The ice

We have had some serious snow and cold here the last week or so. And it just keeps going on and on, more snow and more cold.

I love it.

I hauled the kids and the dog out with two sleds in tow this afternoon and we had a great time even though I wondered if I was going to keel over a few times as I pulled them back to the house, both kids on one sled, carried the other sled, and hiked home (since we headed out on foot). Even with Skadi standing there shivering she kept saying, "more sled now". MUST get Leif's old snowsuit out of the attic for her.

I snapped some pictures this evening. Not of the snow. But of the ice. These are some giant icicles on our house that envelope our Christmas lights. Really cool effect.

New skis?

There is a suspicious gift under our tree - or actually leaning on the wall next to the tree. Leif and I wrapped it today. I didn't open it for him to see what was actually in there out of fear he would divulge this most fascinating gift to AB. So I knew he couldn't spill the beans.

AB was examining the gift this evening and I suggested he ask Leif what's in the package.

"Skis!" Leif exclaimed!

Much to AB's disappointment... no he isn't getting new skis for Christmas!

Santa!! (And Elmo)

Silent Night

Well we are working on it...

Our path to a new house

I gave a brief thought about starting a different blog for house stuff. Then I laughed. I am having a hard enough time keeping up with two active blogs. So if you don't want to wade through house post - click away.

Our real estate agent came back with shocking news this afternoon. The Parade Home that we would like built on the corner view lot in Badger Den? "About the same price" as the Parade Home.

I was glad this conversation was not in person as my agent would have gotten a view of my tonsils.

You see this is a view lot in a great location and the other lot was a great location, but a view of a drainage pond and neighboring houses. Sure when you think about it there are things that were probably added to the Parade Home price - like probably landscaping, most new houses around here include minimal (i.e., front yard only) landscaping. Fencing is another. The media equipment in the media room. The wine fridge in the bar. All the extras - drawer knobs and pulls, custom window coverings, basically all the things that make it a Parade Home and not just another house for sale.

AB and I rely on my FIL's advice on houses and loans a lot. He is in the mortgage loan business and has made a lot of money in real estate. He has advised us to keep our house as a rental and we have had a number of people concur with this stating it would be a great rental property. We will refinance this house and buy another.

His advice is to start talking to the builder - because another surprise is that they could have the new house built in 4 months - however, still look around. We do have about 10 more houses we need to see before making our decision. But comparable quality houses of the same style - rambler with a walk out basement are selling for $100K more in the same general neighborhood. However, we haven't seen them... yet.

And I am not kidding myself that our home probably will cost more than the Parade home once I add two walls to make a 5th (small) bedroom in the basement instead of a huge wetbar, move one wall to make a larger walk in closet (it was obviously designed by a man), have a laundry chute or dumbwaiter put in (because I am not hauling laundry from the Master across the house, down a flight of stairs and back across the house when the laundry room is below the Master to start. Sort of. Oh and the kitchen - I plan to kill the eat in area and extend the island for both a larger work area and a place to put some bar stools since the dining room is like steps away. And I don't have a cafe type table or want a cafe type table in that tiny area.

But other things we may decide to kill to save money on - no fancy wooden inlays in the bamboo hardwood. Built in office components not really necessary. AB is considering killing the deck and having his brother(s) come out and help build a deck themselves. And we *can* do the landscaping ourselves... I suppose.

One thing we are excited about with this builder is the house is Energy Star compliant and "green built". Important things!

And before I get too far down this road I do need to e-mail the list of homes we still want to see to the agent. Though my FIL did advise starting to sit down with the builder here soon.

Recent pictures

Leif sledding.

The wuss kids in the snow. They are not related to me. They whined the entire time we were outside.

Skadi's Christmas party.

She returns!

The peppy post-doc privy to pink. Add in her horrible tendency to wear pants that were way too small.

Yes, Miss Pink!

She left a year or so ago, but one of my manager friends has hired her permanently now for... yes, you guessed it... to work on my project! I don't actually get a say in who he hires since he isn't even in my directorate. But one of the lead scientists on my project is in his directorate and needs more hands. Hence pink post-doc is back - as a scientist.

Honestly I am thrilled. It is nice to have a "known" variable as I see my project exploding. And she is a smart one.

