I have to say that I'm happy to say goodbye to you.
You were a year filled with pain and change. Wisdom teeth and root canals. It feels like I spent the year fixing things. My teeth being the least of these things and some things can't be fixed.
We came home and that was a long road. It was easy to pull up those roots because they didn't grow in Utah. In fact we got home just in time to replant them....where they belong.
Turning 40...major turning point.
Oh sweet clarity....I see things more clearly now and I'm excited about the future.
Lessons learned and unlimited joy....in 990 square feet.
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better (wo)man.
Benjamin Franklin
I want you to live in a house that makes you believe one day you can get it. That's why I'm gonna make sure you never see your Daddy stop dreaming because if you stop dreaming...you're just sleeping.
Jimmy from Raising Hope
In an effort to take care of 2010 business....here is my 12 SKILL from October (I'm a little behind) I painted a picture.
I'm working on November....at least I bought knitting needles and yarn.
Christmas dress purchased for daughter....never worn.
Christmas Cookies....never baked. I now have 3 pounds of butter in the fridge.
Pictures from our holiday...I'm not in ANY of them. It's like I was never here....
Frosty...lost his hat...right before dinner was served!
Naked Daddy in Christmas Video....okay that was kind of a win. For Mommy!
SpongeBob Christmas Show purchased for kids on Apple TV that was watched 248 times. Has the term Buck Private in it which is a real term that means a very low position in the military. Kids thought he said BUTT PRIVATE and called me one all month.
Instead of using gift tags...my mother in law wrapped the kids presents in different wrapping paper and then forgot which paper belonged to which kid.
$8 of premium Egg Nog in glass jars and Keith and I were the only ones that drank it.
I hope you had a great Christmas and Santa was good to you! We had a lovely, lovely couple of days and I have 5.6 pounds to show for it.
This Christmas was bittersweet for us because yesterday iKeith's Mom, Dad and Brother Andrew moved to California. They are going to be helping iKeith's Uncle with his HandR Block businesses. We miss them already and can't believe our free babysitter is gone.
Christmas Eve was spent at Rob's house and we had our Weiss tradition of sandwiches and Shrimp Cocktail. And there was a Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake. YUM! (There's at least one pound) The kids were very excited to open presents even though there was a wrapping paper mix up and they kept opening each other's presents. It ended up being pretty funny!
Christmas Day we had everyone (including our new adopted Brother Josh*) over for Christmas Dinner. Keith smoked a Prime Rib and made dirty rice (2 pounds) with Elk Italian Sausage that we found in a little meat store in Old Town Arvada. I made Yorkshire Pudding and Caramelized Brussel Sprouts! Our Cakes...a decapitated Snowman and a Yule Log (pound and a half) came from an adorable little bakery. Click HERE to read about the awesome food stores we visited.
Have I mentioned that it's been 50 degrees here? We had a brown Christmas. I'm surprised how much I missed the snow and the kids seemed to miss it too.
Here is a little video that I put together of our month of celebrating! Vincent and Poe have gone home with Santa and now I'm ready to get rid of our dead tree and get everything back to normal.
This video has a censored part because my darling husband came out to the living room while still putting on his robe....and I was filming. I hope you liked the music that I selected for this part of the video.
*Josh is Andrew's friend that doesn't have any family and his girlfriend just left him. He became a part of the family while we were in Utah...he's kind of like Bizarro Keith.
I think the elves are growing tired and must be pretty happy that they get to go home soon. They are running out of things to do and they can't find the cookie sheets to make some cookies.
We missed the Elvis Christmas Party because iDaddy had to work late. The really funny thing is...my kids aren't that excited about Santa. I tried to take them to see him the other day and they didn't want to go. They'd rather stay home and hide Baby Jesus around the apartment.
One day this week...the elves brought the kids some Christmas dishes....and some plates to make sure Santa gets some cookies and his elves get carrots. That Santa likes to think ahead!
As you know we live in an apartment now and we don't have a fireplace. We were really worried about how Santa would get in to deliver the presents. The Elves told us not to worry...Santa has a plan. That plan would be a magic key so that Santa can use to open our door.
