Shark Navigator!

Nate and I (especially Nate) are huge Woot fans.  Nate checks both Woot.com and Kids.woot.com on a daily basis.  Our latest awesome score was this $200 vacuum, which we got for a fraction of the cost.  We got it today, and we were both practically giddy.  I know, who would have ever thought either of us would get that excited about a vacuum?!  But we have been without a real vacuum for 2 and a half years.  We have a shag rug in our living room, and we have been getting by with our hand held dust buster, and borrowing our neighbors full size vacuum every now and then.  Apparently, this vacuum compares to a Dyson, just at a much lower cost.  I don't know about that, as I have never used a Dyson, but I used the Navigator today, and was extremely pleased (and to be honest, a little disgusted) with it's sucking ability.  Thanks to the clear plastic, we get to see just how much dirt we collected from our carpets.  It was not a pretty sight.  But at the same time, it was!  You know what I mean... it was satisfying to see that our rug was actually getting clean

Here's to enjoying the chore of vacuuming, for a little while at least.  :)

He loves me!

This evening, Nate came home from school with a package for me.  He said it was a book he thought I'd like.  Yay!  How thoughtful, right?  So I tear into the package to see what he got me and open it to find, not a book, but a kindle! GASP!  No really, I honestly gasped out loud.  Needless to say, I was very excited, not to mention surprised.  I have been going back and forth as to whether or not I really wanted one, and decided that I did.  And then Nate goes and gets me one... just because.   I love him.  Not because he buys things for me, but because it means he was thinking about me.  Makes me happy.  And so does the kindle. :)

39 Steps

Way back in September or October, Nate and I went to see 39 Steps, an Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery play. It was very funny. It used to be on broadway, but has since moved to off-broadway, which basically just means that it was way cheaper. Sweet! The whole play moved very quickly and only had a cast of 4. They all played different characters, so there were a lot of costume changes and running around. The actors were literally dripping with sweat by the end of the play. The humor was perfect and the acting was great. A nice clean show. I definitely recommend it... especially to my dad. He would LOVE this show!

Sick days

You know there is something wrong when Asher falls asleep anywhere besides his bed.

I think this happened 3 or 4 times within a week. It was kind of sad, but so sweet.  We all had a horrible round of the flu for a couple weeks back in January.  It seemed to linger the longest with me and Asher.  It has just been in the last week or so that I have finally been feeling up to par again.  Thank goodness that bug is over and done with.  For this year at least.

Halloween {2010}

Isn't it awesome that I feel the need to specify that this is Halloween 2010.  Ha!

Asher said he wanted to be a baby chicky again this year, so that made things easy for me. I did add a hood to the costume to improve it a little though. Sayer was a chicken again and Barty was the monkey. I feel so bad because I didn't get any pictures of Sayer and Bart in their costumes as they only wore them at the Primary Halloween party, and I didn't take any pictures there. Sad. They looked super cute though.

Asher at the Ward Halloween party.  I don't think I took any pictures myself at the party, I think a friend emailed this to me.

Asher getting ready to go trick or treating in the building

Addi and Asher

Tali and Addi.  I LOVE that Tali was buzz lightyear.  Her dad was woody.  What a good dad!

Sayer didn't go trick or treating because the plan was for him to go to bed.  I think we had been out all day, although now I can't remember where we went.  Anyway, I got back from trick or treating with Asher to find this sight.  Two suckers at a time.  Nice job putting Sayer to bed Nate!!

Train ride to Connecticut

Back in November, we took a little day trip out to Connecticut. Our good friends the Carsons, who used to live directly below us, went and got a real job and moved out there. Peter was Asher's litle BFF when they lived here, and he misses him and still talks about him all the time.  It was his birthday so we thought it would be a great excuse to visit and catch up. The boys loved seeing each other again and had a grand old time. Peter is really into knights, so that was their theme. It was really a great day, from the train rides, to visiting with old friends, yummy homemade soup, eating cake, playing with toys, going to the park... thanks so much for having us out Carsons!

Peter and Asher.  So cute!

Singing happy birthday

Happy Birthday Peter!!

Loved the way they started with the cones.

Um, I don't think a fork will work on that Sayer! :)

Owen!

There you go, that's better!

Peter's Grandma had a friend who had a knight in her classroom and was able to bring it for the party.

