The 3 yr old: "Mommy, I want to make puppets that look like my cousins. You got all of da stuff, don't you Mommy?"

Me: (not wanting to squelch her creative impulse OR pass up an opportunity to get messy)
"Ummmmmm.........suuuuuuuuuuuure I doooo.........."

Ok, it's 3:00 in the morning and I can't stop smiling.

Mallory got up, came in my room and said, "Mommy, I just wanted to tell you that I love you and that you make me happy."

{I SO didn't even care that she woke me up.}

I snuggled her up and said, "Me too baby girl." Yep, I was just about to cry...

She added, "And something else Mommy."

"What baby?"

"I have to tinkle too."

Bye bye 3rd grader..."Mommy, dis shirt make me look cool?"
"Hell...I mean, heck yeah it does!"

So much going on around here! Trying to gather my thoughts and get projects in order. I'm hoping to list them all here so I can embarrass myself into getting them done. That usually works for me.

Happy Monday everyone!
(I actually love Mondays...is that strange?)

I can't stop thinking about how much I love these! (and I can't stop thinking about how cute the terrariums turned out...they make me smile*!*) I want to make hundreds more of those mushrooms for my front yard...how stinking fun would THAT be? *sigh*

It's that time again...

This is our mulberry tree. It's an interesting looking tree for sure, but it provides wonderful shade early in the day. The girls can play on the swing set without getting too much sun and without getting too overheated (but the only way to keep from roasting around here June-Sept would be to put the swing set in a pool).

Aren't they pretty? Anyone know any recipe that requires THOUSANDS of mulberries? (or any at all? I've had no luck)

I'm not gonna lie...I have a love/hate relationship with this tree. I LOVE trees in general for their beauty and shade but THIS tree kills me every spring because of this:

Yep, those are my kid's STAINED feet. To match the stained foot/dog prints on the carpet. When Mallory came in yesterday, I knew the berries had finally started to drop. Ahhhh spring.....

My girls are growing fast and getting taller.....and sassier every day.

Delaney's new *thing* ~ using the words "I know, right?" instead of "thank you" when given a compliment .

Example:

(Me) "Delaney, your penmanship has been looking fantastic lately!"

(Delaney) "I know, right?"

Now, I am one of those people who absolutely INSISTS on using manners. It doesn't cost any money, it's polite for the love of Pete, and well, in my house, you HAVE to. You can imagine what this new little phrase is doing to me. Mark my words, it won't last long.

Mallory's new *thing* ~ putting the word "already" at the end of a request.

Example:

(Mallory) "Mommy, may I please have some milk already?"

Adorable right? Now, it was sweet up until that word...that flipping word changes the whole tone of the request and makes me want to throw the darn cup instead of sweetly handing it to her.

Ahhh....I know it will be funny someday...

Taking care of business...

The 3 yr old reminded me of something today.
Growing up, we used the word "business" for our private parts. Don't know why, but we did. We also use the word "business" here in our house when referring to private parts. I KNOW they say you should use the proper words from the get-go but honestly, I still blush a little when I have to use technical terms...geez.

I guess you could say it has backfired. In years past we have gotten "the look" from the oldest after she's heard such phrases/terms as (whether in conversation or on tv) :

"None of your business."

"Keep your nose out of her business."
(the 3 yr old thinks this is hilarious. "Ewwww Mommy!")

"Monkey business."

"Business license."

"Small business."

And the the one that got us the biggest WTH? look from our dear daughter a few years back...
"Business partners."

(Yep, I've become quite a good subject changer.)

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and are having a stellar New Year's Eve. Our celebration tonight was getting the wrong take out bag at Bonefish, we brought it back, they said to keep it, and gave us our original order. Soooo, we have 3 orders of bang bang shrimp, 2 salads, and some seared tuna. We are ringing in the new year fat and happy y'all*!* (Hey, that's excitement around here.) Over my latest bad bloggy break, I turned another year older. Whatever. I'll start to worry when I feel older. ANYWAY.... I was spoiled something awful this year (and I loved it :). This is probably totally tacky but I can't help it...

Here's some of my great stuff!

My best bud Kelly sent me this for my birthday. Isn't it perfection? (She knows me so well!)She found it on Etsy at littlebluebirdstudio .

And I just LOVE it*!* It makes me happy : )

And from the In-laws...this! My very own BigKick!!! Isn't it a sight to behold? Ahhhh...I'm breathless!

