Dear Santa,

Here is my Christmas Wish List

1. Eat any and all amounts of cheese balls and logs without the consequences.
2. Show up to every party, with the food steaming and the table set.
3. Help Rosie be more "girly". Someone besides me needs to be the teacher.
4. Have someone send out Christmas cards for me. (I'm not doing Christmas cards otherwise)
5. Have wigs and hair pieces come back into style. Grandma Ruth knew how to "rock" the look.
6. Send a chef over right around 5:00 p.m. each day with groceries, ready to get to work.
7. Not feel guilty for not sending out neighbor gifts ie cookies, treats, etc.
8. Like Snugglies, I'd like for the Muumuu's to make it big this style season as well. Every young 20-30 something-year-old should have one right? Lined in fluffy goodness too. Maybe even a coordinating hair wrap to go with the Muumuu would be nice as well.
9. New slippers.

You might think that I'm joking about these, when in fact, I'm not.

Thank you Santa.

The Latest and Greatest- Check It Out!

Alright lady friends. I know you are all sitting at home with a house full of kids and possibly a hidden talent that needs to be explored. I admit that I have a thing for cards and scrapbooking so this website is awesome. And being that I majored in this area this website has got me going crazy. CardsInk.com is a website were you can go and submit card designs, vote on card designs and purchase other people's card designs. This company allows it's users to vote on the cards, those cards with the highest votes make it to the printing press or offset printer and you earn $100 bucks. I know you all have some design in the back of your heads and you are wondering if other people would think it is cool as well. So find out. Check out CardsInk.com

Offset Printing- The following card is an example of an already popular artist Holly Brooke Jones. But you don't have to be as well know as her to make it to print.


Offset printing- This card is by Lisa Nelson.


Letterpress! If you don't know what a letter press is Google it. Imagine a 100 year old press, the large kind- think Guttenburg, or think colonial, with real ink and a person manually setting each card, yeah it's that cool.

This is art work designed by the well known artist Jacob Carter.
I have ordered a number of cards from this site. Truly amazing pieces of art that you share with your friends. Keep in mind these are not cheep Hallmark cards selling 5 for a buck at Albertsons. This is art put into a card. I've been really impressed by the quality of paper CardInk is using, one of my obsessions is paper- so if you know paper like I do, you will love their 100% cotton paper- letter pressed works of art.

Check them out! CardsInk.com my new obsession. For those of you wondering, no I have not submitted any art work yet. It is on my to do list. When I do you will know because I'll be begging you all to go on and vote for my art work!!

Dear Dan,

Don't people always give what they secretly want to receive?

Wish granted. Here is a birthday video back.

Love,

Your wonderful, flamboyant, bodacious, esoteric, loquacious, punctual, serendipitous, soporific, laudable, parsimonious, bombastic, pugnacious sisters.

Thanksgiving is my brother's birthday from Keri Dyer on Vimeo.

Wiley's Movie- Only for the Grandparents and cousins.

I just showed him how to find the pictures and this is what he came up with.
So cute, and he is the star of his own show.

Last weeks highlights

We lived off of left overs the whole week. No grocery shopping for me.
A neighbor wrote Wiley's Primary Program talk for me.
Rosie cut her own hair just hours before the Primary Program.
Eva pulled herself to her feet using the couch and let go.
Wiley asked me, "Would you mind if I used a swear word.". . . "Oh my gosh, it was so cool!"
We finally found a chemical based formula that Eva is not allergic to.
Ben mopped the floors.
I went to bed on Saturday night at 9:15 p.m.

The Birds, the Bees, and Bill Nye


So Ben had a rather revealing conversation with Wiley the other day. He was in the kitchen making some of his world-famous potato salad when Wiley entered to show him one of his new LEGO creations. Ben congratulated him as Wiley showed him the various features. Then the conversation took a different turn:

Wiley: Dad, I think we should have another baby.

Ben: Oh really? Already? But we just got baby Eva.

Wiley: Yes. Only this time I think we should have a baby boy.

Ben: Well, I'll see what we can do about that.

Wiley: Do you know how to make a baby boy?

Ben: (somewhat panicked) Ah ...

Wiley: It's easy. You see, Mom has two X's and you have an X and a Y. If you want to make a girl, you have to give Mom your X, and if you want to make a boy you give Mom your Y.

