Reeaallly Thirsty

What can I say? She was really, really thirsty. And then really wanted her picture taken so she could then see what she looked like whilst using two straws in two cups.

P.S. Pigtails - how cute is she?

It's one of those days...

...oh, you know the kind. Just sittin' around in your Spiderman suit, watchin' some TV. Yeah. One of those kind of days.

Oh. And in case you are wondering - I found the suit in a mad, crazy cleaning frenzy today. Apparently it was shoved in a bag full of random things I found at a garage sale two years ago. He didn't take it off until he had to eat dinner. The mouth slit wasn't big enough to fit his fork.

On the Eighth Day of blogging...

...my readers gave to me...well...nothing really. Comments don't really swamp my inbox you know. But nevertheless, here I sit. A faithful blogger on a mission to blog for thirty days. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it to day eight. I figured that by now I would have shrugged my shoulders and admitted ultimate defeat of my inability to commit to a goal. It's a short-term goal, but still. And heck, if I make it to day thirty, maybe I'll try extending it to sixty. The suspense is killing me already.

So I've realized that what used to be a way to keep family connected as to what my two children do with their days, has morphed into a place where I talk about...well...whatever I want. I'm honing my writing skills in hopes of one day becoming a distinguished author. Maybe 'distinguished' is a bit of a stretch. I'll just take the 'author' part for now. I figure I've tried the illustration area of art. Photography would have been fun, but honestly digital cameras and the power of Photoshop have taken all of the work/fun out of it. The digital wave has made it so all you have to do is point, click and upload. Photoshop and other programs out there have been mastered by children half my age so that they can create pretty nifty things. They've ultimately wiped out the photography industry. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. I tend to do that. But seriously, taking a good photo isn't nearly as hard as it used to be with an old 35mm camera. Perhaps honing my writing skills via a blog isn't exactly the quickest way into a publishing deal. But I'm bored and my husband is unemployed. So I'll blog. I also hope to print out my blog into books so that as the years go by, when I'm old and gray, my children and grandchildren can read what it was like 'back in the day' when cars didn't fly and microchip cell phones weren't instantly implanted into your brain when you were born. Hmmm...perhaps I should write sci-fi...

Don't ask. Just Laugh.

Sometimes, kids do the strangest things. How many times have you heard that phrase? I know that I think these words at least once a week, if not more often. Right now, with the colder weather creeping its way into our days, we've spent more hours inside than out. This has provoked Alex and Abby to find random things to entertain themselves. As I wander through the house looking for odd jobs to keep myself busy, I will see them both playing interesting games or doing random things in which I will inevitably say to myself, "Huh. Kids do the strangest things sometimes." Right now, my little attention hog (Abby) is finding it very fulfilling to be videoed or photographed. She loves, loves, loves to watch home videos and pictures. And what better subject matter than herself? So lately she will do something funny or odd. I naturally laugh. She then asks me to take her picture so she can see it too. Here, you will see one of Abby's moments of 'um...okey dokey then.' So don't ask. Just laugh.

Defeating the Digital Demon

The curse of the TV is finally over. *knock on wood* Sitting on our beautiful new entertainment center (courtesy of Josh's folks) is a brand new TV (also courtesy of Josh's folks-awesome Christmas present don't ya think?). And to make things even better, it actually works. Yes. It's true. This TV isn't faded to gray. It doesn't need me to merrily beat it to death before the picture pops on. It doesn't have a massive white stripe down the middle of the screen. And all of the screen is fully intact - no cracks or damage noted. That had to be the hardest Christmas present that my father-in-law has ever bought for someone. Honestly, I feel bad about how much he had to do to get us this TV. Phone calls, returns, trips to our house and praying...lots of praying. So I'd like to take a moment to thank my in-laws. Thanks Paul and Cindy for the wonderful gift. It's already much appreciated. I fully plan on having a few movie marathons on it to break it in. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean...wow...I have my work cut out for me. Good thing I have no life, eh? Though I must admit that I feel odd accepting such a big gift. I've always found it difficult to accept gifts though, no matter the size or price. I'm a giver, not a receiver. I find it more fulfilling to give gifts to people, especially nieces and nephews. Kids are a blast to buy for, wouldn't you agree? But as for the new television, I bet you can't guess what the first image was that graced it's shiny new screen. Did you guess The Wiggles?? How did you guess that? Huh...you must read my blog...cool.

Who needs 50 Zhu Zhu Pets?

