Christmas Day!

On Christmas Day, we opened stockings at my parent's house, went to Jamie's mom's house to do presents and have lunch, then back to my parent's house to open presents and have dinner. WHEW!

Playing with Grandma
(this was not one of his gifts, just the toys at Grandma's house!)

Playing with the cars from his stocking.


Playing with his new truck at Grandma Patty's.



Reading books with his cousin Madison.

Being silly with Grandpa!

Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve, my parents have an open house, with lots of friends and neighbors. They have been having this party since I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so this has become a family tradition for our family, as well as a lot of other families! The dynamic has changed--the "kids" from when this first began, now are the parents of the little ones! Ryan loved playing with the other kids and he got to open his Christmas book and put his new jammies on. We decided to start the tradition of the jammies and also having him open and read a book that tells the Christmas story. Here are a few pics!

Ryan helping Grandma in the kitchen.

Enjoying his dinner!

Opening his Christmas book (with a little help from his friend!)

Getting ready for bed...this pic totally reminds me of Risky Business. We thought about sliding him across the hardwood floor in his socks, but didn't think he'd stay on his feet!

Playing ball with his friends in his jammies!

A Christmas Adventure

I'm going to start at the beginning of our Christmas adventure and then post over the next few days about our vacation, instead of doing one long post.
Well, we weren't sure whether the roads were going to be okay for travel, and we figured out that going over Highway 12 in Washington over White Pass, would maybe be a better option, even if they opened the Gorge. So, we decided to wait and see what happened on Tuesday morning. We didn't even pack the night before--I felt like it would be too depressing to unpack if we couldn't go! So, we woke up, and watched the news. The Gorge re-opened, and we decided to try to make it, but we would still go over White Pass. We set out, ran a few errands in town and of course Ryan fell asleep. We had to wake him up to eat lunch, but then we hit the road. I-5 was AWFUL!! It was like driving on a washboard because all the chains had made grooves in the packed snow and ice. Around Woodburn, the traffic stopped and started going about 10 miles an hour! We decided that we were going to try 99-E instead. 99 was SCARY! It was really slick and snowy, but there weren't many people on that road at all, so it was better! All in all, it took us 2.5 hours to get from Salem to Portland! But, after we hit 205, the roads were clear and we were able to actually go over 20 mph! Ryan finally fell asleep again around 3:30 p.m. and slept until we had to wake him up to eat dinner. The pass was clear and Ryan did great. He really only started melting down the last hour or so of the trip! (He did throw fits every time we tried to put him in the car for the next few days!) We finally rolled into my parents house around 7 p.m. 7 hours after we had left the house! YIKES!

Home for Christmas????

Our travel plans are in limbo. I-84 in the Gorge is closed, so we can't get up to Washington to our parents' houses. Will it re-open? Or is it crazy to even think of driving up in this weather? We are just playing it by ear, I guess, and we will have to see what happens. I talked with my mom today, and she was very disappointed at the possibility of us not coming. We could go up next week, but my mom is flying to the East Coast to visit my grandma, so we would miss her. This weather is insane--it has been snowing all day at our house and Salem apparently has no plows to clear the roads??
I'm a little frustrated. We do have a contingency plan--our good friends the Pucketts are in the same predicament, and if we all get stuck here, we will have Christmas dinner together. (supposing of course that I get to the store!)

Day 5!

I predicted on Sunday, that we would be out of school all week! I was right, but I am going nuts! Ryan misses being around other kids, Mommy misses her adult conversation (I know I teach kinder, but I do get to talk to grown ups!), Ryan is becoming increasingly sassy and is now getting time outs for yelling no at mommy! Anyway, I'm glad my shopping was all done before this hit! Especially with more weather predicted for this weekend! Anyone else going crazy??

Long time...

I have not really felt like blogging lately, not sure why. I finished my class and have just been de-stressing for the last week or so! I do have a bunch of pics to download and post of the snow! Maybe tomorrow, since we have another snow day!! Ryan and I went and ran errands today in Keizer just to get out of the house! I may attempt making a real gingerbread house tomorrow, just for something else to do with Ryan. He's getting a little tired of being cooped up, and I know he misses his friends at Mindi's!

A little late...

We got back from Thanksgiving and I went straight into homework mode and didn't do ANYTHING else this week! I did get all my work done, so I'm playing catch up now! Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving! Oh, and yes, there is a theme to these pictures! My dad, also known as Boppa, is now Ryan's FAVORITE person! They are best buds! Oh, and we don't call him Boppa, Ryan just can't say Grandpa very well!

Busy!

