Year In Review 2005

Yes, you're reading the most recent post. I happened to have just finished my "Year In Review" pages from 2005. It's a little late, I know, but I finally finished them. I started the first one in 2006 when I went to CKU (Creating Keepsakes University) in Houston with my dear sis. The design and materials were all provided in class by Donna Downey, so this didn't take too long to complete. I just had to sit down and do it. Enjoy the old photos! (Note that certain kids faces are blurred out since I haven't gotten permission from their parents to post this.)

Giving Me a Little Break

Today we went to Mission San Jose (see photo) because they were having some sort of "Get Outdoors, It's Yours!" event to promote getting kids outside. It wasn't what we expected, with little booths instead of things going on in the wide open so you could see everything. There were also lots of people and we generally like to avoid the big crowds. Still the family enjoyed walking around the grounds and it was a nice visit.

The Mission San Jose is actually an active Catholic parish, so there is a small church there. We went in there and lit a few candles for my uncle. The kids felt better about "doing something" for him, and so did I. They also learned that when you blow out flame on the stick that you used to light the candle, you need to face away from the candle.

I feel like DH has already beaten me to the punch. He already posted this photo and the next one on his blog tonight. We were near the River Walk so we went ahead and had lunch at the Food Court at Rivercenter Mall. The boys killed time while DD and I were in Bath and Body Works. That girl LOVES Bath and Body Works. Anyway, DS#3 had fun looking at the water and all the birds that always seem to hang out at the River Walk.

After lunch where DS#3 ate lots of my pepper steak (mostly rice), we had dessert. I love the soft cinnamon sugar pretzels at Auntie Anne's. DS#2 and DD helped me with mine so I was able to have enough to satisfy my craving but not enough that I felt too guilty. DH took the other two boys to Great American Cookie Company. DS#3 looked too cute sitting on the floor of the mall so DH snapped a few photos. This one is just too adorable, so I'm planning to use it for my photo of the day today.

After this, we went home. DS#2 and DD played outside with their friends. DS#1 went to a friend's house. DS#3 and I napped. DH got some work done. We went out to dinner at Chili's tonight. It was a nice relaxing day with a little bit of everything. I even took a short trip to a nearby scrapbook store. I really needed this day!

I didn't post my photo of the day for yesterday. I chose this one of my two youngest children. They were both playing on these wiggle racers and having so much fun being with each other. Suddenly they both stopped right in front of me, so I quickly snapped this photo. I wished that I had set the flash to go off, because I had to lighten their faces considerably, but I just love the look of joy on their faces!

Having a Bad Week

I know I keep saying it, but I have had such a bad week at work. Today, I spoke with one of my colleagues and he made me feel a lot better about this. We're presenting this case next Tuesday, so I'm still a bit stressed out but a little less so. I am SO glad that today is Friday!

So, I've been having this horrible week, and it got even worse tonight. My maternal uncle has been sick for a while, but in much more serious condition since last July. His first grandchild was born in October and he has barely been able to see him. My mom has called me whenever there is anything new with his condition. Well, last night she called and said that they had removed his dialysis catheter. Tonight she called and said that they had removed his feeding tube and had placed him on a morphine infusion. *SIGH*

I just remember my uncle being so full of life and being such a cool uncle. A few years back we were visiting his house. As we were leaving, he slipped a fifty dollar bill into DS#1's pocket. That was his way of giving me money indirectly. Here I was with a good-paying job and my own family, and he was giving me money just like he did when I was much younger. He made me feel like a kid again. He was always sending my mom care packages which included ten pound bags of pistachios because he knew DH loved them. I just can't believe that the end might be near! I keep hoping that I'm wrong. :( My poor mom! I just want to be able to give her a big hug! She lost one of her older brothers last year and now this is a younger brother. :(

I need to end this post with a positive note. This is a page I just completed tonight for an ad challenge on Playground of Memories. It's a bit out of my comfort zone like I've been all week, because of the "randomness" of the photo placement. After looking at this for a while, I'm starting to like the design more and more. It's more interesting and less boring than my usual straight alignment of photos and elements. I hope being uncomfortable this past week will make me a better person in the end.

It's Here!

Is it weird that I'm excited about a kit? Actually, I'm excited about two kits. I received both my Project 365 Kit and my Studio Calico kit today. Awesome mail day! This photo of my Project 365 kit is my photo for today. I know there are better photos of the whole kit, but this is probably the most exciting thing that happened to me today, and after my depressing, stressful week, I needed this! :)

I even told a colleague about my photo a day goal for 2009. His wife is a scrapbooker that I really must meet some day. He himself was intrigued by the whole idea of taking a photo a day. He said he was going to do it, too!

