Food for Thought

As a Mother I can only do one thing well at a time. I can be crafty and make cute things for the kids, but then the house falls apart and we start losing each other in all the mess. We can play hide and seek without actually hiding. I can keep the house clean and picked up but then I can't for the life of me get a real meal on the table (especially now that Dave is working nights. I have less incentive) Aren't mothers supposed to be able to multitask? On Tuesday we had cereal for dinner. (no more eating at Jack-in-the-box on our way to scouts...just got the car cleaned). Yesterday we had macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. That was three food groups though right? Grain, dairy and meat. Do hot dogs count as meat? And is cereal left overs if you've already had it for breakfast? If we are this bad already what's going to happen when the baby comes? OK kids...tonight we are going to graze on grass in the front yard:-)

Sorry no picture...

Chase Runs the Seattle Kids Marathon

So, many of you know that we have finally found an athletic venue that Chase really enjoys. He is a runner. It all started last year with the beginning of the track club at his elementary school Chloe Clark. Some genius Mom started it all by giving the kids a laminated ticket that they got punched every time they ran a lap around the playground. Soon kids had run enough laps to have run a marathon. Then came the 75 mile marker and the 100 miles. In four short months Chase and about 5 other friends had run the 100 miles and were still running. I was amazed at his willingness to spend his recesses running and his persistence in doing it. Remember, we live in Washington. Winter and spring do offer us much nice weather. (we're talking rain and snow here) This current school year he and his friends were off to a great start again. Then we transferred schools and Chase and his friend Hunter no longer had the track club program. A huge lose. Chase says that it is the thing he misses most. Fortunately a few weeks ago he and Hunter were able to join other Chloe Clark kids after school for its newly formed track club. They have designed shirts with their own logo and practice pacing themselves, endurance and other running techniques. We jumped at the chance to sign Chase up for the Seattle marathon when the school sent home the information. He ran 25 miles on his own before hand and then ran with 3000+ other children to complete his last mile through the Seattle center. We saw some of his fellow running classmates there as well. Here he is pictured running with his friend Hunter and Hunter's brother Levi. He also had to read 39 chapters in his Harry Potter book and do 26 good deeds. We are really proud of him. You should see his legs. Man does he have muscles on his legs. Not an ounce of fat!

The Turkey Bowl Scheme

Seriously...how did this tradition ever get started? I wonder in amazement every Thanksgiving holiday that all the men take off for fun and games and make it back right in time for a feast their wives and mothers have been slaving away on all morning long. Which group of crazy wives ever let their husbands off the hook in the first place? It's all their fault. Then Dad's come home, eat their fill and then repose pleasantly fattened on the couch to nurse their full tummies and bumps and bruises. Then moms and wives clean up and finally at some point get to begin enjoy the day themselves talking most likely will the guys watch football this time to wasted to play anymore.

OK so I didn't mind at all this year since we were invited to a friends for the feast and I did very little cooking and no cleaning up (I'm sorry for being a slacker!) I wonder if Dave stayed home to do the cooking I probably wouldn't let him near the kitchen even if he wanted to help. So I guess maybe that's how it all got its beginning...a bunch of wives plotting for ways to get their hubbies out of the house so they could cook in piece and talk,talk and talk some more!

So men...go and be men! Score those touch downs!

Seriously...I just wanted to try out my telephoto lens!

Girls day out to the Nutcracker

Emily and I have a tradition of going to the Nutcracker ballet every Christmas season. We started when she was three believe it or not. The first two years Chase went with us but it quickly became a girls tradition once he started to be indoctrinated by the macho males in the family. So this was our fifth year. I decided to splurge and we went to see the professionals this year. No more local shows or semi-pro companies. We drove all the way up to Seattle to the fancy theatre in our fancy Christmas outfits to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet preform! I was happy with the decision to go all out the moment we arrived. Emily got her picture taken with the Nutcracker (the picture isn't available yet...I'll post it when we get it). They had refreshments, the party children from the first act passing out the programs, costumes on display, props to pose with and a mini stage for budding ballerinas to preform. We even got to hear a live orchestra this year!!! Emily was really impressed with the orchestra pit. They had a HARP! Our seats were wonderful, made even more perfect by the booster seats they provided for young children. What made the greatest difference was not in the dancing (smaller companies usually hire their principles from pro companies anyway), it was the choreography (I couldn't help but watch their feet half the time), costumes, live music and HOLY COW the stage props and backdrops etc...were out of this world. What a fantastic outing. And what more perfect ending to the evening could I ask for than to watch Emily dance and twirl her way all the way to Coldstone from the parking lot for dessert!

