The Price of Sleeping In

Joshua has a cold and John has had a tremendous headache he can't get rid of for going on two days now, so we played hooky from church today. The girls woke up early anyway and I could hear them happily playing as I stayed warm and snuggly in bed. I could tell they were playing with toys and they were even playing with Joshua, giving him toys in his bed and keeping him happy.

Life was good. The bed was great. I was happy.

Then Joshua started to cry and I knew sleeping time was officially over. I went in to get him and this is what I found:

I'm not sure if you can fully appreciate the depth of the toys in the bed,
but trust me, it's a lot of toys!

Not to mention the fact that there are also two little girls in there too.
(See the big gouges on the front bed rail? That's from John David's belt buckle as he leaned over the bed to play with Joshua one morning before school. Nice, huh?)

Joshua discovers one of the two now empty toy boxes.

And here they are pretending to be asleep so they wouldn't
have to clean it all up. Nice try, girls.....

Amercian Girl Doll Store

My parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we spent about 4 or 5 days of their time with us over in Chicago. My mom got rooms at The Marriott on the Magnificent Mile downtown and we went to the aquarium, Navy Pier, the children's museum, saw Cirque Shanghai. The kids went bike riding with dad and played on the beach and we all got to ride The Tall Ship Windy where John David was chosen to shoot the cannon. My dad has all the pictures of those things, so I have to patiently wait for him to post them on his smugmug site. (ahem, Davus.)

The lobby of The Marriott
(just envision four monkeys running around hollering and that's what it looked like when we were there)

We had two rooms that were across the hall from each other
(if I remember correctly, we were on the 34th floor - do you think I opened that glass door?)

One evening we had a girls' night out! Here's my mom and the girls outside the
American Girl Doll Store as we were leaving, shopping bags in hand.
(Oh my, what have we started??? Have you ever been in one of these stores or seen one of the catalogs???)

In addition to the store, there is a restaurant there. Everything is so dainty and sweet and they even have little seats for your dolls. This was the appetizer we enjoyed.


I don't know what Aulora was doing here, but I think it's just too funny.
I guess she was really excited about her plate of dainty desserts.

Julia chose the colonial era Elizabeth for her doll.
(Can you tell that Julia looks kind of strange in these pictures? She had some mystery fevers before this trip and nobody, including the doctor, could figure out what the problem was. We chalked it up to a virus and decided to let it run its course. Our second day in Chicago she woke up with very rosy cheeks and a red blotched body. We finally concluded she had fifth disease. This was confirmed when Aulora developed the same rosy skin a few days later.)

Aulora chose a bitty baby which has yet to be named anything but "Baby".

Julia and Elizabeth had impeccable manners at the table.

Aulora and "Baby" had some tea.

The girls pose with Grandmamma.

I know my dad has some fun pictures from the trip so hopefully I can steal them soon! Thanks to Grandmamma and Dodie for a fun trip and lots of memories! And thank you to Gran for buying the girls their outfits they are wearing in these pictures!

Another First Day

Three years ago I took my first baby to his first day of kindergarten. I'll never, ever forget that day. This post still makes me all weepy!

Here they are for this year's first day of school yesterday morning! John David started third grade and Julia started kindergarten.

Here's John David for his first obligatory "first day of school" shot.

And here's Julia for hers (Notice the new grown-up hair style without any bows because she is apparently too old for them now. I did put them in her hair today though!)

This is a quick shot of John David in his classroom. I wanted to take more pictures, but I was afraid I would embarrass him. His class has seven students and his teacher has been teaching for 28 years. She seems like a wonderful lady so far!

Julia's class is a little bigger with either 12 or 13 students, I think. Her teacher has been teaching for about 15 years and is so sweet. Her room looks like a lot of fun!

Their day starts with prayer with the principal over the intercom.

Do they look older after their first day or is it just me?

Craigslist Entertainment

John and I often browse Craigslist - sometimes because we need something and sometimes because it's just fun.

Last night I came across a post for some wicker patio furniture. It all sounded nice and then we looked at the picture. Notice anything strange?

And then there was this set of microsuede furniture from the same seller.

So after much discussion as to whether the pictures were just taken at weird angles or if this furniture belonged to very small people, we decided to send a friendly email to the sellers. It said:

"Hi,

My husband and I are huge craigslist fans and we frequently browse through listings just for fun. We've been really intrigued by both your microsuede post and the patio set post. My husband is convinced all of these things are small and I say it's the angle of the picture. Is the white SUV in the background super huge or is all the furniture extra little? Will you settle our argument for us?

Thanks! =)

A fellow Craigslister"

We just sent it about an hour ago so we don't have an answer. I'm not sure if they will respond at all, but I hope they do. Surely, this is just a funny picture, right? Because if you were going to sell small, mini furniture on Craigslist, wouldn't you mention the size in the ad? I'm just way too amused here......

What do YOU think???

Must....Post.....Something.....New!

• Internet is scheduled for installation next Wednesday. Excitement is a small word here. 
• Our first school choice for the kids fell through, and now we are quickly trying to form plan B. Uh, school starts next week, by the way!
• Julia got her hair cut in anticipation of school starting. It's still long, but much shorter. She's suddenly so much more grown up and her hair is just beautiful.
• Joshua has learned how to go up and down the stairs so my stress level has decreased significantly. 
• Aulora has also learned how to use the "big" potty without my assistance so my running up and down the stairs has also decreased significantly. (Our downstairs bathroom is under construction.)
• The basement carpet will be installed next week so maybe construction nastiness will finally not be constantly tracked all over the hardwood floors. 
• Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches are yummy.
• Our dish network isn't totally up and running yet so there's been no tv around here. I watched Old Yeller last night. (Shhh, I cried.)
• I promise my blogging will pick up again soon. 
• I completed a makeover on an old desk and it now hold my computer in our formal living room. I wuv it! I'm on the lookout for an old chair to go with it. 
• Purchased an old desk for John David today at Salvation Army. It will also be receiving some TLC from La. $12 isn't too bad though. 
• The computer is about to die.....
• I miss all of you, my SA friends. I've been keeping up with your blogs on my phones. I hope to make some friends as good as you all were. =)
• Mimi, I've lost weight since not living by you. I miss you, but I do not miss my extra love handles. You were fattening me up! It was good though! Love you......

