HAPPY 2008!!!

We all hope for many blessings and much happiness for you in this beautiful year!

Jmk went back to work today (he takes off a lot of time around Christmas), and as soon as we get through moping because Daddy isn't here to play, we'll all try to get ourselves back in the swing of things. I may even attend to all my unanswered emails and even keep the blog updated! (Don't anyone faint, now).

Unfortunately, we are going to have to start the New Year with a trip to the doctor's office. Seems Poodle has picked up something that has settled in her right ear. She's never had an ear infection before, so I can't tell if this is one, or if she just has congestion in her ear. Since she's running fever this morning, we're going to have things checked out. But, Lord willing, we'll all get over all the sniffles, etc. that comes with this time of year and get ready to have a GREAT 2008!!!

Belated Christmas Updates

I'm so impressed with those who have already gotten some Christmas update pictures on their blogs! I won't try to do Christmas morning pictures yet - just share some family time gatherings before Christmas.

I'll start with a picture of much darlingness - Audrey girl. Or, as Poodle says, "my cousin Baby Audrey". The stars aligned, and all of my siblings were able to be at my mom and dad's house on Christmas Eve Eve. (Dec. 23, for the numerical sort). We're quite a crowd!



Back row standing - Jmk
Next row - David, Jerra, Robert, Leslie, Granny, Poodle, Mom, Dad
Seated row - Jaime, Audrey, me, Tooter

I was "that person". Made everyone gather in a spot, and then kept using the timer feature on the camera to get a group shot. Yep - I kept hopping up and down like crazed person in order to get myself in the shot. So sad! ha!




On Christmas Eve, we all went over to SueSue's house. And by all, I mean ALL!!! I got this picture taken towards the end of the evening, but here's a list of those who were there, but had already left at the time of the photoshoot: Chuck, Stephini (okay, they weren't gone. They were taking the pictures!), Amy, Jay, Ken, GrandCandy, Brennan, Robert, Megan, and Maggie Belle! (MB would be R&M's cute little bulldog puppy).

This picture shows SueSue, Poodle, Toot, me, and Jmk. If we look stuffed, it's because we were. MAN, SueSue had a full-on spread of the yummiest party food!




Grandmother was also there, so I was able to nab a shot of her with Poodle, Jmk, and Tooter. I have to give a BIG thank you to all who came to SueSue's, because they were doing it so as to see the kids, since we weren't going to be going to Grandmother's house the next day. THANK YOU, y'all, for going out of your way to make us feel so special.


Thankfully, we were able to stay home all day on Christmas day. (And I say thankfully, because, unfortunately, both kids were sick by then. Not sick enough to not be able to enjoy the day, but pretty low on energy. Chest cold junk).

SueSue and Amy were able to come by and see the kids bright and early on Christmas morning, and my folks and sister came by later on Christmas Day. It was a wonderful, wonderful day. I'll post pictures as soon as I can!

Merry Merry and Happy Happy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

And all of our best wishes for 2008!!!

Catching up with the times

I have finally attended my first Cookie Swap party! First, I need to say that any party that sends you home with 5 or 6 dozen different kinds of cookies is a good thing. :-) It was last Saturday, at my friend Amy's house, and kids were invited and welcome. In fact, Amy even had cookies ready for the kids to decorate. They had a blast. I got to meet some sweet women, and we had loads of cookies at the end of it. (All with some kind of chocolate involved. Woohoo!)






This is a picture of Toot and my godson, John David, playing in Amy's front yard. John David was pouring leaves on Tooter's head, and the latter thought it was High-larious. The crunch crunch crunch of the leaves made for some inspired jumping around!

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

A little Christmas music for those who need some creativity for the last big weekend before Christmas Day! Big hat tip to Jerra for this one. It is a HOOT!!!

Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy!

Oh, y'all, this is so sweet. This young man is just a sweetheart. It's about 2 1/2 minutes, when you get a chance.

Wet Jingle Bells

Last Wednesday, at swimming, (which also happened to be the last class for a few weeks), the kids donned Santa hats, and turned to the mommies in the waiting room and sang Jingle Bells. It was cute. We couldn't actually hear them, but being the brilliant women we are ::ahem::, we figured it out. From left to right: Noah, Poodle, Brooke, William. The Fearsome Four!

Food for Thought

Yesterday, my dad and I were watching Toot play with some other kids in the lobby of the church after lunch was finished. I made a comment about how the blue in his sweater didn't match the blue in his pants. I really wasn't consumed with it or anything; it was more of a "huh - I didn't get that exactly right this morning, did I?" kind of moment.

Then Dad said something that I had to chew on a little bit. He said "Quit thinking about it. Thinking about it is first step to worrying about it".

Mm-hmm. This is one of those phrases that's going to go in the "say it to myself as often as necessary" pile.

Heartburn Free Tree

Hat tip to Rhonda for the idea to share this post. She talked about their family's necessary Christmas tree modifications due to their 4 year old and 1 year old. So, I thought I'd share our modifications this year also!