Our Super Great Dad

It's no small wonder that kids love their Dads so much. How can they not? Dads are so cool. Dave has done "chicken theatre" with our kids since they were itty bitty. They absolutely love it. Most of the time it is reserved for our camping trips but every once in a while they get a special in-home show. The puppet theatre goes up, the kids get cozy in their blankets and in minutes they've been whisked away into the mesmerizing world of shadow puppet chickens. Dave is so great with voices and super hilarious skits. Even the dog wanted in on the action last night (preferring to try to eat the puppet shadows instead of watching). They quote the show for weeks afterwards. Sometimes I'll walk in to find Emily and Kate trying to recreate one of Dad's most recent skits. On these extra special magical nights I just get to sit back and enjoy the laughter of my children and fall in love all over again with the sweet man that I married.

Thanksgiving wreath tradition

Well it's that time of year again to think about the things we are thankful for. We had our traditional Thanksgiving family home evening this last week. Every year we make a wreath of fall leaves with the things we are thankful for written on the leaves. This year we each got ten leaves. After writing our top ten blessings down we shared them with each other and then I get to glue them all to the wreath form.

Here are some of the many blessings we are thankful for in our family this year:

Some of Katie's unprompted things:
-flying carpets???????
-care bears
-snow
-rain
-candy

Some of Emily's:
-her teacher
-family
-friends to play with
-plants
-our neighborhood

Some from Chase:
-toys
-food
-our home
-the world
-his friends

Some from Mom:
-great family on both sides
-hobbies and talents that I enjoy and serve my family
-that Dad loves me
-that Heavenly father spent so much time making our world beautiful
-awesome friends

Some from Dad:
-brave soldiers
-living in a free country
-good health
-good parents
-time to spend with loved ones

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Just thought I'd share our FHE treat recipe with everyone it was really yummy!



2 pkg. of Pillsbury big and flakey crescent rolls
nutella

-unfold crescent rolls.
-add a tablespoon of nutella to the center of each triangle
-fold the edges over, press them down and then roll them up
-place on cookie sheet
-cook about 15 min. at 350 degrees or until golden brown
-let cool a bit and then sprinkle with powdered sugar

Camera Crazy

Kate was the only one home during our one hour of sunshine today so she got to be the test subject. Dave siad, "why didn't you wash her face." That would have been so smart huh?!

Well...I must be the most indecisive person on Earth. I have been researching and testing out cameras now for weeks and I don't feel like I'm getting very far. The only thing that I have decided for sure is that I definitely want a digital SLR. We are trial running the Canon xti (Thank you Costco) and I love it. My pictures are awesome and I don't have any clue what I'm doing! So I guess I've narrowed it down to the Canon rebel xti and the Nikon d40x. I have laboured diligently reading reviews and looking up reports online and they both are so similar on paper that I have no clue which to chose. I need to trial run the Nikon but in the meantime please share your knowledge with me. If you have any opinion at all about Canon vs. Nikon or about using either of the cameras in the running please share. I posted a practice picture that I took with the rebel. Just having fun with the auto mode.


Some flowers from my flower bed.


Dave took this of our crabapple tree.

