November 19th-25th

Week of November 19-25, 2007: Thanksgiving & Corrine's Birthday
Written by Annaliese

Monday, November 19th- Just recently Corrine has been allowed to have gum because she knows that she can't swallow it and that she has to spit it out when she's done. We had JUST had a conversation the day before about making sure to spit it out when she's tired because it could fall out of her mouth when she's asleep and get stuck in her hair- and then we would have to cut her hair. She was horrified by the thought.

So what happens a day later- you guessed it, she fell asleep in the car with a piece of gum in her mouth. I didn't realize she still had it when I put her in her bed for a nap- so later that afternoon she woke up and came to me in tears saying that she had gum stuck in her hair! We worked at it and salvaged as much of the hair as possible, but still had to cut off about an inch in one spot. She was devastated. Needless to say, she has been EXTRA careful about spitting out her gum! :)

Corrine in some of her many "dress-up" outfits!

Tuesday, November 20th- Chris had an EARLY dentist appointment that morning for several things- the dentist thought it would take several hours to do all they needed to do, and since novicaine makes Chris tired, he had arranged to work from home, so he wouldn't be driving while tired. So he spent the day working from home and then did some work on our little run around truck. The heater core (whatever that is) broke and was leaking fluid into the cab- luckily we have good friends who are willing to help him with the labor part of it, so that the repairs we've done on this truck have been for very cheap or free. And he has fun working on it.

Wednesday, November 21st- I ran to the store after work to get a few last minute things for Corrine's birthday cake. She asked for a "rocket" cake from Little Einstiens (a show on Disney Channel)- it required me to make RED frosting, which was a feat in and of itself. That evening I made the frostings and the cakes for the next day so they would be ready for cutting and decorating. We were all up late (including our night owl Corrine) so shortly after midnight she came in and said "Mom! I'm not two anymore! I'm three!" What a cutie. It certainly made me reflect on what I was doing at that time 3 years ago- and I had just gone into labor! Ahhh- memories!

Thursday, November 22nd- Happy Thanksgiving and Happy 3rd Birthday to our cute little girl! I got up early to try and get a jump start on everything for our Thanksgiving dinner and birthday party. I cut out the cake into the shape of rocket and set it aside to frost later and got the frosting out so it could soften. I then started on some rolls. Chris, the kids and the dogs got up shortly after I did. Unfortunately Ebony (our big black lab) found the cake and ate half of it! Baking another cake was definitely NOT in my plans for the day! So we got another cake baking and then into the freezer while I finished my rolls- it was my first time making homemade rolls on my own. We had several mishaps throughout the day (like having to make a second batch of rolls, and burning the first go-round of marshmallows on the yams), but eventually got everything done, got the kids bathed and dressed and made it to Thanksgiving dinner! During the day while I was cooking Chris worked on the lights outside and got the first wave of them up.

The Little Einsteins "Rocket" cake!

Corrine was so excited about the whole day that she crashed just before we left for dinner!

We had dinner at Chris' parents house. Carmen (Chris' oldest sister), her husband, Steve, and their kids Andrew & Katie all joined us that evening as both of the kids were home for the holiday. It was fun to see them, even if it was only for a little while. After everyone had eaten we sang happy birthday and opened birthday presents! Corrine LOVES opening presents! And of course she got lots of fun stuff. After cake & pie we all relaxed and just enjoyed hanging out together. It was a nice evening. And it was especially fun to come home and see Christmas lights on our house.

Corrine getting ready to blow out the candles

Opening presents

Showing off one of her presents- her own umbrella!
It will be much used here in Washington!

Friday, November 23rd- We all went back to work and then that afternoon/evening we finished putting up the rest of the Christmas lights. It's always a fun project! We went back up to Mom & Dad Priamos' for leftovers and after dinner we OD'd on Hallmark Christmas movies. It was a nice relaxing evening as well.

Our (BIG) cat Thomas who loves small boxes and sitting on the washer or dryer- he's in heaven here!

November 12th-18th

Week of November 12-18, 2007
Written by Annaliese

Monday, November 12th- Chris had to work that day, but the kids and I had the day off, so we drove up to Maple Valley Sunday night to enjoy the day with my family. We enjoyed sleeping in and having a nice relaxing day! McKay during the night had set up the Christmas tree- he was so excited to get started! We had fun helping him get everything set up and Corrine especially loved it. She also figured since it was a "vacation day" she would stay in her pj's all day. Oh well. :)

McKay & Corrine take a break to read books :)

That night the kids & I went to the church with mom & dad to help mom set up for her seminary lesson- she was teaching about the first passover the children of Israel had before they left Egypt- so she had the room set up for a modern day passover and talked about the symbolism that it has. Sounds like it went well! I know my mom is a great teacher- those kids have no idea how lucky they are! After we got home we stayed up and watched "Elf" with Tanner & McKay until we finally all crashed.

