Santa Baby

Twilight Movie Update: A few of us will be getting together to see the movie tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9 pm at the new theater in Orem. Anyone is welcome to join us. Now on with the post.

What is the deal with Santa? Zoe is scared out of her wits at just the sight of the bearded man. Always has been. Am I ruining Christmas for my kids by not playing up Santa? I don't really remember my parents pushing him on me when I was growing up and I definitely don't remember a time when I ever believed in him. So here is my question for you - What role does Santa play in your holidays? How did that role come about? Was it a natural process or did you put effort into cultivating a tradition/belief? I'm just curious about your households because I have absolutely no inclination to make Santa a figurehead in our home. I don't think less of anyone who does and I'm not trying to force my disbelief on anyone, I just wonder what the motivation is for incorporating Santa into Christmas. And what is the process for introducing him to children - especially when so many little ones seem terrified of him.

In the meantime, as long as we have nothing better to do on a Friday night in December in Payson, we will probably be found doing this:

Making It Official

Owen's blessing (nearly 2 weeks ago) was wonderful. Thank you to everyone who could come (or those who wanted to be there but couldn't). It was nice to have some friendly faces in our ward. Here are some pictures:

The Dudes (minus James' boss)

The Chicas

And while we're talking about blessings, let me demonstrate what a blessing in our life Owen is:

This kid ALWAYS has a smile for us. Whether he is watching Zoe play, just waking up from his nap, or getting a 3 am diaper change. He is just a happy, calm little guy - which is a nice change around here. Not that Zoe isn't happy. She is, usually. But "calm" will never never be used to describe her. Bless her heart.

I'm Lame

I haven't been around here much lately. I've been consumed by all things Christmas and the blog has taken a back seat. But today something came to my attention that has me concerned. Here is my predicament. I have yet to see Twilight the movie. And I only have a week left if I want to see it in the theaters (at least the theater in Payson). James is more than willing to give me the time I need to go see it but my dilemma is that I don't want to see it by myself. It just seems a little depressing to go out alone. I guess I have been spoiled by previous girls night outs. Coming to the point, would YOU like to go with me? Is there anyone who would like to see Twilight with me? It can be a small group, large group, or just one on one. We could even get ice cream and I'm even willing to travel to other cities (within reason). I'm just in desperate need of girl time right now. Anyway, if you're interested let me know. And someday I'll get around to all the posts that are swimming around in my head.

The Blessing

We are blessing Owen in church this Sunday at 9am. Anyone who would like to come is invited. You are especially invited if you fall into the category of worthy priesthood holder. Otherwise our circle might be more of a triangle. Contact us if you need more details.

Thanksgiving!

Not to brag, but I ROCK at Thanksgiving. OK, I'm bragging a little. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. For the second year in a row James' dad and stepmom came out and we had a blast. I did ALL of the cooking and loved every second. This year I even attempted a pie which turned out super yummy. That in itself is amazing as I don't bake. I loved cooking in our new house because I didn't have to use our dining room table as counter space during the cooking process and with a dishwasher, the clean up of 7 hours of cooking was much easier. Not to mention James' family didn't have to sleep in our living room!

THE FAMILY


THE FOOD

It's all about BRINING around here

A Few Good Side Dishes

The perfect pie - not one crack!

And surprise - a cream cheese layer to boot!

Redefining "Short"

Today I'm reaching out to anyone with ANY background in hair cutting/styling. What magic words do I speak to get someone to cut my hair shorter than my chin? No matter what I say or ask for, I generally get the same cut and it is always a little longer than I wanted, especially in the back.

I got a cut right before Thanksgiving that was particularly bad. I wanted my hair short. Shorter than it had ever been before. I ended up with an a-line (in the loosest sense of that term - it looks more like I cut a chunk of gum out of the back of my hair blindfolded) and the longest layers go 2 inches past my chin, despite telling them that I didn't want anything past my chin. Plus, by the time they've mangled my hair into a medium length cut, nearly 2 hours have gone by and I have hungry kids and a grumbly husband who will now have to miss his class. GRRR! The worst part is that it took so much effort and coordination to actually go out and get it cut that I just don't see being able to repeat the process in the near future. And I was really looking forward to having a cute cut for the holidays.

So, what do I do? My hair is deceptively thick and grows so fast but when I ask for a short hair cut I can never get more than 4 inches taken off. Which is just not enough for me. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommended (and affordable) stylists? Keep in mind I have used the following tactics to no avail:

• Bringing in pictures of desired length/style
• Saying "Cut it all off"
• "I want it REALLY short"
• "The longest layer should come to my chin"
• "Don't be afraid to go TOO short"
• "Take off at least 5 or 6 inches"
• "I want it short in the back"

Basically the only thing I haven't done is tell them to buzz it. I'm guessing most stylists are afraid of cutting it too short and when there's a huge pile of hair on the floor they figure it's short enough. Not for this lady. This is my plea for HELP!

2 Months

Wow, Owen had his 2-month checkup yesterday. Time is just going so fast. So here are the stats - 10 pounds 8 ounces (that's a 4-lb gain) and 23 inches (he's grown 2 inches). What a monster! The pictures are from a couple weeks ago, but you get the idea. He's dang cute and getting bigger every day.


He has been smiling lately and gives us the biggest grins. He is also sleeping better at night and only wakes up 3 times to feed. But the first time is at 11 so I am usually still up and my sleep is only interrupted twice a night. So we are starting to feel more normal, yet still adequately tired. The computer is back and for a few days our office is vacant of guests so I'm going to try and get on top of posting. No promises.