Some of you won't understand how awesome that is...but some of you SOOOO will*!*

My Mommy took me here and let me pick out some beautiful sweaters and shirts...I SO needed
them! Because, as she pointed out, "You can't wear paper!" (refering to a little "problem" involving 12X12 paper I've developed. Again, some of you won't understand, but some of you SOOOOO will!) I keep telling her that paper NEVER makes my *ss look big...

She took the girls and I out for a yummy lunch after we shopped...what a wonderful afternoon!

Thanks again Mommy *!*

As a kid, the birthday/Christmas combo gift was a thing I loathed~ I can SO appreciate it now that I'm older. I LOVE my combo gift~Hubby got me my very own Ipod Nano*!* I'm pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with me always borrowing his....or uploading my music onto it almost daily...or playing with it every other day. It's because he loves me and knows I would enjoy it (right?). An hour after opening it, it was loaded with 300 songs...and I can't wait to get more on there. I LOVE my music...and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my boy.

(Did I mention he used all the gift cards given to him as gifts at work? He is awesome.)

Don't want to forget to mention that my other best bud Molly gave me a gift certificate to The Paper Source (yummy*!*) and Hubby's Aunt, a gift certificate to Two Peas In a Bucket...this birthday is going to go down in history*!*
(Hope that wasn't snotty...I'm just really super excited!)





My favorite present? My sweet nephew Scotty came home! I was so glad he was home for his Mommy's birthday (the day after mine). I just love this photo of both my Sis's boys~Charlie just loves his little brother. I've taken 80 or more photos of that baby every time I've gotten out my camera...he'll get used to it ; ) Thank you all for your prayers*!*



One of our crafty attempts (with both girls...holy cow). We gathered some pine cones, some old interior latex paint, water, and 2 types of clear glitter to make our own little winter wonderland forrest. They look so sweet!








You'll notice I used my muffin tins (bottom left corner of photo) to let the pine cones drip dry. Yeah...if you like your muffin tins, don't do that.

Ahhhh....Christmas Eve. Such a magical night. If you happen to stay up too late and ask an almost 3 yr old to smile, this is what you'll get...the 8yr old isn't too thrilled either. It's Christmas Eve...hello?!? It was a rough day, Mallory was quite a pill ALL day...she didn't give a rip that "Santa doesn't come to see little boys and girls that scratch/beat/bite/yell at/kick their sisters all day!!!"

Lord give me strength...

Delaney put out Santa's magic key...

And the jolly guy in red came.
(tee hee...I love our little tree this year!)

Two amazing things happened that morning.

~Mallory didn't think that Santa had brought her anything. "Why," asked her Daddy, "Haven't you been a good girl?" Looking up at him with those big brown eyes and eyelashes even longer than his, she says "Nope." (Should I feel better that she at least knows she's being a turkey? That kid ages me every day...)

~ When we first walked into the living room, Delaney didn't want to open/play with/look at any of her gifts. "What's wrong Delaney?" we asked her (sort of in a panic because we thought Santa screwed up and got her things she didn't like). That sweet freckled face said, "I'm just so excited to give Mallory the gift I got her, I can't wait for her to open it and see her face." She's 8 1/2 years old...and she *gets* it. She GETS it! I know some adults who still don't. My baby "gets" Christmas...we were both speechless. I just love that kid. We're so proud of her.
Now....there's this teensy weensy little matter of this----->

That's my Delaney holding up a letter from Santa. The letter states that Santa didn't (order it in time) have room on his sleigh for the balance beam she wanted and SO rightly deserved. It says that once the elves load it onto his empty sleigh after he returns, it will be delivered to her. She was thrilled to be getting it and was excited about its arrival....she's not so....excited....anymore. Bless her heart, she's trying to be patient. Unfortunately she's losing faith and asking lots of questions...it's breaking our hearts. We've been trying to find out which *elves* we should be talking to about this and have come d*mn close to ordering another one. She is so sad about the whole thing...If there was any kid that should have her gift on time, it's her. No Mommy and Daddy points for us...

Here she is...Poo Poo Baby. Poor doll has no idea what she's in for...but she sure made one adorable, strong willed girl VERY happy. But...Mallory has been talking like the doll, like a BABY, ever since Christmas morning.

I get to hear "Mommy, you aggrivate me and give me a headache every day!" in the voice of a

1 and a half year old. (Her Sis says that to her by the way, not me.......I just think it.) I just wish you could hear how sweet it sounds...

But isn't she a cutie? God does that on purpose you know...

