12 days of anniversary/love

My husband and I will be married for 12 years on the 12th. We started doing a combined Valentines and anniversary calling it a "Valiversary". We also take turns being in charge. Andy does odd, I do even. I could not come up with anything fun to do this year. Last year my husband gave us a couple nights away and even got a babysitter on his own! We are going on a trip and are saving for that this year, however. But, then, I kept hearing about people doing the 12 days of Christmas and I knew what I wanted to do. 

Starting January 1st he has gotten a little something every day. It has been so fun to come up with things. Most people that do this are not creative and spend a bunch of money. This meant that I was on my own. I gathered ideas and tried to not be too cheesy, but I think they are. They get better as the days progress. Another note - Our wedding colors were dark purple, and dark green with yellow accents. I did that because purple tulips are my favorite and our theme was Starry Night. Anyway, everything is purple and green in remembrance of that. 

Here is what I have done so far.
On the first day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you
An accounting of 12 years together.

 On the second day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you
An alphabet document that she made about we two.

(I made the ABCs of Us. I put words by each letter that were significant to us in some way.)

On the third day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you

12 ways to say the best 3 words.

(I made a list of I love you in 12 different languages. I tried to use those that were significant to us like Spanish, German, Dutch, even Elvish and Old English.)

On the fourth day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you

4 special pictures to adorn your work walls.

(I had each of our children draw him a picture.)

On the fifth day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you

5 hands for remembering.

(I made this.)

On the sixth day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you

½ dozen of your favorite treats.
(This was not nice for fast Sunday. But, I gave him a chocolate orange, 6 Almond Joys, and I made homemade hot chocolate and whipped cream, peanut butter blossoms, lemon bars and mint brownies.)

On the seventh day of our anniversary your true dove gave to you

A tie to wear to work away from her.
(The tie is green, one of our wedding colors. However, it still has not come in the mail and might not even come until Friday. So, fail for today. Anneke told her dad before he found the note and I was kinda bummed.)

5 more days. I will keep you posted, but my husband reads the blog so I can't just post them all. 

New Year's

I usually do have new year's resolutions that I try and follow. I know people that choose to make goals at specific points throughout the year instead of at the New Year. With my OCD it makes sense to start January 1st, so I do. However, there is a lot I feel I need to work on. If I get too many things going I don't complete anything. This year a friend of mine had a goal a month. 21 days makes a habit, right. For January she worked on healthy meals. For February it was a different hair style every day. Etc.  I am going to do something similar. I have brainstormed and come up with my monthly goals for 2013. (A monthly goal is to be better about family birthdays. I won't put that down, though.)

January - Health (floss and wash face consistently, figure out exercise routine and time)
This is a classic one, but one I really need to work on.
February - Beauty (do hair and make-up every day)
With my kids' schedules and babysitting I let this slide too much. I feel so much better when I  take the extra 15 minutes.
March - Mental (no screens month)
I am pretty sure I am addicted to the internet. That means blogs, facebook, pinterest, email, hulu etc. I am working on ground rules because I do need it for my calling and preschool.
April - Spiritual (prayer and meaningful study) 
I am not bad at this but need to get better and it could use my undivided attention. Plus, it is General Conference month.
May - Mental (write in my journal or kids journal every day)
I keep a nightly thankful journal, but don't always write in the important places about our life events.
June - Health (go one week without sweets, try new and healthier recipes)
Again, I am pretty sure I am addicted to sweets. 
July - Mental (dust off my book writing and book ideas and write daily)
I started writing a couple of books a while ago. I let them go by the wayside with many things and want to see what happens to the characters.
August - Temporal (cleaning schedule and stick to it)
There are certain chores I really dislike and put off. If I have a schedule I will be more likely to take care of them. Plus, we should be settling somewhere new *fingers crossed* and it is a good time to establish it for a new place.
September - Beauty (experiment with daughters hair styles and boys hair cuts)
I am not good with hair, period. I was so excited to be a mom and get to work with it. Now I just need to figure out how.
October - Organize (my pinterest and quotes)
I pin a lot of things and use a lot of it. However, there are many things that have been lost and I need to clean off boards and possibly create new ones to organize what I have. But, it is daunting and will be time consuming. I also have a bunch of quotes all over that need a home.
November - Thankful (write a letter everyday thanking those I love)
Pretty self explanatory.
December - Service (find a way to serve someone outside my immediate family every day.)
I tend to get depressed and focus on the cost of the season instead of the reason for it. I am hoping this will help me end my year right. 

