Just Me!!

We've had the privilege of having Kay-Kay, Ryan, and Owen over for sleepovers since the new year began. What a fun time it was for Charlie. Owen and Charlie ran around the house acting like horses and during Owens sleepover, Owen and Charlie got married;) They are the cutest little couple I have ever met! She announces every time they see each other, that she loves him because he owns all the ponies in Ponyville! Great way to pick a mate Char!! We are blessed to be able to share our home with such imaginative little blessings.

Half of my family begged that the start of the New Year would incorporate Paleo eating again. We have been gearing the kids up so that the transition would be smoother than last year. Everyone was onboard, well maybe not Ethan! We all ran through a short course of the GI flu right after New Years so we waited till around the fourth to get started. I rid the pantry of the toxic foods (you can still eye some in the pantry picture) and made a shopping list. When Mark was gone that first weekend after the 1st, I hunted down all my ingredients at three different stores. We made lots of yummy food and it made everything so much easier on the kids;) We aren't perfect, and occasionally we have a coffee or two but for the most part it has gone great. Yesterday was the first day we've eaten out and I can truly say my stomach is pissed about it! So much so, that I've passed on Voodoo Donuts while here in Portland;) Charlie is probably the worst at Paleo because she takes her coin pur...

I love reading other peoples traditions for the holidays. I'm always looking for a cool new way to celebrate differently. A new way that we will continue with the kids and one that they will continue with theirs! I read an article on the Red Tricycle blog about a tradition of sending your New Years wishes off into the sky with wish lanterns. I searched and found them before our trip to the ocean and was overly excited about using them. I didn't factor in the wind, cold, and the wet ocean floor! The wish lanterns wouldn't light, the lighter wouldn't light, and the wind broke the fragile paper apart. We escaped to Ocean Shores for a night, and stayed at Shilo Inn. We did have a fun time toasting to the New Year, playing May I, and swimming. Maybe the three lanterns that we have left will be sent up in July when we do fireworks this year. Anyways, here are our New Years resolutions: Valerie Learn new language-Arabic Eat healthy Improve drawing Ethan Wants to do parcour B...

It took forever to get here. 365 days of waiting for this celebration. The 30 days leading up to this final day. Why then does it fly by? Why is it a blur? Why does is it happen without a pause? Our Christmas' always run together. Usually I am coming off a 12 hour shift or I'm rushing through the day to fit everyone in prior to going to work at 7p. I'm tired. Tired of seeing this special day happen by like lightening speed. Next year maybe I can schedule this day better. I want to enjoy all three family gatherings! It's written down now so I hope I reference this post for next year. Our family gift giving started at 830 after everyone was showered and in their Sunday best for the day. That is a 2 hour task so the day actually started at 630a. Santa brought them: Val: digital drawing pad/sky high pass Ethan: X Box with games Charlie: Sandy doll with horse G/G Wegley's house at 10p (late-oops) for Christmas. Opened gifts, ate a yummy meal and when finished and starte...

Excited to make memories tonight. We are headed out to the ocean, all of us, to share our hopes, goals, and dreams for 2013. I am taking a swimsuit, calendar (to map out our year), warm clothes for our beach walk, a camera (new resolution), and our wish lanterns. It may not be like the scene in Tangled but I'm sure it will be beautiful. .

Christmas was getting closer and Mark and I couldn't come up with a gift for my mom, and his parents. I was really excited about my dad's present, his Keurig Brewing system. It was the perfect gift! I always want to give perfect, meaningful gifts that shout, "I care about you enough to give you something you would love and benefit from." Arlene is great at all those types of gifts. She can give the kids gifts that they never asked for, or expected, but that are personal! I will tell you in a different post what Val got this year. We wanted to do the same for my mom, and his parents. Gifts together can be tricky. We went out on a limb and purchased tickets for 9 of us to go see Scrooge The Musical at People's Church. They have put on this play for 30 years, and I remember my mom and dad taking us to see it on more than one occasion throughout my early years. I loved it then! The love story, and the conviction to change at the end has always moved me, even as a lit...

We've been chilling a lot lately at home. It's really hard for me to do that since I know there are things I should be cleaning or doing. We put that aside and made sure to relax with the kids playing board games and watching stupid old Christmas movies that were supposed to be good according to all my FB FRIENDS. We played Masterpiece and Imaginiff. I love Masterpiece because it uses real art samples and the kids learn about artists and their works. In the evening, Chris and Jackie came over to bake. The kids played and the boys went to a movie. Jackie and I baked and did a little wine tasting. By the time the guys came home we were all dancing and singing at the top of our lungs in the kitchen! The cheesecake survived my few glasses of wine but the No Bake cookies are still laying on the counter in soft gooey piles! Merry Christmas Eve....