We went to Hobby Lobby, bought about $30 worth of flowers (everything was 50% off), cut the stems off, and put them everywhere. Red poinsettias, yellow roses, and pink'ish roses (because Poodle was there with me when we bought them). Poodle helped put them on - I just did the tippy top ones. After that, all the decorations have been of her own making! Pictures of princesses, cotton ball snowmen, colored shapes, etc. Yesterday, she decorated with pencils and pens! I figure we'll continue to have decorations added until the tree comes down. And that is just fine with me. I have absolutely no cares where the decorations are hung, nor where they end up. I have no worries about where Toot's little hands are. It has been so easy this year!

The only hiccup was when I looked into the "regular" ornament drawers trying to find the hangers, and laid eyes on the ones of years past. I had a momentary twang, but it was quieted quickly when I came in and saw Poodle's rendition of Snow White. It's a beautiful tree. It will never make it into a Southern Living magazine, but it's a beautiful tree!

I have neither disappeared...

...nor gone on vacation. I promise I will post again one of these days. Right after the to-do list isn't tapping its gnarly little fingers on the table beside me every time I sit down to do something fun. Like writing a post.

Every year I say I'm going to slow down during the Christmas season, because everything else forces me to speed up. And yet, every year, I agree to go to one more event, and take on one more job. And amongst all this, my little ones just want me to play outside and go for a walk and build another lego castle. And too often I have to say "not right now, Mommy's busy". They get frantic, I don't feel like I'm doing anything to my best ability, and my stress level is through the roof.

It's ridiculous. I chose to be a SAHM for very specific reasons, and I can't seem to keep my eyes focused on those reasons. They are so fuzzy, so much of the time.

I need some Peace on Earth in the home right now. Can I get an amen?

She without arm, he without leg - ballet - Hand in Hand

I do hope you will take the time to go see this - it is moving in so many ways. I will not elaborate because the effect is going to be different for each person. It is strikingly beautiful, and you may need a tissue. I did.

And, fwiw, the technique is spot on.

Nutcracker Time!

I haven't even gotten pictures of Thanksgiving up yet, and here I am posting Nutcracker pictures. KD, you've got my back on this one, right? ::wink::

MooMoo, Poodle and I went last weekend to a Saturday matinee performance with the Ms. Metro school. It was fantastic! I was really impressed with the dancers, the way they were able to make a tiny stage work for a full cast, the bang-up organization of the moms who had several fund-raisers running seamlessly at the same time. Some of the staging wasn't on my favorite list, BUT, I'm partial to Miss Jozia's adaptation of the choreography. Especially now. Anyway - it was still good despite my sentimental preferences. They had Dr. Drosselmeir behave as a bit of a fop and a dandy with a strong preference for adult beverages... which is fine, and can be humorous. But, I'm used to seeing him as a magical sort of fellow - sometimes with a strong preference for the ladies. If you know what I mean!!! Hmm? Hmm? I just don't like the dandy portrayal. It's too..... Oh, I don't know. Not mystical and magical enough. For me. I'm not the end-all-be-all of dance critique.

Overall - I really enjoyed it. The college students they brought home to dance Snow and Sugar Plum were beautiful!!! And it's obvious that this dance school is giving good instruction and proper technique. They're also getting excellent performance experience.

As much as I appreciated last year's "Nutcracker", I was more comfortable with this year's performance. And we had a wonderful time!!! Plus, Jmk got to be in the woods and GaGa watched Toot at the house, so everyone was having a good time. :-)

And, for those who didn't know, according to Poodle, Snow Queen is apparently Snow White's mommy. ::wink::





This is a picture of Poodle as the curtain was coming up. It doesn't do justice to the wonder that was actually in her eyes.














This lovely girl was one of the Flowers from Act 2. Poodle was quite pleased to get to talk to her.

















They had these life-sized Nutcrackers outside the door to the auditorium where the performance was being held. Poodle got a little lovin' in before we left!

Living Near Family

The past couple of days has been a wonderful reminder to me of how precious it is (and what a gift it is) to be able to live near family. Wednesday, SueSue was able to come surprise the kids at Poodle's swimming lesson - and that is always such a treat to be able to see her "for no reason" in the middle of the week. Then last night, my folks came and watched the kids while Jmk and I went to his office Christmas party. I'm always able to have such a great, stress-free time when I know the kids are happy with their "baby-sitter".

It's a blessing. We're lucky.

Anyway - here's a picture that my mom got of us last night before we headed out. The kids were already in their pj's and ready for seepy-time. And Mommy and Daddy were looking forward to an evening out with each other!

Thank you so much to the bunchkins' wonderful grandparents who go the extra mile for them - we love you and we truly appreciate you so much!

Elfin' Around!

Like I didn't have enough to do this morning. :-) Queen of time wastin' - that's me.

Hat tip to a Wren, and to Angela for reminding me about it.

A little fun on a random Tuesday morning, brought to you by OfficeMax and the Zoo!

Continuing the lesson.

Years and years ago (no, I'm not 'fessing up to how many), each Sunday morning, my dad would give each of us a dollar bill right before the handshake at church, so we could put something on the offering table as we shook the preacher's hand. We were little when we started doing it, and somehow he managed to have four $1 bills almost every Sunday morning. Maybe it was a concerted effort between him and Mom... I never knew, and I'm not sure why I never asked. I think I shall make the query.

