Christmas Traditions

So we started a new tradition. We've decided that every year, we are going to take note of the Christmas light displays that we see on various houses, and right before Christmas, we are going to deliver cookies to the house that has the best one. So tonight we went out delivering cookies and looking at lights, and we gave out our first cookie award. We all went up and knocked at the door and the guy who answered was none other than Santa himself. No seriously. The guy looked just like Santa Claus, and when we commented on it, he gave each of our kids a wooden car and handed us a business card that said "Santa Claus" on it. Crazy.

Also, I want to thank all of you who sent me a Christmas card. There is a special place in my heart reserved for each of you. I am especially grateful to my sisters Sarah and Laura for their cards because they were particularly unique and wonderful. Laura made hers from a school syllabus and a verizon pamphlet and Sarah drew and colored hers and it was super funny--a little trailor with sagging lights. Perfect.

Christmas cards

My whole life I have loved Christmas cards. I remember that while I was growing up, we would tape every Christmas card to the wall in a sort of Christmas card collage. We didn't care if the cards were from our insurance company or a credit card company or whatever--they were still part of the collage. I'm the same way now except that I put my cards in a Krinkles Card holder thing. Currently, she is waiting to be filled up. Anyway...because I love to receive Christmas cards, I also love to send them out, so if you would enjoy one more for your collage or card holder, leave me your address and I will send one to you!

P.S. You know what's scary? Sneezing while you're driving.

It's all about me.

So I'm finding that I don't have as much time to blog and comment on blogs lately. I think it's because I can't nurse and type at the same time. I can do a lot of things while nursing--make dinner, go the bathroom, clean, etc.--but I haven't mastered typing while nursing yet. I'll keep working on it.
Anyway, I love this time of year for three reasons:

#1) Thanksgiving-- My whole family (excluding Sarah and her family) came up for Thanksgiving, which was so fabulous. I seriously love my family. To me, one of the best things about families is that we all share the same sense of humor. My siblings are all so dang funny. It is especially fun (and a little bit sad) for me to sit back and watch my younger siblings--especially Laura, Audrey and Seth interact. They love each other so much and get along so well. It was so funny to hear them recount how Charley used to give them candy for serving him and calling him "Master" when he had girls over. And all three of them are practically hanging all over my mom all of the time because they are so close to her. I hope I can be like my mom so that my teenage and adult children are still always wanting to sit by me and hug me, etc.

I love my sister-in-law Kat, too, because it is obvious how much she and Charley love and enjoy one another and because she is the type of person who makes herself comfortable with our family--and that is so cool. You don't have to constantly worry about making her feel comfortable and included because she just naturally blends right in. She participates in conversation and goes shopping with my sisters and me and gets in the fridge when she is hungry--and I love it.

It was sad to have my family leave and know that they will all be together with Sarah and her family at Christmas time and that I will not be there to join them...

#2) I'm not sure I know anyone who loves Christmas and all that goes with it more than I do. I love the music, I love the food, I love the weather, I love the smells, I love the decorations, I love the giving, and I love the getting. I love it all. We've starting getting two Christmas trees--both real--one that I decorate by myself and one that is the family tree. We bought mine in town and we will be going to cut down the family one for family night tomorrow.

I love Christmas so much that while I was still at home, I used to hold "Christmas morning rehearsals" with my younger siblings where we would practice lining up and running down the stairs to the living room. We would even practice our reactions to all the presents. Man, it was great.
#3) My birthday! What better way to begin the best month of the year than with my birthday! My b-day is one of the best days of the year. Why? Because it is all about me, of course. Brian never has to stress about what to get me because it is the same thing every year. I want to get a baby sitter for the kids while Brian takes me on a shopping trip. This year we left Friday morning and went to Portland to shop and then went to the Manheim Steamroller concert that night. We spent the night there and then went home on Saturday afternoon. It was wonderful. I do as much shopping as I can squeeze in and Brian comes along and never even mutters a word of complaint. What could be better than that?

Ahhhhh...I am one happy girl--Wait. I guess I'm a lady these days. Anyway....

Living My Dream

So it's been another good few weeks. With the birth of Danin, we had the fortune of having lots of company--my mom, Brian's mom, and Brian's sister Stacy and her family. (And Brian's mom is coming again this weekend for Danin's blessing.) It's been really fun. I love having company. Among other things, company means cleaning my house a little better than usual and more people to cook for and eat with--all of which I love.

