New Years Resolutions

"You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing there will be no result."
~Gandhi

• Change all light bulbs to CFLs by end of year
• Use canvas shopping bags
• Lower temp of hot water tank
• Grow vegetable garden
• Recycle and compost
• Buy less stuff
  

Christmas

We had a really fun Christmas day. We woke up around 6am and saw that Santa Claus brought a outdoor climber, slide and table and chairs for the kids. He also left them lots of practical things in their stockings (socks, hair care stuff, toothbrushes, toothpaste) and a dvd and book each. Jackson crawled right into the middle and it all. He really enjoyed having so much stuff on the floor to play with and put in his mouth. Abygail enjoyed the climber so much that it took 3 hours before she opened her last present (slow and steady wins the race!).First things first, Mom & Dad, I need to go down this slide!

Now let's see, yup, it's just my size (ignore the yawning mom in the background)

After opening presents I made our traditional Christmas breakfast of monkey bread, I also made some eggs and bacon to counter balance the sweets. Soon after breakfast was over I was making our Christmas feast. We enjoyed ham, corn casserole, raw veggies, rolls and my grandma's Christmas punch. Afterwards the kids and I took naps while Jason cleaned up my kitchen mess. It was so nice to have a good long nap. After naps we got cleaned up and took our Christmas baked goods to friends. When we got home we just enjoyed the remainder of the day, playing and watching Thomas and Friends (Abygail's new dvd).Things I learned this year:
1. Start baking early so that the few days before Christmas don't turn into a circus and one is not exhausted by 3pm on Christmas day.
2. When big presents/toys are given there is really no point any buying anything else - it's just not even seen.
3. Just relax and enjoy the day. The opportunities for pictures will manifest themselves and it's so much fun to just watch the kiddies!
4. I enjoy baking and getting ready for the holiday season.
5. Put up the Christmas tree as soon after Thanksgiving as possible so that Christmas doesn't sneak up on you.

Today we've already taken down our Christmas decorations and packed them up, along with our dvd collection and some other odds and ends. The closing date has been postponed, again, to Friday. All in all it's going to be a race in the next few days to get everything packed and moved so you may not see much from us until after the New Year.

Traditions Old and New

I have not in the past done any baking for Christmas, but this year I decided to give it a try. I made Jason's mom's peanut butter bon bons, that she makes every Christmas, and some buttermilk cinnamon bread which I came across on AllRecipes.com. Both recipes turned out really good.

For Christmas Eve we went to Rachel & Tyler's house and had a really good time at their party. I brought my Grandma's Christmas punch, a vegetable try and some peanut butter bon bons. The dinner was delicious. After dinner we played a fun hot potato game with a present. Who ever had the present when the music stopped had to unwrap a layer of wrapping paper with out using their hands. After the game we all wrapped boxes and put gifts in the boxes (food, school supplies and baked goods) to take to various families or shelters. We took ours to the Ronald McDonald house.

Some other traditions we did this year were: we opened our ornament presents on Saturday as listed in the previous post, we opened one present each before going to bed last night with our new pajamas in them and, we opened our new Christmas movie on Sunday. Each year we try to get an ornament to either commemorate a trip or a memory and we get a new Christmas movie (we are big home movie buffs) this year we got the first Santa Claus movie with Tim Allen.

Catching Up

Saturday afternoon I got a call from Jason that started out like this, "Let me start off by saying, I'm OK and it wasn't my fault". Of course I'm sure you can guess what he was talking about but if you can't let me tell you. He was in a car accident while on his way to Christmas shop.
Here's the scoop, he was stopped behind a car at a red light when all the sudden some one plowed into him from behind. Our car was then propelled forward and hit the car in front of him which then propelled 3/4 of the way into the intersection. He was fine and so was the man in the car in front of him. The teenagers that hit him were a little worse for wear but everyone walked away and that was good. The car that hit him was pretty much totaled. Our car will need to go in the shop for new bumpers (front and back) a new tail light and possibly some work on the trunk, pretty minor thankfully. The car in front of him has a cracked frame by the rear bumper.
camera. I am so thankful and you will be too since now you will see better pictures on the blog.Next: Jason and I exchanged gifts Saturday night because I guessed my present. I hate that I almost always know what he got me. It's not his fault and he always gets me really good presents but IT BUGS TO NOT GET THE FABULOUS SURPRISE OF CHRISTMAS MORNING. O, to be young again. First let me say that we agreed to only get stocking stuffers this year for one another because we are buying a house. So I bought him a water bottle, I know, I know, how lame but it's one of those polycarbonate bottles so that he doesn't have to refill his grocery store water bottles any more. This past year I sent him to school a few times with a breakfast drink (cranberry juice or orange juice) and he had to take it in one of Abygail's sippy cups so that it would not spill, that's the only beverage container we had. I did put thought into it but again - it's a water bottle so nothing to spectacular. He on the other hand bought me a digital I'm glad we opened them early so that we can use it to take good pics for Christmas. Thank you sweetie!

Finally: Abygail has been very excited about the presents under the tree. She has been trying to sneak them out of the living room to open them. We opened a few early, our new ornaments to commemorate this past year. I haven't blogged about this but I LOVE ORNAMENTS. I love pulling them out each year and thinking about where I/we got them, who gave them to me/we and under what circumstances they were received. My most prized ornament is this one, it's one that my brother Paul made for me when we were all much younger.

Here is Jackson's ornament for the year, he loves reaching up to the tree and trying to pull the ornaments off.

Abygail's, last year she got one similar to this one with the same kitty in a stroller. Notice she (the cat) is holding a baby kitty (brother).

Last Year's

This Year's

Jason and I got this cute little house to remember this is the year we bought our first house.

