Happy Anniversay To Me...

No, not my wedding anniversary. That will be in a few weeks. Today is mine and the girls' one year anniversay in Florida. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was driving down the FL turnpike, talking to my friend Audra on the phone, watching the fireworks from Disney off in the distance. And Audra was on the phone with me when I pulled up into our driveway and saw our house for the very first time. Our house is owned by the church, and prior to that night I had never seen it from the inside or the outside. How crazy is that? Cary had been here for a few weeks getting the house ready for us to move into and he wouldn't even show me pictures of it. That was a bit unnerving. Anyways, we spent New Year's Eve all camped out in the living room floor, mainly because our beds weren't put together. But also because we thought it would be a fun way for the girls to get used to sleeping in their new house without being afraid. The next day, we had our New Year's Day lunch from Taco Bellyache, I mean Taco Hell, I mean Taco Bell. Hmmm...maybe that should be a tradition. Not because I love Taco Bell, but because it beats cooking! And beans are beans. Black eyed peas, refried beans, what's the difference? I'M KIDDING! I got a new slow cooker for Christmas, so I'm defintely going to cook us up some peas tomorrow.

Tonight, Cary and I are going on a date. Our pastor is in school to get his doctorate degree and I'm his personal paper editor for all the assignments he turns in. So as an exchange for my efforts, his family is giving us some free babysitting tonight. We're going to use an Outback gift card given to us by a church member to eat a FREE meal and take advantage of our FREE childcare. WOOHOO!

Everyone have a safe and happy New Year's Eve tonight. I have a feeling it's going to be a LONG NIGHT as a dog owner. The kids across the street have been shooting off fireworks all day, which drives my dog CRAZY. Seriously, where are their parents???

Heartbreaker

I'm going to talk football for a sec, I know...shocking! Any other Aggies out there as heartbroken as I am this morning? I think I'd rather get outscored 42 to zip than to go down the way we went down last night. I can't stop reliving 4th and inches with 5 minutes left in the game. Down my 7, on the 1 yard line. (A 98 yard drive) Seemed like an easy feat. You could have given PennState a heads up..."Hey guys, we're going to send Javorskie Lane up the middle, okay?"...and they couldn't have stopped him. I've seen that kid drag a whole defensive line down field 10 yards before! He could have gotten that ball into the endzone to tie the game. He has that intensity when the game's on the line. I think he would run through FIRE to win the game for us. Instead, some IDIOT calls some other ridiculous play. We'll never know what that play was b/c Stephen McGee tripped and fell without being touched. And I'm not upset at him. God knows he's given his all for this team. I've seen him upchuck on the field and keep on playing. Love that kid!

I saw them play with intensity and heart last night. They were fightin' for that one. And they deserved that win more than Penn State did. In my opinion. Cause I'm biased. And it's my blog and I can state my opinions on my blog.

Another idiot call...2 min left in the game, 4th and 20, yes I know that's a long shot, but why did we not GO FOR IT???? We weren't going to get the ball back. Why not go for it when you're down? I've seen our offense do crazy things like that and actually make it happen when the heat is on and the game is on the line. That's when they seem to step up, so why did we not go for that one?

All I know is, GOOD RIDDENS Les Koenig (or however you spell his name)!

And to THE SHERMINATOR...Welcome to Aggieland. It's going to be a LONG offseason for me.

THANK GOD we have an awesome basketball team these days. #11? I think? And baseball is ranked pretty high too, I believe, which will be starting soon. Something to occupy my one track Aggie brain in the offseason.

Gig'Em Ags and Happy Birthday Honey Bun

Starting with the love of my life, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Well, his birthday was actually Wednesday but today is the day we're celebrating with his family. I love you honey bun!!!!

And it wouldn't be Aggie game day without an Aggie related post. Gig'Em Ags...BTHO Penn State! I had to order tickets to the game for my mom and my cousins and it was very painful knowing I was not ordering a ticket for myself. But I will be there in spirit to support my Ags. (And my butt will be parked on the couch for 4 hours this evening as well!) And we're invading the state of Alabama with our Texas A&M gear today.

When I get home, I will post lots of Christmas pics for all you friends and family afar, including Lexi and Ashton's rendition of "The Christmas Story", the REAL Christmas story from Luke 2. HILLARIOUS!

Santa Was Here

Because I know you're all dying to know...

YES I GOT ALL OF MY REQUESTS FROM SANTA (that were posted on my blog over the last few months)

THINK PINK...
A pink laptop...the Dell 1721, 17 inch monitor, LOVE IT! (Equipped with Adobe Premiere for editing my videos, Adobe Photoshop Elements for editing my pictures and making my digital scrapbook pages, and Microsoft Office (which I wanted so I could have Publisher!!!)
A pink leather carrying case for my pink laptop
A pink digital camera
A pink leather carrying case for my pink digital camera
A video ipod (well, it was in my husband's stocking, but I'm going to let him think it's for him until I snatch it away!)
Lots of granny panties and nighties

And as an added bonus, we also got a Nintindo Wii gaming system with 4 games, a Cuisinart soft serve ice cream maker, and some shopping $$$$.

Santa was good...very very good!

What about you? Was santa good to you? What was your favorite gift (or least favorite?)

Everyone reply! Even all you bloggity friends that I don't even know who are on my blog every day. If you're reading this, you MUST reply! I just may go on strike and not make another post until EVERYONE replies. And don't think I won't know if you don't reply. I have a stat counter...I'm sneaky like that!

Let the replies begin!

Our First Floridian Christmas

Merry Christmas from the sunshine state! Christmas greetings from sunny Orlando! What is more Floridian than DisneyWorld? Last Tuesday, we went out to the Disney resorts with some friends just to see all the Christmas decorations. The girls had a great time! Just as we were walking into the Contemporary, Mickey and Minnie were walking in too so they were kind enough to stop for a quick photo. We also rode the monorail MANY times around the park. Oh and Cinderella's castle in Christmas lights...SPECTACULAR! There are no pictures that would do it justice. My favorite resort that I HIGHLY recommend if you ever come is the Animal Kingdom resort. BEAUTIFUL, very lodgy and rustic and you can see the animals from your balcony. There are zeebras, giraffes, antelope, and some other creatures I'm not familiar with roaming around about 10 feet from the building. AMAZING! I want to spend the night there just for the fun of it.

One of the store clerks at the Contemporary told us to put on these silly hats and she snapped a picture! They're all about customer service at Disney!

In front of the tallest tree I've ever seen...this was at the Grand Floridian.

This gingerbread house was at the Grand Floridian...beautiful, but don't let the pics fool you. It was wood up till the roof line.

DisneyWorld...The Happiest Place On Earth...

Or is it???

Ashton says it's the SCARIEST place on earth! (Note to self...Pirates of the Carribean...too much for 2 year old!)

Oh, but wait, it IS the happiest place on Earth!

These are just a few of our picks from our Disneyworld trip on Friday. A guy at our church got us in for FREE! WOOHOO! And as always, a great time was had by all. Although, I have to wonder if it's lost just a tad bit of its magic with our frequent Disney-going children. On the way there, Lexi was like, yeah, whatever, so we're going to Disneyworld, big deal. Ho hum! Does she not know that kids would DIE to go to Disney as often as she gets to go???

Santa's on HER way!

