Good Golly That's a Great Deal!

Who's excited about shopping on Friday?  Does everyone get up early and go stand in line?  I'll admit, I've done it the last few years (even took Had with me when she was a wee babe), and I do enjoy snagging some extra-deep savings!

However, this year I may not have the energy.  After cooking all day on Thursday (and growing a human in my not-so-tight abs), I may be just too wiped out.  But fear not...I shall be attempting to log on to the interwebs and find some sweet deals!

Want one a little early to help you out this Christmas season?  Do you shop online?  Do you use Amazon to do said shopping online?  Well, hold onto your hats...I have a doozy of a deal!

Right now, in preparation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, Amazon is offering a free Amazon Prime account for parents and students!  For those of you who have no idea the value, let me just put it out there:

Free 2-day shipping

$3.99 next-day shipping

Does that whet your shopping whistle?  I had to jump at the chance for it!

It's not a full subscription...it's good for three months, unless you purchase things in the baby store, like diapers at 30% off, which can add months to your free-shipping benefits.

But three months of free 2-day shipping and uber-cheap next-day shipping is EXCELLENT, when it's right before Christmas (and your son's birthday happens to be exactly one month after Christmas)!

Here's a little info about it, along with the links, that I received in a "Black Friday" email:

Just in time for their Black Friday sale, Amazon.com is offering a free subscription to Amazon Prime for students and parents. For those unfamiliar with Amazon.com Prime, with it you can receive free 2-day shipping on any order, without any minimums. Plus, Prime members also enjoy next day shipping for $3.99 per item. We view Amazon.com Prime as an excellent way to receive the products in your order quickly and free of charge. With Amazon.com having some of the lowest prices around, free shipping, and no sales tax (in most states), they are making a strong case for you to shop there this holiday season.

If you are a student and want to sign up for Amazon.com Prime, go to:
http://www.blackfriday.info/go/300

If you are a primary caregiver of children and want to sign up for Amazon.com Prime, go to:
http://www.blackfriday.info/go/299


And here's some FAQ's regarding the Amazon Mom side (not sure the stipulations of the student side)

Hope you all can take advantage!


Happy Thanksgiving...countdown to turkey is 3 days!!!

Our big news...in case you missed the memo!

Hadley has some news to share with you:

 

 Did you catch that?  No?  Let's take a closer look:


Towards the end of August, I started feeling a bit more tired than usual.

Strange?  No...I have a 4 1/2-year-old and a 2-year-old.  Tired comes with the territory.  Like right now...I barely have the energy to type out this post.  But I'm committed now...I gotta see it through!

So I did what you do on the little stick and lo and behold, there was a cross instead of a minus!

As this is now our fourth pregnancy (and only two kiddos...you do the math), I was very hesitant to spread the word so early, but since the grandparents' birthdays are all so close together, it seemed like the opportune time to tell them.

First was Pappy and Nana (Pappy's birthday is August 30).  We made the shirt for Hadley to wear and our test was to see how long it took to register what it meant.  Nana's reaction is about 10 minutes after I put the shirt on Hadley.






Next was Grami's turn.  Her birthday was the very next week (Sept. 6), so we headed to her house for Labor Day/b-day fun.  Her reaction was a bit quicker:





Next was Grandma's (my mom) turn.  I should note here that, due to pregnancy brain, I thought it would be a great way to tell Daddy the day I found out by having J.J. walk over to him and give him the little stick.  Did it occur to me in that swift, 3-second decision that letting a 4-year-old know he's going to be a big brother and then expecting him not to tell anyone would be pretty tough?  Nope.  Didn't even cross my mind.

But the only person he really wanted to tell was his BFF Mia-Kate, so we weren't too worried.  And he did SO well!  He never said a word to Nana & Pappy until we told them.  He never uttered a peep to Grami & Grandpa Mike until they already knew.  He even kept it a secret from all his church and school buddies!  (Due to a doctor's appointment conflicting with his need to be picked up from school, he did get to tell Mia-Kate, because her mom already knew)

Then came Mom's birthday (Sept. 9).  We had spent almost the entire day with her...ate lunch w/ her, played outside in the backyard with her...with no hint of the news escaping his lips.  No sooner had I gone in to Hadley's room to get her up from her nap and put the shirt on her, did Johnny come home from work, walk by the back door and hear J.J. say to my mom, "Did you know Hadley's going to be a big sister?"

