Some Family Pictures...

Other than my owl eyes... I think the pictures are pretty good. And while Aunt Penny (and Justin) were very suspicious of my color scheme... it turned out okay.

I love this one of GQ.

These are just the first few... we'll see what else crops up.

The Big Guns

Sometimes, M has a mind of her own. You are surprised? No, I thought not.

Today, at Church, M - more than anything - wished to hang over the bench and bug the people behind us.

Justin tried to make her turn around.

I tried to make her turn around.

This was a tricky business since using force would only result in M's signature high-pitched scream.

Finally, I pulled out the big guns:

Or gun, as it were:

That's right.

"M, Samson wants you to turn around and sit down. If you don't I will call him and tell him you are not listening."

She obeyed immediately.

Why she is terrified of her 17 year old cousin is beyond me. Using this fact is most certainly not.

Family Photo Shoot & Christmas Cards

The high moment of our family photo shoot came at the very start...

... before one picture had been taken...


... a bird pooped in E's hair.

For real.

Luckily, it was brown poop.

We had another promising moment, right at the end...

... after all the pictures had been taken...

... I found broccoli in my teeth from lunch...

For real.

Luckily, my teeth are green? No, not really. Justin's comment: "Hopefully you didn't smile too big." Hmmmm.

******

In other news,

I apparently have no skills at counting.

I ran out of Christmas cards before I ran out of people to send them too.

If you are one of the sad people who miss out on pictures of our family this year... never fear...

... everything on the card is pretty much a reprint of what I post here...

... and if you don't read this blog...

too bad for you!

As for grandparents... your cards are coming with packages, and since I'm mailing them on Monday, you probably won't get them until after Christmas.

Sorry.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

After today....

.... we get Justin home for two weeks.

Except for all those pesky applications :)

E was so excited she screamed and woke the baby up this morning.

This Morning

M wakes up stinky.

Dad comes to the rescue and starts to change her diaper.

M yells emphatically: "No! Momma's turn."

Oh, to be the recipient of mother love.

And yes, she did insist I change it.

Do You Want to See Me In Print?

Too bad!

But my friend Bree's book is coming out next Tuesday- yep, that's one week from today:

"The Dark Divine" by Bree Despain

And I did read it a few times and comment, so maybe one of my words is in the book. But probably not. She's very talented on her own.

If you want to read a little, check it out here:

http://romantictimes.com/2009/11/dark-divine-sneak-peak.php


Be sure to get your own copy to read over Christmas break. Justin says instead of assuming that because two of my writer friends have agents, and two are published, I must statistically be the un-achiever, I should assume that statistically we are "clustering" and will all succeed. I think he made that up, but just in case: you should buy her book, so she can be on the New York Times Bestseller List, so that someday I can be too.

See how that logic worked?

Okay, I'm tired.

Go buy the book.

The Way The World Works

On Saturday, as I drove, I listened to NPR.

As usual, they were discussing President Obama - specifically his war speech at the peace prize meeting.

(Don't worry, I'm not REALLY getting into politics... I have NO DESIRE.)

Anyway, they were interviewing a professor who studied war and peace (not the novel) and they asked him a really intelligent question. It went something like this:

"Why can't the world ever move past war? Why can't we ever solve this problem and just all be nice to each other?"

Luckily, the professor was a good sport and didn't laugh hysterically. He said something like this:

"Well, because there are always those people in the world who want what someone else has and want to be in charge. They want it at no cost, and it's our responsibility to stop them."

I must say I agree with the dear fellow.

And I even have my own personal example to share. An example from my very own home!

*******
Flashback to this morning
*******

E: (Yelling from the top of the stairs... right next to the room her brother is sleeping in) "Mom, I NEED you. Mom, I NEED you. MOOOOOMMMMMM, I NEEEEEEED you.

At this time I was going to the bathroom.

Pretty soon, she came to the door. Since she was no longer right next to her sleeping brother's room, she decided she would now whisper.

E: mom, i need you.....

Mom: What? (Okay, I was snippy. But honestly, do I really want the baby to wake up?)

E: M has a dress I want. And I want it.

Mom: I am not going to get if for you.

E: But I want it.

