Let's say it all together, "Home made Macaroni and Cheese" YUMMERS!! Super easy to boot!
And yhis lovely is my 2007 goals mini book. I love it, it makes me happy. It will hang on my bullentine board right where I can see it every day. Here are my goals:
Happy New Year!!
January, Hiking at the State Park
November, my super love for coffee develops.
December, Spurs game self portraits.
This is visual proof that we never ever ever need to buy Alex another toy car again. yes folks this is a 2.5' x 3' bin in his train table that is COMPLETELY full of cars. Oh My Excess God.
Help, we need a Hotwheels intervention.
Needless to say, I forced a purge and reorganization on Alex and his playroom yesterday. We ended up with five bags full of toys to donate and one very heavy bag of trash. And then I had the blissful moment of turning our Dyson on the room only to be horrified at the state of his carpets. Oh My Stained Carpet God. So between the purge and trash and Casey's genius movie and game Cd holder folder idea, his room is once again livable, clean, and sporting empty spaces. Hooray!! Unfortunately we took away Betty's main source of midnight snacks.
With a fresh start in 2007 right around the corner, I have been prepping by working on one major thing for me, a Budget. Yes, I Nicole, am all most done with a well balanced budget that reflects are spending habits (good and bad) and plan on sticking to it. We have some areas that need some major cut backs, and some areas that I need to get creative on, and some areas that I know I am forgetting about, but I am working on it, thinking about it, I even dreamt about it last night. I am even starting to think about how much it costs me to run certain appliances (our washer and dryer are consistent slaves), how much those yummy and loved foods we eat cost (especially Alex convenience foods, the horrors in mini packages), and what that dinner I fixed last night really cost to put on our table. There is just a lot of thinking going on here. Can you smell the smoke?
I finished my Christmas project just in time to hang up. It is made up of felt circles blanket stitched together with metallic thread. I love it!
Our trader Joe's gifty from Loren. Three big ole boxes of snack attack and dinner treats. We immediately started snacking and plan on making it part of our dinner tonight. And yes, there is one bottle of Charles Shaw, yummy!
Christmas Casey Man with his new slippers that had soles so he can wear them outside when he goes out to yell at the rat bastards on our street.
A sleepy Christmas Alex. Sweet boy had tons of fun this year and played all day with his toys before settling in with Lego Star Wars 2 for hours.
A blurry Christmas Sammie, my parents brought him over with them since all day is to long to have him crated up. He immediately found a ball and entertained himself dropping it down the stairs and then chasing it. Silly boy.
Merry Christmas!
Over the last couple weeks I have been constantly thinking about being a wife, what the roles, responsibilities, duties are for me. I have been inspired by some biblical passages, specifically Proverbs 31 and Titus 2. I have found some amazing women who are so selfless in their marriage and family, who struggle with the same things I do and who Changed. These women have taken those passages and live it to the fullest in their life. Luckily they have documented it all for women like me who need to learn.
When I was working, and rushing to pick up Alex after work, then sitting in traffic, and then maybe going to the grocery store and home to make dinner, I only ever wanted to be a stay at home mom. When I had that opportunity through a twist of fate and a corporate merger, I squandered it simply because I was overwhelmed. I had these images of June Cleaver and Mister Mom in my mind. I thought I knew how to clean house, I always thought that mostly followed by the wish that I had time too, but when that time came up, I discovered that I am a lousy housekeeper. I thought I could cook, and in fact I can cook for large groups of people, our First Friday parties were infamous, but cooking for us, wisely with nutrition in mind AND being able to use leftovers is something that I just couldn't come up with a educated thought on. I never even thought of taking care of our finances, that was always Casey's worry and honestly money scares me because I can't control myself with it. I thought that being a mom full time would be simple, I get to be with Alex all day! But then I had to answer to my self and my husband who works his butt off about my lack of ability. Sure I was good at taking the time for me, I nurtured me, I spoiled me, but my family suffered.
I have been blessed again to be at home since we moved here to Texas. Yes, I do work, but in the home and on our home businesses, sometimes I even end up back in the classroom teaching what I hated to teach, but now it is a joy. But I still struggle with all of the above. I have been focused this past month, on change, on living a better Wife and Mother role. I have been better. I still have so much to learn, so much to change, so much to just do everyday. But I can tell I am better. I am happier.
