The last of Ollie for December 2011

Here are the Ollie Adventures that happened for the rest of his time at our home this year.  :)  He must have had too much candy the day before because it appears he wasn't feeling well. 







We found him making snow angels in the sugar at Grandma Patton's house.  What a mess-maker!  The cousins had a great time looking for him!














This is how we found Ollie on the morning he left.  It would appear he was trying to get a hold of some marbles?  He had a climbing harness and a rope made of garbage bag ties and had recruited a buddy to help to lower him in.  :) 

 Ollie has gone home until next December.  I kind of miss him.

Too much sugar!!

Ollie seems to have gotten into Ethan's halloween candy! 

Tomorrow morning is our family's Christmas.  We'll be opening our gifts for each other in the morning so we don't have to take them all to grandma and grandpa Patton's house.  Ethan can hardly wait!  I'm sure we'll all be up very early in the morning.  :)

My favorite so far....

Ollie watched "Elf" last night.  He got all set up with Sprite, popcorn and a comfy chair.

Package Peeking

Ollie got into a bit of trouble tonight.  Ethan fell asleep and hasn't seen it yet, but in the morning, I guess he gets to open our family gift because Ollie already did.  :)  Silly Ollie.  He's one silly Elf.

Christmas Break!!

We have finally hit Christmas break and we are SO excited about it!  We have big plans for crafting, baking, looking at Christmas lights and otherwise establishing traditions and a sense of "holiday cheer" in our tiny man.  :)  Ollie has been busy the last couple of nights.

 On the night of the 16th of December, he held a race with other toys in our living room.  They built their own finish line and raced towards it.  :)

 On the next night, he got into our cupboard and found the cookies Ethan had bought at the store.  He had eaten them all when we woke up to find him upside down in the cookie box. 

This morning we woke up to find that Ollie had spent the night making paper snowflakes.  he wrote us a note saying that maybe his paper snowflakes would help to bring a few real ones and then the skiing would be better.  He said he hoped that Ethan had a great day skiing with his dad yesterday and wished us a great day.  He sure made a big mess, but Ethan and I spent the morning adding to the mess and learning to make paper snowflakes.  It was a wonderful time!  :)  Thanks, Ollie for the idea!

I'm off to see what adventures we can find today.....

JC Woodworks: as local as it gets

So, Sam and I have been having this conversation lately about buying local.  In thinking on this topic and talking through it with Sam, I am really quite proud of JC Woodworks in it's choice to be as local as possible.  Not only do they do business with other local businesses, but they donate to local causes and serve on committees for La Grande Main Street with intentions to eventually join the Chamber and sponsor soccer teams.  :)

La Grande has a LOT of locally owned businesses that are vital to our community and the economy within it.  Bugs and Butterflies, Grande Ronde Med Spa, Fitzgerald's Flowers, The Potter's House, Rosewood Cottage, Serendipity, The Mountain Works, Hobby Habit, Cold Coffee Media, and many, many more. Owned and operated by people who live and shop here in our valley!

It came up the other day because I was telling Sam that I was quite proud of JC Woodworks in their efforts to always buy local whenever possible.  All the construction, repair and remodel on the showroom and shop came from local contractors, plumbers, and electricians.  All the parts, paints, electrical and plumbing supplies, heck, even the light bulbs were purchased locally from locally owned business like La Grande Paint and Glass and G and V Supply.  The vinyl lettering for our windows were ordered and installed by La Grande Quick Print and our large sign up front was done by Grande Ronde Sign Company.  JC Woodworks orders their wood, lacquer, hardware, and other supplies specific to what they build from outside of the valley as that is where they need it to come from.  However, anything they can purchase locally, they do.  Right down to their printer ink coming from Swartz Ink and their office supplies coming from The Copy Club.  It costs minimally more to purchase locally, but the benefits far outweigh those costs.

