Mmmmm...

My hands taste really good!

The raising of the Christmas Tree

Today we officially set out to welcome the "Christmas Season" by finally putting up the Christmas tree. It should have been a 15 minute set up job, but ended up taking 45 because we had to search high and low for the tree base. Have you ever had that feeling of knowing you have seen something 20 million times in a place it shouldn't be, and everytime you see it you tell yourself you should put it where it goes so you can find it when you need it? Well, that was me with the tree base. Jeff finally found it upstairs in the hall linen closet. Don't ask me how it got there...

So after finally being able to set it up, we let the kids decorate the tree all by themselves. We helped a little bit in the places they couldn't reach, but overall they did a wonderful job. We have an ecclectic mix of ornaments that we've collected over the years, so you'll just as easily find a beautiful crystal ornament next to our popsicle stick art work me and the kids handcrafted at home. Can you guess which ones I treasure more? :)

Jeff and all his helping elves.

Elizabeth got into the spirit :)

"Is Santa catching this?"

Ashley loves putting the angel on the tree.

"I LOVE My...

...freeze dried strawberries!" If you think that Kate can't get into mischief while buckled into her car seat, here's proof that it can happen anytime, anywhere. I usually feed her these snacks in a controlled environment (think strapped into high chair, wearing nothing but a diaper) because as evidenced by the picture, they leave you covered in crumbs and color your fingers a blood red that lasts for days. But somehow she was able to reach into her diaper bag, open the package, and proceed to eat the entire thing without me noticing. Of course, only because like every good mother, I was concentrating on being a good driver ;P

"Whaaat?!! So they're a little messy..."

Food, Football, Family

We had a great time this year at my sister Anna's house, spending Thanksgiving with family. After gorging on everything turkey day had to offer, we settled in and watched the Cowboy's win a game. Yay, and I thought Christmas miracles were still a month away ;P

Peas Please!

Elizabeth got her first taste of peas yesterday, and seemed to appreciate the additional taste and texture they offered her. There was minimal "spitback", so I would have to say overall it was a winner. Although I'm not sure how excited I will be when digestion kicks in :)

"This is pretty yummy, mommy!"

"Do you have to flash that light every time I take a bite?"

"Ooooh, I think I missed some..."

"What's for dessert?"

Sisterly Love

These are just some cute pictures of the girls together. I try to take pictures of these moments so I have photographic proof that they do enjoy one another at least part of the time :)

Kate loves climbing into Sarah's lap.

"Don't worry Elizabeth, I'll push you when the batteries run out."

Here Kate shares her love of "sitting in boxes" with Ashley, who just loves to clown around.

Ashley loves trying to kiss Sarah for effect, but most of the time Sarah just runs. I guess Ashley must have been in ninja mode to sneak so close to Sarah and get this kiss in!

Face Painting at the FAC

There is nothing more motivating to a mom trying to adopt an intense workout schedule as kids who love going to the Athletic Center Fun Club to hang out. They bombard me every day with "What time are you going to work out?" or "You are working out today, aren't you?" Thankfully their youth and innocence keeps them from making any ripping remarks like "Good thing there's a fun club to take us to so you can go work on that love handle mom!" One of the reasons Sarah and Ashley enjoy it so much is that there are a lot of different scheduled activities to participate in each day.

One such day was "face painting fun", and as you can see by their faces, they really enjoyed it! I really hated making them wash it off (they had school the next day and I figured it was probably against some rule...), but we took a picture for posterity.

Ashleyism #3

Today the kids came home from school and told us they talked all about the upcoming presidential election at school that day. They even got to participate in a mock election between Barack Obama and John McCain. After hearing all the details, Jeff could see how excited they were about it, so he asked who they voted for. Ashley piped up

"I voted for Johnny McCandy!"

Name recognition at it's best, lol!

Did you know hi was a two syllable word?

Well, according to Kate it is :) She is quite the little Texan, because her pronunciation of the word hi with a southern drawl cracks us up.

Me: "Hi"
Kate: "HIIIIIIIy"

Happy Halloween!

This year we had a nice Halloween trick or treating with my sister Laureen, my BIL Chris, and their three little ones. For the second year in a row, the weather was so nice, you could wear shorts! Lucky for Chris, because Laureen was going to make him wear the Pooh costume to complete their family theme of "Hundred Acre Woods".

