So much to remember!

I've posted 3 times in the last 4 hours, haha, but I keep remembering things! Last year, I started making a few St. Lucia style advent doll things (inspired by Posey's), but I didn't get finished with them because of the BIG MOVE. I need to get those little gals out and finish them up! YIKES! (Btw, I think mine are much cuter than the ones photo'd at flick'r.)

Inside Mi Casa

I tried to take a picture of my gargantuan mantel, but I couldn't get the whole thing in the pic. Father Christmas in his woodland coat and with his little snowshoes just couldn't make edge into the photo. Better luck next time old man, but take my word for it, Santa in his woods-ish fur coat. He's a sight to see.

Here is a strange, slanted view of the Nutcrackers. I am very upset that I can't find a box that contains several other nutcrackers, a few snowmen, and my paper mache Santa that Rach brought me from Mexico a long time ago. Sniff, sniff. I WILL find them! I'm sick about the Santa from Rach. Grrr.

I decided to do Santa heads in the built-in in the dining room. Think I need to find a few more. Wouldn't a paper mache Santa from Mexico look dandy in this cabinet? Uh-huh, it would.

I couldn't find my Christmas china dinner plates either. As you'll recall, we moved into this house the last week of November last year, and we decorated for Christmas while we were unpacking the house boxes. There is no telling where my Christmas goodies ended up being stashed. For now, the table is decorated with my gold chargers and no dinner plates. Oh well.

I think the angels are a bit dwarfing to the Holy Baby Jesus and the Blessed Parents, but I thought the angels were pretty and the green matches my dining room. Plus, maybe in some grandiose way, they signify something. But what? There is a child-sized (and by child-sized, I mean about the size of a 5 year old) Nativity at the Pottery Tent that I have had my eye on for several years now that I think would look really good in my foyer now that I have a foyer big enough to house such a thing. On the down-side, it costs about $200...and that's a lot to pay for Baby Jesus. I don't think He would approve.

The top of my china cabinet looks the same as it always does, but I still like it.

Christmas Lights

It's a bit blurry, but it's how I roll.

You can't really tell what's going on here, but it's a little scene created by the PDadster with some cute little trees and a tipsy looking snowman whose hat keeps falling off. Seriously. Every morning, his hat is somewhere on the ground beside him. (Cue MC Hammer) Things that make ya go hhhmmmm.

We got rid of our icicle lights that we had been using since 1997. The year we were joined in Holy Matrimony! EEK!

Mr. PD didn't fall off of the roof after all while putting up the lights. He's rather accident prone, so I always cringe when he climbs on top of the house. YAY!!

Wrapping up the weekend

We found some time to visit the lights in town. And have dinner. And cinnamon roasted pecans from a nice vendor man. And take our own photo.
SIL and I took Cousin E and Soph to get manicures. We have created monsters. MONSTERS, I tell you.

Sam is trying to look all manly while he poses with our fluffy dogs. Pongo really does have a face, you just can't see it.

Cousin S came to play for a bit one morning, and Sam took this photo of us. I look like I'm drugs. Sorry, but I'm proud to be drug free.

Today was a whirlwind, and I have finally landed on my rear for the first time. I may not be able to get back up. We started off this morning in S'port at the sporting goods store with the perverted name that I can't stand. Why couldn't they name that place something different? What about Richard's? I mean, c'mon. Anyway, we had to replace DaddyP and Jack's swim gear as their stuff was stolen at the gym last week. Who would steal a 10 year old's swim suit and goggles? After getting a new suit and goggles, we came home and ate a wonderful plate of T'giving leftovers. Man, was it good! PDaddy had a family shoot, and Piano Girl came to do lessons with Sam while I worked on getting Christmas out of the attics and cabinets and closets. I'm happy to report that all of T'giving has been put away, and we got our Christmas ON! We're ready for the holidays now, and the kids are excited for all of our upcoming funnsies to hurry up and get here. ((Omg. AFV just came on for the first time in a few weeks, and my kids are screaming and weeping with joy. We're easy to make happy, right?)) Next weekend, we're doing the Nutcracker, then the following weekend we're going to ride a Christmas steam engine in Jefferson that tours light display areas. The following weekend is our trip to King Tut, and for that, I am so excited. I can't wait to go ice skating at the Galleria. We're trying to get tickets to the Radio City Music Christmas Spectacular at the CenturyTel in few weeks. We saw the previews on tv, and Sophy almost ruptured on the spot. I'm gonna try to get tickets tomorrow for that.
Where was I? After lunch, decorating, and piano lessons, we're sitting on the couch enjoying a fire in the fireplace. It's PDad's night to cook, so he is out scaring us up some Mexican food takeout. SCORE! WHeeedooggies! Speaking of PDad, he was asked today to travel to a few photography locales and is on Cloud 9. I guess that means that I'll just have to make myself go with him (grrinn.) Haha. This is for a commercial gig, and he's really hoping it develops into something good over the years. It's not something he set out to do, but the work he has done so far (catalog photos) has turned out to be something he really enjoyed. We'll see.

