Christmases past...

2003
When Jacob was my one and only:



2004


Looks like they're having fun, right?

What's new?

Well, nothing.
I spent way too much freaking money on Christmas yesterday. WAY too much, as in I was having a panic attack when I added it all up. Oh well, what can you do? Take it back? Nah. We just won't eat for the week.
Cotton called home last night, and Jacob answered the phone. (if you have called my house recently, you know that Jacob ALWAYS answers the phone) so it rings and Jacob says "Hewwo? Hi Daddy. We got you a new fishing pole!"
I run screaming across the room "NOOOOOO!" But when I grabbed the phone, Cotton was busting a gut, laughing so hard.
So, later- while I was freaking about being broke- he said "I can't be mad at you, you bought me a fishing pole." Guess I know the way to my man's heart.

What else...? I got the Christmas cards done! They are addressed and waiting for stamps. The problem is, I probably can't afford 50 stamps! Lol! I'll manage somehow. The picture is okay. I couldn't manage to get the dog and the kids to cooperate, so Toby got left out. When I got them in yesterday, I realized that Lucy had pulled out her super cute hair bows. So... I made Toby a C-mas bandana, and Lucy "snowman" hair clips for pretty much nothing.

I also got back the big family portraits. They turned out better than expected, I think. Good enough that I had to buy the extras the lab sent. I'll post them in a little bit.

We also have a couple of new additions to the family. There anmes are Boots and Dora, and they aren't what you're expecting. Pics to come, I'll have to wait until they wake up. :o)

Well I survived...

Barely. I have come to the realization that cooking thanksgiving should be a 2 person job. Minimum. Man I am so so so tired.
Dinner was pretty good. The turkey was excellent. The dressing/stuffing was kinda concrete-y, but dad liked it. Lol.
I ate about 3 lbs of green bean casserole. I never even cared for GBC until a couple of years ago, then suddenly it became my favorite holiday staple. Very wierd. Of course, I never really liked it until I made my own, so that could be the difference. I am always the one to make it now. :o)
I am ready to put the little folks to bed, and let my head hit the pillow. They have different ideas, of course.

Guess I should blog...

I have such a hard time keeping up these days.
Thanksgiving is at my house tomorrow. The turkey is in the brine, my pies were delivered this evening (NO- I am not making pies. I scammed them off of the mother in law, I have enough to cook already!). The house is fairly clean, I'll finish that later. All of the ingredients for everything else are lined up on the kitchen counter. When I wake up tomorrow morning- I will settle into work mode.
What else... I have bought 1 of Jacob's 2 huge Christmas presents- his train table- and a couple of holiday edition trains to go with it. :-D We are having a hard time hunting down the exact 4 wheeler for him. Cotton won't "settle" for a different one. Lucy's DORA 4 wheeler is secure in layaway until I absolutely have to bring it home. Those things are hard to hide! Now I have to think of something else "big" for my princess. Hmm... I'm considering an Elmo that knows her name. The only thing is, I can get lots of talking Elmo's for less than $40. They just wouldn't say her name.

We went round 1 with Christmas portraits. The entire family, including brother in law and his wife and girls, were supposed to attend this shoot. Instead, it was just Jacob and Lucy. Oh well- I got a couple of good shots. We are rescheduled for round 2 next week. Fun fun fun.

I still haven't taken the picture for Christmas cards. I have to coordinate Cotton being here to handle the dog with a somewhat overcast day- so that i can get the PERFECT picture! Wish me luck.

Confession: I already ate 1/4 of the chocolate cake. Is that bad? As long as my family gets pumpkin and pecan they should be happy, right? I deserve a little treat for doing all of this by myself! A little chocolate pie, and then the coconut cream one later sounds about fair. :o)

The pics won't load for some reason- so I'll put them on later.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

SENTANCES and POTTYING!

How could I forget to post about my BIG girl!
She has peed in the potty a bunch of times, and hates to wear a diaper. I am hitting a roadblock though, because Cotton keeps diapering her and putting her in 1 piece outfits that she can't get out of. He cannot stand for her to run around nakie! That is how we got Jacob potty trained! AArrgh!
So the other night she was pulling at diaper off, yelling "Po-eee," so I took her. After 2 rounds of the "itsy bitsy spider" she POOPED! Oh my God! I was happy dancing all over the house. she is SO ready for this- but her momma just doesn't know how to help her.

