Happy New Year everyone! I'm anxious to start 2011. 2010 wasn't my best year. I'm not sad to see it end. But I am sad that the holidays are over. I love the week between Christmas and New Years when all of the craziness and running around to get ready for Christmas is over and the only thing on my agenda is to chillax.
We got to spend lots of time with family in town and Sam took the week off work. It was Heavenly. He went on errands with me, fixed stuff around the house, made the kids big breakfasts and I got to go to the gym by myself every morning. It was sort of like having a wife around--maybe those sister wives have it figured out.
I took some time off the computer and I kind of loved it. I know I've been threatening to quit blogging (some would argue that I already have) and we'll see. My bloglines went down and I've been too lazy to find another way to check blogs. So forgive me for not reading yours either.
I do want to share some memories of Christmas 2010:
1. Every time Ryan opened a gift, he yelled "Ta Da!" Probably my favorite thing of the whole holiday season.
...he is also terrified of Santa, reindeer and elves. After we got home Christmas Eve from my mom's house, he hid all of the presents he received in his closet. He didn't want Santa and the reindeer to find them.
2. We had a good experience doing a sub-for-Santa project for a Sudanese family. We delivered the gifts to them on Christmas Eve day. Their home had a very distictive odor and my kids were kind of freaked out by the experience.
...the rest of the holiday season, when one of my kids was acting up, we would offer to drive them back to the Malek home and let them spend some quality time there. Worked like a charm.
3. For Christmas, I gave Sam a pair of Oakley sunglasses for cycling that he totally loved. This was the first time in years that I got something for Sam that he actually liked and kept.
...A few days before Christmas, I nonchalantly told Sam he better not be getting me anything electronic for Christmas. I thought I was pre-emptively striking a video camera. Next thing I know he had returned an iPad.
4.We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house eating yummy food and enjoying a nice evening. Can you guess why my kids love my mom's house?
...my kids insisted on playing two songs each on the piano that they hadn't practiced and my dad sang his annual eardrum-splitting rendition of "Oh Holy Night." We all barked.
5. I ate out at least once, sometimes twice a day for the week following Christmas. Here are me and my sister Ashley with blogging friend Jill at kneaders. She has a very entertaining daily blog!
...I feel like I'm in a food coma. I've never eaten so much in a two week period in my life.
6. All of my siblings are in town and it has been Warnerpalooza non-stop. Here are all my siblings, their spouses and my parents at an adult dinner:
...Wednesday night, we had a terrible snow storm and I drove Sam's jeep up to my parents house with all four kids. We almost died getting there in the blizzard. Sam was worried about us getting home, so he ran the four and a half miles to my mom's house (on foot!) in a blizzard to drive us home.
7. Sam and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary on December 28th. We went to Market Street for a late dinner.
...I splurged and got the lobster tail and it wasn't good. When I pay 53 bucks for an entree, it better be the best damn thing I've ever eaten. I sent it back which resulted in a total weirdness with our waitress and the manager and probably a lougie in my clam chowder.
8. Since Sam and I are really fancy and classy, we headed to Harmon's after the lobster debacle to go through the carts of clearance Christmas candy.
....I was up to my shoulders in Christmas Hershey kisses digging for Fernwood mint sandwiches. Turns out, those babies are sold year-round and never go on sale. One of the true low points of my holiday season.
9. Ashley and I went through my 10 pink Rubbermaid containers of girl clothes and I sent her home with a huge duffel bag and a box to give to needy people in California. (We're saving the really great stuff for her in case she ever stops spawning red headed boys.)
Ashley's baby Bennett, my neice Courtney and Buster.....I had an embarrassing teary meltdown in front of Ashley and my mom when I was going through the clothes. I chalk it up to realizing that Sammie is growing up and I'm never going to have a little girl again. Then the kids started screaming and fighting and I was over it.
