That's Cheating!!!

Our neighbor is a contractor, and when we got home from the grocery store, this is what we saw! There are three people on that lift hanging the Christmas lights. I'm pretty sure that's against the rules!

Still a Little Boy at Heart

We put up our Christmas stuff this weekend. The prince decided this was the year he would set up his electric train under the tree. He worked for quite awhile to get the track to match the tree skirt. Eventually it all came together. He filled two of the cars with fake snow and little gifts and a small Santa! It's very cute. The only trouble seems to be that whenever we walk by it, the vibrations from our footsteps sent a car or two off the tracks! YIKES! I'm thinking the track is not too fond of the carpet--either that, or there's a lot of earthquake activity going on in trainland!

Black Friday Madness

I was up at 3:30 yesterday (couldn't sleep) and out the door at 5:30 to begin the shopping madness. I met 5 other women, and we had a great time shopping ALL DAY LONG! I had thought we'd just be out a few hours, but I didn't get home until 4:15. Though non of us had "must haves" on our lists, we managed to fill up a van with all our good stuff.

Because I know you care, our day looked like this:

6:00 AM--we all met at Applesbees (west end) and piled into one van.

First stop Walmart--Karen got a great parking spot. The 5am madness crowd was long gone, so it wasn't too bad. Lines were short when we left. I found something for each of the kids there.

Next stop was Bed, Bath, and Beyond--we all had coupons and they were giving more out here. I think most of us bought stuff FOR OURSELVES! I got a new paper towel holder, sink drain rack thingy, potato peeler, and a baster for my sister-in-law, who was in the market for one but wasn't going out. The prince also scored a little something here. The only negative here was when some of us were checked out and others were still in line, we were waiting patiently when a nice man with a tub of cookies walked up to us, offered a cookie to a lady near me, and then walked by the rest of us. HUH??? Did I look like I didn't need a cookie???

On to Target--the princess scored big in the Christmas bonanza here.

Next we headed to the mall--By now some of us were ready for breakfast/lunch/a break but on we charge! We stopped at Herbergers (got something for the king here), The Calendar Store (scored here too), Bath and Body Works, Zummies, and JCPenney (where I got GREAT deals on outfits for the 3 kids in the family we've adopted this Christmas.

Okay--time for LUNCH! Though Karen--our driver--hates Dos Machos, she graciously consented to lunch there since the rest of us wanted to go there. I don't know if 11:30 is too early for a margarita, but it felt right! So most of us had one! Our waitress brought us chips by the pound--yum, and we ate lunch. Now, in hindsight, the big lunch and margarita were a bad idea, since I'd been up since 3:30, but who knew before hand? I really needed a nap after that lunch!!! But we weren't done shopping!

Off to the Copper Colander we headed--I didn't need anything here.

Then we hit Kohls--the princess scored again. Lines were worse here than anywhere else we went yesterday. What's up with that? Maybe some portable cash registers next year...just a thought.

I really crashed for most of the "waiting in line" time at Kohls, but I did get a second wind about the time we finally reached the cashier. Good thing too because we were NOT DONE SHOPPING YET!!!

Next stop was Shopko: I bought a cute little sign to hang out front here, but no gifts for anyone.

Last stop was Costco: I bought some dish towels for my sister-in-lay that she had requested I pick up for her. Other than that, I didn't buy anything, but Costco was giving out free cookbooks so I snagged one of those!

I'm pretty sure Karen would have kept shopping though there weren't many places we hadn't been by now. The rest of us were DONE, so she let us go!!! I do thank her for driving us all over the west end and for being such a good sport about Dos Machos.

Note to self: Go again next year but skip the margarita at lunch!

There's Been a Jesus Sighting

After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner yesterday we sat around discussing various topics. One of the topics was vision. The princess is certain she needs glasses. I'm not convinced. She went and put her father's glasses on while we visited. No one was paying any attention to her, and there were probably 3 different conversations going on, when all of a sudden, above all our voices, we heard her say, "I CAN SEE JESUS!"


My, oh my! She was focused on the picture of Jesus we have hanging in our dining area. At least I think she was. Maybe she really did see Jesus! Or maybe I'd better take her to the eye doctor!

One more thing, I finally have a full smile--braces and all--but it wasn't intentional, and I'm sure it'll never happen again. I caught her mid-laugh! But she looks so cute!

