Photo Tag!

So, my dear friend Emily sent me this photo tag. (I think she referred to it as Photo Gag!) Gag is right. Here are all the horrible pictures that I would never have posted before. And yes, I am tagging the following, and I want to see your pictures up soon! Katie, Amy, Jayme, Jessica, and Kirsten. Have fun ladies. Don't worry, they can't be worse than mine!

Ward Party and Work Party...

Matt and I had a conundrum this last weekend. We had Matt's office party the same night as our ward party. Normally not a big deal, but the kids were all VERY excited because they were in the Nativity as Angels and Shepherds. And when I mentioned not going, they all clouded up and got very sad. What's a parent to do? The only thing we could I guess... We sent them with a member of the bishopric (grandpa) and had their wonderful aunt Jayme take pictures of everything so we could see how adorable they were. Gabe obviously was having a hard time narrowing down his list of demands when Santa posed the simple question of 'what do you want for Christmas this year, little boy'?

Chandler kept himself amused by chewing on hay from the manger.

Morgan in the middle of a host of Angels.

Our Angel!

Most everyone knows that one of our nicknames (of many) for
Morgan is "Angel". So here she is, dressed as an angel for the ward party's nativity.

And the hits just keep on coming!

As some of you may know, its been a really bad week for me. I've had bad thing, after bad thing happening to me. Trips in and out of the hospital, hours of waiting for radiologist to come back and tell me what I already knew, but my husband was very worried about...(that I didn't have a blood clott and could finally go home). Matt's car has had problem after problem we've had to deal with. Then tonight, on our way home from picking Matt up at the car shop (after he road in from Anchorage with the tow truck) I was pulled over by the troopers for a busted tail light. Then, not 2 minutes later, I was pulled over again, by the Palmer police for the same thing. Matt and I were just laughing by then. I just rolled down the window, and handed him the same stack of documents I'd handing the last officer. I was actually hoping we might get pulled over one more time before we got home. You know, something to blog about later!
Now for my venting at the local authorities... I know budgets have been cut, and everythings tight guys, but come on! Its the week before Christmas, people are out drinking and celebrating, and your taking time out to pull over a mom van with a busted out tail light? Could we not think of a better way to spend our time?

Confessions of a Martha Stewart Wanna be.

Okay ladies. We all know the stress of Christmas crafting, right? We wanna be the perfect wife and mother who creates culinary masterpieces for parties while playing with the children, helping with homework and school projects, doing the 12 days of Christmas, volunteering in the classroom, making wonderful neighbor and friend gifts, co-worker gifts for our husbands, teacher gifts, and don't get me started on impressing the in-laws. So here is my big announcement...

I am not making everything this year. I started out with yards and yards of fabric, ideas, plans, everything you need to impress others with your creativity and skills. 4 weeks later and guess what? Haven't really started. So, I'm going a different route. I've decided I can either be Martha Stewart for Christmas, or spend it doing fun things with my kids, since I can't do everything. So, I've decided to spend Christmas being the 'fun mom' who decorates Sugar Cookies with my little darlin's. We're making snow angels and snowmen. Going Christmas shopping together, I'm actually letting them help wrap packages this year. (they're not perfect, but as long as we stick with our coordinating wrapping paper, I think I can deal). Oh, and since I'm not sewing fifty million hats, scarfs and mittens, I have time to go decorate candy houses at Gabe's school, have a spontaneous lunch with Matt, and slip in an extra kickboxing class here and there. You know, I think I'm actually going to enjoy Christmas this year, instead of being so stressed about finishing everything. Sorry Grandma's, no homemade scrapbooks. And, after asking the kids what they wanted to make for their teachers this year, they all responded the same. "I wanna give my teacher that Scentsy stuff. Ms. Bocast likes things that smell good" Don't I have awesome, supportive kids?



What was the final straw you ask? Well, somewhere between being insane enough to volunteer hosting Bunco this month (on the 20th, and coming up with 12 gifts by the way) and 2 parties where I have to bring a gift from Matt and I for a gift exchange, and now costumes for the kids for the Ward party, I have become Target's#1 costumer.