Well, apparently the crazy lady with a shopping cart filled to the top with them. That's who. I got the joy-joy pleasure of seeing the insanity of Black Friday up close and personal this year. And I will tell you this: I shall never again experience the madness of this horrid day. Well, it's only a horrid day if you actually go the stores on Black Friday. Josh's family got to put up with us for Thanksgiving this year and as we sat there on the couch watching Avatar (which was better the second time around by the way), we decided to go into Wal-Mart to buy a couple of toys that were on sale for the kiddos' Christmas. We walked in the doors and headed to the toy and electronics section. As soon as the clock struck 12:01 a.m., the employees sliced the tape and plastic from the pallets of merchandise. Within mere moments, there were empty pallets and crazy people running amok with their carts brim-top full of toys and miscellaneous junk. It was actually quite nauseating. Some people, including crazy Zhu Zhu Pet lady, were filling their carts with so much of the same product that their only purpose could be to resale these hot items on Ebay so as to profit from the misfortune of others. It's sad, really. But I suppose that's the reason Black Friday is what it is. Oh well. We lasted a whopping 15 minutes before we high-tailed it outta there with our tails tucked firmly between our legs as we shook our heads in disgust for certain human behavior. I was glad to go back home. The crowds were a bit scary. There was one point where I was certain that if I got knocked over accidentally, that I'd become fodder for the mad zombie crowd that had taken over the better part of Wal-Mart. So in conclusion: When it comes to my options of Black Friday or bust, I'll gladly take the bust. I'm perfectly happy with holiday shopping procrastination.

Gobble Gobble!

As I am spending my Thanksgiving out of town this year, I don't really feel a deep desire to be sitting at my computer to tap out a long-winded story on my keyboard. So I will leave you with a generic greeting fit for anyone to read. I hope that you all have a spectacular Thanksgiving with friends and family this year. I'm blessed to have good family to spend the holiday with. I'd say enjoy the turkey, but if you're anything like me then the sole purpose for the great 'turkey day' is the dessert part. And as I spent the better part of my night yesterday concocting multiple sugary goodies, I know that I will be enjoying my dessert tonight...and tomorrow...and probably the day after tomorrow. So whether it's pumpkin, pecan or caramel apple, I hope you all enjoy your pie (and the extra padding on your...um...hips...from said pie.) I know I will.

The Exorcism of RCA

For a few months now, all our movie or TV watching experiences have been viewed on a wee little 19" television. I know what you're thinking. At least it's not a 12" black and white TV, right? So true. The Wiggles just wouldn't look right in black and white. Anyhow, it all started back when our 32" TV finally decided to fade to gray. Josh's more than generous parents let us borrow a TV so we could go back to seeing movies in color again. Within weeks, I had to beat the poor thing in it's 'sweet spot' repetitively until the picture would finally grace us with it's presence. Apparently there was a loose wire or something. Finally, after one final good whack, it passed into the realm of TVs of the past. So once more, Josh's folks surprised us. They had gotten us a TV for Christmas and chose to give it to us early. After hunting for an entertainment center that wouldn't collapse after blowing on it (Wal-mart furniture...go figure), we finally found one that would work. Three hours of building later and multiple cussings from dropped boards on toes, we had a beautiful entertainment center and a new TV to go on it. Or so we thought. After flipping it on, there was an annoying six inch wide white stripe that ran vertical through the screen. Our brand new TV was broken. Broken! Things began to seem hopeless on the television front. I jokingly said that we were cursed and that we weren't meant to have a TV. So Josh's dad came down to return it (as we had no receipt) and found a holiday deal online for an even bigger and better brand of TV. When all was said and done, it was delivered to us (free shipping via FedEx) today. We were so excited. We'd never had a new plasma screen TV before and the kids were literally bouncing up and down with excitement at the giant box that was delivered. Once again, I joked with Josh about it being broken. So you can imagine the sheer frustration we had when we opened the box to find that the screen of the TV was, for the most part, shattered in all four corners. It was so disheartening and we all just stared at the busted TV (round four). It turns out that we might actually have a curse on TVs in this house. Maybe that's not possible, maybe it is. But it sure feels like it. We're giving it one more go. If it goes wrong this time, I'm hiring an old priest and a young priest because we're gonna need an exorcism on our TV. Honestly, this is just getting ridiculous. But sometimes you just gotta laugh...because it does seem a bit funny. Right?

