Easters Past

I'm standing outside this morning with coffee in hand watching the family across the street hide and hunt Easter eggs.  It's pulling at my heart strings thinking about those innocent moments with the girls that are long gone.  I'm so thankful for getting to experience those times!

I remember how much I loved coloring eggs when I was little.  I think Mother must have really liked Easter, because I can see her excitement getting all the little bowls ready for the eggs.  She and I both loved the vinegar smell from the dye solution.  Was Daddy in charge of hiding the eggs?  Probably, but I don't truly remember.

I wish I could see the old photos of me and DeeBee hunting for eggs.  I want to look at all the details - the new dresses, the shoes, the baskets.  I want it to spark memories that I haven't thought of for years.  I want to remember what it was like when we were a family. 

I have a feeling I'll participate in Easter egg hunting again some day, but as a grandma.  That's crazy to think about, but probably realistic.  I have a feeling it'll be some of my favorite Easter moments yet.

A Sunday to remember

You know you've neglected your blog for a while when the web address doesn't display on your history list.  Anyhow.

Ever buy someone a Christmas gift, get it wrapped, and then later get that de ja vu feeling that you bought them that same gift a few years ago?  I hate that.

But this has been a good holidayish type day.  The girls and Alan and I finally got together for some family portraits and some Christmas card shots.  The results aren't professional, but the process was fun.  It was cold, although you wouldn't know it from mine and Bailey's flip-flops and sandals, but that's how we do fall and winter in West Texas!  Here's one that won't make it in a frame but will be a classic nonetheless:

Alan made hot chocolate when we got back to the house, and getting to use my Christmas mugs makes me happy.

He then went to the grocery store so that I could stay home and watch the Cowboys.  So I'm watching the Cowboys, playing with the photos, and ignoring lesson plans.  Who needs 'em?  And oh my lord the Cowboys just won, so this day is awesome!

Ready or not

Signs of the holidays are starting to creep in around here.  Pies for tomorrow, done.

Turkey fryer, assembled.

Mantel, done.

And last but not least:  dysfunctional family, you betcha.  Yes, it's definitely the holiday season!

Boo

I'm pretty sure I could have paid half of what these cost me to make, had I just opted for store-bought decorations. I'm hoping once I finish stringing the lights underneath, they'll look cute for Halloween. Right now, I'm not so sure...

A humongous Valentine

Alan and I got back yesterday from a weekend away in Dallas (we stayed in Dallas but spent most of the time in Ft. Worth). Ft. Worth is the one other place where we feel at "home," so it's always fun to go back and visit our favorite places. Most of those places involve food, but we usually end up at one of the museums as well. Neither one of us had ever been to the Modern, so that was fun for a while. I'm a closet art fan, and the Modern was so cool, but even I reach my time limit in a museum.

As our weekend was coming to an end yesterday, we had lunch at one of our favorites - La Madeleine. Alan and I often make fun of pretentious people, and you'd definitely find that type of clientele at La Madeleine. So as we were pulling up to the restaurant, I pointed out that maybe this was our pretentious thing we do? And some would see going to the museums as pretentious. But we really do love that restaurant and going to museums together. Anyway, it was a fun and fitting Valentine's weekend for us...pretentious or not. :-)

But the most exciting part was bringing home the biggest Valentine I've ever received:

Whoopsie!

Here's how the lights looked...

...before I ran over one of the strands. Guess Alan will be replacing a string on his day off tomorrow.

Lights and Mischief

We might have a new holiday tradition...Alan and Bailey putting up the Christmas lights. This is our first time to hang lights outside, but I can't show a picture yet because I think Alan is on a roll and may be adding much more.



And for those who enjoy the Junior videos, here's one of him playing with the giant toy we apparently bought just for him - the Christmas tree. This shows a major differences between cats and dogs. Dogs will run and act guilty if they're caught doing something wrong; cats will continue right in front of you just for spite. Or is that just Junior?

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Aaah, yes. Who doesn't love assembling the Christmas tree and meticulously arranging the lights, only to be left with a strand that stops working.

"We're not in Kansas anymore."

I guess I took a complete break from everything over the Thanksgiving break, including blogging. We spent the past few days at Karl and Ashley's house and got to see almost all of Alan's extended family. We did what most people did - ate, watched football, and of course shopped:

Austin and Ashtyn loved Bailey, and I know she'd say the feeling was mutual. They were so sweet. Here's some pretty serious Wii playing with Austin, Bailey, and Alan:

Karl and Ashley were awesome hosts, but I bet they're glad to have their house back to normal. I know I'm looking forward to being back in my own bed tonight. I have an interesting week that starts with jury duty tomorrow followed by decorating for Christmas (with Junior's help) tomorrow night, so I'm guessing it'll be a more blog worthy week.

A Murderer and a Martian

That's me as Lizzie Borden, trying to convey my "I'm in a daze because I just hacked up my parents" look, and Alan as Marvin the Martian, obviously. Alan's costume was pretty darn cool. And pretty darn time-consuming to create. He pulled it off pretty nicely!

Calgon, please.

