Fashion Accessory of the Year

These crazy sunglasses were for sale everywhere we went in Vegas! Some little girl told my sister-in-law Angela and me, in all seriousness, that they were the "fashion accessory of the year". We got a laugh out of them for sure! Here are Josh, Jason & Lewis modeling pair as well as Kevin & Joyce.

Santa's Lap

After a slow start this morning, we made it to the mall to sit on Santa's lap. Everyone did a great job and even smiled for the photo!!!!
(Click on photo to enlarge)

First Broken(?) Bone

Last night as Luke decided to reenact the famous Pee-Wee and Francis bathtub/swimming pool battle from “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”, he fell off our couch. He got up saying that his shoulder hurt and continued to complain until he fell asleep on the ice pack Brooke got from the freezer for him. I let him take his nap and when he awoke crying “ouchie” we decided it was time to head to the Urgent Care to have an X-ray.

They told us last night that it was a sprained collarbone, but tonight they called after a radiologist looked at the X-rays and said it looks like it might be a hairline fracture (or it might not). So, Luke now has to wear a cool Snoopy sling for 7-10 days and then get re-X-rayed. This should be interesting!

Bah-humbug Minute

So I’m listening to the radio this morning and I have it set to a station playing Christmas music. I don’t know why I keep listening to the local stations; they are playing the same songs 5 times a day (at the very minimum!). It’s really driving me nuts. I keep thinking about calling and offering them use of my CD collection to get some new material.

After I heard a particular song for the third time in one hour I decided to write up a list of the Christmas songs I hate.

The Little Drummer Boy (any version)
Grown Up Christmas List (any version)
Blue Christmas as done by Elvis
that Christmas Shoes song (a “chain letter” email set to music)
pretty much any Manheim Steamroller cover
Mary Did You Know?

Songs I’m starting to dislike because of overplay:
Holly Jolly Christmas
Do You Hear What I Hear?
O Holy Night

His Name is Max

The other day my mom forwarded me some photos from my cousin Sheryl's Thanksgiving dinner. They were of her kids and their boyfriend and girlfriend. Brooke (aged 2 1/2) came over to investigate and here is the conversation that followed:

Brooke: "Who’s that?"
Heather: "Mommy’s cousin’s kids."
Brooke: "Oh. Who’s that boy?"
Heather: "Mommy’s cousin Shelly’s boyfriend."
Brooke: "Oh. I have a boyfriend. His name is Max." (that's the little guy I babysit)

“Show Mommy how the little piggy eats…”

Do you remember that line from The Christmas Story? It’s when Ralphie’s mom tries to encourage his little brother Randy to eat his dinner…then the kid starts snorting up his food while oinking? Got the image now?

That is how dinner was tonight with Luke. I made stir fry and we gave him one piece of chicken and told him to eat it, then he could have the fried rice. He started to throw his tantrum about not wanting to eat it, etc. So after 15 minutes, I tried a new approach.

First we told him to smell it. He does so.
Then we told him to lick it. He does so and doesn’t freak out.
So next I said, “Stick it on your fork and lick it like a lollipop!”
Son: (Laughs and licks it)
Mom: “Lick it some more.”
Son: (Laughing hysterically now and licking super fast)
Mom: "Now, chew it like bubble gum!”
Son: “MMMMM!!! More chicken please!!”

All the while in my head is playing the scene from above mentioned movie. Too bad I wasn’t filming our dinner.

Words of Wisdom

"Learn to write your hurts in sand and carve your blessings in stone."

I read this in the comic Pickles by Brian Crane a couple of weeks back and liked it. Thought I'd pass it on.

Who's That Nibbling On My Gingerbread House?

Thanksgiving night we herded ourselves down into my parents basement to deocrate Gingerbread houses. It was especially fun as this was the first time Luke & Brooke have ever done this. I didn't worry about getting fancy like the rest of the fam, I just put blobs of frosting on the house and let the kids stick whatever candy they wanted onto it. They loved it!

