Future blogger

All pictures below were taken by Allie and this is her blog post. I typed it of course because it would have taken her until next year to type everything she wanted to say!

Ok..Hi...my name is Allie, and I would like to introduce to you my pictures, and...actually, but, my real name is Allison, but you actually my nickname is Allie, but you can call me Allie if you want. I would like to introduce my pictures. Here they are....see look.

Ok..so these 2 little girls are Lucy and John and the one in the middle is a webkinz pony. And in the middle on the bottom is a puppy dog from my mom and dad for valentimes day. And those animals and dollies in front are some families. The one on the swing is a puppy dog, and the one hanging is a monkey, and his name is little monkey. And that one over there is Molly, and she is an American doll. Oh, and the red guy in the middle is Elmo. Ok..move down.

Ok...so actually you can see Molly up close...right here if you want to....and here's some stuff to talk about her. She is my favorite doll and she loves me and she is my daughter and ummmm ...mom don't spell umm I just had to think...I sleep with her every night well almost every night because sometimes I forget her but sometimes I do remember her, so that's all for today, but if you want to move down one more we have one more picture.

Here we go....this girl is my mcdonald's girl and the little boy is named John and he is from the treasure box at school. The girl's name is Lucy. John is dressed up as Pinocchio, and Lucy is dressed up as the wizard of oz girl. And I mean, Lucy has a basket with a puppy , but actually I losted the basket, but I'll send a picture after I find it soon...and that's all the pictures of today, and that's all for today. Thank you.

The Honeymoon Period

This morning I did not have to do carpool, therefore I let Garrett sleep rather than waking him up like usual. He slept until 730...aahhh...what I call the honeymoon period has arrived. He slept 12 hours without a peep last night, and those nights are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Why is it the honeymoon??? He's reached a stage where he just smiles at everything we do, he sleeps all night, and he is not under our feet all day. It will pass so quickly but for now I will enjoy it. He will turn on me just like the rest of them have:) Every stage brings a new set of challenges I realize, but this is DEFINITELY the sweetest one.

Laissez-"faire" economics

Remember that term??? It came to mind this morning as I was doing the carpool route and I was thinking about a conversation had between the two chatty gradeschoolers in the back seat. Were they talking about the economy, huh? Not a day goes by where the media does not discuss our economy...bailouts, regulate, deregulate...you've heard them all lately. So where am I going with this? The hubs took Allie to the fair the other night for a little lesson in economics, but I did not hear about this part until this morning's ride to school. Here was the conversation.

Allie: "Hey friend, my daddy took me to the fair this weekend!"
Friend: "My Nanny took me too. And I was not tall enough to ride all the rides,
I will have to go back every year until I am tall enough!"
Allie: "My daddy told me to stay away from the rip-offs"
Friend: "The rip-offs, my nanny didn't say anything about the rip-offs, was that a scary ride or something?"
Allie: NOPE..it was the games where you waiste all your money...the rip off games!"

And so a very obvious economic lesson was learned...stay away from the rip-offs! So I couldn't exactly remember what the term "laissez-faire economics" meant, but of course my "pun driven" brain could not escape it. It is an economic philosophy asserting that capitalism works best when left to minimal intervention by the state. So here's my 2 cents for the day...I AGREE!!!!

Eat those Feet

G Baby has started the foot grabbing stage. He wants to eat them so badly but is not quite there yet!

Just a little bit closer...

His hair is coming back....and he's got big sisters' eyelashes.

Showcasing my new 9-12 month pjs..they fit just right...yikes.

Reading with daddy

Peas Please and Blog Podge

I have taken alot of pictures this last week, but have not had time to post anything. Our friends left yesterday, but only to go to another's house because they still are not even close to going home. The girls both ran in from school yesterday looking for them and were very upset to find they were not here. Mary said, "Where's my girl?" They both cried actually because I think they expected them to be here:(

This video is actually pretty gross. I bought these individually packaged peas on accident because I normally buy green beans, and Mary eats them at school in her lunch. My "poor" family never gets to eat peas because they are one food I despise so much that I never cook them. Apparently, I hit the jackpot with Mary. This video is of her SECOND cup full of peas. THEY ARE NOT EVEN COOKED! I was laughing so hard that I barely could get this video. She even drank the juice when she ate all of them. GROSS!!!




The next pictures are just a hodge podge that I've taken recently but have not had time to blog.

Count em....I don't remember 10 or 11 pairs of panties. I told Mary to "go put your panties up" and she ran upstairs to put them in her drawer. Instead of putting them "up"...she put them "on"....2 year olds!!! The sad part was...she started screaming "potty potty", and ended up having an accident on about half of them. It was so funny that we were both laughing.


Baby G is now in the tub with Mary. She LOVES showing him all her duckies. Oh by the way, Garrett was 17 pounds at his appointment....the biggest one yet. Off the chart in height and 90% in weight. No small fry, no surprise there.


When the lights went out, we smoked 6 racks of ribs. Not a bad hurricane meal I say.

Y----IKE----S! Part 2

As if our dear evacuee friends have not had enough! A tall (but small in girth) tree fell on our house. It was say scarier in sound than reality. The hubs, his friends, and our neighbor have been out on a ladder patching up the holes with remnants of the girls vinyl swimming pool! No one was hit by flying branches...YIKES! Thank you Jesus that it was a small tree.

