Christmas checklist

12/29/10  *I'm having formatting issues, so sorry for the variations in font size, etc.

Just making sure we did Christmas thoroughly enough this year. What with the frantic rushing around, no sleep, marathon baking sessions and partying, I wasn't sure I covered it all.

Getting ready:

 

Hanging lights, decorating, sledding (Madelyn), snowboarding (Mark)--check!

Performing four times in a month--check!

Meeting Santa--check!

Going to see my parents and sister in The Nutcracker Ballet--check!

Madelyn's 6th birthday--check!

Two long, messy and involved achievement days activities making ornaments and sugar cookies--check!

 175 chocolate drizzled nut and toffee caramels (recipe coming soon), 28 caramel apples, peppermint bark and aforementioned sugar cookies, and an hour and a half delivering it all to neighbors--check!

Christmas Eve:

 

Side view mirror knocked off while parked at Walmart--check!

Stockings hung, milk and cookies left for Santa--check!

Christmas morning:

Santa came!!!

The good

The weird 

The kitschy


The miracle of Blu-ray


House destroyed--check!


Improper use of toys--check!

Anniversary dinner (with the kids....)--check!

 

Result of overstuffing with homestyle fries at Chili's

Not to mention:

*Number of teeth lost: one (Madelyn)

*Number of teeth grown: four in the process (Luke) (ouch)

*Number of family members landing in the hospital on Christmas Eve: two (Mark's aunt Doris, who lives with his parents and is now in SLC for surgery and my brother-in-law Shay's father, who went to the ER with chest pains)

*Number if movies watched back to back the day after Christmas: three (Beauty and the Beast, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Inception)

*Bouts of stomach virus: three, possibly four or five (Madelyn twice, Mark once, Luke and I...maybe)

*Number of days I've not left the house since Christmas ended: four
*Pots of posole: one

*Loads of laundry I have to put away tonight: seven
*Number of said laundry loads caused by poop and/or chocolate: three

*New country albums I just got: two (Keith Urban and Taylor Swift)

*Number of packages of Christmas gifts I failed to get mailed: three
*Number of times Luke unplugged the computer while writing this: one (grrr!)
*Number of days since I've opened any mail: twelve
*Number of thank-you notes I need to write and send out: fourteen

And forgive me for lumping these all together--I'm behind on

Mess(es) of the Day

by Luke

I think he rather enjoyed the chaos of the holidays.


Oops


Having his way an aluminum roasting pan


 ...and the dishwasher

...and the kitchen towels

...and the Orange Sticks

I just got overwhelmed reading my own post. Thank heaven there's 361 days till next Christmas!

It's our anniversary!!

 2001

12/28/10

I can't believe we got married nine years ago. That went by fast!

We've got a home, a career and two stinkypants kids. (Literally...the way this morning has gone.) I can't wait to see what the coming year will bring!

 Eating out at Panda Express on Luke's birthday in September

Every time we think about going out without the kids, it never happens, but partly because we just like to all be together. So tonight, we'll grab a bite to eat and then go back home to watch Lost and our new Blu-ray of the nature documentary Life by the BBC and Sir David Attenborough. Being geeks together--that's what makes us tick. Here's to another nine years!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Merry Christmas from the Yoder's!

12/24/10

OK, so usually I send out a photo card to everyone. Then last year, the resulting price of postage nearly caused some swear words. So I figured an email/blog greeting was the way to go from then on, except for immediate family members/old ladies I know who don't have computers. So here's our official newsy Christmas greeting!

2010 has been a busy and eventful year for us.

Mark is working as a physician's assistant (PA) at Premier Pediatrics here in Cedar City. He is well liked by patients and we're always hearing good things about him from other health care providers around town. He sees most of the sick kids who come into the clinic and takes a turn being on call one week a month, taking phone calls after hours and rounding on newborns in the hospital. He has been working on a lot of home improvement/yard projects for us and is very handy. He went snowboarding yesterday with his brothers and still enjoys that very much as well as his beloved video games. He's the best dad in the world to our kids.

