Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Best wishes for 2010!

The bubbles! The bubbles!

Word to the wise: chocolate milk is very sticky when it dries.

Might want to clean that up before Mom finds out.

Thanks for the gray hair, Santa!

I know he has to go out there and do his thing.

I just want to encase him in Nerf first.

Pluto?

Shannon is the other half of the bit of awesome Barney duo!

They visited us very recently, and it was all I could do to keep the kids from stowing away in the Barney's luggage. "Can we keep them?" was the kids' phrase of the day.

Two schools of thought

Some of us enjoy the unwrapping more than the actual gift.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I am not left handed

The best thing about all this wrapping is epic cardboard tube battles.

Return of the sleepy sleepy

The holidays can be rough for the little ones.

All that excitement and running about, it makes a boy very very sleepy.

Bubble!

I am rarely a gum chewer these days, but when I get a hold of some bubble gum, I have "skillz".

Naughty list

Actual conversation this weekend.

It's a fair question.

"There's room for everyone on the nice list."

Express your love

I love it when the kids get new toys for me to play with.

Woosh!

This is why we have carpet; Because laying on the hardwoods isn't as much fun.

Fix you

Papercuts require at least 6 bandaids I'll have you know.

Back, foul arachnid!

We have HUGE spiders here in Texas. They love to invade my house when it gets cold. Generally, I favor a gentle catch and release program, but some of the beasties require a firmer, um, foot.

Did I scare you?

Sometimes, I get an answer to my question.

Sometimes, I'm just left wondering if there is a booby trap somewhere.

Sometimes, kids can be very creepy.

A very tacky Christmas

Wanna know what true love is? Its my husband putting up with my Christmas decorations. The tackier, the better. Years ago, my friend Asia gave me a 4'multicolored tinsel Christmas tree.

It's going to be a family heirloom.

Reap what you sow

I'm making an attempt at forcing bulbs this year. Since my only real experience with plants is in the carnivorous kind, this should be an entertaining experiment.

You're not going anywhere

One thing Mike is not - passive aggressive.

Steamhunk?

I'm reading "The Affinity Bridge" by George Mann at the moment. So airships are on the brain. :)

Idle hands

Mister is fond of hair products. Extra firm hold is his preferred medium.

But where's my sammich?

"Sammich" is a funny word.  Use with caution.

Big bed little sleeping space

We have a brand new GINORMOUS bed. And yet I still manage to push Mike over onto the last 6 inches of space.

I'm talented like that.

Goodbye

My grandfather passed away yesterday. I am glad that he is freed from his ailing body and is no longer in pain. I am saddened for the loss felt by those left behind. So I say a bittersweet goodbye.

Mister Puppy

Mister Boo spends at least half of his day pretending to be a puppy. I would not be surprised at all if I learned that he was in fact a Were-Retriever.

Mommy's favorite game

He keeps track of all of my *really* important appointments and activities.

For example, in the morning, I have an appointment at the swings in the park.

Impervious to cold

He likes to think he's immune to Frost Damage, but this does not make it so.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for every one of you.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement.

Thank you for your support.

Who stole the cookie...

I am the only one of my family members that can eat an entire jar of cookies in one sitting. Which would be awesome, except that I have no one to blame when the jar is mysteriously empty.

Fort Livingroom

I feel like living room forts are an investment in my retirement.

"Architecture is F-U-N! Fun! Who wants to be an architect when they grow up?! You do, right?!"

Tag!

Mister Boo brings a whole new dimension to the game of tag.

Co-op play isn't

We're a gamer family. While we try to steer the kiddos away from the FPS games, I will admit that Miss Boo has gotten off a head shot and then screamed "I totally OWNED you!".

My outside voice was saying, "That's just wrong.", but the inside voice was saying "Hell yeah, she did!".

Pantshead!

The cure for bad weather blahs? Pantshead!

Pants- apply directly to the forehead

Pants- apply directly to the forehead

But seriously, this tactic has always charmed the grumpiest of toddlers.

Door to door salesmen, however, are immune.

Momzilla

Sometimes, a little cosplay can really lift your spirits.

Chatty chatty chatty

Sometimes we stay up waaaay too late talking about silly stuff.

With my freeze ray..

Based on an actual conversation between Mister Boo and our friend Barney, I believe this is fair warning to the rest of the world.

Side note- Barney is also a little bit of awesome.

Walk or expedition?

On our walk today, somehow the stroller transformed into a pack mule.

Look out for falling hearts

If there is a tree within arms reach, my husband is usually in it.

Recycling is fun

Sometimes I can be a little premature in my recycling efforts.

But you can't let a really really cool shirt go to waste.

Bowler Derby

Ok, so this has never actually happened. BUT! It has come so close to happening so many times that I wince whenever I watch someone else bowl.

I would love to see a pro do it once though. *Runs off to YouTube*

Pimpin'

As demonstrated in the very first Napkin People, my daughter has a very special relationship with words. In this instance I was asked to proofread the letter in question. I left in the word "pimp". It made me giggle uncontrollably to picture Voltaire uttering the word. I really have no idea where she picked up the word as a synonym for "wonderful" or even "awesome", but it's been the source of much humor in these parts.

"Mom! These cookies are PIMP!"

Voltaire is a singer, writer, artist, creator of toys, and animator of films. He is fantastically witty and charming, and if you ever get the chance to attend one of his performances, go!

Laugh, sing along, and buy him some rum!

Voltaire's web site : http://www.voltaire.net/

See his character Deady the Malevolent Teddy at : http://www.deadybear.net/home.html

Living room Iditarod

Give a kid a laundry basket, leave the room for 5 minutes, and you never know what you'll come back to. Other than a gleeful kid.

It is what you make it.

Cloud watching is like a rorschach test for the silly.

Blockhead

Sometimes, I have more fun with Mister's toys than he does.

Pizza pizza

Nothing says "I love you!" like a pepperoni pizza.

To each his own

And who can blame him, really?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!

Eat lots and lots of candy!

It's a moral imperative.

Mmmm...toast

I'm one of those people that is *always* startled by the toaster. Even if I stand there staring at it, when it finally pops up, you'd think it was a hand, ala "Carrie". They really need a gentle chime before the jarring "KA-PANG!" of toast flying up. I'm almost 23% positive that it would cut down on morning heart attacks.

Best bookmarks ever

If you have not seen Henry Rollins "She's a reader!" bit, you should go look it up now. This phrase is used often in our house. We are readers, and we love our reader friends. I'm always stunned to hear people confess to being non-readers. My life would not be the same without the amazing books I have read. From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, to Brave New World, to Catcher in the Rye, to Harry Potter, each has left a mark on me. Thanks to all the authors in the world. I love you!!!

All your blanket are belong to me

Suspense

I love love love asian horror. BUT, I have no delusions. I'm not the kind of jaded horror fan that can sit calmly through any "gotcha" moment. My body is a tightly wound coil ready to spring off of the couch in full fight or flight mode at any moment. And yet, I still insist on drinking hot tea while watching a movie. As you can imagine, my husband is a very patient man.

HALP!

This is not all based on real events. Nope. Never.

I'm always on top of it.

Although, sometimes, I do plant a little flag when I reach the summit.

Oh, and for future reference, it isn't called "Giant Insurmountable Pile o' Laundry". It's "Mount Maytag".