Playing at the park

Asher's Lecture on Volcanoes

Asher is super into volcanoes these days. I don't really know where the love for them came from, but he asked to watch a movie on volcanoes, so I found this one on Hulu, which is actually pretty fascinating. So now he's pretty much an expert on volcanoes, obviously. In this video, Asher will tell you all you never knew you needed to know about volcanoes. My favorite things are the way he uses his hands to talk so matter-of-factly, and how he uses the word "actually". We think it's pretty awesome. Enjoy!

Oh, and it looks like it's sideways, but once you hit play, it is right side up.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Addi's barbie cake

My neighbor Clare's little girl Addi turned 4 this week. Her girls saw this cake at the Chelsea Market, so she took me there to show it to me to see if I could make it for Addi's birthday.

I thought it would be a very fun project, so I said I would do it. I hate putting this picture in the same post as my cake, because it makes my cake look pathetic. :( Even though it is definitely not as good as this one, I thought it turned out pretty good, and it was definitely a lot of fun to make. I started it on Tuesday and worked all week on it and added the final touches on Sunday, the day of the party. I actually didn't have time to add a few more things, like making the center flower thicker so it would stand out more, or the dots on the skirt, but I was ok with that. Here it is in the first stage. I used rice crispy treats, because I knew it would take me all week, and I don't know how good a cake would have tasted after being out all week. Plus it was way easier to form, and sturdier.

Here is Asher on the way to her party, dressed as a "beautiful princess" in her honor.  In his hand is a valentine/birthday card that he asked me to help him with.  It is a heart with a picture of him and Addi dancing and hugging.  It was the cutest thing listening to him tell me exactly what to draw and write.

And here is the finished product. 

I really should have taken more pictures of the process because it really was a process.  I did the rice crispy treats then frosted it and let it dry over night.  Then I piped the skirt with pink royal icing.  Then I used flood royal icing to paint over the piping to even it out a bit.  Then I drew the design for the dress on parchment paper.  Then I pin-pricked it onto the dress, then I piped it on.  Then I used petal dust to add a little shimmer.  Yeah, it all took a lot of time! 

So I had made cupcakes to eat instead of the "cake", but Addi said she wanted to cut into it, so cut into it we did.  Thankfully her dad cut from the backside.  I was shocked at how yummy and soft the rice crispy treats still were.  I guess they had been covered in frosting from the beginning, and when royal icing dries, it gets really hard.

Anyway, I got a lot of compliments on it, which of course made me happy, and I had a lot of fun making it.  I had a few issues and there are definitely some things that I was not happy with and that I wished I could do over, but it was definitely a great learning experience.  I think I can call it a success!

Admission

As in, I am about to admit something to you.  Please don't think I'm too weird, and please still be my friend.

I have never had a drop of alcohol in my life.  (That is not the admission, just leading into it :)  But I have a strange affection, no, love, for goblets.  I don't know what that says about me, but it's true.  I love them.  I love the way they look, the way they feel in my hand.  They're pretty and dainty and classy.  I don't know how you could not like them.  I bet most people who drink alcohol only drink it so that they can hold those awesome glasses.  Right now I have my eye on this beauty

 

Picture from Anthropologie.com

That's right.  It's pink with bubbles in the glass.  I also really like this one

Picture from Anthropologie.com

Most people buy clothes from Anthropologie, which I have yet to do.  But I do purchase their housewares... bowls, aprons, tea cups.  Ooo!  I love tea cups too.  Don't even get me started. 

To be honest, I have a love for dishes and glassware in general.  One of my favorite things as of late is this carafe.  $3.99.  I swear I drink more water because of it.  Nate used to teach fiddle lessons to this family in Utah.  They had us over for dinner in their gigantic, gorgeous home, and do you know what she had in her house?  A china room/closet.  At first I thought it was ridiculously pretentious, but now that I am older and wiser, and have discovered that I love to entertain and that I love pretty things,  I think it's pretty much the most awesome thing ever.  Ok, so it's more like a walk-in closet than a room, lest you think that I want to dedicate an entire room in my home to my dishes and glassware.  It's not even about showing it off either, it's about having all those beautiful things at my disposal to make an occasion special and memorable.  I blame my mother, really.  She loves pretty things too and has a talent for making occasions lovely and special.  I say it doesn't even have to be a special occasion.  Why not use pretty things all the time??  I've had these bowls for about a year now, and I love them just as much as the day I bought them.  It makes me so happy to use them.  It's silly, I know.  But never under-estimate the power of little things like that to make your day a little brighter, or to make eating fruits and vegetables more enjoyable.  Or ice-cream!  Although, that's always pretty enjoyable on it's own, but eating it in pretty bowls definitely doesn't hurt.   