I am truly excited to get back to school tomorrow to start my new novel with my 6th graders. Good times, people. The kids are not so excited. I keep reminding them that we only have 3 weeks to go before we get another good break. Poor kids.
Tris~It was soo good to talk to you today! What's a few decades between friends & family, right? Please let me know how the 16th goes for you! Fingers and toes are crossed!

Oh, and before I forget, I will do Topic Tuesday this week! Ha! You hopedthought I'd forgotten.

Thanksgiving Re-Cap

At McPinkie's house on Thursday, we threw sticks in the river.

Group Shot
Turkey makes you crazy!

At 201 Pinkie Drive today, we played Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum in a Dish!

We played WAR--Girls V. Boys (and it got UGLY.)

We had a rockin' kid's table. By rockin', I mean LOUD.

Our sweet grand-neighbor was under the weather today, so Sam took her a bouquet of flowers. Willingly, I might add.

Tea Time

I met my SIL at the tea room today for lunch...ok, the truth. We met for lunch, but we were really after the chocolate chip scones and hot tea. Sluurrp. We made a stop at the book store to pick up a few books for our little turkies, and I then headed to Strawns to pick up pies for tomorrow and Friday. I think I saw about 40 pies leave in the 60 seconds that I was in the store. Talk about a well-oiled machine.
PDaddy made steaks and artichokes for dinner tonight. Not that I had much room left in me from stuffing myself at lunch. It's a shame there'll be more stuffing of myself tomorrow and Friday. A crying shame.

One tree down, 3 more to go!

We have been looking for trees for Jack and Sam's rooms (stay tuned for those), but I can't fnd any that I like. We do have some small woodland type trees that we can use in their rooms if we can't find any others. Not that they boys care, mind you. They don't. Unlike Sophy, who had written me instructions and drawn diagrams as to where she wanted this particular tree located. We put it up this evening while she sang, "O Christmas Tree." I had hoped to put our big tree up this Friday, since that is our tradition, but I think we'll have to put it off until maybe Saturday evening. Sniff, sniff. Sam has asked that he be able to swing the ax to chop the tree down at the Christmas tree farm. YIKES! Stay tuned....

Sam's Story

Sam spent 2 and a half hours writing, scratching out, drawing arrows, re-writing sentences and illustrating the following story today, and then claimed that "being an author" makes you very hungry. Original spellings intact except where Mommy was asked to help out:


The Boy and the Dog
(flip the papge)
By Sam Daily and illustrated by Sam Daily to.

The dog was swmming in the rivr. The dog catched a fish. The boy was hiking on a maountaiain. The camp house was a cabin but not really like a cabin. The dog came out of the water. A bobcat was riteon the bank. The dog killed it. Turn the page. The dog barked the boy for help! (picture of dog with hair standing on end here) The boy held a gun at the cheetah. The cheetah ran away and the boy andthe dog live happy barely after. The End.
(stick figure of Sam waving goodbye)

Tuesdayness

I'm in the kitchen! Beware people! This gal is about to make peanut butter bonbons and amaretti cookies! Get out of my way! ((Edited to say: Amaretti cookies are the pashizzle. Dang!))
On the to-do list for today:

• Take DaddyP to the E.R. should he fall off of the house in his insane quest to string up "just one more strand" of Christmas lights. I swear I'm married to Chevy Chase.
• Make above mentioned goodies with toes and fingers crossed that the house doesn't burn down....especially with PDad on the roof and all.
• Laundry (blech!), dust, mop, vaccum, (blech, blech, and BLECH!) House full of mi familia arriving on Friday.
• Delegate as many of the cleaning chores as possible to the children. C'mon, a little chemical exposure NEVER hurt anyone.
• Listen to Jason Mraz just one more time. Swoon.

((Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, PDaddy is standing in the street with his arms folded while he looks at the house...as if he has a plan hatching....oy.))

Just plain, 'ol Monday.

Sam and Sophy woke up this morning in serious Christmas morning mode complete with jumping on my bed at a disgustingly early hour and begging me to please "don't stay in bed all day." Because, yeah, I've had that luxury sooo many times in the last 10 years. Maybe when I had pneumonia. No, wait. Not even then.
So, they were in Hysterics over today being THANKSGIVING!! Then I had the distinct displeasure of having to explain to them that it was just Monday of Thanksgiving week.
And their faces fell.
Sophy tsk'd me and rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips.
Sam, clad only in underwear, scowled and said, "What!? Nuh-uh."
Still under the covers, I said, "Oh. Yuh. Uh-huh."
To which Sophy says, "Wait a minute. You mean it's just plain, old Monday?"
'Fraid so kid.
In order for Monday to be a little less plain and old, we had donuts for breakfast. I mean, there ain't nothing like donuts to shake Monday up, right? Eh?
What else?
We spent most of the day at home in our pj's and less. Oh well, not me, I had on clothes. Don't call CPS. After DaddyP got home, we went to Longview to pick up a few Santa items with the kids in tow.
We decided to sup at Red Lobster, which the kids love, and I ate a manly sized portion of crab legs.
Oh my goodness, is there anything better on this planet?
Oh my goodness, will I ever be able to eat crab legs again without every last, single episode of Deadliest Catch replaying in my mind? Well, apparently my stomach has no conscience because I all but licked my plate. After the plate licking, we went to TCBY where the kids had chocolate ice cream loaded with chocolate chips. This was a purchase that we regretted, hhhmm, about 3 minutes after getting back into the car. It sounded like a Bruce Lee kung fu movie was playing in fast forward in the back of the car. I'm mostly kidding about the kung fu.
What's on tap for tomorrow? Maybe if we're lucky it'll be Just Plain, 'Ol Tuesday.
Crab legs and all.