Melissa keeps up a steady stream of cooking/cleaning/blogging/crafting/child wrangling/shuttling to ballet lessons. She started selling some of her jewelry at a local consignment shop (as well as on desertraindesigns.etsy.com) and seems to erase any downtime she has with new projects. She is on a quest to finish painting and decorating the house this next year. She loves taking pictures and compulsively shares everything on the family blog. Kids shenanigans included--you'll have to tune in for "Mess of the Day by Luke" especially.

Madelyn had a big year of firsts--kindergarten and dance lessons, she lost four teeth, finally got over 35 pounds and is reading and writing like a pro. We signed her up for swim lessons during the summer, which she hated passionately. She loves going to the pool, just not being told what to do! (She is still ever so slightly high-strung....) She is very friendly and outgoing and is a great big sister. She just turned six this week.

Luke (15 months) started out the year as a small but adorable blob who then learned to roll over, sit up, army crawl, crawl, walk, run and now scale chairs and tables. He does not like holding still, defies the straps in grocery carts, his high chair and his stroller, and does daily extensive research for a book he's working on called "How to Dismantle a Room in 30 Seconds or Less". He is curious and endlessly busy. He is a sweet boy who loves his mama, shrieks happily when his daddy comes home, and loves playing with his sister.

 

 We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and coming new year!

 

 Love, the Yoder family

xoxoxo

Madelyn is 6!!

 I had just told her a knock-knock joke when this picture was taken

12/22/10

Madelyn's birthday was yesterday, and if I hadn't been up to my elbows in sugar cookie mess, soggy birthday cake and a hundred other things, I would have already posted this.

Some things I love about you:

*You are always excited about stuff, happy to see people, and are super outgoing.

* Strawberry/chocolate milk, juice and hot cocoa: Heaven knows how you've gotten so big because that's half your diet. You drink hot cocoa in the middle of the summer during the day.

You also have a thing for sprinkles...

* Lamby, Pillow Pet and your new little Pegasus ("Pony") have to be in your bed every night, or you wake up and make me look everywhere for them at 5:00am.

* You are a GREAT reader, have an excellent memory and can read your sight words homework even when they're upside-down.

You're also a great writer

* You love dancing and are the best in your ballet class. I am so proud of you!

* You have an infectious laugh and are so silly. All I have to do to make you laugh is to tell you a knock-knock joke about fruit and pants, and you crack up every time.

* You have recently started drawing and coloring a lot, and you love pink, red, purple, hearts and rainbows

 

* You still love zombies because of your dad.

* You're always looking out for your brother and are usually very patient with him.

Star of the Day in your kindergarten class

* You stomp your foot when you don't get what you want. You're not afraid to let us know your opinion. When your dad takes you to school, you demand to hear your "favorite song" Vox Populi by 30 Seconds to Mars, and when I drive you to school, you want to hear Love Story by Taylor Swift. And if we take the back road ("the forest way") to Walmart , you say you wanted to go "through town" and are very adamant about it.

* You know your way around Netflix: Watch Instantly on the computer and the XBox and go through phases of wanting to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender (Nickelodeon series), Shaun the Sheep, The Super Mario Bros show, Dirty Jobs, Spongebob Squarepants and Veggie Tales. You also love all the shows on PBS Kids and nature documentaries.

*You love Hello Kitty, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Barbies and the Disney Princesses. You still dress up in your princess outfits all the time.

*You love marshmallows, Chinese food, "spaghetti with shrimps", toaster strudel, grapes, string cheese, Yogos Bits, gummy worms, popcorn, ham and fried chicken.

*You went through a phase of flushing the toilet with your elbows so that you could be plugging your ears at the same time.

*You say, "Actually....." a lot and "Besept" (except) and "I sawl it" (I saw it), "I meed someping" (I need something), pronounce music and noodles "yoosic" and "yoodles" and add "-ded" to everything to make it past tense and I think it's cute. You also have been trying your hand at beatboxing.

*You don't like going to bed, having to get out of the bath or pool, being told "no", getting poked at the doctor's office, and when we threaten to yank out your loose teeth because you prefer to leave them hanging for weeks. And you love to dawdle, which drives me crazy. You are a pro at that because you've had so much practice.

 

You are such a sweet, loving sassy girl and I LOVE YOU so much! Happy birthday!!!!!!!!