111216

Secret Santa Day 4: Candy-covered "Christmas tree" decoration. There were some wide-open eyes when that one was unwrapped!

Ceana was my accomplice again today, trying to get her some quiet work time. Unfortunately her time has been "squeezed" lately and she's quite a bit behind. Hopefully having fewer distractions was a help. She did get a major science test and a calculus (all are 2-day assignments each) lesson done, along with starting some English. I have a feeling I'm going to be the "bad guy" here soon when she wants to attend the next dance. I really hope she's able to get caught up before the New Year's Eve activity ...

Rory will have to report some of the details on her infusion experience. Apparently one of the medications (POISONS) caused some side-effects that were a bit unsettling for awhile. Good thing everyone there is so attentive and knowledgeable. The Dr. had ordered a 20% cut in the chemo dosage to try to reduce some of the severe effects felt this past cycle. I have been told that reduction does not reduce the effectiveness of the treatment, although it makes me wonder why it was so high then in the first place? The explanation seems to be they try to see what the body can handle, and adjust from cycle to cycle.

The evening was spent trying very hard to wear Rory out as thoroughly as possible. I talked her into attending the Live Nativity at the stake center, knowing it would require some walking around. After letting all 9 of the kids go (we had visitors) Rory and I started navigating the displays. Before we got to Isaiah I think she had talked to 4 people. Another family at Samuel the Lamanite. Long discussion at the Mary & Joseph reenactment. It went on this way THE WHOLE TIME. I think Rory loved every minute of it though, being able to chat with people and realize she was enjoying the cold air and just being part of the whole event. I literally (no kidding) had to drag her out of the church, away from conversations, because I could see she was worn out. Good times.

On the way home she asked if we could stop by the local "Christmas Castle" since we had visitors. I suggested a "drive through" but she had other ideas. The kids' mom got back from work at just that moment, so we all headed over to the local amazing display. Our neighbor spends weeks each winter transforming the front of his home and yard into display after display of electrical and mechanized Christmas decorations. There are nutcrackers (with guard shacks), huge garlands, trains, Disney characters, reindeer stalls, and TONS of lights. Tonight he was greeting visitors, as he usually does, with free candy canes. He also has fun trying to help guests guess which pieces are new each year. Tonight there was another visitor just down the street, a jolly older gentleman in a warm-looking red suit who was also greeting folks and handing out treats. Fun time of year.

Again, pictures for the evening will be forthcoming when Rory has a bit of energy. Maybe I'll hack her computer over the weekend if she's still down ...

After weeks of having her sleep rhythms disrupted, Rory went to bed about 9:30 and I suspect she might have actually gone to sleep. We're really hoping she can make it through the next couple of days with minimal discomfort (about the time the "real meds" are expected to last) and she has scheduled infusions of fluids and meds on both Monday and Wednesday next week. Glad my parents and brother-in-law are scheduled for visits, as we'll be needing their cooking, driving, and teaching skills for sure.

Having some fun while hanging in there ...

111215

Secret Santa Day 3: Wooden ornaments. How did he/she/they know that we didn't get very many of our ornaments out this year?

Ceana drove Rory to her Dr. appointment today, but apparently had a near-miss while out driving. Glad they are both OK, and I hope there were some lessons learned that will keep her safer in the future. While Rory was at her appointments, Ceana came to the office to get some homework done. The hope is that a quieter atmosphere will help her concentrate. Alas (or hurray!), Rory's appointments didn't last very long.

Good news though, her "counts" were marginal but adequate to go ahead with chemo tomorrow. The Dr. offered to wait a week, but Rory was pretty insistent on going ahead. We have lots of extra help in town this next week, so if she has to be sick then this coming week is the time for it! Better than being super-sick next weekend, over Christmas.

We got a surprise but much-appreciated dinner delivered tonight. Still trying to work out the bugs on using the calendar, but if there are "oops" moments it's nice to have too much help than not enough! We also had some elves come and work on our previously very pathetic looking front yard. Again, THANKS!