I commented to a coworker the other day that I was embarrassed to be thrilled to have her simply because of her ability to sit down, write out a reaction, push electrons and me tell what would happen. Yes, I am just jealous. I am not an organic chemist at all and was routinely stumped with reaction diagrams. Thankfully Schrodinger appealed to my senses a little better and my math skills kicked in giving me a future in chemistry.

Good blog fodder is on deck for January! Really, I do like her a lot...

Catching up

It's been awhile since I have felt my blogging mojo. I was worried it got up and went. But seems it was just a momentary lapse and I have a whole list of things to blog about now. My biggest obstacle is time.

Since we returned from Colorado I have been very busy with work (in a good way), getting ready for that big holiday that is lurking just around the corner and just trying to keep up with the daily grind. Oh and not to mention we have undertaken a new task... finding a new home to buy.

So while the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese cooks, Skadi sleeps, Leif and AB are outside shoveling snow (Leif is trying to sled down our driveway that has no slant to it), I will get on it.

I have found my love for this time of year again. I was worried I was going to have a funk of a holiday season. This has never really happened to me, but I was seeing how easily people could slip into this. Then Leif found his love for Christmas, Skadi started screaming "SANTA", and it started snowing. And snowing.

And it's snowing right now!

So first bit of news is that we were gently nudged off the fence with regards to buying a new house. It didn't take much pushing to get us moving since this is something we have wanted/needed for a long time. We have come to know the market in the area pretty well over the last almost a year or so as we frequent open houses and drive around dreaming. We have met a number of real estate agents and this last week we picked one. Or two actually. A husband-wife team with kids our kids ages who are really nice people. And they seem to get us and understand what we are looking for.

Thursday they came over to start the market analysis on our home and Friday we went out and looked at five houses with them. We hit one more yesterday.

After seeing six houses AB and I both agreed on what needs to be done.

We needed to make an offer on a Parade Home we visited in September.

Unfortunately for us our agent told us Friday night that the house was under contract and set to close on Monday.

It was probably good that we felt the strong sense of missing out and regret for not having moved on the house because it emphasized to us what we want in a house. And we may have stumbled upon the better alternative - a view lot in a local neighborhood owned by the builder of the Parade Home. It is a most awesome lot - an end lot on a "loop" where the only people accessing the loop will be the people living there. The houses "below" are a good grade down the hill and so nobody to impair the view.

Our agent is on the case and will hopefully get us information here soon that will help us decide if we are building. In the meantime we are listing the things we would change in the Parade Home - we have no need for a wet bar in the basement of the size they built - we would rather have another bedroom. AB is insisting the theater room stays, though he is finding other places to cut expenses as we are pretty sure the price tag is going to come in higher than that of the Parade Home given the view lot.

We are on pins and needles waiting and are hoping not to be disappointed.

All in all though, we are doing great here. We are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with a great meal (providing we don't get snowed in and have to make do with what we have in the house). Ok and we wouldn't be snowed in - AB and I are quite versatile in the snow. However, we have been here when the town was shut down due to snow. AB is smoking a prime rib, which makes me drool just thinking about it. We will have broccollini (and the kids will rejoice in their favorite vegetable - seriously), mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, some fabulous wine and Pioneer Woman's pumpkin cake (sans raisins of course) for dessert.

Rhinos and polar bears oh my!

Leif in the car the other morning.

Leif: "Will daddy take a gun and hunt for rhinoceros?"

NM: "No honey." (Wondering in my head why he thinks AB hunts - AB has only really hunted for ducks maybe once he reminds Leif routinely.)

Leif: "I think he should hunt for rhinoceroses so I can eat rhino meat. I like rhino meat a lot!"

NM: "Do you? I have never had rhino meant."

Leif: "Well if daddy won't hunt for it I am sure he will buy some at the grocery store."

----------

At dinner last night.

NM: "What are you studying in school Leif?"

Leif: "Polar bears!"

AB: "Did you know that I have seen a polar bear Leif?"

Leif: "No! Did you have your sword or gun?"

AB: "Well someone I was with had a gun, but it shot fireworks to scare the bear away."