I must finish out my blog entry tonight with a couple of cute stories about DS#3. Today I got home early , and as I was walking to the bus stop with DS#3, he started waving to the other moms at the bus stop and saying "Hi, Mom! At first I wondered if he was trying to say someone's name, but none of their names started with an "M". Later I realized that he probably said that because he'd heard the other kids call them "Mom". How adorable can he get?!!

Tonight, he actually said "Hi, Lala" to my mom on the phone. When he heard her voice, he automatically said "Lolo" too, but of course, by the time my dad got on the line, he really was only saying "Hi, Lala" over and over again.

DH the Cook

My Project 365 album will be here tomorrow! Yay! I can then start putting all of these pictures and journaling somewhere permanently. Some people have used this project of taking a daily photo as a way to practice in taking better pictures. I really need to read my camera manual and soon!

DH prepared some grilled chicken for dinner tonight. He got a recipe for this rub from one of my Cooking Light magazines. He used a mixture of cilantro, mint leaves, cumin, garlic, and red pepper, rubbed it on the chicken breasts, and left it to marinate for a few hours, then he grilled it this evening. I'm embarrassed to admit that he might read Cooking Light magazine more than I do. He's come a long way from the time he first "cooked" for me by popping a frozen pizza in the oven. Love ya, Dear! :)

Had a Bad Day

I had a bad day today. Actually, yesterday wasn't great either. Both involved a certain case that I can't provide the details of here, but this has really made my stress level go way up. Of course, tensions at work have made my stress level go up already, plus the fact that they will soon make us park elsewhere and get bused into the hospital. I just keep hoping I can win the lottery so I can retire very early. Of course, I would need to actually buy a lottery ticket so that might actually happen...

I've already goofed on the photo a day challenge. I was so down yesterday that I just couldn't get up enough energy to think of something to take a picture of, so I'm going to use this photo from today instead. Yesterday, when I met DH and the kids at DD's gymnastics class, this little boy really brightened my dismal day by giving me a "hut" which means "hug". It's so cute to hear him say in a high-pitched sing-song type of voice, "Huhhhh-t" as he puts his head on your shoulder or leg or whatever he can grab. Here he is actually saying "Doe-wa" very excitedly because he just heard the theme song to his favorite show. Thanks so much for lifting my mood, Sweetie!

This is the photo I chose for today. The kids are back in school, but all of the afterschool activities have not resumed yet. We don't usually have any Tuesday activities anyway, but it was really nice to see them all playing a game together. Even DS#3 was "playing" with the little pewter figures in the Monopoly game. Of course, he was "playing" with them by scraping them back and forth on the antique wood dining table, but he was playing with them. DH and I say over and over again. It's a good thing he's cute! *WINK*

Putting Away the Ornaments

Isn't this a sad sight to see? The kids took the ornaments down and put them away. I'm so proud of them because they did it mostly by themselves. DH put away the standing Santas. I guess he'll put away the tree tomorrow when it's supposed to be cloudy and icky outside. Back to school and work tomorrow. I think that's sad, too.

This is my first page for 2009. With the Project 365 album, there is some room for "regular" scrapbook pages and I felt like I needed to do this again to compare it with last year's title page. I was hoping to see how tall the kids were against the tree, but I just realized that I cut off the top of the tree in last year's photo. Just in case you can't see the vital stats on the page, here they are:

--DS#1 - 124.5 lbs, 68 3/4 in
--DS#2 - 89.5 lbs, 58 1/4 in
--DD - 45 lbs, 45 in
--DS#3 - 23 lbs, 32 in

To some of you, DS#1's stats may not seem noteworthy, but considering that he is already one of the taller members of my extended family and he's only 13, it's very noteworthy. DS#3's stats are approximate because he wasn't too cooperative. I'm still hoping he'll start growing a bit faster. It's not as socially acceptable for boys to be short and I don't want that for him.

Project 365

After having so much fun documenting my everyday life in December, I decided to go for a whole year. It's called Project 365 and it involves taking a photo every day or nearly every day. There is some info on Becky Higgins' blog and the Kit of the Month Blog. I'm going to be using the Project 365 kit, but I don't have it yet, so I'm going to document everything here on my blog for now. Getting that kit was very difficult, but that's another story. I'm not sure if I'll post it all on my blog later, because it was pretty time-consuming to do that last month, but some of the same photos will probably find their way on my blog and in my album.

This is my photo for January 1st. We went to visit my Mom and Dad's house on New Year's Day. DS#3 was a little grouchy when we first got there since he had just awakened from his long nap (he napped most of the way there), but it didn't take him long to start saying "Lala" and "Lolo" and giving them hugs and kisses. They were all wearing red so I had to take this photo. After all the times they came to visit us last year, I didn't get very many photos of them with DS#3. Just before I snapped the photo, my mom was very typically looking for something to give DS#3 to eat.