10. It really was a fun, crazy-busy and yet relaxing couple of weeks.
...I now feel like I need to clean out every nook and cranny of my house. This is the aftermath of Santa's workshop:
Please don't contact the tv show "Hoarders." I keep telling Sam it is temporary. I'm going to get to it as soon as I clean out my car, the pantry, the kids' closets...you get the idea. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a room like this in my house. Oh, and I still have every bit of Christmas to take down too!
21 comments:
I have a room like that in my basement, except that I have a clean-freak husband who cleans it out himself rather than wait for me to do it. Happy Anniversary to you too-maybe we should celebrate together next time I'm in Utah for the big day. We could double-date! Hope your 2011 is great!
The consensus I've seen in the blog world is that 2010 was a rough year for most; how sad is that?
Poor Ryan, how terrifying Christmas must be when one is afraid of all its spokespeople.
It's hilarious (and a little bit wrong) that you have leverage with your kids because of the Sub for Santa family...classic!
Kudos to you for finding the perfect gift for Sam! I've given up on finding something for Randy, he's impossible.
Your mom's house is like a wonderland for the grandkids, how awesome!
I am so thrilled to have made your list! Thanks for the fabulous lunch out. I feel honored to be friends with you two.
I can't believe Sam ran 4.5 miles in a blizzard so that you wouldn't have to drive home! I'm practically speechless, it's such a sweet and amazing act of love. (Either that or you're the worst driver ever.)
Congratulations on surviving 12 years of marriage AND sending the lobster tail back!
It is great to see a picture of all your siblings and their spouses, I was starting to wonder if the brothers were imaginary.
Your baby girl meltdown is endearing, as is your prompt recovery.
If I had an extra room in my house, I'm sure it would look like that. I suppose I have a partial mess like that going in my office and the garage right now to compensate for the lack of the room.
Good heavens, this is my longest comment ever.
Love this post. Please don't quit blogging.
Are you kidding me with those 3 babies in matching sweaters! So freakin' cute.
EVERY time I hear the song "Oh Holy Night" I think of your Dad. I tried to talk Landon into carrying on the tradition down here. I didn't go for it. (it's probably for the best)
So fun to have all of your siblings together. I can't tell you the last time we were all together. Too long.
Lastly, if it makes you feel better, my whole house looked like that for several days after Christmas. Then one morning I flipped out. We took all the Christmas stuff down, cleaned up the house, and we even cleaned the garage (which had taken a major hit as well). Happy New Year!!
I, too have a room like that in my house - I have no children or a husband and have no excuses. I won't call hoarders on you if you don't call them on me....
Please don't stop blogging - I knew you when you were little and it has been so fun to see what you are up to.
I love this post! All of those details were so fun to read and I couldnt help but think of how much you andyour kids are going to love reading this in a few years. It is funny how much you forget, and that would have been lost had it not been for the blog. My favorite part, though, was that your husband ran 4 miles in a storm to drive you home. What Sam did was true romance.
Good for you for sending back the lobster, and everyone has a room like that in their home.
Oh my gosh the babies are so cute I can't stand it. Also, I've never seen Cameron as a man. That is crazy. Last time I saw him he was probably 10.
Sam is the husband of husbands. I hope you gave it up to him for that.
You have to see what I posted about HS on my blog, so at least check that one post even if you're not checking. Also, NEVER stop blogging. It will ruin me.
Wow...so much to say!
1. I'm glad Dillards with the kids is not the only way you celebrated your anniversary.
2. I made the kids get extra candy at Linda's so I could also devour it.
3. I love seeing Buster in the pink cadillac. Macy was in heaven.
4. Sam is awesome. Bill would've driven him up in his beasty huge car. We were out in that horrible storm.
5. Mitchell's 1st pic is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
6. I've gotten the impression (esp. after testimony meeting) that 2010 sucked for everyone. What's up with that?
7. Linda look like your long lost sister, not your mom.
8. I can't even fathom your dad's song. He always threatened to sing at Grandma Jower's funeral.
9. You must never quit blogging. EVER!
Please don't quit. I chuckle (that word is obscene and I never noticed it before) whenever I read you. And Ashley. You both crack me up with your dry wit. I want, I want, I need.
