::my birthday in photos::

Pancake breakfast:

with bacon and overeasy eggs--my favorite!

Some fun presents:

Special Italian bistro dinner:



What a great day!!

::me me me::

This post is about me.
It's my birthday today. Yay for me!

But really I think it's yay for my mom. Because how would I be here to talk about myself if it wasn't for her?
So thanks mom--and dad! Thanks for making it so I could be here and have birthdays.

Last year I asked everybody to leave me a comment as my birthday present. I loved it so much last year that I want to do it again!

So if you read this, will you leave me a comment and say hi? I'd love to hear from some of you that I maybe don't know--or those that I know but I don't know are reading...you know what I mean. And of COURSE I want to hear from my lovely friends that often leave me comments. Youguys are the best.

And I love comments--I mean, don't all bloggers love comments?
So tell me hi--and if I don't know you, tell me how you found me?

Wish you were all here to share some cake. A lovely friend in the ward brought me over this gorgeous cake:

The good news? It takes as good as it looks. Scrumptious.

I got my hair cut yesterday (for my birthday). What do you think?

(I like this picture except there's just something weird about my hand--it looks way bigger than it should be, doesn't it?)

(this is how Max makes me feel on a regular basis)

The best news about my birthday? It means that we ALL made it through another long cold (unless you're someplace nice) January. And that's great news, isn't it?

::giveaway!!::

It's about time around here for a giveaway, don't you think?
I promised my friend Beth like a year ago that I would do one when I won something in one of her giveaways. Lame it took me so long, but oh well at least I'm doing it!

Leave a comment here before midnight on Sunday Jan 31st and you'll be entered into the drawing for 2 pretty little snowflakes!
(one winner, two snowflakes)
Here they are:


The first one is the standard pattern from here. The second one is my own little variation.

They have lots of uses. You can hang them from the ceiling. You can pin them to the wall. You can put them away in your Christmas decorations for next year's tree. You can stick them under your door to keep the cold air out. You can wash the dishes with them. You can use them as coasters. You could sit on them at basketball games. I'm sure the list is endless really.

So enter if you want to! We'll pick a winner sometime monday morning.
Happy friday!

::skye::

My parents found out a few days ago that our old collie dog Skye was really sick.
They had to make the tough decision to put him out of his misery.
We've had him since I was seventeen.
He was such a great dog and a good friend to all of us. Especially Piper, our Australian Shepherd.
We'll miss him. I'll especially miss his goosing--his head was at just the right height to hit most people right in the crotch with his nose when he was going about his customary greeting.
We'll also miss his ridiculously high pitched yip. It wasn't very manly but it was cute.

Dogs are such good friends and fun to have around, but they sure do remind us of our mortality with how fast they age, don't they?


Love you Skye.

::legos::

Max has just barely gotten interested in legos. And he's very very interested in them right now.
I've gotten him some legos before, and even spent time putting them together for him, but he never really caught the vision. He didn't realize you could customize and change things I think.
I really like legos. I think they're a lot of fun and they're good toys for learning dexterity and fine motors skills and lots of other things.
I have to give Kelly & Lechelle the credit for this. They gave us Lego Star Wars for the Wii for christmas and Max has really been enjoying it. Once he started playing that he started thinking about legos a lot.
He started playing with the sets he had and making star warsy type things out of them.
Then he took his chore money he'd been saving and purchased a small official Star Wars set.

He was thrilled. Ok, I know in this picture it looks like he's a little less than thrilled, but that's just his "cool guy" smile.

I also got a little set that you could make a house and car and dog out of which he thought was really fun. Especially the dog. The little dog is so cute!

He enjoyed that. But we had a problem. The Star Wars set he got only had good guys in it. No bad guys. Lots of blasters but no bad guys. The poor people in the house and car set kept getting enlisted as bad guys and it just wasn't right.
So I told him that if he could try hard to keep from chewing his fingernails for a week I would get him the bad guys.
I made him a chart of course, and he did well enough (with lots of reminders and mercy of course) that he could get the bad guys. Now he's complete.

It's just fun to see him playing and having fun and being a little creative with it.
And it's fun to see him enjoying Star Wars--it was definitely a part of my childhood, and Kris's too. Fun stuff.

::buzz & woody::

We love PJs from the Disney Store. It's my new favorite place to get them. Not only are the PJs adorable with characters we love on them, but they come in sizes bigger than 5. And somehow it's hard to find good PJs for those that are older than 5.

What could be better than pretending to be a toy when you're going to bed?
I love how the Woody PJs even have "boots" at the bottom. Max was a little bummed that there wasn't a pull string on the back of the shirt though.
I especially love his side profile. He's got quite the figure, doesn't he?


Max was a little confused as to why I was writing my name on his foot. You're not though, are you?

::allocation of household duties--kris::

I ripped this idea off from Marilyn. Completely and unashamedly. It's just such a great idea that I couldn't help it. At least I did tell her I was going to be committing idea plagiarism.