This year Sarah decided she wanted to be Anakin Skywalker, and Ashley chose to be a cheerleader complete with pom poms. We dressed Kate up as an angel, and she had fun collecting candy from the neighbors. She had a great first Halloween, and caught on quickly to the whole concept of walking to the door, ringing the bell, and holding her pail out in exchange for candy :) I had planned on dressing Elizabeth up in the warm pumpkin suit I had bought for Kate the year before, but once again, it was way too hot for comfort. She slept through most of it anyway :)

The whole gang before we set out.

Kate enjoys her first piece of Halloween candy.

My three Halloween ghouls.

Ashleyism #2

Ashley is my fashion diva. I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up in some way, shape, or form associated with the clothing industry when she grows up. Unfortunately for her, she has a mom who's fashion sense pretty much ends at "matching socks".

So anytime she is around someone with a slight hint of interest in dressing up dolls, coordinating outfits in their closet, or shopping 'til they drop, she is in awe. So when Aunt Kara accompanied us to Old Navy and was quick to help Sarah put together some fabulous outfits, Ashley stepped back and said

"Aunt Kara, you are sooooooooooooooooooo fashiony!"

Who says playing hooky is always bad?

Today I had a special day with just Sarah and Ashley. I try to be as equal as I can when it comes to "sharing time" with all four girls, but since Kate and Elizabeth are still pretty dependent on me for all their needs, Sarah and Ashley are forced to be a little more independent and understanding about me being unable to play a game with them when Elizabeth is screaming for a bottle.

So even though it was a school day, I decided that it would be a great time for a "Day of Fun". Jeff was on a business trip (thus unavailable for consultation...wink, wink), and High School Musical 3 was calling our names. I woke the girls up, and told them instead of going to school, we were going to have a "Day of Fun". For some reason, whenever I said that phrase all day, my voice would drop an octave and I would repeat the word "fun" like I was a ring side announcer for a boxing match. You've never seen two kids get ready so fast in the morning.

So after dropping Kate off at school and Elizabeth off at Adventure Kids (Nana was sick so she couldn't watch her), we headed off to Krispy Kreme to get donuts and chocolate milk. Then we headed to Lucky Nails and had pampering spa pedicures. Sarah and Ashley even got flowers and rhinestones applied to their toes, while mommy went with her usual french pedi.

We then headed off to the movie theater, and entered after loading up on hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, candy, and an Icee for everyone (Hey, it was my day of fun, too, lol!). I will have to admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed the HSM trilogy, and thanks to the discs that are in my car's cd rotation, I can even sing along.

After sending Troy and Gabriella off to college, we then ventured to Target so we could buy the latest HSM music installment. By that time, it was time to pick up Kate and end our day of fun!

But wait! On the way home, Aunt Kara called and said she was in the area, so we swung around and met her at Marble Slab for some ice cream (I really didn't want to think about all the calories I consumed today, but writing it out like this has me dizzy!) After mentioning Sarah needed some new winter clothes, Aunt Kara accompanied us to Old Navy to lend her stylish fashion sense to Sarah's purchases.

On the way home from our fabulous day out, Ashley declared "This was the best day ever, Mommy!"

As a parent, you can't beat that :)

Ewwwwwwwwww, Pumpkin Guts!

We always have a lot of fun carving pumpkins as a family. Everyone gets to pick a pumpkin at the store (except Daddy, but Mommy works as his proxy in this instance), with it's size dictated by one's rank in the family based on height. I think Daddy will always win that one, but I'm sure there will come a day when some, if not all the girls, pass me up. What never ceases to amaze me is that Ashley, our resident princess, is the one most excited about pushing up her sleeves and sticking her hand in icky wet innards! She loves it! Sarah on the other hand, our brave "warrior" (she loves dressing up like a jedi, a samurai, Indiana Jones, or any superhero) can barely stand to touch it. It's a funny paradox. This year Kate had fun touching the seeds in wonderment, and next year we expect her to dive right in :)

Kindergarten Fieldtrip

This year Ashley's class went to the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in nearby Celina for a class field trip. They first studied all about pumpkins, and then ventured out right before Halloween to enjoy the hayrides, pumpkin picking, "lassoing the bull", and feeding the animals. Both Sarah and Ashley love it when I chaperone, and wanting to be an "active and engaged parent", I try to attend everything I can. So I signed up along with 14 other parents (kindergarten moms and dads are always a bit more eager, lol!) to accompany our little ones on their exciting adventure.

They had a wonderful day, which was topped off by the beautiful weather. It allowed the kids to run around in shorts and their class t-shirt. Which was a complete 180 from the trip I took with Sarah's class 2 years previous. On that day, we were bundled up in jackets, hats, and mittens wishing there was a hot chocolate cart at the farm. Yay for crazy Texas weather.