Buster is my favorite baby right now, and I can't believe Sam ran that far to rescue you. That is a good husband.
(Aaron and I are having a conversation about if he would do that. I say he would tell me just to sleep at my mom's house. He thinks he would try, and end up dead on the side of the road from an asthma attack.)
One of my friends just commented that blogging is so 2008. I think she's right. But it's such a great way to keep in touch and record family life. And rehash episodes of The Bachelor. Don't give it up.
And lastly, here's to hoping 2011 is better for the both of us. Let's resolve to eat more Haggermann's together.
I love reading your blog. I think you guys should move to Michigan so we can hang out. Jimmy definitely needs some inspiration in the gift giving department...and you're cool too.
Loved your recap! Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! (Liz- fortunately, the photo of me is washed out w/ the flash - no details, like wrinkles!)
The photo of the three bambinos is/was going to be my Christmas card photo - maybe now I will just refer everyone to your blog and call it good!
Everyone needs a "staging" room for Christmas.
All my stuff is still up and it will be for awhile!
Happy New Year! Here's to a better 2011!
Sometimes I have so much to say on one of your posts that I am too overwhelmed to comment right away. I am so jealous that you have all these pictures but grateful I can get them from you. I have been trying to dig out from Christmas/our trip since midnight Friday and I've only made a dent. I'm jealous that Ryan said "ta-da!" We had nothing as wonderful as that this year! Sam's running to the house was definitely some kind of love language.
1. Ryan was the star of Christmas. He was very cute...I think he is peaking.
2. It is comical how the sub-for-Santa evolved from a service project to a fear tactic. Sammie was refusing to go to bed last night, so I told her to pack a bag for the Sudanese sleepover. She quickly got under the covers.
3. The Oakley Jawbones were a nice surprise. It is like seeing in HD.
4. Christmas Eve is a blur...it was so early in Warner-palooza I can't even remember any details.
5. I lost track of your eating appointments. It seems like they were daily.
6. The run was a modern day version of holding a boom box overhead while playing "Your Eyes." I later questioned the decision when stranded at your parents' place in running tights.
7. I did not enjoy being a part of Lobster-gate. It felt like one of those returns you and your mom do where you ask for money back, new merchandise, and an all-expense paid trip to the Bahamas because the sales clerk overcharged you a dollar.
8. I love trolling Harmon's at night.
9. I would hate to know the dollar value of what we spent on Sammie's wardrobe. When I am unable to retire, at least we can look back and say she was very well dressed.
10. The basement bedroom has looked like that for years...temporary?
Happy New Year to you and yours!
My internet at home AND work is down... I am sitting at the library ... I will be kicked off this puter in 4 and half minutes and I will then need a detol bath... also the idiot next to me is watching youtube with the sound right up. Im not coping without the www can you tell?
I loved this post and will no doubt comment properly in the privacy of my own home or office.
See you!
Brookie-I found your blog---and I'm soooo glad I did! You (and your fam) are darling and now I can "stalk" you guys and not even feel guilty.
O.M.G.
There's so much to say and it overwhelms me to say it all, so suffice it to say, you are HILARIOUS. And so is your husband with his Say-Anything-equivalent 4 miler.
And I'm about to tell Ashley the same thing I'm telling you, which is this: I cannot WAIT for your Brad Womack Bachelor recaps. You quit blogging now and I'll come smite you with a lobster tail.
Your such a laugh. I get a kick out of reading all your posts. Sam's comments are classic. Too funny!
I love it! Sam's comments are great. I also love Harmon's late at night...I call it "the black hole" because I go in for milk and five hours later I manage to drag myself out. Have you found the eating area upstairs? That will definitely add to your Harmon's experience...
whatever you do, keep blogging
I love you. So long to crappy A** 2010!!!
:)
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