Getting in the Holiday Spirit

...and in no particular order here are some highlights of my family getting ready for Christmas.  This year was a concerted effort on my part to be better at the holiday spirit thing...you know Fake it until you make it!  Anyway, this year we put the tree up almost right after Thanksgiving!  Unheard of I know but why not start there along with putting up all kinds of other things to get in the spirit!  I'm actually pretty proud of myself if I'm being honest.  I also learned a lot more people pay attention to...well I don't know...but like I put my tree up early and people commented on how early it was for me.  My 'normal' has been like the 22cd or so to put the tree up.  Caught me off guard that people were paying attention and a friend of mine said it was because they care about me...touché!

 

Some of these picture are also from the Paulson family Christmas party that they have every year...and every year Santa comes to our party!  Aren't we lucky! I know I don't have everyone sitting with Santa but I had some camera problems and something about a full disk (who knew my disk would hold 2000+ pictures?? I had no idea!) so I have some and not others...guess really it's only Lee...I digress.

 

We also take pictures around the tree when it's done...enjoy!

 

 

Dru and Santa 

                    The boys around the finished tree and yes Lee is smiling a decent smile!

 

Lee

                                                                              Ian

                                                                          Eli

                                                                Eli at the Christmas party

                                                                              Dru

Ian and Santa

                                                               Eli and Santa

Hope everyone had a Great holiday!

(whose ready for school and work to be back in session?  I am after I get back from my girls weekend!)

2000+

OK seriously!!

I have a computer now and I'll be doggoned if I know where to start or what to say or!!!!  Right now I'm just going through pictures and trying to figure out how to get them into folders so I know what month they go in!  And for the record...Windows 8 is a bit ridiculous! I'm not sure I'm going to figure it out...BIG learning curve! 

OK so I have some random photos...like flowers and things that I've impressed myself with.  Remember it's all about me! HA!

This one totally looks like an aquarium picture from the computer...like a screen saver.

 Love it when they strut around like this!

 My boys!

Yak!

 A very snobbish, stoic fellow

 Just really like flowers and gardening so I love taking pictures of them. 
Cacti flowers

 OK so there are a few pictures and a small update...I'm hoping to catch up...might all be in reverser or a jumbled order but it's going to happen!  So help me!

 

Black Angel

There are some things that just don't ever change and this is one of them.  My husband for as long as I can remember...and yes it's not been that long...like 13years but you get what I mean, has been making black angel cookies.  This has been happening long before he ever met me.  He was so funny...he put the icing on and then promptly declared that "There! I have decorated a cookie and I'm done!" What a goofball!

Sadly, however as I was moving cookies and plates and mainly getting ready for tomorrow at Grandma Great's house for Christmas Eve, and I hit my plate on something and about half of my really good cookies came off the plate and fell on the floor!! Including the black angel!! Oh I could have cried...seriously that was where I was at that point.  There is a reason I only do cookies with my kids once a year!  Ugh!  I really need to get better about letting the boys in the kitchen...they need to start learning to cook things...at least Ian, he's 10 for heaven's sakes!

Sigh...It has been a series of long days of shopping, cooking, lack of sleeping, cleaning...and I'm sure you all are doing it too.  Who has wrapping gifts left?  Has anyone started?  I haven't and I'm really not looking forward to it.  I'm not opposed to just throwing it all under the tree and calling it good.  When they wake up in the morning just say Merry Christmas and what'd you get? :) 

Well with that update I should also say I have a computer...THANK GOODNESS!  So I'm hoping to have more updates and blog posts...and seriously having some back logged posts from this summer!  I haven't been able to blog about a darn thing!!! 

If I don't get on again, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year!!
 

Things Have Gone To The Dogs!

Hello out there! 

So I have a few moments I'd thought I'd share my crazy dogs with you.  How these dogs managed to get into our lives I have no idea..and how they manage to fit in with the rest of the nut jobs is beyond me!  Charlie here likes to eat my doormat...yup...just out right eat it!  What the heck!?!  Then there is Mighty who insists on eating paint chips!?! 

How does one manage to get pets like this you ask?  I have no idea...all I know is we fly our freak flag HIGH!

Poor Charlie!  He got some ink done to him while I was gone for a few hours...I can only guess at how long Eli had the marker and where he got it from and for how long he was using it.  I won't think about all the other things I think he might have 'colored' on...and do use that word loosely!  Eli is looking at these pictures and he's just so proud of himself.

