Oh My

Jack and his future wife or high school girlfriend - which will add a few grey hairs, I'm sure.
But Olivia sure is cute, isn't she?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I thought I'd throw up a few pics.  My mom took loads and I'm sure hers are better but here's some for now...

 Emma in her Christmas pajamas made by her mom.

 Jack is obsessed with Ghostbusters (Go eighties movies)

 Jack ran around sticking his Harry Potter Wii game in everyone's face.  He loves it.

 Emma has already found particular spots for her Leia and Amidala.

Little Lego Man. 

Padme Amidala, ready to kick some butt.

Flash

 I have taken nearly all the glass ornaments off the tree.

This is Flash, a kitten who, after last week, is the most expensive kitten I've ever owned.  I had no idea kittens could get something near pneumonia.
He seems to be fine now, thanks to the diligence of a little girl very determined to have a healthy cat.

Little Snitch

Jack is well aware of what brownies are, where they come from, what dish they're baked in and how to be the one who gets first pick of bites.

What on EARTH was I thinking?

So, with all the issues we've had with Emma's teeth, I'm a little crazy when it comes to things like juice (we almost never have any) and brushing time.
Because I want to brush Jack's teeth, we've worked out a little deal.  I brush his teeth and he can be as loud as he wants, as long as his mouth stays still.

You can only imagine how this has backfired.

On the plus side.  He has no cavities.

Nutcracker

 Made the dress, made the skirt.  

 Me, Heather, Emma and Charlee.

Charlee and I do not match on purpose.

The little dancers. 

The girls LOVED the orchestra pit.  Emma was pointing out the different instruments and Charlee talked with one of the musicians and said, "You guys sound just like my movie!"

It was a great, if late, night.

Emma's first Nutcracker Ballet!

We're hoping to make it a yearly thing, maybe we'll let the boys come next year, maybe...

Uh-Oh

Jack has bunkbeds!!
We've used the top one since Emma first got out of her crib and we honestly were sick of storing the lower bunk so we put them together.
First night - began as a disaster because Emma wanted to sleep in his room but as soon as she gave up, it was a total success.

Jack is still young enough that he's careful on the ladder and calls me if he needs anything at night so the timing seemed pretty perfect.

I'm amazed once again at how fast he's growing!

One more of Emma's Sewing Adventures

This is actually an underdress pattern that I did a nightgown out of at Aurelie's house but it makes a great play dress.  

Aurelie - bias tape on armholes and neck hole is awesome, it makes the sizing perfect.

Emma Sews

Oh yeah - she sewed this herself!  With only a little help from mom.

Thanks for the fabric Aurelie!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

 Emma as Queen Amidala 

Jack as Anakin Skywalker 

I totally made mine and Mike's costumes - next year he'll have a vest and coat and I'll be in something similar but different...
Hope y'all had a great night!!

Also on Mike's Birthday

Oops!

Wow

Who are these old people?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

Bath

I know it won't be much longer before Emma will refuse to take a bath with Jack.  They're just so stinkin' cute together.

Inversion

It was maybe in the fifties at our house, up in Hatcher's Pass?  Close to 70.
Ahhh...  bliss...

I Bet

I bet you don't have a princess and a fairy picking your carrots for you.  Do you?
They're pretty good.

Cookin'

I love it when I take the time to make the kids part of cooking our meal.  Happy times.
Notice the knives are well on my side of the counter...
I should have taken more pictures of the cheese grating.  It was hysterical.  He'd hold it and she'd move the cheese, she'd hold it.  They got one small handful and that's it.
It's alright.  It was entertaining anyways.

I think I'll let the picture speak for itself

What My People Do For Fun

And this is what happens when Emma takes control of the program:

Jackisms

I will really miss the day when Jack stops saying "Gwirl" for "Girl."

That kid is one bundle of cuteness.

Happy Anniversary To ME! Well, I guess US!!

And it's SUNNY today!

Too bad that even the sun this late in the year doesn't bring a ton of warmth, but I'll take what I can get.

I took this picture an hour ago at my parent's house.

That's my son Jack.

I let him dress himself.

14 years ago today I put on a ridiculously white dress and married my husband.

Thank goodness I still like him ;)  I will spare you wedding photos.

(this was taken at a wedding where I was a bridesmaid.  You can't see it here, much, but let me just say that I'm not used that much boob being exposed... though I don't think Mike minded at all)

FIRST DAY OF SECOND GRADE!!

Pretty trendy little girl, no?

When she came home today she said her first day of school was terrible, long and boring.

Sigh.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I think that her teacher is simply being tough because she needs to be tough in the beginning.  It's so hard because you really want all of your kids' experiences to be good ones and it just isn't going to happen.

She did look pretty cute though.

CAKE!!!! At the Moose's Tooth in Alaska!!

Oh Yeah.
LOVE Cake.  It's the perfect kind of band to see in a concert like this.  Quirky music and cool guys.

Jolene and Heather displace five children, two husbands and one babysitter to attend the Cake concert. 

It was at the Moose's Tooth outdoor venue on the only sunny evening we'd had in nearly a month.

Heather is not allowed to go to a concert without getting a t shirt.

This is her rule.

How close were we to the stage?

Oh yeah, this close.

The small metal box has a bumper sticker that says,

"I brake for teddy bears."

This bluegrass band took the stage first.  

They were great but I can only listen to bluegrass for so long.

"Hey out there in the audience, it's young mother's night.

So, if any of you want to be young mother's, let Bob know and he'll meet up with you after the show."

I think it's funny that a huge Simoan guy was at the front but they stick the crazy white trash assholey looking guy right outside the door of the Cake area.

I didn't take a pic of the Simoan guy.  He was big and right in front of us.

Why he expected trouble from the other two girls without a beer in their hand is beyond me.

How many people were behind us.

There was a whole other section this large to the right of this picture.

This was the guy who adjusted their sound, checked instruments and microphones.

I wanted to watch him dance the jig in his living room with a baby pig.

We respectfully didn't take any pictures because they asked us not to and again, because the very large Simoan man was RIGHT in front of us.  We watched a few people get kicked out and we didn't want to be one of them.

The guy on the far left is the one we were right in front of only his hair was super short.  Much better.  He plays a wide range of instruments including a few whistles that looked like kid toys and is fabulous on the trumpet.

Bearded guy is the lead singer.  He's completely hysterical.

Blond guy's hair is WAY longer now.  Somewhere between his ear and shoulders.  He plays lead guitar and is crazy good.

The guy in the cowboy hat is the base player.  He had on this huge russian fur hat last night.  I think his hat changes with his mood.  He's little but is a killer base player.

I'm kinda sad that they drummer wasn't pictured.  He looked younger than the rest, so I guess the drummer is dispensable.

New Album is coming out soon.

SquEEEEE!

You know you never know when you go see a band like this one who's been performing for a long time but does really quirky rock music.  Quirky music can really suck live but they were awesome!