more christmas.

Cy got a train for Christmas.  He loves "shoo-shoos."  But, we didn't know when we bought it that it was battery-operated.  So, what do you do when you don't have any tracks?  Run it along the wall.  Grandpa was at one end, and daddy was at the other, so the train went around and around and around.......heaven for little boys.

Will was at Wal-mart the next morning bright and early buying tracks, and the train runs All. Day. Long.

"The Three Boys" on Christmas day.  Do you think that any of them would look at the camera for a second?  Nope, new toys are way too good to look away from for one minute.

And, I missed the picture, but I set the broom down for a minute and left the room, and Cy grabbed it and was 'sweeping' around his train tracks.  I guess the train tracks need to be kept in tip-top shape!!  I didn't get back with the camera fast enough!

Also, if you look close enough at Cy's hair you will see a little bald spot.  I have been very careful to keep scissors out of reach, just in case he had thoughts of cutting his own hair.  But, what I did not anticipate was him going in Will's bathroom, grabbing Will's razor, turning it on and buzzing his own hair.  Just one more reminder that the kid watches us do everything!!

Cy (plus) Santa (equals) Not Friends

Christmas was great.  We saw Santa on Christmas Eve.  Here is Aunt Ashley trying to get Cy to be in the same room as Santa:

And here is Aunt Ashley AND Gramma Wendie trying:

And Daddy:

And Aunt Becca - even trying presents as bribery.  Not successful.

The poor kid is perfectly happy in the kitchen alone playing with a car.

We read the nativity story, and because of lack of girls in the grandkid department, we had the grandboys put a figure on the nativity when it was time.

We also sang carols, and these cutie pies sang a song with motions......so cute!

Thinkin' about it Thursday

Thinkin' about it Thursday

not much to think about this week. . . . . .

except for:

sleighs

jingle bells

st. nick

christmas trees

stars

mangers

angels singing

but most importantly:

Our Savior 

Merry Christmas!!

Thinkin' about it Thursday

chestnuts.

well, I don't have chestnuts, so an open fire.

but, I guess it's not really "open".

so, fire, just fire.

we decided since we've been living in this house for 10 years that maybe we should start using our fireplace seriously. (we've burned those firelogs before which provides great atmosphere, but not much heat.) our PUD bill is SO high during the winter that we thought we would try wood burning to see if it helps any. well, 2 days into fires and we LOVE it! we'll see if it lasts. anyone have chestnuts?

Thinkin' about it Thursday

winter.

I absolutely love living in an area with changing seasons. I have been so excited for winter and especially excited for SNOW! But, what I'm not so crazy about are these freezing, freezing temperatures and no white fluffy goodness falling down making my little surroundings a winter wonderland. I've done as much as I can inside to tempt snow outside. I've filled some vases with the fake stuff, I've hung snowflakes above the Christmas tree, and I've positioned my stained glass snowflake in the kitchen window. yep, I'm ready - snow, snow, come on down. . . . . . I'm waiting. . . . . . .

Thinkin' about it Thursday

I want to be absolutely clear:

My washing machine is for clothes. It is not a hot wheels GARAGE or a hot wheels CAR WASH.

I wanted to say that out loud just in case anyone else, besides the ones living in my house, did not know this.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

I'm thinkin' what everyone else in the world is thinkin' about today:

Tomorrow, I finally get to put up Christmas decorations! YAY!

. . . . . just kidding, I'm thinkin' about

{turkey}

and

{mashed potatoes}

and

{pie}

and how thankful and totally blessed I am that I have these guys in my life:

mmmmm......I {heart} them!

*but, really, I am super excited for Christmas in my house. yes, tomorrow.*

party time.

i have a 2-yr old. so, so crazy.

here's the proof:

2 minute Bday sign.

Grandma totally breaking the rules and letting Cy open presents pre-party.

The cake and candle-blowing:

Ok, so, I've been watching cake boss, too. And, this is as good as I could do. I was pretty proud of me. And it tasted good, so I was happy-after my frosting disaster......never make frosting the day before, it so doesn't save time. The cake was NOT supposed to be smooth! :)

I have two amazing cousins-one that was also inspired by cake boss-who create awesome cakes. Check them out here:

Kristie

Megan

Cy getting much needed unwrapping help from his cousins.

This was the 2nd thing he opened - a purple ice cream truck- it was all over after this.....

he didn't want to unwrap anything else!

Thinkin' about it Thursday

this kid:

he's 2 today.

and he totally rocks.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

NOT thinkin'.

#1 - I'm cooking cupcakes last week and the recipe calls for milk. When I'm cooking I always use Cy's whole milk, I figure the more calories and fat the better. Well, Cy drank the last of his milk that morning. Now I have a problem - I only have heavy cream or nonfat milk. Crap, what am I gonna do? After a few minutes of debating in my mind which to use, I finally go for the heavy cream. Fat and calories make everything better. So, I'm telling my family while we were eating the cupcakes my problem and my sister says, "Um, why didn't you just mix the cream and nonfat and make 2%?" DUH!! Didn't even cross my mind, seems so simple and obvious.