Two minutes.  The kid held it in for two weeks and those last two minutes he couldn't take it any longer.

Thus the lack of a surprise picture of my mom.

So there you have it!  We are expecting a new little Hughes sometime late in April.  The actual due date is April 28, but as I'll be having another c-section, the little one will make his or her debut the week before.

Will we find out what we're having?  YES!  We are not ones to wait (okay...I'M not one to wait...Johnny would be fine if we did).  We have the ultrasound on November 30 so I'll be sure and (try to remember to) post that little tidbit sometime that week.

No names picked out yet...we kind of used up all our good ideas with the first two!  :)  But you know we'll find something cute.

I personally like Sandrine.

Or James...but only if it's a girl.

The Best Things in Life Are Free, or Why I Love Shutterfly!

Recently, because I have the blessing of a friend like Julie who is always in the know about the best in frugal finds on the interwebs, I was directed to a link that would bless me even more this holiday season!

That's right...50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly!  As a girl who considers herself to be quite the creative holiday photo maker (courtesy of Photoshop Elements, that is!), I always strive to save a few bucks by making the cards myself.  However this year, due to our impending arrival, I have opted to try and make my life as simple as possible...and what better way to do that than simply selecting one of the hundreds of beautiful cards the fine folks at Shutterfly have available?

Now...the big decision is whether to emulate Julie even more and send out Thanksgiving cards, stick with the traditional Christmas cards, or do what I did last year (because I was overwhelmed by two kids, 800 Christmases, a new DSLR camera--which pic to use????--and a Christmas Eve blizzard) and send out New Year's cards!

That will probably depend on whether or not we decide to get family pictures taken.  But that's not important right now.

What IS important is that you all take a moment and go check out the fabulous selection that Shutterfly has to offer in the photo card milieu.  And if you're feeling wordy, like me, go check out whether you want to try your hand at spreading the word about this fabulous deal by following this link.

 Oh...and while you're at it, why don't you consider uploading your photos to Shutterfly as a back-up to your current photo-storage method!  With unlimited storage (they never delete photos) and multiple print options, it's a fine choice!  Plus you can make cool gifts like wall calendars and photo books and all your pictures are already right there!

J.J.'s First Day of Pre-K, or How I Learned to Use My Time Wisely

Today was J.J.'s first day of Pre-K.  He is officially going to elementary school.

SNIFF!!!

He had lots of fun and, even though ZERO previous friends are in his class (they are ALL in the other a.m. class), he met a new friend, Lucy.  She was sitting across the table from him when he arrived this morning.  I tried to explain to her that her name was special, because it's from his favorite book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), but she was not impressed.  In fact, she looked at me as though she was about to cry...which was altogether possible based on the hysterical boy at the next table.

But she must have warmed up when we left, because it was the first thing he said when he got in the car: "Mom!  I met a new friend!  Her name is Lucy!"

Good for you, buddy!

So, while the boy was enjoying his two-and-a-half-hour school day--

Yes, that's right.  2.5 hours.  This is apparently considered "half-day". Um...okay.  Show of hands...who's day is only 5 hours long?  But I digress....

Anyway, while he was at school, Hadley and I took Daddy to work, cleaned out the car at the Boomerang Car Wash (Free vacuums?  Best idea ever!  Yes, I will gladly pay you NINE DOLLARS for a medium-rate carwash because I use your vacuums way more frequently than I wash my car!), bought $45 worth of groceries at Homeland for only $23, took them back to our house, got gas and then headed back to pick up little mister.

Apparently, I underestimated just how much time two and a half hours is.  We got back to the school and I looked at the clock and realized I had about 30 minutes before he was done!  So little miss and I headed to a little antique store to bide our time before joining the line of retrieval.

(I originally said "line to pick up", but the preposition was yelling at me to throw him a rope so he wouldn't be dangling.)

I was still #2 in line.  I HIGHLY doubt that will ever happen again.

Let me tell you.  Picking that kiddo up was awesome!  I love my alone time, but it was so much fun to see him be so excited to be in "big-kid" school!  As they walked from their classroom to the pick-up area, he waved so proudly!  Agh!  He's adorable!

It's still hard for me to believe that he's in school every day now.  I think it may take awhile to sink in...like when he's gone ALL DAY.  But that won't be until next year, so maybe I'll be okay this year!

