The Collingwood Chronicles

Getting Ready for Christmas

2011-11-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

Totally cracking up at this:

Grateful Kids

2011-11-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

For family home evening at the beginning of the month, we set the timer for 10 minutes and went around the room thinking of everything we were thankful for. A couple days later, the kids decided to make their own list, with Darren writing everything down. They came up with over 100 things! So grateful for such sweet kids!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun trick-or-treating this year with the kids. We had hundreds of tricker-treaters this year - even lots of teenagers dressed up, so it was a fun atmosphere. Darren's friend, Shay, went with us. Sammi was old enough to really get into it and learn the rules. It was kind of funny to hear her calling out to the other kids as she perched on Jerry's shoulder, "Light not on! Light not on!!!" Jerry and I felt a little like the people in Oliver Twist, as we urged our kids on to house after house (well, who am I kidding - they were running anyway!) We ended up with tons of candy, and I'm proud to say that we even have a little bit of it left two weeks later. Here are a couple cute and not so cute pictures . . .

Once again, the dress up box that Santa brought four years ago came through for us and I didn't have to buy any new costumes. Miles was a power ranger, Darren was an ultimate Jedi, Claire was a Cheetah, and Sammi was the Little Mermaid. (She wouldn't smile in the picture because we wouldn't let her have the candy bowl.)

Isn't she so cute? (the one above)

Oh, did I say she was the Little Mermaid? Make that a treat monster with a capital M.
And when I brushed her teeth Halloween night, a dot fell out.

Back from the Dead

2011-11-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been almost six months since we posted anything?!! As mine and Jen's business, RetroChic Restorations, has taken off, I've been left with little spare time for anything but my family and calling as primary president. In an effort to not let the little things pass by too quickly and be forgotten, as they often are, I have set a goal to start posting on this blog once a week.

So, where to start? I guess we'll just start with the present and fill in the gaps as I have time. This past week was Halloween. Jerry and I were invited to an adult costume party the weekend before, and we were really excited, because we've always thought it would be so fun to be Stuart and his Mom from MadTV. (click on this link for some funny skits with Stuart.)

Here's the real Stuart . . .

and here we are . . .

We had all kinds of funny things planned to say throughout the party, and I think everyone was quite entertained! We even tied for first place for best costumes with Ken and Jen Sorenson, who dressed up like old people and were hilarious!

As you can see, Jerry loves his new man-jammies that I made for him!!! wah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

Talent Show

2011-05-17T04:59:00.000-07:00

This year Darren auditioned for and earned a spot in his school's talent show! He played two piano pieces from memory: "Scat Boogie," and "Malaguena". He is a natural performer - he said he wasn't nervous at all! We were so proud of him, and enjoyed watching all of the other talents as well. Many thanks to Josh Trefethen for taking these wonderful pictures!

New Business/New Blog

2011-05-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen and I have started our own business refinishing furniture! You can check it out on Facebook or on our new blog: RetroChicRestorations
We will be posting pictures of our projects, fun finds, and other tips. We are so excited to start this new adventure, and we hope you will join us!

Easter 2011

2011-04-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

So, I know Easter isn't about cute dresses - but I've always wanted to do matching outfits, and this year I found a really cute tutorial online. It looked so easy! :) Well, it wasn't hard, but ended up taking WAY longer than I thought it would! My brother Taylor came up for the weekend, and we always have fun with him. He is a really great uncle. On Saturday night, Jerry had to help with youth conference, so Taylor and I assembled the Easter Baskets and watched some funny episodes of MTV's "Disaster Date." Oh, and I told the kids that the Easter bunny isn't real. I was getting tired of all the questions - "How does he get to everyone's house? Does he drive a car? Or does he hop all the way? How come he hides eggs for some people but not others? Do we have to be asleep for him to come? Does he know my name?" etc. -you get the idea. I think next year, we will do eggs and baskets the night before, so that Easter can have more of a sacred meaning to our kids. We are so grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior, and we know that He lives and loves us today!

