What a way to end/begin a year!

Okay, this blog is going to be a very, very long one. Let me be the first to say. Get a cup of choffee (I don't drink real coffee, yuck), cocoa, tea, whatever you wish. Sit back and enjoy the story.

Snow for Christmas meant we went sledding yet again and loved it. How wonderful to have snow just on Christmas! The next day, of course it was in the 40's and the snow was gone. I'm not complaining, I don't care to freeze. One day I see myself as a snow bird. Not actually, cause Dad and I have plans to get a boat and retire traveling, fishing, crabbing and the such. See us with the satellite on top of the boat telling the kids to send all letters to the PO box and if they can join us for the holidays. At least that's what we like to think.

By the way, these are the pictures I had taken while I was driving to work. The only way they could have been better is if the sun had been shining. Tell me this isn't a winter wonder land.

The kids and I took sleds to this one hill down from our house with the boy. Now THAT was funny! We didn't have much snow but we had enough that we slid down the hill and out into the road. The boy would have NOTHING to do with it. He was more interested in the fact that he could eat the snow and the tire swing. Note to self: Get rope and old tire. Hold on. There aren't any trees in my yard. Never mind.

You have to admit that we have good taste in Christmas trees, even if this one was huge. Should never have filled the water in the bottom with Miracle Grow. When we put it in, it was a Charlie Brown christmas tree. In the morning, whoosh! Goliath.

Honestly, you should have seen Dad, Doog Boog and I trying to balance this monster so it wouldn't fall over. It was so funny. Notice we were a little shy on the garland but I thought it was beautiful. Especially since my children are the ones that decorated it. The girls were working out who was putting what where depending on height. So obviously the boy was putting them down low.

This year we chose the bulbs rather than the homemade and unique ones I prefer. I figured with Wild Man on the loose, let's preserve the neat ones for another year.

Miss Dink here just loved her outfit so much that I had to take a picture of her modeling it. How adorable is my daughter? Yep, that much and more. You should have seen her prancing around, twirling, dancing and posing all through the house. Ask that kid what she wants and she can tick it off. Take her to a store and tell her to pick out what she wants, she can do it with a quickness that makes Dad proud. (the sooner he's out, the better. I'm sure all men understand) Adorable isn't she?
Then Mom and her new hubby George came down for a visit. Now THAT was a fun week! I like this fellow. He's good people. Figuring with them coming I should take down the obeast tree and make some more room, I did so while Dad was at work. I thought, won't take but an hour or so. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

After removing all the decorations and putting them back where they belong with the 'help' from the boy, I lay out the sheet, grab the pruning sheers and slide down underneath this mammoth thing.

Snip, snip, snip, .........snip, snip, snip......still snipping......still snipping.....take a call from the hubby, yeah still working on it.....snip, snip.....you get the idea..... Finally! I get all the branches off this thing. I smash them down so I can get past the ceiling, pine needles going EVERYWHERE! I drag this sheet full of poky things through my living room, around the corner and out, out, out the door. The branches kept getting stuck on everything that was or wasn't there. Good grief!

Drag it down the yard, branches sliding out the sheet, poking me in the arm, down to the burn trash. People, I know many fires happen in the winter. I always thought it was because of the furnances, people falling asleep with cigarettes, candles and such. NO, No, no. It's these trees. I lit a couple of pine needles and WHOOSH! (do I still have eyebrows?) Well, that was fast. I haven't even let go of the sheet and the thing is gone. Wow. I stared in amazment. Note to self: Pine needles for starting fire, not for keeping fire. (still stunned)

Go back inside to clean up my mess. Lesson learned the hard way? Never, ever, ever vacuum up pine needles. They will pack inside that tube like mozzerella in a sock. Not kewl. I finally get them all swept up with a broom.

So when Mom and George make it here, my sweeper is not in good shape. I thought I had all those nasty needles out. Nope. They bred while they were in there. He managed to stay patient (there was honestly no effort on his end, how do you do that?) and got them all out. He rocks! And funny! Oh my goodness! He's quick.

So we are making dinner and I put he and mom in charge of dessert. Here's the recipe and the ingredients. See Mom over here laughing? Mom. Laughing. Cooking with her husband. What you don't know is that I've never seen my mother cook with a man. I've never seen her laugh like this. What were they doing? They were smashing graham crackers. It was so hilarious. The two of them together.

That night was New Years Eve. We don't have TV in our house (it was our decision and I'm glad for it. Though I miss Discovery Channel) we logged on to a live camera on Times Square and watched the ball drop. Mom brings out this box of noise makers, hats and such. We had a blast. The kids had a blast. It was so much fun.


Bubs has never seen one of these noise makers so the first thing he does after snatching one is to put the paper end in his mouth and unroll it with his mouth. It didn't take long to show him how it works. Oh the noise, noise, noise!

Then the group of us went to the mall. The girls had gotten gift certificates to Claires and you aren't going to believe what Dink comes back with. Where in the world? Who makes this stuff? This thing was the neatest thing. It was so much fun and so comical that they put it on George's face. I couldn't believe this man. They had this thing on his head and stretched all the way down to his chin. Here's all these blue things sticking up all over the place, and it it slides up to half of his face. Now half of his lip is curled and hanging out, nose all pulled up and we are rolling. Absolutly rolling. I thought Dink was going to wet herself. Mom's face was red. Then they get this idea to curl them by snapping them. Snap. Snap. Giggle. Snap. Laugh. Snap.