The night was capped off with Pack Meeting. After some awards the Cubmaster handed out some word games. The first was a list of words all translated as "Peace" but in different languages, and a separate list of the languages. The goal was to correctly match up as many words with their language as possible. Caiden and I got most of them, and it was interesting to find how many we guessed correctly based on their sound when read aloud. The second game was a word search of those same words. The next activity was to color placemats for the local "Meals On Wheels" delivery person, so all the scouts colored a winter scene on a large piece of paper. They all seemed to have great fun. The final activity / treat was decorating sugar cookies with various colors of frosting (thanks, Kaeli!), sprinkles, candies, and more. There were some rather "unique" creations! I copied pictures to Rory's computer so I'm guessing she will post some when she can.

By the time I got home Rory had the shopping list ready ... the list for everything to be cooked next week. It was too late to take anyone with me, so I got some "man shopping" done and in record time. :+)

The day went by way too fast; looking forward to a weekend. Oh wait ...

111214

Today I took Kaeli to her ortho appointment. We got a bit of a late start, so the "Driving Nazi" had a few choice comments during our time on the road. Unfortunately we got there a few minutes late so she didn't get any award tokens from their office. She did get a surprise at the end though: her next appointment will include getting a digital scan of all her teeth. They have started using a program to finish off the teeth straightening which includes sending a scan to a company in Texas, where they custom-bend the wires and fittings by robot and mail them up to the orthodontist. Apparently it cuts 40% of the time off of the treatment and typically gives better results.

Next we ran a few errands, dropping off gifts and picking up various things. Another stop at the department store for a few last gift items. One item was to replace the pitiful version I had "man purchased," and instead was to be replaced by someone with a "woman's eye" ... that would be Kaeli.

She did homework from the relative quiet (read: BORING) of my office, and did actually get a couple of unit tests completed. She had packed a nice lunch, most of which we brought back home since there were free leftovers in the kitchen. Sounds like I'll have Ceana with me the next two days, since she'll be driving Rory to her appointments. We had hoped she (Rory) would be feeling well enough by this point in the chemo cycle to drive herself, but she's still not confident in her energy levels to make the drive alone. Should work out fine for this week.

The big kids took themselves to the school music concerts while we fought to keep the little ones in bed. Kelsianne for one absolutely refuses to go to bed without Kaeli tucking her in. Anyway we thought it would be a good time to wrap a few presents since Rory had a bit of energy. So of course as soon as we've got everything all spread out on our bedroom floor, in walks Kylan. Usually turning off all the lights downstairs is a good "buffer" since he's afraid of the dark, but he sauntered in, ninja quiet, as if that were his own bedroom. Apparently they got naps today, which is why they aren't sleeping.

Rapid-fire food news:

Rory was feeling good enough that she decided to cook up pancakes for dinner. When I got home from work she was sitting on the floor; not sick, just wiped out and resting.

Secret Santa Day #2 was a tin full of oranges. Those are always a big hit at our house.

Got a quick visit from the RS President to share some ideas with Rory about making "Green Smoothies." We're also borrowing an industrial-sized blender from someone in the ward for awhile. Rory said, "We might end up investing in one of those eventually."

Another visitor from the ward stopped by tonight. He said he had heard a rumor that Rory liked cinnamon rolls, and he had a large tub of mini rolls for her. Actually, it was a tub of icing with some bits of cinnamon roll, but that's just how she likes them. He claimed "a little birdie" had given away her secret. Had a nice visit for awhile - thanks Brother G!

It was strange to hear Rory say that she really hopes her cell counts are good at tomorrow's lab tests so she can have her treatment on Friday. She WANTS to have chemo??? The schedule she's on now puts Christmas Day and upcoming baptism and birthdays on her "off" weekends, but if we end up skipping a week that could really mess up that little schedule. We'll know more tomorrow.

Hanging in there ...

111213

OK so this post is a day late, but I didn't intend to add anything for yesterday. Things seemed pretty quiet; assistant learning coach came over to help with little people school (for which Rory was VERY grateful), Rory continued struggles with soreness, and things were slow but normal-ish.

One Rory update though ... she did call the Dr. office and got some information about her mouth sores. Now that she has them, she'll probably get to keep them for the duration of the chemo. She's been running most of her food through the blender lately so she doesn't have to chew, and to make swallowing less painful. Hopefully we can slow down her weight loss, even though my family just started a new Biggest Loser contest. Anyway the Dr. had some good ideas of things to try, and a prescription mouth rinse if necessary. We'll have to see how things go next week.

