Lets Review…Shall We?

2012 was…well a blur.  To be quite honest, when I try to remember specific moments, my eyes go crossed and a new wrinkle forms on my forehead.  So thank God for pictures…otherwise, the memories would be lost.  My pictures on my computer are organized by month and year and subcategorized by special event…trust me, when you take as many pictures as I do, you have to stay organized.  

So lets start with
January 2012:
Riley was 3 years
Tate was 9 months
Bear apparently had a birthday
Tate ate ANYTHING and made a MESS
And I was 3 months pregnant (remember that?)

February 2012:
Tate threw books at you so you would read them
really... the food situation was out of control…
we played in the snow and drank hot chocolate

March 2012

-Boys made the transition into a cohabitant room
-Tate turned 1 YEAR (did anyone else miss this kids first year?)
-We found out we were having a girl (January JO…HA!)

April 2012:
I FINALLY chose a paint and finished her room and revealed her name…blakely
We celebrated Easter
Went to the dino exhibit
Holla! New Van!

May 2012:
-We made our yearly McDonalds trip
-We got a lesson in oreo eating
-We fell in LOVE with Captain America
-We broke out the pool and the butt cracks!
-Got a pet snake "Thor"
-I got larger...

June 2012:

-the boys spent 75% of their time naked…outside…in the pool
-we ate a lot of pizza and watch movies
-Riley earned his keep
-Ryan and I celebrated 5 years (and there are no pictures of this, so I don't remember what we did!)
-Father's Day!
-I kept on growing

July 2012:
Ryan got a new job…we celebrating by eating cake!
We had another baby!
We played in the pool…cuz it was hot
We adapted to being a family of 5

 

August 2012
-The Balvanz crew visited
-Riley turned 4
- I turned 28!
-Riley started preschool and is STILL attending :)
- and we had MANY exciting adventures (paper towels, mystery bruises, grocery shopping)

September 2012

-Ryan turned 3-0
-Tate became OBSESSED with deer
-Blakely is getting big

October 2012:

We had a super hero Halloween
Ryan frightened little children with his costume
Bear was addicted to pain medication
we got a new tv and couch
the boys started to find some common ground

November 2012

Blakely got Baptized
Blakely. Blakely. Blakely…we all just love her!
Thank You Pinterest
Tate ate a green crayon
Riley learned to zip his coat…which means he goes in the back yard as he pleases
Family pictures…whew!
diapers…diapers….diapers

December 2012
-Since starting formula...Blakely grew out of her clothes…and spent most of the month in onesies awaiting christmas
-We [finally] got new stockings
-we had christmas…in which the boys got everything Chase did
-bear gain a little holiday weight…but the boys still love her

so there it is…
a year that went way too fast.  This next year we will have even more going on!

I'm Dreaming…of Chase's Christmas...

A couple weeks ago…I was like most parents…looking at the mounds of gifts I needed to wrap but couldn't find the time (or ambition) to get done.  I kept ALL the presents in our guest/office room in the basement, with the door locked.  Riley was particularly curious this year about presents and what was going on in the locked room.  I told him "I am cleaning the carpets of spiders and the chemical is dangerous for little boys…don't go in that room!"  which I thought would work, since Riley is petrified of spiders.

One day, while Riley was at preschool and Tate and Blakely were napping, I decided I was going to get it ALL done.  I got out ALL the presents and ALL the wrapping paper and started…but about half way through, Blakely started to cry and after changing her and feeding her…it was time to pick up Riley from preschool.  And as you have all seen from my "day in the life" post…lunch time is a whirl-wind at our house.  Needless to say I forgot about the presents.  So, after fixing, serving and cleaning up lunch…it was time for nap again and I put Blakely and Tate down.  As I was rocking Blakely, I came to realize "OH SH*T! DID I LOCK THE BASEMENT DOOR?!"  I laid Blakely down and sprinted downstairs…hoping Riley would still be watching TV…nope.  I thought to myself "please don't be in the basement"  I kept sprinting to the basement, I turned the corner and there he was…mouth gaped open in amazing disbelief! There was Riley, standing amongst ALL the toys he had asked Santa for.  It was a Christmas miracle in his eyes.  He might as well have been Templeton at the fair.  and I couldn't help myself…it was a reaction…I yelled "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"  and Riley responded "What!? there aren't any spiders!"  I yelled again "GET OUT AND GO UPSTAIRS….NOW!!!!"  I packed ALL the toys away and went upstairs to find Riley in the corner crying.  I called Ryan in a panic to see what I should do…in my mind I had just ruined Christmas.  Ryan reminded me how gullible Riley is and to just tell him those were ALL Chase's christmas gifts. So that's what I did…

