Bringin' Home the Bacon

After three posts in a row about Lyla, I figured the blog needed a Max story to balance things out. My brain works in mysterious ways like that. I will take my blog readers back to December of 2016 for this recollection about when Max started his first job. It was tough times and we were in need of money from any sources of income we could salvage, even if that meant sending our three year old into the workforce. Hahaha okay, here is the real story...

It was a few months ago when Jeremy & Charli gifted a few 1488 Collision shirts to Maxwell. The shirts are almost identical to Kirk's daily uniform, including the same logo and even the name "Max" embroidered on the front. Max insisted on wearing this shirt to school every single day for several weeks in a row, which actually worked out fine because they purchased five for him. So yes, he wore a 1488 polo shirt every single day --- which is either really great advertising or just makes him the weird kid at school. Maybe both. Ha! 

Well. The excitement of wearing the work shirt started to fade and eventually it just wasn't cutting it anymore. Max kept wondering when he could start working at 1488 Collision and this quickly became a daily conversation. We tried explaining to him that school is his only job right now and he has many more years of school before he needs to start thinking about a job. I admired his enthusiasm to work...but HELLO...being three is awesome!!! Enjoy it, child. The constant asking turned into pleading and eventually he was begging to go to work. Persistence at its finest until one day Max's dream came true. Kirk finally asked me to drop him off after school one day. As you could imagine, Max was delighted.

Lyla and I decided a quick run to Starbucks would be adequate time for a three year old's first shift of work. We dropped him off and oh geez, he was so happy. I'll never forget him walking into that building with such confidence in his step. Kirk set him up with a phone on his belt clip and a notepad, then walked him throughout the shop to check out the status on all the jobs, just as a manager should do. Kirk's version of this story is much better than mine will be, but basically Kirk introduced Max to everyone as they walked through the shop and it sounds like all the employees were pretty entertained by Kirk's mini-me. They all went along with Max being their temporary boss pretty well. Kirk said one of the guys asked Max his age and Max proudly proclaimed "twenty-phree." Hahaha! Max concluded his shift by helping wash a car and I need Kirk to share that part of the story because, again, his version is way more hilarious. Max felt proud of his new supervisor duties and was upset when we returned to pick him up about thirty minutes later. That was about as much "help" Kirk could make time for, even though we were a little heartbroken as Max kept saying, "it's not over yet!" 

He returned to work for one additional shift since that time. It turns out Max prefers the "late shift" because then he gets to ride home with Kirk in the blue car. He is obsessed with the blue car. I keep telling Kirk he needs to write Max a real paycheck so we can put it in his keepsake box...but who am I kidding...he would probably cash it as soon as he figures out how. Ha! 

It's such a fun experience going to work as a kid, whether it be with parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. I have such fond memories from my own childhood and feeling so grown up when I had the opportunity to go to work with an adult in my life. I'm grateful Max has that experience already and maybe one day working with dad will be his real first job. I mean...he already has some experience. However, I think he might require a larger polo at that point...

No pics of him at work, sadly, But here are the cutie pies in their matching shirts!

Peace Out 2016!

I'm finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas. We are currently enjoying the last day of our 17 day break from school and work. It has been very relaxing and it's surprising how quickly I forgot about all the luxuries included in staying at home. Such as, completing all of our laundry in one day and getting all the beds made in the morning! Woohoo! It's been glorious. I really have been able to get the house organized and attend to a lot of other nuisance chores during the break, which sounds boring but overall eases my sanity. The sane version of myself is much more pleasant, for everyone. And I have so much enjoyed all the extra snuggle time with my babies in the morning. We have spent many days just lounging around the house, any boredom easily cured by a tickle fight. We ventured to the movie theater and spent time with friends, including a play date with one of Lyla's favorite classmates. We also enjoyed our annual Gingerbread House tradition with Charli & Hali. Oh, and Max put in some hours (um 1/2 hour) at his new job. Hehe! I'll have to elaborate on that in a separate post.