A Stolen Moment for a Stolen Signal

We've yet to get our internet connected, but John found that there are certain spots where we can pick up one of our neighbor's signals plus all the kids are entertained for the moment so I'm checking in! 

We're no longer swimming in boxes and although not decorated and totally organized, the house is mostly set up. Things will get much better when the basement is completed in a week or two. SO excited about that! If for nothing else, then to have some carpet to walk on - hardwood floors everywhere is a big adjustment. They sure are pretty though. 

We've met a few of our neighbors here and they are all so nice - lots of families with kids our age. Two families even brought us homemade goodies to welcome us! I've always wanted neighbors like that! 

On Friday we're going over to Chicago to hang out for a few days with my parents. So much fun to be had in that great city!

My moment is over.....hopefully we'll have our own internet soon.....

Tips from up North

Here's my first post from up North - kind of weird! So far, it's wonderful. The weather reminds me of being in Hawaii - don't hate me all of you who are reading this in 110 degree weather. I'm pretty sure it will all even out once winter sets in. Texans will be enjoying beautiful 60 and 70 degree days while we're too frozen to open the door and get the mail! In fact, if my posting stops in a few months, some of you should come up with some ice picks and snow shovels and help a girl out! =)

I drove up with the girls on Saturday and Sunday and the trip went great. My best tip for traveling a really long distance with little kids? (Other than movies - that just goes without saying!) Buy a giant lollipop and let them lick away to their little hearts' content. Obviously, if your kid eats these all the time it's not a big deal, but if it's a rarity then it works like a charm. Aulora even fell asleep in the middle of licking hers. It was stuck on her forehead and every time I tried to pry it out of her hands she would wake up and grab it back. It was too funny!

We closed on our house yesterday (!!!) and here's a tip for when you go to your own closing: make sure you have a valid driver's license. It was near disaster as they realized that mine had expired on my birthday. I had just been waiting to renew until we moved and never thought about needing a valid one! Turns out the exact wording on their form didn't say the word "valid" so it was okay. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Only me, right?

I still love our new house, but now that the other people have moved out and all their stuff is gone, I'm noticing lots of things I didn't before. Plus, it's pretty clear that this house hasn't had a good top to bottom cleaning in a long time - things like baseboards and shelves are covered in dust, dirt, and cobwebs. So, since I seem to be full of tips today, here's a tip for selling a house: put it on the market while your things are still there - it keeps people from seeing flaws. Realtors tell you that people want to see the house empty, a "clean slate" they say, but they need to see it staged with furniture in it. It makes a big difference!

Well, I suppose I'll conclude this post since I'm now out of tips. ;) 

Oh wait, here's one more tip: Do not ever stay at Super 8 hotel in Cuba, Missouri. Just take my word for it........

My Man Surprised Me!!!

Next Thursday is our 10 anniversary and John surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas! We went early since he will be working this week. He didn't tell me we were going until a few hours before we had to go to the airport (which is probably good since I would have spent a lot of money shopping for new clothes if I had known!). He did take me the night before to buy a new dress for somewhere special we were going to go, but that was all he told me at the time.

We flew first class and then got to choose which car we wanted when we got there. We decided on an orangy red convertable - which is NOT close to Longhorn orange at all, John would want me to add! It was so much fun just to drive around with the top down and the sun shining down on us. And then going down the strip at night was great! We got to see three shows while we were there - two Cirque De Soile shows and The Blue Man Group. First night was "Ka". Our seats weren't the best and I was super tired so this wasn't my favorite, but it was still amazing. The next night was "O". All I can say about this one is WOW!!! It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen and words cannot describe it! I don't have any pictures since we weren't allowed to take any. =(

We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, hence the sign in the background.....

Look who we ran into while we were there!

And then there was good ol' George W.

I had such a nice visit with him. I think he really appreciated all of my brilliant political insight.

Not to be outdone, John had a little sit down with Abe.

Can you feel the love tonight???

Can you believe how lucky we were to meet all of these people?

Tiger thought John really has potential.

This picture showcases my husband's amazing photography skills.

Here's another examply of his skill. According to him, when the flash is too bright you just reach up and cover it up with your hands. Impressive, huh?

He better be glad he took one more shot of this one! This really is one of the guys from the Blue Man Group! We loved their show - if you ever get a chance to go, GO! It's so unique and entertaining and funny. It was worth staying up late for.

This is John purchasing the Blue Man tickets. I was standing off to the side hyperventilating.

See, I told you - they're exciting!

Those eyes are a little disturbing at first.

John David was impressed with this next one.

I refused to do this picture, so John jumped right in. Funny man.

They could pass for twins, don't you think?!? =)

Thanks, Baby, for such a fun trip! I'll always remember all the fun and, more importantly, all the years of togetherness this trip was in honor of. I love you! I love being with you when we're all together, but I especially adore spending time with just you. You will always be my bestest and favoritist friend! Love from your La.......