My Mom has asked me not to discuss my little brother's Baby Jesus antics this year so I won't.

In totally unrelated news, we got our Nephew (who is also our Godson) a wild west type gun-ish game for Christmas. There's a log with sensors along the bottom that, when hit with the laser, make pegs pop up and send whatever is on top, flying trough the air on what looks to be a very fun little...adventure.

My little bro taking aim...





Anything was game. A half eaten dinner roll for instance....


or, say....a baby lamb sitting atop a nibbled Nilla wafer.....

and that was all...

nothing else...

Some of us were laughing very hard.



The girls in their Bitty Baby matching jammies~aren't they cute?

It was the end of a long, yummy, fantastic day with our families. I know I say it all the time but I LOVE my whole family SO much. I am blessed beyond belief and I know it. I was grinning like a goofball all day just observing all of the chaos. Kids everywhere, food, giggles, spills, smells, tiffs, hugs, running, "Stop running!", snatching, "That's not yours!", accidents, "Go say you're sorry!", tears, belly laughs, messes, cousins, love,.........family. There is nothing like it. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

My Sister made me do it...Anne Geddes, your job is safe.

Happy New Year everyone*!*

Excuses excuses....

So here's part of my reason for being a bad blogger~this is my nephew Scotty. He was born a month early with underdeveloped lungs. That's --->>
BJ, my strong, tougher than I will ever be sister. Scotty is doing much better now, although he is still in the NICU.......and my sis is at home. He's getting better every day and we hope he will be home with his Mommy, Daddy, sisters and brothers very soon. With enough prayers he might even be home for his Mommy's birthday on Saturday! Love you all*!*

(deep breath...)

Life is never boring for sure.
Santa made his annual visit to Yia-Yia and Papou's house last week and as usual he was a hit. He's seriously the best Santa ever...I'm pretty sure he's the real deal ; ). Mallory is at that age where the whole Santa thing was either going to be adorable or a screaming, crying, yuletide nightmare. She didn't take her eyes off of him from the second he ho ho ho'd in the door and when it was her turn in his lap, she didn't hesitate. They chatted a while until it was time for the man in red to pop the question, "Mallory, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?" We all knew the answer to that. Mallory says, "Poo Poo Baby". Now, Santa is not a young chap of course and he wears two hearing aids. Mal decided to act like she knew what an "inside voice" was for the first time ever in all of her three years so what Santa hears is, "A super baby?". My delicate, dainty Mallory leans back (losing the inside voice) and says, "What in the world.....?!? I said a POO POO BABY!" Ahhhh...we're so proud.







Over the weekend, my beautiful, wonderful, sweet, adorable, athletic Delaney again placed in her age division in yet another 5k...she never stops amazing me. Just awesome...

On that note, we found out today that she has advanced to level 3 in gymnastics...yep, she's a pretty big deal y'all ; )






Life has been a bit interesting too because Hubby has been gone more than he's been home (he's finally back for a while...). He's been in and out of town for business and once for a hunting trip to South Dakota...and they drove. I'd post pics of the hunting trip but, I don't know....dead pheasant are kind of gross. I would take a photo of the bloody carcases in the freezer as a little keepsake/scrappy-ish thing but as you might have guessed, that's pretty gross too. Soooo...here are some photos Hubby took while in New York (please forgive the date on some of them...we can't figure out how to get the darn thing off). He took some pretty good ones with Delaney's pink (tee hee) camera:

Aren't they awesome?

Yes, he was there for work
but I'm not going to lie...I was jealous as h*ll. New York at Christmastime? Yes please*!* He was so cute calling that first night. "Hi hon. I hate calling you about this...and I'm not calling to rub it in but....what setting do I use to take a photo of this huge tree?" AAARRRRGGGHHHHH! I would have done anything to be there with him and he said that it wasn't much fun without us...UNTIL he went to watch Monday night football at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. The hostess asked him how many, and when he said just one she asked, "would you like a seat at the bar or would you like a recliner?". Hubby was taken aback for a moment, and then responded, "Is that even a real question?" Hubby enjoyed his dinner in front of a huge screen, downing his favorite draft, in...you got it, a recliner. (He did call and rub THAT in.) I thought for sure he was going to fall asleep (as what happens in this house) but Delaney pointed out that he wasn't in his underclothes so probably not. That kid is catching on...



Yippee~more random cr*p!

This is my backyard. Looks real Christmasy right? Just like the middle of December don't you think? We have had the air conditioner on for the past three days....it's just all wrong....