Adventures in Camping

2011-04-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Jerry took Darren, Claire and Miles camping for 2 1/2 days (and I died and went to heaven!) Anyway, when they got back, they were full of stories! On the first night, they ran into a biker couple that was trying to camp for free out in the woods. The kids were shining a flashlight around the woods in the dark, when they heard someone say, "Hey! Stop shining the flashlight over here!" Well, Jerry wasn't happy at them for yelling at the kids when they shouldn't have been there in the first place! He threatened to call the park ranger, and I guess that scared them off. I personally wouldn't have said anything - I would have been too scared.
It's funny that what did scare everyone was a bunch of racoons who weren't afraid of people. Jerry said that they kept circling the campfire and growling because they weren't getting any food!

The kids had fun riding their bikes and hiking the first day. They even saw an armadillo! On the second day, they went to Dinosaur Valley State park and swam in the lake and saw some real dinosaur tracks. Out of all the scary/exciting things that happened on the trip, we have to give the bravery award to Miles. On the second day as they were getting ready to go fishing, Darren and Miles were fighting and Miles fell out of the van and cut his head. So, the trip was cut a little short as they had to take Miles to a clinic to get stitches. We were so proud of Miles - he didn't cry at all!!! In the end, everyone had a great time, and we are all looking forward to many more camp outs!

Spring Break Continued

2011-04-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time in Temple. One day we hiked around Miller Springs and had a picnic at a beautiful overlook of the valley. Darren got to go trail-riding with Grandpa and Uncle Paul, and we made our usual trips to the clown park and the rocket park. We also added a new tradition - picture bingo! We laminated the cards my mom made for my sixth birthday party. They are really cute and we had fun using them and getting lots of prizes. My mom and I enjoyed watching lots of HGTV and lifetime movies with my dad, and visiting a couple furniture shops. We missed Jerry, though, and wished he could be there with us!

Goal: No new clothes for one year (kids!)

2011-04-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sooo . . . we are lucky to live in an area where it is easy to find nice clothes at garage sales, Goodwill, and second-hand stores. My goal for this year was to not buy any new clothes for the kids - except underwear, swimsuits, and shoes - I do have my standards! I have also found a lot of cute things for myself at the Goodwill Boutique! I am proud to say that we have stuck to that goal, and are 3/4 of the way through the year already! I will It feels good to save so much money, and to be more "green" by reusing things.

A Night at the Symphony

2011-03-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Sheppard's invited us to the symphony. We had about 5 minutes to get ready and look all dressed up, because of tire problems on the way home from Temple after spring break. We ate in a hotel next to the Meyerson Symphony. The "Rite of Spring" was the feature for the evening, and it was really cool, and it was fun to spend some time with Sam and Tiffany!

Sick Sammi

2011-03-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

It turns out that Sammi had Rotavirus! This is not something that the doctors give antibiotics for, but the danger is dehydration. We were so worried about her! She was not eating or drinking and had lots of diarrhea and was throwing up. I was trying to come up with an activity to pacify the kids since we were cooped up for spring break, so I told them we could get some treats and watch a movie. While we were at Kroger, Sammi threw up! As I was bending down trying to wipe it up, she threw up again - this time in my hair! Unfortunately, we hadn't gotten the treats yet - so to avoid the wrath of Claire and everyone else, we hurried around the store and got the rest of our stuff, trying to avoid anyone who had seen Sammi throw up! I can only imagine what people were thinking! Sammi just wanted to sleep and cuddle the whole time, so we decided to straighten her hair and see how long it is. I started getting really worried after a couple days, and ended up waking up every hour throughout the night to make her sip some water. She wouldn't eat or drink anything else. One time, my youngest brother, Paul, was hospitalized for dehydration, so I was that much more paranoid. I almost took her to the emergency room in the middle of the night, but Jerry thought she would be okay until the morning. When I took her to the doctor the next morning, and he said she was going to be okay! Our prayers were answered! We were able to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the rest of spring break, much to everyone's relief.

Spring Break - help!!!

2011-03-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

We've been counting down the days to go to Temple for spring break, but now Sammi and Miles are sick. We really can't go anywhere, because Sammi has thrown up a couple times - including at Kroger, on the floor and in my hair while I was trying to clean it up - and I think there might be mutiny sometime soon if this doesn't all clear up! Help!!!

