lesson by lana

FACT:
Penguins have a hoook on thar noos.

FICTION:
The penguin is going pote in the toylit.

daily art 58

BOOK WORM
by ceily

daily art 57

ME
by lana

DON'T MAKE YOUR PARENTS MAD
if you do there wont be any tv or ipod or facebook or email or friends for like, EVER!

Nick who? you might ask yourself. Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, of course. Everywhere I look these days, I see these three words written in Lana's 7 year old handwriting. On her notebook. On her homework. On her pencil case. On her body. On Noah's body. On my mail. If you happen to be in Atlanta at Trader Joe's, it's there on the white board. Just FYI.

update

last night was wednesday again. last night after dinner, eddie had to get dressed for scouts.

eddie: "i can't find my shirt! it's gone! dad, i can't find my shirt! mom!?"

me: "eddie, i know for a fact i washed your shirt last week. it's probably in one of your drawers. you just
HAVE TO TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK."

last night eddie came downstairs in a blue shirt. not his blue scout shirt. just a blue t-shirt. but his nice clean church pants were on.

bff

Me:"If I die, you are not allowed to go through my drawers. They are too messy. Send someone else to do that."
Staci: "Oh, I'm sure that wont be a problem. My only request before you die is that you tell everyone, and make sure everyone knows, that I'm the best friend."

That was one conversation we had recently. My best friend and I.

This is one of our first conversations.

Me: "Hi, it's Jayne. I thought we could go to a movie tonight."
Staci: "You and me?"
Me: "Um, yes."
Staci: "Well, I guess we can do that."

We did go out that night. We never made it to a movie though. We did talk and talk and talk. I give myself the credit for starting this best friend relationship.

Staci, the best friend, just hosted my family this weekend in Atlanta. That's what best friends do. They say, "Sure thing!", when I say, "We're coming down."

This was a comment made by Chris as he sat on Staci's couch in Atlanta, eating popcorn and watching movies.
Chris: "Staci, you know what I love about your house? It's just like being at home. You have the same blankets, the same dishes. It's like I'm home almost."

Staci and I just laughed. Because it's true. We love the same things. We think the same thoughts. For Christmas, I gave Staci an awesome platter. For Christmas Staci gave me an awesome platter. We'll show up with the same sweater on. Or our girls will have the same shoes. Our little boys wear the same pj's.

Over Christmas I was in a store browsing the merchandise. I was also talking to Staci via mobile.
Me: "Oh, there is the cutest bowl set. It looks like a flower..."
Staci, interrupting: "I know! I almost bought that for you for your birthday! Isn't is great?"
Me: "I love this Owl jar."
Staci: "Me too! I almost bought that for me."
Me: "Did you see the great stacking doll measuring cups?"
Staci: "Yes, of course. I need those."

It's fun being friends with Staci.

Our children love each other too. Noah and I were playing our "What Is Your Favorite....? game. I asked him what his favorite thing was that made him happy. He answered, "Gavin!" Gavin is Staci's 4 year old. I asked Lana what her favorite thing she did when we were in Atlanta. She answered, "Seeing Maren. And going to the American Girl Store with Maren." Maren is Staci's 7 year old.

Noah and Eddie were heard to be having a wrestling match. The winner got to marry Ada. Ada is Staci's 7 month old. The loser got to marry Maren. Both winners in my book.

Ceily and Gillian, Staci's 10 year old, get together and we never see them until it's feeding time. They are usually in a room playing dolls (which I love more than words can describe) or giving each other make-overs.

The Prize

This weekend was fun.
Best friends, and everything that comes with them, are a good thing.

he's mine

every wednesday, eddie has scouts. every wednesday, eddie has to wear his blue scout shirt. every wednesday i instruct eddie to get ready for scouts after we have eaten dinner. last night this was the conversation.

me: "eddie, please go get ready for scouts. change your t-shirt. the one you are wearing is dirty. your pants need to be changed as well. wash your face and hands."

eddie travels upstairs. this is what i hear.

eddie: "dad! someone took my scout shirt!! dad! where are you? someone took my scout shirt! dad?!..."

dad: silence

eddie: heard walking to laundry area. opens laundry door. shuffles a few hangers. "dad!! i can't find my scout shirt! it's gone. someone took my shirt! dad where are you!?"

dad: silence

eddie: "dad! dad! i can't find my shirt. someone took it! mom! i can't find my scout shirt! someone took it!"

me (mom): "eddie, your shirt is in your room. if i come upstairs and find it, you will be in trouble."

eddie: silence.

eddie: "oh, here it is. dad! i found my shirt!"

