Reruns

Jack is now right about the age that Henry was when I started my blog.  That is very difficult for me to believe.  Henry, affectionately referred to in his younger years as Hurricane Henry, was often a destructive little tot.  He was very, um, shall we say curious?  (That's a nice way of saying he got. into. freaking. everything.)  One of my favorite stories?  The bagina cream episode.  I still laugh out loud every single time I think about this or tell the story.

I also was looking at our Christmas posts from 2007.  We only had two children!  The boys decorating their tree were so cute.  And Jack wore the pajamas David has on in the photos last night. 

They have the same little Christmas tree in their playroom right now.  You can almost see it under the four sets of garland and 592 Christmas ornaments.  Next year we'll replace that little four foot tree with a much larger playroom tree.  Hello Goodwill for that one!

And  seriously?  Could you not eat this child up???  Why do I not remember him being so fat?!  (And looking at this picture I understand why people tell me I look like my mother. . . It's not often that I look at myself and think that, but this photo?  Whoa.)

Christmas Card Rejects

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We took our Christmas card pictures this morning.

 I have about 42,305,396 rejected photos.

To say Jack was less than thrilled to be modeling is an understatement.

Getting three boys to sit still and smile is difficult!



Theodore Thanksgiving

Please meet Theodore Thanksgiving.

 He's arrived straight from the North Pole to keep track of the goings on here and report directly each night to the big guy with the Naughty or Nice list.

You can't touch him (Thank you Jesus) because his magic might go away.

And each morning he's in a new place. 
Like perhaps on the shelf with the dog treats.

You better be good, because he's watching you.

He has to keep track so he can tell Santa how your behavior is.

I hope he's hiding a big notebook in those skinny pants,

because he's about to see a lot of things he needs to report. . .

Gobble Gobble!

This is a turkey plate.  I HATED these plates when I was a kid.  We ate Thanksgiving dinner on them each year.  They were my grandmother's, then my mother's.  I had some serious disdain for the turkey plates.  Now?  Can you see where this is going?  I have a love for the turkey plate that borders on obsession.  I coveted the turkey plates.  There is a set of 12, and a large platter.  They are old, and they are marvelous.  I told my mother when she died that I wanted her turkey plates, silver bangle bracelets, and her drop leaf table.  (I know that's weird.  Hush.)  My. Mother. Gave. Them. To. Me.  I am not kidding when I tell you that I clapped with excitement about owning the turkey plates.  She said if she starts hosting Thankgsiving again she gets them back.  Clearly never happening.  Gobble Gobble!

Dining Room

You may recall what our dining room looked like before. . .

Basic builder beige, nothing on the windows, lots of boxes and dish packs to take care of.

I was really not terribly motivated to get this room done immediately. 

We don't eat in here daily.

Enter my we're-hosting-Thanksgiving-and-I'm-not-doing-it-in-an-unfinished-room panic.

Please note, nobody who ate Thankgsiving here would have cared one tiny bit if we ate on paper plates at my kitchen table.

But I care.

Christopher worked his hiney off painting the room a lovely shade of blue.

He also hung my curtain rods. 

And the curtains. 

(Which are painter's drop cloths hung with curtain clips.)

And he hung them three times, until they were the length I wanted.

 Now?  The room I would keep behind a closed door is one of my favorites!
It doesn't even look like the same room.
I'm thrilled with the way it came out. 
We still have a bit more to do on a wall I've not shown, but I'll post that when it's done!

Two of our neighbors were here yesterday, and both have lived in the neighborhood for a number of years.
Both have also been in our house when the previous two owners lived here.
Both said, "This house looks the best it has ever looked."
That makes me smile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I have a lot to be thankful for.  (I have a lot to be thankful for every day, but have been more mindful of it recently.)  Some examples?

I'm thankful for healthy, happy, smart children. 

For the three brothers who love each other and are great little friends.

I'm thankful for David's wit, his sense of humor, his smiling face, his silly jokes, and his warm snuggles at night.

I'm thankful for Henry's big heart, his sensitivity, and his charm. 

For the way he cares about other people first, and for his generosity. 

For his big hugs, his happy personality, and his big love for his mama.

I'm thankful for crazy baby Jack, who always keeps us laughing.

For his persistent personality, even when that means he's having a fit about something.

For his (still) little baby voice, because I can hold on to that baby for a little longer.

For his warm little baby breath, and his little arms hugging my neck.

For his naughty, naughty ways and his sweet little smile.



I'm thankful that his dive into the coffee table warranted nothing worse than a cut

and some embarassing Minnie Mouse ears.

 I'm thankful for a wonderful husband, who loves me very much. 

And tells me often.

For a healthy marriage that isn't always perfect, and takes a lot of work.

But is well worth the effort.

I'm thankful he's a great dad, and loves our children with his whole heart.

I'm especially thankful that his surprise trip to the ER yesterday was not as scary as it could have been.

I'm thankful for health, and for the good fortune we've had.

I've got a lot to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

David's Christmas List

Clearly Santa Claus must have an uncanny ability to decipher a pictogram.

My favorite party is "Thank you Santa Claus.  Yay."

Too Soon?

I put a Christmas tree up yesterday.

I guess I'll decorate it with turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Staircase re-do

I can't handle some blank walls.  Whether it's paint that's added, or something else, I have to add something.  As soon as we bought this house we knew we would want to do a big photo display up the stairs.  I'm sure there are all kinds of tips for hanging photos on a staircase.  We followed none of them.  This is what the staircase looked like when we bought the house.

And this is what it looks like now.

I love it.  We hung close to forty frames.  We just started with the larges frames and (sort of) equally spaced them out going up the stairs.  Then we went back and filled in with smaller frames.  We'll change a lot of the pictures.  Some frames are blank right now, and some are hanging sideways.  I am really happy with the end result though.  We will eventually paint the staircase and hallways, but the ceiling is so high (probably around 20 feet high) that we need to figure out the best way for us to do that.  And not have someone die in the process.  

We also hung a ribbon board and photo in the office area.  

I love this little space.

Chris has been working for the last few days to patch some bad spots in the dining room. 

As a result, a large portion of the dining room furniture is in our room.  This is the view from our bed.

I love those chairs, but I don't want them in my room.

Thankfully, tomorrow we'll have paint!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that the accident that did this to my dad's car did not cause him any injury. 

None at all, other than some discomfort and bruising. 

I am thankful for seatbelts. 

And thankful that my father wears one.

I am thankful I was close when it happened so I could get there and be with my dad. 

 If not to make him feel better, to make myself feel better, as selfish as that may be.

I am thankful that the other people in the accident do not have life threatening injuries.

I am thankful I work with the people I do, whom I love like my family, who do not hesitate to take care of each other in stressful times.

I am thankful my dad has such a great sense of humor.

And thankful he harassed everyone in the hospital, because that made me know he was OK.