.a good day to be a mom.

It's a good day to be a mom.  A deluxe waffle breakfast that I had no part in making and flowers with a card from my sweetie.  I love Mother's Day.

 

 

 

 

.christmas eve at the firestation.

This year on Christmas eve, my dad had to work. He is a firefighter for the great city of Salt Lake and this year his shift fell on Christmas eve. He wasn't too concerned about missing out since my brother, sister, and I are older now. When the day came, however, most of the other firefighters had family visiting them and he started to feel a little lonesome.

My step-mom called us and asked if we would want to make a surprise visit to the station and we jumped at the chance. I made a batch of Chocolate Crinkle cookies and hopped in the car.

We got to the firehouse just in time to eat some delicious turkey chili and a "mahvelous" fruit tart. After filling up on chili and sweets, we got to take a tour of the fire station. We saw their dorms, the engines and trucks, the entertainment room, the weight room, and even the famous pole.

We got to sit in the in engine my dad drives and see all the fire-fightin' gear. Hubs even got to slide down the pole (I declined to take a turn... too high up for me).

Surprisingly, Ladybug was interested in every thing my dad showed us. She wasn't bored or restless for a second. Of course, we took lots of pictures. 

It was a great way to spend Christmas eve!

Christmas Eve at the Fire Station

This year on Christmas eve, my dad had to work. He is a firefighter for the great city of Salt Lake and this year his shift fell on Christmas eve. He wasn't too concerned about missing out since my brother, sister, and I are older now. When the day came, however, most of the other firefighters had family visiting them and he started to feel a little lonesome.

My step-mom, Kristin, called us and asked if we would want to make a surprise visit to the station and we jumped at the chance. I made a batch of Chocolate Crinkle cookies for the firefighters and we hopped in the car.

We got to the firehouse just in time to eat some delicious turkey chili and a "mahvelous" fruit tart. After filling up on chili and sweets, we got to take a tour of the firestation. We saw their dorms, the engines and trucks, the entertainment room, the weight room, and even the famous pole.

We got to sit in the in engine my dad drives and see all the fire-fightin' gear. Ben even got to slide down the pole (I declined to take a turn... too high up for me).

Surprisingly, Livi was interested in every thing my dad showed us. She wasn't bored or restless for a second. Of course, we took lots of pictures.

Even though we were all laughing and having a great time, I was struck with a sense of awe and respect for for what the men and women from fire departments across our nation do each day. They are trained and, more impressively to me, are willing to put their lives on the line for those in need. While every call every call they get may not be a roaring inferno needed to be conquered, every call they get is important and makes a difference to someone. I was always proud of dad for pursuing a career as a firefighter, but seeing the fire station firsthand, really impressed upon me how important and honorable the work he and his fellow firefighters do there is.

It was a great way to spend Christmas eve and really reminded me that this is the time of year to be selfless and giving.

.video tidbit: silent monks.

In the spirit of Christmas, I thought I would share this video with ya'll. It's pretty clever and it's Christmas-y!

.maker of silly christmas shopping mistakes, thy name is 'me'.

Tonight, I set out about the arduous task of finishing up my Christmas shopping for my sweetie. This year, we have set a strict limit on what we can spend for each other since money is tighter right now. I had no problem at facing the challenge of sticking to the budget, even though I tend to get a bit carried away with Christmas shopping (I get the biggest rush from giving gifts).

Hubs had specifically requested a certain video game for our PS3. Perhaps you've heard of it? Modern Warfare II? It only sold 4.7 million copies in the first 24 hours after it came out. Ha, ha! Only...

Well, at most stores, the video games are locked away, seeing as they are pretty expensive to buy and have a pretty powerful draw with potential shoplifters. I went to the electronics department to get the aforementioned game. Of course, I had to pay for the game there as I am a shifty character and would likely smuggle it out of the store under my trench coat the first chance I got.

That task done, I wandered about the store, selecting various items that would surprise and delight come Christmas morning. I kept a careful mental tally of my spending. Remember the budget!

Before heading to the check out line, I grabbed some household items we were in need of: diaper wipes, bananas, etc. 

