Here comes 2010

I've been doing some reflecting about the new year that is coming. Being a stay at home mom can be pretty amazing. I have such a strong bond with my kids and I enjoy watching them grow. That said, there are some pretty repetitive, lonely, and mundane parts of it too. Earlier this week, I was feeling a bit depressed about another year of alot of the same moments. What can I look forward to? What will be my goals for 2010? What will I do for myself?

Here are the beginnings of my goals for 2010:

*I want to re-connect with my spiritual heart.

*I want to honor my body by taking better care of it.

*I want to continue to be present, real, and honest with the loved ones around me.

This year, Jeremy and I are going to celebrate the new year a little differently. Dinner at home, movies, maybe a massage. I am really looking forward to a quiet night, just us.

However you celebrate, I want to wish you a safe and happy new year!

Happy Holiday!

Jeremy and I are lucky to have our families living so close. But it also makes for a busy, fun filled couple of days. We celebrated Christmas eve with Jeremy's extended family at the VFW hall in Mercer Island. I would guess there were around 100 people in attendance this year. It's a crazy potluck dinner, and Santa comes afterward with gifts for the kids.

Christmas Day started with the four of us exchanging gifts. Derick was up at 6:50am and ready to open presents. We did our best to delay him, but that only lasted about 20 minutes. So, we woke Darla and got it started.

Jeremy's brothers, sisters, and parents joined us for dinner Christmas day. We decorated cookies (a new, old tradition), ate very well, and exchanged gifts. The elephant exchange was a blast; I got a HUGE box of my mother-in-law's old Tupperware. I'm actually going to keep quite a bit of it! The kids had fun giving each other gifts and the evening sped by.

The day after Christmas was spent with my family in Edmonds. My sister and her hubby hosted a breakfast feast this year. We got spoiled in all the right ways. We were having such a nice time, we just stayed the whole day! Darla took a nap in Sydney's crib and Derick had some quiet time while Cooper crashed. We played video games and visited. Dinner was leftover ham sandwiches. YUM!

It was a beautiful weekend. Here's hoping yours was filled with love, peace, and joy!

Christmas Favorites

Just a few of my favorite things about this time of year.

*Holiday lights in the dark night
*Warm coffee in mornings with peppermint creamer
*Forecasts of snow
*The smell of the Christmas tree
*Getting holiday cards in the mail
*Holiday music
*Family gatherings
*Wrapping paper
*Stowing gifts and being sneaky
*Yummy chocolate treats
*Turkey dinner
*Excited little boys and girls
*Giving gifts
*Perpetuating the magic

Motorcycle Show

Jeremy has a passion for motorcycles...on and off road. And one of the ways he celebrates it is to attend the Seattle Motorcycle show every year in December. I've been a few times, but don't enjoy it as much as he does. So, for the last few years, he's gone with his brother Josh and Derick. They have a good time hanging out and talking with the other motor heads at the event. There's usually a stunt show and lots of machines to check out. Derick does his best to sit on every motorcycle he can get to. He gets pretty excited about each one too.

Just for fun, here's a few pics from years past:

It's good Daddy and Derick time....and I get a chunk of testosterone-free time out of it too.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Like many families, the holidays bring a mixed bag of feelings. There's lots of love, some joy, some sadness, some fear, and some dread. It's hard to stay focused on what's important and positive. Jeremy and I are working off of our tightest budget we've ever had. It's tough. And totally do-able. I keep reminding both of us that Christmas is not about how many presents are under the tree, but about the feelings, the love, and the togetherness we feel when we exchange those gifts. We both want to provide fun and lasting memories for our children, similar to what we remember from our childhood.

One of our favorite family traditions is to start off the holiday season by going to the Ivar's Clam Lights at Coulon park. I love Christmas lights....it's something I got from my mother. And Renton does the park up with an amazing amount of lights. There's holiday entertainment, Santa with candy canes, horse drawn waggon rides, Christmas carols by the fire, and the Christmas ships cruise by the waterfront all decked out in lights. The four of us bundled up and enjoyed the spectacle. It was *just* the thing to get us in the right mood for the holidays.

Darla is walking

So, I'm quite behind on actually blogging about this. Darla started walking shortly after her 1st birthday. She took her first steps on Tuesday, November 17th at our weekly dinner in Shoreline. My Dad was able to capture the moment on film.

Since then, she's been walking better/faster/more often every day. The smile on her face as she staggers toward me is full of excitement, pride, and joy. Ah, freedom!!

It won't be long before she's able to keep up with the boys.