Christmas

So Far Today...

Kyle: Mom, I wuv you on the {he's getting his TH sounds} cake.

Me: You love me on the cake?

Kyle: No, I wuv you on the case...and I wuv you on the cake. Wif a howt on top. {apparently not all Th sounds} AWWWWWW...

Oh, and I managed to get both of my heels caught in a hanger on my bedroom floor this morning. Actually, not just my heels, but both of my feet while in heels. I fell into my footboard. Fun times.

I'll catch up on here soon.

Warning, Warning...Long Post Ahead...

Hey, hey...here we are, one week before Christmas and I am nowhere near ready for it!!

After posting my new header, I tried and tried again to make my Christmas card idea work. I literally used a work day to figure it out, went home and tried some more. I totally gave up and told Keith and Kristin both that I was done trying and no cards were going out this year. I did change my tune a bit by deciding to send out New Year cards instead. Keith thought I should send out a memo so people wouldn't be offended. I like to think people will be so excited to see a card come after the holiday is over. Surprise!!

Last Saturday was our traditional cookie-baking, Christmas-movie-watching, playing-all-day-together and driving-around-to-see-all-the-lights day. Super duper funday! Keith went to town to do basketball sign ups while we started the movies. I think we had three on before we needed a break. I baked brownies, made fudge and mixed dough all the while. We had a great day that day so we headed outside for snowman building and sledding. {not photo shopped...don't care...too lazy} Frosty Fu Manchu...

One of these things is not like the other...{as in Keith is only standing in One of these pictures!}

Keith has never roller bladed or snowboarded. He fell off the treadmill for goodness sake and broke a bone. Okay, okay...it was NOT a treadmill accident. It was a police bicycle accident. Either way...haha...Keith mentioned last night that he thought he hurt his neck snowboarding. {not haha for that reason} I wondered if he tried again and then I realized he was talking about last weekend! Old man!
Don't buy the Polar Express in 3D. We already owned the movie but I thought 3D would be awesome. We didn't last much more than 5 minutes before we took the disc out and played the regular version. Too many heads and too much squinting. I'm just saying..
Sunday the boys went to my mom's for gingerbread making. They all had fun and I received fun prizes in return.

My mom couldn't find Andrew's school pic from this year so she used an old one. I am switching this one out for the current one. Perfect additions to the boys' tree...all of the ornaments they've ever made for me. Yum.
I sent out Andrew's letter to Santa yesterday morning. He had a mini fit about having to write the letter on behalf of all the boys. He preferred to write his own. I told him his writing is so creative and fun to read and that Santa would probably be thankful for his consolidation process, considering Santa gets millions of letters every year. It's good for the forest. He listed a bunch of Christmas wishes for himself, including an i-Coaster, Wizards of Waverly Place for DS, Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel CD, etc. Yes, he did! He also listed Caleb's wants. You know, the typical tween list of a computer and wireless Internet, a phone, Xbox 360, an electric scooter, and Lions and Eagles jerseys...etc. Andrew also listed Kyle's wishes for Christmas...cars and trucks, a yo-you and a real Rudolph with a red nose. Hmm...Glad he didn't ask us for that. Kindly, Andrew also added that, "As a bonus, my mom wants a stocking." What a sweet gesture. Last year, I was forgotten. Everyone else, Keith included, had a stocking full of goodies to go through on Christmas morning. My stocking laid there, flat on the floor. With nothing inside. I must have been a horrible mom last year. Or something.

Ahhh...pitter patter...I received an early Christmas present Wednesday evening. My fabulous FIL made me a built-in for my mudroom for coat, bag and accessory storage. I have 4 baskets for the top shelves and need 2 more larger ones for the lower shelves. I also need to pick out coat hooks. ♥

It is currently sitting in the middle of my kitchen, waiting to be painted. I was so set on a glossy black so it was easier to clean. My mom said to use exterior paint in an eggshell finish so it looked more furniture-y. Now I'm second guessing my color choice. Black is the go-to color for my furniture but what about a color? Hmm. It'll maybe take me until March to figure it out. Maybe it's because my mom and Kristin are both contemplating new color and I wanna too!! Anywho...isn't this piece a doozy?? Much love.
**Note to my children...smaller coats will be hanging on the old coat rack in the kitchen currently located by the phone. Larger or heavier coats are hanging on the coat rack next to the front door. Hats, scarves and mittens are separated into each of your baskets, currently residing on the ledge of the bay window. Keith, your leather coat is where you keep hanging it...over my clothes on the chair in our bedroom. ;)

Sooo much...

