Here's some Christmas pictures

This is at Danny's dad's house last night....
the kids last saturday before the piano recital
Christmas morning!  Addie and Eva woke up at about 7:00 and we cracked into the presents
Eva's second Christmas and she totally got the idea.....she even wrestled Addie for her presents
Eva's  favorite present.  We asked her what it's name was and she said..."deedee"
I (ahem santa) bought these water guns on amazon and didn't get a realistic look of how large these things were.  Addie can barely lift it but she still said it was her favorite present.  note the name "extreme h20 water blaster cannon"  I guess it should've clued me in.
whoops I added that picture twice!   Danny's brother Jamie is coming over and we are going to just hang out at home maybe try to see some lights somewhere or a movie later and eat more and more and more treats.  Have a merry christmas everyone. 

what I'm doing what I need to be doing and what I might never do

I'm doing:  reading blogs/I'm supposed to be looking for a recipe for buckeyes

cleaning up my house because of reasons I can't reveal because I'm not sure who reads this (i need to make this private or whatever so I can really talk about my annoyances!)

helping addie make intricate crafts for her friends ...I really don't have time for this but she is the big boss and I let her tell me what to do WAAAY to much and it should be the other way around.  I should be putting that girl to work.

doing loads of laundry and unexpected laundry from potty training mishaps

What I need to be doing:

calling the trash people for not picking up our trash when they picked up all our neighbors trash.  OH YEAH THATS WHY IM ONLINE!!! I totally forgot.  I was looking for the phone number for our trash people.

 make my children lunch

make a list to buy the stuff for the christmas piano recital tomorrow

figure out where the heck the stuff I ordered online is...I still haven't gotten it.  I'm getting worried because it has two christmas gifts and all our christmas cards.  

What I might never do:

make buckeyes

make lovely little presents for the kids I teach in primary

send out christmas cards :(

vacuum

guess what

my kids are eating for breakfast?

chocolate chips.

guess why?

because they couldn't extract the m & m's out of the cookies we made yesterday to eat just m &m's  sans cookie for breakfast

guess what else

chilly dog kept me up like half the night because she kept running up and down the hallway with her sharp claws on wood floors. and I don't know why...waaaaaaaaaah.

 

santa sightings

Yesterday we went, to Addie's joy and excitement, to the dentist!!!
I'm not kidding she loves the dentist. Our dentist is in Childrens medical center so theres alot to look at on the way in and out plus 2 elevator rides. They have a huge tropical fish tank, a gift shop filled with every kind of toy, and little cars they can ride in up to their dentist office. So it's like entering playland. Addie also has a huge love of her dentist. She was like...I can't wait for him to see my earrings!


So while we were sitting waiting for them to call her back we saw a herd of candy striper people singing christmas carols and marching down the hall with loads of toys. I think they were taking toys to the kids in the hospital. Addie and Eva were staring in shock at the amount of toys they pulled in wagons. And bringing up the back was Santa. He stopped and handed Addie and Eva both a little toy. Addie was yelling "SANTA SANTA!! HI SANTA!" Both of their eyes looked like they were going to pop out. Addie couldn't stop talking about it.

Afterwards I promised them we could go to the mall. Right when we walked in we saw Santa again and he looked different then the one we just saw. Addie was like..."Well this one has the right glasses so he must be the REAL santa." She promptly ran up to him and started telling him what she wanted for christmas which she refused to tell me because she said she was ONLY going to tell Santa. So after I forced Eva on his lap for the requisite picture, I whispered to him...."What did she say?" He said...."A WATER GUN and PENCILS and Construction PAPER!"

okay Addie wants a water gun which she told me afterwards she wants so she can squirt the missionaries. I'm not sure how she got that idea.

And construction paper and pencils.

I think Santa can handle that!

christmas shopping

Last night Danny and I went out and looked for christmas presents for Addie and Eva. It was really nice to get to go out ALONE and take a breather from the young'ns.
THANK YOU MOM and Dad!!
We were expecting an insane mosh pit at Target and it wasn't toooooo bad. Although they didn't have the toy I was looking for that they had in their ads. I asked an employee and I guess they only had that toy online. But we did raid the dollar section for stocking stuff. So then we went to Tuesday Morning and I got almost everything for the kids there. Danny kept finding things for himself too. Like an old fashioned build it yourself radio. When I say everything I mean like 3 things because we are really trying to not go crazy at Christmas. I want Addie and Eva to have a simple, as Addie would say "Mary and Laura" christmas. I had big plans to knit them dolls that look like them but I don't think that will happen because I've got way too much going on. But I did make them their names out of pottery and I'm going to hang each letter with red ribbon and wrap it up.

We had to run into walmart and then we went and got icecream.

