Year's End

Today I had fun telling the boys all of the fun "This is the last time you have to (fill in the blank) this year".  Mark was excited about his last morning teeth brushing, last load of laundry and last morning chore.  Seth didn't quite understand my jokes and he panicked to the point of tears when I announced during dinner that this was the last dinner I was making this year.  We explained that today was the last day of the year and tomorrow is a new year, but he was really worried until I assured him that we were having dinner tomorrow.

The boys and I went swimming today.  I played tag with them and I had to sit myself out because I was so tired.  Running through water is exhausting.  I'll take the consistency of the treadmill any day.

I took all of the Christmas decorations down and the house looked empty.  I still keep up some winter decorations, but the spot where the tree was felt so cold.   Last year Mark had made a cool snowflake, so I found directions online and made some to fill up the space where the tree was.  I have really enjoyed these fun snowflakes.

Tonight's dinner consisted of pizza and bacon wrapped cocktail sausages (also known as heart attacks on a stick).  We played with the black light and had fun seeing things glow.

After dinner we went outside and lit some sparklers.  My boys had never used sparklers before and I think that they had a lot of fun.  If it hadn't been so cold outside(it was about 12 degrees outside but it felt like 4 degrees), I think that we would have enjoyed them even more. 

Once we were inside and thawed out (and my glasses finally un-fogged) we played a new board game called Sorry the U-Build-It version.  It was fun but the kids were tired.  I think we'll pull it out again tomorrow and play while everyone is well rested.

We decided to try a new dessert out and it was a hit.  Daniel and I made crepes.  They were delicious.  We made a strawberry cream cheese filling and topped it with strawberry sauce.  My dairy-free version was a lemon cream cheese filling.  We all devoured our crepes and determined that it was our new New Year's Eve tradition.  This dessert was so simple to make. 

Well, this is the last post I am going to make this year.

I can't wait to do all of the "you haven't done (fill in the blank) all year!" jokes tomorrow.  I love saying that I haven't brushed my teeth or taken a shower all year.  Daniel's favorite one is that he hasn't made love all year long (which is something he loves to resolve).  He he! 

I love numbers so I am excited to see tomorrows date of 1-1-11.  I am hoping to make some changes with my blog in the future.  I'd like to add some new features and post more of my goals and the progress I am making with my goals.  This isn't a new year's resolution type of thing, more of something that I have been thinking about for the past few months, but haven't implemented.  I'm working on what I want to do and how I want to do it.  Hopefully within the next few weeks I'll be able to put more time into it.

Here is to a wonderful new year.

Blinking and Thinking

Where did December go?  I feel as though I just blinked and it was over.  I guess that is a good thing to be saying seeing as how my kids have been home from school since December 3rd.  It has been an interesting month.  I had a great time playing with the kids and doing the 24 days countdown. 

I  kind of poisoned Daniel on Christmas eve.  He is allergic to coconut and I bought a different brand of tortilla chips without looking at the label.  Well, we ate a lot of chips and salsa, and he was so sick the next day.  We figured out that the chips were cooked in coconut oil and tossed the chips, but Christmas morning was tough on Daniel.  He went to take a shower and never made it past the bed.  He laid down and went to sleep.  The anti-histamine he took really made him tired.  We didn't take a family Christmas picture until today.  I called everyone up and took the picture and then I took the tree down.  Here was our best shot.

Or maybe this one is our best shot!

I have been rather emotional the past few weeks.  I noticed that I was a bit moody when I found a mouse in the house.  It was in the kitchen pantry.  EEEEEEEKKKKK!  I screamed!  I screamed like a girl (Paul said that it was okay to scream like a girl because I am a girl!) I seriously was freaked out by finding that stupid mouse.  I set up a trap and caught it.  Then I freaked out when I saw the trap with the mouse on it.  I felt so guilty for being responsible for killing that little creature.  Daniel was good enough to take over from there and dispose of the mouse and trap.  I was so upset and frustrated.  I decided to go check my emails and favorite blogs to help me relax.  In hindsight, it wasn't the best thing to do, but I would have found out what I did eventually. 