Good Advice from Facebook.

I read on a friend's Facebook page that she intended to spend her holidays this year making memories with her family and not getting caught up in endless things that had to be done. She apologized for sounding cliche', but I think that it's a good reminder...even if it truly does sound cliche'.
And so tomorrow begins my first 'official' day of the Thanksgiving holiday, and Hallelujah, I have the whole week off! We started celebrating our Week O' Holiday Fun by taking the kids to see Bolt after getting out of school at one o'clock on Friday. What we saw of the movie was definitely, definitely worth seeing. Super movie, and I had hesitated seeing it due to John Travolta being the voice of Bolt. Glad we saw it. There were some technical glitches during the first 10-15 minutes of the movie and previews (I LOVE the previews), and the manager came around and gave everyone in the theatre free passes to see another movie which was GREAT considering we still saw 90% of the movie! Score!
After the show, we made a few birthday related stops to get ready for Sophy's party, and then we met McPinkie, Cousins E. and C., and SIL-kie (haha, that's SIL and Pinkie together...hahaha..ok, yeah) at Strawn's for chocolate chip pancakes, meatloaf, scrambled eggs, cheeseburgers, and chocolate cream pie. Gotta love Strawn's! I'll be back at Strawn's on Wednesday to pick up our strawberry pie for Thanksgiving at McPinkie's house on Thursday. The kids are really excited about playing with Cousins C. and E. at McP's!
If I can get the kids at my folk's house one day, I think PDaddy and I may go do some lite Christmas shopping to get a few things that are likely to be hard-to-find as the shopping days tick away. Probably already should've gotten the Wii, but I think we're getting it from Amazon and shouldn't be a problem to find that way. I hope! The kids want to have lunch and go to the bookstore one day, and that sounds just fine with me! I love nothing more than wandering the aisles with a hot chocolate (half white chocolate, half milk chocolate, loaded with cream).....aaah. Maybe we'll do that tomorrow!
Friday we'll be doing Thanksgiving all over again with my family here at 201 Pinkie House. Most people might tire of the same fare served two days in a row, but not me! I could eat Thanksgiving's Finest every day of the year. I'll have to bring in a table to the dining room for the kids to decorate and set with napkins, place cards, but that should keep them busy for some part of the morning. Sam is planning the kid's menu and Cousins M, K, S, and G will no doubt help in the process! YIKES! Should be fun! PinkieJewJew is bringing her Wii which we will set up in Sam's bedroom, and someone is bringing a ping-pong table which I think we'll set up in the foyer. Good times, people. Good times. I think I'll fold out the hide-a-bed in the loveseat for anyone who wants to nap as they graze/watch football/movies. Uh, that 'anyone' might be me. Hehe.
I think Daddy P and Sam the Tool Man are putting up our Christmas lights this afternoon, so our house isn't firebombed by the Christmas Light Committee of Pinkie Hollow that has already sent us one notice to "Please have your house ready for the Big Light Up" on Friday. And in keeping with Pinkie House tradition, we will be putting up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving which I absolutely can not believe is this week. Fred? Fred, can you hear me? I think it's time for you to come back! PDaddy and PMama are calling..........

Questions from a very curious red head.

Curious George Sam:
While Jack and Sophy dozed in the car tonight as we headed home from McPinkie's house, Sam decided that he would take advantage of the quiet to ask me, literally, one question every minute or so. I'll try to list, for your viewing pleasure, the bulk of his questions.

• Do deer live in the rainforest?
• Is it the law to honk at deer who are on the side of the road?
• Did you know a horse can run 40 miles per hour?
• Is there any animal that can jump over a telephone pole?
• Why do we have outer space?
• Is there a bird that can fly to space?
• Did you know that an octupus is the shark's enemy?
• Can a squid really eat a ship?
• How many stomachs does an alligator have?
• How much gas does a bus hold?
• What eats squirrels?
• Do squirrels throw their nuts at other animals?
• Did you know a hammerhead looks like a dolphin only with a really weird face?
• How many pounds of food does it take to fill up a horse?
• Does your cell phone get a signal here?
• Is it against the law to run over a deer?
• Would it just feel like a bump to run over a deer in a monster truck?

Happy Birthday Sophy Claire!

Today we celebrated birthday #7 for Sophy Claire! We had a ball jumping, running, flipping, trtipping, etc. Here is Soph about to blow out her #7 candle!
You have no idea how long it took to get them all to gather and be still for this shot.

Jack is getting practice in for the Mexican cliff diving that he asks repeatedly to go do.

This is one exuberant mommy who doesn't have to plan another birthday party until June!! WHHEEEE!!

((Drumroll....Kleenex.....Smelling Salts.....etc.))

