HAPPY NEW YEAR!

For some of you friends and family, it is already 2008! Here at the Sheridans it is very uneventful but we are attempting some crazy games....I think Battle of the Sexes is coming. AJ and Ali went to Disneyland today and Ali is spending the night with a friend and her family in Anaheim. Ryan just passed out on the couch while watching Transformers, Jack has been in bed since 8:15 and will remain there for the whole night...please God! So that leaves AJ, who got home a few hours ago, my mom (aka Gammie), Doug (falling asleep as we speak) and myself who for some reason has found a new spark of energy after a hot bath since I spent the whole day putting away the Christmas decor. Very sad I must say! My house now looks totally empty and gloomy. The only thing that remains is some of the lights on the house that our friend will come take down in a few days. Jack remains in "no sleep" mode which just means that he DOES sleep...just not very long. I put him to bed around 8pm and he now is getting up every 4 hours or so which makes for a super fun night of frustration. I think he is cutting some more teeth and am hoping this little phase of insanity will pass.

Well, happy new year everyone! Thanks for being a part of our 2007 and here's to a great 2008! Enjoy some pics from past new years......

Last year in Sunriver

What happens when the Sheridan boys run out of things to do while waiting for midnight to come.......... 2005

Jack's 1st Christmas!

What a great day! Doug and I decided to not exchange gifts this year which I personally think was a great idea! It was so much fun for us to just watch the kids open gifts! The big gifts this year were Xbox, cell phones, ugg boots, juicy couture, and a scooter called a "fusion". I think AJ would say his big gift was the xbox from his sister, Ali's fav gift was probably getting her cell phone back since she's been without it (long story) for "exactly 40 days!" Ali said. And Ryan got a lot of new games for his Wii and a fusion scooter which is just a different version of the Razor. Last but certainly not least, Jack was the most fun to watch since he had more fun playing with what the gift came in than the actual gift. His big gift this year was an activity house which is VERY cool! Really good for crawlers or in his case, babies that are about to crawl at any moment! Although Doug and I did not exchange gifts, our very thoughtful kids put together a gift certificate for us to have a night to ourselves with dinner and a movie next week while my mom is here. So thoughtful and just what we need!
Well, I know some of you reading this are enjoying the snow or at least very cold weather but here, today, is going to be about 70 degrees so it's not so Christmas-like around here other than the lights at night. For all friends and family that sent gifts, thank you so much! Each and every one of you is a blessing to our family and we look forward to making lots of memories with you this coming 2008!
Here's some pics from yesterday. Enjoy!




And I couldn't resist this great picture of the boys right at bedtime. How precious!

Merry Christmas from the Sheridans!

Well, the big day is here! Hope you all woke up to a wonderful morning and have a great day! Our family woke up around 7:30am and the kids rushed down the stairs to find Santa had left his usual empty plate and cup and his "magic dust" as my kids call it. Santa was good to us this year but we haven't forgotten what this day is really about. Last night we went to our church to see Pastor Rick talk about what really matters about this day. It was refreshing and made me realize how much I've missed our church.(we haven't been in a while since hockey takes up most Saturdays and Sundays) I think we are definately going to make this a priority from now on. For those of you that would like to view the service, you can log onto http://www.saddlebackchurch.com/ and watch it. Anyhoo, to all our friends and family, have a great Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve!

So one more day and then it's Christmas! What are YOU doing today? 50% of my kids are gone right now and I just woke up so life is good. Doug let me sleep in today but it was hard to keep sleeping with Jack's bird impressions going on downstairs. Ali went to the Crystal Cathedral last night to set up for their services as part of her community service she has to do for school and then today her and her bestfriend, Brittan are in downtown LA passing out breakfast burritos to the homeless with Brittan's mom. What a great kid huh? AJ is at a friends house and I'm sure will be making an appearance soon. As for my day....I have yet to even figure out what's going on. I think I will probably call Jenn here soon and see if her and Adam are going to bring the girls over for dinner and to open gifts and then I think we are going to hit one of the services at church tonight but not sure which one. Ryan has been battling a serious cold so we will see what happens. This picture is from 2003 when we were having our pool put in and the kids thought it would be funny to take a picture with the porta-potty that stood out in front of our house for 2 months....so attractive but the post man loved it for those potty breaks. The light is awful in the first pic....Ryan's face looks like it's melting...I'm not sure what happened but the second picture was what we ended up sending out that year. Enjoy and have a great Christmas Eve!

What do you think??

So, as promised, I took a similar picture of Jack this morning.....didn't do so well with the whole "re-creation" thing but here's what I got. Tell me what you think?

2 more days!

