The Christmas Pajama Reindeer

This morning we got our annual visit from the Christmas Pajama Reindeer. As usual, he delivered our new pajamas under our tree, all wrapped up nicely.

 I think Vanessa and Jeff were the only ones really excited, though.

But, it is Christmas Eve, so that could explain their excitement, too.

Yay for new Christmas pajamas!

New blog header

I'm not much of a Photoshop person, but it was time to retire the previous header. That one was taken 2 years ago, so it was time. I know it's not anything spectacular, but it needed to be updated.

Plus, I'm kinda proud of how the picture turned out, lol.

Christmas Advent Calendars

Advent calendars have been a cherished tradition in our family since the Crack Monkeys were old enough to realize the fun in opening a small gift everyday until Christmas. My boys have always been Lego fans, so every year we'd get them one of those Lego advent calendars, while Vanessa settled for a Littlest Pet Shop one.

This year, with the new Star Wars movie being released right before Christmas, the advent calendar for 2015 sold out super fast. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find any at a reasonable price (a guy in China had bought several and was selling them for $250 on Amazon; no thanks!). And, the Littlest Pet Shop ones that were available were actually collectibles, so the prices for those were ridiculous as well.

So, what's a mama to do?

After a couple days of brainstorming, this is what I did....

I bought the 3 youngest ones (Ryan stopped with the advent calendars a few years ago) a separate stocking from the ones for Santa, then bought small items to put in them everyday. For the boys, I bought Halo mystery packs, Star Wars Micro Machines, Minecraft figurines, mini Star Wars Lego sets, stickers, playing cards, etc. For Vanessa, I got mini Littlest Pet Shop figurines, My Little Pony dolls, LPS mystery packs, MLP mystery packs, and candy.

It was somewhat hard to limit myself to just a few small items; there were a ton of things that I'm sure the kids would enjoy that I found in the dollar aisles. So hard, but I resisted.

Besides, it was all worth it and fun seeing them get so excited over these small toys. Some might say they're spoiled, but, I don't really mind. I spend the rest of the year couponing and saving money, and who better to splurge all of that extra cash than my kids?

Yeah, that didn't sound snotty at all. Sorry.

Sort of.

Anyway, Merry Christmas!

Christmas Ornament Tradition

When our 2 oldest kids were younger, Scott and I started the tradition of letting the boys choose a brand new Christmas ornament for our tree. I had read about it on one of the Christmas forums I was a part of: the thought was that if you bought one each year until your child leaves home, then they'll have their own set of ornaments for their own tree. I thought it was a great idea, considering Scott and I had nothing when we got married and had our first Christmas together.

So every year, after we set up our Christmas tree, we take the kids out to go shopping for their ornaments. Since Christmas stuff starts appearing in the stores around Halloween, I always take notes of any stores that have any ornaments that might interest my kids, but lately, they've always found what they wanted at Target. It's a fun tradition that the kids anticipate and they take really seriously.

Here's this year's choices....

Vanessa fell in love with Sven the moment she saw him. I guess the whole "let it go!" message doesn't apply to her love for all things Frozen!

 Jeff decided on BB-8 from the upcoming Star Wars movie, which he's really excited for!

Ethan is my Star Wars buff, so it was no surprise that he chose a stormtrooper ornament.

Ryan's choice really surprised me, although Vanessa was excited to see him pick Olaf from Frozen. I guess the magical snowman really does appeal to everyone.

Naturally, the kids' sets have grown as they've gotten older, but it's quite exciting to look over the list of ornaments they've collected so far. I'm now in the process of separating their ornaments into separate containers to make it easier to keep track of everything and of course, for storage, but it's proving to be a bit harder to do in the midst of Christmas celebrations.

In the meantime, we'll just enjoy this year's ornaments decorating our tree. :-)

Family Photos

I am by no means a professional photographer; I've had my DSLR camera for about four years now, and I'm still learning about ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and the like. A lot of the pictures I take are trial and error (mostly error), but there are a few times that I've surprised myself.

This year's family pictures are one of those times.

My depression and anxiety tend to get worse during winter/the holidays, so I'm always scrambling to get a good picture of the family, mainly because I forget to schedule a sitting. This year, I decided Thanksgiving Day was a good time to attempt a picture. We weren't due for dinner at my cousin's house until 2:30pm, so there was time.