Meet the Teacher

NOTE:  I'm posting this after the fact because, well...I can.  So there.

We got to meet J.J.'s new Pre-K teacher today!  She seems very nice and J.J.'s excited to go to big-kid school!

Daddy met us there amidst the CHAOS!!  Personally, I don't quite get why they have every. single. student. come for one. single. hour.  Wouldn't it make more sense to maybe stagger them by day?

Nobody asked me, though.  So, after waiting in the blazing sun, we trudged through the masses, purchased our Broncho Bag and made our way to Mrs. S's classroom.

J.J. wouldn't take a picture by himself with his teacher, so Daddy hopped in and made him smile!

We found his hook where his bag goes and put all the school supplies with everyone else's around the room.

My boys!

Okay, buddy.  Ready to start school?  On your mark....get set....GO!

No motivation

Why am I completely unmotivated?  My house is a wreck, the yard is a wreck, my car is a wreck.  I haven't blogged for exactly 2 months.  I have literally hundreds of pictures waiting to be retouched so I can print them out and actually have pictures of my daughter up or post them or email them to people.

And yet, I have zero drive to do any of it.

Every.  Single.  Room.  In my house is in need of organization and a good scrubbing.  Seriously.  Every single room.  Sure, we have people over every Thursday night (and sometimes moms come over on Tuesdays), but I don't clean...I tidy.  I vacuum the living room, pick up the toys and paper piles, clean up the kitchen and make sure the guest bath/J.J.'s bathroom isn't completely disgusting.  It's "good enough for government work", as some old folks might say.

But truth be told, I'm tired of my house and yards being only tolerable and livable.  I want them to be cozy and homey, yet nice-looking!  Well-decorated!  Clean!

I read blog after blog about organization.  I look at magazines.  I even try to find inspiration from friends' homes.  I get fired up about cleaning out the junk, sorting through the giant piles of c-r-a-p, and either pitching it or selling it somewhere.

But what happens when I get home or log off the computer?  Hadley wakes up from her nap.  Or I have to go pick J.J. up from school.  Or....(insert excuse after excuse in there).

I'm too tired to get things done, but I'm so tired of them looking the way they do that I'm about to snap.

Does anyone else feel like this?  Anyone have a solution?  Or an afternoon free?  :)

Isabella's birthday

The fam and I got invited to my friend Heather's baby girl Isabella's first birthday party on Saturday.  Being the responsible friend that I am, I decided to take my fancy-shmancy camera and maybe grab a couple candids.  Little did I know I would become the sole photographer of the event!

Apparently, I was the only one with batteries in my camera.

 Fun with Photoshop...how cute is that outfit?  Her aunt made it for her!

Mmmmm...frosting!

Okay, I'm slightly more proud of this one, because I actually went into the levels and messed with them.  This photoshop stuff is pretty darn fun!  (Except, looking at it now, it just looks like I made the fact that the flash was on more prominent....hmmm...still so much to learn!)

The baby girls checkin' each other out.  We're going to dress them alike because apparently Isabella looks like she sprang from my womb to a growing number of people



Heather's next door neighbors made the cupcakes.   Pretty awe-inspiring, in and of itself...































But get a load of them:

 

Talk about knowledge beyond your years!  I asked them how they learned how to do that...had they taken a class...and their response?

"We have a book."

Seriously?  I could read 80 books on that subject and STILL never figure out how to do the petals on the sunflowers!  I was astounded, needless to say.

Did you notice the center of the sunflowers are Oreos?  Not too shabby.

I learned something else.  Doing photo shoots requires STRONG quad muscles!  I'm not even joking when I say my legs were sore for 3 days after the party...from taking maybe 3 pictures in a squat position.  Sooooo sad.

Must start walking.  Maybe I'll try some bouncy-walking.  :)

A girl's love of curling explained

Ahhh...curling.   The beloved sport of the north, where two teams face off with their stones and brooms in the ready.  Why do I love it so?  Is it the thrill of watching a team come from behind and get a double to leave only their stones in the house?  Is it seeing a stone land smack dab in the middle of the button?  Maybe it's the northern accents...I gotta say that does weigh in alot!

But the real reason I love curling so much is because it reminds me of this:

During the 2006 Torino Olympics, J.J. was not even a month old.  Late night feedings consisted of him and me learning the joys of curling, because that was all that was on at 3 a.m. when the games were on the other side of the globe. 