The other part of JC Woodworks is that their lumber comes in as planks directly from the tree.  All of the work that goes into making them into beautiful items for people's homes (cabinets, beds, chairs, dressers, etc) is done right on site at 1415 Jefferson by our skilled, hard-working guys!  That means they start by making the plank of rough wood into a piece of wood that can be used for such items.  Then they cut, sand, assemble, and spray finish according to the design put together by their customer with help and the eye of our very own Mr. Sam.  :)


JC Woodworks is about as local a company as any can be and I am very proud of that fact! 

14 balloons

This is what we found when we woke up this morning!  Ollie had decided to try a little hot air ballooning!  Apparently, it took 14 balloons to get him in the air.  Ethan recognized the balloons as the ones available from the Dollar Tree and for a while we contemplated that.....

We are still having a lot of fun with our Ollie the Elf project and my friend suggested that I might need an elf for every month and that maybe I will miss Ollie more than Ethan will when Christmas comes and it's time for him to go.  That might actually be true.  :)

In other news: Ross and Katie are visiting to get their engagement photos taken here in La Grande.  They got in yesterday and we had a great time playing games and sharing wine last night.  They also got to come to Ethan's school program, which made Ethan feel like a million bucks.

Today is the last day of school for Grande Ronde Academy before the Christmas break.  Ethan's excited for his class party.  I volunteered to help and am looking forward to it as well.  We have a fun weekend planned and Sunday will be Sam's first day of ski patrol at Anthony Lakes for the year.  There's not a lot of snow up there.  He's taking Ethan with him and they are both looking forward to going.  I have a board gathering that morning, so I will have to miss this one.  But we plan to be on the ski hill every Sunday this season.

Now I'm off to have another cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet and hopefully visit with Ross and Katie (if they ever wake up......).

Ollie's latest shenanigans...

Ollie made Ethan two angry birds.  The yellow one was first and then the next night, he made him the "bomb" bird.  Ethan was so very excited to get them and was hoping that Ollie would do all of the birds from one of his favorite games!  :)

Last night, Ollie decided to have a little fun with our family photo from a few years ago.  He did some funny stuff and Ethan thought it was pretty funny!  Luckily, it was erasable!

 

This is what Ethan will find when he wakes up in the morning.  Ollie saw the little bathtub that holds our lotions and toothpaste and thought it might make a perfect bathtub for a bubble bath for himself this evening.  He even found himself a mini-wash cloth and a couple rubber duckies.  :)

My good friend SBW

I wanted to take a minute this morning and write about my friend Sarahbeth.  We went out for lunch yesterday and talked, laughed until we cried, and enjoyed some wonderful conversation (and the food was TO DIE for!) and catching up.  I told her that I had been bragging about her a couple days previous and was actually a little bit shocked to find that she was really quite surprised by the idea.  She couldn't understand why I would brag about her.  Sarahbeth was in an accident and burned over 50% of her body about 3 1/2 years ago.  After 36? surgeries, Sarahbeth has good days and bad days, but she's more than just a survivor, she's a fighter.  I thought it interesting that SB would find it strange that I would brag about her.  The more I thought about it, the more I thought that a lot of people probably only see the strong, awesome, rockstar SB and don't know all the reasons she really is incredible....other than surviving her trauma.  I thought I would share some.

1) Funny as hell.  She WILL make you laugh until you cry!  and sometimes it's ever so subtle...you don't even know it's coming!
2) Open.  She doesn't hide much.  She's open about her scars, her healing process, her feelings, her emotions, how she feels about the friendship you share with her, all her dreams and passions.  That is a rare find in a friend these days.  We are all so filtered.
3) Honest.  SB doesn't sugar-coat things.  She tells how it is.  Don't get me wrong, she's super nice, but she also has an honesty about her that is refreshing.  It's one of the things I love most of all.  She'll tell you her honest opinions and feelings.  She is also honest about her feelings and that is also rare.
4) Talented.  Before the accident, SB did many things.  She was a musician, a swimmer, an actress...her dream is to be back in that life someday and she's doing the dedicated hard work it will take her to get there.  Those talents were not burned in the fire.  She spends her time these days crafting, playing piano and singing, and doing what she can from the comfort of her home in the body she has right now and every month, that body gets more and more cooperative.
5) Dedicated.  She is dedicated!  Dedicated to her healing, dedicated to her friends, dedicated to her recovery.  I have rarely seen such focus in anyone else I know.
6) The best fan EVER!  If you ever have a fan club, you want my friend SBW to head it up!  She has never missed an episode of Criminal Minds (not even re-runs) and I have seen her get up before the sun to watch Rafa play tennis.  I doubt she has missed a match.  However, there is no comparison to her love and support for Jack White.  :)  The man of her dreams!  :)
7) Brave.  This is where I will put all the awesome rock-star SB things that the fire has brought out in her.  She is just about the bravest person I know.  She experiences fear and lots of it, but she doesn't let fear stand in her way.  She goes in for surgery after surgery knowing that her body doesn't heal the way it should.  Knowing that she is a "hard stick" for nurses and difficult to intubate. Yet, she goes in and lets Dr. Garrett work his magic in spite of her fears.  I think that is the definition of brave.


