My Life's Instruction Book by Hannah

For Christmas, we received a handmade book from Hannah.   Her teacher would add a quote to the board and they were to write their thoughts on it.  Thought i'd share a few of my favorites:

"Everybody ought to do at least two things that they hate each day, just for practice"  Hannah replies, "I have to take out the recycle every other day.  I know that I should, but I just don't want to.  I also hate eating eggs."

"Ask yourself if you feel comfortable giving your two best friends a key to your house?  If not, find some new best friends."  Hannah replies, "I do have two best friends I would trust with a key to my house.  For example, Michael takes care of our dog when we're away.  They also swim in our pool when we're gone.  If the Thurber's (Michael and his parents) weren't there, we'd have no one to call when we forgot the dog.

I'm sure our children's teachers know more about us than we'd want to know!  Like how we torture our children with chores and eggs, and have left town on more than one occasion, gotten there and gone...where's the dog?  Call the Thurbers!  Yes, of course they have a key to our house!

New Do's

The trend around here for '09 is short new do's. In honor of a fresh new year, the Skogebo girls are both sporting fresh new cuts. After a year of going long, each lopped off at least half a foot of hair!

And sadly, we broke down and got Carter's first hair cut. We saved all those sweet little strawberry blonde curls. He was a trooper, sitting in his personal jet and watching the tele. He even let her shave the back. And after his bath, he's still curly, so all is not lost! Our little baby looks like a toddler! Okay, so he's been a toddler for awhile. Mom is just in denial!

Happy New Year!

The close of 2008. We’re ready. Of course, there is apprehension and uncertainty of the next year. The whole country is a little nervous with this economy. We’re going to have to cut out a lot of expenses, eat out less and consume less. Umm…starting tomorrow!

We close the year with an appetizer feast with cheeses, breads, dips, and olives. I thought it would be fun to buy the kids easy cheese, since I’m the “anti processed food” mom. Much to my secret pleasure, Hannah told me that it tasted, “kinda funny”. Tatum made cheese bows and Jack spent a good half hour trying to make it come out. The last straw was catching Carter in the corner trying to suck the goods out. Is that considered heffing, or huffing, or whatever it’s called?

The kids make it until 10. We head to bed shortly after, thinking we may get woken up by Sea World’s fireworks at midnight. Somehow, we get caught up watching food network and almost miss midnight. How did we get so far away from being cool?! We stand outside and watch the glow of the fireworks and share a New Year’s kiss. We laugh as various groups around us count down “five…four…three” at totally different times. I think La Jolla struck midnight at least 7 times!

Mmmmmm!

While in La Jolla, we have a few dishes we like to have. One of our favs is Peasant Soup. I made it here the first time, so we have to have it when we come. It has ham, cannelloni beans, carrots, cabbage & garlic. Tradition is, you pour in a splash of red wine in the last dregs of broth and throw it back. It warms your tummy. Even the girls insist on it. (Picture a tiny splash, before you freak out!) Our sweet neighbor Joan joins us for a bowl before Poppa heads out for the airport.

Often, we’re here for Spring Break, meaning St. Patty’s day- when we have to have corned beef. In the past, I’ve struggled to find a nice flat cut of brisket if I don’t plan ahead and one year I had to go to two stores to get cabbage! For some strange reason, we got it in our minds that we had to have it if we could find it. I was thrilled to find it this time. It took a few days to realize we had our holidays confused! Nonetheless…we enjoyed a beautiful corned beef, slow cooked in Guiness with roasted red potatoes and steamed cabbage. No Saint Patrick’s Day/ New Year’s festivus would be complete with out Irish Soda Bread. Here’s a pix of our warm loaf fresh out of the oven. It never really cooled off much…since we polished it all off.

And nothing can top the joy of the hash that follows the next morning. Life is so, so good!

Ocean Life

We love being near the ocean. The fog rolling in. The tide going out, so we can walk the beach looking for shells. Or looking out the picture window and seeing the fleshy little cheeks of your 4 year old, who is “watering” the lush landscaping of the neighborhood. “David…your son! Stop him!” I call out. Dad is a lot of help, doubled over in laughter. The HOA here is so intense, I’m sure they’ll invent a new fine for peeing on the bushes.

