Christmas Questionnaire

Jumpin' on the bandwagon.....

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Uh, I prefer to call it eggnot. Eww! I choose hot chocolate; but actually, if I had a choice I would choose apple cider above hot chocolate!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa does not wrap gifts. Santa gifts are unwrapped, assembled, and set up for Christmas morning ready to play with.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White on the tree and if we had lights on the house they would probably be white, too.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. Do people really do that??

5. When do you put your decorations up? This year I put them up 9 days BEFORE Thanksgiving!! I was excited to get them up this year since we didn't decorate at all last year in our apt. It worked out well, too, since I ended up having to have surgery the week of Thanksgiving!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? We pretty much have Thanksgiving Round II on Christmas Day. Turkey, dressing, etc. I love my mom's dressing (the best!) and her mashed potatoes!! Basically anything high in carbs!!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Bugging my mom to death to get to open just one present before we opened them on Christmas Eve. She always caved and we always got to open something.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What's the truth about Santa? I remember when I was about 8 or 9 or so, I thought I would be sneaky and make sure I told Santa what I wanted for Christmas but NOT tell my parents. That way, if there was a Santa, I would get what I asked for. If I didn't get what I asked for, then I would know.......Somehow I got what I asked for, so there is a Santa!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Eve. My mom thinks it looks prettier. After my dad does all of his Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve from 4-5 pm, we gather for dinner and then open gifts. Santa brings our "big" gift, which we get on Christmas morning.

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Brussels cookies....actually, I don't know. But, if I was Santa that's what I would want!

11. Snow. Love it or Dread it? What's snow?

12. Can you ice skate? Probably not. I haven't tried in a long time.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I've had lots of favorite gifts. One of my most memorable ones, though, was something I gave back. When we were younger (actually, only about 5 or 6 years ago), my mom had all of our gifts at my grandmother's house. All of mine were in a guest bedroom on the bed. My mom told my sister "wrap up everything on the bed. These are for Courtney". Later when I was opening my gifts, I pulled a used/worn/pilled/tattered blanket out of a box. I politely said "thanks, I love it!" My grandmother had the strangest look on her face and said, "well, that's my old filthy afghan!" Apparently, my sister had wrapped up EVERYTHING on the bed. Actually, we were just very obedient children. ;) We all had a good laugh!

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being together with family!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Anything chocolate!!

16. What tops your tree? Bows!! They are so pretty! The upstairs tree has a star.
Landry thinks we need to put a candy cane on top of our tree like on the movie "My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas"

17. Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving? I know I should say giving, and I DO like giving, especially to Landry. But, I also really really like receiving. Come on, admit it, you do too!! I love the anticipation of opening a package and seeing what is inside.

18. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? How about songs? O Holy Night (does anyone sing this better than Josh Groban??), Silent Night, Breath of Heaven, and Please Come Home for Christmas.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I'll pass.

Legitimate question, I guess.....

Landry has been very interested this year in the why's and how's of Christmas, particularly the mystery behind Santa Claus. Why does he have a sleigh? Why does he have reindeer? How does it fly? Why does he live at the North Pole?

Last night we were discussing how Santa comes down through the chimney to leave gifts and why he does that. After a few seconds of discussion she asked, "Does Santa sometimes burn his bottom in fireplaces?"

Hmmmmm............leave it to my three-year-old to bring up something I have never thought of!

Christmas car decoration trifecta....

is what I saw today. It was in the form of a SUV with garlands on the luggage racks, AND a wreath on the front grill WITH a big red bow on the wreath. Tis' the season to be jolly!

Landry's Santa List

Landry wrote a letter to Santa Claus the other day. Here is what it said:

Dear Santa,

I love you! I want a cat toy, another puppy like Spot, a toy elephant that's big, and a baby elephant that's small. That's all. And a toy shark and a little dolphin. I've been good.

Love,
Landry

Christmas Nevers......

At Christmas-time, I have NEVER.........

• eaten fruitcake. Fruitcake is always a huge Christmas joke, and yet, I don't think I have ever even had the opportunity to eat fruitcake. It's never at our house, and I don't recall being at a party or anything where it is served.
• drank eggnog. I have heard this is good, but I can't fathom drinking something called egg-nog. Eggs are meant to be scrambled, not in beverage-form, and nog...what's nog? The word sounds like "snot." No thanks. I'll stick with my apple cider!
• had Christmas carolers come to my house. However, I have been caroling. It was in high school with my school choir. The people we caroled to looked so uncomfortable. They didn't know where to look, whether they should smile or sing along, or if they should applaud by themselves to all 50 of us standing in their lawn. (Mom and Dad, I'm pretty sure I have misspelled "carol" -ers, -ing, -ed. Sorry!)
• been anywhere other than my parents house on Christmas morning.
• been finished shopping when I swore I would be. My goals are unattainable, though!
• gotten a good ornament at my company's Christmas party ornament exchange. (for all of you that watch "The Office", think oven mit!! Yeah, the exchange is that bad!) Today is our party. I'll let you know later what I get....sigh!
• put tinsel on a Christmas tree
• decorated the grill of my car or luggage rack with a wreath, bow, or garland. Probably never will!

Christmas' past

Landry's first Christmas!! This was Christmas Eve 2002 and she was almost 11 months old.

