No Pug Left Behind

Any of you who know me, know that I just couldn't leave my Gracie without a present under the Christmas tree! As soon as I put it out, she couldn't stop sniffing and sniffing. She knew it was for her. I had gotten her a rawhide "turkey leg" wrapped in real chicken. It was 5-6 inches in length.
If you look closely, you can see two more very large ones on either side of her tail. Those were both a foot long and were for Roxie and Ryleigh. They were massive! I couldn't stop laughing while I watched them try to get their jaws around those things. It was a very merry Christmas for the dogs at our house!
Gracie was delightfully occupied while we opened the remaining gifts.

The day after Christmas, I painted my toenails and decided Gracie could use a pet-icure (alright, that one was painful), so...

TAG! I'm it!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, for sure! It's more fun to tear into a wrapped box!

Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I love real trees and the way they smell, but my husband is a clean-aholic and would panic at the first sign of needle-loss! :)

When do you put up the tree? Oh dear, it varies widely from year to year, but this year we did great! We got it up shortly after Thanksgiving!

Do you like eggnog? I have to be in the mood and I usually have to "water" it down with milk. Though, the Viva Light Eggnog isn't too bad.

Favorite gift received as a child? I don't know if I ever had ONE favorite thing, but I do remember being so excited about a spring-powered "rocking" horse, a purple and blue ladybug toy that had a hidden little creature inside her wings and you had to open it with a key. I know there were tons more, but I'm having trouble remembering!

Easiest person to buy for? Eric or my littlest sister, Shelley. They are both very good about letting you know exactly what they want. :)

Hardest person to buy for? My husband and my dad. They usually just go get whatever it is they want or need, so it leaves my options a little depleted!

Do you have a nativity scene? No...mostly because the one I would love to have is a wee-bit pricey. It's the Willow Tree set and it's sooo beautiful!

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I love receiving them, too!

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Well, they weren't bad at all, but at the time I was not pleased...my parents got my sister and I a bunch of the same things only mine was all purple and her's were all pink. And I really wanted the pink stuff. :)

Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't see how you can have just one! I love A Christmas Story, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, Elf, The Toy That Saved Christmas, Polar Express...almost all of them 'cause they just get you in a festive mood!

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Well, ever since I had Eric, who's birthday is Dec. 1, I've started earlier than I used to. I get somethings for his birthday and some things for Christmas. I just have a hard time remembering what I got sometimes!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't believe so. I did that once with a wedding gift, but I can't say I remember doing that with a Christmas gift.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies, fudge, warm drinks, turkey, candy canes...the list goes on and on.

Lights on the tree? But of course: beautiful white lights!

Favorite Christmas song? Santa Baby, Light a Candle, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas...

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Well, we open our presents and do our Christmas-y things and then we "travel" 20 miles to my parents' house!

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I believe so!

Angel on the tree top or a star? Either, but there is a star on ours.

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Stockings on Christmas Eve, presents on Christmas morning.

Most annoying thing about this time of year? I agree with Lacy: when people insist on calling it "X-mas" instead of CHRISTmas. And when people give just for the sake of giving, with no real heart or thought put into it. It can really suck the special-ness right out of this time of year! I also wish Santa wasn't on every channel! We don't get gifts because of Santa; we get/give gifts because the Lord gave us THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL: HIS SON, JESUS!

Favorite ornament theme or color? Probably the ones on our tree: red, gold, & cream colors; large artificial poinsettas in those same colors are all over it with small matching balls.

Favorite time for Christmas dinner? Whenever everyone is together and ready for some fun fellowship around the table!

What do you want for Christmas this year? Hmmm...not too sure. Wouldn't mind a few tans from Sunsations to warm up! :)

*Now, it's your turn! I tag LoriAnn, Macey, Alycia, Julie, Amy, and Sarah!

Oh, The Weather Outside Is...DELIGHTFUL

We awoke this morning to a glorious winter wonderland. And it hasn't stopped snowing all day. With the wind we've been having the last little while, I was expecting an arctic tundra, but it wasn't!
After lunch, I bundled up my 2 little ones (Eric & Gracie) and we made it our personal mission to destroy the pristine landscape we had woken up to. I had to embrace the mission simply due to the alternative: trying to keep a 3 yr. old little boy and a one year-old pug out of it. Yeah right.
And we were wildly successful with our destruction. The snow was deep enough to provide a pleasantly-fatiguing challenge for Eric and a hilarious obstacle for Gracie! Poor little thing thinks she's a Great Dane, but her 8 inch legs tell her otherwise.