Oh lordy, what a long week already. I need a mini-vacation. Tomorrow will be another long day, and how fortunate that I can't sleep! Ugh. And Halloween? Man, who knew it was so time consuming! Alan and I have put many hours into our costumes already, and we're not even finished. But it'll all be fun in the end. Lots of pictures for the blog, I'm sure!

Maybe Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle?

I need ideas. I have to dress up as a storybook character for Halloween at my school. So far I've thought of Mary Poppins, Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus series, Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, Little Red Riding Hood (Bailey's suggestion), and...yeah that's about it. I teach Reading and can't think of a good storybook character. Help!

Breakfast with Daddy

Something I'll always remember about growing up with my dad is how he started every day in a good mood - whistling, singing, ready to start the day. And forget IHOP or Denny's! Daddy's breakfasts were the best: eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, tomato slices, and avocado wedges. Maybe I should credit (or blame!) my love for food on my dad. Every meal was important and was a highlight of the day. Dinner was at the table, if you can believe that, and not in front of a TV. What seemed insignificant at the time are memories I'll always treasure.

Hope you're having a big breakfast this morning, Daddy. Love you, and Happy Father's Day!

My Valentines

There are 17 little third-graders that I spend the majority of my time and attention on lately. That needs to change soon, but they sure are cute.

The little things

You'd think I was unwrapping a present each December when I get these mugs down from the top shelf of the cabinet. I forget about them for most of the year, when they get pushed in the back by all the non-seasonal, non-holidayish, or company logo mugs. But I'm so excited when I get to use them again, and unless they're both dirty at the same time, they're the only mugs I drink my coffee from all Christmas season. We got them one Christmas a few years ago from DeeBee, and they're like the gift that keeps on giving! Unfortunately...it's time they get pushed back again.

Some more Okies we love

Is it any wonder we love hanging out with the Richardson's?





Joe and Heather (and Dillon!) came through town while visiting family and helped us ring in the New Year's. We watched "Superbad" New Year's Eve, which I have to say is the perfect movie to watch with people you know really well. 'Cause you're going to hear more in two hours about a guy's tools and how he wants to use them, share them, etc. than you might have thought possible. Good times. :-)

We spent two days eating, drinking, and being dorks with two people who keep us young. I hope they never grow up.

Taking reservations

Thank goodness for my awesome camera that I bought around this time last year as a graduation present, because I took ONE picture so far this Christmas. One. I'm gonna tell myself that the reason I took one measly picture is because I was just having so much fun watching and experiencing the moment with the kids and Alan and family, that I didn't want to stop and mess with the camera. And although that might be pretty accurate, I wish I had more pictures to remember this Christmas.

Wednesday, Alan and Addison and I went to see "I Am Legend." (Stop reading now if you plan to see it.) Will Smith's an awesome actor, and the concept of the movie was cool and all, but just more sad than anything else. A number one rule in movies - NEVER kill the family dog. Ugh.

The past three days Alan and his dad have been working on the guest house - laying insulation underneath, adding baseboard trim to the interior, and next they'll hang a much needed door for the bathroom. Soon it'll be time for my part - painting. It's cool to see it all coming together. Time for visitors!

Peace and stuff

Isn't there a saying that whatever you're doing at the end of the year is indicative of the year to come? I know it's not technically New Year's Eve, but if next year I'm spending more time doing what I've been doing the past couple of days, it'll be a good year. 2007 won't go down in my book as a stellar year, but I have a good vibe about next year.

And now I'm ready to get into my pajamas and watch Survivorman, which I just realized is on. The past 24 hours I've gotten to watch everything I consider a must at Christmas - Rudolph, Elf, and Christmas Story. So Survivorman is a good transition away from Christmas!

We have an out-of-the-blue chance of snow tonight. Weird.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve

I like Christmas Eve way better than Christmas Day. Christmas Day has the potential to be oddly depressing. But Christmas Eve, when we usually open presents, is always better. Although the girls don't hold and shake their presents trying to figure out what's inside anymore, or even beg to open one of the presents a day early, watching them open their presents is still the best part of Christmas Eve. I'm guessing it always will be. And Alan and I living in the same town is not bad either.

But Christmas Day....ewww. New Year's Day can be like that, too, now that I think about it. I can't really explain it. And since I've never, not once, heard anyone describe a disturbing feeling that comes over them during what's supposed to be a happy-go-lucky setting, a feeling that makes them want to be anywhere but in that exact time and place, and a feeling that smacks them upside the head out of nowhere....well, the more I talk about it, the weirder I seem.

So here's to Christmas Eve! We're having brisket, fried potatoes, and baked beans. Nothing weird about that!

Perhaps you can relate

The piles of crap are getting to me. I can't see the surface of the dining table, because it's covered with unwrapped presents, wrapping paper, tape, receipts, cards that I have yet to address, and whatever else we happen to drop off as we walk by. Maybe you have a similar pile? I'm really glad I resisted the urge to buy or make some sort of centerpiece for the table this year. I would have never been able to enjoy it.

So to ease my cluttered mind today, I have to tackle other piles. Like laundry. And trash. And the mounds of leaves in the driveway that won't stop blowing into the garage every time the door is raised. If I can conquer those piles, maybe I'll have the peace of mind to tackle that dining table.