When Santa Clause gets Your Letter...

Santa came to our house, and must not have been offended by the lack of cookies. He was welcome to the carrots, asparagus, or cottage cheese in the fridge but there was no fudge, cookies, or toffee here this year.

We got Emma up at 7am as usual, and she headed straight for the stocking (full of toddler goodies)!

All grandparents and family were very generous to provide Emma with beloved new toys. She started out a little frightened of the noise makers but now LOVES them. Books, unfortunately have taken a backseat.

Santa brought Emma a new throne, I mean car seat.

Shane and I thought seeing snow for Christmas in Mt. Charleston would be a novel idea, however, so did the rest of the Las Vegas valley. We packed Emma up in her new car seat (which she loved, especially facing forward and seeing out the windows). But we never made it out of the car, too many people, who had no clue how to drive in snow. We were content just to drive up the mountain and drive back home.No Christmas would be complete without getting new socks, at least that was the tradition in my household growing up!

Now if we could just teach Emma that not every clothing article is a hat!

Twas' the Night Before Christmas:

Twas the Night before Christmas and all through the house,

The Carpenter’s sang while wrapping gifts, like Mickey Mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

just out of reach, for Emma plays there.

The Mother was nestled all snug in the bed,

wishing all was clean and the fish were fed;

for Christmas is busy and Mother thought:

I hope the Christ Child will not be lost;

(Perhaps this is why we’ve removed much Christmas cost).

When out of the blue a cry, not strange;

the baby’s awake with binky out of range.

Away from warm covers Mother flew like a flash,

grabbed binky, changed diaper, to avoid a big rash;

When, what to Mom’s wondering eyes should appear,

the baby still sleepy rubbed eyes and stopped tears;

Back to bed next to Father, who deserved a deep sleep,

Mother climbed into bed with 2 more hours before the beep;

Looking forward to Emma with presents to be enticed,

the camera is charged, time to now think of Christ.

I'm a model you know what I mean:

Dear Grandma,

Thanks for my cute Christmas get-up that was marked 3-6 months but has worked for 2 different Winters.

Now for the show:
Emma is wearing a soft plush rudolph jacket with coordinating pants. Note those cute polka-dots.
This jacket has an easy use zipper and warm hood.
Underneath she's wearing a fun splash of summer swimsuit made by...who know's it came from a garage sale.
This outfit is great for Saturday morning swim class at the local Rec center! We stay warm going in and out of the 'Parent & Me' swim class, giving more focus to blowing bubbles, motorboat, and splashing.

Up on the House Top...

Well it might not be a sleigh with reindeer but we were UP alright.

Shane took us on a quick tour of the LV strip. Papillon flies out of Boulder mostly but the VIP location is in Las Vegas, so naturally I went there ;)

Emma enjoyed the soft lull and hum of the ride, she kept getting sleepy:

This was the first time I got to enjoy a part of what my husband does for a living. I LOVED it! I'm looking forward to a ride in the Spring, that's when the Grand Canyon is in full bloom, lush, and alive. But in the meantime I might just hop a ride every now and again out of Vegas!

One More Cup of Coffee (before I go to the Valley Below):

Bob Dylan might of had a point:

Tis the Season for finals, homework, and studies. Shane took on a big load this semester and I've been so proud of his hard work to complete his classes. Currently he's researching the effects of caffeine on the human body. His hypothesis: caffeine should be a regulated drug especially for pilots because of the effects it has or something like that (he always puts things more eloquently than me).

While following his research I've gleaned some information that I JUST have to blog, I mean really, it's intense.

So in my non-formal way, because I already did my schooling and don't have to get the grade; these are some of the crazy effects Caffeine has and some of the facts on how much caffeine is in what drinks:

*Caffeine kills, there are reported deaths and the amount is different for each person: guaranteed a person will die of a caffeine overdose of 10g (Shane would cite this stuff, I'm just paraphrasing some of the things I read over his shoulder-if you want sources you'll have to leave me a comment).

*Some of the Effects of Caffeine:

*Leads to Addiction

*Central Nervous System Stimulant:Jitteriness, agitation, Insomnia, Difficulty concentrating, Rapid heart rate

*Decrease in blood flow in adults

*Growth deficiencies in infants (for all you pregnant and nursing mothers)

*Physiological stress

*Lower Metabolism, increase weight gain, increase blood pressure

*Gastrointestinal disorders

*Osteoporosis

*Acid Reflux, urinary disorders, restless leg syndrome, tremors, irritable bowel syndrome

* Increase Cholesterol levels and potential Coronary heart disease

*Okay okay we knew pop was bad for us and we side step the issue of coffee and we HAVE to have a Red Bull in the afternoon. What people REALLY want to know is "What can I get away with?"

*The body has NO use for caffeine, it's not a nutrient. You can live without EVER having caffeine. However, if 10g is a guarantee, than one 12oz Coca Cola is only .035g. That's why God gave us Agency.

*There have been overdose reported cases as low as .4g (that's 2 Rockstar Energy Shot drinks) Thankfully these were only seizures, these cases lived.

*Here is a slightly gathered list of how much caffeine is in one serving of said drinks. You can use THIS link to see more info.

Coca Cola Classic	35 mg Caffeine
Tea, Brewed	47 mg Caffeine
Coffee, Instant	57 mg Caffeine
Coffee, Brewed	107.5 mg Caffeine
Weak Energy Drink: Player Aid Energy Shot, Nerd Energy Drink, Mountain Dew Game Fuel	120 mg Caffeine
Hot Cocoa	8 mg Caffeine
Average Energy Drink	220 mg Caffeine
Extreme Energy Drink: ALRI Hypershot, 5150 Juice	500+ mg Caffeine
Red Bull	80+ mg Caffeine
Monster	160+ mg
Rock Star	120+ mg

Rainbow Brite See the shining light...

...yes I'm gonna take ya to Rainbow Brite Starlite flies.

Sunday our new ward boundaries were announced in an evening Stake meeting. Naturally church that Sunday afternoon was crazy. We all speculated and wondered who would be where next week.

My little commitment challenge was about to go the way of the Dodo. So in an attempt to keep my current CTR 7 class happy we upped the day on our Cupcake Party.

In order to earn a cupcake party all active children needed to be there with their scriptures for 2 weeks in a row. The rules were bent slightly but I feel no remorse because these cupcakes were AWESOME!

I made Texas cupcakes (these are huge, like the size of Costco cupcakes) following a recipe and instructions found HERE. It was a lot of work, like several hours start to finish but lots of fun.

Shane helped me color code and bake Saturday night and he was so kind to taste test the frosting for me on Sunday morning! I whipped out my frosting tips and sprinkles and we went to town.

After a quick lesson we followed the leader to the kitchen where the kids were able to eat and make a mess to their hearts content. The children loved them. They were huge, they were colorful, and they had homemade frosting and color coordinating sprinkles-what more could you ask for?