Mommie Marzie

We had a good Christmas.

Joe and I didn’t put presents under the tree until after the boys were asleep on Christmas Eve. So they had no idea what to expect. When Sai woke up he came running into my room. “MOM! There are presents under the tree!” He was so excited! He couldn’t wait for Joe and me to get out there and he ran and started ripping into a present. I made him stop until we could all be there. Jay was so excited that he was shaking while he opened his first few presents. The boys were just so much fun to watch. So much fun that we didn’t take any pictures. I said to Joe that the boys were spoiled but he said that they weren’t because they’ve had a rough year too and they deserve the gifts that they got.

The boys got toys and lots of clothes. They were so happy and excited with everything they got–even the clothes. Joe and I got some gift certificates, YAY! And this cook book that we are excited about. I also got some maternity clothes (the most awesome pair of maternity jeans I’ve ever seen!) and a fab necklace (thanks!). Joe and I weren’t going to get each other anything. But thanks to my mom and sister Carrie I got him this.

When my parents came to visit my mom and I saw this fabric. It’s so Joe. We started making the quilt top but didn’t quite get it done. So Mom took it home to finish it and Carrie quilted it up.  Joe was funny because he asked me if it was a quilt he could use or if it was only for show. I have to admit that is a valid question since I have quilts that my mom made that I tell him he can’t sit on or use.

We wouldn’t have had such a wonderful Christmas without the generosity of family and friends. I want to thank you all again for all that you have done for us.

Today we woke up to snow. And so far it’s still here. My friend Rhonda called me and invited the boys and me to go sledding up at her house. I dressed the boys up in their snow clothes and boots and off we went. They had a blast! Jay even liked it this year. When we took him last year he cried so I ended up sitting in the truck with him while Sai and Joe sledded. Here is Sai and his friend Taylor after one run.

After we did some sledding we roasted hot dogs outside on the fire and drank hot chocolate. It was a lot of fun.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

So much to do today and so little time. So why am I here writing? I’ve got a half hour before my VTs arrive. After they leave I’m off to the bank and the grocery store. Hopefully I’ll get that all done, get lunch for Jay and me, then I’m off to Sai’s school. I’m helping his class with their Christmas party today.

The kids got to wear their pajamas to school for their parties. Sai was excited. But it’s so cold and I know they’ll send the kids out for recess. So I doubled up his PJs. He has a flannel pair underneath with his Transformer pair on top. Then a long sleeve T with his short sleeve Transformer T over that. It’s all about the layers!

I asked Joe if I should wear my PJs when I go help the class. He laughed. It’s all because a few Saturdays ago I got up and went to the kitchen. Joe had let me sleep in so him and the boys were at the table. Well, Sai saw me coming and pointed to my chest and asked why it was pointing down. *SIGH* Seriously, I can’t wander around my own house in PJs without a bra on? (BTW, I told him it was because I was getting old. LOL) So if I were to wear my PJs to Sai’s school I would wear a bra. So thanks for laughing Joe.

Hope you all get your last minute Christmas stuff taken care of. I still have wrapping to do. And cookies to make, but I’m waiting for Tuesday to do that so there will be some left for Sai to leave out for Santa.

Sai requested a blue stocking with Santa on it. I decided on the snowman for Jay. I put them together quickly. I’m kind of happy/not happy with the way they turned out. I guess it’s pretty good for a quick project. But I had something looking much cooler pictured in my mind. Maybe next year I’ll take more time to work on them so they will turn out much cooler. The good thing about these is that they are on the small side so it won’t take a lot to fill them.

Yesterday was Sai’s school program. It was cute. They combined all the Kindergarten classes and the First Grade classes. They sang songs with actions and there were a few poems. I was pretty impressed with the kids. But Sai’s class was on the back row so I had a hard time getting pictures and video of the program. Plus Jay insisted on sitting on my lap so the video is kind of jumpy since Jay kept bumping my arms.

