Gift Ideas

So here are some things on my list for whoever is interested (Husband and non-secret santa):
Shirts/Sweaters in Large Tall- I would prefer they are not pink because I already have a couple in shades of pink but whatever would be great. For example you could look at these (which are on sale right now at JCPenny)
- Worthington® V-Neck Sweater
-St. John's Bay® Cable Crewneck or v-neck Sweater
=St. John's Bay® Long Sleeve Ruffle Trim Poplin shirt
-St. John's Bay® Crewneck Tee
=St. John's Bay® Long Sleeve Texture Stretch Poplin
-St.John's Bay® French Terry Jacket
=St.John's Bay® Fleece Hoodie
-St. John's Bay® Zig Zag Jacket

Brown Shoes such as:
Born - Current: Black (hair calf)
Born - Fern
Born - Digsy: French Roast
Born - Benara: Chestnut
Born - Cielo: French Roast or Taupe
Born - Pandora
Eddie Bauer Driving Mocs- Multicolored

Perfume- I don't use much so even the smaller travel size/samplers are fine
Ear Warmers-
Heroes Series- Season 1

These are just some ideas,.. Now how about the rest of you...

-Mel

Christmas giving

It looks like there will be some name swapping for Christmas. I don't think you all care that it is a surprise who you have so I am just going to post all the names that were drawn. So here is the list:

Melanie is giving to Traci
Janice is giving to Jenn
Traci is giving to Melanie
Jenn is giving to Janice


Brian is giving to Larry
Greyson is giving to Tim
Dad is giving to Brian
Tim is giving to Greyson

If anyone has any issues please give me a call. Also please post ideas for presents.

The plan so far is to NOT do any presents between the kids (cousins) since they get so many presents already. As Greyson said the other day- Christmas shouldn't be about swapping debt. So until one of us wins the lottery our family is scaling back the whole gift giving part of the holiday in favor of spending time with our family.

Visit to the Porter's

Greyson, the girls and I visited the Porter's on Sunday. It started snowing about 10 miles before Condon which was fun to see. Not as much fun driving home in it but at least it was Greyson's turn to drive.

The Porter's house is beautiful. I was very envious. Big livingroom, a grand staircase, granite countertop, lots of rooms for living, playing, sleeping. It also had a clasic front porch for sitting around sipping lemonade in the summertime and waving as the neighbors walk by. I hope it works out for them next year so that they can purchase it. I think they could be happy there for a long, long time. I know I would be.

We introduced them to Munchin the game. I think it is one of the few games you can play with kids and adults and everyone enjoys it. I don't think they even missed us not bringing the xbox 360. The babies took one good nap while we were there but did get a bit fussy right before we left, but it was a long day for them. It was great to see the Porter's and I am glad they are within a reasonable visiting distance now.

I am going to go home and do a bit of cleaning for the holiday weekend. We have been trying to keep up on the laundry etc. but it is a never ending process. We were up putting clothes away in our bedroom last night when Greyson looks over at the final two laundry baskets on the floor and say "I think that is good for the night let's put those away tomorrow." And I respond "but those are all dirty." And Greyson says in disbelief "but I have been doing a load a day!". Pre-babies, one load a day would do it. Apparently that is no longer the case.

Hope everyone has a great holiday. I will try to post some pictures of the event.

-Mel

gift ideas (from Mom)

So does anyone have their Christmas wish list yet? We are plum out of ideas for all of you.

Porter Post

Howie looks very cute and I'm glad Dad finally has a cuddly dog. Molly is attached to India only...India does read to her dog and bathe her and all that, but I think she also tells Molly we aren't part of their dog pack. So Lucy has settled into her own little lovey and lively personality.

Conferences went much better than I thought since we were coming from a low scoring school to a much higher/better school. They all excelled in both the academic and social aspecs. Tucker is taking on the best student role with his imagination and love for math. His teacher is a great fit. It is the first year he didn't say recess was his favorite subject but reading and math. India won a slogan contest for Meth. "Meth is Death." All the 5th-8th. graders participated. She doesn't know yet, but she'll get a nice Ipod at their next assembly. She also has a new best friend that has horses. They seem to enjoy each other very much and their whole family is really down to earth and fun. India is now into a size 0 juniors. Sheesh!

