Multi-tasker

My sister took my nephews to one of those mall photo studios for their Christmas photo. It turned out great. (please forgive my pictures of pictures- too lazy to properly scan them in. click to enlarge) While there she thought she'd kill two birds with one stone and get the boys' Halloween pictures taken since she hadn't had time for that til then. She got some funny looks changing the boys from winter clothes to Cowboy and Cow costumes, but if she walked out of there with the cutest Halloween costume pictures I've ever seen! Here's Cowboy Jake and lil Cow Joey.

Pug Torture

Ike gets really upset if Jon comes home with new shoes or if I wear slippers. Who knows why. So imagine his despair when Jon's parents gave us a pair of pug slippers!

Body parts and balls of fire

I talked to my Dad over the holidays and got the update on my family in Florida. I called Jon after I hung up with my Dad and passed on the news:

What is wrong with your family?

What do you mean?

When we call home to Minnesota we hear about so and so's new job, or a new baby, but pretty much everyone's fine. Just fine.

Yeah, so?

You spend 10 minutes on the phone with your father and learn that he's getting new body parts, your cousin has a disease, and your aunt's house blew up. That's just not normal!

So let me explain. My Dad has bad knees and is getting new ones in March. He's a regular Mr. Potato Head. My cousin in NYC has been recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease. That really sucks. They've had bad luck lately as her father, my uncle, fell out of his hay barn over the summer because of heat stroke. They say it will take him 8 mos to recover. He's the one who chopped off his thumb last year. And that brings us to my Aunt and her house. Her husband, Uncle Soprano, was trying to light a fire in the fireplace downstairs when he knocked over the can of kerosene he was using (don't ask me why). Blew up the house. My aunt was had to be rescued by the firefighters as she was stuck on the balcony of the second floor and couldn't get down. They are ok but the house is really damaged and it totally destroyed their home office where they run his business. We are not the luckiest of families.

Christmas Day

This year we spent Christmas day at my inlaws' house (we rotate every year) with my MIL, FIL, Marsha, Larry, and a ginormous tree. M & L are a couple that are great friends with my inlaws and us and they are very, very good to us. They couldn't have kids and are extremely supportive of our adoption. I digress. Jon's parents still give us stockings which is lots of fun. We ate way too much, had a great time hanging out with each other and then opened presents. Ling Ling & Mei Mei made out like bandits. I'm so ready to be a mom- I'm way more excited about presents for them than for me. We were on a strict budget this year (duh) so presents were few from us, but everyone liked what we picked out. For my MIL I found this scarf: She loves it- her nickname is Tootsie. My FIL is a judge so he got a big kick out of his disappearing civil liberties mug. Marsha & Larry loved their Eggstractor (who wouldn't?). I swear, Jon's parents are going to be such amazing grandparents. They put so much thought into everything. Baby chopsticks and a teeny rice bowl, 2 beautiful books, Ling doll, so much more. Click here to see all the goodies.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve I spent the day at my mom's while Jon worked. We exchanged presents with my nephews and my little sister and had a big time watching the boys play with all their goodies and opening presents.
Then I went home and did some last minute wrapping. Jon's parents came over and brought dinner with them. Jon came home and we all had dinner and watched A Christmas Story- my favorite Christmas movie. Ike & Kea got all dressed up for their grandparents. And Ike helped my FIL with the cooking. Jon's Gramy sent a fruitcake down from Minnesota for me and my FIL to share. I think we're the only people on earth who get excited over fruitcake!

Merry Fork'n Christmas

All the visits have been made, the pie is consumed, the presents are opened. Whew. Let the recap begin. Friday Mom, Hale, Sara, Jake, Joey and I all went down to my Grandmommy's for an early Christmas. My aunt, uncle and 2 cousins met us there. We had fun visiting and we brought Christmas dinner with us. Well, Jake is really talking up a storm now. But he can't pronounce everything exactly right yet. Case in point- the work fork comes out: F@#$. Yep, the f word. And he doesn't know he's saying anything bad. He's not even three yet. It's a riot though. So we're all sitting down for dinner and Hale (Papa) and Jake are sitting at the kids' table. We're all catching up on family news and what not when Jake drops his fork. Oh no. Next thing you hear is "Papa! F@#$! My F@#$! F@#$! Papa! F@#$! on floor!". OMG. It was the classiest of Christmas dinners.