Tape and Glue

One of the moments I treasure the most in my day is when Katie crawls into bed with me in the morning. Right around 6:30 I hear the door open and the pitter patter of her little feet as she approaches my bed. Then I hear, "Mom can I climb into bed with you?" If it's too early I tell her to head back to bed. But if it's starting to get light outside I tell her sure. She carefully climbs over my gigantic belly and lies down right beside me. I think she is the only one that I actually enjoy getting right up into my face. We touch noses, she'll pet my cheek, her little hands make fists right under my chin and she'll normally fall back asleep. I love the feel of her tiny hands and chubby cheeks. This little tradition of ours started while Dave was gone to Egypt for a year with the Army. Katie would climb out of her port-a-crib and come cuddle with me every morning. I told Dave that I think that if it wasn't for her and her sweet loves everyday I don't think I would have made it through a whole year without him with my sanity. She is so tender and devoted to me. This morning she said to me, "I wish we were stuck together with tape and glue." When I asked her why she responded, "so we could cuddle and hug forever." I don't think it will take tape and glue. The day she grows out of cuddling with Mom will definitely be one of the saddest days of my life. I wanted to capture the memory forever so I asked Dave to take a picture of us even though I 'm pregnant and don't generally allow photos of myself.

Dave's Photoshop Projects

When you have two beautiful girls it is just irresistible to take pictures of them and then have fun working with those picture as pieces of art. Every-once-in-a-while Dave's artistic flair gives him an itch an he sits down to create something fantastic. I love that Dave is an artist. This was an extra bonus that I didn't find out about until after we were married! Today Dave created two amazing master pieces. Here they are for you to enjoy. Please click on the picture itself to enjoy the full photo.





Both pictures were taken this summer during our vacation to Jackson Hole.

Seven things I'm forced to say about myself (thanks April)

April, I can't beleive you did this to me! (http://tylerclarkfamily.blogspot.com/)

RULES:
1. List the link to your tagger (like I did with April), and also post the following rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some wierd, etc.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your blog also leaving the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are "Tagged" by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here's my Seven:

1. I have a low self-esteem while being very self-confident. Is that possible? I wonder? I never really doubt my abilities to do something and I'm usually ready to try something new (except food). But when it comes to what I think about myself I'm not where I should be. First, I think i'm not nice. I see the examples of other friends and I'm always thinking I wish I could be as giving and charitable as them. But when it comes down to it I'm selfish and grumpy. Mostly though i think I'm not very attractive. So, when I get a "you look great" compliment it goes a million miles. I've always been surprised that I fit in OK with the pretty, well dressed totally put together crowd. I definitly should be an outcast. i can't think of a single one of my friends that aren't totally pretty. A few are gorgeous. All dress like they're models for Nordstroms, Ann Taylor or some other nice store. There hair always looks great, most wear make-up everyday and they just always look fabulous. Then there is me. I prefer my pajamas, make-up on Sundays if you're all lucky and hair hardly ever gets done. I think I would be better about all those things if I thought it could help. But like I said I don't think God gave me much to work with. That's OK though because I have the confidence to pull me through. Weird combination huh? Thank goodness Dave somehow was attracted to me!!!!!!!!!!!

2. I wish I were a prima ballerina. I wish I had never stopped dancing. It is in my blood. I hear music and I feel my body start to move. Every Christmas I take the girls to see the Nutcracker ballet. I pretend that I do it for them. It is totally for me. I feel like doing pirouettes all the way to the car afterwards. I have ballet dreams and I would love to take ballroom with Dave. In heaven some of Gods angles will sing...I will dance!

3. I love to sleep. Dave thinks I have a disorder. I can easily sleep 2/3 of a day away. Today I woke up at 11:30 and I'm ready for bed now at 9:00. Naps are great but I can't power nap. I prefer the 2 to 3 hour variety. I would even come home from high school and take a nap. It's not just a "your a mom and getting old thing".

4. I might be the world's pickiest eater. Not my Mom's fault for she. We ate very well rounded means and always had to eat our veggies. However, I hate every veggitable except tomatoes if I have some good mozzwerella to go with it. I get nervous going over to peoples houses to eat that don't know me well. One of the best things about being a newly wed for sure was that when Dave and I would go over to my parents house to eat every Sunday i didn't have to eat my veggies anymore (pour sisters). I'm getting better though. Mexican food is now on the list of edibles as well as some fish.