I say "her" because the Santa I'm referring to is GRANNY! That would be my mom. Her flight arrives at 7:35 E.T. so we will be headed to the airport in just a few. And my house is cleanliness to the max, which makes me VERY happy. Because you know how I feel about cleanliness. Tomorrow, Lexi has her school party, which Granny will attend. Then we're going to DISNEYWORLD for the rest of the day! How cool is that to just spend the afternoon at Disneyworld??? Sometime this weekend, we will make a gingerbread house and do lots of other super fun things I'm sure. I can't wait to give my mom her new camera!!!! She's going to LOVE taking pictures of her girls all weekend. And I can't wait for Cary to see his gift from my mom...it's HUGE and he's gonna LOVE it so much. I can't wait to see his face when he opens it. And of course I'm just a wee bit excited about getting my new computer! Life is good. And the best part is that you could eat dinner on my clean floors, they're so clean. (Of course then they wouldn't be so clean would they?)

I'm off to get Santa now! Ho ho ho!

New Blog I Heart

Love it love it love it! My friend, Keri, has this link on her blog and I just love it so much I had to pass it along.

http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com

I Love My Honey Bun

I am married to THE most awesome husband in the world! I'm so glad that gone are the June Cleaver days where the woman cleans house in high heals and pearls and everything is just perfect when her husband gets home from work. He eats his warm, home-cooked meal, then sits in the lazyboy and reads the paper and goes to bed while she does EVERYTHING! God knew I could NOT have survived in such a day and age. I am so thankful that my husband does not care what the house looks like when he gets home from work. He doesn't care if we have grilled cheese and tomato soup or Taco Bell for dinner. He doesn't care that his underwear drawer gets empty at least once a week and he occassionally has to do the "inside out" trick until I do laundry. He encourages me to get out of the house with a friend or by myself at least once a week in order to de-stress. He offers to do the laundry or clean the toilets when I get over my head in chores. He hires babysitters and plans dates for us. I love it that he calls me at least 5 times a day, not because he HAS to but because he WANTS to. He's totally comfortable taking care of the children, and I sometimes think he's better at it than me! We STILL enjoy each other's company so much and can spend hours just talking and laughing about everything under the sun. This is a man who has held me upright on the toilet while I had it coming out of both ends! And then cleaned up after me! Now that's love! When I think of how unfulfilled "June Cleaver" must have been, I get so sad. Not THE June Cleaver, but what she symbolizes, I mean!

My husband often says to me, "If you ever leave me, I'm coming with you!" Needless to say, he has nothing to worry about!

Lexi and Ashton in Their School Program

Here is a short clip of video from Lexi and Ashton in their school program last week. Lexi is an angel on the top row and Ashton's the one doing whatever she pleases on the bottom row.

Preschool Handbell Choir Performance

Okay, finally! Here is the video of our preschool handbell choir at church, which I lead, with a lot of help from my friend Carrie B. Hi Carrie! (She reads my blog!) Lexi is on the far end in a cute little Christmas dress. Aren't they funny and precious all at the same time????

The Pictures You've All Been Waiting For...

I finally had some time to run up to my husband's office today which means...bloggity pictures! My connection at home is too stinkin slow to post pictures from the house. AND...I'm also working on getting the youtube video. It's still downloading SLOWLY. So hopefully I'll have posted today as well. Fingers crossed. And now...drumroll please...

Lexi was an angel in her school Christmas program. The halo was a little crooked. I'm kidding! She was the PERFECT angel!

Ashton and her teacher, Ms. Kim

This was Asthon's position throughout most of the program. She was doing dare devil stunts off the stage, then rolling up in a ball for the crash landing! Hillarious!

Oops, there she goes. She had just made a jump.

Lexi, Ashton, and Lexi's best bud Caroline. Caroline is in her class and she goes to our church.

Lexi drew this on the road trip to Texas. Not sure why it's blog worthy, but I thought it was pretty impressive artwork for a 4 yr old. Her art has come SO FAR in a few short months. Very impressive.

And now...my neighbor's Christmas lights...

You just don't get the "full" effect in pictures.

This picture was NOT posed. Believe it or not. But funny nonetheless.

Midnight Shopping, Brrrr, High School Musical

So I spent the day yesterday organizing THE TOYS! Daaa...daa...daaaaaah! Oh the dreaded chore. But the toy areas were afright and I knew something had to be done before Santa's big arrival. So that's done and I feel better now.

After a day of organizing, I was ready to go to bed pretty early, but I knew I MUST get to Walmart at midnight for the big camera sale. (Mom, stop reading here please!) My Nanny gave me a mission to find the perfect digital camera for my mom for Christmas. And I just LOVE missions such as these because I'm a natural at spending other people's money. Just ask my mom! Anyhoo, in the Walmart circular last week I noticed a Kodak easy share, 8 MP, 3x optical zoom, for $89. And I used to have a Kodak easy share and knew it would be a good fit for Mom, as she's not the most technically minded person when it comes to personal technological devices such as cell phones and VCR's. (She doesn't even own a DVD player. Nor do I!) SO...I made a trip to Walmart at midnight JUST to get this camera because the sale didn't go into effect until midnight and I knew they'd be sold out by 7 a.m. I drug my friend, Milinda, with me. (But first we went to Sonic at 11 p.m. and waited for TWENTY FOUR MINUTES for a drink!) And then we ran into a church member at Walmart. How embarrassing that was! I had on no makeup and was in my "kickin' about clothes". Gotta love a small town! When I got to Walmart, there was no one in the photo section because after all, it was MIDNIGHT. So I had to have a manager paged and I was fully prepared to make my demands known and get out the boxin' gloves if needed to get my camera dern it! They gave me a little heck, but I think they knew I meant business. I was a momma on a mission AT MIDNIGHT! BUT it was all worth it b/c I was the FIRST one to get one of these jewels and I was so proud of my purchase! And I think Mom's going to LOVE it!

It's COLD here today. Icicles were hanging from my nose this afternoon when I went to Michael's and I just knew it had to be like 40 degrees. Nope. It was 60! WOW! How long have I been in Florida? There are lots of things that I like about Florida, but I have to say the WEATHER IS AWESOME! It fits me like a glove. I have learned over the past year that I really am a warm weather kind of girl. I love sunshine and warmth. It makes me happy. I hate cold! I love flip flops! And beaches! And being in the sunshine outdoors! But tomorrow is supposed to be REALLY cold. A low of 40 and a high of 52! That's really cold for Florida. But fortunately, it's only going to last for a day. The rest of the week, we'll be back in the 70's. Still a little too cool for me. I prefer about 85! But still nice and sunny!

And this is a funny conversation we had with Lexi today:

L: "Daddy, I want to go to a preschool for teenagers."

C: "That's called high school honey."

L: "Yeah. I want to go to high school. High school musical. That's where I want to go to school."

OH LORD! Help us! She hasn't even seen HSM. I guess she's seen the ads on the Disney Channel. Today after church, she insisted on dressing herself from her head to her toes. She had on a pink fruity headband, with the rest of her hair in a silver star pony tail holder. A yellow shirt, jean capris, socks (Ashton's socks I might add), red patten leather shoes, and she wanted to walk around talking to Granny on my PINK cell phone. 4 going on 14! Or 24!

But she's such a cutie pie! I could eat her up!!! Today, she told me that she would sleep on the bottom bunk and her husband could sleep on the top bunk. But then later she said her husband died because he was old. ????

Now pat yourself on the back for getting through this very long post about nothing.

A Cave Man Moment

Visualize...


I walked into the living room and something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. "No, coulnd't be," I thought to myself. "That couldn't be my husband beating up a rug." I turned to look one more time. "It IS my husband beating up the rug!!!" (in case you're wondering...the rug was rolled up and laying across the couch because it I had just brought it in from outside where it was drying from getting a thorough clean job yesterday.)

"Honey, why...???...are...you...hitting the rug? What did that rug ever do to you???!!!"

"Oh, I'm just having a cave man moment."

"Oh. Carry on then." I walked away with a puzzled, but "whatever" look on my face. "I think we should just let him be, girls."

A few minutes later...

"So, can I ask, what's a cave man moment exactly?"