This morning we were sitting at the table eating breakfast with Daddy. Lucy asks "Jacob?" Jacob is asleep honey. "Jacob (blah, blah, blah) night night?" Yes, he is night night. "Jacob (mooga, mooga) Waffles?" Jacob can eat waffles when he wakes up. then she lifts her fork up and waves it in Daddy's face, and declares "SPOON!" Lol. Close, Baby girl.

Last night Jacob was crying in his room after getting in trouble, and Lucy kept going to his door and listening. Then she would come back to me and ask "Jacob okay, Momma?" So sweet!

Okay, I realize that for some- a 2 word sentance that contains an unintelligible word is not a big deal, but WOW! Not to mention all the new words she is coming up with every day. I am blown away. :o) My little baby is growing up on me. Talking is the one thing she has kind of dragged her feet on, and now she is starting to really do it!

Thank goodness she still needs to be cuddled to sleep, or my poor heart would be breaking. My babies are growing up so fast!

I know, I am boring lately...

More boring than usual. I have not had anything to write about.
We went to the pumpkin patch one last time- got some GREAT pictures of Jacob. Finally!
As I was showing them to Cotton, he says "you do know we have 2 kids, right?" Ummm... does he not realize how many pictures I take of the baby? Lol. Trust me, honey, she is well represented and documented on film.
I got some new photo editing software, and have been playong with it a bit- feeling my way around. Some masterpieces are soon to come! I have been playing with collages, what fun! I made a couple, but now I wonder how to print them. They are 8.5 X 11. I don't know if I can get photos that size- and resizing them is not proving very helpful. Anywaaaaay... we'll see.

All together now- Awwww!

I need some baby aspirin for this fever I've got... BABY FEVER! My sweet little niece Kelsie is a month old (yes, already!), and I got my hands (and my camera) on her today.

PSA

Please wear protective eyewear when trimming your toddler's toenails.
One of the little buggers flew under my eyelid, and it was so tiny that I could barely see it (with my injured eye) to dig it out.

Rest assured- after a quick surgery with a q-tip, I am in only a small amount of pain, and my vision is as good as MY vision gets! ;o)

once again we have pumpkin pics...

Grandma and Grandpa spent the weekend with us, and we finally ventured out to the big orange pumpkin farm:

The family...


Papa and Papoo...


Me and the Tish...


Train ride...


Does this thing have a weight limit?


Smile and wave, son...


Singing to one of the Pa's...



Not so itsy-bitsy...


What is that smell?



Kicking back with a couple of cold ones...


And my favorite picture of the day:

Hand over the candy, and no one gets hurt!

Thursday was our first big halloween party! What fun!
It was great to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while. Lots of fun, lots of great food, lots of cuties in costume!

So we had Superman, a little witchy-poo, and I was playing the part of a "candy monster." ;o)


Another shot of my little cuties, all dressed up!


The girls- in costume!


And a big thank you to Kami, for this great shot of Jacob!

At last... the pumpkin pictures!

Happy Autumn, everyone!



Please ignore that jelly roll!



King of the Pumpkin Mountain



*the outfit!*



Awwww! Cute, aren't they? ;o)



"I like this pumpkin, Momma!"



Punkin's got hers!



"Okay, maybe this one is better..."



Okay, I think she's had enough... let's get outta here!

What a weekend!

Whew! Can we say hectic?
It is Monday night, and I am finally sitting down and thinking "Damn, I am TIRED!"
Cotton left for a fishing trip on Friday, only to have his truck break down 100+ miles from home. Saturday evening and even a little bit of Sunday morning (til about 12:30 AM) was spent picking up my dear hubby and bringing him home.
We did get a lot accomplished while he was gone! The kids are now the proud owners of MATCHING Christmas outfits. That's right, they will match for the Christmas cards. Call me dorky, I don't care. We won't even discuss how much that clothing store made off of this momma for those adorable matching duds! ;O)
We also made our way to Flower Mound, and visited the pumkin patch, with the Brooks girls.
Not only did I get a few good pictures of both kids, but I got great pictures of Lucy's bandana outfit! Yay!
You see, I paid more than I normally would for this outfit. It was handmade just for Miss Baby Lu (and therefore cannot be exchanged). Sadly and surprisingly, it just *barely* fits her skinny little behind- so we had to take pictures in it ASAP! Mission accomplished!
So- my darling angels spent about 8 or so hours in the car on Saturday... and they were ANGELS! I am so proud of them. What darling children I have- really! Very minimal squabbles and fits. Thanks, guys! Mommy loves you both!
Sunday we watched the Cowboys win in OT. Man, I cannot take all these nail biters. We had better go to the Bowl this year- I've earned it,All the fans have!
Thenwe had to go visit poor Grandpa in the hospital.
Hurry up and get well, would ya? I'm tired of worrying about you!
Lucy finally decided to call Gramma and Grandpa by their names, sort of. One of them is "Papa" and the other is "Papoo," not sure which is which. She's not sure yet, either. Lol! I don't think they really care, actually! ;o)

And now, the pictures aren't loading. Greeeaat. I'll work on it tomorrow. Like I said- I'm TIRED!

