AAAAANNNNNDDDDD we're off!!!

Nanner Nanner NAAAAANNNER!!!!

Okay, that's out of my system, but COME ON! I have to gloat a LITTLE that I'm at least a tiny bit ahead of the game here... I mean, there are even presents under there! Which means, yes, we ventured out into the dangerous jungle called... BLACK FRIDAY!

But I'll back up some.

Julia is in on the big secret now. You know, the BIG one. Yes, she knows the truth about Santa Claus. It didn't come as much of a shock to her. Last year, I had a suspicion the jig was up when she said, "Mom, can I ask you a question, and do you promise you'll tell me the truth." Of course, my love, I said. Thinking before speaking, she said slowly, "On Christmas Eve, do you and Dad get up after midnight and go to the store, buy gifts for us and pretend they are from Santa Claus?" Heaving a huge sigh of relief, I answered, "Julia, I promise you that on Christmas Eve, me and Dad do NOT get up after midnight and go to the store." She looked skeptical. "Pinky promise!" I said, extending my fourth finger out. Good enough for her. "You got off on a technicality!" laughed my husband.

So he thought it was time to let her in on the big reveal, thinking she should know about it before kids make fun of her in school. So since Hayden was safely across town, we brought her down and told her. I figured she would fall apart (I did!) but she was really cool with it. She's excited to be in on the joke so she can have fun watching her brothers now.

Yesterday we had a great time at my mother's house in the Woodlands for Thanksgiving. I spent a great deal of time squeezing on my nephew, Jackson. Don't tell my mother, but he was more delicious than the turkey! He is such a good baby! He cracked a big grin at me a couple of times, but mostly, he was happy just to lay or sleep with me holding him. We were able to visit with my dad and Kathy, my grandparents and more family. And for those of you who are dying to know, Julia loves pumpkin pie. Go figure.

We got home rather late and got the kids into bed. I don't think I moved all night long, I was so tired. And my good night's sleep was complete since Boo decided he wouldn't come get in bed with me between the hours of 3 and 6AM! So Mike and I woke up at 7AM, looked at each other and said "What the heck. Let's go."

We hit Starbucks first, but then on to Target, the mall, lunch, Sam's, Wal-Mart, and back to Target. Then home, nap with Brandon, wrap presents and put the tree up. And it was truly a team effort. This year Brandon loved putting the ornaments on the tree, and three hours later, he hasn't taken a single one back off!

While we're certainly not finished, we're off to a better start than I thought we would be. I would say we're about 70% there. And the deals, oh my, I love a good deal, and there were LOTS of them!

So as they say, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!! It's time for Christmas!

BONUS BLOG!

I saw this on another blog and had to do it!

Everything you wanted...and didn't want...to know about Michael!

Where did you meet?
We didn’t officially meet until two months after summer band started in August of 1988 at Sam Rayburn High School. I had to practically stalk him before he approached me and handed me a note in the hallway at school.

How long did you date?
6 years

How long have we been married?
15 years this August. Whoa.

What does he say that surprises you?
Can’t think of anything in particular, although he loves to say things that bug me. He says he does it because he loves me.

What is your favorite feature about him?
His eyes, his smile, and he has nice hands.

What is your favorite quality of his?
He is so patient.

Does he have a nickname for you?
He calls me “Honey”.

What is his favorite color?
Mmmm, green or blue, I think.

What is his favorite sport?
He loves football.

What is his favorite food?
I can’t really say he likes a type of food more than others, because he eats a variety of things… as long as they don’t have onions in them.

Where and when did you first kiss?
HA! I love this question because it’s a source of debate. The first actual kiss was in the foyer of his house with my mother waiting in the car outside, October of 1988. I know because I felt it for days afterward. While he says he remembers that kiss, he insists that our second kiss was our first kiss. We argue about this regularly.

What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
I suppose aside from the obvious : ) we like to watch our favorite shows together: The Office, The Amazing Race, The Soup, Lost….

Do you have children?
Some of the most gorgeous ever, yes. Julia is 9, Hayden will be 6 next month, and Brandon is 2 ½.

Does he have a hidden talent?
SOOO many! He’s a great cook, landscaper, carpenter, doctor….

How old is he?
34, but a year and a half younger – which he loves to remind me of quite often.

Who said "I love you first?"
Well, probably me. He was so shy, and I’m so…. not shy.

What is his favorite type of music?
Alternative, although he listens to a broad range often.

What do you admire most about him?
He is every woman’s dream as far as a husband, friend and father. He is nuts about his kids.

Do you think he will read this?
He’ll pretend not to, but I know he regularly reads my blog. BUSTED!

Where did you go on your first date?
HA! To Rayburn’s homecoming, which was actually just the football game. We were in band. Little did we know my parents sat right behind his parents and trash talked about Michael the whole time – which they heard!

Thanksgiving Eve

Ahhhh....

Four consecutive days off!!!! EVERYBODY SAY "HAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!"

It is so blissfully quiet at home right now. Could it be my rowdy kindergartner is in The Woodlands with my mother? Why yes! He's getting some quality one-on-one with Nina and Paw Paw tonight before we join them and the rest of the family for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to the holiday this year, particularly because it will be the first time I've spent the day with my dad in I don't know how many years. He and my step-mother Kathy are coming to my mother's house. Some say that's weird, but in our case, it's not.

Talk about a minimal week! Mike and I tag teamed this week in regard to care for the two big kids. Since school is closed all week for the Holiday, our alternative was to put them both in Kids R Kids for 3 days. But given that they wanted a full week of tuition, $140 each, well, an alternative was necessary. So I took Monday off, Mike took Tuesday off. Today they drove all over Houston with Michael's dad in his big wrecker! That leaves me working just two days this week.

