So I Was Just Thinking

I used to love watching Bill Cosby's " Kids Say the Darndest Things " since I am not old enough to have seen the original show hosted by Art Linkletter . That's not say I didn't see reruns and clips of the show on cable. Nevertheless, I got a kick out of hearing what these kids would say about things like love and the Easter Bunny. That was before I had kids. Now I cringe when I hear some of things that come out of my son's mouth. Most of them are things that my husband or I have let slip out of our mouths. (I have taught my kids at school that actions made in anger have unintended consequences, but I haven't mastered that concept myself yet.) The strangest things my son has ever said have come from his daycare. Glad to know my $350 a month is paying off. The first thing he came home saying was, "I'm going to tell my daddy on your butt" followed by his dialing a pretend cell phone and saying, "Hello, Daddy?" (Who says that?) He fin...

Many of you out in the world of Christmas toys might have had quite an evening with the "some assembly required." I didn't have any of that to worry about, but did have to wrap presents by myself since my husband is still away. It was all I could do to get the youngest to go to bed. I ended up going to bed with him and then debated with myself whether the presents really NEEDED to be wrapped in order for it to be Christmas. Rational heads prevailed and I dragged myself out of bed at 12 something in the morning worried the dog would wake up everyone. The next morning I woke up with the oldest and realized that Santa's goodies were still sitting by the fireplace. I tried to feed them to the dog who on any other occasion would have stolen them off the plate but, instead, snubbed her nose up at them as if to say, "I am not your garbage can." The oldest ended up running them out to the dumpster since my mother's words were echoing in my head, "You are no...

We had fun last night turning ice cream cones into Christmas trees. James probably put more frosting in his tummy than on the cone. Caitlin was very meticulous where she wanted here colored sugar. The results can be seen below: These are the two that went to Santa with bottled water. We always have to do things a little different around here. Especially when mommy forgot to buy milk. Christmas Day we opened presents at home and then went to Nanny's for a late lunch. After lunch, James passed out in the arm chair watching Sponge Bob Squarepants. Gramma gave Cait a new iPod Shuffle to replace the one that was stolen on the school bus. Cait was ecstatic! (Don't ask what she was doing bringing her iPod AND Nintendo DS (also stolen) on the bus. We still don't know. Gramma was a softy and replaced both of them! Gramma was excited to receive her Scrapblog book and calendar. Nanny (Aunt Rose) is looking spiffy in her favorite rose decorated outfit. We enjoyed our time together. I ...

How many of you out there have a favorite set of sheets? I do. They were a gift from my mother, and whenever I put them on my bed, I feel so comfortable and cozy. Around the same time, she also gave me one of those really squishy things you slip over the mattress to make it last longer and feel comfier. Well, I hadn't used them in a while because it seems since my husband has been away that whenever I do use them, my son causes some catastrophe to occur that I must immediately remove them. Yesterday, I finally decided that my son had been catastrophe free (no throwing up, no wetting the bed or spilling drinks.) So, I decided that, since it was so cold out, that I should put my favorite sheets and squishy thing on the bed. Man, it really made all the difference in the world. I slept until 7:45. Who would have thought something as simple as sheets and a mattress pad would change your sleep pattern? Even my son slept until 8:15. That, however, turned out to be a problem. 8:15 - "...

Yesterday, I opened up my front door to find a box of fudge, a box of expensive chocolates and this.... Isn't that cool? I had to hide it from my kids. Some of these are candies my friend Renee and I would get at the 7-Eleven when we were in junior high school. It was a weekly ritual. I have been trying to get her on the phone, but she has been mysteriously unavailable. If it's not her, I can't imagine who it could be. NOTE: I spoke to Renee, it wasn't her...that left my neighbor who has seen me chasing after my son as he ran away down the street. She knew how much I as in need of chocolate. Thanks "Neighbor."

Outside of my town I saw this sunset while leaving the babysitters house. There is a big issue about the deer population in our town. Personally, I don't mind them. Yes, I have lost a flat of flowers to a deer, but I figure we have built our houses on their homes. The least we can do is put up with a few chewed plants. There are people in town who encourage deer by feeding them (this is illegal). There is a plan in place to allow bow hunting of deer in town to limit the deer population. I disagree with this. Where else can you just be driving through your neighborhood and be able to see a family of deer hanging out in someone's front yard?

