WHAT was he thinkin'?

This picture needs a caption, any ideas??



When Maddie was born, Hot Rod's cousins Melani & Curtis gave us the cutest, most cuddly pair of pajamas. Since they were not gender specific, all three of our children have worn them. In fact, Carter has them on in the photo above. I'm kind-of thinkin we might need to replace them...what do you think?




And while we're on the subject of Carter, I feel like I should mention he has added a couple of new teeth to his collection. So now he has both his top two front teeth. (the left one came in on Saturday) On Sunday, another one on the bottom popped thru. I noticed it while we were driving through Prestonwood looking at Christmas lights. That brings our tooth total up to five. He's eating anything he can reach to put in his mouth. (Which is not necessarily a good thing. He has an attraction to shoe strings!)


BTW - if you are in Houston, you should really check out the house that has the lights set to blink with music. I could just sit and watch it. Plus, they have a Santa that moves around in the window. That's pretty neat too.

The girls have asked Hot Rod and me if we can do that to our house...I told them, "we'll see." (Such a typical Mommy answer -- LOL!!)

When I was younger (much younger)

I remember playing lots of fun games: Ring Around the Rosey, Duck Duck Goose, Red Light Green Light and.....TAG.


Well, folks it appears I've been tagged - TWICE! In one week! No fears, I'm ready!

First lets tackle the "Crazy Eight" meme that my friend D'Lyn tagged me with:

Eight shows I watch

1. How I Met Your Mother (If you don't watch this one...you should!!)
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. Desperate Housewives
4. American Idol
5. Biggest Loser
6. Two and a Half Men
7. Scrubs
8. CSI: Miami (or NY)

Eight Favorite Restaurants

1. Chili's
2. HB Japanese Steakhouse
3. Logan's
4. Pappasito's
5. EJ's Pizzeria
6. Pei Wei
7. TGI Friday's
8. Chick-fil-A

Eight Things that Happened to me today

1. Woke up at 4 AM to play with my 8 month old (Argh, 8's!!!)
2. Enjoyed Maddie reading to me during school
3. Took advantage of "Happy Hour" at Sonic (Route 44 -- Oh, how I've missed you!)
4. Experienced 2 girls with NO naps
5. Washed, dried, folded and put away LOADS of laundry
6. Ate dinner at Logan's
7. Visited Santa (pictures to follow) at the neighborhood clubhouse
8. Cuddled with Hot Rod on the couch - w/o a baby in my arms

Eight Things I Look Forward to

1. Weekends
2. Time with Hot Rod
3. Christmas
4. Birthdays (any of my immediate family)
5. Seeing my Mom again
6. Our Disney World vacation
7. Cuddling my babies (all three of them)
8. Shopping

Eight Things I Wish

1. That my children will live Christ-centered lives
2. And they will marry Christians
3. We lived in a neighborhood with acreage
4. That I had more time to cook
5. And I had more time to sew
6. I could throw things away
7. I enjoyed cleaning - since I "get" to do it so much
8. That Hot Rod will be here on Christmas Day

Eight People I Tag

1. Mrs TD @ The TD Family
2. ErinKH @ Who's at the Helm
3. Laural @ Laural Out Loud
4. Mrs De Miranda @ The Road Less Traveled
5. Carly @ Our Family of Four
6. Euphrony @ Euphrony Rambles
7. The Character @ The Character's Craziness
8. Erinlo

Second, my friend ErinKH tagged me to post my Christmas Decorations. Actually, it was originally a pic of my front door. Since I don't really have anything more than just a simple wreath that I snarfed from my Mom's old Christmas decorations, I decided to pick just a few of my favorite decorated spots from the around the house.

So, without further ado (just felt like saying that) here they are...

Our tree:

((Ooh, that picture came out dark!))

The girls' tree (they decorated it themselves):

((Shoot! I forgot to turn the lights on!!))

My village (this is my favorite spot!)

Did you see Elfie? He's sitting on top of the Pharmacy.

So, Kelsey, Sharon, & Heather - Ladies, show me your stuff!!

I think tomorrow I'll take better pictures of the trees when it's light outside and post those, but until then...

...TAG, you're it!! Be sure to add a comment so everyone can read your post!

Up High, Down Low, In the Hole...

I forgot to mention that Carter has gotten rather good at giving "FIVES"

He doesn't care if it's high or low, just don't expect him to stick his finger in a hole 'cause I think he's still too slow.

I Slept Alone Last Night

...well, Hot Rod was there, too. BUT, all three of my children slept in their own beds.

ALL...NIGHT...LONG

Yes, this is the longest Carter has ever slept. 10 1/2 hours straight!!! Saturday night, he slept 8 hours straight. Before that, I had only gotten typically 4 or 5 hours.

This is probably the most rested I will ever be for the next 18 years.

I am NOT kidding!!! WE...HAD...SNOW!

I can't believe I'm actually writing this, but...it snowed yesterday. Kind of makes "Dreaming of a White Christmas" more attainable.

The kids were all down for a nap when the flurries started to fall. Oh, to have video of this crazy Momma running around like a wild woman trying to dress three kids (and herself) warm enough to brave the outdoors before the snow stopped falling! I'm sure that would make a much better post.


Here are a few pictures - you know, for proof!


This is the snow falling in front of our house:





Snowflakes keep falling on my head...






















Carter even had a few flakes on top of his little cap!

It really showed on the top of the stroller

Here are the girls running around with the neighbor kids. If you look closely, you'll see a few neighbors in front of the other houses in the cul-de-sac.



We had so much fun!

Thank you, GOD, for snow!!!