Backyard: In Progress

2011-03-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

When Jerry's dad was here for Darren's baptism, he helped put in a new sprinkler system around the basketball court so that we can do some landscaping. It was a huge job! We are always so grateful for his help! We had a driveway full of dirt delivered, and the kids had fun playing in it while Jerry was at work. We also dug out one of our trees that was damaged. We can't wait to see the final product once Jerry figures out what he wants to plant!

Crazy Eight

2011-02-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

For Darren's birthday this year, he had a "Crazy Eight" Party - and it WAS crazy, that's for sure!!! He invited a couple friends from church and the neighborhood, and his entire school class.
Here's the cake - and YES, it took a long time to make - good thing I started the night before! The lettering got smeared when we put it in the refrigerator, but Darren still thought it was cool.

The weather was perfect, and we played lots of games outside. We had a Cheeto-eating contest,

a mummy wrapping contest,

(here are the two cute winners - the one on the right is supposedly Darren's girlfriend, Maddie)

We did the Limbo, played outside, opened gifts, and had a gift pass as we told some funny stories about Darren. The party ended with a bang when we let the kids spray each other with silly string!

Happy 8th Birthday, Darren!

2011-02-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Wow - we have an eight-year old!!! Isn't he so handsome?! We have had lots of fun celebrating Darren's birthday this year. His birthday was on Thursday. We started the morning out with monkey bread for breakfast. Then, Sammi and I joined him for lunch. A little while later we brought treats for his class - instead of cupcakes, he wanted donuts, and the kids loved that! We ended his birthday with presents, cake and ice cream. On Friday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese and had pizza.

Here are some special things about Darren:

1. He is so smart! He is such a quick learner!
2. He loves to play jokes.
3. He constantly surprises us with his ability to learn things quickly - for example, is a good pianist - he has only been taking lessons since September.
4. He is an entrepreneur - he has written and illustrated several books with plans to sell them to the neighbors!
5. Darren LOVES video and computer games!
6. He always does his chores promptly, and anything else I ask him to do, with the promise of some game time afterward!
7. He never sleeps in, and doesn't need a lot of sleep.
8. He has read almost all of the Harry Potter books. His current favorite books are: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Captain Underpants.

We love you, Darren! We are so proud of you!!!

Projects

2011-02-17T07:42:00.001-08:00

I love a good project, and since things have finally settled down after the holidays, I was excited to work on these:

birthday cards for my card exchange

this sweet baby quilt for a friend who is having a girl

Valentines Day 2011

2011-02-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice Valentines Day this year. I made heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. This year Darren and Claire were old enough to put together their own Valentines, which was nice. Unfortunately, while I was gone this weekend, they ate all of the candy that we were going to put in the valentines! So, we ended up using every last bit of candy and gum that we could find throughout the house to make sure each of their friends got a treat - this was VERY important to Claire!

Because it was on a Monday, Jerry and I did not go out (we'll go out this weekend - )instead, we had a nice, candlelight dinner with the kids. They thought it was really cool. We had salad, garlic bread, and lasagna. For their dessert, they each got a box of chocolates. We went around the table and said nice things about everyone. When it was my turn, everyone was being silly, so Miles said,"I like Mommy because she goes to the bathroom!" and then Sammi said in the cutest little voice,"Poo-Poo!" and looked around at everyone and laughed. How is it that even a 20-month old knows potty talk and thinks it's funny?! Oh well. Despite their potty mouths sometimes, I love my little sweethearts! (And my big one, too!) xoxox

Sammi Talk

2011-02-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

Some of Sammi's babble-mumble-jumble is finally starting to make sense to us! She is 21 months old now, and she can say all of the important words:

Mama
Daddy
baby
cookie
cake
chip
outside
shoes
kiss
thank you
please
sorry
uh-huh
no
eeww
poo-poo
night-night
I want one (or some, this, more . . . )

Dining/Living room makeovers

2011-02-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

Our dining room has been empty (except for the picture) for the four years that we've lived in our house. We actually got this right before Thanksgiving, but I'm just now getting around to taking pictures. We haven't been brave enough to let the kids eat in there yet, so I guess it is just for looks!

