Winter Blast 2009

6:15 -- checking to see if the forecasters blew yet another one...guess not.

That crazy glow is so cool

It really is pretty, but I'm yet to step my foot out in it. I've been raising the window and the screen to take pictures. Sad, but true.



Our neighbor, Don, came over to blow out the driveway, so I made some brownies in return for the favor. Surely that will keep him from moving, right?
The boys and Jeff have been sledding -- Nick is not a fan of large hills or powdery snow in the face. I've never seen them more exhausted, though, so it should be an early bedtime tonight. It truly is a winter wonderland.

100 Days

Yesterday was Cooper's 100th day of first grade. For the first time, he came home excited to tell me about his day. There was a party; they got to make necklaces out of 100 Cheerios, they had a challenge to see how many jumping jacks (100), situps (66), pushups (94), autographs (14) they could do in 100 seconds.

They tried to blow 100 bubbles -- or if they couldn't actually blow bubbles, they could just chew the gum 100 times. What's amusing about this in that his 7 years of life, Cooper has never had gum. He just hasn't liked it. This worked out well for Nick, because he would take Cooper's. That isn't going to work anymore. Cooper is trying to make up for lost time.

And God bless them, the people in charge had them make these glasses and this hat.
I would have paid cash money to see 100 first graders in this getup, but I guess the one I'm really interested in is right here. And I got a picture. Which I will proudly display at his graduation. And his wedding.

A Historical Day

Two reasons this day will live in infamy...

The first reason is kind of obvious.

The second is that I got to watch it. All the coordination of the US government to pull off an inauguration pales in comparison to the effort in claiming the t.v. for myself. But I've done it; never forget this day.

Thar She Blows

Funny thing about cancelling a birthday party...you also need to cancel the birthday cake.

Because a certain grown man that lives here has issues, the cake did not get cancelled, per his request. Then when I said we could freeze the cake, he thought I had lost my mind and threatened to put me in a home. As appealing as that idea is at this very moment, I relented, and so, we ate cake.

The boys thought if we had a birthday cake, we must have birthday candles.

Miss Maddie thought if there were lit candles, they should be blown out...again and again. I think we must have lit them and let her blow them out about 10 times. She even was blowing out the flame before the candles were lit. The boys have never laughed so hard!


Don't mess with Miss Thing's cake...you've been warned.

And then it was over...

Purse Challenge

You know me...always up to a challenge! My good friend, Mynde, called me out on a purse challenge. Apparently, she doesn't like to be told that her daughter, Allyson, learned to pack a bag for a simple outing from her MOTHER!! So, she dumped her purse and challenged me to do the same.

You asked for it, my friend...
Let's start on the left...you will find ONE diaper and the most pitiful wipe holder with one wipe. The one wipe is an accident; it needs a refill, however, the ONE diaper is totally a victory in my little world. For seven years, Mr. Helpful has grabbed 5-6 diapers on the way out the door and stuffed them in my purse. This does not make me happy. Now, he's trained. One diaper and one diaper only, thank you very much. Backups can be found in the van.

I also have a notebook -- which is the only thing I've found will keep Maddie quiet during church, a calendar that I'm doing a terrible job of keeping in sync with the calendar on the kitchen wall, and one freshly cleaned out wallet. Yea, me!

Moving on, this is the receipt from Target today. I went *by myself* and put a hurt on the clearance. Those sneaky little buggers hide the clearance stuff, but today, by myself, I found it. I bought 3 pairs of shoes/boots, a baseball bat, paper plates and napkins, stickers, a t-shirt, diapers, aluminum foil, 3 shelves for the living room, a game for next year's Christmas present -- Horton Hears a Who -- and a baseball glove for 139.00. How they decided I saved $22 is beyond me...I paid regular price for nothing!!

This is a card for Mynde from someone who doesn't know how to spell her name. It was on the floor at the Ed Building on Sunday being walked upon, so someone handed it to me to give to her.
*tap, tap* Are you listening? Remind me to give this to you; there's no way I'll remember by myself.

This is also for Mynde...we're going to a Bible School meeting on the 24th -- these are the kits listed.

This is the time we need to be there.

