merry happy day after Christmas

From the cutest boys (in their matching jammies) on the block.... merry happy day after Christmas!

Yesterday was fun!  Crazy, but fun.  12 adults and 7 children under 4... obviously a little nutty in our little 1400 square foot home.  There may have been more than one fight over Lightning McQueen (even though there are 4 different ones) or a fight over monster trucks (though there are well over 7 different ones)... or too many cooks in the kitchen at one time.  But overall the food was delicious, the company was wonderful, and we celebrated the birth of Jesus with a gusto.  We sure feel blessed.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Snow, snow as far as the eye can see.

LOVE IT!

Last weekend we had a super major storm, which dumped about two feet of the white stuff in 2 nights.  NICE!  Sadly it was followed the same night by some nasty heavy rain, which compressed it and turned many a road and driveway into unpassable messes...  Luckily not my driveway, because Dave stayed out late to plow it before the rain, and I shoveled out the walkways and garbage cans and whatnot.  Phew.  The next day (Sunday) after the rain was pretty bad though.  After debating back and forth, I finally decided to head to Church and brave the road.  It was... messy.  5 mph messy and only one set of tracks on the unplowed road, so when I met another car we both had to venture into the nasty slush factory.  I made it halfway there, only to be thwarted by a tree across the road.  Sigh.  Turned around and came home!

Other than that snow excitement, we've just been enjoying the season and preparing for Steve to come home (tomorrow) and for Christmas.  Here's a few photos for you to enjoy :)

 Mark cut down our tree and hauled it back to the house for me too - thanks!  I could have done it myself I am sure, but it was much nicer to have someone to share the tree hunting experience with.  Forest tagged along in the Moby.

Our little Grand fir ('abis grandis' if I remember correctly, dad?)

 Olaf watches Nick plow the driveway from the windowsill.  You can just see Nick's back bumper in the far left of the window.  Nothing like 14" thick walls to provide a great viewing area!

 Best present under the tree this year... Forest :)

 He batted that Olaf/snowman ornament around for at least 30 minutes :)

 Hey mom check me out!  Camo, old coat, messy hair.  Redneck in training? Apparently so!

 I tried to capture a photo in the middle of a snowstorm as Dave was plowing the snow with the tractor.  As you can see, there was a LOT!

Gitcha Goomsba Up

I think this is hilarious.
Leavenworth's new "viral video" ad campaign.

I've read other comments and reviews of people who say it was so "trashy" that they now refuse to visit Leavenworth.  Ha!  Okay.  I mean seriously people, it's meant to be funny.  Did no one see St. Nicholas dancing in the background?  I don't think it's trying to change Leavenworth's reputation into a college party town.  Anyone who has ever visited knows that's not even possible.  Too many trinket shops, not enough bars.  But this ad sure is generating dialogue, which I am sure was the whole point in the first place!

So without further ado, please take a look at "Gitcha Goomsba Up"

Umm, just ordered these with my store credit at Zappos.
SO EXCITED.
Free overnight shipping.

Merry Christmas, TO MYSELF!

Are we shoe twins now Tara?  I tried to order a different color but they didn't have it in my size.  So when I wear mine you can wear one of your other two pairs :)

who wants to visit?

It's easy to get in the Christmas spirit when your address is Leavenworth, WA!























I love this place.

I especially love that I live 15 miles outside of town and can just visit whenever I want, but still call it my hometown :)

Schedule for this weekend:
Play with Sorensen family in the snow.
Cut down Christmas tree on the property.
Put up Christmas tree.
Sled.
SLEEP (if the children allow it...)

So glad that tomorrow is my FRIDAY!  YAY!

First snow day play

Nov. 20th was our first day of snow here in Plain.  So we headed out to do what is most fun - sledding!  There wasn't a ton of snow so the sledding mostly meant I pulled everyone around.  And let me tell you - our three Saugen cousins are NOT light!  I think Micah weighs more than his older sister, and Olaf is close behind :)  Luckily with both Christie and I we managed to pull them up the hill.

Olaf looks totally prepared, right?  Nope....  his boots from last year don't fit and I haven't found him any yet for this year so he's wearing skater shoes.  Also those mittens he's wearing -- we already lost one so now he's down to socks on his hands!  I looked for cheapos at WallyWorld yesterday but no love.  No mittens, no snow boots.  Poor kid will just have to wait until I can get out to shop again!

