Where Did The Last 2 Weeks Go?

It's a long-winded post, I know but c'mon! It's 2 weeks worth.
Here's where my 2 weeks went:

A few days before Christmas we celebrated Aaron's 32nd birthday at his parents' house. Aaron needed help putting his marketing portfolios together so he rallied his family together at his birthday party and put everyone to work. We set up an assembly line affixing the different sticker labels Aaron had printed to the inside of presentation folders so when he goes to companies to sell his product, he can show them some of what he can do.

We had a good time. We had yummy tacos and ended with apple pie. Christmas Eve was lots of fun. Late in the morning me and Ev headed to The Avocado House restaurant in Chino. My friend, Krista's parents run a catering business and are opening their restaurant this month. Every year they invite everyone they know (which is EVERYONE) over for Christmas Eve breakfast. It's great to see a bunch of people I grew up with and especially to visit with Krista.

In the afternoon Aaron, Ev and I headed to Aaron's parent's house to hang out with his family and cousins. We had a used DVD gift exchange and munched on finger foods. What kind of mom would I be if I didn't dress Everett in some tragic Christmas outfit that he'll be embarrassed of in about 13 years? I think the "Mom, you suck" look he gave me says it all: The hat was too small and made an indent around his head that was still visible 2 hours after the hat was removed. Sorry buddy, I didn't realize your brain was being starved of blood supply. I'll pay better attention next time I dress you in a lame holiday-themed outfit.

Then it was off to my mom's house for dinner. We had a good time and got to visit with my cousins that came down from Idaho. We finally got home around 11pm. Aaron and I stayed up until about 2am getting everything ready and the house picked up a bit for Christmas. Aaron was right, Christmas is going to happen whether your house is decorated or not (or in our case, even if your tree is leaning against the wall propped up with a step ladder and your angel is holding on for dear life and is hoping not to crash the other way out the window). We hardly noticed. In the morning we opened gifts as a little family for the first time. We got each other a couple of little gifts and Everett got a couple of little things too. Yes, I know he can't open a present on his own, I mainly did it for the photo op. The rest of our Christmas day is insane. Every year we threaten to stay home, but decide to make all the stops anyway.

At 10am we went to Aaron's parents to open gifts with them. At 12 pm we went to my dad's. At 3pm we went to Aaron's grandparents' for dinner and at 7pm we had to go back to my mom's house to open our gifts from her because she didn't have time to wrap them before we got there Christmas Eve. We finally got home by about 9pm. Whew! It's a good thing everyone lives close so it's a 15 min. or less drive between houses. Maybe that's the problem, if everyone lived farther away we'd have to do less.

One common theme with every household was that Christmas was toned waaaaaay down from years past. One or two simple gifts replaced the usual hoards of gifts and hours of unwrapping. The main focus of the day was spent just being with each other. I have to be completely honest - I did not miss the extravagant Christmas that I've been used to. Although we were running all day long to see everyone some how, we finally weren't stressed and just focused on family.

Ev got a jumper from his grandparents. He loved it! Imagine the fun he'll have when his feet actually touch the ground!Two days after Christmas Aaron's side of the family headed out to Desert Hot Springs to visit and have Christmas with Grandma Nell. As soon as we walked in the door we piled the babies on her lap so she could get as much time with them as possible. We don't get to see her very often, so time spent with her is extra special. She crocheted all of us girls super soft scarves-totally cool. Monday and Tuesday me and Ev went to work. Wednesday was New Year's Eve. My sister, Kelle came out to visit. We went to Victoria Gardens and walked around for a bit. Later on, we picked up Aaron and headed over to my mom's house to eat pizza and play games. We made it to 10:30pm when Everett started to lose it so we headed home. Ev and I were both in bed by 11pm. Aaron headed down to the neighbor's house to hang out by the fire pit and shoot illegal fire works. I vaguely remember hearing them, but was so tired I couldn't care less.

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New Year's day I worked on taking down Christmas. Since our tree fell over and half of the ornaments fell off, it took a lot less time to undecorate the tree (another positive!) I got it taken down, but not put away. Who knows how long it will take me to get everything put away. You can't see the floor in my living room. It looks like Christmas threw up all over it.

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Today we had 2 of our nephews over. We spent the day shooting Aaron's BB gun in our make-shift backyard shooting range and launching rockets at the park.Everett slept in the stroller for the most part.Someday he'll be big enough to play with the older boys...