My friend had her baby on the Saturday before Christmas.  Baby Max was due on Christmas, but he had some complications and last I heard he was in the NICU.  The first email I read was talking about a memorial service for Baby Max.  I seriously couldn't read anymore because my eyes were filled with tears.  I went into my bedroom and cried.  I was really worried about Jill and her sweet family.  I put myself in her shoes and I was devastated.  Jane woke up from her nap and I held her and cried.  I felt so lucky to have my baby here with me.  Jill experienced what was one of my greatest fears that I was never willing to say out loud nor did I ever want to discuss as a possibility. 

I am really surprised at my reaction.  Jill is my neighbor, I like her and I have great respect for her, but honestly, I don't know her very well.  I have known people who have had a child die and it has never hit me as hard as it did that day.  I never felt the emptiness and the deep sorrow that I experienced.  I don't know if I reacted this way because I just had a baby, or if I was working through issues with my miscarriages or what, but I was in mourning.

I felt guilty for being so emotional about this because I felt as though I was somehow being selfish by my reactions.  This didn't happen to me, so how dare I claim any grief or pain from it.  This whole experience was really confusing to me.

Daniel was really supportive for me. He took over dinner and I went to the gym and had a good run.  When I got home, I locked myself into my craft room and I worked on a few projects to keep my mind occupied. I thought and I cried while I sewed. 

I realized that life is precious.  I realized that love is beautiful, life is beautiful, and yes, even death is beautiful. There is so much that I don't understand about life and death, but I was grateful for the opportunity to reflect on life and to reflect on death and to try to understand more about it. 

I decided that love is what make life wonderful.
 

24 Days to Christmas Countdown

This year we did our 24 days to Christmas countdown again.  It was a lot of fun and I am glad that I put in the effort to do it even though I stressed over it more than I usually do.  This year we decided to add nights where we talked about Jesus.  It went really well and I was impressed with the questions the boys asked.

Just so I can remember what we did for future reference, here are the events of the countdown for December 2010.

1. Decorate Christmas tree
2. Christmas books (start reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
3. Christmas movies (cartoons)
4. Make sugar cookies and gingersnaps
5. Paper snowflakes
6. Open a nativity set and talk about Jesus (we talked about how to decide if something you hear is true or not and how to defend what you believe)
7. Game night
8. Activity books
9. Temple Square Go out to eat.  We just weren't feeling up to having a busy night.
10. Christmas books
11. Make chocolate covered pretzels (finish reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
12. Movie night (Charlie Brown Christmas)
13. Dinner with Ed and Madeleine Giles and make ornaments
14. Open another Nativity set and talk about Jesus (we talked about how the nativity sets show the Wise Men at the stable with the baby Jesus, but they didn't get there until Jesus was older and a little bit about the lifestyle of people when Jesus was born)
15. See the play of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in South Jordan.  My sister Kim watched Jane.
16. Game night (We played Left Center Right)
17. Kim's younger boys ate dinner with us and we played "Don't Eat Pete"
18. Willes Family party and candy canes to hang on the tree
19. Watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas
20. Christmas books
21. Thanksgiving Point Lights
22. Drink eggnog and eat popcorn (Dale and Thomas popcorn from Daniel's co-worker, Andy- it is delicious!) in front of the fire while talking about Jesus (we discussed what crucifixion is and the political background of Jerusalem).
23. Sing Christmas songs.  I play the piano and we all sing.
24. Open the gifts that we bought for each other and the boys have a sleep-over in the family room.  They decided to watch The King Returns (the cartoon version of The Lord of the Rings)

This Month

We went to the Festival of Trees with Madeleine Giles

Jane learned how to roll over.  She figured out how to get across the room to the presents under the tree.

Ed and Madeleine Giles came over to our house for dinner. Paul and Ed 

Ed and Mark

Madeleine and Seth holding the reindeer ornaments that we made.