Leif: "Oh, polar bears are bad." (Wheels are turning... guns that shoot fireworks?)

AB: "They aren't bad, they are beautiful."

Leif: "Nope, they are bad."

Discussions to assess whether or not polar bears are bad or not.

NM: "Well what animals are good then?"

Leif: "Monkeys and they are beautiful too."

I live Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

It is a given that when we get into the car, Leif asks for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. This has gone on for a few weeks now since he knows every.single.word for it. Except of course for the names of the reindeer. His version goes something likes this:

"You know Dancer and Dancer and Dancer and Vixen, Comet and Stupid and Donner and Blitzen". And if you sing it, you better hit Donner, because 9 times out of 10 - even if you did get Donner, he's going to tell you that you didn't.

John Denver sings Rudolph on the Rocky Mountain Christmas cd in my car. So instead of getting to listen to "Aspenglow" or "Christmas for Cowboys", it is Rudolph... over and over again. (Leif did tell me he also liked "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas" the other day, but I didn't tell AB this.)

I know. I could say no. And ensue the whining. But truth be told it is easier to hit the back button repeatedly and endure.

Leif seems to not have a problem listening to a song over and over and over and over again. He might get this from me. And like it drives Skadi up the wall and she starts whining when she has had enough Rudolph, AB tends to start whining when I play songs over and over and over and over again.

There's only one other person I know who has a tolerance for this... and I discovered it during The Vandals stage of my teenage years (wow they look old now)... when we successfully drove her boyfriend literally up the wall in a little blue VW Rabbit.

AB and the chickens

We both have our "things" that we refuse to cook. I have overcome a few of my fears in the kitchen... namely rice (amazing what moving to sea level has done for my rice cooking abilities) and pie crusts (I am now the queen pie crust maker). What I don't do is cook steak and I don't buy fish. Those fall in AB's realm.

Before dinner on Sunday AB declared once and for all that he is never cooking a whole chicken ever again. Ever. And I assured him that he would never have to cook a whole chicken again! Because I won't let him!

Roasting a chicken really is an art - cooking the entire chicken through without burning the skin, drying out the breast or undercooking the thigh. AB's fear lies in the last part - uncooked chicken seriously freaks my poor husband out.

Ok, he has a point. I certainly don't want to ingest the stuff.

I think I understand my husband's neuroses here. He cooks fabulous meat. Really he does. Roasts, tri-tip, filet mignon, every type of fish imaginable, pork loin and tenderloin and oh... ribs... the ribs...

Given this there should really be one meat out there that confounds him. You can't master everything can you?

In AB's case it is the roasted whole chicken.

(Insert chicken joke of choice.)

Recent pictures

I like this picture. AB and I were busy around the house and I happened to walk by and see Skadi by the tree. She was so quiet and peaceful sitting there examining the presents.



Then she quickly figured out the presents weren't just for decorations. You could open them. This ended the pretty photo shoot pretty quickly and made me glad I happened upon her before ALL the presents were unwrapped.

Making cookies.

The trip to see the most unfriendly Santa ever. Maybe if he had shown some interest in the kids Skadi wouldn't have melted down? Just maybe...

Leif and C at the Polar Express reading. Our kids were SO good. They were quiet, paid attention and when Hank was handing out bells they politely waited their turn instead of rushing up with their hands outstretched.



How to top a 9' tall tree...



Why does my little boy not look so little here?

My personal comedy show

Not a day goes by that Leif doesn't completely crack me up. He doesn't get this from me - I am not quick on my feet with speaking.

We were in the car driving home this evening.

NM: "Leif what did you do today?"

Leif: "I will tell you when we get home and not a moment before."

A little while later...

Skadi: "Moooommmmmyyyy, supper time!"

NM: "Skadi baby are you hungry?"

Skadi: "YES!"

Leif: "I am too, but I don't want Mexican food. We always have to have Mexican food and I am TIRED of it."

(And for the record we have tacos maybe once every two weeks and order take out Mexican about once a month.)

A little later...

Leif: "Hey mom, you know my crocodile that shoots water out of the two holes in his nostrils in the bathtub?"

NM: "Yep."

Leif: "I am going to rename him."

NM: (Not realizing the crocodile had a name to start with.) "What are you changing his name to?"