Click here to create your own video Well, I figured if we can't all be in the same place in real life, I would create a virtual family get together. The funny thing is James keeps saying, "Play it again." Then he waves at his daddy and laughs at how silly we are. He doesn't seem to tire of seeing it. So here's to James...Play it again.

The one thing people could say about me is that I have never met a stranger. I could immediately strike up a conversation with someone in an airport, queue, or conference without hesitation. My experience on the internet, by sheer nature of the beast, has had to be a little more conservative in my meeting of people. Nevertheless, I have "met" some interesting people through my interactions at Scrapblog and SIStv . Both places are positive sites designed to foster creativity and camaraderie among a diverse group of people. I enjoy going to these sites for inspiration but also for the interaction with people from all over the world. One of these people is Chimene whom I met on SIStv . Chimene's eye for detail, photographic style and creativity has led her to be one of my favorite scrapbook artists. She recently started a blog to display her work which can be seen at the Art of Dutch Vink . I only wish I had the time to try some of the many interesting techniques she uses ...

There have been several versions of The 12 Days of Christmas out there, but this one is my new favorite. It is a 1998 performance of an a capella group called "Straight No Chaser" (SNC) from Indiana University. I heard it on the radio yesterday and promised myself to look it up when I got home...I actually remembered, so here it is. (You might need to pause the Playlist in the sidebar.) Coincidentally, the kids and I went on our annual journey to Belton Lake where they have a display called Nature in Lights. Enjoy the pictures while you listen to SNC sing this untraditional version of an old Christmas standard. A Partridge in a Pear Tree Two Turtle Doves Three French Hens Four Calling Birds Five Golden Rings!!! Six Geese A-Laying Seven Swans A-SwimmingFive Golden Rings Eleven Maids A-Milking Nine Ladies Dancing 10 Lords A-Leaping Eleven Pipers Piping (Sorry for the blurry pic) Twelve Drummers Drumming It was worth the hour's traffic on a country road to listen to James o...

My favorite Christmas show came on today-"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown." There are so many reasons why I love this show. It's hard to pinpoint the main one. Growing up, we used to watch all of the holiday movies including the original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Santa Claus is coming to Town." The problem with all those movies is they scared me for some strange reason. The puppets in these movies and Grinch were just a little too creepy. "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown," however actually shared the true Christmas story of the birth Christ. I felt that this was one of the few times people actually heard the true meaning of Christmas outside of all of the commercial hype. Another reason I love this holiday special is the music. Lucy & Linus theme song featuring everyone dancing on stage hopping back and forth from left to right bobbing their heads accord...

Every now and then I write about those kind of days when you would should have stayed in bed. Thursday was one of those days. It was a typical Thursday where I had to pick up Caitlin from school and run her over to the dance studio. I called my mother to see if she could pick my son up so I didn't have to run back and forth between the studio, house and daycare. Unfortunately, she had made plans and couldn't do that for me, so I had to take James with me. After Caitlin's class, I went to dinner with the kids to pass the time until my dance class. Upon returning to the dance studio, Caitlin said that James was asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, I asked Caitlin to stay in the car with him until he woke up (usually only takes about 5 minutes.) Caitlin had a novel and the car radio to keep her company. I kept leaving the studio to check on them and James stayed asleep through the entire class. After my class, I went outside only to find I had run down the battery. You sh...

This may seem petty, but yesterday I went to get tea from my favorite restaurant...You know the one with the big giant billboard on the highway that says, "Tea, 46 cents!" Never mind that that the sign is falsely advertising cheap tea, since you can only get that price between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00. Nevertheless, I went to get my tea and not knowing whether they would be honoring their proclaimed price. The carhop said, "50 cents, please." I handed the him a dollar, and he quickly returned with my beverage but no change. I looked at him questioningly but said nothing, to which his reply was, "Oh, did you want your change?" I said, "Yes," and quickly took my 50 cents and left. Now, I know in the big scheme of things 50 cents is a mere pittance, and this young man probably only makes minimum wage. But isn't it rude to assume that I am going to give you a 100% tip for bringing out a glass of sugar water? Furthermore, what would be an ap...