#2 - I'm exercising in our "gym" (aka garage) and it's pretty cold out there in the early morning these days, so I go to plug in the heater and the outlet on the wall is up about 6 feet. The fan on top of the toolbox is close to the outlet and is plugged into the bottom part of the plugin. I have the heater cord in my hand and am straining to get it plugged in to the top (I have to reach over all the junk piled by the toolbox) and it barely reaches to get plugged in, the back of the heater is off the floor, and the heater is pulling the cord out, but it works. *I am getting to the end, I promise.* I get done exercising and unplug the heater and THEN it dawns on me - why the heck didn't I just unplug the fan from the bottom plug?!?!?!?

WOW, rough week.

olives.

So, I'm busy in the kitchen one day, and I turn around and see Cy with the can opener (from the silverware drawer) and a can of olives (from the cupboard). I have no idea how he knew what he needed to get the olives out. This little guy so pays attention to me and what I'm doing. That's scary!

Thinkin' about it Thursday

Health.

I'm so thankful for it. And I'm thankful that my little one is healthy, because then I get sleep. And sleep rocks. So, I guess I'm thinkin' about health and sleep. I SO hope we stay healthy......... and rested. And the same goes for everyone reading this.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

choc-o-late.

So, I found a Russell Stover VALENTINE'S Day chocolate covered marshmallow caramel heart in my drawer the other day. Score! (no, for me this is not weird. I'm sure there's easter candy in there, too.) And, of course it took me all of .2 seconds to decide if I was going to eat it - because it was, like, 9 months old. Despite the age, it was goooooooood. Yummy. Every bite. I wanted to let you know just in case you find a piece. Don't throw away, eat it.

In other news, I am officially on a diet. No more chocolate. Ugh!

Thinkin' about it Thursday

halloween.

Jami and I were talking about halloween the other day, and I was saying that we always dressed up with stuff that we had around the house. Then, this week I was out at mom's looking through pictures and found this classic example of a typical halloween year. Need a ghost? Just take a girls' shawl, put it on the baby and paint his face white. How 'bout a punk rocker? Grab the dog chain from the yard, wrap it around one shoulder, add a facial tattoo and you've got it. The softball girls were a cinch, who doesn't have that stuff laying around? Especially a Royal shirt, you wouldn't want to be from any other softball team. ;-) The pants I'm wearing (I'm on the far right) were my dad's softball pants they went from higher than my waist to my ankles. But, they fit good through the legs, and I'm pretty sure they fit my dad at the time. Sheesh! As for the adorable little witch, I do remember we had a box of wigs and hats, which is where the witch's hat came from, but do you remember, Tilleea, if that was a real black witch's cape, or a graduation robe, or did mom sew a piece of black fabric? Anyhow, we loved halloween, my mom always made it so fun for us by decorating and carving pumpkins and the whole works.

I also found this picture of my late grandpa. I love it, and it made me cry because he had the best sense of humor. My mom said even when he was in the hospital not doing well, he was still crackin' jokes and being sarcastic. I'm sure he grabbed this wig off of one of us kids, without suggestion from anyone, just to sport it for a few minutes. And I'm SURE it got laughs and giggles from all of us.

plastic.

don't let your kids play with empty packages:

they just might have the most fun, and that would be bad.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

applesauce.

yep, I did this. yep, all by myself.

(yeah, they are really canned, for reals.)

yep, I'm so proud of myself that I will be taking today off, all day.

please don't call during nap time. ;-)

Thinkin' about it Thursday

Ahhhhhhhh...........

Haircuts.

I love to get my hair cut. I feel like a brand new person after a good cut. So, what I'm thinkin' is: Why do I wait MONTHS to get it done every time?

yep, still thinkin' about it.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

Last days of the 2009 season. I forget what we watch when the mariners aren't on. Great.

To Ichiro: You never disappoint!

To Griffey: You made my year. Please come back for another season! Please!

12.

*flickr photo courtesy of Andrew Jalali

You know when you've been married for a really long time when it's the day of your wedding anniversary and neither one of you remember until about noon. Happy 12, babe, lots of love and all of that other sappy, gushy stuff. ;-)

Thinkin' about it Thursday

Dying.

Late one night in the hospital, my mom asked my grandpa if he was scared. He told her that no, he wasn't scared. What comfort that gives me. I will miss you, grandpa.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

In an effort to be more frugal, I decide to use every last little bit of ketchup. Great idea, right? Every little bit of money-saving helps, right?

So, I'm shaking the bottle to get the last little bit lined up with the spout and I pop open the pop-open lid and squeeze. The bottle makes a sound that no bottle should ever make and all these little droplets of ketchup spray all over my plate, the counter and my white shirt. Now, I have a couple of options: a) I can throw away my $12.00 white shirt, or b) I can use a whole $12.00 tiny bottle of laundry stain remover to try and get every itty-bitty drop of ketchup out.