I have a huge role to fill as Mrs. Boyles. I am learning to not neglected it. To embrace it and shed the Nicole Price that I was. I have been married 5 years, I have spent the last 5 years with a ring on my finger, a joint bank account, a share bed, but I did not embrace my Job as a wife. I have been thinking of the current Mrs. Boyles who holds the reigning title, Casey's Grandma. When she passes on (hopefully not for many many years) I want to be worthy of this name. She is the glue that holds her family together. Her house is a Home, she feeds your belly and your soul. She loves and shares and is generally amazing. Through marriages and separate family names, the title will some day come to me to be the Mrs. Boyles, and hopefully Alex will have a Mrs. Boyles too. So in the mean time I am studying and learning and reading my bible more. And slowly becoming a fun mix of June Cleaver and Mister Mom.
Alex and Alyssa with Hunter the ReinDog
Christmas is 4 days away, i can say that because it is so late tonight. Four days!!!
We received some fabulous news today, Casey's mom is now CANCER FREE!!! Yahoo, just in time to start a new year without a bad oogie in her body. So happy to hear this today and I really enjoyed out hour long chat.
All my presents are wrapped, except the Alex gifts because Casey and I are going to wrap them up together Saturday night. That same night we are expecting possible SNOW, through Monday. Weather lady says it is all a matter of timing but the ingredients are there. YIPPY!!! I am looking forward to time with him wrapping up the gifts that are perfect this year, enjoying a fire, yummy treats, and us.
Tomorrow is Alex's last day of school for Winter break. His school is having a Polar Express party, they have had it for the last three years. Everyone gets in on the fun, the entry hallway is turned into a train track tunnel, the principle dresses as the conductor, all the kids get a ticket that gets punched and all come home with a bell around their neck, pizza in their tummy and a hot chocolate mustache. Good fun, good times.
Thursday, we were invited to a white elephant gift exchange, with a semi rowdy group of friends. I don't know if I should go the nice gifty track or the rowdy gifty track. :) It should be a fun time and it has been a while since we have seen them.
Everyday I anxiously await the mail truck, I love getting packages and I know what is coming in one of them so I have been stalking our mail lady Rosie. Oh TJ bliss is awaiting us soon!!! I think I will have to post pictures of that package and all its goodies.
Okay, time to rest my head, say some prayers, and nod off to sleep.
Previously, during one of my Mommy Dearest moments in the summer, I made Alex bag up all the random Hot wheels sets and tracks and get-ups that were scattered all over his playroom. I am seriously starting to re-think the need for a playroom, it should just be called a pit-room. Anyways, so into big black garbage bags these all went and during the following months the only thing to come out of those garbage bags was the Pirate sets and ships. Since the summer, these bags have sat quietly and blessedly ignored in a corner of Alex's closet.
Fast forward to tonight, in an effort to have Alex aware of household chores and his place in them, I had him take up and put away his clean clothes that I had folded downstairs. Pants, no problem. Underwear and socks, no problem. Shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, long long long bouts of silence. Seriously folks the pile of hang up clothes was a foot tall, if not two feet. And I was making him use his step stool to get hangers and hang up the now clean clothes. Everything seemed to be moving along fine, albeit slower then i would accomplish it, but it was getting done. Or so I thought.
* Insert stupid stupid mommy comment here* Come on you know you want to snicker at my soon to be discovered misfortune.
Fast forward to me walking into his closet tonight to find SEVEN pieces of clothing hanging up and all the others piled on his closet floor among hangers and now opened and dumped out bags of previously bagged up sets, tracks and toys.
Fast forward to me, mentally losing it. Me with the devil on my shoulder jumping up and down fanning the flames coming out of my ears and burning the lovely sweet angel on my other shoulder to a nice Char. Oh My Goodness, this kid has NO idea. No IDEA.
Presently, all toys are bagged up and in the hallway for him to help me pile into the car so I can take them to Goodwill tomorrow.
Presently, Alex is HANGING all clothes up and checking the tags to make sure no 4's go up. If 4's are found they go into the nice organized bag I had previously had on the closet floor to give to my moms neighbor with five kids.
Presently, Mommy is ready to open a bottle of wine.
The End.
