Christmastime is Here....

I had some fun with the kids this weekend, and dressed them up in their best church clothes.  I also put Annie in her adorable coat and let her play outside while I snapped some shots.  

I love Christmas, and my kids!

Tennessee Tuesday: Well, We Are In The Bible Belt

This truck parks in the same parking lot whenever it comes to Clarksville, and I keep saying that I need a picture of it.  Last week it was parked again, and I just happened to have my camera with me.  

The Massacre Of Goldilocks

Well... it wasn't so much a massacre as it was just a simple haircut.  

Annie's hair was out of control, so I decided to cut it a little bit.  I ended up cutting more than I wanted to, and now I am a little sad.  It looks fine, and Pete reminded me that her hair is growing very fast, so it won't be long before it is a good length again.  I just started putting her hair in ponytails, and now I am afraid I won't be able to do that.  Oh well, at least it's curly, and you can't go wrong with curly. 

On another note, does anyone remember the "Flock Of Seagulls" hair-do from the 80's?

Can I Go Back To Bed?

What a morning I have had, and it's only 8:50!  Here's the lowdown:

I woke up at 6:00 to make breakfast for Pete's residency crew.  Each person is in charge of breakfast on certain Friday's, so I got up to throw it in the oven.  A few minutes later I went back to bed, knowing fully that I would not be going to back to sleep.  A few minutes after that, Annie woke up screaming "mom, don't leave me!  Come back!" I'm not sure what was happening in her dream other than I was leaving her, and she was not happy about it.  When Pete brought her in to see me, she was shocked that I was actually there. 

I spent all morning wiping noses and giving medicine.  

I did get to take a shower before I took Noah to school.  That doesn't always happen. 

Noah needed to pick out something to take for show and tell that started with an "R" so he picked out a red race car.  Well, instead of putting it in his backpack, he carried it all over the house, so when it was time to leave he couldn't find it.  We both looked for a few minutes, but with no luck.  So I found two other race cars, one of them was even red.  This caused one of those meltdowns that tells me he is either tired or sick, and I am afraid it's the latter.   

While the meltdown was occurring, I realized that I did not make Noah's lunch, so I quickly made a sandwich and threw a few other things in there, and right now I am thinking that I did not put a drink in there for him.  Dang it. 

Annie decided that she doesn't like the color red this morning, which caused an issue because her jacket is red.  I had to beg her to put her jacket on just to get in the car.  

We made it to school with two minutes to spare, and now I think I should go back so I can take Noah some juice for lunch.

And when we got home, Annie wanted her shoes off... in the car.  When I told her she had to wait until we got inside, she said "Mom, you are making me so mad.  You need to leave me alone the rest of the day."

It is now 9:01.  I am hoping the rest of the day is a little better, or at least that I don't really have to leave Annie alone all day. 

PhotoStory Friday: Annie and the Rose

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I gave Annie a giant rose after my grandpa's funeral back in September.  She loved it, and I loved hanging out with her in my mom's kitchen and taking pictures.  I loved how her chubby little hands became so gentile and soft when she held it, like she knew it was fragile and special. Just thought I would share these with you.   

I Couldn't Call Her Curly Sue

I had a rough, crazy evening on Wednesday, and needed something to make me smile.  So when Annie got out of the tub, I straightened her hair.  Although it was cute, it's so much cuter when it's curly.  And it didn't stay long.  A few minutes after I put her to bed, I went to check on her, and it was already curly.

The first thing she said when she looked in the mirror was, "It looks like Sydey's hair!" (her friend from Milwaukee).  To see the resemblance, go here.

The Requests Are In

Well, the requests have been pouring in to see my hair in the light (not really, just two requests) so here you go.  They are not great pics, and I am somewhat embarrassed to post them, but whatever.  

Also, the glasses will be part of my ensemble for the next week or so.  I failed to realize that I only had one contact left for my left eye, until Monday when I had to put it in.  No big deal because I had planned on ordering more.  But Tuesday that last contact ripped.  Hmmpphh.  So I have more on the way, but the problem is that my doctor is in Utah. This is one of the few things I decided to keep in Utah, mostly because I had a bad experience with a doctor in Wisconsin.  So the contacts had to be ordered, and I am hoping they get here before next Wednesday, because that's when we drive to Georgia.  I am now thinking I probably should have paid more to have the glare resistant stuff on my glasses, cause now I have to wear them all the time!  Lesson learned.  

Tennessee Tuesday: They're Comin' Home

As I looked out my window Sunday morning, I saw this on my neighbor's garage: 

Our neighbor and her children are getting their husband and father home from Iraq.  He is home from his tour;  its not just his R and R, which means he doesn't have to go back in two weeks.  

Everywhere we go, there are signs like these, welcoming home our many, many troops, most who are coming home between now and March.  

There are so many troops coming home, that Pete does not get any time off at Christmas.  Each soldier has to go through medical and dental screening within 5 days of coming home, so all available doctors and dentists have to be working. 

It's nice to be in a community that is so supportive of our troops.  Maybe they don't support the war, but they love the troops.  I have to give credit to the many wives (and some husbands) of these soldiers.  They give up their spouse for a while, raise their children alone, deal with all the worries, and somehow make it to church on time, drag their kids to the store, visit those who need to be uplifted, and continue to push forward.  I know there is a possibility that soon I could be that wife, so I am observing how these amazing spouses do it.  

Even if you don't support the war, support our troops.  They have done and are doing so much for us, and please, remember them and their families in your prayers.  Hopefully, we will see many more signs like these.

Holy What?