Side note: I called Hot Rod to tell him about it...he was in a meeting. About 2 minutes later, he called me back, "Who would have thought that YOU could break up one of MY meetings!" Apparently, they were all eavesdropping on our conversation and decided to take a break to go outside to enjoy the snow. You're welcome, Honey!

10 things I'm thinking on the 10th

1. I've been in a state of blahs lately. I haven't felt like doing anything. In fact, for a week now, I've had to force myself to do the smallest things. I don't know what it is, but I think it's fading. I've started to get my "oomph" back. I'm blaming it on the weather...and being sick.

2. Speaking of the weather, what is with this ridiculous Houston weather? I mean, I've lived here my entire life and I still cannot get used to it. I know what to expect. It happens every year. Besides, where do you think the following quote came from: "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it'll change" Yep, Houston, Texas! It is hard to get into the Christmas spirit when the weather is 75 degrees. (That was yesterday...today's a whole nother story -- COLD!) YAY, break out the hot cocoa.

3. I love the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha that comes out this time of year! My hubby is such a sweet man, he figured out how to take a simple hot chocolate drink and make it minty. Being the awesome man that he is, he made it for me to help get me out of my "funk"...at least, that's what I'm telling myself.

4. With the birth of each child, we wondered how in the world we could possibly love another child so much. How in the world would there be enough love to go around? Now that the children are "one up" on us, we can't imagine life without any of them. It seems that you find room in your heart to love each one of them for who they are.

5. Maddie, at 5 (almost 6) years old is a second "mom" to her younger brother and sister. She is very helpful to Mommy and Daddy - especially when it comes to her siblings. She loves to care for Carter and entertain him. When it comes to Hailey, she couldn't have a more perfect playmate. All girls should have a sister. (I should know, I have 3!) She's doing well in Kindergarten and is proud of herself when she successfully reads her papers for school.

6. Hailey, now 3 years old is my cuddler. I have to soak it all in while Daddy is at work or traveling because she is a major Daddy's girl. (Drives me crazy! If it were up to me, they'd all snuggle up to me on the couch every night.) She can pick up on things quickly when she has the desire. Just a few days ago, she said, "I dropped my baby and I catched it." Daddy corrected her that is should be caught. The very next day, she was playing and said, "I catched--I caught it." So proud! You won't find better manners than this little one.

7. Carter, a whopping 8 months old...not that you'd know that to look at him. He's always looked older for his age. It's funny to hear people say, "He looks like a little man! He doesn't look like a baby anymore." (Truth be told, he never looked like a baby...okay, maybe when he first came home and for the first month) He's a strong little boy. He continually amazes me with his physical abilities. I keep waiting for him to just stand up and walk over to me, but he is still just crawling - and FAST! Unfortunately (for everyone else - not me), he is a Momma's boy. Drives most people crazy. If I am anywhere in the room, he wants to be held by me. I don't mind. I'm afraid one day, he won't want his crazy Mom around. So, for now, I'll just soak it up!

8. "As Seen on TV" - this just cracks me up! Who comes up with these crazy things that they sell on television. And don't even get me started on the bearded guy that pushes them all. He ALmost makes me believe in the amazing power of whatever product he is peddling. I can hear him now: Just look at the (grass, chocolate, red wine, you name it) stains lift right out of this bright white shirt - it looks just like new! OR This putty can hold a two-ton truck being towed. OR Just watch how it melts away hard water, lime, rust, and mildew from this old tub. IF ONLY...

9. Someone should write songs for Independence Day that make everyone feel the way that Christmas songs make you feel during the Christmas season. "Line the rockets in a row, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Light a match and watch it glow, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!" and "City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in red, white and blue. In the air there are fireworks glowing" and let's not leave out "Sparklers, sparklers, hot dogs all the way. Picnics by the bright moonlight it's Independence Day!" (Don't blame me for the shotty lyrics...I'm a singer, not a song writer!)

10. It's been a while since we've gone to the movies...until recently. We took all three kids to see Madagascar 2 - SO GOOD!! Now, I am dying to go see movie after movie. I can't wait to drag Hot Rod out to see Four Christmases. I don't know about any of you, but it looks hilarious to me.

He's Happy and You'll Know it...

Carter has learned (he must have picked it up from his friend, Justin) how to clap his hands.

Two Sunday's ago, we were in the "Baby Care Room" at Church with Danielle and Justin watching Justin show off his latest talent: Clapping! As of that point, we hadn't really worked with Carter on clapping his hands, but from that day on, he thinks it's hilarious to clap his hands whenever he hears someone cheer. YAY!!!

And he just LOVES when big sister Maddie sings "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" He claps right along. Sometimes, he even squeals with delight.

Thanks, Justin...clapping is fun!

The Truth Tooth Hurts...

Why are little pieces of grass or fuzz so appealing to little hands and mouths? Must all babies pick up every spec of anything they can spot and cram it into their mouths? And WOW, they HAVE to have the best eyesight EVER...because they always tend to find things that I can't even see. (It makes me feel better to think it's just because they are closer to the floor where those specs reside.)

Well, yesterday, we found something new in Carter's mouth. Tooth number three - on the right in the front, his first upper tooth has finally poked through the gums. That would explain the massive amounts of drool pouring from his mouth non-stop. And his desire to chew on just about anything...Mommy included. (Ouch!)

I'm havin' one of those days.

Ever had one of those days where you just don't feel like it? Well, I've been having a couple of weeks like that.

I've got lots to post on the blog, but I just don't feel like it.

I've got cleaning to do...Christmas decorations to display...laundry to finish...dinner to make...projects to start...projects to finish...Thank you notes to send out....I could go on, but I JUST...DON'T...FEEL LIKE IT.

Maybe I've just got a case of the BAH-HUMBUGS!

Can anyone out there provide me with a little inspiration?