"Well, I hit my head on the cabinet and that gave me the need to hit something."

"Oh, I get it...like...ME CAVEMAN...ME HAVE PAIN IN HEAD...MUST GIVE SOMETHING ELSE PAIN IN HEAD!!!"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Why are you holding your hand funny? Did you hurt it while you were hitting, I mean beating up the rug?"

"Yeah." Cave man doubles over in pain. "Must go hit something else for my pain in hand."

"Hey, there's another rug that needs to be shaken and beat outside. Will that work?"

Men!!!

I mean Cave men!!!

I'm Official!

Cary and I are OFFICIALLY Florida residents now. A whole year later, we FINALLY have our Florida driver's license. We went to the bureau this morning and took care of that and they printed them while we waited. In Texas, you have to wait a few weeks to get it in the mail. So I was very excited to receive instant gratification! There was just one part of my experience today that just about sent me over the edge. Now, I like people of all races, genders, religions, political parties, blah blah blah. I'm really not a bigot or anything, but I know this statement may cause you to think differently.

The lady handed me a form to fill out...in SPANISH! I was like, ??????? Hello?????? I'm a gringo! Do I scream out SPANISH SPEAKER to anyone? Just checking! Anyways, she then pointed out to me that the English translation to each question was in fine print in parentheses below each Spanish question. Is anyone else bothered by this, or is it just me? Isn't the official language of this country still ENGLISH? I couldn't believe my eyes. Shouldn't it have been the other way around? The form should have been in English, with the Spanish translation in parentheses? And I had to check off "Si" or "No" on each question. Now because I'm no dummy I do know that "Si" means yes. But it's the principle of it all that gets to me. Am I being ridiculous? Because if I am, just tell me to shut up and write about something "blog worthy".

Anyways, so I left kind of puzzled and maybe a tiny bit angered. Not at the lady, but at the idiot that devised this form! So I thought what better way to get out my frustrations than to go eat some Mexican food! So I did. And all is well in the world. Muey Bien!

Daddy Elfed Himself

I don't know about you but I've gotten this "Elf Yourself" email from just about everyone I know this season and it was cute the first few times but now I'm kind of over it. So yesterday, Cary saw one for the first time and was JUST DYING to elf our whole family (and put it on our blog) but I was having no part of it. Cause, you know, I just LOVE the season and all!

So, Daddy elfed himself instead and it really is kind of funny. I really can see him dancing this way. He's kind of goofy like that!

Enjoy!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1362018937

Break Up???

My friend, Audra, and I have joked in years past about crossing people off the Christmas card list and how that is an indicator that we're "breaking up" with that friend. She used to say, "So I'll know when I don't get a Christmas card from you that you've broken up with us?" Yes, it's sad but true. I mean, let's face it. Doesn't everyone trim down their list each year, crossing off the people you haven't heard from all year to make room for their new friends? Or am I the only one who does this? Thus we call it "breaking up" cause you know I have to maintain my "friend quota" and once I reached that quota, well, too bad for everyone who didn't make the cut!

Okay, I'm only half way kidding.

But all that to say, I'M NOT BREAKING UP WITH ANYONE THIS YEAR! I'm just not sending out cards at all! Because I don't have time for perfection. And I can't seem to settle for anything less than perfection. Therefore, there will be no cards. So you can breathe a sigh of relief. The Texas Aggie in Florida is not breaking up with anyone this year!

Merry Christmas!

There, consider yourselves "Merry Christmased" by our family!

Technology is Humbling...

Amen?

Okay thank you all for your input into streaming video. I think I can figure it out now. A firewire cable huh? Why didn't I think of that! And guess what? When I told my husband that was all I needed, he was like, "Uh, yeah, I could have told you that part. I have one in my office. I use it all the time." He edits videos on a mac, but never puts them on youtube or anywhere online, just burns them to DVD's so when I asked him how to put a video on youtube, he acted like I was speaking a foreign language. Thus my plea for help.

Grrrrrrrrr....MEN!

So how is it possible that a girl who can figure out most anything on the computer still requires assistance changing the ink cartridge on the printer?

Tonight, I'm printing my MOPS newsletters that I need by 8 a.m. which I didn't start on till 2 this afternoon because I forgot about them since I spent all weekend worrying about my little handbell players but I made my newsletters while I was "baking" 3 dozen cookies for a school musical and 3 more dozen for my meeting tomorrow and washing 4 loads of clothes including 2 Christmas dresses which they needed for the musical tonight and trying to figure out what hot dish to make for my meeting in the morning and pondering WHEN in the world I might have time to get around to those darn Christmas cards all while refereeing a dozen or so fights with the tots and mostly with one or both of them in my lap. Deep breath! Sigh! Who says stay at home moms have dull lives? (FYI...when I say "baking" I mean calling my husband frantically to beg him to stop at the store and BUY some cookies!!!!)

Anyways, back to printing. So I ran out of black ink and remembered I had an extra cartidge in my stash. But oh no...Cary was in the bathroom when it was time to put the thing in. What shall I do??? I was in deep thought. If I put it in myself, it could implode...or explode...or...it might just work for once. If I wait for him to come out and do it for me, it could take HOURS! So I went the option of possible implosion.

I trembled with fear as I opened the cartridge door and pulled out the first cartridge and slid in the new one. But done in a flash! Okay, I thought. Not so bad. Hot diggity, I think I just changed a printer cartridge...ALL BY MYSELF!

However, when I began to print...Nothin'...Nada!

"HONEY!!!!!"

He came running out of the bathroom with his pants down. "Wha, what is it?"

"This...dad...gummed...printer...ISN'T...WORKING...GRR...*#$^#%&*#!#*#$"

Sensing my frustrations, he pulled out the printer cartridge just to check and see if I had put it in the correct way and found...

are you ready...

that piece of tape you're supposed to remove from the back side that keeps it from drying out!

Yup! That's right! I'm an idiot! A humble idiot!

Such Helpful Friends You Are

Thank you for all the wonderful emails about posting videos. What great friends I have!!!!

But I guess I should have been more specific...how do I get the video OFF OF THE CAMCORDER and onto the computer screen??? Like a special cable that plugs into the computer or do I have to burn it to a DVD first???

And how do I get JUST the part of the camcorder tape I want on that video rather than the WHOLE tape?

I'm pretty sure I can figure it out once I get it ON blogger or youtube, but it's actually getting it on there that confuses me to pieces!!!

Okay, let the help session resume!

Uncharted Territory

This may seem like a dumb question to some of you technological whipper snappers, but HELP! The one area of uncharted territory I have yet to conquer in the area of technology is with streaming video. And it can't be rocket science because everyone's doing it. Please save me from doing the research b/c quite frankly, I don't have time! I want to put a video from my camcorder onto youtube or blogger video. How would I go about that? I want to put last night's video of my preschool handbell choir (which Lexi was in) on my blog so y'all can see what a hoot it was!

And if it's like most areas of technology, there's probably a gazillion ways to accomplish this one thing, so everyone who does this, please post how you go about it.

Thanks!!!!

Texas Tree/"Mommy, Watch This"/Pray For Me Tomorrow...

My two lil' cowgirls, helping us decorate the tree! That cowboy hat is now our tree topper and YES, we did say the pledge to the Texas flags as we put them on the tree!

A mixture of total goodness...is what describes this post.