Do you love her bangs? I cut them myself, and I think they're about PERFECT, but she thinks they are WAY TOO SHORT. Twelve-year-olds BUG me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had the queen mum, Duke and Duchess of Guckenland, and Princess Jacqueline over for dinner. The duchess won a round of dominoes. Much feasting and merriment was had. Left-overs tomorrow too. We had the royal photographer (you know, the timer on the digital camera) snap a group photos. Gotta love that!

Happy Thanksgiving to One and All!

Flowers

We gave the princess flowers after her dance performance last Saturday.

Her current favorite color is purple--I know, very girly, but she's been in a purple phase for many months now. It must be hormones.

Anyway, the flower people did a great job of putting every kind of purple flower available this time of year in this part of the country into this bouquet. You can't tell it in the photos, but they really did. That's why I posted the second photo--it's better of the flowers--sort of.

And did you check out that first photo? She's almost smiling!!!

Hangin' Lights

While the prince's TWIRP date was busy having highlights put in her hair, getting her nails done, and getting her makeup done, the prince was busy helping his father hang Christmas lights. It's his job to get up on the roof, and he must not mind this job, because he never complains. Our light display would be much less spectacular if he wasn't willing to climb up there because the king no longer likes to go up on the roof. We switched over the the new LED lights this year. I'm still trying to get used to them, but we're lookin' good!

Dance Performance!

The princess danced at a Holiday Food/Gift show this weekend. They do this venue every year, and every year our camera takes poor photos in this lighting. We might really and truly upgrade to a better camera someday, but by then she probably won't be dancing at this place anymore. Oh well.

The dance studio did such a cool holiday show this year. The kids all looked so good--most of them in black, silver, and red for most numbers. They always do this show and also a couple of nursing homes, but this year they will also dance at the mall on December 12. YIPPEE! The princess was in 4 dances. Here are a few photos. Not the best, but they'll have to do.

I tried to clean this photo up--which didn't work.

The princess is on the right. Love this dress.

It's probably the one she'll wear for her solo competition this year.

This is her competition group.

These photos are out of order.

This is actually the finale

and their ROCKIN' Kick Line.

It was really good.

This is a combination of the two highest

competition groups.

She stepped in 2 weeks ago to fill in for a girl

in this group that wasn't going to be in the show.

Too bad she has to give this dress back.

I love the flapper style!

This is her group she dances with her friends.

Her skirt is opposite of the other girls

because they only sent 9 instead of 10.

She'll have a red one eventually.

TWIRP

TWIRP: The Woman Is Required To Pay

The prince went with Braidyn (his friend since preschool) to TWIRP last night. When he told me her dress was red and yellow, I was concerned, but it turned out to be a beautiful dress. Her mom said she only got to have it cut that way because she and the prince are not dating! She looked great, but then so did he, smashing in fact. She and her parents (who used to be our neighbors when we lived in the "wood"--he taught the king how to tile the bathroom and laundry room) brought over some pizza, and we all feasted before they headed off to the dance.

They can't drive so were at the mercy of the Mom/Dad taxi. The dance went from 9-12, and they called about 11:30. I think her feet had had enough. He did learn the Macarena last night. How did he not learn that along the way? Even I know the Macarena!

The only other formal dance this year is Prom. Rumor has it freshman can't go unless they get asked by an upperclassman. We'll see...

As luck would have it, her corsage had tiny red beads in it, just like her dress. You can't tell that here, but it's true!

Whatcha doing this weekend?

Us...let's see...princess has dance rehearsal tonight.
Gotta pick up flowers Saturday morning for prince and princess.
Princess dances at a Holiday thing Saturday at 1:00.
The prince has his "date" coming over around 7:00 to hang out and play video games until they go to their formal dance at 9:00.
Pick prince up at midnight--that's really late for me.
Princess has a youth leadership conference Sunday from noon until about 6:00.

I believe I'll be driving the Mom-Taxi this weekend.

Lion Pride!

Our school mascot is the lion. In Middle School the kids are taught to show their Lion Pride, which means being respectful, following rules, working hard...

Each month the teachers nominate kids they think show those values. This month the princess earned the distinction. Though she and the other winners were recognized during lunch yesterday, and she did get a nice certificate, the best part--for her--was the $5 gift card to DAIRY QUEEN!!!

Here's what the teacher who nominated her said about her:

She is a good kid who is always on task. She has a great sense of humor that makes the school environment more enjoyable.

