Will Smith Rocks

Eric and I went to see Seven Pounds today. while searching for the movie poster picture online, I noticed this movie got a lot of negative reviews. I definately don't agree... I thought it was amazing! I already want to watch it again so I can piece it all together... it was a powerful movie about mistakes, loss, love and redemption. You won't regret going to see it... just make sure you take kleenex!

Tax Break

If you are an Arizona Resident, make sure you donate your $400 to your local schools before the end of the year. You can then claim it as a tax refund on your state taxes in just a few weeks. I love this tax law here... I get to send $400 to my kids schools (I can even specify the exact amount I want to go to each school and the program I want it to go to.) the school gets my donation, I get a $400 credit on my state taxes and there's no government red tape getting in the way between my checkbook and the school. You don' t have to have kids in school to claim this tax credit. As one radio commercial states, "It's the biggest no brainer in the history of mankind!"

Apology

Dear Jon,

Sorry we missed you in the christmas card mailing... I'm still not accustomed to you living away from home yet! Fortunately, I had one last christmas card hiding inside my scanner... I've been trying unsuccessfully for days to scan it in, so I can save a copy on my computer when Eric reminded me that we didn't send a card to you! So, even though it's late, it's in the mail!

Love, Christy

Christmas Projects

I can finally blog about my Christmas projects... until today they were all top secret and I couldn't risk the wrong people reading about them on the blog! (By the way, check out those cute cardboard gift boxes I got (they stack inside each other for storage!) Aren't they cute???

At the beginning of December, we still didn't know what we were going to do for Eric's mom. She is fun to shop for, but still challenging to come up with something that hasn't been done year in and year out (like stationary.... or fancy lotion, etc...) I've heard about this website called Blurb where you can make your own book and have it printed. I decided to do a blog recap of the last year and have it printed for my mother in law. She's not terrible computer savvy and so she rarely gets to see what's on the blog! So, I got online to find out that printing her a high quality hard bound book was within my allotted budget! The only issue was time... I had just 3 days to get my book uploaded to the site to ensure Christmas delivery... talk about pressure!

Here are some screen shots of my favorite pages... I'm going to order a book for myself tonight! I'm sure my mom is going to want one too...

I also took on the monumental challenge of sewing christmas pajamas for my family. I thought I could really save a lot of money and they would be so cute if they all matched! Well, I didn't save a whole ton of money, but they did turn out good! I can thank Sheri for helping me to realize that I can pump out a few pj bottoms in an evening (YW camp jammies)! My serger was invaluable on this project! Then I went to Target and got matching tee's for under $5 a piece!

After our bike ride around the neighborhood on Christmas Eve, dad made hot chocolate for everyone and we got ready for bed. It was a very relaxing Christmas Eve night... the best we've had in a long time!

This was the only gift I got to open that I didn't already know what was inside... (pathetic, eh?) But what a suprise! My mother in law has been busy with Christmas projects too... she committed to make this wall hanging for me a couple years ago and to be honest, I'd completely forgot about it! She took some scrapfabric from my curtains and then her and I picked out some calico prints to go with it. I absolutely LOVE it! I'm already trying to decide where it's going to go and how I'm going to hang it up... I'm thinking a wrought iron bar... what do you think? If not iron, I might go with a square dowel (if I can find any) stained to match my mission furniture. It will be fun to get this up on the wall!

I love this picture... it's just so darn cute!

Merry Christmas!!!

Home for the Holidays

We had two more kids break out with Chicken Pox yesterday. Megan has a mild case but Ian's is more the traditional case you think of from the "pre-vaccination" days. All four of my kids recieved the chicken pox vaccine shortly after their first birthday and we lived in different locations for each of those shots. If it is in fact true, that the chicken pox vaccine has dulled down the case they are getting, then Ian would be one of those kids that has no visible uninfected skin left. Thankfully, that's not the case and we are doing our best to keep ourselves entertained and not think about itching too much. I'm hopeful that Taylor will escape this bug. He was actually exposed to chicken pox right before he was eligible for the vacinne and still didn't get it. I am aware of another time (in 3rd grade) when he was exposed too, and still didn't get it. Let's hope he doesn't get it from Megan or Ian because if he does, he'll break out the day before they go back to school in January! I'm also really grateful that we live far away from all the family and have no plans to travel for Christmas. We would all be bummed if we had to bail out on family gatherings because of the contaigious factor!

