I can't find my Christmas pictures! I took the cutest pics of my kids with their cousins sitting on the stairs before the unveiling of Christmas morning magic, and I wonder if maybe I erased them on accident. Anyway, I thought I should still blog about Christmas, even without pictures.
A funny story. So all I wanted Chris to get me for Christmas was a point and shoot camera. I wanted a basic, $100 set up just so that I can easily cart around a camera in my purse and I don't miss out on memory keeping just because I don't feel like hauling five pounds around my neck. I also wanted Chris to be able to take the camera with him when I wasn't there.
A few weeks before Christmas, Chris emailed me links to several cheap deals on POS cameras. I was annoyed, because I wasn't asking for a fancy or expensive camera, and sometimes his frugality really bugs. So these cameras were like 5 mexapixel pieces of garbage that were larger than what they are making now, and were selling for like $40. I emailed him and said, "I just want a $100-ish POS that is new." So there wasn't more conversation.
Christmas morning, he had my presents labled "Rebecca #1", "Rebecca #2", etc. While I was opening #1, he was like, "What do you think it is?" I said, "A camera." So I open it and it is a super old, heavy, very large, 3.3 megapixel camera from the dark ages. There was no pretending to like it. I was like, "wow, how much did this cost you?" He said, "$20!" I was like, "good." So I keep opening, super annoyed by my husband's genetically programed instinct to always behave like we are poor college students...and the next present is a nice, brand new, POS camera that meets my requirements.
Boy, oh boy, did he have a hay day at that point. He was so happy with his little practical joke that 100% got me. How does he do that!? It was funny, and he is very fortunate that he didn't really try to cheapskate me on my reasonable request.
Anyway, so you will notice that I'll have more pictures that look like flashing, auto-focusing delight. I'm so happy with my little camera that gets the job done and doesn't feel like a chore!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My favorite artists...
Ruby was so sweet to draw this picture of she and I. I love the heart with the lines connecting us both, I love that we are wearing matching clothes, and that we have rosy cheeks. What a treasure!
Here's my favorite, favorite, favorite ever picture drawn by Alice. It is our family. I love the hair that doesn't touch our heads. I love the extra layers of teeth in Chris and Ruby's mouths. I love the curly feet.
Stone...
This is gross. Really gross. The girls took a bath with Stone. They weren't supposed to sit in the water, just stand like Alice is doing...but Ruby was sitting down when I got up there. Stone loved it, he has been in the house a little bit lately, which is fun for him and the girls.
Randomly, the girls asked Chris when Stone's birthday was, and I was informed the next morning that January 13th was going to be the big day...which was today (and Braden's birthday). Ruby loves to plan parties, so she went to town! On the door we enter the house through most (the inside garage door), Ruby hung a sign that read, "Wilcom to Ston's party. We hope that you wil hav a grat time. Mom, Dad, Ruby, Bitsy, Alice."
She drew pictures and hung them around the kitchen for Stone.
Here's a picture of his present, which was a glow in the dark ball for fetching.
Ruby and Alice cut triangles out of paper and thought they'd stand up on their heads like a conical hat, but they didn't work. I was right there while they were doing it and I helped when they asked how to punch holes for the yarn to tie it to their heads, I helped. I wasn't consulted as to why the hats they made didn't do their job, so I just stayed out of it. Here's one that didn't get cut out...
After we shopped for presents as a family (we also got a swimsuit for Ruby...so she had to put it right on when we got home), Chris fashioned a dog birthday cake out of wet dog food and put dry dog food on top for additional appeal. The girls insisted on a candle, and then they hid the cake and Stone came in and hunted for it. When he found it, it was gone in seconds. Literally. Every lick, it was GONE.
