First things first. Yes... my last post was in January... it's now past St. Patrick's Day. I know. I know. There is so much to catch up on.... we're going to have to do it in parts. You'll thank me later :)
PART 1: January 7th Travis takes the jump (finally) and asked Valerie to MARRY him!!! The night before they left to head up to China Peak, Travis dropped by and we put some vinyl on the wooden box that the ring came in.I don't think Travis even remembers this... I am sure he didn't touch the floor coming into the house that night!
He proposed in the parking lot of the ski resort... and TOTALLY caught Val off gaurd... but she said "YES"... once she caught her breath. (sorry about the fussy pic) And of course, any reason to host a party... with only about 48 hours to plan and execute, we were able to get both sides of family together for a "Wedding Kick Off"... and of course, to get all the details about how "it" all went down. Val's parents brought the most amazing deserts.... these pictures don't do them justice!
Practicing for the big day....
Currently, there is still no official date for the main event.... but stay tuned for details! Let the fun begin! Welcome to the family Val!! On a funny note... I will have only 2 sister-in-laws... and only one birth date to remember! What are the odds?... their birthdays are on the SAME date! Makes life easier for me! :) P.S. a new posting is already scheduled for tomorrow! So come back soon!
When it rains, it pours. I'm so grateful it's already Thursday. The beginning of this week was dragging on WAY to long. Jennah came down with a BAD cold (the kind where she barks when she coughs) and then Andy stepped it up a notch with the stomach flu. Seriously?
Unfortunately, Jennah got her daddy's gag reflex (or mommy's pregnancy puker) gene. Poor poor thing. When she starts coughing it ends up in a puke. It used to catch me off gaurd... but I consider myself a pro now. I can get her to linoleum or grab a towel with time to spare now. Any who... in my inner moanings of being the only well person in a sick house, I was at the kitchen sink and looked over to see my counter looking like this. How do moms keep from getting sick?.... I don't get it. It's like we have some sort of extra defense system or something. Between all the straws we share, snotty noses we wipe, and puke we've "folex" out of the carpet (if you don't know what that is, ASK ME!).... somehow we USUALLY don't get "it"! It's nothing short of a miracle... and I'm SOOO grateful! I don't know how much more laundry I could stand to do! :)
A friend recently posted on her blog an "ah-ha" moment. I've had the same moment, but I wasn't able to say it as eloquently as she has.... therefore I'm quoting her. I hope she doesn't mind... but it was totally worth repeating.
"I abandoned all the "things" I normally do in a day so I could put all my attention on them. And do you know what? they loved it and so did I. We read books together, watched movies, folded laundry together, made snacks, colored, ... (son) was the best behaved he has EVER been. He didn't get in trouble for anything. He cuddled with me during the movies. He was nice to (his sister)... I just loved spending so much "time" with my kids like this. I realized that I spend/waste a lot of time doing things that I have thought were necessary when in reality, their not. My house was never so clean then these 3 days because we cleaned together. I never realized just how much work I do without my kids only to realize that while I'm cleaning they are making a huge mess somewhere else, so my work never seems done. Plus, not being on the computer was really hard for me. I must be glued to this sucker, because I really did miss it, but I realize that I am on this thing WAY. TOO. MUCH! and way more than I thought."
I seriously wondered if I was going to make it through all the hussle and bussle of the holiday season. There was never a dull moment.... and tons of new projects and recipes were made (barely). Where to begin.... Early November, Jennah was invited to my boss's daughter, Breena's birthday party. On a side note.... I went to Breena's baby shower on the day of our FIRST unofficial date... wow. Time flies! It was held at a local gymnastics academy (Break the Barriers) which accommodates everyone with and without physical handicaps. For 2 full hours, 20 girls had full run of the place and 3 employee/gymnasts. Jennah literally ran every bit 1 hour 45 minutes... non stop. She had what I call a "perma-grin" from smiling for so long. In November, we also attended our 3rd wedding in 4 weeks. Holy Sh-moly! And in case you're wondering.... WARNING: Gawpee's and Candy Bars at weddings DO NOT mix!Thanksgiving (which seems like forever ago) was quiet... and finally brought a sigh of relief to the seemed like never ending valley heat.
