Bbbrrrr....I mean, Happy Easter.

Happy Easter from the North Pole.
See how Sam is shivering?
It's because it's cold.
WHY IS IT SO COLD?
Global warming, obviously.
HARHAR.
I hope it's warm and bright where you are and that your children are still under the sugar limits for their ages and weight.
I'm afraid it's too late for us.
We're not off from school tomorrow. DRAT!
My fingernails are taking their yearly beating that comes with planting and gardening. I am in dire need of a visit to Mr. Nyguen. I don't wear falsies, but maybe I should consider it.
We had some really good ham today.
Spring pig is yummy.
My nephew started calling me Frank today.
Repeatedly.
He's 2, so it's ok....for now.
It's freezing outside, and Daddy Pinkie and boy Pinkies are outside launching rockets.
They're guys, so it's ok....for now.
They're screaming.
I'm worried.
I think I'll go make hot chocolate.

((E., we had 6 girls and 7 big girls at the tea party.))

2nd Annual Tea Party!

It's not the type of weather we had hoped for, but the girls had their annual tea party today. Originally, the tea party was an excuse to buy fluffy dresses and a chance to teach 6 little girls about proper manners and etiquette. Though we're still a little shaky in the manner's department (c'mon they're 3-6 year olds), we had the fluffy dress thing taken care of! They were like little cupcakes in their pastels and poof. It looked like an old lady convention with all the hats, gloves and fake jewelry. The food was wonderful! The big girls devoured, er....ate chicken crepes, Queen's soup, tiny yeast rolls, some type of strawberry salad, and tomato pie. The little girls ate fresh fruit, pbj finger sandwiches and petit fours. We were very well behaved...for the most part. (We won't detail the burps, sugar bowl episode, and stuffing whole strawberries in the mouth....) Each girl brings a tea cup to exchange, so they will each have a collection of tea cups by the time they're older/betrothed/engaged/adults. They also went home with goodie bags filled with bubble bath, nail polish, lip gloss and flower/hair barrettes. This is something of a tradition that we are hoping to continue as the girls grow. As they get older, we expect them to be a little more civilized and learn the right manners, etc. Today our little host gave them a quick lesson on how to properly decline certain foods on your plate that may not be to your liking. We're not sure if his instruction took root, but at least we're exposing them. Pfftt.
I'm not carried away with this picture of myself, but I love how Sophy is looking at me. Hehe.

Cat on a hot tin....

Sophy was playing so quietly, minding her own business. When out of no where, ATTACK of the killer kitty!

Why is it so sweet to see a little girl playing with a doll house? Sighhh.....

Things you should know!

1. TGTHEB '07 is finished (minus the roof and backdoor.) I plan on updating with a Shutterfly slideshow soon.
2. What exactly is the creeping crud? All I know is I have it, and Thank the Good Lord for potent antibiotics. After some frightening (and I do not exaggerate) moments last night where I seriously wondered if I was dying, I am happy to report I am consuming large quantities of Flutuss (sounds nasty, huh?) and an antibiotic that could kill a horse. Nnnnaaayy.
3. We get out of school for Good Friday, and I plan on staying home to wean myself off of the cough syrup that I am sure to be addicted to by then.
4. Terri, I have tried to sign your guestbook and can not make it work! I wanted to let you know that Mattie and Sophy have the strangest similarites. We also puke on curves and hills. Wow. I thought it was uncanny when they both wore only underwear and called themselves Tarzan.
5. Ang, if you're reading this, tell Mrs. Ernestine to be careful on her big trip. And you be careful too. But I'm not worried about you. It's her I'm worried about. I wish I could see her taking in the sites (heck, I wish I could see me taking in the sites...hahaha.)
6. Sophy has learned how to do a full-fledged cartwheel.
7. Speaking of Soph, kindergarten roundup is at the end of the month. EEK!
8. I think my account is overdrawn. Figures.
9. I am trying to make it #10.
10. I'm there.

Where I compare fried bologna and American Idol.

