Fun, Family Christmas

Well, it started off fun.
We were feeling optimistic.
It was an ambitious celebration and we were including a lot of people.
Everyone was trying, everyone wanted it to go smoothly;
But as far as those things go, it turned ugly.
I mean, it isn't Christmas without a heated political debate, hurt feelings and grouchy kids right?
Wrong.
A broken-down car, stolen GPS system and my family not speaking to me must be added to the list to round out the holiday.
Super fun.

Just practicing ...

I insist that I feed myself, despite the fact that most of it ends up on the table.
In fact, if I am not permitted to feed myself I will scream and trash around;
And that spoon I am holding, well lets just say it will become a speeding missile aimed at your head.
But obviously I am successful at getting my way.
See my smile?

Nudie

So I went outside to do a quick vacuum of the car (it was time to suck up all those raisins and fishie crackers),
while the kids were upstairs watching me from the window.
I got the car all nice 'n clean in record time
only to come upstairs and find all our toys dumped out and scattered to the four corners of the apartment,
the Christmas tree desecrated with various decorations stripped off and broken,
Ezra chewing on an empty toilet paper roll
and Ryan sitting on the couch with bare buns - actually buck naked from the waist down.
I swear I was only out there a few minutes.
A very few.
At least no one was upset or hurt, which is rare even when I am present.
My children are so strange.

Holiday Cheer

Ahhh, Christmas is upon us.
And the Pitts household is in full holiday swing.
The merriment of the season has consumed our family.
In fact, as Scott lugged the Christmas tree through the door,
there were cries of terror as Ezra burst into tears;
And once we began trimming said tree, Ryan also had a conniption fit when I added a purdy ribbon garland (that in my opinion adds more visual interest) saying that it was ugly
and she wanted it removed immediately;
And if that weren't proof enough that our happy family is full of Christmas cheer,
I am listening to peels of laughter ... of wait .... hang on .... nevermind.
Those happy giggles were just interrupted by squeals of frustration and a panicked yelp.
What I thought was a peaceful daddy-daughter water-coloring session quickly turned into a Technicolor warzone as Ezra disrupted the paints, thus smudging Scott's rainbow,
which he actually then balled up and threw out of irritation all while Ryan screamed at the top of her lungs for me to rescue the watercolors on the kitchen floor.
Yeesh.
My family is so dramatic.
Oh well, we are trying.

Ryan was actually very careful and deliberate when hanging her ornaments. They were evenly spaced and everything.

Ryan and I decorated the tree as a duo. Scott is recovering from Bronchitis and wasn't as enthusiastic about the tradition this year. Poor baby. (Hey we match, that was not planned.)

And Ezra ate bananas and watched Baby Einstein because he was following Ryan around pulling every ornament off as soon as she would hang it and frankly I just wanted to knock the activity out and get it done.
Ahhhh .... relaxin'

Thanksgiving

School break.
Tillamook Cheese Factory.
Moe's famous clam chowder.
Homemade turkey dinner (by me!).
Pie at a friend's house.
Scum.
Black Friday shopping.
Scored two great coats for the kids.
Playing lots of Candyland.
Movies.
Popcorn.
Playing outside in the chilly weather (wearing the new coats ... of course).
Snuggling in bed.
A great Thanksgiving!

p.s. no pictures ... oops.

So the countdown has ended.
Britney and I had been waiting many, dare I say, hundreds of days for New Moon to open.
And so it did last weekend.
For those of you who are wondering what New Moon is ...
you must leave this blog immediately and ne'er return.
In fact, we are no longer friends.
You are dead to me.
Just kidding.
(I'm not.)
Anyway, I am ( well let's be honest) obsessed with the Twilight series.
I love them.
I love them all.
I mean, I haven't embarked on a pilgrimage to Forks and I don't really believe that vampires exist, but the books and movies are soooo good.
Plus it's fun to have something to be silly about.
I went to Eugene to watch it with Britney (who shares the same enthusiasm for the series that I do) and have a New Moon party.
It was so fun.
Of course the movie was definitely the highlight.
It was fabulous.
I was not disappointed in the least.
In fact the only letdown was that Britney and I couldn't hide out in the theater and watch it again.
I really could go on and on about how much it was perfect.
I am not even embarrassed.
Oh wait, I already have.
Well, I did other things this weekend with the fam.
However much they pale in comparison with my movie, I will address them.
Heheheh.

