hanukkah

Reed: Do we celebrate Hanukkah, Mom?
Me: No, why?
Reed: Dar-net, I was just hoping we could play the games of Hanukkah and... open MORE presents!
Reed is already thinking about what he is going to ask for from Santa next year. The top two of his wish list:
*a snow globe. We have one, but apparently he and Blue each need one so they can play "Santa Clause III, the escape clause"-if you've seen it you know what I am talking about.
*a pet monkey in a cage that speaks all languages. I'm not real sure where this one came from...

a Christmas present to remember

A few posts back I mentioned that Reed had bought Christmas gifts for the family at a yard sale put on by his school. My gift was better than I could have imagined:

Yes, it is a BEAUTIFUL necklace with a cross. Once again, Reed was so proud of his gift. He has asked everyday since then if I am going to wear my necklace. I just tell him that it is so nice that I don't want to break it or lose it when we go run errands. I'm not sure how much longer I can use this excuse.
On a side note: I left my camera at Channy's house over the weekend so I didn't get any pictures of Christmas morning. But nonetheless, Christmas was a success at our house! At first, Blue was a little worried that all he was getting from Santa was a stocking, he didn't realize that Santa had wrapped his presents and put them under the tree with the rest of them. He took one look at his stocking and then started crying because he didn't see the toy that he had asked for. Luckily the crying didn't last long. What a wonderful day!

worse than cooties

Blue has an obsession with girls, well not necessarily WITH girls just making sure he has nothing to do with them. When asked what he wants for Christmas he reply is, "Anything but girl stuff." When he is playing his games such as star wars/high school musical/sonic (yes, who knew you could fit so many diverse characters into one game?!) Blue will always assure me that no girls are playing.
The other night we were watching TV and all of a sudden Blue yelled "NOOOOOO! Change the channel quick!" I looked to see what he wanted changed and it was a Victoria's Secret commercial. Luckily it was not too promiscuous, it was the one for their perfume and lotions (the girls were covered by a Santa suit). But still Blue wanted nothing to do with girls! The clincher was when we were watching Garfield, a Tale of Two Kitties. I thought it was a safe choice but apparently at the end John and his girlfriend get engaged and kiss. Blue covered his eyes and made his usual noise of ewwww. I asked him if girls had cooties and he said, "NO, they have KISSES!"

heaven and nature sing

Thanks a million and three Chea (ya, you deserve more than just thanks a million)! You captured my vision and turned it into my Christmas card. I couldn't be happier! The real story behind the picture is to come in a separate post.

On a side note:
There has been some controversy about my Christmas card. Is it "heaven and nature sing" or "saints and angels sing"? My observation is that the Hymn Book says saints and angels and all others are the first. I am not sure as to why but if you, please enlighten us all...(Lance?)

they came in by twosies, twosies...

Lately Reed and Blue have been sharing a bed, not because they have to but because they want to. It brings back many memories of sharing the roll-away double bed with Heidi. My favorite part about it (and probably Heidi's least favorite part about it) was that when I would pee the bed, I would roll over to Heidi's side 'cause my side was too cold and wet. While listening to my boys giggle in bed is very endearing, there are a couple of drawbacks to their closeness. Number one: it takes twice as long for them to fall asleep because they are either laughing or fighting. Number two: It used to be that when one of them had a bad dream, just ONE of them would come into our room. Now, when one of them has a bad dream, TWO of them come into our room. I usually try to take them back upstairs or make them a bed on our floor. But lately, it has been very chilly at night and so all I do is let them BOTH crawl into bed with us. Huge mistake! They are now coming down on a regular basis and even though we have a king size bed there is not enough room for the four of us. Colby usually ends up sleeping on the couch on those particular nights. So now I am torn... Do I make them sleep in their own beds or suffer the bitter chill and walk them back upstairs? I'll probably just let them sleep in our bed, it is the easiest solution (for me anyway).

it's the thought that counts

Reed's school held a garage sale for the students to purchase gifts for family members. Now, I'm sure some of you are picturing the secret Santa sale that was put on when we went to school, no, no, this was a real garage sale (except for the fact that it was not actually in a garage, which really perplexed Reed). I sent $3 to school with Reed and he came home with gifts for Colby, me, Blue, and his cousin Trey. He was so proud and excited and wanted us to open them right away. I told him that we should probably wait till Christmas. Reed asked if Colby could open his because it was something that could hang on the Christmas tree. He had convinced us, so Colby opened his gift...

The picture does not do justice. It is a door hanger crocheted from scratchy yarn in the true red and green colors of the Christmas season. And the jingle bells attached to it are not your average cheapy jingle bells though. Their sound is more like a jingle bell from Santa's sleigh (if you've seen Polar Express you know what I'm talking about). Anyway, Reed was beaming, I was trying my best not to laugh out loud, and Colby was stunned at first but then made a quick recovery and told Reed that it was the BEST Christmas present ever!

one good deed deserves another

Today was a snow day! Our very first while living here in Flag. Before 8:am I already felt like a prisoner in my own house, and we don't leave the house till later than that on a normal day. Anyway, around 9:30 we decided to brave the weather and get out of the house. We went to Target... of course. After perusing the toy aisle for what felt like forever, I got the things I needed (a Christmas tree was one of them- hey, better late than never) we got to the checkout area. I had a few bulky items in my cart so I let an older gentleman go ahead of me since he only had on item. While he was checking out, my boys were begging for some candy (conveniently placed at their eye level). I told them that I wasn't spending my money on candy but if they wanted it they could use their own money. Reed and Blue both brought their wallets with their chore money, and as Blue said, "It's burning a hole in my pocket." I don't think he even knew what it meant but he had heard it said before- thanks to Tana. Back to my story, I was excited that my boys were going to pay for their own candy with their hard earned money. And the boys seemed okay with spending their own money too but not a second later the older gentleman turned to me and said that he would pay for their candy. On one hand I thought that was very kind of him since I did offer for him to go ahead of me. But on the other hand, I thought maybe he thought I was being selfish since I said I wouldn't spend MY money for their candy. I don't know, am reading too much into a small act of kindness?