Potty training...

It feels like we just finished with Jacob, and now Lucy wants to learn. Training a 1 1/2 year old is uncharted waters for me. Jacob was like 2 3/4 before he started using the potty (and learned within just a couple of days, might I add!).
Lucy has this lovely new habit, though. She strips naked, and poops on the floor. The process takes 30 seconds from start to finish. Seems to me that she doesn't like to be dirty, and she knows when she's gotta go.
So we have been sitting her on the potty, and tonight she actually peed in it! After I whooped and hollered and clapped and danced around the bathroom, she didn't want to get off the pot! We sat there and talked, and called Daddy to brag, and brushed her teeth. She was off and on for about an hour, made just a couple more sprinkles, and then I dragged her kicking and screaming to put a diaper on for bed.
I am certainly not one to push her to potty train this early. I honestly don't care if I have to change her diapers for another 2 years. However, if Lucy is ready to make this step- I won't hold her back. We will keep on trying, and see what happens!
I'll keep you updated! ;o)
(By the way- yes, I took pictures. Of course. But I won't be posting them here, Lol!)

Hook 'em!

Not that I care about college football much. Well... at all, actually- but what kind of Texan would I be if I didn't root for the longhorns at least one day a year?



I think my little cheering squad had something to do with that victory, don't you?

Looking through old pictures...

and I found these. They were cute to begin with, but edited up they are gorgeous!
This is July 4th, 2004. My parents and the babies, Awwww....

Jealous much?

Last night Cotton got a phone call- his buddy had a ticket to Sunday's Cowboy game for him. Watching the Cowboys without me is practically infedelity in this marriage!

Tonight, another buddy calls with a ticket for the TX/OU game tomorrow!

Not only is he going to 2 great football games this weekend, he is weaseling out of the playgroup's family picnic on Sunday! I told him I will be on the lookout for a single daddy to hang out with.

Lucky Jerk. ;o)

"A complete breakfast..."

That is what Jacob had this morning. At least that's what he thinks!
He was "reading" the cereal box, and said "Momma, this is a complete breakfast!"
You just never know what will come out of his mouth these days!

How much am I loving this weather?

Almost as much as I love Lucy's pink fuzzy bear coat- Which it was cold enough to wear last night! Add a Cookie Monster toboggan and you get *ultimate cuteness*!!
Don't you just wanna smooch those rosy cheeks?




Last night, the thermometer said 63, but it was windy and COLD! I am so excited, fall has finally arrived!
I took the kiddos out to the park yesterday afternoon, dressed in warm-up suits, and we had to leave. Their poor little teeth were chattering! When we went out a couple of hours later to walk- we went well prepared. All of the little sweaters and boots are moved to the front of the closet. Hopefully the shorts and tank tops are gone for good- but this is Texas after all. My prediction is- we'll hit 90 again the middle of next week! ;o)

Visitors today....

Auntie Tish came to visit us from college. She got in a few good snuggles, long overdue.
She gets 2 Krispy Kremes for telling me that I was missing *2 spice girls!!* Scary Spice, and Ginger Spice. Although, Grandma did say Ginger Spice first, she failed to remember that there were actually 5 of them!
And now I can sleep at night... secure with my Spice Girl knowledge.

My 2 favorite brats:


Tish and Grampa and Grandma came over for dinner tonight. The kids had a blast, of course. Grandma looked pretty silly lying inside the tiny playhouse, but Lucy thought it was awesome! I wish I had gotten a picture of that, heehee! I had fun too, despite my exhaustion- after cleaning, shopping, and cooking all day. Whew! I also made a kick-booty chocolate cake. Yummmmm! Brooksy, I'll save ya a piece, it's even better than Costco's, I promise!

Our house- Where cheerios go to die...

That is not one, but 2 entire boxes of cereal on my living room floor. Oh my, and it was a lot of fun to clean up!
The best part, they did that in about 3 minutes. My children are so talented!