December Birthdays

Saturday night we celebrated December Birthdays.  We had smoked pork chops, home fries, corn and a yummy french baguette.  For dessert, I tried a new recipe for crock pot cake.  Chocolate cake and we put Redi Whip on top.  I also made sure I showed the kids how to shoot Redi Whip into their mouths.  I cannot have my sister show me up!  The cake was different and I'm not sure I like it.  Maybe I cooked it too long?  I may try it again but it really didn't taste as good as it looked and smelled.  Sorry to all of you December Birthday people for making such a lame cake! 

We had fun remembering:

cousin Ella S.

Chris B.

Laine B.

Kendra S.

cousin Sherry

cousin Karen

Grandpa Maynard (12/25/1909(?) - 7/31/91)

cousin Riley S.  (little sis to Ella above!) 

Happy Birthday!

Mother Nature is MEAN

So yesterday (Tuesday 12/9) was steamy.  It was one of those overcast days that always confuse me.  Up north, when the sky gets overcast the temp usually drops.  Not so here in Houston so I get confused.  I think it will be cool outside even though the temperature says otherwise.  Such was the case yesterday.

It was overcast and breezy with a high of around 80 degrees.  It was 70 degrees at 6 am Tuesday morning when I stepped out to walk Brody.  I was wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants.  Both of us were sweating by the time we returned home.  It was steamy like when you go into the bathroom about 20 minutes after someone has showered.  By the time I was headed to school (around 4:30 pm) my car says it was 82 when I left my house.  When I arrived at school (35 miles north and west) my car says it was 66.  It was incredibly windy--like, knock you over if you aren't careful windy.  By the time I got out of class at 10 pm it was 50 degrees.  

This morning at 6 am it was 34, rainy and very windy.  In my just-woke-up-daze I thought, how does that happen?  How can it be 70 degrees one morning and 34 the next??  Needless to say I went right back to bed.  The dog was ok with that once I let him out into the back yard to potty.  He didn't want to be outside either!  We curled up together for another hour of snoozing.

Mother Nature is just plain mean.

Fair Warning

Everyone should just steer clear of me this week.  

I am not a happy camper.  

I am PMSing like crazy plus I had to say goodbye to yet ANOTHER good friend who is moving away from Houston.  I mean, so many of my really close friends have moved from the area in the past few years.  These friends are like family to me, my support system.  How dare they leave me!!  Here is how I'm dealing with it all:  gorging on Halloween candy at all times of the day and night, sipping rum and coke at all times of the day and night just to cope (just so you know, NOT the best coping strategy), screaming and yelling at my kids, crying at stupid stuff...  It isn't pretty.  So, run and save yourself.  Don't make eye contact.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to be able to request a chemically induced coma when other's lives are in danger when coming into contact with me.  However, with all of my luck this week I'd probably die which would really piss me off.

See?  I just can't be happy this week.  Not a positive bone in my body.  Sorry if you happen to get caught in the deluge.   

Something to do

My parents and I visited the National Museum of Funeral History located here in Houston when we first moved here years ago.  It was fascinating.  We humans have such interesting ways of dealing with our dead.  Anyway, they are opening a new exhibit:  Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes 

Another visit might be in order...

After I see the latest Body Worlds Exhibit of course.  

What a morbid post.  

Renaissance Festival

We spent Friday doing one of my favorite yearly things:  attending the Texas Renaissance Festival which is always a good time.  The kids are getting older and enjoying it as well.  Instead of just riding around in the stroller or wagon all day they actually participated in many fun things.

They each had some face/body paint done.  O had a dragon on his arm and M had a butterfly on her face.

M dressed the part in her Belle dress.  She loved comparing her dress to the others we saw.  What a girly-girl!  She certainly doesn't get it from me!

  

They enjoyed some of the rides.

And they tired themselves out walking all over the place so it was a quiet ride home!

I always love seeing all of the costumes and look forward to the day where we can all go, the kids can take off by themselves and do what they enjoy doing and mom & dad can take in some of the shows and shop in peace!  It was a great day--warm but overcast.  The sweatshirts didn't have to come out until the sun went down and we waited for the fireworks to begin.  

We even ran into ZCM, CM and friends.  A very nice day indeed.

Thanksgiving Pictures

I always forget that the last picture chosen to upload is the first one on the post.  How do you move them around??

Anyway, here are pics of the gang putting up the tree and making then eating Thanksgiving dinner.  The turkey breast took longer to cook than it said it would so we ended up eating about 2 hours later than I had planned.  Other than that it was a pretty low key day.

After we chose to set the tree up here on the landing (so we can enjoy it from the family room couch, downstairs and see it through the front window) C decided that we needed a bigger tree.  I'll post pictures of that later.  This 6 foot tree was moved downstairs to the back window and a new 7.5 foot tree is now on the landing.

Hope you all had a great Turkey day.  We are so very thankful for our family and friends!

Party Pics

Space decorations were throughout the venue:

The gals at the end of the night:  LW, JJ, me and TR

TR and PC looking cute:

C and I looking cute:

JJ fire dancing for our entertainment:

It was a great evening.  It kicked my butt.  I'm sick again but at least it is a quiet week.  I think I'm going to make it.  An evening with friends makes it all worth while.