Landry's reindeer jammies. December 2002.

Although it's kind of hard to tell from this picture, Landry and I look a lot alike in our baby pictures. Here is my first Christmas-1976.

I'm so sad. This is the only picture I have from Christmas 2003. My first digital camera was lost during this time, so I don't have a lot of pictures from this Christmas. Landry was almost 23 months in this picture.

Landry and her reindeer-December 2004.

Landry was stacking and organizing her gifts as she opened them on Christmas Eve........she's a lot like her Gigi!

Christmas Eve 2004

This was a cute moment from last year. After gifts were opened and pajamas were on, Landry laid and looked at the tree for a long time.

Christmas Eve 2004

Creepy Christmas Claus

I went to the mall today during lunch to pick up some wrapping paper. Outside of the mall entrance was a bell ringer. She was dressed as Mrs. Claus; black lace-up boots, red broomstick skirt, Christmas sweater, gray wig and red bonnet, and those thin little reading glasses. She was singing (loudly) "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". Believe it or not, this wasn't the creepy part. She also was holding a puppet. Not a cute puppet or Christmas-y puppet. I suppose it kind of looked like Prairie Dawn from Sesame Street. The only thing that made it Christmas-y was that she had a jingle bell collar around her neck. Anyway, she was trying to "ventrilo-quize" this puppet, as if the puppet were singing. When you walked by she would come towards your face with the singing Prairie Dawn.

Just wanted my fellow Collin Creek shoppers to be aware!!

Baby news

I had an OB appt this morning......

The bad news:
The baby has a double vessel umbilical cord (instead of triple). This is considered a "birth defect" and we found out about this at our 18 week check-up. Apparently, this can cause low birth weight.

The good news:
It's not a very serious birth defect and if the baby is born small(er), she will catch up the first year of life.

The other good news:
Landry was 10 lbs 5 oz at birth.......so a normal size baby would be "low birth weight" for me!

The other other good news:
I get to have a sonogram every 4 weeks so the dr can monitor the baby and her growth. It's so much fun to see how things have changed in four weeks. So far, I have had a sono at 7 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 18 weeks, and now at 22 weeks......with more to go!

As of today, the baby is 1.4 lbs and that is right where she should be!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!! Today is Jeff's 31st birthday!

Jeff, I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful "week of Jeff." Landry and I love you very much!

Four-year-old (nearly!) politeness

It never ceases to amaze me what will come out of Landry's mouth. She is not even four years old yet, and she is already conscientous (sp?) about not hurting people's feelings.

The other day we were fixing to go to church. Jeff and Landry were ready and waiting on me. I came out of my room with a dress on that I could tell from her facial expression she didn't really like. In her defense, it is 1) a maternity dress and 2) a maternity dress I bought 4 years ago! Anyway, she said "Mommy, where did you buyed that dress?" and I said "At the store. Do you like it?" She paused and said, "Your shoes are really pretty." Huh. That answers that.

Last night she and I were sitting on the couch watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which by the way I have decided is kinda creepy. It was the old version. Jeff was in the study doing something on the computer. Landry was getting fidgety and uncomfortable and I could tell she wanted the couch to herself. Instead of telling me to move she just looked at me and politely suggested, "Why don't you go see what Daddy's doing." She's on to OUR game, now!

Last weekend my mom was putting sheets on one of the guest beds and Landry was "helping" her. My mom praised her for being such a good helper and Landry said, "Sure! That's what friends are for." Love it!

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas....THIS YEAR!

A turning point has been reached in the Edwards household. Landry is no longer afraid of Santa Claus. Yep, for the first time in her nearly four years of life we had a successful visit with Santa.

Below is this year's picture plus the first two years. The 2004 picture is not missing......it doesn't exist. Santa maybe able to fly all over the world in one night delivering packages to the children of the earth without growing weary, but I didn't want to torture him with a kicking, screaming, arm-flailing two-year-old!

First try......with Santa 2002

Second try......with Santa 2003

Third time's a charm!! Santa 2005

I don't have the gall........

gall bladder, that is. After having those "awful pains" again last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I decided I had had enough and made another trip to the ER on Saturday afternoon. I half expected that I would be sent home that afternoon and that again the doctors would be "stumped" by why I was having these pains. The first time I went to the ER they treated me like it was all in my head; like maybe I was having anxiety attacks. But, no, not this time. I was admitted to the hospital. It's funny. Before they knew what it was, they acted as if I was the only person ever who had had these kinds of symptoms. Then, when they did an ultrasound and realized I had gall stones, I was told how common this was in pregnant women. However, I don't know if they ever would have done an ultrasound if my dad hadn't of already diagnosed it and insisted on a ultrasound. So, yes, my gall bladder was full of stones. Some had even "escaped" the gall bladder and were blocking my pancreas. I was never really sure what the pancreas did, but let me just say that if it's not working properly it hurts like the dickens!! Gall bladder surgery was on Monday afternoon and I was released from the hospital Tuesday evening. Feeling much better now!

