Just to make you hungry and jealous you don't live with me!!!!

These are some scrumptious cookies I made this week. I know you're jealous. And you should be! They were homemade, gooey, rich, buttery and perfection!! Not that I'm bragging or anything. Everyone loved them so much that I'm trying to find a baking contest to enter them in. Yes, they were THAT good, and NO, you may not have the recipe! ;-)

The close of 2008

I've never really been a big fan of New Years and I really don't get all that sentimental about the close of a year either. I am, however, grateful for the little things that have happened this year. Like the fact Andy still has a job. And we still have a house. And we still only have 2 kids. We didn't have any major catastrophes happen to us or our immediate family. We enjoyed time with our families and friends. As I look back on the year I can't think of one thing big or major that happened. And I think I like it that way.

It sounds like 2009 will bring in at least 1 baby to the Loveridge family (courtesy of Richele!) and if Kami makes my wish come true then we'll have 2 babies. 2009 will put Samantha in Kindergarten and Alex in Preschool and me in HEAVEN!!! 2009 will have Andy graduating from MBA school!! Yippee!! 2009 will have us paying off a lot of student loans! We are still holding out hope that 2009 will bring us closer to the possibility of moving to London.....but if not, that's okay. Instead maybe we'll be closer to buying a bigger house.

2008 got me in touch with a lot of old friends courtesy of this blog and Facebook. Proof that the internet CAN be used for good!! Thanks to everyone who reads and comments on my blog and keeps in touch with me and my family. See you in 2009!

I'm off to have a candlelight dinner with my husband in the comfort of our own home and then a prompt pre-midnight bedtime! Just the way I like it!!

Sledding videos

We took the kids sledding today up Hobblecreek Canyon with my sisters. We also ran into a whole bunch of other friends and people we knew along with the Hall family so it was a ton of fun. We didn't take any still pictures but we got some videos that are very fun to watch (at least for their momma!) Alex LOVED every minute and after only going down one time with me declared that he wanted to go down alone! He was very brave. Samantha was a little hesitant but after Daddy worked with her for a while she went down a few times. Still though, she preferred the tiny hill that she had to herself. So here they are!!! You will get very familiar with my kids noses!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas. We had a great day. Alex woke up at 6.30 so we brought him into bed with us to wait until Samantha woke up. The poor kid wanted to go downstairs so badly and Samantha didn't wake up until 7.20, so he had a while to wait. Once everyone was up we went downstairs and enjoyed opening presents and eating cinnamon rolls. The kids seemed very happy with what Santa brought and the candy in their stockings. I think they would have been just as happy with only those presents since we had to coax them into opening the rest of the presents!! They were ready just to eat and play with what toys they had been given already! Cute little bugs!

We went to my parents house at 10.00 to have our traditional Christmas breakfast and it was outstanding! My mom put together quite the feast. After our bellies were full we let the kids rip into their presents and play. The four oldest kids got digital cameras so they proceeded to take blurry picture after blurry picture! Nicole felt a little left out I think but I got her a fake princess camera so that seemed to help a little. Have I mentioned lately how in love I am with that little Nicole?? Anyways, I am! After the kids finished their presents the adults dug in and opened their gifts. We sat around munching on leftover food and played with the kids and their toys until it was time to go home and put the kids to rest. We were hoping for a nap from Alex since he sorely needed it, but all we got was a little rest. Oh well, better than nothing probably!

After the kids little rest we went to Andy's parent's house and enjoyed presents and prime rib dinner there. Andy's family hooked us up with money and gift cards and matching sweaters for our Disneyland trip in 3 weeks!! I can't believe we go in 3 weeks! But now we have plenty of money to have fun with in California, so thank you to the Highams!!! We got the kids home around 5.00 and had them in bed shortly thereafter. They needed the sleep!! All in all it was a great day and we are so grateful that we were able to spend it with both families!
Dear sweet Grandpa went downstairs and played dress up with my kids!! What a champ!

Samantha and the 100m dash

Here is Samantha playing the Olympics game on the Wii.

Possibly the weirdest question EVER!

Tonight Alex asked me....."Mom, do gophers eat bananas??".