Expressive Story Telling

This morning Jason was playing Christmas music on the piano. Abygail likes climbing up and sitting with him while he plays. This time she demanded that he play "Bug's Life". (We have a book that is the story for the Disney movie Bug's Life.) So he did, Expressing the story through the piano. I caught the video a little late but, you can get a little of an idea of how much fun they both had. Enjoy!

Scheduling A Date

We've finally gotten the 'clear to close' on our house. FINALLY! We will be closing on the house on the 27th. So we'll be taking down Christmas decorations and packing all at the same time. It should be a whirlwind of a move with just 4 days to get it all done. We won't be able to have the kitchen done or even started before we move so I guess that will just have to be done ASAP after the move.

The hold up has been the seller's lawyer not getting everything done on his end AND we just found out that the seller (who lives in OH) is going to be staying in the house over Christmas. Lets just recap here, the house is empty - completely empty except for a stove and fridge. It's been empty for almost a year now. So I ask, WHY????? I guess it doesn't really matter, just as long as we move before the end of the year but we were certainly not happy to hear this news. We were going to close this Friday (21st) but then the seller decided to live in it for just the holidays - crazy!

In other news: Jackson is pulling up on just about anything he can. He's still really wobbly and falls a lot (especially when he pulls up on things that move out from under him like the swing) but it's so fun to see him developing and trying his hardest to stand. He's getting to his tip toes in a leaning position or just on his knees - so funny. He's also fascinated with the cat now (Darwin). We really are lucky that we have such a docile cat that lets the kids climb all over them.

Abygail has been really enjoying the snow and so have Jason and I. Only time will tell if we still love the snow once we have to start shoveling it. ;o)

I finally got a little Christmas shopping done the other day. Jason stayed home with the kids and it was nice to be out of the house all by myself. It was a rushed trip though and only one stop, o how I miss the Christmas shopping of my younger years when I could go as often as I liked and spend as much time as I wanted, but it's so much fun to shop for the kids now that I'm older and have some.

Inspired

Recently I've been really inspired by so many blogs out there that talk about the environment, conservation and even getting back to the basics. I've already penned (typed) some of my New Years resolutions (you'll see them posted after Christmas). I've come to the following belief: just because we can doesn't mean we should. Let me expound on that a bit...
...turn on the water
...buy any kind of produce imaginable
...drive
...etc.

I'm not saying that we should never do any of the above. What I'm saying is that I grew up knowing that every time I twist the handles on the water faucet water would come out. I didn't think about how much water I used while I washed my hands and slowly during the winter so that I could warm my hands up. Just because I can hold my hands under the warm water for 5 mins to warm them up doesn't mean I should waste all that water. I didn't think about how much water the toilet used each and every time I went to the bathroom. Just because I could use a full tank of water to flush doesn't mean I needed to or should. I didn't think about wasting half a glass of water because it was no longer cold and so I would just toss it down the sink and get a fresh glass, again filled to the rim. Just because I could get a fresh cold glass of water doesn't mean I should just toss out the old water (instead of putting it over a plant or drinking it anyway).

We live in a society where an abundance is just a given, we don't tend to think about where our food is coming from...as long as it comes and we can choose what we want. We don't tend to think about how much oil is left in the world...as long as the gas station has gas and we can fill up at our convenience, that's good enough for us. I know a lot of people do think about this but maybe not enough, or enough of the time.

I'm not perfect and I still have SO MUCH work to do in this area but I wanted to share. I also think by putting these thoughts down I will have a better chance of following through with them and remembering them too. These are just my thoughts and I felt compelled to share them with you. Do what you will with them.

Here are a few sites that I've really been digging. As an added bonus, I've added them to the side of our blog under the heading of "Making A Difference".

Chile Chews
Crunchy Chicken
Earth Lab
Simply Authentic
The Story of Stuff

There is always some really good stuff on these sites. There are a lot of good sites out there but these are the ones I've enjoyed so far. I hope you enjoy.

A Blanket Of Snow

Last night it was snowing when we went to bed. I just love watching it snow so much that we slept with the blinds open (not such a great idea when you live on a busy street but we did it anyway). Every time I woke up during the night I could see the snow falling and it was just beautiful. It snowed basically all day long and is still snowing now. There is a gorgeous thick white blanket of snow covering everything and it's so beautiful.

The following is more for record keeping and nostalgia's sake.

I have a bottle problem. I can no longer say that it's Abygail's problem because it just simply is not, it's not even Jason's problem. Just mine, all mine. I LOVE giving Aby a bottle just before nap time. I know, this is wrong on so many levels: she's too old, it's a bad habit right before sleeping, it is bad for the teeth, etc, etc. We have stopped giving her one before bed and even in the middle of the night when she wakes up. I was hoping to preserve that special time right before nap but she take milk from the cup really well now and well, there is just no reason except my one emotional attachment to give her one before nap any more. I just want to cry! I loved rocking her and giving it to her, cuddling and snuggling while I hummed or sang. Now it's over, she's not a baby any more and I just need to face it, no matter how hard that might be.

Snow Angel

So I got home to late to build a snowman, but Abygail and I did get out in the snow for a little bit. I think it must be inborn for kids to eat snow, because Abygail sure enjoyed it. She also enjoyed laying in the snow.

1:45 And Still Snowing

Maybe Jason will get home before it gets dark and we can all go and build a snowman?!

Look at the bushes in front of our door and across the street, also the window ledge gives you a good idea of the difference of the two pictures. They shoveled the walk in front of our door not even 2 hours ago and then they just came back through and plowed the sidewalk again. The walk in front of our door now has snow on it and the side walk shows you the depth of the snow.

Living In A Winter Wonderland

We awoke this morning to no snow, then it was snowing just a little and now it's really snowing good - fabulous! Here is a pic, not sure if you get the full grasp as this is my camera phone which doesn't take the best pics.