What rocket launch would be complete without losing one in someone's backyard?We ate hot dogs and decorated brownies with frosting and sprinkles. We finished the day by watching E.T. and getting Carl's Jr. for dinner. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

Odd Jobs And The Rules of Decorating

Having tight finances causes you to take on all kinds of odd jobs to make ends meet. Around Christmas time there is always someone who needs help doing something. The week after Thanksgiving I signed(yes, I've signed his cards for him for 3 years now), stuffed, sealed, labeled and packaged up 1,100 Christmas cards to clients for my boss. You can also always count on my mom needing help decorating her trees. I know you must be thinking, "She makes her mom pay her to help decorate for Christmas? What a jerk!". What you gotta understand is the way my mom decorates. It IS a job. The word "simple" is not in her vocabulary. Everything she decorates is far beyond what any normal person would ever do. The entire house is fully decorated to rival that of Disneyland. Everywhere you look there is something interesting and beautiful to look at.On the first day I came to decorate, I pulled up and couldn't stop laughing at my Uncle's truck. I guess there is no limit to what can be decorated for Christmas. For my mom, detail is everything. She has 4 trees, I help decorate the two larger trees. One of them is 12 feet tall. Let's just say, she likes a little tree with her ornaments. I had to navigate a huge ladder around the tree and climb up and down that huge ladder hanging hundreds of ornaments.

Since I was young, I was always the one to help my mom decorate the tree so I have been properly schooled in the art of tree decorating. Here are the rules:

1. No two like ornaments can be next to each other

2. Hanging an ornament on the cording from the tree lights is unacceptable

3. The back of the tree must be decorated just as much as the front of the tree

4. If you can't find an empty branch to hang an ornament on, you're not trying hard enough

5. Just when you think you're finished, mom will find another bin full of ornaments

6. Quit your whining and get to work

Everett came with me and he was a good boy for the most part so I could get some work done. I would strap him in the Baby Bjorn and we'd decorate up and down the ladder. I don't think I'll tell Aaron about that part. Three days later I got the job done. It's such a pain doing the decorating, but once it's done it's nothing short of spectacular. It is indeed a celebration of Christ's birth and my mom goes all out to make it special.

So, Merry Christmas, everyone! It's going to be a wonderful celebration!

TIMBER!!!!

I finally finished decorating the tree last night. I was quite pleased with myself. At 3am this morning Aaron and I woke up to a jingling crash! The tree had fallen over and the ornaments went scattering all over the floor. I had noticed that the tree was leaning a little, but it looked that way from the time I put it up so I thought nothing about it. Well, that leg of the stand broke off and down the tree came! Maybe it was a cursing from my mother because I was lazy and didn't decorate the back of the tree(a decorating sin) and the front of the tree just couldn't carry all of the weight?
So, my poor angel is hanging upside-down with her skirt around her head, a very unangel-like compromising position, and there are shattered ornament bits and scratch marks on the piano. Perhaps not the best way to keep the re-sale value if I need sell it in the future.
Since I am looking at the positives this year I came up with a few...having our tree fall over gave me the opportunity to practice with my rarely-used wide angle camera lens, my piano is now dusted, and at least I have a good sturdy step ladder to help prop up our Christmas tree in the corner. So there.

Broke Christmas

Whoever did that survey that found that poor people are happier than rich people didn't bother to ask my opinion. I guess there is a difference between poor and broke. Poor means you never had anything to begin with, broke means you had it but lost it. I guess that's why I'm sulking a bit...I'm missing what "used to be".

The boat industry took a dump last year and Aaron's been out of work for almost 2 months. He's started a printing company, but like any new business it's going to take a while to get off the ground. He's working long hours and trying his best for our family. I will always love that characteristic about him. There is not one person I know that can out-work him. Until things get going, we just have to hold on as tight as we can. With many tears and feelings of failing my son, I started back to work part-time at my old job. My boss has been kind enough to let me bring Everett. (we'll see how long that lasts...) It's insane to think about how much has changed for us in the last year.

Everything is scaled back to practically zero and it's almost time to kick into survival mode. I'm surveying my home and making a list of what I can sell. I suppose if you go by Gerald Celente's prediction of the state of America by 2012, Aaron and I are just ahead of the pack. Lucky us.

Christmas also has been turned back to the bare bones. In our families we drew names instead of buying for everyone. We're also doing a gift exchange of used DVD's. Aaron and I agreed to not get gifts for each other (although, I won't be able to stand it and I'll have to at least make him something). Lucky for us, Everett has no idea what Christmas is and if things are still not up to par next year at least he'll be at the age to be perfectly happy playing with a cardboard box. (hopefully not the one we'll be living in...)