This is my photo for January 2nd. I don't get very many photos of me with my dear sisters, either. Once in a while two of us will get together (more often the two of them since they live in the same city) but not all three of us. My family and I spent most of the day over at C's house. Basically, my kids wanted to play with their cousins' toys. M had to work but she joined us later in the evening. It was just a nice, relaxing day.

This is my photo for today, and it's a cute story, too. My parents have a metal Jeepny (spell?) on their mantle. It's a vehicle that apparently is very common in the Philippines. Anyway, it's metal and more of a decoration than a toy. DS#3 LOVES wheeled vehicles, of course, and he saw it up there on the mantle. He fussed about getting it. He almost climbed up on the fireplace hearth in an attempt to get it. He started making lots of noise, and DH and my dad were in bed. Finally, my mom relented, as Grandmas tend to do. As she was taking it down, DS#3 became absolutely giddy with excitement. I wish I could have videotaped him. He was giggling and his whole body was shaking with joy. Well, the next best thing was to take a photo of him after he had started playing with it. He gave his customary cheesy grin, of course, but it's so fitting here because it's like he's saying, "Yeah! I got the toy that I wanted!" :)

December Daily: Day Thirty-One

Happy New Year, Everyone!!! First of all, this is my album cover. I finally finished it a week or so ago. I'll be putting the whole thing together using binder rings and then putting various ribbons on the binder rings to pretty it up a bit. I've really enjoyed putting this album together and I plan on doing something similar for 2009.

This is my final page in my album. How exciting!!! This is a photo I took yesterday at Sea World. DS#3 was fascinated with watching the Steel Eel rollercoaster. He even said "Woooooo!" when he saw the car go down the track after he heard the people on the car say, "Woooooo" too! This is also my resolutions page. I have some simple resolutions, maybe not as specific as I'd like, but maybe that way I have half a chance of completing them. :)

This is the back side of the page. The first photo is of the kids in front of the big tree when we first went into the park. The second photo is of DS#3 looking up at that rollercoaster again. Isn't his body position hilarious?

We're taking off to visit my family in a bit. I still have to finish packing! I won't get to blog when I'm there, so I hope everyone has a great weekend!

December Daily: Day Thirty

Yesterday's prompt on Playground of Memories was "It's a Wonderful Life". DH took this photo and that's what this photo tells me. Three of my kids are happy and smiling. The other child is a neighbor who has been playing very nicely with DD lately. He shares his toys and she shares hers. DS#3 also happens to be happy here, one of only a few such moments in the last couple of days. Poor boy has been running fevers at night with wet coughs and lots of congestion. He hasn't been sleeping well and as a result, his parents haven't been sleeping well either.

This photo also tells me "It's a Wonderful Life". DS#3 always looks in the pantry for snacks and other things to fiddle with. At least now he will shake or nod his head when we point to something to tell us if that's what he was looking for. Of course when he has just awakened from a nap or doesn't know what he wants, this can still be a problem. What a wonderful life he has--point to something and someone will get it for you!

We went to Sea World today. It's beautiful outside, even though it's a bit windy. I'm on call tonight and I'm bracing myself for a busy night. Wish me luck!

December Daily: Day Twenty-Nine

Yesterday's prompt at Playground of Memories was "We're Just a Bunch of Flakes". I was working late yesterday, so I asked DH to take some photos of the kids. We have live oaks in our neighborhood and they drop leaves all year, but especially in winter. We may not have snowflakes, but we sure have lots of leaves. DH took a bunch of photos of the kids throwing leaves on each other, and got some great shots. I'm so proud of him! I just love this look of utter joy on DS#1's face!

This is a photo of DS#3 after I had just taken his clothes off for his bath. When I did that, I noticed that he had a sticker on each shoulder. DD giggled and told me that she and her friend M had put five stickers on him earlier and now there were only two. The stickers were smiley faces with Santa hats, so DS#3's cheesy grin is rather appropriate, don't you think? :)

December Daily: Day Twenty-Eight

Yesterday morning was a little chilly in the 40s, but you wouldn't know it by looking at my DD and her good friend M riding around on our wiggle racers! They were mainly making a big circle around our driveway, but they did go up the hill of our cul de sac and ride downhill a few times. I watched to make sure there wasn't any cross traffic. Later, I told DD that the way she was balancing on the wiggle racer was similar to how she should balance on her electric scooter, so she should practice on her electric scooter again. I can't remember if I've already posted about this or not, but DD is afraid of falling off her scooter so she hasn't played on it very much since Santa brought it. She has never really played on any scooter before so maybe getting her an electric one was a mistake. At least she tried her brother's old non-electric scooter for a bit yesterday while her friend M used her electric scooter. I guess this will be something DH and I will have to work on with her in the coming weeks.