General Updates

Jackson is cutting his first two teeth (bottom front). He's been really good about it so far. They are still under the gums but you can see them trying to poke out. I started giving him some Gripe Water today to help soothe him as he has been crying a little more than usual. He's also gotten his horrible cough back so I'm trying to keep the vaporizer running to help moisten the air. O, I sure hope both he and Abygail get over their croup before Christmas.

We finally put our Christmas decorations up. We started on Sunday and then just yesterday during nap I finished putting the ornaments on the tree. Both Jackson and Abygail love them. Abygail has been very good, she is allowed to look but not touch and she's only had a couple of issues (always when I'm out of the room). Jackson likes to crawl over to the tree and touch the lights and anything else in his reach. Abygail watches to see what I will do and of course I tell him "Jackson, we can look but not touch" and then pick him up and move him to another location (this is of course mostly for Abygail's benefit so she knows that it's not just her that can't touch).

**House Update** We got a call from our Realtor this morning that there are still a few things they are waiting for before we can schedule the closing on the house. They are still waiting on some title stuff and then we should be ready to close. She, our Realtor, thinks we'll be able to close early next week, I sure hope so! We only have 'till Jan 1st before we no longer have a place to stay and we really want to get some things done on the house before moving in so...this train needs to leave the station and soon.

**Paci Update** I made Abygail cry herself back to sleep once last night and then she woke up again around 4...but that was it - yeah!

Paci Update

Well, it's been 4 nights now and it has gotten a little better. To tell the truth, nap time has been a breeze but the nights have just been horrible. Last night she woke up twice, yup, just twice to that was a HUGE improvement to the every hour wake up of the first night. I found the paci while cleaning the bathroom and had to hide it very quickly before she saw it. I haven't thrown it out, why? Well, I'm not sure, it just doesn't feel right to throw it away. Maybe I'll put it in her baby box for a good laugh after this is all over.

How Green Can You Go?

So by now most of you know that I'm a little green conscious. I don't consider myself green though because we don't do as much as we should. Sure, we have upgraded 2 of our light bulbs to CFLs and will continue to upgrade as the old ones go out. Yes, we use cloth diapers on our kids the majority of the time. Of course, I'm a light Nazi and turn out lights as I leave the room and if I see one on in an unoccupied room. As a general rule I don't run the air conditioner during the summer unless I'm about to die OR Jason is home. I always use cold water to wash our clothes (except for when washing diapers). etc.

But... I still take nice hot and semi-long showers when I get more than 5 mins to shower, the major electronics (computer, tv, dvd player and radio) are on a lot of the time. I don't unplug electronics that are not being used. We don't really think about our water consumption. We have itty bittys (little ones) so we don't try lowering the gas bill or worry about the temp. indoors being too high in the winter. etc.

However... We do plan on growing our own garden and making our own compost when we move. Since reading A,M,V I try buying organic and free range when possible. This year almost all our produce will be purchased from local farmers through a Community Supported Agriculture program, to prevent 'Oily Foods' (foods shipped over lots of miles using un-needed gas, non organics using fertilizers with petroleum. If we had the money we would put up a solar energy cell on the house. etc.

But this, wow! My green hat is off to you Ms. Chile. I'm not sure that I could ever be that green.

Pacifiers And Cherry Trees

Yesterday afternoon I could not find Abygail's pacifier for her nap time. She always sleeps with it and if she doesn't have it we have to wait until we can find it. Well, I LOOKED EVERYWHERE and could not find it so I made her take a nap anyway (mean mommy). She finally cried herself to sleep. Last night we went on the search for the 'paci', as we call it, again. Neither Jason nor I could find it so, she had to cry it out again. She woke up several times through out the night waling for it and there was nothing we could do except go and get a new one, which we refuse to do. This morning she woke up screaming for it and we were finally able to calm her down enough to get here to start the day and she was happy after that. Well, it's nap time again and now it's a mission. We've gone 1 whole day with out it and there is NO WAY I'm going to turn my back on that progress and give it to her now (even if it does ever reveal it's hiding place). So, we probably have another day and a half of hardcore sleep tantrums but, it's all or nothing now. Thank goodness for the weekend.

On another note, our cherry tree has been blossoming for the last month and it is so fun to watch and to see how big it's gotten! I gave Jason a cherry tree for Valentine's day this last year. It's a tree that will grow indoors and after a few years it should start producing edible cherries, YUM! When it arrived in the mail in March (it was too cold in February for it to ship) it was the size of my thumb (that's leaves and all). Now look at it, almost 2 feet tall. (it looks a bit sickly right now because it needs water - I just watered it)

The Day's Happenings

1. Jackson crawled out of the living room today for the first time. Life as we know it has changed. No more keeping that boy in one room. If he sees us leave he's headed straight for the path where I disappeared. The Dr. was a little surprised yesterday at his weight gain and asked if he moved around a lot. We replied "He crawls everywhere and we can't keep him in one spot for 2 seconds". She said "He's crawling?" We said "OH YES! He's either crawling, jumping in his jumper or sleeping because that's what he likes to do". Then she said "Well, than, that explains his weight."

2. Abygail had her first REAL conversation on the telephone. We called Daddy at work and he asked her a series of questions in which she responded correctly and then he asked her what she had for lunch and she said (with her thinking look on - rolling her eyes heavenward) "umm, (pause) gapes (translation - grapes), umm, (pause) roni (translation - macaroni), umm, (pause) tuna." It's so amazing to hear her and see her actually responding to questions and responding correctly.

