A few of my favorite things...

Before I got married (and the subsequent children,) I always dreamed of what my Christmas tree would look like. Yes, I had a lot of time on my hands. I LOVED going to Dillards and other department stores to look at the different tree displays to dream about which tree "would be mine." Ahhh, the themes, the color schemes, the fancy-schmanciness of it all. My tree was going to be pink and silver. All soft pink and silver with lots of diamonds (not real, of course--I knew I was going to be a teacher...hehe) and fur and bobbles. Several years into our marriage, I hung on to that pipedream. Until one day, a 2 year old Jackson ate one of the glass balls off of the tree. Uh-huh. You read that right. He ate....a glass....ornament. So, we didn't have a tree for several years after that. You see, by the time Jack was over his ornament eating, Sam had arrived. With red hair. We knew instantly there would be no Christmas tree for MANY, MANY years to come. As luck would have it, Sam didn't eat ornaments or otherwise de-frock the tree. We were pleasantly aghastsurprised and promptly put the tree back up for Sam's first Christmas. Since that time, we've accumulated various and sundry ornaments of a homemade nature. A shining star here (popsicle sticks covered in glitter), a snowman (dried dough with beads) there. And now, my department store tree is loaded to the gills with fuzzy ball garland, gold-metallic garland with stars....all mixed in with the occassional crystal swan, red glass birds, and stained glass stars. It's quite a sight. But I wouldn't trade my Charlie Brown tree for all the tea in China (well, maybe for some tea....I do love me a good cup of Black Nigrili.) It's worth it's weight in unmatched ornaments to hear the kids exclaim over the ornaments they made as toddlers, to see their favorite ornament from 'last year'--Santa riding a tricycle or little, wooden drummer boy carrying a wreath on his head. Sigghhh....now if I can just get my St. Lucia dolls finished....ggrrrr....

Recent Photos

Here you see a little girl who is in the process of sweet talking her way into some chocolate ice cream after her mommy had already told her no. Can you say, "Wrapped?" As in, around her little finger.

Sam took this picture of Jack on Thanksgiving Day at the GrandPinkie's house. That is one happy kid, right there. Look at those dimples. UG!

This was Sam's last visit to the treehouse before we moved. He hugged and kissed it. He cried. It was enough to break your heart, it was. Before you voice your concern, let me just say that our new house has an unused, outside (very nice and new) storage building that will VERY soon be brought up to speed and turned into a rip-snortin' (in Texas that means really snazzy) Club House of Epic Proportions.

So, where were we?

Life is returning back to...er...well, normal. Ok. Ok. Normal is a relative term. Ok, that's not true either. None of my relatives are normal..ha! Sorry, couldn't resist. Yes, life is returning to normal....whatever that is. As I type on the couch (watching Dancing With the Stars,) the kids are finished with homework/bath time and are playing hide-and-go-seek. I made a DANG good rendition of King Ranch Casserole for supper tonight. Here I sit. Fire. Tv. Aaahhhh.

House-wise. The boxes are unpacked, and with the exception of the guest room, everything is pretty much in place. There are a few picture-less walls, but we'll take care of that soon enough. We're almost decorated for Christmas...minus the tree. HA! The lights are up outside, the knick-knacks are out. The kids have sifted and sorted through box after box of Christmas treasures and exclaimed over every one of them. I love that they can see something from their baby days and know the story that goes with it. Then again, that makes me feel sooo old. Unrelated note...if the Dancing Christmas Penguins and Snowmen get turned on one more time...I can't be held responsible for what I will do to them. Our neighbors gave us the diabolical thoughtful treasure last year, and the kids played the stupid thing so much last year that I had hoped thought that it had died forever. Not so fast, Frosty. Those darned penguins are as full of gusto as they were last year. The baby penguin even shakes it's hiney...which causes a little jingle bell to ring. All while a very snappy version of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (oh yeah...uh-huh) blasts forth. Oh. It's a jewel, I tell ya. Seriously, it's the only Christmas decoration I'm regretting so far.

Samantha Who. Is anyone else watching this show? I love it.

Gotta run. Blood curdling screams from one third of my offspring.

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving...

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, some six years ago
Not a creature was stirring....well, at least not one that we would know.

The baby of three was determined to come
Yes, out of the oven would come the bun.

The water had broken, the doctor was called,
It wasn't quite time, but she wouldn't be stalled.

Straight to the operating room, our condition was STAT
The mommy's ankles were decidely swollen, er...fat.