Mornings Suck

In a rare moment this morning, as my children played upstairs with the kids I baby-sit, I turned on the TV for myself. As I looked at the channel guide at what is offered at this hour for adults, I came to realize that I hate morning TV. This should not surprise me, as I hate mornings.

I HATE to wake up early. Now that I have kids, I’m up at 7 or before all the time. And if they do choose to sleep in, it’s on a day when my baby-sit kids are coming early.

Breakfast is something else I’m not big into. I have NEVER liked breakfast food offered at places like McDonald’s and Burger King – as a kid it was one of the worst things about cross country travel. I’m not a big fan of pancakes and waffles – I do like bacon, however. Instead, I would rather eat leftover pizza or a frozen burrito.

I also hate taking showers in the morning. I feel it is a form of torture to have to get out of a nice cozy bed and stand under water pelting down at you. And that’s not even the worst part! You still have to have to walk out of the warmth you’ve finally created into a cold morning and look longingly at your bed knowing that it will be hours before you can climb back in again.

So anyway, back to this morning. As I lay exhausted on my couch looking over the pathetic choice of shows to choose to waste my free time on, debating whether or not I wanted to make cereal to eat, I just decided to turn off the TV and hit the fridge for my leftover pizza and read a book. And they were great!

Elves

Today the Elves came to Gardner Village, so I took the kids to see them. Luke refused to have his picture taken with them, but I did get one shot with him near some.

Snow Babies

First Snow (that stuck) of the Year

Sweeties

I don't know how my cousin Shannon gets her photos to turn out so nice, but here is my attempt to get our kids to pose...

No Regrets

Lately I find myself thinking about my many regrets, so today, I thought about some of the things that I don’t regret.

* My last minute decision to go to Hawaii with my friend Gorgi (1999)
* Every bite of ice cream or pineapple whip I ate while I was there
* Taking off a week of work to go to Norway with my cousin Jeremy, and ending up in the Bahamas instead (2000)
* Buying a second Pina Colada because the first was the best I’d ever had (Bahamas)
* Skipping a week of school to go to Hawaii with my family (2000)
* Walking with my dad to the Hale Koa to get Pina Coladas and taking him up on the offer to have a second.
* Voting for George W. Bush
* Loving the Bee Gees
* That strawberry cheesecake ice cream cone I bought in Vegas at the Ghirardelli ice cream shop (however, I DO regret not spending the $8 for the big Peppermint Sundae)
* Paying the extra bucks to sit in the “Hot Potato” seats at the Wiggles concert (twice) with our kids
* Putting Luke in preschool
* Learning to embroider from both my Grandmas
* Moving to Seattle & Portland for work
* Buying the house we currently own
* Learning Spanish
* Watching Zoolander and enjoying it

Scratch ‘n sniff

I stole the idea for this topic from my friend Jessica (thanks!)

Some of my favorite smells:
Peppermint
Vanilla
Wild Prairie Roses
Carnations
Bacon
Fireworks
Mosquito repellent
Hot apple cider w/cinnamon sticks
Black dirt
Taco Pizza
Lilac

Least favorite smells:
Dirty diaper
Deviled eggs
Skunk
Gasoline
That new asphalt smell
Cigarettes
Coffee

Mother Nature

Thank you Mother Nature for:
* the sight and smell of Wild Praire Roses
* the sight and sound of Canadian Geese
* the color of Cardinals
* the song of the Western Meadowlark & Wood Thrush
* budding flowers in the Spring
* changing leaf colors in the Fall
* the sound of a small stream flowing over rocks
* the wind blowing
* a forest with sunlight filtering through the trees

Halloween

Here are the kids on Halloween.
Luke was happy to be Superman and Brooke is "a cat like Dora" (in the Dora Halloween special Dora dresses up as a cat). For over a month, Brooke has told me that is what she wanted to be. Two days before Halloween, she decided she wanted to be Supergirl. Of course by now Wal-Mart is sold out of that costume! Thankfully the day before she went back to her original wish, as we already had everything she needed to be a cat.

