christmas eve, eve

(this is me playing catch-up.) wow, i can't believe it has already been nearly a month since christmas! sheesh, life needs to slow down. i worked 24 of the 31 days in december, so with work, the kids, mail order, christmas decorating/shopping/shipping, and housework, etc., blogging was last on my list. i will get back on track soon... i hope :)

 

december in raleigh was unseasonably warm this year. we always hope for a white christmas, but since it very rarely even snows here, we didn't mind having mild temps instead of freezing cold ones. plus the nice weather was very kind on our wallets (low heat bills!) dec 23rd was in the upper 60's, so the kids and i headed on over to the newly-renovated pullen park! this was our first visit since it reopened in november, after being closed for two years, and i definitely think it was worth the wait. the grounds look beautiful, the new playground is a major improvement, and the new facilities are wonderful. because of the holidays, the train and carousel house were closed, but we had fun checking out the new playground and taking a walk along the pond before it got dark out. 

alanna found a half drawn person on the concrete, so she added a face. and a wand.

bwahahaha! 

i took these next three photos for danny, because he loves the andy griffith show :)

that is the new carousel house on the right. 

we crossed the bridge over the little train tracks and strolled through the woods. 

alanna and malcolm found a fort made of fallen tree branches.

i'm excited to return and take a ride on the train. pullen park, we are glad to have you back!

thank you santa ;)

introducing, the newest member of our family, sweets!

(or lady? or sweet lady? we haven't officially decided on her name yet. malcolm is set on sweets, which was his pick, so i think that is the one we will stick with.)

top two photos taken at cat banjo by suzie wolf photography

i know my list for santa was a little (ok, totally) unrealistic, and i knew it would be hard to fulfill any of those wishes, but who knew he would surprise me with a dog instead?! this little lady came to us by sheer luck, and we are all very grateful for how things worked out.

she was a stray, picked up by animal control, and taken to a high-kill shelter in goldsboro (about an hour outside of raleigh). the staff there just loved her beautiful markings and sweet disposition, and kept pushing her to the bottom of the "euth list". a volunteer group who works with the shelter posted about her on facebook, and someone shared it with my boss. within a few days she had been pulled, transported to raleigh, checked out by a vet, bathed, and then brought to our store -looking for her forever home.

the minute i met her, i was in love. she was so sweet, soft, calm, and well-behaved. plus she followed me around the store like i was her mama! the following afternoon (dec 21st) i took her home on a trial basis, to see how she, lucky, and mama cat would do together. they all got along well, so she never went back to the store ;) 

lucky dog is thirteen now, and we all know that he won't live forever. danny and i have been considering adopting a young female dog for a while, but were just waiting for the right one. in fact, just days before we found out about sweets, he had told me that he felt like it would be easier to have another dog  in the house, when the time does come that we lose lucky. and i totally agreed. we don't ever want a house without a dog. lucky is very healthy and happy and we hope he lives for many more years, and i think that it is good for him to have a playmate. so getting sweets was a win, win!

she has definitely made herself at home already (these were taken just days after she first came home with me). her and lucky are getting along wonderfully. they even play together outside. we have nicknamed lucky, "humperdink", because he gets so excited around her, haha!

 

we've had her for nearly three weeks now, and other than a few chewed-up items (naughty!), things are going very good. she was spayed (and micro-chipped) two days after i first brought her home, and she has healed up great. she does not potty in the house, she loves exploring in the backyard, and enjoys walks around the neighborhood. she does not like the car though, so we will have to work on that. they estimate her age at about two, so for being this young, she sure does act like an older dog. her and lucky are very similar -they both like to sleep all day! here's hoping that we can get her to stop chewing up things soon. we just love her and are glad to have her in our home.

this little lady got exactly what she had wished for! :)

it's hard to imagine that she could have been put to sleep. i am very thankful that there are people out there who are committed to rescuing dogs. the staff and volunteers at the goldsboro shelter. the woman who took the time to driver her to raleigh. my boss debbi, for willingly taking her (and another dog) during the busiest time of the year -right before christmas! the customers who donated to our cause, which helped pay for her care and spay. and my husband, for allowing me to bring her home. seriously, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

merry christmas!

dear santa,

all i want for christmas is:

a trip home to visit my family. i miss my mom & dad, brother & sister, and salt lake city so much. searching on google for this photo just made me super homesick. it has been twenty months since our last trip out, and it makes my heart ache just thinking about it.