Yum!  We all shared a thermos of hot cocoa when we were all done.

Finally, I win!

I have noticed that a lot of bloggers get free items to review from companies all the time.  Sometimes they even give a duplicate of the item away on their blog.   Usually to win one of these giveaways there are requirements - you must follow that person's blog, you must 'Tweet' about it, post it or 'like' it on Facebook...  Too much for me.  I am not going to follow someone's blog just for a shot at winning a prize.  However, if I truly genuinely like to read your blog, then sure, sign me up, and I'll be happy to read and comment away!  (Know that if I follow your blog, it's definitely because I find you interesting, not because I want your swag.)   I will say though, that even of the blogs I know and love, I have entered probably a hundred giveaways and never won.  Even when there were only like 5 entries.  I have pretty much given up hope of ever doing so :)  But I digress.

Now on to the actual topic of this post -- finally FINALLY someone is giving something away to all bloggers, without (many) strings attached.  You don't have to have a million readers, you don't have to post it all over the web, you just have a write a short post and they give you something for free.  So this year we will be getting our Christmas cards from Shutterfly, thank you very much!

I usually ALWAYS make my own cards.  Basically I make a scrapbook page of our year in review, then make color copies, then send em all out.  And y'all, it's expensive.  Color copies are 99cents per side usually.  Which means I usually spend at least $150 and a lot of time on them.  Honestly I don't really mind, actually I really enjoy making our little 'year in review'.  It's our little gift to people over the holidays.  But sometimes it is overwhelming because I usually leave it to the last minute :)  Of course!

But seriously people, Shutterfly just offered me 50 FREE Christmas card prints just for telling them (and you) what my favorite new designs are, and I can't pass it up.  I have never used Shutterfly before, so this will be a new experience. I have heard good things, and hopefully I will have the same good experience that other folks have had.

Here are some of my favorite card designs I have found so far:

Maybe you can see a theme here -- I am drawn to the ones with lots of COLOR, lots of DIFFERENT FONTS, and color pictures over black and white.  I know they are all customizable though, I could always put in my color pictures instead of the example black and whites.  But I guess I am just drawn to these ones with so much color.  And I don't know why I love the different fonts... maybe the scrapbooker in me?

Of course they also have typical photo gifts like this.

I used to make fun of these corny mugs, keychains, etc... and then I became a mom.  And now I get it.  They are awesome little reminders of your family.  Cheesy as they may be!

I am totally buying these gift tags.  Even though they are not free.  I want them.

Well that's enough talk I think.  I am stoked about my Christmas cards!  If you are a blogger (even if you have only 2 readers and it's your mom and your grandma) and you want some nice cards, just follow this link. 

I think that Shutterfly probably may have made a lifelong customer with this little gift to me. 

Don't worry, I didn't ACTUALLY show you the card we picked to send out; you'll all see that soon enough!  Know that it will have lots of color though :)

discovering

Forest has discovered his hands and feet.  Half the time he is sitting in his bouncy, he is holding both hands up in front of him while sort of playing with his fingers and just staring at them.  I keep thinking he's saying in his head -- "I'm just not quite sure what to do with my hands...  Should I hold them here?  Like this?  ummm"  ah-la Talledega Nights :)  The other half the time he is MADLY kicking those little feet trying to make the spiders bounce.  Or at least I assume that's what he is doing.  And yes after this video I decided it was probably a good idea to start strapping him into this thing with the seatbelt so he doesn't bounce himself right off the edge!

I can't believe I have to go back to work on Monday.  Wow, it's already here!  How smart am I though, to choose to come back the week of Thanksgiving?  Only a 3 day work week, people!  Pretty sweet!  Followed by a month where taking time off for holidays is a given.  So basically I am coming back at the best time of year with the most days off, the most holiday cookie exchange lunches, the least flack for taking more time off, and (usually) a less busy time of year now that ad season is over and construction hasn't started.  Oh yeah.

Well I have lots more to do.
Better maximize my afternoon while the boys (all 3) are asleep.
Like research this deal I found about Shutterfly giving away free Christmas card prints to bloggers.  What?  Sweet.  I better see if I qualify and how to get my free stuff! 
And maybe organize my office.  Maybe.
Or order pictures for Christmas gift crafting.
Or download some new tunes.
Or get the mail and bring it inside.

