Would someone please please please Double Dog Dare me to eat the pack of Nes*le Tll Hous Chunk Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough I bought today. The oven is preheating and I’m not sure they’ll make it!
Thank you Dona
Every year, without fail, a dear friend sends Christmas goodies for my kids. The large envelopes, one for each of them, arrive in late November. Attached are strick instructions: DO NOT OPEN UNTIL DEC 1. Thus begins the countdown to the countdown, if you will.
Once opened, their excitement is confirmed.
& 
Chocolate filled Advent Calendars!
Each day a treat, today is Dec 1. Which means, once you find it, you get to open door #1.
A little help never hurts.
Then, the delectable job of consumption:
and the ever anticipation of the rest of the days to come:
What a nice treat and special tradition.
Where is the newest member you ask? Well, she isn’t as familiar with this Dec 1 tradition yet.
After dinner, when it was time to open… this is how we found her:
But I’m sure tomorrow, she will be briefed on this tradition and catch on quick as a wink!
Made with LOVE
Other kid: “Do you like chocolate?”
My kid: “Oh, yeah! I LOVE chocolate! My Mama LOVES chocolate and she made me, so I LOVE chocolate!”
Me: 
“Sort of”
Madeline came home from school Tuesday in a good mood.
As she’s planning to be an artist, she was sitting at the kitchen island crafting away. She was making something special with a purpose. It is hard for me at times to just let her craft away. It’s just so messy. She uses everything. Everything all at once. She creates things. As I type, she is working on the same project with the following items: paper plates, paper, different colored beads, crayons, a bowl of water with glue in it, string, a paper cup, another bowl, a small tin purse… oooh and now she’s going back into the craft drawers for more stuff! It’s a paint brush. Wonder what she’ll come up with.
Anyway. Back to where I was. She came home in a good mood. We were chatting casually when she told me she had something to tell me but wanted me not to tell Kylor. Okay. Proudly and with a sweet smile on her face she said the following,
her: You’re right Mama, “C” is really sweet. He and I are boyfriend and girlfriend. He wants to marry me, he asked me to marry him.
me: He IS a sweetheart, I really like him. What did you say?
her: I said, “Sort of.” He really IS sweet Mama, he’s ALWAYS in a good mood and he came to play with me on the playground when he knew I was sad. He’s so so sooo sweet and nice and caring.
me: It’s important to pick someone with those qualities. Someone who cares about you and always is good to you. I’ve always liked “C”.
her: Yeah, he’s always just SO sweet and CARING Mama. He NEVER yells and is ALWAYS a good friend. I’m making this papermache for him, it’s his birthday soon so I’m gonna make this for him.
me: Well, you have plenty of time to decide, but I like him too honey.
her: Yeah.
And then she told Kylor too. She’s very happy.
I’m hoping this will last a life time… that whoever she falls for is as sweet as “C”, that she will always feel like she can share with me, and that I will always like him too.
She’s lost.
FOUND, FOUND,,, SHE’S BEEN FOUND. Sneaky Dollie was in the Halloween candy bag! And since she’s been known to go for cookies in the middle of the night, this makes total sense!
We need your prayers.
It’s Dollie.
She is lost and we need her found.
I can’t post her importance at the moment.
Even I’m crying.
We need her back.
She means way more than can be explained.
She’s her EVERYTHING.
Could you say a prayer?
Thank you.
How, I ask. How?
Okay. It’s TTOTY. That Time Of The Year!
The time where you start thinking about what you want your Christmas card to look like. Pretty paper, creatively written wishes, nicely dressed kids, everyone looking at the camera, holding hands, smiles and laughter oozing through the envelope timely sent to you and yours.
WAKE UP! Get a grip lady (talking to myself here). Wake up and clean off your shirt spilled with soy milk yer deathly allergic to, shower why don’t cha. Clean your OWN room for a change (after cleaning every other room in the house I usually peter-out when it comes to the MBRM). Just quit dreaming!
It ain’t gonna happen. Three kids? They won’t all look at the camera, they’ll complain about the clothes you want them to wear, they’ll blink and not smile, they will not “Hold still!” for one more try, they’ll take the M&M bribe and make funny faces. They will probably even start to fight (“He pushed me!”, “No I didn’t!).
And I’ll not get the angelic picture of my kids to show off, the ones that show down into their souls how special they are, how much they love and are loved… and now I’m getting all profound, yuck. I just want ONE PICTURE A YEAR. Is that so bad?
Apparently so.
I’ll have to adjust. Any ideas? Come on, throw me a bone!
2001
2002
2004
2005
2006
2007
(A Nov ‘07 pix of our newest arrival was sent out in Feb/March ‘08 as a combo new baby/happy holidays/we’ve moved card. Cheating, but it was fun and saved $ on stamps!)
Okay, so looking back at the pix (it wouldn’t let me insert the 2003 one, go figure), they aren’t so bad.
But could someone else take on this task for me this year? I got enough wrinkles in my forehead already!
***Edit: OMG! How is it that I can’t believe I have 7 years of kids Christmas photo cards? Me? Aren’t I still that one trying to have a baby? It all seems so new still. I’m going to go dip into the halloween bags, I think I need chocolate.
Halloween ‘08
Butterfly, Pokeman Card and a Ladybug
They had such a great time. And little Ladybug, for her very 1st Halloween, was so brave, had so much fun and was amazed by all the candy (she has quite the sweet tooth like her Mama!). All was fine until that mist machine a few blocks over hit her square in the face! She was carried everywhere after that, allowing herself to be put down only to collect candy and then turn and be picked up again. She’s a trooper though!
She passed out @ bedtime:
We rolled her into the house while the other kids did their counting (didn’t you count as a kid too?):