Eric had a wonderful time falling down while receiving minor injuries, thanks to the cold cushion the Lord was providing for us! He got to make his first snow angel ever (and Gracie "decorated" it with tiny little footprints). We also got the fantastic experience of seeing the individual snowflakes land on our gloves! They were so beautiful! And they reminded me of Who-Ville! Gracie was less interested in each individual flake than she was in eating mouthfuls at a time.
After our mission was complete, I asked Eric if he wanted to eat some of the snow. His eyes got wide and offered an enthusiastic "Yeah!" So I filled a couple bowls with snow and sprinkled Tang over the top. Eric loved it and I hadn't had it for years, so it was really quite a treat. Shortly after, Gracie took her place by the heater vent and Eric went down for a nap.

Officially 3

As I was preparing to write a different post, I realized I captured Eric's birthday party, but that I had forgotten his birthday morning.
As you can see from his hair, attire and sleepy face, this was immediately after he had gotten out of bed. I wished him a big "Happy Birthday!" and it clicked: "I can finally open those presents I saw earlier!"
So, I got him to sit still for a second and then let him have at them...

We both agreed he did pretty good. Turning 3 is easier than he thought...
Not so much for Mom, though.

Assignment: MOM

What was fun about this one (besides it being for my parents) was the fact that my mom wasn't sure she even wanted to send Christmas cards...until she saw this. Like me, she had looked around at all the pre-made options, but none fit her needs. So, she told me which 3 pictures she wanted to use and let me take a shot at it.
My mom has a distinct style and I wanted it to come through in the cards. Apparently, I did a really great job. Thanks, Mom!

All images Copyright 2008 J Designs. All rights reserved.

A Year-End Trip to the State of Denial

Thanks to my brain's ability to conjur up crystal-clear pictures of an 8 lb. baby boy sleeping peacefully with a large pacifier in his pouty mouth, visually balanced by his little bottom pleasantly perched atop his (not so) tiny feet, I'm having an alarmingly difficult time embracing the fact that I now own a 3 year old. :) And I use the word "own" in the most loving way possible.
We just celebrated Eric's big day on the 1st with his very first birthday party. It was a raving success, if I do say so myself. He's actually had time to make friends and to anticipate his big day and understand it all, so we did it all!
I reserved Hop 2 It in the evening, ordered pizza and cake, and invited family and friends! We did the technicalities (pizza, cake, & presents) as quickly as possible so the kids could have maximum playing time and everyone was ok with that. It turned out to be almost 2 solid hours of non-stop bouncing, sliding, running, sprawling, and just plain goofing off!

Everyone's here!

The infamous cake!

Look at those 3-yr-old muscles!

Ball Pit...enough said. :)

He could go down this slide at 100 mph and it still wouldn't be fast enough!

The gifts from awesome friends & family!



P.S. Just a side note, but very note-worthy: Eric decided to get into the whole potty-training thing full-force about a month ago and is the proud owner of some very macho "big boy" underwear (which he is weaing in all the above shots). I'm so proud of him!

Wouldn't You Snow It?

Last Sunday (the 9th), I was in the Hallmark store located in our mall. Dog-gone it if everything in there isn't cuter than cute. But I've gotta tell ya, one book in particular sucked me right in and I fell in love with it instantly. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out it was part of a series! "You mean there's MORE?!"
It's a group of books about little towns of snow-people! At first, I was wary they were about Santa but he's nowhere to be found in these wonderful books! Just the cutest snow-people ever! And the icing on the cake: they rhyme! I am a sucker for a good poem and these stories just roll right off your tongue!
I bought the newest one, Snow Place Like Home and asked about the rest of the series. Unfortunately, Hallmark only carries the current book. So, naturally I scoured my next favorite shopping desination: ebay! And I found every single one (at awesome prices!)
I thought I'd share them with you in case you love this sort of thing, too (in no particular order):

The Snowbelly Family of Chillyville Inn

Snow What Fun

The Snow Must Go On!