Let the festivities of the season begin. Jennah's class held a family potluck... and Gawpee came. We held Thanksgiving dinner at our home. After we "gobbled till we wobbled" we packed up and headed to the theater. Jennah 1st Trip to the MOVIES!!! I'd been postponing this event because I didn't want to pay money and then have her be bored and then want to leave. So we chose Disney's new "TANGLED" which is a rendition of Rapunzel. SHE LOVE IT!! She sat there the whole time... and not because I gave her rootbeer, popcorn and twizzlers! Here was an adorable snack that Jennah made in Nursery class at church. Where do people come up with this stuff!?! Seriously a TURKEY!... out of a rice krispie ball and an oreo, a few dabs of frosting.... SERIOUSLY! Flippin' adorable!
In order to keep Jennah busy while I sewed on Christmas projects, I found her a sewing machine of her own. Now don't go and get all worried... this is a child's sewing machine, it has a casing around the needle... and she WON'T sew herself to the fabric! Breathe. She LOVES her little Singer! She knows how to use the pedal, raise/lift the foot, turn the fabric, and do a reverse stitch! That's MY girl!! Grandma Millie (Gawpee's mom, Jennah's great-grandmother) would be SO proud! On one of the Saturdays that I was needing some time alone to "get crafty".... Andy and Jennah had a day of their own. With our zoo passes expiring shortly, they took advantage of the cooler temperatures and lack of vistitors. As November quickly ended and December came roaring ahead, we started to plan out our Christmas decorations. Okay. I did. Andy claims that he married Mrs. Claus in disguise. Hmm.
Okay. So we have a tiny house. Tiny. Most people are shocked to find out that they even build new homes the size of ours. 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms. That's it. And while there are WONDERFUL things about our tiny home (cheap to heat/cool, fast to clean... front to back, bathrooms included 2 hours TOPS!) there are some drawbacks. Space. I find myself trying to merge ideas from Pottery Barn (be still my heart) and IKEA (can someone really live in a 350 sq. ft. space!?) Some call it "organization".... I call it "tub-ification." Anyway... so here's my point. With Christmas lurking.... and grandparents in the mist, Andy and I thought it might be best to have what we called a "small & consumable" Christmas (you don't have to store it, doesn't take up much space). All our few gifts should be things that we consume and only take up very little space. For me, make-up. Jennah, markers and coloring books that can be tossed when they're done, Andy- a pair of wire strippers so that he can repair the "rabbit loved" wires around the living room. Jennah is so entertained by 99 cent Store items that she got several. When they break, toss them out. I figured we won't get away with this for long, so may as well do it while we can. The money we would have spent on large gifts we chose to put toward a "family gift".... a memory that would last forever, and that wouldn't take up space in our tiny home...a five (yes, 5) day trip to Disneyland.
So with visions of Disney which now danced in our heads... we prepared for Christmas. We created our own Disney tree (all for under $12, which will all be tossed out after Christmas, except for a sample or two). We found a Disney book at a yard sale for $1 and cut out our favorite characters. A few circles cut out on the Cricut.... and a dash of glitter glue...Wah-la! A Disney Tree! .... and yes, even Disney wrapping paper to bring it all together!
We also made our own yard decorations. We wanted to do it cheap... and I wanted to use my Cricut (surprise!). We cut out several circles in chipboard, which Andy and Jennah painted. We stapled them together and stuck them on the dowels (cut in half) that we picked up from Lowes , for just a few dollars.We wrapped them with some cheap cello wrap, and tied them with Costco ribbon bows... Wah-la... SUCKERS in the yard of our Gingerbread House! Decking the halls... Andy and Jennah were in charge of lights.... I was incharge of documenting the experience. They actually worked well together.... and got ALL the lights up around the house in less than 90 minutes! Jennah wasn't to clear on the whole idea of stockings. Put them out, Santa fills them. But she figured she may as well try the stocking on! Ha! I love seeing things through her "literal" ideas of things! Visiting Santa... At the mall And at church... LOVE the look on her face!