Mom: I am not going to get if for you. (Then came the lecture on yelling from the top of the stairs, blah, blah, blah..... Mom's are soooo fun to listen to.)

E's reply????

E: Fine, I'll get it for myself.

A few moment later I hear M screaming.

I walked upstairs to investigate and found that E had backed M into a corner and was deliberately removing dress from M so she could have it.

I immediately gave a cease and desist order.

And since I am bigger, it worked.

Eventually, however, I had to put E in the ultimate time-out: she had to sit in the crib.... so humililating. At the door, I put on my meanest face.

Mom: And if you scream when I leave this room and wake up your brother you will be in "BIG" trouble.

(This is kind of like threatening Iran... what is "BIG" trouble? Especially when you've already hit the apex of time-out in our home???)

Luckily, she didn't sense my lack of further punishment, and she did not scream.

So... why do we still have war in the world?

Maybe we just need a bigger time-out crib?

More than half the clothes in this post belong to Libbi

This morning our family had an unofficial fashion show. Next week we are having our family pictures and I am trying to prepare.

Unfortunately (as Isaac says), finding cute clothes that match can be difficult.

Fortunately, I have my sister's closets to raid.

Unfortunately, I have no style.

Fortunately, you do.

So, my question is... does any of this work?????

I am doing two locations. One, outside in an orchard. I know I want E's gold dress and sweater here, with us all matching her somehow. Then, we are doing an inside shoot... because it's Winter and I'm crazy to try outside. This would be less fancy shmancy clothes. I like M's pink sweater set, but the purple one from Cousin A is too little for E. I like the brown sweater outfit of A on E, but I don't have a matching sweater for M and her black skirt (even I know the red does not work).

So, what do you think?

Please, solve my problems. I would appreciate it.

Which dress should M wear with E's gold one? The top one is also gold, but it is actually Cousin A's this year, and it doesn't quite fit. Justin doesn't think the blue works, but it's actually warm.... the other dress makes it all seem so monochromatic.

Bleh.

Can you tell we just got out of the tubby?

Wanted: My Mind Back

Yesterday, I went to the store.

I forgot my purse.

I went home and got my purse.

I went to the store again.

I forgot my wallet.

I ended up paying $3.08 with 300 pennies and one dime.

Don't ask why I had 300 pennies in the car.

Today I went to drop something off to Justin at school.

I forgot my phone.

So, I found a parking spot (miracle of miracles!), got all three children out of the car, took it inside myself, and went back home.

I found my phone in my coat pocket once I got home.

Sigh.

They say things come in threes. I am not looking forward to number three.

Cold

This morning, I ventured into the cold. They were giving H1N1 shots on campus, and though I don't quite believe that they work ("don't quite" being translated as "don't at all") I headed to the Wilk with Justin and our three little banshees.

(Speaking of banshees. This morning I needed to get them up and out of the house quite early. When did they wake up? E woke up at 7:20, and I had to wake the other two up. Wake them up. Are you serious? I'm sure they'll be up at 6:00 on Saturday to make up for their lapse.)

Moving on...

E and M had already got their doses, lucky little things. And GQ is too young to get his... hence my resignation to Justin and I braving sharp objects and doing our part to keep him healthy. (Justin thinks we already had the Swine flu. He's probably right. But I'm still crossing my t's and dotting my i's. It's a disorder I have.)

So, there we were... braving the cold. It was 8:00. We arrived on campus early to ensure that we found parking within the limit of a country mile. Lately they haven't been ticketing in the lots which means all those "undergraduates" (translation... "troublemakers") have been parking in the Graduate parking. We had about an hour before our appointment with pain, so I gathered up some bagels at the Twilight Zone and got the girls to eating.

Soon enough we noticed GQ was stinky. (GQ produces dirty diapers about once a week... so this was an event.) I gathered him up and headed to the restroom where I set to cleaning up his mess. In the process I offended the nose of some more of those undergraduates who gave me a look like, "Who's the crazy lady with the baby?"

Since we'd forgotten GQ's binky... excellent planning, folks... and since the campus bookstore doesn't sell binky's... Why, Why, I ask???... and since GQ was missing his normal morning nap... and since I had to wake him up besides... and since he didn't much like the cold... or his weekly dirty diaper...

he was screaming

More looks from passersby.