3. Abygail peed on the carpet - this was really my fault. I should have understood what she was trying to tell me. She was pulling at her diaper and said "pee pee". I asked her if she went pee pee in her diaper and she said yes. I asked her if she wanted a diaper change and she said yes so I took it off. Then in the 5 seconds or so that it took me to go in the next room to get a new diaper she did her business in the middle of the living room. Good thing we'll be cleaning that carpet when we move! She's been telling us before she goes poo poo for the last week and we put her on the potty, she doesn't do anything but rather waits until we put her diaper back on (after she tells us she's done and doesn't need to go poo poo any more) then messes in her diaper. I'm sure she's getting close to being ready for potty training. I hope she can wait just another week until Jason is out of school so there will be two of us around to pay more attention to the immediate needs of potty training.

4. A CD was found in the VCR player - hmm, wonder how that happened?! Could it have been my little girl? I think so! It sure did frustrate me when I kept trying to put in the Blues Clues tape and it wouldn't work. I thought "O GREAT, the VCR is broken!"

5. Jason surprised us by coming home before midnight! This week has just been a killer, Jason's final is on Friday and he's had tons of work to do to prepare for the end of the semester so he's been gone by 9am and gone until after midnight for the better part of a week now. So I was gearing up to put Abygail to bed when we heard him come in the front door at 7:30 - Boy was I glad to see the relief squad!

Abygail's Boyfriend

You must see Abygail's boyfriend!

I've also been cleaning out my drafted posts that I forgot to post so here's one that I just posted if you want to go back and read it. The Weekend

Book: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I know I said I would not post anything more about book reviews here but I must share this one little thing. I just got a book in the mail that I ordered several weeks ago and I've been tapping my foot and drumming my fingers for it to arrive. Dutifully checking the mail as soon as I hear it drop, with a flutter in my stomach and a pitter patter in my heart just to have my hopes crushed by bills and no book. Well IT is finally here.

IT is called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. I haven't even finished the first chapter but I just want to yell and scream with joy:

"YES, YES, YES!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
MORE, MORE, MORE!"

IT is a true story about one family's adventure of eating only what they could either produce themselves or obtain locally. The author is a novelist, her husband is a biologist who contributed to the book with side bars of information and one of their daughters wrote essays on her experience which are included in the book as well.

I hope this book turns out to be just like the beginning of the first chapter because I can think of nothing more important, more compelling, more soulful than this.

{as she looks up towards the heavens she says} "Thank you so much, I will try my hardest and do my best to learn. THIS is my dream, what I am meant to do."

6 Month Check-UP

Jackson had his 6 month doctors appointment today. Here are the stats:

Jackson Ridge at 6 months:
15 lbs
26 1/2" long
41 1/2 cm head circumference

He is eating rice cereal 1x per day and we will soon start simple vegetables and fruits. He received 4 shots today: Flu, DTaP, Hib and (I can't read the other one but it looks like Prevnar?)

A Pain In The Neck

It snowed last night and this morning. The first REAL snow, we have about 4 inches on the ground and it is so pretty and white.

This morning while getting ready for church Jason fell. Not on the snow, not even outside. He fell out of the rocking chair. Well actually he fell back and hurt his neck really bad. He immediately went to the couch and laid down because he couldn't move his neck at all. So we stayed home and pampered daddy. It hasn't gotten much better and he is teaching tomorrow so we've decided that I'll need to take him to work (could you imagine him driving without the use of his neck?!?!). I hope that he gets better soon, it's very sad but also SOOO VERY FUNNY!

Last week and this weekend has just been crazy, Jason has been gone all week studying, teaching and he just had to start working a new lab rotation. So the research begins - he'll be working in the lab during the Winter Break as well. This week he'll be super busy again, he's got a final on Friday and then he has a test to write over the up coming weekend and then he's done (except for the research) until mid January when school starts up again.

For now we will just enjoy the fabulous weather and start getting ready to pack and move.

Jackson's 6 Month Birthday!

Hospital

I can't believe it's been 6 months! You are 6 months old my little man. I remember when you were born, I knew that morning that I was going to see you before the sun rose again. By the afternoon I was nesting, getting pictures put up on the walls and other things that just had not been done yet. Your Grandma M. was here and we were glad she was. By 8pm I started having contractions and at 11:30pm I decided it was time to goto the hospital. We (your Daddy and I) were checked in/admitted to the hospital at 12:30am and I was already at an 8.5 (you'll understand that when you have babies of your own). There was just enough time for our doula Cindy W. to come and 'baby' me. She did such a good job, giving me ice before I asked for it, cold cloths on my head, etc. Your Daddy did so well too, he was very excited and said so many encouraging words. I don't really remember it all but I know that I was glad they were both there. By the time the doctor came you were just about to crown. In 4 pushes you were out. I laid eyes on you at 1:35am saying "O, Baby! O, Baby!". Your Daddy stayed with you while they did all the test and cleaning and then I fed you. O my sweet little boy. I am so glad you came to our family!

Hospital

Some of your favorite things at 6 months are: sitting up on Mommy's lap, jumping in your jumperoo, playing and chewing on the toys of your excersaucer, being thrown up and down by Daddy, when Mommy wipes your teeth and gums after eating cereal (you really enjoy that, I hope that is always true). You have started to like eating cereal and you like to pull up to a sitting position in your highchair. Although you like your big sister, you are also frightened by her because sometimes she hurts you on accident (just because she loves you so much and wants to be around you all the time).

1.5 Days Old

Some things you don't like are: the hours of 4:30pm-6:30pm and being left in a room all by yourself (unless you are sleeping).

7 Weeks Old

You are such a good sleeper and Mommy and Daddy are really happy about that. You usually go to sleep between 6:30 and 7:30 every night and sleep until sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 the next morning. You take 2 - 1 hour naps during the day or sometimes just 1 - 2 hour nap, usually while Abygail is sleeping. When you wake up from your nap you finally get some alone time with Mommy (because Aby is still sleeping) and you really like that. You also really like being tickled and when Mommy "eats" your neck (YUM, YUM).

