Sunday mid morning is typically when I go grocery shopping. Sometimes it's just me, sometimes one or more of the kids come along. It just depends on what's going on at home and what Brian is up to and whether or not football is on. I always stop at Starbucks on my way to the store to get myself a mocha to drink while perusing the aisles at Fred Meyer or Walmart or WinCo. Last Sunday Jake decided to come with me and Tanner and Faith decided to stay home. I love when only one of them comes because it is great one-on-one time (and that is somewhat of a luxury around here!). As we sat down in the car I noticed that Jake tucked something in his pocket. I asked him what it was and he said it was nothing, not to worry about it. I cranked up the music and we headed out.
First stop was, of course, Starbucks. I ordered my drink and took out my iPhone Starbucks app to pay. But before she could scan the barcode on my phone Jake whipped out a $20.00 bill from his pocket (the mysterious slip of paper from the car) and said, "This one's on me!". The barista and I were both kind of shocked, touched, and laughing. He said he'd been planning it for awhile and wanted to treat me to coffee with his own money. I think I had a smile a mile wide the rest of the day.
Later that day I was coloring with Faith when out of the blue she asked me,"Mom, how do you learn how to do all the things that you do?". I wasn't sure what she was talking about so I said, "You mean like coloring?" and she said, "No. Like how do you learn to be a good mommy?". I told her that it is a very hard job but I learned from my mom and I learn as I go along and I make lots of mistakes. She was quiet for a few minutes and then said, "How many mistakes do you think you've made, Mom?". I hugged her and said, "More than I could count. Thousands!". She assured me I am still the best mom ever.
Speaking of one-on-one time... Jake was at a sleepover party last weekend so Brian and Tanner got to have some male bonding time during the NFL Playoffs. The two of them turned on the afternoon game upstairs on the big screen, folded out the futon so they could stretch out, and enjoyed the game together. They were so cute sitting up there together, come dinnertime I couldn't resist making them dinner and delivering it to them to eat in the Bonus Room. This is usually a "no eating zone" so Tanner was thrilled to get his grilled cheese, chips, and carrots delivered to him on the futon. It was kind of sexist, but Faith and I stayed downstairs and watched some of Top Chef while we let the boys do their own thing. Good one on one time for everyone this week!
As a follow-up to Marisa's previous post about the snow, we went up skiing for the first time in a couple of years over the weekend.
We have had more snow so far this winter than we have had for the last two winters combined, plus it's staying cold enough for the snow to stay on the ground (it's 10 degrees out while typing this). Snow on the ground = sledding, sledding (for boys anyway) = desire for bigger hills to go down. The school organizes family ski nights at Bogus Basin and the first one of this year was this past Saturday night. It really is a great activity. As the Resort winds down for the day, you can go up, get discounted lessons and lift tickets and ski under the lights.
I'm not a HUGE fan of the road up there, it's windy and steep (duh) with no guardrails and makes me a little tense during the day, so driving up and back down in the dark was not something I was looking forward to, but the road conditions and the weather were perfect on Saturday, so up we went.
This is the 1st year that Tanner was eligible to take snow board lessons and he was all fired up. Once we got their rental boots, boards etc., we headed out to meet their instructors. For whatever reason, most kids here ski, not snowboard. That combined with the fact that it was at night, meant that Tanner and Jake each had an hour and a half private snowboard lesson, equipment rental and lift ticket for $25.00, which was awesome.
I wasn't sure how Tanner was going to do being dropped off in the freezing cold, but he was good to go. Jake had taken snowboard lessons before and was familiar with the process. Marisa, Faith and I went into the lodge to get out of the cold (it was five degrees out) and so I could try to watch the end of the Broncos game. There were a ton of parents from school in there and we found some friends to sit and chat with while the boys got their X-Games on. They both did really well.
At one point Marisa saw Tanner out the window and it looked like he and his teacher were heading back in. Fearing the worst, I bundled up and headed out to meet them. Tanner saw me trudging across the snow and raised his arms like, "what?". When I got out to them, he said, "What are you doing here?". I asked if he was okay and if they were done and he said, "I'm fine, we're going back up.", which loosely translated, came across as, "Get out of here Dad. You're embarrasing me.". So I turned around and headed back in to finish my burger and wait them out.
Once lessons were done, we collected the boys and brought them inside for snacks. After about a 20 minute rest, they were raring to go back out. They left us in the lodge and went back out and boarded together for another forty minutes or so. I got a sense of foreshadowing for what trips up the mountain will be like as the boys get older.
Once we had decided that they had enough, we returned the rental gear, loaded up the car and headed down the mountain. Everyone had their ipods on (Mom and Dad included) and it was a quiet and uneventful drive back home. We just pulled the Suburban into the garage, left the unpacking for the morning and got everyone (Mom and Dad included) off to bed.