Happy crafting gals. You can have it this year. I neither have the time, nor the inclination to compete for the crown. I'm just happy to celebrated the season with my wonderful little family, and appreciate my awesome husband for being so patient with the nutty little wife he married, and has had to deal with all these years.

What is there after 50?

So, since today is Chandler's birthday, the topic of age came up this morning.

mom: Chandler, next year you'll be in the double digits, and then, a pre-teen!

gabe: And then he'll be 20, and then 30, and he'll be old.

mom: (feeling really old)

gabe:...and then 40, and then 50. (pause) Mom, is there anything after 50? Do people go past 50?

mom: I don't know, why don't you ask your 70 year old grandpa?

(Matt was rolling with laughter at this point)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANDLER

Its Chandler's 9th birthday, so in his honor, here are 9 things I love about Chandler...

1. His imagination. Chandler has the amazing ability of creating any kind of story in his head, and running with it. This makes for very fun and interesting dinner conversation.

2. His sense of humor. Chandler has a very mischievous sense of humor, and we all love watching movies with him, because if there's any chance of a good laugh, he'll have it.

3. His caring nature with his brother, sister, and cousins. Chandler has a great love of babies and little ones. He is very good with them, and loves holding all the newborns in our ward on Sunday.

4. Chandler is very helpful. If I need something done, he does it. The responsibilities of pet care often falls on Chandler, and he is very good about making sure Bear gets out and is fed 3 times a day.

5. I love hearing Chandler sing. When he was in kindergarten and 1st grade, he was always coming home with some little song he'd learned. He has his daddy's amazing talent for singing, and rarely hits a bad note.

6. Chandler has a love for science. Experiments, botany, crystal growing, biology. You name it, he is interested in learning everything he can about it.

7. I love that Chandler is just like Matt. Really, they're so much alike its scary. Other than their eating habits, they're identical. They can sit for hours, playing games, Lego's, reading, and just being together.

8. Chandler has a sense of honor. If he makes a contract to do something at school, he does it. He follows through, dotting every I and crossing every T.

9. Chandler makes the best friend. He is someone who doesn't make friends just to make friends. If he calls you his friend, he really means it. He is a true friend, who will be there for you, and always help you to be the best you you can be.

Done Shopping!

What a relief. I'm done with Christmas shopping! (notice I said shopping, not that I have every one's presents). I still have to finish a few homemade gifts. And I have all the stuff for Gabe and Chandler's classes, but they still need to be put together. But it is a relief to know that I've got the kids all taken care of. It wasn't easy either. Matt and I went shopping a few weeks ago, and he picked out several things for the boys (all Star Wars) and I later discovered that none of it was what the boys actually wanted. So I was back to square one, with more shopping, and lots of returning. Thank goodness I kept good track of receipts this year, hu? And don't worry Grandma's and Grandpa's, I left a few things for you guys. :)

I'm also taking today off. I woke up with one of those scratchy, dry throats, bruised knuckles from kickboxing last night, and a messy house. What else am I to do? Gotta stay home and clean, obviously. At least until its time to go do my piano lessons this afternoon.

By the way, do any of you realize how cold it is up here in the frigid north? Let me tell you, its very cold! Right now its only 2 degrees. Anyone from Arizona wanna trade places for a few weeks? I would be okay without a white Christmas! (I've had enough white to last me a lifetime!)

This was one of the other possibilities we thought of doing, but I'm happy with the Morgan
one we ended up with. It's so our family!

Christmas Card Preview!

As you can see, we have a new background and picture here on the Stastny blog. I hope you all love our picture as much as we had fun making it. Thanks to my wonderfully talented SIL Jayme, we were able to create the look of Morgan tipping us off the table. I had an idea in mind, and Jayme was so great about making it come to life. We chose this pose this year, because, as many of you may know, this is how it feels much of the time, living with a princess preschooler who's not only the baby, but the only girl. We love her to pieces, but she definitely has us all wrapped around her little finger. (but its such a cute little finger!)

