a very Merry Christmas

Whoosh, there is nothing I love more than the build up of Christmas & Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day...but I LOVE to take a deep breath when its all over. Actually the day after I am usually pretty sad. We have to wait a WHOLE year for it again! I have seriously let my house "go" this week (f-i-l-t-h-y) & I am dreading putting away all the decor. Sigh.

This year we simplified so much, which was actually wonderful. We did 3 nice gifts for each of our kids & then by the time they got gifts from all the Grandmas & Aunts and Uncles, they ended up with still WAY TOO MANY! I am going to stick to the 3 gifts thing. My house is filled with toys. We had a party at our house with my Mom & Clay's side on Christmas Eve, and we had a Mexican feast & white elephant. It was really fun! My step dad Clay bought my Mom a bunch of 'useful' things from Costco & wrapped them up (actually assigned someone to wrap them) but anyways, it was hilarious watching my Mom open her block of cheese, 3 pack of pledge, lifetime supply of pens, and prunes too. We tried to get a picture with everyone, but 2 pics later & we still didn't have everyone in it! Gotta love big blended families. Then after everyone left, we had popcorn & hot chocolate & watched a movie & made cookies for Santa & sprinkled the reindeer food on the lawn & then drove around & looked at the lights, geesh! We just had to fit it all in though! Jer was not impressed with the displays, he said he felt like he was hunting & that they shouldn't be so darn few & far between! Of course we got the usual story from him, "Back where I grew up....every single house was decked out everywhere you went...no hunting required..." He had me dying of laughter in the car. From now on we just need to find a good dependable route with lots of "Griswold style" houses! Anyone have one?

Christmas Morning, Brayden woke up at 3:30 am & came into our room & told us that Santa had come & it was time to open presents. Jer rolled out of bed & said, "ok" & then I told him to check the clock. So we made Brayden go back to bed (I can't believe he did) then we all woke up at 8:00...a record breaking LATE time for us. It was PERFECT for me. Jer grew up with the tradition of opening all the presents before the sun comes up...but slowly he is converting to my ways. We actually had to wake Kosty up to come join us. Brayden was so stinkin sweet, with every gift he genuinely thanked us & was beaming ear to ear. He loved passing gifts out to Kosty and us too. My favorite gift this year was the one Bray got me from the school "Gift Shoppe." A gold bracelet with "#1 MOM" embossed all the way around. I was so excited to see what his sweet little brain picked out just for us. He chose a gold key chain that said #1 DAD for Jer, and for Kosty a Scooby Doo basketball hoop. He was so proud of his gifts. I have to say that was the highlight of the day for me! It was so cute & special. Hooray for the school Holiday Shoppe! and he got it all for $6! Quality stuff :) Then after some serious playing & Daddy-assembling, we went to Grandma's for Round 2 and her delicious breakfast! The kids got WAY spoiled there too. Then off to my Dad's house for more fun, and more gifts for everyone. Such a long, but fun and exhausting day. Throughout the day, every toy Kosty saw, he said, "and Ho Ho Ho bing it too?!"At the end of the day, Brayden let out a big sigh and said, "I had such a great Christmas."

It was all fun and games until the day after Christmas, dun dun dun.... I had to get my emissions tested and go to the MVD... nothing like that to snap you back into a dreary reality. JUST BRUTAL!

made me laugh

Today I took the boys to Barnes and Noble and while Kosty was playing at the train table, a little girl walked up & asked him his name. I was so close to chiming in & answering for him, but this time I decided to let him handle it. He replied, "Da-ty!" (Kosty) it was so cute. Then she proceeded to ask him if he was a Boy or a Girl. I had to laugh & again wanted to chime in, but he simply said, "BOY!" What a proud momma I was. I didn't realize that he was prepared to answer such questions! My lesson today was that I need to 'up' my faith in my little guy. He handled it like a pro.

And then, we got in the car & I asked the boys if they had fun today, to which Brayden replied, "Yeah, WICKED FUN!" Who knows where that came from! He chose a Solar System book from Barnes & Noble. He cracks me up with how interested he is in the universe & science in general. I suppose I should brush up on those subjects. Ah-hem! Anyways, he was pretend "reading" the pages in the car and on one page he said, "If a meteor hits your house, then you have to call the emergency number." Then later I told him I was going to take them to the Dewper show in the morning since its Winter Break. He said, I don't like Dewper, but I like the other things (carousel & lunch)...its so complicated!"