....and then we have Mighty!  For those of you who don't know a few months back we got a new puppy...this is Mighty Wicket Paulson, he's 8 months old.  Look at what his big brother Charlie showed him to do...precious!  I have no flowers that will grow in that pot...for 2 years I've been waiting...nothing.  I think it's time to give that dream up...

Well that's it for now. Hope all are having a good week.

Happy 12/12/12...I join the masses for one day ;)

Rough

Well today and lately most days have been rough around here.  Really more so for Buzz and Woody...strung up by their toenails.  Wonder just what they did or said to Eli to warrant such punishment!?!

So now it's my turn to have Blogger be difficult...it just told me that I was over my picture limit...stupid!! So now I have to figure out how to to deal with that or fix it...I'm sure the price they want me to pay is more than I'm willing to pay.

Well we have our tree up and decorated I might add.  I believe most of the decorations have been put up except for the lights.  This weekend we...and by we I do mean the royal, will be learning to make Lefsa from the Great Grands...well they are just Grands to me and Frank but the Greats to the boys.  I'm looking forward to it...not so much maybe the massive amounts of kids running around like crazy people but all the same I'm sure it will be fine...I think.  I'll take pictures but no promises since this silly site is telling me I've hit my max.

I do hope you guys have a good weekend

Christmas Budget

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Isn't that title the funniest!?! 

Every year I say lets do a budget...it never really happens...it kinda does but not really.  Some years it's interesting to me how different Frank and I grew up and other years it's nothing but frustrating!  He grew up so different in some ways than I did...kinda like the other side of the train tracks you know!  Every year we struggle with how much to spend on the kids, how much the Santa gift should be...and we ALL (don't care WHO you are) have our idiosyncrasies/neurosis..and for Frank that is, that the kids all have the same number of gifts under the tree.  I didn't grow up that way and I personally find it extremely exhausting...just outright exhausting.  BUT..because it's important to Frank we make it happen...which is how sometimes the budget gets blown out of the water.  Now don't get me wrong...I'm not blaming this all on Frank...I have been known to just go all out and we'll figure it out later.  Not such a good way but I've done it.  In the past we've done where they get a Santa gift, and stockings...and then 3 gifts from us...Frank hated it and I loved it...because let us not forget the gifts they get from family and possibly friends...it gets to be too much and trying to figure out just where to put all that stuff is enough to send me screaming from the room!! Frank likes to get them exactly what's on their list...and I never made a list when I was a kid...however, I do find lists helpful from the kids...but more often than not I don't buy off them.  I prefer to do event type gifts for a few reasons.  Some are that it's one less things to try and find a spot for, most of the time they can do something with their family or as a group, and like we've taken the kids to a baseball game...well that's an event and then sometimes they get to take a souvenir home...small one.  I guess when you look at it that way they are still bringing/having something brought home...I don't know.  See rambling are never good...you start seeing the flaws in your own thinking/reasoning.  Dang it!

Anyway, then you have the kid who has the champagne taste on mom and dad's beer budget...we all want to get our kids what they want...other times trying to reason with them about why I won't buy it for them is difficult too.  If they don't take care of what they have now why on God's green earth would I buy a way more expensive item of the same thing?? I don't get that thought process but I don't think I'm suppose to understand a 10 year old and why he thinks that way. 

Every year it seems to get harder and harder trying to come up with something substantial and fun and that will last  along time and not wrecked in the first 5 minutes of it being opened.  And lets face it $20 doesn't go as far as it used too...unless of course you have a baby...you can get away with a whole lot.  We did that with Eli on his first Christmas...he got a small toy from Santa...a car seat from us and maybe one other thing and that was it...he was a month old for heavens sakes...what was he gonna do??  We have Eli figured out at least Santa wise...possible Dru Santa wise...as for the other 2??? I was just asking Frank how old they are when they stop asking for toys and start asking for things like Boom boxes...I am SO tired of buying toys..toys that last for a month or so or until some older or younger person breaks the toy. I told the boys last night that believe it or not one of these years they are going to ask for a $50 pair of jeans or $100 pair of shoes...they SCOFFED at me!!  You know they really do believe I just fell off the turnip truck you know! When they start asking for those things it will be interesting to see how Frank deals with that or what he chooses to do...