Here's a picture of his present, which was a glow in the dark ball for fetching.Ruby and Alice cut triangles out of paper and thought they'd stand up on their heads like a conical hat, but they didn't work. I was right there while they were doing it and I helped when they asked how to punch holes for the yarn to tie it to their heads, I helped. I wasn't consulted as to why the hats they made didn't do their job, so I just stayed out of it. Here's one that didn't get cut out...After we shopped for presents as a family (we also got a swimsuit for Ruby...so she had to put it right on when we got home), Chris fashioned a dog birthday cake out of wet dog food and put dry dog food on top for additional appeal. The girls insisted on a candle, and then they hid the cake and Stone came in and hunted for it. When he found it, it was gone in seconds. Literally. Every lick, it was GONE.
Then Ruby wanted to play games. It was a party, after all! So the girls would put dry dog food in one hand and hold their closed fists out and Stone would lick the hand that had the food in it with perfect accuracy. Then they played hide 'n' seek. The girls would hide and Stone would find them. Then Stone would hide and the girls would find them. It was silly and fun, fun, fun for all of us!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Single parenthood...
Chris used to work all the time. ALL THE TIME. Now, he sticks pretty easily to his 50 hour work week, and all is well. I haven't really had to do it all on my own since I started homeschooling a first grader in September. Today was an exception. I knew Chris needed to work, and I was happily going to do it all...but I was a beast by 7:30.
At the end of the day, I was thinking about what in the world a single parent does to survive. I realized I'd do many things differently if I were a single parent.
I wouldn't own a large home.
I wouldn't be 7.5 month pregnant.
My children would attend public school. If they had all-day Kindergarten, I'd be signing up. Preschool? Perfect.
I wouldn't spend the dinner hour at the YMCA with a million other people for 2 hours while the girls do their swimming team/lessons that don't even overlap.
Bedtime would be streamlined...one story time, a song, tuck in, and a kiss with no thirty minute cuddles.
I know it would still be a hard road, because I'd have to add providing for my family to my list, but there would be some simplifying that would help. Oh yeah, I'd also live with my parents. In a heartbeat. Maybe I could still do the swimming thing.
Anyway, thank goodness for having Chris, a healthy, hardworking, super hands-on partner to share the load!
At the end of the day, I was thinking about what in the world a single parent does to survive. I realized I'd do many things differently if I were a single parent.
I wouldn't own a large home.
I wouldn't be 7.5 month pregnant.
My children would attend public school. If they had all-day Kindergarten, I'd be signing up. Preschool? Perfect.
I wouldn't spend the dinner hour at the YMCA with a million other people for 2 hours while the girls do their swimming team/lessons that don't even overlap.
Bedtime would be streamlined...one story time, a song, tuck in, and a kiss with no thirty minute cuddles.
I know it would still be a hard road, because I'd have to add providing for my family to my list, but there would be some simplifying that would help. Oh yeah, I'd also live with my parents. In a heartbeat. Maybe I could still do the swimming thing.
Anyway, thank goodness for having Chris, a healthy, hardworking, super hands-on partner to share the load!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Good deal...
So Ruby loves Narnia, as I've mentioned before. She cried when the series finished last week. She dreams about it and pretend plays in Narnia frequently.
A friend of mine recommended a 19-disc theatrical audio recording of the entire series to me. It only cost $20, so I bought it right away. This way, when we are done with "school" for the day, Ruby can put on her headphones and experience Narnia to her heart's delight.
Here's a description of the CD's.
"Gather your family around the "radio" and step into C.S. Lewis's world of marvelous creatures, miraculous events, and perilous war against evil powers. Recorded in London it features acclaimed actors David Suchet as Aslan and Paul Scofield as the storyteller. An additional cast of over 100 actors, original orchestral score, and high- quality digital sound bring these tales of courage, self-sacrifice, and friendship vividly to life. Ages 8 and up. 19-CD boxed set, 22 hours total."
You can buy them for that price here. This way, we can move on with other novels...like "The Secret Garden", which we have just started.
Another tip is that there are a ton of classics that can be read online for free. The entire text. I use www.amblesideonline.org for suggested, age appropriate reading material and then I search for free online books. I can just as easily read from my computer screen as a novel, and that way I don't have to buy the novels or borrow them (and pay for fines later). "The Secret Garden" is here. They have many other free texts like "Wuthering Heights", "Tom Sawyer", "Anne of Green Gables" (whole series) and "The Odyssey", to name a few.