Be sure and check out my SIL's photography blog...its awesome, and she has an amazing eye for stuff. http://jaymechristensen.blogspot.com/

Black Friday! Love it or Leave and Go Home!

Up here in Alaska, we have a thing called Combat Fishing. People literally stand shoulder to shoulder on some parts of the river, and fish for Salmon in the summer time.. Now, not every Alaskan loves this sport. My husband and father-in-law, for instance, would much hike a great distances to get to their own little quiet piece of Alaskan Heaven in order to get that perfect catch. I'm of the mind to go where the fish are. If they're in the middle of a row of stinky men, casting lines all around me, then so be it. On the other hand, if I can have the quiet fishing-topia, and still get the record size King, then I'm just as happy there also. I think you can apply the same standard to Christmas shopping. Either you like shopping shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of Valley Trash, or you don't....

So, we all have traditions, right? Well, my family has the tradition of getting up super early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving for a little thing we like to call 'combat shopping'. This year, we had to make plans, and divide and conquer. Crazy, I know. But when 3 different stores carry things you want, all open up at the same time, and there are only 4 of us, what else is there to do? Matt was working, so he and I got up at 3:30am to get ready to leave. I was in charge of the TV, fireplace, and DVD player at Fred Meyers. (oh, and of course their sock sale!) Mom and Jayme took on the craziness of Walmart for the camera, PJ's vacuums, and DVD's. And that left Dad with heading into Anchorage for a laptop, and flash drives. Crazy I know, but, like I said....its tradition! We came, we waited in line, and we were all back home by 8:30am. Not bad. I only had to wait for 20 minutes in the cold in front of Fred Meyers. And thankfully neither Jayme, nor Mom were trampled at Walmart when the unveiling took place. Dad had the longest wait of one and 1/2 hours at Office Depot.

Other than a few rebels at Target (who refused to conform and get in line with the rest of us) the morning was pretty uneventful. HUGE thanks to Renae and Jeremy for letting my kiddos spend the night last night so we could hit the early morning deals. You guys rock!

Twilight Weekend!

Major kudos and thanks to my mom and husband for this weekend. My mom was an angel and watched my kids over night Friday, so that Matt and I could have a real go out to dinner and a movie date. We went to Cattle Co. and then saw Twilight. I loved it! I have an amazing husband who, because of my interest in the books, decided to read them, and fell in love with them right along with me. It was awesome to see the movie, and then be able to contrast it to the book with him on our ride home.

And then today, my husband was once again his amazing self, and let me take another trip into town to go shopping with the girls and then see Twilight again, with them. He even managed to get my car out of the driveway of my friend's house after I got it stuck. What a guy! The kids were also on their best behavior for him, and I'm glad they had a fun dad day to just play and have fun.

I was coming back to bed this morning, laid down, and started complaining about my tush and how much it was hurting from my fall on the ice the other night. It was early, dark, and I just wanted to crawl back into bed after an early trip to the potty.

and from no where, Chandler raises up from the floor, and says: "well, it just gets better and better!"

What the? "where did he come from Matt? Has he been there the whole time?"

"Jesus Take the Wheel"

I love that country song. And for those of you who are familiar with the lyrics, this might be especially funny and appropriate.
So, I had to deliver a Hosting Packet for a lady tonight, who wanted to host a Scentsy Party. I don't know her, and had no idea where she lived. It was dark, and it had just snowed about 5-6 inches out here in the valley today. I finally found her house (up a steep, winding, and non-plowed driveway). I started up, but about half way, the car stopped, and wouldn't go any further up. So I put the car in park, turned to Chandler, and said, "run this up the the house please."