So a great day tomorrow will start with Julia and I preparing our sweet potato dish, all while watching the Thanksgiving parade on TV. Does anyone besides me and Julia LOVE that parade? It's such a tradition!! They were cracking up the other day at the commercial where big balloon Stewie...and the other one, (that, for some reason has escaped me at the moment...) battle over the balloon Coke bottle, ultimately to end up with Charlie Brown. So cute.

Julia has also informed us that she wants to try pumpkin pie. This I just don't quite understand...? Pumpkin pie is just the most perfect Thanksgiving treat, so undeniably yummy, I can't fathom anyone needing to get their gumption up to try it? I bought a huge one at Sam's today and am secretly hoping that no one else wants any so that I can have as much as I want!

And Friday, the tree will go up. My husband has told me that he thinks he needs to be somewhere.... The punk.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. May you enjoy your time with your families and give thanks!

A Nine Year-Old Girl and a "Clipping Up" Boy

Well, its officially official now. We have a tween.

Julia's birthday was Friday, and even before then, it seems we had celebrated her birthday at least 5 times already! In any case, her party was Friday evening at Sweet and Sassy, where she and 7 of her friends enjoyed "A Night on the Red Carpet". What's that? See the pictures by clicking the link to the right of this post and look in the "November 2008" folder. (Our beautiful pictures from Wurstfest are in the same folder. )

And how's this for a change? Our Hayden has clipped up to blue two days in a row! I know most of you don't know what that means, but let's just say it's a good thing. He is very proud of himself.

I know my posts have been short and not as frequent - sorry - but I barely have time to sit these days, and the time that I do have to sit, the creativity just isn't coming. Tired, tired and more tired. Funny how I always say this time of year gives me energy, but at the end of the day, I feel sapped of it more than ever!

Until Next Year...

Wow, we could not have asked for a more perfect weekend to go to the river this year.

We've been going to Wurstfest in November for almost 20 years, and we've never seen fall foliage. Fall must have come early this year because the trees were just BEAUTIFUL. I couldn't stop taking pictures. It was so awesome just to sit, listen and look around. I guess if I had one gripe at all, it would be that the river was very, very low, and didn't sing the way it normally does. But all things considered, it was picture perfect... see above for proof!

Mike picked me up from work early last Thursday and we took off. We arrived early in the afternoon and met up with my two aunts, and later our friend Jim. It was COLD - but yes, we love it that way! A roaring fire and some great campsite food is the way to go!

The next day, my aunt's friends arrived and some more of our friends, bringing our group total to 12. We played board games by the river, visited the dam at Canyon Lake and cruised River Road in the Mini. A perfect day.

Wurstfest was Friday night, a change from the regular routine because we usually go on Saturdays. This worked out better because it wasn't nearly as crowded! Although we missed out on the traditional chicken dance, our group had a great time eating some fabulous food and dancing to the "ooompa" music!

That left one more full day at the river and campsite, more games, more cruising, more laughing, more relaxing...

Perfect. Weekends such as these make it very hard to wait for the next one!

Fun Halloween Weekend

We had such a fun Halloween this year!

We started with a party at Julia's best friend's house. Her mother went all out! There were several stations for the kids, such as pumpkin decorating, cookie decorating, flashlight projects, play dough, pumpkin sticker projects, etc! And she had fruit, cold cuts, and juice. But I must say, the best part of all was the "Grown Up Cooler", complete with several variations of beer and wine for all of the Mommies and Daddies!

Julia, the "Midnight Fairy", Hayden "The Joker", and Brandon, "Batman"

There were at least 15 kids at the party who all had a very good time! Once everyone left at dusk, we went Trick or Treating with our friends. Julia had a blast with Megan, and Hayden enjoyed running with his buddy, Mason, who is his age. Brandon caught on quickly to the concept, and tried his very best to keep up with the older children. His bucket became very heavy after a while! I must say, this was the first time I had ever been Trick or Treating with my kids while bringing along a glass of wine for myself, but this added a whole new element of fun. Be sure to check out the full gallery of Halloween pictures on my Smugmug website (link is to the right sidebar) and see if you notice how many of the adults have an alcoholic beverage in hand! Other parents commented that they wish they had thought of that!

Once we were done, we stopped by to see Aunt Di, and luckily, our cousins Jackson and Matthew were there too, and very eager to pass out yet more candy to my kids. Once we got home and turned on the porch light to indicate we were open for business, we had a grand total of two doorbell rings! I foresaw this and only bought one small bag of candy to pass out this year.

All of the kids slept in late Saturday morning, which was very nice. Then it was off to Hayden's final game of the season. Hayden played very well, with each at bat resulting in a hit. Always a crowd-pleaser, in the second inning after his hit, while sprinting to first base, Hayden rolled up his sleeve to display his massive "muscle bump" in his bicep to the adoring crowd. Once the game was over, we moved over to the pavilion to celebrate the Bats fantastic fall season with a party. The kids had pizza, cupcakes and trophies! Coach Joe congratulated Hayden on being the team's strongest hitter!

Thanks to Nina and PawPaw, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Jenny, cousins Baileigh and baby Jackson for coming out to support Hayden and cheer him on!

Saturday evening was date night for Mike and I. We were invited by my boss to attend a gala held at the dealership to Champion the Cure for Cystic Fibrosis. There we had fantastic food provided by some of the best restaurants in our area. We even shook hands with Houston Astros pitcher Woody Williams. It was fun evening and we had a great time hanging out together. We are so very blessed that our children are healthy.

Today is Sunday, and we're looking forward to relaxing with the kids and finishing up laundry. Michael is planning some of his famous baby back ribs for dinner tonight. Aren't you SO jealous????