Breakin' Out the Holiday Cheer

When strolling through the increasingly swamped aisles of Wal-Mart, you can hear the soft, comforting sounds of Christmas songs reminding you that the joyful holiday is right around the corner. I know I say this all the time, but is it really Christmas already? Where the time has gone, I shall never know. The kiddos heard Christmas music playing on the radio and they didn't skip a beat when asking, "Mommy, can we put the Christmas tree up?" The innocent enthusiasm in their young voices was impossible to resist. So today we dusted off the old tree (and I do mean old) and littered the house with holiday cheer. Josh was hesitant (I'm being kind and refraining from the word 'hum-bug') and preferred to wait until at least Thanksgiving is done and gone. But after hearing the excited pleas from his two wee ones, I believe his grinch heart grew three sizes today and he caved. Really, Josh isn't a grinch. He just doesn't enjoy getting all of the boxes down from storage. I, on the other hand, have been listening to the tunes of Christmas for well over a week now and am in full Christmas mode. Alex and Abby are at such a fun age now. They are great little helpers (when they want to be) and were little pros at the whole decoration thing. Despite the woes of unemployment, it's actually quite refreshing to have the twinkling glow of Christmas lights in the house. It brings a sense of peace to me even when times seem tough. Perhaps it's the rainbow of colors blinking through the branches of our well-loved tree. Or perhaps it's the fact that this holiday is all about the Lord who is in control of everything. Or perhaps...it's both. Either way, I sure do love Christmas time. It makes the chill in the air all worth it.

Random photos that I never posted

Dear blog,

Today I have nothing to blog about that I really want to take the time to detail. As I have promised not to neglect you for thirty straight days, I find myself realizing how difficult this task may be. To be honest, you're not the most important virtual thing in my life anymore. Farmville just treats me so much better. Do you offer me cute little robot cows as rewards for my time and dedication? No. But I will remain true to my promise and this is but day two. So today is a random photo blog of photos that have been sitting on my desktop waiting to be uploaded to the blog. I know that this is not the kind of attention you wanted, dear blog. But as my mom always used to say when I really didn't want to eat yet another year of dinners made from dad's annual slaughter of Bambi's mom - beggars can't be choosers. As I draw my 'dear diary' spoof to a close, I will leave you with my final thought: After seeing the photos on my desktop, I realize how much I will miss the warmer weather and just how much the bitter cold sucks. Until tomorrow dear blog.

Air show: Summer 2010

Summer "fishing": 2010

And let the football season begin!

Blogger, blogger...where for art thou?

Wow. Has it really been almost a month since I last updated this thing? I've become one of those bloggers that I hate to read because they never update their blasted blogs. *sigh* Oh well. I have a good excuse. Kind of. Okay...well maybe not. But I'll run with it. We had an unexpected turn in our recent plans for a nice five day trip to visit Josh's brother and his family. Let me begin with this: I've been searching for the best chiropractor I can find (within financial reason of course). Who would have thought that I'd find one in the family? That's right. Josh's bro, Ben, is going to school to become a chiropractor. So he's not a doctor yet, but he is an intern and working in a clinic so in my eyes, he's pretty much a doctor. He just started working in his out patient clinic for school and needs some new patients to work out the kinks on. So guess who became his faithful patient? That would be yours truly. Yup. It's true. My new doc is actually my brother-in-law. Now if you would have asked me ten years ago that I'd be getting a physical and lots of spinal adjustments from my husbands brother, I'd have laughed hysterically in your face. But the truth is...he's just that good. After two-weeks of treatments, my severe anxiety issues are waning and my headaches are significantly decreased. How cool is that? Move over Dr. Awesome! There's a new doc in town and I call him brother. I was hesitant at first, but it's no longer an issue. I hope he's ready for the most annoying patient ever. Because as it stands, I'm fairly certain that my general practitioner sees my name on the appointment board, rolls his eyes, and says, 'Ugh...not again.' Anyhow, the ultimate plan was to take a five day trip so that I could get some much needed chiropractic care and some hopeful help for my ever-failing shoulder. What started as a quick trip ended up in a twelve day vacation with the family. (Apparently I needed more work done on my shoulder than I expected.) So right about now, you are wondering, 'Huh. Well that's wierd Jessica. How can you take a two-week trip with Josh working full-time?' Oh. Well that's easy. Josh got laid off again. Now this is the part where you gasp in shock and say, 'Oh Jessica, I'm so sorry to hear that. That really sucks!' to which I would reply, 'Eh. Whatcha gonna do?' I'd tell you what number we're on for the lay offs but I've honestly lost count. Just in time for Christmas too. Woo-hoo! (Please note that any and all enthusiasm for unemployment is, in fact, intended to be pure sarcasm and not any sign of my secret life goal to live in a cardboard box with my family of four and five cats...and two bunnies.)

So there you have it. The reason for this blogger's absence is now explained in full. Hopefully I will be able to follow my self-imposed 30 day blog challenge where I will find something to blog about for 30 straight days. Will it happen or will I fall short? Only day 30 will tell.