Only two more days left and then it's Christmas! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by! Last year this time I had just found out that I was having a boy and my sister-in-law, Jenn had just recently found out she was expecting little miss Haylee. Now they are both here and we are getting ready to celebrate their 1st Christmas!(makes me a little choked up) This picture I found is from 2001, our first year in our new house and the year my nephew, Taylor was born. We had gone to my mom's in WA for Thanksgiving and went to go see Santa. And what Christmas would not be complete without the infamous "kid freaking out" Santa shot. We took a few before finally coming up with the last picture you see.

This Santa was soooooo patient with us!

3 days left!

Are you ready? I can safely say that I am totally ready for Christmas! The only thing I am wishing for this year is some good ole' rain....maybe even some snow while I'm wishing! I just talked to Micah and she says it is raining so hard in WA right now that she can barely see the road while she's driving....scary thought. (love you!) Anyhoo, this picture is circa 1999 (Ryan's first Christmas). Doug actually asked me if this was Jack or Ryan. They look so much alike it's scary! I will attempt to take a similar picture today and let you all decide. Enjoy!

4 more days!

Circa 1998. This was our Christmas picture for that year. Amazing to see how far we've come and how far I have come in just my ability to take pictures. Not that I'm an expert because I am far from that but I just look at this picture and think "Was that the best background I could have chosen?" Anyhoo, the kids were in kindergarten that year and I was newly prego with Ryan at the time so maybe my brain being overtaken by the pregnancy is why I chose this background???
Today is a very rare day where we have NOTHING going on. Ali is having ice cream with some friends after school and I have to hit the grocery store, post office, dry cleaners, bank, Michaels, the place where I get my facials to give her a gift, and all before 2pm when Ryan gets home. That is a day of doing "nothing" in the Sheridan house.

Save Wilbur!

Tonight was Ryan's Christmas play except it was based around Charlotte's web since they have been reading the book. All the songs sung were words relating to the story of Charlotte's Web but sung using Christmas tunes. There was a silent night song, rockin' around the christmas tree, and some more I can't remember. Kenzie came with us and had a ball. Although Ryan didn't have a solo, I still got some great shots of him and his buddy Spencer. Ryan is the top far right with the white shirt/red bandana. I don't know why these didn't turn out so good. I think I need to use a different setting on my camera.

5 more days!

This is the twins at my mom's in 1997 (same year Doug and I got married). I think we went to her house in WA right after Christmas that year. Even then Ali was excited about getting clothes for Christmas!

6 days left!

This picture was taken at Doug's company Christmas party when the kids were 2....so another one from 1995. They were so cute with each other! And then here's one I'm sure AJ's will appreciate....him and his blanky.....kinda reminds me of pigpen from Charlie Brown. I guess it was cold inside and he didn't want to lose it???? Or maybe he was having a bad hair day???

Countdown to Christmas!

So it's 7 days until Christmas and I thought in the spirit of things I would play the ole' "ghost of Christmas past". This picture I took of the twins in 1995 (our first Christmas together). This was actually our Christmas card picture for that year and I think sybolizes just how close they were....I say "were". They are still close but I don't think you will see them hugging and kissing each other like this picture anytime soon. Enjoy!

Lucky me!

Today AJ, Ali and Ryan went to Knott's Berry Farm with Charlotte so it gave me an opportunity to finish up my Christmas shopping at the Orange County Marketplace (aka the swap meet). Doug met us there after his hockey practice and we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home to take naps. My little guy is such a good sport. This is what I had to deal with all day while mommy shopped. Lucky me! I'm currently totally obsessed with Jack's hair....yes, that's a fauxhawk courtesy of a little baby lotion....he was just meant to be cool.

IDK, My BFF Micah??

Today I thought I would blog about someone that has been a huge part in my life for 20 years now. My best friend Micah and I have known each other since junior high and have always been very close but not as close I think since we have become wives together and most of all, mothers together. Micah and I both got pregnant with our first kids in 1998 and then both had our second kids this past year. Kylie and Ryan are exactly 2 months apart and Jack and Cade are almost 3 months apart. I'm blogging about Micah today because not only did I realize that this will be our 20th year being friends(we are soooo old!), but today she gave me some great advice that made a HUGE difference in my day and possibly my life. I know it sounds corny but it's true. I am truly blessed to have such a great friend in my life that I love so much and who I know will always be there for me. Thanks Micah Joy! :-) As a tribute to our 20 years, here's some lovely pics that I managed to find still on my desktop....ignore the quality of some....the first one is from 1989!

Do you ever feel like this?

