Top 10

Looking back on God's blessings to us this year:

1. Seeing Sam's personality come out. He's 90% jokester and 10% hug enthusiast. He is a little firecracker who has really livened up our family. =)
2. Having Isaiah home from school this year. It is really nice having him around to play with Sam. Our daily schedule is fairly relaxed. There's the slight interruption of my being gone for three hours in the afternoon. But other than that, it's nice to avoid the crazy running around of having a kid in school. And it's nice to not have to worry about sending the bear holding the banana for "B" day and stuff like that. =)
3. Teaching my middle and high schoolers. It is such a nice break in my day to go to school and be a professional person, to help students grow in their musical abilities. The nice thing about the job is that I can kind of make it what I want it to be. Last year I wasn't able to do as much, because Sam was still little and I don't think I had the energy to put into teaching that I do this year. This year, I was able to have my band and choir play and sing in the Grandparents' Day chapel, and the choir went caroling at a nursing home, and the band played at PPG place. I really appreciate my middle school choir director making the extra effort to take the choir out to different events like singing at a home for disabled veterans and singing on the steps of the bank at light up night in my town. Those are some of my best memories from middle school, so I want to pass those good memories on to my students. So I'm glad I have the mental and physical energy to put a little more into my job this year.
4. Adding two super-talented musicians to our church's worship team. Our guitar player and drummer have been so wonderful to work with and have enhanced the music at our church this year. Our hope is that we are playing relevant music that will lead people in worshiping the Father.
5. Two words: Dave Ramsey. I've known about Dave Ramsey and his financial theories for a while. For the last few years, Dan and I have been more into investing than in paying down our debt (mortgage and student loans), which I think was fine. But watching his show has helped me realize how advantageous it can be to pay down debt. So we're shifting some of our financial priorities with this new plan.
6. Playing piano in two weddings and accompanying the elementary choir's Christmas concert. I just like playing piano in circumstances where I am not in the spot light. In a wedding, everyone is watching the bride and groom, and it's no big deal to play piano in the background. And for the Christmas concert, all the parents and grandparents are just watching their little cuties sing Christmas songs, so, again, no big deal to play, and just a lot of fun.
7. Laughing at Isaiah's quirky, imaginative comments all day long. We have particularly enjoyed the addition of his imaginary friend, Caroline, her little brother, Thomas, and their mother.
8. Experimenting with fun recipes. I have really loved Sam the Cooking Guy's recipes. Some good ones we have tried and like are the spicyish sausage pasta, Katherine's meatballs, hot pastrami wrap, roasted tomato pasta, hoisin beef skewers, open face london broilers, and the fresh mozzarella and tomato pizza to name a few. =)
9. Flylady. Her simple routines have helped me manage the house more efficiently. No one ever teaches you how to manage a household. The laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning, meal planning, organization, etc can be overwhelming as your family grows. But flylady's simple morning, afternoon, and evening routines break up this seemingly unmanageable task into something that anyone can accomplish.
10. Our minivan. We bought a '99 dodge grand caravan earlier this year. It has been a great van. And now that our road and driveway will most likely be snow/ice covered for the next several months, we are so very grateful that it has four wheel drive. Also, the dual sliding doors make loading the boys much more convenient. Granted it is a 10 year old vehicle with some quirks, like how the dome lights blink while you're driving if you don't give the driver's side sliding door a shove after you close it. Oh, and how the speedometer, odometer, tachometer, and fuel gauge don't work because we need a part in the dash replaced. But it really is turning out to be a reliable vehicle!

Relaxing

Sunday evening, we decided to take the boys to the lights display at Hartwood Acres. Isaiah is just the perfect age for this. He was in awe of every elf, santa, and dancing bear. He loved hearing about the 12 days of Christmas, which is funny because any time I've tried to sing that song to him, we get to about seven and he says, "Mommy, lets sing a different song." But he loved seeing the drummers drumming, the maids a-milking, etc. Sam sat in his car seat, sucking his thumb the whole time, and occasionally yelling out, "Wow!" By the way, he is slowly but surely adding to his vocabulary. His latest new words are cookie, wow, whoa, and day. But our drive through Hartwood was so relaxing because the boys were so calm.