A friend of mine recommended a 19-disc theatrical audio recording of the entire series to me. It only cost $20, so I bought it right away. This way, when we are done with "school" for the day, Ruby can put on her headphones and experience Narnia to her heart's delight.
Here's a description of the CD's.
"Gather your family around the "radio" and step into C.S. Lewis's world of marvelous creatures, miraculous events, and perilous war against evil powers. Recorded in London it features acclaimed actors David Suchet as Aslan and Paul Scofield as the storyteller. An additional cast of over 100 actors, original orchestral score, and high- quality digital sound bring these tales of courage, self-sacrifice, and friendship vividly to life. Ages 8 and up. 19-CD boxed set, 22 hours total."
You can buy them for that price here. This way, we can move on with other novels...like "The Secret Garden", which we have just started.
Another tip is that there are a ton of classics that can be read online for free. The entire text. I use www.amblesideonline.org for suggested, age appropriate reading material and then I search for free online books. I can just as easily read from my computer screen as a novel, and that way I don't have to buy the novels or borrow them (and pay for fines later). "The Secret Garden" is here. They have many other free texts like "Wuthering Heights", "Tom Sawyer", "Anne of Green Gables" (whole series) and "The Odyssey", to name a few.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Safer Baby...
It seems like there's no end to the ways you can try to raise a healthy baby. I weed through the information and some things make an impact and others I have to let go.
Here are a few things that are on my wish list for this baby.
I am a fan of Sassy products. I have a garbage bag full of their teethers, rattles, spoons, etc. upstairs. However, I don't want baby chowing down on BPA ridden plastics, so I'm going to have to toss some things and update. The good news is, I want to simplify...I think a couple of the right toys should be plenty. Here's a list of BPA free Sassy brand products. I'm glad there are pictures, it will make it much easier to shop for!
BPA free pacifiers. I made the rookie mistake with Ruby of believing that she wasn't going to take a pacifier. I will never make that mistake again. I love pacifiers! I love not being the pacifier! This baby will have to like the BPA free options out there...and there are a bunch of them! Here's a list I found online.
Another interesting tidbit my midwife shared with me is regarding SIDS. If you are interested to know about a possibly reason and therefore answer or "cure", read this article. I looked up the mattress wrap and it's really affordable. For $32, you can buy one to fit your existing mattress here. I don't really need to put a lot of effort into deciding if this is the real cause of SIDS. I just want to spend the $32 and hope it's true. Doesn't hurt, right? (This additional info is useful, though I feel some of it might be a little overboard, and I'll take what I want and leave the rest. Still, to each her own...read and decide what works for you.)
Okay, enough for now. Time to go sleep on a toxic mattress of my own.
Here are a few things that are on my wish list for this baby.
Juvenile Solutions Baby Cubes
I want these because they are BPA free and have lids. I think I'd like one set for taking food on the go. I think I'll buy these right away because they are $3.00 cheaper than www.amazon.com at www.babystyle.com, and they are having a free shipping, 30% off coupon right now.Green Sprouts Eco-friendly Silicone Freezer Tray
I am a fan of Sassy products. I have a garbage bag full of their teethers, rattles, spoons, etc. upstairs. However, I don't want baby chowing down on BPA ridden plastics, so I'm going to have to toss some things and update. The good news is, I want to simplify...I think a couple of the right toys should be plenty. Here's a list of BPA free Sassy brand products. I'm glad there are pictures, it will make it much easier to shop for!
BPA free pacifiers. I made the rookie mistake with Ruby of believing that she wasn't going to take a pacifier. I will never make that mistake again. I love pacifiers! I love not being the pacifier! This baby will have to like the BPA free options out there...and there are a bunch of them! Here's a list I found online.