Ah...the sneak peek of what would have been my Christmas card this year...if I could have found a decent price on adding 3 more small photos of my kiddos' faces. {new header} Eh. I've moved on. Sort of. I tried my hand at getting a second choice photo yesterday. I didn't want to drive to Muskegon to get the necessary objects, so I made my own. Not really a fan, but Christmas is coming, man!

Saturday night was the church program. Major happiness. First, my eldest two...knockouts. I always dig Caleb in black. {it's why he owns 3 different styles in the same color} That night was no exception. Handsome. Mmm!! Caleb {did I mention this} is too old for the program now so he rang the bells. He was so nervous standing up front getting ready for the performance. The first song wasn't terrific. He had a death grip on his bells so they didn't ring. He loosened up and the second song was loud and clear. Then he prayed. Yes, my baby boy said a prayer in front of the entire congregation. By himself. I didn't mention that before any of this took place, I leaned over to Keith and told him I was going to cry. Caleb just looked so grown up, and handsome, and I could barely take. The tears welled up in my eyes. Do you judge me because I quickly pulled out my ipod and made a video of his prayer? Hehe.

Andrew was dressed in Joseph garb and had a slight speaking part. He's so small that I couldn't even get a glimpse of him the whole time. Keith snapped a few shots, but that was it. Until he walked back down the aisle at the end.

Kyle...backing up, Kyle has been joyfully singing Go Tell It On The Mountain for a couple of weeks now. He said he didn't know the words to any other song. Catchy tune I suppose. At dinner that night, before the program, Keith and I both spoke to him about making sure he sung loud and proud so we'd be able to hear him over everyone else. He practiced at the restaurant. We had to ask him to be a little quieter so he proceeded to lip sync the song in full Kiss mode. I'm pretty sure the tongue even slipped out. It was the only time I've seen a song enacted and the only time ever that a churchy, Christmas song was treated as heavy metal. In my humble opinion. Kyle did us proud, especially during the finale. We heard. EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. of the chorus. It will be a remembered night forever. {yeah, that's on video, too}

Sunday was fun. We got together with family for the annual Schmieding Christmas party. Arrive at school. Kids run around like banshees. Set up food. Chat. Pray. Eat food. Kids run around like banshees. Chat. Exchange cookies. Take millions of pictures. Go home. Short and sweet.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for the game, it dawned on me that basketball season is officially here...

My tub will look like this through the end of February!! Black and red are both my favorite colors but I get bored easily with them this time of the year. I need to freshen things up. {last night I wore the polka-dot skirt, in case you were wondering. :)}

Andrew tried out for the play last week and he got one of 35 munchkin parts!! Hooray!! His rehearsals start tomorrow night. I will post when I figure out the date of the play. Way to go, baby doll! Right up your alley.

I said in my last post that this would be more geared toward the holiday, so...I come into some money Friday and cannot wait to finish my shopping. I thought I was doing well until I noticed all the gifts I haven't purchased. My December Daily has also not been started, but I do have a list of what's going in it.

I cannot wait until Saturday!! No interruptions, no other plans!! We are spending the day baking treats for the office ladies and bus driver, watching our Christmas movies and checking out Christmas lights after dark!! It's almost the best day of the season. {almost}

Just Another Manic...Wednesday...

This means nothing without reading my last post, but this morning I made another stop at the high school and Kyle was with me. As we got closer to the door, he asked, "Mom!! Whey-o is da chiwi?"

Um, it is evident that cheer is in full swing because I am already falling waaaay behind. I am already overwhelmed and it's panicking me. I am always in over my head with everything I do. I don't get why this is so different. So many blasted things are going on right now with all of us that I cannot catch my breath.