Christmas Card

Most of you should have received our Christmas Card by now. If I have your address, then it's probably in the mail. I decided to forgo printing the annual christmas "letter" in favor of posting it on my blog. I'm hoping for a record setting month on blog hits this week, so yeah, the pressure's on, huh? ;-)


Every year I like to share some "funnies" from our kids during the year. I could give a list of ten from Brayden alone. He's at that age where everything he says is funny... and it's not really what he says, but how he says it. That's just one of the joys (and trials) of having a 3 year old!


10. Brayden has a fetish for drinking my soda... he often begs for mom's "diet coke". While Grandma Carol was in town she taught him that the "gold" can means "unleaded" and that it's okay for Brayden to drink. Too bad I never buy the "gold can"...


9. Several nights ago we were talking in the car about Taylor and his "close friend who just happens to be a girl" (wink, wink...). Eric asked if they had any classes together. I piped in and said, No, Jane is in CATS...." (name has been changed to protect the innocent and CATS is our local "gifted" program). Ian shouted out, "Dad, I think you need a catscan!"

8. Several weeks ago, Brayden was upset because we didn't call on him to say the blessing on dinner. He started in with the crocodile tears... so Eric said, "Brayden you can't pray if you are crying." Instantly, he stiffened up, wiped his eyes, and sat there, silently staring down Eric... daring him to tell him he couldn't pray ever again. So Brayden prayed while we all sat at the table trying to silence the laughing!


7. Once Megan wanted to know what they use to make candles. I told her that they melted wax to do it. She said, "I hope they don't use ear wax, because that would be really gross!"


6. Braydenisms: "wankie" means "blankie".... "chocolate meatballs" means "frosted cheerios"...."chicken nugget" means my nephew, "Ben".... ..... He also likes to say, "yee-aahh, baby!" when he's excited about something and the other day, he quoted something Will Smith said in Men in Black that I can't write on the blog and still keep it rated G. Let's just say that he won't be allowed to watch those movies for a long time!


5. After going to see the light display at the Mesa Temple, Ian came home to tell me, "Mom, I saw an Island Retreat made out of lights at the Temple!" (It was supposed to be a fake water fountain made from blue lights.)


4. After driving down a street with an abundance of Christmas Lights, Taylor said, "They must have a constitution on this street that says you have to decorate for Christmas in order to live here."


3. One time Grandma Carol was asking Megan about her cousins and boy crushes. She asked Megan, "so, do you have a crush on a boy, Meg?" Megan replied with that matter-of-fact tone that only Megan can produce, "No, Grandma, I'm not even 12 yet!"


2. Driving down our friend's street this morning, we noticed that someone had gotten "TP'd". Ian said, "you could get arrested for doing something like that." I said, "No, Ian, I'm pretty sure you won't get arrested...." He said, "Well, you'll for sure be on the "naughty list" then!"

1. Once after reading some scriptures as a family that included some references of the "Messiah", we asked the kids, "who are they talking about when they talk about the Messiah?" Taylor jumped in and yelled excitedly, "Jesus Christ!!! I learned that from watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!"


Yep... we are doing our job well here! Here's hoping you have a wonderful Christmas season!

To Whom it May Concern

To the Night Manager at my local Burger King...

I wasn't trying to be rude when I asked you to make my burger with a different bun. Your employees have done it for me before and I know you have buns in your arsenol that don't have sesame seeds. I like sesame seeds, I do, but it's imperitive to my well being that I avoid them. I wasn't trying to be difficult... I just wanted a whopper with cheese and no sesame seeds. Whatever happened to that BK slogan, "Have it YOUR way?" I didn't think I was asking the impossible. I only came to BK tonightbecause my kids love it and I am willing to put up with your gross french fries every once in a while for the kids' sakes... and your fast food establishment is the closest one to my home, which is convienent when I'm tired and starving.

