Crafts, etc

Pinterest inspired me to get a little creative with some of my Christmas presents this year. It was tons of fun for me to shop at craft stores and try to make something beautiful. I'll have to get more into projects this year.

Behold, the dry-erase marker calendars I made for Emily and Doug, and Scott and Caprice:

The initial wall-hanging for my 70's style lovin' sister Kathryn:
And the wreath I made for my mom:I've been v-e-r-y slowly working on a yarn wreath for my dining area. The covered section in the photo took 20 minutes, folks! Is there something I should know about more efficiently making a yarn wreath? I am wrapping a water weenie! Ha ha. I got it all covered, then decided it was too skinny to be so wide, so I unwrapped the whole thing, cut out a five or six inch chunk, and am about halfway done wrapping it again. Sigh. I'm still not sure how I'll adorn it when I'm done. It's not top priority right now.

In other news, Todd and I have a tradition of buying a new game every year for New Year's Eve. We trade off whose turn it is to pick it out, and go into extensive research trying to find something we'll love. It's been tricky, but rewarding, looking for games that are fun to play with just two players. This year Todd bought Ticket to Ride. We played it four times in a row. Other successful games from past years include Carcassonne and Mr. Jack. Check them out!

Holiday Review

We got our Christmas cards in the mail before Christmas was over! I wrote the letter, Todd addressed and stuffed the envelopes (so let me know if you didn't get one and want one - we've got a few left over) and Hazel put on the stamps and address stickers. We flew to Utah. Hazel threw up at the airport. I didn't have to clean it up! But we brought the plague with us to my mom's house. Everyone got the stomach flu in shifts, a couple people per day. Sad.

Hazel was thrilled to see snow. There wasn't much, but lucky for us, it did snow our first full day in Logan. Hazel watched, mesmerized, from the window.
Then I bundled her up and took her outside to catch snowflakes on her tongue. It was the first of THREE TIMES that day that she got on her gear and tromped around in the snow.
Lucky for me, there were plenty of aunts, uncles, and grandparents dying to play with my kids, so I only had to go out once. It was C-O-L-D.
We decorated gingerbread houses. (Todd, Hazel, my brother Ryan, my mom Deon, and my brother-in-law Doug featured below)
Jack loved playing the piano. Hazel liked it, too, but Jack really went crazy for it.
We made sugar cookies. Hazel was in charge of sprinkles and did a mighty fine job.
My entire family was at my parents' house this year. We were so excited to have everyone together, but never got a group shot because someone was always down with the flu.

We put on a Nativity play Christmas Eve. Hazel got to be Mary and did a really great, reverent job. Jack was a sheep. He waddled around with a hoodie towel on his head, getting loved on by everyone because he is so cute.


Hazel was the last person awake Christmas morning. She's so ingrained in habit that she wanted to go potty and get dressed before she came out to the living room. I don't think she quite realized what was waiting for her out there!
Jack napped almost the whole time we opened presents.
I had to include this picture. Hazel's wearing three dress-ups on top of each other. "Triple Dress-Up!"
Christmas afternoon we drove down to Todd's parents' house in Midway to spend a few days with his family. Monday the 26th was Todd's birthday. He got Raspberry Delight for his birthday cake.We went ice skating. It was Hazel's first time, and honestly, we probably should have waited one more year, or at the very least, not gone during naptime. She lasted less than ten minutes on the ice, skating with a lot of help from Todd, then begged to go back to Grammie's to sleep. But while she was on the ice, she did have fun pretending to be Princess Frostine from the Candyland game. The next day we went sledding at Soldier Hollow. It was pricey, but worth it. They have a lift that your tube gets hooked onto, so you get a ride up the hill. if it weren't for that, Hazel would have been done after just one or two rounds, but because she got to sit in her tube the entire time, it was a party for everyone. I haven't had so much fun sledding in years. Sadly, nobody brought a camera, not even a cell phone, so no pictures. I am really bummed about that.