With Christmas right around the corner I am starting to feel the exhaustion of everything. Between my normal routine of taxi driver, I am trying to get shopping done, Christmas cards out, and not lose my mind in the process. Yesterday as I was working away at paying bills online and checking my emails, the room suddenly got quiet. I turned around and this is what I saw. That little cutie pie symbolizes what I feel like each and everyday. The difference is is that HE is smart enough to stop and take a nap. So today, regardless of how many things I will accomplish and have to do, my biggest goal is to STOP and take a nap.

Happy Birthday McKenzie!

Then.............and Now

Today was my niece, McKenzie's 3rd birthday! I can't believe how time flies but here we are and she has grown up so much! In the last year she has gone from talking gibberish (is that a word?) to she won't shut up and what a sassy little thing she is! I am sure I was just as bad if not worse since Kenzie is the first born just like I was and she is also Daddy's girl just like I was which means that she can get my brother Adam to do just about anything she wants with that little smile or a simple "Daddy?" It's really quite interesting to witness. Anyhoo, today Ryan had a hockey game and then we headed to Adam and Jenn's for some pizza and cupcakes and to witness Ms. Birthday Girl sing happy birthday to herself because she wouldn't let anyone else sing and she also read all her own birthday cards which was absolutely adorable since it was obviously made up and didn't make sense to anyone but her. After the party we went home and soon after I had to take my mom (did I mention she was here for the weekend?) to the airport. Rewind to the beginning of the weekend.....Friday we took the kids to see Santa which means we took Jack to see Santa and the other kids got drug along. Ryan kinda wanted to see him but wasn't so sure...he's 8 ya' know and that's borderline big boy that doesn't sit on Santa's lap anymore. My mom also came in from Portland. Saturday morning we had to be at Ali's cheer competition at El Toro High at 8am.....her team went on at 9:30, did awesome and took 2nd place! Yeah Ali! Later that day, AJ had a hockey game in Riverside which they won...yeah AJ! Then today , as I said before, Ryan had a hockey game in Anaheim which they lost.....bummer for Ryan....and AJ's team had another game which they won....yeah AJ!
So that was our weekend. Once again filled with sports and no church which I am truly bummed about but I know we will get there and be able to get to church again soon. Christmas is 15 days away and I am starting to get the high speed shakes! I still have so much to do and not enough time. Where's that magic wand when you need it? Also, for those of you wondering where's your Christmas card......they are coming I swear! I'm taking the kids out tomorrow for some pix and hopefully we will get lucky!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Okay, so it's not his actual birthday.....but my little monkey is 8 months old today! I can't believe how time has flown by! Here's a picture of what Jackson (Jack) looked like the day he was born ....

And here's what he looks like every time he wakes up.......

My happy little guy....well, maybe not so little. Jack weighs about 25 pounds and is wearing a 2T in some clothes which for those of you that don't know what that means, that means he's about the size of a 2 year old except he doesn't walk yet and mommy's back hurts! For a kid that was 3 weeks early and weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces at birth, that's pretty darn good! Jack has "sitting up" down pretty good and is currently working on crawling. Right now he just gets on all fours and rocks so I am guessing he will be crawling soon. He has 4 teeth but is cutting two more on either side of his 2 top teeth but you'd never know it since he's just so darn happy all the time. Our biggest milestone this past month is that he is now officially sleeping through the night. For the longest time I was battling with him still wanting that feeding in the middle of the night but with a little willpower and turning off the baby monitor a few nights, we are officially over that.......thank goodness! Well, that's about it. Tune in next month for what big milestone he's come to which may just be crawling....we will see. Here's one more picture of him playing....don't you just want to eat him up??? Look at those muscles!

What's that wet stuff coming from the sky??

Okay, so it is a miracle! I blogged it and it came true!.....no, it's not snowing but it rained all day yesterday and it may just make another appearance today! For you family and friends in the northwest reading this I know you are probably laughing but you have to realize how huge this is for Orange County. Unfortunately the one thing bad about the rain is that the families in our area that were affected by the fires in October are now being evacuated once again but for mud slides.

On a positive note, the rain forced me to stay in and decorate over the past few days and last night we finally got both trees up (not decorated yet) and my house is almost totally decorated. I went a little light this year and didn't put up about 1/4 of my decor because the thought of putting it all away after New Year's was too much to bear. Also, for those of you that read my blog about my family's obsession....mostly my husband's.....with hockey, here's a picture to prove just how rediculous Doug can be. This is the banner AJ's team brought home from Vegas. Why do I have the feeling that if Doug was single, that would have somehow stayed in our front room as permanent decor in the house???? Fortunately wife trumps hockey obsessed hubby so it stayed there for about 24 hours and now it's proudly hung at the rink in Anaheim.

Last but not least, this is what a happy baby looks like after eating pureed chicken noodle soup!