Santa's Magic Sleep...(mixed with a little "magic" of our own!)

Every Christmas Eve, right before bedtime, we bake some cookies for Santa, drink our "Magic Cocoa" and it's off to bed for everyone! The kids were seriously excited this year! The older they get, the harder it is to outlast them! Phil and I were getting desperate...and we were soooo tired! Somehow we randomly started performing some horrible takes on Christmas carols out in the loft, while they all were having a "sleep over" in Boston's room. We knew they could hear us...and boy were we beyond bad!!! I was singing opera style, while Phil would chime in with a dry monotone version of a verse I had just sung! Yeah...it was pure torture! The kids all became very quiet and finally Boston asked us if we could stop. He said that I sang pretty good, which was a stretch at best, but dad was giving him a headache! We ignored him and just kept singing...within minutes they were all out! Poor things. We'll have to remember our act for next year!

Paris...thoroughly enjoying her cocoa!




Brooklyn looking a bit like an evil elf...and Boston pretending to already fall asleep...NICE TRY!

Madison with more cocoa on her face, hands, and outfit, then in her mouth...as usual!

Pretty excited for Santa tomorrow!

The "great" parts of Christmas Eve!

Blake arrived just in time for dinner...and surprised the kids by walking in the door with his "hoodie" on, picking up Boston, and throwing him on the couch for a full on "tickle time"! I was in the kitchen so I missed most of the action, but he laughed because the kids didn't even know it was him until he took his hood off! Yet they were still laughing and having a great time! Now we know, as long as you tickle and play with our kids...you can come into our house whenever you want! SCARY!

It's always been a tradition in our family, that on Christmas Eve, the kids get to open the presents from our grandparents and extended family...kind of a prelude to Christmas! When Gramma Debbie and Papa were here last, they left a bunch of presents for everyone, so the kids were getting pretty excited!

Phil get's so excited when Christmas or my birthday come around, that he usually ends up giving me presents early. In this case, I got 3 presents early! He gave me a sweater and a light jacket earlier in the month, because I'm always cold...and he knew I could use them. Isn't he sweet? This one, I am glad he made me open early though, because I always open gifts on Christmas morning in my PJ's!

It was a "Pajama Gram!" I've never gotten one of these before...but it was packaged so incredibly cute!!!



He even had my name embroidered on them! I'm kind of cheesy like that and am a collector of PJ's! (My name is there...because I know people who would steal them! J/K) So he did an EXCELLENT job!

Madison kept secretly opening presents throughout the month most of which happened to actually be hers...so she only had 1 left. (in case you didn't notice) Seattle is borrowing some of Paris' presents to strike a pose with.

Seattle has been taking steps for a little over a month now and loves to just stand places. So here's another one of her poses.

Paris hanging out with Blake, finally decided she'd open one of her presents. She is so silly. She only opened a few presents on Christmas Eve because she wanted "them to last longer"! That so is not from my side of the family! We would rip through all of them if we had a chance!

Boston humoring me with a picture, while begging to open some presents!

All the kids, ready to dig in!

"Don your gay apparel" A.K.A The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

We've had quite a few Christmas Parties this month, but none with such a unique theme! I guess it was inspired from the song, "Deck the Halls". Anyway, we were all told to "Don our gay apparel", so Phil went out and found the sweetest vests ever! He went to the Goodwill first, but thankfully, decided to swap out the vest he bought me from there for the upgraded, (non grandma perfumed) Walmart versions!

Amy and Rob...she got their gear at Savers...if anyone's interested!

Bettijo and Heath...I believe she said all their gear was actually in her mom's closet! Yikes! I mean great wardrobe!

Deborah and Jeff...I forget where they got their Christmas garb...Savers???

Spencer decided to take it to a whole new level...and I was a little surprised that he was the only one!
Spencer...I think this was all in his closet! Notice the FUBU jersey!! Yeah, his legs are shaved...above the knee! Sandy was wise to stay out of this shot...and apparently avoided all further shots too! Sorry babe! As always it's just fun to hang out and eat!

These were all the shots I got...sorry Cynthia and Mike...I'm sure you're so sad you didn't make it into the Christmas Sweater Hall O' Shame!