On the reverse side of yesterday's page, I have photos of Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt L before they all left for home. Grandma and Grandpa had originally planned to stay a bit longer so they could look around for potential places to live down here, but Grandma's driver's license expires on her birthday tomorrow. She was going to renew it here in Texas using our address, but there's a new requirement that to get a license in Texas you need either your birth certificate or a passport. Of course, they hadn't brought either with them, so they had to get back home by tomorrow so she could renew it there without having to take another driving test. So, we were sad to see them leave but very hopeful that it wouldn't be long before we get to see them all the time.

Other events yesterday:
--Poor DS#3 has been exhausted. He napped for three hours yesterday afternoon and still went to bed by 8PM! He didn't nap continuously, but he napped for two hours then woke up grouchy, kicking and screaming. He fell back asleep for another hour and woke up in a much better mood.
--While DS#3 and I napped, DH took the kids to our favorite ice cream place for a little treat. We're trying to continue to support them even when the weather is cold. We wouldn't want them to go out of business, of course! :)
--DH was enjoying the Cowboys vs. Eagles football game on TV last night. He doesn't like the Cowboys team and loved the fact that they messed up so badly yesterday.

Not too much else happened yesterday, but I do want to give a shout-out to my parents who have been married 43 years as of today! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you!!!

December Daily: Day Twenty-Seven

I don't like how I did this page with the date and smaller photo sticking out, but I'm not redoing it, so here it is. :) I thought the "Jolly" title was appropriate since DS#3 is very happy in these photos.

Both photos were taken at a local mall. In the big photo, DS#3 is looking at himself in one of those small mirrors they have in the shoe department where you can look at your shoes. Some people stopped by and made comments like "How cute" and "I love that age." I was swelling with mommy pride, of course. He IS very cute after all. :)

The smaller photo is of DS#3 playing near one of the fountains. He would point to it and say "Wa-wa" for "water". He also giggled whenever the strong winds would blow some of the water in his face. This is what I was doing while my MIL, SIL, and DD were shopping. DS#3 was also walking up and down several sets of stairs. At first I followed him, but I had to take the stroller up and down the stairs too, so I stopped and just started watching him from afar. At one point, some ladies saw him and made comments about how cute he was (he did actually say "hi" and waved at them). They looked around for who he belonged to, probably because he looks like a little boy that would be mischievous to run away from his mother (as my MIL suggested). When they saw me they said, "Oh, there she is!" and went along on their way.

Other events from yesterday:
--We ate lunch at the Food Court. DD bought her own drink at Chick-Fil-A. She wanted to do it, and I couldn't do it right then since I had to stay with DS#3 who was actively eating at the time. I watched her while she was in line and I was proud of her for taking the iniative and getting it herself (with money from me, of course).
--DS#3 made up for not eating the night before by eating a LOT of lo mein plus some of his sister's popcorn chicken.
--We went out to DH's favorite restaurant last night. His parents specifically requested it because they love the food there, too. We had to eat outside, however, because it was packed, even though we got there around 6PM after church. Luckily, they had tarps blocking most of the wind and heaters to keep us warm otherwise we seriously would have had to go elsewhere.

Tomorrow, I've got to go back to work--boohoo!

December Daily: Day Twenty-Six

These are two photos that I took yesterday. The top one is of my FIL and DS#3. DS#3 will be walking around when all of a sudden, he'll make a pit stop over to where Grandpa is sitting and he'll give Grandpa a hug. Anyone can tell that Grandpa is just smitten with this little boy! Grandma is so jealous, because he won't give her any hugs at all, except maybe when she just grabs him and gives him a hug.

The bottom photo shows Wheat Thins inside DS#3's new Dora ride-on toy. Earlier in the day, he was putting his cars in the storage compartment under the seat. During "cocktail hour" before dinner, we discovered that he was now storing food in there! I cleaned it out and he no longer stores food in there, but it was so hilarious to see that! I guess he didn't want to miss out on those crackers. :)

Other events from yesterday:
--Grandma and my SIL went shopping in the morning. DH went to Costco. The rest of us pretty much stayed home. DS#2 and DD played with the same friends again.
--DD went out with my SIL on her electric scooter. She didn't do very well balancing on it and after a few more tries, virtually gave up riding it. I'm so frustrated with her!
--We took photos of Grandma back-to-back with DS#2. She is at most, 1 inch taller than he is.
--My SIL took a photo with DS#1. She is still amazed at how big he is and wanted to show her friends back home.
--DH grilled steak for dinner and I made his favorite Dark Chocolate Souffle Cake. Everyone had some cake except for DS#2 and I.
--DS#3 was so cranky at dinner. He barely ate anything and I had to put a Dora tape on the TV in order to be able to eat in peace.

