Santa

Okay, I know I just posted, but I forgot one thing. Melinda mentioned in her blog about her quandary with kids and "lying" to them about Santa. Well, I have had the same issues with Grace. She is a very curious kid, and I seriously think that if I don't use different "special" wrapping paper for the presents from Santa, she would probably notice and ask why Santa's stuff is wrapped just like everything else. When I was a kid, I couldn't have cared less, and I wouldn't have noticed. But she does. So she's been asking me about whether Santa is real. I always try to deflect and ask her, "well what do you think?" And she answers, "Yes, I think he's real." But then she'll start to tell me how a friend of hers told her he wasn't real. (I really want to smack this kid for putting the idea in her head in the first place!) But, even though she says she thinks he's real, I think she still has doubts. Because she wrote her letter to Santa a few days ago, and wanted me to mail it. I, of course, told her I would, and as soon as she'd gone to bed, ripped it open to see what it said. It had her list of what she wanted for Christmas, and among the ipod, bunny slippers, roller skates, and other things, she also asked for a "picshur of you" (Santa), and a "picshur of your elves". What can I say...I guess she just wants proof!

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and More...

Well, it sure feels like I haven't posted in FOREVER. I tell ya, heading into the holidays just makes life a little crazier. But I love it. November has just flown by. My parents came into town over Trevor's birthday, and we all spent the weekend in San Antonio. That was lots of fun to enjoy the nice weather and relax.
For Thanksgiving, we headed to Austin to spend it with our good friends, the Cluffs. They have four kids, and we have three, so it was a full house and a little crazy. But that's what makes it fun. Good friends, good food, good times. Thanks Jay and Julie for a wonderful weekend! Julie and I hit all the Black Friday (and Saturday) sales. I have two words for you, people: Potterybarn Outlet. Need I say more? What more could you want in life? Nothing, that's what. The whole entire store was 40% off except for the furniture...it was 60% off! I know, it just about made me pee my pants! I love that place. We shopped and shopped, and shopped some more over the two days. It was a lot of fun, and yes, we got up at the crack of dawn Friday morning because that's just what we do! It's fun to get up when it's still dark out, and just throw on some clothes and shop all around town with bedhead. After about noon, we felt like we needed to head back to at least shower, since most of the people we were seeing weren't the "early morning" crowd that looked like us anymore. But I got almost all my Christmas shopping done, so mission accomplished!
I have a small confession to make. My Christmas tree has been up and decorated since a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I know...it's against even my own rules. But we got a new tree this year. The $20 6-footer from WalMart that we bought 6 or 7 years ago, was screaming for a break. Or maybe it was just me screaming. Anyhow, we got a new one, and it's beautiful and the best part is it's PRE-LIT! Fantastic. So, we just couldn't wait until after Thanksgiving to put it up. And I figure, we won't be around over Christmas, so we needed to put it up early so we could enjoy it for as long as possible.
Well friends, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And I hope you all enjoy as much as I do this wonderful Christmas season. I promise to post pics next time I post.

Shots

So all three of my girls had well-check doctor's appointments today. I wanted to get all of them done, so we did it all today in hopes that it would be quick and painless. When I scheduled the appointmens 3 weeks ago, Grace happened to overhear the conversation and immediately started asking me over and over whether she would be given shots or not. You see, she is a sensitive child and little overly dramatic. She immediately started crying and carrying on about shots that she "might" receive in 3 WEEKS! I told her, she probably wouldn't need immunizations, but she would definitely be getting a flu shot, and she didn't need to worry...especially since it wasn't happening immediately. Well, when she woke up this morning, the first words out of her mouth were about the impending doctor's visit. I took the two younger girls to their appointments right after breakfast, and all went very smoothly. I was able to rationally tell Holly that she was going to get a quick poke, and it would be okay, and if she would be very good she would get a treat. She did her duty, put a brave face on, cried for just a few seconds, and then was good as gold. After that I was even able to talk her into going down to the lab where they would do another quick poke so they could take her blood to run some tests. She didn't even care! She rocked that blood test like no other 3 year old could. The baby cried for maybe a minute for her shots, but as soon as the band-aids were on, she was just fine. Well, after lunch, I go to check Grace out of school to take her to her appointment. As soon as she gets in the car it's the Spanish Inquisition! "Mom, how many shots do I have to have? Are they going to do it at the beginning or the end of the appointment? Are you sure it won't hurt worse than when I got my ears pierced, because I remember last time you told me that and it hurt worse, and I cried..." on and on and on. Seriously, last time this child had her shots, I was physically laying on top of her trying to restrain her long enough for the poor nurse to get the job done. Today was no different. A nurse came in to take the baby so I could help "restrain" Grace. She literally freaks out so much that she doesn't even feel the shots. It's the same thing every time. After all the screaming and commotion was over, she asked me what had happened. It's like she goes out of her mind, and doesn't even remember what happened! It's the anticipation that freaks her out. Next time, I am just not going to tell her when her appointment is, and just surprise her.
Trevor got his shots today, too, at work. So everyone in my little family (me excluded) were all comparing their band-aids and telling their "stories" tonight at bedtime. Funny stuff.