I'm thankful to be out of the hospital and getting to enjoy my family today (and turkey)! Special thanks to my dad who took me to the hospital and stayed for my surgery and was pretty much there as much as he could be. My mom who rearranged her whole schedule to have Landry stay with her while I was in the hospital. Huge help!! And, especially to Jeff who was by my side the whole time (after he returned Saturday night from Lubbock). Jeff had to endure the uncomfortableness of the hospital chair-bed, the constant middle of the night nurse checks, and my constant complaining when I was on the ice chip diet!! Thanks to you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas........

in my house!! We did not put up so much as a stocking last year for Christmas since we were living in the apartment. Even the Grinch's house would have looked more festive than our apartment did last year. So, needless to say, I have been anxious to get out my Christmas decorations! Yep, I skipped right over Thanksgiving and am going straight to Christmas.

I went to Costco yesterday and bought their 9' pre-lit tree. It's so full and pretty. I love it! So far, all we've done is set up and fluff the tree and put our garland on the mantle. But, in a few days we will be living in Winter Wonderland!

One of my favorite days of the year as a kid was the day my mom decorated the house for Christmas. No, we didn't trim the tree as a family, or sing Jingle Bells as we unpacked the stockings from a box. It was better!! My mom always decorated while we were at school and when we got home the house had been transformed! The tree with it's big red bows and colored lights was up; adorned with every school-made ornament we had made. Not to mention the countless number of colored "treble clef" ornaments my piano teacher gave us EVERY year. (Brady + Lindsay + me X 6 or so years of piano lessons= plethera of treble clefs.) Anyway, the bookshelves were covered in "snow" and decorated with all sorts of Christmas figurines. The ballisters were swagged with garland (and again, big red bows) all the way down the stairs. The table was set with the Christmas sequined table cloth my grandmother and great aunt hand made. My Raggedy Ann stocking was hung from the mantle from the Christmas mouse with the curly tail stocking hook.

Christmas decorating day was alway so neat to me as a kid......still is, I guess. I hope Landry will have the same sort of memories when she grows older!
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MY MOM WAS RIGHT!!

She told me when we were building our house to have them put an electrical outlet on the wall right above the mantle. We didn't do it. Now, our pretty lighted garland has a cord stretched four feet from the mantle to the bottom of the wall to be plugged in. Wish we had listened, mom!

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.

We had a great weekend, but this Monday I am dragging! Friday afternoon, Jeff, Landry, and I went to Oklahoma with my family. The only hitch in the road trip was when Landry awoke from her nap and announced she needed to potty NOW! So, she got to experience her first side-of-the-road-tinkle. She actually thought it was fun and talked about it all weekend. I'm sure her teachers have heard all about it today at school! ;) And, wouldn't you know that after we got back in the car not half a mile down the interstate was a convenient store! Timing!

Friday evening my whole family went to eat at Red Robin. I had never been there before, but it was good food. My sister and I shared a heart attack on a platter (onion rings and nachos). Yum!

Saturday, Jeff, my dad, my brother, and sister went to the OU/A&M game. They had fun and enjoyed the outcome! Landry, my mom and I on the other hand did our cheering from Sooner Mall. We got a little bit of Christmas shopping knocked out which was good. We came back from OK on Saturday night and Landry went to spend the night with my mom and dad (WOOHOO!!).

Sunday morning I went to brunch with some of my Pi Phi friends that were in town. It was fun to visit and catch up. So many babies! Five out of the seven of us are pregnant right now. And four of us are pregnant with our second babies. Insane! After brunch, it was off to my folks house to retrieve Landry and see my sister some more before she had to go back to San Antonio.

For the most part it was a good weekend.........the only damper was Tech's extremely disappointing loss to OSU. Uh huh, OSU! The worst (I guess not anymore) team in the Big 12. On that note, I'm going to hang my head down and cry.

GIRL!!!!!!

Long time, no blog! The past few days have been really busy, and I just haven't had time to sit down and blog!!

I had a great weekend last weekend. Saturday I went to the Chi Omega Christmas Market in Dallas. Sunday, I went shopping with Landry and my mom and we went to see all of the Christmas decorations at Decorator's Warehouse. Needless to say, I am READY for Christmas (despite the 85 degree heat!). I love this time of the year!! Christmas decorations always put me in a good mood!

Last night I had a Pi Phi Alumnae Club meeting. Our guest speaker was the author of the fun book "Sweet Potato Queens". She was really funny, and it was a good time! The lady who hosted this at her house is married to a man who is the president of a big homebuilder company in Dallas and Houston. Their house was the most unbelievable house I have ever seen!! It was big and beautiful, but also looked "lived in" and comfortable. It was worth going to the meeting just to see the house!

I have a 11:00 appt today to find out the sex of the baby! Can't wait! Will update later on the news!

Halloween Candy

Every year I end up digging through the plastic pumpkin looking for the last piece of "xxxx" candy. This year, my candy of choice is the miniature Hershey's dark chocolate bar. There is a lot of candy that will eventually get eaten, and there is some candy that I would never touch. Here is my list of the good and bad.

Good

Heath bar (miniature)- I don't think I have ever had a full, regular sized Heath bar and I don't think I would like that much at one time, but the miniature Heath bars are the best! I also like crumbled Heath on frozen yogurt!

Reese's peanut butter cup (full size cup)- Almost perfection! The only thing that doesn't make it absolutely perfect are the fact that the ridges on top break off when you open the package and peel off the paper. Plus, sometimes some peanut butter gets stuck to the paper backing.