We will be writing Santa letters this week...I'm so glad our Post office brought out the mailbox for the kids to mail their letters to him!! What I love about our town or whoever does this...but when you write a letter and 'mail' it...someone takes the time to sit down and respond to those letters to the kids and sends them a short note and something special like a coloring page or something...one year they got a small ornament...how cool is that.  Maybe someday I'll figure out who does that and see if I could that...but man can you imagine the sheer amount of letters you could possibly get...eesh!

Well there's my ramblings for the day...nothing astounding is it?  I am going to write my own letter to Santa I think...of course my list has the potential to be super long...something about asking him for a new computer...I swear I've been good all year long Santa!!  Scouts honor!

Time Crunch

Hey everyone!

So I have a few minutes left on the computer here at the library.  Sorry no pictures today...unless I get creative...which I may.  No holding your breath though!

So we had Thanksgiving...that was a good we stayed at home this year.  There was drama mostly on my end about that holiday but I think I've moved on.  Just rough dealing with family and the intricacies of it all and invites versus no invites and trying to figure out just what the hell is going on and what you did or just what the hell is wrong with you or your family.  REJECTIONS was the biggest issue and that's something I need to deal with.  But I think at this point I've dealt with it and am working on moving on and being OK with where things are and my part in it or the lack of my part in it.  You can only do so much before you become someones doormat and I am NOT  doormat.  And that is taking some learning...I'm 30+ and just now learning that...what a journey and I'm pretty sure I'm not even a quarter of the way through it.

On the upside I went to a Thanksgiving get together and I got to see my handsome nephew and I made sure to tell him his Auntie loved him to the moon and back and that someday when his mom and dad said he was old enough to stay with me that I would come get him.  His daddy was shaking his head yes while Samuel was emphatically saying no...that is until I said well the boys would be there.  I think he pondered this for awhile and then agreed that would be alright!  Love that boy and miss him so much!  How do people deal with family living so far away...and I get that they are only 6 hours away but it really might as well be across the pond distance wise.  I'm guessing it doesn't get easier but I just HATE the fact that he's growing up and doesn't really know him nor I know him well...I guess I just make up for it when I get that time with him.

We are now into December and I am working super hard at having a better holiday spirit this year.  Something has to change and it has to be with me...I don't see anything or anyone else changing it...it's my choice to change.  So in that vein we have started putting the tree and several Christmas decorations up BEFORE the 22nd or 23rd...and yes I have done that and then took it ALL down (except lights on the house) the day after Christmas...by that time I'm DONE!  With it all I'm just done.  I am working at finding my Christmas spirit...it's like that song that Cindy Loo Who sings (spelling?) from the movie 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas-Jim Carey version) "Where are you Christmas"  that has been my song since as long as I can remember.  I could seriously skip from Halloween and go straight to January.  Even then I could skip that and go to February...that's a generally safe month.

So with that being said I think I'm well on my way and things are going OK...still going crazy dealing with the kids and that stupid tree and between them and the dang dogs touching the tree and ornaments and the dog chewing or wrestling (that could go for boys too) under the tree.  I've only threatened at least once a day that I will take the tree down until next year...so I'm down 2 less times than normal...PROGRESS people! 

Well I have hit my time limit and need to get a few things done and head out from the library...the glamours life of being mom is screaming at me! 

Gobble Gobble!

 

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house and it was nice. The food was nice and warm and we even had a dish I'd never made before! Look at us branching out!

 

The table before the spread

 The table with the spread on it.  Spent from 7am until 3:30pm cooking and cleaning...my feet hurt! I'm sure you all can relate.

 My crew at the table...yes Eli is crying. Because what is a Thanksgiving with out family drama right? I'm sure it was over the fact that we didn't get his peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the table right away.  Yup...that kid ate a PB&J for Thanksgiving you can see the Jif on the table...what have we done!?!

We sat down and ate a wonderful dinner and the boys were mostly done by the time I got to my plate and seriously after like 20-30 minutes they were done eating....HOURS of cooking and it was all over in 30 minutes tops!  Thank God I only do this every other year...I could take up drinking if I did this every year!  However...the hang up for not doing Thanksgiving is you don't get the leftovers...and we like leftovers. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, we had a good one at home even in the midst of adversity we prevailed.

Pirate Princess

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do I really need to say more?

 

 

Someone is FINALLY 4!!!

 

 

 

A good morning from Big brother Lee on Eli's birthday!

 Mighty is so excited that something is going on!! Whatever it is its worth getting up for!