Addie and Eva loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. My dad groomed them, and trimmed and painted their nails silver. When we got there Addie was laying down while my dad massaged her back with a massage thingy. It was really cute. They both read stories and fed them candy and yummy food and the kids slept all the way home and all the way into bed. It was a perfect Christmas shopping night.

Thanks given

Thanks to RACHEL for letting us all use her house for the celebration.

Thanks to my mommy for making some super awesome rolls and pies and basically slaving away the whole day in the kitchen.

Thanks to Stephanie for not killing everyone for freaking out about the turkey. And for making the best turkey I've EVER HAD in my WHOLE LIFE. Or at least since last year.

Thanks to Katrina and Nathan for not smooching too much at the party. And making some kick butt green been casserole.

Thanks to Natalie for playing soooooo sweetly with Eva, Addie and Dane. You totally have won Eva's heart again.

Thanks to Nathan for being a calm spot in the sea of chaos.

No Thanks to Aaron and Nathan Terry for making fun of ME!! I can't remember what it was about but trust me I know tae kwon do.

Thanks to Marks family for coming and having a lovely time with us and bringing an adorable puppy!

Thanks to Dad for buying all the toys to entertain the children.

And I just want every single one of you to know.....if I've forgotten you....

YOU MAKE ME SMILE

(insert picture of me looking very mellow and troubled or my buck tooth smile)

woodle foodle noodle doodle poodle

Addie is learning how to write and discretely slid under the bathroom door some messages while the bathroom was occupied. I forced us to sit on the couch before church and pose for a family pic since we all looked so clean and fresh.



yes I know its early but talk to me when your 5 years old and desperately want a christmas tree
And check out Eva's "outfit"

Addie poses. Stephanie do you remember when you used to always cross your hands over your heart for pictures when you were like 6? Addie is totally with you on that.

My beautiful bowl

with an ugly backside

Salvaged my bowl

They saved my bowl!!! It has a huge chunk out of the bottom and the bottom looks pretty harsh but it still works and holds liquid. I proudly served Danny cereal in it this morning and he was marveling at my talents and skills. (staring at it with half open eyes because it was still dark and I brought it to him in bed because I was excited to show him). SOoooooo
Last night I finished glazing 5 things and hopefully they'll cook up dandy with no mishaps.
ummm

Last night our ward had a service auction. I auctioned 4 free piano lessons and they went for like 120 (fake)bucks. I was like..if only people would really pay that much for lessons. I got 4 free hours of babysitting and I got a free haircut.

Danny took the day off work because someone drove through the fence, yes again, of our house in Dayton. I guess all of our porch sitting neighbors were shrieking and screaming in horror because the probably drunk or high man was driving 70 mph down Shedborne Rd and he wasn't slowing down. He drove up the curb and smashed our disgusting chain link fence down to the ground and drove up the hill in our yard and almost ran into the maple tree. i guess the fire dept had to come and everything. We had many eyewitnesses. You see, low income housing is around the block from the house aka. the projects aka. the drugstore. and I have to believe people in their drug desperation or hallucination just drive as fast as possible to get there and don't even notice they just smashed down our fence. Really you could practically put a road right through our yard and it would be a wonderful shortcut to "the drugstore".
So Danny's chore of the day is replacing the chain link fence.
My chore is....ummm. Babysitting Addie's friend and finishing painting a cupcake on a stepstool in between feeding, reading, playing, picking up, arts and crafting, and storytime.

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE WHO MIGHT BE COMING TO THE LARSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS EVENT

We wanted to do something for the orphans but since it was like 100 dollars to send a 20 lb package to the orphanage we decided to make infant kits and school kits.
I was thinking we could make just as many as we have supplies for we don't need to make a ton....we just drop them off at the bishops storehouse. The cool thing is they go to kids all over the world and many newborns in very poor countries where these small kits are going to would not even have a blanket to be wrapped in. So if anyone buys any of the things on this list tell me so I can account for it.
On Christmas I was thinking we could just assemble them and it would probably take only half an hour or so. go to http://www.providentliving.org if you need the directions on sewing the blankets or backpacks. heres the basic list
1 school kit needs:
4 unsharpened pencils
1 pencil sharpener
1 box pre-sharpened or unsharpened colored pencils
1 pair scissors
1 rubber eraser
1 ruler
450 pages of paper in notebooks
1 cloth bag

NEWBORN KITS
1 double receiving blanket (directions on the website)
4 flat fold cloth diapers (these are the big ones that are thin...not the ones people use for burpcloths)
4 diaper pins
1 pair booties or baby socks
2 bars of ivory type soap
1 newborn layette gown (they don't want footed sleepers they have directions to sew them but it might be easier to buy them)

It seems like these won't be too hard to put together and we can just buy stuff whenever. Addie's really excited to help put them together. Just leave me a message or call me if you get anything so I can write down how much you bought. LOVE YOU ALL...
AMELIA

NEW SUBJECT!!

