Merry Christmas 2011!!

'Tis the season to be jolly, and the Vescapades family spent plenty of time doing just that! It was so difficult for us to Christmas shop this season because the kids already have everything!! What do you get for the kids who have it all?

My mom and step-dad got Evelyn a bee bee gun. You can tell by the look on her face that she was thrilled:



Dade got a Kindle from my mom, and he's been using it pretty much constantly ever since:



Soren got the T-Rex pillow pet she'd been "wishing for!!!" from my dad and step-mom:



She named him Tigris.

We got Brody a badass sweatshirt:



We spent Christmas with my mom's side of the family at her house in Norfolk. They just built a brand new shed that's bigger than my house, and it did a pretty good job of containing all the Vescapades energy and hijinks.









Christmas Eve was spent with Colby's parents, as usual. Missing from this year's celebration was Jacob, who is off in Afghanistan serving in the Marines. We indulged in all of the best foods holiday gatherings have to offer. We tortured the kids with taking a million photos before we let them open presents. It was, besides Jake's absence, a pretty typical Christmas Eve. I even made kolaches, which haven't made an appearance at a Vesely Christmas is quite awhile.







Dade was, as usual, happy to get candy as a gift. He's really quite easy to please.


My little nephew let me hold him for about 5 seconds. He greatly prefers Uncle Colby.



Colby's grandmother made quilts for all of the kids, but only the girls were willing to take a decent photo:





The day after Christmas was spent with my dad and step-mom in Seward. Can you imagine how full my dad's house will be once my brothers and sisters start having kids?? Plus, my kids may have kids at the same time as my brothers and sisters, so it'll be a really full house. Santa better get ready.



We definitely feel blessed every year as we make the rounds to each family's house for Christmas. We always come home with a van full of toys and goodies and sleepy kids. And occasionally a dog who tries to snuggle up on a car seat with a kid or two.

My New Tattoo

So, that's my new tattoo. It's on the arch of my left foot, and it's pretty small. The symbol is an Om (pronounced aum), which is an important mantra in yoga. The Om symbolizes a unity of ourselves and everything that is. So, it symbolizes our connection to the universe. The Om represents respecting our past, finding joy in the present, accepting what happens in the future, and recognizing the part of us that transcends time.

Why did I put the Om on my foot? In yoga, your feet are your ground, your strength. If I feel like I am struggling in my yoga practice, I have a reminder that I am strong and grounded, that I can meet a challenge or accept my shortcoming. Yoga is about accepting your body for its strengths and weaknesses, challenging yourself in both mind and body, and finding joy not in "things" but in life itself. It's a pretty powerful symbol, and I hope I can live up to it's meaning.

Goodies

Every year I make candies and cookies for our friends and neighbors. Our neighbors across the street also earned themselves a bottle of wine for being so awesome. This year our treat boxes included Rolo Turtles, glazed lemon cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, thin mints, candy coated pretzels, and cranberry oatmeal bars. I even saved some high-quality take out containers that held the goodies perfectly!





Nothing says "Happy Holidays!" like eating lots of homemade junk food. If you gain 5lbs during the holidays it's probably because people like you enough to give you goodies. And for that 5 lbs is a small price to pay.

Runzas

One of my favorite local restaurant chains is Runza. I know. Who would want to eat something with the word "runs" in it?? It sounds unappealing.

Runza actually started here in Lincoln, and we have made a commitment to eat at either local businesses or locally-founded chain restarants. However, going out to eat with a family of six is expensive. So, I decided to try to make runzas at home. It was a huge SUCCESS!! They were, I think, even better than the runza sandwiches at the Runza restaurant. Here's the link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/runza-meat-pies/detail.aspx. I added an extra teaspoon of salt, about a teaspoon of garlic, and some shredded cheddar cheese. Yum!!

Two of the kids loved them and ate more than I did:




Dade ate about half of one, and Soren wouldn't even try it. She would've liked it had she tried it. Oh well.

I'll definitely be making these again.

A Few of My Favorite Things

There's a Christmas Song about a few of one's favorite things. Years of working retail have pretty much spoiled my enjoyment of Christmas songs; you can only hear Little Drummer Boy over the store's intercom so many times before you want to kill yourself. However, in the spirit of the song here are a few of my most recent favorite things:

I found this sign at Gordman's, and it fits our house perfectly:



We've even found our own dogs' hair in our food at restaurants. It's pretty amazing.

My other favorite thing today is the lighting project Colby added to our deck trellis. It was really pretty in the summer, but turning the lights on at night when there's snow everywhere is sooooo cool!