 My birthday boy!  Has 4 years really gone by so quickly!?!  This year his birthday was the day before Thanksgiving...I am NOT cooking a birthday dinner tonight!  We will be going to Pizza Hut and having a party there...Eli is SO excited and is so happy that his day is finally here!!  It's been a long year of everyone else having their birthdays and not him.

 Birthday boy, Mighty and Mom...a good picture I think

 This is my favorite picture of the day!

 Birthday spankings!!  Thank goodness it is only 4 and a pinch to grow an inch!

Happy birthday Sparky! 

The Boys!!!

Hello everyone!!!

It's been so long I know!!  Updates are needed in a BAD way. It so happens that today I'm at the Great's house using their computer :)  Love those guys!  While using their computer I thought I would take the extra minute and put up a little something of what's been going on.  However this picture is a few months old but this is the first professional picture that I've liked of the boys that we've had in a long while...I think Dru was an itty bitty the last time.  Poor Eli...what is it with like the last kids where everything falls to the wayside with things like that for them??  Guess I've just given them something to talk about in therapy right??  My job is done!

No new computer for me in the future that I can see :(  It's about killing me!  Seriously I have had to find new ways to de-stress...and writing or blogging is/was my way!  Sigh...and I have months worth of things to blog about and it's just so outdated you know!  Ugh..and the drama that seems to find me when I don't want it to...man that's insane!  Save all that for another, far away blog post.  For now please enjoy this picture of my boys...handsome fellas!  Frank and I didn't do too bad if I might say so and take ALL the credit!  It does all come from me you know ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  I will be at home with my family this year working on my holiday spirit...that's my goal this year...less Bah Humb'ing!  I've got a tough road ahead!

Take care everyone!

Gobble! Gobble!

Vows

I know it's January 2013 as I'm writing this but I want to catch up...and this day is important...right up there with my birthday ;). 

 

Today at 2pm Frank and I will have been married for 12 years.  It's amazing to me what 12 years, 4 kids and married life will do to your looks!  Kidding...sorta...you guys understand right?  How did everyone get to look SO much older!?!  Seriously...that part has blown me away...we all look so much older and grey...darn kids and husband! ;)

 

Right now, at this moment my wonderful husband is snoring his little heart away...and by snoring I do mean a chainsaw is going off right next to me!  Not to mention Mighty on the other side of me snoring just as loudly as Frank...they leave me no choice sometimes!

 

I knew going into this that marriage was going to be work...a LOT of work...I've watched a few marriages being worked at and was told a lot that marriage takes constant work.  Not that I didn't think it was true, but man, when you say your vows and you really stick to them...it's down right exhausting...in every which way.  Now, you all may seem to be wondering where this thought is going and to be honest I don't really know...for now it's ramblings of thoughts that have been swirling around in my noggin...no one said it had to make sense!

 

I love my husband and we have had some really great times and some really rough times already and I only expect more...many more (what do you expect when you have 4 kids and you are just like every other married couple and dance the tango on things like money, raising your kids, etc???) on the journey ahead.

 

So 12 years it is that we've been married and I've grown a lot and starting to learn more and more about myself and I hope to learn more and be more and work harder.

 

Happy Anniversary

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress Up

 

 

OK...so I'm not a huge fan of Halloween...didn't grow up 'celebrating' this holiday and I'm not completely against it.  I just hate the fight with candy and the costumes...and them wanting to do scary things...I don't want them to wear scary things and I fear I'm running out of time on that one.  I'm holding out for as long as I possibly can!

 

Here is Ian, Captain Jack...we tried coffee grounds as a beard...he didn't really like or want to be we talked him into it.  Afterwards when he was getting it off his poor skin, for like a week, was all welted and bumpy from the coffee grounds! Oh I felt so bad...lol but he looked good.  Kinda like wearing high heeled shoes right?  No??? OK

 Here is Lee...he was Mario again...he looks completely thrilled right?

 Dah nanana nanan ana Batman!!!! I asked where Robin was and Batman told me Robin was having some wardrobe issues and won't be joining us tonight...how sad! He (Eli) said he really wanted Charlie and Mighty to have a Robin costume so they could be his side kicks...even the baby needs someone to boss around! HA!

 Autobots...ROLL OUT! I can hear you guys singing the music for when they transform...don't say you aren't!  This is Dru

 ...and oh my goodness!  Look who got into it and dressed up herself!  Sadly I was missing my wiener......dog....nope missing my wiener...and the condiments weren't to be found.  I was the lone wolf in the lone pack...very sad...don't you think?