Ben: (slightly relieved, but also intrigued) I see. And where did you learn this?

Wiley: From Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

Ben: (unable to resist asking the $64,000 question) So Wiley, how exactly do I give Mom a Y?

Wiley: (considers this for a long moment) Mmmmh. That's a good question. I'm not sure. I guess you would use a lot of words with Ys in them.

Ben: Is that the only way?

Wiley: Well, I guess you could also tell Mom that you love her. Or maybe you could just say a prayer.

Ben: You are one smart boy.

At that point, Wiley wandered off to make another LEGO ship. Ben relayed that story to me shortly thereafter. I don't remember seeing that episode with Bill Nye the Science guy.

Sweetness

My little gift. She is amazing. So easy, so perfect.

Memorable Moment

Yesterday, all three kids and I were at the grocery store, something I HATE to do. Here is how things went down at the check out.

Rosie was climbing all over the cart and onto the grocery counter, she was manic, very anxious to get out of there. Even the checker asked her to get off the counter. I warned her of consequences and had her get back into the cart. Which she did reluctantly. It was a tense moment. I wanted to just be done shopping. She stood in the cart with her hands on her hips. Then she motioned with one little finger for me to come closer, I thought she would whisper something in my ear instead with her arms flailing in the air and in her loudest voice she screamed,

"I don't make deals with peasants!"

The checker and I busted up laughing. Apparently, she has seen The Emperor's New Groove one too many times.

Kuzco: I got a little secret for you. Come here. No, closer. [Pacha comes closer]
Kuzco: [loudly, in Pacha's ear] I don't make deals with peasants! ...

The Prize

Months ago the Dyer and Nilsson cousins entered into a "Family History Trivia" battle to prepare for a huge family reunion in Nebraska. You wouldn't think that we are so eager to engage in a challenge without knowing the prize but hey we've competed over stranger things, namely, the "first one to 1,000 pushups". . . but as I was saying. A prize for this challenge was promised and the challenge spanded more than a month and amazingly I won, but only by a few points.

Weeks past as I waited patiently by the mail box for my promised prize. Finally, the prize arrived and not by the mail man, but by one of our challenge sponsors, all the way from southern California! I know what you are thinking, what could the prize be that would warrant a trip up from Cali?? I tore opened the box, while Ben ran to get the camera, a unwrapped and unwrapped and unwrapped and to my utter delight found three great prizes.

First, a cute note from our game sponsor, but not just any note, one that used to belong to Grandma Ruth's stationary collection. She had cards for every occasion on hand. (I also collect cards like she did-so this was special to get something from her collection.)

Next, a cash prize! I know, great eh and not just a measly $5 bucks. When Wiley saw the money he yelled with the hugest eyes, "A hundred dollars, Mom, you got a hundred dollars!!" I know, what a great family trivia prize!!

Lastly, the best prize of all was unwrapping Grandma Ruth's recipe book. There is page after page of her handwritten recipes. Some of them her's, many of them collected from the people she loved. Many recipes had Aunt Dot written next to them. (Grandma's Sister). Her notable contributions are "Aunt Dot's Meat Pies", "Dot's Yellow Cheese", "Dot's Dill Pickles" "Dot's green bean salad". I also noticed quite a few from my own mother. Amazing, my mom's own Mother-in-law thought she had good recipes! That is saying something because of Grandma's own collection and skills are known all over the nation, and I mean that literally.

Grandma Ruth was notorious for her food (as well as service, but that is a blog for another time). But you should know that it is not just about having the recipes that make this prize so amazing, because I may not make her "Green Tomato Jam" or her "Sloppy Joes for 100". It is more about having something that she loved. Something that she carried EVERYwhere with her.

Thanks Amy and Aunt Kip for giving up such a huge prize. Please know that it will be cherished forever.

Meanwhile, I'm wishing rhubarb was in season so that I could make her incredible "Rhubarb Cake". But for now I will settle for her "Kentucky Hot Browns" and "Ruth's Bran Muffins".

Notes from a 7 year old.


Wiley pulled his own tooth out using dental floss.



Wiley was ecstatic that Trixie the Tooth Fairy wrote back.
13 days later Wiley pulled out another tooth.


Should I be concerned over his love for Trixie the Tooth Fairy?


Never mind that the handwriting doesn't match. He isn't bothered by that. He is just so happy to have a note and some money.