Y---IKE---s! Garrett is 4 months.

I'm combining two posts in one, as I've escaped the chaos of having 6 kids under 5 years old in the house, and this is about all the time I will find to write! The is the hub's weekend that he has every year to hang out with his buds from grad school. They are veracious Fantasy Football participants in the hub's league that he set up about 10 years ago. (Click here to see where the hub spends his spare time.) He says it's his "website" but it is really a blog. He's been at it for years. Unfortunately, some of our participants in this weekend live right in the heart of where Hurricane IKE struck in Galveston. They are facing the reality that there home may or may not be there when they return. It is very sad to sit here and watch it with them. Hopefully things will turn out better than they are expecting. Part 2 of this post??? Garrett is 4 months old today. He just gets happier and happier. He's not doing alot differently this month. He is grabbing his feet now and trying to eat his toes. Well he's trying to eat everything actually. His dr's appt is not until Tuesday, but I think he's around 16 pounds. He loves to be talked to, and is a very happy boy.

Evacuee fun....Their words not mine!

Aren't they the cutest?

Making a sad face after watching the news.

He's outgrowing his lamb already!

My home town in the news

This video was on Fox and Friends this morning. My parents' neighbors were with this boy when the incident happened. It's ironic because it had come up in conversation with my dad this weekend, and then it was on the news!

Happy Grandparents Day

Today is Grandparents Day. Don't Grandparents just shape us all? We all have memories of these amazing people that put their stamps on our lives and on our children's lives. Some of us only knew them for a short time, others for a very long time. My mom's grandfather died only a few years ago at the age of 103...only a few days shy of his 104 birthday. He was DEFINITELY a character. We all called him PawPaw....my memories of him more than anything were that he was P-R-O-U-D!!! He was so proud of his family. Every time I saw him for years, I remember him telling me he loved me...and that he was so lucky to have his family...and that he was so proud of them! So this is the word I use to describe Grandparents. They are proud people...in a good way of course. Maybe they are proud because they are done raising kids, and everyone is paying for themselves. Maybe they are proud to see baby after baby born and realize each one holds a piece of them. I obviously am a LONG ways from reaching that mark (ha), but realize when I get there, I will be PROUD too. From a grandchild's perspective, I am beaming with pride myself because I am proud to have descended from such colorful, honorable, and dignified people. I am so blessed that I have had them in my life for so many years.

Nanna and Papoo (my parents) with the newest grandchildren born this summer.

This also is the first picture of Bunny and Pappy with their new grands from the past year.

They are getting this grandparenting thing down....lots of practice!!

Now for pics from this weekend. Nanna and Papoo came down to go to Allie's Grandparents day luncheon. Allie was very proud to have them there I'm sure. You know my dad can't just sit on the couch either. We are always finding projects to keep poor Papoo from being bored. Check out what "we" got done this weekend. What do Grandparents bring to the table??? Wisdom, love, and..... FREE labor! Thanks Papoo....oh and Nanna too...she's the grouting grandma!

A Recipe that's definitely worth passing along

We grilled out last night. We've been grilling this recipe for the last year, and every time we say.."these are sooo good". The recipe came out of the MIL's (mother-in-law), "CURVES" cook book. (the exercise group she works out with for years put a book together some time ago). This marinade goes alot further than 6 chops, so it will feed alot of people, and they are ALWAYS tender. TRY IT!

Hawaiian Grilled Pork Chops
1 (20oz) can of pineapple slices (reserve 1/4cup juice)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 tbsp brown sugar
6 pork chops
Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4cup juice. Set asside. Place pork chops in large shallow dish. Combine reserved pineapple juice and soy sauce, vegetable oil, onion, garlic and brown sugar, mixing well. Pour over chops, cover and marinate in frige for 2 hours. Remove chops, reserving marinade. Grill for 15 to 20 min over medium heat basting with marinade. PLace a pineapple slice on each chop during last few minutes.

Not so sure about preschool, but sure about ......???

Yesterday was Mary's first day of preschool. She is starting in the same class that Allie started when we moved here with the same teacher. Everyday when we take Allie to school, Mary cries and says, "I go my school." (She went one day a week last year for mommy's reprieve). The day finally arrived.....and the remnants of Gustav still remained. I didn't get very good pictures because my battery was not charged...poor middle child...it's always the case:( I did take pics, but they were all blurry for some reason..maybe because the battery was about to die. She very shyly walked down the hall, and right into her class. Being very different from big sis, she didn't act the least bit excited (not sure where she gets that from..ha), but I could tell she was glad to be there, even if a little unsure. She goes on Tuesday and Thursdays, so she was home today....and although unsure about school......she was very sure about.....

ONIONS!!! I've been saying for 2 years, that Mary "will eat anything". I was making a casserole this morning and was cutting some onions. Mary was "helping" me crack the eggs when she smelled the onion.

Mary: What dat sme---yell?
Me: These are onions.
Mary: I have one...I have one?!
Me: Sure suit yourself, but they are not that good by themselves.
Mary: (from the kid who will eat green beans out of the can) Deese are dewicious! More More! Me: Yikes...you just never know