...oh...and WAY too much candy yet again....seriously why do we do this every year!?! Who NEEDS that much candy??? I certainly don't and I DON'T need it at home!! Makes me wonder why we are all trying to figure out why we are all are obese or our kids are??? On another note...the person who invented mini candies...bite size...should be drug out in the street and S-H-O-T!!! It's impossible to have just 1 or a serving!!  Have you tried?

Cute Lil' Punkins

Today was the Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch!  Woot! Woot!

Truly a red letter day here...why you ask? Well, it's the first one for Dru as a Kinder!  They road the bus and everything!  Of course we love the patch we went to also, that always helps!

 

Eli and I met Dru and his classmates at the patch and we went around with his class and discovered and experienced things together...and with a whole bunch of rowdy Kinders...LOUD! We had so much fun petting the farm animals, going down slides and figuring out mazes.  Of course there was the corn pit (and this year we managed to only bring a quarter of the pit home and not all of it...progress people!). 

 

We do of course know the highlight of the day of course is taking the tractor ride to the place where the pumpkins are!  We have arrived!!

 

Dru picked out his right away and he did good! Nice and round with a great stem!

Tag a long here picked one out too...he took a little more time browsing and finally came upon this one. A good choice I think.

 Dru was such a wonderful big brother on his field trip with his class.  I love seeing glimmers of this when I least expect it...gives me such hope that when they are older they all will have a relationship with each other...I hope for ones better than what I have.  Dru made sure that Eli wasn't left out on any fun things and made sure he got a turn on rides and treats.  Good job Dru! 

 When it was time for Dru to leave and go back to school, Sparky here wasn't ready to go and so we stuck around for a bit.  We really did luck out on weather earlier today because it got ugly later on.  Eli spent a lot of time on this horse and what you can't see is the cow (fake) that he is trying really hard to rope.  He eventually did get it and then could have spent forever mastering it...I had to be the bad guy and make him leave. 

We had a good day and I'm glad I was able to go on this field trip and be there for Dru on his first one, although I think he would have done fine.  They were so busy he wouldn't have noticed if we weren't there...I don't think.

 

Harvest Picture

Just fooling around with pictures

 

 Corn kernels in the corn pit! The kids love this part of the field trip to the Pumpkin Patch!  That and I'm pretty sure I washed a whole corn field after that.

 I love this picture...I had a creative moment to get a different perspective.  I have moments!

Shower in Pink

 

 

 

Some of the ladies in my family put on a shower for a cousin and we were so excited to put this on for her!  Who doesn't like babies right!?!

 

Am I right?

 

Baby rabies!!

 

 

We decided we'd make her a diaper cake as our gift to her and it was really fun to make! We bought a few trinkets to add to the cake and a box of diapers.  Thank goodness for a good friend to show me how to make it!  Where would I be with out these people?? Well, not as creative as this I tell you!

I'm pretty proud of myself for making this!  If you didn't notice they are having a little girl...butt heads! ;)  I can honestly say I've not put on a shower for someone who is having a boy...how is it 2 of the ladies putting this shower on have ALL boys and end up putting on a showe/sr for these women who are all having girls? Honestly! Where is the justice people!?!

The Ball Game

GO MARINERS!!!

 

This was our gift to Dru this year for his birthday...we tried to do events for the kids this year for their birthdays.  I like doing these kinds of things rather than buying one more piece of something or other junk toy that will get broken or who knows. 

 

This year for Dru's birthday we took him to a Mariners game...pretty darn close to his birthday too!  He got some birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa and he bought that hat you see him wearing in the picture!  They have to buy like a shirt or something like that with their money at things like these...I detest wasting money on those stupid toys or what nots that irritated the parents and the kids act obnoxious and Lord knows what else. Done with those kinds of things!

 

I like this picture of my boys...

 

 Me and the fellers!  It really is a feat sometimes to get them to look at the camera...why is that!?!

 Frank and his boys...everyone was just so excited for this day!

What made it even better was that the Mariners won that game and we stuck around for the whole game! the kids managed to make it through the whole game...which was amazing! The last time we went to a game we barely made it to the 7th inning!  The bonus part of the whole thing was since we managed to stay for the whole game the kids got to run the bases, just like real ball players!  They were so excited!  It really was a great day and I'm so glad we were able to do that for Dru's birthday and that we could all go do it as a family!  Love that we an do those things sometimes!