I took the garbage outside last night after dinner, and as I went out, I yelled "Holy crap- it's cold out here!"  As I closed the door, I heard this behind me:

And I heard it continuously for about 5 minutes, as she ran through the house yelling it.  Yes, we should have told her not to say it, but we were too busy rolling on the floor. 

New Hair and A Christmas Miracle!

I went out this morning to get a new hair color and run a few errands.  I was gone for about 4 hours, and usually when I am gone that long, I come home to crazy kids and a husband who has had enough of the crazy kids. 

 

First of all, here's the new hair.  

It's very dark, and it will take some getting used to, but I think I will keep it until after Christmas, and then go back to my trusty old stripes.

When I got home and walked through the door, the furniture had been moved, and Pete and the kids jumped out and yelled "Surprise!"  This is what they had done:

My Christmas tree is up!  And no, Pete did not put the ribbon on it, although that would have given him brownie points.  

I say this is a Christmas miracle because it is the first time Pete has helped with the Christmas tree since we have been married, and he tackled it with three kids (and I didn't even ask). Pete is a bit of a scrooge in the Christmas department, but we are working on that!

Now, it's not done; I still have to put up all the decorations and pull out the ornaments and such, but I am so excited to have the tree up!  I love the way a room feels once the tree is up.  It just feels cozy.  

It's funny how this little tree that pretty much filled our apartment doesn't quite cut it in the house.  I am hoping once everything else is up, it will look better.

PhotoStory Friday: Feet

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

*My mom is going to kill me for posting a picture of her feet*

I have a thing for feet.  I don't like touching people's feet, or even really looking at them.  However, I love my kid's feet.  My husband finds this weird.

I love the way they take them everywhere they want to go. 

 I love the way Noah's flat feet slap on the cement when he runs barefoot. 

I love how Annie's feet were so big, I had to buy her wide shoes when she was 6 months old.

And I love how Cooper's feet are his second pair of hands, as he juggles toys and grabs things with his toes. 

And I love the way they run to me. 

There Is A Chance For The Blog Book

My good friend Laurie is very good at figuring these kinds of things out, and she came through again.  Check out what she posted about blog books.  Thanks, Laurie!  you are amazing!

It's A No-Go For The Blog Books

A few months ago, I posted about this company who will turn your blog into a book.  Well, I started doing that today, and it turns out that the website does not currently support Blogger.  So if you have a blogger blog (which I would say half of the world does) you cannot make a book here.  However, if you just want to make a photo book, they make some great ones.  Here is the website.

And this is just to make you smile.

You smiled, didn't you?

Cooper has been crawling for a few weeks now, and yes, I know- he should be walking by now.  But, he has been content to just watch the world go by and not join in-until now.  Plus, he has had a hard time because most of our house is hard wood floor, so it's pretty slippery. I don't think walking will be too far behind.  He loves the freedom, and our next step is to teach him stairs.  There are a ton of them in our house!

P.S. Ignore his insane hair.  He is due for a haircut. 

Tennessee Tuesday: CFD

Clarksville Fire Department

I know I have mentioned before that aside from spending time with family, I basically grew up at the fire station.  I loved being there as a kid, and loved all the connections and relationships I had there, and because I loved it, I want my kids to love the fire station, too.  I am sure they do, as we have been in a few of them, and they have been able to play on the trucks every time.

I am sure that I have also mentioned that I have a reverence and respect for firefighters, the same that I have for American Soldiers.  They may not have to put their lives on the line every moment of the day, but when in the heat of the moment (no pun intended) their lives are on the line.  I appreciate each and every one of them. 

We stopped today at the station and asked if it would be possible for me to take a picture of the kids with the firemen.  They said sure, and then asked if I just wanted to bring them back to the trucks. This is a small station, with just one rescue truck and one ladder truck, but it didn't matter to the kids.  They had so much fun, and two of the firemen were happy to show Noah what everything was, including The Jaws of Life.  

I love all these coats.

Hangin' out on the backboard.

He is so small next to this wheel.

This fireman gladly dressed in all his gear for the kids.  Cooper didn't want anything to do with him.

Stay off the road...

The kids are driving!

Cooper wasn't sure about it, though.

New Annie Shots

Due to the fact that my favorite picture of Annie...

was a little blurry when I printed it....

I took a few more of her today.  They're not as good as the first one, but they will do.

PhotoStory Friday: "I Miss You Noah"

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I know I have posted this picture already, but it is Pete's current favorite.

Noah and Annie have a love/hate relationship.  It's about 80% love, 20% hate. When the 20% is happening, you had better watch out.  Noah is somewhat calm, saying things like "Oohh, Annie, I am so mad at you" or "you are making me so mad!"

However if Annie is up, you had better find some earplugs, because her ear piercing shriek is how she shows her anger.

But when the 80% is happening, you want to have the camera constantly rolling, and have a notepad in hand, to record all the sweet things that are said.

Most mornings, when Annie and Noah wake up, they make sure they hug each other. Annie always yells as loud as she can "Bye Noah!" when he gets out of the car, even if the doors are already shut.  The first time I took Noah to school, Annie asked when we were going to pick him up, to which I replied, "after lunch." She waited about ten seconds, and said, "Can we have lunch now?" Frequently, right after we drop Noah off at school, Annie tells me, "mom, I am going to miss my brother today."

But today my heart melted, when she simply turned to Noah in the car after school, with a relieved look on her face and said, "Noah, I missed you", to which he replied, "I missed you, too."

I wonder when all of that will end.  Too soon, is my guess.