Fruit-flavored Tootsie Roll-I've started to become a fan of these just this past Halloween. Good break from the chocolate.

Starburst- Again, nice break from the chocolate.

Jaw breakers-These little gems are not for the kids, but I love them! It's a good candy to eat when you want something to last a while.

Bad

chocolate eyeballs- Normally I wouldn't put anything chocolate in the bad category, but these are ridiculous. First of all, they are too small. Secondly, they are wrapped up like a piece of delicate china. By the time you get ALL of the wrapper off, your fingernails have chipped through most of the "eyeball".

peppermints- People!! If all you have to give out is peppermints, please just turn off your porch light and don't particpate in handing out "treats".

Pixie Sticks- Too flimsy. Most of the time these end up breaking in your Halloween bucket and then you have powder everywhere. If you want something that tastes like pixie sticks, just eat a spoonfull of unmade Kool-Aid.

Crabby Patties- These SpongeBob Squarepants sugary treats are just plain gross.

Smarties- This is the worst of the worst! Anything that tastes like baby aspirin should be banned forever!

Trick-or-Treating Trick on Landry

Fortunately, we dodged the expected rainstorm last night. Although a little cold, it was a nice evening for trick-or-treating. Since it was cold, we decided to go with the horse costume (pictures to come later). She had worn her ballerina costume three times, so we felt that it got adequate use!

Trick-or-treating didn't go off without a hitch, though. Our next door neighbors have four boys and their house was the second one we visited. Landry rang the doorbell and anxiously awaited an answer. Moments later, their seven-year-old opened the door wearing his "Scream" mask with "blood" running down it. Landry said nothing, she just turned and ran, FAST! Fast and far. Even Seabiscuit wouldn't have been able to keep up with this little horse. After we caught up with her she announced "I'm ready to go back to Landry's house." Well, we weren't going to let that happen.......we hadn't even gotten good candy yet. Fortunately, she settled down once we met up with her friend, Maggie, and they trick-or-treated together.

After Landry got through trick-or-treating, she wanted to sit on the front porch with Daddy and hand out candy. She enjoyed this more than going door-to-door. We would have trick-or-treaters at the very end of our sidewalk and Landry would shout, "What do you want?" She meant, "what kind of candy do you want?", but it sounded more like, "what are you doing on my property you pesky kids?!?!" Too funny!

Halloweens of Past

Ugh!! Sometimes blogger makes me so mad. I just did this big blog and went to publish it and it disappeared. So, I'll go with this one instead.

Again, more pictures!

Halloween 2002-Landry's first Halloween. She was 9 months old here. I LOVED this age. She was always so happy! We went absolutely nowhere for Halloween, but she had two costumes. Here she is as a jack-o-lantern and Piglet!

Halloween 2003-Landry was 21 months old here. Again, she had two costumes and this is neither of them. She had a really cute giraffe and elephant costume, but it was SO HOT on this Halloween that she couldn't wear either of those. So, we put her in her Texas Tech cheerleader outfit! However, even this was hot!!

Halloween 2004- Landry is two and a half here. She went as a unicorn, aka, "nunicorn". It was so cute! I loved it from behind. When she walked, her little tail wagged!

Fall Festibull

Word of Warning!! The next few posts will contain a lot of pictures. This time of the year creates so many photo ops that are too cute not to share!

Last night was the church's fall festival, better known to Landry as the "fall festibull". They had food, games, hayrides, LOTS of candy, and fun! Landry had a great time at the "festibull" and crashed hard once we got home!

Enjoy!

Ballerina posing!

Landry and her friend Meghan (JoJo from JoJo's Circus). They are smiling cheesy because I told them if they would stand still and smile big for one picture they could go back to the "ducky game" and get more candy! Hey, whatever works!!

This is HISTORY IN THE MAKING right here!! She is usually terrified (and I mean trembling, shaking, crying) of the big dressed up mascot type animal, but not this one! I'd like to think it's because it's a cow......but, really I think it's because it's THE CHICK-FIL-A COW!!! We love us some Chick-fil-A!


Meghan (JoJo) and Landry

Landry's little friend, Larson!

(Big shout out to Files and Karin! You're on the blog!)

Uncle Buzzy's porch in Arkansas.

Random picture. This is a tree in the park across from Buzzy's house. I took it because it was almost like the sun was out solely to shine on this one little tree.

The cutest pumpkin in the patch

Sunday afternoon Jeff, Landry, and I attempted to go to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. It was FREEZING, WINDY, and DUSTY. We drove an hour out there and stayed about 3 minutes. So, yesterday afternoon I took Landry to a smaller patch closer to our house. It actually turned out to be better because the weather was nicer and there was no crowd, so Landry kind of had the run of the place.

Here are a few pics.

Needless to say, the ponies were her favorite part. The man (who Landry asked 24,785 questions to!) let her ride 4 or 5 times. He was very patient!!

This is what happens to Landry's hair when she gets IN a bounce house. She hadn't even started jumping yet!

Landry in the hay maze!