Anything I missed? I might update about my progress if I remember. 2013, here we go. What are you going to do?

Christmas 2012

This is still going to be an about me blog, but I miss not being able to post photos to my other blog, especially at this time of year. So, I am commandeering this blog for a post so others can see what we have been up to this month. There are about 24 pictures, so hang in there.

In preschool we learned about Christmas in Korea. Yep, even though it is pink it is a boys traditional Korean outfit.

 I DON'T like this picture of me, but it is the only one of Mallory at the ward Christmas party.

 Marcus was trying to act serious as Joseph. Instead i think he looks like an angry Jedi.

 Anneke the grumpy wiseman.

 Anneke sang carols at Barnes and Noble.

 Super Elf, Mo.

 This is a better shot of our Christmas super hero.

 Chris, our elf, was not as mischievous this year. BUT, he did demonstrate the 4 basic elf food groups; candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup. (The bottle of syrup was there but got taken away because Daddy needed it for breakfast.)

 Ninja bread men. A mom made these for my preschoolers. It was hilarious. They would fight and whatever piece got knocked off could be eaten by the destroyer. A big hit.

 Spirit week was just before school got out. This is Anneke on crazy day. (She has 10 ponytails in her hair. Sound familiar?)

 Marcus on crazy day. Yes, he has shorts on his head and shirt on his legs.

 One of my favorite Christmas movies is White Christmas. I always wanted a dress like the ones in the end. I have never found a modest one for me, but when Anneke was little I found this one. I was so excited Mallory fit into it. She has worn it every week to church since November.

The whole crew before church on Sunday. (Marcus wore the outfit Luke has on when Anneke wore the dress.)

Christmas Eve Marcus was messing around and broke the nativity set I got when I was in young women's. I was a bit sad, but kind of expected it. I continued what I was doing. Marcus was really upset. He set a little baby Jesus in front of me made out of paper. He was trying so hard to make it better. I hugged him and he started crying. He felt so bad and I had to tell him it was okay and not important. It really taught me about being Christlike and Christmas. Marcus completed the set anyway. (Luke made one, too.)

 Christmas Eve we went up to the temple to see Andy (working security) and unwrap our jammies. It was fun being all alone up there in front of the nativity. Then we read Luke 2 and came home.

 I made the pj bottoms for each one but Marcus. There is something uniquely wrong with each one. Haha. Anneke and Mallory's are opposites with the main material and cuffs.

 Carrot, and apple for the reindeer and cookies & milk for Santa. They also left Santa notes and Luke carefully spelled out "Welcome Santa and Merry Christmas - Luke".

Mallory decided to sleep in. These 3 were up at 4am begging to be let into the room. (I had put up the baby gate because I was not sure what Mo might do.) At 6am we gave in. They got to see the Santa gifts and waited for Mo to wake up to actually open the presents.

 Santa gifts. (Marcus couldn't find his stuff. It is on the trunk by the tree.)

 Mallory woke up and was a bit confused. Here she is opening her gift from Daddy...

 these fabulous shoes. I won a give away and this was the prize. They are GREAT quality and durable not plastic.

 Wearing all her presents including hat and vest from great grandma Bahlmann and bracelets.

 Andy gave me a very special gift. He had several people write me notes/letters about my influence and impact on them and their lives. I am pretty sure every one had me in tears. It was so humbling, actually, to see what others notice about me. I am so very blessed.

 Finding out about Disneyland. (see other blog) Pretty excited, I think!

Sorry it was so long, but you are now caught up.

Rejection

We got our first rejection letter today. Though it was expected, it was still depressing. 

