Christmas 2018

Another wonderful Christmas has come and gone! We attended our church's Christmas Eve service on Saturday, celebrating the birth of our Savior!

On Sunday we went to my parents' house and had some appetizers with my sister's family. We were too busy playing and eating for me to snap a picture.

On the night before Christmas we feasted on pizza and the kids all willingly went to bed early!

Well, except Andrew. He kept singing "Silent Night" instead of going to sleep. Then he started asking me if Santa Claus was coming. So I said yes Santa Claus is coming.....and he started shouting "To Town! To Town!" This little boy cracks us up.

Christmas morning the big boys were up and ready.....Jenna and Andrew took a bit longer to wake up. Ryan had set up his camera in the living room on record mode to try and catch Santa Claus on video. I think he's at that age where he's not really sure about Santa, so I thought this was really cute.

 Stocking stuffers!

 The kids were spoiled with some amazing presents.

Break time for some breakfast and pictures! The 3 big kids got new slippers, but I didn't get Andrew any because I figured he would just rip them off his feet. When the kids wouldn't let him wear theirs and he realized he didn't have any, he fell on the floor and started sobbing.

 Ryan got his little sister this cute beanie.

 Dressed and ready for guests. Not too sure about her smile. Or her bow placement.

 My parents came over and the kids received some amazing presents.

 A hockey set! Ryan named this as his favorite gift.

We got the kids little disc swings for the backyard. We took them outside to talk about where to hang them, and discovered that Santa had brought a trampoline! (Still in box. Santa didn't feel like assembling it in the rain on Christmas Eve)

A little while later Adam's family showed up. Shayla was testing out my hot cocoa bar.

Then the craziest thing happened. Adam turned on our whole house fan. Someone shut the back door, which caused the fan to suck in air from another place....our fireplace! Unfortunately we had a fire going the night before, so a ton of ash flew into our family room. Here is Adam cleaning up.

 "Big" Ryan James pulling "Little" Ryan James and Lucas Reid around the house.

 We opened more presents!

Andrew loves his new helmet. In fact, he loved everyone's gifts and attempted to help all of us unwrap ours.

We feasted on turkey, ribs, cornbread, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, and rolls. Oh and just a few desserts.....

Uncle Sean brought along two large balls of saran wrap. We played a game where we had to try and unwrap the ball while wearing oven mitts. Under every few layers was candy, and in the center of the ball was a prize.

 The kids played first and then the adults. It was so much fun! Definitely harder than it sounds.

 We ended the night with a cake for "big" Ryan's birthday.

 And finally some Nintendo playing.

God truly blessed us with not only generous gifts but wonderful time with our families. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Grandpa Lewis' Olives

When I think of my Grandpa Lewis (my mom's dad), there are a few things that immediately come to mind. First, he was a quiet man. He had a wife and 4 daughters, so they probably did most of the talking for him. Second, he was a hard worker who I believe did not retire until he was in his 80's. And third, he made really delicious green olives.

I have never enjoyed the taste of olives....except for the ones my Grandpa used to make. They were green and I remember he had them in a tall skinny bottle and they were in some sort of vinegary brine. I finally got the recipe from my mom last year, and now I am starting the tradition of making my Grandpa's olives every year.


Grandpa Lewis' Olives

Ingredients:

1 can green ripe olives pitted
1 toe garlic
leaf oregano - 1 teaspoon
olive oil - 3 spoonfull
wine vinegar - 1 spoonfull

 The type of olives you use is very important. They need to be the green ripe pitted olives.

Also, I know some of the wordage the recipe is a little strange. This is exactly how it was given to me. I'm assuming the toe of garlic is a clove. For the leaf oregano I used dried oregano. I used red wine vinegar. And the "spoonful"? I am told by my Aunt it is a tablespoon.

The result is a delicious tangy bowl of green olives that get better the longer they sit in the marinade. Enjoy!

December Catchup

I finally have my laptop back so I can blog again! Let's play a little December catchup, shall we?

Isn't this just the cutest picture that Jenna brought home from school!?

This little loudmouth has us simultaneously laughing and yawning. Andrew literally says everything but he is a busy demanding boy! His latest thing is to wake up early and start yelling at us. MOMMY! I GO UPSTAIRS! DADDY! JENNA! I GO UPSTAIRS! MOMMY UP!! HEY! RY-RY! GOOGY! I READ BOOK! I GO CAR! I actually really want to get up at 5:30am, just not with him. 

I don't appreciate being yelled at first thing in the morning.

Now that cousin Lyla is in Jenna's preschool class, these girls get to see each other at least twice a week. 

Fraternal twins! One curly and one straight.

 They got to meet Santa at school recently.

I found these all-natural candy canes at Target and they are really good! Every year I have a hard time finding candy canes without artificial dyes and other junky ingredients. These are the best I have found.