When it came time to check out, I was about $15 dollars over our spending limit. I sent Hubs a quick text asking if it was okay if I was over budget a little bit. He said it was fine and I celebrated quietly in my head.

It wasn't until I was in the car, when I began another mental checklist of my purchases, that I realized my mistake. To my horror, I had not included the cost of the game in my total as I shopped. I was almost $100 over budget!

Ack! So, come tomorrow, I have to return something(s) to make up for the extra money I spent. I just get so carried away at Christmastime!

.christmas parties: round one.

One of my very favorite aspects of the Christmas season is spending time with family. Both Hubs and I come from large families; he is one of eleven (yes, you read that right, eleven) kids and I am the oldest of six. Thankfully, most of our family members live within a short driving distance, so we get to see lots of those we love.

With all this family, of course, comes lots of parties this time of year. Yesterday, we had the first of several parties to attend. My family was getting together for dinner, cookie decorating, and some renditions of Christmas carols done entirely with colored bells.

Thought I would share pictures of the creative cookie process in action and the... uh... unconventional Christmas treats that resulted (I'll apologize in advance for some of the poor quality... these were taken with my phone's camera, which, obviously, doesn't always take the best pictures).

This was baby sisters's "Bloody Face Angel:"

These are the cookies Hubs and I made. Going clockwise we have: a bloody spearhead (bet you can't guess who did that one), a yellow smiling star, a pink smiling star, some kind of scary evil angel thing in what Hubs called "a disco dress" made of spinkles, two Christmas trees made by yours truly, and in the center, a zombie angel with blue hair, also made by me. On the separate plate is a Rudolph I made from an angel shaped cookie.

Here are a few of the cookies decorated by the kiddies:

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to say, I love Thanksgiving. Getting together with family to enjoy a delicious (and usually huge) meal would make anyone feel thankful. Since our family is so large, we were, lucky enough to have three, yes three, Thanksgiving dinners to attend.

On Wednesday, we went to my dad and step-mom's house for dinner, pumpkin pie and, of course, some episodes of X-files. Ladybug ate 3 rolls, green beans, ham, a pickle, some red onions, and a most of a whole slice of pumpkin pie. That's my girl! Embracing the Thanksgiving spirit of eating 'til your stomach hurts.

On Thursday, the happy day itself, we enjoyed a meal with my mom, step-dad, and my wonderful "step-family". We tried not to fill up too much as we had another Thanksgiving "dinner" immediately to follow. I did, however, have seconds of the sweet potatoes my aunt Jenny made. They were the best I have ever tasted. I loved them... and I hate sweet potatoes!

We had our last stop at Hubs' folks house, which was full to the rafters with his expansive immediate family. I love that bunch! This year everyone contributed by making a dish (mine, ironically, was sweet potatoes) and everything was so delicious.

After a few hours of eating and socializing, I got to cap off my Thanksgiving by working a shift at the ER registration desk, which I tried to do with a thankful heart (ER desk intimidates me so badly).

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope all our wonderful family and friends did, too!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love to get all dressed up and enjoy the Halloween atmosphere.

Ladybug was still too little to trick or treat this year, but no one is too young (or old, for that matter) to dress up in a festive costume! We got her the cutest little duckling costume, complete with little ducky feet and a hat with a duck bill. Surprisingly, she loved wearing it! Even the hat! Normally, she will try anything to get a hat off her head.

We were invited to a Halloween party at Kirk and Cami's place, and since our sitter got sick (feel better, Kate!), Ladybug got to come along, too. I dressed up as a cowgirl and Hubs went as "Johnny Ringo" from 'Tombstone.'

The party was a blast! They had the whole apartment decorated with bubbling beakers and spider webs. They even had a fog machine (which set off the smoke alarm later in the night)!

We carved pumpkins (Ladybug colored on hers with markers), had pizza, pie, and some Halloween cupcakes (provided by yours truly), and were able to start 'Sweeny Todd' before a very sleepy baby deemed it was time to call it a night.

It was definitely a happy Halloween!

Click here to see our Halloween photo album!