When what to our expectant eyes should appear
but a beautiful girl crying really big tears.

A section, a suction, and a few cranky nurses
And we instantly knew she would be a lover of purses.

We called her Sophy-in fact, Sophy Claire
She came weighing not-quite-8 pounds, with a head full of hair.

She learned how to coo, she learned how to crawl
She learned how to giggle, she learned how to brawl.

'Tis the Night Before Thanksgiving, sakes alive...
And she is the Pinkie in our family of 5.

Happy Birthday Sophy Claire!

Hello!

I'll keep this short and sweet! Just wanted to let ya know that we're in the new house and somewhat settled. The kids have been great during this whole process, and we love, love, love the new place. We have SOOO much more space! Things are coming together nicely, and I'm happy to report that the Tooth Fairy found us on our first night here. Trust me, there was a good bit of anxiety in the hours leading up to bedtime. Luckily, the 'ol girl came through for us. For now, I'll leave you with a few interesting comments from the Pinkie house:

• "Red + White makes Diet Pink. Right, mom?"
• "Hey! I've heard that song before!" (in reference to the Salvation Army bell ringer)
• "Mom! Jack is trying to arrest me."
• "Well, Mimi lets me eat 12 mini-pancakes for breakfast at HER house...."
• "Talk to the butt, sister." (This one earned her brother a nice long letter of apology to write.)
• "I can't wait until my birthday on Tuesday because God told me last night in my prayers that I'll grow pink fairy wings when I turn 6."

Where are we? Part Deux

We are currently living in a cardboard box within a cardboard box within a cardboard box within a cardboard box within a cardboard box within a.....

PS More than likely, I will not be able to update until the computer-izing is switched to the new house. Monday of next week? See ya then....

The Goalie, the Leaf Frolicker and the Fashion King

Paint Colors

What is it with our fascination with paint color names? HA!

As we've been sorting through color chips, names, brands, etc., I've gone so far as to decline a perfectly acceptable color because I didn't like it's name. Pfffft.

For those of you who guessed, Stolen Kiss is extremely red. No pink. Just very, very, dark red. Picture cherries mixed with chocolate. Oh, I think I need a snack...

Where we are. Where are we?

1. In one week and 2 days, we'll be in our new house. EEK!
2. I bought a saucepan today. A really FINE saucepan. Next, a skillet. A really FINE skillet.
3. I also bought some fake pears. I don't know why.
4. In our pile of boxes to be moved, there is one labeled "CARE BEARS AND ROLLER SKATES" and another labeled "WEIRD STUFF FROM BOY CLOSET."
5. Did you know that the two blonde, gorgeous dancers from DANCING WITH THE STARS were brother/sister? I did not.
6. My new front door will be painted a color called Stolen Kiss. Can you guess what color that is?
7. My new shutters will be painted a color called Inkwell. It's not near as fun to guess what color that is.
8. Do you like the Gravedigger? If you know me, you know of who I speak.
9. "The Gravedigger" reminds me of "Don't Fear the Reaper..." Don't ask.
10. Why is everyone pregnant all of a sudden? Sweet Bessie, please remind me to not drink the water.
11. Where we are.
12. Where are we?
13. Right here.
14. But not for long.
15. There is no #15.

Catching up

It seems like I'm taking pictures faster than ever these days. So many class parties, and field trips, and recitals, and holidays, and funny moments....

Jack had originally planned to dress up as Spiderman this year for Halloween. Sadly, the size 8/10 costume I bought him was so tight it was almost vulgar. When he recovered from his sadness, he decided to go for being a USAF pilot...a costume we already had in the closet....that didn't cost any more money. YAY!!!

And here you see Sophy, boogying down at dance class. This little display of jitter bugging was happening as the rest of the girls in her class were putting on their dance shoes. Her class had a little mini-recital for friends/family on Tuesday to show off what they have learned so far of the dances for their recital that will be in May. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Sam went to the zoo today with his class. He had a good time, but he wanted to know why sometimes the zoo is "sort of really boring" and why they try to "teach you so much" while you're there. He really enjoyed getting to make popsicles (pnut butter on sticks rolled in birdseed) for the birds and then feeding the birds with the popsicles. He also go to see a "giant cockroach that knows how to spit." This really, really made his day. The students all got to pet certain animals and large insects and reptiles during the educational program time. I'm guessing this was the time when he resented "being taught so much" and not being able to move "around so much." But I'm just guessing!