Tuesday, November 13th- We left early (early for us anyway) to head back to Aberdeen. Traffic was good and the kids slept the whole way which made it an easy drive. I'm so grateful my family is close enough to just go for a quick visit! Chris was already at work when we got home- so we passed on the highway. I found out when I got to work that morning that Adrianna (my bosses daughter that I babysit) had conference schedule that week- so she was at the office most days at 11am. That night Chris & I still only seemed to see each other in passing. He got home and I left with Allen for a Stake Relief Society Leadership Training- it was well done and hopefully gave us some good ideas and motivation for the upcoming year. And Allen is such a good baby- he actually sat very content through the whole meeting!

Thursday, November 15th- Happy Birthday to Kelly! We talked about it in the morning and forgot to call her once our day got busy! But we were thinking of you! Adrianna was dropped off at the office by her aunt who has a 4-year old that loves to play with Corrine. He kept begging his mom to stay and play with us instead of going to daycare- I was fine with it, so I had an extra for the day! The kids were great, the biggest challenge of the day was getting 3 carseats in the back seat of my car! But somehow we managed!

Friday, November 16th- We didn't have Adrianna that afternoon so we did a lot of errand running around town- it was nice to get it all done! That night we all went to bed fairly early as we are usually exhausted by the weeks end!

Saturday, November 17th- We were up early getting the house clean, work done and a very yummy crockpot lunch started. Mom & Dad Allen arrived mid-afternoon from Bremerton where they were attending a District Scouting event. They came down to get their old fridge out of our garage as they are going to put it back in the Utah home while the twins live there this next semester. We enjoyed a nice lunch with them and they brought a few things for Corrine for her birthday and of course CHOCOLATE MILK (her favorite treat)- they gave her the cutest little tool bag complete with gardening tools in it. She has carried it EVERYWHERE the last couple days! And she calls them her "toodles" as she can't quite get her mouth around the word "tools"- it's really cute. The visit was too short, but so much fun- we always enjoy having them here!

Corrine opening presents wrapped in traditional "Allen fashion"

And here's the yummy recipe for crockpot salsa chicken:
* 4 chicken breasts (I only used 3 and could have only done 2)
* 1 can cream of mushroom soup
* 1 16oz jar of salsa
* 1 pkt taco seasoning
Mix soup, salsa & seasoning together and pour over chicken in the crockpot
Cook on low for 8 hours (mine was done in about 4-5)
Shred chicken and add:
* 1 can black beans
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 can corn
I also added onions, cilantro and some cooked rice that we had to make it less soupy and make it stretch a bit more.
* Serve over tortilla chips or with warm tortillas with taco type toppings. So easy and VERY YUMMY! We fed 4 adults and a child with PLENTY to spare!

Sunday, November 18th- Church was very full as it was "Invitation Sunday"- everyone was encouraged to invite someone to attend church with them. Lots of new faces! And they had a nice "Linger Longer" afterwards so everyone could visit.

We found a few fleas on Pikku, our small dog, that afternoon (we don't know if she got them from outside or what) but just to be sure we bathed both dogs and scoured the house- not my ideal Sunday activities, but sometimes it just needs to be done! Hopefully we were just overreacting- I don't want fleas in my house! The rest of the day was pretty mellow as we treid to keep warm and got ready to start another busy week!

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with Chris' family later this week- we have so much to be grateful for! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday as well!

November 5th-11th

Week of November 5-11, 2007
Written by Annaliese

A cute picture of Allen's big gummy smile to start off the week:

Monday, November 5th- Happy 32nd Birthday to my wonderful husband! Corrine woke up when Chris went to work just to make sure she got to tell him Happy Birthday first thing- she LOVES birthdays. As I was heading to work with the kids she asked when dad was going to open presents and I told her we hadn't gotten any yet, but we would go to the store that afternoon. When I asked her what we should get him, she thought for a minute and said "I think a green B (what she calls her blankie)- then he won't take mine!" (He is constantly teasing her and trying to get her to share her B with him and she is NOT a fan of sharing it). It's too funny the way her mind works!