Lauren's 7th Birthday

I remember the day when Heather and Ben first told me that I was going to be an aunt. I couldn't believe that I was about to watch as my sister-in-law grew a little baby in her belly. I was so excited that I couldn't stop smiling. A new baby. That was pretty major. When little Lauren was born, I was as nervous as could be when I first held her. A sweet little bundle of cuteness. As I remember this day, I find it most difficult to believe that this moment was actually seven years ago. Seven! Quite a few children later, it's as if the life before children never really existed. But for the first time in a while, I actually got to go celebrate my niece's birthday at her home this year. They decided to celebrate it with pizza (homemade pizza pockets for my allergy boy), birthday cake, and a pumpkin carving contest. It was really fun for everyone, adults included. So after countless cakes that I've decorated, I told miss Lauren that if she wanted me to, I'd be glad to decorate her a horse cake. Because, as most young girls do, she is completely in love with the equine world. I'm fairly certain that her mom was okay with this as she did give me the green light to bring my decorating stuff to whip up a cake for the party. I think that it didn't turn out half bad. Lauren was hopeful for a bright red halter, but hey...I'm not perfect and it turned out dark pink instead. I'm sure she won't hold it against me forever. :-)

The strangest part of the weekend was my daughters new found independence. She usually spends the majority of the time suction-cupped to my leg or in my lap whilst twirling my hair nervously. Not this time though. She surprised us all by being quite the little social butterfly. She was right in the middle of the present opening action. She even socialized with the adults. She still tells me that she misses Aunt Heather and Uncle Ben and wants to go back and see them again. Wierd. My little baby's growin' up! (Where are my kleenexes...*sniff*)

We then went out to carve our pumpkins. It was supposed to be a contest, but in the end, we were all winners. (I swear I didn't mean that to sound as sappy as it came off.) I carved a horse pumpkin. Naturally. No pattern either. I suppose my art degree is worth something from time to time. It's not the best view, but you get the idea.

The cake was a hit with everyone. But I'm sure it was most appreciated by the kids (and me...as I can't seem to live without massive doses of sugar on a daily basis). Here are my kids and their cousins enjoying their pre-bedtime sugar.

So by the end of the weekend, I had two more orders for future birthday cakes from my other two nieces. I believe a purple unicorn and a monkey cake if I'm not mistaken. I guess I'd better reserve those dates on the calendar because I'm about to change status from 'cool aunt that can draw', to 'cool aunt that can make pretty birthday cakes'. (I added the 'cool' part myself. Hey...I'm hopeful.)

Here is the video of our pumpkin parade. That's a whole lotta pumpkins!

Trick-or-Treat!

I love Halloween. No, that does not make me a pagan. I just really like the festivities of it all. I love decorating and getting new freaky things to place around the house each year. My favorite cereal is Count Chocula (which only comes out for Halloween these days). Carving pumpkins is a blast. Of course, I neglected to get a photo of my pumpkin this year. Well, actually, I carved one at my niece's birthday party and I'll blog about that tomorrow. And let's not forget the obscene amount of candy. Oh candy, how I love thee. Chocolate especially. I guarantee that I've gained at least three pounds just by eating candy in the last three days. Okay, so maybe not quite that much. But close.

So Halloween this year was the most fun yet since the introduction of children into my life. The first year with Alex, I could barely walk as I had just had a massively painful birth. The second year...still not living up to my expectations. Fast forward. This year? A ton of fun! The kids were so pumped to go trick-or-treating and they were even more pumped to wear costumes. Abby was set on being a fairy princess and Alex was set on being Woody from Toy Story. I tried to purchase the costumes, but at a whopping $15 each, I decided to improvise. I made a few things, purchased a few things, and the result? Two of the cutest kids on the face of Earth for only $5 each!

Alex was really lookin' adorable in his homemade Woody costume. I sewed the vest myself, thank you very much.

And Abby? What more can I say than this. Cutest. Princess. Ever.

And I have dressed up for Halloween almost every year of my life I'd venture to say. There may be a few years off and on when I was 'too cool' to dress up. But not anymore, my friends! I'm all for looking as ridiculous as I can. I sported my sumo suit again this year. I love my sumo suit.

My dad stayed at our house to hand out candy. I decorate the house every year so it is misleading to not have candy at least when the big night comes around. He's making it a tradition to wear his ghillie suit (hunting outfit). He gets a kick out of scaring the daylights out of the teenagers that come by. It makes me laugh.

Alex and Abby were really in their elements and I escorted them to the door in hopes of finding milk-free candy instead of the constant handfuls of chocolate. I'm lucky to live in a neighborhood where the people are very understanding when I take a look at the candy they have before they give it to them. A lot of people only have chocolate but don't worry. I took care of all the evidence. It's as if it never really existed. *burp* ;-)

Grandma was there to be the official wagon puller and helped the kids in and out when the time called for it.
So all in all, it was a great night and I think that Halloween will just get better as the years go bye. Here's a video of us trick-or-treating. Gotta love that sumo booty!