First of all, a bill is late. That is crap. It's not labeled late, but it's late nonetheless. It makes me crazy. I also have been robbing Kyle to pay Caleb. {and Andrew} What kind of mom am I? I paid Kyle back 2 weeks ago and had to borrow from him again this past weekend. Andrew needed a birthday gift, I ordered a wreath and the boys needed lunch money. It's sad to know my 4 year old has more cash than I do. Somethin' just ain't right!

I cannot remember what I've done in the past week, let alone what members of my family have done. Sad. I remember going to my parents' home for Thanksgiving. That was nice. I remember thinking that I had tons of time to spend at home, but I think I was wrong. we left my parents' later than anticipated and forgot about renting a movie. Friday Keith had to work so Kyle and I...I really cannot remember what we did. How sad is that? Holy crud. What did we do?? Maybe nothing. I did manage to get a great gift online for Andrew. Something that has been on his list for two years now. Something that I would never buy for the price tag alone. I opened an email regarding Black Friday deals on Amazon and on the main page was this silly gift...for 30.00!! {from 90.00!!!!} Best purchase so far. Super happy. I did also manage to wrap 11 gifts. I have a love/hate relationship with wrapping. I love, love, love to wrap gifts super pretty with fat ribbon and big bows but hate, hate, hate it when I leave it all to get done 3 days {or less} before Christmas. Everything turns out ho-hum. Hopefully this year will be different.

Ah, now I remember...I cleaned Friday. Fun times. I was anticipating a tree. Or two. When Keith got home I asked Kyle to point out to his dad that the carpet had been vacuumed and is ready for trees. Right now. Ask and you shall receive. I decorated the living room tree myself and the boys decorated the family room tree together.

Saturday the boys were supposed to have a soccer game early in the morning and I was going to make a few quick stops on the way home. A cancelled game and 5 not-so-quick stops later, I came home with gifts for school teachers, midweek teachers, Sunday School teachers, my sister-in-law, gift wrap for everyone, and...that might be it. But, I also came home with groceries. Extra bonus points scored for me!! I may have also lost points for coming home with a present or 2 for me. But really, a book for 2.99...? How could I not buy it?

Saturday night I wasn't feeling well. Sunday I felt worse so the boys all went to church and I stayed home for a bit. I headed in after Sunday school to meet Caleb at Northland so he could finish his school paper and I could finish my cheer calendar. Afterward, we headed back to church so Caleb could practice his part for the Advent service tonight. Pastor had stopped me a few weeks ago to ask if my schedule permitted Caleb to be part of a 3 week skit during the advent services. Regardless of my schedule I was going to make it work so he invited Caleb to do so and of course Caleb was super excited. Cannot wait for tonight.

Monday was the 4th and last practice before our first game of the season. Were we ready? Heck no. Currently I am dealing with one less girl and an additional 5 part timers due to the school play. I haven't been able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour the past two nights because I play the scenarios over and over again in my head. Here is the stress I referenced at the beginning of this post.

Caleb's grade is doing a study on cultures and heritages {?} and needed a family recipe turned into class. There were questions relating to his ancestry and all that jazz. The grade is putting on an International Dinner Friday with all 6th grade students preparing their recipes {ahead of time} for the dinner. Caleb has never done anything like this before. {at home} He's led a privileged, or spoiled if you may, life. This will be a treat. What's funny is that I told him he'd have to bake the cookies {a German recipe} at his dad's because he'd be there on Thursday. He was totally confused. He thought I'd bake them Thursday night and he could just take them to school Friday. I told him that HE has to do the work-beginning to end. It was as if I was speaking in German! He told me that the letter I read stated he had to do the recipe-writing work himself with my supervision. I gave him the sheet of paper to read again. "Ohhhhhh..." I'm sure it will be a fun night at the Tallquist's house tomorrow night. ;) Definitely full of laughs.