Like I said, better go.

date with little squeeze

In preparation for transitioning Forest to childcare next week when I return to work, he spent yesterday morning with Julie, who will be caring for him.  I knew he was in good hands, though I admit it was still hard to leave him there.  However it did allow Olaf and I to have a nice morning "date".

First we went for coffee at Plain Hardware - fun!  We got to chat with Karen and Zelda, and Olaf had a delicious hot cocoa while we played cars at the little table.

Next we headed to the Church to swing on the swings.  Olaf got that contagious little giggle going... we were having a blast!

Later in the evening, while Forest was taking a nap, we made chocolate chip cookies together - YUM.  Olaf loved all of it, but mostly he wanted to scoop things up.  And eat the dough of course.  And eat cookies for dinner. I made him wear a dishtowel as an apron.  Not so much that I didn't want him to get messy - I just thought it was really cute!

 This was probably his favorite part -- the scooping.

 Or maybe this was his favorite.  The licking of deliciouness.

Persistence pays off.  I think he got every last morsel of dough off that thing!  Though a lot ended up on his face as well :)

hot cocoa kind of day

I wish it would snow.
I mean REALLY snow.
I only have a week left at home and I want one of those days to be super cozy spent inside with a fire and hot cocoa and working on making Christmas gifts.
But alas. No snow just yet besides flurries.
We had cocoa anyways.
It was just a hot cocoa kind of day.

I'm a terrible photographer...

But I thought I would finally share some Halloween pics of Olaf from last week.  I made his little spider costume in about an hour... so I wasn't too disappointed when he only last 10 minutes at the trunk or treat.  He was much more excited to get to Grammy's house afterward for dinner and to watch Finding Nemo.

 Spider (Olaf) and SpiderMAN (Micah), cousins and best buds

 Christie and I dressed up as moms of very small babies.  I think we pulled it off quite well, what with Forest and Kyler all bundled up in their packs. We had a sweet costume for Forest - one of those binkies that gives you HUGE buck teeth but alas... it was too big for his tiny mouth.  It was SO COLD too that they were much better with pretty much no skin showing.

 Showing off his costume to Grammy.

 Forest enjoyed laying on the floor during dinner in his stylin' REI long underwear.  That kid has nicer winter gear than I do!

This was a few days later at Christie's birthday party - grandpas with the babies.  Mark has Forest and Craig (Christie's pop) has Kyler.  I say it a lot, but I will say it again - yay for cousins growing up so close to each other!

Forest's nursery

This was Olaf's nursery back when we lived in Cashmere.  SO CUTE.  In fact we decorated his room here in Plain similarly since he was still in the crib when we moved in.

Well the poor second child... no decorated nursery for him, poor thing.


Forest sleeps in our room because I don't want he and Olaf in the same room just yet.  So here is Forest's lovely little nursery, tucked on the wall across from the foot of our bed, between the bathroom on the left, and the hallway on the right.

 

Cozy.
Just right for a little boy of 8 weeks.

saturday in the country

Steve split and stacked wood.
All day.

So me and the boys did some other things to occupy ourselves.
We walked to the hardware store from the bridge. 
Actually Olaf, Serenity, and Micah rode their little run bikes while Christie, Donna, myself and my mom walked behind them, carrying the little babies.  And on the way back Olaf had to be carried too because apparently his endurance isn't that of his cousins :)  But we all had a good time out in the rain, even Forest and Kyler who both (blessedly) slept the whole time.

After lunch somehow both the boys ended up sleeping at the same time - yeah!  So I made applesauce, as shown below.

Does anyone else ever use these apple peeler/corer/slicer doodads?  They are AMAZING.  I want one, badly.  This one is my mothers.  I borrow it sometimes in the fall because it makes anything with large quantities of apples so much easier.  I swear we'd eat more apple pies if I had one.  (Hint hint mom, Sue.... Christmas... just sayin')

Nevermind the particle board countertop... we'll get our concrete one installed one of these days...