The festive Friday night pizza.

I worked on a quilt top.  I bought this material to make a quilt for Jane but changed my mind about what to do.  I decided to make this since I had the material and I needed something to keep my mind occupied.

Willes Family Christmas Party.  We had all but one person there (my nephew Austen)

Going Crazy

The Grandchildren (minus two)

Jane cut her first tooth (bottom right) She was clingy, but still a very happy baby.  She loves to chew on pieces of raw celery and carrots.

We went to the Festival of lights at Thanksgiving Point.  Paul, Mark, Seth and Daniel.

Paul, Sherron, Jane, Mark

The boys on Christmas Eve

Opening gifts

Jane played with boxes and wrapping paper while she had many toys surrounding her.

I finished the quilt top!

I finished the quilt back. 

December Quilt

Hurray!  I finished the December quilt in December!  I am so excited to have it hanging up on my wall above my desk.  I didn't finish the October quilt until the first week of November, so I am happy to have this one done in time- even though our deadline was in November.  I really want to make matching throw pillows.  Ummm, maybe next year.  I'm busy helping Paul work on his quilt. 

It has been a fun crafting week in the sewing room as well as in the kitchen.  I have figured out how to make my favorite winter goodies so that I can eat them.  The fudge and the caramel corn pops are delicious.  Unfortunately I have had very little self control with the consumption, and I have gained a few pounds.  Boo!  I will allow another week of indulging and then I will be more diligent about eating better. 

Half of a Year

Jane is 6 months old already.  It has taken me so long to sit down to write this post that she is closer to 7 months now and I cannot believe it. She had her 6 month well-baby check up last Tuesday.  She weighs 16.76 pounds and is 26.5 inches.  That means that she has doubled her birth weight and grown 6 inches since she was born.

I included this picture for two reasons; the hair and the thighs.  Don't you love the 'mohawk' she has?  The little amount of hair that she has stands straight up on the top of her head.  The rest of it lays down flat. Her thighs are thinning out a bit, but they are still fun to squoosh!  
 
Jane is sitting up by herself and is rolling over.  Both of these accomplishments happened the same week (about 2 weeks ago).  She has been struggling taking naps now because she starts rolling over and gets stuck in the corner of her crib.  For some reason she won't roll over from her stomach to her back when she is in the crib, so she gets mad and cries until we 'save' her.  What a silly girl!  She sure does love playing in the bath tub, but doesn't like rolling over in the tub. 

She is more aware of the things around her, which means that she is grabbing everything and anything that she can get her hands on.  Of course once she gets something in her hand it goes straight into her mouth.  The boys find that to be hilarious!  They finally understand what I have been telling them for months about needing to put their Lego's and other toys away instead of leaving them on the floor.  Just wait until she can crawl and we will need to be super serious about putting the toys away.  Sigh. 

My glasses are no longer safe, as Jane has realized that they are not part of me, but that they are removable.  She really likes to grab at them when I am in the living room.  I think that it is because she can see the lights from the Christmas tree reflecting on the lenses. 

The boys have really enjoyed playing with Jane now that she is more interactive.  They have a lot of fun with her.  I am not as nervous with them holding her now that she can sit up.  (okay, I still hold my breath a bit when Seth picks her up, but he doesn't do it often and he is careful).

The other day Seth was pretending to be a baby, so I picked him up and cuddled him and then put him in the crib with Jane.  Jane was just waking up from a nap, so the two of them played in the crib for a while.  Seth had a blast and I have found him playing in the crib a few times since!  I think that he was just waiting for permission to play in there!  What a fun kid! 

I have started to feed Jane solids.  She has been doing great with the foods we give her.  She hasn't refused anything yet.  Avocados seem to be her favorite food.  The boys are having fun helping me feed her. 

When I start feeding my kids solid foods, I always use two spoons.  One for them to hold and play with and one for me to use to put the food on the spoon.  I am always in charge of the food spoon and they can exchange spoons with me once I put the food in their mouth.  Once she gets a better hang of what to do I give her the bowl of food, but for right now this works great. 