Our living room has high ceilings and one wall full of windows, which brings in a lot of natural light. Most of the time, we don't have to turn on the lights until night time because it's so well lit during the day. So I had Scott and the boys move the furniture around, and hung up a white bedsheet.

With a few snaps, a lot of setting adjustments, and a whole lot of Photoshop, here's the end result:

Not too bad, right? I was pleasantly surprised at how decent they turned out. I'm also glad that everyone cooperated so nicely, because in the past, photo taking has been the equivalent to pulling teeth.

Ryan and the Great Hair Debacle

Ryan is gone at the moment, enjoying a day date with a group of friends before the Sadie Hawkins Dance tonight, but there was a little hiccup in getting to today. I'm not sure if he inherited his Dad's penchant for wanting good hair all the time or if it's just him being a teenage boy, but Ryan takes pride in his hair. And, I mean wakes-up-at-6am-for-school-so-he-has-time-to-get-his-hair-perfect pride.

No, seriously.

I'm still in bed while he gets up, takes a shower and works on his hair. By the time he's done, I'm usually up, trying to make him breakfast because he doesn't eat if I don't.

But, I digress.

His hair is short on the side, but relatively long on top. Well, it was until yesterday. Oh, and he called it his "fluff." Anyway, in preparation for the dance, I took him to get his hair cut at one of the hair salons (?) near us. In hindsight, that should have been my first clue that things wouldn't turn out well. His "fluff" is important and he won't let just anyone touch it. We had the mom of one of his best friends cut it after a string of disappointments, and she was the only one Ryan would let near his hair.

Unfortunately, she moved last week.

So, Ryan decided to put his trust in one of the local stylists, and off we went. He knew exactly how he wanted his hair cut, and told the stylist when she asked. She repeated his instructions and they came to an agreement, so off Ryan went to the chair.

When he was done, I immediately noticed two things that were wrong: 1) his hair was noticebaly shorter on top and not styled at all in Ryan's preference, and 2) he had The Look on his face.

As a parent, I'm sure other parents know what I'm talking about. That expression your child gets when something hasn't gone their way but they don't want to make a scene. Yeah, Ryan had that look. To his credit, he was still polite to the woman even though I could tell he was not pleased at all at the outcome. So I quickly paid for the cut and ushered him out of there.

He let loose the moment the car door closed.

Apparently, despite repeating his instructions to him several times while he was back there, the stylist proceeded to cut his fluff. Ryan was so shocked that he didn't say anything, and by the time he could, it was too late. I told him that maybe she thought the style he wanted was something entirely different than what he thought it was. He still wasn't happy.

And, sometimes all you can do is just be angry and upset until the situation passes, which is what I let Ryan do once we got home. I mean, there really wasn't anything that could be done, so I left him alone to try and salvage his 'do.

And, I'll be honest, when he came back upstairs after washing and styling his hair, I thought it looked good. But, I'm just the mom, so what do I know, right? It's his hair and HE could tell the difference, so I stopped trying to assure him that it looked good. His friends came to pick him up for their group date moments later after her came upstairs, so we just let the conversation end there.

If his hair is anything like mine (which I think it is), it'll grow quick, and all of this will be forgotten. But, we still have to figure out what to do when the next haircut rolls around.

Oh, boy.

My lil' baker

For the longest time, the only things Vanessa ever showed in an interest in was video games and My Little Pony. She also has dance and piano lessons which she enjoys, but that was all she seemed to do.

Recently, she's been going to Activity Days (a youth group for 8-11 year old girls at our church) with her best friend. They attend the group in my parents neighborhood and the leader teaches the girls all sorts of fun stuff.

This week, she taught them how to make an easy "pie." All it is, is a slice of bread rolled up with pie filling, covered with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and baked until toasty. Vanessa made several for us to try when she got home, and it was so good, we asked her to make some for dessert the next night. She was happy to oblige.

The next Martha Stewart, maybe?