I Cry the Day I Take the Crib Down

Three days ago Brooke announced that she needed to sleep in her "big girl bed", not the crib anymore. After she climbed into bed and fell asleep, I cried.

Now, I know that she isn’t a baby anymore, and we’ve had the toddler bed in her room for 3-4 months now, but she wasn’t trying to get out of the crib. All I had to do was put her down at nap or bedtime and she stayed put and fell asleep quickly. It wasn’t a big deal to me that she wasn’t in a bed. I remembered all too well how it went with Luke…

When we moved into our current house, Luke was 24 months old and we needed the crib for 4 month old Brooke. He was in and out of the bed and screaming at the door every time I put him down. He was contained in his room until he learned how to climb over the baby gate (about one month). After that he was in our bed or on our floor all the time. He still visits us every few nights.

I wasn’t looking forward to that with child #2, but what do you say to your 2 ½ year old when she demands to sleep in a big girl bed because she’s not a baby? I mean, she’s got a great vocabulary and she’s been potty trained for 3 months now! What else does she have to do to prove to me that she’s grown up?

So far once she’s asleep she’s stayed in her bed. However, as the days have gone on she has found numerous ways to put off going to sleep. She comes the door and cries “Oh Heather, oh Heather, oh Heather…” or “I need to go potty” or “I need a story” or last night’s new one: “Mommy, you’re my best friend and I just need you…you’re my best friend….” all while shedding a great many tears. I’m trying to stay tough; a threat with being returned to the crib usually stops the fuss and keeps her in her room (“I can’t sleep in the crib!!! I need to sleep in my big girl bed!!!”)

Now it’s time for the crib to be removed from her room and I’m sad. Not just because it takes an extra hour to get her to bed, but because my baby is no longer a baby. She’s a big girl and time will never go backwards…

Do Your Ears Hang Low...

So a few days ago I got this email from my Aunt Barb:

Hi! Heather!!
Just doing a bit of family research. Could you send out a mass e-mail to the Himle clan to see if any of our family has attached earlobes? Zac is feeling a bit alien and would like to know if he's adopted!
Please help!

And the responses came pouring in:

Doug Himle: "I do." Dad "(I think Grandpa does too.)"

Vicki Himle: "well tell Zac to feel better. Dave has attached earlobes also. Who in the world came up with this interesting tidbit? Dave is interested in knowing who has attached earlobes."

Liz Himle Jaquier: "I have attached earlobes."

Sue Himle Clark: "Hey Barbara, Turns out that Brad is the only one in our family with attatched lobes. I like his ears, but this is the first time I've noticed that they were attatched. Better to be attatched than to be like that famous cartoon about the elephant! Love, Sue"

Bree Himle: "Well- he is not adopted because Derick's earlobes are attached, and so are Aubree's if we are counting great-grandchildren too!! -bree"

But, the best was Jeremy Himle's chart:

What's On Your Fridge?

Today as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I looked at the fridge and thought about how much stuff I have stuck on it. It is the family message board, Art Gallery and Wall of Remembrance.

We have Luke’s preschool calendar, Brooke’s latest drawing from Nursery, our magnet collection (we try to pick one up wherever we visit), Luke’s soccer schedule, coupons for free meals at restaurants we may never visit, a job chart and photos of family.

It made me think how I really couldn’t stand a bare fridge. I know Jason hates the clutter, but I just couldn’t bring myself to toss the little bunny picture with the cotton ball tail Brooke did last week at church. She was very proud of it and as soon as we left church she told us it was going on the fridge. She hung it up herself with the star shaped magnet from Texas (the Lone Star State). Eventually I’ll toss the outdated calendars, but until the end of the month, we’ll have a few extra papers hanging around.

So now I’m wondering, what’s on your fridge?

Photos from a wedding

Here we are at a recent wedding.
Getting Luke to smile is getting harder and harder. Brooke, however, has not had any issues with that (goofy faces - that's another story...)