But her list is so much funnier.
Anyway-----

Kris's Household Duties List (probably not complete):

• teeth brushing (Max and Sultan)
• taking out copious amounts of trash
• sorting and taking out copious amounts of recycling waste
• washing cars
• de-skunking dogs (ick)
• washing dog when he's not skunky
• emptying the disgusting crud catcher from the sink (we don't have a disposal, blech)
• filling my car with gas when he can
• always being the driver when we go somewhere together
• rubbing my feet while we watch TV
• reaching high things
• getting things from cold places
• talking me out of exotic vacation ideas
• cooking dinner most sundays (this isn't official but it's been working out well so far)
• knowing things about sports
• lawn mowing
• taking little boys out on outings so that I can rest
• riling up little boys right before bed
• starting tickle fights but not always being ready to finish them
• carrying heavy things
• slouching
• bringing home flowers when I'm sad or for special occasions
• being better at teaching the kids in our primary class than i am
• ignoring the call of "dad! dad! dad! dad!" for amazingly long periods of time
• fixing chapped little boy bottoms
• putting max to bed
• being a Real Dentist
• fixing things that seemed like they were non-repairable (land rovers, favorite lamps, etc.)
• cooking pancakes/waffles
• taking little boys back to bed after bad dreams in the middle of the night
• being rude when talked to when asleep (completely unintentionally I'm sure)
• playing bass
• turning on tunes for background music
• letting the dog out in the middle of the night
• chewing fingernails
• approving of my home decorating attempts
• eating treats I make
• bike commuting
• leaving for work when it's dark and coming back when it's dark
• being supportive
• doing voices for stuffed animals--mama fish, wall e, pluto, etc.
• wearing cute (manly cute) clothes
• always wanting to grow out his hair long
• calling home often when out of town
• knowing everything about camping
• spreading and re-spreading blankets on little boy beds
• picking up sandwiches on the way home from work
• getting ready for work without waking anybody up
• planning and executing bike rides
• telling me when things are in my teeth

Wow, ok partial list but pretty long... no wonder he's so busy!

He's out of town right now for work and we sure do miss him. We're so excited that he's coming home tomorrow!

Next Max needs a list. I'll get to work on that.

::::

This is the kind of thing that can happen when Max goes grocery shopping with me.

Yes, he sat on the bread. I barely saved the bagels.

He likes to sit in the basket of the shopping cart. And really I can't complain about that because it keeps him contained. Which is still an issue these days.

So I like him in the basket too. But things like smashed bread happen.

The lady at the check out tried to tell me I needed new bread. I told her that smashed bread still makes good toast. And how could I not pay for bread my own son's little bottom had squished?

At Trader Joe's the other day he sat on a banana. That ended up pretty gross as you might imagine. The cashier wouldn't let me pay for it even though I tried. That's how they are at good old TJ's.

But I'll take the little boy, smashed bread and all. The same bottom that smushes bananas and bread in the shopping cart is awfully fun to pinch.

::inspiring::

I just can't stop thinking about this girl and her family.
Don't follow the links unless you're prepared to be touched and have your heart broken.
They just lost a beautiful little baby. Unexpectedly and suddenly.
She was writing all about what happened on her blog--keeping everyone posted and expressing faith that he would survive.
Then after she lost him she's written more--about faith, about prayer. She's taken the time to communicate her feelings to all of us though she's been in such pain. At a time when it would be so easy to think of nothing but herself she's been careful to communicate and explain important things.
I am amazed and strengthened by this story and by her faith. And my heart is broken.
The story starts here. The post that touches me the most is here.
What a great example she is. My heart goes out to her and her family. I'm sure yours will too.

::::

Kindergarten 1984 (?)

Kindergarten 2009/2010

See any resemblance?
That sideway smile is one that Max always does when he's trying to be cool, or when he's self conscious. He's totally aware of it too, because he's drawn pictures of himself with that smile before.

What a couple of cuties.

::charts::

Max gets a chore chart every week. OK, so it's not every single week, but it's supposed to be. Sometimes I forget. And though he gets paid for the completed chart he doesn't seem to remember to remind me.....Anyway, he gets a chart. His chores are as follows:
Feed Sultan
Wash Hands (a result of the swine flu scare)
Brush Teeth
Clean Room
Let Sultan in and out
Dishwasher Help (putting away the silverware)
Practice Guitar
Clean up outside/inside toys
Pretty good list, right? He's the kind of guy that needs things to do, and although he doesn't like it when I make him do it, he does like marking the chart and does like earning a little cash.

Last week after I made his chart he sat down and made me a chart. I was very interested to see what my chart would say.

The tasks are in code. I had to write them down so I could remember what it was I was supposed to be doing. So here they are:
CR = Clean Room
D = Dishwasher (specifically everything Max doesn't do--he mentioned that specially)
W = Wash Hands
Fe Us = Feed Us (I like this one--so clear and concise)
B = ?? (he couldn't remember what that one was--very mysterious)
ST = Give Sultan Treats (lucky Sul)
WD = Wash Dishes (woo hoo, lucky me)
W CL = Wash Clothes

Sounds about right, doesn't it? Not much is left off there. I did a pretty good job with my chart this week. He reminded me to check my tasks off quite a few times.

