Do Less and Be More

Last day of NaBloPoMo. It's gone pretty well, but I'm glad to not have to post on the weekends.

It occurred to me that my blog needs a makeover. I haven't updated any of the sidebar info, such as Blogs I Read. Need to get to that...

I read a blog who's creator is known for decorating, making stuff, that sort of thing. She posted today, daring her readers to Do Less and Enjoy More. I will be taking part of this way of celebrating the season. I will not be stressing over handmade gifts this year. I will not stress over the house being decorated the perfect way. (Next year, when Vaughn is less "hands on", decorations will be taken up a notch!) I will not fill the kids stockings with useless junk just so that they seem full. We'll be donating more than we normally do. We'll be focusing on what is really important during this time of year. More hot chocolate and marshmallows, less budget-blowing gifts.

There you go. Anyone else interested in taking the challenge?

Charlie the Elf

Our Elf on a Shelf came to visit this morning. Vance noticed him rather quickly, then we "found" the book under the Christmas tree and read about what was going on. Vance named him Charlie.

Vance questioned Charlie all day. He didn't believe that he was real and would stare the elf down just to see if he would move. Justin and I were a little disappointed about all of this.

Fast forward to later that night where we watched the beginning of The Santa Clause. This must have sparked something in Vance's head, because when it was time for bed he asked if he could go tell the elf something.

I listened to him tell the elf what he wanted for Christmas and then he whispered, "goodnight" to him. I nearly cried. It was the cutest thing ever.

We'll see if he feels the same way tomorrow!

Thanksgiving 2006 & 2009

Here's Vance on Thanksgiving from 2006. He's around 18 months old.

Watching Grandad rake leaves.

Big helper.

Fast forward to this year. Still helping Grandad with the leaves. I didn't pack winter clothes, so Meme let Vance borrow her vest.

I love that he could care less that he's wearing a woman's faux fur trimmed vest. Wish I would have gotten a picture with the hood up!

Off to the mall for our annual shopping trip where we help my dad shop for my mom! Looking forward to it!

Turkeys

Vance and Ryan rocking their aprons on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been up since 5:20, keeping company of those who have been cooking. It's organized chaos around here, as usual, and I'm thankful for every bit of it.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Lights up? Check!

On Sunday, we took advantage of the warm weather and put up Christmas lights.

My dad bought this drill for Vance a couple of months ago. It's real. As in, not a toy. 8 cacti were also bought on this shopping trip. I've mentioned the randomness that occurs at my parents house, right? So, in that mind set, these purchases totally make sense.

Moving on!

Vance working the hammer.

Vance took these next shots. I had to hang on to the backside of the ladder to keep Justin from falling off. He fell only once, doing a little jump off like he meant to do it. It was quite graceful.

Hi! We live on top of a hill.

Vance was proud of the angle of this shot.

Going with the random thing, Vaughn says, "Hut! Hut!" when she sees a football.

She did not learn this from me.

Time for making pies.

Sticking it to Steve

I confronted the manager of Schnuck's yesterday. Here's how it went down:

I'm holding a 30 pound baby, a 5 pound purse, 3 reusable grocery bags, the hand of Vance, and my own sanitizing wipe to wipe the cart down. Let go of Vance, look for a cart with a seat belt, wipe it down and (lift the 30 pound bundle of love, 5 pound purse, and bags up and in) stick Vaughn in. Seatbelt doesn't work. Lift the 30 pound Butterball, 5 pound purse, and bags out, find another cart with a seatbelt, wipe it down, put Vaughn in. Seatbelt doesn't work. I did this 4 times, all while telling Vance to step out of the way of other people entering and exiting. The cart I did find, I've had before. The plastic prongs fit in the seatbelt barely, so you have to push really hard to get it to close. The problem is getting it apart. I've stood in the parking lot for minutes trying to get Vaughn out.

I'm fuming at this point. And Vaughn isn't happy at all, either. I went straight in and asked to speak to the manager. Steve (real name) came out. I, calmly, explained that his carts suck ass, and I can't shop if she isn't secured in the cart. He explained how the seat belts get broken. He explained that they order new ones every year. After hearing all his excuses and his unwillingness to correct the situation I explained to him that I cannot shop here anymore. I lifted Vaughn out of the cart, took Vance's hand, and told Steve that I was off to Dierberg's.

This makes me sad. I liked shopping there.

Where we are

Vaughn got a cold 2 weeks ago.

Justin soon followed.