I really liked some place settings I saw in Pottery Barn, only they were really $$$. I found almost the same chargers at Target for $8 (each) instead of $18, used dishes/glasses I already had, and got the place mats and napkins from Garden Ridge!
I love it when I can copy looks for less!

And, we finally got furniture for our living room (back in June!)

Before :

and after:

All-State Jazz

2011-02-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I got to go to San Antonio to hear my brother Paul play with the All-State Jazz band. He was one of three trombonists in the whole state to earn a spot in the band, so it was a really big deal! He had an awesome solo, and it was fun to listen to some good jazz.

Snow Day(s)!

2011-02-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

A big storm blew in, and the kids were out of school for four days one week, and one day the next. Jerry stayed home from work for two days. You think our city could invest in at least a couple of snow plows, considering all the lost revenue each year when we get a storm. You really can't go anywhere, because the roads are solid ice. The kids and I did have fun ice-skating down our street, though. We didn't stay out for very long since it was only 21 degrees. Basically, we didn't go anywhere for almost a week. I was glad that I had gone to the grocery store before the storm hit. It was nice to sleep in every day and have no obligations, but we were ready when it was time to go back to school!

My favorite quote came from my friend, Melanie, when she posted on Facebook: "I went ice-skating in my car today! Fun." I'm glad she lives close enough to walk to my house. She and Preston (Miles' best friend,) came over one afternoon and we had a huge snowball fight with the kids.

30th Birthday

2011-01-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

My birthday was the day after the party, and I had to wake up early to go to a primary president's meeting at the stake center. While I was gone, Jerry took the kids to the Dollar Store to pick out gifts for me. They found some great stuff- I got earrings, a notepad, a can strainer, and some gum! My mom, dad, and brother stopped by for the afternoon. We had tons of treats and chocolate cake (thanks, Laura!) leftover from the party, so I didn't make a birthday cake. In the evening, Jerry and I ordered take-out from Olive Garden and watched Inception. It was a great birthday! I am so thankful for my life!

Thirty Going on Thirteen

2011-01-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

I have been looking forward to turning 30 for a long time, because it was a great excuse to have a fun party! The theme for my party was "Thirty going on Thirteen." We ordered pizza, ate lots of junk food and candy, played truth or dare, and painted nails. Everyone brought pictures of themselves from when they were thirteen. My friend Deborah brought her massage table and gave everyone massages - she is so awesome! For party favors, I made a mixed CD of some of my favorite songs from the early 1990's. It was a fun party, and I feel so lucky to have so many fun, wonderful friends to share my birthday with.

Jerry's New Car

2011-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't normally mention a new car, but this was as big step for us, especially since we haven't had a car payment in over 6 years. We finally sold the Nissan Altima after having it for 9 years and putting over 100,00 miles on it! (It had 227,00 total!) Even though it's not the BMW 5 series that he's wanted for forever, it's a major step up, and Jerry is loving the Acura TL! We are grateful for the long hours he puts in commuting and working each day - he deserves it!

Christmas Pajama's

2010-12-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

This is the first and LAST year that I will make matching pj's for everyone! Since they were supposed to be a surprise, it was really hard to get the fit right for everyone. Even though I tried to use their pants as a guide . . .

Jerry's fit him like a pair of tapered-leg woman's jeans
Mine were too tight in the hips
I think Darren's were okay
Claire's were too short
and Miles had a big pooch of fabric on the rear
I didn't even try to modify the pattern to fit Sammi

I will say that I was proud of myself for finishing them.

Darren's first piano recital

2010-12-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

Several other piano teachers and I gave a combined Christmas recital. It was Darren's first one, and he did great! He played "Silent Night" as a duet with his teacher, and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" from memory.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2010-12-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

I pulled the Santa card the other day when the kids were being really rotten, and reminded them that Santa only comes to kids who are being nice to each other! Well, I'm not sure how effective it was, because later in the day, I heard Claire giving this explanation to Miles:

Claire: "Miles, Santa has a list about you, and after you do a hundred bad things, he doesn't bring you any presents. Just a rock." (I like how they get to do a hundred bad things before anything happens.)