5 Months Old

I love you my little man and I hope you love being in this family as much as we love having you. It brings me so much joy to see you smile. It lights up my day when you laugh.

6 Months Old

I Love You Always,
Mommy

"Bigger! Bigger!"

"Bigger! Bigger!" is what Abygail says when she wants me to build a Fort, or when the Fort is not big enough.


Yesterday we spent another day inside, this time I decided it was time to try Fort building. First I built a small Fort, modest in size for a little girl. She climbed in and hung out for a little while. Then she decided she wanted all her Friends to be inside the house/fort too. I decided to make it a little bigger. That did it, after that she didn't really want to play inside anymore, she just wanted me to make it bigger and bigger and bigger. Here is a pic of the final Fort (I refused to make it any bigger - it took up the whole living room as it was).


She really had a good time.

Did You Know?

Did you know this? Well, you should, especially if you have a daughter or if you are a girl!

**ALSO** Did you know you can print your blog in a book format? Well I didn't either but someone I know did it and so I was searching today and this is a great website to get you started if that is your desire.

"It's Just Another Manic Monday"

Jackson's cereal - he's still not sure that he likes it.

"O My Gosh! What is this?"

"OK, whatever, Mom!"

"MOM! NO MORE! Stop it!"

I know, this next one is a horrible picture, I couldn't tear her away from Super Why long enough to take the pic.

Abygail's favorite outfit: Shirt, Diaper and Green Rain Boots.

Yesterday was just another Monday for us. It was rainy outside (or as we like to say 'abygaily' outside) so there was no hope for any outdoor activities. Poor Abygail, she asks to out 'ou-site' all the time, but especially right when Jason gets home. So to help make things a little better we did some finger painting. Our last painting episode ending in Jason painting Abygail's face so as soon as Abygail dipped her fingers in the paint she went straight for her face. I tried to show her and teach her to paint on the paper but...it was just too fun after a while to NOT paint her.

Abygail as a painted Indian

A Very Vegetarian Thanksgiving

What a fun Thanksgiving! We went to Alaska's house and enjoyed a Vegetarian Thanksgiving with her and her family. We ate garbanzo beans, pickled cabbage slaw, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, rolls, green bean casserole, carrots with parsnips, gravy, pumpkin pie, fruit cocktail cake and my grandmother's frozen banana punch! What a meal. We went home stuffed to the gills.

Although we missed being with our family's it was a fun change to a traditional holiday. We had so much fun hanging out with their fun family and enjoying one another's company. Who knows, maybe we'll rotate in a vegetarian holiday again.

**UPDATE**
So I've been pondering on the tradition and meaning of Thanksgiving and I've been especially grateful for it this year. Our lives have been so blessed with amazing food that Heavenly Father saw fit to have growing on this world. I am so grateful for another year of a bountiful harvest that we may all continue to eat, love, grow and learn about these amazing treasures. Thank you so much for the diversity of food that we have to chose from and enjoy.

Should Amber Take The Job?

I've been offered a job at a local Maternity store that specializes in all things natural for baby and mom. It is just a Saturday shift that is 3 hrs in length so Jason could watch the kiddies.

I applied for this position just before Jackson was born and now I'm having doubts whether I should take it or not. I love spending time with the kids yet it would be nice to get away. I guess my biggest concern is that it's on Saturday - the one day of the week that we could actually go someplace as a family and spend time together.

What do you think? Should I take it? I put a survey up but feel free to explain your response in the comments here. It would be nice to have some additional input before I make my decision.

**UPDATE** I decided to not take it. I need and want to be with my kids and spend time with my family. This is where I need to be at this stage in our lives.

The Weekend

I know, that last post was SUPER long. Well, we enjoyed it even if you didn't, but now I just want to catch up from the weekend and give smooches via this weblog to my sweetie.

Jason made yummy blueberry pancakes for breakfast Saturday morning AND let me sleep in, what a great Daddy!

There is nothing new happening, we are just getting super excited about moving into our new house and keep thinking about all the things we want to do to it. We'll have to pace ourselves though and that will be pretty hard as we both like to jump in with both feet and head on (I think that might be a cannon ball but you get the idea that we are just really excited).

Tagged!

Here’s the rules:
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog, for these rules.

My friend Colleen tagged me quite a while back and YES, I am just getting around to doing it, pathetic how slow I am. Since this is a family blog I'm going to post 6 facts/habits about each of us (Jackson, Abygail and myself - I'll make Jason do his later this afternoon - you got that sweetie, you are going to have to author something on here!).

AMBER

1) I am scared of the Ocean. When I was 12 I went with my friend Heather Borton (some of you might know her) and her family to Galveston. While there we swam in the Gulf of Mexico and I was stung by a jelly fish. To this day I am still scared of swimming in the ocean. I won't go out more than to my waist and only if I can see, no seaweed please! Also I don't want to fly over the ocean or cruise in it. If you survive a plane crash over the ocean then you will drown, if you don't drown than you will be eaten by sharks, if you are not eaten by sharks you will die of dehydration. If you are on a boat (Titanic) and it sinks than you will die too for all of the aforementioned reasons. I will some day have to confront my fear because I want to go to Hawaii...some day.

2) Although I am not an Environmentalist (except in my dreams) I use cloth diapers on both my kids.

3) I went bungie jumping on a lunch break once and it was a religious experience for me. I was pretty scared to jump and then I thought 'it's just a leap of faith'. I have always remembered what it felt like to in a very real sense take a 'leap of faith'. (speaking of 'Leap of Faith' did anyone ever see that movie with Steve Martin? i actually knew someone that was in that movie!)

