More Christmas Fun...

Christmas at Our House

Bug's Photo...

My little Bug took this photo all by himself and he really wants Grandma Lil to have it! Here's to you, Gram!

The structurers of Catan...

Family Photo Day

This is the kind of day I look forward to with trepidation. Firstly, we have a newborn and who knows how she'll behave...I half expected her to cry through the entire shoot. Secondly, my hubby looks like death warmed over in all the photos I take of him. Truly, he does. He has black circles around his eyes and they're usually half closed. Thirdly, my kiddos have the goofiest on-demand smiles. They scrunch their faces all up and just look silly. I hope for the best and expect the worst. Thankfully, this is what we ended up with!

Just in Time for Christmas!

Well, for those of you who know John Fountain, and those who don't, he's apparently illustrated a children's book with his fiancee as the celebrated author. I'm sure it's a delightful book and I've ordered my own copy. The kiddos will get an extra gift this year! If you want your own, see the URL below!

While I haven't read it, the book cover looks adorable and funny.

'Birthday Wishes' is a story told entirely in rhyme about about twins who take 'sibling rivalry' to a whole new level when they discover that every year their birthday wishes actually come true. As we all know, siblings are prone to wicked pranks, and thus begins their 'wishing war' as they induce all manner of horrors on one another whenever their birthday comes around. (note: I plagurized this last bit from John's blog--look to the left for his URL--so you all would at least know something of what it's about.)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1933156031/sr=1-1/qid=1165955400/ref=sr_1_1/105-4343581-3041242?ie=UTF8&s=books

For Tante Shari

A huge thanks to Tante Shari for the wonderful little outfit for our chickadee! I liked it so much I had to put her in it right away and just see how great it looked. There is a cute sweater that goes with it but I couldn't get her to be happy long enough to take a reasonable photo of her with it. It's such a warm and cuddly outfit and the owl is great!

Okay, more of my sad humor...

You've got to be kidding me!

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche.

My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game . He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and general ly embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?....We just call him, "TV."

Gingerbread House Raising

Every year I organize a gingerbread party at the bakery. It is our one family tradition that I stick to yearly without fail...so far. But we love decorating the houses which mainly consists of loading them up with as much candy as we can possibly fit on the little house. The whole thing is edible and I end the year telling the kids they can only eat a little each day. Thankfully, the house gets tossed in January so they can't pig out too much.

Sledding Fun...

I took the kids to the park and we had a great time. The sledding hills there are great and vary in degrees of scariness. By the time we'd sledded for an hour or so both of the kids were on the tallest, scariest and fastest hill! They had a blast and never once complained about having to carry the sled to the top each time! I love to sled in 52 degree weather!

Snow Angels...

My precious snow angels!

Angela is having a boy!

After 3 beautiful girls, she's finally pregnant with a boy! I can't wait to see what a masculine Bywater looks like!

Pottytraining Part 1...

I'm starting to pottytrain the Peanut because she's dying to wear underwear. And she's already peed through 2 pairs BUT she's also gone pee in the toilet 4 times. I guess she'll learn eventually. The funny thing is that she can sit there and read for ages. She just loves to sit and read, even on the toilet!

Sleeping Beauty

Our little Chickadee just sleeps all of the time. Honestly. I have to put cold lemons on her poor toes to wake her every 3 hours at the minimum! She'd sleep for 5 hours if I didn't. My beautiful little girl!

For Aunt Leanna

Thank you for all of the wonderful goodies! Here is Bug's first ever watercolor. He's a regular Picasso!

A fun quote...

A friend of mine just posted this on her blog and I thought it was interesting. Now, I love to cook and I love my house clean ( I just don't do the cleaning as often as I ought!) but I still thought this was thought provoking for all of us housewives out there.

"But oh how dreadful it is, cooking, I mean. That oven -- Christian puts things in and says: 'Now you take it out in about a half an hour.' I don't dare tell him how terrified I am, and at the tend of half an hour I summon up all my courage and open the oven, and there is that awful hot blast hitting one in the face. I don't wonder people sometimes put their heads in and leave them out of sheer misery. Oh, dear, and I wish you could have seen the Hoover running away with me, it suddenly took the bit between its teeth and made for the lift shaft. How I shrieked -- Christian only just rescued me in time. I think housework is far more tiring and frightening than hunting is, no comparison, and yet after hunting we had eggs for tea and were made to rest for hours, but after housework people expect one to go on just as if nothing special had happened." She sighed.

From:

The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels

For Cole and Tay...

We send love from here to there!

Men and Babes

Who is going to convince me that our men don't love their babies? No one. We have darling children and wonderful men who can often calm them better than I can. And these are two cases in point. Chickadee was crying miserably and then come in Opa and Papa on their white horses to save the day. What would I do without them?

I cried....

Have you ever been so truly angry that you cried? And I realize that this is a level of furiosity that is almost uncomprehensible. Well, that happened to me today. Honerstly, I'd like to blame it on the whole after-giving-birth-horomone-thing, but really it's my sorry vanity and pride that led me to it.

Bug cut Peanut's hair...again. If you recall, he did it in March, too. In March I was just mad. He knew better and he disobeyed but I was just downright mad. But this time he outright defied my orders (do I sound like a sargent?) and he ruined my girl's gorgeous hair. Peanut is a pixie. She's cute and her hair was simply adorable. I mean ADORABLE!

And Bug cut it off at the pigtail at the top. Yes, he just snipped the whole thing off under the ponytail holder. Then he proceeded to cut the rest in like manner. On the way to the hair dresser's I cried in my car. Yes, I cried real alligator tears. And then I cried to my hubby. I know it's just hair. But it was beautiful hair. I mean it was gorgeous, blonde, curly hair. And she looked like a pixie. Now she looks like a pixie-boy.

My 3 Children...

Staging photos is truly hard work. I took loads of photos and still I didn't like any of them. My kids just don't smile well for the camera. I'll keep trying but this is as good as it gets for now.

Little Opa and Little Oma

I'm not ashamed to admit that my children's favorite activity of late is to pretend to be Oma and Opa...with cardigan sweater and all.

For Suzann...

Here is Kim's baby! He's got so much beautiful hair and we're all hoping it doesn't fall out. And he looks nothing like the twins or Dylan. Welcome, Baby Riley!

Oma and Chickadee

This is a great picture of pure love!

More Photos...

We all know that newborns are similar in looks to martians. Yes, I mean aliens from, say, Mars. And I look at them and think, "Wow, they are wrinkled and ugly little things, aren't they?". But when the creature is yours, it suddenly changes your perspective on the whole thing. I'm showing you these photos because I think she's the sweetest and cutest thing ever birthed by woman. And, sorry to say, you're obliged to agree! But her brother and sister sure do love her!