A Nativity!!

After almost 10 years of marriage, it seems crazy that we really haven't had a nativity.


First I had to find one that I liked. I used to prowl through BYU bookstore looking at their many different nativities. This was the one that I liked best, but I still searched. I looked for a few years until I realized that this was it.


White, but not all white and {boring}. Simple, but artsy and interesting. Slightly traditional, but also modern looking.


It's been on my wish list . . . but I always figured it would be better to purchase AFTER Christmas when it wasn't sky high in price, and then I would have it for the next year. But it was usually sold out and I kept forgetting to allocate Christmas money towards it. So I would vow that the next year I would get it before Christmas.


I'm sure all of you can agree, the months before Christmas prove busy and expensive and prioritizing a nativity really never happened. Especially since I planned to get the whole thing in one shot.


Finally, I broke down and put it on my list for others to buy . . . assuming that it would be a collection in the works.


And, I'm so happy to say that my brother and his family got us our first set. (And having a hunch that's what they got us, we took the liberty of opening their present early! So glad we did, it looks fabulous!) I look forward to adding to it in the years to come . . . but in the mean time, we are really enjoying it.


Thanks Mark and Tricia!


(P.S. Anyone still looking for gift ideas, there are still sets of wise men, camels, shepherds, and an angel to fill in.)

Eight Whole Months

Livvie really grew up this month.

First, she really discovered toys. Boy does she love toys! She plays with Avery's barbie's (I think she loves to touch hair). She likes her stuffed animals, but is obsessed with her "pop up" toy (not sure what it's called, but I'll take a pic one day). I even caught her playing with Jackson's Bakugans. (Oh no!)

She went to Vegas with us recently and discovered that her gag reflex is no longer present on "real" food. (Apparently Vegas buffet food is far better than mom's cooking.) Now, she eyes all my food . . . particularly the chocolate bars. ;)

Her second tooth came in. And she has learned how to bite. Ouch!

Liv has learned how to put her paci in on her own now. Usually at this point I have taken it away, but our lives are so crazy that it gives me a bit of a break when I'm running around doing errands for the office or taking the kids to gymnastics.

Most importantly she figured out she had mom wrapped around her finger. Especially at nights. For some reason, mom's bed is so much more comfortable than her crib. (Mom has given in lately because we've dragged her all over the place . . . but soon this will stop! Right??)

So. Very. Busy.

Really.

And just when I don't think there is any way we could possibly be busier . . . we are.

Christmas Presents . . .

If anyone is on the look out for some unique gifts, here are a few that I have stumbled upon.

Little_Wonder books are custom books with your child as the superhero star.

Personalized cape. I mean, how cool would that be??

Fairy_Princess_Tent--it's pricey, I know. But a mother can drool, can't she?? (Avery better not see this or it will get added to Santa's list.)

Art_on_Canvas still one of my favourites.

For those on your list who say, "Don't give me a gift" and mean it, check out Heifer_International.

For your kids' teachers, instead of more lotions or hand soaps, try personalized_book plates.

And, for the photographer in your life (or family who just can't get a good pic), check out this_book. I know I will!

Looking for Some Good Company

I've been surfing the net these days for sympathy, hope, a time machine to go back to last Thursday.



Here are some fun stories I've come across to help me feel better. I'm sure they will put a smile on your face too.



My daughter just cut her hair like a hare krishna on one half and billy ray cyrus (90's style) on the other. my wife starting crying immediately(we FINALLY got it grown out to 8 inches long) now all she has is a hair noodle in the back of her head and we're going on a cruise in 1 week! What the heck am i supposed to do? Wigs are expensive and there is NO hair cut that can fix what she has done.. She said she "just wanted it littler"


Lovely stories from everyone! :) My little niece did something like that, only different and way more dangerous. She wanted to haircut and so she took a cab, went to her regular hair saloon all by herself and got herself a haircut like her favourite filmstar.She was six and this was in mumbai!


When I was 5 years old, I snuck the scissors and cut both sides of my hair and cut my eyelashes off (how dangerous was that?!). Good news was that my eyelashes grew back thick and long (and stayed that way until I started using mascara as a teenager). I wouldn't recommend trying it, however...



Yes i'm not alone.... last night i found my daughter with her new haircut....a mullet yes a mullet it is so short on the top that a hairdresser would have 2 cut it like a boys haircut 2 even make it look right.... all i can say is at least she didnt cut her self.... i took a picture to show her when she is older... all you can do is laugh. her hair was sooo long and beutiful now she looks like she's on her way to a monster truck ralley.