We've got some LION PRIDE for her!! Way to go princess!

Starting To Feel Like Noah!

Could we please get through more than 6 months without a flood of some type in our house? Apparently not. The toilet in the master bathroom flooded this afternoon--really I just peed and didn't use very much toilet paper. Good thing I was in my closet (it's big and I was changing clothes although I'm not opposed to hiding in there!!), and heard water dripping onto the floor. Otherwise it would have been much worse as I probably wouldn't have know for a long time. It covered the bathroom floor in pee water. Many towels later I had most of it mopped up. Then I had to scrub the floor to eliminate the pee water. I threw the towels in the bathtub and started washing those. I'm about 1/2 done getting those clean. After that I'll have to clean the bathtub. Pee water. How stupid! Hopefully the king will be fixing the toilet this evening (it's been "running" for long periods of time for a few weeks now), and I won't have to worry about such things for awhile.

Please, God, I've not the patience of Job nor the fortitude of Noah. I'm asking for a break from the water excesses...

I'm Gonna Be a STAR!

In case you haven't heard, Steven Tyler may or may not be leaving Aerosmith, and they may or may not be replacing him (they've got more drama in that band than the middle school does), so if he does leave (which seems to currently depend on whether or not he's stoned when he's being interviewed), then I'm totally going to audition to be his replacement. I can totally ROCK OUT "Dude Looks Like A Lady," and lucky for me, we have Aerosmith Rock Band for the Wii so I can practice a lot!!! Of course, that means no Christmas letter this year or gifts for the kids as I'll be too busy practicing, but don't worry, I'll hook you up with free tickets when I go on tour!

Lighter-wand-thingy Part 2

Yesterday the king was at Walmart buying those new LED Christmas lights because, "they will save us a fortune, they burn forever before losing a bulb, you can string 72 sets of lights together before they blow a circuit..." Once he gets a bee in his bonnet it is best just to tell him to go with it! And by the way, we don't use 72 strands of lights...only 6. FYI: if you're thinking about converting, the new strands are shorter so we'll need about 10 now.

Anyway...

While at Walmart, I asked him to pick up a lighter-wand-thingy to replace the missing, lost, misplaced, stolen one. I had seen a 2-pack there and mentioned that he not get that one as we really only need one. They last forever if they aren't missing as we use them so seldomly, and if there's a second one sitting around for a couple of years, I will forget where I put it before I need it so it's really a waste of money.

He came home with TWO! Not a 2 pack, but two individually packaged lighter-wand-thingys because, "they were only $1 each." GREAT!

So now I have 2 lighter-wand-thingys which means the original will now show up, and I'll have 3. Someone will be getting a nicely packaged lighter-wand-thingy for Christmas.

Now about lighting the carpet on fire, Mom. We were in the house by Rathman's. I guess I wasn't tired when you told me to go lie down so I was snooping. I lit the match but as soon as I did, I got scared and dropped it. It mildly singed the carpet on the side of the dresser. You probably never even saw it, but it scared the ca-ca out of me. I crawled right up on your bed and went to sleep after that!!! And so you see...most of the time I WAS an angel!! Most of the time...

Any Ideas???

On the princess' birthday, we lit the candles, and I put the lighter back in the drawer. I'm sure I did. A couple of days later I was looking for the lighter and could not find it. It wasn't in the drawer. It wasn't in some other drawer. It wasn't in the linen closet. It wasn't in the cupboards by the laundry machines. Huh? How does it just disappear?

Neither of the kids have seen it. The king hasn't seen it. It's not in the garage--I checked. WHERE IS IT?

The real problem is that it's the only lighter we have. We're not smokers. We don't even have matches in our house.

When I was a kid everyone smoked. Matches were everywhere. I know because when I was about 5 I was suppose to be taking a nap in my parents' bedroom and was snooping in drawers instead. I found some matches and lit the carpet on fire when I dropped the match I had just lit!

Back to my current drama. We don't even have a gas stove where I might get a little flame and transfer it. And in the winter I sometimes really NEED to light a candle to get rid of whatever stale odors linger.

So now I have to go buy another one of those lighter-wand-thingys because I CAN'T FIND MINE!!!!

Any ideas on where it might be hiding???

Valiant Effort

It was a valiant effort, but in the end, we lost our playoff game last night. Props to Helena on their 33rd win in a row! Better luck next year, boys. Oh but wait, basketball season is just around the corner! Yippee!