Lovely?! This nasty gash is the product of Bella, my dumb stupid head lab. This mornng while I was in the shower, I locked the dogs on the deck, you can never chance them getting out. Well during said shower the neighbor's dog up the street dug INTO our yard, causing our dogs to go Ape Shit. I heard them freaking out, and like a mother who knows the different cries of her child, I know their barks. So out of the shower quickly tossed some clothes on and right as I got out the door Bella leaped over the deck railings and chased the dog through the hole he dug into our yard. Rat Bastard. So over the railing I went, into the greenbelt and I found Bella in another neighbors yard, how she got there I don't know. This lovely gash was a product me of hauling our dumb head Bella over the fence, did I mention she is a 60 pound dog? She snagged me with her Dew Claws as she fell over, damn it hurt, hurt HURT!! So after refilling the hole, blocking it with stones from the creekbed, and climbing back into our yard I gave Bella a big old stern talking too, but was secretly amazed at how NASTY she was to that other dog. I know she hurt him because she attacked like I have never seen before. Even Twain should be proud of her. So now I have to go to Home Depot and get a couple bags of quick cement to throw into the hole. OH joy oh Joy. Oh damn my arm hurts. Shoulder to elbow. the Hydrogen perioxide was painful and I used 12 cotton balls. Craptastic is the word for my day so far. And I still have to go chew our neighbor out for being so lax with their damn dogs.
Alex's Baby's First Christmas Ornament, it was a gift from a good friend, who loved Alex to bits.
This is one of the orange balls that Casey brought home to me on his infamous Department 56 trip. I love it, especially because I would have never bought it myself. It makes me smile every time I see it.
So yeah, 10 days away. Holy! Today is my crazy day to clean the house, it is in sore need of it.Our lovely home has patiently waited all week while laundry piled up, dishes sat and sat, the floors became dusty and dirty, and the bathroom, oh my lanta, the bathrooms started to talk and explain their messy predicament. So today is my day to run the washer and dryer non-stop, to use every cleaning supply we have, to pile bags of garbage on the curb, and to finally get some order in this place. I also need to find time to go to the post office (the horrors!), bake our Christmas cookies, wrap the presents that I have done, and finally put up the lights outside. But it is all happy joyful "make your family happy" kind of doing. That is all I can ask for. So iguess I better go get started, right after I have a yummy breakfast and enjoy the thick fog that is out this morning.
Every girl deserve a frou frou ornament!! Got mine at Crate and Barrel last year.
So this year we decided to do a reverse 12 Days of Christmas for Alex. Each day there will be a surprise gifty under his tree in his room, he loves that darn tree. Yesterday was Day #1, and he got a Christmas Nerd Rope, ahhhhh Sugar. I did promise him that if he got candy for his 12 days of Christmas gift then he could eat it all that day. *sigh* I think I might regret that, but a promise is a promise. Today's gifty is a Santa head Chia pet. Hhahahahhaah we shall see how that goes over. And he knows that all these itty bitty gifts are from Mom and Dad. No Santa Credit here!
Binder Cover
Binder Tabs
This is my birthyear ornament from my moms collection. My parents also had a silver bell engraved with my name and birthyear. The little prayer girlie spins around. I just love how time this looks, not retro at all. It also really touches me to think of my parents picking it out to celebrate me.
Lantern lights in process.
Lantern Lights Hung, this shot is with flash so you can see them better.
Langtern Lights, full effect.
I was inspired by these at Posie Gets Cozy. Alex and I dug around in my craft box and found my old old orgami papers to make our strand. I just love the warm glow it gives his room in the dark.
Now that we are done with that project, I finally FINALLY get to devote couch/homework/lag time to this project. I am SO excited about it, just wait till you see the finished project.
It struck me to day how mellow I am with this Christmas. It is the fist Christmas in a while that isn't stressful or worrisome. It is nice, mellow, calm, and all most done. Casey and I still have to buy for bugman, but that is no problem. Today bugman and I and my mom went to a new Super store out here. I picked up some baking needs to tackle our Christmas cookies. I also pulled out my old Mrs. Field's cookie recipe book. It actually still had the slips of paper in it from the recipes I made Casey one Valentine's Day, like 12 years AGO!! Hello. Tonight we are going to make Chocolate Chips, Peanut kisses, lemon sandwichs, and eggnog sugars. And later this week we are going to make iced sugar cookies, I am looking forward to pulling out all my cookie cutters. Hmmmm, I must remember that these are for neighbors and not my tum.