Snow Happy to be Here!

Snow Place Like Home

'Leaf" Me Alone!

The other day, I had resolved to attack the multiple layers of leaves in the back yard. And because Eric loves that sort of thing (raking, sweeping, vacuuming, etc.), I got us both bundled up and assigned us each a rake.
We were actually doing fairly well, considering Gracie and Ryleigh thought our pile was purely for their enjoyment! But as we kept raking and the pile kept growing, I just couldn't help it...

LEAF FIGHT!

My mom had actually arrived while we were raking, and we didn't know it. She had snapped some pictures and captured all the "action"! It was so much fun!

Halloween Hero

Despite having seen him in it for the last month, I still thought Eric looked adorable in his SpiderMan suit. This was his first year trick-or-treating and he was so excited! And he did great--knocking, yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!" and saying "Thank you!" as he ran back to show me what he got!
We went with my mom and little sister, Shelley, who dressed up as Morticia.
After he had had his fill of going door-to-door, we went back home and had just as much fun handing out candy to the other trick-or-treaters!

Shelley & Eric in full get-up before heading out!

At our neighbor's house; Eric's a little used to going right on in!

I Guess I Should Accept It

So, is everyone aware that Christmas is only 2 months away, or is my brain running to catch up? How did this happen? What's just as alarming is that Eric's 3rd birthday is just over a month away! I suddenly feel out of breath and panicked!

Well, ok, maybe that was a little dramatic, but you get the point! This "reality attack" was triggered by the fact that my mom purchased a gingerbread house kit and Eric and I decided to tackle it today. In all honesty, maybe I should be glad to be getting this out of the way early...

"Candy!"

Such detail and concentration.

Pretty darn good for my two-year-old's little hands!

Free Fall Fun

Since the sun dared to show its face again after disappearing for a week, Eric and I thought we'd try to make the most of it! Even if the high was only in the 50s, it was like a tropical heat wave compared with the frigid weather we'd been experiencing only a few days ago (i.e. snow & wind).
Not far from our house is Kimberly Nurseries, a beautiful landscaping business that started their own Pumpkin Patch a few years ago. It has several activities including:

pumpkin photo-ops at every turn,

"who's that scarecrow?",

wagon rides to help tow your prize pumpkin (or mom),

rope-climb,

straw pyramid with attached slide & maze, and a small obstacle course.
As you will see below, Eric braved every part of it and did awesome!

And the best part is that it's all free of charge to anyone who wishes to enjoy it! The only thing they ask is that if you find the one pumpkin you can't live without, you pay for it. They are anywhere from $2 to $10. Not too bad, if you ask me!

Fall Update

Eric and I have been having a great time watching and experiencing the transition of the seasons. Though neither of us are thrilled about the lower temperatures, the pumpkins, corn mazes and celebrations are right up our alley!

Wedding Bells in Boise

They finally decided to do it!

Christian and LoriAnn (my sis) got married at the Boise courthouse September 19! The ceremony was wonderful. She even had an adorable white dress on and the perfect little bouquet! My mom and I surprised them with a small wedding cake and engraved toasting flutes for the reception to help mark their special day!

Christian & LoriAnn Gellert - September 19, 2008

Tumbling & the Toilet

When the Olympics showcased this year, I noticed Eric's interest in the constant array of bodies flipping and flying across our TV screen. He even tried immitating them! I loved that--he saw something he liked and went for it! Anyway, the thought of getting him involved in a non-competitive program of tumbling and coordination hasn't left me since.

I was pleased when I saw a couple programs offered in the local TF Parks & Rec catalog that came out, but people kept telling me to give Magic Valley Gymnastics a shot. Though, there is a program called Little Tykes being offered for 3-4 yr. olds to introduce them to the wide world of sports. That's still on my list...

But I did finally call MVG and had a wonderful conversation with the lady on the other end. I got him signed up over the phone, got my questions answered, and was told where their new location is. Once I told Eric he was gonna get to go to "gymnastics school" in a few days, his eyes lit up! He's so excited and of course wanted to go immediately. We settled for a happy-medium of finding the place (mostly for my benefit, so I wouldn't be searching Monday morning. I'm usually late enough as it is.)