I went over to Riley and explained that I was mad because I was trying to keep that room organized for wrapping presents and that ALL those toys were for Chase.  And that Santa wouldn't buy his toys from Wal Mart…elves make his toys special and would come in a special box.  I went and found the biggest empty box I could find and placed it on our front step and said "ALL the toys are in that big box now to send to Chase in Colorado…ok?"  Riley wiped his tears and said "ok".

At least he didn't see what Tate was getting (which was hidden in a different room).

I felt so bad about it and was determined to make Riley believe that those gifts were for Chase and he would get "special" ones from Santa, that I got special wrapping paper and took the toys out of their original wrapping (cuz elves made them)  I even got elaborate Santa tags for the gifts.  I was for sure this would cover up and convince Riley that Santa brought him gifts.  
The days went on and Riley never brought up "Chase's gifts"...

Until…..

Christmas morning…The boys came down the stairs and were thrilled to see ALL the presents.  We started with Tate's BIG gift from Santa (a train table which was set up and wrapped in Santa's special paper and tag).  Riley helped Tate unwrap it and as they finished tearing off the wrapping paper Riley looked at Tate and said "THIS IS THE SAME ONE CHASE GOT!"  Ryan just looked at me confused and at first I thought "how does he know what Chase got?" and then the "OH DUH!" moment came to me and I realized that little shit literally found ALL the presents!  So of coarse…after every present Riley opened he said "THIS IS THE SAME ONE WE SENT CHASE!" or  "CHASE GOT THIS ONE TOO!"  but not once did he ever question whether the gifts were from Santa.  I guess next year I better find a more secure hiding spot for presents or Riley's going to think Chase is one lucky little boy ;)

Did I over-do it?

I'm use to it…every year Ryan comes home the week of Christmas and says "I have food day at work, can make something…"  I say "Sure…when is food day?"  he then shamefully smiles and says "ummmm….tomorrow"  But this year he was at a new job and made the mistake of telling me he was bragging about me at work…about how good of a cook I am.  So of coarse I accepted the challenge of being the BEST COOK EVER!  So, I spent yesterday afternoon juggling stuffy noses, grumpy babies, dirty diapers and these….

And I of coarse washed my hands frequently…I do keep a sanitary kitchen.

The vegetable tree is pretty self explanatory…foam cone…toothpicks…vegetables of your choice.

The penguins are a little more work.

What you will need

1-2 cans of whole large black olives (each can makes about 20 penguins)
petite cut carrots
carrot chips
round tooth picks

garlic cheese ball recipe (for stuffing)
(2) 8 oz cream cheese blocks
1 stick butter
1 hidden valley ranch packet
1/2  Tbsp or 1 Tbsp garlic powder (depending on your taste)
1 Tbsp parsley seasoning
Mix by hand and chill for about 1 hour, this will make enough for the stuffing and extra for dipping.

How to make the penguins:

1.Cut your carrots in halves

2. Each penguin take 2 olives:  take one olive and slice one side, then fill with cheese mixture

3. take your other olive and stick the toothpick through the back half

5. Stack your stuffed olive on top of the carrot chip and secure with your toothpick olive…and finally stick the petite carrot half in the large whole of the top olive to make the nose

TADA!

Ryan's response to all this tedious work…

"we could have just bought a bag of oreos"

"why?! did I over-do it?"

"Oh just a tad!"

EH! it was fun…Riley helped put the vegetables on the tree and put the noses on the penguins.  So it was worth every second.

A Choice...

In the midst of this tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary…I, like most or ALL parents are trying to wrap my mind around why, how, why why why!? I came to the realization that it could have easily been Riley's preschool or Ava's preschool or Reese and Caleigh's elementary.  And that realization is terrifying.