I just came from our Pack Leader's meeting. Another mom there who is the den leader for the den above mine is always, always busy. Her husband is in the military and he is deployed right now. They have one 9 monhts baby girl, and twin boys that are 7 that they adopted. Both boys have some problems, one more then the other. The one boy in question was just diagnosed with schitzoferenia (sp?), ADD, and a slew of other things. He steals from her everyday, literally goes into her wallet or where ever she stashes cash or valuables and takes it all and then gives it away to other kids at school. He just pissed in his closet at home because he wants too and he still where pull-ups simpley because he doens't care if he messes himself. I have interacted with this kid many times and never really felt that something was wrong with him. He totally comes off as a normal boy, who is just excited to be there ( Cub Scouts). But talking to the mom tonight made me realize how well they hide it. Poor thing just got news that her husband will now NOT be coming home for Christmas, instead they are delaying him by a week. She is so stressed, so busy, so concerned, and so alone right now.
Today was one of those days where God tapped me on the shoulder to show me that my life isn't as bad as many many others out there. Now I want to clarify right now that I haven't been feeling the woe is me part lately, in fact, I have been motivated happy and really looking forward to a new year. But today's friend and her story really made me aware of what life could be like, and it reminded to me to thankful and say a prayer for the good life that we do have.
We are now in the double digits for the advent countdown, which means we are that much closer to Christmas, 15 days!!!
I love the "lace glitterwork" on this ball ornie. In fact I am trying to recreate the design in some cookie decorations today. You can also just spy part of my green star ball in the lower left corner as well. I just love the ornaments from crate n barrel.
Today, drving down the freeway, just after escaping the LA-like traffic jam caused by a 6 car pile up, my windshield was attacked by bits of pebbles and dirt from the construction equipment building the new part of the freeway. Or So I Thought. I Think Wrong, because it wasn't pebbles and dirt it was SLEET and then, THEN (!) it snowed for a brief minute. Real snow, white fluffy floaty stuff, and then it turned to sleet again for HOURS. So please Oh Great Snoppy Snow Cone Maker in the Sky, please give us some more snow to enjoy, and please let it have a texas Shelf life of longer then 15 seconds. Just don't make it tomorrow morning when I am having a garage sale.
Another Crate and barrel ornament. This one reminds me of the cartoon movie the Sword in the stone, the part where the wizard and the witch are dueling she turns into a dragon and he beats her in the duel by turning into a virus. This ornament looks like the spots that showed up on ther belly.
Okay, I have to come out and admit that I Like Gwen's New Song, Wind It Up. Seriously I do, it rocks in the car, and I love the little sing along yodle.
If anyone needs a gifty idea for Alex, I have a unique awesome one. UglyDolls We were talking tonight about the defense merit of his current stuffies, mostly build a bears. He was worried that they were not "scarey" enough. So I found these lovely, or should I say Uglies, and I think they are right up his alley. At $20 they are not bad to keep away the scaries. So help a kiddo out and send him an Ugly for Christmas. Boo!
Speaking of Christmas, I have one major gifty package in the mail. Another going out Monday. And two gifts ready to be wrapped. I am feeling behind and worried about presents this year, but them it hits me. They are all I have to worry about and really it's not a worry! *grin* We decided to do one gift for each adult from each adult, and then a couple gifts each for Alex. So really, I only have Alex gifts to tag team with Casey, and a couple adult gifts. WooHoo!
I am also trying REALLY hard to use up all this old IKEA wrapping paper we have had for YEARS. I am so sick and tired of it. So don't be surprised if your gift is prettier then the paper.
This ornament is my most treasured ornament, because it has Alex's handprint from around 2 years of age on it. His preschool teacher was amazing that Christmas making all sorts of keepsakes for us parents. This time she painted their hands white, wrapped it around the ball and then painted little snowman on the fingers and tied on a poem. *sigh* I just love the smallness of my bug's hand.
This was Alex's big wheel, but it has slowly turned into a mega chew toy for the dogs. Rat Bastards. It use to have handles but the handles have now been turned into little bits of plastic that traveled through three dogs instestines and are now part of fertilzer in the yard. It is slightly distrubing to be in the yard and see confetti like flakes of colorful plastic everywhere. Damn dogs.
