i'm a bad blogger...

because I don't post very often. I've got a list of reasons why, but I won't go into them. I'll just try to make up for it now.

Addison spent last week being sickly: virus for four days, ear infection, bronchitis. The day she returned to school we found out there was a chicken pox outbreak in her class. As of now, she does not have any indication of them yet. (knock on wood). I have never been so glad that she was absent from school for a week....though the incubation period for chicken pox is 10 to 21 days.

Addison watched the first two and a half seconds of LOST this week. The scene with Juliet buried at the bottom of the Swan sight, below the metal rubble has haunted her since. Addy continues to insist that "the girl at the bottom of that hole needs two band-aids on her checks, and wash her hands and take a shower because she's dirty." Addison is not yet ready for prime time TV. We learned our lesson.

Life with my intern is pretty sweet. I'm afraid now that it will make me lazy. I'm getting paid to work, but I don't really have to do much work anymore. My intern is awesome and I would love it if we could hire her to work at Pace once she is finished with college. She's organized, patient, positive, and not intimidated by my challenging babies.

Addison is reading lots of words, constantly asking "what does this word spell?" and remembering the next time she encounters the word. She loves writing her name. Here are some other things she's recently become accomplished at:
1. Candy Land: she ALWAYS wins, and we aren't just letting her.
2. Bossiness: "Get that for me, Mommy!"
3. Temper Tantrums: "But I WANT THAT BOUNCY BALLY, DADDY!!!!!" With respect to tantrums, age 3 is worse than 2 was.
4. Helping with meals: she loves to stir, mix, pour, carry items to the table. She also sets silverware out for us at most meals.
5. Blessings: We must say a blessing at each meal, per her training at school. She has different prayers for each meal of the day.
6. Imaginative Play: Stuffed animals are REAL, especially a lion puppet named, appropriately, Mr. Lion. They talk to each other, Addison, and us. Addison teaches them what life is all about.
7. Style: Every time we are out shopping, walking, anything, Addison notices what other people are wearing and comments on it. "Mommy, that lady has on pretty brown boots!" or "Mommy, I like that girl's necklace/earrings/purse/shirt/jacket/skirts/etc." She is a little stylista in training, no thanks to me and my blue jeans wearing self.
7a. She refuses to wear anything except cotton stretch pants. NO blue jeans, khakis. Only black or pink stretch pants.

I suppose I should comment on Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Both were awesome and exhausting. This was one of the most fun-packed winter vacations I ever remember having, but so tiring. We went non-stop for two weeks. Addison's birthday celebrations - count them - FOUR! One at school, two family parties, a giant friend party at home. Then Christmas. Then New Year's. Then Matt & Helen's wedding. All wonderful, all fun, all enjoyable. We are still trying to recuperate though! Back to Addison, we were astounded at the amount of STUFF she accumulated between birthday and Christmas. Next year, we will probably only give her one or two presents per event. It was over-whelming and excessive this year. She's a lucky (read: spoiled) little girl...but she totally deserves it. :-)

For kicks, here's a pic from Matt & Helen's wedding. I love my friends. They are the best friends a person could ask for. Wouldn't trade them for the world. Patrick, who I love most dearly, is hiding behind Matt's big head...but this was the only group shot I got all Christmas break, so it's being posted, even without Patrick's smiling face shining for all the world to see.

Christmas songs for you!

Merry Christmas to you all from Addison!

The Princess Party last Saturday was a total blast. Here is a pic of all the kids with Princess Aurora.
Princess Aurora painted faces for an hour and had a dance session with the kids that involved more bouncing and jumping than actual dancing. It was a perfect 3 year old party if you ask me. The kids didn't stop moving for three hours and Addison was exhausted when it was over. She seemed quite overwhelmed by all the activity and was worn out by present time. She got lots of great Princess items: games, books, a doll, building blocks, dress-up clothes. There is no end to the Disney Princess merchandise. She got NO repeat gifts, which I though was a minor miracle! Addison was most excited that her friends from school were at her house - she kept saying, "My friends are coming to MY house?! That's CRAZY, Mommy!". It was a really great day. And we continue to celebrate. Today we got THREE birthday gifts for her in the mail: one from Uncle Brian and Aunt Pat, one from Fenella & Mark, and one from Uncle Marcus. She was in love with each item she opened: a new outfit, books, and puzzles. We've read all the books twice already and done one of the two puzzles.

Tonight was the first night we've had at home in a long time. We've been spending two nights a week at Margie & Bill's house stringing paper cranes for Matt & Helen's wedding. It's going to be beautiful, but it's quite time-consuming. We average about 1 crane strand per 45 minutes...and we're hoping for 125 strands total.








And, finally, here is a parting shot of our little fairy princess on a crane folding night....

Three days of school left. I cannot wait for Christmas vacation to begin!!!!!!!!!!!!

you should shop at Target & here's why

Not only do they have awesome merchandise, but they also have the best customer services policies & representatives that you could ask for in a corporate run company.