Dear St. Nicholas
You can open the door, with this magical key~
There's milk and cookies for you, next to the tree.
The key becomes magical, one night each year~
When it wakes up to the spirit, of holiday cheer.
So forget that old chimney, come in through the door~
It's faster, it's cleaner, you could even deliver much more.
I know that you're busy, you have to go quick~
Christmas wouldn't be as merry, without Jolly Old St. Nick.
This morning the elves brought notebooks and markers! Mallory woke up first and waited so patiently for Alex to get up so they could draw together!
Robot for Alex, Hello Kitty for Mallory
Today....I'm doing some last minute shopping (pillow pets) and we're going to visit our favorite bakery in Arvada.
Awww...Look what Mallory just drew for me. It's her first heart!
One of our elves is NOT an Elf on a Shelf. He is from Elf Magic and he enjoys the freedom of living all over the house...not just on a shelf. Plus, there are so many more choices in elves.
**I was not paid by Elf Magic...I just don't like freaky ass elves on shelves.**
I'm in bad shape today. We had a blast at the Double Encore Holiday Party last night and I discovered I'm too old to party like a rock star.
There was a cocktail party at the office, then we all piled into a triple axel hummer limo and drove around Downtown Denver.
Our suite at the Avalanche game was amazing and we ate some yummy food. My favorite were these little sliders that tasted like bacon. You'd be proud of me...I also ate celery and carrots. And a brownie.
The party was over too soon and the fun had to come to an end. There was a situation where I got in trouble for trying to leave the Pepsi Center with some plastic glasses. I was in violation. If I had a freaking dollar for every time I've been in violation...
Here is a picture from last night. We're holding a hockey stick signed by the team! We're bummed that they lost.
I'll be loading more pictures to my flickr account. Check my sidebar.
Not much going on here. Just counting down the days until I get to feed my father in law and watch him get drunk Christmas.
We didn't get to see Elvis at the apartment complex Christmas Party. iKeith was working late and then I had to go out with Robert to get the goodies for his Christmas/Open House/Housewarming party the next night. We had a great time shopping and I loved spending his money!
The party was a huge success and I think everyone went home tipsy happy! Do you think we had enough booze selections?
I had a blast planning the party, food and drinks. We had three different kinds of wine, seven kinds of beer, sushi, meatballs, little quiches, tortilla roll ups, pigs in a blanket and three different kinds of cheese with crackers. The dessert table had Christmas Cookies and Tiramisu made by Robert. I assisted Rob during the party by replenishing food, filling glasses and taking people's coats. It was exhausting! Here is Rob's couch that I helped pick out!
I'm not sure if this will be a career path for me because I decided my fee is $10,000 per party. Also, my kids missed me desperately during the time I was away. It broke my heart and convinced me I'm right where I'm supposed to be.
****
My Children...have no desire to talk to Santa. They don't want to see him, write him a letter, text him, email him or tweet him. They could care less. In other news...they love baby Jesus and keep moving him all over the house. I think we'll celebrate Hanukkah next year. HOLY GOSH...I just spelled Hanukkah correctly.
***
I went to the mall yesterday because I had to have a pair of dress pants to wear to iKeith's Christmas Party tonight. We will be partying like rock stars in a suite at the Pepsi Center during an Avalanche game! I'm super excited!
While at the mall, we ate Subway (EAT FRESH) at the food court and I noticed the kids were making funny faces. Mallory finally did this and said LOSER. I turned around to see some teenagers making faces at my kids.
I think she's been watching too much GLEE.
*****
Do you have an iPhone? Do you notice that Apple is messing with you and making words change to silly words that you're not trying to spell. Well, there's a whole website devoted to these mistakes now. Damn You Auto Correct. This one is my favorite:
Hmmm....looks like I had more to say than I thought I did. If you're totally bored and miss me posting every single day...check out the box at the top of the blog called REVERB. I've been pretty good about keeping up with the prompts. I got a little behind over the weekend when I took a three day computer break but I'm catching up now.