Because of the new toys the boys got for Christmas, I decided to go through their old toys last night and this morning. It is awfully hard to get rid of those baby toys! We have so many toys that are in great condition, but the boys have just grown out of them, so it's time for them to be passed on.

After the craziness that was Christmas, it has been nice just relaxing at home with the boys. Dan has been able to be home a little more than usual, which has also been a nice break.

Quote of the day from Isaiah, after I told him not to worry about something, "But, I NEED to worry about it!" How true. So many adults feel that way, but would never say it so plainly. =)

The day after...

Today was MUCH more relaxing. Isaiah and I went to the gym this morning, leaving Dan and Sam at home to play with all their new toys. =) They boys needed some time away from each other. Later in the afternoon, we went over to Dan's parents to have Christmas. We had a great time and ate great food, but we missed Phil, Claire, and Jay who couldn't make it because Jay was sick. This is how we found him sleeping last night... too much Christmas!He was excited to get his busy book from Grandma. The boys in their monkey jammies that Grandma made for them.

Christmas 2009

I was totally unprepared for the chaos, fighting, and wildness that would be Christmas Day this year. Isaiah's rule for the day seemed to be, "My presents are mine, and Sam's presents are both of ours," thus leading to much fighting. When we first started opening gifts, Sam kept wandering back to his old toys, much like he did last year. But as soon as he realized that there were toys in those boxes, he was totally into it. Once we got everything opened and assembled, the only toy the boys wanted was the toy in the other one's hand. Oy. It wasn't all bad though. Isaiah said many times, "This is the best Christmas ever!" and "This is just what I wanted!"

During Sam's naptime, I also got a nice nap, and Isaiah watched a movie. By the time we went over to my mom's later in the afternoon, Isaiah was in tears over almost anything. When we were about to eat Jesus' birthday cake, Isaiah cried and yelled, "No! I want my candy cane!!" Dan and I breathed the biggest sigh of relief when they went to bed tonight.

Note for next year: buy smaller toys
Suggestions: Hasbro, in the future, please include a set of ear plugs with your Hungry Hungry Hippos game
Heading out to the Christmas Eve candle light service. See last year's picture here (ironically, Isaiah is wearing the same sweater... guess he hasn't grown too much!) and some other pictures from last year here
Dan was so excited about his indoor/outdoor temperature station

Sam has no idea what it is... but he's excited!

Stockings!

Talking to Aunt Janet, telling her about our Christmas

Breakfast casserole for brunch

Over at my mom's... he's getting sleepy and exhausted

The boys decided to "wrap" Nana

And this pretty much sums it up!

Tired and goofing off

Sam's new word... very appropriate for Christmas =)

Ho ho ho... Merry Christmas!

Playing in the snow

Wearing my hat... thinking he's so funnySaying cheese for the camera Walking up the big sledding hill. The last few years Dan has played in the snow with the boys, as I'm not big on outdoor winter activities. =) I'd rather be inside making the hot cocoa! But Isaiah has been dying to play in the snow. Saturday we were at the toy drive most of the day. Then Sunday after church we made cookies at Vern and Lorrie's, and by the time Dan gets home on the weekdays, it's too dark. So we went out Tuesday during Sam's nap and just had fun. =)

Snow angel!

Snowman... we didn't really have the right kind of snow, but sometimes in Pittsburgh you only get one or two snows like this a year... so we made the most of it!

Decorating the tree

We finally decorated the tree this evening. Isaiah was much more into it than Sam, although Sam did come over and put a few ornaments on.

Snuggling with the snowman

Gingerbread Train

The boys were getting a little restless this morning, so I pulled out this gingerbread kit I bought a few weeks ago. It was much messier than I thought it would be, but they had fun! Isaiah insisted that we wait to eat it until Daddy saw it.