Ode to Trevor

Happy Birthday to the best-est husband a girl could ask for! Can I gush for just a moment? I don't know what I would do without you. You are the smartest, most patient, fun-loving, kind, hard-working, loveable, forgiving person I know--and you're cute to boot! You are such a wonderful daddy, and our girls just idolize you. Trev, I love you more than you know, and I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

My Personal Best Blonde Moment

I just need to preface this by telling myself that we all do dumb things...right? Or am I the only one?! Well, I was out running errands today. And I needed to run to the bank to deposit some checks. After that, I circled around to the ATM to pull out my bi-weekly grocery allotment. (I should have just done it while I was in the regular line! Hindsight is always 20/20.) Trevor's out of town for a few days, so I had called him on the phone with a question. So, I was somewhat distracted when I was at the ATM. I put in my debit card, entered the pin number, then the amount, told it I wanted a receipt, etc. etc. Then I took my card, and my receipt, and DROVE OFF! That's right, I drove off without taking my money. I just kept on talking to Trevor on the phone and drove away. Well, I was several blocks away when I realized my mistake, and shrieked into the phone, "Oh, shoot! I have to turn around! I'll call you back!!" All the way back to the bank, I was praying that no one had been to the ATM behind me and taken my money. I get back to the bank and another car is pulling up to the ATM. I jumped out of my car and flagged the lady down to try and tell her what I was doing. She probably thought I was some lunatic trying to hold her up or something. Well I see my money sticking out of the ATM, which I immediately grab. (Don't worry, the lady hadn't even put her card in yet.) But, the problem was, the money that was there did not equal the amount that I had asked for. But I knew that if someone had stolen my money, they would have stolen the entire amount. But the machine was clicking like it was still trying to spit the rest of the money out, and it was jammed or something. Well, the lady drove off without using the machine. Another car pulled up, and I told the man what had happened to me. He proceeded to use the ATM, and only got $60 of the $100 he had asked for. So, now we know for sure that the ATM is broken. Well, I get one of the teller's attention, and she tells me that someone had been there to fix the ATM this morning, but it must not be fixed yet. Nice. Could you put up a Out of Order sign or something? Sheesh! The teller then proceeds to tell me that she can't help me because she doesn't deal with ATM problems. I have to call the 1-800 number on the back of my debit card and they will resolve the problem in a few days. Meanwhile, I'm still freaking out in my mind because I had driven off...what if someone HAD taken my money? What if when they investigate my claim, and they check the records of the ATM it says that it gave me all my money? Then what? I guess I'll be out of a couple hundred dollars, and I will be one sad girl.

Moral of the story...do NOT talk on the phone while operating an ATM machine!!! Now I'm not the only one that has "blonde" moments, right? I want to hear your's!! (Hey Molly, I stole the picture from your blog...it was fitting for the subject matter, don't you think?)

Halloween

Well, I should be sweeping and mopping my kitchen whilst my children are sleeping...but I just had to finally put some Halloween pictures up! We had so much fun. Our ward had a Halloween party/trunk-or-treat. The primary was in charge of a cake walk. So, I spent many hours in my kitchen producing all sorts of treats to contribute. I was totally exhausted by the time the party rolled around. But it was fun, and totally worth it. The kids had a blast. Buzz Lightyear even made an appearance. In case you are wondering...Yes, Holly is Elphaba from Wicked--better known as the Wicked Witch of the West. And yes, we had to listen to the soundtrack in the car on the way to and from the party with all of us singing at the top of our lungs.I think the only reason Grace wanted to be a ballerina was so she could wear makeup--what a GIRL!!! And Baby Kate would NOT hold still for a picture. I chased her around with the camera for a long time trying to get a shot, but they all turned out blurry because she was constantly moving! But, in case you can't tell from the picture, she is sporting white onesy that says "Daddy's Little Pumpkin", and she is also wearing a black bat beanie that has wings. She looked really cute at the beginning of the night, but then she kept trying to pull the hat off and got her shirt all messy. Babies! I made these cute "mummy-dogs" our of rhode's rolls for dinner. The kids thought they were pretty cool. Trevor carved the pumpkins with the girls while I was searching the entire Houston area trying to find black shoestring licorice so I could make "spider" cookies. But, alas, I could not find any without having to drive downtown, which I wasn't willing to do. Although, after all the time I spent driving around locally I probably could have gone down there and back and saved some time! Arg! I need Macey's!! Oh well, next year, I will plan ahead of time.

I hope all of you had a fun and safe Halloween!!