Since then, she's made her pies, trying the different pie fillings, and she's also taken to asking to help me when I bake. So far, she's helped me bake cupcakes, chocolate cake, and pumpkin cookies. And, with the holidays coming up, she's excited to try her hand at pumpkin cheesecake and homemade fudge. I love the sparkle in her eyes and the smile she has when she asks, "Are you baking today, Mom?"

Who can say no to her enthusiasm?

Jeff's Baptism

This happened earlier today.

Jeff turned 8 years old back in September, but he really wanted his big brother Ryan to baptize him, so we had to wait for Ryan's 16th birthday in November. We had the boys' interviews with the bishop on the previous Sunday, then half an hour before the baptism, Ryan was ordained as a Priest. It truly was a blessing to witness, but I did so good at not bursting into tears of happiness...maybe a few sniffles here and there, but nothing major, ha!

Here's another picture of my handsome guy. That smile is so tame compared to when he came up and out of the water. I swear his cheeks were frozen in huge smile that just wouldn't quit!

It was a fantastic day filled with the Spirit, and I am so proud of Jeff and his decision to be baptized. He has such great faith in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and I can see the love he has for them in everything that he does. His testimony grows stronger each day, and he is such a shining example of what a child of God is.

Congratulations, Jeff! We love you so much!

Celebrating

This is what our house looks like at the moment: a mob of teenagers packed in to celebrate Ryan's 16th birthday. I didn't want to intrude, so I had to be a bit quick and sneaky with this pic.

Jeff informed me that there are 30 of them right now (several are down in the basement family room), but Ryan let me know beforehand that more would be coming later (the party started at 4:30pm and will go until about 11pm). I've always thought I had a big house (well, people have always commented on its size whenever they come over), but stick a crowd of teens in here and that opinion soon changes.

Let the fun begin!

UPDATE: At one point, Jeff counted about 55 kids altogether. Yikes! No wonder the house was so messy when we got up the next morning. No damage or anything like that because they were all very polite and friendly kids, just fallen food on the floors and overflowing garbage cans. As they left the party, they all thanked Scott and I for having them over; great kids, I tell ya!

All about Ryan

Today is this handsome kid's birthday! He turns 16 years old today!

As per our family tradition, we took him out to dinner to the restaurant of his choice: Wild Buffalo Wings. The older two have been there before, but Vanessa and Jeff have never been. If you're not familiar with it, it's a sports bar and grill, with lots and lots of tv sets hanging on every wall.

Needless to say, the boys were all in awe.

I tried taking pictures of Ryan, but he was too quick. It reminded me of the time when he was about 16 months old and developed an aversion to taking pictures, lol. Here's one of my attempts:

Everyone else was willing to smile for the camera.

Even Ethan, although he looked a bit surprised when I snapped the photo.

And, this one is always happy to take a picture, although he told me to hurry because he was watching a motor cross event on one of the big screens.

It was nice celebrating with just us and the kids enjoyed the food. We also told some lame jokes, which are always entertaining, and even the birthday boy laughed! Afterwards, we stopped by Baskin Robbins to get an ice cream cake, then headed home to devour it before it melted. It was nice and quiet, exactly what Ryan wanted.

16 Reasons Why I Love Ryan:

1. He tells me he loves me without any prompting.

2. He hugs me goodbye before leaving the house.

3. He's so smart! Honor Roll and AP classes, yo!

4. He can be kind and loving to his siblings when he wants to be.

5. He's polite and has manners.

6. He tries to treat everyone well.

7. His friends look up to him.

8. He's so talented at playing lacrosse.

9. He enjoys lame jokes as much as I do.

10. He admires his dad.

11. He makes me laugh.

12. He's a hard worker.

13. He still watches cartoons and Disney movies with us.

14. He'll hang out with me on occasion.

15. He makes friends easily.

16. Other people are impressed by him overall.

Halloween 2015

I have just two Crack Monkeys still very much invested in the costume & trick-or-treating hoopla, which I've finally accepted. The older two join in on the festivities in their own way: Ryan tends to hang out with his friends on Halloween, and Ethan has become our official "Passer of the Halloween Candy." And, Scott and I usually get dragged along wherever Vanessa and Jeff go.

This year, Vanessa went as a bunny.

And, Jeff went as a Clone Trooper.