Yay!
Hooray!
Crazy squeal!
Blowing kisses to my public!
Toe touch!
Back handspring!
Throwing confetti!
Running laps around my living room!
Giggle!
Teehee!
Jumping off of the couch!
.....We interrupt this Momentous Occassion to explain to you why she is celebrating. Yes, it seems that Pinkie's man...the one, the only DaddyP, just booked a little, sweet getaway for the two o'them at (gasp) (swoon) (stay with me) THIS LOVELY PLACE!! For years, yay verily, for years, Daddy P has avoided just such an excursion. Not his cup o' tea, as it were. After much begging, pleading, and Chinese wedgie torture....he has consented, phoned, booked, paid, and so much more!
Hooray!!
Ok, whew! Now that it's all out of my system, I'll be fine. Seriously. I'm fine!
SSQQUUEEAALL!!!

Topic Tuesday

TALKING TO STRANGERS:
It is the Mommy Mantra.
"We don't talk to strangers."
Yeah, only why is it that I talk to EVERY stranger that I see? Truly, I do. Pity on you if you happen to be the poor, unsuspecting shopper caught either behind or in front of me in line at Kroger, Walmart, Target, the book store. 'Cause guess what? We're going to have a conversation. Oh, you think you can ignore me? HAHAHAAAAAA! Ah, that's cute. Uh, no. You can't. We will talk. You can bet on it. I'm not sure which side of the gene pool this characteristic comes from. What trait is in me that stirs this desire to gab with utter unknowns? All I can tell you is that as a 6 year old, I used to rummage through the medicine cabinets of homes I would visit. As a pre-teen (ok, ok and COLLEGE) student, I would crawl under the beds of my brothers while they were away from home. Lying as still as death, I would wait in my little hidey-hole until they arrived home, shut their door, dialed up their sweet-nothing on the other line, and then....I'd listen. I mastered the art of unfolding the 'love note' and refolding it so as to not look disturbed. Before disturbing a potential crime scene, I would look at the exact location of each and every article and item, so that I could be sure to have it all put back to rights at the appropriate moment. In a flash. Then there were the times that I would wait until my parents had left to run errands, buy groceries, go to church (I did attend, I promise), etc. at which time I would unwrap any Christmas presents that happened to be wrapped and under the tree at the time. If there weren't any out, and I knew that the folks had been shopping, I would go in to Operation Search and Discover mode. The gifts would be found.
What is the point?
Maybe I'm nosey?
Maybe this is where the need to strike up absolute random conversations with strangers stems from? I dunno. What I do know is that there is a method.
A motos apparendi, if you will. Picture a black widow spider as she sits on her haunches (do spiders have haunces?) and waits for the poor, unsuspecting fly to plop into her sticky web. Oh yes, her sticky web. In case you're wanting to start trapping victimes making new friends as soon as possible, I'll lay out a few helpful pointers:

1. When applicable, always choose the "Express Lane." It, almost always and without fail, will be ground to a complete standstill and will allow the chance to strike up a conversation with Lonely Person to your front or back. I prefer the Back Guest as this person very well can't turn away from you by pretending to talk to the checker or read the back of the toaster waffle box. No, this person is facing you. How rude if they were to turn and give you their back. CHECK MATE!
2. When in doubt, find someone with gout. That is, find someone of the elderly persuasion. These people are just dying, sometimes literally, to talk to someone.
3. Run into as many people as you can with your buggy. First of all, it scares them. And when people are scared, they tend to freeze up. Another captive audience just waiting to converse!
4. Pretend to be completely ignorant. Ask lots of questions. What works for me? "Have you ever tried this before? Which brand would you recommend? Excuse me m'am, my child just tossed a box of tampons into your buggy while you weren't looking." Sorry, but the last excuse only works if you actually have your children with you at the time.
5. Last, but certainly not least, do not forget the restroom. Yes, the public restroom is a veritable treasure trove of stranger encounters (note: the public restroom reference is to STRANGER encounters not STRANGE encounters, that is another Topic Tuesday topic.)
In closing, it may be do as I say, but not as I do, but I dare you to speak to strangers without delay. You'll be a much happier person. Honest.

Necessito Accion de Gracias.

One of my sweet, sweet Hispanic students is slowly adding to my acquisition of Spanish this year. She asks me all of her questions in Spanish and then makes me repeat them to her. It's very challenging. The good news is that I can ask for an eraser, request to use the library, and express my....er....dislike of aspects of classroom life. I had a pretty good grasp on Spanish prior to Mariela, but she is determined to tighten that grasp, apparently. The bad news is that there are about 5 other Hispanic girls in her class, and they find it immenently amusing that Mariela es mi maestra. Usted adora Mariela, is what she tells me every day. Last week, she asked me a question in Spanish, and when I went to answer her in English, she tsk-tsk'd me and said, "uh-huh, en espanol." UG! Now, I find this horribly unfair, since Mariela speaks English as well as I do. I; however, do not speak Spanish as good as she does. Or even close to it. Sigh. Una semana, er...one week of school-that is, until the Thanksgiving holidays, and I can do one week standing on my head with my hands tied behind my back, 3 day old socks stuffed in my mouth, and flesh-eating parasites snacking on my toes. Oh yes. I can make it.