Oh my I thought today was Wednesday & I promised my boys I would take them to Dewper tomorrow, oh no! Dangit.

"its cold..and..white...and fun"

This was Kosty's accurate description of our *SNOW* day last Saturday. Our friends, the Browns invited us to their neighborhood Snow Day. It was SO much fun. I just loved seeing the kids beaming with excitement as they played in the snow. They were so hilarious trying to make snow angels & have snowball fights. Then I forgot the sled so Jer had to go home and get it, which felt like an ETERNITY. But when they were finally able to sled, it was all uphill from there. Literally! The smiles came back, Brayden never wanted to stop! His smiles were priceless. It was so fun to watch. Thanks guys!! Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

7 years later...

happy anniversary

Today is our 7 year anniversary. Crazy. I feel so old knowing that I have been married almost a decade now! In fact it hit me a couple weeks ago, the bishop's wife asked me, "So, how Newlywed are you?" I was like, "umm... 7 years?" So funny. Sometimes I feel like it just flew, and other times not. I always pictured us having 1 more kid at this point. But hey, I am not complaining! I like taking my time. We celebrated in true "Oldy-wed" fashion...with no date whatsoever! Although we had good intentions, a babysitter just didn't happen. I thought finally doing the famous wedding tag would be a good tribute!

How did we meet?

Hmm. I guess I knew him long before he knew me. I was a freshman, he was a junior. I had a HUGE crush, he didn't know who I was. Fast forward 3 years, I was a senior, he was graduated. I was working at a department store at the mall & he and a friend happened walk through & he came straight up to me and gave me a big bear hug. I melted. He says he told Marc that day that he would marry me. So maybe he did know who I was after all? Well, butterflies & all, I went straight to my work phone and called my friends & bragged, "guess who just came in here & even gave me a HUG!!!" He ended up asking a mutual friend for my # and that was it. But he never believed me that I had a huge crush all that time until about 5 years after we were married, I found my journal entry that stated, "...Jeremy Figgins is the guy I'm gonna marry. Right now he is a junior & has a girlfriend, but I will marry him. He's PERFECT! Sweet, respectful, funny, good looking, smart, caring, & out-going...." How's that for proof! I was gonna scan it in but it goes on to more embarrassing stuff so I'll end there! And by the way, how did I think I "knew" him so well, seeing as how we never talked! What a NERD I was. Eeek. At least my assumptions turned out to be accurate :)

What was the first thing we said to each other?

No clue. I was way too surprised and nervous. "hi"??

Where was our first date?

to the movies, we saw Austin Powers
Where was our first kiss?

About 3 or 4 dates later, he still had yet to kiss me, so he walked me to the door & I made the move. Hey somebody had to do it.

Long/short engagement?

LONG in mormon years. We got engaged on Labor Day of 99 and then married the following December, 16 2000. Remember, I had to graduate high school first! I was engaged my whole senior year, weird. I don't think I would let my own daughter do that! But thanks Mom and Dad!

Where were we engaged?

At his house, we watched a movie and I fell asleep and next thing I know he kissed me with a ring in between his lips! Then he got down on one knee. Simple and sweet.

Where were we married?

Mesa Temple. It was so special & wonderful.

Reception?

In my best friend's parents backyard. It was December so we had Christmas trees on the porch and lots of lights and of course Waldo's catering. It was beautiful.

Honeymoon?

We were planning on just going to Sedona but at the reception my Dad pulled a fast one & surprised us with 7 days in Hawaii at his timeshare. SOOOOO FUN!! I wish we could go back!

Change anything?