So mock, if you must, my love for all things curling, but just know that it holds a place near and dear to my heart.

Playing with Photoshop

I'm getting more adventurous with Photoshop. I don't have the fancy-shmancy professional version...just little ol' Elements. But I found fun things to do and I'm starting a notebook (a la junior high...yes, it's a Mead spiral notebook!) with tips so I don't have to keep flipping between windows while I'm doing it.

Here's a couple I did today:

I mainly just did colorsplash and vignettes, but I did do some skin-tone and eye color tweaking (wow...two posts in as many days for that word!) and I gotta say I'm pretty impressed.

Now if I could just learn how to use my camera properly so I have really good photos to mess with, I'll really be cookin' with gas!

Toodles for now...I'm off to sleepyland with the sounds of curling in the background to lull me to sleep.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE that sport?  Maybe I'll expand on that tomorrow.

WHAT?!?!?!?

There's only a few reasons why I would actually make the effort to post twice in one day.

I just found a REALLY good one.

Are you ready?

No...really ready?

Here goes:

JENNIFER KNAPP HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT!!!!

If you know me but at all, you know she is my absolute favorite singer...ever.  She's been gone for seven years.  Seven years without new songs to jam to.  Seven years of listening to "Refine Me" and "Martyrs and Thieves", wistfully wondering if she was gone for good.

I'm a LITTLE excited.  Just a tad.  Especially since it's not coming out until May...but still!

Maybe I'll pick up my guitar again.  And sing a song.  (Don't tell...but if Lillith Fair comes here...I may just have to go and check her out...along with Sarah, Ingrid, Sarah, Norah, Sheryl...WOW the list is long!)  But shhhhh...it's a secret. 

Go check out a taste of her new stuff on her myspace page

A project that needs a little "tweaking"

Who knows the quote?  Anybody?  (Lauren...I KNOW you know it!)

So with the help of my friend Amy, I changed up the look of my blog.  What do you all think?  Good, huh?  Yeah...she's an artiste! 

I don't really have a whole lot to discuss...just wanted to kick the tires and give the new layout a test-drive...and post a cute pic of my kiddos...of course!

Happy Saturday!

When Hadley speaks, people listen

Does anyone else remember that ad for E.F. Hutton?  No?  Just me?  Okay...moving on.

That's right...I'm doing two entries in one day!  You're shocked, aren't you?  Hello?  Are you okay?  MEDIC!

The reason for my dual posting (not to be confused with DUEL posting...where the blog posts draw pistols, take ten paces, turn and FIRE!) is my pwesh-us widdle baby girl and her inability to stop amazing me with her words.

Plus, I've been at home all day with two not-so-well kiddos and I feel the need to get away into blogland.

Here's a list of what my baby can say at the tender young age of 19 months:

Mama
Dada
"Bubba" (brother....sorry Jo, it happened)
Bye-bye
"Me"
"Beebee" (baby)
"Bup" (cup)
"Meh-moh" (Can you guess?  What toddler DOESN'T say this one?)
"Baa-baa" (Yeah...it's not for sheep...it's Abby, as in Abby Cadabby)
Uh-oh
"He-oh" (hello...it's really cute when she's on her Winnie the Pooh phone and he says it and she says it back!)
"Mammy" (Manny, as in Handy Manny)  **According to my mother-in-law, she says this is also "Grami"**
"Buh-boo" (love you, which if you've known us awhile, is better than J.J.'s version when he was her age!)
"Tah-woo" (thank you)
Moo
Ho Ho Ho (ANYtime she sees Santa...on TV, in a book, no matter where)
"Eee" (ear...and also eye...they're indistinguishable, really!)
"Mah" (mouth)


Signs she knows:

"More"
"Please"
"All done"
"Thank you"
"Out"

I'm trying to get better about this blogging thing...

So, here it is February 17 and it's exactly 2 weeks after I last posted on this, my lovely link to all things cyber (well, except for that pesky Facebook...why is it soooo addictive??).  But since my previous stints between posts seem to linger around the 2-or-3-month mark, I think I'm doing pretty well.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.  It's all about grace, right?

That's what Beth keeps telling me anyway.