After church, we had lunch with my folks. My mom made spaghetti and meatballs, which were tasty, but P.Sue tried to claim that she made them all through my juvenile years...and I'm sorry...but I remember these things. My mama was a strict meatsauce maker. There were no meatballs. I think she's been sniffing glue. Do ya hear me? There were no meatballs.

Where was I? Oh yes, lunch. We came home, and PDaddy had a family reschedule on him and a senior that he rescheduled, so we had the day at home. Piano Girl didn't make today which made Sam really happy. McPinkie stopped by for a quick visit, at which time the kids proceeded to act like absolute hooligans. Maybe it's the weather. When McPinkie left, PDaddy picked up some good, old TxMx for supper. Tortilla soup with fajita chicken, chopped avocaodo, and tortilla chip topping and chicken enchiladas. Now PD is watching Leatherheads with George Clooney, and I'm trying to pretend like I like George Clooney...which I do not.

One more week. One more week. Bring on the flesh eating parasite!

Serious excitment in the Pinkie family and beyond.

We finally have the specifics of our trip to Dallas finalized, and it looks like a fun trip! We'll be seeing (drum roll please) the King Tut Exhibit that is showing at the DMA. It's difficult to say who is more excited, Sophy or her other cousins! From what I've heard of folks who have seen the exhibit, it's amazing. Can't wait to see it. We'll be staying at the Westin at the Galleria, and if we don't get to ice skate, we may have to bury 4 little girls and 3 little boys somewhere because they'll surely croak. The kids are so looking forward to going!

Summarizing Saturday

Dinner was great last night. We ate late after stopping at a few stores to look for a quilt for Jack's bed, since it is a new size now that he has inherited the full size bed in the guest room. I didn't find anything even remotely like I was looking for, so I guess I'll have to hit Ebay sooner or later. After dinner, we went to the book store and had coffee (I had hot chocolate) and walked around FOREVER before finally heading home. I bought Sophy the new novel by Kate DiCamillo that is coming out in December. It's an awesome, awesome story...The Tale of Despereaux. It's a superbly written story, and I can't wait to see the movie. My sixth graders are actually going to start reading it after Thanksgiving, and we'll be taking the entire sixth grade class to see the movie right before we leave for the Christmas holiday. I can't wait!!! It is really one of my most favorite stories ever. If you have small children, buy it! If they can't read yet, SAVE IT FOR THEM! It's a great novel to add the classics if you're collecting them...Secret Garden..check...Little House on the Prairie....check....The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane...check....Charlotte's Web, Ramona the Brave, .Madeline series, A Little Princess..check, check, check, check....Despereaux...CHECK!! Did I mention that I love the book? Buy it without delay.
It has been cold, cold, cold today. And windy! Brrr! My mom and I had intended to go to Jefferson today to scope out a headboard for Jack, but her foot was still bothering her, Sam wasn't feeling well, and it was so windy and freezing that it just seemed easier to stay home and do my rat killing. I'm glad now to have it all behind me, so I don't have to do it all on Sunday.
We woke up early this a.m. while the kids were still at their cousin sleepover and headed out for burritos at this dink stand that sells breakfast burritos of an authentic nature. A very nice way to start Saturday off, I might add. We then headed to the furniture store to set up a delivery date for The Bunk Bed-which they readily offered to set up today. Looks great, and I'll post pics tomorrow. PDaddy had a bride/mother/fiance set to arrive mid-morning, so we flew to Lowes to pick up paint for Jack's room and ended up getting home just before his meeting time. No sooner had he holed up with his clients in his office than the doorbell rang with the bed delivery men and the tile man who is going to tile the kid's bath area. It was a bit hectic, but it all worked out. Sometime after they left, PDaddy emerged from the office, the kids arrived home, and I got to work painting Jack's room. Sophy was enraptured at her new bed and didn't emerge from her room but for seconds at a time all day. I'm not sure what she was doing in there, but she did an awful lot of singing about herself at the top of her lungs. Not sure what that was all about. Sam laid around a lot today with a low grade fever and stuffy head. Poor guy. When he is miserable, we're ALL miserable! Not to mention that cold medicine makes him downright impossible to live with. I hope, for his sake and the rest of us too, that he feels better tomorrow. After I wrapped up the paint job, PDaddy left around supper time to shoot a wedding. He should be home around 11 tonight, but I have the kids in bed and a fire in the fireplace...so I'm good!

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain...