Well...that was 7 years ago! I would have worn my hair down & maybe changed the colors at the reception. (although it was a lovely shade of purple at the time!)

golf ball neck

I really don't care to post this, but maybe it will be interesting to read someday to someone? A couple weeks ago, I was giving Brayden a hug when he yelled that it hurt his neck 'so bad'. I looked at it & noticed that it had a HUGE lump (on the lymph node). I was so freaked out, so of course I was online forever & Webmd said a big lump could be a severe infection, so I took him in. He was acting perfectly normal & no fever or sore throat, but I thought better safe than sorry. They did a strep culture & it came back negative. The doc told us that if it was negative, we would have to go to the Lab for further tests. Brayden looked at me with big excited eyes, "the LAB?" Which quickly were replaced with fear and tears when I told him what the Lab entails. I had to drag him there, he was so panicked about the needle. On the way there, I was telling him that when I was pregnant I had to got to the Lab a few times. He said, "When you went to the Lab, did you see any five year old boys crying?" SAD! But we went in, I held him on my lap & he decided he would watch as the needle went in. His eyes filled with tears & with one little "OW!" it was done. I was SO proud of him. He was so BRAVE. Afterwards I took him to get a little treat. He deserved it!

So the results came back that he has MONO. What four year old gets Mono, you ask? Well one with a very loving 17 year old Aunt that so generously shares her drinks & didn't know she had it at the time! He went from scoring a "perfect attendence" pencil to missing 7+ days of school. Well they did say if he has no fever for 24 hrs he can go back, thank heavens!!! He seemed to be getting better although he now has an almost just as big lump on the left side to match his huge right one. At least its symmetrical now, not really.

Then Monday afternoon he got a fever of 103 all day & never got off the couch. I have never seen him like that, he was just burying his head in the couch cushions, caring less about his usual favorite shows. Then he told me his neck lumps felt "hot". So I took him in again because I thought his lymph nodes were now infected. Gotta love Doctors, he said he wasn't sure, all symptoms of mono, but maybe start him on antibiotics & if he improves "we will assume the nodes were infected." I think I could be a doctor. Semi-educated guesses, that's all it takes. Hmm. But if he gets worse, he needs to have a cat scan. Oh, and the best part is for some reason when you have mono, the virus has a reaction to antibiotics & gives you a head to toe rash. Yay! Just what he needs. So I held off on those & for the past 4 days no fever & acting normal again. So the Doc said to NOT start the antibiotics. I surely hope we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! He has so many fun things going on at school, a field trip, a party, and hello? Christmas! Mono can stay in your system for up to a year, most kids miss at least 4 weeks of school. The gigantic glands can be swollen for up to 6 weeks. Moral of the story: don't share drinks with anyone!!

Dreamy Creamy Hot Chocolate

This is my favorite recipe for Hot Chocolate, what better time to share it!?

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 t vanilla

1/8 t salt

6 1/2 c hot water

In a large saucepan, combine milk, cocoa, vanilla & salt. Mix well. Over medium heat, slowly stir in water, heat through, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Don't forget the marshmallows!! (leftover can be stored in the fridge for a few days)

and one more... (sorry it took so long Becky & Randi)

Little Thimbles Sciue Sciue (shwee-shwee)

(Unlike my husband, I love a meatless dish once in a while & this is one Jer not only loves but requests!)

1 1/2 c ditalini pasta

1/4 c good olive oil (I use extra virgin Bertolli, make sure it says 'first cold press')

2 t minced garlic (use fresh in a garlic press)

5 plum tomatoes, chopped

6 oz shredded (not grated) parmesaen cheese (or you can use 8 oz FRESH mozzerella cut in cubes)

8 large fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1 can of whole black olives

salt to taste

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook abut 8 minutes, al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes & olives & saute until heated through. Add the cooked pasta. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the cheese and basil and toss to coat.

Breakfast with Santa & The Nutcracker

Early Saturday morning we rolled out of bed & went to the ward "Breakfast with Santa." Brayden would have absolutely nothing to do with him, despite all bribes. He just said, "Momma, I'm shy about Santa." He is so awkward with anyone in costume. But the night before, he was so excited! He said, "Is Santa gonna wear his normal 'dressed' or a different 'dressed'?" I guess his mind was already in motion. Maybe someday! After a LONG time of coaxing, I finally just sat Kosty on his lap, he was stiff and tense as a board. BUT! he did it! YAY!!