POTTERY: the problem with pottery is called chemical reactions.
step A) you throw the clay on the wheel

step B) you make a beautiful clay bowl/cup/mug/whatever (or in my case you destroy a big wad of clay and have to start over 5 more times)

Step C)You fire the clay ######DANGER##### this is where your perfect or semi perfect thing is going through it's first chemical reaction and might explode/burn to the bottom of the kiln

STEP D) You start over because your pot/bowl/mug/plate got destroyed


STEP E)You do it all over again.


STEP F) Your pot/bowl finally made it through the first firing and you are ready to glaze it.


STEP G)Glaze it a color that will turn out NOTHING SIMILAR WHATSOEVER to the color you initially put on it once it goes through the final chemical reaction.


STEP H) FINAL FIRING ###### WARNING##### CHEMICAL REACTION######


STEP I) Remove beautiful bowl from kiln that now is a totally new and surprising color and....it's once again burned to the bottom of the kiln. Actually 2 OF YOUR SLAVED OVER BOWLS ARE BURNED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE KILN.


STEP..umm J) Tell entire pottery class to go to HECK!

I'll drop it soon I promise

Americans don't have to use propaganda right?

He's the pres. so now we have to respect him. And I'm going to give him just as much respect as many people gave President Bush.

'bamed out

Yeah whatever
so every inner city person,
liberal idealist college kid,
and illegal immigrant went out and voted for 'bama.

i'm now preparing for armageddon.

todo:
BUY EXTRA LARGE CASE OF ALDI peanut butter.
buy large case of Aldi tuna
buy large case of Aldi beans and tomatoes
(what's a case?)

continuing........
store some major water action
buy flourescent lightbulbs.
continue planning my super secret rondevoux location
in case of terrorist takeover.

hmmm.
should I buy a goat??

week rerun

pumpkin huntingpumpkin carving
pumpkin degunking

trick or treating

Fairy running

wedding attending

Eva scowling

Addie standing

grandpa and elsie loving

playing with cousins

playing orphans

if YoU hOpe fOR cHanGE VOTE

I'm doing my republican duty of entering in as many names and phone #s as I can into my computer so the republican girls who asked me to do data entry don't kill me.
ahem I mean for my own patriotic desires.

I think the intention is they will call all these people and tell them to vote Mccain.
Which I think is a good thing to do so I need to get my fingers going.

I also bragged to them about how fast I type and now I have nothing to show for it and 2000 names are due tODAY.

the problem: Eva wants to sit on my lap and pound the keyboard everytime I type or she wants to nurse like a newborn because she knows she's got me trapped.

as I say to addie...RUH ROH. (think scooby doo)

On the other hand I want to complain about Obama.
1. Bama scares me
2. Bama's middle name is hussein. that's not right.
3. I seriously honestly truthfully think he is a puppet and someone is moving his mouth and talking in another room.
4. When he talks I honestly don't believe his mouth matches up with the words that come out.
5. Doesn't that bother you?
6. He's probably the anti christ.
7. he's FOR universal preschool and I haven't sent my kids to preschool nor do I plan to thank you very much
8. When he says a word that should have an open mouth sound his mouth is closed.

and those are the most important reasons.

all the other things I'm for...babies not being left to die after attempted abortions, lower taxes for EVERYONE not just the po folks, less government spending, less government regulation, fewer government handouts, more individual responsibility those are just the side issues....like my sister Katrina said......

a mouse can get free cheese but it'll get snapped

sunday evening

throwing stones and yelling "this ones for LENA..this ones for Oliver" ect.

Eva has serious rock throwing skills

Addie learned how to pump
Eva kept staring at the boy swinging next to us
sheer happiness before the ....................................

horrible fall backwards off the edge
Danny's flexing for the camera :)

lost baby pics

Postpartum brain mush made me lose Eva's first picture cd we made.....
Then I lost a check and while searching for it I found Eva's cd of pictures
I can't believe it's only been a year and a half
and this is Eva now

Ear pierced

this was written by Adelaide transcribed by mua of course: (she got her ears pierced the day before yesterday on a whim at the mall)

"When I got my ears pierced it was so exciting. At the end I kind of jumped. It pinched a little. I like how pretty my earrings are.
I hope I can get new earrings soon. My favorite ones are my animal ones.
I like getting my ears pierced. I hope my sister Eva can do it too. I loved the sparkly floor at the ear piercing store.
I LOVED my mommy and Eva watching me. I think Eva might want to do it when she's 5. I liked the place and how pretty it was. I loved looking at all the beautiful stuff. I thought my pink earrings matched my pony shirt I wore yesterday. THE END"

MORE BIRTHDAY

BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT to.....