But thanks to your rudeness, I won't be back for a long time, even if I'm just ordering food for the young ones. Making my whopper with two bottom halves of the bun was difficult to eat, to say the least. And while I'm on this complaining streak, would it be asking too much for corporate BK to start wrapping burgers in foil? In the 15 minutes it took me to get home, unload the car, set out food for kids and sit down to eat, my burger with two bottom halves of the bun was cold. Which made it even more unappetizing... but I guess it's good for my waistline... I ate less than half my dinner. Just sayin'.....

Recommendations

Here are some of my favorite Christmas Books... just wanted to share some because I love a good sappy, heart warming story of "giving" this time of year....

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

This is not your average John Grisham novel! The movie Christmas with the Kranks was based on this novel and the movie is great, but the book is even better! I bought this book and then loaned it out a few years ago... so if you have my copy, now is the time to fess up! ;-)

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

(again, not his typical novel) This is a fun Christmas story - romance, danger, second chances, etc....

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

I loved reading this book - it falls in the kids genre, but very touching and entertaining anyway!

Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright

This is a sappy feel good story about giving... and a great material for a family night lesson or a christmas "experiment" for your own family. I attend TOFW in San Diego where Jason Wright was a presenter, so I feel like I know him personally, even if I really don't....

The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere

This is the first in a series, which I really enjoyed. They are all super short, so you could read all of them in a day or two and in the end, the books come full circle and connect again, which I always enjoy!

Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

This is kinda part of the Mitford Series... you can read it separately or as part of the bigger whole, but definately more enjoyable when you have some background knowledge on the residents of Mitford....

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

This is a Christmas "extra" in the Stephenie Plum series. I started reading those books, but had to quit... I couldn't handle the "potty mouth" of Lula (the x-hooker, bounty hunter associate). But, if you've ever read just one Stephenie Plum book, read this one too, it's pretty clean and an interesting twist on the usual christmas story!

And last, but definately not least...

Unplug the Christmas Machine by Jo Robinson

This is the book for you if you need to detox, take a step back and simplify your Christmas. It really helped me gain perspective on why we make ourselves crazy at Christmas and how we can simplify things, yet enjoy the spirit of the season even more!

So, now it's your turn to share... what are your favorite Christmas Books?

Happy Birthday Eric!

Today is Eric's 39th Birthday... I just didn't have the time or energy to do a super long involved "roasting" type post this year... so you are just getting a quick note to say how much...

I Love You!

I know today hasn't been the best "birthday" - you had to give a couple people at work some difficult news, and you had to go to mutual and do scouts on your birthday too, but that just shows one of the qualities we all love about you... you are generous and faithful to the very end! You have been a Rock for me during a couple of hard weeks over the last month. When I didn't think I could handle the stress and emotions of my responsibilities, you have been there to support me. Every year, your mom writes in her birthday letter to you how much she loves your "stubborness" and how you always use that stubborn streak for righteous purposes. She is right! Keep up the good work... Keep working hard at your calling... it's the most thankless callings in the church and you'll never be able to please everyone, but I know how hard you try and we are all blessed for your efforts and faithfulness. Thanks for being a wonderful husband, a fantastic father and my eternal best friend!

Random

Today I finally turned on my heater downstairs... I'm wearing a turtleneck and jeans and I'm still cold! I love the smell of the heater on the first use of the season... is that weird?

Three weeks ago I was planning a funeral... this week I'm planning a wedding/baptism for Friday night! Without the help of some VERY talented friends, this could not be possible, and I'm having so much fun in the process!

On Saturday we finally got the rest of the Christmas decorations put up. I'm really happy with how it all looks! I love turning off all the lights in the evenings and just having my house glow from the lights. Nothing beats it!

Blog reading for me in the morning is like a cup of coffee. When I'm tired and my brain is fuzzy, I log into google reader and it really helps wake me up!

Today all I've had to eat so far is Diet Coke and Triscuits... yes, it's time for lunch... I'm really craving a bowl of Corn Chowder from Mimi's Cafe, but we are on (hopefully) our last day of quarantine from Chicken Pox and I have so many things to get done around the house today that I'll probably just settle for some nuked Taquitos or something... and more Diet Coke....