Making her "Nativity" sticker scene. Every child got a set of stickers at the church dinner... Jennah LOVES nativity scenes. She has the Fisher Price one... but I think she's out grown it this year... she talked me into buying her a real ceramic set. She takes such good care of it... and carries "Baby Jesus" around EVERYWHERE. He even sleeps with us!!
Cooking... A lot! What a helper! Making sugar cookies with pepperment "kissies" (as Jennah calls kisses) "Painting" garlic toast Cooking breakfast! .... don't worry... the stove isn't on yet! Checking to see if Santa came while we were at school!! Lining up the presents under the tree... Too bad we can't leave them there.... We have a wild rabbit in our home which explains why we put the pressents on the table on the side!!... out of "rabbit range"!!!
Our 1st official "homework" project: Making a "guitar" for the Pre-school Christmas program.... The Christmas Program Not too sure on what's about to happen Getting the hang of it!!!
An after show "jam" with DadPreschool Christmas party!One HAPPY party girl!! LOOK at these ADORABLE cupcakes!!! Where do these parents come up this stuff! (The funny thing is the mom that made these is a girl that Andy went to middle school with! Small world!)
Andy's Dad came to town on the 22nd... Jennah loved "jammin' with Grandpa Dick" on her princess guitar. Andy & Dick...guitaring... On the 23rd, we invited the ward missionaries over for dinner (the more the merrier!) We had a Mexican theme... taco bar, with crab ceviche and even a "Feliz Navidad" cake! Too funny! CHRISTMAS EVE The family tradition is to get milkshakes and pile into the car and drive around and look at Christmas lights.... so with Dick in town... and Grandpa Amos over we introduced them to a "Birchfield Family Tradition".... kicked off with a little In-N- Out to start us off. Grandpa Amos had NEVER had an In-N-Out burger... MERRY CHRISTMAS Grandpa! Piling into the Yukon... with room to spare! ... okay, not really, but at least we stayed warm! (and yes, the binky is going SOON!)
Christmas Morning.... Finding the gifts that Santa left... WOW!Sticker earrings in the stockings!... Go Santa! Left over carrots from the reindeer! Man, Santa did a great job... Aurora doll! She danced with it, ate with it, slept with it.... How did he know that she would love it so much!?Playing games.... Hungry Hungry Hippos!
So what exactly did I work on during all of those hours "crafting"....here ya go.
CRICUT Projects Thanksgiving plate (all credit to Andy's Cousin Julie... who is my Cricut Queen!) Holiday Countdowns The black is "chalkboard" vinyl... which you can erase and rewrite on!
Mistletoe... it's not Christmas without it Christmas Kitchen Applique Towels Just to name a few :) Funny Moments:
Jennah taking over the iphone.... Uncle Travie is SOOO proud! Jennah, repeat after me...."buy me a ipad please" Totally a random moment.... but look at this picture.... I didn't do this on purpose... She's really moving that fast... ALL OF THE TIME!!!! Jennah: "Dad. What are you doing?" Andy: "I'm putting a puzzle together." J: "oh. How you know how do that?" .... this is her new thing.... to ask YOU how you knew how to do whatever... ADORABLE! Where's Jennah?!? Making FORTS with Dad!!!! Having fun.... with Dad. I think. Andy looks a bit nervous to me.... look at that card fly! Silly Jennah! Whoops... Crayon on the wall!?!? My Child would NEVER do that!!! Thank goodness for Mr. Clean magic sponges!!!
I don't think Travis even remembers this... I am sure he didn't touch the floor coming into the house that night!
but she said "YES"... once she caught her breath. (sorry about the fussy pic)
Practicing for the big day....
Currently, there is still no official date for the main event.... but stay tuned for details!
