santa picture

A big improvement over last year, don't you think?

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More snow

I couldn't help myself. I don't know why I get so carried away about snow. Something about growing up in the South makes me think snow is just absolutely magical and fascinating. Jonas thinks so too. Betty was a good sport, but really preferred to stay warm inside.

beth made this sweet little snowman. it took most of the snow from the backyard to do it.





this is unrelated to the snow. but oh my word.

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IT'S SNOWING!!!

That's right! Real live snow. Of course it's not sticking, and you can barely see it, but still. I had the hardest time getting it to show up in a photograph; this is the best I could do. You kinda have to squint.


Oh, and I made Christmas stockings. I used an old burlap feed sack. I think they turned out pretty cute.



Here are some close-ups:



And some random pictures of Jonas, just because. That's a snowflake by his right hand.




edit: it's coming down harder now, so i added more pics. couldn't resist.

Curlers, Round Two

I know you're waiting on pins and needles, anxious about the next attempt at curlers. Will it work? Will she go vertical? What about the bangs? And frizz, oh horror, the frizz.

Well, you can relax. It went just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Does anyone want a play-by-play? Yes?

I put in twice as many, so they could be close together (thanks, Kim ). Curlers were inserted vertically on damp hair, sprayed with gel, wait 1 hour, blasted with the hair dryer, and removed vertically (thanks, Cat and Lynsey). No bangs. Sesame Street helped with this phase.


Don't they look like an old married couple?


The final product, my beauty queen:


Much better, no?

Thanks, mommy friends, for all your help!

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First attempt at curlers...

Did not go so well.

{I still need your comments on the post below!}

It started out fine. She looks cute with the curlers in.


But then it's wrong, all wrong.


Mothers of little girls, I need your help. Where did I go wrong?

I'm thinking maybe they should have been turned vertically?

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It's that time again!

Well, believe it or not, it's Christmas time again. I know!

Want to know how I figured that out?

I've gotten two, count 'em two, emails this week asking what the kids want or what size clothes they wear.

I can relate; it's hard to shop for other people's kids, so I try to help out with suggestions. But that feels kind of weird too. Do I just tell people what to get my kids? It feels like a wedding registry. Does anyone else have this problem?

So, to solve the awkwardness, I created a registry.


~~~~~~~~~~~(((((crickets)))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Does that make it worse?

Not really a registry, but an amazon.com wish list for both kids. It's under my name, since my kids don't yet have their own email addresses (what with the lack of reading and all). Family members who are so inclined can find my helpful hints there. *******No pressure******* (hopefully that goes without saying? no one is obligated to buy anything!). But some did ask for suggestions, so there you go. I'll probably get most of our gifts for them from the same list.

{On a side note: This is one small issue, set against the backdrop of the bigger issue of remembering that Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation. That's a much bigger discussion. Kids don't do well when they get overwhelmed with a gazillion presents. It's actually less enjoyable for them, not to mention distracting from the greater purpose of the holiday. But I want to get them toys, they will get toys, and that's great. I even enjoy a little bit of the Santa nonsense. More to come on that another day. Here's a teaser.}

Back to toys. So here's my question for you.

What do your kids love? What have been their favorite toys, books, gifts, games, whatever? What are you hoping to get for them? What needs to be on my amazon list?

I'll go first with our favorites.

I've already mentioned the trampoline. I still wholeheartedly endorse it.

Jonas loves his VTech camera.

A little shopping cart. Although ours doesn't have the baby seat; how cute is that??? This has gotten constant use since Jonas was first learning to walk. Both kids at every age have found a use for it.

Anything for dress-up. Hats, capes, props.

Books: Brown Bear. Monkey Boy. Bear Hunt. Nightmare in my Closet. Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar? (Jonas learned to count from this). When they were babies the Roger Priddy books were great. Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Gorilla. Sam who Never Forgets. Runaway Bunny. The little Elmo puppet book.

I'm being lazy and doing this from memory. If you want authors' names just ask.

OK, now it's your turn.

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Sweet Kids

Just some pictures of the kids.

Take a deep breath, nothing controversial today. Well, except maybe a Longhorns cap...




My dad sent a Durant Lions cheerleader dress for Betty. She looks so sweet in it.


This is how Jonas loves to dress, everyday. He has fully embraced the country life. Our family in Oklahoma might object to the hat, but you'll have to talk to Aunt Amberly about that.

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