Shaklee Giveaway Ends Soon!

You still have a chance to win $100 of Free Shaklee Products!

However, my Christmas giveaway is coming to an end. The last day to enter is December 31, 2008. All you have to do is place an order at www.shaklee.net/JanelleAnderson to be entered into the drawing for $100 of Free Shaklee Products.

If you are unfamiliar with Shaklee, here's what I recommend...it will blow you away and it's only 25 cents per gallon!!!!

1. Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate 16 oz Bottle
2. Get Clean 16oz Spray Bottles 3-pack

This is the most amazing cleaner you will ever use. It comes in a very concentrated formula so it will last you months if not a year. You can use it on absolutely everything in your house, car, kids, fruits & veggies. I use mine on things like carpet, wood floors, all floors, bathrooms, kitchens, ovens, stoves, microwaves, stains on clothes, windows, mirrors, grills, etc. As you can see, I could go on and on!

Here are the directions if you do purchase the cleaner and bottles. Keep in mind, the recipes are printed on each bottle for each formula.

- For windows and mirrors: Add 1-2 drops to 16 oz. of water.

- For all-purpose cleaning: Add 1/4 tsp. to 16 oz. of water.

- For degreasing: Add 1 1/2 tsp. to 16 oz. of water.

- For bigger jobs, add 2 oz. to 1 gallon of water.

Don't wait any longer.

Also, if you have questions please contact me at janelleanne@gmail.com

Good Luck!

Janelle

Christmas Eve 2008

My step-brother, Brian, flew in from New York Christmas Eve to spend 4 days with us here in Dayton. Lucas was very excited to see Uncle Brian and so were we! Later that evening, we headed over to some friends for a little Christmas Eve celebration. Thank you Susie and Andy for opening your home!

T'was the Night Before Christmas and the adults all had a kid free dinner! Well, sort of, the kids were enjoying their adult free dinner in the kitchen before the play dough was pulled out.
Here's the adult gang: Mike H., Mike A., Kelly, Brian, Janelle, Bill, Andy, Susan and Susie taking the photo which I "borrowed" from her blog. Thank you Susie!

GUITAR HERO was a huge hit for the Dad's in the house!
Daddy's "Rock Stance"
Uncle Brian doesn't spend much time around kids so this was a full on shock to his system. There were a total of 8 little kids running around as crazy as can be on Christmas Eve. It was an eye opener for Uncle Brian and funny to watch!
It was impossible to take a photo of all the kids at once. However, Lauren (Susie's youngest - 2 years old) was all about getting as much adult attention as she could. She loved Mike and loved to be held. What a doll!
We all had such a great time and Uncle Brian survived! Lucas finally got his dessert too which he asked for about 10 times. He has a sweet tooth for sure! He was a tired boy so it was a quick "Night Before Christmas" story, cookies for Santa and oatmeal on the lawn for the reindeer before heading to bed.

Uncle Mark & Aunt Kate Come to Visit

We had a wonderful visit from Uncle Mark and Aunt Kate! It was so nice to have family come visit. Lucas was soooooo excited and prepared for their visit the whole week before. Since Kate's birthday was on the 16th, Lucas made a birthday card, pipe cleaner flowers, cup cake - cake, birthday crown and helped me clean up the house. Birthdays are a big deal around here! :)

Sprinkles are a MUST when it comes to cupcakes...and cookies...and ice cream! Of course, someone had to do it ALL BY HIMSELF!
Lucas decorated all the little cupcakes and did a wonderful job!
Mommy worked on the chocolate ones and then constructed the cake. Lucas was in charge of the candles.
We had to open gifts first and then right to the yummy part!
Happy Birthday Aunt Kate!
She even let Lucas help blow out the candles.
Delicious!
The day after celebrating Kate's birthday we decided to get outside for some fresh air. The weather was a little chilly but that didn't stop us from going to The Red for some climbing. Here's Daddy climbing at a place called Left Flank. It was great to have his brother to climb with and talk "climbing" for 5 days!
Uncle Mark was so excited to check out The Red with Daddy. He is super strong right now after just climbing a 5.14 called Too Bolt at Smith Rock in Oregon. After all his training and with winter setting in, he's trying to put all his extra strength to good use. The Red was a perfect match for him and he had some of his best climbing days ever. I think he'll be back!
Here's Mommy and Lucas sharing a little hot chocolate. As you can tell by our puffy jackets, the hot chocolate was needed this time around.
Here's Aunt Kate taking photos of the boys climbing. Gotta document all the "sickness" when it comes to climbing. :)
We even had a little mini Christmas celebration so Lucas had a little taste of what's to come!
A big RED Crayon Bank which confused him a little because he asked Santa for this in his letter. It took some convincing that it was really from Kate & Mark.
He was a big helper with Kate's gifts too!
The whole gang! Our family photo Christmas 2008.
Another gift for Lucas but it was a little tough to get out of the box. It also took both Daddy and Uncle Mark to "transform" the airplane into the robot but they finally figured it out. If only we had a 5 year old in the house!
I think it will stay as an airplane for a long time! Either way, it's a big hit!
Before heading to the airport, we took a chilly hike through Clifton Gorge and got a little fresh air. No photos, I'm not sure the camera would have worked in the sub zero temps anyways!

We were all a little sad to say good-bye to Kate and Mark but were so happy they came to visit. To cheer us up, we let Daddy open a present too!
A BACK MASSAGER! This will be great for Daddy's back and a nice treat for everyone in the house. :) Thanks Karen for you help with this wonderful gift!!!
Thanks for visiting us Aunt Kate & Uncle Mark!!!