So I had a mom's group at my house yesterday.  It was kind of a test run...to see if I could pull off hosting one.  I think it went pretty well and from what I took from the other mommies that were there, they all seemed to have a good time.  I'm excited!  I used to go to another mom's group at a friend's house and I think it was good prep for me to see what all goes into hosting one.  We've even decided to make it a weekly thing!  Not that every mom can come every week, but whoever ("Whoooom...whoooom...sometimes it's WHO!") wants to come whenever, join us!  The more the merrier!  And if it outgrows my house, well then I guess we'll take it somewhere bigger!

But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit, I think.

We did hear some odd noises coming from the playroom at one point.  They sounded like screams of anger or pain.  Instead, we found out what they were:

Horse whinnies!  J.J. was teaching his new friend Jonas how to ride the horsie.

I don't know how your horsies sound, but ours sounds like this:  "I'm a little pony, clippity-clop, clippity-clop.  Such a pretty pony, clippity-clop, clippity-clop."

"I love to have my co-o-o-oat brushed underneath the old oak tree."

"Let's jump and run, we'll have lots of fun, will you come and play with me?"

You know you want to ride, don't you?  :)

My strong boy

**EDIT**

After going back and looking at this entry, it dawned on me that some weirdo out in cyberland might see this picture in a completely wrong way.  So I'm removing the picture.  But at least the quote is still funny.




J.J. came into the kitchen on Saturday afternoon, stripped down to his underwear.  He said, "Mom, I took off my pants and shirt because I'm strong, like Samson."

I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.

SNOW!

I don't care how bad it makes the roads.  I love snow!  Since I was a little kid I have loved the white stuff coming down.  Maybe it's a remnant from former years when school actually got canceled (those of us from P.C. Schools, does it feel like they NEVER canceled due to weather unless there was a foot outside???  Now it just has to threaten and they cancel!).

I don't even care that it means I don't get a Mother's Day Out.  I just adore looking outside and seeing it come down so thick that I can barely see.  It truly gives me joy in my heart to see white covering everything.  And I love that it conjures up a hymn:

White as snow, white as snow
Though my sins were as scarlet

Lord, I know, Lord, I know
That I'm clean and forgiven

Through the power of Your blood
Through the wonder of Your love
Through faith in You
I know that I can be
White as snow

Ahhhh...makes everything feel better, doesn't it?

And I LOVE the cold.  If you know me at all, you know I detest heat and anything over about 79 degrees.

Speaking of which, does anyone know how to type the little 'degree' symbol?  For the life of me I have no idea.

Where was I?  Oh yeah...I hate the heat.  It's why I flee the late July/early August temps here in Oklahoma for the mid-50s and 60s of Lake City, Colorado every year.  My entire life I have LOVED wearing jeans (except now, when I prefer cargo pants...much easier to fit over my not-so-small and athletic hiney and hips!).  Ask my mom.  I would throw on a pair if it even LOOKED like it might be cloudy and cooler when I got up.  I don't know how many times I got sent back up to my room to put on shorts!  And in Lake City, I can wear those long pants any day of the year!  Not so here in...well...a place a little closer to Satan's dwelling place (heat-wise, friends, heat-wise...we all know God loves Okies WAY more than Colo...radies?)

Am I getting off track again?  Shoot.  I always do that.  It's why my friend Jamie always laughs at me when I'm telling a story.  It takes me 30 minutes to get a 5-minute story out because I feel the need to put in every minute detail.  Okay...maybe ALL of you laugh at me for that.  It's okay.  Really.  I'm not mad.  Just don't expect anything but raspberries from me the next time you see me.  Pbbbbbbbt! : P

Seriously...I have a problem.

ANYWAY, --


--WAIT!--WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO BRING YOU BREAKING NEWS!!

J.J. just pooped on the potty...on his own!  This marks the third time this week that he has gone to the potty to poop all by himself!  CAN I GET A ROUND OF THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS, PLEASE????

Okay...we're back.  Sorry...must be the mad cow.  (Please tell me someone else knows and loves Denny Crane!)

I just wanted to express how much I love snow.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!  Thanks, Danny, Bing, Rosemary and Vera!  "I'll wash my hair with snow."  What a great line...but seriously, who would do that?  Think of the potential for frostbite.

Okay, think I'll wrap this stream-of-consciousness up with a few pictures of the snow from today.  Enjoy.

P.S.  Did anyone else get worried yesterday that our local overzealous weatherman on Channel 4 (NBC affiliate) was going to keep yammering on about the weather and how "if we can just get past 8 pm" right through Must-See-TV?  That was just me?  OK...just checking.  :) 

And of course...what blog entry of a mom would be worth its salt if it didn't include a picture (or two) of her children, I ask you?