The real reason I'm adding a post for yesterday is because of something that happened this morning. Rory is very security-conscious so I never bother trying to come in through the front door when I get home from work. When I go to the gym in the morning, though, I do use the front door. This morning I found two bags of presents outside on the porch. The accompanying card said, "Merry Christmas: We hope this season is full of happiness and joy - please find in these bags a present for each of the 12 days of Christmas. Please open the present with the correct number each day until Christmas Eve. Wishing only good things - with love - your Secret Santa." When I first read the card I thought the handwriting looked a lot like my sister's ... the one who is in ENGLAND. So if the Secret Santa is someone who reads this blog, rest assured that we have NO idea who you are. So although we opened two of the gifts on the 14th, the one for the 13th was a potted "Little Christmas Tree" plant in fancy wrapping paper.

111210

'Tis the season for non-stop, non-stopping.

This morning was my company's traditional family movie day. They open the theater before the public open time, allowing CH2MHill employees and their families to have the theater to ourselves. The company also springs for a drink and popcorn for everyone who goes. This year I took 5 of the kids (Ceana decided to stay home) to see "Arthur Christmas." It was a fun show; probably one I'll have to watch again to catch more of the jokes, understand more of the British accents, and I'd just enjoy it again. Probably something to add to the Netflix queue. :+)

I had every intention of working from home this afternoon, but as usual, other, more pressing things conspired against me.

We did get a short visit by the Relief Society President bearing leftovers from last night's ward party. Someone was thinking ahead and used containers that could go straight into the freezer. Also got a visit from one of our nurse friends who spent some time with all the kids as well as Rory. We got her iPhone set up to view and edit our public calendar which led her to exclaim, "I'm so excited!" Most normal people might not have that reaction to gaining access to a calendar whose sole purpose is to communicate service needs ... thank you J!

A long-time family friend brought a huge pan of her famous, authentic Spanish lasagna (at least we think it's authentic ... sure doesn't taste like anything from a box!). Too bad Ceana had already left for the dance, because her best friend from all the way back in Kindergarten was helping deliver the food. Fun to watch the kids grow up; they change so much, but still retain some of what I remember from their "little kid" stage.

The evening was capped off with me having a date! Ceana has been involved in the planning and decorations for tonight's Winter Ball, and Rory agreed to let me take her over to the dance floor a bit early to be able to see the decorations and take some pictures:

They had set up a movie projector where "It's A Wonderful Life" will be playing (without sound), had an old-time popcorn machine, were offering to take couples photos, and more. Basically, lots of things for the kids to do who didn't want to dance, but everything was right there in the gym so they could stay together. Some of the leaders came in "theme costumes" from the 30's and 40's, including one brother in a sailor uniform. The kids are going to have a blast!

Rory decided we should test out the photo spot and asked someone to take our picture. She got uber-brave and had photos taken without her head scarf, but she did mention she wanted to think things over before publishing those. 

On the way home we picked up the mail and found a stack of letters from my sister who is in England. The kids will have a blast opening up cards from Aunt C. on Christmas morning. The ORCA Parent Association board members also sent a thoughtful letter and some gift certificates to kid-friendly food places like Papa Murphy's, Subway and Roth's. Every day we are overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of people on our behalf.

While that 1-hour outing was good for Rory on many levels, she was really worn out by the time we got home. Hope maybe she sleeps better tonight because of it!

Still hanging in there ...

Baxter Family Christmas Eve

The week of Christmas was filled with lots of cooking and baking, hoping to give us just lots of yummy leftovers to enjoy for the weekend. We had just a couple of things left to work on Christmas Eve day - deviled eggs and cinnamon rolls. Both ended up being big meal mishaps, with a mostly happy ending.