Leif: "Squirting crocodile of Hannukah."

The music of Christmas

So I promised a post of substance. And well I am not sure this will qualify, but it isn't a diary type post.

I have probably blogged about my favorite Christmas song before, but just a quick recap. I have a special affinity in my heart for John Denver. (My husband is screeching and writhing in pain.) I suppose it comes from growing up near the Rocky Mountains and either near or in Colorado much of my life. Plus, my parents played his albums (yes, vinyl lp's).

I was and am still a huge fan of the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas Together. I had it on vinyl as a kid, on tape and then about a decade ago I bought it on cd. My parents bought John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas when I was a kid. It was more "serious"... except for the whole "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas" song. Which my sister and I just laughed at. Now I realize how sad it really is...

Anyways. My favorite Christmas song ever is "Christmas for Cowboys" off of this cd.



Despite the fact that I have never been impressed by anything remotely cowboy-ish, this song speaks to me. It reminds me of my childhood growing up in Wyoming and then in Colorado. It's everything to me that Christmas should be - the gift of the sky, stars, the wind singing and the snow on the plains.

Now let's jump to the flip side.

My least favorite song. AB tells me that my disdain for this song may be a little... hmmm... not wrong really... but off? The song had such intentions to be good and do good things. But to me it shows such incredible self centered views of the rest of the world and the strife in other nations and the strange notion that we know it all and can fix it all.



This song makes me nearly ill.

Aside from the images of the Georges (Boy and Michael) singing as if they have any notion whatsoever of what is going on around the world. The song just misses the mark and I am continually amazed that people actually remake this song. (Hello BNL... I was so disappointed.)

No, they do not know it is Christmas and they probably don't care because most are not Christian.

"Feed the World, let them know it's Christmastime". First off, let's not just feed the world because it is time to be generous, let's work at it year round. But even moreso, throwing food at the problem is not a solution since the main problem is getting the food to the people. But maybe we didn't know this in the mid-80's.

And the line that I have a major problem with is, "well tonight thank God it's them instead of you". This is like praying to win the lotto. Instead of thanking heaven that someone else is the one starving how about being grateful for all we have been given in our lives.

Poor AB... he knows when this song comes on (which it invariably does since I keep my XM Radio on XM Holly quite often) he gets to hear my rants and raves.

I threw in another one the other day... Bandaid... I can't believe they named the group Bandaid, because it is like putting a Bandaid on something will fix it. Wrong, Bandaids just cover it up.

Then AB pointed out that it was Band Aid and the goal was to get Bands together to provide Aid.

Ok, he may be right there. But that doesn't make me like the song anymore!

Wrapping my head around it all

This is going to be one of those random posts. I really intend to get back to posting somthing more than stream of consciousness posts soon here. (I have one in the works about my least favorite Christmas song that will thrill AB because he will no longer be the sole recipient of my heated vent....) But right now stream of consciousness is about where my head is. So bear with me through this post. Or click away because I don't have anything earth shattering or profound to report.

I think I could be emerging from my holiday funk. Something about singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" every night with Leif in the car has helped. And hearing Skadi squeal "SANTA" repeatedly on the way home helps too! I love that she points to the Christmas tree and proclaims, "pretty".

It has been a weird week and out of the ordinary things continue to pop up. Some good, some not so good.

High:
I have been nearly buried at work since returning on Thursday. Relief came on Monday at noon when my proposal was finally out of my hands. I have had a good start to FY09 with proposal writing. Four major proposals out to two agencies. All made the first cut. Two are pending thumbs up or down for funding and two are pending a second cut for full proposal - the despised format - 20 pages. If they both make it I will be seriously banging my head against the wall. All this aside from my big project that just doubled in size again. Loved hearing my client say, "I went ahead and doubled your project management budget, you are going to need it."

Low:
Skadi has seemed happy to return to school, if not a little "exuberant" about her return. As her teacher put it... "she is in a great mood, but for some reason thinks that everyone needs to be tackled, hit, pinched or bitten". Which sounds freakishly like her cousin who she spent a fair amount of time with in Colorado. I love my nephew... but wow is he rough. It would be terribly boring if everyone was raised the same, my way isn't the only way, but something is so not working there and I fear that the pending divorce isn't going to help the situation out at all. And I will leave that there.