1. Hear ye hear ye...my tree is decorated! After standing bare in my living room for the past week, it has finally been adorned with total "Texas-ness". The first year we were married, Cary and I walked into a chick-fil-a one Saturday morning for breakfast and their tree totally spoke to us. Not really. But I thought it heard it scream, "YOU NEED A TREE LIKE ME IN YOUR HOUSE!" It had red bandanas, rafia bows, chili peppers, and a cowboy hat on top. We immediately decided we wanted to have a Texas tree. So we went to Hobby Lobby and it must have been fate because all of the ornaments were 50% off and there were a ton of Texas ornaments. We also bought some Texas bluebonnets, yellow roses of Texas, some small Texas flags, and some red bandanas. And for the past 7 years, we've had a Texas tree, the ornaments growing in number each year. Oh yes, we have armadillos, cowbells, boots, chili pepper stars, lots of Aggie ornaments, rafia bows, and our cowboy hat on top with a pair of cowboy boots underneath on top of the tree skirt. And who knew that one day we would be living outside of Texas, which just makes our tree all the more special! So we decorated the tree while listening to Country Christmas music. You know, had to stick with the theme!

I know you can't tell, but there are red lights on it. I guess my flash made them disappear. This tree sort of has a funny Charlie Brown kind of shape to it. Oh well! It really is cute. The pictures don't do it justice.

I spy a yellow rose of Texas, a cowboy hat, 3 bluebonnets, two raffia bows, a cactus, and armadillo, a chili pepper, and ??? I don't know what else I see.

2. Lexi's latest trick...she says, "Mommy, watch this" as she leaves the room in a huff angry about something. She wants to make sure I SEE HER WITH MY EYES as she shows her attitude about things. Here's an example. Ashton got the last container of yogurt because Lexi was busy chowing down on corn. And when she asked for yogurt and I explained it was all gone she said, "Mommy, watch this" and she stormed off to her room with her bottom lip poked out. Hillarious! Four going on fourteen!

3. PRAY FOR ME TOMORROW as my little 4, 5, and 6 year old hand bell players perform at church tomorrow night. LORD, HELP ME! I'm not asking for perfection. I just kind of want us to all get on the stage without dropping any bells, clanging them around, and I'd kind of like for them to stand with their legs TOGETHER and for no one to stick out their tongues as they play...ALL OF WHICH have happened in our rehearsals! In reality I know that no matter what happens, they're so darn cute that it doesn't really matter! But (near) perfection sure would be nice.

So Did I Tell You About My Neighbor...

God love him! Shortly after moving to town, Cary and I noticed that every Tuesday night, our neighbor's front yard turns into a parking lot and his back yard turns into a Bingo hall! Complete with a Johnny Cash impersonator. Every week. Johnny Cash. I know what you're thinking. I thought he was dead too. But not so. He is alive and well in Central Florida. He even has a TOUR BUS! Which is also parked in the front yard. Yes, it's a LOVELY neighborhood. Oh, I almost forgot the hot tub. So picture this. 20 or so very elderly people, drinking God only knows what, sitting in the hot tub, listening to Johnny Cash and playing Bingo. Sounds like a good time. On Tuesday nights we go to bed listening to "I fell in to a burning ring of fire...B14, I 3...and I go down down down in a ring of fire, a ring of fire...N42...G7...." I'm really not kidding. Because you know, it woulnd't be a set up without a microphone.

I keep waiting for my Tuesday night invitation and after almost a year, I'm starting to feel ...well...a little snubbed. But I shouldn't complain, I mean he did give us our very own copy of "Johnny's" latest CD. Let me clarify, the FAKE Johnny has a CD of himself singing like the REAL Johnny. Is that legal?

So anyways, my neighbor, probably about 70ish, who always wears a button down country boy shirt with the sleeves cut off, you know, to show his muscles, apparently REALLY LOVES CHRISTMAS! He started putting out his Christmas lights the week after Thanksgiving. I guess that would be last week huh? It feels like forever ago. He started on Monday and each day I would think, "Okay surely he's done now." But each day, he would work from sun up to sun down. He promised he'd be done by Saturday. Saturday came and went. He's been putting things on his lawn for almost TWO WEEKS straight! And the results? Very interesting. Dancing polar bears with penguins (complete with "the clapper...clap on...clap off...the clapper" which makes them dance). Lights. Santa with 4 reindeer. Not sure what happened to the other 4. Lights. A nativity in front of a "fire place". Santa on a trailer. Candy canes. Did I mention lights?

So Cary went over today to "talk smack" and let him know that when we finally get around to taking down the scarecrow, he just better watch out, cause you know, we're gonna show him up! (Right!) Okay, are you ready for this....Are you sitting down??? His last house...BURNED TO THE GROUND because of the Christmas lights display! That was 5 years ago and his wife almost DIED with 3rd degree burns! This is the 1st year that they have done the lights again.

I should post pictures huh? All in favor of pictures?

Deep Fried Balls of Heaven

So show of hands, who has had the Sonic cheesecake bites? I like to call them my lil' deep fried balls of Heaven! They have made their 2nd annual appearance at Sonic and I, for one, couldn't be happier! They defy the laws of gravity, you know? How do you FRY A CHEESECAKE??? I don't really know, nor do I care, as long as I can have some occassionally. And here's a tip. Last year, they served them with rasberry dipping sauce (TO DIE FOR) and this year they are serving them with caramel...GAGARONI! SO...I bought my own dipping sauce. Yes, I did! Some would call this an illness. I just like to call it a very wise southern women who loves her some deep fried balls of Heaven!

To steal a line from my favorite TV show, King of Queens, "If eatin' this is bad, I don't wanna be right!"

Speaking of yumminess, has anyone seen that commercial for...um....actually I have no idea what the commercial is advertising, but it says something like, "Tis the season to throw the food pyramid out the window" and it shows this lady sticking her whole face in one of those chocolate fountain fondue pots? HILLARIOUS!

Holiness

Or should I say HOLEYNESS...If you're really excited about the pastor's wife FINALLY posting a spiritually related blog, I'm sorry to disappoint. This has nothing to do with anything spiritual, except for how Heavenly a good pair of granny panties can be!

Back up, YES, I WEAR GRANNY PANTIES! Okay? And I LOVE them! They're SO comfortable. It all started with my first pregnancy and I just never looked back. I never knew such comfort existed. You should try them. Really! (And for the record, my husband thinks they're sexy!) You watch, one day someone will tell Victoria this secret!

Okay, so onto "holeyness". Over the years, usually around, oh, December 25th, Santa makes his annual trip to the good ol' vanity fair outlet in order to add to my granny panty collection and I say "add to" because I can't ever seem to throw any of them away. I just ADD TO the panty drawer. Granted, 3/4 of them are hanging on BY A THREAD, but you see, by having, say, 14 pairs, one does not have to do nearly as much laundry. You catch my drift??? And I bathe twice a day (because cleanliness is next to Godliness), so you do the math!

Well, we now have an "issue" in this household because my dearly beloved has taken it upon himself to DISPOSE of my holey panties. He INSISTED on doing the laundry this weekend, and who am I to argue with such a plea, so I sat on the couch and watched football, all the while he was going through my panties, with alterier motives I have now discovered! And today when I went through the garbage dumpster (LONG STORY, I was in search of something else) I noticed there were over HALF of my panties IN THE DUMPSTER!!!!

Now, this has posed a serious threat to my standard of living, I tell you. Do you know what this means? It's cataclismic in nature! I NOW HAVE TO DO LAUNDRY! Like every day!

So Santa, dear Santa, PLEASE, I beg of you, bring me some new granny panties! And put Cary on your naughty list!

Eat, Sleep, Dream...

Mission accomplished! I have officially succeeded in brainwashing my 4 yr old to eat, sleep, and now dream TEXAS A&M!

This morning when Lexi woke up, she came running into the living room and shouted, "Mommy, Mommy, I had a dream!"

"Oh yeah? What about?" I was secretly hoping this was a prophetic dream that I would get skinny, get a house cleaning robot for Christmas, or even better that the Aggies would win a national championship in my lifetime!