The View and hair

I looked down at my phone today and realized that it is Oct. 25. (My work phone is SO FANCY....it has the time AND date!) So, a year ago today my sister, some friends and me went to see the taping of The View in Dallas. Although the show wasn't spectacular, mainly because it was hard to hear what was going on, we had a lot of fun and it was neat to see how it was filmed and all of the behind-the-scenes.

I had taken the whole day off work, so after the taping my sister decided that she wanted to get hair extensions and she wanted them THAT DAY! So, we went to the scariest beauty supply store EVER.....equipped with bars on the windows and all. We found some hair to match hers and we were set, except for the fact that we didn't have anyone to put the extensions in. We started calling people in the phonebook and finally contacted "Diva". Diva was able to do the extensions under short notice, and MANY HOURS later Lulu had Belle-from-Beauty-in-the-Beast hair.

Here are some pics from our day!!

By the way, Diva did a great job. Her extensions lasted a couple of months.

Lindsay and I waiting in line at the crack of dawn!

Meredith warming up with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

The View gals in a rare not-talking-over-each-other moment.

My friends and me waiting in line....again, at the crack of dawn!

Sewing it in!!

Finished product!!

God has an invisible dog

Last night in the car, Landry announced that God has an invisible dalmation. Not too weird that a three-year-old would make up something like this, but she had proof. So she announced:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the United States of America
And to the republic, for "witches" stand
"Malmation" (dalmation), under God
"Invisible" with liberty and justice for all!

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Landry's little class only has two boys. Needless to say, they are both very popular with the little ladies. Landry said to me last night, "I am so mad! Do you want to know why?" Yes! "Asher is going to marry Aubrey. Brendan is going to marry Emma. I don't have anyone to marry and it just makes me so mad!"

Landry is so funny and she doesn't even know it. The past few days both of us have felt a little under the weather. Yesterday I picked her up from school and all the way home she was unusually quiet. When we pulled into the driveway, I asked her if she felt bad. She said, "Yes, I'm sick. I need some medicine and I need you to measure my armpit." Measure my armpit translates to "take my temperature." Too funny!!

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Our household is gearing up for what is being deemed as "the most important game in Texas Tech" history. That's right, NUMBER 7 Texas Tech is playing number 2 UT on Saturday. (I had to make the "number 7" bold and huge b/c this may be the only time in my life that they are ranked this high). Jeff told me this past Monday on our flight back to Dallas that he is already nervous about the game. I'm excited about it and all, but come on! Nervous 5 days early?? Anyway, we're expecting 20 or so of our college friends over to our house to celebrate followed by a celebration......or celebrate followed by a period of mourning. Hopefully, it will be the former!
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Last weekend, Jeff, Landry, PopPop, Gigi, and I went to Arkansas to see my brother. We had a great time. Arkansas was very pretty. The weather was perfect! Unfortunately, I had to miss the Ark/Auburn game due to a "bad reaction to Tylenol", but Dad, Brady, and Jeff got to go and hog call. Hopefully, tomorrow I can get the pictures posted.

Lulu, we missed you last weekend!! Glad you got to see the Anson Lights, though. By the way, you were right. The Anson Lights story and the grave knocker story have scared me for two nights in a row!!

Islands in the Stream.....That is What We AREN'T

Elizabeth's blog from yesterday http://elizabethbarnhill.blogspot.com/ .......(I don't know how to do the cool thing where you just have a word, but it makes a link).........made me think of our Halloween party last year. The theme was "Famous Couples". Jeff and I last minute, and I mean last minute, decided to be Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (late 70s version). As you can see below, it was a VERY failed attempt, especially Kenny. Poor Jeff's spray on gray beard kept "bleeding" down his face. His brown wig that we spray painted was terrible. It was actually a mullet that we cut the tail off of. He didn't even closely resemble Kenny Rogers. He looked more like Ted Kazinski (the una-bomber).

We had fun at the party anyway!

Rare Sports Post.....

I don't usually post about sports. I typically tend to stay with what I know about the most: my daughter and tv shows, but there is a lot going on in our world of sports right now. Plus, this could possibly be THE ONE post that my dad and Jeff would be interested in.

Here are some of the good/bad:

Good-Texas Tech beat Nebraska on Saturday. It's exciting to watch Tech this year! Go Raiders! I promised Jeff that if Tech goes to the Cotton Bowl or better this year that he can go. I might have to eat my words!

Bad-OU lost to UT on Saturday. However, it was expected this year. I'm sure the Sooners will be back on top next year. Surely, Mack Brown won't want to win two years in a row!!

Good-the OU/UT game at the Cotton Bowl. I know many people complain about the Cotton Bowl. The truth is, it's NOT comfortable, it is outdated, etc. BUT, it is fun to watch the OU/UT game there. It's cool to see half red/half orange split down the 50 yard line. Additionally, there are no suites, which I happen to like......it's just pure stadium. Sure there are better seats than others, but all football fans must brave the weather elements at the Cotton Bowl.

Good-the Aggies are rotten. I almost liked the fact that A&M lost so bad to Colorado more than the fact that Tech beat Nebraska. (Shame on me!!) It's fun to hate the Aggies. I have so many friends that went to A&M and they just cannot fathom losing. I love it!