Another interesting tidbit my midwife shared with me is regarding SIDS. If you are interested to know about a possibly reason and therefore answer or "cure", read this article. I looked up the mattress wrap and it's really affordable. For $32, you can buy one to fit your existing mattress here. I don't really need to put a lot of effort into deciding if this is the real cause of SIDS. I just want to spend the $32 and hope it's true. Doesn't hurt, right? (This additional info is useful, though I feel some of it might be a little overboard, and I'll take what I want and leave the rest. Still, to each her own...read and decide what works for you.)
Okay, enough for now. Time to go sleep on a toxic mattress of my own.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Memorable conversations...
Once upon a time, I thought that kids who were seven years old weren't really cute anymore. I just thought they were really big and probably too smart to say funny things. I'm so glad this isn't true!
Alice told me (thank you Alice, we need these lines of communication to remain open forever) that Ruby had a boyfriend. I didn't think much of it, but I was curious to know who it was. I asked her, "Ruby, do you have a boyfriend?"
"A pretend boyfriend."
"Oh, what's his name?"
"Brett, I like that name."
"Hmmmm. What's he doing right now?"
"He's sitting right here" she pats the empty seat to her left.
Chris entered the conversation, Ruby was sitting on his lap. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Today, I signed Ruby up for private horse riding/handling/caring lessons. She was/is so excited. So she told Alice, "I get to go horseback riding on Wednesday!" Alice said, "Where, Daddy's back?"
Awesome!
About the horse thing, she is totally in love with horses, but doesn't really have any first hand experience with them. She always asks if we can have a real horse, and that's an easy one..."NO!" So she said she wanted a horse she could ride for her birthday. She made reference to some monstrous horse thing they had at Costco that was really expensive and couldn't possibly be so interesting long-term to justify taking up space in my house and costing me more than $100 dollars. Chris and I got her a $10 horse on a stick that whinnies and makes galloping noises. She is SEVEN YEARS OLD, and no joke, she rides that thing around super happily. A lot. She loves it.
I also don't really know of anyone outside of my own family members who don't let their girls watch the popular teenager shows. This drives me crazy. So the other day, we had a bunch of friends to the hotel to swim, and one family that came is new at church. Ruby wound up swimming around a lot with their 9 year old daughter. After the evening, Ruby said, "Mom! I met a 9 year old who isn't allowed to watch Hannah Montana either!" HALLELUJAH one hundred times!!! Now Ruby can wait another two years and not think she's the only girl on the planet who has that rule...then she can wait two more years! Lol.
Alice told me (thank you Alice, we need these lines of communication to remain open forever) that Ruby had a boyfriend. I didn't think much of it, but I was curious to know who it was. I asked her, "Ruby, do you have a boyfriend?"
"A pretend boyfriend."
"Oh, what's his name?"
"Brett, I like that name."
"Hmmmm. What's he doing right now?"
"He's sitting right here" she pats the empty seat to her left.
Chris entered the conversation, Ruby was sitting on his lap. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Today, I signed Ruby up for private horse riding/handling/caring lessons. She was/is so excited. So she told Alice, "I get to go horseback riding on Wednesday!" Alice said, "Where, Daddy's back?"
Awesome!
About the horse thing, she is totally in love with horses, but doesn't really have any first hand experience with them. She always asks if we can have a real horse, and that's an easy one..."NO!" So she said she wanted a horse she could ride for her birthday. She made reference to some monstrous horse thing they had at Costco that was really expensive and couldn't possibly be so interesting long-term to justify taking up space in my house and costing me more than $100 dollars. Chris and I got her a $10 horse on a stick that whinnies and makes galloping noises. She is SEVEN YEARS OLD, and no joke, she rides that thing around super happily. A lot. She loves it.
I also don't really know of anyone outside of my own family members who don't let their girls watch the popular teenager shows. This drives me crazy. So the other day, we had a bunch of friends to the hotel to swim, and one family that came is new at church. Ruby wound up swimming around a lot with their 9 year old daughter. After the evening, Ruby said, "Mom! I met a 9 year old who isn't allowed to watch Hannah Montana either!" HALLELUJAH one hundred times!!! Now Ruby can wait another two years and not think she's the only girl on the planet who has that rule...then she can wait two more years! Lol.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Thanks, Pam!