We had a mini-Thanksgiving. And by mini I mean that it was basically a full-blown Thanksgiving except that my Scotty couldn't be there so it wasn't a real Thanksgiving. But the food was delish.
This was a tasty apple cake my mom made. It was so good you wanted to just bite right in ... kinda like Bryce did.

The best picture I got from the photo shoot we stage every time we get the kids together. They were super happy.

This is the line Britney and I waited in to get into the theater. It wasn't too bad. And the wait was worth it!

Before we left, we had to get a picture in our matching TEAM EDWARD t-shirts.

All the girls we went to see the movie with. Amy is on the end, and actually yelled at someone for using their cell phone during the film. Now that is dedication. Next is Kari, Lauren (Bryce's cute girlfriend) my mom, and Britney. So fun. Thanks Brit!!
Now the next countdown begins ...
Eclipse opens this summer!

Happy Birthday ... again

I know, I know. It has now been almost 2 weeks since Ryan had her birthday.
I don't even have a really good reason for not posting her pics.
Just being lazy.
But her party went so well, and we got so many cute photos that to not post them would be doing everyone a great disservice.
Just kidding. {However, I would have liked to invite more people. Mostly my friends. But our shoe box-sized apartment was already bursting at the seams.}
But they are kinda cute.
Plus it was my first kid party I've thrown.
And Ryan had a great time.
And was very spoiled.

Ryan posing with some of her friends: Jenna, Reagan, Porter, and Hannah.

I wanted to have an activity and a party favor, so I killed two birds with one stone and we made "princess wands," or "wizard wands" for all the manly men involved (Porter & Lincoln). I think that the kids enjoyed it?

Blowing out the candles on her cupcake. This was the first year she blew out her own candles. Every year previous to this one, she has been to scared to do it.

Opening prezzies. She really got quite a haul this year! Her friends and family (Daddy, Britney & Nanny) really spoiled her this year. There was a lot of Lightning McQueen booty and princess paraphernalia. Lucky girl! {You can see how engaged Ezra is, looking out the window wishing he was outside.}

Posing with a new "cell phone." What a sincere smile! Cheese ball. Happy Birthday, my love!

My Birthday Girl!!

My baby is growing too fast.
Ryan is 3!
Nooooo. Please, Ryan, slow down.
Ryan, you are loved so much every day.
And the things you say ... are hilarious.
You love pink.
And sing along with the Black Eyed Peas.
Everything you do is followed by, "Ta, da!"
You are very opinionated.
This is apparent by how many times a day you say, "No, I don't want to."
You are a good sister.
And have sooo much energy.
Truly, the amount of energy you have is astounding.
You like to play "mommy" and take very good care of all your babies (nurse them, rock them, etc.)
And movies! Forget about it. You could watch movies all day long (not that I let you).
Currently your favorites are Cars, Nanny McFee, and Superman Returns.
You definitely have a sweet tooth.
For your birthday dinner, you requested pigs-in-a-blanket with broccoli (without prompting).
Your stomach conveniently hurts every night around dinnertime when I am serving something you don't like.
You could sit at the dinner table for hours fiddle-farting around and still have an entire plate to empty (much to your mother's chagrin).
You are very good at hide-and-seek.
You also have an exceptional memory.
You love to "write" things down, and regularly help me by making "grocery lists."
You are a very good girl.
You love to be outside.
You are very grown-up and wear big-girl panties all day and night!
Ryan, you make our family's lives so special.
We love you sooo much and are so grateful to be able to play with you every day.