Work was BUSY that morning with impounds & paperwork. And our day didn't slow down after work either! We ran a ton of errands including picking up babysitting girls from school and eventually to basketball practice & dance. We got Chris a couple gifts and his favorite pizza for dinner. Corrine had so much fun wrapping his presents, she especially LOVES tape. She actually does really good with it despite using 8 inches for each piece! We had a nice night together- low key, but nice.

We had also been blessed with a huge box and a huge bag of clothes for Allen from one of the sisters I visit teach. I'm so grateful for generous people that have shared with us things like this! Especially as this kid is growing fast!

Wednesday, November 7th- Happy Birthday to my Mother-in-law Pat! She's a wonderful lady! I had a Presidency meeting that night and Pat was still at work- so we went over later that evening for dinner and cake to celebrate. Corrine was already in her pj's and couldn't find a matching pair of boots (the only shoes that fit over her pj's) so she wore two different boots- one pink snowboot & one red rainboot. Funny part was that she left those boots up at their house- so going to work the next morning she wore the OTHER two of the mismatched boots- such a funny girl!

It was fun to be together to celebrate with Pat. She's such a wonderful woman and I'm lucky to have her for a mother-in-law. She does so much for her family and others.

Thursday, November 8th- Happy Birthday to Mackenzie, our niece & cousin. All of the cousins are a year apart so far- it will be so fun at Christmas as they are all a little older and can enjoy playing together. Hopefully Corrine won't boss everyone around too much! :)

Sunday, November 11th- Happy Veteran's Day! That afternoon after church I was debating going up to Maple Valley to spend time with my family as I didn't have to work the next day. But I knew that if I stayed home I could get a lot of misc. stuff done around the house as well. Before I knew it Chris had vacuumed, done dishes and folded laundry stating that if those were the things that were keeping me from going then he already did them, so I should go. So sweet of him! :)

We did end up going- we got off to a bit of a late start, but arrived safe and sound and enjoyed a nice evening visiting with everyone. I always appreciate my parents and how wonderful they are each and every time I spend time in their home. I also love that there is a wonderful spirit in their house that is very peaceful and calming. Corrine of course got McKay & Tanner to chase her and everyone took turns holding Allen. It's so wonderful for us to have them so close!

The kids are both doing great. Allen is a big boy that just keeps growing! He's pretty much out of size one diapers at only 2 months! He responds to us so much more and LOVES to smile at us. He is also very strong and loves to push with his feet and hold his head up. He is such a content baby and he sleeps in 4-5 hour stretches at night. It's SO wonderful!

Our handsome little guy

Corrine is a fantastic big sister and big helper around the house. She actually gets mad if we put away the silverware in the dishwasher as that is HER JOB. She constantly amazes us with how funny & smart she is. She definitely loves to be the life of the party! Whenever someone is in her way she says "Move over Beethoven!" (where does she get these things?) And of course she picks up on everything we say. The other morning I was getting ready for church and got all dressed- she looked at me and said "Cute outfit Mom!" She also says funny little phrases that sound so adult, like "Oh my goodness!" and "Dang It!". We are constantly laughing.

October Highlights & Into November

Month of October 2007 (and a little November)
Written by Annaliese

Ok- I simply MUST get caught up or I'll get so far behind that I'll have to "start over" again. :)

Week of October 1-7, 2007
Monday, October 1st- We left Maple Valley that morning as I was starting back babysitting that afternoon. It was a little hard to go back to "real life" but wonderful to be back home with my husband. Thanks Mom, Dad, Tanner & McKay for such a wonderful week and thanks Chris for letting us be gone for so long! That night I made my first trip to the grocery store with 2 kids! Monumental things . . .

Tuesday, October 2nd- Allen had his 2-week doctor's appointment and we were shocked to find out that he weighs 9lbs 10oz! This kid likes to eat! :) All went well and the doctor said he looks good.

Corrine LOVES holding her little brother

Saturday, October 6th & Sunday, October 7th- The kids and I watched Conference in bed both mornings. It was wonderful to just enjoy hearing the general authorities and relax and not have to get everyone bathed and dressed for church! Chris was even sweet enough to bring us breakfast in bed while we listened.

Week of October 8-14, 2007
Monday, October 8th- Allen had a follow-up doctor appointment and the kid weighed in at 10lbs 6oz! He just keeps gaining! Hopefully he slows down a little! Otherwise I'll be carrying around a 50-lb 1 year old! :) Being Columbus Day it gave me one extra day before I went back to the office.