This is strange to me. It's almost Christmas and my tree is only half decorated. There is no holiday hustling and bustling. I haven't stepped foot in a store to buy anything. It almost seems like that's where my getting into the "Christmas Spirit" comes from. I know I'm supposed to focus on Christ at Christmas, and I do...but the presents sure are fun!! This year it had to be different. So, instead of moping about like I have been for the last few days, I gave myself a hearty smack across the face and woke myself up out of my pity party. Off to work I went getting myself interested in Christmas.

On went the painfully cheesy Christmas music I love so much, I baked a loaf of yummy bread and made a batch of wassail, the house smelled terrific. I went to work decorating the house.

We can't afford our usual real tree this year, my brother and sis-in-law were nice enough to let us borrow an extra tree they had. At night Moe, Everett and I went for a walk around the neighborhood and counted all the houses with lights and enjoyed the awesome scent of people having fires in their fireplaces. When we got home I turned off all the lights, lit a bunch of candles and Everett and I watched "The Grinch". I definitely felt better.

Last week I took some photos of Everett for Christmas. Thanks to digital, taking photos doesn't cost me a thing. I had a great time with my little angel. He's so dang cute and has such a sweet presence about him. I'm so happy to be his mom.

Being a grump about our financial situation doesn't help and isn't useful. I know we're not the only ones in this sinking financial boat. Everyone gets their turn in the dumps and right now, it's just ours. Things will get better (hopefully soon) and I will just have to put on a smile and look for the positive until then. Prayers are being answered along the way and my testimony is getting stronger. When I come out on the other side of this mess I will know I needed the experience, no life story is interesting without struggle or opposition.

We are going to have a great story.

Rice Cereal: The Lie

Everett has typically been a good sleeper. Recently he has been getting up more during the middle of the night. Everyone keeps telling me how much better and longer he will sleep once he starts eating rice cereal. Last night I thought I'd give it a try. I have a house full of people coming over and I needed to get some work done around the house. In order to do that, I needed a sleeping baby.

I spoon-fed him some rice cereal along with his regular dose of milk. He usually goes to bed between 9-10pm. Last night he didn't go to sleep until 11pm, it seems the cereal gave him a boost of energy. I stayed up getting the house put together, Aaron got home at midnight so we stayed up and chatted and headed to bed at 1:30 am. Just as my head hit the pillow, Everett started stirring and was ready to eat again. D'oh!

I fed him and it was back to bed at 2 am. At 5:30 am he woke up again. I fed him and it was back to bed by 6 am. At 7:30 he was up AGAIN. So, here we are...Everett is wide awake, I am a zombie, Aaron has been fast asleep all night. My house is still a wreck and I've still got to manage to get myself presentable for church and make the food for dinner tonight.

How did he manage to sleep worse with the rice cereal before bed? Just my luck, I guess.
Everett buddy, it's a good thing you're cute. This sucks.

Made it Another Year

Today is our 5th anniversary.

Time is just flying by so fast I can't believe it. We are still madly in love, still having a good time and still looking forward to the future. I love being married to Aaron, he's the perfect one for me! So happy anniversary darlin'! Let's go do something fun!

10 Years Younger

Since I've been home, I've been able to watch many of the lame daytime TV shows while I'm feeding Everett. In one of my channel flipping excursions I ran across a show called "10 Years Younger" where these old bag-looking ladies get some much needed TLC and are promised to look at least 10 years younger by the end of the show. I never would have given that show a second thought if the events from this morning didn't happen.
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I was up more than usual with Everett last night, then we had a rough breastfeeding session at 4am that I'm still trying to recover from, and at 6 am Everett decided to wake me up by screaming at the top of his lungs sending me flying out of bed. After I got him calmed down, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Aaron was getting ready for work. We were chatting about the crazy morning when Aaron said, "...it's almost like you've aged 10 years in the last 3 months."

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Oh hell, I'm one of those bag-looking ladies like on that show.

Aaron by no means meant that as an insult, it was just his way of saying that I looked "worked". That got me thinking about the show I had seen and I decided I need to not look so "worked". I swore to myself that I would never end up looking like those ladies that show up to church with no makeup, a potato sack looking jumper and Birkenstocks. Now that I have a kid, boy is it a slippery slope and I feel like I'm well on my way to the Birkenstock store. I decided today I would do my own makeover show called "My Kid Took a Long Nap, So Look What I Got Accomplished".