Back on Track...

Okay, so it's been a while...almost a month to be exact since I've posted last! Shame on me. I have been taking the pictures...keeping mental notes of what to write down...then just slack on the execution! I'm going to apologize now for the million posts that are about to hit! I really have been trying to make this my "journal" so to speak...atleast by documenting some of our highlights throughout the year, so I'm going to get caught up! I finished all of my Christmas shopping officially on November 24th! Even the stocking stuffers! Crazy or what? Phil was so impressed! He walked into the spare bedroom and saw that we had what seemed like a million presents wrapped and sitting on the bed, and asked what's all this? I was so pleased to tell him that these....were all the presents ready to be placed under our tree this year! So since I'm all done shopping...I've been keeping myself busy with the usual mundane tasks that come with choosing 5 kids as your housemates, and lately that has meant staying away from the computer! I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great! I will be posting a current post again soon!

Boston's Room...finally finished!

We've been collecting things for his room forever! It's way too easy. He just really doesn't have a choice...he has to be a Red Sox fan. I hear they can be pretty good, so that's a plus! It could be worse...don't talk to Phil about it. (Cubs fan)


Wally Joyner was in Phil's ward when he was growing up, so we have a few autographed bits of memorabilia laying around. Perfect for the room!

This is his new bed. It has a desk, which he was way excited about! There is
already talk of a fort to be made under this beauty!

Here's the sweet mural I painted a few years ago, that now seems complete with the border finally up!

A huge thank you to Gramma Debbie for helping me repaint the room! That was a huge inspiration! So anyway...my 2 1/2 year project is finally complete! Yay!

Give Thanks!

Since we moved out to Arizona in 2005, it has just worked out that every year my family, Pittson side, usually comes out for Thanksgiving. This year Shavonne has had some complications with her pregnancy and she's on complete bedrest at her home in Utah, since Halloween. My mom, Sky, and Blake have all been taking turns making sure she and Haven (her 18 mo old) are well taken care of. So since Mom was staying in Utah...Sky, Blake, and Tyler live there already...it made sense that they would stay there this year.

So we were cool with just not cooking a turkey (remember, I hate meat, and Phil is not a turkey fan) and sticking with Prime Rib (Phil's favorite) this year. Most of Phil's family lives in Utah so it's kind of expected that his parents usually stay there and do Thanksgiving with everyone there, but this year they surprised us and said they wanted to come to our house! It was pretty sweet.

We started out the day by going to "JIB" which is our slang for Jack in the Box for breakfast. We knew they would be open and Phil's dad has a routine of going to the nearest fast food joint to read the newspaper every morning...so we decided to join him. After breakfast it was back home to chill and play some games. Normally there would be cooking involved...but we decided a couple of weeks ago to make reservations at Claim Jumper this year for dinner! I'm a fan of being with family on Thanksgiving...but where...doesn't bother me!
My mom sent us a "Stick the hat on the turkey" game, which the kids had a blast making everyone take a turn!

Papa had more fun sticking the hats on the kids than the turkey...

but he finally made it!
Gramma Debbie was a great sport too! She had no problem wearing the beatiful bow for a blindfold! Boston someday I'm sure...will be mad about this photo.

This is where we all lined up. Can you guess which hat is Madison's?

Seattle's new trick! She pretty much does this with all pencils, pens, & straws. Where does she find these things?

Our dinner reservations were at 2:00PM and I was surprised at how many people go out on Thanksgiving! They had a "Thanksgiving Menu" that had 3 courses. You could choose from Soup or Salad...then a sourdough roll served with your choice of a main course 1)Turkey Platter with stuffing, 2)Prime Rib, 3)Salmon, or 4)Vegetarian (roasted veggies on a skewer). They all came with your choice of mashed potatoes or a baked potato. Then dessert! You could choose from Apple Pie (with a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream) or Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream on the side! The kids were all in heaven because they had the Turkey platters and their dessert choices were the "build your own Sundaes"! It was a platter for each of them that came with ice cream in the center and then all these different toppings in their own cups for them to choose what they wanted! I was really jealous! Then to top things off...they gave all the adults $10 gift cards to come back. Since there isn't a Claim Jumper in Utah...we scored his parents too! So, we'll definitely be going back soon! So for any of you ever interested in venturing out...I have to say just for the clean up...it was way worth it!!!!