Tennessee Climbing

Last weekend we headed to Tennessee to get in a little warm weather climbing...and watching for Mommy. A winter storm hit the south the day before so it made for a beautiful drive. Kentucky is full of rolling hills and everything was frosted with snow. The roads luckily were clear and dry so it made for a "quick" 6 hours. The full moon was bright and reflected off the snow and frosted trees. It was amazing and really put us all in the Christmas spirit. We also felt like we were back in the Rocky Mts for a moment. We really should have stopped to take photos that evening!

Tennessee has wonderful climbing and it was T-shirt weather the first day out at the Tennessee Wall. We all needed a good dose of sunshine and warmth.

We met up with one of Mike's Colorado climbing partners, Rob Pizem, and stayed with friends of his who live right there in Chattanooga. Luke and Mel have a 2 1/2 year old named Layton so they know what it's like to climb with a toddler. It was so fun to have a friend for Lucas and they both got along really well. It was a full weekend of SHARING...so there were a few tough times for the boys but they worked everything out and got a little practice because each will be a BIG brother soon. :)

Here Layton and Lucas are getting to know each other over some hot chocolate.
Layton was a doll! He's all boy for sure and HE LOVES MUD!!! While his Daddy was climbing, it was a perfect chance to ditch the shoes and stomp, slide and play in the mud! This is the opposite of Lucas who watched with complete amazement.
Daddy was a good sport and cleaned up his boy. Layton has a smile that let's him get away with everything...a little charmer for sure!
Lucas was happy to be in the warm sun. His new toy...the tuna mayo! He'll eat the tuna plain and afterwards play with his new mayo pack lazer gun!
Luke caught some little lizards for Layton and Lucas to check out.
Lucas showed Layton how to hang the quick draws with the stick clip.
Don't forget snack time!
Lucas with his old buddy Piz.
We had a wonderful weekend although the weather went downhill and got rainy. It made for fun hiking and more mud for Layton. Luke and Mel were wonderful to open their home to us. Unfortunatly, we didn't get to meet Mel this trip. She was out on a fun ski trip with girlfriends...lucky lady!

We decided that Lucas was a little traumatized with all the SHARING. It became clear on our drive home. He woke up early from a nap and yelled out, "I DON'T WANT TO SHARE!" He was very upset and half asleep. We woke him up and told him he didn't have to share with anyone on the way home. We also told him how proud we were for sharing so much with new friend Layton. Boy, is he in for a shock when his little brother arrives. :)

Free Shaklee Cleaners!

Click on the title below to see my friends blog and read a great story. You can also enter a chance to win some FREE Shaklee goodies!

how I narrowly avoided poisoning my child...and a giveaway!

Be sure to also check out her photography she is an extremely talented photographer and what a wonderful person too! Here's a little about her business:

"Erin Cobb Photography has recently relocated to Huntsville, Alabama. Erin is an on-location, natural light photographer specializing in fresh, fun images of babies, children, and families. If you have a newborn, baby, child, or family that you would like photographed, get in touch! Erin works in Huntsville, Alabama as well as Madison, Alabama and Madison County. Erin Cobb is an award-winning child photographer and particularly enjoys working with newborns, babies and toddlers."

Thanks again Erin!
Janelle

Christmas: Tree, Cookies, Program

Yep, I'm behind but we are back. I'm going to wrap it all up in one post so here it goes...

THE TREE
Daddy thought it would be fun to go cut down our own tree this year and we all agreed. Young's Dairy has a tree farm so we headed out after a late nap...it was 20 minutes til closing but we weren't alone.

Right out of the car Lucas found this tree and wanted to cut it down. We finally convinced him that we should find a little bigger one.
Daddy found a perfect one...
and sawed away while Lucas managed the situation.
Then it was inside for hot chocolate and popcorn.
We set up the tree at home and Lucas decorated it all by himself. He loves candy canes!

THE COOKIES
I found a little gingerbread making kit but of course, forgot to buy Molasses. The next two stores were sold out and I was ready to forget about it. However, three year old toddlers don't forget. Lucas kept asking about the cookies. Luckily, we had a visit from a good friend, Wendy, who was in town from Utah. She came over to say hello and just happened to have a bottle of molasses in hand. Lucas was soooooo excited and we didn't waste a minute!

I don't have photos of the cutting part one...messy hands to blame. I was able to hand over part two to Lucas and he decorated every single one. Happy Boy!
Finished (yummy) product!
THE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM
The photos are pretty poor. The camera was not my friend especially in the church.

Lucas finally went to sleep that afternoon but I did have to wake him up a little early so we could get all dressed up.

Look at this little ham!
My favorite!
Mmmmm, nothing like cookies to get ready for singing!

Here he patiently waits with the rest of his class. He was very serious and very excited. See the cute little girl to his left? His girlfriend I'm sure. He has been talking about her since day one of school. :) Emma!

Walking up front...
So serious...again, sorry about the blurry photos but they document the big event.

Phew, I found Mommy...
Yep, she's still there...
Okay, now I can relax and sing my songs...
Standing out in the crowd, that's my boy!
Cookies to start, cookies to end! Boy was he wild at home with sugar and excitement surging through his body! So fun!
Tasty cookie face!
Way to go Lucas, you did awesome and we are soooo proud of you! We Love You!!