Our neighbor threw out these solid wood shutter closet doors. They are in near perfect condition...I was drooling. Hubby thought I was nuts for two reasons: I had no plans for them & I wanted him to go get them. Well, I have decided their fate~they shall become Mallory's first big girl bed. I'm not a huge fan of day beds but with how her room is situated, it just makes the most sense. I'm thinking I'll hang two of them horizontally along the wall and the other two we can use for the head and foot boards. We'll see...

Another bit of random cr*p...

My little brother strikes again...you know, the one who did this?

Well, he had us rolling once again while making fun of Mom's new pilgrim couple at Thanksgiving...he's pretty sure that one of them was dressed in drag....

Mom was NOT happy which took it from funny as h*ll,

to hilarious*!*

And over the summer, in addition to finding some plastic meatballs from the girls' kitchen set sitting on the edge of the toilet (did I mention he's 31?), he decided to scare the poo out of me and do this while we had company...

Naked, in the cooler, hugging a beer...

Apparently she's a girl who knows how to party.

I wonder about that Mallory sometimes too...




I call this "Futuristic Tanning Booth".














Great news~
The Gnome has returned from completing his "program" and is doing well back in his natural habitat. Let's hope he can keep it together through the Holidays...
We're all pulling for you Little G*!*


I'm questioning my sanity so it must be time to catch some ZZZZZ's...
Have a great day everyone*!*

Randomness...

Why is it I keep thinking that I have all the time in the world before the holidays? I do this every year and then get so overwhelmed that I can't see straight. Grrrr.... I'm so predictable!

It's funny, but since writing the previous post, I've thought of so many more things (important and not) that I am thankful for. That's a good sign I suppose! Maybe I'll just steal Amy's idea and type a few at the end of each post...if I can keep up. Which is something I'm no good at. Keeping up.... Ha!

Thought I'd post a couple of things I submitted to KI Memories. There is something about both of these things that I think needs fixing but I can't decide what (besides completing the insides~that whole keeping up thing). The first is an idea book to keep all of my clippings, thoughts, and supply lists:

I really like the way it looks....I don't know, I think once I get it filled up and put the folders inside with some yummy tabs sticking out all over the place, I think I'll love it*!* Now finishing it....that's my challenge always. The need to get my thoughts organized and in order (bawahhhaaahaaaa*!*) will be the only thing that gets this project done. (Should I kiss it goodbye now? ;)

This is a mini book I'm making for Delaney about our American Idol adventure. It was tricky to get the holes in the CD case (even more so to get the eyelets in!) but all in all I like it. And guess what? Yep, it's not finished...I am hopeless*!* What's going to get this one done is Delaney knowing that I started it...yeah, telling an 8yr old that you're making them something will SURELY get you reminders every other day.

I went a little nuts with the chipboard and layering paper so the cd case will probably not close when I'm done...it was a nice thought though!

Geez, I'm freaking out a little over the girl's Christmas gifts. Mal is VERY vocal about what she wants. Everyone, meet "Poo Poo Baby":

She's really Little Mommy by Fisher Price but "Poo Poo Baby" is what Mal affectionately calls her. The kid wants her BAD. To a point. We try to tell her that Santa won't bring a Poo Poo Baby to little girls who keep POOPING IN THEIR UNDERWEAR but...I don't know, the Santa threat only works every other day. Grrrr..... this kid is killing me. She's lucky she's cute and super lovey-dovey, and cheeky, and funny, and nutty...God I love that kid.

Delaney is proving to be a little harder. She hasn't really said that she wanted anything so we've had to try and pry it out of her... So now she wants a balance beam. HUUUUH? Have you priced those things....yep, it's a bit much. We've found an alternative to the up-off-of-the-floor type...it's made of hard foam, sits on the floor, and is sort of shaped like the yellow stops in a parking lot (was going to put a pic but the child might catch a glimpse). Still not sure about that.

I will leave you with a HILARIOUS video I stumbled across the other day...I almost tee teed myself I swear. But then again, it doesn't take much for me. Pause the music Senoritas *!*

Took me a second to catch on (I did take Spanish in high school...did I retain any of it is the question) but after I did...I could not stop laughing. SOOOO funny*!*

Hopefully I'll be blogging more often...don't I always say that?

I am thankful for:

~laying in the sunny spot on the carpet

~fearless abandon

~hearing my girls say, "Come snuggle with me Mommy." (ahhh...heaven)