Happy Christmahanakwanzikah!

The next few days will be crazy busy so I just want to take a moment and wish all you fabulous bloggy people the most wonderful winter holiday of your choice! Enjoy every moment as you gather round your nondenominational shrub or light candles representing an ancient miracle or a newfound holiday. I for one am looking forward to spending Christmas holed up with my family playing with the babies and eating pie. And don't forget we're going old school this year and celebrating every single one of the 12 days of Christmas so the party won't be over til January!
xoxo

Wax on, wax off

So a few years ago, maybe 10, a friend of mine- we'll call her Betty- and I decided that we were too poor to buy Christmas presents so we'd make them. We hand stamped our wrapping paper and it was good. We made our own cards, and they were good. So on to presents. We decided to make candles. At this time I lived in a 2nd story condo. This is important. We bought all the supllies and figured out that we could make each gift for only $5. We were stoked. We started by filling the jars with wax beads and the wick and then we'd top off the candle with a half inch of melted wax. We melted the first batch of wax like the instructions said- in a ziploc bag in water on the stove. Dammit- water in the bag. Threw the whole concoction over the balcony. 2nd attempt, same thing. Must have cheap bags. Switched bags for 3rd attempt, but when we pulled the bag out of the water all we saw was clear liquid. Dammit- foiled again. Over the balcony with the whole pot. Then it hit me. OMG. When you melt white wax beads the whole substance turns clear. O. M. G. We looked at each other and ran to the balcony and looked down. We had spent the evening tossing our dud candle makings over the balcony thinking it had all magically turned to water (did I mention we were having holiday cocktails?). The scene below was horrifying. We had successfully coated all of my downstairs neighbor's shrubs, hanging baskets, balcony, grass, the works, with wax. Since it was winter and cool out the wax had cooled and hardened instantly. We petrified my neighbor's house and landscape. Our candles turned out nice though. Heh.

No cohesive theme

Kanye West reminds me of a ventriloquist's dummy. I love his music, the way he dresses, he's as cute as can be, but his little face doesn't move except his mouth. He has stationary cheeks.
My dogs eat dust bunnies so cleaning ceiling fans is a hassle.
My biggest fears: being buried alive, becoming a tortured hostage, going blind, being burned alive, drowning.
I have so much to do.
I suck at time management.
Although I can use these things, I have no idea how they work: fax machines, the internet, tv, cell phones. Boggles my mind.
I don't like pasta salad (pasta should be hot in my book) or large doses of chocolate (cake, candy bars, solid chunks, ew).
I hate having to wear socks.
America's Funniest Videos is one of the best shows on tv. It never fails to crack me up.
Before I die I want to tour the inside of an 18 wheeler's truck cab.
Naps should be mandated by the government.
Also, before I die, I want to be a contestant on the Price is Right and Family Feud.
As I've gotten older I've lost my desire to go to: night clubs, loud concerts, the mall.
I've never been able to grow long fingernails. Or a garden.
I adore staying in hotels, traveling, going on cruises. Mainly for the fresh sheets and towels daily and the tiny toiletries.
I wonder if I'm stunting the growth of my eyelashes by wearing an eye mask to bed at night. (the picture is me trying to photograph my eyelashes but I can't seem to have one eye open and one closed at the same time. I know it is a terribly sexy picture. Try and control yourselves.)
My almost 3 year old nephew has the cutest voice- he could read the phonebook and I'd hang on every word. Except he can't read yet. One day.