5. I love country music. Most of the times I find the lyrics to a song very inspriing. I love that country music so often tells a story. Thank goodness Kate isn't really into music. It means I get to listen to the radio whenever we go out to do errands.

6. I really love a good game! We have tons and tons of games on shelves in our garage. I love all kinds. We play with a few families right now and it just makes me happy to have "game" friends. We love to hang out with our really good friends and play (Settlers of Catan mostly). One week we played nine times. We're crazy but it is so much fun. I have bought three new games in the last two weeks. All games that friends have introduced to us. I can't wait until our kids are old enough to play some of them with us.

7. I asked Dave for help on what to write for this last one and right away he said, "your a chronicler". I laughed because I don't really think abou myself like that. I love to write and recieve letters and packages from friends and family. I love, love, love the blog atmosphere and wish so much that more of my family and Dave's would get on board. I keep the family scrapbooks, the kids journals, every letter or not Dave has every written to me, notes that Emily write to me and leaves on my pillow. I love to hear stories about my parents and grandparents and of corse have them write them down. I've recorded storied told by my grandfather and grandmother. I love family history past and present. A few months ago I started a family package for the Wilcox family. We each get the packeage, add or own things about how we're doing or things we want to share and then mail it on to the next family. They get to look over the contents and add their and mail it on. I'm so excited to get it back on day. Come to think about it my patriarchal blessing saiys that I would collect and share the good stories. I always thought i would have to write a book. Maybe all I have to do is collect and share. Anyway...on the flip side of being a chronicler I get very hurt when letters go unresponded, packages unacknowldged or when there is a lack of excitement and participation in my try to keep everyone connected adventures. Too bad, but true.

PS I love it when Dave or the kids play with my hair. Which doesn't happen very often because it's curly and just one big snarl!

So there it is. Seven things everyone probablly already knew about me, and or didn't really care to know :-)

Now, YOU ARE TAGGED:
Sorry everyone...April says it's the rules and it'll be neat to see what you write.
I'm sparing Jamie only because her sister just did something similar to her.

Mary http://theseaquistfamily.blogspot.com/
Lisa http://johnsonfamilywebsite.blogspot.com/
Meghan http://mathmeg.blogspot.com/
Aileen http://familiabethers.blogspot.com/

That's all I can do...I don't know any other bloggers:-)

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!

">

Halloween was awesome! It didn't rain hallelujah! I just love that Chloe Clark (the kids elementary school) still celebrates Halloween. This year instead of watching on the sidelines we joined in on the parade. Emily was so sweet and walked with Katie the entire time. I kept falling behind. So sad, I can't even keep up with second graders. We took Chase out of his class at his new school and his old class welcomed him back like a celebrity. It is always such a good feeling to see your children being accepted with such a warm welcome. After the parade the kids headed off to their classes for their class parties. They had a good time of course. Naturally when we atarted talking plans for the evening everyone wanted to go trick-or-treating with their friends. We had to make some crazy arrangements that almost all worked out. We started the night off walking with or friends the Phillips family. They were Katie's choice. Poor thing though. She could hardly keep up with her friend Vivian. Kate was just so content to stroll from house to house. I had to constantly make sure we weren't leaving her behind. Next we hooked up with Chase's friend. I should say the kids and Dave did, I went home to pass out candy. (so tired!) Chase and Hunter were the two best looking Harry Potter's out there. We never were able to hook up with Emily's friend Sophie. That was a bummer but we had her good friend Katie (pioneer costume) with us the whole time so things were good. I gave out a whole cauldron full of candy only to have the kids come home and fill it all back up to the top again. I think it is all a secret plan to get me to explode. Katie woke up this morning and said, "can we go trick-or-treating again tonight!" No way hose! Mom needs a break! Now the kids have three days to gorge themselves on candy to their hearts desire before the candy fairy comes to take it all away. (surprisingly the kids actually look forward to her visit. She leaves them a prize and it's all good) Hope you all had a great Holiday too. Can't wait to see all your cute kids in their costumes!