The 1st mishap was with the eggs. I had boiled 2 dozen eggs several days ahead, so they would just be ready to work with. I had put them in the outside freezer, knowing I would need all the extra room in both fridges. I sent Ceana out to get the eggs, only to discover that they were all frozen solid, rock hard. Little people had twiddled with the dial again. I tried to open a couple, only to find them completely encased in ice. We tried to let them sit and thaw, but most ended up hard and rubbery. I did end up salvaging about 8 out of the 24. I was just sick that they had gone to waste, and that we didnt have any time to make more before our dinner guests arrived. Will just be on the plan for New Year's Eve instead, and I will remember to NOT put them in the outside freezer. It does make me a little worried about the other 5 dozen eggs out there, though, I am hoping that by turning the fridge temp back down, they will be ok...guess we will see...

The 2nd mishap was with the cinnamon rolls. I had Kaeli make the yummy bread dough in the morning, so it would be ready to work with. We found out though, that our favorite bread dough is not sturdy or stiff enough for cinnamon rolls. The dough just oozed all over the countertop...I tried to cut some rolls, and got them into 1 pan. The rest of that dough got turned into cinnamon bread and baked in loaves. The other batch of dough got turned into 2 monster cinnamon braids. This mishap ended up having a happy ending, and Kaeli and I had fun "frosting" them with colored icing. Most of the treats we made were given away, and the rest is going into the freezer for another time. This is a pict Kaeli took of the one batch of cinnamon rolls. It is hard to tell from this pict, but they turned out monster huge.
We have started many new traditions for our own little family. One of them started many long years ago - opening 1 present on Christmas Eve which was always a new pair of PJ's. Our tradition has evolved in not only the new PJ's, but a treasure hunt along with it. The kids each take turns hiding a pair of PJ's and then they lead out with "hot or cold" as the other person looks through the house to find them. It is a riot watching the kids follow each other in a long line as you hear lots of giggles and "HOT! or COLD!" The kids get more creative every year, and the big kids have learned to be very sneaky. The primo spot this year was Preston finding his PJ's in the outside freezer -courtesy of Kaeli, who was very pleased with herself. The longest searching went on when Ceana was hunting out her PJ's - she found the "hot" spot, but Caiden had hidden them a little too well - under the huge stack of quilts and blankets in the upstairs linen closet. He had a good laugh at his job well done.

Normally, the kids would be taken on a secret shopping trip to pick out PJ's for each other. This year, since we knew we were going to be at special places during vacation, the PJ shopping went on at some of the fun places we visited. Kels and Ky got to pick out their PJ's at Sea World, and they were both VERY excited to have Shamu all over them. It was extra fun since they are both so little, that even though they had both picked out what they wanted, they had completely forgotten about them, so it was a surprise all over again. I am extra happy that is where we had picked them out since Sea World has been one of the really big things they both remember from vacation.
I was getting a bit worried that we were down to 2 days of outings on vacation and still hadnt found anything in the right sizes for the boys. I got the chance to do some hunting when we were at California Adventure, and found the perfect store. They didnt have matching PJ sets in the boys' sizes, but they did have T-shirts and sweat pants. I was able to pick out fun Mickey shirts for both of them. The pants I chose (just from guessing) are a bit big for them right now, but at least that assures me that they wont grow out of them anytime soon. They were both very happy with what I had chosen, and that is what really mattered most.
The girls got to pick out their PJ's at San Diego Zoo. Again, it was tricky to find something in the right sizes, and I was thankful that they had fun stuff in women's sizes for the girls. They are made of soft, fuzzy flannel, and should work well for both of them. I had a hard time getting their pict since the dogs both insisted on being in the pict too.
I was so happy to get one good pict of all the kids in their PJ's. Trying to get picts of the 6 of them usually results in someone not looking or making faces or such. This is just a fun one of everyone.