You in you "birthday shirt" at age 1. Papa bought you a stretchy shirt that fits even me. So every year we force you into it and take a picture.

The Shirt at age 2.

3! You would only keep it on long enough to take the picture. You said it was too stretchy to wear all day. Your smile is a little scary.

Happy Halloween

This year Ezzy was Frankenstein and Ryan was a cow.
The Frankenstein costume lasted about ten minutes.
Also people thought he was an asparagus from Veggie Tales?
Does the asparagus have a bloody wound and hair? I don't think so.
Ryan was a pretty good sport and kept her costume on all evening.
We celebrated Halloween a day early at a school party.
All our friends were there.
There was a cake walk, donut-eating contest, dinner, prizes and a bunch of other stuff.
However, Scott and I were like zombies.
No we were not dressed as zombies, but rather felt like them since we were both nursing a cold.
So on actual Halloween night, Scott took some cold medicine and headed up to the school to study while I took the kids grocery shopping and hid out in our house,
in the dark,
because I was unmotivated to buy candy for trick-or-treaters.
I am super lame.
This is actually quite a sad and pathetic post.
Thankfully I am starting to feel better.
Which is important because tomorrow is Ryan's 3rd birthday!
And we are going to party.
The next post will be more uplifting.
Pinky swear.

Hair today, gone tomorrow ...

I love to cut my kids' hair.
I do it at least once a month
{which is far more than I am sure is necessary}.
But I like it to be short and clean looking.
Plus I figure the more I do it, the better they will be at receiving haircuts.
This theory has yet to be proven.
Usually Ezra does okay as long as I am quick.
This time, however, he was so dern wiggly that it kept getting shorter and shorter.
I am not sure if you can tell by the pictures, but ...
he is now practically bald.
Being a boy, I guess it doesn't really matter.
Plus his noggin has rounded out and looks almost normal {even if it is a bit large}.
So handsome.
My little Fezzy-wig.
Just a out-of-focus picture of a cute boy.

Before the cut. So full and thick.

After. Trust me he looks much balder in person. The flash must have reflected off the few hairs he has to make it appear that he still has some.

Skawt

Oh yeah
I must give honorable mention to my fab hubby Scotty.
While we were gone we missed, missed him so bad
and then came home to a super clean house.
Love you Honeylips.

Busy, busy. busy ...

So we went down to Eugene to P-A-R-TaY!
I love, love going to visit my fam.
They are fun and we are always going, going, going.
This trip was no exception.
Britney and I had a major crafting session planned.
She just got a shnazzy, new Cricut and I was excited to try it out (thank yoooooou)
The kids played and we vigorously worked on a bunch of projects ... all week.
It was a very productive visit.
And super fun, as always.
I luuuuv hanging out with Britney (we are besties) and my mom.
We are so much alike and can act nerdy and silly (or basically ourselves) together.
Miss you already, but it's okay because our New Moon party is just around the corner.
November 20 is coming up, can I get a what-whuuuut! Yep.
Brady was very helpful too. Muchas gracias.

Don't worry, we made time for other important things ... such as exercising,

enjoying popcorn in the B-E-A-utiful backyard,

driving,

and, of course, watching lots-o-movies. Papa has a very impressive collection and is always up for a movie.

We forced the girls to go outside and play any time it wasn't raining (and sometimes when it was). They blew bubbles, colored with sidewalk chalk, and even used the potty. Ezzy was pretty jealous, but is extremely accident-prone and could only go outside with adult supervision. He spent a lot of time watching.

We also made chocolate-and-sprinkle-covered pretzels or "princess wands."


This is ONE of many crafting projects.
I think they turned out great.
They are Family Home Evening boards.
Now if we only held Family Home Evening we would be set.

A close-up. Pretty cute right? I like them 'cause they are a little more modern, and funky and not so cutesy, dumpy-Mormon-mommy looking. And yes they are magnetic.
We also made fun "NOEL" signs for Christmas. Just realized I don't have a photo of that and am too lazy to stop and take one, but I will when I decorate for Christmas.