Just click your heels together three times and say, "There's no place like Friday. There's no place like Friday." Then, PPPOOFF!, you'll be there, and what a happy day it will be!
Speaking of The Land of Oz, I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday! Oz has been a strange place this week. After being very nearly fried by a lightning bolt, and with the holiday only a week away, and the students in dire need of a break, the munchkins have been all in a dither, especially the 7th grade munchkins who somehow feel that the closer they get to Thanksgiving, the more grown they are. Sighing and rolling my eyes.
I'm so excited that I found my oldest and very first ever friend on Facebook tonight! She is in Vietnam which is bizarre because I just knew she was in Uganda. We became friends while living in Albuquerque as wee little elementary school gals, and over the years, we have randomly and accidentally lived near one another and very far away from one another, and yet...well...we somehow always find each other again. Of course, someone needs to nail her feet to the floor, so she will stay in one place! Her folks have just returned to Hawai'i, and as she put it, she now has the "huge burden" of visiting them there. Ha! I know how happy her mom must be to return to her home state, beautiful Hawaiian that she is! It's enough to make you green with envy. Too bad they can't bottle the Hawaiian gene and sell it! Anyway, C~I'm so happy to have you again!~
Meem and Pop invited our 3P's and the 2 close-by cousins over for a cousin sleepover, so PD and I plan on going out for dinner once he finishes his bridal shoot tomorrow eve. My mom and I plan to go to Jefferson this weekend to look for a headboard for Jack's room with kids in tow while DaddyP shoots a wedding. It's my goal to get Jack's room paint prep'd Saturday, so I can get the room painted Sunday after church. Which makes me sad to even think about because, POOF, then I'll be back to school, and there'll be nothing left of my weekend but happy memories and the lingering odor of paint fumes. Luckily, next week will fly with the holiday coming up behind it! At least, that is what I'm counting on.

A few snapshots and a note to T. and B.

Lots of pics to share, but I'll let Jack post his favs in his blog as soon as we can. I'll post a few of my favs and a few that I know won't be Jack's fav. Maybe a few more in days to come.

Jack and the Chinese Tourist. This is one of my favorite photos of the 200+ the PDaddy took. Just doing our part to bring global harmony.

Love it.

And I love this....

My daddy's wall.

Ter, Ter. How could you not approve of my TT choice? Haha! Just wait until you hear what the next topic is! Just kidding, I have no idea what the topic is yet. Despite your disapproval of my first topic choice (snicker-snort), I still am so happy that you found a Chic-Filet. Too bad there isn't one in Communist Land where you live. Seriously, I about died when you said your recent party was attended by people who had never heard of, much less eaten, Rotel cheese dip. Still trying to get over that one!!! Post pics of your SoCal trip soon! Did the 4 kiddos travel as well? How far is Vegas from SoCal? Please tell me that you flew.
Brita, I wonder if it is the Indian connection, but it's not like I have relations on reservations or anything (except for the first cousin that I am aware of, but have never seen, on a NM reservation fathered by an uncle...long story.) Still, it is something to consider. I can totally relate to your thick hair/shedding comment. ME TOO! I lose more hair in a month from my head than most people HAVE on their head!

For the record, if you'd like to suggest a topic for TT, feel free. Also, if you would like to post about my topic in your blog. Let me know, so I can read about it. Because, don't try to hide it, I know you're all dying to make your own opinions on BODY HAIR known.

Topic Tuesday

It occured to me, while making Sloppy Joe's for supper per request of Sam--BLECH, that PD would be taking the P3 to gym tonight; therefore, I really must think of some way to celebrate. Without expending too much brain power (because frankly after traveling in a torrential downpour to another campus in our district with 200 or so puberty-approaching beasts children for a Veteran's Day program--which was lovely, truly, so please hold off sending me hate mail--where our bus and the one behind it were seemingly in the path of a rogue lightning bolt...you think I lie, but I promise you it was the closest I've ever been to a lightning bolt, and frankly, it was too close seeing as how the entire inside of the bus exploded in BLUE light and the loudest crack of Almighty Doom I have ever heard exploded around us and things were sparking and smoldering when all was said and done--absolutely freaky, well needless to say there wasn't much brain power left to expend), I decided that I would celebrate my aloneness by instituting a new bloggy event. Yes, boys and girls, I have decided to begin Topic Tuesday.
I hear you gasp and say, "What is Topic Tuesday?"
Dear hearts, I shall tell you. On Topic Tuesday, I will rant and rave and voice my opinions in a most unladylike way for all and sundry to read on random and bizarre topics.
Now I hear you ask, "How is this different from any other day?"
And now I say to you, "Mind your manners, lest I call your mama." (Is lest a word?)
So, without further delay, I give you my first topic:
BODY HAIR
If you're like me, and I imagine that you are thanking your Maker that you aren't, you grow body hair like a Chia. I realize that there are people in this world who are as hairless as a Mexican Chihuahua, but I, friends and neighbors, am no chihuahua. Sticking with the canine comparison, gee, I'd have to classify myself with the labradoodle breed (because they're adorable like me...ahem.)Frankly, if I am to maintain a modicum of honesty on Topic Tuesday, I'll have to cut through the kibble and say that I am as hairy as they come. I have more body hair than PDaddy. I have more body hair than a Russian weightlifter on bad steroids. I have more body hair than.....oh, you're ready for me to move on? I often wonder which one of my ancestors this tendency to sprout hair came from. As far as I know, I'm a mixture of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and possibly a smackling of Choctaw on my maternal grandmother's side. Are any of these nationalities known to be excessively hairy? I do not know. You tell me. (And I'm not being hypothetical...literally, tell me if you know.) I am direct descendant to Harris, McBee, Morris, Smith, and Rutledge peoples. Do you know any people of such a name? Are they hairy? I'd really like to know.
All I know is that I can shave and regrow a new crop of leg hair in a matter of 2 hours. Mostly I believe this to be abnormal. Well meaning passers-by might suggest Nair. To which I give a big, hardy bark of laughter! Nair is a really good moisturizer. I've never had a better cream rinse for my leg hair than Nair. There may be people reading this with stubble the size of tree trunks. Too ashamed to speak out are they, and who can blame them? It's not dinner party conversation, people. Nay. My word to you, my hairy sisters, is that you are not alone. Hairy people of the world! Unite!
In closing, I'd like to apologize for the senseless babble. I only promised you Topic Tuesday; I never promised that it would be pretty.
Let it fly in the breeze
And get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas in my hair
A home for fleas
A hive for bees
A nest for birds
There ain't no words
For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder
Of my...
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair

My einsteins are hurting.