Teeny tiny ghetto pug pictures

Ok, so for Christmas I don't get those big photo cards. I stocked up on Christmas cards already and I add a wallet sized pug snapshot to each card. This year's picture came out great. I photo shopped a message to the top of it and uploaded the pic to order prints. My pictures came in the mail and the print company, their name rhymes with CRAPDISH, had totally cropped my photo and the prints were nothing like last years. Last year there was a nice white border around each photo which made cutting them into 4s easy. This year, no border and they butchered my little message. You could only see the bottom parts of each letter. So I had to trim off the half message (which looked like a bunch of sticks) and send the pictures that way. Crapfish woudn't send me new prints in time. To their credit they did credit my account, but that doesn't help me this season. So now all our loved ones will be receiving teeny tiny ghetto postage stamp sized pug photos. You're lucky bloggy people, you'll get the full photo come Christmas. Count your blessings. Here's a little teaser for you: Ike in his holiday finery. Click to enlarge. He looks like Mufasa.

Yule dog

My mom's dog Sam is staying with us for a few days while Mom, Morgan, and Hale are in Florida for a mini vacation. Sam is older than the pugs by at least 10 years (he was a rescue so no one knows exactly how old he is but he's been in the family for 11 years), and waaaaay more laid back. I'm proud of the pugs though. They haven't barked at him at all. Ike's spent a fair amount of time up in Sam's grill, you know, sniffing him out. They won't let Sam get any lap time with Dad though!

With care

We really need to get Kea a matching stocking. They are hard to find in dark blue though. We're not doing the whole tree thing this year. We won't be home for any of the festivities, and Ike would eat or pee on any presents left under the tree without his name on them. But I couldn't let the house go bare. So I gussied up the mantle a bit.

Procrasti- knitter

This scarf is only halfway finished. The big ball of yarn on the right must magically knit itself into the rest of the scarf by Christmas day. The really bad part about all this is that the original intent was to give this scarf as a gift last Christmas.

The Christmas Badger

There are some things about Christmas I don't understand. I am of a very curious nature and I have questions. I'm not judging, I just want to understand. First of all, why do we stop celebrating at midnight on the 25th? We spend all this time preparing then let it die off after just a day. If we're celebrating Christ's birth wouldn't the real party start on the 25th? If it were happening all over again people would be dropping by to see the baby right? Aren't there supposed to be 12 days of Christmas? There even used to be a big feast back in the day on Twelfth night. I say let's keep the party going right through January 6th.
Also, what's with the deer? Those light up deer in people's yards? I love Christmas lights, and decorating for Christmas and I love it when it's all Griswalded up. But I don't understand the symbolism of the deer. I understand reindeer, but these are just Bambi deer. And I like deer, don't get me wrong. But why pick some random woodland creature, light it up and throw a bow round its neck? What says Happy Birthday Jesus about that? Why not a raccoon? or a badger? What does a deer say about Christmas that a beaver can't?

My brain is leaking through my nose

I've been sick the last week with a nasty cold, chest, coughing, thingy. I lost my voice, and apparently my mind. At work yesterday I was wearing pants with a side zip and zippy pockets. I unzipped my pocket and put my lip gloss in my pocket before our meeting. As I was walking into the conference room I felt something funny then saw that my lip gloss had slid down my leg and was on the floor. Oh great- a hole in my pocket. So a couple hours later I was getting ready to leave work and I reached into my "pocket" and realized I had actually unzipped my pants and had been showing all my coworkers my bright blue panties with white stars all afternoon.
Then today I went to leave the house and could not find my keys anywhere. Inside my head I was cussing Jon for taking them to work by mistake. I found the spare car key and house key and was going out through the garage when I saw my keys hanging in the front door lock, burglar side, for the whole world to see. Thank goodness we live in a small town in a safe neighborhood cause anyone could have walked up and grabbed my keys, stolen my car (poor Jorge!) then come back to clean us out later! They'd been hanging there since I'd gotten home from work the night before!
I need to get over this cold before I try and go shopping naked or something!

iMonster

This whole iPod thing may be getting out of control. Jon brought in his cds from the car tonight and asked if I could upload them to his iPod. Sure. So the stack of cds on the table vs the piles he was sorting through was really small. I told him the iPod could hold way more than just 2 or 3 cds. He said "Oh I know, those 3 are the ones I don't want. You can copy these for me right?" If anyone needs me I'll be going squirrelly eyed in front of the mac for the next month uploading every metal cd ever made. That's love people.