Miles: "Ohh."

Claire: "But don't worry, you'll still get presents from Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma and Grandpa Collingwood, mommy and daddy, and Uncle Taylor, Aunt Christy, Uncle Ellis, Uncle Paul, and Uncle Jon and everybody else.

Miles: "Okay."

Miles on his bike

2010-12-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving break, Grandpa taught Miles how to ride a bike! He is still working on using the brakes to stop instead of his feet, but otherwise does pretty well, and hasn't had any major falls. A couple weeks ago, I let him ride his bike up to the school to pick the other kids up. On the way back, he wasn't able to stop quick enough and ran into all of the kids that were waiting at the crosswalk. Since he wasn't going very fast, no one got hurt - but all the kids on their scooters toppled like dominoes - and they were NOT happy!

All of this for $30!

2010-12-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was little and my aunts Debbie and Sally took us "garage-sailing," I have love going to garage sales. It is especially fun here, because each neighborhood does a community garage sale, and they happen every weekend for a couple months in the spring and fall. Some of my favorite deals this year were:

1. easy bake oven + 8 mixes and a box of cooking accessories: $12
2. solid wood rocking chair (more on this, later) : $20
3. 2 bikes (I looked them up, and they were $175-200 bikes) and a razor scooter: $31
4. Cat-in-the-Hat Costume for Miles (his FAVORITE movie character) : $1
5. Pottery Barn Kids surfer peg rack - totally goes with the decor in the boys' room: $1

I only bought stuff that looked new, and ended up saving most of it for Christmas. All in all, I think I spent less than $100. How cool is that?!

Black Friday

2010-11-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Black Friday! Something about getting to shop in the middle of the night is just so fun to me! Ellis, Christy, Jon and I went to WalMart at midnight on Thanksgiving. It was CRAZY! The crowd was so thick you could hardly move, and people were shouting at each other and throwing boxes through the air to each other! (It was a little scary.) Meanwhile, back at home, Jerry was doing his research on LCD TV's, and at 2:00 a.m. decided to go wait in line at Conn's to get a replacement TV for our media room. What was funny about that, is that my mom's car was parked behind the van, but he didn't want to wake her up, so he spent about 20 minutes very carefully zig-zagging inch by inch across the garage to the other bay so that he could get out. He's got some serious skills! He also stopped at Staples to pick up two chairs for our office. My dad bought a new computer and printer for my mom. We were all very tired the next day!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

This year, my entire family was able to come for Thanksgiving! It was our first year to host Thanksgiving in a really long time. Luckily, my mom still cooked the turkey and made the stuffing, and Christy made the yummiest rolls. I made pies and everything else. We had lots of fun game nights and yummy food. Miles had so much fun with his cousins Tommy and Joey - we didn't even see them for most of the time; they were just off playing. Thanksgiving evening ended with a dance off with almost everyone getting into it! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures - just video. Sammi was a dancing machine! We are so thankful that we can spend our holidays with family!

The Secret Code

2010-11-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

One day when we were walking home from school, Darren wanted to go ahead of us, so I told him the code to open the garage. Several days later, he came downstairs all excited.

"Guess what, Mom?! I was trying to watch a show on TV, but it was blocked - so I put in the code for the garage, and IT WORKED!!!!!"

Great. He's a smart kid. But now we need to change our password for everything.

Claire's "Make-over"

2010-11-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

I took the kids to the Dollar Store to pick out prizes, and Claire chose a make-up set. Here she is looking all beautiful(she did her makeup herself, then asked me to take a picture:)

. . . and up close!

My brother asked if "play makeup" is pretty much the same thing as real makeup, except in really terrible colors? I think he might be right . . .

The Treat-Monster Guards Her Stash

2010-11-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

My Lil' Pumpkins

2010-11-01T07:09:00.001-07:00

The kids had a day off from school, so I took them to the pumpkin patch. The weather was beautiful, and they had fun picking out their own pumpkins, playing in the hay maze and bounce houses, and going on a hay ride!

New Looks

2010-11-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Darren got glasses, and Claire got a haircut! I can't believe how fast they are growing up!