 So there you have it.  I love goblets.  And tea cups.  And bowls.  And lots of other things that are impractical.  Now that I have that off my chest, don't be alarmed if you ever come visit me and I offer you juice with seltzer, or frozen hot chocolate in a fancy goblet.  Just go with it and enjoy the lovely-ness of it.

6 Flags Indoor Water Park

A few days before Thanksgiving, we took a little family trip up to Queensbury, NY where they have a resort hotel with an indoor water park. It was so nice to get out of the city for a few days, and the boys of course had a blast. Sorry, this one is going to have a lot of pictures just because I wanted to include them all, so I did. It made me so happy to see my kids having so much fun... even if they seriously did the same exact things for hours on end.  There is a reason that you will only see pictures of them on a couple different slides and only in one pool.  Love it.

Asher loves his goggles.  He "swims" with them every day in the bathtub.

Love the goggles!!

They even got to keep swimming when it got dark!

It's hard to see this one, but they would go down together, it was so cute.  They had so much fun together.  I'm not gonna lie, they also kept getting in trouble with the lifeguard.  Those lifeguards sure take their jobs seriously.  Apparently climbing back up a slide is a serious offense.  I couldn't help laughing at how flustered the guy was getting after the 5th time or so.  I'm a bad mom.  I probably should have stepped in sooner.  But seriously, they were the only kids in the pool... let them have a little fun.

Love this!

The token picture of Bart.  Just chillin'.  He did get in the water a few times.  He was a good sport.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanksgiving

Yes, Thanksgiving. And after this I will be posting about Halloween, and possibly some other stuff that may, or may not have taken place 4-5 months ago. No big deal.

Thanksgiving was awesome. Jillian graced us with her presence which was lovely, as always. She was a super good sport to help me drag the kids all sorts of places, up and down subway steps and everything. She also mentioned that she was amazed at how patient I am with my kids. I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or be offended. I think I'm gonna go with compliment, because it's always a good day when someone describes you as patient, right? :)

The day before Thanksgiving, we hit up the Museum of Natural History, because Jill had never been, and I thought it was such a clever idea to go there and then just walk right outside and see the parade balloons getting blown up. I don't know why I always think that I am the only person in NYC that has these amazing ideas, because there are, of course, about a million other people that are having that exact same thought. It kinda sucks. But we had fun showing Jill the ginormous gray whale hanging from the ceiling, and ooo and aaah-ing over the origami christmas tree.

After the museum, we did indeed head out to see the balloons, which is always fun and exciting. The next morning Jill and I woke up at 5am, or sometime around there, to go save seats for the parade. Again, I'm always sure that there can't be that many people thinking the exact. same. thing. There were. We were lucky to find a patch of sidewalk up against the railing. Well, technically there was a couple that was right in front of us, but they were gracious enough to let our kids stand by them. The highlight of the parade for me was watching Jimmy Fallon wave to my kids. Probably because he heard some loud girl screaming "It's Jimmy Fallon! It's Jimmy Fallon!" coming from our general direction. I'm not saying it was me, but I do love me some Jimmy Fallon! I always love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was totally worth getting up before the crack of dawn, and dealing with some of the rudest people in the world. The most amazing thing to me, was once the parade had passed us, how quickly the crowd dispersed. They're not kidding around.

When we got home, I was so exhausted, so we all took naps. I usually can't sleep during the day, but I was out like a light. But I had to wake up to make the paper bag turkey for the kids and bake the rolls. We had a big dinner with several families in our building and in our ward. It was really nice to be with close friends, even though the room we reserved was much too small for all of us, and I didn't get to sit and relax really at all. Oh well. We have so much to be thankful for, truly.

Origami tree at Museum of Natural History

Gazing up at the tree

Heading out to look at the balloons getting blown up

Me and Jill saving spots before the parade

Smurf hats...

Friend Emilee with me and Jill

Nate brought the boys right before the parade started.

Mmmmm... donuts!

Barty.  Angel child.

Sayer liked to take a few bites out of the donuts and put them back in the box.  Yummy.

Lookin' good Joan Rivers.  Really.

My favorite float

Asher loved the parade.  Both boys did actually.  I was a little surprised actually how into it they were.  A happy surprise.

The end.