After Christmas Sledding Party

Heads were appropriately banded at this year’s sledding party.

Aunt Missy is magical with babies. She’s the designated baby holder; she can zonk them right out. And Yea, Sharon’s family came too!

I wonder if Addie realizes how cool it is that Grandma goes sledding with all the kids. Grandma it’s really cool.

Matthew called Paige his little friend. They played “gummy bears” while we indulged in the world wide collection of chocolates my mom received for Christmas.

I only have two holiday regrets…I did not eat enough Dove Peppermint Bark! I ate plenty of other stuff but not enough of it. Also I didn’t take enough pictures of parties and Christmas morning.

A small note on neighbor gifts: Where were the treats"? I used all of the Sprites, wrapping paper, frozen cookie dough, scone dough mixes, dish towels, candles and poinsettias, but I really love a good goodie plate and this year, I must have been on the naughty list.

Christmas Card 2010…

A dear roommate from college is traveling the world with her husband and three girls.  When I emailed her for a current address, she asked if there was a virtual version.  Well, sweet Cindy, here you go…  For those intrigued by the design—I got the idea from tiny prints.com.  I then sat down with some cardstock and an Exacto knife to figure out the dimensions.  I created it in Photoshop and had Costco print it. —A huge thanks to my sister, Sharon, who glued, scored and folded with me late into the night.   James Mair called it the sweat shop.  Off to the right was an update on the year: 

Greetings! Let’s catch up, shall we?  James hit the big four—O, rode a Segway, and adopted chickens. He’s busy.  Benjamin is inventive and driven by recess and Wii minutes. He’s a fan of the chickens and the new baby brother. Stuart is an independent whisper talker who loves cars & trains. He’s easy going and still getting used to the baby.  I retired from preschool, painted, ate for two and became a ksl classifieds junkie.  Adelaide was baptized, and played in her first piano recital. She’s Isaac’s mom too.  Paige is a tenacious preschooler who found her voice and loves twirly dresses. She grew the most this year.  Isaac is a perfect number six. All year we talked about how, by Christmas, we’d have a Baby Jesus for our nativity. We’re thankful for a Savior whom we worship and for you, dear family and friends, who we remember at this time of year. We are so blessed, feeling the influences of both.

Alas Christmas Cards, I love them.  I’ve made them, I’ve bought them,  I love getting them and I love sending them. Until, next year.

Chicken Update

Remember way back in May when we fostered 5 chickens? It turned out to be a full adoption so—thank you Michael and Marisa for the lovely girls, the coop, and all the subsequent eggs.

But when the single digits came—and the new wee one too—James Mair ended up as the lone poultry care giver. He cared faithfully too, even on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was so impressed.

He lasted until last Friday. He had grown tired of the: One-egg-every-other-day-and-you-better-collect-it-before-it freezes-solid-and-cracks.

He listed them on KSL! for free! We had a call within 10 minutes and guess who got them? Mr. Sugarhouse, north face wearer, and chicken care giver as well! He said he had a coop all set up with 3 layers and was looking to increase his flock. He knew the lingo. So long girls.

We had some later calls and these names are straight from the caller ID: Tang Hoi & Tran Long.

This was tonight’s after dinner perusal by Daddy and Benjamin. They’re thinking late February and Ben has the name Princess Leia picked for his.

NOTE: The flock we had was pushing three years old—which is about the time the eggs run out and the ladies stop earning their keep. Look at ‘em all cozied up. The higher the roost, the higher in the pecking order. Those Rhode Island Reds were feisty.

We’re planning on getting 6 chicks in the spring. I want to hatch the eggs too, but the cons are getting roosters and getting roosters. We’re not zoned for boy birds. In college my roommate Jodi did it, remember that Jodi? It was fascinating to watch and I used the chicks for teaching dialogue punctuation to St. George punk 5th graders.

A few things…

How was your holiday? Mine was the best ever, (we say it every year). My sister Sharon told me it would be fun to have a little baby at Christmas and she was right, it was magical. He was Jesus--

He is now two months and weighed in at 13lbs 2 oz.

That is 4 lbs more than when he was born. Coincidentally I gained the exact same pounds in the exact same time frame. I will now pay homage and express deep devotion to: seven layer dip, neighbor goodie plates, apple cake with butter sauce and nuts & toffee of all kinds.

BONUS: The best and worst times for (hourly) milk production “let down” san baby…

Best: In the shower or swimming laps. Worse: In the middle of a yoga pose and talking to the bishop! I need to wear more black.

Post Edit: Duckie, you crack me up. In the comments she asked about my yoga with the bishop. Are you picturing tithing settlement and then BAM reverse warrior? heehee.