We're in that phase of December where I am trying to soak up all the Christmas excitement, while at the same time already being tired of sugar and ready for the newness of January. All the kids have been sick, including Adam, so we've really been housebound this last week. It wears on me when I'm sleep-deprived and stuck inside, cleaning up the same toys over and over. Thankfully Jenna and Adam are feeling better. Andrew is getting better but still has an awful gross cough. And Lucas is heading to the doctor this morning to check his ears for a possible infection. Is it hard for anyone else to get their kids out to do fun Christmas events because of sickness? I feel like this happens every year.

Poor Lucas. He started coughing Friday and literally by Saturday morning his ear was hurting. At least he will be better for Christmas! He has been so excited about reading our advent every night, pulling rings off his paper chain countdown, and telling Alexa to play Christmas music. I love seeing Christmas through the eyes of my kids. The other night our advent asked us to share one thing that scared or worried us. Ryan and Jenna both said they were afraid of the dark. Lucas said he wasn't worried about anything, but instead he loves this time of year because of all the time he gets to spend with his family. Awwww!

And then there is my teenager. He is in that phase where he is still an immature little kid but he totally thinks and acts like a teenager. The other night Santa drove by on a Rocklin firetruck. We ran outside to wave to him and get candy canes, but Ryan hung back in the driveway. I called to him, but I could tell he was trying not to act interested. Then last week I asked him if he had a Christmas performance at school. Lucas had the most adorable Polar Express performance, and I was hoping Ryan would be doing something similar. He said now that he's in third grade, they're too old to do stuff like that. Waaah! But then last night he made up for his teenage attitude. He asked if he could read a book with me, and he chose one of our Christmas song books. He proceeded to lay on the couch with me and sing every Christmas hymn with me. So sweet (And perfectly in tune! I think we have a singer on our hands.)

The good news is that nobody has pulled down our crispy Christmas tree! Just kidding. The good news is that we are about to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

Ryan and Lucas' Stitch Fix

Ryan and Lucas each received their first Stitch Fix last month, and I am finally getting around to writing about it! They have seen me receive many fixes, and then Adam started getting them, and Jenna recently got her 2nd......so it was only fair for them to take a turn!

Ryan's fix arrived first. He was super excited about it, but not a willing model. His stylist sent him exactly what he was asking for....drawstring waist pants (Ryan hates being uncomfortable), and some cozy casual tops. Ryan ended up keeping this camo pullover that he wears all the time now.

Lucas, on the other hand, was ready and willing to try on everything!

They sent Lucas a shirt that would have been perfect for Ryan. It was a shark eating a slice of pizza.

 Lucas was really excited!

 He fell in love with a bunch of the items they sent, including this fuzzy camo pullover. (He kept it and it is very warm!)

Lucas also kept this long-sleeve tee, as well as some jogger-style sweatpants. He was so happy and cozy!

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What Ryan and Lucas Ate In A Day

Here is another edition of "What I Ate In A Day", this time for my two oldest boys. 

Ryan is 8 and has been a picky eater his entire life. He tends to love anything unhealthy, has a major sweet tooth, and overall a pretty small appetite, especially in the morning. 

Lucas is extremely limited in the number of foods he will eat (maybe 10?), but he tends to eats more quantity.

Breakfast:

Ryan had a bowl of rice krispies and an apple slice. He ate most of the cereal and a couple bites of the apple. I had to nag him to eat that apple slice. After just eating the cereal he claimed he had had fruit. I asked him what, and he pointed to the lime on the front of his lime-flavored mineral water he had been drinking. Nice try Ryan!

Lucas had a Kashi toaster waffle, apple slices, and a homemade whole wheat carrot applesauce muffin.

 Here was his plate afterwards: He ate everything except 1 apple slice.

 Lunch:

Ryan had chicken taquitos, bbq sauce, and raspberries.

 He ended up eating 1.5 taquitos and all his raspberries (after much nagging from me).

Lucas's plate contained leftover ground turkey, half a waffle, and raspberries.

He ate everything pictured plus more ground turkey and another 1.5 waffles.

 After lunch the boys were still hungry. Ryan chose a granola bar.

And Lucas had another carrot applesauce muffin.

The kids had decorated ugly sweater cookies that morning, so they each got to eat one after lunch.

Later that afternoon everyone was looking for a snack, so I put together this plate for everyone to share. Ryan ate cheese and crackers, Lucas just ate crackers, and Jenna ate all the oranges.

We attended church at 4pm and afterwards the boys told me they both had a Rice Krispie Treat in their classes.

Dinner:

Ryan's plate is on the left and Lucas' on the right. I made homemade whole wheat chicken nuggets, a brown rice/quinoa mixture, and salad with raw veggies.

Their plates afterwards: Ryan claims he tried a bite of his rice and veggies but I'm not too sure. He did eat probably 6 pieces of chicken. Lucas ate nothing.

 Andrew and Jenna on the other hand absolutely loved the brown rice and quinoa, and ate almost the entire package between them!