Good- We're going to the Arkansas/Auburn game Saturday in Ark. It should be fun. Jeff and I have never been to a SEC game, so this will be different. It will also be weird to hear "wooooooooooo! pig! sooie!" I've never really cheered for bacon.

Good-My high school alma mater, Wylie High, is really good again this year! Go bulldogs!

Good- the Angels beat the Yankees the other night and advanced in the play-offs to play the White Sox.

I don't really care about baseball, but our family friend John Lackey pitches for the Angels and we always root for him. John pitched Sunday night against the Yankees and although they lost that game, he pitched really well.

Landry's first baseball game was when she was 8 months old. We went to see John pitch against the Rangers. Below are some pictures.

Here are a few recent pics of Landry. This is her penguin costume. Super cute on her, but she's not convinced that she wants to be a penguin! She's still holding out for cheerleader or horse!























These are from "cap day" at her school. She was SO excited to have a cap...like Daddy!

We had a fun and busy weekend. Friday night we stayed in and recuperated from the long work week. Saturday we had back-to-back birthday parties for Landry's friends. Both were fun! Plus, we got to see Tech pull off an exciting game against Nebraska. The worst part of the game was watching that freaky bouncy Nebraska mascot thing on TV.

Sunday, we went to church and then I went to Ikea with my brother and mom. Then, later we met my mom and dad for dinner. Good weekend!

Zoo

I'm so excited to see Landry this evening. She has been asking for several weeks for us to take her to the zoo. It's been so HOT here lately and on the weekends we have had so much going on, that we just haven't made the trip yet. Every night when we put her to be she says "I want to tell you one more question."......"Are we going to go to the zoo on Monday?" (Monday sometimes means "tomorrow." )

Yesterday, my sister-in-law called to see if Landry could go to the zoo with her and her three cousins, as well as storytime at the library. Landry was SO excited! She immediately asked me what she could take with her to the zoo. She insisted on taking her toy dinosaur so she could "show the animals." Weird...yes, but thoughtful.

I'm anxious for her to get home so I can hear all about it. I hope the animals enjoyed getting to see the plastic brontosauraus......there was a lot of thought put into it!

Things that Freak Me Out........

1) Blue Man Group
2) commercials for the TV show "Medium"
3) watching eye surgery
4) magic tricks where they saw a girl in half
5) Boohbahs
6) double jointed people
7) the bouncing Nebraska blow-up mascot thing.......is someone in there or what?
8) when you pick up the phone to call someone and someone is on the line, but you didn't hear it ring
9) my electric bill
10) the fact that it's already October

State Food...uh, Fair of Texas

Where you can get:

Fried ice cream
Fried oreos
Fried marshmallows
Fried twinkies
Fried apple taco
Fried coconut coated pineapple rings
Fried Italian meatballs
Fried PBJ and banana sandwich
Fried strawberry empanada
Fried pork chop sandwich

If you ate one of each of these, how many total calories do you think you would consume.

My hump, my hump.....my lovely little hump

Today was my twelve week doctor's visit. I had an appt with my regular doctor, and then I had an appt with the Jedi Master of OB. Dr. R, and his partner Dr. P, are fertility and genetic specialists. They have some sort of high-tech ultrasound machine and my regular OB's office uses them for the 12 week and 18 week sonograms.

This sonogram was to measure fluid levels and other stuff to ensure that genetically everything is normal. This is something fairly new, within the last couple of years, so we didn't do this with Landry. From the results of the sonogram everything appeared to be normal, but we won't get the official lab results back until next week.

The baby was very active during the sonogram. We could see "it" (I hate saying "it" but I don't know what else to call it) kicking it's legs and moving around. So cool!

There was a little (ok, BIG) part of us that was hoping Dr. R would be able to determine the sex of the baby. I asked if there was anyway he could tell at twelve weeks and he said "not unless it is really proud!" And...it wasn't. Looks like we'll be anxiously waiting another six weeks.

Oh, I almost forgot the most exciting news......ok, not THE most exciting, but exciting none the less......I have lost 5 pounds!! Go figure. I go on a diet and lose nothing. I become pregnant and lost 5 pounds. Whatever! I'll take it when I can get it!!

Crystal's after church..........

I can't tell you where this thought progressed from......it was one of those one-thought-leads-to-another-type things, but I started thinking earlier about our after church "routine" when I was younger.

In elementary school and middle school we went to Highland. As best as I can remember, EVERY Sunday I wore a flowery, striped, or polka dotted Leslie Lucks dress (with HUGE shoulder pads) and Sam and Libby flats. And, EVERY Sunday after church we would drive a block and a half down the road and eat lunch at Crystal's. Crystal's brings back lots of memories.......

We would walk into the foyer and my dad would give my brother, sister, and I quarters to go play games. I played Galaga. I was SO good at that game. I remember getting past stage 30! My dad would go order our food and receive his 10% discount for bringing in the church bulletin. Were'nt Crystal's breadsticks THE BEST??? My mom would either go get a table or go socialize with the million other people we knew that were also eating at Crystal's. The first few years, my brother, sister, and I would eat in the cartoon room. It was always "The Little Rascals", "Three Stooges", or some sort of Looney Toon show. My parents ate in the "grown-up" room. At some point, we decided that the Looney Toon's were incredibly annoying and that Wile E Coyote was never going to catch the Roadrunner, so in later years we all sat at the table by the Piano Man. I still to this day have no idea what his name is, but he has played the piano all over Abilene and always wears suspenders. Every week my sister would request "Somewhere Out There", and he would play it. No matter where we sat, though, we always ended up sitting near "Eternal Stirrer". Eternal Stirrer was an older man that was always by himself and always ordered iced tea. He would pour about a cup of sugar in his tea and then stir and stir and stir and stir and stir! No lie....he probably stirred his tea for 10 straight minutes!! To this day, we always laugh when we hear someone in a restuarant excessively stirring.