I really could go on and on, but mostly I wanted to record some of the feelings I have for my friend Sarahbeth and let the world know that I think she's incredible and I consider myself very lucky to be her friend!  If anyone reading this blog wants to get to know Sarahbeth, CLICK HERE to read her blog.  You can also find her on facebook.  She's a great friend...everyone should have one like her.  :)

This is better than Santa! :)

I haven't posted an Ollie update in a while, so I'll do that first.  :)

 Ollie decided to read a lot of Ethan's books overnight on the night of the 9th. He must have had plenty of work to do on the evening of the 10th because we found him sitting on the kitchen table where we left him (after a few glasses of wine and some pinochle with friends) the night before.


Last night, he made Ethan a perler bead angry bird.  Ethan was pretty darned worried this morning when he couldn't find Ollie.  We looked everywhere!  We even checked downstairs and on top of the hutch...everywhere and we couldn't find him.  Then we saw him sitting on the table in the spare bedroom and he had made this great present for Ethan.  Which made Ethan's morning!!  :)

Ethan has written Ollie a letter and we'll see if Ollie writes back today.

As for other goings-on, I just finished submitting my grades and am officially on Christmas break!  :)  I plan on reading, finishing up gifts, reading some more.  There will probably be some cleaning, laundry, and rotating my tires in there as well, but we'll just focus on the cup of coffee and a book for now.  :)  I'm sure I'll get bored soon enough.

We are heading to Sam's parent's house in Goldendale for Christmas and I am really looking forward to it!  I really am.  That's not even sarcasm.  :)  It's been AGES since everyone has been together for Christmas and I'm excited for Ethan to have a slew of cousins to play with.  At my mom's house, he's the oldest grandkid and at this house, he's in with the crowd of "youngers".  I'm looking forward to him spending some time with everyone.  We have pictures on our fridge, but that is just not the same.  :)  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone as well.  I do have a few things I am a little worried about, but I don't plan to spend a lot of time dwelling on them.  We will be taking Ollie with us as he said he's here until Christmas day.  I hope it doesn't create too much of a problem.  Sam's family never really celebrated "Santa" although, other than Christmas being focused on the birth of Jesus and the important religious celebrating, I'm not sure why.  I hope it's not the dis-approval of the idea of an elf that comes to your house while you are sleeping.  :)  I figure that Ollie really isn't all that different than the idea behind the movie Toy Story.  You can't tell me that you haven't wondered if your house comes to life when you aren't there to see it.  :)

I am looking forward to catching up with the in-laws.  It's been far too long since we have been together.  I am sure we can all get along for a few days.  :)

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of this cup of coffee and then...a tutoring session on the tips and tricks of Quickbooks with a friend from Baker City.

Hot Chocolate, Finals Week, and JC Woodworks

Ollie left Ethan some hot chocolate and his name in marshmallows this morning.  He seems to have had a little trouble getting the cocoa IN the cup as it was all over the counter, but Ethan was really happy and grateful that he thought of him.

On another note, I gave my last final yesterday at 3:00 for both my voice classes.  The singing went well and mostly I was really excited for the progress that each person had made.  It's fun to watch them accomplish so much in 10 weeks and have them seem pretty proud of what they have done.  I know I was pretty proud of them!