Happy New Year (a week late)!!

Pathetic really, isn't it?  I was alerted by Julie Jo to the fact that I haven't posted since SEPTEMBER!  That is COMPLETELY ridiculous!  To my readers (all 2 of you), I apologize.  To myself, I apologize for not keeping an up-to-date record of things.  "2010 shall be different!" she exclaimed.

At least I'll try to make it different.  Here's hoping.

SO....what to update on?  Christmas?  It was AMAZING!!!  We finally got a white Christmas ("just like the ones I used to know") and boy was it white!  14 inches of snow blowing all over the city with people stuck everywhere!  My poor mom got caught behind a city bus that was stuck in the snow for over an hour...it took her 2 1/2 hours to get from her job at the mall to our house.  That trip usually only takes 15-20 minutes.  On a bad day.  Unfortunately, 4-wheel drive does you no good when the people in front of you don't move, as she found out!  Here are some lover-ly snowy pictures:

The view from our front door on Christmas Eve

A view from our kitchen window into our backyard

 

The front of our house...notice the 3 1/2 foot drift in the front!

Some action shots of the boy (his very first snow angel!!!)

This was as involved as Hadley got...when you can barely walk on solid ground...ice & snow does not scream excitement to you!

We NEVER get to make snowmen!  There's never enough snow in our humble metropolis!

Daddy got to taste the snow

Our snow drift was so deep in our front yard that we STILL have about 6 inches in places...and that was 2 weeks ago!  Of course, with the temperature at about 12 degrees right now, it's not going anywhere anytime soon!  Brrrrrr!!!!!

We did our usual 800 Christmases (exaggeration?  Why yes it is!), except half of them were after New Year's due to the blizzard of "aught-nine".  Christmas at Pappy & Nana's was its usual chaotic self...especially since 6 of the 7 cousins were there staying at the same time!  6 kids under the age of 9?  Good times!  It really was lots of fun...full of Mario Kart, peppermint mocha creamer in our coffee and so much ham and brisket you could feed 100 people for 3 days!

That last bit was because Grandma Hughes (Johnny's grandma) celebrated her 80th birthday with a surprise party at the fairgrounds, followed up by some caroling around town on a trailer full of hay!  SO much fun (but Hadley and I had to relegate ourselves to the truck after about 20 minutes).

The cousins (note how Madison's & Hadley's PJs match...not planned)

(From top to bottom:  Hadley, Madison, Brianna, Hannah, Sam & J.J.)

 

 

Sadly, Cousin Halle was missing...she was sick so she and Aunt Carisa had to stay home so the rest of us would not catch whatever it was she had.  :(

The gift that made Nana cry

Hadley's new baby doll (one of them...she now has FOUR!)

 Christmas Eve was spent at our house (obviously...since it was not fit for man nor beast outside) and our church did something it NEVER does...canceled the Christmas Eve service, so we ate our traditional spaghetti and meatballs and watched A Christmas Story (after J.J. was in bed...he's not quite ready for that humor!).  We made cookies for Santa...I don't care.  I believed in Santa and I loved it.  He doesn't get NEARLY the credit for our kids' presents as he did for mine (we think if we bought the big stuff, we should get the credit for it!), but he does do stockings and a few unwrapped trinkets under the tree.  Now, some people actually buy pictures (JPEGs) of Santa kneeling and photoshop it into a picture of their tree...I don't think we'll go that far.  It's one thing to believe something based on hearsay...it's a totally different thing to believe it based on photographical (it's a word....I think!) "evidence".  But we have fun and "Santa" was good to us...I got a Shark Pocket Steam Mop!  It's amazing!  It cleans the floor with nothing but steam!  No chemicals...and it's sanitized!  The thing is a miracle-worker!  But my most favorite gift was one I got to pick out (after solving a puzzle 'Santa' stuck in my stocking):  a Nikon D3000!!!  I have wanted a fancy-shmancy DSLR camera for so long I can't even remember.  And now I have one!  So look out, web!  I'm packin' heat and I ain't a-feared to use it!

Pioneer Woman...look out!

Okay...so that would require me to update more often than once a quarter...maybe I should aim a little lower for now.

Pics from Christmas morn (some VERY early...like 1 am):

Santa's deposit 

NEVER be afraid to pull a toy out of the attic and regift it to a sibling!

