The excitement begins...

We put up our Christmas tree last night. I didn't think I was ready - I'm OCD about the order and organization of things and to me, Christmas decorations come AFTER Thanksgiving, despite what Hobby Lobby, Wal Mart and the mall throw at me the day after Halloween. But this year, we're traveling to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, so we either had to put them up before or wait until next week to do it. I asked the kids what they wanted to do, fully prepared to put up decorations that very moment. Their response was as expected: "Now! Now! Put them up NOW!!!"

So we did. They love all the decorations, but there is something about the tree that just mesmerizes them. Avery said "I don't know why, but I could just stare at this tree all night." It's almost hypnotic. I wish I had one year-round so I could just park them in front of it when I needed to get things done. Wouldn't that be awesome? Every time I needed a break, I'd just say "Go to the tree," and I'd have all the time in the world to clean the bathrooms, run on the treadmill, paint my nails, waste time on the computer....wait. Where was I?

Oh, right. The tree.

When I told the girls to brush their teeth and get ready for bed, they said they just had to look at the tree some more. They wished they could sleep by the tree so they could see it all night. I was like "Well, I wouldn't really mind, but the floor is hard. I don't think we can put enough blankets down to make it comfy." They didn't care, but I didn't particularly want them running in my room at 2 a.m. telling me the floor was too hard, so I told them no. Then I thought about it....and remembered the trundle bed in the office/guest room.

It was perfect. At first, I thought they would be too excited to sleep, but eventually, they both dozed off. They actually made it all night long. We may have created a new tradition at our house...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Again with the crafts

I like for them to do them themselves, with minimal help from me, for this very reason:

I like to see the range of abilities from ages 2 to 6.

I'm especially liking Reese's artistic vision today...

See those black dashes in the midst of the "feathers?" Those, according to her, are eyebrows. Eyebrows on the turkey's feathers. Interesting concept. I love the vision of a 4 year old...anything goes!

Hel-LO!

Remember Uncle Leo from Seinfeld? Every time he and Jerry saw each other, they both said "Hel LO!" in a particular manner.


This morning, I came home from the gym and had a few minutes of alone time. I was actually spending it voting for my brother, Bo Atterberry, as coach of the year at http://www.coachoftheyear.com/. (I've been wondering how I could casually work that in to conversation.)


I was in the kitchen on my laptop so I wasn't visible to anyone coming out of my bedroom. I was deeply engrossed in my computer when I heard a little voice saying "HelLO! HelLO!" ala Uncle Leo. I peered out of the kitchen into the living room where I saw this:


Luckily, I had my camera on the counter directly in front of me so I could document proof that he did, in fact, come into my room around midnight last night, coughing and hacking and that I did have to get up, get medicine and give him a drink, which he promptly spilled on his shirt that I then had to remove. He wasn't pleased that he was greeted with the bright flash of the camera instead of his usual good morning hugs and kisses, but I think it was worth it, just this once.

First Boyfriend?

Ok, I don't think it's quite that serious yet...in fact, we never discuss boyfriends and girlfriends. Avery and Reese both know they aren't allowed to get married until they are 30, which means boyfriend talk is a LONG way off. Plus, as we all know, Avery practically IS a boy, so the last thing she is thinking about is having a boyfriend. Well, that's what I thought, anyway.
Last night, I was getting her schoolwork out of her backpack and came across a piece of red construction paper with dinosaurs drawn all over it. At the top it said AVERY JACK with a heart in between. As in Avery loves Jack? I couldn't imagine it, but I had to ask. I said "Hey, Ave, what's this?" She said, "Jack made that for me." "At school?" I asked. "No, he made it at home and brought it to me." hmmmmm...interesting. I pointed to the heart and said "What's this?" She said "Mom, it's a heart. It means Love, Jack. Because Jack made it." I asked her why she thought he would make her a picture and she said "'Cause he's my best friend, Mom." Then she got busy making him a picture. It also had AVERY (heart) JACK.
I waited until later to ask her, "Why is Jack your best friend? I mean, why do you think you like him the best out of all the other boys in your class?" Her answer is Classic Avery. "Mom, he's the only boy who can take me down."
Gotta love a tomboy!

p.s. This may be one of those messages that I shouldn't share with everyone but I just HAD to have it documented. I can't ever forget it. So if you happen to run into Avery, ixnay on the ackJay. Ok?

Super Artist

Can you guess who made the pumpkin on the upper left?




If you guessed "Dash" from The Incredibles, you were correct.

(I never noticed that he looks like he's carrying a small squirrel in his pants. Sorry, Buddy...it was the smallest one they had!)