There is another Ski Night scheduled in the next couple of weeks and I'm sure we'll be headed back up for some more fun on the slopes.
We got a pretty decent snowfall right after Christmas- before New Years- and it feels like it hasn't stopped since! I am pretty sure we have more snow right now than we did in the last 3 years combined. I LOVE it!! Today is an official Snow Day in the Boise School District, so the kids are home. They have built a snowman, built a snow fort, practiced pitching with snowballs, tried sledding and snowboarding across the street, and acted out The Lion King while drinking hot cocoa. Now they are playing Wii. And it is still coming down! Brian is on round 2 of shoveling the driveway- and even so, I think he is enjoying the weather as much as the kids and I are. We had several days that started at 4 degrees- and by "started" I mean it was still 4 degrees when we dropped the kids off at school. That is quite unusual here... but you know that global warming is just some liberal hippie thing that was made up to encourage car companies to create the Leaf, right?
The New Year started off great with our first of what I am sure will be MANY "date nights" at Sheila and Wayne's new house. They were in town from Dec 26- Jan 6 and we decided we could leave the kids at home with Jake in charge (and a cell phone) and walk the two doors down to spend an evening with our friends. We fed them first, stuck a movie in the DVD player, and headed out. How great was it to get a date night with best friends AND not have to pay for and arrange a babysitter???!!! We brought the "Red Neck Alcohol Tub", they provided the food, and we hung out for over two hours. It was such a success that we repeated the idea a week later- this time with them providing the wine while we provided the snacks. HEAVEN.
Top 10 Christmas Season Memories (in no particular order):
1. Mary was in town for the week leading up to Christmas. We did our fair share of Christmas shopping and Starbucks trips together and she did more than her fair share of baking with the kids, making Chex mix and "Grandma Mary Spaghetti Sauce", and playing card games.
2. We took the kids to Big Lots on Christmas Eve and they each used their own money to buy some toys for Toys for Tots. I was really proud of them all for their generosity. We tried to lead by example by buying things with our own money and then giving them the option to use their own money to buy additional toys. Each of them bought at least one item and stood in line on their own, using their ATM card to buy the gifts. We then drove to the fire station and they proudly put their goodies into the box.
3. The advent calendar continued to be a big hit each morning. I'm pretty sure that is the best $5.00 I ever spent at a garage sale! Faith's favorite treat was the Sixlets.
4. We watched way too many holiday movies. This year we introduced the kids to Elf and The Santa Clause. We also watched School of Rock (timed perfectly to get them in the right frame of mind for their presents from Santa Claus). Next year it will be time for A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation.
5. We've never been fans of a fancy dinner on Christmas Eve. Years past have seen everything from FFY to take out Chinese to fish and chips at the local pub (that was the year I was pregnant with Jake). This year Nana came over and we did a "make your own pizza night". I bought dough and sauce from a local pizza place and Nana demonstrated the fine art of pizza dough throwing.
6. We followed the pizza making with the annual opening of Christmas Eve jammies and Christmas Eve game. This year it was MouseTrap- a great game from my childhood. The kids loved it and it kept us all entertained. Then, right before bed, we all watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls. The Kids all slept in the bonus room together on blow up mattresses. Amazingly they were all asleep by 930 PM.
7. Brian and I were up first on Christmas morning. We got breakfast started, made the coffee and energy drink (for Brian) then the kids got up around 645 when Nana arrived. They were very excited to see the gifts from Santa: the makings of a band including an electric guitar and amp, a keyboard, and an electric drum set. Yes, we are crazy. They have been making music ever since and are getting their first lesson on the guitar later this morning from a friend of ours in the neighborhood. Now our bonus room (already a truly multifunctional space) includes the title of "Music Room".
8. The only thing Faith truly wanted for Christmas was a stuffed reindeer from Build a Bear. She didn't waver from the time she saw it in the mall in November until Christmas morning. She was pretty excited to see Clarice waiting for her by the fireplace. The doll was actually from Nana but we left it out from Santa because it was the only thing she had actually asked for from him. She carries it everywhere.
9. The boys favorite gifts were from their Grandmas: Mary got them Madden 13 for the Wii and Nana got them each a pair of Reebok Reezig shoes in Boise State colors. They were ecstatic. Seriously. I thought Jake might cry he was so happy. He just kept hugging Nana and thanking her over and over again. I think the reaction alone made Nana's day.
10. We didn't get a white Christmas, but we did get snow the day after and several days following. We still have several inches on the ground with more falling as I type. The low was 15 degrees last night so it's chilly but it has been sunny during the day and really beautiful.