{Side note: I felt stupid for spending $20 bucks on his costume because just the day after buying it, I found two of Ethan's old Halloween costumes down in the basement. Both of which were, wait for it...Clone Troopers. How could I forget about those?}

Anyway, Scott took the bunny and the Clone Trooper to my parents' neighborhood so they could trick-or-treat with their friends there, while Ethan and I held down the fort (Ryan disappeared again after spending the majority of the day with his friends; he just made a quick pit stop to redo his hair, lol). I'm currently suffering from a three-day long migraine, so we decided a ringing doorbell and shouts of "Trick-or-Treat!" would not be in my best interest.

We hung up a "No Candy Here" sign on the front door, kept our porch light off, and settled in for the night. It was a little weird being able to hear people shuffling out on the sidewalk, but no doorbell while our house was dark and silent.

Scott, Vanessa, and Jeff got home at about 9pm, the latter two already filled with candy and weighed down with nearly full pillowcases of candy.Apparently one of their friends wanted to hit every house in the neighborhood, but the idea was nixed when they all realized how heavy their sacks were getting.

So another successful and enjoyable Halloween, even though it was a bit more chilly than last year. Wouldn't matter though; when there's free candy to be had, you can bet my kids would be willing to trudge through any kind of weather!

Halloween at dance school

One of the things I love about Vanessa's dance school is that instead of competitions, her instructors put on a lot of mini dance recitals. They serve as a sort of an update for the parents to see the things their kids are learning.

These mini recitals fall in accordance to most of the holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's Day. And then, there's the big recital at the end of the year, which happens in the spring.

It works for us because Vanessa isn't much of a performer, but she loves to dance!

We were invited to her mine recital tonight. Instead of a Halloween dance like they've done in the past, her teacher had them demonstrate some new moves and techniques they've been working on. It's mostly the same things they've learned before, but because we've had Vanessa in dance for the last few years, you can the definite improvement.

Here she is, waiting patiently in line. She looks so enthusiastic, doesn't she?

And, here she is doing her first pirouette.

You might not see it from the pictures, but she has improved so much in form and posture. And, I love that she really enjoys going to dance. So grateful for patient and loving dance teachers!

A dad's influence

When I was growing up, my dad was a big influence in my life. As it should be. Home should be the first place a child learns from, and their first teachers should be their parents. My parents have taught me by example and still do to this day. But, the influences of a dad are just as important as a mother's, and just as powerful.

All seriousness aside, today I witnessed that type of influence in action when I went downstairs to the family room and saw this:

Yes, my boys are playing the new Halo video game. Scott began the download last night so the boys would be able to play it today.

You might be wondering, "How does a video game tie to a father's influence?" And, here's the answer: Scott.

I play video games, too (hard not to when you grew up with the ever-changing game consoles), but not these. Scott, however, loves them; so when the first Halo game was released, he was hooked. He even joined a game night with several of his co-workers at the time, where they would gather at someone's house to play.

Yeah, he's a nerd. Or is he a geek?

Doesn't matter, I still love him, ha!

He got Ryan hooked on it first, which expanded into collecting as many Halo Mega Blok (like Legos) sets as he could. And, since Ethan loved to follow Ryan when they were younger (not so much now), he was soon playing the game and building the sets, too. Interestingly enough, they also got Vanessa to play, and she proved to be just as good as her brothers.

Jeff started playing when he was four, mostly with Ryan. We were amazed at how fast he caught on, and how good he was at it. In fact, one time, Ryan let him play against his friends (13 years old at the time), and Jeff beat them all.

They were all impressed that they got beat by a five year old, lol.

Anyway, today Halo 5: Guardians was released. The boys have been anxiously awaiting this day, and Scott, too, although he won't admit it. We have all of the Halo games, which have been played over and over again in anticipation for the new game. Ryan even asked if he could stay home from school today (sorry, son!), that's how much they love this game. And, when I sent a pic to Scott of the boys playing, his first words were, "NO FAIR!"

I love these boys of mine.

But, most of all, I love that Scott has such an influence on them that encompasses almost everything in their lives, including video games. It's fun to see them bond over them as they play together, or even discuss strategies and weapons.

