Making Cookies

What is a Christmas without making some cookies? We made these a while back and I was a good mom and let Reagan do just about everything on her own...which is why most of the neighbors and friends didn't get any ;)

She rolled out the cookie dough and loved using the cutters. She is very into cookie cutters, she always asks us to cut her sandwiches and toast into shapes.

The flour was a hit. She kept asking for more and more and like a good mom, I obliged. It was a mess, but she had a great old time. I didn't even complain about her new sweater!!

Nolan watched, laughed and ate Kix.

When dad got home, it was decorating time. Matt was very creative with his colors, and Reagan took the sprinkles to a whole new level. I am still finding them mushed into the carpet beneath the table. At least it was festive this month.

Short on Words

Well I haven't been writing too much on the blog these days, it seems that I just keep putting it off and forgetting and before I know it, December 20th is here-WHAT? Anyways, Matt would say it is okay, he doesn't read blogs, he just looks at pictures. But I am opposite, I love to read what people write and usually skim over photos. Well, maybe I will do a little of both in this post.

We have been keeping ourselves busy and I am happy to report that pretty much everything for Christmas is done and I can just enjoy the next few days with just my kids and staring at our Christmas tree and watching Reagan watch her presents under the tree with starry eyes. I told her today that she would get to pick out one gift on Christmas Eve to open (Rasmussen tradition) and she already chose her gift. Then she wanted to bring it in her room and put it next to her bed when she sleeps. Uhhhh, NO, I don't think so girlie. I have been finding little rips in all her presents for weeks now, she is a peeker and I know that having that gift right next to her will be too much temptation. Oh man, such good fun.

My friend told me about Christmas elves that visit in the weeks ahead of the big day and if the children are good, listen, and clean up then they get little treats left in their shoes. Reagan woke up that first morning with some candy in her shoes that we placed out. Well, smarty pants put the shoes out herself the second night.
Santa's elf left the same amount of candy and the following note:

She seemed cool with it. We had our Christmas party for the ward and the Santa part was great and all, but the deep fried turkey stole the show for the second year in a row. Reagan was a little nervous about seeing Santa up close. She started whimpering when it was her turn and luckily brave Addie sat with her, then we tried to get a photo with Nolan, too, but he wasn't having it.

Funny story about Santa: Reagan does not like the fact that he wears gloves. She keeps requesting that he remove his gloves (or "lovers" as she calls them) before coming to her house on Christmas Eve. I don't think she understands that she won't see him when he comes...or lets hope not, at least ;)

In the last 2 weekends, we have attended 3 Christmas parties that are complete with gift exchanges. All were great fun, we got some good stuff, seriously funny stuff, too. The first party we attended, our gift was a candy bra--yah, you know what I am talking about people, don't play all innocent, its the one from Spencers. It was worth it watching Teri Rossi open it up;) The second party I got a t-shirt that said I have been nice or something like that. Everyone laughed, but you know what--I actually LIKED it! It was an XL, too big for me, but I love huge shirts to just lay around in and it was cute. Matt looked at me like I was an alien when we traded our candles for it. The last party made me go home with a headache from laughing so dang hard. It never disappoints from year to year! My gift I ended up with was actually pretty funny: it came in a paint can-looking thing and was called Plumbers Spackle and it was a t-shirt with a long tail, intended to cover up plumbers crack. Awesome. Matt won 50 dollars to Elephant Bar, so hopefully between Flemings for our anniversary on the 28th and this place, we got some fine dining experiences coming up!

Speaking of fine dining: Matt's company party was at Vic Stewarts Steakhouse in Walnut Creek. Everyone raves about it, but Matt got totally sick from it and will never step foot in those doors again. I don't think I will ever have a chance to try Stewart's Sirloin.

Post incomplete without super cute pic of bubs. If I don't get a chance before Friday, Merry Christmas to all!!!