Nice and clean after a bath!

Tuesday, October 9th- we all got packed up that morning and headed into the office. My boss had actually come in early to make sure the heater was on and that we had everything we needed. He was glad to have us back- which made me feel good! Things went smoothly for our first day back and we quickly settled back into our routine, even with an extra baby! :) Chris had a dentist appointment that morning for some crowns. He stopped by the office afterwards and visited with us for awhile and then stayed home that afternoon to help me with the kids on my first day back to EVERYTHING. He's been amazing and wonderful through all the transition with having a second child. I'm very grateful for him!

Allen often tries to pull off his hats- this time he was successful!
Must have been hard work because he promptly fell asleep!

Week of October 15-21, 2007
Monday, October 15th- I left work a little early to head to Olympia for a dentist appointment to FINALLY get a crown put on my chipped tooth (this was supposed to be done BEFORE Allen's due date- and he was 2 weeks late!). Mom Allen & McKay were so wonderful to drive down from Maple Valley to watch the kids for me. They let Corrine play at McDonald's playplace and Allen slept. We are so lucky to have them so close- I actually wish they were closer! But I love having them here in the same state and will be sad when they do finally leave. We enjoyed visiting after my appointment and then the kids and I picked up Chris from work and got to enjoy a ride home with him.

Tuesday, October 16th- Happy Anniversary to US! We celebrated our 3rd Anniversary in a pretty low-key way as it was the middle of the week and we had 2 little ones at home. But we enjoyed a yummy dinner with "the nice dishes", sparkling cider and candlelight (that of course made Corrine want to sing Happy Birthday and blow out), but it was wonderful to just be together and reflect on the past few years. I'm very grateful for my amazing husband.

Saturday, October 20th- We got up that morning and went to storytime at the library. We hadn't realized that during the month of October they were doing a Saturday storytime! We enjoy lots of the activities that the library has to offer, especially during the summer, but we hadn't been back in since Allen was born- so the Children's librarians were especially excited to see him and Corrine was more than happy to tell them all about having a new baby brother. It was a fun morning together.

That afternoon Chris ran some errands and came back with a gift for our anniversary- we have a local glass blowing shop in Cosmopolis that does beautiful pieces. He came back with a glass blown flower and pretty glass paperweight (since my desk constantly has piles of papers to be filed). Very thoughtful and gorgeous gifts!


Sunday, October 21st- We enjoyed our morning at church and a relaxed afternoon. Allen's birth announcement was in the paper that day as well! That night Mom & Dad Priamos came over to visit for awhile- always nice to spend some time with them.

All ready for church!

Week of October 22-28, 2007
Wednesday, October 24th- That afternoon the kids & I ran to the store and then made cookies to send with Chris on his trip to California. He went down to the sand dunes in Glamis, CA/Yuma, AZ area with one of our clients. It's a guy that we have built several websites for and he goes riding quads there a couple times each year. Initially we were hoping to go at a time when both Chris & I could go, but we figured with having a new baby and all it wasn't very feasible. Then Jeff (the client) offered to pay for Chris' trip. So he took advantage of the opportunity! That night I had a presidency meeting at the church- Chris was great to watch Corrine. I came home to them watching "The Polar Express" (we like to get into the Christmas spirit whenever we can!). I helped Chris finish packing for his trip to California.

Thursday, October 25th- the alarm went off early for Chris to head to the airport, and it started off a bit hectic! As he went to unzip his suitcase to put in the last minute items, the zipper broke. So I ran downstairs to grab the larger suitcase and found that the zipper on that one had calcified or something- it was not going to budge! (In defense of the luggage, I've had it for over 10 years, so I think it's served it's purpose well!) Dad Priamos was taking Chris up to Seattle, so he ran home and grabbed the carry-on size suitcase of theirs and we used our carry-on roller to repack everything. Luckily it all fit and they still made it to the airport with time to spare!

Saturday, October 27th- The kids and relaxed a little that morning and then ran errands in the afternoon- and we had to get some paint to finish Corrine's halloween costume! Luckily thanks to some well placed fans we got it done! That evening we went up to Mom & Dad Priamos' house for a birthday dinner for Carmen (Chris' oldest sister). It was fun to be there with his parents, siblings and some family friends. And of course everyone loved seeing and holding baby Allen! We slipped out just after dinner to attend our ward "Harvest Party"- Corrine went as a dalmation puppy and Allen as a little polar bear- they were ADORABLE! :) We only got to enjoy a few games before it was time for the trunk-or-treat, but that's the highlight anyway! Mickey, one of the girls I used to babysit was good enough to take Corrine around to the cars so Allen & I could hand out candy! It was a fun night. We went back over to the Priamos' after the party and visited a little more before we called it a night.