It's also really funny to watch them (Scott included) argue who gets play next. I'll have to remember to get a picture when Scott gets home from work.

Gotta love it.

Pumpkin Carving 2015

We waited a bit to carve our pumpkins due to the fact that we have a bunch of jokers in our neighborhood who think it's funny to go around and destroy other people's pumpkins. I hated the idea of seeing the kids' pumpkins smashed and scattered all over our sidewalk like last year, so we decided to do our pumpkins tonight, then keep them on the back porch until Halloween.

Vanessa already had an idea of what she wanted to do, while Jeff took his time perusing the idea book. He wanted to make sure it was a design that Daddy, er, I mean Jeff could do, ha!

 The start of Bonnie from 5 Nights At Freddie's.

 Ryan didn't really have a plan; he just started randomly stabbing at his pumpkin, lol.

 Ethan didn't trust himself to handle the knife, so he asked Dad to do it.

 But, he has no problem scooping out all of the pumpkin "guts."

They're getting to that age where it's harder to get them all together at the same time, so I will gladly take whatever I can take! The Crack Monkeys are growing up so fast; I hope I can preserve at least a little bit of their childhood.

Pumpkin Patch Adventures 2015

We really slacked with pumpkin carving the last two years, so this year, I was determined to make it to the pumpkin patch. It took a bit of maneuvering (we hurried home after Ryan's lacrosse game and had to pick up the other kids from my parents' house), but we made it!

It was slim pickings, but we really couldn't complain considering it's the week before Halloween. But, the kids made do, and took their hunt for their "perfect pumpkin very seriously.

Trekking down the long path, keeping an eye out.....

Vanessa was the first to find hers. She said the hole in it made it unique!

Jeff found his next, and was oh, so happy, if you couldn't tell.

However, in the next moment, he declared it was too heavy and decided to roll it wherever we went.

Ever the picky one, Ethan took a bit to find his. But, when he did, it was so fast, I almost didn't get a picture.

And then, there's Ryan. Pleased with his choice or just his weirdness shining through in public?

And, here's a rare moment of Scott and Ryan not trash talking each other. What in the what?

Now onward to making a mess in the kitchen as we decorate!

Ethan the Dinosaur Man

One of Ethan's interests has always been dinosaurs. I remember when he was younger, he spent an afternoon reading about them, and ultimately memorizing everything about his favorite ones. If asked, he could tell me what a specific dinosaur ate, its height, what age it was from, and whatever else he deemed important to know, no matter how minute. It always amazed me at how much he remembered.

Not a lot has changed. He's still into dinosaurs and continues to read books and watch videos about them. However, I didn't really fathom just how much dinosaurs interest him until the Jurassic World movie was released. It seemed to renew his interest and passion for these animals, and in the weeks before and after the movie was released, Ethan tried to soak up everything and anything he could to learn about the dinosaurs being introduced in the new movie.

Sadly, movie tickets made it really expensive to take the whole family (we all wanted to see it), so we kept putting it off. We even made an effort to see it while we were in Hawaii, but for some reason, none of the theaters near us weren't playing it. So Ethan resigned himself to waiting for the digital release.

In preparation for it, he watched all three Jurassic Park movies. We have the first two on DVD, but bought the third one on Amazon because Ethan had never seen it. So by the time Jurassic World was available on Amazon, Ethan was ready.

I wish I had taken a picture, but he was glued to the tv the entire time, his popcorn and soda forgotten beside him. He cheered and got excited throughout the entire movie, and afterwards, we had a long discussion about what he liked about it and what he didn't. His excitement was contagious; his whole face was lit up with a smile as he talked, and that made me smile.

There are only a few things that really get Ethan excited, so when we find one, we have to follow his lead and grab onto it with an iron fist. And I think this one, dinosaurs, we'll be holding onto for a long time.

Last day of fall soccer

Jeff is so sad today. He had his last game of the season today AND it was picture day. Luckily, they took pictures before the kids got sweaty and muddy.

It was a fun last game, and afterwards, his coach handed out their awards. We love Coach Ari; he loves the game and loves his team, and he really wants the kids to learn the sport well. At every practice, he's always teaching the kids how to properly kick the ball, defend their goal, and how to work as a team. The kids have really pulled together as a team, so it's always a letdown when the season ends.