My stepmom won an auction for 4 tickets to the Nutcracker & backstage passes, so she and 2 of my little sisters got to go to see it. I had just whined to Jer last weekend about how I wish we could go this year but didn't think it would happen. I am so happy she thought of me and surprised me with an early Christmas present. We went to Mango's before hand, then we had a few minutes to kill so we went over to Sweet Cakes and got cookies. As we were walking in, Erika said she wanted a cookie "as big as her head." and that's exactly what we all got. They were HUGE. The show was so awesome and then afterwards we went on the backstage tour and met & took pictures with the ballerinas. SO much fun!! Thanks Maria!!

Stef, the Sugar Plum Fairy & me

Stef, me, the Arabian Princess/Snow Queen, and Maria

bad momma

last night we were all sitting down to eat dinner, so I shouted for Brayden to come in the kitchen. No response. I shouted again and again, finally the shouts turned into yells and then I was mad...so whatever comes after "yell" is what I did. Then Brayden came around the corner with a huge grin and said, "Mama, I was trying to do service for you and make your bed." Awwwww. Talk about guilt!

"I don yike it."

Toddler lingo is my all time favorite, and I would hate to forget any of the new phrases Kosty has come up with lately! I think age 1-3 is my favorite, cause I ABSOLUTELY LOVE when they start talking up a storm. You just never know what they will come up with!! Here are some of Kosty's latest:

"I don yike it." he says it when he has eaten all but one bite of his food, suddenly he will push the plate away & announce "I don yike it." He also says it about clothes. Who knew a 2 year old could have such a stubborn fashion style. He refuses to wear certain shirts & he hates these jammies, which are my favorite! So tell me, Kosty, what's not to "yike?"

"Froggie. Dada." This is one of those, huh? NO CLUE how he came up with it. But its translation is most definitely, 'snuggle with Dada'. Cause he always says it when Jer puts on a video, then he climbs up next to him & pulls up the covers & lays on his chest. Awwww. No fair, he NEVER wants to "froggie" mama!

"Res-ule!" He loves to wrestle & he says it as he pushes you down to the ground & then says "lay!"

"it huwts....bad." Whenever he has the slightest owie or scratch, he points to it and says, "it huwts...(always a pause)...bad."

"Owano" translates to 'I don't know', as he shrugs & puts his hands up.

"Ho, ho ,ho...nice? oh! an toys an baws (balls) an pwesents." He is very unsure about Santa, but now that I explained he brings toys & presents, he says this phrase OVER and OVER. The balls part is because we were at Target & he wanted some "baby" basketballs & I told him Santa would bring them.

"ah, man!"

"nice." & "almost!" everytime he plays basketball with daddy

"EAT!........guys." every day to Brayden's fishies

"it wuks!!" every time a toy of ours mysteriously has working batteries in it! (& he says it while raising both arms as high as they can get.)

"can u hewp meet?" can you help me?

"hi baby." whenever we say it to him he says it back to us

" hol-ju ?" pick me up!

"watch this....mama." whenever he wants to show me a trick

"what? (long pause) mama?" when he doesn't hear me

"fanks." thank you

Everything he says is 100x cuter in person because he has the cutest little lisp ever. I can't help it but I literally have to uncontrollably squeeze him all day. And he hates it, which only makes me want to smother him even more (gritting teeth now)... no wonder he likes Jer so much better!

dontcha wanna squeeze him!?

p.s. a very sad realization has occured this year. Now that Brayden has outgrown 5-T, my boys will never wear matching Christmas jammies again...sniff, sniff. :(

Baby Braxton...

Braxton Kevin Lee is here!

My best friend, (practically sister) had her bundle of joy today. He was born at 6:18 this morning. He was 8lbs even, 20 inches long. He was fashionably right on time, rebelling against his mom's "early" requests...(his due date was tomorrow) and actually Jenna was scheduled to be induced later on this afternoon! So lucky for her, she didn't have to go through all that. She had a fast labor and did a great job. I got to go meet him at the hospital this morning. He has the cutest little round face and tons of soft black hair. Adorable!! I love the hospital because of the sweet memories it brings back every time. There is nothing like a new baby. Congratulations Jenna and Kevin, we are so happy for you!

the happy family

he likes me already

just enough hair to sport the "faux hawk"

I want to eat newborn feet! mmmmm!

I love those curled up legs!!

Aunt Chel will have some great stories to tell him about his momma some day! :)