365/365 The learned, the loved, and the disliked

Well I made it and it feels good. I cant believe I have blogged for 365 days straight! I have to thank Rich for pinch hitting for me a few times.. but I always had a part in what was said.

Ive been reflecting this morning about the past year and decided to note the things I learned, the things I loved and the things I didnt in the year 2010.

*I love that I celebrated 12 years of marriage, it felt like a biggie!

*I realized that as a parent both you and the child are constantly changing and so your parenting style has to adjust.. this I didnt like.

*I learned that no matter the age, not matter the activity there will always be drama. Whether it is a coach, a team mate, prices or parents.

*I love who my kids are shaping out to be. I dont care what anyone says, I have really amazing kids. Are they the smartest straight A kids out there, NO but they are kind, sympathetic, loving and smart. And I have had to learn that when others disparage your kids that you have to be their advocate. Im going to try to be better at this next year!

*I didnt like the realization that just because you feel you have a good friend, and you try very hard to create a good relationship and go out of your way to be kind and help someone else, it is not always going to be reciprocated.

*I am really excited about what happened with my photography this year. I cant believe how many photo shoots I did this year and how many people returned and then spread the word. There is no bigger form of flattery than to have someone referred!

*I however also learned that not every photo shoot will go as planned or hoped, some families just arent cut out for photos.

*Having learned that I also realized that even a bad shoot isnt all that bad, it is memories no matter how great everyone smiled and cooperated!

*I learned that 30 isnt a big deal, I didnt think it would be and though I may have more wrinkles than I would like and I found some grey in my hair, I appreciate my age and the person I am becoming.

*I LOVE that I have been able to add some new things in my diet.. especially fruit.. what I dislike is that now that I can eat fruit it is winter and all of it tastes like crap!

*This year one of my biggest loves and accomplishments became exercise. I am so proud of myself for the hard work I have put in this year. Not only have I realized I really enjoy running but I really enjoy pushing my body hard and seeing how far I can push it.

*I love that Im not letting my Crohns stop me from things that I use to let it.

*I love New York, I realized this last year but this year I really realized it wasnt just a crush, its a full on love affair!

*I had a realization this year about Rich. He goes to work everyday and works his butt off.. I knew this but it hit me that he doesnt have a normal 8-5 job where he goes sits, knows what he has to do and in the end will get a check... no he has to go and fight for every penny he makes, its not easy, its full of stress, but he does it and does it well. I love him for it and what he has done for our family!

*This year I have realized Im a little stubborn. I have this thing where if I have a goal I make sure I put it out there for others to know because then I cant quit (just like this 365 project) and there were so many things and times I wanted to quit but I was to stubborn to do it... not sure thats a love learn or dislike, actually its all 3

I know I have forgotten some things so I might have to add later!

I think I have more loves than anything else so I think that must mean I had a pretty good year. There are things Im looking forward to for next year and some Im not. But above all else I will have my kids, my husband and I know it will be a good year if for nothing more than that. I have to thank you all for being great readers and commenter's. I know I have some blog stalkers out there and I hope that maybe next year I can get you to come out of hiding. Maybe this will help..

To thank my commenter's who really helped me reach my 365 goal, especially Tami, Norah and Mellissa and Angela.. my top commenter's!! I have put together a thank you basket with a few of my favorite things. I will mail it out to whoever is the last person to comment this year!

I hope you all had an amazing year, and I hope the next one is even better!!

The pictures from today were inspired by wishes. I told the girls that with fresh snow they could blow it and make a wish, so they did and I thought it was so sweet. Kaden wasnt so into it, I ended up adding some outtakes below. Malia kept peeking, Maddie couldnt stop grinning and Kaden was just being a turd!!

SNOW!!!

Well we finally got snow! Its about a week late and now the mood is over but woohoo right?!
The kids were excited, the sad part was the wind was so horrible it was to cold to be outside for the most part. They finally decided to just go try it out late this afternoon and they all bundled up and went out.
I was out for about 2 minutes taking pics and was DONE so I figured they would quickly be in to follow me, especially Malia but they ended up staying out for about 45 minutes. I was impressed. It was so cute (and warm and awesome) looking out the window watching them run around and play. Again especially Malia with her huge coat and big boots stomping and running around. Loved it!
I am thankful for these moments when they are all excited to play together!
Tonight Kaden has a couple friends over so Im guessing I wont be getting to bed at a descent hour, because when they are over man are they loud! Louder than girls I swear!!
Hope you all are safe and enjoying the snow!

After they were done they all enjoyed some hot cocoa, how cute is that!

Family Fun while plastic skating!

The kids and I met Rich today to go ice skating.. but it isnt actual ice, it is some weird plastic soapy mat. BUT it was lots of fun! The kids loved it and they all did such a great job for doing it once a year! This was Malias first time and I was nervous but she rocked it too! She was a little ticked about having to hold hands so we let her go to "teach" her a lesson and turns out she did better without us!! She did fall twice and was ticked!!
I love when we get out and do active family things, the kids love it and ended up thanking me for the rest of the day!
Maddie caught on so fast just like she does for everything and took off at pretty much a run. She did fall quite a few times but she was flying around that little rink!
Kaden did really good and never fell and kept bragging about it.. so when I said it was time to go he fell lol!! He was so mad at himself for jinxing himself! To funny!
After we were done they kids rode the little train and Malia loved that too, Kaden was bored and Maddie liked it!
Good times, makes me sad that break is approaching its end!
This post is pic heavy but you have to check down below, theres some good stuff!