On a different note, we found his first Halloween costume yesterday at Target. They had literally just finished putting them out. Oh my...what a task for a 2 yr. old boy's mind. "Which superhero do I want to be more? Spiderman, Batman, Hulk, or Mr. Incredible?" Let me tell you, that was a tough decision!

Oh, and since I get asked this a lot, I'll clarify here: no, I did not go to the trouble of dressing up my too-young-to-understand-or-care son the first 2 Halloweens of his life. Saved myself some money and us both some frustration. Besides, October gets pretty chilly around here and you probably know by now, that's not my "forte".

Anyway, Spiderman won (of course) and despite being a size 4-6, it fits him very well. It's even reversible: regular Spiderman on one side, Venom, the black spider guy on the other. It was like Christmas for Eric! :) And that's what you'll find him wearing most of the day now!

For instance, today he came into the bathroom to talk to me as I was standing at the sink. He hopped up on the toilet, like usual, to sit and chat without realizing the lid was up. *Plop* Let's just say it wasn't one of Spiderman's most proud moments! Off came the suit with the soaking bottom. He was upset for a while, but I, on the other hand, had a good laugh and he did eventually see the humor in it.

YeeHaw!

The Twin Falls County Fair & Rodeo has come roaring back into town for 2008! We try to make a point to catch at least one night of rodeo and several days of fair-food! The corn dogs, mini-donuts, elephant ears, raspberry lemonade, pitas...I could go on! It's great and ridiculously expensive, but I guess that's part of the fair.

Last night, Eric and I ventured out to the grounds to watch the first night of rodeo. We had some gigantic corn dogs, meandered around a little, then found a couple of seats in the grandstands. It was a good time, but he got a little restless, so we headed over to the animal barns! We had so much fun (after getting some mini-donuts, of course!)

That was one big loader!

The boy loves his mustard!

He rode T-Bone and did awesome!

The ponies were a hit--they were just his size!

This little piggie thought he smelled good!

We also visited the sheep and the rabbits and the alpacas! Shelley had her alpaca, Rocky, in the fair this year and she won 6 out of 7 first-place ribbons! The only one she didn't win was the Grand Champion, in which she received Reserve Grand Champion! We were so happy for her!

We're going back to the fair again today to brave the rides! The weather has been so spectacularly cool that it's enjoyable all day! And I'm really looking forward to it; this is the first year Eric will really be able to participate in the fair activites, instead of constantly being told "you're not big enough yet, honey". More pictures to come!

Underwear Goes Under There

It's been kinda blowing my mind that Eric will be 3 this year. He's already started talking about going to school! I think what really freaks me out is the thought of what I will do when my little shadow is away from me for a few hours every day. It makes me sad! But I know he (and me, too!) will be so proud when he starts bringing home the stuff he accomplished that day.

Speaking of accomplishments, Eric now owns official "big boy" underwear. Meaning, if he pees in them, he--as well as everyone else--is fully aware of it. :) He's not in them all the time; we're still doing the Pull-Ups thing. But he really loves knowing he has them in his drawer. And so do I. It means he's making progress and that's a big deal for a little man at the ripe ol' age of 2!

Here he is with his awesome camo and dino briefs!

H2H BBQ

My H2H (heart-to-heart) is my group of fabulous ladies--Tiffany, Shannon, Deana, Cathy, and myself. We started getting together officially just after the first of this year. I have loved it. We do lessons from women's study books, pray for each other, share tears and laughter (mostly that last one) and just have an incredible time together.

We try to get together for "fun-nights" regularly, to maintain the friendship outside of the study-group. We don't seem to have a very difficult time doing that. Last month we decided it was high-time we have a bbq and that it would be nice to include the men. So, it was decided: bbq, Aug. 23, men are invited, kids are not, bring chairs and a side-dish.

The day arrived and it couldn't have been more perfect. Wait...there were a couple tardy attendants, but otherwise it went off without a hitch. Levi manned the grill, Shannon brought chips & dip, Deana brought rolls & veggies, Cathy brought noodle salad, and Tiffany brought cheesecake & berries! They were all delicious.

We talked and laughed the night away--some of us sharing a little too much. But wonderful memories were made. Just a piece of advice: if you're ever in the pizza-delivering business, steer-clear of Crestview Drive!