BYU sent a form letter and then took the time to write a personal note on the side. Obviously, he did not get an interview. The note said, "Your specialty just isn't a good fit for our department, but we appreciated your application and learning about your work." Andy is afraid that this will be a trend. He is afraid he is too "cutting edge" in his field right now. 

Once again, good thoughts and prayers sent our way, please.

Jobs we have applied for lately - Alabama, Arkansas, New Jersey, Tennessee 

I need a little Christmas

I don't know how to begin this one. I see how excited everyone else is about Christmas and it makes me sad. They are baking cookies, visiting lights and displays, wrapping presents, etc. I am having a hard time.  

I started listening to Christmas music early because I needed that magical feel it brings with it. I decorated earlier than usual for the same reason. I wish I knew what was wrong.

Usually, I am all for anything Christmas. I have an activity every day leading up to Christmas for my kids. I have my gifts planned and ready for everyone. This year not so much. Thinking about doing half the things we normally do makes me feel tired. I wish I knew how to fix it.

Matthew 25: 35-40 

35 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye ^bgave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a ^cstranger, and ye took me in:

 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye ^avisited me: I was in ^bprison, and ye came unto me.

 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 39 Or when saw we thee ^asick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.
This is what I wanted to base my season on. We dropped off invitations for others to attend the First Presidency devotional. Yesterday we spent a long time writing notes and inviting people to our ward party. I have tried to visit people and reach out to them. I don't have much I can give beyond myself and that is not well received. It doesn't seem like it matters much. 

I am an afterthought. I am a bit sad about it, but it is true. My personality makes it so that I am almost never the first person people would think of or turn to. No matter what I do, short of changing my personality, it will always be that way. I try to reach out to others, but I feel like it would be better from someone else. I am not saying this correctly, as usual, but I am trying and it is not having the desired effects in any way. So, now what?

(Thanks for reading Carianne and Mom. I am pretty sure you are my only audience, anyway.)

Mommy-Daughter Date

Anneke needed some one on one time. I felt we should go out and do something fun together. I struggle a great deal with my relationship with her. Mostly, I do not understand her and get easily frustrated with her. I let her choose and she decided we would go shopping for her gift for Marcus and get hot chocolate while browsing at Barnes and Noble. I am not a shopper, I get overwhelmed. BUT I went for my girl.

I ordered 2 peppermint hot chocolates and we looked around while we waited. When we got our drinks it tasted weird. I am not a huge Starbucks hot cocoa fan so I thought that was the problem. Anneke asked to try mine and she said, "That's gross." So, I had to try hers. Yep, mine was a mocha. I took it back and they apologized. Right on the cup it said hot cocoa. They started making me a new one but then a person in charge said they needed my receipt which I had thrown away (not usual). After digging through the trash for a couple of minutes I realized it wasn't worth it. *sigh* I didn't even want to go back but didn't want coffee. Not the best ending to our day. She did find a gift for Marcus, but not what she wanted.

Learning from Experience

Last night for my birthday my husband took me on a date. We don't usually get to do that. On this date he took me to dinner and then shopping for clothes. For anyone that knows me that makes my husband VERY brave. I don't like shopping and I am not very good at it. I don't spend money on myself, especially this time of year. My birthday money rarely goes to myself. By the end of the night I did have a couple pair of jeans, and a nice new shirt and camisole to wear to church. I learned a few things I will share, too.

*It is a lot more fun to go shopping without children in tow.
*Old Navy is not the only store to find inexpensive clothes that fit me.
*My husband likes me to wear different clothes than I would like to wear. (ie button up shirts and slacks vs. jeans and t-shirts.)
*The clothes I would like to wear are inpractical for a stay-at-home-preschool-teacher mom.
*It is nice to get new things every 3 years or so.
*Don't expect children to be asleep when you get home. You are happier if they are and not as disappointed when they inevitably aren't. 

There you go. My birthday was fun. I got the new Junie B. Jones book and a sterling silver Mockingjay necklace from my family on top of my little impromptu shopping trip. Anneke made me an easy bake oven chocolate cake, too. Don't be jealous. I can send her your way for your birthday if you would like.