Just a memory I thought I would share!!

Just some random thoughts I had today.........

1) Super pumped that Lost is premiering tonight.

2) We got an email at work from the "emergency management" at our company warning that all residents (of DFW) should stock up on potable water and batteries for this weekend. Overkill? I guess we'll see. However, if the storm is going to affect us that badly, can't it wait until Monday so we can stay home from work?

3) Why when you go to a fast food restaurant and order water do they give you a cup of water that's smaller than a jigger? You get punished for ordering H2O.

4) Jigger is a funny word.

5) My AC went out in my car today. In most parts of the country it wouldn't matter in mid-September. Here, though, it's still 100 degrees. Ugh!

6) I have decided to be organized and create a nightly routine. One night a week I will scrapbook for at least an hour.

7) Nothing is grosser to me when I am pregnant than chicken. ALL chicken. Rotisserie, barbeque, shredded, baked, grilled, fried, chicken spaghetti, chicken fried steak, a la king, nugget. Yuk!

My daughter is SO smart!!

I know all parents think their child is the smartest, cutest, funniest (you can add your
own -est).... and I have become one of "those" parents. My child is so smart. And since pretty much my whole blogging audience consists of my family members, I don't think anyone will object. But, just in case, here is some proof:

- Landry has this United States puzzle and some of the pieces are really small, but she can put it together in no time....even the really small northeastern states. Not only can she put it together, but she has learned so many of the state's names, and something significant about them. For instance, Daddy was born in Colorado.....Buzzy lives in Arkansas.....Alla-turkey (Albuquerque) is in New Mexico.

- The other day we were driving to church and she looked out into this field and saw one horse and two cows and she said, "there is one horse and two cows." Then she said, "hey, that can make a fraction....Like 1 and 2." A FRACTION?!?!? Ok, so maybe she didn't totally use it in the right context (maybe she meant ratio???), but how many three-year-olds are talking about fractions?

sidenote: I don't take any credit for her knowing about fractions. Fractions are thanks to the genius of Cyberchase on PBS Kids! Cyberchase is also responsible for Landry having the word "tesselation" in her vocabulary.

I made a terrible discovery today.........

when I returned from lunch. So, I have worked at my current job now for almost two years. They have this little convenient-type store down in the lobby of our building. They sell Starbucks coffee, sodas, salads, snacks, and the best pizza ever! I can usually stay out of there. I will drink the regular (free) coffee that's in our break room. I don't usually drink sodas. Salads....pass. Snacks, occasionally. Pizza, occasionally (but I could easily become addicted). After I came back from lunch I saw a lady in the elevator with a drumstick (ice cream not chicken) and I remembered that "the store" had one of those Dairy Queen-like freezers with all kinds of frozen treats. In all of my two years here I have never been tempted. Today, though, I was. (I'll blame the baby!) So, I went back down and got one of those ice cream sandwiches that have the Nestle cookie "bread" and it was only $.86!!! 86 CENTS!! 86 CENTS!! Yikes!! I might have just created a monster out of myself!

Too old too fast

Our little Landry is getting to be so grown up! She amazes me everyday. Last night we went to eat dinner at Olive Garden. She had her crayon and little coloring page. She kept asking me to spell words like elephant, mouse, tiger, etc. As I would spell them, she would properly write the letters. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea she knew how to write as many letters as she does. So genius!

She also is very into ordering her own food these days. She ordered a "lemolade" to drink and "pizza with macaroni" (pepperoni) for her dinner. She also enjoyed munching on the "stickbread".

Shows I shamelessly enjoy.......

I was reading a gal's blog today (not someone I personally know.....only through blogosphere) and it got me thinking about all of the shows I watch that I probably shouldn't. All of these are shows that aren't "good" and I know that but for some reason I get hooked and have to tune in. These are the ones my husband refuses to watch with me......and I don't want him to. I would rather watch them in peace than have to listen to the grunts, groans, and sighs coming from the la-z-boy.

Here are a few of them in no particular order.

1) Laguna Beach (THESE are teenagers? Girls, quit fighting over Jason. So not worth it!)
2) My Super Sweet Sixteen (what brats!!)
3) Real World/The Gauntlet/The Inferno ( I can't explain it)
4) Newlyweds (who doesn't love this?)

.....anyone notice an MTV theme here.........

5) Surreal Life (these people are train wrecks)
6) Bachelor (please come back!)
7) Days of our Lives (we're approching 40th anniversary!)
8) Saved by the Bell (classic)
9) Cheaters (this is the one I'm most ashamed of :( )
10) The Best Week Ever-VH1 (just plain funny!)