Oh my goodness, I am going through this just now. My daughter just gave herself a reverse mohawk. I was going to go and get it cut into a pixie (but I think it is too short for that), so, I pulled the sides up and pony tailed it right on top and it almost hides it... at least until it grows out another inch or 2.



I guess tat since we won't be watching grass grow this year (at all) we'll be watching hair grow. Let me know if you find some good images of pixie cuts.

Beauty School Drop Out

I have seen funny hair do's on other people's children.

I have listened to parents' (humorous) stories of how their children have taken hair styling into their own hands.

I laughed. It would never happen to me. Not my children.

They know the difference between pretend scissors and real scissors.

And besides, I am usually very strict about scissors around here.

Nope. It would never happen to my children.

But it did.

Avery has been increasingly interested in hair styling. She would brush my hair. She'd brush hers. Guillermo would get a good brushing. And even Liv would have to sit as her client in her "salon". On rare occassions, she would pull out the plastic doctor's kit scissors and pretend to cut hair.

"That's okay to use those scissors," I would remind her, "but we don't use real scissors. Okay?"

"Okay Mom."

Then last week, between the chaos of painters roaming around, knife blocks with kitchen shears being moved off the counters to the table, and a mom trying to keep the place somewhat clean and pack for a quick weekend trip . . . the unthinkable happened.

I came downstairs to find Avery sitting in a pile of hair, and the boys just sitting at the table licking lollipops.

Grabbing the scissors out of her hands, I lost it.

"Oh, Avery! What did you do?? Why did you cut your hair?? It looks ugly!! You look like a monster!"

(Certainly this wasn't my most impressive mommy moment. And it may even make me lose out on any "Best Mother in the World" prizes, no matter how wonderful I might be. In truth, I am just hoping at this point that I didn't ruin her self esteem or ability to deal with less than pleasant circumstances.)

Avery burst into tears.

Brad and I have been crying ever since. ;)

Here are the pictures . . . be sure to look at them with some kleenex near by.

Brad and I tried to brainstorm as to who she most resembled:

a) a chemo patient

b) a brain surgery patient

c) an insane asylem patient

d) the Barbie dolls that Sid would desecrate off Toy Story

e) a pretty girl in a zombie costume . . . just escaped from the grave

f) a really bad tough (er, you know) girl from the 80's

I am at a loss of what to do in order to salvage her hair, or make a bad cut into something (short and) cute. For the mean time, I bought about $50 worth of hair bands and bandanas . . . but am desperately looking for more suggestions. Naturally, her beauty license has been revoked and she had to drop out of "Beauty School." And close her salon.

On the bright side, I am glad that it is just her creativity that has put her in this circumstance and not that she really did have brain surgery . . . or chemo . . . or was a zombie. ;)

As I blow dried out the remains of her hair the other day she asked that I put her hair in pigtails.

My heart ached as I told her it would be quite some time before we could ever think of pigtails again.

Anyone know any ways to grow hair at lightening speed? Anyone have some cute hats in the meantime? Or hair cut ideas???

Scared.

Very scared.

And so very nervous.

We have two men downstairs, sanding and painting my house.

Yes, this has been a long time coming. And yes, 8 years of living with builder's paint is finally coming to a close. And the colour I picked looks great (I've already done the upstairs hallway on my own).

But I am so scared.

The painters seem pretty novice. (As in they are asking me for tips . . . the advice kind.)

Yesterday, the main guy came to do the plaster work (which I had to pay extra for) and got wet plaster all over my baseboards, floors, house, etc. (How neat is he with paint??)

And, when he was about to climb the ladder up the 18 feet, he seemed really nervous. Nervous enough to point out that he had tied a rope around it and my banister to keep him from sliding out.

The plaster? Well, lets hope that their sanding today makes it look so much better.

I'm really wondering if it's scarier for me to sit here thinking of them working in my house, or for me to climb up that ladder and do it myself. I think the former.

However, the dust is awful . . . after sanding the upstairs hallway I vowed to never to do it again. And there is such a huge area to paint, it really isn't worth my time.

As for the novice . . . he was available and seemed decent. I've had other "trades" run through here enough times to realize that just because you are paying someone more for their experience, doesn't translate into better work. (Like take the drywall that came standard with our brand new house. Even having them come back didn't make it look all that much better and was such a hassle to even get them here! At least this guy is willing.)

And even still, I over heard him talking to his partner about how his insurance policy cancelled his home owner's insurance because of two nsf checks. And how he just refinanced his house.

Oh, and this morning he called me down to check out the paint colour . . . it was completely different than the colour I had picked out. (Thank goodness I painted the upstairs a few weeks ago otherwise we would have just assumed it was the right colour!)

So I sit here scared. And very nervous.

Please, don't wreck my house.

Please.