Take my advice: Throw out the $0.00000005 cents of ketchup and open a new bottle.

When have you tried to save money and failed miserably?

random happenings.

Anyone need advice? Obviously, Will and I aren't doing that great if he feels the need to research for himself!

So, when we changed Cy's crib to a toddler bed, he would wake up in the middle of the night, get out of bed, and fall asleep in odd places......like the middle of the hall.......or in our bedroom by our bed......or in his bedroom by his bed. The change didn't last very long.

This is funny, whenever the hall closet doors are open, he will get into Will's stuff, line it up and "count" it. I swear it's counting in a different language, though. It sounds like: "da, da, da" What language does 'one, two, three' all sound alike?

And, finally, sometimes Cy just needs stroller time. Today he sat in the stroller in the garage for an hour. Nope, we didn't have a problem with it at all.

Thinkin' about it Thursday

Definition of Hormonal= Crying over tennis.

There's just no reason for it! I cried when Melanie Oudin won, and I cried when Melanie Oudin lost! What?!?!? Who is this chick? She is someone who won me- and the rest of American tennis fans- over at the U.S. Open. But, come on.......crying?!?!? Un-BE-liev-able! What's next?

In less-crying tennis news, I want Novak Djokovich to win the men's title......he is my fave player because he is so funny (you HAVE to watch THIS You tube video -it's hilarious and my fave tennis moment of all time) and Kim Clijsters to win the women's title......she just had a baby and is trying to comeback, I love the underdog.

Ok, I'm gonna get back to watching tennis now. ;-)

Thinkin' about it Thursday

When you're pregnant everyday things take on new meanings. Happy Labor Day. Happy? Labor? I don't think so.

fishing.

one fish. two fish. red fish. blue fish.

Today we took Cy for his first fishing trip!

My daddio has this super sweet fishin' boat. You can visit the family fish site by clicking HERE. Will and I love fishing and we want Cy to grow up fishing, too. So, months and months ago we went out and bought Cy the nicest life jacket-just for fishing. Well, TODAY was the first time we took our baby fishing. We were so excited, we woke up early this morning, got everything ready, left in plenty of time, arrived at the meet place early and messed around until mom, dad and the boat got there. Cy was SO excited. We all got in the boat and the boat got into the water, and Momma Wendie says, "OK, this kid needs his life jacket on!" Crap. The life jacket was sitting at home right by the door all ready to go. Nice. Yep, I felt like a failure as a mother not even thinking about the one thing that would keep my baby safe. I'm awesome. We have used the life jacket, but this was the first fishing trip, today is what it was for!!! Oh well.

We anchored up and Mom got her pole in right away, and tells Cy he can touch the pole and right then they hooked a fish! My mom is so good, she timed that perfectly.

Pullin' in that huge fish was exhausting, time for a break.

It was a great day, thanks mom and dad! (Anything that wears Cy out this much is tops in my books)

Thinkin' about it Thursday

I'm just thinkin'-I like to have clean kitchen floors-it's really nice to walk across a floor and not stick to it. . . . . . . . .

a sad day.

jeremy and ashley are so awesome. anyone who knows them knows this. they have been watching cy for us when we have appointments lately. yesterday was one of those days. cy had THE BEST time and he actually cried when he had to come home with mommy. seriously. he loves me and loves to go home.....not yesterday. nice. thanks a lot, ash, for being so much fun and making my baby not want to leave with me (and for taking great pics). i am traumatized. for life.

*sniff, sniff *

(not really, i loved seeing him have a blast)

oh. my. heck.

i love this kid so much. i sure hope he's cute, cause if not, i have NO idea what cute looks like!

oh, momma bear-thanks for having the energy and the desire to chase him around and do anything and everything he wants to do......you rock.

mariners fans.

What? I haven't blogged about the Mariners game yet? I canNOT believe it! We had so much fun. Cy was so not wanting to sit and watch the game like a good little fan. He wanted to go up the busy steep stairs, and then down the busy steep stairs, and then up, and then down.......needless to say, we will be waiting a little longer until Mr. Fan #3 goes with us to another game.

What a super fun day. . . . . .

duck. duck. goose.

Cy had the BEST time feeding the ducks and geese.  It was so fun to watch him.

I think Will enjoyed it just as much as Cy.

We also found some cement blocks with his name!  How sweet is that?  Yay for short names.

fresh-baked.

k, so, as I started making dinner tonight the kid wanted up on a chair REALLY bad.  I thought maybe he wanted to "help" me cook-as he sometimes does.  I put him on the chair and turned around to get him something that he can "help" me with.  Before I knew it, he had gotten up on the counter, crawled to the other side, opened the ziploc baggy, and dug in to the freshly baked super yummy homemade rolls.  So, either the kid was STARVING, (does he look like he is starving? no.) or the rolls were superb.  The answer is superb!  Thanks Momma Wendie!  We have enjoyed these more than you know!   ;-)