Andrew came home from school yesterday with a Munchkin Application for me to sign. He is trying out for the part of a munchkin in the Wizard Of Oz play put on by the high school. There is actually a height requirement {love it} and Andrew was measured in class before he was handed the application. Tryouts are Thursday. Please root for him. This is his life. He wants to be both an actor and a singer. ♥ He really is a terrific performer. I have my fingers crossed. I hesitated sharing this info too soon, but just couldn't hold it in. Funny enough, I was in the Wizard Of Oz years and years ago. This would be a fun little keepsake thingy for me. **I was NOT a munchkin!! I was a sugar plum fairy. Ahem.

Midweek tonight, followed by Advent service. Practice and cookie baking tomorrow, girls over Friday, program practice, soccer, cookie baking and Christmas program Saturday and family Christmas party Sunday, following church and Sunday School of course! I think I'll sleep after that. Yes, sometime Sunday evening I will get some sleep. I think my next post will have some pictures attached and will be more Christmas-geared.

One last thing...Caleb, Kyle, Ashley and I were riding home yesterday when this mini conversation took place...

Kyle: Whey-o's yo backpack?
Ashley: By my feet.
Kyle: Well, mine is by Ca-ub's because he's sweet and I'm sweet so my backpack is by his.

There was practically no room for me in the van with all the space Kyle's ego was taking up.

"Can I go see the gym and wook at the fiewd? I don't wemembew what it wooks wike."

I had to stop at the high school this morning to drop off rosters and such for cheerleading. Kyle came in with me. He thinks every sport is played on a field. In his defense, all sports he come in contact with are. All except basketball.

"Yuck. Bwood. Gwoss."

As we were walking to the doors of the school, he saw something red on the cement. I told him I was sure it wasn't blood.

"Oh, den it's a chiwi."

I didn't really think it was chili and told him so.

"I said chiiiii-wiiii. Wif wet on it."

Aha. A cherry. Yes, maybe it's a cherry. A wet cherry? The verdict is still out.

I cannot believe I forgot to mention that Kyle and I had a date night a couple of weeks ago. The city had a homicide and Kyle and I had no plans after the soccer game. I told him if he was suuuuper good in my 2 stores, I would take him to the play area in the mall. We were both so hungry and I wanted to sit down someplace, but he wouldn't have it. "Great." I knew I was in for a ride. It's totally my fault because I knew better. Kyle started out a little questionable, but he wasn't bad. He helped me pick out which clothes to buy in the fitting room. He said, "That looks so nice, mom." Sold. He was so good, in fact, that I was able to stop at 5...count 'em 5!!! stores before making it to the play area. Dude. We didn't stay long. Kyle had to pee which prompted his hunger so we sat for pizza. Afterward, he, yes he, wanted to check out Dick's "fo somefing cooo fo me." What a sweetie. After leaving Dick's {and we only left because he wanted to go to Target} we stopped at the Children's Place to pick out a coat and snow pants and Younkers for 2 cute hats for me. "Which one do you like best, Kyle?" "Bof." Good enough.

Target proved to be beautiful. Kyle was getting tired so he lounged in the back of the cart {with his nasty dirty feet up in the air} while I spent almost all of my 300.00 worth of gift cards. We ran into Greg and Melissa Beda. They were out for date night too. It was nice to mosey around the entire store without a schedule. The only hurdle I had was keeping Kyle's feet under wraps. Earlier in the day, we played in a bounce house outside. Kyle proceeded to play without his shoes on, in the grass and dirt, all afternoon. His stinky little socks were gross, and he kept insisting on resting them on the top edge of the cart while he lounged, but they weren't as bad as his bare little feet. I can already see his toenails being like Keith's, {and he blames his on reconditioned cleats} and they weren't going to see the light of day!! of course, the more I struggled to keep the socks on and the feet nicely hidden in the cart, the more Kyle pushed to have his feet seen. I chose my battle. I let him think he won by putting those grubby little things in the air, but I instead chose to pull the cart from the back so I could block them from being exposed. Everyone was happy.

Ah, a nice little Kyle post. Here's to be being thankful for what you've got. Cheers. And Happy Thanksgiving.

Well, so much for posting more Halloween pics. It has been so long that I am now bored with that idea. Since then...

My lovely sister had a birthday. I say that because I am going back in my planner to remember what has happened and, in big letters on November 2nd is, "My favorite sister's birthday! ♥Love her tons!!" I didn't write that in there. I mean, um, yes I did.