These are crayons from my date at Uno's with the boys on Sunday, 2 working pens, a Tide to Go pen, the tiniest tube of chapstick, a jump drive, my cell phone, a swizzle stick (someone without kids gave Nick a whole handful of these the other day), and one mini Milky Way bar. Funny thing about the Milky Way bar...for seven or so years, our good friend, Herman, has given a small candy bar to the kids each week at church. I confiscate them before the service starts, and then the kids usually forget them. This is what's left of the stash from two weeks ago...three kids...one Milky Way bar. It won't work. I'll have to take one for the team here.

This is what's left of a Starbucks card from the kindest family at our church.

So, there it is in a nutshell. See that spot there on the left? That's where my camera can hitch a ride. It works well.

Next up...mini-vans! Are you up for it, Miss Mynde?

Not What I Was Going For

So, when I thought I would do a picture a day, I was kind of thinking I'd keep up with it and post a new picture each day. The reality is, the kids are not willing subjects, the husband is not a willing subject, and it's cold outside, so I'm not venturing out there for a picture of the backyard.

Instead, last night and today, I've played with Photoshop a bit, and have some new plays on some previously posted pictures. This is kind of fun.

Not a huge difference here -- just a bit of a tan for my pasty child, and I put a little more sparkle in her eyes -- not that she needed it.
Jeff says the boys look like they came from Narnia. I added a bit of Nick's blue eyes back in, but Cooper was squinting, so there wasn't a whole lot I could do there. I may have these printed just to see how they "really" look.

A Little Overdue

Isn't it awful when real life stuff gets in the way of blogging? I had a meeting at church followed by a case of a new Grey's and a new Private Practice. I have my priorities, you know...

So here's what we did yesterday.

1.8.09
Maddie felt compelled to taste test the snow and declared, "I ike it." That means she likes it. Of course, her little face is still red from the cold, but it was worth it, right?


Nick was the first to bail (along with me). We don't like the cold. As far as we're concerned, our mail can be forwarded to Disney World.


Cooper never noticed the cold. He'd been sitting in school all day patiently waiting for the chance to go outside. It could have been -63 and he still would have insisted on going out.

This whole experience of suiting up to go outside for *maybe* 20 minutes of fun took a half hour and lots of screaming and whining. What was that zip code to Orlando? I'm seriously considering a transfer.

This is Tough

This business of posting a picture a day isn't all it's cracked up to be, and yet, I carry on...

From yesterday.1.6.09 -- I'm not sure what she's cooking, but look how fast she's going! My kind of chef.


1.7.09 -- I love this chair, and I love that all the munchkins like to sit in it together.


I feel like I'm not getting very good pictures, yet. I'll keep working on it.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

1.5.09
And what does one get on the second anniversary of one's birth into this family?

An all-expense paid trip to the doctor for a well-check visit.
Complete with not one, but two, shots.
And an appointment in another month to go back for the second part of the flu vaccine.

Funny, huh?
Oh, wait...the funny part to Maddie was that Nick also got a flu shot.
This was not so funny to Nick. It pretty much ruined his day.
However, Nick does think it's funny that Mommy and Cooper are also going to get the same shot.
Cooper does not find the humor in that at all.

You know who is really laughing? The makers of the flu vaccine...all the way to the bank.

What Year is This Again?

1.4.09 -- Do you see what strange things can happen when Jeff cleans out his closet? It still works; the boys think they hit the jackpot.

A New Year

Since this is the start of a new year, I'm going to try something: a picture a day. That may sound easy to you, but not so much to me. I love taking pictures, there is no doubt; it's the uploading (or downloading...I'm still not sure) and the blogging that is going to take some effort. That, and the trick of getting some "worthwhile" pictures.

As you can see, I'm already behind, so don't mind me while I do a little catching up.

1.1.09 -- Nick on sugar cookie overload. I think most of the junk is FINALLY out of the house...until Maddie and Jeff's birthdays, and then Valentine's day, then Easter...


1.2.09 -- the lovefest continues

1.3.09 -- Jeff and I are trying to read the Bible this year. This version -- the One Year Bible -- is kind of tricky...it's grouped into daily readings, but the ordering is strange. Each day, we get a bit of the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms and Proverbs. We are currently reading the first part of Genesis, the first part of Matthew, the first Psalm, and the first of Proverbs. Makes for kind of choppy reading, but like Jeff said, it is the Bible, so can we really go too wrong?