A cuter flag salute leader there is not.

Bode invited everyone, and I do mean everyone, to his Christmas program at school.  He invited his family, every one in our small group, the grocery clerk, you name it they were expected to be at Clyde Howell last Friday afternoon sitting in miniature chairs in his tiny little classroom.

After I uninvited about 50 people to his program I had to try and explain to him that this was a "parents only" situation.  This is made more difficult given the fact that his sister was just in another big production that everyone and their hairdresser came to watch.

The day of the program he started complaining that his stomach hurt and that he "was probably going to throw up but I will just tell my teacher to leave a path to the bathroom for me at the program, Mom."  I was willing to risk it if he was.

I realize no gift card I could get that sweet woman would make up for a kid puking during the program, but when an adorable pre-ker has a flag salute to lead he will not be stopped.

There were several times during the show that he zoned out and started swaying back and forth and looked kind of green, but he held it together for the sake of the show.

Andy and I were beaming with pride, and then we looked at his hair.  Oh well.

No one plays a better oatmeal container, that's for sure.

And in case you're ever bored, we have 45 minutes of video documenting the entire event.  Merry Christmas!

Why, yes, that is my child wearing fake, oversized hipster glasses.

I really couldn't care less.

Speaking of my oldest kid, she came up with the sweetest idea ever.  And the best part: We managed to pull it off without a crying fit of rage because things were not going according to her very precise plan.  It truly was a Christmas miracle.

Mia decided she wanted to do something for the people in the hospital that didn't have any cards or flowers in their rooms - the people that may be especially lonely this time of year.

She made ten cards and took her own money and bought roses for ten patients.

We took them up to Mercy Hospital tonight and asked the nurses to deliver them to some of their patients.

Although her plan was to remain completely anonymous, she didn't mind one bit when the nurses introduced her to one of the recipients.

As we left the hospital I told Mia I was proud of her.  She replied, "I know, so am I."  

I'm glad she knows that making others feel good feels really, really good.  I pray she spends her life feeling this kind of good over and over again.

Lately

I feel like I have been in hibernation (if hibernation meant spending every waking moment studying or in class) all fall, so as soon as finals were over I decided to make up for lost time by cramming about 15 parties into two weeks. 

College kids are so easy.

They will eat anything you cook and will entertain your kids for hours. 

Well, they entertain some kids more than others.

Oz came to a close.  

Mia went through withdrawals and depression and was generally unbearable for about a week after it was over.

The best Bode quote of the entire Oz run:  

Mom, why is Mia dressed like a one-eared rabbit?

Andy's grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday.  Henson was thrilled.

Trying to get a decent picture of nine great-grandkids is like me trying to go a day without coffee - it ain't gonna happen. 

For the love of money, someone tell us which way to look:

I have every intention of buying my way into the hearts of my kids' teachers. 

I like to have some credits built up in case my kid ever acts like an idiot. 

And I loved this idea from a person that is certainly not me: A different print for each holiday.  Throw in a couple of gift cards to Starbucks and Sonic and I'd say I've bought my kids at least another week or two on the good list.

You're welcome, kids.

12/12/12 is officially my Christmas!

Raise your hand if you finished your finals and closed on your house today.
*HAND RAISED*

It's kind of hard to type this while simultaneously doing a happy dance.  The grass is browner, the trees are deader, the sky is greyer - it's all just so beautiful!

And, apparently all my daughter wants for Christmas is a book light - score!

And my son thinks he can play baseball for the Yankees with a bat growing out of his torso - what a wonderfully realistic goal for his life, I love it!

As I type this my oldest is teaching forcing my youngest to learn a very complicated Christmas song that he will never be able to get right and in about two minutes he will get frustrated and revolt against her demands and she will scream and cry and beg him to JUST DO IT RIGHT and will fall to the floor in a heap of tears.  

And guess what?  I don't even care.  And I'm not going to get annoyed because it is distracting me from my studying, and I'm not going to remind them that we own another house down the street that I can send them to, alone, if they don't shape up.

The Lord is faithful.  I feel so blessed.

In The Doghouse

This is where the kids spent most of the afternoon Saturday:

After I threw up in my mouth, I tossed them a container of clorox wipes and went back to my business.

When your kids are playing nicely together outside for an extended period of time, things like fleas and ticks start to scare you a lot less.

Life

Mia is always very well represented. 

There's nothing like scraping your "made to stay put at all costs" eye-liner off of your kids nose.  For two hours.

 Bode asked my mom to show him which door she left out of when she went Christmas shopping.  Conveniently, the next morning she found a note on it that said "Buy Bode a camera."

 The kid is nothing if not bold. 

And this kid is nothing if not...interesting.

 I love it when my kids are genuinely proud of each other.  

The King of the castle.

To: Bode's Future Wife

You're welcome.

My Reading List as of Late

Although I haven't been reading material that I would consider "entertainment" I have to admit that I have enjoyed most of my required reading for this semester.  In fact, some of it is so good that I am pretty sure anyone would enjoy reading it.  Well, either that or I  have lost touch with reality, which is a real possibility.  

Mindset, The New Psychology of Success is so, so interesting.  I would especially recommend it to parents.  I actually couldn't put this book down because it described my daughter and my husband so perfectly.  It was like a light-bulb went on in my head and I was all, "So this is what's going on inside their brains.  Thank God!  All this time I thought they were crazy."

This book will make you want to gouge your eyeballs out with a toothpick.

The New Personality Self-Potrait includes a pretty extensive personality test.  Each chapter is divided up into personality types and you can read all about how potentially insane you are.

I loved it.










Don't read this at night in a house that still does not have window coverings, that's all I'm sayin'.

If you're dating someone and something isn't setting well with you read this book and GET THE HECK OUT OF THE RELATIONSHIP!

I will be re-reading this book when my daughter starts dating.

Meh.  Valuable information.  Not really a page turner.

I'm ashamed of myself for not having read this book before.  This is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read.

I cried in a Starbucks while reading this.

I found myself contemplating all sorts of ways to die.  It's awful.

This workbook is awesome for figuring out just how crazy your family actually is.  I didn't really need a workbook to tell me this, but nonetheless it was helpful.














I realize this makes me a big dork but I loved this textbook.  I can curl up and read this baby by a fire any day.

Don't judge me.  Or go ahead, I'm too exhausted to care.

And that's as exciting as it gets around here, folks.

Merry Old Land of Oz

Mia's opening nights have easily turned into some of the highlights of my parenting experience.

Am I secretly living vicariously through my child?  I refuse to answer that question.

Let's move on, shall we?

I can now take "learn to french braid in a circle" off of my bucket list.

 This picture could not be more representative of their relationship.  Mia may have found something she loves more than the theater.

 Stage make-up:  How can something so wrong look so right?

 I'm the one squealing with delight.

To Oz (or rather to the only thing that will keep a bunch of 8-year-olds quiet backstage)!

After the show, in true diva fashion, she refused to leave her dressing room.  She was sobbing because "the audience wasn't engaged."  I wish I was kidding.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a kid who was blissfully unaware of things eight-year-olds should not be aware of and was jumping for joy like the rest of the munchkins.  Instead, I have Mia.  

 Finally, after threatening her within an inch of her life, she came out, streaked make-up and all.

 I don't care if this girl is too perceptive for her own good, she's the cutest darn Munchkin a person has ever seen.