December Daily: Day Twenty-Five

DD started wandering around by around 4AM. She apparently climbed into bed with my SIL who has been sleeping in DD's bottom bunk bed. My poor SIL was a good sport when DD started chatting with her at 4AM, too. DH told me this later. I was still snoozing. ;)

The night before, I had told the kids to get their baby brother out of his crib the following morning when he fussed, and they did. They were all in the boys' room. They also gave him his stocking, which DH had put at the foot of his bed, and let him play with the contents. He got a couple of handheld toys where he could press a button and the top which had lights would spin and it looked like a lighted sphere. He also got a maraca (from the Target $1 spot). When I saw him he had one of the lighted toys in one hand and a maraca in the other. It was like he didn't know which one to play with next. :)

The rest of them were happily playing with excited voices. DS#1 said that it was a "national disaster" to be up that early in the morning. This was around 6AM, I think, when I went into their room. I told them they could go watch TV and they all went downstairsDH made me get up at around 7:45AM, when my SIL got up. Of course she had been staying in bed until I got up and vice versa, but my DD got her to get up first. :)

I came downstairs and the kids started sorting all the gifts. I told them that maybe they should stop sorting and then maybe the gift opening would last a little longer! Then I told them that I wanted a photo of them in front of the tree BEFORE I would let them open presents! I wasn't originally planning to be in the photo, but DS#3 wasn't going to sit there without me. Oh well! I hate how I look in this photo, but I love the photo because all of us look so happy. DS#3 started doing his cheesy grin and all of us started laughing. DH took the photo--what a great job!

By 9AM, Grandma was saying that it seemed so early but everything was done and the kids were all off playing with their new toys. The rest of the day was a pretty relaxed one. Grandma and my SIL went with the 3 kids to see "Marley and Me" at the theatre. DH let me have some scrap time when it was nap time, and I was able to get the pages done for the 24th and the 25th.

It was nice to be able to sit with the whole family at our formal dining room table. We really don't get to use this beautiful table enough. DH had to put a couple of leaves in and it was perfect for us, with DS#3 sitting in his high chair.

After dinner, I fried the rest of the jalapeno cheesecake that my friend KT left for me. My SIL had never had it before and she really enjoyed it. We had gotten some holiday crackers from my in-laws, the kind that crack when you pull them apart. Paper crowns were one of the prizes inside. DS#3 actually let me put one on his head, so we took a family photo to commemorate this event.

I hope everything had a fun and relaxing Christmas!

December Daily: Day Twenty-Four

Merry Christmas!!! Because of the weird way I've been posting a day later on my blog this month, my Christmas Day page will be posted tomorrow. I still have some great photos for Christmas Eve, however.

A good friend told me about this site Capture the Magic where I could get a photo of Santa visiting my very own living room. DH and I thought it looked like a pretty good photo. Well, I showed the kids this morning. DD was unimpressed, but then she believes in Santa no matter what. Besides, I showed her right as she was seeing her presents from Santa for the first time, so her priorities were elsewhere. DS#2 was going to be skeptical no matter what, since he no longer "believes". He thought for sure it was one of the adults dressed in a Santa suit. Oh well! I love the photo anyway!

Yesterday, DS#3 got his very first haircut at a salon. We've tried to take him before, but he wouldn't even sit in DH's lap on the styling chair. My mom and I have been able to trim his hair from time to time, but he really needed a good trim this time. We took him to a local place called Sharkey's Cuts for Kids. He got to ride in a Hummer H2 and watch Sesame Street while he got his hair cut. He only fussed when she first used the trimmer and when she put the cape on, but I removed the cape and let him get hairy and he did great! At the end, she spiked his hair up and he looked like one cool dude!

We also went to the 5PM mass with the Children's Choir. We got there pretty early and beat the rush so we were able to all sit together. DS#3 did well through most of it, until he decided that he had had enough and wanted to go outside. We had frozen pizza at home, and then we awaited my SIL's arrival. The kids were all excited about seeing her again. DS#3 didn't quite make it until her arrival, but he did show her how cute he is today.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic day today! Merry Christmas!

December Daily: Day Twenty-Three

Yesterday's prompt was "Visions of Sugarplums" so I used that as an excuse to take photos of DS#3 while he slept in my bed. There were a couple of times when he stirred when I took the photos, but I had plenty of opportunity during the two hours that he napped. I actually didn't nap the whole time with him like I usually do. I must be getting caught up on sleep! Doesn't he have the cutest little face and round, rosy, chapped cheeks? :)

Yesterday morning, I took DS#1 and DD to the library. DS#1 gets these huge hardcover books and as I'm typing this, he's already on book 3! DH took DS#3 to his Gymboree Play class with Grandma in tow. She enjoyed seeing him play and interact with the other kids. DS#2 stayed at home and took a walk with Grandpa. It was a pretty relaxed day over all here.

