Paying it Forward



My friend Cami has a great craft blog.  Somehow she finds that time to not only do great crafts and blog about it too (must be that nothing new challenge she's doing this year...).  Anyway, because I love everything that she makes (seriously, her style is so close to mine, it's a little crazy) I was happy to participate in this giveaway.  Now you can be part of my giveaway.  Just leave a comment and by the end of this lovely year, you can be the recipient of something made by me.  What'll it be?  Some burned jam?  A dress that will never fit?  Strawberry shortcake doughballs?  The possibilities are endless, and if you are one of the first 5 to leave a comment and, you know, commit to paying it forward, you too can win a fabulous prize!

Funny

Here are some funny things that my kids have said in the last 2 minutes:

We had a visit from Paul's parents.  We had a wonderful time, although I don't have any pictures to prove it.  Grace has been walking around saying, "everywhere I go smells like Ama."  We all miss you.

Clark likes to say, "I like a movie movie" instead of "I like to move it move it" from that song.  Just now he said, "I like a movie *burp*" so pretty much the funniest joke in our house right now is, "I like a movie, burp!"

The End

Thirsty

I drink water the way that some people drink booze.  Anything that stresses me out sends me straight to the bottle (or tap).  Lots of things stress me out, so I am drinking constantly.  Waterholics anonymous, anyone?

A DIY Kind of a Day

Earlier today our dryer was making a burning smell.  Thanks to the guidance of my dad, I took the dryer apart, found the burning lint, got everything cleaned out, and put it back together.  I have a load of wash drying right now, so we'll see if I messed anything up.

Lest you think that this is man's work, Paul has been working literally all day on the computer installing and reinstalling basically every file and thing and migabyte we have ever owned.  He just said that this has been the worst day ever (it has been a pretty blah day- just all that installing and no getting to do anything fun).  I want him to know how thankful I am for him and his tech support and everything he has ever done for me.  Like watching the kids while I go on trips.  Or working happily at his job every day to support our family.  Or doing service for others.  Or being my bestest friend.  Despite the blah days, Paul, you make life very happy for me, and I love you!

Today is Gorgeous

Just thought you'd like to know.

Funny Grace

• Grace and Camille decided to put on a puppet show for Clark involving a monkey and a dog who went to the circus.  As Clark and I were clapping at what we thought was the end of the show, Grace exclaimed, "No, wait!  This puppet show still has one more verse!"
• I told the kids a sad story about how I sold my first bicycle, and then--my new-found wealth burning a hole in my pocket--immediately bought a stuffed animal that ended up being no fun because it was far too big to play with. Grace consoled, "It's okay, Dad. You were just a kid then. You were still learning."

I'm Off!

I'm just leaving for the airport.  For Christmas, my dear Paul bought me a trip to Seattle.  I get to hang out with my friends from high school and see a city that I've always wanted to see (in the rain).  Paul gets to watch the kids.  He says that he's looking forward to running them his way.  I hope that when I return the girls are proficient readers and Clark has started eating his veggies.  Then we'll know that Paul has been truly successful.  Love you, Paul and kids!

A Star Sighting?

We went to our local frozen yogurt place tonight.  It's a nice place because each table has an I Pad.  So we were there playing angry birds and this man came in with his gorgeous daughters who are youngish teenagers.  And told me that my girls are the most beautiful girls he has ever seen.  He gushed about them for quite some time.  To the point that it was getting a little weird.  Then the yogurt guy said that the man was the producer of Twilight.  But maybe I misunderstood him because I can't find a picture of this guy off of the possible Twilight producers (there are about 8).  And apparently the oldest daughter was in one of those Twilight films.  Anyway- part of me said, "This is it!  My twins have been discovered!"  And the other 99.9% of me was extremely happy that the close scrutiny of this "producer" (if that is his real name) discovered the flaws of my twins and decided not to love us more.

This Oughtta Hold You For a While

So maybe it's been a while since I've updated my blog, hmm?  I hear complaints from all quarters, so without further ado, and with the cooperation of my children who are taking long naps (jinx, jinx, don't wake up just because I said that!), I bring you pictures of our family and our recent happenings:



 Grace and Camille had a fashion shoot in our backyard recently.  Grace likes to play it serious-

 - and Camille likes to play the clown.

 We went to see the musical Pinkalicious with some of our gal pals and we had an awesome time.  The girls came to our house the day before and painted these cupcake tee's.  I don't think that anyone has worn theirs since, but it was nice of them to have such team spirit the day of.

 This is Clark in Grace's bed.  He says "I like it!" and doesn't want to leave.

 This is at the Valentine's party at the girls' once-a-week preschool class.  You can see that all of my kids are having a very awesome time.

 "Okay, Mom, I'll smile my sweetest smile, just for you!"

 Aren't my girls growing up?  They're so pretty.

And good friends with their bro- I really appreciate that each day.

Paul turned 33 and ate a leftover piece of pie from Christmas.  It was in the freezer, lest you think that I am any badder than I am.  I think that the look on his face says, "I love you, I love pie, and I love being 33."

This is how my brother Seth feeds Clark.  You can try it with your kids if you're running out of ideas on how to get them to eat their veggies.  Hopefully you like this level of intimacy with your child's fork.  Mmm.

Clark wanted to wear a pair of the girls' princess underwear.  I like to save this picture to torture him someday.  So many easy ways to make the 8 year old Clark squirm (Excellent (said in Mr. Burns voice)).