OCTOBER 12th (Yesterday) DANNY is 32 and my baby brother Nathan is 17

OCTOBER 13th (today) Natalie is 20 and Aaron is 27.

We are libra dominated in this here fam. and my brother has had his identity stolen, Danny stole his birthday and Nathan Terry stole his name.

Turning 28 was monumental and I feel like a totally new person.

I am going to make a goal every day to honestly seriously, without sarcasm....
1.roll in the grass
2. sniff a flower
3. dance like nobodys watching
4. sing like nobodys listening
5. do the tango while holding a rose in my mouth
6. embrace every single person I meet
7. laugh like someone is tickling my armpits

all of these... AT least once a day. That's my goal.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHERS

I wanted to say to my sister Stephanie HAPPY BIRTHDAY on OCT 3!!! She is 26 and for one week we are only 1 year apart. Every night before bed Addie wants me to tell her a story about me when I was little. I told her about how You and I used to playtogether all the time growing up. You were my closest in age sister and we totally were like best friends growing up. We would rescue puppies from under the deck together, throw tadpoles, catch worms and frogs that you would always hold (I was too big of a wimp). I remember you biting me to the blood on my shoulder and mom bit you back! We would give our barbies butch hair cuts and play prom with them. I would leave you out when I had friends over and I always felt a little guilty. I remember how concerned I was in Jr. High about what my friends thought and being only friends with the socially acceptable people, while you would wear sweater vests with hearts sewn on them, and big glasses, and be friends with anyone in any grade. Including the people that drove everyone else nuts. I love you for how innocent and totally friendly you were to anyone.
In high school we were best friends again and I loved having someone who could understand me completely. Ben Merrill came over the other day and reminded me that the side of our car said, when he met me, "You don't have to live like a refugee" It made me laugh so hard.
Now we are both chasing little crazy tots all day and sympathisizing with eachother. Anyways, I know we'll be friends until we are old great grandmas laughing about whatever crazy thing we can dream up. I love you! Happy 26th birthday!

ADDIE'S 5!!!!!

Addie's birthday was last week. She of course, wanted the requisite "princess party". It was her first friends party and we invited 3 little girlfriends over and they played games, ate candy until I was worried they would throwup, and did the balloon wish send off. That got a little stressful because some of the kids didn't want to make a wish and send off their balloon into the sky which was no big deal. Addie was determined though, to send every balloon into Heaven. She was like..."Excuse me can I please hold your balloon?"

other little girl..."Umm okay!"

Addie then promptly released the balloon to the sky with her friend looking irate.

She woke up the morning of her birthday and yelled "I"M 5!!!!"

On another note, I made my first REAL BOWL and CUP on the wheel last night. It was fun. The class is full of older ladies and one very silent older guy who is really good, and one youngish guy who kept talking about how much he loves bacon and flirting with all the 65 year old ladies. I really enjoy it but it does really dry out your hands. Now about getting a wheel at my house...hmmm.

You are the wind destroying my wings

YES we lived through the Ohio hurricane or whatever it was. While most people were hunkering down in their basements Addie and I were out in the backyard marveling at how flat the tree's were lying down when the wind blew and how it sounded like a plane was landing on the house. Let's just say I didn't know that it was really "that bad".

I made Danny drive in the midst of the winds with us up to my ma and pa's house. We saw trees through roofs and the road was closed but I was determined because I was hungry and my dad made us dinner.

We had no POWA for 4 days and that was okay because friends kept giving us food and my mom took us out to dinner multiple times. So I think I gained 10 lbs during the power outtage.

To commemorate all the fallen trees (not really, we just needed new trees in our front yard) Friday night we planted a maple tree for Addie and Eva. Addie was very excited and made a rock border around one of them. (see above) and Eva was generally frustrated and angry she couldn't run around bare naked with nothing on but tap dancing shoes. Then she fell asleep.

I've been blogging alot lately!

Come fall come

heat is sick

Like sticky, wet, warm.

That makes me want to submerge

my head in ice.

Ohio is clammy.

I gave a sermon on the wonders of saving money and budgeting to the Piqua ward ladies last night. I felt self conscious. I just need to take another public speaking 101 course where all the sophomore boys stare disdainfully at whoever is forced to stand at the pulpit and preach about why the pop machine needs juice in it.

Danny's ferrari (sunfire) needs 1000 worth of work. Who says we trash it? He wants a Toyota Yaris. It's like the tiniest Toyota model out there. Danny and small cars go together. That would totally bust the budget though.

I finished the hat for my friend's baby boy.