Reed turns the big number six

Who would have thought that such a difficult baby could turn into an ideal kid?! That is what Reed was and is. I'm pretty sure he was mad at the world when he was born, being nine days overdue and all. But I couldn't ask for a better older brother to Blue and Beau. He is so sweet and tenderhearted. He is also too smart for his own good and a perfectionist. We love him so much!
For his birthday, we went bowling as a family. It was hilarious to watch him and Blue get a running start then come to a complete stop at the line then drop the ball and watch it slowly, I mean really slowly, roll to the pins. They would squat on their haunches or lay on their bellies and wait for it to get to the pins. Most of their rolls were right down the middle but didn't have enough momentum/strength to hit them all down. Next we got an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and I let Reed and Blue decorate it. Reed wanted a karate kid cake so we came up with making the design that is on the bandana. They were so pleased with their work. I do believe that I just might let them decorate their own cakes from now on. The best part about it was that the entire day was spent just with the family and Reed was okay with that. In fact, when he blew out his candles he asked me if wishes came true. I told him it just depends what you wish on. He then told me that his wish was to be with his family forever. I definitely think we can work on making the come true. Happy birthday Reed!

fun in the sun, I mean snow

government conspiracy

Colby swears that this is a government conspiracy that wouldn't let us have any fun in the snow. He was ticked that all of the forest service roads were closed. How dare they ruin our fun. Have no fear, Colby found a road that wasn't blocked off. I don't think it was really a road but Colby didn't care, all he wanted to do was spin the wheels in the snow. Well, he got his wish and thankfully we came out of there alive.

It has always been Colby's dream to live where it snows and I think our boys are following suit. They had so much fun! Beau couldn't stop grinning and squealing. Blue loves to eat snow. In fact, after we were done playing in it, I caught him licking snow off the bottom of his boot. What a die hard, I know. Reed thought he was so skillful in the art of snowball fights. It was hilarious to see him run up to Colby and throw a snowball at him then turn and try to outrun the one that Colby had ready to throw at him. For being desert rats for so long, I do believe we acclimated pretty quickly.

crummy weather

Sometimes crummy weather makes you do crazy things. Not crazy enough to start collecting brains (cause I know that's what you thought it looked like) but I started canning chicken again. Because canning chicken requires that you stay in your kitchen for a straight hour and a half, what better day to do this than today?! The weather was cold, wet, and blustery. It seemed as if it was raining sideways and coming down in buckets.
My supply of canned chicken was running low so I decided to start backup the habit. Plus, I discovered these new "elite" canning lids. They are a platinum lid as opposed to the old school gold. Now my year supply can be stylin'.

karate kid

Such a classic 80's movie. Last night we watched it as a family. I thought Reed would enjoy it since he is taking tae kwon do lessons. Reed watches movies just like me...with every scene came the question, "What happens next?" I think it was driving Colby crazy. Reed was very concerned about Daniel when he got beat up by the mean kids and his exact words for Mr. Miagi was, "He is such a kind man." Reed is has tender heart for sure. Throughout the movie, Blue would tell us that he was Daniel until there came a girl part. Then Blue would inform us that he wasn't Daniel with a girl, just Daniel fighting karate. Blue wanted to know why Mr. Miagi spoke the way he did. In fact, Blue couldn't understand anything he said; which is surprising since we can hardly understand anything Blue says. We had to interpret for him anytime Mr. Miagi spoke. All in all, it was hit! Definitely one that will be watched over and over.

santa gets a visit from the hillbillies

On Saturday I went to Prescott and left all of the boys with Colby. Since it was raining then started to snow that day I figured he would take them to play in the snow. And he did, but he also went above and beyond that and took them to see Santa at the mall. Why is it the thought of a visit with Santa just seems so overwhelming. I'm not sure if it is the part where I have to get my three boys ready, wait in line for who knows how long, or take the chance that they won't be afraid of Santa that I most dread. Anyway, on a whim, Colby takes the boys to the mall to play at the play area and it just so happens that Santa is set up right next to it. Of course, for Colby there was only two people ahead of him in line. As you can see by the picture that none of them were petrified by Ol' St. Nick and Colby didn't bother to get them ready unless he was tying to pull of the hillbilly look with the bed head hair and the irrigation boots. Luckily the lady in charge offered Colby a wet wipe to clean Beau's face, a minor detail that didn't seem to phase Colby. The sure sign of portraying hillbillies came when Colby walked up to Santa to retrieve the boys and Santa sympathetically said, "You're a real good dad." Since Colby hardly ever wears his wedding ring I'm pretty sure they all thought he was a single dad and was just doing the best he could. But I do have to agree...He is a real good dad.