Mr. Pinkie is back at work today after 2 days off. The kids are actually playing happily together (yes, it is alarming), and I just finished cleaning up the breakfast mess. Speaking of a mess, our local station that carries American Idol has dropped it's service, conveniently, during the Tuesday performances and then also the results show last night. WHAT THE HECK and OMG all at the same time.
When it happened Tuesday, I was livid. Last night, after I washed the kids and finished our goodnight kiss/kiss/sing/sing, we were so excited to hit the TIVO and be able to see the results after having missed Tuesday night's show. Well, imagine my FURY when the screen read:
NO NEED TO CALL US. WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
As if that is ANY kind of excuse. ARRGGHH!!!

Sam asked me for hot bologna this morning. I promise that I'm not married to my uncle and there is no vehicle propped up on cinder blocks in our front yard. I didn't even know the kid knew what hot bologna was. He knew what he was talking about. He ate it like it was his last meal along with 3 cinnamon rolls and a gigantic glass of chocolate milk. Could you ask for anything more nutritious? Speaking of bologna, I hope Sanjyah was voted off.

Yesterday the weather was great, and we were able to eat all 3 meals outside on our new patio furniture in between garden work, tree fort construction, and yard cleaning. Supper was amazing. What is it about working outside all day that makes your appetite something akin to a wild animal? Daddy Pinkie grilled THE best burgers, chicken wings, and sausages. We also had potato salad, beans, and macaroni salad with black olives, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. Made me want to slap somebody's mama...but not mine. She fights back. HA.

We're pretty much just hanging out here until Daddy Pinkie gets home from work. He has senior portraits this afternoon, and then we plan on going to Discovery Zone, the park, or some such place. Jack is hoping for Discovery Zone. Bless his poor, nerdy heart. He wants to go back to the paper airplane exhibit and launch more planes. My dad took off of work to spend some time with the kids, which is ironic seeing as how we have to twist most people's arms to spend time with us, and Jack wants to eat Mexican food with him.

Sam just asked Jack for help building a marble run. Jack told him, "Do it yourself. Use your imagination." To which Sam replied, "I don't have any imagination." HAHAHA!

OHHH! Our driveway people just rolled in with some giant machinery! We're getting a driveway extension/circle, and Sam is about to explode! Better go check in..

10 Interesting Things I've Heard This Week:

1. Smell my armpit.
2. Get out of my submarine!
3. Do ants have blood?
4. Why do dogs have fur?
5. Get that rope off of your sister.
6. When I'm 8, can I do armpit tricks like Jack?
7. Can we change Sam's name to "skunk?"
8. Go find Daddy's stapler. QUICK! And bring the tape too!
9. If we drink chocolate milk, will our bones turn brown?
10. Uhm, Mom. Do you know where the extra bricks are?

10 Things About LOST! ((but only 10 because I have 1,000's of ?))

1. How creepy was this story line? I loved it! BURIED ALIVE. SPIDERS. It was filled to the brim with every phobia known to man.
2. I wonder if Eko was really dead, or was he bitten by a spider?
3. After the magic box, I was sort of thinking Lost had gone beyond anything I ever would care about again. It does explain, maybe how Jack's dad was there and such. Or maybe not.
4. I really liked that there were other people of the Beachaways that had found the same things that the cool kids had also found. The smaller hatch, the plane where Boone died, etc. Even though some of their backtracking was a tad sketchy and patchy, I liked where they were going with it all.
5. Is it possible to love Sawyer any more? I don't think so.
6. Desmond is my boyfriend.
7. So, now that the submarine has been blown to shreds, what does that mean?
8. Do you think Michael and Walt are really back in civilation? They didn't go on the sub. According to Ben that is the only way back to the "real" world. Michael and Walt left the island on a boat with a specific coordinate. Maybe it was to the sub docks? Hhhm.....
9. I think if Locke were to be killed the island would implode. Really.
10. I predict there will only be one more season of Lost.

My little bookworm.