On Saturday, the nice Lowes Lady gave Sam this DIY 18 wheeler kit which Sam proceeded to build entirely by his little, old lonesome! The boy can, literally, build anything! This was not a gene that he got from his mother.
This is a partial photo of the Sophy bath redeaux that happened this weekend while we waited for our menfolk to return. My mom put up the wallpaper (Go Her!), and that was an 8 hour job that I didn't see coming. Luckily, we weren't depending on my wallpaper hanging skillz. I will post CANDY pics soon, but I'm waiting for her bed to come so that you can get the entire feel for CANDY. Btw, Amy!! I thought you had fallen off of the planet! Where have you been?

Sam recently announced that his einsteins (his INTESTINES) were hurting. Oh yes, oh yes. Gotta take care of those einsteins. Between his einsteins and Sophy's mibrain headaches, we're just full of medical oddities. Moving on.

Jack, the Pop, and PDad arrived home on Sunday afternoon from their trip to DC. PDaddy said they walked 10 miles at a time, visited Great Falls Park, road Amtrak to Philly, road a vintage steam train, took a VIP tour of the Pentagon, did the museums, went inside the Washington Monument, contemplated life by the reflecting pool, and took in all the sites in general. Once the pics are off of the camera, I'll post a few here. I can't wait to see the pic of Jack and some random Chinese man who grabbed Jack to pose with him by the Liberty Bell while his wife snapped a photo. PDaddy took one too after the man explained in very broken English that he wanted his "picture taken with American!" Haha. Somewhere in China a little Chinese family is pointing in wonder at the 10 year old who somehow ended up in the photo. Photos soon!

Peace out! Samantha Who is calling.

Just a minute to write.

I'm running crazy today, but I wanted to be sure and post about Jack, PDad, and PPop's arrival in DC. They were on the ground in DC by 10:30 or so (I left them at S'port's airport around 4:30 this morning...yeah, EARLY!!!) and spent the afternoon touring the Pentagon with PDaddy's cousin and then taking the metro to the Air-Space Museum. They were off for a bite of dinner at last I talked with Jack and were then going to try to catch one of the after-dark cruises to see the sights from the water. I hope they were able to do that! Sounds like fun!! Tomorrow they are going to tour more sights in DC, and Friday they are taking Amtrak to Philly to see the Liberty Bell. They'll also rent a car at that point and travel about an hour north of Philadelphia to New Hope, PA to ride a vintage RR that Jack has read about and wanted to see. The foliage route that the train will take is supposed to be spectacular! A train ride into the Pennsylvania countryside in autumn....I can't wait to see the pics! Saturday they were able to get tickets (they are limited) to take the inside tour of the Washington Monument. The tickets had to be spoken for in advance, even though they were free. It is first come-first served for the tickets, and they only do the tours at 8:30 on Saturday mornings. So, they are locked in for that, which is great because the Washington Monument is one of Jack's "Must See" locales for this trip. After the Washington Monument, Jack is very hopeful that they will rent a car and drive to Baltimore (very short ride) and go to Baltimore Aquatics to see where "You Know Who" trained for the Olympics. He has begged, and I think PDaddy may have caved. If they opt to not go to Baltimore, they will spend more time in DC-probably at the Smithsonian and Arlington. Jack was on Cloud Nine when I talked with him today, so I am sure there is a good chance the child will not even want to come home on Sunday! Sniff, sniff. Back to the real world!
I spent the day (after leaving the guys at the airport) at the zoo with Sophy's class and the rest of first grade. Oh. My. Geeosh. Wow!! What an experience. The kids had a ball, and I have some precious pics of Sophy and pals to share at a later date, but for now I gotta jet. Lots to do here before I can be finished.
Later~

The can of worms your mother warned you about.

As I painted Sophy's room today, Jack told me that he wanted to-please-have his own room. He even had the painting and decorating related specifics picked out. Right down to the flat screen (HARDY HAR HAR) television that he wants to hang over his bed. His argument is that Sam's stuff is "everywhere" and he doesn't even like Sam's stuff. True enough, there are no two kids on this planet who are more different than these two.
I guess I knew this was bound to happen, but it never dawned on me to have my response scripted and ready to dispense. We talked about it, and I realized that there really isn't a reason why Jack can't move into the guest room, other than the fact that Sam is a big, red-headed chicken and will croak when he hears of our plan.
PDaddy's office will become our guest space if we go ahead and make Jack the happiest of kids. I'm on the lookout now for a queen sized sleeper sofa for PDad's office, a captain's bed/trundle and dresser for Jack's (mercy me) new room.
Please people. The next time I want to paint something, please, for Pete's sake (whoever he is) remind me about worms and the cans they pop out of!