I realized that I haven't blogged much this week! It has been a busy, busy week! So, what have I been up to?? Well, I got clued into a FREE snapfish deal, and was able to get a free digital photo book. I couldn't decide what do do, but Thursday night decided to make and ABC book for Ryan's Christmas present. So, Friday and today were spent taking pictures of things Ryan knows for each letter. So, M was for Mommy, N is for night night, etc. (Randa, I stole a pic of your cat off your blog for K is for kitty! I was at a total loss for K!) Anyway, I finally finished it--it had to be done by midnight to get it free.
We also had some wonderful friends for dinner, who we do not get to see enough! Ryan had a blast with their kids and they played hard! Their kids are so much older, but they play so great with Ryan!
Okay, after my LONG day, I am headed to sleep!

Raking Leaves

This weekend, we got all the leaves in our yard raked--until our neighbors tree dumps the rest of them in our backyard that is!

Ryan wanted to help of course--he had so much fun!

Envious....

I will confess that I have been so envious lately of those of you who are able to read actual books for pleasure right now! (as much as busy moms ever really get to read!) I am smack dab in the middle of my research class, and am gathering and reviewing preliminary sources for my thesis. I'm SO tired of reading articles and am no longer curious about my topic, because I just read 30 articles about it! I am LONGING to read an actual book about something other than research papers and not have to outline and review it!
Just about 4 more weeks, and I'm done (until January), but I have big plans for reading over Christmas vacation. Any recommendations??

Joy

"Oh come let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thatnksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms." (Psalm 95 1-2)
I was reading this yesterday, and started wondering about my own joy. It's been a busy week, lots to do, some stress...but shouldn't I still be rejoicing? I think of the hymn and the words, "this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Do I do that? Most often...no.
There is so much to rejoice over, but I think I get bogged down in the daily grind and forget to take joy in the Lord. I do take immense joy in Ryan and thank God every day for him, but it is not always easy to rejoice in the little things when I don't want to make dinner, or mop the floor. However, I think I need to change my thinking.....

Ummm...

Well, I haven't blogged in almost a week, but don't really feel like I have tons to post about! My parents came down this weekend and it was great to see them. Ryan especially loved having them here--he only wanted Grandma and Grandpa to read his bedtime story on Friday night! We had our grading day today--so I got a good amount of stuff done, but still feel so behind! I've got massive homework assignments due for my class this week, so I probably should stop playing online and get to work!!

Letdown....

While I have no wish to be political, I will say that I am disappointed at the outcome of the election. I guess the best word to describe my state of mind is deflated. I understand that there always is a winner and loser and that my candidate will not always win.....but in this election, I don't think any of the major candidates I voted for won! Seriously, while this will probably never happen, it does make me feel like moving to a "red state" where politicians who agree with my views are elected. Just a lament over the liberal state we live in....

Trick or Treat!!

I know I'm late getting these up, but I've been knocked down with a bad sinus infection. Here are our pics from Wednesday night at church and on Friday!

Contrary!

Well, all I can say is that I am EXHAUSTED! Ryan has been so contrary the last few days, and he's wearing me out! Yesterday, we were reading "Goodnight Moon," and even though he says moon, and knows what it is, he kept calling it a "ball" with a little smirk on his face. He thought it was VERY funny. Tonight, he did the same thing with the cups in the bath. I had to chase him down in order to get his jammies on, pin his arms down to brush his teeth and pry him out of the rocking chair. I can only hope this is a phase, but I have a feeling that the terrible two's may be starting early??

I did get this picture while he was running around trying to avoid getting jammies on. He is a stinker, but he sure is cute!

Ladies Man??

I picked Ryan up from Mindi's on Tuesday and he wanted me to kiss a "bum" (bump) So, I kissed him, and then he pinches his own cheek, and says, "owie!" and wants Mindi to kiss it. Then, he pinches his cheek again and wants the two other little girls Madison and Katelyn to kiss it! After kisses from all the ladies in the room, Ryan was content to go home! What am I in for????

The Pumpkin Patch!

On Saturday morning, we headed to EZ Orchards to visit the pumpkin patch. EZ Orchards is already one of Ryan's favorite spots. We drive past every day on the way to and from daycare, and he points and says, "eess." We had a great time!

He loved looking at the chickens!



We rode the tractors for a LONG time!

Yep, that's us!

Ryan with Daddy and his pumpkin! He absolutely refused to pose with it by himself or with mommy! He is struggling to get out, but the picture makes it look like he is smiling!

Look what is finally in our front yard!!

And another night...

Make that three nights of no sleep! We are praying that the cough is better tonight. Jamie and I feel like we have a newborn again, and we are exhausted! Ryan is too, he took a four hour nap this afternoon! The dr gave us a prescription to fill if he doesn't get better in a day or so--this cold has lingered so long!

And so it goes...