And I realized how odd I looked. Even on THIS campus, where children aren't so strange, I was braving frigid weather at 8:00 a.m. with three children, one of them screaming, and I looked 14. As usual.

Speaking of which, E does not quite believe me that girls go to school. Since I stay home, and Daddy goes, that seems odd to her. I pointed several girls out to her today. She still seemed unsure. She also doesn't believe that 12 is 12. She thinks it is 20. And she thinks a certain song she sings about Pocahontas discusses Pocahontas becoming a man (not her small son becoming a man) despite my best efforts to convince her otherwise.

But I am babbling.

My point is, my, what a way I have gone since I went their last. Funny what six years will do to you.

And while I spent two years in Vegas grieving the death of my schooling career... I find I am fine now...

...showing up on campus with three children, one of them screaming, and the other dangling her blanket in the snow.

I am fine that I am getting shots I don't believe in, in hopes that my four month old will stay healthy.

I am fine that it is Justin that has to freeze his ears off every day, wandering around campus, while I stay home and change dirty diapers in the comfort of my own home.

And I am fine, that it is now my job to teach E that 12 is 12, that Pocahontas did not become a man, and that girls do in fact go to school, and like it.

Because that is my job now.

And it is a good one.

Clocky

Okay, so I was going to post a link... but I am link stupid.

Last night when Justin got sick of learning (who needs learning??) he started looking at videos of stupid things online.

He found some videos of an alarm clock called "clocky."

Apparently when "clocky" goes off it jumps off your side-table and begins rolling around the room. Justin said he wished he could get one for his Grandma Duck who once hid alarm clocks in the suitcases of missionaries in her care.

This morning our own three versions of "clocky" came into our room.

Not only do they "jump from their resting places" and "run about the room making irritating noises" but they also break eyeglasses and demand to be fed.

But I don't think we are giving any of them away.

My Backyard

I am not a fan of my backyard.

Oh, there are good things about it.

1.) It exists.

2.) I don't have to mow any lawn.

3.) ..... hmmmm......

Mostly, my backyard is ugly.

In the summer I tried to help it out by planting flowers. But, as the entire space is covered by bricks and concrete... this proved difficult. I even tried pulling up a few bricks. Did I find dirt underneath? No. Just more concrete.

I planted seeds on the edges of the yard where the fence posts go down into dirt. Not such a fan of the weeds that grew from those seeds. Especially since they didn't flower until early OCTOBER, when I had stopped watering them in disgust.

My backyard is also crooked.

And this means that all the rainwater, dirt, sludge, and sundry sharp items (which M loves to find, of course) from all of our neighbors gutters comes to rest in the corner of my backyard. On particularly lovely days we have to jump over a pond to get to our garage. If the door's locked to the garage we have to jump and hang precariously on the lip of the door while unlocking it. They should have an event for that in the Olympics.

But today my friends, oh wonderful moment indeed, my backyard is beautiful.

I have been waiting for this day.

I pulled out all the weeds/plants and put them in the garbage.

I gathered up all the bikes and deflated balls and put them in the garage.

And then I waited.

This morning I looked out, and what did appear?

Snow!!!

White, clean, unbroken snow.

And while it's cold, and Justin has to shovel, and the roads are no fun at all....

My backyard is finally beautiful.

Thank goodness.

Christmas Fun

Caroling at Daddy's school with the rest of the MBA children.

M obviously wanted her picture taken.

Watching the live nativity downtown. If you look close you'll see GQ... he's in his sling, under Mom's coat.

They even had a petting zoo outside. This is a picture of a camel... and two very bundled girls.

GQ Grows... Some More

GQ gets one to two bottles a day now, which means big sister E can help. She really likes getting involved.

Having some cereal. M was never much of a fan, but GQ swallows it quick as a wink. Apparently he's hungry.

GQ loves bouncing in his chair, which makes for difficult eating, and he loves to see his Daddy.

7:00

My children wake up at 7:00.

On the dot.

Even GQ has joined the 7:00 am club.... although he's more like 6:58.....

This lovely Saturday morning, the crew infiltrated our room and began yelling like banshees as soon as possible. Or something like that.

