go if I want to make a very generous donation to this hospital and get a gorgeous Christmas decoration. Liliana and I each found one and really seriously thought about buying them (at $900 and $450 each!).

In the spirit of the season, I am glad we are taking time out to help others. Even the littlest of help counts as it truly does take a village. In these tough times, even more need help and having been out of work myself (though fortunately not at the holidays) I know firsthand how scary it is not to know if and how things will work out. We know that a few people's Christmas mornings will be brighter because of the work we did in a few hours' time one Sunday afternoon.

Thanksgiving Wrapup

Since we've moved out West, we have always been either alone for Thanksgiving or celebrated with friends. I actually didn't mind having a holiday for just the 4 of us, as it suits our family very well. But I still made the huge meal and we always ended up with lots and lots of leftovers.
This year was different. We had the pleasure of having a part of the family visit us for Thanksgiving. Aunt Lois, Uncle Ryan and Adelia decided to leave warm sunny Florida for cold snowy Utah. (note to self: next time reverse the traveling so we all end up in warm weather!) It was Adelia's first time in Utah, her first time seeing and experiencing snow, and our first time seeing her as a full fledged toddler.
The Thanksgiving menu was very traditional: 12 lb turkey, stuffing (some cooked separately sans onions for Uncle Ryan), mashed potatoes (mostly for Quinn), sweet potato casserole (recipe from Ruth's Chris Steak House - absolutely divine!), carrots, butternut squash and homemade rolls. Desserts were pumpkin pie and dutch apple pie (Grammy's recipe made by Aunt Lois...and so so yummy!). With an extra 3 people in the house, we were able to polish off most of the leftovers at Thanksgiving Dinner Round 2 on Saturday night. Hopefully I have now completely dispelled the rumor that no leftovers are saved in our house :)
There was about a foot of snow on the ground before the weekend and another foot or so fell on Sunday into Monday. It was bitter cold too. Everyone went sledding on Thanksgiving (well not me, I gladly stayed home and cooked) and had fun. Adelia just observed mostly from what I heard and wasn't too crazy about the snow. She did try it again on Sunday and was slightly more entertained but not much. My kids though love it. Me, not so much.
We didn't do much of anything notable over the 4 day weekend -- or at least much out of the house. We played games...Texas Hold'Em with newly acquired poker chips, laughed ourselves silly with Beyond Balderdash, watched our newly put on DVD wedding video since Uncle Ryan wasn't there. It was interesting to go back to a 13 month old's schedule -- in between 2 1-hour naps and a 7:30 PM bedtime, there's not much time for large activities. But the fun of it was just being together with family. The kids adored spending time with their baby cousin. Keely wants a sister now (she's not getting one).
Thanks to a not so good reason they ended up spending another day with us. So Aunt Lois and I took that opportunity to take the kids to Discovery Gateway. We haven't been there for years and I figured it was just the place for a 1 year old. Well it seems the 9 and 7 years olds probably had more fun. We could have spent another hour but it was closing and we had to get dinner before picking Uncle Ryan up from the airport.
We were definitely sad to see them leave. It was a fun visit and we can't wait to see them again! Hopefully in warmer conditions...we are already looking at airfares to Florida to escape the winter doldrums.