Tonight we are taking the kids out for a drive around/look at lights FHE. Then we'll get Cold Stone for dessert (even though Hot Chocolate sounds so much better right now...) If you have any neighborhood you recommend, please let me know! I'm already planning to hit the Spongebob street and another area Sheri blogged about (McQueen/Warner). Any other suggestions?

And one last thing... the snowman serving set I bought last Wed for $18 is now like $14... run over to Sam's and grab one before it's too late....

Splurge

I've been trying really hard not to buy a bunch of extra Christmas Decorations this year.

But when I went to Sam's Club to buy Hot Chocolate supplies for the Mutual Activity on Wednesday night, I couldn't help but stop and check this out! It's a six piece Snowman Ceramic Serving Set... all for only $18!!!

Many of you know that I have a "thing" for snowman's.... a soft spot, maybe? A fetish? Even an obsession? Ah... it doesn't matter... I just couldn't resist!

And I think my husband doesn't even mind that now we have something nicer to bring out in public besides the cheepo christmas plates from Dollar Tree.

They did have other sets... I remember one being a very cute Gingerbread Man... but it was the Snowman that caught my eye! So, if you need some cute serving dishes for Christmas, get yourself on over to Sam's Club and grab one of these babies before they are all gone! You won't regret it!

Wish List

Here is my wish list for Christmas:

Mamma Mia DVD on BluRay (can you imagine how gorgeous the scenery will be in HD?)

Cricut machine (this is where I need help from my blogging friends!)

I "saved" my birthday gift last month, so I could apply it to my christmas request and therefore spend double for an extra big "something" ... but in truth, I don't know which model to ask for. I need some advice from all you cricut owners out there.... what features are essential? Which features do you love the most? Is this a situation where you should buy the most expensive machine you can afford? I've heard that a newer model allows you to hook up to your computer and use fonts/graphics from your computer on the machine, but can't find that online... does anyone know anything about these machines?

I need help!!! Well, hubby needs your help picking out the right gift for me! ;-)

Homebound

We are homebound for a few days... Brayden has a very mild case of the Chicken Pox! He has about 20 pox scattered all over his tummy, back, face and groin. He doesn't seem to be bothered by them except if I start touching them, then he gets mad! (And for those of you who are wondering, it is possible to get Chicken Pox after having the vaccine, just rare....) Other than the fact that he's extremely contagious (and my kids are treating him like a leper)... he's happy, hungry and sleeping well.

If you live close by and your kids haven't been vaccinated yet, then you better steer clear of our house! Unless you purposely haven't vaccinated your kids yet because you prefer to get immunity the "old fashioned way"... if that's the case, give me a call and we can schedule a playdate! :)

I'm going to take advantage of my suddenly very "clear" schedule to get some christmas projects done and get my house nice and clean! I'm even having the itch to bake... but I can't decide if I want something chocolatey or some homemade bread or cinammon rolls... maybe I'll have enough time to do both!

Merry Christmas To Me 15 Days Early

I got a fantastic, wonderful, super, awesome surprise in the mail yesterday. Drumroll, please.......

It was my Electricity bill!

Why was I so happy about it, you wonder?

Well, way back in May, I decided to go on SRP's "Time of Use" plan. Basically, you get this special meter on your house that tracks what time of day you use electricity. Then you have "on peak" hours and "off peak" hours. There are only 8 "on peak" hours a day, 40 a week, but they are during the "busiest" times in your household. "On peak" electicity costs twice as much as the regular rate, but "off peak" is a quarter of the regular rate. So, if you can shift your heavy usage to the "off peak" times, you can really save some coin. It's taken me 4 summers to be able to do it.... Because the "on peak" times in the summer are noon to 8 p.m. The hottest time of the day. The time your A/C runs the most. But, I did it and I found a strategy that keeps my house cooler than I thought it would and I've been saving anywhere from $30-$80 a month on this new plan. Yes, it's awesome... and I'm happy.... and I'm proud of my new energy saving skillz!