We're going to Boise since Tim's Stepmom has emphasyma and possibly lung cancer and is homebound without her oxygen. It's not looking good. She has been sickly for some years now and they're taking it day by day.

I still love my work. I seem to be immune to all the fussing and crying and don't mind the constant on your feet of changing clothes, diapers, and bottles. We go for stroller rides and they seem to enjoy the silly songs my mother taught me. Thanks Mom.

Tim and I often have lunch together and besides the usual board meetings, he's home much more than ever. I'll let him tell you about his dieting and exercize/weights progress.

Christian can't wait for B-ball. Lainey, Courtney and Marcus still call him nightly. Pretty neat friendship for their age I think.

Good to here from all you,
Traci

update over here

hey Jan. nice update. OK. I'll go. First off, I assume Howie is getting low-fat hot dogs?

good for you on the low fat diet. I had a bit of a deviance from my own last week. I'm back on though. Remember that protein shake that Larry was drinking? Try that sometime. You can mix it with milk and blend it so that it fluffs up and takes more room.

I'm making a big pot of chili with locally produced spices. It's pretty darned good so far, but needs to simmer. I'll keep you posted.

Yeah Costco IMO is antisocial if anything. It generally reminds me of why I hate people.

I've been thinking about writing another blog which is anything but baby. I'm rounding up a couple of contributors that are learned, opinionated, and generally pretty good at writing. I'm not sure what it will be about--possibly just anything at the top of our minds that I feel doesn't belong here or on the baby blog.

I'm discussing with the stevenson business association a contractual arrangement that will have me creating YET ANOTHER BLOG as well as updating it with content. Not only that, I would be the webmaster for the stevenson website so I would be go-to guy for all things stevenson. On the rest of the work front, I've been getting more work than I have time to do.

I lost the election by 5%. In retrospect, I'm pretty happy with that. I have been in the public eye for a year now. The guy that is replacing me is pretty well-known in Skamania, and will do a good job, assuming he can make it to the meetings. I do get to set into motion the budget for a lot of waterfront improvement and construction projects.

Mel and I have been hunky dory, and I think the babies have sort of made us more of a unit. I'm surprised by that, thinking that children would tire us and we would retreat to our own little corners. If anything, it's done the opposite. I would say we've gained something else in common, when perhaps we didn't have that many interests we could share together. We play cards, computer games, hot tub, and watch tv together more than ever, aside from, of course, the time we spend with the girls.

That's it I suppose.

Catchin' up (from Mom)

Hello all - no news since Halloween.

Howie: I bought hot dogs, cut them up into very small bite and have started Howie's training. He is pretty smart so this should go fairly quickly if we stay at it. He loves the creek still so every trip outside is apt to end in a very wet dog. Maybe not so smart.

Cats: Not liking new dog and staying outside much more. Becoming feral by winter's end.

Work: I don't know what is making this such a busy year. I keep thinking things will slow down a bit, but they don't. So many little things coming up constantly. Maybe I need to work on my delegating skills.

Health: I am still on my low fat diet. I'm going to give it 3 months and then have my cholesterol rechecked. There is nothing good to eat that doesn't have fat in it. I have appointments schedued to have other body parts checked for dread diseases. Had my hip x-rayed this week and will get results on Tuesday. It hurts when I walk up stairs or move some strange way that I'm not even sure is. It gives me a very old lady look going up stairs, sort of hoisting myself along with the rail. Sheesh!

Aunt Marion: Really enjoyed seeing Aunt Marion here for a couple of weeks. She apparently brought the sun with her from Tuscon and took it back when she left. We are back to rain.

Appliances: Dishes washer is wearing out and Dad has scoped out the sturdiest, most expensive model in the whole world. I'm going to vote for hand washing dishes.

Big Plans: Trip to Costco on Saturday. This is a sad commentary on my social life.

Thanksgiving: Very much looking forward to seeing the Deans and Sharp/Rudds, especially the small Deans and Sharp/Rudds. Sorry, but the babies and tots are so much cuter than the 30-40 year-old crowd. The rest of you will need to eat up a storm since I will have a hard time getting my money's worth at the buffet and staying low-fat.

Time for bed. Love to all,
Mom/Janice