She loves playing with her spoon.  Do you want to see what happens when she drops her spoon? 

She calmed down as soon as I gave her the spoon.  I love that you can still see the teary eyes in this picture.

I am having a lot of fun with Jane.  I am so happy to have her in my family. I love watching her discover things and watching her personality emerge.  I am one lucky momma!  There isn't much that will make me happy to be awake at 4 in the morning, but she has a way of making me smile and laugh when I get up with her.  She gets so excited to see me when I come into her room.  She smiles and flaps her arms so that she bounces in the bed.  Thankfully, a diaper change and a bottle satisfies her and she willingly goes back to sleep.  She doesn't wake up every night, just sometimes.  Usually she will go to bed around 7 pm and wake up around 5:30-6 am.  I am a very lucky momma!

Pictures of the Kids

A month ago I won a photo session through my cousin's blog.  But I am a wimp and don't want to do outdoor pictures in the cold, so I took the kids to a new studio called Fotofly.  With Jane being born in May, I never took Mark in to get his birthday pictures, so this session counted as everyone's birthday pictures.  We had  a great time and I love the pictures that we got.  When it warms up we will get our family pictures taken.  It has been 5 years since we had a family photo. 

A New Tradition

A few days before Thanksgiving, I was trying to figure out what we should eat for lunch so that we wouldn't be too full to eat an early Thanksgiving dinner when a song from the Charlie Brown Christmas Album came on.  I thought that it would be fun to have a meal like Snoopy and Charlie Brown served on the Thanksgiving movie.  So, for lunch, we had popcorn, buttered toast, pretzel sticks and jellybeans.  We even made boats out of the napkins. 

The boys wanted to make it more authentic and eat outside like they do in the movie, but I didn't want to set up a table in weather like this:

I think that we have started a new Taylor family tradition!

After our fun lunch, we put on a movie and played around for a while.  Daniel was sick and I was just getting over what I gave to him (and trying to end my short lived love affair with Afrin), so he spent most of the day in bed.  Our plan was to stay here for dinner and go to my sister's house for dessert.  Since Daniel was sick, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen alone making the dinner.  I made everything gluten-free and dairy-free except the rolls.  It was really relaxing to be in the kitchen.  Jane napped during the busy part of the preparation and then the boys played with her while I finished the meal.  Being alone in the kitchen wasn't what I had anticipated, but I enjoyed trying new things and listening to Christmas music.

The food was amazing!  I really enjoyed everything that I made.  The cornbread stuffing and sweet potato pie were by far my favorites, though!   I ate 3/4 of the sweet potato pie in three days!  Sweet potato is my favorite (I got the recipe from a family we knew in Georgia) and I haven't had it for two years.  I was excited to try the dairy and wheat substitutions and they worked out wonderfully!  Daniel sat down with a slice of both pies (one dairy-free and one with dairy)and couldn't tell a difference between them!  That is success!  This year I want to work on perfecting a dinner roll that I can make for everyone!

The boys have been having a lot of fun playing in the snow.  I love having a park with a hill just down the street for the boys to go sledding! 

I realized that I only have one day left to get my 24 days of December (our countdown to Christmas) ready.  I am going to be busy wrapping presents tomorrow.  (I really don't enjoy wrapping presents!)  I know that Wednesday is the first of December, so it shouldn't be a surprise, but since the boys are getting out of school for their off-track time on Friday, I mentally told myself that I had until Friday.  I have the whole month planned out, so I just need to get busy and put everything together!

This weekend I had a great time with the boys.  I am really trying to have a better relationship with them so that I can have a good relationship with them later.  It is hard sometimes to just let them be silly and for me to follow suit, but it has been a lot of fun and we have been able to share more with each other because we are spending time together.  I am anxious about this next month with the boys being out of school until January, but I am also excited!  We have a lot of fun things planned to do as a family.