So I always wanted to be a CSI.. turns out I dont like blood but I today got the chance to pretend I was part of the CSI team!! Malia woke from her nap and I saw she had a little blood under her nose, I checked her finger because she has been picking her nose during nap resulting in a bloody nose. So I chewed her out, told her how gross it was and took her to the sink to wash her finger and nose.

While I was washing her Kaden asked if I had seen her room yet, I said no and he said I probably should. Well I was nervous and couldnt imagine what he thought I needed to see so quickly, but I went and arrived at the crime scene...

*Beware* Some of these photos are graphic and may not be appropriate for children..

My daughter is a nose picking bloody finger painter!! I about freaked!! There was ZERO blood on her clothes only a TINY bit on her finger and under her nose, so you can imagine my shock when I saw all of that!! She was in a bit of trouble!! And for punishment, being the awesome mom that I am I made her clean up the bloody mess....

When Rich got home I had her tell Rich what she did and she seemed a little to proud about "I rubbed my hands in my bloddy nose in my bed!"

Dance

In this house we believe that dance is the best medicine. I love to dance, we all know Maddie likes to dance and Malia is right there with us, and you all saw the video I caught of the boys dancing their tail feathers off!!
When I am in a seriously foul mood Rich is sometimes smart enough to put on a favorite song and I cant help but start to tap my feet and get into the groove. When I have to get my shots I have to have music on loud. I have music on all day long... a waiste of energy sure BUT boy does it make me feel good! Just yesterday and danced all by myself when Pinks new song came on, I just couldnt help myself.
So I appreciate dance and how it feeds our souls!!
Today the girls played dress up with Malias new dress up things.. kinda hilarious that Maddie can fit in them.. kinda! They are way to short but as long as we are in the privacy of our own home who cares right! (Except that mom takes pics)
They sure had a good time and also made up a dance for me.. so cute!
I thought this picture was funny, Maddie was dancing while putting the crown on Malia.. it was a painful process, poor Malia, Maddie was clueless!

And for our dancing debut, Maddie and I practiced this guys video a few times and now here ya go hehe

And now ours LMBO

Friends

Not mine this time, the kids. Im grateful for the kids friends. I always feel bad for them. We dont live on a street where there are a bunch of kids, Its kind of a more... I guess I dont want to use the word old or elderly so lets go with established lol. Anyways when I was a kid I had best friends on the same street and we were playing after school everyday and weekends and all summer and late at night and it was awesome. I went to their house they were at my house and we grew up together. My kids dont have that, and Im not so great about setting up "play dates" I dont really love having on turds I mean kids at my house but Im trying to be better about that!
What I have realized is how nice it is when they have friends over. They are happy and out of my hair and sure its a little extra work for part of it but mostly its just nice.
Maddie had a friend over today and they had so much fun! And Kaden was off at one of his friends house and is staying the night now. I love that. I keep encouraging him to set up stuff but Im afraid that my laziness about getting them "play dates" has worn off on him.
So we will keep working on it because I know how important good friends are.
So Im thankful for the friends they have and the future ones they will have, who will be there for them when they are down and will be an ear and a shoulder when they dont feel like talking to me.

A win!!!

I love our Sunday after church ritual. Come home put on comfy clothes make some nachos and head down stairs to watch the Broncos. Usually we have to watch them loose but we finally had a win today!
I am thankful for the after church time we have, when the only thing we have to do is NOTHING!! Rich doesnt have phone calls and the kids are relaxed and just have fun with each other. I hope that when they are older they will recall these times and like looking back on them and how nice it was to just relax with each other and enjoy!!

You cant tell in this pic and Im so mad that I didnt take a pic sooner but Malias hair was AWESOME today! I did a wrap around braid, now that her hair is getting longer Ive been able to do new things with her hair woohoo!! I know Tami would have been proud! BTW I miss coming to church and having you inspect the girls outfits and hair.. nobody else cares!

A Merry Jolly Christmas!!

We had a really great Christmas! Heres the break down..

After telling the kids that they could wake us up at 5:55 I awoke at 4:30 remembering I never took out the dough for scones which we always have for Christmas breakfast! So I couldnt go back to sleep. Finally at 5:45 Kaden texted us saying Merry Christmas, our hint hint its time to wake up people!

So we slowly got moving and told them to get their teeth brushed and potty and all that good stuff. I went and got Malia out of bed, she was clueless for the first 30 minutes I think!

When we got them upstairs and ready to head out the anticipation, especially for Maddie was so cute!

Everyone headed to their toys (after a brief moment of Maddie thinking Malias bookshelf was hers). It took about 45 minutes for everyone to open their gifts, which was pretty good I thought! They all love their things. Santa was very smart in his shopping this year. He was very careful to not just buy crap but things that would actually be used or played with!

So Malias main gift was a nice big book shelf filled with new books, which she loves. She didnt give a genuine smile until she finally pulled down one of the books and started to read it!!

Maddies favorite gift ended up being a big dry erase board.. figures since she loves to draw!

Kaden got a lap top and Im pretty sure he is way happy with that! He has that thing figured out better than I have mine! Kids are to smart and savy!

Rich got an IPad which he has been figuring out all day and I got some new VS suits woohoo!!

Rich took the kids to see Gulliver's Travels this afternoon and I got a nap, cleaned the house and started Christmas dinner.. it was awesome!

Now we have played, danced and played and ate then ate some more! We are settling down for The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and then off to bed.

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!

I am grateful for Christmas, the joy it brings the kids and how for this 1 day everyone puts so much effort forth to be happy and nice! And I am really grateful for the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and all the amazing gifts I have because of his love.

Here is a slide of our day and I caught a video of Kaden and Rich dancing their butts of with the wii.. it was awesome! http://www.youtube.com/user/krisandkids?feature=mhum