And Britney helped me make this too. I needed something fun for this spot, and thought I could make a "vintage" sign. Scott doesn't really like old, garbagey signs, but technically this one is new. Whatcha think? Be honest.

Thank you Britney!
Thank you for letting me use your Cricut and supplies and being the best friend and sister a girl could have.
LOVE you.
Love you too MOM & DAD.

Blogging when I have nothing to blog about

What have we been up to?
Oh just hangin' around.
My life really isn't all that interesting.
I spend a lot of time wiping tears, buns, noses and counter tops;
I frequent the park more than any one really should;
I chase screaming children around the library (yes, they scream more at the library than anywhere else, except church);
And I am regularly at risk of indecent exposure in public being that Ezzy is always pulling on my shirt (not that there is much left to expose, those puppies shriveled up along with any sense of propriety I may have retained after giving birth.)
A typical day for me:
5:45 : Hear the alarm, drag my patooty out of bed, and sneak to the bathroom.
5:47 : Wake up Ezra, silently curse, change diaper, snuggle, put him back in bed and dash out the door.
6:00 : Gym, blah.
7:09 : Come home, listen at the door for weeping from kids or Scott, sigh of relief when I find everyone still asleep and the Pitts household still functioning fine without me (not always the case ... not sure why).
7:10 : Sneak in very carefully and yet still wake up Ezra again (doesn't this child ever sleep?)
7:15 : Get on with the day, you know breakfast, shower, picking up my house that was spotless when I went to bed and now has somehow become trashed, play, convince Ryan there is more to life than Caillou, take kids outside, find one moment of peace when the kids are happy, clean, playing, the birds are singing, the sun is shining ... crap Ezra just fell in a puddle and Ryan is touching the dumpster.
Noon: Lunch, put the kids down for a nap, smile, stretch out on the couch, damn I forgot about the laundry, get back up to fold the laundry.
Are you still reading this?
3:30 : Start thinking about dinner, wonder what Scott is doing at school, visualize the bowl of ice cream I am going to enjoy once the kids are in bed, pretend I am a pony, laugh (Ryan is quite the comedian and Ezra is just so smiley, I can't help it).
5:00 : Make dinner, clean up kitchen, serve dinner, clean up dinner, again.
7:00: Baths, read Fancy Nancy, a little TV.
9:00 : The kids are in bed, safe, uninjured, another successful day.
You know,
I really love my boring life.

The Proclaimers

For those of you who do not think they know who The Proclaimers are, you are wrong.
Everyone has heard the, "And I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more ..." song.
Right? It is their most popular.
Anyway, I went to The Proclaimers' concert last week with my parents and friends, the Holdens (as apparent from my picture, above, with "the boys" (front men Charlie and Craig) as my mother so casually refers to them. She thinks that the three of them are BFF.)
Anyway, I had always enjoyed their music before;
I was excited to go to a concert;
My parents are fun, music-loving, enthusiasts;
"this will be good," I thought.
It was GrEaT!
They were really energetic (both my parents and the band).
They were fun to watch.
And they were yell-singers. I love yell-singers.
Anyone that can sing at the top of their lungs (thus they are "yelling") and be in perfect pitch and crystal clear is A-OK in my book.
It was SO much fun.
All their songs were upbeat, their fans were hilarious (a few interpretive dancers always liven things up along with the effing pottymouths and their Scottish swearing:) ) and their banter was, well, difficult to impossible to understand (in my head I knew they were speaking English), I LoVeD it.
Thanks Mum and Dad!
I had a blast.
And I would go again to see them in a jiffy.
{And yes, Mom, I am sure that they remembered you.}

Britney's Monkey Tail Bread

I am really not much of a baker.
My sister definitely holds the title on that one.
She is always creating new delectable treats
and without fail every time I go to her house there are lots of yummy goodies to try.
And I really must try them all.
Several times.
Anyway, Britney is not only a culinary genius, but she is a generous one at that.
She has the best food blog you ever will see and shares all of her recipes with the world.
I have made most of the dishes on the blog as well as lots of other ones she has given me over the years.
I must say though, a new fav among all members of my family is the Monkey Tail Bread.
Scott loves it, the kids love it and what's not to love?
Chocolate chips, peanut butter and banana all in one loaf!
Brilliant.
So for all of you who haven't checked out her blog ... shame on you. J/K
Here it is: (all credit for this scrumptious delight is Britney's and Britney's alone.)
You must all make this, immediately.