We played The Hunter and the Deer. (Don't remember what that is? Check this post for a refresher.) Hazel and Shaylee paired up for that one.
Jack has two cousins less than a year older than them. He followed Carly and Kenley around everywhere they went, completely fascinated that there are little people like him in the world.
We only took small presents with us to Utah, so we had Christmas again with just the four of us here in California on Saturday morning. That time around, Hazel knew what was going on and was anxious to run down the hall and see what Santa left for her. But she still had time to put on a dress-up first! (Obsessed)
Santa brought Hazel's much-anticipated new bike, which she has been tearing up the town on ever since. He also somehow knew Hazel would love having so many princess dollies! It's her dream come true. The other big hit for the Haz was a little tea party set. She's been using it for her snack every day. It's so much fun to shop for a 3-year-old girl!
I love this picture of me and Jacko, even though I look tired and my smile is dumb. I just think it's so cute how he's sitting cross-legged inside my crossed legs. He is totally a mama's boy, always checking to be sure I'm within his sights, often coming over for a quick snuggle before trundling over to his next adventure. He is tender and affectionate and I am so in love with him.
We had a very merry Christmas, and are sure glad to have had several days to recover before Todd goes back to work!

Random: What We're Up To

It's been a long month or 6 weeks of illness around here. We're tired of it. Poor Jack has carried the brunt of the burden, racking up his grand total with two visits to the doctor, an ear infection, pink eye, and a chipped tooth/emergency visit to the dentist. He's currently on his second round of antibiotics. Look how sad this face is:Hazel tossed her cookies today, and we saw it coming about five seconds too late. This is only the second time she's barfed so far in her whole life (not counting baby spit up, of course.) I will use that as my excuse for why Todd and I didn't see it coming as she sat at the table not eating for the third meal in a row, face getting paler and paler as she pleaded to be excused so she could go nap. And then suddenly there was chicken noodle soup look-alike all over our table. Surprise! Thankfully, she then took a three hour nap and spent the rest of the day perky and upbeat, and she ate well, so I think we're on the upside of that situation.

Hazel and I had a "girl date" to Target this week while Todd stayed home with Jack. It was nice to be able to window shop and let Hazel walk around instead of trapping her in the cart and trying to bust through my shopping list and get out quick. Hazel wanted to try on the shoes. Not surprisingly, she liked the sparkly ones. Jack is cruising everywhere. I think I've even caught him running a bit a few times. It's so fun. Whenever we're walking in from the garage, he rocks his body until I set him down, so he can crawl up the steps to our door. And this week he started imitating my bad guy cackle when we're playing Hazel's favorite game where I tie her up and she escapes over and over and over again. We went to the Palo Alto Junior Museum this week for the first time probably since Jack was born. They've updated/improved it quite a bit! There are a bunch of bug exhibits that are actually really cool. If you're local, go check it out! (It's free!) Hazel loved this one that has a bunch of different types of insects in plastic cubes, so you can pick them up and see their bodies from every angle.
Jack loved opening the cupboard doors on this display. They have tons of insects inside them, but he just likes opening and closing the doors.
Part of the museum is a little zoo. Hazel's been obsessed with bats since Halloween, so she was thrilled to go inside the bat cave and see them for reals. She acted like she was all spooked out by it, but was really excited and went in three or four different times. The bats were huge!
Jack liked this display that teaches about wind power, because when you pushed a button, wind would blow all through his hair. Also, it had a set-up with little cars and houses, a little neighborhood. The pieces didn't move, but he still loved to touch them. Notice the "Do Not Enter" sign with the caution tape? Yeah, Hazel went in that little door to see the butterflies and totally had an "accident." Whoops! I was a little embarrassed, but the museum employee who cleaned it up was really nice about it, said it happens all the time in a place made for kids, so we just kept on playing.
In other news, Hazel decorated Christmas cookies with some neighbor kids and totally loved it. Perfect timing, because during her nap that day I was softening butter to make cookies myself and do the whole shebang, when I got a call from a friend inviting us over. Back in the fridge went the butter and I kissed all that hard work goodbye. We sauntered over with a little canned frosting and some sprinkles and red hots, and walked away with a plate full of cookies.
And Todd's highlight of the week was getting this photo in an email from a reporter who went with him on a search and rescue training over a Guard weekend a while back. Look who's flying that bird! Why yes, my husband is a helicopter pilot. I know it's cool. Don't be too jealous.
As for me, a few nights ago I woke up around 5:00 because I was too hot. I got up to go to the bathroom and the heater was running full-blast, but the hallway was freezing. Our front door was wide open. Wide open, folks! I shut and locked it, then thought to look around and see if there was anyone else in the house with me. I only dared to look real quick from where I was standing. I didn't even think to check that our computer or TV were still there. But I did peek in to make sure both my kids were in bed and breathing, that they were really there and safe. Then I got back in bed and thought about telling Todd to go back out and check again, but listened to my heart and asked Heavenly Father for a little advice, and felt safe, so I decided not to wake Todd up and make him lose sleep. I guess we just forgot to lock the door. It doesn't latch tight unless you push it in, so we must have not done that, and then the wind blew it open after we went to bed. Scary, huh? Thankfully, we live in a pretty safe spot.