This is where Sophy usually is...lying on her bed reading a book. Her new fav is the Ready Freddy series and the Frog and Toad series. However she learned to read, I wish she would teach Sam. He is so uninterested in learning how to read. He usually calls Sophy into the room whenever he wants to know what something says. He is good with numbers and shapes. Spatial things.
After our mud bath, we took a bath in earnest in the house. With soap. And shampoo. Now my drains are probably stopped up with mud. Oh well, it was fun. You'd never guess by looking outside at the sunshine that our town's tornadoe sirens were howling for most of the morning. Luckily we dodged the twister. It went north of our side of town, obviously. We're still here.
Mr. Pinkie is STILL on top of the tree house. God bless his little, pea pickin' heart. The boys have gym class this evening, and I've got red beans and sausage cooking. Oh, and I made guacamole. Ohhhhh, I think I'll make tortiallas. Sluurrrp.

Blame it on the rain (with regrets to Milli Vanilli...)

Spring Break-Tuesday

Sam spent most of the morning outside setting up a trap to catch bad guys. He was just talking to himself and making hand gestures and arguing with someone. It was hilarious. I just stood at the window watching him. Several of our senior citizen neighbors passed by in the cars more than once and just waved and smiled at him. He's a mess.
As I type, Daddy Pinkie is on top of TGTHEB '07 with the boys putting up the rail and finishing the wall supports. It's dark and looks like rain, so the construction efforts today may be short lived. Sophy is in her room "crab sitting." It's a wonder she hasn't tried to dress the crabs up and brush their teeth. She's really into taking care of them and letting them "exercise" on the floor. I have a feeling I may find a shriveled up crab somewhere in the future, but I hope not. She's taking very good care of them, so maybe they'll make it for a while before they turn their toes up.
I had hoped to take the kids to the library today, but I wish you could've seen Sam's face when I said, "Hey. Why don't we go to the library today?" After all, it is supposed to storm today. But no, Sam looked at me as if I had suggested he go in for a tonsillectomy or some such procedure. He was aghast. I guess we won't go to the library today...or this week for that matter.

Spring Break-Monday

Look at this sweet face....awwww!
We spent most of Monday running errands and getting things done that I can't get done during the school day. The brightest moment of the day was when Mr. Pinkie came home with patio furniture in tow! YEEHAWW! We have the nicest backyard complete with creek and blooms and birds and grass and trees. I've wanted a dining table that seats at least 6 for a while now. YAY! Now I have one! Daddy Pinkie and the boys stayed out last night until about 10 putting it together after we made it home from my dad's birthday dinner. They lit the chimenea and unpacked, screwed, sliced, assembled for half the night. They were covered in soot and packing ink when they were finished, but they were awfully happy. I'll take a pic of the patio today...if it's not raining.

Spring Break (First Weekend)

We spent the weekend near Austin with my brother's family doing some pretty fun things, one of them being the adopting of 2 of my niece's hermit crab colony. Meet Swings and Dot. Sophy is so excited about her new pets that she could spit, but hopefully she won't...hehe. Other than the 5 and half hour drive, our trip was very nice. We took the kids on a picnic, went on a nature hike, played at a park, BBQed, etc. The kids are always so excited to be at Uncle's house, so they were not disappointed. The weather was great while we were visiting, but today looks really dark. I didn't think it was supposed to rain today, but it's certainly looking like it might. We have tons of errands to run today, not the least of which is restocking the kitche. I feel like Old Mother Hubbard whose cupboards were bare. It's slim pickin's in our fridge, so we're off to the grocery and then to nursery to pick up some ferns for the front porch. Tonight we're celebrating my dad's bday with the family, so we're going to the hardware store to pick up something Pop-esque. Pop is easy to please, so that's good news. Tomorrow it's supposed to storm, so we're going to the library and such. Wednesday we're planning on a play date and lunch in Shreveport with some friends, then on Thursday we're going to Discovery Zone at SciPort to let the kids see some of the new exhibits. I'm sure we'll go eat pancakes for supper that night, since that is what Jack has requested. Friday the kids are going to Mimi and Pop's house all day and then to have a sleepover there. We'll see how that goes. Friday night, Mr. Pinkie and I are going out to dinner with some friends, so we're looking forward to that.
Hopefully I won't forget to post pics of the tree house progress. If we're lucky, we might (JUST MIGHT) be finishing it up this week. Mr. Pinkie has made some good progress. I'll do pics soon!
I plan on updating every day this week, so I can print out my entries for my journal that I've kept over the years. Be back soon.