Then Vance. He missed 2 days of school last week.

Justin still isn't better, went to the doctor on Friday because of a lingering cough. Got medicine.

Vaughn starts her Tooth Factory back up in high gear. Second year molars. Then it seems like she's got another cold. She's miserable, snot everywhere, fever, so off to the doctor for her. Got medicine for her and yesterday I felt her two bottom molars starting to poke through.

We've been a super-fun bunch to be around lately.

I'm glad that everyone is getting over everything in time for Thanksgiving.

Except...

Now I'm getting sick. I've been fighting it, Emergen-C ing it, sanitizing and washing hands with every kid-contact, but it didn't work.

My immune system has failed me.

However, this will not keep my corn casserole from kicking the asses of everyone else's side dishes at Thanksgiving. The competition is still very-much ON.

Finish Stocking? Check!

It took 2 years and almost 4 months, but it's finally finished! Complete! As in, no more work!

It was a total pain in the ass to make, but Vance loves it and that's all that matters! I knew if I was going to finish it that I would have to make one for Vaughn. And the idea of starting another one is making me cringe right now. I actually looked for one, but couldn't find one that I liked, so I might take a little break and start next season on hers.

I was on a roll this weekend and finished another little project that I've had going for a few months, too. Now, on to making some Christmas gifts!

Happy Anniversary Charity and Mark!

Things that have happened since 12:00 AM today:

• Our house guests arrived
• Justin has gone to the doctor
• We took a walk
• Vaughn went to the doctor

It's been an eventful day.

We've had a busy day around here. Almost forgot to post something, which would get me thrown out of NaBloPoMo.

We're winding down now, watching House Hunters.

Vance and Justin are saying house number 3. I'm saying house number 1.

Vance just changed his mind to number 1.

Now Justin has changed his mind to number 1, also.

..................

They chose number 1. Mommy is never wrong when it comes to House Hunters.

I don't know why Vance is still up.

Hair

If driving skills determined our mates, I'd be on the arm of an 80 year old man.

(I have horrible eyesight, especially at night. I'm not ashamed of you knowing that about me.)

I managed to find the salon just fine yesterday.

(I did a drive by in the daytime. I would have never found it in the dark and the rain and the directions I was given by the receptionist.)

....................

I knew I'd be in good hands last night. The guy I went to is the husband of the lady that normally does my hair.

(Background info: She's been doing my hair since high school. When I lived in Wisconsin I would schedule appointments for when I knew we'd be in town. She's now an hour away from where I live and it's pretty impossible to schedule with her. Her clientele has grown and it takes months to get in. She lives near me, so I asked if she could recommend anyone, not knowing her husband worked so close.)

I love the color and the cut. He did an awesome job and I'll definitely go back, bad receptionist and all.

Vance told me my hair looked beautiful this morning.

(4 year olds are great for boosting your ego.)

To celebrate, I'll be taking my hair (and kids) to the grocery store. The list is scary and long. Here's hoping that Vaughn will be enamored with my beautiful hair long enough to get me through the list!

Horizontally Inclined

Vaughn has become Horizontally Inclined.

I've been plucking her off every horizontal surface for the past two days. Chairs, couches, ottomans, tables. She has fallen off on her own many times, but has not learned her lesson yet.

I gave in and snapped this picture of her. She's pretty proud of her new trick.

Hair Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow night I'll be getting hair done at a new place. I Googled them earlier for directions and found 2 unfavorable reviews.

In the mean time, I received a message from their receptionist reminding me of my appointment and that they were in their new location. And that's it. No info in regards to this new location.

I called and spoke to the same receptionist who left me the message and she couldn't give me directions. She offered up the cross street, then went silent. I had to ask for the actual address (she knew that) and if there were any landmarks that could help since I've never been there before. And she couldn't.

Yikes. I'm scared.

In need of blinders

I have many unfinished projects around here, so why not add one more to the list?

From How About Orange, here's how to stencil with freezer paper. Looks fun!

I have a giant roll of freezer paper from my Bubble Jet Set 2000 days, which I'd love to do more of too. (It's a chemical that prepares fabric to be printed on with an Inkjet printer. Way better than any iron on transfer out there!) The process is a little labor intensive and am now regretting how many times I used the stuff without gloves. Formaldehyde is good for skin, right? Right?

I need someone to keep me focused and on track around here. I've been this (imagine me holding fingers up to gesture) close to starting up the Birthday Signs again, but new projects keep getting in the way. I'm easily swayed. Since I started typing this I've thought about 5 new projects that I could do. I need blinders!