Today the kids FINALLY took a nap so we took them to The Mayan restaurant (which they love) and they had a Santa there. Alex was a little scared which is why I am in the picture but he was more than happy to take the candy cane afterward! Samantha wasn't shy at all! After dinner we drove to Thanksgiving Point to look at the Christmas lights. I think the kids like sitting in Andy's lap and steering the car more than they liked looking at the lights. Oh well, whatever keeps them happy (and quiet) is good by me!

Growing

In the car on the way home from preschool today Samantha announced that when she grows up she wants to be a babysitter. She then asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. I told her that I'm already grown up and that I am a mommy. She responded, "Well, I want you to be a dentist.". A little late for that kiddo!

Too angry to post a title.

I wonder how many calories you burn by yelling?!? I could really burn A LOT of calories being the mother to these 2 kids. I've probably burned at least 1000 calories today just in yelling and disciplining. Hopefully that will help make up for the 10 or so sugar cookies I've eaten today. I'm an emotional eater when it comes to my kids. I eat when I'm stressed over them. No other stresser can get me pounding the mint M&M's like bad kids. Boy am I glad they're going to bed in less than 3 hours!!!!
I've added a couple of pictures to remind me of how cute they are and the fun that we have.

No.......for now.

Well, we finally got our answer about moving to London. They have given us a no for right now. We aren't too surprised given the state of the economy and most businesses. They just don't feel like they are ready to put a lot of time and money into going international at the moment. They said they will revisit the idea again in 2009 and we will just take it from there. We have known for a while that the chances were slim that they would give us the go-ahead right now, but I was still disappointed when Andy called to tell me. I don't think I'm really ready to go anytime soon though, so it's okay. I am really looking forward to another summer here swimming and going boating and going on vacations with my family. Also, my sister is pregnant and due the end of May and if we were gone for that I would have to cry!!! We do think that we will eventually end up going to London for a few years, but it looks like the time isn't now. Oh well!!! I'm sure you will all enjoy having our company in Utah for a little longer! I think my parents are going to do a happy dance tonight and celebrate.

Do NOT mess with us!

We were brave this year. Not only did we put our Christmas tree INSIDE this year instead of our normal outside-on-the-porch tree, but I wrapped presents early and stuck them under the tree. My fear was the kids would trash the tree and the presents. They do hang around the tree a little more than I would like and everyday I have to rearrange ornaments, but I can handle that. Alex has also rearranged presents, but again, I am okay with that. Today, however, Alex went too far!! I was upstairs showering after my morning workout when I heard paper crumpling. I came downstairs to find Alex has ripped open 4 presents. One present was his. A Transformer Megatron toy that we knew he had wanted. Well, like the title of this post states, you don't mess with us!! When Andy got home from work we had him unwrap the rest of the toy, then we drove him to Walmart where we made him put it in the Toys for Tots bin!!! He will not be getting a Megatron toy this year. I felt a little bad about it, but holy crap, we told him at least 100 times since the tree has been up, "Don't touch the tree or presents!!!!!! They will go away!!!!". Well, he learned the hard way this year. He was tough and didn't cry and was actually pretty proud to "help the poor kids", so I think it was a good lesson for him.

Lesson #1 - Mommy and Daddy mean business.
Lesson #2 - It feels good to help other people.

Let's hope he remembers these lessons for a long, long, long time!

Samantha the matchmaker

The other day Andy was home with the kids feeding them dinner. They were talking about who they were going to marry (why do they feel like they need to grow up so fast??). Alex kept saying he wanted to marry mama (flattering, isn't it?). Andy was explaining that he is married to me and Alex can't marry me. So Samantha said, "Daddy, are there any good girls in town that are nice for Alex?". Who would have thought she would start so early in trying to hook Alex up?? These kids crack me up!

Brain block

I feel like I've had a major brain block these days making it impossible to write a coherent blog post. So, I'll just write about what I did last night.