It's here!

High-Tech Santa

Go Santa! Get Busy! It's your birthday! Check 'im out! Santa got skillz. The Santa that I am apparently obsessed with has a website!
www.santaofwaskom.com
AIN'T HE THE CUTEST THING? Oh. My. Gosh! That dude is REAL. I'm speechless.
Better watch out. No crying or pouting. The man in red has moved to town!
((Side note to the family of Santa: I am not stalking or obsessed with your patriarch. It's just that I had a curious reader who inquired as to why Santa attended a wedding March, and the rest just sort of happened from there. I promise this is the last entry about Kris Kringle. For now.))

((OTHER SIDE NOTE TO THE FAMILY OF SANTA: If I told Sophy where Santa lives, hehehehee, there wouldn't be anything you could do to keep her from your house. But, like I said, I'm not stalking or obsessed. PAH!))

Ok, so this Santa thing....

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sarah (click in my friends list to find her journal) who married a nice gentleman whose father, for all intents and purposes, is Santa.
From what I understand, Mr. Father-in-Law fills in for Santa during the holiday season by taking photos and wishes from youngsters at shopping venues and holiday locales. Again, this is what I can surmise since the fellow is a dead ringer for The Big Guy. Heck, he may even BE the Big Guy for all outward appearances. The beard is real, he looks like he has a ton of secrets, and even has the Santa nose. What, you ask, is a Santa nose? I don’t know, except it just looks like a jolly, ol' schnaz.
Back to the wedding. The happy couple has just joined hands at the front of the sanctuary, and Sophy whispers into my ear that she has just seen Santa. Oh! Santa, I ask? Yes, he’s right behind us, she whispers. So I turn, and sure enough, Mr. Claus was situated about 4 pews behind us--red suit and all (it was more of a red tuxedo, I guess you could say.) Sophy, who has been being inordinately cooperative during the ceremony, begins to righteously insist that she must go introduce herself and request a material object that has been taped to our refrigerator in hopes that someone would have mercy on her poor, pitiful self and buy it for her. After several minutes of Sophy staring pointedly at Santa and wiggling her fingers at him and saying PSSSTT, I realize that we may get no peace, and the wedding may be interrupted by a severe bout of very loud whispering if Sophy isn’t allowed to quietly tiptoe to Santa and make her wish known. There was no fear on her part as you would think a child may be prone to. This was no stranger in a red suit (ahem.) Santa, to my knowledge, had not even acknowledged Sophy’s existence. Yet, she was most insistent that she must speak with him. Like a fly to sugar, quietly she slipped around the corner of the pew and crept up to Santa. It was instantaneous recognition, one soul recognizing another. Santa brought Sophy in for a kiss on the cheek, and like the seasoned veteran that he is, instinctively leaned closer so as to hear the request being uttered from the lips of a 5 year old. I am not sure what she said to him. He may not even know. But in her heart, she was talking to Santa. And in his heart, Mr. Father-In-Law was Santa. He nodded in agreement with her and sent her back to her seat. She sat quietly and happily for the rest of the ceremony and is convinced that Santa is on the job she gave him.
Let me tell you something. I’ve never felt so validated as when Jack leaned over to Sam and whispered, SAM! Mom was right! Santa really DOES watch us all the time! Uh-huh. Mom was right, indeed.
And now you know why Santa was at a wedding in March. (SMILE!)