The boys had their football banquet. I thought I'd dread the lengthiness of it all, but it wasn't bad at all. I think I'll miss Lil' Vikes.

The ceremony was touching. Andrew's coach repeated a quote, a motto, he uses, which was nice and then he held up the plaque above his head that the team got him. Little things like that get me every time. Caleb's coach knew he was going to have a rough time. He was saying goodbye to boys he has coached for years. {since they are moving on to junior high ball next year.} He got choked up for a moment over his speech about having the boys for 5 years so gave the floor to Keith and Keith gave a quick intro by saying he hasn't had this kid for 5 years yet, only 4...and then he called Kyle's name. It was super sweet but I totally missed the picture because Kyle sped across the floor and almost missed the high five with his dad. Sigh. At the end, the team broke down one last time. {I think I said that right...or broke it down? Like dancing?? ;)} No, not in tears...in case you were wondering. It's what they were doing in the huddle above.

Conferences happened. Nothing new. I am truly blessed to have intelligent children. I'm sure I take it for granted. Nonetheless, I am proud of the A+{plural} my dollies have received, as are they. Kyle's happened a week later. I showed up for it, but instead missed it because of scheduling. Preschool conferences were waaaay behind. And waaaay behind is an understatement. Anyway, Kyle had a good conference as well. I think we'll be lucky with him, too.

Soccer is going well. Andrew has really stepped it up this season. I think it's because he is playing on a team of 6th graders. I still really appreciate Kirsten adding him to the team. It wasn't my intention but love it nonetheless. I was worried about it, but Andrew is really holding his own. I am so proud of him. He is so excited about basketball coming up and really wants to play travel soccer in the spring. It's nice to see him so excited about sports. Love it!! I'm going to miss indoor soccer. We only have two more games left. I love watching the boys, all of them, play but I must admit that I also love the parents and cheering along with them. I love loud people. Go figure.

Cheer clinic started on the 9th. 21 girls signed up. 15 tried out. Coming out of last year's season, I was set on having only 10 girls this year. There is no room for more. I changed my mind once clinic started because I plan to try something new with the girls. In the end, it meant cutting 3 girls. It was a hard decision because it meant cutting 2 of the 3 freshman girls and that only leaves me with one next year if the others decide not to try out again. I HATE CUTTING! But I also want what's best for the squad. I hope the girls try again. Tryouts were last Tuesday and we started in on Wednesday. We needed to get paperwork and all that jazz out of the way because I only have 4 practices until our first home game. Then I have one more practice before our next 3 home games. Gadzooks!!!

Saturday we spent the evening with friends having a ball. Kirsten and I pulled off a surprise party for our friend Kris, who turned 40 last week. Poor girl...I think she thought she was forgotten. Alas, I think we made up for it. Lots {and lots} of jello and pudding shots later, Kris forgot that she didn't get to go out to dinner at the Beltline Bar. ;) I think we super duper surprised her...

Had to add the floor party pic. It isn't a party unless it's a floor party!!

Half day of school tomorrow and Wednesday for the bigs. Kyle has preschool both days. Rats. Really would have liked a day off to actually be a day off. Oh well. I'm outta here at 2pm Wednesday, no practice for me and the boys don't have church. Yip skip. Time to hang and get stuff done before Thanksgiving. Gotta get the rest of the decor up. Christmas started early for me this year so I have more time to enjoy it. Last year totally flew by with cheerleading and games. Yikes. Not happening this year. I'll be ready for it. Plus, I do have some time tomorrow, some on Wednesday, some Thursday evening and then most of the weekend. Hooray.

**Do my pics always look bad to you all? On my end, they are really blurry. Yours too? Wonder why? My camera takes waaaay better photos than this. Just wanted to throw that out there in case you are looking into an SLR and then comparing my blog pics to your point and shoots and deciding it's not worth it. Baby, it is worth it. It is.

***Oh, and PLEASE do not take that as a jab. I am certainly not in the market of offending a point-and-shooter...only stating a fact. My real live pictures are tons better than how they may {or may not} appear. ;)