Welcome to week three of the Countdown to Christmas and Elfcapades 2010! I can't believe that there are only 9 days until Christmas can you? We still haven't gotten any snow in Denver and the other day when I was wrapped presents...I had all of the doors and windows open.
I forgot to share this picture last week....after the Blue Man Group we drove past the Denver City and County Building to see their lights. It's kind of amazing!
City and County Building
Friday night, after much negotiation...we left the kids with Nana and went Christmas Shopping. But first we needed a little shopping fuel.
i like beer
The problem with having drinks before Christmas Shopping is that you buy a whole bunch of stuff and then you end up at Starbucks at 9pm and Malbec and Caramel Brullee Latte ( my new favorite drink!) don't really go together. And you say things out loud that you really shouldn't say.
OMG LOOK AT HIS HAIR!
This week the elves were very busy and the candy thievery was way down. A lesson was learned when day 13 came around and there was only one piece of candy in the box and someone didn't get one.
The elves decided to give themselves the morning off and brought a craft project for the kids to do. It was a big hit and then they wrapped them in my dish towels and put them under the tree for Daddy. My kids are such givers!
crafts
Will someone get me a hair cut please
One night the elves got all tangled in the Christmas lights and Mallory got really mad at them. I think if I'd let her...she'd have put them on the naughty spot!
Last night, they built a tent and left a note that said it's Jammie Day!! There will hot chocolate, cookies and Christmas movies all day long! WOOT!
In case you missed my post on Tuesday about my neighbors' interesting Christmas Decor....we've now been invited to a Christmas Party at the clubhouse.
ELVIS? Really?
Have a great week!
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Before we get to the fun times with Robert...I wanted to explain why I'm not going to be participating in the apartment decorating contest that could have resulted in $300 off from our rent.
Reason #1...iKeith was not excited about the idea and when I mentioned it he immediately told me no. After I explained that I had a great idea for a Gingerbread House theme and I'd be making most of the decorations, he said Hell No. I'm now calling him The Grinch!
Reason #2...I'm a little bit Martha Stewart and my neighbors....are a little bit Jeff Foxworthy.
Look at this...we're almost half way through the month already! Today Jade wants to know...what are the best quotations, the ones which inspire you or encourage you, the ones you want to live by, or have made you stop and think?
I love quotes! I love them so much that I keep a little blue 3X5 notebook full of them. Well...it's not full but when I come across something that means something to me...I write it down.
My children are going to think I'm batty someday when they find it.
Connie's Top 10 Favorite Quotes for 2010
The shortest answer is doing. ~Lord Herbert
There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less and less. ~ G.K. Chesterton
So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. ~ Matthew 6:34
Your destiny is to move in the direction of your soul, but the fuel that makes destiny move is intention. ~ Deepak
The questions isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. ~ Howard Roark
Start by making your own home a place where happiness and love abound through your love for each other. Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home. Make them long to be with their families. So much sin could be avoided if our people really love their homes. ~ Mother Theresa
The way to choose happiness is to follow what is right and real and the truth for you. You can never be happy living someone else's dream. Live your own. And you will for sure know the meaning of happiness. ~ Oprah
Don't try to win over the haters. You're not the jackass whisperer.~ Scott Stratten
All great change in America begins at the dinner table. ~Ronald Reagan
One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.~ Source Unknown
Two months ago, iKeith and I decided that the kids were old enough to see a theater performance. I've been waiting for this day for so long and vividly remember sitting in the Buell Theater 8 months pregnant and dreaming about the day we'd be there with our family!
The Blue Man Group would be our first performance as a family!
The kids have been excited...asking almost every day if it was time to see The Blue Heads. And then they were confused by the MEGAMIND movie and thought he was a part of the The Blue Heads.
Finally...it was time and we dressed up and headed downtown. It was Kid's Night on Broadway so there were activities for the kids before the show but my kids were just interested in sitting at the bar on the top level and looking out into the parking garage.
We are very excited!