Swordplay with Daddy

Mom will LOOOOVE me for this one.

She's gettin' pretty good at that...

Got to love the dinosaur from Fisher-Price.  Is anyone else TERRIFIED of the giant one?!?!?  I vetoed it vehemently!

New favorite shoes

OH the cuteness hurts me!

 Elmo blows kisses

I got THREE copies of that Sugarland CD and two of Diana Krall.  I guess after 4 years of asking for Diana, people took the hint!

Now we just need to clean out the garage so you have a place to USE that beloved Dremel!

The puzzle

Since we forced my mom to come straight to our house on Christmas, she had a few gifts still at her house so after we played in the snow, she ran home in her 4WD and grabbed them and came back and spent the night again...got to love Grandma sleep-overs!  And what little boy doesn't LOVE a castle!  Especially one where the dragon eats the knights!!!

New Year's Eve is our usual get-together time w/ Carisa and Matthew because it's her birthday and we always hang out and pop champagne poppers outside at midnight and play board games and laugh at the ridiculousness that comes out of Matthew's mouth whilst playing those games.  Two years ago we all laughed so hard that he got a nosebleed!  And Carisa's mom had the only remedy for removing it from the couch cushion:  Dawn dish detergent!

Does anybody remember "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"?  How they used Windex for everything?  That's how Carisa's mom is with Dawn.  No matter what the situation, Dawn to the rescue!

"What do you mean he don't eat no meat?!?!?  That's okay...I make lamb."

Wait...where was I?  Oh yeah...New Year's Eve with the Hungerfords.

We didn't do it this year.  Instead, we had a 30th birthday party for Carisa on Dec. 30 with all of her friends and family.  Lots of fun...lots of kids, but lots of fun!  After that, we were too tired to try another night, so we stayed home and my friend Lauren came over and we played Pass the Popcorn...best. game. ever.  Except the 2nd game that comes with it.  The first game you are given clues and you have to guess the movie based on a quote, the cast, the characters or the story.  SO FUN!  The second game makes you "look like a third-grade girl", according to my dear hubby.  You have actors on cards and you have to try and match them with other actors based on movies they've been in together (kind of a one-degree of Kevin Bacon type of thing)....but as soon as you start playing, you go into sheltered hermit-phase and completely forget any and all movies any actor has ever been in!  It's ridiculous!  But still so fun to watch everyone else feel like a total moron.  :)

Only 2 more Christmases left to discuss:  Grami & Grandpa Mike's and Christmas in Cordell (Sounds like a cheesy Hallmark or Lifetime movie, doesn't it?)

Grami & Grandpa Mike's was supposed to happen on the 26th, but when it took us an HOUR to go 3 miles, we decided to wait until roads were a little more clear and there were less abandoned cars and trucks on the road.  So we went on New Year's Day.  And we were SPOILED!  I got money, scrapbook stuff, an Ott Light and other cool stuff.  The kids got pillows and clothes and toys and you name it!  Johnny got a compound miter saw and a table to put it on...and then they said they are going to build us a swing-set in the backyard!  Not just the metal ones of yore (ca. 1980)...no, no.  One of the big, custom-made wooden ones!  Helloooooo nurse!  Needless to say we were blown away by their generosity.  And to top it off, we got to play Super Mario for the Wii and eat at Red Robin for dinner!  Can't beat it!!!

Oh!  Grami makes adorable clothes now...hello, Sassy!  There's a matching skirt to go with that, FYI

 And a matching purse.

 New kid-camera!  He LOVES it!

Riding Daddy's shoulders because he's TERRIFIED by the 4-lb. rat terrier, L.B.

Daddy's new saw

The Lifetime Movie started off with us meeting everyone at a buffet to eat lunch and then heading to Meme's house where we arrived just in time to watch the Cotton Bowl where our beloved Cowboys were playing Ole Miss.  Yeah...Poke Choke in effect again.  So sad.  Maybe next year.  With a new 27-year-old QB and no returning receivers or running backs to speak of.  Oh well.

Anyway, after watching the disappointment, we headed to Meme's church to take some family pictures (which will be posted as soon as I receive ours from cousin Brandon, the famous photographer).  Then we went home.

That's it...that's our holiday season in a nutshell!  Or in a really long post that nobody will read.  Oh well.  At least I have it all down for posterity!