The 3 Coat Method

For those of you who might happen to be a painting novice, I present to you the 3 Coat Method.
1. Apply one coat of paint to the walls.
2. Apply one coat of paint to yourself.
3. Apply one coat of paint on any other object of your choice.
Hope this helps!

PS to Ang:
You ask how I would describe the color?
That's a tough question, and I wish I knew the answer.
I do intend to post a photo soon, but in the meantime, you should start driving towards Pepto Bismal and take a left at purple. We aren't sure what color CANDY represents on the color wheel. I stared at it quite extensively this evening. Nothing came to mind.
Here are the shades of pink that it is not:
Barbie pink, cotton candy pink, chalk pink, Pretty in Pink, any type of berry pink, grapefruit pink, or ballerina pink.
The shades of pink that it might lean towards:
......hhhhmmmm......let's see....there is......or maybe........no, not that.....hhhhmmm....do ya think it's....no.........gee.......er........CANDY?
Stay tuned, and maybe you can name that color!
CANDY pics tomorrow!

Happiness is Lubbock, Texas in the rearview mirror...if you're a Longhorn.

Edited post-game to say:
HAHAHAAAAA! HHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Wwweeeeeeee. Tteeehhheeeee. HAAAAAAAHHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! (Pause for air.) HHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHA!!

Oh, tonight I am like a bazillion Texans. Glued to the television to watch TT, please-oh-please, show the overly-inflated Texas Longhorns that they aren't the only ones capable of scoring a touchdown. It's turning out to be a heckuva game so far, and I am loving the story of their new kicker, Matt Williams. Oh shoot, Texas just scored. GAG me with a stick!
Strangely, my family has a TT connection that sort of took a weird turn when my 2 brothers went to A&M. Of course, it was all history after that. Being from West Texas, a lot of folks in those parts pull for the Raiders, and I have a cousin who graduated from TT, poor kid. My dad intended to go to TT before being sent to Vietnam, and much to his dismay, two of his sons went to A&M. Anyway, I can't say that I'm a lifelong fan, but when your two mortal enemies are up against each other, you naturally have to root for the lesser of the two. In this case, I can say I am proud to be rooting for a color other than burnt orange. Hoorah! And until the Aggies once again have a Wrecking Crew (remember Dat Nguyen? Quentin Coryatt? 1998 was a long time ago) that knows how to wreck...... And look at this recently-transplanted-to Las Vegas-Texan spreading showing her colors!
Today I spent most of the afternoon emptying Sophy's room of it's contents, so we can get it painted tomorrow. I am searching for some new curtains on Ebay, but I am waiting to hear back from a seller about a set that I'm loving. In order to not spend $3,5oo on a 7 year old's bedding, I decided to do solid, satin quilts on the bed. One is turquoise, and one is hot pink. I am going to get the pillows, shams, and curtains that I want from Pottery Barn on Ebay, and we'll go from there. I love the line with the owls, but I really only love the owls. So then I got to looking on Ebay and found that there is an older line called Sweet Birdie that has really cute sheer curtains. I'm not carried away with the quilt from that line, but I'm not getting the quilt anyway. So there!
When PDaddy got home from his morning shoot around 2, he said that his 4 o'clock had cancelled...and so after we stopped Happy Dancing, we decided to go ahead and get our Christmas pics out of the way. I had originally planned on taking the kids to the fall festival at church, but the kids really needed to spend time with the Dadster. Not to mention that I really wanted our Christmas pics out of the way! The weather was beautiful today, and the ranch where we wanted to take our pics was in perfect foliage colors when PDaddy had shot photos there earlier in the day. We got some unbelievably cute pics. I will post some soon, but I plan on setting them up on PDaddy's site with an event code, so you can just go check them all out. Seriously. They are just too good not to see them all. I'll get on that tomorrow when I'm not painting.
Speaking of paint, we did choose a paint color today, Ang. The color is called CANDY. And when I say WE chose it, what I really mean is that Sophy chose it while I cringed and tried to talk her out of it. She would have nothing but CANDY. CANDY. CANDY. Honestly, I much prefer the Murdered Barbie color from the old house to CANDY. Once we have the bunks up, the walls CANDIED, and things looking good, we'll post a pic. I plan on moving to the laundry room when this project is done. It is screaming for some attention, so I plan on giving it some ASAP. I also want to finally get something going in my guest room. For now, it sort of is a hodge-podge mixture, but I think I'm ready to get my mojo together in there as well.
I ordered Sophy's birthday #7 figurine as well as her birthday invites today. I barely get a chance to breath between Sam's birthday and Sophy's, and throw in there that it all happens as we're getting ready for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. UG! These are things you don't think of when you're birthing them! Haha.
DaddyP and Jack were able to swim today. I think Jack said that he did 30 laps. We are going to pick up stuff tomorrow for their trip. I think we're going to pick up a new Nintendo DS game, some magazines, and some travel sized necessities. I know they're going to have a blast, and I am so glad they are going to get to spend this time together. My old camera is traveling with Jack, so if it returns, I will post some of his pics here. I will also let him post some at his blog.