I feel like our routine with school has kept us so busy over the last few months, this break has given us the chance to slow down and just enjoy each other. I think that's exactly what the holidays are all about for most of us, anyway. However, as Christmas neared closer and closer, I felt myself pushing away this undeniable feeling of sadness. I adore my little family so much and I'm truly grateful for the time we have been able to spend together, but the quiet holidays always make me miss everyone in Idaho a whole bunch. I miss the experience of BIG family gatherings. I honestly love bouncing around on Christmas to various family members houses. I keep reminding myself that life always comes back around full circle and I know eventually we will enjoy a Christmas in Idaho again... I just have to be patient. And patience is not my strong suit. Ha. In the meantime, I have been trying to appreciate all the aspects of small and quiet holidays. I think it's important to soak up every season of life we experience, or at least give it a good effort. Haha! It's tough for me sometimes, but life could always be tougher.

Okay. Anyway, I wanted to share our Christmas morning. Christmas day could possibly be my most favorite day of the year to be a parent. As cliche as it sounds, it is seriously magical. The best day ever. I freaking love being Santa Claus. Max woke first and was not in the most pleasant mood. Keep in mind, he is only three so a lot of this Christmas business doesn't click for him quite yet. He mostly follows Lyla's lead and/or level of enthusiasm. As always, he made his way into our bed by morning and I exclaimed, "Max, it's Christmas!" His grumpy response, "No it's not. It didn't even snow." I giggled to myself, then reminded him about Santa and finally he remembered. I got out of bed to grab Max some fresh clothes, because of course, Christmas morning he had to pee himself. As I was rushing to his room, he made it clear that he wanted to wake up Lyla. "Don't wake her up Mom. I'm going to do it." We got him all situated in dry clothes and then he bolted out of my room. So much for cute Christmas jammies on Christmas morning, right? Oh well. I watched as he ran into the living room to check their stockings, he gasped, then immediately ran to Lyla's room. I could hear him say, "Lyla Lyla, It's Christmastime. Your dolly!!!" They both darted out into the living room faster than you could imagine. Kirk set up the iPad to record their entrance, but the house was still so dark you can't see the image very well. However, you can definitely hear the little pitter patter of their feet running across the house and I loved that just as well.

We opened presents and by the time we finished the living room was complete madness. I'm always slightly disgusted by how spoiled our entire family is between all the gifts that get shipped from our loved ones in Idaho. But we are lucky they love us so much! We remained busy the rest of the day, playing with new toys and games. Lyla's main gift from Santa was an American Girl doll. And Max asked for a Batman Transformer. Apparently Lyla also asked for a black kitten, but Santa didn't get that memo --- and I'm not so sure he would have fulfilled that request anyhow. Ha! Regardless, the kiddos were very pleased with all their new treasures and we had such a fun morning. We enjoyed french toast for breakfast and set up our new Alexa speaker from Grandma Paula. I only mention this gift because I was cracking up when Lyla asked Alexa to get her a glass of water. She was so impressed with all of Alexa's other abilities, I guess she figured a glass of water shouldn't be too difficult for her to manage. Spoiler: Alexa was unable to fulfill Lyla's request, but luckily Lyla was born with these amazing things called legs.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Charli & Jeremy's for a delicious meal and more gift opening chaos. Hali received a new trampoline for Christmas and the kids are obsessed with it. I felt tired just watching them. However, it really did the trick to drain their batteries, particularly Max. That boy is an energizer bunny all day long. We had a fun day and I'm grateful to Charli & Jeremy for always inviting us over for Christmas. I think it's obvious I am very devoted to my role as Santa, so my enthusiasm for cooking on Christmas has really been lacking the past few years. Sooo if it weren't for the awesome Stout family, we most likely would have ate..........boxed mac and cheese. Phew! I'm glad we dodged that bullet and were treated to amazing-melt-in-your-mouth ham instead. Plus, I can always count on them for one Christmas Day adventure, and being at their house helps with that irritating "lack of togetherness on Christmas" feeling that's been floating around for me this season. I know, you're sick of me whining. Perhaps I should call the waaaambulance. Is that joke still cool? Idk.