High:
We got our family pictures! My SIL did a really fantastic job on them and I can't wait to get the prints we ordered.

Plain Weird:
I have really enjoyed recently reconnecting with old friends through Facebook and occasionally Classmates. Ever have one of those contacts though that just throws you for a loop? Yeah, I have had a few of those lately. Another statement I will just leave there - at least for right now.

High:
One funny episode today - I had my first "celebrity sighting". Ok, I am boosting myself up by calling it that. But I actually met a guy whose first statement to me while shaking my hand is, "I love your blog, we have a three year old son and..." I think I must have had the most bewildered look on my face when he told me this.

Low:
And some bad news came this evening when we have learned that one of our closest friends in the area has recently been diagnosed with a form of cancer. We are hoping and praying for a complete recovery.

High:
Leif has turned into a really pleasant little boy this December. I am quite sure it is Mina the Elf's oversight in our house and the slight mention of Santa's pending visit. But something has clicked with him and the kids is just tops.

Plain Weird:
That would be my husband's Christmas party Saturday night. The food was abysmally bad and apparently we missed the annual drunken brawl. Darn.

High:
One of my closest girlfriend's is pregnant with her second baby which just thrills me to pieces! New baby smell on its way next summer!

Low:
I had to go to management about one of my friends. Hate that. She was assigned a task by a client. She was reminded of the task by sector management. She was reminded about the task by line management. I pinged her a few weeks ago. Dropped the ball completely. Maybe even dropped off the face of the earth as I have not heard word one from her. I hated to do it, but I presented the issue to management and they are pursuing it. Ugh. I guess it is something I need to get used to as PM. I am not always the nice one.

High:
After Charter Communications completely messed up our phone service (low, btw) we should be up and running with our same home phone in a few days. Thank you Vonage.

I am starting to feel less overwhelmed by the holiday season. Controlling it and organizing it. It is within my grasp.

This week: Secret Santa gifts will go out and I will continue wrapping.
Saturday: Trip to hear the Polar Express read by a friend, pictures with Santa.
Sunday: Christmas cookie decorating. Nanaimo bars. Christmas cards finished.
Next week: Remainder of gifts mailed and cards will go out.

I think I have decided to take the week of Christmas off (unless those two proposals make the cut). My plan is to work on getting stuff done around the house, buy groceries for a Christmas feast, and take one day to devote it to spending with Leif. We are going to go see a movie and hang out together. When Skadi is older I will plan to do this with her too - one day for each kid completely devoted to them on their day. I can't wait!

A caroling we will go

Every year the primary classes from Leif's school go around to a few of the buildings near their school and they carol. The parents tag along and crowd in for pictures.

Up until this year I have never had an idea of what songs Leif is learning at school until I actually get there. Skadi is a little more transparent and tends to completely freak out waving her hands wildly when "Jingle Bells" comes on.

I knew that Leif was learning "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" since the other day he told me he needed help to learn the song. So we have been singing it and reciting the reindeer names.

Tonight on the way home I asked him what other songs he is learning. He immediately launched into "Must be Santa".

You know, "Who's got a beard that's long and white? Santa's got a beard that's long and white!"

My favorite line though was, "Who wears a suit of bread? Santa wears a suit made of bread!"

All I want for Christmas

I am normally one of those happy go lucky holiday nutty people who can't get enough Christmas.
This year things seem a little off.

When I get in my car it is miles before I realize that I have been listening to XM Radio's ads instead of pushing the button to get the Christmas music. (Since for some stupid reason the temporary stations don't save and come on when you turn the car off and on again. Leif would have told me I said a bad word using "stupid" above.)

Our decorations went up this weekend.

AB hauled the tree out of the garage and set it up before we got home on Friday. We have decided to leave the 1990's and ditch the icicle lights in favor of a slightly more sleek look. I have had a thing for big colored lights for the house since I was a kid and my dad would put up our one string of big lights on the house (that would start burning out a week after installation). So AB went to Costco in search of my request. He found zip for lights and decorations there.

We hit Lowes after swimming lessons and found a single box of LED lights - already opened - for $19.95.