The other update is that JC Woodworks has taken off at a pretty steady and consistent rate!  We opened our doors October 22nd and since that time, they have sold several kitchens, a few commercial cabinet sets, some bathroom vanities, and a good number of custom furniture pieces including a dressing chair, a set of mirrors, some bookshelves, etc.  On the money side, we are all taking home our planned-for income per month AND paying all the bills with the money that comes in so far.  :)  It's all in the "still scary" place financially and we are hoping that in the coming months, we can build up a little bit of a cushion to help ward off any mishaps.  They guys are working well together so far.  Everyone wants to make more money, but that is a little farther down the road before that can happen.  I am happy and Sam seems happier than he has been in a long time.  He gets along with his partners, enjoys the work, and is making a living doing what he loves.

So, with that update, I will get down to grading.  I will be reading papers and grading notebooks from the studio for most of the day in order to get my grades turned in on time.  I'm looking forward to the end of this term as it's going to be an extra-long break!!  EOU doesn't start up again until January 9th!!  That's an entire month off!!!  :)  YAYAYAYAY! 

Trouble

Ethan came running into our room this morning calling out that we just HAD to come and see this!  Turns out, Ollie got a little bored last night and rounded up some friends to play with him.

Ollie's Here!!

Well, Ollie has arrived!  He's all set up in the kitchen with a project for our family to do together this evening.  :)

I am really excited to have Ollie here for the rest of December and I know that Ethan will be when he gets home from school!  :)  Tavi came over to play yesterday and it was one of the only things they could talk about.  Neither of our households do "Santa", but it is fun to have something they get excited about!  Tavi's family is Romanian, so they have Saint Nicholas Day and he comes and leaves them treats in their shoes.  Ollie and Nikoli were the topic of conversation yesterday.

The tree is up at our house.  The outside lights are on the list of things to do this weekend and there is a bit of snow on the ski hill.  I think the winter and the Christmas season have finally begun!  I'm finishing up finals week today and tomorrow and hoping to settle in to some fun stuff during the (extra long) break!

Cookies, cakes, and transitions

Well, Ollie left us a note again today.  It's clear he's been checking in even if he's not here yet.  :) It would seem he was trying to help me with my menu.  He left Ethan a note and a picture and a cool lego contraption in his room.

On another note...my little Eman gets a new teacher today.  I love his school very much and so does he, but it's hard to switch teachers in the middle of the year and this is the second year it a row.  I'm sure he'll do just fine, but it took some getting used to for him last time and I am anticipating the same this year.  He was a little anxious about school this morning even though he knows the new teacher (she's been in his classroom for a couple weeks now).  What is it about us as humans that makes new things so hard?  New friends, jobs, schools, teachers. cities.  It's hard to transition.  I'm sure he'll do ok and he loves Mrs. Trotter, but he is already missing Mrs. Fager.  Time will help.  And maybe Ollie.  :)

Day 2 and 3 of Ollie the Elf

 This is the letter we got in response on December 2nd.  He's glad we already know about Santa.  He does live in the North Pole for real.  And he'll be here next week!!

Ethan is LOVING this!  Yesterday (Dec. 2nd) he told me that what he REALLY wanted for Christmas was to have his own Elf on the Shelf every Christmas.  :)  He gets up every day and talks about what he thinks Ollie will say today.  It's been really fun so far and I can't wait until Ollie comes so it can only get better!








Ethan left this note on his magnet board for Ollie this morning.  It was sitting on the couch.  He's been working on the robot for a couple of days now and he was happy to have it done and ready for Ollie.     Here is Ethan's note "hi oulli.  Jest to let you no that the robot next to the heator is for you. love your friend Ethan."