SO! TOMORROW is my baby girl's birthday. Did I mention she is going to be FIVE??!?! Someone pinch me. I know I'm going to be blogging about all that, so I returned to Slackerville to get this Christmas post wrapped up. As for wrapping it up, I don't have many complaints about 2016. It was decent. We are all still here, breathing and whatnot. I am feeling even more hopeful and optimistic about what's to come for 2017. I can still remember a time when I thought the year 2017 seemed so far out of reach, yet here we are. It is the future! I'm looking forward to more adventure, laughter, and LOVE.

Please enjoy these photos that I sloppily attached to this post............................you can mail your complaints to Slackerville, USA.

That one time Lyla wanted "just onion rings" for dinner.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR. HAHAHA

I asked them to yell "SANTA"

BLESS THIS MESS?

Sorry Tay Tay, I have a new personal make-up artist now. 

December is here! Is this real life?

We had a fun visit from Grandpa Rick and Becky this week. It was a quick two days, but I've learned to take what I can get. We have been so lucky to have several repeat visitors since we moved to Texas, so I feel like we have already cycled through most of the touristy stuff. The one new attraction I've been able to share with our family is the kid's school. Grandpa and Becky were able to enjoy lunch with us and see the kiddos in their classrooms. It was nice to show them what daily life is like for us these days and I'm fortunate to work somewhere that doesn't mind if I bring in guests every once in awhile. It's a pretty laid back atmosphere, both from a working perspective and in the classrooms. Also, as the ongoing tradition continues through the generations, Grandpa treated us to ice-cream after school. That will always be one of my favorite and most memorable traditions of my childhood. 

Lyla singing her Christmas program for Grandpa and Becky. It doesn't get any better than a private performance!

This weekend it finally started feeling like Christmas for me. We went to a fun party on Friday night and then Lyla & I spent most of Saturday Christmas shopping for family and friends. She is a good little shopping buddy these days, very opinionated too. Ha! Sunday included a visit to Santa at the kid's school. The school PTO organized an event with different craft booths, hot cocoa, and photos with Santa. I figured it was a good opportunity to cross Santa off the list. Lyla has been talking about asking for an American Girl doll for what seems like an eternity, but the moment she approached Santa it's as if she was starstruck or something. I was rather confused as she uttered the words, "fairy barbie" when he asked what she wanted for Christmas. I was actually thinking, "Uhhh Lyla!!!! That was SO last year." Max pretty much had the same experience. He has been going on and on about this Batman Transformer toy, yet he was only able to squeak out the word "dinosaur" when Santa asked him. *eye roll* I told them it's too bad they froze up under pressure because now Santa isn't going to have any clue of their true desires. As always, Lyla was quick with her response, claiming it was fine because she also wrote him a letter. I was unimpressed with the Santa at our school event and felt he could have been slightly more enthusiastic anyway. He even had a real Santa beard, so I was really expecting that kind of physical dedication to match his energy on the inside. It did not. 

I suppose if an unimpressive Santa is our biggest problem in life, then we don't have any problems at all. I have been thinking about this concept a lot lately and how our life problems are all about perspective. The beginning of the month really started out with a Scrooge-esque attitude for me, especially in regards to the holidays. It only added fuel to the fire when I started assembling the Christmas tree and learned none of the lights were working. I had a little tantrum over it. Then I gave Christmas spirit another attempt with some good ol' fashioned baking. Burned my cookies. Que tantrum number two. Oh yeah, and how could I forget the major pity party over the disappointment of my Christmas cards. It was obvious hibernation was going to be my only destiny for this year!!! Good grief, listing it all out like this and I am actually embarrassed by how pathetic I am. 