Enjoy your Sunday Funday!

Janet Klein

We moved to Madison when Vance was 6 months old. Not knowing a soul there or anything about the area and not having really anything to do all day, we drove and explored a lot. It's something we did even as he got older. We sang along to music together while driving and looking and now as a result I could fill CD's with songs that remind me of those times.

Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys is one. I had heard it while shopping at Anthropologie and asked one of the workers about it. It's straight from the Roaring 20's, upbeat, fun, and yes, a little weird. While I'm not sure if this song is on the CD, here's a sample of what Janet Klein is about. Enjoy!

We went walking.

At least I tried...

I'm a coffee drinker. Really, not so much.

The only way I like coffee is with a lot of flavored creamer. At first it was Hazelnut, then I moved to French Vanilla. I had a coupon for one of the World Cafe Collections of Coffeemate, so I thought I'd give something else a try.

I'm crazy like that.

I chose Belgian Chocolate Toffee. Mainly because I like chocolate, but also because I had chosen a grocery cart with a broken seatbelt that day. I had to keep one hand on Vaughn to keep her in the cart and it was getting to be a pretty hairy situation. The Belgian Chocolate was first available.

It wasn't until this morning that I remembered that I had forgotten to use the coupon. Damn! With all the restraining of Vaughnie and Vance's talking I forgot. Defeated again, I tell ya. It's happening more and more lately!

Frustrating Four's

Vance never really went through the Terrible Two's or even Three's. I believe he has saved all of his energy for the Frustrating Four's.

The whining. The slumping into a puddle on the floor when he doesn't want to do something. The crying. The attitude. I could go on but I'm still exhausted from The Green Bean battle last night.

Another day, another dollar.

The Pictures

I could talk about how awesome the weather has been lately or how Vaughn added 2 words to her vocab recently and how funny that they're both food related. But I don't want to. All I want to do is get back to The Pictures.

I have Jeffanie's wedding pictures on disc and I'm bound to get through them. All 3700 of them. That's why they earn a title: The Pictures. I'm looking for the Holy Grail, you know, for our Christmas card. I know I'll never go through all of them again, so I'm picking out other good ones too along the way.

I emailed Stephanie yesterday when I had just started Disc 3 to let someone know what I was going through. Beautiful newly married couple, sunset, beach, looking out to the ocean, it was just too much and I was a sobbing mess. Alone, in my freshly mopped kitchen.

I got myself pulled together and somehow have finished 3 cd's. 2 more to go. Not sure if this is legal, posting these pics here, but here's a sneak peak on how well the kids do in pictures:

Awesome.

Now, back to The Pictures.

Happy Birthday!

Great weather to celebrate a birthday! Happy birthday Martha! Have a great day!

Christmas 2008

No, we're not celebrating early. This was taken last Christmas.

I downloaded pictures from my mom's camera over the weekend to my computer and found this one. A decent picture of all 4 of us! This almost always never happens and it's just been cooped up in my mom's camera for almost a year now.

When I first saw this picture I automatically remembered how Justin forgot his belt that night and had to borrow one from my dad. Funny, the things that pictures make you think of.

Next up, finding a good picture for Christmas cards. It's gonna be tough. Was actually on the fence about sending cards out this year, but Justin got me an old school wax seal, with my initials for my birthday. It pushed me over the edge and now I have to send them. Anyone else skipping the tradition? Or maybe choosing this year to start sending?

This post is way too long and too boring. I'll be back later.

Snapshot of my morning

6:58 AM Sunday morning.

Vance is just starting to get in to legos. All week, during Vaughn's naps and before she gets up in the mornings, he's been building. He can only play with them when Vaughn isn't around, because of all the teeny tiny pieces.

What you can't see is Vance's forehead. While at a birthday party yesterday, he bumped into another little boy coming down a bounce house slide. He has a red mark that resembles a hickey. I'm finding it a little too funny.

Good Morning. Enjoy this beautiful weather!

Chicken Wangs

Justin likes football and wings. It's not a secret that I don't like either. I do, however, like Justin so every so often I make him wings. It's my brother-in-law's recipe. I'm not sure where he got it, but I'm sharing it with you now.