Justin and I dove deeper under the covers, trying to pretend our way to a cruise ship. A cruise ship minus three children and plus lots of all you can eat buffets.

In the midst of our pretending, Justin heard a sinister sound.

A snap.

****

brief flashback

****

It was his last eye appointment before seven years of trashy insurance and negative income. He looked at the eyeglasses and chose a pair noted for it's strength. Titanium. The eye doctor bent the frames back and forth to show how difficult it would be to break them. TITANIUM, people.

Well, I'll tell you something, friends, Titanium has met its match:

****M****E****G*****

As of this morning Justin no longer owns a pair of Titanium eyeglasses.

At least not a whole pair.

That'll teach you to try to sleep past 7:00.

Miss Nelson is Missing

Remember that book?

I remember that book. It is a book I associate with my Aunt Becky's house.

Speaking of Aunt Becky's house... E went there last night with my cousin Laura. They were going on a date night to see "Molly Mouse's Sugarplum Debut." I think that's what it's called. Never mind the show is put on by the dance studio I work at. Oh well. I've never seen it myself. I man the classes back home while they pull off all that performing stuff. Moving on...

Speaking of Aunt Becky's house... E went there last night with my cousin Laura. Up for discussion? The fact that Mom (i.e. me) will not take out the Christmas toys.

Mean Mother!!!

E proceeded to explain - in full detail - that this was because she and M fight over the three Christmas toys I did get out ALL DAY LONG. And, additionally, that "It take two to make a fight."

I don't know if I like all my craziness being quoted during date night. It makes me feel like whoever replaced Miss Nelson went she went missing.

Crazy Mom!!! Won't get out the Christmas toys!!! Let's get a new mother !

(Actually there was a brief period when E insisted she wanted to go live at her Cousins A's house because I was M*E*A*N. I consoled myself with the memory of Isaac yelling "I hate mothers" at Libbi because she made him wear a seatbelt. Where's the love? Honestly.)

Anyway, feeling repentant I decided that I might ruin the next month of my life, for the heck of it, and get out the Christmas toys. As I pondered this idea E squirreled herself onto the top step and began yelling at M:

E: It's my doll. I had it FIIIIIRRRRSSSSTTTTT.

M replied with great creativity:

M: I FIIIIRRRSSSSTTTT.

Why try to dam a flooding stream?

Deepest Apologies...

... to everyone I infected with the plague.

Apparently we were not better, though I thought we were.

I am sorry.

Questions

Does anyone know why my Blog List is not refreshing regularly anymore?

Because it is really annoying.

Especially to Libbi :)

Fixed Video

GQ Update

A discourse on GQ... in no apparent order.



GQ's stylish shoes. Courtesy, yet again, of Aunt Em. M really loves these ones: "doggie, doggie."





Dad and GQ. I like this picture of Justin because he looks just like himself. When he's actually looking at the camera, his smile always looks forced. GQ loves his Daddy. It's actually quite irritating how he'll giggle and smile as soon as Daddy comes home. Seriously, who feeds the little boy!

Working on that head shape. Or not!!! Don't bug me about head shape, I tell you. Especially when I came in for a fever.

And some video for your viewing pleasure. Just mute my singing. Please!!!

Pumpkin Carving

We didn't actually carve pumpkins. Neither Justin or I is a big fan. E doesn't know that's something that can really happen. We're keeping her in the dark!

Up Until Now...

... I have been able to claim complete responsibility for GQ. Other than a few strands of DNA, he was mine all mine. I do gain weight my friends, I just gain it in a detached sort of way.

Anyway, last night I gave him 4 oz of formula. You would have thought I handed him Big Rock Candy Mountain. I guess that's a nightly tradition we'll be adding to our repertoire now.

Letting go... soon he'll be running on ahead with the older kids during trick or treating time.

While Justin is Watching Football...

... I will FINALLY catch up on Halloween. I am at my mom's, which means I can shamefully steal her pictures.

All the cousins on the porch at Libbi's. Olivia was a little too cool for us this year and I had to bribe her with holding GQ.



The princess witch. Aunt Libbi brought the make-up goods.



A little bit of a grumpy Raggedy Ann. Not such a fan of those cheeks.