There were a lot of fun things for the kids to do. First off, we received a cup of feed to give to the assortment of animals, then we got to go on a hayride to tour the farm. Next we spent a good while in the pumpkin patch as the kids picked out the perfect prize to take home. After all the "scheduled" parts of the trip were over, the kids got to burn off some of their energy, mostly just running in the open fields or playing on the haystacks. A fun day!

A Photo Diary of the Zoo

We went to the zoo on Monday because the girls had the day off from school. I gave Sarah my camera and let her take pictures of the things she found interesting. Well, except for the picture of Ashley. I took that one because Sarah doesn't usually find her sister very interesting, lol. Here is a small selection of the many she took. It's always fun to see things through my children's eyes.

Ashley loves the animal statues located throughout the zoo.

The penguin encounter.

Snake eggs...eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

A friendly parrot!

Mommy is glad these are behind thick glass!

Sarah really loves snakes!

This snake blends in with the tree branch.

A cute little gecko.

Hmmmm, not sure what this is...

Two beautiful bald eagles in the outside aviary.

October 12th-Happy Birthday to me!

Well, I turned 29 again for the 7th time. My social calendar was full the whole weekend, starting with the UT football game Saturday morning, dinner out that night, a barbecue on Sunday, and a day spent at the zoo on Monday since the girls had the day off from school. It kept my mind off the fact that I'm on the downside of 30. Yikes! Where has the time gone...

The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You

We were fortunate to get to attend a University of Texas football game Saturday. I don't think I'll be booted from the alumni rolls of Princeton by stating this simple fact:

Us Tigers have nothing on University of Texas when it comes to playing football. Well, almost nothing.*

I was a pretty avid fan of the game back in college....ok, let me restate that, I was a big fan of our pre-game parties at Tower (my eating club), filling our cups with hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps, heading out in a big rowdy group completely oblivious to who the opponent was, snuggling with whoever was smart enough to remember the blanket, while getting ready to scream our special cheers somewhere in the neighborhood of "That's alright, that's ok, you're gonna work for us someday!" It was after all the Ivy League. We had to make our own fun.

Flash forward to this year and the Texas/Oklahoma "Red River Rivalry" at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. All I can say is Wow! It was as if I had spent my life watching high school musical productions, and then finally seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The camaraderie, the excitement, the cohesiveness, the ability to work as a unit. And that was just the fans in the stands during the halftime show as we performed a choreographed cheer complete with props.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the company was great (A big Thanks! to Shane for the tickets!!!!), and UT ended up beating OU by a pretty big margin. Which meant Jeff spent the rest of the weekend in an upbeat and happy mood. Not that he isn't always a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day ;) It was also pretty fun dressing up in Jeff's "I bleed orange" t-shirt (I wasn't REALLY cheating on my alma mater...after all, we're orange too...just a different shade) and cheering like a crazed fan (did you know that UT fans are so excited during a game they don't sit down the entire time?!!! Hmm, me neither). And who can't help but get excited by the close up view we had of Bevo XIII, the live longhorn mascot. And as an added bonus, the crystal national championship trophy was on display in the end zone, closely guarded by 4 secret service types. All in all, fun times.

So you may have noticed the * I placed by my earlier statement attesting to UT's performance on the gridiron. I can proudly say there are actually two things Princeton has on Texas when it comes to football. One is that in 1869, we played in what is considered to be the first intercollegiate football game, versus Rutgers. And most important we also hold the record for the most overall national championships of any team in major college football history with 28 consensus and non-consensus national championships dating all the way back to our first in 1869. Ok, so the majority of those took place before 1900...but it still counts as a record! :)

But I can happily say I will stand by Jeff at a UT game anytime, cheering on his Longhorns as they attempt to claim their own national championship record. And if I go often enough, I might just catch on to some of their catchy cheers!

Hook 'Em Horns!

Fundraiser Fun

Here are some pictures from the "Wild Walk" that Ashley funraised for. Enjoy!

Lining up for the "race" to begin

Sarah ran 29 laps

Kate sat with Mommy in the shade until she decided to join in...

...but figured out quickly that she still didn't have the whole "running" thing down yet!

"Mmmmm, this Gatorade stuff is pretty good!"