Tis The Season To Be Darling

Secret Santa

I absolutely love the show The Office. Unless you have no idea who I am, you probably already know this. I live for rewatching Seasons 1-3 and every time I do, I wish we could revert back to the funny awkwardness and lovable yet quirky characters that were represented then. This current season has totally been awesome for me, one of the best in a while. I loved the season opener and wedding episode, but last nights ep...probably the worst I have ever seen. This is just my opinion, because apparently, it got really high ratings. I thought the Scotts Tots storyline was way too far-fetched, who in their right mind, even the zany Michael Scott, promises to pay college tuition to a dozen young kids? And the whole Jim/Dwight thing trying to get him fired just isn't funny to me. He has always been a nice guy and now the whole office hates him, except his expectant wife. It doesn't fit. Jim has always been loved by all, the "popular" one, I really hate how they have led his character. And Dwight has always been weird, but not cruel. And now temp is in on it? I really hope they ditch this sitch because I can't handle it.

Matt commented that I laughed more at 30 Rock last night than The Office. He was right!! Did you SEE last nights episode? I was dying, I was afraid I would wake my kids. And I totally love Community and even Parks and Rec is gaining momentum for me.

Venting aside, I will always love The Office. Its kind of like a mothers love, even when my kids are total pee-ons, I still love them to pieces. I feel that way about this show, yep I'm nuts. And I have high hopes for next weeks episode...Secret Santa. The pic below made me laugh, that is a great start. Hopefully they set aside the cruelty for a while and give us some awkward holiday cheer!

The Magic that is November!

Who says Christmas season doesn't begin until the day after Thanksgiving? Well, most people and actually ME included, but it is hard. Once Halloween is over and the stores and malls are lined with all the season has to offer, it is hard to just forget for another month. We did make November count, though, it was a good month.

Earlier in November, we got to meet some good friends The Sebras downtown in San Francisco for dinner. We ate on the 7th floor of Macys in Union Square at Chef Hubert Keller's new restaurant Burger Bar. The view was fantastic, overlooking Union Square Park with outdoor ice skating and Saks Fifth Avenue...and Starlight Lounge ;) They were also setting up the big Christmas tree, you can see it in the photos, undecorated.
We dined on really good burgers and fries, then splurged on shakes, it was fun. I will really miss them when they move :(

Reagan spouts new creativity all the time. She loves to play with playdough every day. She uses our cookie cutters to make new sculptures that usually consist of Christmas trees or Mickey Mouse. I actually hate it, I pick it out of the carpet or Nolan's mouth on a daily basis, but I can't stifle her artistic urges, so we just continue on. A present of new playdough sits under our tree now, unbeknownst to her, and I labeled it from "DAD" only, since I truly do hate this stuff.

One day I did my hair in a braid, my lazy hairstyle, and she wanted one, too. I think it looked so cute in her hair, it is sure getting long.

When "Noly-bubs" wakes up from his naps, Reagan loves to go in and yell "HI" really loud. If it has been a succesfully long nap, he is happy with that. If his nap has been cut short, he doesn't like her loud voice. Howevs, one day she hopped into his crib, which delighted them both and mom had to grab the camera.

He has such a sweet face and BIG blue eyes! Cute story: Reagan had a couple of days there where she wanted to have blue eyes like Nolan and some of her friends. When I would explain to her that she has beautiful brown eyes, she did not like that at all. She kept asking for blue eyes (I tried not to laugh). Then one day she brought me her doll of June from Little Einsteins. "Look mom, she has brown eyes!!" Suddenly, she was ecstatic to have them. End of story.

The day after Thanksgiving is when our Christmas decor comes out from hiding. I love to pull this one out: our Little People Christmas Nativity.

We had just a little bit of rain this month, mostly clear sunny skies, though. Reagan really wanted to use the umbrella, so after convincing her that riding her bike out in the rain while holding the umbrella just wouldn't work, she settled on this...for about 30 seconds! :)

The day before Thanksgiving, I sent Matt out to Costco for some milk and eggs. He came home with a Christmas tree and an Ipod. My entire Christmas!! Thanks, Matt. We do love having a huge, yummy smelling tree, but man, what a MESS!!! And I am praying that it isn't shriveled and dead by Christmas.

I recently bought a sewing machine, I am attempting to learn to sew. I am pretty excited about this prospect, my future projects far exceed my abilities, but we shall see. This tree skirt below gave me a little boost of confidence. Yeah, homies, that is right, I MADE this thing!