Rock star

Tonight Jon and I went to his parents' house for dinner and presents. His mom always makes a themed birthday cake. This year's cake was an apple. The Apple logo to be precise. Made sense since we'd all become Mac converts in the last year. Luckily seeing the cake didn't give away his surprise. His big present of the night was his new iPod. The sleek little black number. I'd had it for a week or so and had already loaded pictures and videos and songs on it. When Lisa and Pete were in town Pete loaded about 10 or so cds that Jon's been wanting onto the iPod. Jon was so psyched. He really deserves it too. His parents got him the fm transmitter (among other goodies) so Jon got to listen to the iPod on the way home. Just goes to show, you're never too old to be a rock star.

Happy Birthday Husband!

Tomorrow is my husband Jon's 34th birthday. Since we've been on our adoption budget we only get 1 gift a year from each other. I'm so excited to give him his present. I can't tell you what it is yet cause he may be sneaky and come in here and read about it. I wish I could give him so much more. He deserves so much. He has the patience of a saint just to put up with all my shenanigans. He's quiet and a little shy so most people don't know him like I do. But I know he's a riot, and a big kid, a wonderful pug daddy, will make a fabulous daddy to Ling Ling & Mei Mei, my best friend, so very smart, extremely talented, scrumptious and handsome, loyal, easy going, and grateful. The last year or so has been rough and he's taken everything like a champ. I know this next year is going to be the best one ever. 3 is my lucky number and hopefully by his next birthday we'll be looking at our referral that will make us a family of 4. So happy birthday honey!

Happy Birthday Kea!

Tomorrow is Kea's 2nd birthday. She's still so little it's hard to believe she's 2. Here she was when we first introduced her to Ike. Click to enlarge pictures. She came home on January 29th, 2004. So just a few days living at her new house and she had her first holiday card photo shoot for Valentine's Day. Many people received that photo and thought we'd bought Ike a new toy, not realizing she was a real live pug. She's spending her birthday weekend being spoiled and posing in yet another holiday photo shoot. At least now she gets to dress up and be all elegant!

But you're Irish

For years I've wanted a Moravian star to hang on the front porch during Christmas time. Jon's always told me I couldn't hang a Moravian star because "You're Irish and you don't want to offend the Moravians." He was better at geography in school so I just went with it. Then I started noticing that we live amongst tons of Moravians. We must because I'd see those stars everywhere. I don't even know where Moravia is, so I certainly wasn't aware of a mass Moravian exodus to the Carolinas. Turns out the Moravians are nice people who probably don't mind if non-Moravians hang their star at Christmas, and I'm married to a frugal boy who just didn't want to shell out the cash for front porch Moravian bling.

Nativity

The camel is back. And this time he brought a friend, the donkey. I love donkeys- so cute. They must be starring in a Christmas outdoor play back there or something. That's the only reason I can come up with that a camel, a sheep, some goats, and a donkey are taking up residence behind a castle themed ampitheatre in my neighborhood. Everything is really changing back there. They've put in a new road and broke ground on a new Ryan homes subdivision. So, if you're looking for a new home and want to live in the fabulous South but need a big dose of quirky in your neighborhood, drop me a line and I'll show you around.