Monkey Tail Bread

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 cup mashed banana (3 medium)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan.
2. Beat applesauce and sugar in bowl until combined. Beat in egg whites until light and fluffy. Beat in bananas and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in flour, baking soda and powder, salt until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely about 1 hour.

* Tightly wrap in plastic wrap to keep fresh.

Ezzy loves it too. He just polished off a whole piece of Monkey Tail Bread and I am pretty sure ate another one. Hopefully, you don't mind me advertising your blog Brit, but I think everyone should check it out: http://www.eatitupfood.blogspot.com/

Whaaaat?

Ryan has really gotten into dress-up.
It is the influence of her cute friends across the street.
Every time we go outside to play they are out their wearing an incredible assortment of creative outfits (today it was tights, cropped sweater and heels ... only!)
Love it.
So Ryan has picked up on their inspirational creativity.
I am so happy and should really supply her with a few dress-up clothes.
Instead she has to resort to other people's clothes.
Unfortunately all the other people in our house do not wear clothes her size.
So we see outfits like these.
{The panties and top are hers though.}

And in other news, Scott hurt himself.
This actually looks considerably better than it did the day he did it.
He stepped on a drain lid (that was supposed to be secured),
and fell in, scraping his shin all the way and soaking his new school pants.
He had to get six stitches and has a bruise that covers his entire calf and ankle.
Groddy.
He hasn't heard a word from the school, even though they were responsible for the mishap
thank you very much.
I am disappointed Pacific.
My poor honeybuns.
Good thing you are so tough.

Welcome to our tiny home ...

This may be my longest blog yet, so hold onto your hats (or skip over the rambling and look at the pics, that is what I do.)
So I finally am making good on my promise to post a few pics of my fab house.
It took me so long because I had to "style" it first (which basically means I needed to finish up a few projects).
But seeing as this is kinda a passion of mine, although I am certainly no expert, I wanted everything to look just right.
Then as time dragged on I thought, "Shoot, this place will always be a work-in-progress so I'll just take the darn pictures!" (Maybe I didn't think it, I probably said it out loud ... to myself ... and then Ryan asks who I am talking to .... and I tell her, "I am talking to myself" and then she says, "Again?" .... and I say, "Yes," .... and now I have gotten severely off topic).
So here is what the apartment looks like now, although much to Scott's chagrin it will most likely be slightly different tomorrow.
I can't help myself.
I just get new ideas, or get bored with something, or decide that whatever I thought was awesome a few days ago now sucks.
Oh well.
So on with the tour.
First we start with the kitchen.
Not ever really sure why I took a picture of this seeing as it is kinda boring.
But there it is.
It doesn't really have a theme, although none of my rooms really do.
I like the eclectic/retro look.
Scott like the matchy-matchy, stuffy, modern look.
I am trying to find a way to marry the two.
They can compliment each other, I think.
Kinda like Scott and I.
We are together and it works even though we have nothing in common :)
Moving on.

Next is the living room.
This is the one I am most proud of.
I think it's a good look, pulled together, a little funky.
I loooooove the color of our entertainment center, although I am not sure I like the arrangement on top.
And lately I am liking the gilded frame look.
I love my apartment, even though it is the size of a shoebox.

My favorite arrangement (above). Especially with the flowers.

I just finished the runner found on the entertainment center and it is cuu-ute.
The fabric is kinda retro (salmon, brown, turquoise, cream) and yet understated enough that I don't think Scott has even noticed. Score!