Jeremy

Whatever you do, don't name your kid "Jeremy." When he gets to middle school they will all call him "Germy", and he just might like it!

Happy Birthday Nellie!

Even though I NEVER call you Nellie, your brother always

refers to you that way, so Happy Birthday!

Hope you have a great year.

(Nellie's the person--not the horse!)

Thanks Grandpa and Rick!

We would like to thank the veterans in our family

for their service to our country.

You have our love and respect.

Bipolar

Today an 8th grader told me he was pretty sure he was bipolar.

I asked, "Why?"

He said, "Well, a little while ago I was really happy and then all of a sudden I wanted to punch someone."

"Let me ease you mind," I said, since I'm not a psychologist, but I did minor in it in college thus giving myself a false sense of ability and knowledge.

"You're not bipolar, but I do know what you are."

"What," he asked?

"You're an adolescent. Welcome to swinging hormones."

Don't worry. If I really thought the kid had a mental illness I'd be the first to tell someone...like maybe his mom...who works with me!

Seriously?

Could I find a blog template I like??? One that fits what's already there? Maybe it's time to quit blogging...

I'm 30!

I was at school the other days, and two 7th graders in my class were talking about how OLD one of their teachers is.

I said, "Boys, I think I'm older than she is. Watch what you say."

"No, you're a lot younger than her."

"No, really. I'm pretty sure I'm older than she is. How old do you think I am?"

One boy pipes up, "I think you're about 30."

I LOVE HIM!

And I love this new job! :)

Happy Birthday Mark!

Happy Birthday Mark!

Does your car insurance go down now that you're 15??

Have a great year!

Moving On To the Semis!

Skyview WINS!

28-14

We're on the road next weekend.

We'll play the #1 or #2 team in the state.

The prince was pretty excited because the students got to "storm the field" after the win!

Go Falcons!

We've got our first (hopefully we'll win) playoff game tonight!

GO FALCONS!

Christmas Decorating

The weather is suppose to be nice here this weekend, so we're thinking about hanging out outside Christmas lights. We won't turn them on yet, but at least we won't be putting them up in a blizzard. It's unfortunate that neither of our neighbors have theirs up yet, because if they were so inclined to "go all out" then we could be like the people in the house on the right of the photo!

Walmart and Target are all decorated for the holidays, and I've been seeing "Black Friday" ads on TV already.

Let the festivities begin!

Shave and a Haircut...

How much does a haircut cost? The prince was in GREAT need of one (see Pumpkin entry) so we headed off to our famous Emily for a "trim." There was a lot of hair on the ground, but other than the bangs not looking like a cap visor anymore, it was difficult to tell if he'd really had a cut. That was $14!


That evening he headed off to his friend's house (aka "Skunk Boy" in a previous entry) to spend the night and Trick-or-Treat, because apparently, if you wear your banana costume from last year, people will give you candy, even though you're 14 years old!!!

He had been contemplating letting SKUNKY give him a real haircut. The king told him, "I'll pay YOU $20 if you get a DECENT haircut."

The next morning he sent me this photo text!

And when he got home, his father paid him $20.

Apparently, a decent haircut costs $34!!!!

Happy Birthday Mariah!

This is our cool cousin, Mariah, recently at a fashion show!

Happy Birthday!

Pumpkins

The King thought that maybe he could get by with only doing one pumpkin this year, but the children were having none of that. They both NEEDED their OWN pumpkin! And we were lucky to get these early because there seemed to be something of a pumpkin-shortage this year. The princess was all about pumpkin seeds this year so we roasted up some of those too. Good times!

It's My Birthday, It's My Birthday

For her birthday this year, the princess had 5 friends over to trick-or-treat, eat pizza, and watch scary movies. It was a bonus that we set the clocks back that night which meant another hour of fun!

I refused to buy or make a cake (and she didn't care) since they would have POUNDS of candy!

The most-wished for IPod was the birthday gift hit!


Sunday we had the family over for a "real" cake!

This would be a great photo if Grandma didn't look stoned!

It was another fun birthday year!

We'll do it again in 364 days!

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

Isaiah doesn't stay in one spot long enough for a close-up.

Hope you have a zippity-do-dah day!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The "Bees in the Trees", the "Beezeeosity", "Jo-Jo", "Joe", "Jo-Jo Jumping Bean" is TWELVE today!!!!

Love you!