Here I am in all my glory. Yep, I need some major work done.

So, without a clothing expert, hair stylist or makeup artist I attempted to fix myself up. The under eye bags and double chin need to go, but that's a whole other show. That's it for today's show. I hope your kids will take long naps for you so you too can look 10 years younger. See you next time!

Shoe Box Party

Saturday, I got to be a little Christmas Angel.

Every year my friend, Amanda has a Shoebox Party. That's where we save our empty shoe boxes throughout the year and buy small, inexpensive toys, candy, school supplies and hygiene items and bring them to Amanda's house.

From there, we wrap the shoe boxes in Christmas paper and pack them full of goodies for the kids. Amanda brings them to her church and they distribute them to the kids that need them. For a lot of the kids, this is the only gift they will receive for Christmas.Last This year was just awesome, because not only is Amanda 4 months pregnant, but we were able to make 103 boxes. It was just amazing and I loved that I was able to be a part of it. Many families bring their kids to help, and the kids have a wonderful time packing the boxes full and learning compassion for others at the same time. I will be looking forward to next years' party.

Blessed Baby Boy

Sunday was Everett's baby blessing at church. Like any important day, things started out crazy but once I calmed down it turned out to be a wonderful day.

To start off, Everett got a giant bug bite on his face Halloween night, just in time for it to be a big red welt by Sunday. I was having an extreme bad hair day because of the humidity which caused me to fuss with it longer which caused me not to have enough time to feed Everett for one last time which caused him to scream and spit up on his new outfit as we headed out the door. Aaron said it reminded him of the days when his mom used to take him to church...not exactly the effect I was hoping to have since the last time Aaron went to church with me was over 7 years ago.

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I was nervous beyond belief because not only was Aaron there, but his entire family and one of his friends came also. That comes to 16 non-members and my 5 inactive brothers and sisters. I was hoping everything would go just right so they would come away from this as a positive experience. I need to learn to calm down and not worry so much. We made it to church early and my mom informed us she saved us a seat...on the front row. She had 7 kids, did she not remember that sitting in the front row with an infant is like committing Sacrament Meeting suicide? Oh well, it was nice of her to save us a seat. I started feeding Everett his bottle and he and I started calming down. There were to be 2 baby blessings that day. Just as they started to call the participants up for the first baby blessing Everett loaded his pants. It was so loud family members sitting 3 people over looked my way to see what happened. Aaron and I ran out the door to try to change him since his blessing was next. We realized we would not have enough time to change him before his blessing, so we came back in just in time to hand Everett over to my brother with a loaded diaper.

I had visions of leaking diapers bouncing through my head on his pristine white blessing outfit (which by the way was freaking expensive! Who sets the prices on those???). Everett started crying. My dad, step-dad and brother who were doing the blessing are not skilled in the art of calming a baby down and I thought, "here comes the cherry to top off this disaster of a day". Luckily, that's when Heaven opened up and sent some love and miracles my way.

Our Bishop who was helping with the blessing has a little one of his own and knew just what to do. He stuck Everett's pacifier back in and got the guys to start bouncing him and he calmed down right away. He didn't make another peep. My brother, Ben did Everett's blessing. It was his first time so he was so nervous, but I couldn't tell, he did a perfect job and gave Everett a wonderful blessing. Everett slept for the rest of Sacrament Meeting. (After we took him out and changed his pants of course...no leaking! Woo hoo!)

I was finally calm and focused on what was really important. Everett's blessing and all of the family and friends that were there to support us. I know our non-member friends and family all have their own opinions and feelings about the LDS church, good or bad. Whether the experience was positive or negative for them, I'll probably never know. What I do know is that they left that meeting knowing that we believe in a loving Heavenly Father, we believe Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he loves us so much, we believe the love within a family is so important and that we believe in the power of prayer. That made me a happy girl.

After Sacrament Meeting we headed back to our house for yummy food and to enjoy the afternoon with our wonderful family and friends. We truly have the most amazing families.

Everett, you will never have to question if your family loves you. (this blanket was made for Everett by his great, great Grandma Bland)

Happy First Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Our internet was down yesterday so I couldn't post photos of our little bumble bee, so here they are today. We had a great day. We visited the grandparents and then headed back to our street for a big neighborhood party. There's about 10-15 families that all get together with lots of food and tons of fun. What a great night.

Wish I could take credit for this way cute idea. It was too cute not to copy. Everett and I made this card for his grandparents for Halloween. They turned out so cute! All in all, a great first Halloween for us! Hope you all had a great day also!