Exhibit A: When a crazy woman named Nicole Brown walked up to Customer Service Rep Amie this evening & explained a far-fetched & unlikely, albeit true story about how one of the four $100 dollar gift cards she purchased for her daughter's teachers ended up with no money on it, and that the blank gift card number did not match any of the gift card numbers on our receipt, Customer Service Rep Amie didn't even bat an eye. She plainly stated her procedure for resolving the issue in a polite, respectful, understanding tone. And, while it took more than an hour for Amie & the powers that be in Target-land to review the video from the date on our receipt (to verify that we hadn't pocketed any gift cards) and then to verify all four gift card numbers with their corporate office, Amie ended up getting me my money back. Well, on my way to getting my money back. I have to fax a copy of the receipt and send some information for their corporate office, but within 7-10 business days I should have a new gift card in hand to deliver to poor Miss Julie, who got gypped (sp?) on her Christmas gift from the nursery's parents.

So, today I say, please, shop at Target. And be happy - tomorrow is already Wednesday!

Christmas Break Recap

I can't believe I go back to work on Monday! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!

Christmas was amazing. We made delicious sugar cookies with my family. Andrew and Hoyt were more interested in eating them than decorating, so in the end mainly just my mom and I decorated. They turned out really pretty & were quite tasty, even though some people were worried because I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose bleached flour. You couldn't taste a bit of difference and the cookies were almost classifiable as healthy! My mom made our traditional manicotti for dinner, which Addison really enjoyed this year. After dinner we opened presents. Highlights were Evelyn's cow salt & pepper shakers, Mom & Dad's new digital camera, my new purse and new laptop pad, Robert's leaf blower, Hoyt's cowboy boots, Papa's photo calendar, and Addison's Tinkerbell purse. I don't remember anything that Andrew got. We then gorged ourselves on dessert, and called it a night.

Addison slept relatively late on Christmas morning - awoke around 7:45, only at my insistence. I was too excited to sleep any longer, so I woke her & Robert up. We did stockings which Addison quite enjoyed and the did presents. Addison loved her new painting supplies, books, puzzle, but mostly her kitty keyboard. Robert was quite thrilled with new reusable shopping bags, dish cloths, and his new cordless electric edger/trimmer. As usual, Robert put me to shame with gifting. He swears that he will always go above & beyond whatever I do. I guess I have no choice. This year it was obvious. He got me all the new music I wanted, some much desired kitchen supplies, a new pillow (which is making me sleep much, much better!), and the highlight was a new necklace. We took our time, but were ready to go by 9 AM, and decided to head back to Nonnie & Doodah's house for breakfast pizza.

When we got there, we did our second set of stockings for the day. These are probably my most favorite part of Christmas. My mom does stockings like no one else. She finds the neatest, most unique but useful items for stockings. I love this part of Christmas. We traded off names this year to do "secret santa stockings". I got Hoyt and Robert got Andrew. It's tough to shop for the two of them because there are many things that we wanted for both of them. So, I'm sure in the end there was some overlap, but I think we did a pretty good job. Papa had my name, so my mom ended up doing most (READ: all) of mine. Andrew (or Evelyn?) had Robert's name. We both ended up with lots of neat items.

After breakfast and stockings #2, we ran over to Robert's parents' house for lunch. We did our 3rd set of stockings there, followed by more presents. Addison got a cute little crib for her baby dolls that Pepaw made for her. She's really enjoyed it so far. We got some cook books from Janie & Craig and another angel figurine for my collection. This one is holding a star. Craig ended up getting really sick and going home, so the day was cut kind of short by that. We all stayed for lunch (turkey), but the group disbanded pretty quickly after that. We wanted to get out before we caught the germs Craig had spread around all morning. Thankfully, none of us ended up with it!

After lunch, we came home so Adds could nap. She didn't end up sleeping, so we went back to my parents' house for dinner (ham).

Christmas is absolutely our busiest day of the year. We are on the move from the time we get up until about 9pm that night. It's an awesome day because we get to visit with so many people that we love, but it really is exhausting.

The next day we started packing for our beach trip. Addy was prepping to spend her first 2 nights away from us. (My parents kept her for the first two nights of our beach trip.) We ended up loading the car down. Thankfully, Addison wasn't in the car on the way to St. George, because we could not have fit everything that we needed in! Amaly drove down with me, and Marcus, Jason and Robert drove in Jason's car. The beach trip was outstandingly awesome. I never wanted to leave. I wish with all my heart that the group could be together more often. We've decided to make this an annual occurrence. Hopefully next year everyone will be able to stay longer...we're hoping to plan for a week, perhaps to include the new year holiday. I cannot wait! While we were there, Robert took some really, really stunning photos. I think his colorblindness gives him a different perspective on color and light/dark than the rest of us have. This is my favorite picture that he took. He took a few others that are quite wonderful, so please check out my pics online.

On a related but unrelated note, Matt & Helen, who joined us at the beach this weekend, got engaged last night! We are all very excited or them & will be celebrating our traditional way - with a game night at Trevor & Jen's house.

Regarding my beloved friend Heather - if you're going to be in Jacksonville on January 9th, PLEASE check out her benefit show at the Endo Exo starting at 8pm.