Weekend and other thoughts

Been a while since I posted. We had a good weekend. Jeff went hunting in Chillicothe over Labor Day weekend like he usually does. Landry and I went to my parents house. On Saturday, we all went to Norman for the OU/TCU game. Although we had fun, Dad and Brady were disappointed in the outcome of the game.

The best $2 we have ever spent was on some pom-poms for Landry. She has barely stopped shaking them since Saturday afternoon. She will get up in a chair and say "O-P-J-U-S-N-B-W-C-K-G-T-O-D.....what's that spell?" Then, she'll do her chearleading dance. It's basically a clumsy Irish jig with pom-poms. So funny.

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Hurricane talk:

Disclaimer: These are my opinions. I am not saying I am right and understand if you strongly disagree. They are just my thoughts.

When did "refugee" become a bad word? There are people having rigors when the word "refugee" is used. I don't think anyone means any direspect or anything demeaning by using the term. Afterall, these people do not have homes anymore and are seeking refuge elsewhere to escape danger. I innocently said refugee this morning to someone I was talking to and you would have thought I had shouted "bomb" in an airport. I later read in an article that they don't want to be referred to as "evacuees" or "displaced", either. Apparently, it sounds too clinical.

One of the blogs I read is from Larry James. While I don't agree with all of his political views, he does a lot of great work with the Dallas homeless and poor. If anyone has a bleeding heart for the "New Orleans- people- who's- houses- are- underwater- and- they- have- to- go- live- in- another- state- for- a- while" (that's the new term), it's him. Larry, on his Sept. 2 blog entry referred to them as "refugees" and no one corrected him. http://www.larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/

Someone (Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton), please let me know when we come up with a term that is acceptable and politically correct.

Dear celebrities, please just send money or donated items. They could certainly use your millions of dollars more than your cell phone (Matthew McConaughey) or you passing out sandwiches made by other volunteers (Jamie Foxx), or your boat that is so weighed down with your entourage (and leaking) that there is no possible way to save people (Sean Penn). Is there anything fundamentally wrong with this? Absolutely not. Is this a great PR for you? Absolutely. Hopefully, your presence lifted the spirits of many, but I do have one question for you. How often, if ever, did you walk through the 9th Ward of New Orleans to lift spirits pre-Hurricane?

Dear media, can you take it a little easy on the New Orleans police men/women that went MIA. No, it probably wasn't the best time to disappear, but can you blame them? They were under-manned, had ZERO communication, were over-worked, lost their homes, and did not know if their families were safe or not. Cut them some slack.

Ok. Enough of the negativity. It doesn't do anyone any good for me to sit hear and complain and not do anything. I vow to do something to actually help others.

When will the Saints come marching in?

In April 1999, shortly after I graduated college, my mom and I went to New Orleans to work the American College of Cardiology convention for Banyan. We worked at the New Orleans Convention Center, stayed across the street at the Holiday Inn, shopped at the RiverWalk Marketplace, and went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets. The whole area was wonderful. It was full of life, energy, and fun.

My memories of that area are a far cry from the current grim reality. Seeing what is going on there now is unbelievable. I can hardly describe how devastating it was to see dead people propped up against the wall. Children, elderly, sick barely clinging to life. People going into diabetic shock and there is nothing to do for them. It breaks my heart to see these babies with NO FOOD OR WATER. I heard a report last night that two babies had died due to dehydration. It's just devastating and unnecessary. Where is the help?

Hopefully, the Saints will march in soon.

Katrina

I am glued. Glued to the Katrina coverage. I can't stop watching. Actually, I did stop watching for a while earlier. Landry was in the room while I was watching Fox News. They were interviewing a man in Mississippi and were showing the destroyed homes in the background. She looked over at me with the most troubled look and said "Is our house going to look like that?" My heart sank. She was scared. It breaks my heart when she is scared. So, I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be trapped in an attic with her. Or wading through fire ant/snake/oil/sewage/bacteria-laden water. Or stuck in a lawless 100 degree football stadium with no food, water, toilets, anything. I cannot fathom it. Thank you, Lord, for not letting me have to.

I was just watching Larry King Live and he was interviewing a well known reverend, who I won't name. The preacher went on and on placing blame and was pointing fingers at how people were handling things. I agree that this has been a disaster, but I don't think anyone could have expected or prepared for this. Then, I turned the channel to Hannity and Colmes and they were interviewing Franklin Graham. Mr. Graham spent his interview not finger pointing, but providing solutions to how to deal with this. He spoke of how individuals, churches, and evacuees could get involved in the clean-up and rebuilding. Can we please hear more of Mr. Graham?

It's not September yet and I already have a dove on the grill

That's right, folks. Dove season officially starts tomorrow, but I have already made my first kill. The other night I was driving home and noticed I was about to run over a bird. It started to fly and I looked in my rearview mirror and didn't see any feathers or a mangled bird body, so I assumed it flew away. The next morning, Jeff was going to take my car to go run errands and after seeing my car, he came back in and announced that I was a murderer. I had indeed hit the dove.

The dove was stuck in the grill of my car. Wings totally spread. It almost looked fake.

I have officially joined my sister's "bird killing club"......actually, we prefer to think that the birds were suicidal. http://lindsayhallerbackgirl.blogspot.com/2005/06/feed-birds.html