So, back to my statement. We are also on the equal payment plan (a necessity in AZ... no one can afford the summer bill around here.) November is the month when they reevaluate my energy usage and adjust my bill accordingly for the upcoming year. For the last year we've been paying $277 a month (and that doesn't even include gas... just electricity). New payment amount starting in December... $202!!! That's right folks... $75 dollars a month back in my pocket. I feel like I just got a raise... between that and gas prices being at $1.67 ($50 to fill up my gas guzzler instead of $125.... Wahoo!!!!)

Life is good....

We're Moving (kinda, but not really...)

It's Official... I can finally speak it outloud!!! Eric is getting transferred to a new account with Applied. (No, we are not moving, lest you started panicking!) He currently manages an account with Microchip in Tempe. His boss has been trying to get him transferred over to the Intel account and he'll be switching over the first week of February. Without disclosing our exact location, I will just say that his new office will be about 10 miles closer to our house than the current one! Yeah for less commuting!!!! :) This will be the "closest" we have ever lived to Eric's job since he first started with Applied Materials in 1996. It's going to be a weird feeling, I think...

Eric and I have both been "nervous" about this transfer. Everyone kept telling him it was the greatest gig on earth... and that he was "hand picked" for the move, but we had reservations. Whenever there is recession (and we've been in recession mode for a year now)... change is scary. You never want to be the "new kid on the block" when the next round of layoffs hits. But, we took a leap of faith and it seems already that it's going to pay off BIG. Eric just got word yesterday that Microchip is suffering from the recession and instead of layoffs they are going to go into "shutdown" three weeks a quarter. They will basically force their employees to take one week a month of time off whether they want to or not. ("Shutdown" is a common practice in the semi-conductor industry....) If you don't have enough vacation time in the bank, you take it unpaid. That's just the nature of this business. We've been through recession before and we survived the dot-com bust, so we feel like we've been there before. So, now it appears as though we've dodged another bullet and are switching accounts at just the right time. When Microchip goes to shutdown, so do all the Applied employees that work on the Microchip account. The dilemma for Eric is that Applied has already taken 4 weeks this year of shutdown in their own efforts to cut costs and avoid heavy layoffs... by the time January 1st comes around, we should have just one vacation day left in the bank. We've never gone this low on our reserve. It's a bit unnerving, to say the least. Eric has been the only one on his team to take shutdown this year, so his "team" hasn't been eating away their vacation time like we have.

It's a long complicated story, but the reason I'm sharing all this is to say how grateful I am for the Lord's guiding hand in our lives. We are not as prepared for recession as we should be. We should have more money in the bank and less debt. We should have more food in the pantry for a rainy day. But, despite all that, the Lord still blesses us and watches over us. Despite all that, I know it will all work out okay.

Quiet

My phone has only rung once today and it was a wrong number. I got to drop Brayden off at a friend's house this morning for a playgroup and spend 2 hours running errands that I've put off because taking him with me would be such a pain. Things like making replacement keys for my RS closet so all my counselors have their own keys, reprinting the funeral program for David that had his middle name spelled wrong, mailing off christmas gifts for my nieces in WA state, returning a CD to Amazon, and scouring local Targets trying to find more supplies for the RS gift we gave the sisters yesterday... we ran out... last year 50 was plenty... this year, not enough. Lesson learned!

I've been doing catch up laundry today. Like washing all the beach towels that have been sitting in tubs on the back porch two months longer than necessary (swimming season was over for us by early October) and I'm finally washing Halloween costumes today so they can go back into the dress-up boxes... the kids want to wear their costumes to make a movie (thanks Heidi and family for the inspiration!)

As soon as the last buzzer rings in a minute I'm going to catch up on TV from last week... haven't seen the Office yet from Thursday and I'm also catching up on episodes of Eli Stone. I love that show, but I guess I'm the only one because my dad told me they are cancelling it. Bummer. At least I have DVR so I have good stuff to watch while I fold laundry... I'm not really into anything on TV during the "daytime" hours....

Tonight I have a band concert, tomorrow a piano recital, wednesday we have pack meeting, thursday a DARE graduation and another band concert, on Friday we have a primary activity after school and then on Saturday Ian has his last soccer game. I will be happy when this week is over.... :) Wish me luck!