4) Currently, I am in LOVE with chocolate soy milk. Every time I go grocery shopping I splurge and buy a quart of it and drink it on the way home. OOO, another current thing, I am STILL working on a winter themed cross stitch that I started 2 years ago...but I'm so close to finishing it I can almost taste it.

5) When I read a book and really like it I can't put it down. For example, this week I read 3 books by Thursday morning. I stay up super late, read through the kids naps and even ignored all my chores - I was a BAD mommy and wife. [But I made up for it yesterday by doing almost all the chores, making a chore chart to help myself by giving me endorphines(sp?) after checking things off the list and played tons with the kids]

6) I played tennis in highschool, I was even on the Varsity team! (that sounds really cool but, we had a VERY SMALL team).

ABYGAIL

1) She still does not sleep through the night. Her molars are coming in and she woke up twice last night.

2) She fell off the bed when she was 5 months old because her mommy went to go answer the door and was a dummy and left her on the bed all by herself. She still hits her head on accident all the time now, like almost everyday!

3) She LOVES the cartoon 'Super Why' on PBS.

4) She likes it when we sing her to sleep. She has always been very sensitive to music, it seems to calm her. When she was 4 months old she went to Yellowstone Park with her Grandma, Grandpa, mommy and daddy, while there she got pretty fussy towards the end. The only thing that would calm her down was her mommy singing the ABC's to her! She starting dancing just as soon as she could stand up and loves dancing still.

5) She got her first tooth at 9 months.

6) She hated wearing hats until she was 18 months old and now she will ask to wear them. She doesn't keep them on for long, maybe 15 min max, but some is better than nothing when you live in Buffalo.

JACKSON

1) He is a very good sleeper and sleeps through the night. He started sleeping through the night at about 2 months and has just gotten better and better at it. (he does have his nights, don't get me wrong!) Last night he went to bed at 7:30 and woke up at 7:30 this morning.

2) He has always - AND WILL ALWAYS - slept in his own bed. At night he sleeps in the pack n play in the nursery because his crib is still in our room and mommy would prefer to not hear all his noises at night.

3) He is sooo handsome when he smiles. Mommy thinks he's going to be a heart breaker.

4) He refuses to take a pacifier or a bottle. He likes to chew/suck on his fingers and eats any kind of paper that might be on the floor so we have to be extra carefull.

5) He was born 1 hour and 5 mins after his mommy and daddy got to the hospital. It was a non medicated birth and his mommy was so excited to see him she couldn't stop crying and saying 'o baby!'

6) He is named after a character from Gilmore Girls!

JASON

1) He is a werewolf! His body temp. runs 10 degrees higher than any other persons and he runs on very little sleep.

2) He ONLY reads books that are non-fiction.

3) One of his life goals is to obtain his PhD. He's wanted to quit several times but I (his wife) refuse to let him. (I don't care if he never uses the degree, I just care that he reaches his goal - he can go back and teach 8th grade after this...I HONESTLY don't care about that part.)

I'll leave the rest up to him.

As for tags, I'll tag Kat, Laura & Alicia. I'd like to tag more family but that's everyone that has a blog. All you other family members - get off your duffs and get to bloggin'.

FYI

I have decided to not post any more book reviews on this site as it is becoming redundant for me to do so and they are not necessarily part of our family history.

If, however, you would like to see what I am reading, what I want to read and what I've read along with my reviews of the books I've read I will be posting them on GoodReads. If you want to read them you will have to let me know (leave a comment) and I will send you an invitation to sign up for this free website and you will then be able to see my reviews.

Just thought I would warn you in case these are posts you've been enjoying.

Book Review: For One More Day

For One More Day is by Mitch Albom (author of Tuesdays With Morrie).

I saw this book while grocery shopping Saturday and decided to bring it home (purchased, of course).

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's a very short read but worth it. This is the kind of book you keep on your shelf forever and reread lots and lots of times.

I related to this story so much. This book is about what you would/could do if you had one more day with someone you have lost. My grandfather passed away unexpectedly and I would love to have another conversation with him and mend old wounds. I also relate to the divorce situation of the main character. My parents split when I was ten (Chick - main character - was 11). My Dad just kinda left out overnight like Chick's (there's way more to my story but that is what happened in the short and sweet version). I relate to the way he acted and treated his mom, I wish I could get those days back and make it right.

Anyhow, whether you are a child of a divorced family or not, this book is for you. It will make you want to cherish the time you have and love more deeply, be more open and it will also bring you to the verge of tears - maybe even cry

As a side note, I love Good Reads, and I love Gilmore Girls (except the last season). I just found a book club on Good Reads called The Rory Gilmore Book Club. FABULOUS! I totally joined! I also found this website with a list of books Rory read in the episodes. FABULOUS! I'm totally stoked - can you tell?!?!

"I'm A Genius"

We've taught Abygail a few new phrases this week. She now says "I Wuv Voo" and "I'm A Genius". It's been fun calling grandparents and family and having her for the first time say things over the phone. She would still rather push buttons than talk, and must be prompted with what to say but it's fun none the less.

Abygail has also started, of her own accord, bringing her bear or dolly with her every where. We can't leave with out Mr. Bear or Dolly and Dolly sat at the dinner table with us this evening. Dolly also was finger fed some ranch dressing and carrots by her loving mother, Abygail.

It's really neat to see Abygail take on a motherly role, talking to her stuffed animals and dollies and even wanting to put diapers on them (we took Mr. Bear's diaper off before he came to church with us today).

There's not much more to post, everything has been pretty normal. Jason busy working and studying, the weather getting colder and Jackson, Abygail and me just trying to find/do things to keep us busy.