This Mickey ears ornament is part of a pack of 20 in rainbow hues. My parents bought it for us the year we moved from San Diego to San Antonio. We always went to Disneyland, seriously at least twice a month and we were missing it horribley. The October after we moved, my parents went to Disneyland for their last time right before their move. I asked my mom to pick me up a special Disney ornament and she came back with 20 of them!! Alex absolutely adores them and I love them because they fit into our ball theme, are not to cartooney, and they make me think of Disneyland at my favorite time of year, winter.
I have been rocking the breakfast menu this week, eggs, ham, small slice of bread, fruit and coffee. But today, i swear my eyes and tummy had no vision for anything other then the bag of marshmellows, four big old puffs later and I am disappointed that they aren't as good as I thought they would be. *sigh*
Alex's (and mine) First Gingerbread house. So fun, so messy, and I am afraid to eat it.
All the Sleeping doggies. Ignore the laundry pile.
See I did cook a good dinner!Look at that pile of salad!
A super dark picture (sorry), but man a live I am so glad to have all our Christmas cards done, addressed, stamped and ready to go out! Yippy!
That my friends is satisfaction on many levels.
Sorry for the dark pictures, I am trying out a new camera. There are all sorts of new things to learn with it. But these pictures were too rare to not share. These two are never together, ever!
Since the weather has changed, I bring the dogs in early at night now and let them thaw out and mellow down with us in the evening. Few things in life are as comforting as a house full of happy resting pups, a sweet boy playing Pirate ships, a new Gingerbread house, and a warm meal cooking on the stove top.
I have been thinking about food and mealtimes alot lately. Well I always think about food, but now I am thinking MORE about it. Growing up my mom always made dinner, we would go out, but the majority of my memories were of her cooking, or sitting down to eat a home made meal. And we usually ate dinner late in the evening because my dad commuted to Los Angeles for years. Which meant I always went to bed with a full warm tummy. There is something comforting about being down with all the schoolwork and chores, eating dinner, then taking a bath and tumbling into bed warm inside and out. I can remember her Au Gratin Potatoes, soups, Beef burgenndey (sp?), always a salad with radishes green onions and tomatoes, chicken stirfy, and Mac 'n Cheese two ways (one baked for my dad, one soft for me). Then there was that period of time when she was home ( I was always a latch key kid), and I can remember one day coming in the door after school and smelling the Spice Cake with maple icing she has made. Around that same time she had cleaned my room for me and put a dish of candies on my desk because I was having friends over to work on a school project. I totally appreciated that and I thought I had the coolest mom.
Now, I want to create that with Alex. Admittedly, it is easier to fed Alex and I on convience foods when Casey is on a business trip. But they aren't very good for us, nor do they make the house smell homey and comforting. I want to teach Alex to savor a hot breakfast instead of a bowl of colored sugar pops. I want him to enjoy being in the kitchen while dinner is cooking, helping to set the table, enjoying the food that is put before him. I don't want it all to be a struggle simply because he only wants a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.
Once again I can demostrate that I am fabulous planner, but not that great on excuting said plans. My pantry, fridge, and freezer are so well stocked that there are few things I need to pick up. I could cook a different meal from my larder every day for a month before I would need to restock. That is all alot of food, and I know it. So this month, while Casey is on a mega trip, Alex is going to get in the habit of eating real food and (shock) a salad too. He will be rewarded with a basic dessert of yogurt or maybe a bit of brownie. But come hell or high water this month will be the start of home cooked goodness.
I want to create those memories for him that my mom created for me. I don't know if she meant to make those memories, but I have them. And those moments will be with me forever like a mental security blanket.
So tonights menu is Pork Chops with Applesauce, wile rice and zuchini rounds. We have a super yummy artisan loaf to butter up and salad to have with it, and at the end a bit of fuji apple yogurt. Maybe I will make a before bed hot chocolate too.
Mister Porqupine here is right up there in my top five favorites, simpley because he is so darn cute. His nose is a sharp little point that I always worry about breaking when I pack him away each year. If I remember correctly I got him at Crate and Barrel, a secret super place to buy ornaments.
We went to the Spurs game last night for Scout night. Let me tell you, our seats were WAY up there, to the point of nervousness on my part.
Happy guys.
Even More Happy Guys. These are my tigers.© Free Blogger Templates 'Photoblog II' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
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