Sands of Time

Yesterday a friend announced happily to me that her two older children (6 and 4) are getting better at playing by themselves. The older one came home from school and the two of them played together until dinnertime without asking their mom for anything. I was in awe. Envious, very much so. I can't even fathom two or three hours passing without my kids needing me for something. Imagine all the stuff I could get done in two uninterrupted hours!

But what started out as envy, jealousy and disbelief didn't take long to meld into fear, worry, and an anxious feeling of the sands of time slipping through my fingers. I remember when her six-year-old was a newborn. It was not that long ago. Hazel's already three. We're halfway there. Those years are going to pass in a flash.

And that lack of neediness, that independence, comes with a price called Loss of Control. The less the kids need me, the less I influence them, the less power I have over their experiences and how they interpret them. By the time Hazel is six, she'll be in school half the day, she'll be learning from friends and teachers and other kids' parents and that's so exciting, but it also means she's getting a lot of input that I didn't generate. That's kind of scary to me.

It just really hit me hard that my window of time to be THE influence on my kids, to be the ultimate source of all knowledge, is rather small. Right now my midgets are just darling little sponges, soaking up everything I can give them, but the clock is ticking, and before I know it, they'll be soaking things up from all over the place. I'm feeling a new pressure to use every day wisely, carefully investing in the few short years I have to be IT for Hazel, and just a few more for Jack, before they're off in the world and I just have to trust that I've taught them enough that they'll understand who they are and what they are capable of, that they can recognize Truth when they hear it. Just a few years more to firm up that foundation of trust so Hazel knows I'm always there for her and she never needs to feel like she can't talk to me about everything.

How do you prepare for that?

Thoughts from a Mother

Thursday night Todd and I knelt for prayers. I was giving the prayer, and I started thanking Heavenly Father for Hazel in our family (because it was her birthday) and it just hit me. Three years we've had this little body of a blessing in our family, and we're so grateful she came. My mind swam through memories of the 2 1/2 years Todd and I spent trying to get pregnant, and all the heartache we felt during that period of our lives, and having our sweet girl here makes it so blessedly easy to forget how difficult waiting for her to come was. She is such a fireball, so full of life and chock full of smart and goofy ideas.

Last night I was vacuuming the house (it needed it desperately) and I was holding Jack while I did it because he's going through a phase where he's freaked out by the loud noise. So I'm balancing him on one hip, with the vacuum cords in the same hand, while I push the machine all over the place. Hazel's following me around, yelling something at me over the noise. I pushed aside a feeling of wild frustration and made myself grin, made myself revel in the gift of being a mother of young children. I ignored Hazel as long as I could, just trying to finish, but she kept building in intensity. It sounded like she was saying she was thirsty, and I could see her water bottle on the counter I was coming close to, so I shut off the vacuum to listen to her for a quick second. And she was actually shouting, "Will you serve me?" and holding up a piece of jewelry she wanted help putting on. Seriously? That ring was so important she had to follow me around, shouting at the top of her lungs for three minutes straight?

Today at church Hazel's nursery teacher bore her testimony and spoke about how she and her husband have been trying to get pregnant for three years, and they're looking into IVF. She thanked the bispohric for trusting her with a calling in the nursery, said how much she appreciated being a mother for an hour and a half each Sunday. I got called to be a nursery leader the year we lived in Alabama, when we'd been trying to get pregnant for two years and had had some unsuccessful fertility treatments. I had the hardest time accepting that calling. I cried a ton and wanted very much to say no. For me, working in nursery was torture. All I wanted at that point was to avoid little children because it hurt me so badly to be near what I wanted so much and didn't have. I was bitter and struggling with my faith in God. It was a major low point in my life. I couldn't help but feel that Hazel's nursery teacher is dealing with this trial better than I did. I am impressed, humbled, and grateful to have such a woman working with my child.