"I was on the Aggies! I played basketball. And I was 4 just like I am now. And I couldn't reach the basket, so this big tall Aggie guy lifted me up on his shoulders so I could make the basket and we won the game!"

"WOW!" (This was even better than being skinny!)

And as I swelled with Aggie pride and wiped the tears from my eyes I said, "You make Momma so proud baby!"

Bah Humbug!

This is my absolute LEAST favorite time of the year for so many reasons. Christmas kind of makes me nautious, I hate it so much! And don't even try to preach to me about the importance of Jesus's birthday. I get that part! And celebrating His birth is the only thing that truly give me joy about this season.


In honor of my 200th post, I shall post 20 things I hate about Christmas...


1. Christmas music! GAG! And it's on every station.

2. Christmas shopping! I hate crowds. I hate the lines. I hate the parking lots. I hate how it's so hot in the stores because of all the extra bodies. I hate Christmas shopping!

3. Undecorating the house so I can decorate for Christmas only to undecorate before Jan 1 and redecorate everything back to normal.

4. Christmas trees! What a mess! And for those that hate the paganistic beliefs of Halloween, I hate to break it to you, but you do know the Christmas tree has its origins as a pagan ritual? Uh huh...they usesd to hang dead bodies on the trees!

5. What does getting everything I want on my wish list have to do with Jesus's birthday? Honestly?

6. It's JESUS'S birthday, yet why do we give gifts to everyone BUT Him?

7. As a kid, I always hated the family gatherings on Christmas. Some members of my family are a little "rough" and it always resulted in yelling, fighting, and people commenting on my extreme shyness which I hated. I just wanted to be invisible in the corner of the living room! Which is why I HATE it when people make comments on my kids being shy...JUST LET THEM BE!

8. The dreaded chore of putting away all those Christmas gifts after opening them on Christmas morning.

9. Nothing is open on Christmas day! So you're stuck in the house all day!

10. All the holiday parties! UGH! Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for those willing to open their homes, but I come home feeling so defeated by my less than perfect decorations!

11. Baking! I'm so NOT a cook!

12. Christmas crafts....I'd rather stick needles in my eyes!

13. STRESS! The stress of spending money, the stress of making all those Christmas cards on time, the stress of getting it all done! Hate it!

14. Pretending to be merry and jolly and "gay" despite the fact that there are still real issues in your life.

15. My father was killed in a car accident 3 days before Christmas in 1983. So I guess I always have that negative association with Christmas. For so many people, this time of the year is about sadness. Sadness because they have loved ones serving in the armed forces overseas, sadness because of the loss of a loved one, sadness because of financial despair. I guess I feel their pain.

16. Eggnog! Who really drinks that stuff except my friend Audra, who makes "special" eggnog with a little added ingredient.

17. All those sentimental, sad, sappy Christmas movies.

19. Snowmen! Everywhere! It's 80 freakin' degrees people!

20. Red and Green...together! I can't think of two more UNCOMPLIMENTARY colors!

And finally a bonus, 'cause I couldn't stop at just 20:
21. People who are offended by the words "Merry Christmas" and want everyone to say "Happy Holidays" instead. PLEASE! CHRISTmas is about CHRIST and if you don't get that then you shouldn't celebrate Christmas! I guarantee you that "Happy Holidays" offends me WAY more than "Merry Christmas" offends them!

22. Hold on to your Santa hats...I'm about to address a controversial subject in the Christian church. And this may seem totally contradictory to #1-21, but for my children's sake I will address it. The whole issue of whether or not to do the "Santa" thing. I know I know...the commericialism and Santa take away from the TRUE meaning of Christmas. But honestly, I think you can do both and still place more emphasis on the birth of Christ, which is what we do in our house and is what our parents did with us. Lexi knows Christmas is about Jesus's birthday and it's about giving. But she also gets so excited about Santa and the reindeer just like I did as a kid. Why take that away from her? It won't take her long before she realizes that Santa's handwriting looks just like Mommy's. I'm all in favor of letting them enjoy it while they can. I' ve had lots of conversations lately with friends here in FL that don't do the Santa thing and personally, I think that's sad for their kids. That's my opinion, for what it's worth. (Not much I'm sure!) Just today I was explaining to Lexi that Santa helps us celebrate Jesus's birthday by giving presents to children all over the world. But still her favorite parts of Christmas are acting out the real Christmas story and the birthday party for Jesus and singing "Away in the Manger" and "Go Tell It On the Mountain". So don't tell me she doesn't get what Christmas is all about (even though we do Santa!)

On the other hand, I'm not really happy about a man in a red suit taking credit for my purchases!

I Wish I Could Be a Teeny Tiny Kitty Cat...

Today as we were eating lunch I could tell Lexi's wheels were turning as she stared at the window sill next to her. Finally, she said, "I wish I could be a teeny tiny kitty cat so I could fit in that window." Pause pause pause..."And then mabye Mr. Baloo and I could be friends." (That's our cat.)

And speaking of lunch...may I confess...I had pizza for the 4th DAY IN A ROW! On purpose! I can't stop. Is there a P.E.A? (Pizza eaters anonymous) If not, there should be.

And how'bout them COWBOYS?!!! 11 and 1 BABY!

Speaking of cowboys, I need 2 little wee sized Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader outfits. Anyone??? Ideas??? With the tall white boots. Gotta have the boots. And the white cowgirl hats. Gotta have the hats. My little dress up queen wants to dress up like a cheerleader. And I can't for the life of me figure out how she even knows what a cheerleader is 'cause you know we don't have those in Aggieland! Must be watching too much Disney channel.

Wordless Wednesday...sorta

You may have to click on these pictures to enlarge them. The middle one is hillarious!!!

The Wait Is Over...

Due to my expertise and supreme wisdom in the area of Aggie and college football, I know you're JUST DYING to know my thoughts on the new Aggie coach hired yesterday.

And when you've picked yourselves up off the floor and stopped laughing at that statement, feel free to read on.

The moment all you Aggie fans have been waiting for...thoughts on the future of Aggie football, presented to you by THE TEXAS AGGIE IN FLORIDA! (You know, one of these days those idiots on College Gameday at ESPN will call me and invite me to be on the show. They need me. Really, they do!)

So, a week ago, I was CRINGING at the mere thought of A&M hiring Tommy Tubberville from Auburn or Mike Sherman, former Green Bay Packers coach and Offensive Coordinator of the Houston Texans. Mainly because to me, they both seemed too much like Fran. Old school, set in their ways, conservative play calling perhaps, probably close to retirement. I had it in my mind that A&M needed a young, up and coming coach with a FIRE to build a football dynasty.

However, yesterday Dollar Bill, as we like to call him in Aggieland (athletic director Bill Byrne) hired the coach I feared the most, Mike Sherman. But it did not take me long to completely change my viewpoint, and I am now TOTALLY completely head over heels IN LOVE with our new coach and I have nothing but total optimism and anxious excitement about what the future holds in Aggie football.

For starters, Sherman is only 52, not 65 like I was thinking. I guess he just looks older. So he does have a good 10-15 good coaching years left in him, maybe more. I mean look at Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno, coaching in their 70's. That's plenty of time to build a program. Furthermore, I was sincerely touched by his statements in the press conference yesterday. I think he was totally genuine about saying the Texas A&M job is a dream come true for him. I like the idea that he has coached in Aggieland for 7 years in the past, so he's aware of our very unique culture and tradition and fan base. And I defintely heard the fire in his voice that I was looking for in a coach. I like it that he didn't want to make statements about his offense and defense style for A&M without evaluating the personnel on the field. He wants to build a style that works well with our talent and skill base in the beginning. I think that is CRUCIAL for success.