Less than 12 minutes...

Picture 100+ boys lined up for a two mile race...

This was yesterday's Championship meet for Cross Country... Eight Teams... Two mile course... winner will finish sometime in the 11 minute range... Medals go to the top ten finishers... the Championship goes to the team who is the first to bring in 5 of their runners...

Taylor pushing through the final stretch... he looks tired!

Ah... nothing like Powerade to refuel with after a race!

Sixth place overall!

And even better... we got 5 runners in the Top Ten! They were pretty darn excited to win the championship! Our girls team took second place, but they were more than happy to cheer with the boys!

Taylor was on Cloud Nine all night! :)

Traditions...

My grandma has always made us beautiful handmade felt ornaments. It's getting more and more difficult for her to sew due to her arthritis, so the torch has been passed to my mom. She's been worried about this, but we all knew she'd do a fabulous job and she did! She gave my kids their ornaments last night and they were awesome!

Ian got one of his favorite superheroes... Spiderman. the picture doesn't do the detail work justice!

Grandma made Taylor a cell phone that looks just like his... it even flips open and closed! Too bad it doesn't send real text messages!

This one is for the Hannah Montana fan!
Now we will forever be able to remember the "ninja turtle" phase... of course, that is if Raph survives the season... Brayden has a hard time leaving him alone!
This was the biggest suprise of them all! She made Eric and I a boat ornament that looks just like our boat! We love it! I wonder who the bald guy in the middle is supposed to be?!?

Stop on by anytime if you want to see them in real life... the pictures can't quite capture the essence of the detail and effort put into these! Well done MOM!!! We love you!

Word to the Wise

I am a Walmart shopper. I know people who don't support Walmart for "moral" reasons, but I do. I don't buy everything at Walmart, but I rpobably end up there 3-4 times a month. But, let me give you one caution...

DO. NOT. BUY. WAL-MART. CHRISTMAS. LIGHTS. FOR. ANY. REASON. I've learned this the hard way... twice. Let's just say they are total crap and after my first visit to the return line, I'm not going to venture there again. Needless to say, it took 3 trips to the store to buy sufficient lights to get my christmas tree glowing and I'm annoyed because I had actually written myself a note last year that I would need more lights. I thought I was really doing myself a favor because I went and bought some lights last week to save myself a trip to the store in the middle of my tree "set-up". Yeah... that really helped....

Homemade Pizza

Disclaimer: this picture is not of my pizza... I didn't have the good sense to take a picture of it before my kids devoured it last night... but it looked pretty close...

Last night I made homemade pizza and I was so happy with how the dough came out that I decided to post the recipe online! This recipe originally came from my MIL, Linda, but I've changed it just a tiny bit. It yields 2 pizzas. It's super quick and easy... you can start this dough and have your pizzas in the oven cooking in less than 20 minutes.

Pizza Dough

2 T yeast

1/2 c. water

1 1/2 T sugar

1 1/8 c milk

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 T sugar

3 T oil

1 1/2 c wheat flour (white wheat works very well here)

2 c bread flour

Place water in bowl and heat in microwave for 30 seconds (this is quicker for me than waiting for my tap water to warm up). Pour yeast into water and let sit for 5 minutes. Add first sugar and let sit another 5 minutes. While you are doing this, put milk into microwave and cook for one minute on high. Pull out of the microwave and add salt, second sugar and oil to the milk. Once both bowls are ready, pour them all into your mixing bowl (I use my kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook attachment), add flour and mix up. I let my kitchenaid knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. If you are not using a mixer, you'll need to knead the dough by hand.

Spread the dough into two greased pizza pans. Top with sauce (I buy generic pizza sauce in a bottle at walmart for $0.88), mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings. Bake at 425 for 10 to 15 minutes.

You can use all white flour if you want to. I used white wheat flour, which I'm finding I can substitute into a lot of my recipes and my kids still like it. And for all you food storage junkies out there, the original recipe called for 1 c. water and 1/3 c. powdered milk, but I prefer the taste when I use real milk. Either way will work.