I don't think so.

I was about ready to give up and suggest a return to 1990 for this year only - with a resolution to buy lights early next year when directly in front of me at the grocery store were boxes of big LED colored lights for $5. I cannot believe I bought our Christmas lights for the house at the grocery store of all places. But I stocked up because whenever we buy lights invariably one of us ends up heading back out for a second pass since we can't seem to add.

AB and Leif spent a fair amount of time outside this weekend putting lights up while I worked on the inside.

And worked.

And worked.

We have a problem. The formal dining room, turned play room is just not big enough for our 9' tall tree, other Christmas decorations AND my Christmas village (not to mention all the other stuff in there... buffet, fish tank, shelves with games, rocking chair, boxes of books and cases of wine).

And I just don't have anywhere else in the house to put stuff.

I thought about ditching the village this year. But the trip to Lowe's defeated that idea. Leif is freakishly excited about the village and even "bought by himself" a lobster boat to go with the set. He was adamant that he was buying the lobster boat for the whole family for the village. Hearing him declare this made me beam inside.

Of course the $9.95 came out of our checking account. Minor details.

So instead of the weekend of decorating being a time of joy and happiness, I felt rushed (feeling so behind this year) and frustrated by either the amount of stuff we have or the size of our house. Honestly, it is a little of both.

I cleared out the formal dining room/playroom and moved 50% of the toys (the Geotrax and the bookshelf of games stayed) into the living room and Skadi's room. Minor problems then ensued... I have no place to put Skadi's hamper. And my living room is covered with toys that have no other place to go.

Oh and the newly formed Christmas room? Packed. Boxes of books on one side of the room and the opposite corner has cases of wine in the other corner. Not that I am complaining - books and wine - two of my favorite things. But the lack of space is getting to me.

And where exactly am I supposed to put the containers that held the Christmas items? I suppose I could send them back up to the attic (AB says he needs to go up and retrieve our lighted reindeer he forgot up there), or put them in the garage (and relegate AB once again to driveway parking JUST when our garage was cleaned out), or leave them behind the couch.

Sigh.

What this weekend really did, aside from frustrate me, was to reinforce that notion that a new house is no longer just a luxury, but bordering on a necessity. We have a complete lack of storage space and are just plain running out of room.

All I want for Christmas is a new house.

Our Colorado Thanksgiving Vacation in Pictures

Snowballs!

My dad and sister with Leif.

Look up...

Skadi's new favorite animal.

Cousin Celeste carrying Skadi

Cousin Celeste and Skadi - check out the fish above their heads.

My grandmother and Leif

"I want a pony."

We were driving home from the airport and had a conversation that went something like this:

Leif: "I want a fruit roll up."

NM: "We don't have a fruit roll up, wait till we get home, we will be there in minutes."

Leif: "I want a fruit roll up."

NM: "No Leif."

Leif: "I want a fruit roll up."

AB: "Yeah, well I want a pony." (Typical response.)

Leif: "You can't have a pony, nobody can."

NM: "Just like no one can have a fruit roll up right now."

Leif: "But Daddy wants a pony."

AB: "Yeah, so are you going to get me one for Christmas?"

Leif: "No, I already got you a big cup and painted it yellow."

Sigh.

I thought that once we made it past that 48 hours point, we were golden. But I guess I should be amazed that he kept the secret for two and a half weeks! I had figured he had forgotten about it.

Top Chef Sighting

So we were in line for boarding for the Seattle to home flight. I tend to see a lot of people I know given that we live in a small town - but never anyone actually "famous".

But if Stephanie from Top Chef posts on her blog that a little red haired girl screamed most of the last leg of her flight to her latest cooking demonstration this weekend, that would be my girl.

RAB told me that Stephanie was cooking this weekend in a neighboring town. And there she was boarding the same flight as us. AB and I both contemplated saying something to her. Something like "so glad you won, we were rooting for you all along!" or " which wineries are you cooking at?" or just the typical fan stuff, "hi Stephanie, I am a huge fan, do you want to come cook at my house tonight? We were going to have Top Ramen and grilled cheeses, but I am sure you could do better."

Instead we just smiled at her.

And she smiled back.