Later that evening, we got the Christmas lights started. I should have taken a picture of that! We had to stop...because we got a serious thunderstorm that dropped a huge amount of rain and drenched everything for like an hour! So this is take 1. I'll put the updated pictures up soon.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Thanks Gramma and Papa for visiting...it was fun!

Nap Dates...

Anyone up for a nap date? Skip the play dates...make sure they play hard first, then feed them a bunch of food...then take them for a fifteen minute drive with Christmas Music around noon. They don't cry, they don't ask for anything, no fighting, no toy messes...just a little drooling and the occasional twitch! That's my kind of date!

I was seriously craving some Soup and Salad from Olive Garden...so I convinced Sandy to join me for lunch! We took our four kids and Spencer even joined us. (Sandy's husband) Phil was too busy at work to break away...so he missed out. It was so yummy and afterwards we decided that since she watched Madison that morning, we would move the party to my house...and let her have a little R&R during the afternoon! As soon as I pulled into the garage I noticed they were both totally out! So I snapped this shot before my "smooth extraction"! Aren't they cute?!

Twilight

Sandy, Kisten, and I roped our husbands into going to see Twilight with us! Phil hasn't read the books, but I think he and the other guys were interested only because we were so interested and the possiblity of "action" later. Guys are so dumb...no offense, but seriously! I didn't expect much...because the books are sooooo great, there was no way the movie had a chance to compare, but I think that it was good! I was pleasantly surprised. I was worried that Phil would be lost...because he didn't know the background on everyone...so I was being annoying the entire time and whispering the details in his ear. (Later, I found out that we all were doing this!) Phil said he thought it was good, "...I'm interested to see what the next one's going to be about." So there you have it. I liked it...of course it doesn't compare to the books...but worth watching! And the husbands all seemed to agree that they thought it was "good" so you can even feel comfortable dragging your better half along!

Daddy Daughter Hike

For an Achievement Girls' Activity, they had a Daddy Daughter breakfast and hike! Phil said it was fun and he actually listened when I asked him to take a picture...he took me literally...and this is THE picture...but atleast I have one, right?

I didn't go...so I don't have much commentary here, but they had a pancake breakfast complete with all the fixings, a short hike up at Estrella Mountain, and ended up playing a game where the dad's had to guess things about their daughters...ie) favorite movie, show, actors...etc. He got one wrong...her nickname. He said it was "love bug"...which is what he calls Madison and Seattle...because he doesn't have a nickname for Brooklyn. What a dork! Anyway, she does have a nickname that I've called her since she was 2...it's "Goose." (She wanted to know what the bumps on your arms were when she was cold once and I told her they were "Goosebumps" and she called them "goosedrops", it was so cute I started calling her "goosedrop". It's since been shortened to "Goose".) Aren't nicknames funny?

We have a bunch around this house!

If you hang with us...you probably have already heard all of these, but now you'll know their cheesy backgrounds!

PHIL-FLIP (short for Flipip, which is what he recieved on a credit card solicitation once!) I probably call him Flip more than Phil.
SUMMER-HUMMINGBIRD/HUMMY (my family, and Elena refer to me as these...they started when I was really, really young! I think I used to jabber so much it was like a hummingbirds wings or something...right mom?)
BROOKLYN-GOOSE (already shared)
BOSTON-BROTHER (he's the only one...so it's singular. Just brother! It's just always stuck)
PARIS-PURSE/PARE-PARE (Purse was just what you got when you say Paris really fast. When she got older she told us that she chose a new nickname...Pare-Pare. Madison only calls her by Pare Pare.)
MADISON-LOVEBUG (They're both so young that these two nicknames are just the products of baby talk still! We'll probably have some cool ones soon enough!)
SEATTLE-SEETPEA/SEETHEART

Students of the Quarter!

This month we got two invitations, inviting us to a "Student of the Month" dinner that was being held in our "child's" honor! Brooklyn and Paris were both chosen to be students of the month.