Firsts

Yesterday we had our first snow. It was a really wet, heavy snow that did not last but first snow it was none the less. I'm really excited to see the snow this year. I won't be prego and Abygail is just old enough to start enjoying it. I hope we can find a place to go sledding! :o)

Another first happened yesterday, Jackson had his first bite of rice cereal. He actually did really well, I think he swallowed about a quarter of what I offered him. Abygail was a bit upset at first that Jackson was getting the cereal and not her (not that she would have eaten it - I think she just wants all the attention) but then I asked her to help me and she was happy just sitting in my lap and watching me feed Jackson. By the end there were so many hands in Jackson's face that he just started to cry and we had to end the session. Abygail was grabbing for the spoon, I was holding the spoon and trying to grab Abygail's hands and Jackson was trying to grab the spoon and our hands.

On Sunday morning we experienced another first: Jackson got up on his hands and knees and started rocking. Since then it's been his favorite thing to do, other than army crawl/inch worm to what ever he sees and wants. I am so amazed every time something new happens with Jackson's development. It amazes me that they learn to do these things mostly on their own, you can help them and do activities with them about how to crawl, how to use their hands, lift their heads, roll over, walk, etc. But really they learn it on their own just by watching us. It doesn't matter when they do it, if they are 1 month, 6 months, 9 months or a year...it's still amazing every time. Whether they take their time or charge right through the milestones - it's still amazing when it happens because the bottom line is they have changed and learned something new and have grown. SIMPLY AMAZING.

One last first happened yesterday. Those cookies that I made finally got decorated. Jason and Abygail decorated cookies. Abygail preferred to eat the frosting and sprinkles but whatever, it was fun to watch.

**UPDATE**
Abygail has finally learned and can say her name. This evening she was even saying her version of our last name.

Hands And Knees

Sunday Jackson was up on hands and knees rocking! I can't believe he's about to really crawl and not just inch worm :o(

It Was Not Food Poisoning

Both kids have been sick with colds this last week and coughing like they are going to spew all their insides out. Jason had an extra long week of study and work trying to catch up for a test on Friday. This left me most of the week with the kids all by myself which is normal and fine because he is working/studying hard to provide for our family ... but it wore me out. By Saturday night I too was sick as a dog ... but it was not food poisoning.

I'm not sure how it happened but somehow it got around that I had food poisoning. No, we did not go to church, I really don't like taking the kids when they are sick because I would prefer that germs not be passed around and since Abygail is in nursery now it seems like we are constantly sick. Since I was also sick and it was the one day that Jason was home and could watch the kids he graciously let me sleep in on Sunday (thank you so much!).

Although we are all still sick (Jason seems to have missed the full wrath of this one - lucky duck) we are fine and still kicking. In fact, we even got out this morning to sign up for story time again - this time we were there when the library opened so we are officially in the class instead of 'illegal immigrants'. And I've got some fun cookies ready for Abygail and I to decorate later this afternoon after she wakes up from her nap.Jason and Abygail did some painting, Jason and Jacksons' pumpkins finally got painted. They had so much fun.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Today was Halloween, bet you didn't already know that!

Both of the kids have the croup (sp?) and I seriously debated on even taking them out. We already had plans to hook up with Alaska and Diana (Buffalo friends) and eat pizza and trick or treat. This was Abygail's first Halloween, I know she is 19 months old tomorrow but last year the city was recovering from the October storm and it was just too dangerous to get out and trick or treat, so I decided that we had to go anyway. The kids and I went and then I had to go back and pick Jason up from work since his class didn't end until 6:30. Abygail was a duck/chicken and Jackson a pumpkin. Abygail did really well the first several houses and then she got tired. She carried her own treat bag and even said 'twik twet' towards the end. Her duck feet that I made were very cute but they kept spinning around and were backwards and then we would step on them and it would trip her so we took them off after just a few houses. Jason the kids and I went back to the house early since Jackson was coughing up a lung and Abygail was pretty much over the walking and getting candy scene.

We enjoyed the homemade pizzas and hanging out with friends. All the kids looked so cute! We even got some real doctor advice from Alaska's hubby and I got some advice from the girls about sick babies (much needed advice too, I still feel so new at this whole being a mom thing).

We didn't have our camera (It was enough to just get everyone ready and get out the door) but Alaska took some pics for us. As soon as I get those I'll update this post.

First Kiss

OK, so not my first kiss but Abygail's first kiss from a boy that is not her Daddy. While visiting teaching today Garret kissed Abygail, several times in a row. He thought it was funny and kept laughing (all the adults were laughing because it was pretty cute). Abygail was not quite sure what to think. She was half smiling and half perplexed because she just wasn't sure that she wanted a kiss. I guess the boys and kissing talks will come later.

Just thought I would document her FIRST KISS.

Do you remember your first kiss?

A Sunday Drive

A week ago I made Jason promise that on Sunday we would take a drive, so on Saturday he studied and worked all day at school just so he could take us (really me) for a fall foliage drive. {Thanks Sweetie!} We decided to drive to Letchworth State Park.

It was a beautiful drive, the trees were past peak and a lot of them have already lost their leaves but it was still beautiful. When we arrived there we saw even more fabulous trees in vibrant reds, golden yellows and mossy greens, just lovely. Not only did we see beautiful trees, a fabulous canyon and great views we also saw lots of deer and Abygail even got to play on some slides. Just before we left there was a fire in one of the pavilions that we sat next to so we could warm up (it was pretty windy and chilly).We had a great time and even met some people that are from our stake but in a different ward. You just never know who you will meet!(sorry the pics are so bad - all the photos I post are from my phone so they are a bit grainy and sometimes blurry - we did take pics with a real camera too but it's not digital)

Costume Party

Today was the last story time for this session. To celebrate all the kids dressed in their costumes and shared candy. We read books on Halloween and sang Halloween Songs. Then we got to walk in a parade around the library saying "Happy Halloween" and to finish our parade off we stood in front of the 'check out' desk and sang "Peek-a-boo, I see you; Peek-a-boo, I see you; Peek-a-boo, I see you; It is Halloween time" to the Librarians.