In all her sparkling splendour... complete with the new witch hat that Grandma Becky found to replace the other one that was causing us such depression a few days ago.



Who needs to go trick or treating when there's a bag of candy sitting on the table? Notice that she's a little happier now?



Getting some goods... and losing a hair-bow. Guess L thought it was pretty. I didn't get any pictures of E trick or treating, she ran on ahead with the older girls. I was slightly traumatized, but was forced to get over it. Ah, motherhood.



"You mean we're supposed to walk back when we're done?"



Checking out the candy with cousin A.



What a night! The teddy bear decided to take a nap.

Invested?

Today I am making truffles.

We'll see how that turns out.

Anyway, while I was melting the chocolate, Justin called. I told him what I was doing. He asked if I planned on keeping any, or if they were all going somewhere else. I said he could have a few.

Then I said: "If they turn out."

Because, after all, this is me we're talking about.

"Oh," said Justin, "they'll work out."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"How do you know that?"

"Because when you make things with chocolate, they work out. I guess you're invested, so you actually read the directions."

Hmmm.

Interesting theory.

Parenting Methodology... M style

Mom/Dad: M, please do _____ .

M: NOOOOOOO!!!!

Mom/Dad: Fine, I will do it.

M: NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Apparently she likes sharing less than she likes being disobedient.

Thank goodness. It even works for nap-time.

(For E, we used to ask her if she would do something and if she said "no" we'd tell her to say "please" and then we'd "let" her do it. It worked every time. Yes, I manipulate. It's the only way to survive.)

Warning: Wanted

Whoever stole my good baby...

if you don't bring him back soon I will sic this screaming one on you!!

Be warned.

Slacker

Yes, this is a repeat.

I forgot my camera on Halloween.

Typical.

E was a witch. (A princess witch!!)
M was Raggedy Ann (She had a fit over leaving her red cheeks alone while they dried.)
And GQ was a bear. (He was going to be a football, but I forgot to buy masking tape. I don't think he really cared. Just a theory.)

I will try to get pictures from my mom's camera.

E said it was the most wonderful day of her whole life, until we made her share some toys with Cousin A, at which point she declared it was the most horrible day ever.

M just kept asking for food.

And GQ didn't really notice there was a holiday. (Just a theory.)

Now, we're on to Thanksgiving and the rest of Winter. Let's hope it doesn't snow again this week.

I am Evil!!!!

I posted that recipe WRONG!!!

That's what you get for thinking you memorized something after you've had three children.

Ann Lamott says every child comes out with 1/2 of your brain in their fist. She's right.

It is NOT 1/2 cup butter - it is 1/4 cup butter.

Please forgive me.

It's half a stick.

I'm a moron.

Coveting

Last night I got online to look for a snuggly blanket (small squares with different types of fabric to feel around the edges) for GQ. I still have some of his birthday money (thanks to all you Grandmas and Grandpas) and I thought he might prefer it to sucking on his burp-rags. For some reason, he really likes burp-rags. Anyway, I couldn't find what I wanted. They all had ribbon on the edges, but not different kinds of fabric to feel (I'll have to break into Kricket's house and steal her little boy's since that is the one I saw). Of course, then I started discovering other things. So, now I'm coveting them too.

The first is this necklace:


There are several ways to have the necklace, one with just initials which I like quite a bit. Still, since my kids initials: M, E, G spell M's name... I figured it might be considered favoritism.

Then there is this doll, which honestly looks like M. Holy mackeral! I wish I could buy it, but since my kids have too many toys for their own good, it's not worth it. That set me off on wishing I could throw out all my toys. I swear if they only had a few they would love them more. You know, like in Little House in the Big Woods where Laura finally gets a doll and she loves it forever and ever and ever. My girls get a doll, and pretty soon it's thrown in the bin with the rest of the lot. But toys show up at my house in every sort of way, and I don't think I'll have any luck getting rid of them. But I really want the doll.

And I like this one too, mostly because anything made like a teddy bear is very cute.

So, will posting about them help me get over the fact that I'm not buying them? Hopefully.