This is the view from my "dining room" or dining corner.
The big-ass mirror is new and I love it.
It makes the room feel bigger.
And I love our coffee table.
An old farmhouse dining table chopped down.

Scott is very crafty and MADE me the bookshelf.
I wanted something substantial and something with doors on it so I could stash the kid's toys somewhere ... and viola!
He also picked out the fishing pole-esque lamp.
We get comments on it all the time.
I thought it was a little much but now I like it more.

The kids' room.
This room has an entirely different feel. But it is one of my favorites too. (Of course when you only have, like, four rooms to your whole house they are all sorta your favorites.)
Anyhoo, I wanted all the colors to go well together, yet be gender specific too.
Does that make sense?
Ryan's bed is a bright pink and red and Ezra's future bed is blue and lime green.
His crib is all lime, even the leaf (another of Scott's contributions).
I think all the colors look good because they are the same "brightness."
I think they compliment each other.
Scott made the bunk beds too, with his bare hands.
I have one talented hubby.


Ryan sleeps on the bottom and the top is used for guests (or me if Scott is snoring unbearably loud).

And finally our room.
This one has proved to be the most work recently.
I repainted the dresser on the right from shabby-chic white to smooooth black.
That was a pain because I had to do it on the apartment complex lawn, which is downstairs and across the parking lot.
But whatever, it worked out.
I also salvaged the lamp from a Goodwill for $5 and spray painted the old ladyness right out of it.
Whew. So that is it (aside from the bathroom, but who hasn't seen one of those?)
I hope you enjoyed my little tour.
Feel free to comment, particularly if you have an idea about what I can do about the entertainment center arrangement.
I am just not feeling it.

Stay tuned ...

It is Scott's first week back.
He is gone and our school year is off to a productive start.
I have been feeling crafty and ambitious.
Scott and I rearranged ALL of the art in our apartment.
This was a good idea in theory.
The actual application was, needless to say, a headache.
But now it looks great.
Plus I sewed, yes sewed, a few pillows and did some painting.
My mom was proud.
I am what some call an "angry seamstress."
But I am on a roll.
Anyway, I will be posting some pics of the new look (upon request) ...
soon.
yippee.

One last hurrah ...

Our summer is over.
School is now in session.
But before the festivities began, we had one last outing as a fam.
Not to say that we will never go on another excursion together,
it just won't have that happy-go-lucky, stress-free taste to it.
So anyhoo, Scott was the mastermind behind our adventure.
We drove into the city and parked on a unfamiliar street.
Very mysterious.
And then we ate outside on the street at a yummy Mexican grill called Qdoba (some kind of chain, yet new to me ... yah, yah, ya'll probably heard of it).
And then Scott led us into a creepy, neon, nondescript entryway housing nothing but a pirate skeleton and an elevator.
Yes, a pirate skeleton. What kinda place is this?
The miniature golfing kind.
It was pirate/glow in the dark/with white lights/putt-putt.
Fantastic. We loved it.
Give Ryan a golf club her size and allow her to whack a ball as hard as she wants and we have a happy camper.
The only downside?
A very convincing rattly door (I am assuming some sort of skeleton was doing the rattling) on Hole 16 that scared the bajeebbers out of the kids.
So we rushed through the last few holes and bolted with our hysterical, screaming kids for the door. Thank you.
Good idea, honey.
p.s. Scott won, although I had him on the first 9.

Burritos. Yummo.

Ryan really did kinda get the hang of it. She understood to hit it toward the hole (or throw it) and expected applause every time she made it in.

Ezra stayed in the stroller about half the time, then insisted on walking around and ended up tripping over everything in the dark.

It really was fun and we had such a good time. We didn't even get a ticket when we showed up at our parking meter 20 minutes late.


Random:
I came home from the gym yesterday morning and found Scott getting ready for school and the kids sleeping on each other ... in our bed.
I just love these two.