We have THE BEST Athletic Director in the country. He has a knack for finding great coaches and Fran was not his choice. He may have hired him, but he wasn't his choice, I promise. Look at every single Aggie sport where Byrne has made changes. We're championship caliber, top ranked, winning the Big 12 in every single sport except football. And now, that will change too. I promise! Byrne hand picked Sherman and I have total faith in Byrne. He's a genius.

I love the fact that Sherman is SO highly respected among players, coaches, and the media in the coaching profession. I think he will bring instant credibility and positive media attention to A&M football. He has achieved success in the college ranks as well as in the NFL. What recruit wouldn't want to play for a guy who has coached in a Super Bowl? Coached Brett Favre, at that! He has a reputation for building stellar staffs. There are coaches all over the country that respect him so much, they will want to follow him to Aggieland to coach on his staff and he will only hire the best of the best. I'm truly certain of that, without a doubt!

Byrne stated in the press conference that for almost a year, he has been receiving calls from NFL players, coaches, and others who were saying, "If you ever want to make a change in the footballl coach, you'd be crazy to not consider Mike Sherman." And I think Sherman is a man of integrity. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so respected. But he stated yesterday that he is going to work even harder at his current job as the Texans OC because he doesn't ever want anyone to think of him as a lame duck coach.

I am so excited y'all! You have no idea!!! I have this feeling that Mike Sherman is the man that will take us ALL THE WAY! And I've never felt that way about any other coach. I don't care what they are saying on the forum sites and in the papers, we got a good one! He even lowered his own salary to 1.8 mil a year so that they could put more into paying support staff because he wanted to get the best in the business and to do that, you have to pay big bucks. That tells me he's serious about one thing...WINNING!

I'm smiling in my sleep over this one. Mark my words. We will win at least 9-10 games next year and will be Big 12 champs within 3 years. We have enough talent already to win big games. I know some may not believe that, but we do. If you don't believe that after Friday's game, you're crazy. Coach Sherman will utilize our talent in the right way and I guarantee our talent base will increase in the coming years with this guy.

And I leave you with a quote from our new Aggie coach from yesterday's press conference:
Sherman compared Green Bay and Aggieland – two tight-knit communities in love with tradition and pigskin. Sherman said that keeping Aggies happy is about the same as keeping “Cheeseheads” in Green Bay happy – it’s “in your gut” to try and do so because they’re both so passionate about football. "I believe in this university,” he said. “I believe in it from the ‘Hullabaloo Caneck Caneck’ to (Aggie) Muster to Elephant Walk to the Aggie ring. Everything about this university I believe in, and there’s so much beyond football. “Football is a part of it, it’s not ‘it.’ This university is bigger than football, and there are many facets to it that make it so special. My understanding of that will help me be a better coach.”

In Byrne we trust. In Sherman we trust. Rest easy Ags!

Check Me Out...

I've totally impressed myself (which isn't hard these days) by tackling and conquering the world of BLOGGER.com . Learning all the ins and outs and tricks to jazzing up blogs has become my new hobby. I gave my friend Jessica at http://phamilyof6.blogspot.com/ a bloggity makeover. She allowed me several weeks of trial and error and lots of learning to figure all this stuff out. SO...if anyone else would like a bloggity makeover I would be happy to do so. I would like to do a few more for free, yes I said FREE, and then when I get really good at it, start charging a minimal fee for my time. Although it will be a fraction of what the "real" professionals charge, because I'm not a "real" professional. But a fun way to make some $$$ doing something I love to do nonetheless. If you're interested, email me at hmjaggie@yahoo.com or just leave a comment below with your email address and I'll give you da hook-up! I can add a neato header done with my digital scrapbooking kits, and add a fun background to match with sidebar hearders too. Still trying to figure out how to make 3 column templates, but I'm getting there!

And I know you're all DYING to know what I think about the new A&M coaching hire. Because you sincerely care what I have to say (yeah right). Well, I shall address that issue...tomorrow!

Things I Said To My Husband While Driving Through Louisiana...

If you read my post a few days ago called "I'm Home" you know how I really feel about the state of Louisiana. I mean does anything good ever come out of that place? Let's see... there's Brittany Spears, cajun food (GAG), cajun people and their crazy accents, The New Orleans Saints (sorry honey), Ellen Degeneres, The Waterboy, LSU Tiger fans (you think I'm crazy???) Nope, pretty sure nothing good comes out of there! I meant it when I said, "That state is about 6 hours too big!"

So I thought it would be funny to recall some of the things I REALLY did say as we were driving through. This is no lie...

1. Why are there 2 pick up trucks on top of that mobile home?

2. Is that hat lighting up?

3. Sammy Kershaw for state senate??? As in THE Sammy Kershaw, country singer who sings that song, "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer"????

4. Did I read that sign correctly...there's a casino IN THE GAS STATION???

5. Did I read that sign correctly...they sell DAIQUIRIS IN THE GAS STATION???

6. Did I read that sign correctly...Cajun Bakery, Cafe, and DAIQUIRIS???

7. Did I read that sign correctly...DRIVE THRU DAIQUIRIS???

8. Did I read that sign correctly...Sandy's Groceries and Daiquiris?

9. So let me get this straight...cajun people have a love affair with their daiquiris I'm guessing? I never knew this!

10. Did I read that sign correctly...I-10 is CLOSED??? Till December 4th??? (Yup...you read it right. The 60 miles from Baton Rouge to Lafeyette is CLOSED...fun times that made for! Gas line explosion.)

11. Was the Wayne Newton sign supposed to attract me to the casino?

12. And perhaps the most perplexing thing I saw were lots and lots of pick up tricks appearing to be either GOING or COMING from the deer leases which isn't an abnormal thing...but what was attached to their trucks is what struck me as funny, which explains this question I asked (repeatedly)..."Is it just me or does that look like a FEMA trailer on the back of that pick up?" (We saw that MORE than once!)

In Case You Missed It...

TEXAS A&M: 38

#13Texas: 30

And in case you missed it last year:

Texas A&M: 12

Texas: 7

WHOOP!!!

And YES...I was there!

GOD IS GOOD!

Pilgrims and Indian Princesses

Last week we had a Thanksgiving celebration at the girls' school. Ashton was the cutest little thing in her pilgrim hat. She stood on the stage and just looked adorable while picking her nose. Lexi was an Indian Princess. And apparently the princess loved bling because she had on a pearl and multi colored sparkly necklace, which she played with the entire performance...rather than singing. Oh well, this is a big improvement over last year's fetal position on stage under the podium and being carried off by her teacher kicking and screaming.
Ashton was SO cute in her pilgrim hat, I couldn't toss it when we got home. Instead I wrote her a note on the paper hat for her to read in 20 years about how precious she looked that day in her pink shirt and leopard print shoes standing on stage with her classmates.

Lexi is 3rd from the end, there she is swinging her necklaces. Made me so proud!

Big bite for a little princess. (If you click on the picture you can see it larger...check out those pretty purple fingernails. That was a treat for doing #2 on the potty!)

Happy Turkey Day!

We have so much to be thankful for this year, as we do every year. Well, except for one thing..the Aggies 6-5 record! I thought it would be fun to ask each member of the family what they're thankful for this year and post it here. Here is what they said:

Heather:
I'm thankful for my family and many many friends, and my health. I'm thankful for hot baths, coca-cola, M&M's, malls, bling, Sonic drinks, hair coloring, flip flops, mouthwash, pedicures, a husband that cooks and cleans toilets, computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and I'm VERY thankful that they have Texas Roadhouse restaurants in Florida! I'm thankful to be in Texas right this second. And I'm VERY thankful that God allowed me to be a FIGHTIN' TEXAS AGGIE!