We have a future car salesman in the family

Last week Sarah and Ashley brought home information for this year’s PTA fundraiser, the "Wild Walk". It's actually ingenious, because unlike most fundraisers where you have to convince someone that they really NEEEEED wrapping paper, greeting cards, books, candy, or magazines (I won't include cookie dough in this example, because of course you ALWAYS do need that!!!), this fundraiser is a "walk" where you get people to sponsor you per lap or a onetime donation. It's something I can get on board with, because as the parent I don't have to keep track of orders or make a return trip to someone’s home to deliver the product.

So knowing that we have a wealth of family in the area (pun intended), I told the kids we needed to call everyone and see if they would like to donate to the "cause" (which for the kids really meant adding to the pot in hopes of reaching a certain goal so that their Principal and Vice Principal would get slimed at a Friday assembly.) Ashley was really excited about the thought of talking on the phone (our little Paris Hilton in the making, sans the trust fund), so she volunteered to do the talking. Now knowing how I myself am a sucker for little kids on a fundraising mission (especially when there is Girl Scout cookies or cookie dough involved), I thought that was a good idea. Who was going to turn down a cute 5 year old, especially one you're related to? :)

So Ashley had Daddy call Grandma Nancy first. Now, I did do a little coaching as to what to say, so that she could explain to them who they were raising money for and what they were going to use it on. I figured I would let her talk for a few minutes, "layer on the cute", and then get the phone from her and fully explain everything. Instead, I should have gotten up and popped some popcorn to eat, because boy, we were in for a show.

"Hi Grandma. We're doing a friendriser for school cuz we neeeeeeeeeeeeed stuff. How much do you want to dronay?"

Classic salesmanship...asks "how much" instead of "would you like to"...genius.

"A 'FREINDRISER'...geesh (smacks her head with her hand). For school, cuz we neeeeeeeeed (bending and crouching with her hand in a fist with her eyes tightly shut) a lot of stuff. "

I think Jeff snorts some soda out his nose at this point.

"For school. Uh huh. You just dronay. Mom, what are we selling?"

Jeff and I were trying hard not to laugh out loud, lest we get Ashley off her game. She is very sensitive to people laughing at her unless she is intentionally trying to be funny. So as I try to keep my composure, I tell her to tell Grandma that Grandma dough-nates (emphasizing the pronunciation in hopes that Ashley says it correctly) a set amount of money or "per lap" to the PTA fund, and then she (Ashley) will walk laps at the Wild Walk.

"Huh? What did you say? Here, you talk to Grandma..."

So after we clear it up with Grandma, Ashley proceeds to call her Aunt Kara, Auntie Peach, Nana and Tata, and then Uncle Greg. When she gets to Uncle Greg, she tries a new ploy:

"If you donate $25 Uncle Greg, you'll be in the lead"

You can't teach this stuff...

"OK, so is that $25 for each of us, or to split between me and Sarah?"

By the time she got to Aunt Anna, she had it down:

"I'm doing a fundraiser for school. If you donate $25 you'll be tied for the lead"

Now, my sister loves to tease Ashley. She loves her spunk and thinks Ashley is entertaining. Being unable to hear my sister's side of the conversation, I just had to figure that it wasn't going to Ashley's liking, because all of a sudden she says

"UUUUUUUGH, put Uncle Paul on"

Way to recognize the bigger sucker sweetheart!

So all in all, Ashley raised $250 (to be split between her and Sarah) just from family. Not bad for a 5 year old. She might be able to single handedly solve the Big 3 Car Company Stock Meltdown.

p.s. thanks to all who donated!!!!

Some photos for your enjoyment

I'm really bad about taking photos. I'm usually so busy having fun, that I always forget to take pictures to "capture the moment." By the time I remember to grab the camera, the kids have moved on to something else, and the "moment" is gone. I'm trying a little harder, but still have a loooooong way to go. My plan is to try to just carry my camera in my pocket (my original plan when I bought my little PowerShot Digital Elph), and hopefully remember to pull it out from time to time :) Anyway, here are some fruits of my recent labor. Enjoy!

Ashley is a moth to the camera :)

Sometimes they even let Elizabeth sleep

Kate loves playing with the tool bench

Kate loves sitting in things...in this case a shoebox

Here she is sitting in her pool floatie...with a spatula as her oar :)

"Stay close mommy, you might have to save me from Kate"

"I love spaghetti!"

Now that the weather is nice, the kids spend a lot of time outside

"Mommy, your patio rug looks dirty! I'll clean it with the water from my water table"

Kate's trying to figure out how to start her motorized Ford F150 truck...just like a true Texan!

Kate loves climbing up the fort and going down the slide

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Playing at sunset