Baby, it's cold outside

We like it cold. We keep the heat on 60 and we'd go lower if we weren't worried about the pugs getting cold. We love snuggling up with tons of blankets but still being able to breathe cold air. I can't stand artificial heat. All that fake fire air blowing at you. I'll take a real fire any day. Poor Shannon could barely stand being at the house doing Christmas cards tonight. She had on a jacket and 2 blankets and still had cold fingers! The picture is Jon's winter sleeping outfit. The boy comes to bed with a hoodie over a shirt with flannel pants and socks. We sleep with 2 pugs and a huge down comforter. Maybe it's time to crank up the heat a little cause at this point if feels like I'm sleeping with the Unibomber! ;)

Late to the party

I'm just now getting around to changing over my blog to winter ish colors and I've yet to put out any Christmas decorations. BUT- Jon's birthday is next week and I'm all set with his present. And I only have 2 Christmas presents to get. I plan on working on my Christmas cards this week. Looks like it's time for another pug photo shoot!

Speaking of....if you would like a pug Christmas photo please email me your address. For Christmas I don't do the whole pug card as I buy all my Christmas cards on clearance the year before. In fact, last year I bought enough to last me through 2007 I think. But I do put a little pug picture in each card. I'll be posting the pictures here as well.

Tour of the Lawless South

After our tattoos we went to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for chicken and dumplings. Lisa had lost a football bet to Jon and promised to make him home made chicken and dumplings. While dinner was cooking we went to Big Daddy's fireworks. Pete's from NJ where they can't even have sparklers so he was like a kid in a candy store. He grabbed a buggy and loaded up. We went home and Pete and Jon had a great time setting off fireworks before dinner.
Saturday we went to Shealy's for lunch (look at all that fried chicken!) then toured through the teeny town where I grew up. Then we headed up to my sister Sara's house to visit with her, my BIL, my nephews, my mom, Hale, Morgan and her boyfriend. We had fun hanging out with everyone.
Sunday we went to breakfast at a local favorite: Courtney's, home of the granola pancakes and pancake skin. We came home and set off some more fireworks before taking Pete to the airport. Lisa and I drove through the Christmas lights display in McAdenville this entire town that decorates for Christmas. Then we met up with Shannon for dinner at Red Bowl. Today was pretty laid back. Lunch and shopping and packing Lisa up for her flight home. We had such a great time with L & P while they were here and we've launched a full campaign to get them to move on down!

Tattoo You

So after meeting up with Gwen & the girls we headed uptown to Fu's Tattoos. Now, let me tell you why I wanted a tattoo. I have one already, a product of my youth. But I wanted one for Ling Ling and Mei Mei. That may sound weird to some people, but when you have a bio child you go through a physical process. We get to do paperwork and travel. I wanted my baby to change me physically. I wanted a physical reminder of her so I could look every day and be reminded that she's out there waiting for me. So I decided to get a ladybug tattoo on my right foot. This adoption is a journey and every journey starts with a single step right? There are 3 ladybugs. 3 is my lucky number. Dave the artist heard my story and came up with 2 bigger ladybugs on bamboo looking out over a baby one on a little leaf. Perfect. It looks like Jon and I on our way to get Ling Ling. It's a bit bigger than I had anticipated at first, but once Dave drew it up I knew it was perfect.
We had a big time getting our tattoos together. Click here for pictures.

Meeting Gwen

Lots to talk about that happened yesterday so I'll have to break it down in to bits. First Lisa, Pete, and I went to Bojangles for breakfast since they don't have one up north. Then we toured around my little town and my neighborhood (which is rapidly changing. If you want to see any remnants of the Jim and Tammy PTL empire you need to get on down here quick). Then we stopped by to see Karen & Gwen and Shannon who were having lunch. Gwen is the cutest wee girl ever and it was all I could do not to cause a distraction and run right out the door with her! Just kidding. I've never seen a happier mom than Karen that day and I'd never run off with her source of such pure joy. It was fun to have 4 bloggy girls all together for a little while. We hated to leave so soon but we had to get downtown to our 12:30 tattoo appointment. Stay tuned for details on that later!

Lawless South

Not much time to post as we're on our way out the door. Another full day of entertaining in the South. But check out Lisa's blog for a recap of today.

