Easton.....lol

JD was commenting on his new juicer (pictures to come) and it's life time warranty. Easton looks up and says, "what are you supposed to do, call them up and tell them you want a replacement on your death bed?"

It took me a minute to follow him, then I replied, "it's not your lifetime, it's the lifetime of the juicer!"

Silly boy!

More hot tub fun

One night I was getting ready for bed when I heard water falling. I was searching under the kitchen sink, checked out the fridge. Nothing was wrong. I turn around, glancing out the window and saw a stream of water spraying up from the hottub. Being a home owner is so much fun.

Carson and Jack's day o'fun!

Carson has found a friend I hope he has for a lifetime. They act alike, they talk alike, they even look alike. They have so much fun together.

This day Jack came over to play and didn't want to leave. He went to the store with us. He and Carson jumped into the car cart. They were having so much fun honking at people and crashing into each other we spend an extra 10 minutes just pushing them around!

New Year's resolutions

I've never been one for big new year's resolutions. But try to aim for goals that are set. Some how it seems more do able. 2 years ago, it was to loose weight, and I did. 30 lbs to be exact. Last year it was to keep it off. That didn't go as well as I would have liked but 12 months later and I had only gained back 5 lbs I haven't gotten too hard on myself. This year I am concentrating on my house keeping skills.

It's no secret I'm am not a clean freak. Some people can't sleep knowing there's dishes in the sink. I have never had even an inkling of that problem. The result can be a very disorganized mess. I will do my deep cleaning like most people, however, I will just pick up a pile of crap and disinfect what's under it and set it back down.

Now with 4 kids, a husband, 2 old hairy dogs and a home office this life style was not working any more. I have started to hate the mess, the clutter and the constant cleaning that never goes away. So, that is my goal for 2011. To be a better house keeper.

I am starting it simple. Baby steps to success! In 2 week increments I add a new thing to keep up on. By writing it out I hope it motivates me to keep going.

Jan 1- Jan 14- keep dishes done, sink cleaned out constantly!
Jan 15-Jan 31- keep kitchen counters cleared of all non esential things
Feb. 1- Feb 14- Keep front room picked up and dusted once a week
Feb. 15-Feb 28- upstairs hallway clear of "stuff"
Mar 1-Mar 14- floors vaccummed every other day
Mar 15- Mar 30- make bed every day

etc, (more to come on the list)

3 steps in and I'm loving the results. Easton actually said it bugs him because the dishwasher is always dirty. I put them away to0 fast! Ha ha! That is one of the best compliments I could ask for.

Here's to a years worth of goals. Cheers!

Christmas Eve and Day

CHRISTMAS EVE

On Christmas Eve our family tradition is giving one gift to all the kids from mom and dad. And the kids give us the gifts they've made for us.

JD and the kids made me this bowl for Christmas. The put their handprints all over it. The front says "Mom's popcorn bowl. Hands off" The inside says, "All Gone." I love it and my popcorn!

The kids made magnets for dad to take to the office. They each picked something that represented themselves and glued a magnet on it. Now dad can have a piece of them at work.

I love it when the kids all play together and seem to not only like each other, but love them too.

Halle confused about where her PJ's go.

The kids humor me every year and pretend they don't know their one gift on Christmas Eve is new PJ's.

Halle's gift to Dad. A slef portrait.

Sisters!

Avery's cute sata sack.

Carson made us an ornament.

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!

Avery's letter to Santa. She makes sure to leave him a lengthy letter each year.

So, many gifts! Halle couldn't stay away from her new barbie house.

Opa stopped in for a little gift giving (and JD's famous omelets)

Lisa too!

Criss Cross Crash! Just what he asked for!

So much fun!

Halle has been waiting years for this Barbie house. We could barely get her to open her other gifts. Once we were done she started playing with this and didn't stop until February!

Christmas time with our families

For the DeMie family party, we decided to do a craft with the kids instead of exchanging gifts. A Christmas craft is a tradition my mom started when I was young. It was nice to pass it on to our kids. They made a frame with different paper glued to it. It was fun to see the kids personalities in the kind of paper they chose.

They boys made it through about 15 minutes then it was off to the impromtu wii tourny.

Us girls sat around and giggling and de coupaging.

The Rex's have their own traditions. This year grandma made cupcakes the theme of Christmas. Each child recieved their own ordament.

Every year the kids dress up and do the nativity. Little Henry was the little Jesus. It seems each of our kids has had that job, it's an initiation of sorts. They all enjoy it. With 16 kids it's more choas that spiritual, but fun either way.

Grandma also gives all the kids PJ's. There's is getting to be so many kids they don't fit in the picture anymore! Our kids were so excited to give the gifts to their cousins. Carson gave Logan this cool sled. Let me tell you 12 year old boys are hard to shop for, but Carson knew his cousin would love this and he did.

And of course they loved their presents too!