Since Wenatchee calls themselves the "Apple Capital of the World", we always have lots of places to get apples in the fall during harvest time.  They used to export more apples than any other place in the world, and do hold the world record for largest apple pie ever baked, but I think Japan is beating them in apple exports now.  That's okay with me.  There are still PLENTY of apples to go around.  Not to mention pears and cherries.

My applesauce recipe is this:  Put all cut up apples in a pot with some water to keep it from burning.  Bring to boil.  Turn down to simmer for like 1/2 hour, stirring every 5 minutes or so.  Put in the blender and pulse a few times until smoother.  Voila!  I don't add any sugar.  These apples were Fujis from Mom and Dad's tree, so they were already pretty sweet.

I just love making things to eat to put in the freezer.  This is my third batch made!  Although batch 2 didn't count because I sort of forgot I was making it, and burned it to the pan so badly it took steel wool, hours of scrubbing, and my sister in law's mom Donna to get it all off the pan.  Needless to say that batch didn't quite work out.  I am just thankful our precious All-Clad cookware survived.  I can't afford it again without a wedding registry.

Fire in the fireplace was nice too.

All in all a good day.

2 months old

2 months.  Wow.  My (most likely) last baby is growing up WAY TOO QUICKLY for me!

Forest.  Already there has been so much change in your tiny little body.  Small chunk rolls are starting to form on your upper arms and thighs.  You can hold your head up for pretty good extended periods and then BAM it goes all wobbly again :)  Then you pick it up again to view the world.  I swear you seem to know exactly what's going on.

I love when you SSTTTRRREEEEEEETTTCCCHHH both your arms above your head and scrunch up your face so that only your huge Saugen lips are showing clearly.

Everyone has an opinion about who you look like - most say Daddy for sure.  Some say Mommy.  And I myself don't really see anyone but Forest in you.  I can't pick out either side of the family dominant in you.  However you do have your daddy's giant lips, and every now and then at a certain angle, I see Auntie Kirsten's baby pictures replicated in your face.

 I LOVE this view of your peaceful self while we are walking... so content

Unless you are in a really good sleep, you make constant noises just in your breathing!  Luckily daddy and I are usually so tired that we are able to fall asleep to the sound of it.  You are still sleeping in our room in the cradle that PopPop Moritz made for me and my sisters when we were little girls.

You LOVE people.  Looking at them, interacting a bit, SMILING (since 6 weeks), being held.  You track me with your eyes and head as I move about and if I stop right in front of you and smile, you will usually smile right back :)  Lucky me!  It's an adorable smile.

When you are sad, all I have to do is pick you up and you stop crying almost immediately.  You do not like to be left alone unless you are very tired or asleep.  If I set you in a room to look around, then leave the room with Olaf for another room you let us know you don't like it!  (Olaf usually says "Mommy - Forest is CRYING!  He wants you to pick him up!")  All I have to do is go back for you, pick you up and move you to the new room to sit, and you are content to watch the happenings.

You seem to adore your big brother.  He loves to come to wherever you are, put his (huge) head against yours and say "Hey little buddy, you're okay!"  I often think he might be squashing you but when he pulls his head back up you just look up at him with admiring eyes.  Oly also loves to sing his ABC's to you when you are sad, however he refuses to sing them unless you are crying.  Apparently the ABC's are only for when you are not already happy.

You definitely have a new cry too - the frustration cry.  It usually comes when we are nursing but are taking a burp break.  You sound SO annoyed with this cry, like I should put you back on the boob immediately.  Like snap to it, Mommy!

You first started smiling at us between 5 & 6 weeks old.  It is so precious!  None of those crazy Saugen dimples, but some uber-cute laugh lines around your mouth.  You features (aside from the ever expanding double chin) are still very delicate, just like when you were born. 

You are finally out of your newborn sized clothes, and are wearing 0-3 months.  We should get a few more months out of them - YAY!  At your checkup yesterday you were riding those 50% lines right up the charts.  Totally average sized, which is great!  After having one chunky baby, I am excited to have one smaller one.  You now weigh 11 lbs 6 oz., are 23 inches tall, and have a 15-inch head. 



Forest, I just love you so much, I could go on for pages.  As you keep growing, I find new things every day that you do which fascinate me and make me so happy.  But I will just save it for a new post.  Keep smiling buddy - it brings so much joy to people around you. 

Love, Mommy