i'm at the conclusion that men, males, sons and husbands, have a missing gene. a gene that allows them to see peripherally. they have complete tunnel vision. and also missing is a gene that allows them to find an object that happens to be directly in front of them unless of course, it happens to be jumping up and down shouting, "here i am! i'm right in front of you! just reach out and grab me! i'll jump right into your arms! i'll bite your nose if you lean down just a bit." i'm also thinking there's a missing gene that allows them to shut a cupboard door or kitchen cabinet completely.

eddie did find his shirt of course. it was probably stuffed under his bed. that's his favorite place to clean. i tell him to clean his room. he shoves everything under his bed. cleaning done.
he came downstairs all ready. he didn't change his t-shirt. he didn't change his jeans. then he remembered something. "oh yeah." then he ran upstairs and came down with his just cleaned pants he wears to church every sunday. he had a great time at scouts. and he's mine. all mine.
i love him.

letter to the moon

Dear Moon,

Everyone was all nestled under blankets, their heads comfy on soft pillows. Chris had just pressed play and we were set for our Family Movie Night, featuring THE BLACK STALLION.

Then I remembered I thought I saw something about how you were suppose to be really big tonight. So, I said; "Hey, the moon is suppose to be really big tonight. Let's go take a look before the movie starts." It took only a minute to convince everyone.

We looked at you last night. I didn't think you were huge. But you were very bright.

Love,
Us

p.s. I'm not quite sure what Eddie is looking at, but I promise everyone else was looking at you.

saturday activties

Chris did this.

Sand, Surf, Sun


While I stayed home and took care of this.

I'm way behind. The day after Christmas, I got sick. I was out for two days. Then Lana got sick. Then Noah got sick. Then Ceily got sick.


Christmas morning before we got sick

Then we came home. I always have to re-adjust to my life after I return home after an extended absence. This time though, my friend was in town with her family and we played and played for 3 days. And then it was my birthday, and we all know that we don't adjust when it's your birthday.

visiting Ada

Sooo, Wednesday was my start to the adjustment. I did good. I cleaned and organized the whole downstairs. Put the Christmas stuff away. Cleaned the floors. Wrote a blog post.

Then Noah got sick. Then Eddie got sick. Now Ceily is sick. Eddie is back to school. Noah is feverish with a dash of demanding thrown in. Ceily is still in bed. When she wakes I'll take her temperature and decide if she can clean her VERY MESSY ROOM. I usually put my children to work if they think they can't attend school for the day. I'm trying to teach them that if they stay home, hard labor is in store, so maybe next time they will think twice.

I'll admit, I enjoy the relaxation that fills my life when a child, or two is sick. I'm still in my pajamas and need to finish my book...then start another.

photos

When we moved to South Carolina 6 years ago, I took our first Christmas card picture on the beach. I dressed Ceily, Eddie and Lana in matching red shirts and cute winter hats. After that, I usually took Christmas card pictures right before church, when they were dressed in their Christmas church outfits. But, I always had a picture in my mind of them walking on the beach, hand in hand, with Santa. My dad has his very own Santa suit, and I knew I could borrow it. (That proved to be almost disastrous come Christmas eve!)

This is maybe the last year we are in South Carolina and I knew I needed to finally take that beach picture. My ideal picture would have been in August, after a summer playing in the sand and surf, the children all sun kissed, with cute sun dresses for the girls and bare feet for all. That never happened and come November, when we were home for Thanksgiving, I finally borrowed the Santa suit.

December came and I decided it was time to get the picture taken. We had to be at a dinner party later that evening, so we planned on heading to the beach right before. I was all warm in my uggs and sweater, and I actually thought it was pretty comfortable on the beach in December at dusk. All participating posers were in bare feet. And they let me know how cold and uncomfortable they were. We were able to get some pretty good pictures, though. A stranger passing by made me stand with my family to take a picture as well.
Thanks to Chris, our Santa. He was the coldest, or so he says. His brother mentioned that he must really love me to don a Santa suit on the beach for all to see.

He does.

This was the picture we chose for our 2008 picture. I'm happy we have the beach in the background and Santa beside us. Many recipients had to look long and hard to realize it was actually Chris under the beard. Strange how we would send a family Christmas card without Chris, huh? Thanks Chris.



This was the back of our card.



Other pictures.

I had a birthday yesterday.
It was wonderful.
You can count the candles if you want.

Jayne turns 29

It's Jayne's Birthday tomorrow. It's a big one but it just seems wrong to explicitly say it. She doesn't seem too bothered by it.

We get into much bigger fights about gray hair. Jayne has such beautiful, dark hair that any little bit of gray stands out. But I'm being honest when I say that I love it. A little sprinkling of gray in there brings out more tones and texture in the contrast. I love it.

Apart from the gray hair, she really can't complain too much. I was younger when we were married but my aging process has sped right by her. If she didn't have four kids in tow, she could definitely pass for 29.

Happy Birthday Jayne!