I went over to my sister Kami's house to finish a project and she was kind enough to invite me to go to dinner and see Christmas lights with her family. My parents showed up at Kami's house and we all piled into Chad's mammoth truck and drove over to Spanish Fork for yummy Mexican dinner. I got to sit by Cameron and bug him all night by smothering him with aunt kisses which he was trying to avoid.....but deep down I know he loved them!! After dinner we drove to the Spanish Fork lights and I think we all enjoyed listening to the kids making comments on the pretty lights. Half of what Spencer said was jibberish but he said it with such enthusiasm and excitement that we couldn't help but listen and laugh. My nephews are too cute!! On the way home Cameron was very chatty with me asking me all sorts of questions about which Star Wars bad guy is my favorite and if I like carnivores or herbivores better (as they relate to dinosaurs, of course). But my favorite question was, "So, Kristi, how was your anniversary?". So very random and hilarious!!

Thanks to Kami and her family for including me last night! I had a great time!!!

Decorating our Christmas tree!

This year I wanted to reuse our decorations for last year (cuz I'm cheap) but I wanted to do something a little different. I got our red and white decorations last year at IKEA and this year I found some orange and red decorations. I only had to buy half the amount of orange and red and then I reused the red ones from last year. I know orange and red aren't traditional Christmas colors, but look how great it turned out!!!!
And of course, a picture of my 3 weird-o's!
Friday Samantha went to see Santa with her preschool class. We were going to take Alex but he had just woken up super cranky from a nap so he didn't want to go. I had to stay home with him while Andy took Samantha and apparently Andy couldn't remember how to use our camera! ;-) So the picture is a little washed out. Oh well, you get the idea.

Things kids say that make you want to keep them!!

The other day when I picked up Samantha from preschool she was just finishing a cookie that the class had baked together. As I was strapping her in the car I asked what kind of cookie she ate. She told me it was a chocolate cookie with mint chips. I told her that sounded yummy and it was mommy's favorite kind of cookie. She responded, "Oh, I should have saved you some of my cookie. Sorry!". She really is a terribly sweet little girl!

I was making some lemon cookies a couple of days ago when Alex peeked into the oven and said, "Mom, you're an awesome cooker!!". Then I started to talk to myself wondering why one tray was cooking so much faster than the other. Alex could tell I was getting a little annoyed so he stood up for me by kicking the oven and saying, "Shape up cookies!!!". What a brave little boy to stand up to cookies for his mommy!!

Shocking Behavior!!

Andy will be shocked when he gets home from Canada tonight!! He ordered me a Christmas present from Victoria's Secret (don't go getting horrible flabby images in your mind....I think he bought flannel PJs) and the package arrived today. Here is the shocker though.......I didn't open the package!!!! I know!! It's so unlike me! I usually open everything early because I can't stand to wait for presents! Today I just picked it up off the front porch and stuck it in the pantry with the rest of the presents! I guess come Christmas I'll at least have one surprise......even if it is just the pattern of my pajamas!

Alex

This morning I was getting Alex dressed and he was talking weird and being silly so I said to him, "Alex, you're weird!". To which he replied, "Yeah, but I'm an awesome dude!". Good point little man!

Disturbing

I am disturbed. I was just on www.drugstore.com and came across something called......wait for it......Chicken Poop!!!! It is described as "Free Range Chicken Poop Lip Balm". I kid you not!! It's just a goof and there is no poop in the product, but seriously, that is a really bad name for a product!

Going out of Business

Does anyone else feel bad when they see a business going under? I always do. Especially one that has only been in business for a few months. You know that someone thought they had a good idea, spent a lot of time and money into starting the business and then held on and hoped for the best! With every new little restaurant that opens I always want to go and give them a try and try to bring in some business. Unfortunately, I usually don't make it before they close. I don't know that I would ever have the guts to start a business. I would be so afraid of failure. I guess I just don't have the entrepreneurial kind of personality. But I admire those who do have that kind of personality and who do try. Even if they fail.

WEAK!

I don't know who saw the DD&D episode but they barely even showed us! Well, actually, they only showed me! They showed a whole bunch of ugly people but not my adorable kids! I take offense to that! All of the shots done outside were obviously done on a different day or just earlier than when we were there. Guy wasn't there for those shots either but I guess they liked them better since they got the most air time. Oh well! I got shown a few times but I really wanted to see the kids on the TV. I am banning DD&D in my house now! Okay, not really.

TONIGHT!!!

Our episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is on tonight!!! It is airing at 8 pm and 11 pm. We're not sure if they'll show us talking but I'm sure we'll at least be seen eating our food. Cross your fingers that we don't look like idiots!!!! Woo hoo!