Lexi:
I'm thankful for my toys, my teddy bears, baby dolls, chewing gum, ice cream, Granny, Ashton, my computer, my "new bed from the garage sale", Jesus, my new clothes, I'm thankful I'm gonna grow up, mommy, a computer mouse, my balls (?????),all my toys at Granny's house, Kamryn L., Allison H., "and now mommy, let's pray for God." All of this is straight from her mouth to the computer screen by the way!

Ashton:
Uhhh-uhhhhh (that means NO, which is her response to everything these days!)
Then Daddy asked her and she said, "me (meaning herself), Daddy, Mommy, Candice, and kitty." She didn't mention Lexi!

Cary:
I'm thankful for my wife, family, friends, football, indoor plumbing, turkey and pumpkin pie.

I'm Home!!!!

After the 20 longest hours of my life, I'M HOME! If you followed my whole flying/driving dilemma a few weeks ago, you probably remember that we opted to drive. WHAT WERE WE THINKING????? If I ever present such a contemplation again, someone just slap me! No, I'm only half kidding. (Is contemplation a word???) We did get to see my in-laws which was WONDERFUL. And I'm not just saying that because they read my blog. They really are so sweet and genuine and very Southuhn, which I just love cause I love me some good ol' southuhn folks y'all. We had a really nice visit with them. But the final leg of the journey, from Mobile to somewhere between Houston and San Antonio was 12 hours of insanity. I wasted, I mean spent, 6 hours of my day in Louisiana. And my Momma taught me if I had nothing nice to say then just don't say anything at all. So I won't. That state is about 6 hours too big! Oops, there I went saying something not so nice. Sorry Momma! Cary and I made up a joke as we were driving through LA...here it goes...why is Louisiana so big? Cause it's the double wide state! Ba-da-bing! Okay, that was just wrong. Sorry! If you've ever been dumb enough to take French, oops, I mean if you know any French, here's a fun game to play as you drive through Louisiana...pronounce all the names of the towns the correct, you know, "French", way. Then find out the REAL Lousianian (is that a word?) way to pronounce them and see how WAY OFF you are! We played that game today. And seriously I say, "dumb enough to take French" because what Texan really needs to know French? Honestly? What was I thinking taking French? Should any foreign language other than Spanish really be offered in the state of Texas??? (On the other hand, maybe they SHOULD offer French in Louisiana schools though, you know, so they can learn the correct pronunciations of the towns they live in!)

But BABY when we crossed that state line into Texas...Ahhhh...home sweet home! It's good to be home. I have missed it so much, my heart hurts. So I have just a few days to get my fill of Tex-mex and everything else Texas, INCLUDING AGGIE FOOTBALL! I'll be at the A&M/Texas game on Friday. Should be a massacre, but I'll be there nonetheless to support my team! ( I mean, WE'LL be massacred, not THEM!)

And now...for some cute pics taken the last few days...

The girls LOVE DadaG...in case you're wondering...his name is RON, doesn't even start with a G! LONG STORY!

During a temporary loss of sanity, Cary thought it would be a GREAT idea to buy the girls some oreo cookies...to eat...IN THE CAR! Ashton fell asleep halfway through her bag, hence the choco face! And that's her hand behind her neck. How do you fall asleep in this position I'd like to know!

Yummy cuteness!

Gobble Gobble

Seriously, have you seen a cuter turkey???

This fruity-licious bird is made out of a honey dew body, with cheese and grapes on skewers and yellow, orange and red bell peppers as the tail feathers. The head is a bosq(sp?) pear, the feet are red bell peppers cut out like bird toes. Cute huh?

And on the cupcakes below, the tail feathers are strips of fruit by the foot. They wrapped it around a tooth pick and cut in the shape of feathers. Then two dots of white icing and black gel for the eyes.

So cute!

Oh, but wait...I have seen cuter turkeys!!!!

These photos were taken 2 years ago. Granny HANDMADE these costumes using a pattern out of the Martha Stewart Baby magazine. I had actually saved the pattern from BEFORE I EVEN HAD KIDS because I saw it one Fall and thought it was so stinkin cute! (I know what you're thinking...why was I reading a "baby" magazine before I had kids...I don't really know. I guess it's kind of like looking at bride magazines when you're 13! Dreamy!!! Boy, was I delusional!)

Cutie-licious! Mmmmmmm, I could eat them up!!!!!

OH MY STARS!!!! Have you ever seen anything cuter than that????

Gobble Gobble!

Check it out...

Santa really does read my blog! Read Santa's comment under the "Dear Santa" post....WWWHHHOOOOOOPPP! (That was a great big Aggie whoop in case you couldn't tell!)

And now other funny stuff...

This morning at 7 a.m. Lexi wanted Daddy to play tea party with her. I don't know about you, but I'm not usually in a "partying" mood at 7 a.m. Anyhow, Daddy was sitting on the potty and he kept yelling through the door, "I'll play tea party as soon as I'm done going potty." A few minutes later I heard Lexi at the bathroom door say, "Daddy, it smells like you're all done. Can you play tea party now?" Heeeheeee!

And a few hours later...Daddy lost his voice yesterday. He's had a cold for about a week now and it seems as though it has turned into an upper respiratory infection, just in time for our trip of course! But here's the conversation that took place about Daddy's voice.

Lexi: Daddy, what happened to your voice?

Daddy: I don't know, can you find it for me?

Lexi: I think it's in your tummy.

Daddy: No I don't think so. I think it's lost. Can you find it?

Lexi: I think the ants got it. I'll go get it back from them. (I think she's watched that ANTZ movie too many times!)

She walked into the kitchen, where we really do have ants, and bent over and pretended to have a struggle with something imaginary on the floor. Then walked over to Daddy and said, "Here's your voice!"

If only it were that simple!

10 Things I Love About My Family

1. My husband is a GREAT cook!
2. Lexi is so tenderhearted and compassionate. Today, when I was trying to explain that Mommy was sick and needed to lay down (I really am, I wasn't just looking for an excuse to sleep) Lexi went to the refrigerator and got me a bottle of water, got a package of crackers out of the pantry and brought it all to me. Then stood over me on the couch and said, "Now I'm going to talk to Jesus for you Mommy and ask him to make you all better." (And in case your wheels are turning...NO I'M NOT PREGNANT! I think I may have the flu!!!!)
3. Ashton is such a cuddle bug. She has sat in my lap before for an ENTIRE college football game. She'd rather snuggle with me than to play.
4. My children are becoming very independent lately. HALLELUJAH! They both dress themselves (well Ashton tries, bless her heart). They bathe themselves, wash their own hair, Lexi can change diapers and dry her own hair, she's STILL poopooing on the potty (glory to God) and the last 2 days Lexi has buckled both girls into their carseats while I packed the diaper bag. Can I get an amen? You have no idea how happy this makes me. And I'm not the slightest bit remorseful that I no longer have a baby in the house! Praise God for big girls!!!!
5. I love it that my husband is my best friend and we adore one another, even after 2 kids, financial catastrophes, 7 years of marriage, and the fact that he made me leave Texas (booohoooohoooo).
6. I love Lexi's sense of humor and creativity.
7. Ashton is a girl of many faces...all of which make me laugh. And that teeny tiny naked butt streakin' through the house before bath time....so stinkin' cute!!!!!
8. I love it that Lexi sings about Jesus 24 hours a day! She makes up her own praise and worship songs and sings them at the top of her lungs everywhere we go. Our little evangelist.
9. Oh, my dog, I can't believe I forgot about Candice till #9! I LOVE MY DOG! I love it that she wags her tail when she sees me even if I only left the room to go potty. There is just no other love like it! My sweet fur baby!!!!
10. And the best thing about my family...surely you knew you would see the words, "Aggie or Texas A&M" somewhere in this post right? I love it that my family is just as excited as I am about going to the Aggie games or watching them on T.V. I love it that Cary gets just as excited and mad as I do about Aggie sports. And the girls talk about AGGIES all the time! And sing the Aggie War Hymn in the car on the way to everywhere.