When we got to the school, Principal Reed explained that each teacher was told to choose 2 students from their class to be "Students of the Quarter" for the months of August, September, and October. So we were pretty proud of their achievements!

The school had a dinner that was catered by Viva Mexican Grill, Desserts, pictures taken with their teachers, and they scored a bunch of free kids meals from Sonic, Texas Roadhouse, and McDonald's!

Phil and I were really impressed that the school did such a nice job to really make it special! It definitely went above and beyond the usual public school standards...as far as I'm concerned!

Since Paris was in Kindergarten...she was one of the first to go. Her teacher is Ms. Sparks, and this is her first year teaching. She's really sweet with Paris and great with us! We're really happy with her! She basically said that if you were to take two kids and make them the model for all your students it would be Paris and Elan (that's the boy next to her). We were pretty happy! Paris can be a handful at home sometimes...but it doesn't seem to show at school! We were curious how this year would go!

Brooklyn is in 3rd grade so she came a bit later, but was so excited when her name was called! She loves her teacher! Her teacher is Ms. Gravelle and this is her first year teaching also! I've had a couple of opportunities to hang out with her in the classroom and she's totally sweet! She has a rowdy bunch, to say the least, but she loves Brooklyn and is really excited about teaching. She had kind of the same theme...the best two kids were a shoe in! We weren't surprised, she really is a great kid.

Boston didn't seem to care that he wasn't chosen until he saw all the free coupons and fun stuff they scored! Then he began telling us that he was going to really start trying for next time! Boston made it last year as the Student of the Month towards the end of the year by being the most "improved student", so we're kind of hoping for the same thing this year. His teacher loves him and calls me on a bi-weekly basis to ensure that homework and notes are making it home and to let me know when extra praise is needed after doing a great job at something. She's very sweet. (He's incredibly smart when it comes to making homework and important notes disappear when transferring them from the classroom, to his backpack, to the car!) On a good note he pulled off straight "E's" for his first report card! He's been working hard and we're proud of him too.

Picture time with the teachers was fun...because it was in front of everybody...and we didn't have to go up once...but twice! We have a serious clan and it took a while for everyone to get on board! As you can see...this is the best we could pull off! YEAH!

Tamales!

Okay, so I mentioned that I went to Super Saturday in October and that I attended a Tamale making class and would keep you posted when I made some Tamales! I have to admit, I was "gung ho" at first and then when it came to the chile rojo sauce...I wanted to quit! It really wouldn't be that bad if you had a couple of people helping you in the kitchen...but I just had a bunch of people willing to taste test...isn't there a story or a fable about something like this? Anyway...I stuck to the directions pretty closely. I didn't have enough chile rojo sauce in the end though...so I'm not sure what I did wrong. Maybe I needed more stock? (so instead of making 50 it only made 30) Anyway, since we came from a small farming town in central California...we know what good Tamales taste like...and I knew there was no way I could measure up to those standards...but felt I was "cool" to try because I had a "legite" recipe! I was flipping impressed! I haven't tried the green corn ones...yet, but the chile rojo ones taste great! Phil and even my kids loved them! They make a ton...and they keep in the fridge or freezer! So now that I've done the hard work...and it paid off...you don't have to be scared to try this "legite" recipe! Invite people over...they turn out great!

My "official" tamale steamer!
...only a quarter full!

Paris, Brooklyn, and Maddy were saying that would try them...I told them to give a thumbs up if they liked them...thumbs down if they didn't...this was take 2...just kidding!One of the finished products!
Madison loved them! Isn't she so cute posing?

Tagged...

Okay, I've been tagged to put the 4th picture in my 4th folder up....and the winner is....

Wow! Such a special one! Phil and I went back to Utah in November of 2004 to visit his family. Here I am sitting at Tony and Jessica's house, with my sweet little niece, Kaleya. (Shauna and Jean's daughter.) I'm so glad that I got this special opportunity to pose with her! Since we didn't live close, I didn't get to share many experiences with her...but the few I had will last a lifetime! Kaleya passed away in April of 2007, and she will always be in my heart!

I'm going to tag you all, because you never know what memories you'll discover! Try it!