I can’t believe there is less than a week till Christmas. We haven’t done any Christmas shopping for the boys yet. But we are going today. I’m picking up Sai after school and we are heading straight out to Redmond to meet Joe. We’ll take a quick run through Wal-Mart to look. Then I’ll take the boys and leave and Joe will stay and make the purchases. Neither of us is sure what to get the boys so this way we both get to look and then we can both decide what to get but still surprise the boys.

Joe and I haven’t had a land line in a long time. We use our cell phones as our only phones. It’s kind of nice. But also it can be a pain.

Like, I feel like I have to explain myself when I miss a phone call. Most people who call me know that I have a cell. So in theory it should be with me at all times. But sometimes I leave it charging in one room and I’m off in another room doing something else. Or I’m vacuuming and can’t hear it. Or in the bathroom and I’m NOT answering the phone while otherwise occupied. And on weekends I leave it in the kitchen because I don’t want to answer it first thing in the morning. So I always feel this awful compulsion to explain to someone why I didn’t answer when they call. I know I do this and I just can’t stop.

We have paperless billing for our phone. I got the email notification that the bill was due. So I went online to look at it (had to create a new username and password and pin today, sheesh). We so went over our minutes! I can’t believe it! Our bill is double what it normally is and I can’t remember ever going that far over before. Not even when Joe was in the hospital. Sprint to Sprint and nights and weekends don’t count towards our minutes. I know we’ve had a lot of other calls this month with Joe calling around trying to get a job and talking with family.

So if I don’t answer and call you back after 7, don’t take offense. I’m just trying to save a little money.

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. We are very excited. We’ve been trying to think of names and it’s just hard. At least we have about 20 weeks to decide.

I love this MasterCard commercial (I don’t know how to embed the video, so click on the link). It reminds me so much of Sai. He loves to dance and looks kind of like these kids when he does dance. Jay tries to dance like this too, but he hasn’t quite got it.

This picture is supposed to be a profile. I’m not very handy with our scanner so the quality could be better.

All four of us piled in the ultrasound room. I thought I was going to die because I had a full bladder, as requested, and the tech was pressing hard.

She asked the boys if they wanted a brother or a sister. Sai immediately told her he wanted a sister. And guess what.

It’s a sister.

We’re excited!

We got nine pictures but I can’t really tell what most of them are. And the angle of the screen made it hard for me to tell what was going on. So I’m a bit clueless about much of what we saw.

So I pick Sai up from school. We’re driving down the road, not our usual route home, and he sees something and starts talking about the wieners over there.

Huh?

“Wiener” is the slang word we use for boy parts around here. So I really didn’t know what the junk he was talking about. I’m getting worried that there is something inappropriate going on at the side of the road or maybe something happened in school. So I ask him questions to try and get the full story.

And Sai says “Wieners. You know, Santa and the wieners.”

Oooooo….. Santa and his REINDEER! Gotcha. We drove by some of those fake light up reindeer so he was talking about them. Whew!

*** *** ***

I figured out today that we definitely can fit three car seats in the back of the truck. That’s a relief. We can go a few more years, hopefully, without buying a new vehicle.

Tomorrow is the big day. Ultrasound day. The boys want to go and see the baby. I’m not sure they’ll get what they are seeing up on the screen. When I made the appointment they said that the boys could be in there for a little while, probably long enough to see if it’s a boy or girl, then Joe will have to take them out. I’m cool with that. It’s so much different from the ultrasounds I had with the Sai and Jay. The doctors I had back in Utah would let you fill up the room with people to watch the ultrasound and put it on video for you.

I’ve been keeping my sewing machine busy these past few days. Whew.

Yesterday my friend Rhonda and I finished the prayer rugs for the Primary kids. We made the blocks first. I ironed the edges under. Rhonda ironed on the saying. Then we sewed the blocks onto the rugs (place mats) with a little batting.

The saying is:
I’m your little prayer rug
Kneel on me to pray
Keep me by your bedside
I’ll help you start your day.
And when your day has ended,
Your work and play are through
Heavenly Father is waiting,
He wants to hear from you.