We also had a really great Thanksgiving. This is the first Turkey day in quite a while that we weren't with family, but we got to spend it with the Muhlestein/Oleole/Hart family and you know, being around a large family with all the craziness it has to offer, really helped keep the homesickness at bay. We had a great time and had deep fried turkey, HOLLA!! It was so good, and I won't be having withdrawals of my dads deep friend turkey this year. I rolled out of bed on black Friday around 5 am and got most of my kids shopping done by 9am. Now I feel like I have a REALLY long time to wait until Christmas. Love to all.

Missing Grandma

Today a rare occasion occurred: Reagan took a nap. I realize how much I have missed it. No wonder I am a mess (and my kids) at 5pm.

Anyways, when I peeked in at where she had fallen asleep, I saw this. Too, too cute. This is a picture of a baby Reagan and Grandma Rasmussen. Matt and I aren't the only ones who miss family.

This is for you, LANCE!!!

Max Hall:

"I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them," "I hate their program. I hate their fans. I hate everything. So, it feels good to send those guys home. They didn't deserve it. It was our time, and it was our time to win. We deserved it. We played as hard as we could tonight, and it felt really good to send them home and to get them out of here, so it is a game I'll always remember."


Hall also said, "I think the whole university and their fans and organization is classless. They threw beer on my family and stuff last year and did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don't respect them, and they deserve to lose."


"Last year at RES my family was spit on, had beer dumped on them, and were physically assaulted on several occasions," Hall said in the statement. "They had to endure extremely vile comments personally attacking my wife, my mother, other family members, and our religion. They had to be escorted to their car by local police."

I probably shouldn't comment too much on this matter since I am a BYU alumni and my brother also played football for Utah. Our family is pretty much split in two. But I will say that if someone attacked my family in that same manner, I would be saying the exact same thing.

Either way, all that matters in the end: SCOREBOARD.

Unleashing my Thoughts

In-N-Out opened in Orem today. My little sis works there (shout out, Lonsters!) and it sounds like such a great place. What a treat for her.

The Office, Vampire Diaries, 30 Rock, tonight is my tv night. I am watching it while I fold 4 loads of laundry. Kids in bed. Matt at a meeting.

I am learning to sew!! Learned some basics today, thanks Emily. I can't wait to get started on some things that honestly, with my experience and expertise, will probably look like dirt. Oh well, gotta start somewhere right?

New Moon Party on Saturday! Can't wait.

Sometime in the near future Matt and I get to go to Flemings. I am salivating as I think of it. He completed a big, hectic project for the head honcho at work and was richly rewarded. Thanks Matt :)

I am taking my baby trip in January: see baby Noah in the LC, and baby Jane in the SLC.

That is all for now, guys! TV night begins in a few. I promise sometime soon to have a better, more fun blog post, but things have been busy this week. Love to all!!!

Sweet Kids

Most of the time I just sit back and watch them interact with a smile on my face, but this time I had to pick up the camera and capture it. They sure do love each other. Reagan will bring Nolan things all the time and he could just sit and watch her and laugh at her all day.

Okay, occasionally she gets a little perturbed and will give him a little nudge with her foot, but no doubt a special bond has formed.

Fun with a Chair

Here's a good game to try: get your office chair, strap your infant in with a belt and push him/her around the house. It is so much fun. Everyone enjoys it.

Emotions

Shock

Nolan was fussy from hunger and as I started feeding him, I said playfully to Reagan, "Regs, why is Nolan so fussy?"

She responded "because you kicked him in the face, mom!"

What a liar.

Love

One of my very best friends gave birth to her first child on Monday of this week. What a sweet day that was! I got to hear the love as her husband, the new father, left us a message on my machine about Noah's birth and the pride in his voice was unmistakable. It was music to my ears! Then I got to see some photos and one was of the new parents gazing down at their child. I must have sat and stared at the picture for a full 5 minutes, I was overwhelmed and reminded about that special feeling. I showed the photos to Matt who said, "Look how ecstatic they are!" A picture is worth a thousand words. Congratulations Lori and Nick!! :):):)

Happy, Funny, Frustration

Nolan has become super de duper attached to me this week. He wants me to either hold him or be around him all day long. At first this made me happy. It is a good feeling to hear someone crying, then start smiling and laughing when you walk into the room. Then that got old and it started becoming somewhat funny...but that didn't last long either. Now I am slightly frustrated. I really can't get anything done unless Nolan is either in my arms or if I am playing on the floor with him. So yeah, not much is getting done. But I still love that kid, separation anxiety and all.

