Writ Large - Literally

They might be kind of hard to see in the photo, but each one of the green circles/doodles represents a plot twist to a story that Owen was creating in his mind. Owen was pretending he was frantically writing down a series of events that he was witnessing.  It was fascinating to listen to him. I wish I had thought to jot the story down as he was telling it.

Boat Grandma and Grandpa made an appearance in the story. Boat Grandpa battled an evil butterfly and Boat Grandma had a bomb and used it to blow up a scorpion. I believe those events are represented by two of the bottom left hand scribbles.

Ugly Sweater Christmas Eve

Ron and Debby decided to spice up Christmas Eve this year by having everyone wear an ugly Christmas sweater.  The whole "ugly Christmas sweater party" is a pretty hot thing to do, so it was slightly difficult to find a truly ugly sweater, but we all tried our best. It did make for a rather festive Christmas Eve. Below is the family (minus a picture of sweet Jameson) in all our ugly Christmas sweater glory:

Surprise Visit

Look who popped in today to say hi. My Aunt Judy and Uncle Rick are in town for Barrett Jackson, and while my uncle was busy sneaking into hotels to see the super-pricey cars, Judy came over to catch-up and say hi.

Sun and Food for the Soul

I woke up in a bit of a funk today. Job searching, followed by good 'ol job rejections, had brought me down. I really didn't want to be in a funk though and decided that some sun and aromatherapy (in the form of food cooking) was what I needed to lift my spirits.

It was a windy day so Owen had the wonderful idea of going to a park and flying a kite. Unfortunately, it seemed winder than it was so our kite flying wasn't that successful.

Owen didn't let that stop him from having fun though and he decided to take the matter into his own hands.

After the park, we came home to bake some bread. This is where my food aromatherapy came into play. I figured it would be hard to be in a funk when my house smelled like freshly baked bread. Owen immediately jumped in to help out. He's getting this baking thing down.

For the next two and a half hours I kicked my funk to the curb by making a home cooked meal. I have to admit, I am damn proud of this meal for many reasons:

• For one, I took a healthier approach to making sadness go away than I may have done in the past. (I'm looking at you pizza and beer.)
• Second, Owen was really into helping and I so enjoyed cooking with him. I had my soup simmering and he came over to check it out. It was loaded with veggies and beans so I wasn't sure he would eat it. He wanted to try some and after sampling some, gave me the thumbs up of approval. He then asked for a bowl of it, and as he was eating it turned to me and asked, "is there garlic in here?" I said of course. He then asked if he could add some bouillon seasoning to his bowl. At this point I was in a bit of shock that those words came out of his mouth, and I proceeded to get him some. He then asked if he could have the "mustard salt" like "daddy puts in his noodle soup." This is when it dawned on me that all the time we spend in the kitchen cooking was impacting Owen in a very positive way. 
• Finally, this meal rocked. It was simple, but it felt good knowing that I made every single thing we ate (minus the Tabasco) from scratch: soup, bread, dressing, salad. No additives, just pure and simple ingredients.

We've been vegetarians (bordering vegan) for over a year now. Our eating habits have changed drastically. While we may have not lost as much weight as we have hoped, we are healthier than we were a year ago. It takes time to make a healthy meal from scratch and so we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. This is where a considerable amount of our family bonding takes place. Ed and I talk while cutting vegetables and Owen gets a kick out of "stealing" the cut vegetables from us and eating them.  I've read it takes 66 consecutive days (or some other random number) of doing an act for it to become a habit. I really feel (hope) this way of eating has become a way of life for us. It took work to get here, but I am thankful for it.

Ice Day

Today was Ice Day at Owen's preschool. The families froze buckets of ice that contained food coloring, glitter, and special surprises and brought them to school for the kids to build ice castles with.

The kids had a blast playing with the ice. (And yes, it really is this cold right now in Phoenix: 45 degrees during the day and 27 degrees at night. My vegetable garden, which lived through 120 degrees, has officially died. Very sad.)

The days prior to Ice Day, the kids were shown a block of ice that contained a toy in it and were asked to guess how they could best get the toy out of the ice. Most kids guessed they should melt it and provided different ways to melt the ice such as sun, fire, stove. Owen very proudly raised his hand and declared, "we can smash it!" You have to hand it to him, he can see the shortest distance between problem and solution.

My new favorite portrait of our family, drawn by Owen in school yesterday.

Christmas Eve Day 2012

We were fortunate to celebrate Christmas multiple times throughout our time in Seattle. Our first celebration began at Trina and Shawn's house with Robyn and all the kiddos.

Suneela is almost taller than Carrie. But Carrie will make sure to point out that she still is taller, to which everyone smiles gently and nods, letting her have that honor for at least another year.

 Robyn quietly taking in the excitement of Christmas.

 Have you ever seen someone so happy to get a spoon?

 The Schneiders opening their photobook.