Thanks, Coach Ari! We'll see in the spring!

My baby is EIGHT!

Today is this dude's birthday!

He turned 8 yrs. old. Whaaat? When did he get to be so old? When did I get to be so old? Okay, not really, but I'm sure all parents go through that question when their youngest celebrates another birthday.

Or is it just me?

It's been a roller coaster of emotions with this kid, mainly because he's the last. With each milestone and accomplishment he's reached, it's been a mixture of pride and a bit of sadness. The years have gone by quick and here we are.

Jeff is much like his oldest brother Ryan; their personalities are similar, which makes them butt heads and annoy one another often. But, at this point, Jeff is more outgoing and not afraid to go after things that he wants. Despite that drive, he's still tender-hearted and loves giving and receiving affection.

Since his birthday fell on a Sunday, and we normally go to my parents' house for Sunday dinner, Jeff got the royal treatment: his favorite dinner, Korean Chicken. Or so he says. Honestly, I can't remember him ever liking it (it's my favorite), but he requested it, and Papa made it.

Also, no birthday is complete without a cake made by Tutu. It's a mixture of some of Jeff's favorite things: minions, soccer, and vanilla cake. Spoiled!

And, of course, a video of all the birthday action:

By the end of it all, we had one happy Fire Pig! And when the Fire Pig is happy, it usually means everyone is smiling and laughing! Happy Birthday, Jeff! Here's to more fun times with you! We love you so much!

8 Reasons Why I Love Jeff:

1. I don't have to ask for kisses or snuggles.

2. He makes me laugh, really hard.

3. He talks to himself while playing video games and has the funniest conversations!

4. His smile is contagious.

5. He loves his brothers and sister.

6. He's friendly and easily makes friends.

7. He easily gets lost in his imagination and stays there for hours.

8. He tells me he loves me all the time.

Birthday Adventure

Jeff's birthday is coming up soon, so we decided to do some early birthday shopping. The toy he wanted is apparently a hot ticket item that everyone wants (Lego Star Wars Death Stare) and is hard to find, so I thought a trip to Toys R Us would help him find something else.

To make things a bit more exciting, we also decided to take the Trax, since one of the stops is right next to the nearest Toys R Us. So off we went!

Anxiously waiting for the Trax. I think the last time they rode it was maybe a year or two ago.

Got off the Red Line and now waiting for the Green Line. Had to take more pictures of course.

After spending an hour looking at all of the toys, we hopped across the street to have lunch at Smashburger, Jeff's favorite restaurant...at the moment.

This is what he ended up picking. You can't tell, but the box is really wide, and it's a bit weighty. After hauling it across the street to get to Smashburger, I was beginning to regret not driving.

You can probably guess how big the mess was when we got home. There were several packages of Mega Blok pieces, as well as the three instruction manuals. Jeff started it off, got a bit tired and let Ethan take over. Ethan is our resident builder, so he was more than happy to take over.

We'll see how long that happiness lasts...

Fall Ball 2015

After cancelling the first game due to weather, Ryan played his first game for Fall Ball. The excitement was just vibrating off of him today; I wonder how he made it through the school day, lol.

They played against Bingham, and despite a bit of a slow start, they won 11-3. Ryan is still a middie (midfielder position), but his (new) coach (it's a different one from last season) gave him another responsibility. Now, bear with me, I can't recall exactly what it's called, but he'll also be "playing x"...I think that's the proper description. You would think after 3 years of this, I would know, but, I don't.

Anyway, Coach wants Ryan to play behind the goal when the opportunity presents itself. Ryan's dodging and defensive skills have improved to the point that his coach wants him to get more into the action, as it were. We'll see how it works out.

Here come the action shots....

Starting things off

Running towards the action

Exhibiting his passing skills

Going for a goal (unfortunately he missed)

Passing it off to a teammate who scored. Nice assist, Ryan!

Here's some shots of Ryan "playing x":

Going around the back of the goal....

Coming around.....

Taking the shot...only to have it bounce off of the pole!
Bummer!

In the past he's always been in front of the goal, playing. So we'll have to wait and see how this new position pans out. Way to go, Grizzlies! You're off to a great start!