After yesterday I cleaned and oiled my sewing machine thinking that it would be put away until after Christmas. But Sai came home from school with holes in the knees of his jeans. He only has four pair so if we were down a pair that would not be good. My mom told me to undo the side seam (not the side with the double seam) and to back the holey part with denim or dark fabric (I used denim). I had blue thread, but the knees were so faded that it was too dark so I used white thread. I hope they’ll last him a little while longer.

And then I thought, as long as I had my machine out I would finish a Christmas project I started four or five years ago. I took a class (had to buy both the pattern and the kit, not sure it was worth it) and made these nativity embroidery pieces. I decided to make them into pillows. Today I sewed the fabric on the sides and back. I just need to stuff them and close them up. Then I’m not sure what to do with them. Maybe give them to Sai’s teacher for Christmas.

Speaking of Sai the Turkey… I got a call from his teacher about an hour ago. Sai had written her a note. I remember him doing this last night. I didn’t get to see what he had “written” because he sealed it up in an envelope. So Mrs. Strong calls me (and I almost panicked think he was hurt, however, when he got hit in the head and got a bloody nose they didn’t call me) and tells me that Sai gave her this note and it says that he is to ride the bus home today. Oh that boy! Nope, he doesn’t ride the bus and I don’t know who he would be riding with and where he would be going. I’m glad she called and double checked so we didn’t send him who-knows-where.

Sai’s letter to Santa:

Dear Santa

How are your reindeer? You live in the North Pole in a hut.

Sai

Lego. Dinosaurs. Transformers.

Love (heart) Sai

Isn’t it so cute? It was Sai’s idea. He came to me for help in writing his letter. He told me what he wanted to say and I would write it on a paper and he would copy it. (We started with me slowly spelling it out loud but that got old fast, plus that’s how “dear” ended up as “bear”.) Oh, and he wrote Transformers copying the writing on the DVD, that’s why it is all boxy.

Then I had to write a letter for Jay. Jay told me what to write. Then he “wrote” on it. We got them stuffed in an envelope and it’s ready to drop in the mail tomorrow.

Yes, we are going through a patch of hard times. But there is a bright side. Here are some good things happening.

1 - With Joe home in the mornings he has been getting up and taking Sai to school so I can sleep in. And he’s even made Sai’s lunch twice this week. One morning I woke up and looked at the clock in a panic because Sai was going to be late but Joe and Sai were already on the way to school.

2 - Jay LOVES having his dad home. They’ve played a lot.

3 - Joe went to school and surprised Sai by having lunch with him today.

4 - I got to leave Jay with Joe this morning and go to my friend Rhonda’s. We went for a walk (more like a mild hike for my out of shape self). It was good to get out and have girl time away from the kids.

5 - Joe went fishing a few days ago and caught about 30 fish on the Crooked River.

6 - I’ve done some sewing (Christmas project for Primary). And want to do more. I also feel like trying to make sugar cookies (but mine never taste as good as my mother-in-law’s).

7 - I got a package from my sisters and parents. Three maternity tops and one skirt. So cute! Even at 19 weeks, though, they look too big on. I’m not going to wish myself big just to better fill out the tops. (The package also included Christmas lights, a fleece for me, and four awesome fat quarters.)

8 - Yesterday I talked to three of my sisters (Nann, Tracy & Jenny), e-mailed with another sister (Dena), and talked to Khris my BFF from high school.

9 - I talked to my mom today. And I didn’t cry.

Joe’s been busy making calls, sending resumes, checking out jobs online, looking into unemployment… We’re trying not to get our hopes up but there is a possibility that a plumbing company based here in our little town (yay! wouldn’t spend tons on gas money) will hire him. We have a back up plan if nothing pans out, but it would be quite drastic, so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Tonight is the church Christmas dinner. Sai is a wiseman for the post-dinner entertainment of the nativity story. Joe said that if Sai weren’t involved he would skip the dinner. BAH-HUMBUG!

It’s time to get motivated. Laundry to finish, floors to vacuum, hair to dry.