Yay Jim

Jim finally got his blog at 5504 running again. Click on his link to the right to check it out.

I'm not a grinch

Contrary to how the previous posts sound, we had an awesome Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone.

REALLY damn the toy companies

Even worse than wrapping the toy boxes is actually getting the toys OUT. Ask me how much I hate those stupid coated wires twisted a million times holding every little piece imaginable to the cardboard. Ugh.

Damn those toy companies

While the toy merchandise boxes are great to see in the store (triangular-shaped, open on one side to see all the toy), they are a pain in the ass to wrap. Good thing the paper will be torn off in a Christmas morning frenzy so the wrapping job won't be critiqued.

Too Much TV?

Grace turned to me yesterday at breakfast and said very matter-of-factly "Mama, you only need a capful for the entire load."

And when I was turning off the TV the other day she said (in a slightly stricken voice) "Dave from the collection agency called her and she hasn't been paying her bills!"

Those two statements, combined with her being very specific about what she wanted for Christmas this year, have certainly made me see the difference of her shifting from watching PBS and Noggin (both commercial-free) to watching Nick Jr on Nickelodeon (NOT commercial-free). Really hits home how much of a little sponge I have here who soaks up just about ANYTHING she hears. And we've always thought that Grace had a freakishly good memory, which certainly adds to the equation.

Or maybe she just wants to follow in Mommy and Daddy's footsteps into the world of Advertising. Oh my Lord I hope not.

Should have used this for the Christmas card

Oh well. I'll show it here since we didn't use it on the card. And if anyone reading this that normally gets a Christmas card is wondering if they've been cut from the list, know that I just haven't sent the darn things out yet.

Also, check out my two new links over there on the right. Pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum.

Merry Hanukkwanzmas

The hoo hah lately over "Put the Christ back into Christmas" is driving me nuts. If you've been under a rock and don't know what I'm talking about, it's the religious right all up in arms and wanting to boycott retailers who focus on "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas" in their advertising. Never mind that there are actually other religions out there celebrating during the same holiday season. And while it may be weird to have to purchase a "holiday tree", BIG DEAL! Just call it a Christmas tree (or Hanukkah shrub or Kwanzaa branch or Festivus pole) when you get it home.

There was a great letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News this morning about this. It pointed out that the American Family Association shouldn't be worried about the very "essence of what is being celebrated" being taken out of the season by retailers pushing Happy Holidays on us. If anything, getting a great deal on your dvd player/Playstation2/iPod enabling you to buy more, more, more is about as far from the real essence of Christmas as you can get. So just lighten up and focus on some real problems out there.

Two Kids

I'm still navigating having two kids. No problem having enough love for both of them; as any parent can attest you have an unlimited supply of love to go around. There's just not enough of ME to go around. Specifically, if Grace comes and sits in my lap to cuddle, rest assured that the minute Alex sees her there he is motoring over as fast as his little knees/feet can move him to pull her hair and try to weasel his way in. And poor Gracie usually has to give up her place to keep the peace because Alex will start crying until he gets the seat of honor.

Don't worry - Grace gets quality Mom time every night when we read books before bed. And I'm hoping she doesn't remember too much of pre-Alex days when she was queen of the household. But it still must be tough to be the older kid.

Fun in the morning

Grace got up a couple of weeks ago and decided that she was going to the (imaginary) beach that morning. So she donned her beach hat and took a bunch of friends downstairs to hang out on the sand. So here's a pic of Grace in her Care Bears nightgown with beach hat, and what Jim and I thought was a very funny set up of her friends on the couch.

Grace at the beach in the morning. 

All her friends lined up on the couch with their beach "hats" on. I don't know which I like better- baby doll Sophie with the pink lid on her head or the brown bear with the pint-size inverted container hat.

Very Sad

I didn't know him personally, but knew his voice. My favorite talk show host on KERA-FM died yesterday morning. Glenn Mitchell was the best at making just about anyone seem interesting. And the Friday "Anything you ever wanted to know" show - people call in with a question about anything and if Glenn couldn't answer it then rest assured some caller would be able to - was the most entertaining thing on the airwaves.

Here's the story from the Dallas Morning news. And here's the obit from the KERA website.

He will be sorely missed.

I also hate...

...Hummers. While I can roll my eyes at huge gas-guzzling SUVs, the sight of a Hummer rolling down my street makes me just want to scream and flip the driver off. And don't you know here in Dallas I have plenty of opportunity to feel that way. Is there a bigger "f-you" car available in America? To me it seems like the epitome of self-centered "we're Americans and nobody can tell us what to do so screw the environment/oil dependence/etc" mentality. And all I can think of is that the drivers must think they look so bad ass driving around in it. Probably assuming that my staring is admiration and not disgust.

Sheesh.

I HATE...

...folding sheets by myself. Especially fitted sheets. Thank God for Lupe.

The Telephone

So have you ever read the original Curious George book? The one where George the monkey is captured from the jungle, and while discovering fascinating things in the human world plays with the telephone, calls the fire department and gets thrown in jail for it. Well guess what my little monkey did today.