He has a new chart along with his chores this week. It's a special anti-finger-chewing tactic. He gets two mess ups every day until friday. If he can make it until friday he gets some new legos. I hope it works because I'm tired of seeing him gnaw his little nails down to the quick.

::lessons::

Guitar lessons have begun.

We found a nice old guy at a local music store that enjoys teaching little kids. And Max has loved him so far. Max has delighted the teacher with his enthusiasm and interest. It's only been two weeks though, so we'll see if it all continues. As of now it's darling to see him with the little guitar. And it's really fun to have him in the house practicing, though if you have a headache stay away--far away.

He'll be playing the Ewok theme from Star Wars before we know it. (That's what he wanted Kris to teach him tonight, much to Kris's chagrin.)

::more little projects::

I had a couple of things I was working on for christmas that I had to keep secret, but now I can show them to you!
First is the project that got me crocheting in the first place.
My younger sister Charlotte loves cuttlefish.
Have you ever seen a cuttlefish?

image from here

I'm not sure if I had or not before we went to Disney World this year. Anyway, we ran across a whole tank of cuttlefish and Charlotte declared her undying love. So I knew I needed to give her one for Christmas. Then I found a really cool crochet pattern for a cuttlefish on etsy. And I knew I had to try it. So after a lot of practicing and a lot of messes I finally created a cuttlefish!!



I think he turned out really cute. I'm guessing I could make an even better one now with all my practice, but I think he turned out wonderful.
Maybe I'll try my hand at creating a sibling cuttlefish for him one of these days, maybe.
Thanks for inspiring me to start making stuff Char!

I made a little alligator for a friend's one year old a couple of weeks ago. He turned out pretty cute too.


It's fun to be able to make gifts that kids actually seem to like. And it's a good thing I have people to give these little guys to, or the house would be overrun.

Lastly here's a bird that I made in december. My mom has a traditional ornament exchange party every year, and I was thinking it would be fun to participate from afar this year. So I made this bird and sent him across the country.


Now I just need to make one for myself! At least I have the picture in case my own version never gets made.

So there are a few fun projects for you. It feels good to make stuff right now. It's so nice to have something to do with my hands that feels so productive so quickly.

::::

The last couple of years I've made a photo calendar for us through iphoto. I love these calendars. It's so fun to change the month and see what old pictures show up. Max loves it too. (He should since it's basically all about him--of course.)
Anyway, the nicest thing I've done for myself lately was to make the calendar last year go from Jan to Jan, instead of Dec to Dec. So in the midst of all the crazy things there are to do in December, I don't have to remember to make our new calendar! But of course I still haven't gotten the new one done. It's more work than it should be because I don't use iphoto much anymore, so I have to import everything I want to use. But still it's no good excuse. Maybe this time I should make the calender good through Feb...

::finished::

Check it out:

This is what I did with those cute snowflakes.
My original idea was to hang them from the ceiling of the kitchen. But I needed tons and tons to do that, because I would've wanted them thick. And the ceiling in our house is a bit low, so I was afraid Kris would be banging his head on them all the time.
And there was this perfect overhang at the window that was just begging for some fun.

So there they hang. Those two you see that look yellow aren't really that yellow. They're just kind of off white. When I realized how they looked compared to the other yarns I didn't make any more of those.

I think they're really fun. They make the winter seem just a little more festive. And you can't really tell, but most of them are made with yarn that has a little bit of a sparkle to it.
I like their silhouettes:

I got the pattern from here. They look really hard and complicated, but they're really very simple. And they're fast too, once you make one or two. I cranked out like 8 the other night when we were watching a (dumb) movie. And it's easy to improvise with them too. I came up with two other patterns based on the original that I really liked.
So try them. It's fun!!

In other news Kris has been tying a lot of fly fishing flies. He's getting good at it. He's working on flies for salt water fishies.
They're a lot bigger than the freshwater ones I'm used to seeing.
ALSO, Kris fixed my stained glass lamp. You can see it in a couple of the pictures in the beginning of this post. We got it for our wedding from some wonderful friends and I love it. One of our last moves did it in though. The post was totally broken. It wasn't of the highest quality to begin with, and four moves in four years was just too much. Anyway, Kris attempted to fix it a while back and it turned out badly--gorilla glue + fingers = bad news. But the other day he had an epiphany and fixed the dang thing with a dowel. I'm so happy to have it back! We need it out here in the winter. It's so dark and gloomy almost all of the time.
Anyway, I know my husband loves me when he solves a nearly unsolvable problem for me and doesn't give up on it.
That could light up anybody's january.

::work in progress::

::he's vintage::

We've been experimenting with different hairdos for Max. He loves it when I use the hairspray because it's the "max hold" kind.
Doesn't he look like a cute little boy from the 50s or the 60s today?

He reminds me a ton of a picture of my dad from when he was 10 or so. I wish I had it so that I could post it here.
Cuteness.

****update!
My mom just sent me a photo of my dad in kindergarten, so the same age as my Mazzles. He's so cute. See any resemblance between the two men?