 At some point during the morning when we were making breakfast, Ollie came to visit and left Ethan this "Thanks! I'll leave it here.  Hey, practice piano today without fighting with your mom! =)"

Ethan's having a blast!  We'll see how it progresses.  :)

Ollie the Elf (on a Shelf)

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I'd like to keep track of this fun adventure, so I'll be posting updates.  :)  Ethan and I recently read about the idea of an "Elf on the Shelf".  I have heard friends talk about doing it with their families as well.  The idea is one that kind of takes the place of an advent calendar.  An elf comes to live in your house on December first and stays until Christmas giving regular updates to Santa about your behavior to make sure you get on the right list.  :)  Well, I loved this idea.  The idea of something/someone watching over you wanting you to be your best.  I love it on the real and tangible level and I love it on the bigger, philosophical level as well.  I wanted to do "Elf on the Shelf" with my family, but was finding it difficult to wrap my head around because of many reasons.  First of all, we've never really done the "Santa" think with Ethan.  My house did believe in Santa growing up and Sam's didn't and we just kind of went with no Santa for Ethan.  Not for any religious reasons, we just didn't play the part.  I'm not against Santa, it just hasn't become a tradition in our home.

So, I decided to go ahead with the elf on the shelf idea but to tweak it a bit to fit our family and maybe lean even a little more towards the philosophical "be a better person" ideal than the "22 more days until presents" side.  So....I went online and got a few ideas and bought us an elf.  Just today (Dec. 1st!).  :)  So....already off to a different start.   I bought the "C" version because I love his checkered pants.  I also bought 2 in case something happens to the first one. :)  He is about 9"-11" tall and has wire in his arms and legs so he can be manipulated to do all kinds of things during the night while we are asleep.  :)

Then, I named him Ollie and wrote a letter to Ethan on his behalf with my left hand letting him know that he was coming to stay until Christmas and would be letting Santa know if Ethan should be on the Nice list or the Naughty list.  Then Ollie told Ethan that he needed to stay in the North Pole (aka Prescott, Arizona) for a few more days to finish up a few things, but that he would be down sometime next week to stay and he would be coming to check in daily until then.  Here's the letter from Day one. "Ethan, My name is Ollie and I am your elf.  I was sent by Santa to watch you until Christmas to make sure you can be on the nice list.  I am to live at your house and report back to Santa each night after you're asleep.  I checked in today and saw you had fun with Vanessa.  I can't come to stay yet because Santa has some things for me to do before I can leave.  I will be checking in each day and should be at your house in a few days to stay until Christmas.  Until then, watch for my letters every day and know that I'm checking in on you.  Behave yourself.  See you soon, Ollie the Elf."

Ethan was CRAZY when he found it in the Christmas tree.  He knows about "Elf on a Shelf" and wondered if maybe we got one this year!?  :)  He was going around the house looking to make sure that Ollie hadn't left anything else.  He asked about every ornament that he hadn't put on the tree to be sure that it was originally ours.  :)  He is so very excited.  So, I asked Ethan if maybe he wanted to ask Ollie just a couple questions and see if he would write back.  I also suggested that maybe we should let Ollie know that we already know the secret about how me and dad are really Santa so he knows that we already know.  Ethan loved the idea and between the two of us, we came up with this letter back to Ollie that is currently on the tree waiting to be found by Ollie tomorrow when he comes to check in.  :)

"Dear Ollie, are you an 'elf on the shelf'?  Did you leave us something or just the note?  Hope to see you soon, travel safe.  Ethan.  PS.  Will we actually SEE you when you do finally get here?  Thanks.
Here is a picture for you (found at the bottom...it's Ollie and Ethan....fast friends).  PS.  from mom: Ethan already knows that Santa isn't real.  Do you really live in the North Pole or were you just saying that in case Ethan still believed in the pretend Santa like other kids?  When will you let me know about Ethan's behavior?"

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.  :)  I think our Elf on the Shelf will suggest things that we could do together as well and leave the occasional something fun.  :)  We'll see what kind of personality Ollie gains over time.  This is going to be fun times.  I'm not sure what else Ollie will say or information he will give, but I'm hoping to create an elf that knows the real reason for Christmas and brings that part of Advent to our house as well.  I can tell you one thing.....I think he will get very bored at night and probably do some pretty funny and maybe even naughty things while we are fast asleep.  :)

For now, goodnight.