Okay. Anyway! Along with all my pitiful behavior, I also have these light bulb moments when these small realizations show me that my problems are not actual problems. We have a good life and most complaints are simply comical. My family is together. We are healthy beings. And my kids are so very loved. There are a lot of people in this world who would give literally anything for even one of those things. Que perspective shift.

And with that, my 2016 Holiday Mantra: Even if our Santa Claus clearly hates his job, our Christmas tree is [was] not shining brightly, and our cookies have black bottoms....this life is still so good. Merry Christmas! 

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....

Dad was able to make a surprise visit for Max's Christmas program! Yay!

My Saturday shopping buddy!

These are my people! How did I get SO lucky?

Don't be fooled by his good looks. He was the worst.

We are so lucky to have such great friends in our lives too!

Turkey Day

Hi friends! We had a lovely Thanksgiving. My dad, Shelby, and Jake were our featured guests this year. The kids and myself had a full week off from school and Kirk decided to take the rest of his available vacation days as well. It was a lot of fun and I'm grateful for the quality time we were able to spend together. My turkey received his usual special treatment and turned out wonderfully. I had a lot of help preparing the rest of the meal from two wonderful chefs, namely Charli & Olivia, which made it a pretty stress-free week for me. It's hard to believe we are already into December. I haven't started any shopping yet and honestly I'm lacking any motivation to even get started. We are going to decorate our Christmas tree this weekend, so I'm hoping that helps me rediscover my typical overjoyed attitude about Christmas and all its magic. This is a pathetic blog post, but I mostly wanted to share our Thanksgiving pictures. I'll try to add some descriptive captions because I know all my amazing and dedicated fans are deeply saddened by my lack of eloquence. 




This little turkey had a Thanksgiving performance at school and was surprised to find out she had quite a few of her people watching from the audience. It's so convenient that her best buddy, BYA, works at her school. Plus, she had Aunt Taylor & Uncle Jordan in the audience to not only watch her perform but also join her for lunch afterward. They spent some time with Max in his classroom too and it made him feel pretty special. Max's teacher thought it was pretty cool of Uncle Jordan to participate in the silly dancing and to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce during story time. This day acted as a "final farewell" of sorts for the kiddos to Taylor and Jordan before they moved back to Idaho and I felt like my heart was shattering the entire day over it. We are going to miss them so much! They are the best aunt and uncle, it's no question they are going to be amazing parents.

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This is one of the notes clipped to our gratitude tree I started a few years ago. It is my favorite one of 2016 and it belongs to Lyla. This was her first note of gratitude created all on her very own. I didn't have to prompt any ideas for her. She made it by herself, only requiring help with spelling. It says "mom making lunch" and it made my heart happy that she is really understanding the concept of being grateful....because there are definitely some days I question if anything I'm doing will prevent my kids from being asshole adults. Ha! Also, how awesome is she doing with her penmanship? I'm proud of my little smartie pants.

This is Max's super cool hair cut. He went with Kirk right before our family photos so they would be looking fresh. Also, a sneak peak of Lyla. I wish I could share the rest, but you must wait. 

Uncle Jake creating his masterpiece Thanksgiving appetizer. I enjoy watching his methodical cooking methods. And my dad enjoying his LATE Thanksgiving feast. Sadly, this is the only picture I shot of him or Shelby during their visit. FAIL.

TWINS! Max attempting to match Jake was hilarious to me.

Thanksgiving Day Feast, along with photos I force my people to be in.

We also visited the Renaissance Festival. I was laughing because we haven't been to this festival since the last time my dad visited Texas. I like to tease him about this activity being his idea, but truly I find the whole event to be fascinating. I feel like it's a lifestyle I could really dive into if I wasn't already committed to this family thing. Hahaha! At least Max agrees with me, just look at him go to town on that steak on a stick.