Of course on the way home they had to put it on thier brother's head. Now he thinks this is a hat. It did keep him from fussing on the way home, but look at my kid!

Mom and George got home safely. We miss you both.

School is back in. My kids are back to a "normal" (what's normal?) They play together quiet well. in fact, just last night Dad was telling me that hearing his kids play together relaxes him. It soothes him. I smile. It makes me feel like the world is right.

The girls love their brother to the point that he is a spoiled little child. Demanding to watch Shrek (it's so cute the way he says it) and Stitch (he is a stitch). He gets into everything. Recently, he's been getting into my jewery box and taking my rings, belly rings, earrings, and the key to unlock the doors he so frequently locks us out of.

Last night he wanted this fridge magnet I had told him he couldnt' have. He drives his scooter in front of the fridge and leans back, hungrily looking up at this magnet. I'm peeking around the corner. He puts his legs up over his arms and leans back.

All the sudden he sits up quickly and looks over his shoulder at me. I duck behind the wall. He then puts his legs over the handlebars and onto the flames you see here. He then stands up and grabs the magnet.

Quickly he turns the scooter around and goes flying down the hallway. I'm calling after him while he's giggling. Into our room he goes, jumps off the scooter and in a flash is under the bed, laughing as hard as his little body will allow.

He thinks if he covers his eyes you can't see him. So we always call out for him and act like we don't see him till he peeks thorugh his fingers.

I had to get down on all fours, reach under the bed and drag him out by his ankles. He thinks this is hilarious as well. I wasn't so amuzed at 11pm when I was looking for my jewerly. He does the same thing with the kitchen knives. Preach all you want. I used to be one. There is NO safe place. We put them in the middle of the island. Nope, he gets them. The back of the stove. He still gets them. I resorted to punishing him for getting into the drawer. My thought was this. I can keep chasing him and not teach him anything, or I can teach him to quit disobeying me and save myself a world of frusteration.

Now, want a funnier story? Potty training. I'm trying to teach my boy where to wee-wee. He has his own Elmo potty. (it was the only one in the store) Before he showers, he will stand on top of his potty and luckily pees in the hole. He then will dump it out himself. (fortunately, not on the floor.)

So I noticed before I had him ready for bed that he had a dry diaper. Aha! We will wee-wee before bed! He's excited. Runs to the potty. Stands on top. And....nothing. He looks down. He waits. He (snort) grabs it. He looks down the hole. Why no pee-pee? He shakes it (mom rolls). He looks down the hole again. Why no pee-pee? He then smashes it flat. Mom dies.
(I had to make him go get dressed. Mom couldn't take anymore.)

Doog-Boog. She's a whole 11 1/2 now. We had a bit of issue with her grades, she brought home a C. You may not think that's a big deal, but Dad and I both know she can do much better. She's a smart kid and has been tutoring kids after school.

Last night she was serinading (sp?) me with her flute. I'm so proud of her. She's doing much better with her flute than I ever did with mine. She's so quick with her thinking as well. I'm so very proud of her.

Two nights ago my daughters and I were having dinner and they asked me about themselves, what kind of person where they? Now tell me how three kids can have the same parents and turn out so utterly different? How can those same three different people have so much of myself in them? I am so amazed when I stop to observe them. They are so smart, full of life, goals, dreams, and ..... whole.

Last night I walked into B-Bugs room to find her braiding her hair up. What I should have taken a picture of was what the finished job looked like. O M Gosh! See that perky smile? She's always like that. Well, until she gets called on for doing something wrong.

My girls wanted to know thier Mom's opinion of what they were like. I pause and look at each of them. They are sitting there beaming with these big smiles on thier faces, anxiously awaiting the verdict. I stand in awe.

It is at these times I realize how real God is and how much He truly loves me. I don't want to live through my kids. I don't want them to do what I tell them to becuase I wasn't strong enough to live my own dreams. I don't want them to be the reason someone thinks well of me.

My goals for my kids are for a truly happy life. For inner security. For a healthy relationship with God, with each other, with thier family and with thier spouses.

I would like for them to be content in life and find never ending wonder in the world. My opinion of my girls?

I have a very mild Dink who is coming into her own. She's figuring out she's smart and important, even though she feels ran over by her older sisters and pushed out by her brother. She's got a very good heart and a good sense of humor. I see great things in her. She leads me to believe she will be the splunker, sky diver, Laura Croft wanna be. She'll be the one in nuclear science. I love spending time with Dink.

B-Bug is my cheerful personal, extemporaneous child. She can make friends with anyone and have fun anywhere. She cares what she looks like but doesn't take stuff off of other people. She will stand up for the downtrodden and just recently made the math bowl. Go B-Bug. Did I mention her Cheer pictures just came back?

Doog-Boog? She is very rooted. My pre-teen had a bit of a shock going into junior high but has recovered quiet well. All of her teachers have good things to say about her. She helps out the other students, has a great personality and just brought home her progress report with straight A's. There are times I think she's smarter than I am. This is a relief. Hopefully she'll make better decisions than her mother. She'll be the one to find the cure for cancer.

My boy? Oh mercy. The wild, tempermental, easily excited, miniture tornado. Here is where I find the wonder and awe in the world. I never had the chance to enjoy the girls because they were so close together and I didn't have any help with them. It's not like that with the boy. He is a wild man, but his Daddy is a BIG help and we both are discovering what it's like to enjoy a youngster. I have discovered a new side of me. I'm such a wuss when it comes to him. Do I have permanent folds where I'm wrapped around that little finger?