I had taken Alex upstairs, rocking him to get him to take his afternoon nap (Grace was playing downstairs), when someone knocked on the door a couple times. My first thought was that it was our playdate having come early, figuring either Liz or I had gotten 2:30 and/or 3:30 mixed up. But no, it was one of Dallas' finest knocking at our door. I opened the door and the policeman asked me if I'd called for help. When I said no, he confirmed my address, then it hit me. Sure enough I picked up the phone and hit "redial", only to discover that the last number Alex hit before going to bed was "91111123".

I apologized profusely.

Halloween

So I'm only about 2 weeks behind in posting these.

We had a fun Halloween this year. Went and celebrated over in the M Streets with our friends Jay and Maja and their kids Sydney and Bella (one of Grace's best friends). It was so much fun to watch the trick-or-treating because Grace and Bella are now old enough to go up and knock on the door by themselves while we just stood back on the sidewalk and waited. Poor Alex was strapped in the stroller the whole time - no candy for him. I think this may be Grace's favorite holiday. She just about runs from house to house ("COME ON Bella, let's go to the next house").

I made their costumes this year, which kind of surprised me since I'm usually not crafty at all when it comes to Halloween stuff. But Grace was Boo from Monster's Inc - originally put together for a costume birthday party we went to last March. And she decided that Alex needed to be Mike Wazowski from the same movie. He's the little round green guy with one eye. Much to Jim's dismay I had to put Alex in tights for his costume, but I just couldn't find any green pants in his size to use instead.

Also Grace discovered Junior Mints, her new favorite candy. She walked away from her final house with her hand cupped over her nose. I thought she'd smelled something stinky, but she was holding that little white box up against her nose breathing in the minty fresh scent. She continued that once we got home, holding each one up to her nose taking a deep sniff before putting it in her mouth. Heaven to a 3 year old, I guess.

My two kiddos in costume. 

Another shot of Alex in his Mike costume.

Most of the time Grace loves her little brother. 

I like this picture because you can see Gracie's hand around Alex's shoulder.

This is who my kids were supposed to look like.

Mmmmm...Junior Mints

So so tasty.

I wanna be a cowboy

Grace had Rodeo Day at school the Friday before Halloween. Very cute seeing all the kiddos in their "western" gear (if you consider vests made out of paper bags western wear). Grace brought her cowboy hat too but we loaned it to her friend Aiden who had forgotten his. My daughter is often the envy of other 3-yr old girls with those rocking hot pink boots.

Grace decked out for Rodeo day. 

Grace and some of her classmates.

The kids paraded around the church, which was actually pretty cool because they were being led by some of the marching band members from North Dallas High.

Just proving that Alex was there too. In this picture you can see Grace's busted lip she got falling down in front of Tom Thumb the day before. 

Pony rides!

That's Grace on the front pony.

Alex opens gifts

Well, we finally located the cable to download pictures off the little camera. I've got a ton to post so I think I'll spread them out over a few days to not overwhelm everyone with my kids.

Here's a few from Alex's birthday evening (not the party later that week).

 

More excited by the ribbons than by the gifts his sister is opening for him. 

Grace helped with everything from opening Alex's gifts to wanting to "show" him how to play with his new toys. 

Seconds before Alex picks up the puzzle piece and flings it. 

Curse of having a big sister part 2

Poor Alex.

Gracie's art.

Grace draws these wonderful people now. The picture above is about her playdate with Sarabeth this week. Grace is in the middle, Sarabeth is on the right (she has her glasses on). She draws bodies with great big bellybuttons, then "Oh, I forgot their clothes" and scribbles the body in. She also said they both have red panties and shorts on. Purple thing to the left of Grace is Sarabeth's dog (head with four legs). Triangle to the left of the dog is the slide in Sarabeth's house, and the bumps on the bottom are her piano the girls played on. Love it.

The boy turns 1

Happy birthday, Alex!

Wow, I can't believe it's been an entire year since our little guy joined our family. All the parents who told me you can actually love your second child as much as you do your first were right. And what a rough and tumble boy he turned out to be. So different than Gracie was - he loves to bang things, throw things, pound things against his head. He thinks head-butting ("clonking") is one of the funniest things you can do with him.

We had a family birthday dinner of spaghetti followed by ice cream. Alex was in heaven. And he got lots of help from his sister in opening a few presents tonight. But now we are finding ourselves in the situation of having to tell Grace that it doesn't matter that she picked up the toy first - Alex now has toys that are HIS, and if he wants to play with them then he gets them.

I got to wrap the day up with my sweet little guy hugging me and babbling softly to me while I rocked him to sleep. With chubby little arms thrown around my neck. It doesn't get much better than this.

Happy birthday little guy.

Curse of having a big sister

"MOM...Alex won't sit still so I can put my Dorothy shoes on him"

Destructo Boy strikes again

Alex - 1
Pyrex baking dish - 0

These boots are made for walking

Grace wore her new cowgirl boots today. Lots of compliments. She even wore them with her leotard and tights on the way to dance class this afternoon. I'm not sure I'll be able to get her into any other shoes for a while now.

She wanted to show off her pink soccer ball in this picture too. Can you tell what her favorite color is these days?