These are a few of my favorite things!

This Week in Silly Soren

Soren had some very interesting things to say recently. She told me that she didn't want to grow up. When I told her that everyone has to grow up, she said, "But I don't want to have children." I told her she doesn't have to. "I don't want to get married, either." That's fine with Mommy, sweetheart. "Oh. Alright."

A few days later, she brought up the subject again. "Mom, I decided I'll have a baby." Okay, that would make mommy very happy because I would be a grandma. "But I'll only have a baby if it's a trained baby." Trained to do what exactly? "Only if it's trained not to poop in its pants." Well Honey, all babies poop their pants. "Then I don't want one." And I don't blame you.

Yesterday morning as we cuddled in the recliner before all the other kids got up, Soren said, "Tarter sauce!!" (Side note: for those of you who don't know, that's the swear word used on Spongebob). What's up, Boobie?? "I forgot to tell you yesterday that I wanted smokies for lunch." That girl does love her smokies.

She also asked me what "the shits" are. I told her diarrhea, and she laughed (but not until after I had already laughed because she asked me about the shits).

She told me I'm not the boss of anyone that works at a restaurant. Fair enough.

I can't wait to hear what she come sup with next.

The Corporate Bread Experiment

I'm not sure why it is, but it seems like being a stay at home mom has made me seek out new and exciting ways to torture myself. I stopped cooking food that comes out of a box including the chicken nuggets and frozen pizzas that were once a family staple. I started making my own laundry soap, greeting cars, and cleaners. I took up yoga. I decided to be a Girl Scout troop leader. Perhaps the worst idea I've had yet is to stop buying "corporate" bread - bread made in a factory somewhere and then sent to the grocery store for sale.

Baking bread, I've found, is extremely time consuming. Maybe it isn't the bread that takes up so much time, but I guess once it's piled on with all the lunch box goodies and snacks I have to make from scratch every week my kitchen becomes a factory of its own. Like any mom, I want what's best for my family. The kids love the fresh foods that come from our kitchen. Brody, yes Brody, told me last night that I am the best cook - even better than those cooks on tv. (Side note: he was probably making up for the huge pile of trouble he'd accumulated earlier in the evening.)

I think sometimes that what's best for my family might be me spending a little more time with them rather than so much time in the kitchen. That said, I'd better get to work. I'm making Runzas for supper. Sigh.

Advent Calendars

While on one of my regular shopping trips to Trader Joe's, I noticed they had Christmas Countdown (aka Advent) calendars for a mere 99 cents. Thinking this would be a great way to prevent the kids from asking me every single day how many more days until Christmas, I snagged four of the least religious looking ones and added them to my mountainous cart of goodies. Yes, people, my grocery bill is sometimes more than my mortgage payment. That's what happens when you don't buy Banquet Meals, Hamburger Helper, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

But I digress...

December 1st arrives, and I bust out the Advent calendars. The kids were so excited that I was going to let them have a chocolate every morning for a month! Hooray! You're the best mom ever! We love you, Mama!





Hold on a minute. No one gets to eat his/her chocolate for the day until everyone, yes EVERYONE, is ready to leave for school. (Cue sighs)

However, the sighs quickly turned into action. From December 1st until now my children have been fabulous at getting ready for the day. I haven't had to fight anyone to get dressed or get on shoes. Everyone eats his or her breakfast. Brody even combs his hair without a peep. All of this thanks to a little piece of chocolate every morning.

Now, I know that Christmas and Advent are for many about celebrating the birth of little baby Jesus. I know that the story says angels sang and wise men brought gifts. I know it's said that the birth of a savior signaled the end of certain eternal damnation for sinners.

However, not even the gift of eternal salvation is better than the gift of three kids getting ready each morning without a fuss. This wise lady is very glad she bought the kids the gift of an Advent calendar so that they all sing like angels when it's time to get dressed, "Okayyy Mommmm!" Forget about Advent celebrating the upcoming birth of a savior. From now until Christmas it's about celebrating those glorious little chocolates and their magic ability to get kids going in the morning.

Advent chocolates in the hands of an agnostic feminist: making eternal damnation a whole lot sweeter one day at a time.

Happy Birthday Reese!

In celebration of my bestie's baby's birthday, she invited Soren and I to meet her and her daughter at Paint Yourself Silly for a night of girly fun. Never ones to say no to a little paint and ice cream, we headed into the heart of downtown Lincoln on a Friday night and began the search for a parking space. Lucky for us we got one only steps from where we needed to be, and so did Sara. The night was already off to a great start.