Anyway, in some way, the repetition of doing that every Sunday morning made it a habit for me - giving to the church. I know that we are instructed to do that by the Scriptures, and I know I've heard about being a responsible church member from the pulpit also. But the habit of it was set in me a long time ago, over a large number of Sundays.

Well, this morning, Jmk handed little Poodle her first dollar bill. And as I watched her put that little piece of paper on the table, my heart was full with a lot of memories and a lot of hope. Thank you, my dear Daddy, for handing out four dollars every Sunday.

Thank you, my precious Jmk, for wanting to do it too.

Got Drama?

I started putting up our Christmas tree this morning, and while it has been a good soldier for the past 8'ish years, it finally met its demise this morning. After getting all the branches situated and fluffed out, the plastic base gave way to a little crack, and the whole thing came tumbling down. (On top of my head - too bad there wasn't a camera watching!)

Poodle, who was a big helper in putting the branches on, was as surprised and upset as only a 4 year old can be. Her over-the-top response?

"Oh no! Now we can't have Christmas!"

lol...... After I quit laughing, it gave me an opportunity to remind her about what the Christmas celebration is about. But, ohhhh, the drama. Oscar material!

Ever have those days?

Where you have a ton of things on the running to-do list, you are busy doing something all day long, but then you get to the end of the day, and you really aren't sure if you actually did ANYthing at all?

I mean, you've done stuff ALL day long, but you can't explain any of it. And you know for sure that you haven't given the kids a fraction of the attention that they wanted from you.

ugh. Had one of those days today. Weird thing is that Jmk had the same kind of day at the office. Here's hoping that tomorrow "feels" better than today did!

Funny Bone

Hat tip to Amy J, a college friend, for this one:

OK, 2 guys walk into a bar..... You'd have thought that after the first guy did it, the second would have ducked.

Ta-da! *smashing cymbals*

Ahem.

The Eyes Have It!

Background info for the post:
As you know, Tooter just turned two. He's a grand two year old, of course, and is a regular little two year old boy in most every sense. His physical abilities have always been right on target. He's a regular kid.

Except for the fact that he's not talking yet.

Now, I've heard all the thoughts on this situation - that he's a boy (they can develop later), he doesn't have to talk because his sister does it all for him (this is true), Einstein didn't talk until he was three (this is actually true - in fact he wasn't fluent in his own language until he was nine), and etc. Thankfully, Toot's grandparents all tell me to quit worrying, and Jmk isn't even a little bit concerned. (Jmk has a stronger faith than me a lot of the time. AND, he's just not a worrier. I respect that about him more than he knows).

And, even though Tooter's pediatrician has called in a referral to an early intervention program for speech therapy, (which we haven't started yet), she only did so because it was necessary to get in before he turns three, in order to access the free services. She feels like he's fine as well - that he's just a "late talker".

But, as you can imagine, when your two year old doesn't even say "ma ma", it can make for not only a long day, but also moments of worry even though you know you're not supposed to be worrying. Toot babbles all the time, and does use my dad's moniker of GaGa without fail. He communicates with us, albeit by pointing, grunting, whining, and using some hand signs. He will say "dah-de" with about 70% accuracy.

But, at a time when the milestone for beginning to speak is 18 months, and at two, a child is putting together crude 2-word sentences.... well, you can imagine that it's difficult for me to always remember that Toot will be fine. That I just need to be patient and wait for the explosion of words to happen.

That is why, when we have little steps forward, it is even more thrilling for me than the normal excitement that a mom feels watching her little one develop new skills.

So - what about the eyes, you ask? Well!!! Tooter has begun pointing to pictures of eyes - on Elmo, on pictures of animals, on pictures of people, etc - and saying..... drum roll please..... "eyes"!!! It is a very slow and deliberate "eyeths", but it is music to my ears. And, I think this is God's gentle way of reminding worry-wort me that I'm not the one-who-runs-things, and that I need to be more patient with the way our Father intends for Toot to develop. Toot isn't saying "mommy", but he says "eyes". Sort of like saying "SEE, Mom? I am going to talk. Eventually. Not right now, but eventually. Wait for me. Don't rush me - it won't help, and we'll all get frustrated in the process".

It's hard to be patient. But I'll sure take my "eyes" right now.

A new cookie recipe

Disclaimer:
I'm not promoting the overuse of adult beverages in any way. This is just so blasted funny, that if you don't laugh while reading it, then you probably need some serious laugh therapy with old Bill Cosby tapes!


Tequila Christmas Cookies

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup of nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle of Tequila

Sample the Tequila in a large glass to check quality

Take a large bowl, and check the Tequila again, to be sure it is of
the Highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer, Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy
bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

At this point, it's best to make sure the tequila is still ok, so try
another cup.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit and *&%$ cup off the floor.

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers,
just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Check the Tequila.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
Don't forget to beat off the turn er.
Put the bowl through the window, finish off the booze and make sure to
put the dirty stove in the dishwasher.

CHERRY MISTMAS TO ALL!