Abygail dressed as a duck/chicken. Duck because the bill of the hat looks like a duck bill, Chicken because it has that funky chicken 'crown' on the top. Jackson was a pumpkin and got lots of oohs and aahs. Abygail did very well, she played peek-a-boo, held my hand and stayed with the group. Jackson also did well he sat on my hip and smiled.

I'm glad to have a few weeks of a break from story time but I'll be even more excited when the new session begins in mid November...hopefully we'll get on the list in time this time.

I Heart Quilts

I Heart Quilts with all my love! They are one of life's simple pleasures, nothing feels better than a quilt (at least to cover up with). It warms my heart every time I cuddle up with a quilt...not only am I supremely comfortable but I am also literally surrounded by love. Someone (not I because I haven't made one yet) put lots of love in that fabric by cutting it, sewing it and quilting it. They picked out the fabrics, or used scraps that were left over. They spent time and energy to make a work of art. I think of the person who made it with their hands and time. I think of what that person means to me and how the quilt was received (hand me down, gift, etc).

My love probably started back when I was in middle school. I had a friend, Rhonda, who I would spend the night with from time to time. We would frequently spend the night at her grandmother's house and they always had quilts on the bed. They were worn and thread bare (the best kind - well loved) and all different colors. I rememeber that the weight of them laying on my body was the perfect, PERFECT, weight to sleep under and the feel of the fabric on my face was delightful. They smelled of home and family - I knew then that I loved quilts.

I have a quilt that was made by a friend (John) of mine's grandmother. This friend didn't want it anymore (how awfull!) so he gave it to another friend (Allison) of mine that was my roommate for several years. I am now in possession of the quilt and I love it and the memories of both of these friends fill my mind when I cuddle with that lovely brown and green quilt.

Jason has a quilt that was his grandmother's made by her grandmother. I only met his grandmother once before she passed away but I think of her when I cuddle with that cherished orange and white quilt.

Abygail has a quilt that was made by a very dear friend of mine (Allison, a sister in my heart). When ever I see that quilt or wrap my babies up in it I think of the love that she put into it. It also happens to be the first quilt that my friend ever made and her grandmother (Billie, who I know and love too) showed her how to make it. That red and green quilt will forever be a part of our lives.

Jason and I have a quilt made by the same dear friend's grandmother (Billie), it was given to us as a wedding present and I love cuddling it. It's the perfect size and I adore thinking about her and her entire family when I see it. Now a family heirloom that purple and white quilt has warmed me on many a chilly night in Utah, Idaho and now New York.

ALL of these quilts are used frequently and adorn my living room furniture. ALL of these quilts are well loved and hold a special place in my heart.

I HEART QUILTS!!!

I went to the fabric store today to buy some felt to make 'duck feet' for Abygail's duck/chicken Halloween costume (duck/chicken is another story). While there I couldn't keep myself from looking at the fabric, I saw two ADORABLE prepackaged quilt patterns that included fabric and instructions. So today I bought 2 quilt sets. I aspire to make a quilt for Abygail and for Jackson. I have never done it or been taught how to but I have a deep yearning in my soul to do it so...I will. Jackson's fabric is orange and blue and has animals, Abygail's fabric is brown and aqua and has flowers. I hope that when I get a sewing machine and some time to make them they will turn out great and I hope that they too will share my adoration for quilts and know that I love them, my babies, with all of my heart.

Abygail is currently sleeping all snuggly on the couch with the orange and white quilt that Jason's grandma's grandma made.

Book Review: Into The Wild

I can't say that I was Wild about this book. Possibly it was my own expectations that ruined my experience. My expectation was to read a true story that was based on the journal of a man named Chris McCandless who walked into the bush of Alaska and spent over 100 days there. He died in the bush and his body was found approx. 2 weeks after he died.

I was hoping to read about his adventure and be inspired by his tale. Instead I was disappointed and left wanting. There are actually very few journal entries and so most of the book is based on what other people said about him and the authors own speculation. IF you read it don't expect to read a biography - this is more of a time-line with lots and lots of quotes from books. Perhaps if I go back and read it again I won't get so bogged down by the quotes and it will all come together more fully for me now that I know the story/speculated events of Chris' Great Adventure.

To sum it up, it was a decent book but left me unfulfilled.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

Ok, so technically we haven't purchased it yet but our offer was accepted (on a different house...better house and less money). If all goes well during the inspections (which will probably be the latter part of this week) than we will close in early December, just after finals are over.

HOW EXCITING!!! Can you feel our excitement?

We are very excited, it too is just around the corner from us. It is a 3 bedroom 1 bath home with a 1 1/2 car garage. 2 of the bedrooms are upstairs and one is downstairs. The kitchen is tiny tiny tiny (smaller than our current kitchen) but it can VERY EASILY be redone and that's what is first on the list. The house has a large living room and dining room too. When you enter it from the front door there is a 'mud room', which we are excited to have and then to the left is the living room and to the right is the dining room as if to be one big room. You then pass through a small door way and you are in the kitchen area. the stairs are there to go up to the bedrooms or you can go down the small hall and you will find the bathroom and the other bedroom.

I am not going to post pictures for 'security' reasons. It would be too easy for some unwanted person to find it on a listing of houses still for sale. Once it is off the list I will post pics. In the mean time...if you want to see pics just email me and I will send you the link to the listing.

{announcers voice} "In Other News", Jackson is crawling, well it's an inch worm kind of crawl but he gets where ever he wants to go. He has been doing this for several weeks now and just grows more adept every day. Abygail's bottom second incisors are coming in and she was chewing ice for the first time yesterday, I think she was testing out her new top molars.