We all picked out something to paint and chose our 6 paint colors. Of course, my baby picked out a dinosaur. The birthday girl chose a pig. We got right to work painting after we took a few photos.









By the end of our hour, Soren's dino was so covered in paint that it was dripping (as is her usual treatment of her PYS projects).



All that painting had made the four of us quite hungry, so it's a good thing Ivanna Cone is right next door.




After ice cream we played around next door at the book store before deciding it was past our bedtime and time to go home. On our way out we were lucky enough to get a free sleigh ride through downtown. The night was brisk but not too chilly for a ride in a one-horse open sleigh - Hey! Actually, it was a two-horse sleigh, but who cares?

By the end of the ride we were all officially painted silly, full, cold, and happy. What a gift Reese has been to my friend and her husband. Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest angels on earth!

A Little Taste of Jersey

Back in June when we went to visit the Sassafras house in New Jersey, our hostess introduced us to some delicious rolls called Portuguese sweet bread. Since I recently discovred that I can bake yeast breads, I purchased a little booklet from my favorite local book store. It's called Basic Bread Baking, and it's just one in a series of Stoney Country Wisdom Bulletins. Some other booklets in the series? Homebrewing, Home Repair, Backyard Chicken Coop, and Herb Gardens. You get the idea, right?



As I was thumbing through the booklet, I saw a recipe for Portuguese Sweet Bread! I was thrilled and decided to try it out. So, I followed the directions, but my rolls just wouldn't raise. I waited and waited. I tried all the tricks I knew to get dough to rise. Sadly, and defeated, I baked the rolls. They were like little hockey pucks, but they were freakin' delicious! Brody said they were the best rolls ever.


Later as I was on the phone with my step mom, she said, "The barometer's all wacky because a storm is coming in tomorrow. That's why your bread didn't rise well." I had no idea, and I felt greatly redeemed and uplifted (my spirits had risen, so to speak).

So, Vescapades readers, next time you plan to bake bread or rolls be sure to check the barometer.

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

Holiday Song channel set up on Pandora Radio? Check. Christmas presents purchased and (mostly) wrapped? Check. Blustery wind blowing snowflakes around the sky? Not so much. But, hey, you can't have it all.

Per annual tradition, Colby put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is watching the kids decorate the tree. Each year they get better at it; Soren gets tall enough to put ornaments just a little bit higher. We downsized our tree last year in exchange for a smaller, pre-lit model. As I pulled each ornament out of the tote and unwrapped it, memories flooded back. Oh, look! It's the Our First Christmas Together 1998 ornament. The kids all have My First Christmas ornaments, and in a family like mine those can take up a lot of room on a little tree.



We have lots of fishing ornaments for Dade:



There are lots of Star Wars ornaments for Brody and a Schoolhouse Rock "I'm Just a Bill" ornament for me:



Here's Colby's new gnome:



And our little snow people family:



And, of course, the little wooden hearts purchased in memory of the little snowflake that never made it to become a snow-Vesely (but we still think of you every Christmas):



It's magical what a Christmas tree can do to make your spirits soar and to make the tears flow. Here's to kicking off the holiday season with hearts full of joy, compassion, and gratitude for all of our blessings. May we not only be mindful of what we have but also of what we've lost and what is still to come. Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving at the Beach

No, that's not a misprint. We spent this Thanksgiving at my aunt's house, and she just happens to live on a man-made lake near Omaha (her neighborhood is called Hawaiian Acres - really). Despite the fact that we are well into November, the weather was a fabulous 65 degrees or more. Seriously, what more can one be thankful for than beautiful weather and waterfront property?

For the occasion, I prepared about a million kolaches: apricot, cherry, cheesecake, and pecan. They went over very well, especially with Dade (aka Bottomless Pit). Colby even said, "This is how a kolache should taste. Is this my grandma's recipe?" Yes, Dear, it was. My sisters even snagged some to take home for later. I told them I'd give them baking lessons soon!

Back to the beach....

Brody and Evie put their feet in the water:



We took a family photo on the beach:



Colby and I pretended to honeymoon in Hawaii:



I took some funny photos with my brother and sisters:





And I made sure to take some photos of the kids:






If a beach Thanksgiving in Nebraska doesn't sound strange enough, how about a Thanksgiving celebration with a pinata? I know the Pilgrims would be proud.





No cars/kids/scrotums were harmed during this event. That's also something for which we were thankful.