Happy 2009! If the wondrous events that happened in my life during December are any indication of the year ahead, 2009 should be a great year for me & my family! Best wishes to all of you!

a message for my dear friends

I'll be honest. I cried a lot when the group disbanded on Tuesday afternoon. I couldn't help myself. I had more fun than I can remember having in a long, long time. Life is good to me, and I know how blessed I am to have such wonderful, supportive, extraordinarily funny friends. I am always astounded at how quickly and efficiently the group clicks back in sync, as if we hadn't been separated from one another for almost a year. It's so easy, so effortless. I wanted this weekend to last forever. It allowed me to forget about life, work, schedules, bills - and reminded me the importance of just relaxing and having some fun. It was something I really needed and I will be forever grateful to the people who allowed me to have this time.

Sincere thanks from me to:
My mom & dad, for keeping Addison those first two nights,
Robert, for going along with my wild idea of getting everyone together at the beach over Christmas break,
Jason, for jumping right on board with the plan, and for making me laugh endlessly,
Matt, for the oh-so-delicious food and merriment that you bring,
Helen, for overseeing all the game play and for letting us play by our own rules sometimes,
Amaly, for reminding me how to relax & have fun,
Marcus, for the order and control that you brought to our weekend,
Patrick, for persisting and getting time off work, and for the beautiful parting essay you wrote in the guest book,
Trevor, for bringing a new sense of competition to our game play,
Jennifer, who although she could not join us, allowed Trevor to stay longer than we expected,
and Addison, for the smiles that you bring to my face every day and for being a big girl and staying away from mommy & daddy for two nights!

I love you all like my second family. I look forward with eager anticipation to the next time we can all be together again.

On an unrelated note, I promise I will post about Christmas soon. I didn't forget, I've just been having too much fun to recap yet.

Christmas recap coming soon!

A full Christmas recap will be posted once we get back from our beach trip with our friends from high school...but for now, check out pictures of our holiday celebrations here.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Christmas Eve Eve

We had our annual dinner party with Dad's family tonight. We went to Morelia's per Evelyn's suggestion. We had 22 people there! Holy crap that was a big party! I was exhausted after I left. It felt strange to be so tired after two and a half hours of sitting. But, as strange as it was, it was what I felt. Absolutely pooped. Addison came right in the house and crashed. She watched two quick videos and was out. She was so tired, she even told Robert to leave her room instead of having him sing to her as per the norm. He felt sad, but I think he understood. You can see pics from the family gathering (thanks to Evelyn's photography skills!) here.

It's Christmas Eve Eve and I'm about to pee in my pants I'm so excited. I'm going to watch A Christmas Story as many times as possible tomorrow. Thanks, TBS! ;-)

Sugar cookies, here I come. Yum!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Christmas has arrived!

Happy Black Friday everyone! Hope you all got some good shopping in...I know we did! We were out of the house at 8:30. We had breakfast at Chick-Fil-A, went to Target, and then hit the mall. Bath & Body Works had the longest line, but I was willing to wait. They have the best sales on the day after Thanksgiving. I stock up for the year on air fresheners for my classroom & their fancy soap. While I was waiting in the 20 minute line, I was suckered in to buying stuff I didn't need. Robert had taken Addison outside & I was weak & succeptible to salesperson pressure in his absence. We'll be going back tomorrow to return a few items. :-)
Overall, it was a pretty quick trip, but productive. We have almost all of our Christmas shopping done now! Whoo hoo!

Thanksgiving was excellent. We had lots of delicious food...including some new things. Robert ate sweet potatoes at each meal (we eat twice - lunch with Robert's family, and then with mine for dinner). I tried sweet potatoes, too, but I didn't like them as much as Robert did. Addison tried stuffing (not a fan), sweet potatoes (not a fan), corn casserole (loved it), and cranberry sauce (not a fan). We missed our Uncle Bubbles & Aunt Evelyn, but I'm sure they had a great day with Evelyn's family in Margate. All in all, it was a very happy day with our families.

We're going to eat some yummy Thanksgiving leftovers (thanks Mom!) for lunch, and then will continue decorating the rest of the house. Robert has lucked out big time today: it's raining, so he can't be forced outside to do outdoor decorating. Not to worry - I plan to get him outside as soon as the rain slacks up. Maybe tomorrow morning. His time will come.

Here's some funny for your day: Addison's reaction to our Christmas tree & some musical decorations. We put the tree up while she was sleeping last night. Sorry the video is so dark. We had the lights off so that she could really get a feel for the Christmas lights on the tree.

Lollipops & other good news

So as we turn onto the access road behind Costco today - well before the view of the "Lollipop" water tower - Addison says, "Lollipop, are you?". When it finally comes into view she says, "Lollipop! I see you!". Talk about a memory.

In other news, my dear friend Heather got some encouraging news today at the doctor. She saw a specialist in New York City who explained just how severe her condition is, but created a specific treatment plan and set her up with a team to assist her with what I hope will be a very speedy & successful recovery! I am looking forward to the day that Heather will be healthy again! Here's to a new chance for Heather! I'm hoping for the VERY VERY best!!

One week until Thanksgiving....which also means one week until it's time to put out Christmas decorations!