I don't think I'll be able to post until late tomorrow, so I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

December Daily: Day Twenty-Two

"The Magic of the Season"--when else would I find DD and DS#3 behind the tree dancing to Hannah Montana? DD was playing her HM musical ornament and dancing. DS#3 was behind the tree with her and he was just dancing away too. So cute!

The family photo was taken at a local restaurant last night. I don't really think anyone wanted to have a photo taken, but I took it anyway. As my MIL said, "It's real life for us." So true!

We received a tin of Mrs. Fields' cookies from my SIL tonight. DS#1, the bottomless pit that he is, wanted some and DH emphasized (jokingly, of course) that the card said that the cookies were for DH and me. DS#1 almost mauled his father trying to get to the tin of cookies. Doesn't he look huge here with his arms around DH? This huge boy still gives me goodnight kisses and puts his head on my shoulder occasionally. He has to bend WAY down!

Other events:
DS#2 and DD played with their good friends who are brother and sister again. How fun for them that they get to play and play and play when they don't usually have time when school is in session.

This allergy thing is sapping all of my strength. I'm taking two hour naps every day and I'm still exhausted!

December Daily: Day Twenty-One

I can't believe I've been able to keep up with this album! Sometimes I feel like what I'm writing down is so boring and mundane, but maybe one of these days I'll be glad I was so particular about documenting almost everything.

Yesterday's prompt was "Christmas Goodies". I don't normally make a lot of goodies, even at Christmas, but I would really like to start. Perhaps I'll do that next year when DD will certainly be old enough to help me. I took a photo of this new treat jar I got last week that was free with purchase at Hallmark. It's not very big--about big enough to hold about a dozen cookies, but what makes it unique is that when you lift the lid up, it plays "Let It Snow". We've been joking about no one being able to steal treats with this. Of course, the treats don't seem to stick around very long either.

We had our good friends over last night, the Ts. E is DS#3's godfather. We actually saw them at Chili's last night, but until then, it had been several months since he saw his godson. Luckily, DS#3 gave him a hug last night--very sweet. DH made his wonderful chili, and K made her wonderful jalapeno cheesecake. I didn't think to take any photos of it, but she left some for me to fry (yes, it's fried) when my SIL gets here this week, so I'll try to take a photo then. It's very yummy with ice cream and probably my favorite dessert ever! It was a very nice evening full of conversation and good friends. Their 6-year-old son was having so much fun that he wanted to stay with us. We wouldn't have minded really, but his mom said she would miss him. :)

December Daily: Day Twenty

I've been spending a lot of time with the family, so I haven't taken too many photos this weekend. I also wanted to make these next two pages super speedy so I have time to do other things. :)

This is a photo of DS#3 watching cookies bake in the oven. He was just fascinated by being able to watch through that little window. Of course, he also liked pressing the button to turn the oven light on and off. :)

Yesterday, was a lazy Saturday. I made the usual breakfast of banana chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon. DS#1's friend had stayed overnight, so after breakfast, they played together and with DS#1's neighborhood friend. Later, DH took the 3 big boys to lunch at Schlotzky's and was amazed at how much they all ate. Our friend this evening joked that he should have taken them to an "all you can eat" buffet instead!

DS#2 spent most of the day with his "new" friend J from our neighborhood. I say "new" because DH and I hadn't heard DS#2 talking about him before. We're happy with how DS#2 set up the playdate himself and the two of them seemed to play pretty well together too. He was so busy playing that he even almost forgot to eat lunch!

December Daily: Day Nineteen

Yesterday's prompt was "Under the Tree" so I took the obvious photo of the presents under our tree. Look at how spoiled my children are! There are even two rather large presents for DS#3 that don't fit under the tree, so they're behind the tree.

Yesterday was party day all around. At work we had our Christmas Party, and so did the two elementary school kids. I haven't been feeling well, so I came home soon after our work party, took some medicine, and took a nap. DH went to the kids' parties and took a few photos and video. One of the photos on the back side of my page for today is DD getting ready to decorate her gingerbread cookie. She put so much candy on top that she really didn't want to eat it. She ended up throwing the whole thing away, if that makes any sense!

When the kids got home, they all got paired up with some visiting friends. DS#2 and DD had friends over that were siblings also. DS#1 had a friend over that was from the school he attended last year; he also stayed overnight. Later, DS#3 noticed his new car ornament from Hallmark. He seemed confused that it was attached to the tree. I had to let him play with it, so the second photo above is of him playing with the ornament, with the ribbon still attached. There's a cute video of him pulling on the ornament while it's still on the tree on DH's blog. See the link in the post below, if you're interested.

DH's new blog

DH just started his own personal blog. I thought it was neat that now I would have two sources for journaling for my scrapbook pages. My dear sis told me that she would still check mine more often because mine had the pictures. I think this got DH going so he put photos in his very next blog post and then yesterday, he posted a video! I thought it was hilarious because he was trying to "one-up" me! So, if anyone is interested in seeing the cute video of my two youngest children, check out DH's blog at At Home in San Antonio.

