Christmas lists

**Edit- Of course this list really only matters to family and is only to be helpful. You may use or not use the list, whatever you choose.**
 As usual, I will be shopping from this list as well as other family members, so if you want me to cross something off let me know.

family:
Wii fit
The following things all go together. We want to turn half of the basement into a tumbling, bouncing, fun place to hang out and be active(especially during the winter months). The plan is to clear it all out, paint it and make it a totally "free to be kids" area. This is the stuff we really want so we can make it happen:
-real gymnastics mats  (I've priced them lots of places and our gymnastics place has the going rate and you don't have to pay shipping!-  Tumbl Trak 8x4x1 3/8 is the size I've looked at and compared)
-folding practice beam
-wedge/incline mat
-small, well built trampoline (like this one)

Jen:
-LumiQuest Soft bounce flash device
-White balance card (for photography)
-It's a Wonderful Life on DVD
-Singin' in the Rain on DVD
-Mpix.com gift card- I have a project I really want to do with pictures, but I can't bring myself to spend the money
-motion activated soap dispenser
-"Self Portrait" Mickey poster
-Candle holder
-Half circle entry table 
-"Cambridge" coat rack 
-Vera Bradley bag or maybe this one there is also this one and ooooh, look at this one
-Stenstorp Kitchen Island

Jay:
pull up bar (I think he said P90X or some such thing- It's an exercise program. Come to think of it he might like the videos, too. I'll have to ask.)

Zach:
comic books
Qwirkle
Blokus

Ryan:
-anything Star Wars
-he wants to learn piano, so all you piano people probably know what he needs better than I do
-Play Mobile sets- he has 0 and he always loves playing with other kids' sets and oohs and ahhhs at them in the store
-Legos (specifically Star Wars sets)
-drawing supplies, construction paper, tape- he likes to make things using this stuff all the time
-Cars Suitcase
-Calvin and Hobbes books
-Square up
-Equate Jr.
-Colorku
-Let's Play School
-Zoob car kit
-Zoob kits
-Guess Who

Lily:
-anything princess
-dress ups
-Minnie Mouse shoes size 9/10
-durable crib or cradle for baby dolls
-doll house
-durable MP3 player or CD player
-Little People sets (specifically the airplane)
-a talking Mickey Mouse- The only one of these I've ever seen was "Pal Mickey" from Disney World, but apparently they stopped making those.
-Princess suitcase
-she really wants this dress and I'm not getting it for her
-My Disney Girl Doll She really liked these when we went to Disney...she especially liked the Minnie outfit
-Build it big
-Little Tykes Shopping cart
-My Little Pony- books and ponies

Bustin' Outta Here

Today was Ryan's first day with a temperature under 100* and let's just say mommy needed to get out of the house. I had to get creative so we wouldn't spread any germs, so we went out to this place I know where they have the most beautiful trees this time of year. No one really hangs out there, so I wasn't worried about the kids getting close to anyone. We just hung out in a place that isn't our house for a while and I took some pictures(of course). Ryan collected some leaves; one of each color, red, yellow, orange and green. On the way home the kids asked if we could go to Grandma's house. So we went there and made some leaf rubbings and hung out for the rest of the afternoon.

At the end of the day I am wondering if they have some sort of vitamin deficiency though. This morning Lily asked for frozen peas with her pancakes. Then Ryan wanted some, too. They've had them before when I'm making peas for dinner or whatever, but it's usually when they see the bag out. Weird.

**You can see the pictures here **

Sick Days

So, Ryan is home for the third day in a row and there is no hope for tomorrow because he still has a fever. The school has a 24 hour fever rule and they are really reminding us to go by it. I've heard H1N1 has a tricky way of making people think they are better and then start feeling sick again. So I can understand why they are emphasizing that rule right now. It also means I can sleep in:-)
I probably shouldn't complain because as far as sickness goes this hasn't been too bad. But the kids have been together for long enough that they are starting to bicker and fuss at each other way too much. I've instituted a quiet time in the afternoon. They don't like it, but, it's worth the few minutes of fussing and crying about having quiet time to have an hour of quiet in the afternoon. I miss quiet. I miss being able to leave my house. Luckily my mom is awesome and lives 5 minutes away. She got me groceries so we could survive this stuck-ness. She also brought over her Boggle game because Ryan wanted to play. He told me he didn't want to do anything physical and asked if we have Boggle. So Grandma came to the rescue. She even stayed and played a few rounds with him. One time when she was dropping stuff off Lily asked if she could go home with Grandma. So she did and Grandma and Grandpa played with her until dinner time. Have I mentioned how awesome it is to have my parents living close? It rocks!
I think I might be getting spoiled;-)

Weekend Pictures

Check out my blog about this weekend Here.

Love Our New Screen Saver- maybe too much!

Our TV has this screen saver that rocks. It shows our pictures. All of our pictures that are on the computer. I've seen screen savers that show slide shows before and it's okay, but this one is awesome. It will show about 30 black and white images on the screen in little black or white frames and then it zooms in on one and shows it in full color. Sometimes it tricks you and just when it gets to the one you think it's zooming in on it shifts rapidly to one side or the other and you get a different picture. It's kind of fun. Then it fades back to black and white as it zooms out and reveals lots of other pictures like before. Those pictures shift up, down, sideways, diagonally and then it pauses. It then zooms in on another picture. I love it so much I could just sit and watch it for hours! The pictures look so good up there in high definition, so bright and vibrant. I L-O-V-E it!!! Did I mention that I love it? Well, I do. Sometimes it even gives you an extra treat. When it zooms in on a picture and you're like, "Oh, that was a good day. We had so much fun," it will show you more pictures from the same day. It's awesome. I've probably wasted more electricity and time looking at random photos from the past seven years(the years we have stored on the computer) than I care to count. It's so cool though and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling looking at pictures from my past. Just another reason to make all those hypothetical memory albums I keep working on in my brain into reality. Maybe I could watch the screen saver while I work on them;-)