Thursdays are for treats

Lisa and Pete flew in last night AND I found a fabulous package on my doorstep from the fabulous Ani. These adorable Sonya Lee dolls for Ling Ling and Mei Mei! Thank you so much Ani! That was so thoughtful! I'd heard of Sonya Lee but we haven't purchased any dolls or toys or yet for the girls. Thank you Ani & Niel from Jon and I, and one day Ling Ling and Mei Mei will be able to thank you themselves!

He lives!

The truth is stranger than fiction y'all. Ok, remember when I made a jackass out of myself by calling the man at China East may I help you JIMSHUM all loud and proud for 2 years when his name was Jason? Well, Shannon shared that story with her co-workers. Then the other day I get this email from Shannon that tells about how her boss met via email some new business contact. His name? JIM SHUM. First name Jim last name Shum OMG. Who's ever even heard of the Shums? I so want to meet this man.

Boob splatter

I have big boobs. And if you have big boobs like me then you know that by the end of the day your husband can glance at your chest and know exactly where you were and what you had for lunch. They attract stains. So I got this Tide to go pen to keep in my purse. All large breasted women must go buy this because it has miracle powers. I have not dropped one bit of food or drink or copy toner or anything on the girls since I've been carrying the Tide pen in my purse. All hail the Tide pen! Tide, me and the girls are forever grateful.

Sponsored by

My husband is a manager for a local grocery store. He gets lots of free stuff from vendors trying to woo prime store floor space. I never know what I'm coming home to. Lately he's sported a Panthers jersey, put up a new patio umbrella (we have 3- Miller Lite, Ravenwood wines, and a plain one), and brought home a new turkey fryer. The latest prize was this cool fire pit. It's from a beer company. I love all the goodies but it got me thinking the other day that our kids will think it's weird when they go to people's houses and they don't see a brand name plastered on every lawn chair or drink cooler!

NY state of mind

We picked up Jon's parents from the airport this morning. They spent Thanksgiving in NYC since it was our turn to be with my side of the family. They had a big time and saw the parade and all the sights. We sent them to the big apple with our last digital camera. Still works great. So today when we drove them home I showed them how to upload their pictures and edit them on iPhoto. They came home with 241 pictures and were so psyched that they didn't have to carry film around with them and could see if they got a good shot right away. Ah, it's so satisfying to spread the love of digital cameras and the Mac around. Their little faces lit up when they successfully cropped photos and ran a slideshow. So cute.

Habit

I recently found out that I'm not the only one who routinely pokes earrings through my 2nd and 3rd ear holes on the off chance that 8th grade or 1985 comes back around and the need arises to hang multiple hoops or mismatched earring sets on my head.

Butter no parsnips

The night before Thanksgiving we ate out Chinese. Jon got the strangest fortune cookie. Made no sense to me. But Jon used to be a produce manager, so at least he knew what a parsnip was.

Thanksgiving went well. It was bittersweet though. Grandmommy used to chef up some of the best holiday food you've ever had. This year we brought dinner to her. So the menu was limited, dinner was quick, and there was 3 hours of driving. But Gmommy looked good and was glad to see us and had fun with the babies. I noticed the effects of the Alzheimers on her memory this visit. But she still had fun and that was the point. It was so strange to sit at the dining room table, the same table they've had since my mom was 11, and think about the house. The house will be sold soon. Gmommy raised her family there, gave us a home when my parents divorced, hosted us on numerous overnight trips, and has since emptied out. Our growth chart is still on the door of the back bedroom. I check it every time I'm there. I now wonder if it will be measuring other children's growth soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

From me, Jon, and our little turkeys.