How's having three kids? Well, it's fabulous, actually. I really love it. I had forgotten how fun it is to have a newborn, and Jane and Camp are really good with her and have seemed to grow up and team up considerably since her birth. The only problem I've had so far is that Danin is not as content as both Camp and Jane were to sit in her car seat in front of the EFX machine at the gym, so I may have to work out a new gym schedule. That will be hard for me because I've developed an odd sort of bond with the old folk with whom I exercise. Oh well. Life is all about sacrifice.

Halloween was a blast. I remember so clearly being a kid and not being able to imagine how holidays could possibly be fun as a parent. Now I'm finding out. We took the kids trick-0r-treating down on Bay Street and I could not stop laughing because I was so delighted to watch my kids having so much fun. Camp had insisted on being a ghost, so Brian had rigamajigged a costumed using a fruit-of-the-loom waist band to hold up the part that went over his head. Jane was a turtle and Brian had painted her face green to match. Both kids were stoked at being able to get candy so easily. Brian asked me what I was supposed to be for Halloween. This Halloween, I lived my life long dream for a few sweet hours. I was a girl with long eyelashes. It was awesome.

Here are some pictures of the last few weeks.

A Party of Five--THREE girls and two boys...

Welp. I'm now a mother of three. The baby held on until Wednesday morning when I had an appointment to be induced. Brian and I drove over to Eugene to the hospital and checked in around 5:00 a.m. Coincidentally, I was having light contractions about five minutes apart on the way there. At around 6:00 a.m. I was settled in my room,
and shortly after that I was started on patosin (anyone know how to spell that?). My doctor arrived a little after 6:30 and broke my water--he asked if there had been any action over the weekend to which Brian proudly replied that there HAD been just the previous night. Brian is seriously out of control. Anyway, we had really been hoping that things would go quickly because my doctor was having to leave town around 10 or 11 am, and we really didn't want to have another doctor deliver the baby. Well, quickly things went because by around 8 o'clock I was given an intrathecal (again, sorry for my spelling inabilities--not even spell check has any suggestions) and by nine I was ready to push. I started pushing at 9:11 and the baby was out before 9:14. That's right. Wham, whir. Thank you, sir-- And Dr. Green was free to go.

The baby was 7 lbs 11 0z and 19 1/2 inches long and nameless until today around noon, at which time we finally named her Danin Ellis. So there you go. Isn't she perfect?

Ten Years

Yeah, so like I said before, Brian and I graduated ten years ago. This last weekend we flew to Vegas for our reunion. People were surprised that I would be flying even though I am nine months pregnant, but the airline people never batted an eye about it. It may have helped that there was some sort of bomb scare or terrorist suitcase thing going on at our airport when we flew out--but whatever. We made it safely there and back with no baby coming out. Fabulous. Anyway, on Friday night, we got together at a park with Travis and Lila, Kenny and Ashlee, Alan and Megan, Tyson and Sandy, Meghan, and all of our kids, and it was really cool. It was cool to get together and feel like all of us have grown up and matured and are happy and living relatively similar lives--i mean chasing kids around and working hard to earn a living. Granted, it was just a small group of us, but I felt no pressure to look cool or act cool or compete for attention, etc. We were just all moms and dads making sure our kids were happy and safe and out of trouble. Totally laid back. Cool.

And the reunion was cool, too. There were not a ton of people there, but it was still fun to see those that were there and just sit back and people watch a little. You know what I mean? It's just super interesting to see what ten years has done to people. It was funny, too, to go walking into the reunion draped in tons of fabric while a good majority of the other girls had boobs and legs hanging out everywhere. I seriously couldn't have been more covered. In fact, I was probably mistaken for part of the black drapery a few times, but that's alright. So I felt a little out of place--no biggy. My options for a "cocktail attire" nine-month-pregnant-modest outfit were slim. Everyone is better off not having seen my big, white, vericose veiny body, anyway. And Brian said he was glad that his wife didn't look like someone he had ordered off a 1-800 number--and that's really all that matters.

But anyway, it was fun, and I'm glad I went. I feel happy and super, super grateful to have marked my ten-years-after-graduation milestone at a time when I am so happy. I really could not ask for a better life.

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Here it is

So here are a few pictures and videos of our spec house! Hope you like it! Not bad for a second timer!