Hazel will be in Sunbeams in January, which means her nursery class went to Primary for a few minutes today to practice and see what it is like. It was really fun for me to peek in and spy on her, experiencing this milestone.

Jack's a fast walker now and is getting into EVERYTHING. My mild man is going to be trouble after all, I think. Today he was sitting on my lap as I showed him a book that had textured pieces he could touch. Hazel came over and covered the entire puppy ear with her hand so he couldn't touch any of it. He made a mad grunting noise and pulled her hand off, over and over again. I was proud of him. He's going to put up a good fight and stick up for himself after all!

Hazel Basil Turns Three

Today was Hazel's third birthday. She has been so excited looking forward to this day. After we took down our Halloween decorations, she was so sad and needed something to look forward to, so I helped her make a count-down chain for her birthday. She's been cutting off a link every morning and watching it get shorter and shorter.

She woke up to a few decorations. (Thanks for the idea, Kelsey!) She loved it and was so surprised!(And apparently, that pair of pajamas was too warm last night, since she had the top pulled over her head, halfway off.)

Right off the bat, she started opening presents. We somehow got her to get dressed and eat breakfast as she went, but it was a feat. Nana made her a photo book.
She got new rain boots for puddle jumping this winter. (Don't you love her frizzy bangs? I don't know how to get her to stop twisting them. She mostly does it when she's sleepy or stressed.)
The big hit of the morning was Disney Princess magnetic paper dolls. She was thrilled with them!
We went to the San Francisco Zoo with one of her BFFs, Nova.
The biggest hit was the animal statues. Who cares about the real deal when you can sit on these?
Jack spent most of the day in the carseat or the stroller, but I tried to let him out to trot around when the girls stayed put in one spot for a while. He was all over the place. What a cutie!
I made Hazel a castle cake. Apparently, Rapunzel and Aurora wanted to see it, too.
We invited our friends the Moss's over to have pizza and cake with us. Hazel loves those boys so much!
I love the look on Hazel's face as Todd brought the cake over to her. We sang to her and she blew out the candles. I asked her what she wished for, and she said something like, "To eat that cake."
Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you.

Sweet Weekend

Todd's parents came to our place for Thanksgiving this year. It was lots of fun to visit with them and have a reason to make a feast. Hazel was bouncing off the walls, so excited to have them here, and I'm sure she wore Poppa out with all her pretend playing because he acted out every single supporting character for her. Jack was slow to warm up, but ended up giggling and snuggling and giving them lots of love.

The table:The company:Grammie and Poppa sent Todd and me off on Friday to celebrate our anniversary. We did a bit of Christmas shopping, then went out to lunch at our favorite restaurant, Macaroni Grill. Their bread is to die for:Todd did Black Friday Amazon window shopping while we waited for our food:We went to Six Flags in Vallejo. Our favorite ride was Medusa. We went on it six times, I think. It goes ridiculously high and upside down over and over again. My throat is still sore from screaming. We went to a pizzaria called Napoli's for dinner. It was scrumptious. Then we headed to Inn Marin and had a good night's sleep without the kidlets.

When we got home this morning, we grabbed everybody and headed out to Santa's Village and Tree Farm to find and cut down our Christmas tree. I have always had a fresh tree, but this is the first time I have cut my own. It was pretty urbanized (no mountain trekking or snow) but still plenty fun. The prices were very comparable to what you find at Home Depot, and it was a lot more fun to find your tree there. I think we've found a new family tradition!

Hazel chatted with Santa, reminding him that he should have already known she wants a bike for Christmas. She enjoyed the complimentary apple cider, the mini candy cane, the train ride on "the Polar Express" and the little puppet show. I loved how she started on a bench and ended up like this:
We've got vaulted ceilings in our place, and Todd thought our tree last year looked dumb, so this year he set out on a hunt for a real man tree. He wanted the tallest tree our car could possibly cart home. I wanted one that smelled great. We found it. It is 9 feet 10 inches tall. I think it looks a little bit insane. But Todd's already claiming next year he's going to rent a truck and bring home a twelve-footer. He had to stand on a chair to help Hazel get the topper on:Jack, who always buries his face in anything soft and snuggly and wiggles his bum in the air, has fallen in love with our plush tree skirt. I have already repositioned it back under the tree five times today. We're excited to bring in Christmas (and birthdays) at our house!