Chandler: I can't, no shoes!
(I had been in a hurry to run this errand, and as I am famous for, just yelled at all the kids to jump in the car in the garage with or without shoes and coats...dumb I know)

Me: Gabe?
Gabe: no shoes either.
so, I jumped out of the car, in my ballet slippers, and slipped and slid all the way up to the house. I gave the papers to the lady's husband, and walked back around their car, only to discover that my car was not where I had left it. I kept walking down the driveway, till I finally saw the headlight, way down at the bottom of the hill. So I ran, (slipping and falling on my tush more than one time) all the way down, where I could see the three kids piled in the front seat with the lights on inside the car. This was about 25-30 feet from where I had parked the car. I could even see my original tracks. Apparently, the car started sliding down the hill about the time I reached the house. The funny thing is, it didn't slide to one side, like cars usually do. (which would have led down an embankment) It followed the tracks right back down to the start of the driveway. Once I was in the car, and sure that all the kids were safe, I couldn't help but laugh, and say a silent 'thank you' to whoever backed my car so carefully down the driveway, since I was not looking forward to trying that on a snowy, icy, and very curvy driveway, in the dark.

I'm sure the kids thought I was losing it, the way I kept laughing as we drove home. But the way the driveway was curved, I couldn't have driven the car more accurately down that hill myself.

 

This is the Ariel Pumpkin Morgan insisted on us carving. Not too shabby, hu? The boys had awesome white pumpkins which they carved spooky faces out of themselves. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures of them all lit up, then they froze to death. So this is all we've got from this year.

The Next 4 Years

Everywhere I went today, I was met with the same disappointed, upset, sad, worried and frustrated responses to last nights election results. We talked to the kids last night as news was coming in about the results, and had no idea the outcome would effect them as much as it did. They have been very tuned into any political discussion Matt and I have had. (on a nightly basis pretty much) And I had a hard time last night and this morning reconciling how to explain to them what has happened. I'm afraid the historics of it all is lost on me. I don't see the world in Black and White people....just people. So I can't explain to them why it was more important that a man be elected based on his color than for his character and values.
Then today I was informed that Chandler had overheard some kids talking in the lunch line at school about assassinating the new president. Now, realize I'm only getting bits and pieces from a few 9 year old, but still upsetting. What kind of parent (or older siblings) talk about such matters at all, much less in front of their kids? To say the least, we have been having discussions with the kids about what has happened. Both yesterday, and in our countries history. But then I also opened it up to include the worlds history, and the several groups of people that have been persecuted throughout time, since this isn't taught at school. (don't know why Jews are always left out of this inequality discussion in school, but, sadly they are)
Sufficed to say, we've come to several conclusions in our family lately:

*We have a new President starting in January, and weather we like him or not, its time to give him a chance. Let's see how he does, and then judge him on his merits.
*Do we pray for our enemies, and those who spitefully use us? Yes. Do the democrats, of all people need all the prayers we can give that their hearts will be softened, and they'll try to do some good for our country? yes.
*Is this what men and women have fought and died for? Is this the direction the majority of Americans want our country to go in? Yes. Do we have to like it? No. Do we have to respect it? Yes. Can we change it? yes, if we are active in our community, and follow examples like Sarah Palin, and get involved in our PTA's our school boards, our Party of choice. As for me, I am joining the Mat-Su Republican Women.
*We are teaching our children to respect others. No matter their religion, race, or gender. They are the next generation. What are we all fighting for if not to give our children something better to grow up in that what we have now?

Okay, said my piece. I'll leave it alone now till 2012.

Scripture Studying Last Night.

Family Scripture time is always interesting at our house. Last night, in stereo. We had Chandler, who was supposed to be reading, then Gabe, who is quite the show off now with his reading ability, quietly whispering the words while Chandler read, and even reading ahead of him at times, so that we were hearing two different parts of the scriptures at the same time. Then there was Morgan, who when it was her turn, and I was giving her a line at a time to repeat, but either expound on what I had said, instead of repeating it, or would start to recite the pledge of allegiance. (which Matt and I still don't know where she learned, since they don't say it in her preschool) So here's how it sounded.

mom: ...and it came to pass
Morgan: there was now a people who did this and the
mom: ...in the thirteenth year
Morgan: allegiance to the flag
Mom: ...and the people did wax strong
Morgan: and they cleaned the floors...