Teeth, Ebay, Tree House, and School

The boys have finished their homework, it's almost bedtime, and the kids are having one last hoorah before we hit the hay. Mr. Pinkie ran out for a photo meeting with a client, so I thought I'd update while I had a second. ((BTW, CoolMama, Santa Claus was at a wedding in March because even the big guy has a soft spot for romance.)) HA! I forgot the first M in CoolMama, and it looked like Coolama..Cool Llama.HAHAHA. It's been an incredibly long day.
**Happy Much Awaited Baby to Mr. and Mrs. Pithy! I'm so happy he's here and healthy!**

Teeth:
Sam lost tooth #2 on Saturday night. You would think that someone who has bled as much as Sam has would be used to the sight by now, but nope. Not him. Of course, it doesn't help that he bleeds like a stuck pig. So, Toothie left Sam a whopping 3$ for tooth #2. He was so excited. Sophy wept because she was afraid Toothie was going to come steal her teeth when she came to get Sam's. Haha. That child is so vain. She's mortally afraid of getting freckles...hahaha.
Ebay:
I found a seller on Ebay who is, very likely, the nicest person I have ever had dealings with in all my many (and sordid) Ebay transactions. As I type, this sweet lady is mailing me a pair of earrings for Sophy that I haven't paid for because she wanted me to see if I liked them (14K gold) before I paid for them. How nice is that?
Tree House:
Mr. Pinkie made a lot of headway on the TGTHEB '07 yesterday. He did NOT want to work on it yesterday, but when his schedule opened up and it looked like he would have a couple of hours to devote to it, I pretty much threatened him with bodily harm...so he worked. I'm glad he made the dent that he did. He's really over the first big hurdle, and the floor can be laid now. Thankfully, I don't have to hold any 2X4's over my head anymore! UG. Talk about painful. I've had a twist in my shoulder all day from hoisting 2X4's and 6X8's, but it's for a good cause. Mr. Pinkie is a rather stout fellow, so my toting and hoisting exploits were limited to when he was seriously in need. I'm making pics along the way to make a Shutterfly slideshow. I'll post it all when it's completed. I'm hoping when I say completed, that I'm actually meaning this year. HA!
School:
Is it over yet? 'nough said. TAKS testing is coming up soon. TAKS is a four letter word. I'm cautiously optimistic for a very good scoring this year, but sixth graders are like wild animals. They spook easy and are unpredictable. We shall see.
I leave you with a cute pic or two.

Summer Plans

We're in the process of planning out our trips for this summer, and I'm starting to get a little antsy for school to be over now. Why, oh why, is June so far away? ((And on a totally unrelated topic, what's with the new time change? Stupid law makers. Why don't they move Christmas up a week, so we don't have so long to run the Christmas lights? Or make T'giving only applicable at dinner time, so as to limit the use of oven/microwave/cooking energy? Der.)) Ok, rant over. So, here is what we have planned so far:
The first week of June we'll be in Hot Springs, AR to visit Mr. Pinkie's dad/step mom. They live in the village, so I'm sure we'll be doing lots of fishing and Hot Springs-ish things. Whatever those types of things are. The kids are looking forward to it. I think we'll be there for 3-4 days.
June 18, 19, 20, and 21st we'll be at Canyon of the Eagles resort in Burnet, Texas. We'll be hiking, picnicking, river cruising, kiyaking, swimming, fishing, eating, etc....WITHOUT children!! HOOHOO!! We're so excited! We're planning for our friends to go with us (they'll be childless too, WHOOOHOOO again...), so we'll really not know what to do with ourselves.
Sometime in late June or early July we'll be going on our second annual camping/fishing trip with my family. If we're lucky, no one will be puking this year. Of course, we're prepared for the worst. Bring it on. This was a barrel of fun last year, and the kids can NOT wait to go fishing again and sleep in a cabin with all of their cousins.
July 7-12 we will be in Florida for our annual vacation there with Mr. Pinkie's mom/stepdad/sister/cousins, etc. Last year we flew, but I think I've convinved Mr. Pinkie that we want to drive this year and find some side stops along the way.
In the meantime, I'll be in the process of getting my classroom situated and returned to normal (whatever that is.) Our campus is being moved to a new building (long story), and 10 years worth of classroom will have to moved and rearranged. Should be an interesting summer for sure!
Mr. Pinkie just arrived home from the wedding he was shooting tonight, and he has supper with him! WHAT A GUY! Better scoot! Oh, but I must say (SARAH!!), that Sophy saw Santa Claus today at the wedding, and she was so enraptured with him that she snuck up to him during the ceremony and hugged his neck. She wanted to further quiz him as to the location of his reindeer....luckily, I shuttled her through a side door before she could accost him. She was already forming a list of things to tell him....my little material girl. HA!