December Daily: Day Eighteen

I'm getting really lazy in this album now. My pages for the 18th and the 19th will look almost the same except for the background paper and the photos. I'm still glad I'm doing this album. I wish I had the time to keep this up all year long.

Yesterday's prompt from Playground Of Memories was "Jingle All The Way". I thought about those ornaments I mentioned that I mentioned in Day 16--the ones that DS#2 had to have. He started showing a preference for rock music this past year--very different from his big brother who is just now showing a preference. DS#2 has always been more interested in music, I think. I had told him that I would get him both of those ornaments if he would let me take a picture. Well, here is the picture. He even reminded ME to take the picture. :)

Grandma and Grandpa arrived yesterday. DS#3 went right up to Grandpa and gave him a hug when they arrived, then Grandma too. They couldn't believe it. They thought for sure he would shun them until he got to know them better. They were going to be staying in New Braunfels (a little north of us) and because of the cloudiness and fog were only going to stay until all the kids got home from school (DS#1 is the last to return home at around 4PM). When DS#1 got home, Grandpa measured himself against him. A barefoot DS#1 was about the same size as Grandpa with shoes on. Right after they did this, DS#3 got up behind Grandpa. We thought at first that he was going to give Grandpa a hug, but instead he backed up against Grandpa's leg, as if he wanted to see how tall he was next to Grandpa. Of course he gave that cheesy grin. That boy is just hilarious!

In other news, I started getting this horrible cold/allergies yesterday. It's probably a combination of both, but it's been very inconvenient. I took naps yesterday and today hoping to keep it from getting worse. I don't get sick very often so I don't like this one bit!

December Daily: Day Seventeen

Happy Birthday to ME! Work yesterday was not fun, mostly because of some political things going on there, but my family made up for it at dinner! We went out to The Cheesecake Factory. It was a drizzly, cloudy day and there were lots of cars there (since it's located at the mall), so we decided to valet park. We had a great waitress and she really took care of us at dinner.

I had the Chinese Chicken Salad that is always so huge! I went ahead and put half of it straight into a To Go container without the dressing so I could have it for lunch today. DS#2 and DD shared the Fettucine Alfredo, and DS#1 had the Herb Encrusted Salmon. DH had the chicken nachos. We were all so full, but most of us left room for dessert. We couldn't believe that DS#2 was so full that he refused to have cheesecake. DS#1 for once didn't finish all of his food (he said it was a large portion of salmon). We had a piece of the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake and a piece of the Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake (my favorite).

DH has taking the photo see on the page above when the waitress asked if she could take a photo of all of us. I told her that I only wanted one of me with the kids. DH told her that I was the birthday girl. Because of that, when she came out with my cheesecake, she had put a candle in it and a handful of waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to me. The photo on the bottom left is of that wonderful cheesecake.

The prompt for yesterday was "Let It Snow". The photo on the bottom right is of a mini snow globe that DD picked out for her teacher. She was so insistent on getting it that I couldn't refuse. Tomorrow is her class Christmas Party, and she'll be giving her teacher this ornament and a small box of Godiva chocolates. I hope her teacher likes her present!

December Daily: Day Sixteen

Yesterday's photo prompt was "Dear Santa", so I took a photo of my newest Santa. This is from the Father Christmas series at Hallmark. He does look very similar to the last couple of years, but for some reason, these just make me happy, so I bought it.

This page is on a printed transparency. The green background was just placed there to hide the white of my scanner bed. The reverse side has yesterday's other little events:

--DD had her very good friend M come over for a playdate. They've known each other since they were about 6 and 8 weeks old in daycare--they were in the infant room together and stayed together until we took DD out of daycare when she was about 3 1/2.

--Last night, DD and DS#2 went with me to get their ornaments for this year. I try to get each of the kids a Hallmark ornament each year. DD picked a musical Hannah Montana ornament. We got DS#3 a car ornament with "real moving wheels" that is modeled after the car on Speed Racer. It's going to be tough keeping him from playing with it, but that just shows that it's the perfect ornament for him for this year. DS#2 couldn't decide between two ornaments. One is a cool snowman rocking to his IPod (plays a rock version of "Deck the Halls"), and the other has two funny characters saying some "funny" lines. I figured that the two of them really reflect parts of DS#2's personality right now, so I went ahead and let him get both.

December Daily: Day Fifteen

The prompt yesterday was "Sounds of the Season" so I took a picture of this clock at work that gets put up at this time every year. It plays Christmas Carols every hour on the hour. It's rather cool, actually. I wouldn't mind having one of these at home, although DH would probably give me an eyeroll.