Baxter Family Christmas I

Christmas AM was quiet and simple. Since we had our big "to-do" with vacation last month, Christmas was stockings with little surprises, books, and a few extras provided by extended family.
The kids decided that 630am was as long as they were going to wait, and that is when we got pounced on. The kids did a great job taking turns with presents and being excited and thankful to each other for gifts received.
Since little sleep was had during the night, just about everyone crashed for morning naps. After naps, we had a yummy brunch of our traditional dessert waffles.
The afternoon was filled with a surprise visit from Grandma and Papa, more extra fun gifts, the kids performing their recital pieces, group singing around the piano, books, games, and of course yummy food.
The evening was dinner and crazy games and fun at Kari's. The cousins dont get to see each other very often, so it was a blast to see them running around all over in a "marshmallow war" and trying to pelt each other with marshmallows shot through homemade blowguns. The dinner and all the desserts were amazing, and the crazy games gave us the perfect ideas for Ceana's upcoming birthday party. All in all, I think a fun time was had by everyone.
The boys especially enjoyed all the little goodies in their stockings. The Hot Wheels cars were an extra plus for all of them.
Kaeli and Kels reading her new Tinkerbell "Look & Find" book. Kaeli has already finished one thick book from her aunt, and is tearing through the others. Good to know they are so good she isnt putting them down until they are finished.
The big hits of the day were all of the fun books the kids received. It was fun to see them so happy with such simple gifts. All of the kids LOVE books, and to read, so it really was the perfect gift. Ceana is smiling at her new addition to the Eragon series - we were missing the middle one - it will be fun for us to re-read them all together. Here is Ky opening his first favorite book. I was watching him closely as he specifically opened this gift, hoping for a happy boy.

Baxter Family Christmas II

I was ecstatic at the reaction Ky had to his new book. I was so glad that I was able to find it for him. A couple of months ago, his primary teacher (who is also his preschool teacher) gave each of the kids a little stuffed, yellow duckling, when she knew she wasnt going to be their teacher anymore. She read this book and sang with the kids every week. When Ky got his little duckling he was so excited, and it has resided on his bed (only his extra special things are there) ever since. I realized then that it was extra special to him, and when I found out about the book, I knew it would be the perfect thing for Christmas - and I was happy to be right.
Here is my happy boy with his book. He was so excited that we just had to take it to church with us. His primary teacher was there this week with her husband since both were speaking in our ward. When he found out she was there, he grabbed his book and ran out to see her in the foyer. It was fun to watch him show off his new book and for them to share that moment together. She has been so special to Ky and we are so blessed that even though they have moved that she will still be his preschool teacher. Ky has done so well with her, it is wonderful to me that he has made such a special bond with her at church and for school.

A big hit for Ky this year was a musical book from my grandmother. It had disney characters on it, and plays tons of Christmas songs. Ky sang and danced to that thing like there was no tomorrow, it was pretty funny. It was fun to see him esp excited about things this year - we got some great reactions and it was great to see him enjoy everything so much.

Photo courtesy of Kaeli :)

I got a couple of extra fun surprises this year. Preston bought me a photography vest - a coolio thing with tons of pockets so I can keep all my "extras" right on me, and not have to always worry about holding onto or setting down a camera bag. Kaeli surprised me with this nativity set. It is a Willow Tree set, and so beautiful. We usually get a new one to add each year, but didnt have the $ to splurge this year. It was such a thoughtful gift from Kaeli, and I think I may be finding a permanent place for it with some others in the dining room.

Baxter Family Christmas III

Both Preston & I grew up eating egg dishes on Christmas morning. When we had kiddos, we decided that we needed our own special traditions - one of which has been eating dessert waffles for breakfast. Usually we also add scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, etc. But this year we just kept it simple - waffles and fresh fruit. All of us have our own special way of making and eating our waffles, any way its done, it is always delicious.

Caiden, along with most of the family, loves to top his with the M&M's from his stocking
Ceana has a couple of faves. She is also the one who perfected the open-faced, eat it like toast, technique. It esp works when the waffles are loaded with extra yummies.
Kaeli, always the drama queen, had to show me her "see food" - her specialty is just vanilla ice cream with choc syrup - sweet and simple

Here is Colton demonstrating the open-face eating technique

Here is Caiden on his 2nd go of things, loaded with all the extras he didnt have the first time. I just loved Colton's smile, it shows how much the kids look forward to this special treat!

Baxter Family Christmas IV

Kels wanted to show me her M&M's
Ky was really having a hard time with his waffle after he loaded it with all the good stuff. Ceana remembered a trick her Aunt H uses for her little boys - she said a pizza cutter is perfect to cut everything! She was right. I have this bit of info tucked away for future use...

Ky decided he only wanted his Christmas M&M's on his ice cream, everyone has their faves

After we were all cleaned up after brunch, we found Kels in the dining room. Little miss had found a dish towel and put it over her head. This seems to be her new favorite pose along with the words "I am so too cute!"