Big weekend for a little guy

Isaiah got home on Monday evening. When I asked him about his weekend, he didn't say much. But in the last few days, he's been randomly sharing memories from the weekend at the Riley's.

• I walked into Giant Eagle (of course it was probably another grocery store...). and a guy said, (imagine Isaiah saying this, trying to sound like a grown man) "Young man, would you like a candy cane?" and I said, "Sure!"
• Karis (1 year old) kept smacking my face! (Karis learned how to put her hand to her mouth and go wha wha wha... and was trying to get Isaiah to do it).
• Karis was attacking me! (Apparently Karis was falling all over him!)
• He also said he loved playing with the toys Uncle Matt had when he was a kid. He said he built a "contraption" out of blocks or an erector set or something.
• Karis's birthday party was a duck theme, so he kept telling me everything at the party that was ducks. Duck jello jigglers, ducks on the cupcakes, and other stuff.

He was so glad to get home and see mommy and daddy, that he bought me flowers on his way home. My mom said he wanted to get me a blue poinsettia with glitter (that kid has weird taste!), but she talked him into roses. =)

Weekend update

My mom took Isaiah to my sister's house for Karis's first birthday party. When they left, Sam was sobbing and saying, "Go! Go! Go!" because he wanted to go so badly.

But we had a fun weekend giving Sam lots of attention. He got to play with whatever toys he wanted to, without having to compete with Isaiah. We colored, put puzzles together, played with the Veggie pirate ship, built blocks, read stories, etc. Last night we went out to dinner, and Sam sat pretty nicely the whole time. He didn't get all fussy and antsy like he usually does when Isaiah is there.

Because of freezing rain and ice-covered roads, church was cancelled this morning. We also didn't have electricity because a car had hit a pole. Sam didn't even mind how cold the house was getting this morning. He just kept playing around the house, happy as could be.

We left for the mall around 11:45 just to hang out somewhere warm and get some lunch. By the time we got home from the mall, our power was back! That is a major relief. When our power goes out, we never know if it will be a few minutes, or a few days!

My mom decided to wait until tomorrow to drive back from Katherine's because the snow/freezing rain caused a lot of accidents on I-80. So hopefully I'll get to see Isaiah before I have to leave for my concert...

Tomorrow night is my last concert! Woohoo! Then I can work on some Christmas stuff, like setting up the tree, taking our Christmas pictures, sending cards, etc.

Wrong size... wrong color...

Following a Christmas present debacle, Dan told me, "Next time, just send me a link to the exact item you want. Better yet, put it in the cart, so all I have to do is check out." LOL!!! Dan said I'm only allowed to post this if I also include my comment, "I know! I'm impossible to buy gifts for!" Actually though, the gift is going to work out just fine. =)

Grumping

After his time out yesterday, Isaiah came to me and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry for grumping at you." I couldn't help but laugh. That kid catches me off guard sometimes.

Crazy day

So I'm home now, feeling relatively relaxed. But let me give you a recap of my day. This morning MOPS had its Christmas brunch and white elephant gift exchange. Honestly, I've been so busy lately that I probably would have skipped it had I not signed up to bring something. The food was amazing. There was every kind of egg casserole, fruit pizza, pound cake, BROWNIES, etc. Phenomenal. There were even breakfast tomales or something. I don't think there's anywhere else on earth that you will find brownies and cheesecake for breakfast! Unfortunately, I picked #32 for the white elephant, but had to leave when they were on #12. It's frustrating, because I feel like I can't get fully involved with the group because I always have to leave 45 minutes early.

Then instead of my normal prep time at school, I went over to Christ Church to play the piano in preparation for tonight's concert. I'm used to playing on an upright piano, and grands typically have a slower action making them a little harder/stiffer to play. Anyway, I got there and the sanctuary wasn't in use, so I had about 15 minutes to play.

At school, I had a conversation with a student that about broke my heart. I can't go into details, but this student shared some things going on in that student's life that are really difficult. It was great to see the few other students in the class show heartfelt empathy to this student.