Necklace: http://www.thevintagepearl.blogspot.com/

Dolls: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6914812

When Jamie Goes Shopping

This (shopping) is a rare event in my life. Just yesterday I was discussing with Justin how I would buy new shoes if that were in our budget presently. He said I wouldn't, and finally, I was forced to agree. I don't really like shopping all that much.

But today I went looking for a specific item for GQ's Halloween Costume.

I accidentally came back with this:

Considering I've never bought him anything (thanks Em) I figured it was okay.

Meanwhile, in other news: Who is the genius who puts size small on the top shelf? Do they really think I can reach that high? And sure, there are some of those ultra-tall, and thin people about.... but I really think short people like me are more important.

It's Halloween

There are old audio tapes of my older siblings singing Halloween songs for my Grandma. It contains such goodies as Michael singing "I'm a witch, ch, ch. I'm a witch, ch, ch." There's a first time for everything. And a last.

Here is a new set of songs performed by E. I'm pretty sure we'll be getting more in the future from her, though. This is E we're talking about folks.

Molten Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe (and photo) on Pioneer Woman, courtesy of her Tasty Kitchen, courtesy of "Brandielle."

Honestly, Justin and I eat it weekly. It is part of my breastfeeding, eat as much as you can in order not to wither away regime. I plan on it being part of my eat this every week or life is not worth living regime.

Reasons for enjoying this recipe:

It is easy.

It is quick.

It has very few ingredients.

It has very few dishes.

It makes me happy.

This means I can decide to make it after the girls go to bed and it will be ready in under thirty minutes.

It goes like this:

(Yes, I have it memorized)

Preheat oven to 425.

Spray 2 custard cups with cooking spray.

Melt 2, 1 oz chocolate squares (semi-sweet) with 1/4 cup butter. (I do not post healthy recipes as a general rule).

Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

Mix in 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.

Add 3 T of flour.

Pour in cups.

Bake for 14 minutes.

Let sit.

Take knive around edge, turn upside down, and serve with whipped cream. (It can also be served with ice cream, but it is better with whipped cream. Even according to Justin, and he loves ice cream.)

Save dishes for following morning (but don't tell Aunt Penny).

The end.

I love this recipe. You should love it too.

Says E...

... to help GQ stop crying.

E: "G, why do your cheeks look like plump bananas?"

What a cute older sister!

Poison Control?

M just found some lipstick and ate it.

I don't even wear lipstick.

Hide and Seek

I have the distinct feeling that M has hidden her lunch somewhere in the kitchen. She ate none of it, and then, when E got her dessert, it was suddenly gone so that M could have dessert too.

I've looked in the garbage, but it's not there.

Where did she put it?

Am I going to smell it soon?

Does...

... anyone nearby who loves me have access to that movie editing software... I can't remember what it's called. Justin has to watch an edited Enron movie for school, and the viewing is scheduled at an irritating time.

Just hoping....

Off To A Great Start

So Far Today:

Justin had to be at school by 7:40.... sorry no lunch from me.

E has had an existential breakdown because her Halloween Costume apparently has the "wrong" hat.

E has had an existential breakdown because her Halloween Party comes after her nap.

E has had an existential breakdown because it seems like a fine thing to do.

M has grabbed from E the following items and run around the house followed by a screaming sister: hair-clip, blanket, sundry portions of the Halloween Costume (including the purportedly un-loved hat).

GQ has slept soundly until 6:00 before eating (woke up by Dad's alarm) and is now sleeping again.

I think he wins the prize.

The Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch. GQ obviously found it to be rip-roaring fun. The girls, on the other hand, loved it.

E was reunited with a friend from preschool last year. They ran around calling after each other:

EEEEEEE

KKKKKKK

EEEEEEE

KKKKKKK

What more could a girl want?

At home, posing with the pumpkins. E was a little disturbed to find out that M (a.k.a. Mom) had chosen a pumpkin bigger than hers.

In my class at ballet we learn first position as pumpkin pie. You hold a big pumpkin and turn your feet out like a pie. E wanted to try it for real.

M couldn't quite hold that big pumpkin Mommy picked out. She was also upset to find out that we were leaving it on the front porch. What good is a new toy on the front porch?

Anyone else see "Some Kind of Wonderful" here?

What a fun way to start the week!