Week of October 29- November 4, 2007
Monday, October 29th- I got up early that morning to clean the house and get all of us ready to head north for the day. We headed out of town to Maple Valley where Corrine played for the afternoon and McKay went back to Olympia with me to my LAST in my series of dental appointments. He sat in the waiting room with Allen for me. My dentist and several others in the office were so excited to see him- as I started this process with 2 appointments at 9 months pregnant- so they feel like they've been waiting to see him as well! He got oohed & awwed over and then we ran over to Target. I gave in and bought a new vacuum. Both of ours just aren't doing the job for a house with 2 kids and 2 dogs! This one is made especially for pets- so hopefully it's as good as it looks!

We then went back to Maple Valley where Corrine had been well entertained. Mom & Dad were busy getting ready for a YSA dinner that they were hosting. McKay is the YSA rep for the ward- so they had invited everyone over for dinner and activities afterwards. It was so fun to be in their constantly busy house. I love and miss it. They had several come for the evening- so we all enjoyed a yummy dinner together. Corrine talked all of them into playing Duck, Duck, Goose and Ring Around the Rosie with her before they had their own lesson & activities. I helped Mom make a chart for seminary and Dad and Corrine went and picked up Chris from the airport. Chris said he enjoyed visiting with Dad on the way back over to the house and it was fun to all get to visit together when he returned.

A picture Chris took out on the dunes in Glamis

He had a great trip! They spent time riding 4-wheelers in the sand dunes and even spent a day getting sunburned out on a lake. Definitely a new experience for Chris! He kept telling me "I can see why your mom loves Arizona- it's plenty hot!" And I reminded him he was there during the "cool" time of year! He also thought it was beautiful- different, but very pretty. We enjoyed looking at all his pictures from his trip. I'm glad he had fun, but I was even more glad to have him home!

Wednesday, October 31st- Happy Halloween! After work Corrine & I carved her pumpkin that we hadn't quite gotten around to doing yet. She LOVES digging out the guts! She even reminded me that we did this same thing "yestertime" (that's her word for anytime in the past- something between yesterday & last time)- she was remembering us carving the pumpkin LAST YEAR! What a memory! We also made some pumpkin desserts that afternoon so the house smelled delicious!

Digging out the pumpkin GUTS!

The finished product!

When Chris got home we headed up to Mom & Dad Priamos' where the kids got all costumed up. It took Corrine forever to get ready because each time the doorbell rang she wanted to see the kids who were trick-or-treating! Several layers later we were bundled and out the door- she didn't want to walk to each house, she wanted to RUN! It was a cold, but fun night. We got back and had dinner and of course CANDY! :)

Tired and Happy after Trick-or-Treating

Thursday, November 1st- I had such a treat at work as I caught up with a good friend of mine from Idaho- Jamie Smith. I first met Jamie when I attended Rockland girls camp one year. We became great friends and ended up working for YEARS together at scout camp and enjoyed being at Ricks College together. It's been probably 5 years since we've seen each other or even been in touch- and lots has changed in those years! I was glad it was a boring day at the office so I could catch up!

Saturday, November 3rd- I somehow managed to break my mini hard drive that morning. This was cause for major panic on my part as my LIFE is on that hard drive. Luckily it was just the case I had broken and my brilliant husband knew what to do! So the actual hard drive is saved and we were able to put it into a new case.

That night Chris & I enjoyed an evening out together. The kids went up to Mom & Dad Priamos' while we went bowling. I did great the first game and proceeded to get worse after that! But it was fun to be out together for a little while. We came back to happy, well taken-care of kids. We enjoyed hanging out for awhile longer before we called it a night.

Sunday, November 4th- I taught the Relief Society lesson that day. I was worried about teaching with a newborn. He was a perfect gem during sacrament meeting & sunday school and of course as soon as I start teaching he's screaming at the top of his lungs! A wonderful sister in the ward was good enough to hold him, change him and rock him while I taught. I am so grateful for those who see what needs to be done and jump right in to help as I have a minor panic attack during my lesson. :) Other than that all went well and we survived!

That's our month in a nutshell- hope all is well for each of you! Love you all! :0)