a new car. both of our vehicles are on the verge of death, but they somehow still keep on keepin'-on! (thanks dan, for always saving the day.) it is nerve-racking, to get into a car every day and wonder if this is the day that it will break down for good? and where will i be when this happens? it actually kinda scares me to death, and i know it stresses danny out too. we would love to have at least one super-reliable and fuel-efficient car.

a trip to disneyland, during the holidays, as a family. meaning all four of us! i think that i will someday convince danny to come along, and i know he will love it there. maybe in a few years, once cars land has opened and the major construction is finished. malcolm and danny will have a blast! i just hope that alanna will still want to go with us by then.

and a late honeymoon for danny and i! hell, at this point i would settle for a nice date night out, away from the kids, haha. we never had a real honeymoon, unless you count the 2,000+ miles we drove with alanna (and a u-haul full of our entire lives) when we moved across country after our wedding. danny and i have never taken a romantic trip together. we actually have never even had an overnight date away, alone as a couple. we have talked about taking a trip to germany together, maybe for our tenth anniversary? but since that is in just four short years, i doubt it will really happen. hopefully someday. i want to see a castle like this.   

oh, and i'd love to have lasik surgery on my eyes. but i will skip the photo of that (yikes!)

i think i've been pretty good this year, santa. is this too much to ask?! ;)

love, lauren

thanksgiving (a little late)

we always have such a great time on thanksgiving, spending time with danny's family. and vicky always makes the most delicious vegan feast for all of us to share. this year was no exception. i am very grateful to have ended up with such wonderful in-laws. it's hard being away from my own parents and siblings during this time of the year, so i am thankful that danny's family helps to fill that void. we love you guys.  

photos courtesy of pop :)

(malcolm and danny were both talking when this one was taken, haha)

catherine & billy

compton & vicky 

alanna & dan

the meal!!

alanna (stuffed!) with george & gracie

me & my sleepy malcolm (he fell asleep in the car as soon as we left)

oh, and here are the two vegan pumpkin cheesecakes i baked for dessert! yum! 

november in photos

with the holidays quickly approaching, and all the crazy busy that is involved, i sure have been neglecting this little blog of mine. here's what we were up to in november:

trips to marbles

i built this block fort for him from the ground up. he loved it!

trips downtown

little guy, HUGE shopping cart!

vegan toasted coconut ice cream with toasted candied hazelnuts, from a local ice cream truck based out of durham. SO good!

we stopped in the museum of natural science to get out of the cold. malcolm loves it in there.

free samples of cheerwine 

trips to the library :)

warm starbucks on a cold afternoon. i love when they get their holiday cups back in stock!

we thought the sign above alanna was funny

giant holiday decor in cameron village

our favorite find so far this season. amazing!

on the morning of 19th we grabbed warm drinks from starbucks and then made our way downtown for the raleigh christmas parade. alanna brought her boyfriend randy along. it sure was crowded by the time we got there, and it was hard to find a good spot to stand where we could see the street, so we just wandered around. malcolm didn't care much for the parade, he had more fun exploring around the grounds of the capitol building. 

and playing in the leaves 

we got pizza for lunch before heading home. i didn't want to embarrass alanna by trying to get a photo of her with randy, so i just snapped this one on the way back to the car. 

mama cat had to go the vet, so while we were in durham we grabbed dinner at the cosmic cantina. it has been so warm here lately, and we were able to eat out on the patio.

poor mama doesn't like going to the vet. this is where we found her hiding later that night, haha. i was just about to put that sleeping bag away, when i saw her little glowing eyes :)

trips to the park

lucky dog still thinks he is a puppy sometimes. he destroyed this little fuzzy pom-pom.

rollin' deep at costco.

we put our little tree up on the day after thanksgiving. instead of getting up early and hitting the ridiculous sales, danny let me sleep in, and then the kids and i stayed home all day. we did some cleaning and cleared out items to donate (gotta make room for new toys, clothes, etc!) i also baked a pie to take to our friends vegan thanksgiving feast the following day. we had a great day and no one got pepper sprayed ;)

if you look closely, you can see pretty little pink buds growing on the bush outside of the window (behind the cactus). christmas trees and blossoms. only in north carolina, ha! 

i will end this post with two photos that alanna took with her ipod touch. sometimes these kids of mine actually get along! they sure are cute together.