What you do:

Preheat to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper the wings. If you're doing a big batch, it's best to use a throw-away aluminum pan. I just use a 9x13 glass dish, lined with foil and sprayed with Pam. Bake for an hour. The sauce is an eyeball sort of thing. For one package of wings, I do a little less than a cup of Frank's hot sauce and around a half stick of butter. You can adjust this to how you like it. When the wings are done, dump the grease out. Turn broiler on. Use tongs to dip the wings into the sauce and place back into the dish. Do not just pour the sauce on. I'm told it's all about the dipping. Place the dish back into the oven and broil for a few minutes. Take them out, dip again, and back into the broiler for a few minutes. Repeat one more time.

Again, I don't eat the suckers, so I can't speak from personal experience, but they get Justin's approval, and that's good enough for me.

Enjoy the wangs.

Birthday!

Today is my birthday. Use me as your excuse for eating a piece of cake!

State of Emergency

December 4, 2006:

June 12, 2007:

Vance loves Eggo brand Nutra-Grain blueberry waffles.

And now there's a shortage.

There's notes on freezer doors of grocery stores (I've tried 3 different ones) stating the issue and promises of getting them back as soon as possible. I have tried a different brand (Kashi) but it brought it him to tears.

Breakfast has been difficult for the past two weeks. Let's hope the folks at Kelloggs resolve this issue soon.

Bag Issues

I use reusable grocery bags. I'm sure many of you do too. Why do I feel that the stores I shop at are baffled by them?

Does anyone else feel this way?

Checkers ask me if I want certain items in the bags. "No, just pack them like normal bags." Then they ask me how many items they can put in the bag. "You can stuff them pretty full. They're pretty sturdy." They make a big deal unfolding them. Basically, it's as if they don't know what to do with them. One lady totally tried ignoring them once. Let's do a diagram. It will be fun.

I'm in the white coat and pig tails (obviously). The jump roper is the checker. The green backpack represents my bags. The pencil and blue and pink scribbles are the stuff I'm buying. The long brown rectangle is the conveyer belt, the short one at the top is where the credit card machine is. The red square is where the plastic bags are.

The checker totally keeps ignoring my bags and keeps reaching over them to grab the items, scan them, and put them in the plastic bags. I watch her do two items before saying anything. She acted like she had never seen them. (Thanks to the KidArt app on my phone.)

And what is the deal with checkers not even placing your bags in your shopping cart or even handing them to you anymore? Is this beyond them?

Friends

Birthday party, many years ago, the birthday girl's father asking everyone what their father's do for a living. "Your dad is a doctor? Hey, you can be friends with my daughter!"

I get it now.

People say that you make friends through your kids. This hasn't happened for us yet. I'm starting to get impatient.

Vance has a knack for buddying up with the kids whose grandparents taxi them to and from class. No offense to grandparents, but it's tough to make friends with parents that you never see. And then there was the buddy from his summer school whose mom spoke hardly any English. It's almost comical now.

Clearly, we've been wasting our time teaching Vance the wrong things. Tomorrow we tackle Matchmaking 101.

Side story just for fun: Just last week one set of grandparents told me that I looked too young to have two kids. The grandma said if she had to guess my age it would be 17. That would mean I would have had Vance around 13 years old, Vaughn around 16, and still wouldn't be able to vote or legally be married. "Yes, you guessed correctly. I am 17 years old. I just got my drivers license, may I pick up your grandchild for a playdate?"

Vaughn is 18 months

We're survivors.

Vaughn turns 18 months today and we survived.

We'll celebrate with her 18 month checkup today. I'll be back later to talk percentages.

Update:

Here we go. Vaughn's weight hasn't changed since last checkup. She's still 30 lbs. and that puts her in the 96th percentile for weight. She's only grown a half of an inch since last visit, so she's 33.5 inches tall and in the 93rd percentile for height. Finally starting to slow down.

Everything else is looking good. She's working on her second molars, but nothing has poked through yet.

I wear my sunglasses at night

Vaughn has never liked sunglasses. I'm not sure what changed, but she's all about them now. And it's hilarious because they are way too small and she looks silly.

Halloween night:

Post-nap on Sunday.

Quite the lady.

Halloween Recap

Spooky dinner!

Vance checks out the breadstick "bones" before eating.

It was a little hard eating with this little guy hanging around the plate.

Time to head out - this was the best picture I could get of the kids.

One of my favorites of Vaughn.

Halloween around here is a big deal. Everyone seems to go all out with big decorations. Lots of people get their fire pits going on the driveway and just hang out while passing out candy. It's a fun atmosphere. Our kids had a good time and Vaughn has a new found love affair with suckers. Vance was counting and sorting candy early this morning, it was a successful night.