Just when you think things are going to slow down, they get crazy again! We are anxiously waiting for our grass seed to grow--we do have some sprouts now! We are dealing with a fruit fly epidemic in our kitchen! When I was sick, our neighbor brought us a huge bag of tomatoes. I didn't realize it, and they attracted a TON of fruit flies! I googled, and read that if you leave a glass of wine out, it will attract them, and kill them when they go in! So, we actually did have a bottle of wine--I think it has been in our pantry for at least 2 years (can you tell we aren't wine drinkers?) It really works, although I just want to get rid of the existing flies, not attract new ones!
Ryan has a nasty cough, but it only bothers him when he is laying down. We are headed to the doctor in a few hours, just to make sure things are okay! No one in our house has gotten a full night of sleep for the last 2 days!

A trip to Gilbert House

We took Ryan to Gilbert House for the first time this weekend. He had a blast and I know we'll be making more trips there in the future! The only snag was when Jamie locked the keys in the car (not me this time!) but thankfully, Jeff was able to come get him! We also hit Starbucks and I tried the salted caramel hot chocolate--YUM!! (Sounds weird, but you really should try it!)

Great Night!

We had our first Working Moms' Network meeting tonight! We had a great speaker, Dr. Julie Gilbert, who talked to us about time management and we had a great group of ladies there! We are hoping to have lots more great ladies there next month, but it was a good kickoff! I am SO wiped out, it is not even funny! I had to rush home and get my assignment posted for the week--I was 17 minutes late. Hopefully, it won't count against me too much, but you all know that turning things in late is a big issue for me, and I am NEVER late with assignments! I usually try to get them in early, but with being sick, that was not in the cards!
I am off to bed--I missed the debate, Grey's Anatomy (like those are the same quality of program!), but I just need to SLEEP!

NO sod!!

Well, we re-priced sod today! Apparently, Jamie under-estimated the size of our yard before, and it will cost almost $500 for sod! Grass seed sounds pretty good right now!! I think I'm just going to have to be patient a little while longer and wait for seed to grow!!

Just like Daddy!

So, I came outside to get Ryan for his bath last night, and this is what I saw in the front yard! I ran to get the camera, because it was so cute! For those of you keeping up with our yard "situation," I have been promised sod next weekend!

Thankful for the little things!

Today, I just wanted to post some of the many things that I am thankful for!
--CARPOOLING!! Our neighbor and friend Madison goes to the same babysitter that Ryan does and we started carpooling last week. I drove last week, and Jessica drove this week. Well, Ryan is SO excited to go in their car! He squeals and screams and tries to dive out of my arms into their car! Plus, it is a huge gas and time saver! I now have an extra 30 plus minutes in the morning to get to work early or to simply eat breakfast!

--Wednesday Night dinner! I have yet to make it to Costco, and I am totally out of chicken! So, none of the meals on my menu are viable until I get chicken! (I made all the beef and pork meals after I ran out!) But tonight, we can just go to church and eat, without worrying!

--Ryan! This little guy is so much fun! We have been enjoying time outside and in, and he is just a joy! I am so thankful to be his mommy!

I am not thankful for blogger's little glitches! I cannot get my template to change to what I wanted, so I just had to use this one for now!
Edited to say: nevermind! Finally got it!

Congratulations Jaimi and Justin!

On Saturday, my childhood best friend got married! We drove up to Portland with my mom late Saturday and our wonderful neighbors watched Ryan for the evening. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time! Here are some pics from the evening!

Wordless Wednesday

What is he doing??? Any guesses??
He wasn't going for his mouth, my guess is his nose?
(not so wordless....oh well)

Where does the time go??

Wow! It has been a BUSY week!! My intro to research class has started, the first day of kindergarten was Tuesday, AWANA kicked off on Wednesday, we went to Oktoberfest on Thursday, saw Guys and Dolls at the Pentacle on Friday, and I had a bridal shower to go to on Saturday night. Then, we had the ministry fair this morning at church. Jamie and I both spent time at a booth and it was a hectic morning. Ryan ate his lunch sitting on the floor behind my booth! WHEW!! This explains the lack of blog posts!!
Here are some pics from this week!!
Ryan at Oktoberfest. He LOVES corn!

This is the kitchen lady! I made her for Jaimi's shower! I have been dying to make one for someone for YEARS (not exaggerating), but I never remember in time. Well, I had the forethought and the time to do it, so here she is!! Sorry, she is not quite G-rated!

Jaimi and I at her shower with the kitchen lady!

Here is the Working Mom's display that I made! I am posting this, because it took quite a few naptimes to do, and I really love how it turned out! Plus, if you are a working mom in Salem, put October 2nd on your calendar and come talk to me!!