This only took twenty shots or so to get them all smiling, but it was worth it.

Cat Decides Boy is Better than Dog, Nothing

We've been back about a week from our trip up to Washington. I think the long trips away are starting to get to the cat. Plus, there is that dang puppy that she still doesn't trust.

For the first time ever, she voluntarily laid on Owen's lap and let him pet her. Owen was shocked and we had to take a picture to prove to Ed that it happened.

Brato Is Back

The day after we put up our Christmas tree, Brato showed back up to spend the holidays with us. Owen absolutely loves this elf. The first thing he says every morning is, "Let's go find Brato!"

Brato is up to his usual mischief, getting into Owen's toys, drawing pictures, hanging from the ceiling fan.

 Owen was into dominoes one night, so Brato decided to join in.

Not sure if this falls under the category of "good parenting," but Owen had an especially rough morning and was pushing every button possible. It's his job to feed the dog and he decided to fight it for a good hour (yes, poor, hungry dog). The next morning Owen woke up and found Brato kindly reminding him what his responsibilities were. (Hey! It worked.)

Funny Hat Christmas Party

Owen's preschool had a little Christmas party today, which also coincided with funny hat day. What are the odds?

Because they were so dang adorable, they had to pose for many photos. (Owen, it turns out, does not find funny hats all that funny, so he opted out of the funny hat shenanigans. Not really surprising given how much he hated hats as a baby.)By the way, check out the pout of the little girl next to Owen. Isn't that classic?

The kiddos ate gingerbread cookies by a fire while listening to stories. Later, they each exchanged a book as a present.

Owen had a good time with his buddies. He got nice and sugared up (teachers love that!), and left with memories and a good book.

Creative Genius?

Owen seriously made up a joke tonight: 

 Q: What do you call a bee fart?

 

A: A sting-ker.

 My 4 year old made up a funny fart joke.  In his brain. Yup.

Earning Those "Gingerbread Boys"

Owen is definitely sensing that the holidays are among us.  The neighbors have inflatable reindeer in their yard, packages are starting to arrive for him that he can't open yet, and the dead giveaway - Mom is listening exclusively to Christmas music.  

In the spirit of the season, Carrie and Owen decided to make what Owen refers to as "gingerbread boys" today.  One of the best aspects of Carrie staying home with O this year is that time can be spent forming traditions the right way.  They spent the better part of the afternoon making gingerbread cookies from scratch.

Owen was running this project from the very beginning.

 He picked the gingerbread cutter spacing (with a smile, I might add).

 He got them placed on the cookie sheet with intent.

He watched them bake, adding that extra level of care truly exceptional cookies possess. 

We decorated the cookies as a family, but I'm going to give Owen the intensity award here.  There were no shenanigans whilst frosting the gingerbread boys.  He gets this way when exuding creativity.  I'm hopeful about what that could mean about his interests in the future.

The boys dabbling in Prometheus' work - but in a much more delicious medium.

The little things that serve as evidence of a mother's love.

Christmas Fort

Owen decided his fort needed a little holiday cheer.

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's fairly relaxing, full of good food, friends and family, and you are celebrating all that you are thankful for. We were fortunate to spend this Thanksgiving with Staci and Brandon and their family. We've been friends for so long that their family is our family, and vice versa.

It has become a tradition to make Thelma's rolls for the holidays. It feels good to be able to carry that tradition along and I love that I get to use her hand-written recipe card every year. Owen helped out by punching down the dough and he did great. I think I have my official bread maker helper.

  

Staci is definitely the hostest with the mostest. It runs in the family. Her mom is a great home decorator and her sister is an incredible cook. Plus, Brandon makes sure drink glasses are always full. With their powers combined, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Staci's sister has three kids who were over for dinner. Owen had a great time playing with them. Mom and dad had a great time relaxing, while Owen played with them. Win-win situation.

The kids played hide-and-seek for quite some time. It was Owen's first time playing the game, so he had to learn the rules.  He thought hiding under the table was the perfect hiding spot so kept going back.  He eventually caught on that doesn't work out so well.

It was the first time Staci and Brandon hosted Thanksgiving in their home, so the bird carving was a recordable event. I believe Brandon had a few cameras filming this.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving and are so thankful for our friends, family, and health. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Suspiciously Quiet

When am I going to learn my lesson? Quietness with a toddler, and a puppy actually, is not a good thing.

 "Mom! The dog threw mud at me!"

I think both guys are guilty. Fortunately, it's nothing nice, cold hose water couldn't fix. (Hey, it's 80 degrees here. I'm not that cruel.)

Getting Crafty With the Turkey

Owen and I decided to get into the fall spirit today and make some Thanksgiving crafts.

Working in a preschool has helped me come up with simple crafts on the fly. Nice little perk. Owen decided he wanted an alien turkey with teeth and a mustache. I went a little more traditional. 

Pretty turkey-lurkey fine, dontcha think?