Dear Santa:

Please slide down my chimney with one of these! Oh wait. We don't have chimneys in Florida! Please bring me one of these. I would like a pink laptop. Dell and Sony both have them in pink. I'm not picky. Expcept that I want pink and 2 GB memory with at least 120 mh hard drive and Windows Vista and an added software package available at Best Buy...it's a combo pack of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 with Adobe Premier 4.0. I would also like Microsoft Publisher, but only if you know someone with a CD who would let me borrow it. Please don't spend an extra $169 for it. (Yes, I know that's sort of illegal but rest easy I think Microsoft has gotten enough of your money over the years, don't you?) Oh and what good is this cute computer with my ugly old black carrying bag? I would like a cute bag to transport it in, maybe pink or something polka dotted or florally. My friend, Kristi, says they have cute ones at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section. And my new cell phone...which was FREE that I got last week...it's pink too!

Thank you Santa! I look forward to your arrival!!!

A Peaceful Afternoon Outting...

YEAH RIGHT! Does such a thing really exist when you're with toddlers? A daily question often lingers in my head...to leave the house or to not leave the house...with my children of course. Because you see, I can either go through the excrutiating effort of herding them into the tub, ironing clothes, combing out tangled hair while the child screams, find a way to bathe and dress myself with child or children hanging from my legs, manage to find everyone's socks and shoes, pack the diaper bag which usually involves disposing of rotten bananas or green beans and stinky day old juice...that has leaked...coral the children into the car while taking dog out to potty, threaten them with every inch of their lives to GET IN THEIR SEATS so I can buckle them in, then turn up the A/C in the car full blast because at this point I am sweating profusely the little amount of makeup I managed to get on my face, all to get somewhere and growl and snarl at them the entire time because by golly, they're going to behave! Oh and let's not forget, in the amount of time it has taken to get everyone bathed and dressed and out of the house, it's time to eat yet another meal! So then you have to ponder the question of, so do we stay home and eat lunch and THEN leave, or do I get them out of the house while they're dressed and fresh and in a good mood and eat on the road? It's all so complicated. Which is why I don't usually go anywhere unless I have to. And on the days that I do have to be somewhere in the mornings, I don't ever want to go home because who would want to waste a nice bath with ironed clothes and freshly groomed children? I mean, if it's already done, let's make the most of the effort that went into it!

On the other hand, staying home and never leaving the house also results in a very frazzled mommy because I end up cleaning the same 1500 sq feet over and over and over again repeatedly! So I have the choice of getting the children out of the house, which I'm quite certain is the equivalent of training for a marathon and mommy being frazzled and on edge by the time it's all over, or staying home cleaning the house non-stop and mommy being frazzled and on edge by the time it's all over....hmmmm....

So today, I chose the outting. It started out to be not so bad. We made it out of the house by noon. ish. I opted for the lunch on the road scenario. I took the girls to get their hair cut and we grabbed a quick bite to eat. Then I was planning to make a pit stop at the house to go potty and head to Walmart. But Lexi announced that she had to go potty too. And when we all came in to go potty, I somehow knew it would take an act of God to get us all back into the car again! And it did! THREE HOURS LATER, we were finally back on the road and headed to Walmart, list in hand. And let's just say that trip to Walmart just might have landed me on the news. Let's see, Ashton slid herself into the bottom shelf in the home decor isle. Lexi tried to pilfer some Polly Pockets in her pocket, where else? Elmo shelf liner thought he was coming home with me. Not sure who put THAT in the basket! And I'm pretty sure I said 100 times or more, "WHAT PART OF 'HOLD ON TO THE BASKET' DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND????!!!!!"

But then, some divine intervention occured y'all! Sweet Jesus of Heaven and Earth! I was walking past a display of Betty Crocker Sweet Potato Casserole in a box and one magically fell off the top row and into my basket. Well, actually it wasn't magical. It was Ashton. She knocked over something on the bottom shelf, which in turn caused a chain reaction, thus one landing into my basket. Call it what you will, IT WAS FATE! "Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17. And I'm quite sure a member of my family in a Tennessee cemetary is doing somersaults in their grave right this very second at the mere thought of "sweet potato casserole in a box".

Oh well. The perfect ending to a not so perfect outting!

If Fat = Old and I'm not old, then I'm ????

Oh, the mind of a 4 yr old! I will never quite understand it! But the teacher in me is liking her reasoning skills. Here's a conversation I had with Lexi today....

Lexi: Mommy, I want to tell you a secret. Nanny and Mimi are kind of old cause they are the same size.

Me: Oh, yeah? (Nanny is my grandmother, Mimi is Cary's mom) You think so? What about Granny? Is she old? (Granny is my mom).

Lexi: Yes, she's old too cause she's fat like Nanny and Mimi. (Interesting what a 4 yr old thinks of as fat, because they're far from fat!)

Me: What about me? Am I old? (At this point I've concluded that fat = old in her mind and since she tells me I'm fat every day, I'm QUITE certain she's going to say I'm old!)

Lexi: No, mommy, you're not old at all.

(I'm flabbergasted! Totally taken aback. YEA! I'm not old...which means.....I'm not....fat???? Hmmm. Puzzling. But I like her thinking!)

Lexi: You're not old, you're new.

Me: I'm NEW??? You mean young?

Lexi: I SAID NEW! Not young!

Me: Oh. How bout Daddy? Is he new? And what about Dada G (Cary's dad)?

Lexi: Yup, they're new too. They're not old.

Me: (thinking silently) So you mean I'm in the "not fat" and new category? Wow, this is a first!

Who wouldn't love the logic of a 4 yr old!

Her Royal Hiney-ess...

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Now presenting to you

Her Majesty

Queen of Nomorediaperland

Queen Alexis

Her Royal Hiney-ess ASSumed the throne

(sorry, couldn't resist)

at 2:00 p.m. today as she bravely conquered her enemy,

fear of doing #2 on the royal throne.

Okay I'll cut the cheesy royalty business, but this was a BIG, monumental day in our home. And I know when she's 16, she's going to hate me for blogging about this, but it's a BIG FREAKIN DEAL....you have NO idea! Lexi has been wearing panties since she was barely 2, but at the age of 4 1/2 would still NOT do #2 on the potty to save her life, until today. It was an accident, actually, but then she went back 2 more times throughout the day and did more...can I get a GLORY? Thank you Jesus! Trust me, we've tried every form of bribery known to man from flip flops in every color, "holes" in the ears, seeing Shamu, you name it we've done it. We've even talked to Jesus on the potty and asked him to "help us get the poopoo out." We've refused to give her a diaper, but that didn't work as she would just hold it for a week then poop in her sleep! I kept hearing doctors and psychiatrists on T.V. and on the radio say, "Don't worry, they won't start kindergarten wearing a diaper," and I would think...REALLY? Are you sure about that??? 'Cause we start kindgergarten in less than a year! So we had yet another "poopoo party" today. We've done this before, can you tell? This is not the first time she's been successful, but it usually fades after a day or two. So time will tell! Is it really possible that we might actually have FINALLY ended the diaper era with one of our children? Is it possible that I may finally have ONE fully potty trained child? Does it count if I'm setting my alarm clock and waking her up 2-3 times per night to go teetee? When does that end??? Cause if I were a fan of getting up during the night I would have another baby. But I'm not. Thus no baby. Momma needs sleep. Uninterrupted sleep. But as much as I hate getting up all during the night, I hate changing sheets even more. So the madness will continue.