Too Much Hot Chocolate
The show was very loud. Probably too loud for Mallory who is very sensitive to noise...except when she is making it. She spent the majority of the show on my lap with my giant Victoria Secret enhanced boobs covering her ears. I was to the point if she yelled, 'I WANT TO GO HOME!' one more time I was going to take my bra off and wrap it around her head.
Alex thought it was the greatest thing he's ever seen and can't wait to go again. He thinks they come to Denver every single Christmas. He was so excited that he made me buy Captain Crunch (which they are calling CRAPtain Crunch for some reason) and told the nice lady at Wal Mart all about the show.
Mommy and Daddy....loved it! We really liked how they got the audience excited by having us read these prompters out loud. It's a high energy show and just the expressions on their faces make you laugh. My abs still hurt from all the laughing. And I now have a craving for Twinkies!
My kids made a short video for you this morning....and Mallory has mostly forgotten that she left the theater crying. Apparently, seeing the Big Blue Heads is a lot like labor...you forget the pain by the next day.
Come back Tuesday when I'll be explaining why (with pictures) I won't be entering the apartment decorating contest in my complex.
Welcome to Week 2 of our Countdown to Christmas and Elfcapades 2010! My dear friend Liz at Sugarplum Creations is hosting a weekly spot to bring your review of the week.
Last Friday, we were so excited to attend the Denver 9News Parade of Lights! iKeith used to march in this parade with the Denver Police Band when he was a kid and I used to attend with my family. It had been 20 years since either of us had attended.
We started off with dinner at a newish restaurant called Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen. This place is amazing! They specialize in homemade sausages and their beer selection is fabulous! Mama liked this one.
Have you heard about drinking some beers in these fancy glasses? It really makes them taste so much better! Before we even sat down...I started to not feel well but I just ignored it. There was too much fun to be had!
Do you smell pee?
We picked a spot on the street that smelled like urine and we waited. And I kept feeling worse and worse so 30 minutes before the parade started....we left. I was so sad for the kids because they were so excited. On the way to the car, Mallory fell down and skinned her knees. On the way home, Alex said he didn't feel good...and his nose started to bleed. It was like a Christmas Nightmare!
The good news....we made it home in time to see the parade on TV. Well, my family did. I was in the bathroom.
We spent the weekend being sick...even iKeith came down with a bug.
Once we were feeling better the elves jumped back into action...causing trouble. One day they hid in the stockings that were hung on the china hutch with care.
Another day...they were found in iKeith's Nut Sack.
They brought us brownie mix and candy canes so we did some baking!
I love crushing things!
See Mommy's Christmas Present?
The best thing that the elves did this week was decorate the kids' bathroom for Christmas. As it turned out...the elves got busy doing this Wednesday night and then Alex had a relapse and was sick again soon after. But seeing this in the middle of the night when he was feeling so badly....made him feel so happy that he went to sleep with a huge smile on his face and Mommy cried. This is what it's all about....well, and Jesus.
Elf Bathroom!
Yesterday was a rough day. I didn't get any sleep because Alex was sick all night so it was 3pm by the time I got a shower. When I came out...I saw a dining room chair was in the kitchen set up against the countertop right where the Advent Box sits. I went looking for the perp.
I found a little girl sound asleep on her bed with her blanket over her head. I removed the blanket from her head because she seemed a little hot and that's when I saw it. A little melted candy bar in her hand. I don't even think she got a bite before she feel asleep! I removed the melted mess and she napped. I love a napping child.
Once she woke up and found her candy was gone...she flew into a rage! She stomped and slammed doors and threw her little Christmas Tree on the ground. The elves went into hiding because they thought she hated Christmas! Then she told me that she quits. It took her an hour to calm down and then we went somewhere special that I'm going to tell you about tomorrow because it deserves it's own post.
Note: Shower curtain and towel came from Super Target. Cuisinart Single Serve Brewing System came from Sur La Table and I wasn't paid to buy or talk about them...I just thought you might want to know because we all love the same stuff. P.S. I'm out of K-Cups already. This could be a problem.
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