Poppa, you’re full of...

La Jolla is wonderful, as always. We always threaten not to come back home, though reality is, Cali is a great place to visit. The weather is fabulous and it seems like no one has a job. People are out cycling and running all the time. Of course, many are on vacation, but it seems like everyone here lives a life of leisure!

We love to go to The Rock Church when we’re here. It is such a diverse mix of people and personalities. Pastor Tommy speaks about our pride and how it gets in the way of loving others. Isn’t that the truth! I slip down in my seat a bit, realizing everyone else around me is doing the same collective slide! His challenge is to remind ourselves, before we act/ react that we say, I love you (to ourselves about that person). I find myself testing this theory many times over as the day wears on! It certainly gives me a new perspective.

We love to go to Karl Straus when we’re here- a brewery restaurant. They make a yummy hefewizen and you can get ½ gallons to take home. Since Poppa is here visiting, we all crowd into the Suburban. Poppa is such a sport- offering to ride in between Carter and Jack’s carseats in the middle row. The kids insist on watching Mamma Mia (such smart little children) on the ride over, so the screen is down. After a wonderful meal, it’s time to head home. Imagine the chaos of 7 people climbing into a Suburban (picture a barrel of monkeys). Poor Poppa, swings into the middle seat and nails his head on the aforementioned screen and drops the “S” bomb. There are times when no other word will do and I’ll grant this one to him for sure. It sounded painful!

There is silence in the truck. Mom is a stickler for language, not allowing words that a lot of other people consider common. We hold our breath- wondering when this nifty new word will be coming out of the mouths of babes. Jack laughs with delight and says, “Poppa, you’re full of….(we all gasp)… sugar!” His delivery was so convincing, I was already working on my stone face- which cracked automatically!

Wrapping it All Up…

I’m so far behind on 2008, that I’ve decided to just start up with the new year! Christmas was wonderful! We scaled back and it was really nice. Less stress and less focus on STUFF! We’ve been building our own traditions over the year, so it takes the whole Christmas season to fit it in. One of the highlights for us is to attend Christmas Eve, Eve service. It aligns our hearts and slows us down. By going on the Eve of Eve, we aren’t focused on getting back in time for dinner and presents at Poppa’s and Jana’s. We also have twice baked potatoes and make smores in the firepit. We really rough it, with two space heaters to keep us warm (in the AZ desert).

Christmas Eve was lovely- we celebrate with the Skogebo clan. It’s also Kristina’s birthday- our Eve baby! The boys got a “radio flyer” wagon from the Tylers and rode around the house in it a ton. It has a sun cover…how cool is that?!

Christmas Morning, we were awoken by very excited children at 6:20 a.m. Someone even woke up Carter (how nice). Mom struggled with being kind and remembering that this is their holiday. Really struggled. Daddy was nice enough to let her go back to sleep after the Santa gifts and stockings were unpacked. Santa brought Carter a rocking horse, Jack an ASU football outfit with helmet, Tatum a Cabbage Patch doll, and Hannah a “build your own muppet”.

Grandma and Uncle Chad arrived just in time for French toast casserole and sausage. This is Mom’s new fav for Christmas morning, since you make it the night before and no one really focuses on the meal anyway! With stuffed bellies, we clear off the table and prepare for the unwrapping. Jack, in ASU costume, is most pleased with his new big boy bike! Daddy gets a Speed Racer bike jersey from the kids. Uncle Chad- a coffee maker for his new place.

After laying around, eating more and even napping…we pack up for the Tylers for a ham dinner. Everyone plays Wii Fit and compares their Fit ages. Football is on. As we sit down, we notice Tatum breaking out around her mouth. By the time dinner is over, she’s covered in full on hives. So we apologize for skipping out on clean up and head home. The kids are fried and tuck in for a nice long winter’s sleep. Besides, it’s time for one of the best post Christmas traditions…our Christmas to New Year’s vacation! We’re heading out to San Diego tomorrow! Hooray!