I have read several articles and seen several news casts about the gunman and the heroes of the shooting.  I have read about gun control and mental illness and school safety.  This shooting seems to be another reason for us Americans to split ourselves and disagree over what is right and wrong.  I even had my own theory about disciplining children in and out of school (just ask Ryan, that's all I have talked about!)

But I just watched Good Morning America and the little hobbit host, George Stephanopoulos, was interviewing a Rabi, a Pastor and a Bishop (sounds like the beginning of a bad joke).  He was asking all three about how they have been helping the families, who lost children, grieve and cope.  Then George of the shire asked the Rabi "How could a Just God let this happen?"  and the Rabi had the BEST answer "God DID NOT do this…the gunman did."


For those of you who are asking yourself the same question "How could God let this happen"  I will again quote the Rabi…God didn't let this happen, the gunman did this…Adam Lanza had a choice, we all have a choice.  We all exist with sin, we are all capable of being evil…but it's whether we choose to take the righteous road or not.  But please don't put yourself on a pedestal, we all have LOTS of room for improvement, which is where God comes in and also another question I see many of us are having…"where was God during this shooting?"  If God didn't cause this, why didn't He stop it?  Well,   I am no pastor, priest or rabi…I only went to church twice this year and I only pray when someone else leads…but I truly beleive God was VERY much there at Sandy Hook.  God was there with all the teachers who sacrificed their lives for the children and God was with the principal, who threw herself on the gunman in attempts to stop him and God was there with the emergency responders who swiftly got to the scene and prevented an even bigger tragedy.  God is with us when we are forced to make a decision, the high road or the low road.  When you don't have time to think…God does it for you…if He is truly in your heart…He will lead you to the right path.


This Christmas, I want us all to do 3 things:

1. pray for God to be with the families who have lost their children
2. pray for God to be with the families who didn't lose their children
3. and pray for God to be with our children


We have shut the door on God in our schools, in our homes and in our media…but He is still there, patiently waiting on the other side of the door.  We all have a choice…lock the door or open it.

Bear Survival Guide

Over this last year, we have had many different family members be victims of bear attacks.  Just innocent people, minding their own business, attacked by a mindless beast.  If only they would have known these simple survival tips, much stress could have been avoided.

What you just saw was a SMALL sample of what sets bear off.  And everyday we find knew words and actions we can't do; like open the silverware drawer…no other drawer in the kitchen bothers her, just the silverware drawer.  I can't say "tissue"  or "purple"and the poor Fed Ex guy…at first he was terrified of Bear, but I assured him she was friendly…she's just stupid.  Every time he brings a package (and I get quite a few because of photography)  she attacks the door window, barking and clawing at the window…but now the Fed Ex guy just smiles and waves at her as she threatens to rip his jugular open.   The fill-in Fed Ex guy just tosses our packages on our front porch to avoid bear.  What would she do if I open the door…ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…besides lick them.  Once you are in our house or she sees us talking to you…she's fine.  

First day home Feb. 2008

She couldn't run…she had spent her whole life (5 months) in a kennel

The shelter told us she might have parvo (which is fatal to dogs)  The first night we had her she spent the whole night vomiting and we thought she was going to die.

BUT….she didn't

Instead we got a dog that lived and is scared of water, fly swatters, dish towels, clapping, the vacuum,  bags, balloons, spray bottles, toe nail clippers, when I read a book, thunder storms…shall I go on?

She is shameful of her own farts, has to sleep on something (a sock, blanket, foot) She sneaks on the couch at night, she licks constantly, she hides ALL her bones and acts very suspicious of you when she thinks you found it.  She is anti smoking (if she sees a stranger smoking she growls at them)

Bear at 5 months 30 pounds

Bear at 4 years 110 pounds (aka FAT)

I have threatened a many times to leave the dog at a deserted rest stop, but Ryan won't let me.
As mush of a pain in the ass bear is to me…I am over-ruled by the 3 boys in the house.  They love her and they probably always will.  (and I guess I do too)

After all she has been here since the beginning: She thinks of these kids as her own…

This is the face bear makes when you say "GINGER!?"