Ky was SO excited when he opened his present from Grandma and Papa - his very own Mickey Mouse! He has talked non-stop about our trip to CA last month, and I am thrilled that all the extra fun things like a DVD of a Shamu show from Sea World and a stuffed Mickey bring the memories back for all of us to share! It has been esp fun to see and hear Ky's reactions (Mom! Shamu is SOOO great! or Mom, I saw Mickey at Disneyland!) Hearing him still be so excited really makes me so happy that we took the kids last month. It really was special for all of us.

Baxter Family Christmas V

Caiden received an extra fun present from a magic shop grandpa found when we were at Universal Studios. It was a big hit!
This is the fun reaction Ceana made when she opened her gift and remembered what she had picked out with grandma at The Sock Shop at Universal Studios. It was a pair of wild zebra striped, knee high socks with neon peace signs - I am sure she will be posting more picts on her blog too.

Colton loved his Pluto face race car!

Kaeli was so excited about this shirt. She walked by it and looked at it lots when we were at Sea World, but had chosen to purchase something else. She didnt know that Grandma was planning on a special surprise!

Of course everyone knows that kels is our Tink-bell girl, so the new mini Tinkerbell doll was the perfect gift (as you can see from the hugs it got before she even got her new doll out of the pkg)

HO, HO, HO!

I know, I know - I can hear you saying "Wait! It is isnt even Thanksgiving yet!"

I am just so excited about a new project that will be coming up that I had to share!

About a week ago Preston's mom had made the suggestion to offer Santa portrait sittings to friends, family and community as a way to get myself "out there" and spread the word about my photography. My thought was - "yeah, and too bad dad isnt here to help out, no he lives in UT"
My brain has been trying to figure out a good way to be able to do it, who to ask to be santa - today those thoughts were made into reality!
A friend from 1st ward was at the ACES program tonight (another post coming with picts about that) and we got talking about her dad. He LOVES to play Santa and was sad he wouldnt get the chance to do it often this year. She knew he would love to be "my" Santa for the portrait sittings and even graciously offered her own house for the sittings!

I am SOOO excited. I will be putting flyer and price sheet together as well as coordinating a schedule for sittings in the next couple of days. I would like to offer an actual 90 minute shoot (for more personal setting/lots picts) but also offer short sittings too. Price suggestions have been 30min for $20-$25, 60min for $35, 90 min for $50. I am not sure I am comfy with these as my skills are still in beginning stages...
I would give the CD of picts to families and also have the option of having picts tweaked and "pro" printed for families for extra $.
I dont have the option right now for instant, high quality printing, and I am wondering if that will keep people away? Will people be ok with getting a disk of their own picts and then having the option to do whatever they want to them?
The one thing that scares me about giving a CD at the shoot is not having the time to look at them to tweak them or do touch-ups. Would it be ok to offer a "sneak peek" like they do at Penny's or other places and then only burn the picts the client wants? That would require prob a minimum of an extra 15min/shoot...
My goal in this is to have it be a personal sitting, more relaxed, more time to play, more time for little kiddos to have a fun experience and to capture their "shine" - people can go to the mall for the $5/5 minute/wait in line forever thing....thoughts?

In the past we have tried hard to get away from the whole "Santa/commercialism" stuff for our family. We are not even doing santa presents this year. But I know on the whole that the community really loves it and it is something special for families (like us again this year) who have a little person who will be celebrating a "1st" Christmas.

I would love to get your feedback, thoughts, ideas - what would you be interested in, how much would be reasonable for you? I will prob be trying to put a flyer together by Sunday to go out to wards and community stuff in the next week. I would love for you to post comments here or send me an email directly.

I really am excited about this project. Not for the $, but for the chance to see little people happy, to serve families by sharing this gift, to meet new people, to give K's dad a chance to also serve in a way that makes him so happy too. I think it could be such a wonderful opportunity to share a gift by giving a gift. Really that is what Christmas is about - sharing and giving gifts to others. I love that photography allows me to do that in so many ways.

I will look forward to hearing from you and getting all of your ideas. Wish me luck!