I had some down time in the afternoon, when Isaiah and I both fell asleep while Sam was taking his nap. It was pretty quite around here for a while!

Then this evening, I went to the elementary Christmas concert to accompany the chorus on piano. The kids all did a great job, and I can honestly say that I wasn't nervous.

I'm feeling pretty good, now that I have three concerts down and one to go. All my Christmas presents are bought and wrapped, which lets me concentrate on my last concert and Christmas music for church.

Now it's time for bed. Tomorrow is catch up day... catch up on laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping.

Adventures downtown

Today I took the band downtown to play at the PPG place food court. They have holiday entertainment set up for a lot of the month of December, and we were glad to be a part of it. Here are some highlights of the day:

• All four vehicles arrived on time without getting lost!
• Were finally allowed to enter the parking garage after stating our name and business and showing photo ID. Seemed a little excessive, but I guess you can't be too safe.
• Found our way through the parking garage, managed to find the tunnel to the food court so we didn't have to carry the instruments, music stands, and drum set outside... it was quite cold today!
• The PR person from the school showed up with a great, 7-foot-tall banner advertising the school, and the headmaster came to hear us! It's encouraging to see the administration supporting the music program.
• The kids played well. We ended up repeating two songs because we were done a little early.
• Heading out, I got confused by the numerous closures and detours posted in the area. So I headed for the cultural district, because there's an on ramp for 279 north there. The on ramp was closed! The detour for 279 north put me on 376 west. Against all my instincts, I followed it. Apparently I should have gotten off at Station Square, but I didn't know that because there was NO SIGN. Or at least I didn't see it. So I ended up in CARNEGIE then up 79 north to Mt Nebo Rd. Just a little out of the way. =) Oh well. The kids in my car were either sleeping or studying for a history test, so they didn't care at all that it was taking WAY longer than normal to get back to school.

Boys and snow

They were so excited to watch the snow falling

And it wasn't long before they wanted to go out and play. Notice the trains that have obviously travelled around the table many times...

Blessings...

Either I look like I'm starving (um... no!) or God is reminding me of his love by giving me little blessings... Three times in the last two days, people have given me food. That's enough to get my attention. =) A la Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer, yesterday I left a piano lesson with four Eat 'n' Park smiley cookies, one for everyone in my family. Later, I left another piano lesson with a large container of homemade beef vegetable noodle soup. Then, today when I was leaving school, they sent the leftover spaghetti and salad from the kids' hot lunch with me. So... feeling thankful.

Going Rogue

A few days ago, I got an email from the library saying that this book I requested was in. Woohoo! As I was 53rd on the reserve list, I figured it would be a while until I got my hands on it. But I'm thrilled to be reading Sarah Palin's book Going Rogue. It's a fascinating mix of personal and political stories.

At the beginning she shares with her readers some of her family history: "My grandmother Helen studied at the University of Idaho, then put her talent and intelligence to work as a homemaker, raising six active kids." What dignity she gives to the stay-at-home mom. I appreciate that.

She discusses many times when she brought her infants with her to Wasilla city council meetings and times when she nursed her babies while working. You. Go. Girl. Way to be.

She recounts a time when she was in local public service. She had to fire her babysitter's husband who was also the man who introduced her to the city council. These decisions are far more difficult and have worse repercussions on the local level than on the national level. She has the guts to make the tough decisions that need to be made to get things done.

If you're on the fence about Sarah Palin, I encourage you to get a copy of her book and read it. You will know exactly where she stands on all the major issues, then judge for yourself.

Christmas lights

I've always been a white lights person. I just like how crisp, clear, and pure they look. BUT this year I've been outnumbered. Dan and Isaiah wanted colored lights, and, honestly, I was ready for a change. We've been looking at Christmas lights around the neighborhood. When we got home, the boys were so excited to see that we had our own!

Sam went up the stairs so slowly, looking at the color of each light. So cute.