My sister-in-law is a talented photographer and she just sent a disc with all the awesome pics she took of the wedding. Here are a few faves of my kids...
Ruby will be old enough to choose to be baptized in a year! I bought the dress for the wedding thinking it can double as her baptism day dress. I wish I'd noticed that the wedding sash was all turned around. Still, I love her in this pic in front of the temple.
Mattie and Ruby are such affectionate friends and cousins. They always walk around holding hands and are just thrilled to be together. Ruby really admires her and I love her because she is young and sweet for her age, which is something I have such a hard time achieving with my "7 going on 18" child. Ruby is sweet as can be, but she wants to grow up so fast! I only wish that Mattie and Ruby could live closer together!
Ruby telling Alice a secret...
Ruby will be old enough to choose to be baptized in a year! I bought the dress for the wedding thinking it can double as her baptism day dress. I wish I'd noticed that the wedding sash was all turned around. Still, I love her in this pic in front of the temple.
Mattie and Ruby are such affectionate friends and cousins. They always walk around holding hands and are just thrilled to be together. Ruby really admires her and I love her because she is young and sweet for her age, which is something I have such a hard time achieving with my "7 going on 18" child. Ruby is sweet as can be, but she wants to grow up so fast! I only wish that Mattie and Ruby could live closer together!Ruby telling Alice a secret...Must have been some secret!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Ringing in the New Year...
Okay. I know I haven't posted about Christmas yet, it was next in line, but I don't have any pics downloaded yet...so I need to find them and then I can post about Christmas!
New Year's Eve seems like a holiday that was only fun while I was single. For sure, once we had kids it became impossible to do much for the night because no one will babysit on New Year's Eve! This year, we invited our friends (yes, that's Sommer from my previous post) to come have a slumber party at our house so we could celebrate together.
New Year's Eve seems like a holiday that was only fun while I was single. For sure, once we had kids it became impossible to do much for the night because no one will babysit on New Year's Eve! This year, we invited our friends (yes, that's Sommer from my previous post) to come have a slumber party at our house so we could celebrate together.
Kesley, Eden, Alice, Wyatt and Ruby.
We ate good food, lit probably ten dozen sparklers with the kids and enjoyed visiting and playing games on the wii.On New Year's Day, we ate more good food, the kids played and played and played and eventually, we went to the Auburn mall so the kids could ride the carousel. Ruby and Wyatt opted to go mini-golfing (yes, there's a mini-golf place in the mall...hardly any desirable retailers there anymore) and the other kids rode the carousel and played at the play area for a bit. 
These two have been friends since they were less than one year old! They used to give each other sweet little kisses with not thought. Now they pose awkwardly without touching! Gotta love Ruby's sassy pose.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sommertime...
Sommer is one of my very favorite people on the planet. She recently did something that reminded me why she holds this place in my heart. It was Christmas Eve Eve, about 11:00 PM, and I called her while sitting on the front stoop of my parents house. I was in a bind and needed to vent. After the venting, brainstorming ensued and we'd exhausted all angles, any possible solutions and it was time to get off the phone. She said, "I'm going to go try not to lose sleep over this, you do the same." I told her, "if you lose sleep over this, you are the best friend ever."
Keep in mind, this was a personal frustration that literally didn't affect her at all. I'm so lucky to have her as my friend! I put a picture here so that in case you run into her, you would know...she comes highly recommended!
That's her husband, Ben. He's a great guy, it's nice when people I love are married to great people!
P.S. I don't stress out too much if I can't sleep at 5 or 6 AM, but tonight I went to bed at 11:30 and felt like I'd been there all night by 1:30.
Body,
I think it's nice to prepare, but I'd be fine if babyhood shocked me with 2AM wake ups IN NINE WEEKS. I really don't need to lose sleep until then, okay? Also, keep the baby in there at least 40 weeks. No earlies!
Me.
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