The first photo is of DD at Gymnastics doing the warmup. They put on a "Winterfest" show for the parents of the Rec level kids. DD did some simple exercises on the balance beam and the bar. She made doing the splits look really easy.

The second photo is of DS#2 at dinner. We had these Parmesan Spinach Ravioli for dinner. I guess I didn't make enough because DS#2 asked us if we could have this again when DS#1 wasn't home! DH and I laughed so hard at this simple request. DS#1 had eaten about twice as much of the ravioli as anyone else and poor DS#2 had to settle for less ravioli. I am really worried about those growth spurt years coming up soon for both boys!

December Daily: Day Fourteen

I finally bought DD her own Christmas tree yesterday. She originally wanted a pink flocked tree, but someone got the last one off the display just as we got there. This pink tinsel one was the only pink one left, but DD decided that this one was better because it already had lights on it, and pink ones at that. We also bought her some red glittery mini-ball ornaments and a red gold glittery tree topper. As you can see, she was very pleased with it. Today, I heard her telling her gymnastics instructor that some time in the middle of the night, the plug must have fallen out of the wall because the lights were off when she woke up. :)

Later in the afternoon, I helped DD with her homework assignment. She was supposed to decorate a paper doll in the traditional costume of someone from another country. She chose the country where I was born. She also had to write 3-4 sentences about some customs from that country. I called my mom for help on this one, and it was funny trying to simplify what she said to the level of a first grader. The dress on the doll is fabric, the "belt" is ribbon, and the hair and shoes are felt. We had fun decorating the doll and then I got a picture of her with her project. When DS#3 saw her grinning for the camera, he had to grin too, of course. That kid is such a ham! :)

December Daily: Day Thirteen

We're so proud of DS#1! He participated in his first debate tournament and he reached the quarterfinals--one of only 3 from his school! I'm going to provide probably too many details below, but I want to remember some of this for later when I do a full size page on this event.

DH and DS#1 got to the school around 8AM. He had his quarterfinals debate at 8:30AM. As DS#1 puts it, he "lost his first elimination round" and got a "shiny medal" for it.

Next came Impromptu Speaking. For each of 2 topics, he had 3 minutes to collect and organize his thoughts and then he had 5 minutes to speak. The first topic was "The good thing about household chores is..." DS#1 said that he gave three reasons (with supporting information):
--I get rewarded.
--I like to help my parents.
--It helps prepare me for later on in life.

His next topic was "An accomplishment I'm most proud of is..."
"I got into the quarterfinals of the debate tournament":
--This is my first year of debate.
--This is my first time at a school competition this large.
--It was challenging.

They got home at around 3:30PM. We still have no idea how he did because the awards ceremony wasn't going to be until 5:30PM. Hopefully we'll find out on Monday when DS#1 goes to school. We're still so very proud of him because DH and I would not have been able to do what he did at his age, and we still have problems with public speaking even now. DS#1 was eager to do this, and he did it so well! :)

Later that afternoon, we went to Fuddrucker's to eat dinner, then we headed to "Santa's Railroad Wonderland" at the local Texas Transportation Museum. In December every year they transform the place by putting up lots of lights to make it more holiday-themed. They even had their version of Santa Claus named "Choo Choo Claus". We happened to miss out on meeting Choo Choo Claus, but I'm sure DS#3 was not disappointed. We got to ride a real train down a short track. We were in the caboose outside so we really got to experience the beautiful weather and see all the lights. They also had lots of model trains set up to run. DS#3 was absolutely fascinated with the trains. They even had a "Thomas the Tank Engine" train running on its own track. DS#3 is just now being introduced to that but he loves it like any other vehicle with wheels.

December Daily: Day Twelve

Yesterday's prompt was "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". I got home from work earlier than usual. DH was just leaving to go to DS#1's middle school to pick him up and take him to another middle school where he was participating in his first debate tournament. I spent some time outside with DS#3. It was a gorgeous day--sunny, with a high around 70 degrees and a slight breeze. This time is definitely the most wonderful time in my part of the country. This photo isn't the greatest photo of DS#3, but he just wouldn't stay still for me. Can you imagine that?

Other events today:

--Just in case I didn't get home in time, DH pre-arranged with our neighbor for DD and DS#2 to go over to her house after getting off the bus. Because I was off changing DS#3's diaper, I didn't make it to the bus stop in time. I went outside to see DS#2 walking up with our neighbor's son. DD had already gone into their house. She didn't waste any time!

--DS#3 participated in that debate tournament and reached the quarterfinals. He was one of three from his school that reached the quarterfinals. More on this in tomorrow's blog post.

--We watched DD's good friend L last night so his parents could do a little Christmas shopping. On the backside of this page I put a photo of the two of them. Once I started taking photos, L kept asking if I would take "another one" and then "another one", etc. That boy is a camera hog, for sure! He and DD had a blast here last night!