Pride

I was so proud of my Regs the last couple of weeks. We have had colds and fevers galore and Reagan has remained completely untouched throughout the onslaught of germs. Halloween weekend we all had colds, except R. We got over those, then I strangely lost my voice. Then Nolan woke with a fever Monday and we didn't feel too well until Wednesday. Anywho...my point is Reagan was sooo goood during all this. We didn't venture out hardly at all and I had to pay most of my attention to Nolan this week because of his fever. She didn't complain once. She smiled and told me she loved me! Thanks, my little Reagan.

Guilt

I totally love The Vampire Diaries. Yeah, I said it and you can laugh all you want. I probably would if it was someone else. I happened to be bored one evening and the pilot aired. I watched, since I enjoy Twilight, and honestly, I thought it was cheesy and dumb. But I watched the second, the third episode, and so on. And I am so dang hooked. Matt laughs at me and calls it my "soap opera." It pretty much is, since this is my first venture outside the world of comedy tv.

Relief

Our medical benefits start tomorrow. We have not had any medical insurance since October 1st. I have been holding my breath, waiting for that broken bone, that fall that would land us in the hospital paying mega bucks. But all we had was Nolan's doc app't Monday for his fever. Not too bad. Well, so far, I guess we actually have 10 more hours to go.

Excitement

I sure love the holidays. Maybe a bit too much, but I am looking forward to a season at home with my little family. This will be the first year since having kids that we will be on our own for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am already planning our traditions and food and decorations and all that is merry and bright. I can't wait to set out my nativity and read "Snowmen at Christmas" to my kids. And Matt and I get to play Santa this year, can't wait!

Funny!

If you saw the first Twilight movie, then watch this SNL short with none other than Taylor Swift as Bella. Its hilarious.

All Things Halloween!

The wednesday before Halloween, Matt's coworkers nominated him (the "new guy") to decorate their mini pumpkin for the contest his building tenants do every year. We had just a day and a half to do it and so I thought, hey I've got some acrylic paints, we can paint a cute face on it. Not so. Matt informed me that people go all out for this and it should be something pretty good. Well, we hummed and hawwwed over this and Matt came up with the excellent idea of doing The Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba. Reagan and I spent most of Thursday afternoon and evening putting this creation together.

Reagan tries on Elphaba's hat!

Our finished product, Miss Elphaba herself. Man, she looked so good. I thought we would win fo' sho'!!! Not so, again. While she was definitely well-liked by everyone, she did not win. Matt says if she had a backdrop maybe we could have. I still don't think we could have.

Here are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place pumpkins. The second place is pretty awesome, such an original and creative idea. They should have won 1st...or maybe 2nd, after Elphaba of course.

The Saturday before Halloween, we went to Boo at the Zoo! at the Oakland Zoo. Slightly overrated, but free since we are zoo members. The best part was watching elephants eat pumpkins-see photo for proof if you can get past the monster-sized poop in it.Perhaps even better was Reagan willingly and enjoyingly riding the skycoaster with Matt. She waved happily to me from the top and posed for cute pics for Matt.

Excellent view of the bay, with the city fog and everything.

On Halloween day, we carved our pumpkins, another annual gift from the "Pumpkin Fairies" (aka the McClellands!) Reagan immediately said she wanted a princess face on her pumpkin. So we looked some templates up on the computer and one was a tinkerbell. She wanted that. I said, whatever, I am doing the Cinderella. Matt said, you all are bogus, I am going for Mickey!!! Well, they turned our pretty dang good, except Tink looks like Peter Pan and I did have to toothpick a piece together. I felt bad throwing them away today, but they were starting to grow hair.

It's been a week of sick and colds for us, so Halloween night we put Nolan to bed early and Matt, still sick, hung around the house and answered the door for all ZERO of our trick-or-treaters. Nah, Nate kept him company and we went around door to door with the Laura and her kids. We also found the Dickman's along the way and it was just a jolly good time. The kids were so cute and fun this year, I think Halloween is only going to get better from now on out.

Anxiously waiting...

...trick or treat!! We visited Grammy Lou's house.

I can't believe it is now November! Wait, what??