Evian Baby Video

Click here to see the Evian Baby Video that is all the rage now.  Funny stuff!

Weekly Recap

O got a new do.  He kept trying to make his too straight, too long hair stand up.  So, when he went for a haircut on Friday he asked for something "messy".  This is what he got along with a $12 tub of "Wacky Wax" for styling.  I think it is cute however, I'm disappointed that she didn't texturize it a bit more.  While his hair is fine it is heavy and I think it needs some shorter strands to hold up the longer strands.  But, he likes it and it looks great on him.  Now he needs a few more minutes in the morning to style his hair.  

The weekend was busy with social events.  O and C went with M to the birthday party of one of her dance class buddies on Saturday afternoon.  Sounds like they had fun.  It was at one of those places that has a food buffet, lots of games, golf, go carts...  A kid's dream and an adult's nickel and dime nightmare.  It is fun to do occasionally though so I'm glad they all had a great time.  

I was busy working.  It was a busier week for me at work than it has been in a little while.  And coming right before the holidays, it was much appreciated.  I have the best clients in the world!

Saturday evening found us in Galveston doing our annual Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens.  This year the set up was much different because they only have power to half of their property.  It was a bit eerie walking amongst the twinkling lights of Christmas happiness while across the canal there was nothing but dark, hurricane damaged buildings.  While the displays they use are the same every year (last year they did some updates), it is still a fun time for only $4 per person.  It rained on us a bit this year but we stuck it out and enjoyed ourselves.

Sunday was another party day.  O and C took off for the b-day party of one of his baseball teammates (the only girl on the team).  M and I attended a performance of the Nutcracker put on by older students at her dance school.  Her teacher danced one of the lead roles and M's eye's sparkled watching her dance.  She wanted to go up on stage and dance with her.  She was happy to go and give her teacher a big hug after the performance and LL was so excited to see her.  I just sat there wondering if dance would continue to be an important part of our lives as M grows or if it will be replaced by other interests.  Will M be dancing one of the lead roles 15 years from now?  Hmmmm...stay tuned to find out!

I think most every other major event from last week was covered by earlier posts so no more news there.  I have my last classes of the semester tomorrow evening, a final on Wednesday, a final on Thursday and my last final next Tuesday the 23rd.  We leave for Rochester in 10 days (on Christmas Day) so next week will be filled with packing along with studying and final Christmas preparations.  This is O's last week of school before the holiday break.  His class party is on Thursday and he is out as of noon on Friday.

So, lots of stuff coming down the pike at us.  Have a great week everyone!

Kisses to all.

Things that made me smile recently...

After the kids spent Friday night with our wonderful neighbors, the Bs, M came back with some of AB's clothes and with her hair in piggytails.  She has worn this night shirt every night since then and won't let me wash it.  She loves her hair and loves to pose.  She looks a bit like AB too!

Do you recognize this pretty lady?  Yes, it is Julie Andrews with C in a photo taken about a year ago.  She was in town promoting her new book and I got C a VIP ticket to meet her and see her lecture.  He is a long time fan and was thrilled.

We finally finished decorating our taller tree this weekend.  M is in front of the smaller tree (now downstairs) in her photo above.  We actually didn't bicker too much!  Happy family, beautiful tree.

O teaching M how to run the train that loops around the base of the tree.  It is a bit touchy but she is getting it and enjoys playing with it as much as he does.  Dress from AB.

I love how Brody lays right in the middle of things all spread out to take up the most amount of room just so he can be included.  What a social dog he is.

The kids hanging ornaments.

O reading a story to Brody.  It is a story about a car race where the dog wins and the cat loses.  O thought Brody would like it since the dog wins the race!

M snoozing before dinner in more hand-me-downs from AB.  Yesterday she and I had a chat about her thumb sucking.  She thought that if we were to find very special band aids to put on her thumb so she would remember not to suck it then that might work.  We went to 2 stores and settled on Hello Kitty pink band aids.  Keep your fingers crossed that this helps her break the habit.  Especially when she is tired/sleeping.

That is enough for now.  I'm starving for lunch.  This cold front is making me want to eat all of the time to fatten up for winter!

Trying a Little Happiness

After my poor mood took over last week I was reminded how I am not the only one who deals with these issues and that I have really good friends who always check in on me.  My friend, Annie, also posted this study on her blog which reminded me that I need to keep focusing on the positive.  

I've known this for years.  Oprah suggested years ago that one should keep a happiness journal where you list at least 3 things every day that made you smile.  When the going gets tough you then have wonderful memories to look back on.  I tried it but I was not good at doing it every day and quit altogether.  Now that I have an electronic version of a journal that I share with friends and family, I think I will try to post about those things that make me happy on a more regular basis.

 So, here is me giving it a try to share some happiness.  I will still post my frustrations because that is how I work through things plus I get great feedback from my friends and family.  That helps keep us close and aware of what we are all dealing with in life.

One thing that helped me get through last week was crying a lot over this story that I found on Da Momma blog.  It is such a touching story and reminds me how we can overcome anything when we surround ourselves with wonderful people.  Challenges come to all of us in many different forms.  While it is ok to take a moment and feel sorry for yourself during these times, there is a time when you need to pick yourself up with the help of family and friends and move on.  Thanks for the reminder, Nie Nie and godspeed.  By the way, the crock pot cake recipe came from her sister, Courtney's blog.  Also very inspiring.  Just the distraction as well as the lesson that I needed last week.

I'm going to start a new post for photos because I've gotten this far and haven't uploaded them yet.  Even though people tell me I can move the photos around once they are on my compose post I still cannot do it.  Maybe it is a Mac thing?  One thing's for sure, my computer is so much smarter than me.  So, I'll just start over.