boys' room

we have been working on redecorating the boys' room and it is almost complete.  horacio repainted the walls and all the trim - it looks fabulous.  we used THE gray color that karen told me about that she originally heard about from her friend stephanie.  it is just the best gray color - ever.  horacio agreed.  last week, the bunk bed arrived and so did one of the mattresses, most of the bedding, the rug, dresser, drapes, lamp and the new closet doors.  max's mattress and duvet set will be arriving soon and then, we can call it "done" and snap a few pics.  finn has had a tough time staying put in his big boy bed...  he never climbed out of his crib so it was simple - you just put him in it and he didn't get out.  now, he is out of bed 15 times before he goes to sleep at night and every morning, we have a visitor in our bed anytime after 5:30am.. good times.

before too much more time goes by, i better try to catch up on some blogging.  last friday we left for a weekend trip to tahoe.  the drive up was nothing short of m i s e r a b l e....because of traffic.  just awful.  we planned on leaving earlier but it just didn't happen.  we got to our hotel much too late late, the room was beyond hot, brent thought i brought twice the amount of stuff necessary and we (at least i) slept terrible.  the next morning at 8am brent wondered if i was getting up and also made sure to inform me that when he and max go up to tahoe to ski, he has it "down" when it comes to packing.  got it.  we got going and arrived at squaw resort, had breakfast, rented skis and boots for the boys + poles for max.  finn tried skiing with brent a couple of times while max was warming up at the kids area.  when finn and i headed back to the hotel for lunch and naps, brent and max went to high camp to ski.  after a (much too short) nap, finn tried skiing with brent again and had a blast.  we had an early dinner in tahoe city at the cutest restaurant (much too fancy for kids) right on the lake for an amazing, yet rushed dinner.  we managed to drink a couple of glasses of wine and keep the boys from destroying the restaurant by feeding them the part of the fancy dinner, bread and crackers and water and juice - anything to keep them relatively calm.  we were all exhausted.  we slept slightly better the second night although finn fell off the bed in the middle of the night.  we got going earlier the following morning and finn and i rode the tram up to high camp with brent and max and everyone else who were visiting squaw for the weekend.  the weather was gorgeous.  cold but sunny.  finn and i visited the ice skating rink but he didn't want to try skating and instead played in the snow.  we all had lunch together at the restaurant with beautiful views of the valley.  when finn and i rode the tram down, we were almost alone.  finn skied some more.  since he hadn't had a nap and was behind on sleep overall, it ended in a complete melt down.  it was time to hit the road.  we were packed and ready.  finn fell asleep less than 20 minutes into the ride back home which thankfully took just slightly more than 3 hours.  that made up for the trip up.  almost.  being cold and the whole culture of skiing just isn't my thing.  honestly.  but, the boys had so much fun - it was worth it.  maybe i will go back.  in about a year!

it is sunday morning and finn (and i) slept in until after 8!  that is pretty much unheard of in our house so i very much appreciated it this morning.  brent and max called and were on their way to the slopes for their second day of skiing.  new snow was coming down.  finn and i had a great day yesterday. we took it easy in the morning, i medicated myself and we went to purple onion for coffee and hot chocolate and finn charmed everyone who would look at him, as usual.  after that, we played at bachman park.  back home, a quick lunch followed by 2 1/2 hour nap by finn while i watched a movie that brent would never, ever watch.  at 4:30 finn got a much-needed haircut by dara and then we went to mondo burrito for dinner.  since finn pretty much just played around, we took his dinner to go and he finished it at home.  good thing because when it was time to eat the sugar coated and messy treat (the churro), he ate that while taking a bath and my kitchen stayed relatively clean.  we talked to brent and max who were tired after a full day of skiing.  when finn was down for the night i logged onto the restoration hardware website and placed my order!  my order of bunk beds and bedding and much more for the boys' bedroom.  i simply can't wait for their room to be repainted and redecorated!  well, it is after 9 now.  we have had breakfast and although it isn't nice outside by any means, we need to get going and come up with something to do today.

brent and max are on their way to tahoe, as we speak.  finn and i were also going, but when i woke up this morning, i realized that you can't go to tahoe when you feel as bad as i feel.  i haven't felt good for almost a month now, off and on.  i'm pretty sick of being sick.  congestion, cold, sore throat, cough and as of today i have nearly lost my voice.  awesome.  so, i saw brent and max off, went to zanotto's for soup, ice-cream, us weekly magazine - items all very important when you don't feel well.  i picked up finn, went for a bike ride with him on his new glider.  he was gliding alright.  fast.  and i ran.  to keep up.  his balance is amazing.  when he turned into our drive way after a 30-40 minute outing, he said; "that was fun, mom"!  how cute is he?!  i got finn to eat almost all his dinner since i promised ice-cream for dessert.  he was eating his ice-cream (and i was enjoying mine i might add), looked up at me and said "this is yummy, mom".  i agreed.  thereafter...bath time, play time, snuggle time, brush teeth time and bed time.  some laying awake singing time too but within 30 minutes or so - quiet time.  my little guy.  just the two of us this weekend.  let's see if i can somehow feel better and come up with something fun to do with my finn.

new year's eve tomorrow!  tree ornaments are all put away, the christmas tree is in the driveway and the exterior lights have been removed from the roof and boxed up.  we are ready for the new year!

christmas day finally came and went.  it has been a month long build-up of excitement for the boys with the daily searches for clyde, our elf who visits with us all month and who finds a new place to land every morning after being at the north pole over night.  max and finn have the best time trying to find clyde every morning and see what he left them in the advent calendar!  max and i attended mass yesterday and then brent went at midnight.

the boys are now in bed (although not yet asleep) and brent and i are just hanging out.  they had a great christmas.  max woke up early...6:15am...and confirmed that santa had been to our house!  we made him wait for a while in bed with us to see if finn would wake up on his own but we had to wake him up.  the boys were overjoyed with all the presents from family and loved their santa gifts - new bikes!!  max's bike is a 20" specialized bike in blue and white colors and finn's is a glider, also from specialized in the color red.  they were so happy.  it rained again today so we didn't have a chance to really try the bikes out but for a few minutes.  maybe tomorrow.

thank you santa for visiting our house and for the great presents!  thank you to our family for all the gifts.  love to all and merry christmas!

stockings are ready!

cookies and milk for santa and an apple for rudolph!

...it was the night before christmas...

santa gifts!!

christmas is almost here.  prepared?  not yet, but i am getting there.  the boys are so excited about christmas.  today ms. nicki (teacher at central nursery school) told me that finn was singing "jingle bells" in the lunch room while all the kids were eating lunch.  so cute!  the other night while he and max were laying in bed at night, he would call out "happy holidays" periodically.  he is such a nut!  i am looking forward to seeing the boys' faces on christmas morning after santa has paid a visit!  i simply can't wait!