Thankful

I hope everyone out there has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Every year at Thanksgiving I make a list of what I'm thankful for. This year I'm thankful for:
~my wonderful family. I can't say enough about them. I love them so much for all their love, humor, dysfunction, silliness, and support.
~my incredible husband. I love him more every day and can't imagine me without him.
~our pugs. They really helped me through the hard parts of infertility. Made me feel like a mom even when my body failed me.
~Ling Ling. Our adoption keeps us motivated. We know you're out there baby girl. Every night I pray for you. Know we're coming to bring you home and that we love you like crazy already.
~the best friends in the world. Real life and bloggy. You guys give incredible support and it means the world. And my "regular" friends who are so not regular. You guys are amazing and are really family.
~faith and knowing that things really do happen for a reason.
~work. I love my job, my co-workers and my boss.
~our blessings. At some point during all the infertility and surgery woes I stopped and looked around and realized just how good I have it. To make a wonderful home with the man you love and be surrounded by love from your family and friends. I've got it made. And I thank God for that every single day.

Slip sliding away

My Grandmommy has been diagnosed with advanced Alzheimers. She is 69 years old. I've told you guys about her. She's the one who just went on an Alaskan cruise in June. She's the best. She's always been there for us and has done nothing but love us, asking for not a thing in return. This is breaking my heart. The last year and a half she's been slipping away right before our eyes. But at first no one thought Alzheimers. That's for old people! She's on a rapid decline though and the doctors made my mom and aunt take away Gmommy's car keys and credit cards. The family is preparing her house for sale and she'll be moving in with my aunt. She can't drive anymore and it freaks her out to stay overnight in someone elses house so this Thanksgiving we'll be taking her out to lunch and back home again. It kills me that she won't ever really know my kids. And one day, she might not even know me.

Oh, baby

Yesterday I babysat my nephew Joey while my sister and other nephew Jake went to see my Grandmommy. Joey doesn't do so well on long car rides just yet. He was so good though and we had a big time. Sara told me later that I taught Joey a new trick- so big! Where he throws his arms up in the air on command. Watching him all day was good practice. I was going on very little sleep from the late Harry Potter showing the night before. But we made it through just fine. Poor Jake, on the other hand, was sporting a shiner from an unfortunate run in with a kitchen cabinet. Ouch!

Fire pirate

Harry Potter was excellent. The theatre was packed and we had a great time. Before the show started they had fire pirates. You know how much I love pirates so I was psyched. Turns out they don't pillage or anything, but they do swing firey balls around their heads. Click the pics to enlarge.

Media

It really cracks me up that part of my job duties include adding songs to the iPod. My boss will call me and I'll be taking down notes as to what email to send, what memo to print, which songs he wants. He told me not to tell anyone that he just bought the new Carrie Underwood cd and he wants me to upload that as well as Usher and the Bee Gees to the iPod. You can keep a secret can't you, internet? ;)

In other media news... tonight I'm going to see the new Harry Potter with Shannon and a bunch of other grown ups. I asked if we were supposed to dress up at all, but I think we're passing on that much involvement. Although I do still have face paints if anyone wants a lightning bolt tattoo!

Scenes from the crib

Ok so I still can't talk about the big deal, mainly because if it goes sour then I'll have to be all sad telling everyone about how it went sour. So humour me and let me kept it vague for now.
In the meantime I have some things to show you. I'm sure you know by now, but click on the pic to enlarge.
#1. I have successfully managed to keep a pot full of pansies alive, for now. There's also a gerber daisy in there that was doing great until Carl the Squirrel came and at its head. I know it was you Carl, and payback is a bitch. #2. I now present to you quite possibly the cutest pug photo ever. Ike & Kea lounging. They love to hang out on top of the sofa cushions. The ones that are supposed to be as tall or taller than the back of the sofa, but are now squished down and pitiful. This is why we don't buy $4000 sofas.
#3. My husband, God love him, is a stacker. I went to the bathroom last night to get ready for bed and came upon this sight. Jon had taken every roll of bath tissue that has been produced state side and stacked on our tissue roll holder. I'm fairly sure the sign at IKEA said it would hold like 4 rolls. My boy likes to plan ahead. Yep, they go all the way to the ceiling.