On the way to the wedding...

Swedish Meatballs and other interesting things.

I'm in the process of heating up a Stouffer's Swedish Meatball entree. I'll let ya know how it comes out momentarily. In other news, we woke up late and went to Lowe's after Mr. Pinkie's family portrait shoot this a.m. He worked on The Greatest Tree House Ever Built '07 for about a half hour (yeah, I'm worried about his work ethic on this particular project...) while Sophy and I planted flowers in the window boxes on our front porch. This was possibly the cutest planting ever, since Sophy was wearing a Hawaiian night gown, pink rubber boots and artificial flowers attached to her ponytails. Sam and Jack built a bridge over the creek using sticks. Sophy pretended to be Godzilla and smashed it. Poor guys.
My mom had bought a red, climbing rose for Mr. Pinkie when his step-grandmother passed away in January, so we planted that this morning just off of our back porch. Hopefully the guys who mow our yard won't destroy it.
Mr. Pinkie met with a asphalt man this a.m. about adding a circle portion to our current driveway, as well as a parking pad, which means Jack can get the basketball goal he so desires. This is our second estimate for the project, so hopefully we'll find someone soon who is as cheap, er...frugal as we plan on being. Sam is so mortally excited over the whole deal that he almost explodes every time we mention it. I'm sure the day it's laid we'll have to let him skip school to watch. It would be cruel otherwise.
((Pause while I go fetch my wonderfully microwaved meal...)) The verdict...uhm...assuming one doesn't mind the pervasive whang of meat by-products (and doesn't over nuke the meatballs in the first place), you might consider them to be edible. Then again, you might not. I'm going with NOT.
Well, we're off to a wedding, so I better go spit/polish the kids. Oh, maybe I'll take a pic to share!

Growing Pains

I'm so glad I have this blog. It's sad that I don't use it more often to purge my soul. My old journal is such a treasure to me now of stories and events from our baby days. To be able to look back and read about so many insignificant events from our daily lives is something very sweet. You forget about all of the booboos, the milestones, etc. Just this past weekend, I found the first 5 years of my previous journal that I printed before I closed it. At first, I was just cleaning out a trunk. The next thing I knew, I was crying and laughing while I read about Sophy's first cookie and the boy's first fishing experience. Those baby days are gone so fast, yet they seem like they're creeping when they're upon you. Our babies all came so close together, that it seemed like we had babies for 5 years. About the time one made a little progress, another was born. Then another. There are great spans of time that I don't even recall. That is too sad. I wouldn't want to forget any of those moments, and yet here I sit with the perfect tool to record more of our lives...and I simply don't do it. I'm going to try to be better. Maybe one entry a week. That's a good start. 20 entries a day wouldn't cover the stories of our lives at this point, but I have to record these days. Someone, if not myself, will be so happy to have them down the road. It's all golden, and there has to be enough time in my day to cherish and record it all. Sigh. I'm waxing sentimental here, but I don't care. Reading through my old journal really snapped some life back into my blogging desire. For corn's sake, it would be a tragedy to not remember how big Sam's eyes were this evening when he asked me if germs cried. Why, I asked, would germs ever cry? Because, he said, they're like bad guys, and that has to make them really sad when they think about it. Or Sophy sighing while she watches her daddy and says, Mom, my daddy sure is cute.
Sniff, sniff.